Cassius Dio
Roman History
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Book LX
Claudius became emperor on this wise. After the murder of Gaius the
consuls despatched guards to every part of the city and convened the
senate on the Capitol, where many and diverse opinions were expressed;
for some favoured a democracy, some a monarchy, and some were for
choosing one man, and some another. In consequence they spent the rest
of the day and the whole night without accomplishing anything.
Meanwhile some soldiers who had entered the palace for the purpose of
plundering found Claudius hidden away in a dark corner somewhere. He
had been with Gaius when he came out of the theatre, and now, fearing
the tumult, was crouching down out of the way. At first the soldiers,
supposing that he was some one else or perhaps had something worth
taking, dragged him forth; and then, on recognizing him, they hailed
him emperor and conducted him to the camp. Afterwards they together
with their comrades entrusted to him the supreme power, inasmuch as he
was of the imperial family and was regarded as suitable.
In vain he drew back and remonstrated; for the more he attempted to
avoid the honour and to resist, the more strongly did the soldiers in
their turn insist upon not accepting an emperor appointed by others but
upon giving one themselves to the whole world. Hence he yielded, albeit
with apparent reluctance.
The consuls for a time sent tribunes and others forbidding him to do
anything of the sort, but to submit to the authority of the people and
of the senate and of the laws; when, however, the soldiers who were
with them deserted them, then at last they, too, yielded and voted him
all the remaining prerogatives pertaining to the sovereignty.
Thus it was that Tiberius Claudius Nero Germanicus, the son of Drusus
the son of Livia, obtained the imperial power without having been
previously tested at all in any position of authority, except for the
fact that he had been consul. He was in his fiftieth year.
In mental ability he was by no means inferior, as his faculties had
been in constant training (in fact, he had actually written some
historical treatises); but he was sickly in body, so that his head and
hands shook slightly. Because of this his voice was also faltering, and
he did not himself read all the measures that he introduced before the
senate, but would give them to the quaestor to read, though at first,
at least, he was generally present. Whatever he did read himself, he
usually delivered sitting down. Furthermore, he was the first of the
Romans to use a covered chair, and it is due to his example that to-day
not only the emperors but we ex-consuls as well are carried in chairs;
of course, even before his time Augustus, Tiberius, and some others had
been carried in litters such as women still affect even at the present
day. It was not these infirmities, however, that caused the
deterioration of Claudius so much as it was the freedmen and the women
with whom he associated; for he, more conspicuously than any of his
peers, was ruled by slaves and by women. From a child he had been
reared a constant prey to illness and great terror, and for that reason
had feigned a stupidity greater than was really the case (a fact that
he himself admitted in the senate); and he had lived for a long time
with his grandmother Livia and for another long period with his mother
Antonia and with the freedmen, and moreover he had had many amours with
him. Hence he had acquired none of the qualities befitting a freeman,
but, though ruler of all the Romans and their subjects, had become
himself a slave. They would take advantage of him particularly when he
was inclined to drink or to sexual intercourse, since he applied
himself to both these vices insatiably and when so employed was
exceedingly easy to master. Moreover, he was afflicted by cowardice,
which often so overpowered him that he could not reason out anything as
he ought. They seized upon this failing of his, too, to accomplish many
of their purposes; for by frightening him they could use him fully for
their own ends, and could at the same time inspire the rest with great
terror. To give but a single example, once, when a large number of
persons were invited to dinner on the same day by Claudius and by these
associates, the guests neglected Claudius on one pretence or another,
and flocked around the others.
Though, generally speaking, he was such as I have described, still he
did not a few things in a proper manner whenever he was free from the
aforesaid weaknesses and was master of himself. I shall now take up his
acts in detail.
He promptly accepted all the honours that were voted to him, except the
title of Father, and this he afterwards took; however, he did not enter
the senate at once, but waited until the thirtieth day. For, seeing how
Gaius had perished and learning that some others had been proposed by
that body for the throne as being better men than he, he was disposed
to be timid. Therefore he exercised great caution in everything; he
caused all who came near him, men and women alike, to be searched, for
fear they might have a dagger, and at banquets he was sure to have some
soldiers present. The latter practice, thus established by him,
continues to this day; but the indiscriminate searching of everybody
came to an end under Vespasian. He put Chaerea and some others to
death, in spite of his pleasure at the death of Gaius. For he was
looking far ahead to insure his own safety, and so, instead of feeling
grateful toward the man through whose deed he had gained the throne, he
was displeased with him for having dared to slay an emperor. He acted
in this matter, not as the avenger of Gaius, but as though he had
caught Chaerea plotting against himself. And soon after Chaerea's death
Sabinus took his own life, not desiring to live after his comrade had
been executed.
As for the others, however, who had openly shown their eagerness for a
democracy or had been regarded as eligible for the throne, Claudius,
far from bearing malice toward them, actually gave them honours and
offices. In plainer terms than any ruler that ever lived he promised
them immunity, therein imitating the example of the Athenians, as he
said, and it was no mere promise, but he afforded it in actual fact. He
abolished the charge of maiestas not only in the case of writings but
in the case of overt acts as well, and punished no one on this ground
for offences committed either before this time or later. As for those
who had wronged or insulted him when he was a private citizen,— and
there were many who had behaved thus toward him, both because he had
been held in no esteem, and also, more especially, in order to please
either Tiberius or Gaius,— he did not prosecute them on any fictitious
charge, but if he found them guilty of some other crime, he would take
vengeance on them at the same time for their former abuse. The taxes
introduced in the reign of Gaius and any other measures that had led to
denunciation of that ruler's acts were abolished by Claudius,— not all
at once, to be sure, but as opportunity offered in each case. He also
brought back those whom Gaius had unjustly exiled, including the
latter's sisters Agrippa and Julia, and restored to them their
property. Of the persons in prison — and a very large number were thus
confined — he liberated those who had been put there for maiestas and
similar charges, but punished those who were guilty of actual
wrongdoing. For he investigated all the cases very carefully, in order
that those who had committed crimes should not be released along with
those who had been falsely accused, nor the latter, on the other hand,
perish along with the former. Almost every day, either in company with
the whole senate or alone, he would sit on a tribunal trying cases,
usually in the Forum, but sometimes elsewhere; for he renewed the
practice of having advisers sit with him, a practice that had been
abandoned from the time that Tiberius withdrew to his island. He also
frequently joined the consuls and the praetors, especially those who
had the oversight of the finances, in their investigations, and very
few, indeed, were the cases that he turned over to the other courts. He
destroyed the poisons which were found in abundance in the residence of
Gaius; and the books of Protogenes (who was put to death), together
with the papers which Gaius pretended he had burned, he first showed to
the senators and then gave them to the very men they most concerned,
both those who had written them and those against whom they had been
written, to be read by them, after which he burned them up. And yet,
when the senate desired to dishonour Gaius, he personally prevented the
passage of the measure, but on his own responsibility caused all his
predecessor's images to disappear by night. Hence the name of Gaius
does not occur in the list of emperors whom we mention in our oaths and
prayers any more than does that of Tiberius; and yet neither one of
them suffered disgraced by official decree.
Claudius, accordingly, undid the unjust acts performed by Gaius and by
others at his instigation. To his father Drusus and to his mother
Antonia he granted games in the Circus on their birthdays, postponing
to different days the festivals which normally occurred at the same
time, in order that there should not be two celebrations at once. His
grandmother Livia he not only honoured with equestrian contests but
also deified; and he set up a statue to her in the temple of Augustus,
charging the Vestal Virgins with the duty of offering the proper
sacrifices, and he ordered that women should use her name in taking
oaths. But, though he paid such reverence to his ancestors, he would
accept nothing for himself beyond the titles belonging to his office.
It is true that on the first day of August, which was his birthday,
there were equestrian contests, but they were not given on his account;
it was rather because the temple of Mars had been dedicated on that day
and this event had been celebrated thereafter by annual contests.
Besides his moderation in this respect, he further forbade any one to
worship him or to offer him any sacrifice; he checked the many
excessive acclamations accorded him; and he accepted, at first, only
one image, and that a silver one, and two statues, of bronze and
marble, that had been voted to him. All such expenditures, he declared,
were useless and furthermore caused great loss and embarrassment to the
city. In fact, all the temples and all the other public buildings had
become filled with statues and votive offerings, so that he said he
would consider what to do even with them. He ordered the praetors not
to give the customary gladiatorial exhibitions, and also commanded that
if any one else gave them in any place whatsoever, it should at least
not be recorded or reported that they were being given for the
emperor's preservation. He became so used to settling all these matters
by his judgment, and not by precedent, that he arranged other affairs
in this manner. For example, when in this same year he betrothed one of
his daughters to Lucius Junius Silanus and gave the other in marriage
to Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus, he did nothing out of the ordinary to
celebrate either event; on the contrary, he himself held court on those
days and the senate met as usual. He ordered his sons-in-law to hold
office for the time being among the Vigintiviri and later to act as
prefects of the city at the Feriae; and it was not until much later
that he gave them permission to stand for the other offices five years
earlier than was customary. Gaius had taken away from this Pompeius his
title of Magnus and, indeed, had come very near killing him because he
was so named; yet out of contempt for him, since he was still but a
boy, he did not go to that length, but merely abolished his cognomen,
saying that it was not safe for him that any one should be called
Magnus. Claudius not only restored to him his former title but also
gave him his daughter to wife.
In all this, then, his course was satisfactory. Furthermore, when in
the senate the consuls once came down from their seats to talk with
him, he rose in his turn and went to meet them. And, for the matter, in
Neapolis he lived altogether like an ordinary citizen; for both he and
his associates adopted the Greek manner of life in all respects,
wearing a cloak and high boots, for example, at the musical
exhibitions, and a purple mantle and golden crown at the gymnastic
contests. Moreover, his attitude toward money was remarkable. For he
forbade any one to bring him contributions, as had been the practice
under Augustus and Gaius, and ordered that no one who had any relatives
at all should name him as his heir; he furthermore gave back the sums
that had previously been confiscated under Tiberius and Gaius, either
to the victims themselves, if they still survived, or otherwise to
their children.
It had been the custom that if any detail whatsoever in connexion with
the festivals was carried out contrary to precedent, they should be
given over again, as I have stated. But since such repetitions were
frequent, occurring a third, fourth, fifth, and sometimes a tenth time,
partly, to be sure, as the result of accident, but generally by
deliberate intent on the part of those who were benefited by these
repetitions, Claudius enacted a law that the equestrian contests in
case of a second exhibition should occupy only one day; and in actual
practice he usually prevented any repetition at all. For the schemers
were not so ready to commit irregularities now that they gained very
little by doing so.
As for the Jews, who had again increased so greatly that by reason of
their multitude it would have been hard without raising a tumult to bar
them from the city, he did not drive them out, but ordered them, while
continuing their traditional mode of life, not to hold meetings. He
also disbanded the clubs, which had been reintroduced by Gaius.
Moreover, seeing that there was no use in forbidding the populace to do
certain things unless their daily life should be reformed, he abolished
the taverns where they were wont to gather and drink, and commanded
that no boiled meat or hot water. should be sold; and he punished some
who disobeyed in this matter.
He restored to the various cities the statues which Gaius had ordered
them to send to Rome, and he also restored to Castor and Pollux their
temple, and placed Pompey's name once more upon his theatre. On the
stage of the latter he inscribed also the name of Tiberius, because
that emperor had rebuilt the structure after it had been burned. His
own name also he carved on the stage (not because he had built it, but
because he had dedicated it), but on no other building. Furthermore, he
did not wear the triumphal dress throughout the entire festival, though
permission to do so had been voted, but appeared in it merely when
offering the sacrifice; the rest of the festival he superintended clad
in the purple-bordered toga.
He forced to appear on the stage any knights and others, together with
women of similar rank, who had been accustomed to do so in the reign of
Gaius, but he did this, not because the took any pleasure in their
performance, but to expose and reprove their conduct in the past;
certain it is at least that none of them appeared again on the stage
during the reign of Claudius. The Pyrrhic dance, which the boys sent
for by Gaius were practising, was performed by them once, after which
they were rewarded with citizenship for it and then sent back home; but
others, chosen from among his retinue, later gave exhibitions. So much
for what took place in the theatre. In the Circus there was one contest
with camels and twelve with horses, and three hundred bears and the
same number of Libyan beasts were slain. Previously to this each of the
three classes, senatorial, equestrian, and the populace, had sat apart
by itself while watching the games; this had long been the practice,
and yet no definite positions had been assigned to them. But Claudius
now set apart for the senators the section which still belongs to them,
and he furthermore permitted any members who so desired to sit
elsewhere and even appear in citizen's dress. After this he banqueted
the senators and their wives, the knights, and also the tribes.
Next he restored Commagene to Antiochus, since Gaius, though he had
himself given him the district, had taken it away again; and
Mithridates the Iberian, whom Gaius had summoned and imprisoned, was
sent home again to resume his throne. To another Mithridates, a lineal
descendant of Mithridates the Great, he granted Bosporus, giving to
Polemon some land in Cilicia in place of it. He enlarged the domain of
Agrippa of Palestine, who, happening to be in Rome, had helped him to
become emperor, and bestowed on him the rank of consul; and to his
brother Herod he gave the rank of praetor and a principality. And he
permitted them to enter the senate and to express their thanks to him
in Greek.
The acts I have named, now, were the acts of Claudius himself, and they
were praised by everybody; but certain other thing were done at this
time of quite a different nature by his freedmen and by his wife
Valeria Messalina. The latter became enraged at her niece Julia because
she neither paid her honour nor flattered her; and she was also jealous
because the girl was extremely beautiful and was often alone with
Claudius. Accordingly, she secured her banishment by trumping up
various charges against her, including that of adultery (for which
Annaeus Seneca was also exiled), and not long afterward even compassed
her death. The freedmen, on their part, persuaded Claudius to accept
the ornamenta triumphalia for his exploits in Mauretania, though he had
not gained any success and had not yet come to the throne when the war
was finished. This same year, however, Sulpicius Galba overcame the
Chatti, and Publius Gabinius conquered the Cauchi and as a crowning
achievement recovered a military eagle, the only one that still
remained in the hands of the enemy from Varus' disaster. Thanks to the
exploits of these two men Claudius now received the well-merited title
of imperator.
The next year the same Moors again made war and were subdued. Suetonius
Paulinus, one of the ex-praetors, overran their country in turn as far
as Mount Atlas, and after him Gnaeus Hosidius Geta, a man of the same
rank, made a campaign, marching at once against their general Salabus
and defeating him on two different occasions. When Salabus thereupon
left a few soldiers near the frontier to hold back any pursuers and
took refuge himself in the desert, Geta ventured to follow him. First
stationing a part of his army opposite the detachment that was lying in
wait, he pushed forward after providing himself with all the water
possible. But when this began to give out and no more was to be had, he
found himself in the direst straits. For the barbarians, on their part,
could hold out a long time anyway against thirst as the result of
habit, and moreover could always get at least some water by reason of
their familiarity with the country, and so they managed to get along;
whereas the Romans, for the opposite reasons, found it impossible to
advance and difficult even to retreat. While Geta, then, was in a
quandary as to what he should do, one of the natives who were at peace
with the invaders persuaded him to try some incantations and
enchantments, telling him that as the result of such rites abundant
water had often been given to his people. No sooner had Geta followed
this advice than so much rain fell from the sky as to allay the
soldiers' thirst completely and at the same time to alarm the enemy,
who thought that Heaven was coming to the assistance of the Roman
general. Consequently they came to terms voluntarily and ended their
warfare. After these events Claudius divided the subject Moors into two
districts, the first embracing the region around Tingis and the other
that around Caesarea, from which cities the districts are named; and he
appointed two knights as governors over them. At this same period
certain parts of Numidia also were attacked by the neighbouring
barbarians, and then, when the latter had been defeated in battle,
became quiet once more.
Claudius was now consul with Gaius Largus. He allowed his colleague to
serve for the whole year, but he himself retained the office for only
two months at this time also. He made the others swear to uphold the
acts of Augustus and took the oath himself, but with respect of the his
own acts he permitted nothing of the sort on the part of any of them;
and on leaving office he again took the oath after the manner of the
rest. This was always his practice every time that he was consul. He
now abolished the custom, established by decree, of reading certain
speeches of Augustus and Tiberius on New Year's day; for this procedure
had kept the senators occupied until evening, and he declared that it
was enough that the speeches were engraved on tablets. When some of the
praetors who were entrusted with the financial administration incurred
charges, he did not prosecute them, but visited them when they were
making sales and executing leases and corresponded whatever he regarded
as an abuse; and he also took the same course in numerous other
instances. The number of praetors appointed was not uniform; for now
there would be fourteen and now eighteen, and again some number in
between, just as it happened. Besides his action in the matter of the
finances, he established a board of three ex-praetors to collect debts
owed to the government, granting them lictors and the other customary
assistants.
On the occasion of a severe famine he considered the problem of
providing an abundant food-supply, not only for that particular crisis
but for all future time. For practically all the grain used by the
Romans was imported, and yet the region near the month of the Tiber had
no safe landing-places or suitable harbours, so that their mastery of
the sea was rendered useless to them. Except for the cargoes brought in
during the summer season and stored in warehouses, they had no supplies
for the winter; for if any one ever risked a voyage at that season, he
was sure to meet with disaster. In view of this situation, Claudius
undertook to construct a harbour, and would not be deterred even when
the architects, upon his enquiring how great the cost would be,
answered, "You don't want to do it!" so confident were they that the
huge expenditures necessary would shake him from his purpose, if he
should learn the cost beforehand. He, however, conceived an undertaking
worthy of the dignity and greatness of Rome, and he brought it to
accomplishment. In the first place, he excavated a very considerable
tract of land, built retaining walls on every side of the excavation,
and then let the sea into it; secondly, in the sea its he constructed
huge moles on both sides of the entrance and thus enclosed a large body
of water, in the midst of which he reared an island and placed on it a
tower with a beacon light. This harbour, then, as it is still called in
local parlance, was created by him at this time. He furthermore desired
to make an outlet into the Liris for the Fucine Lake in the Marsian
country, in order not only that the land around it might be tilled but
also that the river might be made more navigable. But the money was
expended in vain.
He introduced a number of laws, most of which I need not mention; but I
will record the following. The governors who were chosen by lot were to
set out before the first day of April; for they had been in the habit
of tarrying a long time in the city. And he would not permit those who
were directly appointed to express any thanks to him in the senate, as
it was their custom to do, for he declared: "These men ought not to
thank me, as if they had been seeking office, but I should rather thank
them, because they cheerfully help me to bear the burden of government;
and if they acquit themselves well in office, I shall praise them much
more still." Those who by reason of insufficient means were unable to
be senators he permitted to resign, and he admitted some of the knights
to the tribuneship; all the rest without exception he compelled to
appear in the senate-chamber as often as notice should be given them.
And he was so severe against those who were remiss in this regard that
some killed themselves. In other respects, however, he was sociable and
considerate in his dealings with them; he would visit them in sickness
and would share in their festivities. When a tribune beat a slave of
the emperor in public in public, Claudius did the offender no harm,
merely depriving him of his attendants, and these he restored not long
afterwards. He sent another of his slaves to the Forum and caused him
to be severely flogged because he had insulted a prominent man. In the
senate the emperor would rise himself in case of the others had been
standing a long time; for by reason of his ill health he had frequently
remained seated, as I have related, and read his advice, if asked for
it. He even permitted Lucius Sulla to sit on the praetors' bench
because this man, being unable at one time by reason of his age to hear
something from his regular seat, had stood up. On the first anniversary
of the day on which he had been declared emperor he did nothing out of
the ordinary, except to give the Pretorians a hundred sesterces, a
thing that he did every year thereafter. Some of the praetors, however,
of their own free will and not because of any decree, publicly
celebrated not only that day but also the birthday of Messalina. Not
all of them did this, but only such as saw fit; so great freedom of
action did they enjoy. Indeed, Claudius showed so great moderation in
all such matters that when a son was born to him (called at that time
Claudius Tiberius Germanicus, but later also Britannicus), he did not
make the occasion in any way conspicuous and would permit neither the
title of Augustus to be given to the boy nor that of Augusta to
Messalina.
He was constantly giving gladiatorial contests; for he took great
pleasure in them, so that he even aroused criticism on this score. Very
few wild beasts perished, but a great many human beings did, some of
them fighting with each other and others being devoured by the animals.
For the emperor cordially detested the slaves and freedmen who in the
reign so Tiberius and Gaius had conspired against their masters, as
well as those who had laid information against others without cause or
had borne false witness against them, and he accordingly got rid of
most of them in the manner related, though he punished some in another
way, and handed many over to their masters themselves for punishment.
So great, indeed, was the number becoming of those who were publicly
executed, that the statue of Augustus which stood on the spot was taken
elsewhere, so that it should not either seem to be witnessing the
bloodshed or else be always covered up. By this action Claudius brought
ridicule upon himself, as he was gorging himself upon the very sights
that he did not think it fitting for even the inanimate bronze to seem
to behold. He used to delight especially in watching those who were cut
down during the intermission in the spectacle at lunch time; and yet he
had put to death a lion that had been trained to eat men and therefore
greatly pleased the crowd, claiming that it was not fitting for Romans
to gaze on such a sight. But for certain acts he was loudly praised —
for mingling freely with the people at the spectacles, for providing
them with all they wanted, and also because he made very little use of
heralds but instead announced most events by means of notices written
on boards.
After he had become accustomed, then, to feast his fill on blood and
carnage, he had recourse more readily to other kinds of murder. The
imperial freedmen and Messalina were responsible for this; for whenever
they desired to obtain any one's death, they would terrify Claudius and
as a result would be allowed to do anything they chosen. Often, when in
a moment of sudden alarm his immediate terror had led him to order some
one's death, he afterwards, when he recovered and came to his senses,
would search for the man and on learning what had happened would be
grieved and repentant. He began this series of murders with Gaius
Appius Silanus. He had sent for this man, who was of very noble family,
and governor of Spain at the time, pretending that he required a
service of him, had married him to Messalina's mother, and had for some
time held him in honour among those nearest and dearest to him. Then he
suddenly killed him. The reason was that Silanus had offended
Messalina, the most abandoned and lustful of women, in refusing to lie
with her, and by this slight shown to her had alienated Narcissus, the
emperor's freedman. As they had no true or even plausible charge to
bring against him, Narcissus invented a dream in which he declared he
had seen Claudius murdered by the hand of Silanus; then at early dawn,
while the emperor was still in bed, trembling all over he related to
him the dream, and Messalina, taking up the matter, exaggerated its
significance.
Thus Silanus perished because of a mere vision. After his death the
Romans no longer cherished fair hopes of Claudius, and Annius
Vinicianus with some others straightway formed a plot against him.
Annius was one of those who had been proposed for the throne after the
death of Gaius, and it was partly fear inspired by this circumstance
that cause him to rebel. As he possessed no military force, however, he
sent to Furius Camillus Scribonianus, the governor of Dalmatia, who had
a large body of citizen and foreign troops, and enlisted his support;
for Camillus was already making his own plans for an uprising, more
especially because he had been spoken of for emperor. When Annius had
got thus far, many senators and knights flocked to him; but they were
of no avail, for the soldiers, when Camillus held out to them the hope
of seeing the republic restored and promised to give back to them their
ancient freedom, suspected that they should have trouble and strife
once more, and would therefore no longer listen to him. At this he
became frightened and fled from them, and coming to the island of Issa
he there took his life. Claudius for a time had been in great terror,
and had been ready to abdicate his power voluntarily in Camillus'
favour; but he now recovered courage. He first rewarded the soldiers in
various ways, especially by causing the legions composed of citizens
(the seventh and the eleventh) to be named Claudian and Loyal and
Patriotic by the senate. Then he sought out those who had plotted
against him, and on this charge put many to death, among others a
praetor, who first was made to resign his office. Several, indeed,
including Vinicianus, committed suicide. For Messalina and Narcissus
and all the latter's fellow-freedmen seized this opportunity to wreak
their direst vengeance. They employed slaves and freedmen, for
instance, as informers against their own masters. These masters and
others of the highest birth, foreigners and citizens alike, and not
only plebeians, but some of the knights and senators as well, were put
to the torture, in spite of the fact that Claudius at the very
beginning of his reign had sworn not to torture any freeman. Many men,
therefore, and women, to, were executed at this time, some of the
latter even meeting their fate in the very prison itself. And when they
were to die, the women, too, were led in chains upon a scaffold, like
captives, and their bodies, also, were thrown out upon the Stairway;
for in the case of those who were executed anywhere outside the city,
only the heads were exhibited there. Some of the most guilty,
nevertheless, by means of favours or bribes saved their lives with the
help of Messalina and the imperial freedmen in the following of
Narcissus. All the sons of those who were put to death were granted
immunity and some also received money. The accused were tried in the
senate in the presence of Claudius, the prefects and the freedmen. He
would read the charge seated between the consuls on a chair of state or
on a bench; then he would go to his accustomed seat and chairs would be
placed for the consuls. This same procedure was followed on other
occasions of great importance.
It was at this time that Galaesus, a freedman of Camillus, upon being
brought from the senate, indulged in great freedom of speech generally,
and made one remark in particular that is worth reporting. Narcissus
had taken the floor and said to him: "What would you have done,
Galaesus, if Camillus had become emperor?" He replied: "I would have
stood behind him and kept my mouth shut." So he became famous for this
remark, as did Arria for another. This woman, who was the wife of
Caecina Paetus, refused to live after he had been put to death,
although, being on very intimate terms with Messalina, she might have
occupied a position of some honour. Moreover, when her husband
displayed cowardice, she strengthened his resolution; for she took the
sword and wounded herself, then hand eed it to him, saying: "See,
Paetus, I feel no pain." These two persons, then, were accorded praise;
for by reason of the long succession of woes matters had now come to
such a pass, that excellence no longer meant anything else than dying
nobly. But as for Claudius, he was so intent upon punishing those
mentioned and others that he constantly gave to the soldiers as a
watchword that verse about its being necessary "to avenge yourself upon
one who first has injured you." He kept throwing out many other hints
of that sort in Greek both to them and to the senate, with the result
that those who could understand any of them laughed at him. These were
some of the events of that period. Also the tribunes upon the death of
one of their number convened the senate themselves for the purpose of
appointing his successor, even though the consuls were at hand.
When Claudius now became consul again, for the third time, he abolished
many days of thanksgiving and many holidays. For the greater part of
the year was being given up to them, with no small detriment to the
public business. Besides thus curtailing the holidays, he retrenched in
all other ways that he could. What had been given away by Gaius without
any justice or reason he demanded back from the recipients; but he gave
back to the highway commissioners the amount of the fines they had paid
in the reign of Gaius at the instigation of Corbulo. Moreover, he gave
notice to the governors chosen by lot, since they were slow even now
about leaving the city, that they must begin their journey before the
middle of April. He reduced the Lycians to servitude because they had
revolted and slain some Romans, and he incorporated them in the
prefecture of Pamphylia. During the investigation of this affair, which
was conducted in the senate, he put a question in Latin to one of the
envoys who had originally been a Lycian, but had been made a Roman
citizen; and when the man failed to understand what was said, he took
away his citizenship, saying that it was not proper for a man to be a
Roman who had no knowledge of the Romans' language. A great many other
persons unworthy of citizenship were also deprived of it, whereas he
granted citizenship to others quite indiscriminately, sometimes to
individuals and sometimes to whole groups. For inasmuch as Romans had
the advantage over foreigners in practically all respects, many sought
the franchise by personal application to the emperor, and many bought
it from Messalina and the imperial freedmen. For this reason, though
the privilege was at first sold only for large sums, it later became so
cheapened by the facility with which it could be obtained that it came
to be a common saying, that a man could become a citizen by giving the
right person some bits of broken glass. For his course in the matter,
therefore, Claudius brought ridicule upon himself; but he was praised
for his conduct in another direction. It seems that information was
being laid against many of the new citizens, in some instances to the
effect that they were not adopting Claudius' name, and in others that
they were not leaving him anything at their death — it being incumbent,
they said, upon those who obtained citizenship from him to do both
these things. Claudius now forbade that any one should be called to
account on these grounds. Messalina and his freedmen kept offering for
sale and peddling out not merely the franchise and military commands,
procuratorships, and governorships, but also everything in general, to
such an extent that there was a scarcity of all wares; and as a result
Claudius was compelled to muster the populace in the Campus Martius,
and there from a raised platform to fix the prices of the various
articles. Claudius also gave a gladiatorial contest at the camp, on
which occasion he wore a military cloak. His son's birthday was
observed by the praetors on their own initiative with a spectacle and
dinners. This was also done on later occasions, at least year such of
them as chose to do so.
In the meantime Messalina was not only exhibiting her own
licentiousness but was also compelling the other women to show
themselves equally unchaste. She made many of them commit adultery in
the very palace itself while their husbands were present and looked on.
Such men she loved and cherished and rewarded them with honours and
offices; but others, who would not offer their wives for such business,
she hated and brought to destruction in every possible way. These
deeds, however, though of such a nature and carried on so openly, for a
long time escaped the notice of Claudius; for Messalina took care of
him by giving him sundry housemaids to lie with, and took care of those
who could give him any information by either showing them favours or
inflicting punishment upon them. For example, she put out of the way at
this time Catonius Justus, commander of the praetorian guard, before he
could carry out his intention of telling the emperor something about
these doings. And becoming jealous of Julia, the daughter of Drusus,
Tiberius' son, and later the wife of Nero Germanicus, just as she had
been jealous of the other Julia, she caused her to be slain. Also at
this time one of the knights, who was charged with having conspired
against Claudius, was hurled down from the Capitoline by the tribunes
and the consuls.
While these events were happening in the city, Aulus Plautius, a
senator of great renown, made a campaign against Britain; for a certain
Bericus, who had been driven out of the island as a result of an
uprising, had persuaded Claudius to send a force thither. Thus it came
about that Plautius undertook this campaign; but he had difficulty in
inducing his army to advance beyond Gaul. For the soldiers were
indignant at the thought of carrying on a campaign outside the limits
of the known world, and would not yield him obedience until Narcissus,
who had been sent out by Claudius, mounted the tribunal of Plautius and
attempted to address them. Then they became much angrier at this and
would not allow Narcissus to say a word, but suddenly shouted with one
accord the well-known cry, "Io Saturnalia" (for at the festival of
Saturn the slaves don their masters' dress and old festival), and at
once right willingly followed Plautius. Their delay, however, had made
their departure late in the season. They were sent over in three
divisions, in order that they should not be hindered in landing,— as
might happen to a single force,— and in their voyage across they first
became discouraged because they were driven back in their course, and
then plucked up courage because a flash of light rising in the east
shot across to the west, the direction in which they were sailing. So
they put in to the island and found none to oppose them. For the
Britons as a result of their inquiries had not expected that they would
come, and had therefore not assembled beforehand. And even when they
did assemble, they would not come to close quarters with the Romans,
but took refuge in the swamps and the forests, hoping to wear out the
invaders in fruitless effort, so that, just as in the days of Julius
Caesar, they should sail back with nothing accomplished.
Plautius, accordingly, had a deal of trouble in searching them out; but
when at last he did find them, he first defeated Caratacus and than
Togodumnus, the sons of Cynobellinus, who was dead. (The Britons were
not free and independent, but were divided into groups under various
kings.) After the flight of these kings he gained by capitulation a
part of theBodunni, who were ruled by a tribe of the Catuellani; and
leaving a garrison there, he advanced farther and came to a river. The
barbarians thought that Romans would not be able to cross it without a
bridge, and consequently bivouacked in rather careless fashion on the
opposite bank; but he sent across a detachment of Germans, who were
accustomed to swim easily in full armour across the most turbulent
streams. These fell unexpectedly upon the enemy, but instead of
shooting at any of the men they confined themselves to wounding the
horses that drew their chariots; and in the confusion that followed not
even the enemy's mounted warriors could save themselves. Plautius
thereupon sent across Flavius Vespasian also (the man who afterwards
became emperor) and his brother Sabinus, who was acting as his
lieutenant. So they, too, got across the river in some way and killed
many of the foe, taking them by surprise. The survivors, however, did
not take to flight, but on the next day joined issue with them again.
The struggle was indecisive until Gnaeus Hosidius Geta, after narrowly
missing being captured, finally managed to defeat the barbarians so
soundly that he received the ornamenta triumphalia, though he had not
been consul. Thence the Britons retired to the river Thames at a point
near where it empties into the ocean and at flood-tide forms a lake.
This they easily crossed because they knew where the firm ground and
the easy passages in this region were to be found; but the Romans in
attempting to follow them were not so successful. However, the Germans
swam across again and some others got over by a bridge a little way
up-stream, after which they assailed the barbarians from several sides
at once and cut down many of them. In pursuing the remainder
incautiously, they got into swamps from which it was difficult to make
their way out, and so lost a number of men.
Shortly afterwards Togodumnus perished, but the Britons, so far from
yielding, united all the more firmly to avenge his death. Because of
this fact and because of the difficulties he had encountered at the
Thames, Plautius became afraid, and instead of advancing any farther,
proceeded to guard what he had already won, and sent for Claudius. For
he had been instructed to do this in case he met with any particularly
stubborn resistance, and, in fact, extensive equipment, including
elephants, had already been got together for the expedition.
When the message reached him, Claudius entrusted affairs at home,
including the command of the troops, to his colleague Lucius Vitellius,
whom he had caused to remain in office like himself for a whole
half-year; and he himself then set out for the front. He sailed down
the river to Ostia, and from there followed the coast to Massilia;
thence, advancing partly by land and partly along the rivers, he came
to the ocean and crossed over to Britain, where he joined the legions
that were waiting for him near the Thames. Taking over the command of
these, he crossed the stream, and engaging the barbarians, who had
gathered at his approach, he defeated them and captured Camulodunum,
the capital of Cynobellinus. Thereupon he won over numerous tribes, in
some cases by capitulation, in others by force, and was saluted as
imperator several times, contrary to precedent; for no man may receive
this title more than once for one and the same war. He deprived the
conquered of their arms and handed them over to Plautius, bidding him
also subjugate the remaining districts. Claudius himself now hastened
back to Rome, sending ahead the news of his victory by his sons-in-law
Magnus and Silanus. These on learning of his achievement gave him the
title of Britannicus and granted him permission to celebrate a triumph.
They voted also that there should be an annual festival to commemorate
the event and that two triumphal arches should be erected, one in the
city and the other in Gaul, because it was from that country that he
had set sail when he crossed over to Britain. They bestowed upon his
son the same title as upon him, and, in fact, Britannicus came to be in
a way the boy's regular name. Messalina was granted the same privilege
of occupying front seats that Livia had enjoyed and also that of using
the carpentum.
These were the honours the senate bestowed upon the reigning family;
but they hated the memory of Gaius so much that they decreed that all
the bronze coinage which had his likeness stamped upon it should be
melted down. And yet, though this was done, the bronze was converted to
no better user, for Messalina made statues of Mnester, the actor, out
of it. For inasmuch as he had once been on intimate terms with Gaius,
she made this offering as a mark of gratitude for his consenting to lie
with her. For she was desperately enamoured of him, and when she found
herself unable in any way either by making him promises or by
frightening him to persuade him to have intercourse with her, she had a
talk with her husband and asked him that the man should be compelled to
obey her, pretending that she wanted his help for some different
purpose. Claudius accordingly told Mnester to do whatever he should be
ordered to do by Messalina; and thus it came about that he lay with
her, in the belief that this was the thing he had been commanded to do
by her husband. Messalina also adopted this same method with various
other men and committed adultery, feigning that Claudius knew what was
going on and countenanced her unchastity.
Portions of Britain, then, were captured at this time in the manner
described. Later, when Gaius Crispus and Titus Statilius were consuls
(the former for the second time), Claudius came to Rome after an
absence of six months, of which he had spent only sixteen days in
Britain, and celebrated his triumph. In this he followed precedent,
even ascending the steps of the Capitol on his knees, with his
sons-in-law supporting him on either side. To the senators who had
taken part in the campaign with him he granted the ornamenta
triumphalia, and this not alone to the ex-consuls but to the rest as
well, a thing he was accustomed to do most lavishly on other occasions
on the slightest excuse. To Rufrius Pollio, the prefect, he granted an
image and a seat in the senate as often as he should go in to that body
with the emperor; and lest he should appear to be making an innovation
in this respect, he declared that Augustus had done the same thing in
the case of a certain Valerius, a Ligurian. He also distinguished Laco,
the former prefect of the night-watch and now procurator of the Gauls,
in the same manner and also by giving him the rank of an ex-consul.
Having attended to these matters, he held the triumphal festival,
assuming a kind of consular power for the occasion. The festival was
celebrated in both theatres at the same time; and in the course of the
spectacles he often absented himself while others took charge in his
place. He had announced as many horse-races as could take place in a
day, yet there were not more than ten of them. For between the
different races bears were slain, athletes contested, and boys summoned
from Asia performed the Pyrrhic dance. Another festival, likewise in
honour of his victory, was given by the artists of the stage with the
consent of the senate. All this was done on account of the successes in
Britain; and in order that other peoples should more readily come to
terms, it was voted that all the agreements that Claudius or his
lieutenants should make with any peoples should be binding, the same as
if made by the senate and people.
Achaia and Macedonia, which ever since the reign of Tiberius had been
assigned to governors directly appointed, Claudius now made to depend
upon the lot once more. He also did away with the praetors in charge of
the finances, putting the business in the hands of quaestors, as it had
been of old; these quaestors, however, were not annual magistrates, as
had been the case with them previously and with the praetors
subsequently, but the same two men attended to the business for three
whole years. Some of these quaestors secured the praetorship
immediately afterward and others drew a salary according to the
estimate placed upon their administration of the office. The quaestors,
then, were given charge of the finances in place of governorships in
Italy outside of the city (for Claudius abolished all the latter
positions); and to the praetors in place of their former duties were
entrusted various judicial cases which the consuls had previously
tried. The men serving in the army, since they could not legally have
wives, were granted the privileges of married men.Marcus Julius Cottius
received an addition to his ancestral domain, which lay in that part of
the Alps that bears his family name, and he was now for the first time
called king. The Rhodians were deprived of their liberty because they
had impaled some Romans. Umbonius Silio, governor of Baetica, was
summoned and expelled from the senate because he had sent too little
grain to the soldiers then serving in Mauretania. At any rate, that was
the accusation made against him; but it was not the true reason, for
his treatment was really due to his having offended some of the
freedmen. He accordingly brought all his furniture, which was
considerable in amount and very beautiful, to the auction place, as if
he were going to call for bids on all of it; but he sold only his
senatorial dress, thereby indicating to them that he had suffered no
great loss and could enjoy life as a private citizen. Besides these
events of that year, the weekly market was transferred to a different
day because of some religious rites; and this also happened on many
other occasions.
The next year Marcus Vinicius and Statilius Corvinus became consuls,
the former for a second time. Claudius himself took all the customary
oaths, but prevented the rest from taking oath individually.
Accordingly, as in earlier times, one of the praetors, one of the
tribunes, and one of each of the other groups of officials recited the
oaths for their colleagues. This practice was followed for several
years. In view of the fact that the city was becoming filled with a
great multitude of images (for any who wished were free to have their
likenesses appear in public in a painting or in bronze or marble),
Claudius removed most of them elsewhere and for the future forbade that
any private citizen should be allowed to follow the practice, except by
permission of the senate or unless he should have built or repaired
some public work; for he permitted such persons and their relatives to
have their images set up in the places in question. After banishing the
governor of one of the provinces for venality, the emperor confiscated
to public uses all the profits which the man had made while in office.
And in order to prevent such officials from eluding those who wished to
bring them to trial, he would not give anybody an office immediately
after his retirement from another. This, in fact, had been the custom
in earlier days also, in order that anybody might freely institute suit
against such officials in the intervening period; indeed, after their
terms had expired, they were not even permitted to make trips away from
the city in immediate succession, since it was intended that if they
were guilty of any irregularity, they should not gain the further
benefit of escaping investigation either by holding new offices or by
absence from the city. This custom, however, had fallen into disuse. So
carefully, now, did Claudius guard against both possibilities that he
would not even permit one who had acted as assessor to a governor to
draw lots at once for the governorship of a province that would
naturally fall to him; nevertheless, he allowed some of them to govern
for two years, and in some cases he sent out men appointed by himself.
Those who requested the privilege of leaving Italy were given
permission by Claudius on his own responsibility without action on the
part of the senate; yet, in order to appear to be doing this under some
form of law, he ordered that a decree should be passed sanctioning this
procedure; and a similar vote was passed the next year also. He now
celebrated the festival of thanksgiving which he had vowed for the
success of his campaign. To the populace supported by public dole he
gave three hundred sesterces apiece, and in some instances more, so
that a few received as much as twelve hundred and fifty sesterces. He
did not, however, distribute it all in person, but his sons-in-law
assisted him, because the distribution lasted several days and he
desired to hold court during this time. In the case of the Saturnalia
he restored the fifth day, which had been designated by Gaius but later
abolished.
Since there was to be an eclipse of the sun on his birthday, he feared
that there might be some disturbance in consequence, inasmuch as some
other portents had already occurred; he therefore issued a proclamation
in which he stated not only the fact that there was to be an eclipse,
and when, and for how long, but also the reasons for which this was
bound to happen. These reasons I will now give. The moon, which
revolves in its orbit (or so it is believed), either directly below it
or perhaps with Mercury and Venus intervening, has a longitudinal
motion, just as the sun has, and a vertical motion, as the other
perhaps likewise has, but it has also a latitudinal motion such as the
sun never shows under any conditions. When, therefore, the moon gets in
a direct line with the sun over our heads and passes under its blazing
orb, it obscures the rays from that body that extend toward the earth.
To some of the earth's inhabitants this obscuration lasts for a longer
and to others for a shorter time, whereas to still others it does not
occur for even the briefest moment. For since the sun always has a
light of its own, it is never deprived of it, and consequently to all
those between whom and the sun the moon does not pass, so as to throw a
shadow over it, it always appears entire. This, then, is what happens
to the sun, and it was made public by Claudius at that time. But now
that I have once touched upon this subject, it will not be out of place
to give the explanation of a lunar eclipse also. Whenever, then, the
moon gets directly opposite the sun (for it is eclipsed only at full
moon, just as the sun is eclipsed at the time of new moon) and runs
into the cone-shaped shadow of the earth, a thing that happens whenever
it passes through the mean point in its latitudinal motion, it is then
deprived of the sun's light and appears by itself as it really is. Such
is the explanation of these phenomena.
At the close of that year Valerius Asiaticus and Marcus Silanus became
consuls, the former for a second time. Silanus held office for the
period for which he had been elected; but Asiaticus, though chosen to
serve for the whole year (as happened in the case of the others, too)
failed to finish his term, but resigned the office voluntarily. Some
others, indeed, had done this also, but only by reason of poverty; for
the expenses connected with the Circensian games had greatly increased,
since there were usually twenty-four races. Asiaticus, however,
resigned because of his very wealth, which also proved his destruction.
For inasmuch as he was extremely well-to-do and by being consul a
second time had aroused the dislike and jealousy of many, he desired to
overthrow himself, so to speak, feeling that by doing so he would incur
less danger; but in this he was deceived. Vinicius, on the other hand,
though he suffered no harm from Claudius (for though a distinguished
man, he was contriving to save his life by keeping quiet and minding
his own business), did perish at the hands of Messalina, who suspected
that he had killed his wife Julia and was angry because he refused to
have intercourse with her, and therefore poisoned him. And yet even so
he was held to deserve a public funeral and eulogies; for these honours
were granted to many. Asinius Gallus, half-brother of Drusus by the
same mother, conspired against Claudius, but instead of being put to
death was banished. One reason for this, perhaps, was the fact that he
had not got ready an army or collected any funds beforehand but was
emboldened merely by his extreme folly, which led him to think that the
Romans would submit to his ruling them on account of his family; but
the chief reason was that he was a very small and ugly man and so,
being held in contempt, incurred ridicule rather than peril.
People were loud in their praise of Claudius for his moderation in this
matter; and especially did they praise his action in showing
displeasure when a certain freedman appealed to the tribunes against
the man who had freed him, thus asking and securing an assistant
against his former master. Claudius punished not only this fellow but
also his associates, and at the same time he forbade any one in future
to render assistance to persons of this sort against their former
masters, on pain of being deprived of the right to bring suit against
others. But people were vexed at seeing him the slave of his wife and
the freedmen. This feeling was especially strong on an occasion when
Claudius himself and all the rest were eager to see Sabinus, the former
prefect of the German bodyguard in the time of Gaius, killed in a
gladiatorial combat, and Messalina saved him; for he had been one of
her paramours. They were also vexed because she had taken Mnester from
the theatre and was keeping him with her; but whenever there was any
talk among the people about Mnester's failure to dance, Claudius would
appear surprised and would make various apologies, swearing that he was
not at his house. The people, believing that he was really ignorant of
what was taking place, were grieved to think that he alone failed to
realize what was going on in the palace — behaviour so notorious, in
fact, that news of it had already travelled to the enemy. They were
unwilling, however, to reveal to him the true state of affairs, partly
through awe of Messalina and partly to spare Mnester. For the latter
pleased them as much by his skill as he did the empress by his good
looks. Indeed, he was such a clever actor that once, when the crowd
with great enthusiasm begged him to perform a famous pantomime, he put
his head out from behind the stage and said: "I cannot comply, for I am
abed with Orestes." This was the way Claudius dealt with these matters.
As the number of law-suits was now beyond all reckoning and those who
expected to lose their cases would no longer put in an appearance, he
issued a proclamation announcing that he would decide the cases against
them by a given day even in their absence; and he strictly enforced
this rule.
Mithridates, king of the Iberians, undertook to rebel and was making
his preparations for war against the Romans. His mother, however,
opposed him, and when she could doesn't persuade him to desist,
determined to take flight. He then desired to conceal his project and
accordingly, while still continuing his preparations himself, he sent
his brother Cotys as an envoy to convey a friendly message to Claudius.
But Cotys proved a treacherous ambassador and told the emperor
everything; thus he was made king of Iberia in place of Mithridates.
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