Pertinax was an excellent and upright man, but he ruled only a very
short time, and was then put out of the way by the soldiers. While the
fate of Commodus still remained a secret, the followers of Laetus and
Eclectus came to him and informed him what had been done; for because
of his excellence and his rank they were glad to choose him. And he,
after seeing them and hearing their story, sent his most trustworthy
companion to view the body of Commodus. When this man had confirmed the
report of the deed, Pertinax than betook himself secretly to the camp.
At first his arrival caused the soldiers alarm; but thanks to the
presence of Laetus' adherents and to the offers that Pertinax made (he
promised to give them twelve thousand sesterces apiece), he won them
over. Indeed, they would have remained perfectly quiet, had he not in
closing his speech made some such remark as this: "There are many
distressing circumstances, fellow-soldiers, in the present situation;
but the rest with your help shall be set right again." On hearing this,
they suspected that all the privileges granted them by Commodus in
violation of precedent would be abolished, and they were displeased;
nevertheless, they remained quiet, concealing their anger. On leaving
the camp, he came to the senate-house while it was still night, and
after greeting us, so far as it was possible for anyone to approach him
in the midst of such a jostling throng, he said off-hand: "I have been
named emperor by the soldiers; however, I do not want the office and
shall resign it at once, this very day, because of my age and feeble
health, and because of the distressing state of affairs." This was no
sooner said than we gave him our genuine approbation and chose him in
very truth; for he was not only most noble in spirit but also strong in
body, except that he suffered from a slight impediment in walking by
reason of his feet.
In this way Pertinax was declared emperor and Commodus a public enemy,
after both the senate and the populace had joined in shouting many
bitter words against the latter. They wanted to drag off his body and
tear it from limb to limb, as they did do, in fact, with his statues;
but when Pertinax informed them that the corpse had already been
interred, they spared his remains, but glutted their rage against him
in other ways, calling him all sorts of names. For no one called him
Commodus or emperor; instead they referred to him as an accursed wretch
and a tyrant, adding in jest such terms as "the gladiator," "the
charioteer," "the left-handed," "the ruptured." To those senators on
whom the fear of Commodus had rested most heavily, have crowd called
out: "Huzza! Huzza! You are saved; you have won." Indeed, all the
shouts that they had been accustomed to utter with a kind of rhythmic
swing in the amphitheatre, by way of paying court to Commodus, they now
chanted with certain changes that made them utterly ridiculous. For now
that they had of the rid of one ruler and as yet had nothing to fear
from his successor, they were making the most of their freedom in the
interval, and were gaining a reputation for boldness of speech in the
security of the moment. For they were not satisfied merely to be
relieved of further terror, but in their confidence they also wished to
indulge in wanton insolence.
Pertinax was a Ligurian from Alba Pompeia; his father was not of noble
birth, and he himself had received just enough education to enable him
to gain a livelihood. This had brought him into association with
Claudius Pompeianus, through whose influence he had become a tribune in
the cavalry, and had reached such a height that he now was actually the
emperor of his former patron. And it was at this time, under Pertinax,
that I myself saw Pompeianus present in the senate for both the first
and the last time. For he had been wont to spend most of his time in
the country because of Commodus, and very rarely came down to the City,
alleging his age and an ailment of the eyes as an excuse; and he had
never before, when I was present, entered the senate. Furthermore,
after the reign of Pertinax he was once more ailing; whereas under this
emperor he had both his sight and good health, and used to take part in
the deliberations of the senate. Pertinax showed him great honour in
every way; and, in particular, he made him sit beside him on his bench
in the senate. He also granted the same privilege to Acilius Glabrio;
for this man, too, could both hear and see at that period. In addition
to showing unusual honour to these men, he also conducted himself in a
very democratic manner toward us senators; for he was easy of access,
listened readily to anyone's requests, and in answer gave his own
opinion in a kindly way. Again, he used to give us banquets marked by
moderation; and whenever he did not do this, he would send round
various dishes, even the most inexpensive, to different ones of us. For
this the wealthy and vainglorious made great sport of him; but the rest
of us, who valued virtue above licentiousness, approved his course.
So different was the opinion of everybody regarding Pertinax as
contrasted with Commodus, that when people heard what had happened,
they suspected that the story of his assassination had been put forth
by Commodus to test them, and in consequence many of the governors in
the provinces imprisoned the men who brought the news. It was not that
they did not wish the report to be true, but that they were more afraid
of appearing to have desired the death of Commodus than they were of
failing to attach themselves to Pertinax. For of the latter no one,
even if he committed an error so serious as this, was afraid, but of
the former, every one, even if innocent of wrong-doing.
While Pertinax was still in Britain, after that great revolt which he
quelled, and was being accounted worthy of praise on all sides, a horse
named Pertinax won a race at Rome. It belonged to the Greens and was
favoured by Commodus. So, when its partisans raised a great shout,
crying, "It is Pertinax!" the others, their opponents, in disgust at
Commodus, likewise prayed,— with reference to the man rather than to
the horse,— "Would that it were so!" Later, when this same horse had
left the race-track because of age and was in the country, it was sent
for by Commodus, who brought it into the Circus after gilding its hoofs
and adorning its back with a gilded skin. And the people, suddenly
seeing it, cried out again: "It is Pertinax!" This very expression was
doubtless an omen in itself, occurring, as it did, at the last
horse-race that year; and immediately afterwards the throne passed to
Pertinax. Similar views were expressed also concerning the incident of
the club; for Commodus when about to contend on the final day had given
it to Pertinax.
It was in this manner that Pertinax came into power. And he obtained
all the customary titles pertaining to that office, and also a new one
to indicate his wish to be democratic; for he was styled Chief of the
Senate in accordance with the ancient practice. He at once reduced to
order everything that had previously been irregular and confused; for
he showed not only humaneness and integrity in the imperial
administrations, but also the most economical management and the most
careful consideration for the public welfare. Besides doing everything
else that a good emperor should do, he removed the stigma attaching to
those who had been unjustly put to death, and he furthermore took oath
that he would never sanction such a penalty. And immediately some
bewailed their relatives and others their friends with mingled tears
and joy, even these exhibitions of emotion not having been permitted
formerly. After this they exhumed the bodies, some of which were found
intact and some in fragments, according to the manner of death or the
lapse of time in each case; and after duly arranging them, they
deposited them in their ancestral tombs.
At this time, then, there was such a dearth of funds in the imperial
treasury that only a million sesterces could be found. Pertinax
therefore raised money as best he could from the statues, the arms, the
horses, the furniture, and the favourites of Commodus, and gave to the
Pretorians all that he had promised and to the populace a hundred
denarii per man. Indeed, all the articles that Commodus had collected,
whether as luxuries or for gladiatorial combats or for chariot-driving,
were exposed in the auction-room, primarily, of course, to be sold, yet
with the further purpose of showing up the late emperor's deeds and
practices, and also of finding out who their purchasers would be.
Laetus kept speaking well of Pertinax and abusing Commodus. For
instance, he sent after some barbarians who had received a large sum of
gold from Commodus for making peace (they were still on their way), and
demanded its return, telling them to inform their people at home that
Pertinax was ruler; for the barbarians knew his name only too well
because of the reverses they had suffered when he made a campaign
against them with Marcus. And here is another similar act of his
intended to discredit Commodus. Discovering that some filthy clowns and
buffoons, disgusting in appearance and with still more disgusting
nicknames and habits, had been made extremely wealthy by Commodus on
account of their wantonness and licentiousness, he made public their
nicknames and the sums they had received. The former caused laughter
and the latter wrath and grief, for there were some of them that
possessed amounts such as Commodus had actually slain many senators to
obtain. Laetus, however, did not remain permanently loyal to Pertinax,
or, I might better say, he was never faithful even for a moment; for
when he did not get what he wanted, he proceeded to incite the soldiers
against him, as will be related.
Pertinax appointed as prefect of the city his father-in-law, Flavius
Sulpicianus, a man in every way worthy of the office. Yet he was
unwilling to make his wife Augusta or his son Caesar, though we granted
him permission. In fact, he emphatically rejected both proposals,
either because he had not yet firmly rooted his own power or because he
did not choose either to let his unchaste consort sully the name of
Augusta or to permit his son, who was still a boy, to be spoiled by the
glamour and the prospects involved in the title of Caesar before he had
received his education. Indeed, he would not even bring him up in the
palace, but on the very first day he set aside everything that had
belonged to himself previously and divided it between his children (he
had also a daughter), and ordered that they should live with their
grandfather; there he visited them occasionally, but rather as their
father than as emperor.
Since, now, neither the soldiers were allowed to plunder any longer nor
the imperial freedmen to indulge in lewdness, they both hated him
bitterly. The freedmen, for their part, attempted no revolt, being
unarmed; but the Pretorian troops and Laetus formed a plot against him.
At first they selected Falco, the consul, for emperor, because he was
distinguished for both his family and wealth, and they were planning to
bring him to the camp while Pertinax was at the coast investigating the
corn supply. But the emperor, learning of the plan, returned in haste
to the city, and coming before the senate, said: "You should not be
left in ignorance of the fact, Fathers, that although I found on hand
only a million sesterces, yet I have distributed as much to the
soldiers as did Marcus and Lucius, to whom were left twenty-seven
hundred millions. It is these wonderful freedmen who are to blame for
this shortage of funds." Now Pertinax was not telling the truth when he
claimed to have bestowed upon the soldiers as much as Lucius and
Marcus, inasmuch as they had given them about twenty thousand, and he
only about twelve thousand, sesterces apiece; and the soldiers and the
freedmen who were present in the senate in very large numbers became
highly indignant and muttered ominously. But as we were about to
condemn Falco and were already declaring him a public enemy, Pertinax
rose and exclaimed: "Heaven forbid that any senator should be put to
death while I am ruler, even for just cause." Thus was Falco's life
spared, and thenceforth he lived in the country, preserving a cautious
and respectful demeanour.
But Laetus, seizing upon the case of Falco as a handle, proceeded to
put out of the way many of the soldiers, pretending that it was by the
emperor's orders. The others, when they became aware of it, feared that
they, too, should perish, and made a disturbance; but two hundred,
bolder than their fellows, actually invaded the palace with drawn
swords. Pertinax had no warning of their approach until they were
already up on the hill; then his wife rushed in and informed him of
what had happened. On learning this he behaved in a manner that one
will call noble, or senseless, or whatever one pleases. For, even
though he could in all probability have killed his assailants,— as he
had in the night-guard and the cavalry at hand to protect him, and as
there were also many people in the palace at the time,— or might at
least have concealed himself and made his escape to some place or
other, by closing the gates of the palace and the other intervening
doors, he nevertheless adopted neither of these courses. Instead,
hoping to overawe them by his appearance and to win them over by his
words, he went to meet the approaching band, which was already inside
the palace; for no one of their fellow-soldiers had barred the way, and
the porters and other freedmen, so far from making any door fast, had
actually opened absolutely all the entrances. The soldiers on seeing
him were at first abashed, all save one, and kept their eyes on the
ground, and they thrust their swords back into their scabbards; but
that one man leaped forward, exclaiming, "The soldiers have sent you
this sword," and forthwith fell upon him and wounded him. Than his
comrades no longer held back, but struck down their emperor together
with Eclectus. The latter alone had not deserted him, but defended him
as best he could, even wounding several of his assailants; hence I, who
felt that even before that he had shown himself an excellent man, now
thoroughly admired him. The soldiers cut off the head of Pertinax and
fastened it on a spear, glorying in the deed. Thus did Pertinax, who
undertook to restore everything in a moment, come to his end. He failed
to comprehend, though a man of wide practical experience, that one
cannot with safety reform everything at once, and that the restoration
of a state, in particular, requires both time and wisdom. He had lived
sixty-seven years, lacking four months and three days, and had reigned
eighty-seven days.
When the fate of Pertinax was noised about, some ran to their homes and
others to those of the soldiers, all taking thought for their own
safety. But Sulpicianus, who had been sent by Pertinax to the camp to
set matters in order there, remained on the spot, and intrigued to get
himself appointed emperor. Meanwhile Didius Julianus, at once an
insatiate money-getter and a wanton spendthrift, who was always eager
for revolution and hence had been exiled by Commodus to his native city
of Mediolanum, now, when he heard of the death of Pertinax, hastily
made his way to the camp, and, standing at the gates of the enclosure,
made bids to the soldiers for the rule over the Romans. Then ensued a
most disgraceful business and one unworthy of Rome. For, just as if it
had been in some market or auction-room, both the City and its entire
empire were auctioned off. The sellers were the ones who had slain
their emperor, and the would-be buyers were Sulpicianus and Julianus,
who vied to outbid each other, one from the inside, the other from the
outside. They gradually raised their bids up to twenty thousand
sesterces per soldier. Some of the soldiers would carry word to
Julianus, "Sulpicianus offers so much; how much more do you make it?"
And to Sulpicianus in turn, "Julianus promises so much; how much do you
raise him?" Sulpicianus would have won the day, being inside and being
prefect of the city and also the first to name the figure twenty
thousand, had not Julianus raised his bid no longer by a small amount
but by five thousand at one time, both shouting it in a loud voice and
also indicating the amount with his fingers. So the soldiers,
captivated by this excessive bid and at the same time fearing that
Sulpicianus might avenge Pertinax (an idea that Julianus put into their
heads), received Julianus inside and declared him emperor.
So toward evening the new ruler hastened to the Forum and the
senate-house. He was escorted by a vast number of Pretorians with
numerous standards, as if prepared for action, his object being to
intimidate both us and the populace at the outset and thereby to secure
our allegiance; and the soldiers were calling him "Commodus" and
extolling him in various other ways. As for us senators, when the news
was brought to each of us individually and we ascertained the truth, we
were possessed by fear of Julianus and the soldiers, especially all of
us who had done any favours for Pertinax or anything to displease
Julianus. I was one of these, for I had received various honours from
Pertinax, including the praetorship, and when acting as advocate for
others at trials I had frequently proved Julianus to be guilty of many
offences. Nevertheless, we made our appearance, partly for this very
reason, since it did not seem to us to be safe to remain at home, for
fear such a course might in itself arouse suspicion. So when bath and
dinner were over we pushed our way through the soldiers, entered the
senate-house, and heard him deliver a speech that was quite worthy of
him, in the course of which he said: "I see that you need a ruler, and
I myself am best fitted of any to rule you. I should mention all the
advantages I can offer, if you were not already familiar with them and
had not already had experience of me. Consequently I have not even
asked to be attended here by many soldiers, but have come to you alone,
in order that you may ratify what has been given to me by them." "I am
here alone" is what he said, though he had actually surrounded the
entire senate-house outside with heavy-armed troops and had a large
number of soldiers in the chamber itself; moreover he reminded us of
our knowledge of the kind of man he was, in consequence of which we
both feared and hated him.
Having thus secured confirmation of the imperial power by decrees of
the senate also, he proceeded up to the palace. And finding the dinner
that had been prepared for Pertinax, he made great fun of it, and
sending out to every place which by any means whatever something
expensive could be procured at that time of night, he proceeded to
gorge himself, while the corpse was still lying in the building, and
then to play at dice. Among others that he took along with him was
Pylades, the pantomime. The next day we went up to pay our respects to
him, moulding our faces, so to speak, and posturing, so that our grief
should not be detected. The populace, however, went about openly with
sullen looks, spoke its mind as much as it pleased, and was getting
ready to do anything it could. Finally, when he came to the
senate-house and was about to sacrifice to Janus before the entrance,
all fell to shouting, as if by preconcerted arrangement, calling him
stealer of the empire and parricide. Then, when he affected not to be
angry and promised them some money, they became indignant at the
implication that they could be bribed, and all cried out together: "We
don't want it! We won't take it!" And the surrounding buildings echoed
back their shout in a way to make one shudder. When Julianus heard
their reply, he could endure it no longer, but ordered those standing
nearest to be slain. That exasperated the populace all the more, and it
did not cease expressing its regret for Pertinax and abusing Julianus,
invoking the gods and cursing the soldiers; but though many were
wounded and killed in many parts of the city, they continued to resist.
Finally they seized arms and rushed together into the Circus, and there
spent the night and the following day without food or drink, shouting
and calling upon the remainder of the soldiers, especially Pescennius
Niger and his followers in Syria, to come to their aid. Later,
exhausted by their shouting, by their fasting, and by their loss of
sleep, they separated and kept quiet, awaiting the hoped-for
deliverance from abroad.
"I do not assist the populace, for it his not called upon me."
After seizing the power in this manner Julianus managed affairs in a
servile fashion, paying court to the senate as well as to all the men
of any influence now he would make promises, now bestow favours, and he
laughed and jested with anybody and everybody. He was constantly
resorting to the theatres, and kept getting up banquets; in fine, he
left nothing undone to court our favour. Yet he did not only play the
part well, but incurred suspicion as indulging in servile flattery. For
every act that goes beyond propriety, even though it seems to some to
be gracious, is regarded by men of sense as trickery.
When the senate voted him a statue of gold, he declined to accept it,
saying: "Give me a bronze one, so that it may last; for I observe that
the gold and silver statues of the emperors that ruled before me have
been destroyed, whereas the bronze ones remain." In this he was
mistaken, for it is virtue that preserves the memory of rulers; and in
fact the bronze statue that was granted him was destroyed after his own
overthrow.
These were the occurrences in Rome. I shall now speak of what happened
outside, and of the various rebellions. For three men at this time,
each commanding three legions of citizens and many foreigners besides,
attempted to secure the control of affairs — Severus, Niger and
Albinus. The last-named was governor of Britain, Severus of Pannonia,
and Niger of Syria. These, then, were the three men portended by the
three stars that suddenly came to view surrounding the sun when
Julianus in our presence was offering the Sacrifices of Entrance in
front of the senate-house. These stars were so very distinct that the
soldiers kept continually looking at them and pointing them out to one
another, while declaring that some dreadful fate would befall the
emperor. As for us, however much we hoped and prayed that it might so
prove, yet the fear of the moment would not permit us to gaze up at
them except by furtive glances. So much for this incident, which I give
from my own knowledge. Now of the three leaders that I have mentioned,
Severus was the shrewdest; he understood in advance that after Julianus
had been deposed the three would clash and fight against one another
for the empire, and he therefore determined to win over the rival who
was nearest to him. So he sent a letter by one of his trusted friends
to Albinus, appointing him Caesar; as for Niger, who was proud of
having been summoned by the populace, he had no hopes of him. Albinus,
accordingly, in the belief that he was to share the rule with Severus,
remained where he was; and Severus, after winning over everything in
Europe except Byzantium, was hastening against Rome. He did not venture
outside the protection of arms, but having selected his six hundred
most valiant men, he passed his time day and night in their midst;
these did not once put off their breastplates until they were in Rome.
This man, when governor of Africa, had been tried and condemned by
Pertinax for corruption, avarice, and licentiousness, but was at this
time appointed consul? among the first by that same man, as a favour to
Severus.
Julianus, on learning of this, caused the senate to declare Severus a
public enemy, and proceeded to prepare against him. In the suburbs he
constructed a rampart, provided with gates, so that he might take up a
position out there and fight from that base. The city during these days
became nothing more nor less than a camp, in the enemy's country, as it
were. Great was the turmoil on the part of the various forces that were
encamped and drilling,— men, horses, and elephants,— and great, also,
was the fear inspired in the rest of the population by the armed
troops, because the latter hated them. Yet at times we would be
overcome by laughter; for the Pretorians did nothing worthy of their
name and of their promise, for they had learned to live delicately; the
sailors summoned from the fleet stationed at Misenum did not even know
how to drill; and the elephants found their towers burdensome and would
not even carry their drivers any longer, but threw them off, too. But
what caused us the greatest amusement was his fortifying of the palace
with latticed gates and strong doors. For, inasmuch as it seemed
probable that the soldiers would never have slain Pertinax so easily if
the doors had been securely locked, Julianus believed that in case of
defeat he would be able to shut himself up there and survive.
He accordingly put to death both Laetus and Marcia, so that all who
conspired against Commodus perished; for later Severus gave Narcissus
to the wild beasts, causing it to be expressly proclaimed that he was
the man who had strangled Commodus. Julianus also killed many boys as a
magic rite, believing that he could avert some future misfortunes if he
learned of them beforehand. And he kept sending men against Severus to
slay him by treachery. But Severus presently reached Italy, and took
possession of Ravenna without striking a blow. Moreover, the men whom
Julianus kept sending against him, either to persuade him to turn back
or to block his advance, were going over the Severus' side; and the
Pretorians, in whom Julianus reposed most confidence, were becoming
worn out by their constant toil and were becoming greatly alarmed at
the report of Severus' near approach. At this juncture Julianus called
us together and bade us appoint Severus to share his throne. But the
soldiers, convinced by letters of Severus that if they surrendered the
slayers of Pertinax and themselves kept the peace they would suffer no
harm, arrested the men who had killed Pertinax, and announced this fact
to Silius Messalla, who was then consul. The latter assembled us in the
Athenaeum, so named from the educational activities that were carried
on in it, and informed us of the soldiers' action. We thereupon
sentenced Julianus to death, named Severus emperor, and bestowed divine
honours on Pertinax. And so it came about that Julianus was slain as he
was reclining in the palace itself; his only words were, "But what evil
have I done? Whom have I killed?" He had lived sixty years, four
months, and the same number of days, out of which he had reigned
sixty-six days.
Dio, Book LXXIV: "It is the part of sensible men neither to begin war
nor yet to shrink from it when it is thrust upon them, but rather to
grant pardon to the one who has voluntarily come to his senses, even
though he has previously made a mistake..."
End of Etext Cassius Dio Roman History Epitome of Book LXXIV
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