THE empire, which had been long thrown into a disturbed and unsettled state, by the rebellion and violent death of its three last rulers, was at length restored to peace and security by the Flavian family, whose descent was indeed obscure, and which boasted no ancestral honours; but the public had no cause to regret its elevation; though it is acknowledged that Domitian met with the just reward of his avarice and cruelty.
Rebellione trium principum et caede incertum diu et quasi uagum imperium suscepit firmauitque tandem gens Flauia, obscura illa quidem ac sine ullis maiorum imaginibus, sed tamen rei p. nequaquam paenitenda, constet licet Domitianum cupiditatis ac saeuitiae merito poenas luisse.
Titus Flavius Petro, a townsman of Reate, whether a centurion or an evocatus of Pompey's party in the civil war, is uncertain, fled out of the battle of Pharsalia and went home; where, having at last obtained his pardon and discharge, he became a collector of the money raised by public sales in the way of auction. His son, surnamed Sabinus, was never engaged in the military service, though some say he was a centurion of the first order, and others, that whilst he held that rank, he was discharged on account of his bad state of health: this Sabinus, I say, was a republican, and received the tax of the fortieth penny in Asia.
T. Flauius Petro, municeps Reatinus, bello ciuili Pompeianarum partium centurio an euocatus, profugit ex Pharsalica acie domumque se contulit, ubi deinde uenia et missione impetrata coactiones argentarias factitauit. huius filius, cognomine Sabinus, expers militiae —etsi quidam eum primipilarem, nonnulli, cum adhuc ordines duceret, sacramento solutum per causam ualitudinis tradunt—publicum quadragesimae in Asia egit; manebantque imagines a ciuitatibus ei positae sub hoc titulo: ΚΑΛΩΣ.
And there were remaining, at the time of the advancement of the family, several statues, which had been erected to him by the cities of that province, with this inscription: "To the honest Tax-farmer." He afterwards turned usurer amongst the Helvetii, and there died, leaving behind him his wife, Vespasia Polla, and two sons by her; the elder of whom, Sabinus, came to be prefect of the city, and the younger, Vespasian, to be emperor. Polla, descended of a good family, at Nursia, had for her father Vespasius Pollio, thrice appointed military tribune, and at last prefect of the camp; and her brother was a senator of praetorian dignity. There is to this day, about six miles from Nursia, on the road to Spoletum, a place on the summit of a hill, called Vespasiae, where are several monuments of the Vespasii, a sufficient proof of the splendour and antiquity of the family.
postea faenus apud Heluetios exercuit ibique diem obiit superstitibus uxore Vespasia Polla et duobus ex ea liberis, quorum maior Sabinus ad praefecturam urbis, minor Vespasianus ad principatum usque processit. Polla Nursiae honesto genere orta patrem habuit Vespasium Pollionem, ter tribunum militum praefectumque castrorum, fratrem senatorem praetoriae dignitatis. locus etiam ad sextum miliarium a Nursia Spoletium euntibus in monte summo appellatur Vespasiae, ubi Vespasiorum complura monumenta extant, magnum indicium splendoris familiae et uetustatis.
I will not deny that some have pretended to say. that Petro's father was a native of Gallia Transpadana, whose employment was to hire work-people who used to emigrate every year from the country of the Umbria into that of the Sabines, to assist them in their husbandry; but who settled at last in the town of Reate, and there married. But of this I have not been able to discover the least proof, upon the strictest inquiry.
non negauerim iactatum a quibusdam Petronis patrem e regione Transpadana fuisse mancipem operarum, quae ex Vmbria in Sabinos ad culturam agrorum quotannis commeare soleant; subsedisse autem in oppido Reatino uxore ibidem ducta. ipse ne uestigium quidem de hoc, quamuis satis curiose inquirerem, inueni.
Vespasian was born in the country of the Sabines, between the Reate, and a little country-seat called Phalacrine, upon the fifth of the calends of December [27th November], in the evening, in the consulship of Quintus Sulpicius Camerinus and Caius Poppaeus Sabinus, five years before the death of Augustus; and was educated under the care of Tertulla, his grandmother by the father's side, upon an estate belonging to the family, at Cosa. After his advancement to the empire, he used frequently to visit the place where he had spent his infancy; and the villa was continued in the same condition, that he might see every thing about him just as he had been used to do. And he had so great a regard for the memory of his grandmother, that, upon solemn occasions and festival days, he constantly drank out of a silver cup which she had been accustomed to use.
Vespasianus natus est in Sabinis ultra Reate uico modico, cui nomen est Falacrinae, XV. Kal. Decb. uesperi, Q. Sulpicio Camerino C. Poppaeo Sabino cons., quinquennio ante quam Augustus excederet; educatus sub paterna auia Tertulla in praediis Cosanis. quare princeps quoque et locum incunabulorum assidue frequentauit, manente uilla qualis fuerat olim, ne quid scilicet oculorum consuetudini deperiret; et auiae memoriam tanto opere dilexit, ut sollemnibus ac festis diebus pocillo quoque eius argenteo potare perseuerauerit.
After assuming the manly habit, he had a long time a distaste for the senatorian toga, though his brother had obtained it, nor could he be persuaded by any one but his mother to sue for that badge of honour. She at length drove him to it, more by taunts and reproaches, than by entreaties and authority, calling him now and then, by way of reproach, his brother's footman.
Sumpta uirili toga latum clauum, quanquam fratre adepto, diu auersatus est, nec ut tandem appeteret compelli nisi a matre potuit. ea demum extudit magis conuicio quam precibus uel auctoritate, dum eum identidem per contumeliam anteambulonem fratris appellat.
He served as military tribune in Thrace. When made quaestor, the province of Crete and Cyrene fell to him by lot. He was candidate for the aedileship, and soon after for the praetorship, but met with a repulse in the former case; though at last, with much difficulty, he came in sixth on the poll-books. But the office of praetor he carried upon his first canvass, standing amongst the highest at the poll. Being incensed against the senate, and desirous to gain, by all possible means, the good graces of Caius, he obtained leave to exhibit extraordinary games for the emperor's victory in Germany, and advised them to increase the punishment of the conspirators against his life, by exposing their corpses unburied.
Tribunatum militum in Thracia meruit; quaestor Cretam et Cyrenas prouinciam sorte cepit; aedilitatis ac mox praeturae candidatus, illam non sine repulsa sextoque uix adeptus est loco, hanc prima statim petitione et in primis. praetor infensum senatui Gaium ne quo non genere demereretur, ludos extraordinarios pro uictoria eius Germanica depoposcit poenaeque coniuratorum addendum censuit, ut insepulti proicerentur. egit et gratias ei apud amplissimum ordinem, quod se honore cenae dignatus esset.
He likewise gave him thanks in that august assembly for the honour of being admitted to his table. Meanwhile, he married Flavia Domitilla, who had formerly been the mistress of Statilius Capella, a Roman knight of Sabrata in Africa, who [Domitilla] enjoyed Latin rights; and was soon after declared fully and freely a citizen of Rome, on a trial before the court of Recovery, brought by her father Flavius Liberalis, a native of Ferentum, but no more than secretary to a quaestor. By her he had the following children: Titus, Domitia and Domitilla. He outlived his wife and daughter, and lost them both before he became emperor. After the death of his wife he renewed his union with his former concubine, Caenis, the freedwoman of Antonia, and also her amanuensis, and treated her, even after he was emperor, almost as if she had been his lawful wife.
Inter haec Flauiam Domitillam duxit uxorem, Statili Capellae equitis R. Sabratensis ex Africa delicatam olim Latinaeque condicionis, sed mox ingenuam et ciuem Rom. reciperatorio iudicio pronuntiatam, patre asserente Flauio Liberale Ferenti genito nec quicquam amplius quam quaestorio scriba. ex hac liberos tulit Titum et Domitianum et Domitillam. uxori ac filiae superstes fuit atque utramque adhuc priuatus amisit. post uxoris excessum Caenidem, Antoniae libertam et a manu, dilectam quondam sibi reuocauit in contubernium habuitque etiam imperator paene iustae uxoris loco.
In the reign of Claudius, by the interest of Narcissus, he was sent to Germany, in command of a legion; whence being removed into Britain, he engaged the enemy in thirty several battles. He reduced under subjection to the Romans two very powerful tribes, and above twenty great towns, with the Isle of Wight, which lies close to the coast of Britain; partly under the command of Aulus Plautius, the consular lieutenant, and partly under Claudius himself.
Claudio principe Narcissi gratia legatus legionis in Germaniam missus est; inde in Britanniam translatus tricies cum hoste conflixit. duas ualidissimas gentes superque uiginti oppida et insulam Vectem Britanniae proximam in dicionem redegit partim Auli Plauti legati consularis partim Claudi[i] ipsius ductu.
For this success he received the triumphal ornaments, and in a short time after two priesthoods, besides the consulship, which he held during the last two months of the year. The interval between that and his proconsulship he spent in leisure and retirement, for fear of Agrippina, who still held great sway over her son, and hated all the friends of Narcissus, who was then dead.
quare triumphalia ornamenta et in breui spatio duplex sacerdotium accepit, praeterea consulatum, quem gessit per duos nouissimos anni menses. medium tempus ad proconsulatum usque in otio secessuque egit, Agrippinam timens potentem adhuc apud filium et defuncti quoque Narcissi amici perosam.
Afterwards he got by lot the province of Africa, which he governed with great reputation, excepting that once, in an insurrection at Adrumetum, he was pelted with turnips. It is certain that he returned thence nothing richer; for his credit was so low, that he was obliged to mortgage his whole property to his brother, and was reduced to the necessity of dealing in mules, for the support of his rank; for which reason he was commonly called "the Muleteer." He is said likewise to have been convicted of extorting from a young man of fashion two hundred thousand sesterces for procuring him the broad-stripe, contrary to the wishes of his father, and was severely reprimanded for it.
Exim sortitus Africam integerrime nec sine magna dignatione administrauit, nisi quod Hadrumeti seditione quadam rapa in eum iacta sunt. rediit certe nihilo opulentior, ut qui prope labefactata iam fide omnia praedia fratri obligaret necessarioque ad mangonicos quaestus sustinendae dignitatis causa descenderit; propter quod uulgo mulio uocabatur. conuictus quoque dicitur ducenta sestertia expressisse iuueni, cui latum clauum aduersus patris uoluntatem impetrarat, eoque nomine grauiter increpitus.
While in attendance upon Nero in Achaia, he frequently withdrew from the theatre while Nero was singing, and went to' sleep if he remained, which gave so much offence, that he was not only excluded from his society, but debarred the liberty of saluting him in public. Upon this, he retired to a small out-of-the-way town, where he lay skulking in constant fear of his life, until a province, with an army, was offered him. A firm persuasion had long prevailed through all the East, that it was fated for the empire of the world, at that time, to devolve on some one who should go forth from Judaea.
Peregrinatione Achaica inter comites Neronis cum cantante eo aut discederet saepius aut praesens obdormisceret, grauissimam contraxit offensam, prohibitusque non contubernio modo sed etiam publica salutatione secessit in paruam ac deuiam ciuitatem, quoad latenti etiamque extrema metuenti prouincia cum exercitu oblata est.
This prediction referred to a Roman emperor, as the event shewed; but the Jews, applying it to themselves, broke out into rebellion, and having defeated and slain their governor, routed the lieutenant of Syria, a man of consular rank, who was advancing to his assistance, and took an eagle, the standard of one of his legions. As the suppression of this revolt appeared to require a stronger force and an active general, who might be safely trusted in an affair of so much importance, Vespasian was chosen in preference to all others, both for his own activity, and on account of the obscurity of his origin and name, being a person of whom there could be not the least jealousy.
Percrebruerat Oriente toto uetus et constans opinio esse in fatis ut eo tempore Iudaea profecti rerum potirentur. id de imperatore Romano, quantum postea euentu paruit, praedictum Iudaei ad se trahentes rebellarunt caesoque praeposito legatum insuper Syriae consularem suppetias ferentem rapta aquila fugauerunt. ad hunc motum comprimendum cum exercitu ampliore et non instrenuo duce, cui tamen tuto tanta res committeretur, opus esset, ipse potissimum delectus est ut et industriae expertae nec metuendus ullo modo ob humilitatem generis ac nominis.
Two legions, therefore, eight squadrons of horse, and ten cohorts, being added to the former troops in Judaea, and, taking with him his eldest son as lieutenant, as soon as he arrived in his province, he turned the eyes of the neighbouring provinces upon him, by reforming immediately the discipline of the camp, and engaging the enemy once or twice with such resolution, that, in the attack of a castle, he had his knee hurt by the stroke of a stone, and received several arrows in his shield.
additis igitur ad copias duabus legionibus, octo alis, cohortibus decem, atque inter legatos maiore filio assumpto, ut primum prouinciam attigit, proximas quoque conuertit in se, correcta statim castrorum disciplina, unoque et altero proelio tam constanter inito, ut in oppugnatione castelli lapidis ictum genu scutoque sagittas aliquot exceperit.
After the deaths of Nero and Galba, whilst Otho and Vitellius were contending for the sovereignty, he entertained hopes of obtaining the empire, with the prospect of which he had long before flattered himself, from the following omens.
Post Neronem Galbamque Othone ac Vitellio de principatu certantibus in spem imperii uenit iam pridem sibi per haec ostenta conceptam.
Upon an estate belonging to the Flavian family, in the neighbourhood of Rome, there was an old oak, sacred to Mars, which, at the three several deliveries of Vespasia, put out each time a new branch; evident intimations of the future fortune of each child. The first was but a slender one, which quickly withered away; and accordingly, the girl that was born did not live long. The second became vigorous, which portended great good fortune; but the third grew like a tree. His father Sabinus, encouraged by these omens, which were confirmed by the augurs, told his mother, "that her grandson would be emperor of Rome;" at which she laughed heartily, wondering, she said, "that her son should be in his dotage whilst she continued still in full possession of her faculties."
In suburbano Flauiorum quercus antiqua, quae erat Marti sacra, per tres Vespasiae partus singulos repente ramos a frutice dedit, haud dubia signa futuri cuiusque fati: primum exilem et cito arefactum, ideoque puella nata non perannauit, secundum praeualidum ac prolixum et qui magnam felicitatem portenderet, tertium uero instar arboris. quare patrem Sabinum ferunt, haruspicio insuper confirmatum, renuntiasse matri, nepotem ei Caesarem genitum; nec illam quicquam aliud quam cachinnasse, mirantem quod adhuc se mentis compote deliraret iam filius suus.
Afterwards in his aedileship, when Caius Caesar, being enraged at his not taking care to have the streets kept clean, ordered the soldiers to fill the bosom of his gown with dirt, some persons at that time construed it into a sign that the government, being trampled under foot and deserted in some civil commotion, would fall under his protection, and as it were into his lap. Once, while he was at dinner, a strange dog that wandered about the streets, brought a man's hand, and laid it under the table.
Mox, cum aedilem eum C. Caesar, succensens curam uerrendis uiis non adhibitam, luto iussisset oppleri congesto per milites in praetextae sinum, non defuerunt qui interpretarentur, quandoque proculcatam desertamque rem p. ciuili aliqua perturbatione in tutelam eius ac uelut in gremium deuenturam.
And another time, while he was at supper, a plough-ox throwing the yoke off his neck, broke into the room, and after he had frightened away all the attendants, on a sudden, as if he was tired, fell down at his feet, as he lay still upon his couch, and hung down his neck. A cypress-tree likewise, in a field belonging to the family, was torn up by the roots, and laid flat upon the ground, when there was no violent wind; but next day it rose again fresher and stronger than before. He dreamt in Achaia that the good fortune of himself and his family would begin when Nero had a tooth drawn;
Prandente eo quondam canis extrarius e triuio ma num humanam intulit mensaeque subiecit. cenante rursus bos arator decusso iugo triclinium irrupit ac fugatis ministris quasi repente defessus procidit ad ipsos accumbentis pedes ceruicemque summisit. arbor quoque cupressus in agro auito sine ulla ui tempestatis euulsa radicitus atque prostrata insequenti die uiridior ac firmior resurrexit.
and it happened that the day after, a surgeon coming into the hall, showed him a tooth which he had just extracted from Nero. In Judea, upon his consulting the oracle of the divinity at Carmel, the answer was so encouraging as to assure him of success in anything he projected, however great or important it might be.
At in Achaia somniauit initium sibi suisque felicitatis futurum, simul ac dens Neroni exemptus esset; euenitque ut sequenti die progressus in atrium medicus dentem ei ostenderet tantumque quod exemptum.
And when Josephus, one of the noble prisoners, was put in chains, he confidently affirmed that he should be released in a very short time by the same Vespasian, but he would be emperor first. Some omens were likewise mentioned in the news from Rome, and among others, that Nero, towards the close of his days, was commanded in a dream to carry Jupiter's sacred chariot out of the sanctuary where it stood, to Vespasian's house, and conduct it thence into the circus.
Apud Iudaeam Carmeli dei oraculum consulentem ita confirmauere sortes, ut quidquid cogitaret uolueretque animo quamlibet magnum, id esse prouenturum pollicerentur; et unus ex nobilibus captiuis Iosephus, cum coiceretur in uincula, constantissime asseuerauit fore ut ab eodem breui solueretur, uerum iam imperatore.
Also not long afterwards, as Galba was going to the election in which he was created consul for the second time, a statue of the Divine Julius turned towards the east. And in the field of Bedriacum, before the battle began, two eagles engaged in the sight of the army; and one of them being beaten, a third came from the east, and drove away the conqueror. He made, however, no attempt upon the sovereignty though his friends were very ready to support him, and even pressed him to the enterprise until he was encouraged to it by the fortuitous aid of persons unknown to him and at a distance.
nuntiabantur et ex urbe praesagia: Neronem diebus ultimis monitum per quietem, ut tensam Iouis Optimi Maximi e sacrario in domum Vespasiani et inde in circum deduceret; ac non multo post comitia secundi consulatus ineunte Galba statuam Diui Iuli ad Orientem sponte conuersam, acieque Betriacensi, prius quam committeretur, duas aquilas in conspectu omnium conflixisse uictaque altera superuenisse tertiam ab solis exortu ac uictricem abegisse.
Two thousand men, drawn out of three legions in the Moesian army, had been sent to the assistance of Otho. While they were upon their march, news came that he had been defeated, and had put an end to his life;
nec tamen quicquam ante temptauit, promptissimis atque etiam instantibus suis, quam sollicitatus quorundam et ignotorum et absentium fortuito fauore.
notwithstanding which they continued their march as far as Aquileia, pretending that they gave no credit to the report. There, tempted by the opportunity which the disorder of the times afforded them, they ravaged and plundered the country at discretion; until at length, fearing to be called to an account on their return, and punished for it, they resolved upon choosing and creating an emperor. "For they were no ways inferior," they said, "to the army which made Galba emperor, nor to the praetorian troops which had set up Otho, nor the army in Germany, to whom Vitellius owed his elevation." The names of all the consular lieutenants, therefore, being taken into consideration, and one objecting to one, and another to another, for various reasons; at last some of the third legion, which a little before Nero's death had been removed out of Syria into Moesia, extolled Vespasian in high terms;
Moesiaci exercitus bina e tribus legionibus milia missa auxilio Othoni, postquam ingressis iter nuntiatum est uictum eum ac uim uitae suae attulisse, nihilo setius Aquileiam usque perseuerauerunt, quasi rumori minus crederent. ibi per occasionem ac licentiam omni rapinarum genere grassati, cum timerent ne sibi reuersis reddenda ratio ac subeunda poena esset, consilium inierunt eligendi creandique imperatoris; neque enim deteriores esse aut Hispaniensi exercitu qui Galbam, aut praetoriano qui Othonem, aut Germaniciano qui Vitellium fecissent.
and all the rest assenting, his name was immediately inscribed on their standards. The design was nevertheless quashed for a time, the troops being brought to submit to Vitellius a little longer. However, the fact becoming known, Tiberius Alexander, governor of Egypt, first obliged the legions under his command to swear obedience to Vespasian as their emperor, on the calends [the 1st] of July, which was observed ever after as the day of his accession to the empire; and upon the fifth of the ides of the same month [the 28th of July], the army in Judaea, where he then was, also swore allegiance to him. What contributed greatly to forward the affair, was a copy of a letter, whether real or counterfeit, which was circulated, and said to have been written by Otho before his decease to Vespasian, recommending to him in the most urgent terms to avenge his death, and entreating him to come to the aid of the commonwealth;
propositis itaque nominibus legatorum consularium, quot ubique tunc erant, cum ceteros alium alia de causa improbarent et quidam e legione tertia, quae sub exitu Neronis translata ex Syria in Moesiam fuerat, Vespasianum laudibus ferrent, assensere cuncti nomenque eius uexillis omnibus sine mora inscripserunt. et tunc quidem compressa res est reuocatis ad officium numeris parumper. ceterum diuulgato facto Tiberius Alexander praefectus Aegypti primus in uerba Vespasiani legiones adegit Kal. Iul., qui principatus dies in posterum obseruatus est; Iudaicus deinde exercitus V. Idus Iul. apud ipsum iurauit.
as well as a report which was circulated, that Vitellius, after his success against Otho, proposed to change the winter quarters of the legions, and remove those in Germany to a less hazardous station and a warmer climate. Moreover, amongst the governors of provinces, Lucinius Mucianus dropping the grudge arising from a jealousy of which he had hitherto made no secret, promised to join him with the Syrian army, and, among the allied kings, Vologesus, king of the Parthians, offered him a reinforcement of forty thousand archers. Having, therefore, entered on a civil war, and sent forward his generals and forces into Italy, he himself, in the meantime, passed over to Alexandria, to obtain possession of the key of Egypt.
Plurimum coeptis contulerunt iactatum exemplar epistulae uerae siue falsae defuncti Othonis ad Vespasianum extrema obtestatione ultionem mandantis et ut rei p. subueniret optantis, simul rumor dissipatus destinasse uictorem Vitellium permutare hiberna legionum et Germanicas transferre in Orientem ad securiorem mollioremque militiam, praeterea ex praesidibus prouinciarum Licinius Mucianus et e regibus Vologaesus Parthus; ille deposita simultate, quam in id tempus ex aemulatione non obscure gerebat, Syriacum promisit exercitum, hic quadraginta milia sagittariorum.
Here having entered alone, without attendants, the temple of Serapis, to take the auspices respecting the establishment of his power, and having done his utmost to propitiate the deity, upon turning round, [his freedman] Basilides appeared before him, and seemed to offer him the sacred leaves, chaplets, and cakes, according to the usage of the place, although no one had admitted him, and he had long laboured under a muscular debility, which would hardly have allowed him to walk into the temple; besides which, it was certain that at the very time he was far away. Immediately after this, arrived letters with intelligence that Vitellius's troops had been defeated at Cremona, and he himself slain at Rome. Vespasian, the new emperor, having been raised unexpectedly from a low estate, wanted something which might clothe him with divine majesty and authority. This, likewise, was now added.
Suscepto igitur ciuili bello ac ducibus copiisque in Italiam praemissis interim Alexandriam transiit, ut claustra Aegypti optineret. hic cum de firmitate imperii capturus auspicium aedem Serapidis summotis omnibus solus intrasset ac propitiato multum deo tandem se conuertisset, uerbenas coronasque et panificia, ut illic assolet, Basilides libertus obtulisse ei uisus est; quem neque admissum a quoquam et iam pridem propter neruorum ualitudinem uix ingredi longeque abesse constabat. ac statim aduenere litterae fusas apud Cremonam Vitelli copias, ipsum in urbe interemptum nuntiantes.
A poor man who was blind, and another who was lame, came both together before him, when he was seated on the tribunal, imploring him to heal them, and saying that they were admonished in a dream by the god Serapis to seek his aid, who assured them that he would restore sight to the one by anointing his eyes with his spittle, and give strength to the leg of the other, if he vouchsafed but to touch it with his heel. At first he could scarcely believe that the thing would any how succeed, and therefore hesitated to venture on making the experiment.
Auctoritas et quasi maiestas quaedam ut scilicet inopinato et adhuc nouo principi deerat; haec quoque accessit. e plebe quidam luminibus orbatus, item alius debili crure sedentem pro tribunali pariter adierunt orantes opem ualitudini demonstratam a Serapide per quietem: restituturum oculos, si inspuisset; confirmaturum crus, si dignaretur calce contingere.
At length, however, by the advice of his friends, he made the attempt publicly, in the presence of the assembled multitudes, and it was crowned with success in both cases. About the same time, at Tegea in Arcadia, by the direction of some soothsayers, several vessels of ancient workmanship were dug out of a consecrated place, on which there was an effigy resembling Vespasian.
cum uix fides esset ullo modo rem successuram ideoque ne experiri quidem auderet, extremo hortantibus amicis palam pro contione utrumque temptauit, nec euentus defuit. per idem tempus Tegeae in Arc[h]adia instinctu uaticinantium effossa sunt sacrato loco uasa operis antiqui atque in iis assimilis Vespasiano imago.
Returning now to Rome, under these auspices, and with a great reputation, after enjoying a triumph for victories over the Jews, he added eight consulships to his former one. He likewise assumed the censorship, and made it his principal concern, during the whole of his government, first to restore order in the state, which had been almost ruined, and was in a tottering condition, and then to improve it.
Talis tantaque cum fama in urbem reuersus acto de Iudaeis triumpho consulatus octo ueteri addidit; suscepit et censuram ac per totum inperii tempus nihil habuit antiquius quam prope afflictam nutantemque rem p. stabilire primo, deinde et ornare.
The soldiers, one part of them emboldened by victory, and the other smarting with the disgrace of their defeat, had abandoned themselves to every species of licentiousness and insolence. Nay, the provinces, too, and free cities, and some kingdoms in alliance with Rome, were all in a disturbed state. He, therefore, disbanded many of Vitellius's soldiers, and punished others; and so far was he from granting any extraordinary favours to the sharers of his success, that it was late before he paid the gratuities due to them by law.
Milites pars uictoriae fiducia, pars ignominiae dolore ad omnem licentiam audaciamque processerant; sed et prouinciae ciuitatesque liberae, nec non et regna quaedam tumultuosius inter se agebant. quare Vitellianorum quidem et exauctorauit plurimos et coercuit, participibus autem uictoriae adeo nihil extra ordinem indulsit, ut etiam legitima praemia sero persoluerit.
That he might let slip no opportunity of reforming the discipline of the army, upon a young man's coming much perfumed to return him thanks for having appointed him to command a squadron of horse, he turned away his head in disgust, and giving him this sharp reprimand, "I had rather you had smelt of garlic," revoked his commission. When the men belonging to the fleet, who travelled by turns from Ostia and Puteoli to Rome, petitioned for an addition to their pay, under the name of shoe-money, thinking that it would answer little purpose to send them away without a reply, he ordered them for the future to run bare-footed; and so they have done ever since. He deprived of their liberties, Achaia, Lycia, Rhodes, Byzantium, and Samos, and reduced them into the form of provinces;
ac ne quam occasionem corrigendi disciplinam praetermitteret, adulescentulum fragrantem unguento, cum sibi pro impetrata praefectura gratias ageret, nutu aspernatus, uoce etiam grauissima increpuit: 'maluissem alium oboluisses,' litterasque reuocauit. classiarios uero, qui ab Ostia et Puteolis Romam pedibus per uices commeant, petentes constitui aliquid sibi calciarii nomine, quasi parum esset sine responso abegisse, iussit posthac excalciatos cursitare; et ex eo ita cursitant.
Thrace, also, and Cilicia, as well as Comagene, which until that time had been under the government of kings. He stationed some legions in Cappadocia on account of the frequent inroads of barbarians, and, instead of a Roman knight, appointed as governor of it a man of consular rank.
Achaiam, Lyciam, Rhodum, Byzantium, Samum libertate adempta, item Trachiam Ciliciam et Commagenen dicionis regiae usque ad id tempus, in prouinciarum formam redegit. Cappadociae propter adsiduos barbarorum incursus legiones addidit consularemque rectorem imposuit pro eq. R.
The ruins of houses which had been burnt down long before, being a great desight to the city, he gave leave to any one who would, to take possession of the void ground and build upon it, if the proprietors should hesitate to perform the work themselves. He resolved upon rebuilding the Capitol, and was the foremost to put his hand to clearing the ground of the rubbish, and removed some of it upon his own shoulder. And he undertook, likewise, to restore the three thousand tables of brass which had been destroyed in the fire which consumed the Capitol; searching in all quarters for copies of those curious and ancient records, in which were contained the decrees of the senate, almost from the building of the city, as well as the acts of the people, relative to alliances, treaties, and privileges granted to any person.
Deformis urbs ueteribus incendiis ac ruinis erat; uacuas areas occupare et aedificare, si possessores cessarent, cuicumque permisit. ipse restitutionem Capitolii adgressus ruderibus purgandis manus primus admouit ac suo collo quaedam extulit; aerearumque tabularum tria milia, quae simul conflagrauerant, restituenda suscepit undique inuestigatis exemplaribus: instrumentum imperii pulcherrimum ac uetustissimum, quo continebantur paene ab exordio urbis senatus consulta, plebi[s] scita de societate et foedere ac priuilegio cuicumque concessis.
He likewise erected several new public buildings, namely the temple of Peace near the forum, that of Claudius on the Coelian mount, which had been begun by Agrippina, but almost entirely demolished by Nero; and an amphitheatre in the middle of the city, upon finding that Augustus had projected such a work.
fecit et noua opera templum Pacis foro proximum Diuique Claudi in Caelio monte coeptum quidem ab Agrippina, sed a Nerone prope funditus destructum; item amphitheatrum urbe media, ut destinasse compererat Augustum.
He purified the senatorian and equestrian orders, which had been much reduced by the havoc made amongst them at several times, and was fallen into disrepute by neglect. Having expelled the most unworthy, he chose in their room the most honourable persons in Italy and the provinces. And to let it be known that those two orders differed not so much in privileges as in dignity, he declared publicly when some altercation passed between a senator and a Roman knight, "that senators ought not to be treated with scurrilous language, unless they were aggressors, and then it was fair and lawful to return it."
Amplissimos ordines et exhaustos caede uaria et contaminatos ueteri neglegentia purgauit suppleuitque recenso senatu et equite, summotis indignissimis et honestissimo quoque Italicorum ac prouincialium allecto. atque uti notum esset, utrumque ordinem non tam libertate inter se quam dignitate differre, de iurgio quodam senatoris equitisque R. ita pronuntiauit, non oportere maledici senatoribus, remaledici ciuile fasque esse.
The business of the courts had prodigiously accumulated, partly from old law-suits which, on account of the interruption that had been given to the course of justice, still remained undecided, and partly from the accession of new suits arising out of the disorder of the times. He, therefore, chose cmmissioners by lot to provide for the restitution of what had been seized by violence during the war, and others with extraordinary jurisdiction to decide causes belonging to the centumviri, and reduce them to as small a number as possible, for the dispatch of which, otherwise, the lives of the litigants could scarcely allow sufficient time.
Litium series ubique maiorem in modum excreuerant, manentibus antiquis intercapedine iuris dictionis, accedentibus nouis ex condicione tumultuque temporum; sorte elegit per quos rapta bello restituerentur quique iudicia centumuiralia, quibus peragendis uix suffectura litigatorum uidebatur aetas, extra ordinem diiudicarent redigerentque ad breuissimum numerum.
Lust and luxury, from the licence which had long prevailed, had also grown to an enormous height. He, therefore, obtained a decree of the senate, that a woman who formed an union with the slave of another person, should be considered a bondwoman herself;
Libido atque luxuria coercente nullo inualuerat; auctor senatui fuit decernendi, ut quae se alieno seruo iunxisset, ancilla haberetur; neue filiorum familiarum faeneratoribus exigendi crediti ius umquam esset, hoc est ne post patrum quidem mortem.
and that usurers should not be allowed to take proceedings at law for the recovery of money lent to young men whilst they lived in their father's family, not even after their fathers were dead.
Ceteris in rebus statim ab initio principatus usque
In other affairs, from the beginning to the end of his government, he conducted himself with great moderation and clemency. He was so far from dissembling the obscurity of his extraction, that he frequently made mention of it himself. When some affected to trace his pedigree to the founders of Reate, and a companion of Hercules, whose monument is still to be seen on the Salarian road, he laughed at them for it. And he was so little fond of external and adventitious ornaments, that, on the day of his triumph, being quite tired of the length and tediousness of the procession, he could not forbear saying, "he was rightly served, for having in his old age been so silly as to desire a triumph; as if it was either due to his ancestors, or had ever been expected by himself." Nor would he for a long time accept of the tribunitian authority, or the title of Father of his Country. And in regard to the custom of searching those who came to salute him, he dropped it even in the time of the civil war.
ad exitum ciuilis et clemens, mediocritatem pristinam neque dissimulauit umquam ac frequenter etiam prae se tulit. quin et conantis quosdam originem Flauii generis ad conditores Reatinos comitemque Herculis, cuius monimentum extat Salaria uia, referre irrisit ultro. adeoque nihil ornamentorum extrinsecus cupide appetiuit, ut triumphi die fatigatus tarditate et taedio pompae non reticuerit, merito se plecti, qui triumphum, quasi aut debitum maioribus suis aut speratum umquam sibi, tam inepte senex concupisset. ac ne tribuniciam quidem potestatem ⟨… ⟩ patris patriae appellationem nisi sero recepit. nam consuetudinem scrutandi salutantes manente adhuc bello ciuili omiserat.
He bore with great mildness the freedom used by his friends, the satirical allusions of advocates, and the petulance of philosophers. Licinius Mucianus, who had been guilty of notorious acts of lewdness, but, presuming upon his great services, treated him very rudely, he reproved only in private; and when complaining of his conduct to a common friend of theirs, he concluded with these words, "However, I am a man." Salvius Liberalis, in pleading the. cause of a rich man under prosecution, presuming to say, "What is it to Caesar, if Hipparchus possesses a hundred millions of sesterces?" he commended him for it. Demetrius, the Cynic philosopher, who had been sentenced to banishment, meeting him on the road, and refusing to rise up or salute him, nay, snarling at him in scurrilous language, he only called him a cur.
Amicorum libertatem, causidicorum figuras ac philosophorum contumaciam lenissime tulit. Licinium Mucianum notae impudicitiae, sed meritorum fiducia minus sui reuerentem, numquam nisi clam et hactenus retaxare sustinuit, ut apud communem aliquem amicum querens adderet clausulam: 'ego tamen uir sum.' Saluium Liberalem in defensione diuitis rei ausum dicere: 'quid ad Caesarem, si Hipparchus sestertium milies habet?' et ipse laudauit. Demetrium Cynicum in itinere obuium sibi post damnationem ac neque assurgere neque salutare se dignantem, oblatrantem etiam nescio quid, satis habuit canem appellare.
He was little disposed to keep up the memory of affronts or quarrels, nor did he harbour any resentment on account of them. He made a very splendid marriage for the daughter of his enemy Vitellius, and gave her, besides, a suitable fortune and equipage. Being in a great consternation after he was forbidden the court in the time of Nero, and asking those about him, what he should do? or, whither he should go? one of those whose office it was to introduce people to the emperor, thrusting him out, bid him go to Morbonia. But when this same person came afterwards to beg his pardon, he only vented his resentment in nearly the same words. He was so far from being influenced by suspicion or fear to seek the destruction of any one, that, when his friends advised him to beware of Metius Pomposianus, because it was commonly believed, on his nativity being cast, that he was destined by fate to the empire, he made him consul, promising for him, that he would not forget the benefit conferred.
Offensarum inimicitiarumque minime memor executorue Vitelli[i] hostis sui filiam splendidissime maritauit, dotauit etiam et instruxit. trepidum eum interdicta aula sub Nerone quaerentemque, quidnam ageret aut quo abiret, quidam ex officio admissionis simul expellens abire Morbouiam iusserat. in hunc postea deprecantem non ultra uerba excanduit, et quidem totidem fere atque eadem. nam ut suspicione aliqua uel metu ad perniciem cuiusquam compelleretur tantum afuit, ut monentibus amicis cauendum esse Mettium Pompusianum, quod uolgo crederetur genesim habere imperatoriam, insuper consulem fecerit, spondens quandoque beneficii memorem futurum.
It will scarcely be found, that so much as one innocent person suffered in his reign, unless in his absence, and without his knowledge, or, at least, contrary to his inclination, and when he was imposed upon. Although Helvidius Priscus was the only man who presumed to salute him on his return from Syria by his private name of Vespasian, and, when he came to be praetor, omitted any mark of honour to him, or even any mention of him in his edicts, yet he was not angry, until Helvidius proceeded to inveigh against him with the most scurrilous language. Though he did indeed banish him, and afterwards ordered him to be put to death, yet he would gladly have saved him notwithstanding, and accordingly dispatched messengers to fetch back the executioners; and he would have saved him, had he not been deceived by a false account brought, that he had already perished. He never rejoiced at the death of any man;
Non temere quis punitus insons reperi[r]etur nisi absente eo et ignaro aut certe inuito atque decepto. Heluidio Prisco, qui et reuersum se ex Syria solus priuato nomine Vespasianum salutauerat et in praetura omnibus edictis sine honore ac mentione ulla transmiserat, non ante succensuit quam altercationibus insolentissimis paene in ordinem redactus. hunc quoque, quamuis relegatum primo, deinde et interfici iussum, magni aestimauit seruare quoquo modo, missis qui percussores reuocarent; et seruasset, nisi iam perisse falso renuntiatum esset. ceterum neque caede cuiusquam umquam ⟨… ⟩ iustis suppliciis inlacrimauit etiam et ingemuit.
nay, he would shed tears, and sigh, at the just punishment of the guilty. The only thing deservedly blameable in his character was his love of money. For not satisfied with reviving the imposts which had been repealed in the time of Galba he imposed new and onerous taxes, augmented the tribute of the provinces, and doubled that of some of them.
Sola est, in qua merito culpetur, pecuniae cupiditas. non enim contentus omissa sub Galba uectigalia reuocasse, noua et grauia addidisse, auxisse tributa prouinciis, nonnullis et duplicasse, negotiationes quoque uel priuato pudendas propalam exercuit, coemendo quaedam tantum ut pluris postea distraheret.
He likewise openly engaged in a traffic, which is discreditable even to a private individual, buying great quantities of goods, for the purpose of retailing them again to advantage. Nay, he made no scruple of selling the great offices of the state to candidates, and pardons to persons under prosecution, whether they were innocent or guilty. It is believed, that he advanced all the most rapacious amongst the procurators to high offices, with the view of squeezing them after they had acquired great wealth. He was commonly said, "to have used them as sponges," because it was his practice, as we may say, to wet them when dry, and squeeze them when wet.
ne candidatis quidem honores reisue tam innoxiis quam nocentibus absolutiones uenditare cunctatus est. creditur etiam procuratorum rapacissimum quemque ad ampliora officia ex industria solitus promouere, quo locupletiores mox condemnaret; quibus quidem uolgo pro spongiis dicebatur uti, quod quasi et siccos madefaceret et exprimeret umentis.
It is said that he was naturally extremely covetous, and was upbraided with it by an old herdsman of his, who, upon the emperor's refusing to enfranchise him gratis, which on his advancement he humbly petitioned for, cried out, "That the fox changed his hair, but not his nature." On the other hand, some are of opinion, that he was urged to his rapacious proceedings by necessity, and the extreme poverty of the treasury and exchequer, of which he took public notice in the beginning of his reign; declaring that "no less than four hundred thousand millions of sesterces were wanting to carry on the government." This is the more likely to be true, because he applied to the best purposes what he procured by bad means.
Quidam natura cupidissimum tradunt, idque exprobratum ei a sene bubulco, qui negata[m] sibi gratuita[m] libertate[m], quam imperium ade[m]ptum suppliciter orabat, proclamauerit, uulpem pilum mutare, non mores. sunt contra qui opinentur ad manubias et rapinas necessitate compulsum summa aerarii fiscique inopia, de qua testificatus sit initio statim principatus, professus quadringenties milies opus esse, ut res p. stare posset. quod et ueri similius uidetur, quando et male partis optime usus est.
His liberality, however, to all ranks of people, was excessive. He made up to several senators the estate required by law to qualify them for that dignity; relieving likewise such men of consular rank as were poor, with a yearly allowance of five hundred thousand sesterces;
in omne hominum genus liberalissimus expleuit censum senatorium, consulares inopes quingenis sestertiis annuis sustentauit, plurimas per totum orbem ciuitates terrae motu aut incendio afflictas restituit in melius, ingenia et artes uel maxime fouit.
and rebuilt, in a better manner than before, several cities in different parts of the empire, which had been damaged by earthquakes or fires. He was a great encourager of learning and the liberal arts. He first granted to the Latin and Greek professors of rhetoric the yearly stipend of a hundred thousand sesterces each out of the exchequer. He also bought the freedom of superior poets and artists, and gave a noble gratuity to the restorer of the Coan Venus, and to another artist who repaired the Colossus.
primus e fisco Latinis Graecisque rhetoribus annua centena constituit; praestantis poetas, nec non et artifices, Coae Veneris, item Colossi refectorem insigni congiario magnaque mercede donauit; mechanico quoque grandis columnas exigua impensa perducturum in Capitolium pollicenti praemium pro commento non mediocre optulit, operam remisit praefatus sineret se plebiculam pascere.
Some one offering to convey some immense columns into the Capitol at a small expense by a mechanical contrivance, he rewarded him very handsomely for his invention, but would not accept his service, saying, "Suffer me to find maintenance for the poor people." In the games celebrated when the stage-scenery of the theatre of Marcellus was repaired, restored the old musical entertainments. He gave Apollinaris, the tragedian, four hundred thousand sesterces, and to Terpinus and Diodorus, the harpers, two hundred thousand; to some a hundred thousand; and the least he gave to any of the performers was forty thousand, besides many golden crowns. He entertained company constantly at his table, and often in great state and very sumptuously, in order to promote trafde.
ludis, per quos scaena Marcelliani theatri restituta dedicabatur, uetera quoque acroamata reuocauerat. †Appellari tragoedo quadringenta, Terpno Diodoroque citharoedis ducena, nonnullis centena, quibus minimum, quadragena sestertia super plurimas coronas aureas dedit. sed et conuiuabatur assidue ac saepius recta et dapsile, ut macellarios adiuuaret. dabat sicut Saturnalibus uiris apophoreta, ita per Kal. Mart. feminis. et tamen ne sic quidem pristina cupiditatis infamia caruit.
As in the Saturnalia he made presents to the men which they were to carry away with them, so did he to the women upon the calends of March; notwithstanding which, he could not wipe off the disrepute of his former stinginess. The Alexandrians called him constantly Cybiosactes; a name which had been given to one of their kings who was sordidly avaricious. Nay, at his funeral, Favo, the principal mimic, personating him, and imitating, as actors do, both his manner of speaking and his gestures, asked aloud of the procurators, "how much his funeral and the procession would cost?"
Alexandrini Cybiosacten eum uocare perseuerauerunt, cognomine unius e regibus suis turpissimarum sordium. sed et in funere Fauor archimimus personam eius ferens imitansque, ut est mos, facta ac dicta uiui, interrogatis palam procuratoribus, quanti funus et pompa constaret, ut audit sestertium centiens, exclamauit, centum sibi sestertia darent ac se uel in Tiberim proicerent.
And being answered "ten millions of sesterces," he cried out, "give him but a hundred thousand sesterces, and they might throw his body into the Tiber, if they would." He was broad-set, strong-limbed, and his features gave the idea of a man in the act of straining himself. In consequence, one of the city wits, upon the emperor's desiring him "to say something droll respecting himself," facetiously answered, "I will, when you have done relieving your bowels." He enjoyed a good state of health, though he used no other means to preserve it, than repeated friction, as much as he could bear, on his neck and other parts of his body, in the tennis-court attached to the baths, besides fasting one day in every month.
Statura fuit quadrata, compactis firmisque membris, uultu ueluti nitentis; de quo quidam urbanorum non infacete, siquidem petenti, ut et in se aliquid diceret: 'dicam,' inquit, 'cum uentrem exonerare desieris.' ualitudine prosperrima usus est, quamuis ad tuendam eam nihil amplius quam fauces ceteraque membra sibimet ad numerum in sphaeristerio defricaret inediamque unius diei per singulos menses interponeret.
His method of life was commonly this. After he became emperor, he used to rise very early, often before day-break. Having read over his letters, and the briefs of all the departments of the government offices, he admitted his friends; and while they were paying him their compliments, he would put on his own shoes, and dress himself with his own hands. Then, after the dispatch of such business as was brought before him, he rode out, and afterwards retired to repose, lying on his couch with one of his mistresses, of whom he kept several after the death of Caenis. Coming out of his private apartments, he passed to the Bath," and then entered the supper-room.
Ordinem uitae hunc fere tenuit. in principatu maturius semper ac de nocte uigilabat; dein perlectis epistulis officiorumque omnium breuiariis, amicos admittebat, ac dum salutabatur, et calciabat ipse se et amiciebat; postque decisa quaecumque obuenissent negotia gestationi et inde quieti uacabat, accubante aliqua pallacarum, quas in locum defunctae Caenidis plurimas constituerat; a secreto in balineum tricliniumque transibat. nec ullo tempore facilior aut indulgentior traditur, eaque momenta domestici ad aliquid petendum magno opere captabant.
They say that he was never more good-humoured and indulgent than at that time: and therefore his attendants always seized that opportunity, when they had any favour to ask. At supper, and, indeed, at other times, he was extremely free and jocose. For he had humour, but of a low kind, and he would sometimes use indecent language, such as is addressed to young girls about to be married. Yet there are some things related of him not void of ingenious pleasantry; amongst which are the following. Being once reminded by Mestrius Florus, that plaustra was a more proper expression than plostra, he the next day saluted him by the name of Flaurus. A certain lady pretending to be desperately enamoured of him, he was prevailed upon to admit her to his bed: and after he had gratified her desires, he gave her four hundred thousand sesterces.
Et super cenam autem et semper alias comissimus multa ioco transigebat; erat enim dicacitatis plurimae, etsi scurrilis et sordidae, ut ne praetextatis quidem uerbis abstineret. et tamen nonnulla eius facetissima extant, in quibus et haec. Mestrium Florum consularem, admonitus ab eo 'plaustra' potius quam 'plostra' dicenda, postero die 'Flaurum' salutauit. expugnatus autem a quadam, quasi amore suo deperiret, cum perductae pro concubitu sestertia quadringenta donasset, admonente dispensatore, quem ad modum summam rationibus uellet inferri: 'Vespasiano,' inquit, 'adamato.'
When his steward desired to know how he would have the sum entered in his accounts, he replied, "For Vespasian's being seduced." He used Greek verses very wittily; speaking of a tall man:
utebatur et uersibus Graecis tempestiue satis, et de quodam procerae staturae improbiusque nato:
μακρὰ βίβας κραδάων δολιχόσκιον ἔγχος;And of Cerylus, a freedman, who being very rich had begun to pass himself off as free-born, to elude the exchequer at his decease, and assumed the name of Laches, he said:
μακρὰ βιβάς, κραδάων δολιχόσκιον ἔγχος,et de Cerylo liberto, qui diues admodum ob subterfugiendum quandoque ius fisci ingenuum se et Lachetem mutato nomine coeperat ferre:
ὦ Λάχης, Λάχης ἔπαν ἀποθάνῃς, αὐθίς ἐξ ἀρχῆς ἔσῃ Κήρυλος
ὦ Λάχης, Λάχης, ἐπὰν ἀποθάνῃς, αὖθις ἐξ ἀρχῆς ἔσει
Ah, Laches, Laches! when thou art no more,Thou'lt Cerylus be called, just as before.He chiefly affected wit upon his own shameful means of raising money, in order to wipe off the odium by some joke, and turn it into ridicule. One of his ministers, who was much in his favour, requesting of him a stewardship for some person, under pretence of his being his brother, he deferred granting him his petition, and in the meantime sent for the candidate, and having squeezed out of him as much money as he had agreed to give to his friend at court, he appointed him immediately to the office. The minister soon after renewing his application, "You must," said he, "find another brother; for the one you adopted is in truth mine." Suspecting once, during a journey, that his mule-driver had alighted to shoe his mules, only in order to have an opportunity for allowing a person they met, who was engaged in a law-suit, to speak to him, he asked him, "how much he got for shoeing his mules?" and insisted on having a share of the profit. When his son Titus blamed him for even laying a tax upon urine, he applied to his nose a piece of the money he received in the first instalment, and asked him, "if it stunk?" And he replying no, "And yet," said he, "it is derived from urine." Some deputies having come to acquaint him that a large statue, which would cost a vast sum, was ordered to be erected for him at the public expense, he told them to pay it down immediately, holding out the hollow of his hand, and saying, "there was a base ready for the statue." Not even when he was under the immediate apprehension and peril of death, could he forbear jesting. For when, among other prodigies, the mausoleum of the Caesars suddenly flew open, and a blazing star appeared in the heavens; one of the prodigies, he said, concerned Julia Calvina, who was of the family of Augustus, and the other, the king of the Parthians, who wore his hair long. And when his distemper first seized him, "I suppose." he said, "I shall soon be a god." In his ninth consulship, being seized, while in Campania, with a slight indisposition, and immediately returning to the city, he soon afterwards went thence to Cutiliae, and his estates in the country about Reate, where he used constantly to spend the summer. Here, though his disorder much increased, and he injured his bowels by too free use of the cold waters, he nevertheless attended to the dispatch of business, and even gave audience to ambassadors in bed. At last, being taken ill of a diarrhoea, to such a degree that he was ready to faint, he cried out, "An emperor ought to die standing upright." In endeavouring to rise, he died in the hands of those who were helping him up, upon the eighth of the calends of July [24th June], being sixty-nine years, one month, and seven days old. All are agreed that he had such confidence in the calculations of his own nativity and that of his sons, that, after several conspiracies against him, he told the senate, that either his sons would succeed him, or nobody. It is said likewise, that he once saw in a dream a balance in the middle of the porch of the Palatine house exactly poised; in one scale of which stood Claudius and Nero, and in the other, himself and his sons. The event corresponded to the symbol; for the reigns of the two parties were precisely of the same duration. NEITHER consanguinity nor adoption, as formerly, but great influence in the army having now become the road to the imperial throne, no person could claim a better title to that elevation than Titus Flavius Vespasian. He had not only served with great reputation in the wars both in Britain and Judaea, but seemed as yet untainted with any vice which could pervert his conduct in the civil administration of the empire. It appears, however, that he was prompted more by the persuasion of friends, than by his own ambition, to prosecute the attainment of the imperial dignity. To render this enterprise more successful, recourse was had to a new and peculiar artifice, which, while well accommodated to the superstitious credulity of the Romans, impressed them with an idea, that Vespasian's destiny to the throne was confirmed by supernatural indications. But, after his elevation, we hear no more of his miraculous achievements. The prosecution of the war in Britain, which had been suspended for some years, was resumed by Vespasian; and he sent thither Petilius Cerealis, who by his bravery extended the limits of the Roman province. Under Julius Frontinus, successor to the general, the invaders continued to make farther progress in the reduction of the island: but the commander who finally established the dominion of the Romans in Britain, was Julius Agricola, not less distinguished for his military achievements, than for his prudent regard to the civil administration of the country. He began his operations with the conquest of North Wales, whence passing over into the island of Anglesey, which had revolted since the time of Suetonius Paulinus, he again reduced it to subjection. Then proceeding northwards with his victorious army, he defeated the Britons in every engagement, took possession of all the territories in the southern parts of the island, and driving before him all who refused to submit to the Roman arms, penetrated even into the forests and mountains of Caledonia. He defeated the natives under Galgacus, their leader, in a decisive battle; and fixing a line of garrisons between the friths of Clyde and Forth, he secured the Roman province from the incursions of the people who occupied the parts of the island beyond that boundary. Wherever he established the Roman power, he introduced laws and civilization amongst the inhabitants, and employed every means of conciliating their affection, as well as of securing their obedience. The war in Judaea, which had been commenced under the former reign, was now continued in that of Vespasian; but he left the siege of Jerusalem to be conducted by his son Titus, who displayed great valour and military talents in the prosecution of the enterprise. After an obstinate defence by the Jews, that city, so much celebrated in the sacred writings, was finally demolished, and the glorious temple itself, the admiration of the world, reduced to ashes; contrary, however, to the will of Titus, who exerted his utmost efforts to extinguish the flames. The manners of the Romans had now attained to an enormous pitch of depravity, through the unbounded licentiousness of the times; and, to the honour of Vespasian, he discovered great zeal in his endeavours to effect a national reformation. Vigilant, active, and persevering, he was indefatigable in the management of public affairs, and rose in the winter before day-break, to give audience to his officers of state. But if we give credit to the whimsical imposition of a tax upon urine, we cannot entertain any high opinion, either of his talents as a financier, or of the resources of the Roman empire. By his encouragement of science, he displayed a liberality, of which there occurs no example under all the preceding emperors, since the time of Augustus. Pliny the elder was now in the height of reputation, as well as in great favour with Vespasian; and it was probably owing not a little to the advice of that minister, that the emperor showed himself so much the patron of Literary men. A writer mentioned frequently by Pliny, and who lived in this reign, was Licinius Mucianus, a Roman knight: he treated of the history and geography of the eastern countries. Juvenal, who had begun his Satires several years before, continued to inveigh against the flagrant vices of the times; but the only author whose writings we have to notice in the present reign, is a poet of a different class.
σὺ Κηρύλος.maxime tamen dicacitatem adfectabat in deformibus lucris, ut inuidiam aliqua cauillatione dilueret transferretque ad sales. Quendam e caris ministris dispensationem cuidam quasi fratri petentem cum distulisset, ipsum candidatum ad se uocauit; exactaque pecunia, quantam is cum suffragatore suo pepigerat, sine mora ordinauit; interpellanti mox ministro: 'alium tibi,' ait, 'quaere fratrem; hic, quem tuum putas, meus est.' mulionem in itinere quodam suspicatus ad calciandas mulas desiluisse, ut adeunti litigatori spatium moramque praeberet, interrogauit quanti calciasset, ⟨et⟩ pactus est lucri partem. reprehendenti filio Tito, quod etiam urinae uectigal commentus esset, pecuniam ex prima pensione admouit ad nares, sciscitans num odore offenderetur; et illo negante: 'atquin,' inquit, 'e lotio est.' nuntiantis legatos decretam ei publice non mediocris summae statuam colosseam, iussit uel continuo ponere[t], cauam manum ostentans et paratam basim dicens. ac ne in metu quidem ac periculo mortis extremo abstinuit iocis. nam cum inter cetera prodigia Mausoleum derepente patuisset et stella crinita in caelo apparuisset, alterum ad Iuniam Caluinam e gente Augusti pertinere dicebat, alterum ad Parthorum regem qui capillatus esset; prima quoque morbi accessione: 'uae,' inquit, 'puto deus fio.' Consulatu suo nono temptatus in Campania motiunculis leuibus protinusque urbe repetita, Cutilias ac Reatina rura, ubi aestiuare quotannis solebat, petit. hic cum super urgentem ualitudinem creberrimo frigidae aquae usu etiam intestina uitiasset nec eo minus muneribus imperatoriis ex consuetudine fungeretur, ut etiam legationes audiret cubans, aluo repente usque ad defectionem soluta, imperatorem ait stantem mori oportere; dumque consurgit ac nititur, inter manus subleuantium extinctus est VIIII. Kal. Iul. annum agens aetatis sexagensimum ac nonum superque mensem ac diem septimum. Conuenit inter omnis, tam certum eum de sua suorumque genitura semper fuisse, ut post assiduas in se coniurationes ausus sit adfirmare senatui aut filios sibi successuros aut neminem. dicitur etiam uidisse quondam per quietem stateram media parte uestibuli Palatinae domus positam examine aequo, cum in altera lance Claudius et Nero starent, in altera ipse ac filii. nec res fefellit, quando totidem annis parique temporis spatio utrique imperauerunt.