I.
Urbem Romam a principio reges habuere; libertatem et consulatum L. Brutus instituit. dictaturae ad tempus sumebantur; neque decemviralis potestas ultra biennium, neque tribunorum militum consulare ius diu valuit. non Cinnae, non Sullae longa dominatio; et Pompei Crassique potentia cito in Caesarem, Lepidi atque Antonii arma in Augustum cessere, qui cuncta discordiis civilibus fessa nomine principis sub imperium accepit. sed veteris populi Romani prospera vel adversa claris scriptoribus memorata sunt; temporibusque Augusti dicendis non defuere decora ingenia, donec gliscente adulatione deterrerentur. Tiberii Gaique et Claudii ac Neronis res florentibus ipsis ob metum falsae, postquam occiderant, recentibus odiis compositae sunt. inde consilium mihi pauca de Augusto et extrema tradere, mox Tiberii principatum et cetera, sine ira et studio, quorum causas procul habeo.
1.
Rome was in origin a city governed by kings. Credit for the institution of the consulate –and with it of freedom—goes to Lucius Brutus. Dictators were temporarily resorted to as the situation demanded. The power of the decemvirs was limited to two years and of brief duration was also the proconsular authority of the military tribunes. The tyrannies of Cinna and Sulla were short-lived; the power of Pompei and Crassus and the controlling influence of Lepidus and Antony fell into the hands of Caesar and Augustus respectively. The latter, with the title of ‘prince’, concentrated in his person all the powers of the state, exhausted by civil discord. Now, both the good and the adverse fortunes of the Roman people were recorded in former days by writers of great fame, and talented minds capable of giving an accurate account of the times of Augustus were not wanting, until they were intimidated by creeping adulation. The history of Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius, and Nero was written without regard to the truth, the reason being fear while these rulers flourished and, after they fell, hatred still fresh in the writer’s memory. It is therefore my intention to furnish few details about Augustus, all confined to his last years, and then pass to the principate of Tiberius and of the others, without anger or favor, motives that in myself are far removed in time from their causes.
II.
Postquam Bruto et Cassio caesis nulla iam publica arma, Pompeius apud Siciliam oppressus exutoque Lepido, interfecto Antonio ne Iulianis quidem partibus nisi Caesar dux reliquus, posito triumviri nomine consulem se ferens et ad tuendam plebem tribunicio iure contentum, ubi militem donis, populum annona, cunctos dulcedine otii pellexit, insurgere paulatim, munia senatus magistratuum legum in se trahere, nullo adversante, cum ferocissimi per acies aut proscriptione cecidissent, ceteri nobilium, quanto quis servitio promptior, opibus et honoribus extollerentur ac novis ex rebus aucti tuta et praesentia quam vetera et periculosa mallent. neque provinciae illum rerum statum abnuebant, suspecto senatus populique imperio ob certamina potentium et avaritiam magistratuum, invalido legum auxilio quae vi ambitu postremo pecunia turbabantur.
2.
With the elimination of Brutus and Cassius, all armed resistance in defense of the republic came to an end. Sextus Pompeius was crushed in Sicily and with Lepidus stripped of his forces and Antony dead, not even the Julian party had any leader left, except Caesar Octavian. He dropped the title of triumvir and, calling himself a consul, declared he was content with the powers of tribune of the plebs to safeguard the cause of the common people. After he softened the army with donatives, the lower classes with free distribution of grain, and everyone with the sweet prospect of peace, he grew more powerful by gradual steps, concentrating in himself the authority of the senate, of the magistrates, and of the laws without opposition, since his most aggressive adversaries had either fallen in battle or had been disposed of by proscription. What was left of the nobility would be rewarded with honors and wealth the more ready they were to acquiesce; pampered by the new regime, they would prefer the safety of the present to the dangers of the past. Nor did the provinces reject the novel situation, being mistrustful of the powers of the senate and of the people, on account of the rivalries among those in control, the greed of the magistrates, and the uncertain protection of the laws, vitiated as it was by extortion, unfairness, and ultimately by bribery.
III.
Ceterum Augustus subsidia dominationi Claudium Marcellum sororis filium admodum adulescentem pontificatu et curuli aedilitate, M. Agrippam ignobilem loco, bonum militia et victoriae socium, geminatis consulatibus extulit, mox defuncto Marcello generum sumpsit; Tiberium Neronem et Claudium Drusum privignos imperatoriis nominibus auxit, integra etiam tum domo sua. nam genitos Agrippa Gaium ac Lucium in familiam Caesarum induxerat, necdum posita puerili praetexta principes iuventutis appellari, destinari consules specie recusantis flagrantissime cupiverat. ut Agrippa vita concessit, Lucium Caesarem euntem ad Hispaniensis exercitus, Gaium remeantem Armenia et vulnere invalidum mors fato propera vel novercae Liviae dolus abstulit, Drusoque pridem extincto Nero solus e privignis erat, illuc cuncta vergere: filius, collega imperii, consors tribuniciae potestatis adsumitur omnisque per exercitus ostentatur, non obscuris, ut antea, matris artibus, sed palam hortatu. nam senem Augustum devinxerat adeo, uti nepotem unicum Agrippam Postumum, in insulam Planasiam proiecerit, rudem sane bonarum artium et robore corporis stolide ferocem, nullius tamen flagitii conpertum. at hercule Germanicum Druso ortum octo apud Rhenum legionibus inposuit adscirique per adoptionem a Tiberio iussit, quamquam esset in domo Tiberii filius iuvenis, sed quo pluribus munimentis insisteret. bellum ea tempestate nullum nisi adversus Germanos supererat, abolendae magis infamiae ob amissum cum Quintilio Varo exercitum quam cupidine proferendi imperii aut dignum ob praemium. domi res tranquillae, eadem magistratuum vocabula; iuniores post Actiacam victoriam, etiam senes plerique inter bella civium nati: quotus quisque reliquus qui rem publicam vidisset?
3.
Further, to consolidate his power, Augustus raised Claudius Marcellus, his sister’s son, still no more than a youngster, to the office of pontifex and of curule aedile, and Marcus Agrippa, a man of humble origin but an excellent soldier and his partner in victory, to two consecutive consulships. Later, upon the death of Marcellus, took him as his son-in-law. His two stepsons, Tiberius Nero and Claudius Drusus, he distinguished with the title of imperator, even though his own house had not yet suffered any losses, for he had added to the family Gaius and Lucius, the sons of Agrippa. Even before they had left off wearing the underage dress, it had been his most ardent desire, though pretending of being against it, that they be addressed as Princes of Youth and that consulships be reserved for them. After Agrippa had passed away, a fatally premature death, or perhaps the perfidy of their stepmother Livia, removed both Lucius Caesar, who was about to join the armies in Spain, and Gaius returning wounded from Arminia. Claudius Drusus had died earlier, so of the sons-in-law only Tiberius remained, and all hopes converged on him. Taken on as a son and a colleague in ruling the empire, in sharing the tribunitial powers, he was shown to all the armies, not as before through the secret meddling of his mother, but openly encouraged by her. Indeed, she had trapped in her web the aged Augustus, to such an extent that he had relegated to the island of Planasia his only surviving grandson, Postumus Agrippa, no doubt a fellow without refinement, brutally proud of his muscles, yet innocent of any crimes. Augustus, however, asserted his will in placing Germanicus, Drusus’ son, in charge of eight legions on the Rhine and even ordered Tiberius to adopt him — though Tiberius had a young son of his own — for the purpose of having more props to support his house. There was no war at that time, except against the Germans, more to avenge the shame of the army lost by Quintilius Varo than to expand the empire or for advantages worthy of the risk. Internally all was quiet: the titles of the magistrates in office remained the same, the young generation had grown up after the victory at Actium and even the older had come into the world for the most part during the civil wars. How many could there be still alive who had seen the republic?
IV.
Igitur verso civitatis statu nihil usquam prisci et integri moris: omnes exuta aequalitate iussa principis aspectare, nulla in praesens formidine, dum Augustus aetate validus seque et domum in pacem sustentavit. postquam provecta iam senectus aegro et corpore fatigabatur, aderatque finis et spes novae, pauci bona libertatis in cassum disserere, plures bellum pavescere, alii cupere. pars multo maxima inminentis dominos variis rumoribus differebant: trucem Agrippam et ignominia accensum non aetate neque rerum experientia tantae moli parem, Tiberium Neronem maturum annis, spectatum bello, set vetere atque insita Claudiae familiae superbia, multaque indicia saevitiae, quamquam premantur, erumpere. hunc et prima ab infantia eductum in domo regnatrice; congestos iuveni consulatus, triumphos; ne iis quidem annis, quibus Rhodi specie secessus exul egerit, aliud quam iram et simulationem et secretas lubidines meditatum. accedere matrem muliebri inpotentia: serviendum feminae duobusque insuper adulescentibus, qui rem publicam interim premant, quandoque distrahant.
4.
The order of society had thus been transformed and no trace remained of the upright Roman character of old. The principle of equal participation in the government now gone, all waited for orders from the prince. The present inspired no concern as long as Augustus, in the full vigor of life, was able to maintain his role, his house, and the peace. When he became weakened by advancing years and sickness, when his end came near and so did new prospects for the future, few spoke to no purpose of the blessings of liberty, more feared war or desired it, but by far the greatest number indulged in all kinds of speculations about the next set of soon-to-be masters. The fierce Agrippa Postumus, [they said], made more savage by the humiliation he had endured, lacked both the age and the experience to bear the burden of the empire; Tiberius Nero was mature as to years and his war record was good, but he had the hereditary and inveterate arrogance of the Claudian family and many signs of cruelty were surfacing, no matter what he did to repress them. Brought up since tender infancy in the reigning house, he had been spoiled by consulates and triumphs heaped on him when still a young man. Even in those years he had spent at Rhodes in exile –- though retirement was the name given to it – he had thought of nothing except revenge, dissimulation, and forbidden pleasures. Added to all this was his mother and her lack of self-control, typical of the sex. They all, [they feared], would have no choice but to become bondsmen not only to her, but to two adolescents as well, who were going to weigh down the state and in time tear it apart.
V.
Haec atque talia agitantibus gravescere valetudo Augusti, et quidam scelus uxoris suspectabant. quippe rumor incesserat, paucos ante menses Augustum, electis consciis et comite uno Fabio Maximo, Planasiam vectum ad visendum Agrippam; multas illic utrimque lacrimas et signa caritatis spemque ex eo fore ut iuvenis penatibus avi redderetur: quod Maximum uxori Marciae aperuisse, illam Liviae. gnarum id Caesari; neque multo post extincto Maximo, dubium an quaesita morte, auditos in funere eius Marciae gemitus semet incusantis, quod causa exitii marito fuisset. utcumque se ea res habuit, vixdum ingressus Illyricum Tiberius properis matris litteris accitur; neque satis conpertum est, spirantem adhuc Augustum apud urbem Nolam an exanimem reppererit. acribus namque custodiis domum et vias saepserat Livia, laetique interdum nuntii vulgabantur, donec provisis quae tempus monebat simul excessisse Augustum et rerum potiri Neronem fama eadem tulit.
5.
At the same time as this and similar talk went on among the people, Augustus’ health was taking a turn for the worse and some suspicion even fell on his wife Livia. Rumor had it that a few months earlier Augustus had sailed to Planasia to visit his grandson Agrippa. Only a select few knew about this and Fabius Maximus was his sole companion on the journey. On Planasia many tears were shed on either side and the repeated avowals of mutual affection that were exchanged seemed to open up the possibility that the young Agrippa might be allowed to return to the house of the grandfather. This secret, so the rumor went, Maximus confided to his wife Marcia and she to Livia. Augustus came to know of this and not long after Maximus died, perhaps after taking his own life. At the funeral Marcia was heard lamenting that she had been the cause of her husband’s death. Be that as it may, as soon as Tiberius entered Illyricum [(where Augustus had sent him]), he was recalled by an urgent message from his mother. It is not known for certain whether he found Augustus, then at Nola, still alive or already dead. Livia had in fact seen to it that the house and all approaches were surrounded by watchful guards; at the same time she had sent out reassuring bulletins, while all provisions that the crisis required had been put in place. Then, the same report spread the news both that Augustus had died and that Tiberius was the new ruler of the world.
VI.
Primum facinus novi principatus fuit Postumi Agrippae caedes, quem ignarum inerumumque quamvis firmatus animo centurio aegre confecit. nihil de ea re Tiberius apud senatum disseruit: patris iussa simulabat, quibus praescripsisset tribuno custodiae adposito, ne cunctaretur Agrippam morte adficere, quandoque ipse supremum diem explevisset. multa sine dubio saevaque Augustus de moribus adulescentis questus, ut exilium eius senatus consulto sanciretur perfecerat: ceterum in nullius umquam suorum necem duravit, neque mortem nepoti pro securitate privigni inlatam credibile erat. propius vero Tiberium ac Liviam, illum metu, hanc novercalibus odiis, suspecti et invisi iuvenis caedem festinavisse. nuntianti centurioni, ut mos militiae, factum esse quod imperasset, neque imperasse sese et rationem facti reddendam apud senatum respondit. quod postquam Sallustius Crispus particeps secretorum (is ad tribunum miserat codicillos) comperit, metuens ne reus subderetur, iuxta periculoso ficta seu vera promeret, monuit Liviam ne arcana domus, ne consilia amicorum, ministeria militum vulgarentur, neve Tiberius vim principatus resolveret cunta ad senatum vocando: eam condicionem esse imperandi, ut non aliter ratio constet quam si uni reddatur.
6.
The first crime of the new regime was the slaughter of Postumus Agrippa: a resolute centurion caught him off-guard and unarmed, yet he had a hard time killing him. Tiberius made no mention of this in the senate and pretended that these were his father’s orders, with which he had instructed the tribune assigned to guard Agrippa not to hesitate to kill his prisoner the moment he, Augustus, had closed his eyes forever. No doubt Augustus must have angrily deplored the many and brutish faults in the youngster’s character in order for the senate to sanction the exile. However, his rigor never went so far as to plan the murder of one of his family: the death of a grandson perpetrated to safeguard a stepson was hardly credible. The crime was closer in truth to Tiberius and Livia: together, the one for fear of Agrippa, the other moved by novercal dislike, they had hastened the end of the mistrusted and loathed young man. To the centurion who, in keeping with military custom, came to report that the task had been performed as ordered, Tiberius answered that he had not ordered anything and that an account of the facts must be rendered to the senate. When Sallustius Crispus, a sharer in Tiberius’ secret (it was he who had sent the execution order to the tribune), heard of this, fearing that he might be held responsible and that it was equally dangerous to reveal or to hide the truth, he warned Livia that it was best not to divulge the secrets of the palace, the counsel of friends, and the services of members of the army. He advised that Tiberius should not diminish the power of the principate by deferring in everything to the senate: an essential condition of the imperial system, he said, was not to be obliged to render accounts of anything to anyone, except oneself.
VII.
At Romae ruere in servitium consules, patres, eques. quanto quis inlustrior, tanto magis falsi ac festinantes, vultuque composito, ne laeti excessu principis neu tristiores primordio, lacrimas gaudium, questus adulationem miscebant. Sex. Pompeius et Sex. Appuleius consules primi in verba Tiberii Caesaris iuravere, apudque eos Seius Strabo et C. Turranius, ille praetoriarum cohortium praefectus, hic annonae; mox senatus milesque et populus. Nam Tiberius cuncta per consules incipiebat, tamquam vetere re publica et ambiguus imperandi: ne edictum quidem, quo patres in curiam vocabat, nisi tribuniciae potestatis praescriptione posuit sub Augusto acceptae. verba edicti fuere pauca et sensu permodesto: de honoribus parentis consulturum, neque abscedere a corpore, idque unum ex publicis muneribus usurpare. sed defuncto Augusto signum praetoriis cohortibus ut imperator dederat; excubiae, arma, cetera aulae; miles in forum, miles in curiam comitabatur. litteras ad exercitus tamquam adepto principatu misit, nusquam cunctabundus nisi cum in senatu loqueretur. causa praecipua ex formidine, ne Germanicus, in cuius manu tot legiones, immensa sociorum auxilia, mirus apud populum favor, habere imperium quam exspectare mallet. dabat et famae, ut vocatus electusque potius a re publica videretur quam per uxorium ambitum et senili adoptione inrepsisse. postea cognitum est ad introspiciendas etiam procerum voluntates inductam dubitationem: nam verba vultus in crimen detorquens recondebat.
7.
Meanwhile, in Rome consuls, senators, knights rushed to show their zeal to serve: the higher up on the social ladder they were, the more hypocritical their haste and the more insincere the expression on their faces, adjusted to express neither gladness at the exit of the old prince nor sadness at the exordium of the new. So, they mingled tears, joy, laments, and adulation. The consuls Sextus Pompeius and Sextus Appuleius were the first to swear allegiance to Tiberius, followed by Seius Strabo and Caius Turranius, the first prefect of the praetorian cohorts, the second the manager of corn supplies; next were the senate, the army, and the people. Tiberius undertook everything through the consuls, as if the old republic were still standing and he was uncertain of his powers. Even the edict with which he called together the senate in the Curia he published by virtue of the tribunitial authority inherited from Augustus. The text was brief and coached with great modesty: he said he wanted to consult about the funeral honors of his father, whose body he was unwilling to leave; that was the only public function he was taking upon himself. Yet, on Augustus’ death he had given the password to the pretorian guards as imperator; the posting of sentinels under arms and all the rest were indicative of a real court, such as soldiers escorting him to the forum or soldiers again taking him to the Curia. He sent messages to the armies as if he had secure hold of the empire and was never hesitant except when speaking in the senate. The chief cause of this was his fear that Germanicus, in whose hands were so many legions, and who enjoyed extraordinary popular favor, might prefer to grab power at once rather than wait. He was also concerned about public opinion, to be seen as called upon and chosen by the state, rather than to have climbed to power thanks to the intrigues of his mother and the adoption by a senile old man. It became clear later that he had adopted a hesitating manner also to decipher the thoughts of leading men, for he would fix in his mind words and faces, in order to twist them later into criminal charges.
VIII.
Nihil primo senatus die agi passus [est] nisi de supremis Augusti, cuius testamentum inlatum per virgines Vestae Tiberium et Liviam heredes habuit. Livia in familiam Iuliam nomenque Augustum adumebatur; in spem secundam nepotes pronepotesque, tertio gradu primores civitatis scripserat, plerosque invisos sibi, sed iactantia gloriaque ad posteros. legata non ultra civilem modum, nisi quod opulo et plebi quadringentiens triciens quinquiens, praetoriarum cohortium militibus singula nummum milia, [urbanis quingenos], legionariis aut cohortibus civium Romanorum trecenos nummos viritim dedit. tum conultatum de honoribus; ex quis [qui] maxime insignes visi, ut porta triumphali duceretur funus, Gallus Asinius, ut legum latarum tituli, victarum ab eo gentium vocabula anteferentur, L. Arruntius censuere. addebat Messalla Valerius renovandum per annos sacramentum in nomen Tiberii; interrogatusque a Tiberio num se mandante eam sententiam prompsisset, sponte dixisse respondit, neque in iis quae ad rem publicam pertinerent consilio nisi suo usurum, vel cum periculo offensionis: ea sola species adulandi supererat. conclamant patres corpus ad rogum umeris senatorum ferendum. remisit Caesar adroganti moderatione, populumque edicto monuit ne, ut quondam nimiis studiis funus divi Iulii turbassent, ita Augustum in foro potius quam in campo Martis, sede destinata, cremari vellent. die funeris milites velut praesidio stetere, multum inridentibus qui ipsi viderant quique a parentibus acceperant diem illum crudi adhuc servitii et libertatis inprospere repetitae, cum occisus dictator Caesar aliis pessimum, aliis pulcherrimum facinus videretur: nunc senem principem, longa potentia, provisis etiam heredum in rem publicam opibus, auxilio scilicet militari tuendum, ut sepultura eius quieta foret.
8.
In the first session of the senate, Tiberius did not allow discussion of anything other than Augustus’ last wishes, whose testament, brought forward by the Vestals, had Tiberius and Livia as heirs. The latter was accepted into the Julian family with the name of Augusta. As heirs of second order he had named his grandchildren and great-grandchildren and in third place the foremost citizens, most of whom he disliked, to parade his generosity and gain glory with posterity. All legacies were within the limits of a private man, except the sum of forty-three million five hundred thousand sesterces donated to the people and the plebs, of one thousand sesterces to each soldier of the praetorian cohorts, of five hundred each to those of the urban cohorts, and three hundred to each legionary soldier and to those belonging to the cohorts of Roman citizens. Then decisions were taken on the funeral arrangements, among which those deemed most appropriate were the proposal of Asinius Gallus to carry the casket through a triumphal arch and that of Lucius Arruntius to place at the head of the procession the titles of the laws approved by Augustus and the names of the nations subdued by him. In addition, Valerius Messala asked that the oath of allegiance to Tiberius be renewed every year. On being questioned by the prince whether it was at his own, Tiberius’, suggestion that he put forward the motion, he answered that he had spoken of his own accord and that in matters that pertained to the state he would always use his own judgement, even at the risk of offending. That was indeed the only original form of adulation left. The senators demanded by acclamation to be the ones to carry the body to the pyre on their own shoulders. Tiberius let them do as they liked with condescending modesty. In an edict he only urged the people, who once already had upset, in their excessive zeal, the funeral of the divine Caesar, not to insist on cremating Augustus’ body in the Forum, instead of the Campus Martius, the proper place for it. The day of the funeral, soldiers stood around under arms as if for purposes of defense, a subject of much derision for those who had actually witnessed themselves or known from their parents that moment in history, fateful for the bondage still fresh and for the freedom reasserted to no avail, when the assassination of the dictator Caesar seemed to some the worst, to others the most glorious of crimes. Now, they thought, an aged prince, after long years in power, after the means of dominance over the state had been put in place even for his successors, was to be protected by the intervention of the military – no less, of course! – in order that his funeral might not be disturbed.
IX.
Multus hinc ipso de Augusto sermo, plerisque vana mirantibus, quod idem dies accepti quondam imperii princeps et vitae supremus, quod Nolae in domo et cubiculo in quo pater eius Octavius vitam finivisset. numerus etiam consulatuum celebrabatur, quo Valerium Corvum et C. Marium simul aequaverat, continuata per septem et triginta annos tribunicia potestas, nomen imperatoris semel atque viciens partum aliaque honorum mutiplicata aut nova. at apud prudentes vita eius varie extollebatur arguebaturve. hi pietate erga parentem et necessitudine rei publicae, in qua nullus tunc legibus locus ad arma civilia actum, quae neque parari possent neque haberi per bonas artes. multa Antonio, dum interfectores patris ulcisceretur, multa Lepido concessisse. postquam hic socordia senuerit, ille per libidines pessum datus sit, non aliud discordantis patriae remedium fuisse quam [ut] ab uno regeretur. non regno tamen neque dictatura, sed principis nomine constitutam rem publicam; mari Oceano aut amnibus longinquis saeptum imperium; legiones, provincias, classes, cuncta inter se conexa; ius apud cives, modestiam apud socios; urbem ipsam magnificio ornatu; pauca admodum vi tractata quo ceteris quies esset.
9.
After this, much was the talk among the people about Augustus himself, most emphasising trivial coincidences, such as the fact that the same date had been in years past the start of his climb to power and now of his death, or the fact that he had ended his life at Nola in the same house and cubicle as his father Octavius. Relevance was given to the number of his consulates, which had equalled those of Gaius Marius and Valerius Corvus put together, to the thirty-seven years of continuous tribunitial authority, to the twenty-one times he had received the title of imperator, and to other repeated or novel distinctions. By more perceptive minds his life was variously extolled or criticized. His admirers sustained that he was pushed to civil war by his piety towards his slain father and by the emergency situation of a state in which the laws had lost all power. The war could neither be avoided nor be conducted within the dictates of reason. To satisfy his desire of revenge on his father’s murderers, he had made many concessions to Antony and to Lepidus. The latter having sunk into senile indolence, and Antony being ruined by an insane passion, no other remedy was left to a state torn by discord but to be governed by one man only. Yet the political structure was not that of a kingdom or of a dictatorship, but of a state founded on the name and the authority of a prince. They reminded the critics that the empire had solid borders –-the ocean and distant rivers—that legions, provinces, and fleets were all interconnected into one secure system, that citizens were protected by the law, allies treated fairly, Rome itself splendidly improved. Few were the occasions that made force necessary, so that all could live in peace.
X.
Dicebatur contra: pietatem erga parentem et tempora rei publicae obtentui sumpta: ceterum cupidine dominandi concitos per largitionem veteranos, paratum ab adulescente privato exercitum, corruptas consulis legiones, simulatam Pompeianarum gratiam partium; mox ubi decreto patrum fasces et ius praetoris invaserit, caesis Hirtio et Pansa, sive hostis illos, seu Pansam venenum vulneri adfusum, sui milites Hirtium et machinator doli Caesar abstulerat, utriusque copias ocupavisse; extortum invito senatu consulatum, armaque quae in Antonium acceperit contra rem publicam versa; proscriptionem civium, divisiones agrorum ne ipsis quidem qui fecere laudatas. sane Cassii et Brutorum exitus paternis inimicitiis datos, quamquam fas sit privata odia publicis utilitatibus remittere: sed Pompeium imagine pacis, sed Lepidum specie amicitiae deceptos; post Antonium, Tarentino Brundisinoque foedere et nuptiis sororis inlectum, subdolae adfinitatis poenas morte exsolvisse. pacem sine dubio post haec, verum cruentam: Lollianas Varianasque clades, interfectos Romae Varrones, Egnatios, Iullos. nec domesticis abstinebatur: abducta Neroni uxor et consulti per ludibrium pontifices an concepto necdum edito partu rite nuberet; Q. Tedii et Vedii Pollionis luxus; postremo Livia gravis in rem publicam mater, gravis domui Caesarum noverca. nihil deorum honoribus relictum, cum se templis et effigie numinum per flamines et sacerdotes coli vellet. ne Tiberium quidem caritate aut rei publicae cura successorem adscitum, sed quoniam adrogantiam saevitiamque eius introspexerit, comparatione deterrima sibi gloriam quaesivisse. etenim Augustus paucis ante annis, cum Tiberio tribuniciam potestatem a patribus rursum postularet, quamquam honora oratione quaedam de habitu cultuque et institutis eius iecerat, quae velut excusando exprobraret. ceterum sepultura more perfecta templum et caelestes religiones decernuntur.
10.
On the opposite side it was said that the piety for his father and the state of emergency were nothing but a pretext, that instead it was to satisfy his hunger for power that he had mobilised the veterans by the lure of donatives and, when still a youngster, that he had collected a private army, corrupted the legions of the consul and pretended to favor the Pompeian party. Then, having wangled the fasces and the powers of a praetor, thanks to a decree of the senate, and with Hirtius and Pansa out of the way, either destroyed by the enemy or Hirtius killed with poison poured on his wounds and Pansa by his own men and by the scheming mind of Caesar, he possessed himself of the troops of both. [It was also said] that he had extorted the consulate from a recalcitrant senate and turned the army he had received to fight Antony against the state, that the proscriptions of citizens and the distributions of land were not even to the liking of those who had pushed for them. Granted, the deaths of Cassius and of the two Brutus were offered up to the paternal hatred -–even though it should be one’s duty to sacrifice personal rancor for the public good—but Sextus Pompeius was tricked by the prospect of peace, Lepidus by the pretence of amity, and, later, Antony, hoodwinked with the accord of Tarentum and Brundisium and marriage with his sister Octavia, had paid with life the price of a treacherous kinship. Doubtless, there was peace after this, his critics said, but at the cost of so much blood: the debacles of Lollius and Varus and the executions at Rome of men like Varro, like Egnatius, like Iullus. Augustus’ private life was not ignored either: he had taken to himself Nero’s wife, then to add insult to injury had consulted the pontiffs on the legitimacy of a marriage with a woman pregnant with another man’s child; also there was the unbridled dissipation of Quintus Tedius and Vedius Pollio; finally there was Livia, a mother fatal to the state, a stepmother baneful to the house of the Caesars. Critics deplored that nothing was left for the worship of the gods, since he wanted to be himself venerated with temples and statues and have flamens and ministers of his own cult. Besides, it was certainly not, they said, for love or for the good of the country that he had chosen Tiberius as his successor, but because he had perceived the man’s arrogance and cruelty, and sought glory after death from the comparison with the worst of successors. In fact, a few years earlier, when he requested a second time from the senate the tribunitial powers for Tiberius, though his speech had been full of praise, he let fall certain remarks about Tiberius’ bearing, his exterior, his manners, which, while seemingly excusing Tiberius, placed him in a dim light. Regardless of such censure, as soon as the ceremonial of the burial was over, Augustus was decreed a temple and religious services.