XLI.
Non florentis Caesaris neque suis in castris, sed velut in urbe victa facies gemitusque ac planctus etiam militum auris oraque advertere: progrediuntur contuberniis. quis ille flebilis sonus? quod tam triste? feminas inlustris, non centurionem ad tutelam, non militem, nihil imperatoriae uxoris aut comitatus soliti: pergere ad Treviros [et] externae fidei. pudor inde et miseratio et patris Agrippae, Augusti avi memoria, socer Drusus, ipsa insigni fecunditate, praeclara pudicitia; iam infans in castris genitus, in contubernio legionum eductus, quem militari vocabulo Caligulam appellabant, quia plerumque ad concilianda vulgi studia eo tegmine pedum induebatur. sed nihil aeque flexit quam invidia in Treviros: orant obsistunt, rediret maneret, pars Agrippinae occursantes, plurimi ad Germanicum regressi. isque ut erat recens dolore et ira apud circumfusos ita coepit.
41.
The spectacle was more that of a captured town than of a Caesar at the apex of his power in his own army camp. The cries and lamentations attracted the attention of the soldiers themselves, who came out of their tents to enquire what dispirited sounds those were and why such dejection. What!, they exclaimed, noble ladies without escort of centurions and soldiers? Nothing for the general’s consort, no train as the custom required? On hearing that the women were headed among the Treveri to find protection with foreigners, shame and compassion were reawaken, as were memories of Agrippa, her father, of Augustus, her grandfather, of Drusus, her father-in-law, together with the thought of her, admired for a fruitful bed and her exemplary modesty. The toddler [in her arms] was it not born in the camp, they asked, did it not grow among the tents of the legions, the same child they were wont to call, in their soldierly jargon, Caligula, because it was often made to wear that kind of sandals to win over the goodwill of the troops. Nothing, however, changed the soldiers’ attitude as the jealous resentment against the Treveri. They begged her, they placed themselves in her path, pleading with her to return, to stay among them. One part of the multitude came up to Agrippina, but most went back to Germanicus, and he, still burning with indignation and anger, addressed them just as they were, all crowded around him, with these words:
XLII.
‘Non mihi uxor aut filius patre et re publica cariores sunt, sed illum quidem sua maiestas, imperium Romanum ceteri exercitus defendent. coniugem et liberos meos, quos pro gloria vestra libens ad exitium offerrem, nunc procul a furentibus summoveo, ut quidquid istud sceleris imminet, meo tantum sanguine pietur, neve occisus Augusti pronepos, interfecta Tiberii nurus nocentiores vos faciant. quid enim per hos dies inausum intemeratumve vobis? quod nomen huic coetui dabo? militesne appellem, qui filium imperatoris vestri vallo et armis circumsedistis? an civis, quibus tam proiecta senatus auctoritas? hostium quoque ius et sacra legationis et fas gentium rupistis. divus Iulius seditionem exercitus verbo uno compescuit, Quirites vocando qui sacramentum eius detrectabant: divus Augustus vultu et aspectu Actiacas legiones exterruit: nos ut nondum eosdem, ita ex illis ortos si Hispaniae Syriaeve miles aspernaretur, tamen mirum et indignum erat. primane et vicesima legiones, illa signis a Tiberio acceptis, tu tot proeliorum socia, tot praemiis aucta, egregiam duci vestro gratiam refertis? hunc ego nuntium patri laeta omnia aliis e provinciis audienti feram? ipsius tirones, ipsius veteranos non missione, non pecunia satiatos: hic tantum interfici centuriones, eici tribunos, includi legatos, infecta sanguine castra, flumina, meque precariam animam inter infensos trahere.
42.
“My wife and son are not as dear to me as my father and the state, but him his own majesty will no doubt protect and other armies the Roman empire. My wife and children, whom I would readily sacrifice to add to your glory, I move now to safety away from people gone mad, to ensure that whatever danger your criminal revolt threatens, I should be the one to expiate it with my blood and to prevent that the murder of Augustus’ great-grandson and of Tiberius’ daughter-in-law should add to your guilt. Indeed, during these recent days what is it that you have not usurped and violated? What name should I give to the present assembly? Should I call soldiers those who have kept under siege inside the rampart and by force of arms the son of your emperor? Or should I call you citizens after you have so blatantly vilified the authority of the senate? You have trampled on laws even enemies respect, on the sacred status of delegations, on the rights of nations. The divine Julius stamped out an attempt at revolt of his army with one word, by calling ‘Quirites’ those who were breaking their oath of obedience to him. By the expression of his face the divine Augustus browbeat the legions returning from Actium. Myself, though I cannot as yet measure up to them, I am nonetheless their descendant and if the army of Spain or Syria, [where I am not known], should treat me with scorn, that would be both unheard-of and intolerable. [But here] it is you, the men of the First legion, who have received your standards from Tiberius himself, and you, the men of the Twentieth, his companions in so many battles and the recipients of so many rewards, that make such egregious returns for the generosity of your general. To my father, who is receiving good news from all other provinces, am I to report this, that his own recruits, his own veterans, not satisfied with the early discharge and the gift money, butcher here the centurions, drive off the tribunes, and imprison his envoys, that the camps and the rivers are polluted with blood, and that I drag on a perilous existence surrounded by men who want me dead?”
XLIII.
‘Cur enim primo contionis die ferrum illud, quod pectori meo infigere parabam, detraxistis, o inprovidi amici? melius et amantius ille qui gladium offerebat. cecidissem certe nondum tot flagitiorum exercitu meo conscius; legissetis ducem, qui meam quidem mortem inpunitam sineret, Vari tamen et trium legionum ulcisceretur. neque enim di sinant ut Belgarum quamquam offerentium decus istud et claritudo sit subvenisse Romano nomini, compressisse Germaniae populos. tua, dive Auguste, caelo recepta mens, tua, pater Druse, imago, tui memoria isdem istis cum militibus, quos iam pudor et gloria intrat, eluant hanc maculam irasque civilis in exitium hostibus vertant. vos quoque, quorum alia nunc ora, alia pectora contueor, si legatos senatui, obsequium imperatori, si mihi coniugem et filium redditis, discedite a contactu ac dividite turbidos: id stabile ad paenitentiam, id fidei vinculum erit.’
43.
“Why indeed, you injudicious friends, did you tear out of my hand, during the first assembly, the fatal weapon I was about to plunge in my breast? Better and more caring was the gesture of the man who was offering me his sword: at least I would have fallen before I became privy to all the many infamies of my army. You would have found a commander of your choice, who even if he would allow my death to go unpunished, yet would avenge Varus and his three legions. May the gods never consent that it be the honor and glory of the Belgae – though they offered their help – to have redeemed the Roman name and put a stop to German aggression. Your spirit that now resides in heaven, o divine Augustus, the image and the memory of you, father Drusus, with the help of these same soldiers of yours in whom the sense of dignity and the thirst of glory is returning, may they erase this stain and turn these civil broils to the destruction of our enemies. And you, soldiers, whom I see changed both in appearance and heart, if you commit to restore the envoys to the senate, obedience to your general, and my wife and child to me, flee from the contagion of the seditious elements among you, keep your distance from them: that would be the most reliable pledge of your repentance, that the bond of your fidelity.
XLIV.
Supplices ad haec et vera exprobrari fatentes orabant puniret noxios, ignosceret lapsis et duceret in hostem: revocaretur coniunx, rediret legionum alumnus neve obses Gallis traderetur. reditum Agrippinae excusavit ob inminentem partum et hiemem: venturum filium: cetera ipsi exsequerentur. discurrunt mutati et seditiosissimum quemque vinctos trahunt ad legatum legionis primae C. Caetronium, qui iudicium et poenas de singulis in hunc modum exercuit. stabant pro contione legiones destrictis gladiis: reus in suggestu per tribunum ostendebatur: si nocentem adclamaverant, praeceps datus trucidabatur. et gaudebat caedibus miles tamquam semet absolveret; nec Caesar arcebat, quando nullo ipsius iussu penes eosdem saevitia facti et invidia erat. secuti exemplum veterani haud multo post in Raetiam mittuntur, specie defendendae provinciae ob imminentis Suebos ceterum ut avellerentur castris trucibus adhuc non minus asperitate remedii quam sceleris memoria. centurionatum inde egit. citatus ab imperatore nomen, ordinem, patriam, numerum stipendiorum, quae strenue in proeliis fecisset, et cui erant, dona militaria edebat. si tribuni, si legio industriam innocentiamque ad probaverant, retinebat ordinem: ubi avaritiam aut crudelitatem consensu obiectavissent, solvebatur militia.
44.
Made repentant by these words and confessing they were justly blamed, they pressed him to punish those responsible, to forgive their trespass, to be led against the enemy, to recall his wife, and to keep his son, the ward of the legions, in the camp and not to give it in hostage to the Gauls. Germanicus excused Agrippina in view of the forthcoming childbirth and the approaching winter. His son, he said, would return. The rest he left up to them. Like transformed men they now rushed off in all directions through the camp and dragged in chains those most active in the mutiny to the legate of the First legion, Gaius Caetronius, who for the trial and punishment of the arrested soldiers proceeded after this fashion: the legions stood drawn up as if for an assembly with naked swords; the accused was presented by a tribune on a raised platform: if the soldiers shouted he was guilty, he was pushed from the platform and abandoned to his fate. [On one side], the soldiers spilled the blood with pleasure, as if it were their absolution; [on the other], there was no need for Germanicus to intervene, since in the absence of orders from himself the savagery of these proceedings and their consequent odium fell on the soldiers. The veterans also followed the example set by the legions and not long after were transferred to Rhaetia, allegedly to protect that province from the Suebi, in reality to tear them away from that dreadful camp, made so no less by the barbarity of the punishment than by the memory of the crime. Germanicus then took steps to correct the problem with the centurions. Summoned by the general, each stated his name, rank, place of birth, years of service, deeds of valor, and special distinctions, in case they had any. If the officers and the rank and file confirmed their competence and fairness, he retained his rank. Those whose greed and cruelty were made heads of unanimous accusations, were dropped from the service.
XLV.
Sic compositis praesentibus haud minor moles supererat ob ferociam quintae et unetvicesimae legionum, sexagesimum apud lapidem (loco Vetera nomen est) hibernantium. nam primi seditionem coeptaverant: atrocissimum quodque facinus horum manibus patratum; nec poena commilitonum exterriti nec paenitentia conversi iras retinebant. igitur Caesar arma classem socios demittere Rheno parat, si imperium detrectetur, bello certaturus.
45.
Calm having been re-established for the moment, a great hurdle still stood in the way on account of the obstinate resistance of the Fifth and Twenty-first legions in their winter camp, sixty miles away in a place called Vetera. They had been the first to revolt and all the worst crimes had been perpetrated by their men. They were not intimidated by the punishment of their comrades [in the other legions] and, far from being in the least prepared to repent, they were as combative as ever. Consequently, Germanicus made preparations for his fleet to sail down the Rhine with his troops and allies, ready for war if they did not comply with his orders.
XLVI.
At Romae nondum cognito qui fuisset exitus in Illyrico, et legionum Germanicarum motu audito, trepida civitas incusare Tiberium quod, dum patres et plebem, invalida et inermia, cunctatione ficta ludificetur, dissideat interim miles neque duorum adulescentium nondum adulta auctoritate comprimi queat. ire ipsum et opponere maiestatem imperatoriam debuisse cessuris ubi principem longa experientia eundemque severitatis et munificentiae summum vidissent. an Augustum fessa aetate totiens in Germanias commeare potuisse: Tiberium vigentem annis sedere in senatu, verba patrum cavillantem? satis prospectum urbanae servituti: militaribus animis adhibenda fomenta ut ferre pacem velint.
46.
Back in Rome, the outcome of the troubles in Illyricum not being known as yet and news having come of the revolt in Germany, the frightened city blamed Tiberius, complaining that while he beguiled the senate and the people — bodies without power and defense – with his hypocritical dilly-dallying, the soldiers mutinied and the authority of two youngsters was not mature and sufficiently firm to quell the revolt. He should go there himself, they grumbled, and oppose his imperial majesty to men who would surely give in once they were face-to-face with a prince of proven experience and supreme arbiter in dealing out punishment or making concessions. Had not Augustus, tired and well on in years, so many times found the strength to travel to Germany, whereas Tiberius, a man in his prime, just sat in the senate and caviled at the senators’ speeches? Enough had been provided for the enslavement of the city: at that moment, the need was for remedies that would calm the passions of the troops and induce them to accept peace.
XLVII.
Immotum adversus eos sermones fixumque Tiberio fuit non omittere caput rerum neque se remque publicam in casum dare. multa quippe et diversa angebant: validior per Germaniam exercitus, propior apud Pannoniam; ille Galliarum opibus subnixus, hic Italiae inminens: quos igitur anteferret? ac ne postpositi contumelia incenderentur. at per filios pariter adiri maiestate salva, cui maior e longinquo reverentia. simul adulescentibus excusatum quaedam ad patrem reicere, resistentisque Germanico aut Druso posse a se mitigari vel infringi: quod aliud subsidium si imperatorem sprevissent? ceterum ut iam iamque iturus legit comites, conquisivit impedimenta, adornavit navis: mox hiemem aut negotia varie causatus primo prudentis, dein vulgum, diutissime provincias fefellit.
47.
Immovable against these sentiments, determined not to leave Rome, the center of the universe, and to expose himself and the state to any risk, Tiberius was in fact assailed by many and diverse anxieties: the armies of the German provinces were stronger, those of Pannonia nearer to Rome, the former, bolstered by the resources of Gaul, the latter a more direct menace to Italy. To which of the two should precedence be assigned? He feared that whichever was given second place might be angered by the affront. Each of the two provinces, however, was being visited equally by one of his sons, so the imperial dignity, he thought, was not only safe, but greater, since it gained reverence by remaining at a distance. Besides, no one would see anything wrong in the young men having recourse to their father for certain decisions. Those resisting Germanicus and Drusus could either be appeased or destroyed by his intervention. What other help would be available if the rebels would have directly disprized the emperor himself? In the face of these reflections, Tiberius chose companions, made preparations, equipped the ships, as if he was about to leave at any moment, then by various pretexts, such as the coming winter and pressing commitments, he was able to fool at first [even] the most discerning among the citizens, next the people of Rome, and for the longest time the provinces.
XLVIII.
At Germanicus, quamquam contracto exercitu et parata in defectores ultione, dandum adhuc spatium ratus, si recenti exemplo sibi ipsi consulerent, praemittit litteras ad Caecinam, venire se valida manu ac, ni supplicium in malos praesumant, usurum promisca caede. eas Caecina aquiliferis signiferisque et quod maxime castrorum sincerum erat occulte recitat, utque cunctos infamiae, se ipsos morti eximant hortatur: nam in pace causas et merita spectari, ubi bellum ingruat innocentis ac noxios iuxta cadere. illi temptatis quos idoneos rebantur, postquam maiorem legionum partem in officio vident, de sententia legati statuunt tempus, quo foedissimum quemque et seditioni promptum ferro invadant. tunc signo inter se dato inrumpunt contubernia, trucidant ignaros, nullo nisi consciis noscente quod caedis initium, quis finis.
48.
Germanicus, meanwhile, though he had mobilized his army and prepared to teach the rebels a lesson, reckoned he should offer them a last chance in case they recovered their senses and took counsel from the recent example. Ahead of taking action, he sent a letter to Caecina, informing him of his imminent arrival with strong forces and warning that, unless the two legions themselves did something to stop the mutiny, he was about to unleash indiscriminate violence. Caecina secretly showed the message to the eagle- and standard-bearers and to any of the soldiers who were completely trustworthy; he exhorted them to save all from infamy and themselves from certain death. In time of peace, he said, motives and merits were carefully considered, but when war raged the innocent and the guilty fell side by side. So, after establishing who was suitable for the plan he had in mind and finding that most of the men were inclined to obedience, with his approval the time was fixed for falling sword in hand upon the most recalcitrant and seditious in the camp. When the signal agreed upon was given, they burst into the tents and cut down the unsuspecting offenders, no one, except those in the plan, knowing what beginning and what end the massacre would have.
XLIX.
Diversa omnium, quae umquam accidere, civilium armorum facies. non proelio, non adversis e castris, sed isdem e cubilibus, quos simul vescentis dies, simul quietos nox habuerat, discedunt in partis, ingerunt tela clamor vulnera sanguis palam, causa in occulto; cetera fors regit. et quidam bonorum caesi, postquam intellecto in quos saeviretur pessimi quoque arma rapuerant. neque legatus aut tribunus moderator adfuit: permissa vulgo licentia atque ultio et satietas. mox ingressus castra Germanicus, non medicinam illud plurimis cum lacrimis sed cladem appellans, cremari corpora iubet. Truces etiam tum animos cupido involat eundi in hostem, piaculum furoris; nec aliter posse placari commilitonum manis quam si pectoribus impiis honesta vulnera accepissent. sequitur ardorem militum Caesar iunctoque ponte tramittit duodecim milia e legionibus, sex et viginti socias cohortis, octo equitum alas, quarum ea seditione intemerata modestia fuit.
49.
It was a spectacle quite different from anything ever seen in civil wars. Not in a battle, not from opposite camps, but from the very beds where they slept, men, whom the day had seen sharing the same army meal and the night resting together, now ranged themselves in rival factions and brought weapons to bear on one another. [A scene of horror ensued]: shouts, wounds, blood in everyone’s view, the motive unknown, chance ruling all. Some of the good men also perished after the mutineers, having understood who were the target of the assault, had also laid hold of their arms. Neither the legates nor the tribunes intervened. The soldiery had complete license to kill until vengeance was sated. Soon after, Germanicus arrived and, bursting into tear and calling the bloody incident a debacle rather than a remedy, gave orders to cremate the dead. The troops, now that their hearts were fired up by violence, yearned to march against the enemy, just then become the scapegoat of their fury. In no other way, they thought, were the spirits of their dead comrades to be placated than by exposing their tainted breasts to honorable wounds. Germanicus seconded the ardor of the men and after throwing a bridge across the Rhine, moved to the other side twelve thousand men of the legions, twenty-six cohorts of the auxiliaries, and eight cavalry regiments whose discipline had not been affected by the revolt.
L.
Laeti neque procul Germani agitabant, dum iustitio ob amissum Augustum, post discordiis attinemur. at Romanus agmine propero silvam Caesiam limitemque a Tiberio coeptum scindit, castra in limite locat, frontem ac tergum vallo, latera concaedibus munitus. inde saltus obscuros permeat consultatque ex duobus itineribus breve et solitum sequatur an inpeditius et intemptatum eoque hostibus in cautum. delecta longiore via cetera adcelerantur: etenim attulerant exploratores festam eam Germanis noctem ac sollemnibus epulis ludicram. Caecina cum expeditis cohortibus praeire et obstantia silvarum amoliri iubetur: legiones modico intervallo sequuntur. iuvit nox sideribus inlustris, ventumque ad vicos Marsorum et circumdatae stationes stratis etiam tum per cubilia propterque mensas, nullo metu, non antepositi vigiliis: adeo cuncta incuria disiecta erant neque belli timor, ac ne pax quidem nisi languida et soluta inter temulentos.
50.
The Germans, not far away from there, were celebrating while we mourned Augustus death and were plagued later by mutinies. By a rapid march, however, Germanicus cut a path through the Caesian forest and crossed the fortified line initiated by Tiberius. He set up camp on the line itself, protecting the front and the rear with a rampart and the sides with stacks of tree trunks. From there they passed through gloomy woodland country and at a fork in the path they had to decide whether to take the short and beaten way or the more difficult and never used alternative, for that reason less guarded by the enemy. The longer way was chosen and the march was speeded up, the scouts having reported that, for the Germans, the night ahead was one of conviviality, made more festive by games and lavish banqueting. Caecina was given the order to move ahead with lightly-armed cohorts to open a path in the forest; the legions followed after a short interval. The night was helpful, the skies clear and the stars shining brightly. Upon reaching the villages of the Marsi, stations were placed all around, while the Germans were still stretched out on their beds or near the tables. No sense of approaching danger, no sentinels posted on guard, so total was the general negligence and disorder; war was farthest from their minds and even peace was absent, except for the torpid and unheeding slumber of those who had passed out after excessive drinking.