LXXI.
Iam Stertinius, ad accipiendum in deditionem Segimerum fratrem Segestis praemissus, ipsum et filium eius in civitatem Vbiorum perduxerat. data utrique venia, facile Segimero, cunctantius filio, quia Quintilii Vari corpus inlusisse dicebatur. ceterum ad supplenda exercitus damna certavere Galliae Hispaniae Italia, quod cuique promptum, arma equos aurum offerentes. quorum laudato studio Germanicus, armis modo et equis ad bellum sumptis, propria pecunia militem iuvit. utque cladis memoriam etiam comitate leniret, circumire saucios, facta singulorum extollere; vulnera intuens alium spe, alium gloria, cunctos adloquio et cura sibique et proelio firmabat.
71.
Stertinius, sent to accept the surrender of Segimerus, Segestes’ brother, had by this time already brought him and his son to the capital of the Ubii. Both were pardoned, Segimerus without reserves, his son after hesitation, because it was believed he had offered insult to the corpse of Quintilius Varus. As for other things of interest, the Gallic provinces, Spain, and Italy vied with one another to volunteer what they had: arms, horses, and money to repair the damages suffered by the army. Germanicus praised their promptness, but accepted arms and horses only to provide for the war, but saw to his soldiers’ needs with his own money. Also, to alleviate with his personal attentiveness the memory of the recent retreat, he visited the wounded, commended individual acts of bravery, and during his enquiries about the severity of their wounds, comforted some with the hope of a speedy recovery, others with the prospect of glory, and all with words of encouragement and acts of kindness, thereby strengthening their attachment to his person and their confidence in the war.
LXXII.
Decreta eo anno triumphalia insignia A. Caecinae, L. Apronio, C. Silio ob res cum Germanico gestas. nomen patris patriae Tiberius, a populo saepius ingestum, repudiavit; neque in acta sua iurari quamquam censente senatu permisit, cuncta mortalium incerta, quantoque plus adeptus foret, tanto se magis in lubrico dictitans. non tamen ideo faciebat fidem civilis animi; nam legem maiestatis reduxerat, cui nomen apud veteres idem, sed alia in iudicium veniebant, si quis proditione exercitum aut plebem seditionibus, denique male gesta re publica maiestatem populi Romani minuisset: facta arguebantur, dicta inpune erant. primus Augustus cognitionem de famosis libellis specie legis eius tractavit, commotus Cassii Severi libidine, qua viros feminasque inlustris procacibus scriptis diffamaverat; mox Tiberius, consultante Pompeio Macro praetore an iudicia maiestatis redderentur, exercendas leges esse respondit. hunc quoque asperavere carmina incertis auctoribus vulgata in saevitiam superbiamque eius et discordem cum matre animum.
72.
In that year triumphal insignia were decreed to Aulus Caecina, Lucius Apronius, and Gaius Silius for merit acquired in the operations conducted by Germanicus. Tiberius refused the title of ‘father of the country’, already offered to him by the people on several occasions, and also forbade the oath upon his enactments, even though the senate had approved the proposal, insisting that all things mortal were uncertain and that the more power was given to a man, the easier it was for him to take a false step. Yet he did not for that reason show that he viewed himself as no more than an ordinary citizen when he reintroduced the law of lese majesty or treason, which carried the same name in former days, but applied to charges altogether different, such as betraying the army, inciting the lower classes to revolt, in short acts that impaired the majesty of the Roman people through the criminal mismanagement of its government. Subject to punishment were deeds: words were immune to prosecution. Augustus, roused to action by the shameless presumption of Cassius Severus, who in his libelous writings had slandered famous men and women, was first to undertake a judicial inquiry in regard to defamatory pamphlets, using a special application of the law. Not long after this, the praetor Pompeius Macer, upon asking Tiberius whether the cases of treason were to be brought up in court, was answered that the law was there to be applied. Tiberius himself was bitter about the circulation of certain verses by anonymous authors, who denounced his cruelty, his pride, and the constant squabbles with his mother.
LXXIII.
Haud pigebit referre in Falanio et Rubrio, modicis equitibus Romanis, praetemptata crimina, ut quibus initiis, quanta Tiberii arte gravissimum exitium inrepserit, dein repressum sit, postremo arserit cunctaque corripuerit, noscatur. Falanio obiciebat accusator, quod inter cultores Augusti, qui per omnis domos in modum collegiorum habebantur, Cassium quendam mimum corpore infamem adscivisset, quodque venditis hortis statuam Augusti simul mancipasset. Rubrio crimini dabatur violatum periurio numen Augusti. quae ubi Tiberio notuere, scripsit consulibus non ideo decretum patri suo caelum, ut in perniciem civium is honor verteretur. Cassium histrionem solitum inter alios eiusdem artis interesse ludis, quos mater sua in memoriam Augusti sacrasset; nec contra religiones fieri quod effigies eius, ut alia numinum simulacra, venditionibus hortorum et domuum accedant. ius iurandum perinde aestimandum quam si Iovem fefellisset: deorum iniurias dis curae.
73.
It will not be time wasted to record the first essays made of such charges of treason in the case of Falanius and Rubrius, two Roman knights of modest means, so that it may be understood from where and with what artistry on Tiberius’ part this unspeakable evil crept in by imperceptible degrees, was temporarily repressed, then in the end flared up and brought all to ruin. The accuser charged Falanius of having accepted among the votaries of Augustus, who in all great houses of the city congregated to form some kind of collegium, a certain Cassius, a mime known to be a male prostitute. Added to the charge was also the fact that in the sale of a garden Falanius had included a statue of Augustus. The crime imputed to Rubrius was that he had violated the divinity of Augustus by falsely swearing an oath in his name. On hearing of this, Tiberius had written to the consuls that divine honors had not been decreed to his father in order for the distinction to cause the ruin of citizens.; also, that Cassius, an actor, was wont to participate, together with other practitioners of the art, to the games his mother had consecrated to Augustus. Neither was it a sacrilege, he wrote, that Augustus’ statues, like the effigies of other gods, should be included in the sales of houses and gardens. [As to the charges against Rubrius], the alleged crime of perjury was no worse than if the accused had sworn falsely in Jove’s name. Disrespect for the gods was a matter for the gods to attend to.
LXXIV.
Nec multo post Granium Marcellum praetorem Bithyniae quaestor ipsius Caepio Crispinus maiestatis postulavit, subscribente Romano Hispone: qui formam vitae iniit, quam postea celebrem miseriae temporum et audaciae hominum fecerunt. nam egens, ignotus, inquies, dum occultis libellis saevitiae principis adrepit, mox clarissimo cuique periculum facessit, potentiam apud unum, odium apud omnis adeptus dedit exemplum, quod secuti ex pauperibus divites, ex contemptis metuendi perniciem aliis ac postremum sibi invenere. sed Marcellum insimulabat sinistros de Tiberio sermones habuisse, inevitabile crimen, cum ex moribus principis foedissima quaeque deligeret accusator obiectaretque reo. nam quia vera erant, etiam dicta credebantur. addidit Hispo statuam Marcelli altius quam Caesarum sitam, et alia in statua amputato capite Augusti effigiem Tiberii inditam. ad quod exarsit adeo, ut rupta taciturnitate proclamaret se quoque in ea causa laturum sententiam palam et iuratum, quo ceteris eadem necessitas fieret. manebant etiam tum vestigia morientis libertatis. igitur Cn. Piso ‘quo’ inquit ‘loco censebis, Caesar? si primus, habebo quod sequar: si post omnis, vereor ne inprudens dissentiam.’ permotus his, quantoque incautius efferverat, paenitentia patiens tulit absolvi reum criminibus maiestatis: de pecuniis repetundis ad reciperatores itum est.
74.
Sometime after this, the praetor of Bithynia, Granius Marcellus, was accused of high treason by his own questor, Caepius Crispinus, the charge having the support of Romanus Hispo. By this action Caepius inaugurated a form of life that the depravity of the times and human effrontery made fashionable. In fact, penniless, unknown, and discontented, he deviously dug his way into Tiberius’ cruel tendencies by means of secret denouncements and soon endangered all the prominent citizens of Rome. Thereby, he accumulated power with one and hatred from all the rest and set an example which imitators followed to become rich from destitute, awe-inspiring from insignificant, and to cause ruin to others as well as, in the end, to themselves. The charge he levelled at Marcellus was that he had made offensive references to the emperor, a crime hardly avoidable, since Caepius chose the most disreputable aspects of Tiberius’ personality and claimed they were the invention of the accused. Because they were true, the offensive comments were more readily believed to have been spoken. Hispo added that the statue of Marcellus had been placed higher than the emperor’s and that on another statue Augustus’ head had been removed and replaced with one of Tiberius. At that the prince became so incensed as to abandon his usual reserve and exclaim that he himself was going to vote at the trial, openly and under oath, to force others to do the same. Some vestige of the old freedom remained, however, since Gnaeus Piso asked him at what point he was going to vote, for, he said, if he were to vote first, he, Piso, would have an example to follow; if last, he was afraid he might imprudently disagree with the prince’s verdict. Jolted by these words, Tiberius, now tolerant in his repentance the more incautiously he had before revealed his anger, let the accused be absolved of lese majesty. As to the [additional] charges of extorsion, he transferred their trial to the appropriate court.
LXXV.
Nec patrum cognitionibus satiatus iudiciis adsidebat in cornu tribunalis, ne praetorem curuli depelleret; multaque eo coram adversus ambitum et potentium preces constituta. sed dum veritati consulitur, libertas corrumpebatur. inter quae Pius Aurelius senator questus mole publicae viae ductuque aquarum labefactas aedis suas, auxilium patrum invocabat. resistentibus aerarii praetoribus subvenit Caesar pretiumque aedium Aurelio tribuit, erogandae per honesta pecuniae cupiens, quam virtutem diu retinuit, cum ceteras exueret. Propertio Celeri praetorio, veniam ordinis ob paupertatem petenti, decies sestertium largitus est, satis conperto paternas ei angustias esse. temptantis eadem alios probare causam senatui iussit, cupidine severitatis in iis etiam quae rite faceret acerbus. unde ceteri silentium et paupertatem confessioni et beneficio praeposuere.
75.
Assistance at the trials in the senate not being sufficient to satisfy Tiberius, he attended also cases in the regular courts, sitting in one corner of the tribunal, to avoid forcing the praetor to cede him the curule chair. Because of his presence, many verdicts were rendered contrary to the intrigues and pressure of powerful men, but while justice was being served, the independence [of the judges] was corroded. A case in point was that of Pius Aurelius, a senator who came forwards to ask for help from the senate, complaining that his house was in danger of collapse from the construction of a public road and a water conduit. The treasury praetors having denied the request, Tiberius intervened personally and paid Aurelius the price of the house. He was liberal in spending money for a good cause, a virtue he retained for a long time, whereas all others he lost. To the ex-praetor Propertius Celer, who was asking permission to leave the senatorial order on grounds of poverty, he generously gave one million sesterces, but only after it was established that the senator’s indigence dated back to his father. When others tried to take advantage of these concessions, Tiberius made it mandatory that they prove first their case before the senate: he was extremely severe out of pure love for strictness even in the things he did for a just principle. As a result, many chose silence and poverty over relief at the price of an avowal.
LXXVI.
Eodem anno continuis imbribus auctus Tiberis plana urbis stagnaverat; relabentem secuta est aedificiorum et hominum strages. igitur censuit Asinius Gallus ut libri Sibyllini adirentur. Renuit Tiberius, perinde divina humanaque obtegens; sed remedium coercendi fluminis Ateio Calpitoni et L. Arruntio mandatum. Achaiam ac Macedoniam onera deprecantis levari in praesens proconsulari imperio tradique Caesari placuit. edendis gladiatoribus, quos Germanici fratris ac suo nomine obtulerat, Drusus praesedit, quamquam vili sanguine nimis gaudens; quod [in] vu]gus formidolosum et pater arguisse dicebatur. cur abstinuerit spectaculo ipse, varie trahebant; alii taedio coetus, quidam tristitia ingenii et metu conparationis, quia Augustus comiter interfuisset. non crediderim ad ostentandam saevitiam movendasque populi offensiones concessam filio materiem, quamquam id quoque dictum est.
76.
That same year the Tiber swelled enormously from continuous rains and flooded the low parts of the city. The retreating waters caused the collapse of buildings and loss of life, so Asinius Gallus proposed that the sibylline books be consulted. Tiberius was opposed to the idea — preferring to keep divine matters clouded in mystery as much as human affairs – but he instructed Ateius Capito and Lucius Arruntius to find ways to keep the waters in check. Then he decided to subtract temporarily from proconsular government the provinces of Achaia and Macedonia that were pressing for relief from excessive taxation and placed them under direct imperial supervision. Drusus presided at the gladiatorial games that he and Germanicus were offering under their names. He was rather fond of bloody spectacles, though the blood was only that of slaves. It was said that Tiberius had objected to such preferences because they alarmed the people. Why he himself did not attend the games was variously interpreted: some said it was horror of crowds, others his sullen temperament and fear of being compared to Augustus, who had always mingled amicably with the people; but that he thereby intentionally created the occasion for his son to reveal his cruelty and make himself hateful to the public, I cannot bring myself to believe, although even that was suggested.
LXXVII.
At theatri licentia, proximo priore anno coepta, gravius tum erupit, occisis non modo e plebe set militibus et centurione, vulnerato tribuno praetoriae cohortis, dum probra in magistratus et dissensionem vulgi prohibent. actum de ea seditione apud patres dicebanturque sententiae, ut praetoribus ius virgarum in histriones esset. intercessit Haterius Agrippa tribunus plebei increpitusque est Asinii Galli oratione, silente Tiberio, qui ea simulacra libertatis senatui praebebat. valuit tamen intercessio, quia divus Augustus immunis verberum histriones quondam responderat, neque fas Tiberio infringere dicta eius. de modo lucaris et adversus lasciviam fautorum multa decernuntur; ex quis maxime insignia, ne domos pantomimorum senator introiret, ne egredientis in publicum equites Romani cingerent aut alibi quam in theatro spectarentur, et spectantium immodestiam exilio multandi potestas praetoribus fieret.
77.
Disorders in the theater, already started in the previous year, exploded with greater violence. Lives were lost not only among the plebs, but also those of soldiers and of one centurion; a tribune of a praetorian cohort was wounded while trying to stop the insults directed at the magistrates and the clashes within the crowds. The senate took cognizance of the sedition and proposals were put forward to give the praetors the right to use the rod to keep the actors in line. Haterius Agrippa, tribune of the plebs, interposed his veto; Asinius Gallus retorted harshly; Tiberius, who allowed the senate that much semblance of liberty, kept silent. Yet the veto was upheld, for Augustus had once, on being asked, answered that actors should be immune from beatings and it was considered improper for Tiberius to go against his father’s wishes. Many, however, were the measures taken to limit the emoluments given to actors and to curb the excesses of their fans. Especially significant was the interdiction for senators to enter the house of an actor, for Roman knights to dance attendance on them when they appeared in public, and for actors themselves to perform in places other than the theater. Praetors were given the authority to punish with exile the tumultuous conduct of the crowds.
LXXVIII.
Templum ut in colonia Tarraconensi strueretur Augusto petentibus Hispanis permissum, datumque in omnis provincias exemplum. centesimam rerum venalium post bella civilia institutam deprecante populo edixit Tiberius militare aerarium eo subsidio niti; simul imparem oneri rem publicam, nisi vicesimo militiae anno veterani dimitterentur. ita proximae seditionis male consulta, quibus sedecim stipendiorum finem expresserant, abolita in posterum.
78.
Consent was given to the people of Spain who had requested permission to build a temple to Augustus in the colony of Terraco, an example thus being set for all other provinces. In response to public pressure to abolish the one percent tax on all sales, instituted after the civil wars, Tiberius proclaimed that the army treasure was supported by that income, and also that the state would be unable to bear the onus, if the veterans were discharged before the twentieth year of service. Thus, the reckless concessions made during the recent mutinies, when the discharge after sixteen years was allowed under pressure, were rescinded for the future.
LXXIX.
Actum deinde in senatu ab Arruntio et Ateio an ob moderandas Tiberis exundationes verterentur flumina et lacus, per quos augescit; auditaeque municipiorum et coloniarum legationes, orantibus Florentinis ne Clanis solito alveo demotus in amnem Arnum transferretur idque ipsis perniciem adferret. congruentia his Interamnates disseruere: pessum ituros fecundissimos Italiae campos, si amnis Nar (id enim parabatur) in rivos diductus superstagnavisset. nec Reatini silebant, Velinum lacum, qua in Narem effunditur, obstrui recusantes, quippe in adiacentia erupturum; optume rebus mortalium consuluisse naturam, quae sua ora fluminibus, suos cursus utque originem, ita finis dederit; spectandas etiam religiones sociorum, qui sacra et lucos et aras patriis amnibus dicaverint: quin ipsum Tiberim nolle prorsus accolis fluviis orbatum minore gloria fluere. seu preces coloniarum seu difficultas operum sive superstitio valuit, ut in sententiam Pisonis concederetur, qui nil mutandum censuerat.
79.
Next on the senate’s agenda, by the initiative of Arruntius and Ateius, were the measures necessary to control the inundations of the Tiber, that is whether or not they should deviate the waters of the rivers and lakes that caused it to swell. Audience was given to delegations of municipalities and colonies. The people of Florentia pleaded that the Clanis river be left undisturbed and that its waters be not redirected into the Arnus, a change that would bring ruin to them. Similar objections were voiced by the citizens of Interamna: it would entail, they said, the devastation of the most fertile ground in Italy, should the river Nar be divided into smaller channels, as called for by the project, then overflow and turn the region into swamps. Complaints were heard also from the people of Reate, who opposed the obstruction of the Velinus lake which drains into the Nar: its waters, they remonstrated, would then spill over the entire neighborhood. It was their view that nature had ordered all things in the best interest of mortals; she had assigned sources and a given course to each river and, as they all respected their sources, so must their destination be accepted. The religious sentiments of their former allies must also be taken into account: they had consecrated cults, groves, and altars to the rivers of their native land. The Tiber itself might refuse to flow, its glory diminished by the loss of its tributaries. The urging of the colonies, or the complexity of the undertaking, or religious scruples won over in the end. Gnaeus Piso’s advice, which proposed that nothing be changed, prevailed.
LXXX.
Prorogatur Poppaeo Sabino provincia Moesia, additis Achaia ac Macedonia. id quoque morum Tiberii fuit, continuare imperia ac plerosque ad finem vitae in isdem exercitibus aut iurisdictionibus habere. causae variae traduntur: alii taedio novae curae semel placita pro aeternis servavisse, quidam invidia, ne plures fruerentur; sunt qui existiment, ut callidum eius ingenium, ita anxium iudicium; neque enim eminentis virtutes sectabatur, et rursum vitia oderat: ex optimis periculum sibi, a pessimis dedecus publicum metuebat. qua haesitatione postremo eo provectus est ut mandaverit quibusdam provincias, quos egredi urbe non erat passurus.
80.
To Poppaeus Sabinus the governorship of Moesia was extended, with the addition of Achaia and Macedonia. This also was typical of Tiberius’ method of doing things, to prolong the office and keep the same people, in most cases until they died, at the head of armies or in posts of civil administration. Various explanations are offered: some say that once he chose a man, he would have the tendency to keep him in office forever, just to avoid the aggravation of having to choose again. Other say it was jealousy, lest too many enjoyed the perquisites of power. There are those who thought his intellect was agile, yet his judgement vacillating. In actual fact, it was not that he sought out men of extraordinary abilities, but rather that he hated vices: of the best men he was afraid for himself, of the worst he feared the embarrassment they might cause the state. On account of such hesitation, he went so far as to entrust provinces to some whom he would never allow to leave Rome to reach them.
LXXXI.
De comitiis consularibus, quae tum primum illo principe ac deinceps fuere, vix quicquam firmare ausim: adeo diversa non modo apud auctores, sed in ipsius orationibus reperiuntur. modo subtractis candidatorum nominibus originem cuiusque et vitam et stipendia descripsit ut qui forent intellegeretur; aliquando ea quoque significatione sub tracta candidatos hortatus ne ambitu comitia turbarent, suam ad id curam pollicitus est. plerumque eos tantum apud se professos disseruit, quorum nomina consulibus edidisset; posse et alios profiteri, si gratiae aut meritis confiderent: speciosa verbis, re inania aut subdola, quantoque maiore libertatis imagine tegebantur, tanto eruptura ad infensius servitium.
81.
I hardly dare to pronounce myself on the consular elections, both those which were held for the first time under Tiberius and those that came after, so contradictory are the references to them not only in the works of historians, but also in the prince’s speeches. In some cases, the names of the candidates were left out and only mention made of their origin, life, and military career, in such a way as to make clear who the candidates were. At other times, even that information was withheld, replaced only by a recommendation not to perturb the assembly in quest for votes and Tiberius’ promise of his vigilance in that regard. In most cases he would explain that he had communicated to the consuls only the names of those who had expressed to him their intentions to run, but that others could also compete, if they trusted their prestige and their own merit. Noble thoughts as words go, but without substance or honesty: the more they were veiled by the appearance of freedom, the more odious the enslavement they were destined to lead to.