I.
* * * nam Valerium Asiaticum, bis consulem, fuisse quondam adulterum eius credidit, pariterque hortis inhians, quos ille a Lucullo cooptos insigni magnificentia extollebat, Suillium accusandis utrisque immittit. adiungitur Sosibius Britannici educator qui per speciem benevolentiae moneret Claudium cavere vim atque opes principibus infensas: praecipoum auctorem Asiaticum interficiendi G. Caesaris non extimuisse contione in populi Romani fateri gloriamque facinoris ultro petere; clarum ex eo in urbe, didita per provincias fama parare iter ad Germanicos exercitus, quando genitus Viennae multisque et validis propinquitatibus subnixus turbare gentilis nationes promptum haberet. at Claudius nihil ultra scrutatus citis cum militibus tamquam opprimendo bello Crispinum praetorii praefectum misit, a quo repertus est apud Baias vinclisque inditis in urbem raptus.
1.
. . . for [Messalina] believed that Valerius Asiaticus, twice consul, had been in the past Poppaea’s lover. She also craved the gardens that Lucullus had laid out and which Asiaticus was improving with notable munificence. Thus, she induced Suillius to bring charges against both him and Poppaea. To Suillius was added Sosibius, Britannicus’ tutor, in order to have the outwardly well-intentioned mentor alert Claudius to the danger of someone possessing great power and wealth becoming a threat to emperors. He was to say that Asiaticus had been the main agent in the assassination of Gaius Caesar; he had not shown fear to admit it during the assembly of the Roman people, even to the point of boasting credit for the deed. That had made his name famous in Rome, and a rumor circulated in the provinces that he was preparing to go to the armies of Germany, for, being a native of Vienne and having large and powerful support among his compatriots, he could easily foment trouble abroad. At once, Claudius, without taking time to search more deeply, almost as if an ongoing revolt needed to be quashed, despatched Crispinus, the head of the praetorian guard, with a body of troops to bring Asiaticus in. He was found at Baiae, arrested, and hurried off to Rome.
II.
Neque data senatus copia: intra cubiculum auditur, Messalina coram et Suillio corruptionem militum, quos pecunia et stupro in omne flagitium obstrictos arguebat, exim adulterium Poppaeae, postremum mollitiam corporis obiectante. ad quod victo silentio prorupit reus et ‘interroga’ inquit, ‘Suilli, filios tuos: virum esse me fatebuntur.’ ingressusque defensionem, commoto maiorem in modum Claudio, Messalinae quoque lacrimas excivit. quibus abluendis cubiculo egrediens monet Vitellium ne elabi reum sineret: ipsa ad perniciem Poppaeae festinat, subditis qui terrore carceris ad voluntariam mortem propellerent, adeo ignaro Caesare ut paucos post dies epulantem apud se maritum eius Scipionem percontaretur cur sine uxore discubuisset, atque ille functam fato responderet.
2.
He was denied the opportunity to justify himself before the senate and was heard in Claudius’ bedchamber in the presence of Messalina. Suillius charged him first with corrupting the soldiers and attaching them to himself by means of bribes and seductions and by every possible iniquity. Further, he accused him of having committed adultery with Poppaea, and finally of being effeminate. At this last imputation Asiaticus suddenly broke silence: “Ask your sons, Suillius, he said, “they will confirm my manhood!” Then he launched into his own defence, by which he moved Claudius deeply, and even drew tears from Messalina. She left the room to dry them and in so doing told Vitellius not to allow the accused to escape free. She herself took measures to bring about Poppaea’s downfall by inciting her agents to terrify her with the prospect of imprisonment and push her to suicide. Claudius was so much in the dark about all this that a few days later, while dining at the palace with Scipio, Poppaea’s husband, he asked him why he had come without his wife, and Scipio answered that she was no longer among the living.
III.
Sed consultanti super absolutione Asiatici flensVitellius, commemorata vetustate amicitiae utque Antoniam principis matrem pariter observavissent, dein percursis Asiatici in rem publicam officiis recentique adversus Britanniam militia, quaeque alia conciliandae misericordiae videbantur, liberum mortis arbitrium ei permisit; et secuta sunt Claudii verba in eandem clementiam. hortantibus dehinc quibusdam inediam et lenem exitum, remittere beneficium Asiaticus ait: et usurpatis quibus insueverat exercitationibus, lauto corpore, hilare epulatus, cum se honestius calliditate Tiberii vel impetu G. Caesaris periturum dixisset quam quod fraude muliebri et impudico Vitellii ore caderet, venas exolvit, viso tamen ante rogo iussoque transferri partem in aliam ne opacitas arborum vapore ignis minueretur: tantum illi securitatis novissimae fuit.
3.
However, when Claudius asked Vitellius’ opinion about absolving Asiaticus, the consul burst into tears and went on to commemorate his long friendship with Asiaticus, their common attachment to Claudius’ mother Antonia, the past services of the accused to the state, his recent campaign in Britain, and all that might appear to call for compassion. He ended his plea by recommending that Asiaticus should be allowed the choice of ending his own life. Claudius followed suit with words supporting the suggested boon. After the trial, to anyone counseling starvation as a gentle way to die, Asiaticus would return thanks for the advice and not follow it. Instead, he kept on performing his usual exercises, bathed, and dined in good cheer. After saying that he would rather die by the trickery of Tiberius or by the mad furor of Caligula than by the wiles of a woman and the unctuous tongue of a Vitellius, he opened his vein. Not long before, he had inspected his funeral pyre and given orders to have it moved further away to avoid damage to the foliage of nearby trees from the heat of the fire. Such was his aplomb even on the brink of death.
IV.
Vocantur post haec patres, pergitque Suillius addere reos equites Romanos inlustris, quibus Petra cognomentum. at causa necis ex eo quod domum suam Mnesteris et Poppaeae congressibus praebuissent. verum nocturnae quietis species alteri obiecta, tamquam vidisset Claudium spicea corona evinctum spicis retro conversis, eaque imagine gravitatem annonae praedixisset. quidam pampineam coronam albentibus foliis visam atque ita interpretatum tradidere, vergente autumno mortem principis ostendi. illud haud ambigitur, qualicumque insomnio ipsi fratrique perniciem adlatam. sestertium quindecies et insignia praeturae Crispino decreta. adiecit Vitellius sestertium decies Sosibio, quod Britannicum praeceptis, Claudium consiliis iuvaret. rogatus sententiam et Scipio, ‘cum idem’ inquit ‘de admissis Poppaeae sentiam quod omnes, putate me idem dicere quod omnes,’ eleganti temperamento inter coniugalem amorem et senatoriam necessitatem.
4.
The senate was next convoked and there also Suillius continued his attacks adding two knights of high rank, named Petra, to his string of accused men. In truth, the official cause of their death was having made available their house for the assignations between the ballet dancer Mnester and Poppaea Sabina. Yet, the reason ostensibly given out was that one of them had a night dream in which Claudius had appeared to him wearing a wheaten crown on which the ears of wheat were inverted, a fact he had interpreted as predicting a shortage of grain. Others reported that what he saw was a crown of whitening grape leaves, construed to forebode the emperor’s death in the autumn. Beyond doubt is this, that because of a dream, of whatever kind, both brothers were sent to death. Crispinus, [who had captured Asiaticus], was voted one and a half million sesterces, together with the praetorian insignia. Lucius Vitellius awarded Sosibius another million for helping Britannicus with tutoring and Claudius with counsel. Scipio, Poppaea’s husband, on being asked for his opinion, responded by saying that since he thought what all thought of Poppaea’s guilt, they should put him down as saying what all said, a graceful balance between conjugal love and senatorial duty.
V.
Continuus inde et saevus accusandis reis Suillius multique audaciae eius aemuli; nam cuncta legum et magistratuum munia in se trahens princeps materiam praedandi patefecerat. nec quicquam publicae mercis tam venale fuit quam advocatorum perfidia, adeo ut Samius, insignis eques Romanus, quadringentis nummorum milibus Suillio datis et cognita praevaricatione ferro in domo eius incubuerit. igitur incipiente C. Silio consule designato, cuius de potentia et exitio in tempore memorabo, consurgunt patres legemque Cinciam flagitant, qua cavetur antiquitus ne quis ob causam orandam pecuniam donumve accipiat.
5.
From this point on, Suillius was occupied, without pause or mercy, in criminal prosecutions, his audacity attracting many imitators. All judicial and administrative functions being concentrated now in the prince, a potential for widespread predatory tactics had developed and no public commodity was more openly on sale than the unscrupulous trickery of lawyers. Things had come to such a pass that a certain Samius, a distinguished Roman knight, after paying Suillius the sum of four hundred thousand sesterces, discovered that he was being betrayed by him and threw himself on his sword in the swindler’s own house. Hence, on the example set by Silius, the consul-designate, whose power and ruin I will recount at the proper time, the senators rose together to show consensus in demanding the application of the Cincian law, which vetoed payment or gifts in exchange of legal assistance.
VI.
Deinde obstrepentibus iis quibus ea contumelia parabatur, discors Suillio Silius acriter incubuit, veterum oratorum exempla referens qui famam et posteros praemia eloquentiae cogitavissent. pulcherrimam alioquin et bonarum artium principem sordidis ministeriis foedari; ne fidem quidem intgram manere ubi magnitudo quaestuum spectetur. quod si in nullius mercedem negotia agantur pauciora fore: nunc inimicitias accusationes, odia et iniurias foveri, ut quo modo vis morborum pretia medentibus, sic fori tabes pecuniam advocatis ferat. meminissent Asinii, Messalae ac recentiorum Arruntii et Aesernini: ad summa provectos incorrupta vita et facundia. talia dicente consule designato, consentientibus aliis, parabatur sententia qua lege repetundarum tenerentur, cum Suillius et Cossutianus et ceteri qui non iudicium, quippe in manifestos, sed poenam statui videbant, circumsistunt Caesarem ante acta deprecantes.
6.
Next, those senators who were directly affected by the proposed measure reacted vigorously in opposition to it. Silius, who heartly disliked Suillius, attacked them in a fiery speech: he pointed to the orators of the past, who had considered fame and the approval of posterity sufficient recompense for their eloquence. If their example was ignored, he said, the first and the finest of all arts would be debased to the level of a sordid transaction. Trust itself would be gravely affected, when gain became the main consideration. The number of legal proceedings would plummet once they ceased to be a source of profit: as things stood, accusations, enmities, injustices were encouraged. Just as the spread of a disease brought gain to the physician, so the fever and confusion in the forum made advocates rich. The precedent set by Asinius, Messala, and more recently by Arruntius and Aeserninus should be kept in mind, he concluded: they had reached the summit of fame without blot on their lives, without demeaning their eloquence. The consul designate having spoken in this vein and others nodding assent, a resolution was fashioned by which offenders were brought under the law of extorsion, when Suillius, Cossutianus, and others, who realized that immediate punishment – not a trial – was in store for them (they were too palpably guilty for regular proceedings), thronged around Claudius, beseeching pardon for past offences.
VII.
Et postguam adnuit, agere incipiunt: quem illum tanta superbia esse ut aeternitatem famae spe praesumat? usui et rebus subsidium praeparari ne quis inopia advocatorum potentibus obnoxius sit. neque tamen eloquentiam gratuito contingere: omitti curas familiaris ut quis se alienis negotiis intendat. multos militia, quosdam exercendo agros tolerare vitam: nihil a quoquam expeti nisi cuius fructus ante providerit. facile Asinium et Messalam, inter Antonium et Augustum bellorum praemiis refertos, aut ditium familiarum heredes Aeserninos et Arruntios magnum animum induisse. prompta sibi exempla, quantis mercedibus P. Clodius aut C. Curio contionari soliti sint. se modicos senatores qui quieta re publica nulla nisi pacis emolumenta peterent. cogitaret plebem quae toga enitesceret: sublatis studiorum pretiis etiam studia peritura. ut minus decora haec, ita haud frustra dicta princeps ratus, capiendis pecuniis posuit modum usque ad dena sestertia quem egressi repetundarum tenerentur.
7.
Given permission by the prince to justify themselves, they began by saying that it would be sheer arrogance for anyone to count on his fame after death. Eloquence was acquired for a purpose, for a vital need, namely to defend those who otherwise would be left at the mercy of the powerful for lack of legal assistance. But eloquence was not acquired for free. Advocates must neglect their own affairs in order to look after the affairs of others. Many made a living by serving in the army, others by cultivating their fields. No profession is sought without calculating in advance the compensation to be expected from it. There was little to marvel at if Asinius and Messala, fattened by riches gained in the civil conflict between Antony and Augustus, and if people like Arruntius and Aeserninus, the inheritors of great fortunes, had chosen to be generous. Convenient examples from the past were available to their side also, like the huge fees demanded for pleading by Publius Clodius and Gaius Curio. As to themselves, they were senators of modest means, who merely sought to enjoy the benefits of peace in a country at ease. They concluded by urging the prince to consider how members of the lower classes had won distinction by their forensic skills. If compensation for their efforts was removed, the spur to succeed would also disappear. Claudius thought that the arguments he had heard, though they might lack nobility, were not without validity. He set a limit of ten thousand sesterces to the fees advocates could demand. Those exceeding the amount would incur the charge of extorsion.
VIII.
Sub idem tempus Mithridates, quem imperitasse Armeniis iussuque G. Caesaris vinctum memoravi, monente Claudio in regnum remeavit, fisus Pharasmanis opibus. is rex Hiberis idemque Mithridatis frater nuntiabat discordare Parthos summaque imperii ambigua, minora sine cura haberi. nam Gotarzes inter pleraque saeva necem fratri Artabano coningique ac filio eius paraverat, unde metus [eius] in ceteros, et accivere Vardanen. ille, ut erat magnis ausis promptus, biduo tria milia stadiorum invadit ignarumque et exterritum Gotarzen proturbat; neque cunctatur quin proximas praefecturas corripiat, solis Seleucensibus dominationem eius abnuentibus. in quos ut patris sui quoque defectores ira magis quam ex usu praesenti accensus, implicatur obsidione urbis validae et munimentis obiecti amnis muroque et commeatibus firmatae. interim Gotarzes Daharum Hyrcanorumque opibus auctus bellum renovat, coactusque Vardanes omittere Seleuciam Bactrianos apud campos castra contulit.
8.
Near this time, Mithridates, of whom I said earlier had been master of Armenia, was brought to Rome in chains by order of Caligula and returned to his kingdom at Claudius’ suggestion. He relied on the support of his brother Pharasmanes, the king of Iberia, who made him aware that the Parthians were bedeviled by discord and that, in their contest for the crown, matters of less importance, [like Armenia], were ignored. The king of Parthia, Gotarzes, among other cruel acts, had contrived the murder of one of his two brothers, Artabanus, and of his wife and son. The other Parthians, in their alarm, had called in the third brother, Vardanes, and he, always eager to embark on new adventures, in two days travelled three thousand stadia, surprised the terrified Gotarzes unprepared, and forced him to flee. Furthermore, without hesitation, he even possessed himself of the neighboring regions, Seleucia alone rejecting his authority. Forgetful of his immediate interests and furious at the obstinacy of a people that once before had deserted his father, he became involved in a siege of a powerful city, well protected by a river, by massive walls, and supported by vast food reserves. Meanwhile, Gotarzes, with forces raised among the Dahae and the Hyrcanians, renewed the fight. Forced to abandon the siege of Seleucia, Verdanes moved his camp to the fields of Bactria.
IX.
Tunc distractis Orientis viribus et quonam inclinarent incertis, casus Mithridati datus est occupandi Armeniam, vi militis Romani ad excindenda castellorum ardua, simul Hibero exercitu campos persultante. nec enim restitere Armenii, fuso qui proelium ausus erat Demonacte praefecto. paululum cunctationis attulit rex minoris Armeniae Cotys, versis illuc quibusdam procerum; dein litteris Caesaris coercitus, et cuncta in Mithridaten fluxere, atrociorem quam novo regno conduceret. at Parthi imperatores cum pugnam pararent, foedus repente iaciunt cognitis popularium insidiis quas Gotarzes fratri patefecit; congressique primo cunctanter, dein complexi dextras apud altaria deum pepigere fraudem inimicorum ulcisci atque ipsi inter se concedere. potiorque Vardanes visus retinendo regno: at Gotarzes ne quid aemulationis existeret penitus in Hyrcaniam abiit. regressoque Vardani deditur Seleucia septimo post defectionem anno, non sine dedecore Parthorum quos una civibas tam diu eluserat.
9.
Most of the forces of the Orient being engaged in an unpredictable tug of war, Mithridates exploited the opportunity of seizing Armenia with the aid of the Roman troops, which vigorously assaulted the fortified heights, while the Iberian forces swept the plain of enemy resistance. In fact, the Armenians offered no opposition in the wake of the defeat of their leader Demonax, who had tried the fortunes of war. Some minor delay was caused by Cotys, the king of Lesser Armenia, to whom several of the nobles had applied for help, but was dissuaded from intervening by a letter from Claudius. Mithridates succeeded, yet turned out to be more despotic than is advisable for a new king. As to the two Parthian contenders, they were about to engage battle, when they suddenly agreed to a truce on Gotarzes’ receiving news that a popular revolt was in the making and communicating it to his brother. At first they approached each other reluctantly, then they shook hands and swore at the altars of the gods to punish the perfidy of their enemies and to use compromise to settle their differences. They agreed that regal power would be better placed in the hands of Vardanes, so Gotarzes retired far into Hyrcania to eliminate the risk of new rivalries. With the return of Vardanes, Seleucia, on the Tigris, surrendered in the seventh year of its defection. The Parthians gained no glory from the event, having been braved so long by a single city.
X.
Exim validissimas praefecturas invisit; et reciperare Armeniam avebat, ni a Vibio Marso, Syriae legato, bellum minitante cohibitus foret. atque interim Gotarzes paenitentia concessi regni et vocante nobilitate, cui in pace durius servitium est, contrahit copias. et hinc contra itum ad amnem Erinden; in cuius transgressu multum certato pervicit Vardanes, prosperisque proeliis medias nationes subegit ad flumen Sinden, quod Dahas Ariosque disterminat. ibi modus rebus secundis positus: nam Parthi quamquam victores longinquam militiam aspernabantur. igitur extructis monimentis, quibus opes suas testabatur nec cuiquam ante Arsacidarum tributa illis de gentibus parta, regreditur ingens gloria atque eo ferocior et subiectis intolerantior; qui dolo ante composito incautum venationique intentum interfecere, primam intra iuventam, sed claritudine paucos inter senum regum, si perinde amorem inter popularis quam metum apud hostis quaesivisset. nece Vardanis turbatae Parthorum res inter ambiguos quis in regnum acciperetur. multi ad Gotarzen inclinabant, quidam ad Meherdaten prolem Phraatis, obsidio nobis datum: dein praevaluit Gotarzes; potitusque regiam per saevitiam ac luxum adegit Parthos mittere ad principem Romanum occultas preces, quis permitti Meherdaten patrium ad fastigium orabant.
10.
Vardanes then visited the most powerful provinces and burned with the desire to conquer Armenia, but was held back by the legate of Syria, Vibius Marsus, promising war if he did. Meanwhile, Gotarzes, regretting having ceded the crown to his brother and solicited by the nobles of Parthia, to whom obedience was always more intolerable in time of peace, assembled an army. Vardanes on his side advanced to the river Erindes and in a violent clash at the river crossing won a clear victory. In other successful battles he subdued all the tribes up to the river Sindes, the boundary between the Dahae and the Arii. There his string of triumphs ended, for the Parthians, though victorious, had no stomach for wars far away from home. He, therefore, erected memorials celebrating his power and the tributes that none of the Arsacids before him had ever imposed on the peoples he had conquered. He returned covered in glory and more arrogant and unbearable than ever to his subjects, who set a trap, prepared in advance, and assassinated him while engrossed in hunting and forgetful of his safety. He was still young, but in greatness would have been the equal of the few famous kings grown old on the throne, had he fostered the love of his people as much as he had promoted fear among his enemies. His death caused trouble in the state, as discord arose about the successor. Many favored Gotarzes, some Meherdates, a scion of Phraates, who had been given hostage to the Romans. Gotarzes was favored in the end, but once settled on the throne his cruelty and excesses drove the Parthians to secretly apply to Claudius to have Meherdates return to take the high place of his forefathers.