I.
Caede Messalinae convulsa principis domus, orto apud libertos certamine, quis deligeret uxorem Claudio, caelibis vitae intoleranti et coniugum imperiis obnoxio. nec minore ambitu feminae exarserant: suam quaeque nobilitatem formam opes contendere ac digna tanto matrimonio ostentare. sed maxime ambigebatur inter Lolliam Paulinam M. Lollii consularis et Iuliam Agrippinam Germanico genitam: huic Pallas, illi Callistus fautores aderant; at Aelia Paetina e familia Tuberonum Narcisso fovebatur. ipse huc modo, modo illuc, ut quemque suadentium audierat, promptus, discordantis in consilium vocat ac promere sententiam et adicere rationes iubet.
1.
The elimination of Messalina sowed discord in the imperial house, for a contest arose among the freedmen about the choice of a wife for the prince, a man incapable of staying unmarried and used to be under the control of his wives. Not less vigorous was the rivalry of the women, each maintaining that her nobility or beauty or wealth qualified her for the exalted connection. The most bitter contention was between Lolia Paulina, daughter of the consular Marcus Lollius, and Julia Agrippina, the daughter of Germanicus, the first backed by Callistus, and the other by Pallas. Narcissus, for his part, supported Aelia Paetina, from the house of the Tuberones. Claudius himself, who favored now one, now another of the women according to whose advice he had last listened to, decided to convoke his freedmen together and — to have them reach an agreement — he forced them to express their preference and give reasons for it.
II.
Narcissus vetus matrimonium, filiam communem (nam Antonia ex Paetina erat), nihil in penatibus eius novum disserebat, si sueta coniunx rediret, haudquaquam novercalibus odiis visura Britannicum, Octaviam, proxima suis pignora. Callistus improbatam longo discidio, ac si rursum adsumeretur, eo ipso superbam; longeque rectius Lolliam induci, quando nullos liberos genuisset, vacuam aemulatione et privignis parentis loco futuram. at Pallas id maxime in Agrippina laudare quod Germanici nepotem secum traheret, dignum prorsus imperatoria fortuna: stirpem nobilem et familiae.
2.
Narcissus argued that the past marriage of the prince and the daughter Antonia he had had with Paetina would add nothing to his family that was unknown or unfamiliar, if the former wife returned. She would be the least likely to view with a stepmother’s distaste Octavia and Britannicus, so closely related by blood to her own children. Callistus, on the contrary, regarded Paetina discredited by her long divorce: if she was taken back, she would be condescending for that very reason. Lollia was by far a better choice: she had no children, therefore less likely to nurse jealousy against the stepchildren and be a more devoted mother to offspring that was not her own. Pallas extolled Agrippina as being far above the others, in that she was the mother of Germanicus’ grandson, who was worthy of imperial fortune, a noble issue of his family, who was to join together the Julian gens, from which he descended, with the branch of the Claudii. That would prevent that a woman still young and of proven fecundity should transfer to another house the luster of the Caesars.
III.
Praevaluere haec adiuta Agrippinae inlecebris: ad eum per speciem necessitudinis crebro ventitando pellicit patruum ut praelata ceteris et nondum uxor potentia uxoria iam uteretur. nam ubi sui matrimonii certa fuit, struere maiora nuptiasque Domitii, quem ex Cn. Ahenobarbo genuerat, et Octaviae Caesaris filiae moliri; quod sine scelere perpetrari non poterat, quia L. Silano desponderat Octaviam Caesar iuvenemque et alia clarum insigni triumphalium et gladiatorii muneris magnificentia protulerat ad studia vulgi. sed nihil arduum videbatur in animo principis, cui non iudicium, non odium erat nisi indita et iussa.
3.
Pallas’ counsel won out, supported by Agrippina’s graces. With her close kinship to her uncle as an excuse, she came often to see him at the palace, and so ingratiated herself with him that he came to favor her above all others. Even before their marriage she already gained the authority of a wife. As soon as she was certain of being chosen, she turned her mind to more ambitious plans, aiming at the union of Domitius, the son she had had from Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus, and Octavia, Claudius’ daughter. Her project was one that required some underhand scheming to be realized, in that Claudius had by this time promised Octavia in marriage to Lucius Silanus, a youth with earlier titles to fame, but whom he had propelled into public notice by honoring him with the triumphal insignia and the magnificence of a gladiatorial show. No obstacle, however, seemed insuperable with a ruler whose mind was receptive only to affections and aversions that were suggested to or forced on him.
IV.
Igitur Vitellius, nomine censoris servilis fallacias obtegens ingruentiumque dominationum provisor, quo gratiam Agrippinae pararet, consiliis eius implicari, ferre crimina in Silanum, cuius sane decora et procax soror, Iunia Calvina, haud multum ante Vitellii nurus fuerat. hinc initium accusationis; fratrumque non incestum, sed incustoditum amorem ad infamiam traxit. et praebebat Caesar auris, accipiendis adversus generum suspicionibus caritate filiae promptior. at Silanus insidiarum nescius ac forte eo anno praetor, repente per edictum Vitellii ordine senatorio movetur, quamquam lecto pridem senatu lustroque condito. simul adfinitatem Claudius diremit, adactusque Silanus eiurare magistratum, et reliquus praeturae dies in Eprium Marcellum conlatus est.
4.
That being the case, Vitellius, masking his servile plotting under the cover of his office of censor, began to aim accusations at Lucius Silanus, to secure the goodwill of Agrippina and to insert himself in her plans, since he saw ahead of time who would grow into the despots of tomorrow. Silanus’ sister, Junia Calvina, an attractive an provocative young woman, had recently become Vitellius’ daughter-in-law and that event offered a base for his attack against Silanus, by presenting the fraternal love between him and his sister, if not as incestuous, at least as outright unseemly. Claudius, in his fatherly concern for his daughter, was inclined to listen to the charges and to harbor suspicion towards his future son-in-law. Silanus, however, who was then a praetor, had no inkling of the trap being prepared for him, when without warning he was expelled from the senate by an edict of Vitellius, though not only the rosters of the senators had been completed before this, but also the consul’s five-year office as censor had expired earlier on. Furthermore, Claudius called off his daughter’s engagement and compelled Silanus to renounce his praetorship, the remaining day of his term being given to Eprius Marcellus.
V.
Pompeio Q. Veranio consulibus pactum inter Claudium et Agrippinam matrimonium iam fama, iam amore inlicito firmabatur; necdum celebrare sollemnia nuptiarum audebant, nullo exemplo deductae in domum patrui fratris filiae: quin et incestum ac, si sperneretur, ne in malum publicum erumperet metuebatur. nec ante omissa cunctatio quam Vitellius suis artibus id perpetrandum sumpsit. percontatusque Caesarem an iussis populi, an auctoritati senatus cederet, ubi ille unum se civium et consensui imparem respondit, opperiri intra palatium iubet. ipse curiam ingreditur, summamque rem publicam agi obtestans veniam dicendi ante alios exposcit orditurque: gravissimos principis labores, quis orbem terrae capessat, egere adminiculis ut domestica cura vacuus in commune consulat. quod porro honestius censoriae mentis levamentum quam adsumere coniugem, prosperis dubiisque sociam, cui cogitationes intimas, cui parvos liberos tradat, non luxui aut voluptatibus adsuefactus, sed qui prima ab iuventa legibus obtemperavisset.
5.
Gaius Pompeius and Quintus Veranius being the consul for the new year, the marriage between Agrippina and Claudius received double confirmation, from the rumors current in Rome and from their living together as man and wife. There was hesitation in having the ceremony performed, as no precedent existed of an uncle taking the daughter of a brother into his house as wife. In fact, the relation was nothing less than incestuous and if the violation was ignored, it might attract calamities on the state. Perplexity was pushed aside only when Vitellius took upon himself the task of finding a solution through methods of his own. He first asked the prince whether the collective will of the people and of the senate was enough to silence his scruples. Claudius answered he was a citizen like any other and would not oppose the unanimous voice of the nation. Vitellius, having required him to await his return at the palace, went to the senate house and, exclaiming that the highest interests of the nation were in question, he begged to be allowed to speak ahead of the others. He began by saying that a prince weighed down by the responsibility of governing the world needed assistance to free him from domestic cares, if he was to devote himself entirely to the common good. Where, he asked, would the mind of a censor find repose better than in the company of a spouse, the sharer of all his joys and troubles, to whom all his thoughts — even the most secret – and his young children could be entrusted by a ruler who, from early youth had never given in to luxury and forbidden pleasures and always lived in the respectful observance of the laws.
VI.
Postquam haec favorabili oratione praemisit multaque patrum adsentatio sequebatur, capto rursus initio, quando maritandum principem cuncti suaderent, deligi oportere feminam nobilitate puerperiis sanctimonia insignem. nec diu anquirendum quin Agrippina claritudine generis anteiret: datum ab ea fecunditatis experimentum et congruere artes honestas. id vero egregium, quod provisu deum vidua iungeretur principi sua tantum matrimonia experto. audivisse a parentibus, vidisse ipsos abripi coniuges ad libita Caesarum: procul id a praesenti modestia. statueretur immo documentum, quo uxorem imperator acciperet. at enim nova nobis in fratrum filias coniugia: sed aliis gentibus sollemnia, neque lege ulla prohibita; et sobrinarum diu ignorata tempore addito percrebuisse. morem accommodari prout conducat, et fore hoc quoque in iis quae mox usurpentur.
6.
Having gained the favor of the audience by this engaging preamble, Vitellius followed up his advantage by adding that since all were agreed on recommending the marriage of the prince, it was advisable that the woman chosen should be one of noble birth, proven fecundity, and high virtue. No long search was required, he said, to establish that Agrippina was that woman. Ahead of all others by blood, her motherhood was surety of fertility, and her irreproachable conduct of lofty moral standards. The gods had provided that she, a widow, should be joined in marriage to an emperor whose knowledge of women was confined to his wives. They all had heard from their fathers, or they themselves had seen other men’s wives abducted from their husbands for the pleasure of emperors. Such abuses were far from the moderation of their times. In fact, they were setting a new example, whereby an emperor would be presented a bride by the nation. Vitellius said he was aware that the union with a brother’s daughter had never been seen among them, yet it was a respected practice among other peoples and no Roman law prohibited it. Marriage among cousins, unknown for a long time, had later become increasingly frequent. Usages developed to suit the needs of the people and what was being tried by them at that moment would one day be just another of their customs.
VII.
Haud defuere qui certatim, si cunctaretur Caesar, vi acturos testificantes erumperent curia. conglobatur promisca multitudo populumque Romanum eadem orare clamitat. nec Claudius ultra expectato obvius apud forum praebet se gratantibus, senatumque ingressus decretum postulat quo iustae inter patruos fratrumque filias nuptiae etiam in posterum statuerentur. nec tamen repertus est nisi unus talis matrimonii cupitor, Alledius Severus eques Romanus, quem plerique Agrippinae gratia impulsum ferebant. versa ex eo civitas et cuncta feminae oboediebant, non per lasciviam, ut Messalina, rebus Romanis inludenti. adductum et quasi virile servitium: palam severitas ac saepius superbia; nihil domi impudicum, nisi dominationi expediret. cupido auri immensa obtentum habebat, quasi subsidium regno pararetur.
7.
Some of the senators burst out of the curia vociferating they would resort to force if the emperor would still hesitate to marry. An assorted crowd that had gathered in the meantime, shouted that the Roman people shared the wishes of the senate. Claudius waited no longer and went to meet the throng in the forum and receive their compliments. He then entered the senate house to request a decree that from then on would authorize the marriage of uncles with a brother’s daughter. Only one man came eagerly forward to avail himself of the new law, Alledius Severus, a Roman knight, whose motive – so did many people say – was to please Agrippina. Thenceforth, a radical change transformed the country and a woman had dominion over all. Unlike Messalina, who in her wantonness treated the grand affairs of Rome as a diversion, Agrippina’s despotic rule entailed rigid subservience, as to a male tyrant. In public her demeanor was austere, more often disdainful, in private not the least sign of immodesty, unless it eased the way to greater influence. Her insatiable hunger for gold she passed off as a mainstay to secure the regime.
VIII.
Die nuptiarum Silanus mortem sibi conscivit, sive eo usque spem vitae produxerat, seu delecto die augendam ad invidiam. Calvina soror eius Italia pulsa est. addidit Claudius sacra ex legibus Tulli regis piaculaque apud lucum Dianae per pontifices danda, inridentibus cunctis quod poenae procurationesque incesti id temporis exquirerentur. at Agrippina ne malis tantum facinoribus notesceret veniam exilii pro Annaeo Seneca, simul praeturam impetrat, laetum in publicum rata ob claritudinem studiorum eius, utque Domitii pueritia tali magistro adolesceret et consiliis eiusdem ad spem dominationis uterentur, quia Seneca fidus in Agrippinam memoria beneficii et infensus Claudio dolore iniuriae credebatur.
8.
Silanus died by his own hand on the very day of Claudius’ wedding, either because he had retained until then hope of life or had chosen that day to excite hatred against his enemies. His sister Calvina was banished from Italy. Claudius had religious ceremonies that were instituted by Tullius Ostilius and expiatory sacrifices performed in the sacred wood of Diana. These measures, meant to punish and atone for Silanus’ incest, when the emperor had just wedded his own niece, was greeted with universal scorn. Agrippina, however, wishing to be known for something other than her reprehensible actions, obtained for Annaeus Seneca the revocation of his exile and the award of a praetorship, calculating that the gesture would please everyone, because of Senaca’s renown and literary accomplishments. She also thought that Domitius’ boyhood had much to gain by such a mentor and that his counsels could be useful to her plans for the son’s future greatness. Seneca was devoted to Agrippina from memory of her kindness, and an enemy of Claudius for the injustice he had suffered.
IX.
Placitum dehinc non ultra cunctari, sed designatum consulem Mammium Pollionem ingentibus promissis inducunt sententiam expromere, qua oraretur Claudius despondere Octaviam Domitio, quod aetati utriusque non absurdum et maiora patefacturum erat. Pollio haud disparibus verbis ac nuper Vitellius censet; despondeturque Octavia, ac super priorem necessitudinem sponsus iam et gener Domitius aequari Britannico studiis matris, arte eorum quis ob accusatam Messalinam ultio ex filio timebatur.
9.
It was decided that Claudius should promise Octavia in marriage to Domitius without delay, and the consul-elect Mammius Pollio was prevailed on, by the lure of ample rewards, to present a petition to Claudius, beseeching him to give his consent. The tender age of both children was not a major obstacle and the union was sure to open the way to a greater future. In his speech Pollio availed himself of arguments similar to these used not long before by Vitellius. Octavia was betrothed to Domitius, who now added to his previous ties to the emperor new ones as presumptive husband of his daughter and his own son-in-law. His expectations were now about equal to those of Britannicus, by dint of Agrippina’s efforts and the manoeuvres of the men who had reason to fear the vengeance of Messalina’s son for their summary execution of the mother.
X.
Per idem tempus legati Parthorum ad expetendum, ut rettuli, Meherdaten missi senatum ingrediuntur mandataque in hunc modum incipiunt: non se foederis ignaros nec defectione a familia Arsacidarum venire, set filium Vononis, nepotem Pharaatis accersere adversus dominationem Gotarzis nobilitati plebique iuxta intolerandam. iam fratres, iam propinquos, iam longius sitos caedibus exhaustos; adici coniuges gravidas, liberos parvos, dum socors domi, bellis infaustus ignaviam saevitia tegat. veterem sibi ac publice coeptam nobiscum amicitiam, et subveniendum sociis virium aemulis cedentibusque per reverentiam. ideo regum obsides liberos dari ut, si domestici imperii taedeat, sit regressus ad principem patresque, quorum moribus adsuefactus rex melior adscisceretur.
10.
Meanwhile, the Parthian envoys sent to reclaim Meherdates, as I have mentioned earlier, arrived in Rome and entered the senate to explain their mission. They said that they acknowledged the alliance between Rome and Parthia and had not come as rebels opposing the house of the Arsacids, but to summon back the son of Vonones, the grandson of Phraates, against the tyranny of Gotarzes, equally intolerable to the nobles and to the common people. He, after running out of brothers and of close and even distant relatives to kill, was now taking out his anger on expecting women and small children. Inept at home, disastrous in war, he relied on cruelty to hide his own incompetence. Their alliance with Rome was ancient, officially sanctioned, they said, and support ought to be given to allies, who, though equal in strength, yielded to Rome out of deference. For that reason, the sons of kings were given as hostages, so that, should the Parthians grow tired of their own masters, they would have recourse to the emperor and the senate and receive back a better king groomed by Roman customs.