XXI.
Traditus posthac Mithridates vectusque Romam per Iunium Cilonem, procuratorem Ponti, ferocius quam pro fortuna disseruisse apud Caesarem ferebatur, elataque vox eius in vulgum hisce verbis: ‘non sum remissus ad te, sed reversus: vel si non credis, dimitte et quaere.’ vultu quoque interrito permansit, cum rostra iuxta custodibus circumdatus visui populo praeberetur. consularia insignia Ciloni, Aquilae praetoria decernuntur.
21.
Mithridates, therefore, was surrendered to Junius Cilo, the imperial procurator of Pontus and conducted by him to Rome. It was reported that, on being led before Claudius, he had spoken with a boldness out of proportion with his situation. One answer he gave Claudius became the talk of the town, to wit: “I was not brought back to you, I returned of my own accord. Or, if you do not believe me, let me go, then catch me.’ His fearless demeanor remained unchanged even when he was left exposed to public scrutiny near the rostra in the Forum, encircled by a military guard. To Cilo were decreed the consular ornaments, to Aquila the praetorian distinction.
XXII.
Isdem consulibus atrox odii Agrippina ac Lolliae infensa, quod secum de matrimonio principis certavisset, molitur crimina et accusatorem qui obiceret Chaldaeos, magos interrogatumque Apollinis Clarii simulacrum super nuptiis imperatoris. exim Claudius inaudita rea multa de claritudine eius apud senatum praefatus, sorore L. Volusii genitam, maiorem ei patruum Cottam Messalinum esse, Memmio quondam Regulo nuptam (nam de G. Caesaris nuptiis consulto reticebat), addidit perniciosa in rem publicam consilia et materiem sceleri detrahendam: proin publicatis bonis cederet Italia. ita quinquagies sestertium ex opibus immensis exuli relictum. et Calpurnia inlustris femina pervertitur, quia formam eius laudaverat princeps, nulla libidine, sed fortuito sermone, unde ira Agrippinae citra ultima stetit. in Lolliam mittitur tribunus, a quo ad mortem adigeretur. damnatus et lege repetundarum Cadius Rufus accusantibus Bithynis.
22.
Also in this year, Agrippina, unappeasable in her hatred of Lollia Paulina, her quondam competitor for the hand of Claudius, contrived to invent accusations and bribe someone to bring charges against her for consulting astrologers and magicians, in addition to interrogating the image of the Clarian Apollo about the state of the imperial marriage. On hearing this, Claudius, without questioning the accused, first pronounced a long appraisal of Lollia’s illustrious parentage, mentioning that she was the daughter of Lucius Volusius’ sister, the grandniece of Cotta Messalinus, and the former wife of Memmius Regulus (her marriage to Caligula he passed intentionally under silence), then went on to say that she entertained schemes dangerous to the state and must be deprived of the means to cause mischief by having her estate impounded and banishing her from Italy. Accordingly, only five millions sesterces were left to the exiled woman out of her vast fortune. Calpurnia also, a matron of noble family, came close to paying the ultimate penalty at Agrippina’s hand, merely because the emperor had praised her beauty, an offhand remark made during a conversation, with no ulterior motive. A tribune was sent to Lollia to push her to suicide. Condemned was also Cadius Rufus under the law of extorsion, his accusers being the people of Bithynia.
XXIII.
Galliae Narbonensi ob egregiam in patres reverentiam datum ut senatoribus eius provinciae non exquisita principis sententia, iure quo Sicilia haberetur, res suas invisere liceret. Ituraeique et Iudaei defunctis regibus Sohaemo atque Agrippa provinciae Syriae additi. Salutis augurium quinque et septuaginta annis omissum repeti ac deinde continuari placitum. et pomerium urbis auxit Caesar, more prisco, quo iis qui protulere imperium etiam terminos urbis propagare datur. nec tamen duces Romani, quamquam magnis nationibus subactis, usurpaverant nisi L. Sulla et divus Augustus.
23.
Senators from Gallia Narbonensis, in view of the great deference shown to the senate by their province, were given special permission to visit their properties in Gaul without first obtaining leave from the emperor, a right that members from Sicily already enjoyed. The kingdoms of Ituraea and Judea, upon the death of Sohaemus and Agrippa respectively, were added to the province of Syria. It was decided also to revive and observe for all future time the taking of auguries for the safety of the state, neglected for seventy-five years. Furthermore, upon ancient precedent, in keeping with which anyone who had added territory to the empire had the authority to enlarge the city limits, Claudius extended the pomerium, the sacred space outside the walls, kept free of buildings and girding the city like a belt. Yet, no military commanders, with the exception of L. Sulla and of divine Augustus, had ever made use of such privilege, regardless of any new conquest.
XXIV.
Regum in eo ambitio vel gloria varie vulgata: sed initium condendi, et quod pomerium Romulus posuerit, noscere haud absurdum reor. igitur a foro boario, ubi aereum tauri simulacrum aspicimus, quia id genus animalium aratro subditur, sulcus designandi oppidi coeptus ut magnam Herculis aram amplecteretur; inde certis spatiis interiecti lapides per ima montis Palatini ad aram Consi, mox curias veteres, tum ad sacellum Larum, inde forum Romanum; forumque et Capitolium non a Romulo, sed a Tito Tatio additum urbi credidere. mox pro fortuna pomerium auctum. et quos tum Claudius terminos posuerit, facile cognitu et publicis actis perscriptum.
24.
As for the Roman kings, their aspirations and claims to glory in this respect have been variously reported, but, in any case, I think it worthwhile to know how the city came to be and the limits laid down by Romulus, its founder, when he traced the first pomerium. Thus, from the Forum Boarium, or livestock market, where the statue of a bull is on display (for it was a bull that pulled the plow), the furrow that would delimit the city was drawn in such a way as to include the great altar of Hercules. From that point on a series of stones placed at regular intervals marked the boundary along the base of the Palatine hill to the altar of Consus. The line then continued on to the shrine of the Lares, and from there to the edge of the Roman Forum, which together with the Capituline hill was not made part of the city by Romulus, but, it is believed, by Titus Tatius. Later the pomerium was expanded in proportion to the good fortunes of Rome. The new limits set by Claudius are easy to locate, as they are registered in the official records.
XXV.
Antistio M. Suillio consulibus adoptio in Domitium auctoritate Pallantis festinatur, qui obstrictus Agrippinae ut conciliator nuptiarum et mox stupro eius inligatus, stimulabat Claudium consuleret rei publicae, Britannici pueritiam robore circumdaret: sic apud divum Augustum, quamquam nepotibus subnixum, viguisse privignos; a Tiberio super propriam stirpem Germanicum adsumptum: se quoque accingeret iuvene partem curarum capessituro. his evictus triennio maiorem natu Domitium filio anteponit, habita apud senatum oratione eundem in quem a liberto acceperat modum. adnotabant periti nullam antehac adoptionem inter patricios Claudios reperiri, eosque ab Atto Clauso continuos duravisse.
25.
Under the consuls for the new year, Gaius Antistius Veto and Marcus Suillius Nerullinus, the adoption by the emperor of Domitius was expedited at the instance of Pallas. Committed to Agrippina’s service as the main advocate of her marriage to Claudius and soon later as her illicit lover, Pallas spurred the prince to take thought for the public interests by bracing his line of descent with the addition of an older heir to Britannicus, then little more than an infant. That had been Augustus’ policy: though furnished with grandsons of his own, he had raised his stepsons to the same level as his offspring. Tiberius, who had already an heir, adopted in addition Germanicus. Claudius also, he said, ought to associate to himself a young assistant that would relieve him of a part of his labors. Prevailed on by these reasonings, Claudius gave preference to Domitius over his own son, in spite of his being but three years older. He pronounced a speech in the senate along the same lines his freedman had dictated to him. Experts in these matters have observed that never before had the patrician Claudii admitted anyone to their gens by adoption, and that they had lasted without interruption since Attus Clausus.
XXVI.
Ceterum actae principi grates, quaesitiore in Domitium adulatione; rogataque lex qua in familiam Claudiam et nomen Neronis transiret. augetur et Agrippina cognomento Augustae. quibus patratis nemo adeo expers misericordiae fuit quem non Britannici fortuna maerore adficeret. desolatus paulatim etiam servilibus ministeriis perintempestiva novercae officia in ludibrium vertebat, intellegens falsi. neque enim segnem ei fuisse indolem ferunt, sive verum, seu periculis commendatus retinuit famam sine experimento.
26.
Thanks were decreed to Claudius anyway, though adulation was more subtle in regard to Domitius. A law was enacted that sanctioned his transfer into the family of the Claudii under the name of Nero. Also honored was Agrippina with the name of Augusta. When all this was over and done with, there was no one so bereft of human kindness as to be unaffected by the miserable plight of Britannicus. Deserted gradually even by the slaves who attended to his needs, the embittered young boy would meet Agrippina’s shows of affection with derision, being fully conscious of her treachery. He was said to be quite intelligent and either that was true or the commiseration his predicament attracted gained him a reputation that was never put to the test.
XXVII.
Sed Agrippina quo vim suam sociis quoque nationibus ostentaret in oppidum Vbiorum, in quo genita erat, veteranos coloniamque deduci impetrat, cui nomen inditum e vocabulo ipsius. ac forte acciderat ut eam gentem Rhenum transgressam avus Agrippa in fidem acciperet. Isdem temporibus in superiore Germania trepidatum adventu Chattorum latrocinia agitantium. dein P. Pomponius legatus auxiliaris Vangionas ac Nemetas, addito equite alario, [immittit, monitos ut anteirent populatores vel dilapsis improvisi circumfunderentur. et secuta consilium ducis industria militum, divisique in duo agmina, qui laevum iter petiverant recens reversos praedaque per luxum usos et somno gravis circumvenere. aucta laetitia quod quosdam e clade Variana quadragesimum post annum servitio exemerant.
27.
To demonstrate her power also to the allied nations, Agrippina managed to have a colony of veterans sent to the city of the Ubii, her place of birth, to which she gave her own name as well. As it happened, it was her grandfather Agrippa who had received this tribe under his protection when it emigrated to the west side of the Rhine. The same year saw also terror being spread across Upper Germany by an incursion of the Chatti in quest of plunder. Publius Pomponius Secundus, the imperial legate governing the province, despatched units of the Vangiones and of the Nemetes, supplemented by allied cavalry, with directives to head off the invaders returning from the raid, or if still engaged in pillage and dispersed, to fall on them from all sides without warning. The troops carried out his orders with great diligence. They divided into two columns and those who marched off to the left surprised and surrounded a part of the retreating enemy, drained of strength and heavy with sleep from their wild debauches over the spoils. The soldiers’ joy was made greater by the rescue from servitude, after forty years, of a number of survivors in the Varian disaster.
XXVIII.
At qui dextris et propioribus compendiis ierant, obvio hosti et aciem auso plus cladis faciunt, et praeda famaque onusti ad montem Taunum revertuntur, ubi Pomponius cum legionibus opperiebatur, si Chatti cupidine ulciscendi casum pugnae praeberent. illi metu ne hinc Romanus, inde Cherusci, cum quis aeternum discordant, circumgrederentur, legatos in urbem et obsides misere; decretusque Pomponio triumphalis honos, modica pars famae eius apud posteros in quis carminum gloria praecellit.
28.
On the other hand, those who had taken a shortcut to the right, inflicted great losses on the enemy they encountered and who dared to fight. Rich in plunder and glory, they returned to mount Taunus, where Pomponius was waiting with the legions, in case the Chatti, prodded by the urge to be avenged, should give him the opportunity for a major battle. They, however, fearing an attack on two fronts, from one side the Romans, from the other the Cherusci, their everlasting enemy, sent envoys and hostages to Rome. Triumphal honors were decreed to Pomponius, contributing in small part to his renown with posterity, among whom he is admired for the grandeur of his poems.
XXIX.
Per idem tempus Vannius Suebis a Druso Caesare impositus pellitur regno, prima imperii aetate clarus acceptusque popularibus, mox diuturnitate in superbiam mutans et odio accolarum, simul domesticis discordiis circumventus. auctores fuere Vibilius Hermundurorum rex et Vangio ac Sido sorore Vannii geniti. nec Claudius, quamquam saepe oratus, arma certantibus barbaris interposuit, tutum Vannio perfugium promittens, si pelleretur; scripsitque Palpellio Histro, qui Pannoniam praesidebat, legionem ipsaque e provincia lecta auxilia pro ripa componere, subsidio victis et terrorem adversus victores, ne fortuna elati nostram quoque pacem turbarent. nam vis innumera, Lugii aliaeque gentes, adventabant, fama ditis regni, quod Vannius triginta per annos praedationibus et vectigalibus auxerat. ipsi manus propria pedites, eques a Sarmatis Iazugibus erat, impar multitudini hostium, eoque castellis sese defensare bellumque ducere statuerat.
29.
Belonging to the same time is the expulsion from his kingdom of Vannius, the king of the Suebi installed years earlier by Drusus Caesar. Although the initial phase of his reign was a success and himself very popular, his long exercise of power had rendered him despotic. He was undermined by a combination of hostile neighbors and domestic intrigue. The main agents in bringing him down were Vibilius, the king of the Hermonduri, and Vangio and Sido, the sons of Vannius’ sister. Claudius was often appealed to for support, but he refused to insert Roman arms in a quarrel among barbarians and limited himself to promise safe haven to Vannius, should he be ejected. He also wrote to Sextus Palpellius Hister, the governor of Pannonia, to position his legion, together with a picked body of indigenous auxiliaries, on the bank of the Danube, to show support for the vanquished and warn off the victors, in case they might, in the euphoria of victory, perturb the peace of the empire. In fact, an immense force of the Lugii and of other tribes was drawing near, attracted by the fame of the riches Vannius had accumulated in the course of thirty years of rapine and extorsion. Vannius’ own forces of indigenous infantry and of cavalry from the Sarmatian Iazyges were inferior to the vast strength of the enemy, thus he decided to resist in well-fortified positions and thereby extend the war.
XXX.
Sed Iazuges obsidionis impatientes et proximos per campos vagi necessitudinem pugnae attulere, quia Lugius Hermundurusque illic ingruerant. igitur degressus castellis Vannius funditur proelio, quamquam rebus adversis laudatus quod et pugnam manu capessiit et corpore adverso vulnera excepit. ceterum ad classem in Danuvio opperientem perfugit; secuti mox clientes et acceptis agris in Pannonia locati sunt. regnum Vangio ac Sido inter se partivere, egregia adversus nos fide, subiectis, suone an servitii ingenio, dum adipiscerentur dominationes, multa caritate, et maiore odio, postquam adepti sunt.
30.
The Iazyges, however, were intolerant of siege warfare and took to roaming over the surrounding plains, making a bloody confrontation inevitable, since the Lugii and the Hermonduri had meanwhile arrived. Vannius was left no choice but to leave his fortified positions and join the fight. In the pitched battle that followed he suffered a defeat which was not devoid of glory, having deserved praise for fighting sword in hand and being wounded facing the enemy. He was nonetheless forced to find shelter with the Roman fleet waiting on the Danube. The supporters that followed him made Pannonia their home on the land they were granted for that purpose. His two nephews divided the kingdom between them and their loyalty to us has remained unalterable. They were greatly in favor with their people while seeking royal power, but more hated than Vannius once they succeeded. Whether the fault rested with their persons or with the condition of being subjects under kings, cannot be said.