LXI.
Rettulit dein de immunitate Cois tribuenda multaque super antiquitate eorum memoravit: Argivos vel Coeum Latonae parentem vetustissimos insulae cultores; mox adventu Aesculapii artem medendi inlatam maximeque inter posteros eius celebrem fuisse, nomina singulorum referens et quibus quisque aetatibus viguissent. quin etiam dixit Xenophontem, cuius scientia ipse uteretur, eadem familia ortum, precibusque eius dandum ut omni tributo vacui in posterum Coi sacram et tantum dei ministram insulam colerent. neque dubium habetur multa eorundem in populum Romanum merita sociasque victorias potuisse tradi: sed Claudius facilitate solita quod uni concesserat nullis extrinsecus adiumentis velavit.
61.
Claudius’ next initiative was a proposal to relieve the island of Cos from the payment of duties to Rome and in a long speech he recalled the many facets of its ancient history. The first to inhabit the island, he said, had been the Argives or perhaps Coeus, Latona’s father. Aesculapius had then visited the island, at the same time introducing the art of medicine, that later had reached such high fame through his descendants. He cited one by one all their names and the dates of their lives and achievements. More than that, he revealed that Gaius Stertinius Xenophon, his own doctor, had issued from the same family and that in response to his prayers Cos should for the future be accorded dispensation from any form of tribute and be held a sacred site devoted exclusively to the worship of Aesculapius. Doubtlessly, the grant could have been justified on the basis of the help the people of Cos had given us in the past and of the Roman victories to which they had contributed, but Claudius in his usual simplicity did not try to disguise his generosity to one man by adducing considerations extraneous to his true intent.
LXII.
At Byzantii data dicendi copia, cum magnitudinem onerum apud senatum deprecarentur, cuncta repetivere. orsi a foedere, quod nobiscum icerant, qua tempestate bellavimus adversus regem Macedonum, cui ut degeneri Pseudophilippi vocabulum impositum, missas posthac copias in Antiochum Persen Aristonicum et piratico bello adiutum Antonium memorabant, quaeque Sullae aut Lucullo aut Pompeio obtulissent, mox recentia in Caesares merita, quando ea loca insiderent quae transmeantibus terra marique ducibus exercitibusque, simul vehendo commeatu opportuna forent.
62.
Unlike Claudius, the emissaries from the city of Byzantium left out none of the claims for special treatment, when they were given permission to present their complaints before the senate about the excessive tax burden. They began with their treaty with us at the time Rome was at war with the Macedonian king, on whom the nickname Pseudophilip had been foisted in view of his doubtful claim to the throne. Next, they mentioned the military contingent they had sent against Antiochus, Perseus, and Aristonicus, the assistance given to Antony in the war against piracy, the reinforcements offered to Sulla, Lucullus, and Pompey, and ultimately the recent debt of gratitude owed them by the Caesars for the use of the advantageous position of their city in moving armies and generals, as well as in delivering provisions and other supplies.
LXIII.
Namque artissimo inter Europam Asiamque divortio Byzantium in extrema Europa posuere Graeci, quibus Pythium Apollinem consulentibus, ubi conderent urbem, redditum oraculum est, quaererent sedem caecorum terris adversam. ea ambage Chalcedonii monstrabantur, quod priores illuc advecti, praevisa locorum utilitate, peiora legissent. quippe Byzantium fertili solo, fecundo mari, quia vis piscium immensa Pontum erumpens et obliquis subter undas saxis exterrita omisso alterius litoris flexu hos ad portus defertur. unde primo quaestuosi et opulenti; post magnitudine onerum urgente finem aut modum orabant, adnitente principe, qui Thraecio Bosporanoque bello recens fessos iuvandosque rettulit. ita tributa in quinquennium remissa.
63.
The Greeks, in fact, founded Byzantium on the narrowest separation of Asia from Europe at the farthest reaches of the latter continent. They had consulted Pythian Apollo as to the place to build the city and the oracle had answered that they were to seek a site opposite the land of the blind. The puzzling response pointed to Chalcedon whose founders were the first to arrive in that region and, though they had inspected the obviously superior location, had chosen the less advantaged. Byzantium, indeed, has very fertile soil and a see teeming with fish, since vast colonies of them break out of the Pontus and, discouraged by the rocks across their way under the surface, leave behind the arching Asiatic coastline to pour into the harbors on the opposite side. For these reasons, the inhabitants were then able to amass wealth and become affluent, but now were weighed down by an oppressively heavy tax burden and were begging for dispensation or at least relief. Claudius sided with them and proposed that, exhausted as Byzantium was by the recent war with Thrace and Bosporus, the city deserved help. Thus, the tribute was forgiven for five years.
XLIV.
Asinio M’. Acilio consulibus mutationem rerum in deterius portendi cognitum est crebris prodigiis. signa ac tentoria militum igne caelesti arsere; fastigio Capitolii examen apium insedit; biformis hominum partus et suis fetum editum cui accipitrum ungues inessent. numerabatur inter ostenta deminutus omnium magistratuum numerus, quaestore, aedili, tribuno ac praetore et consule paucos intra mensis defunctis. sed in praecipuo pavore Agrippina, vocem Claudii, quam temulentus iecerat, fatale sibi ut coniugum flagitia ferret, dein puniret, metuens, agere et celerare statuit, perdita prius Domitia Lepida muliebribus causis, quia Lepida minore Antonia genita, avunculo Augusto, Agrippinae sobrina prior ac Gnaei mariti eius soror, parem sibi claritudinem credebat. nec forma aetas opes multum distabant; et utraque impudica, infamis, violenta, haud minus vitiis aemulabantur quam si qua ex fortuna prospera acceperant. enimvero certamen acerrimum, amita potius an mater apud Neronem praevaleret: nam Lepida blandimentis ac largitionibus iuvenilem animum devinciebat, truci contra ac minaci Agrippina, quae filio dare imperium, tolerare imperitantem nequibat.
64.
During the consulate of Marcus Asinius and Manius Acilius an alarming series of abnormal occurrences was seen as foreshadowing a worsening of the conditions within the state. The standards and tents of army units were turned to ashes by fire from the skies; a colony of bees chose the top of Jupiter’s temple on the Capitoline as their home; birth was given to creatures half human half beast; the young of a pig was brought forth with claws of a bird of prey. Among the sinister omens was included also the loss of one member in each of the magistracies: one questor, aedile, praetor, tribune, and consul passed away within a few months. Agrippina’s terror, however, was greatest: dreading what Claudius, when tipsy, had on one occasion blurted out, namely that it was his fate to have to bear the disorderly behaviour of his wives, then to punish it, she decided to act without delay. But from purely feminine reasons she first wanted to eliminate Domitia Lepida, who viewed herself as Agrippina’s equal, being the daughter of the younger Antonia, the grand-niece of Augustus, the first cousin once removed of Agrippina herself, and the sister of her prior husband Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus. Their beauty, age, and wealth differed little and the similarity extended to their lack of shame, principles, and kindness. They were evenly matched competitors in regard to their evil habits and practices just as much as in the advantages they owed to fortune. Of course, the most tenacious contest between the two was whether the aunt or the mother should have greater influence over Nero. Lepida, in fact, strived to tie his youthful heart to herself by endearments and excessive pampering. Agrippina, by contrast, employed severity and threats. Although she was giving him the empire, she could not abide his being emperor.
LXV.
Ceterum obiecta sunt quod coniugem principis devotionibus petivisset quodque parum coercitis per Calabriam servorum agminibus pacem Italiae turbaret. ob haec mors indicta, multum adversante Narcisso, qui Agrippinam magis magisque suspectans prompsisse inter proximos ferebatur certam sibi perniciem, seu Britannicus rerum seu Nero poteretur; verum ita de se meritum Caesarem, ut vitam usui eius impenderet. convictam Messalinam et Silium; pares iterum accusandi causas esse, si Nero imperitaret; Britannico successore nullum principi metum: at novercae insidiis domum omnem convelli, maiore flagitio quam si impudicitiam prioris coniugis reticuisset. quamquam ne impudicitiam quidem nunc abesse Pallante adultero, ne quis ambigat decus pudorem corpus, cuncta regno viliora habere. haec atque talia dictitans amplecti Britannicum, robur aetatis quam maturrimum precari, modo ad deos, modo ad ipsum tendere manus, adolesceret, patris inimicos depelleret, matris etiam interfectores ulcisceretur.
65.
But the charges brought to undermine Lepida were that she had conspired against the life of the emperor’s consort by means of magic formulas and that she failed to rein in her gangs of slaves in Calabria, upsetting the peace of Italy. For these reasons a death sentence was pronounced, though Narcissus vigorously opposed it, whose suspicions of Agrippina were growing by the day. He had reportedly confided to his most intimate friends that his ruin was certain whether Nero or Britannicus became emperor, but that his debt of gratitude to Claudius was so great that he would gladly sacrifice his life to be of use to him. The menace of Messalina and Silius he had averted, but similar action was again necessary in the present situation, should Nero inherit the empire. If Britannicus was chosen as the new prince, he said, Claudius had nothing to fear, but the intrigues of the stepmother were convulsing the entire family, and the disgrace was greater than if he had done nothing about the shameless doings of the previous wife. As to shame, even at present there was no lack of it with Pallas being Agrippina’s adulterous lover. No one could doubt that she held dignity, honor, her own body, everything, of less account than absolute dominion. Such thoughts and more he voiced repeatedly; he would embrace Britannicus, uttering vows for his speedy maturity, raising his hands now to heaven, now to the boy himself with exhortations that he might soon reach a man’s estate and confound his father’s enemies, nay, even visit revenge on his mother’s murderers.
LXVI.
In tanta mole curarum valetudine adversa corripitur, refovendisque viribus mollitia caeli et salubritate aquarum Sinuessam pergit. tum Agrippina, sceleris olim certa et oblatae occasionis propera nec ministrorum egens, de genere veneni consultavit, ne repentino et praecipiti facinus proderetur; si lentum et tabidum delegisset, ne admotus supremis Claudius et dolo intellecto ad amorem filii rediret. exquisitum aliquid placebat, quod turbaret mentem et mortem differret. deligitur artifex talium vocabulo Locusta, nuper veneficii damnata et diu inter instrumenta regni habita. eius mulieris ingenio paratum virus, cuius minister e spadonibus fuit Halotus, inferre epulas et explorare gustu solitus.
66.
Weighed down by these misgivings, he fell ill and to regain his forces he had recourse to the pleasant climate and curative waters of distant Sinuessa on the coast. Upon that, Agrippina, who long before had resolved to execute her murderous plan, no longer hesitating now that the opportunity presented itself and she had no shortage of underlings ready to lend a hand, gave thought to the kind of poison that would be most suitable. One acting too quickly, as to be immediate in its effect, would reveal the crime; one too slow, promoting a lingering death, would give Claudius ample time, as his end approached, to suspect treachery and to return to his love of the son. What was needed was a poison that would trouble the mind without hastening death. A woman well versed in such matters, named Locusta, was chosen, recently sentenced on charges of poisoning and long retained as one of the tools of the imperial government. A poison was made ready by the expert hands of this woman and the eunuch Haletus, the taster of the food before it was offered to Claudius, was the man assigned to administer it.
LXVII.
Adeoque cuncta mox pernotuere ut temporum illorum scriptores prodiderint infusum delectabili boleto venenum, nec vim medicaminis statim intellectam, socordiane an Claudii vinolentia; simul soluta alvus subvenisse videbatur. igitur exterrita Agrippina et, quando ultima timebantur, spreta praesentium invidia provisam iam sibi Xenophontis medici conscientiam adhibet. ille tamquam nisus evomentis adiuvaret, pinnam rapido veneno inlitam faucibus eius demisisse creditur, haud ignarus summa scelera incipi cum periculo, peragi cum praemio.
67.
To such an extent did all the lurid details come out later that the writers of that time were able to relate that the poisonous concoction had been applied to a succulent mushroom and that the effects did not become noticeable immediately, mainly because of Claudius’ habitual lethargic and half-intoxicated state. Also, a timely bowel movement seemed to have saved him. Consequently, Agrippina was thrown into a panic, since she had every reason to fear the most dreadful consequences: she shrugged off present odium and summoned Claudius’ physician Xenophon, whose complicity she had earlier secured. He, ostensibly trying to induce vomiting, is said to have inserted in Claudius’ throat a feather imbued with a potent venom, well-aware that the greatest felonies are fraught with danger at the start and richly compensated when done.
LXVIII.
Vocabatur interim senatus votaque pro incolumitate principis consules et sacerdotes nuncupabant, cum iam exanimis vestibus et fomentis obtegeretur, dum quae res forent firmando Neronis imperio componuntur. iam primum Agrippina, velut dolore victa et solacia conquirens, tenere amplexu Britannicum, veram paterni oris effigiem appellare ac variis artibus demorari ne cubiculo egrederetur. Antoniam quoque et Octaviam sorores eius attinuit, et cunctos aditus custodiis clauserat, crebroque vulgabat ire in melius valetudinem principis, quo miles bona in spe ageret tempusque prosperum ex monitis Chaldaeorum adventaret.
68.
The senate was meanwhile convened and consuls and priests pronounced vows publicly for the emperor’s wellbeing, at the same time that the lifeless body of Claudius was being swaddled in blankets and soothed with hot compresses, while no subterfuge was left out that would to assist Nero’s elevation to power. First of all, Agrippina, as if prostrated by grief and seeking consolation, held Britannicus in a tight embrace, calling him the very image of his father and with various artifices preventing him from leaving her. His sisters Antonia and Octavia were similarly detained and all accesses to the palace were barred by sentinels posted on her orders. Finally, she made regular announcements that the emperor’s condition was improving, in order to encourage the hopes of the troops and to bring on the fortunate event, long before presaged by the astrologers.
LXIX.
Tunc medio diei tertium ante Idus Octobris, fortibus palatii repente diductis, comitante Burro Nero egreditur ad cohortem, quae more militiae excubiis adest. ibi monente praefecto faustis vocibus exceptus inditur lecticae. dubitavisse quosdam ferunt, respectantis rogitantisque ubi Britannicus esset: mox nullo in diversum auctore quae offerebantur secuti sunt. inlatusque castris Nero et congruentia tempori praefatus, promisso donativo ad exemplum paternae largitionis, imperator consalutatur. sententiam militum secuta patrum consulta, nec dubitatum est apud provincias. caelestesque honores Claudio decernuntur et funeris sollemne perinde ac divo Augusto celebratur, aemulante Agrippina proaviae Liviae magnificentiam. testamentum tamen haud recitatum, ne antepositus filio privignus iniuria et invidia animos vulgi turbaret.
69.
Then, towards noon of the thirteenth of October the entrance to the palace suddenly opened and Nero, escorted by Sextus Afranius Burrus, the prefect of the Praetorian Guard, walked up to the cohort assigned as usual to watch duties, where Burrus briefly informed the troops of the latest developments. Thereupon, the soldiers hailed Nero with cries of joy, then placed him in a portable conveyance and carried him to their camp. They say that some of the men had hesitated, looking about and asking where Britannicus was, but, as no one was taking the initiative to oppose what was offered, they went along with the rest. In the camp, after Nero had spoken words suited to the moment and had promised a generous donative on the example of his stepfather, he was saluted Imperator. A senate decree confirmed the choice of the soldiers and the provinces did not demur either. Divine honors were voted to Claudius and a funeral was celebrated quite as stately as that of Augustus, Agrippina striving to emulate the magnificence of her grandmother Livia. Claudius’ testament, however, was not published for fear that the preference given to the stepson over Britannicus might stir up grief and resentment among the people.