LI.
Ergo edixit princeps, ut leges cuiusque publici, occultae ad id tempus, proscriberentur; omissas petitiones non ultra annum resumerent; Romae praetor, per provincias qui pro praetore aut consule essent iura adversus publicanos extra ordinem redderent; militibus immunitas servaretur, nisi in iis, quae veno exercerent; aliaque admodum aequa, quae brevi servata, dein frustra habita sunt. manet tamen abolitio quadragesimae quinquagesimaeque et quae alia exactionibus inlicitis nomina publicani invenerant. temperata apud transmarinas provincias frumenti subvectio, et, ne censibus negotiatorum naves adscriberentur tributumque pro illis penderent, constitutum.
51.
In response, Nero issued an edict ordering that the laws regulating individual taxes, until then hidden, be made public. From then on arrear taxes, not collected after a year from being claimed, would be forgiven; praetors in Rome and pro-praetors or proconsuls governing provinces would be required to give priority in the courts to grievances against tax collectors; soldiers would retain immunity from taxation, except for any goods they marketed. Other favorable rulings were introduced, but became ignored in the course of time, yet the laws prohibiting such abusive surtaxes as ‘the fortieth’ and ‘the fiftieth’ and other exactions invented by collectors, were and still are upheld. In the overseas provinces the conveyance of grain became more reasonably priced and it was ruled that transport ships would not be added to the property of merchants, thus excluding them from direct taxation.
LII.
Reos ex provincia Africa, qui proconsulare imperium illic habuerant, Sulpicium Camerinum et Pompeium Silvanum absolvit Caesar, Camerinum adversus privatos et paucos, saevitiae magis quam captarum pecuniarum crimina obicientes. Silvanum magna vis accusatorum circumsteterat poscebatque tempus evocandorum testium; reus ilico defendi postulabat. valuitque pecuniosa orbitate et senecta, quam ultra vitam eorum produxit, quorum ambitu evaserat.
52.
Both Sulpicius Camerinus and Pompeius Silvanus, accused of crimes while governors of Africa, were tried but found not guilty by Nero. Camerinus was arraigned by a few private men on charges of cruelty rather than of embezzlement; Silvanus was set upon by a large body of prosecutors, who demanded a delay that would give them time to summon all their witnesses, whereas the defendant preferred to be tried at once. He was granted his wish and won the case, thanks to his riches, his lack of heirs, and his old age, which he prolonged beyond the life of those whose corrupt calculations had favored his escape from justice.
LIII.
Quietae ad id tempus res in Germania fuerant, ingenio ducum, qui pervulgatis triumphi insignibus maius ex eo decus sperabant, si pacem continuavissent. Paulinus Pompeius et L. Vetus ea tempestate exercitui praeerant. ne tamen segnem militem attinerent, ille inchoatum ante tres et sexaginta annos a Druso aggerem coercendo Rheno absolvit, Vetus Mosellam atque [Ararim] facta inter utrumque fossa conectere parabat, ut copiae per mare, dein Rhodano et Arare subvectae per eam fossam, mox fluvio Mosella in Rhenum, exim Oceanum decurrerent, sublatisque itineris difficultatibus navigabilia inter se Occidentis Septentrionisque litora fierent. invidit operi Aelius Gracilis Belgicae legatus, deterrendo Veterem, ne legiones alienae provinciae inferret studiaque Galliarum adfectaret, formidolosum id imperatori dictitans, quo plerumque prohibentur conatus honesti.
53.
Quiet had reigned up to this time in Germany for reasons connected with the mood of the military leaders, who, on seeing the triumphal distinction depreciated by being awarded for all sorts of accomplishments, decided that greater glory was to be gained by the maintenance of peace. The army commanders were Pompeius Paulinus for Lower Germany and Lucius Vetus for Upper Germany. Paulinus, to keep the troops active and in good shape, brought to completion the barrier initiated sixty-three years earlier by Drusus, Tiberius’ brother, to contain the waters of the Rhine from spilling into Gaul. Vetus prepared to start work on constructing a channel between the Moselle and the Arar rivers, to enable reinforcement arriving by sea from Italy to move up the Rhone and the Arar rivers to the Moselle and the Rhine and from there to the Ocean. Once the greatest obstacle of the journey was removed, all the shores of the North and of the West would become connected by a navigable highway. But the project aroused the jealousy of Aelius Gracilis, the legate of Gallia Belgica, who took pains to dissuade Vetus, saying he should not bring his legions into somebody else’s territory. That would be seen as an attempt to draw to himself the loyalty of the Gauls and thereby alarm Nero, an appeal that often killed many honorable designs.
LIV.
Ceterum continuo exercituum otio fama incessit ereptum ius legatis ducendi in hostem. eoque Frisii iuventutem saltibus aut paludibus, imbellem aetatem per lacus admovere ripae agrosque vacuos et militum usui sepositos insedere, auctore Verrito et Malori[g]e, qui nationem eam regebant, in quantum Germani regnantur. iamque fixerant domos, semina arvis intulerant utque patrium solum exercebant, cum Dubius Avitus, accepta a Paulino provincia, minitando vim Romanam, nisi abscederent Frisii veteres in locos aut novam sedem a Caesare impetrarent, perpulit Verritum et Malorigem preces suscipere. profectique Romam, dum aliis curis intentum Neronem opperiuntur, inter ea, quae barbaris ostentantur, intravere Pompei theatrum, quo magnitudinem populi viserent. illic per otium (neque enim ludicris ignari oblectabantur) dum consessum caveae, discrimina ordinum, quis eques, ubi senatus, percunctantur, advertere quosdam cultu externo in sedibus senatorum: et quinam forent rogitantes, postquam audiverant earum gentium legatis id honoris datum, quae virtute et amicitia Romana praecellerent, nullos mortalium armis aut fide ante Germanos esse exclamant degrediunturque et inter patres considunt. quod comiter a visentibus exceptum, quasi impetus antiqui et bona aemulatione. Nero civitate Romana ambos donavit, Frisios decedere agris iussit. atque illis aspernantibus auxiliaris eques repente immissus necessitatem attulit, captis caesisve qui pervicacius restiterant.
54.
But, owing to the extended inaction of our armies, a rumor grew that the Roman commanders had no longer the authority to initiate offensive operations. This emboldened the Frisii to move their men of fighting age to the wooden tracts and the swamps of the interior and those unfit to bear arms across the lakes to the east bank of the Rhine. Led by Verritus and Malorix, the kings of that nation (to the extent that Germans submit to kings), they occupied unsettled stretches of land reserved for the use of Roman troops. There they built their homes and seeded the fields, cultivating the soil as if it were their ancestral land, when Dubius Avida, the provincial governor who had succeeded Paulinus and was threatening to use force if the Frisii did not return to their assigned locations or obtained the emperor’s permission to remain, obliged Verritus and Malorix to travel to Rome to appeal to Nero. While they waited to be received by the emperor, who was then attending to other matters, they were taken around the city and the theater of Pompey was one of the sights they were invited to visit, to impress them with the vast number of spectators. When there, to fill time (for, naturally, they lacked the knowledge to be entertained by the show) they enquired about the audience crowding the auditorium, and asked questions about the separation of the classes, where the knights were, where the senators, and the like. On spotting some men in foreign attire in the section assigned to the senate and on being told they were envoys from one of the countries that stood out for their valor and their devotion to Rome and were distinguished in that manner, they exclaimed that no people surpassed the Germans in valor and fidelity, and at once went down to sit among the senators. The assembly put a favorable slant on the incident, interpreting it as a generous impulse prompted by primitive pride and good-natured rivalry. Nero granted both the Roman citizenship, but demanded that the Frisii retreat from the contested territory. The order being ignored, some squadrons of auxiliary cavalry descended suddenly on the Frisii, making compliance a necessity by capturing prisoners or killing those offering obstinate resistance.
LV.
Eosdem agros Ampsivarii occupavere, validior gens non modo sua copia, sed adiacentium populorum miseratione, qui pulsi a Chaucis et sedis inopes tutum exilium orabant. aderatque iis clarus per illas gentes et nobis quoque fidus nomine Boiocalus, vinctum se rebellione Cherusca iussu Arminii referens, mox Tiberio et Germanico ducibus stipendia meruisse, et quinquaginta annorum obsequio id quoque adiungere, quod gentem suam dicioni nostrae subiceret. quotam partem campi iacere, in quam pecora et armenta militum aliquando transmitterentur! servarent sane receptus gregibus inter hominum famem, modo ne vastitatem et solitudinem mallent quam amicos populos. Chamavorum quondam ea arva, mox Tubantum et post Usiporum fuisse. sicuti caelum deis, ita terras generi mortalium datas; quaeque vacuae, eas publicas esse. solum inde suspiciens et cetera sidera vocans quasi coram interrogabat, vellentne contueri inane solum: potius mare superfundere[nt] adversus terrarum ereptores.
55.
The same land was next occupied by the Ampsivarii, a nation not only stronger in numbers, but also having on their side the compassion of their neighbors for being driven out from their territory by the Chauci and seeking, as homeless refugees, a safe asylum elsewhere. They had found a defender in a man named Boiocalus, famous among the Germans and loyal to the Romans, whose memory he refreshed by reminding them that he had been put in chains by Arminius during the revolt of the Cherushi and that he had borne arms under both Tiberius and Germanicus. After a loyal service spanning fifty years, he said, he wanted to add yet another good turn to us Romans by placing his people under our laws. How small was the portion of the land that lay there idle to which the Roman soldiers might occasionally bring their sheep and cattle! There was no question about their right to have land set aside for their herds and flocks (while men starved), only let them not prefer boundless desolation over friendly settlements. Those fields had once belonged to the Chamavi, next to the Tubantes, and after them to the Usipii. As heaven was for the gods, so the earth was given to us mortals and any empty land was open to all comers. Raising his eyes to the sun and calling on the other stars, he inquired of them, as if they were right there next to him, whether they wanted to shed their light over barren land. If they did, better it was, he said, if the fields sank below the waves, to confound the misusers of good land.
LVI.
Et commotus his Avitus: patienda meliorum imperia; id dis, quos implorarent, placitum, ut arbitrium penes Romanos maneret, quid darent quid adimerent, neque alios iudices quam se ipsos paterentur. haec an in publicum Ampsivariis respondit, ipsi Boiocalo ob memoriam amicitiae daturum agros. quod ille ut proditionis pretium aspernatus addidit “deesse nobis terra ubi vivamus, in qua moriamur, non potest.” atque ita infensis utrimque animis discessum. illi Bructeros, Tencteros, ulteriores etiam nationes socias bello vocabant: Avitus scripto ad Curtilium Manciam superioris exercitum legatum, ut Rhenum transgressus arma a tergo ostenderet, ipse legiones in agrum Ten[ct]erum induxit, excidium minitans, ni causam suam dissociarent. igitur absistentibus his pari metu exterriti Bructeri; et ceteris quoque aliena pericula deserentibus sola Ampsivariorum gens retro ad Usipos et Tubantes concessit. quorum terris exacti cum Chattos, dein Cheruscos petissent, errore longo hospites, egeni, hostes in ali[en]o quod iuventutis erat caeduntur, imbellis aetas in praedam divisa est.
56.
Even Avitus was moved by the impassioned appeal of Boiocalus. Yet, he answered that the directives of those stronger than themselves must be heeded. The gods they just invoked had decided that the power to give or take rested with the Romans and that no other arbiter but the Romans would be permitted. Such was the official answer to the Ampsivarii, but to Boiocalus himself Avitus promised a grant of land, in memory of their friendship. This the German refused as the reward of treason, adding that he and his people might lack land on which to live, but not in which to die. So, they went their separate ways with rancor in their hearts. The Ampsivarii appealed to the Bucteri and the Tencteri and even to more distant nations for military assistance. Avitus wrote to Curtilius Mancia, the head of the Upper army, requesting him to lead his legions across the Rhine and make a show of force in the enemy’s rear. Himself with his legions marched into the territory of the Tencteri and cowed them with the prospect of annihilation if they made common cause with the rebels. The same threat worked with the Bucteri, and as the rest were also against facing dangers that did not directly concern them, the Ampsivarii, left alone, withdrew again among the Usipi and the Tubantes. Expelled in time by these, after seeking temporary shelter with the Chatti and then with the Cherushi, they resumed their long wandering, always treated at first as strangers in need, then grudged sustenance, finally seen as enemies on other nations’ soil. Their fighting men gradually became casualties and those unfit for war were divided up as spoils.
LVII.
Eadem aestate inter Hermunduros Chattosque certatum magno proelio, dum flumen gignendo sale fecundum et conterminum vi trahunt, super libidinem cuncta armis agendi religione insita, eos maxime locos propinquare caelo precesque mortalium a deis nusquam propius audiri. inde indulgentia numinum illo in amne illisque silvis [s]alem provenire, non ut alias apud gentes eluvie maris arescente, sed unda super ardentem arborum struem fusa ex contrariis inter se elementis, igne atque aquis, concretum. sed bellum hermunduris prosperum, Chattis exitiosius fuit, quia victores diversam aciem Marti ac Mercurio sacravere, quo voto equi viri, cuncta viva occidioni dantur. et minae quidem hostiles in ipsos vertebant. sed civitas Ubiorum socia nobis malo improviso adflicta est. nam ignes terra editi villas arva vicos passim corripiebant ferebanturque in ipsa conditae nuper coloniae moenia. neque exstingui poterant, non si imbres caderent, non [si] fluvialibus aquis aut quo alio humore, donec inopia remedii et ira cladis agrestes quidam eminus saxa iacere, dein residentibus flammis propius suggressi ictu fustium aliisque verberibus ut feras absterrebant. postremo tegmina corpori derepta iniciunt, quanto [magis] profana et usu polluta, tanto magis oppressura ignes.
57.
During the summer of that year a major engagement was fought between the Hermunduri and the Chatti. The dispute was about a river that formed the boundary between them and was their primary source of salt, over which each side claimed control, by force if necessary. To their predilection for settling all questions by violent means was added the religious belief that their part of the world was closest to heaven and that nowhere else men’s prayers were sooner heard by the gods. It was by the benevolence of the gods, they asserted, that salt came to be in that river and in those forests, not by the drying up of the waters left by the inundations of the sea, as is the case in other countries, but by the waters of the river being poured over burning piles of trees and the merging of two opposite elements, fire and water, resulting in solid salt. In any case, the battle was unfavorable to the Chatti, a disastrous outcome for them, since they had made a solemn vow, if victorious, to sacrifice the opposing army to Mars and Mercury. Thus, their openly hostile threats were used against themselves. On the strength of their own vow, horses, men, and every living thing was consigned to destruction by the enemy. However, the community of the Ubii, our allies, was also struck by sudden disaster. In fact, flames burst out of the earth and spread to country houses, crops, and villages and even reached the walls of the colony. To stamp them out, neither rain, nor river water, nor moisture from other sources was effective. In the end, some rural dwellers, in the absence of other remedies and enraged by their misfortune, resorted to hurling stones, and as the flames subsided a little, advanced closer and tried to frighten them off, as if they were wild beasts, with sticks or with whatever came to hand. In desperation, they tore off their clothes and threw them over the flames, the more soiled and worn out by use their rags were, the better in extinguishing the fire.
LVIII.
Eodem anno Ruminalem arborem in comitio, quae octingentos et triginta ante annos Remi Romulique infantiam texerat, mortuis ramalibus et arescente trunco deminutam prodigii loco habitum est, donec in novos fetus revivisceret.
58.
The same year it was seen as an ominous presage that the Ruminal tree in the Forum, which eight hundred and thirty years before had screened from the sun the tender age of Romulus and Remus, was wilting, many branches being dead and the trunk going dry, until the moment when the tree revived and showed fresh new growth.