XI.
Atque interim Drusus rediens Illyrico, quamquam patres censuissent ob receptum Maroboduum et res priore aestate gestas ut ovans iniret, prolato honore urbem intravit. post quae reo L. Arruntium, P. Vinicium, Asinium Gallum, Aeserninum Marcellum, Sex. Pompeium patronos petenti iisque diversa excusantibus M’. Lepidus et L. Piso et Livineius Regulus adfuere, arrecta omni civitate, quanta fides amicis Germanici, quae fiducia reo; satin cohiberet ac premeret sensus suos Tiberius. haud alias intentior populus plus sibi in principem occultae vocis aut suspicacis silentii permisit.
11.
During this time, Drusus left Illyricum and, though the senate had decreed him an ovation for the removal of Maroboduus and the operations of the previous summer, he entered Rome without pomp, deferring the honor to a future date. After this, Piso asked L. Arruntius, P. Vinicium, Asinius Gallus, Marcellus Aeserminus, and Sextus Pompeius to assume his defense, but they all declined adducing various excuses, and Manius Lepidus, Lucius Piso, and Livincius Regulus took their places. The entire city was in a state of excitement, impatient to see how far the loyalty of Germanicus’ friends would go, how long the self-assurance of the accused would last, and whether Tiberius would manage to keep his sentiments under control. On no other occasion were the people more vigilant and never again did they engage with greater freedom in subdued murmurings or suspicious silences against the emperor.
XII.
Die senatus Caesar orationem habuit meditato temperamento. patris sui legatum atque amicum Pisonem fuisse adiutoremque Germanico datum a se auctore senatu rebus apud Orientem administrandis. illic contumacia et certaminibus asperasset iuvenem exituque eius laetatus esset an scelere extinxisset, integris animis diiudicandum. ‘nam si legatus officii terminos, obsequium erga imperatorem exuit eiusdemque morte et luctu meo laetatus est, odero seponamque a domo mea et privatas inimicitias non vi principis ulciscar: sin facinus in cuiuscumque mortalium nece vindicandum detegitur, vos vero et liberos Germanici et nos parentes iustis solaciis adficite. simulque illud reputate, turbide et seditiose tractaverit exercitus Piso, quaesita sint per ambitionem studia militum, armis repetita provincia, an falsa haec in maius vulgaverint accusatores, quorum ego nimiis studiis iure suscenseo. nam quo pertinuit nudare corpus et contrectandum vulgi oculis permittere differrique etiam per externos tamquam veneno interceptus esset, si incerta adhuc ista et scrutanda sunt? defleo equidem filium meum semperque deflebo: sed neque reum prohibeo quo minus cuncta proferat, quibus innocentia eius sublevari aut, si qua fuit iniquitas Germanici, coargui possit, vosque oro ne, quia dolori meo causa conexa est, obiecta crimina pro adprobatis accipiatis. si quos propinquus sanguis aut fides sua patronos dedit, quantum quisque eloquentia et cura valet, iuvate periclitantem: ad eundem laborem, eandem constantiam accusatores hortor. id solum Germanico super leges praestiterimus, quod in curia potius quam in foro, apud senatum quam apud iudices de morte eius anquiritur: cetera pari modestia tractentur. nemo Drusi lacrimas, nemo maestitiam meam spectet, nec si qua in nos adversa finguntur.’
12.
The day the senate convened Tiberius gave a carefully balanced speech. He said that Piso had been his father’s legate and friend and that he himself, on the advice of the senate, had assigned him to Germanicus as his assistant in the administration of the Orient. The task before them now was to decide in all fairness whether in that capacity Piso had antagonized the young man by his obstinate and contentious attitude and had rejoiced in his death or whether he had criminally provoked it. “In fact,” he continued, “if a legate ignores the bounds of his charge, the deference he owes to his commander, and even triumphs in his death and in my sorrow, I will hate him and banish him from my house, but will not avenge my private hatred by using my powers as emperor. If, on the other hand, a crime against any mortal whatsoever, punishable by death, is uncovered, you must see to it that proper satisfaction is given to the children of Germanicus and to me, his father. At the same time, the responsibility devolves on you to consider if Piso did stir up disorders and rebellion in the army and tamper with the affections of the troops to win popularity if he tried to repossess the province by force, or whether falsehoods or exaggerated facts were divulged by his accusers, by whose excessive zeal I cannot help feeling justly irritated. Indeed, to what purpose did they expose his naked body to the eyes and touch of the multitude and also spread the rumor (and that among foreign nations) as if he had been poisoned, when these things are still far from proven and the subject of an inquiry? Of course, I mourn my son and mourn him I always will, but I will not prevent the accuser from presenting any grounds which could support his innocence or shift the blame to Germanicus if any there was. And I beg you not to take as proven any accusation directed at Piso for the simple reason that this trial is bound up with my personal loss. If ties of blood or a sense of loyalty have provided Piso with advocates, to you I say, help this man in his danger with as much eloquence and devotion as each of you possesses. I equally exhort the prosecutors to strive as hard as the defense and with like persistence. In one thing only will we give Germanicus a privilege above the common law, namely that the inquiry into his death will be done in the curia rather than in the forum, before senators, not before judges. Let the rest be done in a spirit of equality and let no one have regard for Drusus’ tears or my own sorrow, not even if anything is invented against us.”
XIII.
Exim biduum criminibus obiciendis statuitur utque sex dierum spatio interiecto reus per triduum defenderetur. tum Fulcinius vetera et inania orditur, ambitiose avareque habitam Hispaniam; quod neque convictum noxae reo si recentia purgaret, neque defensum absolutioni erat si teneretur maioribus flagitiis. post quem Servaeus et Veranius et Vitellius consimili studio et multa eloquentia Vitellius obiecere odio Germanici et rerum novarum studio Pisonem vulgus militum per licentiam et sociorum iniurias eo usque conrupisse ut parens legionum a deterrimis appellaretur; contra in optimum quemque, maxime in comites et amicos Germanici saevisse; postremo ipsum devotionibus et veneno peremisse; sacra hinc et immolationes nefandas ipsius atque Plancinae, petitam armis rem publicam, utque reus agi posset, acie victum.
13.
Next, two days were reserved for the submission of the charges and, after a six-days break, three more days were assigned for the defense of the accused. Then Fulcinius began with some old and immaterial accusations of unfair and greedy practices in Piso’s government of Spain. These charges, even if proven true, were not to affect the accused, if cleared of the crimes recently imputed to him, if proven false, they would not absolve him in case he was found guilty of the later and far more serious misdeeds. After Fulcinius’ peroration, Servaeus, Veranius, and Vitellius, all three with equal ardour, but Vitellius with the greatest eloquence, asserted that Piso, in his hatred of Germanicus and love of rebellion, had ruined the morale of the army by encouraging license among the troops and permitting ill-treatment of our provincial allies to such a degree as to earn the name of ’father of the legions’ among the worst elements in the ranks. They alleged that, at the same time, Piso behaved with brutal harshness towards the best soldiers, especially the associates and friends of Germanicus, and in the end succeeded in causing the death of the prince by means of evil spells and poison. Lastly, they said that Piso and Plancina had celebrated Germanicus’ end with impious thanksgivings and sacrifices, that he carried out an armed attack on the state and was beaten in battle before he could be brought to trial.
XIV.
Defensio in ceteris trepidavit; nam neque ambitionem militarem neque provinciam pessimo cuique obnoxiam, ne contumelias quidem adversum imperatorem infitiari poterat: solum veneni crimen visus est diluisse, quod ne accusatores quidem satis firmabant, in convivio Germanici, cum super eum Piso discumberet, infectos manibus eius cibos arguentes. quippe absurdum videbatur inter aliena servitia et tot adstantium visu, ipso Germanico coram, id ausum; offerebatque familiam reus et ministros in tormenta flagitabat. sed iudices per diversa implacabiles erant, Caesar ob bellum provinciae inlatum, senatus numquam satis credito sine fraude Germanicum interisse. * * scripsissent expostulantes, quod haud minus Tiberius quam Piso abnuere. simul populi ante curiam voces audiebantur: non temperaturos manibus si patrum sententias evasisset. effigiesque Pisonis traxerant in Gemonias ac divellebant, ni iussu principis protectae repositaeque forent. igitur inditus lecticae et a tribuno praetoriae cohortis deductus est vario rumore custos saluti an mortis exactor sequeretur.
14.
The defense tottered on all counts [except one], for they could not refute that Piso had perverted the soldiery for his own ends, that he made the province answerable to the most villainous of men, and even that he had insulted the general in command: only the accusation of poisoning he seemed to have shaken off since even the prosecutors failed to make it convincing, their main contention is that during a banquet in Germanicus’ house, when Piso was seated above him, he had poisoned the food of the prince with his own hands. It appeared incredible that he had dared such a deed in a household not his own, in plain view of so many guests, and under the eyes of Germanicus himself. Piso even offered his own slaves as witnesses and demanded that torture be used on those serving at the banquet, but the judges, for a variety of reasons were implacable: Tiberius because of the war the accused had waged on a province, the senate for never having been fully persuaded that Germanicus had not died a victim of foul play. [The accusers insisted on seeing the correspondence between Piso and the emperor], but the request was rejected by the one no less than by the other. Meanwhile, the cries of the people outside the senate house were being heard, threatening recourse to violence if Piso was not convicted. They had already dragged his statues to the Gemonian staircase and were about to break them to pieces, had not Tiberius issued an order to have them spared and returned to their places. The accused was then placed on a litter and taken away by a tribune of the praetorian cohort, a rumor being divided whether the tribune was following as his protector or as his executioner.
XV.
Eadem Plancinae invidia, maior gratia; eoque ambiguum habebatur quantum Caesari in eam liceret. atque ipsa, donec mediae Pisoni spes, sociam se cuiuscumque fortunae et si ita ferret comitem exitii promittebat: ut secretis Augustae precibus veniam obtinuit, paulatim segregari a marito, dividere defensionem coepit. quod reus postquam sibi exitiabile intellegit, an adhuc experiretur dubitans, hortantibus filiis durat mentem senatumque rursum ingreditur; redintegratamque accusationem, infensas patrum voces, adversa et saeva cuncta perpessus, nullo magis exterritus est quam quod Tiberium sine miseratione, sine ira, obstinatum clausumque vidit, ne quo adfectu perrumperetur. relatus domum, tamquam defensionem in posterum meditaretur, pauca conscribit obsignatque et liberto tradit; tum solita curando corpori exequitur. dein multam post noctem, egressa cubiculo uxore, operiri foris iussit; et coepta luce perfosso iugulo, iacente humi gladio, repertus est.
15.
Equally strong was the hate for Plancina, but she enjoyed greater protection, therefore it was not clear how far Tiberius could proceed against her. As long as Piso’s fate hung in the balance, she protested she would follow his fortune come what may and, if necessary, die with him, but the moment her entreaties won her a pardon from the Augusta during the private talks she had with her, she gradually distanced herself from her husband and began to conduct her own line of defense. Piso saw her desertion as a prelude to his own end and now even doubted whether he should continue to fight, yet he gave in to his sons’ exhortations and steeled himself to face again the ordeal in the curia, the renewed charges, the invectives of the senators, the relentless opposition from every side. Nothing struck him more than seeing Tiberius without compassion, without anger, firm and unyielding to the slightest sign of emotion. He was taken back to his house, where he wrote a few lines as if in preparation for the next day’s defense, handed them sealed to a freedman, then attended to the usual cares of his person. Late at night, after his wife had left his room, he ordered that the doors be locked. At dawn, he was found on the floor with his throat slashed and a sword lying nearby.
XVI.
Audire me memini ex senioribus visum saepius inter manus Pisonis libellum quem ipse non vulgaverit; sed amicos eius dictitavisse, litteras Tiberii et mandata in Germanicum contineri, ac destinatum promere apud patres principemque arguere, ni elusus a Seiano per vana promissa foret; nec illum sponte extinctum verum immisso percussore. quorum neutrum adseveraverim: neque tamen occulere debui narratum ab iis qui nostram ad iuventam duraverunt. Caesar flexo in maestitiam ore suam invidiam tali morte quaesitam apud senatum . . . . . crebrisque interrogationibus exquirit qualem Piso diem supremum noctemque exegisset. atque illo pleraque sapienter quaedam inconsultius respondente, recitat codicillos a Pisone in hunc ferme modum compositos: ‘conspiratione inimicorum et invidia falsi criminis oppressus, quatenus veritati et innocentiae meae nusquam locus est, deos inmortalis testor vixisse me, Caesar, cum fide adversum te neque alia in matrem tuam pietate; vosque oro liberis meis consulatis, ex quibus Cn. Piso qualicumque fortunae meae non est adiunctus, cum omne hoc tempus in urbe egerit, M. Piso repetere Syriam dehortatus est. atque utinam ego potius filio iuveni quam ille patri seni cessisset. eo impensius precor ne meae pravitatis poenas innoxius luat. per quinque et quadraginta annorum obsequium, per collegium consulatus quondam divo Augusto parenti tuo probatus et tibi amicus nec quicquam post haec rogaturus salutem infelicis filii rogo.’ de Plancina nihil addidit.
16.
I recall hearing older men speak of certain documents often seen in Piso’s hands that were never divulged, but which his friends contended included letters from Tiberius with instructions relative to Germanicus. They said that Piso was determined to reveal their contents in the senate and belie the prince if Sejanus had not cozened him with false promises. They also said that his death was not by his own hand, but the work of an assassin placed inside his room. I cannot confirm either claim, yet it was my duty not to pass under silence a version of the facts reported by men still living when I was in my youth. Tiberius, his face composed to sadness, [complained] in the senate that the manner of Piso’s death placed himself in an unfavorable light, [then summoned Marcus Piso] and in frequent interviews asked him many questions on the way his father had spent his last day and night. After the young man had given his answers, most quite reasonably a few unadvisedly, Tiberius read out Piso’s last message, the tenor of which was the following: “Victim of the conspiracy of my enemies and of the odium of a false accusation, seeing that no space is left for the truth of my innocence, I call the immortal gods to be my witnesses, o Caesar, that I have always been in my life loyal to you and equally devoted to your mother. I beg both of you to take care of my children, of whom Gnaeus Piso never was associated with my activities, since he remained all the time in Rome, and Marcus Piso exhorted me not to re-enter Syria. Indeed, how I wish now I had given in to the counsel of my young son rather than he to that of his old father! For that reason, the more earnestly I adjure you not to let the penalty of my errors fall on him. In the name of forty-five years of devoted service, in the name of the consulate in which we were colleagues, I, a man once distinguished by the divine Augustus, your father, ask you as a friend who will never importune you again after this, to spare my unfortunate son.” About Plancina he added not a word.
XVII.
Post quae Tiberius adulescentem crimine civilis belli purgavit, patris quippe iussa nec potuisse filium detrectare, simul nobilitatem domus, etiam ipsius quoquo modo meriti gravem casum miseratus. pro Plancina cum pudore et flagitio disseruit, matris preces obtendens, in quam optimi cuiusque secreti questus magis ardescebant. id ergo fas aviae interfectricem nepotis adspicere, adloqui, eripere senatui. quod pro omnibus civibus leges obtineant uni Germanico non contigisse. Vitellii et Veranii voce defletum Caesarem, ab imperatore et Augusta defensam Plancinam. proinde venena et artes tam feliciter expertas verteret in Agrippinam, in liberos eius, egregiamque aviam ac patruum sanguine miserrimae domus exsatiaret. biduum super hac imagine cognitionis absumptum urgente Tiberio liberos Pisonis matrem uti tuerentur. et cum accusatores ac testes certatim perorarent respondente nullo, miseratio quam invidia augebatur. primus sententiam rogatus Aurelius Cotta consul (nam referente Caesare magistratus eo etiam munere fungebantur) nomen Pisonis radendum fastis censuit, partem bonorum publicandam, pars ut Cn. Pisoni filio concederetur isque praenomen mutaret; M. Piso exuta dignitate et accepto quinquagies sestertio in decem annos relegaretur, concessa Plancinae incolumitate ob preces Augustae.
17.
After all this, Tiberius cleared the young Piso of involvement in the civil war, saying that he was under his father’s orders and could not decline to obey. He was also moved to pity by the high status of the family and even by the tragic downfall of the man himself, however, merited. On behalf of Plancina he spoke not without embarrassment and shame, adducing as an excuse the prayers of his mother, against whom the secret indignation of all good men now became more intense by the day. Was it acceptable, they thought, for the Augusta to look the poisoner of her grandson in the face, to entertain her, and to subtract her from the verdict of the Senate? What the laws guaranteed to every citizen was denied to Germanicus alone. To lament Germanicus, only the voices of Vitellius and Veranius were heard; to defend Plancina, those of the emperor and of the Augusta. Nothing remained, they said, but to let Plancina turn her poisons and her skills, proven so successful, against Agrippina and her children, so that her grandmother and uncle – such fine people! – might satiate themselves on the blood of a most hapless house. The pretense of Plancina’s trial took up two days, amid Tiberius’ frequent solicitations to her sons to defend their mother. But since accusers and witnesses kept bringing forward their charges with competitive ardour and no response came from the defense, compassion rather than hostility began to build up. The consul Aurelius Cotta was the first to give his judgment (in fact, when the emperor presided, the magistrates were also required to cast their vote), and he proposed that Piso’s name be removed from the public records, that half of his property be confiscated and the rest be reserved for his son Gnaeus, who would be required to change his name. Finally, he recommended that Marcus Piso be deprived of his senatorial rank and be banished for ten years, with an allowance of five million sesterces. As to Plancina, she was granted immunity in view of Augusta’s intercession.
XVIII.
Multa ex ea sententia mitigata sunt a principe: ne nomen Pisonis fastis eximeretur, quando M. Antonii qui bellum patriae fecisset, Iulli Antonii qui domum Augusti violasset, manerent. et M. Pisonem ignominiae exemit concessitque ei paterna bona, satis firmus, ut saepe memoravi, adversum pecuniam et tum pudore absolutae Plancinae placabilior. atque idem, cum Valerius Messalinus signum aureum in aede Martis Vltoris, Caecina Severus aram ultioni statuendam censuissent, prohibuit, ob externas ea victorias sacrari dictitans, domestica mala tristitia operienda. addiderat Messalinus Tiberio et Augustae et Antoniae et Agrippinae Drusoque ob vindictam Germanici gratis agendas omiseratque Claudii mentionem. et Messalinum quidem L. Asprenas senatu coram percontatus est an prudens praeterisset; ac tum demum nomen Claudii adscriptum est. mihi quanto plura recentium seu veterum revolvo tanto magis ludibria rerum mortalium cunctis in negotiis obversantur. quippe fama spe veneratione potius omnes destinabantur imperio quam quem futurum principem fortuna in occulto tenebat.
18.
Cotta’s proposals were mitigated by Tiberius on several points. Piso’s name was not removed from the official records, considering they still contained the name of Marc Antony, who had waged war against Rome, and of Iullus Antonius who had profaned the house of Augustus. Marcus Piso was rescued from infamy and was allowed to retain his father’s property, for Tiberius was steadfast enough, as I have previously reported on several occasions, to resist the lure of monetary gains. Just then, the shame of having let Plancina go unpunished made him more open to clemency. When Valerius Messalinus proposed to have a golden statue raised in the temple of Mars the Avenger and Caecina Severus to have an altar erected to Vengeance, he opposed both, arguing that such testimonials were reserved for victories over external enemies, whereas domestic misfortunes were best kept hidden in the sorrow they occasion. Messalinus also added that public thanks should be given to Tiberius, Augusta, Antonia, Agrippina, and Drusus for having avenged Germanicus. The omission of Claudius’ name prompted Asprenas to ask before the senate if the omission was deliberate and only from then on was Claudius’ name added to any decree. For my part, the more I reflect on past and recent events of history, the more I find that the incongruities of man’s destinies have a way to interfere with all his plans. In fact, the last man whom fame, hopes, and public esteem were singling out for the supreme power was the one fortune was secretly keeping back to make him one day emperor.
IXX.
Paucis post diebus Caesar auctor senatui fuit Vitellio atque Veranio et Servaeo sacerdotia tribuendi: Fulcinio suffragium ad honores pollicitus monuit ne facundiam violentia praecipitaret. is finis fuit ulciscenda Germanici morte, non modo apud illos homines qui tum agebant etiam secutis temporibus vario rumore iactata. adeo maxima quaeque ambigua sunt, dum alii quoquo modo audita pro compertis habent, alii vera in contrarium vertunt, et gliscit utrumque posteritate. at Drusus urbe egressus repetendis auspiciis mox ovans introiit. paucosque post dies Vipsania mater eius excessit, una omnium Agrippae liberorum miti obitu: nam ceteros manifestum ferro vel creditum est veneno aut fame extinctos.
19.
A few days later priesthoods were given to Vitellius, Veranius, and Servaeus on Tiberius’ proposal to the senate. In promising Fulcinius support for his political advancement, the emperor admonished him not to allow immoderate ardour to mar his forensic skills. The vindication of Germanicus ended there, whose death not only among his contemporaries but also among successive generations became the inexhaustible subject of conflicting rumors. All momentous events are to a large extent shrouded in mystery, since some hold for certain any gossip they hear, whatever its source, others change what is true into its opposite, and both alterations of the facts are magnified by posterity. Drusus left Rome to renew the auspices, then re-entered the city to receive the ovation. A short while later his mother Vipsania died, the only one of Agrippa’s children to die a natural death, for the rest were either certifiably murdered or were believed to have perished by poison or starvation.
XX.
Eodem anno Tacfarinas, quem priore aestate pulsum a Camillo memoravi, bellum in Africa renovat, vagis primum populationibus et ob pernicitatem inultis, dein vicos excindere, trahere gravis praedas; postremo haud procul Pagyda flumine cohortem Romanam circumsedit. praeerat castello Decrius impiger manu, exercitus militia et illam obsidionem flagitii ratus. is cohortatus milites, ut copiam pugnae in aperto faceret aciem pro castris instruit. primoque impetu pulsa cohorte promptus inter tela occursat fugientibus, increpat signiferos quod inconditis aut desertoribus miles Romanus terga daret; simul exceptat vulnera et quamquam transfosso oculo adversum os in hostem intendit neque proelium omisit donec desertus suis caderet.
20.
In that same year Tacfarinas, who as I have reported had been beaten back the previous summer, resumed hostilities in Africa, initially with scattered incursions, too swift for punitive action, then by devastating villages and absconding with considerable plunder; in the end, he encircled a Roman cohort near the river Pagyda. The fort was commanded by Decrius, a man of action, a soldier with a long service record, who considered being besieged an indignity. In a pep talk to his troops, he exhorted them to form their line in front of the fortification and offer battle in the open. At the first assault, however, the cohort gave ground. Undaunted by the storm of darts, Decrius threw himself across the path of those fleeing, inveighing against the standard bearers, shouting that Roman soldiers did not turn tail and run before an untrained mob of deserters. All the while he took wounds, but though he had one eye pierced, he still charged the enemy and did not desist until he fell, abandoned by his men.