XXI.
Quae postquam L. Apronio (nam Camillo successerat) comperta, magis dedecore suorum quam gloria hostis anxius, raro ea tempestate et e vetere memoria facinore decumum quemque ignominiosae cohortis sorte ductos fusti necat. tantumque severitate profectum ut vexillum veteranorum, non amplius quingenti numero, easdem Tacfarinatis copias praesidium cui Thala nomen adgressas fuderint. quo proelio Rufus Helvius gregarius miles servati civis decus rettulit donatusque est ab Apronio torquibus et hasta. Caesar addidit civicam coronam, quod non eam quoque Apronius iure proconsulis tribuisset questus magis quam offensus. sed Tacfarinas perculsis Numidis et obsidia aspernantibus spargit bellum, ubi instaretur cedens ac rursum in terga remeans. et dum ea ratio barbaro fuit, inritum fessumque Romanum impune ludificabatur: postquam deflexit ad maritimos locos, inligatus praeda stativis castris adhaerebat, missu patris Apronius Caesianus cum equite et cohortibus auxiliariis, quis velocissimos legionum addiderat, prosperam adversum Numidas pugnam facit pellitque in deserta.
21.
On hearing of the setback, the successor of Camillus, Lucius Apronius, felt more troubled by the shameful conduct of his troops than by the success of the enemy. Availing himself of an ancient practice no longer current in those days, he had every tenth man of the dishonored cohort beaten to death. The rigorous expedient was so effective that a detachment of no more than five hundred veterans routed the same forces of Tacfarinas, which had assaulted the garrison of a fort called Thala. In that clash, a common soldier by the name of Rufus Helvius distinguished himself by saving the life of a citizen, a deed Apronius rewarded with a neck-chain and a spear, and Tiberius supplemented with the civic crown. The latter expressed regret (but was not displeased), that Apronius had not awarded the crown himself, something he could have done using his proconsular powers. Tacfarinas, since his Numidians were demoralized by defeat and had no stomach for siege warfare, now multiplied his random attacks, pulling back when hard-pressed, then reforming to charge our rear. As long as he adhered to this strategy, he could safely hold up to ridicule the puzzled Romans, while they exhausted themselves in vain pursuit. But when he changed course and moved towards the coast, he became hamstrung by the plunder and was forced to tie himself down to more permanent camps. Apronius Caesianus, the son of the governor, was sent by his father with a mixed force of cavalry and auxiliary cohorts, reinforced by the fastest soldiers from the legions, to attack the Numidians. The battle was in our favor and the enemy was driven far into the desert.
XXII.
At Romae Lepida, cui super Aemiliorum decus L. Sulla et Cn. Pompeius proavi erant, defertur simulavisse partum ex P. Quirinio divite atque orbo. adiciebantur adulteria venena quaesitumque per Chaldaeos in domum Caesaris, defendente ream Manio Lepido fratre. Quirinius post dictum repudium ad huc infensus quamvis infami ac nocenti miserationem addiderat. haud facile quis dispexerit illa in cognitione mentem principis: adeo vertit ac miscuit irae et clementiae signa. deprecatus primo senatum ne maiestatis crimina tractarentur, mox M. Servilium e consularibus aliosque testis inlexit ad proferenda quae velut reicere voluerat. idemque servos Lepidae, cum militari custodia haberentur, transtulit ad consules neque per tormenta interrogari passus est de iis quae ad domum suam pertinerent. exemit etiam Drusum consulem designatum dicendae primo loco sententiae; quod alii civile rebantur, ne ceteris adsentiendi necessitas fieret, quidam ad saevitiam trahebant: neque enim cessurum nisi damnandi officio.
22.
Back in Rome, Aemilia Lepida was under trial in the Senate. She, a member of the illustrious Aemilian family and the great-granddaughter of Sulla and Pompei, was accused of having simulated giving birth to a child fathered by Publius Quirinus, a very affluent man without offspring. There were other charges, such as adultery, poisonings, and questions put to the astrologers concerning the imperial house. Manius Lepidus, Aemilia’s brother, was conducting her defense. Although infamous and obviously culpable, the viciousness of Quirinus’ hostility against her, long after the divorce was pronounced, had won her the goodwill of the public. It was next to impossible for anyone to determine the sentiments of the prince in the course of that trial, so voluble was he in changing and mingling signs of displeasure and compassion. At first, he urged the senate to ignore the charges of treason, but then he subtly induced the ex-consul Marcus Servilius and other witnesses to bring forward the very evidence that he seemed to have wanted to be rejected. It was he likewise who transferred to the consuls Lepida’s slaves, detained in military prisons, but did not permit that they are examined under torture about facts pertaining to his family. He also excused Drusus, the consul-designate, from casting the first vote, a decision some viewed as a civil gesture, in that it freed the rest of the senators from the pressure of voting the same way. Others saw it as nothing but a sign of Tiberius’ malevolence, in that Drusus would never have relinquished his prerogative unless there was an intention to condemn.
XXIII.
Lepida ludorum diebus qui cognitionem intervenerant theatrum cum claris feminis ingressa, lamentatione flebili maiores suos ciens ipsumque Pompeium, cuius ea monimenta et adstantes imagines visebantur, tantum misericordiae permovit ut effusi in lacrimas saeva et detestanda Quirinio clamitarent, cuius senectae atque orbitati et obscurissimae domui destinata quondam uxor L. Caesari ac divo Augusto nurus dederetur. dein tormentis servorum patefacta sunt flagitia itumque in sententiam Rubelli Blandi a quo aqua atque igni arcebatur. huic Drusus adsensit quamquam alii mitius censuissent. mox Scauro, qui filiam ex ea genuerat, datum ne bona publicarentur. tum demum aperuit Tiberius compertum sibi etiam ex P. Quirinii servis veneno eum a Lepida petitum.
23.
In the days devoted to the games, which suspended the trial, Lepida entered the theater with a group of noble ladies, and by her tearful appeals to her ancestors and to Pompeius himself, whose building and statues were to be seen all around, she excited so much commiseration that those present, melting into tears, raised furious cries of condemnation against Quirinius, to whose childless old age and very obscure house were given this woman once destined to be the wife of Lucius Caesar and the daughter-in-law of the divine Augustus. But later, when the torture of the slaves exposed Lepida’s shameful conduct, the judgment of Rubellius Blandus, who proposed that she be exiled, was accepted. Drusus supported him, even though others advanced a less rigorous sentence. Next, as a favor to Scaurus, who had had a daughter from her, the confiscation of her property was not proceeded with. Only then Tiberius revealed having learned from the slaves of Publius Quirinus that Lepida had made an attempt to poison their master.
XXIV.
Inlustrium domuum adversa (etenim haud multum distanti tempore Calpurnii Pisonem, Aemilii Lepidam amiserant) solacio adfecit D. Silanus Iuniae familiae redditus. casum eius paucis repetam. ut valida divo Augusto in rem publicam fortuna ita domi improspera fuit ob impudicitiam filiae ac neptis quas urbe depulit, adulterosque earum morte aut fuga punivit. nam culpam inter viros ac feminas vulgatam gravi nomine laesarum religionum ac violatae maiestatis appellando clementiam maiorum suasque ipse leges egrediebatur. sed aliorum exitus simul cetera illius aetatis memorabo si effectis in quae tetendi plures ad curas vitam produxero. D. Silanus in nepti Augusti adulter, quamquam non ultra foret saevitum quam ut amicitia Caesaris prohiberetur, exilium sibi demonstrari intellexit, nec nisi Tiberio imperitante deprecari senatum ac principem ausus est M. Silani fratris potentia, qui per insignem nobilitatem et eloquentiam praecellebat. sed Tiberius gratis agenti Silano patribus coram respondit se quoque laetari quod frater eius e peregrinatione longinqua revertisset, idque iure licitum quia non senatus consulto non lege pulsus foret: sibi tamen adversus eum integras parentis sui offensiones neque reditu Silani dissoluta quae Augustus voluisset. fuit posthac in urbe neque honores adeptus est.
24.
The misadventures suffered by the most illustrious houses (in a short interval the Calpurnii had indeed lost Piso, the Aemilii Lepida) found respite in the return to his family of Decimus Silanus. I will give a brief overview of his fall from favor. Much as fortune was propitious to Augustus in his political pursuits, he had not a happy private life, mainly from the scandalous behaviour of his daughter and granddaughter, both of whom he expelled from the city and had their lovers banished or executed. In fact, by labeling with the dreaded name of impiety and treason an offense so common than between the sexes, he far exceeded the limits set by the humanity of our forefathers and by the laws he had himself promulgated. I intend at a later date to give an account of the deaths of more men from the same cause, together with the other events of that age, should I complete the present task — to which I have been directing my efforts — and enough life remains to me for new endeavors. Silanus, guilty of adultery with Augustus’ granddaughter, though no punitive measures were taken against him beyond being deprived of the emperor’s goodwill, understood that the way to exile was being shown to him, nor did he dare submit a supplication to the senate and the prince, until Tiberius became emperor when he took advantage of the influence of his brother Marcus Silanus, an eminent man on account of his high office and great eloquence. Yet, when Marcus thanked Tiberius before the senate, the latter responded that he too rejoiced that his brothers had come back from his distant peregrination, and that to return was within his right, since he had not been expelled by a mandate of the senate or by the power of any law. He added, however, that he himself maintained alive his father’s resentment towards him and that his return had not wiped off Augustus’ wishes. Consequently, for the future, Silanus lived in Rome but never held office again.
XXV.
Relatum dein de moderanda Papia Poppaea, quam senior Augustus post Iulias rogationes incitandis caelibum poenis et augendo aerario sanxerat. nec ideo coniugia et educationes liberum frequentabantur praevalida orbitate: ceterum multitudo periclitantium gliscebat, cum omnis domus delatorum interpretationibus subverteretur, utque antehac flagitiis ita tunc legibus laborabatur. ea res admonet ut de principiis iuris et quibus modis ad hanc multitudinem infinitam ac varietatem legum perventum sit altius disseram.
25.
Next on the agenda of the senate was the amendment of the Papia Poppaea law, passed by Augustus in his later years as a supplement to the provisions of the Julian laws, to further increase the severity of the sanctions against celibacy and to add revenue to the public treasury. The frequency of marriages and the birthrate, however, did not increase, the childless state being far too attractive. At the same time, the number of people threatened by prosecution multiplied: every household was in danger from the cunning interpretations of the law by informers, so that now society suffered from the laws, just as before it did from immorality. This problem moves me to consider at greater depth the origins of civil law and how we have arrived at such an infinite multitude and complexity of our rules and regulations.
XXVI.
Vetustissimi mortalium, nulla adhuc mala libidine, sine probro, scelere eoque sine poena aut coercitionibus agebant. neque praemiis opus erat cum honesta suopte ingenio peterentur; et ubi nihil contra morem cuperent, nihil per metum vetabantur. at postquam exui aequalitas et pro modestia ac pudore ambitio et vis incedebat, provenere dominationes multosque apud populos aeternum mansere. quidam statim aut postquam regum pertaesum leges maluerunt. hae primo rudibus hominum animis simplices erant; maximeque fama celebravit Cretensium, quas Minos, Spartanorum, quas Lycurgus, ac mox Atheniensibus quaesitiores iam et plures Solo perscripsit. nobis Romulus ut libitum imperitaverat: dein Numa religionibus et divino iure populum devinxit, repertaque quaedam a Tullo et Anco. sed praecipuus Servius Tullius sanctor legum fuit quis etiam reges obtemperarent.
26.
The life of man was in origin pure, without madding passions, free from shameful crimes, and therefore free from punishment and coercion. No need was felt for rewards since virtue was practiced by choice and inclination. Furthermore, since men’s desires never strayed away from what was commonly acceptable, nothing had to be barred by fear of retribution. But once the conditions of equality were shaken off and ambition and love of power replaced modesty and self-restraint, tyranny set in and became permanent in many nations. Some, either immediately or after getting tired of kings, opted for the rule of law. Laws were at first simple efforts, the minds of men lacking as yet refinement. Greatest fame gained those prescribed to the Cretans by Minos, to the Spartans by Lycurgus, and, more articulated and numerous, to the Athenians by Solon. Romulus ruled us just as he pleased. Numa after him bound the people together with religious practices and a code of divine origin. Tullus and Ancus added some laws of their own, but the main legislator was Servius Tullius, whose laws were above the kings themselves.
XXVII.
Pulso Tarquinio adversum patrum factiones multa populus paravit tuendae libertatis et firmandae concordiae, creatique decemviri et accitis quae usquam egregia compositae duodecim tabulae, finis aequi iuris. nam secutae leges etsi aliquando in maleficos ex delicto, saepius tamen dissensione ordinum et apiscendi inlicitos honores aut pellendi claros viros aliaque ob prava per vim latae sunt. hinc Gracchi et Saturnini turbatores plebis nec minor largitor nomine senatus Drusus; corrupti spe aut inlusi per intercessionem socii. ac ne bello quidem Italico, mox civili omissum quin multa et diversa sciscerentur, donec L. Sulla dictator abolitis vel conversis prioribus, cum plura addidisset, otium eius rei haud in longum paravit, statim turbidis Lepidi rogationibus neque multo post tribunis reddita licentia quoquo vellent populum agitandi. iamque non modo in commune sed in singulos homines latae quaestiones, et corruptissima re publica plurimae leges.
27.
After Tarquinius Superbus was expelled, the people put in place many measures to protect freedom and guarantee harmony against the faction of the patricians. The decemvirs were created and, after collecting the best laws to be found anywhere, the Twelve Tables were compiled, the last code founded on justice for all. Indeed, later adoptions, though now and then directed at specific crimes as they occurred, were more often introduced by violent means in response to class conflicts touched off by the desire to secure illicit powers, or to ban prominent men, or towards other perverse goals. This accounts for the appearance of rabble-rousers like the Gracchi and the Saturnini and also of Drusus, not less hesitant to make concessions in the name of the senate, with the consequent disappointment of the allies, misled by false hopes [of citizenship], or frustrated by the veto of the opposition. Not even during the Italian war and the ensuing civil war was there a pause in the passage of a stream of conflicting laws, until Lucius Sulla, after abolishing or modifying the existing laws and adding more of his own, put an end to such practices, though only for a short while. Soon came the subversive demands of Lepidus and the restauration to the tribunes of the license to stir up the people as they pleased. Now laws were passed, not in response to a common need, but to suit the convenience of individuals, thus laws multiplied beyond control as the state became most corrupt.
XXVIII.
Tum Cn. Pompeius, tertium consul corrigendis moribus delectus et gravior remediis quam delicta erant suarumque legum auctor idem ac subversor, quae armis tuebatur armis amisit. exim continua per viginti annos discordia, non mos, non ius; deterrima quaeque impune ac multa honesta exitio fuere. sexto demum consulatu Caesar Augustus, potentiae securus, quae triumviratu iusserat abolevit deditque iura quis pace et principe uteremur. acriora ex eo vincla, inditi custodes et lege Papia Poppaea praemiis inducti ut, si a privilegiis parentum cessaretur, velut parens omnium populus vacantia teneret. sed altius penetrabant urbemque et Italiam et quod usquam civium corripuerant, multorumque excisi status. et terror omnibus intentabatur ni Tiberius statuendo remedio quinque consularium, quinque e praetoriis, totidem e cetero senatu sorte duxisset apud quos exsoluti plerique legis nexus modicum in praesens levamentum fuere.
28.
When Gnaeus Pompeius was made consul for the third time to improve the morals of Roman society, his remedies proved worse than the evils themselves. The creator and at the same time the subverter of his own laws, he lost through the use of arms what he was trying to preserve by the same means. For the next twenty years violence raged unabated: customs and laws lost all force, unspeakable crimes went unpunished, and virtuous conduct brought death. Finally, in his sixth consulate, Caesar Augustus, with power then securely in his hands, abolished the decrees enacted during the triumvirate and gave us a new code of laws that would ensure peace under a prince. Thenceforth, the constraints became more severe and guardians were set over us, encouraged by rewards specified in the Papia Poppaea law, under whose surveillance anyone who ignored the obligations of being a parent could have his property declared vacant and transferred to the Roman people, the parent, as it were, of us all. But these guardians of the law far exceeded their mandate and soon held sway over Rome, Italy, and anywhere they could seize hold of citizens. The wealth of many disappeared and real terror gripped society, until Tiberius found a palliative of sorts in choosing by lot five ex-consuls, five ex-praetors, and five more members of the senate, thanks to whom a modicum of temporary relief was provided by relaxing most of the strangling knots of the law.
XXIX.
Per idem tempus Neronem e liberis Germanici iam ingressum iuventam commendavit patribus, utque munere capessendi vigintiviratus solveretur et quinquennio maturius quam per leges quaesturam peteret non sine inrisu audientium postulavit. praetendebat sibi atque fratri decreta eadem petente Augusto. sed neque tum fuisse dubitaverim qui eius modi preces occulti inluderent: ac tamen initia fastigii Caesaribus erant magisque in oculis vetus mos, et privignis cum vitrico levior necessitudo quam avo adversum nepotem. additur pontificatus et quo primum die forum ingressus est congiarium plebi admodum laetae quod Germanici stirpem iam puberem aspiciebat. auctum dehinc gaudium nuptiis Neronis et Iuliae Drusi filiae. utque haec secundo rumore ita adversis animis acceptum quod filio Claudii socer Seianus destinaretur. polluisse nobilitatem familiae videbatur suspectumque iam nimiae spei Seianum ultra extulisse.
29.
Tiberius, at the same time, was recommending to the senate Germanicus’s son, Nero, now already grown to a youngster, and asking for him, not without eliciting suppressed laughter from the audience, dispensation from the five-year service as a minor magistrate, required by law before becoming a questor. He justified the request by saying that the same exemption had been decreed to himself and to his brother [Drusus] by Augustus’ intercession. I do not doubt for a moment that even then there were some who in secret found that kind of appeal laughable, and yet the majesty of the Caesars was at that time just beginning and republican habits were as yet far from extinct, not to mention that the bond of the stepsons with the stepfather was weaker that that between Tiberius and his grandchild. Not only did the senate grant Tiberius his wish, but also assigned Nero the pontificate, and on the day of his official entry into the forum, the populace, who greatly rejoiced in seeing a son of Germanicus’ attain puberty, received a gratuity. The joy became even greater with the marriage of Nero to Julia, Drusus’ daughter. Just as this union met with general approval, so the news that Sejanus was to be the likely father-in-law of Claudius’ son was received with bitter disapprobation. It was felt that Tiberius had defiled the nobility of the family, Sejanus already being suspected of having had his ambitions raised too highly.
XXX.
Fine anni concessere vita insignes viri L. Volusius et Sallustius Crispus. Volusio vetus familia neque tamen praeturam egressa: ipse consulatum intulit, censoria etiam potestate legendis equitum decuriis functus, opumque quis domus illa immensum viguit primus adcumulator. Crispum equestri ortum loco C. Sallustius, rerum Romanarum florentissimus auctor, sororis nepotem in nomen adscivit. atque ille, quamquam prompto ad capessendos honores aditu, Maecenatem aemulatus sine dignitate senatoria multos triumphalium consulariumque potentia antiit, diversus a veterum instituto per cultum et munditias copiaque et affluentia luxu propior. suberat tamen vigor animi ingentibus negotiis par, eo acrior quo somnum et inertiam magis ostentabat. igitur incolumi Maecenate proximus, mox praecipuus, cui secreta imperatorum inniterentur, et interficiendi Postumi Agrippae conscius, aetate provecta speciem magis in amicitia principis quam vim tenuit. idque et Maecenati acciderat, fato potentiae raro sempiternae, an satias capit aut illos cum omnia tribuerunt aut hos cum iam nihil reliquum est quod cupiant.
30.
Towards the end of the year two prominent men, Lucius Volusius and Sallustius Crispus, passed away. The family of Volusius was ancient but had never gone beyond the praetorship. He added the consulate to it and, besides exercising the power of censor to compose the list of knights qualified to serve as jurors, was the first to amass the immense wealth for which the family was so notorious. Crispus, of equestrian origin, was adopted by Gaius Sallustius, the eminent Roman historian, of whose sister he was the grandson and whose name he took. Even though a brilliant career was open to him, he chose to imitate Maecenas and, without becoming a senator, he acquired more influence than many men distinguished by triumphs and consulships. In direct opposition to ancient austerity, he stood out for his refined elegance and his opulence and vast possessions made him seem devoted to the enjoyment of luxury. This, however, was only a façade, hiding an active mind capable of the greatest efforts and all the more vigorous the more he gave the appearance of having a somnolent, lazy disposition. He was second in the confidence of princes so long as Maecenas lived, then became the foremost counselor to whom the secrets of emperors were entrusted. He even had knowledge of the plot to assassinate Postumus Agrippa, but in his later years, he retained more the semblance of Tiberius’ friendship than any real influence on him. The same thing had happened with Maecenas, the natural course of power being rarely durable, either because a certain staleness creeps into rulers who have nothing else to bestow or into those under their patronage who have nothing else to aspire to.