LI.
Solus Lepido Rubellius Blandus e consularibus adsensit: ceteri sententiam Agrippae secuti, ductusque in carcerem Priscus ac statim exanimatus. id Tiberius solitis sibi ambagibus apud senatum incusavit, cum extolleret pietatem quamvis modicas principis iniurias acriter ulciscentium, deprecare tam praecipitis verborum poenas, laudaret Lepidum neque Agrippam argueret. igitur factum senatus consultum ne decreta patrum ante diem [decimum] ad aerarium deferrentur idque vitae spatium damnatis prorogaretur. sed non senatui libertas ad paenitendum erat neque Tiberius interiectu temporis mitigabatur.
51.
Only Rubellius Blandus, one of the ex-consuls, supported Lepidus, the rest agreed with Agrippa. Priscus was hauled off to prison and without delay executed. Tiberius with his usual evasiveness found fault, [in a letter], with the senate. While he approved their devotion in punishing so promptly even the slightest offense to the emperor, he deplored such hasty penalties for nothing more than words. He praised Lepidus without blaming Agrippa. It was decided, therefore, that all senate decrees be brought to the Treasury only after ten days had elapsed and that prisoners condemned to death be granted that extension of their life. No power, however, was given to the senate of changing their minds and Tiberius was certainly not one to relent in the interval.
LII.
Sulpicius D. Haterius consules sequuntur, inturbidus externis rebus annus, domi suspecta severitate adversum luxum qui immensum proruperat ad cuncta quis pecunia prodigitur. sed alia sumptuum quamvis graviora dissimulatis plerumque pretiis occultabantur; ventris et ganeae paratus adsiduis sermonibus vulgati fecerant curam ne princeps antiquae parsimoniae durius adverteret. nam incipiente C. Bibulo ceteri quoque aediles disseruerant, sperni sumptuariam legem vetitaque utensilium pretia augeri in dies nec mediocribus remediis sisti posse, et consulti patres integrum id negotium ad principem distulerant. sed Tiberius saepe apud se pensitato an coerceri tam profusae cupidines possent, num coercitio plus damni in rem publicam ferret, quam indecorum adtrectare quod non obtineret vel retentum ignominiam et infamiam virorum inlustrium posceret, postremo litteras ad senatum composuit quarum sententia in hunc modum fuit.
52.
Gaius Sulpicius and Decimus Haterius assumed next the consular power. The year was undisturbed by foreign rebellions, but at home anxiety was felt about the drastic measures that were anticipated against the pervasive tendency to squander wealth on all kinds of superfluous luxuries. Though other and much greater expenses could be kept hidden by dissimulating their cost, the extravagance exhibited in banqueting and carousing was a subject on everyone’s lips, and the fear was that the emperor, a man of ancient sobriety, would be too strict in his reforms. In fact, first Gaius Bibulus, then the other aediles had warned that the sumptuary laws were not complied with and that the illegal prices demanded for food were rising daily. Their view was that the ordinary remedies were not enough to stop the abuses, thus the senate, when consulted, referred the matter in its entirety to the prince. Tiberius often had reservations about the feasibility of trying to stem such unbridled gluttony, asking himself whether the restraints would cause more damage than good to the state. If the reforms should prove ineffective, how undignified it would be to tackle something that was bound to fail! Even if successful, would the new laws not entail the disgrace and shame of influential citizens? In the end he wrote a letter to the senate, the substance of which was more or less as follows:
LIII.
‘Ceteris forsitan in rebus, patres conscripti, magis expediat me coram interrogari et dicere quid e re publica censeam: in hac relatione subtrahi oculos meos melius fuit, ne, denotantibus vobis ora ac metum singulorum qui pudendi luxus arguerentur, ipse etiam viderem eos ac velut deprenderem. quod si mecum ante viri strenui, aediles, consilium habuissent, nescio an suasurus fuerim omittere potius praevalida et adulta vitia quam hoc adsequi, ut palam fieret quibus flagitiis impares essemus. sed illi quidem officio functi sunt, ut ceteros quoque magistratus sua munia implere velim: mihi autem neque honestum silere neque proloqui expeditum, quia non aedilis aut praetoris aut consulis partis sustineo. maius aliquid et excelsius a principe postulatur; et cum recte factorum sibi quisque gratiam trahant, unius invidia ab omnibus peccatur. quid enim primum prohibere et priscum ad morem recidere adgrediar? villarumne infinita spatia? familiarum numerum et nationes? argenti et auri pondus? aeris tabularumque miracula? promiscas viris et feminis vestis atque illa feminarum propria, quis lapidum causa pecuniae nostrae ad externas aut hostilis gentis transferuntur?
53.
“On other questions, senators, it would be more appropriate that I be asked before you what I think best for the state. But in this matter, it was preferable that my eyes be averted from you so that, while you watch closely the signs of fear on the faces of those guilty of shameful luxury, I should not see them myself and, in a manner of speaking, catch the culprits red-handed. If those zealous men, the aediles, had asked in advance for my advice, perhaps I would have persuaded them to leave unpunished deep-seated and universal vices rather than to incur the risk of revealing to the public which outrages we are unable to put an end to. Of course, they have done their duty, just as I would like all other magistrates also to live up to their responsibilities. In my own case, however, both speech and silence are inappropriate, since I do not hold the office of aedile or praetor or consul. Loftier and more inspiring sentiments are expected of an emperor, who alone must bear the blame for the failures of all, while everyone arrogates to himself the credit for any success. And what should I attempt to prohibit first and restore to the ancient norms? The immense size of country estates? The mass of slaves from every part of the world? The weight of gold and silver? The art wonders in bronze and on canvas? Or the garments for indiscriminate use by both sexes and that craze peculiar to women, yes, their love of shining pebbles for which our money passes into the hands of foreigners, even of people hostile to us?”
LIV.
‘Nec ignoro in conviviis et circulis incusari ista et modum posci: set si quis legem sanciat, poenas indicat, idem illi civitatem verti, splendidissimo cuique exitium parari, neminem criminis expertem clamitabunt. atqui ne corporis quidem morbos veteres et diu auctos nisi per dura et aspera coerceas: corruptus simul et corruptor, aeger et flagrans animus haud levioribus remediis restinguendus est quam libidinibus ardescit. tot a maioribus repertae leges, tot quas divus Augustus tulit, illae oblivione, hae, quod flagitiosius est, contemptu abolitae securiorem luxum fecere. nam si velis quod nondum vetitum est, timeas ne vetere: at si prohibita impune transcenderis, neque metus ultra neque pudor est. cur ergo olim parsimonia pollebat? quia sibi quisque moderabatur, quia unius urbis cives eramus; ne inritamenta quidem eadem intra Italiam dominantibus. externis victoriis aliena, civilibus etiam nostra consumere didicimus. quantulum istud est de quo aediles admonent! quam, si cetera respicias, in levi habendum! at hercule nemo refert quod Italia externae opis indiget, quod vita populi Romani per incerta maris et tempestatum cotidie volvitur. ac nisi provinciarum copiae et dominis et servitiis et agris subvenerint, nostra nos scilicet nemora nostraeque villae tuebuntur. hanc, patres conscripti, curam sustinet princeps; haec omissa funditus rem publicam trahet. reliquis intra animum medendum est: nos pudor, pauperes necessitas, divites satias in melius mutet. aut si quis ex magistratibus tantam industriam ac severitatem pollicetur ut ire obviam queat, hunc ego et laudo et exonerari laborum meorum partem fateor: sin accusare vitia volunt, dein, cum gloriam eius rei adepti sunt, simultates faciunt ac mihi relinquunt, credite, patres conscripti, me quoque non esse offensionum avidum; quas cum gravis et plerumque iniquas pro re publica suscipiam, inanis et inritas neque mihi aut vobis usui futuras iure deprecor.’
54.
“I know quite well the complaints that are voiced by people at parties and other gatherings and their demands for constraints, yet if anyone would introduce a law and prescribe penalties, these very same people would cry that the state is being subverted, that the greatest houses are threatened by ruin, and that no one is safe from criminal action. Still, just as you surely would not cure a chronic and worsening bodily ailments except by harsh and painful intervention, so a mind both corrupt and corrupting, both sick and infectious cannot be eased by remedies less powerful than the urges that consume it. So many laws drawn up by or ancestors, so many brought in by the divine Augustus, the first long fallen into disuse, the latter, to our shame, willfully ignored, all made luxury more rampant than ever. The fact is, that if you should desire something which is not yet illegal, you fear that it may become forbidden; but if you violate a law with impunity, then there is no more fear or shame to hold you back. Why indeed was frugality so prevalent in olden times? Because each man restrained himself, because we were all citizens in the same town. These temptations had no attraction for us as long as our dominion was confined to Italy. Success abroad taught us to squander the riches of foreign nations; the broils of civil war taught us to waste also our own. How truly insignificant is the inconvenience the aediles warn us about! How irrelevant compared with the rest of things! No one calls to the attention of the senate the fact that Italy relies for its survival on foreign supplies and hangs daily on the whims of the sea and the weather. If the resources of the provinces were not able to support the needs of masters and slaves by supplementing our own crops, then our manicured groves and country estates will obviously have to feed us. This, senators, is the task an emperor must attend to. If neglected, it will jeopardize the state in its entirety. For all other evils we must find the cure within ourselves. May our modesty change us for the better, may necessity amend the poor and surfeit the rich. Or if any magistrate shows such promise of energy and zeal as to be able to meet these vices head on, I both praise the man and acknowledge myself in his debt for relieving me of a part of my labours. But if the magistrates want to denounce vice and then, after taking credit for doing it, leave for me the resentment they have aroused, you may believe me, senators, even I am not too fond of enmities. Although on behalf of the state I accept to bear the burden of grave and, for the most part, unmerited hostilities, yet I have the right to beg relief from those that are vain, pointless, of no possible use whatsoever to either you or me.”
LV.
Auditis Caesaris litteris remissa aedilibus talis cura; luxusque mensae a fine Actiaci belli ad ea arma quis Servius Galba rerum adeptus est per annos centum profusis sumptibus exerciti paulatim exolevere. causas eius mutationis quaerere libet. dites olim familiae nobilium aut claritudine insignes studio magnificentiae prolabebantur. nam etiam tum plebem socios regna colere et coli licitum; ut quisque opibus domo paratu speciosus per nomen et clientelas inlustrior habebatur. postquam caedibus saevitum et magnitudo famae exitio erat, ceteri ad sapientiora convertere. simul novi homines e municipiis et coloniis atque etiam provinciis in senatum crebro adsumpti domesticam parsimoniam intulerunt, et quamquam fortuna vel industria plerique pecuniosam ad senectam pervenirent, mansit tamen prior animus. sed praecipuus adstricti moris auctor Vespasianus fuit, antiquo ipse cultu victuque. obsequium inde in principem et aemulandi amor validior quam poena ex legibus et metus. nisi forte rebus cunctis inest quidam velut orbis, ut quem ad modum temporum vices ita morum vertantur; nec omnia apud priores meliora, sed nostra quoque aetas multa laudis et artium imitanda posteris tulit. verum haec nobis [in] maiores certamina ex honesto maneant.
55.
Having read Tiberius’ letter, the senate exempted the aediles from implementing the sumptuary laws. The excesses of the table, indulged in with extravagant lavishness for a hundred years (from the battle at Actium to the military revolt that gave Galba the imperial power), faded progressively away. The grounds for such a change are worth examining. In former days, the rich and illustrious families of the aristocracy fell into the ruinous habit of showing off their opulence, for even then it was not illicit to gain favor with the populace, the provincials, the tributary kings, and to be wooed in return. So, anyone who stood out for his wealth, his palaces, and the size of his establishment, gained even more prestige from being known as a munificent host and having a large clientele. In the wake of the bloody purges, when social pre-eminence was tantamount to a death sentence, the surviving nobles became more careful. At the same time, men from the municipal towns, the colonies, and even from the provinces were frequently admitted to the senate and brought with them their native parsimony. Though many of them, either through good fortune or industry, attained a very old age, their former disposition held firm. But the chief promoter of a restrained life style was Vespasian, who practiced the ancient simplicity in dress and fare. Regard for the prince and the desire to emulate him proved then more effective than legal penalties and fear. Unless perhaps there is in all things a sort of cyclical mutation, such that customs change periodically, just as seasons do. Not everything was better in former times: our age has also contributed many examples of virtue and ingenuity worthy of imitation by posterity. Let us only hope that such reputable contest with our ancestors is kept alive among us forever.
LVI.
Tiberius, fama moderationis parta quod ingruentis accusatores represserat, mittit litteras ad senatum quis potestatem tribuniciam Druso petebat. id summi fastigii vocabulum Augustus repperit, ne regis aut dictatoris nomen adsumeret ac tamen appellatione aliqua cetera imperia praemineret. Marcum deinde Agrippam socum eius potestatis, quo defuncto Tiberium Neronem delegit ne successor in incerto foret. sic cohiberi pravas aliorum spes rebatur; simul modestiae Neronis et suae magnitudini fidebat. quo tunc exemplo Tiberius Drusum summae rei admovit, cum incolumi Germanico integrum inter duos iudicium tenuisset. sed principio litterarum veneratus deos ut consilia sua rei publicae prosperarent, modica de moribus adulescentis neque in falsum aucta rettulit. esse illi coniugem et tres liberos eamque aetatem qua ipse quondam a divo Augusto ad capessendum hoc munus vocatus sit. neque nunc propere sed per octo annos capto experimento, compressis seditionibus, compositis bellis, triumphalem et bis consulem noti laboris participem sumi.
56.
Tiberius took advantage of the credit gained by repressing the ever more serious menace of the informers to solicit the tribunician powers for his son Drusus in a letter to the senate. The title of tribune, designating the imperial authority, was invented by Augustus to avoid using terms like king or dictator, while in some way indicating a power superior to all others. Next, he made Marcus Agrippa co-sharer of that power and later, after Agrippa’s death, Tiberius Nero, in order to leave no doubt as to his successor. He felt sure this way of having repressed any wilful pretentious others may have. Tiberius’ fidelity and his own grandeur gave him confidence of present stability. On that example from the past, Tiberius now moved Drusus closer to the summit of command, after keeping his choice undecided between him and Germanicus while the latter lived. At any rate, he now began his letter by imploring the gods to guide his decisions for the best interest of the state, then spoke of the young man’s character in a measured manner, avoiding undue praise. He mentioned that Drusus had a wife and three children, that his age was the same he himself had when Augustus had summoned him to fill that post of honor. It was not premature, he said, for Drusus to assume the new task after proving his competence for eight years during which he had suppressed insurrections, concluded campaigns, earned a triumph and two consulates, and was now called upon to be the sharer of labors quite familiar to him.
LVII.
Praeceperant animis orationem patres quo quaesitior adulatio fuit. nec tamen repertum nisi ut effigies principum, aras deum, templa et arcus aliaque solita censerent, nisi quod M. Silanus ex contumelia consulatus honorem principibus petivit dixitque pro sententia ut publicis privatisve monimentis ad memoriam temporum non consulum nomina praecriberentur, sed eorum qui tribuniciam potestatem gererent. at Q. Haterius cum eius diei senatus consulta aureis litteris figenda in curia censuisset deridiculo fuit senex foedissimae adulationis tantum infamia usurus.
57.
The senate already had an intimation that such a request would be forthcoming, thus their desire to please was all the more intense, yet all they came up with were the usual marks of honor, such as devoting statues to the princes, altars and places of worship to the gods, arches, and the rest. Silanus was more inventive with his slight on the consulate by proposing that all dates on public and private records should contain not the names of the consuls but of those holding the powers of a tribune. Quintus Haterius, however, was laughed at when he moved that the senate decree of that day ought to be engraved in golden letters inside the curia. The assembly found it ludicrous that a man that old should stoop so low in servility only to reap derision.
LVIII.
Inter quae provincia Africa Iunio Blaeso prorogata, Servius Maluginensis flamen Dialis ut Asiam sorte haberet postulavit, frustra vulgatum dictitans non licere Dialibus egredi Italia neque aliud ius suum quam Martialium Quirinaliumque flaminum: porro, si hi duxissent provincias, cur Dialibus id vetitum? nulla de eo populi scita, non in libris caerimoniarum reperiri. saepe pontifices Dialia sacra fecisse si flamen valetudine aut munere publico impediretur. quinque et septuaginta annis post Cornelii Merulae caedem neminem suffectum neque tamen cessavisse religiones. quod si per tot annos possit non creari nullo sacrorum damno, quanto facilius afuturum ad unius anni proconsulare imperium? privatis olim simultatibus effectum ut a pontificibus maximis ire in provincias prohiberentur: nunc deum munere summum pontificum etiam summum hominum esse, non aemulationi, non odio aut privatis adfectionibus obnoxium.
58.
At the same time as all this, Julius Blaesus had his governorship of Africa extended and Servius Maluginensis, the priest of Jupiter, pressed to be a candidate for that of Asia, contending it was unjustified to believe that the priests of Jupiter were not allowed to exit Italy and that his rights were the same as those of the priests of Mars and Quirinus. If they had governed provinces, why should he be prevented? No decree of the people, nothing in the books of ceremonies made mention of such a ban. The pontiffs had often celebrated the Dialian rites whenever the priest could not attend to them for reasons of sickness or of some public commitment. For seventy-five years after Cornelius Merula had taken his own life, no one had replaced him, still the cult remained unaffected. If for so many years the post could remain unfilled without harm to the worship, how much less damage the absence of one year on proconsular duties was likely to cause? In the past it had been private animosities that had prompted the pontiff to bar the priests from going to the province, but in their time, by the grace of the gods, the highest pontiff was also the highest of men, thus immune from jealousies, rancor, and personal biases.
LIX.
Adversus quae cum augur Lentulus aliique varie dissererent, eo decursum est ut pontificis maximi sententiam opperirentur. Tiberius dilata notione de iure flaminis decretas ob tribuniciam Drusi potestatem caerimonias temperavit, nominatim arguens insolentiam sententiae aureasque litteras contra patrium morem. recitatae et Drusi epistulae quamquam ad modestiam flexae pro superbissimis accipiuntur. huc decidisse cuncta ut ne iuvenis quidem tanto honore accepto adiret urbis deos, ingrederetur senatum, auspicia saltem gentile apud solum inciperet. bellum scilicet aut diverso terrarum distineri, litora et lacus Campaniae cum maxime peragrantem. sic imbui rectorem generis humani, id primum e paternis consiliis discere. sane gravaretur aspectum civium senex imperator fessamque aetatem et actos labores praetenderet: Druso quod nisi ex adrogantia impedimentum?
59.
The augur Lentulus and others countered these arguments with various objections of their own, so it was agreed to leave the final decision to the supreme pontiff. Tiberius put off action for the moment on the legal status of the priests of Jupiter and scaled down the honors proposed to celebrate the tribunician powers of Drusus, objecting in particular to the outlandish suggestion of having the decree engraved in gold lettering, so contrary to ancient custom. A message from Drusus was also read, which was seen as a sign of extreme presumption, in spite of its modest tenor. So low had all things fallen, it was murmured, if a youngster, after receiving so great an honor, would not even pay a visit to the gods of the city and to the senate, or at least enter upon his exalted state by taking the auspices on his native soil. Was it war that kept him away from Rome or some assignment in a remote part of the world? He was at that very moment dawdling about the beaches and lakes of Campania. A good way indeed to groom the future master of the world; great schooling he was receiving from his father! That an aging emperor should shy away from being seen by his people may be excused by his tired old age and the trials undergone in the past. What impediment was keeping Drusus away if not arrogance?
LX.
Sed Tiberius, vim principatus sibi firmans, imaginem antiquitatis senatui praebebat postulata provinciarum ad disquisitionem patrum mittendo. crebrescebat enim Graecas per urbes licentia atque impunitas asyla statuendi; complebantur templa pessimis servitiorum; eodem subsidio obaerati adversum creditores suspectique capitalium criminum receptabantur, nec ullum satis validum imperium erat coercendis seditionibus populi flagitia hominum ut caerimonias deum protegentis. igitur placitum ut mitterent civitates iura atque legatos. et quaedam quod falso usurpaverant sponte omisere; multae vetustis superstitionibus aut meritis in populum Romanum fidebant. magnaque eius diei species fuit quo senatus maiorum beneficia, sociorum pacta, regum etiam qui ante vim Romanam valuerant decreta ipsorumque numinum religiones introspexit, libero, ut quondam, quid firmaret mutaretve.
60.
While grasping the reins of power ever more tightly, Tiberius was fostering the illusion of the ancient independence of the senate by referring all the demands of the provinces to the attention of the fathers. A case in point was the unchecked proliferation of sanctuaries in the Greek cities. Temples were crowded with the most dreadful kinds of [runaway] slaves, debtors found the same shelter from creditors, and even men suspected of capital crimes were protected. Nor was there any authority that could discipline a riotous nation defending human criminality just as stubbornly as it did divine reverence. It was, therefore, resolved that each city should send to Rome delegates and proof of titles relative to the right of asylum. A small number abandoned their dubious claims without a fight; many put faith in the antiquity of their religious rites, or in the credit they had earned with the Roman people. Splendid was the day in which the senate undertook to examine the benefits granted by our ancestors, the treaties with the allies, the decrees of monarchs who had held power before the Romans, and the cults of the gods themselves, all this with the unlimited liberty to validate or to alter enjoyed in the past.