LI.
Nunc initia causasque motus Vitelliani expediam. caeso cum omnibus copiis Iulio Vindice ferox praeda gloriaque exercitus, ut cui sine labore ac periculo ditissimi belli victoria evenisset, expeditionem et aciem, praemia quam stipendia malebat. diu infructuosam et asperam militiam toleraverant ingenio loci caelique et severitate disciplinae, quam in pace inexorabilem discordiae civium resolvunt, paratis utrimque corruptoribus et perfidia impunita. viri, arma, equi ad usum et ad decus supererant. sed ante bellum centurias tantum suas turmasque noverant; exercitus finibus provinciarum discernebantur: tum adversus Vindicem contractae legiones, seque et Gallias expertae, quaerere rursus arma novasque discordias; nec socios, ut olim, sed hostis et victos vocabant. nec deerat pars Galliarum, quae Rhenum accolit, easdem partis secuta ac tum acerrima instigatrix adversum Galbianos; hoc enim nomen fastidito Vindice indiderant. igitur Sequanis Aeduisque ac deinde, prout opulentia civitatibus erat, infensi expugnationes urbium, populationes agrorum, raptus penatium hauserunt animo, super avaritiam et adrogantiam, praecipua validiorum vitia, contumacia Gallorum inritati, qui remissam sibi a Galba quartam tributorum partem et publice donatos in ignominiam exercitus iactabant. accessit callide vulgatum, temere creditum, decimari legiones et promptissimum quemque centurionum dimitti. undique atroces nuntii, sinistra ex urbe fama; infensa Lugdunensis colonia et pertinaci pro Nerone fide fecunda rumoribus; sed plurima ad fingendum credendumque materies in ipsis castris, odio metu et, ubi viris suas respexerant, securitate.
51.
I will now elucidate the origins and the causes of Vitellius’ uprising. Following the elimination of Vindex and of his forces, the victorius troops, now arrogant on account of the plunder and glory they had gained without labor and danger in a lucrative war, preferred the rewards of campaigns and active combat to their paltry soldier’s pay. The army had long borne a service made profitless and debiltating by the hostile nature of place and climate and by rigorous discipline. Inflexible in peacetime, discipline is undermined by civil war, as in both camps there are corrupting influences and treachery goes unpunished. Men, weapons, horses were more than was required for actual use or as hallmarks of power. But, before the war soldiers knew only the men in their own company and squadron and the armies were kept separate by the limits of their respective provinces. Then the legions, brought together to fight Vindex, came to know one another and the Gallic forces as well. They were all eager for new action and new pretexts for war: they openly regarded the Gauls no longer as allies, as they did before, but as an enemy they had beaten in battle. Also, [not all parts of Gaul supported Vindex]: the regions bordering on the Rhine had embraced the cause of the legions and were now most relentless in stirring up ill will against ‘the Galbians’, a name they now used to disparage Vindex’ supporters. Thus, the soldiers of the legions eyed the Sequani and the Aedui first, then other nations, with hostility proportionate to the opulence of each community. Their hearts hankered after the pillage of cities, the ravaging of the land, and the depredation of homes. They were stirred to anger not only by greed and arrogance –vices typical of men with superior force—but also by the insolence of the Gauls, who, to humiliate the troops, bragged that Galba had reduced their tribute by one fourth and had plied them with gifts at public expense. An added irritant was the rumor, astutely circulated and blindly swallowed, that the legions were being decimated and the most decisive officers cashiered. Alarming reports came in from all sides and tidings from Rome were sinister. The colony of Lyon, hostile [to Galba] in its obstinate attachment to Nero, was a fertile source of wild rumors. But the real hotbed of deception and credulity was in the camp itself, in the soldiers’ hatred, fear, and, when they took account of their forces, the confidence in their own strength.
LII.
Sub ipsas superioris anni kalendas Decembris Aulus Vitellius inferiorem Germaniam ingressus hiberna legionum cum cura adierat: redditi plerisque ordines, remissa ignominia, adlevatae notae; plura ambitione, quaedam iudicio, in quibus sordis et avaritiam Fontei Capitonis adimendis adsignandisve militiae ordinibus integre mutaverat. nec consularis legati mensura sed in maius omnia accipiebantur. et [ut] Vitellius apud severos humilis, ita comitatem bonitatemque faventes vocabant, quod sine modo, sine iudicio donaret sua, largiretur aliena; simul aviditate imperitandi ipsa vitia pro virtutibus interpretabantur. multi in utroque exercitu sicut modesti quietique ita mali et strenui. sed profusa cupidine et insigni temeritate legati legionum Alienus Caecina et Fabius Valens; e quibus Valens infensus Galbae, tamquam detectam a se Verginii cunctationem, oppressa Capitonis consilia ingrate tulisset, instigare Vitellium, ardorem militum ostentans: ipsum celebri ubique fama, nullam in Flacco Hordeonio moram; adfore Britanniam, secutura Germanorum auxilia: male fidas provincias, precarium seni imperium et brevi transiturum: panderet modo sinum et venienti Fortunae occurreret. merito dubitasse Verginium equestri familia, ignoto patre, imparem si recepisset imperium, tutum si recusasset: Vitellio tris patris consulatus, censuram, collegium Caesaris et imponere iam pridem imperatoris dignationem et auferre privati securitatem. quatiebatur his segne ingenium ut concupisceret magis quam ut speraret.
52.
Near the beginning of December of the previous year Aulus Vitellius had arrived in Lower Germany and carried out a careful inspection of the legions’ winter quarters. Many among the troops were restored to their rank and had the mark of disgrace removed; penalties were lessened or cancelled. Often he did this to gain popularity, but sometimes he was moved by a sense of justice, as in correcting with impartiality the sordid avarice of Fronteius Capito in the bestowal or removal of army rank. Vitellius’ measures were seen [by the soldiers] as more than the acts of a consular legate. If to the serious-minded his manner seemed indecorous, those well-disposed towards him called it affability and good nature, in that he gave of his own without measure or thought and was prodigal with what belonged to others. It may also be that, in their desire to see him made emperor, they interpreted his vices as virtues. Just as both armies included many disciplined and orderly men, so they had their share also of unscrupulous and conniving ones. But most prominent for their unbridled cupidity and reckless boldness were two legion commanders, Alienus Caecina and Fabius Valens. The latter, who hated Galba for his ingratitude after warning him of Verginius’ reluctance [to join his side] and foiling Capito’s plots, kept inciting Vitellius to action, pointing to the soldiers’ desire to fight and to the great popularity he himself enjoyed everywhere. Hordeonius Flaccus would not be an obstacle, Britain would be with him, and the German auxiliaries would do the same. The loyalty of the provinces was uncertain, the authority of the old emperor precarious and soon bound to end. All he had to do was open his arms and hasten to embrace Fortune come to meet him. With good reasons, [he said], had Verginius hesitated: his was an equestrian family, his father not known; he was unequal to the task, had he accepted, but secure if he refused the imperial honor. The three consulships and the censorship of Vitellius’ father, who had shared these offices with an emperor, not only had long since qualified him, Vitellius, for the supreme dignity, but also deprived him of the sheltered status of private citizen. These appeals jolted Vitellius’ lazy disposition into wakefulness, but more to sharpen his appetite for power than nurse real hopes of success.
LIII.
At in superiore Germania Caecina, decorus iuventa, corpore ingens, animi immodicus, scito sermone, erecto incessu, studia militum inlexerat. hunc iuvenem Galba, quaestorem in Baetica impigre in partis suas transgressum, legioni praeposuit: mox compertum publicam pecuniam avertisse ut peculatorem flagitari iussit. Caecina aegre passus miscere cuncta et privata vulnera rei publicae malis operire statuit. nec deerant in exercitu semina discordiae, quod et bello adversus Vindicem universus adfuerat, nec nisi occiso Nerone translatus in Galbam atque in eo ipso sacramento vexillis inferioris Germaniae praeventus erat. et Treviri ac Lingones, quasque alias civitates atrocibus edictis aut damno finium Galba perculerat, hibernis legionum propius miscentur: unde seditiosa colloquia et inter paganos corruptior miles; et in Verginium favor cuicumque alii profuturus.
53.
Meanwhile, in Upper Germany, Caecina, a handsome young man of imposing stature and exuberant vitality, had won the troops’ favor by his captivating eloquence and upright deportment. Though a mere youth and a simple quaestor in Baetica, he was placed at the head of a legion by Galba, whose party he had promptly joined. Later, however, Galba had him prosecuted as an embezzler when found to have misappropriated public money. Caecina’s resentment was bitter. He resolved to plunge all into confusion and hide his private hurt under the afflictions of the state. Seeds of discord were not wanting in the army, since it also had participated in a body in the war against Vindex and had gone over to Galba only after Nero’s death. Even then, it had been preceded by army units of Lower Germany when it took the new oath. Further, the Treveri and the Lingones, as well as other tribes that Galba had penalized with severe edicts and land confiscations, were forming closer bonds with the legions in winter quarters. This resulted in frequent talks of a seditious nature and in a soldiery becoming more disaffected by contact with local people, hence the likelihood that the favor enjoyed by Verginius might profit some other contender for the throne.
LIV.
Miserat civitas Lingonum vetere instituto dona legionibus dextras, hospitii insigne. legati eorum in squalorem maestitiamque compositi per principia per contubernia modo suas iniurias, modo vicinarum civitatium praemia, et ubi pronis militum auribus accipiebantur, ipsius exercitus pericula et contumelias conquerentes accendebant animos. nec procul seditione aberant cum Hordeonius Flaccus abire legatos, utque occultior digressus esset, nocte castris excedere iubet. inde atrox rumor, adfirmantibus plerisque interfectos, ac ni sibi ipsi consulerent, fore ut acerrimi militum et praesentia conquesti per tenebras et inscitiam ceterorum occiderentur. obstringuntur inter se tacito foedere legiones, adsciscitur auxiliorum miles, primo suspectus tamquam circumdatis cohortibus alisque impetus in legiones pararetur, mox eadem acrius volvens, faciliore inter malos consensu ad bellum quam in pace ad concordiam.
54.
In keeping with an ancient custom, the community of the Lingones had sent their symbol of hospitality, the clasped right hands. Their deputies, adopting a mien expressive of deep dejection and sorrow while walking along the rows of tents and command quarters, bemoaned now the wrongs they suffered, now the benefits granted their neighbors. Whenever the soldiers showed an inclination to heed their words, they deplored the dangers the army itself faced and the affronts it had to endure, thereby inflaming the spirit of the listeners. Open mutiny was about to break out when Hordeonius Flaccus ordered the deputation to leave the camp and, to make their departure less obvious, had them leave at night. This gave rise to an alarming rumor, most of the troops asserting that the envoys had been murdered and that, unless they looked out for themselves, the toughest soldiers and those complaining about present conditions would be massacred under cover of darkness, without the rest of them knowing. The legions bound themselves by a secret pledge and were joined by the auxiliaries. At first these were suspect from a notion that they were preparing to attack the legions with their infantry and cavalry stationed around the camp. But soon they proved active supporters of the revolt, for among evil men accord is more easily reached to bring on war than to maintain peace and harmony.
LV.
Inferioris tamen Germaniae legiones sollemni kalendarum Ianuariarum sacramento pro Galba adactae, multa cunctatione et raris primorum ordinum vocibus, ceteri silentio proximi cuiusque audaciam expectantes, insita mortalibus natura, propere sequi quae piget inchoare. sed ipsis legionibus inerat diversitas animorum: primani quintanique turbidi adeo ut quidam saxa in Galbae imagines iecerint: quinta decima ac sexta decima legiones nihil ultra fremitum et minas ausae initium erumpendi circumspectabant. at in superiore exercitu quarta ac duetvicensima legiones, isdem hibernis tendentes, ipso kalendarum Ianuariarum die dirumpunt imagines Galbae, quarta legio promptius, duetvicensima cunctanter, mox consensu. ac ne reverentiam imperii exuere viderentur, senatus populique Romani oblitterata iam nomina sacramento advocabant, nullo legatorum tribunorumve pro Galba nitente, quibusdam, ut in tumultu, notabilius turbantibus. non tamen quisquam in modum contionis aut suggestu locutus; neque enim erat adhuc cui imputaretur.
55.
Notwithstanding all this, on the first of January, the day in which troops took their annual oath of fidelity to the emperor, the legions of Lower Germany were made to swear allegiance to Galba. They complied with much hesitation, only a few in the front ranks saying the words. The rest kept silent, each waiting for the next man to set a bold example, in keeping with human nature, which is prompt to follow what it would rather not begin. But the mood was not the same in every legion. The men of the First and Fifth were so rowdy that some of them threw stones at Galba’s images. Those of the Fifteenth and Sixteenth did no worse than murmur threats and look about for signs of revolt. In the army of Upper Germany, on the other hand, the Fourth and Twenty-second legions, which shared the same winter camp, tore to pieces Galba’s images on the very first day of the year, the Fourth more forward in the action, the Twenty-second hesitant at first, then lending their full support. And to avoid being seen to scorn reverence for authority, they invoked in their oath the now outmoded names of the Senate and of the Roman people. None of the legion commanders or senior officers made any effort in Galba’s favor, some even –-as is often the case in disorders—stood out for their turbulence. Yet there was nothing like a harangue delivered, no one mounted the platform. The fact is there was as yet no one with whom to gain credit by such actions.
LVI.
Spectator flagitii Hordeonius Flaccus consularis legatus aderat, non compescere ruentis, non retinere dubios, non cohortari bonos ausus, sed segnis pavidus et socordia innocens. quattuor centuriones duetvicensimae legionis, Nonius Receptus, Donatius Valens, Romilius Marcellus, Calpurnius Repentinus, cum protegerent Galbae imagines, impetu militum abrepti vinctique. nec cuiquam ultra fides aut memoria prioris sacramenti, sed quod in seditionibus accidit, unde plures erant omnes fuere. Nocte quae kalendas Ianuarias secuta est in coloniam Agrippinensem aquilifer quartae legionis epulanti Vitellio nuntiat quartam et duetvicensimam legiones proiectis Galbae imaginibus in senatus ac populi Romani verba iurasse. id sacramentum inane visum: occupari nutantem fortunam et offerri principem placuit. missi a Vitellio ad legiones legatosque qui descivisse a Galba superiorem exercitum nuntiarent: proinde aut bellandum adversus desciscentis aut, si concordia et pax placeat, faciendum imperatorem: et minore discrimine sumi principem quam quaeri.
56.
Hordeonius Flaccus, the consular legate, witnessed the outrage, a passive spectator, not daring to check the frenzied, hold back the hesitant, or encourage the faithful. [He just looked on], inert, trembling, innocuous through incompetence. Four centurions of the Twenty-second, Nonius Receptus, Donatius Valens, Romilius Marcellus, and Calpurnius Repentinus, were set upon by the charging soldiers and jostled away to prison for trying to protect Galba’s images. After that no soldier had any loyalty, no thought even of his recent vows, but everyone sided with the majority, a regular occurrence with rebellions. On the night of the first of January the eagle bearer of the Fourth legion rode to Cologne to announce to Vitellius, whom he found dining, that the Fourth and Twenty-second legions had cast off Galba’s images and sworn allegiance to the Senate and the Roman people. The oath was obviously meaningless, so Vitellius decided to take Fortune by surprise while she still hung in the balance and to offer her a prince. He sent messengers to the legions [of Lower Germany] to inform them that the army of Upper Germany had abandoned Galba: consequently it was necessary either to fight the rebels or, if peace and concord was preferred, to have a new emperor. The less dangerous course, [he suggested in his message], was to accept an emperor than to look for one.
LVII.
Proxima legionis primae hiberna erant et promptissimus e legatis Fabius Valens. is die postero coloniam Agrippinensem cum equitibus legionis auxiliariorumque ingressus imperatorem Vitellium consalutavit. secutae ingenti certamine eiusdem provinciae legiones; et superior exercitus, speciosis senatus populique Romani nominibus relictis, tertium nonas Ianuarias Vitellio accessit: scires illum priore biduo non penes rem publicam fuisse. ardorem exercituum Agrippinenses, Treviri, Lingones aequabant, auxilia equos, arma pecuniam offerentes, ut quisque corpore opibus ingenio validus. nec principes modo coloniarum aut castrorum, quibus praesentia ex affluenti et parta victoria magnae spes, sed manipuli quoque et gregarius miles viatica sua et balteos phalerasque, insignia armorum argento decora, loco pecuniae tradebant, instinctu et impetu et avaritia.
57.
The nearest winter quarters were those of the First legion and Fabius Valens was the most resolute of commanders. Next day he entered Cologne with both the legionary and auxiliary cavalry and hailed Vitellius as emperor. The province’s legions followed suit with greatest alacrity. The army of Upper Germany dropped the specious name of the Senate and the Roman people and on the third day of January aligned itself with Vitellius. One could see how sincere their loyalty to the republic had been in the previous two days. The enthusiasm of the citizens of Cologne, of the Treveri, and of the Lingones matched that of the army: they came forward with auxiliaries, horses, arms, and money, each to the extent his physical condition, resources, and skills permitted. Such ardor was shown not only by the leading men of the colonies or of the camp, who enjoyed present prosperity and had great hopes from future victory, but even entire companies and ordinary soldiers contributed their savings or, in place of money, their belts, the trimmings of their uniforms, the silver ornaments of their armor, moved by impulse, enthusiasm, or the prospect of rewards to come.
LVIII.
Igitur laudata militum alacritate Vitellius ministeria principatus per libertos agi solita in equites Romanos disponit, vacationes centurionibus ex fisco numerat, saevitiam militum plerosque ad poenam exposcentium saepius adprobat, raro simulatione vinculorum frustratur. Pompeius Propinquus procurator Belgicae statim interfectus; Iulium Burdonem Germanicae classis praefectum astu subtraxit. exarserat in eum iracundia exercitus tamquam crimen ac mox insidias Fonteio Capitoni struxisset. grata erat memoria Capitonis, et apud saevientis occidere palam, ignoscere non nisi fallendo licebat: ita in custodia habitus et post victoriam demum, stratis iam militum odiis, dimissus est. interim ut piaculum obicitur centurio Crispinus. sanguine Capitonis [se] cruentaverat eoque et postulantibus manifestior et punienti vilior fuit.
58.
In return, Vitellius praised the soldiers’ alacrity on his behalf, then proceeded to apportion among Roman knights the imperial offices until then held mostly by freedmen. He paid the centurions, out of the imperial treasury, their fees for exemptions of service and generally gave in to the furor of the soldiers calling for the execution of a large number of people. Only rarely he frustrated their demands by pretending to imprison the accused. The procurator of Gallia Belgica, Pompeius Propinquus, was promptly put to death, but Julius Burdo, the prefect of the German fleet, escaped the same fate thanks to Vitellius’ shrewdness. Burdo had inflamed the anger of the army for allegedly contriving accusations against Fonteius Capito and later setting up snares to entrap him. The troops had grateful memories of Capito and their savage rage now did not allow a life to be spared except by deceit, whereas killing could be done openly. So Capito was thrown in jail and kept there until after Vitellius’ victory, when the soldiers’ hatred had subsided. In the interim the centurion Crispinus was tossed to the soldiers as a scapegoat: he had stained his hands with Capito’s blood, therefore he was a more palpable candidate for reprisal to the soldiers and a more expendable one to Vitellius.
LIX.
Iulius deinde Civilis periculo exemptus, praepotens inter Batavos, ne supplicio eius erox gens alienaretur. et erant in civitate Lingonum octo Batavorum cohortes, quartae decimae legionis auxilia, tum discordia temporum a legione digressae, prout inclinassent, grande momentum sociae aut adversae. Nonium, Donatium, Romilium, Calpurnium centuriones, de quibus supra rettulimus, occidi iussit, damnatos fidei crimine, gravissimo inter desciscentis. accessere partibus Valerius Asiaticus, Belgicae provinciae legatus, quem mox Vitellius generum adscivit, et Iunius Blaesus, Lugdunensis Galliae rector, cum Italica legione e ala Tauriana Lugduni tendentibus. nec in Raeticis copiis mora quo minus statim adiungerentur: ne in Britannia quidem dubitatum.
59.
Next, Julius Civilis, a very powerful man among the Batavi, was let go unharmed, for fear that his execution might alienate that formidable tribe. Another reason was that eight Batavian cohorts, auxiliaries of the Fourteenth legion from which the dissentions of the time had separated them, were in the territory of the Lingones and it was of great importance to have them as allies or enemies, depending on whose side they chose to fight. The centurions Nonius, Donatius, Romilius, and Calpurnius, mentioned earler, Vitellius ordered executed, convicted of having remained loyal, a damning charge in rebels’ eyes. The party gained the adhesion of Valerius Asiaticus, governor of Gallia Belgica, who later became Vitellius’ son-in-law, and of Junius Blaesus, the governor of Gallia Lugdunensis, followed by the Italica legion and the Taurian cavalry, both stationed at Lyon. Neither were the Raetian forces slow in joining Vitellius and Britain showed no hint of hesitation.
LX.
Praeerat Trebellius Maximus, per avaritiam ac sordis contemptus exercitui invisusque. accendebat odium eius Roscius Coelius legatus vicensimae legionis, olim discors, sed occasione civilium armorum atrocius proruperant. Trebellius seditionem et confusum ordinem disciplinae Coelio, spoliatas et inopes legiones Coelius Trebellio obiectabat, cum interim foedis legatorum certaminibus modestia exercitus corrupta eoque discordiae ventum ut auxiliarium quoque militum conviciis proturbatus et adgregantibus se Coelio cohortibus alisque desertus Trebellius ad Vitellium perfugerit. quies provinciae quamquam remoto consulari mansit: rexere legati legionum, pares iure, Coelius audendo potentior.
60.
Britain was governed by Trebellius Maximus, a man despised and hated on account of his squalid avarice. These feelings were inflamed by Roscius Coelius, commander of the Twentieth legion: he had long been at variance with Trebellius, but with the coming of civil war their hostility had flared up more intensely than ever.Trebellius reproached Coelius his seditious attitude that was having disruptive effects on the discipline of the troops. Coelius countered by accusing Trebellius of robbing the legions and leaving them destitute. These unseemly quarrels between the leaders were all the while corroding the morale of the army and reached such a climax that Trebellius was driven away by the loud jeers of even the auxiliary troops. Forsaken by the cohorts and the cavalry rallying around Coelius, he sought refuge with Vitellius. Despite the ejection of the ex-consul, the province remained tranquil, governed by the legion commanders with equal legal authority, though Coelius had greater say, being bolder than the rest.