XI.
Aegyptum copiasque, quibus coerceretur, iam inde a divo Augusto equites Romani obtinent loco regum: ita visum expedire, provinciam aditu difficilem, annonae fecundam, superstitione ac lascivia discordem et mobilem, insciam legum, ignaram magistratuum, domi retinere. regebat tum Tiberius Alexander, eiusdem nationis. Africa ac legiones in ea interfecto Clodio Macro contenta qualicumque principe post experimentum domini minoris. duae Mauretaniae, Raetia, Noricum, Thraecia et quae aliae procuratoribus cohibentur, ut cuique exercitui vicinae, ita in favorem aut odium contactu valentiorum agebantur. inermes provinciae atque ipsa in primis Italia, cuicumque servitio exposita, in pretium belli cessurae erant. hic fuit rerum Romanarum status, cum Servius Galba iterum Titus Vinius consules inchoavere annum sibi ultimum, rei publicae prope supremum.
11.
Egypt and the troops of occupation were under the authority of Roman knights, in place of the pharaohs, from the time of the divine Augustus. It was thought wise to keep Egypt under the personal control of the emperor in that the province was an abundant source of grain, but its approaches difficult and the population restless and undependable through fanaticism and corruption, ignorant of our laws, and unaccustomed to civic rule. The governor was then Tiberius Alexander, a native of Egypt himself. The province of Africa and the legions therein, following the murder of Clodius Macer, were satisfied with any prince after their experience of a minor despot [like Macer]. The two Mauretanias, Raetia, Noricum, Thrace, and all the other provinces controlled by procurators, depending on how close they were to one army or another, were induced to either favor or oppose [Galba] by contact with forces that dominated them. The provinces without troops, Italy in particular, exposed to servitude under anyone, were destined to become the prize of war. This, then, was the political situation within the Roman empire, when Galba, serving as consul a second time, and his colleague Titus Vinius began the year that was to be the last for them and almost for the state as well.
XII.
Paucis post kalendas Ianuarias diebus Pompei Propinqui procuratoris e Belgica litterae adferuntur, supeioris Germaniae legiones rupta sacramenti reverentia imperatorem alium flagitare et senatui ac populo Romano arbitrium eligendi permittere quo seditio mollius acciperetur. maturavit ea res consilium Galbae iam pridem de adoptione secum et cum proximis agitantis. non sane crebrior tota civitate sermo per illos mensis fuerat, primum licentia ac libidine talia loquendi, dein fessa iam aetate Galbae. paucis iudicium aut rei publicae amor: multi stulta spe, prout quis amicus vel cliens, hunc vel illum ambitiosis rumoribus destinabant, etiam in Titi Vinii odium, qui in dies quanto potentior eodem actu invisior erat. quippe hiantis in magna fortuna amicorum cupiditates ipsa Galbae facilitas intendebat, cum apud infirmum et credulum minore metu et maiore praemio peccaretur.
12.
In early January a message arrived from Pompeius Propinquus, the procurator of Belgian Gaul reporting that the legions of Upper Germany had broken faith to their oath of obedience, demanding a different emperor. To mitigate the gravity of their action, they left the choice of a new prince to the authority of the Senate and the Roman people. The news hastened Galba’s resolve in regard to the adoption [of a successor], a plan he had long debated with himself and with his intimate friends. No question in fact was more frequently discussed in the whole city during those months, first because such talk was tolerated and people found the subject to their liking, then because of Galba’s old age and declining vigour. Few had enough sense [to see what was at stake] or felt any concern for the country; many, led by selfish hopes, depending on whose friends or clients they were, named this or that man as their choice in their partisan tattle, moved also by hatred of Titus Vinius, who was growing more powerful by the day and, for that very reason, more unpopular. Predictably, Galba’s simplicity itself aggravated the devouring cupidity of his courtiers during his spell of good fortune, since with so feeble and credulous a prince it was possible to sin with more impunity and greater gains.
XIII.
Potentia principatus divisa in Titum Vinium consulem Cornelium Laconem praetorii praefectum; nec minor gratia Icelo Galbae liberto, quem anulis donatum equestri nomine Marcianum vocitabant. hi discordes et rebus minoribus sibi quisque tendentes, circa consilium eligendi successoris in duas factiones scindebantur. Vinius pro M. Othone, Laco atque Icelus consensu non tam unum aliquem fovebant quam alium. neque erat Galbae ignota Othonis ac Titi Vinii amicitia; et rumoribus nihil silentio transmittentium, quia Vinio vidua filia, caelebs Otho, gener ac socer destinabantur. credo et rei publicae curam subisse, frustra a Nerone translatae si apud Othonem relinqueretur. namque Otho pueritiam incuriose, adulescentiam petulanter egerat, gratus Neroni aemulatione luxus. eoque Poppaeam Sabinam, principale scortum, ut apud conscium libidinum deposuerat, donec Octaviam uxorem amoliretur. mox suspectum in eadem Poppaea in provinciam Lusitaniam specie legationis seposuit. Otho comiter administrata provincia primus in partis transgressus nec segnis et, donec bellum fuit, inter praesentis splendidissimus, spem adoptionis statim conceptam acrius in dies rapiebat, faventibus plerisque militum, prona in eum aula Neronis ut similem.
13.
Imperial power was divided between the consul Titus Vinius and the prefect of the praetorian guard, Cornelius Laco. No less influence had Galba’s freedman Icelus, who was usually called by his equestrian name Marcianus, having received the right to wear the golden ring of that order. These three were always at odds and even in small matters each went his own way. As to the choice of a successor, they were split into two factions: while Vinius was for Marcus Otho, Laco and Icelus did not so much agree in favoring a given candidate, as on choosing one other than Otho. Galba knew of the friendship between Otho and Titus Vinius; city gossip, that lets nothing pass in silence, was naming Otho as Vinius’ likely son-in-law, since the latter had a widowed daughter and Otho was a bachelor. I also believe that Galba felt growing unease about the care of the state, wrested in vain from Nero’s hands only to be given to an Otho. For Otho’s boyhood had been thoughtless, his early manhood turbulent, and he had endeared himself to Nero by imitating his dissolute ways. For that very reason, Nero had given Otho, his associate in sin, custody of the imperial courtesan Poppaea Sabina, until he could free himself from his wife Octavia. Soon Nero suspected him in regard to this same Poppaea and relegated him to Lusitania, to all appearances to be governor of that province. Otho’s administration of Lusitania was very humane and he was the first to go over to Galba’s side and actively support him. So long as there was war he was most conspicuous among the emperor’s attendants: he had at once formed the hope of being Galba’s successor and clung to it each day more passionately. Many of the soldiers favored him, and Nero’s courtiers could not help liking someone who resembled their former emperor.
XIV.
Sed Galba post nuntios Germanicae seditionis, quamquam nihil adhuc de Vitellio certum, anxius quonam exercituum vis erumperet, ne urbano quidem militi confisus, quod remedium unicum rebatur, comitia imperii transigit; adhibitoque super Vinium ac Laconem Mario Celso consule designato ac Ducenio Gemino praefecto urbis, pauca praefatus de sua senectute, Pisonem Licinianum accersiri iubet, seu propria electione sive, ut quidam crediderunt, Lacone instante, cui apud Rubellium Plautum exercita cum Pisone amicitia; sed callide ut ignotum fovebat, et prospera de Pisone fama consilio eius fidem addiderat. Piso M. Crasso et Scribonia genitus, nobilis utrimque, vultu habituque moris antiqui et aestimatione recta severus, deterius interpretantibus tristior habebatur: ea pars morum eius quo suspectior sollicitis adoptanti placebat.
14.
Galba, when he heard of the revolt in Germany, though nothing definite was yet known about Vitellius, felt much alarm as to the possible spread of the troops’ violent unrest. Since he did not trust even the city garrison, he had recourse to the only remedy he could think of – holding the imperial comitia. Having summoned, beside Vinius and Laco, Marius Celsus, the consul elect, and Ducenius Geminus, the city prefect, he first made some reference to being old, then sent for Licinianus Piso, either because Piso was his first choice, or, as some thought, at Laco’s instance, who at the house of Rubellius Plautus had established close ties with Piso, then astutely promoted him as someone he was not acquainted with. Piso’s good fame added credibility to Laco’s recommendation. He was the son of Marcus Crassus and of Scribonia, therefore noble by either parent; in looks and demeanor he was of the old stamp; some justly thought him stern. To his critics he was a surly man, but the very side of his character that gave umbrage to those uneasy with the choice pleased the adopting emperor all the more.
XV.
Igitur Galba, adprehensa Pisonis manu, in hunc modum locutus fertur: “si te privatus lege curiata apud pontifices, ut moris est, adoptarem, et mihi egregium erat Cn. Pompei et M. Crassi subolem in penatis meos adsciscere, et tibi insigne Sulpiciae ac Lutatiae decora nobilitati tuae adiecisse: nunc me deorum hominumque consensu ad imperium vocatum praeclara indoles tua et amor patriae impulit ut principatum, de quo maiores nostri armis certabant, bello adeptus quiescenti offeram, exemplo divi Augusti qui sororis filium Marcellum, dein generum Agrippam, mox nepotes sus, postremo Tiberium Neronem privignum in proximo sibi fastigio conlocavit. sed Augustus in domo successorem quaesivit, ego in re publica, non quia propinquos aut socios belli non habeam, sed neque ipse imperium ambitione accepi, et iudicii mei documentum sit non meae tantum necessitudines, quas tibi postposui, sed et tuae. est tibi frater pari nobilitate, natu maior, dignus hac fortuna nisi tu potior esses. ea aetas tua quae cupiditates adulescentiae iam effugerit, ea vita in qua nihil praeteritum excusandum habeas. fortunam adhuc tantum adversam tulisti: secundae res acrioribus stimulis animos explorant, quia miseriae tolerantur, felicitate corrumpimur. fidem, libertatem, amicitiam, praecipua humani animi bona, tu quidem eadem constantia retinebis, sed alii per obsequium imminuent: inrumpet adulatio, blanditiae [et] pessimum veri adfectus venenum, sua cuique utilitas. etiam [si] ego ac tu simplicissime inter nos hodie loquimur, ceteri libentius cum fortuna nostra quam nobiscum; nam suadere principi quod oporteat multi laboris, adsentatio erga quemcumque principem sine adfectu peragitur.”
15.
So Galba, taking Piso’s hand, reportedly expressed these sentiments: ‘If I were a private man adopting you, as the custom is, by the curiate law before the pontifices, it would be both an honor for me to accept into my family a descendant of Gnaeus Pompey and Marcus Crassus and a glory for you to add to your nobility the luster of the Sulpician and the Lutatian houses. But now, called [as I am] to the supreme power by the united will of gods and men, your upright character and my love of country have prompted me to offer you the principate for which our predecessors have resorted to arms. I myself have secured it in war, but I cede it to you in peace, following the example of the divine Augustus, who raised Marcellus, his sister’s son, then his son-in-law Agrippa, later his grandsons, and finally his step-son Tiberius Nero to a height nearest his own. But Augustus sought a successor within his family, I in the entire state, and the reason is not that I lack relatives or companions in arms. It was not because of ambition that I myself accepted the empire and there is no better proof of the impartiality of my choice than the fact of having chosen you before not only my own connections, but yours as well. You have a brother of equal nobility, older than you, worthy of this fortune if you were not the favorite. Your age is such that it has now escaped the passions of youth; your life is such that you have nothing from your past that should be forgiven. So far you have only endured adversity: prosperity tests the soul with keener spurs, for we can patiently bear misfortune, but success corrupts us. Honor, liberty, friendship – the main blessings of the human spirit – you will undoubtedly retain with even constancy, but others will diminish them through servility. Adulation, blandishments, and the worst poison of sincere affection, self-interest, will inexorably creep in. Though you and I now speak to each other in complete candour, all others speak rather to our exalted state than to us. To persuade a prince to do the right thing is in fact strenuous work. To applaud everything a prince does, whoever he may be, requires no devotion.
XVI.
“Si immensum imperii corpus stare ac librari sine rectore posset, dignus eram a quo res publica inciperet: nunc eo necessitatis iam pridem ventum est ut nec mea senectus conferre plus populo Romano possit quam bonum successorem, nec tua plus iuventa quam bonum principem. sub Tiberio et Gaio et Claudio unius familiae quasi hereditas fuimus: loco libertatis erit quod eligi coepimus; et finita Iuliorum Claudiorumque domo optimum quemque adoptio inveniet. nam generari et nasci a principibus fortuitum, nec ultra aestimatur: adoptandi iudicium integrum et, si velis eligere, consensu monstratur. sit ante oculos Nero quem longa Caesarum serie tumentem non Vindex cum inermi provincia aut ego cum una legione, sed sua immanitas, sua luxuria cervicibus publicis depulerunt; neque erat adhuc damnati principis exemplum. nos bello et ab aestimantibus adsciti cum invidia quamvis egregii erimus. ne tamen territus fueris si duae legiones in hoc concussi orbis motu nondum quiescunt: ne ipse quidem ad securas res accessi, et audita adoptione desinam videri senex, quod nunc mihi unum obicitur. Nero a pessimo quoque semper desiderabitur: mihi ac tibi providendum est ne etiam a bonis desideretur. monere diutius neque temporis huius, et impletum est omne consilium si te bene elegi. utilissimus idem ac brevissimus bonarum malarumque rerum dilectus est, cogitare quid aut volueris sub alio principe aut nolueris; neque enim hic, ut gentibus quae regnantur, certa dominorum domus et ceteri servi, sed imperaturus es hominibus qui, nec totam servitutem pati possunt nec totam libertatem.” et Galba quidem haec ac talia, tamquam principem faceret, ceteri tamquam cum facto loquebantur.
16.
‘If the immense body of the empire could maintain itself in equilibrium without anyone to direct it, I would be the proper man to inaugurate the republic. But now we have long come to such a state of affairs that neither can my age confer on the Roman people anything more than a good successor, nor your youth anything more than a good prince. Under Tiberius, Caligula, and Claudius we were, we might say, the patrimony of one family. [Now], in place of liberty, will be the fact that we emperors are beginning to be chosen. With the end of the Julian and Claudian families, adoption will seek out the best man among us, for to be sired by and be born of princes is a matter of chance, all ending there. The exercise of judgement in adoption is unfettered and, if you wish to choose, general concord will show the man you want. Have the example of Nero before your eyes: puffed up with pride for the long line of Caesars before him, it was not Vindex with an ungarrisoned province behind him, not I with a single legion, but his brutality, his debauchery that shook him from our shoulders. Up to that moment, no precedent existed of an emperor publicly declared an enemy of the people. We, summoned to power by war and the esteem of the people, however great our merit, will have envy for companion. Yet, be not fearful if two legions are still restless after the giant heave that has convulsed the world. I myself did not reach the throne without alarms. Once the adoption becomes public knowledge, I shall cease to seem an old man, the one reproach that is now levelled at me. Nero will always be missed by the black sheep in society: you and I must see to it that he is not also missed by good citizens. To counsel further does not become this occasion and [in any case] all my plans are realised if I have made the right choice in you. The surest and quickest way to decide if an action is good or bad is to think of what one has approved or condemned under another prince. For in Rome there is not, as in nations ruled by kings, a given house of masters while the rest are slaves: instead you are called to govern men who can bear neither total slavery nor total freedom’. These things and more of the same were said by Galba , who spoke as if he were indeed setting up an emperor; those around him addressed Piso as if he were one already.
XVII.
Pisonem ferunt statim intuentibus et mox coniectis in eum omnium oculis nullum turbati aut exultantis animi motum prodidisse. sermo erga patrem imperatoremque reverens, de se moderatus; nihil in vultu habituque mutatum, quasi imperare posset magis quam vellet. consultatum inde, pro rostris an in senatu an in castris adoptio nuncuparetur. iri in castra placuit: honorificum id militibus fore, quorum favorem ut largitione et ambitu male adquiri, ita per bonas artis haud spernendum. circumsteterat interim Palatium publica expectatio, magni secreti impatiens; et male coercitam famam supprimentes augebant.
17.
They say that Piso did not show any emotion, such as anxiety or joy, either to those looking on at the moment or later when all eyes were on him. Without change in his appearance and manner, he answered with a speech reverential to his father and emperor and modest with respect to himself, as a man who had the ability rather than the desire to rule. It was then considered whether they ought to announce the adoption from the rostra, in the senate, or in the praetorian camp. The camp was preferred, for [it was thought that] this would be seen as a tribute to the troops, whose favor, ignobly purchased if secured through donatives and bribes, was hardly to be spurned if won by honorable means. While this was occurring inside, public curiosity had surrounded the palace, impatient to be let into the great secret, and those who strove to suppress the poorly guarded news only helped it to spread.
XVIII.
Quartum idus Ianuarias, foedum imbribus diem, tonitrua et fulgura et caelestes minae ultra solitum turbaverunt. observatum id antiquitus comitiis dirimendis non terruit Galbam quo minus in castra pergeret, contemptorem talium ut fortuitorum; seu quae fato manent, quamvis significata, non vitantur. apud frequentem militum contionem imperatoria brevitate adoptari a se Pisonem exemplo divi Augusti et more militari, quo vir virum legeret, pronuntiat. ac ne dissimulata seditio in maius crederetur, ultro adseverat quartam et duoetvicensimam legiones, paucis seditionis auctoribus, non ultra verba ac voces errasse et brevi in officio fore. nec ullum orationi aut lenocinium addit aut pretium. tribuni tamen centurionesque et proximi militum grata auditu respondent: per ceteros maestitia ac silentium, tamquam usurpatam etiam in pace donativi necessitatem bello perdidissent. constat potuisse conciliari animos quantulacumque parci senis liberalitate: nocuit antiquus rigor et nimia severitas, cui iam pares non sumus.
18.
The tenth of January –a ghastly day of uninterrupted rain – thunder, lightning, and an angry sky were unusually alarming. These signs, interpreted since ancient times as a command to break up an assembly, did not deter Galba from going to the camp, either because he dismissed such phenomena as fortuitous, or because what fate decrees cannot be avoided, even if revealed by portents. Before a crowded assembly of the troops he declared, with the brevity of a general in command, that he was adopting Piso on the example of the divine Augustus and according to the military custom by which each man chooses a comrade. Then, for fear that the [German] revolt might be thought more serious than it was, if he made no mention of it, he openly admitted that the Fourth and Twenty-second legions, on the instigation of a few troublemakers had transgressed no further than words and shouts and would soon return to their duty. To his speech he added not one word to flatter the soldiers or to allude to a bounty. Yet the tribunes, the centurions, and the nearest soldiers responded with encouraging cries of approval, while in the ranks a grim silence prevailed, as if they had lost in war the claim to a donative they had appropriated even in peace. There is no doubt that their hearts could have been won by any liberality, however small, on the part of that avaricious old man. He became the victim of his own old-fashioned rigor and excessive severity, qualities our age finds too hard to tolerate.
IXX.
Inde apud senatum non comptior Galbae, non longior quam apud militem sermo: Pisonis comis oratio. et patrum favor aderat: multi voluntate, effusius qui noluerant, medii ac plurimi obvio obsequio, privatas spes agitantes sine publica cura. nec aliud sequenti quadriduo, quod medium inter adoptionem et caedem fuit, dictum a Pisone in publico factumve. crebrioribus in dies Germanicae defectionis nuntiis et facili civitate ad accipienda credendaque omnia nova cum tristia sunt, censuerant patres mittendos ad Germanicum exercitum legatos. agitatum secreto num et Piso proficisceretur, maiore praetextu, illi auctoritatem senatus, hic dignationem Caesaris laturus. placebat et Laconem praetorii praefectum simul mitti: is consilio intercessit. legati quoque (nam senatus electionem Galbae permiserat) foeda inconstantia nominati, excusati, substituti, ambitu remanendi aut eundi, ut quemque metus vel spes impulerat.
19.
Next was Galba’s speech before the Senate, neither more ornate nor longer than the one before the troops. Piso’s speech was very engaging and met with the senators’ approval. Many wished him well with sincerity, with more effusion those against him, the undecided, who were the majority, with ready obsequiousness, each furthering his own interest without thought of the public good. During the following four days’ period between the adoption and his murder, Piso said and did nothing else in public. Messages about the German revolt were arriving with mounting frequency and given the readiness with which the city accepted and believed any fresh rumor –especially when the news was grim—the senate decided to send an embassy to the army of Germany. It was debated in secret whether Piso should also go to add luster to the mission: the envoys were to represent the authority of the Senate, he the dignity of the emperor. It seemed expedient to send Laco as well, the prefect of the Praetorian Guard, but he opposed the project. The envoys themselves (for the Senate had left the choice to Galba) were named, excused, replaced with deplorable indecision, all using their credit to remain behind or to go, depending on whether they were moved by fear or hope.
XX.
Proxima pecuniae cura; et cuncta scrutantibus iustissimum visum est inde repeti ubi inopiae causa erat. bis et viciens miliens sesteritum donationibus Nero effuderat: appellari singulos iussit, decima parte liberalitatis apud quemque eorum relicta. at illis vix decimae super portiones erant, isdem erga aliena sumptibus quibus sua prodegerant, cum rapacissimo cuique ac perditissimo non agri aut faenus sed sola instrumenta vitiorum manerent. exactioni triginta equites Romani praepositi, novum officii genus et ambitu ac numero onerosum: ubique hasta et sector, et inquieta urbs actionibus. ac tamen grande gaudium quod tam pauperes forent quibus donasset Nero quam quibus abstulisset. exauctorati per eos dies tribuni, e praetorio Antonius Taurus et Antonius Naso, ex urbanis cohortibus Aemilius Pacensis, e vigilibus Iulius Fronto. nec remedium in ceteros fuit, sed metus initium, tamquam per artem et formidine singuli pellerentur, omnibus suspectis.
20.
The next source of concern was money. After thorough examination, it seemed quite fair to recover the money from those who were the cause of the shortfall. Nero had squandered twenty-two hundred million sesterces in gifts. Galba ordered the individual beneficiaries to return what they had received, allowing them to retain one tenth of the value. They, however, hardly had one tenth left, having gone through what was not theirs with the same prodigality they had wasted their own. The most rapacious among them –who were also the most wretched—had neither land nor capital left: nothing but the instruments of vice. Thirty Roman knights were appointed to exact back payment, a new and highly onerous kind of office, because of all the bickering among its members and the number [of those called upon to refund]. Auctions and speculators everywhere: the city abuzz with lawsuits. Yet there was great rejoicing as well at the thought that those whom Nero had benefited would be as poor as those he had robbed. About this time four tribunes were dismissed, two from the praetorian cohort, Antonius Taurus and Antonius Naso, one from the urban cohort, Aemilius Pacensis, and one from the police, Julius Fronto. This remedy had no effect on the others and only provoked their fears, for they saw that they were cunningly and cautiously being removed from office one by one, all being under suspicion.