XXI.
Interea Othonem, cui compositis rebus nulla spes, omne in turbido consilium, multa simul extimulabant, luxuria etiam principi onerosa, inopia vix privato toleranda, in Galbam ira, in Pisonem invidia; fingebat et metum quo magis concupisceret: praegravem se Neroni fuisse, nec Lusitaniam rursus et alterius exilii honorem expectandum. suspectum semper invisumque dominantibus qui proximus destinaretur. nocuisse id sibi apud senem principem, magis nociturum apud iuvenem ingenio trucem et longo exilio efferatum: occidi Othonem posse. proinde agendum audendumque, dum Galbae auctoritas fluxa, Pisonis nondum coaluisset. opportunos magnis conatibus transitus rerum, nec cunctatione opus, ubi perniciosior sit quies quam temeritas. mortem omnibus ex natura aequalem oblivione apud posteros vel gloria distingui; ac si nocentem innocentemque idem exitus maneat, acrioris viri esse merito perire.
21.
Meanwhile Otho, who had nothing to hope from peace and order and whose plans were rooted in turmoil, was stirred to action by a combination of circumstances: an extravagant lifestyle that would have weighed down even a prince, a shortage of means even an ordinary citizen would have found intolerable, rancour towards Galba and jealousy of Piso. He even invented reasons to fear for his safety in order to encourage his ambitions. He had been a thorn in Nero’s side, [he mused], and could not now hope again for a Lusitania and another honorable exile. A man who was seen as the successor to the throne was bound to be suspected and hated by those in power. This had obviously injured him with the aged ruler and would injure him with the young Piso, a harsh man by nature, exacerbated by prolonged exile. That he himself might be murdered was likely, hence the need to act and to dare while Galba’s authority was still shaky and Piso’s not yet formed. Changes of government lent themselves to great undertakings and caution was the worst policy, when inaction was more pernicious than temerity. Death by nature was the lot common to all men, but was distinguished by the oblivion or the glory one left behind. And if the same exit awaited the guilty and the innocent alike, then it was the mark of the more resolute man to die as he deserved.
XXII.
Non erat Othonis mollis et corpori similis animus. et intimi libertorum servorumque, corruptius quam in privata domo habiti, aulam Neronis et luxus, adulteria, matrimonia ceterasque regnorum libidines avido talium, si auderet, ut sua ostentantes, quiescenti ut aliena exprobrabant, urgentibus etiam mathematicis, dum novos motus et clarum Othoni annum observatione siderum adfirmant, genus hominum potentibus infidum, sperantibus fallax, quod in civitate nostra et vetabitur semper et retinebitur. multos secreta Poppaeae mathematicos pessimum principalis matrimonii instrumentum, habuerant: e quibus Ptolemaeus Othoni in Hispania comes, cum superfuturum eum Neroni promisisset, postquam ex eventu fides, coniectura iam et rumore senium Galbae et iuventam Othonis computantium persuaserat fore ut in imperium adscisceretur. sed Otho tamquam peritia et monitu fatorum praedicta accipiebat, cupidine ingenii humani libentius obscura credendi. nec deerat Ptolemaeus, iam et sceleris instinctor, ad quod facillime ab eius modi voto transitur.
22.
Otho’s character was quite tenacious, not soft like his effeminate body. His freedmen and slaves closest to him, who were allowed liberties unusual in a private household, dangled before his avid eyes the luxuries of Nero’s court, his adulteries, his many marriages, and all the other royal vices, reproachfully parading them as Otho’s own, if he dared act, or another’s if he did not. The astrologers also egged him on, predicting new upheavals ahead and a glorious year for Otho from their observation of the stars. Men of that ilk lie to the powerful, misguide the hopeful, will forever be banned from our city and forever be tolerated. Many of them frequented Poppaea’s private rooms, the worst possible appendage of an imperial household. One of them was Ptolemy, who had been Otho’s companion in Spain. He had assured him he would survive Nero and when events proved him right, by combining his own conjectures with the idle speculations of those who compared Galba’s age with Otho’s youth, he had persuaded the latter that he would be called to the throne. Otho, however, saw the prediction as the promptings of fate revealed by Ptolemy’s wisdom, so avid is the human mind to place faith before all else in the arcane. Ptolemy was not behindhand in playing his part and soon was the instigator of crime, the transition to which is anything but difficult from such desires.
XXIII.
Sed sceleris cogitatio incertum an repens: studia militum iam pridem spe successionis aut paratu facinoris adfectaverat, in itinere, in agmine, in stationibus vetustissimum quemque militum nomine vocans ac memoria Neroniani comitatus contubernalis appellando; alios agnoscere, quosdam requirere et pecunia aut gratia iuvare, inserendo saepius querelas et ambiguos de Galba sermones quaeque alia turbamenta vulgi. labores itinerum, inopia commeatuum, duritia imperii atrocius accipiebantur, cum Campaniae lacus et Achaiae urbes classibus adire soliti Pyrenaeum et Alpes et immensa viarum spatia aegre sub armis eniterentur.
23.
Yet it is not clear whether the conception of the crime occurred suddenly to Otho. He had long endeavored to become popular with the troops in the hope of succeeding Galba or in preparation of some bold misdeed. On the march, on assignments, during halts he would address all veterans by name and call them comrades in memory of their service together under Nero. Others he would greet as old acquaintances, some he would enquire after, offering help with his money or credit. More often than not he would drop complaints and ambiguous remarks about Galba in his talk and do other things that might trouble the minds of the soldiers. The fatigue of the marches, the penury of supplies, the harshness of service were thus tolerated with mounting resentment by troops accustomed to go by ship to the lakes of Campania and to the cities of Achaia, when they had to struggle over the Pyrenees and the Alps and along the interminable roads under a full load of arms.
XXIV.
Flagrantibus iam militum animis velut faces addiderat Maevius Pudens, e proximis Tigellini. is mobilissimum quemque ingenio aut pecuniae indigum et in novas cupiditates praecipitem adliciendo eo paulatim progressus est ut per speciem convivii, quotiens Galba apud Othonem epularetur, cohorti excubias agenti viritim centenos nummos divideret; quam velut publicam largitionem Otho secretioribus apud singulos praemiis intendebat, adeo animosus corruptor ut Cocceio Proculo speculatori, de parte finium cum vicino ambigenti, universum vicini agrum sua pecunia emptum dono dederit, per socordiam praefecti, quem nota pariter et occulta fallebant.
24.
To the blazing flames of the soldiers’ discontent more fuel had been added, in a sense, by Maevius Pudens, one of Tigellinus’ closest associates. In an effort to attract all who could be most easily swayed or were penniless and greediest for change and new opportunities, he ventured gradually, whenever Galba dined at Otho’s house, to distribute one hundred sesterces per man to the cohort escorting the emperor, ostensibly as a tip to pay for their meal. This kind of official largesse Otho supplemented with gifts of a more private nature to certain individuals and was so passionate in his desire to corrupt that to Cocceius Proculus, one of the bodyguards, who had a conflict with a neighbor over boundaries, he gave the entire neighbor’s farm that he had purchased with his own money. [Such doings were possible] thanks to the obtuse indifference of the prefect [Laco], a man no more capable of seeing what was in plain view than what was hidden.
XXV.
Sed tum e libertis Onomastum futuro sceleri praefecit, a quo Barbium Proculum tesserarium speculatorum et Veturium optionem eorundem perductos, postquam vario sermone callidos audacisque cognovit, pretio et promissis onerat, data pecunia ad pertemptandos plurium animos. suscepere duo manipulares imperium populi Romani transferendum et transtulerunt. in conscientiam facinoris pauci adsciti: suspensos ceterorum animos diversis artibus stimulant, primores militum per beneficia Nymphidii ut suspectos, vulgus et ceteros ira et desperatione dilati totiens donativi. erant quos memoria Neronis ac desiderium prioris licentiae accenderet: in commune omnes metu mutandae militiae terrebantur.
25.
In the end Otho assigned the execution of the projected crime to his freedman Onomastus, who introduced to him Barbius Proculus, one of the men in charge of passing on the watchword of the bodyguard, and Veturius, an adjutant in the same unit. Otho, having assured himself that they were both astute and daring by conversing with them on various subjects, loaded them with gifts and promises and gave them money with which to tempt the loyalty of many others. [Thus], two common soldiers took on the responsibility of transfering the imperial power –and indeed succeded. Few were admitted to the secrecy of the plot and those privy to it were trying to rally the undecided guardsmen by various expedients, [such as] giving the lead soldiers to believe that the promotions received from Nymphidius made them suspect [in the eyes of Galba] and by stirring up the anger and frustration of the rank and file and others at having the donative so often postponed. Some were fired by the memory of Nero and the longing for past license, but all were terrified by the prospect of being transferred out of the Praetorian Guard.
XXVI.
Infecit ea tabes legionum quoque et auxiliorum motas iam mentis, postquam vulgatum erat labare Germanici exercitus fidem. adeoque parata apud malos seditio, etiam apud integros dissimulatio fuit, ut postero iduum die redeuntem a cena Othonem rapturi fuerint, ni incerta noctis et tota urbe sparsa militum castra nec facilem inter temulentos consensum timuissent, non rei publicae cura, quam foedare principis sui sanguine sobrii parabant, sed ne per tenebras, ut quisque Pannonici vel Germanici exercitus militibus oblatus esset, ignorantibus plerisque, pro Othone destinaretur. multa erumpentis seditionis indicia per conscios oppressa: quaedam apud Galbae auris praefectus Laco elusit, ignarus militarium animorum consiliique quamvis egregii, quod non ipse adferret, inimicus et adversus peritos pervicax.
26.
The rot poisoned the morale of the legions and of the auxiliary troops as well, already affected by widespread rumors that the loyalty of the army of Germany was shaken. So determined were the disaffected to revolt –and even among the faithful there was a conspiracy of silence—that on the fourteenth of January, as Otho was returning from dinner, they would have spirited him away [to their barracks] had they not feared the uncertainties of the night, the presence of troops dispersed in billets throughout the city, and the difficulty of coming to an understanding with men befuddled by wine. It was not concern for the state that restrained them, for they intended to defile it when sober with the blood of their emperor, but rather the dread that soldiers of the Pannonian or of the German army, most of whom did not know Otho, might mistake for him anyone they met in the dark. Many tokens of the smoldering sedition were being suppressed by the conspirators. Certain rumors that had reached Galba’s ears, Laco, the prefect, dismissed as nonsense. He was against any idea, however good, that did not originate with himself. Not only had he no knowledge of the soldiers’ state of mind, but was also passionately opposed to anyone who had.
XXVII.
Octavo decimo kalendas Februarias sacrificanti pro aede Apollinis Galbae haruspex Vmbricius tristia exta et instantis insidias ac domesticum hostem praedicit, audiente Othone (nam proximus adstiterat) idque ut laetum e contrario et suis cogitationibus prosperum interpretante. nec multo post libertus Onomastus nuntiat expectari eum ab architecto et redemptoribus, quae significatio coeuntium iam militum et paratae coniurationis convenerat. Otho, causam digressus requirentibus, cum emi sibi praedia vetustate suspecta eoque prius exploranda finxisset, innixus liberto per Tiberianam domum in Velabrum, inde ad miliarium aureum sub aedem Saturni pergit. ibi tres et viginti speculatores consalutatum imperatorem ac paucitate salutantium trepidum et sellae festinanter impositum strictis mucronibus rapiunt; totidem ferme milites in itinere adgregantur, alii conscientia, plerique miraculo, pars clamore et gladiis, pars silentio, animum ex eventu sumpturi.
27.
On the fifteenth of January, as Galba was offering a sacrifice in front of Apollo’s temple, the haruspex Umbricius informed him that the entrails of the victim looked ominous and warned of imminent treason by an enemy within the imperial household. Otho, who was standing by, heard the seer’s words and interpreted them as meaning the opposite (if applied to himself), thus boding well for his enterprise. Soon after, his freedman Onomastus came up to announce that the architect and the contractors were waiting for him: this was the signal Otho had arranged to have him know that the soldiers were assembling and that all was ready for the coup. When asked why he was leaving, he pretended he was buying some properties of whose condition he was not sure and wanted to have them examined first. Leaning on Onomastus’ arm, he made for the Velabrum through the house of Tiberius and thence arrived at the golden milestone, near the temple of Saturn. There he was hailed as emperor by twenty-three soldiers of the imperial bodyguard. When he showed dismay at being acclaimed by so few, they hurriedly packed him into a chair, drew their swords, and took him away. About as many soldiers joined them on the way, some because they knew of the plot, most from sheer amazement, a number of them flourishing their swords and shouting, others as yet silent, awaiting events to make up their minds.
XXVIII.
Stationem in castris agebat Iulius Martialis tribunus. is magnitudine subiti sceleris, an corrupta latius castra et, si contra tenderet, exitium metuens, praebuit plerisque suspicionem conscientiae; anteposuere ceteri quoque tribuni centurionesque praesentia dubiis et honestis, isque habitus animorum fuit ut pessimum facinus auderent pauci, plures vellent, omnes paterentur.
28.
The tribune Julius Martialis was the officer of the day at the praetorian camp. His conduct gave many people ground for suspicion of complicity. Had he indeed feared, under the shock of such heinous and sudden crime, that infection had spread too far in the camp and that resistance would only cost him his life? Even the other tribunes, and the centurions as well, [remained passive], preferring safety for the moment over loyalty and danger. The prevailing attitude in regard to that treacherous act was that few dared to undertake it, most wished it done, and all put up with it in the end.
XXIX.
Ignarus interim Galba et sacris intentus fatigabat alieni iam imperii deos, cum adfertur rumor rapi in castra incertum quem senatorem, mox Othonem esse qui raperetur, simul ex tota urbe, ut quisque obvius fuerat, alii formidine augentes, quidam minora vero, ne tum quidem obliti adulationis. igitur consultantibus placuit pertemptari animum cohortis, quae in Palatio stationem agebat, nec per ipsum Galbam, cuius integra auctoritas maioribus remediis servabatur. Piso pro gradibus domus vocatos in hunc modum adlocutus est: “sextus dies agitur, commilitones, ex quo ignarus futuri, et sive optandum hoc nomen sive timendum erat, Caesar adscitus sum. quo domus nostrae aut rei publicae fato in vestra manu positum est, non quia meo nomine tristiorem casum paveam, ut qui adversas res expertus cum maxime discam ne secundas quidem minus discriminis habere: patris et senatus et ipsius imperii vicem doleo, si nobis aut perire hodie necesse est aut, quod aeque apud bonos miserum est, occidere. solacium proximi motus habebamus incruentam urbem et res sine discordia translatas: provisum adoptione videbatur ut ne post Galbam quidem bello locus esset.”
29.
Meanwhile, Galba knew nothing of the plot. Intent on sacrificing, he was vainly soliciting the gods of an empire no longer his when word arrived that some senator or other was being whisked away to the camp, and then that the person beig carried off was Otho. At the same time, people who had seen Otho and his escort on the way came running from all parts of the city, some magnifying the facts, others downplaying their gravity from a desire, even at such a moment, to flatter. Thus, after rapid consultation, it was decided to sound the intentions of the cohort guarding the palace, but not through Galba himself, whose authority was reserved intact for more pressing contingencies. Piso had the men summoned before the steps of the palace and addressed them as follows: ‘Comrades, it is now five days since I was made Caesar. I did not know the future, nor whether the name was desirable or dangerous. What destiny is reserved for my house and for the state, the decision rests with you. It is not that I fear the darker prospects ahead, being well-schooled in adversity, especially since I am made aware now that even prosperity is no less dangerous. I grieve for the plight of my father, of the Senate, of the empire itself, if it is required of us today that we should either die or –which to good men is equally painful—cause the death of others. In the last insurrection we found comfort in the thought that the city was not stained by bloodshed and that the transfer of power was achieved without discord. With my adoption it seemed that even after Galba’s death provisions were in place against a recurrence of civil war.
XXX.
“Nihil adrogabo mihi nobilitatis aut modestiae; neque enim relatu virtutum in comparatione Othonis opus est. vitia, quibus solis gloriatur, evertere imperium, etiam cum amicum imperatoris ageret. habitune et incessu an illo muliebri ornatu mereretur imperium? falluntur quibus luxuria specie liberalitatis imponit: perdere iste sciet, donare nesciet. stupra nunc et comissationes et feminarum coetus volvit animo: haec principatus praemia putat, quorum libido ac voluptas penes ipsum sit, rubor ac dedecus penes omnis; nemo enim umquam imperium flagitio quaesitum bonis artibus exercuit. Galbam consensus generis humani, me Galba consentientibus vobis Caesarem dixit. si res publica et senatus et populus vacua nomina sunt, vestra, commilitones, interest ne imperatorem pessimi faciant. legionum seditio adversus duces suos audita est aliquando: vestra fides famaque inlaesa ad hunc diem mansit. et Nero quoque vos destituit, non vos Neronem. minus triginta transfugae et desertores, quos centurionem aut tribunum sibi eligentis nemo ferret, imperium adsignabunt? admittitis exemplum et quiescendo commune crimen facitis? transcendet haec licentia in provincias, et ad nos scelerum exitus, bellorum ad vos pertinebunt. nec est plus quod pro caede principis quam quod innocentibus datur, sed proinde a nobis donativum ob fidem quam ab aliis pro facinore accipietis.”
30.
‘I am not going to prize myself on my noble birth and good character; in fact, there is no need to count virtues in comparing myself to Otho. The vices, that are his only glory, have ruined the empire even when he was playing the role of the emperor’s friend. Should his manners and the way he walks, or that effeminate garb of his, earn him an empire? His reckless spending passes for a liberality that deceives many. He knows how to squander; he knows nothing of giving. He is already dreaming of debaucheries, orgies, and lewd assignations: these he thinks are the great prizes of imperial power, the licentious enjoyment of which he considers to be for him only, the shame and dishonor for everyone. Indeed, no one has ever exercised honorably the power gained by disgraceful means. Galba was named Caesar by the consent of all mankind and he named me Caesar with your approval. Even if the republic, the Senate, and the people are nothing but empty names, it still is incumbent on you, comrades, to prevent the worst among us from setting up emperors. From time to time we have heard of legions revolting against their generals: your fame as loyal soldiers has remained unblemished to this day. Even Nero you did not abandon, rather he abandoned you. Shall less than thirty faithless renegades, whom we would never allow to choose even their own centurion or tribune, decide who should be emperor? Do you countenance this precedent and by doing nothing become their partners in crime? Such lawlessness will spread to the provinces: we shall suffer the consequences of these crimes, you of the wars. Yet you are not promised more for the murder of your emperor than you are given if you remain innocent. But from us you will receive a donative for your loyalty, just as you will from the other side for your perfidy.