LXXXI.
Erat Othoni celebre convivium primoribus feminis virisque; qui trepidi, fortuitusne militum furor an dolus imperatoris, manere ac deprehendi an fugere et dispergi periculosius foret, modo constantiam simulare, modo formidine detegi, simul Othonis vultum intueri; utque evenit inclinatis ad suspicionem mentibus, cum timeret Otho, timebatur. sed haud secus discrimine senatus quam suo territus et praefectos praetorii ad mitigandas militum iras statim miserat et abire propere omnis e convivio, iussit. tum vero passim magistratus proiectis insignibus, vitata comitum et servorum frequentia, senes feminaeque per tenebras diversa urbis itinera, rari domos, plurimi amicorum tecta et ut cuique humillimus cliens, incertas latebras petivere.
81.
Otho was hosting a large banquet for the city’s most prominent people, both men and women. Bewildered [by the tumult], not knowing whether the soldiers’ furor was fortuitous or some ambush set by the emperor, or whether it would be more dangerous to stay and be trapped or to run and disperse, they made a show of courage at one moment, then betrayed their fears at another. Meanwhile they kept their eyes fixed on Otho’s face. As generally happens with minds given to suspicion, it was because Otho showed fear that he was feared himself. Yet, he was just as concerned for the safety of his noble guests as he was for his own. He had already sent out the prefects of the Praetorian Guard to soothe the soldiers’anger and now he told all to leave the banquet hall without delay. Then indeed [there was a precipitate flight in all directions]: magistrates, throwing away their badges of office, avoided the company of friends or the attendance of servants; senior citizens and women scampered down the darkened streets of the city, headed one way or another; a rare few reentered their houses, most sought shelter with friends or an uncertain hideout with the humblest of their clients, if they had one.
LXXXII.
Militum impetus ne foribus quidem Palatii coercitus quo minus convivium inrumperent, ostendi sibi Othonem expostulantes, vulnerato Iulio Martiale tribuno et Vitellio Saturnino praefecto legionis, dum ruentibus obsistunt. undique arma et minae, modo in centuriones tribunosque, modo in senatum universum, lymphatis caeco pavore animis, et quia neminem unum destinare irae poterant, licentiam in omnis poscentibus, donec Otho contra decus imperii toro insistens precibus et lacrimis aegre cohibuit, redieruntque in castra inviti neque innocentes. postera die velut capta urbe clausae domus, rarus per vias populus, maesta plebs; deiecti in terram militum vultus ac plus tristitiae quam paenitentiae. manipulatim adlocuti sunt Licinius Proculus et Plotius Firmus praefecti, ex suo quisque ingenio mitius aut horridius. finis sermonis in eo ut quina milia nummum singulis militibus numerarentur: tum Otho ingredi castra ausus. atque illum tribuni centurionesque circumsistunt, abiectis militiae insignibus otium et salutem flagitantes. sensit invidiam miles et compositus in obsequium auctores seditionis ad supplicium ultro postulabat.
82.
Not even the palace doors could stop the soldiers’ impetus, who burst into the banquet hall demanding to see Otho. They wounded the tribune Julius Martialis and the legion commander Vitellius Saturninus, who had tried to oppose their irruption. From all sides nothing but threats at sword’s point, now against the centurions and tribunes, now against the entire Senate. An unreasonable fear blinded their minds and because they could find no one on whom to vent their anger, they claimed license to threaten everyone. In the end, Otho, neglectful of his imperial dignity, stood on a couch and with insistent prayers and many tears barely managed to contain them. They went back to their camp against their will and with blood on their hands. Next day all houses were barred, as if Rome were a captured city: the streets almost deserted, the common people downcast; the soldiers kept their eyes to the ground, showing discontent rather than repentance. Grouped in maniples, they were harangued by Licinius Proculus and Plotius Firmus, prefects of the guard, mildly by the one and harshly by the other, in keeping with the speaker’s temper. The conclusion of each address was that five thousand sesterces would be meted out to each soldier. Only then did Otho venture to enter the camp. At once the tribunes and the centurions crowded around him and flinging away their insignia of rank implored him to be discharged from a service that had become so unsafe. The soldiers realised the disgrace their conduct had brought them and returned to their former habits of obedience, even demanding of their own accord the execution of those responsible for the sedition.
LXXXIII.
Otho, quamquam turbidis rebus et diversis militum animis, cum optimus quisque remedium praesentis licentiae posceret, vulgus et plures seditionibus et ambitioso imperio laeti per turbas et raptus facilius ad civile bellum impellerentur, simul reputans non posse principatum scelere quaesitum subita modestia et prisca gravitate retineri, sed discrimine urbis et periculo senatus anxius, postremo ita disseruit: “neque ut adfectus vestros in amorem mei accenderem, commilitones, neque ut animum ad virtutem cohortarer (utraque enim egregie supersunt), sed veni postulaturus a vobis temperamentum vestrae fortitudinis et erga me modum caritatis. tumultus proximi initium non cupiditate vel odio, quae multos exercitus in discordiam egere, ac ne detrectatione quidem aut formidine periculorum: nimia pietas vestra acrius quam considerate excitavit; nam saepe honestas rerum causas, ni iudicium adhibeas, perniciosi exitus consequuntur. imus ad bellum. num omnis nuntios palam audiri, omnia consilia cunctis praesentibus tractari ratio rerum aut occasionum velocitas patitur? tam nescire quaedam milites quam scire oportet: ita se ducum auctoritas, sic rigor disciplinae habet, ut multa etiam centuriones tribunosque tantum iuberi expediat. si cur iubeantur quaerere singulis liceat, pereunte obsequio etiam imperium intercidit. an et illic nocte intempesta rapientur arma? unus alterve perditus ac temulentus (neque enim pluris consternatione proxima insanisse crediderim) centurionis ac tribuni sanguine manus imbuet, imperatoris sui tentorium inrumpet?”
83.
Otho saw that the situation in Rome was still turbulent and the soldiers’ sentiments at variance. A few good men demanded a stop to disorderly behaviour, while the vast majority delighted in sedition, in emperors responsive to their demands, and were very easily drawn to civil strife by mob violence and looting. He realized at the same time that the empire he had gained by treason could not be secured by exacting sudden moderation or by a return to ancient severity. Being also worried about the security of the city and the threats to the Senate, he decided in the end to address the troops as follows: ‘Comrades, I have come hither neither to bestir your hearts into loving me nor to exhort you to bravery: in fact, both of these sentiments exceed in you all measure. Rather I have come to beg you to moderate your courage and to set limits to your affection for me. The recent tumult did not stem from cupidity and hatred, the usual causes of discord in armies, nor was the cause cowardice in the face of danger: it was your excessive devotion to me that prompted you with more passion than reflexion. For often honest motives produce fatal results, if proper judgement is not used. We are about to go to war. Now, does the very nature of combat and the swift changes of situations permit that all messages be read out in public, that every plan, every objective of a campaign be explained to all present? It is necessary that a soldier should not know certain things as it is he should know others. Such is the authority of commanders, such is the rigor of discipline that in many cases it is best to have even tribunes and centurions just follow orders. If it were permissible for an individual to question why he is given an order, authority would cease for lack of compliance. And there, in the war ahead, will you not also seize arms in the dead of night? Shall one or two drunken layabouts (for I could not believe for a moment that more had gone insane in the recent madness) stain his hands in the blood of a centurion and of a tribune and burst into the general’s tent?
LXXXIV.
“Vos quidem istud pro me: sed in discursu ac tenebris et rerum omnium confusione patefieri occasio etiam adversus me potest. si Vitellio et satellitibus eius eligendi facultas detur, quem nobis animum, quas mentis imprecentur, quid aliud quam seditionem et discordiam optabunt? ne miles centurioni, ne centurio tribuno obsequatur, ut confusi pedites equitesque in exitium ruamus. parendo potius, commilitones, quam imperia ducum sciscitando res militares continentur, et fortissimus in ipso discrimine exercitus est qui ante discrimen quietissimus. vobis arma et animus sit: mihi consilium et virtutis vestrae regimen relinquite. paucorum culpa fuit, duorum poena erit: ceteri abolete memoriam foedissimae noctis. nec illas adversus senatum voces ullus usquam exercitus audiat. caput imperii et decora omnium provinciarum ad poenam vocare non hercule illi, quos cum maxime Vitellius in nos ciet, Germani audeant. ulline Italiae alumni et Romana vere iuventus ad sanguinem et caedem depoposcerit ordinem, cuius splendore et gloria sordis et obscuritatem Vitellianarum partium praestringimus? nationes aliquas occupavit Vitellius, imaginem quandam exercitus habet, senatus nobiscum est: sic fit ut hinc res publica, inde hostes rei publicae constiterint. quid? vos pulcherrimam hanc urbem domibus et tectis et congestu lapidum stare creditis? muta ista et inanima intercidere ac reparari promisca sunt: aeternitas rerum et pax gentium et mea cum vestra salus incolumitate senatus firmatur. hunc auspicato a parente et conditore urbis nostrae institutum et a regibus usque ad principes continuum et immortalem, sicut a maioribus accepimus, sic posteris tradamus; nam ut ex vobis senatores, ita ex senatoribus principes nascuntur.”
84.
I realize you have done this for me, but in your rushing about in the darkness and the general confusion, the door may be left open for an attempt on my life. Supposing Vitellius and his henchmen were given the possibility to choose the state of mind, the sentiments they would wish us to have, what else would they opt for but sedition and discord? [Would they not pray] that the soldier should not obey the centurion, the centurion the tribune, and that we all, foot soldiers and mounted men, should rush to our destruction? It is by obeying, comrades, not by questioning the commander’s orders that a military establishment is kept from disintegrating. The strongest army, when the fighting starts, is the one that before the fighting was the least unruly. Arms and valor, let that be your business and leave to me all decisions and the management of your courage. Few among you have been guilty of a crime: only two will be punished. The rest of you banish from your mind the memory of that infamous night. May no other army ever hear the dreadful cries that were uttered against the Senate. Not even barbarians, by Hercules, like those Germans Vitellius is even now setting in motion against us, would dare to call for the destruction of the head of the empire and the distinction of all its provinces. Would any of Italy’s sons, true Roman youths, really wish for the bloody massacre of an order whose splendor and glory enable us to eclipse the baseness and obscurity of Vitellius’ party? Vitellius has the support of some nations, he has the semblance of an army, but the Senate is with us, therefore the republic stands on our side, the enemies of the republic on his. What? Can you really think that the lasting quality of this most beautiful of cities resides in its houses, buildings, and piles of stones? These are mute, lifeless things that can be torn down and rebuilt at any moment; the permanence of the empire, the peace of the world, my well-being and yours rest on the preservation of the Senate. This body, instituted with the blessings of the gods by the father and founder of the city, has endured unchanged from the age of the kings down to the emperors. Let it be our duty to pass it on to our descendants as we have received it from our ancestors. As from your ranks issue forth the members of the Senate, so the Senate is the springhead of emperors.
LXXXV.
Et oratio ad perstringendos mulcendosque militum animos et severitatis modus (neque enim in pluris quam in duos animadverti iusserat) grate accepta compositique ad praesens qui coerceri non poterant. non tamen quies urbi redierat: strepitus telorum et facies belli, [et] militibus ut nihil in commune turbantibus, ita sparsis per domos occulto habitu, et maligna cura in omnis, quos nobilitas aut opes aut aliqua insignis claritudo rumoribus obiecerat: Vitellianos quoque milites venisse in urbem ad studia partium noscenda plerique credebant: unde plena omnia suspicionum et vix secreta domuum sine formidine. sed plurimum trepidationis in publico, ut quemque nuntium fama attulisset, animum vultumque conversis, ne diffidere dubiis ac parum gaudere prosperis viderentur. coacto vero in curiam senatu arduus rerum omnium modus, ne contumax silentium, ne suspecta libertas; et privato Othoni nuper atque eadem dicenti nota adulatio. igitur versare sententias et huc atque illuc torquere, hostem et parricidam Vitellium vocantes, providentissimus quisque vulgaribus conviciis, quidam vera probra iacere, in clamore tamen et ubi plurimae voces, aut tumultu verborum sibi ipsi obstrepentes.
85.
Both the speech itself, meant to reprove and at the same time appease the soldiers, and Otho’s leniency (for he had directed that no more than two be punished) were favorably received, so that troops which could not be coerced were for the moment restrained. Yet calm had not returned to Rome. The clash of arms and the semblance of war persisted. The soldiers no longer congregated to cause trouble, instead they fanned out and lived disguised in the households of private citizens with the malicious intent to spy on those whom nobility, wealth, or any conspicuous mark of distinction made a target for scandal. Many believed that Vitellius’ soldiers had entered the city to find out how much support each of the two parties possessed, so suspicion was everywhere and even the privacy of one’s own home was hardly free of fear. But the greatest alarm was felt in public whenever a new rumor was circulated: people would alter their demeanor or expression, lest they be seen lacking confidence when the news was not so good or not showing enough joy over happy tidings. In fact, when the Senate was in session it was not easy to maintain a sense of measure in anything without showing silent opposition or suspect frankness. Besides, Otho, a private citizen until lately, was not fooled by flattery, having often used the same language himself. And so the senators kept turning their words around and twisting them this way and that to denouce Vitellius as a traitor and a public enemy. The most prudent ventured to express nothing more than mild abuse and only a few blurted out the outrageous truth, yet doing it in the midst of shouting, when many spoke together, and drowning the sense of what they said in a deluge of words.
LXXXVI.
Prodigia insuper terrebant diversis auctoribus vulgata: investibulo Capitolii omissas habenas bigae, cui Victoria institerat, erupisse cella Iunonis maiorem humana speciem, statuam divi Iulii in insula Tiberini amnis sereno et immoto die ab occidente in orientem conversam, prolocutum in Etruria bovem, insolitos animalium partus, et plura alia rudibus saeculis etiam in pace observata, quae nunc tantum in metu audiuntur. sed praecipuus et cum praesenti exitio etiam futuri pavor subita inundatione Tiberis, qui immenso auctu proruto ponte sublicio ac strage obstantis molis refusus, non modo iacentia et plana urbis loca, sed secura eius modi casuum implevit: rapti e publico plerique, plures in tabernis et cubilibus intercepti. fames in vulgus inopia quaestus et penuria alimentorum. corrupta stagnantibus aquis insularum fundamenta, dein remeante flumine dilapsa. utque primum vacuus a periculo animus fuit, id ipsum quod paranti expeditionem Othoni campus Martius et via Flaminia iter belli esset obstructum fortuitis vel naturalibus causis in prodigium et omen imminentium cladium vertebatur.
86.
Strange portents reported by various sources also spread alarm. In the forecourt of the Capitol, it was rumored, the statue of Victory had dropped the reins of the chariot in which it stood. From Juno’s sanctuary an apparition larger than man had suddenly dashed forth and the statue of the divine Julius on the island in the river Tiber had turned from west to east. An ox had spoken in Etruria, animals had given birth to monsters, and many other miracles were reported, to which in coarser centuries great significance was attached even in peacetime, but which are heeded now only in moments of fear. But a terror surpassing all others, in that it presaged future ruin on top of present misery, was a sudden inondation of the Tiber, which had swollen to enormous proportions, then swept away the Sublicius Bridge. The current, being impeded by the mass of debris across its path, flooded not only the low-lying quarters of the city and those at the river’s level, but also areas normally spared by events of this kind. Many were washed away in the streets by the flood and even more were surprised in their shops or in their beds. Famine broke out among the poor from lack of employment and shortages of supplies. The foundations of tenement blocks, weakened by the standing water, gave way once the Tiber retreated. As soon as people could feel free from immediate danger, attention was being paid to the fact that the Campus Martius and the Via Flaminina, Otho’s way to war, had become obstructed just as he was preparing to leave with his army. The blockage was interpreted, not as the result of accidental or natural causes, but as an ominous sign warning of disasters ahead.
LXXXVII.
Otho lustrata urbe et expensis bello consiliis, quando Poeninae Cottiaeque Alpes et ceteri Galliarum aditus Vitellianis exercitibus claudebantur, Narbonensem Galliam adgredi statuit classe valida et partibus fida, quod reliquos caesorum ad pontem Mulvium et saevitia Galbae in custodia habitos in numeros legionis composuerat, facta et ceteris spe honoratae in posterum militiae. addidit classi urbanas cohortis et plerosque e praetorianis, viris et robur exercitus atque ipsis ducibus consilium et custodes. summa expeditionis Antonio Novello, Suedio Clementi primipilaribus, Aemilio Pacensi, cui ademptum a Galba tribunatum reddiderat, permissa. curam navium Moschus libertus retinebat ad observandam honestiorum fidem immutatus. peditum equitumque copiis Suetonius Paulinus, Marius Celsus, Annius Gallus rectores destinati, sed plurima fides Licinio Proculo praetorii praefecto. is urbanae militiae impiger, bellorum insolens, auctoritatem Paulini, vigorem Celsi, maturitatem Galli, ut cuique erat, criminando, quod facillimum factu est, pravus et callidus bonos et modestos anteibat.
87.
Otho performed the prescribed rites to purge the city, and then turned his attention to the conduct of the war. Seeing that the Pennine and the Cottian Alps and all the other access points into Gaul were blocked by Vitellius’ armies, he decided to attack Gallia Narbonensis [by sea], given that he had a powerful fleet, whose loyalty he had won by organizing into a legion those who had escaped the massacre at the Mulvian bridge and whom Galba had cruelly treated as prisoners. Otho’s action gave the men still serving in the fleet the hope of a [more] honorable service in the future. To the fleet he added the urban cohorts and a number of praetorians, to lend to it the vigor and the staying power of the army and at the same time to advise and keep an eye on the leaders. Command of the expedition was given to Antonius Novellus and Suedius Clemens, both senior centurions, and to Aemilius Pacensis, whom he had restored to the rank of tribune taken from him by Galba. Oversight of the ships was retained by the freedman Moschus whom Otho kept on to have him report on the loyalty of better men than himself. Suetonius Paulinus, Marius Celsus, and Annius Gallus were chosen to lead the forces of infantry and cavalry, but Otho put greater faith in Licinius Proculus, the prefect of the Praetorian Guard. A very energetic officer during his service in Rome, he had no combat experience, yet he kept vilifying Paulinus’ expertise, Celsus’ dedication, and Gallus’ perspicacity, that is, the best quality in each of them, and in so doing by his viciousness and cunning he succeeded — nothing in fact is easier—to run roughshod over decent but modest men.
LXXXVIII.
Sepositus per eos dies Cornelius Dolabella in coloniam Aquinatem, neque arta custodia neque obscura, nullum ob crimen, sed vetusto nomine et propinquitate Galbae monstratus. multos e magistratibus, magnam consularium partem Otho non participes aut ministros bello, sed comitum specie secum expedire iubet, in quis et Lucium Vitellium, eodem quo ceteros cultu, nec ut imperatoris fratrem nec ut hostis. igitur motae urbis curae; nullus ordo metu aut periculo vacuus. primores senatus aetate invalidi et longa pace desides, segnis et oblita bellorum nobilitas, ignarus militiae eques, quanto magis occultare et abdere pavorem nitebantur, manifestius pavidi. nec deerant e contrario qui amibitione stolida conspicua arma, insignis equos, quidam luxuriosos apparatus conviviorum et inritamenta libidinum ut instrumentum belli mercarentur. sapientibus quietis et rei publicae cura; levissimus quisque et futuri improvidus spe vana tumens; multi adflicta fide in pace anxii, turbatis rebus alacres et per incerta tutissimi.
88.
In those days Cornelius Dolabella was relegated to the colony of Aquinum, under surveillance that was neither strict nor secret. He was accused of no crime, but the antiquity of his noble name and his close relation to Galba had singled him out. Many magistrates and a large part of the men of consular rank were required by Otho to accompany him, not as participants and leaders in the war, but as his escort. Lucius Vitellius was among them, treated like the others, neither as the brother of a [rival] emperor nor as an enemy. These measures raised alarm in Rome. No class of citizens felt free from fear or danger. Age had made the leading members of the Senate feeble and a long peace indolent; the nobility was enervated and had forgotten how to fight; the equestrian order knew nothing of military matters. The harder anyone tried to hide and control his terrors, the more obvious these became. Some, on the other hand, were moved by foolish ambition to purchase costly arms and splendid horses; others provided themselves, as a means for preparing for war, with the magnificent apparatus necessary for a well-furnished table and with other inducements to luxury. The most reasonable men took thought of peace and the welfare of the state; the most frivolous were heedless of the future and puffed up with vain hopes. Many, weighed down by debts and finding no way out in peace, welcomed civil war with alacrity and hoped to find security in insecurity.
LXXXIX.
Sed vulgus et magnitudine nimia communium curarum expers populus sentire paulatim belli mala, conversa in militum usum omni pecunia, intentis alimentorum pretiis, quae motu Vindicis haud perinde plebem attriverant, secura tum urbe et provinciali bello, quod inter legiones Galliasque velut externum fuit. nam ex quo divus Augustus res Caesarum composuit, procul et in unius sollicitudinem aut decus populus Romanus bellaverat; sub Tiberio et Gaio tantum pacis adversa [ad] rem publicam pertinuere; Scriboniani contra Claudium incepta simul audita et coercita; Nero nuntiis magis et rumoribus quam armis depulsus: tum legiones classesque et, quod raro alias, praetorianus urbanusque miles in aciem deducti, Oriens Occidensque et quicquid utrimque virium est a tergo, si ducibus aliis bellatum foret, longo bello materia. fuere qui proficiscenti Othoni moras religionemque nondum conditorum ancilium adferrent: aspernatus est omnem cunctationem ut Neroni quoque exitiosam; et Caecina iam Alpes transgressus extimulabat.
89.
But the nameless throng and the people in general, too vast in numbers to take any active interest in public affairs, began slowly to feel the adverse effects of war. All money went to satisfy the army’s needs and the cost of living rose – problems that had only slightly affected the populace during Vindex’ revolt, for the city was then safe and the war, being confined to the provinces and between the legions and the Gauls, was almost foreign. In fact, ever since Augustus had instituted the imperial system, the wars of the Roman people had been far from Rome and had become both the concern and the glory of one man alone. Under Tiberius and Caligula the empire was affected only by the evils of peace. Scribonianus’ revolt against Claudius was heard of and put down at the same time. Nero was overthrown more by rumors and reports than by force of arms. But here the legions, the fleets, and –something rarely seen before—the praetorian troops were being led into battle. Both the Orient and the Occident, with all the forces on either side behind them, furnished fuel for a protracted war, had other leaders been in charge. As Otho was setting out, some tried to delay his departure by reminding him that the sacred shields had not yet been returned to their place, but he spurned all hesitation, saying that delay had already been Nero’s undoing. Besides, reports that Caecina had crossed the Alps goaded him to action.
XC.
Pridie idus Martias commendata patribus re publica reliquias Neronianarum sectionum nondum in fiscum conversas revocatis ab exilio concessit, iustissimum donum et in speciem magnificum, sed festinata iam pridem exactione usu sterile. mox vocata contione maiestatem urbis et consensum populi ac senatus pro se attollens, adversum Vitellianas partis modeste disseruit, inscitiam potius legionum quam audaciam increpans, nulla Vitellii mentione, sive ipsius ea moderatio, seu scriptor orationis sibi metuens contumeliis in Vitellium abstinuit, quando, ut in consiliis militiae Suetonio Paulino et Mario Celso, ita in rebus urbanis Galeri Trachali ingenio Othonem ut credebatur; et erant qui genus ipsum orandi noscerent, crebro fori usu celebre et ad implendas populi auris latum et sonans. clamor vocesque vulgi ex more adulandi nimiae et falsae: quasi dictatorem Caesarem aut imperatorem Augustum prosequerentur, ita studiis votisque certabant, nec metu aut amore, sed ex libidine servitii: ut in familiis, privata cuique stimulatio, et vile iam decus publicum. profectus Otho quietem urbis curasque imperii Salvio Titiano fratri permisit.
90.
The day before the ides of March, after placing the care of the state in the hands of the Senate, Otho handed back to those returning from exile the money remaining from Nero’s auction of their confiscated properties, not yet transferred to the imperial treasury. The gift was most just and bountiful in appearance, but had no practical value, since the properties had long before been sold in a hurry and the proceeds impounded. Next he called a general assembly and after extolling the majesty of Rome and the united support of the people and the Senate for his cause, he expressed his disapproval of the opposing party in moderate terms, blaming the ignorance of the legions rather than their recklessness, and not mentioning Vitellius by name. Either that restraint was his own or the speech writer, in fear for himself, had abstained from abusing Vitellius, for just as Otho in military matters relied on Paulinus’ and Celsus’ expertise, so in questions of internal policy he was believed to avail himself of Valerius Trachalus’s talents. Some even recognized Trachalus’ distinctive oratorial style, ample and sonorous, meant to fill the ears of the people and made famous by his frequent appearances in the Forum. The loud acclamations of the multitude, the usual concomitant of adulation, were as false as they were excessive. One would have thought the crowds were seeing off the dictator Caesar or the emperor Augustus, so much they vied with one another in their enthusiasm and good wishes, not out of fear or devotion, but to satisfy their passion for servility. Like slaves in private estblishments, each was motivated by his own personal interests and no one now held the honor of the state in any esteem. Upon leaving, Otho entrusted the orderly management of the city and the cares of the empire to Salvius Titianus, his brother.