The Works of Tacitus
tr. by Alfred John Church and William Jackson Brodribb
[1864-1877]
Tacitus: History Book 2 [70]
70. Vitellius then directed his course to Cremona, and after witnessing the
spectacle exhibited by Caecina, he conceived a desire to visit the plains of
Bedriacum and to survey the scene of the recent victory. It was a hideous and
terrible sight. Not forty days had passed since the battle, and there lay mangled
corpses, severed limbs, the putrefying forms of men and horses; the soil was
saturated with gore, and, what with levelled trees and crops, horrible was the
desolation. Not less revolting was that portion of the road which the people
of Cremona had strewed with laurel leaves and roses, and on which they had raised
altars, and sacrificed victims as if to greet some barbarous despot, festivities
in which they delighted for the moment, but which were afterwards to work their
ruin. Valens and Caecina were present, and pointed out the various localities
of the field of battle; shewing how from one point the columns of the legions
had rushed to the attack; how from another the cavalry had charged; how from
a third the auxiliary troops had turned the flank of the enemy. The tribunes
and prefects extolled their individual achievements, and mixed together fictions,
facts, and exaggerations. The common soldiers also turned aside from the line
of march with joyful shouts, and recognized the various scenes of conflict,
and gazed with wonder on the piles of weapons and the heaps of slain. Some indeed
there were whom all this moved to thoughts of the mutability of fortune, to
pity, and to tears. Vitellius did not turn away his eyes, did not shudder to
behold the unburied corpses of so many thousands of his countrymen; nay, in
his exultation, in his ignorance of the doom which was so close upon himself,
he actually instituted a religious ceremony in honour of the tutelary gods of
the place.
71. A show of gladiators was then given by Fabius Valens at Bononia, with
all the arrangements introduced from the capital. The nearer the Emperor approached
to Rome, the greater was the license of his march, accompanied as it was by
players and herds of eunuchs, in fact by all that had characterised the court
of Nero. Indeed, Vitellius used to make a display of his admiration for Nero,
and had constantly followed him when he sang, not from the compulsion to which
the noblest had to yield, but because he was the slave and chattel of profligacy
and gluttony. To leave some months of office open for Valens and Caecina, the
consulates of others were abridged, that of Martius Macer was ignored on the
ground of his having been one of Otho’s generals. Valerius Maximus, who had
been nominated consul by Galba, had his dignity deferred for no offence, but
because he was a man of gentle temper, and could submit tamely to an affront.
Pedanius Costa was passed over. The Emperor disliked him because he had risen
against Nero, and roused Verginius to revolt. Other reasons, however, were alleged.
Finally, after the servile fashion of the time, thanks were voted to Vitellius.
72. A deception, which was started with considerable vigour, lasted for a
few, and but a few days. There had suddenly sprung up a man, who gave out that
he was Scribonianus Camerinus; that, dreading the times of Nero, he had concealed
himself in Histria, where the old family of the Crassi still had dependants,
estates, and a popular name. He admitted into the secret of his imposture all
the most worthless of his followers; and the credulous populace and some of
the soldiers, either from not knowing the truth, or impatient for revolution,
began eagerly to rally round him. When he was brought before Vitellius, and
asked who he was, as his account of himself could not be trusted,, and his master
recognised him as a runaway slave, by name Geta, he was executed as slaves usually
are.
73. It would almost pass belief, were I to tell to what a degree the insolence
and sloth of Vitellius grew upon him when messengers from Syria and Judaea brought
the news that the provinces of the East had sworn allegiance to him. Though
as yet all information was but vague and uncertain, Vespasian was the subject
of much talk and rumour, and at the mention of his name Vitellius often roused
himself. But now, both the Emperor and the army, as if they had no rival to
fear, indulging in cruelty, lust, and rapine, plunged into all the licence of
foreign manners.
74. Vespasian, on the other hand, was taking a general survey of the chances
of a campaign and of his resources both immediate and remote. The soldiers were
so entirely devoted to him, that as he dictated the oath of allegiance and prayed
for all prosperity to Vitellius, they listened to him in silence. Mucianus had
no dislike to Vespasian, and was strongly inclined towards Titus. Already had
Alexander, the governor of Egypt, declared his adhesion. The third legion, as
it had passed over from Syria to Moesia, Vespasian counted upon as devoted to
himself, and it was hoped that the other legions of Illyricum would follow its
example. In fact the whole army had been kindled into indignation by the insolence
of the soldiers who came among them from Vitellius. Savage in appearance, and
speaking a rude dialect, they ridiculed everybody else as their inferiors. But
in such gigantic preparations for war there is usually delay. Vespasian was
at one moment high in hope, and at another disposed to reflect on the chances
of failure. What a day would that be when he should expose himself with his
sixty years upon him, and the two young men, his sons, to the perils of war!
In private enterprises men may advance or recede, and presume more or less upon
fortune as they may choose, whereas they who aim at empire have no alternative
between the highest success and utter downfall.
75. The strength of the army of Germany, with which as a military man he
was well acquainted, was continually before his eyes. He reflected that his
own legions were wholly without experience of a civil war, that those of Vitellius
had been victorious, and that among the conquered there was more dissatisfaction
than real strength. Civil strife had shaken the fidelity of the Roman soldiery,
and danger was to be apprehended from individuals. What would be the use of
infantry and cavalry, should one or two men seek the prize with which the enemy
would be ready to reward a prompt act of treason? It was thus that Scribonianus
had fallen in the days of Claudius, and his murderer, Volaginius, had been raised
from the ranks to the highest military command. It was easier to move the hearts
of the multitude than to avoid the single assassin.
76. Though staggered by these apprehensions, he was confirmed in his purpose
by others among the legates and among his own friends, and particularly by Mucianus,
who, after many conversations with him in private, now publicly addressed him
in the following terms: “All who enter upon schemes involving great interests,
should consider whether what they are attempting be for the advantage of the
State, for their own credit, easy of accomplishment, or at any rate free from
serious difficulty. They must also weigh the circumstances of their adviser,
must see whether he will follow up his advice by imperilling himself, and must
know who, should fortune prosper the undertaking, is to have the highest honours.
I invite you, Vespasian, to a dignity which will be as beneficial to the State,
as it will be honourable to yourself. Under heaven this dignity lies within
your reach. And do not dread what may present the semblance of flattery. To
be chosen successor to Vitellius would be more of an insult than a compliment.
It is not against the vigorous intellect of the Divine Augustus, it is not against
the profound subtlety of the aged Tiberius, it is not even against the house
of Caius, Claudius, or Nero, established by a long possession of the Empire,
that we are rising in revolt. You have already yielded to the prestige even
of Galba’s family. To persist in inaction, and to leave the State to degradation
and ruin, would look like indolence and cowardice, even supposing that servitude
were as safe for you as it would be infamous. The time has gone by and passed
away when you might have endured the suspicion of having coveted Imperial power.
That power is now your only refuge. Have you forgotten how Corbulo was murdered?
His origin, I grant, was more illustrious than ours; yet in nobility of birth
Nero surpassed Vitellius. The man who is afraid sees distinction enough in any
one whom he fears. That an Emperor can be created by the army, Vitellius is
himself a proof, who, though he had seen no service and had no military reputation,
was raised to the throne by the unpopularity of Galba. Otho, who was overcome,
not indeed by skilful generalship, or by a powerful enemy, but by his own premature
despair, this man has made into a great and deservedly regretted Emperor, and
all the while he is disbanding his legions, disarming his auxiliaries, and sowing
every day fresh seeds of civil war. All the energy and high spirit which once
belonged to his army is wasted in the revelry of taverns and in aping the debaucheries
of their chief. You have from Judaea, Syria, and Egypt, nine fresh legions,
unexhausted by battle, uncorrupted by dissension; you have a soldiery hardened
by habits of warfare and victorious over foreign foes; you have strong fleets,
auxiliaries both horse and foot, kings most faithful to your cause, and an experience
in which you excel all other men.
77. “For myself I will claim nothing more than not to be reckoned inferior
to Valens and Caecina. But do not spurn Mucianus as an associate, because you
do not find in him a rival. I count myself better than Vitellius; I count you
better than myself. Your house is ennobled by the glories of a triumph; it has
two youthful scions, one of whom is already equal to the cares of Empire, and
in the earliest years of his military career won renown with these very armies
of Germany. It would be ridiculous in me not to waive my claims to Empire in
favour of the man whose son I should adopt, were I myself Emperor. Between us,
however, there will not be an equal distribution of the fruits of success or
failure. If we are victorious. I shall have whatever honour you think fit to
bestow on me; the danger and the peril we shall share alike; nay, I would rather
have you, as is the better policy, direct your armies, and leave to me the conduct
of the war and the hazards of battle. At this very moment a stricter discipline
prevails among the conquered than among the conquerors. The conquered are fired
to valour by anger, by hatred, by the desire of vengeance, while the conquerors
are losing their energy in pride and insolence. War will of itself discover
and lay open the hidden and rankling wounds of the victorious party. And, indeed,
your vigilance, economy, and wisdom, do not inspire me with greater confidence
of success than do the indolence, ignorance, and cruelty of Vitellius. Once
at war, we have a better cause than we can have in peace, for those who deliberate
on revolt have revolted already.”
78. After this speech from Mucianus, the other officers crowded round Vespasian
with fresh confidence, encouraging him, and reminding him of the responses of
prophets and the movements of the heavenly bodies. Nor was Vespasian proof against
this superstition, for afterwards, when master of the world, he openly retained
one Seleucus, an astrologer, to direct his counsels, and to foretell the future.
Old omens now recurred to his thoughts. A cypress tree of remarkable height
on his estate had suddenly fallen, and rising again the following day on the
very same spot, had flourished with majestic beauty and even broader shade.
This, as the Haruspices agreed, was an omen of brilliant success, and the highest
distinction seemed prophesied to Vespasian in early youth. At first, however,
the honours of a triumph, his consulate, and the glory of his victories in Judaea,
appeared to have justified the truth of the omen. When he had won these distinctions,
he began to believe that it portended the Imperial power. Between Judaea and
Syria is Mount Carmel; this is the name both of the mountain and the Deity.
They have no image of the god nor any temple; the tradition of antiquity recognises
only an altar and its sacred association. While Vespasian was there offering
sacrifice and pondering his secret hopes, Basilides the priest, after repeated
inspections of the entrails, said to him, “Whatever be your purposes, Vespasian,
whether you think of building a house, of enlarging your estate, or augmenting
the number of your slaves, there is given you a vast habitation, boundless territory,
a multitude of men.” These obscure intimations popular rumour had at once caught
up, and now began to interpret. Nothing was more talked about by the common
people. In Vespasian’s presence the topic was more frequently discussed, because
to the aspirant himself men have more to say.
79. With purposes no longer doubtful they parted, Mucianus for Antioch, Vespasian
for Caesarea. These cities are the capitals of Syria and Judaea respectively.
The initiative in transferring the Empire to Vespasian was taken at Alexandria
under the prompt direction of Tiberius Alexander, who on the 1st of July made
the legions swear allegiance to him. That day was ever after celebrated as the
first of his reign, though the army of Judaea on July 3rd took the oath to Vespasian
in person with such eager alacrity that they would not wait for the return of
his son Titus, who was then on his way back from Syria, acting as the medium
between Mucianus and his father for the communication of their plans. All this
was done by the impulsive action of the soldiers without the preliminary of
a formal harangue or any concentration of the legions.
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