MASTER NEGATIVE NO. 92-80713 MICROFILMED 1993 COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES/NEW YORK as part of the "Foundations of Western Civilization Preservation Project" Funded by the NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE HUMANITIES Reproductions may not be made without permission from Columbia University Library COPYRIGHT STATEMENT The copyright law of the United States - Title 17, United States Code - concerns the making of photocopies or other reproductions of copyrighted material. Under certain conditions specified in the law, libraries and archives are authorized to furnish a photocopy or other reproduction. One of these specified conditions is that the photocopy or other reproduction Is not to be "used for any purpose other than private study, scholarship, or research." If a user makes a request for, or later uses, a photocopy or reproduction for purposes In excess of "fair use," that user may be liable for copyright infringement. This institution reserves the right to refuse to accept a copy order if, in its judgement, fulfillment of the order would Involve violation of the copyright law. AUTHOR: ALLCROFT, ARTHUR HADRIAN TITLE: EARLY PRINCIPATE; A HISTORY OF ROME PLACE: LONDON DA TE : [1 902?] COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES PRESERVATION DEPARTMENT Master Negative # BIBLIOGRAPHIC MICROiFORM TARGET Original Material as Filmed - Existing Bibliographic Record ■f-r •t-mtx- 871^.06 Allcroft, Airthupj H[adrianj 186^-1929, I ... The early principate: a history of Rome, 31 ]\. c- 96 A. I)., by A. H. Allcroft ... and J. H. Haydon ... 3d impression (2d ed.) . . . London, University tutorial press, Id. [1902-?] XV, 250 p. iiicl. ^eneal. tab. 18« {Ifal/'titk: The Univereltv tutorial genes. Claiisical editor: J. B. Hayes) iSeries title also at head of t.-p. "Test questions on Konian history, 31 b. c.-OG a. d.": p. i242]-247. r Subject entries : Tlome—TIist.— Empire, b. c. 30-a. d. 284. O Library of OjiiLMt-^. ivj. JjG27y.A4. 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With Notes and Complete Vocabularies. Second Edition, Enlarged. 2s. 6d. Greek Reader, A Higher. A course of 132 Graduated Extracts. Second Edition. 3s. 6d. ROMAN AND CREEK HISTORY. History of Rome, The Tutorial, to 14 a.d. By A. H. Allcroft, M.A. Oxon., and W. F. Masom, M.A. Lond. With Maps and Index. 3s. 6d. A History of Ronne from 31 b.c. to 96 a.d.: The Early Principate. By A. H. Allcroft, M.A. Oxon., and J. H. Haydon, M.A. Lond. and Camb. Second Edition. 3s.6d. This work is designed to supplement the Tutorial Histort/ of Home, and such text-hooks as deal only with the Republican Era. History of Greece, The Tutorial. By W. J. Wood- house, M.A. Professor of Greek in the University of Sydney, late Craven Fellow in the University of Oxford. [/w preparation. \ tTbe Tllniversiti? tutorial Seriea. THE EARLY PRINCIPATE : HISTOKY OF ROME, 31 B.C. — 96 A.D. BY V a A. H. ALLCEOFT. M.A. Otow MR. W. B. CLIVE BEGS LEAVE TO STATE THAT HE HAS REMOVED FROM 13 BOOKSELLERS ROW TO 157 DRURY LANE, LONDON, W.C. London: W. B, CLIVE, UNIVERSITY CORRESPONDENCE COLLEGE PltESS. Wakehotjse: 13 Booksellers Row, Steand, W.C. ^be 'laniversiti^ tutorial Series. THE EARLY PRINCIPATE : HISTORY OF ROME, 31 B.C. 96 A.D. J BY A. H. ALLCEOFT, M.A. Oxon., FIRST CLASS HONOUKMANIN CLASSICS, AL'THOR OF "LATIN COMPOSITION,' EBITOR OF HORACE' ni)KS, CICERO DE AMICITIA, DE SENECTUTE, ETC., AND J. H. HAYDON, M.A. Lond. and Camb., LONDON UNIVBRSITTT SCHOLAR AND GOLD MEDALLIST IN CLASSICS, HEADMASTER OF TETl'ENHALL COLLEGE, STAFFS. SECOND EDITION, I , London: W. B. CLIVE, UNIVERSITY CORRESPONDENCE COLLEGE PRESS. Wailehotjse: 13 Booksellers Row, Strand, W.C. ^i it* I en CM CTf 1.0 ANALYTICAL AND CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE. Chaptee I. — Rise of the Pkincipate. B.C. 31, 1. Octavian Master of the World 2. General Desire for Peace 3. Senate and People incapable of governing 4. Tendency of Unconstitutional Commands 5. The resulting Military Despotism 6. The Fopulus 7 . The Extent of the Empire ; Need of Centralization 8. The Principate evolved from Caesar's Dictator- snip .. ., ., ., ,, ,, § 9. Republican Disguise of Augustus' Government § § PAGE. 1 I 2 3 4 4 5 6 7 28. 28. 27. 27. 27. 29. 27. 24-19. 25. 26. 25. 23. Chapter II.— Histoey of the Years 30-23 B.C. B.C. 30. § 1. Temporary Settlement of Eastern Affairs by Octavian 29. § 2. His Return to Rome: Honours paid him : Title of Imperator / . . Censoria Fotestas . . . , , , Octavian's Munificence . . roundation of the Principate : Octavian receives Proconsulare Imperinm for Ten Years Title of Augustus bestowed on him by the Senate His other Titles [Princeps Senatv^^ Frinceps, Pater Patriae) § 8. War with the Dacians § 9. Augustus in Spain § 10. Final reduction of the Spanish Tribes . . § 11. The Provinces of Africa and Galatia rearranged § 12. Seditious Conduct of Cornelius Gallus, first Pre- fect of Egypt §13. War with Arabia . . § 14. Proconsulare Imperium renewed, Tribnnitia Potestas confirmed and the right of Eelatio conferred 23. §15. Death of Marcellus 332676 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 8 10 11 12 13 13 13 14 15 15 16 16 17 18 18 VI ANALYTICAL AND CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE. Chapter III.— History of the Years 23-9 ANALYTICAL AND CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE. vu B.C. B.C. 23. $ 1. 23. § 2. 22. § 3. 20. § 4. 19. § 6. 18. § 6. 18. § 7. 17. 17. § 8. 17-13. § 9. 16-13. § 10. 16. §11. 15. § 12. 12. § 13. 12. § 14. § 15. 12-11. § 16. 11. §17. 10-9. 9. Chapter B.C. 8. § 1. 8-7. § 2. 8. § 3. 6. § 4. 5,2. § 5. 2. 1. § 6. A.D.2,4. 4. § 7. 4-6. § 8. 6. § 9. 6-8. § 10. 7-9. 9. § 11. 11. § 12. 13. §13. 14. 1 14. Aethiopian War . . • . • • • • Conspiracy of Caepio and Muraena . . . . Augustus declines the perpetual Censorship and Dictatorship: Appoints Citratores Anmnae.. He goes to Asia : Affairs of Parthia Conspiracy of Egnatius Ruf us at Rome Return of Augustus and Renewal of his Proem- sulare Imper'uon Advancement of Agrippa . . Augustus adopts Gaius and Lucius Caesar The Ludi Saeculares celebrated Agrippa in Asia Second Visit of Augustus to Gaul Defeat of Lollius on the Rhine . . Campjugn of Tiberius and his Brother Drusus in Rhaetia Death of Agrippa Death of Lepidus, the Trium^'ir The German Tribes • • • Campaigns of Drusus in Germany and of Tibe- rius in Pannonia . . • . • • • • §17. Reduction of the Thracians by Piso Further Campaigns of Drusus in Germany Death of Drusus . . IV.— History of the Years 8 B.C. -14 a.d. Census and Expurgation of the Senate . . First and Second Campaigns of Tiberius in Germany • • • • • • Death of Maecenas Retirement of Tiberius to Bhodes Introduction of Gaius and Lucius Caesar to Public Life Baidshment of Julia Armenian Affairs settled by Gaius Caesar Death of Lucius and Gaius Caesar Augustus adopts Tiberius Third and Fourth Campaigns of Tiberius in Germany Projected Attack on Maroboduus and the Mar- comanni prevented by . . • • _ The Revolt of Pannonia and Dalmatia which is suppressed by Gennanicus . . . . • • Disaster to the Army of Varus in Germany . . Fifth Campaign of Tiberius in Germany Tiberius Heir-elect to the Principate . . Death of Augustus at Kola page. 20 21 •i 21 22 23 24 24 24 25 25 25 26 26 27 27 27 27 28 28 29 30 30 31 31 32 32 33 34 34 34 35 36 37 38 39 39 iJ mj Chapter V.- § 1. § 2. § 3. § 4. § 5. § 6. § 7. § 8. § 9. § 10. § 11. § 12. § 13. § 14. § 15. § 16. §17. § 18. § 19. §20. § 21. § 22. §23. §24. B.C. 27. §25. §26. §27. § 28. § 29. §30. A.D. 9. § 31. B.C. 22. § 32. § 1. A.D. 14. § 2. § 3. § 4. § 5. § 6. I 7. § 8. § 9. § 10. — The Augustan Constitution and Legislation. The New Constitution. The Frinceps . . The Proconsulare Imperium The Title Imperator Bestowal of the Proconsulare Imperium . . The Princeps and the Consulship The Tribunitia Potestas How bestowed The Censorship . . , . Pontifex Maximus Legislative power of the Princeps Judicial power of the Princeps Other Titles and Dignities Choice of a Successor The Republican Magistracies under the Empire : Elections The Consuls The Tribunes The Praetors The Aediles The Quaestors Minor Magistracies New Imperial Offices The Senate . . ] TheEquites .. \\ ThePlebs Division of the Provinces Finance : Aerarium and Fiscus . . Bankrupt Condition of the Aerarium . . TheDyarchy .. .. The Augustan and Julian Constitutions compared Legislation of Augustus : Lex Maiestatis Lex Papia Poppaea Sumptuary Law Chapter VI.— The Provinces. Augustus not a Conqueror Extent and Division of the Empire at his Death The two Methods of dealing with conquered Pro%dnce8 Various Grades of Ci\dc Liberty in Provinces, Spain Ga^l Egypt Value of the Military Colonies of the Frontier. The Breviarium Imperii . . The Monmnentum Ancyranum PAGE. 41 42 42 43 44 44 45 46 46 46 47 47 47 48 48 49 49 49 49 50 50 50 51 51 51 52 53 53 54 55 65 56 57 57 58 58 59 60 61 61 62 62 Vlll ANALYTICAL AND CKRONOLOGICAL TABLE. ANALYTICAL AND CHKONOLOGICAL TABLE. IX Chaptek VII.— Histoby of the Years 14-17 a.d. A.D 14, & 1. Interest of Tiberius' reign .. .. 14. § 2. Tiberius' Difficulties at Augustus' death 14. § 3. Hesitation of Tiberius 14 § 4 His Fears probably groundless 14* I 5. Tiberius' first Acts: WiU of Augustus.. .. 14] I 6. Death of AgrippaPostumus and of the Elder Julia 14. § 7. Disaffection in the Army . . 14. § 8. Revolt of the Pannonian Legions 14 § 9. Revolt of the German Legions . . 15. § 10. First and Second Campaigns of Germanicus in Oermany 16. § 11. His Third Campaign and Recall page. 65 65 66 67 68 69 69 70 71 Chapter VIII.— History of the Years 17-23 a.d. A.D 16. 17. § § 18,21. § § 18. 17. 18. 19. 19. 19. 20. 21. 22. 1. 2. 3. 4. 6. § 6. 7. 8. 9. § 10. § 11. Plots at Rome : Clemens : Libo Drusus. Germanicus triumphs at Rome . . Cappadocia annexed . . . . ^ Fall of Maroboduus and of Arminins . . Germanicus settles the Affairs of Asia . . Tacfarinas rebels in Africa . . Affairs in Thnicc : Rhescuporis . . .... Conduct of Gnaeus Piso towards Germanicus: Death of Germanicus Rebellion and Trial of Piso Relations of Tiberius, Piso, and Germanicus . . Bise of Sejanus. Revolt of Florus and Sacro^-ir Dmsns receives the Trihumtia Potestas . . Impeachments at Bome . . Chapter IX.— History of the Years 23-37 a.d. I A.D. 23. 23. 26. 24. 24. 26. 26. 27. 28. 29. 30. 31. § 1. Sejanus centralizes the Praetorians : his Designs § 2. He destroys Drusus, only son of Tiberius § 3. Position of Germanicus' Widow, Agrippina . . § 4. Tiberius retires to Capreae § 5. Slave-rising in Apulia Vaiious Impeachments at Rome § 6. Causes and Results of Tiberius' Retirement . . § 7. Opinion at Rome . . Disasters at Rome . . . . . • • • • • § 8. Revolt of the Frisii Deaths of the younger Julia and of Livia . . § 9. Sejanus brings about the Disgrace of Agrippina and her Sons Nero and Drusus § 10. Conspiracy and Fall of Sejanns 72 73 75 76 76 77 77 78 79 79 80 81 82 84 84 85 87 88 88 89 89 89 90 91 92 92 92 93 93 A.D. 31-37. $ 11. H2. 35. § 13. 37. § 14. PAGE. The succeeding Beign of Terror.. ., .. 94 Tiberius' Better Side . . . . . . . • 95 Affairs in Parthia and Armenia 96 Death of Tiberias . . . . 96 Chapter X. — ^The Character akd Government of Tiberius. § 1 . Authorities for the Character of Tiberius : the Accounts probably^ unfair . . . . . . 98 § 2. The Four Stages in his Character as set forth by Tacitus . . . . . . . . . . . . 99 6 3. His DiflBculties . . . . . . . . . . 101 4. His Alleged Debaucherj'^ , . . . . . . . 101 5. His Reserve: His Parsimony .. .. .. 102 6. His Treatment of the Provinces . . . . . . 103 Abolition of the Comitia Centuriata . . 104 7. Instances of his Good Government abroad . . 104 8. Good Points in his Rule at Rome . . . . 104 9. Favourable Opinion of the Provincials on his Reign . . . , . . . . . . . , 1 05 A.D. 14. § A.D. 37. 37. 37. § 37. § 37. § 38. § 38. § 40. 38-41. § 38-41. § 41. 39. § 40. 41. § A.D. 41. 41. 41. 42. Chapter XI.— Gaius (Caligxila) 37-41 a.d. 1. The Family of the Caesars . . . . . . 106 2 . Early Life of Gains : he succeeds to the Principate 106 3. Tiberius Gemellus, Grandson of Tiberius, set aside . . . . . . . . . . . . 107 4. Popularity of Gaius, who begins well . . . . 108 5. His Regard for his Relatives 109 6. HisBirthday Celebrations: He falls ill .. 109 7. His Lunacy and Excesses .. .. .. 110 8. He declares himself a God .. .. .. 110 Mission of Philo the Jew. . . . . , . . Ill 9. Buildings of Gaius 112 10. Proscription of Senators and Nobles .. .. 112 New Taxes leaded on Italy .. .. .. 113 11. He visits the Rhine and Gaul . . . . . . 113 A British Expedition prepared ., ,. .. 114 12. Conspiracy ofChaerea and Assassination of Gains 114 13. Accounts of this Reign perhaps exaggerated . . 114 Chapter XII.— Claudius : 41-54 a.d. 1. Incapacity of the Senate to act at the Crisis .. 116-^ 2 . The Praetorians proclaim Clandius : his Life and Character . . . . . . . . ..117 3. The Senate accept him .. Wl-^ 4. Unsuccessful Bebellion of Scribonianns .. 118 ANALYTICAL AND CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE. A.D. 47-48. 44. 41-45. 45-50. 41-48. 41-48. 48. 49. 49-54. 54. A.D. 54. 55. 55. 59. 59. 62. 55-66. 62. 64. 65. 66. 67. 67. § 5. § 6. i 7. § 8. § 9. §10. §11. § 12. § 13. § 14. § 15. § 16. § 17. f 18. § 1. § 2. § 3. § 4. § 5. § 6. § 7. § 8. § 9. § 10. §11. §12. §13. §14. PAGE. 119 119 120 120 121 122 122 122 123 124 Sound Measures of Claudius . . . . . . The Senate reformed and ProWncials admitted Public Works : Commercial Policy Judicial Reforms and Legislation Renewed Military Activity Conquest of Britain Operations in Africa Operations in Germany : Campaigns of Corbulo Thrace : Judaea : the Asiatic Kingdoms Condition of Provinces : Foundation of Colonies Influence of the Empress Messalina and the Freedmen . . . . . . . . 125 The Emperor's favourites rule Rome . . '. . 126 Fall of Messalina . . . . . . 127 Agrippina becomes Empress : Rise of Burrus and Seneca . . . . . . . . . . 128 Intrigues of Agrippina . . . . . . . . 129 Death of Claudius 129 Criticism of the Authorities for the Reign of Claudius . . . . . . . . . . 130 Chaptee XIII.— Nero : 54-68 a.d. Agrippina probably guilty of Claudius' Death 131 Character and Training of Nero . . .. .. 132 Seneca . . . . . . . . .... 132 Burrus and Seneca intrigue against Agrippina 133 Death of Britannicus .. 134 Death of Agrippina 134 Rise of Poppaea Sabina 135 Murder of Octavia, Wife of Nero . . . . 136 Government and Legislation under Nero . . 137 Importance of the Senate . . . . . . . . 138 Affairs on the Rhine . . . . . . . . 139 Campaigns of Corbulo in Farthia and Armenia 139 Change in the Government after the Death of Burrus and retirement of Seneca . . . . 140 Nero's Excesses . . . . . . . . . . 141 The Great Fire : Persecution of the Christians : Building of the Golden House . . . . 141 Conspiracy of Piso and succeeding Beign of Terror 143 Nero in Greece . . . . . . . . . . 144 Death of Corbulo . . . . 145 The Period of Military Revolutions begins . . 145 Chapter XIV.— The Military Revolutions— Vindex & Galea. § 1 . Transfer of the Military Strength of the Empire to the Provincials 146 A.D. <^ 68. 68. 68. 68. 68. 68. 68. 68. 69. 69. 69. 69. 69. 69. ANALITICAL AND CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE. § 2. Nero alienates the Provinces § 3. and the Armies § 4. Galba in Spain § 5. Vindex heads a Revolt in Gaul . . § 6. He is crushed by Verginius § 7. The Empire falls away from Nero § 8. Death of Nero § 9. Failure of a Republican Movement . . Nymphidius Sabinus aims at the Principate § 10. Galba enters Rome and is acknowledged Princeps § 11. General discontent at his Policy Mutiny of the German Legions . . § 12. Galba adopts Piso as his Heir . . Conspiracy of Otho § 13. Otho proclaimed Princeps by the Praetorians § 14. Death of Galba as page. 147 147 148 149 149 150 150 151 151 152 153 153 154 154 155 156 Chapter XV.— The Military Revolutions— Otho & VrrELLius. A.D 69. 69. 69. 69. 69. 69. 69. 69. 69. 69. 69. 69. 69. 69. 69. 69. 69. A.D. 69. 70. 69. 1. The Rhine Legions proclaim Vitellius . . 2. They enter Italy . . 3. Conciliatory Measures of Otho . . 4. His Forces . . 5. Their Disposition . . 6. The Civil War: First Battle of Betriacum 7. Suicide of Otho 8. Vitellius : his Difficulties 9. Success of his early Measures 10. Misgovemment of his Ministers . . Expulsion of the Astrologers from Rome The Legions of the East declare for Vespasian Disturbed State of the Empire . . Antonius Primus invades Italy for Vespasian Second Battle of Betriacum : Sack of Cremona Vitellius wishes to abdicate Burning of the Capitol and Death of Vitellius . . §11. $12. § 13. §14. 70. § Chapter XVI.— Vespasian 69-79 a.d. 1. Mucianus acts at Rome as Regent for Vespasian Vespasian and Titus declared Consuls . . Revolt of Civilis in Batavia : its Causes and Course . . A Gallic Empire proclaimed Failure of the Revolt Character of Vespasian . . The Provinces quiet Military and Fiscal Measures of Vespasian 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 157 158 158 159 159 160 161 162 163 164 164 165 165 166 166 167 168 169 169 169 171 171 171 172 172 A.D. ANALYTICAL AND CHBONOLOGICAL TABLE. ANALYTICAL AND CHKONOLOGICAL TABLE. 73. 79. B.C. 47-4. A.D. 39-44. 62. 66. 67. 69. 70. 70. A.D. 41-79. 79. 79. 79. 79. 79. 80. 81. A.D. 81-88. § 7. § 8. § 9. Restoration of the Senate and Equites Buildings of Vespasian : his Patronage of Literature . . • • • • • • Other Events of the Reign Death of Vespasian PAGE. 173 173 174 175 Chapter XVII. § 1- -The Jewish Wars. Palestine under Herod the Great . . Herod's Descendants 6 2. Herod Agrippa § 3. Antipathy between Jew and Roman despite Roman Indulgence towards the Jews . . f 4. Party feuds of the Jews Their Intrigues with Parthia § 5. Palestine under the Bomans: ment of Felix The Jews rise against the Gessius § 6. Vespasian in^'ades Palestine Titus succeeds to the Command § 7. State of Jerusalem . . § 8. Blockade and Capture of Jerusalem § 9. The Christians Chapter XVIII.— Titus: 79-81 a.d. Misgovern- • • • * Procurator 176 176 177 177 178 178 179 179 179 180 180 181 182 Early Life and Character of Titus . . 185 Change in his Conduct : his Popularity and Munificence . . . . . • . . 186 He declares his Brother, Domitian, his Partner . . . . . . • . • • 1^6 Popular Entertainments: Opening of the Colosseum . . . . • • • • 187 4. His Treatment of the Nobles . . . . 187 5. Eruption of Vesuvius: Liberality of Titus 187 6. Great Fire in Rome: Third Burning of the Capitol .. •• 188 § 7. Titus' Policy too lavish 188 Death of Titus .. .. •• 189 § 8. Remarks on his Change of Conduct and its ultimate Results 189 § 1. § 2. § 3. § § Chapter XIX.— Domitian 81-96 a.d. § 1. Domitian long impatient for Power § 2. His Rule better than expectation . 191 192 A.D. 84. 83. § 3. § 4. 83. 86-90. 81, 83. 89, 94. 93. 88-96. 96. 96. 96. His Beforms as Censor . . As Pontifex Maximus he punishes the V GS vcllS •• •• •• •• His Private Life Vicious His Regard for Justice . . He endeavours to cut down Expenditure He cringes to the l^egions and increases their pay Popular Entertainments and Largesses Campaign of Domitian in Germany . . The Dacians War with the Dacians Other Campaigns in Britain and Airica Domitian's Border Policy like that of Tiberius § 11 . His Buildings and Patronage of Litera- l/UX" •• •• •• •• •• Philosophers and Astrologers banished from Rome . . Bevolt of Saturninus in Germany Beign of Terror Some chief Victims The Jews and Christians persecuted . . Assassination of Domitian andAccession of Nerva Lack of Information as to the later Caesars PAGE. 192 § § no. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. § 12. I 13. §14. 192 192 193 193 193 193 194 194 195 195 196 196 197 197 198 199 199 199 200 Chapter XX.— The British Wars. B.C. 54-A.D. 43. § A.D. 40. 43. 43. ^ 1. 2. 3. § 4. 50. § 5. Britain after Caesar's Invasion Distribution of British Tribes . . The abortive Expedition of Gains Reasons for the Attack of Claudius . . Campaigns of Aulus Plautius, Claudius and Vespasian : reduction of the Southern Tribes Campaigns of Ostorius Scapula and Overthrow of Caractacus . . Rapid Growth of the Roman Power . . Suetonius Paulinus extirpates the Druids Bevolt and Death of Boadicea . Seven Campaigns of Agricola . The Romans reach the Clyde . Battle of Mons Graupius Agricola recalled . . Chapter XXI.— Literature (31 B.C.-37 a.d.). § 1 . Effects of Autocracy on Poetry Alexandrine Poetry and its Imitators. . 50-60. § 6. 61. § 7. 61. 78-83. § 8. 80. 84. 84. / 201 201 202 202 202 203 204 204 204 205 206 206 206 207 208 XIV I B.C. 74-A.D. 14. B.C. 70-B.C. 26. Bom B.C. 50. B.C. 53-B.C. 19. B.C. 50-B.C. 15. B.C. 70-B.C. 19. B.C. 65-B.C. 8. Died B.C. 16. B.C. 43-A.D. 17. B.C.100-B.C.24. B.C. 64-B.C. 14. Died A.D. 25. B.C. 54-A.D. 24. B.C. 59-A.D. 17. B.C. 18-A.D. 31. Temp. Tiberius. Flor. A.D. 40. ANALYTICAL AND CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE. § 2. The Patrons of the Poets : Augnstns Maecenas, INIessala . . The Palatine Library . . § 3. Varius Minor Poets of the Early Empire § 4 . Gallus Marsus 6 5. Tibullus . . § 6. Propertius § 7. Vergil : his Life : The ^(e%M^» & 8. The Georgics \ 9. The Aeneid 10. Horace : his Life : The Satires 11. The Odes and Epodes The Camen Saeculare The Epistles and Ars Foeiica § 12. Aemilius Macer . . Ovid : his Life and Works § 13. Grattius . . Manilius , . Phaedms . . § 14. Prose Writing Cornelius Nepos Vitru^dus Pollio Pompeius Trogus Grammarians §15. Historians Cordiis Bassus Strabo Livy § 16. Velleiiis Paterculus Valerius Maximus Celsus Philo Judaeus . . Chapter XXII.— Literature (37-96 a.d A.D. § 1. The Silver Age . . Died 39. The Elder Seneca 4-65. The Younger Seneca § 2. Calpumius Siculus 39-65. Lucan 45-96. § 3. Statins Died 88. Valerius Flaccus, 25-101. Silius Italicus 34-62. § 4. Persius .. Died 66. Petronius . . ). PAGE. 208 209 209 210 211 211 211 212 213 215 216 219 221 222 222 222 222 225 225 225 225 226 226 227 227 227 227 227 227 228 229 229 230 230 231 231 231 232 232 233 234 234 234 235 7 ANALYTICAL AND CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE. XV A.D. 50-130. Flor. 93. 43-101. 37-100. 54-120. Flor. 50. 35-95. 40-103. 23-79. 62-113. § 5. § 6. PAGE. Jnvenal . . . . 235 Sulpicia . . .. 236 Martial .. 236 Quintus Curtius . .. 237 Josephus .. .. 237 Tacitus .. 237 Columella .. 238 MeJa .. 239 Quintilian . 239 Frontinus . . . 239 'I'he Elder Pliny . . 240 The Younger Pliny . 240 'V_ THE EARLY PRINCIPATE : A HISTORY OF EOME, 31 b.c.-96 a.d. -sji CHAPTER I. Rise of the Principate. § 1 Octav-ian Master of the World-§ 2. Universal Desire for Peac-- I 3. Incapacity of Senate and People to govern-^ 4. Tendency of Unconstitutional Commands-^ 5. Rise and Character of the t T^^'^V^rp T7^ ,^- Turbulence and Dependence of the Populus 7^ ^ ^ ?• \^'ti ""^J^^ .^""P'^^-' *^^ ^^^ «f Centralization- A • f 7l T ?? ^^l.f^^^mte from Caesar's Dictatorship -5 9. Assisted by the Repubhcan Disguise of Augustus's Government. § 1. The death of Antonius left the government of the Roman world once more in the hands of one man. Sulla and Caesar had each essayed the task of controlling that empire. The first had shown how inevitably the course of events tended to monarchy; the second had done something to show how desirable was the change It remained for Octavian to set the inevitable and the desir- able once and for aU upon a lasting foundation. He must so far justify his autocracy as to place beyond question the permanency of the monarchy even after his own demise and stamp out all mistaken conservatism which still dreamed of the restoration of the government of a centurv before. "^ § 2. The desire of the world was for peace! For twenty years the State had been torn by the jealousies of rival generals, the provinces and vassal States from Gaul to Pontus had been drained of blood and treasure to furnish weapons to combatants in whom they had no personal mtei-est. Caesar had ousted Pompeius ; the assassination ot Caesar had brought into the Hsts Antonius, Lepidus bextus Pompeius, and Octavian ; and these had fought to R. 31-96. I 2 THE EARLY PRINCIFATE. the death for the sole possession of an empire which they would not share, and which was falling into ruins from their verj- quarrels. The world at large took no interest in any one of the rivals. Senate and people and provincials alike looked on and waited to follow quietly the leader whose sword should prevail. War meant for them only confiscation of their lands to reward hired legionaries, the shedding of their best blood in a struggle which^ could bring no laurels, the ruin of their fortunes in the universal stagnation of trade and industry. Those who still believed in the ancient Gods saw only the working of a series of crimes— the spilling of brothers' blood— each of which entailed a fresh curse upon themselves and their descen- dants. Those who had no faith — and they were many — assumed an indifference which was more unsatisfactory and hopeless than disbelief. In the air was a vague prophecy that a peace-maker was about to appear; and when Octavian had proved his right by his might, men saw in him the promised helper and acquiesced gladly in his pre- eminence. § 3. Moreover, every cause which had contributed to the assertion of the autocracy of a Sulla or a Caesar now acted with increased force. That government by the Senate which had conducted Eome gloriously to the close of the Macedonian and Carthaginian wars had sunk into an oligarchic system of jobbery and corruption, and from thence into a system not less coiTupt and still more incapable owing to the blow dealt it by the Gracchi. Sulla's efforts at a restoration lasted only a few years after his death. After his decease the Senate threw itself desperately upon the mercy of one leader after another, regardless of the fact that those leaders, whom it entrusted with unconstitutional powers, might and did use their powers less constitutionally still against the donors. Roman politics had become a death- struggle between the Senate and the people for a supremacy which neither knew how to wield. There is no regard now for the honour of Rome abroad, for the well-being of her subjects, for Rome herself. The two parties fought just such another battle as did Antonius, Octavian, and their rivals afterwards — a struggle for rule regardless of RISE OE THE PRINCIPATE. O the prize which was to be ruled. There were but two ways out of the evil; either the ancient balance of pre- rogatives must be restored between the Curia and the Comitia, or the jealousies of both must be subordinated to the power of some one master. Even Caesar's Dictator- ship had failed to teach its lesson, and his death found the constitutional government as incapable of harmonious action as before. Once, after his completed triumph, Augustus retired fi-om Rome and handed over to the Senate and people the full enjoyment of their ancient privileges (22—19 B.C.), and they used the oj)portunity as before when Pompeius had sullenly withdrawn his terrorism and left events to the will of Clodius and Milo. To restore the balance was impossible. It remained only to reduce both Senate and people to one level of de- pendence. § 4. Had the two parties been sufficiently temperate to work out the problem in conformity with law — as the old quarrel of Patricians and Plebeians had once been worked out — some other solution might have been anived at. But the self-restraint of the early days had passed away. Tiberius Gracchus had set the example of at- tempting reform by unconstitutional means ; and thence- forward both parties used expedients as desperate as illegal to obtain their ends. The favourite expedient was that of raising up a leader backed by an irresistible aiTuy. Such a measure had been impossible when the constitutiotial fetters of time and age were respected. It became easy when those fetters were removed and a Marius, a Pompeius, or a Caesar received for years in succession the plenary powers of the ancient annual magistracies; when even the sacredness of the pomoerium was no barrier to the entrance of the paludamentum and eagles into Rome ; when no citizen of capacity was satis- fied with anything short of virtual monarchy, It was not to be expected that those who accepted illegal com- mands would scruple to use them illegally, or would lay aside at a word the powers to which they owed their virtual sovereignty, and even, perhaps, their personal security. 4 THE EAHLY PRIXCIPATE. § 5. These special commands, as the}' were still called when their bestowal had long ceased to be special, amounted to nothing less than military despotisms. A victorious general with a multitude of legions at his back, bound to his service, whether by respect or by pay, was, so long as he had no rival, absolute. He might assume the character of a peaceful citizen, but behind him was the unseen hand of his legionaries read}^ at a moment to strike. The only check upon one such power was the creation of another; and so the evil went on increasing. The Gabinian, Manilian, and Trebonian laws were all so many attempts to introduce monarchy, in effect at least, though their original proposers may not have foreseen the inevitable result. ' 'Tis no good thing, a naultitude of kings,' said Homer; and long before an adviser of Octavian had altered the saying to justify the execution of a rival,* it had been acted upon by every- one who held a special militaiy command. Government by the sword commenced with "Sulla and found its final avowal in the days of Caligula ; but its practice never slept from the days of its first birth. The old patriotism was dead. There was now no citizen-army to fight Rome's battles for Rome's sake. The legions were re- cruited from Spain and Gaul and Asia, and owned no loyalty beyond what was to be purchased by the highest bidder. They would have rased Rome and transferred the empire to TaiTaco, to Narbo, or to Byzantium, with- out ^ compunction. It was no longer a question of the justice of a cause, but of numbers alone. § 6. Behind the Optimates, who championed either Senate or people to further their own ends, was the rabble of Rome — the populus — which had long ceased to respect any law but that of force. Since the day when the first blood was shed in a Roman riot, in 131 b.c, there had rarely been any question of moment decided without appeal to open violence. A Clodius or a Milo was the natural outcome of the abuse of democratic liberty ; and they had got long since beyond the control • "Tis no good thin^. a miUtitude of Caesars,' was the misquotation which induced Octavian to put to death Caosarion, son of Cleopatra and Caesar, 30 b.c. ■ ! kI KISE OF THE PRINCIPATE. 5 of the Senate or the democratic leaders, unless supported by an ai-med force. Their turbulence was curbed in the early years of the Principate; but it slumbered only, and a fresh outburst led to the establishment of a regular police by Augustus. Even when no election-cry furnished them with a watchword, the rabble were ever ready for a riot about the price of com. There was no starving this 'many -headed monster thing' into submission; it must be fed to be kept in good humour. So, at least, thought C. Gracchus and his successors in the government; and even Caesar could find no other mode of action. When Octavian seized the sole power, the masses were already recognised as State-paupers, whose feeding and mainten- ance and amusement must be the first care of the govern- ment, however constituted. A few years later Juvenal spoke of them as happy if they had but 'bread and the circus' games.' Octavian recognised their privileges, and, indeed, made it his especial duty, as did Tiberius after him, to keep the markets well supplied with cheap provisions. Such a policy bankrupted the State, but Augustus did, at least, as much as anyone could do to stave off the evil day; and in any case his measures were attended with a degi-ee of success far beyond anything which could have been attained by the efforts of an incapable, improvident, and divided Senate. § 7. If the Senate had been found incapable of main- taining order and sufficiency at home, the state of the provinces was far worse. From end to end of the empire the governors plundered and extorted, and drained their provinces not only of their produce for the present but of their resei-ves for the future. No justice could be obtained; for if a verdict were given in favour of the victims it was rarely enforced, and never in such a way as to recoup the j)lundered parties. Lands lay idle, roads went to ruin, and trade stagnated. In time of war the evil was still worse. What the governors and puhlicani had left was destroyed by soldiery billeted at free quarters everywhere. Even if peace had prevailed and justice had been enforced, it would have been a formidable task for the Senate in its best days to cope with so vast a mass THE EARLY PRINCIPATE. of work as was implied by the huge empire of 30 B.C. It needed one mind and one hand to guide and curb that empire — a mind which could see that in the weKare of its subjects lay the welfare of the empire, and a hand which had no rival to stay its sure action. The weak- ness of senatorian government is always the presence of an opposition. Under a Caesar there could be no such weakness, for his will was law to all and was obe^^ed forthwith, for it was upheld by the swords of the world. No doubt the affairs of the empire were too great for one man to manage in the best way; but what it could see to be requisite the monarchy could execute without failui'e, and its vision was the clearer in that it was not dis- tracted by partisanship and jealousies. There may have been cases when the governors still plundered ; there may still have been some to regret the old Republic. But the good results of the Principate to the provincials at least far exceeded its failings ; and while many of them pleaded to be made Imperial provinces, none ever made the opposite request — to be transferred from the Princeps' rule to that of the Senate, § 8. Such were some of the more crying reasons which made necessary the establishment of the Principate. Its establishment was rendered possible by tlie events of the previous century, which had slowly but surely prej^ared the Romans and their subjects for the change. The world was all but npe for it when Julius seized the tyrannis. The fall of Julius with its attendant years of confusion and bloodshed, and its idle vaunt of liberty ^restored, completed the preparation. The Principate of (Augustus was evolved naturally out of the Dictatorship of Julius. It was no new thing. It could even appeal, ; if need were, to that Dictatorship as a precedent, and f there were few points in which the precedent was want- "^ ing. Julius was the architect ; Augustus the builder ; and if the latter in one or two details altered the designer's theory to suit actual facts, he did no more than every builder does when occasion arises. There will be found later on (Chapter Y.) a list of the main features boiTowed by Augustus from his forerunner. ? RISE OF THE PRINCIPATE. 7 § 9. The Julian Dictatorship fell because it concealed too slightly its alsolutism. The self-control of Julius tottered when it had reached its highest goal, and he allowed himseK to appear as monarch in name, not in fact alone. The Romans would stiU struggle for an idea, though they were ready to acquiesce in its outward reali- zation ; so the tyrannicides veiled their crime under the plea used by Brutus and his colleagues in 510 b.c. Augus- tus was more wary. To the last he spoke of the State as a Republic still, in which he was merely the high-steward of the traditional Senate and Comitia. He respected the idea which Julius trampled upon, and he was therefore left free to bind more securely year by year the fetters which he never named. It was said that he debated more than once about retiring from his post. The story only proves how well he could disguise his firm grasp of the monarchy, and cloak with the ' civilian air ' his most un- constitutional proceedings. Il lii CHAPTEK II. History of the Years 30-23 B.C. § 1. Temporary Settlement of the Affairs of Asia and the East— 6 2. Return of OctaWan to Rome : Honoui's paid him : The Title of Lnperator.—§ 3. The Censorship and Censoria Fotestas.—§ 4. His Munificence.— § 5. He offers to lav down the Imperium, and receives the Impermm Frocomulare for Ten Years.— § 6. The Title of Augustus.—^ 7. Princeps Senatus, Piinceps, and Pater Patriae — § 8. The Dacian War.— ^ 9. Augustus in Spain.— § 10. Final Sub- jugation of the Cantabri, etc.— § 11. The Provinces of Africa and ^ Galatia.— § 12. Disgrace of Cornelius Gallus.— § 13. The Arabian vyar.— § 14. Illness of Augustus: Confirmation of the Foiestaa TnbumUa, Froconsulare Imperium, and bestowal of the Right of Mdaiio.—^lb. Death of Marcellus. § 1. After the battle of Actium, Sept. 2, 31 b.c, and the flight of Antonius to Egypt, Octavian, having disbanded the greater part of his forces, crossed over to Asia Minor. From the Aegean to the rivers Phasis and Euphrates, from the Euxme to the Eed Sea, the whole vast area had been brought under the suzerainty of Eome either directly or indirectly by the victories of Pompeius. That general had constituted the provinces of Syria and Cilicia, while leaving the remainder of his conquests under the control of native princes of his own choice. From that date no alteration had been made m the Pompeian aiTangement, and Octavian for the present left things as he found them. Few of the native princes had at heart identified themselves with the cause ot Antonius; many had been in secret correspondence with Octavian before the overthrow of his rival. It was there- tore the safer course to leave them in possession of theii- sovereignties until more pressing matters had been dealt with. Cihcia and Asia remained as before, with the ex- ception that the western portion of the fomier province was handed over to Archelaus, cHent-Prince of Cappadocia. 30—23 B.C. 9 o ^^ IS •^ . l-s O a si .2.2 .=5 CS = < OQ o OQ :;: o a a . ? « bo J • o -08 . O c3 O h3 GC O, pq 03 O M O OQ M so o3 H ci -^ d . a, fee •a -£3co < -.goo S •"5 it3 ^ L i 03 V P - OB C^ o ^ (1 03 . CO a -OB-* OQ go .1-1 ' 'So' o o 10 THE EARLY PllIXCIPATE. 80—23 B.C. 11 The cities of Lycia ^veve left in the enjoyment of their own laws and liberties. Polemo, king of Colchis and that part of Pontus between Cerasus and Trapezus, and Amyntas, King of Galatia, were confinned in their kingdoms. In Paphlagonia some small principalities continued to exist until 7 B.C., when they were joined to Galatia. Rhodes and Caria continued independent. Beyond the boundaries of Pontus and Cappadocia, the wide and powerful kingdom of Armenia was held in check by the imminence of the Parthian monarchy still further to the eastward, which threatened continually to reduce its weaker neighbours to vassalage or even dependence. The throne of Parthia was now occupied by Phraates, who, having been once expelled by Tii-idates, had again recovered his position. The rivals both waited upon Octavian in Asia to sue for his support. Unwilling to involve himself so soon in a war with the conquerors of Crassus, he left Phi-aates in possession of his sceptre. He took security, however, for his good conduct in the person of his son, and allowed Tiridates to reside in the province of Asia without molestation. Herod of Judaea, one of the most foi-midable of Antonius' recent allies, was rewarded for the instant transfer of his allegiance to Octavian by the gift of the teiTitories of Samaria, and the coastline from Gaza to the tower of Straton (afterwards Caesarea). Egypt was taken away from the Ptolemies and constituted a Roman dependency under an equestrian prefect, Cornelius Gallus. Caesarion, reputed the son of Cleopatra and Julius Caesar, was put to death, as was Cassius Pai-mensis, the last of the tvrannicides. § 2. In the summer of 29 b.c. Octavian returned to Rome and enjoyed his triple triumph (Aug. 13-15). The Roman world lay quiet at his feet, waiting to see the course he would pursue. The one desire of all, save, indeed, the legions whose occupation was war, was for peace, and the new ruler gratified that desire by the moderation of Ids con- duct, and by the public ceremony of closing the gates of the Temple of Janus for the third time since the foundation of the city. There still lingered, indeed, petty wars on the frontiers of Gaul and in Spain ; but these were not deemed of sufficient importance to delay the official declaration of Fax Romana — the peaceful attitude of the known world to- wards Rome. Honours were heaped upon the conqueror of Actium. While yet in Asia he had been presented with the privilege of wearing the insignia of triumph — the scarlet robe and laurel- wreath — on all public occasions. Quin- quennial games were instituted in his honour at home and in the provinces; his name was inserted in the prayers for the safety of the Senate and people ; his birthday was cele- brated with sacrifices; and in the cities of Asia and Greece he was worshipped as a god. A new body of Vestals of Augustus was soon after instituted ; and within a few years Horace could speak of the name of Octavian himself as associated with those of the Gods — at least, in private prayer — throughout Italy itself. There is an idle story that at this juncture Octavian debated seriously with his ministers, Agrippa and Maecenas, who had acted as his representatives at Rome during his stay in Asia and Egypt, whether he should resign his power and become once more a civilian. He had never entertained any such idea. He had, indeed, laid aside the title of Triumvir now that it had no longer any meaning; but he was still consul and possessed of tribunitian authority, and his sole aim was, by apparent deference to the old constitutional formulae to induce the Senate to spontaneously offer him the confirmation of the powers which he actually possessed. The symbol and in- strument of those powers was the aiiny ; and accordingly the first act of the Senate was to decree to Octa\dan the title of Imperator. JuKus had borne the title after his name ; his descendant took it as a species of cognomen to precede his Gentile name and praenomen, though these henceforth disappear. Octavian henceforth was Imperator Caesar JuUi filim. By this act the Senate put into his hands for life the entire control of the legions, and laid down voluntarily that exercise of military control which it had usurped from the populus in early times, and which it had maintained by means of its consuls and other officers, until the latter showed they needed no sanction of the Senate to wield the swords of the legions at their pleasure. § 3. Augustus more than once exercised the powers with- out the title of the censorship. As consul, he could not be 12 THE EAELY PRI>^CIPATE. actually censor according to the old constitution ; but Julius had set the example of disassociating a title from its powers, and Octavian could seem to follow a recognised precedent in imitating him. Aimed with this authority, he proceeded to revise the Album Senatorium, rejecting unworthy members who had crept into it during the troubles of the past twenty years, and in every way endeavouring to restore the ancient prestige of the Senate, in direct contradiction to the conduct of JuHus, who had, as the champion of the Marians and the democracy, done his best to degrade the assembly of the Optimates and Sullans. In the year 28 B.C. Octavian used this new authority to make a census of the Roman world — an act repeated in the years 8 B.C. and 14 a.d.; and he revised also the Album Judicum — the list of persons qualified to sei-ve as jurors, and the Decuriae Ji^quitum — those of ec[uestrian rank liable to the same duties. § 4. Meanwhile, to cloak his gi-adual assumption of the supreme power, he indulged all ranks with largesses. The battle of Actium had yielded no spoils, for all had perished in the burning of Antonius' fleet, or had been carried away in the flight of the Egyptian squadrons, and the legionaries had been disbanded unrewarded. To restore their good- humour, the victor now presented each with 1000 sesterces — representing a sum of 120,000,000 sesterces — for which the recent spoils of Alexandria gave him enough and to spare. The civil wars had disturbed all the commercial and finan- cial business of the State. To relieve the distress so caused, a largess of 400 sesterces apiece was given to every citizen, children and adults alike. The higher ranks were gratified by appointment to lucrative and illustrious ofiices. All alike shared in the festivities and shows which accompanied and followed Octavian's triumph. The public distribution of coi-n was continued on a more lavish scale than ever; arrears due to the public chest were remitted, and the deficit supi^lied from the Emperor's private purse ; such senatorial families as had sunk into poverty were once more rehabili- tated by munificent gi-ants ; and throughout the city the historic monuments were beautified and restored, and public works were undertaken on the most lavish scale, chief amongst which was the famous Temple of Apollo on the 30—23 B.C. 13 Palatine Hill, with its museum and magnificent librarv m which to have his bust set up, crowned with the bav- wreath, was the summit of the ambition of the /^V^em^^wr or the time. § 5. The State was in the fuU glow of the enthusiasm and gratitude purchased by these indulgences, when on January 1, 27 b.c, Caesar declared in the Senate that' his work was done, and that he would now lay down his tmpenwn. The Senate, restored to dignity and peace was able, he said, to manage the State for itself as of old. But, as he probably foresaw, the offer was greeted with an outburst of dissent. Whether carried away by the feelings of the moment, or earnestly convinced of the advisability of what they did, the senators declared Caesar possessed of the proconsulare imperium for a space of ten years more. He declined to receive it for life ; for such an act would have savoured too much of the 'perpetual dictatorship, for which Julius had paid the price of his hfe. Neither would he receive it as valid over the whole Roman world. He handed over to the separate govern- ment of the Senate the more peaceful provinces, and re- tained only such as needed the control of a military force which he maintained himself in virtue of his imperium From this year dates the regular Principate— the joint government of the Emperor and the restored RepubHcan Senate. ■ ^ § 6. Some weeks later the Senate bestowed upon him the W;le of Augustus, by which he has ever since been known Heretofore the name had been applied to no mortal, but only to the festivals and temples of the Gods. By 'it he acquired something of the awe which still lingered in the nimd of the Romans about the Gods of a decayed re- hgion, and it fitted in with the semi-deification already accorded to him by his association with the Gods in the State ritual. § 7. After the revision of the Alhum Senatorium, in 28 B.C., Augustus, himself of course a senator, received the title of Princeps Senatus, or Head of the House. The title had been in abeyance since the death of Catulus. It implied no special duties or powers, but was 14 THE EARLY PRINCIPATE. merely a complimentary designation of the most illus- trious member of the * Assembly of Kings.' Different from it was the name of Princeps, which came to be the Eoman equivalent for our word Emperor. It was not of official origin, and did not convey the expression of any formal compliment. It merely described Caesar as primus inter pares^ the leading citizen amongst the whole citizen body. One other title, that of Pater Patriae, was conferred upon him in the year 2 B.C. by the acclamation of the Senate ; but this also was an informal one, ratified by no decree, and was used only as a term of studied flattery. It was the name by which another * saviour of the State ' had been hailed, Cicero, when he had suppressed the conspiracy of Catiline, 63 b.c. § 8. Secure now in the constitutional sanction which guaranteed all his manifold powers, Augustus turned his attention to reducing the western provinces and frontiers to the same peaceful condition as that which prevailed in the east. The mountain tribes on the north and south slopes of the Pyrenees were still in aims, and ac- cordingly in 27 B.C. he left the city to superintend in person the pacification of Gaul and Spain. Before his departure occurred two triumphs. The first was that of M. CVassus, grandson of the triumvir, who had taken up in 29 B.C. the Dacian war of which Julius had dreamed. The Daci were a warlike tribe on either bank of the Lower Danube, whose forays southward and westward upon Macedonia and Dalmatia had long insulted Rome and disturbed the tranquillity of those provinces. Their prince, Cotiso, the successor of Boerebistas, had even de- signed the invasion of Italy in conjunction with Antonius. Crassus defeated them together with the Bastarnae, and slew Delto, prince of the latter tribe. In the following year (28 b.c.) the Bastarnae returned to the struggle, but were again defeated, and the Roman rule was now ex- tended to the Danube. The second triumph was that of M. Valerius Messala, who had been engaged for two years (28, 27 b.c.) in chastising the Aquitani ; he at last defeated them in a pitched battle near Narbonne, and reduced the malcontents to submission. 30—23 B.C. 15 § 9. This latter triumph relieved Augustus of part of his intended labours. Nevertheless ho passed into Gaul with a large force, detaching as he went A. Terentius Varro to chastise the irrepressible mountaineers of the Alps. At Narbo he held a miventus, or synod of all the states of Southern Gaul, and there commenced that or- ganization which speedily reduced the conquest of Julius to one of the most tractable parts of the empiie. His work was interrupted by the need of action against the Cantabri and Astures, mountain tribes of the north- western angle of the peninsula. The war which followed brought little glory. The Spaniards avoided pitched battles, and carried on then, as usual, a guerilla struggle which lasted for eight years. The fatigues of his cam- paign soon told on Augustus, who retired an invalid to Tarraco, now the capital of all the Spains, and left his lieutenants, C. Antistius and T. Carrisius, to carry on the war (25 b.c). The Cantabri submitted ostensibly at the close of the year, and the military colonies of Bracara {Braga\ Asturica {Astorga), Lucus Augusti {Lugo), and Emerita {Merida), were founded to maintain the sub- mission of the northern and western coasts. About the same time Terentius Varro almost extenninated the Salassi of the Pennine Alps, and secured his conquest — the first step towards a scientific frontier to Italy — by the foundation of Augusta Praetoria {Aosta). § 10. How insecure was the pacification of the Spanish tribes was shown by their revolting again immediately upon the return of Augustus to Rome (24 b.c). In a short campaign Agrij)pa once more reduced them; but again in 22 b.c they took up anns against the oppressions of Carrisius, the pro-praetor. Attacking three Roman armies at once, they w^ere only prevented by treachery amongst themselves fi-om anticipating the Varian disaster. Carrisius and Furnius at length penetrated to the very heart of their fastnesses, and the latter officer, shutting up the remnant of their numbers within a circumvallation fifteen miles in length, compelled to surrender all such as did not, like the Numantians, destroy themselves. Still the conquest was not complete. In 19 b.c some of the 16 THE EARLY PRINCIPATE. survivors of the victory of Furmus raised a final revolt of a more stubborn and sanguinary character than ever. Aorippa, a second time commissioned to the war, could only induce his men to face their desperate enemies by the severest punishments. He succeeded at length m completing a conquest which had begun nearly 200 years before by transferring the last of the Cantabn and Astures to the lowlands, and so depriving them of their strono-est means of resistance. They speedily lost their independent spirit, and fifty years later Spam was the most Eoman of aU the provinces, and furnished a hst ot Hterary celebrities far exceeding in brilliancy those of any other part of the Eoman worid, Italy not excepted. Lucan, Seneca, Columella, Mela, Quiactilian, and Martial, were all natives of the Spanish peninsula. 8 11. In the year 25 B.C. changes occurred m Mauretania and Galatia. The province of Africa, constituted at the close of the third Punic war (U^ B.C.), bordered on Numidia, which was made a province by Julius after the battle of Thapsus as a punishment to its chief, Juba, for his par- tisanship with the Pompeians. Between Numidia and the Atlantic stretched Mauretania, the kingdom of Boc- chus, a staunch Caesarian. He died in 33 B.C., and two years later Juba, son of the late chief of Numidia, was appointed as suzerain of. his native country. Lastly, in 25 B.C., he was made king of Mauretania, including the western portion of Numidia, while the eastern portion from the town of Saldae was incorporated with Africa Proper. Juba had been educated at Eome, and he re- mained a faithful ally of his patron. The continent of Africa gave the Caesars less trouble than any other of their wide dependencies, and was garrisoned by a single legion. Galatia had remained under the rule of Amyntas until his death, 25 B.C. It now became a province, en- larged by the addition of Pamphylia and Lycaonia, at the expense of the older province of Cilicia. At the end of the year the gates of Janus were again closed, the assumed Pax Romana of four years before being now a reality throughout the world of Eoman influence. § 12. They were soon thrown open again, but the scene 30—23 B.C. 17 of war was now changed from the West to the far East, to Egypt and Arabia. The first prefect of Egypt, Cornelius Gallus, a man of equestrian rank and the most graceful writer of elegiacs of his day, had allowed his exalted position to lead him into indiscretions. Statues had been set up in his honour and his name inscribed upon the p3rramid8 of Eg3T)t, and his Eoman arrogance had even led to serious riots in Alexandria, always a turbulent and unruly city. These failings, in themselves slight enough, derived an especial importance from the jealousy with which Augustus regarded Egypt, whose riches were sufficient to supply ample funds to any disaffected leader, whose position between sands and seas was exceptionally strong, and whose supplies of corn fed the city which their interruption would reduce to famine. The Senate learnt the ill-will with which Augus- tus regarded his prefect, and one of them indicted Gallus, still absent, for arrogance. The charge was readily believed by the obsequious senators, and its object was ordered to return to Eome. His reception by the Emperor was too chilling to be mistaken. Gallus was disgraced, and, to avoid further and more positive punishment, he committed suicide, 26 b.c. § 13. He was succeeded by C. Petronius ; andin the year 25 B.C., Aelius Gallus, a subordinate officer, was entrusted with the command of a legion to act in Arabia. Ever since the occupation of Judaea by the Eomans, the Nabathaei, who dwelt to the east and south of Palestine, from Damascus on the north to far down the shore of the Eed Sea, had been a vassal state. Beyond them, occupying the whole of the southern portions of the Arabian peninsula, lay the Arabians proper. Their nearest tribes were those of Sabaea, or Arabia Felix ( Yemen), split up into small states under petty chief- tains. The stories of the wealth of Sabaea were no myth. It was the land of gems and drugs and spices, and through it passed the treasui-es of India on their way to the Western lands. In old days that commerce had passed through Southern Egypt; now the Egyptian trade was at a stand- still, and it was to restore if possible the old route of traffic, as well as to obtain possession of the spice-lands, that Augustus departed from his fixed policy of consolidating R. 31-96. 2 I I \ 18 THE EABLY PRINCIPATE. 30—23 B.C. 19 Tvhat he possessed, and for once took up an aggressive war. But the effort was a failure. Ignorance caused needless risks in the passage by sea southward to Leuce Come {Haura) ; and when the army at last struck into the centre of Arabia under the guide of Syllaeus, an officer of Obodas, King of Nabathaea, it was decimated by sickness. It did indeed reach Mariba, the capital of a Sabaean tribe, but it retired without having entered that town, and returned to Egypt without laurels or reward, and Augustus refi-ained for the present from any further action in this direction. Though the expedition was a failure, Aelius Gallus was promoted to the prefecture of Egypt. § 14. In 23 B.C., now consul for the eleventh time,* the Emperor was seized with violent illness. His life was despaired of, and men began to speculate upon his successor. Some named Marcellus, some Agi'ippa; but Augustus re- covered, and his recovery was hailed as a relief. He celebrated his restoration to health by a lavish frumentatio and laid down the consulship, which he only resumed on two other occasions, B.C. 5 and 2, and then only for a few days. In return the Senate decreed him anew that procon- sulare imperium which he already possessed, and in some way extended or confimied his title to the trihunitia potestas, which he accordingly dates from this year. It decreed him also the right of relatio] in the Senate on all occasions, a step which relieved them of the awkward possibility of moving anything contrary to the wishes of the Princeps. § 15. Whom Augustus had really intended to name as liis successor no one ever knew, but the hopes of most were centred in Marcellus, the son of Octavia, scarcely less for his own fair promise than for the admiration which all bore towards his mother. He was high in favour with the Emperor — too high to please Agrippa — and had been in this very year freed from the obligations of the Lex Cincia Annalis, and invested with the office of aedile, though only twenty years of age. Two years before (25 B.C.) he had been maiTied, young as he was, to Julia, daughter of • He held the Consulship during the eight successive years from 30 to 23 b.c. + Relntio is the nght to bring forward a motion for debate in the Senate, which -was vested constitutionally in the consuls for the year alone. Augustus. His connections, his popularity, and his charac- ter marked him out as the probable heir to the principate. * Brief and unfortunate were the loves of the Eomans.' He sickened and died only a few weeks after the recovery of his uncle. His funeral was splendidly furnished, and the grief of the Emperor and people alike was poignant. Vergil, the Court poet, spoke of him in the 'Aeneid'* in words whose recitation di'ew tears from their auditors, and brought royal gifts upon their author. His death stayed for a while the jealousy of Agrippa, but left the question of succession still open, still a field for intrigue and heart- burnings. • 'Aeneid' vi., 861, sqq. \ I y \ CHAPTER III. History of the Years 23—9 B.C. ^ 1. Aethiopiaii War. — § 2. Conspiracy of Caepio and Muraeiia. — § 3. Augustus declines the Dictatorship and Perpetual Censorship. The Curatores Annonae. — § 4. He goes to Asia and regulates the Affairs of Parthia. — § 5. Troubles during his Absence: Conspiracy of Egnatius Kufus. — § 6. Augustus returns: The Potestas Consularis. — § 7. Advancement of Agrippa; his Mission to Asia. — § 8. The Ludi Saecalares. — 9 1). Proceedings of Agrippa in Asia. — § 10. Second Visit of Augustus to Gaul. — § 11. Disaster of Lollius. — § 12. Campaign of Tiberius and Drusus in llhaetia : The Frontier Fort- resses and Afjrl Decttmatea. — § 13. Death of Agrippa, and (§ 14) of Lepidus. — § 15. The German Peoples. — § 16. First and Second Campaigns of Drusus in Germany, and of Tiberius in Pannonia. — § 17. Further Campaigns of Tiberius in Pannonia: Reduction of the Thracians by Piso : Third and Fourth Campaigns of Drusus in Germany : His Death. § 1. About the time when Aolius Gallus was busied so fruitlessly in Arabia, Ids superior officer, C. Petronius, was acting on tlio southern frontier of Egypt against the Aethiopians. That people, accustomed to making raids upon the upper valley of the Nile during the time of the Ptolemies, continued their forays even when the stronger government of Rome was established in Egypt. The limits of the Eoman prefecture were situated some little distance south of Syene {Asstidn), near the lesser Cata- racts, but there was no natural or scientific frontier, and while the Aethiopians found it easy to make incui-sions into the cultivated lands on the Roman side, the Romans on the other hand met with small success in their attempts to follow the fugitives. StiU, Petronius managed to obtain one or two successes, and the one-eyed Aethiopian Queen Candace at length offered terms in the year 23 b.o. The prefect imposed a tribute upon her; but resenting this, she |L/J^ 7 23—9 B.C. 21 sent envoys to Augustus, who remitted the impost, content to have so inaccessible a people brought to an amicable and equable peace. § 2. Successful as he unifoimly was as an administrator, and despite the civilian bearing of the Princeps, there yet remained some sparks of the old republicanism. Men could not altogether forget in thirty years the traditions of their ancient liberties, and a few, perhaps, hated Augustus, as others had hated Aristides, for his very merits. In the year subsequent to his retirement fi-om the Consulship, the Emperor was made painfuUy aware of his isolation. Two distinguished Romans, Fannius Caepio and A. Terentius Varro Muraena, jolotted against his life. Of the details and ramifications of the conspiracy we have no knowledge; it was most jDrobably little more than the scheming of a few fanatical republicans or disaj)pointed self-seekers who dreamed of repeating the exploit of Brutus and Cassius. The plot was discovered, and both the leaders were executed. Nothing came of their schemes but ad- ditional sympathy between the people and their patron. § 3. The position of the Emperor was, in fact, extremely critical at the moment. By resigning the Consulship he had placed himself virtually in the power of the Senate, whose ofiicers, the consuls, constitutionally possessed the highest authority in the State, with which the powers of the Emperor, legitimately conferred indeed, but in them- selves illegal, might at any moment come into collision. The consul owned but one superior, the dictator; and the friends or enemies of Augustus urged him to accept the dictatorship for life which they now offered him. His friends might see in it a real security against a senatorial reaction. His enemies — and the recent con- spiracy showed that he Jiad enemies — saw, with more sinister insight, that it would put the possessor ipso facto in the position to which Julius owed his death. Augustus was wiser than his friends. He absolutely declined the ofiice, as well as that of the perpetual censorship, con- tenting himself with appointing two censors, the last citizens to hold that high dignity (22 b.c). He was finally pressed to accept the pei-petual consulship, and I. I IT i 22 THE EARLY PRIXCIPATE. refused once more. But the cry for a dictator had come also loudly from the poorer classes, who, trained to gather their bread from Caesar's largess, resented as an insult the inevitable fluctuation in the price of provisions. ^ To meet this cry he appointed two curatores annonm, superintendents of the market, men of praetorian rank, whose duty it was to watch the rates of sale and to guard against fluctuations of price as far as might be. § 4. But the problem of the legitimate combination of his own rule with that of the Senate in the old republican ^ forms was still unsolved. Augustus now played a bold card. He left Eome, and trusted to events to work out "lor him the solution he desired. The affairs of Asia were still unsatisfactory, particularly in regard to the Parthians, from whom envoys had reached Eome in the pre^aous year. On their representations, and more, perhaps, to console Agrippa in some measure for the manifest preference then enjoyed with the Emperor by the young Marcellus, Agrippa had been commissioned in the early part of 23 b.c. with the settlement of the Eastern States, and had at once fixed his residence at Mitylene in Lesbos, carrjang on his duties by means of legates. Thither Augustus also now proceeded, handing over the State entirely to the control of its consti- tutional governors, the Senate and consuls. The presence of the Parthian envoys in Eome had been due to the continued intrigues of Tiridates, whom, as has been said, Augustus had, in 30 b.c, permitted to reside in Syria. Tom by internal dissensions, the rival claimants appealed again to the Emperor, and the latter decided once more in favour of the reigning prince, Phraates, ex- acting, however, as the price of his support the restoration of the standards captured from Crassus on the field of Carrhae. Phraatps complied, and did homage for his crown, awed by the presence of Tiberius, the future Princeps, with a large force in Aimenia. He had marched thither to place Tigranes upon the throne left vacant by the murder of Artaxes, his brother, the son of Artavasdes. Artaxes himself had been alternately a vassal of Parthia and Eome. The establishment of Tigranes set up against the possible hostility of Parthia a sovereign who owed his V ni )\ 23—9 B.o. 23 crown, and therefore his safety, to Eome, and so secured the Euphrates frontier. The successes of Augustus here were further heightened by the arrival of honorary embassies from Pandion and Porus, kings of the Punjab, and from Scythia, bringing presents of the treasures of the far East (20 B.C.). § 5. At Eome, meantime, as Augustus had foreseen^ events were working out the solution of his problem. The consular elections of 20 b.c. had been attended with violent riots, and the tribes refused to return more than one consul, leaving the other place vacant for Augustus, despite his reiterated refusal to accept it. Moreover, ever since the retirement of Augustus from that office, prodigies and por- tents had alarmed the people, pestilence had swept over the city, and an inundation of the Tiber had wrought a more material ruin. Superstitious fears seized the populace, who clamoured for their patron and protector, the favourite of heaven, to resume a share in the chief magistracy. He-^ replied only by sending Agrippa again to administer the city. The latter's efforts wore in a measure successful; but, on his being summoned to Gaul and Spain to su])press some disorders there, the rioting broke out afresh, and the election ' of consuls for the year 19 b.c. was attended even with blood- shod. Sentius Saturninus, the single consul returned^ was attacked by the partisans of Egnatius Eufus, who claimed the vacant consulship. The Senate, quite unable, as of ol(H in the time of Clodius, to restrain the tui-bulence of the city, declared the State in danger and commissioned Sentius in the old republican formula, videret ne quid detrimenti respuhlica caperet. The consul dared not accept the task, for to do so would be to incur, however unwillingly, the inevitable jealousy of the absent Princeps. Agrippa was still busy chastising the Cantabrians and Astures. In despair, a final embassy was sent to Augustus, entreating him to return and" allay the troubles, as he alone could. He was satisfied. He had given to the Eomans ample opportunity to prove^ that they were caj^able of governing themselves, and they had not only failed to prove it, but had confessed their failure. The Emperor returned to his post with renewed acclamations, and with authority stronger than ever. i J 24 THE EARLY PRINCIPATE. 23—9 B.C. 25 \ S 6 This access of moral strength was formally ratified by the Senate at the beginning of the year 18 e.g., when it renewed for five years the proconsulare tmpemm, which had been last bestowed on him in 23 B.C. (Ch. ii., § 14). It is also stated that at this time not only did Augustus .receive the censoria potesfas for a period of five years, but that he was placed on a level even in law with the annual . consuls by the grant of the consularis potestas, or all the powers, privileges and insignia of a consul apart from actual tenure of that office. Colour is given to this view by the fact that the proconsulare mperitm, though perhaps by special prmlegium made authoritative within the pomo- erium, took its name from a subordinate office and so was an insufficient authority for one who was in fact autocrat, whereas the consularis potestas was named from the highest re«-ular magistrates and would endow its possessor with every power belonging to the heads of the old republic. It is probable however (see Ch. v., § 5) that Augustus did not directly receive either the censoria potestas or the con- mlaris potestas. His autliority rested on the proconsulare imperitm and the trihunitia potestas, together with various rights and privileges specially conferred upon him at different times. § 7. The death of Marcellus had once more left Agrippa very near to the throne, and his claims on the score of faithful services were augmented in 21 B.C. by the claim of relationship, for in that year he received in mamage Julia, the widow of Marcellus. He returned from Spain towards the close of 19 B.C., and when . Augustus' tenure of the trihunitia potestas was shortly after confirmed, Agrippa was associated in it for a tenn of five years, as also in the duties of censor. Tlie latter was less a favour than a skilful method of tui-niug upon another's shoulders the odium which was incurred by the Princeps in a new revision of the Senate. But the 'hopes of Agi-ippa received another rebuff when, in 17 b.c, Augustus publicly adopted his grandsons Gains and Lucius Caesar, the sons of Agrippa and Julia. In tlie same year the disappointed father received the duty of administering the East for five years, and retired thither with his wife. / I § 8. In this year were celebrated for the fifth time in the annals of Eome the Ludi Saeculares, an ancient festival of Etruscan origin, supposed to recur at intervals of 100 or 110 years. Their previous recurrence had been of no particular magnificence. Augustus seized the opportunity to celebrate them with unusual grandeur and so put the seal upon all he had done for Eome, at the close of the 737th year of her history. Horace wrote for the occasion the Carmen Saecidare. § 9. Agrippa found little of real import to exercise him in Asia. The main event of his mission there was a visit to Herod, now the most sedulous of flatterers, under whose directions rose Caesarea as a delicate compliment to his lieo-e lord. The Jews received numerous marks of respect from Agrippa, notably the privilege of exemption from service in the Eoman armies; and in return, when in 14 B.C. Agiippa moved from the kingdom of the Bosphorus to ex- pel an upstart calling himself Scribonius, and claiming to be a descendant of the great Mithradates, Herod brought up a large force to his assistance. Scribonius was rejected by his own subjects, and liis kingdom was given to Polemo, King of Pontus, as a fief of Eome. In 13 B.C. Agiippa returned to Italy, at the same time as did Augustus, after a three years' absence in Graul. § 10. That absence had been necessitated by the dis- turbed state of the Gei-mans beyond the Ehine frontier, as well as of the renewed hostility of the Alpine tribes. It became absolutely necessary to establish once and for all a firm and tenable frontier line from the Lacus Flevo {Zuyder Zee) to the Lower Danube. Foreign aggressions were made the more formidable by the extortions of Licinus, the pro- curator of Gaul, who plundered the subject peoples with a diligence worthy of the closing years of the old republic. His name — he was a mere freedman, a Gaul himself by birth — became a by-word for upstart an-ogance, and for once Augustus, we are told (but the story may be a pure fabrication), was bribed into connivance. Licinus escaped unpunished by means of the treasures his extortions had collected, though in other ways the presence of Augustus, who appUed himself diligently to organizing afi-esh the 4 I \ I ^t I .i 3 26 THE EARLY PRINCIPATE. internal condition and frontier of the province, was pro- ductive of the most permanent results. § 11. The actual cause of his leaving Rome on this third occasion was the defeat of Lollius, Legatus Caesaris on tho Lower Rhine. The German tribes of the Usipetes and Sugambri, who occupied the northern district of Westphalia about the river Luppia (Lippe), had crossed the Rhine and endeavoured to establish themselves on the Gallic side. They overthrew Lollius and even captured the eagle of the fifth legion, but hearing of the instant arrival of Augustus in person with hirge forces, they retired and sent hostages as security for their good behaviour in future. § 12. r>ut along the whole line, from the Lippe to the mouth of the Danube, the northern tribes were in revolt. Rhaetia, Noricuni, Yindelicia, Pannonia, Dalmatia, and Maesia wore all in disorder. The country about the liead waters of the Rhine and Danube (the modem Wiirtemberg, Engadine, and Tyrol), was difficult of access, and fiUed with warlike tribes, whose position broke asunder the otherwise continuous frontier naturally offered by those two great rivers. To remove this flaw in his defences Augustus now despatched both Tiberius, who had accompanied him into Gaul, and Drusus, who was in command on the eastern side in Dalmatia. The two brothers made their attack simultaneously from east and west, defeated the Rhaeti, Breuni, and Genauni, and subjugated the whole of Yinde- licia in a single campaign,* 15 B.C. Augusta Vindelicorum (now Augsburg) was founded to maintain the conquest. At the same time was completed the line of fortresses, fifty in number, which remain to this day the military positions on the Rhine. Basel, Strasburg, Mainz, Bingen, Bonn, Nime- guen and Leyden all date from this period. Eastward the frontier was marked by the modern towns of Passau, Linz, Vienna, and Hainsburg (near Pressburg), and so followed the course of the Danube to the semi-subject peoples of modern Bulgaria. The dangers to be apiirehended formerly from the insecurity of the mountain region about Lake Constance were now obviated by the spontaneous inroad of many Roman colonists into the modern Wiii-temberg. They • They had already been in a measure chastised by P. Silius in the previous yenr. '.) 23—9 B.C. 27 paid a tithe of their produce voluntarily to Rome, and hence the name of Agri Becumates was applied to their territory, which, lying in the rear of the recently conquered tribes, effectually kept them in check. The revolt of Dalmatia and Pannonia was suppressed in the year 14 b.c, and when Augustus, Tiberius, and Agrippa were all once more assembled in Rome at the close of 13 b.c. the empire was again at peace. § 13. It was a peace of short duration. In 12 b.c. Agrippa had to huny to Pannonia to repeat the chastise- ment of two years before. He succeeded in a brief cam- paign; but on the way home he sickened and died. He was buried with all pomp at Rome; Augustus himself pronounced over the bier of his ablest minister the funeral panegyric ( laudaU'o ) . §14. In the same year died Lepidus the Triumvir, who had lived unnoticed since his banishment to Ciix?eii (36 B.C.). His death left vacant the office of Pontifex Maximus, which Augustus forthwith assumed, and so completed the circle of his supremacy in matters civil, judicial, military, and ecclesiastical. § 15. This and the three following years are filled by the campaigns of Tiberius, who succeeded Agi-ippa, in Pannonia, and of Drusus beyond the Rhine. The foi-mer were carried out consistently with Augustus' policy of consolidating what he already possessed, and repeated revolts showed that the reduction of Dalmatia and Pan- nonia was far from perfect. The campaigns of Drusus, on the other hand, were aggressive, and so far incon- sistent with that policy. Nevertheless, it was advisable that the German tribes should be taught that even the Rhine offered no insuperable barrier to the ever-victorious legions. The main tribes to be chastised were the Chauci on the shores of the Baltic; the Cherusci about the Ems ( Amisia) and Weser ( Yisurgis) ; the Usipetes and Sugambri already mentioned, with the adjacent tribe of the Tencteri; and further south the Chatti, who extended from the Rhine to the Hercynian forest— the heart of Germany. § 16. In 12 B.C. Drusus crossed the Rhine and raided the lands of the Usipetes and Tencteri, while at the < I I 28 THE EARLY PRINCIPATE. same time a flotilla was prepared, in which he meditated attacking the Chauci from the coast. A canal had been cut between the Yssel and the Vecht, which gave him access to the Zuyder Zee, and the Frisii of modem Fries- land acted as his guides. But bad weather delayed the expedition, and the army was marched back direct, gain- ing no advantage beyond the credit of enterprise. In the next year Drusus again crossed to the Lippe, which he bridged, and so reached the Weser, traversing the lands of the Cherusci {Paderharn and JDetmold). The defection of the Chatti in their rear alone prevented the combined attack of all the tribes of central Gei-many. Even as it was, Drusus dared not cross the Weser, and was put in imminent peril during his retreat. He con- trived, however, to turn the danger into a victory, which left the remainder of his march unimpeded except by casual skirmishes. He constructed a fortress on the Lippe at Aliso {Hamm or EUen\ and another to maintain his communications with the Chatti. He then returned to Eome, where he met Tiberius, just amved from a second campaign in Pannonia, the successes of which, whatever they were, were held sufficient to justify an ovation. The same honour was awarded to Drusus. The province of Dalmatia was, however, now made an imperial province — a sure indication that its peacef ulness was as yet anything but assured. § 17. In 10 B.C. Tiberius once more returned to Pan- nonia, where he gained a brilliant victory, and virtually ended the war in that district. Meanwhile, the continued hostility of the more eastward peoj^les of Thrace and Moesia had kept another commander employed. The Thracian Bessi had thrown off their allegiance to Ehescu- poris, a vassal king, son of Cotys, and had driven out both him and his uncle, Ehaemetalces, in 13 b.c. L. Piso, commanding in Pamphylia, took over the war, and after three campaigns was able, in 11 e.g., to declare it ended. Drusus and Augustus both left Eome for Gaul at the same time as did Tiberius for Pannonia. A third cam- paign of Drusus was expended mainly in constructing roads and bridges, and otherwise preparing for a more f 23—9 B.C. 29 serious undertaking in 9 B.C. In that year Drusus was consul. He marched through the lands of the Chatti, and, wheeling northward, crossed the Weser, and raided the Cheruscan territories as far as the Elbe (Albis). There he erected a trophy, and turned back ; but on the march was thrown from his horse, and received injuries so severe that he died thii-ty days later at Castra Scelerata. The arch which was built by senatorial decree at Eome, to commemorate his triumphs, still stands. He had reached the farthest limit of Eoman advance, and had warred without disaster, if with little real result, in the heart of the most independent of the German tribes. His work was taken up and completed by Tiberius. 8 B.C. — 14 A.D. 31 CHAPTER IV. History of the Years 8 B C— 14 A.D. f 1. Second Census and Expurgation of the Senate. — § 2. First and Second Campai.c;-ns of Tiberius in Germany. — § 3. Death of Maecenas; his Hetirement. — § 4. Tiberius, jealous of the young Sons of Agrippa, retires to Rhodes. — $ 5. Introduction of Gaius and Lucius Caosar, and Banishment of Julia. — § G. Armenian Affairs settled by Gaius: Death of Gaius and Lucius.— § 7. Adoption of Tiberius by Augustus. — § 8. Third and Fourth Campaigns of Tiberius in Germany: Reasons for his lack of Energy. — § 9. A projected Attack upon Maroboduus, Prince of the lilarcomanni, interrupted by (§ 10) the Pannonian Revolt : Troubles at Rome : Suppression of the Revolt by Gormanicus. — § 11. The Clades Variana. — § 12. Fifth Campaign of Tiberius in Germany. — § 13. Ilis continued Advancement. — \ 14. Death of Augustus at Nola. § 1. Augustus was himself at Lugdimura {Lyons) when the death of Drusus left the legions of the Gennan frontier without a commander. He summoned Tiberius, freshly home from the subjugation of Pannonia, to assume the vacant command, and himself returned to Rome in the next year (8 u.c.). His imperinm was again renewed for ten years, and ho carried out a second census and expur- gation of the Album Senatormm. The latter was always a distasteful function, as it necessitated the censor's in- curring the hatred of anyone whom he branded by degra- dation. On this occasion the lectio was less rigorously made than on the previous occasion, and many who had lost the money qualification for the position of senators received grants from the Princeps which enabled them to retain their rank. It is possible that he was urged to this leniency by the fact that he had trebled the minimum qualification. § 2. The first advance of Tiberius into Germany was a signal for immediate submission on the part of all the tf* trans-Ehenish tribes, with the exception of the Sugambri. Tiberius referred the envoys to Augustus at Lugdunum, and the latter declared that he would hold no intercourse with them until the Sugambri also sent deputies. The prospect of being made the scapegoats of the whole German nation induced the latter to comply, and Augustus thereupon seized the whole of the envoys and imprisoned them, thus depriving the tribes of their leaders. Tiberius marched unmolested through Germany, and returned to his winter quarters, and thence to Pome, where he celebrated a triumph and entered upon another consulship. In the spring of 7 b.c. he again crossed the Phine, and once more traversed the country without opposition. Pepeated invasion had reduced the whole length of the right bank of the Phine to no better than a desert, which yielded neither plunder nor supjilies to the legions. The campaigns of Drusus had exhausted the resources of Gaul. The bankruptcy, which became the greatest of the difficulties of Tiberius when Emperor, already hampered him. There was no glory to be got in any furiher activity in this quarter, and for the next six years the German tribes lay quiet. § 3. In this year died the second of the gi'eat ministers of Augustus, C. Cilnius Maecenas. For some years he had lived in retirement at his palace on the Collis Esquilinus, surrounded by men of letters, whose society pleased him and whose success was largely due to his patronage. Most famous of his circle was Horace, whom Maecenas first raised from the obscurity of a clerk's office and introduced to the Emperor. People whispered that Augustus had ceased to love his faithful sei-vant — his right hand in peace, as Agrippa had been in war ; and scandal said that Maecenas knew of and was vexed with the open attentions paid to his wife Terentia by the Princeps. Whatever the cause, the two saw little of each other for many years, though Augustus was named legatee in the will of the dead man — a compliment which he regularly looked for and rarely made use of. § 4. The occurrences of the next few years "will be confined, for the most part, to the affairs of the Caesarean RPOBSM I 32 THE EARLY PKINCIPATE. \k family and palace, and might, indeed, be represented in a drama, the scene of which should be a chamber in the imperial residence." Its plot is that of a jealous intrigue, wherein Tiberius and Livia are opposed to the young heirs of Agrippa, the grandsons of the Emperor, Gains and Lucius Caesar. Albeit married to their mother Julia, Tiberius could not but be jealous of the favour in which his stepsons stood. Both had been named Principes Juvent litis, and Gains was now consul-designate for the year 1 b.c, when he would make his Qntvy into public office. Lucius would take the same plunge three yeare later. Moreover, the conduct of Julia, whose profligacy was notorious, disgusted Tiberius, the more as he had been really fond of his first wife, Yipsania, whom he had been constrained to divorce in order to marry Agi'ippa's widow. He was eager to withdraw from a court where his marital troubles were common scandal and where he was in daily contact with the boys who seemed to be supplanting him. In 6 B.C. occurred the outbreak of fresh disturb- ances in Ai-menia. He declined the commission to settle that countr}', but accepted the Trihunitia potestas for five years, and withdrew from Rome, leaving behind him his wife and Drusus, his child by Yipsania. He retired to Rhodes, where he professed a wish to study philosophy.* The command in Armenia was given to Yarns. § 5. In 5 B.C. Augustus held his twelfth consulship, to introduce to the public his elder grandson. Gains; and three years later, 2 B.C., he held that office for the thirteenth time, on the introduction of Lucius. On both occasions he laid it down after a few days and allowed it to pass into the hands of sufPect consuls. The young Caesars were greeted with every mark of enthusiastic popularity;! and the sudden banishment of their mother was all the more startling. It occurred in the very year of Lucius' presenta- tion to the people, and dismissed Julia to the island — or, rather, the rock — of Pandateria, some thirty miles west of Cumae, where she was so closely guarded that none could * Rhodes, like Athens, was one of the Universities of the Roman Empire, and famous for its schools of rhetoric and philosophy. + It was on the occasion of this, nis thirteenth consulship, that Augustus was greeted as Pater Patriae. 8 B.C. 14 A.D. 33 see her, and the commonest necessaries of life were denied her. Her ostensible ofPence was her outrageous licentious- ness, which violated in every detail the efforts of the Prin- ceps to reform the morality of the age. There was possibly a hidden reason of a political value, and the disgrace of several young nobles at the same time points to the fact that she was suspected, if not convicted, of conspiracy. One of her paramours, Julius Antonius, son of Fulvia and the Triumvir, was indicted under the law of Maiestas and put to death. After five years Julia was allowed to reside at Khegium; but she never again entered Rome or saw her family. She left a daughter of her own name, who suffered a like penalty for similar dissoluteness in the year 8 A.D. "^ § 6. In the following year (1 b.c.) Gains Caesar com- menced his political career with a commission to settle the Armenian troubles. Tigranes, whom Tiberius had placed upon the throne in 20 b.c, died in 6 b.c, and his sons had ventured to assume the sovereignty without doing homage for it to Augustus. On Tiberius decHning the task, Yarus drove them out, and placed Ai-tavasdes on the throne. The soiis of Tigranes appealed to Phraates, King of Parthia; and when Ai^tavasdes was soon after expelled by a popular rising, the Parthians placed on the throne a second Tigranes. An attempt to resent the insult ended in a disaster to Yarus or his successor; and Gains was now ordered to reassert the authority of Rome. With him went Lollius, the general whQ had been defeated in Germany, 16 b.c, as his tutor and as Governor of Syria. Gains contented himself for the present with sending orders to Phraates to withdraw, and spent this and the following year in a tour of the southern parts of Asia- Minor and Syria, where he visited Archelaus, Phihp, and Antipas, who had divided between them the kingdom of their father, Herod the Great, whose death occurred in 4 b.c During the course of 2 a.d. Phraates denounced Lollius for selling State secrets, and that gover- nor was condemned. Gains now held a meeting with the Pai-thian king, who undertook to make all satisfaction required for his recent aggressions, and to allow the return ot Artavasdes. But that prince died about the same time; R. 31-96. 3 34 THE EARLY PRINCIPATE. and thereupon Gains agreed to leave Tigranes upon the throne of Armenia, subject to the consent of Augustus. The Princeps, afraid, perhaps, to incur a war with the com- hined forces of Parthia and Armenia, assented to the an-angement; hut nevertheless Tigi-anes provoked an in- vasion, in which Gains advanced to Artagira, which he be- sieged. The governor, Addon, on pretence of arranging a capitulation, obtained an interview with the young Caesar, in the course of which he treacherously stabbed him (3 a.d.). Gains withdrew into Syria and lingered a few months, dying at Limyra in the early part of 4 a.d. Two years previously had died Lucius Caasar, of sickness which had attacked him at Massilia when on the road to Spain; and thus, within twelve months, the two 'props of his empire' whom Augustus had adopted were both carried ofP. Tiberius had returned to Kome, at the repeated entreaties of Livia, in 2 A.D., and was once more left the Emperor's closest relative and supporter. Eumour said that the intrigues of Livia had much to do with the strangely sudden and con- secutive deaths of Lucius and Gains ; but there is little probability in the tale, although she was not a woman to stay her hand in advancing the fortunes of her unpopular son. § 7. Upon Tiberius accordingly fell all the honours which had lately promised to pass to the dead youths. He was at once adopted by Augustus, together with Agrippa Postu- mus, the surviving son of Agi-ippa. Tiberius could view such a rival without jealousy, for he already showed a gaiicherie and a lack of iotelligence which disgusted his adoptive father. The trihmitia potestas of Tiberius was renewed for another term of five years, and an immediate opening for military exploits was found for him on the German frontier. Augustus did not forget that the Principate had sprung from the power of the sword ; and he foresaw that Eome was not yet prepared to welcome a Princeps who could not found his claims on victories and support them by the respect of his legions. § 8. As early as the year 1 B.C., the tribes between the Visurgis ( Weser) and the lower waters of the Rhine had again taken up arms. The Roman legions were com- 8 B.C. — 14 A.D. 35 »-^»- ' I manded by Vinicius, who seems, at any rate, to have suffered no disgrace if he made no headway. To end the struggle, Tiberius hurried to the scene and speedily over- ran the lands of the Bructeri, Canninefates, and Cherusci, all of whom submitted. He spent some months in securing his conquests by roads, bridges, and military camps, hoping to set at permanent peace a country so often subdued in vain. In the year 5 a.d. he advanced beyond the Weser and pushed forward to the Elbe. His plans were admir- ably laid. A large fleet, conveying supplies, dropped down the Rhine, coasted along Friesland, and sailed up the Elbe, where they were joined by the land army, which had struck straight through the heart of northern Germany to that river. The natives ventured only once to make a stand, and were easily defeated. Tiberius received the title of Impemtor for the third time, for the reduction of the Chauci and Langobardi (the ancestors of the Lombards) ; but all further action in this quarter was intermitted. In fact, there were not funds to maintain it. It has been said above that the German wars brought no return in booty to recruit the State chest; and the same was true in the case of most of the vast army of legions stationed as garrisons throughout the empire. Their maintenance was a necessity, but an expensive one ; and, combined with the heavy losses annually incurred by the corn-doles, it had already emptied the exchequer. § 9. There remained a more formidable power with which to deal. The Marcomanni, on retiring from the Agri Becumates, withdrew to the valleys of the Moldau and Upper Elbe, the modern Bohemia, and there under the command of their chief Maroboduus, himself schooled in war and politics by a long residence in Rome, they became a powerful federation whose forces mustered 70,000 foot and 4,000 cavalry, trained on the Roman plan. Such neighbours were a standing menace to the Danube frontier, and accordingly an excuse for war was found in 6 a.d. Tiberius, now transferred to the command of the Pannonian legions, marched northward upon the centre of Maroboduus' kingdom, while simultaneously another army moved to the same goal from the Upper Rhine, commanded by Gn. 36 THE EAKLY PRINCIPATE. Sentius Saturninus whose exploits iu the previous year, as lieutenant of Tiberius, had won for him the triumphal ornaments. The two columns were already within striking distance when the news came that all Fannonia and Dalmatia were once more in revolt. A peace was hastily patched up with Maroboduus, who thus lost the opportunity of inflicting a mighty blow upon the empire in conjunction with the revolted nations in the rear of Tiberius' ai-my. § 10. This last and most dangerous revolt of the Dal- matico-Pannonian tribes was caused by the severity of Messalinus in levying fresh native troops to support the advance of Tiberius against the Marcomanni. There was, besides, the stock grievance of oppression, and now, headed by the Dalmatian chiefs Bato and Pinnes and the Panno- nian Bato, they rose en masse in the rear of Tiberius. The Eoman fortresses had been weakened by the withdrawal of 80 many legionaries beyond the Danube, and the first attacks of the insurgents were successful. They failed as a rule when venturing to assault foi-tified camps, but they ravaged the country far and near, and the victory of Aulus Caecina Severus which saved Sirmium from the Pannonians was fully as costly as a defeat. The Dacians and Sar- matians joined the revolt and threatened the Eoman lines on the Lower Danube. The Illyrians contemplated the invasion of Italy, which contained no regular garrison save the praetorians. At Eome there was great alarm. The veterans were called to arms from their allotments in all parts of Italy ; the very slaves were armed. The state of the city had for some time been restless. As early as 4 a.d. one Gnaeus Cornelius Cinna, a grandson of Pompeius Maximus, had been detected in a conspiracy immediately after the third lectio senatiis which occurred in that year, and had been freely pardoned. Since then the difficulty of providing for the corn-doles had increased, and the city had at one time been threatened with a panic. The legionaries, too, had been clamouring for higher pay and privileges, and to meet some part of the expense of his large military establishment the Princeps had established the Aerarium Militare^ a fund for pro\'idiiig discharged soldiers with pensions, the means 8 B.C. — 14 A.D. 37 1) I j for which were raised by the institution of two taxes. One was a tax of one per cent, on aU sales, the other an impost of five per cent, on inheritances. They were the first direct taxes laid upon the privileged Eomans for more than a century, and met with considerable opposition, which expressed it- self in incendiary fires and seditious placards. At this time was established the first urban police or night patrol. The new troops were put under the command of Ger- manicus, son of Drusus and nephew of Tiberius, who had been adopted by Tiberius at Augustus' request. In the course of 7 a.d. he recovered part of Dalmatia, while Tiberius again overran Pannonia, and the advance of Severus, the legate of Moesia, pressed the revolted tribes on a third side. The struggle dragged on during two years more, before Germanicus could declare the revolt entirely quelled and its leaders captured or slain. The last tribes to hold out were those of Dalmatia, which did not submit completely until 9 a.d., two years later than the subjection of Pannonia. §11. Meanwhile Augustus found himself beset on every side with treachery. A slave named Telephus attempted to assassinate him, and a second conspiracy was organized by some freedmen who wished to set on the throne Agrippa Postumus. That son of Agrippa had been banished in 6 a.d. to the island of Planasia, near Elba, more because of Livia's jealousy than his own shoi-t- comings. In this conspiracy was implicated the younger Julia, who had inherited her mother's licentiousness, and was also banished under the Lex Maiestatis. To crown all came the news of a national disaster in the summer of 9 A.D. The command in Germany had devolved upon P. Quinctilius Varus, who had excited wide discontent by his attempts to enforce too speedily the fuU exercise of Eoman procedure in a province as yet only half subdued. Though many of the Gemians had taken sei'vice in the legions they still cherished their national systems of law and custom, and when Yarns endeavoured to introduce Eoman laws and police and manners, he found himself the object of a conspiracy led by Arminius {Hermann)^ son of Segimerus, chief of the Cherusci. He had long I T II iW 38 THE EARLY PRIXCIPATE. resided at Home, liad been presented with the citizensliip, and had become a member of the Equestrian Order. Ai-minius, who was joined by other chiefs, had married Thusnelda, daughter of Segestes. against her father's will, and the latter warned Varus of the treachery which threatened him. Varus paid no attention to his warnings, but advanced into the wildest parts of Central Germany, the Teutoburgiensis 8altus {IVutohurger Wald), The report of a rising of the southern tribes in his rear induced him to wheel about and endeavour to cross a low-lying district, now rendered almost impassable by the autumn rains. Up to this i)oint Arminius had remained with the legions, disguising his treachery. He now quitted the camp on pretence of seeking reinforcements, and at once placed himself at the head of his warriors, and in person led them to the attack. For three days the legions struggled to escape. Then Varus committed suicide, and the remnant of his soldiers were cut down almost to a man. Three entire legions with all their stores and auxiliaries were thus destroyed, a total of at least 20,000 men, and the three eagles were hung up as trophies in the gi'oves of the German deities. The few who escaped were sheltered by Asprenas, who commanded two legions on the left bank of the Ehine, and whose firm attitude alone prevented the invasion of Gaul. § 12. This disaster summoned Tiberius once again to GeiTQany. He expended a whole year in recruiting fresh legions and doing everything to replace the loss of Varus' ai-my. At last, in 1 1 a.d., he once more entered Germany. He met with no opposition, nor did he, on his part, seek it by pushing the enemy to their last strongholds. His army traversed the country for a whole summer without the loss of a man, and at the close of the year, when he returned to Eome to celebrate a triumph for his Pannonian victories, he left behind him no trace of the recent disaster. Nevertheless, Augustus mourned for liis legions with a regret worthy of the 'Father of his Country;' nor was it until the reign of Tiberius that Geiinanicus recovered (15 a.d.) the lost eagles and buried the bones of the fallen legionaries. For the present that 8 B.C. — 14 A.D. 39 commander was left in charge of the conibined armies of Upper and Lower Germany, eight legions in all. § 13. Tiberius was now beyond doubt the heii'-elect to the Principate. In 13 a.d., the imperium of Augustus was again renewed for five years, and at the same time Tiberius' trihunitia potestas was prolonged for a like period, and by a special law the imperium proconsulare was bestowed upon him. This virtually made him partner with Augustus in the government, and indeed the Emperor, now seventy- five years of age, needed someone to lighten the burden of his duties. At the same time was created a regular cabinet council of twenty senators, who held their place for twelve months at a time. There had abeady existed the nucleus of such a council; but its members were changed every six months, and their authority was less real. It was the policy of Augustus indeed to retain all the nobility of Eome within the city, where they could not escape his watchfulness, and he had amused them by the show of influence which they possessed as his pri^y councillors. § 14. The year 14 a.d. commenced with a new scrutiny of the senatorial list and a general census of the Eomau world, at which were returned 4,097,000 inhabitants. Tiberius shared the powers of censor with the Princeps, and then made preparations to resume command of the army in Illyricum. Meanwhile, Augustus employed him- self ni drawmg up a record of his deeds and reign, and copies of this were placed in the public archives. One such has been preserved to us on the walls of a ruined temple at Ancyra, and is hence called Monumentum A ncyranum. An account of this valuable inscription will be found below in Chapter VI. When Tiberius had completed his prepara- tions, Augustus accompanied him as far as Beneventum, but contracted a dysentery duiing the journey ; and though he recovered for the moment, and retired, as usually in the malarious summer months, towards Campania, the sickness retui-ned and prostrated him at Nola. Livia despatched messengers to summon Tiberius; but it is uncertain whether the successor anived in time to see Augustus alive. 'Have I played my rdle well?' asked the dpng r 40 THE EARLY PBINCIPATE. man of his friends about him. 'If so, applaud me at its close.' He died August 19, 14 a.d., at the age of seventy- seven years all but thirty-seven days, having been bom on September 23, 63 b.c, in the consulship of Cicero, his predecessor in the title of Paier Patriae. fl ill I «• V CHAPTEE V. The Augustan Constitution and Legislation. $ 1. The New Constitution; the Friuceps. — § 2. The rroconsulare Imperium. — § 3. The title Imperator. — § 4. Bestowal of the Frocon- sulare Imperium. — § 5. The Frinceps and the Consulship.— § 6. The Tribunitia Fotestas. — § 7. How bestowed. — § 8. The Censorship. — § 9. Fontifex Maximiis. — § 10. Legislative power of the Frinceps. — 6 11. Judicial power of the Frinceps. — § 12. Other titles and dignities. — § 13. Choice of a successor. — § 14. The Republican Magistracies under the Empire: Elections.— § 15. The Consuls.— § 16. The Tribunes.— § 17. The Praetors.— § 18. The Aediles.— § 19. The Quaestors. — ^ 20. Minor magistracies. — ^ 21. New Imperial offices. — § 22. The Senate.— § 23. The £quites.—§ 24. The Flebs.—^ 25. Division of the Pro^dnces. — § 26. Finance : The Revenues : Aerarium and Fiscus.—§ 27. Bankrupt condition of the Aerarium. — § 28. The Dyarchy. — § 29. Likeness and unlikeness of the Augustan Consti- tution to that of Julius. — ^ 30. Legislation of Augustus : the lex Maiestatis. — § 31. Lex Fapia Foppaea. — § 32. Sumptuary Law. § 1. The death of Augustus seems a fitting time for a g3neral review of the new constitution he left behind. Though not free from controverted questions, its general lines are clear. In theory the Emperor was merely a citizen who wfii^prmms inter pares, in fact he was a military despot. But the time of the open and undisguised monarchy has not come, and as yet we tind, in form at least, the dyarchy of Emperor and Senate. Augustus, ever diplomatic, avoided the title rex, which every Roman hated with hereditary hatred; and as the doings of Sulla and of Julius Caesar had left dictator in bad odour, he chose a name with none of these unrepublican associations. Princepa, the Emperor's distinctive title, not to be confused with Princeps Senatus (see above p. 14), implies no particular power or office, but stands rather for the com- bination of powers and offices which make him the head of the Roman State, Princeps civitatis."^ *The two following inscriptions (quoted from Furncaiix' Tacitus) give the titles of ( Jctavianus in 29 b.c, and at the close of his life :— (fl) Imp(erator) Caesar, Divi Tuli f^ilius), co(n)s(ul) design (atus) sext(um), imp(erator) sept(imum). [b) Imp(erator) Caesar, Divi Pilius,, Augustus, rontif(ex; Maxim;us), co'n)8(ul) xiii., Inip>erator, xx., Tribunic ia^ Potestat e, xxxvni, P ater) P(atriae). 42 THE EARLY PRIXCIPATE. THE COXSTITUTION. 43 M I y § 2. The centre of gravity of the Priucipate was the proconmlare imperium. The penuanent constitution of the Empire begins in Jan. 27 B.C., when Augustus, or Caesar as he was still called, on offering to lay down the extra- ordinary powers which remained to him from the Trium- virate, received the proconsulare imperium for ten years, which subsequent renewals made virtually peimanent. Unlike the ordinary Proconsul, the Princeps did not lay down his imperium on entering Pome, and so far from being limited to a particular province it was coextensive with the Empire. Moreover, as holding an imperium which was maius or superior to that of the Proconsuls, the Princeps was supreme throughout the Empire. Such an unlimited imperium was not a complete innovation, that given to Pompeius under the Gabinian and Manilian Laws (67 and 66 B.C.) being unrestricted as to area, though as regarded authority only coordinate with and not superior to that of other Proconsuls. How far the proconsular power was exercised in Pome and Italy is doubtful. Probably Pome and possibly Italy were excluded from its sphere. By virtue of his proconsulare imperium^ of which, strangely enough, the Jfotiumentum Ancyranum contains no mention, the Princeps had exclusive control of the army in Imperial and Senatorial provinces alike ; with him rested the levying, paj'ment and dismissal of troops and the appointment of officers, and it was to him exclusively that the legions, and later the whole population throughout the empire, took the sacramentum or oath of allegiance. The supreme command of the fleet and con- sequent control of the seas and coasts were liis. It was he who declared war, made treaties of peace or alliance, and represented the State in aU its international relations. § 3. Closely connected with the imperium is the title of Imperator, two different uses of which should be distinguished. The word in the lirst instance means "possessor of imperium,^^ which properly is the highest magisterial power, implying both judicial and military functions. The magistrate is really Imperator on the j udicial bench, but the title is never used of him in his civil capacity, and the word imperiu7n tends to indicate merely *'the right to command an army." After a victory the general was often saluted as Imperator 1 by his soldiers on the field and from that moment he was so addressed and added the title after his name. The Princeps was commander-in-chief of the army, whether actually with it in the field or not, and so anj'- victory gained by his legions was accounted to the credit, not of the legatus in actual com- mand, but of the supreme Imperator^ and the troops hailed as Imperator not the officer who had led them to victory, — unless he happened to be the Emperor's colleague in iliQ pro- consulare imperium, — but the Princeps whose face they had possibly never seen. Up to the last year of his reign Augustus had been so saluted twenty times. But besides this use of the title, dating from Pepublican times, we find Imperator used by Augustus and most of liis successors as a praenomen to indicate permanent possession of the proconsulare imperium. Julius had continually called himself Imperator during the last fourteen years of his life, and his nephew and heir seems to have treated the title as part of the name he inherited. § 4. It is important to note how this proconsulare imperium, on which the Princeps' position really depended, was bestowed. Though in theory a power delegated by the sovereign people, the comitia had no voice in the matter. A senatorial decree conferred the imperium and the title of Imperator given by the soldiers to a candidate for the Priu- cipate was strictly invalid till confirmed by the Senate. But before long it was discovered that "an Emperor could be made elsewhere than at Pome." The legions were not slow to see that they were masters of the situation, and the Senate had no choice but to elect the candidate who had the army at his back. The Princeps, as holding the proconsulare imperium and the title of Imperator, has the right to allot conquered lands and grant the citizenshij) to deserving allies ; he is always in the position of a victor, and so may wear a laurel crown ; he may be attended in the city by an armed guard, like that of a general on service, a praetoria cohors of mercenaries, in- valuable for overawing Pome, but at times a source of danger to their master. Under the early empire the proconsulare imperium is shared with relatives, prospective successors and even favoui'ites, e.g., by Augustus with Agrippa and Tiberius lAMita 44 THE EAKLY PRINCIPATE. THE CONSTITUTION. 45 i - and in a modified form with Germanicus. Blaesus (22 a.d.) was the last subject to be saluted as Lnperator, and by Domitian's time the title belonged strictly to the head of the state and denoted absolute power. It lost its special signification and became synonymous with Princeps as the Emperor's title. § 5. The Princeps as such was not Consul, nor was Con- sular power an integral part of the Principate. At the conclusion of his eleventh Considship in 23 B.C., Augustus laid down the ofiice which he only held twice subsequently (5 B.C. and 2 B.C.), on each occasion for the purpose of introducing a grandson to public life. The common eiTor, finally refuted by Mommsen, that the Princeps possessed the Conmlaris potestas rests on a statement of Dion Cassius to the effect that with the offer of the cura legum et morum in 19 B.C. Augustus received Consular power for life. Of such bestowal nothing is said in the Ifommentum Ancyramimy nor is the considan's potestas claimed by any later Emperor. Moreover we know that in 22 b.c. Augustus refused the offer of the perpetual Considship. Probably Dion Cassius is referring to a decree giving Augustus the right merely to the insignia of a Consul. § 6. The proconsulare imperium was too much a power of the sword to satisfj' Augustus, who aimed at complete personal sovereignty at home and abroad disguised under Republican forms. His government required a popular element such as was represented by the Tribunes of the People in the days of the Republic. Charged with the duty of protecting poor citizens against the oppression of magistrates the Tribunes possessed inviolability of pei^soii, as well as wide powers of veto and legislative initiative. Here, then, was the office in which the Princeps could at once pose as the patron of the populace and secure the needed complement to his proconsulare imperium. But no patrician, as Augustus was, could be a Tribune, and there- fore he refrained from actually taking the office, in the tenure of which, moreover, he would have had the disad- vantage of nine colleagues, each with a power of veto. The powers of the office were therefore separated fi'om the office itself, and the former alone conferred on the Princeps. In 23 B.C. (after holding it for nine successive years) Augustus resigned his Consulship, which now ceased to be a necessary constituent of the Imperial power, and took the full tribunitia potestas which he previously had held in some modified form from 36 b.c. He dates from this the years of his reign, shewing that he regarded his assumption of the full Tribunitian power as the completion of the new constitution. His tribunitia potestas had all the strength with none of the weakness of the old Tribunate. The history of the later Republic had shewn that a Tribune was handicapped by the liability to a colleagues' veto, by the fact that he held office for a year only and by the lack of armed force to support his acts. From all these drawbacks the Princeps as holder of the tribunitia potestas was free. The Tribunes proper could not veto his acts, he held office for life and he had the army at his back. As ^'Tacitus says, the trihunitia potestas was "a title of supreme power devised by Augustus so that without assuming the name of king or dictator he might be elevated above all other authority.'* By virtue of it his person was inviolate, he had an almost unlimited right of intercessio or veto, and could summon meetings of the Senate, bring questions before it, and stop its proceedings at will. From the Tribune's power on appeal to prevent a judicial decision being carried into effect, sprang the important civil and criminal appellate jurisdiction of the Emperor. § 7. The fiction of the popular will was kept up in the formalities necessary for the bestowal of the tribunitia potestas, for it was only conferred by the people in comitia passing a lex which confirmed a preliminary resolution of the Senate. The lex de imperio Fespasiani, parts of which are extant, confers not only the tribunitia potestas proper, but various other powers and privileges not belonging to the Tribune's office, which had been granted to the Princeps. The Tribunitian power as being, in Rome at any rate, the very foundation of the Principate was rarely shared except with an heir designate. Augustus granted it only to Agrippa and Tiberius for fixed periods, Tiberius only to his son Drusus. •Annals III., 56, 2. 46 THE EARLY PRINCIPATE. § 8. The Princeps was not actually Censor. Augustus consistently refused the office, which would have given him formal control over the constitution of the Senate, and so have destroyed the semblance of senatorial independence which it was his policy to keep up. In 22 B.C. he declined the perpetual censorship, but appointed two censors who were the last citizens to hold the office. Three vears later he refused the cura legum et nwmm which would have included full censorial power. But though not formally Censor, the Princeps had the Censor's powers ready to hand whenever he chose to assume them. Augustus thrice held a census popnli and a lectio senattis, once as Consul and twice in virtue of Ccmsular powers decreed temporarily for that purpose ; both he and his successors remove unworthy members from the album senatorium or list of senators, revise the jury lists, hold the census equitum, and undei*take other censorial functions such as the charge of public buildings. § 9. The death of Lepidus (12 B.C.) enabled Augustus to add to his titles that of Poiitifex Maxinms. He thus obtained control of the State worship, and added religious authority to his civil and military power. His object, how- ever, was political rather than religious. It was part of his pohcy to revive the old religion and strengthen his own position by a closer union between Church and State. He was not only Pontifex Maxmus, but a member of the other priestly colleges. He built numerous temples and vainly endeavoured to check the progress of the Jewish and other Eastei-n rites, which were fast superseding the national religion. His successors retained the office of Pontifex Maxinms, till a Christian emperor bestowed it on the Bishop of Pome. § 10. The legislative and judicial power of the Princeps increased as time went on. As possessing the trihunitia potestas he could from the first introduce a proposal to the comitia, but he had no right to make laws directly. As a matter of fact, however, he tends to become the sole source of law, and ultimately supersedes both Senate and Populus. Special enactments authorized him to bestow (by leges datae) various rights, especially on colonies. The ius edice?idi or right to issue edicts which he possessed, soon produced a THE COXSTITUTION. 47 body of legislation, called const itutionesj and these, though valid only for the life of the Princeps who issued them, were generally confinned after his death. §11. Not only is the Princeps the source of law, he is also the foimtain of justice, both criminal and civil. He might try any case in a private court of his own either as sole judge or with a small body of assessors [consilium) to aid him. • This authority, however, he exercised usually only where offenders of high rank were concerned. In all cases he was the ultimate Court of Appeal and the power of pardon, vested in the people by an old law of the Republic, has in effect "passed to the Caesar, as in some sense their representative." The majority of cases were still dealt with by the Praetors' Courts or the Senate, but even here the Princeps was all-powerful. In the Senate he could deliver that first sententia which was virtually equivalent to a command to be obeyed by the rest. He scrutinized and revised the list oijudices and frequently sat in person in the Praetor's Court as an assessor. Finally, should any sentence be passed against his wishes, he possessed the Tribune's right to protect the condemned from the action of the law. § 12. In addition to the offices which gave real power, the Princeps possessed various titles and dignities of an ornamental character. The bestowal of the name Augustus has already been noted (above p. 13). It was a title of honour always assumed by Emperors on their accession and borne only by them. A prospective successor might be called Caesar, but never Augustus. The title of Pater Patriae was foi-mally accorded to Augustus (b.c. 2) and was usually given to his successors, though Tiberius refused it. The image of the Princeps appeared on coins, his birthday was a public festival, he wore a laurel-wreath, was attended by lictors, sat on a sella curulis, was allowed an ai-med guard, and after his death was woi*shipped as a god. § 13. The Princeps was thus in fact the head of the State, but he was by no means an irresponsible despot of the Oriental type. He was as yet only primus inter pares, and probably subject to all laws from which he was not ex- pressly exempted. And he could only indirectly select his wmmmrmr^sm 48 THE EARLY PKIXCIPATE. * fe successor. The Principate was elective, at any rate in theory, and the choice lay with the Senate. The preceding Emperor could do much to guide the selection of a successor. The person he left as his heir had a strong claim t(j succeed to his political powers, especiall}- if he had been associated with him in the tnhmittia potestas or proco7isulare impermm or both, as Tiberius was with Augustus. Practically, therefore, the Principate tends to become hereditary, and, ceteris paribus, the nearest of kin to the deceased Emperor has the best claim to become his successor. § 1 4. The various magistracies for the most part lasted on from Kepublican to Imperial times unchanged in name and with little seeming change of functions, but although, as ♦Tacitus says of the best days of Tiberius, "Consuls and Praetors had their proper state, even the lesser magistrates had their powers in exercise," yet the offices were "mere names," and had lost for ever their power of initiative and real control. The elections of magistrates, though ostensibl}' free, were largely controlled by the Princeps, who could always secure the return of the candidates he favoured. He had the right of commendatio or "recommending" a fixed proportion of candidates whose election was assured, and besides these candidati Caesar is, who must be returned, he could by virtue of the right of nominatio vested in a chief magistrate declare certain candidates to be qualified to stand, and those so "nominated " would be sure of success. § 15. The Consulship, though not subject to commendatio, was entirely resei-\^ed for the Emperor's nominees and occasionally assimied by the Princeps himself. In order to gratify a larger number with the honour, the office was rarely tenable for a year — in later times two months became a favourite term so as to allow of twelve Consuls in the year. Not content with this multiplication of Consules sujfecti the Emperor often qestowed the ornamenta consularia, which gave the recipient the title of co7isularis, though he had never held the office. Though a political nullity the Consulship was still nominally the most exalted of dignities, valuable as an evidence of Imperial favour, and as a stepping-stone to the government of the greater provinces. The Consuls could *Tac. Annals, iv. 6. 3. .*!,»._ A. K > THE CONSTITUTION. 49 still issue edicts to the people, and presided both at the comitia and at meetings of the Senate, whether deliberative or judicial. From the time of Tiberius onwards the Consuls and other magistrates are elected not by the Comitia but by the Senate, an important change which seems to have been very easily effected. The Censorship as a separate office ceased to exist under Augustus (see above, § 8). § 16. The ten Tribunes of the Plehs, though overshadowed by the trihunitia potestas held by the Princeps, and at times by his heir designate, retained some show of their ancient power, and might even exercise their inter cessio-, but any inclination to act independently and contrary to the Emperor's pleasure was promptly checked. They were generally selected from ex-Quaestors, and Augustus entrusted to them, along with the Praetors and Aediles, the superintendence of the fourteen regiones into which he divided the city. § 17. The Praetors, increased by Julius Caesar to sixteen, numbered twelve under the Early Empire. They still discharged such of their original judicial functions as were not transferred to the Senate or the Praefectus Urhis. The aerarium, which under the Repubhc was in charge of the Uuaestors, was by Augustus entrusted to the care of the Praetors, who also received the cura ludorum or charge of the public games, a duty foiTuerl}^ discharged by the Aediles. As leading to the government of the lesser provinces, the Praetorship was an office much sought for. § 18. The tendency under the Empire was to relieve the Aediles of their duties, e.g., the cura annonae passed to the Fraefectus annonae and the cura ludorum to the Praetors. They thus retained merely certain municipal powers to regulate markets and prices, to inspect st?'eets, baths, and taverns, and to act as literary censors. This transfer of the more important functions once exercised by the Aediles explains the lack of candidates for the office. Augustus more than once selected persons by lot, and compelled them to serve. § 19. The Quaestorship, as admitting to senatorial rank, was always in request. The charge of the aera/rium was again given to the Quaestors by Claudius, but once more R. 31-96. 4 dO THE EARLY PRINCirATE. taken away by Nero. From the time of Claudius too, all Quaestors at the hegiuning of their term of office were required to give gladiatorial games to the people at their own expense, — an arrangement which had the effect of debarring all but the wealthiest men from holding the position. § 20. Certain subordinate non-senatorial magistracies held before the Quaestorship, and styled the Vigintiviratm, included four boards: (1) Tresiiri capitaleH^ who executed capital sentences; (2) Tresviri monetaleH^ who controlled the mint ; (3) Quatuorviri viis in urhe purgandis, the road com- missioners ; (4) Decemviri stlitibus Judicandis, an old court. These were retained, though the Emperor's prMfecti con- tinually encroached upon their province. § 21. Side by side with the older magistracies arose others bestowed by the Princeps and often possessed of far more real power. These were filled mainly by members of the Equestrian order. The Praefectus Urhi^ was a temporary official who in early times acted as the Consul's deputy during his absence from Rome. Augustus revived the office, which under Tiberius became permanent. The powers of the PraefeduH Urhis were wide and formidable. He could exclude from the city any whom he deemed disaffected, and his sphere of authority in certain matters extended to a distance of 100 miles from the city walls. The post of Praefectus Praetorio or Commander of the Imperial body- guard, as Sejanus shewed, might become the most formid- able in Rome. The Praefectus vigilum, in command of the watch, and the Praefectiis annonm, to whom was committed the charge of the com supply, were likewise important officials. The financial interests of the Princeps were attended to by numerous Procuratores. § 22. Under the early Empire the Senate takes an im- portant position. Perceiving that a small body would be easier to manipulate than the many-headed multitude, Augustus reversed the policy of Julius, and tried in every way to restore the dignity and increase the influence of the Senate. He reduced its numbers to 600, and raised the roperty qualification for membership to 1,000,000 sesterces, ts decrees obtained the force of laws. Under the presidency I THE CONSTITUTIOX. 51 1 1 ^i h of the Consuls it formed a supreme Court of Justice It shared with the Princeps the rule of the Provinces, it had a separate treasury, and under Tiberius, as we have seen (§ 15), obtained the right to elect the magistrates, which had hitherto belonged to the comitia. Practically, however the Emperor controlled the Senate's constitution and decisions Admission was obtained either through office, the elections to which he influenced as he chose, or by the nomination {adlectio) of the Princeps acting as Censor. He annually revised the list of Senators, was himself a member, and possessed the right of introducing measures {relatio) and of veto. The Dyarchy of the Princeps and Senate was thus little more than a fiction. § 23. The Equestrian order was reorganized by Augustus The quahfymg rating was fixed at 400,000 sesterces, and various privileges such as special seats at the theatre and games, and the right to wear a gold ring, belonged to its members. The more aristocratic of their number, who possessed a senatorial rating, but preferred, like Maecenas to remain Equites, formed an exclusive body known as Equites Splendidi or Illustres. The Equites had lost most of the opportunities for money-making which the taxfarminff system of the Republic gave them, but certain offices notably the important Praefecturae considered in § 21, were reserved for them, and under Augustus three-fourths of the ]udice8 were drawn from their ranks. The annual procession on the Ides of July, was revived and the order honoured by haying Gains and Lucius Caesar at its head as Principes ttiventutis. § 24. The political importance of the Pleh becomes con- tinually less. The comitia soon lost all real power, and the Roman populace degenerated into an idle, shiftless mob clamouring for partem et circeme.'^, and ready to obey any ruler who would feed and amuse them. § 25. To keep in his own hands the control of the military forces, Augustus, in 27 b.c, divided the provinces into Imperial and Senatorial. The former were such as needed the presence of a military force, and therefore the exercise of imperium, to protect them from external enemies or to curb their internal turbulence The Senatorial provinces 52 THE EARLY PRIXCIPATE. }■ I) on the contrary, were those which were so peaceful as to need no military establishment, and were, as a rule, the most flourishing and wealthy portions of the empire. If by chance any small body of troops was stationed there, their commander, albeit appointed by the Senate, was entirely amenable to the authority of the Princeps. The Pix)consuls who governed the Senatorial provinces were ex-consuls and ex-Praetors with Quaestors in atten- dance. They received a fixed salary from the treasury and their extortions were checked by the presence of an Imperial officer — the Procurator fisci. Of the Imperial provinces the Princeps is the proconsul by virtue of his proconsulare imperium^ and the acting governor is his Legatus, who holds office during the Caesar's pleasure. All new conquests become Imperial provinces, and the distinction lasted till the time of Diocletian, 300 years later. § 26. The duality of government extended to Finance. Besides the aerarium^ or old State treasury which the senate retained, there was now i\\^fiscufi or imperial treasury, into which was paid the revenue fi'om the Caesarean provinces. The revenues of the State were derived from the old sources. The rental of the old Ager Publicus grew to be a land-tax {trihutum soli) collected from all parts of the empire outside Italy, and falling on aU who possessed any landed property. Its amount, fixed definitely for all, was one- tenth of the produce in grain, one-fifth of that in wine and oil. It was paid in certain places in coin, in others, as in the case of Sicily, always in kind. Such taxable subjects as had no land were taxed under a poll-tax assessed on their incomes {trihutum capitis). The old Eepublican vec- tigalia still continued, duties on imported goods, harbour- dues, commissions on the manufacture of salt, mining-dues, and fees for the enjoyment of the public pastures. The revenues from these various sources were collected on a double system. In the senatorial provinces the Aquites still farmed the indirect taxes and collected them for the senatorial quaestores by the aid of puhlicani. In the imperial provinces the collection was in the hands of the Frocuratores Fisci. The quaestors were, as of old, answer- able to the Senate for their levies, which went into the P) THE CONSTITUTION. 53 aerarium and were expended in the payment of the pro- consuls and other salaried"^ functionaries, the maintenance of roads and erection of public buildings. The procuratores paid their receipts to the Jlscus, which was applied to the maintenance of the imperial administration, and so to the payment of the legions. In time the aerarium was gradually absorbed in the Jiscm^ and hence it was that the taxable world came to be regarded as the property of the Caesar, and the Caesar as the owner of the world. The aerarium militare, established by Augustus to provide retiring pensions for veterans, and supported by the 1 per cent, tax on sales {centesima rerum venalium) and the 5 per cent, on inheritani^es (vicesima hereditatum), remained always a distinct chest. § 27. Though the expenses of the aerarium were origin- ally but small, the system of payment which now gradually grew up swamped much of its revenues, and public works and poor relief more than consumed the balance. Augustus found it necessary to subsidize the aerarium repeatedly from the fiscus^ and this, too, although the expenses of the latter chest were at the outset far more heavy. On the fiscus fell the maintenance of the whole imperial household, wdth its slaves, clerks, and secretaries, of the legati and prociiratores, and of the entire military force, fleets, legions, and citizen troops alike. The manage- ment of the aerarium, obviously an important matter, seems to have been continually unsatisfactory, and frequent changes were made (see §§ 17, 19, above). § 28. While, then, the ordinary course of government, legislature and justice, went on as in the best days of the Republic, side by side ran a parallel authority, that of the Emperor. The Constitution was now in form a Dyarchy, or government by two independent but harmonious powers. On the one side, the old Republican machinery retained outwardly its full dignity and much of its authority; on the other side, the Princeps, proclaiming himself always the servant of the State, exercised an authority in all its branches constitutional, and yet in fact superior to that of the traditional power. The Princeps moved his laws in the * The word salary is derived from the charge levied upon the Republican pro- vinces to defray the cost of the salt of the proconsul {saf, salarium). 54 THE EARLY PRIXCIPATE. Senate just as did any other legislator hefore him, and the rescripts which he issued from time to time were only con- foiTuable to his many recognised powers. The imperial court of justice was in full accord with traditional right, and with the senatorial and praetorian judicature. The same dualism extended to finance, to religion, and to foreign affairs. The Pontificate of the Princeps was merely a jnece of the ordinary religious system of the State. His govern- ment of the imperial provinces was balanced by the Senate's control in provinces non-imperial. The financial arrange- ments of the two orders of provinces were divided in the same way. And to keep up the fiction of his entire sub- mission to the 'Eepublic one and indivisible,' Augustus occasionally consulted the Senate on matters which legiti- mately lay entirely in in his own control. Nevertheless, as we have seen, he maintained a firm hold upon the slightest action of the Senate and comitia. To him belonged the ^power of the sword, and veiy largely the power of the purse, and instead of the soldier-chief in a free state he is a military despot with autocratic power veiled under legal and Eepublican names. § 29. The influence of the example of Julius is traceable in many features of the Augustan constitution. From him came the practice of accumulating in one person many hitherto separate offices, of severing the powers of an office from the office itself, of appointing the succession to the minor offices many years in advance, and of controlling the elections by ' nomination ; ' the bestowal of the insignia of an office or rank, such as those of the consulate or a triumj^h, without the reality; the creation of new Patricians, and admission of foreigners to the Senate ; the attempt to diminish the numbers of those in receipt of the corn-dole ; the reappointment of the Praefectus Urbis ; the substitution of edicts or rescripts for foi-mal laws, — all these came from the mind of Julius. On the other hand, it was the originality of Augustus, in contradiction to Caesar's policy, to aggi-andize the Senate ; to maintain the fiction of the Eepublic as still active; to allow of no patent departure from ancient routine in office and administration ; and to suppress, at least in public, the deification of himself. >J LEGISLATION. 55 § 30. The legislation of Augustus was confined mainly to laws regulating social abuses. In other parts of government his rescripts or edicts, while seemingly mere suggestions, came to usurp the place of leges and nenatm eomulta, and were afterwards collected as the 'Constitu- tions of Augustus.' The laws, however, properly so-called, passed in due form according to the ancient Eepublican constitution, were those of Treason {Maiestatis), of the regulation of Marriage {Papia Poppaea), and a sumptuary law {de sumptu). By maiestas (in its earlier and fuller form laesa maiestas) was understood any offence against the majesty of the State, any action, that is, derogatory to the dignity of the Eoman people. Under the Eepublic such offences had been provided for originally by the old laws against perduellio, which included the betrayal of armies, collusion with an enemy, and in general merely military mis- demeanoui's. In 100 b.c. the Lex Appuleia, and the Leges Varia (91 B.C.) and Cornelia (of Sulla, 81 b.c), extended the name maiestas to other offences; and Julius also passed a law on the same lines. It remained for the Emperors to enlarge the application of the law so as to reach even words, and under Tiberius almost any offence could with a little ingenuity be brought within the scope of the Lex Maiestatis. Under it men were accused of con- spiracy, of false swearing by Caesar's name, of defacing statues of Caesar, of immorality with members of the Caesarean house. In this last point Augustus set the example, it was said, in his treatment of his daughter Juha. That he did enlarge the bearings of the law is certain ; but it was an engine of power which he rarely used, and it remained rather an in terrorem weapon than a reality during his lifetime. It became, of course, nothing more or less than a privilegium enabling the Caesar to veil his own cruelties under the guise of zeal for the honour of the State, since the Princeps was now the embodiment of the State. § 31. The Lex Papia Poppaea of 9 a.d. was a sweeping law directed against the growth of celibacy. Even in the days of Julius some legislation had been necessary I 56 II THE EAliLY PRINCIPATE. to check the decrease of population consequent on civil war and the decay of marriage. Augustus found the evil still greater when, in 28 B.C., he first essayed its cure. His measures were, however, so fiercely opposed that he dropped them either wholly or in part ; and after a second, half -hearted, attempt by a Lex Julia in 18 b.c, he finally earned the law which took its name from the two consuls of the year 9 a.d. By this law the inter- marriage of senators or the sons of senators with freed women was forbidden; a tax was laid upon celibates and spinstei-s, and privileges and rewards offered to the parents of three or more children; the citizens of Italian towns could purchase the full franchise by tlie possession of three children, and, like the Romans, could earn exemption from numerous duties, such as the charge of wards {tutela). Freedmen were included in the law, and could on the same tei-ms obtain exemption from their obligations to theiT p(dronu8. Divorce was hindered, unlawful marriages invalidated, and immorality heavily punished. Eewards were offered for information which led to conviction under this law, and hence arose the practice of ''delation" so terrible under Tiberius, when it was transferred to offences under the Lex Maiedatu. The delator was a public in- foiTiier, who prosecuted in hopes of rewards from the Princeps or of being bought off by bribes by his victim. Many of the provisions of the preceding law related to inheritance and legacies, and are sometimes alluded to under the title of the Lex Caducaria, § 32. The Sumptuary law was passed in 22 b.c, and aimed at suppressing the reckless extravagance of the table prevalent amongst the upper classes. Like most other laws of the same kind, it was a failure ; and the evil gradually died a natural death. Nevertheless it was always part of the dream of Augustus to restore something of the traditional simplicity and austerity of Roman manners and morals ; and hence arose the severity with which he visited their licentiousness upon the two Julias, and, according to some, the banishment of Ovid the poet who was dismissed t« Tomi {Kmtendjeh) on the Euxine, in the year 8 a.d. ^ CHAPTER VI. The Provinces. $ 1. Augustus not a Conqueror.— § 2. Extent and Division of the Empire at his Death.— § 3. Double Method of dealing with Con- quered Pro^^nces: The Census and Taxation alone Uniform — § 4 Vanous Grades of Civic Liberty.— § 5. The Spanish Provinces.— } 6. The Gaulish Provinces.— § 7. Egypt.— § 8. Value of the Mili- tary' Colonies of the Frontier.— § 9. The Breviarium Impm-iu—k 10. The Monumentum Ancyranum. § 1. The process by which many new provinces were brought under the Roman rule has been detailed in the earlier chapters of this book. The vast inheritance which the empire rec^eived from the Republic was not greatly extended by its first rulers. It was the policy of Augustus rather to consolidate than enlarge his empire ; and the few^ provinces which were added to the empire during his reign came into his hands peaceably upon the death of the vassal princes who had hitherto held them. The Spanish, German, Dalmatian and Pannonian wars were fought for the sake of security, not of conquest; and even the occupa- tion of Rhaetia and Noricum, though it formed an actual extension of the limits of the empire, was necessary rather than voluntary, in order to secure a defensible frontier. Roughly speaking, the boundaries of the empire on the death of Augustus were on the west the Atlantic, on the north the Rhine and Danube, on the east the Euphrates. On the south there was no definite limit, nor was it needed in the peaceful state of the tribes of Africa. § 2. The list of the imperial provinces in 14 a.d. com- prises Hispania Tarraconensis, and Lusitania ; Gallia Lug- dunensis, Aquitania, and Belgica; the Germanies; Rhaetia 58 THE EARLY PRINCIPATE. and Noricuin ; Vindelicia, Dalinatia, Pannonia Illvncun. eluded Gallia NarboUsTnispania Baet: ETthv' ma Crete and Gyrene, Africa, Numidia, Sic U^ Co^ifa and" ISb r wl^'-; ''"''* ^''^ ""'^^■- senatorial control S MaSJa^xrp":°rror *Da^T r^''^ "'' imperial province aft^tt ^gS revSf Te" ^^^t occupied a peculiar position which will be exnlaWd ¥f gulent and less productive i^t.^f'^g^^^Z § 3. The Romans had two methods of dealing with « T^TsiZT'luT? '' ""^ ''^^'^ with 'in^du7gl: reli^ on !I^ ^ ■ ^"^ *°™"" •=*"« *e national customs up hyVeuZilT-roa?s ^nS ^C" ^1^017: "'''''' thi EoSansl^'nrr *'"' 1^' assessment for taxation assiSon tJT ^' °"' ^""y systematic process of assimilation. Local government retained its distiictivene^ 7 V l< THE PROVINCES. 59 \f\.fl ^ n ;, *^^ ^"'P"'''' """^y differing in the degree of liberty allowed, or according as the pro4ce was indXed or coerced In the latter case the governor of the piSe took into his own hand the mass of the judicial buSne^s of the country, and annuaUy performed a circm't in S he visited the principal tow„s in succession and theie held ! ..«..««* or assize. In the former case, only the more impor ant htigation was submitted to the ^ward of Roman magistrates In either case, the bulk of the provS towns adopted the system of municipal government which presMeTov. '" ^'^^^l ^^''\*^■? '^'^e* ■"afistrates (c _•« 00 CO o X '^ ^ CO CHAPTER VII. History of the Years 14—17 A.D. Augustus-} 3 Mffid^' St K " Tiberius on the Demise of * « T? i/^ ?, L'" -L'isattectioii m the Armv Its (^«iiooc \ 8. Revolt of the Pannonian and of (K Q\^\^n^ ' -^^^^^^^^s— Caesaf The *• ''% f *^ ^'^'''' »* Cicero aid of studded w;i 1 *^ "^ ^"g'^^'"^. brilliant as it was, and stuaaed with illustnous names, is vet one of the l^oJ+ mtemstmg epochs in authentic histon- "fis simnlv th * narrative of the deeds of Augustus, and^o no one eZ^ The Pnnceps was too strong and too confident to allow of anv Metia anrC "'^t''' "^™- ^^"PP'^ and SecenaT Messala and Taurus, MarceUus, the children of Aerinm Lma and the two Julias, are aU so many mutetWh^ monologue wherein Augustus is the actor^ Scarcely any ^U all the others. AuSutTas thele ^Tth^Cr and m him centred all interest, leaving none to spare foi^ " SuZstus tZ""' "'^ ^"iT ''^^'^y rr^oreot the character out^rrife src^thi^ir-f^srsSe- M. 31-96. c 66 THE EARLY PKIXCIPATE. down to US chronicled in the pages of historians who were masters of cliaracter-sketchiug. ^ 2. Summoned to the deathbed of Augustus at JNola, Tihorius arrived to find himself, at the age of fifty-six years, the chosen successor of his deceased stepfather. The fact that he had been adopted into the family of Augustus was proof that, so far as one man's choice could decide, he was to he heir to the principate. But the position was one of unusual difficulty. Hithei-to there had been no such thing as succession to the position left vacant by Augustus' death. That position had been won by the merits of him who filled it, with the assent of nine-tenths of the world ; and he had held it with scrupulous punctilio, only as the servant of the state. Who, then, was to decide upon the €Ourse of events now^ that he was dead ? The evils which had made his autocracy imperative were past ; why not restore the republic, which had slumbered, not perished, under his rule ? Or if autocracy must still endure, who was to appoint a second Princeps? By what right could Augustus, himself the sei-vant of the state, devolve the govermnent upon a person of his own choosing ? And if his choice was not to be held valid, who was to name a i^uccessor ? Did that power lie with the senate, or with the people, or with both ? And finally, when that point was decided, there remained the most difficult problem of all— who should be chosen ? Would the pride of the nobles brook anv peaceful succession to that supremacy which Augustus 'had wielded by virtue of the sword? Would not the populace and armies alike set up their own favourite — possibly Germanicus, the son of Drusus ? Last of all, what personal title had the adopted son of Augustus to the prin- cipate, the sterner stepson of a stern father, a mere general of more prowess and genius than popularity, not more noble than his fellows of the houses of Domitius, of Metellus, or of Cornelius ? § 3. Of all these perplexities Tiberius was well aware. It may be questioned whether he really cared sufficiently for his inheritance to have asserted his right to it by force, had necessity arisen. In his retirement to Ehodes he had shown that at any rate he did not care to play the rival in 14—17 A.D. 67 * an old man's affections to the young Caesars. But what- ever his own feelings, those of his mother were decided. She had been working towards this end for years ; and now when the reward of her efforts was within her reach, it found her fully prepared. She kept secret all news of the demise of Augustus, surrounding herself with guards of her own selection and ordering, until Tiberius himself arrived to take over his rightful duties as son of the dead man and commander-in-chief of the entire military forces of Eome, by virtue of his proconsular imperium. The course of events now rested with him rather than with her. But Tiberius showed no rash haste — indeed, no eagerness — in asserting himself as Princeps. He was well aware how^ much Julius had lost, how much Augustus had gained, by contempt for, or deference towards, the forms of consti tutional law. Augustus had, indeed, reached the throne by the help of the sword, but his seat thereon had been ratified and detei-mined by the senate in conclave. There was no excuse for violence now, if the senate would but show itself as amenable as before. Tiberius accordingly summoned that body to decide what honours should be paid to the dead man. That point settled, their thoughts naturally turned to his successor. Tiberius expressed no wish for empire. If they would have him as their Emperor, he was ready to do his best; if they desired to follow any other course, he was indifferent. The senators devolved upon Tiberius by regular process all the powers and privileges of the late Princeps, and so established the double precedent that the nomination of an Emperor rested ^dth themselves, and that the validity of an Empei-or's title was secured by the Lex Regia, the Act by which they ratified their choice. § 4. As a matter of fact, Tiberius' hesitation to thrust liimself forward had little real ground. It was due to the apprehension that Rome was anxious to restore once more the government of the senate and comitia. But Rome had no such desire. The populace, as a whole, gained too much by the new government to wish for a reversion to the alternate aristocratic jobbery and mob-rule of the later republic. The provinces suj^ported the principate heart and soul, and with far better cause. The army was 'i 68 THE EARLY PRINCIPATE. not yet prepared to disregard the oath by which it had tendered allegiance to the partner of Augustus' powers, and, in gi-eat part, it even loved Tiberius, whose brilliant services in Asia, in Pannoiiia, and in Germany, had upheld the honour of Eome without reverse. Gennanicus was a possible, but far from a probable rival; and the same was true of Drusus, the son of Tiberius b}' Julia, and so grandson of Augustus. But the good sense of Eome was not yet so utterly dead, that the merit earned by thirty years of indefatigable sei-vice had no claims in her eyes. What Tiberius feared was that stubborn aristocracy of blood which Julius had sought to repress by sternness and Augustus by diplomacy. Yet there was no one of them all who could have ventured to assert himself ; not one who liad at his command an}i:hing woi'thy of the name of a party; and all were so jealous of their equality that they would have preferred to submit to the supremacy of Tiberius, with its show of claim, however slight, rather than to that of any of their own number — all equally proud, but all equally reduced to acknowledging the late Emperor as their superior. § 5. The first act of the new Princeps was to publish and execute the will of Augustus. Continual advances to the aerarium had so far drained the purse of the Caesar that his property was found to be of no extraordinary amount. Nevei-theless, he directed large legacies to be paid to the people, the thirty-five tribes, the praetorians, urban-guards, and legionaries, the latter of whom received 300 sesterces each. Personal friends received further testimonies of his good will ; and the balance of his estate was divided be- tween Tiberius and Li via, the latter receiving one-third. The funeral was conducted with due pomp, although Tiberius interfered to prevent an excessive show of adula- tion, saying that he did not wish his own private sorrows to be a burden to his people. In a similar spirit he de- clined many of the compliments which the senate hastened to lavish upon himself, and while accepting the title of Augusta for his mother, refused to accept for her the designation of Mater Patriae. For Gei'manicus he asked the proconmlare imperiam ; his own son Drusus 14 — 17 A.I). 69 I T I ^ ; he was content to see consul-designate for the ensuing year. § 6. The commencement of the reign was shadowed by the death of Agrippa Postiimus, the youngest and ' brutish' son of Agrippa. He had been imprisoned for some years in the island of Planasia, near Elba, seemingly because of his open disregard for that higher morality which Augustus had striven to inculcate by his own example. On the very day of his grandfather's death, a centurion, acting on orders brought by Sallustius Crispus, executed the prisoner. Prom whom the order came can never be known. Pro- bably Livia was answerable for it. A few months later occurred an event which, had it happened sooner, would have amply justified such a measure ; and it is possible that Livia, or even Augustus, was aware of a conspiracy*^ which aimed at setting up such a despicable claimant as a candidate for the principate, for there is a story that the latter gave orders to have his prisoner removed at the in- stant of his own death. We only know that no inquiry was made into the murder, although Tiberius, on receiving news that ' what he had ordered was done,' emphatically denied having given such an order, and threatened that a public investigation should be held. In the same year died the elder Julia, the banished wife of Tiberius. Her death, like that of Agrippa, is unhesitatingly laid to the charge of Tiberius by both Tacitus and Suetonius ; but there is no evidence for the statement, and even if it were true, the fact of her having once intrigued against a strong and settled government is some excuse for severe measures on the part of a new^ ruler, w hose position was, as yet, in- secure. § 7. But men's attention was soon turned to the more menacing attitude of the legions. The news of the death of Augustus had been marked by a brief relaxation of dis- cipline in the camps of the three legions which garrisoned Pannonia. Brief as the respite was, it gave time for the slumbering discontent of the veterans to awake. The maintenance of his enonnous army had been not the * There seems to be as much likelihood far the existence of such a conspiracj' as for those which are alleged to have centred round the two Julias, one of whom was the mother, the other a sister, of Agrippa Postumus. 70 THE EARLY PKINCirATE. smallest of Augustus' anxieties, and the merely financial difficulties of the question had been comj^licated more than once by mutinous murmurimgs at the long sendee and slight rewards of the defenders of the frontiers. The largesses which had been the exi)ected rights of the legionaries under the command of a Pompeius, an Antonius, or an Octavian, who dej^ended each entirely upon his army, were no longer practicable. There were no more Alexandrias to sack, no more rivals whose offers nmst be outbidden at any cost. The service was reduced to a monotonous garrison duty in the face of the enemy, varied only by profitless incursions into regions never rich, and long since drained of their scanty booty in previous campaigns. Yearly the difiiculty of recruiting the ranks for so uninviting a service became gi-eater, and in place of Italians, the legions were filled by Gauls, Pannonians, Asiatics — even Geraians and other peoples as yet unconquered. A veteran became too valuable to be lost, and the old practice of granting earl}- discharge was evaded upon any plausible excuse. Twenty years was the nominal limit of service exacted by Augustus ; but, in fact, it extended even to foi-ty years, and even if discharge was ostensibly granted at an earlier date, the soldier was not suffered to leave the cantonments, but was retained mb vexillo — a kind of reserve-man, freed indeed from the more arduous duties of the common private, but still without any tangible reward for his labours. The few who were so fortunate as to obtain such rewards received not money, or the grant of rich lauds in Italy, but uninviting allotments near the frontiers — 'scraps of marsh and mountain' — which offered little of rest and ease to their owners. All these grievances were intensified by the contrast offered in the case of the praetorian guards. They enjoyed the sun and pleasures of Eome; they had no enemies to chastise or to guard against day and night; their discharge came without fail at the close of the- sixteenth year; and their pay for such trifling toils as they endured was double that of the hard-worked legionary. In a word, they were the pampered and useless pets of dn Emperor who allowed his real defenders to starve and toil unrewarded. § 8. The three Pannonian legions, headed by one Percen- I ^ ) 14—17 A.D. 71 nius, an old hanger-on of the Roman theatres, maltreated their officers, refused to obey orders, and were with difficult}' persuaded to refrain from more violent measures, while representatives were despatched to Eome to lay their claims before the new Princeps. Tiberius' position was critical. The mutineers must be disarmed at all costs, and that too before their disaffection could spread. There was indeed one element of safety in that the Pannonian legions had no high-born or ambitious leader round whom to rally; but in Germany there were eight legions who idolized Germanicus, it was said, and he was connected by marriage with that disaffected house of which came Postumus and the Julias. And at Pome there was the ' wolf which Tiberius held by the ears, ' the turbulent nobility ; and there was no Agrippa or Maecenas in whose hands to leave the home-government while he was absent himself. The Princeps could not leave the city in person. He despatched his son Drusus to the Pannonian mutineers with as large a body of praetorians and urban-guards as could be spared, and bade him stay by timely concessions the spread of dis- affection. For a moment it seemed that even liis birth and rank would not avail Drusus. He was stoned and insulted, and on the point of abandoning his mission, when an eclipse of the moon intervened. The mutineers, already alarmed at their own violence, saw therein the displeasure of the gods they had wronged. They threw themselves on the mercy of Drusus, who ordered the ringleaders to be put to death. § 9. At the same moment the greater pai-t of the Rhine- guard rose in mutiny. Four legions, the garrison of Lower Germany, whose headquarters were among the Ubii, defied their commander, the legate A. Oaecina, and made the same demands as their comrades in Pannonia. Here the sedition was fomented by the rabble of undisciplined townsmen and slaves with whom Augustus had recruited the German army after the disaster of Varus, and the situation was the more dangerous from the readiness of the German tribes to take instant advantage of the troubles of their enemies and cross the E-hrue. Even Gaul was disaffected, worn out and weary of incessant military sendee, conscriptions, and im- 72 THE EARLY PRINCIPATE. posts. Geniianieus, cress the terrible engine of Augustus' creation, and his own fostering. It was in vain; and despairing of further efforts, he suffered the nobles to have their way. Such cases as were of liis own institution— and such, of course, occurred — he tried by the aid of his privy council at Capreae. He could grimly smile to see the 'wolves,' whom he had once dreaded, now tearing each other's throats. § 13. In the year 35 a.d. troubles again occurred in the East. The Ai-menian throne had once more been left vacant, and Artabanus, the Parthian, at once placed upon it a son of his own. The Armenians appealed against such usurpation, and Tiberius, determined to arrange matters without the cost of Eoman blood if possible, secretly prompted Mithradates, the Iberian, to seize that kingdom, while he instructed L. Yitellius, legatus of Syria, to set up Phraates, brother of Vonones, as King of Pai-thia. Phraates died before the design could be executed, but another claimant was found in Tiridates, who advanced upon Seleucia under the escort of Yitellius. Artabanus was un- able to resist. His endeavour to prevent Mithradates' advance upon Armenia had been disastrously defeated. His son was expelled by the Iberian, and in his turn he was himself now driven from Parthia, and his crown passed to Tiridates, 36 a. d. The new king was barely set upon the throne, however, when the Parthian nobles, taking ad- vantage of the withdrawal of Yitellius and his legions, recalled Artabanus and drove Tiridates out with little trouble. The latter retired to Syria, and for the present things remained as they were. Yitellius was busied at the moment with the suppression of a revolt in Cappadocia, where the Clitae, long a vassal people, had rebelled against the imposition of regular tribute according to the imperial census. § 14. The health of Tiberius had long been failing, and speculation was rife as to who should succeed him. But three members of the once numerous house of the Caesars now remained ; one was Gains, the youngest son of Ger- manicus, the Caligula of the Rhine legions ; the second was Claudius, brother of Germanicus, and so uncle of Gains ; 23 — 37 A.D. 97 the third was Tiberius, surnamed Gemellus, eldest and only surviving son of Drusus, and so grandson of Tiberius. Of these thi-ee GemeUus was nearest by blood, Gams the next in relationship. Claudius' claim was too distant to be ot importance, even had he cared to press it; the issue lay be- tween the two younger men. But to those who l^^ew that Gains was the tool of Macro, there could be little doubt of the result. Tiberius himself was probably aware how small were the chances of his grandson's safety. 'You will kill him,' he said to Gains, 'and another will kiU you. On March 16, 37 a.d., the Princeps awoke from a death-like stupor to find his room deserted. He endeavoured to rise, and the sound of his movements brought Macro, Gams, and others quickly to his side. But whether they found hmi already dead, or whether, as it was whispered, Macro guided Gaius' hands as he heaped the bedclothes over the dying Emperor's head, is one of the problems to which no answer can ever be given. Tiberius died aged seventy-seven years and one person possibly mourned for him— his lil-tated grandson, Gemellus. H. 31-96. I ■ ■ CHAPTER X. The Character and Government of Tiberius. § 1. Authorities for the Character of Tiberius: Prejudice against him probably overdrawn.— § 2. The Four Stages in his Character accord- ing to Tacitus. — § 3. Difficulties of his Position : Misgovernment rather Senatorial than his own. — § 4. His Alleged Debauchery. — ^ 5. His Reserve: His Parsimony and its Explanation. — § 6. His Treatment of the Pro\-incials : The Abolition of the Comitia CentU' riata, and its Effect on the Provinces.— § 7. Instances of his Good Government Abroad, and {§ 8) at Home. — § 9. Opinion of the Pro- vincials on his Reign. § 1 . The character of the second Emperor of Eome has only of late years received the attention it deserves, and even yet it is far from impartially weighed by most of those who examine it. So firmly was the tradition of the pride and aiTogance of the Olaudii rooted in the minds of Romans and their historians ancient and modem, that this alone was thought sufficient cause for any atrocities that could he laid to the charge of Tiberius. But 'the rubbish- heap of tradition ' has been better sifted of late, and there is even a class of sifters ready, Midas like, to convert into gold all that they take up as dross. To strike a balance between the two is, perhaps, the safest, if not a quite satisfactory, course. Of the four historians who give any detailed account of the reign — Suetonius, Dio Cassius, Tacitus, and Velleius Paterculus — all save the last picture Tiberius as a monster of iniquity. In Suetonius he is merely brutal ; in Cassius, brutal, but capable of better things in a fitful way; in Tacitus, mere brutality is replaced by a cold-blooded hypocrisy, a calculating delight in giving pain, which is, as it stands, incredible. He ruled for three-and-twenty years, CHARACTER AiiD GOVERNMENT OF TIBERIUS. 99 ■i and died in all likelihood a natural death ; and therein is the surest answer to such absolute condemnation. He must have had many supporters, a hand as strong and a wit as keen as cruel, to escape the tyrant's fate; for Romans were not yet accustomed to an absolutism like that of Dionysius, and the safeguards of an Oriental despot were not yet gathered round the head of the Roman Empire. It is absurd to suppose that even delation could have prevented a coup which should have driven him from the throne, had the citizens hated him as universally as Tacitus would have us believe. We know that he did little to conciliate the friendship even of the legions and praetorians. Yet either these must have held in check the vengeance of the popu- lace, or the populace have restrained the soldiery, or, finally, both classes alike must liave been satisfied to endure his government. And many things show that the latter was really the case. The schemes of Clemens and Curtisius met with no support ; even Piso, the noblest of the nobles, found no f(jllowers in his daring. Those who plotted were consistently members of the aristocracy ; and the execra- tions which greeted the fallen Sejanus are proofs that his conspiracy had no favour with the masses. The very praetorians, whom he fancied to be his sworn auxiliaries, preferred to see him fall rather than to strike the one slight blow which would have made him master of the State. § 2. Tacitus distinguishes four periods of Tiberius' life, each marked by its own characteristics. The first com- prises his entire life up to his accession at the age of fifty- six, a period in which the whole character of the man must have been definitely formed, though slight changes may have supervened. Of this period Tacitus says 'in life and good name he was a pattern.'* What were the events of these years has been shown at large in the history of Augustus' reign. They were enough in their labours and variable prospects, in the alternate favour and disfavour of the Princeps, to have discovered all that was bad in an ordinary man. Yet Tiberius was a loyal and successful soldier, whose very strictness made him respected by the *'Egregiiim vita famaque.' t 100 THE EARLY PRIXCIPATE. legions he led to victor}^ ; and the chagi'in under which he withdrew to Rhodes, when he saw himself superseded by two untiied, inexperienced striplings, was surely excusable. The next period, 14 — 23 a.d., is summarized as one of * dark and craft}' policy, cloaked by the pretence of recti- tude,'* due to fear of Geraianicus and of his own son Drusus. Yet his whole treatment of Geiinanicus was marked by confidence and good polic}" ; and the story that he recalled a successful general from the Rhine through jealousy is based on the false assumption that Germanicus icas successful, and is as untenable as the story that Piso was sent out to Asia on pui-pose to harass, or even remove, the son of Agrippa. As to Drusus, we have seen that he was no great favourite — certainly no rival to hisfatlier.f Thirdl}'. during the years 23 — 29 a.d., Tacitus merely says that ' his mother's presence kept him haK-way between good and e\al,'J and adds that the history of those years is but a naked list of ' cruel mandates, ceaseless accusations, treacheries of friend to friend.' Yet this was the time when there seemed to be a revival of the old regrets for the republic and of outspoken discontent, for which Cremutius Cordus, Votienus, and Cassius Severus suffered. It was the time, too, when Sejanus' ascendancy was most marked, and his instruments, the delatores, were increasingly active. Yet w^e have Tacitus' own word that the Princeps was active in the maintenance of public morals, quick to punish the sale of justice, and even to investigate in person the scene of an alleged murder, still anxious to curb the headlong adulation of the senate. Convictions were, undoubtedly, more numerous ; but we do not know how far the senate was responsible for them rather than the Princeps. Th(^ fourth and last stage was one 'of execrable cruelty, in which vices, at first veiled, broke out at length, on Sejanus' fall, into open licentiousness. '§ But the cruelty may have been necessary to complete that security which demanded the removal of Sejanus and Agripj)ina ; and amid the long * 'Occultum et subdolum fingendis virtutibus.' t A pretended Drusus appeared in Asia. 32 a.d., but met with no support; he claimed however to be the younger Drusus. t ' Inter bona malaque mixtus incolumi matre.' \ ' Intestabilis saevitia, sed obtectis libidinibus dum Seianum dilexit timuitve : postremo in scelera simvil ac dedecora prorupit.' CHARACTER AXD GOVERXMEXT OF TIBERIUS. 101 p- 1 ' list of trials which Tacitus gives there are still instances of pardon and mercy and of undeniable justice, and the historian himself mentions men whose rectitude of life kept them safe even through the perils of that reign of terror. Moreover, the influence of Macro was now little less than had been that of Sejanus, and we know he was hated fully as bitterly. § 3. Pliny describes Tiberius as 'the very saddest of men.' For fifty-six years he lived in peril and continual disappointment; he succeeded to an empire not yet moulded to tractability, wherein his every word, be it ever so well- meant, was misinterpreted by a conceited nobility that sheltered its own mediocrity behind evil-speaking and per- versity ; the one man whom he dared to trust abused his confidence; the senate he strove to keep in honour degraded itself in spite of his efforts ; from first to last he lived apart, continually misunderstood, continually disappointed. If he was stern in his private life he earned the name of meanness, and the insinuation of secret vice. If he checked the boasted justice of the senate, he was averred to be trampling on their rights. It was not surprising if at last he withdrew, as Augustus once did, from the scene of such disappointments, and suffered the folly of the nobles to take its own course. The writers of history in the ancient world were always of the noble class; little wonder that thej^saw^ fit to make the Princeps the scapegoat of that cruelty which was their own. It may weU have been that disappointment bred cynicism, and that cynicism prompted the sterner hand of his last years. 'Let them hate, so they approve me,' he had once said ; if their approval was to be won by nothing less than bloodshed, he might fairly suffer them at length to indulge their taste for blood. § 4. Of the hideous vices attributed to him little need be said. Capreae was pictured as the scene of outrages which defy description, the Emperor as a monster for whom no debauchery was too horrible. If • he drank — and the soldiers nicknamed him Caldius Biberius Mero* — ^that was but a small sin; and Pliny says, he was sober to asceticism • A pun on the name Claudius Tiberius Nero—* a drunkard who took his wine hot and undilut^.* 102 THE EARLY PRINCIPATE. in his later years. But could a man of his age so alter? If he did, could he have lived so long? Unfortunately there have been found at Capreae the painted and sculptured pictures of the very same atrocities with which Tiberius is charged. But after Tiberius came Nero, whose crimes were not even veiled, and Capreae may have owed its relics to the years of that principate.* In any case Roman society was too rotten, root and branch, to be able to cast a stone at the moral character of its ruler. § 5. Probably Tiberius' foremost sin was his dislike of society ; his second, his affectation of a bygone simplicity which even Augustus had failed appreciably to enforce. Augustus was simple in his domestic habits, but he was sociable; and his table provided conviviality, on no mean scale, to his favourites and acquaintances. But Tiberius was long past the time to grow into the society man when the empire at length devolved upon him ; and so his asceticism only gained the name of parsimony, his seclusion that of shame. Even the rabble felt in some degree this seclusion, for they no longer enjoyed the continual and gorgeous shows which the first emperor had carefully kept up. Tiberius was too diffident to court public ai)plause, and rarely showed himself in the theatre or circus. Strange conduct if the sight of human suffering was his gTeatest pleasure, for a Nero could find his chief est delight within the arena of the Colosseum or circus. The simple explana- tion of such public parsimony is that the bankruptcy with which the State had been threatened in Augustus' time was now a reality. Abroad were twenty -five legions to be fed, and clothed, and paid; at home was the hungry mob requiring its regular largess of corn. There was every- thing to pay for and little to pay with. This fact forced Tiberius to withdraw the legions from beyond the Rhine; and the same reason compelled him to forego the public shows. The mob must have its bread, but it must go with- out its games. Private individuals could and did stiU supply entertainments at their own cost. The same reason again prevented the furtherance of * The Romans always had a lurkinsr love for Xero, and may have set down what was due to him, or to some other later Emperor, as the doing of Tiberius. CHARACTER AND GOVERXMEXT OF TIBERIUS. 103 ) Augustus' designs for imj^roving Rome. The enormous architectural works which he had projected or begun now came to a standstill because there was no money with which to continue them. The historians saw and noted the fact ; belonging as they did to the prodigal, ostentatious nobles, they never suggested the reason — necessary economy. § 6. If we turn from Rome to the pro\^nces we may find proof enough of the success of Tiberius' administration. The same blessings which had attended Augustus' rule con- tinued under that of his successor, in so much that, not content with erecting temples to Divus Augustus and Rome, the provincials raised them now to Tiberius while still on earth. When they made public application for his per- mission, he could modestly decline if he saw fit — his enemies said forsooth it was the mark of a mean spirit not to seize greedih^ upon the honours due to a God! — but the non- official worship of the Princeps was now a recognised cult. The conduct of later Emperors who proclaimed themselves gods in Rome itself, and demanded adoration as the kin of the Tyndaridae, is in striking contrast to the attitude of Tiberius. Meanwhile, he kept vigilant watch over the conduct of his legates and of the proconsuls, and cases of prosecu- tion for malversation have been already cited; and it has been remarked that the larger number of such cases are concerned with senatorial governors. In the later years of his reign the old man grew less energetic, and, in con- trast to the policy of his predecessor, allowed the same officer to retain his position for man}' years. Augustus' policy had changed them often, and so had provided official prizes for many candidates ; Tiberius, in leaving these prizes long in the same hands, diminished the number of those who could win them, and so was charged with slothful negligence. His very sternness in checking extortion earned him nothing but ill-will amongst the greedy nobility of Rome. His motto was that 'the shepherd must shear, not flay, his sheep.' It was not unusual for a senatorial province to petition for its transfer to imperial control, as in the cases of Achaea and Macedonia, 16 ad. And here it must be mentioned that Tiberius' control over the pro- 104 THE EAKI>Y PRINCIPATE. vincial officei-s was more effective than had been that of Augustus — at least, in a negative way. In the very year of his accession he had quietly done away with the last remnant of popular suffrage, the comitia for the election of (consuls, etc. The fact that it was so quietly done shows how careless were the people of their time-honoured privilege, and shows too how far Augustus had succeeded in rendering such a step ine\'itahle. The consuls and praetors were now elected bv the senate. The candidates 'recom- mended ' by the Princeps for the praetorship were sure of election, and though direct commendatio for the consulship dates only from Nero's reign, the emperor's support was equivalent to a command; and thus the Princeps could control the list of those who would in succession claim the honours of a provincial proconsulate or praetor- ship. In this one act is summed up virtually the whole result of Tiberius' j)rincipate on the constitution. It was the natural sequel to the policy of Augustus ; it seemingly aggrandized the senate, while in reality it clinched the fetters with which the Emperor now controlled the entire State. § 7. In 17 A.D. Tiberius directed public aid to be given to twelve cities of Asia Minor, which had suffered from a violent earthquake. It was, he said, a national calamity. In 21 A.D. he passed a law allowing provincial governors to be accompanied by their wives, using language which shows him, however, to have been well aware that the wives were even more addicted to arrogant behaviour than their con- sorts, and less easy to punish. Still, to have forbidden their presence would, he said, be a remedy worse than the disease. In the following year he severely commented on the abuse of the right of asylum common in Eastern towns, and restricted its practice. He carefidly reviewed a ques- tion of boundary which arose between two small Grecian states in 25 a.d Such are a few instances of his regard for provincial feeling and well-being. § 8. He put down the licentiousness of the worship of Isis in Pome ; repressed the turbulence of theatrical factions, and forbade the degradation of Pomans by their courting actors, and even in person performing on the stage; expelled the astrologers, and severely punished many of their number. CHAKACTER AXD GOVERNMENT OF TIBERIUS. 105 ■*> V He passed various sumptuary laws ; enforced the Lex Papia Poppaea] visited with 'old-fashioned' severity the profli- gacy of women; assisted certain noble families which had become impoverished, and showed a stern justice in refusing to repeat similar acts of munificence, in cases in which the generosity of Augustus had failed in its object by reason of the un worthiness of the recipient. He was munificent in his assistance when fires devastated Pome, regulated the price of corn with the usual loss to his own purse, and success- fully dealt with a severe financial crisis in Italy. He interested himself in the proper management of the law- courts, in the privileges and duties of the Vestals and the flamens, and put an effective stop to the licence bred of familiarity with Livia. Such were some of his recorded measures at home. § 9. Two writers have left us their verdict on the foreign administration of this reign — Philo and Joseplius, both Jews ; and both extol it as just, wise, and eminently advantageous to the provincials. And the best corrobora- tion of their words is to be found in the general peaceful- ness of the provinces. There was but one provincial rebellion properly so called — that of Sacrovir and Florus; and that, as we have seen, was a legacy from the previous reign. The case of Tacfarinas is no evidence on the point; he was merely a nomad freebooter. The roads were main- tained, the market-dues fixed, brigandage suppressed, the legions kej)t in good discipline. Commerce flourished extensively. From Alexandria came the corn of Egyj^t and the spices of Arabia ; from Asia Minor the rich stuffs and art produce of the East. Slavery became less promi- nent as the slave-hunting peoples were annexed and put under the protpction of Pome, while manumission at home relieved the serfdom of donipstic life. And all this was the work or the charge of one mind, which shared the burden of its manifold duties with scarce one coadjutor, which abominated a bureaucracy such as relieves most rulers of wide territories, and which has been branded as the very vilest of the vile.* •Tacitus got much of his material from the private journals of Agrippina II., who was of course this Emperor's enemy. Gaius made a speech to prove that the Senate, not Tiberius, was answerable for the cruelties of the time. THAPTEE XI. Gaius: 37—41 A.D. § 1. The Family of the Caeisars — § 2. Early Life of Gaias ; his Accession — s^ 3. Tiberius Gemellus set aside — § 4. Popularity of Graius ; Soundness of his Early Measures — § 5. His Regard for his Kinsmen — ^ 6. The Birthday Celebrations ; Gaius falls Sick — § 7. His Sudden Lunacy and Excesses— § 8. His Orientalism ; he declares himself a God : Mission of Philo the Jew— ^^ 9. Buildings of Gaius; his Bridge at Bauli — § 10. His Proscription of the Senators and Nobles; he le^'ies New Taxes on Italy — ^ 1 1 . He ^'isits the Rhine and Gaul ; the British Expedition — § 12. Conspii-acy of Chaerea and Ass- assination of Gaius — ^ 13. Probable Exaggeration in the Accounts of of this Reign ; Criticism on the Rhenish and British Expeditions. § 1 . The family of Geriuanicus, remarkable for its num- bers at a time when even penal laws were unable to enforce the proper duties of paternity, had numbered nine children. Of these three had died in infancy, and two more had perished under Tiberius ; but there still remained three daughters, Agi-ipjiiua, Drusilla, and Livia, and one son, Gaius. Moreover, the brother of Germanicus, Claudius, was still alive ; and his sister Livia, the instrument of Sejanus and the murderess of her husband Driisus, had left one child, who bore his grandfather's name, Tiberius, sumamed Gemellus. Between Gaius and Gemellus lay the choice of a successor; and the dying 'lion,' fain perhaps to make what amends he cotdd for the murder of the child's father, named Gemellus co-heir with his cousin. He knew that the younger claimant had little to hope for : ' Gaius wiU kill you,' he said, ' and another will kill him.' § 2. Gaius Caesar, now twent^'-four years old, was born at Antium, in all probability in 12 a.d., and accompanied his father to the Rhine frontier, where the legionaries GAIUS : 37 — 41 A.D. 107 made him their pet and nicknamed him Caligula " little top-boots." After his father's death he remained at Rome under the care of his grandmother, Antonia, until sum- moned to Capreae to wait upon his grand-uncle's failing health. There he witnessed the fall of his elder brothers, Nero and Drusus, and of his mother ; but he gave no sign of feeling, and defied by his wariness the spies who watched his every movement. Tiberius treated him with little gi-ace, but it was well understood that the Principate must devolve upon him, and Macro hastened to win the goodwill of his future master. Gaius' character was coarse and sensuous from the first, and Ennia, the wife of Macro, found him an easy prey. It is possible enough that she encouraged him to anticipate Tiberius' last moments by violence. There is no evidence either way; but in later days Gaius took pleasure in avowing publicly that he had pondered over the murder, and had on one occasion only been frustrated in so revenging his mother and brothers by the sudden awakening of his intended victim. Whatever the fact, the same post which brought to Rome the news of Tiberius' demise announced also that Gaius was his heir. A coj^y of the late Emperor's will, recited in the Senate-house, confinned the claim of Gaius; a despatch from the latter declared that a joint Principate was the vain fancy of a sick dotard, and that he would be a father indeed to Gemellus, but not his partner. § 3. It has been remarked that the question of choosing a successor had been a novelty when the first Princeps died at Nola. It so happened that the Senate had seen fit to ratify the manifest choice of Augustus; but this was by no means equivalent to a fonnal renunciation of the right of independent election on their part. Never- theless it was a precedent, and one which Tiberius might feel quite secure in following, particularly with Gaius, the representative of the idolised Gennanicus. But to name two successors, to divide the Empire between two heirs, was a different thing. It was an innovation for which the constitution, however hocussed, could give no authority, and must have aroused opposition in the Senate. Gains saved the senators the trouble of discussing the point. He '^ 1 V 108 THE EARLY PRIXCIPATE. was the son of Germanicus ; Gemellus was the grandson of a despot who, men said, had murdered Germanicus. There was nothing to fear from such a rival, a mere child of seventeen to boot; least of all when Macro and his praetorians were at the usurper's back. § 4. Even had Tiberius been really popular with the Romans at large, a successor of the house of Germanicus would have easily eclipsed his memory. As it was, the new Princeps found the Roman world eager to forget for ever the reign of his predecessor. Tiberius, said they, had been a recluse, a niggard, a debauchee, and a murderer ; the son of Gemianicus could not but resemble his father — frank and generous, genial, and, above all, 'civilian.' There were whispei*s of doings at Capreae little to his credit : but that did not matter so' long as the Reign of Terror passed away, and the Senate could breathe freel}^ again, and the populace revel once more in its 'bread and games.' And the first acts of the new regime augured well. The will of Tiberius was carried out in full;* the donations which it enjoined to populace and jiraetorians were increased. The will of Li via Augusta, f heretofore neglected, was likewise executed, and the various bequests paid with the accumu- lated interest of eight years. All state prisoners and exiles recovered their freedom, and the documents relating to the prosecutions of the last reign were publicly burned, if G^ius spoke truth. The delatores found themselves scape- fjoats ; the appeal to the Emperor from the tribunals in Rome, Italy, and senatorial provinces was done away with ; the judicial courts were reconstituted, and a fifth decuryj was added to meet the stress of business. The works of Cremutius and his fellow historians, proscribed nearly twenty years before, were again put into circulation. The tax on sales, the only direct tax in Italy, was abolished, and the franchise liberally bestowed upon provincial towns, * Always excepting, that is, the clause relative to the inheritance of Gemellus, t See p. 93. * Sulla had divided the Judices into three decuriae ; Augustus, adding a fourth, increased the whole Albttrn Judicum to nearly 4,000, hut in each year one decuria was allowed exemption from duty. The term decuria has nothing to do with decurio, which means a senator of a colonia or municipium, whose name was entered upon the Album Decurionum of his township according to certain variable conditions of age, property-, rank, and good character. They formed the Ordo Decurionum. GATUS : .37 41 A.D. 109 while certain vassal-states recovered their former privileges. The Senate and knights were recruited from Ital^^ and the provinces, and the diminished survivors of the former order escaped without censorship. Finally, the comitia were restored in name, though in fact the restoration was idle, for the people had no interest in the matter, and the candidates were too few to give room for canvassing. Within two years the appointment of the consuls and other liigher magistrates reverted once more to the Senate, and was never again offered to the people. § 5. Gains gathered in person the ashes of his mother and brothers, and inteiTed them with all ceremony in the resting-place of the Caesars. He saluted Gemellus as Princeps luventutis, associated his sisters with himself in the sacramentum^ and asked for Antonia all the honours beforetime bestowed upon Livia. He declined the title of Pater Patriae, and asked for Tiberius those marks of honour which had followed Augustus' decease ; but when the Senate showed little readiness to accede to his wishes, he waived them, and the name of Tiberius dropped out of the public view, undeified and unhonoured. He never won the title of Bivus. § 6. For two months Gains laboured at statecraft ; and inexperienced as he was — for he had had no sort of training for public life — his work was marked by wisdom, modera- tion, and a real desire to deserve well of his people. On his twenty-fifth birthday, August 31, he threw off the cares of office, and instituted magnificent games such as had not been seen in Rome since the triple triumph of Augustus in 29 B.C. All business was stayed, and mourning was not accepted as a reason for absence. All Rome poured into the amphitheatre where the Princeps and his sisters pro- vided races and games and wild -beast fights for an audience who sat on cushioned benches, protected from the heat by awnings. Such a spectacle was a novelty indeed after the days of Tiberius, and Gaius could afford to be generous, for that Emperor had left a sum of £21,000,000 sterling in the treasury. The holiday, once commenced, went on without a break. For three months the Romans kept carnival, fed and feted and even clothed by this prince of enter- 110 THE EARLY PRINCirATE. tainei-8, who indulged himself as recklessly as others. He had always been of weak health, and the strain soon told upon him. In November he fell ill and the reign ot festival came to a sudden stop. ' All tlie world fell sick with its Emperor;' aU the world offered sacrifice for his recovery. He did recover ; but he rose from his bed with shattered reason. Some said that Tiberius was a madman; but there was metliod in his madness. Now the world was to make acc^uaintance with one who had not even that TTi erit § 7. His first act was to compel Gemellus to kill himself: the existence of a possible claimant is always dangerous to a ruler. Macro and Ennia urged their claims upon the Pi-inceps ; they paid for their temerity with death. Dru- silla, second of his sisters, and always the object of her brother's unnatural passion, became his Empress, then sickened and died: Gains mourned in lunatic despair, showered upon her ashes and memory all the honours which ingenuity or precedent could suggest, proclaimed her a goddess— Panthea : and in the same breath forbade Rome to mourn her, for she was deified— forbade the apotheosis to be hailed with feasting, for she was dead. His grandmotlier, Antonia, had remonstrated with him for his incestuous mari-iage : she, too, was shortly removed from the scene— it may be by poison. In earher days he had married Junia, the daughter of Silanus, now Proconsul of Africa; Junia was dead; Silanus was compelled to follow her. And all the while the circus and theatres were filled in an unending Saturnalia of shows and feasts. § 8. The constitutional monarchy, which Augustus had built up with so much care and patience, had changed rapidly indeed. The Oi-ientalism of Assyria was trans- ferred to Eome. At the side of Gains dui-ing much of his life at Oapreae had lived Agrippa, the grandson of Herod the Great, and nephew of Herod Philip. Like many othei-s of the claimants to Eastern royalty, he was retained by Tiberius half as a hostage, half as a protege, waiting to be restored to some part, if not all, of his grandfather s kingdom. Like Macro, he saw his opportunities, and es- tablished a complete influence over Gains, who rewarded . GAius : 37 — 41 A.D. Ill his perseverance by the gift of a large portion of Palestine. It was not, however, till 40 a.d. that he suffered the Jew to leave Rome; the interval was spent in learning how Eastern sovereigns ruled. The absolutism of such sove- reignty captivated the fancy of Gains. To be the arbiter of life and death at pleasure, the unquestioned owner of the person and property of each of his subjects, seemed kingship indeed. Hence came the crimes and follies of the new Princeps, conduct associated always with Asiatic king- ship, but shocking to the gravitas of Western blood — above all, to the minds of Romans. From Herod he learnt to overstep the limits of lawful marriage — the one law of niorality which the Romans, as a nation, never dared violate — and to feast himself and his people upon the spoils of rich men murdered without trial : to abrogate all forms of justice, to govern as though the Senate had no existence, to levy taxes at will, to squander prodigious sums on enor- mous buildings, were all portions of the teaching of Herod. Last of all, like any Oriental despot, he declared himself a god. He could not wait to be canonised after death ; he would be worshipped now, and as the first and chiefest of the gods. The religion of the Romans had for long been an unreality, and the attempts of Augustus to restore the ancient faith had met with small success ; but even Gaius must have wondered in his saner moments to see the 'lords of the eai-tli ' worshipping him now in the guise of Apollo, now in that of Hercules, anon as Bacchus. In the pro- vinces it was otherwise: the worship of Augustus or Tiberius, even in their lifetime, conjointly with that of Rome, had rapidly spread over the world; to substitute Gaius was simple enough. Still, their worship thus far ^ had been voluntary, often prohibited by the person whom ' it w^as intented to glorify; now, adoration of this bald, hollow-cheeked, wild-eyed boy-maniac was compulsoiy. One nation only refused — the Jews. They would not even set up the image of their own God in the temple, much less that of a man. The Proconsul of Syria, Petronius, urged compliance in vain. Then he endeavoured to turn Gaius from his purpose, and the Jews despatched an em- bassy under Philo, the theologian of Alexandria, to inter- ( J J. 2 THE EARLY PKIXCIPATE. cede on their behalf. It was useless. The euyoys eudureJ thP insults of the enemies who denounced them, of the courtTe« and of the Princeps ahke. Gains was busy witii Xe alterations in his palace, and gave them what little XntSn he could spare'^from his carpenters and masons^ He leHhem go alive, much to their astonishment ; but he 2nt n^re s"ringei>t orders than ever to Petronms to have Z stame finished and set up in the Holy of Holies. This was Ibout 40 Id. Before the desecration coud be accom- puled the m-dmnt god died, and the Jewish war was T^nstDoned for nearly thirty years. . ^^A' ^ T^ ^•"sTMeantime he indulged his fancy for building. To u -1.1 w tn create and to create is divine, iso he com- i^^^e^an a^uet'ct fifty miles in length, to bring water * \La S«hme Hills to Kome; he earned the palace down he sWe of the Palatine 'to the temrJle of Castor, Sch he converted into an entrance-haU; he cai-ried a Wee two hundred yards long over the ravme between the Palatine and the Capitol, on the plan of Herod b bridge mdHng Mounts Moriah and Zion at Jerusalem. He Smenced harbours of refuge in the Straits of Messina commenceu u t„mT)le of Augustus, commenced a ;:7aii t at?e -^^^^^^^ -^^. *°\'""r ''^f MimTs of Corinth, and talked of rebuilding the palace o PolZates at Samos, and completing the great temple at Sus Finally, to show himself as worthy a despot a« XeSes he builVa huge bridge of boats tWu Bauh o Pu eoli' paved it like a highway, and marched across it lu • r triumphal procession. The seizure of so many ships L tC mrpose threatened to stai-ve Eome owing to the rSS^t .*e"S, S:.' »- «d i. ™ . gh...ly rintto drown them for their Emperor's pleasure. . ^8 10 When a Herod wanted money he took it; Gaiu^ refgn Y^u nursed and then slaughtered Sejanus. I (iAius : 37 — 41 A.D. 113 have the documents to prove that the prosecutions and delations were yours, not his;' and he produced the papers which he professed to have burnt. The ' assembly of kings ' passed a decree thanking their Princeps for not executing theui all forthwith — 'I wish the Romans had but one neck,' he said on one occasion — and ordaining that the speech should be read to them once a year. Gains proceeded to decimate them at his leisure ; a word or a note from the palace was sufficient : the victim opened his veins and left his goods to be squandered on fresh shows or buildings. Empresses were made and un- made with shameless haste, each giving j)lace to another with a richer dowrv. Oaesonia alone retained anv influ- ence over her husband. She was a woman of infamous life, but he loved her, and owned himself the father of the daughter she bore, because of the child's ferocity. He (•omplained however, that paternity was very expensive, and begged money to enable him to rear the child. His lack of funds led him even to defy the impatience of the mob he had caressed. He levied a tax of two and a half per cent, on all sums in litigation, others on porters, even on all food sold in Eome — a curious tax to impose upon a rabble which was always murmuring for cheaper rations. § 11. In 39 A.D. he suddenly set the legions in motion, and moved to the Rhine. The Legatiis there was Len- tulus Gaetulicus, who had been appointed by Tiberius, and who had refused to lay down his command when that Princeps desired it. It is likely that Gains had still sufficient wisdom left to recognise a possible danger from such a commander. His visit was marked by stem measures which restored the discipline of the camp; but there was no enemy to meet, and he withdrew to Lugdu- num to collect plunder from the Gauls, leaving Servius Galba as the new Legatus of Germany. Lugdunum was rich in monuments of the munificence of Augustus, and there were annual literary competitions in his memory: Gains attended, and forced those whose compositions were bad, to erase the writing with their tongues. Then he summoned from Italy the furniture of some of his palaces, proclaimed an auction, and in person appraised, 8 A'. 3U96. M 114 THE EAKLY PRINCIPATE. GAIUS: 37 41 A.D. 115 and knocked down to the bidders, the wardrobes and ^/^-a-^«. of the Caesai-s. In the next year he declared his intention of invading Britain, but got no further than the Straits, where he built a lighthouse, and returned home after gathering up aU tlie available shells on the shore to be deposited as trophies in the Capitol. On the way he again visited the Ehine legions, and remembering that they had once mutinied against his father, he determined to de- cimate them. Their attitude made him think better ot it, and he returned to Kome, refusing to accept a triumph tardily decreed him by the senate. Against that order he had taken a fresh gi-udge, and proceeded to visit it with his vengeanc^. ^^^ ^^^^^^ ^^^ nobles had found cause to plot aRainst Augustus and Tiberius, it is matter of surprise that there were not more to conspire against C:raiu8. When absent in Gaul he had executed Aemilius Lepidus once the husband of Drusilla, and now suspected, if not actuaUy guilty, of intrigue with Gains' remaimng sisters, and with Lentulus Gaetulicus. Agnppma and Livilla were both banished at the same time. Shortly afterwards came to light a plot amongst the freedmen and guards ot the palace, headed by Cerialis ; but the conspirator was allowed to go unpunished, for Gains seems to the last to have been confident of the affections of all but the nobles, whom he hated. A last plot was more successful. Cassius Chaerea, captain of the guard, headed a band of nobles and others implicated in the previous conspiracy, not for the sake of liberty, but to revenge a personal affront, ihe conspiracy was widespread, but for long no one dared to strike the blow. At length they fell upon the Prmceps and slew him as he passed along a corridor from the palace to the theatre* cm the fifth day of the Palatine Games, TTs^ThL four books of the 'Annals' of Tacitus, which related to the times of Gains and the early years of his successor, are lost, and the history of the mad Prmceps is presei-ved only in the anecdotes of Suetonius, and m Dio * A temwrarv one erected at the foot of the Palatine Hill, and connected h>- a coyereSSo7^?h the palace, which stood on the north-west comer of the hill. Cassius. He has had his apologists, and it is not dilficult to point to certain acts of his which were beneficent, par- ticularly those of the early months of his reign. It can be argued with some plausibility that his acts have been grossly perverted, just as were those of his predecessor, by the nobility who hated both. But when all is said, the simplest course seems to be to accept the judgment of antiquity and own that he was mad. Tacitus says he was weak-headed even in his younger days, and he was epileptic ; absolute autocracy was sure to result in insanity in such a case. It is possible to trace some consistency in his conduct ; he carried out fully the ideas learnt from Herod Agrippa, pampering and startling the populace at the expense of the upper classes, the 'taller poppies.' In his recaUing Silanus from Africa, and in his hurried visit to the Ehine, he showed appreciation of the dangers which were soon to come from the frontiers, where men of noble birth or intellect handled a host of obsequious legionaries. The conspiracy of Len- tulus and Lepidus was in aU probabiUty well organised and formidable ; we shall see Gaul the scene of revolt at a later occasion. The British campaign may not have been the fiasco which it appears to be. A British prince, Admmius, driven from his kingdom, had begged Gains to restore hini, and the sea-shells may represent, as Merivale suggests, a tribute or indemnity of the pearls of Eichborough, by which the invasion was bought off. The bloodshed and extortion of the reign might have been pardoned by the people, be- cause only the rich and noble suffered, but they could not pardon the taxes which were levied on them. Gains died the tyrant's death, and fulfilled to the letter the augury oj Tiberius. CHAPTEE XII. Claudius: 41—54 A°- -. „« fJ,o i^n»tp to act-{ 2. The Praetorians proclaim § 1 Inc|ii«c.ty °* *<'„,^7rXtei--« 3 The Senate accept him as Claudn,s: h.s L* «^'d Ch'.'jcto ^^^^^^ ^^^^^, the Rebellion tion of the Senate ^d Adm.*«.on of Pr^^^^ Legidation: FoTqSof Britain-^ 9. Operat on. •" Afnca^nd ( 10) J^V^^. many : the CampaiRns of CoAulo-§ U. |hrac^; ' j j^„ p..^. of Authonties. 8 1 The news of the death of Gaius was announced to th!wo5brthe inrush of the Emperor's body gua^do "^^ ttS.et TnCnS rfrsenlfo^rhtiS people broke up ^^^^^^^ Capitoline Jupiter, the citade the plot, and -ted honour forth^^^^^^^ ^^.^ ^r^Sfto tiuTi's S i:l":hild,VuliaDrusiUa, and Cded over to the senate and consuls the government which he had restored to them. . When another Cassius out down another Gams (44 bc.) it seemed to be expected that, freed from its 'tyrant the ItP would spontaneously revert to the regular and s able conditions o the earlier republican days. So now there had Cn no provision made in case of success crowning he oonsnimcv The senate and its officers were for the foment restored to their ancient place, but the novelty of tTeSTo^tfn paralysed them. All were unanimous in CLAUDIUS : 41 — 54 a.d. 117 ki • • ^-1 . I lauding Chaerea and in insulting the memory of his victim, iut Ihfre their unanimity stopped. The fa«t t^at e..p^e was possible in Borne was an apple of discord to them. Some^talked of the free republic and of tbe f olition of the Principate, just as before had been moved the abolition of tCmctatJ-a for all time ; but others hung back and waited, prepared each one to endure the Pnncipate if only hSiself mi^ht be Princeps. Such were L- Annms V^ni- cianus, Valerius Asiaticus, and Mmucianus. The assembly adjoui^ed without arriving at a decision, and lost its "Ta '^Trooping from their camp, the praetorians had rusVe'd to th^e Palatine to learn the truih of Gams' death; and finding it a fact, they plundered the pal^^e. Its inmates fled or concealed themselves, and behind a cm tarn thriooters found Claudius, ^^■'^'^;i.^U^''^Z^Tj£ uncle of Gaius, hiding in tei^r of his Me. ^W/^^Jt him up on their shoulders and hurried hun to the camp, saMng him in mockery as Caesar. Othei^ took up the cry until from jest it grew to earnest. Claudius hesitated. hIs Xle life had seen him the butt of practical jests and Sm-n He was from his birth a weakling if not actually dXi-med and a Roman father never forgave physical nfiS' His own mother scofied at hini, and his sistei-s treated him as an outcast. Gaius, in his fit of hlial piety, had d awn him from the obscurity of his library, where he wrote intenninable works on history and antiquitie. and had advanced him to the consulate; then grew tired of him and treated him as a butt for liis practical jokes. Augustus ahfne had showed any affection for him, but it w^as more the affection of pity than of love. At fifty-one Claudius was merely a student, without ambition or expenence, lonff-sufiering and timid to excess. . ,, , . ^j^ h. Chance gave him a crafty adviser m the hour of h^s need The same Herod Agrippa to whom Gains owed his training was again in Eome, and he hastened to advance hS by advLcing Claudius. The latter was prevailed uZ at last to acclpt the allegiance of the guards, and when the senate reassembled in the morning, they lea-rnt with disniay that the praetorians had made their choice, 11« THE EARLY PRINCIPATE. and that the people were taking it up. To support them- selves they had, they believed, the city-guard, who were jealous of the praetorians ; and inadequate as such forces were, they dreamed of resisting. But their own dissen- sions prevented the prompt action which might still have saved them. They debated until the city-guard went over to Claudius in a body, and the mob threatened to attack the Curia. Then they crept away one by one to fawn upon the new Princeps and make excuses for their hesi- tation. Claudius protected them with difficulty from the violence of the guards, whose support he had assured at the price of 15,000 sesterces apiece. 'He was the first of the Caesars to buy the support of the soldiers.' It cost him a million and a quarter sterling, and later Emperors succes- sively ran the price of Empire higher and higher. § 4. The utter failure of this last attempt at restoring the republican government is noteworthy. The old an- tagonism between democracy and aristocracy had resulted in the former preferring even the worst of autocrats to the government of the senate. The latter order had become the scapegoat of both Princeps and populus. Gains had roused them to fury by his oppression, and Claudius never forgot that they had endeavoured to abolish Caesarism. He was reminded of the fact in the second year of his reign, when Furius Camillus Scribonianus, Proconsul of Dalmatia, joined in a plot which centred around Vinicianus, one of the disappointed candidates for the purple on the fall of Gains. With the support of the legions the conspirators hoped to be able to defy the praetorians. Scribonianus actually wrote to the Princeps a peremptory order to vacate the throne, but when he summoned his troops to assist him in enforcing the mandate, he was compelled to fly, and was eventually cut down by one of his own officers (42 a.d.). Then followed executions and suicides, but sedition was not crushed. Two other attempts at revolution were made by grandsons of PoUio and Messalla, and a certain Pom- ponius began a civil war; but we have no details or even dates of these events, and we only know that it became a ready means of removing a Eoman of position to hint ever so lightly at disaffection. V a CLAUDIUS: 41 — 54 a.d. 119 § 5. The new Princeps astonished all by the vigour of his administration. To surpass a Gains required, perhaps, no great mind, but Claudius in some ways surpassed Tiberius and recalled the days of Augustus, whom he took as his model. Agrippa he rewarded for the skill where- with he had treated with the senate by adding Judaea to his kingdom, and so uniting in his hands for the last time the possessions of Herod the Great. But Claudius took no lessons in government from so undesirable a teacher. He accepted few marks of honour from the senate, recalled all the exiles, and granted a general amnesty, excepting only in the case of Chaerea and his companions. He allowed the name of Gains, like that of Tiberius, to drop out of sight ; but he recalled his nieces, the sisters of Gains, and saw that his nephew's half -consumed remains were decently interred. The madman's assumption of divinity he utterly condemned, and his prompt decree to that effect prevented the revolt of the Jews. His first care was to adjust his relations with the nobles and senate. That body could be trusted to remain quiet for some time after their recent humiliating defeat, and the Princeps took advantage of the opportunity to institute a lectio both of the senatorial and equestrian lists, thougli with such moderation that he roused little or no ill-will. The vacant seats he filled up mainly from the provinces, foUowing the precedent established by Julius, who had liberally conferred the iufi honorum, which threw open to the recipient those offices that gave a title to the senator- ship; the Aedui were conspicuous among those who now obtained this privilege. In addition he granted the civitas to numbers of applicants. In doing so he was doubtless following up a wise policy, for the blood of Rome, like that of any other exclusive aristocracy, was rapidly becoming effete and needed fresh infusion, while the bond so made >>etween the centre of the Empire and its outlying members was a step towards representative government, and thus mutually advantageous. A less direct benefit arose from the purer morality and style of living introduced by the new-comers, by which it became possible for the luxury and laxity of Roman society to be gradually shamed into /', I 120 THE EAKLY PRINCIPATE. better wa} s. The senate itself became ouce more a factor in the government, and laws in its name took the place of the edict or nod of the Princeps. Nevertheless, the Emperor knew the worth of a patncian's gratitude: h<> never dispensed with his guards and other precautions against the dagger. . § 6. The masses regarded the Emperor as their servant, better or worse, as fortune might permit. Claudius studied to win popularity, and succeeded so far that a false alann of his death within a year all but caused a riot. He madn some diminution in the disproportionate number of holidays, which impeded business, but he made amends by giving magnificent entertainments, at wliich, like Augustus, he was himself a regular attendant. He abolished the taxes by the imposition of which Gains had forfeited the affec- tions of the mob, and he took wise measures to secure the regularity of the com-supi%. Gains had erected harbours of refuge at Messana ; Claudius excavated a magnificent harbour on the northern side of the estuary of the Tiber, to replace the ancient port of Ostia on the opposite shore, whose harbours had long been silted up. He .granted privileges also to all who engaged in the com trade, and to the owners of vessels of extraordinary size, and took th<' responsibility for all losses at sea incurred in this trade. Only on(!e was there any prospect of scarcity in Rome during the latter half of his reign of thirteen years, and in that case it was due to bad harvests, not to carelessness on the part of the authorities (52 a.d.). § 7. To sit by the praetors on the tribunal had been one of Augustus' pleasures; Claudius made it a duty. He spent whole days in the law coui-ts, and his patience was inexhaustible, if his law was not always that of the letter. The delatores he banished, and the law of Maiestas slum- bered. His is the credit of realising the fact that slaves were fellow men, and he made the killing of a slave punish- able as homicide. He restricted the growing license of the freedmen, and prohibited either freedman or slave from witnessing against master or patron. He protected from money-lenders those who appeared to be the heirs of propei-tv, thus discouraging dpbt and the consequent appeal I «> If CLAUDIUS : 41 — 54 a.d. 121 to poison to secure inheritance more speedily. He en- deavoured, by reintroducing the practically obsolete Lex Cincia, to limit the fees of advocates, which had become intolerably heavy, and in the same law aimed a blow at delation by restricting its profits; and he protected women and other helpless litigants from the rapacity of their lawyers. He employed 30,000 men for eleven years m cutting an outlet to the Liris for the waters of the Fucine Lake, and thereby saved from repeated inundation a large area of the Marsian lands. The cutting was reopened twenty years ago, and has reclaimed nearly 40,000 acres of unhealthy sw^amp. He completed the aqueduct commenced by Gams and known as the Aqua Claudia. Gains had built for show^; Claudius' buildings were few, but they were all eminently useful. § 8. lUit it was in the provinces that the Emperor made his greatest mark. True to the warnings of Augustus, later rulers had avoided war save when necessary to secure a frontier or to avenge an insult. The reigns of Tiberius and Gains had been for the provincials at large a time of peace, of which they had reaped the fullest benelit. But the ina(5tivity of the legions brought with it lax discipline and the contempt of the nations beyond the borders. Gains had been obliged to repress with a strong hand the intrigues of Gaetulicus, and Claudius perhaps saw that continued idleness w^ould lead to worse seditions, and that employment must be found for the great armies of the Empire. Besides, he aspired to re-establish the awe of the Eoman name, and to earn in the field by merit of his auspices that title of Imperator which he declined to accept from the senate. His reign is marked by general military activity, and by successes which even eclipsed those of Augustus, while there were no disasters like that of Yarns to mar its lustre. Twenty-seven times was Claudius hailed Imperator ; Augustus received that title on but twenty-one occasions.* * The title of imperator conferred by the voice of a successful army upon the Princeps under whose auspices they fought must be carefully distinguished from the same word used as a kind of nome}i. Augustus, Tiberius, and Gaius used it as a cognonu'/i. V I 122 THE EARLY PRINCIPATE. Since the time of Augustus there had been no extension of the Empire by conquest. Claudius, in the third year of his Principate, invaded Britain, and at his death left a portion of it permanently annexed to Rome. This was the most brilliant of his achievements, and also the most original; for this he triumphed in 44 a.d. ; and the con- quest of tlie island forms the subject of a special chapter.f In other cases the legions acted to maintain, rather than to extend the Empire, and employment was thus found for them in all quarters. § 9. Tlie year of Claudius' accession was marked by a revolt of the Maurasians, a tribe of Mauretania. The post of Proconsul in Africa, left vacant by the recall of Silanus in the last reign, was now filled by C. Suetonius Paulinus, who here proved his abilities for the first time. He crossed Mount Atlas, chastised the rebels, and left the completion of the duty to his successor, Cn. Hosidius Geta, when he was recalled. The conquered country was formed into two provinces, Mauretania Tingitana and Mauretania Caesariensis, the boundary between which was the river Mattua. Colonies secured the conquest, and from this time date the Romanisation of Africa and the extension of Roman trade and exploration far iuto the interior. J § 10. A little later the Rhine frontier was again crossed and the German tribes chastised afresh. Since the recall of Germanicus and the death of Arminius the Cherusci had remained within their lines, gradually losing strength in internal dissensions. But the Chauci and Chatti, recruited by many years of peace, .and fancying that the legions which Gains had found it needful to handle severely must have forgotten alike their courage and loyalty, again assumed the aggressive. But the brief command of Servius Galba had reorganised the Roman forces, and when, in 45 a.d., he was transferred to the proconsulate of Africa he left able commanders behind him. One of these was Domitius Corbulo, Legatus of Lower Germany, destined to be famous as the only soldier of Nero's reign. He led his legions first against the Frisii, who had paid t Chapter xx. , , ^. t Ptolemy, the geosrrapher [circa 140 a.u.)> and Julius Matemus, reached the •land of Agvsimba* ; i.e., the region of Lake Chad, in the central Soudan. CLAUDIUS : 41 — 54 a.d. 123 V' ) no tribute since their revolt of 28 a.d., speedily reduced them, and left a garrison in their territories. He then turned against the Chauci, whose chief, Gennascus, had for some time insulted the Roman province. Bribery secured the murder of that opponent, but the murder drove his people into open war. Corbulo gained such successes as to aspire to realising the dream of Augustus and finally conquering Germany ; but in the height of his career (47 a.d.) he was checked by an imperial edict for- bidding his further advance. The prohibition was set down to the Emperor's jealousy, of course; but it was rather a wise and politic act. Peace and diplomacy were surely, if slowly, effecting w^hat arms could only do with hazard if at all. Already the Cherusci had consented to ask for a prince from Rome : Claudius sent to them the son of Flavus, the renegade brother of Arminius. Under the name of Italicus, this German had for years resided at Rome, and had learnt Roman manners. His return to his people was soon followed by disgust at his foreign habits, and his struggles to retain his crown kept the Cherusci engaged in those intestine dissensions which were the surest guarantee for the security of the fron- tier from their attacks (47 a.d.). Corbulo obeyed his Princeps reluctantly, and busied his men in the construction of a work which for centuries has benefited the people of Holland — the great canal joining the mouths of the Vahalis {Mass or Meuse) and Rhenus Medius [Neue Rhein), Three years later (50 a.d.) Pomponius, Legatm of Upper Germany, concluded peace with the Chatti after some engagements in which he restored to freedom a few survivors of Varus' legions ; and the Suevi made overtures for the 'friendship' of the Roman people. § 11. Further eastward, the death of Rhoemetalces* led to a revolt of Thrace which gave little trouble. The country was reduced to a province 46 a.d. ; and the death of Agrippa, in 44 a.d., had already brought Judaea once more into a like position.. Gains had conferred the recently acquired province of Commagenef upon Antio- • See p. 79. He had been made sole monarch by Gaius, a.d. 38. - t See p. 78. 124 THE EARLY PRINCIPATE. CLAUDIUS : 41 — 54 a.d. 125 chus, but had dejiosed him again ; Claudius now restored hini. Polemo of Pontus was transfen-ed to a petty king- sliip in Cilicia, and his place taken by a Mithradates, who proved fractious and was deposed in favour of his brother Cotys. He endeavoured to recover his crown by force, but was easily worsted. Another Mithradates, an Iberian, and a claimant to the Armenian crown, had been im- prisoned by Gains ; Claudius set him free, supported him \\4th Eoman troops, and set him again upon the throne of Armenia, while the Parthians were prevented by anarchy from any eifectual resistance. Their King, Arta- banus, the same whom Gei-manicus had left upon the throne, died in 44 a.d., and the usual struggle for succes- sion supei-vened, while, at the same time, the Parthian army was besieging Seleucia. Mithradates drove them out, and they returaed under Yardanes to revenge the defeat ; but the mere menace of the Leg at us of Syria was suffiiiient to deter them. Vardanes was assassinated, ami Claudius named Meherbates his successor, son of that prince whom Tiberius put on the throne.* Another assassination put Gotarzes in power, and he made way (51 A.D.) for Vologaeses I., who reigned thirty years. § 12. From Britain to Annenia, from the Baltic to Atlas, the auspices of Claudius brought honour and advancement. He could boast that, like Augustus, he had conquered Annenia and given a monarch to the in- vincible Parthians. He had added fourf new provinces to the Empire, and he strengthened his hold upon them by the foundation of numerous colonies. Those in Africa have been already mentioned; more famous are those which guarded the Rhine and the new province of Britain, Augusta Treverorum {Treves), Colonia Agrip- pinensis {Cologne, 50 a.d.), and Camulodunum {Colchester, 50 A.D.). Cologne owed its origin to the Empress Agrip- pina, as will be seen. The administration of the provinces, if not so successfid as in the days of Augustus, was nevertheless good, and the case of Felix, who incited the Jews to revolt by his maladministration, in 52 a.d., was * See p. 26. + Britannia, the two Manrctanias. and Thrace. ) an exception shortly to be explained. To empliasise the authority of the Princeps in all provinces alike, an edict of that year (52 a.d.) gave to the procurators' jjroclama- tions force equal to those of the Princeps. The innovation was intended to act as a check upon senatorial officers ; in fact it was a mistake, for it enabled the procurator to abuse his authority, with the surety that his conduct would be protected by the Emperor, ever hostile to the members of the senate. § 13. But at Rome itself, despite the various reforms of the Princeps, liie was hardly more secure, administration hardlv more pure, than under Gains. Well-intentioned as was Claudius' every measure, he was a ruler more theo- retical than practical ; he could not govern men. Had the machinery of the state been good, the result would have been excellent; but the machinery was rotten, and the wisest efforts missed their aim, perverted by the interference of a freedman or an Empress ; these were now the real o-overnors of Rome. The power of the freedmen was gi-eatest during the life of the first Empress, Messallina ; Then it waned, and the new Empress, Agrippiua, became less the wife than the partner, or even the ruler, of Claudius, and so mistress of the world. The Orientalism of Gains had given place to an Orientalism of another kind— that which governs by the wills of viziers and of the seraglio. The lihertini had now usurped an important place in Roman society. Even under the republic laws had been passed to check the growth of their numbers and influence, and early Caesars had endeavoured again to reduce their privileges: but everything favoured their advancement, and while legislating against them, Augustus, as well as Claudius himself, encouraged them. Though once slaves, or the sons of slaves, they were in many cases men of exceptional abilities and polish. They crowded the house of every gentleman of Rome, kept his books, wrote his letters and his poems, amused and flattered him, and became at last his intimate confidants. Cicero could say that there had been in more modern days few such pairs of friends as Orestes and Pylades : a Laelius and a Scipio were rare exceptions, and the more remarkable for their 126 THE EARLY PRIXCIPATE. CLAUDIUS: 41 — 54 a.d. 127 rarity. Pride of blood and the laws of au over-strained conventionality prohibited the high-born and wealthy Roman from fraternising cordially with his fellows, and he found the sympathy or intimacy which he desired in the society of his freedmen. So the latter grew in power and place, knew all the life of Rome far better than their master, and usually profited handsomely by their master's death. The Princeps was most of all constrained to rely upon his lihertiniy for the nobles were too proud to till the offices for which freedmen struggled, and the Emperor was too un- bending to make associates of his peers. But no amount of patronage could redeem the freednian's position; though he were chief minister — Emperor in all but name — he still remained branded with the mark of his quondam serfdom, still a 'starveling Greek.'* The Princeps could not as yet give nobility; there were still no nobles but those of blood. § 14. The men who now ruled Rome were four — Polybius the amanuensis, Narcissus the secretary, Callistus, who received all petitions addressed to the Emperor, and Pallas the steward. Lesser lights were Felix, brother of Pallas, aiid by his interest appointed and protected as the oppres- sive Procurator of Judaea, and Posides the eunuch, the Emperor's military satellite, who won distinction in the British wars. But the government lay virtually in the hands of the four first mentioned, and while they agreed they i)rospered. They had but one rival, the Empress ^lessallina, the third wife of Claudius ; but even her they could control for eight years, winning her obedience by conniving at a profligacy which has, in veiy charity, been set down to madness. She ruled Claudius, and they ruled her. No one dared thwart the coalition. The Roman whose virtue repulsed the infamous advances of the Empress was either murdered at the Emperor's bidding or actually forced to compliance by the same authority. He whose wealth excited the cupidity of the freedmen lost life and property by the same ready means. Such were Appius Silanus and Valerius Asiaticus, whose gardens Messallina coveted. Claudius never forgot that the nobles had tried * The larger number of such freedmen were of Grecian origin, but other Eastern itations were also represented. Inni pridem Syrv.s in Tiherini defvxit Oronfes. to restore the republic, and had slain Gains: it was easy to persuade him that any of their number was guilty of con- spiracy, and to hint at such a crime was sufficient ; the Emperor waved his hand, and ihe subject lost his head. All office, privilege, and honour were attainable by the favour of Pallas and his fellows ; they sold justice, the franchise, the magistracies, with flagrant openness, while their master was toiling to restore the credit of the courts and the Principate. It was in 48 a.d. that he threw open the senate to the Gauls, and bestowed the franchise on Gallia Comata* at large. Instantly there started up a swarm of claimants to a similar honour. The bestowal of the franchise meant immunity from taxation, and all were ready to buy future immunity by present payment. The freedmen accumulated immense wealth. AVhether Claudius was aware how far the traffic went is doubtful. His theory was to recruit the morale of Rome with purer blood, and he may have found it easy to support his theory by pleading an exhausted exchequer; but to sell the franchise wholesale was to dock his yearly income for the gains of a day ; it was 'living on the capital of the state.' § 15. The freedmen were checked at last. Messallina sealed the sum of her enormities by a public marriage with one C. Silius, a wealthy Roman, then consul, 48 a.d. Already Narcissus had seen cause to fear her. Now it seemed that she would transfer to Silius not only the treasures of the Empire, but its headship also; for the consul was not a man to let slip the opportunity, and the crime to which he had been forced drove him to protect himself by the further crime of treason. The freedman told all to Claudius, and whispered of conspiracies. Weak as he was, the Princeps really loved his infamous wife, and hesitated to act. It was Narcissus himself who gave the order for her execution, and Claudius said not a word. ^ ^ It is impossible to know the truth of the story of her fall. That she publicly married Silius with all solemn ceremony is incredible except on one ground. It is stated by Sue- tonius that a soothsayer had warned Claudius that Messal- lina's husband must die; thereupon he wedded her to '• / .- Gallia 'I'ransalpina; in particular Gallia Lugdunennis. 128 THE EARLY PRINCIPATE. Silius, believing that the doom foretold for himself would thus be directed against another. Herein Narcissus saw the opportunity to secure a rival's overthrow, worked cm his master's fears, and gained his object. § 16. A new Empress must be chosen, and over the choice the freedmen quarrelled. Pallas favoured Agrip- pina, that sister whom Gains had banished for conspiracy, and whom Claudius liad recalled. Her caresses won her cause, and this reforming Emperor outraged decency by maiTvdng his own niece, though not without demur. The senate divined his wishes, and decreed it lawful in his case. But Agrippina came of a house of rulers, and slie would not be ruled : the freedmen lost power, and their influence passed into her hands. Narcissus endeavoured to find a counteri)oise to her wiles in Claudius' love for tlie two children of Messallina, Bntannicus and Octavia. These he protected and advanced in opposition to L. Domitius, the child of Agrippina b}- a former husband, but in vain : the Empress earned the day, and her son supplanted the Princeps' own children. Everyone saw that the succession was destined for Domitius when, in 50 a.d., he was publicly adopted by Claudius, and took the name of Nero. Still, Narcissus \lid not give up hope; he tampered with the praetorians, those king-makers of Rome. His rival was too watchful ; she secured the dismissal of the prefect, and in his place set up Bun-us Afranius, a partisan of her own. At the same time Annaeus Seneca, tlie pliilosopher, was recalled from the exile into which Messallina had driven him eight years before, and was made tutor to Nero. Seneca had owed his banishment, it is likely, to his intrigues with Agrippina in the earlier days of the reign, for he was a philosopher whose preaching and practice were seldom at one. The Empress followed up this success by canvassing the favour of the legions, and to gain their goodwill were founded the colonies before mentioned. In particular, Cologne was Agrippina's boon to the ai-mies, for she founded it in person, and left her name to it. Finally, 53 a.d., she affianced Nero to Octavia, and thus sought to combine in his person the claims of her own line and that of Messallina. CLAUDIUS: 41 — 54 a.d. 129 § 17. Almost virtuous by contrast with her predecessor, Agrippina has yet left an unenviable name behind her. There was something in the blood of the house of G-er- manicus which made the early death of its founder a fortunate thing for his fame. This, the last of his daughters, shed less blood than did Messallina, but she knew no mercy. She had driven to suicide, by scandalous charges, L. Silanus, who was unfortunate enough to be already betrothed to Octavia ; and similarly she got rid of Statilius Taurus, a man whose probity was conspicuous in the Rome of that date. One of her rivals for the crown had been LoUia Paulina, another was Domitia Lepida ; the former was impelled to suicide, the latter was executed ; and this womanly conqueror took up the head of LoUia and bared the teeth, to make sure by theii* shapeliness that it was indeed the face of her beautiful rival. Claudius was sixtj^-four years of age, an age which in his case, brought senility with it. Agrippina sat at his side to mete out justice, hear petitions, or bestow crowns. Her head was figured on the coinage, and her will was law^ Yet Narcissus, her foe, was still in favour. If she had aided him to overthrow Messallina, there was the more reason why she should dread a similar fall herself. Her fears were aUayed by the death of Claudius, Oct. 13th, 54 a.d. Men whispered that Locusta, the poisoner, had caused it, but if so she did her w^ork too well to leave proofs behind. There is, at any rate, nothing in Agripjnna's life to make the charge unlikely. Seneca, the philosophical libertine, had grovelled at Claudius' feet in his lifetime, and had addressed him as a god ; now he published a satire, of which the wit and the venom alike suit the cliaracter of its author.* *This was the Apocolocfintusis — a parody of Apotheosis— Telntiw^ how the dead Claudius' soul went up to Olj-mpus, was scorned by the Gods, was exulted over by the \ictmis whom he had sent to death before him, and was finally ordained unheard to be not a god — Di^-us— but a piunpkin [KokoKvvT^) or, as another version had it, to play for all etcrnitj- with a dice-box that had no bottom. Tt was said that Claudius not seldom condemned a defendant without hearing the case, but such procedure, if it ever occurred, was probably due to the freedmen aud Empresses taking advantage of his well-known absence of mind. Judicial procedure at this date was to a large extent the same as at the time of Augustus' death. Civil cases went before a Pi'aetor and the hulex, or IL 31-96 . 9 130 THE EAPLY I'KlXCirA'lE. \ § 1 8. The niaterials for judging the character of Claudius are scanty. The four lost books of the Annals of Tacitus include the first portion of this reign up to 47 a.d., and the views of Tacitus are distorted by prejudice. Much of the odium which attaches to the names of all the Emperors, from Tiberius to Nero, may be set down to the Journals of Agrippina — journals which doubtless put false intei-pre- tations on many good deeds, and branded less wholesome acts with unmerited shame. Even Tacitus used these memoirs as authoritative, and, like all other writers, asserts that Claudius drank, ate, and gambled to excess, that he was in all things unkingly. Nevertheless, the crimes of the reign are those of his wives and their in- struments the freedmen, and in matters which escaped the touch of those evil advisers there is every reason to admire the goveniment of Claudius as both wise and vigorous for one who so late in life had ' greatness thrust upon him.' Indices (.see p. 108, note ; < rinunal cases before the Quriistiones rtrpetuae. There was, however, in these courts no power over the citizen's caput : this power had been transferred from the Comitia Curiata to the senate and consuls. But these Republican forms were controlled by the Princeps (i.) by his ripht of Inlerccssio ; (ii.) by his right of gi^•ing the first scHtentia in the senate. On the other hand, he possessed positive powers (i.) in \\vX\\e of his proconsulare iinperium, which CHAPTER XIII. Nero: 54-66 A.D. in/S"^^^''"'' ^1"^'^^*^ Claudius' Death-^N 2. Character and Train- ing of \evo~J 3. Seneca-^ 4. His Quarrel vnth Agrippina: her Intngues: Mnrder of Britannieus-§ o. Death of AVrippina!! C* o. Rise of PoiiDflPfl • iho UT.r.«,-c.,., ^* x-^-.,. .A- , L M, . ...V. ...x.c.tc--v i"- -i-^oreign Anairs : on the Khine ; in Parthia and Armenia; Campaigns of Corbulo-§ 11. Fall of Seneca and Change m the CTOvomment-^ 12. The Infamies of Nero: the Great R?e and Pei-seeuion of the Christians: the Golden House- /iT The Conspiracy of Piso and the Reign of Terror-^ U. Xero in Greece Death of Corbulo and ( )utbreak of th(^ Military Revolutions. § 1. The facility with which was settled the question of the succession lends probability to the charge that Agrippina was guilty of the murder of her uncle and husband ; had she not been well aware of the imminence ot his sudden decease, she could hardly have been so fuUv prepared for the emergency. The appointment of the new t.mperor depended upon the support of the praetorians and It was tor this reason that Agrippina had advanced Burrus to tlie post of prefect. Still, the influence of the commander was powerless if the troops had other wishes • and had Narcissus been present to champion the cause of Britannicus BuiTus might have found himself outbidden as .Sejanus did. As it was, the freedman was away from Rome, so well had fate-or Agrippina-timed the event J3ritannicus was detained in the palace while his rival* under Burrus guidance, visited the guards and challen^-ed their support. Some few called for the true heir- the majority accepted the usurper's advances. On the same day the senate ac^cepted him as Princeps and conferred on him the name Augustus. Thus easily did the Principate ot the world (haiige hands. The lesson of thirteen years 132 THE EARLY IMtlXClPATE. ' before had not heen lost upon political thinkers. Then the praetorians had prevented the snccess of a revolution; now they were utilized to anticipate any attempt at senatorial or popular interference. § 2. The new Princeps, by birth L. Domitius Aheno- barbus, by adoption Nero Claudius Caesar, was the only cliild of Agripjnna by her first husband. The Doniitii were notonous even amongst the nobility of Rome for the brutality of their pride; tlie Claudii were scarcely less notable for their hauteur; Agi-ippina's character was such as to match well with the savagery of the one house and the insolence of the other. The character of a Roman noble came to liim as a kind of inheritance, and even if only adopted into the house whose name he bore, he in- sensibly assumed the traditional character proper to the name. Nero was by birth and by adoption fitted to tlie role he tilled; but as yet he was a mere boy, tlie submissive pupil of three teacliers — his mother, Burrus, and Seneca. Under their tuition he had received the ordinary training of the time, but he showed little taste for the grave studies of the Roman schools. He had no liking for phih)Sophy, he could not even declaim fluently ; and the small amount of attention which he paid to these and similar serious subjects was purchased by indulging him in other tastes, such as music, singing, painting, driA-ing, and acting. Ho believed himself an artistic genius, and possibly he had some small gifts in that direction. If so, flattery soon pen'erted them and left him without even tlie merit of excellence to redeem his fondness for pursuits which even the degenerate Romans of that day deemed menial and degrading, the business of slaves, freedmen, and foreigners. Cicero had been at pains to veil his intimacy with Greek literature ; a century later Nero would have Grecized the whole life of Rome. § 3. To train such a pupil as tliis to merit his position would have taxed the capacity of any teacher ; it baffled entirely the easy-going Seneca. Of Burrus we know little, and he did not pose as the imperial tutor, a function which devolved entirely upon Seneca. A Spaniard of Corduba [Co7'dova), his father had migrated to Rome and made a i y NEKO : 54 — 6() A.D. 133 fortune as an advocate; the sou, L. Annaeus Seneca,* made himself the foremost declaimer of the day, the leading professor of rhetoric, of style, and of moral j)hilo- soj)hy. But he never allowed his philosophy to blind liim to practical life; he bound himself to no particular sect, gathered sounding commoni^laces from all alike, and at the same time made money with a most practical industry. It has been said that he was suspected of intrigue with Agrippina, and other cases soon arose when lie found it expedient to separate preaching from practice. He was ver}^ nearly as virtuous as his position permitted, and no more ; he had schemed with Agrippina to secure her son's advancement, and now proceeded to utilize his position. § 4. He was met at once by the hostility of Agrippina. She had dared everything to win the Empire for Nero, but in the assurance that she would be herself his guide and controller. For awhile it was so ; she ordered state affairs as in the days of Claudius, had the senate summoned to the palace that she might overhear its debates, and offered to seat herself by Nero's side on the thrijne of audience. She drove Narcissus to suicide, in her jealousy of his attachment to Britannicus, and poisoned M. Silanus, Proconsul of Asia and brother of her previous victim, the betrothed of Octavia, lest he should try to take vengeance upon her house (o4 a.d.). Seneca and Burrus grew alanned ; no longer useful as her instruments, they might be at any moment destroyed if her influence became paramount. Their safety as well as their power depended on their checking her authority, and the palace again became the scene of a domestic intrigue. Nero was weary of his mother's control, and readily acquiesced in anything which defied it. His tutor led him into an intrigue with Acte, a freedwoman of the Empress, whose anger at being thus su2)plauted in lier son's affections only served to excite his resentment. Finding jw-otest useless, she affected sjTupathy and cajolery. Nero laughed * There were two other sons, L. Mela and M. Xovatus. The latter was adopted by Junius Gallio, whose name he took. He is supposed to be the Gallio of Acts xviii., 12, Proconsul of Achaea about the vears 52-54 a.d. L. Mela was the father of the poet and (>onspirator, Lucan. 134 THE EARLY PRINCIPATE. at the transparent trick, and disgraced the chief of her confidants, the freedman Pallas. Again she lost her temper; Britannicus was still alive, she hinted, and the legions would welcome him as a true Caesar, The con- fiscations of the late reign had left the Empress rich; she began to augment her wealth still further, and to court the favour of the nobles; witli the legions of Gei-many she was influential by reason of her recently- founded colonies. Nero took alarm, doubtless at the suggestions of Seneca and Burrus. They may have hinted that Britannicus was dangerous, and no more was needed. He was the last of the house of Jidius, the brother of Octavia, Claudius' son; and with a Koman natural right was superior to any adoptive claim. Nero remembered the 'food of the gods,'* and bethought him that its inventor was still in prison on suspicion ; here was a ready 'instrimient of empire,'! who could purchase im- munity for one crime by another. He gave a banquet, and to Britannicus was passed a cup of hot wine. As usual, the gu8tator\ tasted it to prove its hai-mlessness, but the victim found it too hot for his liking. The few di'ops of cold water wliich were added contained so deadly a poison that, as he drank, the prince fell back dead without a cry. 'An epileptic fit,' said Nero ; but the pyre was already built outside, and the body was borne at once from the banqueting-hall to the flames. Nero sought the sympathy of the senate on the next day, and rewarded Locusta with riches and estates: Agrippina withdrew from the palace, and the triumph of her rivals was complete. Seneca addressed to the Emperor a treatise Oyi Clemency^ in which he congratulated him on having reigned a year without shedding a drop of blood (55 A.D.). § 5. But the boon companions of the Princeps still urged liim to free himself finally from his mother's cen- sure, even if it were silent, pointing out that she was still * Referring? to the dish of poisoned mushi-ooms by which Claudius earned the epithet of Dirus, i.e., ' in Heaven.' + Diu inter instrumenta regni habita. — Tacitus. t The name of the attendant whose business it was to taste all food and drink before passing them to his master. He must have participated in the crime in this case. »«■■*'*' / NERO : 54 — 66 A.D. 135 busily intriguing for the favour of the nobles. One of these companions was Salvius Otho, a profligate young noble, whose wife, Poppaea Sabina, was the fairest woman in Eome. Nero had never loved Octavia ; in Poppaea he found a match for himself in ambition and lack of con- science. He appointed the husband Governor of Lusi- tania ; and Otho departed to this honorary exile, leaving his wife as the Emperor's mistress. Poppaea, however, would brook no restraint or rival : Octavia and Agrippina must die. 'The Lion had tasted blood' and had no scruples now : still, if possible, he preferred to remove her quietly. Poisons were of no avail against her, for she had had too much experience of them : the freedman Anicetus, admiral of the fleet at Miseniim, found a ]Aan. He contrived a vessel which should fall to pieces at the loosening of a bolt, and on this Agrippina was to return to her villa at Antium, after spending a day of festival at Baiae with her son, who professed sorrow and repentance for his undutiful conduct. The machinery failed to act, and the Empress escaped for the moment. Her son saw her escape, and threw off all show of decency. He despatched Anicetus to complete his work with the sword, as Burrus and Seneca declined to undertake the duty. The latter, however, wrote tlie despatch which announced the event and explained that it was done in self-defence. This account was believed: Nero entered Eome as if in triumpli, and the senate instituted a public festival in honour of his deliverance (59 a.d.). § 6. Agrippina had been mistress of the w^orld in Claudius' time ; she removed Claudius to substitute, as she hoped, a yet more pliant tool in the person of her son Nero. But Seneca and Burrus had resolved to abolish the harem-government of the last reign. The purpose was excellent; the mistake lay in the means employed. To gain their pui-pose they played upon Nero's passions, and for the moment they triumphed; but, once roused, those passions found a more powerful hand to guide them in that of Poppaea. She now stepped into the position which Agrippina had failed te reach, and in her turn she measured her influence against that of the 7 136 THE EARLY PRIXCIPATE. philosopher and the soldier. These still swayed the Emperor's iudgment in all things heyond court matters, and moreover Octavia still lived as the Empress. Poppaea laid her plans against both barriers to her supremacy. She enc(airaged Nero to violate openly the most vital rules of Eoman decorum— rules which m his mother's lifetime he had stiU observed, at least m day- light Now she led him to cast off aU show of decency und to appear on the stage as a singer and actor, m the (drcus as a charioteer. Such conduct reahsed the dearest >v'ishes of the Emperor: it was Grecian, he said; but not even the debaucheries and degradation of two cen- turies had ernsod from the minds of the Komans that uravitas of which their forefathers had boasted. An earns mourned his disgrace when forced to appear on the staffe in Julius' time, and those nobles who had volun- tarily done so in the reigns of Augustus and Tiberius had 1»een publicly punished for their conduct. Now the Princeps himself, the embodiment of Homes dignity ' played fiddler and coachman,' and forced knights and senators to accompany him, and even to fight as gladiators. The mol) exulted to see the Princeps indeed their peer, for the mass of Pome's populace now was not Eoman, but the scourings of the world, the mingled 'barbarians of all nations, from whom were derived the gladiatoi-s, players, and >>uff()ons of thp amphitheatre and circus. Nero found himself too busy with his lyre and stables to ffive much attention to public matters ; daily they grew more distasteful to him, and the influence of Burrus and his coadjutor waned in proportion. The festival of the Jmenalia^ was instituted in 59 a.d. ; that of the Neronm in 60 A.D. The latter is a landmark in the histoiy ot the reign as the consummation of the Emperor's degradation, and the turning-point of his public conduct. The first five years of his reign, known as the Quinqxienmum Neronu, were proverbial for good government. S 7 All sense of shame lost, Nero was easily pei-suaded to elevate Poppaea to share his throne. The paramour would not suffer the wife to live even if divorced; she • This fostiyal T»a« instituted on tho occasion of Nero's coming of age. >'EK() : ')4 — ()6 A.U. 13" i \ charged lier witli immorality, and toi-tured her atten- dants to get corroborative evidence. This time lier victmi escaped, for not even the torture could produce the pre- tence of jruilt. Nevertheless Octavia was dismissed trom the palacc^ into Campania, and her life would have been sacrificed forthwith had not the very mob for once shown feeling, and forced Nero to recall her. They threw down Poppaea's statues, offered sacrifice for the safety of her i-ival and even threatened to assault the palace, iheir demonstrations whetted Poppaea's malice: she remem- bered Anicetus, taught him his part, and promised hmi his reward. He declared that Octavia was guilty ot m- triiiuo Nvitli liimself, and on liis evidence the discrowned Empress was banislied and suffocated. Amcetus was ostensibly exiled to Sardinia, but lived there m luxury cm tlie profits of liis two murders. The senate did sacrifice for tlie happy discovery of a dangerous intrigue and Poppaea was openly married to Nero, and clincliet instance of the division of tlu' command of th.> rraetorians since its concentration by Scjanus. ' 138 THE EARLY PRI^X'I^ATE. kept the promise which he had made iu a speech to the senate upon his accession, that he would keep distinct the matters of the palace and state. In that speech he, or rather his tutor who had in- structed him, had said: *Tlie law-courts shall be free again, and there shall be no secret tribunal in the palace ; I will allow no trafficking in offices and privileges. The senate shall keep its ancient prerogatives, and tlie consuls their jurisdiction; I will concern myself with the armies entrusted to me.' In a word, he promised to restore the government of Augustus, which hinged upon the dignity of the senate and the purity of the courts. In this spirit was passed, in o4 a.u., a law which forbade tlie fees or dues hitherto paid to judges. Claudius had limited the advocates' fee to a stated amount, and tliis wise enact- ment was kept in force. On the other hand, a law was introduced to abrogate Claudius' edict re-establishing the shows by which quaestors and aediles had bought their offices under the republic. Such a measure had enabled Claudius to keep Rome well supplied with amusements without trenching upon his own purse. Somewhat later (58 A.D.) was passed a law forbidding provincial governors from instituting games, since the cost was sure to fall upon the provincials. The latter now received particular attention : the procurators were required to give public notice of the scale of taxation, so that there might be no room for extortion ; and any suit brouglit by a provincial against a government official was heard before the ordi- nary courts of the Forum instead of before imperial, and therefore prejudiced, judges, as heretofore. In the same year Nero introduced a motion for the abolition of all indirect taxes, such as those on exports. The measure would have vastly benefited the poorer and commercial classes, but would have led to increased taxation on property. The senate threw the bill out, for they foresaw its effects on tlieir own purses. Nevei-theless, some few small taxes were abolished; and it was decreed tliat no taxes could be legalh* claimed at the expiration of twelve months from the date of their falling due. § 9. The senate enjoyed an unwonted degree of respect. i I V i NERO : 54 — 66 a.d. 139 Some whose property had fallen below the required stan- dard received grants of money ; others, disgraced in the last reign, were restored ; freedmen were prohibited from membership. So real was the government of the old magistrates, that those offices were again canvassed as energetically as in the days of the republic, and riots even occurred, which the Princeps, or his agents, curbed with prudence. The murder of Silanus passed unnoticed amidst the lawful exercise of the laws in other cases ; for the palace was looked upon as the Emperor's, to govern as he chose, just as the law of Eome gave to every father the right of life and death over all members of his family. But in public life not rank, or wealth, or interest could screen offenders. Senators, eqiiites, and quaestors were banished for forgery of wills ; a tribune of the people was convicted of murder ; libels were punished by exile (61 A.D.). The laws worked wisely and well, guided by the hands of Seneca and Burrus, so long as Poppaea kept Nero at her side and suffered those ministers to live and govern in his name. § 10. In the field also things went well for Rome. Throughout the reign the frontier, from the lower Danube to the lower Rhine, was undisturbed except by voluntary aggressions. On the Danube Plautius Aelianus chastised the Scythians, repopulated the regions devastated by pre\aous wars, and so opened up a new source for the supply of corn to Rome. The Greek (dties north of the Pontus were also united to Rome's sway. On the Rhine the old policy was continued, and jealousies fostered be- tween the neighbouring tribes, which wore out their strength in internecine war. Thus in 58 a.d. the Chatti were almost annihilated by the Hermunduri, and the Romans literally looked on a battle which left 60,000 of their enemies dead. In Britain occurred (61 a.d.) the terrible revolt of Boadicea,* but it was amply revenged by Suetonius Paulinus; and at the opposite end of the Empire Corbulo once again humbled Parthia and Armenia. Transferred in 55 a.d. to the command on the Euphrates, that general had found Yologaeses and the * See Chapter XX. 140 THE EARLY PRINCIPATE. NEKO : o4 — 66 A.D. 141 Parthians in possession of Armenia. The advance of the legions was simultaneous with the attempt of Yardanes, a son of the King, to seize the throne of Pai-thia, and Oorbulo found his course stayed by the withdrawal of Yologaeses, who gave hostages for his good conduct, as . that he returned as King of Araienia ; and the timely cliastisement of Parthia stood Rome in good stead when, in that year, the Jews rose in their last revolt and solicited the suppoii: of Vologaeses. Corbulo may have been aware of the mis- <^hief that was brewing, but, apart from any ulterior reasons, the honour of Rome demanded that her supremacy should once more be asserted and the de- jiendency of Armenia be assured as a bulwark against the Parthian Empire. § 11. Tn the ccmrse of 62 a.d. Nero found himself rid i of his uiiuisters ; for Seneca, though still living, was powerless, and only anxious to escape notice. Their places were filled bv the two new prefects, and, led by them, Nero be^an to govern— rather, to misgovern— in person. The change is abrupt in the extreme, and proves how much Rome owed to the efforts of his mmisters to keep Dalace and state apart. , Continual shows and ceaseless largesses to the people had drained the exchequer, ^nd it became necessary to refill it. At the same time the Princeps was fearful that others might feel something of the satiety which vexed himself, and he grew suspicious. Tigellinus worked upon his fears, for he saw the hopes of plunder His first victim was Rubellius Plautus, brother-in-law to the dead Tiberius aemellus. Even so remote a kinship to the Julians made him dangerous to Nero, who first sent him to reside in Asia (60 a.d.), and two years later com- menced the Reign of Terror by his execution. At the same time died Cornelius Sulla, a man vvhose only crime was his name, and the fact that he vva^ living-by com- Dulsion— at Marseilles, too near to the Rhine legions. S12 Rid of these fancied dangers, the Emperor now threw open the palace to the world, and, weary of defying decorum, now outraged all decency. There have been other periods of infamy in the world. ^The courts of Louis XV and Charles II. were abominable; but the whole of Neroniau Rome was one endless scene of debauchery in which none dared resist, because the sight of better hves roused Nero's hatred bv contrast with his own mtamy. In the midst of it all, 'on the night of July 18, 64 ad., some wretched booths near the Great Circus caught fire. The wind favoured the flames, and for six days and seven niffhts Rome burned. Nero was at his palace at Antium when the conflagration began; he came back, though without hurry, to save what he could ; but already much of his palace was burnt out, and before the fire was spent most of the ancient monuments of old Rome had fallen. Amono- these were the temple of Jupiter Stator, founded, as tradition said, by Romulus, the palace of Numa and the temple of Diana on the Aventine, which had been dedicated ^^^^ >^a«d<(Bi ditti NKRO : 54 — 66 a.d. 143 142 THE K\ilLY PRIXCIPATE. hy Sei-vius Tullius. Of tlie foui-teen city wards, seven were utterly destroyed and four more lay in ruins. The poorer classes of course suffered most severely. Many of the narrow slums where they congregated were still built largely, or entirely, of wood, which fed the flames. It was in vain that Nero threw open the granaries and his gardens to feed and lodge the homeless. Men scowled and whispered that Tigellinus had chosen his moment well, and tJiat Nero had revelled in a scene which no Emperor had witnessed before, singing the tale of Troy's sack while his capital was swallowed up. Herein Nero hardly needs an apologist. Incendiarism may probably have extended the tire when once commenced, but not even Nero w^ould have purposely fired his palate and Eome. But at the time men were ready to believe anything, and to save his own popularity Nero caused the Christians to be accused of the deed. There was a small body of adherents of the new faith now in Eome, where they were confounded with the Jews, and shared the odium which always attached to the latter people. Indeed, it is argued, with some proba- bility, that the Jews were the real objects of Nero's persecutions, while from the fact that a few Christians suffered with them arose the story that they were the only persons accused. Another theory is that the Jews, aided by Poppaea who favoured their religion, shifted the charge against themselves on to the Chnstians. Whether Jews or Christians, they suffered for their principles — principles so little understood that even Tacitus speaks of them in the language which Pliny transfers to Nero himself — 'enemies of the woi'ld.' Pome rose anew from her ruins, more grand than of old, with straight streets and long porticos of brick and marble in place of winding alleys and hovels, and from the Palatine across the \'ia Sacra to the Esquiline stretched the lengthy colonnades of the new palace, the 'Golden House,' where evervthing that art and money could give was lavishly collected, until it became a gigantic museum for statuary and other treasures jdundered from the Grecian towns. Then the mob, once more housed, were invited to witness the punishment of the 'incendiaries,' and the victims of this first persecution were exhibited in the amphitheatre, not as mere gladiators— for they declined to fight, and the siffht moreover would have been no novelty— but sewn' up in the skins of wild beasts they were worried bv do^s And when evening came the festivities stiU went on: the Emperor dined and feasted his people bv the light which fell from human beings bound to stakes around him, robed in shirts covered with pitch, and set on fire. x . i ^ ;i • R 13 But Pome's patience wore out at last, and m 65\i)"a fonnidable conspiracy was set on foot, in which many senators and knights and still more of the military class ioined. The ostensible head was C. Calpurnius Piso, a inan whose sole merits were his nobility and his skill as a chess-player. In all probability his name was used merely as one to rally round, and in the event of success he would have been set aside in favour of a more able man— Seneca, possibly. One of the conspirators, a freed- woman named Epicharis, was betrayed and tortured, but would not divulge her secret. But the world was alarmed ; and when a freediiian of Scaevinus, the conspirator who claimed the privilege of inflicting the first wound on Nero, gave information that his master was preparing evidently for some perilous ^oup on the morrow, the latter was at once arrested, and forthwith betrayed his accomplices. No confessions could save them ; all suffered alike. Faenius Pufus prefect of the praetorians and leader of the mihtary portion of the conspiracy, seated himself on the tribunal to condemn his own accomplices, but did not save Ins hie. Lucan the poet, long an intimate of Nero's, and ^i-iven to treason by the displeasure of a Prmceps who forbade the recitation of poetry T)etter than his own, tried, it was said, to purchase life bv incriminating his mother, who was innocent She was'^spared ; Lucan fell. He was the nephew of Seneca who also died. There is little doubt that Lucan wa^ euiltV. Petronius Arbiter, the court fop and judge of fashion, fell perhaps because his influence nyaUed that of Tiffellinus • he composed a satire on his deathbed, ridicuhng the Emperor's court, and died with a ribald jest. The consul Yestini^ the consul -design ate Lateranus, with many other 144 THE EAltLY PHINXIPA IE. NERO : 54 — 66 a.d. 145 uobles and a host of centurioiis and lesser men, died also. The thinking men of Rome were mostly Stoics now. Thjit creed, with its doctrines of fatalism and stern endurance, had special charms for noble pride. The cliief study in pliilosophy, with the Romans at least, was how t<> die; how to live troubled their easy consciences but little. To the Stoic suicide was commendable ; so Seneca, and most of the victims of this period, received the news of their condemnation, opened their veins, and calmly bled to death in tlieir baths, while talking platitudes of virtue to their surrounding friends. Undoubtedly Nero owed liis long security largeh* to the passive attitude tauglit by this philosophy. The conspiracy liad been formidable, and it aroused Nero to one continuous course of bloodshed. Executions followed one another unceasingly, and amongst the victims was Thrasea Paetus, the most upright man of the time, and the only senator who dared to remonstrate against the murder of Agrippina. He died cahnly, as became a good man and a Stoic; and at the same tune feU Barea Soranus, a pattern of lumesty in high places, once Proconsul of Asia, and with him his daughter. Nero had realised that to have commanded in an armed province was a possible danger to th(» thnme. He knew that the power of making Emperors had passed from the praetorians to the legions ; and the legions knew it too. § 14. In 66 A.D. Nero went to Greece. Rome, he said, could not appreciate its ai-tist rider; he would win the wreaths of Olympia, Delphi, the Isthmus, and Nemea. The Greeks gratified him by holding all these festivals in the same year and in return he remitted aU taxation there and declared the country free, as Flamininus had done before. But Rome, left in the hands of Helius, a favounte freed- man, and of Nxnnphidius Sabinus, successor to Facmius Rufus as praetorian i)refect, gi'ew more sullen and restless. From the provinces came daily fresh rumours of defection amongst the legions; and Helius in vain adjured his master to return. When Nero at last consented to come home, he made a triumphal entry into the city, but his absence had filled the cup of his misdeeds. But lately, X long jealous of Corbulo's successes, and fearing to appoint liim to conduct the Jewish war which had now commenced (66 A.D.), he had recalled him and had him murdered at Corinth on the way home. With like gratitude he treated two of the Scribonii, Rufus and Proculus, commanders of the German armies. At any moment the same jealousy might overthrow the remainder of his commanders. Hardly had Nero set foot in Rome again when he learnt that the legions of Spain had saluted Galba as Princeps and were marching upon Italy. h R. 31-%. 10 CHAPTER XIV. The Military Revolutions — Vindex and Galba. § 1 . Transfer of the Militarj' Strength of the Empire to the Provincials — S 2. Nero alienates the Provinces and ^ 3. the Annies ; his Policy towards his Generals — § 4. Galba in Spain — § 5. Vindex heads the Revolt of Gaul — § 6. He is crushed hy Verginius — § 7. Hesitation of Nero ; he is deserted — § 8. The Death of Nero — §9. Failure of the Republican Movement ; Nymphidius — § 10. Galba in Gaul ; he enters Rome — ^11. General Discontent ; the German Legions — § 12. Adoption of Piso ; Conspiracy of Otho — § 13. He is proclaimed by the Praetoiians — § 14. Death of Galba. § 1 . By the constitution of the Empire, Eonie was always its most vulnerable point. It had heen so under the Republic, when the law forbade the citizen to appear in arms in public, and allowed no soldier to enter the walls witliout previously disarming. As the frontiers grew, the veterans were removed farther and farther away as garrisons or colonists, and from the conquered territories was drawn by degrees the very amiy which controlled tliem. Italy became exempt from service, in fact, if not in name ; but the very policy which seemed to promise her peace and prosperity wrought only her undoing. The Roman and his confreres forgot the use of the sword, the discipline of the camp, and lost that power to obey which is the title to government ; and his skill, his tactics, and his virtues passed over to the provincials and barbarians. Tacfarinas, Arminius, Maroboduus, are only examples of the pre- vailing state of things. Whole legions were composed of native Gauls, Germans, or Spaniards, with no security against possible defection beyond their jealousies and their differences of blood and language. Even their commanders were in some cases provincials, and the minor officers — tribunes and centurions^regularly so. n J MILITARY REVOLUTIONS— VINBEX .VND GALBA. 14? There was small reason to place reliance upon the loyalty ot such armies. Rome had become Carthaginian in her policy of emiDloymg mercenaries who cared for nothing" but pay and privileges, and saw in war only a means of sub- sistence. Nero had made the blunder of not paying them m tull. He had given the now cnistomary donative upon his accession; but reckless extravagance had beggared him, and he could neither repeat \\\^ gift nor pay tho regular stipend. This was his first eiTor. § 2 Lack of funds led him into another and a worsen blunder: he oppressed the provinces. It was a worse blunder because the loyalty of a grateful province mij^ht have paralysed the treason of a mutinous army within Its borders. Thus far the provinces Jiad in* general flourished under the new regime, and the first years of Nero s Prmcipate were as fortunate for them as for Rome feince then they had suffered oppressions as grievous as those of a A erres f they had been plundpred on all hands to rel)uild Rome and to decorate the Golden House; they had all seen or heard of thf^ true character ot the last of the Julii; they were ready to hail anycme else as Prmceps if he would but leave them in peace I he armies desired only him for an Emperor who would truckle most liumbly to their tastes. At Rome there were heard again the mutterings which followed Gains' tall— murmurs about the restoration of the Republic and its senate. The discontent was universal ; it only needed leaders. *^ § 3. Nero believed that he had saved himself by his policy towai-ds his generals, a policy which utilised them to the tull and then cast them off in disgrace. That they were able to be dangerous was inh(M-ent in their position with powers second only to those of the Pnnceps, at the' head ot a body ot devoted troops far outnumbering the pam- pered and ('.nvardly garrisoiis of Rome and Italy, and un- trammelled by the presence of a jeah)us circle of nobles Augiistus had foreseen \\x^ risk, and had moved them assiduously from one command to another, to prevent 148 THE EARLY PRINCIPATE. too gpreat intimacy with any one arm}'. Tibenus did the same at first, then grew remiss and careless, and already Gaetulicus defied the Emperor before Gains came to the throne. Gains forestalled his conspiracy, and Claudius found a new security in once more putting the legions on foreign service. This very activity brought to notice the ablest men of the time, and exposed them to the jealousy of Nero. Suetonius Paulinus, conqueror of Britain and Mauretania, was disgraced ; the Scribonii were exe- cuted, and Corbulo driven to suicide, just in time, for already the Romans were thinking of hailing him as Princeps.* Other generals suffered like ingratitude. It was becoming a recognised truism now that the Pro- consul or LegaUis might strike for his life, since good service and loyalty would not secure it. He must flatter and caress both legionanes and provincials, that they might in the evil day protect their commander. § 4. Sulpicius Galba saw this. He was seventy-two years old, a distant relative of the Empress Livia, and a tried soldier of the Rhine frontier, where he had suc- ceeded to the position of Gaetulicus, and allayed the seditions of 40 a.d. He had been Proconsul of Africa 45 A.D., and in his later years had been thrust away un- honoured to command in Tarraconensis. He was a martinet in discipline, and he nursed witliout ceasing the hopes of Empire which the soothsayers had long ago given to him. He had even declined the purple once, in 41 A.D., when the Gennan legions had offered to lead him against Claudius to Rome. He did not mind waiting. *No one can be called to account for what he has not done,' he said ; and he set himself to disarm Nero's env}^ by a 'masterly inactivity,' after first winning over the provincials to his side. As Nero's reigu progressed G^lba grew bolder. He resisted tlie imperial procurators, protected the people from their extortions, and visited with summary justice even Roman citizens who trifled with the law. In the neighbouring province of Lusitania was Otho, nursing the memory of liis gay city life and of * There is siiid to have been a conspiracy with this object ; but whether Corbulo knew of it is not dear. 4% MILITARY REVOLUTIONS — VINDEX AND GALBA. 149 the wife whom the Princeps had taken from him and killed. He too paid court to the provincials and bided his time. § 5. Gaul had never forgotten her freedom. Sacrovir's rebellion failed, and so did Gaetulicus' intrigues with the Gauls; and then followed mingled indulgence and severity, while Claudius endeavoured on the one hand to stamp out Druidism as a cause of sedition, and on the other to win over the people by the gift of the franchise and other boons. Still the discontent continued. Those Gauls who were drafted to Rome during Claudius' day shamed the Romans by their simplicity of life ; those who visited the capital in the latter days of Nero were ashamed to be the subjects of such a mountebank. One of these was Julius Vindex, Legatus of Lugdunensis, who early in the year 68 a.d. summoned to anns the Aedui and Averni. Already he had sent letters to the surrounding com- manders, to Fonteius Capito in Lower Germany, Yer- ginius Rufus in Upper Germany, to the lUyrian legions, and to Galba in Spain. The letters were forwarded to Nero, all save that which Galba received. He retained it, and so laid himself open to suspicion ; and thus com- promised, he heard of the outbreak of the revolt with pleasure. Yindex bade him come and act as Emperor. He appealed to his troops and his subjects, and was hailed Princeps by them on the 2nd of Apiil. Otho saw his way to power, and urged on the old man's wavering courage. Galba proclaimed himself Legatus Senatus Populique Romania and began to levy troops against Nero. § 6. The rising of Yindex was unexpectedly crushed. Personally he only wished, he said, to replace a tyrant by a wiser Emperor, but his followers paraded higher hopes. They dreamed of throwing off the yoke of Rome, and the legions regarded the revolt as a challenge. Yerginius hurried towards Aquitania, traversing Belgica without hindrance, because that province was jealous of the more favoured southern Gauls. At Yesontio {Besangon) he met Yindex with 100,000 men, and the two leaders par- leyed. Both had so far the same views that they readily 150 THE EARLY PRINCIPATE. MILITARY REVOLUTIONS — VINDEX AND GALBA. 151 agreed to unite against Nero * But the Verginiau legions thought otherwise. They attacked the Gauls, and slew 20,000 of them. Yindex himself was either killed or committed suicide, and when the news reached Galba he was with difficult}' prevented from putting an end to himself. The troops of "^'erginius liailed him as Emperor ; but he refused the title and led them back to their quar- ters, while Galba began to negotiate with the victor § 7. Meantime, at Eome, Nero saw liis Empire falling awa}-. On the first news of the Gallic rising he treated it as a jest; then determined to march into Gaul. He had lately dreamed of conquest, and had collected in Italy picked battalions of the German and Illyrian troo^^s, whom he intended to lead to the conquest of the Caucasus or the headwaters of the Nile. These he had put in order to march northwards, when he learnt Galba's j^ro- clamation. Still he waited; and then came the news that the legions of Verginius had declared against him- self, that those of Illyria and Pannonia had done the same, that Fonteius claimed to be Princeps in Lower Germany and Olodius Macer in Africa. Nero called the marines from Misenum, and formed them into a naval brigade ; then said he would go as a suj^pliant to his mutinous legions, and win them back by tears and sing- ing ; finally talked of flying to Egypt. 'Wliile he dallied, treacheiy tampered with the praetoiians. Tigellinus' colleague in the prefecture, N^Tnphidius Sabinus, by averring that Nero had fled and deserted them, induced the guards to declare for Galba ; the naval brigade did likewise. The bribe was the promise of 30,000 sesterces apiece, a sum which NjTuphidius knew Galba would never pay. His plan was to profit by thus committing Galba to the fulfilment of an impossible bargain. § 8. Nero was deserted. Senators, populace, courtiers, freedmen, slaves, and guards had all abandoned him. One Phaon at last offered him shelter in his villa beyond the walls, and on the night of June 9 the Princeps set out, disguised, for this refuge. The consids learnt of his * The story of the parley and a^eement is disputed. On another view, Vindex aimed at the liberation of Gaul, and used Galba's name as a cloak ; there was no parley, and the battle was brousrht on by Verginius. ■<^^' flight, and summoned the senate at midnight. That body, on the prompting of Nymphidius, declared Nero a public enemy, and despatched horsemen to bring him back alive or dead. Nero was still alive as the cen- turion entered the cellar in which he lay dying by his own hand. ' What an artist to perish ! ' he cried, and his cowardliness to the last shamed even his satellites. He was the last of the true Caesars;* of the hundred and eight descendants of Augustus not one remained. Augustus received the Principate by the fiat of the senate; in Nero that body asserted its right to punish an unworthy servant. By the constitution of the Princi- pate the senate gave and the senate could theoretically, take away the purple, but only in the case of Nero shall we find them courageous enough to assert their rights. § 9. At Rome talk turned once again upon a possible restoration. The senators sat gravely discussing the advisabilty of the move, as though they possessed in Galba a Pompeius to do all their behests, and were not rather at his mercy. The consuls asserted themselves, and even took the old republican privilege of issuing a coinage with the head of Liberty upon it. But the habits of dependence were too deeply engrained to be so easily lost. From all sides came rumours of the doings of would-be Emperors and undecided legions, wliile in the city itself Nymphidius was undisguisedly aiming at the throne, despite the assurance that no Eoman would be so base as to suffer him to sit on Caesar's chair. He had hoped to be continued as prefect by Galba, but on learning that Cornelius Laco was appointed his suc- cessor he threw off the mask. He had already dis- missed Tigellinus; many men of rank were his allies. He played upon the praetorians' jealousies: Galba was too parsimonious to pay the promised donative; the Spanish legions would take the place of the praetorians in the esteem of a Princeps of their own making. But meantime the news had reached Galba that Nero was dead, and he had at length moved towards Gaul. On * The name of the twelve Caesars is applied to the Emperors, from Julius to Domitian ; but the title of Caesar continued to be assumed bv every succeeding Emperor, and survives in the modern titles of Ozar and Kaiser." 4 152 THE EABLY PRINCIPATE. the way there met him, at Narbo, the representatives of the senate, greeting him as its elected Emperor. The troops of Yerginius, failing to induce their general to aim at the Empire, reluctantly gave their adhesion to Galba, and were followed by the legions of Illyria, Pannonia, and those of Vespasian, the successor of Corbulo in the East* The praetorians went with the tide; and when Nymphidius Sabinus presented himself and attempted to recover their support, he was torn to pieces. § 10. Galba marched in a leisurely fashion to the capital, staying in Gaul long enough, as he thought, to rearrange that province after the recent affair of Vindex. He remitted a fourth of their tribute to the tribes which had joined the revolt, and gave the civitas to the Sequani, while at the same time he increased the burdens of the Lingones and Treveri who had aided Verginius. He brought his ' antique discipline ' with him from the tnbunal to the throne, and refused to acknowledge by any donatives the conduct of the legions of Verginius in crushing the Gallic rising At the same time he removed their commander, and substituted an old man of no pretentions, Hordeonius Flaccus. Now, too, he heard that Fonteius Capito had fallen in Lower Germany and Clodius Macer in Africa ; and when he at length reached Italy, all the world was again ostensibly united under his hand. The report of his character had gone before him, and the rabble were justly alarmed for their shows and doles, while many of them were conscious of crimes committed under Nero's x>rotection which must now imperil their lives. The naval brigade went out to meet the Princeps, and demanded a donative for their desertion of their late naaster. Galba refused it, and they thought to terrify his senility into submission, but he ordered his cavalry to lide them down, and marched into Eome at tho head of his troops with a stem bearing that gave little to laugh at, despite his baldness and his gout. There followed a brief proscription of the most notorious fol- •The quiet attitude of the Eastern lejdons all this time wns due to their beine paged in the Jewish wai-. See Chap. xni. u H "IV: ent MILITARY REVOLUTIONS VINDEX AND GALBA. 153 lowers of Nero, including Helius, and of those who had supported Nymphidius, amongst whom were a consul- designate and an ex-consul. The praetorians, asking for the enormous gift promised by Nymj^hidius, were told that the new Princeps was wont to choose, not buy, his men, and retired to regret at leisure their recent choice. § 11. Indeed, Galba had few friends in Eome. With the best of intentions himself, he suffered his satellites to abuse their position most flagrantly. T. Vinius, Galba's fellow-consul, Cornelius Laco, and *^ the freedman Icelus, now made an eques under the name of Marcianus, were the chief offenders. They were all men of infamous character, grasping and venal, but all had sei-ved Galba well in his stroke for power, and all so contrived to establish their own influence. 'In seven months Icelus had grasped as much as Nero's worst minions dared to covet.' Promj^ted by these men, Galba offended all parties. He persecuted the lesser ministers to Nero's debauchery or cruelty. He spared Tigellinus, whose well dowered (laughter was betrothed to Vinius, though the people clamouied for his life. He tried to compel the refunding of all but one tenth of the grants made by Nero, tracing them from hand to hand until recovered ; but the attempt succeeded only in part. He refused to keep up the Imperial stat(^ witli the luxury to which the society of Eome was accustomed. He Avould not pay even a portion of the promised donative to the guards. He had offended the nobles and senate by his severity against the Nyni- phidiaus. In the provinces things were worse, for there was the power as well as the will to protest. The legions had been jealous that the making of an Emperor should rest with the praetorians ; but now that the Spanish army had taken the appointment upon itself, the remaining legions were all jealous of that force in turn. Most of them had acquiesced in the election of Galba for want of able leaders; now they stigmatised him as 'the choice of Vindex,' smarting under the sternness which still withheld the largess. The Ehine garrison of Upper Gei-many, in particular, were mutinous. They regretted Verginius, despised his successor, deemed themselves uni^ warded for loi THE KAKLY PRINOIPATE. Galba'frecentZeritv ^'^^J, "" ^J^d other victims of gua. s must choose one whom all respected. ^ hv th^ nL™ 4. ^ determined to frustrate intriiru^s hj the choice of an adoptive son as heir-presum, Hvl fTo ^itl:rt£r""°^•*^^ ^^^^^ ^^^^tz On.an^"^tn=LtS.S!i?h1^ pfho nf r4.oiKo» ocvt^ie qualities which were the Empire while it tlm IT^ *® pnvileges of the ino^ X^r *i *^''->' **°'® moment they were hunt- ing down the creatures of Nero's miso-overnment Thl court of Galba was as tliat of Claudius had heen ° ts oS rr a^rSt aJireTitS-^r* Vini; wttad' supported the clail'To'^h; I'tttiou^'^'ot: ,'1 never ceased to push his interest with t^ rPrinceps He was perhaps shrewd enougJ^iTC the^^ te'^-l-- an^ eV;n V*'' "" ^°^ '^'^ O'^o's habits and characto and even his years were against him. Yet he haHTsted rbTsriutrir^-'^H^irdr^lr^^^ himself friends among'?rg„arS t^Si^ ^t i,„m^ ,' MILITARY REYOLUTIONS— VINDEX AXD GALBA. 155 already intriguing in his interest. The whole body was ready for an enieute, caring little who was Princeps, so long as Galba was not. Within six days of the adoption of Piso the plot caine to a head. It was merely a matter of more or less gold, of bidding sufficiently high for the Empire. Otho was overwhelmed with debt, and knew that he must fall unless he could seize the Principate, yet he contrived to find money enough to purchase the support of the few guards whose salutation, once made, would win the support of the remainder, or, failing that' would lose Otho his stake and his life. ' § 13. While Galba sacrificed, on the morning of Janu- ary 15, the diviner warned him of an impending dano-er. Otho stood at his side, and at the same moment was summoned by a freedinan with the message that 'his architect and contractors were waiting to see him.' The words were a preconcerted signal; and hurrying to the Forum, Otho found but twenty-three soldiers of the guard to support him. He would have drawn back, but they hurried him to the camp, and there saluted him as Caesar. While he harangued the troops from the tribunal, news of the event reached the palace. Galba showed no fear, but his action was impeded by the contentions of Yinius and Laco, the former, like a coward, advising him to wait and fortify himself in the palace against attack, the latter bidding him at once go and reclaim his troops by the effect of his presence. It was this which the Emperor wished to do, and his decision was confirmed by the arrival of a rumour purposely set on foot by the revolutionists to draw their victim out in the beHef that Otho had been cut to pieces. The city was full of troops, for the picked legions summoned by Nero were still billeted in Rome. To keep these in control were sent three trusted officers, amongst them Marius Celsus. It was useless. The naval brigade, remembering how it had been treated a few weeks before, was the first to join Otho, and it was followed by the entire force, excepting only a company of veteran Germans. The picket of praetorians which was on duty in the palace at the time I 166 THE EARLY PRINCIPATE. hesitated awhile before joiniDg the others. It was the Jif'^fl-T^ company as had seen the murder of Gains and the flight of Nero, and it ' feared for its reputation ! ' ^14. Ignorant of the universal defection, Galba put on the imperial breastplate, and started for the camp. As he entered the Forum from the Palatine a body of horse- men rode down the opposite hiU and fell upon his atten- dants who fled without resistance, while the populace, who had thronged to that centre of city life, hurried to climb the surrounding buildings 'as though to watch a play.' The Umiperors litter-bearers stumbled and threw him to the ground by the Lacus Curtius, where his pursuers overtook fl'?!-. /^^ \^^'^ lip his throat calmly to the steel : ' Strike, il It IS lor the state's good ! ' Piso was butchered at the verj; doors of Testa's temple, the holiest shrine in Eome \ mius, Laco, and Icelus fell likewise, and the heads of the JLmperor and his two ministers were paraded on ^^•!f ^•^'■''"1^^ ^^""^ *^ *^^ ^'^^P- Marius Celsus was with difficulty protected by Otho, who convened the senate the same evening, and was by them accepted as their rimceps, with the usual titles of Caesar and Augustus One hundred ai.d twenty claimants made application for reward for the actual murder of Galba. They lived to be hunted out by ViteUius, six months later, and he put them everv; one to death. Only one man struck a blow tor the falling Caesar— Semproni us Densus, who defended Fiso with his life. It was of Galba that Tacitus wrote the now hackneyed epigram, 'All men would have deemed him an able ruler, had he never ruled.'* Omnium consensu capax imperii, nisi imperasset.'-i?/.v/o,v>*. i. 49. CHAPTEB XV. The Military Revolutions— Otho and Vitellius. ^ V/'^n® ^!;^^^ ^^C''''^ P^^^l^j"^ ^iteUiu^ They enter Italv- l^f Conciliatory Measures of Otho-§ 4. His Forces and (^ 5) their Disposition-^ 6\ The Campaio^n ; first Battle of Be riacum- ^ /•Suicide of Otho-j 8. VitelUus; his Tolemnce and hS Dmi- n?hW^^ ^' S:jf^«««fh« Early Measures-^ 10. MisgovernmSt of lus Officers ; the Expulsion of the Astrologers - 5 1 1 The Le^o^s lS!,^t ,^^^.^^- *- Vespa.Bian-§ 12.^Distiibed l^tl'lfZ tjnpire; Antomus Primus enters Italy— U 3 Second RaHla if Betriacum Sack of Cremona-^ 14 ' AULt^rof V S^^^^^^ frustrated : Burning of the Capital and Death of Vitellius. I }:, ^^''l i-evolution was accomplished, but it w^as only to substitute for the 'choice of Yindex ' a candidate of the praetorians. There was still no union of opinion amount the troops at large, and Otho failed to secure it He w^as concerned from the moment of his proclamation to strengthen himself against the impending attack of the German legions. The refusal of the army of the UpDer Rhine to take the oath to Galba found answer in the A 1 ' Tr. ir'^ ,^af 'i«o^ of the lower pi-ovince, where Aulus Vitellius had succeeded Fonteius Capito. ViteUius was a coai-se plebeian, with no idea but of gluttony, and the rapidity with which m six months he bJame thL chosen candidate of the whole German army was due to the intrigues of his two advisers, Fabius Valens, and Caecina the Batavian. These two, in their turn, 'undertook and completed the transfer of the Empire,' the former because implicated perhaps m the action of Capito, and thinking the merits of the army of Lower Germany, of which he waf a Legatus, overlooked ; the latter, a Legatus of the Upper r^ 158 THE EARLY PKIXCIPATK. f'^l?'* r"'/'*'-'^''" th,eHtene<] «iiL prosecution by Cralba for h.s extortu.imte behaviour. The two combined tor mutual defence and on January .i VitelHus Z.7^. olaimed Emperor at Cologne. » "«» pio § 2. Given a leader, the «e.stei-n armies showed their rue feehngsw>th alacrity. Along the Ehine VaUey the revolt spread to Gaul, where four legions rose against Ga ba, and so to Britain. That island had heretofore had no part in the game of prince-making; now ts^ded completely with VitelUus. No time wa lost. The egions had been inactive too long alrea.ly. and they were hungry tor battle, and wreaked their .savagery on the Gallic towns through which they hurried on to Itahr Whie on the march they heaid of Galba's end and ^' <)tho.s accession, which merely increased their .leter- imnation to set up a German-made Emperor and to ; f r. *r" i*'T"'^' °* '^' praetorians. \{ Galba had StSr^'^LtXT"/'^'^ ^"'I>' *^''- ^«d -- wiiaievei. n^ven the Aedui and other Gallic statP^ recent y rewarded by Galba, joined heartily the cans; lll'^^v Jr'" ^^^ KJiine to the ocean no troops were left but the weakest of pickets on the G™ trontier. Valens crossed the Cottian Alp., with jTooo rwa;oThTp;"'*P ''"""' r*^'^^ ItaJ rather sooner r>y way of the Penme Pass, and occupied Milan. ,.;-.;„ ^* j^''™^' meantime, the praetorians were sus- picious and violent, continually imagining the Emi.eror stite"" ?hX/"')f r'^^i!- f--theVtingTtt S +• Y*l'«"^'" ,^"dy and the upper classes generally while freed from the fear of a proscription which had seemed imminent, yet knew not whom to favoui untU iLX tC ''^"'■^ ri^oiug to prevail in the corng stiuggie. The^ mass of the people of .ouise supported Otho. fron. whose intimacy with Nero thev couKope for a second Saturnalia of indulgence, hailing him bj the title of Nero Otho-a title he was xise enough to diV &"a?ke XT" ?^^''t "'■ 'li-PPoi^tld all which hn 1 .,„ ? , r'"^^" *". *" ♦'"•""« *he ability wnicti had marked his provincial government and .studied with tact to reconcile the tw^ factions 'of tS MILITAKY KEV0LUT10^\s>— OTHO AND VITELLIUS. 159 senate aud the guards. He recalled the victims of Nero's cruelty, handed over to the mob Tigellinus, who cheated the wild beasts by suicide, saved Marius Cehus the consul-designate and h^yal friend of Galba, and punished no one for partisanship. He was well aware that he must %ht for his vrown, and he studied to win over a party in the provinces. In 8pain he succeeded by conceding privileges to natives and Romans alike- but the rapid defection of the rest of the West carried the 8paiiis with the current, and they lapsed to Vitellius But Afnca and Egypt, the far East, and the legions under 1 e.spasian at Jerusalem, with those of Moesia Fannoma, and Hlyria, all declared for Otho. He was actually in the palace of the (^aesars; therefore, Vitellius was, in tlieir view, an usuiper. §4. Otlio's attempts to dissuade \'itellius from prose- cuting his purpose met with no success, and endf^d in mutual abuse, and even mutual attempts at assassination War was the only course. The Princeps left the citv on March 14, amid evil omens. The very Tiber over- flowed, and tried to bar his advance. With tlie praetorians and otlier troops recently col- lected in l^)me Otho had perliaps 24,000 men, while 8,000 veterans were already on tlie niarcli from Pannonia and Illyria, as an earnest of larger succours to follow, rf he could but avoid a general engagement until tJieir advent he might liope for success, even thcmgh the lono- delay necessary to secure Pome itself had robbed him of the prime advantage of being tirst in the field, and had allowed the Vitellians to enter Italy. As it was, he felt it needlul to carry with him many of the leading senators and consulars as liostages for the good conduct of their fellows, though nominally as liis council. Amongst his generals was Suetonius Paulinus. § 5. While the fleet from Misenum made some suc- cessful feints upon the flank of the Vitellians in Nar- bonese Gaul, Otho aimed at securing the line of the Padus {Fo), and in particular at keejiing open his com- inunications with Pannonia by the head of the Adriatic Sea. For these ends Spurinna occupied Placentia • .4- 16() THE EARLY PRINCIPATE. (j-allus posted himself at Betriacum,* tweuty miles east of Cremona. Otho in person remained at Brixelliim in the rear, for his advisers compelled him to do so, though Ids presence was sadly needed to centralize his army, and to end the silly jealousies which divided his troops and set them against their generals. The civil wars of this period are not so much due to the rivalry of Emperors as to their soldiers. The praetorians were at issue with the legionaries at large, the auxiliary troops with both ahke, and the legions themselves were fran- tically jealous of each other. It was the soldier, not his officer, who was the important factor now, and the power by which the legionaries had named masters for the world they now extended to the deposition or appointment of their own commanders. § 6. Caecina, anxious to forestall his rival Valens, was eager to meet the Othonians at once and single-handed. On the other side, in vain did the wiser Othonian leaders urge delay ; their troops accused them of treachery, and forced them to do battle. Spunnna with difficulty kept liis men behind the walls of Placentia, and even so barely maintained that position. Gallus was in full march to relieve him, when he learnt that Caecina had withdrawn from the assault to Cremona. He established a camp at Betriacum, and there collected the main body of Otho's forces to await the arrival of the Pannonian legions. Caecina, determined to anticipate such an accession of strength, arranged an ambuscade at Locus Castorum, twelve miles in advance of Cremona, his head-quarters ; but the plan was betrayed, and the Yitellians were onl} saved from a disastrous defeat by the cautious hesitation or treachery of Suetonius Paulinus. The insubordination of the Othonian troops was increased by their success, and they demanded more loudly than ever to be led to a second battle. Otho in person held a council of war in the camp, and was long undecided whether to wait or to give battle. Delay, besides increasing his own numbers, might enervate the Vitellians, who were unused to an Italian climate ; but he feared treason at Kome, and suspense was vexatious. • Also spelled wrongly Bedriaciun. MILITARY REVOLUTIONS— OTHO AND VITELLIUS. 161 He superseded Paulinus, and gave the command to his ^brother Titiamis, suppoited by Licmius Pi-oculus, ^Ltect of the praetorians, with oi-ders to figlit.at once. ^Meantime Valens had joined his colleague, humed forward hy his own troops, who feared to miss then- share in the coming victory. Otho's new generals were utterly incompetent, and urged on by the impatience ot heir niaster, gave battle after a dis ressmg march with an anny wcarifd and encumbered with baggage. A rumour had passed along the lines that the Vitelhans were p-epared to desert to Otho. Their advance was awaited without suspicion, and when it became an attack, the Othonians weie qui e taken by sui-pri«e. The praetorians fled with- out striking a blow, and no efforts of the remainder of the force could prevent a total defeat. Paulinus and Prooulus fled to Gaul ; Gallus and Oelsus, deciding that their cause was lost, and that Otho would not wish the struggle to be i.volona-ed forced Titianus to accede to their views and eSe with Caecina. On the day following the battle, -^pril 16, the defeated anny took the oath to Vitellius. 8 7 The news of the defeat had been brought to Otho at Brixellum on the evening of the previous day r Anril 1 o^ He received it calmly, dined, and retired to ■t\ after (riving some final directions to those with him. Ealv the follo^ng morning he fell upon his sword. The few troops who formed his guard, left without a leader, turned to Verginius once more to offer him the )m-ple It needed little wisdom to dec hue it now, some courage to defv the wishes of the soldiery. He made Ws esc,ape in secret, and left the troops perforce to join Vitellius the first Princeps to take the Empire by fore* of war Martial the epigrammatist compared the death of Otho to that of Cato Uticensis and many deemed ,t a noble thing that he had preferred to die rather than to m° tract for his country the horrors of civil war. ' Once he sinned greatly, once he acted nobl,-,' says Tacitus, alhiding to'the murder of Galba and his own suicide: 'and the one deed was just as good as the other was bad. .'Ouobus fadnoribus, altero «agitiosis.TOio altero ogregio, tantundem apud B. Sl-96. 162 THE EAKLY PltI>'CIPATE. § 8. The third ' tragedy -kiug ' of the year, Aulus Vitellius, was a man who owed his successes to his vices. He had enjoyed the favour of Tiberius, it was said, for his immorality, that of Gains for his skill in di-iviug, tliat of Claudius for his taste for the dice. He flattered Nero .so well that he received the Proconsulate of Africa for two years and a high urban magistracy. In the fomier he won honour for his integrity, in the latter he set an example of unscrupulous peculation. Appointed to succeed Yerginius as commander in Lower Gemiany, he won the affections of his troops without effort by his coarse habits and lax discipline, so that Yalens found it easy to put him forward as the chosen Emperor of the German legions. He was proclaimed in Cologne January 3, and dated his Principate not from the battle of Betriacum, but from the decree of the Senate after Otho's death. The news of that battle and of the submission of the Othonians reached him at Lugdunum {Lj/on) whither Caecina and Yalens, already bitter rivals, hastened to bring the good tidings. For a moment it seemed that Yitellius would show himself able to command. He treated the defeated Othonian leaders witli mingled mercy and scorn; Paidinus and Proculus stooped to expurgate themselves by setting down their defeat to their own treachery; Titianus, the victor of Locus Castorum, was left unmolested. The proscription which the senate dreaded did not take place ; those whom Otho had designated for the consulship were allowed that office ; there were no confiscations. But the whole Eoman world was suifenng from the civil war. In Italy the legions and their auxiliaries drew their swords against each other, and Turin was burned in the course of a petty quarrel. The rival troops agreed only in their treatment of the population, whom they plundered and outraged and killed at will. The Pannonian legions, which had failed to ariive in time to act at Betriacum, refused to recognise the Prineeps chosen on the Rhine, and munnured threateningly about Yespasianus, the commander in the Jewish war. In Gaul the revolt of Yindex had left k MILITAliY KEY0LUTI0^'S OTHO AND VITELLIUS. 163 the people sore and excited, and Yitellius liad to suppress by force the movements of a native champion who vaunted himself a god. In Africa, the Othonian governor of the Maiiretanian provinces, Lucceius Albinus, was said to be aiming at an independent sovereignty; the Rhine and Danube were both crossed by the barbarians from beyond ; a formidable revolt was already begun about tlie mouths of the Rhine, the district most denuded by the withdrawal of the legions to support Yitellius. § 9. To disband the pi'aetorians, to dismiss to their Jiomes the offensive auxiliaries, to split up the defeated legions of Otho, and quarter them separately, like those of Galba, in distant stations, served to obviate for a time the danger of a new war in Nortliern Italy. The Pannonian troops were for the m(jment ajqjeased, and induced to return to their cantonments; the African pretender was disarmed by his own troops; Hordeonius Flaccus Avas instructed to re-establish the authority of Rome on the Rhine. The most fractious of the legions were weakened by the disgrace of their officers, and by wholesale dismissal on flimsy pretexts ; but the numbers so removed formed a class ready at any moment to rise against Yitellius, and their discontent was shared by the disbanded praetorians, by the Pannonian forces, and by the suffering inhabitants of the towns visited by the Yitellians. Wherever that Prineeps marched he was followed by a huge retinue of armed and unarmed attendants, without discijiline and without scruple, to feed whom exhausted whole townships, and whose fierce pride broke out into repeated acts of plunder and riot. Seven miles from Rome the devastating procession was met by the citizens, and a chance quarrel ended in the massacre of hundreds of the latter. For all this Yitellius found no remedy or redress ; he deemed his duty done when he charged Yalens and Caecina to see to their troops. Even in the Forum and the streets of Rome, the barbarians from Gernumy — tliey were little better- murdered without scnqile, to maintain the honour of their uniforms. Yitellius was liappy in the enjoj^nent of a gluttony in which he outdid himself. The commerce 164 THE EARLY PKIXCIPATE. of the world was concerned to find new dainties tor his tahle, and in his brief reign of eight months he swallowed the value of 900, 000, 000 sesterces. His last care was removed when the legions of the East, still warring before Jerusalem, followed the lead of the Pannonian army and took the oath in verba Vitellii, and when he had removed by execution one Cornelius Dola- bella, a man who had l)een a source of uneasiness to both Galba and Otho, but who had escaped so far with nothing worse than honorary custody at Aquinum. One good refonn, however, shoidd be mentioned; the freed- raen of the imperial sen-ice were replaced by Roman knights. § 10. His reckless extravagance, coupled with the pay- ment of the promised donatives to the troops and tlie maintenance of the customary shows in the theatres and circus, soon exhausted an exchequer which Nero liad left all but empty. Yitellius could discover no new means for replenishing it, but suffered his ministers to follow in tlie path of Nero. He had wliile still in a private station >»een overwhelmed witli debts, and his creditors did not leave him in i)eace now that the revenues of the world were in his power. He compelled them to surrender their bonds, which he at once tore up, so that he could in future deny the debts without fear of refutation. He had passed a decree that the property of recalled exiles should be restored to tliem : tlie exiles came back, but found Valens and Caecina in enjoyment of their estates ; not content wherewith, they initiated the ccmfiscations which Yitellius had been too easy going to commence, and plundered like a Pallas or an Icelus. To avoid paying the troops who tlnnrnged near the city, the Princeps o-ave them pennission to wander through Pome at will, and saw the men who had given him the crown losing health and discipline while that crown was falling from him. The soothsayers had come to command a dangerous authority over the 8uperstitiniitius Corbulo. Titus Flaviu8=Mai(ia. Caesar. Flavius Sabinus=Julia. Domitilla. Doinitianns=l)oniitia. Caesar. tf ,4 OHAPTEK XVI. Vespasian: 69-79 A.D. ^ 1. Mucianus acts as Regent— ^N 2. Revolt of Civilis : its Causes and Course— § 3. Failure of the Revolt—^ 4. Character of Vespasian ; Sio;nifieance of his Prinoipate— ^^ 0. Attitude of the Provinces— ^^ 6. Military and Fiscal Measures— § 7. Restoration of the Senate and Knights; the Censorship— ^ 8." Buildings of Vespasian; his Patronage of Literature; the Colosseum— §9 . Remaining Events of the Reign, and Death of Vespasian. § I . Mucianus took up the government with a tirm hand until A^espasian could appear in person. While on the march to Italy, he had turned aside to chastise the Dacians, who were insulting tlie Eoman Province of Moesia, and for this the senate decreed him the insignia triuynphalia, at the same time that they conferred upon Vespasian in one decree the full powers of Augustus and Claudius— the legal Principate. The foolish insolence of Domitian, who meted out rewards and punishment as if he were himself Emperor, and the pride of Primus, both required curbing as much as did the turbulence of the still restless troops and the disorders of the demoralized city rabble. But Mucianus w^as equal to the task. Ves- pasian and Titus were declared consuls January 1, 70 A.D., and when the Princeps reached the city at lengtli, in July of that year, he found it already reduced to some degree of order. The legions were dismissed to resume their duties on the frontiers, and large forces were drafted for service in Gaul, whither Domitian was now sent with Mucianus to extinguish the last sparks of revolt. At the same moment Titus entered Jerusalem. The account of the Jewish war is given elsewhere; the Grallic war belongs to the year 69 a.d., and must be related here. § 2. The measures of Galba to pacify Gaul after the 170 THE EARLY PRIXCIPATE. VESPASIAN : 69 — 79 a.d. 171 overthrow of Yindex had ratlier intensified than lessened the feehngs which had produced that revolt, and in par- ticular the establishment of his colony of Augusta Tre\nroruin had created a widespread discontent throughout all Belgica. The whole of Northern Gaul and the Rhine Valley was ready for fresh offorts, and when Julius Civilis,* fonnerly an officer of the Batavian cohorts associated with the fourteenth legion in Upper Gennany, headed the Bata\dans, the German inhabitants of the modern Holland, and stepped forward as a leader of the blood royal, he found himself ))acked by the unanimous support \)f ' the tribes about the delta of the Ehine. He had personal wrongs to revenge, for his brother had been put to death by Nero, and he had been imi^risoned himsolf and only saved by Yitellius' interference when accused of the murder of Fonteius Capito. On hearing of Vespasian's proclamation, he at once commenced the revolt which he had long been meditating. His time was well choseu, for the logions had marched southward, Gaul was virtually without a garrison, and those who had followed Vindex iii the hope of recovering the liberties of Gaul were now only awaiting a new leader. Civilis declared himself the partisan of Vesi)asiaTi. just as Vindex had delared himself that of Galba ; but the tribes knew now that they were called to fight for nothing less than independence. The Frisii and Canineffites supported the l^atavians, and the revolt took the form of a natirmal i-ising of the Gennans to which nation belonged all three of these peoj^les. To sweep the Romans from their camps and naval stations on the Lower Rliine was Civilis' first exploit. Two legions, under ^lunius Lupercus, attemi)ted to recover the lost stations, and were forcpd to flee to Oastra Vetera ; and at the same moment the whole force of Batavian auxilianes seiwing at Moguutiacum with Vitellius' legions deserted to tho rebel, defeated Herennius Gallus who endeavoured at Bonna to bar their march northward, and joined Civilis in his assault upon Castra Vetera. The legions of Upper Gennam', under Hordeonius Flaccus, * He is also called Claudius, a freedman either of the Julii or Claudii. \- suspected their officers of treating with \ espasian, and broke into mutiny. Hordeonius was deposed, and speedily murdered ; Didius Vocula, who took his place, divided his forces into three columns. One was captured at Gelduba ; the others remained inactive. The faU of \ itellius followed ; and while the legions were still undecided what course to follow, the Treviri, a half-German tribe, the Belo-ae, and the Lingones, who occupied the Western Vosges, incited by the Druids, rose in revolt, and the maiority of the true German peoples openly supported the standard of Civilis. Two Roman legions sNVore allegiance to the Gallic Empire at Civilis' dictation; those of Castra Vetera at length capitulated, and were massacred. Onlv two fortresses maintained themselves in all the breadth of land west of the Rhine, Vindonissa and Moguntiacum {Mayence). S 3 The tide of success was stayed by dissensions amongst the rebels. Sabinus the Treviran styled himself Caesar, and other tribes disputed his title. Civihs and two other insurgents, Julius Classicus and Julius Tutor, wasted time in jealous disputes or indulgences, while Q. PetiUius Cerialis, whose progress might have been barred by a very small force, crossed the Alps with four legions, and at once recovered all the Rhine fortresses as far as Castra Vetera. The news of the approach of other legions, under Domitian, spread terror amongst the allies, many of whom hastened to submit, while the renegade legionaries at once went over again to the eagles. Civilis offered the empire of the Gauls to Cerialis, but his overtures were rejected and, after sustaining a crushing defeat at Vetera, he was forced to fly to Germany. Gaul was to be pacified at all costs: to pursue a helpless foe was waste of time and strengtli. An agreement, it seems, was made that the Batavi sh(mld be exempt from tribute. Nothing is known as to the fate of Civilis, or of the Gallic Classicus and Tutor. The other tribes were severely punished, and various ringleaders ot the rising were hunted out and executed. The Gallic Empire began and ended within a year. ^ S 4. Titus Flavins Vespasianus Avas by descent a Sabine of Plialacrine near Reate. To the last he retained the 172 THE EAKLY PRINCIPATE. hrmquerie of his country origin ; and just as the admission of the provincials to the senate had done something to stay the decline of that order, so the accession of this Emperoi- heralded a period of healthy reaction. By nature a man of caution, Vespasian had hesitated long* before he ven- tured to sti-ike for Empire. 'He brought with him to the throne the manners and methods rather of a long-headed man of business than of a prince. The nobles sueered, but they learat to prefer the solenm industry of thf^ new Princei)s to the brilliant teiTorism of a Claudius or Nero. The Flavian dynasty comprised three Emperors, of whom but one was a tyrant. After the terrible year 69 a.d. the world gradually sank to rest, as after the' era of Actium. Henceforth for 110 years, with the exception of a portion of Domitian's reign, Eome obeyed Emperors of al)ility. Vesi)asian resembled Augustus in his character of reformer and reconstructor. His reign, and not less the peaceful succession of his two sons, mark the overthrow of the docti-ine that the only legitimate title to the purple was blood, or its legal equivalent, adoption. § 5. It has already been shown how the Eastern legions, m jealousy and scorn of the puppets set up by their fellows in the West, declared Vespasian their i)rince, and brought him by the sword to Eome. He was the fouitli candidate set up by revolution during twelve months, and he was the cmly one to make good his tenure. It may be set down perhaps as much to the good fortune of Rome as to the beneficence of her rul^, that while the frontiers on all hands lay half deserted of their defenders, there was no general uprising against her. Mucianus easily hurled back the Dacians beyond the Danube when they ventured to cross that river on the withdrawal of Primus towards Italy. The revolt of Civilis was as easily quelled, though delay had allowed it to inflict grievous disgrace on Rome. The Pai-thians were assailed at liome by a 8cvthian invasion, and, moreover, they still remembered Corbulo. § 6. The Emperor's first care was to disjierse his army. The Vitellians were gradually disbanded, the Flavian troops dismissed to various points on the frontier to await the donative which they had not asked, but VESPASIAX : 69 — 79 a.d. 173 naturally looked for. Many were disposed of by the reconstitution of old colonies such as Ostia, Nola, and Eeate. The next anxiety was to recuperate the treasury, louo- since drained. To this end a fresh census was made (72 a.u.), in which Cilicia, Commagene, Judaea, find the petty kingdoms of Thrace were all assessed as provinces and the tribute largely increased. Taxes were even levied in Italy and Rome, for it was no longer possible to feed the mob gi-atuitously. Titus demurred to his father's contrivances for raising the revenue, but was silenced by the retort that so long as the money was good the means did not matter. § 7. Titus had returned victorious from Jerusalem at the close of 70 a.d., and in the following year he cele- brated his triumph, conjointly with his father. He received the title of Caesar and the prefecture of the praetorians, and was Vespasian's coadjutor in the censor- ship of 73 A.D. The object of the Princeps, besides arranging anew the rates of tribute, was to restore the wretched renmaut of the senate and the equestrian order, ^[ucli new blood was infused into both orders from the better class of provincials, and severe as Vespasian was alike ])y policy and nature, his censorship aroused little ill-teeliiig. Wliat odium there was fell upon Titus, who was accused of turning his powers to dynastic purposes and utilising them as a means of proscribing such Romans as ]ie deemed dangerous to his house. He did not conteut himself with the powers of the cmsura only, but made use of his influence with the praetorians to remove objecti(m- able persons, even by assassination, it was said. In this way fell Caecina, the man who had betrayed Vitellius ; but it was acknowledged that he deserved it for fresh treason. § 8. After his triumph Vespasian closed once more the temple of Janus practically for the first time since the vear 10 B.C., and as a further monument of the new era of Roman peace he commenced the Forum Pacis, in the centre of which he erected a temple to a new divinity, Pax. It included also a new hall, or basilica, for the lectures and discussicuis of philosophers and rhetoricians, who now for the first time received state support in the 174 THE EAKLY PRINCIPAiE. VESPASIAN : 69 — 79 a.d. 1 to fomi of a regular and liberal stipend. This muuificence included the litterateurs of the provinces as well as those of Eome, and sufficiently attests Vespasian's generosity, however far he may have carried his fiscal rigours. From this reign dates a revival of learning and literature, distinguished by the names of Tacitus and Suetonius' Juvenal and Martial, Statins and Quintilian, and a host of jurists and lawyers. The Princei)s' liberality may have been prompted in part by the desire to disarm the enmity of the philosojihic freethinkers, who preached opposition on all hands. It did not succeed at once, for later on he was forced to banish all the Stoics and C>Tiics from Home. One of their number, the distinguished Helvidius Priscus, son in law of Thrasea, paid for his obstinacy with his life, a rare instance of severity in this reign*, and one which arose, it is said, from a misunderstanding. The larger part of the Golden House was demolished, and in its stead rose the baths of Titus for the free use of the public. The whole life of the proletariate of this time was divided between the theatres and the baths. The^great Colossus of Nero was furnished with a head of the Sun in lieu of its builder's, and behind it, at the toj) of the Via Sacra, rose the masterj^iece of Vespasian, the Flavian anqihitheatre, which still stands. Ellij^tical in fonn, rising on three stories of Pilasters and arches, this building could accomodate 87,000 spectators of the wild beast lights and contests of all kinds which were given within its arena ; and its foundations concealed a web of water-pipes, by which the whole arena could at once be flooded and made available for sham sea-fights. Such a building* could not be comi)leted speedilv, and its founder did not live to open it. With unselfish kindness he declined to utilise for its erection some new contrivances which would have thrown out of emj^loy many of the hundreds who worked upon it. ' I must* be suffered to feed my poor 2)eople,' he said. § 9. It was not until towards the close of the reign that the leg-ions were allowed again to take the field. In that *lt is the >o-talled Colisseuni. a mis-spelling for Colosseum. It derived its ri«nie from the Colossus of Nero which stood l)efore it. year Agricola commenced his campaigns in Wales and Northern Britain.*^' We hear also of the Nasamones, a nomad tribe of the Atlas range, making incursions into the Eoman province of Africa. Elsewhere the sword was sheathed throughout the Empire. A few alterations took place in the government of the provinces. The dependent kingdom of Conmiagene was incorporated with the province of Syria. Achaia, which had been freed of tribute by Nero, was handed back to the Senate. Lycia and Pamphylia were amalgamated as one province, and so were the two Cdicias. We know little of this reign, and the chronology is very unsatisfactory.! At some late period Vespasian at length accepted the trihimitia potestas and the title of Pafer Patriae^ which he had heretofore refused, associating Titus witli liim in the former. He had already declared that prince his heir as well as his partner ; and when some one of his friends raised a (question on the point, he answered that, unless it were Titus, he would have no successor at all. Possibly, he meant to iniplj^ that he would not willingly suffer Domitian to gain the purple. He had been ill for some months when in June, 79 a.d., he set out to take the cold water baths at the Sabine (\itiliae, a treatment which had once saved Augustus' life. It did not avail Vespasian, who grew worse, and died on June 23 at his birthplace, worn out by years — he was seventy years of age — and labour. Nothing would induce him even at the crisis of his illness to relax his heavy routine of business, and in the delirium of the end he struggled to rise from his bed, crying out that an Imperator should die standing. Alone of th(^ twelve Caesars, Vespasian passed away without hint of violence, and alone of them, also, he was succeeded by his own son. * See Chap, xx . + The Histories of Tacitus originally included the whole jjeriod from the acces- sion of Galba to the death of Domitian, but as we have them they end at 71 a.d. Their author hoped also to write the history of Nerva and Trajan, but had not fulfilled his hopes. Some particulars of Domitian' s reigrn are preserved in Tacitus' Agricola, the biography of his father-in-law. For the rest we have to rely upon Suetonius and various late Greek \^Titers; but Suetonius, always an unscientific author, becomes less and less useful as he draws to the close of the J/ncs of fhv Tfrelrc ('a mars. THE JEWISH WARS. 177 I i CHAPTKE XVIL The Jewish Wars. ^v 1. Palestine under Herod the Great: his Descendants- ^n 2. Herod Ao:ri|)pa— § 3. Roman Indulgence of the Jewish Nation: Antii)athy l)etween the Two Peoples— s^ 4. Party-feuds of the Jews : their In- trigues with Parthia—^S o. Palestine under the Romans: Felix and Gessius— §6. Vespasian opens the War: Titus succeeds to the Command— § 7. Condition of Jerusalem—^ 8. The Blockade and Capture of Jerusalem: its Destruction—^ 9. The Christians. § 1. When Pompeius captured Jerusalem, (54 u.c, he did so to assert the sovereignty of Hyreanus, whom he left installed as King of Palestine. Weak himself, Hvreanu.s was supported by Antipater the Idumaean, whom' Caesar made King of Judaea, and the second of whose sons, Herod the Great, received, 47 ii.( ., the tetrarchy of Galilee. As- siduous manoeuvring secured the support of Anton ius, and by his agency Herod was crowned King of Judaea in 40 B.C. ; and when ten years later came the struggle between Octavian and Antonius, Herod contrived to trim liis course so carefully that the conqueror confinned him in his position. Thougli Herod rebuilt the temple, he was a zealous supporter of Greek customs, and scandalised the stricter Jews by instituting a musical and gymnastic festival, held every fifth year, and by building an amphi- theatre for gladiatoi-ial contests outside the city walls. He died 4 b.c, and left his kingdom to be divided amongst his sons. Archelaus and Antipas received respectively Judaea with Samaria and Idumea, and the tetrarchy of Galilee with the land beyond Jordan ; Philip became tetrarch of Tra- chonitis. Archelaus was banished by Augustus in 6 a.d., after ten years of continuous bloodshed ; and Judaea, bv the wish of the Jews, was annexed to Eome, being governed by a procurator stationed at Caesarea by the sea, and subordinate to the Proconsul of Syria. Such of the children of Herod the Great as received no share in his possessions retired to Eome, where they became part of the crowd of Eastern claimants always waiting for the favour of the Princeps. Of these, Aristobulus left, besides others, a son, Agrippa, whose evil counsels led Gains astray, and a daughter, Herodias, who married her uncle, Philip, and deserted him to live with another uncle, Antipas. Philip died 34 a.d., and his tetrarchy was absorbed into the Eoman province ; Galilee with Samaria had been similarly treated in the previous year. § 2. The flatteries of Agrippa failed to obtain him a kingdom during the life of Tiberius, but he met with more success in his dealings with Gaius — dealings which all but cost him his life, for Tiberius, infoi-med of an unlucky speech in which he had expressed a hope of the Princeps' speedy demise, threw him into prison. Gaius rewarded his satellite with the tetrarchy previously held by Philip, now dead, to which he added that of Samaria in 39 a.d., Antipas having been banished to Spain. But Agrippa aimed at nothing less than the entire kingdom of his grandfather; and he realised his ambition when, in 41 a.d., Claudius transferred to him Judaea, and withdrew his procurator. He died ' eaten of worms ' three years later, and the whole of Palestine passed again under the direct rule of Eome. § 3. Heretofore every concession had been made to the wishes of the Jews, which was consistent with the quietudo of thp Empire. Beyond interfering to decide between rival claimants, the Eomans had done little. The settlement of Pompeius had remained in force until the fall of Archelaus ; and when Judaea became a province at that date (6 a.d.), it was at the desire of the Jews themselves. They were granted indulgences which no other provincials received, perfect freedom to practise their peculiar ritual, and entire exemption from military sei'vice. The procurator was enjoined to show every respect to their religion, and never to enter Jerusalem without perfonning sacrifice according to their rites, nor ever to violate the sanctity of the Temple. B. 31-96. 12 ■fi 178 THE EARLY PRIXCIPATE. Owing to the objection of the Jews to images, the head of the Princeps was removed from the coins circulating in their country. The Herods, indeed, were all devoted partisans of Rome ; but though they built temples to Augustus at Caesarea and Samaria (Sebaste), and intro- duced Graeco-Roman habits into the land, yet Jerusalem remained exclusively Jewish. So far was the nation from becoming Romanised, that the antagonism between Jew and Roman grew daily more marked. The restoration of the kingdom of Herod in Agrippa's liands was regarded as a national triumph, and that King, foreseeing the inevit- able collision, set himseK to fortify his capital against possible attack even more securely than nature and the skill of Herod the Great had done. The ill-feeling had been bitterly accentuated by the conduct of Gains in attempting to introduce his own worship into the Holy Place, and from that date it grew apace, despite the earnest efforts of Claudius to allay it. Indeed, the Jews as a nation had earned a name for sedition and turbulence wherever they went, and that was everywhere. The riots of Alexandria, Seleucia, and Antioch were pitched battles between them and their hereditary foes, the Greeks, in which thousands fell on either side. Multitudes of Jews dwelt in Babylonia, the descendants of those who had not cared to return from the Oapti\^ty, and though now nominally subject to Parthia, they desolated whole cities by their intrigues and violence. § 4. Palestine itself passed from bad to worse. There was a standing feud between the Samaritans and the Galileans, who raided and murdered in each other's territories incessantly. Throughout the country, in Jeru- salem especially, the Roman party were at deadly enmity with the patriotic Jews. The latter were themselves divided : the party of more moderate views was prepared to make the best of Roman dominion if only their religion were tolerated ; the extremists, or Zealots, aimed at nothing less than the absolute overthrow of that dominion. Parthia, too, was abiding her time to drive the Romans from Asia, and the two nations, vii'tually conterminous through the continuity of the Jewish communities from Galilee to Babylonia, even came to a tacit understanding and alliance. ' THE JEWISH WARS. 179 § 5. The incapacity or greed of successive procurators added fuel to the flames. The revenues of the country were assigned to the Jiseus, and though Claudius might punish one or two of his underlings for extortion or cruelty, yet the influence of his mistresses and his freedman gener- ally secured the safety of transgressors, wliile it conferred the harvest of plunder on him who would bid highest. The wealthy Jews, tlie nobility of the country, now suffered because they offered the richest spoils ; and in resentment tliey turned to their priests, and identified themselves with the national cause rather than, as heretofore, with the Roman party. False 'Christs' arose on every side, for the air was full of the promised Messiah's advent, and every pretender was sure of a blind mob of followers. The Romans termed them robbers, and hunted them down ; the Jews viewed them as martyrs, and did not hesitate to die with them. In 50 a.d. the whole mass of worshippers then collected to keep the Passover in Jerusalem rose against the Roman guard, and were cut down, to the number of 20,000, by order of the Procurator Cumanus. Fehx, brother of Claudius' favourite, Pallas, appointed Procu- rator of Judaea, exercised his authority with Turkish corruptness, setting one faction against another, conniving at outrages at the price of a share in the plunder, and brutally executing such of the ' robbers ' as fell into his hands. He was recalled in 62 a.d., but his successors, Festus and Albinus, were equally troubled by the restless- ness of the Jews. Gessius Florus, procurator of Judaea in 66 A.D., threw a garrison into the Holy City, the first as yet established there. The Zealots i-ose e?i masse, besieged the troops, and their Romanising partisans in Mount Zion ; and when, after seven days, the garrison capitulated on the promise of their lives being spared, massacred the whole number. Cestius Gallus, Proconsul of Syria, with difficulty reached Jerusalem, which lie assaulted with some 30,000 men for five days unsuccessfully. The whole country rose in aims behind him, and his retreat cost him the loss of 5,000 of his forces. § 6. The Jews believed that the time of their deliverance was come. They relied \i-pon the assistance of Partliia; 180 THE EARLY PRINCIPATE. THE JEWISH WARS. 181 hut the campaigns of Corhulo (62, 63 a.d.) had effectually quieted the amhition of Yologaeses. Eeckless of this, they fathered from all parts of Palestine to Jerusalem, to hually assert their independence. Agrippa II., son of that Aoi-ippa who died 44 B.C., now ruled over Trachonitis and the neighbouring districts with the title of king ; but he remained loyal to Eome throughout the war. There was still a powerful party in favour of submission on honour- able terms, including a majority in the Sanhedrim, one of whose number, Josephus the historian, was appointed to occupv Galilee, and dieck the approach of the byrian lecrions from the north. Those legions were led by \ es- pa'sian, the successor of Corbulo, and they advanced couh- dent in the memory of their recent victories m Parthia. The new general determined to secure his advance once and for aU, and he spent the whole of 67 a.d. in the re- duction of Galilee and Samaria. Josephus was at heai-t a Romaniser, but, forced perhaps by his countrymen, he maintained his post with courage and honour, only sur- renderiiio- his fortress of Jotapata after a siege ot seven weeks, when few of his men were left alive. He became a client of his conqueror, and, according to custom, took the name of his patron— Titus Flavins. At the end of the year the whole of Gahlee was reduced to desolation; such ot its inhabitants as escaped the sword and slavery fled to Jeru- salem In 68 a.d. the legions advanced southward to Jericho, securing their progress by the same system of cruel thoroughness. This was tlie time when the legions of the Ehine were stirring, and Vespasian stayed his hand to see what came of the emevie in the West ; lie had no desire to waste in a pettv war the energy of the veterans who were perhaps to support his claims to the Pniicipate. ihe tails of Nero, Galba, and Otho followed in rapid sequence; and on Julv 1, 69 A.D., Vespasian received the expected sum- mons. ^ The support of the Pannoniau legions enabled him to leave his own armv under the command of Titus, to prosecute the Jewish Var; and in the early spring of 70 A D. the eagles gathered about Jerusalem. , , , • 8 7 It was the Feast of the Passover, and the wliole nation of the Jews was gathered into the Holy. City when I the sudden advent of Titus cut off their egress. The im- munity from conscription had left them to multiply unhindered, and alone of all the peoples which defied Rome the Jews came to the struggle at the height of their numerical powers. Force of numbers was backed by a fanaticism which nerved them with pecuhar fury to resist to the last, confident that their Messiah would appear to save them. Not less than a million souls were shut up within the walls; without were eighty thousand legionaries and auxiliaries, and the entire resources of Rome. Meantime, the patriotic party had been torn by murder- ous seditions. The Zealots had cut to pieces the moderate section, and were in turn divided into three factions, each supporting a different leader. Eleazar, with the extremists, occupied the actual Temple, which was converted into a fortress. John of Giscala, with his Galileans besieged him there. Simon, son of Gioras, held the hiU of Zion. Day after day the rivals fought in the streets, John assassinated Eleazar and gained possession of the Temple, and the feud went on between John, reinforced by Eleazar s followers, and Simon. The advent of the Romans put a stop to internal seditions, and both parties combined to defend the city against the common foe. For six weeks they beat ott the atsaults of Titus, foiling his mines and burning his engines. In the seventh week began the blockade, ihe outer wall on the northern side had been carried after im- mense toil, but there remained two others, of almost equal strength, and within them the actual citadels of Zion and Moriah.* Starvation would act as speedily as assault, and far more surely. ^^ & i. S 8. The horrors of the Idockade are matter ot proverb. Food failed, and there was no means of escape. Honour- able terms of surrender offered by Titus, through Josephus, having been refused, those who threw themselves on the mercy of the besiegers were crucified by hundreds, until Titus wearied of his own severity. Whole famihes stained slowly in their homes, and mothers boiled and ate their *Zion was originally the name of the hill upon which stood the Temple ; but after the Capti^tv it was interchanged with that of the opposite height Monah. At tins date the J the fortress of Herod the Great was known as Zion, the Temple hill as Moriah or Acra . 182 THE EARLY PRIXCIPATE. infants. Portents, so it was said; filled the air — aiiuies that fought in the skies, voices that called from the Holy of Holies, madmen that rambled through the streets un- ceasingly, crying 'Woe unto Jerusalem !' Step by step the Romans came on. They took the citadel of Antonia and the outer city; they stormed Monah; and in the last assault the Temple was fired and burned to the ground, and with it hundreds of its defenders, men and women and children. Last of all Zion, the ujiper city, was carried, and into the hands of the victors fell the last of the Zealots, including John and Simon. Titus perhaps would have spared the Temjile, but it was not to be. On September 2, 70 A.D., the siege was over, Jerusalem was rased, and the site of its walls turned up by the plough ; and the peoj^le which had built it ceased to be counted amongst the nations. In the triumph of Titus were carried the golden candlestick and the table of the shew-bread, the trumpets of jubilee and the book of the Law ; and these are sculptured on the Arch of Titus in Rome, which still commemorates his victory. § 9. In 30 A.D. the Roman procurator, Pontius Pilate, had suffered the crucifixion of Clirist : now the rise of the new creed of Christianity was foreshadowed b}' the almost sjTichronous fall of the temples of Jerusalem and of the Capitol. Already, in 64 a.d., the sect had become suf- ficiently numerous to be made the scapegoats of Nero's vengeance for the burning of Rome;* and, as has been shown, this was probably due to the malice of the Jews. It is otherwise impossible to understand why the Christians should suffer, for they were not now, as later in Alexandria, the leaders of riot and rebellion, but a small, unassuming body, of so slight importance that their leader, St. Paul, was kept in the veiy palace at Rome, a prisoner in name rather than in fact, for two years (61-63 a.d.). He was absent, probably in Spain as well as in the East, during the years next following, and only returned to Rome in 68 a.d. Tradition says that he there and then suffered martyrdom. That he was tried, we know, but there is no evidence beyond that of late tradition for the time or manner of his death. * See Chapter XIII. THE JEWISH WARS. 183 ' Tacitus wrote at a later period, when the new creed had grown to proportions so large as to affright the adherents o± Paganism. Intercourse with the East had introduced a new leaven into the moribund religion of Rome; and while It brought with It the worship of the Persian Mithras, the Phoemcian Astarte, the Phrygian Cybele, the Egyptian Isis, aiid a host of others equally impure, and all far more degraded than had been the original creed of the Roman nation yet it also gave to the latter creed a renewed exis- tence by mfusmg new and more real ideas of a future life the immortality of the soul, and its rewards or punishment hereafter. Paganism thus gathered fresh stren^h for its final struggle with Christianity, and the old tolerance o-ave place to an extreme bitterness, which vented itself by re- viving the ancient and obsolete law to forbid the importation of new and unlawful beliefs,' and gladly welcomed the precedent of Nero for hunting down its rivals by perse- cution. It was not, however, until the time of Traian that the antagonism came definitely to a head. In the time of tiiat Emperor and of his successors persecution was fre- quent. For the present it died with Nero. Tacitus confounds Jew and Christian in a careless fashion. Ihe Jew was to Juvenal and his fellows the Ume of super- stition, of meanness, of obstinacy, and turbulency. So lacitus, after remarking that the Christians took their vulgar name from Christ, goes on to characterise their creed as an abominable superstition,'* arising from Judaea which spread to Rome like every other 'foul and shameful thing, t and was hated by all, if only 'for their own hatred ot all mankind.'! A httle later the younger Pliny (104 a d ) then governor of Bithynia and Pontus, was so much per- plexed by the repeated appearance before his tribunal of prisoners whose sole offence was their being Christians that hejrote to the Emperor Trajan, asking what course he ought to follow. He put to death those who persisted m confessing themselves Christians, but he owned that they had no fault worthy of death, were peaceful and industrious, * Exitiabilis superstitio.— Tac. Annals, xv. 44. t Quo cuncta undique atrocia aut pudenda confluuut.— 76 184 THE EARLY PRIXCIPATE. and that their sole positive action was 'the singing of hymns to Christ as to a God, and binding themselves to do no wrong.' The Emperor's reply was worthy of so en- lightened a monarch : infonners were not to be encouraged, and the Christians were only to be prosecuted when there was no help for it. 1^ 4 CHAPTEE XYlll. Titus: 79—81 A.D. § 1. Early Life and Character of Titus— § 2. Alteration in hif< De- meanour ; his Universal Popularity and Benevolence — § 3. lie declares Domitian his Partner: Popular Entertainments ; the Dedi- cation of the Colosseum— § 4. His Treatment of the Nobles— § 0. Eruption of Vesuvius : Liberality of Titus— § 6. Great Fire in Komc : Third Burning of the Capitol— § 7. Mistaken Policy of Titus : his Early Demise fortunate— § 8. Anomaly of his Change of Character ; its Ill-effects postponed to the next Eeign ; the Jewish Legend of his Death. § 1. So long and intimately liad Titus been associated with his father in the government, that the demise of the one and the accession of the other scarcely marked an era. For the first time since the days of Tiberius, a new Princeps came to the purple without discussion or cavil. Not that Titus' absolutism was looked forward to with any pleasure by the mass of the Eomans : on the con- trary, they whispered of him as another Nero; they talked of tlie avarice which lie had already betrayed, of the debaucheries to which he was addicted, of his in- famous amour with a Jewish princess,^' of the ill-omened murder (^f Caecina. Yet the new Emperor had claims to admiration far in advance of those of most men of his day. His military ability, acquired in the camps of Britain and Germany, had been proved at the siege of Jerusalem ; he was possessed of every accomplishment of the tunc — a finished speaker in both Greek and Latin, something of a poet and musician; and the vices which were laid to his charge were only noticed because of his This was Berenice, daughter of Ajrrippa I. Titus treated her as his mistress until opinion lorced him to dismiss her, and he never renewed the intimacy oven when he was IMnceps, I - — S] 186 THE EARLY PRIXCIPATE. TITUS : 79 — 81 A.D. 187 own high position. He had already shown his power of relf-restraint when he dismissed Berenice and his more kingly spirit had done something to relieve the 'sordidness' of his plebeian father's government. He had received the title of Caesar, had held the consulship several times, had been the first Eoman of non-equestrian rank to hold the prefecture of the praetorians, and had been associated with Vespasian in both the tribunitian power and the censorship. Much of his unpopularity was due, indeed, to the severity with which he had exercised the latter office. Men knew, also, that it was Titus who first pushed his father forward to claim the Empire ; they had, perhaps, grounds for fearing his thirst for power. § 2. But never were expectations so far from realisa- tion. Once accepted as Princeps, and endowed by the senate with all the manifold powers and privileges of that office, Titus was a changed man. He was an abso- hite monarch, but so that he combined in a manner heretofore unknown the love of the nobles and the rabble alike. He moved among the citizens as indeed their fellow-citizen, with a fearless confidence in his own innocence which brought him the affection of all. The revels and debauchei-ies which had been laid to his charge in private life ceased at once, and the ministers thereto were dismissed to obscurity. Never was there a Caesar who so avoided favouritism and was so free from the control of freedmen and courtiers. The reign of Vespasian had nurtured a small and weakly band of delatorefi, who looked forward to a golden harvest when Titus grasped the sole power; he seized them, scourged, banished, executed, or sold them into slavery. The Chief Pontiff should keep his hands clean, he said; and he shed no innocent blood during his brief reign. ^ ^ § 3. His first public measure was to associate Domitian, his brother, with himself in the Priucipate, an act of fraternal generosity which was ill-desei'\'ed, for the youno-er son of Vespasian never ceased to comiilam of his own unrequited merits. He hinted broadly that he was, by his father's wiU, the partner of Titus, who had tampered with that document, and he was more than i I suspected of less innocent conduct against the Princeps.*' But Titus had so many friends that he could afford to overlook his brother's malice. The populace were feted and surfeited with shows ; they had but to ask, and new amusements were provided for them. The dedication of the Colosseum gave occasion to an immense festival, among the items of which were a sea-fight, a combat of wild beasts to the number of five thousand, and, more accept- able perhaps than all, the sacrifice, in the arena, of the most notable informers of the time. Then followed a public distribution of tickets for all manner of gifts, useful and otherwise. The rabble had their ' games and bread ' without even asking for them. § 4. Even that nobility in whose presence every other Princeps had been uneasy was disarmed by the gracious- ness of Titus. A law of Tiberius' time enacted that any concessions made by one Emperor were valid in the reign of the successor only by special ratification : Titus ratified in a mass all the concessions made by his father. As a result there appeared a host of ajpplicants for favour, every one of whom gained his suit or its equivalent. *No* subject should leave the Princeps' audience unsatis- fied.' said Titus : and he grieved if a day pa.ssed when he could not find excuse for some new act of munificence. Such liberality, combined with a genial hospitality and with the persecution of the delatores comi)letely concihated the upper classes. It is true that one plot is recorded, but such dangers must assail even the most virtuous of princes. Two voung nobles w^ere detected intriguing against the Princeps, and were summoned to his presence, only to be forgiven and taken into his marked confidence. § 5. There were disasters in this reign, but only such as served to illustrate the benevolence of 'the world's darling.'t In the years 63 a.d. and 76 a.d. the volcano of Vesuvius had so far resumed activity as to lay in ruins large portions of the two populous towns of Pompeii and *= He was said to have meditated pui-chasiii? the support of the praetorians by a double donative; but those troops seem to have ^een devoted to Titus who had used them as the instruments of several pohtic assasmations in the time ot Vespasian. . + ' Deliciae humani generis ' are Tacitus' words. 188 THE EAKLY PRINCIPATE. Herculaneum at the hase of tlie mountain. On August 23, 79 \.D., its pent up iorces broke forth in the memorable eruption which buried these two cities beneath many feet of scoriae and mud. Both were overwhelmed utterly within a few hours, so utterly that to this day the excava- tions are still going on which bring back to light the hfe and arts and civilisation of a Koman market-town and fashionable health resort of that era. Titus appomted consular commissioners to visit the spot and relieve the distress of the sufferers, and he decreed that the property of such as had perished intestate should go to the beneht of the survivors instead of to the facus. The eruption was notable for another reason— in it perished the volummous writer, Pliny the Elder. He was admiral of the fleet at Misenum, and, seeing the unwonted activity of the volcano, he persisted in visiting the scene in person to examine its phenomena. He perished in his pursuit of knowledge, poisoned by the sulphurous vapours which hung over the ground on which he had lain down to rest. His nephew, Pliny the Younger, had declined to accompany him, and to him we owe an account of the eruption : the cloud of smoke, in shape like a pine-tree, the showers of hot ashes, the ovei-flow of lava, and the raising of the sea-beach. S 6. Again, in the following year- (80 a.d.), there broke out a terrible conflagration at Pome, which lasted for three davs, and laid in ruins the Palatine Library, the theatre of ^ Pompeius, and even the lately rebuilt Capitolme temple. It was followed by a dreadful pestilence, which ravaged all Italy as weU as the city, and carried oil perhaps thousands of victims. To remedy the latter, Titus enlisted every device of medicine; to meet the suffering caused by the fire he paid out immense sums from the Jiscus, and even sold the treasures of the palace. Heaven's wrath against a nation's sins was thought to be exemplified by these disasters, and it was partly as an atonement that the Colosseum was dedicated with sucli exceptional magnificence. § 7. Titus was 'fortunate in the brevity of his rule, said the Eoman writers, and we may endorse their opinion * Titus imperii felix bre\itate (Ausonius). '* TITUS : 79 — 81 A,i>- 189 Such munificence as his could not but impo^;erish even so rich a treasury as had been left by the f rugaH espasian, and with need would have followed the inevitable greed, with contrivances for its satisfaction ever more unscTupulous So it was with Domitian, and so it would have been with Titus had not a kindly fate saved him from the trial. His geniality and liberality were those of the spendthift rather than of the politician: they were the habits of a young and generous mind suddenly placed in possession of unlimited means, and, like the spendthrift of private life Titus would have passed inevitably from thoughtless kmdness to thoughtless cruelty. In September 81 a.d., he fell ill of a fevei^ and left the city for the villa amongst the Sabine hilh ' where Vespasian had died. His sickness was a^-ravated by the cold-water treatment recommended by hi "physicians ; and on the 13th of that month he died, the one Oaesar who carried with him to the grave the love^of aU his people. In his dying moments he mourned his untimely decease: 'I have not desei^;ed to die. There was he sighed, but one deed m his life whicli he could regret What it was he did not say, and modern writers have tried variously to decide. The murder of Caecma, says one; that he 'left such a brother as Domitian to succeed him, suggests another. It is futile to speculate on sucli a subject: tlie Eomans explained it by an intrigue with his brother's wife, in spite of lier sworn demal. S 8 Equally difficult is it to offer an explanation of the sudden change which turned the expected Nero into a T)rince of i^ood nature. There was doubtless cause for the severities which marked Titus when the colleague of Vespasian, but was there not as much cause when Titus wa^ sole Emperor ? For an autocrat to change, like Nero or Gains, from good to bad is a common event; but for him to change from bad to good is a marvel indeed Yet this is what we find, in effect, m the case ,)f Titus for while colleague of his father he was virtually 'possessed of unHmited power. To say that he Kaw the hopelessness of ruling by terroiusm, a lesson learnt by the example of so many Emperors, is to give this impulsive Princeps credit for a wisdom which his 190 THE EARLY PRIXCIPATE. rrodigal reign does not display. It would almost seem that he felt how soon he must resign his place, and resolved to live merrily while there was time-a Horace amongst Emperors. Eome paid for her twenty-six months of carnival in the later years of his successor, and it is to Titus that we must refer something of the gloom which darkens the reign of Domitian. Yet no Eoman saw this: this was not what the historian meant when he said Titus was f ortu- nate m his early death. Rome mourned for another Flavian translated to the heavens. But one voice slurred the lame of the dead Emperor— the voice of the Jews whom he had scattered and dispersed. They saw in his early death-he was but forty years old-the vengeance of God and to d a horrible legend of the little gnat which, at heaven s bidding, crept into the nostrils and brain of the destroyer of the Temple, and drove him to madness and the trrava grave. CHAPTER XIX. Domitian: 81-96 A.D. § 1. linpati(!nc'e of Domitian for Power — § 2. He disappoints expec- tation : his Reforms as Censor — § 3. Pontifex Maximus : his Private Life: his Regard for Justice — §4. He endeavours to retrench : his Relations with the Legions — § 0. His Treatment of the People- § 6. Campaign in Germany — ^ 7. Position of the Dacians — ^ 8. The Dacian War — § 9. Other Campaigns, in Britain and Africa — § 10. Explanation of the Treaty with Decebalus — § IL Domitian 's Buildings, and Patronage of Literatiu-e : Banishment of the Philoso- phers — § 12. The Revolt of Saturninus — § 13. Domitian's Reign of Terror : his Victims : the Crime of Judaism — § 14. Death of Domi- tian : Lack of Infonnation as to the Later Caesars. § 1. DoMiTiAx, the last of the Twelve Caesars and the only one of the Flavians to abuse his power, had long waited with indecent impatience for the Empire which now fell to him naturally, though intrigue had failed to hasten it. His greed of power had troubled Vespasian, who kept him out of all public oihces. AVhen Titus succeeded, Domitian declared himself an injured man in that he was only made his brother's partner, and not his superior. Titus once dead, the impatient aspirant sprang into his shoes and boasted that he had at length recovered for him- self the authority which he alone had bestowed upon his father and brother. So important did he think it to A"es- pasian's success that he had been all but slain in the storming of the Capitol. Twelve years of enforced retire- ment, during which he amused himself with verses and philosophy, had not destroyed men's recollection of his earlier years. They looked forward to him as to a new Nero — the 'bald Nero,'*' Juvenal called him — ^just as there had been some to dread the accession of Titus. * Calvu? Xero. 192 THE EARLY PKIXCIPATE. § 2. But Domitian, like his brother, agroeably dis- appointed expectation. If he snatched at his inheritance at once, he held it with a steady hand. In Eonian law he was the lawful successor, for Titus left no child save a daughter Julia, and for her to succeed was legally impossi- ble ; she had forfeited, indeed, whatever claim she might have had, and had passed out of the family of Yespasian by her marriage with Flavus Sabinus, her cousin. Domitian had law on his side, in so far that is as the hereditary principle was as yet recognised; he had also the praetorians, to whom he made a liberal donative. The senate obsequiously deified Titus, and declared Domitian ])0S8essed of all the powers of Augustus, Claudius, and Vespasian.* But instead of tyranny there came a govern- ment whose austere conservatism recalled that of Vespasian. The new Emperor was very soon appointed censor for life, and he exerted himself to carry out to the uttermost the reforming policy' of his father. He revised the list of senators, and removed from it persons who had degraded themselves in the arena. He declared that not to punish delation was to encourage it, and punished the informers with exile, and even death. He refused to be declared heir to any citizen's estate where there were natural successors to the inheritance. § 3. As Pontif ex Maximus, he instituted a strict inquiry into the conduct of the Vestals, attributing the recent third burning of the Capitol to the divine vengeance upon their unchastity ; and three of their number suffered death for misconduct sufficiently weU proved. In his own palace he was temperate, at any rate with regard to the pleasures of the table. The same cannot be said of his morals, for he was accused of criminal intrigue with his own neice, whom Titus had wished him to marry ; but the Roman as a magistrate was a being quite apart from the same Roman as a private citizen, and no one thought of criticising an inconsistency which permitted tlie Princeps to indulge in the license of a Jupiter, while he 'made Mars and Venus tremble' by his public reforms. *The names of these Emperors alone had so far won insertion in the Lex Regia . Those of Tiberius, Gains, Nero, any costly presents. 8o he treated with the Dacians, with tlie Semnones, and the Cherusci; and, like Tiberius, he preferred to play off one tribe against another to the indirect advantage of Pome. lie was wise in not seeking to advance his frontiers : they were already grown too cumbrous for effective defence save at an enormous cost. The conquests of later Emperors were but momentary, and the extent of the empire under Domitian remained the normal extent of the Poman world, now at its maturity, and destined soon to feel the inroads of decay. § 11. Meanwhile at home, like a true Flavian, the Princeps continued to build. There was still room for restoration amongst the ruins left by the great fire of Titus. The Capitoline temple rose anew, more costly than ever, its roof of gold, its columns of Pentelic marble. On the Palatine was reared the Flavian palace, in the Campus Martins and the Forums* were built new temples, and older buildings, such as the Pantheon, were restored. Literature he patronised so far as to collect men of genius such as Martial and Statins, the epigrammatist and the epic poet, about his person, and to establish, in 86 a.d., the Agon Capitolinus^ in imitation of the great contests of Greece in her prosperit3^ -^^ this festival the jjoets and lirose -writers and orators of the day contended once in four years for j^rizes awarded by the Princeps in j^erson; and at his villa at Alba he established an annual contest on similar lines, in which were included the especially Grecian items of musical and gymnastic comj)etitions. But no poets grew rich at the expense of \he fiscus, and Statins had to sell his tragedies for the price of a dinner or two. There was a savour of Nero in these measures, but in the edict of 89 A.D., w^hich banished the ^philosophers and astrologers once more from the city, there was a direct imitation of Vespasian. The decree of expulsion was not carried out with au}^ rigour, it seems, or a second edict would not have been required in 94 a.d. ; the proscribed persons continued to hover about the suburbs of Pome, and disquiet the Princeps with their theories on free-govern- ment and their casting of horoscopes. Here again this Emj^eror resembled Tiberius : he was a fatalist, and yet sought to escape destiny by persecuting its exponents. § 12. He had cause to be susj^icious of them, for they were busil}^ fomenting treason. There had been scattered deeds of violence already in the reign of Domitian ; but as yet Rome had breathed securely. It was the curse of the Caesars that, during the hundred and thirty years of their rule, there grew up no body of custom or of law to harmonise the Princeps' power with that of his subjects. Domitian was just as much an usurper in the eyes of the remnant of the old nobility as Julius or Augustus had been. There were fewer now to murmur, for the past century had seen the extinction of most of the ancient * Besides the ancient Forum (Romanum) there were now the Forum Julium, near the Tullianum, at the north-east foot of the Capitol ; the Forum Augusti to the north-east of that ; the Forum Vespasiani (or Paeis) to the north of the east end of the Forum Romanum ; and between that and the Forum Julium lay the Forum Transitorium. / 198 THE EAKLY PRIXCIPATE. domitian: 81 — 96 a.d. 199 families, with their traditions of republican equality and their pride of place. Still there remained a few, and with them the philosophers and astrologers joined to murmur and conspire. The storm hroke in the later months of 93 a.d., when Antonius Saturninus, commander of two legions in Upper Germany, once more turned the arms of the legions towards Kome, and invited the barbarians beyond the Rhine to join him. Chance prevented the event which occurred three hundred yeai's later ; a sudden thaw frustrated the passage of the Gennans across the river, and they could lend no aid to Antonius when attacked by Appius Norbanus, Governor of Aquitania. Antonius fell, and his conqueror burnt all his papers forthwith, in itself a proof that there were other conspirators in the plot. Antonius could not have relied solely upon the moral strength of his boasted descent from the Triumvir and the democratic tribune of 100 B.C., and upon the actual support of but two legions and his Gennan auxiliaries. There must have been others to lend him confidence by their name and rank; but who these were the Princeps could not now learn. Never- theless, the damage was done, the long-restrained fears of Domitian broke out in a new reign of terror. § 13. As usual, it was only the rich and the noble wlio suffered. The Emperor was still a type of his own god Janus, with one face for his friends, another for his foes : and he still found the former in the legions and the mob, the latter in the senate and nobles. To win the favour of the former, he gave more magnificent entei-tainments than ever, and by so doing found another excuse for persecuting the rich in that his treasui-y was chronically empty. Fear combined with avarice furnished him with motives ; he found the means in that very delation which he had heretofore affected to crush. Metius Cams had long hung about the Emperor* s person marking his opportunity. He found it now, and became more infamous even than the delator es of Tiberius' day. Agricola had died, fortunately for him, in this very year, else he might have shared the fate which now fell upon distinguished men of all classes. The younger Helvidius 1^ y» perished (like his father under Vespasian) for a piece ol writino- which was thought to satirise the Emperor; Maternus, for declaiming against autocracy ; Lucullus, tor allowing a new lance to be called by his name ; fealvius, for keei^ing tlie birtliday of the dead Otho, his uncle. Epaphroditus, the freedman who had at his bidding slain Nero was now executed for having spilled the blood ot a Caesar The law of Maiestas discovered new offences on everv hand. The Jews had beeu ordered to pay their ancient temple-tax of the double drachma into the fiscm ; the collection had been evaded by a profession of lioman faith but it was enforced now with new rigour to recoup a bankrupt treasury. It was declared treason to forsake the Roman creed for 'that of the alien, and the first victim was Flavins Clemens, the husband of Julia, whose riches were a welcome addition to the fiscm. The Christians, always confounded by the Romans of this era with the Jews, suffered in the persecution, and hence arose the behet that in Domitian's day occurred the first persecution of that creed as a creed. Still, it was to higher ranks that the ravages of Cams and his associates were mostly confined ; senators and consulars were their legitimate prey, though even women fell victims. S 14 Like Tiberius, Domitian was hated for his austerity and gloom ; like Tiberius ho lived apart from the world. His i>alace on the Palatine was his Capreae, and no auditor could reach him there without being searched and watched. Yet vigilance cannot be always wakeful; one of Domitilla s freedmen, Stephanus, had incurred dismissal, and he undertook to avenge the Romans. In spite of every precaution, he was able to give the Princeps a dagger- thrust which disabled him ; yet the murdered man would have slain his murderer had not a crowd of other slaves and attendants rushed in to complete the deed. On September 18, 96 a.d., died the last of the Caesars and Flavians. Of aU that series of Emperors, Vespasian alone was by all men believed to have died a natural death. To him we may add Augustus and Titus; possibly also Tiberius. All the rest died by the hand of the assassin or by their own. But a better era was beginning. Hence- i 200 THE EARLY PRIXCIPATE. forward dates the growth of liarinony between the ruler and the ruled, the idea of a Innited monachy. The senate had at length learnt wisdom from their tollies of 41 and 68 a.d. ; they struck down Domitian, but they had already chosen the man who should take his place, and for the tirst time put into action their heretofore untried, but never-forgotteu, jn-erogative of electing their Emperor. They chose Nerva, who is commonly accounted as one of the Antonines, tlie Good Emperors, wliose dynasty of eiglity-four years was a period of wonderful prosperity, combining the magniticence of Augustus with the shrewd sense and success of the first of 'the^ Flavian Firm.' It will have been noticed tliat, whereas the reigns of Augustus and Tiberius may be detailed from year to year by their incidents, those of later Emperors grow ever more meagre of detail, less accurate in chronology. This is due to two causes : the first is the a>)sence of dramatic interest, the continued growth of the personality of tlie Princeps to the extinction of all lesser personages, the disappearances of such men as Agri2)2)a and Maecenas, Sejanus and Gennanicus ; the second is the lack of sufficient contem- porary authorities, and we can only regret the loss of the works which could give life and order to the bare facts whicli still survive to us.* * The follo\vinp: novels niav be read with advantage, as throwiii}? light upon social life under the Early Empire: Bekkcr's Gall us. The Gladiators (Whj-te Melville), The Last Days of Pompeii (Lytton), Marius, the Epicurean (Pater). ^X CHAPTER XX. The British Wars. § 1. Intlueuce of Continental Civilisation upon Britain— § 2. Distri- bution of the British Tribes— § 3. Gains ; Eeasons for the Attack of Claudius— § 4. Campaign of Aulus Plautius and Claudius, 43 A.D. : Conquest of the Trinobantes and the Southern Tribes— § 5. Cam- paigns of Ostorius Scapula and overthrow of Caractacus, 50 A.D. — § 6° Kapid Growth of the Roman Power ; Foundation of Colonia Claudia Victrix— § 7. Suetonius Paulinus extirpates the Druids; Revolt of Boadicea and Sack of Camulodunum, 61 A.D.— ^ 8. Seven Campaigns of Agricola, 78-83 A.D. : Advance of the Romans to the Clyde ; Battle of Mons Graupius and Recall of Agricola. § 1. The vaunted tribute which Julius had imposed upon the British at the close his second invasian (54 B.C.) had seldom if ever been paid. The conquest of the island by force of arms had been beyond his power ; but he had introduced the first taste of Eoman civilisation, which spread thereafter with wonderful rapidity. The Straits of Dover formed no obstacle to the progress of trade and culture, and the civiHsation of Gaul carried with it that of Britain, whose inhabitants were now largely blended with Belgae and other Gaulish peoples. Already Londinium {London) was a flourishing port, and each inlet of the east coast, where bands of 8axons and Frisians may already have settled, had its line of traffic with the opposite shores of Gaul and Batavia. In the far West, Isca Damnoniorum {Exeter) maintained its ancient importance as the centre of the Cornish and Devonshire metal trades. The painted nakedness of the Briton, the dense thickets and morasses of Caesar's time, had given way to a widespread agricul- ture, settled habits, and a regular system of roads by which Verulamium {St. Albans), Camnlodimiim {Colchester), and Londinium, were connected with the ports of the eastern and southern coasts, and with the interior. § 2. South of the Thames, in Sussex and Surrey, dwelt the Eegni ; Kent still recalls the name of the Cantii ; Dorset and the south-western counties belonged to the ^\ ) 202 THE EARLY PRIXCIPATE. Damnonii. Londinium and the adjacent counties of Hertford and Essex were the lands of the Trinobantes, the people of Cassivellaunus, and the leading tribe of the island, whose power extended westward to the Severn. To the north still further lay the Iceni (Suffolk, Norfolk), whose supremacy reached far into the midlands, where it marched with the power of the Brigantes of Lancashire and Yorkshire, tlie ancient Nortliumbria. Beyond the Severn lay the Ordovices of North Wales, the Silures of the southern parts of the principality. Tliese two tribes, like the Damnonii and the Brigantes, were of more purely Celtic strain than the more easterly peoples ; they took less kindly to the influence of Eome, and were the most difficult to subdue. § 3. The first Emperor to bethink him tliat Britain required reduction was Gains, for the vague plans of Augustus came to nothing, although he seems on one occasion to hav(^ been, if not actually in Britain, at least very near it. Such as it was, the expedition of Gains has been already described. Adminius was retained bj' the mad Princeps as a pledge for the submission of his countrymen. He was a son of Cunobelinus, King of the Trinobantes, and successor to the power of the great Cassivellaunus ; and he had two brothers, Togodumnus and the famous Caractacus. Tlie latter was the accepted King of the Trinobantes, and possibly Overlord of most of the island, when in 43 a.d. Claudius decided to attempt its conquest. That such a conquest had been amongst Augustus' plans was alone sufficient to rectmmiend it to Claudius ; but he was anxious also to stamp out Druidism, the liome of which was in Britain, where its teachings nursed a number of factious spirits dangerous to the peace of Gaul. Julius had failed to conquer Britain, because Gaul was in arms beliind him : Claudius had that province to support him, and the issue was never doubtful. § 4. The immediate excuse for aggression was found in the person of Bericus, an exiled chieftain, who pleaded to be restored. Aulus Plautius, commander in Lower Gei-many, was despatched with four legions to the con- quest. He landed amongst the Eegni, whose king. V '^ THE BRITISH WARS. 203 (^oeidubnus, seems to have made no resistance, and was Dossibly in collusion with the Eomans. Plautius advanced to the Thames, twice defeating the Trinobantes ; he stationed himself at Londinium, and summoned the Princeps to complete in person the subjugation ot tins new province. Claudius hurried to the island, put himself at the head of the legions, overthrew Caractacus and his fellows in a fierce battle at Camulodunum, and received the submission of the entire tribe. He was back again m Rome with the title of Britannicus within six months from his departure. ^^ . ^r • +1,^ In the same year, 43 a.d., Flavins A espasianus, the future Emperor, pushed westward with one legion, fought his way in thirty battles across Dorset and Devon and reduced Yectis (^Me of Wight). The Iceni, jealous ot the Trinobantes, gladly made alliance with the invaders, and submitted to become tributary. Camulodunum became the headquarters of the new province, which Plautius proceeded to organise, campaigning only on a small scale m the direction of the Brigantes or the Severn. In 47 a.d. he was recalled and his place was taken by P. Ostorius Scapula. On his return to Rome, he received au ovation, a very rare honour at this time. S 5 Togodumnus had fallen in battle, but Caractacus, escainng to the Silures, had there maintained a ceaseless war The Severn formed a natural defence, and when that was crossed there came the insuperable mountain fastnesses of Wales. Scapula set himself to penetrate even these. Already the Severn had been fringed with a line of march-fortresses ; now the river was crossed, and permanent camps were established at Deva {Chester) and at Isca Silurum ( Caerleon) on the Usk. GraduaUy a road ^va8 opened into the heart of Wales, and the unity of the British position was destroyed. In 50 a.d Caractacus, after nine years of fighting, found himself playing his last stake. He played and lost. The Romans crossed the river which defended his front,*' stormed the hill which he *> ThP exact locaUtv cannot be determined. It was apparently in the territories of thf Sovici (Sorth Wales), and was POSsibly at Caer Caradoc or o^^ Breiddhen Hill in Shropshire. Other supposed sites are at Cefn Carnedd antt Coxall Knoll, near Llanidloes and Leintwardine respectively. 204 THE E.\JILY PRIXCIPATE. Iiad fortified, and forced the chief to fly to the Brigantes. Petty jealousy did more than the legionary's steel to conquer Britain. The Eegni had admitted the invader; the Iceni had welcomed him; the Brigantes betrayed Oaractacus. He followed as a captive in Claudius' triumj^h, but his life was spared, and it is thought that the Claudia whom St. Paul converted was a daughter of the discrowned king. § 6. How firmly the Romans were already established was proved in this campaign, for simultaneously with the last efforts of the Silures occurred an outbreak of the Iceni, already regretful of their submission, and smarting under impositions. Both risings were quelled with ease. Already, in the early months of this year (50 a.d.), had })een founded the colony of Claudia Yictrix at Camulodunum ; and so j)eaceful was the land for the next ten years, that this, the capital of Roman Britain, was not fortified. It was a period of concentration which rendered the island, from the Wash to the Channel, from the Foreland to the Severn, a densely-peopled and jirosperous Roman land. Scaj)ula died in 52 a.d., and neither of his immediate successors, Aulus Didius Gallus (52-57 a.d.) and Yeranius (57-58 A.D.), achieved anything of note. § 7. Still there were wnrs on the Welsh Marches, and in 61 A.D. Suetonius Paulinus, who had been apj)ointed legatus in 59 a.d., put into execution Claudius' orders for the abolition of Druidism. In the sacred island of the Druids, Mona {A7igle8ey\ he broke their last resistance, and butchered the priests to a man. The creed was blotted out by one last act of violence. But the Romans, in their turn, had to learn a lesson in suffering. The Iceni had long been oppressed by taxation. They had fallen into the power of Roman money-lenders, who treated them with ruthless rigour, while the local governor went so far as to scourge in jjublic their queen, Boadicea, and to insult her daughters still more vilely. This event occurred just when Seneca, the philosopher, and one of the largest money- lenders, had called in all his loans. Boadicea appealed to her nation, and the discontent broke out without warning or control. Before Paulinus could return from Mona, tlie THE BRITISH WARS. 205 Iceni had reached Camulodunum, and had J ^^^^^d with the Trinobantes to sack and burn the colony. -Th^n ^^^^^^^ turned about and cut to pieces a legion under Petilhus Cerealis, which had followed in their rear, passed on to Yerulainium, which they left in ashes, and so to Londmmm, marking their way with appalling rum and cruelties Paulinus dared not attempt to defend London ; he must keer up his communications with Gaul, and to do so he reoccupied the now desert site of Camulodunum and abandoned Londinium, with all its shipping and wealth to he merer of Boadicea, who repeated there the horrors ot her previous successes. Then she turned again to crush Paulinus. That general chose his ground so well that the numbers of his enlmies did not avail them. The Britons were rcmted utterly. Boadicea died by her own hand, and the revolt was ended. But the labours and results of years were lost, and there was only a wilderness now where there had been villas and towns and luxury. Eighty thousand Britons fell in the great defeat, but not until the revolt had cost the lives of 70,000 Romans and aUies. . , , , 8 8 Por s(jme years Britain remained quiet, slowly obliterating the traces of that terrible year. laulmus, recalled in 61 a.d., gave place to Petromus Turpihanus, whose jrovernment was devoted to conquest by kindness, and his successors received like orders to rely more upon o-entleness and culture than upon arms During the years of the military revolutions the turmoil of Gaul and Italy had no effect on the island, excepting that some c)f its legions were drafted for service there, and jyero i-eplaced by auxiliaries from other nations. Petillius Cerealis defeated the Brigantes in many battles and occupied Lindum {Lincoln). Sextus Julius Prontmus the author of an art of war, conquered the Silures m South Wales. In 78 A.D., Gnaeus Julius Agricola was appointed Prelect. He was a Gaul by birth, and the fatheiwn-law of the historian Tacitus, from whose biography, i\xeAgncoh, we o-et the details of his seven campaigns. The hi;st and Second were occupied in chastising i;espectively the Ordovices and Brigantes. Neither people gave serious trouble, and Agricola again ravaged Anglesey, and \! 206 THE EAKLY PlilNCIPATE. extended his frontier to the Tyne, where he erected a chain of forts along the line afterwards occupied by the Wall of Hadrian. In 80 a.d. he again advanced, and in the course of the summer occuj^ied the southern part of ►Scotland as far as the Clota ( Clyde) and Bodotria {Forth), where was erected at a later time the wall of Antoninus Pius. There was little resistance in tliis conquest, for the tribes of Caledonia scarce deserved the name of enemies ; and within two more years the whole region so annexed had become thoroughly Romanised and secure. Agricola, indeed, combined the qualities of soldier and dijilomatist in a rare degree, and he owed almost as much to the peaceful conquests of his idle winter months as to the strength of his legions in the summer's campaigns. In 83 a.d., he moved still further northward, crossing the Forth and penetrating into Fife and Angus. The natives gave more trouble now, and the country became more difficult to traverse. No pei-manent advance was made, but the campaign was regarded as a merely tentative expedition to learn whetlier there was anything wortli conquest still remaining. The lowland plains were found temi)ting enough, and in 84 a.d. Agricola for tlie last time headed liis troops. At the Graupian Hill (Mons Graupius), which is quite unconnected with the Grampian Range he was met by Galgacus, a highland chief, with an immense native army. In the battle which followed, the Scots and Picts were overthrown indeed, but the victory was ro1)bed of its fruits by the recall of Agricola. Popular report set it down to Domitian's jealousy of the success of a better general than himself : it is at least as likely that Domitian had th<' wiser reasons which liad prompted Tiberius to like measures — fear that an ahnost absolute command, so long protracted, might end in rebellion ; and the conviction that any further campaigns in this quarter involved a useless waste of men and money from \^ Inch there could accrue not even a small return to the exchequer. Agricola received the hisignia tn'umphalia, retired into private life, and died peacefully nine years later, 93 a.d. CHAPTER XX r. Literature ^i B.C.--37 A.D.}. § 1. Effects of Autocracy on Poetry — Alexandrine Poetry and its Imitators — § 2. The Patrons of the Poets: Augustus; Maecenas; Messala — Relation of Patron and Poet — Effects of the Civil Wars on Poetry; the Palatine Library — §3. Van us — Minor Poets of the Early Empire — ^ 4, Gallus and Marsus — § o. TibuUus — ^ 6. Pro- pertius — § 7. Vergil ; his Life — The Eclogues — § 8. The Georgics — § 9. The Acneid; its Character and Analysis — § 10. Horace; his Life — The Satires — § II. The Epodes and Od£s — The Carmen Saeculare, Epistles, and Ars Foetica — § 12. Aemilius Macer — U\id; his Life — TYiQ Fasti; Metamorphoses; Tristia — Other Writings — § 13. Grattius and ]\[aTiilius — Phaedrus — § 14. Prose Writing — Cornelius Xepos; Vitruvius PoUio; Pompeius Trogus — Grammarians — § 15. The Historians; Cordus; Bassus; Strabo — Li>y — § 16. Velleius Pater- culus — Valerius Maximus and Celsus — Philo Judaeus. § 1 . With the Empire there came a marked and inevitable change in Roman literature. Democracy is characterized by f ree-tliinkiiig and free-speaking, and when the Rej)ublic fell, the laws of libel graduall}^ assumed greater strictness, and the scope of the writer became more narrowed. The politi- cal pamphleteer had l)een a leading feature of the last era ; he now disappears entirely, and the same may be said of the orator. Inst(\ad of politics, the subjects are mythologi- cal fables, society verse, science, and of course love. But the style of the love-j)oet alters. Augustus woidd allow- no licentious writings, any more than he could peraiit the glorification of the fallen Republic to his own destruction. Indeed, the sphere of public life was now so limited, that tlie interest in politics rapidly died awa}^ If dealt with at all, it was only from the liistorian's distant stand-point: there were no more Ciceros to whom politics were as the lireath of life, for the only politics now permitted were those of the Emperor. The first Princeps collected about him a circle of men of genius, who were prepared to see nothing but good in the new regime, and to preach its excellencies to the world. Particularly was this so with the poets, who became valuable instruments in Augustus' hands to glorify n 208 THE EARLY PRINCirATE. his able rule abroad and to praise liis reforms at home. The Latin writers had always been imitators. A purely Latin composition is almost unknown. From Greece came the form and ornaments of the book ; irom Greece, very often its subject. Of late the culture of Greece had centred at Alexandria, and there flourished under the Ptolemies, in the tliird century B.C., a class of didactic writers and writers of love-poetry who furnished ample materials for imitation. Chief among them were Callimachus of Cyrene, Euj)horion of Chalcis, Nicander, Philetas, and Aratus of Soli. So pre- valent was the fashion for Alexandrine subjects and style, that Cicero classes the lyric poets of his day in a group as 'w^arblers of Euphorion.' Their school was distinguished by its excess of recondite mythology and erudition, and its overstrained artificiality. § 2. Society at large was now tlie writer's audience. It was no longer his task to write for a select few, as in the old days. Every Eoman gentleman talked literature, and even the Emperor Avrote a little on his own account. He set an example, too, in his patronage of authors — an example which was followed by all wealthy men, and in particular by C. Cilnius Maecenas and M. Valerius Messala. Both were men of refinement and exceptional taste; both were writers, thougli not particularly successful. Round each gathered a knot of poets, to a cei-tain extent rivals, yet all adoj^ting much the same attitude. AYliat difference there was between the two cliques may be sunmied up in the statement that while Maecenas' circle was more avowedty political, more intimate with Augustus in person, and more openly concerned to preach his wishes, that of Messala was more retiring, and concerned rather with poetry as a literary pursuit than as a vehicle for any particular teaching. Maecenas was devoted heari and soul to the cause of his master. Messala, on the other hand, liad fought on the side of the Republicans, and later on had joined Antonius, and though after his pardon he became a loyal general and servant of the conqueror, yet he could not feel the same enthusiasm for the new regime as did Maecenas. He died about 8 A.D., having, like Maecenas, outlived most of the poets whom he befriended. LITERATURE. 209 It must be added that the patronage of these great men implies nothing derogatory to the independence of their proteges. The poet did not make merchandise of his intel- lectual wares in return for office, protection or munificence. It is true that the influence of his patron might obtain a comfortable maintenance for Horace or Vergil; but this was not the fulfilment of a bargain. It was a mark of esteem bestowed freely, and expecting no return. The poet, if he lauded Augustus, did so from his own convictions, and not for the parasite's dinner or the client's sportula. Horace and Maecenas regarded each other as intimate friends, not as debtor and creditor; and the same applies to all the authors of their time. Augustus was aided in the wish to find authors, who would preach his doctrines, by the fact that twenty years of warfare had disgusted all men of genius, and that the few, who had had any experience of the true Republic, had experienced it only at its worst. The poets who praised the Principate had no need to swallow their principles before doing so. And to become apostles of the new regime offered high rewards, not mercenary, but immortal. Augustus built the famous Palatine library, the first in Rome, and held up to the ambition of all authors the prospect of leaving an ivy- crowned bust amongst those of the famous poets of the olden time. This ambition may be traced in the works of most of the poets of the time. They did not want rank, because they disliked its duties; but they longed for fame, and Augustus offered it to them — at a price, of course. It remains to speak in detail of the authors of the period ; and first must be mentioned one or two whose names are not so closely associated with either of the great literary coteries. § 3. L. Varius Rufus, born in 74 e.g., was already inti- mate with Maecenas when the latter attained his position as chief counsellor of Augustus, and it was he who introduced to the statesman both Vergil and Horace. He was fortunate in establishing his reputation as the foremost poet of Rome before Vergil, a younger man, could wrest from him his laurels. He owed his fame to an epic on the death of Julius (Be Jforfe), of which Vergil was not ashamed to avail him- R. 31-96. 14 210 THE EARLY PRIXCIPATE. LITERATURE. 211 self, and which approached nearer than any other poem to the style and rhythm of the Aeneid, to judge from the small fragment preserved. When Vergil began to wnte his Aeneid, Yarius turned to tragedy, and the Thyestes, which he composed for the Liidi Actiaci, remained famous as a masterpiece of Eoman dramatic literature. He died in 14 A.D. Horace acknowledged his powers—* No one wntes the martial epic as does ardent Varius'*— in the earlier days of their intimacy; and Yergil, then only a rising poet, owns that he 'cannot yet sing aught worthy of Varius. f On Vergil's death, Varius undertook the task of editing the A Bfl6'l d In the same passage Vergil is supposed to compare his early efforts to those of one Anser, jestingly remarking that he himself is 'as a goose {amer) amidst swans.' This poet was one of the earlier time, transitional between the old and new regime ; and from what Ovid says of him we may conclude that he represented the failing school of erotic poets of whom Catullus was the chief. Even less is known of Varus, to whom is addressed Eclogue VI. His nomm is supposed to have been Quintilius, and Vergil pays him a high compliment: ' Nee Phoebo gratior uUa est Quam sibi quae Vari praescripsit pagina nomen.' Two other poetasters of Vergil's earlier days were Bavins and Mevius. They need only be mentioned here as dis- paragers of that poet, and as having given its name to the 'Baviad and Maeviad,' a satire by AVilliam Gifford, m the early part of this century. M. Furius Bibaculus belongs rather to the previous age, but he lived long enough to satirize Augustus, and was possibly alive in 29 b.c. He was also an epic poet, his sub- ject being the Gallic wars of Caesar ; and according to Horace he was turgid and bombastic, though Vergil found in his writings something to imitate. The line * (lupiter) hibemas cana nive conspuet Alpes' is supposed to be quoted from his poem, and the ludicrous • Sat i X 51 The first book of Satires was probably written before 35 B.C. 1- EclogTie'ix., 35. The poem is dated prior to 40 b.c, by Conington. I metaphor is said to have earned for him the name of Alpinus. § 4. Another poet who fell in the earlier days of the empire was Cornelius Gallus, a native of Forum Julii {Frejiis), in Gaul, born 70 B.C. He was a man of consider- ble ability, and Augustus, to whose notice he first intro- duced Vergil, appointed him Prefect of Egypt on the settlement of the war against Antonius. How he abused his position, incurred the emperor's displeasure, and committed suicide, has been already told.* He was the foremost of the i)oets of love of his day, and to his mistress, Cytheris, he addressed four books of elegies, all modelled on those of Alexandrine writers; and he made a complete translation of Euphorion. Nothing is left of his writings; but the tenth Eclogue of Vergil is a waiTQ tribute to his friendship and abilities. In it Gallus is represented as bewailing the faithlessness of Lycoris — possibly the same as Cytheris — while the Gods of poetry gather round to listen and console him. Quintilian calls him durior, so that his style was probably less graceful than that of Tibullus, and nearer to that of the elegies of Catullus and his contemporaries. He is never mentioned by Horace, who, perhaps, classed him with the poets who could only ' warble Catullus and Calvus ' ; but neither does Horace mention Domitius Marsus, who was a member of the circle of Maecenas, and a rival of Gallus in erotic poetry. Domitius Marsus also wrote epigrams and fahellae, and an epic entitled Amazom's, of which Martial said fifty years later that it was rarely quoted and not of great merit. He was bom about 50 b.c, and outlived both Vergil and Tibullus, to whose memoiy he composed a grace- ful epigram of four lines, which is all that survives of his poetry. We now come to four great poets whose works remain to us — Albius Tibullus, Sextus Aurelius Propertius, Publius Vergilius Maro, and Quintus Horatius Flaccus. § 5. Albius Tibullus was bom about 53 b.c, and died in the same year as Vergil (19 b.c). He was by birth a knight and a Roman, and fonns a rare exception to the rule that in the literature of Pome, all that was best was- • See p. 21. 212 THE EARLY PRIXCIPATE. LITERATURE. 213 the product of provincial soil. Originally a man of some property, he lost almost all in the agrarian distributions of 41 L, retaining only a small farm at Pedum m Latium, between which and Messala's town house he divided his time. He grew rich again, however, and probably recovered his lost possessions by the interest of Messala. His Me seems to have been spent in two amours : the object of the first was Delia, and when she proved inconstant, he betook himself for comfort to Nemesis. To each of these unstresses he addressed one book of Elegies; the third and fourth books, which complete his works so called, are of doubtful authenticity. Most critics agree that the third book is the work of an inferior poet, who addresses himself to a lady named Neaera. Like the names Delia and Nemesis, this name is probably fictitious, it being the custom to replace the real name by an imaginary one of the same metrical value and of Greek fonn. Several of the genume poems are addressed to Messala, praising his munificence or his successes in war. Others are mere pictures of the pleasures of country life. TibuUus' poetry is less burdened with mvtholoffical details, and is more spontaneous, than that ot any other elegiac poet. ' In no poet not even m Bums, is simple, natural emotion more naturaUy expressed. - Uum- tilian adjudged him to be the prince of Latin elegiac poets 8 6 Contemporary with TibuUus as the elegiac poet ot the rival society of Maecenas was Sextus Propertius. Bom in Umbria, probably at Asisium i^Amsi), at some date between the years 58-49 b.c, he lost his patnmony m the confiscations and allotments which followed the battle of Philippi, and does not seem to have recovered them as did his i-ival. Possibly he did not care for the rural simplicity and contented retirement which it was the fashion of his feUow-poets to affect, and it is probable that he lived in Home, whither he certainly came to study as an advocate. Fortunately for us, however, he fell in speedily with the ladvwhomhe addresses as Cynthia, and gave expression to his feehnffs towards her in verse which attracted the notice of Maecenas. Yet he did not improve upon this - acquaintance as did Horace and others. He was too fond - Cruttwell, E'lst Roman Literature, p. 301. ' ; of city life, with its dissipations and license, to enter cordially into the spirit of a refonning emperor crusading against the dechne of morals. He approximates rather to Ovid than to TibuUus in the tone of his writings as well as in their style ; and, as we shall see, Ovid's poetry marked a reaction in the direction of the now forbidden tone of Catullus' days. He studied to imitate Callimachus and the Alexandrines, and as a result his poems are at times quite incomprehensible from their excess of erudition and mytho- logical allusion. The majority of his elegies are addressed to Cynthia, whose real name was Hostia ; but there are also descriptive poems, and one or two true elegies— laments,' that is— on the death of friends and other griefs. One or two fugitive pieces on poetical common-places such as the immortality of poets, addresses to Bacchus, Vertum- nus and Jove, and a number of epistolary elegies to Maecenas, and other friends or rivals, make up the four books which we possess. He was a warm adimrer of Vergil; but, to judge from his silence, Horace disliked him. Probably Horace's calm philosophy did not harmonise well with Propertius' impetuous enthusiasm. The date of his death is unknown: but it seems to have occurred about the vear 15 b.c. . § 7. Publius Yergilius Maro was born at Andes, m the neighbourhood of Mantua, 70 B.C. When nearly thirty years of age he was deprived of his estate by confiscation (41 B.C.). He had to support him, however, the interest of Asinius Pollio, then govemor of Cisalpine Gaul, and so recovered his property. The restoration was only tem- porary. In 40 B.C., after the Perusine war, came another series of confiscations, and Vergil was again ousted, barely escaping with his life. He removed to Eome, where he had for some years in his early life attended the lectures of various professors of rhetoric and philosophy. He soon became acquainted with Maecenas, and the success which attended the publication of the Eclogues satisfied the patron as to the merits of his protege. He encouraged the poet to continue his efforts, though in a more serious form, and his advice resulted in the composition of the Georgics. The liberality of Augustus and the patronage of Pollio and 214 THE EAKLY PRINCIPATE. Maecenas were sufficient to restore the poet s shattered fortunes, and the later years of his life were spent mostly in a villa which he acquired near Naples. He died at Brundisium, on his return from a tour in Greece, 19 B.C., while stiU engaged on his great epic, the Aeneid, and was buried at his favourite vUla. In his will he left mstructions that his unfinished poem should be burnt ; but Augustus, for reasons of his own, countennanded the wish and directed Yarius the poet and Plotius Tucca to edit it. Verffil's tomb became a centre for semi-religious pilgrim- ages and offerings, and hence arose the story prevalent during the Middle Ages that he was a wizard. ^ Throughout his later years he enjoyed the very closest intimacy with his patron, and formed one of Maecenas companions, together with Varius and Horace, when the minister jour- neyed to Brundisium in 38 B.C.* to negotiate with Antonius, on behalf of Augustus, for a joint attack upon feextus Pompeius, the master of the Mediterranean. Like iibulius, he preferred the life of the country to that of the town, and in this respect he differed from Propei-tius and Ovid. In the Eclogues, which were published prior to 39 B.C., the genius of Vergil appears in its native form— pohtics had no interest for him, nor did he as yet care to grapple with the sustained task of epic poetry. He loved the country, and he found \'irgin field for his talents in transplanting to Latin soil the pastoral poetry first written by Theocritus. This writer, a native of Syracuse, flourished at the beginning of the third century B.C., and resided long enough at Alexandria to become one of the Alexandrine school o± poets. Nevertheless, his subject was original, however much he yielded to prevalent fashion in its treatment. He wrote Idylls, smaU genre pictures of the hfe of Sicilian peasants— shepherds, fishermen, and housewives— and his example was followed by Bion and Moschus. But until Vergil's time no Italian poet had ventured to trespass on this ground, a fact which renders Vergil's success aU the more surprising. In many cases he merely translates from his originals : usuaUy he adopts the dramatis personae—ihQ plot, if one may say so— and fiUs in the bare outhne at lus * This journey is the subject of Horace, Sat. 1. 5. LITERATURE. 215 own discretion. But j ust as Theocritus occasionally appears as a panegyrist, so Vergil in the fourth and tenth Eclogues becomes personal: the poem deals with living persons, while the setting still remains bucolic. The fourth Eclogue has acquired fame, not more from its beauty than from a theory that it expressed a prophetic anticipation of the birth of a Messiah. It was written, as a matter of fact, in honour of the consulship of Pollio; but who was the child whose birth is hailed is, and must always be, a mystery. The tenth Eclogue has already been mentioned as addi-essed to G-allus. . jTT -1 § 8. It was the advice of Maecenas that prompted Vergii to take up a greater task in the Georgics. He is said to have dreamed already of putting into an epic the history of Rome, as Ennius and others had done before him, but the magnitude and loftiness of the task deterred him. Erotic poetry and society-verse were not congenial to his taste, and politics had no attraction for him. Still he entered fully into that desire for peace which was prevalent in the minds of all, from Augustus downwards ; and he found himself able to contribute to that desire by the production of a work idealizing husbandry. Ceaseless wars had completed the depopulation of Italy which the Gracchi had long ago noted with concern. The old race of yeomen was gone, the fields were untilled, bands of slaves performed what agricultural duties still survived, and the 'glory of labour as man's mission' was no more. The restoration of Italy depended on the restoration of agriculture to its place of honour, and for this reason Maecenas persuaded his friend to write a work which in beauty equalled the Eclogues, but far sur- passed them in scope and seriousness of purpose. The Georgics— i\i^i is 'Matters of Husbandly'— comprise foui» books dealing with crops, trees, cattle and horses, and bees respectively. They form what is called a didactic poem, a poem conveying svstematic instruction in their subject under the cloak of verse. The father of such poetry was Hesiod of Ascra in Boeotia, in the eight century B.C., whose poem the 'Works and Days' was at once the model, and m a large measure the source, of Vergil's work : *A8craeumque caiio Romana per oppida cannen.' 216 THE EAKLY PRIXCIPATE. He had been followed by Aratus the astronomer, by Nican- der the physician, and a host of other Greeks of Alexandria ; while at Rome the great work of Lucretius, which sets forth in six books the entire system of Epicurean philosophy, was the first of a long series of less famous didactic poems. Vergil had studied Lucretius deeply, and he owed much to him as well as to Aratus. Besides Hesiod's book, he found prose authorities in Cato and YaiTO ; and while the Georgics are poetry of the most captivating kind, they contained so much sound instruction as to win a front place in the ranks of manuals on agriculture. A subject at first sight unat- tractive became, by free use of digi'essions, by sweetness of rhythm and language, and by that love of nature which rings through eveiy line, a book of which it is difficult to tire. Book lY. closes with the legends of Aristaeus and Ori)heus, a somewhat incongruous subject which is said to have been substituted for a peroration in honour of the disgi-aced poet Gallus. As Gallus died 23 B.C. and the Georgics were published 29 B.C., the change must then have been made in a second edition. The work is dedicated to Maecenas, and seven years were spent in the elaboration of its two thousand lines or so. § 9. In the Aeneid Yergil at length realized his early dreams of writing an epic. Augustus is said to have en- deavoured to persuade the poet to write the history of his wars, but this Yergil declined to do, as did Horace also. Mere history in verse is a dangerous subject to deal with, and hard realities were no matter for the genius either of the lover of nature or of the society-poet. Still, there was in the Georgics proof that Yergil possessed in a wonderful degree those feelings of patriotism, religious enthusiasm, and moral purity, which the emperor \s'as anxious to make universal. Such talents were too valuable to be lost ; and they were utilized in the production of a magnificent poem glorifying the beginnings of Eome, and establishing the connection claimed by the Julian house with Aeneas and, through him, with the Gods. The poem has been called the richest source of our knowledge of Roman religion and moral feeling. In it the creed of Eome appears freed in great part from the overgi-owth of Greek m;yi;hology. It is J »5 LITERATURE. 217 a Roman poem in the fullest sense, for its subjects and its thoughts are alike those of the gens togata. There is of course much that is Greek in the details of the story, and the form is entirely Greek, being borrowed direct from Homer. Nevertheless in subject it is consistently Italian, and if anything could rouse to good pui-pose the Roman's pride of race, the Aeneid would have accomplished that result. In bare outline, the subject is the landing of Aeneas in Italy, and his war with Turnus for the hand of Lavinia. But varied episodes lend interest and break the monotony of the simple narrative. Book I. opens with Juno, the enemy of the Trojan race, stirring up a tempest to wreck Aeneas and his fellow-fugitives, who are now near Sicily. They are cast ashore on the African coast, and hospitably welcomed by Dido, Queen of Carthage. The appearance of Yenus to her son, an account of Dido's fortunes, and a description of her new city, complete the book. Book II. is filled by the narrative of Aeneas, who, at Dido's table, recounts the horrors of Troy's capture and his own flight; and his story is continued in Book III., which details his wanderings from place to place, in Thrace, in Epirus, in Sicily, and elsewhere, until the occasion of the storm which drove him to Africa. The fourth book contains the famous description of Dido's unfortunate love for her guest, his flight at the behest of heaven, and her suicide — a narrative unique in classical literature as a love-novel. Book Y. finds Aeneas landed at Egesta, where his compatriot, Acestes, receives him, and where he institutes funeral games in honour of his father, Anchises. A boat-race, and a foot- race, matches in archery, wrestling and boxing, and the exercises of mounted boys in the 'Game of Troy' are all described. The sixth book contains most that is original in the poem. Hitherto the scenes of the work have been borrowed from Homer or Apollonius Rhodius in great part. Even in this book the idea of making Aeneas visit the lower world is borrowed from Odyssey XL, but the detail and amplification of the idea are independent. Guided by the Sibyl, Aeneas plucks the golden bough by Lake Avernus, wherewith he obtains passage to the world of the dead ; 218 THE EARLY PRINCIPATE. and we are told how he saw the heroes and heroines of old, the good and the wicked, the place of torment and the Elysian fields, and, finally, all the spirits as yet not incarnate, destined one day to live on earth as kings in Alba, and the famous heroes of Rome. Each is described, and his mighty deeds set forth as prophecies which reveal the coming history of Rome. The seventh book, after desci-ibing the friendly reception afforded to the Trojans by Latinus, tells how Juno sends the fury AUecto to rouse the wrath of Turnus, whom Aeneas had forestalled as son-in-law of Latinus, and of the commencement of tlie war with Turnus' people, the Rutuli. In Book YIII. Aeneas seeks help of Evander, the Arcadian, who had colonised the Palatine Hill, and the narrative is garnished with ancient legends of Roman landmarks, and the story of Hercules and Cacus, ending with a description of the armour which Vulcan wrought for Aeneas, whereon are depicted all the scenes of Roman history down to the battle of Actium and the overthrow of Antonius and Cleo- patra. In Book IX. Turnus attacks the Trojan camp, and the devotion of Nisus and Euryalus is related. Books X. and XI. recount the return of Aeneas and his repulse of Turnus in a stubborn battle, wlierein figure all the heroes of the Italian nations from Mezentius, the tyrant of Etruria, to Camilla, the queen of the Yolsci. In the twelfth book Aeneas is challenged to single combat by Turnus, and eventually conquers his en em}'. The work was commenced in 29 B.C., and was not finally completed in 19 B.C. when its author died. It appears to have been published in 17 B.C. The metre is hexametre, as in all his great works; and so great a master of this metre is he, that it serves him equally well for every scene. ^It is the metre in which 'the strong -winged music of Homer' was written; and after passing with growing elegance through the hands of Ennius, Lucilius, and Lucretius, it reached in Vergil a perfection which was never surpassed. The Culex (Gnat) and Moretum (Salad), and tlie Ciris, re- lating the legend of the Megarian princess Scylla, her treacherous conduct towards her father Nisus, and her transformation into the bird Ciris, are shorter i^ooms attri- buted with more or less likelihood to the early days of Vergil, LITERATURE. 219 when stiU living on his faiin near Mantua, There are also some brief pieces in elegiac verse, of which one, the Copa Hostess), I a Hvely descriptive piece. The C. ./^^o. (-collection of trifles") or Catalecton is a collection of fourteen poems in elegiac and iambic metre and on various subjects. One is an elegy in honour of Messala's victories, and there is a piece of twenty-five iambics parodying Catullus' famous fourth poem {Dedicatto Phaseli). 8 10. Quintus Horatius Elaccus, born m 65 B.C. at \ en- usia, on the borders of ApuHa and Lucania, was the son ot a coactor, a coUector of taxes or auction bids, lately emanci- pated by some master belonging to the gens Horatm Though of so humble a rank, the father was able to send his son to Rome to be educated with the sons of senators and knights under the ferule of Orbilius Pupdlus. As usual with youns- Romans, Horace went to Athens to Xle'eliis education, and kile there heard of the assas- sination of Caesar. He was made a^^.5^^^^^>«'^;^^^'^^ ^J Brutus and was present at the defeat of Philippi, where he left his shield behind him, like Alcaeus of old, and ^^t^^^^ to Italy under pardon, only to find his father dead and his estate confiscated. Thus left without friends or means, he was glad to accept the post of quaestor's clerk, and between the hours of business he vented his disgust m the Satires his first literary effort. He became acquainted with \ ergil, who introduced him to Maecenas, and though the lattei was somewhat slow to show any favour to the poet, ne received him at length into his innermost circle, and m 38 B.C. Horace was sufficiently intimate to be one ot ttie party which traveUed to Brundisium. The reason for such hesitation on Maecenas' part was the independent character of Horace, who persisted in maintaining his own ^aews about politics-views very unlike those ^nith which \ ergil regarded Augustus' rule. However, his Epicurean dognms -for he was at heart an Epicurean, although he dabbled a little in aU schools of philosophy-would not allow Horace to hold very serious views about anything buthimselt; and finding himself comfortable, especially when, about dlBC., Maecenas gave him an estate near Tibur, he accepted the Emperor's ovei-tures for friendship and assumed an attitude 220 THE EARLY PRIXCirATE. of tolerance at once honest and amusing. It was many years, however, before he published any verses laudatory of the Emperor. The loss of Vergil and Tibullus drew Horace closer to his patron, and he jestingly vowed that he could not live without Maecenas. The vow came strangely true, for when Maecenas died in 8 b.c, within a few weeks Horace followed him to the grave. He had never been strong, and was more or less a victim to dyspepsia. All these particulars of his life, and much more, we gather from his own writings. Horace and Ovid are alike in sharp contrast with Vergil, and most other Roman poets, in the frequency of their allusions to their own lives and personal interests. We can reconstruct the ordinary course of Horace*s days from his Odes and Satires, and similarly in some measure that of Ovid's also ; of other Latin poets at home we know virtually nothing. The earliest works of Horace were the Satires, which were published about the years 34 and 29 b.c. The two books comprise in all eighteen poems on various social and literary subjects. Horace was a humorist, and saw life through the medium of an irrepressible good-humour. Hence his Satires seldom rise to the dignity of anything beyond mere ' talk,' as their Latin title implies {Sermones) ; and hence the criticism of Dryden that 'Horace ambles while Juvenal gallops.' In the modern sense theHoratian satire is not satire at all. It consists simply of scenes from everyday life strung together with no definite plan, and made the vehicle for a quantity of good-natured and solid ad\dce. Two of the poems are devoted to literary criticism, and especially to Lucilius (148-102 b.c), for whom Horace, while fully allowing his merits, professes to entertain a cordial aversion as ' muddy ' and uncouth. Lucilius was the only master of satire before Horace's time, and he used his verse to lash rather than to advise. VaiTo ( 1 16-28 B.C.) also wrote books of ' Menippean ' satires, a medley of prose and verse like the later satires of Petronius. In j)lain fact, this style of writing had no fixity of rules. It was claimed as purely Eoman by the Eomans, but rather as a mode of thought than a style of composition. It always remained more prosaic than poetical until Juvenal, at the close of the LITERATURE. 221 first century a.d., fitted to it the full strength of the hexa- meter. Its name (connected with satur, ' full ' ) is suggestive of the variety of its scope— life in all its manifold forms. To tui-n it to the criticism of literature was a purely Horatian innovation. Other subjects with which Horace deals are discontent, lax morals, pedantry, the bore (supposed by some to hint at Propertius), his own critics and detractors, a dinner with a society butt, and his journey with Maecenas and Vergil to Brundisium. § 11. The Epodes were published about the year 30 b.c. The name was applied, at any rate in later times, to any short poem, other than elegiac, in which long and short lines alternate. Seventeen in number, they consist mainly of personal attacks on various persons objectionable to the poet— attacks which come much nearer to the modern idea of satire than any of the Sermones. . There are also one or two addressed to Maecenas, and two to the Roman people. The latter of these {Epode xvi.) is the most pleasing of all, and clothes old poetical platitudes with a new and vigorous beauty, recalling the Eclogues, though, as a whole, they are rightly ranked below the Odes. Of the Odes there are four books, three of which appeared at once about 23 b.c, while the fourth is supposed to have been liublished as late as 14 b.c, and is marked by a feeling of admiration for Augustus which is not expressed m the earlier books. The various Odes were written at very dif- ferent dates, and only slight inferences can be drawn from their inclusion in any particular book. In this branch of writing Horace claims to be unique. He took as his models, not the Alexandrines, but the earlier poets of Greece, the lyric writers Alcaeus and Sappho, who flourished in Lesbos about 600 b.c Heretofore no Roman had tres- passed on the domain of Lesbian metres and style. Two metres, named the Sapphic and Alcaic after the writers who chiefly used them, are the favourites with Horace. The subjects are various; but, speaking broadly, love and wine are the main themes, while short odes to Gods and Goddesses, light exercises on social sins, and half -epistolary addresses to a host of friends, make up the remainder. The fourth book differs in the tone of panegyric m which 222 THE EARLY PRINCIPATE. the various members of the imperial house are spoken of, and the fourth ode of this book, celebrating the successes of Tiberius and Drusus in Ehaetia, has been considered the finest of all. With the apj)earance of supreme facility the Odes carry with them the marks of hard study and restless elaboration, and no verse is harder of imitation than this. The only other lyric composition remaining is the Carmen Saeculare. This was written in 17 b.c, at the special com- mand of Augustus, and was sung by a choir of twenty-seven boys and as many girls in honour of Apollo and Diana. It contains many references to the reforms of Augustus, in particular to the Lex Papia Poppaea. Two books of Epistles and the essay De Arte Poetica com- plete the list of his writings. The latter is sometimes reckoned as part of the second book of Epistles. It is a conversational address to two young Pisos, treating in a cursory and unmethodical way of a great number of literary points, particularly the appropriate subject and style for each metre, the drama, and taste in general. It is certainly not a finished poem, but is valuable as giving a poet's own views on his art. The Epistles, addressed to various friends, such as Maecenas, Tibullus, and Lollius, are twenty-one in number, that to Augustus being of great length. It contains a great deal of valuable literary- criticism, and, while profes- sing to be an explanation of the poet's infrequent appear- ance at the palace, really asserts his independence. The others are merely poetical lettors ; but they show their author in his most natural mood, and are written with a polish and fluency that show no trace of artificiality. The first book is supposed to have appeared in 20 b.c. ; the date of the second book is most probably 13 b.c. § 12. In 16 B.C. died Aemilius Macer of Yerona, a friend of Yergil. We have none of his writings, and only know that he favoured long didactic poems in the manner of Nicander the Alexandrine. Yalgius Rufus was a friend of Horace and Tibullus, a poet of some ability in epic, erotic, and grammatical subjects. He was consul in 1 2 b.c. The last and greatest master of elegiac verse was Publius Ovidius Naso, who was bom at Sulmo, 43 B.C., on the day of the battle of Mutina. His father was an eques, UTERATUiiK. 223 of which the poet boasts rather needlessly ; and the family was sufficiently well off to provide Ovid with the means to enjoy society life in Eome. He came thither avowedly to study law, but found the subject little to his taste. His every thought would rim into verse, he says ; and at length he gave himself over entirely to his muse. He studied a little while at Athens, and, returning to Rome, j)ublished the Amores (9 b.c), most of which are addressed to an unknown mistress whom he styles Coiinna, These were followed by the Ileroides, (love-letters of the heroines of ancient mythology, such as Ariadne, Penelope, etc.), and by the Ars Amandi, in three books. The latter poem declares itself to be a complete directory to all such looseness of living as Augustus was strenuously endeavouring to sup- press. It raised so much opposition that the author thought fit to publish two years later (a.d. 1) the Remedia Amoris, an ostensible recantation, which was, however, little better than the work which it professed to decry. Ovid now seems to have felt uneasy and anxious to make atonement. He devoted himself, as far as he could, to a different style of writing, and worked simultaneously at the Fasti and the Metamorphoses. But his repentance came too late. In the middle of his new task he received orders to quit Rome at once and retire to Tomi {Kiistendjeh\ a wretched outpost of Roman civilization near the mouth of the Danube, on the shore of the Black Sea. He left his poems unfinished — tried even to destroy what was already written — and withdrew, 8 A.D. He lived nine years in exile, writing in this period five books of Tristia, and four of Epistles from Pontus\ but all his prayers for pardon were ignored, and he died at Tomi 17 A.D. What was the actual cause of his banishment is unknown. Certainly his doctrines, directly antagonistic to those of Augustus' court poets, were a sufficient reason; but the particularly objectionable work, the Ars Amandi, had been published ten years wheu punishment overtook its author. The most probable explanation is that he was involved in the intrigues of Julia II., who was banished in the same year. All he tells us is that he 'had seen something which he ought not to have seen.' His talents were indisputably 224 THE EARLY PRIXCIPATE. misapplied ; and though in powers and finish he far sur- passes his friends and fellow-poets, Tibullus and Propertius, he loses his advantage in the depravity of his subjects. His life and writings are summarized in the criticism that he was 'an incorrigibly immoral, but inexpressibly graceful poet.' The Fasti, or Calendar, which Ovid intended to consist of twelve books, was completed only as far as the end of the sixth. Each book contains a detailed account of the days of one month, the feasts, dies fasti et nefasti, and the zodiacal changes ; this rather uninteresting subject being relieved by digressions on the legends connected with various holy-days, and by various passages of a panegyrical and patriotic tone, evidently written to cuny favour with an offended Emperor. The Metamorphoses consists, as its name implies, of the legends of mythological persons changed into other forms, such as Actaeon, Niobe, and a host of others. It is written in hexameters, unlike the poet's other works, and even in its unfinished state, comprises fifteen books. The Tristia are elegies in the truest sense, bewailing the reverse of for- tune which banished the poet, entreating pardon from the Emperor or help from influential friends, and describing the miseries of life amongst the Getae and Sarmatians. The Epistles are written in a more resigned tone, and are mainly letters to friends, such as the younger Messala (son of the patron of Tibullus) and the two poets Ponticus and Tuticanus. Besides the works mentioned, Ovid also wrote a tragedy, Medea^ highly praised by Quintilian, but now lost ; Medi- camina Faciei, a mocking treatise on cosmetics and the toilet, of which only a fragment remains ; the Halieutica, a des- cription of the fishes abounding at Tomi ; the Nux Elegia, a lament about ill-treatment purported to be uttered by a walnut-tree ; and the Ihis, a \'irulent invective against an unknown false friend, who in some way damaged the poet. The authenticity of the Nax Elegia is, however, doubtful ; and the Consolatio ad Liviam, or Epicedion Drusi, a funeral panegyric on Drusus, the brother of Germanicus, is cer- tainly spurious. With Ovid's works are also published three Epistles, which take the form of letters, replying to LITERATURE. 225 three of the Heroides, They were said to be the work of Aulus Sabinus, who wrote replies to the whole series of the Heroides, as well as a successful epic entitled IVoezen. All his works are lost, however, and the three so-called Epistolae are now regarded as forgeries. § 13. Grattius was a friend of Ovid, and wrote a dull work on hunting ( Cynegetica), of which some considerable fragments remain. It is a didactic poem, and not more interesting than the majority of such works. Another such book is the Astronomy of M. Manilius. Little or nothing is known of the author, but from the style of his writing it is supposed that he was an African, and allusions in the work show that it was written during the later years of Augustus, and, in pai-t at least, as late as 22 a.d. The work reaches to a fifth book, which is, however, incomplete. It bordered in subject too closely upon the forbidden science of astrology' to be a safe pui-suit; and hence, perhaps, its unfinished state. It contains a good deal of philosophy, all directed against the Epicurean teachings of Lucretius, and advancing the views of the Stoics. Last of the poets is Phaedrus, the writer of Fables {Fdbulae Aesopiae) in four books and an appendix. They resemble their originals in being short tales in verse, wherein various animals are represented as speaking and reasoning. The author was a Macedonian of Pieria, who became a slave of Augustus and was manumitted by him. He prided him- self on his literary abilities, but no other writer mentions him save Martial. Apparently his fables at times contained veiled political allusions ; and at this Sejanus took offence, and (according to one account) had the poet put to death on a fictitious charge. § 14. The same causes which changed the character of poetry in the days of the early empire affected in a like manner the prose of the period. Latin prose- writing was always closely related to oratory, and oratory had been the centre of the education of every gentleman under the Eepublic. To prosecute and to defy prosecution with success was the passport to politics and to the upper ranks of political society, and every young man went thi-ough a uniform course of declamation and rhetoric with a view to R. 31-96. 15 226 THE EAKLY PKINCIPATE. this. But the liberty of the law-courts was not to be tolerated by an absolute ruler. It indulged too freely in criticism, and treated with too little courtesy the chiefs of the government ; in a word, it was too personal and demo- cratic. With the empire came the cessation of public pleading as a means to foi-tuno, and in its place remained only scholastic declamation dealing with non-political sub- jects. The schools of rhetoric still flourished, but the subjects debated were now 'why Hannibal did not march on Eome after Cannae,' or *in what words Leonidas addressed the Spartans at Thei-mopylae ; ' and in lieu of the audiences wliich listened to the speeches of a Cicero, the declaimer of this period was constrained to deliver his composition in his own liouse or in a building which he liired for the purpose hiring his audience, too, sometimes, perhaps. And with prose-writing it was the same. It must not deal with the present unless in a laudatory strain ; there must be no regret for the old times. So it betook itself to ancient history, to science, grammatical inquiry, or to collecting anecdotes, and found a vent for its authors' rhetorical abilities in the speeches put into the mouths of a Hannibal or a Tarquinius. Cornelius Nepos, an intimate friend of Atticus, Cicero's companion, and of most of the eminent men of Cicero's time, belongs rather to the previous age. He was a native of Cisalj)ine Gaul, born perhaps near Yerona, about the year 100 B.C. He lived into the reign of Augustus, dying 24 B.C., at the age of fifty years. We know him from his collection of lives of eminent men {Be Viris Ilhstn'bus), similar to those of Plutarch. In its complete form the book seems to have extended to sixteen volumes, of which eight dealt with the great men of Eome and eight with those of other nations, especially Greece. The work was long believed to be a mere compilation or digest of much later date, but is now generally regarded as genuine. Yitruvius Pollio wi'ote ten books on architecture and ^noineering. He was bom about 64 B.C., and died about fifty years later (14 B.C.), being a member of Augustus' literary circle, though not particularly intimate with the Princeps. He had served in Caesar's Gallic campaigns, and only took up the pen in his later years. His book was LITERATURE. 227 epitomized at a very early date, and it is this epitome which survives. From it we gain almost all our knowlege of the Poman canons of architecture in temples, aqueducts, and houses, and of the military engines of the period. Pomi>eius Trogus was a freedman of the great Pompeius who wrote a universal history {Historiae PhiUppicae) in forty- four books. It began with Ninus and the history of Nineveh, and was continued to 9 a.d. About four centuries later it was abridged by Justinus, and we possess his abridg- ment, which is brief in the extreme, but exceedingly useful in some points. Amongst the writers on grammar and language were Yerrius Flaccus and Julius Hyginus. Both were freedmen, the latter being at one time keeper of the Palatine library. Flaccus wrote an immense dictionary {De Verborum Sigm- ficatu), of which we possess portions of an abridgment by Festus, who lived in the fourth century a.d. The abridg- ment alone comprised twenty books. Hyginus was a Spaniard and an intimate friend of Ovid, the author of a large number of works, mostly on mythological subjects. A digest of his Genealogiae, in four books, still remains under the title of Fahilae. He also wrote, like Manilius, on astronomy. § 15. Of writers on history th^re were many, and in particular those who endeavoured to write the history of the civil wars were a numerous class. Pollio did so, and was warned by Horace that he ' trod on smothered fires.' Many still lived, and not least of them the Emperor, ready to take sharp offence at a careless epithet or a detail which had better been suppressed. Yet Maecenas, and even Augustus himself, were continually importuning Yergil and Horace to essa}^ the task in their verse ; and Maecenas him- self attempted something of the kind. The most successful of these attempts was perhaps that of Cremutius Cordus, whose forced suicide has already been mentioned ; but Aufidius Bassus, a writer whom Tacitus quotes as authori- tative, also completed a history of the period. Both these historians belong rather to the days of Tiberius. Strabo wrote actively during the whole of the reign of Augustus, and part of that of Tiberius. He is known to us from his ( 228 THE EARLY PRIKCIPATE. geoffi-aphical work in seventeen books, complete with the fxStion of the seventh, of wh ch we have, l^owever an Litome He was a great traveller, and was with Aehus G^aCihe general who led the Arabian expedition of 24 b.c Besides this^he wrote a history of Eome, commencmg at fhe close of that of Polybius (146 b.c), and '^ontmmng to the battle of Actium ; of this nothing remains. His date '' ole 'hi^orian of the time of Augustus remains to us in considerable bulk, Titus Livius Patavinus. He was of Zd Wrth to judge from his tone and anstoeratical Snionf^d his^iiW. Patavium (P«^««), was one o the most flourishing and populous towns of Italy, the SpitXof the Veneti in CisalpiL Gaul. Tiie exact year of Ms bh-th is unknown, but it was probably about o9-o7 b.c. R is a deplorable fact about most Latin authors, that they teU us little or nothing of themselves-a point in wluch Mnongst writei-s of thi! period, Horace, and in a ess degi^e ^d are valuable exceptions. Livy came to Kome to be educated, and probably went through the usual course of rhetorica training; such training, at any rate, shows itself [n muXof his writing. He was, as an aristocrat, of course a Eepublican at heart" but he lived apart from poll ics, and refained the friendship of Augustus, if to no very intimate extent In his preface he tells us that he has two reasons for essaying the gigantic task of writing a contmuous history of Eome? the frft is the hope of producing some new formation ; the second that of forgetting the roubk^ of his country, meaning thereby the civil wars. He must hax e begm the work very soon after the battle of Actium. It walTlanned to reach fifteen decades, but was probably not Completed. We have intact thirty books and portions of five others, together with an epitome of the entire work, as to as the ;ne hundred and forty-second book. The remain- ine eight were probably never written. The fiist book con- KleMstory^fEoWs foundation, and of the mo^^^^^^^^^ flnd the work then proceeds continuously. It is the best model of Latin historical narrative which we possess and Tvivid style, approaching the poetical, gives it an mterest wMTfew su^h works can boast. He was not, however, a LITERATTTRE. 229 critic ; and such material as he had he used more with an eve to effect than probabiUty . He made large use of earlier writers, from Fabius Pictor and Alimentus downwards, but he paid little attention to archaeological evidence, and, Jake his predecessors, relied largely on legendary sources. This is peculiarly the ease with the earlier part of his work for there was probably no monumental evidence for events m Rome prio? to theWlic invasion of 390 b.c For the sub- sequent years he utilized the archives of pontiffs and censors, ancient laws and inscriptions, and the State Fmtt, or year^ record of magistrates and important events. Livy died m the same year as did Ovid, 17 a.d., full o years and honours; for we read that a Spaniard came all the way to Eome to see him, and, having seen him, went home again at "Tie. For many years aiter the death of Livy, historical writing was reduced to mere 'court scandal. It is usual to caU VeUeius Patei-culus a writer of such matter, and to censure him for his extravagant adulation of T.benus He was born about 18 B.C., and he served eight years under Tiberius in Gei-many and elsewhere, being rewarded foi h s services by the praetorship in 14 a.d. He admired his general as a soldier should, and « consequence his book betrays much flattery. Nevertheless he is valuable as tho sole witness, amongst Eoman writers, to the better side of Tiberius' character. His work was an abndgement of Eoman history in two books, much too brief to be of vahie until the period of Tiberius' wars. It then becomes fuUer and more interesting. He seems to have studied his sub- \Li with care, and to have drawn largely from good writers Ito pilceded him. He had intended *« write a history of Tiberius, but was prevented by his death which occurred in the year 31 a.i.., when he fell amongst the partisans of Sejanus, with what justice we do not know. Valerius Maximus is supposed to have wntten duiing the reign of Tiberius. His work was the Facta et Dicta Memorabilia, a collection of anecdotes extendmg to nine fooks, and intended to furnish declaimers with a dictiona^ of subjects and paraUels. It was abndged by one Jnhus Paris in the fourth century, who added a tenth book, and I 230 THE EAKLY PRINCIPATE. later writers repeated tlie process, until notliing but tke barest facts remain. Equally unknown in personal life is A. Cornelius Celsus, a scientist in the widest sense of the term, who wrote on rhetoric, law, farming, military tactics, and medicine. The latter treatise survives, and is still to some extent a standard work, particularly in the parts which treat of surgeiy. Of Philo Judaeus, the philosopher and theologian of Alexandria, we know little, except the fact that he con- ducted an embassy to Rome in the time of the Emperor Caius, 40 A.D., to secure for the Jews exemption from the mad Princeps' edict that all the world should worship him. He was an old man even at that date, so that he must have been in full manhood during the reign of Tiberius. He has left us a work in which he endeavours to reconcile Judaism and the law of Moses with the mythology of Greece. His is the last name we need mention. For whatever cause, the reign of Tiberius yielded but a poor liarvest of genius. It is usual to attribute the fact to the EmjDeror's tyranny; but though he did not j)atronise litera- ture as his predecessor had done, he did not jiersecute it ; and something must be accredited to the indisjDutable fact, that a reaction always follows periods of exceptional bril- liancy, and in this case the reaction had long since set in when Augustus died. CHAPTER XXII. Literature (37-96 A.D.). § 1. — The Silver Age: the Senecas — § 2. Calpumius Siculus and Lucan — § 3. Statius, Valerius Flaccus, Silius Italicus — § 4. Persius, Petronius, Juvenal, Sulpicia, Martial — § 5. Quintus Curtius, Jose- phus, Tacitus — § 6. Columella, Mela, Quintilian, Frontinus, the Plinies. § 1 . The Golden Age of Latin Literature was now over. The language henceforth declines in matter and still more in foi-m. Excepting Tacitus, Juvenal, and Pliny, few of the authors of the Silver Age are read for their own sakes. Originality disappears, and decadence bears its customary crop of compilers, copyists, and critics. And debarred from active interest in the outer world, men turned upon themselves and consoled themselves with philosophy — the second-hand and mostly soulless pomposities of Roman Stoicism. Chief of the Philosophic writers was Lucius Annaeus Seneca, a Spaniard of Cordova, born 4 a.d. His father, Marcus (or j)erhaps Lucius) Annaeus, was well known in Rome as a teacher of rhetoric and composer of Controversiae and Stiason'ae, respectively imaginary law-pleadings and declamations intended to exemplify the pui'pose of riietoric according to Greek notions, viz., the means and methods of persuading an audience, irrespective of the intrinsic merits of the subject. Lucius, his second son, found his way into the Senate and into Caligula's court, was banished by Claudius at Messalina's instigation in 41 b.c, and recalled by Agrippina to act as tutor to her son Nero, 49 A.D. He was consul in 57 a.d., and for some time the actual ruler of the monarchy. That the pupil profited so little by his teacher's precepts is perhaps to be attributed less to Seneca's lack of sincerity than to his weakness of M ill and incapacity to train others. After some five years of favour he made the mistake of indulging his pupil too far, and thereby lost all control. He retired into private 232 THE EARLY PlllNCirATE. life, but did not thereby escape ; for Nero took advantage of the conspiracy of Piso to find an excuse for driving him to suicide (65 a.d). His writings are voluminous, mostly pliilosophical, but in part poetical. Amongst the former are treatises on various ethical subjects such as the Be Ira and Be Beneficiu; the Quaestiones Natiirales, disquisitions on a variety of physical phenomena regarded as so many texts for the conveyance of moral lectures; and a great number of Epktulae very similar to the ethical treatises above men- tioned, but put into the form of letters to a friend named Lucilius. His poetical works were nine tragedies, valuable as the only Eoman tragedies remaining to us. As their titles indicate— Phaedra, Oedipus, &c.— the subject of all is taken from the Greek. Neither as a philosopher nor as a poet was Seneca a man of the first rank, but he wrote good Latin, if somewhat declamatory in style. In fact his style superseded that of Cicero as a model for later authors — an example of the general tendency of the times to desert the older and more severe idiom for one that was more diffuse and ornate. § 2. In poetry there was the same tendency, albeit Vergil still remained the professed model. Thus T. Cal- immius Siculus wrote Eclogues in imitation of those of Vergil : we have eleven which go by his name, of which only seven are genuine. We have also a poem styled Aetna, describing an eruption of that volcano, which is attributed to him, but which was perhaps really the work of Seneca's friend Lucilius, for some years procurator of Sicily. Of Calpurnius' life we know absolutely nothing. Twice he alludes to a new Princeps who is to regenerate the world, and it is conjectured that this was the young Nero. More important is M. Annaeus Lucanus, born 39 a.d., a nephew of Seneca. Like the latter he found his way to the Eoman court and for some time enjoyed the friendship of Nero ; then being out of favour, he sought revenge by joining the abortive conspiracy of Piso, which cost him his life at the age of twenty-six (65 a.d.). His life was too short to admit of his genius attaining to maturity, but even LITERATURE. 233 ; P ! 'k \ as it was he accomplished a notable work in the Phanalia, professedly an account of the overthi'ow of the Eepublic, but in reality an attack upon the Emperor. It is an Epic poem in ten books, largely imitative of Vergil, and although far behind its model, it is the biggest and the most effec- tive piece of sustained declamation which Latin literature can show ; but plot, character-drawing, and consistency of thought, are all alike sacrificed to theatrical effect. Few books, however, are more ' quotable ' than this, and con- sidering the youthf ulness of the writer, his force, command of language, and power of sustained eloquence, are mar- vellous. It was said that Lucan owed his disgrace to his superiority over the poet-emperor, his death to the Re- publican sentiments expressed in the Pharsalia, He wrote also ten books of Silvae, fourteen MimeSy and a tragedy styled Medea. § 3. Somewhat later dates another group of three poets, namely Statins, Valerius Flaccus, and Silius. P. Papinius Statins, by birth a Neapolitan, was the son of the tutor of Domitian, and was born about 45 a.d. He was already about middle life when he became famous as the greater of all the post-Augustan poets ; but beyond the fact that his literary activity was mainly confined to the years of Domitian' s reign, nothing is known of his life. Of his writings, however, there remains a large volume. The poem by which he became famous is the ThehaiSj an epic in twelve books, dealing with the themes of the Theban Cycle. He is said to have spent twelve years over this work. The Thehais has been praised as '* faultless in epic execution," but the language is frequently mere bombast, and the repetition of battle scenes makes it wearisome as a whole, albeit pleasing enough to read for an hour or two. But the poem seems to have taken Pome by storm: "all Pome was delighted,'' says Juvenal, "when Statins deigned to give a recitation." Thus encouraged. Statins proceeded to write an Achilleis — an epic on the Trojan Cycle — but failed to complete even two books; which was perhaps as well, for no one could have waded through a poem so large as it threatened to be. He wrote also five books of Silvae (short improvised 234 THE EARLY PRINCIPATE. pieces), and another epic on Domitian's German Wars. The last-named is now lost. Statins died about 96 a.d. C. Valenus Flaccus, a native of Livy's birthplace of Patavium, undertook an epic on the story of the Argonauts, based on the work of ApoUonius of Rhodes. It runs to ten books, the last being unfinished; and even in this shape it tells but a portion of the whole legend. The temptation to be diffuse was too great for Flaccus, as it was for Statins. The poem was commenced appai*ently about 80 A.D., for it alludes to the erui)tion which destroyed Pompeii in the preceding year. Its author is said to have died in 88 a.d. The language, while frequently recalling Vergil, is flat and artificial, not at all comparable with that of Statins. Flaccus is believed to have been a man of good birth, and a member of the XV.-Yiri, but in plain fact we know nothing at all about his life. Last and worst of the three — worst indeed of all Latin poets— was Tib. Catius Silius, suinumed Italicus. This man was consul 67 a.d., a favourite of Nero and Vitellius, and pro-consul of Asia under Vespasian. Like many other rich men of the period, he amused his leisure with verse- makiug ; he was less fortunate than his fellow amateurs in that his verses have survived. His poem, the Bellam Punicum, was intended to glorify the famous struggle with Hauuibal; but throughout its seventeen books it is consistently dull, pedantic, uninspired, and uninspiring. Silius Italicus suffered from feeble health, and a pedant to the last, starved himself to death in the approved Stoic fashion (101 A.D.), in order to be quit of the ills of this life. § 4. A group of four writers represent the progress of Latin satire, namely Persius, Petronius, Juvenal, and Sulpicia. A. Persius Flaccus was a native of the Etruscan Vola- terrae, bom 34 a.d. He spent the few years of his life in Rome, studying rhetoric and philosopliy, but died at the age of eight-and-twenty. He seems to have been the very type of a student, and his writings— six satires on the decay of morals, religion, and literary taste— betray every- where a student's familiarity with Horace and with the Stoic teaching of the day. Had he lived to mature his literature. 235 genius he would probably have reached a higher level : as it is his work is so involved in too much learning as to be always difficult and often almost incomprehensible— the work of a boy whose thoughts and whose language are equally beyond his control. Nevertheless his work remains the purest in tone of all that Roman satirists have written. Petronius Arbiter was his complete antithesis — a boon comrade of Nero and a sort of Beau Nash to the most flagitious coui-t the world ever saw. Indeed his success as arbiter elegantiarum proved his ruin, for it awakened the jealousy of Tigellinus, who drove him to suicide in 66 a.d. He seems to have lived a double life, indulging in the worst license at his prince's pleasure, and secretly scoffing at such degradation. Such at least is the impression left by the remains of his writings— fragments of two out of a large number of Menippean Satires — which describe the social life of the time with the naivete of a debauchee and the detail of a past-master, while holding them up to ridicule with the wit of a gentleman. The book is peculiar too in being the only representative in Latin literature of the modern novel in the style of Smollett or Fielding. It is couched in the foiin of a narrative in which a Greek libertus relates his experiences in various towns of southern Italy, and is especially valuable for the light which it throws upon the condition of life and language in that region. Of the surviving fragments the longest is known as the Supper of Trimalchio—n witty description of a dinner <'-iven by an ignorant and tasteless millionaire. ^ But of all Roman satirists Juvenal is the greatest. D. Junius Juvenalis lived throughout the worst and most troubled years of the first century a.d., and though he could not venture to utter his feelings in the days of a Nero or a Domitian, yet he treasured them up to be published in the more peaceful days which came after- days in which, as Tacitus has it, "a man might have his own opinions, and express them in his own way." Of Juvenal's life we know only that he was born at Aquinum, of a good family, and spent much of his time in military service. Tradition says that he was banished for satirizmg the power and venality of the actor Paris ; and that his 236 THE EARLY PRINCIPATE. place of exile was Egypt or Britain. It seems certain that he must have visited Egypt, but there is nothing to prove that he was banished thither. It fact it is ahnost certain that he did not commence to write until after the death of the man whom he is said to have offended : he says himself that he is concerned only with a past generation. Of that generation — the generation which lived from Claudius to Domitian— he furnishes the most elaborate and effective series of pictures which we possess. Of his sixteen re- maining satires — the last only a fragment— each deals with some special social point ; and although now and again the coarseness of the language is not tolerable to modern ears, yet as a whole they are amongst the most vigorous and most interesting of Latin poetry. Naturally they are largely declamatory, but now and again the writer shews himseK a true poet, especially in the earlier part of his work : for he seems to have continued to compose to the last, with the result that his late work shews the traces of failing vigour. The date of his death is uncei-tain : it may approximately be placed in 130 a.d., when he had passed the age of eighty. Of Sidpicia, the wife of one Calenus, all that need be said is that she wrote a satire upon Domitian' s attempt to expel philosophy from Eome, 93 a.d. Only seventy lines of it survive. She is not to be confounded with an earlier namesake, Sulpicia, daughter of Servius Sulpicius, a love- poetess, of whose work some few specimens have found their way into the collection usually attributed to TibuUus. M. Valerius Martialis, a Spaniard of Bilbilis (43-101 a.d.), won the favour of Titus and Domitian by the abject char- acter of his flatteries. He was a friend of Silius, Juvenal, Quintilian, Flaccus, and the younger Pliny, and an enemy of Statins, with whom he had a personal quarrel. He came to Rome when quite a young man (perhaps in 64 a.d.) and stayed there for thirty-four years, when he returned to Spain. It may be conjectured that his poetry did not meet with approbation under the new regime inaugurated by Nerva and Trojan. He was not a poet in any sense but that of a verse-maker, and his sole style was that of epigi-am. He wrote fourteen books of so-called epigrams, LITERATURE. 237 some few of them clever and pleasing, many clever and unpleasant, and very many not worth the paper they were written on. But so long as he could make a point, Martial was content to go on manufacturing his ineptitudes. His work is only valuable for the Hght which it throws upon the Hfe of the time. The estimate of his verse given above is rather better than his own : in fact his only commend- able trait is his candour— rather his lack of all positive i'T'aits S 5* Aiter Livy's time history had disciples in plenty, amongst them Emperors such as Claudius, but few masters. Only three names need be noted here, and of these one is a Jew who wrote in Greek. Quintus Curtius Rufus wrote a Life of Alexander the Great (De Rebus Gestis Alexandri Magm). His date is not known exactly, but he probably flourished m the reign of Claudius. His work ran to ten books, of which the last eiffht remain. Like his pattern Livy, he wix)te rather to please his contemporaries than to correct their knowledge, and though little read, his language is simple and easy. Flavins Josephus, 37-100 a.d., was a Jew, who dis- tinguished himself by holding the town of Jotapata in Palestine for eight weeks against the forces of Vespasian. He surrendered in time to obtain Vespasian's favour, as weU as that of Titus and Domitian; and it was as a protege of their house that he took the name of Flavins. His writings were lengthy, but being in Greek they are not reaUy a part of Latin Hterature. They include a work on The Antiquities of the Jews, from the Creation onwards m five-and-twenty books ; an account of the Jewish yVar"^ m seven books ; and an Autobiography. They are of great value with reference to the history of Western Asia ^^BuTi^i^' Hstorian of the century was Cornelius Tacitus (54-120 A D ), of good family, and married to the daughter of Affricola, the conqueror of Britain. His praenomen is not known for certain, but it was probably Publius. He seems to have been born at Rome, for though Interamna has been suggested, the assumption only rests on the taxit * See Chapter XVII. 238 THE EARLY PRIJi^CIPATE. that this municipiiim was also the birthplace of the Emperor Tacitus, who claimed descent from the historian. He took an active part in public life, being praetor in 88 a.d., and consul nine years later. His first work was the Bialogm de Oratorihus, valuable as a specimen of the criticism of the age, and in fonn modelled on Cicero's works, such as the De Oratore, This was published early in Tacitus' life, and for some years subsequently he wrote no more. When at last he recommenced authorship lie had formed for himself an entirely new style, characterized by a marvellous con- centration^ which makes it one of the most difficult styles to render into English and quite impossible to imitate. In this peculiar idiom he wrote a Vita Ayricolae, a panegyric on his father-in-law; the Germania, a treatise on the geographical and social condition of the Germany of his day ; the Ilistories, a narrative of events from the accession of Galba to the death of Domitian ; and the Annales, a similar history of Rome from Tiberius to the death of Nero. TJnfortunjjtely there remain to us only four complete books of the Ifiston'ae, and some twelve out of the sixteen books of the Annales. The Histones only deal with the years 69 and 70 a.d., while in the Annals, the whole of the reign of Caligula, and parts of the reigns of Claudius and Nero are lost. He also intended to wnte an account of the reign of Augustus but was prevented by his death, which occun-ed about the year 120 a.d. As an authority for the period of which he treats, Tacitus is simply invaluable, although his work seems to be ruled by a bias very little like the impar- tiality which he claims. Of his attitude towards Tiberius, for example, something has been said already,* and it seems certain that he allowed himself to treat as historical evidence a good deal that was merely personal opinion, not to say scandal. Nevertheless he remains unique amongst Latin historians for his concise and sententious grasp of his subject, and for the picturesque vigour which pervades his most concentrated pages. § 6. There remains a number of authors who treated of individual themes. L. Junius Columella, a Spaniard of Gades, wrote twelve » Chapter X. LITERATURE. 239 books upon Agi'iculture, of which the tenth is m verse m the manner of Yergil's Georgics. His work deserves to be more widely known, for his language is uniformly pleasant and the idiom good, albeit he was certainly not a poet. He was a contemporary of Liican, Persius, and h^eneca. Another of the numerous Spanish authors of the period —and the literary vigour of Spain is one of the peculiar features of the time— was Pomponius Mela, orringentera, who flourished in the days of Claudius. He conipiled three books on geography-the De Situ Orhs ov Choro- <7r«»^m— consulting the best authorities and providing a Lafin substitute for the Greek work of Strabo. His facts are, so far as they go, sound, but his style is much luleiior to that of Columella. „ ,c t^ -l- r\ - ^-v Better known is the work of M. Eabius Qumtilianus, usually styled Quintilian, the great critic of the century. He also was a Spaniard of Calagurris, born 35 a.d. He was educated at Eome, and for a long time taught eloquence there. Subsequentlv he acted as tutor to the grand-nephews of Domitian, by whom he was made consul, and to the vounffer Pliny. His work, On the 'Training of an Orator, m twelve books, is an exhaustive treatise on the whole system of education of the would-be rhetorician from infancy to realization, with an elaborate critique of previous masters in that art and on past literature in general, and a ±uil discussion of the machhiery of rhetoric, style, and hgures of speech, memory and enunciation, and even the moral character of the perfect rhetorician. He was an admirer ot Cicero, whom he imitates, as a protest against the new and more popular style introduced by Seneca. His great work of which the Latin title is Distitutio Oratona, was pubhshed in 93 A.D. Others which he wrote are now lost. Sextus Julius Erontinus (40-103 a.d.) was a writer upon various scientific subjects, such as land-surveying, irriga- tion, and military tactics. He took part in suppressing the rising of Civilis in Gaul, and afterwards succeeded Cerealis in Britain. He was thus well qualified to deal with mihtary tactics, and he treated the subject in three books, which furnished material for the work of a later and more celebrated scientist, Vegetius. Erontinus modeUed hie 240 THE EARLY PRINCIPATE. LITERATURE. 241 language upon that of Caesar, but is better known perhaps as one of the Prefects of Britain than as a literateui*. Two writers bear the name of Pfiny, related as uncle and nephew. The elder, C. Pliuius Secundus (23-79 a.d.), was born at Conium ( Como), and won distinction as a man of science, as a soldier, and as a traveller, visiting in the latter capacity the little known and savage tiibes dwelling along the shores of the Gei-man Ocean. His passion for physical science proved fatal to him ; for chancing to be in command of the fleet at Misenum in the year 79 B.C., at the time of the famous eruption of Vesuvius which destroyed Herculaneum and Pompeii, he ventured too near the scene and was overpowered by the showers of ashes. His sur- viving work is the Historia Natural is^ a collection of *' 20,000 facts from 600 authors," arranged in 37 books, invaluable as an index to the scientific knowledge of the times. This work he presented in 77 a.d. to Titus, although he continued to revise and improve it until his death. Besides this, he composed a History of the German Wars and a History of Rome, The latter was a continuation of the History of Aufidius Bassus, and embraced the years from tlie accession of Nero to the fall of Jerusalem. Both are lost, as also are less pretentious works on grammar, tactics, and rhetoric. He was a man of vast learning and pains- taking to a commendable degree, so that the loss of his Histories is perhaps one of those most to be deplored in this period. His nephew was named C. Plinius Caecilius Secundus. Bom in 62 a.d., he lived far beyond the present period, and was alive in 113 a.d. Master of a brilliant style, he had but small genius to feed it, but practised with success as a pleader in Rome, and attained to the dignity of the consulate and of a provincial governorship under Trajan. It was as legate of Bithynia that he wrote (between 97 and 108 B.C.) those many letters to the Emj^eror which constitute our best means for retilizing the condition of the provinces at the commencement of the 2nd century a.d. Amongst other matters upon which he consulted his master was the treatment of the Christians and their "perverse and boundless superstition." The letters fill nine books. He has left also a Panegyric on Trajan as an example of his rhetorical powers. He vvas a friend of Tacitus, and affected an admiration for Cicero like that of Quintilian. As Juvenal is our best authority for the external appearance of society in this period, so Pliny best reveals to us its internal shape. His Letters are curiously modern in their manner, and the writer also approached the modern fashion of thought in his keen appreciation for the beauties of nature —an appreciation rarely felt by the ancients, if often affected. H. si-%. 16 TEST QUESTIONS ON ROMAN HISTORY, 31 B.C.— 96 A.D. 1 . Mention any causes which assisted Octa\dan in his usurpation of the Principate. 2. Trace, as far as you can, the progress by which the Princeps' authority was developed from the ancient republican impermm. 3. For what reasons did {a) the anny, {h) the Senate, {c) the people, acquiesce in Augustus' autocracy, 30 B.C.? 4. What was the policy of Augustus towards the Asiatic countiies? Give examples to illustrate your reply. 5. Give, with dates, the successive offices, titles, and powers which Augustus acquired up to the year 23 b,c. What is the precise difference between the Trihunatus and Tribimitia Potestas'^ 6. Briefly narrate the conquest of Spain under the auspices of Augustus. 7. What were the reasons for Augustus leaving the city, 22 B.C.? How did liis absence strengthen his position? 8. What do you know of Caepio; Lollius; the Curator es Annonae ; the Agri Decumates ? Define the position and importance of Syene, Leuce Come, Astorga, Braga, Lacus Flevo, Augsburg, Samos ; giving the corresponding ancient or modem name of each. 9. Draw a map of Gormania, marking thereon the rivers Danubius, Ehenus, Luppia, Visurgis, Albis, Amisia; the Cherusci, Chatti, Chauci, Marcomanni; the chief frontier fortresses from Flevo to Pressburg; the Teutohirgensis SaltuSj Altso, Castra Scelerata, the Limes. 10. Give, very briefly, the names and dates of the various generals, who campaigned in Germany during the time of Augustus. What was the object of these campaigns, and how far were they successful? I TEST QUESTIONS. 243 1 1 . Name, with dates, the various persons whom Augustus successively named his heirs, showing their relationship by a genealogical table. 12. How was justice administered under the Dyarchy? What became of the right of Frovocatio? 13. What were, respectively, the revenues and expenses of the Imperial and Senatorial chests? 14. What were the Saeramentum in verba Caesaris, Equites SpJendidi, Fiscus, Aerarium Militare^ Lex Papia Poppaea^ Praefectus Urhis'i 15. Give, in outline, the extent of the Empire at the death of Augustus, showing how far he had enlarged it. What was the foreign policy of Augustus? 16. What is meant by Provinces Imperial and Senatorial ? To which classes did Africa and Pannonia belong? What difference did the method of government make to the provincials themselves? 17. What do you know of Centesimae Venalium, Capttaiio, Frumentatio, Breviarium Imperii, Album ludicum, Ludi Saecu- laresy Monumentum Ancyranum'^. 18. Point out the need of a s]3ecial organization for the province of Egypt, and show how it was met. 19. Write an account of the life and death of Germanicus. 20. What reasons may be adduced for the recall of Germanicus from Germany? 21. Sketch the course of events in Armenia and Parthia from B.C. 30 to the mission of Germanicus to Asia. 22. Trace the relationship of Germanicus and Agrippina to Augustus. 23. How was the military and naval force of Tiberius' time arranged? 24. How far was the government of Tiberius, on his accession, like that of Augustus? How far did he modify the government of Augustus? 25. Write a note on Maiestas. 26. Trace, with examples, the growth of the power of the Praetorians. 27. Where, and for what famous, are Nola, Capreae, Misenum, Pandateria, Lugdunum, Castra Vetera? 28. What do you know of Tacfarinas and Maroboduus? ^44 TilE EARLY PRIXClPATE. 29. Relate the rise and fall of Sejanus. 30. What reason is there to believe that the position of Tiberius was insecure? 31. Enumerate the chief expenses and sources of revenue of the Imperial government. 32. Write a note on Delation and Belatores. 33. How does Tacitus sum up the character of Tiberius? What is the value of this summary ? 34. What do you know of Cremutius Cordus, the Julias, Agrippa Postumus, the three Drusi? 35. Mention any points in which Tiberius modified the constitution of Augustus. What is meant by Nomination Commendation Edicta'^. 36. Give some account of local government under the Empire. 37. Briefly relate in order the military operations of Claudius' reign. 38. Show the relationship of Agrippina II to Claudius, and describe her influence on history. 39. What were the Jils Suffragiiy Jus Honor urn ^ Album Becurionum^ and Breviarium Imperii ? 40. What was the Fiscus^ Praefectura Annonae^ Aerarium, Vectigalian and Sportula? 41. Give the genealogy of Nero, from C. Julius Caesar. 42. What do you know of the Lex Cincia, the "Golden House," and the "Letter from Capreae"? 43. Give an account of the conspiracies of Piso and Choerea. 44. Describe the rising of Boadicea. 45. Show, from the case of Nero, the theoretical depend- ence of the Princeps upon the Senate and People. Upon what did he reaUy depend? 46. Give an account of the revolt of Vindex. 47. What do you know of Britannicus ; Drusus, son of Tiberius; Narcissus; Burrus? 48. Give a brief account of the life of Otho, and of the causes of his fall. 49. Detail the campaign which ended in the second battle of Bedriacum. 50. Explain the relations of Tiberius and Nero with TEST QUESTIONS. 245 ♦ ( \ H Annenia and Parthia. 51. What wore the claims of Yitellius to the principate ? Mention the causes of his brief success and fall. 52. How did Vospasiauus obtain the Empire? Show the relationship of the iirst tkree Flavians. 53. Eelate the revolt of Judaea, its causes, progress, and end. 54. What was the attitude and influence of the troops in 69 A.D.? 55. In what ways did the Provincials benefit from the Imperial, as compared with the Republican, government ? 56. What is meant by the "Flavian Restoration" ? 57. Date, and give the combatants and results of the battles of the Grampians, Colchester, Bedriacum, and Tapae ; and date the falls of Artaxata and Jerusalem. 58. Name the chief members of the Literary Circles of Maecenas and Messala. How did these two coteries differ in their attitude towards the Princeps? 59. Write a brief life of Vergil, Horace, or Cornelius Gallus. 60. What is meant by saying that (1) "Augustan litera- ture is marked by Alexandrinism " ; (2) " Horace transferred the music of Lesbos to Italy"? 6 1 . Estimate the value of Livy as a historian. What is known of his life? 62. Give a brief account of the life and writings of Ovid. What is the most probable reason for his disgrace? 63. What do you know of Domitius Marsus, Cornelius Nepos, Yalgius Rufus, Bavius and Mevius, the journey to Brundisium, Manilius? 64. What is meant by BucoKc Poetry? 65. Describe the characteristic features of the Augustan age of literature. 66. Estimate the effect which the fall of the republic had on literature. 67. Sketch the subject of the Apocolocyntosis. 68. What is known of Juvenal, Petronius, Lucan, Cassius Severus, and Pliny the Elder? 69. Account for the decline of historical writing under the Early Empire. 246 THE EARLY PRINCIPATE. 70. How did the provinces contribute to the literature of the period? 71 . Account for the growth of Stoicism under the Empire. What was its teaching (in outline), and how did it show itself? 72. Name, with approximate dates, the authors of the *'Thebais," "Silvae," "Punica," **Argonautica," "Jewish Antiquities," "De Ira." 73. N«me, with remarks on their works, the chief satirists of the period. 74. Who were the principal historians that wrote during this period? 75. What Latin authors are oui* authorities for the years 40-100 A.D.? 76. In what degree did various Emperors patronize literature? 77. Write short lives of Agi-ippa and Valerius Messala. 78. What powers did the Princeps obtain by the bestowal upon him of (1) Trihunitia Potestas^ (2) Censor ia Potedas^ (3) Potest as Consularts? 79. How far did the Republican Government survive imder the administration of Augustus and Tiberius? 80. Compare the government of Augustus with that of Julius, pointing out the chief features peculiar to that of Augustus. 81. Quote examples to illustrate the attitude of Tiberius and Augustus, respectively, towards the Provinces. 82. How may we account for the decKne of literature during the reign of Tiberius? 83. What do you know of the Carmen Saeculare, Copa, Nux Elegia^ Cantores Eujphorionis'^. 84. What is meant by Didactic Poetry and Satire? Trace their history and development to the close of the reign of Tiberius. 85. In what way did the establishment of the Principate affect Roman Literature? 86. From what point of time may we date the gradual revolution, which terminated in the establishment of monarchy at Rome? Describe the several steps that led to this result. TEST QUESTIONS. 247 87. AVhat were the chief imports of Rome under Augus- tus, and whence did they come? 88. What do you know of Suetonius Paullinus, Agricola, Corbulo, Felix, Seneca, Tigellinus? 89. What were the boundaries of the Empire at the death of Domitian, and its relations with the border nations? 90. Give a brief account of the steps by which Britain was conquered. 9 1 . State, in order, the wars of Domitian and their results. 92. Where, and for what famous, are Gapreae, Nola, Misenum,Lugdunum, Batavi, Castra Vetera, Camulodunum? 93. Sketch the measures taken by Augustus for the security of the turbulent portions of the Empire and for the better administration of the provinces. 94. Write a life of Tiberius down to the death of Augus- tus, and show by what steps his accession to the throne was secured. 95. Who were Antonius Musa, Berenice, Corbulo, Cornelius Gallus, Plancina? 96. Give the dates of the overthrow of Varus, the Great Fire of Rome, the destruction of Pompeii, the death of Domitian. 97. Mention any allusions to Christianity and the Chris- tians which you have met with in the writers of the early Empire. 98. What does Tacitus call the " secret of the empire"? How does he sum up the character of Galba ? What is Juvenal's allusion in the words Troica mn scripsif^ Whom does Tacitus call incredihilium cupitor ? 99. What territory was covered by the Parthian empire? Give a brief sketch of the policy pursued in the East by Augustus and Tiberius. 100. Give the ancient names of the following places : — Merida, Saragossa, Narbonne, Autun, Mt. Genevre, Aosta, Turin, Koblentz, Mainz, Augsburg, Petronell. Define the position of these places, and show how they are connected with the history of the period. INDEX. I J A. ACTE, mistress of Nero, 133 Adminius, 115, 202 Aediles, 49 Aerarium, 52 ; expenses of, 53 Aerarium Militare, 36, 53 Aethiopia, war in, 20 Africa, 16; revolts in, 78, 122, 175, 196 Agon Capifolinm, 197 Agricola, 175, 205, foil. Agri Deciimates, 27, 35 Agrippa, Herod, 110, 117, 177 Agrippa, Postumiis, banished, 37 ; death of, 69 Agrippa, Vipsanius, 1 1 ; conquers Spain, 15, 23, 24; probable heir to Principate, 18 ; in Asia, 25; death of, 27 Agrippina, wife of Germanicus, 72, 80, 93 Agrippina, daughter of Germani- cus, 106 ; becomes Empress. 128; quarrels with Seneca, 133; her death, 135 Album, Senatormniy 12, 30 ; iudi- ciim, 12, 108, note Aliso, fortress of, 32 Ancyranum Momitnentum, 39, 62 Anicetus, 135, 137 Antonius Primus, 166 Aosta, 15 Apicata, wife of Sejanus, 95 Apocolocyntosis, the, 129, note Aquitani, 14 Arabia, invasion of, 17 R. 31-96. Armenian affairs, 10, 22, 33, 34, 77, 96, 124, U9,foll. Arminius, 37, 73 ; death of, 77 Artagira, 34 Asia, settlement of, 8, 22, 24, 25, Germanicus in, 77 Astrologers banished, 164, 197 Augsburg, 30 Augustodunum, battle of, 84 Augustus, title of, 13, 47; reign of Chs. I. — VI.; settles Asia, 8; honours paid to, 11; performs the Censura, 11,30, 39; his gifts, 12; Tecei\e6 proconsulare impe- riwn, 13; Fater Patriae, 14; visits Gaul and Spain, 15, 26, 28 ; illness of , 18 ; receives right of relatio and tribunitia potestas, 18; plots against, 21, 33, 36, 41 ; visits Asia, 26 ; his frontier defences, 26, 27; Pontifex Maxi- mus, 27, 46; adopts Tiberius, 34; his Cabinet Council, 39, death of, 40; his dyarchy, 41; 53 ; regard for republican forms, 7, Ch. v.; judicial powers of, 47; pro^dnces under, 51, and Ch. VI. ; financial reforms, 52, 53 ; legislation of, 55 ; his imi- tation of Julius, 54 ; worship of, 62. B. Bankruptcy at Rome, 31, 53, 102, 112 Bassus, Aufidius, 227 17 250 INDEX. Bastamae, 14 Bata\'i, 170 Bato, 36 Betriacum, first battle of, 160, second battle of, 166 Bibaculus, Furius, 210 Boadicea, 139, 204 Boerebistas, 14 Breviariwn Imperii, 62 Britain, relations of, with Rome, 201 ; political condition of, 204 ; Gaius' attack on, 115, 202; Qaudius' conquest of, 122, 202, foil.; colonies in, 204; cam- paigns of Agricola in, 205, 206, Britanicus, son of Claudius, 128, 131 ; murdered, 134 British wars, Ch. XX. Brixellum, 161 Buildings of Augustus, 12; of Gains, 112; of Vespasian, 173; of Domitian, 196 Burrus Afranius, 128, 131, 137 c. Caecina, 160, 165, 172 Caepio, conspiracy of, 21 Caesar, Gains, 24 ; heir apparent, 32; settles Asia, 33; death of, 34 Caesar, Julius, 6, 54 Caesar, Lucius, 24, 32 ; death of. 34 Caesonia, 113, 116 Caligula, see Gains Calpumius Siculus, 232 Candace, 20 Cantabri, 15 Capito Fonteius, 149, 152 Capitol, burning of the, 167, 188 Capreae, 101 ; Tiberius retires to, 89 ; its position, 91 ; the Letter from, 94 Cappadocia, 10, 76 Caractacus, 203 Cnrnmi Saectdare, 25 Castra Sceln-nta, 29 Castra Vetera, 72, 73, 169 Celsus, 230 Censorship, Augustus uses powers of, 11, 30, 39; value of, 46; under Claudius, 119 ; under Vespasian, 173 ; under Domitian 192 Census, 39, 58, 173 Cerealis, conspiracy of, 114; in Gaul, 171 ; in Britain, 205 Chaerea, Cassius, 114 Chatti, 28, 73; annihilated, 139; renewed aggressions of, 194 Cherusci, 37, 73 Christians, persecutions of, 142, 199 ; increase of, 182 Cilicia, 8 Cinna, conspiracy of, 36 Ci^^lis Julius, revolt of, 165, 170, foil. Civitas, extended to provincials, 120, 127 Claudius, reign of, Ch. XII.; character of , 1 1 7 ; plots against, 118; his rigorous government, 119, 120; public works of, 121 ; military successes of, 121 foil. ; his freedmen, 125; death of, 129; criticism of, 130 Clemens, plot of, 75 Clitae, revolt of, 96 Clutorius Priscus, 85 Colonies of Claudius, 124; of Agrippina, 128 ; of Vespasian, 173; in Britain, 204 CoUoseum, 174 Columella, 238 Comitia abolished, 49, 104 Constitution, the Augustan, Ch. V. Consuls under the Empire, 48 Consnlaris Fotestas, 24, 44 Consuls under Principate, 48 Corbulo, 123, 139; death of , 145 Corn-doles, 5, 105, 120 Cotiso, 14 Cotys, 28 Council of Emperor, 39 Cremona, repels Vitellians. 160; sack of, 166 INDEX. 251 4l> Cremutius Cordus, 89, 108, 227 Curatores Annonae, 22, 50 Curtisius, conspiracy of, 89 D. Daci, 14, 36; repulsed by Mucia- nus, 172; wars of, with Domi- tian, 194, /o^/. Dalmatia, 14, 26 ; great revolt of, 36 Danube, 14, 26 Decebalus, 194 Becuriae ludicum, 108; Equitum, 12 Decuriones, 108, note Delatoi-es, origin of, 56; rewards of, 90 ; repressed by Gains, 108 ; by Claudius, 121; by Titus, 186 ; by Domitian, 192 ; revival of, 198 Delto, 14 Didius Vocula, 171 Domitian, 166, 169 ; associated with Titus, 186; reign of , Ch. XIX.; character of, 190; early promise of, 191 ; his reforms, 192; compared with Tiberius, 196 ; and with Nero, 194 ; wars of in Germany, 194; in Dacia, 194; in Africa, 196 ; his policy, 196; buildings of, 196 ; sudden change in, 197 ; his reign of terror, 198; death of , 199 Drusilla, Empress of Gains, 110 Drusus, the Elder, in Rhaetia, 26 ; in Germany, 27, foil. Drusus, son of Tiberius, 71, 84, 88 Drusus, son of Germanicus, 93 Duumviri, provincial magistrates, 59 Dyarchy, the, 53 K Egj'pt, 17; exceptionally organ- ized, 61 Elbe reached by Drusus, 27; by Tiberius, 35; by Germanicus, 73 Elections, 48 Epicharis, 143 Equites, as tax-farmers, 51 ; Spleiididi, 51 F. Felix, 126 ; procurator of Judaea 179 Fidenae, disaster at, 91 Finance of the Empire, 52, foil. ; reformed by Vespasian, 173; under Domitian, 193 Fires at Rome (Tiberius) 92, (Nero) 141, (Titus) 188 Fiscus, 52 Flaccus, Hordeonius, commands in Germany, 152, 154, 163, 170 Flavins Sabinus, 166 Flavii, genealogy of, 165 Freedmen; of Claudius, 125, 126; dismissed by Vitellius, 163 Frisii, revolt of, 92; join Civilis, 170 Frontiers of Rhine and Danube, 26, 61 Frontinus, 239 Fucine Lake, Claudius drains, 121 Gaetulicus, Lentulus, 113 Gains, reign of, Ch. XI. ; child- hood, 72, 97, 107 ; accession of, 106; early promise of , 108; his illness, 110 ; influence of Herod Agrippa upon, 110; his as- sumption of divinity, HI; his buildings, 112; taxes Italy, 113; his Ciimpaigns, 113, 114; murder of, 115; criticism of, 115 Galatia, 16 Galgacus, 206 252 INDEX. Galba, campaigns in Germany, 122 ; governor in Spain, liS ; his revolt, 149; his government, Ib'l.foll; death of, 156 Gallio, 133, note Oallus, Cornelius, 16, 211 Gallus, Aelius, 17 Gaul, 14, 25 ; organization of, 60 ; revolts of, 84, 149, \m,foll Genealogical ttibles, of Julii, 9, 64 ; of Flavii, 168 Germanicus, in Pannonia, 37 ; distrusted by Tiberius, 68; quells revolt of legions, 72 ; campaigns in Germany, 72, foil.; mission of to Asia, 77 ; death of, 80 ; criticism of, 82 ; his family, 106 Germany, 25; frontier of, 27; campaigns of Drusus in, 27, foil.; of Tiberius, 30, 34, 38, foil. ; of Germanicus, 72, foil. ; conquest of, abandoned, 74 ; under Claudius, 122 Gessius Florus, 179 Golden House, the, 142, 174 Gracchi, their influence for mon- archy, 3, 4, 5 Grattius, 225 Graupius Mom, battle of, 206 H. Helius, 144, 153 Helvidius, 174 Herennius Gallus, 170 Herod the Great, 10, 25; family of, 176 Herod Agrippa, his influence with Gains, 1 10, foil ; with Claudius, 117; King of Judaea, 119, 177 Horace, his life and works, 219, foil. I. Tcelus, 153 Impeiator, title of, 11, 42 Imperiwn, 13; nature of Emperor's, 42, foil. ludtccs, 108, note ; imder Claud- ius, 129, note; under Nero, 138 Im Lata, extended to pro\inces, 59, 167 J. Janus, temple of, closed, 10, 16, 173 Jewish Wars, Ch. XVII. Jews, under Gains, 111, 112; in- dulged by Rome, 177 ; intract- ability of, 178; intrigue with Parthians, 140, 178 ; causes of their discontent, 179; final re- volt of, 179; siege of Jerusiilem, 180 ; oppressed by Domitian, 199 Josephus, 105, 180, 237 Judaea, 10, 14, 25, 29, 176, foil. Judicial powers of Princeps, 47 JuUa, the Elder, 18, 32, 69 Julia, the Younger, 37 Juvenal, 235 Juvenalia, 136 Laco, Cornelius, 151 Land-tax, 52 Lectio senatusj 30, 36, 39, 173, 192 Legatus Caesaris, 61, 147 Leges luliae, 54, 56 Legislation, powers of Emperor in, 46 Legions, revolts of, %^,foll. ; jeal- ousies of, 153, 167, 162 Lepidus, 27 Lex Cincia, 121 Ma'iestath, bb Piipia Foppaea, 55, 105 Begin, 45, 67 Libo Drusus, case of, 75 Licinus, 25 Lvnes, the, 194 INDEX. 253 .- -^ Literature, under the Early Em- ] pire, Chs. XXL and XXII. ; Flavian revival of , 173; patron- ised by Domitian, 197 Livia, 34, 68, 92 ; character and influence of, 100 Li^alla, wife of Drusus, 88, 95; daughter of Germanicus, 64, 106 Li^T» history of, 228 Locus Castrorim, battle of, 160 Locusta, 134 Lollius, defeat of, 26 ; disgi-aced, 33 Lucan, 232 ; death of, 143 Ludi Saecidares, 25 ; Quinquetmales, 11 M. Macer, Aemilius, 222 Macer, Clodius, 150, 152 Macro, 94 ; his influence, 101 Maecenas, 11, 31, 208 Magistracies, Republican, under the Empire, 48, foil. Maiestas, meaning of the term, 55 ; its abuse, 85 Manilius, 225 Marcellus, 18 Marcomanni, '6b, foil. Marius Celsus, 155 Maroboduus, 35, 77 Marsus, 211 Martial, 237 Mauretania, annexed, 16; pro- vinces of, 122 Mela, 239 Messala, M. Valerius, 14, 208 Messallina, 126 Metius, Cams, 198 Military despotism, 4 Military revolutions, Chs. XIV., XV. Mimes, suppressed by Domitian, 193 . . Monarchy, of Republican origin, 4, foil. Mucianus, general of Vespasian, 165; regent, 169; repels Daci, 172 Munius Lupcrcus, 170 Muraena, conspiracy of, 21 N. Nabathaei, 17 Narcissus, 126, 128, 131, 133 Nero, son of Germanicus, 93 Nero, Emperor, adopted by Clau- dius, 128 ; reign of, Ch. XIII. ; character and training of, 132 ; quarrels with Agrippimi, 133 ; murders Brittanicus, 134 ; and Agrippina, 135 ; his profligacy 136: murders Octa\da, 137 change in his government, 138 his military successes, 139 ; per- I secutes the Jews and Christians, 142; conspiracy against, 143; goes to Greece, 144 ; his policy, 147 ; his fall, 150 ; and death, 151 Nepos, Cornelius, 226 Neronia, 136 Nomination of candidates, Em- peror's right of, 48; under Tiberius, 104 N>Tnphidius, Praetorian Prefect, 144, 150 ; conspiracy of, 151 O. OctaAda, daughter of Claudius, 128, 135, 137 Octax-ian, see Augustus Ostia, Claudius' haven near, 120 Ostorius Scapula, 203 Otho, friend of Nero, 135; en- courages revolt of Galba, 149 conspiracy of, 154, foil ; reign of, Ch. XV. ; early difficulties, 157 ; his policy, 159 ; attacked by Vitellius, 159 ; defeated at Betriacum, 160; death of , 161 « 1 254 INDEX. INDEX. 255 0\dd, his life and works, 222, foil. P. Palatine Library, 209 Pallas, 126, 128, 134, 137 Pannonia, 26 ; great revolt of, 36 Parthian affairs, 10, 22, 77, 96, 124 139 Pater Patriae, 14, 47, 109 Pax Itomana, 1 1 Persius, 234 Petronius, Arbiter, 143, 235 Petronius, Turpilianus, 205 Phaedriis, 225 Phaeon, 150 Philo-Judaeus, 105, 111, 230 Philosophers banished, by Ves- pasian, 174 ; by Domitian, 197 Phraates, 10, 22, 77 Pinnes, 36 Piso, Gnaeus, proconsul of Syria, 79 ; quarrels with Germanic us, 80; treason of, 81; trial and death, 81 Piso, Calpumius, conspiracy of, 143 Piso, Licinianus Frugi, adopted by GaXba, 154 Planasia, 37 Plautius Aulus, 202 j Plebs, position of, 51 PUny, the Elder, 188, 240 Pliny, the Younger, his descrip- tion of Tiberius, 101 ; his treat- ment of the Christians, 183; his works, 240 Polybius the freedman, 126 Pompeius' settlement of Asia, 8 Pompeius Trogus, 227 Pontifex MaximtiSy 27, 46 Pont us, Greek cities of, annexed, 139 Poppaea Sabina, 135, 136 Posides, 126 Praefectus annonae, 50 Praefectus Praetoris, 50 Praefectus Vigilum, 50 Praefectm TTrbis, 50 Praetors, 49 Praetorians, 43; Prefect of, 50; disliked by legionaries, 70 ; cen- tralized by Sejanus, 87 ; under Claudius, 117; under Nero, 131; declare for Galba, 150; support Otho, 155; disbanded by Vitellius, 163 Princeps 41 Princeps Setiattis, 14, 41 Princeps luventiUis, 32, 51, 109 Principate, rise of, Ch. I.; a mili- tary despotism, 4 Proconsulare Imperium, 13, 18, 24, 42 Procuratores Fisci, 52 Propertius, 212 Provinces, condition of under Re- public, 5 ; Imperial and Sena- torial, 51; how controlled by Augustus, Ch- VI. ; taxation of, 52; list of, A.D. 14, 57; local government of, 59 ; under Ti- berius, 103 ; favoured by Clau- dius, 119; oppressed by Nero, 142, 147 ; under Vespasian, 172 Publicani, 52 Q. Quaestors, 49 Quinquennales, Ludi, 11 Quinquennium Neronis, 136 Quintilian, 239 Quintus Curtius, 237 B. Recommendation of candidates, 48, 104 JRelatio, right of, 18 Republican, forms, under Princi- pate, 48, 53 ; reaction on fall of Gains, 117, 118 Rhaetia, conquest of, 26 Rhodes, Tiberius retires to, 32 Rhoemetalces, 28 Rome, buming of, 141; weakness of, 146 Rubellius Plautus, 141 Rufus, Egnatius, riots of, 23 Rufus Faenius, Prefect of Prae- torians, 137, 143 S. Sacramentum, 42 Sacrovir, rebellion of, 84 Saeculares, Ludi, 25 Sarmatae, 36 Satuminus, Antonius, revolt of, 197 Satuminus, Sentius, 23; campaigns against Marcomanni, 36 Scribonianus, revolt of, 118 Scythians, chastised under Nero, 139 Sejanus, character of, 82 ; his de- signs, 87 ; removes Drusus, 88 ; attacks Agrippina, 88, 93 ; his conspiracj^, 93 , and fall, 94 Senate, attitude of Augustus to, 50 ; under Tiberius, 95, 101 ; attempt to restore Republic, 117 ; recruited from pro^^nces, 119, 127 ; disliked by Claudius, 127 ; under Nero, 138, 150 ; under Otho, 158 ; elect Nerva, 200 Seneca, the Elder, 231 Seneca, the Younger, 129 ; his character, 132 ; disgraced, 137 ; death of, 143 ; his writings 231 Silanus, Marcus, 133 Silius, the marriage of, with Mes- sallina, 127 Silius, Italicus, 234 Social life in Rome, 200, note Soranus, Barea, 144 Spain, conquest of, 15 ; organiza- tion of , 59 Special commands, leading to Monarchy, 4 St. Paul, martyrdom of, 182 Statins, 233 Stoics, 144 ; banished, 174 Stephanus, murders Domitian, 199 Strabo, 227 Suetonius Paulinus, 139 ; dis- graced, 148 ; general of Otho, 159, 160 ; in Britain, 204 Sugambri, 26, 31 Sulpicia, 236 Sumptuary laws, of Augustus, 55 ; of Tiberius, 104 T. Tacfarinas, 78, 83 Tacitus, his character of Tiberius, 99, foil; his Histories, 175, 238; in error about Christians, 183 ; his life and works, 237 Tapae, battle of, 195 Taxation in Italy, 37, 52 ; reduced by Tiberius, 76 ; abolished by Gains, 108 ; and renewed, 113 : under Claudius, 120; Vespasian, 173 ; in provinces, 52 ; Nero proposes to abolish, 138 Teutoburffiensis Saltus, 38 Thrace, troubles in, 79, 123 Thrasea Paetus, 144 Tiberius, conquers Rhaetia, 26 ; in Germany, 30, 34, 38 ; in Pannonia, 26, 36 ; retires to Rhodes, 32 ; adopted by Au- gustus, 34 ; reign of, Chs. VII. — IX : difficulties of his acces- sion, 66 ; justice under, 85, 89 ; retires to Capreae, 89 ; his lib- erality. 92 ; and clemency, 95 ; death of, 97; character and government of, Ch. X. Tiberius Alexander, 165 Tiberius Gemellus, 97, 107, 110 TibuUus, 211 Tigellinus, 137, 142, 151, 153, 159 Tiridates, 10, 26, 96 Titianus, 161 I 256 INDEX. Titits, triumph of, 182 ; reign of, Ch. XVIII. ; character of, 185 ; captures Jemsalem, 182 ; popu- larity of, 186 ; dedicates Colos- seum, 187 ; his liberality, 187 ; his improvidence, 189 ; and death, 189 Tribunes, 49 Tribtmitia Potestas, 18, 24, 32, 34, 44 Triumphalia Insignia, 79 Valens, Fabius, 157 Valerius, Flaccus, 234 Valerius, Maximus, 229 Valerius, Paulinus, 167 Varro, A. Terentius, 15 Varius, 209 Varus, disaster of, 37 Vectigalia, 52 Velleius, Paterculus, 229 Vergil, his life and works, 213, /oil. Verginius Rufus, overthrows Vin- dex, 149 Vesontio, battle of, 149 Vespasian, supports Gklba, 152 ; and Otho, 159 ; declared Em- peror, 165 ; his character, 171 ; reign of, Ch. XVI. ; in Britain, 203 Vesu\'iu8, eruptions of, 187 Vigiles, 50, Vigintivira,tu8, 50 Vindelicia, 26 Vindex, revolt of, 149 Vinius, TitiLS, 153 Vipsania, 32 Vitellius, settles Armenia, 96 ; governor of Germany, 157; de- clared Emperor, 157 ; his glut- tony, 163; delays to march against Vespasian, 166 ; his death, 168 Vitruvius PoUio, 226 Vologaeses, 124, 140 Vonones, 78 W. Wall of Hadrian, 206 Worship of Augustus, 11, 62 ; of Tiberius, 103 ; of Gaius, 111 ; of Claudius, 119 COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES This book is due on the date indicated below, or at the expiration of a definite period after the date of borrowing as provided by the library rules or by special arrangement with the Librarian in charge. OATC BORROWeO DATK DUE w 1^ DATE BORROWEO CX8(946)MiOO DATE DUB ^•^n* ^A%a.A.M:f^ j_» *- -"^S*"* •^/w. I uiiuuo, :x; u. A detailed catalogue of the above can be obtained on application. XEbe mniperettB XEutortal Settes* IDocabulai The Vocabulary oontai words with which the le< principal parts of verbs s.t about it) the parsing of — Vocabulary is interleaved with writing paper use i ^ point Acts COLUMB A UNIVERSITY 0032213395 OSz.^oHS'J in a* o a> eg o Ui a Q Q X pol HE] 6,1 Ho] Bk HORi 1-4, each 1/0 ; Odes and Epodes (with Translation), 2/6 ; Satires, 1/0. o o 00 < X CO ai le 16 Xenophon — Anabasis, Bk. 1, 1/0; Cyropaedeia, Bks. 1 and 6, (each) 1/0 ; Oeconomicus, 1/0. notabtUa. AmsTOPHANEs— Vespae, 1/0. CiCEKO — Pro Roscio Amerino, 1/0. Demosthenes— Leptines, 1/0. A detailed catalogue of the above can be obtained on application. Plato— Gorgias, 1/0. Terence — Phormio, 1/0. Thucydides— Book I, 1/6. u.ue mnipcrsitB tutorial Sertes. B0itioii6 of Xatin ant) (3reel? Classics. (INTKODUCTION, TeXT, AND NOTES). Aeschylus — Eumenides, 3/6 ; Persae. 3/6; Prometheus, 2 6; Septem contra Thebas, 3/6. Akistophanes— Ranae, 3/6. Caesar— GaUic War, Bks. 1,2,3, 4, 5, 6, (each) 1 6 ; GaUic War, Bk. 1, Ch. 1-29, 1/6; Gallic War, Bk. 7, 2/6 ; Gallic War, Bk. 7, Ch. 1-68, 1/6; Invasion of Britain (IV. 20- V. 23), 2/6. Cicero— Ad Atticum, Bk. 4, 3/6 ; De Amicitia, 16; De Finibiis, Bk. 1,2/6; De Finibus, Bk, 2, 3 6; De Officiis, Bk. 3, 3/6; Philippic II., 3/6; Pro Cluen- tio, 3/6 ; Pro Milone, 3/6 ; Pro Plancio, 2/6 ; De Senectute, In Catilinam I., Pro Archia, Pro Balbo, Pro Marcello, (each Book) 1/6. Demosthenes— Androtion, 4 6. Euripides— Alcestis, 3/6 ; Andro- mache, 3/6; Bacchae, 3/6; Hecuba, 3/6; Hippolytus, 3/6; Medea, 3 6. Herodotus— Bk. 3, 4/6 ; Bk 4 Ch. 1-144, 4,6; Bk. 6, 2/6'; Bk. 8, 3/6. Homer— Iliad, Bk. 24, 3/6- Odyssey, Bks. 9, 10, 2/6 j Odyssey, Bks. 11, 12, 2/6; Odyssey, Bks. 13, 14, 2/6; Odyssey, Bk. 17, 1/6. HoRACE-Epistles, 3 6; Epodes' 1/6; Odes, 3/6; Odes, (each Book) 1/6 ; Satires, 4/6. IsoCRATES— De Bigis, 2/6. Juvenal— Satires, 1, 3, 4, 3/6; Satires, 8, 10, 13, 2/6; Satires, 11, 13, 14, 3/6. LlVY— Bks. 1, 5, 21, 22, (each) 2/6 ; Bks. 3, 6, 9, (each) 3/6 : Bk. 21, Ch. 1-30, 1/6. LuciAN— Charon and Timon, 3/6. Ltsias — Eratosthenes and Ago- ratus, 3/6. Nepos— Hannibal, Cato, Atticus. 1/0. Ovid— Fasti, Bks. 3, 4, 2/6; Heroides, 1, 5, 12, 1/6; Meta- morphoses, Bk. 1, 1-150, 1/6, Bk. 3, 1-130, 1/0; Bks. 11, 13, 14, (each) 1/6; Tristia, Bk. 1, 3, (each) 1/6. Plato— Apology, Ion, Laches, Phaedo, (each) 3/6 ; Euthyphro and Menexenus, 4/6. Sallust— Catiline, 2/6. Sophocles— Ajax, 3/6 ; Anti- gone, 2/6 ; Electra, 3/6. TACITUS— Annals, Bk. 1, 3/6; Annals, Bk. 2, 2/6 ; Histories, Bk. 1, 3/6; Bk. 3, 3/6. Terence— Adelphi, 3/6. Thucydides— Bk. 7, 3/6. Vergil— A eneid. Books 1-12, (each) 1/6; Eclogues, 3/6; Georgics, Bks. 1, 2, 3/6 ; 1,4, 3/6. Xenophon— Anabasis, Bk. 1, 1/6; Bk. 4, 3/6; Cyropaedeia, Bk. 1, 3/6 ; Hellenica, Bk. 3, 3/6 ; Hellenica, Bk. 4, 3/6 ; Oecono- micus, 4/6. A detailed catalogue of the above can be obtained on application. I Ube /mnixJetBtts XEutorial Settee- IDocabulai COLUMBIA UNIVERS TY The Vocabulary contai words with which the lej principal parts of verbs ar about it) the parsing of Vocabulary is interleaved with writing paper. firJtl / j/i.iy 7 very' i use tf N point ^, Acts 0032213395 .8 y 16 1903 ^6Z-^o^6'7 tA a* o eg O o Q X < O O t/> ^t in X ^ f^ UJ 00 < "5 HORJ 1-4, each 1/0 ; Odes and Epodes (with Translation), 2/6 ; Satires, 1/0. Xenophon — Anabasis, Bk. 1, 1/0; Cyropaedeia, Bks. 1 and 6, (each) 1/0 ; Oeconomicus, 1/0. Tlotabilia. Plato— Gorgias, 1/0. Terence — Phormio, 1/0. Thucydides — Book I, 1/6. Aristophanes— Vespae, 1/0. Cicero — Pro Roscio Amerino, 1/0. Demosthenes — Leptines, 1/0. A detailed catalogue of the above can be obtained on application.