44 The Othonians’ centre was now broken and they fled in disorder, making for Bedriacum. The distance to be covered was vast; the roads were blocked with dead, and so the carnage was greater: for in civil wars captives are not turned to profit. Suetonius Paulinus and Licinius Proculus took different roads and avoided the camp. Vedius Aquila, commander of the Thirteenth legion, was so terrified that he thoughtlessly exposed himself to the angry troops. It was still broad day when he entered camp and was surrounded by a shouting mob of mutinous fugitives. They spared no insult or violence; they greeted him with cries of “deserter” and “traitor,” not because of any crime of his own, but, after the habit of mobs, every man imputed to him his own shame. Night assisted Titianus and Celsus, for Annius Gallus had already placed sentinels and got the soldiers under control. By advice, appeals, and commands he had induced the men not to add to the cruelty of their defeat by massacring their own leaders; he urged that whether the end of the war had come or whether they preferred to resume hostilities, their sole resource in defeat lay in concord. The spirit of the rest was broken; but the praetorians angrily declared that they had been defeated by treachery, not by the valour of their foes. “The troops of Vitellius,” they maintained, “have not won a bloodless victory; we routed their cavalry, and captured the legion’s eagle. Otho and the force with him on the other side of the Po are still left us; the legions from Moesia are on their way hither; a large part of the army is still at Bedriacum. These surely have not been defeated, and, if occasion require, they will consider it more honourable to die in open battle.” Such reflections now roused them to exasperation, or again depressed them; in their utter despair they were more often goaded to fury than to fear.
[45] At Vitellianus exercitus ad quintum a Bedriaco lapidem consedit, non ausis ducibus eadem die obpugnationem castrorum; simul voluntaria deditio sperabatur: sed expeditis et tantum ad proelium egressis munimentum fuere arma et victoria. postera die haud ambigua Othoniani exercitus voluntate et qui ferociores fuerant ad paenitentiam inclinantibus missa legatio; nec apud duces Vitellianos dubitatum quo minus pacem concederent. legati paulisper retenti: ea res haesitationem attulit ignaris adhuc an impetrassent. mox remissa legatione patuit vallum. tum victi victoresque in lacrimas effusi, sortem civilium armorum misera laetitia detestantes; isdem tentoriis alii fratrum, alii propinquorum vulnera fovebant: spes et praemia in ambiguo, certa funera et luctus, nec quisquam adeo mali expers ut non aliquam mortem maereret. requisitum Orfidii legati corpus honore solito crematur; paucos necessarii ipsorum sepelivere, ceterum vulgus super humum relictum.
45 But the army of Vitellius halted at the fifth milestone from Bedriacum, for the commanders did not dare to try to carry their opponents’ camp by storm on the same day; and at the same time they hoped that Otho’s troops would surrender voluntarily; but, although they had set out without their heavy equipment, and with no other purpose than to give battle, their arms and their victory served them as a rampart. The next day the wishes of Otho’s troops were clear beyond doubt; even those who had been most determined were inclined to change their views. Accordingly they sent a deputation, and the generals of Vitellius did not long hesitate to grant terms. But the deputation was detained for a time, and this action disturbed those who did not know whether they had secured terms or not; presently, however, the delegates were let go and the gates of the camp were opened. Then vanquished and victors alike burst into tears, cursing, amid their melancholy joy, the fate of civil war. In the same tents some nursed the wounds of brothers, others of relatives. Their hopes of reward were doubtful; but they knew for certainties the bereavements and sorrows that they suffered, and none of them was so free from misfortune as not to mourn some loss. The body of the legate Orfidius was discovered and burned with the usual honours, a few others were buried by their relatives, but the majority of the fallen were left lying on the ground.
[46] Opperiebatur Otho nuntium pugnae nequaquam trepidus et consilii certus. maesta primum fama, dein profugi e proelio perditas res patefaciunt. non expectavit militum ardor vocem imperatoris; bonum haberet animum iubebant: superesse adhuc novas viris, et ipsos extrema passuros ausurosque. neque erat adulatio: ire in aciem, excitare partium fortunam furore quodam et instinctu flagrabant. qui procul adstiterant, tendere manus, et proximi prensare genua, promptissimo Plotio Firmo. is praetorii praefectus identidem orabat ne fidissimum exercitum, ne optime meritos milites desereret: maiore animo tolerari adversa quam relinqui; fortis et strenuos etiam contra fortunam insistere spei, timidos et ignavos ad desperationem formidine properare. quas inter voces ut flexerat vultum aut induraverat Otho, clamor et gemitus. nec praetoriani tantum, proprius Othonis miles, sed praemissi e Moesia eandem obstinationem adventantis exercitus, legiones Aquileiam ingressas nuntiabant, ut nemo dubitet potuisse renovari bellum atrox, lugubre, incertum victis et victoribus.
46 Otho was waiting for a report of the battle without anxiety and with determined purpose. First there came a distressing rumour; then fugitives from the field showed clearly that the day was lost. But the troops in their zeal did not wait for the emperor to speak; they urged him to keep up his courage, for there were fresh troops left; and they declared that they were ready themselves to dare and suffer anything. Nor was this flattery: they were fired by an almost passionate desire to go into action and raise again the fortunes of their party. The soldiers who were not near him stretched out their hands to him appealingly, those near him clasped his knees. The most zealous of all was Plotius Firmus, the prefect of the praetorian guard, who constantly begged him not to fail an army which was absolutely loyal, and soldiers who had served him so well. He reminded Otho that it called for greater courage to endure adversity than to yield to it; that brave and courageous men press on even against ill fortune to attain their hopes; the timid and cowardly are quickly moved to despair by fear. During these appeals the soldiers cheered or broke into groans as Otho’s face showed signs of giving way to their appeals or grew hard. The praetorians, Otho’s personal force, were not the only ones who encouraged him. The advance detachments from Moesia declared that the troops which were on their way were just as determined, and they reported that the legions had entered Aquileia, so that no one can doubt that it would have been quite possible to renew this cruel and awful war, with uncertain results for both the victors and the vanquished.
[47] Ipse aversus a consiliis belli ‘hunc’ inquit ‘animum, hanc virtutem vestram ultra periculis obicere nimis grande vitae meae pretium puto. quanto plus spei ostenditis, si vivere placeret, tanto pulchrior mors erit. experti in vicem sumus ego ac fortuna. nec tempus conputaveritis: difficilius est temperare felicitati qua te non putes diu usurum. civile bellum a Vitellio coepit, et ut de principatu certaremus armis initium illic fuit: ne plus quam semel certemus penes me exemplum erit; hinc Othonem posteritas aestimet. fruetur Vitellius fratre, coniuge, liberis: mihi non ultione neque solaciis opus est. alii diutius imperium tenuerint, nemo tam fortiter reliquerit. an ego tantum Romanae pubis, tot egregios exercitus sterni rursus et rei publicae eripi patiar? eat hic mecum animus, tamquam perituri pro me fueritis, set este superstites. nec diu moremur, ego incolumitatem vestram, vos constantiam meam. plura de extremis loqui pars ignaviae est. praecipuum destinationis meae documentum habete quod de nemine queror; nam incusare deos vel homines eius est qui vivere velit.’
47 Otho himself was opposed to the plan of continuing the war. “To expose such courageous and brave men as you to further dangers,” he said, “I reckon too great a price for my life. The greater the hope you offer me, if it were my wish to live, so much the more glorious will be my death. Fortune and I know each other well. Do not reckon up the short duration of my rule; it is all the harder to make a moderate use of a good fortune which you do not expect to enjoy long. Vitellius began civil war; it was he who initiated the armed contest between us for the imperial power; but we shall not contend more than once, for it is in my power to set a precedent for that. I would have posterity thus judge Otho. Vitellius shall
enjoy his brother, his wife, and his children; I require neither vengeance nor solace. Others may hold the power longer than I; none shall give it up more bravely. Would you have me suffer so many of Rome’s young men, such noble armies, to be again cut down and lost to the state? Let me carry with me the thought of your willingness to die for me; but you must live. Now there must be no more delay; let me not interfere with your safety, or you with my determination. To talk at length about the end is cowardice. Regard as the chief proof of my resolve the fact that I complain of no man. It is for him to blame gods or men who has the wish to live.”
[48] Talia locutus, ut cuique aetas aut dignitas, comiter appellatos, irent propere neu remanendo iram victoris asperarent, iuvenes auctoritate, senes precibus movebat, placidus ore, intrepidus verbis, intempestivas suorum lacrimas coercens. dari navis ac vehicula abeuntibus iubet; libellos epistulasque studio erga se aut in Vitellium contumeliis insignis abolet; pecunias distribuit parce nec ut periturus. mox Salvium Cocceianum, fratris filium, prima iuventa, trepidum et maerentem ultro solatus est, laudando pietatem eius, castigando formidinem: an Vitellium tam inmitis animi fore ut pro incolumi tota domo ne hanc quidem sibi gratiam redderet? mereri se festinato exitu clementiam victoris; non enim ultima desperatione sed poscente proelium exercitu remisisse rei publicae novissimum casum. satis sibi nominis, satis posteris suis nobilitatis quaesitum. post Iulios Claudios Servios se primum in familiam novam imperium intulisse: proinde erecto animo capesseret vitam, neu patruum sibi Othonem fuisse aut oblivisceretur umquam aut nimium meminisset.
48 After Otho had spoken thus, he addressed all courteously as befitted the age or rank of the individual, and urged them to go quickly and not to incite the victor’s wrath by remaining. The young men he persuaded by his authority, the older by his appeals; his face was calm, his words showed no fear; but he checked the unseasonable tears of his friends. He gave orders that boats and carriages should be furnished those who were leaving. Every document or letter which was marked by loyalty towards him or by abuse of Vitellius he destroyed. He distributed money, but sparingly and not as if he were about to die. Then he took pains to console his nephew, Salvius Cocceianus, who was very young, frightened, and sad, praising his dutiful affection, but reproving his fear. He asked him if he thought Vitellius would prove so cruel as not to grant him even such a return as this for saving the whole house. “By my quick end,” said he, “I can earn the clemency of the victor. For it is not in the extremity of despair, but while my army is still demanding battle that I have saved the state this last misfortune. I have won enough fame for myself, enough high rank for my descendants. After the Julii, the Claudii, and the Servii, I have been the first to confer the imperial rank on a new family. Therefore face life with a brave heart; never forget or too constantly remember that Otho was your uncle.”
[49] Post quae dimotis omnibus paulum requievit. atque illum supremas iam curas animo volutantem repens tumultus avertit, nuntiata consternatione ac licentia militum; namque abeuntibus exitium minitabantur, atrocissima in Verginium vi, quem clausa domo obsidebant. increpitis seditionis auctoribus regressus vacavit abeuntium adloquiis, donec omnes inviolati digrederentur. vesperascente die sitim haustu gelidae aquae sedavit. tum adlatis pugionibus duobus, cum utrumque pertemptasset, alterum capiti subdidit. et explorato iam profectos amicos, noctem quietam, utque adfirmatur, non insomnem egit: luce prima in ferrum pectore incubuit. ad gemitum morientis ingressi liberti servique et Plotius Firmus praetorii praefectus unum vulnus invenere. funus maturatum; ambitiosis id precibus petierat ne amputaretur caput ludibrio futurum. tulere corpus praetoriae cohortes cum laudibus et lacrimis, vulnus manusque eius exosculantes. quidam militum iuxta rogum interfecere se, non noxa neque ob metum, sed aemulatione decoris et caritate principis. ac postea promisce Bedriaci, Placentiae aliisque in castris celebratum id genus mortis. Othoni sepulchrum extructum est modicum et mansurum. hunc vitae finem habuit septimo et tricensimo aetatis anno.
49 After this he sent all away and rested for a time. As he was already pondering in his heart the last cares of life, he was interrupted by a sudden uproar and received word that the soldiers in their dismay had become mutinous and were out of control. In fact they were threatening with death all who wished to depart; they were most violent against Verginius, whom they had shut up in his house and were now besieging. Otho reproved the ringleaders and then returned to his quarters, where he gave himself up to interviews with those who were departing, until all had left unharmed. As evening approached he slaked his thirst with a draught of cold water. Then two daggers were brought him; he tried the points of both and placed one beneath his head. After learning that his friends had gone, he passed a quiet night, and indeed, as is affirmed, he even slept somewhat. At dawn he fell on the steel. At the sound of his dying groans his freedmen and slaves entered, and with them Plotius Firmus, the prefect of the praetorian guard; they found but a single wound. His funeral was hurriedly accomplished. He had earnestly begged that this be done, that his head might not be cut off to be an object of insult. Praetorians bore his body to the pyre, praising him amid their tears and kissing his wound and his hands. Some soldiers slew themselves near his pyre, not because of any fault or from fear, but prompted by a desire to imitate his glorious example and moved by affection for their emperor. Afterwards many of every rank chose this form of death at Bedriacum, Placentia, and in other camps as well. The tomb erected for Otho was modest and therefore likely to endure. So he ended his life in the thirty-seventh year of his age.
[50] Origo illi e municipio Ferentio, pater consularis, avus praetorius; maternum genus impar nec tamen indecorum. pueritia ac iuventa, qualem monstravimus. duobus facinoribus, altero flagitiosissimo, altero egregio, tantundem apud posteros meruit bonae famae quantum malae. ut conquirere fabulosa et fictis oblectare legentium animos procul gravitate coepti operis crediderim, ita vulgatis traditisque demere fidem non ausim. die, quo Bedriaci certabatur, avem invisitata specie apud Regium Lepidum celebri luco consedisse incolae memorant, nec deinde coetu hominum aut circumvolitantium alitum territam pulsamve, donec Otho se ipse interficeret; tum ablatam ex oculis: et tempora reputantibus initium finemque miraculi cum Othonis exitu competisse.
50 Otho was born in the municipal town of Ferentum;• his father had held the consulship, his grandfather had been praetor. His mother’s family was not the equal of his father’s, but still it was respectable. His boyhood and youth were such as we have already described. By two bold deeds, the one most outrageous, the other glorious, he gained with posterity as much fame as evil reputation. While I must hold it inconsistent with the dignity of the work I have undertaken to collect fabulous tales and to delight my readers with fictitious stories, I cannot, however, dare to deny the truth of common tradition. On the day of the battle at Bedriacum, according to the account given by the people of that district, a bird of unusual appearance settled in a much-frequented grove near Regium Lepidum, neither the concourse of people nor the other birds which flew about it frightened it or drove it away, until Otho had committed suicide; then it disappeared from view. And they add that when people reckoned up the time, they found that the beginning and end of this marvel coincided with Otho’s death.
[51] In funere eius novata luctu ac dolore militum seditio, nec erat qui coerceret. ad Verginium versi, modo ut reciperet imperium, nunc ut legatione apud Caecinam ac Valentem fungeretur, minitantes orabant: Verginius per aversam domus partem furtim digressus inrumpentis frustratus est. earum quae Brixelli egerant cohortium preces Rubrius Gallus tulit, et venia statim impetrata, concedentibus ad victorem per Flavium Sabinum iis copiis quibus praefuerat.
51 At his funeral the soldiers’ grief and sorrow caused the mutiny to break out afresh, and there was none to check it. The soldiers turned to Verginius and threateningly besought him, now to accept the imperial office, again to act as their envoy to Caecina and Valens. Verginius slipped away by stealth through the rear of his house and so escaped them when they burst in the doors. Rubrius Gallus brough
t the appeals of the cohorts who had been quartered at Brixellum. They were at once forgiven, and the troops that Flavius Sabinus had commanded made known through him their adhesion to the victor.
[52] Posito ubique bello magna pars senatus extremum discrimen adiit, profecta cum Othone ab urbe, dein Mutinae relicta. illuc adverso de proelio adlatum: sed milites ut falsum rumorem aspernantes, quod infensum Othoni senatum arbitrabantur, custodire sermones, vultum habitumque trahere in deterius; conviciis postremo ac probris causam et initium caedis quaerebant, cum alius insuper metus senatoribus instaret, ne praevalidis iam Vitellii partibus cunctanter excepisse victoriam crederentur. ita trepidi et utrimque anxii coeunt, nemo privatim expedito consilio, inter multos societate culpae tutior. onerabat paventium curas ordo Mutinensis arma et pecuniam offerendo, appellabatque patres conscriptos intempestivo honore.
52 Although fighting had now ceased at every point, a large part of the senate, which had set out from Rome with Otho and then been left at Mutina, encountered extreme danger. News of the defeat was brought to Mutina; but the soldiers treated the report with scorn, believing it false, and since they thought the senate hostile to Otho, they began to watch the senators’ conversation and to put an unfavourable interpretation on their looks and bearing. Finally, resorting to abuse and insults, they looked for an excuse to start a massacre, while in addition the senators were weighed down by the further fear that, now the party of Vitellius was dominant, they might be held to have been slow in accepting the victory. Thus they assembled, frightened and distressed by a double anxiety; none was ready with any plan of his own, but each felt the safer in sharing his guilt with many. The local senate of Mutina added to the distress of the terrified company by offering them arms and made, and with an untimely compliment addressed them as “Conscript Fathers.”
Complete Works of Tacitus (Delphi Classics) (Delphi Ancient Classics Book 24) Page 192