[43] Igitur haec et de Armenia quae supra memoravi apud patres disseruit, nec posse motum Orientem nisi Germanici sapientia conponi: nam suam aetatem vergere, Drusi nondum satis adolevisse. tunc decreto patrum per missae Germanico provinciae quae mari dividuntur, maiusque imperium, quoquo adisset, quam iis qui sorte aut missu principis obtinerent sed Tiberius demoverat Syria Creticum Silanum, per adfinitatem conexam Germanico, quia Silani filia Neroni vetustissimo liberorum eius pacta erat, praefeceratque Cn. Pisonem, ingenio violentum et obsequii ignarum, insita ferocia a patre Pisone qui civili bello resurgentis in Africa partis acerrimo ministerio adversus Caesarem iuvit, mox Brutum et Cassium secutus concesso reditu petitione honorum abstinuit, donec ultro ambiretur delatum ab Augusto consulatum accipere. sed praeter patemos spiritus uxoris quoque Plancinae nobilitate et opibus accendebatur; vix Tiberio concedere, liberos eius ut multum infra despectare. nec dubium habebat se delectum qui Syriae imponeretur ad spes Germanici coercendas. credidere quidam data et a Tiberio occulta mandata; et Plancinam haud dubie Augusta monuit aemulatione muliebri Agrippinam insectandi divisa namque et discors aula erat tacitis in Drusum aut Germanicum studiis. Tiberius ut proprium et sui sanguinis Drusum fovebat: Germanico alienatio patrui amorem apud ceteros auxerat, et quia claritudine matemi generis anteibat, avum M. Antonium, avunculum Augustum ferens. contra Druso proavus eques Romanus Pomponius Atticus dedecere Claudiorum imagines videbatur: et coniunx Germanici Agrippina fecunditate ac fama Liviam uxorem Drusi praecellebat. sed fratres egregie concordes et proximorum certaminibus inconcussi.
43 These circumstances, then, and the events in Armenia, which I mentioned above, were discussed by Tiberius before the senate. “The commotion in the East,” he added, “could only be settled by the wisdom of Germanicus: for his own years were trending to their autumn, and those of Drusus were as yet scarcely mature.” There followed a decree of the Fathers, delegating to Germanicus the provinces beyond the sea, with powers overriding, in all regions he might visit, those of the local governors holding office by allotment or imperial nomination. Tiberius, however, had removed Creticus Silanus from Syria — he was a marriage connection of Germanicus, whose eldest son, Nero, was plighted to his daughter — and had given the appointment to Gnaeus Piso, a man of ungoverned passions and constitutional insubordinacy. For there was a strain of wild arrogance in the blood — a strain derived from his father Piso; who in the Civil War lent strenuous aid against Caesar to the republican party during its resurrection in Africa, then followed the fortunes of Brutus and Cassius, and, on the annulment of his exile, refused to become a suitor for office, until approached with a special request to accept a consulate proffered by Augustus. But, apart from the paternal temper, Piso’s brain was fired by the lineage and wealth of his wife Plancina: to Tiberius he accorded a grudging precedence; upon his children he looked down as far beneath him. Nor did he entertain a doubt that he had been selected for the governorship of Syria in order to repress the ambitions of Germanicus. The belief has been held that he did in fact receive private instructions from Tiberius; and Plancina, beyond question, had advice from the ex-empress, bent with feminine jealousy upon persecuting Agrippina. For the court was split and torn by unspoken preferences for Germanicus or for Drusus. Tiberius leaned to the latter as his own issue and blood of his blood. Germanicus, owing to the estrangement of his uncle, had risen in the esteem of the world; and he had a further advantage in the distinction of his mother’s family, among whom he could point to Mark Antony for a grandfather and to Augustus for a great-uncle. On the other hand, the plain Roman knight, Pomponius Atticus, who was great-grandfather to Drusus, seemed to reflect no credit upon the ancestral effigies of the Claudian house; while both in fecundity and in fair fame Agrippina, the consort of Germanicus, ranked higher than Drusus’ helpmeet, Livia. The brothers, however, maintained a singular unanimity, unshaken by the contentions of their kith and kin.
[44] Nec multo post Drusus in Illyricum missus est ut suesceret militiae studiaque exercitus pararet; simul iuvenem urbano luxu lascivientem melius in castris haberi Tiberius seque tutiorem rebatur utroque filio legiones obtinente. sed Suebi praetendebantur auxilium adversus Cheruscos orantes; nam discessu Romanorum ac vacui externo metu gentis adsuetudine et tum aemulatione gloriae arma in se verterant. vis nationum, virtus ducum in aequo; set Maroboduum regis nomen invisum apud popularis, Arminium pro libertate bellantem favor habebat.
44 Shortly afterwards, Drusus was despatched to Illyricum, in order to serve his apprenticeship to war and acquire the favour of the army. At the same time, Tiberius believed that the young prince, who was running riot among the extravagances of the capital, was better in camp, and that he himself would be all the safer with both his sons at the head of legions. The pretext, however, was a Suebian request for help against the Cherusci: for, now that the Romans had withdrawn and the foreign menace was removed, the tribes — obedient to the national custom, and embittered in this case by their rivalry in prestige — had turned their weapons against each other. The power of the clans and the prowess of their leaders were upon a level; but while his kingly title rendered Maroboduus unpopular with his countrymen, Arminius aroused enthusiasm as the champion of liberty.
[45] Igitur non modo Cherusci sociique eorum, vetus Arminii miles, sumpsere bellum, sed e regno etiam Marobodui Suebae gentes, Semnones ac Langobardi, defecere ad eum. quibus additis praepollebat, ni Inguiomerus cum manu clientium ad Maroboduum perfugisset, non aliam ob causam quam quia fratris filio iuveni patruus senex parere dedignabatur. deriguntur acies, pari utrimque spe, nec, ut olim apud Germanos, vagis incursibus aut disiectas per catervas: quippe longa adversum nos militia insueverant sequi signa, subsidiis firmari, dicta imperatorum accipere. ac tunc Arminius equo conlustrans cuncta, ut quosque advectus erat, reciperatam libertatem, trucidatas legiones, spolia adhuc et tela Romanis derepta in manibus multorum ostentabat; contra fugacem Maroboduum appellans, proeliorum expertem, Hercyniae latebris defensum; ac mox per dona et legationes petivisse foedus, proditorem patriae, satellitem Caesaris, haud minus infensis animis exturbandum quam Varum Quintilium interfecerint. meminissent modo tot proeliorum, quorum eventu et ad postremum eiectis Romanis satis probatum, penes utros summa belli fuerit.
45 The result was that not only the veteran soldiery of Arminius — the Cherusci and their confederates — took up the campaign, but even from the dominions of Maroboduus two Suebian tribes, the Semnones and Langobardi, revolted to his cause. This accession assured him the preponderance, had not Inguiomerus with a band of his retainers deserted to the enemy, for the sole reason that as an old man and an uncle he scorned to obey the youthful son of his brother. Hope ran high on both sides as the lines of battle drew up, no longer to the old German accompaniment of charges either desultory or executed by scattered parties: for their long campaigns against ourselves had accustomed them to follow their standards, to secure their main body by reserves, and to give attention to their generals’ orders. So, in this instance, Arminius on horseback passed in review the whole of his forces, and, as he came to the several divisions, pointed to the liberties they had recovered, the legions they had butchered, and the spoils and spears, torn from Roman dead, which many of them carried in their hands. Maroboduus, in contrast, was described as “the fugitive who, without one stricken field, had lain safe in the coverts of the Hercynian Forest and then sued for a treaty with gifts and embassies, a betrayer of his country, a satellite of the Caesar; whom it was their duty to expel with as little compunction as they felt when they slew Quintilius Varus. Let them only recall the series of their stricken fields! The issue of those, and the final ejection of the Romans showed plainly enough with whom had rested the mastery in the war!”
[46] Neque Maroboduns iactantia sui aut probris in hostem abstinebat, sed Inguiomerum tenens illo in corpore decus omne Cheruscorum, illius consiliis gesta quae prospere ceciderint testabatur: vaecordem Arminium et rerum nescium alienam gloriam in se trahere, quoniam tres vagas legiones et ducem fraudis ignarum perfidia decepe
rit, magna cum clade Germaniae et ignominia sua, cum coniunx, cum fiius eius servitium adhuc tolerent. at se duodecim legionibus petitum duce Tiberio inlibatam Germanorum gloriam servavisse, mox condicionibus aequis discessum; neque paenitere quod ipsorum in manu sit, integrum adversum Romanos bellum an pacem incruentam malint. his vocibus instinctos exercitus propriae quoque causae stimulabant, cum a Cheruscis Langobardisque pro antiquo decore aut recenti libertate et contra augendae dominationi certaretur. non alias maiore mole concursum neque ambiguo magis eventu, fusis utrimque dextris cornibus; sperabaturque rursum pugna, ni Maroboduns castra in collis subduxisset. id signum perculsi fuit; et transfugiis paulatim nudatus in Marcomanos concessit misitque legatos ad Tiberium oraturos auxilia. responsum est non lure eum adversus Cheruscos arma Romana invocare, qui pugnantis in eundem hostem Romanos nulla ope iuvisset. missus tamen Drusus, ut rettulimus, paci firmator.
46 Nor could Maroboduus refrain from a panegyric upon himself and an invective against the enemy, but holding Inguiomarus by the hand, “There was but one person,” he declared, “in whom resided the whole glory of the Cherusci — by whose counsels had been won whatsoever success they had achieved! Arminius was a fool, a novice in affairs, who usurped another man’s fame, because by an act of perfidy he had entrapped three straggling legions and a commander who feared no fraud: a feat disastrous to Germany and disgraceful to its author, whose wife and child were even yet supporting their bondage. For himself, when he was attacked by twelve legions, with Tiberius at their head, he had kept the German honour unstained, and soon afterwards the combatants had parted on equal terms: nor could he regret that it was now in their power to choose with Rome either a war uncompromised or a bloodless peace!” Fired by the oratory, the armies were stimulated also by motives of their own, as the Cherusci and Langobardi were striking for ancient fame or recent liberty; their adversaries for the extension of a realm. No field ever witnessed a fiercer onset or a more ambiguous event; for on both sides the right wing was routed. A renewal of the conflict was expected, when Maroboduus shifted his camp to the hills. It was the sign of a beaten man; and stripped gradually of his forces by desertions, he fell back upon the Marcomani and sent a deputation to Tiberius asking assistance. The reply ran that “to invoke the Roman arms against the Cherusci was not the part of a man who had brought no help to Rome when she was herself engaged against the same enemy.” Drusus, however, as we have mentioned, was sent out to consolidate a peace.
[47] Eodem anno duodecim celebres Asiae urbes conlapsae nocturno motu terrae, quo inprovisior graviorque pestis fuit. neque solitum in tali casu effugium subveniebat in aperta prorumpendi, quia diductis terris hauriebantur. sedisse inmensos montis, visa in arduo quae plana fuerint, effulsisse inter ruinam ignis memorant. asperrima in Sardianos lues plurimum in eosdem misericordiae traxit: nam centies sestertium pollicitus Caesar, et quantum aerario aut fisco pendebant in quinquennium remisit. Magnetes a Sipylo proximi damno ac remedio habiti. Temnios, Philadelphenos, Aegeatas, Apollonidenses, quique Mosteni aut Macedones Hyrcani vocantur, et Hierocaesariam, Myrinam, Cymen, Tmolum levari idem in tempus tributis mittique ex senatu placuit, qui praesentia spectaret refoveretque. delectus est M. Ateius e praetoriis, ne consulari obtinente Asiam aemulatio inter pares et ex eo impedimentum oreretur.
47 In the same year, twelve important cities of Asia collapsed in an earthquake, the time being night, so that the havoc was the less foreseen and the more devastating. Even the usual resource in these catastrophes, a rush to open ground, was unavailing, as the fugitives were swallowed up in yawning chasms. Accounts are given of huge mountains sinking, of former plains seen heaved aloft, of fires flashing out amid the ruin. As the disaster fell heaviest on the Sardians, it brought them the largest measure of sympathy, the Caesar promising ten million sesterces, and remitting for five years their payments to the national and imperial exchequers. The Magnesians of Sipylus were ranked second in the extent of their losses and their indemnity. In the case of the Temnians, Philadelphenes, Aegeates, Apollonideans, the so-called Mostenians and Hyrcanian Macedonians, and the cities of Hierocaesarea, Myrina, Cyme, and Tmolus, it was decided to exempt them from tribute for the same term and to send a senatorial commissioner to view the state of affairs and administer relief. Since Asia was held by a consular governor, an ex-praetor — Marcus Ateius — was selected, so as to avoid the difficulties which might arise from the jealousy of two officials of similar standing.
[48] Magnificam in publicum largitionem auxit Caesar haud minus grata liberalitate, quod bona Aemiliae Musae, locupletis intestatae, petita in fiscum, Aemilio Lepido, cuius e domo videbatur, et Pantulel divitis equitis Romani here ditatem, quamquam ipse heres in parte legeretur, tradidit M. Servilio, quem prioribus neque suspectis tabulis scriptum compererat, nobilitatem utriusque pecunia iuvandam praefatus. neque hereditatem cuiusquam adiit nisi cum amicitia meruisset: ignotos et aliis infensos eoque principem nuncupantis procul arcebat. ceterum ut honestam innocentium paupertatem levavit, ita prodigos et ob flagitia egentis, Vibidium Varronem, Marium Nepotem, Appium Appianum, Cornelium Sullam, Q. Vitellium movit senatu aut sponte cedere passus est.
48 The emperor supplemented his imposing benefaction on behalf of the state by an equally popular display of private liberality. The property of Aemilia Musa, a woman of means and intestate, which had been claimed as escheating to the imperial exchequer, he transferred to Aemilius Lepidus, in whose family she apparently belonged; and the inheritance of the wealthy Roman knight Pantuleius, though he was himself mentioned as part heir, he handed over to Marcus Servilius, on discovering that he had figured in an earlier and unsuspected testament. In both cases, he remarked before doing so, that high birth required the help of money. He entered upon no bequest unless he had earned it by his friendship: strangers, and persons who were at variance with others and consequently named the sovereign as their heir, he kept at a distance. But as he relieved the honourable poverty of the innocent, so he procured the removal, or accepted the resignation, of the following senators: — Vibidius Virro, Marius Nepos, Appius Appianus, Cornelius Sulla, and Quintus Vitellius; prodigals, beggared by their vices.
[49] Isdem temporibus deum aedis vetustate aut igni abolitas coeptasque ab Augusto dedicavit, Libero Liberaeque et Cereri iuxta circum maximum, quam A. Postumius dictator voverat, eodemque in loco aedem Florae ab Lucio et Marco Publiciis aedilibus constitutam, et Iano templum, quod apud forum holitorium C. Duilius struxerat, qui primus rem Romanam prospere mari gessit triumphumque navalem de Poenis meruit. Spei aedes a Germanico sacratur: hanc A. Atilius voverat eodem bello.
49 Nearly at the same time, he consecrated the temples, ruined by age or fire, the restoration of which had been undertaken by Augustus. They included a temple to Liber, Libera, and Ceres, close to the Circus Maximus, and vowed by Aulus Postumius, the dictator; another, on the same site, to Flora, founded by Lucius and Marcus Publicius in their aedileship, and a shrine of Janus, built in the Herb Market by Gaius Duilius, who first carried the Roman cause to success on sea and earned a naval triumph over the Carthaginians. The temple of Hope, vowed by Aulus Atilius in the same war, was dedicated by Germanicus.
[50] Adolescebat interea lex maiestatis. et Appuleiam Varillam, sororis Augusti neptem, quia probrosis sermonibus divum Augustum ac Tiberium et matrem eius inlusisset Caesarique conexa adulterio teneretur, maiestatis delator arcessebat. de adulterio satis caveri lege Iulia visum: maiestatis crimen distingui Caesar postulavit damnarique, si qua de Augusto inreligiose dixisset: in se iacta nolle ad cognitionem vocari. interrogatus a consule quid de iis censeret quae de matre eius locuta secus argueretur reticuit; dein proximo senatus die illius quoque nomine oravit ne cui verba in eam quoquo modo habita crimini forent. liberavitque Appuleiam lege maiestatis: adulterii graviorem poenam deprecatus, ut exemplo maiorum propinquis suis ultra ducentesimum lapidem removeretur suasit. adultero Manlio Italia atque Africa interdictum est.
50 Meanwhile, the law of treason was coming to its strength; and Appuleia Varilla, the niece of Au
gustus’ sister, was summoned by an informer to answer a charge under the statute, on the ground that she had insulted the deified Augustus, as well as Tiberius and his mother, by her scandalous conversations, and had sullied her connection with the Caesar by the crime of adultery. The adultery, it was decided, was sufficiently covered by the Julian Law; and as to the charge of treason, the emperor requested that a distinction should be drawn, conviction to follow, should she have said anything tantamount to sacrilege against Augustus: remarks levelled at himself he did not wish to be made the subject of inquiry. To the consul’s question: “What was his opinion of the reprehensible statements she was alleged to have made about his mother” he gave no answer; but at the next meeting of the senate he asked, in her name also, that no one should be held legally accountable for words uttered against her in any circumstances whatever. After freeing Appuleius from the operation of the statute, he deprecated the heavier penalty for adultery, and suggested that in accordance with the old-world precedents she might be handed to her relatives and removed to a point beyond the two-hundredth milestone. Her lover, Manlius, was banned from residence in Italy or Africa.
[51] De praetore in locum Vipstani Galli, quem mors abstulerat, subrogando certamen incessit. Germanicus.atque Drusus (nam etiam tum Romae erant) Haterium Agrippam propinquum Germanici fovebant: contra plerique nitebantur ut numerus liberorum in candidatis praepolleret, quod lex iubebat. laetabatur Tiberius, cum inter filios eius et leges senatus disceptaret. victa est sine dubio lex, sed neque statim et paucis suffragiis, quo modo etiam cum valerent leges vincebantur.
Complete Works of Tacitus (Delphi Classics) (Delphi Ancient Classics Book 24) Page 239