23 Under the same consulate, the death of Asinius Gallus became common knowledge. That he died from starvation was not in doubt; but whether of free will or by compulsion was held uncertain. The Caesar, when asked if he allowed him burial, did not blush to accord permission and to go out of his way to deplore the accidents which had carried off the accused before he could be convicted in his own presence. In a three years’ interval, that is to say, time had been lacking for this aged consular, father of so many consular sons, to be brought to judgement! Next, Drusus passed away, after sustaining life through eight full days by the pitiable resource of chewing the stuffing of his mattress. The statement has been made that Macro’s orders were, if Sejanus appealed to arms, to withdraw the youth from custody (he was confined in the Palace) and to place him at the head of the people. Then, as a rumour gained ground that the Caesar was about to be reconciled with his daughter-in-law and grandson, he preferred cruelty to repentance.
[6.24] Quin et invectus in defunctum probra corporis, exitiabilem in suos, infensum rei publicae animum obiecit recitarique factorum dictorumque eius descripta per dies iussit, quo non aliud atrocius visum: adstitisse tot per annos, qui vultum, gemitus, occultum etiam murmur exciperent, et potuisse avum audire, legeret, in publicum promere vix fides, nisi quod Attii centurionis et Didymi liberti epistulae servorum nomina praeferebant, ut quis egredientem cubiculo Drusum pulsaverat, exterruerat. etiam sua verba centurio saevitiae plena, tamquam egregium, vocesque deficientis adiecerat, quis primo [alienationem mentis simulans] quasi per dementiam funesta Tiberio, mox, ubi exspes vitae fuit, meditatas compositasque diras imprecabatur, ut, quem ad modum nurum filiumque fratris et nepotes domumque omnem caedibus complevisset, ita poenas nomini generique maiorum et posteris exolveret. obturbabant quidem patres specie detestandi: sed penetrabat pavor et admiratio, callidum olim et tegendis sceleribus obscurum huc confidentiae venisse ut tamquam dimotis parietibus ostenderet nepotem sub verbere centurionis, inter servorum ictus extrema vitae alimenta frustra orantem.
24 More than this, he inveighed against the dead, reproaching him with unnatural vice and with sentiments pernicious to his family and dangerous to the state; and ordered the reading of the daily register of his doings and sayings. This was regarded as the crowning atrocity. That for so many years the watchers should have been at his side, to catch his looks, his sighs, even his half-articulated murmurs, and that his grandfather should have endured to hear all, read all, and divulge it to the public, might have passed belief but for the fact that the reports of the centurion Attius and the freedman Didymus paraded the names of this or the other slave who had struck or terrorized the prince whenever he attempted to leave his room. The centurion had even added his own brutal remarks, as a point to his credit; along with the dying words of his prisoner, who had begun by cursing Tiberius in apparent delirium, and then, when all hope of life was gone, had denounced him with a meditated and formal imprecation: that as he had done to death his daughter-in-law, his brother’s son, his grandchildren, and had filled his whole house with blood, so he might pay the penalty due to the name and line of his ancestors, and to his posterity. The Fathers interrupted, indeed, with a pretence of horror: in reality, they were penetrated with terror and astonishment that, once so astute, so impenetrable in the concealment of his crimes, he had attained such a pitch of confidence that he could, as it were, raze his palace-walls and exhibit his grandson under the scourge of a centurion, among the blows of slaves, imploring in vain the humblest necessaries of life.
[6.25] Nondum is dolor exoleverat, cum de Agrippina auditum, quam interfecto Seiano spe sustentatam provixisse reor, et postquam nihil de saevitia remittebatur, voluntate extinctam, nisi si negatis alimentis adsimulatus est finis qui videretur sponte sumptus. enimvero Tiberius foedissimis criminationibus exarsit, impudicitiam arguens et Asinium Gallum adulterum, eiusque morte ad taedium vitae compulsam. sed Agrippina aequi impatiens, dominandi avida, virilibus curis feminarum vitia exuerat. eodem die defunctam, quo biennio ante Seianus poenas luisset, memoriaeque id prodendum addidit Caesar iactavitque quod non laqueo strangulata neque in Gemonias proiecta foret. actae ob id grates decretumque ut quintum decimum kal. Novembris, utriusque necis die, per omnis annos donum Iovi sacraretur.
25 This tragedy had not yet faded from memory, when news came of Agrippina; who, after the death of Sejanus, had continued, I take it, to live, because sustained by hope, and then, as there was no abatement of cruelty, had perished by her own will; unless food was withheld, so that her death should present features which might be taken for those of suicide. The point certain is that Tiberius broke out in abominable calumnies, accusing her of unchastity and adultery with Asinius Gallus, by whose death she had been driven to tire of life. Yet Agrippina, impatient of equality and athirst for power, had sunk female frailty in masculine ambition. She had died, the Caesar pursued, on the very day on which, two years earlier, Sejanus had expiated his crimes, a fact which ought to be transmitted to memory; and he mentioned with pride that she had not been strangled or thrown on to the Gemonian Stairs. Thanks were returned for the mercy, and it was decreed that on the eighteenth of October, the day of both the killings, an offering should be consecrated to Jupiter for all years to come.
[6.26] Haud multo post Cocceius Nerva, continuus principi, omnis divini humanique iuris sciens, integro statu, corpore inlaeso, moriendi consilium cepit. quod ut Tiberio cognitum, adsidere, causas requirere, addere preces, fateri postremo grave conscientiae, grave famae suae, si proximus amicorum nullis moriendi rationibus vitam fugeret. aversatus sermonem Nerva abstinentiam cibi coniunxit. ferebant gnari cogitationum eius, quanto propius mala rei publicae viseret, ira et metu, dum integer, dum intemptatus, honestum finem voluisse. Ceterum Agrippinae pernicies, quod vix credibile, Plancinam traxit. nupta olim Cn. Pisoni et palam laeta morte Germanici, cum Piso caderet, precibus Augustae nec minus inimicitiis Agrippinae defensa erat. ut odium et gratia desiere, ius valuit; petitaque criminibus haud ignotis sua manu sera magis quam immerita supplicia persolvit.
26 A little later, Cocceius Nerva, the inseparable friend of the emperor, versed in all law divine or secular, his position intact, his health unimpaired, adopted the resolution of dying. Tiberius, on discovering the fact, sat down by his side, inquired his reasons, proceeded to entreaties, and in the last resort confessed that it would be a serious matter for his conscience and a serious matter for his reputation, if the nearest of his friends were to flee from life with no motive for dying. Declining all conversation, Nerva continued his abstention from food till the end. It was stated by those acquainted with his thoughts that, moved by his closer view of the calamities of his country, he had, in indignation and fear, whilst yet unscathed, yet unassailed, decided for an honourable end. To proceed, the destruction of Agrippina, scarcely credible though it seems, brought down Plancina. Once wedded to Gnaeus Piso and openly exulting in the death of Germanicus, upon her husband’s fall she had been saved by the intercessions of Augusta, and, not less so, by the enmity of Agrippina. When both hatred and favour ceased, justice prevailed: she was arraigned on charges notorious to the world, and paid by her own hand a penalty more overdue than undeserved.
[6.27] Tot luctibus funesta civitate pars maeroris fuit quod Iulia Drusi filia, quondam Neronis uxor, denupsit in domum Rubellii Blandi, cuius avum Tiburtem equitem Romanum plerique meminerant. extremo anni mors Aelii Lamiae funere censorio celebrata, qui administrandae Syriae imagine tandem exolutus urbi praefuerat. genus illi decorum, vivida senectus; et non permissa provincia dignationem addiderat. exim Flacco Pomponio Syriae pro praetore defuncto recitantur Caesaris litterae, quis incusabat egregium quemque et regendis exercitibus idoneum abnuere id munus seque ea necessitudine ad preces cogi per quas consularium aliqui capessere provincias adigerentur, oblitus Arruntium ne in Hispaniam pergeret decimum iam annum attineri. obiit eodem anno et M’. Lepidus de cuius moderatione atque sapientia in prioribus libris satis conlocavi. neque nobilitas diutius demonstranda est: quippe Aemilium genus fecund
um bonorum civium, et qui eadem familia corruptis moribus, inlustri tamen fortuna egere.
27 Among all the griefs of a melancholy realm, it was a contributory regret that Julia, daughter of Drusus and formerly wife of Nero, now married into the family of Rubellius Blandus, whose grandfather was remembered by many as a Roman knight from Tibur. At the very close of the year, the death of Aelius Lamia, whose belated release from his phantom administration of Syria had been followed by the Urban Prefectship, was celebrated by a censorian funeral. His birth was noble, his age vigorous, and he had derived from the withholding of his province an added dignity. Then, on the decease of Pomponius Flaccus, propraetor of Syria, a letter was read from the emperor; who complained that every outstanding man, capable of commanding armies, refused that duty; and such was his need that he was reduced to entreaties, in the hope that here and there a former consul might be driven to undertake a governorship; while he failed to recollect that for the tenth successive year Arruntius was being kept at home for fear that he should start for Spain. Still in the same year died Manius Lepidus, to whose moderation and wisdom I have given space enough in the previous books. Nor does his nobility call for long demonstration: the Aemilian race has been prolific of patriots, and those of the family who have borne degenerate characters have yet played their part with the brilliance of their high fortunes.
[6.28] Paulo Fabio L. Vitellio consulibus post longum saeculorum ambitum avis phoenix in Aegyptum venit praebuitque materiem doctissimis indigenarum et Graecorum multa super eo miraculo disserendi. de quibus congruunt et plura ambigua, sed cognitu non absurda promere libet. sacrum Soli id animal et ore ac distinctu pinnarum a ceteris avibus diversum consentiunt qui formam eius effinxere: de numero annorum varia traduntur. maxime vulgatum quingentorum spatium: sunt qui adseverent mille quadringentos sexaginta unum interici, prioresque alites Sesoside primum, post Amaside dominantibus, dein Ptolemaeo, qui ex Macedonibus tertius regnavit, in civitatem cui Heliopolis nomen advolavisse, multo ceterarum volucrum comitatu novam faciem mirantium. sed antiquitas quidem obscura: inter Ptolemaeum ac Tiberium minus ducenti quinquaginta anni fuerunt. unde non nulli falsum hunc phoenicem neque Arabum e terris credidere, nihilque usurpavisse ex his quae vetus memoria firmavit. confecto quippe annorum numero, ubi mors propinquet, suis in terris struere nidum eique vim genitalem adfundere ex qua fetum oriri; et primam adulto curam sepeliendi patris, neque id temere sed sublato murrae pondere temptatoque per longum iter, ubi par oneri, par meatui sit, subire patrium corpus inque Solis aram perferre atque adolere. haec incerta et fabulosis aucta: ceterum aspici aliquando in Aegypto eam volucrem non ambigitur.
28 In the consulate of Paulus Fabius and Lucius Vitellius, after a long period of ages, the bird known as the phoenix visited Egypt, and supplied the learned of that country and of Greece with the material for long disquisitions on the miracle. I propose to state the points on which they coincide, together with the larger number that are dubious, yet not too absurd for notice. That the creature is sacred to the sun and distinguished from other birds by its head and the variegation of its plumage, is agreed by those who have depicted its form: as to its term of years, the tradition varies. The generally received number is five hundred; but there are some who assert that its visits fall at intervals of 1461 years, and that it was in the reigns, first of Sesosis, then of Amasis, and finally of Ptolemy (third of the Macedonian dynasty), that the three earlier phoenixes flew to the city called Heliopolis with a great escort of common birds amazed at the novelty of their appearance. But while antiquity is obscure, between Ptolemy and Tiberius there were less than two hundred and fifty years: whence the belief has been held that this was a spurious phoenix, not originating on the soil of Arabia, and following none of the practices affirmed by ancient tradition. For — so the tale is told — when its sum of years is complete and death is drawing on, it builds a nest in its own country and sheds on it a procreative influence, from which springs a young one, whose first care on reaching maturity is to bury his sire. Nor is that task performed at random, but, after raising a weight of myrrh and proving it by a far flight, so soon as he is a match for his burden and the course before him, he lifts up his father’s corpse, conveys him to the Altar of the Sun, and consigns him to the flames. — The details are uncertain and heightened by fable; but that the bird occasionally appears in Egypt is unquestioned.
[6.29] At Romae caede continua Pomponius Labeo, quem praefuisse Moesiae rettuli, per abruptas venas sanguinem effudit; aemulataque est coniunx Paxaea. nam promptas eius modi mortes metus carnificis faciebat, et quia damnati publicatis bonis sepultura prohibebantur, eorum qui de se statuebant humabantur corpora, manebant testamenta, pretium festinandi. sed Caesar missis ad senatum litteris disseruit morem fuisse maioribus, quoties dirimerent amicitias, interdicere domo eumque finem gratiae ponere: id se repetivisse in Labeone, atque illum, quia male administratae provinciae aliorumque criminum urgebatur, culpam invidia velavisse, frustra conterrita uxore, quam etsi nocentem periculi tamen expertem fuisse. Mamercus dein Scaurus rursum postulatur, insignis nobilitate et orandis causis, vita probrosus. nihil hunc amicitia Seiani, sed labefecit haud minus validum ad exitia Macronis odium, qui easdem artes occultius exercebat detuleratque argumentum tragoediae a Scauro scriptae, additis versibus qui in Tiberium flecterentur: verum ab Servilio et Cornelio accusatoribus adulterium Liviae, magorum sacra obiectabantur. Scaurus, ut dignum veteribus Aemiliis, damnationem antiit, hortante Sextia uxore, quae incitamentum mortis et particeps fuit.
29 But at Rome the carnage proceeded without a break; and Pomponius Labeo, whose governorship of Moesia I mentioned earlier, opened his veins and bled to death, his example being emulated by his wife Paxaea. For these modes of dying were rendered popular by fear of the executioner and by the fact that a man legally condemned forfeited his estate and was debarred from burial; while he who passed sentence upon himself had his celerity so far rewarded that his body was interred and his will respected. The Caesar, however, in a letter addressed to the senate, explained that “it had been the custom of our ancestors, as often as they broke off a friendship, to interdict their house to the offender and to make this the close of amicable relations. To that method he had himself reverted in the case of Labeo: but Labeo, arraigned for maladministration of his province, as well as on other counts, had veiled his guilt by casting a slur upon his sovereign, while inspiring a baseless terror in his wife, who, though guilty had still stood in no danger.” Then came the second impeachment of Mamercus Scaurus, distinguished by birth and by his talent as an advocate, but in life a reprobate. His fall was brought about, not by the friendship of Sejanus but by something equally potent for destruction, the hatred of Macro; who practised the same arts with superior secrecy, and had laid an information turning on the plot of a tragedy written by Scaurus; from which he appended a number of verses capable of being referred to Tiberius. The charges, however, brought by the actual accusers, Servilius and Cornelius, were adultery with Livia and addiction to magic rites. Scaurus, adopting the course worthy of the old Aemilii, forestalled his condemnation, encouraged by his wife Sextia, who was the abettor and sharer of his death.
[6.30] Ac tamen accusatores, si facultas incideret, poenis adficiebantur, ut Servilius Corneliusque perdito Scauro famosi, quia pecuniam a Vario Ligure omittendae delationis ceperant, in insulas interdicto igni atque aqua demoti sunt. et Abudius Ruso functus aedilitate, dum Lentulo Gaetulico, sub quo legioni praefuerat, periculum facessit quod is Seiani filium generum destinasset, ultro damnatur atque urbe exigitur. Gaetulicus ea tempestate superioris Germaniae legiones curabat mirumque amorem adsecutus erat, effusae clementiae, modicus severitate et proximo quoque exercitui per L. Apronium socerum non ingratus. unde fama constans ausum mittere ad Caesarem litteras, adfinitatem sibi cum Seiano haud sponte sed consilio Tiberii coeptam; perinde se quam Tiberium falli potuisse, neque errorem eundem illi sine fraude, aliis exitio habendum. sibi fidem integram et, si nullis insidiis peteretur, mansuram; successorem non aliter quam indicium morti
s accepturum. firmarent velut foedus, quo princeps ceterarum rerum poteretur, ipse provinciam retineret. haec, mira quamquam, fidem ex eo trahebant quod unus omnium Seiani adfinium incolumis multaque gratia mansit, reputante Tiberio publicum sibi odium, extremam aetatem magisque fama quam vi stare res suas.
30 And yet his accusers, if opportunity arose, experienced the pains of the law. Thus Servilius and Cornelius, notorious for the ruin of Scaurus, were banned from fire and water and sequestrated in the islands for accepting the money of Varius Ligus as the price of dropping a delation. So, too, Abudius Ruso, a former aedile, while threatening a prosecution of Lentulus Gaetulicus, under whom he had commanded a legion, on the ground that he had destined his daughter’s hand for a son of Sejanus, was actually condemned himself and expelled from Rome. Gaetulicus at the time was in charge of the legions of Upper Germany, and had gained an extraordinary hold on their affections as an officer of large clemency, chary of severity, and, thanks to his father-in-law Lucius Apronius, not unacceptable even to the next army. Hence the steady tradition that he ventured to send a letter to the Caesar, pointing out that “his connection with Sejanus was begun not by his own will but upon the advice of Tiberius. It had been as easy for himself to be deceived as for Tiberius; and the same error should not be treated as harmless in one case and fatal in others. His loyalty was inviolate, and, if he was not treacherously attacked, would so remain: a successor he would not take otherwise than as indicative of his doom. Best would be to ratify a kind of treaty, by which the emperor would be supreme elsewhere, while he himself kept his province.” The tale, though remarkable, drew credibility from the fact that, alone of all the family connections of Sejanus, Gaetulicus remained unscathed and high in favour; Tiberius reflecting that he was the object of public hatred, that his days were numbered, and that his fortunes stood more by prestige than by real strength.
Complete Works of Tacitus (Delphi Classics) (Delphi Ancient Classics Book 24) Page 265