Complete Works of Velleius Paterculus

by Velleius Paterculus

  (2) At the same period took place the notable victory of Domitius over the Arverni, and of Fabius over the Allobroges. Fabius, who was the grandson of Paulus, received the cognomen of Allobrogicus in commemoration of his victory. I must also note the strange fortune which distinguished the family of the Domitii, the more remarkable in view of the limited number of the family. Before the present Gnaeus Domitius, a man of notable simplicity of life, there have been seven Domitii, all only sons, but they all attained to the consulate and priesthoods and almost all to the distinction of a triumph.

  XI

  Bellum deinde Iugurthinum gestum est per Q.Metellum nulli secundum saeculi sui. Huius legatus fuit C.Marius, quem praediximus, natus agresti loco, hirtus atque horridus vitaque sanctus, quantum bello optimus, tantum pace pessimus, immodicus gloriae, insatiabilis, impotens semperque inquietus. Hic per publicanos aliosque in Africa negotiantis criminatus Metelli lentitudinem, trahentis iam in tertium annum bellum, et naturalem nobilitatis superbiam morandique in imperiis cupiditatem effecit, ut, cum commeatu petito Romam venisset, consul crearetur bellique paene patrati a Metello, qui bis Iugurtham acie fuderat, summa committeretur sibi. Metelli tamen et triumphus fuit clarissimus et meritum ex virtute ei cognomen Numidici inditum. Ut paulo ante Domitiae familiae, ita Caeciliae notanda claritudo est. Quippe intra duodecim ferme annos huius temporis consules fuere Metelli aut censores aut triumpharunt amplius duodecies, ut appareat, quemadmodum urbium imperiorumque, ita gentium nunc florere fortunam, nunc senescere, nunc interire.

  [11] (1) Then followed the Jugurthan war waged under the generalship of Quintus Metellus, a man inferior to no one of his time. His second in command was Gaius Marius, whom we have already mentioned, a man of rustic birth, rough and uncouth, and austere in his life, as excellent a general as he was an evil influence in time of peace, a man of unbounded ambition, insatiable, without self-control, and always an element of unrest. (2) Through the agency of the tax-gatherers and others who were engaged in business in Africa he criticized the delays of Metellus, who was now dragging on the war into its third year, charging him with the haughtiness characteristic of the nobility and with the desire to maintain himself in military commands. Having obtained a furlough he went to Rome, where he succeeded in procuring his election as consul and had the chief command of the war placed in his own hands, although the war had already been practically ended by Metellus, who had twice defeated Jugurtha in battle. The triumph of Metellus was none the less brilliant, and the cognomen of Numidicus earned by his valour was bestowed upon him. (3) As I commented, a short time ago, on the glory of the family of the Domitii, let me now comment upon that of the Caecilii. Within the compass of about twelve years during this period, the Metelli were distinguished by consulships, censorships, or triumph more than twelve times. Thus it is clear that, as in the case of cities and empires, so the fortunes of families flourish, wane, and pass away.

  XII

  At C. Marius L.Sullam iam tunc ut praecaventibus fatis copulatum sibi quaestorem habuit et per eum missum ad regem Bocchum Iugurtha rege abhinc annos ferme centum triginta quattuor potitus est; designatusque iterum consul in urbem reversus secundi consulatus initio Kal. Ianuariis eum in triumpho duxit. Effusa, ut praediximus, immanis vis Germanarum gentium, quibus nomen Cimbris ac Teutonis erat, cum Caepionem Manliumque consules et ante Carbonem Silanumque fudissent fugassentque in Galliis et exuissent exercitu, Scaurumque Aurelium consularem et alios celeberrimi nominis viros trucidassent, populus Romanus non alium repellendis tantis hostibus magis idoneum imperatorem quam Marium est ratus. Tum multiplicati consulatus eius. Tertius in apparatu belli consumptus; quo anno Cn.Domitius tribunus plebis legem tulit, ut sacerdotes, quos antea conlegae sufficiebant, populus crearet. Quarto trans Alpis circa Aquas Sextias cum Teutonis conflixit, amplius centum quinquaginta milia hostium priore ac postero die ab eo trucidata gensque excisa Teutonum. Quinto citra Alpis in campis, quibus nomen erat Raudiis, ipse consul et proconsul Q.Lutatius Catulus fortunatissimo decertavere proelio; caesa aut capta amplius centum milia hominum. Hac victoria videtur meruisse Marius, ne eius nati rem publicam paeniteret, ac mala bonis repensasse. Sextus consulatus veluti praemium ei meritorum datus. Non tamen huius consulatus fraudetur gloria, quo Servilii Glauciae Saturninique Apulei furorem continuatis honoribus rem publicam lacerantium et gladiis quoque et caede comitia discutientium, consul armis compescuit hominesque exitiabiles in Hostilia curia morte multavit.

  [12] (1) Gaius Marius, even at this time, had Lucius Sulla associated with him as quaestor, as though the fates were trying to avoid subsequent events. He sent Sulla to King Boccus and through him gained possession of Jugurtha, about one hundred and thirty-four years before the present time. He returned to the city as consul designate for the second time, and on the kalends of January, at the inauguration of his second consulship, he led Jugurtha in triumph. (2) Since, as has already been stated, an immense horde of the German races called the Cimbri and the Teutons had defeated and routed the Consuls Caepio and Manlius in Gaul, as before them Carbo and Silanus, had scattered their armies, and had put to death Scaurus Aurelius an ex-consul, and other men of renown, the Roman people was of the opinion that no general was better qualified the repel these mighty enemies than Marius. (3) His consulships then followed each other in succession. The third was consumed in preparation for this war. In this year Gnaeus Domitius, the tribune of the people, passed a law that the priests, who had previously been chosen by their colleagues, should now be elected by the people. (4) In his fourth consulship Marius met the Teutons in battle beyond the Alps in the vicinity of Aquae Sextiae. More than a hundred and fifty thousand of the enemy were slain by him on that day and the day after, and the race of the Teutons was exterminated. (5) In his fifth consulship the consul himself and the proconsul Quintus Lutatius Catulus fought a most successful battle on this side of the Alps on the plain called the Raudian Plain. More than a hundred thousand of the enemy were taken or slain. By this victory Marius seems to have earned some claim upon his country that it should not regret his birth and to have counterbalanced his bad by his good deeds. (6) A sixth consulship was given him in the light of a reward for his services. He must not, however, be deprived of the glory of this consulship, for during this term as consul he restrained by arms the mad acts of Servilius Glaucia and Saturninus Apuleius who were shattering the constitution by continuing in office, and were breaking up the elections with armed violence and bloodshed, and caused these dangerous men to be put to death in the Curia Hostilia.

  XIII

  Deinde interiectis paucis annis tribunatum iniit M.Livius Drusus, vir nobilissimus, eloquentissimus, sanctissimus, meliore in omnia ingenio animoque quam fortuna usus. Qui cum senatui priscum restituere cuperet decus et iudicia ab equitibus ad eum transferre ordinem (quippe eam potestatem nacti equites Gracchanis legibus cum in multos clarissimos atque innocentissimos viros saevissent, tum P.Rutilium, virum non saeculi sui, sed omnis aevi optimum, interrogatum lege repetundarum maximo cum gemitu civitatis damnaverant), in iis ipsis, quae pro senatu moliebatur, senatum habuit adversarium non intellegentem, si qua de plebis commodis ab eo agerentur, veluti inescandae inliciendaeque multitudinis causa fieri, ut minoribus perceptis maiora permitteret. Denique ea fortuna Drusi fuit, ut malefacta collegarum quam quaevis optime ab ipso cogitata senatus probaret magis, et honorem, qui ab eo deferebatur, sperneret, iniurias, quae ab illis intendebantur, aequo animo reciperet, et huius summae gloriae invideret, illorum modicam ferret.

  [13] (1) After an interval of a few years Marcus Livius Drusus entered the tribunate, a man of noble birth, of eloquent tongue and of upright life; but in all his acts, his success was not in keeping with his talents or his good intentions. (2) It was his aim to restore to the senate its ancient prestige, and again to transfer the law courts to that order from the knights. The knights had acquired this prerogative through the legislation of Gracchus, and had treated with severity many noted men who were quite innocent, and, in particular, had brought to trial on a charge of ex
tortion and had condemned, to the great sorrow of all the citizens, Publius Rutilius, one of the best men not only of his age, but of all time. But in these very measures which Livius undertook on behalf of the senate he had an opponent in the senate itself, which failed to see that the proposals he also urged in interest of the plebs were made as a bait and a sop to the populace, that they might, by receiving lesser concessions, permit the passage of more important measures. (3) In the end it was the misfortune of Drusus to find that the senate gave more approval to the evil measures of his colleagues than to his own plans, however excellent, and that it spurned the dignity which he would confer it only to accept tamely the real slights levelled against it by the others, tolerating the mediocrity of his colleagues while it looked with jealous eyes upon his own distinction.

  XIV

  Tum conversus Drusi animus, quando bene incepta male cedebant, ad dandam civitatem Italiae. Quod cum moliens revertisset e foro, immensa illa et incondita, quae eum semper comitabatur, cinctus multitudine in area domus suae cultello percussus, qui adfixus lateri eius relictus est, intra paucas horas decessit. Sed cum ultimum redderet spiritum, intuens circumstantium maerentiumque frequentiam, effudit vocem convenientissimam conscientiae suae: ecquandone, inquit, propinqui amicique, similem mei civem habebit res publica? Hunc finem clarissimus iuvenis vitae habuit: cuius morum minime omittatur argumentum. Cum aedificaret domum in Palatio in eo loco, ubi est quae quondam Ciceronis, mox Censorini fuit, nunc Statilii Sisennae est, promitteretque ei architectus, ita se eam aedificaturum, ut liber a conspectu immunisque ab omnibus arbitris esset neque quisquam in eam despicere posset, tu vero, inquit, si quid in te artis est, ita compone domum meam, ut, quidquid agam, ab omnibus perspici possit.

  [14] (1) Since his excellent programme had fared so badly, Drusus turned his attention to granting the citizenship to the Italians. While he was engaged in this effort, and was returning from the forum surrounded by the large and unorganized crowd which always attended him, he was stabbed in the area before his house and died in a few hours, the assassin leaving the weapon in his side. (2) As he breathed his last and gazed at the throng of those who stood weeping about him, he uttered the words, most expressive of his own feelings: “O my relatives and friends, will my country ever have another citizen like me?” Thus ended the life of this illustrious man. One index of his character should not be passed over. (3) When he was building his house on the Palatine on the site where now stands the house which once belonged to Cicero, and later to Censorinus, and which now belongs to Statilius Sisenna, the architect offered to build it in such a way that he would be free from the public gaze, safe from all espionage, and that no one could look down into it. Livius replied, “If you possess the skill you must build my house in such a way that whatever I do shall be seen by all.”

  XV

  Mors Drusi iam pridem tumescens bellum excitavit Italicum; quippe L.Caesare et P.Rutilio consulibus abhinc annos centum viginti, universa Italia, cum id malum ab Asculanis ortum esset (quippe Servilium praetorem Fonteiumque legatum occiderant) ac deinde a Marsis exceptum in omnis penetrasset regiones, arma adversus Romanos cepit. Quorum ut fortuna atrox, ita causa fuit iustissima: petebant enim eam civitatem, cuius imperium armis tuebantur: per omnis annos atque omnia bella duplici numero se militum equitumque fungi neque in eius civitatis ius recipi, quae per eos in id ipsum pervenisset fastigium, per quod homines eiusdem et gentis et sanguinis ut externos alienosque fastidire posset. Id bellum amplius trecenta milia iuventutis Italicae abstulit. Clarissimi autem imperatores fuerunt Romani eo bello Cn.Pompeius, Cn.Pompei Magni pater, C.Marius, de quo praediximus, L.Sulla anno ante praetura functus, Q.Metellus, Numidici filius, qui meritum cognomen Pii consecutus erat: quippe expulsum civitate a L.Saturnino tribuno plebis, quod solus in leges eius iurare noluerat, pietate sua, auctoritate senatus, consensu rei publicae restituit patrem. Nec triumphis honoribusque quam aut causa exilii aut exilio aut reditu clarior fuit Numidicus.

  [15] (1) The long smouldering fires of an Italian war were now fanned into flame by the death of Drusus. One hundred and twenty years ago, in the consulship of Lucius Caesar and Publius Rutilius, all Italy took up arms against the Romans. The rebellion began with the people of Asculum, who had put to death the praetor Servilius and Fonteius, his deputy; it was then taken up by the Marsi, and from them it made its ways into all the districts of Italy. (2) The fortune of the Italians was as cruel as their cause was just; for they were seeking citizenship in the state whose power they were defending by their arms; every year and in every war they were furnishing a double number of men, both of cavalry and of infantry, and yet were not admitted to the rights of citizens in the state which, through their efforts, had reached so high a position that it could look down upon men of the same race and blood as foreigners and aliens.

  (3) This war carried off more than three hundred thousand of the youth of Italy. On the Roman side in this war the most illustrious commanders were Gnaeus Pompeius, father of Pompeius Magnus, Gaius Marius, already mentioned, Lucius Sulla, who in the previous year had filled the praetorship, and Quintus Metellus, son of Metellus Numidicus, who had deservedly received the cognomen of Pius, (4) for when his father had been exiled from the state by Lucius Saturninus, the tribune of the people, because he alone refused to observe the laws which the tribune had made, the son had effected his restoration through his own devotion, aided by the authority of the senate and the unanimous sentiment of the whole state. Numidicus earned no greater renown by his triumphs and public honours than he earned by the cause of his exile, his exile, and the manner of his return.

  XVI

  Italicorum autem fuerunt celeberrimi duces Silo Popaedius, Herius Asinius, Insteius Cato, C.Pontidius, Telesinus Pontius, Marius Egnatius, Papius Mutilus. Neque ego verecundia domestici sanguinis gloriae quidquam, dum verum refero, subtraham: quippe multum Minatii Magii, atavi mei, Aeculanensis, tribuendum est memoriae, qui nepos Decii Magii, Campanorum principis, celeberrimi et fidelissimi viri, tantam hoc bello Romanis fidem praestitit, ut cum legione, quam ipse in Hirpinis conscripserat, Herculaneum simul cum T. Didio caperet, Pompeios cum L. Sulla oppugnaret Compsamque occuparet: cuius de virtutibus cum alii, tum maxime dilucide Q.Hortensius in annalibus suis rettulit. Cuius illi pietati plenam populus Romanus gratiam rettulit ipsum viritim civitate donando, duos filios eius creando praetores, cum seni adhuc crearentur. Tam varia atque atrox fortuna Italici belli fuit, ut per biennium continuum duo Romani consules, Rutilius ac deinde Cato Porcius, ab hostibus occiderentur, exercitus populi Romani multis in locis funderentur, utque ad saga iretur diuque in eo habitu maneretur. Caput imperii sui Corfinium legerant atque appellarant Italicam. Paulatim deinde recipiendo in civitatem, qui arma aut non ceperant aut deposuerant maturius, vires refectae sunt, Pompeio Sullaque et Mario fluentem procumbentemque rem populi Romani restituentibus.

  [16] (1) On the Italian side the most celebrated generals were Silo Popaedius, Herius Asinius, Insteius Cato, Gaius Pontidius, Telesinus Pontius, Marius Ignatius, and Papius Mutilus; (2) nor ought I, through excess of modesty, to deprive my own kin of glory, especially when that which I record is the truth; for much credit is due to the memory of my great-grandfather Minatius Magius of Aeculanum, grandson of Decius Magius, leader of the Campanians, of proven loyalty and distinction. Such fidelity did Minatius display towards the Romans in this war that, with a legion which he himself had enrolled among the Hirpini, he took Herculaneum in conjunction with Titus Didius, was associated with Lucius Sulla in the siege of Pompeii, and occupied Compsa. (3) Several historians have recorded his services, but the most extensive and clearest testimony is that of Quintus Hortensius in his Annals. The Romans abundantly repaid his loyal zeal by a special grant of the citizenship to himself, and by making his sons praetors at a time when the number elected was still confined to six.

  (4) So bitter was this Italian war, and such its vicissitudes, that in two successive years two Roman consuls, first Rutilius and subsequently Cato Porcius, were slain by the enemy, the armi
es of the Roman people were routed in many places, and the Romans were compelled to resort to military dress and to remain long in that garb. The Italians chose Corfinium as their capital, and named it Italica. Then little by little the strength of the Romans was recruited by admitting to the citizenship those who had not taken arms or had not been slow to lay them down again, and Pompeius, Sulla, and Marius restored the tottering power of the Roman people.

  XVII

  Finito ex maxima parte, nisi quae Nolani belli manebant reliquiae, Italico bello, quo quidem Romani victis adflictisque ipsi exarmati quam integri universis civitatem dare maluerunt, consulatum inierunt Q.Pompeius et L.Cornelius Sulla, vir qui neque ad finem victoriae satis laudari neque post victoriam abunde vituperari potest. Hic natus familia nobili, sextus a Cornelio Rufino, qui bello Pyrrhi inter celeberrimos fuerat duces, cum familiae eius claritudo intermissa esset, diu ita se gessit, ut nullam petendi consulatum cogitationem habere videretur: deinde post praeturam inlustratus bello Italico et ante in Gallia legatione sub Mario, qua eminentissimos duces hostium fuderat, ex successu animum sumpsit petensque consulatum paene omnium civium suffragiis factus est; sed eum honorem undequinquagesimo aetatis suae anno adsecutus est.

  [17] (1) Except for the remnants of hostility which lingered at Nola the Italian war was now in large measure ended, the Romans, themselves exhausted, consenting to grant the citizenship individually to the conquered and humbled states in preference to giving it to them as a body when their own strength was still unimpaired. This was the year in which Quintus Pompeius and Lucius Cornelius Sulla entered upon the consulship. Sulla was a man to whom, up to the conclusion of his career of victory, sufficient praise can hardly be given, and for whom, after his victory, no condemnation can be adequate. (2) He was sprung of a noble family, the sixth in descent from the Cornelius Rufinus who had been one of the famous generals in the war with Pyrrhus. As the renown of his family had waned, Sulla acted a long while as though he had no thought of seeking the consulship. (3) Then, after his praetorship, having earned distinction not only in the Italian war but also, even before that, in Gaul, where he was second in command to Marius, and had routed the most eminent leaders of the enemy, encouraged by his successes, he became a candidate for the consulship and was elected by an almost unanimous vote of the citizens. But this honour did not come to him until the forty-ninth year of his age.