Complete Works of Velleius Paterculus

by Velleius Paterculus

  [125] (1) The state soon reaped the fruit of its wise course in desiring Tiberius, nor was it long before it was apparent what we should have had to endure had our request been refused, and what we had gained in having it granted. For the army serving in Germany, commanded by Germanicus in person, and the legions in Illyricum, seized at the same moment by a form of madness and a deep desire to throw everything into confusion, wanted a new leader, a new order of things, and a new republic. (2) Nay, they even dared to threaten to dictate terms to the senate and to the emperor. They tried to fix for themselves the amount of their pay and their period of service. They even resorted to arms; the sword was drawn; their conviction that they would not be punished came near to breaking out into the worst excesses of arms. All they needed was someone to lead them against the state; there was no lack of followers. (3) But all this disturbance was soon quelled and suppressed by the ripe experience of the veteran commander, who used coercion in many cases, made promises where he could so with dignity, and by the combination of severe punishment of the most guilty with milder chastisement of the others.

  (4) In this crisis, while in many respects the conduct of Germanicus was not lacking in rigour, Drusus employed the severity of the Romans of old. Sent by his father into the very midst of the conflagration, when the flames of mutiny were already bursting forth, he preferred to hold to a course which involved danger to himself than one which might prove a ruinous precedent, and used the very swords of those by whom he had been besieged to coerce his besiegers. (5) In this task he had in Junius Bassus no ordinary helper, a man whom one does not know whether to consider more useful in the camp or better in the toga. A few years later, as proconsul in Africa, he earned the ornaments of a triumph, with the title of imperator.

  The two provinces of Spain, however, and the army in them were held in peace and tranquillity, since Marcus Lepidus, of whose virtues and distinguished service in Illyricum I have already spoken, was there in command, and since he had in the highest degree the quality of instinctively knowing the best course and the firmness to hold to his views. On the coast of Illyricum his vigilance and fidelity was emulated in detail by Dolabella, a man of noble-minded candour.

  CXXVI

  Horum sedecim annorum opera quis cum ingerantur oculis animisque omnium, partibus eloquatur? Sacravit parentem suum Caesar non imperio, sed religione, non appellavit eum, sed fecit deum. Revocata in forum fides, summota e foro seditio, ambitio campo, discordia curia, sepultaeque ac situ obsitae iustitia, aequitas, industria civitati redditae; accessit magistratibus auctoritas, senatui maiestas, iudiciis gravitas; compressa theatralis seditio, recte faciendi omnibus aut incussa voluntas aut imposita necessitas: honorantur recta, prava puniuntur, suspicit potentem humilis, non timet, antecedit, non contemnit humiliorem potens. Quando annona moderatior, quando pax laetior? Diffusa in orientis occidentisque tractus et quidquid meridiano aut septentrione finitur, paxaugusta omnis terrarum orbis angulos a latrociniorum metu servat immunes. Fortuita non civium tantummodo, sed urbium damna principis rnunificentia vindicat. Restitutae urbes Asiae, vindicatae ab iniuriis magistratuum provinciae: honor dignis paratissimus, poena in malos sera, sed aliqua: superatur aequitate gratia, ambitio virtute; nam facere recte civis suos princeps optimus faciendo docet, cumque sit imperio maximus, exemplo maior est.

  [126] (1) Who would undertake to tell in detail the accomplishments of the past sixteen years, since they are borne in upon the eyes and hearts of all? Caesar deified his father, not by exercise of his imperial authority, but by his attitude of reverence; he did not call him a god, but made him one. (2) Credit has been restored in the forum, strife has been banished from the forum, canvassing for office from the Campus Martius, discord from the senate-house; justice, equity, and industry, long buried in oblivion, have been restored to the state; the magistrates have regained their authority, the senate its majesty, the courts their dignity; rioting in the theatre has been suppressed; all citizens have either been impressed with the wish to do right, or have been forced to do so by necessity. (3) Right is now honoured, evil is punished; the humble man respects the great but does not fear him, the great has precedence over the lowly but does not despise him. When was the price of grain more reasonable, or when were the blessings of peace greater? The pax augusta, which has spread to the regions of the east and of the west and to the bounds of the north and of the south, preserves every corner of the world safe from the fear of brigandage. (4) The munificence of the emperor claims for its province the losses inflicted by fortune not merely on private citizens, but on whole cities. The cities of Asia have been restored, the provinces have been freed from the oppression of their magistrates. Honour ever awaits the worthy; for the wicked punishment is slow but sure; fair play has now precedence over influence, and merit over ambition, for the best of emperors teaches his citizens to do right by doing it, and though he is greatest among us in authority, he is still greater in the example which he sets.

  CXXVII

  Raro eminentes viri non magnis adiutoribus ad gubernandam fortunam suam usi sunt, ut duo Scipiones duobus Laeliis, quos per omnia aequaverunt sibi, ut divus Augustus M. Agrippa et proxime ab eo Statilio Tauro, quibus novitas familiae haut obstitit quominus ad multiplicis consulatus triumphosque et complura eveherentur sacerdotia. Etenim magna negotia magnis adiutoribus egent interestque rei publicae quod usu necessariurn est, dignitate eminere utilitatemque auctoritate muniri. Sub his exemplis Ti. Caesar Seianum Aelium, principe equestris ordinis patre natum, materno vero genere clarissimas veteresque et insignes honoribus complexum familias, habentem consularis fratres, consobrinos, avunculum, ipsum vero laboris ac fidei capacissimum, sufficiente etiam vigori animi compage corporis, singularem principalium onerum adiutorem in omnia habuit atque habet, virum severitatis laetissimae, hilaritatis priscae, actu otiosis simillimum, nihil sibi vindicantem eoque adsequentem omnia, semperque infra aliorum aestimationes se metientem, vultu vitaque tranquillum, animo exsomnem.

  [127] (1) It is but rarely that men of eminence have failed to employ great men to aid them in directing their fortune, as the two Scipios employed the two Laelii, whom in all things they treated as equal to themselves, or as the deified Augustus employed Marcus Agrippa, and after him Statilius Taurus. In the case of these men their lack of lineage was no obstacle to their elevation to successive consulships, triumphs, and numerous priesthoods. For great tasks require great helpers, (2) and it is important to the state that those who are necessary to her service should be given prominence in rank, and that their usefulness should be fortified by official authority. (3) With these examples before him, Tiberius Caesar has had and still has as his incomparable associate in all the burdens of the principate Sejanus Aelius, son of a father who was among the foremost in the equestrian order, but connected, on his mother’s side, with old and illustrious families and families distinguished by public honours, while he had brothers, cousins, and an uncle who had reached the consulship. He himself combined with loyalty to his master great capacity for labour, and possessed a well-knit body to match the energy of his mind; (4) stern but yet gay, cheerful but yet strict; busy, yet always seeming to be at leisure. He is one who claims no honours for himself and so acquires all honours, whose estimate of himself is always below the estimate of others, calm in expression and in his life, though his mind is sleeplessly alert.

  CXXVIII

  In huius virtutum aestimatione iam pridem iudicia civitatis cum iudiciis principis certant; neque novus hic mos senatus populique Romani est putandi, quod optimum sit, esse nobilissimum. Nam et illi qui ante bellum Punicum abhinc annos trecentos Ti. Coruncanium, hominem novum, cum aliis omnibus honoribus ium pontificatu etiam maximo ad principale extulere fastigium, et qui equestri loco natum Sp. Carvilium et mox M. Catonem, novum etiam Tusculo urbis inquilinum, Mummiumque Achaicum in consulatus, censuras et triumphos provexere, et qui C. Marium ignotae originis usque ad sextum consulatum sine dubitatione Romani nominis habuere principem, et qui M. Tullio tantum tribuere, ut paene adsen
tatione sua quibus vellet principatus conciliaret, quique nihil Asinio Pollioni negaverunt, quod nobilissimis summo cum sudore consequendum foret, profecto hoc senserunt, in cuiuscumque animo virtus inesset, ei plurimum esse tribuendum. Haec naturalis exempli imitatio ad experiendum Seianum Caesarem, ad iuvanda vero onera principis Seianum propulit senatumque et populum Romanum eo perduxit, ut, quod usu optimum intellegit, id in tutelam securitatis suae libenter advocet.

  [128] (1) In the value set upon the character of this man, the judgement of the whole state has long vied with that of the emperor. Nor is it a new fashion on the part of the senate and the Roman people to regard as most noble that which is best. For the Romans who, three centuries ago, in the days before the Punic war, raised Tiberius Coruncanius, a “new man,” to the first position in the state, not only bestowing on him all the other honours but the office of pontifex maximus as well; and those who elevated to consulships, censorships, and triumphs Spurius Carvilius, though born of equestrian rank, (2) and soon afterwards Marcus Cato, though a new man and not a native of the city but from Tusculum, and Mummius, who triumphed over Achaia; (3) and those who regarded Gaius Marius, though of obscure origin, as unquestionably the first man of the Roman name until his sixth consulship; and those who yielded such honours to Marcus Tullius that on his recommendation he could secure positions of importance almost for anyone he chose; and those who refused no honour to Asinius Pollio, honours which could only be earned, even by the noblest, by sweat and toil — all these assuredly felt that the highest honours should be paid to the man of merit. (4) It was but the natural following of precedent that impelled Caesar to put Sejanus to the test, and that Sejanus was induced to assist the emperor with his burdens, and that brought the senate and the Roman people to the point where they were ready to summon for the preservation of its security the man whom they regarded as the most useful instrument.

  CXXIX

  Sed proposita quasi universa principatus Ti. Caesaris forma singula recenseamus. Qua ille prudentia Rhascupolim, interemptorem fratris sui filii Cotyis consortisque eiusdem imperii, Romam evocavit. Singulari in eo negotio usus opera Flacci Pomponii consularis viri, nati ad omnia, quae recte facienda sunt, simplicique virtute merentis semper, numquam captantis gloriam. Cum quanta gravitate ut senator et iudex, non ut princeps, causam Drusi Libonis audivit! Quam celeriter ingratum et nova molientem oppressit! Quibus praeceptis instructum Germanicum suum imbuiumque rudimentis militiae secum actae domitorem recepit Germaniae! Quibus iuventam eius exaggeravit honoribus, respondente cultu triumphi rerum, quas gesserat, magnitudini! Quotiens populum congiariis honoravit senatorumque censum, cum id senatu auctore facere potuit, quam libenter explevit, ut neque luxuriam invitaret neque honestam paupertatem pateretur dignitate destitui! Ouanto cum honore Germanicum suum in transmarinas misit provincias! Qua vi, consiliorum suorum ministro et adiutore usus Druso filio suo, Maroboduum inhaerentem occupati regni finibus, pace maiestatis eius dixerim, velut serpentem abstrusam terrae salubribus medicamentis coegit egredi! Quam illum ut honorate, sic secure continet! Quantae molis bellum principe Galliarum ciente Sacroviro Floroque Iulio mira celeritate ac virtute compressit, ut ante populus Romanus vicisse se quam bellare cognosceret nuntiosque periculi victoriae praecederet nuntius! Magni etiam terroris bellum Africum et cotidiano auctu maius auspiciis consiliisque eius brevi sepultum est.

  [129] (1) But having set before the reader a sort of general outline of the principate of Caesar, let us now review some of the details. With what sagacity did he draw to Rome Rhascupolis, the slayer of his brother’s son Cotys who shared the throne with him; in this transaction Tiberius employed the rare services of Flaccus Pomponius, a consular, and a man born to carry out tasks requiring accurate discrimination, and who by his straightforward character also deserved glory though he never sought it. (2) With what dignity did he listen to the trial of Drusus Libo, not in the capacity of emperor, but as a senator and a judge! How swiftly did he suppress that ingrate in his plot for revolution! How well had Germanicus been trained under his instructions, having so thoroughly learned the rudiments of military science under him that he was later to welcome him home as conqueror of Germany! What honours did he heap upon him, young though he was, making the magnificence of his triumph to correspond to the greatness of his deeds! (3) How often did he honour the people with largesses, and how gladly, whenever he could do so with the senate’s sanction, did he raise to the required rating the fortunes of senators, but in such a way as not to encourage extravagant living, nor yet to allow senators to lose their rank because of honest poverty! With what honours did he send his beloved Germanicus to the provinces across the seas! With what effective diplomacy, carried out though the help and agency of his son Drusus, did he force Maroboduus, who clung to the limits of the territories he had seized as a serpent to his hole, to come forth like the serpent under the spell of his salutary charms — a simile which I use with no disrespect to Caesar. With what honour does he treat him while at the same time he holds him securely! With what wonderful swiftness and courage did he repress the formidable war, stirred up at the instigation of Sacrovir and Florus Julius, so that the Roman people learned that he had conquered before they knew he was engaged in war, and the news of victory preceded the news of the danger! (4) The African war also, which caused great consternation and grew more formidable every day, was soon extinguished under his auspices and in accordance with his plans.

  CXXX

  Quanta suo suorumque nomine extruxit opera! Quam pia munificentia superque humanam evecta fidem templum patri molitur! Quam magnifico animi temperamento Cn. quoque Pompei munera absumpta igni restituit! Quidquid enim umquam claritudine eminuit, id veluti cognatum censet tuendum. Qua liberalitate cum alias, tum proxime incenso monte Caelio omnis ordinis hominum iacturae patrimonio succurrit suo! Quanta cum quiete hominum rem perpetui praecipuique timoris, supplementum, sine trepidatione dilectus providet! Si aut natura patitur aut mediocritas recipit hominum, audeo cum deis queri: quid hic meruit, primurn ut scelerata Drusus Libo iniret consilia? Deinde ut Silium Pisonemque tam infestos haberet, quorum alterius dignitatem constituit, auxit alterius? Ut ad maiora transcendam, quamquam et haec ille duxit maxima, quid, ut iuvenes amitteret filios? Quid, ut nepotem ex Druso suo? Dolenda adhuc retulimus: veniendum ad erubescenda est. Quantis hoc triennium, M. Vinici, doloribus laceravit animum eius! Quam diu abstruso, quod miserrimum est, pectus eius flagravit incendio, quod ex nuru, quod ex nepote dolere, indignari, erubescere coactus est. Cuius temporis aegritudinem auxit amissa mater, eminentissima et per omnia deis quam hominibus similior foemina, cuius potentiam nemo sensit nisi aut levatione periculi aut accessione dignitatis.

  [130] (1) What public buildings did he construct in his own name or that of his family! With what pious munificence, exceeding human belief, does he now rear the temple to his father! With what a magnificent control of personal feeling did he restore the works of Gnaeus Pompey when destroyed by fire! For a feeling of kinship leads him to protect every famous monument. (2) With what generosity at the time of the recent fire on the Caelian Hill, as well as on other occasions, did he use his private fortune to make good the losses of people of all ranks in life! And the recruiting of the army, a thing ordinarily looked upon with great and constant dread, with what calm on the part of the people does he provide for it, and without any of the usual panic attending conscription! (3) If either nature permits, or man’s weak faculties allow, I may dare to make this plaint to the gods: How has this man deserved, in the first place, to have Drusus Libo enter upon a traitorous conspiracy against him, or later to earn the hostility of Silius and Piso, though in the one case he created his rank, and in the other he increased it? Passing on to greater trials — although he regarded these as great enough — how did he deserve the loss of his sons in their prime or of his grandson, the son of Drusus? Thus far I have told of sorrows only, (4) we must now come to the shame. With what pain, Marcus Vinicius, have the past three years rent his heart! With what fire, the more cruel because pen
t up, was his soul consulted because of the grief, the indignation, and the shame he was forced to suffer through his daughter-in‑law and his grandson! His sorrow at this time was crowned by the loss of his mother, (5) a woman pre-eminent among women, and who in all things resembled the gods more than mankind, whose power no one felt except for the alleviation of trouble or the promotion of rank.

  CXXXI

  Voto finiendum volumen est. Iuppiter Capitoline, et auctor ac stator Romani nominis Gradive Mars perpetuorumque custos Vesta ignium et quidquid numinun hanc Romani imperii molem in amplissimum terrarum orbis fastigium extulit, vos publica voce obtestor atque precor custodite, servate, protegite hunc statum, hanc pacem, hunc principem, eique functo longissima statione mortali destinate suceessores quam serissimos, sed eos, quorum cervice tam fortiter sustinendo terrarum orbis imperio sufficiant quam huius suffecisse sensimus, consiliaque omnium civiun aut pia fovete aut impia opprimite.

  [131] (1) Let me end my volume with a prayer. O Jupiter Capitolinus, and Mars Gradivus, author and stay of the Roman name, Vesta, guardian of the eternal fire, and all other divinities who have exalted this great empire of Rome to the highest point yet reached on earth! On you I call, and to you I pray in the name of this people: guard, preserve, protect the present state of things, the peace which we enjoy, the present emperor, and when he has filled his post of duty — (2) and may it be the longest granted to mortals — grant him successors until the latest time, but successors whose shoulders may be as capable of sustaining bravely the empire of the world as we have found his to be: foster the pious plans of all good citizens and crush the impious designs of the wicked.