The Project Gutenberg eBook of Plutarch's Lives, Translated from the Greek by Aubrey Stewart and George Long.

After a short time the Corinthians discovered that he had taken to flight, and pursued, but as they could not overtake him, they sent to Kleomenes and delivered up their city to him. Yet Kleomenes considered that he had lost more by the escape of Aratus than he had gained by the acquisition of Corinth. Kleomenes was at once joined by the inhabitants of the sea-side district known as Akte, who surrendered their cities to him, and with their assistance he completely invested the citadel of Corinth with a rampart and palisade.

XLI. Aratus was joined at Sikyon by the representatives of most of the cities of the Achæan league. An assembly was held, at which he was elected general, with unlimited powers. He now surrounded himself with a body-guard selected from among his fellow-citizens. Aratus had conducted the affairs of the league for thirty-three years, during which he had made himself the first man in Greece, both in power and in renown, though now he was utterly ruined and cast down, forced to cling to his native city as his only chance of safety amidst the general wreck of his fortunes. For the Ætolians refused to help him when he implored their aid, and Eurykleides and Mikion held back the Athenians from offering any assistance, though they were eager to do so out of regard for Aratus. Aratus had a house at Corinth and some property, which Kleomenes refused to touch, or to let any one else meddle with, but sent for Aratus’s friends and those whom he had left in charge of his property, and bade them keep everything in good order, as they would have to answer to Aratus for their conduct. Kleomenes also sent Tripylus and his uncle Megistonous to Aratus to negotiate with him, promising him among many other advantages a yearly pension of twelve talents, thus over-bidding Ptolemy by one half: for Ptolemy paid Aratus six talents a year. Kleomenes proposed that he himself should receive the title of chief of the Achæans, and that the citadel of Corinth should be garrisoned partly by Achæans and partly by Spartan troops. To this Aratus answered that he was not able to direct events, but rather was directed by them. As this language proved that he had no intention of negotiating seriously, Kleomenes at once invaded the territory of Sikyon, ravaged the country, and encamped for three months before the walls of the city. Aratus remained quiet within the walls, but began to consider whether it would be necessary for him to obtain the assistance of Antigonus by surrendering the citadel of Corinth to him: for his help was not to be had on any other terms.

XLII. The Achæans now assembled at Ægium and invited Aratus thither. The journey was a dangerous one for him to make, at a time when Kleomenes was encamped outside the city of Sikyon; and his fellow-countrymen endeavoured to keep him back by entreaties and even by threatening that, when the enemy was so close, they would not permit him to leave the city; while the women and children hung upon him weeping, as though he were the common father and preserver of them all. However, after addressing a few words of encouragement to them he rode away towards the sea, accompanied by ten of his friends and by his son, who was now grown up. At the beach they embarked on board of some vessels which were riding at anchor, and proceeded by sea to the assembly at Ægium, at which it was decreed that Antigonus should be invited to aid them, and that the citadel of Corinth should be handed over to him. Aratus even sent his son to Antigonus among the other hostages. The Corinthians, disgusted with these proceedings, now confiscated his property, and presented his house to Kleomenes.

XLIII. Antigonus now approached with his army, which was composed of twenty thousand Macedonian foot soldiers, with thirteen hundred cavalry. Aratus, with the chief officers of the Achæan league, proceeded by sea to Pegæ to meet him, thus avoiding the enemy, although he had no great confidence in Antigonus, and distrusted the Macedonians. He felt that he owed his own greatness to the injuries which he had done them, and that his first rise as a politician was due to his hatred of the old Antigonus. Yet, driven by inexorable necessity, and by the exigencies of the times, to which men in authority are really slaves, he took this desperate course.

Antigonus, as soon as he learned that Aratus was approaching, met him, and welcomed his companions in a friendly manner, but showed him especial honour at their first meeting, and as he found upon trial that Aratus was a worthy and sensible man, he contracted closer relations with him than those of mere business. Indeed, Aratus was not only useful to Antigonus for the management of great political negotiations, but when the king was at leisure, proved a more agreeable companion to him than any one else. Antigonus, young as he was, perceived that Aratus was not spoiled by royal favour, and soon preferred him not only above all other Achæans, but even beyond his own Macedonian courtiers. Thus was the sign which the god had given him in the sacrifice brought to pass: for it is said that a short time before this, Aratus was offering sacrifice and that there appeared in the liver of the victim two gall bladders enclosed in one caul. The soothsayer explained this to portend that Aratus would shortly form an intimate friendship with his greatest enemy. At the time he disregarded this saying, for he was always more inclined to follow the dictates of common sense than to be guided by prophecies and portents. Afterwards, however, as the war proceeded successfully, Antigonus made a great feast at Corinth to which he invited many guests. Among these was Aratus, whom he placed next to himself. Presently he sent for a wrapper, and asked Aratus if he also did not feel chilly. Aratus answered that he was very cold, and Antigonus then bade him come closer to himself, so that the servants who brought the wrapper enveloped them both in it. Then Aratus, remembering the portent, burst out laughing, and told the king about the sacrifice and the prophecy. This, however, happened after the times of which I am writing.

XLIV. At Pegæ Aratus and Antigonus each plighted their faith to the other, and then at once marched against the enemy. Before Corinth several battles took place, for Kleomenes was securely entrenched there, and the Corinthians vigorously assisted him. But now one Aristoteles of Argos, a friend of Aratus, sent secretly to him to say that he could cause that city to revolt from Kleomenes, if Aratus would appear before it with some Macedonian soldiers. Aratus laid the matter before Antigonus, and hurriedly crossed over to Epidaurus by sea with a force of fifteen hundred men. The Argives rose in revolt before his arrival, attacked the troops of Kleomenes, and drove them to take refuge in the citadel; and Kleomenes, hearing of this, and fearing that if the enemy made themselves masters of Argos they might cut off his retreat, abandoned Corinth and marched by night to help the garrison of Argos. He arrived there before Aratus, and won a partial success, but soon afterwards, as Aratus was marching to attack him, and King Antigonus was coming on behind Aratus, he retired to Mantinea. Upon this all the cities of Peloponnesus again joined the Achæans, and Antigonus received the citadel of Corinth. The people of Argos now elected Aratus their commander-in-chief, and he persuaded them to make a present to Antigonus of all the property of their late despots and of all traitors. Aristomachus was put to the torture at Cenchreae and then drowned in the sea, a proceeding which brought great discredit upon Aratus for having allowed a man of considerable merit, with whom he had formerly been intimately connected, and whom he had persuaded to abdicate his throne and bring over Argos to the league, to be put to death in this cruel and illegal manner.

XLV. By this time also many other charges were brought against Aratus by the other cities, as, for instance, that the league had given Corinth to Antigonus just as if it were some obscure village, and that it had permitted him to sack Orchomenus and place in it a Macedonian garrison; that it had passed a decree, that no letter or embassy should be sent to any other king if Antigonus did not approve of it; that they were forced to maintain and pay the Macedonians, and that they celebrated religious services, processions, and games in honour of Antigonus, in which the fellow-citizens of Aratus took the lead, and invited him into their city where he was the guest of Aratus. All blamed Aratus for this, not considering that he had given over the reins to Antigonus, and was now compelled to follow his lead, having no longer anything except his tongue which he could call his own, and not daring to use even that with entire freedom. It was clear that much of what was being done distressed Aratus, as for instance the affair of the statues; for Antigonus restored the statues of the despots at Argos which had been thrown down, and threw down all the statues of the captors of the citadel of Corinth, except only that of Aratus himself: and that, too, although Aratus begged him earnestly to spare those of the others. At Mantinea, too, the behaviour of the Achæans was repugnant to Hellenic patriotism, for having by the help of Antigonus captured that city, they put to death all the leading men, and of the rest they sold some and sent others to Macedonia loaded with fetters, while they made slaves of the women and children. Of the proceeds of the sale they divided one-third among themselves, and gave two-thirds to the Macedonians. Yet this can be justified by the law of revenge; for though it is a shocking thing to deal so cruelly with men of one’s own nation, through anger, still, in great political crises, revenge is sweet and not bitter, and in the words of Simonides, soothes and relieves the angry spirit. But what happened afterwards cannot be thought honourable to Aratus, nor can it be attributed to political exigencies: for when the city was presented by Antigonus to the Achæans, and they decided upon colonising it, Aratus being chosen as its founder, and being at the time general of the Achæans, decreed that it should no longer be called Mantinea, but Antigoneia, which remains its name to this day. Thus, by his means, the lovely Mantinea, as Homer calls it,596 was wiped out of the map of Greece, and there remains in its stead a city whose name recalls its destroyer and the murderer of its citizens.

XLVI. Subsequently to this, Kleomenes was defeated in a great battle at Sellasia, left Sparta and sailed to Egypt. Antigonus, after showing every kindness to Aratus, returned to Macedonia, where, as he already was suffering from the illness which caused his death, he sent the heir to his kingdom, Philip, who was now a mere lad, into Peloponnesus, advising him to pay the greatest attentions to Aratus, and through him to negotiate with the cities, and make the acquaintance of the Achæans. Aratus welcomed Philip, and so treated him that he returned to Macedonia full of good will towards himself, and full of generous feelings and impulses towards the Greeks.

XLVII. When Antigonus died, the Ætolians, who regarded the Achæans with contempt because of their cowardice (for indeed they had become accustomed to be protected by others, and trusting, entirely to the Macedonian arms, had fallen into a condition of complete indolence and want of discipline), began to interfere in the politics of the Peloponnesus. During their invasion they incidentally plundered the territory of Patræ and Dyme, and then marched into the country of Messenia and began to lay it waste. Aratus, distressed at this, and seeing that Timoxenus, the general of the Achæans, was acting slowly and without spirit because his year of office had almost expired, anticipated his own election as general by five days, in order to assist the Messenians. He assembled an Achæan army: but the men were without military training and were destitute of warlike spirit. This army was defeated in a battle near Kaphyæ, and Aratus, who was reproached with having been too rash a general, now fell into the opposite extreme, and showed such apathy as often to refuse to seize opportunities for attack which were offered by the Ætolians, and to permit them to riot through Peloponnesus with every kind of wanton insult. Now, a second time, the Achæans stretched forth their hands towards Macedonia and brought Philip to interfere in the affairs of Greece. They were the more willing to take this step because they knew the regard which Philip felt for Aratus, and the trust which he placed in him, and they hoped that they should find him gentle and manageable in all respects.

XLVIII. At first the king, influenced by the slanders of Apelles, Megaleas, and some other of his courtiers against Aratus encouraged those of the opposite faction, and eagerly pressed for the election of Eperatus as general of the league. However, as he was utterly despised by the Achæans, and as nothing useful could be effected while Aratus was out of office, Philip perceived that he had made a complete mistake. He now came entirely over to the side of Aratus, and acted entirely at his dictation. As he was now gaining both renown and power, he attached himself more and more to Aratus, imagining that it was by his means that he gained his successes. Indeed it began to be thought that Aratus was able to school kings as well as he could free cities; for the impress of his character was to be traced in every one of Philip’s acts. Thus the lenity with which the young prince treated the Lacedæmonians after they had offended him, his personal interviews with the Cretans, by means of which he gained possession of the whole island in a few days, and his brilliantly successful campaign against the Ætolians, all gained for Aratus the credit of giving good advice, and for Philip that of knowing how to follow it. All this made Philip’s courtiers more and more jealous of Aratus. As they could effect nothing against him by secret intrigues, they proceeded to open abuse, and assailed him at wine-parties with the most scurrilous impertinence, and once when he was retiring to his tent after dinner they even sent a shower of stones after him. Philip was very indignant at these proceedings, and at once imposed upon them a fine of twenty talents. Afterwards, as they were embroiling and troubling his affairs by their intrigues, he had them all put to death.

XLIX. Now that Philip was borne along upon the full tide of success, he developed many vehement lusts, and the natural wickedness of his nature broke through all the artificial restraints by which it had been hitherto held in check, and gradually revealed him in his true colours. His first act was to seduce the wife of the younger Aratus. This intrigue he carried on for a long time unsuspected, as he lived in their house and was treated as an honoured guest. Next, he began to treat the Greeks in a much harsher fashion, and evidently intended to rid himself of Aratus. His conduct at Messene first gave rise to this suspicion. The Messenians revolted, and Aratus marched to attack them, but Philip reached Messene one day before him, and when he entered the city stirred up the passions of the citizens by asking the aristocracy of the Messenians in private whether they had no laws to keep down the populace, and then again in private inquiring of the leaders of the people whether they had no hands wherewith to quell despots. After this the chief men took heart and fell upon the popular leaders, but they, with the assistance of the people, killed all the magistrates and nearly two hundred of the other leading citizens.

L. After Philip had thus wickedly exasperated the Messenians against one another, Aratus arrived. He made no secret of his distress at what had happened, and did not restrain his son when he bitterly reproached and abused Philip. The young man was thought to have been Philip’s lover; and he now told Philip that after such deeds he did not any longer think him handsome, but hideous. Philip made no answer, although he was thought likely to do so, as he often had burst into a fury when thus spoken to, but, just as though he had patiently endured the reproof and was really of a moderate and statesmanlike disposition, he took the elder Aratus by the hand, led him out of the theatre, and proceeded with him as far as the summit of Ithome, to sacrifice to Zeus and to view the place, which is naturally as strong as the citadel of Corinth, and if garrisoned would become a thorn in the side of the neighbouring states, and quite impregnable. After mounting the hill and offering sacrifice, when the soothsayer brought him the entrails of the ox, he, taking them into his own hands, kept showing them first to Aratus and then to Demetrius of Pharos, alternately placing them before each, and asking what they thought was the meaning of the entrails, that he would keep possession of the citadel, or that he would restore it to the Messenians. At this Demetrius laughed and said, “If you have the soul of a soothsayer, you will give up the place; but if you have that of a king, you will clutch the ox by both horns,” alluding to Peloponnesus, which, if he held the citadels of Messene and of Corinth, would be quite tame and at his mercy.

Aratus remained silent for a long while, but when Philip begged him to say what he thought, he answered, “My king, there are many high mountains in Crete, and there are many strong positions in Bœotia and Phokis. I believe too, that there are many places of surprising strength in Acarnania, both on the sea coast and inland, yet you have not taken any of these, and nevertheless the people of those countries willingly execute your commands. Brigands cling to high cliffs and haunt precipitous places, but kings find nothing so secure as loyalty and goodwill. This it is that opened to you the Cretan sea, and the Peloponnesus. By these arts you, young as you are, have made yourself the master of the one, and the leader of the other.” While Aratus was yet speaking Philip gave back the entrails to the soothsayer, and, taking Aratus by the hand, said, “Come now, let us go back again,” having been, as it were, overruled by him into letting the city remain free.

LI. Aratus now began to withdraw himself from the court, and by degrees to break off his intimacy with Philip. When Philip conveyed his army across the Corinthian gulf into Epirus,597 and desired Aratus to make the campaign with him, Aratus refused and remained at home, fearing that he might share the disgrace of Philip’s operations. Philip, after his fleet had been ignominiously destroyed by the Romans, and his whole enterprise had failed,598 returned to Peloponnesus, and, as he did not succeed in a second attempt to outwit the Messenians and to gain possession of their citadel, he threw off the mask and openly wronged them by ravaging their territory. Aratus now became quite estranged from him, and was misrepresented to him. He had by this time learned the domestic dishonour which he had sustained from Philip, and grieved over it, though he kept it secret from his son; for when he had discovered it, he was powerless to avenge it. Indeed Philip’s character seems to have undergone a very great and remarkable change, as from a mild ruler and a modest youth he grew into a profligate man and an atrocious tyrant. This change was not due to any alteration of his real nature, but to the fact that he could now with impunity indulge the vices which fear had hitherto forced him to conceal.

LII. His treatment of Aratus showed that he had always regarded him with a mixture of respect and fear; for though he desired to make away with him, and considered that during Aratus’s lifetime he should not even be a free man, much less a despot or king, yet he would not openly attack him, but bade Taurion, one of his generals and friends, to do this secretly, by poison if possible, during his own absence. This man gained the confidence of Aratus, and administered drugs to him, whose action was not quick and sudden, but which produced slight heats in the body and a chronic cough, and so gradually undermined his strength. He did not, however, do this without being discovered by Aratus; but he, as he could gain nothing by convicting him, continued to endure his malady just as if it were some ordinary disorder. Only once when he spat blood, and one of his friends who was in the same room noticed it and expressed his concern, Aratus said, “This, Kephalon, is the return I get for my friendship for the king.”

LIII. Thus died Aratus at Aegium, when holding the office of general of the league for the seventeenth time. The Achaeans wished his funeral to take place in that city, and to raise a suitable monument over so great a man; but the people of Sikyon regarded it as a national misfortune that he should not be buried in their city, and prevailed upon the Achaeans to deliver up the body to them. As there was a law which was regarded with superstitious reverence, forbidding any one to be interred within the walls of Sikyon, they sent ambassadors to Delphi to consult the oracle. The Pythia returned the following answer:—

“Dost thou, fair Sikyon, hesitate to raise

A fitting tomb to thy lost hero’s praise?

Curst be the land, nay, curst the air or wave

That grudges room for thy Aratus’ grave.”

When this response was brought back all the Achaeans were delighted, and the Sikyonians in particular, turning their mourning into joy, put on white robes, crowned themselves with garlands, and removed the body of Aratus from Aegium to Sikyon in festal procession with songs and dances. They chose a conspicuous spot, and interred him in it with as much reverence as though he were the founder and saviour of their city. The place is called the Arateum to the present day, and on the day upon which he freed the city from its despot, which is the fifth day of the month Daisius, or Anthesterion in the Athenian calendar, a sacrifice, called the thanksgiving for safety, is offered, and also on the day of the month on which Aratus was born. The former sacrifice used to be conducted by the priest of Zeus the Saviour, and the latter by the priest of Aratus, who wore a headband, not all white, but mixed with purple. Songs used to be chanted to the music of the harp by the actors, called the servants of Dionysius, and the president of the gymnasiums took part in the procession, leading the boys and young men, after whom, followed the council of the city, crowned with flowers, and any of the citizens who wished to do so. Some traces of these proceedings still survive, as religious ceremonies; but the most part of the honours paid to Aratus have died out through lapse of time and change of circumstances.

LIV. This is the account which history gives us of the life and character of the elder Aratus. As for his son, Philip, who was naturally a villain, and whose disposition combined insolence with cruelty, administered drugs to him, which were not deadly, but which deprived him of his reason; so that he conceived a passion for monstrous lusts and shameful debaucheries, by which he was soon so worn out that, although he was in the flower of his age, death appeared to him to be a release from sufferings rather than a misfortune. Yet Zeus, the patron of hospitality and of friendship, exacted a notable penalty from Philip for his wickedness, and pursued him throughout his life: for he was utterly defeated by the Romans, and forced to surrender at discretion to them. He lost all his empire, was obliged to deliver up all his fleet, except five ships, had to pay a thousand talents and give up his own son as a hostage, and then only was allowed, by the pity of his conquerors to keep Macedonia itself and its dependencies. As he always put to death all the leading men of his kingdom, and all his nearest relations, he inspired the whole country with terror and hatred. Amidst all his miseries he had one piece of good fortune, in having a son of remarkable promise, and him he put to death out of jealousy and envy at the honours which were paid him by the Romans. He left his kingdom to his other son Perseus, who was said not to be legitimate, but to be the son of a sempstress named Gnathæna. Over him Paulus Æmilius triumphed, and so put an end to the dynasty of Antigonus. However, the family of Aratus survived in Sikyon and Pellene down to my own times.

LIFE OF GALBA.

I. The Athenian general Iphikrates thought that a mercenary soldier ought to be fond both of money and pleasure, as in that case he would risk his life the more freely to obtain the means of procuring enjoyment. Most persons, however, are of opinion that an army, like a healthy body, should receive no impulses save from its head. Thus we are told that Paulus Æmilius, when he assumed the command of the army in Macedonia, and found that the soldiers did nothing but talk and meddle, as though each man were a general, gave them orders to keep their hands ready and their swords sharp, and leave the rest to him. And Plato likewise, seeing that a good general is useless without a disciplined and united army, thought that soldiers should be mild and gentle, as well as spirited and energetic, because those who know how to obey require a noble nature and a philosophic training as much as those who know how to command. The events which took place at Rome after Nero’s death prove most conclusively that nothing is more terrible than a military force which is guided only by its own blind and ignorant impulses. Demades, when he saw the disorderly and senseless movements of the Macedonian army after the death of Alexander, compared it to the Cyclops after he had been blinded; but the state of the Roman Empire resembled the fabled rebellion of the Titans, as it was torn asunder into several portions, which afterwards fought with one another, not so much because of the ambition of those who were proclaimed emperors, as through the avarice and licentiousness of the soldiers, who made use of one emperor to drive out another, just as one nail drives out another. When Alexander of Pheræ was assassinated, after reigning in Thessaly for ten months, Dionysius, sneering at the shortness of his reign, called him a mere tragedy king; but the palace of the Cæsars in a shorter time than this saw four emperors, for the soldiers brought one in and drove another out, as if they were actors on a stage. The only consolation which the unhappy Romans enjoyed was that the authors of their miseries required no avenger to destroy them, for they fell by one another’s hands, and first of all, and most justly, perished the man who had seduced the army into expecting such great things from a change of Cæsars, and who brought dishonour upon a glorious action, the dethronement of Nero, by bribing men to do it as though it were a treason.

II. Nymphidius Sabinus, who, as has been related, was together with Tigellinus, Præfect of the Prætorian Guard,599 when Nero’s cause was quite hopeless, and he was evidently preparing to escape to Egypt, persuaded the soldiers to salute Galba as emperor, as though Nero were already gone. He promised to each of the prætorians, or household troops, seven thousand five hundred drachmas, and to each of the legionary soldiers serving in the provinces twelve hundred and fifty drachmæ; a sum which it would have been impossible to collect without inflicting ten thousand-fold more misery on mankind than Nero himself had done.

This offer at once caused the downfall of Nero, and soon afterwards that of Galba; for the soldiery deserted Nero in hopes of receiving the money, and murdered Galba because they did not receive it. After this they sought so eagerly for some one who would give them as much, that before they obtained the hoped-for bribe, their own treasons and rebellions proved their ruin. To relate each event exactly as it happened belongs more properly to the professed historian; yet, those words and deeds of the Cæsars which are worthy of record ought not to be passed over even by an essayist like myself.

III. It is generally agreed that Servius Sulpicius Galba was the richest private person who ever was raised to the throne of the Cæsars. Though illustrious by birth, being descended from the noble family of the Servii, he prided himself even more upon his relationship with Catulus,600 who, though he shrank from taking any active part in politics, was yet one of the most virtuous and eminent men of the time. Galba was likewise related to Livia, the wife of Augustus, and by her influence he had been raised from the post which he held in the palace to the office of consul. He is said to have ably commanded the army in Germany, and to have gained especial praise by his conduct as proconsul in Libya. But when he became emperor, his simple and inexpensive mode of life was thought to be sheer meanness, while his ideas of discipline and sobriety appeared obsolete and ridiculous. Nero, before he had learned to fear the most eminent of the Romans, had appointed Galba to a command in Spain. Indeed, besides the mildness of his character, it was thought that his advanced age was a guarantee against his engaging in any rash enterprise.

IV. While Galba was in Spain, the procurators of the emperor treated the provincials with the greatest harshness and cruelty. Galba could not afford them any assistance, but he made no secret of his sympathy with them and sorrow at their wrongs, and thus afforded them some relief while they were being condemned unjustly and sold into slavery. Many scurrilous songs also were written about Nero and sung and circulated everywhere, and as Galba did not discourage this, and did not share the indignation of the procurators, he became even more endeared to the natives, with whom he was already intimately acquainted, as he was now in the eighth year of his command, during which Junius Vindex, who commanded the army in Gaul, revolted.

It is said that before Vindex committed any overt act of rebellion he wrote to Galba, and that Galba neither agreed to his proposals nor yet denounced him, as some other generals did; for many of them sent Vindex’s letters to Nero, and as far as they were able ruined his cause. Yet these men afterwards became traitors, and so proved that they could betray themselves as well as Vindex. When, however, Vindex openly raised the standard of revolt, and called upon Galba to accept the offer of empire, and constitute himself the head of a strong body—namely, the troops in Gaul, a hundred thousand armed men, and many times more men capable of bearing arms—Galba called a council of his friends. Some of them advised him to temporise, and watch the progress of events at Rome; but Titus Vinius, the captain of the prætorian cohort, said, “Galba, why do you hesitate? for you cannot remain quiet, and yet think of remaining faithful to Nero. If Nero is to be your foe, you must not refuse the proffered alliance of Vindex, or else you must at once denounce him and attack him, because he wishes the Romans to have you for their chief rather than Nero for their tyrant.”

V. After this, Galba by an edict appointed a day upon which he would grant manumission to whoever might wish it, and rumour and gossip drew together on that day a great multitude of people eager for revolution. No sooner did Galba appear upon the tribune than all with one voice saluted him as emperor. Galba did not at once accept this title, but spoke in disparagement of Nero, deplored the best citizens of Rome who had been murdered by him, and promised that he would watch over his country to the best of his power, not as Cæsar or Emperor, but merely as the general of the Senate and people of Rome. That Vindex acted justly and on due reflection when he offered the empire to Galba, is proved by the conduct of Nero himself; for though he affected to despise Vindex and to regard Gaul as of no importance, yet as soon as he heard of Galba’s rising, which was when he was at breakfast after his bath, he overturned the table. However, as the Senate declared Galba a public enemy, Nero, wishing to show his courage and to jest with his friends, said that this gave him a good pretext for raising the money of which he stood in need; for when he had conquered the Gauls he would sell their spoils by public auction, and in the meantime he could at once confiscate the estate of Galba, as he had been declared a public enemy. Nero, after this, ordered Galba’s property to be sold, and Galba, when he heard of this, ordered all Nero’s property in Spain to be put up to auction and found people much more ready to purchase it.

VI. Many now revolted from Nero, and all these, as might be expected, declared for Galba, with the exception of Clodius Macer, in Africa, and Virginius Rufus601 who commanded the German army in Gaul, who each acted for themselves, though for different reasons. Clodius, who had plundered his province, and put many men to death from cruelty and covetousness, hesitated, because he could neither continue to hold his command nor yet give it up with safety. Virginius on the other hand, who was at the head of the most powerful force in the empire, and who was constantly saluted as emperor by his soldiers and urged to assume the purple, declared that he would neither become emperor himself nor yet allow any one else to do so without the consent of the Senate. Galba was at first much disturbed at this. Soon the two armies of Vindex and Virginius, like horses that have taken the bit between their teeth, fought a severe battle with one another. After two thousand Gauls had fallen, Vindex committed suicide; and a rumour became prevalent that after so signal a victory the whole army would either place Virginius upon the throne, or would return to their allegiance to Nero. Galba, who was now greatly alarmed, wrote to Virginius, begging him to act in concert with him, and preserve the empire and liberty of the Romans. Meanwhile he retired with his friends to Colonia, a city of Spain, where he occupied himself more in repenting of the steps which he had taken, and in regretting the loss of his usual life of ease and leisure more than in doing anything to further his cause.

VII. Summer was just beginning, when one evening, shortly before dark, there arrived Icelus, one of Galba’s freed men, who had travelled from Rome in seven days. Hearing that Galba was retired to rest, he proceeded at once to his chamber, forced open the door in spite of the resistance of the attendants, made his way in and told him that while Nero was still alive, first the army, and then the people and Senate had declared Galba emperor: and that shortly afterwards a report was spread of Nero’s death. The messenger said that he had not believed this rumour, and that he had not left Rome before he had seen the corpse of Nero. This news very greatly raised the credit of Galba, and a multitude of men, whose confidence in him had been restored by this message, flocked to his doors to salute him. Yet the time602 in which he received the news seemed incredibly short. But, two days afterwards Titus Vinius arrived with several other persons, who brought a detailed account of the proceedings both of the prætorians and of the Senate. He was at once promoted to a post of honour; while Icelus was presented with a gold603 ring, received the surname of Marcianus, and took the first place among the freed men of Galba.

VIII. Meanwhile at Rome Nymphidius Sabinus, not quietly and by degrees, but by one bold stroke, attempted to get all departments of the state into his own hands. He pointed out that Galba was an old man who would scarcely live long enough to be carried to Rome in a litter; and indeed Galba was in his seventy-third year. The soldiers in the provinces, he declared, had long been his friends, and they now depended on him alone because of the enormous presents which he offered them, which made them regard him as their benefactor, and Galba as their debtor. Nymphidius now at once ordered his colleague Tigellinus to give up his sword, and entertained all men of consular or prætorian rank at state banquets, although he still invited them in the name of Galba, while he suborned many of the praetorian guard to say that they must petition Galba to appoint Nymphidius as their præfect for life without any colleague. He was urged to even more audacious pretensions by the conduct of the Senate, who added to his fame and power by addressing him as their benefactor, by assembling daily to pay their respects to him, and by requiring him to propose and to ratify every decree: so that in a short time he became an object not only of jealousy but of terror to his supporters. When the consuls chose public messengers to carry the decrees of the Senate to the emperor, and had given them the sealed documents known as diplomas,604 at the sight of which the local authorities in all towns assist the bearer on his journey by relays of horses at each stage. Nymphidius was much vexed at their not having come to him to affix the seals and to provide messengers from the prætorian guard, and he is even said to have thought of wreaking his displeasure on the consuls; but when they begged his pardon he forgave them. In order to win the favour of the people he permitted them to massacre any of Nero’s creatures who fell into their hands: and they killed Spicillus the gladiator by throwing him under the statues of Nero when they were being dragged about the Forum; laid Aponius, one of the informers, on the ground and drove waggons loaded with stones over his body, and tore to pieces many other persons, some of whom were perfectly innocent, so that Mauriscus, who was justly held to be one of the noblest men in Rome, openly declared in the Senate that he feared they would soon wish to have Nero back again.

IX. Nymphidius, who thus began to draw nearer to the object of his hopes, did not dislike being called the son of Caius Cæsar, who was emperor after Tiberius. It seems that Caius, when a boy, did have an intrigue with the mother of Nymphidius, who was a good looking woman, the daughter of a hired sempstress and of one Callisto, a freed man of the emperor. But it appears that her intrigue with Caius must have taken place after the birth of Nymphidius, whose father was generally supposed to have been Martianus the gladiator, for whom Nymphidia conceived a passion because of his renown as a swordsman; and this belief was confirmed by the likeness which he bore to the gladiator. However, though he did not deny that Nymphidia was his mother, he nevertheless boasted that the dethronement of Nero was entirely his own work, and, not satisfied with having gained by it both honours and riches, and the embraces of Sporus, the favourite of Nero, whom he had fetched away from the funeral pyre of his late master and now treated as his wife, calling her Poppæa, he was intriguing to gain the throne for himself. He employed several of his friends, among whom were some ladies of rank and senators, to further his interests in Rome, and sent one Gellianus to Spain to watch the proceedings of Galba.

X. After Nero’s death all went well with Galba, though he still felt uneasy about Virginius Rufus, who had not declared his intentions, and, who, being at the head of a great and warlike army, with the glory of having overthrown Vindex and made himself master of a great part of the Roman Empire, was not unlikely to listen to the solicitations of those who wished him to assume the purple, especially as the whole of Gaul was in an excited condition and ready to revolt. No name was greater or more glorious than that of Virginius, who was credited with having saved Rome both from a cruel tyranny and from a war with Gaul. He, however, according to his original intention, referred the choice of an emperor to the Senate; though when the death of Nero was known the soldiers renewed their solicitation of Virginius to make himself emperor, and one of the tribunes who attended him in his tent drew his sword, and bade Virginius choose between the steel and the throne. But when Fabius Valens, the commander of one legion, swore allegiance to Galba, and dispatches arrived from Rome containing an account of what the Senate had decreed, Virginius, though not without difficulty, prevailed upon his soldiers to salute Galba as emperor; and when Galba sent Hordeonius Flaccus to supersede him, he received him as his successor, delivered up the troops to him, met Galba, who was now on the march for Rome, and joined him without receiving from him any token either of favour or resentment. Galba respected Virginius too much to injure him, and Titus Vinius and Galba’s other adherents opposed his advancement out of jealousy, though in truth they only assisted the good genius of Virginius in withdrawing him from the wars and troubles in which all the other commanders were involved, and enabling him to live in peaceful retirement to a good old age.

XI. At Narbo, a city of Gaul,605 Galba was met by envoys from the Senate, who greeted him and invited him to show himself as soon as possible to his people who were eager to behold him. Galba showed the envoys every kindness and hospitality, but at his entertainments would only use his own plate and other things, though Nymphidius had forwarded from Nero’s stores sumptuous services of everything necessary for great banquets, and the imperial household servants. By this conduct Galba gained the reputation of being a magnanimous man, above any ideas of vulgar ostentation; but Vinius presently told him that this noble and patriotic simplicity seemed merely an artifice to gain popularity with the lower classes, and that it was affectation to behave as though he were not worthy of this magnificence. By these arguments Vinius prevailed upon him to use Nero’s riches, and not to shrink from an imperial extravagance at his banquets. Indeed the old man seemed as though by degrees he would come to be altogether ruled by Vinius.

XII. This Vinius was more passionately fond of money than any one else of his time, and by no means free from blame in respect of women. When a young man, serving on his first campaign under Calvisius Sabinus, he introduced his general’s wife, a dissolute woman, into the camp disguised as a soldier, and passed the night with her in the general’s headquarters, which the Romans call the “Principia.” For this outrage Caius Cæsar imprisoned him; but on the death of Caius he was fortunate enough to obtain his release. Once when dining with the emperor Claudius he stole a silver cup. When Claudius heard of it he asked him to dinner on the following day, but when he came ordered the attendants to serve him entirely from earthenware, not from silver. Cæsar by this comic punishment showed that he regarded him as more worthy of ridicule than of serious anger; but when he had obtained complete control over Galba, and was the most powerful man in the empire, his passion for money led him into acts which partly caused and partly led others to bring about the most tragic scenes of sorrow.

XIII. Nymphidius, as soon as Gellianus, whom he had sent as a spy upon Galba, was returned, learned from him that Cornelius Laco was appointed præfect of the palace and of the prætorian guard, but that all real power was in the hands of Vinius.606 Gellianus also said that he had had no opportunity of meeting Galba, and of conversing privately with him. At this news Nymphidius was much alarmed. He assembled the officers of the prætorians, and addressed them, saying that Galba himself was a kind and moderate old man, but that he never acted according to his own judgment and was entirely led astray by Vinius and Laco. “Before these men, therefore,” he continued, “insensibly obtain for themselves the position and influence which was formerly enjoyed by Tigellinus, it is our duty to send an embassy from the prætorian guard to our chief, to inform him that he will be more acceptable to us and more popular if he removes these two of his friends from his court.” As this language was not approved, for indeed it seemed a strange and unheard of proceeding, to lecture an old general upon the choice of his friends, as though he were a young boy just appointed to his first command, Nymphidius tried another course, and attempted to intimidate Galba by writing letters to him, in which he at one time declared that Rome was in an excited and disaffected condition, and at another that Clodius Macer had laid an embargo on the corn-ships in African ports, and that the German legions were rising in revolt, and that he heard much the same news about the troops in Syria and Judæa. As Galba did not pay much attention to his letters or attach much credit to the assertions which they contained, he resolved to make his attempt before Galba’s arrival, though Clodius Celsus of Antioch, who was a sensible man and a faithful friend, dissuaded him, saying that he did not believe that there was one single family in Rome that would address Nymphidius as Cæsar. Many, however, scoffed at Galba, and Mithridates of Pontus607 in particular, sneering at his bald head and wrinkled face, said that the Romans thought a great deal of Galba, now that he was absent, but that when he came they would think him a disgrace to the age that called him Cæsar.

XIV. It was now determined that Nymphidius should be conducted to the camp of the prætorians at midnight and there proclaimed emperor. Towards evening Antonius Honoratus, the first military tribune, assembled the soldiers under his command and addressed them, beginning by blaming himself and them for having in a short time so often changed their allegiance, which they had done, not according to any fixed plan, or in order to choose the best masters, but as though they were driven to commit one treason after another by some infatuation sent by the gods. Their desertion of Nero was indeed justified by his crimes; but they could not accuse Galba of having murdered his mother or his wife; nor could they allege that he had ever disgraced the purple by appearing on the stage. “Yet,” he continued, “it was not any of these things that made us desert Nero, but Nymphidius persuaded us into doing so when Nero had already deserted us and fled to Egypt. Shall we then kill Galba as well as Nero? Shall we choose the son of Nymphidia for our emperor, and slay the son of Livia as we slew the son of Agrippina? Or shall we rather punish this fellow for his crimes, and thus prove ourselves the avengers of Nero, and the faithful guards of Galba?”

This speech of the tribune was agreed to by all his soldiers, who proceeded to their comrades, and urged them to remain faithful to Galba, and most of them promised to do so. Soon a shout was raised, either because, according to some writers, Nymphidius believed that the soldiers were already calling for him, or else because he wished to be beforehand with them and fix them while they were wavering and uncertain whom they should follow. Nymphidius came forward in the glare of many torches, carrying in his hand a speech written by Cingonius Varro, which he had learned by heart and intended to address to the soldiers. When, however, he saw that the gates of the camp were closed, and that the walls were covered with armed men, he was alarmed, and, coming up to the gates, asked what they wanted, and by whose orders they were under arms. They all answered with one voice that they looked upon Galba as their emperor. At this Nymphidius went up to them, applauded their resolution, and bade his followers do likewise. The soldiers at the gate let him pass in, with a few others. Presently a spear was hurled at him, which Septimius caught before him on his shield; but as many now attacked Nymphidius with drawn swords, he ran away, was pursued into a soldier’s room, and slain there. The corpse was dragged into a public place where a railing was put round it, and it was left exposed to public view the next day.

XV. When Galba heard how Nymphidius had perished, he ordered such of his accomplices as had not voluntarily made away with themselves to be put to death: among whom were Cingonius Varro who wrote the speech, and Mithridates of Pontus. In this Galba was thought to have shown himself harsh beyond all usage, if not beyond all law, and this execution of men of rank without a trial608 was a most unpopular message. Indeed, all men had expected a very different kind of rule, for they had been deceived, as is usually the case, by the reports spread at the beginning of Galba’s reign. They were still further grieved at the fate of Petronius Turpilianus, a man of consular rank and a faithful servant of Nero, whom Galba ordered to destroy himself. In Africa Macer had, it is true, been put to death by Trebonianus, and Fonteius in Germany by Fabius Valens, acting under Galba’s orders: yet in both these cases he had the excuse that he feared, them, as they were in open rebellion against him; but there could be no reason for refusing a trial to Turpilianus, an old and helpless man, if the emperor had any intention of carrying out in his acts the moderation of which he spoke in his proclamations. For all this, therefore, Galba was blamed by the Romans. When on his journey he arrived within five-and-twenty stadia (about three English miles) of the city, he met a disorderly mob of sailors609 who occupied the entire road. These were the men whom Nero had formed into a legion and treated as soldiers. They now wished to have their appointment confirmed, and pushed forward towards the emperor noisily demanding standards for their legion and quarters to encamp in, crowding round him in such disorder that he could neither be seen nor heard by those citizens who had come out to meet him on his arrival. When he endeavoured to put the matter off, and said that he would give them an answer at another time, they, taking his delay to mean a refusal of their demand, became indignant, and followed him with loud shouts. As some of them drew their swords, Galba ordered his cavalry to charge them. No resistance was offered, but some were cut down in the act of turning to flee, and some while they ran. It was thought to be a very bad omen that Galba should make his entry into the city in the midst of so much blood and slaughter; but all who had before jeered at him as a feeble old man now looked upon him with fear and horror.

XVI. In the giving of presents Galba wished to show a marked change from the profuse liberality of Nero: but he seems to have missed his mark, as for example, when Canus, the celebrated flute-player, performed before him at dinner, Galba praised his playing and ordered his purse to be brought. From this he took several gold pieces and gave them to Canus, telling him that the money came from his own pocket, not from the revenues of the state. He also demanded the restitution of the largesses, which Nero had bestowed on his favourite actors and athletes, leaving them only a tenth part. As he could scarcely get any part of the money back from them, for the major part being reckless profligates who lived only for the day’s enjoyment, had spent it all, he began to search out those who had bought anything or received any presents from them, and obliged them to refund. This investigation caused infinite trouble, for it affected so many persons; it covered Galba with disgrace and made Vinius loathed and detested for making the emperor show himself so mean and pettifogging towards his subjects, while he himself used his power recklessly, confiscating and selling every one’s property. Hesiod, indeed, bids us drink deep of—