[129] Would-be centurions
doubtless
bribed him to influence
the soldiers in their favour.
the soldiers in their favour.
Tacitus
Being little
accustomed to control his tongue or to obey orders, he was most
unguarded in his conversation and composed a letter to Vespasian in
presumptuous language which ill befitted a subject, making various
covert charges against Mucianus. 'It was I,' he wrote, 'who brought
the legions of Pannonia into the field:[141] it was my stimulus which
stirred up the officers in Moesia:[142] it was by my persistence that
we broke through the Alps, seized hold of Italy and cut off the German
and Raetian auxiliaries. [143] When Vitellius' legions were all
scattered and disunited, it was I who flung the cavalry on them like a
whirlwind, and then pressed home the attack with the infantry all day
and all night. That victory is my greatest achievement and it is
entirely my own. As for the mishap at Cremona, that was the fault of
the war. In old days the civil wars cost the country far more damage
and involved the destruction of more than one town. It is not with
couriers and dispatches that I serve my master, but with my sword in
my hand. Nor can it be said that I have interfered with the glory of
the men who have meanwhile settled matters in Dacia. [144] What peace
in Moesia is to them, the safety and welfare of Italy are to me. It
was my encouragement which brought the provinces of Gaul and of Spain,
the strongest parts of the whole world, over to Vespasian's side. But
my labours will prove useless, if the reward for the dangers I have
run is to fall to the man who was not there to share them. ' All this
reached the ears of Mucianus and a serious quarrel resulted. Antonius
kept it up in a frank spirit of dislike, while Mucianus showed a
cunning which was far more implacable.
FOOTNOTES:
[128] The narrative is here resumed from the end of chap. 35.
[129] Would-be centurions doubtless bribed him to influence
the soldiers in their favour.
[130] Vespasian was too big to mind being despised; Mucianus
was not, and eventually retaliated (cp. iv. 11).
[131] November.
[132] From Dalmatia (see ii. 11, 67).
[133] Governor of Dalmatia (cp. ii. 86).
[134] Fano.
[135] Apparently soldiers' slang. Probably at some period an
officer had bribed his men under the pretence of making
special grants for the purchase of nails for their shoes.
[136] 87 B. C.
[137] L.
accustomed to control his tongue or to obey orders, he was most
unguarded in his conversation and composed a letter to Vespasian in
presumptuous language which ill befitted a subject, making various
covert charges against Mucianus. 'It was I,' he wrote, 'who brought
the legions of Pannonia into the field:[141] it was my stimulus which
stirred up the officers in Moesia:[142] it was by my persistence that
we broke through the Alps, seized hold of Italy and cut off the German
and Raetian auxiliaries. [143] When Vitellius' legions were all
scattered and disunited, it was I who flung the cavalry on them like a
whirlwind, and then pressed home the attack with the infantry all day
and all night. That victory is my greatest achievement and it is
entirely my own. As for the mishap at Cremona, that was the fault of
the war. In old days the civil wars cost the country far more damage
and involved the destruction of more than one town. It is not with
couriers and dispatches that I serve my master, but with my sword in
my hand. Nor can it be said that I have interfered with the glory of
the men who have meanwhile settled matters in Dacia. [144] What peace
in Moesia is to them, the safety and welfare of Italy are to me. It
was my encouragement which brought the provinces of Gaul and of Spain,
the strongest parts of the whole world, over to Vespasian's side. But
my labours will prove useless, if the reward for the dangers I have
run is to fall to the man who was not there to share them. ' All this
reached the ears of Mucianus and a serious quarrel resulted. Antonius
kept it up in a frank spirit of dislike, while Mucianus showed a
cunning which was far more implacable.
FOOTNOTES:
[128] The narrative is here resumed from the end of chap. 35.
[129] Would-be centurions doubtless bribed him to influence
the soldiers in their favour.
[130] Vespasian was too big to mind being despised; Mucianus
was not, and eventually retaliated (cp. iv. 11).
[131] November.
[132] From Dalmatia (see ii. 11, 67).
[133] Governor of Dalmatia (cp. ii. 86).
[134] Fano.
[135] Apparently soldiers' slang. Probably at some period an
officer had bribed his men under the pretence of making
special grants for the purchase of nails for their shoes.
[136] 87 B. C.
[137] L.
