He had long been in mean circumstances and ill
concealed
his
sudden accession of wealth.
sudden accession of wealth.
Tacitus
Galba had made his
displeasure an excuse for confiscating to the Treasury the revenues of
Lugdunum, while on Vienne he had conferred various distinctions. The
result was a bitter rivalry between the towns, and the Rhone between
them only formed a bond of hatred. Consequently the inhabitants of
Lugdunum began to work on the feelings of individual Roman soldiers,
and to urge them to crush Vienne. They reminded them how the Viennese
had laid siege to Lugdunum, a Roman colony, had assisted the efforts
of Vindex, and had lately raised troops to defend Galba. Having
supplied a pretext for bad feeling, they went on to point out the rich
opportunity for plunder. Not content with private persuasion, they
presented a formal petition that the army would march to avenge them,
and destroy the head-quarters of the Gallic war. Vienne, they urged,
was thoroughly un-Roman and hostile, while Lugdunum was a Roman
colony,[133] contributing men to the army and sharing in its victories
and reverses. They besought them in the event of adverse fortune not
to leave their city to the fury of its enemies.
By these arguments and others of the same nature they brought 66
matters to such a pass, that even the generals and party leaders
despaired of cooling the army's indignation. However, the Viennese
realized their danger. Arrayed in veils and fillets,[134] they met the
approaching column and, seizing their hands and knees and the soles of
their feet in supplication, succeeded in appeasing the troops. Valens
made each of the soldiers a present of three hundred sesterces. [135]
They were thus persuaded to respect the antiquity and high standing of
the colony, and to listen with patience to their general's speech, in
which he commended to them the lives and property of the Viennese.
However, the town was disarmed, and private individuals had to assist
the army with various kinds of provisions. There was, however, a
persistent rumour that Valens himself had been bought with a heavy
bribe.
He had long been in mean circumstances and ill concealed his
sudden accession of wealth. Prolonged poverty had whetted his
inordinate desires, and the needy youth grew into an extravagant old
man.
He next led the army by slow stages through the country of the
Allobroges and Vocontii,[136] bribes to the general determining the
length of each day's march and the choice of a camp. For Valens struck
disgraceful bargains with the landowners and municipal authorities,
often applying violent threats, as, for instance, at Lucus,[137] a
township of the Vocontii, which he threatened to burn, until he was
appeased with money. Where it was impossible to get money, he was
mollified by appeals to his lust. And so it went on until the Alps
were reached.
FOOTNOTES:
[124] Metz.
[125] They would wear veils and fillets, as suppliants. Cp.
chap. 66 and iii. 31.
[126] Living round Toul between the Marne and the Moselle.
[127] Chap. 59.
[128] Cp.
displeasure an excuse for confiscating to the Treasury the revenues of
Lugdunum, while on Vienne he had conferred various distinctions. The
result was a bitter rivalry between the towns, and the Rhone between
them only formed a bond of hatred. Consequently the inhabitants of
Lugdunum began to work on the feelings of individual Roman soldiers,
and to urge them to crush Vienne. They reminded them how the Viennese
had laid siege to Lugdunum, a Roman colony, had assisted the efforts
of Vindex, and had lately raised troops to defend Galba. Having
supplied a pretext for bad feeling, they went on to point out the rich
opportunity for plunder. Not content with private persuasion, they
presented a formal petition that the army would march to avenge them,
and destroy the head-quarters of the Gallic war. Vienne, they urged,
was thoroughly un-Roman and hostile, while Lugdunum was a Roman
colony,[133] contributing men to the army and sharing in its victories
and reverses. They besought them in the event of adverse fortune not
to leave their city to the fury of its enemies.
By these arguments and others of the same nature they brought 66
matters to such a pass, that even the generals and party leaders
despaired of cooling the army's indignation. However, the Viennese
realized their danger. Arrayed in veils and fillets,[134] they met the
approaching column and, seizing their hands and knees and the soles of
their feet in supplication, succeeded in appeasing the troops. Valens
made each of the soldiers a present of three hundred sesterces. [135]
They were thus persuaded to respect the antiquity and high standing of
the colony, and to listen with patience to their general's speech, in
which he commended to them the lives and property of the Viennese.
However, the town was disarmed, and private individuals had to assist
the army with various kinds of provisions. There was, however, a
persistent rumour that Valens himself had been bought with a heavy
bribe.
He had long been in mean circumstances and ill concealed his
sudden accession of wealth. Prolonged poverty had whetted his
inordinate desires, and the needy youth grew into an extravagant old
man.
He next led the army by slow stages through the country of the
Allobroges and Vocontii,[136] bribes to the general determining the
length of each day's march and the choice of a camp. For Valens struck
disgraceful bargains with the landowners and municipal authorities,
often applying violent threats, as, for instance, at Lucus,[137] a
township of the Vocontii, which he threatened to burn, until he was
appeased with money. Where it was impossible to get money, he was
mollified by appeals to his lust. And so it went on until the Alps
were reached.
FOOTNOTES:
[124] Metz.
[125] They would wear veils and fillets, as suppliants. Cp.
chap. 66 and iii. 31.
[126] Living round Toul between the Marne and the Moselle.
[127] Chap. 59.
[128] Cp.
