A
long train of senators followed him, many moved by their ambition, but
most by their fears.
long train of senators followed him, many moved by their ambition, but
most by their fears.
Tacitus
Finding that the emperor disbelieved his report and even
suggested that he had been bribed, he said, 'You want some certain
evidence and, since you have no further use for me either alive or
dead, I will give you evidence that you can believe. ' And he was as
good as his word. He went straight from the emperor's presence and
committed suicide. Some say he was killed by order of Vitellius, but
they give the same account of his heroic devotion. [145]
Vitellius was like a man roused from sleep. He dispatched Julius 55
Priscus and Alfenus Varus[146] with fourteen cohorts of Guards and all
his available cavalry to hold the Apennines. A legion levied from the
marines[147] was sent after them. This large army of picked men and
horses, if there had been any general to lead it, was strong enough to
have even taken the offensive. His other cohorts[148] were given to
his brother, Lucius Vitellius, for the protection of the city. The
emperor himself gave up none of his habitual luxuries, but, feeling
nervous and depressed, he hurried on the elections and nominated
consuls for several years in advance. He lavished special
charters[149] on allied communities and extended Latin rights[150] to
foreign towns: he remitted taxation here, granted immunities there. In
fact, he took no thought for the future, and did his best to cripple
the empire. However, the mob accepted these munificent grants with
open mouths. Fools paid money for them, but wise men held them
invalid, since they could be neither given nor received without a
revolution. At last he yielded to the demands of the army and joined
the camp at Mevania,[151] where they had taken up their position.
A
long train of senators followed him, many moved by their ambition, but
most by their fears. Here he was still undecided and at the mercy of
treacherous advice.
During one of his speeches a portent occurred. A cloud of 56
ill-omened birds[152] flew over his head and its density obscured the
daylight. To this was added another omen of disaster. A bull broke
from the altar, scattered the utensils for the ceremony, and escaped
so far away that it had to be killed instead of being sacrificed
according to the proper ritual. But the chief portent was Vitellius
himself. He was ignorant of soldiering, incapable of forethought: knew
nothing of drill or scouting, or how far operations should be pressed
forward or protracted. He always had to ask some one else. At every
fresh piece of news his expression and gait betrayed his alarm. And
then he would get drunk. At last he found camp life too tedious, and
on learning of a mutiny in the fleet at Misenum[153] he returned to
Rome. Every fresh blow terrified him, but of the real crisis he seemed
insensible. For it was open to him to cross the Apennines and with his
full strength unimpaired to attack the enemy while they were worn out
with cold and hunger. But by breaking up his forces he sent his
keenest soldiers, stubbornly loyal to the last, to be killed or taken
prisoner. The more experienced of his centurions disapproved of this
policy and would have told him the truth, if they had been consulted.
suggested that he had been bribed, he said, 'You want some certain
evidence and, since you have no further use for me either alive or
dead, I will give you evidence that you can believe. ' And he was as
good as his word. He went straight from the emperor's presence and
committed suicide. Some say he was killed by order of Vitellius, but
they give the same account of his heroic devotion. [145]
Vitellius was like a man roused from sleep. He dispatched Julius 55
Priscus and Alfenus Varus[146] with fourteen cohorts of Guards and all
his available cavalry to hold the Apennines. A legion levied from the
marines[147] was sent after them. This large army of picked men and
horses, if there had been any general to lead it, was strong enough to
have even taken the offensive. His other cohorts[148] were given to
his brother, Lucius Vitellius, for the protection of the city. The
emperor himself gave up none of his habitual luxuries, but, feeling
nervous and depressed, he hurried on the elections and nominated
consuls for several years in advance. He lavished special
charters[149] on allied communities and extended Latin rights[150] to
foreign towns: he remitted taxation here, granted immunities there. In
fact, he took no thought for the future, and did his best to cripple
the empire. However, the mob accepted these munificent grants with
open mouths. Fools paid money for them, but wise men held them
invalid, since they could be neither given nor received without a
revolution. At last he yielded to the demands of the army and joined
the camp at Mevania,[151] where they had taken up their position.
A
long train of senators followed him, many moved by their ambition, but
most by their fears. Here he was still undecided and at the mercy of
treacherous advice.
During one of his speeches a portent occurred. A cloud of 56
ill-omened birds[152] flew over his head and its density obscured the
daylight. To this was added another omen of disaster. A bull broke
from the altar, scattered the utensils for the ceremony, and escaped
so far away that it had to be killed instead of being sacrificed
according to the proper ritual. But the chief portent was Vitellius
himself. He was ignorant of soldiering, incapable of forethought: knew
nothing of drill or scouting, or how far operations should be pressed
forward or protracted. He always had to ask some one else. At every
fresh piece of news his expression and gait betrayed his alarm. And
then he would get drunk. At last he found camp life too tedious, and
on learning of a mutiny in the fleet at Misenum[153] he returned to
Rome. Every fresh blow terrified him, but of the real crisis he seemed
insensible. For it was open to him to cross the Apennines and with his
full strength unimpaired to attack the enemy while they were worn out
with cold and hunger. But by breaking up his forces he sent his
keenest soldiers, stubbornly loyal to the last, to be killed or taken
prisoner. The more experienced of his centurions disapproved of this
policy and would have told him the truth, if they had been consulted.
