The
character
of Titus gave still more colour to it.
Tacitus
[198] Cp. chap. 20.
[199] Nero had put the confiscated property of political
exiles up to auction. His treasury officials had been so
prompt in selling it all off and getting the money in, that
there was very little left for Otho to restore, since he could
only give back those lots which had not been paid for.
[200] Cp. ii. 60. Quintilian alludes several times to the
extreme beauty of his voice and his commanding
delivery--better, he thinks, than that of any tragedian he had
ever seen. To read, his speeches were less effective.
BOOK II
VESPASIAN AND THE EAST
Meanwhile, on the other side of Europe, Fortune was already sowing 1
the seeds of a dynasty, the varying fortunes of which were destined to
bring at one time happiness to the country and success to its rulers,
at another misery to the country and to the rulers destruction. [201]
Before Galba's fall Titus Vespasianus had been dispatched by his
father from Judaea to Rome. [202] The ostensible reason of his journey
was to show respect to the new emperor, and to solicit some post for
which his years now fitted him. [203] However, the popular passion for
invention suggested that he had been summoned to be adopted. This
rumour was based on the fact that Galba was old and childless: the
public never wearies of appointing successors until the choice is
made.
The character of Titus gave still more colour to it. He seemed
capable of filling any position. His appearance lacked neither charm
nor dignity. Vespasian's successes also and the utterances of certain
oracles further endorsed the rumour, to say nothing of the chance
occurrences which pass for omens where the wish is father to the
thought. It was at Corinth in Achaia that Titus received the news of
Galba's murder, and was assured by people in the town that Vitellius
had declared war. In great perplexity he summoned a few of his friends
and discussed all the possibilities of the situation. If he continued
his journey to Rome he would earn no gratitude for compliments
addressed to another sovereign,[204] and would be held as a hostage
either for Vitellius or for Otho: on the other hand, if he returned to
Judaea he would inevitably offend the victor. However, the struggle
was still undecided, and the father's adherence to the successful
party would excuse the conduct of the son. Or if Vespasian himself
assumed sovereignty, they would have to plan war and forget all about
giving offence.
Such considerations held him balanced between hope and fear; but 2
ultimately hope prevailed. Some people believed that his longing to
get back to Queen Berenice[205] fired him to return. True, the young
man's fancy was attracted by Berenice, but he did not allow this to
interfere with business. Still his youth was a time of gay
self-indulgence, and he showed more restraint in his own reign than in
his father's. Accordingly he sailed along the coasts of Greece and
Asia Minor, and, skirting the seas which lay upon his left, reached
the islands of Rhodes and Cyprus, whence he made a bolder crossing to
Syria. [206] On his way he conceived a desire to visit the temple of
Venus at Paphos,[207] which is famous among all the inhabitants and
visitors. It may not be tedious to give here a short account of the
origin of this worship, the ritual of the cult, and the
shape--unparalleled elsewhere--in which the goddess is depicted.
