Disloyalty
is a better bond for war than it ever proves
in peace.
in peace.
Tacitus
Later he was convicted
of misappropriating public funds, and, on Galba's orders, prosecuted
for peculation. Highly indignant, Caecina determined to embroil the
world and bury his own disgrace in the ruins of his country. Nor were
the seeds of dissension lacking in the army. The entire force had
taken part in the war against Vindex, nor was it until after Nero's
death that they joined Galba's side, and even then they had been
forestalled in swearing allegiance by the detachments of Lower
Germany. Then again the Treviri and Lingones[101] and the other
communities which Galba had punished by issuing harsh edicts and
confiscating part of their territory, were in close communication with
the winter quarters of the legions. They began to talk treason: the
soldiers degenerated in civilian society: it only wanted some one to
avail himself of the offer they had made to Verginius.
Following an ancient custom, the tribe of the Lingones had made a 54
present of a pair of silver hands[102] to the legions as a symbol of
hospitality. Assuming an appearance of squalid misery, their envoys
made the round of the officers' quarters and the soldiers' tents
complaining of their own wrongs and of the rewards lavished on
neighbouring tribes. Finding the soldiers ready to listen, they made
inflammatory allusions to the army itself, its dangers and
humiliation. Mutiny was almost ripe, when Hordeonius Flaccus ordered
the envoys to withdraw, and, in order to secure the secrecy of their
departure, gave instructions to them to leave the camp by night. This
gave rise to an alarming rumour. Many declared that the envoys had
been killed, and that, if they did not look out for themselves, the
leading spirits among the soldiers, who had complained of the present
state of things, would be murdered in the dark, while their comrades
knew nothing about it. So the legions formed a secret compact. The
auxiliaries were also taken into the plot, although at first they had
been distrusted, because their infantry and cavalry had been posted in
camp all round the legion's quarters as though an attack on them were
meditated. However, they soon showed themselves the keener
conspirators.
Disloyalty is a better bond for war than it ever proves
in peace.
In Lower Germany, however, the legions on the first of January 55
swore the usual oath of allegiance to Galba, though with much
hesitation. Few voices were heard even in the front ranks; the rest
were silent, each waiting for his neighbour to take some bold step.
Human nature is always ready to follow where it hates to lead.
However, the feelings of the legions varied. The First and Fifth[103]
were already mutinous enough to throw a few stones at Galba's statue.
The Fifteenth and Sixteenth[104] dared not venture beyond muttered
threats, but they were watching to see the outbreak begin. In Upper
Germany, on the other hand, on the very same day, the Fourth and the
Twenty-second legions, who were quartered together,[105] smashed their
statues of Galba to atoms. The Fourth took the lead, the
Twenty-second at first holding back, but eventually making common
cause with them. They did not want it to be thought that they were
shaking off their allegiance to the empire, so in taking the oath they
invoked the long obsolete names of the Senate and People of Rome. None
of the officers made any movement for Galba, and indeed some of them,
as happens in such outbreaks, headed the rebellion. However, nobody
made any kind of set speech or mounted the platform, for there was no
one as yet with whom to curry favour.
The ex-consul Hordeonius Flaccus stood by and watched their 56
treachery. He had not the courage to check the storm or even to rally
the waverers and encourage the faithful. Sluggish and cowardly, it was
mere indolence that kept him loyal. Four centurions of the
Twenty-second legion, Nonius Receptus, Donatius Valens, Romilius
Marcellus, and Calpurnius Repentinus, who tried to protect Galba's
statues, were swept away by the rush of the soldiers and put under
arrest.
of misappropriating public funds, and, on Galba's orders, prosecuted
for peculation. Highly indignant, Caecina determined to embroil the
world and bury his own disgrace in the ruins of his country. Nor were
the seeds of dissension lacking in the army. The entire force had
taken part in the war against Vindex, nor was it until after Nero's
death that they joined Galba's side, and even then they had been
forestalled in swearing allegiance by the detachments of Lower
Germany. Then again the Treviri and Lingones[101] and the other
communities which Galba had punished by issuing harsh edicts and
confiscating part of their territory, were in close communication with
the winter quarters of the legions. They began to talk treason: the
soldiers degenerated in civilian society: it only wanted some one to
avail himself of the offer they had made to Verginius.
Following an ancient custom, the tribe of the Lingones had made a 54
present of a pair of silver hands[102] to the legions as a symbol of
hospitality. Assuming an appearance of squalid misery, their envoys
made the round of the officers' quarters and the soldiers' tents
complaining of their own wrongs and of the rewards lavished on
neighbouring tribes. Finding the soldiers ready to listen, they made
inflammatory allusions to the army itself, its dangers and
humiliation. Mutiny was almost ripe, when Hordeonius Flaccus ordered
the envoys to withdraw, and, in order to secure the secrecy of their
departure, gave instructions to them to leave the camp by night. This
gave rise to an alarming rumour. Many declared that the envoys had
been killed, and that, if they did not look out for themselves, the
leading spirits among the soldiers, who had complained of the present
state of things, would be murdered in the dark, while their comrades
knew nothing about it. So the legions formed a secret compact. The
auxiliaries were also taken into the plot, although at first they had
been distrusted, because their infantry and cavalry had been posted in
camp all round the legion's quarters as though an attack on them were
meditated. However, they soon showed themselves the keener
conspirators.
Disloyalty is a better bond for war than it ever proves
in peace.
In Lower Germany, however, the legions on the first of January 55
swore the usual oath of allegiance to Galba, though with much
hesitation. Few voices were heard even in the front ranks; the rest
were silent, each waiting for his neighbour to take some bold step.
Human nature is always ready to follow where it hates to lead.
However, the feelings of the legions varied. The First and Fifth[103]
were already mutinous enough to throw a few stones at Galba's statue.
The Fifteenth and Sixteenth[104] dared not venture beyond muttered
threats, but they were watching to see the outbreak begin. In Upper
Germany, on the other hand, on the very same day, the Fourth and the
Twenty-second legions, who were quartered together,[105] smashed their
statues of Galba to atoms. The Fourth took the lead, the
Twenty-second at first holding back, but eventually making common
cause with them. They did not want it to be thought that they were
shaking off their allegiance to the empire, so in taking the oath they
invoked the long obsolete names of the Senate and People of Rome. None
of the officers made any movement for Galba, and indeed some of them,
as happens in such outbreaks, headed the rebellion. However, nobody
made any kind of set speech or mounted the platform, for there was no
one as yet with whom to curry favour.
The ex-consul Hordeonius Flaccus stood by and watched their 56
treachery. He had not the courage to check the storm or even to rally
the waverers and encourage the faithful. Sluggish and cowardly, it was
mere indolence that kept him loyal. Four centurions of the
Twenty-second legion, Nonius Receptus, Donatius Valens, Romilius
Marcellus, and Calpurnius Repentinus, who tried to protect Galba's
statues, were swept away by the rush of the soldiers and put under
arrest.
