No More Learning

[440] The town lay on the right bank of the Moselle; the Roman
camp on the left bank between the river and the hills. There
was only one bridge.

[441] The Sixteenth had its permanent camp at Novaesium, the
First at Bonn. Both surrendered at Novaesium (cp. chap. 59).

[442] See chaps. 59 and 70.

[443] The Frisii occupied part of Friesland; the Chauci lay
east of them, between the Ems and Weser.

[444] Zülpich.

[445] A small flotilla on guard in the Channel. It probably
now transported the Fourteenth and landed them at Boulogne.

[446] Cp. chap. 15.
[447] The narrative is resumed from this point in v. 14.


EVENTS IN ROME AND IN THE EAST

It was about this time that Mucianus gave orders for the murder of 80
Vitellius' son,[448] on the plea that dissension would continue until
all the seeds of war were stamped out. He also refused to allow
Antonius Primus to go out on Domitian's staff, being alarmed at his
popularity among the troops and at the man's own vanity, which would
brook no equal, much less a superior. Antonius accordingly went to
join Vespasian, whose reception, though not hostile, proved a
disappointment. The emperor was drawn two ways. On the one side were
Antonius' services: it was undeniable that his generalship had ended
the war. In the other scale were Mucianus' letters. Besides which,
every one else seemed ready to rake up the scandals of his past life
and inveigh against his vanity and bad temper. Antonius himself did
his best to provoke hostility by expatiating to excess on his
services, decrying the other generals as incompetent cowards, and
stigmatizing Caecina as a prisoner who had surrendered. Thus without
any open breach of friendship he gradually declined lower and lower in
the emperor's favour.

During the months which Vespasian spent at Alexandria waiting for 81
the regular season of the summer winds[449] to ensure a safe voyage,
there occurred many miraculous events manifesting the goodwill of
Heaven and the special favour of Providence towards him. At Alexandria
a poor workman who was well known to have a disease of the eye, acting
on the advice of Serapis, whom this superstitious people worship as
their chief god, fell at Vespasian's feet demanding with sobs a cure
for his blindness, and imploring that the emperor would deign to
moisten his eyes and eyeballs with the spittle from his mouth. Another
man with a maimed hand, also inspired by Serapis, besought Vespasian
to imprint his footmark on it. At first Vespasian laughed at them and
refused. But they insisted.