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THE RISE OF VITELLIUS

The city was in a panic. The alarm aroused by the recent atrocious 50
crime and by Otho's well-known proclivities was further increased by
the fresh news about Vitellius. [86] This news had been suppressed
before Galba's murder, and it was believed that only the army of Upper
Germany had revolted. Now when they saw that the two men in the world
who were most notorious for immorality, indolence, and extravagance
had been, as it were, appointed by Providence to ruin the empire, not
only the senators and knights who had some stake and interest in the
country, but the masses as well, openly deplored their fate. Their
talk was no longer of the horrors of the recent bloody peace: they
reverted to the records of the civil wars, the taking and retaking of
Rome by her own troops, the devastation of Italy, the pillage of the
provinces, the battles of Pharsalia, Philippi, Perusia, and
Mutina,[87] those bywords of national disaster. 'The world was turned
upside down,' they mused, 'even when good men fought for the throne:
yet the Roman Empire survived the victories of Julius Caesar and of
Augustus, as the Republic would have survived had Pompey and Brutus
been victorious. But now--are we to go and pray for Otho or for
Vitellius? To pray for either would be impious. It would be wicked to
offer vows for the success of either in a war of which we can only be
sure that the winner will prove the worse. ' Some cherished hopes of
Vespasian and the armies of the East: he was preferable to either of
the others; still they shuddered at the thought of a fresh war and
fresh bloodshed. Besides, Vespasian's reputation was doubtful. He was
the first emperor who ever changed for the better.

I must now explain the origin and causes of the rising of 51
Vitellius. After the slaughter of Julius Vindex[88] and his whole
force, the troops were in high spirits at the fame and booty they had
acquired. Without toil or danger they had won a most profitable
victory.
So they were all for marching against the enemy: plunder
seemed better than pay. They had endured a long and unprofitable
service, rendered the more irksome by the country and climate and by
the strict discipline observed. But discipline, however stern in time
of peace, is always relaxed in civil wars, when temptation stands on
either hand and treachery goes unpunished. Men, armour, and horses
they had in abundance for use and for show. But, whereas before the
war the soldiers only knew the men of their own company or troop, and
the provincial frontier[89] separated the armies, now, having once
joined forces against Vindex, they had gained a knowledge of their own
strength and the state of the province, and were looking for more
fighting and fresh quarrels, calling the Gauls no longer allies, as
before, but 'our enemies' or 'the vanquished'. They had also the
support of the Gallic tribes on the banks of the Rhine, who had
espoused their cause and were now the most eager to rouse them
against 'the Galbians'[90] as they now called them, despising the name
of Vindex. So, cherishing hostility against the Sequani and Aedui,[91]
and against all the other communities in proportion to their wealth,
they drank in dreams of sacking towns and pillaging fields and looting
houses, inspired partly by the peculiar failings of the strong, greed
and vanity, and partly also by a feeling of irritation at the
insolence of the Gauls, who boasted, to the chagrin of the army, that
Galba had remitted a quarter of their tribute and given the franchise
and grants of land to their community. [92] Further fuel was added by a
rumour, cunningly circulated and rashly credited, that there was a
project on foot to decimate the legions and discharge all the most
enterprising centurions. From every side came alarming news and
sinister reports from the city. The colony of Lugdunum[93] was up in
arms, and its stubborn attachment to Nero made it a hotbed of rumour.
But in the camp itself the passions and fears of the soldiers, and,
when once they had realized their strength, their feeling of security,
furnished the richest material for lies and won them easy credence.

In the preceding year,[94] shortly after the beginning of 52
December, Aulus Vitellius had entered the province of Lower Germany
and held a careful inspection of the winter quarters of the legions.
He restored many to their rank, remitted degrading penalties, and
relieved those who had suffered disgrace, acting mainly from ambitious
motives, but partly also upon sound judgement. Amongst other things he
showed impartiality in remedying the injustices due to the mean and
dishonest way in which Fonteius Capito had issued promotions and
reductions. The soldiers did not judge Vitellius' actions as those of
a mere ex-consul: they took him for something more, and, while serious
critics found him undignified,[95] his supporters spoke of his
affability and beneficence, because he showed neither moderation nor
judgement in making presents out of his own money and squandering
other people's. Besides, they were so greedy for power that they took
even his vices for virtues.