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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d7b82bc --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,4 @@ +*.txt text eol=lf +*.htm text eol=lf +*.html text eol=lf +*.md text eol=lf diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6312041 --- /dev/null +++ b/LICENSE.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements, +metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be +in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. + +Procedures for determining public domain status are described in +the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org. + +No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in +jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize +this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright +status under the laws that apply to them. diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d149518 --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #66690 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/66690) diff --git a/old/66690-0.txt b/old/66690-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index e7ab7f2..0000000 --- a/old/66690-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,12702 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg eBook of Tiberius the Tyrant, by J. C. Tarver - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and -most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms -of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you -will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before -using this eBook. - -Title: Tiberius the Tyrant - -Author: J. C. Tarver - -Release Date: November 7, 2021 [eBook #66690] - -Language: English - -Produced by: MWS, Charlie Howard, and the Online Distributed - Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was - produced from images generously made available by The - Internet Archive/Canadian Libraries) - -*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK TIBERIUS THE TYRANT *** - - - - - -TIBERIUS THE TYRANT - -[Illustration: - - _Art Repro Co._ - -_Tiberius._] - - - - - TIBERIUS THE - TYRANT - - - By J. C. TARVER - - AUTHOR OF “LIFE AND LETTERS OF GUSTAVE FLAUBERT” - “SOME OBSERVATIONS OF A FOSTER PARENT” - ETC ETC - - - WESTMINSTER - ARCHIBALD CONSTABLE AND CO LTD - 2 WHITEHALL GARDENS - 1902 - - - - - BUTLER & TANNER, - THE SELWOOD PRINTING WORKS, - FROME, AND LONDON. - - - - -CONTENTS - - - PAGE - INTRODUCTION: - - THE EXPANSION OF ROME AND THE EQUESTRIAN ORDER 1 - - THE ROMAN PEOPLE 24 - - THE SENATE 42 - - SLAVERY 60 - - - CHAPTER - I THE DEATH OF AUGUSTUS 79 - - II PARENTS AND CHILDHOOD OF TIBERIUS 85 - - III OCTAVIAN 106 - - IV AUGUSTUS 129 - - V THE EDUCATION OF TIBERIUS 143 - - VI THE FAMILY OF AUGUSTUS 164 - - VII THE FIRST RETIREMENT OF TIBERIUS 185 - - VIII THE RETURN OF TIBERIUS 197 - - IX THE CAMPAIGNS OF TIBERIUS 215 - - X THE LAST YEARS OF AUGUSTUS 245 - - XI THE ACCESSION OF TIBERIUS 253 - - XII THE MUTINIES IN PANNONIA AND ON THE RHINE 270 - - XIII TACITUS AND TIBERIUS 293 - - XIV THE CASE OF SCRIBONIUS LIBO 320 - - XV GERMANICUS AND PISO 331 - - XVI TIBERIUS AND THE SENATE 353 - - XVII SEJANUS 385 - - XVIII THE RETIREMENT AT CAPREÆ 418 - - - - -Introduction - - - - -I - -The Expansion of Rome and the Equestrian Order - - -Used as we are to the terminology and conditions of hereditary monarchy -and territorial sovereignty, we find it hard to appreciate, or even -to express in terms of modern politics the difficulties which beset -the statesmen of Rome at the death of Augustus; and we are further -tempted to read into the story of that critical period ideas, which -were only conceivable after the crisis was over; we can hardly avoid -seeing those days in the light of subsequent events, or speaking -of them in language which involves anachronism. Our information is -principally derived from historians, who wrote a century and a half -after the death of Julius Cæsar, when the Government of the Emperor -and the Senate was established; but the position of the Emperor of -those days was not the position of Augustus, and the Senate of Trajan -was not the Senate of Tiberius. The experienced officials who formed -the majority of the Senate of the Flavian Emperors were no longer the -hereditary oligarchy by whose capacity Rome had been brought to be -first among the city states of the world, but which was unequal to the -task of organizing the Roman empire. The change had, however, escaped -observation, and the warmest admirers of the Senate of the Republic -were men whose position had been won for them by the Emperors. Between -the death of Augustus and the death of Vespasian we have but few -contemporary historians; we have no letters of Cicero to throw light -on the inner life of the statesmen of those days; there were private -records, private letters, and private biographies; we can gather their -tone from the extracts that have been preserved for us, but we have no -opportunity of comparing them or checking them. Velleius Paterculus is -the only contemporary historian of the reign of Tiberius, a portion of -whose work still exists unabridged; and his narrative stops just at the -period when we require most light--at the conspiracy of Sejanus--where -there is also a gap in the annals of Tacitus. From the books of the -New Testament we may infer much as to how the Empire appeared at a -comparatively early period to the inhabitants of Greater Rome, much -also from Josephus, a little from Philo, but we cannot re-people the -Rome of Tiberius, as we can re-people the Rome of Augustus and the Rome -of Cicero. Two facts stand clear to us from the pages of Tacitus, and -in a less degree from those of Suetonius, that the Imperial Family was -divided, that the old Roman princely houses never forgave the Empire, -and that there was a Republican reaction in opinion at the centre of -the Empire. History has repeated itself; just as the Curia of to-day -cannot forgive the monarchy which represents the unity of Italy, so -the Curia of the first century of the Christian era was irreconcilable -to the monarchical constitution which represented the unity of the -Empire. The Roman princes who wrote the memoirs of their houses for -the edification of their children, and the delectation of their -friends never inquired into the authority of a story derogatory to -the Emperors, and the one Emperor, who was never spared was Tiberius; -it is no exaggeration to say that the madness of Caligula, and the -monstrous freaks of Nero are dealt with tenderly by the writers of the -silver age, if we compare the accounts of these with the deliberate -malignity which attends on every word and action of Tiberius; and yet -common sense tells us that only a very able man could have succeeded -Augustus without breaking up his work. At the death of Augustus it was -still possible that there would be no second Emperor; at the death of -Tiberius the Roman Emperor had become an institution, the pivot upon -which the whole machinery of civilized existence turned throughout -the world. Hence the peculiar bitterness against Tiberius; the Curia -felt that in his reign their last chance had gone, and more than this, -that he had been in some sense a traitor to his own caste. Neither the -Julian nor the Octavian families had been among the foremost houses -of Rome, till the genius of the first Cæsar raised them from their -comparative obscurity; but many of the most important events in the -history of Rome, no less than her buildings, her roads, her aqueducts, -and many of her public monuments, were associated with the Claudian -stock, and the Livian, with which it was inter-married, was only less -distinguished. Augustus had been tolerated, for his services to the -State could not be disregarded, but some day Augustus would die; he did -die; his power fell into the hands of the most prominent representative -of the old Roman nobility; the opportunity for a restoration of the -narrow oligarchy of the Republic came, and it passed away for ever. Two -years after the death of Tiberius his lunatic successor was stabbed by -a soldier whom he had insulted; the State was left a few days without a -head, and the Curia was so inanimate that it could neither restore its -own rule, nor provide a new Emperor; it had to accept apparently at the -dictation of the soldiers in the Prætorian barracks a man of letters -who had hitherto been the laughing stock of the Imperial family. - -The contemporary history of the years during which the Roman Empire -took organic form is written in terms which tend to disguise the -real significance of the change; our attention is attracted almost -exclusively to the internal politics of the city of Rome; it is -withdrawn from the politics of the Empire; the long struggle which -ended by giving the whole civilized world one system of Government, -which welded together in orderly association Italians, Greeks, Syrians, -Africans, Egyptians, Spaniards, Gauls, Germans, and even Britons, -is represented to us as being little more than a constitutional -revolution inside the city; we see the external pressure, which forced -a revised constitution upon the Roman oligarchy, but we only see it -dimly; no Roman historian has been at the pains to trace out the -process by which the civil administration of the Roman Empire was -developed--surely no less wonderful an achievement than the conquests -of the Roman generals. We have seen other conquerors, and more -brilliant feats of arms than any Roman general achieved, but we have -not seen any other nation impress its language and its law upon the -populations of so wide an area or so permanently. Alexander did much, -but the effects of the conquests of Rome have been more lasting than -those of the conquests of Alexander; except in Asia there is not a -civilized people in the world which does not somewhere or other bear -the impress of Rome, or cannot trace the pedigree of its religion and -its law back to the Italian city. This great destiny was concealed -from the makers of the Empire, but the immediate possibility, the -consolidation of the conquests of Rome, and the permanent establishment -of order over the whole area which drains into the Mediterranean was -present to their minds; unfortunately the makers of the Empire have -been mostly silent, and the only voices which have reached our ears -are those of men who could only grasp the great idea intermittently, -if at all, or who were annoyed by its insistence. Under Augustus for -the first time the Empire became conscious, Virgil and Horace spoke in -terms of the larger conception, but the grip of the Roman oligarchy has -never relaxed its hold upon the imagination of educated men. - -Conquest did not involve in ancient times any responsibility towards -the conquered; war was believed to be, and was, a profitable -investment; as Rome pushed her conquests, the organization which she -gave to the conquered peoples was one which suited her own purposes, -she did not consult their convenience, external pressure alone forced -her to modify the conditions of conquest which were universally -accepted by the ancient world; very gradually and very reluctantly she -broke down the barriers which surrounded the city state of antiquity, -and admitted first her immediate neighbours, and lastly the whole of -Italy to some sort of constitutional communion with her. For a long -time war had been forced upon Rome, the invasions of the Gauls, the -domination of Carthage in the Mediterranean, the invasion of Pyrrhus, -the invasion of Hannibal, and lastly the invasion of the Cimbrians -and Teutons involved her in a succession of defensive wars; the city -itself could not find a sufficient supply of soldiers, and the price -which Rome had to pay for being allowed to recruit over Italy was the -partial incorporation of the Italians in the State. Wars of defence -were accompanied and followed by wars of aggression; success encouraged -speculation; after the happy issue of the second war with Carthage the -Roman oligarchy began seriously to turn its attention to the Eastern -Mediterranean, and another century found it entering upon the heritage -of Alexander. This is the turning point of Roman history; from this -time onwards a new conception occupied the minds of ambitious Romans; -alongside of the ideal of the city State there existed the ideal of -an extended Empire, of a world-wide organization, of something more -permanent than conquest; alongside of the men who dreamed of Platonic -republics in which perfect justice would be realized, there grew up -men who formed a yet grander and no less civilized ambition. Pompey -triumphed over Mithridates wearing a robe which had been worn by -Alexander; Augustus used a head of Alexander for his signet ring; it -was by the example of Alexander that Cleopatra seduced Mark Antony. - -Alexander was no vulgar adventurer; he solved a problem which had -hitherto baffled the most highly civilized race of the ancient world; -he combined the city state of the Greeks with the Imperial organization -of the Persians; and though, when the Romans came into close contact -with Alexander’s Empire it had fallen into fragments, each fragment -preserved the impress of the great whole, and Roman generals could -converse at Pergamus, at Antioch, or at Alexandria, with men trained -to administer states in terms of the wider conceptions derived from -Alexander and possibly through him from Aristotle; at the same time -many men accustomed to deal with financial problems on a large scale -passed into the service of the Roman conquerors as slaves or honoured -dependants. - -While the possibility of a beneficent organization of the conquests -of Rome was thus presented to one order of mind, to another the same -events introduced another set of ideas; while some Romans studied -Alexander in the vestiges of his work, others entered into the full -possession of the Greek historians and philosophers; the ideals of the -Greek city state were replanted in a virgin soil, and the Romans for -the first time began to theorise about their own Constitution. The men -who were taken captive by Plato and Demosthenes did not see that Rome -had long outgrown the conditions under which the theories of these men -were applicable to her political life. The true liberal policy was the -policy of Alexander, the false liberal policy unintentionally gave a -new lease of life to the blind selfishness of the narrow oligarchy -which had governed Rome. The daggers which struck down Cæsar were aimed -by admirers of Verres no less than by students of Plato; and Cicero’s -effusions over the merits of the tyrannicides were effectively stopped -by the unforeseen but necessary emergence of Mark Antony, a tyrant of -the conventional type. - -From the moment when a year’s office as Consul or Prætor in the city -of Rome was followed by a term of practically irresponsible government -in a dependency, the Civic Constitution was doomed; the magistracies -of Rome were now of minor importance compared with the career to -which they opened the way; it was impossible any longer to discuss -the politics of Rome in terms of the politics of Athens or Plato’s -Republic with any practical advantage, and indeed without inviting -anarchy; but it was highly convenient to the hereditary aristocracy -of Rome and its adherents that it should pose as representing the -principles of Harmodius and Aristogiton; it found a clever man of -letters and a skilled advocate, who had his own reasons for falling in -with this conception, and who perpetuated it long after the facts had -demonstrated its hollowness even to himself. Cicero as a politician -is alternately a tragic and a comic figure; he is comic because he -lived complacently in a world of his own imagining, which seldom -lost its hold on his imagination, in spite of the rudest shocks, for -it satisfied the promptings of his child-like vanity; he is tragic -because he had his moments of seeing the realities clearly, and because -combined with his vanity there was a genuine admiration for fine -conduct, which led him to face danger manfully in his old age, and in -some sense invite the death of a political martyr; he is yet further -tragic, because he became the father of an equally blind posterity of -politicians, who wasted their energies in spoiling the work of men of -greater enlightenment; it is perhaps due to Cicero, more than to any -other man, that the city of Rome has persistently filled a larger space -than that of the Roman Empire in the works of subsequent historians. - -In an expanding community the actual facts of the administration are -seldom in exact correspondence with the forms; apparent rigidity, -real elasticity, enable business to be carried on in accordance with -the claims of new social factors without any sense of insecurity. The -Roman, like the Englishman, preferred making new laws to repealing -old ones; and when he made a fresh departure, he was at pains to -represent it as a development of something by which it had been -preceded; in both cases this profound respect for the historical -aspect of law has been the foundation of national greatness; it has -been extended beyond the races in which it originated, and in the case -of England, as in that of Rome, has resulted in an exceptionally -successful government of alien communities; laws and customs which -are sanctified by immemorial usage appeal to the sympathy of the -Englishman and command his respect; it was the same with the Roman. -England has had her periods of aberration when she has given way -to the proselytizing tendencies of sections of her population, but -the broad lines of her policy in dealing with subject nationalities -have followed the principle of accepting the existing conditions; -in the same way Rome accepted the laws and customs of the Eastern -Mediterranean and of Western Europe; she supplied a common law for -her Empire, which applied where the local law had no application; its -excellence was such that it became predominant, but she did not insist -on remodelling every community over which she held supreme power in -terms of her own constitution. This respect for antiquity and adherence -to established forms has resulted in a misrepresentation of some of -the facts of Roman constitutional development, and especially of those -which concern the development of the Empire, which is in the highest -degree embarrassing to the student of the period in which the change -took place. There was a time when the constitution of Rome and her -political history differed little from that of any other city state of -antiquity, but it would not be easy to state when that period began -or ended; of one thing we may be quite certain, viz., that after the -destruction of Carthage and the completion of the first great period -of conquest in the Eastern Mediterranean in 145 B.C., the political -life of the city of Rome was no longer comparable to that of any -other city state; the forms remained, and the faith in the forms -remained, but the substance was gone. There is for instance no term so -misleading as one which was seldom out of the mouth of Cicero, “the -Roman people”; there unquestionably was a time when the Roman people -was an organized part of the Roman constitution, when it voted in an -orderly fashion according to a property qualification for the election -of certain magistrates, and the ratification of certain laws; when -it voted according to a residential organization for the election of -other magistrates, and to pass other laws; but the forms of popular -government were maintained long after the reality of popular government -had departed. It suited the convenience of noble agitators, such as -the Gracchi, to see in the rabble of the streets the Comitia Tributa, -it was equally convenient to the princely houses to dignify their own -private arrangements with the forms of an election in the Comitia -Centuriata, it was particularly pleasing to the middle class Roman -to share in the spoils of the Empire by exacting direct or indirect -payment for his vote, and so the forms were maintained; an outward -deference to them answered everybody’s purpose, but the real political -power and the real political struggles lay outside and beyond them. The -Roman people, as a body of civilians, could riot, as the raw material -of the Roman army it could strike, it was necessary to keep it in good -humour, and to allow it to regard itself as an organized part of the -constitution, as a body of free and independent electors; but to accept -its own estimate of itself as an important factor in the politics -of the Empire is to misread history; popular Government in any sense -which would commend itself to the intelligence of an Englishman of -to-day, or of an Athenian who listened to Demosthenes, did not and -could not exist in the Rome which had begun to control the destinies of -the Mediterranean; it was a legal fiction which it was convenient to -maintain, the attempt to make it once again a reality resulted in the -revolutionary excesses which preceded the Empire. - -The real government of Rome was in the hands of the Senate, an assembly -of nobles and capitalists, who shared between themselves the profits of -the Roman conquests. Like all such assemblies, the senators had their -good times and their bad; between the second and the third wars with -Carthage they so conducted themselves as to impress the imagination -of the civilized world; the successes of their armies, their fidelity -to engagements, their comparative moderation in conquest, were the -wonder of men; admiration for these qualities tempted Judas Maccabæus -to engage their assistance in checking the aggressions of the Greek -rulers of Antioch; their mediation was invited by the chieftains of -Gaul; it was recognized as an honour to them to be called friends of -the Roman people, and the honour was attended by practical advantages. -Success was followed by intoxication, and the time came when the sense -of responsibility was lost in the secure accumulation of riches, and -when the unscrupulous venality of the Senate became a by-word. Then -the power of Rome seemed to be tumbling to decay; Jugurtha defied her -in Africa, Mithridates in Asia, Spain threatened to organize itself -against her under a Roman general, the Cimbrians and Teutons swarmed -over her borders, her Italian allies made war upon her, she could -with difficulty suppress an organized revolt of her rural slaves, at -home she was at the mercy of the savage mob in her streets; out of -this confusion she emerged victorious, and greater than before. The -reason is a simple one; during her period of good behaviour Rome had -become the financial capital of the world; she was indispensable, and -when she could no longer help herself, others were ready to help her. -Left to itself the Roman Senate would have brought ruin on the Roman -Empire in the first half of the century preceding the Christian era; -but it was not left to itself; its incompetence involved the ruin of -too many other interests. We have the story of the Roman generals in -full, but nobody has yet written the story of the Roman bankers; we -are accustomed to think of the Romans as soldiers and lawyers, we -forget that they were also shrewd financiers; with the Romans, as with -ourselves, commerce usually preceded the flag; the soldier completed -the work begun by the capitalist. We are told that the first war -with Mithridates began with a massacre of 80,000 Roman citizens in -Asia Minor; the figures are probably exaggerated, but they are not -questioned by any Roman historians; it did not appear improbable to -them that the Roman residents in Asia should have been so numerous -at that comparatively early date; and though part of the country was -already a Roman province, and we may assume that the popular fury was -largely directed against collectors of taxes, even the rich towns of -Asia Minor can hardly have acquired the services of so large a body of -revenue officials. - -The political genius of a nation is shown by nothing so much as the -success with which it supplements the deficiencies of its formal -constitution by informal but recognized agencies. Rome was provided -with a machinery for collecting and distributing her domestic revenue; -she had a treasury and a staff of clerks, but she had no separate civil -service for the Empire; the constitution of a city state did not admit -of such a thing, and the collection of the revenue of a province was -left to semi-private agencies, its taxes being farmed. At fixed periods -the right of collecting the taxes assigned to the public treasury -from the provinces was sold by public auction; the purchaser paid a -lump sum to the treasury, and made the best of his bargain in the -provinces; the speculation was an exceedingly profitable one, but its -profits threatened to disappear owing to excessive competition among -the farmers of taxes; in order to eliminate competition the farmers of -taxes formed themselves into a close corporation, the taxes were bought -in the name of an individual, but in fact by an association. - -Alongside of the Senate there thus gradually grew an organized body -which formed the permanent civil executive of the provinces, the body -which was known as the Equestrian Order. As in our own history, so in -Roman history, the value of terms alters from period to period, almost -from year to year; it would therefore be rash to declare that at any -one period every titular Roman knight was an active member of the -Financial Corporation which farmed the taxes, or that the collection -of revenue was the sole business of the corporation as a whole, or -of its individual members. Again, that differentiation of functions -in the case of the individual, or the association, which is to us -almost a law of existence, was unknown to the ancients, or worked on -lines of division not readily comprehensible to ourselves; there was, -for instance, nothing absurd to Roman conceptions in sending out an -advocate like Cicero to govern a frontier province, and placing him on -active service in command of an army, for civil, military, and judicial -functions of the highest responsibility were exercised simultaneously -or successively by the same individual as a matter of course. But -though it is difficult to draw fixed lines, there is quite sufficient -evidence to warrant us in asserting that the Equestrian Order held a -recognized position in the State, that it practically formed the Civil -Service of the provinces, that its interests were repeatedly opposed -to those of the Senate, that it roughly represented Greater Rome, as -opposed to the city of Rome, that through all the disturbances of the -Civil Wars it kept the machinery of Government outside Italy in working -order, that it was the channel through which the leading provincials -gradually passed into the Civil Administration, and that eventually the -Imperial Executive was built up on the foundation, not of the Senate, -but of the Equestrian Order, and the Imperial Household. - -The origin of the Equestrian Order is to be found in the Servian -Constitution; we may not altogether believe in the Servian -Constitution, which, as it is presented to us in the pages of Livy, -looks like the clever guess of an antiquarian who was familiar with -the Constitution provided for Athens by Cleisthenes, but we have no -difficulty in believing that there was a time, when every citizen -possessed of a certain amount of property was obliged to keep a horse -for the service of the State, and was expected to take the field as -a cavalry man; or that he was allowed certain distinctions of dress, -and other privileges indicating public consideration; it is also easy -to imagine the process by which the yeomanry force so constituted -was replaced by more efficient cavalry soldiers, and the military -significance of the Equestrian Order disappeared, while the name -remained; of the intermediate steps which followed we have no detailed -account; in theory every Roman citizen possessing more than a definite -amount of property was entitled to be enrolled in the list of the -Equestrian Order by the Censor, and if his property reached a yet -higher value to be similarly called to the Senate, but the practice -must have been different; not every man became a senator or a knight, -who had the necessary property qualification, though demonstrated want -of means might be a disqualification, and entail a loss of position -when the Censor was rigorous, or when an excuse was wanted for reducing -the numbers of the Senate or the Order, or setting aside an undesirable -personality. The time came when two political careers were open to the -ambitious Roman; he could become a candidate for Public Office, and -under the forms of public election eventually gain admission to the -Senate through the Quæstorship, or he could be enrolled on the lists -of the Equestrian Order. In the first case he might eventually become -Prætor, Consul, and then Viceroy of a Province; in the second he became -a member of the great financial corporation which supplied the Civil -Service of the Empire; in the first case he might command armies and -figure prominently before the eyes of men; in the second he might make -a large fortune, but would not enjoy some of the sweets of power which -attract ambitious men. - -The relative positions are fairly comparable to those of an English -member of Parliament, and an English clerk in a Public Department in -the days before the Reform Bill; a young Englishman of good position -could be nominated in those days by an influential friend either to a -seat in the House of Commons, or to a subordinate place in one of the -Executive Departments; in the former case he might ultimately become -Prime Minister, in the latter Permanent Head of his department. In the -one case he would be widely known and possibly respected; in the latter -he might do work of the highest public utility, and never be heard of -outside official circles. - -To be successful in a senatorial career was an expensive and arduous -process; it was necessary to pay a heavy initiatory fee in the form -of direct and indirect bribery to the electors; it was then necessary -to force a way into the inner circle, which distributed the honours -and emoluments; a new man could only do so by showing that he had a -very strong force of public opinion behind him, and that he could make -himself felt; admission to the Equestrian Order was less costly, and -there was less risk; in consequence the career was deliberately chosen -by large numbers of Romans, whose wealth and family connections might -have tempted them to enter the ranks of the Senate; further, admission -to the Equestrian Order was less jealously guarded; it probably had its -hierarchy, and its inner circle like all similar organizations; and the -summons of the Censor was possibly a mere formality, the nominations -made by him having been previously determined by others; but it was -much easier for an Italian, and eventually for a Provincial to become a -Roman Knight than a Roman Senator. A Provincial, who had once secured -the status of a Roman citizen, could secure the further dignity of a -Roman Knight by processes which we may surmise, but cannot definitely -prescribe; once a Roman Knight, he might look forward to a share in -the financial administration of the provinces during the reign of the -Senate, and to a Governorship under the Emperors. - -It would be a mistake to assume that all Roman Knights were members -of the Civil Service, that is to say, that they all belonged to the -hierarchy which farmed the taxes and managed other business necessarily -connected therewith; there were doubtless many Equestrians whose -dignity was chiefly titular; others who as private financiers and -contractors only were connected with the Order, but the continued -allusions to the status of “Eques Romanus,” which multiply as the -Empire takes shape, forbid us to believe that this was in all cases -a purely honorary dignity, which could be assumed by any wealthy man -on application to the Censor. Were there no other evidence, the fact -that we find the Equestrian Order ranged formally against the Senate -at the beginning of the great constitutional struggle which ended in -the Empire, shows that we have to do with no haphazard collection of -wealthy individuals, distinguished from their fellow-citizens by an -honorary precedence. - -Cicero made his first triumphant appearance as a public man at Rome, -when he conducted the case against Verres; whatever may have been the -misconduct of Verres, and it was undoubtedly very serious, the action -against him was not promoted by pure philanthropy; the case was a -test case, it was part of a campaign directed against the provincial -administration of the Senate by the Equestrian Order, whose interests -were imperilled by rapacious Viceroys. The only check upon the -proceedings of a Roman Proconsul lay in the possibility of bringing -an action against him for improper exactions; in the purer days of -the Senatorial administration such an action when instituted by the -provincials might be successful, and the possibility of its success -might be a deterrent, because though the offending Senator was in such -a case tried by his peers, those peers, even if influenced by no higher -motive, were interested in preventing the exhaustion of a province; -any one of them might succeed to the wasted estate; the Proconsul who -succeeded a Verres was not likely to make much out of his office, for -he found the estate stripped. As the Senate became reckless, having -found fresh and apparently inexhaustible pastures in the East, scant -attention was paid to the complaints of provincials till their cause -was taken up by the Equestrian Order. - -The Roman Proconsul was supreme Judge and supreme executive authority -in his province; he imposed, sanctioned, and sometimes encouraged -public works, such as roads, harbours and buildings; he regulated the -mutual relations of the different independent communities within the -area over which his authority extended; he had ample opportunities -for indirect and direct extortion, but he did not collect the taxes; -the collection of revenue was in the hands of the farmers of the -taxes, that is to say, as time went on, of the Equestrian Order. A -divergency of interests soon declared itself: if the Proconsul harried -the province unmercifully, the tax gatherer found little or no revenue -to collect, and could not reimburse himself. The Proconsul had the -unfair advantage, that cases between the collectors of revenue and the -provincials were tried in his court; thus the farmers of the taxes -found that they had an interest in promoting appeals to Rome, and in -aiding the provincials to bring actions for extortion against the -provincial Governors at the end of their term of office. So long as -the Senate acted equitably no great harm was done, but as soon as the -Senate was found invariably to acquit its own members, the Equestrian -Order became ranged formally against it, and pressed for reforms; -it succeeded for a time in getting these case tried before a court -composed entirely of its own members; Sulla the reactionary gave back -the jurisdiction to the Senate. One consequence of the trial of Verres -was the establishment of a mixed court composed partly of Senators, -partly of Equestrians. The net result was that the Equestrian Order -formed an organized party, commanding enormous financial resources, -in sympathy with the provinces, and more thoroughly conversant with -the details of provincial business than the Senate. Thus eventually -the Equestrian Order came to represent the party of the Empire, as -opposed to the Senate which was the party of the ancient oligarchy of -the city; for with the internal politics of the city the Order was only -concerned so far as they affected or were affected by the standing -quarrel between itself and the Senate. There were men of high moral -standards at Rome both in the Senate and in the Order, who wished to -deal justly with the provinces; but they were few. Either party left to -itself would have plundered the provincials unmercifully; circumstance -ruled that the selfishness of the Equestrians should be enlightened, -that of the Senate unenlightened, while financial relations with men -of business in the provinces, with skilled Greeks and Jews, taught the -Order sounder views of political economy than were open to the average -Senator. However oppressive the methods of the Equestrian Order might -appear when judged by modern standards, they commended themselves to -the favour of antiquity; the Roman Civil Service worked better than -its predecessors, otherwise there would have been no Roman Empire. The -ultimate collector of taxes is never a popular character, and the -Roman Publicans enjoyed to the full the unpopularity which has been -the fate of their brethren at all times, and in all places; but the -revenues of the provinces were collected by the Roman Knights with less -friction, and less capriciously, than by the representatives of Perseus -of Macedon, or Mithridates, or Antiochus; and in their own interests -the Equestrian Order discountenanced other extortioners, whether -high-placed officials or private adventurers. When the Civil Wars came -the Order was interested in finding a counterpoise to the Senate, -and eventually in arresting the progress of anarchy. Cæsar backed by -the Order could confidently face the Senate and Pompeius; similarly -his nephew having once gained its confidence was a match for the -spendthrift Marcus Antonius. The Cæsars and the Order were of one mind -in putting an end to the Senatorial misgovernment of the provinces, -therefore Greater Rome recognized its champions in the Cæsars, and -supported the organization of which they were the head without stopping -to inquire whether the officials whom they employed were Freedmen or of -the purest Roman nobility. - -In order not to form a mistaken conception of the process by which the -Roman Empire was built up, it is important to bear in mind that the -term “province” only gradually acquired the territorial significance -with which it is now inseparably associated. Any responsibility outside -the city of Rome and the domain governed directly by the annually -elected magistrates of the city might be called “a province.” The -“province” at one time assigned to Pompeius was the duty of repressing -piracy throughout the Mediterranean. The territorial aspect of a -“province” was in fact accidental. The first territorial provinces, -Sicily, Sardinia, and Corsica, happened to be islands, and a natural -limitation was thus fixed to the responsibilities of the Roman -Governors, whose duty was to maintain the Roman interests in Sicily -and the other islands against the aggressions of Carthage; the result -was the unification of Sicily, and the realization of a political -condition closely resembling though not absolutely identical with -the modern conception of a province. As the dominions of Alexander -successively passed into the hands of the Senate, it was convenient to -use previously existing boundaries for the delimitation of the several -spheres of influence for which the Roman Proconsuls were responsible, -and thus a territorial significance increasingly attached to the -words province and provincial. Similarly modern usage perverts the -significance of the word “provincial” as applied to the inhabitants of -those cities which passed under the protectorate of Rome. There was not -quite the same quality of disparagement in the ancient use of the words -as in the modern. The units of the Roman Empire were not originally -territories, but individual cities, then, as the conquests of the Roman -Generals extended to peoples not living under the city organization -of the Greeks, Italians and Phœnicians, tribes or nationalities. Rome -was first the universal peacemaker; only at a later time and by a -gradual process did she become the universal ruler, and the centre -of a hierarchy of officials. Such centralization of the details of -Government as we are now familiar with was never realized by the -Roman Empire; the inhabitants of the great cities of the East did not -consider themselves “provincial” in our sense of the word. - - - - -II - -The Roman People - - -The official style of the Roman Government was that of the Senate -and the Roman people. It is not easy to form an estimate of what -constituted the Roman people at any particular date. In these days of -individual freedom and independence the term people has a definite -meaning; we know that for political purposes the English people means -every registered voter, and that the process by which any resident -within the limits of His Majesty’s dominions can acquire a vote are -comparatively simple for white men; but citizenship was not so simple -a matter in ancient times, and antiquarian research fails in some -measure to enlighten us, because the Romans had a habit of keeping the -old names and the old forms long after their original significance and -the powers implied had passed to new institutions or suffered complete -change. - -The very phrase the Senate _and_ the Roman people is deeply -significant, for it excludes the Senate from the people. Whatever may -have been the original meaning of the word “Populus,” it was clearly -something distinct from the Senate, which was not _representative_ of -the people, but another power. The fusion between the two powers was in -fact never completed till the predominance of the Imperial Hierarchy -practically eliminated the Senate. There was a time in the history of -the Republic when this fusion seemed to be approaching completion, and -when the Senate moved in the direction of becoming a representative -body; but the Roman conquests threw such preponderating influence into -the hands of the Senate, that the constitutional position which had -been slowly won for the “people” became nominal rather than real. The -oligarchy of Rome was never in the Republican period disestablished as -the oligarchies of many Greek cities were disestablished. - -The Roman historians have preserved for us a constitution based on -property qualifications, which might tempt us to imagine that there was -a time when a Government with something approaching to a democratic -organization controlled the destinies of Rome. It is possible that -there was a time when the Roman people was divided into classes -according to their assessed property, and when each class voted -separately; but it is exceedingly improbable that even in that golden -age of liberty there was anything approaching to free and independent -elections as we understand them. - -The independence of the individual has always been tempered by the -necessity of belonging to some form of organization. In these days -a man belongs to a party, or a trades union or an association, and -sacrifices a portion of his independence to the advantages gained by -sharing in the strength of an organized coherent body; in ancient times -even a modified independence of this kind was not possible, and in -early times at Rome a man was expected to vote for his patron through -thick and thin. To us it would appear that a man lost personal dignity -by following blindly the fortunes of a greater man than himself; to a -Roman it would seem that the individual had no personal dignity, if he -were not recognizably attached to a patron. - -Individual independence is only possible in a very highly civilized -society. Men may be technically equal in the eyes of the law long -before they are so practically; even in modern England it has been -found necessary to form associations whose members are bound to -mutual assistance in defending or instituting some actions-at-law. -The difference between ancient and modern society, and indeed between -modern society before and after the French Revolution, lies in this, -that the modern association is most commonly one of equal individuals -for certain definite purposes, while the ancient association was one of -inferiors of various degrees with a superior for all purposes. It would -be rash to attempt to define too closely, but the general statement -that in ancient Roman society there was no such thing as a free and -independent individual, except among the wealthiest or otherwise -most powerful, is near the truth. Numberless conditions unknown to -modern society contributed to produce the same result; among them the -following may be mentioned. - -Residence as a means of acquiring political status was not recognized -by the ancients; a man might reside in the same town all his life, and -his children might succeed him, but neither he nor they could buy or -sell, plead in the law courts, intermarry with the citizens, acquire -real property, or in fact enjoy any of the benefits of civilized -society, without making special arrangements; the resident was an alien -until the authorities of the town in which he dwelt had conferred -upon him a political status. Towns such as Rome and Athens, which -admitted resident aliens comparatively readily to a modified form of -citizenship, expanded more quickly than other towns, and the history -of the expansion of Rome is from this point of view the history of -the processes by which she gradually admitted the stranger within her -gates, and then the stranger without her walls to the privileges of -citizenship. - -The privileges of a citizen according to ancient ideas were separated -into two classes: they were private and public; to the first class -belonged the rights of buying and selling, intermarrying, making -valid contracts, and acquiring by various tenures real property; to -the second the right of voting in all or some elections, and, as the -climax, of standing for some or all magistracies. The various degrees -of citizenship might be conceded to individuals or to communities; Rome -might admit all full citizens of Arpinum to all or some of the rights -of Roman citizenship, and vice versâ, or similarly favour an individual -citizen of Arpinum. Long before an alien community or individual -received the benefits of citizenship business relations might be -necessary, and in order to get over the difficulty of conducting -business with persons who had no legal status, it was customary for -aliens to form private relations with full citizens through whom their -business was conducted; and here again the alien might be a whole -community or a single individual. At Rome the citizen who thus took -charge of an alien’s business was called his patron, and the alien was -called a client. The principal service rendered by the patron was to -appear on his client’s behalf in those law courts to which the client -had otherwise no access; the case was dealt with as the patron’s case -by a convenient legal fiction. The service rendered by the client was -not definitely prescribed in this case; it could not be, for he was -unknown to the Roman law; but we have no reason to suspect the Roman -patrons of not exacting a satisfactory equivalent for their services. -The same men who were clients at Rome would be patrons in their own -towns, and transact business for their Roman friend at Ephesus or -Alexandria in return for his services at Rome. In the same way aliens -resident at Rome, who for various reasons were unable or unwilling to -acquire rights of citizenship, enrolled themselves among the clients of -a patron. The system added enormously to the wealth and influence of -the powerful men at Rome; for much in the same way that the status of -citizen in its various degrees was personal and transmitted by descent, -only to be revoked by a solemn process, so the relation of patron and -client was personal and heritable on both sides. This combination of -personal with business relationships is one of the peculiarities that -make ancient society so difficult for us to understand. - -Even after an alien had acquired the rights of citizenship the tie -between his family and the patron’s family would continue. It would -not be easy to prove that it was strictly obligatory in the eye of -the law, but it was recognized by sentiment, and ingratitude on the -part of the client, or neglect on the part of the patron, were severely -punished by the unwritten law, and in certain cases by the written law. - -Thus one form of the relation of patron and client arose out of the -difficulties of intercourse between communities and individuals for -business purposes in a state of society which regarded citizenship as a -special personal qualification, and not as an incident of residence. - -A second form was the relation between a Roman noble and his freeborn -dependants in various degrees. - -Such a city as Rome was not comparable to a modern city in many -particulars; even after the definite establishment of the Empire when -it had approached the modern conception, there were still survivals -from a previous state of things. It would not, for instance, occur to -a wealthy citizen of London to start from his residence in Park Lane -with a pack of hounds, and all the other paraphernalia of a hunting -expedition, in order to impress his fellow-citizens with a sense of -his importance as a territorial magnate; such a thing was possible -at Rome even in the reign of Domitian, or there would be no point in -one of Martial’s epigrams. The heads of the great Roman families were -not originally rich men who conducted their business in Rome, and -possessed houses in the country to which they went to enjoy sport and -the amenities of Nature; they were originally territorial magnates, -whose importance was due to the fact that they were such; it was a -later development which made them approach to the position of our -great commercial princes in London. The ancient city community was -not a thing enclosed within walls; it extended over a considerable -area. The land outside the city walls might be held under some form of -communal tenure and subdivided into small plots, but it might also be -occupied by large holders in positions analogous to our conceptions -of a tenant-in-chief, whose subtenants were free citizens with full -civic rights in the eye of the law, but who were also in many respects -vassals. Dionysius has a statement of the relations between patron and -client which may be inaccurate in the letter, but which in its spirit -at once suggests the feudal system. It is inevitable in certain stages -of social development that the small man should associate himself in -some way or other with the big man, in order to be able to render -effective the rights which the law gives him. The Roman noble took -charge of his client’s interests in the law courts, the client voted -as his patron directed at the polling booths. The free and independent -electors who swarmed in from the country to give their votes were -pledged to support the candidates and measures recommended to them by -their patrons; had they failed to do so, they would have been thought -deficient in a Roman virtue. - -There was a third relationship of patron and client which was fairly -strictly defined by law; when a man emancipated a slave, the relations -between them were changed from those of master and slave to those of -patron and client. The slave did not always receive full citizenship on -emancipation, but all through the various degrees by which he passed -from the servile status to that of full citizen, he and his descendants -continued in the position of client to the original manumittor and his -descendants; the relationship was so close that the property of an -intestate freedman went to his patron or his patron’s representatives. -The legal statements on this subject are somewhat obscure, but enough -remains to show that the connection was recognized by the law as a -close one, and that there were rights on both sides; the relationship -was not purely a matter of personal choice nor readily dissoluble. - -All these three ways in which the relation of patron and client might -be created tended even in the purest days of the Roman Republic to -make an election a struggle between big families and groups of big -families rather than a political struggle in which each elector formed -an opinion upon a question of policy and gave his vote independently. -The Senate, that is to say, the assembly of heads of houses, divided -into parties or groups, and each head of a house could bring so many -electors to vote at the polling booths with tolerable certainty. The -ultimate political unit for practical purposes was not the individual -but the group formed by a patron and his clients, who in their -different degrees voted as the patron directed. - -A free Government controlled by an electorate, in which each individual -elector votes according to his own judgment, is a dream of political -theorists. It may have existed for a short time in some of the small -city states of antiquity, but in practice the individual elector is -too lazy to exert his own judgment; he votes, if it is made worth his -while to vote, either by the pressure of some extra constitutional -association to which he belongs, or by direct bribery, or by the more -insidious indirect bribery of party leaders who promise pecuniary or -sentimental satisfaction. - -In political life the letter of the statute book is always in process -of modification by custom and convenience. No state which is expanding -can hope to keep the letter of its constitution up to date; the changes -are too rapid, too subtle. Constitution makers are thus commonly -disappointed in the results of their labours, partly because they are -not in possession of all the facts, and partly because the conditions -have changed even in the time required to frame a constitution. At Rome -the letter of the constitution was but slightly changed during the -two centuries preceding the Empire; there were the same magistrates, -the same Senate, the same electoral and legislative bodies, very -nearly the same methods of voting, and the same qualifications of an -elector, but the working of the constitution changed; the admission of -large numbers of fresh citizens expanding the mass of voters beyond -manageable numbers, the changed responsibilities of the magistrates, -the widened career open to successful politicians rendered the old -terminology almost meaningless in reference to the actual working of -the constitution. - -There was a time when the extra constitutional organization of the -electors was entirely in the hands of the great families; this -arrangement broke down gradually before the influx of new citizens; -direct bribery took its place alongside of personal influence. Up to -the year 180 B.C. Rome had pursued a policy in relation to her allies -which, judged by the standards of antiquity, was liberal; she admitted -her immediate neighbours to a modified form of citizenship, she gave -the citizens of certain towns the right of voting in some of the Roman -elections, and she even gave those citizens of these towns who had held -the highest offices in their own towns, the right of standing for the -magistracies at Rome; she pursued a policy of expansion; at that date -her policy changed; she began to check the admission to citizenship, -which was afterwards only wrung from her by war, till the city -constitution was all but lost in the building of the Empire. - -On the one hand, the great families discovered that they had entered -upon the possession of a magnificent property, which they were not -disposed to share with an indefinite number of partners; on the -other hand, they felt that owing to the influx of numbers they had -lost their grip of the electorate, for the men who came to vote from -outlying towns were often sheep without a shepherd. It proved, however, -impossible to keep the electorate restricted. Rome herself could not -supply the armies necessary to carry on the career of conquest upon -which she had embarked; she was forced to depend upon allies to supply -the men whom she organized, and she was forced in various ways to pay -the price. One form of payment was the citizenship, which enabled the -Samnite or other Italian soldier to come to Rome for the elections, and -extort extra payment for his military services; whether he was feasted, -or amused, or actually paid for his vote, he shared with his Roman -fellow-soldier in the spoil of the provinces which he had helped to -conquer. Every fresh concession of citizenship rendered the electorate -more unwieldy, till the Roman people of whose favours Cicero so often -boasts had become little better than a mob. - -While the Roman Electorate was thus outgrowing all possible -organization, and the constitution of a city state was breaking down -in every direction under the weight of burdens which it was not -constructed to carry, the minds of liberal statesmen at Rome were -unhappily occupied largely with city constitutions. The enlightened -circle of the Roman nobility, which was represented by such men as -Scipio Æmilianus, studied the Greek political writers rather than the -events which were going on around them, and were tempted to see in -the creation of a really democratic constitution the remedy for the -disorders which were only too obvious. They were liberal in one sense, -but it was in terms of the city state, which no longer existed. - -We have had an analogous process in our own history. The expansion of -England for a long time escaped the notice of men, who, frightened by -the French Revolution, were concerned in demonstrating the incomparable -merit of representative government, and of establishing the fact that -the English constitution had always contained in it the democratic -principle. One of these men rewrote for us the history of Greece in -terms of the praise of democracy; another proclaimed the merits of -liberty and representative government; a whole school of historians is -interested in showing the popular share in such events as the extortion -of Magna Charta from an unwilling King, and in the constitution of -the Parliament summoned in the King’s name by Simon de Montfort; as -the result of the labours of these and other men our attention was -drawn for many years exclusively to problems of domestic government; -the far greater problem, the relations of England to her colonies -and dependencies, and the necessary modifications in her internal -constitution, escaped notice. - -At Rome the first important act of the new Liberal school was the -attempted agrarian legislation of Tiberius Gracchus; Rome was to deal -with her conquered territory in the terms of a city state; conquered -land was public land; in such states it had always belonged to the -whole people, and had been shared between them; Rome had neglected this -salutary arrangement; her public land had passed into the possession of -the wealthy few; it must be resumed, and redivided. The proposal was -about as practical as an attempt to restore all the common lands to the -English peasantry would be at present; it failed; the originator was -assassinated. - -Ten years later his brother proposed further liberal schemes; he -was less of a dreamer; he looked forward rather than back; he saw -that Rome must provide for her time-expired soldiers, and must give -non-Roman Italians who had fought under her standards a larger share -in her conquests; but he was before his time, and was in his turn -assassinated; a similar fate befell a leader from the ranks of the -Conservative nobility, a Livius Drusus, who a few years later advanced -the same political programme. The expansion of Rome to include Italy -had thus become part of the policy of a definite party at Rome; but -this party was not always a popular party, for the men who idled about -the streets of Rome, living on the profits of citizenship, were no more -disposed than the great families to add to the number of the partners. - -During the second century before the Christian era, the forms of -popular government were maintained at Rome ready to become more than -forms when an organization was also ready to use them. The most -important effect of the political work of the Gracchi was to breathe -fresh life into the popular assembly; but this was no sooner done -than the constitution proved to be unworkable; then followed a period -of anarchy in Rome itself, which lasted for seventy years; during -this period one party, the party of Greater Rome, steadily grew, and -eventually left the constitution so modified that the local politics -of the capital no longer had a predominant weight in the Empire. The -first great step towards this end was made in the period during which -C. Marius had an overpowering influence in Roman politics. Marius is -represented to us by the historians from an unfriendly point of view; -it is not easy to get at the real man through the mass of legend which -obscures his real story. We see him a capable general who reorganized -the Roman Army; we also see him incapable as a politician; he figures -as the rough brutal demagogue whose violence stands in unpleasing -contrast to the suave manners of Sulla; but whatever he may have been -personally he represented definite political tendencies. The Marian -party survived Marius, and found its most distinguished representative -in the great Cæsar, who was a nephew of Marius. - -A significant fact about Marius is that he was not a Roman; he came -from the small town of Arpinum. Technically he was a Roman citizen, -for Arpinum was a community which had enjoyed for nearly a century the -privileges of Roman citizenship; but his connexion with Rome was not -the connexion of a Cornelius or an Æmilius. He was one of the many men -from Italian towns who used their Roman citizenship to push a career -at Rome; Cicero, also from Arpinum, and Pompeius from Picenum are -well-known examples of the same class of men. - -Each of these three men failed as a politician at Rome, and in much -the same way each of them transferred to the wide arena of Roman -politics the limitations imposed by the traditions of a small city -state. Marius could not manage the Electorate nor the Senate; Pompeius -could not manage the Senate; Cicero saw in Rome a magnified Arpinum. -Of the three, Marius, in spite of the clumsiness which defeated his -own purposes, had grasped the one political idea which was to conquer -all others in the end; he saw that the men who fought in the armies -of the Empire must have a share in the government of the Empire; he -contributed to this end, perhaps unconsciously, by his reorganization -of the Army. The reforms of Marius in military organization were in -the first place technical, and unfortunately we cannot assign the -several details to their responsible authors. We do not know exactly -what was done by Marius himself, what by his successors; but we do -know that his administration marks the period at which the Roman Army -took the form of a professional standing army as distinct from a -militia. The change had been long in progress, military necessities -had imposed it; occasional service had been practically replaced by -continuous service. Marius substituted in fact, if not in every form, -a military organization in the army for a civil organization; the -change was forced upon the Roman by the dangerous invasions from the -north which had found the Government unprepared. Marius dispersed -the invaders; he stood forth as the saviour not only of Rome, but of -Italy, and he was able to reorganize the army in terms not of the Roman -constitution but of military necessities. The Roman Armies at this -date were not recruited exclusively or even in the greater proportion -from Rome herself; not only was each legion supported by auxiliaries, -such as cavalry and light armed skirmishers, drawn from non-Italian -territories, but the legion itself was recruited from the allies in -Italy as well as from Rome, and the balance of military strength was -against the capital. - -The State at once found itself confronted with a difficult problem: -what was to be done with the professional soldiers when their time of -service had expired? Men who had served for a term of years found their -previous employments closed to them. Alongside with the expansion -of the Empire went the depression of Italian agriculture; the food -supplies of the capital were increasingly drawn from Sicily, Africa -and Sardinia; soldiers who had been free agricultural labourers found -their places taken by the captives whom they had themselves reduced -to slavery. The remedy that suggested itself was to assign lands to -the soldiers; they could either be sent to form military colonies in -conquered territory, or be provided with land in Italy confiscated on -various pretexts, or simply taken without further excuse. This remedy -was not in all respects successful. Men who had become used to the -excitements of war and the pleasures of looting, did not settle down -readily to the drudgery of farming; some parted with their farms, -others in cases where the farm had been one appropriated by the State, -allowed the proprietor who had been defrauded to retain possession -on condition of paying a rent; some of these men re-enlisted, others -went to swell the mob of the capital and enjoy its amusements. The -Roman people of Cicero’s days largely consisted of men drawn from -many parts of Italy, who had been, or still were, soldiers, and who -had no objection to being bribed to give their votes; if they had any -political convictions they were Italian rather than Roman; if they -resisted any further extension of the privileges of citizenship it was -from interested motives, and not because they loved the Conservative -party in the Senate. As Rome was the only place in which votes could be -given, the tendency was for all Italians possessing the status of Roman -citizens to drift into Rome, if they had no occupations to detain -them elsewhere. Men who aspired to be political leaders had to win the -favour of this increasing multitude. - -The Roman people so constituted had no particular affection for -Rome, and none for the Senate of Rome as a body; its affections were -centred on those who could promote its own interests, on those who -were lavish in providing it with amusements and distributing doles, -on generals who promised large rewards to their soldiers, on orators -who flattered the vanity of the mob; if it had any genuine political -sympathies they were with the Army, and with Italy rather than with the -hierarchy at Rome. The greatness of the Roman statesmen lies in this, -that though nominally the magistrates were elected and laws passed by -this rabble, and the whole administration lay at its mercy, outside -Italy the Roman Government steadily grew in strength; the love of order -and faith in law were so deeply implanted in the Roman character that -the administration was not shattered by years of apparent anarchy, -in which the constitution seemed to have fallen into abeyance, and -the fate of the civilized world to depend upon the caprices of a mob -or the loyalty of soldiers to their leaders. The Roman resembled the -Englishman in being able to make the best of a bad government or no -government; disorder called his reserve of moral strength into action; -the executive was always superior to the constitution; however unruly -the city, the Roman citizen in the provinces preserved the qualities -which had made Rome the ruling power in the Mediterranean. - -The character of the Roman people having changed, the mass of citizens -being no longer Romans and nothing else, the ruling classes at Rome -did their best to organize the numbers who filled the streets. All -the methods by which elections may be controlled were resorted to: -political clubs were formed, the great families looked up their -clients, some of them provided themselves with armed bands of -retainers, bribery was systematic and constant; but all efforts to -introduce order into the unwieldy body of the Roman people alike -failed. It is possible that if the popular assembly had had no -further voice in public affairs than to elect magistrates, a way -might have been found out of the difficulty; but the mob was not -only the electorate, it was also the legislative body, or rather a -legislative body. It could not only pass laws, but it could prevent -through its representatives, the tribunes, any laws being passed, or -any business being conducted. The rule of the Roman people under these -conditions was simply authorized anarchy, and the deeply lamented fall -of the Republic with which school histories are apt to close, was -the restoration of order. In fact just at the time when the history -of Rome became the history of the civilized world, there was no -longer any political meaning in the term “the Roman People”; it was -a survival from previous conditions. The attempt to call to life the -forms of popular government resulted, as it was bound to result, not in -government, but in anarchy. - - - - -III - -The Senate - - -If the Roman people acquired a political significance in the later -days of the Republic only to show that it was an unmanageable part of -the constitution, the Roman Senate had always been an organized power. -Had it pursued the comparatively liberal policy which prevailed in -its councils immediately after the second Punic War, the Empire would -probably have come, but it might have come without the intervening -period of revolution; this, however, was not to be; the temptations of -wealth and power were too strong. While, however, we are at liberty -to condemn the Senate as it is revealed to us by the transactions -with Jugurtha and other scandalous incidents, we must not forget that -the same body which failed so deplorably at one period of its career -produced the men by whom the Empire was made. It was the embodiment -of all that was politically good in the Roman character, as well as -of much that was evil; its faults were the faults inherent to a close -corporation of nobles enjoying vast responsibilities which it did not -altogether comprehend; its virtues have impressed themselves upon -subsequent history. - -A peculiarity of the Roman constitution in the later centuries of -the Republic is that it was practically unworkable even as a city -government, unless everybody was agreed to exercise forbearance, -and not to push constitutional powers to their legitimate extremes. -Two chief magistrates were elected every year, each of whom could -neutralize the work of the other; all public business could be stopped -at a moment’s notice on religious grounds; the magistrates elected by -the popular assembly could impose their veto upon the action of all -other magistrates. As long as the Senatorial families worked together, -and abandoned their mutual differences in the presence of external -pressure, the popular element in the constitution could be disregarded; -but when the Senate became divided against itself, or when individual -Senators chose to ignore the traditional checks by which the whole -body was enabled to work in the interests of the order rather than of -the individuals composing the order, it was possible to paralyze the -Government without departing from the strict letter of the constitution. - -The Senate was a strictly aristocratical body, practically a -co-optative body, for every five years the Censor, himself a Senator, -revised the list of the Senate. It was in his power to remove members, -who had in various ways disgraced themselves, or who had fallen below -the property qualification demanded of a Senator; he could summon -new members, and though, after Sulla had passed a decree to that -effect, he was bound to summon all men who had held the elective -office of Quæstor, so long as the Senate was united, it could control -the elections, and take care that no undesirable politician should -in this way effect his admission to the order. This quality of an -Aristocratical Order still hung about the Senate in the early days of -the Empire; it was felt even then to be a public misfortune that a -Senatorial family should be unequal to maintaining its position, and -such families were occasionally subsidised by the Emperors. - -The Senate was chiefly composed of men who belonged to an aristocracy -by birth, and it admitted new men very unwillingly; a Marius with the -power of the Army behind him could force his way into the Senate; -a useful advocate like Cicero, or general like Pompeius, could be -summoned to its ranks, but such men were unwelcome; they were accepted -as a disagreeable necessity; all three learned at different times by -bitter experience, that they were, at the best, tolerated. - -An indication of the aristocratic nature of the Senate is afforded by -the fact that Senators were forbidden to engage in trade, a prohibition -which however they contrived to evade. - -The school of writers which is interested in representing all forms -of government, which have been successful as democratic, has done its -best both in ancient and modern times to minimise the aristocratic -character of the Roman Senate no less than its legislative supremacy; -but the whole tone of Roman history is against them. A Roman Senator -was distinctly a nobleman. Inside the Senate rank went by office; -those Senators who had held the higher offices took precedence of -others according to dignity of office; those families were most highly -honoured who could show the greatest number of dignitaries among -their ancestors, but the qualification of birth co-existed with rank, -derived from office or a long ancestry of office holders. Long after -the distinction between patrician and plebeian had ceased to have -any meaning except in reference to certain priesthoods and religious -ceremonies, the distinction between patrician and plebeian families -was remembered, and occasionally reasserted itself practically; and -it was some time before the official rank of Senator conferred by an -Emperor was respected unless the recipient was entitled to Senatorial -rank by descent. Among the few acts of the early Emperors which win -the respect of contemporary historians, purgations of the Senate are -included. Julius Cæsar tried to make the Senate a council of the Empire -by enrolling in it non-Italians; but he was before his time, and his -astute successor acted in a contrary spirit. - -During all the constitutional changes of the last centuries of the -Republic, the position of the Roman Senate remained unchanged in -two particulars: it was the fountain head of Roman religion and of -Roman law, and though the former might be held to be of transitory -importance, the latter was undeniably permanent in its effects. - -The Roman Senate did not alone make law, though it alone through the -Prætors interpreted law. As a legislative body it shared its functions -with the popular assemblies; its decrees were rather administrative -than legislative, but it has never been rivalled, except, perhaps, -by the English judges, in its power of expanding the application of -existing laws and creating a legal system. This peculiarity of the -Roman mind, its conservatism combined with a capacity for readjustment, -gave us the Roman Empire; without it the Roman conquests would have -gone for nothing. The Greek, far quicker witted than the Roman, was -ready to change his laws at a moment’s notice. It was to him an open -question whether his state should be democratic or oligarchic; the -question could be settled according to convenience, by voting or by -force; a new constitution could be framed to suit new emergencies. The -Roman mind worked differently; with the Roman the new had, if possible, -to be read into the old. The Roman did not become a constitution -maker till he had passed under Greek influence, and he was remarkably -unsuccessful in the task. He soon abandoned it, but he never failed in -his casuistry; there was no conceivable adjustment of human relations -which the Roman jurisconsult could not refer back to the Twelve Tables; -he never troubled himself as to what was to the advantage of the -greatest number, or as to the precise definition of justice; he simply -took his law, his precedents, his authorised interpretations, and -worked the new circumstances into line with the old forms. - -Till the Greek influence modified Roman habits the education of the -young Roman noblemen was largely legal; while the Greek youth was -discussing morality speculatively, the Roman youth was being instructed -in the application of law. He sat at the feet of some Mucius Scævola, -and heard his solutions of knotty entanglements; the oratory in which -he was trained was not the florid rhetoric, which may be addressed -successfully to a mob, but forensic oratory addressed to trained -intelligence. - -With the legal temperament, the Roman combined the religious -temperament, the habit of looking to authority rather than to -speculation as a guide for his actions. The Sibylline books continued -to be consulted in form, if not in fact, on occasions of emergency, -long after the cultivated Roman had become familiar with the -rationalistic speculations of the Greeks and the mathematicians. - -The Senate might under these influences have easily degenerated into a -futile subservience to stereotyped forms and habits which would have -rendered expansion impossible; it might have opposed a Chinese rigidity -to necessary innovations; but the destinies of Rome had ordained that -from the beginning the principle of modification should exist alongside -with a strong conservative tendency. It may be left to the antiquaries -to decide exactly how much truth survives in the legends which form the -chief part of early Roman history, but even if it were not demonstrable -that the population of Rome was a composite population at a very early -time, the fact would remain that the Romans themselves believed it -to be composed of three elements: they believed that Latins, Sabines -and Etruscans had been welded together under the Kings, and that the -titular distinction between patrician and plebeian families survived -from a further process of incorporation of aliens; thus there was -ancient authority for innovation in such an important matter as the -admission of new citizens. Athens was in this respect more conservative -than Rome; the citizens of the most democratic state of the ancient -world boasted of their pure native descent, while the conservative -Roman found in his history a continuous process of immigration to the -hills by the Tiber, repeated coalition, continued absorption. - -While the Roman Senate was in one aspect a body of trained lawyers, -in another it was a body of priests. The evolution of the priesthood -as a separate profession is a comparatively modern process. In the -history of Rome we see the first step in the process, the changes by -which the men appointed to maintain the state religion or to conduct -the ceremonial observances paid to particular gods became elected -officials, after having been the representatives of certain families -upon whom those obligations rested. The duties of religion which had -previously been family duties became state duties; but this change did -not relieve the Senate of its charge of the national religion. Just as -the Senator was an expert in law, so he was an expert in ritual; he did -not discuss questions of faith, but he decided points of ceremonial. -Though the Colleges of Pontiffs and Augurs were not in the later days -of the Republic necessarily drawn from the Senators, and though for a -short period a restricted form of public election was applied to the -former, practically the Senatorial families held these offices in their -own hands, and the power which they thus wielded could only be taken -from them by the expedient of combining in the person of the chief of -the State the functions of chief Pontifex and chief Augur. Any public -business could be suspended by the declaration of a Pontifex or Augur, -that it was contrary to established ritual, or that the gods had -by means of recognized signs and omens signified the occasion to be -unfavourable. - -The Senate was also an assembly of heads of families; when a Roman -youth of Senatorial descent came of age, his father presented him to -the Senate. Though inside his family the father was omnipotent, the -Senate decided what actually was the family law; and in this respect -the Senate dealt with the family, not with the individual. If the -head of the family failed to rule his family properly, and thereby -occasioned scandal, he might be marked by the Censor and degraded from -his rank. In the family were included many persons whom we consider -to be outside the family; slaves, freedmen and certain clients had -rights as well as duties; the father of a family who contravened the -regulations of the Senate in his relations with such persons caused -a scandal, no less than in irregular relations with his wife or -children. We are frequently surprised in reading the history of the -early Emperors by the freedom with which they appeal to the Senate for -commiseration in their private misfortunes, by their habit of assuming -that the Senate is interested in their family affairs, but in this they -were only acting as any other Senator would act. The point of view may -be well illustrated from the procedure in divorce; divorce was a purely -family affair with the Romans; a wife guilty of misconduct was divorced -by her husband without any appeal to a law court. With ourselves a man -is at liberty to apply for a divorce; if under certain circumstances -he does not do so, we may admire his forbearance or despise his -laxity, but there is no constituted authority which can force him to -start an action; whereas a Roman Senator who permitted flagrantly -scandalous conduct on the part of his wife could be, and sometimes was, -degraded by the Censor, the good order of the State being imperilled -by the irregularities in his family; cruelty to slaves or neglect of -freedmen and clients were in the same way matters that came under the -observation of the Senate, and of the Emperors as the leaders of the -Senate. - -These characteristics of the Roman Senate, that it was broadly speaking -an assembly of lawyers, priests and heads of families, of which any -individual might and often did combine all three functions in his -own person, were most strongly marked in the period during which it -commanded the respect of Polybius and Judas Maccabæus; the policy of -Augustus was to restore these characteristics; they were partly in -abeyance during the period of the greatest prosperity of the Republic, -when the attention of the individual Senator of Rome was irresistibly -drawn to the administration of her conquered territories, and to the -regulation of her relations with potentates on the confines of her -Empire. - -At the beginning of the first century before the Christian era, the -Senate was divided into parties evolved by the new responsibilities, -and the changes in opinion caused by the influx of Greek ideals. The -most important problem was the administration of the provinces, but -along with it there had to be considered the organization of the -internal constitution of the city itself. Thus there were two groups -of reformers, those who were chiefly concerned in the adjustment of -the relations between the city and the Empire, and those who were more -actively interested in the reorganization of her local constitution. -The questions which presented themselves to the individual Senator were -three in number: first, were the provinces to be governed rigorously as -conquered territories, or were they to be admitted to a share in their -own government and the government of the Empire? secondly, if they were -to be governed by Rome and for Rome, was the administration to continue -to be exclusively in the hands of the Senate? thirdly, whatever might -be Rome’s relations with her provinces, was it not necessary to give -reality to those germs of popular government which existed in the Roman -constitution, and to make the Senate directly or indirectly an elected -assembly of notable men? - -Thus a Senator might be Conservative with reference to the provinces, -but liberal with reference to the city, or he might hold that the -Senate must be the centre of government, and yet be capable of such -internal reforms as to make it the best protector of provincial -interests; or he might say that the rule of the Senate was good for the -city, but unworkable in the provinces. - -Outside the Senate there was the Equestrian Order representing both -the Civil Administration of the Empire, and non-Roman as well as -Roman financiers, supporting any man or group in the Senate which -seemed favourable to its interests; there was also the body of Roman -citizens partly composed of men who were still bound by various ties to -individual members of the Senate, and partly of men who had served in -the Roman armies, and supported the policy of distinguished generals by -whom they were organized and in various ways paid for their help. - -A peculiar quality of the Roman Senate was the romantic affection with -which it was regarded by its members and adherents; it was no mere -house of representatives; it was a dynasty. Men not only in Rome, but -in the provinces, tolerated its scandalous misgovernment after the -third Punic War, as men have tolerated the government of a bad King -without losing their faith in monarchy and their affection for the -institution. Hard-headed politicians may see in the suicide of Cato at -Utica nothing but contemptible weakness; to them the Roman Senate is -only one of many political organizations; but Cato’s act was otherwise -regarded in antiquity. To find a parallel we have to search among those -adherents of the Stuart Dynasty in England and Scotland, to whom the -cause for which they fought was not merely a political cause, but a -religion. We do not condemn men who committed political suicide after -1715, and abstained from public affairs, or even left their country; -we feel that, for men believing as they did, no other course was open; -it was precisely in this light that the death of Cato appeared to his -contemporaries. - -The resistance of the Senate to the various reforms pressed upon it -from 131 B.C. onwards has been represented as simply a resistance of -vested interests; that it was so in some measure even at first, and -increasingly so as time went on, is indisputably true, but Cato did -not kill himself as a martyr to the cause of vested interests. The -Senatorial position was that of a monarch by divine right; the Senate -could not accept reforms in deference to external pressure without in a -measure abdicating; it was in itself both Church and Crown; it could no -more make terms with a Gracchus or a Livius Drusus than could Charles -I. with a Pym or a Cromwell. - -This point has been largely concealed from us by the Greek influences -under which the history of Rome has been written; we are tempted to -think of the Roman Senate as of the Athenian Boulé, as of an Upper -House, whose powers and privileges could be curtailed or prescribed -at the will of a popular assembly; but to concede that point was to -concede everything. The bad faith of the Roman Senate, its desperate -expedients to maintain its position alike against the rising power -of the Army, the organization of the Equestrians, the body of Roman -citizens, or the reformers within its ranks, become in a measure -respectable when we reflect that the Senate believed itself to rule by -divine right. - -Similarly faith in the detestation of monarchy ascribed to the Senate -is the result, in some measure, of giving undue weight to Greek -prejudices, and to the words of men who were unconsciously enthralled -by them. - -The Senate so arranged matters that no member of the oligarchy should -acquire a preponderant position, and disturb the equality which in -theory prevailed between individual Senators; hence various enactments -as to the intervals between holding the Consulate twice over, the -limited period of a provincial appointment and the disbanding of a -Consul’s army outside Rome. In the decadence of the Senate piracy was -not quelled in the Mediterranean, and inadequate provision was made to -repel the Teutonic invasion from the North, because the immense power -wielded by the man to whom either of these enterprises was entrusted -threatened to overbalance the constitution. The Senate felt, and -rightly felt, that its greatness had been achieved by the relatively -unselfish co-operation of its members; when the sentiment, which had -rendered that unselfish co-operation possible, had given way before -the immense opportunities offered by provincial governorships and the -successful command of Roman armies, the Senate endeavoured to restore -the effects of that sentiment by insisting more and more strongly -upon regulations which tended to equality; but this was something -different from the Greek antipathy to the tyrant. Equality between its -members was a fundamental theory of the Senate, but it had so little -antipathy to monarchy as to provide for the rule of one man in the -event of great dangers. The Dictatorship, so long as it lasted, was an -absolute monarchy; to the Greek a Dictator was the negation of civil -order; hence in a Greek town the assumption of the supreme power by -one man, however great the emergency, was a revolutionary proceeding; -at Rome the appointment of a Dictator was a recognized constitutional -expedient. - -Thus the divine right of the Senate did not exclude the possibility -of making one of their own number supreme executive magistrate; and -monarchy was abhorrent to the Senator, not because it was a thing -contrary to nature, as some Greek philosophers held, but because it -disturbed the balance of the Senatorial constitution. - -By laying undue stress on the Senatorial objection to the rule of one -man, writers of the school of Cicero have concealed the real position -of an orthodox Roman Senator. Cæsar was hated by the old Senatorial -party, less because he was in fact King than because he had changed the -constitution of the Senate, and endeavoured to make it a council of the -Empire by inviting provincials to its ranks. - -There is this essential difference between the suicide of Cato and the -subsequent suicide of Brutus: the former was a legitimist, to whom the -defeat of his cause meant the destruction of all that was holy, the -final collapse of law and order and religion; the latter, if an honest -man at all, was a fanatical doctrinaire who had been disappointed in -his expectation of regenerating society; Cato died because he could not -live under the new conditions, Brutus partly because he was disgusted -with his failure, partly because he preferred death by his own hand to -death at the hands of the ruffians of Antonius. - -The conservative Senator objected to a King, it is true, but he -objected no less and perhaps even more to such a reconstitution of the -Senate as commended itself to Cicero and other reformers, who wished to -remodel the political arrangements of Rome in terms of the Athenian -Constitution or of some less extravagant ideal republic than that -imagined by Plato. - -While the Senate contained a party of irreconcilables whom we may -call the Legitimists, it also contained a party who believed in the -possibility of a genuine reform, and adaptation of the Senatorial -constitution to the needs of the Empire; there was a liberal tradition -as well as a conservative tradition inside the Senate; the men who -had gradually broken down the barriers between Patrician and Plebeian -in the early days of the Republic, and who had gone some distance in -admitting the allies to a place in the constitution, had been succeeded -by the men who had recognized the claims of the Equestrian order, and -saw that some equitable distribution of the rewards of victory among -the rank and file of the army was necessary to the well being of the -State. The names of the men who took the lead in forcing reforms upon -the Senate are Senatorial names, Glaucia, Fimbria, Saturninus, Livius -Drusus, Cinna, no less than the Gracchi were Senators; and though they -were ill advised in mistaking the Roman mob for a constitutional party, -they were not demagogues in the sense that Danton was a demagogue; they -belonged to the body which they wished to reform; their methods were -injudicious, as was proved by the result, but it is not easy to see -what other methods were open to them. After Cicero had pledged himself -to the cause of the Conservative party in the Senate, he spoke of these -men and other men who had proposed and passed measures of reform in -terms of unmeasured reprobation, but we are no more bound to accept -his condemnation as historically accurate than we are at liberty to -accept the current terminology of political abuse in our own day as -indicating anything more than the malignity of the speaker. Even the -moderate reformer is stigmatized as a demagogue by those who object to -his reforms. - -Had Marius been as capable a politician as he was a general, it is -possible that the reform party in the Senate might have brought about -a gradual transition from the rule of the Senate to the inevitable -monarchy, but the incapacity of Marius gave the reins to violence, and -brought on the proscription of Cinna to be followed by the reaction and -yet more violent proscription of Sulla. - -Constitutional reform failed, but the breed of constitutional -reformers was not extinguished even by the second proscription. Sulla -had recognized this party, and had adopted two of its projects of -reform; he had, in a measure, unified Italy, and he had provided for a -quasi-representative constitution of the Senate by ordaining that men -who had held the elective office of Quæstor should after their term of -office pass into the Senatorial ranks; this did not exclude other means -of admission to the Senate, but it partly broke down the exclusive -system of co-optation through the Censor, and it gave a capable and -pushing man from an Italian municipality, such as Cicero, a better -chance of attaining the highest position at Rome. - -The party of moderate reform was divided into two sections, the section -which recognized the Empire, and the section which thought in the -first place of the city; the former became the mainstay of Cæsar, the -latter soon ceased to have any practical weight except in literature. -When the great crisis came, it ranged itself for the most part with -the Pompeians; but the former section was not able to accept Cæsar’s -radical reforms, and became after his death anti-Cæsarian, till after -being frightened by the extravagance of Antonius and the brigandage of -Sextus Pompeius, it was won over by the moderate and cautious policy of -Octavian. These were the men who fought beside Brutus and Cassius, and -joined Lucius Antonius in the Perusine war, but when they saw that the -choice was between anarchy and Octavian, gave their adhesion finally to -his cause; the reign of Augustus bears the impress of their influence -throughout. Among them were two men of note, Livius Drusus, father of -Livia and grandfather of Tiberius, and Tiberius Nero, the father of the -future Emperor. - -The reign of Augustus did not finally conclude the reign of the Senate, -but it removed from practical politics the party who could not see -beyond the city State, and it definitely concluded the pretensions of -the rabble of the streets to act in the capacity of the Roman people. -It was only gradually that the Senate became an advisory council to the -Emperors, recruited from the distinguished officials of the Empire, or -from the legal profession; it retained for a long time its hereditary -and domestic character. - -It might have been anticipated that there would be a clear division -of functions between the officials of Greater Rome and of the city -itself, that the Emperor with his staff would manage the concerns of -the Empire, and the Senate would govern the city; but it was long -before the Government of the city sank to the position of an ordinary -municipal Government. The division of the provinces into Senatorial -and Imperial ultimately broke down, and was indeed from the beginning -formal rather than real; it was a compromise by which the old nobility -was conciliated, but the honours conceded to the old aristocracy -became more and more titular as time went on; the Roman Senate could -not step down, and it refused to accept the position of the city -Council of Rome, or even of the Council of Italy. It was never formally -disestablished, but it was eventually crowded out, though it was -still sufficiently self-conscious, when Tacitus and the younger Pliny -were writing, to resent the predominance of the Imperial Household, -and to worship the traditions of an omnipotence which it believed to -have been the realization of those dreams of liberty so dear to the -Greek philosophers. So long as Rome continued to be the centre of the -administration of the Empire, the Senate of Rome was always something -more than a municipal council, and the name of the body which had once -governed the Empire was always dignified by associations which could -attach to no other assembly. - - - - -IV - -Slavery - - -The politician of to-day is as incapable of imagining a wholesome state -of society in which slavery is a recognized and universal institution, -as he is of believing that any political constitution can be really -good without representative government. The Romans, however, contrived -to civilize the world, so far as it was accessible to them, without -representative government and with slavery. Slavery is, in fact, a -necessary condition in the evolution of civilized society, and was an -important factor in the evolution of the Roman Empire. Teuton and Celt, -no less than Greek or Roman or Phœnician, equally used and doubtless -equally abused the institution; no race can claim to have been at all -periods of its history free from the curse. - -In order to arrive at a fair conception of slavery as it existed -in antiquity, it is necessary to clear our minds once for all of -prepossessions created by the conditions of slavery in America or other -countries, where the slave and the slave owner have been distinguished -by such marked racial differences as exist between the white man and -the coloured man, between the highly civilized man and the savage. Even -in the department of negro slavery, as practised in America, there -are two sides to the question, and _Tom Cringle’s Log_ must be set -against _Uncle Tom’s Cabin_. Mr. T. Booker Washington, an American -negro who has done perhaps more for the emancipated black men than any -living man, himself born a slave, refuses to join in the wholesale -condemnation of American slave owners; to him the mischief of the -institution lay less in its injurious effects upon the negro than upon -the white man, who despised wholesome industry, and tended to become -useless rather than cruel. - -The political student has to approach the subject without prejudice, -and investigate all the consequences and accompaniments of slavery, -not only some of them. It is further necessary in dealing with such -a question to discount the antipathy to pain and discomfort which -is so marked a feature of modern life. Granted that under certain -circumstances slavery resulted in a vast amount of hideous suffering, -still slavery was not the only condition in ancient life, or mediaeval -life, or even modern life, that has resulted in suffering. Wherever a -man finds himself in an irresponsible position towards a number of his -fellow creatures, wherever a society or the rulers of a society live in -terror of any section of that society whether slave or free, there is -always the probability of great cruelty. If all the pain and sorrows -of humanity from the beginning of time until now could be reckoned up -and estimated, and assigned to their various causes, it is questionable -whether slavery would show the blackest record. - -Antiquity has left us some notorious instances of cruelty to domestic -slaves, and the stories of a few sensational cases have been preserved; -but even the English domestic servant in Christian London in the -nineteenth century is exposed to cruelty, and if the records of our law -courts survive, posterity on the evidence of a few exceptional cases -will be able to pass a stern sentence upon English men and women of -today. Could we estimate all the pains of all the operatives in modern -England, all the lives that are shortened, or rendered intolerable by -disordered health, could we arrive at a clear understanding of all -that is suffered by puddlers in iron foundries, by stokers on our -great ships, by men and women employed in lead works, in brick works, -in chemical works, in numberless other dangerous industries, we might -well pause before condemning slavery as the one social condition -predominantly productive of human suffering. True, the modern operative -is free, but free to do or to be what? The chain is there; it is only a -different kind of chain. - -When St. Paul travelled from Puteoli to Rome, he passed through a -country in which a form of slavery was universal, which is commonly -held to have been the cruellest known to Italy; he passed by the -barracks of the agricultural slaves, and the conditions of travelling -were such as to give him every opportunity of making observations; -he lived certainly for two years after this date, and possibly much -longer, but he nowhere lifts up his voice against slavery in general, -or even this particular form of slavery. Not long before St. Paul made -this journey, it had been necessary to inspect the slave barracks in -the same part of Italy, because free men had acquired the habit of -adopting servitude in order to escape military service. - -In fact that picture of antique slavery which represents it as a -scene of whippings and tortures, of rapes and murders, of humiliating -or disgusting services exacted by one man from another, and as the -exclusive condition under which such things occur, is a false picture. - -The importance of slavery as a factor in the life of the ancients does -not in fact depend so much upon its moral influence upon individuals as -upon its political consequences, which were many and far-reaching in -their effects. - -The condition of slavery in the ancient world did not in itself involve -the same measure of personal degradation with which it is associated in -these days; it was only one of many inequalities recognized by society. -If a slave could not appear in the law courts of Rome, no more could -the resident alien, however rich, however noble in the city from which -he came; if the slave could not hold real property, no more could the -sons of his master; if he could under certain conditions only acquire -personal property, his master’s son was similarly disqualified; the -ceremony by which each acquired freedom was the same; neither could -make a will, nor work entirely for his own profit; both were included -in the family; the domestic disqualifications under which the slave -lived were common to him and the children of the house; the political -disqualifications he shared with the free citizens of any community not -expressly recognized under treaty by the inhabitants of the community -in which he lived. Ancient society never contemplated individual -independence as the fundamental condition of human existence; it -was based on the contrary theory, that individual independence was -the exception, and the privilege of the few; only gradually, and -as the consequence of established law and habitual order rendering -personal security possible for the mean man without the intervention -of a powerful protector, did the modern conception of the rights and -obligations of the individual human being grow up; and in its perfect -development the conception has only very recently been realized. - -The slave and his master might be, and commonly were, members of the -same race; if they were of different races, the slave might be a more -highly civilized man than his master, better educated, more capable in -many respects; there were hordes of slaves drawn from less civilized -races, and even from savage races, and the work which fell to their -share tended to be menial or arduous according to their unfitness for -work demanding previous training; but the fact that the slave was by -no means universally of an inferior type of humanity to his owner, -and frequently quite the reverse, put slavery as an institution on a -totally different footing from that which it has held in modern times. - -Again, if the slave had to suffer from political disqualifications, -he had corresponding immunities; for one thing, he was exempt from -military service. One very important consequence of this aspect of -slavery was the restriction of the field from which recruits could be -drawn for armies; it would perhaps be an exaggeration to say that the -whole of the industrial population of antiquity was not available for -military purposes, but the statement is somewhere near the truth; and -from this followed a further consequence, which eventually helped to -break up the Empire, viz., that the armies were increasingly recruited -from the populations on the confines of the Empire, and ceased to be -Italian. First Gaul, Spain and Illyria, and Thrace, then the Teutons -from Central Europe, sent free recruits to the Roman armies, till -the time came when the less civilized military element threw off -the traditions of the civil government, and society returned to the -conditions which had prevailed before the Roman Empire inaugurated -the reign of peace. Agricultural slavery in Italy is sometimes said -to have been the cause of the depletion of the Roman armies; ancient -authors complain that the hardy breed of peasants from the central -hills of Italy disappeared, and that, because their place had been -taken by slaves, the recruiting grounds were barren of the right -kind of population. The real state of the case was the reverse: the -Roman wars had exhausted the Roman free population, which was then -replaced by slaves. Between the end of the second Punic War and Cæsar’s -campaigns in Gaul, Rome had been continuously draining Italy of her -free population; it was inevitable that the sons of the small farmer -should be replaced by slaves, and that eventually small farms should be -merged in large holdings, and that the slave barrack should stand alone -where the scattered homesteads of the peasant proprietor had adorned -the landscape. - -Two forms of slavery in antiquity have almost monopolized the attention -of most writers on the subject--domestic slavery and agricultural -slavery; both lend themselves to sensational treatment; but along with -these there was industrial slavery in all its forms; where we have free -artisans, antiquity had slaves; and it is questionable whether the -slaves employed by a great manufacturing firm in antiquity were less -well off than the mill hands of a Lancashire town of today; in many -industries they were possibly better off than the class of operatives -who are “sweated” in East London; the slave of antiquity was at least -provided with the necessaries of life by his employer. It is true that -the slave operative could be bought and sold and even mortgaged; he -could be bequeathed by will, but these mischances commonly happened to -him collectively, and no more affected him individually than a change -of owners affects the men working in an English manufactory; indeed, -the slave had an advantage over the free artisan; he was part of the -capital, his value was relatively greater, he occupied the place now -taken by the machinery. A body of well trained, well organized slaves -stood in much the same relation to capital in ancient times as the -plant of a manufactory to the modern capitalist; and a new owner would -no more have thought of disbanding or disabling the slaves employed -in a publishing establishment, or brick works, than a modern owner -would break up the machines in a cotton mill which he had acquired. -When we read of the enormous number of slaves owned by some ancient -millionaire, we must not think of butlers and grooms and footmen, -but of clerks and “hands”; where we now say that such and such a -capitalist employs so many thousand men, the ancients said that he -owned so many thousand slaves. - -The slave could earn money for himself, and we can see through the -minute regulations of the codes as to the conditions under which he -could earn and hold money, a recognition of the fact that a man’s -free labour is generally more effective than his forced labour; the -slave’s opportunity of earning put him, as we should now say, upon -piece work; he earned so much for his master, so much for himself; -his master gave him the advantages of organization, of capital, of a -commercial reputation, and for these he paid in a proportion fixed from -time to time by legislation, keeping the remainder of his earnings; -that he paid more highly for these advantages than the present value -of money, and the general security of society would render equitable, -is quite true; but then the whole scale of interest on capital was -far higher than it is now. The slave who traded, as he often did, -with his master’s capital, paid less for its use than the interest -which would have been demanded of a stranger. We must not think of the -“peculium,” the slave’s private earnings, as we may think of the purse -accumulated by a modern domestic servant from gratuities and other -sources of private revenue, but as a real wage earned even by a slave. -The regulations which still bound the enfranchized slave to his master -in the new relation of patron seem at first sight harsh, the liberty in -reference to the former master remaining incomplete, but their aspect -changes when we reflect that they rendered manumission more easy, and -that the slave’s opportunities of earning money both before and after -manumission were made for him by his connexion with his master. The -proprietor of a large business might have every feeling of kindliness -and consideration for a trusted slave, who managed some department -of that business, but he might think twice before rewarding him with -his liberty, if that act involved not only the loss of the slave’s -services, but the creation of a commercial competitor. - -Much has been written in condemnation of Roman agricultural slavery, -and justly so, if the agricultural slave was dealt with in the spirit -of the elder Cato; but here again we must be careful to distinguish. -The ergastula, the slave barracks, did not account for all the -agricultural slaves, and in the later days of Augustus the ergastula -were preferred by free men to military service; nor can the system of -the ergastula have been as rigorous in practice as in theory; the two -great servile insurrections which proved so serious a danger to Rome -could not have assumed such alarming dimensions, had not the slaves -who organized them been in possession of means of communication. Nor -must it be forgotten that there were many slaves who would now be -convicts, many who had been sold into slavery from a conquered country, -never having known any other condition of life. The ancients did not -often make the mistake of setting a delicately nurtured man to hard -menial labour, for his value in that capacity was small; similarly the -increasing difficulty of finding slaves after Rome ceased to extend her -conquests increased the value even of navvies, and their condition was -improved by the exigencies of sound economy; even a Cato, when slaves -were dear, took care not to wear them out before their time. Though a -slave was not protected except by public opinion against his master, -who might beat and even kill him, he was protected against all other -men, who could not injure him without incurring damages for wanton -destruction of another man’s property. There were cruel savage men -among the ancients as there are among the moderns, but on the whole the -servile condition does not seem to have been abused. Roman masters and -even mistresses occasionally beat their slaves, but vapulation was a -constant feature of human existence till a very few years ago even in -Europe. Shakespeare’s masters frequently strike their servants; that -worthy though foolish citizen, M. Jourdain, after frequent threats and -much aggravation, slapped his maidservant on the face; the use of the -stick is not an exclusive prerogative of the slave owner. - -The more domestic of the Latin authors, such as Cicero and Horace, do -not give us a disagreeable picture of slavery; the relations between -slaves and masters in their day seem to have been in every respect as -pleasant as those between employers and servants in these days; and the -taunt of servile origin so frequent in the Classics amounts to little -more than the taunt of connexion with trade so common in some circles -in the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. In fact the frequency -of this disparagement tends to prove that it was easy to rise from the -servile condition to positions of great wealth, and even political -influence. The two vulgar rich men in the Satyricon of Petronius, -Trimalchio and Habinna, had both been slaves; and the latter is made -to say that he had become a slave voluntarily, as that was the easiest -method of becoming a Roman citizen; this may be wilful exaggeration on -the part of Petronius for a satirical purpose; but it would have no -point if it did not carry a certain element of truth. Pallas and his -brother Felix, the freedmen of the Emperor Claudius, were, the former -practically Prime Minister, the latter Procurator of Judæa; numerous -similar instances show that a man might have been a slave and yet rise -to high office; the intermediate step seems generally to have been -through the Equestrian Order--in one of its aspects, as we have seen, -the financial department of the Civil Service. - -This introduces us to another feature of slavery as practised in -antiquity, viz. its cosmopolitan influence, which was at work in every -class of society, but in the highest class most of all; nothing else -so effectually broke down the barrier between the Greek and the Roman, -between the Eastern and Western half of the Mediterranean, between -North and South. - -War in ancient times had many of the aspects of a speculation, and -among the profits of war the sale of captives was reckoned; the -conquered had no rights against the conqueror except under special -terms. When the victim was a civilized State, the free men who were -thus sold into slavery had the opportunity of buying back their own -freedom; they practically paid a ransom; the transaction was a rough -and ready and efficacious method of exacting an indemnity. There -would be a certain proportion who could not pay the indemnity, and -these became slaves, but in their new status they were not wasted -on unprofitable occupations; the philosopher, the physician, the -accountant, the merchant, continued their various occupations in the -service of their master, and if they proved their efficiency rapidly -passed through the stage of slavery to that of freedmen. - -Of the twenty famous schoolmasters whom Suetonius honours with short -biographies, three only were certainly not freedmen, Orbilius, the -teacher of Horace, Pomponius Marcellus, and a certain Valerius Probus, -who hailed from Beyrout, and must have been himself free, whatever his -parentage, as he began life with the endeavour to get a centurion’s -commission; fifteen were certainly freedmen, and two probably. Their -nationalities are strangely varied; three were certainly Italians, -three others possibly, two were Syrians, if we so class Probus, three -Gauls, one Spaniard, one Illyrian, six certainly Greek, and one -probably. Of the three Gauls, one, M. Antonius Gnipho, gave lessons -first in the house of Julius Cæsar during the latter’s boyhood; he was -a man of exceptional intellectual brilliance and generous character. -Suetonius does not state that Gnipho actually taught Cæsar, though the -inference suggests itself, and in any case the youthful Cæsar must -have known him, and have received impressions, if not information, -which may have influenced the future conqueror of Gaul. These men -were for the most part highly respected and made large professional -incomes; they taught either in houses of their own, or by special -arrangement in the houses of their patrons; one of them, M. Verrius -Flaccus, taught on these terms the grandchildren of Augustus, who paid -him a handsome annual stipend on condition that he only admitted such -pupils to his classes as were approved of by his employer; he had -previously taught independently; a statue was erected to his memory at -Præneste; this indicates that in spite of his servile origin he was -held in high honour. Horace must have known Verrius Flaccus, even if he -were not actually a relative, and Horace’s allusion to the persuasive -schoolmasters, who coax children to learn the elements by giving them -biscuits, suggests a well known trait of this Verrius Flaccus, who was -the first schoolmaster to offer prizes, “some ancient book handsome -or scarce,” says Suetonius. It is interesting to note that the most -fashionable of these schoolmasters, and the one who made the largest -fortune, was a man who, in the opinion of the Emperors Tiberius and -Claudius, both good judges, was totally unfit to be entrusted with the -charge of youth; while the one of whom it is recorded that in his old -age he sank into extreme poverty is Horace’s old friend, the freeborn -Italian Orbilius. This man also was honoured with a statue. - -The proportion of men of servile origin in this one profession was -very large, if we may infer that the short list given by Suetonius -of its leaders indicates conditions which prevailed through the rank -and file; nor was it held in special disrepute. Tacitus mentions a -schoolmaster not included in this list who became a Senator; another, -M. Pomponius Marcellus, was admitted to the inner council of Tiberius, -and anticipated the “supra grammaticam” episode of a much later age; he -reproved the Emperor for a solecism in the wording of a decree, telling -him, “You can give the citizenship to men, Cæsar, but not to a word.” - -Men who had been freeborn in their native countries, but had passed -into servitude by fortune of war, found new and wider careers open to -them in the service of their conquerors; they obtained access to the -masters of the world, and were able to direct their thoughts to new -channels, and directly influence their policy; they were further able -to push the fortunes of their relatives and connexions at home; for as -freedmen, and even as slaves, they were not cut off from correspondence -with the countries which they had left. - -Their influence, great as it was in breaking down the intellectual -barriers between Rome and her allies and subjects, and in forming -the conception of a world-wide empire, was even greater in the world -of finance. Even the great Cæsar failed to throw open the Roman -Senate to the civilized world, and admission to that body continued -to be jealously guarded, in spite of occasional exceptions, till the -Senate had been practically superseded by the Imperial Household; but -admission to the Equestrian Order was a relatively easy matter; no -sanctity attached to the Order, no historic glamour; and a skilled -financier found his way into its ranks with comparative ease. Roman -bankers such as Cicero’s friend Atticus, needed the assistance of -clever Jews and Greeks, for Roman money was invested privately as well -as publicly in all parts of the Empire; municipal securities, then as -now, were a favourite investment; cities and colonies were in the habit -of borrowing money for local improvements; the knowledge possessed by -men, who had been acquainted with the local and personal conditions was -a valuable commodity; and any Roman, who aspired to play a great part -in the financial world, drew into his service men from all parts of the -Empire; these men were not infrequently rewarded by admission to the -Equestrian Order; some of them were free men, the majority were slaves -to begin with. The process was so common that the term “Libertus” is -used much in the same way as we employ the terms “agent,” or “man of -business.” Not the least important consequence of the system was the -admission of the Jews to a share in the control of administration; -“they of Cæsar’s Household” were not domestic servants, but financial -secretaries of considerable importance. - -Slavery has been reproached with being responsible for the horrors -of the arena, and a general indifference to the sanctity of human -life; but this love of spectacular bloodshed, this indifference to -the sufferings and death of human beings and animals, is by no means -an exclusive feature of societies in which slavery is an accepted -institution. Bull fights are being extended at the present day from -Spain to France; bull baiting, bear baiting, badger baiting, prize -fighting, cock fighting, were accepted amusements in England till the -beginning of the present century, some of them are not unknown to our -contemporaries; nor is it easy to distinguish that delight in the -sufferings of condemned criminals, or in the encounters between trained -combatants, which filled the Roman amphitheatres, from the excitement -which drew crowds to look on at the merciless tortures and executions -of the period of the Reformation, and led the fashionable friends -of Madame de Sevignê to watch a woman being burned alive. So far -were gladiatorial combats from being one of the hardships imposed by -slavery, that we have repeated references in the early Imperial period -to the misconduct of Roman knights, and even Senators, who exhibited -themselves in the arena. A skilled gladiator risked his life, as does -a skilled toreador, and he enjoyed the same measure of popular favour; -there were statues of gladiators as well as of schoolmasters. - -The tendency of the Empire was to break down the barriers between the -free man and the slave; as political power ceased to be the privilege -of a caste, and became the reward of recognized merit bestowed by -the head of the administration, the importance of free descent was -diminished; the spiteful remarks about freedmen and servile origin, -which we occasionally find in the Latin authors, were suggested by the -improved position of slaves and freedmen; they represent the impotent -malice of a caste, which saw that the sceptre was departing from -between its knees; the distinction was long preserved by literature, -for the boys of the Roman Empire, like the boys of England, were -brought up on the works of the great Athenians, who spoke of the -slave as the slave was spoken of when the free citizens in the most -liberal of Greek States were really an aristocracy of birth entrusted -with the conduct of affairs among a population by which they were far -outnumbered, and which included many men as wealthy as the freeborn -citizens, and no less enlightened. - -It was largely through slavery that men of letters, men of science, -architects, engineers, sailors, and even soldiers, found their way from -all parts of the world into the executive services of the Empire. Rome -had become cosmopolitan without being aware of the fact, long before -the genius of Cæsar finally started her on an admittedly cosmopolitan -career. - -In spite of the pleasant personal relations which often prevailed -between slaves and their owners, emancipation on a large scale was -not regarded with favour, the statesmen who on different occasions -of emergency released slaves in large numbers in order to fill up -vacancies in the army were spoken of reproachfully; the step was always -felt to be a desperate one. - -The reason, however, of the objection to such emancipations was -less fear of the slaves, or dislike, than the interference which -it involved with industrial pursuits; it amounted to a wholesale -confiscation of property; an analogous process at the present day would -be summarily to impress large bodies of operatives; this would bring -many industrial communities to a standstill. Similarly when at a later -period we find restrictions imposed upon the custom of emancipating -slaves by testament, this may well have become a means of throwing -the responsibility of maintaining superfluous slaves upon the public -dole fund, and of exempting the heir from the necessity of supporting -them. Emancipation does not seem to have been regarded as an unmixed -blessing. We have the well known case of Cicero’s secretary Tiro; Tiro -was a slave, but he was his master’s friend; the relations between them -were of a most affectionate nature; Cicero’s letters to him are full -of anxious inquiries after his health, of demands that he shall run -no risk of over fatigue; that he shall take the best medical advice; -and yet it was only late in his life that Cicero bestowed liberty on -Tiro. The letters in which Cicero’s relatives, and especially his -son, congratulate Tiro on his elevation, show that, slave though he -was, he was no less respected than loved. That such relations were -common we may infer from the statement made by Paterculus, that in -the proscription of B.C. 43 the fidelity of sons to their fathers was -least; the merit of wives stood first, of freedmen second, of slaves -third. - -The institution of slavery did not demoralize the ancients in the same -way that negro slavery is said to have demoralized the Americans, or -coloured slavery in general to demoralize white men; it was a totally -different institution. - -In this, as in all other details of ancient history, the memory of -the bad, the exceptional, the sensational, is preserved; the normal -conditions are forgotten; and as it is much easier to declaim than to -inquire, the essential but unobtrusive features of any particular -institution escape notice. On the whole, the action of slavery in -ancient times was beneficial to civilization, and the eventual -dismemberment of the Empire was not due chiefly to the existence of -slavery. The races who broke up the Empire themselves recognized -slavery, and it was long before agricultural slavery disappeared even -from England. - - - - -I - -The Death of Augustus - - -In the hottest weather of the year 14 A.D., a hush fell upon the -streets of old Rome, as the news rapidly circulated that her foremost -citizen was dead, and that the man whose name had spelled peace and -prosperity for the whole civilized world was no longer at the head of -affairs. Few men were still living who could remember any rule but -his; for forty-five years he had controlled without serious opposition -the destinies of an Empire which stretched from the Euphrates to the -English Channel; the men who had taken an active part in the events -before the reins of government dropped into his skilful hands were -now but few, and if they ever spoke of the days which immediately -preceded his reign, it was to contrast fourteen years of anarchy with -nearly half a century of order. Here and there in the palaces of the -few old Roman families that had survived the revolutions of the middle -of the last century the good old times were bewailed, when the spoils -of the world were distributed between the members of a few princely -houses theoretically associated in administering the affairs of only -one Italian town, and bitter epigrams were circulated at the expense -of the monarch who posed as the first man of a free city; but the -vast body of the population had long forgotten the days of a liberty -in whose privileges they had never shared, while they had suffered -from its concomitant licence; the streets were no longer the scene of -furious fights between the retainers of great noblemen, the citizens -regularly received their supplies of corn, holidays were frequent and -the amusements of the public provided for on a liberal scale; the -Prince himself had been the foremost to enjoy all that delighted the -hearts of his fellow citizens. - -As the fierceness of the hot Italian sun diminished, and the streets -began to fill, the praises of the dead man passed from mouth to mouth; -one would remember the humility with which he had pressed the claims -of his chosen candidates for public office, and the courtesy with -which he had asked for a vote; another would recall him studiously -fulfilling the sacred duty of a patron, and pleading in the Forum on -behalf of a humble client; yet another would describe him standing at -his own door once a year dressed in white begging for alms to bestow -on the needy; others would speak of the modesty of his household, -the model of an ancient Roman family where Livia his consort herself -superintended the weaving of her maids; nor would the gayer sort forget -his interest in the shows of the circus, or fail to tell stories of his -modest bets, and somewhat liberal jokes; the scholar would speak of his -simple entertainments in which the poet and the historian shared in -the conversation on terms of equality with their host; those of more -serious mind would dwell on his scrupulous attention to the ordinances -of religion, his restoration of temples and shrines and their various -cults; while the tender-hearted would deplore his private sorrows, the -premature deaths that had snatched away his grandsons, the scandals -that had bereft his home of his daughter and granddaughter; nor would -they fail to bewail the fact that the only possible successor to his -heritage and his power was an alien in blood. - -As the days wore on the symptoms of the public sorrow increased, and -the authorities began to fear that the order of the funeral might be -marred by some such frantic outburst as had attended the obsequies -of the first great Cæsar, whose body had been seized by an excited -mob and burned in the public market place; regulations were issued to -ensure such order as the Prince himself would have commanded, and to -prevent the licences into which an orgy of sorrow might degenerate. -Day by day was reported the slow progress of the procession from the -small country house in Campania in which he had died to the gates of -the city; here the body had been guarded and carried by soldiers, there -by the knights, the second order in the State, and lastly the Senators -themselves were waiting to receive it, and conduct it on the final -stage of its journey into Rome. - -The day came at length when the long train of mourners filed through -the narrow streets, at its head the ivory bier draped in purple, -behind it the effigy of the dead man, and a stately series of similar -effigies leading back through the great Cæsar himself to mythical -Æneas and Anchises and the goddess Venus; there were no deep-voiced -bells, no dull minute guns to express and intensify the public sorrow, -but the silence was broken by the shrieks of dishevelled women and the -monotonous blare of hoarse trumpets. After the images came the chief -mourner, a tall and stately man with bowed head, the Commander-in-chief -of the Roman armies, descended from the noblest blood of ancient Rome; -behind him walked members of the family, high officials, statesmen, -senators, the representatives of kings and cities. Principalities and -powers were all assembled to do honour to the dead. The heat of the -season had rendered it necessary to conduct the ceremony by night, and -the flare of torches fell fitfully on the procession and on the faces -of the spectators. At length the tedious ritual was completed, the -wine, the oil and the spices were thrown on the pyre, thrice was the -dead man called by name, and the silence was broken by no answer; the -chief mourner applied the torch with averted face, the crackling flames -rose to the sky, the soldiers ran round the burning pile, an eagle sped -heavenwards through the smoke; when the fire had at length died down, -and wine had been sprinkled on the ashes, a cry arose of Farewell, and -yet again Farewell; then the mourners departed to their homes, and the -Roman people dispersed to magnify the events of the last few hours, and -to remember portents: stars had fallen from their places in the sky, -the earth had been shaken, rivers had reversed their course, the kindly -rain had been turned into blood, and even small domestic catastrophes -were now known to have had their significance; a Senator had seen the -soul of the deceased rise to heaven from the midst of the flames, and -the credulous were comforted by reflecting that the Genius of Augustus -still watched over the destinies of the Roman people. - -Meanwhile in the palaces of the Senators one question of supreme -interest was debated: What was to be the new order of things? and, -indeed, was there to be a new order? - -It was fortunate for the destinies of civilized humanity that a -successor was ready at hand to take up the reins of government which -had dropped from the tired hands of Augustus, and that the question -of succession was not left to be settled by debate in the Senate, or -the result of a civil war. Tiberius was on the spot; he had been for -all practical purposes his stepfather’s colleague for ten years; he -was acting Commander-in-chief of the Roman armies; he was of ripe -age and ripe experience; his personal knowledge of the Empire was -almost co-extensive with its limits; he does not seem to have visited -Africa or Egypt, but he had served or commanded armies, and conducted -negotiations over the whole area between the sources of the Euphrates -and the North Sea. There was no living Roman with equal knowledge of -affairs, or of superior rank; his succession was inevitable, if there -was to be a successor to Augustus. - -The life of Tiberius is from every point of view profoundly -interesting; it began in the middle of the great revolution which -eventually substituted the rule of one man for the rule of the Senate, -and which left the city of Rome the capital rather than the mistress -of an Empire; it ended after nearly fourscore years, during which -the constitution of that Empire was so firmly established that the -incapacity of individual rulers, and the mutual rivalries of aspirants -to the chief power, though sometimes resulting in civil war, failed -to shake its stability; it coincided with a great step in the forward -march of civilization which has left its impress upon all subsequent -history. If the political events which occurred during the life of -Tiberius are of supreme interest, his personal history is no less -attractive to the student of character, and of the strange vicissitudes -which may occur in the life of a human being; not the least of the -many contradictions in this life is the fact that the man, who is -called by the great German historian, Mommsen, “the ablest of the Roman -Emperors,” should have become the recognized type of all that is most -evil in a ruler, and left a name which is seldom mentioned without an -expression of detestation. - - - - -II - -Parents and Childhood of Tiberius - - -The connexion of the Claudian clan with Rome was referred by the Roman -historians to the very beginnings of her history; they had no doubt of -the antiquity of the event; it was only debated whether this Sabine -stock was received into the community on the Tiber at the suggestion -of Titus Tatius, the consort of Romulus, or four years after the -expulsion of the Kings. The headquarters of the Claudians were the -region round Tusculum, in which town its chiefs had a fortress; their -domain gave its name to one of the later electoral divisions of the -Roman territory. From the beginning the Claudian stock was credited -with an unusual measure of aristocratic pride and public spirit; the -legends said that one Claudius caused by his intemperance the secession -of the plebs to the Mons Sacer, and that the unbridled lust of another -brought about the downfall of the Decemvirate; we are on firmer ground -in attributing to the Appius Claudius who was Censor in B.C. 312 the -inception, if not the completion, of two works of great public utility, -the Appian Aqueduct, and the even more famous Appian Way, the great -South Road, the first link in the chain of highways which bound the -Empire together. Appius Claudius the Censor had two sons, who took -the additional names of the Handsome and the Strong; the descendants -of both were to do good service to their country; a Claudius Pulcher -fought the Carthaginians in Sicily, a Claudius Nero defeated Hasdrubal -at the battle of the Metaurus. The Censor is further credited with -having been the earliest Roman writer in prose and verse. Intellectual -and administrative eminence was thus ascribed to the Claudians, also a -touch of arrogance extending to relations in which arrogance was out -of place; for it was Appius Claudius Pulcher the Admiral who, when the -unwonted abstemiousness of the Sacred Chickens portended disaster, -threw them into the sea, and was deservedly rewarded by a defeat. - -Both the leading Claudian families were united in the person of the -Emperor; his father was a Nero, his mother was a Pulcher, for though -her father belonged legally to the Livian Gens, he had been adopted -from the Claudian. The family enumerated among its distinctions -thirty-three consulships, five dictatorships, seven censorships, six -triumphs, and two ovations. - -In the last century and a half of the Republic the Neronic branch -was less distinguished than that of Pulcher; no records survive of -the immediate ancestors of the Emperor on the father’s side, and no -Claudius Nero appears in the consular list after 204 B.C. When Horace -wished to remind the Romans of their debt to the Neros, he had to go -back to the battle of the Metaurus. The family had become so obscure -that the genuine descent of the Emperor from the conqueror of Hasdrubal -has been questioned; but it was not questioned by his contemporaries, -who would have been only too glad to add the reproach of an obscure -ancestry to the other indignities which they fastened upon him. It -would be in accordance with the pride, and even rectitude of conduct, -ascribed to the Claudians, that this branch of the family preferred -comparative poverty to taking part in the scrambles for office, and -interested intrigues, which marked the decadence of the Senate; and -that its successive chiefs chose the dignified life of a Roman noble of -the old-fashioned type, concentrating their energies rather upon the -management of their ancestral domains than upon pushing themselves into -the inner circle of Senators who sped to exploit the Roman conquests. - -Tiberius Claudius Nero, the father of the Emperor, appears first in the -party of Cæsar; he was already a quæstor, and while holding that office -commanded the fleet which besieged Alexandria, and rescued Cæsar from -the insurrection of the Alexandrians; he was rewarded by being made a -Pontifex, and entrusted with the establishment of colonies in Gaul, at -Narbonne and Arles among other places. This was work which required -considerable tact; it was not always easy to satisfy both the veterans -who formed the colony and the population whom they displaced. Cæsar was -not in the habit of employing incompetent agents, and the selection of -Tiberius Nero for this work is an evidence of his capacity. After the -assassination of Cæsar he became a warm partisan of the Liberators; -he is even said to have proposed in the Senate that the Tyrannicides -should be rewarded, when others thought that an amnesty was sufficient -for their deserts. It is not clear whether he was Prætor at this time -or shortly afterwards, but he certainly held that office when Lucius -Antonius and Fulvia making a diversion against Octavian at Præneste; -before the fall of Præneste he had slipped away to Campania, and -endeavoured to form an army from the proprietors in that district who -were threatened with the confiscation of their land for the benefit of -Octavian’s soldiers; in this enterprise he was unsuccessful, and had to -flee for his life to Sicily, where he took refuge for a short time with -Sextus Pompeius. - -As we afterwards find Tiberius Nero in the closest association with -Octavian under circumstances which, judged by our standards of conduct, -are discreditable, it is advisable to stop to consider whether a man -could with any measure of consistency serve under Cæsar, and then join -hands with his murderers; on the solution of this question depends -the claim of Tiberius to be considered an honourable man; for in this -relation we can measure him by standards which are applicable to -ancient and modern life alike. - -Velleius Paterculus, the historian to whom we owe a conception of the -early days of the Empire different from that suggested by Cicero and -Tacitus, was hereditarily associated with the family of Tiberius Nero; -his grandfather was his most intimate friend; he calls Tiberius Nero -a man of generous spirit, and strongly inclined to learning. A man of -this nature would be attracted to Cæsar by a similarity of character -and tastes. The ambition of Cæsar was a generous ambition; he was one -of those born organizers to whom muddling is a painful and personal -annoyance; he valued power for no vulgar reason, but because it gave -him the opportunity of realizing his conception of a well ordered -world. Endowed with an enormous intellectual ability, inexhaustible -physical vitality, an irresistible personal charm, Cæsar attracted to -himself all the men who really meant work. Cicero himself very nearly -succumbed, and would have done so entirely had his uneasy vanity -allowed him to work in a subordinate position. There is a limit to the -incompetence of constituted authorities; a time comes when all earnest -men in a State, whose public business has gradually been monopolized by -respectable incompetents, look eagerly for a deliverer; such men do not -welcome the noisy reformer, or the narrow doctrinaire, and so long as -these alone present themselves, the earnest men hold back, but as soon -as the really capable hard-working man appears, they give him their -confidence, and pass naturally into his service. Cæsar’s campaigns in -Gaul enabled him to select his men; at first the fashionable young -men of Rome hurried to his standards attracted by the prospect of a -pleasant picnic in charming country with an agreeable climate; no -serious danger was anticipated, and there was a pleasing prospect of -loot. The behaviour of these gentlemen, when it was realized that the -advance of Ariovistus meant serious business, supplies the one comic -interlude in Cæsar’s commentaries. During the nine years which Cæsar -gave to the conquest of Gaul, the earnest workers found their leader; -the intercourse between Cæsar’s camp and the capital was constant; men -learned to contrast the vigorous administration of the Governor of the -two Gauls with the imbecility of the Senate; it was not foreseen that -the contrast would result in the absorption of the powers of government -by this one man. When the time came at which Cæsar had either to -abandon all his work or force the Senate to give him a continuance of -office, his fellow workers were naturally disposed to give him their -continued support. Men who had learned what good work was, and had had -their share in it, were inclined to hope for the best; there were many -self-seekers, doubtless, but it was possible to follow the fortunes of -Cæsar under the influence of the highest motives. The man who had done -such magnificent work in the two Gauls might be trusted to reorganize -the Government. The reaction came, when the continuance of opposition -at Rome forced Cæsar to become an autocrat; his work was only half -done when he had beaten the Senatorial armies in Macedonia, in Egypt, -in Africa, in Spain, in Asia Minor; he had further to clear away all -the obstructions, get rid of all customs and precedents by which the -machinery of the administration was impeded; it was root and branch -work; and Cæsar was impatient; he attacked everything at once; no ties -of affection, no sentimental associations were spared, no prejudices; -he saw everything in the clear light of reason; he knew what was best -for the Empire, and he was determined to have his own way. - -To Cæsar the Senate was the embodiment of obstruction and incompetence; -he did not propose to repeat the mistake of Sulla and give it a new -lease of power, for his contempt for the Senators was unbounded; but -the Senate had a name; it could not be disbanded; the better course -seemed to be to swamp the Senate of Rome in the Senate of the Empire, -to make it almost a titular body. He enlarged its numbers, added -to it distinguished provincials, his personal adherents among the -noblemen of Gaul. The figures that are given us may not be absolutely -trustworthy, but there can be no doubt that the Senate was increased -to a number which destroyed its capacity for united action. By this -measure Cæsar alienated the affection and destroyed the confidence of -the liberal members of the old aristocracy; they had been prepared to -pay a heavy price for good government; they were at one with Cæsar in -recognizing the expansion of Rome, but they had not anticipated a time -when a Julius Florus or Cornelius Gallus would not only be dignified -with Roman names, but would have the same social rank as a Claudian or -Sempronian. So determined was Cæsar to convince the Senate that its day -was over, that in transacting business with it he neglected even the -ordinary courtesies, and received its deputations without rising from -his seat. The dagger of Brutus was the result. - -In some respects the assassination of Cæsar was fortunate for his -reputation; there was no widespread conspiracy; his government had -been of so short a duration that the disaffected men had no time to -find one another out; their victim had never realized that there was -a formidable opposition, and he fell before his qualities of clemency -and moderation were put to the severest test, which tries the virtue -and capacity of a successful reformer. The men who murdered him were -his chosen friends and servants, many of them were either holding or -were awaiting their turn for holding important provincial appointments. -The conspiracy was not organized; no provision was made for carrying -on the Government after the keystone of the fabric had been removed; -it was enough to kill the tyrant. In one respect the conspirators had -correctly estimated the result; there were men who, bound to Cæsar by -various ties, would not take an active part in any conspiracy against -his person, but who, if once that obstacle to the restoration of the -Senatorial Government were removed, would declare their detestation of -autocracy, and assist in remodelling the State. Tiberius Nero was one -of these; Cicero was another, and there were many others who, during -the last four years, had been ill at ease in the attempt to reconcile -their personal affection for Cæsar and confidence in his ability -with their conception of what constituted political righteousness. -Unfortunately for these men, they were but few in number; within -three months’ time it had become clear that neither the Army, nor -the provincials, nor the subordinate officials had any objection to -an autocrat; the myth of the Senate had been replaced by the myth of -Cæsar; the only question was who would become the centre of the cult. - -Two men considered themselves most likely to attract to themselves the -passionate adoration with which the soldiers of Cæsar had regarded -their general; they were his trusted lieutenants, Marcus Lepidus and -Marcus Antonius, the former a Proconsul in command of an army, the -latter Cæsar’s colleague in the Consulship at the time of his death, -and his intimate friend; Cæsar’s widow placed all her husband’s papers -in his hands. Antonius had the advantage of being constitutional head -of the Government, and as soon as it was clear that the popular feeling -at Rome was strongly adverse to the Liberators, he procured a decree -from the frightened Senate sanctioning all Cæsar’s arrangements. Any -other course would in fact have produced intolerable confusion. The -most important consequence of this measure was that the Liberators -were put into positions of great power and influence by the voice of -the man they had killed, and were protected from the consequences of -their own imprudence. Cicero threw aside his literary work and rushed -to Rome, to assist in the restoration of the Republic, and to revive -the party of Pompeius. Antonius, however, had no intention of letting -the reins of Government slip from his grasp; being possessed of the -dead Cæsar’s papers, he was able to produce at his pleasure decrees -which the constitutional party had already sanctioned by anticipation, -and the partisans of the dead man were bound to support. Moderation -was no part of the character of Antonius; he prepared himself to enjoy -thoroughly the wealth which was poured into his hands; with Cæsar’s -soldiers at his back, he felt that he could do what he pleased. An -unexpected event shook his self-confidence, and revived the prospects -of the constitutional party by dividing the Cæsarians. - -The young Octavian crossed from Apollonia and landed at Brundisium. - -Cæsar had left no direct descendants except an illegitimate son by -Cleopatra, but he had distinguished his great-nephew Octavius by -such indications of his confidence and affection as a Roman would -bestow upon his destined heir. The year before his death he had taken -the young man with him to Spain, on the expedition against the sons -of Pompeius, which ended in their defeat at Munda; he had attached -him closely to his person, shared his tent with him, conducted -all his business in his presence, had in fact begun his political -apprenticeship. Apparently Cæsar came to the conclusion that his -nephew’s education was inadequate, and on the return from Spain he sent -him to Apollonia on the Illyrian coast, a Greek town of considerable -commercial importance, which was the seat of a University largely -frequented by Roman students. So far Cæsar had not taken the final step -of adopting Octavius, but he did so by his will. - -Octavius was at this time little over eighteen years of age; his mother -and stepfather were alive, both of them devoted to his interests, but -nobody seems as yet to have thought of him as a possible factor in the -politics of the future. - -By removing him to Apollonia his uncle had to some extent withdrawn him -from political life, and the Liberators had forgotten his existence. He -was of weakly health, and had shown no particular aptitude for military -pursuits. Antonius thought him of such small importance, that he -disregarded those portions of Cæsar’s will which referred to him, and -actually seized the private treasure which had been bequeathed to him. - -Friends and relatives were alike urgent that Octavian should either -remain where he was, or delay his journey to Italy till he was assured -of the support of an Army. The young man wisely relied on his own -judgment; he was Cæsar’s heir and adopted son, but Cæsar could only -bequeath to him his private inheritance; it was not in his power to -transfer the reins of Government; the nature of the conspiracy against -Cæsar and its extent was still unknown; Antonius and other leading -Cæsarians had been spared, it was clear that no proscription of the -adherents of Cæsar had been contemplated, or, if contemplated, it had -been abandoned. If Octavian were marked out for slaughter, he was -already doomed; nothing could save him but the affection of Cæsar’s -veterans; they were all in Italy, and there was as yet no evidence -that they were prepared to transfer their allegiance to so distant -a relative of their late commander. To appear with an army would be -to invite attack, and Octavian knew his own limitations better than -anybody else; he knew that he was no general, and he had not as yet -a general in whom he could trust. By appearing in Italy simply as a -private person engaged in an ordinary matter of private business, the -formal succession to an inheritance, he disarmed prejudice. If Antonius -wished to put him out of the way, he could do so in any case. On the -other hand, by appearing simply as a defrauded heir, he might attract -popular sympathy; Cæsar’s will had already proved to be a political -force; and the Constitutional party might be glad of a counterpoise to -Antonius. - -Such considerations may well have influenced Octavian in the adoption -of the important step which he took contrary to advice. It is even -possible that he contemplated nothing more than the assertion of his -undeniable right; and that the consequences of his daring step took him -by surprise. It is certain that he had no sooner landed at Brundisium -than he found himself a power; the soldiers flocked to meet him, and -his march to Rome was a triumphal progress. - -The events of the next three years are difficult to disentangle; to -the actors they must have been perplexing in the extreme. The factor -which had been omitted from the calculations of all the leaders was the -character of the army, which Cæsar had created. As fast as Cæsar made -way in Gaul he enlisted the Gauls in his service; his legions were in -the end less Italian than Gallic; to the Gauls the abstraction called -the Roman Senate had no more significance than the House of Commons to -Sikhs and Gurkhas; they had not got beyond, or not fallen behind, the -conceptions of personal fidelity to a chieftain which are developed -by the clan system. Not only was it natural to them to transfer their -fidelity from the person of a father to that of his son and successor, -but such personal ties were their strongest political passion. They -would obey Antonius and even Lepidus as Cæsar’s friends and trusted -subordinates, but their affection for Cæsar’s heir was of a different -character; to avenge their dead commander, to put his son in his -rights, were to them matters of the first importance; as for the Roman -Constitution and theoretical Republics, they neither cared about them -nor understood them. At first Octavian did not grasp the situation; -his temperament was legal and formal; his first preoccupation was to -assert his legal rights against Antonius, and in order to do this -effectively, he had no objection to using such help as might be given -him by Cicero and the Constitutional party, who for their part proposed -to use against him Antonius and then put him out of the way. The -first serious operation in the field showed Octavian his mistake; the -Senate sent him with the Consuls to relieve Decimus Brutus, brother of -Marcus Brutus, who was being besieged by the Cæsarians under Antonius -at Mutina; both Consuls, old Cæsarians, were killed, and the soldiers -insisted on bringing Octavian back to Rome and making him Consul; it -was not long before they also insisted on a reconciliation between -the Cæsarian leaders, compelling Antonius, Lepidus, and Octavian to -work together and unite in the task of punishing the enemies of Cæsar. -The proscription was partly the work of the army; so far as it was a -punishment of the enemies of Cæsar, Octavian was an accomplice, though -an unwilling accomplice; Antonius and Lepidus both took advantage of -it to satisfy old grudges and make large confiscations. Meanwhile the -general disorganization invited any man who found himself in command of -troops, or was otherwise favourably circumstanced, to fish in troubled -waters; Cicero’s son-in-law Dolabella, the dissolute little gentleman -who was “tied to a sword,” was not the only man who saw an opportunity -of doing something to his own advantage. Adventures of this kind -disturbed the world for a few months, but after Brutus and Cassius had -been beaten near Philippi a fairly definite division declared itself; -the world was again divided between Cæsarians and Pompeians, and the -chief Pompeian leader was Sextus Pompeius. Antonius had gone off to the -East to meet Cleopatra and his fate on the Cydnus. Lepidus, though in -command of an army and Governor of Africa, was a negligible quantity, -destined to suffer a very remarkable disillusionment as soon as he -ventured to assert himself in an independent position. - -Few men have ever been so fortunate as Octavian in the mistakes of -their adversaries, and few have ever turned them to such good advantage. - -East and West alike were taught to adore the memory of the great -Cæsar by the incompetence of the men who proposed to succeed to his -power; under his sway the commercial cities of Asia Minor had thriven; -Cassius plundered them in the name of the Senate, Dolabella on his -own responsibility, Antonius as the successor of Cæsar; Italy had no -sooner begun to look forward to relief from civil war on the departure -of Antonius than the Constitutional party allied itself with Lucius -Antonius and Fulvia, the brother and wife of Marcus Antonius, to impede -the settlement. Tiberius Nero was among those who joined the new -movement. Relieved of the presence of Antonius, who in spite of all -his faults was a general of ability, the Pompeians hoped to be able -to crush Octavian, who was no general; the proscription had left very -bitter feelings; Octavian had so far had no opportunity of indicating -his pacific inclinations; he had had to do what his soldiers required -of him; Antonius was obviously a self-indulgent adventurer, with -whose fortunes no self-respecting man could ally himself; Fulvia -was a virago, and Lucius Antonius no less greedy than his brother, -though less amiable; still it seemed that these latter with their -adherents embodied the Republican principle; and the remnants of the -Constitutional party joined them. Incompetent generalship allowed their -forces to be locked up in Perusia, and after a siege of three months -the soldiers of Octavian glutted their vengeance upon the enemies of -Cæsar; the terror that was inspired served its purpose in two ways: -there were no more conspiracies in Italy, and Octavian made up his mind -never again to be the slave of his own army. - -Tiberius Nero either escaped from Perusia before the town was -completely invested, or had started on a special mission to Campania -with the object of creating a diversion in Southern Italy. He still -held the office of Prætor though his legal term had expired, and thus -invested his enterprise with a legal and constitutional aspect. The -territory of Capua had been confiscated by Rome after the second Punic -War, the penalty of the destructive friendship which that city had -conferred on Hannibal; the Senate of those days had appropriated the -land to its own purposes; the redivision of this land had been part -of the programme of the popular party from the days of the Gracchi, -and their heirs the Cæsarians now proposed to assign it to Octavian’s -veterans. Tiberius Nero took up the cause of the proprietors, who -were threatened with expropriation, thus adopting the old Senatorial -standpoint; he doubtless expected to find that the Campanians, to whom -the existing conditions, sanctioned as they were by the precedents of a -century and a half, caused no grievance, would flock to his standards; -but he met with languid support from the beginning, and the fall of -Perusia with the subsequent atrocities destroyed every prospect of -success; the Campanians preferred a peaceful spoliation to the chances -of war. Tiberius Nero was obliged to fly for his life; accompanied -by his wife, his eldest son barely two years of age, and only one -attendant, he made his way to Naples. Here a romantic incident took -place. C. Velleius Paterculus, the grandfather of the historian, had -been associated with Tiberius Nero in all his enterprises; he had been -his friend all his life; he had served under him as Chief Engineer at -Alexandria, and in his subsequent campaigns; it is not clear whether -he had been the sole companion of the flight from Campania, but in any -case he rejoined his friend at Naples; but Naples was no safe refuge; -Octavian was pressing southwards; it was necessary to cross to Sicily; -when it proved to be difficult to provide for the escape of the whole -party, the old man committed suicide rather than be an impediment to -his friend. - -Tiberius Nero had suffered two disappointments: he had been -disappointed in Cæsar; he had been disappointed in the attempt to form -a constitutional party in opposition to Cæsar’s heir; a third and -severer disappointment awaited him in Sicily. - -Of the two sons of Pompeius, the elder had been killed in Spain -at or after the battle of Munda; the younger, Sextus, had escaped, -and adopted the life of a corsair in the Mediterranean; during the -confusion which reigned in Italy after the death of Cæsar he had -escaped notice, and had been able to get together a formidable fleet of -pirates; he had seized Sicily, and now hoped to be able to secure the -restitution of his father’s property by imposing terms on Rome, for he -controlled the food supply of the capital. The proscription had sent -him many valuable allies, and the anti-Cæsarian party began to look to -him to take his father’s place as their leader. Sextus, however, was no -politician; he was a mere marauder; the corsairs whom his father had -dispersed reassembled from the bays and islands of the Mediterranean, -and joined in an organized system of brigandage; the subordinates -of Sextus were adventurers of the type which has been the perennial -curse of the inland sea, repeatedly stamped out, and ever ready to -reassert itself till the advent of steam power made such operations -too dangerous. It was not the policy of Sextus, but circumstances -beyond his control, which elevated him from being a leader of bandits -to the position of an umpire between parties in the threatened break -up of the Empire. Outlaws and broken men of all kinds gathered to his -headquarters, and the grave Senators of Rome found themselves strangely -out of place in this assemblage of cut-throats and their mistresses. -Tiberius Nero was among the last to arrive; he attempted to assume -the position of a Roman official, and to exact the respect due to -one before whom the prætorian fasces were carried. Sextus, however, -was by no means inclined to put himself under the orders of men of -respectability; still less so the Greek corsairs, who looked forward to -unlimited plunder under his flag. - -When Octavian arrived in due course he temporized; his advisers saw -that for the time being nothing could be done; the Cæsarians had no -fleet; on the other hand, Sextus was glad to disembarrass himself -of the Roman notables; and the result was that the victims of the -proscription were pardoned and received into the Cæsarian ranks. This -was the first occasion on which Octavian was able to manifest his -moderation, and to begin his career of conquest by diplomacy. Sextus -was recognized, admitted to a share in the dismembered Empire; there -was no alternative; Rome was relieved from the danger of starvation, -and Octavian was left free to deal with the veterans and the -consolidation of Italy. - -Tiberius Nero was not among those who accepted the amnesty; he again -fled, this time to Corinth, which was associated with his family by -ancient ties of patronage. He became a wanderer, a hunted man; romantic -adventures are assigned to the months of danger and hardship which -followed; he even sought the protection of Antonius; at length he -too made terms with Octavian and returned to Rome, where a further -disappointment awaited him; his young wife attracted the notice of -Octavian; she accepted his attentions, and shortly afterwards an -amicable divorce and re-marriage were arranged. Six months later Livia -bore a second son, who was sent to her first husband by Octavian, -and acknowledged by him as his own. The families lived on terms of -intimacy, and when Tiberius Nero died five years later, both his sons -passed under the care of their mother and Octavian, whose family now -consisted of his own daughter Julia by a previous wife, Scribonia, and -his two stepsons. Julia was a little over a year younger than Tiberius -the future Emperor. - -So far there had been nothing discreditable in the life of Tiberius -Nero, and it was never attacked even by the bitterest enemies of his -son. He followed the fortunes of Cæsar, so did many men who saw in -Cæsar the only hope of a reformed constitution; he was frightened by -Cæsar’s root and branch reforms, so were many moderate men; he saw in -Cæsar the tyrant, and applauded the men who cut him down, so did Cicero -and many honourable men; in the confusion that ensued he steadily clung -to any power that seemed to make for the restoration of the Republic; -in this he may have been mistaken, but was not dishonourable; he -eventually made terms with the one party which promised a restoration -of order--no other policy was open to a wise and prudent man; he -surrendered his wife to the conqueror; at this point we withdraw our -approval; we think of Cæsar, who refused to put away his wife at the -bidding of Sulla, and our inclination is to see in the action of -Tiberius Nero contemptible weakness. - -Apart, however, from the fact that marriages of convenience and -divorces of convenience were of frequent occurrence among the members -of the princely houses of Rome at this period, the personal conditions -in this case may have been such as to render the divorce in question -as little disgraceful to the injured husband as such an event can be. -There is nothing contrary to probability in assuming that Tiberius Nero -at the time of his marriage to Livia was an elderly, if not an old man; -his intimate friend Velleius Paterculus was certainly an old man when -he killed himself at Naples. The father of Livia had been a political -and possibly personal friend of Tiberius Nero; he fought on the -losing side at the battle of Philippi, and was among those who killed -themselves after their cause seemed to be irreparably lost; immediately -afterwards Tiberius Nero married Livia, who, if she was eighty-six -at the time of her death in A.D. 29, can have been little more than -fourteen at the time of her first marriage. According to Paterculus -the historian, the Emperor Tiberius was less than two years old when -his parents fled to Naples after the fall of Perusia in B.C. 40; this -places the marriage somewhere in 43 B.C., or at the latest very early -in 42 B.C. We have no mention of brothers or other relatives of Livia -in her later life; it would seem that her father’s death left her alone -and friendless; it is a possible conjecture that Tiberius Nero married -the daughter of an old friend, partly in order to save her life and -fortune. The disparity of age must have been great in any case, and -Livia must have accepted the marriage as the only way out of a position -of great peril. It is in accordance with all that we know of Livia -that she should have conducted herself with the strictest propriety -as a Roman matron, though the youthful wife of an elderly or aged -husband; and it is more than probable that he became strongly attached -to her, even though her feeling towards him was dutiful rather than -affectionate. When she met Octavian, she met a man but little older -than herself, who fell passionately in love with her; of their mutual -attachment there can be no doubt; it lasted through the whole of their -life together, and on his deathbed Augustus bade her never to forget -their union. Under these circumstances what was the best thing that -Tiberius Nero could do to secure the happiness of the child whom he -had taken to his home, and who now wished to leave him? By the custom -of his time and race no disgrace attached to a divorce in itself; the -Romans had no conception of a holy estate of matrimony indissoluble -except under scandalous circumstances; it was better that Livia should -be transferred peaceably to the man of her choice than that her -good name should suffer. Tiberius Nero accepted the inevitable, not -necessarily because Octavian could have compelled, but because Livia -had given to her young lover the affections which she had never been -able to give to her elderly protector. - -Tiberius Nero died in B.C. 33; his eldest son was then only nine -years old, but had already been sufficiently well trained to be able -to recite the customary oration as chief mourner at his father’s -funeral; both he and his brother are said to have been exceptionally -well educated. We may imagine the solitary father with his strong -love of learning, the victim of so many disappointments, finding some -alleviation to his sorrows in bringing up his boys in the strictest -traditions of an old Roman house. - - - - -III - -Octavian - - -To the student of even the clearest narrative of the events which -followed the assassination of Cæsar, the impression conveyed is one of -absolute chaos; officials are appointed and removed, decrees passed -and rescinded, provinces assigned and redistributed, leaders combine -and separate only to combine again; it is difficult to distinguish -any guiding principle, any organized force, by which order might be -restored. War and spoliation seem to be universal and continuous, and -the direction of the march of events to be subject to the caprices -of a licentious soldiery, led by rapacious adventurers, who can keep -hold of their troops only by extravagant largess and promises of -plunder. Licensed brigandage rules the world. And yet this turmoil was -immediately succeeded, and in part accompanied by such prosperity as -the civilized world had not yet known; trade flourished in spite of -piracy, great public improvements were designed and completed, young -men went to universities, travellers passed from one end of the Empire -to the other. - -The exact date of the journey which Horace took from Rome to Brundisium -in attendance upon Mæcenas is still a subject of dispute among -scholars, but it certainly cannot be placed later than the battle of -Actium, and is generally assigned to a time before Sextus Pompeius had -been driven from Sicily; neither Italy nor the world were at peace, -and Italy had recently been the scene of civil war. There is, however, -nothing in the description of this journey to suggest a ruined or -disordered country; before Horace caught up the suite of his patron he -travelled by the ordinary conveyances along the road or the canal to -the South; the misadventures of his journey are only such as happen to -travellers in a well ordered country in times of the profoundest peace. -The ordinary routine of life can have been but little disturbed by the -marchings and counter-marchings of armies; and the habits of order must -have been too firmly established to be much shaken by the apparent -anarchy at the capital. - -In one respect the accounts of these times are necessarily misleading; -as our information comes from Rome and Rome alone, we forget the -enormous area over which the transactions took place. We should not -to-day be surprised to find France prosperous when war was raging in -Italy; we should not expect Spain to be affected by occurrences in the -Balkan Peninsula, or Egypt to be ruined by marauders in Asia Minor; -and we can even imagine a war in Lombardy which would leave Calabria -undisturbed. Roman history gives us all the military operations of all -the countries in Europe South of the Alps and West of the Rhine, and of -all the East that is washed by the Mediterranean, as the history of one -state, and we forget that large though the armies were which disputed -the Empire of the world, they fought over a very large area, and that -the greater part of the Empire was only for short periods or indirectly -affected. Even inside Italy the fighting was carried on at a distance -from the capital; the scenes of actual war were Lombardy or Northern -Tuscany or again the coast opposite Sicily; the marching of the troops -along the great roads did not disturb the country between the scenes of -operations. In all periods of social disturbance the attention is drawn -so exclusively to the sensational events, that the continuance of the -ordinary routine alongside of the confusion escapes notice. A community -which has long been settled parts unwillingly with its fixed habits; it -is only very long periods of war that leave their mark permanently on a -country. Perpetual disorder and perpetual invasions prevent progress, -but even such violent outbreaks of disorder as the early years of the -French Revolution may be followed by a speedy recovery. - -Julius Cæsar did not hold absolute power for more than four years; -during those years he had time to remove obstructions, but not to -build; his death did not involve a general collapse of the Government; -the permanent officials continued in their places, the ordinary routine -of public and private business remained much as before. The real danger -which threatened society was the domination of the army under the -command of a licentious adventurer such as Antonius, or the breaking up -of the Empire and its distribution among similar leaders. That this -did not happen is due chiefly to the personal qualities of one man, and -that man a youth, who at the present day would be just leaving school -to begin his career at the University. - -It is possible to overrate as well as to underrate Octavian, to ascribe -to him much that he could not possibly have done, as well as to refuse -to him the credit due for what he actually performed. - -In contrast with the achievements of his adoptive father, Octavian -stands out in history as the great civilian; he hardly ever fought a -successful battle; even his personal courage was suspected, but he -succeeded where a long line of predecessors had failed and his success -was in part due to the fact that he was not a soldier; he was never -tempted to conquer for the sake of conquest, or to enter on campaigns -in order that he might win glory; he was entirely free from the -weaknesses of a Napoleon. - -The precocity of the young Romans of the great families continually -astonishes us, but Octavian would indeed be a marvel if, alone and -unaided, he had placed himself among the four competitors for universal -dominion at the age of twenty. Had he really been the son of Cæsar, -and not a comparatively distant relative, had Cæsar himself been a -constitutional monarch, and the monarchy an institution sanctioned by -long precedent, his succession would not have surprised us; dynasties -are upheld in spite of the youth or feebleness of the successor to the -dynasty; but in this case there was no recognized dynasty, no prejudice -outside the army in favour of the dynast, and the heir could not expect -to inherit anything from his predecessor except his private property. -This was his own view of his own position; he claimed no more. - -Octavian was probably no less surprised than the Liberators or Cicero -by his own popularity; the depth of the affection and admiration -inspired by the great Cæsar was not at once comprehended by his -contemporaries; they did not realize that he had become a myth in -his lifetime, and on his death a god; the strength of the sentiments -which he had evoked escaped the notice of the constructors of Utopian -Republics and devotees of the rule of the Sacred Senate. Here was a new -cult, and even a new incarnation of divinity. So little did Octavian -understand the real foundations of his popularity that on his first -arrival in Italy he made overtures to Cicero and the Constitutional -party, to the men who approved of his adoptive father’s murder; so -little did they understand the hold which he had upon the affection -of the soldiers that they prepared to use him for their own purposes -and then throw him over; they wanted a piece to play against Antonius, -Octavian wanted power to force Antonius to disgorge his inheritance. -His first important step was a masterly one. Upon Cæsar’s heir devolved -the duty of paying Cæsar’s bequests to the Roman people, and expending -money upon the great shows in honour of the dead hero. Antonius refused -to surrender the treasures which he had seized. Octavian, whose natural -father had been a very rich man, sold all his private property, sold -all Cæsar’s property that had escaped Antonius, persuaded two of his -relatives to forego their own share of the inheritance, and fulfilled -the obligations imposed by the will. The contrast between him and -Antonius was thus emphasized; Antonius had seized, confiscated, -squandered upon his personal pleasures; Octavian gave, and paid for -the pleasures of the people. It was this characteristic of Octavian, -his indifference to personal display and personal luxury, that was -one source of his strength throughout life; nobody could be more -magnificent or spend more lavishly when such a course was required by -the public interest, but in his personal expenditure he was rigidly -economical. No Roman or provincial ever felt that his property was held -in jeopardy, because Octavian needed money for his private pleasures. -The ruler himself set the example of that moderation in expenditure -which Horace so repeatedly commends to his contemporaries. - -The moderation of Octavian recommended him to the financiers, and he at -once found a valuable friend in the person of C. Cilnius Mæcenas. The -Roman historians, in accordance with their invariable custom, ignore -this great permanent official; they have no eyes for any man who has -not held the great magistracies of the Republic, and the share of -Mæcenas in building up the power of Octavian occupies but a small place -in their writings; it is in fact only as a patron of literary men that -Mæcenas is widely known, and the superficial observer might be tempted -to infer that Mæcenas was a private friend of Octavian, whose influence -was due solely to the Emperor’s favour. We know when Mæcenas died, -but we do not know when he was born; his death occurred twenty-two -years before that of Octavian, and as there is no indication that the -event was considered premature, we are justified in assuming that he -was so much older than Octavian as to have had considerable experience -of affairs, and a sufficiently recognized position, when the younger -man was seen to be a possible successor to the great Cæsar. Mæcenas -was a prominent member of the Equestrian Order, of the body which had -been supported in its struggles for recognition against the Senate by -the Marian party, and by Cæsar himself; its interests coincided with -those of the whole body of permanent salaried officials, who owed their -appointments to Cæsar; the collection of the revenue of the Empire was -in its hands; of the candidates for power, the one who secured the -confidence of the Equestrians was the most likely to be successful. We -do not know what had been the previous connexion between Octavian and -Mæcenas, but we do no violence to probability by assuming that Mæcenas -was known to Cæsar, and had enjoyed a measure of his confidence, that -he belonged to the inner circle of financiers whom Cæsar must have -repeatedly consulted, and that he had frequent opportunities for -forming an opinion as to the capacity of the young Octavian. - -In any case, and however the connexion was brought about, the man who -formed the alliance between Octavian and Mæcenas acted more wisely -than Octavian had acted when he placed himself at the feet of Cicero. -By himself Octavian might have appeared to be a risky speculation to -the orderly men who were gradually attracted to his party; backed by -the great financier he was safe; the clients of Cæsar in all parts of -the Empire were provided with a guarantee which encouraged them to -transfer to the nephew the allegiance which they had previously given -to the uncle. Octavian’s merit lies in the fact that he was able to -use the wisdom of this cautious adviser and submit to his diplomacy; -his head was not turned by the popular declarations in his favour. He -is frequently reproached with a lack of initiative, with a cynical -indifference to the higher morality, with a cool calculation of his own -interests, and of his own interests to the exclusion of all others; -but to judge thus is to fall into the common error of condemning a -man on his success; there is a natural tendency to ascribe to every -man who eventually succeeds a deliberate intention of success from -the commencement, and the careful working out of a preconceived plan. -Royalists after the Restoration in England could only see in Cromwell -a crafty plotter, who had proposed to himself the usurpation of the -throne. It is assumed that the power of the men who rise to great -positions was at the beginning the same that it was at the end, and -that in the first stages of their career they could have refused to do -things of which they disapproved. - -When Octavian made overtures to Cicero and called him his “father,” -he was in earnest, and acted according to his own inclinations, but -he took a false step from which he was forced to recede; he quickly -learned that he commanded sympathy as the avenger of his father’s -murderer, that on those terms he was the darling of the fierce -legionaries; he also learned that the Constitutional Party, to whom -his temperament inclined him, regarded him as a necessary evil, and -that his “father” proposed to use him and then remove him; after the -publication of the Second Philippic, in which Cæsar was denounced no -less savagely than Antonius, Octavian could no longer keep on terms of -friendship with Cicero; he would have been treated as a renegade by his -own soldiers; he had not even the alternative of retiring into private -life; he was too dangerous to both parties alike; had he rejected the -devotion of the legions, the daggers of the Constitutionalists or of -the emissaries of Antonius would have struck him down; nominally a -leader, he was really a hunted beast. The soldiers forced him into -alliance with Antonius, the soldiers forced him to marry the daughter -of the tigress Fulvia, the combination of ferocity drove him to his -share in the proscription. To Antonius the proscription was a means -of filling his ever leaky purse; to Fulvia, the sister of Clodius, -it was a vengeance, she had an old score to settle with Cicero, to -the soldiers it was the merited punishment of the murderers of Cæsar; -Octavian could not hold back; he, however, did the best thing that was -permitted by the circumstances, as soon as Antonius departed for the -East he let the pursuit of the proscribed lapse; he broke with Fulvia -and sent back her daughter; he proved singularly placable to those who -wished to make terms with him. - -At this period Octavian can hardly have designed the universal -dominion to which he afterwards succeeded; it was enough to enjoy -comparative security in Italy, and to be recognized as the chief agent -in restoring safety to the peninsula; none of his military operations -were aggressive, and he preferred diplomacy to war; he was content -to let Antonius carry off the richest part of the Empire; he was -content to make terms with Sextus Pompeius, and allow him to take his -share of the provinces, provided the commercial interests of Rome -were respected, and the corn ships allowed to find their way into the -harbour. He required time to deal with the most difficult of tasks, the -reabsorption of Cæsar’s veterans in the civilian population; in order -that Octavian might be personally safe, it was necessary gradually to -break up the army which had dictated to him, and replace it by one of -which he would be master. - -This operation must have required consummate skill and coolness; the -financial problem alone must have been serious; it was, however, -rendered much easier by the departure of Antonius to the East; to the -Roman soldiers, as to ourselves for many centuries, the East was the -El Dorado, and service or even settlement in Italy presented small -attractions to the legionary compared with service on the Euphrates; -the gold which had tempted Crassus still glittered in the imagination -of the centurions. Octavian and his advisers were glad to see the more -restless spirits stream after Antonius, it lightened their burden. - -Meanwhile Octavian had the good fortune to find a War Minister of rare -genius and unexampled personal devotion; if the career of Octavian is -marvellous, that of his friend Agrippa is no less so; the two men -were of the same age; they were fellow students at Apollonia when the -death of Cæsar summoned Octavian to Rome; they had already laid the -foundations of a friendship which is among the most noteworthy in -history. - -Agrippa as a military genius has received scant consideration; but the -man must have been a genius, who at the age of twenty-seven made a -navy for Rome and re-organized an army, and who further contrived to -place that army on a footing, which restored it to its proper position -of subordination to the civil administration. All Agrippa’s projects -bear witness to the mind of a daring planner and a consummate master -of detail. It was necessary to build and train a fleet in the face -of the opposition of Sextus Pompeius, who held the command of the -sea; Agrippa at once bethought himself of an inland lake in which his -ships could be built and then manœuvred; when the work of preparation -was complete he cut a channel into the Mediterranean, and sailed out -to attack and defeat his enemy. In preparation for the subsequent -operations against Antonius at Actium, he was not misled by the example -of the naval experts of the day; he saw that rapidity of manœuvring -was more important in a man-of-war than size and weight, and instead -of competing with the ship builders of Alexandria, constructed a large -number of light galleys, and manned them with skilled crews. - -The one great building for which Agrippa was responsible survives to -our time, and still testifies to the originality of his genius; the -dome of the Pantheon is remarkable even now; in its own day it was -unexampled. - -Agrippa was even greater in his moral qualities, in the self-restraint, -or perhaps absence of a morbid ambition, which forbade him to become a -rival to the man whose superiority he had elected to recognize. In the -later days of the Republic a man could hardly become a great general -without threatening the balance of the constitution; the death of -Cæsar brought into prominence ambitious soldiers; it seemed that it -was enough to be a successful leader of troops in order to enter upon -the enjoyment of all things that ambitious men most covet; but to this -kind of ambition Agrippa was superior; if he had a conscious ambition -over and above the satisfaction of doing his work well, it was to make -Octavian. - -His example was most valuable to the fortunes of the Empire; his -character impressed itself upon the young men at a later time, upon -the youthful Tiberius his son-in-law among others. Henceforth the old -loyalty to the Republic which restored victorious consuls to their -proper place in civil life, when their wars were finished, was replaced -by the loyalty of the army to a possibly civilian Imperator, whose -military work was delegated to subordinate commanders; it was possible -for a man to command an army without feeling that he lost dignity by -submitting to the control of the head of the State. - -If Octavian is to be admired for learning in a few years the trade of a -statesman, Agrippa is no less to be admired for the celerity with which -he acquired the detailed knowledge of a naval and military commander; -both young men started with a rare power of submitting themselves -to the guidance of men of experience; the eventual result was a -combination of administrative ability, which was able to use other men -without impairing its own supremacy. - -After Sextus Pompeius had disappeared, and Lepidus had found himself in -the unenviable position of a general without an army, and a provincial -governor without a province, the delimitation of authority which -followed may well have seemed to the sharers in power to be final. - -Octavian took what was practically in later days the Western Empire, -Antonius the Eastern. The marriage of Octavian’s sister with Antonius -was held to render hostilities between them impossible; and there are -few modern potentates who would not be content with the share which -fell to Octavian; to be supreme ruler of France, Spain, Italy, the -large islands of the Mediterranean, and the Western portion of the -North Coast of Africa, would have satisfied Francis I. or Charles V. -Nor were the Spain and Gaul of those days relatively in such a state of -barbarism that the ruler of Italy could think of them as semi-savage -frontier colonies. Parts of Spain were still imperfectly civilized, but -the relation which they bore to the more settled regions was little -different from that held by the Celtic fringes of our own islands till -comparatively late in our history. Gaul was more united than the France -of Louis XI., and no more subject to internal disturbances. Gaul, in -fact, began almost from the time of Cæsar’s conquests to advance to -a dominant position in the Empire; she supplied soldiers, statesmen, -and rhetoricians to Italy; the balance of power gradually inclined -to the country, which had not been exhausted by successive wars, and -whose population was relatively homogeneous; the time was to come when -the Emperors would be Gallic rather than Italian. The Gauls quickly -assimilated Roman culture and Roman discipline; two of the greatest -writers of the Augustan age, Virgil and Livy, one of an earlier date, -Catullus, were natives of Cis-Alpine Gaul, if not Celtic in their -nationality; Cornelius Gallus, a Transalpine Gaul, was not only -estimated at a high value among the poets of his day, but was the first -Viceroy appointed to Egypt by Octavian. In fact, though it may have -appeared to the men of the day that Antonius had taken to himself the -best share of the Empire, and left Octavian a valueless appanage, the -sequel proved that the latter had the best of the bargain; the central -part of his dominions was the longest organized and the best organized, -while the outlying territories had no time-honoured reputation to set -against the extension of Roman civilization; they had everything to -gain by closer incorporation with the Empire; they even accepted its -language, whereas the Eastern Empire never ceased to be Greek. - -The personal qualities of Antonius brought about the union of the -Empire; so long as he served under the direction of the great Cæsar he -passed for a politician and administrator, no less than for a dashing -general; deprived of his great model, he quickly showed himself to be -nothing but a greedy soldier. The East learned by successive bitter -experiences what it lost in Cæsar; first came little Dolabella to harry -Syria, then Cassius and even Brutus extorted all that they could lay -their hands on in the rich cities of the Levant and Asia Minor; then -came Antonius with further fines and confiscations; there was a general -sense of relief when Cleopatra carried him off to Alexandria, only -however to prompt him to fresh extortions. - -The alliance of Antony and Cleopatra was the salvation of the Roman -Empire; it frightened the West into union, and its failure brought -about the final submission of the East. This was no mere question of -rivalry between two eminent Roman statesmen; it was a turning point in -civilization; the issue was once again whether the Mediterranean was to -be governed on Oriental or Western lines. The halo of not particularly -edifying romance which shines round the figure of Cleopatra averts the -attention from the statesman-like qualities which she really possessed; -her residence in Rome in the capacity of Cæsar’s mistress was not a -glorious episode in the career of the Egyptian Queen, but it taught -her, as a similar experience had taught Juba, the weakness of Rome from -an Oriental point of view. Cleopatra saw that Rome wanted a despot; -on the death of her admirer she went back to Egypt to wait on events; -when Antonius appeared in the East, she proposed to annex Italy through -Antonius, as Cæsar had through herself annexed Egypt; but, like many -others, she had misjudged the man; Antonius was no Cæsar; and though -Cleopatra could form magnificent schemes of ambition, she lacked the -self-control necessary to carry them out; unfortunately for herself, -in the attempt to annex Antonius she fell violently in love with him, -and statesmanship became a secondary consideration; she could not -deny herself the companionship of her lover; he, too, more than once -forgot all the duties of a soldier in his impatience to return to -her arms. Their plans for extended conquests in the East were foiled -by their maladministration; and even a temporary success proved in -its results worse than a series of defeats; for Antonius celebrated -his victory over the Parthians by parodying at Alexandria the solemn -ritual of a triumph at Rome. This event, more even than a fleeting -descent of Antonius at a previous date upon the coast of Iapygia in -conjunction with Sextus Pompeius, consolidated the power of Octavian; -he became no longer the leader of a party, but the representative -of Latin civilization. Nor is it contrary to probability that the -luxurious excesses of the Court at Alexandria, at Smyrna, at Samos, -frightened the Greek cities, and that frequent emissaries gave Octavian -good reason for supposing that the Greek cities were ready to throw -themselves into his hands; Cæsar had never acted in the spirit of a -Greek tyrant, but the type was abundantly manifested in Antonius. -Octavian waited till he was ready; he then produced a document, the -will of Antonius, which clearly informed the Roman people of the -destiny prepared for them, and when the right moment came, allowed a -dispute about his claims over certain cities to end in a declaration of -war. - -The battle of Actium was the result, and the victory was followed -by what was practically a triumphant progress of Octavian round -the Mediterranean; the Roman Empire was one again, the unity of -civilization was complete. Henceforth the wars of the Empire were -conducted on its frontiers, and though they occasionally resulted in -an extension of territory, their primary object was self-defence, the -maintenance of the ring fence of the “civilized world.” The short -war of the Succession, which followed on the death of Nero, hardly -disturbed the peace of Gaul and Italy. - -The extraordinary success of the man, who at the age of two and -thirty was recognized as the supreme arbiter of the civilized world, -tempts us, as it tempted his contemporaries, to look for qualities -in him beyond the reach of an ordinary man; some who have looked for -these qualities and failed to discover them have gone in the opposite -direction, and speak of him with scant respect. - -Whether Octavian or any other man who has occupied a similar position -was a person whose example could be safely recommended to our children, -is a less interesting question than that relation between his personal -qualities and the needs of the time, which placed him at the head of -affairs. The Senate of Rome had failed to produce a great civilian, and -a great civilian was precisely what was needed by Greater Rome. The men -who, from the time that the problem of the administration of the Empire -had begun to make itself felt, had held the chief power successively, -were soldiers in the first place, and only in the second, if at -all, civil administrators: Marius, Sulla, Pompeius, Cæsar himself -imposed their will upon Rome, because they had the legions behind -them; relying upon the force of organized armies, they were tempted -to overlook all the other forces by which society is held together. -An army is so convincing, so obvious, that men who can organize an -army may well be excused in their blindness to the existence of any -other power. Cæsar was the most enlightened of generals, and had a -clearer appreciation of civilian problems than his predecessors, but -even Cæsar relied ultimately upon the appeal to force; holding, as he -believed, the strongest weapon in his hands, he prepared to change and -reconstruct society as appeared most reasonable to his clear scientific -intelligence; confident in the integrity of his purposes, he believed -that he had only to demonstrate his common sense and benevolence in -order to secure adhesion to all his reforms; he did not weigh public -opinion; he did not study the currents of prepossession and conviction; -wishing well to all men, he never waited to consider whether his -actions might wound the self-esteem of any man; he chose his -subordinates without inquiry into their private opinions; it was enough -for him to have ascertained that they possessed the qualities essential -in his opinion to good administration. In one sense the clemency of -Cæsar was never tested; had he lived another ten years, and been forced -to realize the nature of the opposition which was excited by his -reforms, he, like Cromwell, might have been forced to supersede the -civil organization by a purely military organization; like Napoleon, -he might have been compelled to protect his person and his Government -by an army of spies, and meet plots by counterplots; but the opposition -declared itself only to be final; the first intimation of its existence -to Cæsar was his own death. Had Octavian needed so striking a lesson, -he would have learned from this event that civil power resting on -military predominance is no more secure than civil power conferred by -a popular vote; but he did not need the lesson; his whole temperament -was civilian, and the successive humiliations through which the army -led him strengthened his dislike to the army; for the army forced him -to the alliance with Antonius, in whom he rightly saw his private -enemy; the army forced him to marry the daughter of Fulvia the tigress; -the army forced the proscription upon him; the army compelled him to -deeds of savage cruelty at Perusia; the army forced him to hand over -his sister to the embraces of Antonius; he felt that he could not be a -free agent so long as the army was the dominant factor in politics. His -ideal was not the magnificent stride of the conqueror from continent -to continent. Other young men, finding several thousand veterans ready -to follow them, might have been tempted to a career of conquest; not -so Octavian; circumstances compelled him to temporize with the army, -and to use the army, but he naturally preferred the city to the camp, -and the Forum to the field. Year by year, and even month by month, he -advanced in the favour of the capitalists and constitutionalists, who -dreaded nothing so much as a perpetual cock fight of generals. All -over the Empire a new ideal had been steadily growing, the conception -of war as a permanent condition of society had been replaced by the -conception of peace. In the East for two centuries the internecine wars -between city States had disappeared; the Macedonian Empire, though -broken up and divided, had established permanent umpires; society -was united over larger areas; in the West, after the elimination of -the discordant Phœnician factor, Rome had held the same position of -supreme umpire; great cities had grown up: Smyrna, Ephesus, Antioch, -Alexandria in the East, Rome in the West, for whose populations the -orderly progress of commerce was a necessity of life; war had ceased -to be the only or the most profitable investment; other than military -careers were attractive to the ambitious. Octavian presented the -combination of qualities which the world wanted; he could command -the allegiance of armies without being intoxicated by the possession -of that form of power; he respected the civilian, and had the power -to protect him. But Octavian did not carry his dislike of military -domination to the point of extravagance; he was no intemperate advocate -of peace principles; he did not make the mistake of allowing his army -to become inefficient; he knew that a well ordered army was a necessary -instrument of sound civil Government; he knew that unless the chief -of the State demonstrably enjoyed the support of an efficient army -his reign would be short; but he took care that no successful officer -should be tempted to play the part of an Antonius, or dream that it -was in his power to become a second Cæsar. He had the good fortune to -find first in his friend Agrippa, and subsequently in his two stepsons -Tiberius and Drusus, able generals, who abstained from interfering with -the civil administration. Not the least of the remarkable powers of -Octavian was his power of commanding willing service from equals and -even from superiors, and his recognition of the men who would be useful -to him. As the heir of his father and great-uncle, he inherited not -only money but connexions; his father had been an Equestrian, who was -cut off in the first stages of a more enterprising political career; -he had been Governor of Macedonia; the extent of the connexions of -Cæsar needs no demonstration. The head of a great Roman House was in a -sense the head of a permanent corporation; he could alienate or retain -those individuals, families or cities, both with within and outside of -the technical limits of the Empire, who had been used to conduct their -private or public business through the agency of his House. The use to -which he turned an hereditary advantage of this kind depended on his -personal qualities; Octavian had the qualities which breed confidence; -self-controlled, industrious, courteous, faithful to obligations even -where they were not self-imposed, he quickly showed the adherents of -the House that there was no breach in the continuity of the Cæsarian -succession. Antonius had similar advantages, but he dissipated or -squandered them; men learned that his favour was to be won, or its -continuance to be secured by gross flattery, and subservience to his -caprices; he demanded derogatory services; the Consular Plancus thought -to secure his favour at Alexandria by flopping about at a masquerade -in the unwieldy and farcical dress of a marine deity; such an act would -have disgusted Octavian; it would have shocked him to see a man of rank -doing anything inconsistent with his dignity. A natural instinct for -what is dignified is a valuable attribute in a ruler, and a punctilious -insistence on ceremonial observances is better than an absence of -etiquette; but mere ceremony is apt to degenerate into observances -which injure the self esteem of those concerned, and to substitute -exaggerated forms of respect for the reality. Octavian grasped the true -meaning of dignified behaviour; it was not the person of the ruler but -the business in hand which was respected; frivolity was not an insult -to his person, but to the work in which he was engaged. - -Men who were in earnest about anything found that they were in sympathy -with Octavian; he could relax, and be charming in his relaxation, but -with him, as with all great rulers, the line was rigidly drawn between -business and amusement. He could even pardon a refusal to comply with -his request for a personal favour; he invited Horace to leave the -service of Mæcenas and become his private secretary; the poet refused, -but did not in consequence lose the esteem of the Emperor. - -Naturally attracted by what was dignified, Octavian was keenly alive -to the prestige of the Senate; Cæsar had found in that body an active -impediment to necessary reforms; he broke down the barriers of sanctity -by which it was surrounded; he treated it with no more respect than -Claudius Pulcher had shown to the sacred chickens; he destroyed its -organization and overrode its decrees; he admitted aliens to its -honours. Antonius was equally reckless in his contempt of Senatorial -prerogatives; but the men of rank and position who successively made -terms with Octavian found that they were treated with respect, that -there was nothing derogatory in working with him; and while a bitter -experience had taught them that there was no other alternative, the -pain of submission was alleviated by the personal consideration shown -to men who had suffered shipwreck. Octavian was the mediator between -the new and the old; his practical sagacity inclined him to make the -best of the new; his personal sympathies equally inclined him to deal -tenderly with the old. Good counsellors, hereditary connexions, the -affection of the veterans, would not have put Octavian permanently -at the head of affairs, had he not possessed those qualities which -enabled him to make the best of these advantages. He had not the dash, -the brilliance, the consummate intellectual ability of his uncle; he -could not have done his uncle’s work; but when that work had once -been done, he was supremely fitted to rebuild on the new foundations; -because he was in many respects inferior to his uncle, he was more -truly representative of his time; he was no prodigy; he did not thunder -and lighten and turn the universe upside down; he made the best of the -world as he found it, and that best was so very good that his work -lasted. - - - - -IV - -Augustus - - -In the year 27 B.C., four years after the battle of Actium, the power -of Octavian was so firmly established, his services to the civilized -world were so obviously unique, that there was a general desire to -express by some honourable addition to his title a recognition of those -services. After much discussion the Senate fixed upon the adjective -“Augustus” as the only epithet which would adequately define the -position in which Octavian stood in relation to Rome and the Empire. -This epithet is deeply significant; the modern habit of using it as a -name has destroyed its significance; even in antiquity the necessity of -distinguishing between the different members of the Cæsarian dynasty -led to its occasional use by historians in place of the name of Cæsar, -but the ancients never lost sight of its meaning, as the modern is apt -to do; they were as conscious of using a title for a name when they -spoke of Augustus, as we are when we use the phrases “His Majesty” or -“His Highness,” in speaking of royal personages. - -Various alternatives had been suggested, and been rejected either -as deficient in dignity, as having been used before, or as being -applicable to Rome alone and not to the whole Empire; the man who hit -upon the word which satisfied public opinion, both in Rome and the -provinces, was, strangely enough, no other than that Plancus, whose -undignified floppings had amused Cleopatra and the Eunuchs of her -Court. The etymology of the word may be held to be still uncertain, but -the associations which it suggested to the ancients are indisputable; -it was used of things or places, and especially the latter, marked out -by the gods as the abodes of divinity or particularly connected with -their service; the association of ideas was somewhat similar to that -implied in our own use of the word “consecrated”; but a place which -was “augustus” was rather more than “consecrated”; it was not merely -devoted to the service of the deities, but the gods themselves had -signified their will that it should be so; its transference to a man -was a declaration that the gods had selected him as their instrument; -it did not ascribe divinity to the man, but it asserted that the man -was entitled to the respect due to one who was specially under the -protection of the gods; he was not a god, but the divine will was -manifested in him. The distinction, though clear, is too subtle for the -ordinary human intelligence, and the use of the epithet and its Greek -equivalent rapidly led to an actual worship of the man, which, though -discountenanced in Italy, was permitted, and eventually encouraged -in the provinces. Such a thing appears to us impossible; we are even -shocked at its impiety; for us there has been one Incarnation, and one -only; we can more readily transfer ourselves to the mental condition of -those who made their gods in the likeness of men than of those who in -men saw gods. While some of us do not shrink from the irreverence of -attributing to tables and chairs and hats and bits of deal supernatural -powers, and from believing them to be channels of communication between -ourselves and the spiritual world, we shrink from declaring, what -surely should be simpler and more reverent, that certain human beings -have been elected by the Deity to declare His will to men, that to -treat them with insufficient respect is to rebel against the divine -will, and that to worship them is to worship the Deity who is pleased -to permit a portion of His Divine essence to reside in them. So far -have we travelled from the conception of godship prevalent among the -ancients, and even among our subjects in India at the present day, that -it is hardly possible to present the views of the contemporaries of -Augustus without using language suspected of irreverence. That danger, -however, must be faced, if we would understand one of the forces which -helped to bind the Roman Empire together, for though the idea of -assigning Divine honours to a man is repugnant to us, to the ancients -it was natural. - -At all times and in all countries it is difficult to define the -current convictions of human beings as to non-human or supra-human -agencies; we always find a minority who reflect and study and discuss, -a majority who tremble; if we pay attention only to the enlightened -men of any particular period, we find a certain resemblance in their -speculations, a similar tendency to distinguish between superstition -and religion, a disinclination to ascribe to the divine agencies -vulgar and petty interference with human concerns; on the other hand, -if we fix our attention upon the voiceless multitude, we find no -distinction between religion and superstition, and a strong inclination -to see even in trivial occurrences an intervention of the divinity. We -cannot gather from Plato or Cicero the religious faith of the majority -of the active men of their day; still less can we infer it from the -mythologies of the poets. Polytheism had no dogmatic faith; it did -not ask a man to state what he believed; it took note of what he did. -Deference to accepted forms of worship was expected; men paid a mutual -respect to one another’s observances; all methods of conciliating the -favour of the gods were good; the dangerous man was the man of no -observances; there was no knowing what wrath he might bring down upon -the community. Many of the ancients developed eclectic tendencies in -the matter of religion; the temper of Herodotus was a common one among -the enlightened, and the inclination to see points of resemblance in -various cults rather than to emphasize differences. Germanicus was -travelling from shrine to shrine in the East when he caught the fever -which killed him; Apuleius at a later date travelled widely with a view -to being initiated into the different mysteries. The conception that -there was One God and One God only who ought to be worshipped, and that -acts of adoration to other divinities, or powers in which divinity was -recognized, constituted an act of treason to Him, was an impossible -conception to the ancients; in spite of the unitarian tendencies, -which we may detect even in Hesiod, and which became increasingly -prevalent among the speculative philosophers, a deity was local rather -than universal; it would have been dangerous to attempt to substitute -the worship of Pallas Athene at Ephesus for that of Artemis, to remove -Jupiter Capitolinus at Rome and put Melkarth in his place; but no -Ephesian thought the Athenian wrong in worshipping Pallas, no Roman saw -a dangerous heresy in the cult of Melkarth at Tyre or Carthage. - -The association between religion and morality was only slowly -established; the god was not better than the man; he was stronger than -the man; thus mere power unaccompanied by moral excellence had a divine -character even in a man. To us the Incarnate God is necessarily the -perfection of moral excellence; to the ancients the manifestation of -power was in itself an indication of the divine favour; and similarly -in the case of his worshippers, provided the priest did not infringe -the regulations of the prescribed ritual in preparing for or conducting -an act of worship; his moral character was a matter of indifference; -he might bring down the divine wrath upon the community by paring his -nails at the wrong time, just as much as by the infringement of social -obligations, or by personal debauchery; ritual and not morality was the -province of religion. - -In the didactic work of Hesiod, the Farm and the Calendar, which was -used by the Greeks much as we use a catechism, minute and trivial -points of cleanliness and decency rank with perjury and violence; -to neglect the former, to commit the latter, alike involved the -displeasure of the immortals. The Italians were enslaved by minute -ritual even more than the Greeks; they were more superstitious; the -worship of the Lares and of the ancestors, the faith in fortune, -the dread of the unlucky, survived among cultivated Italians to a -late period. Italy is still profoundly superstitious; men who have -shaken off the authority of the Church still dread the evil eye, and -witchcraft of a peculiar kind is still firmly believed in by the -peasants of central Italy; the strega is still a power in the villages -of the Bolognese. - -The ancients had nothing to set against the ascription of Divine powers -to a man, though for the enlightened it was possible to distinguish -between ceremonial acts whose purpose was to propitiate the Divinity -behind the man, and the worship of the man himself as a divine being; -nor did death terminate the power of the favoured individual; the -spirit was even more powerful when released from the accidents of -humanity. Among the Italians faith in the power of the dead, and a -considerable dread of their continued interference in the concerns of -the living, was a lively faith, and exemplified in many curious ways; -and thus the worship of Augustus, which was officially recognized only -in the provinces during his lifetime, was extended to Italy after his -death. This worship was not an exclusive worship; it did not destroy -or even impair the cults of other divinities; it was only another god -added to the celestial hierarchy, another saint canonized; but this -particular worship was alone in being universal throughout the Empire -and officially sanctioned; in Gaul it was imposed. - -It is particularly worthy of attention that the care of the worship of -Augustus was assigned to freedmen; the Augustales, whose duty it was -in each town to maintain the cult, were to be “libertini”; in Rome the -Prætor Peregrinus, the foreigner’s judge, presided over its feasts, and -it was associated with the worship of the Lares of the Compitalia, that -is to say, with the oratories in the streets at which the slaves paid -their devotions. Men of all nationalities driven together as slaves in -the great cities, far from their native gods, found a common cult and -a common protector in Augustus. It was not long before the worship of -Augustus became indistinguishable from the worship of the Empire, and -each successive Emperor received divine honours, as manifesting that -abstraction; to deny the divinity of the Emperor, to refuse to spill -a little wine, or cast a few grains of incense in his honour, was to -rebel against the civil organization accepted by mankind; it was as -difficult to evade the obligation as for an English soldier to refuse -to drink to the health of his sovereign. The Jews alone protested, and -for a long while their protest was accepted; they did not pray to the -Emperor, but they prayed for him. - -Augustus met his worshippers halfway; his own temperament was -profoundly religious, as religion was understood by his contemporaries; -he substituted the divine right of the Emperor for the divine right -of the Senate; he was not a madman like Caligula, jealous of other -divinities; on the contrary, he made every effort to restore cults -which were being abandoned, and to revive both public and private -observances. If he did not believe in his own divinity in the sense -which the words would convey to us, he was equally removed from the -robust scepticism of Vespasian, who remarked in his last moments: -“Bah! I feel I am turning into a god!” His attitude towards his own -divinity was a reverential one; it did not encourage him to set human -laws at defiance, and flagrantly override the rights of other men; on -the contrary he practised a studied humility, and seemed to feel that -if he was himself a god, it was incumbent upon him to see that due -respect was paid to other members of the same fraternity; in dealing -with men he anticipated the Popes in assuming the attitude of the -“Servus Servorum Dei.” There was no deliberate imposture, no conscious -pose. When Cromwell enumerated to an unruly assembly the successive -events in his career which had placed him at the head of affairs, and -claimed that they bore witness to a special Providence, he expressed -in the language of his time and country the same association of ideas -which convinced Octavian that there was something supernatural in the -chain of events, in the unbroken success, which had given him power far -greater than Cromwell’s. There was no arrogance in the claim; there -was humility; he ascribed to powers not his own a series of successes -in which a less reverently minded man would have seen nothing but the -evidence of his own surpassing ability. It was not merely political -astuteness which led him to act in everything as an ordinary citizen, -to vote, to ask for votes, to live without magnificence or ostentatious -expenditure; such conduct was the result partly of personal -inclination, partly of a sense of the infinite smallness of such things -as marble columns and silken raiment, costly banquets and trains of -servants in comparison with the greatness of the destiny imposed upon -him. If at the great shows in the circus he sat on the platform on -which were placed the statues of the gods, he did not thereby assert -equality with them, but claimed their protection and bore witness to -the favour which they bestowed not only on him, but on the people whose -destinies he guided with their approbation and in virtue of the powers -which they had granted. In the pages of Tacitus and Suetonius we may -detect a certain flavour of approbation when these historians tell -us that Tiberius or other Emperors refused divine honours or limited -them, and we might be tempted to infer from this that the assumption -of divinity by the Emperors was contrary to the feeling of the times; -but both Tacitus and Suetonius wrote more than a century after Octavian -had been declared “Augustus,” and in their days the unitarian faith -of the Jews had begun generally to influence the educated classes at -Rome; Horace could jest lightly at the Jewish Sabbath; in the time of -Suetonius, if it was not observed as a day of rest all over the Empire, -as Josephus boasts, it was certainly a well known institution. - -It might be urged that whatever the religious attitude of Augustus -in other respects, he cannot have believed in his descent from the -goddess Venus, and that Virgil’s great poem in all that concerns Æneas -and Anchises is conscious imposture. To argue in this way is again -to misinterpret polytheism. The faith in Fauns and Satyrs is not -absolutely extinct in Italy even today; the survival of such a faith -suggested the plot of Hawthorne’s exquisite romance, _Transformation_. -Charles Leland discovered traces of it in Tuscany and Umbria. - -The ancients had not arrived at our modern accuracy of definition with -regard to the divine and the human, the natural and the supernatural; -even the most enlightened contemporary of Augustus might hold a faith -as to mixed marriages between gods and men not dissimilar to that -held by many orthodox Protestants as to miracles--they might believe -that such things did not happen in their own day, but that they had -happened. In the curious classification of events affecting the lives -of the Emperors adopted by Suetonius a place is always assigned for -portents. Xiphilinus, the Christian who epitomized Dio Cassius, -apologises for the long lists of portents in his author, and for having -cut out the more trivial of these occurrences, but he leaves a large -number. Faith in portents is in fact always at hand, and even in these -critical days readily springs to life at a favourable opportunity. -With the ancients it was universal; in those days, as in our own, -men preferred sensation to evidence, and the critical faculty, even -when developed, had no very satisfactory apparatus which could be -applied. As a rule, the significance of portents was seen after the -event which they portended. Then, as now, nurses and mothers recalled -remarkable circumstances which had attended the birth and education of -children who afterwards became distinguished; and there are few men -distinguished or obscure who have not at some period of their lives -encountered strange coincidences, or suffered unusual experiences, -which, interpreted by the light of subsequent events, may be held to -have been fraught with mystery. There is no reasonable doubt that the -entrance of Octavian into Rome when he returned to claim his uncle’s -inheritance was attended by some unusual disposition of the sun’s rays, -possibly a solar halo in which only one of the mock suns was clearly -visible, that the event attracted notice at the time, and that it -inclined men to believe that the fortunate youth was reserved for a -remarkable destiny--an anticipation which led to its own fulfilment. -Virgil may well have been in earnest when he hailed the procession of -the star of Cæsar and worked up convenient fragments of legends into -the _Æneid_; even if he had occasional misgivings, his inclination was -to believe, and to hope that his glorious web was woven in threads of -fact. - -Faith in his divine ancestry, faith in his divine mission did not -enervate Augustus, nor render him unpractical; he treated his power -as a sacred trust, and used all the resources of a cool intellect and -industrious temperament to further the interests which he believed -to have been committed to his charge. We are told that in his later -years he liked to believe that there was something superhuman in his -glance, and was pleased when men were unable to look him in the face--a -weakness which was encouraged by studious flatterers. If this is true, -we may well believe that, like many other men and women, he was -insensibly influenced by the attitude of those around him, and dropped -into the place assigned for him by the universal opinion. - -In any case, Augustus, whether in public or private, did nothing to -jar upon the prejudices of those who were prepared to believe in his -divine mission. He led such a life as has since been led by many of the -better Popes, and at least one English statesman. Gossip, always busy -with the supposed amatory proclivities of great men, has not spared him -in this respect, but even if there were any foundation for the idle -stories which have been handed down, the ancients would not have been -scandalized; the somewhat coarse pleasantries which have also been -attributed to him would have scarcely attracted attention in his own -day. - -By his peculiar personality Augustus was able to stamp upon the Roman -Empire a character which has never left it--he made it a religion -as well as a state; and it was due to his work, and to his sense of -the sacredness of his work, that there are still men living even in -England who cannot feel happy in the regulation of what they believe to -be their most important concerns, unless they are assured that their -actions are in accordance with the dictates of the authority from -across the mountains, which is resident in Rome. - -It is a curious fact that many of those men and women whose personal -appearance was felt by their own contemporaries to be in the highest -degree awe-inspiring were small: Napoleon was small, Louis XIV was -small, among Queens Elizabeth was small, and Her late Majesty Victoria -unusually small. Augustus was no exception--he was short, slight, and -halted perceptibly in his gait; but these personal disadvantages did -not detract from his dignity. If we compare the portrait of Julius -Cæsar in the British Museum with the bust of the young Augustus, or -the head of the magnificent statue of the Emperor found in Livia’s -villa near the Prima Porta, we are struck by a remarkable difference. -It is possible to bring the face of Cæsar to life again; we can recall -the dark and liquid eyes, and set the strongly marked muscles of the -face in motion; we would hardly be astonished were the lips to open, -and we can anticipate the clear even enunciation of the words to which -they would give utterance. But with the portraits of Augustus it is -otherwise; they are strangely inscrutable. The bust known as the -young Augustus is the portrait of a boy, or at the oldest of a lad of -sixteen. It must have been modelled at a time when the future even of -Julius Cæsar was not assured. The artist may have flattered, but that -particular form of flattery can hardly have been designed; the habit of -thoughtfulness is seldom expressed to the same degree in the features -of boys and young men. Similarly in the older portrait there is an -aloofness; it is the face of a man who would always tempt a careful -observer to wish to know more about him, and who would always elude -curiosity. The next Emperor who was canonized was Claudius. Of him, -too, we have many authentic portraits; even in the most idealized we -can see something of the man whose apotheosis gave Seneca the materials -for a merry jest. It is the face of a man who was perpetually puzzled, -whereas the face of Augustus is the countenance of one who perpetually -puzzled other men. - -The great work of establishing the Roman Empire was not the work of -a charlatan or a criminal, in both of which characters Augustus has -been represented. It was the work of a man who shared many of the -crude beliefs of his own time and unconsciously used them for his own -purposes, and those purposes were not self regarding. An Antonius -could squander great gifts in the pursuit of what earthly happiness -is afforded by dissolute excesses--he could allow his soldiers to -perish of hunger and disease while he hastened to the embraces of an -accomplished courtesan; he could shamelessly desert loyal veterans at -the bidding of a licentious woman, and seek salvation in the wake of -her purple sails; such was the hero whom Augustus annihilated, such the -conception of responsibility which he replaced by a devotion to duty -which has rarely been equalled and never surpassed. - -The reign of Augustus was monotonous, his policy unadventurous. If -these are defects, we are at least at liberty to prefer them to the -excellences of those more brilliant reigns and more adventurous rulers -who succeeded in dazzling the world, but failed to lay the foundations -for a long era of prosperity. The career of Napoleon is more startling -than that of Augustus, his military record incomparable with the simple -successes of the earlier Emperor, but Napoleon left France with a -diminished frontier, and Augustus left Italy the undoubted mistress of -the civilized world. - - - - -V - -Education of Tiberius - - -Though the apparent results of a careful education are often -disappointing, the impressions received in early childhood are -permanent in their effects. The man who has been brought up in a -particular atmosphere retains the influence through life, even though -his acts may seem to be in strong contrast with his training; the son -of a Quaker family may break with all the traditions of the Society -of Friends in his maturity, but he is never quite the same as a man -who has not been under the rigid family discipline of that estimable -sect. A man may throw off all the bonds imposed by the severe domestic -arrangements of a Scotch Elder, he may elect to bring up his own -children on liberal lines, and banish the shorter Catechism from his -household, but he cannot shake off the consciousness of another kind of -life which was forced upon him by his early experiences. In the case -of Tiberius we can trace to the very end of his life the influences to -which his youth and early manhood were subjected. There was no break -with early traditions; the aspect of details changed, the estimate of -their relative mutual importance was modified, but the spirit with -which they were approached was always the same. - -The antiquaries have much to tell us of the material arrangements -of a Roman house, but we are not so well informed by them as to its -occupants. There is a disposition to ascribe all that was good in Roman -family life to an indeterminate period anterior to that progressive -decay of good manners and good morals which, according to our -authorities, was the distinguishing feature of the Empire. Exceptional -instances of extravagance are quoted as texts for the supposed rule, -the humorous or declamatory exaggerations of satirists are treated as -if they were the evidence of sober witnesses, and the spirit which -works behind the whole of Roman history is dealt with as of no account -in comparison with the letter of promiscuous citations. - -If we wish to revive the ideas which were associated by the Romans with -their princely houses, we must think rather of such Roman palaces as -are described by Mr. Marion Crawford in his Italian Romances; we must -add to this conception something of a mediæval court, something too of -the great mercantile house of the Renascence. So far as the family was -concerned which inhabited such a house as Pompeius built for himself -in the Carinæ, it was often composed of many generations, and of -persons connected by various degrees of affinity; it was a patriarchal -establishment, at whose head stood the eldest man of full age descended -in the line of primogeniture from the founder--it was not merely the -home of a man and his wife and their children. Nor again was the house -only a place of residence: it was a place of business, and the business -was of many kinds--some of it was political, some financial, some -legal, some industrial. In private as in public life at Rome there was -not that strict differentiation of functions, and fine division of -labour and responsibility, which comparatively recent experiences have -caused our contemporaries to regard as a law of existence. - -The Roman Empire was not built upon the foundations afforded by the -assembly of the Tribes, or the assembly of the Centuries, or even -by the Senate itself, but upon the surpassing ability of the great -families and the suitability of their organization for the work which -fell into their hands. Collectively as the Senate they exhibited -similar ability during a period which was long enough to fix the -reputation of Rome, but this period was both preceded and followed by -times in which the work of individual houses was supremely effective. -The Imperial household differed in nothing but the greater extent of -its responsibilities from other households. Augustus was not the only -Roman noble who lived upon the Palatine Hill, and his establishment -was ostentatiously modest; many of his contemporaries lived in finer -palaces, and exhibited greater magnificence in private, but the -moderation of Augustus was only relative, and his house was able to -find room at different times for two successive commanders-in-chief, -Agrippa and Tiberius, with their families and dependents. If Roman -history was presented to young Romans in a form which drew their -attention largely to such purely constitutional questions as the -quarrels between the Patricians and Plebeians, it did not omit the -legends of the great houses. The Senatorial dynasty had its heroic -mythology; Horatius who kept the bridge, Cincinnatus who left his -plough to command the army, the Fabians who all died in one day for -their country, Curtius who leapt into the gulf, occupied in the -imagination of Roman boys much the same place as King Alfred and -his cakes occupy in the mind of the English boy. Every funeral of a -member of one of the great families paraded before the eyes of Rome -the effigies of men associated with stirring events in the history of -the city, and filled their ears with the stories of great deeds. So -far as the Romans knew their own history, they knew it in connexion -with the names of the great houses, with whom indeed it was so closely -associated that it was considered somewhat scandalous in the reign of -Tiberius that a man who did not belong to one of these houses should -take upon himself to write and publish a history. - -For many years a comparatively small group of families at Rome managed -the affairs of an area which has since found work for the statesmen and -administrators of several kingdoms. Collectively they worked through -the Senate and constitutional officials, individually through the -system of clientele which was expanded from a domestic institution to -a world-embracing system. Communities, as well as private persons, put -themselves in connexion with great families at Rome, who were pledged -to watch their interests; over and above the public official connexion -with the Senate there was the private non-official connexion with -individual senatorial families. Slaves and freedmen gathered from all -parts of the civilized world strengthened and extended the family -connexions. The sons of minor potentates were sent to reside with -Roman noblemen, and receive a Roman education; capable adventurers -such as the Herod family scented out the strong men of Rome and allied -themselves to their fortunes. The minute subdivision of ancient society -even after the creation of the Roman Provinces continued the patronage -system beyond the time at which it might seem to have been naturally -extinguished. Sicily might be a Roman Province, but individual Sicilian -cities might still feel the need of a permanent advocate at Rome. The -Roman Governor changed from year to year, but the dynasty of an Æmilian -or a Claudian was perpetual. - -Thus in one of its aspects, and not its least important aspect, a Roman -family was a community in itself, with many and far-reaching interests; -the capacity of its chief personage was a matter of importance to a -very large number of men and women; his failure involved the ruin of a -hierarchy of relatives and dependents. Even in the earlier and simpler -days of Rome the sons of the family were carefully trained to represent -the family in the Forum and the Senate, to manage its estates, to -conduct its financial relations and the extension of the family -connexions, to hold office, to command armies. Greek culture added to -the conception of obligation to the family, obligation to the state; -Greek and Roman ideals alike forbade the young Roman noble to neglect -himself. Even his deportment, his manners, his gestures were serious -matters; he could not afford to be ungainly, or to express himself -awkwardly. If a son proved to be physically or morally incapable of -receiving the required training, Roman sentiment was not shocked by -his supersession or removal. We have a curious illustration of this -in the story of the Emperor Claudius. He was the younger brother of -Germanicus, the son of Drusus, the grandson of Livia. In the ordinary -course of events he would have been introduced to public life like his -brother, but he was awkward, he rolled in his gait, his tongue was -too large for his mouth, he stammered and sputtered, his family, and -even his mother, were ashamed of him, he was kept in the background, -and practically pensioned off. He was, however, a serious student, -a linguist, or at any rate a philologist; as Emperor he planned and -carried out works of great public utility; he was an extensive writer, -an industrious worker. He may have been of feeble character, easily led -by favourites and women, but his reign was by no means a disastrous -one. No ancient writer, however, protests against the prejudice, which -deprived Claudius of all opportunities of advancement, till a supposed -freak of the soldiers made him Emperor; they unanimously accept with -approval the verdict of Augustus, that he was unfitted by his personal -defects for public life. Similarly the youngest son of Agrippa and -Julia, the youngest grandson of Augustus himself, was removed from -Rome, and sequestered in an island “on account of his intractability”; -but though his subsequent fate is one of the many counts in the process -against the reputation of Tiberius, no fault is found with Augustus for -thus eliminating a member of his family who did not prove amenable to -discipline. - -Duty to the family, duty to the State, or it might be first duty to -the State, then duty to the family, were impressed upon the young -Roman noble as the conditions of his existence; he lived, like the -heir-apparent to a throne, in a court which forced upon him the -traditions and observances which the maintenance of the court demanded. -If the father neglected his children, and evaded the responsibility -of training them, there were numerous other persons ready and willing -to undertake his work. The presiding genius of a Roman family was not -infrequently an aged lady, or a trusted freedman, deeply imbued with -the importance of the house and the sanctity of its traditions. - -For the first nine years of his life Tiberius lived with his father--a -man serious, fond of learning, full of the republican tradition. It is -not impossible that, in spite of the association with Octavian through -Livia, the house was to some extent a meeting place of the remnant of -the Republican party. We at least know that one of these men made the -young Tiberius his heir, and adopted him by his will; he seems to have -been allowed to take the succession, but had to refuse the adoption, -because his benefactor was anti-Cæsarian. The elder Tiberius, not being -engaged in public business, would have plenty of time to give to his -children, and Roman children in a Roman family of the old-fashioned -type were much with their parents. We are told that Tiberius was very -carefully educated; at his father’s death he was already sufficiently -well advanced in recitation to pronounce the customary eulogy at his -funeral. Up to this time everything in his surroundings would tend to -encourage a naturally severe temperament; it can hardly have been a -cheerful home, this house of the lost cause. The affections of the boy -expanded themselves upon his brother Drusus, his junior by more than -two years, to whom his attachment was deep and lasting. - -On the death of their father the two boys were transferred to the care -of their mother and stepfather, who was now their guardian. Tiberius -was old enough to resent such an arrangement, but there is no evidence -that he did so; he accepted his stepfather loyally, and Octavian -himself was scrupulously careful of the interests of his stepsons. -Diplomatic divorces and re-marriages were of such common occurrence in -the Roman houses at this period that no slight was felt or intended, -and as a rule the divorced parties maintained friendly relations. -Octavia, the sister of Octavian, was neglected and eventually -repudiated by Antonius, but she nevertheless took good care of his -children by a former marriage, the children of the tigress Fulvia. - -Scribonia, the divorced wife of Octavian, continued to be on -sufficiently friendly terms with his family to watch over her daughter -Julia, not altogether to the latter’s advantage, and eventually -accompanied her into exile. Where marriage was treated entirely as -a business arrangement, there was no room for wounded feelings, and -children were not tempted to feel themselves aggrieved by a change -of parents, or to cherish resentment. When a wife was repudiated on -account of infidelity, and therefore disgraced, there was room for -ill-feeling, but not otherwise. - -As Octavian at a later date set up a school in his own house for the -benefit of his grandchildren and the children of friends, it is not -improbable that a somewhat similar arrangement was adopted for the -young Neros; the course of grammar, the course of rhetoric, the course -of philosophy would be duly followed out. Except in the far greater -attention paid to elocution, the formal education will have differed -little from that of an Eton boy in the middle of the nineteenth -century. Both Roman and English boy learned Greek, and the Roman boy -had the advantage of learning it as a spoken language; neither had -a systematic instruction in mathematics, though the Roman had the -advantage of being drilled in keeping accounts. But far more valuable -than the formal instruction was the informal education given by the -circumstances of the family. The Romans kept early hours, and it was -customary for the children to dine in the same room with their parents, -though at different tables. Octavian, partly from choice, partly from -necessity imposed upon him by weak health, was not given to large -entertainments. His table was a simple one, old-fashioned observances -were rigorously maintained, but the company was choice. The children -could sit and listen while the conversation was being conducted -by Horace and Virgil; all the latest inventions, all the newest -literature, everything that did not pertain to secret diplomacy, was -discussed at that table. There was Mæcenas with his charming manners -and casual dress; Agrippa, somewhat silent as a rule, but animated -enough when the roof of the Pantheon or the model of a light galley had -to be described to an appreciative audience; there too was Cornelius -Gallus, the brilliant gentleman and poet, betraying by his passionate -vivacity his Gallic origin; Varius too would be there ready to recite -his last heroic poem. After dinner there would be amusements, sometimes -games of chance for small stakes, sometimes recitations; or the last -fashionable preacher, some Greek or Greek-speaking Jew, would discourse -of virtue to the admiration of Livia and the ladies. Chieftains from -Gaul and Spain, Princes from the East or Africa, wealthy citizens from -Antioch or Alexandria or the cities of Asia Minor, were all to be met -at that simple table, wondering at the exiguity of the repast, but none -the less impressed by the personality of their host. The opportunity -was a rare one for a youth who was bent on self-improvement, and it was -not neglected by Tiberius or his brother. - -Along with them was brought up Julia, the spoiled child of the family, -and cousin Marcellus with his two sisters, the children of Octavia, -whose other daughter, Antonia, was to be the wife of Drusus, and the -lifelong friend of Tiberius, perhaps the most beautiful of Roman women. - -There could be no better preparation for a life devoted to the public -service than this household, in which power only served to increase -the sense of responsibility, in which the routine of every day was a -routine of duty, and the command of the resources of the civilized -world did not add a dish to the table, a garment to the wardrobe, or a -superfluous slave to the servants’ hall. - -The atmosphere of the household of Augustus is not to be found in the -scandalous gossip occasionally repeated by Suetonius or Tacitus, but -in the works of Horace and Virgil; both poets repeatedly insist on the -merits of simplicity, not because they were commissioned to do so, but -because their own personal tastes and habits fell into line with those -of the master of the civilized world. - -The education of a young Roman was not confined to his home; he -accompanied his father to war when he was old enough, and on peaceful -expeditions at all times, where a great train did not involve -inconvenience. Tiberius was probably still too young to attend Octavian -on his Eastern tour after the battle of Actium, but when he was only -seventeen he accompanied him to Spain, and there took his first lessons -in the field, just as Octavian himself had previously been trained -under Cæsar. A Roman was considered to be of age when he was sixteen, -and he was quickly tested by being called upon to undertake minor -responsibilities. In all departments of public life Tiberius had the -advantage of the example and precept of the best authorities. The staff -of Agrippa, and perhaps Agrippa himself, were ready to instruct him in -the latest developments of the art of war; for finance and diplomacy he -could go to Mæcenas. Octavian was a practised and careful orator; no -one of these men could afford to slumber on his laurels; they were all -hard at work modifying the old, organizing the new. The secrets of the -Empire so frequently alluded to by Tacitus were not so very mysterious; -hard work, discretion, tact, public spirit, formed the bulk of them. -The time for intriguing came after the apprenticeship of Tiberius was -finished, and the intriguers were not the men who had taught him his -business. - -Of the personal influences to which Tiberius was submitted in his youth -the one best known to us is that of Horace, who incidentally throws a -light upon his character as a young man. In the year 21 B.C. Augustus -made a progress to the East, visiting notable cities on the way, and -regulating their affairs. The chief object of the tour was, however, -to settle the Eastern frontier of the Empire. Syria was to Rome what -the North-West Provinces of India are to England; Herod and Aretas of -Arabia with the princes of Armenia played the part of the Ameer of -Afghanistan; they were the buffer states between Roman civilization and -the aggressive powers of Central Asia. Their fidelity was by no means -beyond suspicion, and from the mountains of Armenia, all along the west -of the Euphrates down to the borders of Egypt, continuous intriguing -prevailed, every ambitious kinglet making use of one or the other of -the great powers to strengthen his position against his rivals. The -strongest of these chieftains were the rulers of Armenia and Herod -the Idumæan; the former were unquestionably treacherous, and their -proximity to the Parthians rendered them peculiarly liable to wavering; -the latter played skilfully for his own hand. So long as Rome was -strong, Herod was her obedient servant, but if Rome showed signs of -weakness, Herod had no scruples against making friends with a stronger -power in order to further his own ends. - -Since Cæsar had conquered Pharnaces, the son of Mithridates, by his -mere apparition, the prestige of Rome in the East had been considerably -damaged. The expeditions of Antonius against the Parthians had been -unsuccessful, and a serious catastrophe had only been averted by the -valour of his lieutenant, Ventidius Bassus, a former mule-driver; by -submitting Herod to the demands of Cleopatra’s cupidity, he had to -some extent alienated the Idumæan, and encouraged him to distrust -Roman politicians. Now that the Spanish war was over and the Western -half of the Empire in good order, Augustus wisely determined to study -his Eastern questions on the spot, and make such a demonstration of -power as would determine the judgment of waverers in favour of Rome. -The plan of operations was to send an army through Asia Minor into -Armenia, and thence if necessary along the Tigris into Parthia, while -the possible allies of the Parthians in Syria were to be overawed -simultaneously by the presence of the Emperor. The command of the army -destined for Armenia was given to Tiberius, now twenty-one years of -age. Both operations were successful; there was not much fighting, but -the Parthians saw that Rome was in earnest, and made terms, sending -back the standards which had been taken from Crassus some thirty years -before; the Roman party in Armenia was strengthened by a change of -rulers, and Tiberius returned in triumph. His first essay in war and -diplomacy was successful. - -Tiberius had taken with him a staff of secretaries, or literary -companions, with whom Horace was in correspondence, the chief of whom -seems to have been Julius Florus, a Romanized Gaul. From the tone -of Horace’s letters to these young men we learn much of the future -Emperor. It would seem that Tiberius had formed the idea of surrounding -himself with what Horace on one occasion humorously calls “a gang” of -earnestly minded young men. Their characteristics may be inferred from -the following letter:-- - -“I am very anxious to know, Julius Florus, the quarter of the world -in which Claudius the stepson of Augustus is campaigning. Are you in -Thrace, or on the Bosphorus, or the rich plains and hills of Asia? -What works is the studious company a-building? I should like to know -this too. Who is undertaking to write the history of Augustus? Who is -going to give immortality to his wars and peaceful exploits? What is -Titius writing, Titius whom all Romans will sing, who has not been -afraid to tap the Pindaric sources, and has ventured to turn away from -commonplace pools and streams? Is he well? Does he think of me? Does -he labour with the aid of the Muse to fit the Theban metres to Latin -strings, or does he rage and bluster in tragedy? Tell me what Celsus -is doing? Warn him against plagiary, tell him to beware of the fate of -the daw in borrowed plumes. And what are your own ventures? What are -the thyme beds about which you lightly hover? You have no mean ability, -you are polished, refined, and will win the first prize as an advocate -in private or public suits, or as a poet of the lighter kind. But if -you could give up the chilling pursuit of business, you would go where -inspired wisdom would lead you. This is the work and interest which -should be sped by us all, whether small or great, if we wish to live -in peace with our country and ourselves. You must also tell me this -when you write, mind you do, how are you getting on with Munatius? -Does the badly patched fellowship join and split again to no purpose? -And are your independent spirits galled either by hot-headedness or -misunderstanding? Wherever you both may happen to be, you who should -not break the bond of brotherhood, I shall be very glad indeed to see -you back again.” - -Here is another letter to Celsus, the young gentleman who made somewhat -too free use of the poems in the Palatine Library:-- - -“I beg you, Muse, to convey my compliments to Celsus Albinovanus, the -companion and secretary of Nero. If he asks what I am doing, tell him -that though I threaten all kinds of fine things, I am neither living -properly nor pleasantly; not because my vines have been smashed by -the hail, or my olives parched with the heat, or my cattle sick on -the outlying lands, but because, more ill at ease in mind than body, -I refuse to hear or learn anything that is good for an invalid, am -annoyed with my faithful physicians, furious with my friends, because -they try to deliver me from my deadly laziness; I am bent on what is -bad for me, I avoid what I know to be good for me; I am fickle enough -to be in love with Tibur at Rome, with Rome at Tibur. After this ask -him how he is, how he manages his business and himself, how he gets -on with his young chief and the company. If he says ‘well,’ first -congratulate him, and then don’t forget to whisper just this little bit -of advice into his ear, ‘Our treatment of you, Celsus, will depend upon -the way you treat your own good fortune.’” - -Other letters to Bullatius, to Albius, to Municius, to Secius, to -Lollius are much in the same strain. Though these young men were not -demonstrably included in the inner circle of the friends of Tiberius, -they belonged to the same social rank; in all there is the same -playfulness, in all good advice is conveyed in tactful form. In Lollius -Horace seems to have felt a special interest; he too was a companion -to some notable person, probably Drusus. Horace gives Lollius many -practical directions, somewhat in the style of Polonius, as to his -behaviour to his patron, Lollius being of an independent spirit, and -irascible. Horace is particularly fond of impressing upon his young -friends the duty of “living for themselves,” of considering wealth, -fame, and even public usefulness, as of less importance than a good -conscience. The moral earnestness of Horace is often underrated, as the -moral earnestness of R. L. Stevenson is underrated, and of many other -writers whose teaching has not run in the grooves prescribed by the -professional preachers of their day. Horace had no love for the worthy -gentlemen who improved the occasion after dining with Augustus; the red -eyes of Crispinus affected him as the red nose of Stiggins affected -Dickens; he had equally little patience with those men who labelled -themselves Stoic or Epicurean or Cyrenaic, and professed to live -according to the authorized manuals of the sects; the pretentiousness -of the professors of virtue and the proselytising Jews disgusted him, -as similar manifestations are wont to disgust humorous men at all -ages and in all places, but these men have had their revenge in the -solemnity with which for nearly two thousand years they have deplored -his levity. Few men, however, have lived more consistently with their -professions than Horace, and the world would be none the worse if his -example were less unfrequently followed. The friendship of Mæcenas, -a genuine personal affection, and not a mere literary or convivial -sympathy, gave Horace many opportunities of enriching himself, or at -least of parading his power; it was something to be the friend of the -second or third man in the Roman Empire. But Horace studiously resisted -every temptation to make use of this friendship; he would not even -allow himself to be made the recognised channel of introduction for his -literary friends. The time came when Augustus wished to transfer him to -his own household--the letter is still extant in which the offer was -made, and the greater opportunities hinted at--but Horace would not -hear of such an advancement. It speaks well for Augustus that he was -not offended by the refusal. From Mæcenas Horace accepted a moderate -independence, sufficient for his needs, but a small gift to come from -one of the richest men of his day. He was grateful, but he refused to -sell his soul, and we still have the letter in which he bids Mæcenas -take back his bounty, if it is to involve obligations which the poet -cannot meet without injury to his health, or undue disturbance of his -comfort. He adds with characteristic humour and strict justice, “but -if you take back the Sabine Farm, you must restore to me the youth and -vigour I enjoyed when I first entered your service.” - -Men who cannot distinguish an official ode written to order and the -forms imposed by such conditions from the genuine effusions of a -literary artist are fond of accusing Horace of excessive adulation, but -there is no adulation in offering unpalatable advice, or in pointing -out to a patron that he is exceeding his prerogative. Instances may -be found in the Odes, as well as in the Epistles, of not altogether -complimentary exhortation. The truth was that Augustus was surprisingly -the right man in the right place, and the compliments paid to him by -Horace and Virgil and other literary contemporaries, though expressed -in a liberal style, were not in spirit other than the occasion -demanded. Epitaphs and dedications have a language of their own--Italy -is more given to hyperbolical compliment than England--but the men who -declared their admiration of Augustus, however extravagantly to our -ears, had sound reason for admiring and wishing others to admire a -very capable man surrounded by capable advisers and seconded by able -lieutenants. - -It is not probable that the first book of the letters of Horace was -published in the lifetime of the poet, for they are often too intimate -for publication. Lollius would not be likely to give the world the -benefit of his castigation, or Mæcenas to allow contemporaries to enjoy -the protest against his thoughtless insistence on the poet’s company. -The collection was most probably made after the death of the writer, -and the dedicatory letter placed at the beginning may equally well -have referred to some other publication. Horace is not the only facile -writer of verse who has occasionally amused himself with writing to his -friends in metre, and the sting of some things which he wished to say -was to some extent dulled by the adoption of a metrical form. We may -take it that in the first book of the Epistles, if nowhere else, we -have the genuine Horace writing without respect of persons, and without -regard to the public. A peculiar interest therefore attaches to the one -short letter in the collection which is written to Tiberius himself; it -is a letter of introduction. - -“Septimius I presume has some special information as to the esteem in -which you hold me, Claudius; for in begging and prayerfully compelling -me to try to say a good word for him, and introduce him as worthy of -the intellect and family of that sound reader Nero, in asserting that -I enjoy the privileges of an intimate friend, he sees and knows my -power better than I do myself. I certainly gave a good many reasons -for being let off with an excuse, but I was afraid of being thought to -have falsely pretended incompetence, and to be given to disguising my -real influence, and reserving it for my own sole use. So, in dread of -the disgrace of a greater obloquy, I have entered for the prize awarded -to impudence. If, however, you do not disapprove of my breach of good -manners, committed at the request of a friend, enroll him in your -‘gang,’ and believe him to be staunch and good.” - -Knowing as we do from other sources how strongly Horace objected to -turning a private friendship to account, and how specially careful he -was in the matter of introductions, we can see through this letter a -real intimacy with Tiberius; the apology of Horace is addressed rather -to his own conscience than to the recipient of the letter. We need not -infer that Tiberius was particularly difficult of approach. - -The qualities which were to render Septimius acceptable to Tiberius -are worth notice; he would be in sympathy with a man whose standard -of reading, or--for the phrase is ambiguous--choice of pursuit -was dignified, he would be staunch, he would be good. Good is the -epithet which Horace applies to Tiberius himself in writing to Julius -Florus--“Florus faithful friend to the brilliant and good Nero”; he -uses the same epithet in the Odes in speaking of a former mistress--“I -am not what I was under the reign of good Cinara.” Without pressing -the sense of the word too closely, it can hardly have been applied to -an ungenial man, such as Tiberius is represented to have been, and may -have afterwards become. The future Emperor had a weary road to travel -before he became, if he ever did become, what the elder Pliny says that -he was, “a most dismal man.” - -Thus at the outset of his administrative career we find Tiberius in -excellent company; it is pleasant to think that he may on some occasion -have made an expedition to Tibur or the Sabine Farm, like Torquatus -or Mæcenas, and spent an evening with the genial poet, drinking old -wine laid down in the consulship of Manlius, watching the wood fire -crackling on the hearth, enjoying the jokes of the pert slaves, or -perhaps listening while his host sang to his own accompaniment words -which the world has not yet forgotten. We may be sure that there were -rejoicings when the “company” returned from Asia Minor, that the kid -was duly sacrificed, and that if Tiberius himself was not present, -Florus and Celsus, and let us hope Munatius told the story of their -adventures to the kindly ears of their middle-aged friend. - - - - -VI - -The Family of Augustus - - -The principle of the transmission of the chief power by heredity was -never recognized as a fundamental part of the constitution of the -Roman Empire, though the natural tendency is to allow a son to take -his father’s place, and the necessities of ancestor worship made the -succession of a real son or an adopted son agreeable to Roman feeling. -Neither Cæsar nor Augustus ever had legitimate sons; Tiberius had -a son, but he died before his father; Caligula was childless; the -ambition of an unscrupulous woman deprived the son of Claudius of the -succession and his life; Nero was childless, and in him the Cæsarean -strain ended. Circumstances were adverse to the hereditary principle. -Short dynasties, such as those of the Flavians, the Antonines, and the -Constantines, appear from time to time, but the ordinary method of -peaceful succession was the nomination and adoption of a successor or -successors by the reigning Emperor. - -For many years Augustus himself avoided the definite establishment of -his own position as even a life tenancy. His office of Imperator was -renewed every ten years; the Tribunician power was granted to him -afresh every year in form, though not in fact; the Censorian office -was taken up every five years; he did not become Pontifex Maximus till -eighteen years after the battle of Actium; the only office which he -held without a break--that of Princeps Senatus--was not considered -to be an office at all, the dignity of the first man in the Senate -being constitutionally purely of respect. Under these circumstances it -would be strange if the historians were correct in assuming that the -chief preoccupation of his life was in providing for a successor of -his own blood. Tacitus, who is full of the dynastic question, informs -us, with his customary inconsistency, that Augustus himself at the end -of his life mentioned three men not connected with the Cæsarean race -as possible candidates for the succession, which he could hardly have -done had he accepted the hereditary principle, seeing that the Cæsarean -stock was by no means extinct. - -For a short time the vision of hereditary succession probably attracted -the imagination of Augustus, and certainly always occupied the -attention of members of his family; but the early deaths of two of his -grandsons and the insubordination of a third quickly dispelled the -attractive vision. - -The acquiescence of other Roman families in the Cæsarean rule was -bought partly by admission to a share in the administration, partly -by the very fact that the dynastic ideal was not forced in such a -manner as to preclude all possibility of a change in the form of -government, and a reversion to the happy days of the Senatorial -oligarchy. Opposition was further disarmed by intermarriages with the -houses least likely to submit contentedly to the domination of one -family; both stocks of the Claudians, the Antonians, the Domitians, the -Æmilians, the Junians, and others were thus united with the Julians -in the lifetime of Augustus or his successor. The consular lists for -the reign of Augustus recall the names of the noblest Roman families, -and though the old city offices had now become titular rather than -effective, men still liked sitting in Curule chairs, and taking the -lead in the pageantry which survived the reality of power; the process -by which administrative functions gradually passed from the old offices -to the new hierarchy was a slow one, and an ambitious young man might -still think he had embarked on a career when he had been dignified with -the lowest of the old magistracies. The new men were employed less in -Italy than in the imperial provinces, where indeed it was important -that the officials should be attached to the person of the Emperor -rather than to the abstraction called the Senate and the people of -Rome. Neither Augustus nor Tiberius were afraid to entrust the really -effective powers of Prefect of the City of Rome to members of the old -aristocracy. - -But if Augustus himself was less interested in the dynastic question -than the historians represent, the ladies of his family were by -no means equally indifferent; their feuds were shared in by their -ladies and freedmen, and the apparently peaceful home of the suave -and unconscious Augustus was a raging battlefield, in which the -weapons of calumny and innuendo were freely hurled, and the external -forms of politeness concealed a state of civil war. Wily Greeks and -Jews or other Orientals used to palace intrigues found a field for -their special talents in the households of Livia or Julia; holding -the confidential positions of physicians, preachers, tutors, and -astrologers, they transferred to the Palatine the atmosphere of the -Courts of the Ptolemies or Herod. Under this subtle influence mere -drawing-room conspiracies sometimes took a serious complexion; young -men were impelled by their female relatives to dangerous courses, -secret information sped from Roman boudoirs to the palaces of Syria and -Armenia. - -Livia herself was a skilled intriguer, and though Dio puts into her -mouth a ponderous curtain lecture on the subject of clemency, addressed -to Augustus, her inclinations were more monarchical than those of her -husband. The very substantial compliments which passed between her -and Herod of Judæa are not likely to have been exceptional in their -character, nor is that wily potentate likely to have been the only man -of his class who discovered that her fingers touched the springs of -government. Though by the letters of the law Roman women were in an -almost servile position, though they were liable to be divorced and -remarried to suit the convenience of their families, methods were found -of evading the law, and divorces which tended to further aggrandisement -were not unpopular with their apparent victims. By a variety of legal -fictions women could hold separate estates, and were often immensely -rich independently of their husbands. The wives of provincial -governors were notorious for their rapacity, and took full advantage of -the weakness of uxorious husbands. - -Livia spinning the toga of Augustus with her maids or weighing out the -allowances of the slaves, was a pleasing picture for the contemplation -of her husband and the Romans, but the head of the thrifty housekeeper -had room for other than domestic details, and her name was whispered -with awe by many who could not have appreciated her homely virtues, and -had good reason for suspecting her of very different occupations. - -Owing to the early marriages of the Romans a family quickly became -patriarchal; some of these marriages, it is true, were mere contracts, -children being sometimes married to secure dowries or successions, or -ratify family alliances, almost before they were out of the nursery. -Owing again to divorces and remarriages the various degrees of affinity -between the members of a group of families are very difficult to trace; -adoption adds complications, which are further increased by the paucity -of Roman names, especially as women generally retained the feminine -form of their father’s names after marriage, and sisters were often -indistinguishable. - -Five chief families were united in the household of Augustus: the -Julian--of this the heads were the Emperor himself and his sister -Octavia; the Claudian, represented by Livia and her two sons, Tiberius -and Drusus; the Vipsanian, represented by Agrippa; the Claudian -Marcellan by Octavia’s three elder children; the Antonian by her two -younger children. The heads between whom all matrimonial transactions -were arranged were Augustus, Livia, Octavia, and Agrippa. Of these four -Agrippa was to the two ladies the unwelcome but inevitable intruder; -Livia was disposed to push the Claudians, Octavia the Julians, whom -she represented equally with her brother the Emperor. These four high -contracting parties were about the same age, Octavia being somewhat -the older of the four. If there was to be a dynasty, and if the -succession was to follow the strict line of heredity, Julia, the one -child of Augustus, was obviously the great matrimonial prize. Matters -in her case were somewhat complicated by the existence of her mother, -Scribonia, an affectionate but easy-going lady, who seems to have -abstained from active interference in her daughter’s affairs till she -accompanied her into exile many years later. There was another heiress -in the family of the same age as Julia, namely Vipsania, the daughter -of the despised but necessary Agrippa. She was the granddaughter of -Pomponius Atticus, the very wealthy banker and friend of Cicero. -Agrippa had married her mother when his fortunes were still at a low -ebb, and when it was desirable to conciliate the Equestrian Order to -the advancement of Octavian and his friends. Agrippa owed his position -entirely to his great ability, and his single-hearted unselfish -devotion to the fortunes of Augustus. Nobody had ever heard of the -Vipsanian family till he rose to eminence, and the Claudian and Julian -ladies were contemptuous of its degrading associations. We do not know -whether Pomponia died or was put away, but in the year B.C. 25 Julia, -being of the age of fourteen, was declared marriageable, and a pleasing -atmosphere of matrimonial intrigue filled the house on the Palatine. To -consolidate the fortunes of Agrippa--a really formidable rival, if he -chose to declare himself--with those of Augustus, the right thing to -do was to marry Julia to Agrippa, but Livia wanted her for Tiberius. A -compromise was hit upon; Tiberius was left out in the cold, Julia was -married to young Marcellus, Octavia’s son, her first cousin, now a lad -of eighteen, and in order to associate Agrippa with the Julian blood he -was given the lad’s sister Marcella. - -That Augustus can have seriously intended Marcellus at this time to -be heir to anything but his private fortune is impossible; so long as -Agrippa lived there was no other possible successor to the Imperial -power, and the story that Agrippa went off to the East to keep out of -the way of the favours shown to the young Marcellus is absurd. Agrippa -was wanted in the East, and the information that he acquired there led -to the subsequent Eastern progress of Augustus and Tiberius four years -later. When Augustus was so seriously ill in B.C. 23 as to contemplate -the possibility of his death, he sent for Agrippa and gave him his -ring, thus making him his successor so far as it was possible to do so; -on this we are told that Marcellus showed such bitter disappointment -that Agrippa again went to the East, and for the same reason. A few -months later Marcellus died, and Virgil’s touching allusion to the -event in the sixth Æneid is probably the only authority for the -assumption that the wise Augustus proposed to set aside the tried and -faithful Agrippa, the actual second person in the Empire, in favour -of an untried youth. Such an assumption involves a contradiction of -the whole policy of Augustus. Whatever his weaknesses, whatever his -failures in prevision, the one thing he dreaded was the recrudescence -of the wars of adventurers. Steadily through his reign he worked in the -direction of giving permanence to order, and of quietly eliminating all -elements likely to endanger order. He can hardly have been so blind -as not to see that the reign of Marcellus was only possible by the -sufferance of Agrippa, or to ignore the fact that Livia would work for -the elevation of her sons after his own death. - -The premature death of Marcellus threw all the matrimonial schemes -again into the melting-pot. His marriage had been a marriage only in -name, and had left no offspring. For two years nothing was done, but -when the whole Imperial party moved to the East in B.C. 21 marriage was -again in the air. There was a sojourn, accompanied with much festivity, -at Samos, where Agrippa met the rest of the family. His marriage with -Marcella had proved childless, his union with the Julian stock had -failed; Julia herself seems to have shown signs of an inclination -for Tiberius, but such a union would have strengthened the Claudians -too much, and Tiberius himself was attracted, if by anybody, by the -daughter of Agrippa. Augustus took matters into his own hands; he -persuaded his sister to allow her daughter to be divorced, and married -his own daughter to his faithful friend Agrippa, a man at least twenty -years older than herself. The line of succession was to be through the -children of Agrippa and grandchildren of Augustus; Livia, and Octavia -were left out in the cold. The former consoled herself by interchanging -amenities with the husband of Mariamne on the Phœnician coast, and both -ladies pleased themselves later on with a double marriage project, -which to some extent restored the balance; Tiberius married Vipsania, -and his brother Drusus the very beautiful younger Antonia. The dates -of these two marriages are not determinable, but as Tiberius was the -father of only one child, in B.C. 12, when Agrippa died, his marriage -at any rate was probably a late one, when he was about thirty years of -age. There is reason for believing that this at least was a love match. - -Julia proved to be a fertile mother, she brought five grandchildren to -the founders of the Empire and if the succession was to depend on the -principle of heredity, it was secured, for both the ruling powers were -interested in transmitting the succession in the Julian line, and three -of the children were sons. - -Augustus was delighted; the philoprogenitive passion broke out in -him; he insisted that Julia and her husband should live in his house; -he provided instructors for the children; he seldom went out unless -accompanied by them, and they rode round his litter when he went into -the country. The boys he adopted, buying them of their father by the -ancient rude ceremony, and the two elder ones were henceforth known -as Caius and Lucius Cæsar. Livia was more than ever in need of such -consolations as could be won by intriguing with Oriental potentates. -It seemed that the Claudians were definitely relegated to a subordinate -position, and the young Cæsars began to pay increased attention to the -mythology of the Æneid and the story of their mystic descent from the -goddess Venus. A marriage between the son of Drusus Nero, afterwards -known as Germanicus, and Agrippina, the daughter of Julia and Agrippa, -was the sole bright spot in the dynastic fortune of the Claudians. - -Destiny, however, had not exhausted her possibilities. In 12 B.C. -Agrippa died. In the following year Octavia died, and Livia was free -to carry out her favourite matrimonial project; the widowed Julia was -married to Tiberius, who divorced his wife, Vipsania, to make room for -her. This was the first tragedy in the life of Tiberius, destined to -bring upon him not only terrible immediate sorrows, but a whole train -of calamity, which pursued him to the end of his days. We are told of -many Roman nobles that they divorced their wives. Tiberius is the only -Roman of whom we are told that he bitterly regretted the wife from whom -he had been separated. - -We do not know by whom this tragedy was brought about, but we do know -that, so far as dynastic pretensions were concerned, Tiberius was -the last person to be influenced by such a consideration. Whatever -ambitions his mother may have formed for her sons, both of them, now -men in the prime of life, enjoyed the confidence of Augustus because -they had hitherto shown themselves superior to vulgar ambition. Both -were by this time experienced generals, for though the command of -Tiberius in Armenia may have been nominal rather than real, both he -and his brother had conducted a series of campaigns in the difficult -regions to the north of the Balkan Peninsula, in the Alpine valleys, -and on the frontier of the Rhine. Tiberius had further shown himself -a skilled civilian; he had been entrusted not only with the different -Republican magistracies, but he had been made chairman of several of -those commissions by which the real administrative work was done; he -had presided over a very important commission for regulating the corn -supply of Rome, and over another for inquiring into the condition -of the agricultural slave barracks, whose owners were accused of -kidnapping travellers, and offering shelter to freemen who preferred -such a life to military service. After the death of Agrippa he was -unquestionably the second person in the Empire, for Mæcenas had no hold -on the armies, and Tiberius held this position, not as the stepson -of Augustus, but as a representative of the oldest and most highly -honoured family in Rome, and as the reward of distinguished public -services at home and in the field. - -Caius, the eldest son of Julia, cannot at this time have been more -than nine years old; it would be some years before he could take any -effective part in public business. Augustus, always in weak health, had -to provide for the contingency of his own death, and it must be borne -in mind that, quite apart from the comparatively ignoble ambition of -founding a dynasty, a sense of duty would impel Augustus to obviate as -far as he could the disturbance of a disputed succession. Augustus -prided himself upon his position as a pacificator; his reign was a -reign of peace, its wars were frontier wars; to allow the apple of -discord to drop into the centre of this realm of peace was to destroy -his own work. - -But was it necessary that Tiberius should marry the widowed Julia? -Was the match capable of being represented to him as a necessity of -state, as a duty so imperative as to override all questions of private -inclination? - -Certainly it was so, though the public grounds were essentially of a -private and personal nature. - -The two hostile forces in the Imperial House were Livia and Julia, -the former the embodiment of the stern virtues of the Roman matron, -personified rectitude and humility in her outward demeanour, inwardly -unscrupulous and domineering, free from the more amiable but less -dignified weaknesses of a woman, incapable of being led away by the -love of admiration, icily regular, intemperate only in her pursuit -of the greater ambitions, unmoral rather than immoral, she shunned -attracting public notice, preferred the enjoyment of power to the -demonstration of power, but was none the less keenly jealous of any -encroachment on her domain. It is curious how little we hear of her; -the poets do not mention her, gossip did not concern itself with her -name; it is only from one or two casual references in Josephus, and -a few incidents recorded by Tacitus, that we divine the activity of -this force behind the throne. Portraits of Livia survive; her high -nose is to be seen behind that of Augustus on the coinage; there are -busts, and at least one statue. The countenance is that of a very -handsome woman and a very dignified woman, but not of a woman who could -laugh readily, the mouth looks as if it could smile to order, but not -spontaneously. We may surmise that her virtues were of such an obvious -type as to constitute a standing provocation to the wicked, that she -was one of those women who are more dangerous to sound morality than -a bad example, and against whose standards it is impossible not to -rebel secretly if not openly; this is especially the case when it is -suspected that behind the genuine inclination to correctness in smaller -matters lurk the real deadly sins of the soul, hardness, avarice, lust -of power. The story that she was blind to the infidelities of Augustus, -and even provided the opportunities, may not be true; the infidelities -may be, and probably are, as chimerical as the connivance; but even -such a myth may be allowed to indicate the type of character. - -Pitted against this calm, correct, implacable woman we have the spoiled -child Julia, bent upon enjoying herself to the full, adventurous, -audacious, both in deed and word. When her father reproved her for -riotous living she is said to have replied that, though he might choose -to forget that he was Cæsar, she did not propose to forget that she was -Cæsar’s daughter, and doubtless the pert sally, accompanied by some -laughing gesture, smoothed away the gravity of the outraged Emperor. -For a Roman princess at this resplendent time of Rome’s fortunes -three lives were open: she might live as Julia’s aunt Octavia lived, -or her first cousin the younger Antonia, in comparative retirement, -abstaining from intermeddling with affairs of state, the centre of a -refined and possibly literary circle, caring for the domestic interests -of those whom she loved, or to whom she was bound by duty; or she might -live as Livia lived, darkly intriguing behind the scenes, corresponding -with “native” princes, plotting and counter-plotting among the Roman -families, or again she might fling herself into the riotous amusements -of the gilded youth of Rome, the young gentlemen for whom Ovid wrote -his treatises on gallantry. - -Gambling and betting were as well known diversions in Roman society as -in our own; great ladies made their books upon the circus. Cards were -not yet invented, but dice were common. Wealthy young provincials, -the sons of great but not ennobled capitalists, were as ready then -as now to pay for admission to the highest social circles by dealing -leniently with fair ladies whose affairs were involved by debts of -honour, and some of them lost their heads and hearts over the business. -Masquerading in the unlighted Roman streets after respectable people -had gone to their early beds was not an infrequent amusement, and even -ladies anticipated at Rome the licence of the Mohawk and Tityre Tu of -Queen Anne’s reign in London. Antony and Cleopatra amused themselves -thus at Alexandria, to the terror and annoyance of respectable middle -class men; the joke of thus playing pranks upon inoffensive persons of -humble rank under the protection of a slight disguise is not obvious, -but it has at all times presented attractions for a certain order of -mind. As for Julia, we are told that her revels were conducted even on -the sacred Rostra, the public platform of the government of the world. -Her cynical defence of her immoralities is said to have been even more -outrageous than her conduct. But for all this Julia did not forget that -she was Cæsar’s daughter, and was determined not to submit more than -was inevitable to the domination of the woman who was not her mother, -but was Cæsar’s wife. - -At the death of Agrippa, Julia, though already the mother of four -children, and shortly to become the mother of a fifth, was only -twenty-seven years of age. During the time of her married life she and -Tiberius had been much absent from Rome; they had probably met very -little since they were brought up together as children in the house -of Augustus. Agrippa may have been an indulgent husband, willing to -condone the more innocent levities of his young wife; or Tiberius, -remembering his agreeable playfellow, now titularly his mother-in-law, -may have chosen to disregard the scandalous whispers which reached his -ears from time to time. - -On her husband’s death Julia found herself in an awkward position; -it is true that her father was her friend, but her father’s wife was -her enemy, an enemy whose mysterious influence she had good reason -to dread, and whose ambition was menaced by the existence of Julia’s -own children, already the darlings of their grandfather. Again it is -not improbable that she cherished a purely feminine grudge against -Vipsania, who had carried off her handsome playfellow, and was -additionally piqued by the happiness which Tiberius had found in -his marriage. The personal beauty of Tiberius was remarkable; his -accomplishments no less so. He was unusually tall, broad shouldered, -well shaped, and well proportioned from head to foot, of great physical -strength; he belonged to the fair ruddy type of Italian, and carried a -profusion of golden hair, which grew low down on the back of his neck, -a family peculiarity, his eyes were exceptionally large, and he was -credited with the power of seeing in the dark when first awakened; as -he habitually carried his head in a bent position, it is possible that -he suffered from some visual defect; he was naturally silent, and a -slow talker; he had the reputation of being deeply learned, and indeed -versed in occult mysteries, such a man as would attract the curiosity -of a woman, and challenge her love of conquest by his intellectual, -no less than by his physical, qualities. The few existing portraits -of Tiberius fully bear out the descriptions given by Paterculus and -Suetonius. The so-called bust of Tiberius in the British Museum is not -a portrait of him, and was simply so named because it happened to have -been found at Capri. - -Personal inclination, no less than policy, would have suggested to -Julia that here was the natural protector of herself and children, and -there was the additional inducement of delivering a checkmate to Livia -by falling in with what had been her favourite scheme. With Tiberius -as the stepfather and guardian of the children of Agrippa, there was -nothing to be feared from the death of Augustus; Livia’s own son would -be in a position to defeat any machinations against the heirs of the -Julian race, and it was well known that whatever obligations Tiberius -took upon himself, Tiberius would honourably fulfil. - -The arguments for the divorce and remarriage were, from the Roman point -of view, strong; it was not a question of personal convenience or of -advancing personal interests, the object was to maintain the peace of -the Roman world. Had Tiberius taken the advice of Mæcenas, it would -probably have been to the following effect:--“It is true that you are -to be trusted, that no pledge is needed from you to ensure the security -of the daughter and grandchildren of Augustus, your whole life shows -that you have made your stepfather’s interests your own; but you are -not the only person concerned. The two boys will be exposed to every -temptation as they grow up; their mother is a fascinating lady, but her -best friends can hardly claim for her that she is equal to the task -of bringing up a family whose responsibilities will be great. If you -do not marry her, somebody else will; it would be a serious risk to -expose any possible candidate to the temptations of such a position, to -introduce a new claimant to the family honours into the family circle. -Julia needs a protector, a husband of her own age; she is said to have -a strong personal attachment to yourself, and under your guidance it -is not likely that she will repeat pardonable indiscretions, to which -perhaps she was driven by want of real sympathy with her previous -elderly husband. You say that you and your present wife are devoted to -one another. Granted; but you are both called upon by a destiny, which -you cannot evade, to sacrifice yourselves to the good of the State.” -And Horace too would have argued much in the same strain; he would have -sympathized more delicately with the feelings of a united couple rudely -torn asunder, but with his shrewd common sense he would have shown that -there was no alternative but a retirement into private life, a course -which would have amounted to abandoning the post of duty. - -The person, however, who most strongly influenced Tiberius in his -fatal decision was possibly Vipsania herself. From both parents she -inherited businesslike qualities, cool common sense. Neither of them -is credited with having been sentimental at any period of his or her -career, and though Tiberius was devoted to her, it is quite possible -that she herself regarded her marriage dispassionately as an excellent -business arrangement, and that, while she fulfilled all the duties -of a wife with scrupulous observance, she was prepared to be equally -careful of the interests and honour of any husband with whom she was -provided by the higher powers of the family council. She had abundant -precedent for taking such a line, and Asinius Gallus, the aspirant -proposed to her, was in every way a desirable match. She may have been -really indifferent, and have wounded Tiberius by her cool acquiescence -in the new arrangement; or again, on this side too there may have -been a great renunciation, and the unhappy woman, partly terrified by -obscure menaces from Livia, partly persuaded by the kindly urgency of -Augustus, may have affected an indifference which she did not feel, and -deliberately wounded the man whom she loved for his own good, as she -was led to believe. If Vipsania thus hurt the sensitive Tiberius, and -shook his faith in his previous happiness, there was Julia ready to -heal the wound; was he not the man whom she had always really loved? -Her first and second marriages had been no real marriages: she and -Marcellus had been mere children, and as for Agrippa, worthy man though -he was, he could not feel with a wife so much younger than himself; -he had always preferred the society of men who talked of bridges and -aqueducts, or planned campaigns against the Sarmatians, to his wife and -children; he had been good according to his lights, but it had been a -dull life, and she had been driven to find relief in foolish though -innocent dissipations by which her good name had suffered, and which -she now sincerely regretted. If Tiberius would but take pity on her -forlorn condition, and do his best to love his old playfellow, she for -her part could conceive no greater happiness than to be the partner of -his joys and sorrows; she loved him, she had always loved him, and the -careless indifference of years had not weakened her attachment. - -Whatever the arguments and allurements by which Tiberius was induced -to take the fatal step, he unquestionably did so. At first he lived -happily with Julia; they had one son, who died in infancy; and then his -official duties took the husband from his home; he was placed in charge -of a harassing campaign against a mobile enemy in difficult country -along the south of the Danube and in Dalmatia, while his brother -Drusus was similarly engaged in frontier wars along the Rhine. - -At this time a serious misfortune fell upon Tiberius; he lost his -brother. - -Drusus had conducted a foray into the Black Forest region, which had -not been altogether successful. On his return he either fell from his -horse or caught some serious fever--both stories are given--and was -seen to be in such danger that Augustus, who was then at Lyons, at once -sent for Tiberius from Dalmatia. Tiberius hastened to his brother’s -bedside. The elder Pliny tells us that on this occasion he achieved a -record speed, travelling 200 Roman miles within twenty-four hours. He -was in time to close his brother’s eyes, but that was all. Augustus -decided that Drusus should be buried at Rome, and Tiberius marched the -whole way on foot at the head of the funeral procession from Lyons -to the capital. As soon as the ceremonies were over, he returned to -continue his brother’s work on the eastern bank of the Rhine, and -after two years’ absence was recalled. Mæcenas had died in B.C. 8, -and Augustus felt the need of a confidential adviser. Tiberius on his -return was invested with the tribunician power, an elevation which, -in the opinion of his contemporaries, finally marked him out as the -successor of Augustus. - -The history of the tribunate, in spite of the many references to the -office, is not particularly clear. It seems that the first tribunes -were originally the official mouthpieces of that part of the population -of Rome whom we should now call “Outlanders.” After the “Outlanders,” -or plebeians, had become for all practical purposes fused into the -general body of Roman citizens, the tribunes ranked practically among -the other magistrates; they enjoyed the special prerogative of being -sacrosanct, their persons were inviolable, and thus during their term -of office they were nominally above the laws, a privilege which, -however, did not prevent their assassination. They had the power -of introducing legislation, and of vetoing legislation, and it is -perhaps this power which was constitutionally most important to the -early Emperors. Further, they had powers of summary jurisdiction, and -constituted a supreme court of appeal in cases in which the life of -a Roman citizen was in danger; when St. Paul “appealed unto Cæsar,” -it was to the tribune that he appealed. The office was hallowed by -sentiment, and though as Consul and Censor and Commander-in-chief the -Emperor might seem to hold in his hands all the reasonable means of -making his power effective, unless he were also Tribune, his actions -could be vetoed; thus Augustus was more than usually wise in absorbing -the sanctity and the functions of the Tribune into his own person, and -he could show no greater proof of his confidence in Tiberius than by -thus giving him the power of constitutional opposition and investing -his person with inviolability; but, to the astonishment of the Roman -world, Tiberius had hardly received this mark of confidence before he -summarily left Rome and retired to Rhodes. - - - - -VII - -The First Retirement of Tiberius - - -The flight of Tiberius to Rhodes, and his determination to abandon his -public career just at the moment when his position as second man in -the State was established on a sure foundation, have naturally excited -the wonder of modern no less than of contemporary writers. An English -historian, equally learned and delightful, speaks of the event as the -freak of a moody and irritable man, and declares that such conduct -summarily disposes of the claim which has been advanced for Tiberius of -having been an astute statesman. His contemporaries, who are followed -by the grave Tacitus and the garrulous Suetonius, found an easier -explanation; to them the motive for retirement was simply the wish to -indulge in licentious excesses too hideous for the starched morality -and glaring daylight of Rome; but the same unfriendly or careless -writers allow that he was probably disgusted by the wanton conduct -of Julia, adding that he was also jealous of the advancement of his -stepsons, the young Cæsars, now respectively fourteen and nine years of -age. - -That Julia had forfeited all claims not only to affection, but even -to respect, is an undisputed fact. Soon after his marriage Tiberius -had been obliged to take the field, and his wars had been waged in -localities not likely to be attractive to a lady who lived in the -gallant circles of the poet Ovid. War upon the Illyrian or German -frontier did not involve complete absence from home, and the Roman -generals were in the habit of returning from their campaigns to the -capital when the winter weather made it impossible to take the field. -We do not know whether Tiberius followed this custom, or whether he -took a more rigorous view of his duties and spent the winter season -in winter quarters, but he was certainly much away from home. Some -disillusionment as to the depth of Julia’s affection for him, annoying -domestic difficulties caused by the ill-advised indulgence of her -children by their grandfather, may well have contributed already to -make him feel more at home in the camp than in the splendid house -in the Carinæ. Julia too may have had her own disappointments; the -playfellow of her youth turned out to be another “Colonel Grave Airs,” -no less absorbed in military matters than Agrippa, inclined to spend -his leisure in the society of a learned and serious circle, and averse -to dissipating his time by passing long hours at the great public -pageants in which the Romans delighted. So far there had been nothing -worse than an amicable estrangement between husband and wife. Julia -went her own way, chose her own friends, and lived the life which -pleased her best. Tiberius in the same way pursued the studies which -were agreeable to him, and made the best of a maimed life. Doubtless -he recognized that his private happiness had been wrecked, but there -was still duty, and if he could not meet Vipsania in the street without -emotion, he at least gave the scandalmongers of the city no opportunity. - -But when Tiberius returned from Gaul in B.C. 7 to become practically -the colleague of Augustus, he found the state of affairs in his home -such as no self-respecting man could tolerate, and there was this -additional sting in the wound to his honour, that the very office which -had just been bestowed upon him was capable of being represented as -the price paid for unworthy toleration and wilful blindness. Rome was -ringing with the exploits of Julia, with stories of her drunkenness -in the public streets, with the names and number of her gallants. The -two men who were most concerned in her misconduct, as being the two -men upon whom it brought the deepest disgrace, her father and her -husband, were the two men who alone seemed to be ignorant of the state -of affairs. The ignorance of the father might be excused, he had no -motive, except a not unworthy paternal weakness, for closing his eyes -to what was going on, but the husband, so the gossips said, had been -prompted by his ambition to accept an already damaged article, for -Julia’s irregularities were not of recent date, and actuated by the -same unworthy motive he had allowed his house to become a mere brothel: -the proofs were only too obvious. That such a chain of reasoning was -inconsistent with itself in ascribing both ignorance and full knowledge -to Augustus did not concern the gossips. Tiberius had been bribed to -be blind, and all the world could see what a magnificent bribe he had -extorted. - -The best men, the kindest men, the justest men, and the most earnest -men make the worst mistakes in dealing with a certain type of woman. -Many a woman who has brought disgrace upon her family and ruin upon -herself has urged with some justice that if her husband or her father -or her brother had been less kind, less blind, less just, but more -understanding, she would not have been betrayed into disastrous -misconduct. Often and often the question has been asked, “You must have -seen what was going on; why did you not stop me?” and as often the -answer has been, “I admit I ought to have seen, perhaps I did see, but -I could not believe you capable of doing what appearances should have -told me that you were doing.” - -The higher a man’s ideal of women, the less willing he is to ascribe -to any particular woman the wantonness of lust; the more charitable -his estimate of the strength of some temptation, the less stern his -condemnation, and the greater his readiness to accept excuses for -levity; the higher the range of his own ambitions, and the wider the -area of his own interests, the less capable he is of imagining how -large small slights and imperfect sympathy may appear to a being cast -in a narrower mould. Many a man by acquiescing in a discovered want -of sympathy between himself and his wife has wounded her pride and -provoked her to acts of self-assertion. What was part of his life was -perhaps the whole of hers, and in the end he has been astounded at the -disproportion of the punishment which she has inflicted. Without any -conscious refusal to see things as they really were, any conscious -deference to the susceptibilities of Augustus, Tiberius may well have -been slow to believe in the case against Julia, whose good nature and -frankness might weigh against her want of seriousness. - -When, however, Tiberius came to live permanently at Rome, the facts -could no longer be concealed from him, though they were possibly still -concealed from Augustus. He could repudiate Julia, but that would have -caused a public scandal, and have wounded a man in his most sensitive -spot whom he had always known as his truest friend; he could not, -however, continue to live with her, that would justify the charge of -guilty connivance, and expose him to countless humiliations; further, -there was always the sting of the price at which his forbearance up to -the present moment seemed to have been bought. - -The course which Tiberius actually took was an heroic one. True he -might have ignored the susceptibilities of Augustus, have repudiated -his daughter, and in the case of resistance have used his now -established power to force the Emperor into private life; he might -have held that he was justified in so doing, that he had been wilfully -deceived, and that his pretended friend had deliberately used him for -his own purposes. But if ever he was tempted to conduct so violent, and -yet under the supposed circumstances so justifiable, he put away the -temptation; he decided that if there was to be a retirement, he was -himself the right man to retire. This course had the further attraction -that it put a summary end to that ugly suspicion of corrupt connivance. - -Tiberius matured his plan secretly. Nobody outside his family knew that -he had definitely left Rome till he was already sailing down the coast -of Italy. A fast galley was sent after him, with letters imploring him -to return, and not to desert the Emperor in his old age; it overtook -him before he had passed the Straits of Messina, but the messengers -were abruptly dismissed. No further attempt was made to recall him -till after he had arrived at Rhodes, his ultimate destination, though -he seems to have lingered on his way, and to have spent some time at -Athens, long enough to enable him to be the first Roman who sent a -chariot to compete at the Olympic games. - -It was not long before the real cause of his departure became known -to Augustus. Julia’s extravagant conduct was so notorious that it -could no longer be concealed from her father. Livia is credited with -having engineered the ultimate discovery, and even aided and abetted -the grievous misconduct with ulterior motives. Augustus, in the name -of Tiberius, wrote a bill of divorcement, and banished his daughter -to the island of Pandateria off the coast of Campania. The list of -corespondents was a long one. Julius Antonius, the son of Marcus -Antonius, and stepson of Octavia, was among them; he committed suicide -on the discovery of the scandal. After him Paterculus mentions Quintius -Crispinus, Appius Claudius, Sempronius Gracchus, Scipio, a relative of -Julia through her mother, “and other men of less reputation of both -orders.” It was a comprehensive list, and inclines us to suspect that -Tacitus is right in saying that something more alarming than mere -adultery had taken place, and that Julia had allowed herself to be -involved in a plot against her husband and father. It is curious that -Paterculus should confine the list of nameless admirers to members -of the Senatorial and Equestrian Orders. If Julia had been merely -a licentious woman, we should expect to find slaves and gladiators -among the company of her lovers. Amorous intrigues in the atmosphere -of Rome were apt to end in more dangerous conspiracies, and though -the self-esteem of the pious and patriarchal Augustus must have been -deeply wounded by his daughter’s guilt, the punishment of exile awarded -to her, and of death to her gallants, strikes us as disproportionate. -It is most probable that there really was a conspiracy in which Julia -allowed herself to be used, prompted by a desire to settle up accounts -with that veteran intriguer Livia, and that this was the concluding -scene of the first act in the long drama of the feud between the -Julians and Claudians in the Imperial household. - -Tiberius behaved on this occasion with dignity and generosity. He wrote -to Augustus deprecating extreme severity to Julia, and begging that she -might be allowed to retain for her own use any gifts that he had made -to her. Such gifts will not have been inconsiderable, for Tiberius must -have been a very rich man; it required a large fortune to inhabit the -famous palace of Pompeius, and on his return to Rome Tiberius lived in -the no less splendid villa of Mæcenas on the Esquiline. - -On withdrawing from public affairs Tiberius decided to live as a -private citizen; this he had every right to do. His motive in selecting -Rhodes for his place of residence has to do with features in his -intellectual inclinations upon which we have not as yet touched. The -silly story that Tiberius elected to reside in Rhodes because he could -there enjoy unlimited debauchery may be at once dismissed on the -ground of inherent absurdity. A man who wishes to conceal his vices -does not select a university town, a great commercial town, the house -of call for the mercantile service of the world, the spot visited by -all officials on their way back to and from the capital, an island -where everybody knows everybody else’s business, as the scene of his -loathsome excesses; and Rhodes was all these things. Possibly an -advantage enjoyed by Rhodes in being free from the direct control of -a Roman Proconsul rendered it desirable as a place of residence for -a man in the position of Tiberius, who wished to avoid friction with -the Roman authorities. Most of the famous cities on the Greek mainland -were now in a decayed condition; Corinth alone retained something of -its mercantile importance, Athens had become an agreeable place of -residence as well as a university town; but the cities on the coast of -Asia Minor, Smyrna and Ephesus, and the islands off the coast, Samos -and Rhodes, flourished as they had never flourished before. The corn -ships from Alexandria frequently touched at Rhodes; she lay in the path -between Antioch and Rome, and had become the meeting place between East -and West. This gave a special character to her university. Athens was -purely Greek, but Rhodes was both Oriental and Greek. - -Rhodes, though largely despoiled of its trees, is still among the most -agreeable of the Greek islands, and in the days of its luxuriance was -particularly beautiful. Tiberius shared that taste for islands which -inspires the day dreams of many of our own contemporaries. Men only -learn by experience that the secluded charms of a sea-girt residence -are balanced by its inconvenience; but the inconvenience of restricted -and precarious supplies would not be felt at Rhodes, the island being -large enough to be self-dependent, besides being the calling place -of shipping: thus Tiberius could look forward to a life spent in the -pursuit of congenial and serious studies, in delightful scenery, and in -the full stream of the world’s traffic. - -The studies which especially attracted Tiberius were then called -mathematical--we should now call them scientific--but neither was -the science of the ancients our science, nor their mathematics our -mathematics. The special branch of science which interested Tiberius -was astronomy; but astronomy in his time was merged in astrology, and -with astrology were associated other supposed means of predicting the -future, that vain preoccupation of mankind. Great skill in judicial -astrology was attributed by the ancients to Tiberius, and it is not -likely that he escaped the intellectual contagions of his age; but -we must be cautious in refusing to concede the possession of a truly -scientific temperament to men of his age, or of much later ages, solely -because they were credited by their contemporaries with sharing in -what we now believe to be frivolous superstitions. - -Nearly a century after the death of Tiberius, Apuleius, the compiler -and in part author of the famous _Golden Ass_, was accused before a -Roman Proconsul of magic, and of having bewitched the somewhat elderly -lady who had become his wife; his defence is still extant. There -are many interesting points in it, not the least interesting being -the inclusion of Moses in a list of eminent magicians; but the most -striking features of the apology are the contemptuous way in which -Apuleius deals with the current superstitions as to magic, and the -indications that he was pursuing research on lines which would now -be recognized as scientific--“You say I use mirrors; certainly I do; -so did Archimedes. I am studying their influence on light and heat. -You say that I have collected strange fishes; yes, I am interested -in comparing the structure of their skeletons.” It is strange how -old are modern superstitions. Among the charges against Apuleius was -one of hypnotism, based upon the fact that a boy had been seen to -fall senseless in his presence. Apuleius had no difficulty in proving -that the boy was an epileptic. Hypnotism is still uncanny to the -non-scientific world. - -Tiberius could not study astronomy or any other branch of science in -his own day without being suspected of magic and divination; the things -were almost mutually convertible terms, but the ancients had made -considerable advances in the direction of the applied sciences, and had -found out many working hypotheses, which were strictly scientific so -far as the then sources of information allowed, even though further -researches have proved them to be untenable. We should do injustice to -Tiberius if we believed, as his contemporaries were ready to believe, -that he spent his time at Rhodes in casting the horoscopes of himself -and all other persons in whose destiny he had reason to be interested; -but at the same time we must admit that the dividing line between -science and pure charlatanry scarcely existed in those days, and that -men such as Simon Magus and Elymas the Sorcerer frequently mistook the -nature of their own proficiencies. Along with much sound astronomical -knowledge, and with many equally sound results of experimental -research, the East sent through various channels to the West a strange -farrago of religion and so-called magical arts in which the esoteric -learning of the Magicians, the Chaldeans, the Jews, the Greeks, the -Egyptians, and even the Brahmins, was monstrously mixed up with popular -superstitions and wilful imposture. The strong common sense which -Tiberius exhibited in his public actions at a later time forbids us to -believe that he lost his head at this period in hazardous and illusory -speculations. We know that he took his place as an ordinary citizen of -a free Greek town, and joined in the debates of its assembly, that he -attended the lectures of the professors, and that his chosen associate -was Thrasyllus, “a mathematician.” There is a pleasant story to the -effect that Tiberius once went to a schoolmaster at Rhodes who called -himself Diogenes, and was used to lecture on Sabbath days, asking for -the honour of a special audience. Diogenes did not even admit him, -but sent a verbal message by a dirty little slave boy, bidding him -come back on the seventh day. Tiberius took no notice of the rudeness -at the time, but when, after he had become Emperor, he was told that -Diogenes was waiting outside his door at Rome in order to convey his -congratulations, he sent out to tell him to come back in seven years. - -For some time Tiberius lived contentedly in his retreat; he was visited -by all men of any distinction, who were passing on their way between -Rome and the East; he maintained a friendly correspondence with -Augustus, and doubtless concluded that he was at liberty to do what -Horace had so repeatedly urged upon his friends, “to live to himself.” -But this life of moral introspection and scientific investigation was -not allowed to last; Tiberius was rudely waked out of his dream, and -learned that men who have once held a great position in the world -cannot abdicate. Sinister influences were at work; not only did his own -life seem to be in danger, but there were signs that the government of -Augustus was itself in peril. - - - - -VIII - -The Return of Tiberius - - -During the first five years of his residence at Rhodes, Tiberius, -though he abstained from public business, was still the second person -in the Empire, and still protected by the awe-inspiring atmosphere -which hung round a Roman Tribune. He was, indeed, obliged to reside in -the interior of the island in order to avoid the interruption caused -by throngs of unwelcome visitors, who were anxious to pay their court -to the great personage. Suetonius has two stories of his residence -at Rhodes, which show him in no unamiable light. Tiberius once, in -drawing up his programme for the day, had happened to say that he -proposed to visit all the sick persons in the city. Zealous attendants -immediately went out, and ordered all the invalids of the town to be -taken into a public portico, and arranged according to the nature -of their maladies. Tiberius was taken by surprise and considerably -embarrassed, but recovered himself, spoke to each one, and apologized -for the mistake individually, even to the humblest. On one occasion -only he used his official position; when he was attending a disputation -at the University the wrangling one day became so fierce that a heated -professor made a violent personal attack upon Tiberius, as unfairly -supporting his opponent. Tiberius quietly withdrew, and returned in -official splendour with his train, summoned the intemperate professor -in due legal form, and sent him to prison to meditate upon the enormity -of provoking a breach of the Roman peace. - -At the end of the five years Tiberius might well think that he could -return to Rome without being suspected of a wish to exercise political -influence, so plainly had he shown his indifference to public life. -He had left his son at Rome, and there were others to whom he was -attached; there were the three children of his brother Drusus, with -their charming mother Antonia; and in spite of their awkward mutual -relations, he had a genuine affection for Augustus. The family -entanglements had been straightened out; Julia was in exile; the young -Cæsars were beginning to take their part in public affairs. Surely -their stepfather could live in dignified retirement at Rome, ready to -advise and help, when counsel and assistance were demanded of him, but -otherwise unmolested and unobserved. - -This, however, was not to be. Augustus himself had acquiesced in the -departure of Tiberius, if not before, certainly after the revelation -of the intemperance of Julia, and was not improbably touched by the -consideration which Tiberius had shown for his personal difficulties -in the matter. But Livia had been bitterly disappointed; all her -schemes had come to nothing just at the moment when the victory seemed -to have been won, and her son had been declared heir-apparent, as far -as the constitutional forms of Rome permitted. Consequently when -Tiberius wrote, expressing an intention of returning to Rome and his -wish to see his relatives, further declaring his determination to -acquiesce in whatever arrangements Augustus might be disposed to make -for the advancement of the young Cæsars, and pointing to his voluntary -retirement as irrefutable evidence of the fact that he wished to stand -out of their way, he received an exceedingly unamiable answer, and was -told that he need not concern himself about the affairs of relatives, -whom he had been so very ready to abandon. We are not told whether this -letter was written by Livia or by Augustus; but it was surely written -at the instance of Livia. No man was more willing to forgive and to -forget than the Emperor; his whole life had been a record of successful -conciliation of declared enemies; both by policy and inclination he was -averse to the maintenance of personal feuds. Livia, too, may have seen -in the stiffness of Tiberius a reason for advancing the young Cæsars, -over whom, as more pliable, she hoped to secure influence. - -This letter changed the position of Tiberius. His retirement was no -longer voluntary; he had become an exile, and the difficulties of his -situation were only slightly modified by the concession of “a free -legation,” a nominal office frequently bestowed upon men of wealth -and distinction, who wished to travel with the advantages attached to -an official position. Tiberius, in fact, had to learn that there are -responsibilities and positions which render abdication impossible; that -having once been acting Commander-in-Chief and Prime Minister, he must -always be a political personage, a force to be reckoned with; and if -this fact was not apparent to him, it was very apparent to the advisers -of the young Cæsars, and the worshippers of the rising sun. - -During the absence of Tiberius these young men had been carefully put -through the training, which had been successful in the case of the -stepsons of Augustus. Caius, the elder, was now nineteen years of age, -Lucius two or three years younger; there was a third brother, Agrippa, -born after his father’s death, and still a child, showing signs of -intractability. Like Tiberius and Drusus, they were sent to learn the -organization of the Empire and the administration of the Roman Legions. -Lucius went to Gaul, on his way to Spain; Caius was sent to the East, -and like Tiberius was entrusted with the management of the difficult -concerns of the Parthian frontier; he was provided with an adviser in -the person of Marcus Lollius. - -The habit of scientific veracity is unknown to the Roman historians; -any fact is good enough for them, provided it makes good copy, and -can be dealt with in a picturesque sentence or neat epigram. They pay -little attention to the consecutive order of events, are not always -careful to distinguish between persons of the same name, and are rather -attracted than otherwise by an opportunity of attributing contradictory -qualities to the same person; the time at which a thing was done is of -little importance to them, the person by whom it was done of equally -little; a good story is to them a good story, and nothing more; if -its effect is increased by hanging it on the name of a well known man, -they seldom stop to inquire whether he can be justly implicated in the -events narrated; consequently it is always agreeable to find their -statements corroborated by undesigned coincidences. Paterculus and -Suetonius agree in telling us that the last two years of the life of -Tiberius at Rhodes were made a burden to him by the sinister influence -of Marcus Lollius, but they leave us in some doubt as to who this -Marcus Lollius really was, whether he was the same man who was Consul -in B.C. 21, and Commander-in-chief in Northern Gaul in B.C. 16, whether -the Consul and the General were two different persons, and whether the -adviser of Caius Cæsar was not the Consul but his son. - -The poet Horace addressed one of his odes and two of his epistles -to a Lollius. It has been generally assumed, on the ground of a -misunderstood allusion, that the ode was written for the father, -and the two letters for the son; comparison of the three shows that -they must have been written to the same person, and that that person -could not have been Consul in B.C. 21. Letters and ode alike contain -advice which Horace could not have addressed even to a man his equal -in rank and of his own age without a risk of putting a summary end to -any friendship that might have existed between them, still less to a -Consular, and possibly a senior. Horace tells us definitely that he -was forty-four years of age in the year when Lollius and Lepidus were -consuls; the family of Lollius had been hitherto undistinguished; -the name appears on no previous occasion in the consular lists, nor -had the man himself done anything to suggest him as a fit recipient -of premature honours. The legal age for admission to the Consulship -was forty-three, and though the law was frequently broken in times of -revolution, or in favour of candidates of the Imperial House, Augustus, -whose policy was to restore the old as far as it was not incompatible -with the new, was not likely to break the law in favour of a man who -was not inevitable. It is not likely that Lollius the Consul was one of -those young men who were rapidly pushed through the routine of office, -because they had claims which could not be disregarded, or because -it was necessary to conciliate their families. Horace could not have -written, as he did write, to the man who was Consul in B.C. 21. - -The second of the two letters included in the collection was certainly -written in B.C. 21; the date is fixed by an allusion to the fact that -Augustus was at the time away demanding the restoration of the Eagles -from the Parthians. The person to whom it was addressed was about -to become the companion of some young man of distinction, probably -Drusus, for Tiberius was at this time absent with Augustus, and on his -return passed under the tutelage of Agrippa, so far as he was not in -the hands of Augustus himself. The advice which Horace gives could not -be applicable to a man old enough to be Consul, and therefore not in -a subordinate position to his charge; but it is strictly applicable -to a young man who was to be the companion of another young man, his -superior in rank or position. Everything in the letter indicates the -youth of Lollius; he was to share in the athletic amusements of his -friend; the temptations, which he is to resist, are the temptations of -a young man. The advice given is excellent, and might be profitably -studied by any young man of the present day, who happens to find -himself in a similar situation; some of it is distinctly personal, -and tells us what kind of a young man this Lollius was. Horace begins -by addressing him as “liberrime Lolli,” “most independent Lollius,” -and indicates that one of his dangers is undue sensitiveness to the -imputation of servility. He concludes with some general advice not -specially applicable to the particular occasion: “In the midst of all -you will read the works of learned men, and strictly enquire of them -how you may be able to live your life in comfort, whether you are -always to be harassed and excited by a sense of poverty, excessive -anxiety, and the expectation of but moderate affluence, whether virtue -is acquired by learning or given by nature, what dispels care, what -puts you on good terms with yourself, what calms and purifies, honour -or the pleasures of gain, or the side road, and the path of the -unobserved.” We should be at liberty to infer from this that the good -qualities of Lollius were balanced by an irritable ambition and a love -of money. - -The other epistle to Lollius, though he is addressed with mock -solemnity in the first line as “most mighty Lollius,” is clearly -written to a boy: “while you are spouting Homer at Rome I have read -him over again at Præneste.” The recitation of the Homeric poems was -an early step in the educational course of the Romans, and preceded -the technical course in rhetoric. At the end of the letter Horace says: -“Now is the time, boy, to drink in the words of wisdom with a clean -heart; present yourself now to the higher influences.” Horace begins -with drawing moral lessons from the Homer which he has been reading, -and then passes on to general advice: “Don’t wait to enter on the -path of virtue, don’t put off your moral discipline, or the time will -go by,” “The man who is a slave to cupidity or anxiety cannot enjoy -anything,” “Despise sensual pleasures; sensual pleasure is bought with -pain and carries a curse,” “The greedy man is always a poor man; fix a -limit to your desires,” “The Sicilian tyrants never discovered a worse -torture than envy,” “Anger is a short fit of madness; control your -temper, it must be slave or despot; bridle it, bind it with chains.” - -These might seem to be mere general moralizings, applicable to anybody, -but we have already had some of them in the previous letter, and they -occur again in the ode addressed to Lollius. - -“Lest you should happen to think that the words which I fit to music -will perish, I would have you to remember that though Homer stands -first, other poets are not unknown. Many heroes have lived and died -besides those commemorated by Homer, but their names are lost and -their deeds forgotten, because they never found their inspired bard; -therefore I will not permit your many virtues, Lollius, to pass -unmentioned in my pages. You have an acute intellect, which preserves -its balance whether things go well or ill. The man who punishes -dishonest avarice, abstaining from money the universal tempter, and -is Consul not for one year only, but whenever the good and honest -prefer honour to bribes, flings away the gifts of corruption with -lofty countenance, and victoriously carries his arms through opposing -squadrons. It is not the man with large possessions that you will -rightly call happy; he more correctly claims the name who knows how to -use the gifts of the gods wisely, and can bear the hardships of poverty -and dreads wickedness worse than death; such an one has no fear of -dying for the friends he loves or his fatherland.” Even if we admit -that the rendering of the tenth and eleventh stanzas of this ode is -beset with difficulties, there is no question about the last two with -their praise of poverty. - -The allusion to the Consulship has tempted commentators to infer that -the ode was addressed to Lollius, the father, but it is just as likely, -and on other accounts more likely, that the complimentary allusion was -made to the son. “Your father is Consul this year; you will be Consul -for many years if you abstain from certain temptations.” - -In fact, all three poems seem to have been written at about the same -time, viz., in the Consulship of the elder Lollius, B.C. 21, whose son -was still a boy when he served under Augustus in Spain, his service -simply amounting to being present in his father’s company during the -campaign. - -The situation, in short, seems to have been that Horace was attracted, -as other middle-aged men have been attracted, by a spirited, clever, -and athletic lad, who seemed to have a great future before him, but -whose character was spoiled by three serious defects--a violent temper, -restless ambition, cupidity. The attraction was sufficiently mutual to -allow Horace to give good advice, which he was careful to present in a -complimentary form, but without success, for Paterculus, speaking of -the Lollius who was general in Northern Gaul in B.C. 16, and suffered -a severe defeat, losing the Eagle of the Fifth Legion, describes him -as having been “on all occasions more greedy of money than of acting -properly, steeped in vice though a consummate dissembler.” A page or -two later he speaks of the misdeeds and death of Marcus Lollius, when -acting as adviser of Caius Cæsar in the East. - -Lollius may have had an old grudge against Tiberius; he was still a -boy when Tiberius, then at the age of seventeen, accompanied Augustus -to the Cantabrian War, at which Lollius was also present, and he -may already have shown indications of the ungovernable temper which -drew forth the monitions of Horace. Then in B.C. 21 he was appointed -companion to Drusus, the brother of Tiberius. His abilities rapidly -attracted attention; he won the favour of Augustus, and was given a -command on the German frontier. He was unsuccessful and was superseded; -the war was entrusted to Drusus and Tiberius. After this we do not hear -of Lollius in any public capacity till he was made the adviser of Caius -Cæsar. It is again not improbable that he attributed his disgrace to -the representations of the two Neros, of whom Tiberius was now the sole -survivor. The retirement of Tiberius again gave him an opportunity; -he again won the favour of Augustus, and went out to the East with -Caius, prepared to indulge his grudge against Tiberius. Suetonius -definitely tells us that when Caius arrived in the East Tiberius went -to visit him at Samos, and found him ill disposed to himself, owing -to the representations of his companion and adviser, Marcus Lollius; -that this situation lasted for two years; that representations were -even made to Augustus to the effect that Tiberius was tampering with -the fidelity of the centurions in the army of Caius; that Tiberius, on -being informed of this, wrote and begged that a guard might be sent to -observe his actions; that he gave up his customary military exercises, -and adopted the dress of a Greek civilian; that he became day by day -increasingly an object of contempt and hatred, so that the people of -Nîmes threw down his statues, and a man ventured to say at a banquet, -in the presence of Caius, that he would undertake to start for Rhodes -at once and bring back the exile’s head. Tiberius found his position -one of actual peril, and again wrote begging to be allowed to return to -Rome. He did not obtain this permission till Caius had been consulted -on the subject, as Augustus had undertaken to take no step without -his consent. Happily Lollius had by this time lost his influence, and -Caius raised no objection. Paterculus supplies a link in the chain of -events. Lollius, either seeing an opportunity for getting rid of both -Caius and Tiberius, and making himself master in the East, or simply -in the endeavour to raise suspicions against the latter, had opened -a correspondence with the young King of the Parthians, who betrayed -it to Caius, with whom he had celebrated a series of entertainments -on the river Euphrates, closely resembling those held by Napoleon and -the Czar Alexander on the Vistula many centuries later. Lollius died -a few days after the disclosure. Paterculus, who was at that time a -tribune of soldiers in the army of Caius, did not know whether his -death was accidental or self inflicted; he only knew that everybody was -delighted, as they were no less grieved by the death of another of the -friends of Horace, Censorinus, “a man,” says Paterculus, “born to win -the favour of mankind.” - -It is characteristic of Suetonius to inform us not that Lollius was -dead, but that he had lost favour with Caius, when the latter permitted -the return of Tiberius to Rome. - -It would seem curious that the contempt and dislike in which Tiberius -was held for a short time at Rhodes should have been felt so far -away as Nîmes, in the South of France. Suetonius, in mentioning -the fact, evidently wishes to imply that this contempt of Tiberius -was co-extensive with the Empire; but the strangeness of the fact -disappears when we remember that Lucius Cæsar was at this time in the -South of France on his way to Spain, and supplies a further link in the -chain of evidence which goes to prove the animus of the children of -Julia against their stepfather; they were only too ready to listen to -the suggestions of a Marcus Lollius and others who proposed to build -their fortunes upon the insecure foundation of the favour of these -spoiled grandchildren of the great Augustus. - -Tiberius returned to Rome in A.D. 2, the year in which Lucius Cæsar -died suddenly at Marseilles. He did not propose to return to public -life; he gave up his palace in the heart of Rome in the Carinæ, and -transferred his establishment to the villa and gardens which Mæcenas -had laid out on the Esquiline hill outside the walls. He formally -introduced his son Drusus to public life by presenting him in the -Forum, but himself abstained from any but private business. Meanwhile -Caius Cæsar had gone again to Armenia, where he was severely wounded -by a native at a conference to which he had entrusted himself with -insufficient precaution. The wound was not immediately fatal, but -proved disabling both to mind and body. The young man had been -captivated by Oriental luxury, and found flatterers to support him in -a design of remaining permanently “in the most distant corner of the -world.” He was, however, persuaded to return to Rome, and died on his -way back in a Lycian town. - -Fate had decided that Tiberius should not evade his responsibilities. -He had firmly resisted every attempt made by Augustus to seduce him -from his retirement after his return to Rome, but the death of Caius -left him no option. Both privately and in the Senate publicly Tiberius -protested without avail; it was not a case of “nolo episcopari”; he -genuinely preferred a private position, and was, in fact, more in -sympathy with the old Republican ideals than with the new dynasty. -But the public safety demanded the presence of a man of experience at -the head of affairs, ready to take over the succession; and it is in -language suitable to this demand that Paterculus describes the joy of -the population of Rome when it was known that Tiberius had been adopted -by Augustus, and again made a colleague in the tribunician power. -“Then again there shone for parents confidence in the future of their -children; husbands could feel secure in their marriages, masters in -their property; all men could look for safety, rest, peace, calm.” - -The style of Paterculus, that of a military man, who has done his -best to repair deficiencies in his early education by taking lessons -in the art of writing in later life, is so artificial as to impair -his credit, but on this occasion his choice of language is strictly -correct. The young Cæsars had not been a success; of all the possible -heirs to Augustus who died young, they alone are not credited with -superior virtues. We are not told of them that if they had lived they -would have restored the Republic and checked the flood of adulation. -They inherited the petulance of Julia, her impatience of restraint, and -while the youth of Tiberius and Drusus had been spent in an atmosphere -of insecurity at a time when the power of Augustus himself was not -firmly established, the children of Julia had come into a world which -had forgotten the civil wars, into a court without the traditions of -an ancient dynasty, which saw its models in the seraglio of a Herod -or Phraates, and laughed at the republican simplicity of the home of -Augustus. - -The intemperance of Julia was repeated in the next generation; her -eldest daughter, married to a L. Æmilius Paulus, followed in her -footsteps, and was likewise banished to an island in A.D. 2. The -remaining daughter, Agrippina, was married to Germanicus, the son of -Drusus and nephew to Tiberius; she was the mother of Caligula and a -grandmother of Nero. - -The years between the restitution of Tiberius and the death of -Augustus were chiefly spent by the former in campaigns in Germany -and Dalmatia, the history of which will be treated separately with -greater convenience. It is worth while at this juncture, when Augustus -and Tiberius were to settle down to work together for ten years, to -investigate the relations between them. Was there on either side -jealousy or mistrust? Did Augustus foresee the tyranny of Tiberius, as -those who believe in the tyranny would have us believe? - -One of the many great literary losses which the world has suffered -is the loss of the letters of Augustus. Not only have we lost these -letters, but we have also lost the private notes of Tiberius kept by -him for the benefit of his successor, and burned by Caligula; the only -fragments that we possess of the correspondence of Augustus certainly -do not favour the view that there was any mistrust or want of sympathy -between the two men. - -The fragments as they stand in Suetonius are as follows. - -The first was written in reply to a letter of Tiberius, complaining -of the violence of language used by one Æmilius Ælianus, a native of -Cordova, against the Emperor, and probably belongs to the period of the -Cantabrian campaign, when Tiberius was still young. “Do not give way, -my dear Tiberius, in this matter to the feelings natural to your time -of life; do not be too ready to be indignant that there should be any -one to speak evil of me; it is enough if we secure this, that nobody -shall be able to do us any harm.” - -Then we have two purely domestic letters: “I dined, dear Tiberius, -with the same party; Vinicius and the elder Silius were added to the -company. During dinner we played a family game both yesterday and -to-day, for we threw dice, and whoever threw ‘the dog,’ or six, paid a -shilling into the pool for every dice thrown, which was taken by the -player who threw ‘Venus.’” - -“We spent the holidays pleasantly enough, my dear Tiberius, for -we played all day and every day, and made the dice market pretty -hot. Your brother carried on with plenty of shouting; on the whole, -however, he did not lose much, but recovered his losses contrary to -all expectation. I lost about £170 on my own account, but because I -had been prodigally liberal in my play, as I usually am; for if I had -exacted all the winnings that I passed over, or had kept in my own -pocket all that I gave anybody, I should have won nearly £420. However, -I like it best as it is, for my charity will exalt me to eternal glory.” - -Again a familiar scrap: “Not even a Jew, my dear Tiberius, preserves -his sabbath fast so carefully as I did to-day, for it was not till -after the first hour of the night that I at last chewed a couple of -mouthfuls in the bath, before I began to be perfumed.” - -The following letter probably belongs to the period after the return of -Tiberius, and was written on some occasion when he was starting on a -second campaign It is written with occasional quite unnecessary slips -into Greek, which have been mangled in places by the transcribers, so -as to be unintelligible: “Goodbye, most amiable Tiberius, and farewell -to me and mine ... best of generals. Yes, most amiable, and as I hope -for happiness, most brave man, and most illustrious general, farewell. -The scheme of your summer operations! Well, I, my dear Tiberius, in -the midst of many difficulties and considering the slackness of our -military friends, do not think I could have managed matters with -greater foresight than you have done. The men who were with you, in -fact, all admit that the well known line could be applied to you: ‘One -man saved the state for us by his wakefulness.’ Whenever anything -happens which requires my closer thought, if ever I am very much put -out, I swear to you I miss my dear Tiberius, and that verse of Homer’s -occurs to me ‘when he follows....’ When I hear and read that you are -getting thin under the continuance of your labours, may I be confounded -if my body is not all one shudder, and I implore you to spare yourself, -lest, if we hear that you are in bad health, your mother and I may -expire, and the Roman people be in jeopardy of losing its imperial -position. It does not matter a bit whether I myself am ill or well, if -you are not well. I implore the gods to preserve you to us, and to give -you your health now and always, if they do not utterly hate the Roman -people.” - -There is nothing insincere in the tone of this letter; it is as natural -as a letter can be, incoherent in places, but always tender. - -In fact, whatever misunderstandings arose between Tiberius and -Augustus were due to the misconduct of Julia, or the silly plots and -counterplots of Livia and the other ladies of the family, who by their -domestic jealousies opened the way to the machinations of men of the -type of Marcus Lollius. The friendship of the two men passed through -the severest possible test, and it survived the test. Augustus may -have thought Tiberius too scrupulous in the matter of Julia, and that -the second place in the Empire was worth a little conjugal blindness, -and even if he did not take that line, there were plenty of men and -women ready to suggest it to him. But the sequel proved that Tiberius -had been right, and he contrived in the end to assert his independence -without being involved in a bitter personal quarrel with Augustus. Nor -must too much stress be laid upon such chance utterances as the often -quoted “O my Roman people, in what slow jaws you will be chewed!” We -do not know the context, and this may very well have been no more than -a piece of good-humoured personal banter, suggested by the well-known -slowness of speech which was characteristic of Tiberius. - -Though Augustus was on good terms with Tiberius, the children of Julia -were not; they were more Julian than the head of the Julian race; they -noted everything that could be interpreted to his discredit; they -recorded every hasty word, every ill-advised speech, and as the years -went on their malignity increased, till in the person of Agrippina -it amounted to a monomania. But we must pause to study Tiberius as a -general. - - - - -IX - -The Campaigns of Tiberius - - -With the battle of Actium the wars of Rome against nations equally -civilized with herself came to an end; henceforth the rulers of the -world were only called upon to round off the ring fence of their -domains, and establish scientific frontiers. The Empire which is so -often spoken of as the establishment of a military despotism was, in -fact, absolutely the reverse; the power wielded by Marius, by Sulla, by -Pompeius, by Cæsar, by Antonius, had this character, for it depended -upon the military capacity of these generals; they were soldiers in -the first place, and owed their predominance in the civil government -to their own sharp swords and the fidelity of the men who had followed -their standards. Till the Roman was sole umpire in the circle of the -Mediterranean, war was in every respect a profitable investment, and -a military career was the readiest path to political supremacy; not -only did a Roman general return laden with spoil, rich beyond the -dreams of avarice, but his conquests appealed to the imagination of -his countrymen; everybody might be proud of generals and armies who -had beaten the successors of Alexander; but when military operations -were transferred to the frontiers, when the enemies to be subdued were -poor and half civilized, when there were no longer gorgeous robes, -graceful statues, piles of treasure to be exhibited in the triumphal -procession of the victorious general, war lost its prestige; and -the steady progress of the civilian administration is, in fact, the -special feature of the reigns of the Cæsars. Augustus was no soldier; -Tiberius never commanded an army after his succession; the expedition -of Caligula to the shore of the English Channel was a madman’s freak; -Claudius had but little share in the conquest of Britain; Nero’s morbid -vanity preferred the triumphs of the stage to those of the camp. A -state in which the military element is predominant does not put up with -rulers such as these. - -The Romans in the reign of Augustus were, so far as military matters -are concerned, and indeed, in most other respects, very much in our -own position at the present day. Just as we thoughtlessly and unjustly -estimate the exploits of our soldiers in the Soudan, on the North-West -frontier of India, on the West Coast of Africa, and even in South -Africa, rather cheaply, and disparage their achievements in comparison -with those of Marlborough and Wellington, so the contemporaries of -Augustus looked back with regret to the heroes of the Punic Wars and -the conquerors of Greece; they did not realize that the work which -was to be done in their own time was far more difficult than the work -which had been done. We too forget that to win the Battle of Waterloo -was a trifle compared with the operations which led up to the victory -of Omdurman, and the double march into the Transvaal. The exploits of -Wellington in the Peninsula were splendid, impeded as they were by -opposition from England; but in the conquest of South Africa England -has grappled with far more serious difficulties, and her generals have -shown themselves at least as resourceful as Wellington. - -The generals of the Augustan age are hardly known to us. Few class -Agrippa with the leading generals of the world, but the man who for the -first time organized the navy of the Roman Empire, who maintained the -organization of the army on such a footing that the enormous frontier -was never without its defenders, who was himself never beaten in the -field, and who trained a succession of capable officers to follow in -his footsteps, was no mean general. Similarly Tiberius and his brother, -along with many capable subordinates, waged successful campaigns under -conditions of peculiar difficulty for many years; but we never think -of them as great soldiers, because their exploits did not stir the -imagination of their contemporaries. - -Vast though the Roman Empire was, its vulnerable frontiers were of -relatively small extent in the reign of Augustus; there was a weak -place at the sources of the Tigris and Euphrates; the Upper Nile had -its Soudanese difficulty then as now, but the whole of the North Coast -of Africa was protected by the desert, and the Mauretanian tribes were -not numerous enough really to imperil the strip of civilization along -the Mediterranean. Spain was all Roman and nearly all civilized, so was -Gaul; but between the mouths of the Rhine and the Bosphorus there was -a vast unsettled region, reaching down in one place to a point within -ten days’ journey of Rome itself, and along an unbroken line of many -hundred miles, threatening the cities of Macedonia and Greece. The -problem before Augustus and his generals was to form a frontier which -should permanently secure Gaul, Italy, and the Balkan Peninsula from -the adventurous races of central and East Central Europe. - -The weakest point in the chain of defence was the Northern corner of -the Adriatic, and the increasing prosperity of the great plains of -the Po after they had become a Roman province naturally attracted the -attention of the semi-civilized tribes who lived in the hills along -the Dalmatian coast. Not only was there danger from the East, but the -valley of the Adige formed a gateway through which Central Europe -could pour its restless multitudes upon the Cis-Alpine Province. The -geographical configuration of the regions south of the plains of the -Eastern Danube has always impeded their progress, and to this very day -a patch of backward nationalities remains there in close proximity to -the most elaborately civilized states of Europe. - -The other weak spot was the course of the Rhine, and especially the -country below the Drakensberg; that noble river for many miles from the -Lake of Constance formed a natural defence against the Germanic hordes, -but on reaching the flat land below Cologne it spread into marshes -and split into smaller channels, in which flotillas of boats could be -prepared without attracting notice, as was necessarily the case where -the river ran in a single stream. In fact it was practically found that -in places the Rhine was no barrier, and that the tribes on its Eastern -bank must be rolled back from the river, if Gaul was to enjoy her new -prosperity in peace. - -It was in the defence of these two weak spots that Tiberius was to -fight his chief campaigns. In both regions security demanded that the -operations should be conducted far beyond the frontier, in country -difficult at the present day, and tenfold more difficult then, when -extensive forests and marshes were added to the impediments offered by -ravines and mountains. - -It is not easy to estimate the degree of civilization reached by the -Pannonians and Dalmatians or the Germanic tribes, when they made war -upon the Roman legions. To the ancients all men living under tribal -or national institutions were barbarians; they restricted the honour -of civilization to those whose political constitution was based upon -the city, and though the Græco-Roman city organization practically -covered the two peninsulas, which we call Greece and Italy, it did not -elsewhere extend far inland; the outer fringe of cities was in close -contact with populations living under a clan system, whose chiefs or -kings adopted many of the luxuries and some of the institutions of -their neighbours; behind these again were less advanced nations and -less civilized rulers, gradually merging into real barbarism. The -Gallic chieftains had already been in frequent communication with Rome -for a century before Cæsar conquered Gaul, and the influence of the -Roman traders upon the general standard of civilization was perceptible -in his time even among the German tribes nearest to the Rhine. Arminius -had had a Roman education, Maroboduus was brought up by Augustus, -adopted the Roman military system and welcomed refugees who could train -his troops; Latin was already spoken by the Dalmatian tribes when -they were eventually conquered by Tiberius. Though the greater part -of Central Europe was under forest the valleys were cultivated, as -they were in Britain at the time of Cæsar’s invasions, but the forest -was always near enough to receive fugitives, and to give cover to an -attacking party. There were no large aggregations of human beings in -towns, but there were areas sufficiently thickly populated, and their -population was sufficiently well organized to bring formidable armies -into the field, whose operations were skilfully conducted. The men -were no more savages than the Boers are savages; their civilization -was a different civilization from the Græco-Roman, but it was a -civilization. The occurrences of the Highland Line were anticipated in -the foothills of the Alps; sometimes there was a mere cattle-lifting -raid, when a predecessor of Rob Roy swooped down upon the farms round -Mantua or Cremona, sometimes a combination of clans under a capable -chieftain waged a formidable war, whose object was less plunder than -the preservation of their independence; sometimes the pressure of real -savagery from behind urged the more civilized races forward till the -ultimate wave fell upon the Roman frontier. - -Far in the East round the mouths of the Danube the predecessors of the -Cossacks on their little horses kept the Roman outposts in a state of -terror. Ovid tells us how they swooped down upon the labourers in the -fields round the camp at Tomi, how their arrows fell into its very -centre, how they galloped round its walls, picked up some unfortunate -straggler, and were off with him before pursuit could be organized. -Reading such a description as this we realize the true significance -of the two Roman walls in England, and the wall from the Main to the -Danube in Germany. They were not defences against systematic war; they -were too long to be defended against an organized invasion, but they -effectually prevented raiding. Cattle cannot be lifted over a wall -twelve feet high. The difference between our frontier wars and the -Roman frontier wars lies in the proximity of the Roman frontiers to the -heart of the Empire; but in spite of the perpetual imminence of the -danger, the Romans did not pay a sufficient tribute of gratitude to the -generals who secured their safety, and were inclined to underestimate -their services. - -Even such a clear-sighted historian as Merivale, in speaking of the -military operations of Tiberius and Drusus in Germany, adopts the -attitude of Tacitus, and disparages the cautious policy of Augustus, -which discouraged schemes of boundless conquest in Central Europe. -Tacitus wrote, when Trajan was engaged in rectifying the frontier -of the Lower Danube, new dangers threatened the Empire and new -measures seemed advisable. The men of his day might be pardoned for -thinking that they were called upon to do what Augustus had unwisely -left undone. Possibly they were right, but they omitted from their -calculations a fact which was of the first importance, and of itself -imposed prudence. The fighting strength of the Empire was not adequate -for a policy of indefinite expansion at the end of the reign of -Augustus, nor even in its middle period. It was difficult to steer -between the two extremes. Augustus had seen the evils of a rampant -military policy in the careers of his uncle and Antonius; he had known -what it was to be the puppet of his own soldiers; he had fought in the -Civil Wars, and he rightly inferred that there could be no settled -government so long as the sword outbalanced the gown. Quite apart -from any personal ambition or mean motive, he shrank from creating -fresh military heroes, who might be tempted to overthrow the carefully -balanced fabric of the State, and renew the Marian and Sullan episodes, -or the hateful reign of the Triumvirate in which he had himself taken -an unwilling part. On the other hand, a certain strength was necessary -to police the Empire and guard its frontiers. In the encouragement -which he gave to civilians in the public service, in the revival of -commerce, and the abundance of employment secured by the internal peace -of the Empire, Augustus cut off his supply of recruits; the army no -longer competed favourably with other employments, and year by year -the number of homeless and ruined men, to whom military service had -opened an opportunity, was reduced. Men were too precious to be lightly -ventured on interminable expeditions in the Hercynian forest, where the -elk, and possibly even the mammoth, still tested the ingenuity of the -hunter. - -At the age of seventeen Tiberius accompanied Augustus and Agrippa -to Spain, where a campaign was conducted in the mountainous regions -occupied by the Cantabrians. Augustus soon fell ill and returned home, -but Tiberius remained to take his first lessons in war under the able -and ingenious Agrippa. The Romans wisely flung their young men into -active life at a very early age, and those who had it in them to -learn, had every opportunity of learning. Four years later Tiberius, -barely of age to manage his own affairs according to our ideas, was -put in command of the expedition which penetrated Armenia, and awed -the Parthians into a surrender of the captured standards. We are not -told that there was any serious fighting on this occasion; the triumph -was one of diplomacy rather than of arms, and the expedition itself -took the form of an armed demonstration strong enough to determine -the course of the negotiations rather than of a campaign. Doubtless -Tiberius was attended by capable advisers in addition to those splendid -centurions, the link between the commissioned and non-commissioned -officers, who formed the backbone of the Roman armies; but in any -case the experience was a valuable one. It was necessary that the -army should be conducted through a difficult and mountainous country, -far from its base; any negligence, any want of foresight, might have -brought on a disaster which, even if only temporary, would have spoiled -the effect contemplated, and weakened the Roman Plenipotentiaries. The -expedition was a better training than even a long course of autumn -manœuvres, and Tiberius returned from it with a full knowledge of -military problems. - -The extraordinary indifference of the historians Paterculus and -Suetonius to chronology, and their absolutely casual use of such -connectives as “hereupon,” “soon afterwards,” and the like, makes it -difficult to be certain of the real sequence of events. It is, however, -certain that Tiberius was Governor of Transalpine Gaul for a year at -some period between B.C. 20 and B.C. 16, that he was harassed during -the term of his Governorship by sporadic invasions of German tribes, -and was able to measure their importance as affecting the peace of his -Province, and form plans for permanently checking them. He came to the -conclusion that the whole middle and eastern Alpine region was a centre -of disturbance, and that it could not be dealt with alone, seeing that -the tribes who lived on the Dalmatian coast and at the sources of the -Save were always ready to create a diversion when the Roman armies were -occupied in the valleys to the south or north-west of the Alps. Cæsar -had more than once been called back from the conquest of Gaul to deal -with the Pirustæ in the same quarter. - -In B.C. 16 the ill-omened Marcus Lollius sustained a serious defeat at -the hands of the German tribes, while Gaul itself had been rendered -unquiet by the exactions of Licinus, himself a Gaul employed by -Augustus as Governor in the Southern Province. Augustus himself went -to Gaul to set straight the civilian administration, Agrippa was sent -to the Illyrian regions, Drusus to the passes leading from Lombardy to -the Upper Rhine, while Tiberius took charge of an expedition directed -upon the same region from Basle by the Lake of Constance. This was the -first of the great combined movements originated by Tiberius; their -conception, but even more their success, mark him out as a general of -genius. Given a mobile enemy able to live on the country, and provided -with an interminable area at his rear into which he can retreat, the -only hope of dealing with him successfully is to cut off his retreat. -This was the strategy of Tiberius. - -The army of Agrippa in Illyria protected the rear of Drusus, who was -able to drive the Alpine tribes back through the passes to the Northern -face of the Alps, where they found the army of Tiberius ready for -them. The victory was so complete that the very names of these tribes -disappear from history; squeezed between two Roman armies they were -doubtless exterminated. Horace wrote an official ode on the occasion, -comparing Drusus to a young eagle or lion; and in a complimentary ode -to Augustus on another occasion, compared the charge of Tiberius to the -impetuous floods of the Aufidus, his native river. The northern slopes -of the Western Alps were now secured to Rome; there was no longer any -danger of Gallic intrigues stimulated by the restless Helvetii, but the -work was by no means done. Augustus seems to have remained for some -time in Gaul studying its social conditions, Agrippa remained in the -Illyrian district, Drusus was sent to the lower Rhine, and Tiberius, -as far as we can gather, remained at Rome. - -Profiting by the experience gained in the recent war, Drusus determined -to repeat the strategy of Tiberius, and again to hem in an elusive -enemy between two Roman armies; he himself marched up the Lippe, making -a point on the Weser, somewhere near Paderborn, his objective, and at -the same time he sent a flotilla down the Rhine, with instructions -to ascend the mouth of the Weser, and thus cut off the flight of the -Germans. The first attempt failed, the fleet being dispersed by storms; -it was reserved for Tiberius himself to succeed at a later date in this -combined movement. In the following year Drusus advanced to the Weser, -and on his return established a permanent outpost at Aliso, fifty -miles up the Lippe; this was the period of the death of Agrippa, whose -command in Pannonia was taken over by Tiberius. We know but little of -the operations of Tiberius in Pannonia at this time, except that they -were successful, and that the ring of Roman provinces was now completed -along the East coast of the Adriatic, uniting Greece and Macedonia with -Italy. - -In B.C. 10 Augustus returned to Gaul; Drusus consecrated a temple in -his honour at Lyons, and the worship of the Roman Empire personified -in Augustus was officially substituted for the Druidical religion, in -whose priesthood Augustus saw the irreconcilable enemy of Rome. After -this ceremony Drusus again crossed the Rhine and penetrated as far as -the Elbe; on his return he met with the accident which caused his -death, and elicited that touching illustration of affection on the part -of Tiberius, to which reference has already been made. - -Tiberius took up his brother’s work on the Rhine and remained there -for two years; he has disappointed the historians by doing nothing -sensational, but when at the end of the two years Augustus called him -back to Rome to take the place of Imperial Colleague, he left the -Roman frontier extended, and the German terror pushed back from the -immediate vicinity of the river. He had created a Roman party among -the German chiefs, as Cæsar had created a Roman party among the Gallic -chiefs; partly as hostages, partly as friends, the young German nobles -were tempted to Rome to learn her civilization and form estimates of -her weakness; the Eastern bank of the river was sufficiently Romanized -to tempt Varus to treat it fifteen years later as a Roman province. -Tiberius did more than this: he began that policy which was eventually -to substitute for the magnificent conception of the all-embracing Roman -Empire the map of Europe; he transferred 40,000 Germans to the left -bank of the Rhine; they accepted the lands assigned to them, coupled -with the obligation to service in the armies of their conquerors. It -was a perilous policy, but no one could have foreseen its results in -the distant future, and even if its tendencies had been suspected at -the time, the pressing needs of the Empire would have silenced the -voice of a too clear-sighted critic. The Empire was short of soldiers; -men evaded military service by all possible means. Even the dreaded -slavery of the ergastula seemed to them less terrible than the army; -pay could not be found to make the soldier’s career sufficiently -attractive, now that the chances of loot and liberal donatives were -of the smallest. The finances of the Empire were straitened; Augustus -had had difficulty in adding a death duty of five per cent. to his -resources. The suggestion of Tiberius must have seemed a stroke of -genius: to protect the frontiers by civilizing the enemies of the -Empire, to find a cheap supply of soldiers by imposing military service -on the hardy Germans, gradually to relieve the manufacturer and the -merchant of the burden of finding men and taxes; no words could praise -too highly the man who had suggested a means by which these desirable -objects could be secured. We ourselves are treading in the same path; -we congratulate ourselves on the wisdom which made English soldiers of -Highland clansmen and Irish rapparees, which has arrayed against Russia -the tribes of the North-West frontier, which fights the barbarians of -Central Africa with the trained barbarians of its coasts; but we too -shall have to pay the price which the Roman paid, if we neglect the -military training of the centre of the Empire, and allow its population -to expand unexercised in arms, incapable of fighting. If ever the day -comes when the Sikhs and Goorkhas or even our own children beyond the -seas learn by experience that preponderant force is in their own hands, -and that the breed of fighting men is not ready for action in Great -Britain, the Empire of England will be broken up, as the Empire of -Rome was broken up; not by any sudden cataclysm, but by the gradual -intrusion of the less civilized and less trained components of the -Empire upon the central administration. - -The end of the government of Tiberius upon the Rhine was also the -beginning of his retirement; his resumption of public work was almost -immediately followed by a fresh outbreak in the Pannonian region, and -then came a terrible disaster to the Roman arms in the district of the -Rhine. Of the campaigns which followed we fortunately have a fairly -clear account given us by an eyewitness, Paterculus. - -Unfortunately the only work from the pen of Paterculus that has come -down to our times, perhaps the only work that he completed, is a short -epitome of Roman history from the beginning to A.D. 30, which seems -to have been written as an introduction to a work of considerable -detail dealing with the campaigns in which the author and the relatives -of his friend Marcus Vinicius, to whom the work is dedicated, took -part. Paterculus belonged to the class of professional soldiers and -administrators whom the Empire called into being, or to whom at least -it gave a position which they had not hitherto enjoyed. In his eyes -the Empire was good, and its rulers were good; and while he is profuse -in his admiration of the heroes of the old Republic, and can pay as -high a tribute to Cicero as to any supporter of the Empire, he is no -less commendatory of the men who were brought to the front by the new -order of things. He does not single out Tiberius as alone worthy of -praise; such men as Marcus Lepidus, the son of the triumvir, and others -who were in a position to excite the jealousy of a suspicious tyrant, -enjoy a full share of his somewhat exuberant laudation. We may admit -that Paterculus was uncritical without accusing him of deliberate -dishonesty; he was a successful man; he was in the swim; he had no -reason for nicely adjusting praise and censure to meet the merits of -the men with whom he worked; he was not a frequenter of the Legitimist -drawing rooms, but an active capable official, bluff, hearty, with an -unfortunate propensity to consider himself a stylist. His grandfather -was, as we have seen, an intimate friend and fellow soldier of the -father of Tiberius; his father was also a soldier; he himself followed -the family profession; he served under Caius Cæsar in Armenia, under -Agrippa in Pannonia, under Tiberius both in Germany and Pannonia; he -was honoured with civil magistracies at Rome, and eventually became a -Senator; his brother was similarly successful. His value to us lies in -the fact that he was an eyewitness of the events which he describes, -and we may be sure that the few details which he thought worthy of -mention in his rapid summary are actual facts. M. Vinicius was Consul -in A.D. 30, and the honour enjoyed by his friend prompted Paterculus to -write and dedicate this little work. In the following year the events -took place which brought about the fall of Sejanus, whom Paterculus -praises highly; possibly he was one of those upon whom the wrath of the -Senate fell; in any case we hear nothing more of him, and his proposed -work was never written, or never published; he died, or at any rate -ceased to speak, before the reign of terror which accompanied the fall -of Sejanus had cast its shadow upon Tiberius, before the reigns of -Caligula and Nero had made it possible to believe every evil of a Roman -Emperor, before the novelty of the Empire had worn off; there was no -reason for adopting any but an optimistic tone. - -Tiberius left Rome for Germany in A.D. 4; war had been going on there -for three years, the Roman general being then a Marcus Vinicius, -grandfather of the Consul to whom Paterculus dedicated his book. -Paterculus accompanied Tiberius, and was generally with him during the -nine years of his campaigns; he seems to have been a member of the -headquarters staff, succeeding his father as commander of the cavalry. -He says: “For nine years in succession, either as cavalry commander -or staff officer, I was a spectator of his most heavenly operations, -and assisted him in the measure permitted by my own mediocrity.” -The epithet strikes us as exuberant, but it is frequently used by -Paterculus, and not reserved for Tiberius; he employs it in speaking of -the eloquence of Cicero. The historian tells us of the incidents of the -journey through the most populous regions of Italy and the provinces of -Gaul; he describes the joy with which the inhabitants welcomed their -former governor, while the soldiers pressed to seize his hand, and -shouted, “Do we really see you, General? Have we got you safe again? -I served with you in Armenia, I in Rhætia, I was rewarded by you in -Vindelicia, I in Pannonia, I in Germany.” - -The first year’s campaign extended to the Weser, and was continued to -the month of December; Tiberius then returned to Rome, leaving his -soldiers in winter quarters near the sources of the Lippe. He was back -again early in the following spring, and in this year successfully -completed the operation in which Drusus had failed, on a more extended -scale; he made the Elbe, not the Weser, his objective, and sent round -a fleet to meet his troops with fresh supplies. Paterculus attributes -the success of this enterprise not only to the good fortune and -diligence of the Commander-in-Chief, but to his careful study of the -seasons. On this occasion the Romans first came across the Lombards, -“a race whose courage surpassed even German ferocity”; they seem to -have been settled on the East of the Elbe in the region of Magdeburg. -Paterculus has a doubtless true story of an elderly German who asked to -be allowed to see Tiberius, and on receiving permission paddled across -the Elbe; after having stared at him for some time he touched his hand, -and declaring that he had now beheld the gods, bewailed the folly of -his young men who insisted on fighting with their superiors; he then -returned to his boat, and departed across the Elbe, still keeping his -eyes on the group of Roman officers. There is nothing improbable in -this story; savages are particularly impressed by size, and the stately -form of Tiberius, glorious in such a uniform as we see on the Augustus -of the Prima Porta, may well have appeared superhuman to the uncultured -Lombard. - -The practical results of the campaign were to convince Tiberius that an -eastward extension of the Roman frontier was alike impracticable and -undesirable; the problem was to find a defensible line of outposts -near the Rhine and overawe the tribes who lived beyond it; but before -Tiberius had time to rectify the frontier he was called off to deal -with a far more serious war nearer Italy. - -Maroboduus, the King of the Marcomanni, settled his followers in the -neighbourhood of Vienna, having formed the idea of creating a great -military power in Germany; it was the first conception of a German -Empire, for many tribes were to be united in the confederacy by which -the aggressions of Rome were to be stopped, and the tide of invasion -possibly turned in the opposite direction. This man, a Suevian by -birth, had been a hostage, and was brought up under the care of -Augustus at Rome; in this case, as in several others, the policy of -educating a native prince, so that he might bring his people under -Roman civilization, proved to be of doubtful advantage. Maroboduus -applied the lessons which he learned at Rome to resisting the extension -of the Empire. He got together a force of 70,000 foot and 4,000 -cavalry, drilled them carefully in the Roman fashion, and fixed upon -Bohemia as the suitable centre of his Empire. He did not attack the -Romans, that was not his first object; he wished to civilize Germany -and create a counterpoise to Rome. Tiberius saw that this could not -be permitted; the proposed German Empire was too near the turbulent -Pannonian region for safety; it was necessary to nip the nascent -civilization of Central Europe in the bud. In order finally to break -the power of Maroboduus, Tiberius decided to carry out another of those -vast combined operations in which he had already twice succeeded. He -sent Sentius Saturninus with one army to march from the Rhine through -the Hercynian forest to the Danube, while he himself brought up another -army from Cis-Alpine Gaul through the Julian Alps. The operation was -so admirably planned and its details so well considered, that the two -armies found themselves each within five days of their meeting point, -when a fresh outbreak of Pannonia and Dalmatia threatened Tiberius in -the rear, and compelled him to take his army back to another scene of -war. Though this great operation failed in one way, it seems to have -succeeded in another; it effectually cowed Maroboduus, who did not -intervene, as might have been anticipated, in the Pannonian troubles, -while it shook the confidence of the Germans in their self-appointed -Emperor; we find him at a later time a fugitive living under the -protection of Rome. - -The precision with which Tiberius was able to time the arrival of the -army of Saturninus indicates a greater knowledge of the geography -of the districts north of the Alps, and a less savage condition of -those regions, than the statements of Cæsar would lead us to imagine -possible. We can hardly take literally the statement of Paterculus -that Sentius was told to cut through the Hercynian forest; such work -may have been necessary on the watershed of the Neckar and the Danube, -or, if, as is most probable, the advance was made by a more northerly -route, between the Main and the Danube, but when once in the basin -of the Danube, the Roman soldiers must have found their way fairly -open, and they must further have found sufficient supplies of food. -The central uplands of Germany were then as now covered with forests -and more thickly covered, but there must have been known tracks along -which an army could be led. In the southern basin of the Upper Danube, -after the conquest of the Vindelici, a Roman military colony had been -founded at Augsburg, indicating that measures were rapidly taken to -sweep the rich country north of the Alps into the net of the Empire. -Everywhere the traders, whose chief business was slave hunting, pushed -in advance of the Roman armies, and Tiberius was thus able to get -sufficiently accurate information to launch an army upon the country -north of Vienna from the north-west, timed to meet his own advance from -the south-east. The conception was a daring one, and the accuracy with -which it was carried out would be admirable even today. To render such -elaborate strategy successful a commander must not only be able to -plan accurately, but he must be able to depend on the obedience of his -subordinates and possess their absolute confidence. - -The rising in Pannonia was of a very serious nature. During the -interval of seventeen years since Tiberius had last waged war in that -direction the country had become so far Romanized as to have adopted to -a large extent the language of its conquerors; garrisons of veterans -had been established, and the war began with a general slaughter -of these, of resident Roman citizens and of travelling merchants. -The province of Macedonia was invaded and devastated. At Rome panic -prevailed; Augustus publicly declared that the enemy was within ten -days’ march of the city; levies were held, veterans were called back -to the colours, and men and women alike were compelled to enfranchise -a certain proportion of their slaves according to the amount of -their assessed property, that they might be enrolled in the armies. -Paterculus was put in command of the reinforcements that were sent to -Tiberius from Rome. - -The war lasted for three years, and was eventually ended partly by -diplomacy, partly by the patient strategy of Tiberius. Great pitched -battles were impossible in that difficult country, and the strategy of -the enemy did not permit them. Tiberius kept dividing the forces of his -opponents, cutting off the supplies of the isolated detachments, and -conquered them in detail. Paterculus particularly admires his prudence -in breaking up his own forces after finding that the numbers, on which -others were disposed to rely, were too unwieldy to be effective; he -spread his winter quarters over the country, and himself spent the cold -season at Siscia, high up in the hills near the sources of the Save. - -Paterculus does not give us a consecutive account of the campaigns, but -he mentions a few personal details with reference to Tiberius, both on -this campaign and on the subsequent one in Germany after the Varian -disaster, which are worth quoting. - -“During the whole of the war in Germany and Pannonia, no one of us or -of those above or below our rank was ever ill without finding that -his health and safety were attended to by the care of Cæsar, in such -a way that his mind seemed to be so free from the weight of all its -other burdens as to be concentrated on this task alone. For those who -desired it there was a composite vehicle ready, his litter assigned -to the general benefit, whose advantages I experienced along with -others; physicians, food, all the apparatus of a bath, carried for this -purpose alone, were ready for every invalid; home and servants alone -were wanting, but nothing was missing which they could supply or need. -I will add a fact which everybody who was present at that time will -recognize at once along with other things which I have related; he -alone always rode, always dined sitting along with his guests during -the greater part of the summer campaigns; he was indulgent to breaches -of discipline, provided there was no bad example; he frequently -advised, sometimes reproved, very rarely punished, and took a middle -course, being blind to most faults, checking others.” - -This is the first mention of a field hospital, reserved, apparently, -for the use of the staff and their attendants. Other Roman generals -took an elaborate bath establishment with them on their campaigns for -their own use: Tiberius utilized it only for the sickness of others. -Other generals travelled in carts or on a litter: Tiberius always rode. -He took his meals like an active man in a sitting posture, not lying at -full length after the customary Roman fashion. - -Suetonius declares that in the German wars Tiberius proved to be -a martinet, and mentions the case of an officer who was severely -punished for sending his freedmen to hunt on the opposite side of -the Rhine contrary to orders. Tiberius would indeed have been a bad -general if he had neglected to punish a gross violation of discipline, -which by revealing the presence of his force might spoil a carefully -devised operation. Similarly Suetonius sees excessive severity in the -strictness with which Tiberius cut down the transport of officers. -Those better versed in the difficulties of warfare will be inclined to -take a different view. There were fashionable and luxurious officers -then as now, whom it was essential to keep in order. Doubtless some one -of these cherished his grievance and left it recorded in his memoirs to -be added to the evidence compiled by the historians of a later age. - -A mysterious transaction with the Pannonian chief Bato, who was -spared after the surrender because he had allowed Tiberius and his -troops to slip through an encircling force on one occasion, suggests -that diplomacy was employed, as well as arms, in bringing about the -surrender of the Pannonians, though it is possible that Tiberius -accompanied an act of kindness with an ironical reference to an -occasion on which he had outwitted Bato. - -The Pannonian war was barely concluded before Tiberius was called off -to the Rhine; he left his nephew Germanicus to finish his work east -of the Adriatic, and hurried to the scene of his former victories -in Germany. Quintilius Varus, the Governor of the Southern German -Marches, had been enticed into a trap by the German patriot Arminius, -and slain along with two legions, the greater part of a third, and -their complement of cavalry and light-armed troops. Arminius, like -Maroboduus, had been educated at Rome; he was even a Roman citizen -and a member of the Equestrian Order; he too had measured the weakness -of Rome, and was only waiting for a favourable opportunity to strike. -The rising was organized on a great scale; the Gauls who lived in the -country round Vienne were tampered with, the object being to check the -advance of a Roman army across the Alps. Fortunately they were only -half-hearted in the cause, and were easily suppressed by Tiberius on -his way northwards. More serious were the movements on the lower Rhine. -The great camp which had been fortified originally by Drusus at Aliso -on the Lippe was invested, and a general rising of the tribes who had -been settled on the west bank of the Rhine was only prevented by the -decision of Lucius Asprenas, who without waiting for the arrival of -Tiberius marched two legions down the river. The garrison of Aliso -succeeded in cutting its way through the enemy. - -In assigning to Varus the command of the Rhine Augustus had been -premature. Varus was a civilian rather than a soldier, and his -mission was to consolidate the Rhine frontier by the arts of peace, -and by bringing the comparatively uncivilized Germans to recognize -the blessings of Roman law. It is more than probable that even as a -civil administrator he was not particularly upright; he had previously -been Governor of Syria, and, according to Paterculus, enjoyed the -reputation of having found that province rich and left it poor. He had -repressed the military ardour of his subordinates, adopting a policy of -conciliation, and deliberately closing his eyes to the necessity of -armed interference when events showed that it was advisable. His ruling -passion was love of money; in other respects he was inactive both -in mind and body, a man of preconceived ideas, such a man as has on -other occasions and in other places invited disaster. Arminius fooled -him to the top of his bent, the Germans invited him to settle their -quarrels according to the honoured forms of Roman law; he was gradually -enticed with his force further and further away from the frontier; -the summer operations took the form of a judge’s circuit. Meanwhile -the German forces gradually closed in behind his rear. Varus was deaf -to the remonstrances of his officers and to the information given him -by a German rival of Arminius. At last when the pedantic Governor had -been successfully lured into a hopeless position Arminius struck. The -Roman soldiers, having no confidence in their leader, were completely -demoralized; they were slaughtered literally like sheep, sacrificed -to the gods of the Germans. The commander of the Roman cavalry basely -deserted the infantry and tried to secure his own safety, but was cut -down with all his force before he could reach the Rhine. Varus himself -committed suicide; his example is said to have been followed by some -Roman youths, who, having been taken prisoners, dashed out their brains -with their own fetters. - -The situation, however, was not so grave as it might have been. -Arminius sent the head of Varus to Maroboduus, but that chieftain, -either from want of confidence or from jealousy of a rival, took the -Roman side, and transmitted the relic with a friendly message to -Augustus. - -It is not incumbent upon us to believe that after this disaster the -aged Emperor acquired a habit of dashing his head against the wall, -and crying, “Varus, Varus, give me back my legions!” but that the -calamity was a sufficient one to disturb his equanimity seriously -is self-evident. Soldiers had been found only with great difficulty -for the Pannonian war, as we have seen; the recall of veterans to -the standards was always considered a desperate measure, and still -more desperate was the employment of slaves as soldiers; the absolute -destruction of two whole legions and six cohorts along with their -cavalry meant a loss of 17,300 men, as large a force as the permanent -garrison of Italy. It imposed upon Tiberius the necessity of husbanding -his men, even if he had not been naturally disposed to circumspection, -for nearly a tenth part of the whole Roman army had been wiped out. - -Tiberius quickly avenged the army of Varus; he swept through the -country, leaving devastation behind him, but he failed to capture -the ringleaders of the revolt. During this campaign, in which he was -soon joined by Germanicus, he abandoned his ordinary policy of acting -entirely on his own initiative and without consultation with his staff; -he carefully explained to them the reason of all his movements. In -fact, he now set to work to educate his successors, for he saw that -other duties would shortly prevent his personal activity in the field. - -Both Augustus and Tiberius have been reproached with an unadventurous -policy on the German frontier. Augustus discouraged the distant -expeditions of Drusus into the heart of Germany, and Tiberius was to -be accused of jealousy in the near future in similarly restraining -the ardour of Germanicus, but those who lightly make these charges -overlook the difficulties of the problem. The conquest of the basin of -the Mediterranean had been a conquest of civilized peoples, who knew -when they were beaten, and who once having accepted the arbitrament -of the Roman arms found acquiescence in the Roman domination the -best security for civilization. But the conquest of Central Europe -was another matter; in one sense there was nothing to be gained by -it. When Tiberius met his fleet upon the Elbe, he had traversed many -miles of that desolate flat of Northern Europe which has only been -gradually reclaimed from the wilderness and rendered fertile by the -patient labour of many centuries. There was no trade. There were, so -far as he knew, no minerals, there was nothing to invite settlers in -the endless marshes, and to an Italian the climate was detestable. -If, on the other hand, he turned his attention to the hill country, -there was the same absence of attractions; even if the valleys were -cultivated they were too far off, and the climate was too severe to -enable them to compete with the more accessible territory of Gaul; -the mineral treasures of the hills were as yet undiscovered, and even -if they had been discovered, they were practically inaccessible. It -seemed wiser, and more immediately practicable, to limit the expansion -of the Empire to the lines suggested by the Danube and the Rhine, -and to spread such a terror of the Roman name beyond those limits -as would secure the settlers on the outlying lands from attack. This -policy was partly realized; it was not fully realized, and the German -frontier remained the running sore of the Roman Empire till the Empire -itself became German, and even then fresh hordes were to push on from -Central Asia. Nor was the Empire absolutely at peace within itself; -there were still sporadic outbreaks to be dealt with even in Gaul and -Spain, still African tribes threatening Mauretania and Egypt, still -the ever-watchful Parthian in the East. Augustus rightly considered -that the expansion of the Empire was ended, and that the time for -purposeless conquests had gone by. - -With the German campaign Tiberius ended his career as a general. -Twenty years of his life had been spent in the field, and though his -name is associated with no dazzling victories, it is equally free -from any suspicion of failure. Had he suffered even minor reverses, -his critics would not have failed to make the most of them; but there -is not a suggestion of anything of the kind, and the silence of less -friendly historians supports the opinion which Paterculus held of -his leader’s merits. Of the two brothers Drusus was the more dashing -soldier, as he was the more generally attractive man, but Tiberius -was the greater general; and his services to the Empire were none -the less solid because in comparison with the brilliant feats of -Cæsar they were inconspicuous. Perhaps we should have formed a higher -opinion of the value of Tiberius in the field had he too been able to -leave his commentaries; but, alas! his exploits are concealed in an -almost impenetrable night along with those of the brave men who lived -before Agamemnon. His three great combined movements, that by which -the Vindelici were conquered behind the Alps, the ferocious Longobardi -frightened on the Elbe, and Maroboduus cowed in Bohemia, anticipated -similar great operations of Napoleon. - - - - -X - -The Last Years of Augustus - - -Twenty-nine years after the battle of Actium the Senate, by the -voice of one of the noblest of their order, Marcus Valerius Messala, -hailed Augustus as the “Father of his Country.” The now aged Emperor -burst into tears, and declaring that he had reached the summit of his -ambition, prayed to the gods that they would allow him, so long as -life lasted, to continue to be worthy of the confidence thus expressed -by his countrymen. The title had perhaps been somewhat soiled by use; -Cicero had arrogated it to himself after that exhibition of consummate -statesmanship which quelled the conspiracy of Catiline, but it was none -the less a tribute to the singleness of purpose with which Augustus -had devoted himself to the welfare of the vast Empire committed to his -care. In the press of daily business and vexatious details Augustus may -often have failed to perceive how general was the recognition of his -services to the State, and we can pardon the display of uncontrolled -emotion which interrupted his customary calm on receiving this solemn -assurance that his labours had not been in vain. - -As a matter of fact at this time, and for the rest of his life, -Augustus had no enemies save those of his own household. There was no -political opposition to the Emperor; small conspiracies such as those -of Murena and Cæpio there had been, the work of hot-headed youths who -wished to emulate the example of Brutus, and there were, as we have -seen, intrigues in the Emperor’s own family. As Suetonius mentions -among the plots directed against Augustus one in which Lucius Æmilius -Paullus, the husband of the younger Julia was concerned, we are at -liberty to suspect that in her case, as in her mother’s, it was thought -better to punish a graver offence as a case of domestic misconduct. -It was on this occasion that the poet Ovid learned that there is a -limit to the liberties which a man of fashion can allow himself, and -was forced to withdraw from his butterfly existence at Rome to the -mosquito-haunted swamps at the mouth of the Danube, where he wrote -poems more worthy of his dignity than any he had previously composed. - -The power of the Emperor was based largely on his patronage. The Empire -had been divided between the Emperor and the Senate; those provinces -in which it was necessary to maintain a standing and mobilized army, -in which swift action, continuous authority, and unity of purpose were -imperatively necessary, were governed by Augustus as a private estate; -their highest official was a “Procurator,” “a manager”; they comprised -two districts in the west and north of Spain, the whole of Gaul, the -Germanic frontier, the Balkan, Cilicia, Cœlesyria Phenicia, Cyprus and -Egypt; the Senate retained the old settled provinces, Eastern Spain, -Sardinia, Sicily, Northern Africa, the district round Cyrene, the west -of Asia Minor, and Achaia. Thus the Emperor’s direct patronage was -large, but even in the Senatorial Provinces he could intervene with -superior powers, and the liberty which the Senate enjoyed of appointing -their Governors, was nominal rather than real, for the Senate itself -was increasingly composed of men who had owed their advancement to the -Emperor, or expected further promotion from his hands. - -Senatorial Governorships tended to become merely honorary, and the -wealthy or noble men, who held courts for limited periods in Sicily or -Asia had little more actual responsibility or power than an English -Viceroy in Ireland. Further, those parts of the Empire in which active -work was to be done, or in which the administration really tested -capacity, and was rewarded with further promotions, were precisely -those parts in which the Emperor was exclusive patron. - -We naturally wonder at the business capacity of a man who carried on -the Government of dominions so extensive and so various; and the work -would indeed have been beyond the grasp of any single individual had -not Augustus continued the old Roman policy of letting well alone. -The Roman Empire at this period was largely decentralized; cities, -tribes, nationalities governed themselves according to their previous -laws and customs; no ancient polity was destroyed or remodelled unless -it proved to be out of sympathy with the general order; the details -of local administration were attended to on the spot in accordance -with local usage, by the local officials and magistrates. If the -ancient constitution of a town broke down, the Roman was ready with -his sacred model, the double chief magistrate and the Senate, a model -which was faithfully copied in all the Roman military colonies, but -so long as men could govern themselves, the Romans were content to -allow them to do so; they were not at this time afflicted with a -pedantic passion for uniformity. Thus the Emperor was relieved of -the mass of detail under which he would otherwise have sunk. In his -choice of men Augustus preferred officials who either as non-Romans, -such as Licinus and Cornelius Gallus, or by reason of comparatively -mean extraction felt their dependence upon his favour. When he found -a representative of the ancient nobility who could be trusted, such -as Marcus Lepidus, the son of the former triumvir, he placed power -in his hands; such men served to balance the pretensions of the new -officials, but he was careful not to revive the organization of the -oligarchy. One danger, however, escaped the prevision of the acute -Augustus: he did not see until it was too late the effect of his -pretensions to a divine ancestry upon his own family. As years went on, -and the representatives of the Julian stock were to be found chiefly -in the men and women of the third generation, as the great poem of -Virgil was more and more widely known, the faith in the sanctity of -the posterity of Anchises assumed inconvenient dimensions, and the -tendency to press this faith was largely helped by the presence in the -Imperial Household of representatives of ancient dynasties. East and -West alike sent young men to Rome, in whom the traditions of exalted -lineage were lively and unbroken, who did not need the evidence of -portents and the testimony of poets to assure them that they were set -apart from the rest of mankind. These youths were the playmates of the -grandchildren and great-grandchildren of Augustus; their influence -stimulated the dynastic ambition of such men as Caius Cæsar, and his -nephew and namesake the future Emperor Caligula; the young princes, as -they considered themselves, were impatient of the constitutional forms -of Rome, and the restraints upon the monarchy; they despised families -whose progenitors had not come over with Æneas. Fate had not been kind -to the Julian dynasty, and when Tiberius returned to Rome from the -Rhine in A.D. 12, his adoption and investiture with the Proconsular -Power seemed to extinguish the hopes of its representatives. The direct -descendants of Augustus now living were his daughter Julia, disgraced -and in exile, her daughter Julia similarly disgraced and in exile, -Agrippa Postumus, the intractable, a young man about twenty-four years -of age, who either now, or a little later, enjoyed, like his mother -and sister, the amenities of life on an island; the only descendant in -the third generation who had not been thus disgraced and banished was -Agrippina, the younger daughter of Julia. - -Nobody took the Julian legend more seriously than this lady, and her -children enjoyed a double stream of the sacred blood, for she had -married Germanicus, the son of Drusus and Antonia the beautiful, -who was own niece to Augustus. Germanicus was now twenty-seven years -of age; he had been through the Pannonian campaign, and was left by -Tiberius in command of the army on the Lower Rhine. Tiberius seems -to have had more confidence in him than in his own son Drusus, and -Germanicus had so far shown himself worthy of that confidence; he was -blessed with a numerous family, of whom Agrippina was inordinately -proud; she was the mother of the great-grandchildren of Augustus, a -Nero, a Drusus, a Caius, another Agrippina, a Drusilla, and a Julia -Livilla, who eventually married the friend of Paterculus, Marcus -Vinicius. Julia her sister had only borne two daughters before retiring -to her island. - -Agrippina was not a mere lady of fashion; she accompanied her husband -on his campaigns, and exhibited all the traditional virtues of a Roman -matron before the enraptured eyes of the legionaries; she dressed up -her youngest boy, Caius, in the full uniform of a Roman soldier, and -got him the nickname of Caligula--Little Gaiters--in the camp. - -The Claudian stock was represented by Drusus, the son of Tiberius, a -man slightly younger than Germanicus, whose sister he married, thus -further interweaving the two lines; also by Germanicus himself and his -brother Claudius, the unfortunate sputterer, of whom his own mother was -ashamed, and whose family were united in a desire to keep him out of -sight. - -In order further to knit up the dynastic web, Augustus adopted -Tiberius, who in his turn adopted both his own nephew Germanicus and -his stepson Agrippa Postumus. It is not improbable that the dynastic -pretensions of this young man, stimulated by the example of his sister -Agrippina, were the real cause of his enforced retreat, that he did -not acquiesce willingly in his grandfather’s arrangements, and that -the watchful Livia knew how to turn his insubordination to advantage. -Augustus showed disturbing signs of a weakness in his direction in -spite of his intractability. - -Tiberius at the time of his adoption was fifty-four years of age; he -was a father and a grandfather; he was the active ruler of the Empire, -but with what appears to us a strange scrupulosity he at once abandoned -his own house, and went to live in his adoptive father’s. He treated -all his property, according to the strict letter of the Roman law, as -his father’s property; he neither manumitted slaves nor performed any -act which could not properly be performed by a man who was still “in -his father’s hand.” - -During the last two years of the life of Augustus Tiberius seldom left -him; the old man was in feeble health, but he continued to travel -in Italy, and had just presided at some games held in his honour -at Naples, when his customary weakness assumed an alarming aspect. -Tiberius had been summoned to Illyricum, whence news had arrived of -serious discontent among the troops. He returned in haste to receive -the last words of the dying Emperor, and to give him a final evidence -of that affection which, in spite of the severe strains to which it -had been subjected, had never failed. Augustus died as he had lived, -with dignity and calm; he even retained to the last a dash of humour, -and bade his friends applaud him, as he left the stage of life, if they -were satisfied with his performance. His last words were a request to -Livia never to forget their married life. - -The performance had been a good one, and we should be churlish to -withhold our applause. - - - - -XI - -The Accession of Tiberius - - -All the accounts of the accession of Tiberius agree in one statement; -the evidence is unanimous that he was exceedingly unwilling to occupy -the position which Augustus had occupied, and to continue the Empire in -the form which it had assumed under his predecessor. - -Tiberius was now fifty-six years of age; for ten years he had to -all intents and purposes shared the first place in the Empire with -Augustus; he had enjoyed his full confidence, none of the things which -attract ambitious men had been refused to him. His character was -without stain or reproach; the amours which are attributed to Julius -Cæsar, and even to the saintly Augustus, are not attributed to him. The -idle story that he went to Rhodes to indulge in odious vices was the -fabrication of a later age, and was, as we have seen, absurd in itself. -He had been a faithful and loving husband to his first wife, Vipsania; -the licence of Julia had disgusted him; after his divorce from her -he never thought of a fresh marriage, though still a young man. On -his campaigns he had shown himself to be simple, and indeed severe, -in his personal habits. A story was indeed prevalent that he was -given to strong drink, but there is no evidence in its favour except -a couple of wildly improbable stories preserved by Suetonius, and a -punning nickname given him by the soldiers, who called him Biberius -Caldius Mero. The nicknames given by private soldiers and schoolboys -to officers and schoolmasters are not evidence, though they sometimes -promote, as in this case, the circulation of fictitious stories. -The exceptional health which Tiberius is said to have enjoyed to an -advanced age does not favour the idea that he was intemperate, and -indeed we are told that from the age of thirty onwards he prescribed a -regimen for himself without consulting his medical advisers, which was -remarkably successful. He was free from the tyranny of the lusts of the -flesh, he was equally free from avarice, a point repeatedly insisted on -by hostile historians; power in itself and by itself had no attraction -for him; he had already on one occasion brusquely rejected it. Thus he -was able to consider the question of the succession dispassionately. -His personal inclination was rather in the direction of retirement and -a private life, and if his judgment was biassed, the disturbing element -was a contempt for rather than a love of power. - -At the death of Augustus, Tiberius was actually in possession of -two forms of authority legally conveyed to him by the Senate in -constitutional form, which enabled him to carry on the government: he -had the tribunician power, which made him superior to all the civil -magistrates; he had the proconsular power, which put him at the head -of the executive in all the provinces, and especially at the head of -the army. In the first character he was the protector of Roman citizens -throughout the world; in the second he was master of the provincials. -Thus there was no occasion for any plotting on the part of Livia, no -premature assumption of responsibility on the part of Tiberius in -setting the guard and giving the password when Augustus had breathed -his last; these duties necessarily devolved upon him, and he was in -fact at the time on active service. - -He was not Princeps, nor Pontifex Maximus, nor had he the censorial -power. Of these three the last two were executive offices belonging -to the old Republic; the former was an honorary dignity recognised by -the forms of the Republic, which had acquired a new meaning during the -long tenure of Augustus. It was this dignity, along with all which -it now involved, that Tiberius only reluctantly and after resisting -considerable pressure eventually accepted. It had become associated -with the monarchical principle, and the permanent continuance of the -monarchy Tiberius wished to avoid. - -The position which he adopted was a reasonable one. Augustus was -an exceptional man; he had been called to power under exceptional -circumstances; the reign of one man had been inevitable at the end of -the civil wars; the right man had been found, a social regeneration -had followed; the monarchy, an exceptional expedient, had done its -work; there was now the material for creating a stable government on -the old lines. The vices of the old Senatorial administration had been -purged away; the Senate itself had assumed a different character--it -was no longer a narrow oligarchy, it was a council of the Empire; no -single man could hope to repeat the success of Augustus. In a multitude -of counsellors there is wisdom; the restored Senate working through -the new officials would be more likely to carry on the continuity -of government than an hereditary or quasi-hereditary monarchy, in -which so much depended on the character of an individual, and which -was perpetually disturbed by palace plots and conspiracies for the -succession. - -The life of Tiberius himself had been embittered, his domestic -happiness destroyed, by the intrigues of a family which had adopted -the habits of an Oriental Court. It might well appear to him, arguing -from his own experience, that misgovernment by the Senate was a less -probable eventuality than misgovernment by the irresponsible members -of a monarchical dynasty listening to the unwholesome suggestions of -favourites and parasites, and intriguers of all nations. - -The funeral of Augustus was hardly over when an event occurred -calculated to disgust Tiberius with the dynastic principle, if he had -not already strongly disliked it. - -The youngest son of Julia, Agrippa Postumus, had, as we have already -recorded, been banished to the Island of Planasia off the coast of -Campania, and detained in captivity. He was the last of the grandsons -of Augustus. At this time he was about twenty-six years of age, and -would in the ordinary course of events have held appointments and -been pushed forward like his brothers. This had not been done. The -historians agree in ascribing to him a stubborn disinclination to -study, and an evil temper; he was put out of the way as Claudius was -put out of the way; but he continued to be to some extent the centre of -Julian plots, and it was believed that, in spite of his bad manners, -Augustus was personally attached to him. It is possible that his name -had been used in the plots with which his sister, the younger Julia, -and her husband, L. Æmilius Paulus, had been concerned; or that he -had taken up his mother’s quarrel with Tiberius, and had disturbed -the serenity of the Imperial household. Although he had been thus -set aside, Augustus had been sufficiently anxious about his welfare -to request Tiberius to adopt him, when he himself adopted Tiberius. -Whatever may have been the real temper and the real pretensions of -the young man, one thing is certain: immediately after the death of -Augustus he was put to death upon his island, and the centurion on -guard reported to Tiberius that his orders had been obeyed. - -Tiberius at once denied that he had given any orders, and added that -he would report the matter to the Senate. No report was ever made, and -Tacitus tells us that Tiberius was over-persuaded by C. Sallustius -Crispus, who had succeeded Mæcenas as confidential and unofficial -adviser to the Cæsarian family. Crispus is said to have urged that any -public inquiry into the matter would have created too much scandal. -Tiberius was not the man to be deterred from doing what he considered -a public duty by any consideration of what he might himself suffer, -but there was another person whose good name was likely to be damaged, -and whose responsibility for what had occurred it would be awkward to -demonstrate; that person was his mother, Livia. Tiberius himself had -no motive for committing such a crime; only the perverse inconsistency -of a Roman historian could be capable of attributing to the same man -reluctance to accept power, and complicity in a crime whose object -was to secure the undisturbed enjoyment of that power. Whoever was -responsible for the death of Agrippa Postumus, Tiberius certainly was -not; but Livia, the friend of Herod, whose life had been spent in -pushing the fortunes of the Claudians, was not a woman to be frightened -by the murder of an inconvenient aspirant. - -If anything had been wanting to convince Tiberius of the evils likely -to attend the perpetuation of the dynasty, this event was in itself -enough to determine him in his dislike to an institution capable of -producing such horrors, and under circumstances so wounding to his -personal pride. A crime had been foisted on him in such a way that he -could not prove his innocence without making himself the accuser of his -mother. - -The Senate, however, insisted that Tiberius should take the whole -burden of the government upon himself. His suggestion that the -responsibility should be divided was met with derision; there was no -way out of the difficulty but to accept the trust, and to work it in -the spirit most likely to lead to the development of his own views. -The Senate was, in fact, wiser than Tiberius; those of its members -who took an active share in the government knew that whatever might -be the views of the few remaining Legitimist families, the monarchy -was essential to the Empire, and that the Imperial House could not -break with the traditions of half a century. Cæsar’s heir did not -merely inherit property, he inherited the conduct of an organization -whose branches extended all over the world, and this even as a -private person; nor again was it easy to define his relation to those -provinces, and especially Egypt, which had been administered by the -late Emperor as private estates. Countless officials had learned to -look to the Emperor as the source of patronage. A slow change was -possible, but an abrupt change would have been a revolution, and would -have disturbed the sense of security in all quarters of the Empire. The -succession of Tiberius had been tacitly accepted as an accomplished -fact in every part of the world for the last ten years. The intrigues -in the Imperial family were distressing, and doubtless painful to -those immediately concerned, but they had not affected the general -prosperity, nor stirred the imagination of such men as hope to fish in -troubled waters. Germanicus, the only practical candidate for the chief -place, was notoriously loyal to the existing state of affairs, and had -never shown any disposition to disturb arrangements made by Augustus. -In the end Tiberius gave way, and accepted what the Senate offered him -“until,” as he said, “I come to the time of life at which it may seem -just to you to grant some rest to my old age.” - -These words are in themselves a protest against dynastic assumptions; -the power which Tiberius was to receive he would hold as associated -with an office separable from his person; he was not to be once a king, -always a king, ruling in virtue of mythology and portents. - -Tiberius was equally careful to distinguish between complimentary -tributes which had been paid to Augustus and official designations. He -would not be called “Father of his country,” he would not even use the -title “Augustus” as a name, though he was legally entitled to do so; he -only used it in corresponding with foreign kings and potentates. Still -less would he allow himself to be worshipped, and strictly forbade his -statue to be erected in a temple except as an ornament. Nor again would -he place the title of Imperator before his name, as Augustus had done, -thereby making it personal and inseparable; he used it simply as a -statement that he held a particular office. From the first he objected -to the exaggerated language of obsequious persons, and demanded to be -addressed as Dominus by his slaves, Imperator by soldiers, Princeps -by the rest of the world. A Senator who flung himself at his feet -and endeavoured to grasp his knees with an oriental exuberance of -subservience suffered a rude fall, as Tiberius instinctively jumped -back out of his reach. In a like spirit he checked the adulation which -the Senate were prepared to heap upon Livia, and discouraged every -attempt to invest her with the dangerous attributes of an Empress -Dowager. - -Similarly he distinguished between occasions on which he acted in a -public or private capacity. Unless officially presiding, he attended -the law courts like any other Senator, listening to the evidence, and -offering his opinion like the rest; he, in fact, lost no opportunity -of showing that he held his position to be a purely official one, and -while he encouraged the worship of Augustus, he refused to be included -in the cult. - -At a later period Tiberius, in speaking to the Senators, declared -that he regarded himself as their servant; his constitutional theory -was that the Senate was the fountain of authority, the Emperor its -first executive officer and adviser, but certainly not its master. -This theory of the mutual relations of Emperor and Senate broke down, -because one man, if he is capable at all, is always more capable than -a number of equally capable men working together as a council: he -can act more quickly, and his relations with suitors and suppliants -are simpler. If a capable man is assisted by a council, the general -lines of policy are his, and not those of the council, whose advice -practically amounts to little more than valuable suggestions on points -of detail. The dream of professors and political pedants that a country -is best governed by a debating society of selected wiseacres has a -never-ending fascination, but it is a mere dream, and as soon as the -ostensible government degenerates into a debating society the real work -of governing is done by other agencies; the alternative is anarchy. - -The Senate for its part was studiously averse at first to accepting -any greater measure of responsibility than had fallen to its share -under Augustus; its leading members were used to a certain routine -of business. Augustus had introduced a kind of Cabinet system, the -ordinary business of the Senate being conducted by a small committee -on which the Senators served in some kind of rotation; full meetings -of the whole body were rare; the committee were in constant attendance -upon the Emperor. Nobody had any wish to abandon this system, and to -impose the necessity of frequent attendance upon all members of the -Senate; at the same time, it was well to be sufficiently in evidence -to secure a share in promotions and appointments. Hostility to the -existing arrangements existed, but it was confined to some old families -who were nearly powerless, and who found a safety valve for their -discontent in pasquinades, and the compilation of bitter memoirs, -in which every rumour, every scandal unfavourable to the existing -government was carefully recorded. - -Tiberius had so little of the dynast about him, so little of the -jealousy of the usurper, that he employed in positions of trust the -men who were generally believed to have been designated as possible -aspirants to the Imperial power by Augustus. Marcus Lepidus held one -office after another under Tiberius, not merely ornamental offices, -but those which involved active work; C. Asinius Gallus, the second -husband of Vipsania, similarly took a leading part in the counsels of -the Senate, and was entrusted with various dignities; his mysterious -fate three years before the death of Tiberius will occupy us later on; -L. Arruntius similarly lived in dignity and affluence till he committed -suicide shortly before Tiberius died, having become involved in highly -discreditable, but not political, transactions; another, Gnæus Piso, -was the centre of a strange conspiracy six years later than this. Of -him too we shall speak in greater detail; it is enough for our present -purpose to record that he was holding an important Governorship six -years after the accession of Tiberius. - -The same historian who tells us nearly all that is known of the lives -of these men, and who fixes the dates of their deaths, also informs -us that they were the objects of the suspicion of Tiberius, that -their lives were rendered miserable by him, and that they all, with -the exception of Lepidus, “soon” came to a bad end. Allowing that six -years is a term to which the word “soon” can be applied, we may admit -that Gnæus Piso soon came to a bad end; we shall see later on who was -responsible for his afflictions. Lepidus lived to a good old age, and -died a natural death not long before Tiberius himself; and though the -ends both of Asinius Gallus and Arruntius were miserable, they did not -occur “soon,” periods of twenty years and upwards not being usually so -described. - -The facts relating to these men are an excellent illustration of the -reckless inconsistency of statement which is indulged in by Tacitus. -Fortunately, the historian prided himself upon his impartiality, and -does not suppress facts which happen to be in contradiction with his -main contention. Stripped of its comments and insinuations, as also of -its rhetoric, his narrative gives a favourable picture of Tiberius and -his reign, but Tacitus possessed such a mastery of innuendo that his -statements of facts are forgotten, while his comments are remembered. - -It is, unfortunately, not the custom of modern scholars to read the -Latin stylists for the purpose of acquiring information, or in large -masses; and while they are minutely perpending the significance of -isolated phrases, or enumerating instances of unusual grammatical -constructions, they forget that any other interest attaches to the -works upon which their industry is expended. The stylist and grammarian -alike find so much material for their own special industries in -Tacitus that his claims as a historian are forgotten, and in fact he -is not a historian; he is a bitter pamphleteer of consummate ability; -his affectation of impartiality is a well-considered pose, whose -insincerity becomes manifest as soon as we study the effect produced by -his writing upon the minds of his readers. When we have read the first -six books of the _Annals_, we are left with a very strong impression -of horror; we seem to have waded through seas of misery, and to have -assisted at the ruin of the Roman Empire. In the midst of the gloomy -scene stalks the gaunt figure of Tiberius, equally terrifying in anger -or in silence; his very virtues are more horrible than the vices of -other people, for there is no knowing what hideous wickedness they were -assumed to conceal. - -The question may reasonably be asked, why should Tacitus have directed -his bitterness especially against Tiberius? Surely Nero or even -Claudius would have been a better target for his venomed sentences. But -to begin with, there was no object in further damaging the reputation -of an Emperor universally acknowledged to be a villain or a fool. So -far as Caligula, Claudius, and Nero were concerned, judgment had been -passed in the sense in which Tacitus wished it to be passed, but there -were numerous documents in evidence of the fact that Tiberius had been -a good Emperor, and that Greater Rome, if not the City of Rome, had -prospered under his rule. - -Tacitus was interested in proving that till the reigns of Nerva and -Trajan there never had been a good Emperor. Augustus was beyond the -reach of attack; that reputation could not be damaged by malignant -epigrams, but the end of the reign of Tiberius had been involved in a -strange catastrophe, whose unquestioned horrors would lend credibility -to misrepresentations of the events by which it had been preceded, and -when Tacitus wrote, the Senate had just emerged from a similar, or -apparently similar, persecution at the hands of Domitian; in fact, the -Tiberius of Tacitus was not Tiberius at all, but Domitian. The curse of -the reign of Domitian had been attacks upon the lives and property of -eminent men, conducted by paid informers. There was some evidence that -the system of rewarding informers had first been extensively used in -the reign of Tiberius, and Tacitus believed that he could find abundant -material for drawing up a strong indictment against the practice of -employing informers in the records of the reign of Tiberius. We shall -see how far he was justified in his confidence. - -But it was not enough to damage a system, it was also necessary to -annihilate the man; and here too Tacitus had found the instrument -which he required; he had access to certain memoirs written by the -younger Agrippina, the daughter of Agrippina, the wife of Germanicus. -He tells us of a fact which he mentions:--“This is not recorded by any -of the historians, but I found it in the memoirs of the daughter of -Agrippina, who was the mother of the Emperor Nero, and handed down to -posterity her own life and the misfortunes of her family.” There is not -much in the life of the mother of Nero and sister of Caligula which -would incline us to suspect her memoirs of being a liquid fount of -veracity, but there is a great deal which would tempt us to suspect her -of a bitter animosity against the memory of Tiberius and all members of -the Claudian stock not closely related to herself. - -It is not proposed to examine in detail every innuendo made by -Tacitus in the course of his indictment against Tiberius, though from -time to time it will be entertaining to expose glaring instances of -misrepresentation or deliberately malicious inference; but one example -of the methods employed by Tacitus may be profitably given as an -illustration of the way in which he wrote what has passed for sober -history. - -In A.D. 25, eleven years after the accession of Tiberius, a deputation -arrived from further Spain with the request that leave might be given -to build a shrine in honour of Tiberius and his mother, as had been -done in Asia. “On this occasion Cæsar, who was at other times also -firm in rejecting honours of this kind, and thought some answer should -be given to those who accused him by public rumour of ambitious -inclinations, made a speech to the following effect:--‘I know, -Conscript Fathers, that many have noted a want of consistency in my -conduct, because on a recent occasion I failed to oppose the cities -of Asia when preferring an identical petition. Therefore I will at -once declare my defence of my former silence, and of the line which -I propose to adopt in the future. Whereas the sainted Augustus did -not forbid a temple to be built to himself and the city of Rome at -Pergamus, I, for whom all his acts and words are like a law, followed -a precedent, already sanctioned, the more readily because veneration -of the Senate was united with the devotion to be paid to myself. -However, although there may be an excuse for a solitary acceptance of -such honours, it would be presumptuous and arrogant in me to consent -to being worshipped in divine form all over the provinces; and indeed -the honour paid to Augustus will disappear if it is made cheap by -promiscuous flattery of this kind. I both protest to you, Conscript -Fathers, and I wish posterity to be mindful, that I am a man, and hold -purely human responsibilities, and that I have enough, if I worthily -hold the first position in the State; posterity will give enough, and -more than enough, to my memory if men believe me to have been worthy of -my ancestors, careful of your concerns, firm in danger, and not fearful -of contracting unpopularity in defence of the public welfare. So shall -I have temples in your minds, so the finest and most lasting statues. -For those memorials which are built of stone are despised as mere tombs -if the judgment of posterity proves adverse. Therefore I implore the -allies, the citizens, and the gods themselves, the latter to grant me -to the end of my life a calm intelligence and understanding of human -and divine law; the former, that whenever I may leave the stage, they -may pursue my deeds and the fame of my name with praise and kindly -memories.’ And he persisted afterwards, even in private conversation, -in his contempt of such adoration of himself. This some interpreted -as moderation, many as a sign of mistrust of himself, some as an -indication of a degenerate spirit; for, said they, the best of men aim -at the highest honours; thus among the Greeks Hercules and Liber, among -ourselves Quirinus, had been added to the number of the gods. Augustus -had done better in setting his hopes higher. Princes have everything -else in this life; the one thing they should compass with avidity is -a lasting memory of themselves. For the contempt of fame means the -contempt of virtue.” - -It is impossible not to admire the consummate art with which the -effect of a really noble statement of Tiberius is wiped away, and the -picture of a man devoid of sound ambition substituted. The ingenuity -with which Tacitus puts in the mouths of presumed contemporaries his -own perversion of the facts, and concludes his chapter with a concise -damnation, is equally admirable. To us there is, however, something -tragic in the fact that subsequent events and the arts of a supreme -master of style were to rob Tiberius even of the modest fame for which -he prayed. - -Tiberius had hardly settled down to business when the threatened mutiny -of the legions in the Illyrian quarter broke out, accompanied by an -even more serious disturbance among the armies of the Rhine. These -events throw much light on the condition of the Roman army at the time, -and upon the characters of Agrippina and Germanicus. The latter, though -a far more formidable rival than Agrippa Postumus, had been invested -with Proconsular power at the request of Tiberius on his accession. -Previously he had only been a legate, a lieutenant-general in command -of the troops on the German frontier; he was now Governor of Gaul as -well. It is not customary, for usurpers who have recently mounted -rickety thrones to add to the powers of those whose rivalry they have -good reason to anticipate. The Proconsulate of Gaul had on a well-known -occasion been the stepping-stone to the Empire. Tiberius clearly had no -mistrust of the loyalty of Germanicus, and at this period could afford -to smile at the restless impetuosity of Agrippina, pattern of matrons. - - - - -XII - -The Mutinies in Pannonia and on the Rhine - - -We have seen that when Augustus died Tiberius was on his way to -Illyria, because the temper of the three legions who garrisoned the -recently conquered districts towards the Danube had given cause -for anxiety. The death of one Emperor and the accession of another -occasioned a relaxation of discipline, both events, in accordance with -Roman custom, being observed by a suspension of ordinary business. - -The Pannonian army had been reinforced largely from Rome itself; it had -been necessary to revive in a stringent form the obligation to military -service, and even to impress slaves. Among the men thus unwillingly -driven into the ranks were several used to the clubs and street -factions of the capital, quick-witted, ready-tongued, of the class that -are known to our own soldiers and sailors as “lawyers.” - -Service in these regions had no mitigations, there was little or no -loot, and since serious operations had ceased, little excitement; -the long holiday and cessation of the ordinary routine gave the camp -agitators their opportunity. Three legions were concerned, the eighth, -the ninth, and the fifteenth. The first open act of mutiny was an -attempt to combine all three in one. This failed, owing to the mutual -jealousies of the legions, neither of the three being willing to be -enrolled under the name of one of the others, and a compromise was -effected by uniting the legions locally, but retaining their separate -organization. The rapid and dramatic account of Tacitus, in which -only the most picturesque incidents are recorded and grouped together -for effect, conceals the fact that this was a very serious step, for -the legions were not quartered together, and must have marched some -distance in order to unite. This event, which Tacitus places at the -beginning of his summary, can only have taken place after the officers -had lost the control of their men, unless we are to credit these -officers, who knew that there was much disaffection, and had already -reported it to Rome, with such blind folly as to have united troops -ready to mutiny. - -The speech which Tacitus puts into the mouth of one Percennius, the -arch agitator, a private who had been accustomed to lead a claque in -the Roman theatres, and was well versed in the arts by which factions -are organized, gives a clear summary of the grievances of the Roman -soldier of the period, but will not be intelligible without a little -previous explanation. - -First comes the question of discharge. A Roman citizen was -constitutionally liable to be called out for service between the -ages of eighteen and forty-six, but it was held that sixteen years -of service, whether continuous or intermittent, exempted a man from -further duty. The difficulty of finding recruits had caused the claim -to exemption to be ignored, and as the army had become increasingly -professional, losing its character of a militia, the men themselves, -for lack of other occupation, had helped the authorities to expand the -period of service. In order further to swell the numbers of the army, -the Romans had anticipated the “garrison” service recently introduced -into the English army. Time-expired men were enrolled in companies -outside the organization of the legion; they were called flagmen -(vexillarii); they could not be called upon to march in a campaign, -but they formed a kind of permanent garrison in the countries in which -they were employed; they were not a “reserve,” for they could not be -called back to the colours, but they relieved the regular soldiers of -duties, for which there was a dearth of men; they were also employed -as engineers, for we find some of them in the course of this mutiny -detached to build roads and bridges near Nauportus. - -There was also a grievance of pay. Cæsar had increased the pay of the -legionary, and fixed it at nine _aurei_ a year; that is to say, ten -asses a day. When this arrangement was made one silver denarius was the -equivalent of ten copper asses, and the pay of the Roman soldier was -assumed to be one denarius, practically a shilling a day; but since -Cæsar’s time the silver denarius had appreciated, and was now worth -sixteen asses: the soldiers, however, were still paid ten asses, and -not sixteen. Another grievance lay in the fact that the household -troops, prætorian guards, who formed the garrison of Italy, received -double pay. - -The exactions and cruelty of the centurions formed another grievance. -The position of the centurion in the Roman army is not quite analogous -to anything in our own army, for though there was a distinction -between the commissioned and the non-commissioned officer, and the -centurion belonged in many respects to the latter class, he had -many responsibilities which we, rightly or wrongly, reserve for -commissioned officers. The centurion was selected from the ranks, -but he commanded a company; he was a sergeant with the duties of a -captain, and when he was promoted to the rank of “primipilaris” was so -much of a commissioned officer as to be admitted to councils of war. -Cæsar had paid especial attention to the centurions, he never misses -an opportunity of praising individual centurions in his commentaries, -and distinguished service as a centurion opened the way to the highest -military and even civil positions. Ventidius Bassus, who had commanded -the armies of Antonius in Syria, and had been granted a triumph, began -life as a mule-driver, and passed through the rank of centurion to that -of General. Before the end of the century a former centurion was to -be Emperor. Pontius Pilate, Governor of Judæa, is said to have been a -centurion. One of the arts by which the early Emperors kept their hold -on the army was the recognition of capable centurions. But though the -centurion was in a better position than the English non-commissioned -officer, he still had duties which we should consider beneath the -dignity of a captain. - -With the aid of this short introduction the speech of Percennius should -be intelligible without further explanation; it is not probable that we -have the genuine speech, but a summary of the soldiers’ grievances put -into the mouth of their spokesman. - -“Why do we obey like slaves a handful of centurions, and still fewer -tribunes? When are we to venture to demand our rights if we do not now -approach the new and still tottering Emperor with either entreaties or -force? It is through our own fault, through our own want of spirit, -that we have gone on for so many years putting up with thirty or forty -years’ service, old men as we are, and most of us crippled with wounds. -Even after our discharge there is no end to our service; we camp under -the flags and suffer the same burdens under another name. And if any -man does happen to get out of all these dangers and difficulties -with his life, he is dragged off to distant lands, where he is given -under the name of a farm a morass or a precipice. The service itself -is severe, and poorly paid; body and soul are valued at ten asses a -day! Out of this we have to find clothes, arms, tents, buy off the -centurions, yes, and pay for our own discharge.[1] The stick, the -wounds, the bitter winter, the summer marches, the cruelties of war, -or the barrenness of peace are everlasting. We shall never get any -comfort till the service is entered on fixed conditions, a denarius a -day for pay, sixteen years for a discharge; and we are not to be kept -on under the flags, but stay in our camps and get our pension in cash. -Do the prætorians face greater dangers than we do? But they get two -denarii a day, and return to their homes after sixteen years. We don’t -have to patrol the city at night, but we do have to live among savages -and look at the enemy out of our very quarters.” - - [1] “Vacationes munerum.” The translation in the text - is the accepted one, but the phrase may simply mean - “leave.” The custom of feeing the sergeant for this - purpose has not been unknown in the English army. - -This statement of the grievances of the private soldier may not -represent the actual words of Percennius, but it is strangely familiar. -Protracted service is not at present included among the grievances -of the English soldier, but we have already taken one step in a -direction which may lead to its inclusion. The Roman Empire shirked -the recruiting difficulty, and in the end brought down upon itself -countless disasters. If the English Empire follows the same path, it -will find itself some day at the same destination. The conditions -are strangely similar. By the institution of slavery the whole body -of operatives throughout the Roman Empire was exempted from military -service, the recruiting ground was artificially restricted. We have no -artificial restriction in the English Empire, but the operatives have -been allowed gradually to withdraw themselves from even the limited -obligation to military service imposed by the ancient regulations of -the militia, and they have further been allowed to assume that whatever -may happen to other people they are not to be conscious of the burden -of taxation; they are practically as free from military service and -taxation as the slaves of antiquity. - -When these mutinies were eventually suppressed Tiberius found himself -unable to confirm the grant of a discharge after sixteen years’ -service, and was obliged to fix it at twenty years; he said that the -Empire could not stand the change, and deplored, in strangely modern -language, the breakdown of the “voluntary system.” The statesmen of -his time could not touch the institution of slavery; the demand for -a conscription of slaves would have been resisted on every ground of -public expediency; there would have been an outcry against interference -with private property. We have no institution which forbids us to -make soldiers of our intelligent working-men; they can be invited -and encouraged to take their share in bearing the burden of defence. -The statesman who discovers the best means of bringing them into the -recruiting field will have solved the most pressing difficulty of the -English Empire. - -The result of the orations of Percennius was a general insubordination. -Junius Blæsus, who was commander-in-chief, persuaded the excited -men with some difficulty to send an orderly deputation to Tiberius -to present their grievances, and the soldiers cleverly included his -son in the deputation. For a time there was quiet, but the news of -the mutiny reached Nauportus, where the “flagmen” were employed in -engineering, and they immediately threw off all discipline, plundered -the neighbouring villages, and even Nauportus itself. Laden with -their booty, they marched to the headquarters of the mutinied legions, -but they had not forgotten previously to pay off old scores, they had -derided and beaten their centurions, they had seized the commander -of their camp, a rigorous martinet who had himself risen from the -ranks, piled burdens upon him, and driven him at the head of their -column, asking him how he liked it. Blæsus met them with firmness, and -arrested the ringleaders, but their appeals to their former fellow -soldiers renewed the revolt, the prison was opened, all the prisoners -were released, and a man named Vibulenus mounted the shoulders of his -comrades, and, standing in front of the tribunal of Blæsus, made an -impassioned oration. Addressing the mutineers, he cried: “You have -certainly restored these innocent and miserable men to life and light, -but who will give my brother back his life? Who will give me back -my brother? He was sent to you from the German army on our common -concerns, but last night this man, by the hands of those prize-fighters -whom he keeps and arms to the ruin of the soldiers, cut his throat. -Tell me, Blæsus, where you threw the body. Our enemies even do not -grudge us burial. When I have sated my grief with tears and kisses, bid -me then to be butchered too, so long as my friends here are allowed to -bury those who have been slain for no crime, but because they thought -of the good of the legions.” - -This pathetic speech naturally redoubled the excitement, and the -prize-fighters of Blæsus were seized and bound along with the rest of -his slaves, and were likely to have suffered rough treatment, when it -was discovered that Vibulenus never had a brother. The wrath of the -soldiers was then turned upon the centurions; most of them got off and -hid themselves, but one was killed whom the soldiers used to call “Give -us another,” because it had been his habit to break his vinestick over -the shoulders of his men, and then ask for another, and yet another. -The centurions, however, were not all unpopular, and a division of -opinion between the eighth and fifteenth legions about a centurion whom -the former wished to kill, but the latter to protect, would have ended -in a fight, had not the ninth legion intervened. - -Though Vibulenus never had a brother, his speech shows that the mutiny -was concerted with the legions on the Rhine. - -In due time Drusus, the son of Tiberius, arrived from Rome with picked -guards, including a detachment of the Germans, who then formed the -bodyguard of the Emperor. Ælius Sejanus accompanied him as adviser, -though Drusus, being of the age of seven and twenty, could hardly have -been considered a youth. He read a letter from Tiberius empowering -him to remedy such grievances as could be remedied on the spot, but -referring the solution of permanent difficulties to the Senate. -Tiberius as Imperator had practically unlimited powers over the army, -but either he had not by this time formally accepted the office of -Imperator, or he held that such questions as increase of pay and -reduction of the years of service were not purely military questions, -and must be referred to the civil authority. - -The soldiers had listened quietly to Drusus till the reference to the -Senate was mentioned; they then again burst into uproar, protesting, -with a semblance of reason, that the Senate was only dragged in when it -was a question of favours or rewards, the generals imposed punishments -and ordered severe labours on their own responsibility. The aged Gnæus -Lentulus, an experienced public servant, who had accompanied Drusus, -and who was held to influence him in the direction of severity, was -nearly killed; stones were thrown at Drusus himself, who with his -escort and attendants escaped with difficulty into the permanent camp. - -Fortunately that night there was an eclipse, and at the same time -stormy weather set in. The excitable superstitious soldiers were -frightened by the portent; Drusus skilfully took advantage of their -wavering resolution, and by means of clever agents set the individual -soldiers against one another, and inspired mutual distrust between the -three legions. There was a sudden and violent revulsion of feeling, the -ringleaders Percennius and Vibulenus were killed, order was restored, -and Drusus returned to Rome. It was left to Tiberius and the Senate to -redress the grievances. - -The mutiny was a serious one, not so well organized as the simultaneous -mutiny on the Rhine, and not so ambitious in its aims; but the facts -as given us ascribe a strange childishness to the Roman legionary. The -story of the eclipse is hard to swallow, but there is other evidence -to the superstitious character of the legionary; his commanders owed -their authority largely to a certain religious awe with which they -were surrounded; the standards were worshipped, and the Roman soldier, -afraid of little else, was supremely afraid of breaking his military -oath. - -The mutiny on the Rhine was of a more serious character; not only was -the number of legions implicated far larger, more than double that -of the Pannonian legions, but the ambition of the mutineers was not -confined to obtaining a redress of grievances; they proposed to annex -the Empire. “The State is in our hands,” they said; “it is increased by -our victories; the Emperor takes his title from his armies.” A vision -of plundering Gaul, marching upon Rome, and setting up an Emperor of -their own, floated before the eyes of the ringleaders. On the Rhine, -as in Pannonia, the agitation was engineered by the recruits, chiefly -enfranchized slaves recently drawn from the capital. The men who -had fought under Drusus and Tiberius were hardly conscious of their -own grievances; military discipline had numbed their intelligence; -they knew of nothing else, and they were well content to exchange -the peaceful but laborious routine of the camp for the hardships of -campaigns among the forests and morasses of Germany, where the enemy -was less terrible than the gloom of primeval trees and the treachery -of bogs and estuaries. They were, however, only too willing to listen -when cleverer men than themselves told them they had grievances. The -fidelity of the most loyal troops and of the most trusted servants can -seldom long resist the voice of the tempter, who deplores the injustice -with which they are treated. The idlers of Rome, swept into the ranks -from the street corners and the open air amusements of the great city, -awoke from dreams of plunder and licence to the stern realities of the -centurion’s stick and the heavy fatigue of a Roman camp. They had no -fighting, but they had drill, and digging and building in plenty; few -of them had ever before done an honest stroke of work. To the veterans, -life on the frontier had become somewhat dull, and though they would -quickly have discovered the worthlessness of their new associates on -active service, they could not resist the fascinations of jokes and -stories and songs picked up from the professional buffoons of the Roman -theatres. - -There were two armies on the Rhine frontier: the Lower Army, under -Aulus Cæcina, quartered between the region of the Lippe and the -neighbourhood of Cologne, the Upper Army, under Silius, about the gorge -of the Rhine. The mutiny broke out in the Lower Army; the Upper Army -waited to see the result before moving on its own account. Germanicus, -as proconsul, was at the time conducting the census of Gaul in the -regions of the Meuse and Moselle. Fortunately, the lower army was -divided; it was composed of four legions, the twenty-first, the fifth, -the first, and the twentieth; the two former began the mutiny. Cæcina -was with them when it broke out. - -The scenes of the Pannonian mutiny were repeated. Centurions were -beaten and killed, Cæcina was powerless to interpose, and in fact -seems at first to have lost his head. He surrendered to the soldiers -a centurion who had taken refuge at his tribunal. Another centurion -at the same time fought his way through the mob; he was Cassius -Chærea, destined some twenty years later to rid Rome of Caligula. -Rejecting the authority of their officers, the mutineers took the whole -organization of the camp into their own hands; there was no suspension -of discipline, but perfect order, a fact which increased the gravity of -the situation as indicating a settled purpose and skilled ringleaders. - -Germanicus left his civil duties to repress the mutineers if possible. -He was received sullenly in the camp. Some of the men, seizing his hand -under the pretext of kissing it, pressed his fingers into their mouths -that he might feel the absence of their teeth; others pointed at their -limbs bent with old age. - -Germanicus on this occasion, as at the few other times when we get a -fair view of him, showed himself a man of courage, resource, and strict -uprightness. Before addressing the mutineers, he insisted that they -should group themselves in the customary divisions, company by company, -battalion by battalion, hoping thus to restore the habit of obedience, -but he was disappointed. His first question as to the causes of the -mutiny raised a storm. Men stripped to show the scars of wounds, the -weals raised by the centurions’ sticks; eager protests were shouted -against the prices paid for discharges, the smallness of the pay; the -different labours of the camp were mentioned in detail, the digging of -fortifications, the collection of fodder, timber, firewood. The most -serious outcry was that of the veterans demanding immediate discharge; -the immediate payment of the legacy of Augustus was also demanded, and -then voices were heard offering to follow Germanicus if he would claim -the Empire. - -Germanicus at once jumped from his seat and left the tribunal. The -soldiers endeavoured to force him back, whereupon he drew his sword and -threatened to drive it into his own heart; a wag of the camp offered -him his own sword with the observation that it was sharper. Germanicus -was hurried off by his friends into his tent, and a consultation was -held. Seeing that the fidelity of the Upper Army was insecure, the -danger was such that Germanicus decided to yield; a letter was drawn -up in the name of the Emperor granting a full discharge to men who had -served for twenty years; men who had served for sixteen years were to -be put on the reserve of “flagmen” for another four years; the legacy -of Augustus was to be paid and doubled. - -The soldiers demanded an immediate fulfilment of the terms of the -letter, and the tribunes at once set to work to draw up the discharges -in authorized form; the payment of the legacies was to be deferred till -the winter. This, however, did not satisfy the soldiers of the fifth -and twenty-first legions, who insisted on immediate payment, which was -met by the private resources of Germanicus and his friends. The first -and twentieth then asserted their own claims, and were marched back -to their quarters near Cologne, under Cæcina, carrying the treasure -chests of their commander-in-chief between the standards. Germanicus -then went to the upper army and renewed the military oath of the -second, thirteenth, and seventeenth legions without any opposition; the -fourteenth legion showed signs of wavering, and was at once offered the -discharges and the money. - -The beginnings of a mutiny among the “flagmen” who were settled on -the Lippe were summarily repressed by the prefect of the camp, who -illegally but wisely executed two of the ringleaders. - -Germanicus returned from the Upper Army to Cologne, where the recently -mutinous legions were quartered, and there received the deputation who -had arrived from Rome with the answer to his report. The soldiers, -without waiting to hear the message of the deputation, assumed that it -was unfavourable, and again broke out into mutiny; they attacked and -insulted Plancus, who had come from Rome at the head of the deputation, -and he was with difficulty rescued by Germanicus, and sent away under -an escort of Gallic cavalry. - -The advisers of Germanicus, possibly members of the deputation, then -accused him of too great leniency and of imprudence. It would have been -much better for him to have secured his personal safety and that of his -wife and child by remaining with the Upper Army, which was faithful; -and they urged him to send Agrippina and the boy to the Gauls at Trêves. - -Agrippina protested that she would not retire, the granddaughter of -Augustus was not going to run away from legionaries, she said. The -affectionate remonstrances of her husband, however, prevailed, and she -started; but when she was seen leaving the camp with an insignificant -escort, taking with her “Little Gaiters,” the pet of the soldiers, and -when it was understood that she was seeking shelter with foreigners, -the temper of the men suddenly changed; they stopped her flight, -they implored Germanicus to let her stay. He skilfully seized the -opportunity, and addressed them in words which were so successful in -reanimating their lost loyalty that he ventured in conclusion to bid -them, as a pledge of their renewed fidelity, to set apart the innocent -from the guilty, and vindicate their military honour. The revulsion -of feeling was so complete that a rough form of trial was at once -instituted. The commander of the first legion presided; each soldier -was placed before him on a platform in turn, and acquitted or condemned -to instant death by the shouts of his companions. - -Germanicus then wrote to Cæcina, who was further down the Rhine with -the other two mutinous legions, and said that he was coming to punish -them, unless they previously punished themselves. Cæcina communicated -the tenour of the letter privately to soldiers whom he trusted, and the -camp was purged of its delinquents before the arrival of Germanicus. -The method was rough, a somewhat indiscriminate massacre, but it was -effective. - -The troops, now anxious to clear themselves and to appease the spirits -of their slaughtered brethren by sending the enemy to join them in the -world of ghosts, were led across the Rhine, and a series of campaigns -kept them too fully occupied to mutiny for several years. - -Tiberius confirmed the concessions made by Germanicus, and granted -them to all the mutinous armies alike, both in Pannonia and on the -Rhine, but he adopted twenty years as the fixed period for service in -the future. Excessive length of service had probably been confined to -or felt as a grievance only in the armies in these comparatively wild -regions. There was no lack of recruits for service in Syria or parts of -the world where life was agreeable, and there was not the same wastage -in the settled parts of the Empire; but central Europe possessed no -attractions for the Roman soldier, and desperate expedients had been -necessary to keep up the strength of the legions. A mutiny was also -threatened in Spain, but it was nipped in the bud by the firmness and -tact of Marcus Lepidus, whom we know as one of the possible aspirants -to the Empire. - -The campaigns which followed extended over five years; they were in -every respect a repetition of previous campaigns in the same regions. -The Roman soldiers occasionally got into difficulties through ignorance -of the country, and especially of the tides; but, in spite of some -severe reverses, they more than held their own against the Germans; -these latter indeed began to quarrel among themselves. The differences -between Arminius and members of his family were taken advantage of by -Germanicus; further differences seemed likely to declare themselves -between Arminius and Maroboduus. Tiberius returned to his previous -policy. Germany had been sufficiently exhausted; the Rhine with a line -of outposts must be the frontier. Germanicus was recalled and given the -more coveted position of proconsul of the Eastern frontier. Drusus, the -son of Tiberius, took his place in Germany. - -The authorities consulted by Tacitus, among which are included the -memoirs of the younger Agrippina, who was born soon after the mutiny -somewhere near Cologne, ascribed the recall of Germanicus to the -jealousy of Tiberius. The inconsistency which is involved in giving -larger powers and greater responsibility to a dangerous rival does -not strike them. There was every precedent for dreading the influence -of high official position in the East upon the mind of an ambitious -proconsul. Sulla had marched upon Rome from the East; the power of -Pompeius was founded upon his victories over Mithridates and the -pirates; Antonius had been tempted by his power in the East to grasp -at universal dominion; even the young Caius Cæsar had succumbed to -Oriental fascinations. Had Tiberius really been in dread of Germanicus, -he would have kept him in comparative insignificance at Rome; he -certainly would not have put the wealth, the resources, and the armies -of the East at his disposal. - -It was, however, exceedingly desirable to get Agrippina away from the -armies on the Rhine, and Germanicus himself at the time of the mutiny -seems already to have had misgivings as to her influence, for when the -soldiers demanded that she and Caligula should return to the camp, he -granted their demand so far as the boy was concerned, but found an -excuse of an interesting and domestic nature for removing his wife to -a distance. She did not return to the army till the mutiny was finally -suppressed, but before the expected event had happened. Even Tacitus -admits on more than one occasion that Agrippina was a lady of somewhat -excitable temperament, and the virtues to which she laid ostentatious -claim, and which were universally ascribed to her, are not incompatible -with a restless ambition. She was a devoted wife, and even as a widow -maintained a reputation for “impenetrable” chastity. She was the very -pink and pattern of Roman matrons, but there was nothing in this to -prevent her from attempting to push the fortunes of her husband and -children in ways of which the former disapproved. In the last year of -the Rhine campaigns of Germanicus she temporarily took command during -her husband’s absence. Owing to a reverse which had just been sustained -the authorities at headquarters proposed to destroy the bridge across -the Rhine, a measure which would have cut off the retreat of the -Roman legions as effectively as it would have prevented an invasion -of Germans. Agrippina resisted this pusillanimous counsel; she did -more, she took up her position at the end of the bridge and praised -and thanked the legions as they returned. Nobody can fail to admire -the womanly kindness which impelled her to clothe the ragged soldiers -and poultice the wounded, but we may pardon Tiberius for complaining -that she had forgotten her position when she inspected the companies -and stood by the standards, and for seeing something more than an -exaggerated maternal pride in the dress of Caligula and the wish that -he should be called Cæsar, a something more than mere kindness in her -freehanded gifts to the private soldiers. - -Agrippina was not an intriguer, she was too boisterous, too -self-confident for intrigue; but she was none the less dangerous: a -woman of rights, conjugal rights, maternal rights, ancestral rights; an -injured woman, the daughter of an injured mother, a woman whose virtues -it is pleasantest to contemplate when exhibited in the bosom of another -man’s family. Tiberius did not take her sufficiently seriously; on the -whole he seems to have been amused by her, only taking action when -action was imperatively necessary. He did not take sufficiently into -account the power for mischief which a good-hearted wrong-headed woman -of this description may become when her grievances have been taken up -by others, and when more subtle intriguers have seen in her a useful -tool. - -It was soon after this exhibition of amazonian propensities that -Germanicus was recalled, and doubtless with his own consent. The -sequel indicates that his health had suffered in the arduous campaigns -on the frontier, and he probably welcomed the exchange to a warmer -climate. Tiberius, in recalling him, said that some opportunity of -conquest must be left for Drusus, a remark which has been interpreted -as an indication of jealousy on Drusus’ behalf; but it can also be -interpreted as a humorous compliment to Germanicus himself. There was -no occasion to remind him of the claims of Drusus, for the two cousins -were united by a strong friendship, as we are informed by the same -authorities who envelop us in an atmosphere of hatred, jealousy, envy, -and malice. - -The political importance of the mutiny on the Rhine was very great; -it showed that fifty years of settled government had not done away -with the military danger, and that the civil government was still -at the mercy of the armies. Tiberius was less than ever inclined to -reverse the policy of Augustus, and extend the State at the expense of -exaggerating the importance of the soldiers, more than ever disposed to -employ diplomacy rather than force. We shall find him as time goes on -almost as averse to war as the great Elizabeth, and equally in danger -of pursuing peaceful methods too long. He also found it necessary to -revise his conception of the possible Imperial constitution, and to -accept the hereditary principle as inevitable. The Emperor was not to -be above and outside the State; he was to be hereditary stadtholder; -but to this extent the dynastic tendency must be accepted, and not the -least of the responsibilities of the reigning Emperor was to be the -provision for an orderly succession and a capable successor. Hence -we shall find Tiberius following the example of Augustus in training -members of his family for the burden of public duty, and in ensuring -the order of precedence by successive adoptions. It was solely owing -to the loyalty and fine ambition of Germanicus that the mutiny had not -resulted in a civil war. - -In theory hereditary succession to official responsibilities is -demonstrably absurd, but in practice there is nothing so satisfactory -as a dynasty. The mutual jealousies and intrigues of aspirants are far -more dangerous to a State than the incompetence of the temporary ruler, -and the qualification of birth, though theoretically ridiculous, has -the merit of being a qualification that everybody can understand. In -the states imagined by philosophers and radical politicians the eminent -virtues of eminent men are always so conspicuous that meritorious -“Amurath to Amurath succeeds” by the will of the people without break -or intermission and in obedience to a law of nature, for, given fair -play, the capable and trustworthy men must always find themselves -at the top of the society which is blessed with their presence; but -in the states which unlearned men know of there is no agreement of -opinion as to what constitutes capacity or trustworthiness or political -virtue, and in a general scramble for power the least scrupulous has -at least an equal chance with the most virtuous. The dynast is in fact -a social necessity, and the larger the area of the State which is -governed in his name, the more necessary his existence. Society is most -secure when the highest position is reserved for those who possess an -indisputable qualification. Men may argue about the particular compound -of meritorious characteristics which they wish to see exemplified in -their ruler, and in the search for the perfect man find anarchy, but -the qualification of birth is not a thing exposed to many varieties of -opinion. Better on the whole the incapable or the overcapable dynast -than an uncertain successor. - -Tiberius, by modifying his prejudices on the dynastic question, averted -a catastrophe, which fell upon the Roman Empire as soon as the line -of the Cæsars was extinguished in the person of Nero. Then the armies -of Spain set up one Emperor, and the armies of Gaul another, and the -armies of Syria a third; for two years a reversion to anarchy seemed -inevitable. The perpetual intrigues of jealous ladies ambitious -for their sons or husbands did not contribute to the pleasures of -existence in the Imperial households, but they were less evil than the -disruption of the Empire or the emergence of military adventurers. -Tiberius sacrificed his domestic comfort to the interests of the -State; he did not know that he was at the same time sacrificing his -posthumous reputation; he did not divine the existence of the memoirs -of Agrippina. - - - - -XIII - -Tacitus and Tiberius - - -To tell the story of the reign of Tiberius by minutely tracking -Tacitus through his manifold inconsistencies and clever insinuations, -though entertaining to the investigator, would prove wearisome to the -reader; but a somewhat careful examination of the Emperor’s methods of -Government during the first year of his administration will spare us -lengthy explanations in dealing with subsequent events. - -Tacitus and Suetonius alike seem to have collected their information -from three chief sources, private memoirs, popular rumours, in which -are to be included pasquinades and the topical songs of actors, -and the official record of the transactions of the Senate. The -first two sources of information are obviously not of a trustworthy -character; memoirs are not to be relied on even in these days of rapid -transmission of news and wide publicity. An historian who should essay -to compile the biography of a public man of today, even from the daily -and weekly journals which are filled with personal gossip about those -upon whom the attention of the public is fixed, would find such a -mass of contradictions to deal with that he would abandon his task in -despair; and yet the matter thus afforded to his inspection is day by -day subject to correction. Memoirs written by an irresponsible person -in his private study are even more likely to contain perversions of -fact, to omit, to exaggerate, to represent exclusively the personal -bias of the writer. - -It is hardly necessary to add that loose anecdotes and the buffooneries -of actors do not constitute evidence; it is, indeed, difficult to -understand how Suetonius, a presumably grave schoolmaster, could quote -snatches of popular songs as serious history, and repeat the filthy -gossip of the Roman streets. - -But the evidence of public documents such as the record of the -transactions of the Senate is unimpeachable; and this evidence, -whenever Tacitus gives it us, is invariably such as to compel us to -believe that Tiberius was a wise and moderate ruler. - -So overwhelming is this evidence, that the very creators of the -monstrous figure, which passes for that of Tiberius, had serious -misgivings; whenever they examined the public records, they found -the lustful, rapacious, bloodthirsty tyrant of their imaginations -acting on the strictest lines of constitutional government. How -were they to reconcile their creation with acknowledged and indeed -indisputable facts? It seemed to them that there was a simple way out -of the difficulty, namely, to ascribe to the monster the yet further -monstrosity of deep dissimulation. The fascination of the style of -Tacitus is such that this astounding solution of the difficulty has -been all but universally accepted; but even if we accept it, we have -to ask ourselves whether profound dissimulation of this kind is not a -quality to be desired in a ruler rather than the reverse; whether in -fact the general sum of wickedness in the world would not be diminished -almost to vanishing point, were we to accept as a rule of life the duty -of acting virtuously from motives of profound dissimulation up to the -age of seventy, in order that we may enjoy unbridled licentiousness and -cruelty for the remainder of our lives. This is the practical result -of believing that Tiberius never did a good action except from motives -of profound dissimulation. We shall find ourselves, when we come to -the events of the year A.D. 30, faced with an insoluble problem, which -even the discovery of the missing book of Tacitus might fail to clear -for us; but the only solution of that problem which has as yet been -offered to us is contrary to the known laws of human nature. Men do not -of forethought and design practise virtue for seventy years in order -that they may indulge in vice at a time of life when they are oftenest -incapable of taking exercise except in a bath-chair. - -The fable of the dissimulation of Tiberius grew out of two facts, his -naturally reserved nature, and the mysterious tragedy which clouded the -last seven years of his life. Of the nature of that tragedy, and of the -question whether he was not more sinned against than sinning, it will -be more convenient to speak when we reach it in the order of events; -but of the personal characteristics which tempted men to ascribe to -him numerous unamiable qualities, and which gave credence to the cruel -insinuations of his private enemies, it is not inconvenient to speak at -the present moment. - -The silent man is always terrible, and Tiberius was a silent man; even -when he spoke, he spoke slowly; his prepared speeches were uttered -with deliberation, and it was not always easy to follow their meaning; -he was in fact apt to speak above the heads of his audience, and to -ascribe to them knowledge and trains of thought which they did not -share with himself. His obscurity was the more alarming because it -seemed to be premeditated, for when he was unexpectedly stirred by -some strong emotion, his words were rapid enough and clear enough and -incisive enough to make such of his hearers as had reason to dread -his displeasure feel very uncomfortable. Given time for preparation, -he studied the statesman’s art of non-committal oratory; he felt his -responsibilities, and was so anxious to avoid injudicious expressions -as to be sometimes unintelligible. The contrast between this -studied reticence and his occasional vigorous invective, or biting -sarcasm, was so marked as to suggest perpetually smouldering fires. -Sometimes his sense of humour tempted him to an unseemly display, -as when the citizens of Troy sent a belated deputation to condole -with him on the death of his son, and he returned the compliment by -expressing his sympathy with their grief at the loss of an eminent -fellow-citizen--Hector. He was contemptuous of the arts by which -popularity is gained; conscious of rectitude of purpose, and of a -generally benevolent temper towards his immediate attendants and the -people of Rome, he never pretended to take pleasure in things for -which he had no taste in order to win favour. Simple in his tastes, -inexpensive in his pleasures, he reserved his money for great -emergencies, and forbore to squander it upon those sumptuous shows in -which the Roman crowds delighted. It was this severity of temperament -in Tiberius which Augustus endeavoured unsuccessfully to modify, -himself a man naturally disposed to bask in the popular favour and -genuinely enjoying the lighter side of life. We shall have to record -pleasing instances of the benevolent and wise liberality of Tiberius -on occasions of great distress, but the common herd is more ready to -bestow its affections upon those who share its everyday amusements -than upon those who provide relief for its exceptional tribulations; -indeed, the man who abstains from the pleasures of others, inevitably, -though unwillingly and unconsciously, assumes the position of a censor -of morals, for the man who cannot enjoy with others is often unjustly -credited, even in private life, with a veiled contempt for the lovers -of innocent diversions. Again, seeing events from a point of view which -commanded a large horizon, Tiberius did not feel the sting of words or -actions which appeared to less large natures necessarily unendurable, -and when he forbore to express resentment his silence was construed -as an indication not of indifference, but of politic self-restraint. -Men do not readily inflict humiliation on themselves by imputing to an -enemy unconsciousness of their malice or contempt for its smallness; -it is more satisfactory to believe that the wound has been felt, and -that the victim is brooding over his revenge. The reserve of Tiberius -was the more imposing because his personal appearance was in itself -awe-inspiring; the tall, gaunt old man, with his large eyes, his -thin lips, his bush of hair, his stooping shoulders, and, as his age -increased, his fiery complexion, was a figure calculated to inspire -terror, when the revelation of some unexpected meanness, some more than -ordinarily unjust interpretation of his actions called forth one of -those rare bursts of passion and scorching vituperation. But a man may -thus terrify without possessing any propensity to cruelty; mere native -superiority is terrifying, and the more so when its possessor is one -whose powers are vague and believed to be unlimited. - -Tiberius is not the only statesman who has underestimated the -damaging effects of unpopularity; within certain limits a statesman -cannot afford to be unpopular, and impairs his own usefulness if he -raises an irrational prejudice against himself. There are times and -occasions when it is the duty of a statesman to face public opinion, -and to persist in an unpopular policy, but it is never the duty of -a statesman to excite personal animosity; in so far as a public man -stirs unnecessary animosities he is a failure, for it is only a rare -combination of circumstances that reveals to a community the real worth -of a man who has the unfortunate knack of making himself disliked. On -the other hand, the worthlessness of many a man who has achieved great -popularity by the unconscious flattery of the weaknesses of his fellow -citizens, has often escaped notice, because the events by which alone -he could be tested never happened to occur in his lifetime, or during -his tenure of power. - -Conscious of the strictest rectitude of purpose, contemptuous of the -judgment of the crowd, equally contemptuous of the small aims and -narrow outlook of even the more cultivated Roman Senators, shrewd, -practical and intellectual, but not emotional or sentimental, impatient -of weakness, intolerant of smallness, Tiberius was not a man to attract -sympathy, or to be appreciated beyond the narrow circle of a few -intimates, who understood his real aspirations. Augustus was a less -noble man and a less intellectual man, but he was able to do work that -Tiberius could never have done, because he was more in touch with the -men through whom he had to work; where Augustus was guided by a subtle -and unconscious sympathy, Tiberius practised the lessons drawn from -observation and reason. The result was in most cases the same, but with -this difference, that Tiberius ignored those things which are incapable -of rational analysis and mathematical expression, Augustus understood -them; while Tiberius refused to allow altars to be built in his honour, -his sturdy common sense not permitting him to see anything supernatural -in his position, Augustus, with a truer instinct, allowed himself to be -canonized in his lifetime. Tiberius offended a popular sentiment by his -rejection of divine honours; Augustus by his acceptance added not only -to his own security, but to the strength of the Empire. - -An examination of the political transactions of Tiberius for the year -15 A.D., and of the account which Tacitus gives of them, forms at once -a good introduction to the study of subsequent events, and sets in a -clear light the policy of the Emperor, the tendencies of the Senate, -and the character of the impartiality claimed for himself by the -historian. - -Augustus had been dead for four months when the Senate met on the first -of January to exchange compliments with the Emperor, and to inaugurate -the policy of the coming year; the formal business of installing the -officials in their chairs was gone through on this occasion, and all -the ceremonies handed down from the Republican times were scrupulously -observed. - -In addition to the routine business, the Senate offered a compliment -to Tiberius; they wished him to accept and adopt permanently the title -of “Father of his Country,” which they had given to Augustus. Tiberius -refused it. Suetonius has preserved a few lines of the speech in which -he intimated his refusal: “If, however, you shall at any time find -reason to mistrust my character, or my devotion to yourselves--and I -pray heaven that death may save me from such a change in your opinion -of me before it comes to pass--this title will add nothing to my fame, -while it will convict you either of precipitation in conferring it -upon me now, or of levity in forming a contrary opinion hereafter.” -The concluding sentence suggests a possible touch of irony, but it -does not give any ground for the assumption that Tiberius foresaw his -own unpopularity, or was conscious of being unworthy of the honour, -as is suggested by Suetonius. Tiberius despised the empty compliment; -possibly he was irritated by the offer, but the tyrant who would think -it worth his while to deprecate a compliment of this kind, because he -was conscious of his unworthiness, or deliberately proposed to make -himself unworthy, is rare in the annals of tyranny. - -The Senate then wished to proceed to a ceremony which was not merely -ceremonial, but of deep political significance. Cæsar during his -short reign had prevailed on the Senate to take an oath individually -that they would ratify all his transactions. It was by virtue of -this proceeding that Antonius made his snatch at supreme power. -After the murder of the Dictator the Senate was still pledged to the -ratification of his acts, and Antonius being in possession of the -papers of Cæsar was able to produce Cæsar’s authority for whatever -measures he wished to carry and whatever appointments he wished to -make. Augustus had reintroduced the same system, and it had been the -custom during his reign to renew the oath on the first day of each -official year. The Senate’s position was thus reduced from that of a -legislative and executive body to that of a purely consultative body; -the forms of voting, the forms of the appointment of magistrates might -be maintained, senators might be free to express their opinions on -questions of policy, or to raise questions and direct the attention of -the Emperor to matters requiring his attention, but they were pledged -in advance to accept his decision. It is a work of supererogation to -enumerate the different magistracies which were combined in the one -person of the Emperor, for so long as the Senators took this oath, he -was above all magistracies; no power was left to the Senate except -that of formally ratifying his decrees. Much the same effect has -been secured in English politics by the stringent rules of party -Government: members of Parliament do not take an oath to register the -decrees of the leaders or leader of their party, but the practical -result is the same; whatever may be said in the House of Commons, -however violent the debates, the conclusion is foregone, so soon as the -Government of the day has declared its intentions; practically no Bill -can be introduced without its consent, no discussion held except with -its connivance; the majority is pledged to vote as its leaders direct, -and the march into the division lobbies is a tedious and superfluous -ceremony, an antiquated and exasperating formality. Political purists -may deplore such a state of things, but as a practical expedient it is -supremely useful. No country was ever yet governed by an undisciplined -debating society; the form of discipline may vary, but the discipline -must be there. - -Tiberius, however, wished to be a constitutional ruler, and to restore -to the Senate its independence; he refused to allow it to swear in -advance to ratify his transactions. Here again we have a few lines -of his speech: “I shall always be like myself, and I shall never -change my character so long as I am of sound mind; but for the sake of -the precedent the Senate must be cautious not to bind itself to the -transactions of any being who might be changed by some misadventure.” - -The comment of Tacitus is simply: “He did not, however, gain credit -for a constitutional policy in this way. For he had revived the ‘Lex -Majestatis,’ etc., etc.” - -Deferring for a moment the consideration of the “Lex Majestatis,” which -was the special bugbear of Tacitus, we may remark that either he did -not realize the significance of the act by which Tiberius formally -emancipated the Senate from his own control, in which case we attach -little value to his opinions as a constitutional historian, or that -he did see, but preferred to ignore, in which case we may dismiss his -claim for impartiality. It is quite possible that he states correctly -the opinion of some contemporaries of Tiberius, who frequently -misunderstood a moderation for which they were not prepared, and who -had so long acquiesced in the policy of Augustus that any other was -beyond their comprehension; but Tacitus was not bound to a similar -dullness, and still less are we bound to share his blindness. The act -was one of the first political importance, and no modern historian -would dismiss a similar action of a prominent statesman with a comment -of seven words. We shall see that in this as in other similar measures, -Tiberius was unsuccessful in his attempt to restore the Senatorial -Government, but we cannot without gross injustice refuse him credit for -making the attempt. - -The next statement, “For he had revived the ‘Lex Majestatis,’ etc.,” -is simply a lie, for the words would naturally be held to imply that -the law in question had fallen into abeyance, and was now recalled -to activity. Tacitus himself tells us in the very next sentence, -that Augustus had extended the application of this law from deeds to -libellous writings; nor was the “revival” of this application anything -that we should understand as a revival. The Prætors, on entering -office each year, made an official announcement of the sense in which -they proposed to interpret the laws during their term of office, and -of any modifications which were to be introduced in their procedure. -Pompeius Macro, who was one of the Prætors for the year A.D. 15, asked -Tiberius whether cases under the “Lex Majestatis” were to be heard. -Tiberius replied that the laws must be enforced; he neither made a new -law nor revived an old one, nor announced a fresh interpretation of a -previous law; he simply announced that the previous practice should be -continued, and this in the customary routine of business; it was the -duty of Macro the Prætor, not of Tiberius the Princeps, to announce -any proposed change in procedure. Tacitus may be right in assuming -that it was in the power of Tiberius at this moment to take the sting -out of the actions under the “Lex Majestatis,” and that he would have -been wise in doing so, but he has totally misrepresented the facts in -stating that Tiberius revived the operation of this law. - -The history of the “Lex Majestatis” is not absolutely clear, but it -is certain that comparatively early in the Republican period the -laws provided for the punishment of a Roman citizen who by his acts -diminished the majesty of the Republic: cowardice in the field, -premature surrender, dishonourable breaches of faith by which the -dignity of the State was impaired, were deeds punishable under this -law. Its operation was extended under Augustus to words and actions -tending to lower the dignity of private citizens and of the head of the -State in whom the majesty of the Republic was centred and personified; -to publish disrespectful or libellous statements about the Emperor, -to plot against his life, to acquiesce in depreciatory criticism of -his actions, were all things which could be brought under the “Lex -Majestatis”; it dealt with treason, constructive treason, and ordinary -libel. The penalties were severe, but the peculiar aggravation lay in -the fact that the informer was rewarded. Similar laws are not unknown -to modern States, and are not held to be necessarily detrimental to the -body politic; at the same time, they are capable of being abused, and -under the rule of Caligula, Nero and Domitian, the “Lex Majestatis” -proved to be an engine of tyranny; informers drove a profitable trade, -and the confiscations made under the law proved a source of revenue -to these spendthrift princes. There is, however, no evidence that the -grievance had been felt in the reign of Augustus, and Tiberius is -hardly to be blamed for not annulling ancient legislation within six -months of his accession, which had as yet caused little inconvenience. -If there had been abuses, the remedy lay in the administration rather -than in the repeal of the law. - -Tacitus had at his disposal the whole body of the transactions of the -Senate; if a good case was to be made out against the manner in which -the “Lex Majestatis” was worked under Tiberius, all the material was -before him; had there been serious abuses, the evidence was accessible. -He, however, produces only three cases in the year 15 A.D., which he -introduces with the following flourish: “It will be worth while to -relate the charges which it was endeavoured to bring against Falanius -and Rubrius, equestrians of no particular distinction, so that it may -be seen from what beginnings this deadly bane started, with what artful -management on the part of Tiberius it crept on, was then repressed, -lastly blazed up, and carried everything before it.” Falanius was -accused on two charges: he had enrolled a notoriously disreputable -actor among the worshippers of Augustus; he had sold a statue of -Augustus along with the garden in which it stood. Rubrius was accused -of perjury after swearing by the name of Augustus. The charges were -dismissed. Tiberius said that Cassius the actor had been included by -Livia herself among the actors appointed to give a performance in -honour of Augustus; that there was no reason for distinguishing between -a statue of Augustus and statues of other gods, which were habitually -included in the sale of houses and gardens; that Augustus had not -been deified in order that his worship should lead to the ruin of the -citizens; and as to oaths taken in his name, they must be treated -like oaths taken in the name of Jupiter. He added with characteristic -irony: “The gods can protect their own dignity.” These remarks -contained in a letter addressed to the Consuls, as soon as the facts -came to the Emperor’s ears, stopped the prosecution. The accusers were -foolish enough, but it is not easy to see where Tiberius is guilty of -encouraging informers in these cases. - -The third case was more complicated. Granius Marcellus, the Governor -of Bithynia, was accused by two different men at once of two different -crimes: his subordinate, Cæpio Crispinus, charged him with extortion -in the government of his province; Hispo, a professional informer, -according to Tacitus, accused him of defamation of the character of -Tiberius, of placing his own statue higher than that of the Cæsars, -of cutting the head off a statue of Augustus and replacing it by one -of Tiberius. Marcellus was acquitted of the charges brought by Hispo, -which came under the “Lex Majestatis”; the charge of extortion was -referred to the court appointed to hear such causes. Here again there -is absolutely no evidence that Tiberius was inclined to press charges -under the “Lex Majestatis”; the evidence is all in the contrary -direction, but Tacitus, with an absolutely diabolical ingenuity, -contrives to give his story the necessary twist. “Hispo pretended that -Marcellus had made libellous speeches about Tiberius, a charge which -it was impossible to escape, since the accuser picked out all the most -abominable things in the character of the Emperor, and imputed the -statement of them to the defendant. For because they were true charges -they were believed to have been uttered.” And yet it was precisely on -these charges that the man was acquitted. Tacitus, however, succeeded -in stating that Tiberius was a man of abominable moral character, that -everybody knew it, and in further suggesting that the statements were -made in a court of justice with the acquiescence of the audience. It -is not likely that the speech of Hispo was preserved, even if the -case went so far as to allow him to make one, but the influence of -the senatorial record in favour of Tiberius had to be dispelled, and -is cleverly dispelled by the suggestion that the calumnies against -Tiberius received a quasi-official sanction in the law court; if they -were listened to, their truth was so obvious that nobody protested. -After recounting the points in Hispo’s indictment, Tacitus continues: -“Thereupon he (Tiberius) lost his temper to such an extent, that -breaking his usual silence he declared that he would give his opinion -on that case openly and on his oath, in order that the other senators -might be obliged to do the same.” Tacitus would like us to think that -the display of indignation was caused by the charge of defamation, but -there were two other and better reasons for wrath. In the first place, -extortionate proceedings in the provinces always stirred the wrath of -Tiberius; Bithynia was a Senatorial Province; the Senate were still -apt to deal leniently with one of their own order, and Tiberius may -have detected indications that they were likely to take this line; in -the second place, to couple a charge of extortion with a charge of -defamation of the Emperor was a bit of sharp practice; the informer -hoped to get his reward under the “Lex Majestatis,” because he believed -that the man would be condemned on the charge of extortion, and that -the prejudice thus created against him would secure his condemnation on -both charges. It was an abominable trick, and Tiberius saw through it. - -The conclusion of the narrative of Tacitus is no less ingenious; he -says: “There even then remained some traces of expiring liberty. -Therefore Gnæus Piso said, ‘In what place will you give your opinion, -Cæsar? If first, I shall have something to follow; if last, I am -afraid I may inadvertently differ from you.’ Thoroughly alarmed by -these words, and penitent because of the imprudence of his outburst, he -allowed the accused to be acquitted of the charges of ‘Majestas.’ The -case of extortion was referred to the assessors.” - -As these are the only three cases tried under the law of “Majestas” -in the first twelve months of the reign of Tiberius, we must admit -that he marched very slowly to that tragic wickedness to which Tacitus -refers, and by means of an art which is so artful, as to be to our eyes -absolutely invisible. - -It is further to be remembered that there was formal documentary -evidence of the charges, and of their subsequent dismissal, but no -evidence can have been forthcoming as to the Emperor’s burst of temper, -or the acquiescence of the audience in the supposed revelation of his -wickedness except tradition and private memoirs. The remark of Gnæus -Piso was to the point, but it is evidence of the weakness of the -Senate, not of the tyranny of Tiberius. - -Tiberius having thus summarily quashed three cases under the “Lex -Majestatis,” and sent a senatorial oppressor of a province to be dealt -with by the constitutional court, may have offended those surviving -heirs of the old senatorial tradition to whom the restoration of -the Senate implied the restoration of the abuses of the senatorial -administration, but he had done nothing tyrannical. The narrative -of Tacitus proceeds, however, as if Tiberius had waded knee deep in -blood, and triumphed in the perversion of justice: “Not satiated with -the processes in the Senate he used to attend the courts, sitting -at the end of the tribunal, in order not to remove the Prætor from -his official seat.” There is no question about the fact; Augustus -used in the same unofficial fashion to attend the courts and watch -the administration of justice, acting in this respect like any other -Senator, but the skilful use of the words “not satiated” gives a -sinister significance to an innocent statement. - -The administration of justice was not above suspicion in the Roman -Law Courts, and the presence of Tiberius among the jury secured a -fair hearing. As Tacitus himself says, “Many decisions were given in -his presence contrary to the bribes and solicitations of influential -men,” and then follows the customary Tacitean comment, “But while the -interests of truth were being looked after liberty was corrupted.” -If liberty means the sacred right of senatorial juries and powerful -men to secure maladministration of justice by means of bribes and -private influence, we can hardly blame Tiberius for “corrupting” such -liberty, and may be excused for not seeing any excessive adulation in -the remarks which Paterculus makes in reference to the same procedure, -“Confidence in the Courts of Law was restored.” “With what dignity does -he (Tiberius) attentively listen to cases as a senator and juryman, not -as Princeps and Cæsar!” - -By insisting on an impartial administration of justice, Tiberius made -enemies among those who were interested in the contrary practice, -and there is no doubt that many a senator relieved his feelings by -recording instances of such tyranny in his private diary. It is all -a question of point of view; our point of view does not allow us to -stigmatize a man as a tyrant who steadily worked for the purity of the -law courts. - -The next recorded transaction in the Senate was of a different nature; -the excessive weight of a road and aqueduct had caused a subsidence of -the foundations of a Senator’s house, and he had applied to the Senate -for compensation; the officials of the Treasury resisted the claim, -but Tiberius ordered the value of the house to be paid to the owner. -Then follows the inevitable comment: “For he was fond of distributing -money in honourable ways, a virtue which he long retained, when he was -abandoning all others.” Even this remark is, however, not sufficiently -damaging for Tacitus, and he carefully provides that his next statement -should be calculated to appeal to a well-known weakness. Propertius -Celer asked to be allowed to retire from the Senatorial Order on -account of insufficiency of means. Tiberius, on ascertaining that his -poverty was inherited, bestowed on him a million sestertii (about -£8,500). So far so good; no senator could object to this, but something -follows: “When others attempted to get the same relief he ordered them -to prove their case to the Senate, harsh even in those things which he -did in due form, through his excessive love of strict procedure. For -this reason the rest preferred silence and poverty to confession and -gratuities.” We shall have to record later on a particularly impudent -attempt on the part of an indigent Senator to extort money for the -relief of his necessities, and shall find that Tiberius had good -reason for insisting that men who claimed the assistance of the Senate -should give a full account of their means and of the causes of their -poverty; but it is easy to see that the severity of Tiberius would -not be popular with the Senate, and that a prejudice could be created -against him by giving an example of his strictness in this matter early -in his reign. Paterculus, more just than Tacitus, praises Tiberius for -the discrimination with which he assisted impoverished Senators. - -In the same year there were heavy floods in the Tiber; the lower -regions of the city were inundated, many buildings fell, many lives -were lost. Asinius Gallus, the second husband of Vipsania, moved that -the Sibylline books should be consulted. We are not surprised to hear -that Tiberius rejected the motion “on religious no less than practical -grounds.” It is an interesting illustration of the curious development -of the Italian intellect that these same men who could seriously -propose in their solemn assembly to consult the Roman Mother Shipton in -a case of this kind should form a bold engineering scheme for dealing -with the difficulty. It was suggested, after a committee had reported, -that the tributaries which brought the floods into the Tiber should be -diverted. The scheme was abandoned, as deputations from the inhabitants -of the valleys through which these rivers flowed pointed out that they -would suffer serious loss if it were carried out. There were also -religious obstacles; these rivers were worshipped, and Tiber himself -might object to the proposed diminution of his glorious stream. - -We then have a fragment of administration dismissed by Tacitus in -a couple of lines without comment. The provinces of Achaia and -Macedonia begged to be relieved of the expense of the Senatorial -Government and transferred to the Imperial provinces; both of these -provinces had suffered in consequence of the Pannonian war. The -Imperial administration was less expensive than that of the Senate, -not necessarily because the Senatorial Government was corrupt, but -because the honours paid to the Senatorial viceroys and their trains -were expensive; there was the difference between maintaining a court -and paying an official. Adverse comment was in this case impossible, -because when Tacitus was writing, the process of removing the -distinction between Senatorial and Imperial provinces was in progress. -Trajan would hardly have approved of a reactionary comment, such as -Tacitus might have been tempted to make. These provinces were restored -to the Senate by Claudius. - -This notice is followed by a statement and comment in the best Tacitean -style: “Drusus (the son of Tiberius) presided at the gladiatorial -shows which he had offered in the names of himself and his brother -Germanicus, although too easily pleased with cheap bloodshed, a thing -which was full of danger to the commonalty, and which his father -is said to have reproved. Different reasons were assigned for the -Emperor’s own absence from the shows; some said that he disliked a -crowd, others alleged his dismal nature and his fear of comparisons, -for Augustus had taken part in these events with affability. I should -be unwilling to believe that an opportunity was deliberately given to -his son of demonstrating his cruelty and exciting unpopularity, though -that was also said.” - -The connection of thought is not quite obvious, for if the gladiatorial -shows were popular, and they certainly were popular, how could Drusus -incur unpopularity by presiding? There is unhappily no evidence that -the populace of Rome ever objected to bloodshed in the arena, and the -president at these shows would be more likely to make himself disliked -by checking than by permitting or encouraging the slaughter. Nor -again is it easy to see the force of the phrase, “although too easily -pleased with cheap bloodshed,” unless there is a reference implied to -the pleasure which Drusus was said to have taken in the executions -of the mutineers in Pannonia, an inexpensive pleasure compared with -that afforded by the fights of trained gladiators; the word “although” -suggests that Drusus could get his bloodshed more cheaply than by -giving gladiatorial shows. - -Again, if Drusus was wrong in patronizing these shows, how could -Tiberius also be wrong in refusing to be present? As a matter of fact, -one of the many points in the character of Tiberius which commands our -respect is his aversion to the disgusting spectacles of all kinds in -which the Roman people delighted. But considerations of this kind did -not weigh with Tacitus; he was not interested in being consistent; -he found in the memoirs adverse interpretations of the conduct of -Tiberius, and he impartially repeated them, though they were in -contradiction with his previous condemnation of Drusus. - -A riot in the theatre was the next event of importance. We shall have -on a later occasion to discuss the position of the theatres at some -length. It is enough to record that on the present occasion opinions -were given in the Senate to the effect that the Prætors should be -allowed to flog actors. A tribune interposed his veto according to an -old constitutional practice, and was roundly abused by Asinius Gallus -for doing so. “Tiberius preserved silence, for he conceded to the -Senate such phantoms of liberty.” However, the veto of the tribune was -allowed, “because the sainted Augustus had once declared that actors -were exempt from the rods, and it was a matter of conscience with -Tiberius not to infringe his utterances.” The further proceedings in -the Senate on this occasion throw a curious light on the manners of the -time. It was decreed that Senators should not enter the houses of the -pantomimists, that the Equestrians should not attend them when they -went out, that they should not give performances except in the theatre, -and that the Prætors should have power to punish the extravagance of -the spectators with banishment. - -Then the Spaniards were allowed to build a temple to Augustus at -Tarragona, thus setting an example to all the provinces. The people of -Tarragona had not hitherto been fortunate in their worship of Augustus; -they had set up an altar to him in his lifetime, and soon afterwards -announced to him radiantly that a palm had grown from it. “It is easy -to see that you do not often sacrifice,” the old man had remarked. - -Petitions were presented against the tax of one per cent. on auctions. -Tiberius declared in an edict that the military chest depended on that -source of income, and added that the burden of the army was too great -for the State unless the soldiers served for twenty years; thus the -reduction to sixteen years demanded by the mutineers was set aside. - -The two concluding chapters of the first book of the _Annals_ are also -remarkable in their unfairness or want of perspicacity; and yet the -grievances suggested by them have been alluded to again and again by -historians of repute without criticism and as real grievances, for it -is the melancholy fate of most students of Tacitus to lose all sense of -consistency. - -“Poppæus Sabinus was continued in the governorship of Moesia, Achaia -and Macedonia being added to the province. This too was one of the -ways of Tiberius, to prolong the periods of office and to keep most of -the officials in command of the same armies or at the head of the same -jurisdictions to the ends of their lives. Various reasons are given. -Some said that through mere distaste for fresh exertion he treated -appointments once made as eternal, others that he was envious and -wanted few to enjoy power; some think that selections were a matter of -serious anxiety to him because he was cunning; he had little regard -for eminent virtues, and again he disliked vices; he feared danger to -himself from worthy men, public disgrace from bad men. At length he -went so far in this kind of dilatoriness that he assigned provinces to -some men, whom he did not intend to leave the city.” - -The frequent change of Governors, Generals, and other officials had -been the curse of the Republican Government. Again and again it had -been necessary, when serious work was to be done, to lengthen the -limited terms of office allowed by the old senatorial constitution; the -old arrangements had not been made in the interests of the provincials -or the administration of public business, but so that the members of -the oligarchy at Rome might share and share alike in the plunder of -the conquered countries, and that no single one of them should acquire -sufficient money or power to set himself above the laws. When the -old arrangements were rigorously carried out, no Roman Governor had -more than a transitory glance of the province which he occupied; he -himself and the train by which he was attended devoted their energies -to making as much as they could in the short time at their disposal; -the evil had been pointed out again and again; and as Tacitus has -himself told us, the burden even of the reformed senatorial government -was such that two impoverished provinces begged to be relieved of it. -The policy of Tiberius was the only sound one for the provinces, and -the sole objection to it was an objection which he, if he had been -a suspicious ruler, might have felt to be a strong one. There was a -danger that the men who stayed in their provinces long enough to feel -their strength might be tempted to set up an independent government. -This danger Tiberius preferred to risk, and that he did so acquits him -of the charge conveyed in the insinuation that he was jealous of the -enjoyment of power by a number of persons. Eventually, as we shall see -later on, he made the Governors of provinces Secretaries of State for -the countries which they governed; they did not leave Rome, but were -the channels through which the business of the provinces was conducted -at Rome. The language which Tacitus here uses is not the language of an -experienced official working under Trajan with the records of a century -of the Empire behind him, but the language of a reactionary of the -reign of Tiberius. The breed of Romans who could see nothing in greater -Rome but a field for plundering in the name of governing never quite -died out; even in Trajan’s reign there were probably more aspirants -than offices, and many discontented men, who thought that there were -not sufficient opportunities of promotion. Tiberius certainly was -careful in his selection of the great officials, but his caution was -in the interests of the unhappy provincials. There were doubtless many -noble Romans in his day who believed themselves to be possessed of the -eminent virtues necessary to a provincial governor, but who somehow -failed to secure promotion. - -Tacitus on this occasion, as on many others, skilfully substitutes -contemporary comment for contemporary evidence. All that he really -tells us is that some of the contemporaries of Tiberius disliked his -policy; what he wishes to tell us is that the government of Tiberius -was radically bad, and that his contemporaries were right in saying so. - -The last chapter deals with the elections of the Consuls, a subject -which Tacitus professes to find obscure. The reality of election by the -Comitia Centuriata had already been abolished; it had become a mere -form, and nobody noticed its abolition; Augustus practically appointed -the Consuls; Tiberius seems to have wished the Senate to elect them, -but found that there were practical difficulties. After mentioning -various ways in which Tiberius secured the election of his own -candidates, Tacitus says: “Generally he discoursed to the effect that -those men only were candidates whose names he had given to the Consuls, -but that others were at liberty to stand if they had confidence in -their own influence or deserts. This was plausible enough in words, -but meaningless or insidious in fact, and the more it was involved in -the appearance of liberty, likely to break out into the more deadly -slavery.” - -This imposing malediction ends the book. As a matter of fact the -Consular Office was by this time purely ornamental. - - - - -XIV - -The Case of Scribonius Libo - - -Enough has been said in the previous chapter to show the bias under -which Tacitus wrote, and the dexterity with which he substituted -inferences and insinuations for evidence. It must, however, be conceded -to Tacitus that the operation of the “Lex Majestatis” was attended by -many and serious evils; for those evils Tiberius and the men of his -time were not responsible. The period was one of transition in most -departments of social organization, and especially in all matters -connected with the administration of justice. Under the Republic every -head of a great family was in theory, and even in practice, a skilled -lawyer; there was no legal profession. The Prætors who presided in the -law courts were not specially trained judges; any Senator might become -a Prætor, and preside in one of the law courts for his year of office; -similarly any Senator might be called upon to take his place as a -juryman, and give his verdict after listening to the evidence and the -speeches of counsel. In course of time the Equestrian Order shared this -duty with Senators. - -Similarly there was no such thing as a professional advocate; every -Senator was bound to plead on behalf of his own clients, and no -Senator could recover fees as an advocate; indeed, advocates were -strictly forbidden to ask for fees. The relation between the advocate -and his client was held to be a personal one, not professional. The -word client still in use reminds us of this relation; we have lost -the corresponding word “patron,” which Tacitus and Suetonius employ -precisely in the technical sense of advocate. Such a system could -not be maintained under the increased complexity of life caused by -the expansion of Rome, and the professional advocate was inevitably -evolved; “patrons” who were noticeably successful in winning their -cases naturally attracted “clients”; and hence we have even in the -Republican period men occupying positions not easily distinguishable -from those of our own barristers, and in virtue of various legal -fictions actually making large fortunes by the exercise of their -profession. Cicero and Hortensius were eminent examples of the -non-professional and yet professional advocate. - -The fact that there was no organized and officially recognized body of -men to plead in the law courts caused little inconvenience in private -cases. A man who defended the interests of a friend, or brought an -action in his name, was not in an invidious position, even though -by well known evasions of the law he received a consideration for -his friendly services. Again so long as the senatorial constitution -existed, the prosecution of offenders against the State was an -honourable public duty, and young men took their first step in a -political career by conducting a State prosecution or defending the -delinquent. Such prosecutions were political rather than legal; -they were episodes in a never-ending party struggle; they resembled -the impeachments and attainders of our own parliamentary history. -The introduction of the monarch into the Roman Constitution created -a state of affairs for which the Constitution had not provided; the -position of the head of the Government was not defined; it was only -gradually and by a slow process of development that his person and his -good name were protected from attack. We do not possess the text of -the Julian laws passed in the reign of Augustus, whose object was in -part to protect the first person in the State, and to make offences -against his person and reputation offences against the majesty of the -State; but we know enough of their nature to be certain that Augustus -with all his wisdom found an unhappy solution of a real difficulty. -The Roman Republic was not provided with a Public Prosecutor, nor with -law officers of the Crown, nor could Augustus be provided with such -protectors; he could neither through his agents nor in person bring -actions against offenders under the “Lex Majestatis,” for in such a -case the verdict was a foregone conclusion. In order, therefore, that -such cases should be spontaneously brought before the courts, it was -enacted that the prosecutor, if successful, should receive all or part -of the fine. Men were thus tempted not only to get up cases, but to -provide that the evidence should lead to a confiscation of the goods -of the defendant; the greater the penalty, the greater the reward -of the prosecutor. Speculations in promoting conspiracy and then -informing were the natural result. It is easy at this distance of time -to condemn the system, and easier still to forget the long growth of -habits and prescriptions which have rendered trials for treason and -constructive treason and for libelling the Sovereign almost obsolete in -our own country. In our happy ignorance of the conditions which made -such processes possible and necessary we may be tempted to ask with -surprise why Tiberius, if he were really a wise and moderate man, did -not abolish or amend the “Lex Majestatis.” The hostile writers Tacitus -and Suetonius tell us repeatedly that Tiberius never made use of this -law, or of any law, as a means of filling his treasury. The examples of -prosecutions under this law given by Tacitus almost without exception, -and invariably up to A.D. 30, show Tiberius moderating the zeal of the -prosecutors, and lightening the sentences pronounced by the Senate; -in fact, the abuses of the law are perpetrated by the prosecutors and -the Senate, not by Tiberius; and the Emperor may reasonably have held -that as it was always in his power to check the abuses of the law, -its amendment, a matter of great difficulty, might be left to time, -and that in accordance with Roman custom the desired result would be -achieved better by an accumulation of precedents than by a formal -enactment. - -The case of Scribonius Libo is interesting, less as affecting the -character of Tiberius than as throwing a light upon the manners of the -time. Tacitus does not provide us with the formal indictment, nor with -the evidence; he is pleased to think that the case affords a remarkable -illustration of the horrors of the “Lex Majestatis,” and omits or -insinuates at discretion. The case as represented by him seems to have -been rather trivial, and more trivial to us than to the Romans of -that time, because we no longer believe, or believe that we no longer -believe in magic. - -Drusus Scribonius Libo was a relative, though not a very near relative, -to members of the Julian house. Scribonia, his great-great-aunt, -was the first real wife of Augustus and the mother of Julia; he -was therefore a distant cousin to Agrippina and her brothers. His -grandmother, the niece of this Scribonia, was wife to Sextus Pompeius, -and thus the young man was a descendant of the great Pompeius. Tacitus -speaks of him as a young man at the time of the prosecution, but this -epithet is used by the Roman writers technically of men between the -ages of seventeen and forty-six, and is therefore applied to men past -their callow youth, such as Germanicus and Drusus; and as Libo had -been Prætor, he was certainly old enough to manage his own affairs. -Libo, according to Tacitus, fell into the hands of a Senator named -Firmius Catus, who encouraged him in vicious courses and lent him -money, in order to become fully possessed of his secrets. This same -treacherous adviser stimulated his ambition, and reminded him of the -splendour of his ancestry; he urged him to listen to the promises of -Chaldæans, to consult the mysterious rites of magians and interpreters -of dreams. When Firmius had sufficiently implicated his victim in -doubtful proceedings, he asked for an interview with Tiberius, using -an Equestrian, Flaccus Vescularius, a very intimate friend of the -Emperor’s, as intermediary. Tiberius refused the interview, saying, -according to Tacitus, that he could get any further information through -Flaccus. “Meanwhile” he made Libo prætor, frequently invited him to -dinner, discovered no irritation either by look or word, and “preferred -to know all his deeds and words, although he could have stopped them.” - -In other words, the folly of Libo having been brought to the notice -of Tiberius, he paid no very serious attention, and endeavoured -to demonstrate the error of his ways by admitting him to familiar -intercourse, for vague though the historian’s “meanwhile” may be taken -to be, there is no improbability in assuming that the first experiment -of Catus was foiled by the Emperor’s common sense. - -The next stage in the proceedings was more exciting. Libo endeavoured -to bribe one Junius to call up the spirits of the dead by means of -incantations. This person, probably a professional necromancer, gave -information to Fulcinius Trio, a professional prosecutor so far as -such a thing existed at the time. “The ability of Trio was well known -among the accusers of those days, and his eager love of notoriety.” -Trio did not allow the grass to grow under his feet; he held a “plump -juicy offender” in his hands, and was determined to make the best of -him; he went to the consuls and demanded a hearing before the Senate. -Libo, for his part, was not idle; on hearing of his peril he put on -mourning and, accompanied by ladies of rank, visited the palaces of -the great, implored his family connexions, demanded the aid of their -voices to encounter his danger; but all refused; their excuses were -different, but fear was the real reason for all. Fear of what? Tacitus -leaves us to infer that Tiberius was the object of dread, but even if -we allow that the historian was correct in assigning fear as the motive -of abstention from assisting Libo, there was another possible cause -of fear. The black art was no laughing matter to the men and women of -those days, and a fashionable gentleman, who was suddenly discovered to -have been engaged in an attempt to raise the dead, was an awe-inspiring -object in spite of his train of aristocratic ladies. - -On the day of the meeting of the Senate Libo was carried in a litter -to the doors, either pretending illness or worn out with anxiety and -vexation; he leaned on his brother, and appealed to Tiberius by word -and gesture, who for his part preserved the immobility proper to his -position. In due time the Emperor read the declarations aloud and -the names of their authors, in such a way as not to indicate his own -opinion. By this time Trio was not the only accuser; Catus was there, -Fonteius Agrippa and Vibius Serenus, Senators of repute, all anxiously -offering information, and wrangling between themselves as to which of -them was to have the honour of making the speech for the prosecution. -Libo had no defender. At last Vibius was allowed to state the charges; -there seemed to be little reason for alarm in them. Among other things -Libo had asked his diviners whether he should have enough money to -cover the Appian Way with coin from Rome to Brindisi. - -But in spite of such abundant evidence of folly, the audience were -horror stricken when a book was produced, written in Libo’s own hand, -in which the names of the Emperor and leading Senators were found -with strange and occult marks appended. This gentleman, who wanted -to converse with the dead, was, if a fool, a dangerous fool. It was -decided to question his slaves; but as they could not legally bear -evidence against their master, it was necessary to transfer them to -another owner, and a remand was granted in order that this might -be done. This skilful evasion of the law of evidence is attributed -by Tacitus to the cunning inventiveness of Tiberius; but it is not -probable that the Romans had waited so long to discover a solution of -a frequently recurring difficulty. Libo went home, entrusting his last -entreaties to the Emperor to the care of a relative. A guard was set -round his house; the soldiers were even heard and seen in the outer -hall. Libo ordered himself a magnificent dinner, but even in the midst -of the sumptuous repast his craven spirit gave way; he handed a sword -to his slaves and implored them to kill him. In the confusion that -ensued the lights were overturned, and the miserable man succeeded in -taking his own life in the funereal darkness. As soon as his death was -made known the soldiers departed. - -In spite of the suicide of the delinquent the case was continued on the -following day; but Tiberius took an oath that he would have asked for -the culprit’s life, even though proved guilty, had he not anticipated -the sentence. Libo’s goods were divided between his accusers, and -extraordinary prætorships were given to such of them as were of -senatorial rank. Various Senators then proposed measures indicating -their opinion that the case had been a very grave one. Libo’s image was -no longer to be included among the family busts; no Scribonius was ever -again to be called Drusus; a public thanksgiving was to be held; gifts -were to be offered to Jupiter, Mars and Concord; the day on which Libo -killed himself was to be a holiday for ever. Decrees of the Senate were -also passed, expelling “mathematicians” and magians from Italy; two of -their number were summarily executed. - -Tacitus stigmatizes all these proposals, so strangely disproportionate -to the event as it appears to us, as acts of adulation to Tiberius; -but after all Tiberius was not the only person concerned, nor indeed -chiefly concerned. There is no evidence of a plot against Tiberius -more than against the other Senators, whose names were included in the -mysterious notebook. - -As a matter of fact, on this occasion as on many subsequent occasions, -the Senators lost their heads; they, and not Tiberius, were responsible -for the excesses of the sentence and the subsequent transactions. The -fear of magic was strong upon them, as their subsequent action in -driving the practisers of magic arts from Italy demonstrates. They did -not succeed in doing so, and similar equally futile senatorial decrees -recur again and again. These solemn rulers of the world behaved like -little children in their terror of the black art; they believed in -incantations, divinations, signs and wonders, spells and imprecations -far more strongly than they did in the precepts of the Stoic and the -Epicurean. Here and there we find one of the ancients superior to the -prevailing superstitions, but only here and there; and in the Roman -palaces, no less than at the court of Louis XIV., the plotter and the -poisoner were hand in hand with the crafty charlatans, or self-deceived -miracle workers, who haunted the private apartments of men and women of -rank. - -Tiberius could not have resisted the panic of the Senate on this -occasion, even if he had had the opportunity; we shall find magic a -couple of years later playing an important part in a more notable -prosecution. - -Libo was evidently a profligate fool, and not likely to have been -implicated in a serious plot; but it is not impertinent to ask where -Tacitus got his detailed information; the case is hardly mentioned by -other authors. The scene of the suicide is graphic, the authority whom -Tacitus uses is clearly in sympathy with Libo. Now Libo was, as we -have seen, related to the Julians, and it is at least probable that a -version of the story was supplied by a correspondent to Agrippina, who -was at the time in Germany, and so became incorporated in the memoirs -which she handed down to her daughter, who again used it in the memoirs -which Tacitus tells us that he saw. - -The two “mathematicians” who were summarily punished suffered different -penalties: Pituarius was thrown from the Tarpeian rock, Marcius was -proceeded against “in the manner of our forefathers”; the trumpet was -sounded, calling the centuries to the Campus Martius, the unhappy man -was then bound to a stake, and beaten with rods till he was dead, -after which his head was cut off; these privileges he enjoyed as being -a Roman citizen infected with a foreign superstition. It is to be hoped -that he really was a charlatan, and not a genuine man of science, who -paid the common penalty for being in advance of his age. - - - - -XV - -Germanicus and Piso - - -The death of Germanicus occupies a larger space in the annals of -Tacitus than the actual importance of the event would seem to require. -The space given to the transactions in the East by which it was -preceded, and the trial of Piso by which it was followed, amounts to -nearly a sixth part of the books dealing with the reign of Tiberius; -or perhaps it would be more correct to say that the aspects of the -premature death of Germanicus, which were really important, receive -small attention in comparison with those which were less important. - -The death of Germanicus opened the way to the long series of plots -which rendered the life of Tiberius intolerable, and eventually -overwhelmed him in the disastrous events of the year 30 A.D. When -Germanicus started for the East in the year 18 A.D., he was the -destined successor of Tiberius, with a possible coadjutor in the person -of his first cousin Drusus, the two men being legally brothers by -the process of adoption. If Tiberius had any personal preference, he -unquestionably inclined to Germanicus, to whom he showed every mark of -favour, and whose political training he was now completing by sending -him to study the Oriental difficulties of the Empire. Drusus at the -same time was promoted to his brother’s former position in the West, -the still disturbed provinces on the frontiers of the Rhine and Danube -being entrusted to his care. Had both these men lived, there would -have been no Sejanus, and probably no Caligula. Tiberius himself would -have permanently enjoyed for ever the excellent reputation which he -won during the first sixteen years of his reign, but an unkind destiny -willed it otherwise. - -There was no reason why Tiberius should dislike Germanicus, to whose -father, as we have seen, he was attached by an affection remarkable -even between brothers, and Germanicus himself had on an occasion, which -strongly tested his loyalty, shown that it could stand the test. All -the authorities, Paterculus included, speak highly of Germanicus; he -was an able general and a lovable man. Drusus was a less attractive -character, somewhat rough, severe and passionate, but whatever his -weaknesses, he had the merit of being attached to his cousin and -nominal elder brother; there is no trace of any jealousy between the -two men, and their unity was further cemented by the fact that the -sister of Germanicus was the wife of Drusus. - -While the three representative men of the Imperial family were thus -in harmony, and lived on terms of mutual trust and helpfulness, the -case was different with the women. Livia, the widow of Augustus, and -Agrippina, the daughter of Julia, were separated by ancient hatreds and -fresh causes of offence. If the whole private diary and correspondence -of Agrippina had been preserved to us, we should probably be in a -position to compare Livia with Madame de Maintenon, as she is exhibited -to us in the lively letters of that sturdy little hater, Charlotte -Elizabeth, Duchess of Orleans, for the memoirs of Agrippina, filtered -through her daughter’s editing, and the mind of a man of letters -indicate no want of a proper animosity, no desire to bury old grudges. - -Livia did not acquiesce willingly in her diminished glories as dowager; -if she had proposed to herself--and there is every reason to suppose -that she did so propose--to continue to be the power behind the -throne in her son’s reign, as in her husband’s, she was disappointed. -While studiously paying every sign of respect to his mother as his -mother, and even stretching points in her favour, Tiberius refused to -acknowledge her as a politician; such honours as might decorously be -paid to the widow of Augustus, such consolations of her affliction as -expressions of public sympathy could afford, he readily sanctioned, but -he no less resolutely drew the line at the point at which complimentary -and consolatory decrees seemed to involve the recognition of a -governing Empress Dowager. Few things can have been more distasteful -to Livia than the reversion to the Senatorial Constitution attempted -by Tiberius. She could no longer inspire “transactions of Cæsar,” to -which the Senate was pledged in anticipation, nor was Tiberius inclined -to let the foreign policy of Rome slip out of his own hands into -that of the Jews and Greeks who enjoyed the confidence of the august -lady. A king of Cappadocia, of whom Tiberius disapproved, accepted an -invitation from Livia to come to Rome and depend on her influence to -win the favour of her son. The result was so disappointing that the -aged monarch died of distress of mind; his kingdom was turned into a -province. Tiberius would stand no tampering with “native” princes. Nor -was Livia allowed to put herself above the laws at Rome. A lady named -Urgulania, who was a friend of hers, incurred debts, and was proceeded -against in the court of the Prætor Urbanus. She took refuge with Livia, -who urged her son to defend the lady’s cause. Tiberius undertook to do -so, but by very deliberate walking, and exceptional graciousness to -the friends whom he encountered on the way, contrived to arrive too -late. Urgulania lost her case, and Livia had to pay her friend’s debt. -The Prætor in this case was Lucius Piso. Shortly afterwards this same -Urgulania refused to give her evidence in a court of law, and required -the officials to take it in her own house, a privilege which belonged -to the Vestal virgins. Urgulania was not a Vestal virgin “emerita,” -determined to retain the advantages of her previous position with -the help of Livia, for we find her later on sending a dagger as a -significant hint to a scandalous grandson. - -Tiberius was certainly in a very difficult position with regard to -his mother. His natural sense of decorum, and possibly his natural -affection, made him shrink from the very appearance of treating her -with disrespect; but her domineering tendency, encouraged by years -of unquestioned sway during her husband’s lifetime, tempted her to -exaggerate the real claims which she had upon his dutiful affection; -nor were the ladies of her household backward in regretting the change -of circumstances, and in pointing out how different things had been -in the lifetime of the sainted Augustus. Delicate as they were in -any case, the relations between mother and son were rendered still -more susceptible to disagreeable incidents by the presence of the -aggrieved Agrippina, to whom mother and son alike were detestable -usurpers, enjoying as the result of their nefarious intrigues the -inalienable rights of the true Julians. Thus both the belligerent -parties were opposed to Tiberius; his mother because he prevented her -from continuing to enjoy a power which she had long exercised, his -daughter-in-law, stepdaughter and niece, because in her opinion he -usurped a power which she ought to have enjoyed, and because she had -learned to regard her mother as a saint martyred by the agency of her -stepfather in the cause of the Julian dynasty. There was no reason why -Livia should like Drusus better than Germanicus; both her grandsons -were alike leagued with her undutiful son to keep the shadow of -petticoats off the Senate House. - -Tiberius made his arrangements without taking the ladies into -consideration. There was one member of the family whom he may have -been glad to please, the beautiful Antonia, the widow of his brother -Drusus and the mother of Germanicus. It is to the credit of this lady -that her name is never mentioned in the list of intriguers; she escapes -both praise and censure, though her persistent determination to live in -retirement as a widow might have attracted the attention of those who -found so much to admire in the “impenetrable chastity” of Agrippina. -Perhaps the fortress of her virtue was less frequently assailed by -those storms, assaults, blockades, and circumvallations which, we -may presume, rendered the epithet no hyperbole in the case of her -daughter-in-law. - -The affairs of the East needed a comprehensive survey. Achaia and -Macedonia had recently passed into the Emperor’s hands; the Senatorial -Government had been defective in Bithynia; several of the Greek -cities on the Ægæan had suffered severely in a disastrous earthquake; -Cappadocia was being organized as a province; there were dynastic -troubles in Armenia; the Parthians were showing signs of restlessness; -the native princes on the Syrian frontier were also unsettled by -questions of succession; Judæa was more than usually unquiet. -Germanicus was therefore despatched to the East with proconsular -powers, which gave him an authority higher than that of all proconsuls -or governors in their own provinces, and with a commission to settle -all differences on the spot according to his own judgment. So large a -share of power had never been entrusted to any one except Augustus and -Pompeius. On a previous occasion when the same services were required, -Augustus had himself visited the East and conducted the business in -person, but he was then a younger man than Tiberius was now, and he was -able to leave behind him in the person of Mæcenas a more experienced, -or at least more trustworthy, statesman than any who were within -reach of Tiberius. Drusus, though a good soldier, had not shown -statesmanlike qualities. - -At the same time a new Governor was required for Syria, the richest of -the Imperial Provinces, for its capital, Antioch, was the second city -of the Empire, the emporium where East met West. To this post Tiberius -appointed Gnæus Piso. Gnæus Piso belonged to a family which had long -maintained its opposition to the Cæsars, although the last wife of -Julius Cæsar, Calpurnia, had been a daughter of the house. Republican -ideals were still cherished in this, one of the most ancient and noble -of Roman families. The efforts of Tiberius to restore the Senate -had not had a happy influence upon the two leading members of this -house; one brother, Lucius, threatened to retire from public business -altogether, disgusted with the obsequiousness of the Senate; the other, -Gnæus, had distinguished himself by an aggressive outspokenness which -threatened to breed unnecessary difficulties. Lucius was the Prætor who -had refused to allow Urgulania to avoid paying her just debts, and for -this reason it is improbable that Gnæus was in the confidence of Livia. -He had rendered himself undesirable at Rome, but Tiberius had no doubt -of his integrity, and thought that if he were honourably withdrawn -for a time from the centre of affairs, public business would march -more smoothly. Tiberius in fact was beginning to learn that it was not -altogether wise to revive the pretensions of the old families. - -Unfortunately Tiberius did not foresee the possibility of friction -between Germanicus and Piso; still less did he take into account -the results of the juxtaposition of two such explosive fireships as -Agrippina and Plancina the wife of Piso; and he forgot that Plancina -was among the devoted friends of Livia, who had a long-standing -personal interest in the affairs of Syria and its adjacent -principalities. It was the scene of her first diplomatic triumphs, -the place where she had cemented by the interchange of presents a -friendship with that worthy pater-familias Herod the Great, whose -posterity shared with Jerusalem the honour of being a meeting point of -the intrigues of the Jews of all nations. - -The story of the events which followed is so obviously coloured by the -partisanship of the chief actors that much of it must be far from the -truth. It is not, for instance, easy to believe that Piso, having no -authority outside his own province, would follow Germanicus to Athens, -where Germanicus had authority, and take a pleasure in reversing his -compliments to the Athenians. There is no inherent improbability in the -action ascribed to Piso inside his own province, where he practically -refused to recognize the proconsular power of Germanicus, but he could -hardly with safety have followed the footsteps of Germanicus eastwards, -loudly proclaiming his insubordination in places where he had no more -right to express an opinion than a private citizen; had he done so, a -swift Liburnian galley would have brought his letters of recall. Idle -stories of this kind probably took their origin at a later period, and -were communicated with mistaken zeal to Agrippina by her sympathizing -friends. - -At first all went well with Germanicus, and his commission bore -the appearance of a holiday progress. He met his brother Drusus at -Nicopolis, the city which had been built to commemorate the victory -off the promontory of Actium, and they celebrated the glorious event -in company; he then went to Athens, and up the Ægæan into the Euxine, -redressing grievances and visiting holy places. In the course of the -tour Agrippina’s youngest daughter Julia was born at Lesbos, destined -afterwards to marry M. Vinicius, the friend of Paterculus. On the -return journey southwards Germanicus met the convoy of Piso at Rhodes -on its way to Syria, where, the historian tells us, that Germanicus, -though well aware of the persecution of Piso, saved his ship from -destruction in a storm. Germanicus made his way from thence to Armenia -and the frontiers of the Empire, where he conducted his negotiations -with success. Meanwhile Piso hurried on his way to Syria, and at once -began to make favour with the army and the residents. His indulgences -to the troops were such that the soldiers called him “father of the -legions”; while Plancina, to the horror of Agrippina, forgetting the -limitations of her sex, took part in drills and parades. - -The first overt act of insubordination on the part of Piso was a -neglect to forward some cohorts to Germanicus in Armenia. On the return -of Germanicus he met Piso, and an attempt to adjust their mutual -differences was rendered ineffective by the mischievous offices of -friends. Germanicus himself was inclined to take a lenient view, but he -was influenced by the suggestions of those who told him exaggerated -stories about Piso and his sons and Plancina. A private conference was -held, but the two men left it open enemies. After this Piso publicly -resented all honours paid to Germanicus, and Plancina was particularly -annoyed because her somewhat lucrative protégé Vonones, a former -aspirant to the Parthian crown, was removed by Germanicus at the -request of the Parthians to a safer distance from the frontier. - -Germanicus finding that the best part of his work was accomplished, -and that life in Syria was not pleasant, made a tour in Egypt, going -up the Nile as far as Elephantine and Syene, then the limit of Roman -rule. It is pleasing to find him visiting the same sights that attract -the modern traveller, over whom he had an advantage in that the priests -were able to read the inscriptions for him. - -In visiting Egypt, Germanicus inadvertently broke a decree of Augustus, -which forbade any Roman Senator or Equestrian to enter that private -domain of the Emperor without special permission. Tiberius had written -to bring this to his notice, but the letter arrived too late. - -On returning from his holiday tour in Egypt, Germanicus found that all -his arrangements in Syria had been reversed by Piso, his disposition -of the legions had been changed, and his formal alliances with the -cities modified. Stormy scenes followed, and Piso decided to leave -Syria, so says our narrative; but the more probable order of events is -that Piso was ordered by Germanicus to withdraw, and was at Seleucia -on his way home when news reached him of the illness of Germanicus. -We are not told the nature of this illness. Agrippina and possibly -Germanicus himself jumped to the conclusion that poison and spells were -the cause of the sickness. Horrible things were found in the house; -fragments of human remains embedded in the floors and walls; bits of -parchment covered with spells; leaden tablets inscribed with the name -of Germanicus, and other mystic apparatus with which it was customary -to consign the spirit of an enemy to the shades. The illness seems to -have been a lingering one. Piso hovered off the coast, approaching -or withdrawing as the symptoms were declared to be better or worse. -In the end Germanicus died. Agrippina and her friends were so fully -persuaded that he had been the victim of poison or witchcraft, that -they exposed his body naked in the market place at Antioch, confident -that the flames of the funeral pyre would fail to devour his heart, for -it was well known that the heart of a man who had been poisoned was -incombustible. When the ceremony was over, Agrippina gathered up the -ashes and started with her youngest children for Rome. - -Meanwhile the Senators and other officials who had been in the train -of Germanicus treated the Province of Syria as though it were vacant, -and appointed Gnæus Sentius, one of their number, Governor in the place -of Piso. There was no time to send to Rome for orders. Germanicus had -cashiered Piso, but had died before appointing his successor, and it -was necessary that there should be some one in authority, in case Piso -returned and attempted to resume the government of Syria. - -Piso had travelled on his homeward journey as far as Cos, when the news -of the death of Germanicus reached him. He made thanksgiving offerings -to the gods, and Plancina, who had recently lost a sister, threw off -her mourning. Consultations were held as to the best course to pursue. -Marcus Piso, the younger of his two sons, urged his father to return -to Rome. So far he had done nothing unpardonable, but an attempt to -resume the government of the province meant nothing less than civil -war. Other and less prudent friends advised Piso not to recognize the -appointment of Sentius, and to rely on his popularity with the legions. -Tacitus puts into the mouth of these advisers the following astounding -statement, which he probably found in those memoirs of Agrippina which -are not evidence: “You have the complicity of Livia, the favour of -Cæsar though hidden, and none mourn more loudly for Germanicus than -those who are best pleased at his death.” - -Piso and Plancina proved to have miscalculated the affection of the -legions, and an attempt to recover Syria by force was defeated by -Sentius, who gave the unhappy candidate for power ships and a safe -conduct to Rome. - -Agrippina meanwhile had traversed the seas and arrived at Brundisium -with the vase containing her husband’s ashes early in the year 20 -A.D. The illness and death of Germanicus had excited much feeling -in the city and Italy, though we are not bound to believe in the -dark suggestions of the historian that the populace had assumed the -complicity of Tiberius in his nephew’s death. The widow made the -best of her affliction, and contrived to give the procession to the -Mausoleum of Augustus, in which her husband’s ashes were deposited, -the aspect of a public demonstration in favour of the Julian race. -Neither Tiberius himself, nor Livia, nor even the mother of Germanicus, -were present at this ceremony. Doubtless they had sufficient reasons, -but their absence unfortunately favoured the credulity of those who -at a later time listened to the lamentations of Agrippina, and her -passionate assertions that her husband had been done to death with the -connivance of his own kith and kin. - -Piso returned slowly to Rome. He sent his son ahead with letters to -Tiberius, in which he represented himself as the aggrieved party, and -accused Germanicus of debauchery and arrogance; he sought on his way an -interview with Drusus, who had returned to Illyria after his brother’s -funeral. Drusus received him coldly, and dismissed him with words so -politic that they were thought to have been suggested by a cooler head. -The day after he arrived in Rome, Fulcinius Trio, the prosecutor of -Scribonius Libo, took the first formal steps in a process against him. - -The story of this famous trial is so narrated by Tacitus as to convey -the impression that there was a serious miscarriage of justice, and -that the oppressors of Germanicus were protected by the influence of -Livia and Tiberius; but, as usual, the narrative, wherever it depends -upon accessible documentary evidence, does not support such a view of -the case. - -Accusers and accused alike pressed Tiberius to hear the case himself, -knowing “that he was impervious to the influence of rumour,” and -fearing the excitability of a large court. Tiberius, after hearing -the evidence, referred the whole case to the Senate. Five of the most -respected men in Rome refused to act as counsel for the defence. -Among the three who did eventually defend Piso was Marcus Lepidus, -whom we have already seen in possession of the full confidence of the -Emperor. On the day of the trial Tiberius opened the proceedings in -the Senate; he said that Piso had been a trusted officer and friend -of Augustus, that he had himself assigned him as an assistant to -Germanicus in the administration of the East with the authority of -the Senate. It was the duty of the court to decide without prejudice -whether he had exasperated the young man by insubordination and -opposition and rejoiced over his death, or had killed him with malice -and aforethought, “for if the subordinate officer exceeded the limits -of his office, if he refused to pay proper respect to his superior, and -rejoiced over his death, and my sorrow, I shall hate him, and shall -exclude him from my house, and punish his enmity as a private matter, -not with the power I hold as Princeps. But if it is discovered that a -crime in bringing about the death of any man requires punishment, then -do you confer upon the children of Germanicus and us his relatives our -proper consolation. And at the same time you must carefully consider -this point, whether Piso handled the armies in an insubordinate and -seditious fashion, whether he tampered disloyally with the affections -of the soldiers, whether he attempted to recover the province by force -of arms, or have the accusers exaggerated these charges? I may say that -I have good reason to be annoyed with their exercise of partisanship. -For was it proper to strip the body, to expose it to the eager scrutiny -of the eyes of the vulgar, and even to allow statements to spread among -foreigners that he had been poisoned, if this was still uncertain and -a subject of inquiry? I mourn for the loss of my son, and always shall -mourn, but I do not prevent the accused from advancing every fact by -which his innocence may be supported, or his guilt extenuated if there -was any provocation on the part of Germanicus; and I implore you not to -take accusations for proved facts, because the case touches me nearly -personally. I beg those who have been led by the ties of kindred or -faithful friendship to act as counsel for the defendant, to help him in -his danger as far as their eloquence and diligence allows; and I invite -the prosecution to similar efforts and similar firmness. In one point -only we raise Germanicus above the law, viz., in trying the case in the -Senate House rather than in the forum, before the Senate and not before -a jury. Let everything else be handled with a like moderation. I would -have no one pay regard to the tears of Drusus and my own sorrow, nor to -any fictitious charges made against us.” - -Such a speech was doubtless disappointing to Agrippina, who had -already in her own mind condemned Piso and the amazonian Plancina -without benefit of clergy; she knew Germanicus had been poisoned, and -bewitched; she knew how it had all been done by means of a celebrated -poisoner named Martina, who had been fetched from the East to give -evidence, and had died mysteriously at Brundisium on the way. Had not -the poison been found after her death tied up in her hair? What further -evidence was wanting? And why did the woman die so conveniently for the -purposes of those who wished to shield the enemies of Germanicus? The -poor lady had troubles enough, left a widow with a family of six young -children, marked out for the enmity of a malignant and all powerful -grandmother-in-law, but her inclination to regard herself as the victim -of persistent ill-usage is not evidence; and though her contemporaries -would have had no difficulty in believing in the effects of witchcraft, -the case against Piso is rendered weak to us by the introduction of -this element; and the more so that the prosecution was not able to -prove the use of poison, or even to suggest a favourable opportunity -for its administration. - -As the case proceeded it became quite clear that the charge of -poisoning could not be sustained, but that Piso had been guilty of -serious political offences. Meanwhile there was considerable agitation -among the people, to whom the sensational side of the trial alone -appealed, and who threatened violence if the murderer of Germanicus -escaped by the votes of the Senate. This at least we are told by -Tacitus, though here again it is more than probable that the public -excitement existed chiefly in the imagination of Agrippina, who always -saw herself playing the part of injured heroine to a sympathetic -audience of the Roman people. Riots were not dreaded at Rome since the -police of the city had been organized and the Prætorian guards placed -in barracks. - -As the case became exclusively political, Plancina naturally dropped -out of it; “machinations of Livia,” shrieked Agrippina, and Tacitus has -repeated the shriek. - -The case had an abrupt and tragic termination. Piso, seeing that the -hostile evidence steadily accumulated, and that Tiberius preserved an -absolutely impartial and judicial attitude, killed himself, leaving -a letter to Tiberius, from which the following extract has been -preserved: “Crushed by a conspiracy of my private enemies, and the -hatefulness of a false accusation, inasmuch as no opportunity is left -for the truth and the establishment of my innocence, I call heaven to -witness, Cæsar, that I have lived loyally to you, and dutifully to your -mother; and I implore you to take charge of my children, of whom Gnæus -Piso was certainly not concerned in my fortunes whatever may have been -their character, for he spent the whole time at Rome, and Marcus Piso -dissuaded me from returning to Syria. And I wish that I had rather -given way to the counsels of my young son than he to those of his aged -father. I beg the more earnestly that his innocence may not pay the -penalty of my perversity. I beg for the safety of my unhappy son in the -name of forty-five years of loyal duty, of a consulship shared with -yourself, of the confidence placed in me by Augustus, of the friendship -with yourself, and as a last request.” He made no mention of his -wife in this dying petition. Tiberius exempted Marcus Piso from any -complicity in the charges brought against his father, and also spoke -on behalf of Plancina. A two days’ inquiry was held into her conduct, -but to the disgust of Agrippina she was acquitted. Her escape was -attributed to the influence of Livia. - -The Senate passed severe sentences upon the sons of Piso, which -Tiberius, as usual, considerably modified. Honours and rewards were -bestowed on the accusers, but Tiberius, in promising Fulcinius Trio -office later on, significantly hinted that he was in danger of spoiling -his eloquence by excessive violence. It had been in the power of -Tiberius to confiscate the property of Piso, but he bestowed it upon -his son Marcus. Tacitus comments in characteristic fashion--“Superior -to the temptation of money, as I have often recorded, and the more -readily appeased at that time through an uneasy conscience about the -acquittal of Plancina.” - -There certainly does not seem to have been any miscarriage of justice, -for even if Piso was sincere in his protestations of innocence, and -really was innocent of the technical offence of waging civil war, -his case was never concluded, and he was never condemned. It pleased -Agrippina and her friends, and it pleased the sensation mongers of the -capital, to see in the case not a political trial, but a demand for -vengeance on the murderers of Germanicus. In this demand they were -disappointed, for Plancina, the supposed culprit, escaped altogether, -Piso died uncondemned by his own hand, and whatsoever punishment fell -upon his two sons was inflicted on them as the sons of a man who -had been disloyal to the State, not as the sons of the murderer of -Germanicus. It was therefore superfluous on the part of two Senators to -propose that altars should be erected to Vengeance, and of another that -thanks should be returned to certain members of the Imperial family -because Germanicus had been avenged. - -There is, in fact, absolutely no evidence that Germanicus was murdered, -while there is abundant evidence that the relations between him and -Piso, both personal and political, were exceedingly unsatisfactory, -and that Piso was so injudicious as to endeavour to set aside his -authority. Piso was by many years the older man of the two, he had -had long experience of public affairs, had enjoyed the confidence of -Augustus, and acquiesced very unwillingly in the arrangements which put -Germanicus, a much younger man, over his head. It is quite possible -that he had private instructions from Tiberius to give Germanicus the -benefit of his experience in friendly fashion, and that he interpreted -these instructions wrongly, believing them to amount to a declaration -of his own independence of Germanicus, and he would be the more ready -to believe this because he was touchy on the subject of his own -dignity; but that he actually carried authority to thwart and annoy -Germanicus is as improbable as that he had instructions to poison him. -Tiberius was guilty of a mistake in not anticipating the friction that -would necessarily arise between an older man and a younger man when -the former was placed in subordination to somewhat indefinite powers -wielded by the latter. If the two men had been left to settle their -differences alone, there would probably have been little trouble, -for Germanicus began with courtesy and forbearance, but the ladies -insisted on taking an active part in the quarrel. Agrippina saw Livia -written large all over Plancina, with whom she had doubtless enjoyed -several preliminary skirmishes at Rome; and Plancina met her on her own -field and fought her with her own weapons, for, reprehensible though -Plancina’s military performances appeared in the eyes of a pattern -Roman matron, Agrippina had herself set the fashion in Germany. The -atmosphere of the East was a particularly unwholesome one for two -ladies thus mutually breathing out threatenings and slaughters, and -listening to tales depreciatory of one another. The East swarmed with -sorcerers and necromancers, and supple intriguers of all kinds used to -the internecine feuds of the ladies who lived in the palaces of their -princes. - -The most unfortunate result of the death of Germanicus was that it left -Agrippina an embittered and vindictive woman. Even her husband had -occasionally deprecated the violence of her temper. Time did nothing to -cure her grievances, indeed the legend of her many sorrows seemed to -grow steadily as the events receded into the distance, and she handed -her quarrel on to her children with its vitality undiminished. - -One possible solution of the part played by Piso, and of the difficulty -of reconciling it with his last protestation of innocence, is that -Plancina was actually in the confidence of Livia, from whom she held -such a commission as Livia could give her to make arrangements -desired by her patroness. The Oriental princes had learned to rely -on secret influence rather than on open negotiations with Tiberius -and the Senate; the stern impartiality of the Emperor drove them to -subterranean manœuvres, and Livia was by no means disinclined to let -it be understood that her influence was paramount. Thus while Piso -as Governor of Syria was the properly constituted representative of -Tiberius, his wife was the accredited plenipotentiary of the power -behind the throne. The charges against Plancina were really charges -against Livia, and the case which was hushed up was the case which -would have exposed the unauthorized political intrigues of the Empress -Dowager. Tiberius could either allow his mother’s interference with -State affairs to be a subject of public inquiry, or he could allow -Plancina to be tried on the frivolous charge of poisoning with the -certainty that she would escape conviction. He preferred the less -heroic course, with the result that both he and his mother were -credited with having been concerned in a criminal conspiracy against a -near relative. - -The tradition repeated by Tacitus, that Piso was in possession of -documents which would have established his innocence by demonstrating -the complicity of Tiberius and Livia, and that he refrained from -producing them on being assured of his safety by Sejanus, is not -incompatible with this view of the case. Tiberius would certainly not -have been involved, but instructions given by Livia to Plancina may -very well have existed, and have led to those reversals of the policy -of Germanicus which produced the ultimate quarrel. On this assumption -the suicide of Piso becomes intelligible, he could not defend his grave -political misconduct without exposing the still graver misconduct of -the Empress Dowager, and when he saw that no other means of escape was -open to him, he took a course which, to the Romans, did not seem to be -devoid of heroism. Tiberius may have been weak in not dismissing his -mother to an island, but he was certainly not responsible for the death -of Piso, or concerned in a plot to poison Germanicus. - - - - -XVI - -Tiberius and the Senate - - -Drusus, the son of Tiberius, died in A.D. 23, under circumstances which -it will be more convenient to consider at a later period. From this -event Tacitus dates the perversion of Tiberius, forgetting that he has -already ascribed to him every unamiable quality except avarice. After -enumerating the various legions, and recording their distribution, -Tacitus says: “I hope I am not wrong in believing that it is relevant -to review the other departments of State as well, to say how they were -managed up to that time, since this year marked the beginning of a -change for the worse in the Emperor’s administration. Now first, public -business and the most important concerns of private men were dealt with -before the Senate, and the chief men were allowed to make speeches, -and he checked them himself, where they slipped into flattery; and he -used to confer office by taking into consideration nobility of descent, -brilliance in the field, distinguished service at home, so that it was -agreed that there were no men with higher claims. Consuls and Prætors -enjoyed their proper dignity, the lesser magistrates also were in -the full exercise of their powers, and the laws, with the exception -of the “Lex Majestatis,” were well administered. Moreover, the corn -supply and tribute, and the rest of the public revenues, were managed -by associations of Roman knights. Cæsar entrusted the management of his -own affairs to the most distinguished men, to some who were unknown, -on hearing of their reputation; and when once he had adopted a man he -retained him indefinitely, for most of his officers grew old in the -same departments. The commonalty certainly suffered from a dear market, -but the Prince was not responsible for that; indeed, he met the failure -of crops, or the difficulties of navigation, as far as expense and care -could help him. And he took measures that the Provinces should not be -disturbed by fresh burdens, and that they should be able to endure -the old ones exempt from the avarice or cruelty of officials. There -was no such thing as personal outrages or confiscations of property. -The estates of Cæsar were few in Italy, his establishments of slaves -were modest, his household confined to a few freedmen; and if ever he -was at variance with a private person, he resorted to the ordinary -processes of law, the ordinary courts. All this he kept up until things -were changed by the death of Drusus, not indeed graciously, but with a -repellent manner, so that he was generally an object of terror.” - -These words, except for the last sentence, differ but little from those -employed by Paterculus in enumerating the blessings enjoyed by the -Roman people under the sway of Tiberius, though Paterculus does not -limit the good administration of the Emperor to the period which ended -with the death of Drusus. - -It is indeed difficult, when we read the record of the actual -transactions of the Senate, to form any other opinion than that -advanced by Tacitus in the foregoing summary; even in the case of the -“Lex Majestatis” it is the Senate, not Tiberius, who show a tendency to -abuse the powers which it conferred, and the rare occasions on which -the Emperor himself allows an accusation under this law to be pressed -are those on which the strictest republican virtue would have demanded -its application, viz., when the misconduct of a provincial governor -had impaired the dignity of the State. It is true that this extension -of the operation of the “Lex Majestatis” had not been familiar to -the Republic, and that the provincials had been held to be protected -sufficiently by the laws against extortion, but it might reasonably -be held that a Roman magistrate disgraced his country no less by -maladministration in the Provinces than by cowardice in the field, or a -disgraceful treaty. In fact, this probably was the real grievance which -caused the Senatorial Annalists, whose diaries were read by Tacitus, -to fill their memoirs with bitter animadversions on the abuse of the -“Lex Majestatis,” and the professional advocates who were a terror to -delinquent Senators. Incapable or corrupt governors, who might have -escaped punishment on some technical plea, if they had been accused -formally of extortion, were now confronted with a fuller examination -into their conduct under the vaguer charge of having impaired the -dignity of the State. Tiberius constituted himself the guardian of the -dignity of the State; it was his duty to do so. In upholding the purity -of the administration, he was upholding the Empire, but he was also -declaring an emphatic negative to the theory that the Roman Senate was -at liberty to deal as it pleased with its Provinces. The restoration of -the Senate, begun in some degree by Augustus and continued by Tiberius, -was attended by this inconvenience, that it revived the pretensions of -the survivors of the Oligarchy, and though the majority of the Senate -were distinguished rather by an inclination to hand over all their -responsibilities to the Emperor than by an uncompromising attitude -towards his government, there were a minority who were disgusted -because fuller advantage was not taken of the opportunities afforded, -and because the liberal policy of the Emperor brought them little -nearer to the cherished abuses of the old oligarchical government. - -When we reflect that the first six books of the _Annals of Tacitus_ -cover a period of twenty-three years, and that he had access to the -Senatorial archives no less than to private memoirs, we are astonished -at the meagreness of his information. If we remove from these books -all that refers to the campaigns in Germany, Thrace, and Africa, all -that is concerned with the death of Germanicus, all that has to do with -the personal history of the Imperial family, singularly little remains -to tell us how the Senate administered the Provinces which had been -left to its care, and the two great questions in which statesmen are -profoundly interested, the questions of Revenue and Defence, are hardly -touched upon. - -For this there are two reasons, apart from the fact that Tacitus was an -incompetent historian; one is that Tacitus avowedly interested himself -only in recording events which seemed to him striking illustrations of -good or bad behaviour, history to him being merely a primer of morals -and a collection of examples; the other is that very little business -actually was transacted before the Senate. - -We may take as an example the case of Cappadocia. This country was -annexed by Germanicus, its native rulers were deposed, and it passed -from the status of an allied kingdom to that of a province. It might be -anticipated that we should have a record of discussions in the Senate -as to the terms upon which this new Province was to be added to the -Empire, as to whether it was to be Imperial or Senatorial, as to its -probable cost and revenue; but we have nothing of the kind, we have not -even the innuendo of a grievance based on the fact that Tiberius fixed -its tribute at half the usual amount, and treated it as an Imperial -Province from the outset. Similarly the Government of Achaia passed -into the hands of the Emperor at the request of the Province itself, -without any debate in the Senate, so far as we are informed by Tacitus. -Africa was a Senatorial Province; the moment that trouble between the -Roman inhabitants and a native prince declared itself, the Senate -practically threw the whole responsibility on Tiberius by asking him -to nominate a Governor. With all its pretensions, and in spite of all -the encouragement given to it by Tiberius to assume the position of an -advisory council to the Emperor, if not of a representative assembly of -the Empire, the Senate reverted more and more to its old position of a -domestic council representing the best families at Rome and attending -to little beyond their interests. - -It was fortunate for the Empire that Tiberius failed in his attempt -to restore the Senate, for no tyranny can be worse than that of the -direct government of dependencies by an irresponsible debating society, -divided into parties more or less organized, which intrigue abroad -to further their interests at home, and the Senate itself showed a -sounder political insight than the Emperor in refusing to assume -responsibilities for which it was eminently unfit. - -If, however, the greater political questions are passed over by -Tacitus, some of the minor subjects with which the Senate dealt are -not uninteresting; it retained the position of guardian of the public -morals, or at the least of the morals of those families of whom it was -composed or whose members were employed in the government of the city -and Empire. Adultery under the Julian laws passed by Augustus was not -a sin but a crime, and we accordingly have some cases in which Roman -ladies of high rank are arraigned before the Senate along with their -paramours. - -The number of these cases is not great, and in comparison with similar -cases in our own divorce courts remarkably small, from which we may -conclude either that the Senate was a lenient censor of morals, or -that the standard of morality was high; it is further possible that the -Senate was only called upon to intervene when the family of the culprit -had failed in its duty. - -Actors seem to have been a source of trouble to the fathers of the -city, but it is not altogether certain in what the “licence” of actors -consisted. At first sight it might appear that they were guilty -merely of a laxity of morals which is not uncommonly attributed, -with or without justice, to the theatrical profession, and that the -decrees prohibiting Senators and Equestrians from public and private -intercourse with actors were directed against purely private scandals; -but there is also evidence that the stage occupied to some extent -the position of the modern press, and that the licence of the actors -consisted in public and private derision of eminent men, and in the -exhibition of caricatures, which if not dangerous to public order, were -at least offensive. The fragments of references made on the stage to -Tiberius, preserved by Suetonius, are sufficient to indicate a freedom -of criticism which in our own day would be considered intolerable. Our -own habits allow our public men to be caricatured weekly in the comic -papers in a manner which is not found equally acceptable in Germany, -but lenient though we are in such matters, even Englishmen have failed -to tolerate the caricatures of eminent statesmen on the stage, and “the -Happy Land,” in which three Cabinet Ministers appeared under their -own names, and in a very successful counterfeit presentment of their -persons, was modified by the then Lord Chamberlain. - -The laughter which greets a successful cartoon in _Punch_, and the -prompt recognition which greets a happy allusion to current events, -do little to shake a government or to disturb public order, but when -the representatives of law and order are held up to ridicule by the -unmistakeable gestures of a skilled actor in a large theatre, not -only is the effectiveness of ridicule enormously increased, but the -conflicting sympathies of the spectators provoke an immediate riot. -We have seen that among the business transacted by Tiberius and the -Senate in the first year of his reign was the discussion of a proposal -to restore to the Prætors the right of beating actors, which had been -withdrawn from them by Augustus. The reason for this proposal was an -increase of turbulence in the theatres, which had resulted in the -deaths of several of the spectators, the murder of some soldiers and -a centurion, and even of the commander of a prætorian cohort, who had -endeavoured to check the abuse of magistrates from the stage, and the -consequent disturbance in the audience. An Italian audience was quick -to catch even an undesigned allusion to current events, and allusion by -gesture never failed to meet with its response; thus the actors became -in a way the mouthpieces of public opinion, and the despotism of the -ruling powers was tempered by epigrams in flesh and blood, if not in -actual words; parties were formed, distinguished actors were supported -by men of rank, not merely from admiration of their professional -skill, but because they were in some sense a political power. In the -year 23 A.D. Tiberius found himself obliged to draw the attention of -the Senate to the continued insolence of the actors, and a decree was -passed by which they were banished from Italy. The particular form of -dramatic exhibition which called down this severity was that known -as the Atellan farce, which had long been used for the purposes of -political satire by educated men. It had been originally a performance -in the Oscan dialect; then what we should call “topical songs” had been -introduced in Latin. There had been a period during which the Atellan -plays had been considered eminently respectable, and men of rank had -taken part in them without losing dignity; but either the character -of the performance had degenerated, or the sentence of expulsion was -less general than the words of Tacitus would imply, and was restricted -to men whom we should not consider professional actors, and who had -adopted this way of expressing their criticisms of the government. - -These performances were given both in public and in private houses. -The former might well be restrained as leading to riots; the objection -to the latter was undoubtedly the open ridicule of the government; for -the Atellan farce, which was originally chiefly spoken, had adopted -the procedure of the mimics who acted entirely in dumb show, and it is -not difficult to imagine the roars of laughter which would greet the -appearance of Tiberius himself and other eminent personages upon the -private stages of the Roman nobility. - -In penalizing actors Tiberius in fact checked the liberty of the press, -and destroyed whatever popularity he had hitherto enjoyed. The Romans -were passionately devoted to acting, and never forgave the man who -discountenanced their favourite amusement. There was no readier road to -popularity at Rome than an exhibition of actors or gladiators. Cæsar -and Augustus had both encouraged the taste, and in the later Republican -days profusion in giving treats of this kind had been a necessary step -in the ladder by which political eminence was reached. - -The wisdom of Tiberius in thus checking the expression of popular -feeling may be open to question, for we are not in a position to judge -how far the passions excited by the actors constituted a real danger to -public order, but the line which he took with reference to another kind -of legislation is indisputably wise. - -Sumptuary laws are a well-known weakness of governments. We are by -no means rid of them yet, as is testified by the importance of the -temperance party in England. The Pagans of Greece and Italy were no -less eager than the Christians of the Middle Ages, or the Puritans -of the Reformation, to prescribe for men how they should dress, or -how they should eat, and the history of the Roman Senate offers many -instances of attempts to enforce moderation of living by stringent -laws. The Senate of Tiberius had not forgotten its old traditions; in -the year 16 A.D. the subject of increasing luxury had been discussed -in the Senate, and the Emperor had evaded action by stating that -the matter would be attended to when the period of the Censorship -came round. Apparently nothing was done, for in the year 22 A.D. -the Ædiles drew the attention of the Senate to the continued and -indeed increasing expenditure upon silken robes, household plate, and -the pleasures of the table; new laws were demanded, and vigour in -administering the old laws. Even on the evidence of Tacitus Tiberius -himself was moderate in his household expenditure; Suetonius indeed -reproaches him with niggardliness in this matter, saying that he would -serve up the remainder of a feast at a second day’s entertainment with -the observation “that the part had the same qualities as the whole.” -His personal example was entirely in the direction of temperate living, -and it was from no want of sympathy with the worthy aspirations of -the Senate that he refused to legislate in the matter. Tacitus has -preserved for us the letter which he addressed to the Senate on the -subject; it is a document sufficiently remarkable to be given in full. - -“Although, Conscript Fathers, it is perhaps more expedient that on all -other occasions I should be asked in your presence my opinion of what -is good for the State, and reply in the same way, still on the present -occasion it was better that my eyes should be withdrawn, for if you -should openly note the faces of anxiety of those who were involved in -the charge of infamous luxury, I should myself see them, and as it were -catch them in the act. If indeed our energetic Ædiles had taken counsel -with me beforehand, I am inclined to think that I should have advised -them to abstain from interfering with vices so firmly rooted, so -vigorous, rather than make it publicly manifest that we are too weak to -contend with these abuses. Well--they have done their duty as I should -wish other magistrates also to do theirs; I could neither be silent -with honour, nor was it expedient that I should be the first to speak, -seeing that I am neither Ædile, nor Prætor, nor Consul. Something more, -something higher is demanded of the Prince, and whereas each individual -earns the reward of his own good actions, upon the Prince alone is -visited the odium incurred by the bad actions of all. - -“Now what shall I first try to check and to cut down to the ancient -measures? The boundless extent of country estates? The numbers of -native and alien slaves? The weight of gold and silver plate? The -marvellous bronzes and pictures? The rich materials common to male -and female dress? Or again those peculiarly feminine forms of luxury -owing to which our money is transferred to foreign and even hostile -races for the sake of mere stones? I am perfectly well aware that -these are things with which fault is found at dinner parties and -social entertainments, and that there is a cry for interference; but -when a law is passed, penalties are assigned, and those same guardians -of the public virtue will not then fail to clamour that the State is -being turned upside down, that any magnificent man is threatened with -ruin, that every one is liable to prosecution. And yet it is only by -severe remedies that long-standing diseases of the body can be checked, -and the fever of the mind at once corrupt and corrupting can only be -quenched by remedies no less violent than the lusts with which it -burns. All the laws which were discovered by our ancestors, all those -that were passed by the sainted Augustus, have added confidence to -luxury, the former because they have been forgotten, the latter, which -is much worse, because they have been abrogated by contempt. For should -a man wish to do a thing which has not yet been forbidden, he would be -in fear of a prohibition, but if he transgresses a known prohibition, -there is no longer any fear, or any sense of shame. Now why did frugal -living at one time prevail? Because every man imposed restraint on -himself, because we were then the citizens of a single city; there was -not even temptation for us when our dominion was confined to Italy. -It was through our foreign victories that we learned to waste the -property of others, by our civil wars to waste our own. And what a -small thing it is to which our attention is called by the Ædiles! What -a trifle if it is compared with our other responsibilities! Yes, nobody -bethinks himself that Italy is dependent upon external resources, -that the sustenance of the Roman people is exposed every day to the -uncertainties of the winds and waves! - -“And should the resources of the Provinces fail to come to the rescue -of our landowners, and slaves, and farms, our own forests, forsooth, -our own estates will protect us! This is the anxiety, Conscript -Fathers, which falls upon the shoulders of the Prince, and if he -refuses to attend to this, the State will be dragged down to perdition. -For those other difficulties a remedy can be found in our own conduct; -may a sense of honour improve ourselves, necessity restrain the poor, -satiety the rich. Or if any one of the magistrates holds out a prospect -of so much industry, such rigour as to be able to contend with these -abuses, I both commend him, and admit that I am thereby relieved of -part of my burden. But if they are willing enough to demonstrate -abuses, and then, when they have obtained the credit of this action, -stir animosities, and hand them over to me, believe me, Conscript -Fathers, that I too have no taste for unpopularity; tasks involving -serious, and generally unjust, unpopularity I will undertake for the -good of the State. I rightly protest against being required to incur -trivial and useless causes of offence likely to be profitable neither -to myself nor to you.” - -The language of Tacitus leaves it uncertain as to whether these words -are the actual letter of Tiberius, or only an epitome of the real -letter; but the sense, if not the form, is clearly the Emperor’s own. -In his view of the inefficiency of sumptuary legislation Tiberius was -far in advance of his time; no law can in these matters do for the -individual what he refuses to do for himself. Indirectly Tiberius -reproaches the Senate for their individual complicity in the offences -against which legislation was demanded; he also reproaches those -zealous magistrates, the Ædiles, whose business it was to look after -the markets and repress extravagant expenditure, for their previous -neglect of duty; he also points out that there was an abundance of laws -to meet the offence, and an equally abundant neglect of those laws. The -constitutional position which Tiberius takes up is also noteworthy; it -was not for him to anticipate the action of the ordinary magistrates; -on the other hand, the greater cares of the Empire are his, and these -domestic concerns can be left to those officials whom the constitution -provided for the purpose. - -Throughout the letter we detect a profound contempt for the Senate, -as being a body ever ready to talk, but never ready to act, and we -are therefore prepared to believe that there is some truth in the -story which tells us that Tiberius seldom left the Senate House -without exclaiming, “Men made for slavery!” We also see that Tiberius -was sensitive to public opinion, and was not prepared to face -unpopularity except with good reason. The implied warning against the -folly of passing laws which it is impossible to enforce shows sound -statesmanship; the vice of clamouring for fresh laws in order to check -offences which have been already provided for by old ones, and of -invoking the aid of legislation in matters where good example and sound -conduct on the part of individuals are more effective, is a vice which -has survived the Roman Senate. - -The result of the debate was fresh energy on the part of the Ædiles, -but Tacitus says that it was not until the reign of Vespasian that -there was any marked improvement, that Emperor being himself averse to -luxury. As, however, Tiberius was no less distinguished by plainness of -living, it is more probable that the effect was produced by a general -equalizing of fortunes among the well-to-do. - -While Tiberius thus refused to take upon himself the responsibilities -of the Senate in domestic matters, he was equally little inclined to -allow them to throw upon him the burden of administering their own -Provinces, and carefully referred deputations from the Senatorial -Provinces to the Consuls; he punished a private servant of his own who -had the management of his estates in Asia, a Senatorial Province, for -attempting to exercise powers other than those of the business agent of -a private person. - -We may remark that the care of feeding the city, which we should have -expected to be in the department of the Senate, was really in the hands -of the Emperor, who held Egypt in his own exclusive management for that -special purpose; nor was Tiberius a sufficiently enlightened economist -not to attempt to control the price of corn. - -Another subject which from time to time still taxed the energies of the -Senate was the prevalence of alien rites, and especially of all forms -of magic and divination. - -It has been held that the Senate and people of Rome were particularly -free from religious intolerance; their behaviour in this matter has -been favourably contrasted with that of Christian governments, and -there are many who believe that the Romans never interfered with -religious observances till they adopted an attitude of exceptional -malignity towards the professors of Christianity. Such a view does -not, however, correctly represent the facts of the case. Comparatively -early in its history the Roman Senate had proceeded with considerable -severity against those who were infected with that strange hysterical -epidemic which spread over Europe under the guise of the worship of -Bacchus, and in the year 19 A.D. we find the Senate passing decrees to -repress Egyptian and Jewish religious rites. According to Suetonius -the devotees were ordered to burn their vestments and other religious -furniture, while he and Tacitus agree in telling us that four thousand -freedmen “infected with that superstition” who were of fitting age for -military service were sent off to Sardinia to check brigandage there, -“and if they should perish in the unwholesome climate, it was not a -serious loss.” “The rest,” according to Tacitus, “were to withdraw from -Italy unless they abandoned their profane observances before a fixed -date.” The language of Tacitus does not distinguish between Jew and -Egyptian so far as religion was concerned, for though he mentions both -races, he only alludes to one superstition. - -The persecution of Jews on religious grounds is thus anterior to -Christianity, and the persecutions were not confined to Jews and -Egyptians; Chaldæans were included, and as we have already seen, after -the case of feather-headed Scribonius Libo Magians and “mathematicians” -were also expelled from Italy. - -In these persecutions Tiberius is not directly responsible, he left -the matter in the hands of the Senate. Sardinia was a Senatorial -Province, and he apparently saw no reason for interference. Italy was -not, however, swept clear of “mathematicians” and other persons under -the ban of the Senate, with whom in fact the head of the executive was -probably in private sympathy, for Thrasyllus the “mathematician” had -been his constant attendant since the days of the retirement at Rhodes. -Decrees for the expulsion of these undesirables recur under subsequent -Emperors. - -The subject is a complicated one, and the more complicated to us -because men so diverse according to our conceptions are included in the -same ban. We do not know much of the Chaldæans and Magians, but we know -something of the Jews, and we are surprised to find them classed with -Egyptians and subjected to the same penalties as Chaldæans, Magians and -“mathematicians,” and we further ask ourselves why the Senate, which -countenanced the worship of the Great Mother and other alien deities, -assumed an attitude of intolerance towards the Jews. - -The attitude of the Jews towards other religions was essentially -different from that of the priests of Cybele or any other Pagan -divinity. Jupiter or Mars or Vesta could tolerate the temples of other -Gods, and the respect paid to other Gods--it was of the essence of -polytheism to multiply divinities--but the Jew declared that there -was only one God; his God was not one of many Gods, but the only God, -and the worship of other Gods was wrong and monstrous. Thus to the -Roman Senate the observances of the Jews were actually “profane”; -they involved hostility to existing religions, and toleration of the -Jews was therefore impossible for the orthodox Pagan. Again, it is -important to remember that the Jews at this period were not shut up -in ghettos, and visibly separated from the rest of the community; -whatever differences in dress and customs distinguished them from -other inhabitants of the cities in which they dwelt were not peculiar -to them; the Syrian, the Egyptian, the Gaul, men of many other -nationalities wore their distinctive dress and practised their national -religions in every populous city of the Empire. The Jews might for -convenience live in the neighbourhood of a synagogue, and thus give -portions of the cities which they inhabited the aspect of a Jewish -quarter; but such separate residence was not enforced upon them; they -moved freely among the people; many of them were in positions of trust, -their princes, the Herods, were on intimate terms with the Imperial -family, and their young men took part in the diversions of the Roman -youth; among them were ardent proselytisers, their peculiar doctrines -were well known to the educated, and though Horace might laugh at their -credulity, his sneer indicates how well they were known. The unhappy -four thousand young men who were sent to Sardinia were either freedmen -or the sons of freedmen, a fact which shows that they, or their -fathers, had been the trusted servants of Romans. But the Jews were no -more homogeneous then than now; if they had their Rothschilds, they -had also their Jews of mean streets, their “vagabond Jews, exorcists”; -and if the great financier was the trusted friend of an Emperor, the -small moneylender of the slums was as much detested in ancient Rome as -he is in modern London. There were Jews who were deservedly respected -for their great intellectual ability, for the purity of their lives, -for the dignity of their religion; but there were also Jews whose -disreputable callings and mean habits involved at least a section -of their race in such contempt as to lead Tacitus to contemplate -with satisfaction their extinction in the fever-haunted swamps of -Sardinia. We should, however, be on our guard against attributing to -the contemporaries of Tiberius the same degree of animosity against -the Jews which was felt by the contemporaries of Trajan; for, in spite -of the sweeping decrees of the Senate, the Jews steadily advanced in -importance, and the anti-Semitic sentiment of Tacitus was evoked not -only by the disreputable section of the chosen people, but also by the -men who, as members of the Imperial household, had a large share in the -administration of the State. - -Again, we should be mistaken if we attributed to the whole Jewish race -distributed throughout the civilized world the same sentiments which -prevailed among the bigoted Jews of Jerusalem. Even at Jerusalem, where -the introduction of the Roman standards invariably produced a riot, -the priests of the Temple accepted the offerings made by the different -Roman generals who passed by or occupied the Sacred City; and the -omission of a Gentile commander to show this form of respect to the -one God was somewhat inconsistently resented. At Alexandria especially -free intercourse with men who represented the wisdom of the Egyptians -and the Greeks modified the conceptions of orthodox but not bigoted -Jews, and the spirituality of Judaism steadily tended to prevail over -its ceremonial exclusiveness. Learned Jews enjoyed as wide reputations -as other learned men, and were in communication with learned Greeks; -Tiberius himself is said to have nicknamed Apion the Greek, to whose -anti-judaic treatise Josephus replied, “the rattle of the universe.” - -But while on the one hand a reformed and spiritualized Judaism was -tending to become the effective religion of the Empire, the debased -Judaism was joining hands with the other demoralizing superstitions of -the East. No one who has read the Acts of the Apostles and the Epistles -of St. Paul attentively can deny that if there were spiritually-minded -Jews like the great Apostle, there were also Jews who practised -exorcisms and divination, and who studied “curious books.” We know -little of the peculiar tenets of the Chaldæans and the Magians, equally -little of the Egyptians, except as worshippers of Isis, but we know -that fortune-telling and witchcraft were practised by them, no less -than dignified inquiries into the laws of nature, so far as their -imperfect means of observation permitted. The dividing line between -Thrasyllus the “mathematician,” the friend of Tiberius, and those men -whom foolish Libo consulted, would have been difficult to draw, science -was not to be clear of superstition for many ages, but there were -respectable astrologers, genuine, though perhaps mistaken, searchers -after truth, alongside of the disreputable charlatans who interpreted -dreams and told fortunes and held sway over the dissolute imaginations -of needy profligates by means of conjuring tricks and skilfully -organized conspiracies with numerous confederates. Even the purest of -Jewish sects--if indeed they can be called a sect--the Essenians, laid -stress upon their powers of predicting events by means of the stars. - -Polytheism was in fact tolerant so long as an enemy had not declared -himself; it was no sooner conscious of an enemy than it persecuted, -and the persecution was no less a persecution because it was prompted -by mixed motives. There may have been good reason for mistrusting the -influence of the diviners upon persons of weak mind, for suspecting -them of helping to bring about the accomplishment of their predictions -by the use of poisons, and of prompting plots in whose success they had -a personal interest; but it was also inevitable that the emergence of a -new religious attitude should alarm, and that its professors should be -subject to attack. In times of popular excitement the monotheists were -persecuted by the enlightened rationalists no less than by the orthodox -polytheists, and many motives over and above religious intolerance -contributed to sharpen the laws against the Jew and the diviner. Not -the least of these was the dread of poison, a very lively terror -even in modern times, till the accumulations of chemical and medical -knowledge restricted the sphere of operations of mysterious drugs; and -there may well have been some foundation for the superstitious dread of -secret poisoning by which many of the ancients were affected. Not only -was the charlatan ready to magnify his own powers, and to ascribe to -his spells and incantations deaths from purely natural causes, but the -older civilizations of the East had doubtless preserved many secrets of -pharmacy which were skilfully used by adepts to impress the imagination -of the vulgar. - -At this very day the medicine men and women, the Papaloi and Mamaloi -of the Black Republic of Hayti, exert a power above the laws by their -knowledge and use of poisons, from which even the educated white man -cannot escape. Before we condemn the Roman Senate for its intolerance -of magicians and its superstitious dread of their powers, we must place -ourselves in their position, limit ourselves to their knowledge; and -again we must be modest enough to remember that we still consider it -necessary to protect the ignorant dupe from the fortune-teller, that -the law is not unfrequently called into action in such cases, and that -the clients of the spiritualist and diviner of to-day are to be found -in all classes, and not exclusively among the poor and ignorant. - -While the Senate thus endeavoured to repress alien worships, it -continued to protect the sanctity of its own ritual; vestal virgins -were appointed in due form, though with increasing difficulty, as -the solemn form of marriage necessary for the proper parentage of a -vestal had fallen into disfavour. Considerable interest attached to the -case of a Senator named Servius Maluginensis, who had a claim to the -Proconsulship of Asia, and wished to evade the restrictions which were -imposed on him by the fact that he was Flamen Dialis, sublimest priest -of Jupiter. The ancient ritual forbade the Flamen Dialis to leave -the city for more than a day and a night in succession, and Servius -therefore attempted to prove that the ritual was obsolete, and that -exceptions had been allowed. The Senate discussed the case with due -solemnity, and then referred it to Tiberius, who in his turn remitted -it to the College of Pontiffs. Their decision was against Servius, and -the Province of Asia fell to the Senator next on the roll. - -A question of even greater importance, partly religious in its -character, required the decision of the Senate. Numerous Greek towns, -chiefly situated in the islands of the Ægean and along the coasts -of Asia Minor, had abused the rights of Sanctuary attached to some -of their temples. Not only were the rights of property imperilled -by the ready shelter given to runaway slaves, but the concourse of -unruly ruffians assembled in these insular Alsatias threatened to -disturb the public peace. A sanctuary, if conveniently situated, -might easily assume the character of a nest of pirates; the Greek -genius for brigandage has always been as remarkable as the Greek -gift for preaching morality. An attempt to suppress the sanctuaries -led to protests, and deputations from the towns concerned pleaded -their cause before the Senate. The arguments used in defence of the -sanctuaries are interesting, because they show a sense of continuity of -government from the times of Alexander to those of Tiberius. The claims -were partly based on mythological grounds, but more effectively on -recognitions granted by Alexander, and afterwards by Roman Proconsuls. -The maintenance of the sanctuaries was regarded as an honourable -distinction, and this aspect of the claims was pressed rather than the -material advantages. - -The abuse, however, was too alarming to be tolerated. One temple -alone, that of Æsculapius at Pergamus, which from other evidence seems -to have assumed the character of a school of medicine, retained its -privileges; the others were dismissed with honourable compliments, -and it was ordered that a copy of the Senatorial decree should be -inscribed on brass, and placed in a conspicuous position in the -temples concerned. Subsequently other sanctuaries were similarly dealt -with. The credit of thus dealing with a serious abuse is ascribed by -Suetonius to Tiberius, and it is possible that, though the actual -decision was made in the Senate, because the towns involved were in -a Senatorial Province, the initiative came from the Emperor himself. -If Tiberius was thus severe in correcting a time-honoured abuse, he -had been no less liberal in remitting taxation and furnishing relief -to numerous cities in the same part of the world, which had suffered -severely from an earthquake. In fact, though he was careful to observe -the constitutional forms, he kept a watchful eye upon the Senatorial -administration, and supplied the necessary stimulation for its -corporate conscience. - -Reference has already been made to the practice of supplementing the -resources of impoverished Senators, and to the severity with which -Tiberius treated such cases. The Senate was only too willing to vote -public money to provide pensions for its members. Tiberius recognized -the obligation, but he insisted that the beneficiary should make out -a good case, and be able to demonstrate that his distress was due to -misfortune, not to thriftlessness. The case of Hortalus, grandson -of Cicero’s rival, Hortensius, affords an illustration both of the -severity of Tiberius and of the curiously domestic character of the -Senate. - -In the year 16 A.D. Hortalus rose in his place in the Senate, having -posted his four sons at the door, where they could be seen by all; -he then spoke as follows, fixing his eyes alternately on the statue -of Hortensius standing among the orators, and that of Augustus:--“It -was not by my own will, but at the suggestion of the Prince, that I -begot and acknowledged these children, whose number and tender years -you behold; and indeed my ancestors had deserved that I should have -successors. For I, who owing to the revolutionary times could neither -inherit the ancestral property of my house, nor earn money, nor win -the affections of the people, nor train myself in eloquence, should -have had enough if my poverty had neither shamed nor burdened others. -At the command of the Emperor I married a wife. Behold the stock -and progeny of all those consuls and dictators. I do not say this -to disparage anybody else, but to win your compassion. The offices -that you confer, Cæsar, will be at your service while you reign; -meanwhile defend the great-grandchildren of Quintus Hortensius, the -children fostered by the sainted Augustus, from want.” In spite of -the mendacity of this statement--for on the father’s side, at any -rate, the family of Hortensius could only claim the credit of two -consulships and no dictatorships--the appeal was heard with favour -by the Senate, till Tiberius intervened with these words:--“If all -the poverty-stricken begin to come here and demand money for their -children, the applicants will never be satiated, and the public purse -will run dry. And indeed it was certainly never contemplated by our -ancestors when they allowed Senators to leave the matter in hand, and -move amendments for the public benefit, that we should endeavour to -increase our private fortunes in this place in such a manner as to -render the Senate and the Princes unpopular, whether they granted or -refused the largess. This is not a humble request; it is an impudent -demand, unseasonable, and unprecedented, to rise when the Senate are -assembled for the discussion of other matters, and do violence to the -kindness of the Senate by urging the number and age of one’s children, -and to pass on the same violence to me, and as it were break open the -treasury, which we shall have to supplement by injustice, if we exhaust -it in courting popularity. Money was given to you, Hortalus, by the -sainted Augustus, but without previous application, and certainly -not on the terms that once given it should be always given. Industry -will slacken, indolence will gain strength, if men’s hopes and fears -are not to depend on themselves, if all are confidently to look for -resources from outside, useless to themselves and a burden to us.” -Tiberius was clearly in the right, but the authorities whom Tacitus -consulted evidently thought that Hortalus had been hardly used, for -the narrative is continued:--“Although these and similar words were -listened to with favour by those whose custom it is to praise all that -falls from the lips of Princes, honourable and dishonourable alike, -the majority received them in silence or with subdued murmurs. And -Tiberius perceived this, and after a short silence said that he had -given Hortalus his answer. However, if the Senate thought well, he -would give each of his children of the male sex two hundred thousand -sesterces (about £3,000). The rest expressed their thanks. Hortalus -was silent, either from consternation or because he retained something -of his ancestral nobility even in his indigence. Nor did Tiberius show -him any further compassion, although the family of Hortensius fell into -disgraceful poverty.” - -The gift made by Tiberius was private and personal; he did not make -use of the public money for a purpose of which he had expressed strong -disapproval. The incident is chiefly interesting as indicating that, -in spite of the rude shocks given to the Senatorial system by Julius -Cæsar, the body had recovered its evil tradition of assuming that it -was at liberty to use the public purse to meet the private necessities -of its members. Hortalus was clearly a well-known spendthrift. - -The Senate, in fact, tended to become more and more a high court of -justice, in which its members and high officials were tried by their -peers, the cases being either political or such private cases as -had by long tradition fallen to the Senate as the guardian of the -morality of the privileged orders. It was tenacious of its privileges, -careless of its wider responsibilities. Tiberius treated it with formal -respect, and did his best to make it worthy of its opportunities; if -he could have avoided interfering with its administration of its own -provinces, he would have done so, but he was not prepared to submit -the provincials to misgovernment in order to maintain the prestige -of the Senate, and the misgovernment of Proconsuls was by no means a -thing of the past. Tiberius, like Augustus, supplied himself with an -inner Council of the Senate, and it is possible that on most occasions -this inner Council represented the whole body; but he did not restrict -himself to Senatorial Counsellors, and we are told that, in dealing -with provincial questions, he was always careful to provide himself -with the expert evidence of men who knew the localities concerned. - -Though the Senate could not shake itself free from the traditions -of its existence, and always represented the great families of the -City of Rome rather than Italy or the Empire, except in so far as it -provided the personnel of the Supreme Court of Appeal, it was curiously -indifferent to municipal matters. The city was policed by the Prefect -of the city, an official appointed by the Emperor, who held office for -long periods, and it was guarded by troops commanded by the Emperor. -The rank of Senator eventually became little more than an honourable -distinction, though from time to time the body possessed sufficient -coherence to bid for the power which it had lost, and even for short -periods to wield it. The distinction between Senatorial and Imperial -Provinces did not last long, the Imperial administration proving better -suited to the needs of the Empire. - -Many writers infected with the spirit of the nineteenth century have -advanced the opinion that the Roman Empire collapsed because the Romans -never hit upon representative government. It is curious that Augustus -very nearly effected this supreme achievement. He at one time proposed -to hold simultaneous elections of the Roman magistrates in all the -cities of Italy; the names of the candidates were to be posted up, the -votes were to be collected in ballot boxes, which were to be sent to -Rome sealed up, and afterwards counted in the city itself. This scheme -happily came to nothing, for the strength of the Roman Empire lay in -its respect for local government. The Provincial Governors were the -supreme umpires in their Provinces, but they did not concern themselves -with the details of local administration; the constitutions of Athens, -and even Sparta, continued to work even after these towns were included -in the Province of Achaia, and similarly throughout the Empire original -institutions were left to do their previous work. As we have seen, -the Governors of Provinces did not even control the organization by -which the Imperial taxes were collected. The local life of the Empire -was strong; Antioch and Alexandria, even the new cities of Gaul, -bowed reluctantly to Rome, and in course of time the position of the -Patriarch of Rome was not to be that of Primate of Christianity till -many a battle had been fought, and in fact the Popes never succeeded to -the full heritage of the Emperors. The Empire was the bond of union and -the peacemaker between an infinite number of self-governing units, it -provided a supreme arbitrator, a Supreme Court of Appeal. The Empire, -in fact, was peace; it was not a system of local as well as universal -administration. The introduction of representative government, the -substitution of an Elective Parliament at Rome for the Senate, would -have killed the vigorous local governments, and would not have improved -the administration of the Empire. Under such rulers as Augustus and -Tiberius, the Flavians and the Antonines, the organization of the Roman -Empire probably reached the limits of perfectibility; it would not -have been improved by collecting deputies from all parts of the world, -and expecting them to be responsible for the executive. Representative -institutions have not prevented official corruption or no less deadly -incompetence, nor has the absence of really free parliaments impeded -the advance of some modern nations; those diseases of the body politic -from which the Roman Empire is held to have suffered in a special -degree, corruption and official formalism, have not been unknown in -communities blessed with Houses of Representatives duly elected and -accredited. A multitude of counsellors neither protects an Empire from -corruption nor ensures wisdom in the conduct of its affairs, while -the conscience of any corporate body is notoriously duller than that -of each individual of which it is composed. The Roman Emperors were -wise in respecting local institutions, and in not imposing a strict -system of centralization, for it is unfortunately impossible to retrace -our steps, and when once the local life has been killed, it cannot -be revived. Decentralization as a matter of mechanical convenience -is possible after the central authority has drawn to itself all -the prestige of political life, but this is purely administrative -decentralization; when once the central government has absorbed the -vitality of local political life, it cannot give back that which it -has taken away. It was good for the Empire that the Senate should not -exclusively attract the ambition of capable men from the Provinces, -and on the other hand that the energies of the Emperors should be -distributed over a wide area. The Emperors had no time for universal -tyranny, and the extravagancies of Caligula, Nero, and Domitian were -scarcely felt outside Rome itself; they certainly did nothing to shake -the foundations of that fabric which had been so wisely laid by the -first two Emperors. - - - - -XVII - -Sejanus - - -One of the most trusted public servants of Augustus was a Roman -Equestrian named Seius Strabo; he hailed from an Italian, or rather -a Tuscan, city, his family having been long settled at Vulsinii, and -was thus exposed at Rome to the reproach of being a “new man.” Seius -Strabo was content with administrative work, and did not aspire to high -senatorial rank. Augustus made him commander of the Prætorian cohorts -which formed the garrison of Italy, and afterwards entrusted him with -the most important office in his gift, for he made him Governor of -Egypt, that valuable appanage of the Roman Emperors upon which the corn -supply of the capital depended. Seius married into the Junian gens, the -gens of Brutus the Liberator, and his son could in consequence claim -affinity through his mother with the most honourable Roman houses. This -son was adopted by a member of the Ælian gens, and thus became known -as Ælius Sejanus. He married a daughter of Apicius the Epicure, a very -wealthy man, but notorious rather than distinguished. - -The young Sejanus enjoyed the confidence of Augustus as his father -had done. He succeeded him in command of the Prætorians, and was made -adviser to Caius Cæsar when he went to the East. In this capacity he -did his best to counteract the mischievous counsels of Marcus Lollius, -and won the gratitude of Tiberius, which he soon improved into a -personal friendship. As Sejanus was made his father’s colleague in -B.C. 14, soon afterwards succeeding him in the sole command of the -Prætorian guards, he cannot have been much younger than Tiberius, for -he would hardly have been associated with his father before he was -twenty years of age, and in that case Tiberius would have been his -senior by only eight years. Even if we assume that Sejanus became -his father’s colleague at the age of sixteen, an age at which young -Romans commonly first entered on active service, he would still be -only twelve years younger than Tiberius; but it is very improbable -that so young a man would have been entrusted with the command of the -Prætorians. The question is of some importance, for the language of -the historians, perhaps unintentionally, conveys the impression that -Sejanus was a comparatively youthful favourite of the Emperor’s, who -owed his advancement to a blind partiality, whereas his acquaintance -with Tiberius had been almost lifelong, even if we assume that he was -little more than a boy when he first commanded the Prætorian guards. It -is far more probable that there were only three or four years between -the two men, and that the relations between Sejanus and Tiberius were -comparable to those between Augustus and Agrippa. - -Paterculus, who admired Sejanus, is curiously apologetic about the -obscurity of his family. He suggests that it was not so obscure as was -generally supposed, and again that obscurity of descent is no bar to -admission to the public service; he quotes very ancient examples, and -the more modern ones of Marius, Cicero, and Asinius Pollio. - -In fact the Revolution, which had broken the political power of the -old Roman aristocracy, had been succeeded by a reaction in favour of -great names and exalted lineages, which would have given the Senate a -new lease of power had that body been capable of effective work. The -History of Livy, the Fasti of Ovid, the later books of the Æneid, had -all combined to throw a glamour over the great Roman families, and the -new world of capable officials recruited from Italy and other parts of -the Empire found itself despised at Rome by the futile descendants of -legendary ancestors. We are told that the Emperor Caligula was ashamed -of his grandfather, Marcus Agrippa, and was offended if reminded -of his descent from the ignoble Vipsanian stock. Tiberius himself -was evidently inclined to be a formalist in matters affecting the -aristocracy, and though he drew his trusted servants from all classes -and races, the deference which he paid to the Senate and the old -constitutional magistrates, along with his careful observance of the -old legal ritual, tended to foster aristocratic pretensions. - -To the memoir-writing Senators Sejanus was an upstart, and in spite -of the recent precedents of Agrippa and Mæcenas and other capable -colleagues of Augustus, the strict aristocracy could see nothing but -evil in the “new man.” On the other hand, a large party in the Senate, -representatives of the new hierarchy of officials, accepted Sejanus, -as Agrippa had been accepted; they followed the lead of Tiberius, and -after the death of Drusus in A.D. 23 were prepared to treat Sejanus as -the second person in the Empire. - -If Senators of ancient descent were disgusted at the position held -by Sejanus, the family of the Emperor were even more so. Drusus, a -hot-tempered man, is said on one occasion to have struck him, an -incident which may well have occurred when Drusus was a little boy or -petulant youth, and been turned to good account by sensation-loving -writers of memoirs. Agrippina could not contain herself in the -presence of this new oppressor of the children of Germanicus, the -great-grandchildren of the sainted Augustus, and so forth. These -poor innocents were, in her excited imagination, the victims of the -ambitions of Sejanus; that they were not from the moment of their birth -of an age to be entrusted with the conduct of affairs did not enter -into her considerations. - -Drusus died after an illness of some duration. Dio tells us that his -constitution had been impaired by intemperance and other excesses, -and there is other evidence that he had been a man of pleasure as -well as a man of business. A speech of his is recorded to the effect -that as long as he paid proper attention to his public duties he -was at liberty to enjoy his leisure as he pleased. He did not share -his father’s taste for literary pursuits or scientific research; -but Dio informs us that Tiberius was really attached to his son, -and insinuations to the contrary are probably derived from tainted -sources, from the private diaries of those to whom it was an axiom -that Tiberius hated those whom he was in duty bound to love, and -loved those only whom he ought to have hated. Even Tacitus, however -unintentionally, supplies evidence that Tiberius was much shaken by -his son’s death, for though he tells us that Tiberius did not allow -the illness or death of Drusus to interfere with the discharge of his -public duties--a piece of stoical conduct quite in accordance with the -character of time-honoured Roman models--he also tells us that the -Emperor spoke at the time of resigning his office to the Consuls or -some other. According to Tacitus, the Emperor also addressed a long -speech to the Senate, in which he deplored the extreme old age of -Livia, and his own declining years still unprovided with grandchildren. -This latter statement was not correct, for Drusus had left a son, a -second Tiberius, unless indeed we are to assume that the Emperor did -not think he was at liberty to count a descendant who was still too -young to be introduced to the Senate. We are further told that Tiberius -then begged that the children of Germanicus, “the one consolation of -his present misfortune,” might be brought into the Senate house, that -the Consuls went out, and after encouraging the lads, placed them in -front of the Emperor. He took them by the hand, and said: “Conscript -Fathers, I entrusted these orphans to the care of their uncle, and -begged him, although he had children of his own, to cherish them as he -would cherish his own blood, and own them, and educate them for himself -and posterity. Now that Drusus has been taken from us, I address my -petition to you, and I implore you, in the presence of our gods and -our country, to adopt, to guide the great-grandchildren of Augustus, -descendants of such a splendid stock, and to fulfil your duty and my -own. These worthy counsellors, Nero and Drusus, will be your parents. -You have been born in such a position that your good or bad conduct is -a matter of public concern.” - -The funeral of Drusus was conducted with unusual pomp; the whole line -of the Julians back to Æneas appeared in effigy in the procession, all -the Alban kings, Romulus, the Sabine nobility, Attus Clausus, and the -rest of the famous Claudians. The magnificence of the Imperial family -in both branches was thus emphasized. - -The death of Drusus, in fact, left Tiberius in much the same position -as Augustus had been left by the death of Caius Cæsar. Neither the -Claudian nor the Julian lines were represented by men of an age to -lead the State. It is true that the brother of Germanicus, the future -Emperor Claudius, was of mature age and in full enjoyment of such -faculties as he possessed, but he had long been consigned to a private -life, apparently with his own consent. The men who had worked with -Tiberius all his life, Marcus Lepidus, Asinius Gallus, Lucius Piso, the -Prefect of the city, and others, were now of very advanced age. Sejanus -was the only administrator who held a position at all comparable to -that which Tiberius had held during the later years of Augustus, but -there was this important difference; Tiberius, apart from his personal -merits and long experience, had been the representative of the old -Roman aristocracy; his succession did no violence to the prejudices -of the restored Senate. Sejanus, on the other hand, was a new man; if -he represented any particular party, it was the Equestrians, the old -enemies of senatorial pretensions; his exaltation was a victory of the -officials over the survivors of the hereditary aristocracy. - -The services which Sejanus had done to the State were not of that -brilliant character which would seem to justify his promotion; he -had not distinguished himself by conspicuous military service on the -frontiers, though his uncle, Junius Blæsus, had dealt successfully with -the mutineers early in the reign of Tiberius, and had more recently -earned a triumph by a series of successful campaigns in northern -Africa, and Sejanus may have enjoyed a reflected glory from these -achievements. It is true that there may be a conspiracy of silence as -to his exploits, but even Paterculus, his admirer, has nothing definite -to record, and praises him in general terms only as the capable -assistant of Tiberius. - -It is probable that his merits were those of a good organizer, merits -which would be known to those who were working at the centre of -affairs, and would be appreciated by Tiberius himself at their true -value, but would escape general attention, for the waywardness of human -judgement is such that years of patient faithful and laborious devotion -to the public service often fail to secure recognition, and a moment -of victory weighs more in the public opinion than many hours spent in -organizing the forces by which that victory is obtained. - -The one great work of Sejanus has, quite undeservedly, involved his -name in obloquy. He organized the Prætorian guards, and collected that -portion of them who were on duty at Rome in barracks. The Prætorian -guards constituted the home army of Italy; they were not only the -bodyguard of the Emperor. Indeed, it seems that in the time of Augustus -the Emperor’s bodyguard was a selected troop of Germans, the Swiss -guards of the Pope being thus curiously anticipated by the first -Emperor. The organization of the Prætorians was slightly different from -that of the rest of the army; they were divided not into legions--or, -as we should say, regiments--of about 6,000 men, but into cohorts (the -cohort, or battalion, ordinarily consisted of 600 men, but a Prætorian -cohort numbered 1,000). In other words, the home army was divided into -units available by their size for garrison purposes. These men received -higher pay and better allowances than the legionaries, and were, in -fact, the pick of the service. Everything was done that could be done -to attach them to the person of the Emperor and to distinguish them -from the rest of the army. - -The mutinies in Pannonia and on the Rhine had indicated a weak spot -in the organization of the Empire. How if the mutineers had been -successful, if Germanicus had not resisted their wish to make him -Emperor? They would have marched upon Rome. It was clearly necessary -that Italy should be provided with a sufficient force to defend -the seat of government from its own armies and to demonstrate the -inevitable failure of any attempt from the Provinces to overturn the -civil power. It was probably considerations of this nature which -impelled Tiberius to give careful attention to the organization of the -Prætorians, and he doubtless considered himself fortunate in being able -to entrust this important work to a capable officer of whose fidelity -he was well assured. - -The absence of barracks had proved a source of disorder; the Prætorians -had been scattered in lodgings throughout the city and other towns. Not -only was their discipline thus rendered a matter of difficulty, but -their sense of corporate unity was impaired, and the language used of -them inclines us to the supposition that so far from being an adequate -police force, they were not infrequently themselves the source of -disturbances in the streets. In order to correct these abuses, Sejanus -built a large camp just outside the walls of Rome; it occupied the site -of the well-known Pincian gardens. The force thus organized numbered -twelve thousand men--three so-called Urban cohorts, nine Prætorian. -The men were carefully chosen from the regions adjacent to the city, -or from the ancient Latin colonies; care was taken to give them a -specially Italian character. - -The distinction between Urban and Prætorian cohorts, coupled with -the statement of Suetonius that Tiberius placed garrisons throughout -Italy, while there is no mention in Tacitus of any legion told off to -the Italian service, suggests that the camp of the Prætorians at Rome -only accommodated those cohorts which were on duty at the capital. -It was the headquarters of the whole force, but was not habitually -occupied by the whole force. It seems to have been felt that even the -Prætorians were not strong enough by themselves to defend Italy in -case of emergency, for there was a further provision in the shape of -an arrangement with Cotys, the King of Thrace, by which he was bound -to keep a force ready, if called upon, to defend northern Italy at the -dangerous corner of the Adriatic. Sejanus undoubtedly showed capacity -as organizing commander-in-chief in Italy, and Tiberius felt deeply -the need for this assistance. He knew that the defence of the Empire -was inadequate; he knew that the revenue appropriated to that defence -was also inadequate, and it was for this reason that he habitually -prided himself upon solving difficulties with the frontier princes by -diplomacy rather than by an appeal to arms. He was thus prepared to be -grateful to a man who could find a means of increasing the efficiency -of the home forces without adding to their numbers. Tiberius had, in -fact, serious misgivings as to the quality of the troops. Addressing -the Senate early in A.D. 23, he told them that the supply of voluntary -soldiers was short, and that where the numbers were adequate the morale -of the men was unsatisfactory, because the recruits were generally -impoverished and homeless men. Apparently, compulsory service, except -in the case of special agreements with recently conquered territories, -such as the Thracian kings, had been allowed to fall into abeyance, -and Tiberius talked of visiting the Provinces in order to revive the -compulsory levies. It is not uninteresting to note that the organizers -of the Roman Empire had to meet some of our own difficulties. Men would -not enlist who had anything better to do; they had, as we have seen, -the further artificial difficulty that they could not draw soldiers -from the working classes, who were slaves. - -Tacitus and his authorities, keeping their eyes fixed as usual upon -Rome, do not tell us what arrangements were made for the rest of Italy, -but it is not probable that the use of the barrack system was confined -to the capital; the same cause will have everywhere been followed by -the same results, and have demanded the same remedy. The innovation -was an important one, for though the legions on active service, or -in disturbed districts or imperfectly subjugated countries, lived -in permanent camps, and though the military colonies in Italy had -had something of the same character, a permanent standing army with -permanent barracks was a new thing. - -The arrangement at first met with universal approval. The towns were -relieved of the presence of disorderly soldiers in the streets, and -on the occasion of a riot the soldiers could be depended on to act -together and preserve order; they were not united by various ties of -familiarity with the rioters. - -The fact that a new force had been created which could be used to -coerce the Government escaped notice at first, and Sejanus was held to -be a public benefactor. - -He further achieved some measure of popularity by his energy and skill -in stopping the spread of a conflagration which originated in the -theatre of Pompeius, and the grateful Senate voted that his statue, -magnificently gilded, should be set up in the place where he had saved -the lives of the citizens. - -When Drusus died Tiberius was sixty-five years of age. Nothing had -occurred to shake his confidence in Sejanus. At home and abroad the -Government seemed to be strong and settled, and the Emperor felt that -he was at liberty to withdraw himself from any but the most urgent -public business. Tacitus and the authorities whom he followed accused -Tiberius, with their customary animosity, of mere hypocrisy when he -talked of abdicating; they forgot that he had once before retired from -public life, and only been brought back to it with difficulty, and -that, in accepting the cares of the Empire, he had expressed a hope -that the Senate would one day allow him a period of rest in his old -age. From this time he, in fact, began tentatively to absent himself -from Rome and to avoid public functions. Eventually, in A.D. 26, he -finally withdrew to the island of Capreæ, and though he sometimes -approached the city, never entered it again. Meanwhile Sejanus acted as -his Regent at Rome. - -We are now approaching the great tragedy of the reign of Tiberius, -a tragedy whose details will never be made clear unless some happy -investigator in the libraries of a monastery or the sands of Egypt -should recover for us the missing books and chapters of Tacitus, and -other authors whose works we have lost. - -Though after the death of Drusus Tiberius appeared less frequently -in public, he still conducted business in the Senate, and even after -he had definitely withdrawn from Rome occasionally appeared in the -vicinity of the city. In the year 27 A.D. a temporary wooden theatre, -constructed by a speculator at Fidenæ, not far outside the walls of -Rome, collapsed, involving in its ruins no less than twenty-five -thousand persons. This disaster was almost immediately followed by a -fire on the Cælian Hill, a crowded quarter of Rome. On both occasions -the Emperor gave lavish assistance from his private purse, and promoted -measures likely to prevent the recurrence of such catastrophes. He -continued to transact the business which appertained to what we should -call the Foreign Office of the Empire, and on all important occasions -communicated with the Senate by letter, showing in such communications, -at least up to the year 31 A.D., no abatement of his former ability; -but he did, in fact, withdraw his attention from the details of -government, and allowed the conduct of the legal processes in the -Senate to pass into the hands of Sejanus. - -Sejanus, so far as we can learn from our authorities, took advantage -of the increasing aversion of the Emperor from public affairs to take -his place, to promote his own favourites, and gradually to occupy even -in the eyes of the Prætorians that position which really belonged to -Tiberius. It is possible that his procedure in the Senate was more -autocratic than that of the Emperor. - -The situation was complicated by the continuance of the domestic -rivalries of the Imperial household, which, on the death of the aged -Livia in 29 A.D., broke out into a series of horrors whose exact nature -cannot from want of evidence be determined, though it may be surmised. - -The opposition to Sejanus was twofold: there was what may be called the -constitutional and personal opposition of a large party in the Senate, -who refused to submit to the domination of a new man, and there was -the private opposition of members of the Imperial family, Tiberius -being almost alone in his appreciation of the good qualities of his -subordinate. Thus the sources of our information are discredited from -the outset. The memoirs of Agrippina are coloured by her mother’s -long-standing feud with the Emperor and all whom he trusted, and the -memoirs of Senators are equally likely to be coloured by detestation of -the upstart. It is perhaps for this reason that the annals of the seven -years succeeding the death of Drusus are more than usually filled with -senatorial prosecutions and suggestions of unfairness. It is indeed -possible that Sejanus took some pains to remove political adversaries -by encouraging prosecutions against them, but, except in one instance, -there is no sufficient evidence of perversion of the forms of justice, -and as a rule the hostile comment amounts to little more than an -affirmation of the maxims that a Senator could do no wrong, that he -was always innocent if he committed suicide, and that somehow Tiberius -or Sejanus, or both, were responsible for the act of cowardice which -terminated his dishonoured existence. - -In comparison with the greater interests of the Empire, the squalid -scandals which ended in the fall of Sejanus may seem undignified; but -they have their interest also, not only in the obloquy with which they -have covered the name of the “ablest of Roman Emperors,” but in the -disparagement which through them has attached to the Empire itself. The -fall of Sejanus was, in fact, the fall of Tiberius, and the sinister -events with which it was accompanied have cast their shadow upon the -whole subsequent history of the Emperors. A fashion was then set, and -a tone was adopted, which has influenced historians for all time. The -lives of the Cæsars in the pages of Suetonius are little better than a -Newgate calendar; the various works of Tacitus are little better than a -continued jeremiad, in which nobody is good except men unconnected with -the administration, the Germans, and the historian’s father-in-law. For -this peculiar attitude there was certainly no sufficient reason up to -23 A.D., and in the subsequent events till the accession of Caligula -even the bitterly hostile evidence indicates that the Emperor was more -sinned against than sinning. - -The story as it has been handed down to us, so far as it can be -collected from fragmentary documents, is to the following effect. -Sejanus formed designs upon the succession at a comparatively early -period; after the death of Germanicus one man alone, Drusus, stood -between him and the object of his ambition. In order to compass the -destruction of Drusus, Sejanus, a man certainly past fifty years of -age, if not close upon sixty, laid siege to Livilla, the wife of -Drusus, the sister of Germanicus. Successful in his assaults upon her -not impenetrable chastity, he divorced his wife Apicata, and joined -with Livilla and a favourite freedman of Drusus in a conspiracy. -Drusus, according to the story, did not die a natural death; he was -poisoned by Sejanus through the instrumentality of his favourite -Lygdus. The way to the succession now lay clear, for the son of Drusus -was still a child, and the eldest sons of Germanicus were little -older; moreover, it was supposed that Tiberius disliked the family -of Germanicus. To the disappointment of Sejanus, Tiberius showed an -inclination to favour this family, and though he sharply reproved -the Senate for attempting to confer premature honours upon them, he -introduced them to the Senate, and as they advanced in years treated -them as his probable successors along with his own grandson. - -Sejanus then, we are told, by means of secret emissaries worked upon -the excitable temperament of Agrippina in the hope that she would -involve herself and her family in ruin by committing some unpardonable -offence against Tiberius. In this he was eventually successful, though -so long as Tiberius continued to live at Rome the violence of Agrippina -was met by somewhat amused contempt. Thus it is recorded that on one -occasion Agrippina, goaded by the agents of Sejanus, burst in upon -Tiberius when he was sacrificing in presence of the statue of Augustus. -The scene is brought home to us if we imagine that the famous statue -of the Prima Porta found on the site of Livia’s villa was the statue -in question. A friend, and indeed cousin, of Agrippina’s, one Claudia -Pulchra, had been accused of unchastity and of magical performances -directed against the Emperor himself. It was suggested to Agrippina -that she was the person really attacked, and being “always violent,” -as Tacitus says, she went straight to the Emperor, and, in allusion to -the solemn occupation in which she found him engaged, declared that “a -man had no right to offer victims to the sainted Augustus and at the -same time persecute his posterity. The divine spirit had not passed -into dumb images, but his real presentment, born of his divine blood, -understood the inconsistency, and mourned.” She went on to describe -the attack upon Claudia as an attack upon herself. Tiberius for once -was provoked to a retort, and, quoting a Greek poet, said, “Your only -injury, daughter, is that you are not Queen.” This scene in the calm -presence of the statue of Augustus was followed by another. Cousin -Claudia was found guilty of the offence with which she was charged; -but Agrippina persisted in her grievances. She fell into ill-health; -Tiberius visited her; she received him at first in silence, then burst -into floods of tears. She bewailed her loneliness, and begged him to -find her a husband; she was still young, she said; marriage alone would -relieve her from the contumelious position in which she found herself; -there were plenty of men in the State who would not disdain to welcome -the wife and children of Germanicus. - -Tiberius left her on this occasion without uttering a word. Then it was -suggested to the aggrieved lady by the emissaries of Sejanus that her -life was in danger, that poison was being prepared for her, that she -should refuse to dine with the Emperor. In consequence, on the next -occasion on which she partook of a meal with the head of the family -she passed all the dishes, till Tiberius, noting her want of appetite, -picked up a particularly fine apple and handed it to her with much -praise of its merits; the unhappy lady at once passed the fruit to -the slave who stood behind her. Tiberius merely turned to his mother -and remarked that it would not be strange if he dealt severely with a -woman who accused him of poisoning. This speech led to diverse horrid -surmises, but was obviously without any serious purpose, as Agrippina -lived unmolested for another five years. - -Tacitus tells us that he quoted these details directly from the memoirs -of the younger Agrippina, who was possibly present on the last of the -three occasions. - -After Tiberius had retired to Capreæ the conspirators Sejanus and -Livilla were able, we are told, to control the correspondence which -was sent to him from the capital. Imprudent remarks made by Agrippina -and her sons were carefully reported to him; the provocation which had -occasioned them was not reported. The old man was induced to see in -the conduct of his great-nephews a repetition of the excesses which -had ruined Caius and Lucius Cæsar at the same age. Sejanus fomented -discord between the brothers. Drusus the elder was given the office -of Prefect of the city; he was encouraged to fear the jealousy of his -brother, who was his mother’s favourite. After the death of the aged -Livia, Agrippina and her son Nero acted in such a way as to give an -opportunity to their enemies; they courted popular favour, and their -friends openly advised them to take refuge with the armies on the -Rhine, or to take sanctuary with the Senate and invoke the protection -of the Roman people. Meanwhile Sejanus had in A.D. 25 formally begged -Tiberius to confer upon him the hand of Livilla, the widow of his son -Drusus. Tacitus gives what profess to be extracts from the letter which -he addressed to the Emperor on the subject, and from the reply which -he received. They are to the following effect. Sejanus is represented -to have said that “he had become so habituated to the kindness of -Augustus, and then by many proofs to that of Tiberius, as to address -his hopes and prayers to the ears of the Princes as soon as to the -gods. He had never asked for brilliant office, he preferred to share -with the common soldiers the toils of guarding the Emperor. Still he -had obtained what he thought most honourable, he was thought worthy of -association with Cæsar. On this his hopes were founded. And as he heard -that Augustus had once taken into consideration the claims of Roman -knights when he was thinking about placing his daughter, so he begged -Tiberius, if a husband were sought for Livilla, to remember a friend -who would be content with the mere honour of relationship. He did not -wish to be relieved of the duties which had been imposed upon him; he -thought it sufficient that the family should be strengthened against -the malicious persecutions of Agrippina, and that for the sake of the -children. For himself the life which he had already lived with such a -Prince would be much and more than enough.” - -The genuineness of this document is certainly open to suspicion. It -is notorious that Tiberius particularly disliked any form of address -or exaggerated respect which put him on a level with the gods; nor -could Sejanus have openly alluded to the extravagances of Agrippina -without running the risk of incurring a smart rebuff, unless indeed -he were already on such familiar terms with the Emperor that his -previous humiliation of himself was unnecessary. The document has -probably passed through the crucible of Agrippina’s memoirs. The -reply attributed to Tiberius, though not beyond suspicion, has a more -genuine note, and resembles other speeches and documents of the same -author in its general character. The Emperor began with commending -the loyal affection of Sejanus, and, after demanding time for full -consideration, added that whereas other men have to think only of -what is conducive to their own interests, Princes must think before -all things of their reputation; and therefore he did not reply, as it -was simple to do, that Livilla could decide for herself whether she -would take another husband in succession to Drusus or would continue -to live in the same house, that she had her mother and grandmother, -her nearer advisers. He would deal more plainly. In the first place, -there was the question of the animosity of Agrippina, which would -be far more violent if the marriage of Livilla set the house of the -Cæsars at variance. Even as things were, the rivalries of the women -occasionally broke out, and his grandchildren were the victims of these -discords. What if the rivalry were rendered more intense by such a -marriage? “For you are mistaken, Sejanus, if you think that you will -remain in the same rank, and that Livilla, who has been the wife of -Caius Cæsar and then of Drusus, will be content to grow old with a -mere Roman knight. Even though I should permit it, do you think that -it would be allowed by those who have seen her brother, her father, -and our ancestors in the very highest offices? You indeed are willing -to stay in your present station; but those magistrates and nobles who -break through to me against your will, and consult with me on every -question, say without any concealment that you have already long ago -passed beyond the highest Equestrian dignity, and gone far in advance -of the friendship which my father showed you, and in consequence of -their envy of you I too am blamed. But you say Augustus thought about -conferring his daughter’s hand on a Roman knight. Surely we have no -reason to be surprised that when Augustus was distracted by every kind -of anxiety, and foresaw that the man whom he should raise above others -by such a match was immeasurably exalted, he did discuss the claims of -Gaius Proculeius and some others of noted tranquillity of life, and in -no way concerned with the business of the State. And if we are affected -by the hesitation of Augustus, how much stronger an argument is the -fact that he did place her with Marcus Agrippa and then with myself? -In consideration of our friendship, I have not thought it right to -conceal these considerations; however, I will not stand in the way of -what you and Livilla propose. I will omit for the present to refer to -some plans that I have formed, and to tell you the ties by which I -propose to associate you with myself. I will only disclose this, that -there is no position so lofty that it is not deserved by your virtues -and your disposition towards myself; and when the opportunity comes, I -will speak openly in the Senate, or in a public address.” - -Even in this letter there are suspicious passages. Tiberius could -hardly have spoken of the magistrates who broke into him against the -will of Sejanus without an admission of weakness, which is almost -incredible, unless we are to assume that he wished to snub Sejanus, an -assumption, however, which is not supported by the conclusion of the -letter. Nor was this letter a public document, preserved in the public -records; if preserved at all, it was among the family papers. - -One important hint we get from this letter: its writer or editor ranges -Livilla and her child in opposition to Agrippina and her children, -and saw in the possible marriage with Sejanus a strengthening of the -children of Drusus against the children of Germanicus. A similar -protection had been given thirty-six years previously to the children -of Julia, when Tiberius was made their stepfather. Livilla never -married Sejanus, but her attempt to marry him supplies a clue to -the labyrinth of plots in the Imperial household. If the principle -of heredity was to be recognized, the heirs to the throne were -Livilla’s son, the younger Tiberius, and Agrippina’s sons, the former -representing the Claudians, the latter the Julians, and the situation -was repeated which had existed when Tiberius and his brother had -represented the Claudians, Caius and Lucius Cæsar the Julians. - -Livilla, anxious for the safety of her son and eager to promote his -interests, endeavoured to fasten herself to the strongest man in the -State, who would unquestionably on the decease of Tiberius be in -possession of the controlling military power. - -According to the accepted story, there was a guilty connexion between -Sejanus and Livilla before the death of her husband, and Sejanus had -divorced his wife at the request of his paramour; the two together had -poisoned Drusus. - -All cases of poisoning are inherently suspect, and it is by no means -incredible that Drusus was not really poisoned, and that the guilty -intimacy of Livilla with Sejanus previous to the death of her husband -was surmised at a later period when her subsequent conduct had given -colour to such a story. According to the narrative supplied to us, -Sejanus cannot have been under fifty when this intimacy began, and was -probably nearer sixty; Livilla cannot have been less than five and -thirty. If the story is true, they were certainly a mature couple of -lovers. - -It is at least as probable that on the death of Drusus Livilla -endeavoured to enlist Sejanus in the cause of her son, and was prepared -to marry him, he being only too ready to strengthen his position by -such a match, as that Livilla had allowed a violent passion for a -sexagenarian to tempt her into infidelity to her husband and actual -crime. Again, Sejanus himself is never accused of plotting against -Tiberius; had his heart been set upon the throne, he would not have -waited for the Emperor’s death, whom in the ordinary course of nature -he was not likely to survive long. At the period when the Emperor -finally retired to Capreæ, and when he was moving from one villa to -another in Campania, the roof of a grotto in which the party were -dining suddenly fell in. Sejanus protected the Emperor’s person at the -risk of his own life. Had he been impatient for the succession, he -would have contrived that a happy accident should open the way to the -realization of his ambition. - -So far as the records go, we are at liberty to believe that Sejanus -made friends with the two probable successors and their supporters -in the Imperial family, the elder of whom was Drusus the son of -Germanicus; the younger, Tiberius the grandson of the Emperor. By so -doing he incurred the enmity of Agrippina and her younger son Nero. -He was restrained by no scruples of policy, no ties of kindred, from -driving the latter to desperation, and doubtless had many private -insults to avenge. He possibly considered it his duty to the Emperor to -protect him against the consequences of a pardonable weakness, which -Agrippina had hitherto abused, and believed himself to be doing a -signal service by eliminating from the Imperial circle such a dangerous -conspirator; and he was, unfortunately for himself, so unwise as to use -other than straightforward means to secure his ends. Meanwhile, as we -have seen, he practically held the regency, he promoted and rewarded -at will; he held a court at Rome, and it was generally understood that -honours and emoluments were to be obtained exclusively by courting -Sejanus. Some of the Senate fell in gladly with the new order, the -majority secretly opposed it, and many were bitterly hostile, though -restrained from showing their hostility by fear of Tiberius or respect -for his long services. - -In the year 29 A.D., soon after the death of the aged Livia, a letter -came to the Senate from Tiberius charging Agrippina and her son with -various offences, and demanding that they should be formally accused -and the matter then referred to himself. At this point there is a gap -in the Annals of Tacitus. We do not know what the steps were in the -process, or what evidence was brought against the guilty. We gather -from other sources that Agrippina was banished to the island of -Pandateria, and her son to another island, in which he killed himself -after a considerable interval, possibly at the suggestion of his -guards. Agrippina disappears from history ‘semper atrox,’ for on her -way into exile she was so abusive that the centurion in charge of the -party was obliged to impose restraint by force, and in the struggle -which ensued the lady lost an eye. The historians are silent as to -the previous damage suffered by the centurion. Nor did she abandon -her contumacious attitude on arriving at Pandateria. It was necessary -to feed her by force, and, in spite of the well-intentioned efforts -of her attendants, she is said to have succeeded two years later in -dying of starvation. Agrippina was not a woman of any real strength of -character; had she honestly revered her husband’s memory, and followed -his example, she would not have continued the Julian feud and handed it -down to two more generations. It is impossible not to feel some respect -for so stout and so reckless a hater, and nobody has ever disputed her -claim to certain domestic virtues which were lamentably absent from -other ladies of her family, and were certainly sufficiently advertised -by herself and her admirers; but in her maternal solicitude she was -more pushing than wise, and the evil of her example influenced her -children more than the good. The mother of Caligula, the grandmother -of Nero, was certainly not fortunate in the traditions which she -transmitted to her posterity, and if Nero really did poison his -half-brother Britannicus, with the connivance of his mother, the cup -may be said to have been mixed by his grandmother. - -The disgrace of Agrippina and her son Nero brought on the stormy stage -of the family politics Antonia the mother of Germanicus. This aged and -refined lady had carefully abstained from meddling in the feuds which -disturbed the Imperial household. She was now left in charge of the -younger children of Germanicus, of the future Emperor Caligula and his -sisters. Alarmed by the increasing power of the adverse faction, she -began to study the course of public events; she heard that Sejanus -was taking advantage of the Emperor’s retirement to tamper with the -fidelity of the Prætorians; dark hints reached her ears as to the means -by which Agrippina and her son had been entrapped, she feared some -yet more terrible catastrophe, and having collected her information, -she succeeded in getting it transmitted to Tiberius. The Emperor’s -confidence in his trusted friend and servant was shaken; he followed -up the evidence, and came to the conclusion that Antonia was right. -Suetonius quotes an extract from a private diary of Tiberius, in -which he says that he punished Sejanus because he had persecuted the -children of Germanicus. There is no reason to doubt the honesty of this -statement, though the events which followed have rendered it suspect. - -The blow must have been a severe one. Not only had Tiberius been -disappointed in a friend, but it was not even certain that he could -resume the reins of power and punish the offender if he wished. It is -the behaviour of Tiberius at this period which has justifiably gained -him credit for proficiency in dissimulation. He did not at once strike; -he first of all tested the temper of the Senate by writing coolly on -the subject of Sejanus, and sometimes expressing disapproval of his -actions, but yet not in such a way as to declare a breach with him. -Careful experiments proved that Sejanus had no real hold on the Senate. -In the same way means were found of testing the Prætorian guards, and -it was satisfactorily ascertained that they obeyed Sejanus simply as -the Emperor’s lieutenant. Tiberius took into his confidence Macro, the -Commander of the cohorts on guard at Capreæ and in the neighbourhood, -and agreed upon a plan of operations with him. Macro went to Rome -with letters to the Senate and Sejanus; the attendance of the latter -at a meeting of the Senate was particularly requested, it was hinted -that unexampled honours were in store for him. When Sejanus went -to the Senate House, Macro went to the camp of the Prætorians. The -proceedings in the Senate House were purposely protracted. A very long -letter was read from Tiberius, the purport of which was for some time -uncertain. Gradually it became evident that it was directed against -Sejanus, and it concluded with a demand for his arrest. Meanwhile -Macro had presented his credentials to the Prætorian guards; Sejanus -was superseded, and Macro appointed Prefect in his place; the soldiers -proceeded to renew their oath of fidelity to the Emperor, coupled with -that of obedience to their new commander. By the time when the ceremony -was over, the Senate had risen, and the body of Sejanus was being -dragged about the streets. - -No sooner had it become apparent that Sejanus was disgraced and no -longer enjoyed the favour of the Emperor than the long smouldering -hostility to the upstart broke out into a blaze of fury. Tiberius was -given no time for repentance or consideration; the fallen favourite -was judged and executed on the spot; his two children were similarly -condemned and executed; his friends were sought out and assassinated. -For some hours, if not for some days, there was a veritable reign of -terror at Rome, whose horrors the Emperor in his distant retirement did -not at first surmise, and when informed was powerless to check. - -This was the end of the careful restoration of the Senate planned -by Augustus and fostered by Tiberius, an outbreak of violence which -recalled the days of the Gracchi and the proscriptions. Tiberius did -not long remain inactive; order was restored, and judicial prosecutions -took the place of unlicensed murders. To the Emperor himself the -change to law and order brought but little comfort, rather a deeper -depth of despair. The whole story of the plots of Livilla and Sejanus, -as it was then believed, was revealed. Apicata, the divorced wife of -Sejanus, gave possibly tainted evidence of the machinations by which -the death of Drusus, the son of Tiberius, had been brought about. -Tiberius found that he had been the accomplice of the murderer of his -own son, and that in banishing Agrippina and Nero he had played into -the hands of that unnatural son and brother the other Drusus. Many of -his old and intimate friends were implicated with Sejanus; there had -been a conspiracy of silence, if not an active partisanship, and it was -difficult to determine the degrees of guilt. In spite of so many years -of public service and of single-hearted devotion to the interests of -others, Tiberius found that at the age of seventy-two he stood alone in -the world, hated and mistrusted by all. - -After the first shock, the vigour of the old man returned; he checked -the indiscriminate persecution of the friends of Sejanus, and he did -his best to secure for them a fair trial. The Empire itself was not -shaken by the blow, the effects of which did not extend beyond the -city of Rome and Italy; but it must have been a grievous wound to his -sensitive nature to discover that his oldest friends did not trust -him, and that even such a tried associate as Asinius Gallus followed -the example of the many weak-minded men who preferred suicide to -facing an inquiry into their conduct. Prosecutions in connection with -the Sejanus conspiracy seem to have continued for four years, but the -order of events is not quite certain. It is not probable that Tiberius -gave orders three years after the event to execute all the prisoners -together without further hearing. - -As Tiberius himself has generally been credited with responsibility for -the disasters which accompanied the fall of Sejanus, it is as well to -insist upon the evidence of Dio, who expressly says that Sejanus and -his children were condemned by the Senate, and that Tiberius had only -demanded his arrest. It had been found necessary on a previous occasion -to check the tendency of the Senate to order immediate executions of -persons whom they had condemned, and Tiberius had passed a decree that -an interval of ten days was always to elapse between condemnation in -capital offences and execution, in order that he might be communicated -with, and have an opportunity of revising the sentence. The violence -with which the adherents of Sejanus were persecuted was really a piece -of political vengeance; it was a revival of the old quarrel between the -Senatorial and Equestrian parties. In spite of the favour of Tiberius -the Senatorial party had not gained upon the Equestrians; in fact, as -the business of the Empire increased, the power of the Equestrians had -increased with it. Sejanus was only one of many capable administrators -whose activity and efficiency was in disagreeable contrast with -Senatorial incapacity; the outbreak in which he lost his life was -neither concerted nor foreseen. An opportunity occurred for indulging -an animosity which had hitherto found its expression in private diaries -and drawing-room conspiracies. The way of violence once opened, -self-preservation enforced a continuance in that evil path. After -the first blow had been struck, root and branch work was inevitable. -Sejanus was to leave no avengers behind him. - -Contrasted with this furious punishment of a political enemy and his -adherents is the curious patience of the Senate at a later date in -submitting to the excesses of a Caligula or a Nero. Only seven years -later Caligula succeeded his great-uncle. He apparently lost his reason -soon after he ascended the throne; he persecuted the Senate in every -possible way, he confiscated money, he dishonoured nobly born women, -he fined and executed, he even poured contempt, for he made his horse -Consul, and having sent for the trembling Senators in the middle of -the night, had them conducted to a dark room, where they were relieved -to find that nothing worse awaited them than the performance of a _pas -seul_ by the Emperor. Caligula was eventually assassinated, but not -by the Senate, who punished his murderer; they had submitted to his -caprices for more than two years. Nero, though sane, was scarcely less -extravagant in his treatment of the leading men at Rome, but, as has -been before observed, both Caligula and Nero are spoken of with less -abhorrence than Tiberius. - -It would seem that the Senators paid rather a heavy price for their -outbreak, and that a reign of spies and informers actually did set in -after the first disturbances, which followed the fall of Sejanus, had -been quelled. If Tiberius became suspicious, if he became apprehensive -for his personal safety, if he no longer interfered to stop trivial -charges and prevent unjust confiscations, if the liberty of allusive -libel was cut short, the Senate had given him very good reason for -mistrusting them individually and collectively. At the same time the -aristocratic party were smarting under a defeat; they had murdered -Sejanus and his posterity, and cut off the greater number of his -friends, but they had not succeeded in changing the constitution of -the Empire, nor had they shaken the power of the Emperor, who mounted -guard over them with his cohorts of Prætorians at the gates of Rome. -The city itself was more or less under martial law, for the part which -the populace had taken in hunting down the adherents of Sejanus had -been a vivid reminder of previous disastrous events in the history of -the capital. The very insecurity of the succession--for Caligula was -barely of age, and not in good health, while the young Tiberius was -little more than a child--impelled the aged Emperor to keep a tight -hand upon the public order, lest his death, an event probably near at -hand, should involve the State in civil war. Of those members of the -Imperial family who had known Augustus, Antonia and her son Claudius -alone survived; the former had always abstained from interference -in politics, and the latter was considered to be disqualified from -appearance in any public capacity. Nor had any of the numerous -marriages of the daughters and granddaughters of the immediate -successors of Augustus brought into the world any man of such striking -ability that he seemed worthy to govern. - -A strange destiny pursued Tiberius; he could not retire, he could not -shake off that servitude which was imposed upon him by the needs of the -Roman people. As he had been compelled to return from Rhodes and share -the burden of Augustus, so now he was compelled, if not to return from -Capreæ, yet to feel that upon him, and upon him alone, still rested the -responsibility for preserving the peace of the civilized world. - -Meanwhile the diaries were steadily written up; every case of apparent -persecution was faithfully recorded. Nor were the obscenities scribbled -on the walls or slily hinted at by the popular actors omitted from the -record, and of such there was a plentiful supply, for though Tiberius -had never been popular, and though his appearance in the streets of -Rome had terrified rather than pleased, the commonalty was insulted by -his absence. Undisguised contempt for the applause of the multitude -stirs a bitterer hatred than active oppression, for so strange are the -freaks of vanity that there are a large number of human beings who are -happier in being harried and driven than in not attracting notice. - - - - -XVIII - -The Retirement at Capreæ - - -The life of a public man at Rome was conducted on lines which must -have rendered the transaction even of private business a matter of -difficulty, and must have caused serious inconvenience to one upon whom -the burden fell of conducting the correspondence of the whole Empire. -The Emperor, equally with other men of eminence, was expected to live -largely in public; his day began with the dawn, when the crowd of -private clients and public courtiers assembled to greet him in the hall -of his house; the procession to the Senate House or the Forum followed, -when the great man was expected to recognize acquaintances whom he met, -and even to submit to being kissed by them, a practice which Tiberius -had the courage to forbid in his own case. After the business of the -Curia or the Courts was finished, the same solemn procession restored -the Emperor to his house. A respite was allowed in the noonday heat; -then followed the visits of friends, and the great meal of the day, -which might be in itself of the nature of a public function, and an -occasion for the informal transaction of business; after a short period -of relaxation the secretaries came, and letters were written till -late into the night. On the numerous occasions on which there was a -public holiday the Emperor was expected to take part in the shows and -processions, and a holiday for others was a hard day’s work for the -chief of the State. To escape unnecessary inroads upon his time, and to -secure for himself a fair portion of leisure, Tiberius decided to live -away from Rome, where it seemed to him that his presence was no longer -indispensable. The state of his health also suggested retirement. In -spite of a somewhat strict self-imposed regimen, Tiberius seems to -have suffered from a form of eczema, which disfigured his countenance, -and practically made it impossible for him to appear in public. The -Romans were particularly sensitive on the subject of their personal -appearance, and the Roman mob was by no means considerate of the -feelings of those who were afflicted with any deformity. The tall -figure of the Emperor was now bowed with age, his once handsome face -disfigured with blotches and sores and the unguents used as palliatives -of a malady probably aggravated by the pestilential and dusty air of -the crowded city. Under these untoward circumstances Tiberius did -what any other man would have done who was suffering as he suffered: -he looked for some spot healthily situated not far from Rome, close -enough to the great lines of communication to enable him to correspond -freely with all parts of the world, but sufficiently removed from the -beaten track to relieve him of the throng of unwelcome and importunate -visitors. After trying various country houses in Campania he fixed -upon the island of Capreæ as the ideal residence. Those who have seen -the island have no hesitation in commending the Emperor’s taste. - -Apart from its inaccessibility and the beauty of its surroundings, -Capreæ had this further attraction for Tiberius, that its elevated -rocks afforded ideal opportunities for the prosecution of his favourite -pursuit, for the Emperor was, as we have seen, an astronomer. It -would be rash to affirm that Tiberius in his astronomical research -was free from the taint of superstition with which that branch of -natural science was at that time infected, and indeed the fact that -he is said to have built twelve villas on the island, which he named -after the twelve planets, and inhabited at different periods, suggests -that he was a believer in the influences of the stars, or possibly -had a superstitious faith that places thus dedicated would be more -favourable to his observations at different seasons of the year. It -is, however, significant of the character of the intellect of Tiberius -that he fastened upon the one branch of science which even in those -days was tolerably exact, for though the real nature of the movements -of the heavenly bodies was unknown to the ancients, their observations -were accurate so far as they went; eclipses and occultations could be -predicted with a near approach to accuracy, and though the vulgar were -still terrified by the temporary disappearances of the sun or moon, to -the educated such events were, though mysterious, part of the orderly -laws by which the universe seemed to be governed. - -Tiberius himself was believed to be an adept in astrology, and stories -of his prescience have been handed down, based not improbably upon -really successful calculations, by which the future movements of the -planets were foretold. One of these stories is palpably absurd. It is -said that Tiberius predicted the future reign of Galba by quoting a -Greek verse to the effect that he too would have a share of the Empire, -but the story is also told of Augustus, and under circumstances which -involve no power of prediction, but simply a promise made by a kindly -potentate to an attractive child in the presence of his parents. - -The companions whom Tiberius took to share his retirement were such men -as a man with literary and scientific tastes would naturally select; -his old friend and companion Thrasyllus the “mathematician” was one; -there were also professors of literature; for the purposes of public -business a small staff of Equestrians and freedmen. The few Senators -who were invited to attend were private friends, a fact which caused -displeasure in high circles at Rome, where it was not understood, or if -understood was resented, that one object of the Emperor’s retirement -was to avoid the distractions of an official court and the trammels of -etiquette. - -We may dismiss once and for all as unfounded, and indeed absurd, the -stories of unmentionable obscenities and hideous cruelties practised -by the Emperor upon his lonely island. No man after reaching the age -of sixty-eight could suddenly fling himself into such an orgy of lust -as is described by Suetonius, and then live for nine years, the thing -is a physical impossibility. Again, Tiberius, though always stern, had -never been cruel. Instances of his humanity are not wanting during his -residence at Capreæ; he again gave lavish assistance to the sufferers -from a fire on the Aventine, and was at considerable pains to relieve -the distress of poor debtors, though the measures which he adopted were -not such as would commend themselves to rigid political economists. - -Again, as has been observed in an earlier portion of this narrative, -up to the time of the retirement to Capreæ Tiberius is known to us -only as an absolutely chaste man, as chaste as Agrippina herself. -There is no record, no insinuation even, of the presence of sensual -favourites in his camp or at his Court; he is not even accused of that -politic amorousness which is ascribed to the sainted Augustus, or of -the warmer amours which invest the life of the great Julius Cæsar -with an atmosphere of romance. That a man close on seventy should -suddenly change his habits is incredible, unless we are to assume the -existence of a hideous form of senile dementia, whose victim is to be -pitied rather than condemned. There are such cases, but the patients -are most commonly those who have continuously led impure lives, not -those who have been distinguished by self-restraint. We may be asked, -how then did such stories originate? It is impossible to track these -falsehoods back to their source; a reason for one of them may, however, -be suggested. Among the scandals of Capreæ was said to be the presence -of a large number of young people of both sexes who were sacrificed -to the Emperor’s lusts; they were of the noblest blood of Rome, a fact -which was supposed to have constituted their chief attraction. Now the -two grandchildren of Tiberius were quite young when the Emperor went -to Capreæ. Owing to his position he was guardian to many other such -children, and it would have been entirely in accordance with Roman -practice to educate all these young children together. We know that the -suite which accompanied the Emperor contained professional teachers. -For the sinister interpretation put upon the arrangement we have only -to recall the ineffable prurience of the Italian imagination in ancient -times. There are works of art, there are fragments of literature, there -are household ornaments dating from this period, and earlier periods -and later periods, which are simply indescribable in modern language. -The mystery of the Emperor’s seclusion was in itself enough to set -the foul tongues wagging and to stimulate the impure inventiveness of -the brothel-keepers in the capital; and there were men of rank, and -possibly women, only too glad to note down in their diaries evidence -collected from the mouths of slaves and other dependents. Similarly -with the stories of cruelty. The disturbed condition of political life -after the fall of Sejanus created an atmosphere of terror. Tiberius -had always been dreaded, and the sensation-mongers could find ready -credence for tales of atrocities, for which there was no such obvious -contradiction as would have existed had Tiberius been spending his days -in the full sight of his countrymen. These tales were believed because -everybody wished to believe them, and because there was no evidence to -the contrary. Because nothing was seen, anything was imagined. - -Similarly in the sensational narrative of judicial murders and -vexatious prosecutions with which Tacitus adorns his account of the -last seven years of Tiberius, the record is so imperfect, the animus -is so clear, that we may excusably suspend our judgment. In none of -these cases are we given the full evidence against the prisoner; in -all everything is told us that can be urged against the judge. It -was further the practice of the historians of the time to attribute -to Tiberius himself acts which were done by his agents even when -he had certainly not ordered the act in question. Suetonius, for -instance, states that Tiberius knocked out the eye of the obstreperous -Agrippina--he has the grace to add “by the agency of a centurion,” but -the story is told in such a way that the odium rests upon the Emperor, -and not upon the participants in an undignified scuffle. Similarly -there is a ghastly tale of the death of Drusus, the son of Agrippina, -by starvation, a process which is said to have lasted for two or three -years, during which every word uttered by the prisoner, every groan, -was faithfully reported to Tiberius; it is even represented that the -miserable man in the extremity of his anguish devoured his cushions. -That an official report was forwarded to Tiberius at regular intervals -of the conduct of this prisoner of State is what we should naturally -expect, nor is it impossible that an overzealous gaoler abounded in -details, nor again is it impossible that Agrippina the younger, -the sister of the prisoner, left an exceedingly harrowing, though -improbable, story in her memoirs. - -It is worthy of note that the elder Agrippina and her son Nero were -not recalled from their respective islands after the fall of Sejanus. -Seclusion in an island did not of itself involve any serious degree of -suffering, and we have mention of occasions on which Tiberius selected -for his exiles islands which were healthy or otherwise attractive. -The exiles were, in fact, simply removed to places from which they -could no longer disturb the public peace. Though it had transpired -that Agrippina and Nero were to some extent the victims of Drusus and -Sejanus, they had shown themselves inclined to be dangerous, and the -situation with regard to the succession was now such as to demand -exceptional precautions. In his dealings with Agrippina, Tiberius -surprises us by his forbearance rather than by his severity. - -As we do not know the exact nature of the conspiracy of Sejanus, so -we do not know the exact degree of guilt of the younger Drusus. Since -he was treated with exceptional rigour we may surmise that he was -implicated in a plot to depose the Emperor and enter at once upon the -coveted succession. After his death Tiberius wrote a letter to the -Senate giving a full account of his misdemeanours, an act which is -represented to have been scandalous, but was probably necessary. It -must be remembered that Sejanus was disgraced because of his practices -against Agrippina and Nero; he was immediately killed by the Senate. -After his death a deeper plot, and indeed a series of plots, was -revealed. - -An attempt was made to implicate Caligula in the guilt of these dark -transactions, but unsuccessfully. It was on this occasion that Tiberius -wrote that despairing cry to the Senate in which Tacitus savagely -triumphs--“If I know what I am to write to you, Conscript Fathers, or -how I am to write to you, or what indeed I should not write to you -at such a time, may the gods and goddesses drag me even into greater -depths than those into which I feel that I am sinking day by day.” - -In spite of the perplexities that assailed him, Tiberius did not relax -his hold upon Greater Rome. Encouraged by rumours of the Emperor’s -failure, the Parthians began to intrigue to reverse the order -established on the Eastern frontier of the Empire, but they quickly -learned that Tiberius, though aged and beaten upon, had not forgotten -his diplomacy and still knew where to find, and how to choose, an able -officer who could effectually quell any attempt to trifle with the -dignity of the Roman name. The general appointed to settle affairs in -the East was Lucius Vitellius, whose son was one day to enjoy a short -and very inglorious career as Roman Emperor. - -During the last three years of the Emperor’s life Caligula rapidly -advanced in his favour. He was formally adopted, and was continually -named as the Emperor’s heir along with the young Tiberius. The adviser -and friend of Caligula at this time was the Jewish prince Agrippa, the -half-brother of Herodias, the incestuous wife of Herod Antipas, and -grandson of Herod the Great. The election of Caligula as successor to -Tiberius is a somewhat puzzling circumstance. Tacitus says that he -always showed signs of insanity, but at the same time credits him with -great astuteness in winning the old man’s favour. It is more probable, -from other accounts, that the madness of Caligula was the result of -an illness to which he fell a victim almost immediately after his -succession, for that he was technically mad is undeniable. We have -a curious picture of him from the pen of Philo the Jew, who arrived -from Alexandria with a deputation of Jews to protest against being -required to worship Caligula exclusively as a god. The envoys found -Caligula superintending the building of one of his palaces at Baiæ. -They were introduced to the half-finished edifice, where the Emperor -was hurrying from one room to another, feverishly running up and down -stairs. He suddenly observed his visitors, and remarking, “So you are -those atheists,” vanished; presently he reappeared, and after saying -“Why don’t you eat pork?” finally disappeared. It is not likely that -Tiberius would have entrusted the fate of the civilized world to a man -whose intellect was so obviously disturbed. If, however, we ask who -had an interest in the succession of Caligula, the answer is, Agrippa, -who, according to Josephus, had found men to finance him in order -that he might push his fortunes at Rome. In this he had been somewhat -imprudent, and an impatient remark he made to Caligula was reported to -Tiberius, who put him under guard for the rest of his reign; on the -death of Tiberius he exchanged captivity for the throne of Herod the -Great. There is a story that Tiberius, being in doubt as to whether he -should nominate his own grandson, the younger Tiberius, or his adopted -son Caligula, consulted his diviners, who told him to appoint the one -of the two children who should first enter the room after both had been -summoned; the Emperor fell in with the suggestion, and the parties -interested then contrived that Caligula should be the first to arrive. - -The historians do not allow Tiberius even to die in peace. We are told -that when he became aware that his health was failing, he was nervously -anxious to conceal the fact; he left Capreæ and took up his quarters -in the villa of Lucullus on the mainland opposite the island. Having -discovered that his physician had surreptitiously felt his pulse, he -ordered a better dinner than usual, and ostentatiously enjoyed himself, -but the effort was too much for him; he fainted, and a report was -immediately spread through the household that he was dead. Caligula -was receiving the congratulations of all, and was proceeding to act as -Emperor, when there was a rumour that the old man had recovered. At the -suggestion of Macro, orders were at once given to smother him beneath -a pile of mattresses. The story is finely sensational, but it is to be -hoped that it is not true. - -Whatever was the exact nature of his end, Tiberius died in the -seventy-eighth year of his life, and the twenty-third of his reign, -having lived through such vicissitudes of fortune, and such a -continuity of hard work, as have rarely fallen to the lot of any human -being; but far stranger than the events of his life is the horrible -reputation that has attached to the memory of the man who held that in -all things princes were bound to consider their good name. - -Even if we accept the sensational stories which have accumulated -round the retirement at Capreæ, we have still to recognize a life of -sixty-eight years unstained by vice or crime, and chiefly spent in -the laborious execution of the highest public duties. As a general, -as a statesman, Tiberius stands, if not in the first rank, then at -the very top of the second, and he deserves this additional credit, -that public life was distasteful to him, power had no attraction for -him, and had he been at liberty to choose for himself he would have -lived in seclusion, a student of literature and natural science. We -see in him, in fact, the best type of Roman, the best example of that -peculiar character by which Rome rose to be mistress of the world. It -was not the cleverness of the Romans, nor their military skill, that -gave them the mastery, the Greeks were far cleverer, and Hannibal was -greater than any Roman general, it was their strong sense of public -duty, their passion for legality, their love of order, their tenacity -in prosecuting large schemes, their self-restraint, their honour, which -enabled them to succeed where Greek and Phœnician had failed before -them, and where Gaul and Teuton were to fail after them. All these -qualities are strongly represented in Tiberius; he is the ideal Roman -Senator, the realization of those legendary types which formed the -imagination of Roman children. It is not Cicero, the fluent orator, -the versatile man of letters and agreeable gentleman, who represents -the true Roman, nor Cato the bigot, nor Cæsar the man of genius: it -is the dogged, dutiful, and just Tiberius, not over enthusiastic, not -brilliant, devoid of personal fascination, awful rather than amiable, -but wise enough and temperate enough and strong enough to do the work -which was set before him. - -Why then this perpetual stream of calumny, which has filtered down -practically unchecked for nearly two thousand years? The immediate -causes have been demonstrated in the foregoing pages; the subsequent -causes Tiberius shares with the Roman Empire, of which he was in some -sense an incarnation. It has been the custom of some Christian writers -since the period of the Reformation to oppose Christianity to the -Roman Empire; there is no trace of any such opposition in the earliest -Christian writings. Neither the Gospels nor the Acts of the Apostles, -nor the letters of St. Paul, nor those ascribed to the friends and -contemporaries of Jesus of Nazareth, nor even the writings of the early -Fathers, show the faintest indication of dissatisfaction with the -Empire as such. The evidence, in fact, is in the contrary direction. -But the later expounders of Christianity required a contrast, and it -was an easy feat of rhetoric to collect all that is discreditable from -the mass of Roman records and to compare it disadvantageously with the -pure teaching of the Gospel. Tiberius himself had in this aspect the -misfortune to be the contemporary of the founder of Christianity, and -in the idle tales of Suetonius and the studied malignity of Tacitus -an opportunity was found for starting the contrast from the very -commencement. This particular antithesis is so convenient that the -wickedness of Tiberius has almost assumed the dignity of an “articulus -fidei,” and to dispute it is to tread the perilous path of the -heresiarch. - -Let us hope that the prescience of Tiberius as he watched the sun -setting over the Mediterranean from the cliffs of Capreæ did not -enable him to contemplate the long roll of centuries during which -his name would be held in execration by the posterity of those for -whom he had laboured, and on continents far beyond his ken, or to -anticipate that savage howl of “Tiberius to the Tiber” with which the -graceless populace of Rome greeted his funeral, or the still more cruel -repetition of its echo from one generation to another. - - - - -The Imperial Family. - - -There are five chief lines of descent-- - - From CAIUS JULIUS CÆSAR through his great-nephew and adopted son - Octavianus, known after B.C. 27 as Augustus. - - From CAIUS JULIUS CÆSAR through his great-niece Octavia, sister to - Augustus. - - From MARCUS ANTONIUS through his children by his second wife, Octavia. - - From TIBERIUS CLAUDIUS NERO through his two sons by Livia, the second - wife of Augustus. - - From MARCUS VIPSANIUS AGRIPPA through his children by Julia I, the - daughter of Augustus. - - -CAIUS JULIUS CÆSAR OCTAVIANUS AUGUSTUS - -married - - I. A daughter of Marcus Antonius and Fulvia, whom he almost - immediately repudiated. - - II. Scribonia, related by marriage to the family of Pompeius, issue - one daughter, Julia I. - - III. Livia, no issue; but by her previous husband, Tiberius - Claudius Nero, Livia had two sons, Tiberius and Drusus I. - - -OCTAVIA - -married - - I. MARCUS MARCELLUS I, issue Marcus Marcellus II, and two - daughters, Marcella I, Marcella II. - - Marcus Marcellus II married Julia I, and died without - issue, “tu Marcellus eris.” - - Marcella I married first Agrippa, no issue, and then - Julius Antonius, son of Marcus Antonius, by his first - wife, Fulvia. - - Marcella II, her marriage is not mentioned. - - II. MARCUS ANTONIUS, issue two daughters, Antonia I, Antonia II. - - Antonia I married L. Domitius Abenobarbus, and thus became - one of the grandmothers of the Emperor Nero. - - Antonia II married Drusus I, issue Germanicus, Claudius, - who succeeded Caligula as Emperor, Livilla. Germanicus - married Agrippina I, Claudius eventually married - Agrippina II. Livilla married Drusus II, the son of - Tiberius. - - -MARCUS ANTONIUS - -His blood ran in the family through his two daughters, Antonia I and -Antonia II; his sons by his first wife, Fulvia, did not marry into the -Julian or Claudian families; one of them was put to death as a paramour -of Julia I. - - -TIBERIUS CLAUDIUS NERO - -married Livia, issue two sons, Tiberius the Emperor and Drusus I. - - Tiberius married first Vipsania, daughter of Agrippa by his first - wife, Pomponia, who was daughter of Pomponius Atticus, the - banker, and friend of Cicero, issue one son, Drusus II, married - Livilla, issue one son, Tiberius, murdered by Caligula. - - Secondly, Julia I, daughter of Augustus, no issue. - - Drusus I married Antonia II, issue Germanicus, Claudius, Livilla. - Germanicus married Agrippina I, daughter of Julia I, - granddaughter of Augustus and M. Vipsanius Agrippa; issue Nero - I, Drusus III, Caius (Caligula) Agrippina II, Drusilla, Julia - Livilla who married M. Vinicius, the friend of Paterculus. - - These are the six children whose claims to represent the true - Julian stock were so vehemently asserted by their mother, - Agrippina I. They derived their Julian blood from Octavia, - through their grandmother Antonia II, on the father’s side, - and from Augustus through their grandmother, Julia I, on the - mother’s side. - - -MARCUS VIPSANIUS AGRIPPA - -married - - I. Pomponia, issue Vipsania the first wife of Tiberius, she was - thus the mother of Drusus II; after her divorce from Tiberius - she married Caius Asinius Gallus. - - II. Marcella I, sister to “tu Marcellus eris,” daughter of Octavia - by her first husband, no issue; after her divorce she married - Julius Antonius. - - III. Julia I, daughter of Augustus, and his only child; issue Caius - Cæsar, Lucius Cæsar, Julia II, Agrippina I, Agrippa Postumus; - on the death of Agrippa, Julia I married Tiberius, she was - afterwards divorced and banished on account of misconduct, - which appears to have been political, at least as much as it - was adulterous. - - Caius Cæsar died without issue. - - Lucius Cæsar died without issue. - - (After being regarded as the probable heirs of - Augustus.) - - Julia II married an Æmilius Paullus, but was banished like - her mother for similar reasons. - - Agrippina I married Germanicus. - - Agrippa Postumus, the intractable, was banished by - Augustus, and put out of the way at the accession of - Tiberius; by whose orders is not definitely certain. - -Through Agrippina the obscure Agrippa was the grandfather of one -Emperor, Caligula, and the great grandfather of another, Nero. - - - - -INDEX - - - A - - Achaia demands to be transferred to Imperial provinces, 313, 336, 357 - - Actium, battle of, 107, 122 - - Actors in Rome, 359 - Banished, 361 - - Ædiles and sumptuary laws, 362, 366, 367 - - Africa a Senatorial province, 357 - - Agrippa: - As general, 217 - Campaign in Illyria, 225 - Death, 173 - In Octavian’s household, 145, 168, 169, 172 - Minister for war, 153 - Sketch of career, 116 - - Agrippa, Fonteius, 326 - - Agrippa, grandson of Herod, friend of Caligula, 426 - - Agrippa Postumus, 249 - Banished, 249, 256 - Put to death, 257 - - Agrippina the younger, Memoirs, 266, 292, 329, 333, 398, 402, 425 - - Agrippina, wife of Germanicus, 211, 249, 269, 332, 338 - Conduct after her husband’s death, 341, 343, 345, 350, 400 - Banished, 409 - Character, 288 - Recalled, 425 - Starts for Trêves, 284 - - Alexander: - Combines city state with Imperial organization, 7 - Effects of his conquests, 5 - Fragments of empire, 7 - Policy, 8 - - Alexandria: - Antonius’ triumph at, 121 - Insurrection in, 87 - Jews in, 372 - - Aliso, Drusus fortifies camp at, 226, 239 - - Alpine tribes defeated, 225 - - Antonia, wife of Drusus, 152, 172, 176, 198, 335 - In charge of Caligula and his sisters, 410 - - Antonian family, 168 - - Antonius, Julius, commits suicide, 190 - - Antonius, Lucius: - At Præneste, 88 - Character, 99 - Joins Constitutional party, 98 - Perusine war, 58 - - Antonius, Marcus: - Alliance with Cleopatra, 120 - At Mutina, 97 - Character, 119, 126 - Conduct after Cæsar’s death, 93, 111, 142 - Expeditions against Parthians, 155 - Extravagance, 58 - Goes to East, 98, 115, 120 - Power wielded by, 215 - Share of empire, 118,119 - Snatch at supreme power, 301 - Tyrant of conventional type, 8 - - Antony (_see_ Antonius Marcus) - - Apicata, wife of Sejanus, 400, 413 - - Apicius the Epicure, 385 - - Apion the Greek, nickname, 373 - - Apollonia, Octavian at, 94 - - Appian Aqueduct, 85 - - Appian Way, 85 - - Apuleius: - Accused of magic, 194 - Object of travels, 132 - - Aretas of Arabia, 154 - - Ariovistus, advance of, 89 - - Aristogiton, principles of, 8 - - Armenia: - Dynastic troubles in, 336 - Rulers of, 154 - - Arminius adopts Roman military system, 220 - Rising of, 239 - - Arpinum, privileges of Roman citizenship, 37 - - Arruntius, L., suicide, 262 - - Asia Minor: - Commercial cities of, 98 - Roman citizens massacred in, 13 - - Asprenas, Lucius, decision of, 239 - - Astronomy and astrology, 193 - - Atellan farce, 361 - - Athenian Constitution and Rome, 56 - - Athens: - As place of residence, 192 - Constitution provided by Cleisthenes, 16 - Politics of, 8 - - Atticus, Pomponius, 169 - - Augsburg, Roman military colony at, 235 - - Augur, functions of, 48 - - Augustus (_see_ Octavian) - - Augustales, 135 - - - B - - Bacchus, worship of, 368 - - Bassus, Ventidius, 155 - Career, 273 - - Bato, Pannonian chief, 238 - - Bithynia, a Senatorial province, 308, 336 - - Blæsus, Junius, 391 - Arrests ringleaders of mutiny, 277 - - Brundisium, Octavian lands at, 94, 96 - - Brutus, Decimus, besieged at Mutina, 97 - - Brutus’ suicide, difference between Cato’s and, 55 - - Bull fights, 74 - - - C - - Cæcina, Aulus, commander of Lower Army on Rhine, 281, 285 - - Cæpio, conspiracy of, 246 - - Cæsar, Agrippa, 200 - - Cæsar, Caius, 172, 174, 198 - Attitude towards Tiberius, 207 - Death, 209 - Training, 200 - - Cæsar, Julius: - Adopts Octavian, 94 - Assassination, 91 - Attitude towards Senate, 45, 55, 90, 127 - Duration of absolute power, 108 - Party supporting, 58 - Portrait in British Museum, 141 - Power wielded by, 215 - Reliance on army, 123 - Sketch of career, 88 _seqq._ - State of empire after his death, 106 - - Cæsar, Lucius, 172, 198, 208 - Death, 209 - Training, 200 - - Cæsars and Equestrian Order, 22 - - Caligula (Caius), 249 - Adopted by Tiberius, 426 - Ashamed of his descent, 387 - Burns private notes of Tiberius, 211 - Extravagancies only felt in Rome, 384, 415 - Jealous of other divinities, 135 - Meaning of nickname, 250 - Pet of soldiers, 285, 287 - - Calpurnia, wife of Julius Cæsar, 337 - - Cappadocia, an Imperial province, 336, 357 - - Capreæ, Tiberius in, 396, 420 _seqq._ - - Capua, territory confiscated by Rome, 99 - - Carthage: - Destruction of, 10 - Her dominion in Mediterranean, 6 - - Cassius plunders cities of Asia Minor, 98 - - Cato’s suicide: - Attitude of contemporaries towards, 52 - Difference between suicide of Brutus and, 55 - - Catullus, native of Cis-Alpine Gaul, 119 - - Catus, Firmius, 324, 326 - - Celer, Propertius, desires to retire from Senatorial Order, 311 - - Celsus, Horace’s letter to, 157 - - Censor: - Enrolled members of Equestrian Order, 16, 18 - Power of, 50, 255 - Revised list of Senate, 43 - - Censorinus, death of, 208 - - Chærea, Cassius, centurion, 282 - - Chaldæans expelled from Italy, 369 - - Cicero: - As governor of frontier province, 15 - As politician, 9 - Conception of early empire, 88 - Conducts case against Verres, 19 - Example of advocate, 321 - In Rome after Cæsar’s death, 93 - Judgment of reformers, 56 - Native of Arpinum, 37 - On “the Roman people,” 11, 34 - Picture of slavery, 69 - Second Philippic, 114 - Treatment of Tiro, 77 - Wishes to remodel Rome on Athenian Constitution, 55 - - Cimbrians, invasion of, 6, 13 - - Cinna: - Forces reforms on Senate, 56 - Proscribed, 57 - - Claudia Pulchra, accusation against, 401 - - Claudian family, 168, 250, 407 - Associations with, 3 - Connexion with Rome, 85 - - Claudian Marcellan family, 168 - - Claudius, Appius, Censor, B.C. 312, 85, 86, 190 - - Claudius, Emperor: - Portrait, 141 - Sketch of, 148 - - Claudius Nero defeats Hasdrubal, 86 - - Claudius Pulcher, 86, 127 - - Cleisthenes provides constitution for Athens, 16 - - Cleopatra, alliance with Antony, 120 - - Cleopatra and Antony: amusements at Alexandria, 177 - - Cologne, mutineers at, 284 - - Comitia Centuriata, 11 - - Comitia Tributa and rabble, 11 - - Consuls, election of, 319 - - Corinth, mercantile importance, 192 - - Corsica, territorial province, 23 - - Cotys, King of Thrace, 394 - - Crispinus, Cæpio, charge against G. Marcellus, 307 - - Crispinus, Quintius, 190 - - Crispus, C. Sallustius, advice to Tiberius, 257 - - Cromwell, Oliver: - Claims special providence, 136 - Forced to rely on military organization, 123 - - Curia, attitude towards monarchy, 3 - - - D - - Dalmatians, 219 - Speak Latin, 220 - - Dangerous tracks, injuries to workers in, 62 - - Dictatorship an absolute monarchy, 54 - - Dio on Drusus’ death, 388 - - Dionysius on relations of patron and client, 30 - - Dolabella, son-in-law of Cicero, 97 - Plunders cities of Asia Minor, 98, 120 - - Domitian, extravagancies only felt in Rome, 384 - - Drusus Livius, father of Livia and grandfather of Tiberius, 53, 58 - Forces reforms on Senate, 56 - Political programme, 36 - - Drusus, Nero Claudius, brother of Tiberius, 150 - Death, 183, 227 - Marries Antonia, 172 - Prefect of city, 402 - Victory in Alps, 225 - - Drusus, son of Agrippina, 424, 425 - - Drusus, son of Tiberius: - Character, 332 - Death, 353, 388, 400, 407 - Funeral, 390 - Introduced to public life, 209 - Marries sister of Germanicus, 250 - Presides at gladiatorial shows, 313 - Reception of Piso, 343 - Remedies grievances of mutineers, 278 - Succeeds Germanicus, 287, 332 - - - E - - Eastern Mediterranean, first period of conquest in, 10 - - Egypt as granary for Rome, 368 - - Electors and free government, 31 - - Elymas the sorcerer, 195 - - Emperor an institution at death of Tiberius, 3 - - England: - Caricatures in papers, 359 - Expansion of, 34 - Rules of party government, 302 - Significance of Roman walls in, 221 - - English army, policy of recruiting for, 228, 275, 276 - - Englishman, attitude towards law, 9 - - Englishmen, political careers open to, 17 - - Ephesus, flourishing state of, 192 - - Equestrian Order: - Admission to, 18, 73 - Growth of, 14 _seqq._ - Origin of, 16 - Ranged against Senate, 19, 20 - Represents civil administration and financiers, 51 - Represents party of empire, 21 - Slaves rising through, 70 - - Essenians, 373 - - - F - - Falanius, accusations against, 306 - - Felix, Procurator of Judæa, a freed man, 70 - - Fimbria forces reforms on Senate, 56 - - Flaccus, M. Verrius, taught Augustus’ grandchildren, 72 - - Flamen Dialis, 375 - - Florus, Julius: - Accompanies Tiberius to Armenia, 156 - Horace’s letter to, 156 - Social rank, 91 - - Fulvia, wife of Marcus Antonius, 98, 114 - At Præneste, 88 - Character, 99 - - - G - - Gallic chieftains in communication with Rome, 219 - - Gallus, C. Asinius, husband of Vipsania, 181, 262, 390, 414 - - Gallus, Cornelius, Transalpine Gaul, 91, 119, 152, 248 - - Gallus, Licinus, 248 - - Gaul: - Cæsar’s conquest of, 89, 96 - Position in empire, 119 - - Gauls, invasions of, 6 - - Generals of Augustan age, 217 - - Germanic tribes: - Civilization of, 219 - Defeat M. Lollius, 224 - - Germanicus: - Character, 332 - Conducts census of Gaul, 281 - Death, 331, 341, 342 - Destined successor to Tiberius, 331 - Endeavours to quell mutiny, 282, 284 - Finishes Pannonian war, 238, 250 - Loyalty of, 259, 290 - Marries Agrippina, 173 - Proconsul of eastern frontier, 287, 336 - Proconsul of Gaul, 269 - Recalled, 289 - Relations with Piso, 339, 349 - Tour in Egypt, 340 - Travels in East, 132 - - Gladiators, 75 - - Glaucia forces reforms on Senate, 56 - - Gnipho, M. Antonius, gave lessons in Cæsar’s house, 71 - - Gracchus, Caius, liberal schemes, 35 - - Gracchus, Tiberius, attempts agrarian legislation, 35 - - Greek ideals of city state, 7 - - Greek influence on Romans, 46, 53 - - - H - - Hannibal, invasion of, 6 - - Harmodius, principles of, 8 - - Hasdrubal defeated by Claudius Nero, 86 - - Hawthorne, plot of _Transformation_, 138 - - Hercynian forest, 222, 234 - - Herod Antipas, 426 - - Herod family, 147 - - Herod the Great, 338 - Policy, 154 - - Herodotus, temper of, 132 - - Hesiod, _Farm and the Calendar_, 133 - - Hesiod, unitarian tendencies, 132 - - Hispo, charges against G. Marcellus, 307 - - Historians between deaths of Augustus and Vespasian, 2 - - Horace: - Allusion to M. Verrius Flaccus, 72 - Compliments to Augustus, 160 - Epistles, Book I, 160 - Jests at Jewish Sabbath, 137 - Journey from Rome to Brundisium, 106 - Letter to Celsus quoted, 157 - Letter to Julius Florus quoted, 156 - Letter to Tiberius quoted, 161 - Letters to Lollius, 158, 201, 202 - Moral earnestness, 158 - Ode to Lollius, 204 - On character of Tiberius, 154 - On merits of simplicity, 153 - On Roman empire, 5 - Picture of slavery, 69 - Reminds Romans of their debt to Neros, 86 - - Hortalus, case of, 377 - - Hortensius, example of advocate, 321 - - Hypnotism, 194 - - - I - - Iapygia, Antonius descends on coast of, 121 - - Italian agriculture depressed, 39 - - Italian superstition, 134 - - Italy drained of free population, 65 - - - J - - Jerusalem, Roman generals at, 372 - - Jews: - Attitude towards other religions, 370 - Influence of their faith on educated classes at Rome, 137 - Persecution of, 369 - Protest against worship of Augustus, 135 - Sketch of their customs, 370 - - Josephus: - Boast about Sabbath, 137 - On Agrippa, 427 - References to Livia, 175 - - Judæa unquiet, 336 - - Judas Maccabæus: - Asks help from Senate, 12 - Respect for Senate, 50 - - Jugurtha defies Senate, 12, 42 - - Julia, Augustus’ daughter, 169, 175 - Banished, 190 - Her character, 176, 178, 186 - Wife of Agrippa, 171 - Wife of Marcellus, 170 - Wife of Tiberius, 173, 182 - - Julian family, 3, 168, 407 - Attitude towards Tiberius, 214 - - - L - - Leland, Charles, on traces of faith in Fauns and Satyrs, 138 - - Lentulus, Gnæus, 279 - - Lepidus, Marcus, 229, 248, 390 - Defends Piso, 344 - Holds office under Tiberius, 262 - Proconsul, 93, 97, 98, 118 - Stops mutiny in Spain, 286 - - Lex Majestatis, 303, 320, 355 - History of, 304 - - Liberators: - Attitude towards Octavian, 94, 110 - Position after Cæsar’s death, 93 - - Libo, Drusus Scribonius, case of, 323 _seqq._ - Suicide, 327 - - Licinus, governor of S. Gaul, 224 - - Livia, wife of Tiberius Nero and of Octavian, 80, 102, 104 - Agrippa Postumus and, 258 - Attitude towards Tiberius, 198 - Character, 175 - Death, 398 - Friend of Plancina, 338, 350 - Hatred of Agrippina, 332 - Portraits, 175 - Skilled in intrigue, 167, 177 - - Livian family, 4 - - Livilla, wife of Drusus, 399, 402, 406 - - Livy, _History_ of, 387 - Native of Cis-Alpine Gaul, 119 - On Servian Constitution, 16 - - Lollius, Marcus, 158, 201 _seqq._ - Adviser to Caius Cæsar, 200 - Death, 208 - Defeated by German tribes, 224 - - Lombards, 232 - - - M - - Macedonia: - Demands to be transferred to Imperial provinces, 313, 336 - Devastated, 235 - - Macedonian empire, 125 - - Macro, commander at Capreæ, 411, 428 - - Macro, Pompeius, Prætor, 304 - - Mæcenas, C. Cilnius: - Death, 183 - Friend of Horace, 159 - Friend of Octavian, 111 - His manners, 151 - Journey from Rome to Brundisium, 107 - Master of finance and diplomacy, 153 - - Magians, 370, 373 - - Magic, 328 - - Maluginensis, Servius, Flamen Dialis, 375 - - Mamaloi of Hayti, knowledge of poisons, 375 - - Marcellus, death of, 170 - - Marcellus, Granius, Governor of Bithynia, accusations against, 306 - - Marcellus, M. Pomponius, 71 - Reproves Tiberius for solecism, 73 - - Marcius killed, 329 - - Marion Crawford, description of Roman palaces, 144 - - Marius, C.: - Incapacity of, 57 - Influence in Roman politics, 36 - Native of Arpinum, 37 - Power wielded by, 215 - Reliance on army, 123 - Reorganization of army, 37 - - Maroboduus, King of Marcomanni: - Adopts Roman military system, 220 - Conception of German Empire, 233 - - Martina, poisoner, 346 - - Mediterranean, piracy not quelled in, 54 - - Merivale on policy of Augustus, 221 - - Messala, Marcus Valerius, hails Augustus as “Father of his country,” - 245 - - Metaurus, battle of the, 86 - - Mithridates defies Senate, 13 - - Mommsen on “ablest of Roman Emperors,” 84 - - Munda, Pompeius’ sons defeated at, 94, 101 - - Murena, conspiracy of, 246 - - Mutina, Decimus Brutus besieged at, 97 - - Mutinies in Pannonia and on Rhine, 270 _seqq._ - - - N - - Napoleon, army of spies, 124 - - Nauportus, news of mutiny reaches, 276 - - Negro slavery in America, 60, 77 - - Nero: - Courts popular favour, 403 - Extravagancies only felt in Rome, 384, 415 - Line of Cæsars ended in, 292 - Recalled from banishment, 425 - - Nicopolis, Germanicus and Drusus meet at, 339 - - - O - - Octavia, wife of Antonius, 124, 150, 169 - - Octavian: - A great civilian, 109, 122, 124 - Adopts Tiberius, 210, 251 - Amnesty to S. Pompeius, 102, 115 - Asserts legal rights, 97 - “Augustus,” significance of, 129 - Character, 113, 127, 128, 135, 139 - Conduct after Cæsar’s death, 94, 110 - Connexions, 126, 128 - Conspiracies against, 246 - Death, 1, 4, 79 _seqq._, 252 - Dislike to army, 124, 125, 222 - Empire of, 118 - Exceptional man, 255 - Funeral ceremonies, 81 - Household, 103, 150, 152, 168, 172, 249 - Hostile forces in, 175, 191 - In Gaul, 224, 226 - Invites Horace to be his private secretary, 127, 159 - Julian laws of, 358 - Lands at Brundisium, 94, 96 - Last years, 245 - Letters, fragments of, 211 - Marriage, 102, 104, 114 - Orator, 153 - Overtures to Cicero, 112, 113, 114 - Palace, 145 - Panegyrics on, 80 - Patronage, 246 - Personal appearance, 141 - Policy, 58, 142, 171, 221, 242, 290 - Policy towards Senate, 50, 262 - Popularity, 110 - Princeps Senatus, 165 - Progress to East, 154 - Relations with Tiberius, 211, 214 - Remodels army, 115 - Scheme of representative government, 382 - Successor, 83 - Tiberius Nero associated with, 88 - Vision of hereditary succession, 165 - Worship of, 134, 226, 299, 306 - - Octavian family, 3 - - Orbilius, teacher of Horace, 71, 72 - - Ovid: - _Fasti_, 387 - On barbarians at Tomi, 221 - Withdraws from Rome, 246 - - - P - - Pallas, a freedman of Claudius, 70 - - Pandateria Isle: - Agrippina banished to, 409 - Julia banished to, 190 - - Pannonia: - Army, how reinforced, 270 - Mutiny in, 270 _seqq._, 392 - Tiberius’ campaigns in, 226 - - Pannonians, 219 - - Pantheon, dome of, 116 - - Papaloi of Hayti, knowledge of poisons, 375 - - Parthians: - Antonius’ victory over, 121 - Expeditions against, 155 - Show signs of restlessness, 336 - - Paterculus, C. Velleius: - Associated with Tiberius Nero, 88, 100 - Commits suicide, 100, 104 - - Paterculus, Velleius: - Accompanies Tiberius in campaigns, 231, 236 - Epitome of Roman history, 229 - Indifferent to chronology, 224 - Narrative, 2 - On age of Tiberius, 104 - Fidelity, 77 - Germanicus, 332 - M. Lollius and Tiberius, 201 - Rule of Tiberius, 354 - Sejanus, 387, 391 - Young Cæsars, 210 - Praises Tiberius for discrimination, 312 - - Patricians and plebeians, distinction between, 45 - - Paulus, L. Æmilius, marries Julia’s daughter, 210, 246, 257 - - Percennius: - Killed, 279 - On grievances of soldiers, 271 - Speech to soldiers quoted, 274 - - Pergamus, rights of sanctuary in temple of Æsculapius, 376 - - Perusia, siege of, 99, 100 - - Petronius, slaves in _Satyricon_, 70 - - Philippi, battle at, 98, 104 - - Philo the Jew, picture of Caligula, 427 - - Piso, Gnæus, Governor of Syria, 263, 308, 337 - Conduct to Germanicus, 338 _seqq._, 349 - Suicide, 347, 352 - Trial of, 343 - - Piso, Lucius, 390 - Prætor, 334, 337 - - Piso, Marcus: - Advice to his father, 342 - Tiberius bestows his father’s property on, 348 - - Pituarius thrown from Tarpeian rock, 329 - - Planasia Isle, Agrippa Postumus in, 256 - - Plancina, wife of Gnæus Piso, 338, 339, 340, 342, 350 - Charges against, 348, 351 - - Plancus: - At Alexandria, 126 - Suggests use of “Augustus,” 130 - - Plato, politics of _Republic_, 8, 56 - - Pliny (elder): - Account of journey of Tiberius, 183 - On Tiberius, 162 - - Polybius, respect for Senate, 50 - - Polytheism, 132, 138, 374 - - Pompeius, Sextus, 98 - Brigandage of, 58 - Descent on coast of Iapygia, 121 - Native of Picenum, 37 - Power wielded by, 215 - “Province” assigned to, 23 - Reliance on army, 123 - Seizes Sicily, 101, 107 - - Pontifex Maximus, 255 - Functions, 48 - - Pontius Pilate, Governor of Judæa, 273 - - Portents, faith in, 138 - - Præneste, fall of, 88 - - Prætorian guards organized, 392 - - Prætors, 320 - Right to beat actors, 360 - - Princeps, 255 - - Probus, Valerius, 71 - - _Punch_, cartoons in, 360 - - Pyrrhus, invasion of, 6 - - - R - - Republic and empire, 2, 4 - - Rhine: - Mutiny on, 280 _seqq._, 392 - Importance of, 290 - Romanized, 227 - - Rhodes, flourishing state of, 192 - - Rome: - As universal peacemaker and ruler, 23 - Disturbances after death of Sejanus, 412, 416 - Fires in, 396, 397 - Food supplies from Sicily, Africa and Sardinia, 39 - Government of city, 59 - Indifferent to municipal matters, 381 - Prefect of city, 166 - Resident aliens in, 27 - Riot in theatre, 315 - Umpire of world, 125 - - Roman armies: - Barrack system, 395 - Centurion, position of, 273 - Concessions to soldiers, 283, 286 - “Garrison” service, 272 - Grievances of soldiers, 271, 272, 273 - On Rhine frontier, 281 - Pay of soldier, 272 - Prætorian guard, 392 - Recruiting for, 6, 38, 65, 76, 227, 241, 270, 275 - Superstition of soldiers, 279 - - Roman Civil Service (_see_ Equestrian Order) - - Roman electorate, 31, 33, 34 - - Roman Empire: - A religion as well as a state, 140 - Area of wars, 107, 122 - Change of officials, 317 - Christianity and, 430 - Conquests: - Conditions of, 6 - Effects of, 5 - Organization, 7 - Constitution: - Hereditary succession, 164 - People an organized part of, 11 - Theories on, 8, 31 - Working changed, 32, 34 - Decentralized, 247 - Expansion of, 1 _seqq._ - Finances, 228 - Frontiers vulnerable, 217 - How broken up, 228 - Imperial Executive founded on Equestrian Order, 15 - Information from authors on, 2 - Local life of, 382 - Policy to allies, 33 - Politics of, 4 - Popular government a legal fiction, 12 - “Province”: - Division of, 59, 313, 357 - Signification of, 22 - Slavery in, 60 - State prosecutions, 321 - Supreme Court of Appeal, 382 - Taxes farmed, 14 - Tendency of, 75 - Wars forced on, 6 - Wars of aggression, 6 - (_See_ also Equestrian Order, etc.) - - Roman family a community, 147 - - Roman generals, 216 - - Roman history: - Connexion of great houses with, 146 - Greek influence on, 53 - Turning point of, 6 - - Roman law courts, 310 - - Roman palaces, 144 - - Roman people: - As financiers, 13 - Character, 40, 41 - Citizen privileges, 27 - Composed of three elements, 47 - Diversions, 177 - Early marriages, 168 - Estimate of generals, 216 - Faith in portents, 138 - Gods of, 130, 133, 134, 226 - Individual independence, 25, 26 - Legal temperament, 9, 40, 46 - Legends of early history, 47 - Love of spectacular bloodshed, 74, 314, 362 - Meaning of phrase, 24, 41 - Morality and religion, 133 - No affection for Rome or Senate, 40 - Patrons and clients, 28, 29, 30, 321 - Religion and superstition, 131 - Religious temperament, 47 - Roman nobles, territorial magnates, 29 - Roman residents in Asia Minor, 13 - Rule of, 41 - Senatorial career, 17 - Sympathy with army, 40 - Training of young, 147, 149 - Two political careers open to, 16 - (_See_ also Equestrian Order) - - Roman Proconsul: - Only check upon, 19 - Power in province, 20 - - Roman Senate: - Admission jealously guarded to, 73 - Advisory council to Emperors, 58, 256 - Affection of its members and adherents, 52 - Aristocratic nature of, 44 - As court of justice, 380 - Attitude of Senators: - Towards Cæsar, 55 - Towards Sejanus, 388, 391, 398 - Towards Tiberius, 258, 261 - Cabinet system in, 262 - Cæsar and, 90 - Decision on rights of sanctuary, 377 - Divided into groups, 31 - Duties of Senators, 320 - Equality of members, 54 - Equestrian Order and, 19, 20 - Functions of, 45, 48, 49, 50, 358 - Governorships, 247 - Never formally disestablished, 59 - Not _representative_ of people, 24 - Oath to Emperor, 301 - Of different Emperors, 1 - Offers Tiberius title of “Father of his Country,” 300 - Parties in, 50, 56 - Sections of, 57 - Prosecutions after conspiracy of Sejanus, 412, 414, 416 - Provincial Governors, power of, 382 - Questions for Senators to settle, 51 - Religious intolerance, 368, 375 - Represents party of ancient oligarchy, 21 - Resistance to reforms, 52 - Senators’ fear of magic, 328 - Sketch of, 12, 42 _seqq._ - Sumptuary laws, 362 - Tiberius and, 253 _seqq._ - - Roman women, position of, 167 - - Rubrius, accusation against, 306 - - - S - - Sabinus, Poppæus, 316 - - St. Paul: - “Appeal to Cæsar,” 184 - Journeys from Puteoli to Rome, 62 - - Samos, flourishing state of, 192 - - Sanctuary, rights of, 376 - - Sardinia, territorial province, 23, 369 - - Saturninus, Sentius: - Acts in combination with Tiberius, 234 - Forces reforms on Senate, 56 - - Scipio Æmilianus studies Greek political writers, 34 - - Scipio, relative of Julia, 190 - - Scribonia, wife of Octavian, 103, 150, 169 - - Sejanus, Ælius: - Account of, 385 _seqq._ - Adviser to Drusus, 278 - As Commander-in-Chief in Italy, 394 - Conspiracy, 2 - Fall of, 230, 399, 412 - Opposition to, 398 - Organized Prætorian guards, 392 - Regent, 396 - - Seneca, jest on apotheosis of Claudius, 141 - - Sentius, Gnæus, Governor of Syria, 341 - - Serenus, Vibius, states charges against Libo, 326 - - Servian Constitution and Equestrian Order, 16 - - Sibylline books consulted, 47 - - Sicily, territorial province, 23 - - Silius, commander of Upper Army on Rhine, 281 - - Simon Magus, 195 - - Slavery, 60 _seqq._ - Agricultural slaves, 62, 65, 68, 78 - Captives in war in, 70, 73 - Condition of slaves in ancient world, 63 - Cosmopolitan influence of, 70, 76 - Domestic slavery, 66 - Earnings of slaves, 67 - Emancipation, 76 - Immunities, 64 - “Libertus,” 74 - Not demoralizing to ancients, 77 - Political disqualifications, 64 - Slave barracks, 65, 68 - Slave’s relation to his patron, 30 - “They of Cæsar’s household,” 74 - - Smyrna, flourishing state of, 192 - - Society, difference between ancient and modern, 26 - - Stevenson, R. L., moral earnestness, 158 - - Strabo, Seius, 385 - - Stuart dynasty, attitude of adherents towards, 52 - - Suetonius: - Biographies of schoolmaster freedmen, 71 - Fragments of Octavian’s letters, 211 - Idle tales of, 430 - Indifferent to chronology, 224 - On banishment of devotees of Bacchus, 369 - M. Lollius and Tiberius, 201 - M. Verrius Flaccus, 72 - Tiberius and Caius Cæsar, 207 - Tiberius’ expenditure, 363 - Tiberius in Capreæ, 421 - Tiberius in German wars, 237 - Tiberius’ refusal of divine honours, 137 - Tiberius’ refusal of title of “Father of his Country,” 300 - Sources of information, 293 - Stories of Tiberius in Rhodes, 197 - - Sulla: - Decree on Senators, 43 - Gives back jurisdiction to Senate, 21 - Grants new lease of power to Senate, 90 - Power wielded by, 215 - Proscribed, 57 - Reliance on army, 123 - - Sumptuary laws, 362 - Tiberius’ attitude on, 366 - - Syria, an Imperial Province, 337 - - - T - - Tacitus: - _Annals_, gap in, 2 - Period covered by, 356, 409 - Quoted, 316 - As historian, 357 - Attitude towards Tiberius, 430 - Conception of early empire, 88 - Mentions schoolmaster freedman, a Senator, 73 - Narrative of Tiberius and his reign, 263, 265 - Instance of misrepresentation, 266 - On Caligula, 427 - Crispus’ advice to Tiberius, 257 - Election of Consuls, 319 - Lex Majestatis, 302, 303, 305, 307 - Perversion of Tiberius, 353 - Policy of Augustus, 221 - Secrets of Empire, 154 - Tiberius, 293 _seqq._ - Tiberius refusing divine honours, 137 - Trial of Piso, 351 - References to Livia, 175 - Sources of information, 293 - - Tarragona, temple to Augustus at, 315 - - Tatius, Titius, consort of Romulus, 85 - - Teutons: - Invasion of, 6, 13 - Inadequate provision to repel, 54 - - Thrasyllus, the “Mathematician,” 195, 369, 373 - Accompanies Tiberius to Capreæ, 421 - - Tiber, floods in, 312 - - Tiberius, Claudius Nero, father of Emperor: - Attitude towards Cæsar, 58, 92 - Death, 105 - Flees to Corinth, 102 - His character, 103 - In Sicily, 101 - Joins Constitutional party, 98 - Marries Livia, 102, 104 - Mission to Campania, 99 - Returns to Rome, 102 - Sketch of career, 87 - - Tiberius, Emperor: - Accession, 253 _seqq._ - Accompanies Octavian to Spain, 153 - Action after death of Sejanus, 413 - Address on army, 394 - Address on sumptuary laws quoted, 363 - Adopted by Augustus, 210, 251 - Adopts Caligula, 426 - Adopts Germanicus and Agrippa Postumus, 251 - As General, 243 - As Imperator, 278 - Attached to Drusus, 150 - Attitude towards Senate, 353 _seqq._ - Bitterness of writers against, 3 - Campaigns, 174, 186, 211, 215 _seqq._ - Against Maroboduus, 233 - Combined movements, 244 - Defence of vulnerable frontiers, 219, 227 - Gallic, 225 - Germanic, 231, 243 - Avenges Varus, 241 - In Pannonia, 226, 235 - Spanish, 223 - Character, 253, 296, 299, 314, 411, 422, 429 - Evidence on, 294 - Colleague and successor of Augustus, 83, 187 - Commands army against Parthians, 155 - Concessions to mutinous armies, 286 - Conduct to Livia, 333, 334 - Constitutional theory, 261, 302 - Day in Rome, how spent, 418 - Death, 428 - Descent, 86 - Destroys popularity, 361 - Education, 149 _seqq._ - Fall of, 399 - Flight to Rhodes, 184 - Cause of, 189 - Funeral, 431 - Governor of Transalpine Gaul, 224 - Grant to Propertius Celer, 311 - His life interesting, 83 - Holds Egypt as granary, 368 - Household, rivalries in, 397, 404, 406 - In law courts, 310 - Letter to Senate, 426 - Makes Emperor an institution, 3 - Marriages, 172, 173, 182 - Nickname, 254 - Palace, 191, 209 - Personal appearance, 179, 298, 419 - Plots against, 331 - Policy, 227, 317, 377 - On German frontier, 242, 290 - Proconsular power, 254 - Refuses title of “Father of his Country,” 300 - Relations with Augustus, 211, 214 - With Sejanus, 386, 396, 411 - Reply to Sejanus, 404 - Responsible for peace, 417 - Retires to Capreæ, 396, 402, 420 _seqq._ - Returns to Rome, 209 - Skilled civilian, 174 - Speech at trial of Piso, 344 - On case of Hortalus, 378 - Strategy, 225 - Studies, 193, 420 - Tribune, 184, 197 - Wishes to return to Rome, 199, 207 - - Tiberius the younger, 407, 408, 416, 426 - - Tiro, Cicero’s secretary, 77 - - Tomi, barbarians at Roman camp at, 221 - - Trajan rectifies frontier of Lower Danube, 221 - - Tribunate, history of, 183 - - Trio, Fulcinius, professional prosecutor, 325, 343, 348 - - Tusculum, headquarters of Claudians, 85 - - - U - - Urgulania, friend of Livia’s, 334 - - - V - - Varius, heroic poems, 152 - - Varus, Quintilius, Governor of Southern German Marches: - Sketch of career, 239 - Slain, 238 - Treats Rhine as Roman Province, 227 - - Verres, trial of, 19, 21 - - Vescularius, Flaccus, 324 - - Vespasian: - Averse to luxury, 367 - Scepticism of, 136 - - Vibulenus: - Killed, 279 - Oration to soldiers, 277 - - Vinicius, Marcus, Consul, 229, 230 - Marries Julia Livilla, 250, 339 - - Vinicius, Marcus, General, 231 - - Vipsania, daughter of Agrippa, 169 - Wife of Tiberius, 172, 181 - - Vipsanian family, 168 - - Virgil: - Allusion to death of Marcellus, 170 - Compliments to Augustus, 160 - Legends in _Æneid_, 139 - Native of Cis-Alpine Gaul, 119 - On merits of simplicity, 153 - Roman Empire, 5 - - Vitellius, Lucius, 426 - - Vonones removed by Germanicus, 340 - - - W - - War, captives reckoned as profits of, 70 - - Washington, T. Booker, attitude towards slave owners, 60 - - - X - - Xiphilinus, epitome of Dio Cassius, 138 - - -Butler & Tanner, The Selwood Printing Works, Frome, and London. - - - - -Transcriber’s Notes - - -Punctuation, hyphenation, and spelling were made consistent when a -predominant preference was found in the original book; otherwise they -were not changed. - -Simple typographical errors were corrected; unbalanced quotation -marks were remedied when the change was obvious, and otherwise left -unbalanced. - -The index was not checked for proper alphabetization or correct page -references. - -Page 75: “de Sevignê” currently is spelled “de Sévigné”. - -Page 392: The two sentences beginning with “How if the mutineers” were -printed that way. - -*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK TIBERIUS THE TYRANT *** - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the -United States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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display: block; text-align: center;} -} - </style> - </head> - -<body> -<p style='text-align:center; font-size:1.2em; font-weight:bold'>The Project Gutenberg eBook of Tiberius the Tyrant, by J. C. Tarver</p> -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and -most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms -of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online -at <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a>. If you -are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws of the -country where you are located before using this eBook. -</div> - -<p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Title: Tiberius the Tyrant</p> - <p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:0; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Author: J. C. Tarver</p> -<p style='display:block; text-indent:0; margin:1em 0'>Release Date: November 7, 2021 [eBook #66690]</p> -<p style='display:block; text-indent:0; margin:1em 0'>Language: English</p> - <p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:0; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em; text-align:left'>Produced by: MWS, Charlie Howard, and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive/Canadian Libraries)</p> -<div style='margin-top:2em; margin-bottom:4em'>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK TIBERIUS THE TYRANT ***</div> - -<div class="transnote covernote"> -<p class="center larger">Transcriber's Note</p> - -<p>Cover created by Transcriber by combining portions -of the original Title page with the Frontispiece. The result remains in -the Public Domain.</p> -</div> - -<h1>TIBERIUS THE TYRANT</h1> -<hr /> - -<div id="i_frontis" class="newpage figcenter" style="max-width: 30em;"> - <img src="images/i_frontis.jpg" width="1417" height="1840" alt="" /> - <div class="captionr"><p><i>Art Repro C<sup>o</sup>.</i></p></div> - <div class="caption"><p class="large"><i>Tiberius.</i></p></div> -</div> - -<hr /> - -<div class="newpage p4 center vspace wspace"> -<p class="xxlarge gesperrt bold"> -TIBERIUS THE<br /> -TYRANT</p> - -<p class="p2"><span class="larger">By J. C. TARVER</span><br /> -<span class="small">AUTHOR OF “LIFE AND LETTERS OF GUSTAVE FLAUBERT”<br /> -“SOME OBSERVATIONS OF A FOSTER PARENT”<br /> -ETC ETC</span></p> - -<p class="p2">WESTMINSTER<br /> -ARCHIBALD CONSTABLE AND CO LTD<br /> -<span class="smaller">2 WHITEHALL GARDENS<br /> -1902</span> -</p> - -<hr /> - -<p class="newpage p4 small"> -<span class="smcap">Butler & Tanner,<br /> -The Selwood Printing Works,<br /> -Frome, and London.</span> -</p> -</div> - -<hr /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_i">i</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CONTENTS">CONTENTS</h2> - -<table id="toc" summary="Contents"> -<tr class="xsmall"> - <td class="tdl" colspan="2"> </td> - <td class="tdr">PAGE</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdl" colspan="2"><span class="smcap">Introduction</span>:</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdl in2" colspan="2"><span class="smcap">The Expansion of Rome and the Equestrian Order</span></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#toclink_1">1</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdl in2" colspan="2"><span class="smcap">The Roman People</span></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#toclink_24">24</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdl in2" colspan="2"><span class="smcap">The Senate</span></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#toclink_42">42</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdl in2" colspan="2"><span class="smcap">Slavery</span></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#toclink_60">60</a></td> -</tr> -<tr class="p2 xsmall"> - <td class="tdc w3">CHAPTER</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdr top">I</td> - <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">The Death of Augustus</span></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#toclink_79">79</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdr top">II</td> - <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Parents and Childhood of Tiberius</span></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#toclink_85">85</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdr top">III</td> - <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Octavian</span></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#toclink_106">106</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdr top">IV</td> - <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Augustus</span></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#toclink_129">129</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdr top">V</td> - <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">The Education of Tiberius</span></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#toclink_143">143</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdr top">VI</td> - <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">The Family of Augustus</span></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#toclink_164">164</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdr top">VII</td> - <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">The First Retirement of Tiberius</span></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#toclink_185">185</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdr top">VIII</td> - <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">The Return of Tiberius</span></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#toclink_197">197</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdr top">IX</td> - <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">The Campaigns of Tiberius</span></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#toclink_215">215</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdr top">X</td> - <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">The Last Years of Augustus</span></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#toclink_245">245</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdr top">XI</td> - <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">The Accession of Tiberius</span></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#toclink_253">253</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdr top">XII</td> - <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">The Mutinies in Pannonia and on the Rhine</span></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#toclink_270">270</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdr top">XIII</td> - <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Tacitus and Tiberius</span></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#toclink_293">293</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdr top">XIV</td> - <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">The Case of Scribonius Libo</span></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#toclink_320">320</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdr top">XV</td> - <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Germanicus and Piso</span></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#toclink_331">331</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdr top">XVI</td> - <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Tiberius and the Senate</span></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#toclink_353">353</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdr top">XVII</td> - <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Sejanus</span></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#toclink_385">385</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdr top w3">XVIII</td> - <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">The Retirement at Capreæ</span></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#toclink_418">418</a></td> -</tr> -</table> -</div> - -<hr /> - -<div id="toclink_1" class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_1">1</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="Introduction">Introduction</h2> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="I-I">I<br /> - -<span class="subhead">The Expansion of Rome and the Equestrian Order</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class="drop-cap"><span class="smcap1">Used</span> as we are to the terminology and conditions -of hereditary monarchy and territorial sovereignty, -we find it hard to appreciate, or even to express -in terms of modern politics the difficulties which -beset the statesmen of Rome at the death of Augustus; -and we are further tempted to read into the story -of that critical period ideas, which were only conceivable -after the crisis was over; we can hardly avoid -seeing those days in the light of subsequent events, -or speaking of them in language which involves -anachronism. Our information is principally derived -from historians, who wrote a century and a -half after the death of Julius Cæsar, when the Government -of the Emperor and the Senate was established; -but the position of the Emperor of those days was not -the position of Augustus, and the Senate of Trajan -was not the Senate of Tiberius. The experienced -officials who formed the majority of the Senate -of the Flavian Emperors were no longer the hereditary -oligarchy by whose capacity Rome had been<span class="pagenum" id="Page_2">2</span> -brought to be first among the city states of the world, -but which was unequal to the task of organizing the -Roman empire. The change had, however, escaped -observation, and the warmest admirers of the Senate -of the Republic were men whose position had been -won for them by the Emperors. Between the death -of Augustus and the death of Vespasian we have but -few contemporary historians; we have no letters -of Cicero to throw light on the inner life of the statesmen -of those days; there were private records, -private letters, and private biographies; we can -gather their tone from the extracts that have been -preserved for us, but we have no opportunity of comparing -them or checking them. Velleius Paterculus -is the only contemporary historian of the reign of -Tiberius, a portion of whose work still exists unabridged; -and his narrative stops just at the period -when we require most light—at the conspiracy of -Sejanus—where there is also a gap in the annals of -Tacitus. From the books of the New Testament we -may infer much as to how the Empire appeared at -a comparatively early period to the inhabitants of -Greater Rome, much also from Josephus, a little -from Philo, but we cannot re-people the Rome of -Tiberius, as we can re-people the Rome of Augustus -and the Rome of Cicero. Two facts stand clear to -us from the pages of Tacitus, and in a less degree -from those of Suetonius, that the Imperial Family -was divided, that the old Roman princely houses -never forgave the Empire, and that there was a -Republican reaction in opinion at the centre of the -Empire. History has repeated itself; just as the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_3">3</span> -Curia of to-day cannot forgive the monarchy which -represents the unity of Italy, so the Curia of the first -century of the Christian era was irreconcilable to -the monarchical constitution which represented the -unity of the Empire. The Roman princes who wrote -the memoirs of their houses for the edification of their -children, and the delectation of their friends never -inquired into the authority of a story derogatory to -the Emperors, and the one Emperor, who was never -spared was Tiberius; it is no exaggeration to say -that the madness of Caligula, and the monstrous -freaks of Nero are dealt with tenderly by the writers -of the silver age, if we compare the accounts of these -with the deliberate malignity which attends on every -word and action of Tiberius; and yet common sense -tells us that only a very able man could have succeeded -Augustus without breaking up his work. -At the death of Augustus it was still possible that there -would be no second Emperor; at the death of Tiberius -the Roman Emperor had become an institution, the -pivot upon which the whole machinery of civilized -existence turned throughout the world. Hence the -peculiar bitterness against Tiberius; the Curia felt -that in his reign their last chance had gone, and more -than this, that he had been in some sense a traitor to -his own caste. Neither the Julian nor the Octavian -families had been among the foremost houses of Rome, -till the genius of the first Cæsar raised them from their -comparative obscurity; but many of the most important -events in the history of Rome, no less than -her buildings, her roads, her aqueducts, and many -of her public monuments, were associated with the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_4">4</span> -Claudian stock, and the Livian, with which it was -inter-married, was only less distinguished. Augustus -had been tolerated, for his services to the State could -not be disregarded, but some day Augustus would -die; he did die; his power fell into the hands of the -most prominent representative of the old Roman -nobility; the opportunity for a restoration of the -narrow oligarchy of the Republic came, and it passed -away for ever. Two years after the death of Tiberius -his lunatic successor was stabbed by a soldier whom -he had insulted; the State was left a few days without -a head, and the Curia was so inanimate that it could -neither restore its own rule, nor provide a new Emperor; -it had to accept apparently at the dictation -of the soldiers in the Prætorian barracks a man of -letters who had hitherto been the laughing stock of -the Imperial family.</p> - -<p>The contemporary history of the years during which -the Roman Empire took organic form is written in -terms which tend to disguise the real significance -of the change; our attention is attracted almost -exclusively to the internal politics of the city of Rome; -it is withdrawn from the politics of the Empire; -the long struggle which ended by giving the whole -civilized world one system of Government, which -welded together in orderly association Italians, -Greeks, Syrians, Africans, Egyptians, Spaniards, -Gauls, Germans, and even Britons, is represented -to us as being little more than a constitutional revolution -inside the city; we see the external pressure, -which forced a revised constitution upon the Roman -oligarchy, but we only see it dimly; no Roman<span class="pagenum" id="Page_5">5</span> -historian has been at the pains to trace out the process -by which the civil administration of the Roman -Empire was developed—surely no less wonderful an -achievement than the conquests of the Roman -generals. We have seen other conquerors, and more -brilliant feats of arms than any Roman general -achieved, but we have not seen any other nation impress -its language and its law upon the populations of -so wide an area or so permanently. Alexander did -much, but the effects of the conquests of Rome have -been more lasting than those of the conquests of -Alexander; except in Asia there is not a civilized -people in the world which does not somewhere or -other bear the impress of Rome, or cannot trace the -pedigree of its religion and its law back to the Italian -city. This great destiny was concealed from the -makers of the Empire, but the immediate possibility, -the consolidation of the conquests of Rome, -and the permanent establishment of order over the -whole area which drains into the Mediterranean was -present to their minds; unfortunately the makers -of the Empire have been mostly silent, and the only -voices which have reached our ears are those of men -who could only grasp the great idea intermittently, -if at all, or who were annoyed by its insistence. -Under Augustus for the first time the Empire became -conscious, Virgil and Horace spoke in terms of the -larger conception, but the grip of the Roman oligarchy -has never relaxed its hold upon the imagination -of educated men.</p> - -<p>Conquest did not involve in ancient times any -responsibility towards the conquered; war was<span class="pagenum" id="Page_6">6</span> -believed to be, and was, a profitable investment; -as Rome pushed her conquests, the organization -which she gave to the conquered peoples was one -which suited her own purposes, she did not consult -their convenience, external pressure alone forced her -to modify the conditions of conquest which were -universally accepted by the ancient world; very -gradually and very reluctantly she broke down the -barriers which surrounded the city state of antiquity, -and admitted first her immediate neighbours, and -lastly the whole of Italy to some sort of constitutional -communion with her. For a long time war had been -forced upon Rome, the invasions of the Gauls, the -domination of Carthage in the Mediterranean, the -invasion of Pyrrhus, the invasion of Hannibal, and -lastly the invasion of the Cimbrians and Teutons -involved her in a succession of defensive wars; the -city itself could not find a sufficient supply of -soldiers, and the price which Rome had to pay for -being allowed to recruit over Italy was the partial -incorporation of the Italians in the State. Wars of -defence were accompanied and followed by wars of -aggression; success encouraged speculation; after -the happy issue of the second war with Carthage the -Roman oligarchy began seriously to turn its attention -to the Eastern Mediterranean, and another century -found it entering upon the heritage of Alexander. -This is the turning point of Roman history; from -this time onwards a new conception occupied the -minds of ambitious Romans; alongside of the ideal -of the city State there existed the ideal of an extended -Empire, of a world-wide organization, of something<span class="pagenum" id="Page_7">7</span> -more permanent than conquest; alongside of the -men who dreamed of Platonic republics in which perfect -justice would be realized, there grew up men who -formed a yet grander and no less civilized ambition. -Pompey triumphed over Mithridates wearing a robe -which had been worn by Alexander; Augustus used -a head of Alexander for his signet ring; it was by the -example of Alexander that Cleopatra seduced Mark -Antony.</p> - -<p>Alexander was no vulgar adventurer; he solved -a problem which had hitherto baffled the most highly -civilized race of the ancient world; he combined the -city state of the Greeks with the Imperial organization -of the Persians; and though, when the Romans -came into close contact with Alexander’s Empire it -had fallen into fragments, each fragment preserved -the impress of the great whole, and Roman generals -could converse at Pergamus, at Antioch, or at Alexandria, -with men trained to administer states in -terms of the wider conceptions derived from Alexander -and possibly through him from Aristotle; at the -same time many men accustomed to deal with financial -problems on a large scale passed into the service -of the Roman conquerors as slaves or honoured -dependants.</p> - -<p>While the possibility of a beneficent organization -of the conquests of Rome was thus presented to one -order of mind, to another the same events introduced -another set of ideas; while some Romans studied -Alexander in the vestiges of his work, others entered -into the full possession of the Greek historians and -philosophers; the ideals of the Greek city state were<span class="pagenum" id="Page_8">8</span> -replanted in a virgin soil, and the Romans for the first -time began to theorise about their own Constitution. -The men who were taken captive by Plato and Demosthenes -did not see that Rome had long outgrown the -conditions under which the theories of these men -were applicable to her political life. The true liberal -policy was the policy of Alexander, the false liberal -policy unintentionally gave a new lease of life to the -blind selfishness of the narrow oligarchy which had -governed Rome. The daggers which struck down -Cæsar were aimed by admirers of Verres no less than -by students of Plato; and Cicero’s effusions over the -merits of the tyrannicides were effectively stopped -by the unforeseen but necessary emergence of Mark -Antony, a tyrant of the conventional type.</p> - -<p>From the moment when a year’s office as Consul -or Prætor in the city of Rome was followed by a term -of practically irresponsible government in a dependency, -the Civic Constitution was doomed; the magistracies -of Rome were now of minor importance compared -with the career to which they opened the way; -it was impossible any longer to discuss the politics -of Rome in terms of the politics of Athens or Plato’s -Republic with any practical advantage, and indeed -without inviting anarchy; but it was highly convenient -to the hereditary aristocracy of Rome and -its adherents that it should pose as representing the -principles of Harmodius and Aristogiton; it found -a clever man of letters and a skilled advocate, who -had his own reasons for falling in with this conception, -and who perpetuated it long after the facts had -demonstrated its hollowness even to himself. Cicero<span class="pagenum" id="Page_9">9</span> -as a politician is alternately a tragic and a comic figure; -he is comic because he lived complacently in a world -of his own imagining, which seldom lost its hold on -his imagination, in spite of the rudest shocks, for it -satisfied the promptings of his child-like vanity; -he is tragic because he had his moments of seeing the -realities clearly, and because combined with his vanity -there was a genuine admiration for fine conduct, -which led him to face danger manfully in his old age, -and in some sense invite the death of a political -martyr; he is yet further tragic, because he became -the father of an equally blind posterity of politicians, -who wasted their energies in spoiling the work of -men of greater enlightenment; it is perhaps due to -Cicero, more than to any other man, that the city of -Rome has persistently filled a larger space than that -of the Roman Empire in the works of subsequent -historians.</p> - -<p>In an expanding community the actual facts of the -administration are seldom in exact correspondence -with the forms; apparent rigidity, real elasticity, -enable business to be carried on in accordance with -the claims of new social factors without any sense of -insecurity. The Roman, like the Englishman, preferred -making new laws to repealing old ones; and -when he made a fresh departure, he was at pains to -represent it as a development of something by which -it had been preceded; in both cases this profound -respect for the historical aspect of law has been the -foundation of national greatness; it has been extended -beyond the races in which it originated, and -in the case of England, as in that of Rome, has resulted<span class="pagenum" id="Page_10">10</span> -in an exceptionally successful government -of alien communities; laws and customs which are -sanctified by immemorial usage appeal to the sympathy -of the Englishman and command his respect; it was -the same with the Roman. England has had her -periods of aberration when she has given way to the -proselytizing tendencies of sections of her population, -but the broad lines of her policy in dealing with subject -nationalities have followed the principle of accepting -the existing conditions; in the same way Rome -accepted the laws and customs of the Eastern Mediterranean -and of Western Europe; she supplied a -common law for her Empire, which applied where -the local law had no application; its excellence was -such that it became predominant, but she did -not insist on remodelling every community over -which she held supreme power in terms of her own -constitution. This respect for antiquity and adherence -to established forms has resulted in a misrepresentation -of some of the facts of Roman constitutional -development, and especially of those which -concern the development of the Empire, which is in -the highest degree embarrassing to the student of -the period in which the change took place. There -was a time when the constitution of Rome and her -political history differed little from that of any other -city state of antiquity, but it would not be easy to -state when that period began or ended; of one thing -we may be quite certain, viz., that after the destruction -of Carthage and the completion of the first great -period of conquest in the Eastern Mediterranean in -145 <span class="allsmcap">B.C.</span>, the political life of the city of Rome was no<span class="pagenum" id="Page_11">11</span> -longer comparable to that of any other city state; -the forms remained, and the faith in the forms remained, -but the substance was gone. There is for -instance no term so misleading as one which was -seldom out of the mouth of Cicero, “the Roman -people”; there unquestionably was a time when the -Roman people was an organized part of the Roman -constitution, when it voted in an orderly fashion -according to a property qualification for the election -of certain magistrates, and the ratification of certain -laws; when it voted according to a residential organization -for the election of other magistrates, and to -pass other laws; but the forms of popular government -were maintained long after the reality of popular -government had departed. It suited the convenience -of noble agitators, such as the Gracchi, to see in the -rabble of the streets the Comitia Tributa, it was -equally convenient to the princely houses to dignify -their own private arrangements with the forms of -an election in the Comitia Centuriata, it was particularly -pleasing to the middle class Roman to share in -the spoils of the Empire by exacting direct or indirect -payment for his vote, and so the forms were maintained; -an outward deference to them answered -everybody’s purpose, but the real political power and -the real political struggles lay outside and beyond them. -The Roman people, as a body of civilians, could riot, -as the raw material of the Roman army it could strike, -it was necessary to keep it in good humour, and to -allow it to regard itself as an organized part of the constitution, -as a body of free and independent electors; -but to accept its own estimate of itself as an important<span class="pagenum" id="Page_12">12</span> -factor in the politics of the Empire is to misread -history; popular Government in any sense which -would commend itself to the intelligence of an Englishman -of to-day, or of an Athenian who listened to -Demosthenes, did not and could not exist in the Rome -which had begun to control the destinies of the -Mediterranean; it was a legal fiction which it was -convenient to maintain, the attempt to make it once -again a reality resulted in the revolutionary excesses -which preceded the Empire.</p> - -<p>The real government of Rome was in the hands -of the Senate, an assembly of nobles and capitalists, -who shared between themselves the profits of the -Roman conquests. Like all such assemblies, the -senators had their good times and their bad; between -the second and the third wars with Carthage they so -conducted themselves as to impress the imagination -of the civilized world; the successes of their armies, -their fidelity to engagements, their comparative -moderation in conquest, were the wonder of men; -admiration for these qualities tempted Judas Maccabæus -to engage their assistance in checking the -aggressions of the Greek rulers of Antioch; their -mediation was invited by the chieftains of Gaul; it -was recognized as an honour to them to be called -friends of the Roman people, and the honour was -attended by practical advantages. Success was followed -by intoxication, and the time came when the -sense of responsibility was lost in the secure accumulation -of riches, and when the unscrupulous venality -of the Senate became a by-word. Then the power -of Rome seemed to be tumbling to decay; Jugurtha<span class="pagenum" id="Page_13">13</span> -defied her in Africa, Mithridates in Asia, Spain -threatened to organize itself against her under a -Roman general, the Cimbrians and Teutons swarmed -over her borders, her Italian allies made war upon -her, she could with difficulty suppress an organized -revolt of her rural slaves, at home she was at the mercy -of the savage mob in her streets; out of this confusion -she emerged victorious, and greater than before. -The reason is a simple one; during her period -of good behaviour Rome had become the financial -capital of the world; she was indispensable, and when -she could no longer help herself, others were ready -to help her. Left to itself the Roman Senate would -have brought ruin on the Roman Empire in the first -half of the century preceding the Christian era; but -it was not left to itself; its incompetence involved -the ruin of too many other interests. We have the -story of the Roman generals in full, but nobody has -yet written the story of the Roman bankers; we are -accustomed to think of the Romans as soldiers and -lawyers, we forget that they were also shrewd financiers; -with the Romans, as with ourselves, commerce -usually preceded the flag; the soldier completed the -work begun by the capitalist. We are told that the -first war with Mithridates began with a massacre -of 80,000 Roman citizens in Asia Minor; the figures -are probably exaggerated, but they are not questioned -by any Roman historians; it did not appear improbable -to them that the Roman residents in Asia -should have been so numerous at that comparatively -early date; and though part of the country was -already a Roman province, and we may assume that<span class="pagenum" id="Page_14">14</span> -the popular fury was largely directed against collectors -of taxes, even the rich towns of Asia Minor can hardly -have acquired the services of so large a body of revenue -officials.</p> - -<p>The political genius of a nation is shown by nothing -so much as the success with which it supplements -the deficiencies of its formal constitution by informal -but recognized agencies. Rome was provided with -a machinery for collecting and distributing her -domestic revenue; she had a treasury and a staff -of clerks, but she had no separate civil service for -the Empire; the constitution of a city state did not -admit of such a thing, and the collection of the revenue -of a province was left to semi-private agencies, its -taxes being farmed. At fixed periods the right of -collecting the taxes assigned to the public treasury -from the provinces was sold by public auction; the -purchaser paid a lump sum to the treasury, and made -the best of his bargain in the provinces; the speculation -was an exceedingly profitable one, but its profits -threatened to disappear owing to excessive competition -among the farmers of taxes; in order to eliminate -competition the farmers of taxes formed themselves -into a close corporation, the taxes were bought in -the name of an individual, but in fact by an association.</p> - -<p>Alongside of the Senate there thus gradually grew -an organized body which formed the permanent -civil executive of the provinces, the body which was -known as the Equestrian Order. As in our own -history, so in Roman history, the value of terms -alters from period to period, almost from year to<span class="pagenum" id="Page_15">15</span> -year; it would therefore be rash to declare that at -any one period every titular Roman knight was an -active member of the Financial Corporation which -farmed the taxes, or that the collection of revenue -was the sole business of the corporation as a whole, -or of its individual members. Again, that differentiation -of functions in the case of the individual, -or the association, which is to us almost a law of -existence, was unknown to the ancients, or worked -on lines of division not readily comprehensible to -ourselves; there was, for instance, nothing absurd -to Roman conceptions in sending out an advocate -like Cicero to govern a frontier province, and placing -him on active service in command of an army, for -civil, military, and judicial functions of the highest -responsibility were exercised simultaneously or successively -by the same individual as a matter of course. -But though it is difficult to draw fixed lines, there is -quite sufficient evidence to warrant us in asserting -that the Equestrian Order held a recognized position -in the State, that it practically formed the Civil -Service of the provinces, that its interests were repeatedly -opposed to those of the Senate, that it -roughly represented Greater Rome, as opposed to -the city of Rome, that through all the disturbances -of the Civil Wars it kept the machinery of Government -outside Italy in working order, that it was -the channel through which the leading provincials -gradually passed into the Civil Administration, and -that eventually the Imperial Executive was built -up on the foundation, not of the Senate, but of -the Equestrian Order, and the Imperial Household.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_16">16</span></p> - -<p>The origin of the Equestrian Order is to be found -in the Servian Constitution; we may not altogether -believe in the Servian Constitution, which, as it is -presented to us in the pages of Livy, looks like the -clever guess of an antiquarian who was familiar with -the Constitution provided for Athens by Cleisthenes, -but we have no difficulty in believing that there was -a time, when every citizen possessed of a certain -amount of property was obliged to keep a horse for -the service of the State, and was expected to take the -field as a cavalry man; or that he was allowed certain -distinctions of dress, and other privileges indicating -public consideration; it is also easy to imagine the -process by which the yeomanry force so constituted -was replaced by more efficient cavalry soldiers, and -the military significance of the Equestrian Order -disappeared, while the name remained; of the intermediate -steps which followed we have no detailed -account; in theory every Roman citizen possessing -more than a definite amount of property was entitled -to be enrolled in the list of the Equestrian Order by -the Censor, and if his property reached a yet higher -value to be similarly called to the Senate, but the -practice must have been different; not every man -became a senator or a knight, who had the necessary -property qualification, though demonstrated want -of means might be a disqualification, and entail a -loss of position when the Censor was rigorous, or -when an excuse was wanted for reducing the numbers -of the Senate or the Order, or setting aside an -undesirable personality. The time came when two -political careers were open to the ambitious Roman;<span class="pagenum" id="Page_17">17</span> -he could become a candidate for Public Office, and -under the forms of public election eventually gain -admission to the Senate through the Quæstorship, -or he could be enrolled on the lists of the Equestrian -Order. In the first case he might eventually become -Prætor, Consul, and then Viceroy of a Province; in -the second he became a member of the great financial -corporation which supplied the Civil Service of the -Empire; in the first case he might command armies -and figure prominently before the eyes of men; in -the second he might make a large fortune, but would -not enjoy some of the sweets of power which attract -ambitious men.</p> - -<p>The relative positions are fairly comparable to those -of an English member of Parliament, and an English -clerk in a Public Department in the days before the -Reform Bill; a young Englishman of good position -could be nominated in those days by an influential -friend either to a seat in the House of Commons, or -to a subordinate place in one of the Executive Departments; -in the former case he might ultimately -become Prime Minister, in the latter Permanent Head -of his department. In the one case he would be widely -known and possibly respected; in the latter he might -do work of the highest public utility, and never be -heard of outside official circles.</p> - -<p>To be successful in a senatorial career was an expensive -and arduous process; it was necessary to -pay a heavy initiatory fee in the form of direct and -indirect bribery to the electors; it was then necessary -to force a way into the inner circle, which distributed -the honours and emoluments; a new man<span class="pagenum" id="Page_18">18</span> -could only do so by showing that he had a very strong -force of public opinion behind him, and that he could -make himself felt; admission to the Equestrian -Order was less costly, and there was less risk; in -consequence the career was deliberately chosen by -large numbers of Romans, whose wealth and family -connections might have tempted them to enter the -ranks of the Senate; further, admission to the -Equestrian Order was less jealously guarded; it -probably had its hierarchy, and its inner circle like -all similar organizations; and the summons of the -Censor was possibly a mere formality, the nominations -made by him having been previously determined -by others; but it was much easier for an Italian, -and eventually for a Provincial to become a Roman -Knight than a Roman Senator. A Provincial, who -had once secured the status of a Roman citizen, could -secure the further dignity of a Roman Knight by -processes which we may surmise, but cannot definitely -prescribe; once a Roman Knight, he might look -forward to a share in the financial administration of -the provinces during the reign of the Senate, and to a -Governorship under the Emperors.</p> - -<p>It would be a mistake to assume that all Roman -Knights were members of the Civil Service, that is -to say, that they all belonged to the hierarchy which -farmed the taxes and managed other business necessarily -connected therewith; there were doubtless -many Equestrians whose dignity was chiefly titular; -others who as private financiers and contractors only -were connected with the Order, but the continued -allusions to the status of “Eques Romanus,” which<span class="pagenum" id="Page_19">19</span> -multiply as the Empire takes shape, forbid us to believe -that this was in all cases a purely honorary -dignity, which could be assumed by any wealthy man -on application to the Censor. Were there no other -evidence, the fact that we find the Equestrian Order -ranged formally against the Senate at the beginning -of the great constitutional struggle which ended in -the Empire, shows that we have to do with no haphazard -collection of wealthy individuals, distinguished -from their fellow-citizens by an honorary precedence.</p> - -<p>Cicero made his first triumphant appearance as a -public man at Rome, when he conducted the case -against Verres; whatever may have been the misconduct -of Verres, and it was undoubtedly very serious, -the action against him was not promoted by pure -philanthropy; the case was a test case, it was part -of a campaign directed against the provincial administration -of the Senate by the Equestrian Order, whose -interests were imperilled by rapacious Viceroys. -The only check upon the proceedings of a Roman -Proconsul lay in the possibility of bringing an action -against him for improper exactions; in the purer -days of the Senatorial administration such an action -when instituted by the provincials might be successful, -and the possibility of its success might be a deterrent, -because though the offending Senator was in such a -case tried by his peers, those peers, even if influenced -by no higher motive, were interested in preventing -the exhaustion of a province; any one of them might -succeed to the wasted estate; the Proconsul who -succeeded a Verres was not likely to make much -out of his office, for he found the estate stripped.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_20">20</span> -As the Senate became reckless, having found fresh -and apparently inexhaustible pastures in the East, -scant attention was paid to the complaints of provincials -till their cause was taken up by the Equestrian -Order.</p> - -<p>The Roman Proconsul was supreme Judge and -supreme executive authority in his province; he -imposed, sanctioned, and sometimes encouraged -public works, such as roads, harbours and buildings; -he regulated the mutual relations of the different -independent communities within the area over which -his authority extended; he had ample opportunities -for indirect and direct extortion, but he did not -collect the taxes; the collection of revenue was in the -hands of the farmers of the taxes, that is to say, as -time went on, of the Equestrian Order. A divergency -of interests soon declared itself: if the Proconsul -harried the province unmercifully, the tax -gatherer found little or no revenue to collect, and -could not reimburse himself. The Proconsul had -the unfair advantage, that cases between the collectors -of revenue and the provincials were tried in his court; -thus the farmers of the taxes found that they had -an interest in promoting appeals to Rome, and in -aiding the provincials to bring actions for extortion -against the provincial Governors at the end of their -term of office. So long as the Senate acted equitably -no great harm was done, but as soon as the Senate -was found invariably to acquit its own members, -the Equestrian Order became ranged formally -against it, and pressed for reforms; it succeeded for -a time in getting these case tried before a court<span class="pagenum" id="Page_21">21</span> -composed entirely of its own members; Sulla the -reactionary gave back the jurisdiction to the Senate. -One consequence of the trial of Verres was the establishment -of a mixed court composed partly of Senators, -partly of Equestrians. The net result was that the -Equestrian Order formed an organized party, commanding -enormous financial resources, in sympathy -with the provinces, and more thoroughly conversant -with the details of provincial business than the Senate. -Thus eventually the Equestrian Order came to represent -the party of the Empire, as opposed to the -Senate which was the party of the ancient oligarchy -of the city; for with the internal politics of the city -the Order was only concerned so far as they affected -or were affected by the standing quarrel between -itself and the Senate. There were men of high moral -standards at Rome both in the Senate and in the -Order, who wished to deal justly with the provinces; -but they were few. Either party left to itself would -have plundered the provincials unmercifully; circumstance -ruled that the selfishness of the Equestrians -should be enlightened, that of the Senate unenlightened, -while financial relations with men of -business in the provinces, with skilled Greeks and -Jews, taught the Order sounder views of political -economy than were open to the average Senator. -However oppressive the methods of the Equestrian -Order might appear when judged by modern standards, -they commended themselves to the favour of -antiquity; the Roman Civil Service worked better -than its predecessors, otherwise there would have -been no Roman Empire. The ultimate collector of<span class="pagenum" id="Page_22">22</span> -taxes is never a popular character, and the Roman -Publicans enjoyed to the full the unpopularity which -has been the fate of their brethren at all times, and -in all places; but the revenues of the provinces were -collected by the Roman Knights with less friction, -and less capriciously, than by the representatives -of Perseus of Macedon, or Mithridates, or Antiochus; -and in their own interests the Equestrian Order -discountenanced other extortioners, whether high-placed -officials or private adventurers. When the -Civil Wars came the Order was interested in finding a -counterpoise to the Senate, and eventually in arresting -the progress of anarchy. Cæsar backed by the -Order could confidently face the Senate and Pompeius; -similarly his nephew having once gained its confidence -was a match for the spendthrift Marcus Antonius. -The Cæsars and the Order were of one mind in putting -an end to the Senatorial misgovernment of the provinces, -therefore Greater Rome recognized its champions -in the Cæsars, and supported the organization -of which they were the head without stopping to -inquire whether the officials whom they employed -were Freedmen or of the purest Roman nobility.</p> - -<p>In order not to form a mistaken conception of the -process by which the Roman Empire was built up, -it is important to bear in mind that the term “province” -only gradually acquired the territorial significance -with which it is now inseparably associated. -Any responsibility outside the city of Rome and the -domain governed directly by the annually elected -magistrates of the city might be called “a province.” -The “province” at one time assigned to Pompeius<span class="pagenum" id="Page_23">23</span> -was the duty of repressing piracy throughout the -Mediterranean. The territorial aspect of a “province” -was in fact accidental. The first territorial -provinces, Sicily, Sardinia, and Corsica, happened -to be islands, and a natural limitation was thus fixed -to the responsibilities of the Roman Governors, whose -duty was to maintain the Roman interests in Sicily -and the other islands against the aggressions of -Carthage; the result was the unification of Sicily, -and the realization of a political condition closely -resembling though not absolutely identical with -the modern conception of a province. As the dominions -of Alexander successively passed into the -hands of the Senate, it was convenient to use previously -existing boundaries for the delimitation -of the several spheres of influence for which the -Roman Proconsuls were responsible, and thus a territorial -significance increasingly attached to the words -province and provincial. Similarly modern usage -perverts the significance of the word “provincial” as -applied to the inhabitants of those cities which passed -under the protectorate of Rome. There was not quite -the same quality of disparagement in the ancient use -of the words as in the modern. The units of the Roman -Empire were not originally territories, but individual -cities, then, as the conquests of the Roman Generals -extended to peoples not living under the city organization -of the Greeks, Italians and Phœnicians, tribes -or nationalities. Rome was first the universal peacemaker; -only at a later time and by a gradual process -did she become the universal ruler, and the centre -of a hierarchy of officials. Such centralization of the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_24">24</span> -details of Government as we are now familiar with -was never realized by the Roman Empire; the inhabitants -of the great cities of the East did not consider -themselves “provincial” in our sense of the word.</p> - -<hr /> - -<div id="toclink_24" class="chapter"> -<h2 class="nobreak" id="I-II">II<br /> - -<span class="subhead">The Roman People</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class="in0"><span class="firstword">The</span> official style of the Roman Government was -that of the Senate and the Roman people. It is -not easy to form an estimate of what constituted the -Roman people at any particular date. In these -days of individual freedom and independence the -term people has a definite meaning; we know that -for political purposes the English people means every -registered voter, and that the process by which -any resident within the limits of His Majesty’s dominions -can acquire a vote are comparatively simple for -white men; but citizenship was not so simple a -matter in ancient times, and antiquarian research -fails in some measure to enlighten us, because the -Romans had a habit of keeping the old names and -the old forms long after their original significance -and the powers implied had passed to new institutions -or suffered complete change.</p> - -<p>The very phrase the Senate <em>and</em> the Roman people -is deeply significant, for it excludes the Senate from -the people. Whatever may have been the original -meaning of the word “Populus,” it was clearly something -distinct from the Senate, which was not <em>representative</em> -of the people, but another power. The -fusion between the two powers was in fact never -completed till the predominance of the Imperial<span class="pagenum" id="Page_25">25</span> -Hierarchy practically eliminated the Senate. There -was a time in the history of the Republic when this -fusion seemed to be approaching completion, and when -the Senate moved in the direction of becoming a -representative body; but the Roman conquests threw -such preponderating influence into the hands of the -Senate, that the constitutional position which had -been slowly won for the “people” became nominal -rather than real. The oligarchy of Rome was never -in the Republican period disestablished as the oligarchies -of many Greek cities were disestablished.</p> - -<p>The Roman historians have preserved for us a -constitution based on property qualifications, which -might tempt us to imagine that there was a time when -a Government with something approaching to a -democratic organization controlled the destinies of -Rome. It is possible that there was a time when the -Roman people was divided into classes according to -their assessed property, and when each class voted -separately; but it is exceedingly improbable that even -in that golden age of liberty there was anything approaching -to free and independent elections as we -understand them.</p> - -<p>The independence of the individual has always been -tempered by the necessity of belonging to some form -of organization. In these days a man belongs to a -party, or a trades union or an association, and sacrifices -a portion of his independence to the advantages -gained by sharing in the strength of an organized -coherent body; in ancient times even a modified -independence of this kind was not possible, and in -early times at Rome a man was expected to vote for<span class="pagenum" id="Page_26">26</span> -his patron through thick and thin. To us it would -appear that a man lost personal dignity by following -blindly the fortunes of a greater man than himself; -to a Roman it would seem that the individual had -no personal dignity, if he were not recognizably -attached to a patron.</p> - -<p>Individual independence is only possible in a very -highly civilized society. Men may be technically -equal in the eyes of the law long before they are so -practically; even in modern England it has been -found necessary to form associations whose members -are bound to mutual assistance in defending or -instituting some actions-at-law. The difference between -ancient and modern society, and indeed between -modern society before and after the French Revolution, -lies in this, that the modern association is -most commonly one of equal individuals for certain -definite purposes, while the ancient association was -one of inferiors of various degrees with a superior -for all purposes. It would be rash to attempt to -define too closely, but the general statement that in -ancient Roman society there was no such thing as a -free and independent individual, except among the -wealthiest or otherwise most powerful, is near the -truth. Numberless conditions unknown to modern -society contributed to produce the same result; -among them the following may be mentioned.</p> - -<p>Residence as a means of acquiring political status -was not recognized by the ancients; a man might -reside in the same town all his life, and his children -might succeed him, but neither he nor they could -buy or sell, plead in the law courts, intermarry with<span class="pagenum" id="Page_27">27</span> -the citizens, acquire real property, or in fact enjoy any -of the benefits of civilized society, without making -special arrangements; the resident was an alien -until the authorities of the town in which he dwelt -had conferred upon him a political status. Towns -such as Rome and Athens, which admitted resident -aliens comparatively readily to a modified form of -citizenship, expanded more quickly than other towns, -and the history of the expansion of Rome is from this -point of view the history of the processes by which -she gradually admitted the stranger within her gates, -and then the stranger without her walls to the privileges -of citizenship.</p> - -<p>The privileges of a citizen according to ancient -ideas were separated into two classes: they were -private and public; to the first class belonged the -rights of buying and selling, intermarrying, making -valid contracts, and acquiring by various tenures -real property; to the second the right of voting in -all or some elections, and, as the climax, of standing -for some or all magistracies. The various degrees -of citizenship might be conceded to individuals or to -communities; Rome might admit all full citizens of -Arpinum to all or some of the rights of Roman citizenship, -and vice versâ, or similarly favour an individual -citizen of Arpinum. Long before an alien community -or individual received the benefits of citizenship -business relations might be necessary, and in order -to get over the difficulty of conducting business with -persons who had no legal status, it was customary -for aliens to form private relations with full citizens -through whom their business was conducted; and<span class="pagenum" id="Page_28">28</span> -here again the alien might be a whole community -or a single individual. At Rome the citizen who -thus took charge of an alien’s business was called his -patron, and the alien was called a client. The principal -service rendered by the patron was to appear -on his client’s behalf in those law courts to which the -client had otherwise no access; the case was dealt -with as the patron’s case by a convenient legal fiction. -The service rendered by the client was not definitely -prescribed in this case; it could not be, for he was -unknown to the Roman law; but we have no reason -to suspect the Roman patrons of not exacting a satisfactory -equivalent for their services. The same men -who were clients at Rome would be patrons in their -own towns, and transact business for their Roman -friend at Ephesus or Alexandria in return for his -services at Rome. In the same way aliens resident at -Rome, who for various reasons were unable or unwilling -to acquire rights of citizenship, enrolled themselves -among the clients of a patron. The system -added enormously to the wealth and influence of the -powerful men at Rome; for much in the same way -that the status of citizen in its various degrees was -personal and transmitted by descent, only to be revoked -by a solemn process, so the relation of patron -and client was personal and heritable on both sides. -This combination of personal with business relationships -is one of the peculiarities that make ancient -society so difficult for us to understand.</p> - -<p>Even after an alien had acquired the rights of -citizenship the tie between his family and the patron’s -family would continue. It would not be easy to prove<span class="pagenum" id="Page_29">29</span> -that it was strictly obligatory in the eye of the law, -but it was recognized by sentiment, and ingratitude -on the part of the client, or neglect on the part of the -patron, were severely punished by the unwritten law, -and in certain cases by the written law.</p> - -<p>Thus one form of the relation of patron and client -arose out of the difficulties of intercourse between -communities and individuals for business purposes -in a state of society which regarded citizenship as a -special personal qualification, and not as an incident -of residence.</p> - -<p>A second form was the relation between a Roman -noble and his freeborn dependants in various degrees.</p> - -<p>Such a city as Rome was not comparable to a modern -city in many particulars; even after the definite -establishment of the Empire when it had approached -the modern conception, there were still survivals -from a previous state of things. It would not, for -instance, occur to a wealthy citizen of London to -start from his residence in Park Lane with a pack -of hounds, and all the other paraphernalia of a hunting -expedition, in order to impress his fellow-citizens -with a sense of his importance as a territorial magnate; -such a thing was possible at Rome even in the reign -of Domitian, or there would be no point in one of -Martial’s epigrams. The heads of the great Roman -families were not originally rich men who conducted -their business in Rome, and possessed houses in the -country to which they went to enjoy sport and the -amenities of Nature; they were originally territorial -magnates, whose importance was due to the fact that -they were such; it was a later development which made<span class="pagenum" id="Page_30">30</span> -them approach to the position of our great commercial -princes in London. The ancient city community -was not a thing enclosed within walls; it extended -over a considerable area. The land outside the city -walls might be held under some form of communal -tenure and subdivided into small plots, but it might -also be occupied by large holders in positions analogous -to our conceptions of a tenant-in-chief, whose subtenants -were free citizens with full civic rights in the -eye of the law, but who were also in many respects -vassals. Dionysius has a statement of the relations -between patron and client which may be inaccurate -in the letter, but which in its spirit at once suggests -the feudal system. It is inevitable in certain stages -of social development that the small man should -associate himself in some way or other with the big -man, in order to be able to render effective the rights -which the law gives him. The Roman noble took -charge of his client’s interests in the law courts, the -client voted as his patron directed at the polling -booths. The free and independent electors who -swarmed in from the country to give their votes -were pledged to support the candidates and measures -recommended to them by their patrons; had they -failed to do so, they would have been thought deficient -in a Roman virtue.</p> - -<p>There was a third relationship of patron and client -which was fairly strictly defined by law; when a -man emancipated a slave, the relations between them -were changed from those of master and slave to those -of patron and client. The slave did not always -receive full citizenship on emancipation, but all<span class="pagenum" id="Page_31">31</span> -through the various degrees by which he passed -from the servile status to that of full citizen, he and -his descendants continued in the position of client -to the original manumittor and his descendants; -the relationship was so close that the property of an -intestate freedman went to his patron or his patron’s -representatives. The legal statements on this subject -are somewhat obscure, but enough remains to -show that the connection was recognized by the law -as a close one, and that there were rights on both sides; -the relationship was not purely a matter of personal -choice nor readily dissoluble.</p> - -<p>All these three ways in which the relation of patron and -client might be created tended even in the purest days -of the Roman Republic to make an election a struggle -between big families and groups of big families rather -than a political struggle in which each elector formed -an opinion upon a question of policy and gave his -vote independently. The Senate, that is to say, -the assembly of heads of houses, divided into parties -or groups, and each head of a house could bring so -many electors to vote at the polling booths with -tolerable certainty. The ultimate political unit for -practical purposes was not the individual but the -group formed by a patron and his clients, who in their -different degrees voted as the patron directed.</p> - -<p>A free Government controlled by an electorate, -in which each individual elector votes according to -his own judgment, is a dream of political theorists. -It may have existed for a short time in some of the -small city states of antiquity, but in practice the -individual elector is too lazy to exert his own judgment;<span class="pagenum" id="Page_32">32</span> -he votes, if it is made worth his while to vote, -either by the pressure of some extra constitutional association -to which he belongs, or by direct bribery, or -by the more insidious indirect bribery of party leaders -who promise pecuniary or sentimental satisfaction.</p> - -<p>In political life the letter of the statute book is -always in process of modification by custom and -convenience. No state which is expanding can -hope to keep the letter of its constitution up to -date; the changes are too rapid, too subtle. Constitution -makers are thus commonly disappointed -in the results of their labours, partly because they -are not in possession of all the facts, and partly because -the conditions have changed even in the time required -to frame a constitution. At Rome the letter of the -constitution was but slightly changed during the -two centuries preceding the Empire; there were -the same magistrates, the same Senate, the same -electoral and legislative bodies, very nearly the same -methods of voting, and the same qualifications of an -elector, but the working of the constitution changed; -the admission of large numbers of fresh citizens -expanding the mass of voters beyond manageable -numbers, the changed responsibilities of the magistrates, -the widened career open to successful politicians -rendered the old terminology almost meaningless in -reference to the actual working of the constitution.</p> - -<p>There was a time when the extra constitutional -organization of the electors was entirely in the hands -of the great families; this arrangement broke down -gradually before the influx of new citizens; direct -bribery took its place alongside of personal influence.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_33">33</span> -Up to the year 180 <span class="allsmcap">B.C.</span> Rome had pursued a policy -in relation to her allies which, judged by the standards -of antiquity, was liberal; she admitted her immediate -neighbours to a modified form of citizenship, she -gave the citizens of certain towns the right of voting -in some of the Roman elections, and she even gave -those citizens of these towns who had held the -highest offices in their own towns, the right of standing -for the magistracies at Rome; she pursued a -policy of expansion; at that date her policy changed; -she began to check the admission to citizenship, which -was afterwards only wrung from her by war, till the -city constitution was all but lost in the building of -the Empire.</p> - -<p>On the one hand, the great families discovered -that they had entered upon the possession of a magnificent -property, which they were not disposed to -share with an indefinite number of partners; on -the other hand, they felt that owing to the influx -of numbers they had lost their grip of the electorate, -for the men who came to vote from outlying towns -were often sheep without a shepherd. It proved, -however, impossible to keep the electorate restricted. -Rome herself could not supply the armies necessary -to carry on the career of conquest upon which she -had embarked; she was forced to depend upon allies -to supply the men whom she organized, and she was -forced in various ways to pay the price. One form of -payment was the citizenship, which enabled the -Samnite or other Italian soldier to come to Rome -for the elections, and extort extra payment for his -military services; whether he was feasted, or amused,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_34">34</span> -or actually paid for his vote, he shared with his -Roman fellow-soldier in the spoil of the provinces -which he had helped to conquer. Every fresh concession -of citizenship rendered the electorate more -unwieldy, till the Roman people of whose favours -Cicero so often boasts had become little better than a -mob.</p> - -<p>While the Roman Electorate was thus outgrowing -all possible organization, and the constitution of a -city state was breaking down in every direction -under the weight of burdens which it was not constructed -to carry, the minds of liberal statesmen at -Rome were unhappily occupied largely with city -constitutions. The enlightened circle of the Roman -nobility, which was represented by such men as -Scipio Æmilianus, studied the Greek political writers -rather than the events which were going on around -them, and were tempted to see in the creation of a -really democratic constitution the remedy for the -disorders which were only too obvious. They were -liberal in one sense, but it was in terms of the city -state, which no longer existed.</p> - -<p>We have had an analogous process in our own -history. The expansion of England for a long time -escaped the notice of men, who, frightened by the -French Revolution, were concerned in demonstrating -the incomparable merit of representative government, -and of establishing the fact that the English -constitution had always contained in it the democratic -principle. One of these men rewrote for us the -history of Greece in terms of the praise of democracy; -another proclaimed the merits of liberty and representative<span class="pagenum" id="Page_35">35</span> -government; a whole school of historians -is interested in showing the popular share in such -events as the extortion of Magna Charta from an -unwilling King, and in the constitution of the Parliament -summoned in the King’s name by Simon de -Montfort; as the result of the labours of these and -other men our attention was drawn for many years -exclusively to problems of domestic government; -the far greater problem, the relations of England to -her colonies and dependencies, and the necessary -modifications in her internal constitution, escaped -notice.</p> - -<p>At Rome the first important act of the new Liberal -school was the attempted agrarian legislation of -Tiberius Gracchus; Rome was to deal with her -conquered territory in the terms of a city state; -conquered land was public land; in such states it -had always belonged to the whole people, and had -been shared between them; Rome had neglected -this salutary arrangement; her public land had -passed into the possession of the wealthy few; it must -be resumed, and redivided. The proposal was about -as practical as an attempt to restore all the common -lands to the English peasantry would be at present; -it failed; the originator was assassinated.</p> - -<p>Ten years later his brother proposed further liberal -schemes; he was less of a dreamer; he looked forward -rather than back; he saw that Rome must provide -for her time-expired soldiers, and must give non-Roman -Italians who had fought under her standards -a larger share in her conquests; but he was before -his time, and was in his turn assassinated; a similar<span class="pagenum" id="Page_36">36</span> -fate befell a leader from the ranks of the Conservative -nobility, a Livius Drusus, who a few years later -advanced the same political programme. The expansion -of Rome to include Italy had thus become -part of the policy of a definite party at Rome; but -this party was not always a popular party, for the -men who idled about the streets of Rome, living on the -profits of citizenship, were no more disposed than the -great families to add to the number of the partners.</p> - -<p>During the second century before the Christian -era, the forms of popular government were maintained -at Rome ready to become more than forms when an -organization was also ready to use them. The most -important effect of the political work of the Gracchi -was to breathe fresh life into the popular assembly; -but this was no sooner done than the constitution -proved to be unworkable; then followed a period -of anarchy in Rome itself, which lasted for seventy -years; during this period one party, the party of -Greater Rome, steadily grew, and eventually left -the constitution so modified that the local politics -of the capital no longer had a predominant weight -in the Empire. The first great step towards this -end was made in the period during which C. Marius -had an overpowering influence in Roman politics. -Marius is represented to us by the historians from an -unfriendly point of view; it is not easy to get at the -real man through the mass of legend which obscures -his real story. We see him a capable general who -reorganized the Roman Army; we also see him -incapable as a politician; he figures as the rough -brutal demagogue whose violence stands in unpleasing<span class="pagenum" id="Page_37">37</span> -contrast to the suave manners of Sulla; -but whatever he may have been personally he represented -definite political tendencies. The Marian party -survived Marius, and found its most distinguished -representative in the great Cæsar, who was a nephew -of Marius.</p> - -<p>A significant fact about Marius is that he was not -a Roman; he came from the small town of Arpinum. -Technically he was a Roman citizen, for Arpinum -was a community which had enjoyed for nearly a -century the privileges of Roman citizenship; but -his connexion with Rome was not the connexion -of a Cornelius or an Æmilius. He was one of the many -men from Italian towns who used their Roman -citizenship to push a career at Rome; Cicero, also -from Arpinum, and Pompeius from Picenum are well-known -examples of the same class of men.</p> - -<p>Each of these three men failed as a politician at -Rome, and in much the same way each of them -transferred to the wide arena of Roman politics the -limitations imposed by the traditions of a small city -state. Marius could not manage the Electorate -nor the Senate; Pompeius could not manage the -Senate; Cicero saw in Rome a magnified Arpinum. -Of the three, Marius, in spite of the clumsiness which -defeated his own purposes, had grasped the one -political idea which was to conquer all others in the -end; he saw that the men who fought in the armies -of the Empire must have a share in the government -of the Empire; he contributed to this end, perhaps -unconsciously, by his reorganization of the Army. -The reforms of Marius in military organization were<span class="pagenum" id="Page_38">38</span> -in the first place technical, and unfortunately we -cannot assign the several details to their responsible -authors. We do not know exactly what was done by -Marius himself, what by his successors; but we do -know that his administration marks the period at -which the Roman Army took the form of a professional -standing army as distinct from a militia. -The change had been long in progress, military -necessities had imposed it; occasional service had -been practically replaced by continuous service. -Marius substituted in fact, if not in every form, a -military organization in the army for a civil organization; -the change was forced upon the Roman by -the dangerous invasions from the north which had -found the Government unprepared. Marius dispersed -the invaders; he stood forth as the saviour -not only of Rome, but of Italy, and he was able to -reorganize the army in terms not of the Roman -constitution but of military necessities. The Roman -Armies at this date were not recruited exclusively -or even in the greater proportion from Rome herself; -not only was each legion supported by auxiliaries, -such as cavalry and light armed skirmishers, drawn -from non-Italian territories, but the legion itself was -recruited from the allies in Italy as well as from -Rome, and the balance of military strength was against -the capital.</p> - -<p>The State at once found itself confronted with a -difficult problem: what was to be done with the -professional soldiers when their time of service had -expired? Men who had served for a term of years -found their previous employments closed to them.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_39">39</span> -Alongside with the expansion of the Empire went the -depression of Italian agriculture; the food supplies -of the capital were increasingly drawn from Sicily, -Africa and Sardinia; soldiers who had been free -agricultural labourers found their places taken by -the captives whom they had themselves reduced to -slavery. The remedy that suggested itself was to -assign lands to the soldiers; they could either be -sent to form military colonies in conquered territory, -or be provided with land in Italy confiscated on various -pretexts, or simply taken without further excuse. -This remedy was not in all respects successful. Men -who had become used to the excitements of war and -the pleasures of looting, did not settle down readily -to the drudgery of farming; some parted with their -farms, others in cases where the farm had been one -appropriated by the State, allowed the proprietor -who had been defrauded to retain possession on condition -of paying a rent; some of these men re-enlisted, -others went to swell the mob of the capital and enjoy -its amusements. The Roman people of Cicero’s days -largely consisted of men drawn from many parts of -Italy, who had been, or still were, soldiers, and who -had no objection to being bribed to give their votes; -if they had any political convictions they were Italian -rather than Roman; if they resisted any further -extension of the privileges of citizenship it was from -interested motives, and not because they loved the -Conservative party in the Senate. As Rome was -the only place in which votes could be given, the -tendency was for all Italians possessing the status of -Roman citizens to drift into Rome, if they had no<span class="pagenum" id="Page_40">40</span> -occupations to detain them elsewhere. Men who -aspired to be political leaders had to win the favour -of this increasing multitude.</p> - -<p>The Roman people so constituted had no particular -affection for Rome, and none for the Senate of Rome -as a body; its affections were centred on those who -could promote its own interests, on those who were -lavish in providing it with amusements and distributing -doles, on generals who promised large -rewards to their soldiers, on orators who flattered -the vanity of the mob; if it had any genuine political -sympathies they were with the Army, and with Italy -rather than with the hierarchy at Rome. The -greatness of the Roman statesmen lies in this, that -though nominally the magistrates were elected and -laws passed by this rabble, and the whole administration -lay at its mercy, outside Italy the Roman -Government steadily grew in strength; the love -of order and faith in law were so deeply implanted -in the Roman character that the administration -was not shattered by years of apparent anarchy, in -which the constitution seemed to have fallen into -abeyance, and the fate of the civilized world to depend -upon the caprices of a mob or the loyalty of soldiers -to their leaders. The Roman resembled the Englishman -in being able to make the best of a bad government -or no government; disorder called his reserve -of moral strength into action; the executive was -always superior to the constitution; however unruly -the city, the Roman citizen in the provinces preserved -the qualities which had made Rome the -ruling power in the Mediterranean.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_41">41</span></p> - -<p>The character of the Roman people having changed, -the mass of citizens being no longer Romans and -nothing else, the ruling classes at Rome did their -best to organize the numbers who filled the streets. -All the methods by which elections may be controlled -were resorted to: political clubs were formed, the great -families looked up their clients, some of them provided -themselves with armed bands of retainers, bribery -was systematic and constant; but all efforts to introduce -order into the unwieldy body of the Roman -people alike failed. It is possible that if the popular -assembly had had no further voice in public affairs -than to elect magistrates, a way might have been -found out of the difficulty; but the mob was not only -the electorate, it was also the legislative body, or -rather a legislative body. It could not only pass laws, -but it could prevent through its representatives, the -tribunes, any laws being passed, or any business being -conducted. The rule of the Roman people under -these conditions was simply authorized anarchy, -and the deeply lamented fall of the Republic with -which school histories are apt to close, was the restoration -of order. In fact just at the time when the -history of Rome became the history of the civilized -world, there was no longer any political meaning -in the term “the Roman People”; it was a survival -from previous conditions. The attempt to call to life -the forms of popular government resulted, as it was -bound to result, not in government, but in anarchy.</p> - -<hr /> - -<div id="toclink_42" class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_42">42</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="I-III">III<br /> - -<span class="subhead">The Senate</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class="in0"><span class="firstword">If</span> the Roman people acquired a political significance -in the later days of the Republic only -to show that it was an unmanageable part of the -constitution, the Roman Senate had always been -an organized power. Had it pursued the comparatively -liberal policy which prevailed in its councils -immediately after the second Punic War, the Empire -would probably have come, but it might have come -without the intervening period of revolution; this, -however, was not to be; the temptations of wealth -and power were too strong. While, however, we -are at liberty to condemn the Senate as it is revealed -to us by the transactions with Jugurtha and other -scandalous incidents, we must not forget that the -same body which failed so deplorably at one period -of its career produced the men by whom the Empire -was made. It was the embodiment of all that was -politically good in the Roman character, as well as -of much that was evil; its faults were the faults -inherent to a close corporation of nobles enjoying -vast responsibilities which it did not altogether comprehend; -its virtues have impressed themselves upon -subsequent history.</p> - -<p>A peculiarity of the Roman constitution in the -later centuries of the Republic is that it was practically -unworkable even as a city government, unless<span class="pagenum" id="Page_43">43</span> -everybody was agreed to exercise forbearance, and -not to push constitutional powers to their legitimate -extremes. Two chief magistrates were elected every -year, each of whom could neutralize the work of the -other; all public business could be stopped at a -moment’s notice on religious grounds; the magistrates -elected by the popular assembly could impose -their veto upon the action of all other magistrates. -As long as the Senatorial families worked together, -and abandoned their mutual differences in the presence -of external pressure, the popular element in -the constitution could be disregarded; but when the -Senate became divided against itself, or when individual -Senators chose to ignore the traditional -checks by which the whole body was enabled to work -in the interests of the order rather than of the individuals -composing the order, it was possible to -paralyze the Government without departing from the -strict letter of the constitution.</p> - -<p>The Senate was a strictly aristocratical body, -practically a co-optative body, for every five years the -Censor, himself a Senator, revised the list of the -Senate. It was in his power to remove members, -who had in various ways disgraced themselves, or -who had fallen below the property qualification -demanded of a Senator; he could summon new -members, and though, after Sulla had passed a decree -to that effect, he was bound to summon all men who -had held the elective office of Quæstor, so long as -the Senate was united, it could control the elections, -and take care that no undesirable politician should -in this way effect his admission to the order. This<span class="pagenum" id="Page_44">44</span> -quality of an Aristocratical Order still hung about -the Senate in the early days of the Empire; it was -felt even then to be a public misfortune that a Senatorial -family should be unequal to maintaining its -position, and such families were occasionally subsidised -by the Emperors.</p> - -<p>The Senate was chiefly composed of men who belonged -to an aristocracy by birth, and it admitted -new men very unwillingly; a Marius with the power -of the Army behind him could force his way into the -Senate; a useful advocate like Cicero, or general -like Pompeius, could be summoned to its ranks, -but such men were unwelcome; they were accepted -as a disagreeable necessity; all three learned at different -times by bitter experience, that they were, at the -best, tolerated.</p> - -<p>An indication of the aristocratic nature of the Senate -is afforded by the fact that Senators were forbidden -to engage in trade, a prohibition which however -they contrived to evade.</p> - -<p>The school of writers which is interested in representing -all forms of government, which have been -successful as democratic, has done its best both in -ancient and modern times to minimise the aristocratic -character of the Roman Senate no less than its legislative -supremacy; but the whole tone of Roman -history is against them. A Roman Senator was -distinctly a nobleman. Inside the Senate rank went -by office; those Senators who had held the higher -offices took precedence of others according to dignity -of office; those families were most highly honoured -who could show the greatest number of dignitaries<span class="pagenum" id="Page_45">45</span> -among their ancestors, but the qualification of birth -co-existed with rank, derived from office or a long -ancestry of office holders. Long after the distinction -between patrician and plebeian had ceased to have any -meaning except in reference to certain priesthoods -and religious ceremonies, the distinction between -patrician and plebeian families was remembered, and -occasionally reasserted itself practically; and it was -some time before the official rank of Senator conferred -by an Emperor was respected unless the recipient -was entitled to Senatorial rank by descent. Among -the few acts of the early Emperors which win the -respect of contemporary historians, purgations of -the Senate are included. Julius Cæsar tried to -make the Senate a council of the Empire by enrolling -in it non-Italians; but he was before his time, and his -astute successor acted in a contrary spirit.</p> - -<p>During all the constitutional changes of the last -centuries of the Republic, the position of the Roman -Senate remained unchanged in two particulars: -it was the fountain head of Roman religion and of -Roman law, and though the former might be held -to be of transitory importance, the latter was undeniably -permanent in its effects.</p> - -<p>The Roman Senate did not alone make law, though -it alone through the Prætors interpreted law. As -a legislative body it shared its functions with the -popular assemblies; its decrees were rather administrative -than legislative, but it has never been rivalled, -except, perhaps, by the English judges, in its power -of expanding the application of existing laws and -creating a legal system. This peculiarity of the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_46">46</span> -Roman mind, its conservatism combined with a -capacity for readjustment, gave us the Roman Empire; -without it the Roman conquests would have -gone for nothing. The Greek, far quicker witted -than the Roman, was ready to change his laws at -a moment’s notice. It was to him an open question -whether his state should be democratic or oligarchic; -the question could be settled according to convenience, -by voting or by force; a new constitution could be -framed to suit new emergencies. The Roman mind -worked differently; with the Roman the new had, -if possible, to be read into the old. The Roman did -not become a constitution maker till he had passed -under Greek influence, and he was remarkably unsuccessful -in the task. He soon abandoned it, but -he never failed in his casuistry; there was no conceivable -adjustment of human relations which the -Roman jurisconsult could not refer back to the -Twelve Tables; he never troubled himself as to what -was to the advantage of the greatest number, or as -to the precise definition of justice; he simply took -his law, his precedents, his authorised interpretations, -and worked the new circumstances into line with -the old forms.</p> - -<p>Till the Greek influence modified Roman habits the -education of the young Roman noblemen was largely -legal; while the Greek youth was discussing morality -speculatively, the Roman youth was being instructed -in the application of law. He sat at the feet of some -Mucius Scævola, and heard his solutions of knotty -entanglements; the oratory in which he was trained -was not the florid rhetoric, which may be addressed<span class="pagenum" id="Page_47">47</span> -successfully to a mob, but forensic oratory addressed -to trained intelligence.</p> - -<p>With the legal temperament, the Roman combined -the religious temperament, the habit of looking to -authority rather than to speculation as a guide for -his actions. The Sibylline books continued to be -consulted in form, if not in fact, on occasions of emergency, -long after the cultivated Roman had become -familiar with the rationalistic speculations of the -Greeks and the mathematicians.</p> - -<p>The Senate might under these influences have easily -degenerated into a futile subservience to stereotyped -forms and habits which would have rendered expansion -impossible; it might have opposed a Chinese -rigidity to necessary innovations; but the destinies of -Rome had ordained that from the beginning the -principle of modification should exist alongside with a -strong conservative tendency. It may be left to the -antiquaries to decide exactly how much truth survives -in the legends which form the chief part of early -Roman history, but even if it were not demonstrable -that the population of Rome was a composite population -at a very early time, the fact would remain that -the Romans themselves believed it to be composed -of three elements: they believed that Latins, Sabines -and Etruscans had been welded together under the -Kings, and that the titular distinction between -patrician and plebeian families survived from a further -process of incorporation of aliens; thus there was -ancient authority for innovation in such an important -matter as the admission of new citizens. Athens -was in this respect more conservative than Rome;<span class="pagenum" id="Page_48">48</span> -the citizens of the most democratic state of the ancient -world boasted of their pure native descent, while the -conservative Roman found in his history a continuous -process of immigration to the hills by the Tiber, -repeated coalition, continued absorption.</p> - -<p>While the Roman Senate was in one aspect a body -of trained lawyers, in another it was a body of priests. -The evolution of the priesthood as a separate profession -is a comparatively modern process. In the -history of Rome we see the first step in the process, -the changes by which the men appointed to maintain -the state religion or to conduct the ceremonial observances -paid to particular gods became elected -officials, after having been the representatives of -certain families upon whom those obligations rested. -The duties of religion which had previously been family -duties became state duties; but this change did not relieve -the Senate of its charge of the national religion. -Just as the Senator was an expert in law, so he was an -expert in ritual; he did not discuss questions of faith, -but he decided points of ceremonial. Though the Colleges -of Pontiffs and Augurs were not in the later -days of the Republic necessarily drawn from the -Senators, and though for a short period a restricted -form of public election was applied to the former, -practically the Senatorial families held these offices -in their own hands, and the power which they thus -wielded could only be taken from them by the expedient -of combining in the person of the chief of the State -the functions of chief Pontifex and chief Augur. -Any public business could be suspended by the declaration -of a Pontifex or Augur, that it was contrary to<span class="pagenum" id="Page_49">49</span> -established ritual, or that the gods had by means of -recognized signs and omens signified the occasion -to be unfavourable.</p> - -<p>The Senate was also an assembly of heads of families; -when a Roman youth of Senatorial descent came of -age, his father presented him to the Senate. Though -inside his family the father was omnipotent, the -Senate decided what actually was the family law; -and in this respect the Senate dealt with the family, -not with the individual. If the head of the family -failed to rule his family properly, and thereby occasioned -scandal, he might be marked by the Censor -and degraded from his rank. In the family were -included many persons whom we consider to be -outside the family; slaves, freedmen and certain -clients had rights as well as duties; the father of a -family who contravened the regulations of the Senate -in his relations with such persons caused a scandal, -no less than in irregular relations with his wife or -children. We are frequently surprised in reading -the history of the early Emperors by the freedom -with which they appeal to the Senate for commiseration -in their private misfortunes, by their habit -of assuming that the Senate is interested in their -family affairs, but in this they were only acting as -any other Senator would act. The point of view -may be well illustrated from the procedure in divorce; -divorce was a purely family affair with the Romans; -a wife guilty of misconduct was divorced by her -husband without any appeal to a law court. With -ourselves a man is at liberty to apply for a divorce; -if under certain circumstances he does not do so, we<span class="pagenum" id="Page_50">50</span> -may admire his forbearance or despise his laxity, -but there is no constituted authority which can force -him to start an action; whereas a Roman Senator -who permitted flagrantly scandalous conduct on the -part of his wife could be, and sometimes was, degraded -by the Censor, the good order of the State being -imperilled by the irregularities in his family; cruelty -to slaves or neglect of freedmen and clients were in -the same way matters that came under the observation -of the Senate, and of the Emperors as the leaders -of the Senate.</p> - -<p>These characteristics of the Roman Senate, that it -was broadly speaking an assembly of lawyers, priests -and heads of families, of which any individual might -and often did combine all three functions in his own -person, were most strongly marked in the period -during which it commanded the respect of Polybius -and Judas Maccabæus; the policy of Augustus was -to restore these characteristics; they were partly in -abeyance during the period of the greatest prosperity -of the Republic, when the attention of the individual -Senator of Rome was irresistibly drawn to the administration -of her conquered territories, and to the -regulation of her relations with potentates on the -confines of her Empire.</p> - -<p>At the beginning of the first century before the -Christian era, the Senate was divided into parties -evolved by the new responsibilities, and the changes -in opinion caused by the influx of Greek ideals. The -most important problem was the administration -of the provinces, but along with it there had to be -considered the organization of the internal constitution<span class="pagenum" id="Page_51">51</span> -of the city itself. Thus there were two groups -of reformers, those who were chiefly concerned in -the adjustment of the relations between the city and -the Empire, and those who were more actively interested -in the reorganization of her local constitution. -The questions which presented themselves to the -individual Senator were three in number: first, -were the provinces to be governed rigorously as conquered -territories, or were they to be admitted to a -share in their own government and the government -of the Empire? secondly, if they were to be governed -by Rome and for Rome, was the administration to -continue to be exclusively in the hands of the Senate? -thirdly, whatever might be Rome’s relations with -her provinces, was it not necessary to give reality -to those germs of popular government which existed -in the Roman constitution, and to make the Senate -directly or indirectly an elected assembly of notable -men?</p> - -<p>Thus a Senator might be Conservative with reference -to the provinces, but liberal with reference to -the city, or he might hold that the Senate must be -the centre of government, and yet be capable of such -internal reforms as to make it the best protector -of provincial interests; or he might say that the rule -of the Senate was good for the city, but unworkable -in the provinces.</p> - -<p>Outside the Senate there was the Equestrian Order -representing both the Civil Administration of the -Empire, and non-Roman as well as Roman financiers, -supporting any man or group in the Senate which -seemed favourable to its interests; there was also the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_52">52</span> -body of Roman citizens partly composed of men who -were still bound by various ties to individual -members of the Senate, and partly of men who had -served in the Roman armies, and supported the policy -of distinguished generals by whom they were organized -and in various ways paid for their help.</p> - -<p>A peculiar quality of the Roman Senate was the -romantic affection with which it was regarded by -its members and adherents; it was no mere house -of representatives; it was a dynasty. Men not -only in Rome, but in the provinces, tolerated its -scandalous misgovernment after the third Punic -War, as men have tolerated the government of a bad -King without losing their faith in monarchy and their -affection for the institution. Hard-headed politicians -may see in the suicide of Cato at Utica nothing but -contemptible weakness; to them the Roman Senate -is only one of many political organizations; but -Cato’s act was otherwise regarded in antiquity. To -find a parallel we have to search among those adherents -of the Stuart Dynasty in England and Scotland, -to whom the cause for which they fought was not -merely a political cause, but a religion. We do not -condemn men who committed political suicide after -1715, and abstained from public affairs, or even left -their country; we feel that, for men believing as they -did, no other course was open; it was precisely in this -light that the death of Cato appeared to his contemporaries.</p> - -<p>The resistance of the Senate to the various reforms -pressed upon it from 131 <span class="allsmcap">B.C.</span> onwards has been represented -as simply a resistance of vested interests;<span class="pagenum" id="Page_53">53</span> -that it was so in some measure even at first, and -increasingly so as time went on, is indisputably true, -but Cato did not kill himself as a martyr to the cause -of vested interests. The Senatorial position was that -of a monarch by divine right; the Senate could not -accept reforms in deference to external pressure -without in a measure abdicating; it was in itself -both Church and Crown; it could no more make -terms with a Gracchus or a Livius Drusus than could -Charles I. with a Pym or a Cromwell.</p> - -<p>This point has been largely concealed from us by -the Greek influences under which the history of -Rome has been written; we are tempted to think of -the Roman Senate as of the Athenian Boulé, as of -an Upper House, whose powers and privileges could -be curtailed or prescribed at the will of a popular -assembly; but to concede that point was to concede -everything. The bad faith of the Roman Senate, -its desperate expedients to maintain its position alike -against the rising power of the Army, the organization -of the Equestrians, the body of Roman citizens, or -the reformers within its ranks, become in a measure -respectable when we reflect that the Senate believed -itself to rule by divine right.</p> - -<p>Similarly faith in the detestation of monarchy -ascribed to the Senate is the result, in some measure, -of giving undue weight to Greek prejudices, and to -the words of men who were unconsciously enthralled -by them.</p> - -<p>The Senate so arranged matters that no member -of the oligarchy should acquire a preponderant -position, and disturb the equality which in theory<span class="pagenum" id="Page_54">54</span> -prevailed between individual Senators; hence various -enactments as to the intervals between holding the -Consulate twice over, the limited period of a provincial -appointment and the disbanding of a Consul’s -army outside Rome. In the decadence of the Senate -piracy was not quelled in the Mediterranean, and -inadequate provision was made to repel the Teutonic -invasion from the North, because the immense -power wielded by the man to whom either of these -enterprises was entrusted threatened to overbalance -the constitution. The Senate felt, and rightly felt, -that its greatness had been achieved by the relatively -unselfish co-operation of its members; when the -sentiment, which had rendered that unselfish co-operation -possible, had given way before the immense -opportunities offered by provincial governorships -and the successful command of Roman armies, the -Senate endeavoured to restore the effects of that -sentiment by insisting more and more strongly upon -regulations which tended to equality; but this was -something different from the Greek antipathy to -the tyrant. Equality between its members was a -fundamental theory of the Senate, but it had so little -antipathy to monarchy as to provide for the rule of -one man in the event of great dangers. The Dictatorship, -so long as it lasted, was an absolute monarchy; -to the Greek a Dictator was the negation of civil -order; hence in a Greek town the assumption of -the supreme power by one man, however great the -emergency, was a revolutionary proceeding; at -Rome the appointment of a Dictator was a recognized -constitutional expedient.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_55">55</span></p> - -<p>Thus the divine right of the Senate did not exclude -the possibility of making one of their own number -supreme executive magistrate; and monarchy was -abhorrent to the Senator, not because it was a thing -contrary to nature, as some Greek philosophers held, -but because it disturbed the balance of the Senatorial -constitution.</p> - -<p>By laying undue stress on the Senatorial objection -to the rule of one man, writers of the school of Cicero -have concealed the real position of an orthodox -Roman Senator. Cæsar was hated by the old Senatorial -party, less because he was in fact King than -because he had changed the constitution of the -Senate, and endeavoured to make it a council of the -Empire by inviting provincials to its ranks.</p> - -<p>There is this essential difference between the suicide -of Cato and the subsequent suicide of Brutus: -the former was a legitimist, to whom the defeat of -his cause meant the destruction of all that was holy, -the final collapse of law and order and religion; -the latter, if an honest man at all, was a fanatical -doctrinaire who had been disappointed in his expectation -of regenerating society; Cato died because -he could not live under the new conditions, Brutus -partly because he was disgusted with his failure, -partly because he preferred death by his own hand -to death at the hands of the ruffians of Antonius.</p> - -<p>The conservative Senator objected to a King, it is -true, but he objected no less and perhaps even more -to such a reconstitution of the Senate as commended -itself to Cicero and other reformers, who wished to -remodel the political arrangements of Rome in terms<span class="pagenum" id="Page_56">56</span> -of the Athenian Constitution or of some less extravagant -ideal republic than that imagined by Plato.</p> - -<p>While the Senate contained a party of irreconcilables -whom we may call the Legitimists, it also contained -a party who believed in the possibility of a genuine -reform, and adaptation of the Senatorial constitution -to the needs of the Empire; there was a liberal -tradition as well as a conservative tradition inside -the Senate; the men who had gradually broken -down the barriers between Patrician and Plebeian -in the early days of the Republic, and who had gone -some distance in admitting the allies to a place in the -constitution, had been succeeded by the men who -had recognized the claims of the Equestrian order, -and saw that some equitable distribution of the rewards -of victory among the rank and file of the army -was necessary to the well being of the State. The -names of the men who took the lead in forcing reforms -upon the Senate are Senatorial names, Glaucia, -Fimbria, Saturninus, Livius Drusus, Cinna, no less -than the Gracchi were Senators; and though they -were ill advised in mistaking the Roman mob for a -constitutional party, they were not demagogues in -the sense that Danton was a demagogue; they -belonged to the body which they wished to reform; -their methods were injudicious, as was proved by -the result, but it is not easy to see what other methods -were open to them. After Cicero had pledged himself -to the cause of the Conservative party in the Senate, -he spoke of these men and other men who had proposed -and passed measures of reform in terms of unmeasured -reprobation, but we are no more bound<span class="pagenum" id="Page_57">57</span> -to accept his condemnation as historically accurate -than we are at liberty to accept the current terminology -of political abuse in our own day as indicating -anything more than the malignity of the speaker. -Even the moderate reformer is stigmatized as a -demagogue by those who object to his reforms.</p> - -<p>Had Marius been as capable a politician as he was -a general, it is possible that the reform party in the -Senate might have brought about a gradual transition -from the rule of the Senate to the inevitable -monarchy, but the incapacity of Marius gave the -reins to violence, and brought on the proscription -of Cinna to be followed by the reaction and yet more -violent proscription of Sulla.</p> - -<p>Constitutional reform failed, but the breed of -constitutional reformers was not extinguished even -by the second proscription. Sulla had recognized -this party, and had adopted two of its projects of -reform; he had, in a measure, unified Italy, and he -had provided for a quasi-representative constitution -of the Senate by ordaining that men who had held -the elective office of Quæstor should after their term -of office pass into the Senatorial ranks; this did not -exclude other means of admission to the Senate, -but it partly broke down the exclusive system of -co-optation through the Censor, and it gave a -capable and pushing man from an Italian municipality, -such as Cicero, a better chance of attaining -the highest position at Rome.</p> - -<p>The party of moderate reform was divided into two -sections, the section which recognized the Empire, -and the section which thought in the first place of<span class="pagenum" id="Page_58">58</span> -the city; the former became the mainstay of Cæsar, -the latter soon ceased to have any practical weight -except in literature. When the great crisis came, -it ranged itself for the most part with the Pompeians; -but the former section was not able to accept -Cæsar’s radical reforms, and became after his death -anti-Cæsarian, till after being frightened by the -extravagance of Antonius and the brigandage of -Sextus Pompeius, it was won over by the moderate -and cautious policy of Octavian. These were the -men who fought beside Brutus and Cassius, and joined -Lucius Antonius in the Perusine war, but when they -saw that the choice was between anarchy and Octavian, -gave their adhesion finally to his cause; the -reign of Augustus bears the impress of their influence -throughout. Among them were two men of note, -Livius Drusus, father of Livia and grandfather of -Tiberius, and Tiberius Nero, the father of the future -Emperor.</p> - -<p>The reign of Augustus did not finally conclude -the reign of the Senate, but it removed from practical -politics the party who could not see beyond the city -State, and it definitely concluded the pretensions -of the rabble of the streets to act in the capacity of -the Roman people. It was only gradually that the -Senate became an advisory council to the Emperors, -recruited from the distinguished officials of the -Empire, or from the legal profession; it retained -for a long time its hereditary and domestic character.</p> - -<p>It might have been anticipated that there would -be a clear division of functions between the officials<span class="pagenum" id="Page_59">59</span> -of Greater Rome and of the city itself, that the Emperor -with his staff would manage the concerns -of the Empire, and the Senate would govern the city; -but it was long before the Government of the city -sank to the position of an ordinary municipal Government. -The division of the provinces into Senatorial -and Imperial ultimately broke down, and was indeed -from the beginning formal rather than real; it was -a compromise by which the old nobility was conciliated, -but the honours conceded to the old aristocracy -became more and more titular as time went on; -the Roman Senate could not step down, and it refused -to accept the position of the city Council of Rome, -or even of the Council of Italy. It was never formally -disestablished, but it was eventually crowded -out, though it was still sufficiently self-conscious, -when Tacitus and the younger Pliny were writing, -to resent the predominance of the Imperial Household, -and to worship the traditions of an omnipotence -which it believed to have been the realization of those -dreams of liberty so dear to the Greek philosophers. -So long as Rome continued to be the centre of the -administration of the Empire, the Senate of Rome -was always something more than a municipal council, -and the name of the body which had once governed -the Empire was always dignified by associations -which could attach to no other assembly.</p> - -<hr /> - -<div id="toclink_60" class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_60">60</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="I-IV">IV<br /> - -<span class="subhead">Slavery</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class="in0"><span class="firstword">The</span> politician of to-day is as incapable of imagining -a wholesome state of society in which slavery -is a recognized and universal institution, as he -is of believing that any political constitution can be -really good without representative government. -The Romans, however, contrived to civilize the world, -so far as it was accessible to them, without representative -government and with slavery. Slavery is, -in fact, a necessary condition in the evolution of -civilized society, and was an important factor in the -evolution of the Roman Empire. Teuton and Celt, -no less than Greek or Roman or Phœnician, equally -used and doubtless equally abused the institution; -no race can claim to have been at all periods of its -history free from the curse.</p> - -<p>In order to arrive at a fair conception of slavery -as it existed in antiquity, it is necessary to clear our -minds once for all of prepossessions created by the -conditions of slavery in America or other countries, -where the slave and the slave owner have been distinguished -by such marked racial differences as exist -between the white man and the coloured man, between -the highly civilized man and the savage. Even in -the department of negro slavery, as practised in -America, there are two sides to the question, and -<i>Tom Cringle’s Log</i> must be set against <i>Uncle Tom’s -Cabin</i>. Mr. T. Booker Washington, an American<span class="pagenum" id="Page_61">61</span> -negro who has done perhaps more for the emancipated -black men than any living man, himself born a -slave, refuses to join in the wholesale condemnation -of American slave owners; to him the mischief of the -institution lay less in its injurious effects upon the -negro than upon the white man, who despised wholesome -industry, and tended to become useless rather -than cruel.</p> - -<p>The political student has to approach the subject -without prejudice, and investigate all the consequences -and accompaniments of slavery, not only some of -them. It is further necessary in dealing with such -a question to discount the antipathy to pain and -discomfort which is so marked a feature of modern -life. Granted that under certain circumstances -slavery resulted in a vast amount of hideous suffering, -still slavery was not the only condition in ancient life, -or mediaeval life, or even modern life, that has resulted -in suffering. Wherever a man finds himself in an -irresponsible position towards a number of his fellow -creatures, wherever a society or the rulers of a -society live in terror of any section of that society -whether slave or free, there is always the probability -of great cruelty. If all the pain and sorrows of humanity -from the beginning of time until now could be -reckoned up and estimated, and assigned to their -various causes, it is questionable whether slavery -would show the blackest record.</p> - -<p>Antiquity has left us some notorious instances -of cruelty to domestic slaves, and the stories of a few -sensational cases have been preserved; but even the -English domestic servant in Christian London in<span class="pagenum" id="Page_62">62</span> -the nineteenth century is exposed to cruelty, and if -the records of our law courts survive, posterity on -the evidence of a few exceptional cases will be able -to pass a stern sentence upon English men and women -of today. Could we estimate all the pains of all the -operatives in modern England, all the lives that are -shortened, or rendered intolerable by disordered -health, could we arrive at a clear understanding of -all that is suffered by puddlers in iron foundries, by -stokers on our great ships, by men and women employed -in lead works, in brick works, in chemical -works, in numberless other dangerous industries, -we might well pause before condemning slavery as -the one social condition predominantly productive -of human suffering. True, the modern operative -is free, but free to do or to be what? The chain is -there; it is only a different kind of chain.</p> - -<p>When St. Paul travelled from Puteoli to Rome, he -passed through a country in which a form of slavery -was universal, which is commonly held to have been -the cruellest known to Italy; he passed by the barracks -of the agricultural slaves, and the conditions of travelling -were such as to give him every opportunity -of making observations; he lived certainly for two -years after this date, and possibly much longer, but -he nowhere lifts up his voice against slavery in general, -or even this particular form of slavery. Not long -before St. Paul made this journey, it had been necessary -to inspect the slave barracks in the same part of -Italy, because free men had acquired the habit of -adopting servitude in order to escape military service.</p> - -<p>In fact that picture of antique slavery which<span class="pagenum" id="Page_63">63</span> -represents it as a scene of whippings and tortures, -of rapes and murders, of humiliating or disgusting -services exacted by one man from another, and as the -exclusive condition under which such things occur, -is a false picture.</p> - -<p>The importance of slavery as a factor in the life -of the ancients does not in fact depend so much upon -its moral influence upon individuals as upon its -political consequences, which were many and far-reaching -in their effects.</p> - -<p>The condition of slavery in the ancient world did -not in itself involve the same measure of personal -degradation with which it is associated in these days; -it was only one of many inequalities recognized by -society. If a slave could not appear in the law courts -of Rome, no more could the resident alien, however -rich, however noble in the city from which he came; -if the slave could not hold real property, no more could -the sons of his master; if he could under certain -conditions only acquire personal property, his master’s -son was similarly disqualified; the ceremony by which -each acquired freedom was the same; neither could -make a will, nor work entirely for his own profit; -both were included in the family; the domestic -disqualifications under which the slave lived were -common to him and the children of the house; the -political disqualifications he shared with the free -citizens of any community not expressly recognized -under treaty by the inhabitants of the community -in which he lived. Ancient society never contemplated -individual independence as the fundamental -condition of human existence; it was based on<span class="pagenum" id="Page_64">64</span> -the contrary theory, that individual independence -was the exception, and the privilege of the few; -only gradually, and as the consequence of established -law and habitual order rendering personal security -possible for the mean man without the intervention -of a powerful protector, did the modern conception -of the rights and obligations of the individual -human being grow up; and in its perfect development -the conception has only very recently been -realized.</p> - -<p>The slave and his master might be, and commonly -were, members of the same race; if they were of -different races, the slave might be a more highly -civilized man than his master, better educated, more -capable in many respects; there were hordes of slaves -drawn from less civilized races, and even from savage -races, and the work which fell to their share tended -to be menial or arduous according to their unfitness -for work demanding previous training; but the fact -that the slave was by no means universally of an inferior -type of humanity to his owner, and frequently -quite the reverse, put slavery as an institution on -a totally different footing from that which it has -held in modern times.</p> - -<p>Again, if the slave had to suffer from political -disqualifications, he had corresponding immunities; -for one thing, he was exempt from military service. -One very important consequence of this aspect of -slavery was the restriction of the field from which -recruits could be drawn for armies; it would perhaps -be an exaggeration to say that the whole of the industrial -population of antiquity was not available for<span class="pagenum" id="Page_65">65</span> -military purposes, but the statement is somewhere -near the truth; and from this followed a further -consequence, which eventually helped to break up -the Empire, viz., that the armies were increasingly -recruited from the populations on the confines of the -Empire, and ceased to be Italian. First Gaul, Spain -and Illyria, and Thrace, then the Teutons from Central -Europe, sent free recruits to the Roman armies, till -the time came when the less civilized military element -threw off the traditions of the civil government, -and society returned to the conditions which had -prevailed before the Roman Empire inaugurated -the reign of peace. Agricultural slavery in Italy -is sometimes said to have been the cause of the depletion -of the Roman armies; ancient authors complain -that the hardy breed of peasants from the central -hills of Italy disappeared, and that, because their place -had been taken by slaves, the recruiting grounds were -barren of the right kind of population. The real state -of the case was the reverse: the Roman wars had exhausted -the Roman free population, which was then -replaced by slaves. Between the end of the second -Punic War and Cæsar’s campaigns in Gaul, Rome -had been continuously draining Italy of her free -population; it was inevitable that the sons of the -small farmer should be replaced by slaves, and that -eventually small farms should be merged in large -holdings, and that the slave barrack should stand -alone where the scattered homesteads of the peasant -proprietor had adorned the landscape.</p> - -<p>Two forms of slavery in antiquity have almost -monopolized the attention of most writers on the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_66">66</span> -subject—domestic slavery and agricultural slavery; -both lend themselves to sensational treatment; -but along with these there was industrial slavery -in all its forms; where we have free artisans, antiquity -had slaves; and it is questionable whether the slaves -employed by a great manufacturing firm in antiquity -were less well off than the mill hands of a Lancashire -town of today; in many industries they were possibly -better off than the class of operatives who are -“sweated” in East London; the slave of antiquity -was at least provided with the necessaries of life by -his employer. It is true that the slave operative -could be bought and sold and even mortgaged; he -could be bequeathed by will, but these mischances -commonly happened to him collectively, and no more -affected him individually than a change of owners -affects the men working in an English manufactory; -indeed, the slave had an advantage over the free -artisan; he was part of the capital, his value was -relatively greater, he occupied the place now taken -by the machinery. A body of well trained, well -organized slaves stood in much the same relation -to capital in ancient times as the plant of a manufactory -to the modern capitalist; and a new owner -would no more have thought of disbanding or disabling -the slaves employed in a publishing establishment, -or brick works, than a modern owner would -break up the machines in a cotton mill which he had -acquired. When we read of the enormous number -of slaves owned by some ancient millionaire, we must -not think of butlers and grooms and footmen, but of -clerks and “hands”; where we now say that such<span class="pagenum" id="Page_67">67</span> -and such a capitalist employs so many thousand men, -the ancients said that he owned so many thousand -slaves.</p> - -<p>The slave could earn money for himself, and we -can see through the minute regulations of the codes -as to the conditions under which he could earn and -hold money, a recognition of the fact that a man’s -free labour is generally more effective than his forced -labour; the slave’s opportunity of earning put him, -as we should now say, upon piece work; he earned -so much for his master, so much for himself; his -master gave him the advantages of organization, -of capital, of a commercial reputation, and for these -he paid in a proportion fixed from time to time by -legislation, keeping the remainder of his earnings; -that he paid more highly for these advantages than -the present value of money, and the general security -of society would render equitable, is quite true; -but then the whole scale of interest on capital was -far higher than it is now. The slave who traded, -as he often did, with his master’s capital, paid less -for its use than the interest which would have been -demanded of a stranger. We must not think of the -“peculium,” the slave’s private earnings, as we may -think of the purse accumulated by a modern domestic -servant from gratuities and other sources of private -revenue, but as a real wage earned even by a slave. -The regulations which still bound the enfranchized -slave to his master in the new relation of patron -seem at first sight harsh, the liberty in reference to -the former master remaining incomplete, but their -aspect changes when we reflect that they rendered<span class="pagenum" id="Page_68">68</span> -manumission more easy, and that the slave’s opportunities -of earning money both before and after -manumission were made for him by his connexion -with his master. The proprietor of a large business -might have every feeling of kindliness and consideration -for a trusted slave, who managed some department -of that business, but he might think twice -before rewarding him with his liberty, if that act -involved not only the loss of the slave’s services, but -the creation of a commercial competitor.</p> - -<p>Much has been written in condemnation of Roman -agricultural slavery, and justly so, if the agricultural -slave was dealt with in the spirit of the elder Cato; -but here again we must be careful to distinguish. -The ergastula, the slave barracks, did not account -for all the agricultural slaves, and in the later days -of Augustus the ergastula were preferred by free -men to military service; nor can the system of the -ergastula have been as rigorous in practice as in -theory; the two great servile insurrections which -proved so serious a danger to Rome could not have -assumed such alarming dimensions, had not the -slaves who organized them been in possession of -means of communication. Nor must it be forgotten -that there were many slaves who would now be convicts, -many who had been sold into slavery from a -conquered country, never having known any other -condition of life. The ancients did not often make -the mistake of setting a delicately nurtured man to -hard menial labour, for his value in that capacity -was small; similarly the increasing difficulty of finding -slaves after Rome ceased to extend her conquests<span class="pagenum" id="Page_69">69</span> -increased the value even of navvies, and their condition -was improved by the exigencies of sound -economy; even a Cato, when slaves were dear, took -care not to wear them out before their time. Though -a slave was not protected except by public opinion -against his master, who might beat and even kill -him, he was protected against all other men, who -could not injure him without incurring damages -for wanton destruction of another man’s property. -There were cruel savage men among the ancients -as there are among the moderns, but on the whole -the servile condition does not seem to have been -abused. Roman masters and even mistresses occasionally -beat their slaves, but vapulation was a constant -feature of human existence till a very few years -ago even in Europe. Shakespeare’s masters frequently -strike their servants; that worthy though -foolish citizen, M. Jourdain, after frequent threats -and much aggravation, slapped his maidservant on -the face; the use of the stick is not an exclusive -prerogative of the slave owner.</p> - -<p>The more domestic of the Latin authors, such as -Cicero and Horace, do not give us a disagreeable -picture of slavery; the relations between slaves and -masters in their day seem to have been in every respect -as pleasant as those between employers and servants -in these days; and the taunt of servile origin so -frequent in the Classics amounts to little more than -the taunt of connexion with trade so common in -some circles in the eighteenth and early nineteenth -centuries. In fact the frequency of this disparagement -tends to prove that it was easy to rise from the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_70">70</span> -servile condition to positions of great wealth, and -even political influence. The two vulgar rich men in -the Satyricon of Petronius, Trimalchio and Habinna, -had both been slaves; and the latter is made to say -that he had become a slave voluntarily, as that was -the easiest method of becoming a Roman citizen; -this may be wilful exaggeration on the part of Petronius -for a satirical purpose; but it would have no -point if it did not carry a certain element of truth. -Pallas and his brother Felix, the freedmen of the -Emperor Claudius, were, the former practically -Prime Minister, the latter Procurator of Judæa; -numerous similar instances show that a man might -have been a slave and yet rise to high office; the -intermediate step seems generally to have been -through the Equestrian Order—in one of its aspects, -as we have seen, the financial department of the -Civil Service.</p> - -<p>This introduces us to another feature of slavery as -practised in antiquity, viz. its cosmopolitan influence, -which was at work in every class of society, but in -the highest class most of all; nothing else so effectually -broke down the barrier between the Greek and the -Roman, between the Eastern and Western half of -the Mediterranean, between North and South.</p> - -<p>War in ancient times had many of the aspects of -a speculation, and among the profits of war the sale -of captives was reckoned; the conquered had no -rights against the conqueror except under special -terms. When the victim was a civilized State, the -free men who were thus sold into slavery had the -opportunity of buying back their own freedom;<span class="pagenum" id="Page_71">71</span> -they practically paid a ransom; the transaction was -a rough and ready and efficacious method of exacting -an indemnity. There would be a certain proportion -who could not pay the indemnity, and these became -slaves, but in their new status they were not wasted -on unprofitable occupations; the philosopher, the -physician, the accountant, the merchant, continued -their various occupations in the service of their -master, and if they proved their efficiency rapidly -passed through the stage of slavery to that of freedmen.</p> - -<p>Of the twenty famous schoolmasters whom Suetonius -honours with short biographies, three only -were certainly not freedmen, Orbilius, the teacher -of Horace, Pomponius Marcellus, and a certain -Valerius Probus, who hailed from Beyrout, and must -have been himself free, whatever his parentage, as -he began life with the endeavour to get a centurion’s -commission; fifteen were certainly freedmen, and -two probably. Their nationalities are strangely -varied; three were certainly Italians, three others -possibly, two were Syrians, if we so class Probus, three -Gauls, one Spaniard, one Illyrian, six certainly Greek, -and one probably. Of the three Gauls, one, M. -Antonius Gnipho, gave lessons first in the house of -Julius Cæsar during the latter’s boyhood; he was a -man of exceptional intellectual brilliance and generous -character. Suetonius does not state that Gnipho -actually taught Cæsar, though the inference suggests -itself, and in any case the youthful Cæsar must have -known him, and have received impressions, if not -information, which may have influenced the future<span class="pagenum" id="Page_72">72</span> -conqueror of Gaul. These men were for the most -part highly respected and made large professional -incomes; they taught either in houses of their own, -or by special arrangement in the houses of their -patrons; one of them, M. Verrius Flaccus, taught on -these terms the grandchildren of Augustus, who paid -him a handsome annual stipend on condition that -he only admitted such pupils to his classes as were -approved of by his employer; he had previously -taught independently; a statue was erected to his -memory at Præneste; this indicates that in spite -of his servile origin he was held in high honour. -Horace must have known Verrius Flaccus, even if -he were not actually a relative, and Horace’s allusion -to the persuasive schoolmasters, who coax children -to learn the elements by giving them biscuits, suggests -a well known trait of this Verrius Flaccus, who was -the first schoolmaster to offer prizes, “some ancient -book handsome or scarce,” says Suetonius. It is -interesting to note that the most fashionable of these -schoolmasters, and the one who made the largest -fortune, was a man who, in the opinion of the Emperors -Tiberius and Claudius, both good judges, was totally -unfit to be entrusted with the charge of youth; -while the one of whom it is recorded that in his old -age he sank into extreme poverty is Horace’s old -friend, the freeborn Italian Orbilius. This man also -was honoured with a statue.</p> - -<p>The proportion of men of servile origin in this one -profession was very large, if we may infer that the -short list given by Suetonius of its leaders indicates -conditions which prevailed through the rank and file;<span class="pagenum" id="Page_73">73</span> -nor was it held in special disrepute. Tacitus mentions -a schoolmaster not included in this list who became -a Senator; another, M. Pomponius Marcellus, was -admitted to the inner council of Tiberius, and anticipated -the “supra grammaticam” episode of a much -later age; he reproved the Emperor for a solecism -in the wording of a decree, telling him, “You can give -the citizenship to men, Cæsar, but not to a word.”</p> - -<p>Men who had been freeborn in their native countries, -but had passed into servitude by fortune of war, -found new and wider careers open to them in the -service of their conquerors; they obtained access -to the masters of the world, and were able to direct -their thoughts to new channels, and directly influence -their policy; they were further able to push the fortunes -of their relatives and connexions at home; -for as freedmen, and even as slaves, they were not -cut off from correspondence with the countries which -they had left.</p> - -<p>Their influence, great as it was in breaking down -the intellectual barriers between Rome and her allies -and subjects, and in forming the conception of a -world-wide empire, was even greater in the world -of finance. Even the great Cæsar failed to throw -open the Roman Senate to the civilized world, and -admission to that body continued to be jealously -guarded, in spite of occasional exceptions, till the -Senate had been practically superseded by the Imperial -Household; but admission to the Equestrian -Order was a relatively easy matter; no sanctity -attached to the Order, no historic glamour; and a -skilled financier found his way into its ranks with<span class="pagenum" id="Page_74">74</span> -comparative ease. Roman bankers such as Cicero’s -friend Atticus, needed the assistance of clever Jews -and Greeks, for Roman money was invested privately -as well as publicly in all parts of the Empire; municipal -securities, then as now, were a favourite investment; -cities and colonies were in the habit of borrowing -money for local improvements; the knowledge -possessed by men, who had been acquainted with -the local and personal conditions was a valuable -commodity; and any Roman, who aspired to play -a great part in the financial world, drew into his -service men from all parts of the Empire; these -men were not infrequently rewarded by admission -to the Equestrian Order; some of them were free -men, the majority were slaves to begin with. The -process was so common that the term “Libertus” -is used much in the same way as we employ the terms -“agent,” or “man of business.” Not the least important -consequence of the system was the admission -of the Jews to a share in the control of administration; -“they of Cæsar’s Household” were not domestic -servants, but financial secretaries of considerable -importance.</p> - -<p>Slavery has been reproached with being responsible -for the horrors of the arena, and a general indifference -to the sanctity of human life; but this love of spectacular -bloodshed, this indifference to the sufferings -and death of human beings and animals, is by no means -an exclusive feature of societies in which slavery is -an accepted institution. Bull fights are being extended -at the present day from Spain to France; -bull baiting, bear baiting, badger baiting, prize<span class="pagenum" id="Page_75">75</span> -fighting, cock fighting, were accepted amusements -in England till the beginning of the present century, -some of them are not unknown to our contemporaries; -nor is it easy to distinguish that delight in the sufferings -of condemned criminals, or in the encounters -between trained combatants, which filled the Roman -amphitheatres, from the excitement which drew -crowds to look on at the merciless tortures and executions -of the period of the Reformation, and led the -fashionable friends of Madame de Sevignê to watch -a woman being burned alive. So far were gladiatorial -combats from being one of the hardships -imposed by slavery, that we have repeated references -in the early Imperial period to the misconduct of -Roman knights, and even Senators, who exhibited -themselves in the arena. A skilled gladiator risked -his life, as does a skilled toreador, and he enjoyed -the same measure of popular favour; there were -statues of gladiators as well as of schoolmasters.</p> - -<p>The tendency of the Empire was to break down -the barriers between the free man and the slave; -as political power ceased to be the privilege of a caste, -and became the reward of recognized merit bestowed -by the head of the administration, the importance -of free descent was diminished; the spiteful remarks -about freedmen and servile origin, which we occasionally -find in the Latin authors, were suggested -by the improved position of slaves and freedmen; -they represent the impotent malice of a caste, which -saw that the sceptre was departing from between -its knees; the distinction was long preserved by -literature, for the boys of the Roman Empire, like<span class="pagenum" id="Page_76">76</span> -the boys of England, were brought up on the works -of the great Athenians, who spoke of the slave as the -slave was spoken of when the free citizens in the -most liberal of Greek States were really an aristocracy -of birth entrusted with the conduct of affairs among -a population by which they were far outnumbered, -and which included many men as wealthy as the freeborn -citizens, and no less enlightened.</p> - -<p>It was largely through slavery that men of letters, -men of science, architects, engineers, sailors, and even -soldiers, found their way from all parts of the world -into the executive services of the Empire. Rome -had become cosmopolitan without being aware of -the fact, long before the genius of Cæsar finally -started her on an admittedly cosmopolitan career.</p> - -<p>In spite of the pleasant personal relations which -often prevailed between slaves and their owners, -emancipation on a large scale was not regarded with -favour, the statesmen who on different occasions -of emergency released slaves in large numbers in -order to fill up vacancies in the army were spoken -of reproachfully; the step was always felt to be a -desperate one.</p> - -<p>The reason, however, of the objection to such -emancipations was less fear of the slaves, or dislike, -than the interference which it involved with industrial -pursuits; it amounted to a wholesale confiscation -of property; an analogous process at the present -day would be summarily to impress large bodies of -operatives; this would bring many industrial communities -to a standstill. Similarly when at a later -period we find restrictions imposed upon the custom<span class="pagenum" id="Page_77">77</span> -of emancipating slaves by testament, this may well -have become a means of throwing the responsibility -of maintaining superfluous slaves upon the public -dole fund, and of exempting the heir from the necessity -of supporting them. Emancipation does not -seem to have been regarded as an unmixed blessing. -We have the well known case of Cicero’s secretary -Tiro; Tiro was a slave, but he was his master’s friend; -the relations between them were of a most affectionate -nature; Cicero’s letters to him are full of anxious -inquiries after his health, of demands that he shall -run no risk of over fatigue; that he shall take the -best medical advice; and yet it was only late in his -life that Cicero bestowed liberty on Tiro. The letters -in which Cicero’s relatives, and especially his son, -congratulate Tiro on his elevation, show that, slave -though he was, he was no less respected than loved. -That such relations were common we may infer from -the statement made by Paterculus, that in the proscription -of <span class="allsmcap">B.C.</span> 43 the fidelity of sons to their fathers -was least; the merit of wives stood first, of freedmen -second, of slaves third.</p> - -<p>The institution of slavery did not demoralize the -ancients in the same way that negro slavery is said -to have demoralized the Americans, or coloured -slavery in general to demoralize white men; it was -a totally different institution.</p> - -<p>In this, as in all other details of ancient history, -the memory of the bad, the exceptional, the sensational, -is preserved; the normal conditions are -forgotten; and as it is much easier to declaim than -to inquire, the essential but unobtrusive features of<span class="pagenum" id="Page_78">78</span> -any particular institution escape notice. On the -whole, the action of slavery in ancient times was -beneficial to civilization, and the eventual dismemberment -of the Empire was not due chiefly to the -existence of slavery. The races who broke up the -Empire themselves recognized slavery, and it was -long before agricultural slavery disappeared even from -England.</p> - -<hr /> - -<div id="toclink_79" class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_79">79</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="I">I<br /> - -<span class="subhead">The Death of Augustus</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class="drop-cap"><span class="smcap1">In</span> the hottest weather of the year 14 <span class="allsmcap">A.D.</span>, a hush -fell upon the streets of old Rome, as the news -rapidly circulated that her foremost citizen was dead, -and that the man whose name had spelled peace and -prosperity for the whole civilized world was no longer -at the head of affairs. Few men were still living -who could remember any rule but his; for forty-five -years he had controlled without serious opposition -the destinies of an Empire which stretched from the -Euphrates to the English Channel; the men who -had taken an active part in the events before the -reins of government dropped into his skilful hands -were now but few, and if they ever spoke of the days -which immediately preceded his reign, it was to contrast -fourteen years of anarchy with nearly half a -century of order. Here and there in the palaces of -the few old Roman families that had survived the -revolutions of the middle of the last century the -good old times were bewailed, when the spoils of -the world were distributed between the members -of a few princely houses theoretically associated in -administering the affairs of only one Italian town, -and bitter epigrams were circulated at the expense<span class="pagenum" id="Page_80">80</span> -of the monarch who posed as the first man of a free -city; but the vast body of the population had long -forgotten the days of a liberty in whose privileges -they had never shared, while they had suffered -from its concomitant licence; the streets were no -longer the scene of furious fights between the retainers -of great noblemen, the citizens regularly received -their supplies of corn, holidays were frequent and the -amusements of the public provided for on a liberal -scale; the Prince himself had been the foremost to -enjoy all that delighted the hearts of his fellow citizens.</p> - -<p>As the fierceness of the hot Italian sun diminished, -and the streets began to fill, the praises of the dead -man passed from mouth to mouth; one would remember -the humility with which he had pressed -the claims of his chosen candidates for public office, -and the courtesy with which he had asked for a vote; -another would recall him studiously fulfilling the -sacred duty of a patron, and pleading in the Forum -on behalf of a humble client; yet another would -describe him standing at his own door once a year -dressed in white begging for alms to bestow on the -needy; others would speak of the modesty of his -household, the model of an ancient Roman family -where Livia his consort herself superintended the -weaving of her maids; nor would the gayer sort -forget his interest in the shows of the circus, or fail -to tell stories of his modest bets, and somewhat liberal -jokes; the scholar would speak of his simple entertainments -in which the poet and the historian shared in -the conversation on terms of equality with their host; -those of more serious mind would dwell on his scrupulous<span class="pagenum" id="Page_81">81</span> -attention to the ordinances of religion, his -restoration of temples and shrines and their various -cults; while the tender-hearted would deplore his -private sorrows, the premature deaths that had -snatched away his grandsons, the scandals that had -bereft his home of his daughter and granddaughter; -nor would they fail to bewail the fact that the only -possible successor to his heritage and his power was -an alien in blood.</p> - -<p>As the days wore on the symptoms of the public -sorrow increased, and the authorities began to fear -that the order of the funeral might be marred by -some such frantic outburst as had attended the -obsequies of the first great Cæsar, whose body had -been seized by an excited mob and burned in the public -market place; regulations were issued to ensure -such order as the Prince himself would have commanded, -and to prevent the licences into which an -orgy of sorrow might degenerate. Day by day was -reported the slow progress of the procession from -the small country house in Campania in which he -had died to the gates of the city; here the body had -been guarded and carried by soldiers, there by the -knights, the second order in the State, and lastly -the Senators themselves were waiting to receive it, -and conduct it on the final stage of its journey into -Rome.</p> - -<p>The day came at length when the long train of -mourners filed through the narrow streets, at its -head the ivory bier draped in purple, behind it the -effigy of the dead man, and a stately series of similar -effigies leading back through the great Cæsar himself<span class="pagenum" id="Page_82">82</span> -to mythical Æneas and Anchises and the goddess -Venus; there were no deep-voiced bells, no dull -minute guns to express and intensify the public -sorrow, but the silence was broken by the shrieks -of dishevelled women and the monotonous blare of -hoarse trumpets. After the images came the chief -mourner, a tall and stately man with bowed head, -the Commander-in-chief of the Roman armies, descended -from the noblest blood of ancient Rome; -behind him walked members of the family, high -officials, statesmen, senators, the representatives of -kings and cities. Principalities and powers were all -assembled to do honour to the dead. The heat of -the season had rendered it necessary to conduct the -ceremony by night, and the flare of torches fell -fitfully on the procession and on the faces of the -spectators. At length the tedious ritual was completed, -the wine, the oil and the spices were thrown -on the pyre, thrice was the dead man called by name, -and the silence was broken by no answer; the chief -mourner applied the torch with averted face, the -crackling flames rose to the sky, the soldiers ran -round the burning pile, an eagle sped heavenwards -through the smoke; when the fire had at length -died down, and wine had been sprinkled on the -ashes, a cry arose of Farewell, and yet again Farewell; -then the mourners departed to their homes, and the -Roman people dispersed to magnify the events of -the last few hours, and to remember portents: stars -had fallen from their places in the sky, the earth -had been shaken, rivers had reversed their course, -the kindly rain had been turned into blood, and even<span class="pagenum" id="Page_83">83</span> -small domestic catastrophes were now known to have -had their significance; a Senator had seen the soul -of the deceased rise to heaven from the midst of the -flames, and the credulous were comforted by reflecting -that the Genius of Augustus still watched over the -destinies of the Roman people.</p> - -<p>Meanwhile in the palaces of the Senators one -question of supreme interest was debated: What was -to be the new order of things? and, indeed, was -there to be a new order?</p> - -<p>It was fortunate for the destinies of civilized humanity -that a successor was ready at hand to take -up the reins of government which had dropped from -the tired hands of Augustus, and that the question -of succession was not left to be settled by debate in -the Senate, or the result of a civil war. Tiberius -was on the spot; he had been for all practical purposes -his stepfather’s colleague for ten years; he -was acting Commander-in-chief of the Roman armies; -he was of ripe age and ripe experience; his personal -knowledge of the Empire was almost co-extensive -with its limits; he does not seem to have visited -Africa or Egypt, but he had served or commanded -armies, and conducted negotiations over the whole -area between the sources of the Euphrates and the -North Sea. There was no living Roman with equal -knowledge of affairs, or of superior rank; his succession -was inevitable, if there was to be a successor -to Augustus.</p> - -<p>The life of Tiberius is from every point of view -profoundly interesting; it began in the middle of -the great revolution which eventually substituted<span class="pagenum" id="Page_84">84</span> -the rule of one man for the rule of the Senate, and -which left the city of Rome the capital rather than -the mistress of an Empire; it ended after nearly -fourscore years, during which the constitution of -that Empire was so firmly established that the incapacity -of individual rulers, and the mutual rivalries -of aspirants to the chief power, though sometimes -resulting in civil war, failed to shake its stability; -it coincided with a great step in the forward march -of civilization which has left its impress upon all -subsequent history. If the political events which -occurred during the life of Tiberius are of supreme -interest, his personal history is no less attractive -to the student of character, and of the strange vicissitudes -which may occur in the life of a human being; -not the least of the many contradictions in this life -is the fact that the man, who is called by the great -German historian, Mommsen, “the ablest of the -Roman Emperors,” should have become the recognized -type of all that is most evil in a ruler, and left -a name which is seldom mentioned without an expression -of detestation.</p> - -<hr /> - -<div id="toclink_85" class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_85">85</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="II">II<br /> - -<span class="subhead">Parents and Childhood of Tiberius</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class="drop-cap"><span class="smcap1">The</span> connexion of the Claudian clan with Rome -was referred by the Roman historians to the -very beginnings of her history; they had no doubt -of the antiquity of the event; it was only debated -whether this Sabine stock was received into the community -on the Tiber at the suggestion of Titus Tatius, -the consort of Romulus, or four years after the expulsion -of the Kings. The headquarters of the Claudians -were the region round Tusculum, in which town its -chiefs had a fortress; their domain gave its name to -one of the later electoral divisions of the Roman territory. -From the beginning the Claudian stock was -credited with an unusual measure of aristocratic pride -and public spirit; the legends said that one Claudius -caused by his intemperance the secession of the plebs -to the Mons Sacer, and that the unbridled lust of another -brought about the downfall of the Decemvirate; -we are on firmer ground in attributing to the Appius -Claudius who was Censor in <span class="allsmcap">B.C.</span> 312 the inception, if -not the completion, of two works of great public -utility, the Appian Aqueduct, and the even more -famous Appian Way, the great South Road, the first -link in the chain of highways which bound the Empire -together. Appius Claudius the Censor had two sons,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_86">86</span> -who took the additional names of the Handsome and -the Strong; the descendants of both were to do good -service to their country; a Claudius Pulcher fought -the Carthaginians in Sicily, a Claudius Nero defeated -Hasdrubal at the battle of the Metaurus. The Censor -is further credited with having been the earliest -Roman writer in prose and verse. Intellectual and -administrative eminence was thus ascribed to the -Claudians, also a touch of arrogance extending to -relations in which arrogance was out of place; for it -was Appius Claudius Pulcher the Admiral who, when -the unwonted abstemiousness of the Sacred Chickens -portended disaster, threw them into the sea, and was -deservedly rewarded by a defeat.</p> - -<p>Both the leading Claudian families were united in -the person of the Emperor; his father was a Nero, -his mother was a Pulcher, for though her father belonged -legally to the Livian Gens, he had been adopted -from the Claudian. The family enumerated among its -distinctions thirty-three consulships, five dictatorships, -seven censorships, six triumphs, and two ovations.</p> - -<p>In the last century and a half of the Republic the -Neronic branch was less distinguished than that of -Pulcher; no records survive of the immediate ancestors -of the Emperor on the father’s side, and no -Claudius Nero appears in the consular list after -204 <span class="allsmcap">B.C.</span> When Horace wished to remind the Romans -of their debt to the Neros, he had to go back to the -battle of the Metaurus. The family had become so -obscure that the genuine descent of the Emperor -from the conqueror of Hasdrubal has been questioned; -but it was not questioned by his contemporaries, who<span class="pagenum" id="Page_87">87</span> -would have been only too glad to add the reproach -of an obscure ancestry to the other indignities which -they fastened upon him. It would be in accordance -with the pride, and even rectitude of conduct, ascribed -to the Claudians, that this branch of the family preferred -comparative poverty to taking part in the -scrambles for office, and interested intrigues, which -marked the decadence of the Senate; and that its -successive chiefs chose the dignified life of a Roman -noble of the old-fashioned type, concentrating their -energies rather upon the management of their -ancestral domains than upon pushing themselves into -the inner circle of Senators who sped to exploit the -Roman conquests.</p> - -<p>Tiberius Claudius Nero, the father of the Emperor, -appears first in the party of Cæsar; he was already -a quæstor, and while holding that office commanded -the fleet which besieged Alexandria, and rescued -Cæsar from the insurrection of the Alexandrians; -he was rewarded by being made a Pontifex, and -entrusted with the establishment of colonies in Gaul, -at Narbonne and Arles among other places. This -was work which required considerable tact; it was -not always easy to satisfy both the veterans who -formed the colony and the population whom they -displaced. Cæsar was not in the habit of employing -incompetent agents, and the selection of Tiberius -Nero for this work is an evidence of his capacity. -After the assassination of Cæsar he became a warm -partisan of the Liberators; he is even said to have -proposed in the Senate that the Tyrannicides should -be rewarded, when others thought that an amnesty<span class="pagenum" id="Page_88">88</span> -was sufficient for their deserts. It is not clear -whether he was Prætor at this time or shortly afterwards, -but he certainly held that office when Lucius -Antonius and Fulvia making a diversion against -Octavian at Præneste; before the fall of Præneste -he had slipped away to Campania, and endeavoured -to form an army from the proprietors in that district -who were threatened with the confiscation of their -land for the benefit of Octavian’s soldiers; in this -enterprise he was unsuccessful, and had to flee for -his life to Sicily, where he took refuge for a short -time with Sextus Pompeius.</p> - -<p>As we afterwards find Tiberius Nero in the closest -association with Octavian under circumstances which, -judged by our standards of conduct, are discreditable, -it is advisable to stop to consider whether a man -could with any measure of consistency serve under -Cæsar, and then join hands with his murderers; -on the solution of this question depends the claim -of Tiberius to be considered an honourable man; -for in this relation we can measure him by standards -which are applicable to ancient and modern life alike.</p> - -<p>Velleius Paterculus, the historian to whom we -owe a conception of the early days of the Empire -different from that suggested by Cicero and Tacitus, -was hereditarily associated with the family of Tiberius -Nero; his grandfather was his most intimate friend; -he calls Tiberius Nero a man of generous spirit, and -strongly inclined to learning. A man of this nature -would be attracted to Cæsar by a similarity of character -and tastes. The ambition of Cæsar was a -generous ambition; he was one of those born organizers<span class="pagenum" id="Page_89">89</span> -to whom muddling is a painful and personal -annoyance; he valued power for no vulgar reason, -but because it gave him the opportunity of realizing -his conception of a well ordered world. Endowed -with an enormous intellectual ability, inexhaustible -physical vitality, an irresistible personal charm, -Cæsar attracted to himself all the men who really -meant work. Cicero himself very nearly succumbed, -and would have done so entirely had his uneasy -vanity allowed him to work in a subordinate position. -There is a limit to the incompetence of constituted -authorities; a time comes when all earnest men in a -State, whose public business has gradually been -monopolized by respectable incompetents, look eagerly -for a deliverer; such men do not welcome the noisy -reformer, or the narrow doctrinaire, and so long as -these alone present themselves, the earnest men hold -back, but as soon as the really capable hard-working -man appears, they give him their confidence, and pass -naturally into his service. Cæsar’s campaigns in -Gaul enabled him to select his men; at first the -fashionable young men of Rome hurried to his standards -attracted by the prospect of a pleasant picnic -in charming country with an agreeable climate; -no serious danger was anticipated, and there was a -pleasing prospect of loot. The behaviour of these -gentlemen, when it was realized that the advance -of Ariovistus meant serious business, supplies the -one comic interlude in Cæsar’s commentaries. During -the nine years which Cæsar gave to the conquest -of Gaul, the earnest workers found their leader; -the intercourse between Cæsar’s camp and the capital<span class="pagenum" id="Page_90">90</span> -was constant; men learned to contrast the vigorous -administration of the Governor of the two Gauls -with the imbecility of the Senate; it was not foreseen -that the contrast would result in the absorption of -the powers of government by this one man. When -the time came at which Cæsar had either to abandon -all his work or force the Senate to give him a continuance -of office, his fellow workers were naturally -disposed to give him their continued support. Men -who had learned what good work was, and had had -their share in it, were inclined to hope for the best; -there were many self-seekers, doubtless, but it was -possible to follow the fortunes of Cæsar under the -influence of the highest motives. The man who had -done such magnificent work in the two Gauls might -be trusted to reorganize the Government. The -reaction came, when the continuance of opposition -at Rome forced Cæsar to become an autocrat; his -work was only half done when he had beaten the -Senatorial armies in Macedonia, in Egypt, in Africa, -in Spain, in Asia Minor; he had further to clear -away all the obstructions, get rid of all customs and -precedents by which the machinery of the administration -was impeded; it was root and branch work; -and Cæsar was impatient; he attacked everything at -once; no ties of affection, no sentimental associations -were spared, no prejudices; he saw everything in the -clear light of reason; he knew what was best for the -Empire, and he was determined to have his own way.</p> - -<p>To Cæsar the Senate was the embodiment of obstruction -and incompetence; he did not propose -to repeat the mistake of Sulla and give it a new lease<span class="pagenum" id="Page_91">91</span> -of power, for his contempt for the Senators was unbounded; -but the Senate had a name; it could not -be disbanded; the better course seemed to be to -swamp the Senate of Rome in the Senate of the -Empire, to make it almost a titular body. He enlarged -its numbers, added to it distinguished provincials, -his personal adherents among the noblemen -of Gaul. The figures that are given us may not be -absolutely trustworthy, but there can be no doubt -that the Senate was increased to a number which -destroyed its capacity for united action. By this -measure Cæsar alienated the affection and destroyed -the confidence of the liberal members of the old -aristocracy; they had been prepared to pay a heavy -price for good government; they were at one with -Cæsar in recognizing the expansion of Rome, but -they had not anticipated a time when a Julius Florus -or Cornelius Gallus would not only be dignified with -Roman names, but would have the same social rank -as a Claudian or Sempronian. So determined was -Cæsar to convince the Senate that its day was over, -that in transacting business with it he neglected -even the ordinary courtesies, and received its deputations -without rising from his seat. The dagger -of Brutus was the result.</p> - -<p>In some respects the assassination of Cæsar was -fortunate for his reputation; there was no widespread -conspiracy; his government had been of so short a -duration that the disaffected men had no time to -find one another out; their victim had never realized -that there was a formidable opposition, and he fell -before his qualities of clemency and moderation were<span class="pagenum" id="Page_92">92</span> -put to the severest test, which tries the virtue and -capacity of a successful reformer. The men who -murdered him were his chosen friends and servants, -many of them were either holding or were awaiting -their turn for holding important provincial appointments. -The conspiracy was not organized; no provision -was made for carrying on the Government -after the keystone of the fabric had been removed; -it was enough to kill the tyrant. In one respect -the conspirators had correctly estimated the result; -there were men who, bound to Cæsar by various ties, -would not take an active part in any conspiracy -against his person, but who, if once that obstacle -to the restoration of the Senatorial Government -were removed, would declare their detestation of -autocracy, and assist in remodelling the State. Tiberius -Nero was one of these; Cicero was another, -and there were many others who, during the last -four years, had been ill at ease in the attempt to -reconcile their personal affection for Cæsar and -confidence in his ability with their conception of -what constituted political righteousness. Unfortunately -for these men, they were but few in number; -within three months’ time it had become clear that -neither the Army, nor the provincials, nor the subordinate -officials had any objection to an autocrat; -the myth of the Senate had been replaced by the -myth of Cæsar; the only question was who would -become the centre of the cult.</p> - -<p>Two men considered themselves most likely to -attract to themselves the passionate adoration with -which the soldiers of Cæsar had regarded their<span class="pagenum" id="Page_93">93</span> -general; they were his trusted lieutenants, Marcus -Lepidus and Marcus Antonius, the former a Proconsul -in command of an army, the latter Cæsar’s -colleague in the Consulship at the time of his death, -and his intimate friend; Cæsar’s widow placed all -her husband’s papers in his hands. Antonius had -the advantage of being constitutional head of the -Government, and as soon as it was clear that the -popular feeling at Rome was strongly adverse to the -Liberators, he procured a decree from the frightened -Senate sanctioning all Cæsar’s arrangements. Any -other course would in fact have produced intolerable -confusion. The most important consequence of this -measure was that the Liberators were put into positions -of great power and influence by the voice of the -man they had killed, and were protected from the -consequences of their own imprudence. Cicero threw -aside his literary work and rushed to Rome, to assist -in the restoration of the Republic, and to revive the -party of Pompeius. Antonius, however, had no -intention of letting the reins of Government slip -from his grasp; being possessed of the dead Cæsar’s -papers, he was able to produce at his pleasure decrees -which the constitutional party had already sanctioned -by anticipation, and the partisans of the dead man -were bound to support. Moderation was no part of the -character of Antonius; he prepared himself to enjoy -thoroughly the wealth which was poured into his -hands; with Cæsar’s soldiers at his back, he felt that -he could do what he pleased. An unexpected event -shook his self-confidence, and revived the prospects of -the constitutional party by dividing the Cæsarians.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_94">94</span></p> - -<p>The young Octavian crossed from Apollonia and -landed at Brundisium.</p> - -<p>Cæsar had left no direct descendants except an -illegitimate son by Cleopatra, but he had distinguished -his great-nephew Octavius by such indications -of his confidence and affection as a Roman would -bestow upon his destined heir. The year before his -death he had taken the young man with him to Spain, -on the expedition against the sons of Pompeius, -which ended in their defeat at Munda; he had -attached him closely to his person, shared his tent -with him, conducted all his business in his presence, -had in fact begun his political apprenticeship. Apparently -Cæsar came to the conclusion that his nephew’s -education was inadequate, and on the return from -Spain he sent him to Apollonia on the Illyrian coast, -a Greek town of considerable commercial importance, -which was the seat of a University largely frequented -by Roman students. So far Cæsar had not taken the -final step of adopting Octavius, but he did so by his will.</p> - -<p>Octavius was at this time little over eighteen years -of age; his mother and stepfather were alive, both -of them devoted to his interests, but nobody seems -as yet to have thought of him as a possible factor -in the politics of the future.</p> - -<p>By removing him to Apollonia his uncle had to -some extent withdrawn him from political life, and -the Liberators had forgotten his existence. He was -of weakly health, and had shown no particular aptitude -for military pursuits. Antonius thought him -of such small importance, that he disregarded those -portions of Cæsar’s will which referred to him, and<span class="pagenum" id="Page_95">95</span> -actually seized the private treasure which had been -bequeathed to him.</p> - -<p>Friends and relatives were alike urgent that Octavian -should either remain where he was, or delay his -journey to Italy till he was assured of the support of -an Army. The young man wisely relied on his own -judgment; he was Cæsar’s heir and adopted son, -but Cæsar could only bequeath to him his private -inheritance; it was not in his power to transfer the -reins of Government; the nature of the conspiracy -against Cæsar and its extent was still unknown; -Antonius and other leading Cæsarians had been spared, -it was clear that no proscription of the adherents of -Cæsar had been contemplated, or, if contemplated, -it had been abandoned. If Octavian were marked -out for slaughter, he was already doomed; nothing -could save him but the affection of Cæsar’s veterans; -they were all in Italy, and there was as yet no evidence -that they were prepared to transfer their allegiance -to so distant a relative of their late commander. -To appear with an army would be to invite attack, and -Octavian knew his own limitations better than anybody -else; he knew that he was no general, and he -had not as yet a general in whom he could trust. By -appearing in Italy simply as a private person engaged -in an ordinary matter of private business, the formal -succession to an inheritance, he disarmed prejudice. -If Antonius wished to put him out of the way, he -could do so in any case. On the other hand, by appearing -simply as a defrauded heir, he might attract -popular sympathy; Cæsar’s will had already proved -to be a political force; and the Constitutional party -might be glad of a counterpoise to Antonius.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_96">96</span></p> - -<p>Such considerations may well have influenced -Octavian in the adoption of the important step which -he took contrary to advice. It is even possible that -he contemplated nothing more than the assertion -of his undeniable right; and that the consequences -of his daring step took him by surprise. It is certain -that he had no sooner landed at Brundisium than he -found himself a power; the soldiers flocked to meet -him, and his march to Rome was a triumphal progress.</p> - -<p>The events of the next three years are difficult to -disentangle; to the actors they must have been -perplexing in the extreme. The factor which had -been omitted from the calculations of all the leaders -was the character of the army, which Cæsar had -created. As fast as Cæsar made way in Gaul he -enlisted the Gauls in his service; his legions were -in the end less Italian than Gallic; to the Gauls the -abstraction called the Roman Senate had no more -significance than the House of Commons to Sikhs and -Gurkhas; they had not got beyond, or not fallen -behind, the conceptions of personal fidelity to a chieftain -which are developed by the clan system. Not -only was it natural to them to transfer their fidelity -from the person of a father to that of his son and -successor, but such personal ties were their strongest -political passion. They would obey Antonius and -even Lepidus as Cæsar’s friends and trusted subordinates, -but their affection for Cæsar’s heir was -of a different character; to avenge their dead commander, -to put his son in his rights, were to them -matters of the first importance; as for the Roman -Constitution and theoretical Republics, they neither<span class="pagenum" id="Page_97">97</span> -cared about them nor understood them. At first -Octavian did not grasp the situation; his temperament -was legal and formal; his first preoccupation -was to assert his legal rights against Antonius, and -in order to do this effectively, he had no objection -to using such help as might be given him by Cicero -and the Constitutional party, who for their part -proposed to use against him Antonius and then put -him out of the way. The first serious operation in -the field showed Octavian his mistake; the Senate -sent him with the Consuls to relieve Decimus Brutus, -brother of Marcus Brutus, who was being besieged -by the Cæsarians under Antonius at Mutina; both -Consuls, old Cæsarians, were killed, and the soldiers -insisted on bringing Octavian back to Rome and -making him Consul; it was not long before they also -insisted on a reconciliation between the Cæsarian -leaders, compelling Antonius, Lepidus, and Octavian -to work together and unite in the task of punishing -the enemies of Cæsar. The proscription was partly -the work of the army; so far as it was a punishment -of the enemies of Cæsar, Octavian was an accomplice, -though an unwilling accomplice; Antonius and -Lepidus both took advantage of it to satisfy old grudges -and make large confiscations. Meanwhile the general -disorganization invited any man who found himself -in command of troops, or was otherwise favourably -circumstanced, to fish in troubled waters; Cicero’s son-in-law -Dolabella, the dissolute little gentleman who -was “tied to a sword,” was not the only man who -saw an opportunity of doing something to his own -advantage. Adventures of this kind disturbed the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_98">98</span> -world for a few months, but after Brutus and Cassius -had been beaten near Philippi a fairly definite division -declared itself; the world was again divided between -Cæsarians and Pompeians, and the chief Pompeian -leader was Sextus Pompeius. Antonius had gone -off to the East to meet Cleopatra and his fate on the -Cydnus. Lepidus, though in command of an army -and Governor of Africa, was a negligible quantity, -destined to suffer a very remarkable disillusionment -as soon as he ventured to assert himself in an independent -position.</p> - -<p>Few men have ever been so fortunate as Octavian -in the mistakes of their adversaries, and few have -ever turned them to such good advantage.</p> - -<p>East and West alike were taught to adore the -memory of the great Cæsar by the incompetence of -the men who proposed to succeed to his power; under -his sway the commercial cities of Asia Minor had -thriven; Cassius plundered them in the name of -the Senate, Dolabella on his own responsibility, -Antonius as the successor of Cæsar; Italy had no -sooner begun to look forward to relief from civil war -on the departure of Antonius than the Constitutional -party allied itself with Lucius Antonius and Fulvia, -the brother and wife of Marcus Antonius, to impede -the settlement. Tiberius Nero was among those -who joined the new movement. Relieved of the -presence of Antonius, who in spite of all his faults -was a general of ability, the Pompeians hoped to be -able to crush Octavian, who was no general; the -proscription had left very bitter feelings; Octavian -had so far had no opportunity of indicating his pacific<span class="pagenum" id="Page_99">99</span> -inclinations; he had had to do what his soldiers -required of him; Antonius was obviously a self-indulgent -adventurer, with whose fortunes no self-respecting -man could ally himself; Fulvia was a -virago, and Lucius Antonius no less greedy than his -brother, though less amiable; still it seemed that -these latter with their adherents embodied the Republican -principle; and the remnants of the Constitutional -party joined them. Incompetent generalship -allowed their forces to be locked up in Perusia, and -after a siege of three months the soldiers of Octavian -glutted their vengeance upon the enemies of Cæsar; -the terror that was inspired served its purpose in -two ways: there were no more conspiracies in Italy, -and Octavian made up his mind never again to be the -slave of his own army.</p> - -<p>Tiberius Nero either escaped from Perusia before -the town was completely invested, or had started on -a special mission to Campania with the object of -creating a diversion in Southern Italy. He still held -the office of Prætor though his legal term had expired, -and thus invested his enterprise with a legal and constitutional -aspect. The territory of Capua had been -confiscated by Rome after the second Punic War, the -penalty of the destructive friendship which that city -had conferred on Hannibal; the Senate of those days -had appropriated the land to its own purposes; the -redivision of this land had been part of the programme -of the popular party from the days of the Gracchi, -and their heirs the Cæsarians now proposed to assign -it to Octavian’s veterans. Tiberius Nero took up -the cause of the proprietors, who were threatened<span class="pagenum" id="Page_100">100</span> -with expropriation, thus adopting the old Senatorial -standpoint; he doubtless expected to find that the -Campanians, to whom the existing conditions, sanctioned -as they were by the precedents of a century -and a half, caused no grievance, would flock to his -standards; but he met with languid support from -the beginning, and the fall of Perusia with the subsequent -atrocities destroyed every prospect of success; -the Campanians preferred a peaceful spoliation to the -chances of war. Tiberius Nero was obliged to fly -for his life; accompanied by his wife, his eldest son -barely two years of age, and only one attendant, -he made his way to Naples. Here a romantic incident -took place. C. Velleius Paterculus, the grandfather -of the historian, had been associated with Tiberius -Nero in all his enterprises; he had been his friend -all his life; he had served under him as Chief Engineer -at Alexandria, and in his subsequent campaigns; it -is not clear whether he had been the sole companion -of the flight from Campania, but in any case he rejoined -his friend at Naples; but Naples was no safe -refuge; Octavian was pressing southwards; it was -necessary to cross to Sicily; when it proved to be -difficult to provide for the escape of the whole party, -the old man committed suicide rather than be an -impediment to his friend.</p> - -<p>Tiberius Nero had suffered two disappointments: -he had been disappointed in Cæsar; he had been -disappointed in the attempt to form a constitutional -party in opposition to Cæsar’s heir; a third and -severer disappointment awaited him in Sicily.</p> - -<p>Of the two sons of Pompeius, the elder had been<span class="pagenum" id="Page_101">101</span> -killed in Spain at or after the battle of Munda; the -younger, Sextus, had escaped, and adopted the life -of a corsair in the Mediterranean; during the confusion -which reigned in Italy after the death of Cæsar -he had escaped notice, and had been able to get together -a formidable fleet of pirates; he had seized -Sicily, and now hoped to be able to secure the restitution -of his father’s property by imposing terms on -Rome, for he controlled the food supply of the capital. -The proscription had sent him many valuable allies, -and the anti-Cæsarian party began to look to him to -take his father’s place as their leader. Sextus, however, -was no politician; he was a mere marauder; -the corsairs whom his father had dispersed reassembled -from the bays and islands of the Mediterranean, and -joined in an organized system of brigandage; the -subordinates of Sextus were adventurers of the type -which has been the perennial curse of the inland sea, -repeatedly stamped out, and ever ready to reassert -itself till the advent of steam power made such operations -too dangerous. It was not the policy of Sextus, -but circumstances beyond his control, which elevated -him from being a leader of bandits to the position -of an umpire between parties in the threatened break -up of the Empire. Outlaws and broken men of all -kinds gathered to his headquarters, and the grave -Senators of Rome found themselves strangely out -of place in this assemblage of cut-throats and their -mistresses. Tiberius Nero was among the last to -arrive; he attempted to assume the position of a -Roman official, and to exact the respect due to one -before whom the prætorian fasces were carried.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_102">102</span> -Sextus, however, was by no means inclined to put -himself under the orders of men of respectability; -still less so the Greek corsairs, who looked forward -to unlimited plunder under his flag.</p> - -<p>When Octavian arrived in due course he temporized; -his advisers saw that for the time being nothing -could be done; the Cæsarians had no fleet; on the -other hand, Sextus was glad to disembarrass himself -of the Roman notables; and the result was that the -victims of the proscription were pardoned and received -into the Cæsarian ranks. This was the first -occasion on which Octavian was able to manifest -his moderation, and to begin his career of conquest -by diplomacy. Sextus was recognized, admitted -to a share in the dismembered Empire; there was -no alternative; Rome was relieved from the danger -of starvation, and Octavian was left free to deal with -the veterans and the consolidation of Italy.</p> - -<p>Tiberius Nero was not among those who accepted -the amnesty; he again fled, this time to Corinth, -which was associated with his family by ancient ties -of patronage. He became a wanderer, a hunted -man; romantic adventures are assigned to the -months of danger and hardship which followed; -he even sought the protection of Antonius; at length -he too made terms with Octavian and returned to -Rome, where a further disappointment awaited -him; his young wife attracted the notice of Octavian; -she accepted his attentions, and shortly afterwards -an amicable divorce and re-marriage were arranged. -Six months later Livia bore a second son, who was -sent to her first husband by Octavian, and acknowledged<span class="pagenum" id="Page_103">103</span> -by him as his own. The families lived on -terms of intimacy, and when Tiberius Nero died five -years later, both his sons passed under the care of -their mother and Octavian, whose family now consisted -of his own daughter Julia by a previous wife, -Scribonia, and his two stepsons. Julia was a little over -a year younger than Tiberius the future Emperor.</p> - -<p>So far there had been nothing discreditable in the -life of Tiberius Nero, and it was never attacked even -by the bitterest enemies of his son. He followed -the fortunes of Cæsar, so did many men who saw in -Cæsar the only hope of a reformed constitution; he -was frightened by Cæsar’s root and branch reforms, -so were many moderate men; he saw in Cæsar the -tyrant, and applauded the men who cut him down, -so did Cicero and many honourable men; in the -confusion that ensued he steadily clung to any -power that seemed to make for the restoration of -the Republic; in this he may have been mistaken, -but was not dishonourable; he eventually made -terms with the one party which promised a restoration -of order—no other policy was open to a wise and prudent -man; he surrendered his wife to the conqueror; -at this point we withdraw our approval; we think -of Cæsar, who refused to put away his wife at the -bidding of Sulla, and our inclination is to see in the -action of Tiberius Nero contemptible weakness.</p> - -<p>Apart, however, from the fact that marriages of -convenience and divorces of convenience were of -frequent occurrence among the members of the -princely houses of Rome at this period, the personal -conditions in this case may have been such as to render<span class="pagenum" id="Page_104">104</span> -the divorce in question as little disgraceful to the injured -husband as such an event can be. There is -nothing contrary to probability in assuming that -Tiberius Nero at the time of his marriage to Livia -was an elderly, if not an old man; his intimate friend -Velleius Paterculus was certainly an old man when -he killed himself at Naples. The father of Livia -had been a political and possibly personal friend -of Tiberius Nero; he fought on the losing side at -the battle of Philippi, and was among those who killed -themselves after their cause seemed to be irreparably -lost; immediately afterwards Tiberius Nero married -Livia, who, if she was eighty-six at the time of her -death in <span class="allsmcap">A.D.</span> 29, can have been little more than fourteen -at the time of her first marriage. According to -Paterculus the historian, the Emperor Tiberius was -less than two years old when his parents fled to -Naples after the fall of Perusia in <span class="allsmcap">B.C.</span> 40; this places -the marriage somewhere in 43 <span class="allsmcap">B.C.</span>, or at the latest -very early in 42 <span class="allsmcap">B.C.</span> We have no mention of brothers -or other relatives of Livia in her later life; it would -seem that her father’s death left her alone and friendless; -it is a possible conjecture that Tiberius Nero -married the daughter of an old friend, partly in order -to save her life and fortune. The disparity of age -must have been great in any case, and Livia must -have accepted the marriage as the only way out of -a position of great peril. It is in accordance with -all that we know of Livia that she should have conducted -herself with the strictest propriety as a Roman -matron, though the youthful wife of an elderly or -aged husband; and it is more than probable that he<span class="pagenum" id="Page_105">105</span> -became strongly attached to her, even though her -feeling towards him was dutiful rather than affectionate. -When she met Octavian, she met a man -but little older than herself, who fell passionately -in love with her; of their mutual attachment there -can be no doubt; it lasted through the whole of their -life together, and on his deathbed Augustus bade her -never to forget their union. Under these circumstances -what was the best thing that Tiberius Nero -could do to secure the happiness of the child whom -he had taken to his home, and who now wished to -leave him? By the custom of his time and race -no disgrace attached to a divorce in itself; the Romans -had no conception of a holy estate of matrimony -indissoluble except under scandalous circumstances; -it was better that Livia should be transferred peaceably -to the man of her choice than that her good name -should suffer. Tiberius Nero accepted the inevitable, -not necessarily because Octavian could have compelled, -but because Livia had given to her young lover the -affections which she had never been able to give to -her elderly protector.</p> - -<p>Tiberius Nero died in <span class="allsmcap">B.C.</span> 33; his eldest son was -then only nine years old, but had already been sufficiently -well trained to be able to recite the customary -oration as chief mourner at his father’s funeral; -both he and his brother are said to have been exceptionally -well educated. We may imagine the solitary -father with his strong love of learning, the victim -of so many disappointments, finding some alleviation -to his sorrows in bringing up his boys in the strictest -traditions of an old Roman house.</p> - -<hr /> - -<div id="toclink_106" class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_106">106</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="III">III<br /> - -<span class="subhead">Octavian</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class="drop-cap"><span class="smcap1">To</span> the student of even the clearest narrative -of the events which followed the assassination -of Cæsar, the impression conveyed is one of absolute -chaos; officials are appointed and removed, decrees -passed and rescinded, provinces assigned and redistributed, -leaders combine and separate only to combine -again; it is difficult to distinguish any guiding -principle, any organized force, by which order might -be restored. War and spoliation seem to be universal -and continuous, and the direction of the march of -events to be subject to the caprices of a licentious -soldiery, led by rapacious adventurers, who can keep -hold of their troops only by extravagant largess and -promises of plunder. Licensed brigandage rules -the world. And yet this turmoil was immediately -succeeded, and in part accompanied by such prosperity -as the civilized world had not yet known; trade -flourished in spite of piracy, great public improvements -were designed and completed, young men -went to universities, travellers passed from one end -of the Empire to the other.</p> - -<p>The exact date of the journey which Horace took -from Rome to Brundisium in attendance upon Mæcenas<span class="pagenum" id="Page_107">107</span> -is still a subject of dispute among scholars, -but it certainly cannot be placed later than the battle -of Actium, and is generally assigned to a time before -Sextus Pompeius had been driven from Sicily; -neither Italy nor the world were at peace, and Italy -had recently been the scene of civil war. There -is, however, nothing in the description of this journey -to suggest a ruined or disordered country; before -Horace caught up the suite of his patron he travelled -by the ordinary conveyances along the road or the -canal to the South; the misadventures of his journey -are only such as happen to travellers in a well ordered -country in times of the profoundest peace. The -ordinary routine of life can have been but little disturbed -by the marchings and counter-marchings of -armies; and the habits of order must have been -too firmly established to be much shaken by the -apparent anarchy at the capital.</p> - -<p>In one respect the accounts of these times are -necessarily misleading; as our information comes -from Rome and Rome alone, we forget the enormous -area over which the transactions took place. We -should not to-day be surprised to find France prosperous -when war was raging in Italy; we should not -expect Spain to be affected by occurrences in the -Balkan Peninsula, or Egypt to be ruined by marauders -in Asia Minor; and we can even imagine a war in -Lombardy which would leave Calabria undisturbed. -Roman history gives us all the military operations -of all the countries in Europe South of the Alps and -West of the Rhine, and of all the East that is washed -by the Mediterranean, as the history of one state,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_108">108</span> -and we forget that large though the armies were which -disputed the Empire of the world, they fought over -a very large area, and that the greater part of the -Empire was only for short periods or indirectly -affected. Even inside Italy the fighting was carried -on at a distance from the capital; the scenes of -actual war were Lombardy or Northern Tuscany or -again the coast opposite Sicily; the marching -of the troops along the great roads did not disturb -the country between the scenes of operations. In -all periods of social disturbance the attention is drawn -so exclusively to the sensational events, that the continuance -of the ordinary routine alongside of the -confusion escapes notice. A community which has -long been settled parts unwillingly with its fixed -habits; it is only very long periods of war that leave -their mark permanently on a country. Perpetual -disorder and perpetual invasions prevent progress, -but even such violent outbreaks of disorder as the -early years of the French Revolution may be followed -by a speedy recovery.</p> - -<p>Julius Cæsar did not hold absolute power for more -than four years; during those years he had time to -remove obstructions, but not to build; his death -did not involve a general collapse of the Government; -the permanent officials continued in their places, -the ordinary routine of public and private business -remained much as before. The real danger which -threatened society was the domination of the army -under the command of a licentious adventurer such -as Antonius, or the breaking up of the Empire and -its distribution among similar leaders. That this<span class="pagenum" id="Page_109">109</span> -did not happen is due chiefly to the personal qualities -of one man, and that man a youth, who at the present -day would be just leaving school to begin his career -at the University.</p> - -<p>It is possible to overrate as well as to underrate -Octavian, to ascribe to him much that he could not -possibly have done, as well as to refuse to him the -credit due for what he actually performed.</p> - -<p>In contrast with the achievements of his adoptive -father, Octavian stands out in history as the great -civilian; he hardly ever fought a successful battle; -even his personal courage was suspected, but he succeeded -where a long line of predecessors had failed -and his success was in part due to the fact that he -was not a soldier; he was never tempted to conquer -for the sake of conquest, or to enter on campaigns -in order that he might win glory; he was entirely -free from the weaknesses of a Napoleon.</p> - -<p>The precocity of the young Romans of the great -families continually astonishes us, but Octavian -would indeed be a marvel if, alone and unaided, he -had placed himself among the four competitors for -universal dominion at the age of twenty. Had he -really been the son of Cæsar, and not a comparatively -distant relative, had Cæsar himself been a constitutional -monarch, and the monarchy an institution -sanctioned by long precedent, his succession would -not have surprised us; dynasties are upheld in spite -of the youth or feebleness of the successor to the -dynasty; but in this case there was no recognized -dynasty, no prejudice outside the army in favour -of the dynast, and the heir could not expect to inherit<span class="pagenum" id="Page_110">110</span> -anything from his predecessor except his private -property. This was his own view of his own position; -he claimed no more.</p> - -<p>Octavian was probably no less surprised than the -Liberators or Cicero by his own popularity; the -depth of the affection and admiration inspired by -the great Cæsar was not at once comprehended by -his contemporaries; they did not realize that he had -become a myth in his lifetime, and on his death a -god; the strength of the sentiments which he had -evoked escaped the notice of the constructors of -Utopian Republics and devotees of the rule of the -Sacred Senate. Here was a new cult, and even a -new incarnation of divinity. So little did Octavian -understand the real foundations of his popularity -that on his first arrival in Italy he made overtures -to Cicero and the Constitutional party, to the men -who approved of his adoptive father’s murder; so -little did they understand the hold which he had upon -the affection of the soldiers that they prepared to use -him for their own purposes and then throw him -over; they wanted a piece to play against Antonius, -Octavian wanted power to force Antonius to disgorge -his inheritance. His first important step was a -masterly one. Upon Cæsar’s heir devolved the duty -of paying Cæsar’s bequests to the Roman people, and -expending money upon the great shows in honour -of the dead hero. Antonius refused to surrender -the treasures which he had seized. Octavian, whose -natural father had been a very rich man, sold all his -private property, sold all Cæsar’s property that had -escaped Antonius, persuaded two of his relatives<span class="pagenum" id="Page_111">111</span> -to forego their own share of the inheritance, and -fulfilled the obligations imposed by the will. The -contrast between him and Antonius was thus emphasized; -Antonius had seized, confiscated, squandered -upon his personal pleasures; Octavian gave, -and paid for the pleasures of the people. It was -this characteristic of Octavian, his indifference to -personal display and personal luxury, that was one -source of his strength throughout life; nobody -could be more magnificent or spend more lavishly -when such a course was required by the public interest, -but in his personal expenditure he was rigidly economical. -No Roman or provincial ever felt that his -property was held in jeopardy, because Octavian -needed money for his private pleasures. The ruler -himself set the example of that moderation in expenditure -which Horace so repeatedly commends to -his contemporaries.</p> - -<p>The moderation of Octavian recommended him to -the financiers, and he at once found a valuable friend -in the person of C. Cilnius Mæcenas. The Roman -historians, in accordance with their invariable custom, -ignore this great permanent official; they have no eyes -for any man who has not held the great magistracies -of the Republic, and the share of Mæcenas in building -up the power of Octavian occupies but a small place -in their writings; it is in fact only as a patron of -literary men that Mæcenas is widely known, and the -superficial observer might be tempted to infer that -Mæcenas was a private friend of Octavian, whose -influence was due solely to the Emperor’s favour. -We know when Mæcenas died, but we do not know<span class="pagenum" id="Page_112">112</span> -when he was born; his death occurred twenty-two -years before that of Octavian, and as there is no indication -that the event was considered premature, -we are justified in assuming that he was so much -older than Octavian as to have had considerable experience -of affairs, and a sufficiently recognized position, -when the younger man was seen to be a possible -successor to the great Cæsar. Mæcenas was a prominent -member of the Equestrian Order, of the body -which had been supported in its struggles for recognition -against the Senate by the Marian party, and -by Cæsar himself; its interests coincided with those -of the whole body of permanent salaried officials, -who owed their appointments to Cæsar; the collection -of the revenue of the Empire was in its hands; -of the candidates for power, the one who secured -the confidence of the Equestrians was the most likely -to be successful. We do not know what had been -the previous connexion between Octavian and Mæcenas, -but we do no violence to probability by assuming -that Mæcenas was known to Cæsar, and had -enjoyed a measure of his confidence, that he belonged -to the inner circle of financiers whom Cæsar must -have repeatedly consulted, and that he had frequent -opportunities for forming an opinion as to the capacity -of the young Octavian.</p> - -<p>In any case, and however the connexion was -brought about, the man who formed the alliance -between Octavian and Mæcenas acted more wisely -than Octavian had acted when he placed himself at -the feet of Cicero. By himself Octavian might have -appeared to be a risky speculation to the orderly<span class="pagenum" id="Page_113">113</span> -men who were gradually attracted to his party; -backed by the great financier he was safe; the clients -of Cæsar in all parts of the Empire were provided -with a guarantee which encouraged them to transfer -to the nephew the allegiance which they had previously -given to the uncle. Octavian’s merit lies in -the fact that he was able to use the wisdom of this -cautious adviser and submit to his diplomacy; his -head was not turned by the popular declarations -in his favour. He is frequently reproached with -a lack of initiative, with a cynical indifference to -the higher morality, with a cool calculation of his -own interests, and of his own interests to the exclusion -of all others; but to judge thus is to fall into the -common error of condemning a man on his success; -there is a natural tendency to ascribe to every man -who eventually succeeds a deliberate intention of -success from the commencement, and the careful -working out of a preconceived plan. Royalists after -the Restoration in England could only see in Cromwell -a crafty plotter, who had proposed to himself the -usurpation of the throne. It is assumed that the -power of the men who rise to great positions was at -the beginning the same that it was at the end, and -that in the first stages of their career they could -have refused to do things of which they disapproved.</p> - -<p>When Octavian made overtures to Cicero and called -him his “father,” he was in earnest, and acted according -to his own inclinations, but he took a false step -from which he was forced to recede; he quickly -learned that he commanded sympathy as the avenger -of his father’s murderer, that on those terms he was<span class="pagenum" id="Page_114">114</span> -the darling of the fierce legionaries; he also learned -that the Constitutional Party, to whom his temperament -inclined him, regarded him as a necessary evil, -and that his “father” proposed to use him and then -remove him; after the publication of the Second -Philippic, in which Cæsar was denounced no less -savagely than Antonius, Octavian could no longer -keep on terms of friendship with Cicero; he would -have been treated as a renegade by his own soldiers; -he had not even the alternative of retiring into private -life; he was too dangerous to both parties alike; -had he rejected the devotion of the legions, the daggers -of the Constitutionalists or of the emissaries of Antonius -would have struck him down; nominally -a leader, he was really a hunted beast. The soldiers -forced him into alliance with Antonius, the soldiers -forced him to marry the daughter of the tigress -Fulvia, the combination of ferocity drove him to his -share in the proscription. To Antonius the proscription -was a means of filling his ever leaky purse; -to Fulvia, the sister of Clodius, it was a vengeance, -she had an old score to settle with Cicero, to the -soldiers it was the merited punishment of the murderers -of Cæsar; Octavian could not hold back; he, -however, did the best thing that was permitted by -the circumstances, as soon as Antonius departed for -the East he let the pursuit of the proscribed lapse; -he broke with Fulvia and sent back her daughter; -he proved singularly placable to those who wished -to make terms with him.</p> - -<p>At this period Octavian can hardly have designed -the universal dominion to which he afterwards<span class="pagenum" id="Page_115">115</span> -succeeded; it was enough to enjoy comparative -security in Italy, and to be recognized as the chief -agent in restoring safety to the peninsula; none of -his military operations were aggressive, and he preferred -diplomacy to war; he was content to let -Antonius carry off the richest part of the Empire; -he was content to make terms with Sextus Pompeius, -and allow him to take his share of the provinces, -provided the commercial interests of Rome were -respected, and the corn ships allowed to find their -way into the harbour. He required time to deal -with the most difficult of tasks, the reabsorption of -Cæsar’s veterans in the civilian population; in order -that Octavian might be personally safe, it was -necessary gradually to break up the army which had -dictated to him, and replace it by one of which he -would be master.</p> - -<p>This operation must have required consummate -skill and coolness; the financial problem alone must -have been serious; it was, however, rendered much -easier by the departure of Antonius to the East; to -the Roman soldiers, as to ourselves for many centuries, -the East was the El Dorado, and service or even -settlement in Italy presented small attractions to -the legionary compared with service on the Euphrates; -the gold which had tempted Crassus still glittered -in the imagination of the centurions. Octavian and -his advisers were glad to see the more restless spirits -stream after Antonius, it lightened their burden.</p> - -<p>Meanwhile Octavian had the good fortune to find -a War Minister of rare genius and unexampled personal -devotion; if the career of Octavian is marvellous,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_116">116</span> -that of his friend Agrippa is no less so; the two men -were of the same age; they were fellow students -at Apollonia when the death of Cæsar summoned -Octavian to Rome; they had already laid the foundations -of a friendship which is among the most noteworthy -in history.</p> - -<p>Agrippa as a military genius has received scant -consideration; but the man must have been a genius, -who at the age of twenty-seven made a navy for Rome -and re-organized an army, and who further contrived -to place that army on a footing, which restored it to -its proper position of subordination to the civil administration. -All Agrippa’s projects bear witness -to the mind of a daring planner and a consummate -master of detail. It was necessary to build and train -a fleet in the face of the opposition of Sextus Pompeius, -who held the command of the sea; Agrippa at once -bethought himself of an inland lake in which his -ships could be built and then manœuvred; when -the work of preparation was complete he cut a channel -into the Mediterranean, and sailed out to attack -and defeat his enemy. In preparation for the subsequent -operations against Antonius at Actium, he -was not misled by the example of the naval experts -of the day; he saw that rapidity of manœuvring -was more important in a man-of-war than size and -weight, and instead of competing with the ship -builders of Alexandria, constructed a large number -of light galleys, and manned them with skilled crews.</p> - -<p>The one great building for which Agrippa was -responsible survives to our time, and still testifies -to the originality of his genius; the dome of the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_117">117</span> -Pantheon is remarkable even now; in its own day -it was unexampled.</p> - -<p>Agrippa was even greater in his moral qualities, -in the self-restraint, or perhaps absence of a morbid -ambition, which forbade him to become a rival to -the man whose superiority he had elected to recognize. -In the later days of the Republic a man could -hardly become a great general without threatening -the balance of the constitution; the death of Cæsar -brought into prominence ambitious soldiers; it -seemed that it was enough to be a successful leader -of troops in order to enter upon the enjoyment of -all things that ambitious men most covet; but to -this kind of ambition Agrippa was superior; if he -had a conscious ambition over and above the satisfaction -of doing his work well, it was to make -Octavian.</p> - -<p>His example was most valuable to the fortunes of -the Empire; his character impressed itself upon the -young men at a later time, upon the youthful Tiberius -his son-in-law among others. Henceforth the old -loyalty to the Republic which restored victorious -consuls to their proper place in civil life, when their -wars were finished, was replaced by the loyalty of -the army to a possibly civilian Imperator, whose -military work was delegated to subordinate commanders; -it was possible for a man to command an army -without feeling that he lost dignity by submitting to -the control of the head of the State.</p> - -<p>If Octavian is to be admired for learning in a few -years the trade of a statesman, Agrippa is no less -to be admired for the celerity with which he acquired<span class="pagenum" id="Page_118">118</span> -the detailed knowledge of a naval and military commander; -both young men started with a rare power -of submitting themselves to the guidance of men of -experience; the eventual result was a combination -of administrative ability, which was able to use other -men without impairing its own supremacy.</p> - -<p>After Sextus Pompeius had disappeared, and Lepidus -had found himself in the unenviable position of -a general without an army, and a provincial governor -without a province, the delimitation of authority -which followed may well have seemed to the sharers -in power to be final.</p> - -<p>Octavian took what was practically in later days -the Western Empire, Antonius the Eastern. The -marriage of Octavian’s sister with Antonius was held -to render hostilities between them impossible; and -there are few modern potentates who would not be -content with the share which fell to Octavian; to be -supreme ruler of France, Spain, Italy, the large -islands of the Mediterranean, and the Western portion -of the North Coast of Africa, would have satisfied -Francis I. or Charles V. Nor were the Spain and -Gaul of those days relatively in such a state of barbarism -that the ruler of Italy could think of them as -semi-savage frontier colonies. Parts of Spain were -still imperfectly civilized, but the relation which they -bore to the more settled regions was little different -from that held by the Celtic fringes of our own islands -till comparatively late in our history. Gaul was -more united than the France of Louis XI., and no -more subject to internal disturbances. Gaul, in fact, -began almost from the time of Cæsar’s conquests<span class="pagenum" id="Page_119">119</span> -to advance to a dominant position in the Empire; -she supplied soldiers, statesmen, and rhetoricians to -Italy; the balance of power gradually inclined to the -country, which had not been exhausted by successive -wars, and whose population was relatively homogeneous; -the time was to come when the Emperors -would be Gallic rather than Italian. The Gauls -quickly assimilated Roman culture and Roman -discipline; two of the greatest writers of the Augustan -age, Virgil and Livy, one of an earlier date, Catullus, -were natives of Cis-Alpine Gaul, if not Celtic in their -nationality; Cornelius Gallus, a Transalpine Gaul, -was not only estimated at a high value among the -poets of his day, but was the first Viceroy appointed -to Egypt by Octavian. In fact, though it may have -appeared to the men of the day that Antonius had -taken to himself the best share of the Empire, and -left Octavian a valueless appanage, the sequel proved -that the latter had the best of the bargain; the central -part of his dominions was the longest organized -and the best organized, while the outlying territories -had no time-honoured reputation to set against the -extension of Roman civilization; they had everything -to gain by closer incorporation with the Empire; -they even accepted its language, whereas the Eastern -Empire never ceased to be Greek.</p> - -<p>The personal qualities of Antonius brought about -the union of the Empire; so long as he served under -the direction of the great Cæsar he passed for a politician -and administrator, no less than for a dashing -general; deprived of his great model, he quickly -showed himself to be nothing but a greedy soldier.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_120">120</span> -The East learned by successive bitter experiences -what it lost in Cæsar; first came little Dolabella to -harry Syria, then Cassius and even Brutus extorted all -that they could lay their hands on in the rich cities -of the Levant and Asia Minor; then came Antonius -with further fines and confiscations; there was a -general sense of relief when Cleopatra carried him -off to Alexandria, only however to prompt him to -fresh extortions.</p> - -<p>The alliance of Antony and Cleopatra was the salvation -of the Roman Empire; it frightened the -West into union, and its failure brought about the -final submission of the East. This was no mere -question of rivalry between two eminent Roman -statesmen; it was a turning point in civilization; -the issue was once again whether the Mediterranean -was to be governed on Oriental or Western lines. -The halo of not particularly edifying romance which -shines round the figure of Cleopatra averts the attention -from the statesman-like qualities which she really -possessed; her residence in Rome in the capacity -of Cæsar’s mistress was not a glorious episode in the -career of the Egyptian Queen, but it taught her, as -a similar experience had taught Juba, the weakness -of Rome from an Oriental point of view. Cleopatra -saw that Rome wanted a despot; on the death of -her admirer she went back to Egypt to wait on events; -when Antonius appeared in the East, she proposed -to annex Italy through Antonius, as Cæsar had -through herself annexed Egypt; but, like many -others, she had misjudged the man; Antonius was no -Cæsar; and though Cleopatra could form magnificent<span class="pagenum" id="Page_121">121</span> -schemes of ambition, she lacked the self-control necessary -to carry them out; unfortunately for herself, -in the attempt to annex Antonius she fell violently -in love with him, and statesmanship became a secondary -consideration; she could not deny herself the -companionship of her lover; he, too, more than once -forgot all the duties of a soldier in his impatience to -return to her arms. Their plans for extended conquests -in the East were foiled by their maladministration; -and even a temporary success proved in -its results worse than a series of defeats; for Antonius -celebrated his victory over the Parthians by parodying -at Alexandria the solemn ritual of a triumph at Rome. -This event, more even than a fleeting descent of Antonius -at a previous date upon the coast of Iapygia -in conjunction with Sextus Pompeius, consolidated -the power of Octavian; he became no longer the -leader of a party, but the representative of Latin -civilization. Nor is it contrary to probability that -the luxurious excesses of the Court at Alexandria, -at Smyrna, at Samos, frightened the Greek cities, and -that frequent emissaries gave Octavian good reason -for supposing that the Greek cities were ready to -throw themselves into his hands; Cæsar had never -acted in the spirit of a Greek tyrant, but the type was -abundantly manifested in Antonius. Octavian waited -till he was ready; he then produced a document, -the will of Antonius, which clearly informed the -Roman people of the destiny prepared for them, -and when the right moment came, allowed a dispute -about his claims over certain cities to end in a -declaration of war.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_122">122</span></p> - -<p>The battle of Actium was the result, and the victory -was followed by what was practically a triumphant -progress of Octavian round the Mediterranean; the -Roman Empire was one again, the unity of civilization -was complete. Henceforth the wars of the -Empire were conducted on its frontiers, and though -they occasionally resulted in an extension of territory, -their primary object was self-defence, the maintenance -of the ring fence of the “civilized world.” The -short war of the Succession, which followed on the -death of Nero, hardly disturbed the peace of Gaul -and Italy.</p> - -<p>The extraordinary success of the man, who at the -age of two and thirty was recognized as the supreme -arbiter of the civilized world, tempts us, as it tempted -his contemporaries, to look for qualities in him beyond -the reach of an ordinary man; some who -have looked for these qualities and failed to discover -them have gone in the opposite direction, and speak -of him with scant respect.</p> - -<p>Whether Octavian or any other man who has occupied -a similar position was a person whose example -could be safely recommended to our children, is a -less interesting question than that relation between -his personal qualities and the needs of the time, -which placed him at the head of affairs. The Senate -of Rome had failed to produce a great civilian, and -a great civilian was precisely what was needed by -Greater Rome. The men who, from the time that -the problem of the administration of the Empire had -begun to make itself felt, had held the chief power -successively, were soldiers in the first place, and only<span class="pagenum" id="Page_123">123</span> -in the second, if at all, civil administrators: Marius, -Sulla, Pompeius, Cæsar himself imposed their will -upon Rome, because they had the legions behind -them; relying upon the force of organized armies, -they were tempted to overlook all the other forces -by which society is held together. An army is so -convincing, so obvious, that men who can organize -an army may well be excused in their blindness to -the existence of any other power. Cæsar was the -most enlightened of generals, and had a clearer -appreciation of civilian problems than his predecessors, -but even Cæsar relied ultimately upon the appeal -to force; holding, as he believed, the strongest weapon -in his hands, he prepared to change and reconstruct -society as appeared most reasonable to his clear -scientific intelligence; confident in the integrity -of his purposes, he believed that he had only to demonstrate -his common sense and benevolence in order -to secure adhesion to all his reforms; he did not weigh -public opinion; he did not study the currents of -prepossession and conviction; wishing well to all -men, he never waited to consider whether his actions -might wound the self-esteem of any man; he chose -his subordinates without inquiry into their private -opinions; it was enough for him to have ascertained -that they possessed the qualities essential in his -opinion to good administration. In one sense -the clemency of Cæsar was never tested; had he -lived another ten years, and been forced to realize -the nature of the opposition which was excited by -his reforms, he, like Cromwell, might have been forced -to supersede the civil organization by a purely military<span class="pagenum" id="Page_124">124</span> -organization; like Napoleon, he might have been -compelled to protect his person and his Government -by an army of spies, and meet plots by counterplots; -but the opposition declared itself only to be final; -the first intimation of its existence to Cæsar was his -own death. Had Octavian needed so striking a lesson, -he would have learned from this event that civil power -resting on military predominance is no more secure -than civil power conferred by a popular vote; but -he did not need the lesson; his whole temperament -was civilian, and the successive humiliations through -which the army led him strengthened his dislike -to the army; for the army forced him to the alliance -with Antonius, in whom he rightly saw his private -enemy; the army forced him to marry the daughter -of Fulvia the tigress; the army forced the proscription -upon him; the army compelled him to -deeds of savage cruelty at Perusia; the army forced -him to hand over his sister to the embraces of Antonius; -he felt that he could not be a free agent -so long as the army was the dominant factor in politics. -His ideal was not the magnificent stride of the conqueror -from continent to continent. Other young -men, finding several thousand veterans ready to follow -them, might have been tempted to a career of conquest; -not so Octavian; circumstances compelled him -to temporize with the army, and to use the army, but -he naturally preferred the city to the camp, and the -Forum to the field. Year by year, and even month -by month, he advanced in the favour of the capitalists -and constitutionalists, who dreaded nothing so much -as a perpetual cock fight of generals. All over the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_125">125</span> -Empire a new ideal had been steadily growing, the -conception of war as a permanent condition of society -had been replaced by the conception of peace. In -the East for two centuries the internecine wars between -city States had disappeared; the Macedonian -Empire, though broken up and divided, had established -permanent umpires; society was united over -larger areas; in the West, after the elimination of -the discordant Phœnician factor, Rome had held -the same position of supreme umpire; great cities -had grown up: Smyrna, Ephesus, Antioch, Alexandria -in the East, Rome in the West, for whose populations -the orderly progress of commerce was a necessity -of life; war had ceased to be the only or the most -profitable investment; other than military careers -were attractive to the ambitious. Octavian presented -the combination of qualities which the world wanted; -he could command the allegiance of armies without -being intoxicated by the possession of that form of -power; he respected the civilian, and had the power -to protect him. But Octavian did not carry his dislike -of military domination to the point of extravagance; -he was no intemperate advocate of peace principles; -he did not make the mistake of allowing his army -to become inefficient; he knew that a well ordered -army was a necessary instrument of sound civil -Government; he knew that unless the chief of the -State demonstrably enjoyed the support of an efficient -army his reign would be short; but he took care -that no successful officer should be tempted to play -the part of an Antonius, or dream that it was in his -power to become a second Cæsar. He had the good<span class="pagenum" id="Page_126">126</span> -fortune to find first in his friend Agrippa, and subsequently -in his two stepsons Tiberius and Drusus, -able generals, who abstained from interfering with -the civil administration. Not the least of the remarkable -powers of Octavian was his power of commanding -willing service from equals and even from -superiors, and his recognition of the men who would -be useful to him. As the heir of his father and great-uncle, -he inherited not only money but connexions; -his father had been an Equestrian, who was cut off -in the first stages of a more enterprising political -career; he had been Governor of Macedonia; the -extent of the connexions of Cæsar needs no demonstration. -The head of a great Roman House was in -a sense the head of a permanent corporation; he -could alienate or retain those individuals, families -or cities, both with within and outside of the technical -limits of the Empire, who had been used to conduct -their private or public business through the agency -of his House. The use to which he turned an hereditary -advantage of this kind depended on his personal -qualities; Octavian had the qualities which breed -confidence; self-controlled, industrious, courteous, -faithful to obligations even where they were not -self-imposed, he quickly showed the adherents of the -House that there was no breach in the continuity -of the Cæsarian succession. Antonius had similar -advantages, but he dissipated or squandered them; -men learned that his favour was to be won, or its -continuance to be secured by gross flattery, and subservience -to his caprices; he demanded derogatory -services; the Consular Plancus thought to secure<span class="pagenum" id="Page_127">127</span> -his favour at Alexandria by flopping about at a -masquerade in the unwieldy and farcical dress of a -marine deity; such an act would have disgusted -Octavian; it would have shocked him to see a man of -rank doing anything inconsistent with his dignity. -A natural instinct for what is dignified is a valuable -attribute in a ruler, and a punctilious insistence on -ceremonial observances is better than an absence of -etiquette; but mere ceremony is apt to degenerate -into observances which injure the self esteem of those -concerned, and to substitute exaggerated forms of -respect for the reality. Octavian grasped the true -meaning of dignified behaviour; it was not the person -of the ruler but the business in hand which was -respected; frivolity was not an insult to his person, -but to the work in which he was engaged.</p> - -<p>Men who were in earnest about anything found -that they were in sympathy with Octavian; he could -relax, and be charming in his relaxation, but with -him, as with all great rulers, the line was rigidly -drawn between business and amusement. He could -even pardon a refusal to comply with his request -for a personal favour; he invited Horace to leave -the service of Mæcenas and become his private secretary; -the poet refused, but did not in consequence -lose the esteem of the Emperor.</p> - -<p>Naturally attracted by what was dignified, Octavian -was keenly alive to the prestige of the Senate; Cæsar -had found in that body an active impediment to necessary -reforms; he broke down the barriers of sanctity -by which it was surrounded; he treated it with no -more respect than Claudius Pulcher had shown to<span class="pagenum" id="Page_128">128</span> -the sacred chickens; he destroyed its organization -and overrode its decrees; he admitted aliens to its -honours. Antonius was equally reckless in his -contempt of Senatorial prerogatives; but the men -of rank and position who successively made terms -with Octavian found that they were treated with -respect, that there was nothing derogatory in working -with him; and while a bitter experience had taught -them that there was no other alternative, the pain -of submission was alleviated by the personal consideration -shown to men who had suffered shipwreck. -Octavian was the mediator between the new and the -old; his practical sagacity inclined him to make -the best of the new; his personal sympathies equally -inclined him to deal tenderly with the old. Good -counsellors, hereditary connexions, the affection -of the veterans, would not have put Octavian permanently -at the head of affairs, had he not possessed -those qualities which enabled him to make the best -of these advantages. He had not the dash, the -brilliance, the consummate intellectual ability of -his uncle; he could not have done his uncle’s work; -but when that work had once been done, he was -supremely fitted to rebuild on the new foundations; -because he was in many respects inferior to his uncle, -he was more truly representative of his time; he -was no prodigy; he did not thunder and lighten -and turn the universe upside down; he made the -best of the world as he found it, and that best was -so very good that his work lasted.</p> - -<hr /> - -<div id="toclink_129" class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_129">129</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="IV">IV<br /> - -<span class="subhead">Augustus</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class="drop-cap"><span class="smcap1">In</span> the year 27 <span class="allsmcap">B.C.</span>, four years after the battle of -Actium, the power of Octavian was so firmly -established, his services to the civilized world were -so obviously unique, that there was a general desire -to express by some honourable addition to his title a -recognition of those services. After much discussion -the Senate fixed upon the adjective “Augustus” -as the only epithet which would adequately define -the position in which Octavian stood in relation to -Rome and the Empire. This epithet is deeply significant; -the modern habit of using it as a name has -destroyed its significance; even in antiquity the -necessity of distinguishing between the different -members of the Cæsarian dynasty led to its occasional -use by historians in place of the name of Cæsar, but -the ancients never lost sight of its meaning, as the -modern is apt to do; they were as conscious of using -a title for a name when they spoke of Augustus, as -we are when we use the phrases “His Majesty” or -“His Highness,” in speaking of royal personages.</p> - -<p>Various alternatives had been suggested, and been -rejected either as deficient in dignity, as having been -used before, or as being applicable to Rome alone -and not to the whole Empire; the man who hit<span class="pagenum" id="Page_130">130</span> -upon the word which satisfied public opinion, both -in Rome and the provinces, was, strangely enough, -no other than that Plancus, whose undignified floppings -had amused Cleopatra and the Eunuchs of her -Court. The etymology of the word may be held to -be still uncertain, but the associations which it suggested -to the ancients are indisputable; it was used -of things or places, and especially the latter, marked -out by the gods as the abodes of divinity or -particularly connected with their service; the association -of ideas was somewhat similar to that -implied in our own use of the word “consecrated”; -but a place which was “augustus” was rather -more than “consecrated”; it was not merely devoted -to the service of the deities, but the gods -themselves had signified their will that it should be -so; its transference to a man was a declaration that -the gods had selected him as their instrument; it -did not ascribe divinity to the man, but it asserted -that the man was entitled to the respect due to one -who was specially under the protection of the gods; -he was not a god, but the divine will was manifested -in him. The distinction, though clear, is too subtle -for the ordinary human intelligence, and the use of -the epithet and its Greek equivalent rapidly led to -an actual worship of the man, which, though discountenanced -in Italy, was permitted, and eventually -encouraged in the provinces. Such a thing appears -to us impossible; we are even shocked at its impiety; -for us there has been one Incarnation, and one only; -we can more readily transfer ourselves to the mental -condition of those who made their gods in the likeness<span class="pagenum" id="Page_131">131</span> -of men than of those who in men saw gods. While some -of us do not shrink from the irreverence of attributing -to tables and chairs and hats and bits of deal supernatural -powers, and from believing them to be -channels of communication between ourselves and -the spiritual world, we shrink from declaring, what -surely should be simpler and more reverent, that -certain human beings have been elected by the Deity -to declare His will to men, that to treat them with -insufficient respect is to rebel against the divine will, -and that to worship them is to worship the Deity who -is pleased to permit a portion of His Divine essence -to reside in them. So far have we travelled from -the conception of godship prevalent among the -ancients, and even among our subjects in India at -the present day, that it is hardly possible to present -the views of the contemporaries of Augustus without -using language suspected of irreverence. That -danger, however, must be faced, if we would understand -one of the forces which helped to bind the Roman -Empire together, for though the idea of assigning -Divine honours to a man is repugnant to us, to the -ancients it was natural.</p> - -<p>At all times and in all countries it is difficult to -define the current convictions of human beings as -to non-human or supra-human agencies; we always -find a minority who reflect and study and discuss, -a majority who tremble; if we pay attention only to -the enlightened men of any particular period, we find -a certain resemblance in their speculations, a similar -tendency to distinguish between superstition and -religion, a disinclination to ascribe to the divine<span class="pagenum" id="Page_132">132</span> -agencies vulgar and petty interference with human -concerns; on the other hand, if we fix our attention -upon the voiceless multitude, we find no distinction -between religion and superstition, and a strong inclination -to see even in trivial occurrences an intervention -of the divinity. We cannot gather from -Plato or Cicero the religious faith of the majority -of the active men of their day; still less can we infer -it from the mythologies of the poets. Polytheism -had no dogmatic faith; it did not ask a man to state -what he believed; it took note of what he did. Deference -to accepted forms of worship was expected; -men paid a mutual respect to one another’s observances; -all methods of conciliating the favour of the -gods were good; the dangerous man was the man -of no observances; there was no knowing what -wrath he might bring down upon the community. -Many of the ancients developed eclectic tendencies -in the matter of religion; the temper of Herodotus -was a common one among the enlightened, and the -inclination to see points of resemblance in various -cults rather than to emphasize differences. Germanicus -was travelling from shrine to shrine in the -East when he caught the fever which killed him; -Apuleius at a later date travelled widely with a view -to being initiated into the different mysteries. The -conception that there was One God and One God -only who ought to be worshipped, and that acts of -adoration to other divinities, or powers in which -divinity was recognized, constituted an act of treason -to Him, was an impossible conception to the ancients; -in spite of the unitarian tendencies, which we may<span class="pagenum" id="Page_133">133</span> -detect even in Hesiod, and which became increasingly -prevalent among the speculative philosophers, a -deity was local rather than universal; it would have -been dangerous to attempt to substitute the worship -of Pallas Athene at Ephesus for that of Artemis, to -remove Jupiter Capitolinus at Rome and put Melkarth -in his place; but no Ephesian thought the Athenian -wrong in worshipping Pallas, no Roman saw a dangerous -heresy in the cult of Melkarth at Tyre or Carthage.</p> - -<p>The association between religion and morality -was only slowly established; the god was not better -than the man; he was stronger than the man; -thus mere power unaccompanied by moral excellence -had a divine character even in a man. To us the Incarnate -God is necessarily the perfection of moral -excellence; to the ancients the manifestation of -power was in itself an indication of the divine favour; -and similarly in the case of his worshippers, provided -the priest did not infringe the regulations of the prescribed -ritual in preparing for or conducting an act of -worship; his moral character was a matter of indifference; -he might bring down the divine wrath upon the -community by paring his nails at the wrong time, just -as much as by the infringement of social obligations, -or by personal debauchery; ritual and not morality -was the province of religion.</p> - -<p>In the didactic work of Hesiod, the Farm and the -Calendar, which was used by the Greeks much as we -use a catechism, minute and trivial points of cleanliness -and decency rank with perjury and violence; -to neglect the former, to commit the latter, alike involved -the displeasure of the immortals. The Italians<span class="pagenum" id="Page_134">134</span> -were enslaved by minute ritual even more than the -Greeks; they were more superstitious; the worship -of the Lares and of the ancestors, the faith in fortune, -the dread of the unlucky, survived among cultivated -Italians to a late period. Italy is still profoundly -superstitious; men who have shaken off the authority -of the Church still dread the evil eye, and witchcraft -of a peculiar kind is still firmly believed in by the -peasants of central Italy; the strega is still a power -in the villages of the Bolognese.</p> - -<p>The ancients had nothing to set against the ascription -of Divine powers to a man, though for the enlightened -it was possible to distinguish between -ceremonial acts whose purpose was to propitiate the -Divinity behind the man, and the worship of the -man himself as a divine being; nor did death -terminate the power of the favoured individual; the -spirit was even more powerful when released from -the accidents of humanity. Among the Italians -faith in the power of the dead, and a considerable -dread of their continued interference in the concerns -of the living, was a lively faith, and exemplified in -many curious ways; and thus the worship of Augustus, -which was officially recognized only in the provinces -during his lifetime, was extended to Italy after -his death. This worship was not an exclusive worship; -it did not destroy or even impair the cults of other -divinities; it was only another god added to the -celestial hierarchy, another saint canonized; but -this particular worship was alone in being universal -throughout the Empire and officially sanctioned; in -Gaul it was imposed.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_135">135</span></p> - -<p>It is particularly worthy of attention that the care -of the worship of Augustus was assigned to freedmen; -the Augustales, whose duty it was in each town to -maintain the cult, were to be “libertini”; in Rome -the Prætor Peregrinus, the foreigner’s judge, presided -over its feasts, and it was associated with the worship -of the Lares of the Compitalia, that is to say, with the -oratories in the streets at which the slaves paid their -devotions. Men of all nationalities driven together -as slaves in the great cities, far from their native -gods, found a common cult and a common protector -in Augustus. It was not long before the worship -of Augustus became indistinguishable from the -worship of the Empire, and each successive Emperor -received divine honours, as manifesting that abstraction; -to deny the divinity of the Emperor, to -refuse to spill a little wine, or cast a few grains of -incense in his honour, was to rebel against the civil -organization accepted by mankind; it was as difficult -to evade the obligation as for an English soldier -to refuse to drink to the health of his sovereign. -The Jews alone protested, and for a long while their -protest was accepted; they did not pray to the Emperor, -but they prayed for him.</p> - -<p>Augustus met his worshippers halfway; his own -temperament was profoundly religious, as religion -was understood by his contemporaries; he substituted -the divine right of the Emperor for the divine right -of the Senate; he was not a madman like Caligula, -jealous of other divinities; on the contrary, he made -every effort to restore cults which were being abandoned, -and to revive both public and private observances.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_136">136</span> -If he did not believe in his own divinity in -the sense which the words would convey to us, he -was equally removed from the robust scepticism of -Vespasian, who remarked in his last moments: -“Bah! I feel I am turning into a god!” His attitude -towards his own divinity was a reverential one; it -did not encourage him to set human laws at defiance, -and flagrantly override the rights of other men; on -the contrary he practised a studied humility, and -seemed to feel that if he was himself a god, it was -incumbent upon him to see that due respect was paid -to other members of the same fraternity; in dealing -with men he anticipated the Popes in assuming the -attitude of the “Servus Servorum Dei.” There was -no deliberate imposture, no conscious pose. When -Cromwell enumerated to an unruly assembly the -successive events in his career which had placed him -at the head of affairs, and claimed that they bore -witness to a special Providence, he expressed in the -language of his time and country the same association -of ideas which convinced Octavian that there was -something supernatural in the chain of events, in -the unbroken success, which had given him power -far greater than Cromwell’s. There was no arrogance -in the claim; there was humility; he ascribed to -powers not his own a series of successes in which a -less reverently minded man would have seen nothing -but the evidence of his own surpassing ability. It -was not merely political astuteness which led him -to act in everything as an ordinary citizen, to vote, -to ask for votes, to live without magnificence or -ostentatious expenditure; such conduct was the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_137">137</span> -result partly of personal inclination, partly of a sense -of the infinite smallness of such things as marble -columns and silken raiment, costly banquets and -trains of servants in comparison with the greatness -of the destiny imposed upon him. If at the great -shows in the circus he sat on the platform on which -were placed the statues of the gods, he did not thereby -assert equality with them, but claimed their protection -and bore witness to the favour which they -bestowed not only on him, but on the people whose -destinies he guided with their approbation and in -virtue of the powers which they had granted. In -the pages of Tacitus and Suetonius we may detect a -certain flavour of approbation when these historians -tell us that Tiberius or other Emperors refused divine -honours or limited them, and we might be tempted -to infer from this that the assumption of divinity -by the Emperors was contrary to the feeling of the -times; but both Tacitus and Suetonius wrote more -than a century after Octavian had been declared -“Augustus,” and in their days the unitarian faith -of the Jews had begun generally to influence the -educated classes at Rome; Horace could jest lightly -at the Jewish Sabbath; in the time of Suetonius, -if it was not observed as a day of rest all over the -Empire, as Josephus boasts, it was certainly a well -known institution.</p> - -<p>It might be urged that whatever the religious -attitude of Augustus in other respects, he cannot -have believed in his descent from the goddess Venus, -and that Virgil’s great poem in all that concerns -Æneas and Anchises is conscious imposture. To<span class="pagenum" id="Page_138">138</span> -argue in this way is again to misinterpret polytheism. -The faith in Fauns and Satyrs is not absolutely extinct -in Italy even today; the survival of such a faith -suggested the plot of Hawthorne’s exquisite romance, -<i>Transformation</i>. Charles Leland discovered traces -of it in Tuscany and Umbria.</p> - -<p>The ancients had not arrived at our modern accuracy -of definition with regard to the divine and -the human, the natural and the supernatural; even -the most enlightened contemporary of Augustus -might hold a faith as to mixed marriages between -gods and men not dissimilar to that held by many -orthodox Protestants as to miracles—they might -believe that such things did not happen in their own -day, but that they had happened. In the curious -classification of events affecting the lives of the -Emperors adopted by Suetonius a place is always -assigned for portents. Xiphilinus, the Christian -who epitomized Dio Cassius, apologises for the long -lists of portents in his author, and for having cut out -the more trivial of these occurrences, but he leaves -a large number. Faith in portents is in fact always -at hand, and even in these critical days readily springs -to life at a favourable opportunity. With the ancients -it was universal; in those days, as in our own, men -preferred sensation to evidence, and the critical -faculty, even when developed, had no very satisfactory -apparatus which could be applied. As a rule, the -significance of portents was seen after the event which -they portended. Then, as now, nurses and mothers -recalled remarkable circumstances which had attended -the birth and education of children who afterwards<span class="pagenum" id="Page_139">139</span> -became distinguished; and there are few men distinguished -or obscure who have not at some period -of their lives encountered strange coincidences, or -suffered unusual experiences, which, interpreted by -the light of subsequent events, may be held to have -been fraught with mystery. There is no reasonable -doubt that the entrance of Octavian into Rome when -he returned to claim his uncle’s inheritance was -attended by some unusual disposition of the sun’s -rays, possibly a solar halo in which only one of the -mock suns was clearly visible, that the event attracted -notice at the time, and that it inclined men to believe -that the fortunate youth was reserved for a remarkable -destiny—an anticipation which led to its own fulfilment. -Virgil may well have been in earnest when -he hailed the procession of the star of Cæsar and -worked up convenient fragments of legends into the -<i>Æneid</i>; even if he had occasional misgivings, his -inclination was to believe, and to hope that his glorious -web was woven in threads of fact.</p> - -<p>Faith in his divine ancestry, faith in his divine -mission did not enervate Augustus, nor render him -unpractical; he treated his power as a sacred trust, -and used all the resources of a cool intellect and -industrious temperament to further the interests -which he believed to have been committed to his -charge. We are told that in his later years he liked -to believe that there was something superhuman in -his glance, and was pleased when men were unable -to look him in the face—a weakness which was -encouraged by studious flatterers. If this is true, -we may well believe that, like many other men and<span class="pagenum" id="Page_140">140</span> -women, he was insensibly influenced by the attitude -of those around him, and dropped into the place -assigned for him by the universal opinion.</p> - -<p>In any case, Augustus, whether in public or private, -did nothing to jar upon the prejudices of those who -were prepared to believe in his divine mission. He -led such a life as has since been led by many of the -better Popes, and at least one English statesman. -Gossip, always busy with the supposed amatory -proclivities of great men, has not spared him in this -respect, but even if there were any foundation for -the idle stories which have been handed down, the -ancients would not have been scandalized; the -somewhat coarse pleasantries which have also been -attributed to him would have scarcely attracted -attention in his own day.</p> - -<p>By his peculiar personality Augustus was able to -stamp upon the Roman Empire a character which -has never left it—he made it a religion as well as a -state; and it was due to his work, and to his sense -of the sacredness of his work, that there are still men -living even in England who cannot feel happy in the -regulation of what they believe to be their most -important concerns, unless they are assured that -their actions are in accordance with the dictates of -the authority from across the mountains, which is -resident in Rome.</p> - -<p>It is a curious fact that many of those men and -women whose personal appearance was felt by their -own contemporaries to be in the highest degree awe-inspiring -were small: Napoleon was small, Louis XIV -was small, among Queens Elizabeth was small, and<span class="pagenum" id="Page_141">141</span> -Her late Majesty Victoria unusually small. Augustus -was no exception—he was short, slight, and halted -perceptibly in his gait; but these personal disadvantages -did not detract from his dignity. If we compare -the portrait of Julius Cæsar in the British Museum -with the bust of the young Augustus, or the head -of the magnificent statue of the Emperor found in -Livia’s villa near the Prima Porta, we are struck by -a remarkable difference. It is possible to bring the -face of Cæsar to life again; we can recall the dark -and liquid eyes, and set the strongly marked muscles -of the face in motion; we would hardly be astonished -were the lips to open, and we can anticipate the clear -even enunciation of the words to which they would -give utterance. But with the portraits of Augustus -it is otherwise; they are strangely inscrutable. The -bust known as the young Augustus is the portrait -of a boy, or at the oldest of a lad of sixteen. It must -have been modelled at a time when the future even -of Julius Cæsar was not assured. The artist may -have flattered, but that particular form of flattery -can hardly have been designed; the habit of thoughtfulness -is seldom expressed to the same degree in the -features of boys and young men. Similarly in the -older portrait there is an aloofness; it is the face of a -man who would always tempt a careful observer to -wish to know more about him, and who would always -elude curiosity. The next Emperor who was canonized -was Claudius. Of him, too, we have many -authentic portraits; even in the most idealized we -can see something of the man whose apotheosis -gave Seneca the materials for a merry jest. It is the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_142">142</span> -face of a man who was perpetually puzzled, whereas -the face of Augustus is the countenance of one who -perpetually puzzled other men.</p> - -<p>The great work of establishing the Roman Empire -was not the work of a charlatan or a criminal, in both -of which characters Augustus has been represented. -It was the work of a man who shared many of the -crude beliefs of his own time and unconsciously used -them for his own purposes, and those purposes were -not self regarding. An Antonius could squander -great gifts in the pursuit of what earthly happiness -is afforded by dissolute excesses—he could allow his -soldiers to perish of hunger and disease while he -hastened to the embraces of an accomplished courtesan; -he could shamelessly desert loyal veterans at the -bidding of a licentious woman, and seek salvation in -the wake of her purple sails; such was the hero -whom Augustus annihilated, such the conception of -responsibility which he replaced by a devotion to -duty which has rarely been equalled and never -surpassed.</p> - -<p>The reign of Augustus was monotonous, his policy -unadventurous. If these are defects, we are at least -at liberty to prefer them to the excellences of those -more brilliant reigns and more adventurous rulers -who succeeded in dazzling the world, but failed to lay -the foundations for a long era of prosperity. The -career of Napoleon is more startling than that of -Augustus, his military record incomparable with the -simple successes of the earlier Emperor, but Napoleon -left France with a diminished frontier, and Augustus -left Italy the undoubted mistress of the civilized world.</p> - -<hr /> - -<div id="toclink_143" class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_143">143</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="V">V<br /> - -<span class="subhead">Education of Tiberius</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class="drop-cap"><span class="smcap1">Though</span> the apparent results of a careful -education are often disappointing, the impressions -received in early childhood are permanent -in their effects. The man who has been brought up -in a particular atmosphere retains the influence -through life, even though his acts may seem to be -in strong contrast with his training; the son of a -Quaker family may break with all the traditions of -the Society of Friends in his maturity, but he is never -quite the same as a man who has not been under the -rigid family discipline of that estimable sect. A man -may throw off all the bonds imposed by the severe -domestic arrangements of a Scotch Elder, he may elect -to bring up his own children on liberal lines, and -banish the shorter Catechism from his household, -but he cannot shake off the consciousness of another -kind of life which was forced upon him by his early -experiences. In the case of Tiberius we can trace to -the very end of his life the influences to which his -youth and early manhood were subjected. There -was no break with early traditions; the aspect of -details changed, the estimate of their relative mutual -importance was modified, but the spirit with which -they were approached was always the same.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_144">144</span></p> - -<p>The antiquaries have much to tell us of the material -arrangements of a Roman house, but we are not so -well informed by them as to its occupants. There -is a disposition to ascribe all that was good in Roman -family life to an indeterminate period anterior to that -progressive decay of good manners and good morals -which, according to our authorities, was the distinguishing -feature of the Empire. Exceptional instances -of extravagance are quoted as texts for the supposed -rule, the humorous or declamatory exaggerations of -satirists are treated as if they were the evidence of -sober witnesses, and the spirit which works behind -the whole of Roman history is dealt with as of no -account in comparison with the letter of promiscuous -citations.</p> - -<p>If we wish to revive the ideas which were associated -by the Romans with their princely houses, we must -think rather of such Roman palaces as are described -by Mr. Marion Crawford in his Italian Romances; -we must add to this conception something of a -mediæval court, something too of the great mercantile -house of the Renascence. So far as the family was -concerned which inhabited such a house as Pompeius -built for himself in the Carinæ, it was often composed -of many generations, and of persons connected by -various degrees of affinity; it was a patriarchal -establishment, at whose head stood the eldest man -of full age descended in the line of primogeniture -from the founder—it was not merely the home of a -man and his wife and their children. Nor again was -the house only a place of residence: it was a place of -business, and the business was of many kinds—some<span class="pagenum" id="Page_145">145</span> -of it was political, some financial, some legal, some -industrial. In private as in public life at Rome there -was not that strict differentiation of functions, and -fine division of labour and responsibility, which comparatively -recent experiences have caused our contemporaries -to regard as a law of existence.</p> - -<p>The Roman Empire was not built upon the foundations -afforded by the assembly of the Tribes, or the -assembly of the Centuries, or even by the Senate -itself, but upon the surpassing ability of the great -families and the suitability of their organization for -the work which fell into their hands. Collectively -as the Senate they exhibited similar ability during -a period which was long enough to fix the reputation -of Rome, but this period was both preceded and -followed by times in which the work of individual -houses was supremely effective. The Imperial household -differed in nothing but the greater extent of -its responsibilities from other households. Augustus -was not the only Roman noble who lived upon the -Palatine Hill, and his establishment was ostentatiously -modest; many of his contemporaries lived in finer -palaces, and exhibited greater magnificence in private, -but the moderation of Augustus was only relative, -and his house was able to find room at different times -for two successive commanders-in-chief, Agrippa and -Tiberius, with their families and dependents. If -Roman history was presented to young Romans in -a form which drew their attention largely to such -purely constitutional questions as the quarrels between -the Patricians and Plebeians, it did not omit the -legends of the great houses. The Senatorial dynasty<span class="pagenum" id="Page_146">146</span> -had its heroic mythology; Horatius who kept the -bridge, Cincinnatus who left his plough to command -the army, the Fabians who all died in one day for -their country, Curtius who leapt into the gulf, occupied -in the imagination of Roman boys much the same -place as King Alfred and his cakes occupy in the mind -of the English boy. Every funeral of a member of -one of the great families paraded before the eyes of -Rome the effigies of men associated with stirring -events in the history of the city, and filled their ears -with the stories of great deeds. So far as the Romans -knew their own history, they knew it in connexion -with the names of the great houses, with whom -indeed it was so closely associated that it was considered -somewhat scandalous in the reign of Tiberius that a -man who did not belong to one of these houses should -take upon himself to write and publish a history.</p> - -<p>For many years a comparatively small group of -families at Rome managed the affairs of an area -which has since found work for the statesmen and -administrators of several kingdoms. Collectively -they worked through the Senate and constitutional -officials, individually through the system of clientele -which was expanded from a domestic institution to -a world-embracing system. Communities, as well -as private persons, put themselves in connexion with -great families at Rome, who were pledged to watch -their interests; over and above the public official -connexion with the Senate there was the private -non-official connexion with individual senatorial -families. Slaves and freedmen gathered from all -parts of the civilized world strengthened and extended<span class="pagenum" id="Page_147">147</span> -the family connexions. The sons of minor potentates -were sent to reside with Roman noblemen, and receive -a Roman education; capable adventurers such as -the Herod family scented out the strong men of Rome -and allied themselves to their fortunes. The minute -subdivision of ancient society even after the creation -of the Roman Provinces continued the patronage -system beyond the time at which it might seem to -have been naturally extinguished. Sicily might be -a Roman Province, but individual Sicilian cities might -still feel the need of a permanent advocate at Rome. -The Roman Governor changed from year to year, -but the dynasty of an Æmilian or a Claudian was -perpetual.</p> - -<p>Thus in one of its aspects, and not its least important -aspect, a Roman family was a community in itself, -with many and far-reaching interests; the capacity -of its chief personage was a matter of importance to -a very large number of men and women; his failure -involved the ruin of a hierarchy of relatives and -dependents. Even in the earlier and simpler days -of Rome the sons of the family were carefully trained -to represent the family in the Forum and the Senate, -to manage its estates, to conduct its financial relations -and the extension of the family connexions, to hold -office, to command armies. Greek culture added to the -conception of obligation to the family, obligation to the -state; Greek and Roman ideals alike forbade the young -Roman noble to neglect himself. Even his deportment, -his manners, his gestures were serious matters; -he could not afford to be ungainly, or to express -himself awkwardly. If a son proved to be physically<span class="pagenum" id="Page_148">148</span> -or morally incapable of receiving the required training, -Roman sentiment was not shocked by his supersession -or removal. We have a curious illustration of this -in the story of the Emperor Claudius. He was the -younger brother of Germanicus, the son of Drusus, -the grandson of Livia. In the ordinary course of -events he would have been introduced to public life -like his brother, but he was awkward, he rolled in his -gait, his tongue was too large for his mouth, he -stammered and sputtered, his family, and even his -mother, were ashamed of him, he was kept in the -background, and practically pensioned off. He was, -however, a serious student, a linguist, or at any rate -a philologist; as Emperor he planned and carried -out works of great public utility; he was an extensive -writer, an industrious worker. He may have been -of feeble character, easily led by favourites and women, -but his reign was by no means a disastrous one. No -ancient writer, however, protests against the prejudice, -which deprived Claudius of all opportunities of -advancement, till a supposed freak of the soldiers -made him Emperor; they unanimously accept with -approval the verdict of Augustus, that he was unfitted -by his personal defects for public life. Similarly the -youngest son of Agrippa and Julia, the youngest -grandson of Augustus himself, was removed from -Rome, and sequestered in an island “on account of -his intractability”; but though his subsequent fate -is one of the many counts in the process against the -reputation of Tiberius, no fault is found with Augustus -for thus eliminating a member of his family who did -not prove amenable to discipline.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_149">149</span></p> - -<p>Duty to the family, duty to the State, or it might be -first duty to the State, then duty to the family, were -impressed upon the young Roman noble as the conditions -of his existence; he lived, like the heir-apparent -to a throne, in a court which forced upon him the -traditions and observances which the maintenance -of the court demanded. If the father neglected his -children, and evaded the responsibility of training -them, there were numerous other persons ready and -willing to undertake his work. The presiding genius -of a Roman family was not infrequently an aged lady, -or a trusted freedman, deeply imbued with the -importance of the house and the sanctity of its -traditions.</p> - -<p>For the first nine years of his life Tiberius lived -with his father—a man serious, fond of learning, full -of the republican tradition. It is not impossible that, -in spite of the association with Octavian through -Livia, the house was to some extent a meeting place -of the remnant of the Republican party. We at -least know that one of these men made the young -Tiberius his heir, and adopted him by his will; he -seems to have been allowed to take the succession, but -had to refuse the adoption, because his benefactor -was anti-Cæsarian. The elder Tiberius, not being -engaged in public business, would have plenty of time -to give to his children, and Roman children in a Roman -family of the old-fashioned type were much with -their parents. We are told that Tiberius was very -carefully educated; at his father’s death he was -already sufficiently well advanced in recitation to -pronounce the customary eulogy at his funeral. Up<span class="pagenum" id="Page_150">150</span> -to this time everything in his surroundings would tend -to encourage a naturally severe temperament; it can -hardly have been a cheerful home, this house of the -lost cause. The affections of the boy expanded -themselves upon his brother Drusus, his junior by -more than two years, to whom his attachment was -deep and lasting.</p> - -<p>On the death of their father the two boys were -transferred to the care of their mother and stepfather, -who was now their guardian. Tiberius was old -enough to resent such an arrangement, but there -is no evidence that he did so; he accepted his stepfather -loyally, and Octavian himself was scrupulously -careful of the interests of his stepsons. Diplomatic -divorces and re-marriages were of such common -occurrence in the Roman houses at this period that -no slight was felt or intended, and as a rule the divorced -parties maintained friendly relations. Octavia, the -sister of Octavian, was neglected and eventually -repudiated by Antonius, but she nevertheless took -good care of his children by a former marriage, the -children of the tigress Fulvia.</p> - -<p>Scribonia, the divorced wife of Octavian, continued -to be on sufficiently friendly terms with his family -to watch over her daughter Julia, not altogether to -the latter’s advantage, and eventually accompanied -her into exile. Where marriage was treated entirely -as a business arrangement, there was no room for -wounded feelings, and children were not tempted to -feel themselves aggrieved by a change of parents, -or to cherish resentment. When a wife was repudiated -on account of infidelity, and therefore<span class="pagenum" id="Page_151">151</span> -disgraced, there was room for ill-feeling, but not -otherwise.</p> - -<p>As Octavian at a later date set up a school in his -own house for the benefit of his grandchildren and -the children of friends, it is not improbable that a -somewhat similar arrangement was adopted for the -young Neros; the course of grammar, the course -of rhetoric, the course of philosophy would be duly -followed out. Except in the far greater attention -paid to elocution, the formal education will have -differed little from that of an Eton boy in the middle -of the nineteenth century. Both Roman and English -boy learned Greek, and the Roman boy had the -advantage of learning it as a spoken language; -neither had a systematic instruction in mathematics, -though the Roman had the advantage of being -drilled in keeping accounts. But far more valuable -than the formal instruction was the informal education -given by the circumstances of the family. The -Romans kept early hours, and it was customary for -the children to dine in the same room with their -parents, though at different tables. Octavian, partly -from choice, partly from necessity imposed upon -him by weak health, was not given to large entertainments. -His table was a simple one, old-fashioned -observances were rigorously maintained, but the -company was choice. The children could sit and -listen while the conversation was being conducted -by Horace and Virgil; all the latest inventions, all -the newest literature, everything that did not pertain -to secret diplomacy, was discussed at that table. There -was Mæcenas with his charming manners and casual<span class="pagenum" id="Page_152">152</span> -dress; Agrippa, somewhat silent as a rule, but -animated enough when the roof of the Pantheon or -the model of a light galley had to be described to -an appreciative audience; there too was Cornelius -Gallus, the brilliant gentleman and poet, betraying -by his passionate vivacity his Gallic origin; Varius -too would be there ready to recite his last heroic -poem. After dinner there would be amusements, -sometimes games of chance for small stakes, sometimes -recitations; or the last fashionable preacher, some -Greek or Greek-speaking Jew, would discourse of -virtue to the admiration of Livia and the ladies. -Chieftains from Gaul and Spain, Princes from the East -or Africa, wealthy citizens from Antioch or Alexandria -or the cities of Asia Minor, were all to be met at -that simple table, wondering at the exiguity of the -repast, but none the less impressed by the personality -of their host. The opportunity was a rare one for -a youth who was bent on self-improvement, and it -was not neglected by Tiberius or his brother.</p> - -<p>Along with them was brought up Julia, the spoiled -child of the family, and cousin Marcellus with his -two sisters, the children of Octavia, whose other -daughter, Antonia, was to be the wife of Drusus, and -the lifelong friend of Tiberius, perhaps the most -beautiful of Roman women.</p> - -<p>There could be no better preparation for a life -devoted to the public service than this household, -in which power only served to increase the sense of -responsibility, in which the routine of every day -was a routine of duty, and the command of the -resources of the civilized world did not add a dish<span class="pagenum" id="Page_153">153</span> -to the table, a garment to the wardrobe, or a superfluous -slave to the servants’ hall.</p> - -<p>The atmosphere of the household of Augustus -is not to be found in the scandalous gossip occasionally -repeated by Suetonius or Tacitus, but in the works -of Horace and Virgil; both poets repeatedly insist -on the merits of simplicity, not because they were -commissioned to do so, but because their own personal -tastes and habits fell into line with those of the master -of the civilized world.</p> - -<p>The education of a young Roman was not confined -to his home; he accompanied his father to war when -he was old enough, and on peaceful expeditions at all -times, where a great train did not involve inconvenience. -Tiberius was probably still too young -to attend Octavian on his Eastern tour after the -battle of Actium, but when he was only seventeen -he accompanied him to Spain, and there took his first -lessons in the field, just as Octavian himself had -previously been trained under Cæsar. A Roman -was considered to be of age when he was sixteen, and -he was quickly tested by being called upon to undertake -minor responsibilities. In all departments of -public life Tiberius had the advantage of the example -and precept of the best authorities. The staff of -Agrippa, and perhaps Agrippa himself, were ready -to instruct him in the latest developments of the art -of war; for finance and diplomacy he could go to -Mæcenas. Octavian was a practised and careful -orator; no one of these men could afford to slumber -on his laurels; they were all hard at work modifying -the old, organizing the new. The secrets of the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_154">154</span> -Empire so frequently alluded to by Tacitus were -not so very mysterious; hard work, discretion, tact, -public spirit, formed the bulk of them. The time -for intriguing came after the apprenticeship of -Tiberius was finished, and the intriguers were not -the men who had taught him his business.</p> - -<p>Of the personal influences to which Tiberius was -submitted in his youth the one best known to us -is that of Horace, who incidentally throws a light -upon his character as a young man. In the year -21 <span class="allsmcap">B.C.</span> Augustus made a progress to the East, visiting -notable cities on the way, and regulating their affairs. -The chief object of the tour was, however, to settle -the Eastern frontier of the Empire. Syria was to -Rome what the North-West Provinces of India are -to England; Herod and Aretas of Arabia with the -princes of Armenia played the part of the Ameer of -Afghanistan; they were the buffer states between -Roman civilization and the aggressive powers of -Central Asia. Their fidelity was by no means beyond -suspicion, and from the mountains of Armenia, -all along the west of the Euphrates down to the -borders of Egypt, continuous intriguing prevailed, -every ambitious kinglet making use of one or the -other of the great powers to strengthen his position -against his rivals. The strongest of these chieftains -were the rulers of Armenia and Herod the Idumæan; -the former were unquestionably treacherous, and -their proximity to the Parthians rendered them -peculiarly liable to wavering; the latter played skilfully -for his own hand. So long as Rome was strong, -Herod was her obedient servant, but if Rome showed<span class="pagenum" id="Page_155">155</span> -signs of weakness, Herod had no scruples against -making friends with a stronger power in order to -further his own ends.</p> - -<p>Since Cæsar had conquered Pharnaces, the son of -Mithridates, by his mere apparition, the prestige of -Rome in the East had been considerably damaged. -The expeditions of Antonius against the Parthians -had been unsuccessful, and a serious catastrophe -had only been averted by the valour of his lieutenant, -Ventidius Bassus, a former mule-driver; by submitting -Herod to the demands of Cleopatra’s cupidity, he had -to some extent alienated the Idumæan, and encouraged -him to distrust Roman politicians. Now that the -Spanish war was over and the Western half of the -Empire in good order, Augustus wisely determined -to study his Eastern questions on the spot, and make -such a demonstration of power as would determine -the judgment of waverers in favour of Rome. The -plan of operations was to send an army through -Asia Minor into Armenia, and thence if necessary -along the Tigris into Parthia, while the possible allies -of the Parthians in Syria were to be overawed simultaneously -by the presence of the Emperor. The -command of the army destined for Armenia was -given to Tiberius, now twenty-one years of age. Both -operations were successful; there was not much -fighting, but the Parthians saw that Rome was in -earnest, and made terms, sending back the standards -which had been taken from Crassus some thirty years -before; the Roman party in Armenia was strengthened -by a change of rulers, and Tiberius returned in -triumph. His first essay in war and diplomacy was -successful.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_156">156</span></p> - -<p>Tiberius had taken with him a staff of secretaries, -or literary companions, with whom Horace was in -correspondence, the chief of whom seems to have -been Julius Florus, a Romanized Gaul. From the -tone of Horace’s letters to these young men we learn -much of the future Emperor. It would seem that -Tiberius had formed the idea of surrounding himself -with what Horace on one occasion humorously calls -“a gang” of earnestly minded young men. Their -characteristics may be inferred from the following -<span class="locked">letter:—</span></p> - -<p>“I am very anxious to know, Julius Florus, the -quarter of the world in which Claudius the stepson -of Augustus is campaigning. Are you in Thrace, -or on the Bosphorus, or the rich plains and hills -of Asia? What works is the studious company -a-building? I should like to know this too. Who is -undertaking to write the history of Augustus? Who -is going to give immortality to his wars and peaceful -exploits? What is Titius writing, Titius whom all -Romans will sing, who has not been afraid to tap -the Pindaric sources, and has ventured to turn away -from commonplace pools and streams? Is he well? -Does he think of me? Does he labour with the aid -of the Muse to fit the Theban metres to Latin strings, -or does he rage and bluster in tragedy? Tell me what -Celsus is doing? Warn him against plagiary, tell -him to beware of the fate of the daw in borrowed -plumes. And what are your own ventures? What -are the thyme beds about which you lightly hover? -You have no mean ability, you are polished, refined, -and will win the first prize as an advocate in private<span class="pagenum" id="Page_157">157</span> -or public suits, or as a poet of the lighter kind. But -if you could give up the chilling pursuit of business, -you would go where inspired wisdom would lead you. -This is the work and interest which should be sped -by us all, whether small or great, if we wish to live in -peace with our country and ourselves. You must also -tell me this when you write, mind you do, how are -you getting on with Munatius? Does the badly -patched fellowship join and split again to no purpose? -And are your independent spirits galled either by -hot-headedness or misunderstanding? Wherever you -both may happen to be, you who should not break -the bond of brotherhood, I shall be very glad indeed -to see you back again.”</p> - -<p>Here is another letter to Celsus, the young gentleman -who made somewhat too free use of the poems -in the Palatine <span class="locked">Library:—</span></p> - -<p>“I beg you, Muse, to convey my compliments -to Celsus Albinovanus, the companion and secretary -of Nero. If he asks what I am doing, tell him that -though I threaten all kinds of fine things, I am neither -living properly nor pleasantly; not because my vines -have been smashed by the hail, or my olives parched -with the heat, or my cattle sick on the outlying -lands, but because, more ill at ease in mind than -body, I refuse to hear or learn anything that is -good for an invalid, am annoyed with my faithful -physicians, furious with my friends, because they -try to deliver me from my deadly laziness; I am -bent on what is bad for me, I avoid what I know -to be good for me; I am fickle enough to be in love -with Tibur at Rome, with Rome at Tibur. After<span class="pagenum" id="Page_158">158</span> -this ask him how he is, how he manages his business -and himself, how he gets on with his young chief -and the company. If he says ‘well,’ first congratulate -him, and then don’t forget to whisper just this -little bit of advice into his ear, ‘Our treatment of -you, Celsus, will depend upon the way you treat -your own good fortune.’”</p> - -<p>Other letters to Bullatius, to Albius, to Municius, -to Secius, to Lollius are much in the same strain. -Though these young men were not demonstrably -included in the inner circle of the friends of Tiberius, -they belonged to the same social rank; in all -there is the same playfulness, in all good advice is -conveyed in tactful form. In Lollius Horace seems -to have felt a special interest; he too was a companion -to some notable person, probably Drusus. Horace -gives Lollius many practical directions, somewhat in -the style of Polonius, as to his behaviour to his patron, -Lollius being of an independent spirit, and irascible. -Horace is particularly fond of impressing upon his -young friends the duty of “living for themselves,” -of considering wealth, fame, and even public usefulness, -as of less importance than a good conscience. -The moral earnestness of Horace is often underrated, -as the moral earnestness of R. L. Stevenson is underrated, -and of many other writers whose teaching -has not run in the grooves prescribed by the professional -preachers of their day. Horace had no -love for the worthy gentlemen who improved the -occasion after dining with Augustus; the red eyes -of Crispinus affected him as the red nose of Stiggins -affected Dickens; he had equally little patience<span class="pagenum" id="Page_159">159</span> -with those men who labelled themselves Stoic or -Epicurean or Cyrenaic, and professed to live according -to the authorized manuals of the sects; the pretentiousness -of the professors of virtue and the -proselytising Jews disgusted him, as similar manifestations -are wont to disgust humorous men at -all ages and in all places, but these men have had -their revenge in the solemnity with which for nearly -two thousand years they have deplored his levity. -Few men, however, have lived more consistently -with their professions than Horace, and the world -would be none the worse if his example were less -unfrequently followed. The friendship of Mæcenas, -a genuine personal affection, and not a mere literary -or convivial sympathy, gave Horace many opportunities -of enriching himself, or at least of parading his -power; it was something to be the friend of the -second or third man in the Roman Empire. But -Horace studiously resisted every temptation to make -use of this friendship; he would not even allow -himself to be made the recognised channel of introduction -for his literary friends. The time came -when Augustus wished to transfer him to his own -household—the letter is still extant in which the -offer was made, and the greater opportunities -hinted at—but Horace would not hear of such an -advancement. It speaks well for Augustus that -he was not offended by the refusal. From Mæcenas -Horace accepted a moderate independence, sufficient -for his needs, but a small gift to come from one of -the richest men of his day. He was grateful, but -he refused to sell his soul, and we still have the letter<span class="pagenum" id="Page_160">160</span> -in which he bids Mæcenas take back his bounty, -if it is to involve obligations which the poet cannot -meet without injury to his health, or undue disturbance -of his comfort. He adds with characteristic -humour and strict justice, “but if you take back -the Sabine Farm, you must restore to me the youth -and vigour I enjoyed when I first entered your -service.”</p> - -<p>Men who cannot distinguish an official ode written -to order and the forms imposed by such conditions -from the genuine effusions of a literary artist are -fond of accusing Horace of excessive adulation, but -there is no adulation in offering unpalatable advice, -or in pointing out to a patron that he is exceeding -his prerogative. Instances may be found in the -Odes, as well as in the Epistles, of not altogether -complimentary exhortation. The truth was that -Augustus was surprisingly the right man in the -right place, and the compliments paid to him by -Horace and Virgil and other literary contemporaries, -though expressed in a liberal style, were not in spirit -other than the occasion demanded. Epitaphs and -dedications have a language of their own—Italy is -more given to hyperbolical compliment than England—but -the men who declared their admiration of -Augustus, however extravagantly to our ears, had -sound reason for admiring and wishing others to -admire a very capable man surrounded by capable -advisers and seconded by able lieutenants.</p> - -<p>It is not probable that the first book of the letters -of Horace was published in the lifetime of the poet, -for they are often too intimate for publication.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_161">161</span> -Lollius would not be likely to give the world the -benefit of his castigation, or Mæcenas to allow contemporaries -to enjoy the protest against his thoughtless -insistence on the poet’s company. The collection -was most probably made after the death of the writer, -and the dedicatory letter placed at the beginning -may equally well have referred to some other publication. -Horace is not the only facile writer of verse -who has occasionally amused himself with writing -to his friends in metre, and the sting of some things -which he wished to say was to some extent dulled by -the adoption of a metrical form. We may take it -that in the first book of the Epistles, if nowhere else, -we have the genuine Horace writing without respect -of persons, and without regard to the public. A -peculiar interest therefore attaches to the one short -letter in the collection which is written to Tiberius -himself; it is a letter of introduction.</p> - -<p>“Septimius I presume has some special information -as to the esteem in which you hold me, Claudius; -for in begging and prayerfully compelling me to try -to say a good word for him, and introduce him as -worthy of the intellect and family of that sound -reader Nero, in asserting that I enjoy the privileges -of an intimate friend, he sees and knows my power -better than I do myself. I certainly gave a good -many reasons for being let off with an excuse, but -I was afraid of being thought to have falsely pretended -incompetence, and to be given to disguising my real -influence, and reserving it for my own sole use. So, -in dread of the disgrace of a greater obloquy, I have -entered for the prize awarded to impudence. If,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_162">162</span> -however, you do not disapprove of my breach of good -manners, committed at the request of a friend, enroll -him in your ‘gang,’ and believe him to be staunch -and good.”</p> - -<p>Knowing as we do from other sources how strongly -Horace objected to turning a private friendship to -account, and how specially careful he was in the -matter of introductions, we can see through this -letter a real intimacy with Tiberius; the apology of -Horace is addressed rather to his own conscience -than to the recipient of the letter. We need not -infer that Tiberius was particularly difficult of approach.</p> - -<p>The qualities which were to render Septimius -acceptable to Tiberius are worth notice; he would -be in sympathy with a man whose standard of reading, -or—for the phrase is ambiguous—choice of pursuit -was dignified, he would be staunch, he would be -good. Good is the epithet which Horace applies to -Tiberius himself in writing to Julius Florus—“Florus -faithful friend to the brilliant and good Nero”; he -uses the same epithet in the Odes in speaking of -a former mistress—“I am not what I was under -the reign of good Cinara.” Without pressing the -sense of the word too closely, it can hardly have been -applied to an ungenial man, such as Tiberius is -represented to have been, and may have afterwards -become. The future Emperor had a weary road -to travel before he became, if he ever did become, -what the elder Pliny says that he was, “a most dismal -man.”</p> - -<p>Thus at the outset of his administrative career<span class="pagenum" id="Page_163">163</span> -we find Tiberius in excellent company; it is pleasant -to think that he may on some occasion have made -an expedition to Tibur or the Sabine Farm, like -Torquatus or Mæcenas, and spent an evening with -the genial poet, drinking old wine laid down in the -consulship of Manlius, watching the wood fire -crackling on the hearth, enjoying the jokes of the -pert slaves, or perhaps listening while his host sang -to his own accompaniment words which the world -has not yet forgotten. We may be sure that there -were rejoicings when the “company” returned from -Asia Minor, that the kid was duly sacrificed, and -that if Tiberius himself was not present, Florus and -Celsus, and let us hope Munatius told the story of -their adventures to the kindly ears of their middle-aged -friend.</p> - -<hr /> - -<div id="toclink_164" class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_164">164</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="VI">VI<br /> - -<span class="subhead">The Family of Augustus</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class="drop-cap"><span class="smcap1">The</span> principle of the transmission of the chief -power by heredity was never recognized -as a fundamental part of the constitution of the -Roman Empire, though the natural tendency is to -allow a son to take his father’s place, and the necessities -of ancestor worship made the succession -of a real son or an adopted son agreeable to Roman -feeling. Neither Cæsar nor Augustus ever had -legitimate sons; Tiberius had a son, but he died -before his father; Caligula was childless; the ambition -of an unscrupulous woman deprived the son -of Claudius of the succession and his life; Nero -was childless, and in him the Cæsarean strain ended. -Circumstances were adverse to the hereditary principle. -Short dynasties, such as those of the Flavians, -the Antonines, and the Constantines, appear from -time to time, but the ordinary method of peaceful -succession was the nomination and adoption of a -successor or successors by the reigning Emperor.</p> - -<p>For many years Augustus himself avoided the -definite establishment of his own position as even a -life tenancy. His office of Imperator was renewed -every ten years; the Tribunician power was granted<span class="pagenum" id="Page_165">165</span> -to him afresh every year in form, though not in -fact; the Censorian office was taken up every five years; -he did not become Pontifex Maximus till eighteen -years after the battle of Actium; the only office -which he held without a break—that of Princeps -Senatus—was not considered to be an office at all, -the dignity of the first man in the Senate being -constitutionally purely of respect. Under these -circumstances it would be strange if the historians -were correct in assuming that the chief preoccupation -of his life was in providing for a successor of his -own blood. Tacitus, who is full of the dynastic -question, informs us, with his customary inconsistency, -that Augustus himself at the end of his life -mentioned three men not connected with the Cæsarean -race as possible candidates for the succession, which -he could hardly have done had he accepted the -hereditary principle, seeing that the Cæsarean stock -was by no means extinct.</p> - -<p>For a short time the vision of hereditary succession -probably attracted the imagination of Augustus, and -certainly always occupied the attention of members -of his family; but the early deaths of two of his -grandsons and the insubordination of a third quickly -dispelled the attractive vision.</p> - -<p>The acquiescence of other Roman families in the -Cæsarean rule was bought partly by admission to -a share in the administration, partly by the very -fact that the dynastic ideal was not forced in such -a manner as to preclude all possibility of a change -in the form of government, and a reversion to the -happy days of the Senatorial oligarchy. Opposition<span class="pagenum" id="Page_166">166</span> -was further disarmed by intermarriages with the -houses least likely to submit contentedly to the -domination of one family; both stocks of the -Claudians, the Antonians, the Domitians, the Æmilians, -the Junians, and others were thus united with -the Julians in the lifetime of Augustus or his successor. -The consular lists for the reign of Augustus recall -the names of the noblest Roman families, and though -the old city offices had now become titular rather -than effective, men still liked sitting in Curule chairs, -and taking the lead in the pageantry which survived -the reality of power; the process by which administrative -functions gradually passed from the old -offices to the new hierarchy was a slow one, and an -ambitious young man might still think he had -embarked on a career when he had been dignified -with the lowest of the old magistracies. The new -men were employed less in Italy than in the imperial -provinces, where indeed it was important that -the officials should be attached to the person of the -Emperor rather than to the abstraction called the -Senate and the people of Rome. Neither Augustus -nor Tiberius were afraid to entrust the really effective -powers of Prefect of the City of Rome to members -of the old aristocracy.</p> - -<p>But if Augustus himself was less interested in the -dynastic question than the historians represent, the -ladies of his family were by no means equally indifferent; -their feuds were shared in by their ladies -and freedmen, and the apparently peaceful home -of the suave and unconscious Augustus was a raging -battlefield, in which the weapons of calumny and<span class="pagenum" id="Page_167">167</span> -innuendo were freely hurled, and the external forms -of politeness concealed a state of civil war. Wily -Greeks and Jews or other Orientals used to palace -intrigues found a field for their special talents in the -households of Livia or Julia; holding the confidential -positions of physicians, preachers, tutors, and astrologers, -they transferred to the Palatine the atmosphere -of the Courts of the Ptolemies or Herod. Under -this subtle influence mere drawing-room conspiracies -sometimes took a serious complexion; young men -were impelled by their female relatives to dangerous -courses, secret information sped from Roman boudoirs -to the palaces of Syria and Armenia.</p> - -<p>Livia herself was a skilled intriguer, and though -Dio puts into her mouth a ponderous curtain lecture -on the subject of clemency, addressed to Augustus, -her inclinations were more monarchical than those -of her husband. The very substantial compliments -which passed between her and Herod of Judæa are -not likely to have been exceptional in their character, -nor is that wily potentate likely to have been -the only man of his class who discovered that her -fingers touched the springs of government. Though -by the letters of the law Roman women were in an -almost servile position, though they were liable to -be divorced and remarried to suit the convenience of -their families, methods were found of evading the -law, and divorces which tended to further aggrandisement -were not unpopular with their apparent victims. -By a variety of legal fictions women could hold -separate estates, and were often immensely rich -independently of their husbands. The wives of<span class="pagenum" id="Page_168">168</span> -provincial governors were notorious for their rapacity, -and took full advantage of the weakness of uxorious -husbands.</p> - -<p>Livia spinning the toga of Augustus with her maids -or weighing out the allowances of the slaves, was a -pleasing picture for the contemplation of her husband -and the Romans, but the head of the thrifty housekeeper -had room for other than domestic details, -and her name was whispered with awe by many -who could not have appreciated her homely virtues, -and had good reason for suspecting her of very -different occupations.</p> - -<p>Owing to the early marriages of the Romans a -family quickly became patriarchal; some of these -marriages, it is true, were mere contracts, children -being sometimes married to secure dowries or successions, -or ratify family alliances, almost before they -were out of the nursery. Owing again to divorces -and remarriages the various degrees of affinity between -the members of a group of families are very difficult -to trace; adoption adds complications, which are -further increased by the paucity of Roman names, -especially as women generally retained the feminine -form of their father’s names after marriage, and -sisters were often indistinguishable.</p> - -<p>Five chief families were united in the household -of Augustus: the Julian—of this the heads were the -Emperor himself and his sister Octavia; the Claudian, -represented by Livia and her two sons, Tiberius and -Drusus; the Vipsanian, represented by Agrippa; the -Claudian Marcellan by Octavia’s three elder children; -the Antonian by her two younger children. The<span class="pagenum" id="Page_169">169</span> -heads between whom all matrimonial transactions -were arranged were Augustus, Livia, Octavia, and -Agrippa. Of these four Agrippa was to the two -ladies the unwelcome but inevitable intruder; Livia -was disposed to push the Claudians, Octavia the -Julians, whom she represented equally with her -brother the Emperor. These four high contracting -parties were about the same age, Octavia being -somewhat the older of the four. If there was to be -a dynasty, and if the succession was to follow the -strict line of heredity, Julia, the one child of Augustus, -was obviously the great matrimonial prize. Matters in -her case were somewhat complicated by the existence -of her mother, Scribonia, an affectionate but easy-going -lady, who seems to have abstained from active -interference in her daughter’s affairs till she accompanied -her into exile many years later. There was -another heiress in the family of the same age as -Julia, namely Vipsania, the daughter of the despised -but necessary Agrippa. She was the granddaughter -of Pomponius Atticus, the very wealthy banker -and friend of Cicero. Agrippa had married her -mother when his fortunes were still at a low ebb, -and when it was desirable to conciliate the Equestrian -Order to the advancement of Octavian and his -friends. Agrippa owed his position entirely to his -great ability, and his single-hearted unselfish devotion -to the fortunes of Augustus. Nobody had ever -heard of the Vipsanian family till he rose to eminence, -and the Claudian and Julian ladies were contemptuous -of its degrading associations. We do not know -whether Pomponia died or was put away, but in<span class="pagenum" id="Page_170">170</span> -the year <span class="allsmcap">B.C.</span> 25 Julia, being of the age of fourteen, -was declared marriageable, and a pleasing atmosphere -of matrimonial intrigue filled the house on the Palatine. -To consolidate the fortunes of Agrippa—a really -formidable rival, if he chose to declare himself—with -those of Augustus, the right thing to do was to marry -Julia to Agrippa, but Livia wanted her for Tiberius. -A compromise was hit upon; Tiberius was left out -in the cold, Julia was married to young Marcellus, -Octavia’s son, her first cousin, now a lad of eighteen, -and in order to associate Agrippa with the Julian -blood he was given the lad’s sister Marcella.</p> - -<p>That Augustus can have seriously intended Marcellus -at this time to be heir to anything but his -private fortune is impossible; so long as Agrippa -lived there was no other possible successor to the -Imperial power, and the story that Agrippa went -off to the East to keep out of the way of the favours -shown to the young Marcellus is absurd. Agrippa -was wanted in the East, and the information that -he acquired there led to the subsequent Eastern -progress of Augustus and Tiberius four years later. -When Augustus was so seriously ill in <span class="allsmcap">B.C.</span> 23 as to -contemplate the possibility of his death, he sent for -Agrippa and gave him his ring, thus making him -his successor so far as it was possible to do so; on -this we are told that Marcellus showed such bitter -disappointment that Agrippa again went to the East, -and for the same reason. A few months later Marcellus -died, and Virgil’s touching allusion to the -event in the sixth Æneid is probably the only authority -for the assumption that the wise Augustus proposed<span class="pagenum" id="Page_171">171</span> -to set aside the tried and faithful Agrippa, the actual -second person in the Empire, in favour of an untried -youth. Such an assumption involves a contradiction -of the whole policy of Augustus. Whatever his -weaknesses, whatever his failures in prevision, the -one thing he dreaded was the recrudescence of the -wars of adventurers. Steadily through his reign he -worked in the direction of giving permanence to -order, and of quietly eliminating all elements likely -to endanger order. He can hardly have been so -blind as not to see that the reign of Marcellus was -only possible by the sufferance of Agrippa, or to -ignore the fact that Livia would work for the elevation -of her sons after his own death.</p> - -<p>The premature death of Marcellus threw all the -matrimonial schemes again into the melting-pot. -His marriage had been a marriage only in name, -and had left no offspring. For two years nothing -was done, but when the whole Imperial party moved -to the East in <span class="allsmcap">B.C.</span> 21 marriage was again in the air. -There was a sojourn, accompanied with much festivity, -at Samos, where Agrippa met the rest of the -family. His marriage with Marcella had proved -childless, his union with the Julian stock had failed; -Julia herself seems to have shown signs of an inclination -for Tiberius, but such a union would have -strengthened the Claudians too much, and Tiberius -himself was attracted, if by anybody, by the daughter -of Agrippa. Augustus took matters into his own -hands; he persuaded his sister to allow her daughter -to be divorced, and married his own daughter to -his faithful friend Agrippa, a man at least twenty<span class="pagenum" id="Page_172">172</span> -years older than herself. The line of succession -was to be through the children of Agrippa and grandchildren -of Augustus; Livia, and Octavia were left -out in the cold. The former consoled herself by interchanging -amenities with the husband of Mariamne -on the Phœnician coast, and both ladies pleased -themselves later on with a double marriage project, -which to some extent restored the balance; Tiberius -married Vipsania, and his brother Drusus the very -beautiful younger Antonia. The dates of these -two marriages are not determinable, but as Tiberius -was the father of only one child, in <span class="allsmcap">B.C.</span> 12, when -Agrippa died, his marriage at any rate was probably -a late one, when he was about thirty years of age. -There is reason for believing that this at least was -a love match.</p> - -<p>Julia proved to be a fertile mother, she brought -five grandchildren to the founders of the Empire -and if the succession was to depend on the principle -of heredity, it was secured, for both the ruling powers -were interested in transmitting the succession in the -Julian line, and three of the children were sons.</p> - -<p>Augustus was delighted; the philoprogenitive -passion broke out in him; he insisted that Julia and -her husband should live in his house; he provided -instructors for the children; he seldom went out -unless accompanied by them, and they rode round -his litter when he went into the country. The boys -he adopted, buying them of their father by the ancient -rude ceremony, and the two elder ones were henceforth -known as Caius and Lucius Cæsar. Livia was more -than ever in need of such consolations as could be<span class="pagenum" id="Page_173">173</span> -won by intriguing with Oriental potentates. It -seemed that the Claudians were definitely relegated -to a subordinate position, and the young Cæsars -began to pay increased attention to the mythology -of the Æneid and the story of their mystic descent -from the goddess Venus. A marriage between the -son of Drusus Nero, afterwards known as Germanicus, -and Agrippina, the daughter of Julia and Agrippa, -was the sole bright spot in the dynastic fortune of -the Claudians.</p> - -<p>Destiny, however, had not exhausted her possibilities. -In 12 <span class="allsmcap">B.C.</span> Agrippa died. In the following -year Octavia died, and Livia was free to carry out -her favourite matrimonial project; the widowed -Julia was married to Tiberius, who divorced his wife, -Vipsania, to make room for her. This was the first -tragedy in the life of Tiberius, destined to bring upon -him not only terrible immediate sorrows, but a whole -train of calamity, which pursued him to the end of his -days. We are told of many Roman nobles that they -divorced their wives. Tiberius is the only Roman -of whom we are told that he bitterly regretted the -wife from whom he had been separated.</p> - -<p>We do not know by whom this tragedy was brought -about, but we do know that, so far as dynastic pretensions -were concerned, Tiberius was the last person -to be influenced by such a consideration. Whatever -ambitions his mother may have formed for her sons, -both of them, now men in the prime of life, enjoyed -the confidence of Augustus because they had -hitherto shown themselves superior to vulgar ambition. -Both were by this time experienced generals,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_174">174</span> -for though the command of Tiberius in Armenia -may have been nominal rather than real, both he -and his brother had conducted a series of campaigns -in the difficult regions to the north of the Balkan -Peninsula, in the Alpine valleys, and on the frontier -of the Rhine. Tiberius had further shown himself -a skilled civilian; he had been entrusted not only -with the different Republican magistracies, but he -had been made chairman of several of those commissions -by which the real administrative work was -done; he had presided over a very important commission -for regulating the corn supply of Rome, and -over another for inquiring into the condition of the -agricultural slave barracks, whose owners were -accused of kidnapping travellers, and offering shelter -to freemen who preferred such a life to military -service. After the death of Agrippa he was unquestionably -the second person in the Empire, for -Mæcenas had no hold on the armies, and Tiberius -held this position, not as the stepson of Augustus, but -as a representative of the oldest and most highly -honoured family in Rome, and as the reward of -distinguished public services at home and in the field.</p> - -<p>Caius, the eldest son of Julia, cannot at this time -have been more than nine years old; it would be -some years before he could take any effective part -in public business. Augustus, always in weak health, -had to provide for the contingency of his own death, -and it must be borne in mind that, quite apart from -the comparatively ignoble ambition of founding a -dynasty, a sense of duty would impel Augustus to -obviate as far as he could the disturbance of a disputed<span class="pagenum" id="Page_175">175</span> -succession. Augustus prided himself upon his position -as a pacificator; his reign was a reign of peace, its -wars were frontier wars; to allow the apple of discord -to drop into the centre of this realm of peace -was to destroy his own work.</p> - -<p>But was it necessary that Tiberius should marry -the widowed Julia? Was the match capable of being -represented to him as a necessity of state, as a duty -so imperative as to override all questions of private -inclination?</p> - -<p>Certainly it was so, though the public grounds were -essentially of a private and personal nature.</p> - -<p>The two hostile forces in the Imperial House were -Livia and Julia, the former the embodiment of the -stern virtues of the Roman matron, personified -rectitude and humility in her outward demeanour, -inwardly unscrupulous and domineering, free from -the more amiable but less dignified weaknesses of -a woman, incapable of being led away by the love -of admiration, icily regular, intemperate only in her -pursuit of the greater ambitions, unmoral rather -than immoral, she shunned attracting public notice, -preferred the enjoyment of power to the demonstration -of power, but was none the less keenly jealous of any -encroachment on her domain. It is curious how -little we hear of her; the poets do not mention her, -gossip did not concern itself with her name; it is only -from one or two casual references in Josephus, and a -few incidents recorded by Tacitus, that we divine the -activity of this force behind the throne. Portraits of -Livia survive; her high nose is to be seen behind -that of Augustus on the coinage; there are busts, and<span class="pagenum" id="Page_176">176</span> -at least one statue. The countenance is that of a very -handsome woman and a very dignified woman, but -not of a woman who could laugh readily, the mouth -looks as if it could smile to order, but not spontaneously. -We may surmise that her virtues were of such an -obvious type as to constitute a standing provocation -to the wicked, that she was one of those women who -are more dangerous to sound morality than a bad -example, and against whose standards it is impossible -not to rebel secretly if not openly; this is especially -the case when it is suspected that behind the genuine -inclination to correctness in smaller matters lurk -the real deadly sins of the soul, hardness, avarice, -lust of power. The story that she was blind to the -infidelities of Augustus, and even provided the opportunities, -may not be true; the infidelities may be, and -probably are, as chimerical as the connivance; but -even such a myth may be allowed to indicate the type -of character.</p> - -<p>Pitted against this calm, correct, implacable woman -we have the spoiled child Julia, bent upon enjoying -herself to the full, adventurous, audacious, both in -deed and word. When her father reproved her for -riotous living she is said to have replied that, though -he might choose to forget that he was Cæsar, she did -not propose to forget that she was Cæsar’s daughter, -and doubtless the pert sally, accompanied by some -laughing gesture, smoothed away the gravity of -the outraged Emperor. For a Roman princess at -this resplendent time of Rome’s fortunes three lives -were open: she might live as Julia’s aunt Octavia -lived, or her first cousin the younger Antonia, in<span class="pagenum" id="Page_177">177</span> -comparative retirement, abstaining from intermeddling -with affairs of state, the centre of a refined -and possibly literary circle, caring for the domestic -interests of those whom she loved, or to whom she -was bound by duty; or she might live as Livia lived, -darkly intriguing behind the scenes, corresponding -with “native” princes, plotting and counter-plotting -among the Roman families, or again she might -fling herself into the riotous amusements of the -gilded youth of Rome, the young gentlemen for -whom Ovid wrote his treatises on gallantry.</p> - -<p>Gambling and betting were as well known diversions -in Roman society as in our own; great ladies -made their books upon the circus. Cards were -not yet invented, but dice were common. Wealthy -young provincials, the sons of great but not ennobled -capitalists, were as ready then as now to -pay for admission to the highest social circles by -dealing leniently with fair ladies whose affairs were -involved by debts of honour, and some of them -lost their heads and hearts over the business. Masquerading -in the unlighted Roman streets after -respectable people had gone to their early beds was -not an infrequent amusement, and even ladies -anticipated at Rome the licence of the Mohawk and -Tityre Tu of Queen Anne’s reign in London. Antony -and Cleopatra amused themselves thus at Alexandria, -to the terror and annoyance of respectable middle -class men; the joke of thus playing pranks upon -inoffensive persons of humble rank under the protection -of a slight disguise is not obvious, but it has -at all times presented attractions for a certain order<span class="pagenum" id="Page_178">178</span> -of mind. As for Julia, we are told that her revels -were conducted even on the sacred Rostra, the public -platform of the government of the world. Her -cynical defence of her immoralities is said to have -been even more outrageous than her conduct. But -for all this Julia did not forget that she was Cæsar’s -daughter, and was determined not to submit more -than was inevitable to the domination of the woman -who was not her mother, but was Cæsar’s wife.</p> - -<p>At the death of Agrippa, Julia, though already -the mother of four children, and shortly to become -the mother of a fifth, was only twenty-seven years of -age. During the time of her married life she and -Tiberius had been much absent from Rome; they -had probably met very little since they were brought -up together as children in the house of Augustus. -Agrippa may have been an indulgent husband, -willing to condone the more innocent levities of his -young wife; or Tiberius, remembering his agreeable -playfellow, now titularly his mother-in-law, may -have chosen to disregard the scandalous whispers -which reached his ears from time to time.</p> - -<p>On her husband’s death Julia found herself in an -awkward position; it is true that her father was -her friend, but her father’s wife was her enemy, -an enemy whose mysterious influence she had good -reason to dread, and whose ambition was menaced -by the existence of Julia’s own children, already the -darlings of their grandfather. Again it is not improbable -that she cherished a purely feminine grudge -against Vipsania, who had carried off her handsome -playfellow, and was additionally piqued by the happiness<span class="pagenum" id="Page_179">179</span> -which Tiberius had found in his marriage. -The personal beauty of Tiberius was remarkable; -his accomplishments no less so. He was unusually -tall, broad shouldered, well shaped, and well proportioned -from head to foot, of great physical strength; -he belonged to the fair ruddy type of Italian, and -carried a profusion of golden hair, which grew low -down on the back of his neck, a family peculiarity, -his eyes were exceptionally large, and he was credited -with the power of seeing in the dark when first -awakened; as he habitually carried his head in a -bent position, it is possible that he suffered from -some visual defect; he was naturally silent, and a -slow talker; he had the reputation of being deeply -learned, and indeed versed in occult mysteries, such -a man as would attract the curiosity of a woman, and -challenge her love of conquest by his intellectual, no -less than by his physical, qualities. The few existing -portraits of Tiberius fully bear out the descriptions -given by Paterculus and Suetonius. The so-called -bust of Tiberius in the British Museum is not a -portrait of him, and was simply so named because -it happened to have been found at Capri.</p> - -<p>Personal inclination, no less than policy, would -have suggested to Julia that here was the natural -protector of herself and children, and there was -the additional inducement of delivering a checkmate -to Livia by falling in with what had been her favourite -scheme. With Tiberius as the stepfather and guardian -of the children of Agrippa, there was nothing to be -feared from the death of Augustus; Livia’s own -son would be in a position to defeat any machinations<span class="pagenum" id="Page_180">180</span> -against the heirs of the Julian race, and it was well -known that whatever obligations Tiberius took upon -himself, Tiberius would honourably fulfil.</p> - -<p>The arguments for the divorce and remarriage -were, from the Roman point of view, strong; it was not -a question of personal convenience or of advancing -personal interests, the object was to maintain the -peace of the Roman world. Had Tiberius taken -the advice of Mæcenas, it would probably have been -to the following effect:—“It is true that you are to -be trusted, that no pledge is needed from you to -ensure the security of the daughter and grandchildren -of Augustus, your whole life shows that you have -made your stepfather’s interests your own; but -you are not the only person concerned. The two -boys will be exposed to every temptation as they -grow up; their mother is a fascinating lady, but her -best friends can hardly claim for her that she is equal -to the task of bringing up a family whose responsibilities -will be great. If you do not marry her, -somebody else will; it would be a serious risk to -expose any possible candidate to the temptations -of such a position, to introduce a new claimant to -the family honours into the family circle. Julia -needs a protector, a husband of her own age; she is -said to have a strong personal attachment to yourself, -and under your guidance it is not likely that she -will repeat pardonable indiscretions, to which perhaps -she was driven by want of real sympathy with her -previous elderly husband. You say that you and -your present wife are devoted to one another. -Granted; but you are both called upon by a destiny,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_181">181</span> -which you cannot evade, to sacrifice yourselves to -the good of the State.” And Horace too would have -argued much in the same strain; he would have -sympathized more delicately with the feelings of a -united couple rudely torn asunder, but with his -shrewd common sense he would have shown that -there was no alternative but a retirement into private -life, a course which would have amounted to abandoning -the post of duty.</p> - -<p>The person, however, who most strongly influenced -Tiberius in his fatal decision was possibly Vipsania -herself. From both parents she inherited businesslike -qualities, cool common sense. Neither of them -is credited with having been sentimental at any -period of his or her career, and though Tiberius was -devoted to her, it is quite possible that she herself -regarded her marriage dispassionately as an excellent -business arrangement, and that, while she fulfilled -all the duties of a wife with scrupulous observance, -she was prepared to be equally careful of the interests -and honour of any husband with whom she was -provided by the higher powers of the family council. -She had abundant precedent for taking such a line, -and Asinius Gallus, the aspirant proposed to her, -was in every way a desirable match. She may have -been really indifferent, and have wounded Tiberius -by her cool acquiescence in the new arrangement; -or again, on this side too there may have been a great -renunciation, and the unhappy woman, partly terrified -by obscure menaces from Livia, partly persuaded by -the kindly urgency of Augustus, may have affected -an indifference which she did not feel, and deliberately<span class="pagenum" id="Page_182">182</span> -wounded the man whom she loved for his own good, -as she was led to believe. If Vipsania thus hurt the -sensitive Tiberius, and shook his faith in his previous -happiness, there was Julia ready to heal the wound; -was he not the man whom she had always really -loved? Her first and second marriages had been -no real marriages: she and Marcellus had been mere -children, and as for Agrippa, worthy man though he -was, he could not feel with a wife so much younger -than himself; he had always preferred the society -of men who talked of bridges and aqueducts, or -planned campaigns against the Sarmatians, to his -wife and children; he had been good according to -his lights, but it had been a dull life, and she had -been driven to find relief in foolish though innocent -dissipations by which her good name had suffered, -and which she now sincerely regretted. If Tiberius -would but take pity on her forlorn condition, and -do his best to love his old playfellow, she for her -part could conceive no greater happiness than to -be the partner of his joys and sorrows; she loved -him, she had always loved him, and the careless -indifference of years had not weakened her attachment.</p> - -<p>Whatever the arguments and allurements by -which Tiberius was induced to take the fatal step, he -unquestionably did so. At first he lived happily with -Julia; they had one son, who died in infancy; and -then his official duties took the husband from his -home; he was placed in charge of a harassing campaign -against a mobile enemy in difficult country -along the south of the Danube and in Dalmatia,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_183">183</span> -while his brother Drusus was similarly engaged in -frontier wars along the Rhine.</p> - -<p>At this time a serious misfortune fell upon Tiberius; -he lost his brother.</p> - -<p>Drusus had conducted a foray into the Black -Forest region, which had not been altogether successful. -On his return he either fell from his horse or -caught some serious fever—both stories are given—and -was seen to be in such danger that Augustus, -who was then at Lyons, at once sent for Tiberius -from Dalmatia. Tiberius hastened to his brother’s -bedside. The elder Pliny tells us that on this occasion -he achieved a record speed, travelling 200 Roman -miles within twenty-four hours. He was in time to -close his brother’s eyes, but that was all. Augustus -decided that Drusus should be buried at Rome, and -Tiberius marched the whole way on foot at the head -of the funeral procession from Lyons to the capital. -As soon as the ceremonies were over, he returned to -continue his brother’s work on the eastern bank -of the Rhine, and after two years’ absence was recalled. -Mæcenas had died in <span class="allsmcap">B.C.</span> 8, and Augustus -felt the need of a confidential adviser. Tiberius on -his return was invested with the tribunician power, -an elevation which, in the opinion of his contemporaries, -finally marked him out as the successor of -Augustus.</p> - -<p>The history of the tribunate, in spite of the many -references to the office, is not particularly clear. It -seems that the first tribunes were originally the -official mouthpieces of that part of the population -of Rome whom we should now call “Outlanders.”<span class="pagenum" id="Page_184">184</span> -After the “Outlanders,” or plebeians, had become -for all practical purposes fused into the general body -of Roman citizens, the tribunes ranked practically -among the other magistrates; they enjoyed the -special prerogative of being sacrosanct, their persons -were inviolable, and thus during their term of office -they were nominally above the laws, a privilege -which, however, did not prevent their assassination. -They had the power of introducing legislation, and -of vetoing legislation, and it is perhaps this power -which was constitutionally most important to the -early Emperors. Further, they had powers of -summary jurisdiction, and constituted a supreme court -of appeal in cases in which the life of a Roman citizen -was in danger; when St. Paul “appealed unto -Cæsar,” it was to the tribune that he appealed. The -office was hallowed by sentiment, and though as -Consul and Censor and Commander-in-chief the -Emperor might seem to hold in his hands all the -reasonable means of making his power effective, -unless he were also Tribune, his actions could be -vetoed; thus Augustus was more than usually wise -in absorbing the sanctity and the functions of the -Tribune into his own person, and he could show no -greater proof of his confidence in Tiberius than by -thus giving him the power of constitutional opposition -and investing his person with inviolability; but, to -the astonishment of the Roman world, Tiberius -had hardly received this mark of confidence before -he summarily left Rome and retired to Rhodes.</p> - -<hr /> - -<div id="toclink_185" class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_185">185</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="VII">VII<br /> - -<span class="subhead">The First Retirement of Tiberius</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class="drop-cap"><span class="smcap1">The</span> flight of Tiberius to Rhodes, and his determination -to abandon his public career just at -the moment when his position as second man in the -State was established on a sure foundation, have -naturally excited the wonder of modern no less -than of contemporary writers. An English historian, -equally learned and delightful, speaks of the event -as the freak of a moody and irritable man, and declares -that such conduct summarily disposes of the claim -which has been advanced for Tiberius of having been -an astute statesman. His contemporaries, who are -followed by the grave Tacitus and the garrulous -Suetonius, found an easier explanation; to them -the motive for retirement was simply the wish to -indulge in licentious excesses too hideous for the -starched morality and glaring daylight of Rome; -but the same unfriendly or careless writers allow -that he was probably disgusted by the wanton conduct -of Julia, adding that he was also jealous of the -advancement of his stepsons, the young Cæsars, -now respectively fourteen and nine years of age.</p> - -<p>That Julia had forfeited all claims not only to affection,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_186">186</span> -but even to respect, is an undisputed fact. Soon -after his marriage Tiberius had been obliged to take -the field, and his wars had been waged in localities -not likely to be attractive to a lady who lived in the -gallant circles of the poet Ovid. War upon the -Illyrian or German frontier did not involve complete -absence from home, and the Roman generals were -in the habit of returning from their campaigns to -the capital when the winter weather made it impossible -to take the field. We do not know whether -Tiberius followed this custom, or whether he took -a more rigorous view of his duties and spent the -winter season in winter quarters, but he was certainly -much away from home. Some disillusionment as to -the depth of Julia’s affection for him, annoying -domestic difficulties caused by the ill-advised indulgence -of her children by their grandfather, may well -have contributed already to make him feel more at -home in the camp than in the splendid house in the -Carinæ. Julia too may have had her own disappointments; -the playfellow of her youth turned out to -be another “Colonel Grave Airs,” no less absorbed -in military matters than Agrippa, inclined to spend -his leisure in the society of a learned and serious -circle, and averse to dissipating his time by passing -long hours at the great public pageants in which -the Romans delighted. So far there had been nothing -worse than an amicable estrangement between husband -and wife. Julia went her own way, chose -her own friends, and lived the life which pleased her -best. Tiberius in the same way pursued the studies -which were agreeable to him, and made the best of<span class="pagenum" id="Page_187">187</span> -a maimed life. Doubtless he recognized that his -private happiness had been wrecked, but there was -still duty, and if he could not meet Vipsania in the -street without emotion, he at least gave the scandalmongers -of the city no opportunity.</p> - -<p>But when Tiberius returned from Gaul in <span class="allsmcap">B.C.</span> 7 -to become practically the colleague of Augustus, he -found the state of affairs in his home such as no -self-respecting man could tolerate, and there was -this additional sting in the wound to his honour, -that the very office which had just been bestowed -upon him was capable of being represented as the price -paid for unworthy toleration and wilful blindness. -Rome was ringing with the exploits of Julia, with -stories of her drunkenness in the public streets, with -the names and number of her gallants. The two -men who were most concerned in her misconduct, -as being the two men upon whom it brought the -deepest disgrace, her father and her husband, were -the two men who alone seemed to be ignorant of the -state of affairs. The ignorance of the father might -be excused, he had no motive, except a not unworthy -paternal weakness, for closing his eyes to what was -going on, but the husband, so the gossips said, -had been prompted by his ambition to accept an -already damaged article, for Julia’s irregularities -were not of recent date, and actuated by the same -unworthy motive he had allowed his house to become -a mere brothel: the proofs were only too obvious. -That such a chain of reasoning was inconsistent with -itself in ascribing both ignorance and full knowledge to -Augustus did not concern the gossips. Tiberius had<span class="pagenum" id="Page_188">188</span> -been bribed to be blind, and all the world could see -what a magnificent bribe he had extorted.</p> - -<p>The best men, the kindest men, the justest men, -and the most earnest men make the worst mistakes -in dealing with a certain type of woman. Many a -woman who has brought disgrace upon her family -and ruin upon herself has urged with some justice -that if her husband or her father or her brother had -been less kind, less blind, less just, but more understanding, -she would not have been betrayed into -disastrous misconduct. Often and often the question -has been asked, “You must have seen what was going -on; why did you not stop me?” and as often the -answer has been, “I admit I ought to have seen, -perhaps I did see, but I could not believe you capable -of doing what appearances should have told me that -you were doing.”</p> - -<p>The higher a man’s ideal of women, the less willing -he is to ascribe to any particular woman the wantonness -of lust; the more charitable his estimate of the -strength of some temptation, the less stern his condemnation, -and the greater his readiness to accept -excuses for levity; the higher the range of his own -ambitions, and the wider the area of his own interests, -the less capable he is of imagining how large small -slights and imperfect sympathy may appear to a being -cast in a narrower mould. Many a man by acquiescing -in a discovered want of sympathy between himself -and his wife has wounded her pride and provoked -her to acts of self-assertion. What was part of his life -was perhaps the whole of hers, and in the end he has -been astounded at the disproportion of the punishment<span class="pagenum" id="Page_189">189</span> -which she has inflicted. Without any conscious -refusal to see things as they really were, any conscious -deference to the susceptibilities of Augustus, Tiberius -may well have been slow to believe in the case against -Julia, whose good nature and frankness might weigh -against her want of seriousness.</p> - -<p>When, however, Tiberius came to live permanently -at Rome, the facts could no longer be concealed from -him, though they were possibly still concealed from -Augustus. He could repudiate Julia, but that would -have caused a public scandal, and have wounded a -man in his most sensitive spot whom he had always -known as his truest friend; he could not, however, -continue to live with her, that would justify the -charge of guilty connivance, and expose him to -countless humiliations; further, there was always -the sting of the price at which his forbearance up -to the present moment seemed to have been bought.</p> - -<p>The course which Tiberius actually took was an -heroic one. True he might have ignored the susceptibilities -of Augustus, have repudiated his daughter, -and in the case of resistance have used his now established -power to force the Emperor into private -life; he might have held that he was justified in so -doing, that he had been wilfully deceived, and that -his pretended friend had deliberately used him for -his own purposes. But if ever he was tempted to -conduct so violent, and yet under the supposed -circumstances so justifiable, he put away the temptation; -he decided that if there was to be a retirement, -he was himself the right man to retire. This -course had the further attraction that it put a<span class="pagenum" id="Page_190">190</span> -summary end to that ugly suspicion of corrupt -connivance.</p> - -<p>Tiberius matured his plan secretly. Nobody outside -his family knew that he had definitely left Rome till -he was already sailing down the coast of Italy. A -fast galley was sent after him, with letters imploring -him to return, and not to desert the Emperor in his -old age; it overtook him before he had passed the -Straits of Messina, but the messengers were abruptly -dismissed. No further attempt was made to recall -him till after he had arrived at Rhodes, his ultimate -destination, though he seems to have lingered on -his way, and to have spent some time at Athens, -long enough to enable him to be the first Roman -who sent a chariot to compete at the Olympic games.</p> - -<p>It was not long before the real cause of his departure -became known to Augustus. Julia’s extravagant -conduct was so notorious that it could no longer be -concealed from her father. Livia is credited with -having engineered the ultimate discovery, and even -aided and abetted the grievous misconduct with -ulterior motives. Augustus, in the name of Tiberius, -wrote a bill of divorcement, and banished his daughter -to the island of Pandateria off the coast of Campania. -The list of corespondents was a long one. Julius -Antonius, the son of Marcus Antonius, and stepson of -Octavia, was among them; he committed suicide on -the discovery of the scandal. After him Paterculus -mentions Quintius Crispinus, Appius Claudius, Sempronius -Gracchus, Scipio, a relative of Julia through -her mother, “and other men of less reputation of -both orders.” It was a comprehensive list, and inclines<span class="pagenum" id="Page_191">191</span> -us to suspect that Tacitus is right in saying that -something more alarming than mere adultery had -taken place, and that Julia had allowed herself to be -involved in a plot against her husband and father. -It is curious that Paterculus should confine the list -of nameless admirers to members of the Senatorial -and Equestrian Orders. If Julia had been merely -a licentious woman, we should expect to find slaves -and gladiators among the company of her lovers. -Amorous intrigues in the atmosphere of Rome were -apt to end in more dangerous conspiracies, and -though the self-esteem of the pious and patriarchal -Augustus must have been deeply wounded by his -daughter’s guilt, the punishment of exile awarded -to her, and of death to her gallants, strikes us as -disproportionate. It is most probable that there -really was a conspiracy in which Julia allowed herself -to be used, prompted by a desire to settle up accounts -with that veteran intriguer Livia, and that this was -the concluding scene of the first act in the long drama -of the feud between the Julians and Claudians in the -Imperial household.</p> - -<p>Tiberius behaved on this occasion with dignity -and generosity. He wrote to Augustus deprecating -extreme severity to Julia, and begging that she -might be allowed to retain for her own use any -gifts that he had made to her. Such gifts will not -have been inconsiderable, for Tiberius must have -been a very rich man; it required a large fortune -to inhabit the famous palace of Pompeius, and on -his return to Rome Tiberius lived in the no less -splendid villa of Mæcenas on the Esquiline.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_192">192</span></p> - -<p>On withdrawing from public affairs Tiberius decided -to live as a private citizen; this he had every right to -do. His motive in selecting Rhodes for his place -of residence has to do with features in his intellectual -inclinations upon which we have not as yet -touched. The silly story that Tiberius elected to -reside in Rhodes because he could there enjoy unlimited -debauchery may be at once dismissed on the -ground of inherent absurdity. A man who wishes -to conceal his vices does not select a university town, -a great commercial town, the house of call for the -mercantile service of the world, the spot visited by -all officials on their way back to and from the capital, -an island where everybody knows everybody else’s -business, as the scene of his loathsome excesses; and -Rhodes was all these things. Possibly an advantage -enjoyed by Rhodes in being free from the direct -control of a Roman Proconsul rendered it desirable -as a place of residence for a man in the position of -Tiberius, who wished to avoid friction with the Roman -authorities. Most of the famous cities on the Greek -mainland were now in a decayed condition; Corinth -alone retained something of its mercantile importance, -Athens had become an agreeable place of residence -as well as a university town; but the cities on the -coast of Asia Minor, Smyrna and Ephesus, and the -islands off the coast, Samos and Rhodes, flourished -as they had never flourished before. The corn ships -from Alexandria frequently touched at Rhodes; she -lay in the path between Antioch and Rome, and -had become the meeting place between East and -West. This gave a special character to her university.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_193">193</span> -Athens was purely Greek, but Rhodes was both -Oriental and Greek.</p> - -<p>Rhodes, though largely despoiled of its trees, is still -among the most agreeable of the Greek islands, -and in the days of its luxuriance was particularly -beautiful. Tiberius shared that taste for islands -which inspires the day dreams of many of our own -contemporaries. Men only learn by experience that -the secluded charms of a sea-girt residence are balanced -by its inconvenience; but the inconvenience of -restricted and precarious supplies would not be felt -at Rhodes, the island being large enough to be self-dependent, -besides being the calling place of shipping: -thus Tiberius could look forward to a life spent in -the pursuit of congenial and serious studies, in delightful -scenery, and in the full stream of the world’s -traffic.</p> - -<p>The studies which especially attracted Tiberius -were then called mathematical—we should now -call them scientific—but neither was the science of -the ancients our science, nor their mathematics our -mathematics. The special branch of science which -interested Tiberius was astronomy; but astronomy -in his time was merged in astrology, and with astrology -were associated other supposed means of predicting -the future, that vain preoccupation of mankind. -Great skill in judicial astrology was attributed by -the ancients to Tiberius, and it is not likely that he -escaped the intellectual contagions of his age; but -we must be cautious in refusing to concede the possession -of a truly scientific temperament to men of -his age, or of much later ages, solely because they<span class="pagenum" id="Page_194">194</span> -were credited by their contemporaries with sharing -in what we now believe to be frivolous superstitions.</p> - -<p>Nearly a century after the death of Tiberius, -Apuleius, the compiler and in part author of the -famous <i>Golden Ass</i>, was accused before a Roman -Proconsul of magic, and of having bewitched the -somewhat elderly lady who had become his wife; -his defence is still extant. There are many interesting -points in it, not the least interesting being the inclusion -of Moses in a list of eminent magicians; but the most -striking features of the apology are the contemptuous -way in which Apuleius deals with the current superstitions -as to magic, and the indications that he was -pursuing research on lines which would now be -recognized as scientific—“You say I use mirrors; -certainly I do; so did Archimedes. I am studying -their influence on light and heat. You say that I -have collected strange fishes; yes, I am interested in -comparing the structure of their skeletons.” It is -strange how old are modern superstitions. Among -the charges against Apuleius was one of hypnotism, -based upon the fact that a boy had been seen to fall -senseless in his presence. Apuleius had no difficulty -in proving that the boy was an epileptic. Hypnotism -is still uncanny to the non-scientific world.</p> - -<p>Tiberius could not study astronomy or any other -branch of science in his own day without being suspected -of magic and divination; the things were almost -mutually convertible terms, but the ancients had made -considerable advances in the direction of the applied -sciences, and had found out many working hypotheses, -which were strictly scientific so far as the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_195">195</span> -then sources of information allowed, even though -further researches have proved them to be untenable. -We should do injustice to Tiberius if we believed, -as his contemporaries were ready to believe, that -he spent his time at Rhodes in casting the horoscopes -of himself and all other persons in whose destiny -he had reason to be interested; but at the same time -we must admit that the dividing line between science -and pure charlatanry scarcely existed in those days, -and that men such as Simon Magus and Elymas the -Sorcerer frequently mistook the nature of their own -proficiencies. Along with much sound astronomical -knowledge, and with many equally sound results -of experimental research, the East sent through -various channels to the West a strange farrago of -religion and so-called magical arts in which the -esoteric learning of the Magicians, the Chaldeans, -the Jews, the Greeks, the Egyptians, and even the -Brahmins, was monstrously mixed up with popular -superstitions and wilful imposture. The strong common -sense which Tiberius exhibited in his public -actions at a later time forbids us to believe that he -lost his head at this period in hazardous and illusory -speculations. We know that he took his place as an -ordinary citizen of a free Greek town, and joined in -the debates of its assembly, that he attended the -lectures of the professors, and that his chosen associate -was Thrasyllus, “a mathematician.” There is a -pleasant story to the effect that Tiberius once went -to a schoolmaster at Rhodes who called himself -Diogenes, and was used to lecture on Sabbath days, -asking for the honour of a special audience. Diogenes<span class="pagenum" id="Page_196">196</span> -did not even admit him, but sent a verbal message -by a dirty little slave boy, bidding him come back -on the seventh day. Tiberius took no notice of the -rudeness at the time, but when, after he had become -Emperor, he was told that Diogenes was waiting -outside his door at Rome in order to convey his congratulations, -he sent out to tell him to come back -in seven years.</p> - -<p>For some time Tiberius lived contentedly in his -retreat; he was visited by all men of any distinction, -who were passing on their way between Rome and -the East; he maintained a friendly correspondence -with Augustus, and doubtless concluded that he was -at liberty to do what Horace had so repeatedly urged -upon his friends, “to live to himself.” But this life -of moral introspection and scientific investigation -was not allowed to last; Tiberius was rudely waked -out of his dream, and learned that men who have -once held a great position in the world cannot abdicate. -Sinister influences were at work; not only -did his own life seem to be in danger, but there were -signs that the government of Augustus was itself -in peril.</p> - -<hr /> - -<div id="toclink_197" class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_197">197</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="VIII">VIII<br /> - -<span class="subhead">The Return of Tiberius</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class="drop-cap b"><span class="smcap1">During</span> the first five years of his residence -at Rhodes, Tiberius, though he abstained -from public business, was still the second person in -the Empire, and still protected by the awe-inspiring -atmosphere which hung round a Roman Tribune. -He was, indeed, obliged to reside in the interior of -the island in order to avoid the interruption caused -by throngs of unwelcome visitors, who were anxious -to pay their court to the great personage. Suetonius -has two stories of his residence at Rhodes, which -show him in no unamiable light. Tiberius once, -in drawing up his programme for the day, had happened -to say that he proposed to visit all the sick -persons in the city. Zealous attendants immediately -went out, and ordered all the invalids of the town -to be taken into a public portico, and arranged according -to the nature of their maladies. Tiberius was -taken by surprise and considerably embarrassed, -but recovered himself, spoke to each one, and apologized -for the mistake individually, even to the humblest. -On one occasion only he used his official -position; when he was attending a disputation at the -University the wrangling one day became so fierce -that a heated professor made a violent personal attack<span class="pagenum" id="Page_198">198</span> -upon Tiberius, as unfairly supporting his opponent. -Tiberius quietly withdrew, and returned in official -splendour with his train, summoned the intemperate -professor in due legal form, and sent him to prison -to meditate upon the enormity of provoking a breach -of the Roman peace.</p> - -<p>At the end of the five years Tiberius might well -think that he could return to Rome without being -suspected of a wish to exercise political influence, so -plainly had he shown his indifference to public life. -He had left his son at Rome, and there were others -to whom he was attached; there were the three -children of his brother Drusus, with their charming -mother Antonia; and in spite of their awkward -mutual relations, he had a genuine affection for -Augustus. The family entanglements had been -straightened out; Julia was in exile; the young -Cæsars were beginning to take their part in public -affairs. Surely their stepfather could live in dignified -retirement at Rome, ready to advise and help, when -counsel and assistance were demanded of him, but -otherwise unmolested and unobserved.</p> - -<p>This, however, was not to be. Augustus himself -had acquiesced in the departure of Tiberius, if not -before, certainly after the revelation of the intemperance -of Julia, and was not improbably touched by -the consideration which Tiberius had shown for his -personal difficulties in the matter. But Livia had -been bitterly disappointed; all her schemes had come -to nothing just at the moment when the victory -seemed to have been won, and her son had been -declared heir-apparent, as far as the constitutional<span class="pagenum" id="Page_199">199</span> -forms of Rome permitted. Consequently when -Tiberius wrote, expressing an intention of returning -to Rome and his wish to see his relatives, further -declaring his determination to acquiesce in whatever -arrangements Augustus might be disposed to make -for the advancement of the young Cæsars, and pointing -to his voluntary retirement as irrefutable evidence -of the fact that he wished to stand out of their way, -he received an exceedingly unamiable answer, and -was told that he need not concern himself about the -affairs of relatives, whom he had been so very ready -to abandon. We are not told whether this letter was -written by Livia or by Augustus; but it was surely -written at the instance of Livia. No man was more -willing to forgive and to forget than the Emperor; -his whole life had been a record of successful conciliation -of declared enemies; both by policy and inclination -he was averse to the maintenance of personal -feuds. Livia, too, may have seen in the stiffness -of Tiberius a reason for advancing the young Cæsars, -over whom, as more pliable, she hoped to secure influence.</p> - -<p>This letter changed the position of Tiberius. His -retirement was no longer voluntary; he had become -an exile, and the difficulties of his situation were only -slightly modified by the concession of “a free legation,” -a nominal office frequently bestowed upon men of -wealth and distinction, who wished to travel with -the advantages attached to an official position. -Tiberius, in fact, had to learn that there are responsibilities -and positions which render abdication impossible; -that having once been acting Commander-in-Chief<span class="pagenum" id="Page_200">200</span> -and Prime Minister, he must always be a -political personage, a force to be reckoned with; -and if this fact was not apparent to him, it was very -apparent to the advisers of the young Cæsars, and the -worshippers of the rising sun.</p> - -<p>During the absence of Tiberius these young men -had been carefully put through the training, which -had been successful in the case of the stepsons of -Augustus. Caius, the elder, was now nineteen -years of age, Lucius two or three years younger; -there was a third brother, Agrippa, born after his -father’s death, and still a child, showing signs of intractability. -Like Tiberius and Drusus, they were -sent to learn the organization of the Empire and -the administration of the Roman Legions. Lucius -went to Gaul, on his way to Spain; Caius was sent -to the East, and like Tiberius was entrusted with the -management of the difficult concerns of the Parthian -frontier; he was provided with an adviser in the -person of Marcus Lollius.</p> - -<p>The habit of scientific veracity is unknown to the -Roman historians; any fact is good enough for them, -provided it makes good copy, and can be dealt with -in a picturesque sentence or neat epigram. They -pay little attention to the consecutive order of events, -are not always careful to distinguish between persons -of the same name, and are rather attracted than -otherwise by an opportunity of attributing contradictory -qualities to the same person; the time -at which a thing was done is of little importance -to them, the person by whom it was done of equally -little; a good story is to them a good story, and<span class="pagenum" id="Page_201">201</span> -nothing more; if its effect is increased by hanging -it on the name of a well known man, they seldom -stop to inquire whether he can be justly implicated -in the events narrated; consequently it is always -agreeable to find their statements corroborated by -undesigned coincidences. Paterculus and Suetonius -agree in telling us that the last two years of the life -of Tiberius at Rhodes were made a burden to him -by the sinister influence of Marcus Lollius, but they -leave us in some doubt as to who this Marcus Lollius -really was, whether he was the same man who was -Consul in <span class="allsmcap">B.C.</span> 21, and Commander-in-chief in Northern -Gaul in <span class="allsmcap">B.C.</span> 16, whether the Consul and the -General were two different persons, and whether the -adviser of Caius Cæsar was not the Consul but his -son.</p> - -<p>The poet Horace addressed one of his odes and two -of his epistles to a Lollius. It has been generally -assumed, on the ground of a misunderstood allusion, -that the ode was written for the father, and the two -letters for the son; comparison of the three shows -that they must have been written to the same person, -and that that person could not have been Consul -in <span class="allsmcap">B.C.</span> 21. Letters and ode alike contain advice -which Horace could not have addressed even to a -man his equal in rank and of his own age without -a risk of putting a summary end to any friendship -that might have existed between them, still less to -a Consular, and possibly a senior. Horace tells us -definitely that he was forty-four years of age in the -year when Lollius and Lepidus were consuls; the -family of Lollius had been hitherto undistinguished;<span class="pagenum" id="Page_202">202</span> -the name appears on no previous occasion in the consular -lists, nor had the man himself done anything -to suggest him as a fit recipient of premature honours. -The legal age for admission to the Consulship was -forty-three, and though the law was frequently -broken in times of revolution, or in favour of candidates -of the Imperial House, Augustus, whose policy -was to restore the old as far as it was not incompatible -with the new, was not likely to break the law in -favour of a man who was not inevitable. It is not -likely that Lollius the Consul was one of those young -men who were rapidly pushed through the routine -of office, because they had claims which could not -be disregarded, or because it was necessary to conciliate -their families. Horace could not have written, -as he did write, to the man who was Consul in <span class="allsmcap">B.C.</span> 21.</p> - -<p>The second of the two letters included in the collection -was certainly written in <span class="allsmcap">B.C.</span> 21; the date is -fixed by an allusion to the fact that Augustus was -at the time away demanding the restoration of the -Eagles from the Parthians. The person to whom it -was addressed was about to become the companion -of some young man of distinction, probably Drusus, -for Tiberius was at this time absent with Augustus, -and on his return passed under the tutelage of Agrippa, -so far as he was not in the hands of Augustus himself. -The advice which Horace gives could not be applicable -to a man old enough to be Consul, and therefore -not in a subordinate position to his charge; but it -is strictly applicable to a young man who was to be -the companion of another young man, his superior -in rank or position. Everything in the letter indicates<span class="pagenum" id="Page_203">203</span> -the youth of Lollius; he was to share in the -athletic amusements of his friend; the temptations, -which he is to resist, are the temptations of a young -man. The advice given is excellent, and might be -profitably studied by any young man of the present -day, who happens to find himself in a similar situation; -some of it is distinctly personal, and tells -us what kind of a young man this Lollius was. -Horace begins by addressing him as “liberrime -Lolli,” “most independent Lollius,” and indicates -that one of his dangers is undue sensitiveness to the -imputation of servility. He concludes with some -general advice not specially applicable to the particular -occasion: “In the midst of all you will read the works -of learned men, and strictly enquire of them how -you may be able to live your life in comfort, whether -you are always to be harassed and excited by a sense -of poverty, excessive anxiety, and the expectation -of but moderate affluence, whether virtue is acquired -by learning or given by nature, what dispels care, -what puts you on good terms with yourself, what -calms and purifies, honour or the pleasures of gain, -or the side road, and the path of the unobserved.” -We should be at liberty to infer from this that the -good qualities of Lollius were balanced by an irritable -ambition and a love of money.</p> - -<p>The other epistle to Lollius, though he is addressed -with mock solemnity in the first line as “most mighty -Lollius,” is clearly written to a boy: “while you are -spouting Homer at Rome I have read him over -again at Præneste.” The recitation of the Homeric -poems was an early step in the educational course<span class="pagenum" id="Page_204">204</span> -of the Romans, and preceded the technical course -in rhetoric. At the end of the letter Horace says: -“Now is the time, boy, to drink in the words of -wisdom with a clean heart; present yourself now -to the higher influences.” Horace begins with -drawing moral lessons from the Homer which he has -been reading, and then passes on to general advice: -“Don’t wait to enter on the path of virtue, don’t -put off your moral discipline, or the time will go by,” -“The man who is a slave to cupidity or anxiety cannot -enjoy anything,” “Despise sensual pleasures; sensual -pleasure is bought with pain and carries a curse,” -“The greedy man is always a poor man; fix a limit -to your desires,” “The Sicilian tyrants never discovered -a worse torture than envy,” “Anger is a short fit of -madness; control your temper, it must be slave or -despot; bridle it, bind it with chains.”</p> - -<p>These might seem to be mere general moralizings, -applicable to anybody, but we have already had -some of them in the previous letter, and they occur -again in the ode addressed to Lollius.</p> - -<p>“Lest you should happen to think that the words -which I fit to music will perish, I would have you -to remember that though Homer stands first, other -poets are not unknown. Many heroes have lived -and died besides those commemorated by Homer, -but their names are lost and their deeds forgotten, -because they never found their inspired bard; therefore -I will not permit your many virtues, Lollius, -to pass unmentioned in my pages. You have an -acute intellect, which preserves its balance whether -things go well or ill. The man who punishes dishonest<span class="pagenum" id="Page_205">205</span> -avarice, abstaining from money the universal -tempter, and is Consul not for one year only, but -whenever the good and honest prefer honour to -bribes, flings away the gifts of corruption with lofty -countenance, and victoriously carries his arms through -opposing squadrons. It is not the man with large -possessions that you will rightly call happy; he -more correctly claims the name who knows how to -use the gifts of the gods wisely, and can bear the -hardships of poverty and dreads wickedness worse -than death; such an one has no fear of dying for -the friends he loves or his fatherland.” Even if we -admit that the rendering of the tenth and eleventh -stanzas of this ode is beset with difficulties, there is -no question about the last two with their praise of -poverty.</p> - -<p>The allusion to the Consulship has tempted commentators -to infer that the ode was addressed to -Lollius, the father, but it is just as likely, and on other -accounts more likely, that the complimentary allusion -was made to the son. “Your father is Consul this -year; you will be Consul for many years if you abstain -from certain temptations.”</p> - -<p>In fact, all three poems seem to have been written -at about the same time, viz., in the Consulship of the -elder Lollius, <span class="allsmcap">B.C.</span> 21, whose son was still a boy when -he served under Augustus in Spain, his service -simply amounting to being present in his father’s -company during the campaign.</p> - -<p>The situation, in short, seems to have been that -Horace was attracted, as other middle-aged men -have been attracted, by a spirited, clever, and athletic<span class="pagenum" id="Page_206">206</span> -lad, who seemed to have a great future before him, -but whose character was spoiled by three serious -defects—a violent temper, restless ambition, cupidity. -The attraction was sufficiently mutual to allow Horace -to give good advice, which he was careful to present -in a complimentary form, but without success, for -Paterculus, speaking of the Lollius who was general -in Northern Gaul in <span class="allsmcap">B.C.</span> 16, and suffered a severe -defeat, losing the Eagle of the Fifth Legion, describes -him as having been “on all occasions more greedy of -money than of acting properly, steeped in vice though -a consummate dissembler.” A page or two later he -speaks of the misdeeds and death of Marcus Lollius, -when acting as adviser of Caius Cæsar in the East.</p> - -<p>Lollius may have had an old grudge against Tiberius; -he was still a boy when Tiberius, then at the age of -seventeen, accompanied Augustus to the Cantabrian -War, at which Lollius was also present, and he may -already have shown indications of the ungovernable -temper which drew forth the monitions of Horace. -Then in <span class="allsmcap">B.C.</span> 21 he was appointed companion to Drusus, -the brother of Tiberius. His abilities rapidly attracted -attention; he won the favour of Augustus, and was -given a command on the German frontier. He was -unsuccessful and was superseded; the war was entrusted -to Drusus and Tiberius. After this we do -not hear of Lollius in any public capacity till he was -made the adviser of Caius Cæsar. It is again not -improbable that he attributed his disgrace to the -representations of the two Neros, of whom Tiberius -was now the sole survivor. The retirement of -Tiberius again gave him an opportunity; he again<span class="pagenum" id="Page_207">207</span> -won the favour of Augustus, and went out to the -East with Caius, prepared to indulge his grudge -against Tiberius. Suetonius definitely tells us that -when Caius arrived in the East Tiberius went to -visit him at Samos, and found him ill disposed to -himself, owing to the representations of his companion -and adviser, Marcus Lollius; that this situation -lasted for two years; that representations were even -made to Augustus to the effect that Tiberius was -tampering with the fidelity of the centurions in the -army of Caius; that Tiberius, on being informed of -this, wrote and begged that a guard might be sent -to observe his actions; that he gave up his customary -military exercises, and adopted the dress of a Greek -civilian; that he became day by day increasingly -an object of contempt and hatred, so that the people -of Nîmes threw down his statues, and a man ventured -to say at a banquet, in the presence of Caius, that -he would undertake to start for Rhodes at once and -bring back the exile’s head. Tiberius found his -position one of actual peril, and again wrote begging -to be allowed to return to Rome. He did not obtain -this permission till Caius had been consulted on the -subject, as Augustus had undertaken to take no step -without his consent. Happily Lollius had by this -time lost his influence, and Caius raised no objection. -Paterculus supplies a link in the chain of events. -Lollius, either seeing an opportunity for getting rid -of both Caius and Tiberius, and making himself -master in the East, or simply in the endeavour to -raise suspicions against the latter, had opened a -correspondence with the young King of the Parthians,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_208">208</span> -who betrayed it to Caius, with whom he had celebrated -a series of entertainments on the river Euphrates, -closely resembling those held by Napoleon -and the Czar Alexander on the Vistula many centuries -later. Lollius died a few days after the disclosure. -Paterculus, who was at that time a tribune of soldiers -in the army of Caius, did not know whether his -death was accidental or self inflicted; he only knew -that everybody was delighted, as they were no less -grieved by the death of another of the friends of -Horace, Censorinus, “a man,” says Paterculus, “born -to win the favour of mankind.”</p> - -<p>It is characteristic of Suetonius to inform us not -that Lollius was dead, but that he had lost favour -with Caius, when the latter permitted the return -of Tiberius to Rome.</p> - -<p>It would seem curious that the contempt and dislike -in which Tiberius was held for a short time at Rhodes -should have been felt so far away as Nîmes, in the -South of France. Suetonius, in mentioning the fact, -evidently wishes to imply that this contempt of -Tiberius was co-extensive with the Empire; but -the strangeness of the fact disappears when we remember -that Lucius Cæsar was at this time in the -South of France on his way to Spain, and supplies -a further link in the chain of evidence which goes -to prove the animus of the children of Julia against -their stepfather; they were only too ready to listen -to the suggestions of a Marcus Lollius and others -who proposed to build their fortunes upon the insecure -foundation of the favour of these spoiled -grandchildren of the great Augustus.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_209">209</span></p> - -<p>Tiberius returned to Rome in <span class="allsmcap">A.D.</span> 2, the year -in which Lucius Cæsar died suddenly at Marseilles. -He did not propose to return to public life; he gave -up his palace in the heart of Rome in the Carinæ, -and transferred his establishment to the villa and -gardens which Mæcenas had laid out on the Esquiline -hill outside the walls. He formally introduced his -son Drusus to public life by presenting him in the -Forum, but himself abstained from any but private -business. Meanwhile Caius Cæsar had gone again -to Armenia, where he was severely wounded by a -native at a conference to which he had entrusted -himself with insufficient precaution. The wound -was not immediately fatal, but proved disabling -both to mind and body. The young man had been -captivated by Oriental luxury, and found flatterers -to support him in a design of remaining permanently -“in the most distant corner of the world.” He was, -however, persuaded to return to Rome, and died -on his way back in a Lycian town.</p> - -<p>Fate had decided that Tiberius should not evade -his responsibilities. He had firmly resisted every -attempt made by Augustus to seduce him from -his retirement after his return to Rome, but the death -of Caius left him no option. Both privately and in -the Senate publicly Tiberius protested without avail; -it was not a case of “nolo episcopari”; he genuinely -preferred a private position, and was, in fact, more -in sympathy with the old Republican ideals than with -the new dynasty. But the public safety demanded -the presence of a man of experience at the head of -affairs, ready to take over the succession; and it<span class="pagenum" id="Page_210">210</span> -is in language suitable to this demand that Paterculus -describes the joy of the population of Rome -when it was known that Tiberius had been adopted -by Augustus, and again made a colleague in the -tribunician power. “Then again there shone for -parents confidence in the future of their children; -husbands could feel secure in their marriages, masters -in their property; all men could look for safety, rest, -peace, calm.”</p> - -<p>The style of Paterculus, that of a military man, -who has done his best to repair deficiencies in his early -education by taking lessons in the art of writing in -later life, is so artificial as to impair his credit, but -on this occasion his choice of language is strictly -correct. The young Cæsars had not been a success; -of all the possible heirs to Augustus who died young, -they alone are not credited with superior virtues. -We are not told of them that if they had lived they -would have restored the Republic and checked the -flood of adulation. They inherited the petulance -of Julia, her impatience of restraint, and while the -youth of Tiberius and Drusus had been spent in an -atmosphere of insecurity at a time when the power -of Augustus himself was not firmly established, the -children of Julia had come into a world which had -forgotten the civil wars, into a court without the -traditions of an ancient dynasty, which saw its models -in the seraglio of a Herod or Phraates, and laughed -at the republican simplicity of the home of Augustus.</p> - -<p>The intemperance of Julia was repeated in the -next generation; her eldest daughter, married to a -L. Æmilius Paulus, followed in her footsteps, and was<span class="pagenum" id="Page_211">211</span> -likewise banished to an island in <span class="allsmcap">A.D.</span> 2. The remaining -daughter, Agrippina, was married to Germanicus, the -son of Drusus and nephew to Tiberius; she was the -mother of Caligula and a grandmother of Nero.</p> - -<p>The years between the restitution of Tiberius -and the death of Augustus were chiefly spent by the -former in campaigns in Germany and Dalmatia, -the history of which will be treated separately with -greater convenience. It is worth while at this -juncture, when Augustus and Tiberius were to settle -down to work together for ten years, to investigate -the relations between them. Was there on either -side jealousy or mistrust? Did Augustus foresee -the tyranny of Tiberius, as those who believe in the -tyranny would have us believe?</p> - -<p>One of the many great literary losses which the -world has suffered is the loss of the letters of Augustus. -Not only have we lost these letters, but we have also -lost the private notes of Tiberius kept by him for the -benefit of his successor, and burned by Caligula; -the only fragments that we possess of the correspondence -of Augustus certainly do not favour the view -that there was any mistrust or want of sympathy -between the two men.</p> - -<p>The fragments as they stand in Suetonius are as -follows.</p> - -<p>The first was written in reply to a letter of Tiberius, -complaining of the violence of language used by one -Æmilius Ælianus, a native of Cordova, against the -Emperor, and probably belongs to the period of the -Cantabrian campaign, when Tiberius was still young. -“Do not give way, my dear Tiberius, in this matter<span class="pagenum" id="Page_212">212</span> -to the feelings natural to your time of life; do not be -too ready to be indignant that there should be any -one to speak evil of me; it is enough if we secure this, -that nobody shall be able to do us any harm.”</p> - -<p>Then we have two purely domestic letters: “I -dined, dear Tiberius, with the same party; Vinicius -and the elder Silius were added to the company. -During dinner we played a family game both yesterday -and to-day, for we threw dice, and whoever threw -‘the dog,’ or six, paid a shilling into the pool for -every dice thrown, which was taken by the player -who threw ‘Venus.’”</p> - -<p>“We spent the holidays pleasantly enough, my -dear Tiberius, for we played all day and every day, -and made the dice market pretty hot. Your brother -carried on with plenty of shouting; on the whole, -however, he did not lose much, but recovered his -losses contrary to all expectation. I lost about £170 -on my own account, but because I had been prodigally -liberal in my play, as I usually am; for if I had exacted -all the winnings that I passed over, or had kept -in my own pocket all that I gave anybody, I should -have won nearly £420. However, I like it best as it -is, for my charity will exalt me to eternal glory.”</p> - -<p>Again a familiar scrap: “Not even a Jew, my -dear Tiberius, preserves his sabbath fast so carefully -as I did to-day, for it was not till after the first hour -of the night that I at last chewed a couple of mouthfuls -in the bath, before I began to be perfumed.”</p> - -<p>The following letter probably belongs to the period -after the return of Tiberius, and was written on some -occasion when he was starting on a second campaign<span class="pagenum" id="Page_213">213</span> -It is written with occasional quite unnecessary slips -into Greek, which have been mangled in places by -the transcribers, so as to be unintelligible: “Goodbye, -most amiable Tiberius, and farewell to me and -mine ... best of generals. Yes, most amiable, -and as I hope for happiness, most brave man, and -most illustrious general, farewell. The scheme of -your summer operations! Well, I, my dear Tiberius, -in the midst of many difficulties and considering the -slackness of our military friends, do not think I could -have managed matters with greater foresight than -you have done. The men who were with you, in -fact, all admit that the well known line could be -applied to you: ‘One man saved the state for us -by his wakefulness.’ Whenever anything happens -which requires my closer thought, if ever I am very -much put out, I swear to you I miss my dear Tiberius, -and that verse of Homer’s occurs to me ‘when he -follows....’ When I hear and read that you are -getting thin under the continuance of your labours, -may I be confounded if my body is not all one shudder, -and I implore you to spare yourself, lest, if we hear -that you are in bad health, your mother and I may -expire, and the Roman people be in jeopardy of losing -its imperial position. It does not matter a bit whether -I myself am ill or well, if you are not well. I implore -the gods to preserve you to us, and to give you your -health now and always, if they do not utterly hate -the Roman people.”</p> - -<p>There is nothing insincere in the tone of this letter; -it is as natural as a letter can be, incoherent in places, -but always tender.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_214">214</span></p> - -<p>In fact, whatever misunderstandings arose between -Tiberius and Augustus were due to the misconduct -of Julia, or the silly plots and counterplots of Livia -and the other ladies of the family, who by their -domestic jealousies opened the way to the machinations -of men of the type of Marcus Lollius. The -friendship of the two men passed through the severest -possible test, and it survived the test. Augustus -may have thought Tiberius too scrupulous in the -matter of Julia, and that the second place in the -Empire was worth a little conjugal blindness, and -even if he did not take that line, there were plenty -of men and women ready to suggest it to him. But -the sequel proved that Tiberius had been right, and he -contrived in the end to assert his independence without -being involved in a bitter personal quarrel with -Augustus. Nor must too much stress be laid upon such -chance utterances as the often quoted “O my Roman -people, in what slow jaws you will be chewed!” -We do not know the context, and this may very well -have been no more than a piece of good-humoured -personal banter, suggested by the well-known slowness -of speech which was characteristic of Tiberius.</p> - -<p>Though Augustus was on good terms with Tiberius, -the children of Julia were not; they were more -Julian than the head of the Julian race; they noted -everything that could be interpreted to his discredit; -they recorded every hasty word, every ill-advised -speech, and as the years went on their malignity -increased, till in the person of Agrippina it amounted -to a monomania. But we must pause to study -Tiberius as a general.</p> - -<hr /> - -<div id="toclink_215" class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_215">215</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="IX">IX<br /> - -<span class="subhead">The Campaigns of Tiberius</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class="drop-cap"><span class="smcap1">With</span> the battle of Actium the wars of Rome -against nations equally civilized with herself -came to an end; henceforth the rulers of the world -were only called upon to round off the ring fence of -their domains, and establish scientific frontiers. The -Empire which is so often spoken of as the establishment -of a military despotism was, in fact, absolutely -the reverse; the power wielded by Marius, by Sulla, -by Pompeius, by Cæsar, by Antonius, had this character, -for it depended upon the military capacity -of these generals; they were soldiers in the first -place, and owed their predominance in the civil -government to their own sharp swords and the -fidelity of the men who had followed their standards. -Till the Roman was sole umpire in the circle of the -Mediterranean, war was in every respect a profitable -investment, and a military career was the readiest -path to political supremacy; not only did a Roman -general return laden with spoil, rich beyond the -dreams of avarice, but his conquests appealed to the -imagination of his countrymen; everybody might -be proud of generals and armies who had beaten -the successors of Alexander; but when military<span class="pagenum" id="Page_216">216</span> -operations were transferred to the frontiers, when -the enemies to be subdued were poor and half civilized, -when there were no longer gorgeous robes, graceful -statues, piles of treasure to be exhibited in the triumphal -procession of the victorious general, war -lost its prestige; and the steady progress of the -civilian administration is, in fact, the special feature -of the reigns of the Cæsars. Augustus was no soldier; -Tiberius never commanded an army after his succession; -the expedition of Caligula to the shore of the -English Channel was a madman’s freak; Claudius -had but little share in the conquest of Britain; Nero’s -morbid vanity preferred the triumphs of the stage to -those of the camp. A state in which the military -element is predominant does not put up with rulers -such as these.</p> - -<p>The Romans in the reign of Augustus were, so far -as military matters are concerned, and indeed, in -most other respects, very much in our own position -at the present day. Just as we thoughtlessly and -unjustly estimate the exploits of our soldiers in the -Soudan, on the North-West frontier of India, on the -West Coast of Africa, and even in South Africa, -rather cheaply, and disparage their achievements -in comparison with those of Marlborough and Wellington, -so the contemporaries of Augustus looked -back with regret to the heroes of the Punic Wars -and the conquerors of Greece; they did not realize -that the work which was to be done in their own time -was far more difficult than the work which had been -done. We too forget that to win the Battle of Waterloo -was a trifle compared with the operations which led<span class="pagenum" id="Page_217">217</span> -up to the victory of Omdurman, and the double -march into the Transvaal. The exploits of Wellington -in the Peninsula were splendid, impeded as they were -by opposition from England; but in the conquest -of South Africa England has grappled with far more -serious difficulties, and her generals have shown themselves -at least as resourceful as Wellington.</p> - -<p>The generals of the Augustan age are hardly -known to us. Few class Agrippa with the leading -generals of the world, but the man who for the first -time organized the navy of the Roman Empire, who -maintained the organization of the army on such a -footing that the enormous frontier was never without -its defenders, who was himself never beaten in the -field, and who trained a succession of capable officers -to follow in his footsteps, was no mean general. -Similarly Tiberius and his brother, along with many -capable subordinates, waged successful campaigns -under conditions of peculiar difficulty for many years; -but we never think of them as great soldiers, because -their exploits did not stir the imagination of their -contemporaries.</p> - -<p>Vast though the Roman Empire was, its vulnerable -frontiers were of relatively small extent in the reign -of Augustus; there was a weak place at the sources -of the Tigris and Euphrates; the Upper Nile had its -Soudanese difficulty then as now, but the whole of -the North Coast of Africa was protected by the desert, -and the Mauretanian tribes were not numerous enough -really to imperil the strip of civilization along the -Mediterranean. Spain was all Roman and nearly -all civilized, so was Gaul; but between the mouths<span class="pagenum" id="Page_218">218</span> -of the Rhine and the Bosphorus there was a vast -unsettled region, reaching down in one place to a -point within ten days’ journey of Rome itself, and -along an unbroken line of many hundred miles, -threatening the cities of Macedonia and Greece. -The problem before Augustus and his generals was -to form a frontier which should permanently secure -Gaul, Italy, and the Balkan Peninsula from the -adventurous races of central and East Central Europe.</p> - -<p>The weakest point in the chain of defence was -the Northern corner of the Adriatic, and the increasing -prosperity of the great plains of the Po -after they had become a Roman province naturally -attracted the attention of the semi-civilized tribes -who lived in the hills along the Dalmatian coast. -Not only was there danger from the East, but the -valley of the Adige formed a gateway through which -Central Europe could pour its restless multitudes -upon the Cis-Alpine Province. The geographical -configuration of the regions south of the plains of -the Eastern Danube has always impeded their progress, -and to this very day a patch of backward -nationalities remains there in close proximity to the -most elaborately civilized states of Europe.</p> - -<p>The other weak spot was the course of the Rhine, -and especially the country below the Drakensberg; -that noble river for many miles from the Lake of -Constance formed a natural defence against the -Germanic hordes, but on reaching the flat land -below Cologne it spread into marshes and split into -smaller channels, in which flotillas of boats could be -prepared without attracting notice, as was necessarily<span class="pagenum" id="Page_219">219</span> -the case where the river ran in a single stream. -In fact it was practically found that in places the -Rhine was no barrier, and that the tribes on its -Eastern bank must be rolled back from the river, -if Gaul was to enjoy her new prosperity in peace.</p> - -<p>It was in the defence of these two weak spots that -Tiberius was to fight his chief campaigns. In both -regions security demanded that the operations should -be conducted far beyond the frontier, in country -difficult at the present day, and tenfold more difficult -then, when extensive forests and marshes were -added to the impediments offered by ravines and -mountains.</p> - -<p>It is not easy to estimate the degree of civilization -reached by the Pannonians and Dalmatians or the -Germanic tribes, when they made war upon the -Roman legions. To the ancients all men living under -tribal or national institutions were barbarians; they -restricted the honour of civilization to those whose -political constitution was based upon the city, and -though the Græco-Roman city organization practically -covered the two peninsulas, which we call -Greece and Italy, it did not elsewhere extend far -inland; the outer fringe of cities was in close contact -with populations living under a clan system, whose -chiefs or kings adopted many of the luxuries and -some of the institutions of their neighbours; behind -these again were less advanced nations and less -civilized rulers, gradually merging into real barbarism. -The Gallic chieftains had already been in -frequent communication with Rome for a century -before Cæsar conquered Gaul, and the influence<span class="pagenum" id="Page_220">220</span> -of the Roman traders upon the general standard -of civilization was perceptible in his time even among -the German tribes nearest to the Rhine. Arminius -had had a Roman education, Maroboduus was brought -up by Augustus, adopted the Roman military system -and welcomed refugees who could train his troops; -Latin was already spoken by the Dalmatian tribes -when they were eventually conquered by Tiberius. -Though the greater part of Central Europe was under -forest the valleys were cultivated, as they were in -Britain at the time of Cæsar’s invasions, but the -forest was always near enough to receive fugitives, -and to give cover to an attacking party. There -were no large aggregations of human beings in towns, -but there were areas sufficiently thickly populated, -and their population was sufficiently well organized -to bring formidable armies into the field, whose -operations were skilfully conducted. The men were -no more savages than the Boers are savages; their -civilization was a different civilization from the -Græco-Roman, but it was a civilization. The occurrences -of the Highland Line were anticipated -in the foothills of the Alps; sometimes there was -a mere cattle-lifting raid, when a predecessor of Rob -Roy swooped down upon the farms round Mantua -or Cremona, sometimes a combination of clans under -a capable chieftain waged a formidable war, whose -object was less plunder than the preservation of their -independence; sometimes the pressure of real savagery -from behind urged the more civilized races -forward till the ultimate wave fell upon the Roman -frontier.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_221">221</span></p> - -<p>Far in the East round the mouths of the Danube -the predecessors of the Cossacks on their little horses -kept the Roman outposts in a state of terror. Ovid -tells us how they swooped down upon the labourers -in the fields round the camp at Tomi, how their -arrows fell into its very centre, how they galloped -round its walls, picked up some unfortunate straggler, -and were off with him before pursuit could be organized. -Reading such a description as this we realize -the true significance of the two Roman walls in England, -and the wall from the Main to the Danube in -Germany. They were not defences against systematic -war; they were too long to be defended against -an organized invasion, but they effectually prevented -raiding. Cattle cannot be lifted over a wall twelve -feet high. The difference between our frontier -wars and the Roman frontier wars lies in the proximity -of the Roman frontiers to the heart of the Empire; -but in spite of the perpetual imminence of the danger, -the Romans did not pay a sufficient tribute of gratitude -to the generals who secured their safety, and -were inclined to underestimate their services.</p> - -<p>Even such a clear-sighted historian as Merivale, -in speaking of the military operations of Tiberius -and Drusus in Germany, adopts the attitude of Tacitus, -and disparages the cautious policy of Augustus, -which discouraged schemes of boundless conquest -in Central Europe. Tacitus wrote, when Trajan -was engaged in rectifying the frontier of the Lower -Danube, new dangers threatened the Empire and -new measures seemed advisable. The men of his day -might be pardoned for thinking that they were called<span class="pagenum" id="Page_222">222</span> -upon to do what Augustus had unwisely left undone. -Possibly they were right, but they omitted from their -calculations a fact which was of the first importance, -and of itself imposed prudence. The fighting strength -of the Empire was not adequate for a policy of indefinite -expansion at the end of the reign of Augustus, -nor even in its middle period. It was difficult to -steer between the two extremes. Augustus had seen -the evils of a rampant military policy in the careers -of his uncle and Antonius; he had known what it -was to be the puppet of his own soldiers; he had -fought in the Civil Wars, and he rightly inferred -that there could be no settled government so long -as the sword outbalanced the gown. Quite apart -from any personal ambition or mean motive, he shrank -from creating fresh military heroes, who might be -tempted to overthrow the carefully balanced fabric -of the State, and renew the Marian and Sullan episodes, -or the hateful reign of the Triumvirate in which he -had himself taken an unwilling part. On the other -hand, a certain strength was necessary to police the -Empire and guard its frontiers. In the encouragement -which he gave to civilians in the public service, -in the revival of commerce, and the abundance of -employment secured by the internal peace of the -Empire, Augustus cut off his supply of recruits; -the army no longer competed favourably with other -employments, and year by year the number of homeless -and ruined men, to whom military service had -opened an opportunity, was reduced. Men were -too precious to be lightly ventured on interminable -expeditions in the Hercynian forest, where the elk,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_223">223</span> -and possibly even the mammoth, still tested the -ingenuity of the hunter.</p> - -<p>At the age of seventeen Tiberius accompanied -Augustus and Agrippa to Spain, where a campaign -was conducted in the mountainous regions occupied -by the Cantabrians. Augustus soon fell ill and returned -home, but Tiberius remained to take his first -lessons in war under the able and ingenious Agrippa. -The Romans wisely flung their young men into active -life at a very early age, and those who had it in them -to learn, had every opportunity of learning. Four -years later Tiberius, barely of age to manage his own -affairs according to our ideas, was put in command -of the expedition which penetrated Armenia, and -awed the Parthians into a surrender of the captured -standards. We are not told that there was any -serious fighting on this occasion; the triumph was -one of diplomacy rather than of arms, and the expedition -itself took the form of an armed demonstration -strong enough to determine the course of the -negotiations rather than of a campaign. Doubtless -Tiberius was attended by capable advisers in addition -to those splendid centurions, the link between the -commissioned and non-commissioned officers, who -formed the backbone of the Roman armies; but in -any case the experience was a valuable one. It was -necessary that the army should be conducted through -a difficult and mountainous country, far from its -base; any negligence, any want of foresight, might -have brought on a disaster which, even if only temporary, -would have spoiled the effect contemplated, -and weakened the Roman Plenipotentiaries. The<span class="pagenum" id="Page_224">224</span> -expedition was a better training than even a long -course of autumn manœuvres, and Tiberius returned -from it with a full knowledge of military -problems.</p> - -<p>The extraordinary indifference of the historians -Paterculus and Suetonius to chronology, and their -absolutely casual use of such connectives as “hereupon,” -“soon afterwards,” and the like, makes it -difficult to be certain of the real sequence of events. -It is, however, certain that Tiberius was Governor -of Transalpine Gaul for a year at some period between -<span class="allsmcap">B.C.</span> 20 and <span class="allsmcap">B.C.</span> 16, that he was harassed -during the term of his Governorship by sporadic -invasions of German tribes, and was able to measure -their importance as affecting the peace of his Province, -and form plans for permanently checking them. -He came to the conclusion that the whole middle -and eastern Alpine region was a centre of disturbance, -and that it could not be dealt with alone, seeing -that the tribes who lived on the Dalmatian coast -and at the sources of the Save were always ready -to create a diversion when the Roman armies were -occupied in the valleys to the south or north-west -of the Alps. Cæsar had more than once been called -back from the conquest of Gaul to deal with the -Pirustæ in the same quarter.</p> - -<p>In <span class="allsmcap">B.C.</span> 16 the ill-omened Marcus Lollius sustained -a serious defeat at the hands of the German tribes, -while Gaul itself had been rendered unquiet by -the exactions of Licinus, himself a Gaul employed -by Augustus as Governor in the Southern Province. -Augustus himself went to Gaul to set straight the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_225">225</span> -civilian administration, Agrippa was sent to the -Illyrian regions, Drusus to the passes leading from -Lombardy to the Upper Rhine, while Tiberius took -charge of an expedition directed upon the same -region from Basle by the Lake of Constance. This -was the first of the great combined movements -originated by Tiberius; their conception, but even -more their success, mark him out as a general of -genius. Given a mobile enemy able to live on the -country, and provided with an interminable area -at his rear into which he can retreat, the only hope -of dealing with him successfully is to cut off his -retreat. This was the strategy of Tiberius.</p> - -<p>The army of Agrippa in Illyria protected the rear -of Drusus, who was able to drive the Alpine tribes -back through the passes to the Northern face of the -Alps, where they found the army of Tiberius ready -for them. The victory was so complete that the -very names of these tribes disappear from history; -squeezed between two Roman armies they were -doubtless exterminated. Horace wrote an official ode -on the occasion, comparing Drusus to a young eagle -or lion; and in a complimentary ode to Augustus on -another occasion, compared the charge of Tiberius -to the impetuous floods of the Aufidus, his native -river. The northern slopes of the Western Alps -were now secured to Rome; there was no longer -any danger of Gallic intrigues stimulated by the restless -Helvetii, but the work was by no means done. -Augustus seems to have remained for some time in -Gaul studying its social conditions, Agrippa remained -in the Illyrian district, Drusus was sent to the lower<span class="pagenum" id="Page_226">226</span> -Rhine, and Tiberius, as far as we can gather, remained -at Rome.</p> - -<p>Profiting by the experience gained in the recent -war, Drusus determined to repeat the strategy of -Tiberius, and again to hem in an elusive enemy -between two Roman armies; he himself marched -up the Lippe, making a point on the Weser, somewhere -near Paderborn, his objective, and at the same -time he sent a flotilla down the Rhine, with instructions -to ascend the mouth of the Weser, and thus cut -off the flight of the Germans. The first attempt -failed, the fleet being dispersed by storms; it was -reserved for Tiberius himself to succeed at a later -date in this combined movement. In the following -year Drusus advanced to the Weser, and on his return -established a permanent outpost at Aliso, fifty miles -up the Lippe; this was the period of the death of -Agrippa, whose command in Pannonia was taken -over by Tiberius. We know but little of the operations -of Tiberius in Pannonia at this time, except -that they were successful, and that the ring of Roman -provinces was now completed along the East coast -of the Adriatic, uniting Greece and Macedonia with -Italy.</p> - -<p>In <span class="allsmcap">B.C.</span> 10 Augustus returned to Gaul; Drusus -consecrated a temple in his honour at Lyons, and the -worship of the Roman Empire personified in Augustus -was officially substituted for the Druidical religion, -in whose priesthood Augustus saw the irreconcilable -enemy of Rome. After this ceremony Drusus again -crossed the Rhine and penetrated as far as the Elbe; -on his return he met with the accident which caused<span class="pagenum" id="Page_227">227</span> -his death, and elicited that touching illustration -of affection on the part of Tiberius, to which reference -has already been made.</p> - -<p>Tiberius took up his brother’s work on the Rhine -and remained there for two years; he has disappointed -the historians by doing nothing sensational, -but when at the end of the two years Augustus -called him back to Rome to take the place of Imperial -Colleague, he left the Roman frontier extended, and -the German terror pushed back from the immediate -vicinity of the river. He had created a Roman party -among the German chiefs, as Cæsar had created a -Roman party among the Gallic chiefs; partly as hostages, -partly as friends, the young German nobles -were tempted to Rome to learn her civilization -and form estimates of her weakness; the Eastern -bank of the river was sufficiently Romanized to tempt -Varus to treat it fifteen years later as a Roman province. -Tiberius did more than this: he began that -policy which was eventually to substitute for the -magnificent conception of the all-embracing Roman -Empire the map of Europe; he transferred 40,000 -Germans to the left bank of the Rhine; they accepted -the lands assigned to them, coupled with the obligation -to service in the armies of their conquerors. -It was a perilous policy, but no one could have foreseen -its results in the distant future, and even if its -tendencies had been suspected at the time, the pressing -needs of the Empire would have silenced the voice -of a too clear-sighted critic. The Empire was short -of soldiers; men evaded military service by all possible -means. Even the dreaded slavery of the ergastula<span class="pagenum" id="Page_228">228</span> -seemed to them less terrible than the army; pay could -not be found to make the soldier’s career sufficiently -attractive, now that the chances of loot and liberal -donatives were of the smallest. The finances of the -Empire were straitened; Augustus had had difficulty -in adding a death duty of five per cent. to his -resources. The suggestion of Tiberius must have -seemed a stroke of genius: to protect the frontiers -by civilizing the enemies of the Empire, to find a cheap -supply of soldiers by imposing military service on -the hardy Germans, gradually to relieve the manufacturer -and the merchant of the burden of finding -men and taxes; no words could praise too highly -the man who had suggested a means by which these -desirable objects could be secured. We ourselves -are treading in the same path; we congratulate -ourselves on the wisdom which made English soldiers -of Highland clansmen and Irish rapparees, which -has arrayed against Russia the tribes of the North-West -frontier, which fights the barbarians of Central -Africa with the trained barbarians of its coasts; -but we too shall have to pay the price which the -Roman paid, if we neglect the military training -of the centre of the Empire, and allow its population -to expand unexercised in arms, incapable of fighting. -If ever the day comes when the Sikhs and Goorkhas -or even our own children beyond the seas learn by -experience that preponderant force is in their own -hands, and that the breed of fighting men is not ready -for action in Great Britain, the Empire of England -will be broken up, as the Empire of Rome was broken -up; not by any sudden cataclysm, but by the gradual<span class="pagenum" id="Page_229">229</span> -intrusion of the less civilized and less trained components -of the Empire upon the central administration.</p> - -<p>The end of the government of Tiberius upon the -Rhine was also the beginning of his retirement; -his resumption of public work was almost immediately -followed by a fresh outbreak in the Pannonian region, -and then came a terrible disaster to the Roman arms -in the district of the Rhine. Of the campaigns which -followed we fortunately have a fairly clear account -given us by an eyewitness, Paterculus.</p> - -<p>Unfortunately the only work from the pen of Paterculus -that has come down to our times, perhaps the -only work that he completed, is a short epitome of -Roman history from the beginning to <span class="allsmcap">A.D.</span> 30, which -seems to have been written as an introduction to a -work of considerable detail dealing with the campaigns -in which the author and the relatives of his friend -Marcus Vinicius, to whom the work is dedicated, -took part. Paterculus belonged to the class of professional -soldiers and administrators whom the Empire -called into being, or to whom at least it gave -a position which they had not hitherto enjoyed. In -his eyes the Empire was good, and its rulers were -good; and while he is profuse in his admiration of -the heroes of the old Republic, and can pay as high a -tribute to Cicero as to any supporter of the Empire, -he is no less commendatory of the men who were -brought to the front by the new order of things. -He does not single out Tiberius as alone worthy of -praise; such men as Marcus Lepidus, the son of the -triumvir, and others who were in a position to excite -the jealousy of a suspicious tyrant, enjoy a full share<span class="pagenum" id="Page_230">230</span> -of his somewhat exuberant laudation. We may admit -that Paterculus was uncritical without accusing -him of deliberate dishonesty; he was a successful -man; he was in the swim; he had no reason for -nicely adjusting praise and censure to meet the merits -of the men with whom he worked; he was not a -frequenter of the Legitimist drawing rooms, but an -active capable official, bluff, hearty, with an unfortunate -propensity to consider himself a stylist. His -grandfather was, as we have seen, an intimate friend -and fellow soldier of the father of Tiberius; his father -was also a soldier; he himself followed the family -profession; he served under Caius Cæsar in Armenia, -under Agrippa in Pannonia, under Tiberius both in -Germany and Pannonia; he was honoured with -civil magistracies at Rome, and eventually became a -Senator; his brother was similarly successful. His -value to us lies in the fact that he was an eyewitness -of the events which he describes, and we may be sure -that the few details which he thought worthy of -mention in his rapid summary are actual facts. M. -Vinicius was Consul in <span class="allsmcap">A.D.</span> 30, and the honour -enjoyed by his friend prompted Paterculus to write -and dedicate this little work. In the following year -the events took place which brought about the fall -of Sejanus, whom Paterculus praises highly; possibly -he was one of those upon whom the wrath of the -Senate fell; in any case we hear nothing more of -him, and his proposed work was never written, or -never published; he died, or at any rate ceased to -speak, before the reign of terror which accompanied -the fall of Sejanus had cast its shadow upon Tiberius,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_231">231</span> -before the reigns of Caligula and Nero had made it -possible to believe every evil of a Roman Emperor, -before the novelty of the Empire had worn off; -there was no reason for adopting any but an -optimistic tone.</p> - -<p>Tiberius left Rome for Germany in <span class="allsmcap">A.D.</span> 4; war -had been going on there for three years, the Roman -general being then a Marcus Vinicius, grandfather -of the Consul to whom Paterculus dedicated his book. -Paterculus accompanied Tiberius, and was generally -with him during the nine years of his campaigns; -he seems to have been a member of the headquarters -staff, succeeding his father as commander of the -cavalry. He says: “For nine years in succession, -either as cavalry commander or staff officer, I was a -spectator of his most heavenly operations, and assisted -him in the measure permitted by my own mediocrity.” -The epithet strikes us as exuberant, but it -is frequently used by Paterculus, and not reserved for -Tiberius; he employs it in speaking of the eloquence -of Cicero. The historian tells us of the incidents of -the journey through the most populous regions of -Italy and the provinces of Gaul; he describes the joy -with which the inhabitants welcomed their former -governor, while the soldiers pressed to seize his -hand, and shouted, “Do we really see you, General? -Have we got you safe again? I served with you in -Armenia, I in Rhætia, I was rewarded by you in -Vindelicia, I in Pannonia, I in Germany.”</p> - -<p>The first year’s campaign extended to the Weser, -and was continued to the month of December; -Tiberius then returned to Rome, leaving his soldiers<span class="pagenum" id="Page_232">232</span> -in winter quarters near the sources of the Lippe. -He was back again early in the following spring, -and in this year successfully completed the operation -in which Drusus had failed, on a more extended scale; -he made the Elbe, not the Weser, his objective, and -sent round a fleet to meet his troops with fresh supplies. -Paterculus attributes the success of this enterprise -not only to the good fortune and diligence of -the Commander-in-Chief, but to his careful study -of the seasons. On this occasion the Romans first -came across the Lombards, “a race whose courage -surpassed even German ferocity”; they seem to -have been settled on the East of the Elbe in the -region of Magdeburg. Paterculus has a doubtless true -story of an elderly German who asked to be allowed -to see Tiberius, and on receiving permission paddled -across the Elbe; after having stared at him for some -time he touched his hand, and declaring that he had -now beheld the gods, bewailed the folly of his young -men who insisted on fighting with their superiors; -he then returned to his boat, and departed across the -Elbe, still keeping his eyes on the group of Roman -officers. There is nothing improbable in this story; -savages are particularly impressed by size, and the -stately form of Tiberius, glorious in such a uniform -as we see on the Augustus of the Prima Porta, may -well have appeared superhuman to the uncultured -Lombard.</p> - -<p>The practical results of the campaign were to convince -Tiberius that an eastward extension of the -Roman frontier was alike impracticable and undesirable; -the problem was to find a defensible line of<span class="pagenum" id="Page_233">233</span> -outposts near the Rhine and overawe the tribes who -lived beyond it; but before Tiberius had time to -rectify the frontier he was called off to deal with a far -more serious war nearer Italy.</p> - -<p>Maroboduus, the King of the Marcomanni, settled -his followers in the neighbourhood of Vienna, having -formed the idea of creating a great military power -in Germany; it was the first conception of a German -Empire, for many tribes were to be united in the -confederacy by which the aggressions of Rome were -to be stopped, and the tide of invasion possibly turned -in the opposite direction. This man, a Suevian by -birth, had been a hostage, and was brought up under -the care of Augustus at Rome; in this case, as in -several others, the policy of educating a native prince, -so that he might bring his people under Roman -civilization, proved to be of doubtful advantage. -Maroboduus applied the lessons which he learned -at Rome to resisting the extension of the Empire. -He got together a force of 70,000 foot and 4,000 -cavalry, drilled them carefully in the Roman fashion, -and fixed upon Bohemia as the suitable centre of -his Empire. He did not attack the Romans, that -was not his first object; he wished to civilize Germany -and create a counterpoise to Rome. Tiberius saw -that this could not be permitted; the proposed -German Empire was too near the turbulent Pannonian -region for safety; it was necessary to nip the -nascent civilization of Central Europe in the bud. In -order finally to break the power of Maroboduus, -Tiberius decided to carry out another of those vast -combined operations in which he had already twice<span class="pagenum" id="Page_234">234</span> -succeeded. He sent Sentius Saturninus with one -army to march from the Rhine through the Hercynian -forest to the Danube, while he himself brought up -another army from Cis-Alpine Gaul through the -Julian Alps. The operation was so admirably planned -and its details so well considered, that the two armies -found themselves each within five days of their meeting -point, when a fresh outbreak of Pannonia and -Dalmatia threatened Tiberius in the rear, and compelled -him to take his army back to another scene -of war. Though this great operation failed in one -way, it seems to have succeeded in another; it effectually -cowed Maroboduus, who did not intervene, -as might have been anticipated, in the Pannonian -troubles, while it shook the confidence of the Germans -in their self-appointed Emperor; we find him at a -later time a fugitive living under the protection of -Rome.</p> - -<p>The precision with which Tiberius was able to -time the arrival of the army of Saturninus indicates -a greater knowledge of the geography of the districts -north of the Alps, and a less savage condition of those -regions, than the statements of Cæsar would lead -us to imagine possible. We can hardly take literally -the statement of Paterculus that Sentius was told -to cut through the Hercynian forest; such work -may have been necessary on the watershed of the -Neckar and the Danube, or, if, as is most probable, -the advance was made by a more northerly route, -between the Main and the Danube, but when once -in the basin of the Danube, the Roman soldiers -must have found their way fairly open, and they must<span class="pagenum" id="Page_235">235</span> -further have found sufficient supplies of food. The -central uplands of Germany were then as now covered -with forests and more thickly covered, but there -must have been known tracks along which an army -could be led. In the southern basin of the Upper -Danube, after the conquest of the Vindelici, a Roman -military colony had been founded at Augsburg, -indicating that measures were rapidly taken to sweep -the rich country north of the Alps into the net of -the Empire. Everywhere the traders, whose chief -business was slave hunting, pushed in advance of -the Roman armies, and Tiberius was thus able to -get sufficiently accurate information to launch an -army upon the country north of Vienna from the -north-west, timed to meet his own advance from -the south-east. The conception was a daring one, -and the accuracy with which it was carried out would -be admirable even today. To render such elaborate -strategy successful a commander must not only -be able to plan accurately, but he must be able to -depend on the obedience of his subordinates and -possess their absolute confidence.</p> - -<p>The rising in Pannonia was of a very serious nature. -During the interval of seventeen years since Tiberius -had last waged war in that direction the country -had become so far Romanized as to have adopted -to a large extent the language of its conquerors; -garrisons of veterans had been established, and the -war began with a general slaughter of these, of resident -Roman citizens and of travelling merchants. The -province of Macedonia was invaded and devastated. -At Rome panic prevailed; Augustus publicly declared<span class="pagenum" id="Page_236">236</span> -that the enemy was within ten days’ march -of the city; levies were held, veterans were called -back to the colours, and men and women alike were -compelled to enfranchise a certain proportion of their -slaves according to the amount of their assessed property, -that they might be enrolled in the armies. -Paterculus was put in command of the reinforcements -that were sent to Tiberius from Rome.</p> - -<p>The war lasted for three years, and was eventually -ended partly by diplomacy, partly by the patient -strategy of Tiberius. Great pitched battles were -impossible in that difficult country, and the strategy -of the enemy did not permit them. Tiberius kept -dividing the forces of his opponents, cutting off the -supplies of the isolated detachments, and conquered -them in detail. Paterculus particularly admires -his prudence in breaking up his own forces after -finding that the numbers, on which others were disposed -to rely, were too unwieldy to be effective; -he spread his winter quarters over the country, and -himself spent the cold season at Siscia, high up in -the hills near the sources of the Save.</p> - -<p>Paterculus does not give us a consecutive account -of the campaigns, but he mentions a few personal -details with reference to Tiberius, both on this campaign -and on the subsequent one in Germany after -the Varian disaster, which are worth quoting.</p> - -<p>“During the whole of the war in Germany and -Pannonia, no one of us or of those above or below our -rank was ever ill without finding that his health and -safety were attended to by the care of Cæsar, in such -a way that his mind seemed to be so free from the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_237">237</span> -weight of all its other burdens as to be concentrated -on this task alone. For those who desired it there -was a composite vehicle ready, his litter assigned -to the general benefit, whose advantages I experienced -along with others; physicians, food, all the apparatus -of a bath, carried for this purpose alone, were ready -for every invalid; home and servants alone were -wanting, but nothing was missing which they could -supply or need. I will add a fact which everybody -who was present at that time will recognize at once -along with other things which I have related; he -alone always rode, always dined sitting along with -his guests during the greater part of the summer -campaigns; he was indulgent to breaches of discipline, -provided there was no bad example; he -frequently advised, sometimes reproved, very rarely -punished, and took a middle course, being blind to -most faults, checking others.”</p> - -<p>This is the first mention of a field hospital, reserved, -apparently, for the use of the staff and their attendants. -Other Roman generals took an elaborate bath -establishment with them on their campaigns for their -own use: Tiberius utilized it only for the sickness -of others. Other generals travelled in carts or -on a litter: Tiberius always rode. He took his -meals like an active man in a sitting posture, not -lying at full length after the customary Roman -fashion.</p> - -<p>Suetonius declares that in the German wars Tiberius -proved to be a martinet, and mentions the case of an -officer who was severely punished for sending his freedmen -to hunt on the opposite side of the Rhine contrary<span class="pagenum" id="Page_238">238</span> -to orders. Tiberius would indeed have been a bad -general if he had neglected to punish a gross violation -of discipline, which by revealing the presence of his -force might spoil a carefully devised operation. Similarly -Suetonius sees excessive severity in the strictness -with which Tiberius cut down the transport of officers. -Those better versed in the difficulties of warfare will -be inclined to take a different view. There were -fashionable and luxurious officers then as now, whom -it was essential to keep in order. Doubtless some -one of these cherished his grievance and left it recorded -in his memoirs to be added to the evidence compiled -by the historians of a later age.</p> - -<p>A mysterious transaction with the Pannonian chief -Bato, who was spared after the surrender because -he had allowed Tiberius and his troops to slip through -an encircling force on one occasion, suggests that -diplomacy was employed, as well as arms, in bringing -about the surrender of the Pannonians, though it is -possible that Tiberius accompanied an act of kindness -with an ironical reference to an occasion on which he -had outwitted Bato.</p> - -<p>The Pannonian war was barely concluded before -Tiberius was called off to the Rhine; he left his -nephew Germanicus to finish his work east of the -Adriatic, and hurried to the scene of his former -victories in Germany. Quintilius Varus, the Governor -of the Southern German Marches, had been -enticed into a trap by the German patriot Arminius, -and slain along with two legions, the greater part -of a third, and their complement of cavalry and -light-armed troops. Arminius, like Maroboduus, had<span class="pagenum" id="Page_239">239</span> -been educated at Rome; he was even a Roman -citizen and a member of the Equestrian Order; -he too had measured the weakness of Rome, and was -only waiting for a favourable opportunity to strike. -The rising was organized on a great scale; the Gauls -who lived in the country round Vienne were tampered -with, the object being to check the advance -of a Roman army across the Alps. Fortunately they -were only half-hearted in the cause, and were easily -suppressed by Tiberius on his way northwards. -More serious were the movements on the lower Rhine. -The great camp which had been fortified originally -by Drusus at Aliso on the Lippe was invested, and a -general rising of the tribes who had been settled on -the west bank of the Rhine was only prevented by -the decision of Lucius Asprenas, who without waiting -for the arrival of Tiberius marched two legions down -the river. The garrison of Aliso succeeded in cutting -its way through the enemy.</p> - -<p>In assigning to Varus the command of the Rhine -Augustus had been premature. Varus was a civilian -rather than a soldier, and his mission was to consolidate -the Rhine frontier by the arts of peace, and by -bringing the comparatively uncivilized Germans to -recognize the blessings of Roman law. It is more -than probable that even as a civil administrator he -was not particularly upright; he had previously -been Governor of Syria, and, according to Paterculus, -enjoyed the reputation of having found that -province rich and left it poor. He had repressed -the military ardour of his subordinates, adopting -a policy of conciliation, and deliberately closing his<span class="pagenum" id="Page_240">240</span> -eyes to the necessity of armed interference when -events showed that it was advisable. His ruling -passion was love of money; in other respects he was -inactive both in mind and body, a man of preconceived -ideas, such a man as has on other occasions -and in other places invited disaster. Arminius -fooled him to the top of his bent, the Germans invited -him to settle their quarrels according to the honoured -forms of Roman law; he was gradually enticed -with his force further and further away from the -frontier; the summer operations took the form of -a judge’s circuit. Meanwhile the German forces -gradually closed in behind his rear. Varus was deaf -to the remonstrances of his officers and to the information -given him by a German rival of Arminius. -At last when the pedantic Governor had been successfully -lured into a hopeless position Arminius struck. -The Roman soldiers, having no confidence in their -leader, were completely demoralized; they were -slaughtered literally like sheep, sacrificed to the -gods of the Germans. The commander of the -Roman cavalry basely deserted the infantry and -tried to secure his own safety, but was cut down -with all his force before he could reach the Rhine. -Varus himself committed suicide; his example is -said to have been followed by some Roman youths, -who, having been taken prisoners, dashed out their -brains with their own fetters.</p> - -<p>The situation, however, was not so grave as it might -have been. Arminius sent the head of Varus to -Maroboduus, but that chieftain, either from want -of confidence or from jealousy of a rival, took the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_241">241</span> -Roman side, and transmitted the relic with a friendly -message to Augustus.</p> - -<p>It is not incumbent upon us to believe that after -this disaster the aged Emperor acquired a habit of -dashing his head against the wall, and crying, “Varus, -Varus, give me back my legions!” but that the -calamity was a sufficient one to disturb his equanimity -seriously is self-evident. Soldiers had been found -only with great difficulty for the Pannonian war, as -we have seen; the recall of veterans to the standards -was always considered a desperate measure, and still -more desperate was the employment of slaves as -soldiers; the absolute destruction of two whole -legions and six cohorts along with their cavalry -meant a loss of 17,300 men, as large a force as the -permanent garrison of Italy. It imposed upon -Tiberius the necessity of husbanding his men, even if -he had not been naturally disposed to circumspection, -for nearly a tenth part of the whole Roman army -had been wiped out.</p> - -<p>Tiberius quickly avenged the army of Varus; he -swept through the country, leaving devastation behind -him, but he failed to capture the ringleaders of the -revolt. During this campaign, in which he was -soon joined by Germanicus, he abandoned his ordinary -policy of acting entirely on his own initiative and -without consultation with his staff; he carefully -explained to them the reason of all his movements. -In fact, he now set to work to educate his successors, -for he saw that other duties would shortly prevent -his personal activity in the field.</p> - -<p>Both Augustus and Tiberius have been reproached<span class="pagenum" id="Page_242">242</span> -with an unadventurous policy on the German frontier. -Augustus discouraged the distant expeditions of -Drusus into the heart of Germany, and Tiberius was -to be accused of jealousy in the near future in similarly -restraining the ardour of Germanicus, but those -who lightly make these charges overlook the difficulties -of the problem. The conquest of the basin -of the Mediterranean had been a conquest of civilized -peoples, who knew when they were beaten, and who -once having accepted the arbitrament of the Roman -arms found acquiescence in the Roman domination -the best security for civilization. But the conquest -of Central Europe was another matter; in one sense -there was nothing to be gained by it. When Tiberius -met his fleet upon the Elbe, he had traversed many -miles of that desolate flat of Northern Europe which -has only been gradually reclaimed from the wilderness -and rendered fertile by the patient labour of many -centuries. There was no trade. There were, so far -as he knew, no minerals, there was nothing to invite -settlers in the endless marshes, and to an Italian -the climate was detestable. If, on the other hand, -he turned his attention to the hill country, there was -the same absence of attractions; even if the valleys -were cultivated they were too far off, and the climate -was too severe to enable them to compete with the -more accessible territory of Gaul; the mineral treasures -of the hills were as yet undiscovered, and even -if they had been discovered, they were practically -inaccessible. It seemed wiser, and more immediately -practicable, to limit the expansion of the Empire to -the lines suggested by the Danube and the Rhine, and<span class="pagenum" id="Page_243">243</span> -to spread such a terror of the Roman name beyond -those limits as would secure the settlers on the outlying -lands from attack. This policy was partly -realized; it was not fully realized, and the German -frontier remained the running sore of the Roman -Empire till the Empire itself became German, and even -then fresh hordes were to push on from Central Asia. -Nor was the Empire absolutely at peace within itself; -there were still sporadic outbreaks to be dealt with -even in Gaul and Spain, still African tribes threatening -Mauretania and Egypt, still the ever-watchful Parthian -in the East. Augustus rightly considered that the -expansion of the Empire was ended, and that the time -for purposeless conquests had gone by.</p> - -<p>With the German campaign Tiberius ended his -career as a general. Twenty years of his life had been -spent in the field, and though his name is associated -with no dazzling victories, it is equally free from any -suspicion of failure. Had he suffered even minor -reverses, his critics would not have failed to make -the most of them; but there is not a suggestion of -anything of the kind, and the silence of less friendly -historians supports the opinion which Paterculus -held of his leader’s merits. Of the two brothers -Drusus was the more dashing soldier, as he was the -more generally attractive man, but Tiberius was the -greater general; and his services to the Empire were -none the less solid because in comparison with the -brilliant feats of Cæsar they were inconspicuous. -Perhaps we should have formed a higher opinion -of the value of Tiberius in the field had he too been -able to leave his commentaries; but, alas! his exploits<span class="pagenum" id="Page_244">244</span> -are concealed in an almost impenetrable night along -with those of the brave men who lived before Agamemnon. -His three great combined movements, -that by which the Vindelici were conquered behind -the Alps, the ferocious Longobardi frightened on the -Elbe, and Maroboduus cowed in Bohemia, anticipated -similar great operations of Napoleon.</p> - -<hr /> - -<div id="toclink_245" class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_245">245</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="X">X<br /> - -<span class="subhead">The Last Years of Augustus</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class="drop-cap"><span class="smcap1">Twenty-nine</span> years after the battle of Actium -the Senate, by the voice of one of the noblest -of their order, Marcus Valerius Messala, hailed -Augustus as the “Father of his Country.” The now -aged Emperor burst into tears, and declaring that he -had reached the summit of his ambition, prayed to -the gods that they would allow him, so long as life -lasted, to continue to be worthy of the confidence -thus expressed by his countrymen. The title had -perhaps been somewhat soiled by use; Cicero had -arrogated it to himself after that exhibition of consummate -statesmanship which quelled the conspiracy -of Catiline, but it was none the less a tribute to the -singleness of purpose with which Augustus had -devoted himself to the welfare of the vast Empire -committed to his care. In the press of daily business -and vexatious details Augustus may often have -failed to perceive how general was the recognition -of his services to the State, and we can pardon the -display of uncontrolled emotion which interrupted -his customary calm on receiving this solemn assurance -that his labours had not been in vain.</p> - -<p>As a matter of fact at this time, and for the rest<span class="pagenum" id="Page_246">246</span> -of his life, Augustus had no enemies save those of his -own household. There was no political opposition -to the Emperor; small conspiracies such as those -of Murena and Cæpio there had been, the work of -hot-headed youths who wished to emulate the example -of Brutus, and there were, as we have seen, intrigues -in the Emperor’s own family. As Suetonius mentions -among the plots directed against Augustus one in -which Lucius Æmilius Paullus, the husband of the -younger Julia was concerned, we are at liberty to -suspect that in her case, as in her mother’s, it was -thought better to punish a graver offence as a case -of domestic misconduct. It was on this occasion -that the poet Ovid learned that there is a limit to -the liberties which a man of fashion can allow himself, -and was forced to withdraw from his butterfly existence -at Rome to the mosquito-haunted swamps at -the mouth of the Danube, where he wrote poems -more worthy of his dignity than any he had previously -composed.</p> - -<p>The power of the Emperor was based largely on -his patronage. The Empire had been divided between -the Emperor and the Senate; those provinces in -which it was necessary to maintain a standing and -mobilized army, in which swift action, continuous -authority, and unity of purpose were imperatively -necessary, were governed by Augustus as a private -estate; their highest official was a “Procurator,” -“a manager”; they comprised two districts in the -west and north of Spain, the whole of Gaul, the -Germanic frontier, the Balkan, Cilicia, Cœlesyria -Phenicia, Cyprus and Egypt; the Senate retained<span class="pagenum" id="Page_247">247</span> -the old settled provinces, Eastern Spain, Sardinia, -Sicily, Northern Africa, the district round Cyrene, -the west of Asia Minor, and Achaia. Thus the -Emperor’s direct patronage was large, but even in -the Senatorial Provinces he could intervene with -superior powers, and the liberty which the Senate -enjoyed of appointing their Governors, was nominal -rather than real, for the Senate itself was increasingly -composed of men who had owed their advancement -to the Emperor, or expected further promotion from -his hands.</p> - -<p>Senatorial Governorships tended to become merely -honorary, and the wealthy or noble men, who held -courts for limited periods in Sicily or Asia had little -more actual responsibility or power than an English -Viceroy in Ireland. Further, those parts of the -Empire in which active work was to be done, or in -which the administration really tested capacity, -and was rewarded with further promotions, were -precisely those parts in which the Emperor was -exclusive patron.</p> - -<p>We naturally wonder at the business capacity of -a man who carried on the Government of dominions -so extensive and so various; and the work would -indeed have been beyond the grasp of any single -individual had not Augustus continued the old Roman -policy of letting well alone. The Roman Empire -at this period was largely decentralized; cities, -tribes, nationalities governed themselves according -to their previous laws and customs; no ancient -polity was destroyed or remodelled unless it proved -to be out of sympathy with the general order; the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_248">248</span> -details of local administration were attended to on -the spot in accordance with local usage, by the local -officials and magistrates. If the ancient constitution -of a town broke down, the Roman was ready with -his sacred model, the double chief magistrate and -the Senate, a model which was faithfully copied -in all the Roman military colonies, but so long as -men could govern themselves, the Romans were -content to allow them to do so; they were not at -this time afflicted with a pedantic passion for uniformity. -Thus the Emperor was relieved of the -mass of detail under which he would otherwise have -sunk. In his choice of men Augustus preferred -officials who either as non-Romans, such as Licinus -and Cornelius Gallus, or by reason of comparatively -mean extraction felt their dependence upon his favour. -When he found a representative of the ancient nobility -who could be trusted, such as Marcus Lepidus, the -son of the former triumvir, he placed power in his -hands; such men served to balance the pretensions -of the new officials, but he was careful not to revive -the organization of the oligarchy. One danger, -however, escaped the prevision of the acute Augustus: -he did not see until it was too late the effect of his -pretensions to a divine ancestry upon his own family. -As years went on, and the representatives of the Julian -stock were to be found chiefly in the men and women -of the third generation, as the great poem of Virgil -was more and more widely known, the faith in the -sanctity of the posterity of Anchises assumed inconvenient -dimensions, and the tendency to press -this faith was largely helped by the presence in the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_249">249</span> -Imperial Household of representatives of ancient -dynasties. East and West alike sent young men to -Rome, in whom the traditions of exalted lineage were -lively and unbroken, who did not need the evidence -of portents and the testimony of poets to assure them -that they were set apart from the rest of mankind. -These youths were the playmates of the grandchildren -and great-grandchildren of Augustus; their influence -stimulated the dynastic ambition of such men as -Caius Cæsar, and his nephew and namesake the future -Emperor Caligula; the young princes, as they considered -themselves, were impatient of the constitutional -forms of Rome, and the restraints upon the -monarchy; they despised families whose progenitors -had not come over with Æneas. Fate had not been -kind to the Julian dynasty, and when Tiberius -returned to Rome from the Rhine in <span class="allsmcap">A.D.</span> 12, his -adoption and investiture with the Proconsular Power -seemed to extinguish the hopes of its representatives. -The direct descendants of Augustus now living -were his daughter Julia, disgraced and in exile, her -daughter Julia similarly disgraced and in exile, -Agrippa Postumus, the intractable, a young man -about twenty-four years of age, who either now, or -a little later, enjoyed, like his mother and sister, the -amenities of life on an island; the only descendant -in the third generation who had not been thus disgraced -and banished was Agrippina, the younger -daughter of Julia.</p> - -<p>Nobody took the Julian legend more seriously -than this lady, and her children enjoyed a double -stream of the sacred blood, for she had married<span class="pagenum" id="Page_250">250</span> -Germanicus, the son of Drusus and Antonia the -beautiful, who was own niece to Augustus. Germanicus -was now twenty-seven years of age; he had been -through the Pannonian campaign, and was left by -Tiberius in command of the army on the Lower Rhine. -Tiberius seems to have had more confidence in him -than in his own son Drusus, and Germanicus had so -far shown himself worthy of that confidence; he -was blessed with a numerous family, of whom Agrippina -was inordinately proud; she was the mother -of the great-grandchildren of Augustus, a Nero, a -Drusus, a Caius, another Agrippina, a Drusilla, and -a Julia Livilla, who eventually married the friend -of Paterculus, Marcus Vinicius. Julia her sister -had only borne two daughters before retiring to her -island.</p> - -<p>Agrippina was not a mere lady of fashion; she -accompanied her husband on his campaigns, and -exhibited all the traditional virtues of a Roman matron -before the enraptured eyes of the legionaries; she -dressed up her youngest boy, Caius, in the full uniform -of a Roman soldier, and got him the nickname of -Caligula—Little Gaiters—in the camp.</p> - -<p>The Claudian stock was represented by Drusus, -the son of Tiberius, a man slightly younger than -Germanicus, whose sister he married, thus further -interweaving the two lines; also by Germanicus -himself and his brother Claudius, the unfortunate -sputterer, of whom his own mother was ashamed, -and whose family were united in a desire to keep -him out of sight.</p> - -<p>In order further to knit up the dynastic web,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_251">251</span> -Augustus adopted Tiberius, who in his turn adopted -both his own nephew Germanicus and his stepson -Agrippa Postumus. It is not improbable that the -dynastic pretensions of this young man, stimulated -by the example of his sister Agrippina, were the real -cause of his enforced retreat, that he did not acquiesce -willingly in his grandfather’s arrangements, and that -the watchful Livia knew how to turn his insubordination -to advantage. Augustus showed disturbing -signs of a weakness in his direction in spite of his -intractability.</p> - -<p>Tiberius at the time of his adoption was fifty-four -years of age; he was a father and a grandfather; -he was the active ruler of the Empire, but with what -appears to us a strange scrupulosity he at once -abandoned his own house, and went to live in his -adoptive father’s. He treated all his property, according -to the strict letter of the Roman law, as his father’s -property; he neither manumitted slaves nor performed -any act which could not properly be performed -by a man who was still “in his father’s hand.”</p> - -<p>During the last two years of the life of Augustus -Tiberius seldom left him; the old man was in feeble -health, but he continued to travel in Italy, and had -just presided at some games held in his honour at -Naples, when his customary weakness assumed an -alarming aspect. Tiberius had been summoned to -Illyricum, whence news had arrived of serious discontent -among the troops. He returned in haste -to receive the last words of the dying Emperor, and -to give him a final evidence of that affection which, -in spite of the severe strains to which it had been<span class="pagenum" id="Page_252">252</span> -subjected, had never failed. Augustus died as he -had lived, with dignity and calm; he even retained -to the last a dash of humour, and bade his friends -applaud him, as he left the stage of life, if they were -satisfied with his performance. His last words were -a request to Livia never to forget their married life.</p> - -<p>The performance had been a good one, and we should -be churlish to withhold our applause.</p> - -<hr /> - -<div id="toclink_253" class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_253">253</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="XI">XI<br /> - -<span class="subhead">The Accession of Tiberius</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class="drop-cap al"><span class="smcap1">All</span> the accounts of the accession of Tiberius -agree in one statement; the evidence is -unanimous that he was exceedingly unwilling to -occupy the position which Augustus had occupied, -and to continue the Empire in the form which it -had assumed under his predecessor.</p> - -<p>Tiberius was now fifty-six years of age; for ten -years he had to all intents and purposes shared the -first place in the Empire with Augustus; he had -enjoyed his full confidence, none of the things which -attract ambitious men had been refused to him. -His character was without stain or reproach; the -amours which are attributed to Julius Cæsar, and -even to the saintly Augustus, are not attributed to -him. The idle story that he went to Rhodes to -indulge in odious vices was the fabrication of a later -age, and was, as we have seen, absurd in itself. He -had been a faithful and loving husband to his first -wife, Vipsania; the licence of Julia had disgusted -him; after his divorce from her he never thought -of a fresh marriage, though still a young man. On -his campaigns he had shown himself to be simple, -and indeed severe, in his personal habits. A story<span class="pagenum" id="Page_254">254</span> -was indeed prevalent that he was given to strong -drink, but there is no evidence in its favour except -a couple of wildly improbable stories preserved by -Suetonius, and a punning nickname given him by the -soldiers, who called him Biberius Caldius Mero. The -nicknames given by private soldiers and schoolboys -to officers and schoolmasters are not evidence, though -they sometimes promote, as in this case, the circulation -of fictitious stories. The exceptional health which -Tiberius is said to have enjoyed to an advanced age -does not favour the idea that he was intemperate, -and indeed we are told that from the age of thirty -onwards he prescribed a regimen for himself without -consulting his medical advisers, which was remarkably -successful. He was free from the tyranny of -the lusts of the flesh, he was equally free from avarice, -a point repeatedly insisted on by hostile historians; -power in itself and by itself had no attraction for -him; he had already on one occasion brusquely rejected -it. Thus he was able to consider the question of -the succession dispassionately. His personal inclination -was rather in the direction of retirement and a -private life, and if his judgment was biassed, the -disturbing element was a contempt for rather than -a love of power.</p> - -<p>At the death of Augustus, Tiberius was actually -in possession of two forms of authority legally conveyed -to him by the Senate in constitutional form, -which enabled him to carry on the government: -he had the tribunician power, which made him -superior to all the civil magistrates; he had the proconsular -power, which put him at the head of the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_255">255</span> -executive in all the provinces, and especially at the -head of the army. In the first character he was -the protector of Roman citizens throughout the -world; in the second he was master of the provincials. -Thus there was no occasion for any plotting on the -part of Livia, no premature assumption of responsibility -on the part of Tiberius in setting the guard and -giving the password when Augustus had breathed -his last; these duties necessarily devolved upon -him, and he was in fact at the time on active service.</p> - -<p>He was not Princeps, nor Pontifex Maximus, nor -had he the censorial power. Of these three the last -two were executive offices belonging to the old Republic; -the former was an honorary dignity recognised -by the forms of the Republic, which had -acquired a new meaning during the long tenure -of Augustus. It was this dignity, along with all -which it now involved, that Tiberius only reluctantly -and after resisting considerable pressure eventually -accepted. It had become associated with the monarchical -principle, and the permanent continuance of -the monarchy Tiberius wished to avoid.</p> - -<p>The position which he adopted was a reasonable -one. Augustus was an exceptional man; he had -been called to power under exceptional circumstances; -the reign of one man had been inevitable at the end -of the civil wars; the right man had been found, a -social regeneration had followed; the monarchy, an -exceptional expedient, had done its work; there was -now the material for creating a stable government -on the old lines. The vices of the old Senatorial -administration had been purged away; the Senate<span class="pagenum" id="Page_256">256</span> -itself had assumed a different character—it was no -longer a narrow oligarchy, it was a council of the -Empire; no single man could hope to repeat the -success of Augustus. In a multitude of counsellors -there is wisdom; the restored Senate working through -the new officials would be more likely to carry on the -continuity of government than an hereditary or -quasi-hereditary monarchy, in which so much depended -on the character of an individual, and which -was perpetually disturbed by palace plots and conspiracies -for the succession.</p> - -<p>The life of Tiberius himself had been embittered, -his domestic happiness destroyed, by the intrigues -of a family which had adopted the habits of an Oriental -Court. It might well appear to him, arguing from -his own experience, that misgovernment by the -Senate was a less probable eventuality than misgovernment -by the irresponsible members of a -monarchical dynasty listening to the unwholesome -suggestions of favourites and parasites, and intriguers -of all nations.</p> - -<p>The funeral of Augustus was hardly over when -an event occurred calculated to disgust Tiberius -with the dynastic principle, if he had not already -strongly disliked it.</p> - -<p>The youngest son of Julia, Agrippa Postumus, -had, as we have already recorded, been banished -to the Island of Planasia off the coast of Campania, -and detained in captivity. He was the last of the -grandsons of Augustus. At this time he was about -twenty-six years of age, and would in the ordinary -course of events have held appointments and been<span class="pagenum" id="Page_257">257</span> -pushed forward like his brothers. This had not -been done. The historians agree in ascribing to -him a stubborn disinclination to study, and an -evil temper; he was put out of the way as Claudius -was put out of the way; but he continued to be to -some extent the centre of Julian plots, and it was -believed that, in spite of his bad manners, Augustus -was personally attached to him. It is possible that -his name had been used in the plots with which -his sister, the younger Julia, and her husband, L. -Æmilius Paulus, had been concerned; or that he -had taken up his mother’s quarrel with Tiberius, -and had disturbed the serenity of the Imperial household. -Although he had been thus set aside, Augustus -had been sufficiently anxious about his welfare to -request Tiberius to adopt him, when he himself -adopted Tiberius. Whatever may have been the -real temper and the real pretensions of the young -man, one thing is certain: immediately after the -death of Augustus he was put to death upon his -island, and the centurion on guard reported to Tiberius -that his orders had been obeyed.</p> - -<p>Tiberius at once denied that he had given any -orders, and added that he would report the matter -to the Senate. No report was ever made, and Tacitus -tells us that Tiberius was over-persuaded by C. -Sallustius Crispus, who had succeeded Mæcenas -as confidential and unofficial adviser to the Cæsarian -family. Crispus is said to have urged that any public -inquiry into the matter would have created too -much scandal. Tiberius was not the man to be -deterred from doing what he considered a public<span class="pagenum" id="Page_258">258</span> -duty by any consideration of what he might himself -suffer, but there was another person whose good -name was likely to be damaged, and whose responsibility -for what had occurred it would be awkward -to demonstrate; that person was his mother, Livia. -Tiberius himself had no motive for committing -such a crime; only the perverse inconsistency of -a Roman historian could be capable of attributing -to the same man reluctance to accept power, and -complicity in a crime whose object was to secure -the undisturbed enjoyment of that power. Whoever -was responsible for the death of Agrippa Postumus, -Tiberius certainly was not; but Livia, the friend -of Herod, whose life had been spent in pushing the -fortunes of the Claudians, was not a woman to be -frightened by the murder of an inconvenient aspirant.</p> - -<p>If anything had been wanting to convince Tiberius -of the evils likely to attend the perpetuation of the -dynasty, this event was in itself enough to determine -him in his dislike to an institution capable of producing -such horrors, and under circumstances so -wounding to his personal pride. A crime had been -foisted on him in such a way that he could not prove -his innocence without making himself the accuser -of his mother.</p> - -<p>The Senate, however, insisted that Tiberius should -take the whole burden of the government upon -himself. His suggestion that the responsibility -should be divided was met with derision; there -was no way out of the difficulty but to accept -the trust, and to work it in the spirit most likely -to lead to the development of his own views. The<span class="pagenum" id="Page_259">259</span> -Senate was, in fact, wiser than Tiberius; those of its -members who took an active share in the government -knew that whatever might be the views of the few -remaining Legitimist families, the monarchy was -essential to the Empire, and that the Imperial House -could not break with the traditions of half a century. -Cæsar’s heir did not merely inherit property, he -inherited the conduct of an organization whose -branches extended all over the world, and this even -as a private person; nor again was it easy to define -his relation to those provinces, and especially Egypt, -which had been administered by the late Emperor -as private estates. Countless officials had learned to -look to the Emperor as the source of patronage. A -slow change was possible, but an abrupt change -would have been a revolution, and would have -disturbed the sense of security in all quarters of the -Empire. The succession of Tiberius had been tacitly -accepted as an accomplished fact in every part of the -world for the last ten years. The intrigues in the -Imperial family were distressing, and doubtless -painful to those immediately concerned, but they -had not affected the general prosperity, nor stirred -the imagination of such men as hope to fish in troubled -waters. Germanicus, the only practical candidate -for the chief place, was notoriously loyal to the existing -state of affairs, and had never shown any disposition -to disturb arrangements made by Augustus. In -the end Tiberius gave way, and accepted what the -Senate offered him “until,” as he said, “I come to -the time of life at which it may seem just to you to -grant some rest to my old age.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_260">260</span></p> - -<p>These words are in themselves a protest against -dynastic assumptions; the power which Tiberius -was to receive he would hold as associated with an -office separable from his person; he was not to be -once a king, always a king, ruling in virtue of mythology -and portents.</p> - -<p>Tiberius was equally careful to distinguish between -complimentary tributes which had been paid to -Augustus and official designations. He would not -be called “Father of his country,” he would not even -use the title “Augustus” as a name, though he was -legally entitled to do so; he only used it in corresponding -with foreign kings and potentates. Still -less would he allow himself to be worshipped, and -strictly forbade his statue to be erected in a temple -except as an ornament. Nor again would he place -the title of Imperator before his name, as Augustus -had done, thereby making it personal and inseparable; -he used it simply as a statement that he held a particular -office. From the first he objected to the -exaggerated language of obsequious persons, and -demanded to be addressed as Dominus by his slaves, -Imperator by soldiers, Princeps by the rest of the -world. A Senator who flung himself at his feet and -endeavoured to grasp his knees with an oriental -exuberance of subservience suffered a rude fall, as -Tiberius instinctively jumped back out of his reach. -In a like spirit he checked the adulation which the -Senate were prepared to heap upon Livia, and -discouraged every attempt to invest her with the -dangerous attributes of an Empress Dowager.</p> - -<p>Similarly he distinguished between occasions on<span class="pagenum" id="Page_261">261</span> -which he acted in a public or private capacity. Unless -officially presiding, he attended the law courts like -any other Senator, listening to the evidence, and -offering his opinion like the rest; he, in fact, lost no -opportunity of showing that he held his position -to be a purely official one, and while he encouraged -the worship of Augustus, he refused to be included -in the cult.</p> - -<p>At a later period Tiberius, in speaking to the Senators, -declared that he regarded himself as their servant; -his constitutional theory was that the Senate was -the fountain of authority, the Emperor its first -executive officer and adviser, but certainly not its -master. This theory of the mutual relations of -Emperor and Senate broke down, because one man, -if he is capable at all, is always more capable than -a number of equally capable men working together -as a council: he can act more quickly, and his relations -with suitors and suppliants are simpler. If a capable -man is assisted by a council, the general lines of policy -are his, and not those of the council, whose advice -practically amounts to little more than valuable -suggestions on points of detail. The dream of professors -and political pedants that a country is best -governed by a debating society of selected wiseacres -has a never-ending fascination, but it is a mere dream, -and as soon as the ostensible government degenerates -into a debating society the real work of governing -is done by other agencies; the alternative is anarchy.</p> - -<p>The Senate for its part was studiously averse at -first to accepting any greater measure of responsibility -than had fallen to its share under Augustus; its<span class="pagenum" id="Page_262">262</span> -leading members were used to a certain routine of -business. Augustus had introduced a kind of Cabinet -system, the ordinary business of the Senate being -conducted by a small committee on which the Senators -served in some kind of rotation; full meetings of -the whole body were rare; the committee were -in constant attendance upon the Emperor. Nobody -had any wish to abandon this system, and to impose -the necessity of frequent attendance upon all members -of the Senate; at the same time, it was well to be -sufficiently in evidence to secure a share in promotions -and appointments. Hostility to the existing arrangements -existed, but it was confined to some old families -who were nearly powerless, and who found a safety -valve for their discontent in pasquinades, and the -compilation of bitter memoirs, in which every rumour, -every scandal unfavourable to the existing government -was carefully recorded.</p> - -<p>Tiberius had so little of the dynast about him, -so little of the jealousy of the usurper, that he employed -in positions of trust the men who were generally -believed to have been designated as possible aspirants -to the Imperial power by Augustus. Marcus Lepidus -held one office after another under Tiberius, not -merely ornamental offices, but those which involved -active work; C. Asinius Gallus, the second husband -of Vipsania, similarly took a leading part in the -counsels of the Senate, and was entrusted with -various dignities; his mysterious fate three years -before the death of Tiberius will occupy us later on; -L. Arruntius similarly lived in dignity and affluence -till he committed suicide shortly before Tiberius<span class="pagenum" id="Page_263">263</span> -died, having become involved in highly discreditable, -but not political, transactions; another, Gnæus -Piso, was the centre of a strange conspiracy six years -later than this. Of him too we shall speak in greater -detail; it is enough for our present purpose to record -that he was holding an important Governorship -six years after the accession of Tiberius.</p> - -<p>The same historian who tells us nearly all that is -known of the lives of these men, and who fixes the -dates of their deaths, also informs us that they were -the objects of the suspicion of Tiberius, that their -lives were rendered miserable by him, and that -they all, with the exception of Lepidus, “soon” -came to a bad end. Allowing that six years is a -term to which the word “soon” can be applied, we -may admit that Gnæus Piso soon came to a bad end; -we shall see later on who was responsible for his -afflictions. Lepidus lived to a good old age, and died -a natural death not long before Tiberius himself; and -though the ends both of Asinius Gallus and Arruntius -were miserable, they did not occur “soon,” periods -of twenty years and upwards not being usually so -described.</p> - -<p>The facts relating to these men are an excellent -illustration of the reckless inconsistency of statement -which is indulged in by Tacitus. Fortunately, the -historian prided himself upon his impartiality, and -does not suppress facts which happen to be in contradiction -with his main contention. Stripped of its -comments and insinuations, as also of its rhetoric, -his narrative gives a favourable picture of Tiberius -and his reign, but Tacitus possessed such a mastery<span class="pagenum" id="Page_264">264</span> -of innuendo that his statements of facts are forgotten, -while his comments are remembered.</p> - -<p>It is, unfortunately, not the custom of modern -scholars to read the Latin stylists for the purpose -of acquiring information, or in large masses; and -while they are minutely perpending the significance -of isolated phrases, or enumerating instances of -unusual grammatical constructions, they forget that -any other interest attaches to the works upon which -their industry is expended. The stylist and grammarian -alike find so much material for their own -special industries in Tacitus that his claims as a -historian are forgotten, and in fact he is not a -historian; he is a bitter pamphleteer of consummate -ability; his affectation of impartiality is a well-considered -pose, whose insincerity becomes manifest -as soon as we study the effect produced by his writing -upon the minds of his readers. When we have read -the first six books of the <i>Annals</i>, we are left with -a very strong impression of horror; we seem to have -waded through seas of misery, and to have assisted -at the ruin of the Roman Empire. In the midst of -the gloomy scene stalks the gaunt figure of Tiberius, -equally terrifying in anger or in silence; his very -virtues are more horrible than the vices of other -people, for there is no knowing what hideous wickedness -they were assumed to conceal.</p> - -<p>The question may reasonably be asked, why should -Tacitus have directed his bitterness especially against -Tiberius? Surely Nero or even Claudius would -have been a better target for his venomed sentences. -But to begin with, there was no object in further<span class="pagenum" id="Page_265">265</span> -damaging the reputation of an Emperor universally -acknowledged to be a villain or a fool. So far as -Caligula, Claudius, and Nero were concerned, judgment -had been passed in the sense in which Tacitus -wished it to be passed, but there were numerous -documents in evidence of the fact that Tiberius -had been a good Emperor, and that Greater Rome, -if not the City of Rome, had prospered under his rule.</p> - -<p>Tacitus was interested in proving that till the -reigns of Nerva and Trajan there never had been -a good Emperor. Augustus was beyond the reach -of attack; that reputation could not be damaged -by malignant epigrams, but the end of the reign of -Tiberius had been involved in a strange catastrophe, -whose unquestioned horrors would lend credibility -to misrepresentations of the events by which it had -been preceded, and when Tacitus wrote, the Senate -had just emerged from a similar, or apparently -similar, persecution at the hands of Domitian; in -fact, the Tiberius of Tacitus was not Tiberius at -all, but Domitian. The curse of the reign of Domitian -had been attacks upon the lives and property of -eminent men, conducted by paid informers. There -was some evidence that the system of rewarding -informers had first been extensively used in the -reign of Tiberius, and Tacitus believed that he -could find abundant material for drawing up a -strong indictment against the practice of employing -informers in the records of the reign of Tiberius. We -shall see how far he was justified in his confidence.</p> - -<p>But it was not enough to damage a system, it was -also necessary to annihilate the man; and here too<span class="pagenum" id="Page_266">266</span> -Tacitus had found the instrument which he required; -he had access to certain memoirs written by the -younger Agrippina, the daughter of Agrippina, -the wife of Germanicus. He tells us of a fact which -he mentions:—“This is not recorded by any of -the historians, but I found it in the memoirs of the -daughter of Agrippina, who was the mother of the -Emperor Nero, and handed down to posterity her -own life and the misfortunes of her family.” There -is not much in the life of the mother of Nero and -sister of Caligula which would incline us to suspect -her memoirs of being a liquid fount of veracity, but -there is a great deal which would tempt us to suspect -her of a bitter animosity against the memory of -Tiberius and all members of the Claudian stock -not closely related to herself.</p> - -<p>It is not proposed to examine in detail every innuendo -made by Tacitus in the course of his indictment -against Tiberius, though from time to time it will -be entertaining to expose glaring instances of misrepresentation -or deliberately malicious inference; -but one example of the methods employed by Tacitus -may be profitably given as an illustration of the way -in which he wrote what has passed for sober history.</p> - -<p>In <span class="allsmcap">A.D.</span> 25, eleven years after the accession of -Tiberius, a deputation arrived from further Spain -with the request that leave might be given to build -a shrine in honour of Tiberius and his mother, as -had been done in Asia. “On this occasion Cæsar, -who was at other times also firm in rejecting honours -of this kind, and thought some answer should be -given to those who accused him by public rumour<span class="pagenum" id="Page_267">267</span> -of ambitious inclinations, made a speech to the -following effect:—‘I know, Conscript Fathers, that -many have noted a want of consistency in my conduct, -because on a recent occasion I failed to oppose the -cities of Asia when preferring an identical petition. -Therefore I will at once declare my defence of my -former silence, and of the line which I propose to -adopt in the future. Whereas the sainted Augustus -did not forbid a temple to be built to himself and the -city of Rome at Pergamus, I, for whom all his acts -and words are like a law, followed a precedent, -already sanctioned, the more readily because veneration -of the Senate was united with the devotion -to be paid to myself. However, although there may -be an excuse for a solitary acceptance of such honours, -it would be presumptuous and arrogant in me to -consent to being worshipped in divine form all -over the provinces; and indeed the honour paid to -Augustus will disappear if it is made cheap by promiscuous -flattery of this kind. I both protest to -you, Conscript Fathers, and I wish posterity to be -mindful, that I am a man, and hold purely human -responsibilities, and that I have enough, if I worthily -hold the first position in the State; posterity will -give enough, and more than enough, to my memory if -men believe me to have been worthy of my ancestors, -careful of your concerns, firm in danger, and not -fearful of contracting unpopularity in defence of -the public welfare. So shall I have temples in your -minds, so the finest and most lasting statues. For -those memorials which are built of stone are despised -as mere tombs if the judgment of posterity proves<span class="pagenum" id="Page_268">268</span> -adverse. Therefore I implore the allies, the citizens, -and the gods themselves, the latter to grant me to -the end of my life a calm intelligence and understanding -of human and divine law; the former, -that whenever I may leave the stage, they may -pursue my deeds and the fame of my name with -praise and kindly memories.’ And he persisted -afterwards, even in private conversation, in his -contempt of such adoration of himself. This some -interpreted as moderation, many as a sign of mistrust -of himself, some as an indication of a degenerate -spirit; for, said they, the best of men aim at the -highest honours; thus among the Greeks Hercules -and Liber, among ourselves Quirinus, had been added -to the number of the gods. Augustus had done -better in setting his hopes higher. Princes have -everything else in this life; the one thing they -should compass with avidity is a lasting memory -of themselves. For the contempt of fame means -the contempt of virtue.”</p> - -<p>It is impossible not to admire the consummate -art with which the effect of a really noble statement -of Tiberius is wiped away, and the picture of a man -devoid of sound ambition substituted. The ingenuity -with which Tacitus puts in the mouths of presumed -contemporaries his own perversion of the facts, -and concludes his chapter with a concise damnation, -is equally admirable. To us there is, however, -something tragic in the fact that subsequent events -and the arts of a supreme master of style were to -rob Tiberius even of the modest fame for which -he prayed.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_269">269</span></p> - -<p>Tiberius had hardly settled down to business -when the threatened mutiny of the legions in the -Illyrian quarter broke out, accompanied by an even -more serious disturbance among the armies of the -Rhine. These events throw much light on the -condition of the Roman army at the time, and upon -the characters of Agrippina and Germanicus. The -latter, though a far more formidable rival than -Agrippa Postumus, had been invested with Proconsular -power at the request of Tiberius on his -accession. Previously he had only been a legate, -a lieutenant-general in command of the troops on -the German frontier; he was now Governor of Gaul -as well. It is not customary, for usurpers who have -recently mounted rickety thrones to add to the -powers of those whose rivalry they have good reason -to anticipate. The Proconsulate of Gaul had on -a well-known occasion been the stepping-stone to -the Empire. Tiberius clearly had no mistrust of -the loyalty of Germanicus, and at this period could -afford to smile at the restless impetuosity of Agrippina, -pattern of matrons.</p> - -<hr /> - -<div id="toclink_270" class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_270">270</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="XII">XII<br /> - -<span class="subhead">The Mutinies in Pannonia and on the Rhine</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class="drop-cap"><span class="smcap1">We</span> have seen that when Augustus died Tiberius -was on his way to Illyria, because the temper -of the three legions who garrisoned the recently -conquered districts towards the Danube had given -cause for anxiety. The death of one Emperor and -the accession of another occasioned a relaxation of -discipline, both events, in accordance with Roman -custom, being observed by a suspension of ordinary -business.</p> - -<p>The Pannonian army had been reinforced largely -from Rome itself; it had been necessary to revive -in a stringent form the obligation to military service, -and even to impress slaves. Among the men thus -unwillingly driven into the ranks were several used -to the clubs and street factions of the capital, quick-witted, -ready-tongued, of the class that are known -to our own soldiers and sailors as “lawyers.”</p> - -<p>Service in these regions had no mitigations, there -was little or no loot, and since serious operations had -ceased, little excitement; the long holiday and cessation -of the ordinary routine gave the camp agitators<span class="pagenum" id="Page_271">271</span> -their opportunity. Three legions were concerned, -the eighth, the ninth, and the fifteenth. The first -open act of mutiny was an attempt to combine all -three in one. This failed, owing to the mutual -jealousies of the legions, neither of the three being -willing to be enrolled under the name of one of the -others, and a compromise was effected by uniting -the legions locally, but retaining their separate -organization. The rapid and dramatic account of -Tacitus, in which only the most picturesque incidents -are recorded and grouped together for effect, conceals -the fact that this was a very serious step, for the -legions were not quartered together, and must have -marched some distance in order to unite. This event, -which Tacitus places at the beginning of his summary, -can only have taken place after the officers had -lost the control of their men, unless we are to credit -these officers, who knew that there was much disaffection, -and had already reported it to Rome, -with such blind folly as to have united troops ready -to mutiny.</p> - -<p>The speech which Tacitus puts into the mouth -of one Percennius, the arch agitator, a private who -had been accustomed to lead a claque in the Roman -theatres, and was well versed in the arts by which -factions are organized, gives a clear summary of -the grievances of the Roman soldier of the period, -but will not be intelligible without a little previous -explanation.</p> - -<p>First comes the question of discharge. A Roman -citizen was constitutionally liable to be called out -for service between the ages of eighteen and forty-six,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_272">272</span> -but it was held that sixteen years of service, whether -continuous or intermittent, exempted a man from -further duty. The difficulty of finding recruits had -caused the claim to exemption to be ignored, and -as the army had become increasingly professional, -losing its character of a militia, the men themselves, -for lack of other occupation, had helped the authorities -to expand the period of service. In order further -to swell the numbers of the army, the Romans had -anticipated the “garrison” service recently introduced -into the English army. Time-expired men were -enrolled in companies outside the organization of -the legion; they were called flagmen (vexillarii); -they could not be called upon to march in a campaign, -but they formed a kind of permanent garrison in the -countries in which they were employed; they were -not a “reserve,” for they could not be called back -to the colours, but they relieved the regular soldiers -of duties, for which there was a dearth of men; -they were also employed as engineers, for we find -some of them in the course of this mutiny detached -to build roads and bridges near Nauportus.</p> - -<p>There was also a grievance of pay. Cæsar had -increased the pay of the legionary, and fixed it at -nine <i xml:lang="la" lang="la">aurei</i> a year; that is to say, ten asses a day. -When this arrangement was made one silver denarius -was the equivalent of ten copper asses, and the pay -of the Roman soldier was assumed to be one denarius, -practically a shilling a day; but since Cæsar’s time -the silver denarius had appreciated, and was now -worth sixteen asses: the soldiers, however, were -still paid ten asses, and not sixteen. Another grievance<span class="pagenum" id="Page_273">273</span> -lay in the fact that the household troops, prætorian -guards, who formed the garrison of Italy, received -double pay.</p> - -<p>The exactions and cruelty of the centurions formed -another grievance. The position of the centurion -in the Roman army is not quite analogous to anything -in our own army, for though there was a distinction -between the commissioned and the non-commissioned -officer, and the centurion belonged in many respects -to the latter class, he had many responsibilities -which we, rightly or wrongly, reserve for commissioned -officers. The centurion was selected from -the ranks, but he commanded a company; he was -a sergeant with the duties of a captain, and when -he was promoted to the rank of “primipilaris” was -so much of a commissioned officer as to be admitted -to councils of war. Cæsar had paid especial attention -to the centurions, he never misses an opportunity -of praising individual centurions in his commentaries, -and distinguished service as a centurion opened the -way to the highest military and even civil positions. -Ventidius Bassus, who had commanded the armies -of Antonius in Syria, and had been granted a triumph, -began life as a mule-driver, and passed through the -rank of centurion to that of General. Before the -end of the century a former centurion was to be -Emperor. Pontius Pilate, Governor of Judæa, is -said to have been a centurion. One of the arts by -which the early Emperors kept their hold on the -army was the recognition of capable centurions. -But though the centurion was in a better position -than the English non-commissioned officer, he still<span class="pagenum" id="Page_274">274</span> -had duties which we should consider beneath the -dignity of a captain.</p> - -<p>With the aid of this short introduction the speech -of Percennius should be intelligible without further -explanation; it is not probable that we have the -genuine speech, but a summary of the soldiers’ -grievances put into the mouth of their spokesman.</p> - -<p>“Why do we obey like slaves a handful of centurions, -and still fewer tribunes? When are we to -venture to demand our rights if we do not now -approach the new and still tottering Emperor with -either entreaties or force? It is through our own -fault, through our own want of spirit, that we have -gone on for so many years putting up with thirty -or forty years’ service, old men as we are, and most -of us crippled with wounds. Even after our discharge -there is no end to our service; we camp under the -flags and suffer the same burdens under another -name. And if any man does happen to get out -of all these dangers and difficulties with his life, he -is dragged off to distant lands, where he is given -under the name of a farm a morass or a precipice. -The service itself is severe, and poorly paid; body -and soul are valued at ten asses a day! Out of this -we have to find clothes, arms, tents, buy off the -centurions, yes, and pay for our own discharge.<a id="FNanchor_1" href="#Footnote_1" class="fnanchor">1</a> -The stick, the wounds, the bitter winter, the summer -marches, the cruelties of war, or the barrenness of<span class="pagenum" id="Page_275">275</span> -peace are everlasting. We shall never get any -comfort till the service is entered on fixed conditions, -a denarius a day for pay, sixteen years for a discharge; -and we are not to be kept on under the flags, but -stay in our camps and get our pension in cash. -Do the prætorians face greater dangers than we do? -But they get two denarii a day, and return to their -homes after sixteen years. We don’t have to patrol -the city at night, but we do have to live among -savages and look at the enemy out of our very -quarters.”</p> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_1" href="#FNanchor_1" class="fnanchor">1</a> “Vacationes munerum.” The translation in the text is the -accepted one, but the phrase may simply mean “leave.” The custom -of feeing the sergeant for this purpose has not been unknown -in the English army.</p> - -</div> - -<p>This statement of the grievances of the private -soldier may not represent the actual words of Percennius, -but it is strangely familiar. Protracted -service is not at present included among the grievances -of the English soldier, but we have already taken one -step in a direction which may lead to its inclusion. -The Roman Empire shirked the recruiting difficulty, -and in the end brought down upon itself countless -disasters. If the English Empire follows the same -path, it will find itself some day at the same destination. -The conditions are strangely similar. By the institution -of slavery the whole body of operatives throughout -the Roman Empire was exempted from military -service, the recruiting ground was artificially restricted. -We have no artificial restriction in the -English Empire, but the operatives have been allowed -gradually to withdraw themselves from even the -limited obligation to military service imposed by the -ancient regulations of the militia, and they have -further been allowed to assume that whatever may -happen to other people they are not to be conscious<span class="pagenum" id="Page_276">276</span> -of the burden of taxation; they are practically as -free from military service and taxation as the slaves -of antiquity.</p> - -<p>When these mutinies were eventually suppressed -Tiberius found himself unable to confirm the grant -of a discharge after sixteen years’ service, and was -obliged to fix it at twenty years; he said that the -Empire could not stand the change, and deplored, -in strangely modern language, the breakdown of -the “voluntary system.” The statesmen of his time -could not touch the institution of slavery; the -demand for a conscription of slaves would have -been resisted on every ground of public expediency; -there would have been an outcry against interference -with private property. We have no institution -which forbids us to make soldiers of our intelligent -working-men; they can be invited and encouraged -to take their share in bearing the burden of defence. -The statesman who discovers the best means of bringing -them into the recruiting field will have solved the -most pressing difficulty of the English Empire.</p> - -<p>The result of the orations of Percennius was a -general insubordination. Junius Blæsus, who was -commander-in-chief, persuaded the excited men with -some difficulty to send an orderly deputation to -Tiberius to present their grievances, and the soldiers -cleverly included his son in the deputation. For a -time there was quiet, but the news of the mutiny -reached Nauportus, where the “flagmen” were -employed in engineering, and they immediately -threw off all discipline, plundered the neighbouring -villages, and even Nauportus itself. Laden with<span class="pagenum" id="Page_277">277</span> -their booty, they marched to the headquarters of -the mutinied legions, but they had not forgotten -previously to pay off old scores, they had derided -and beaten their centurions, they had seized the -commander of their camp, a rigorous martinet -who had himself risen from the ranks, piled burdens -upon him, and driven him at the head of their column, -asking him how he liked it. Blæsus met them -with firmness, and arrested the ringleaders, but -their appeals to their former fellow soldiers renewed -the revolt, the prison was opened, all the prisoners -were released, and a man named Vibulenus mounted -the shoulders of his comrades, and, standing in front -of the tribunal of Blæsus, made an impassioned -oration. Addressing the mutineers, he cried: “You -have certainly restored these innocent and miserable -men to life and light, but who will give my brother -back his life? Who will give me back my brother? -He was sent to you from the German army on our -common concerns, but last night this man, by the -hands of those prize-fighters whom he keeps and -arms to the ruin of the soldiers, cut his throat. Tell -me, Blæsus, where you threw the body. Our -enemies even do not grudge us burial. When I have -sated my grief with tears and kisses, bid me then -to be butchered too, so long as my friends here are -allowed to bury those who have been slain for no -crime, but because they thought of the good of the -legions.”</p> - -<p>This pathetic speech naturally redoubled the excitement, -and the prize-fighters of Blæsus were seized -and bound along with the rest of his slaves, and were<span class="pagenum" id="Page_278">278</span> -likely to have suffered rough treatment, when it -was discovered that Vibulenus never had a brother. -The wrath of the soldiers was then turned upon the -centurions; most of them got off and hid themselves, -but one was killed whom the soldiers used to call -“Give us another,” because it had been his habit -to break his vinestick over the shoulders of his men, -and then ask for another, and yet another. The -centurions, however, were not all unpopular, and -a division of opinion between the eighth and fifteenth -legions about a centurion whom the former wished -to kill, but the latter to protect, would have ended -in a fight, had not the ninth legion intervened.</p> - -<p>Though Vibulenus never had a brother, his speech -shows that the mutiny was concerted with the legions -on the Rhine.</p> - -<p>In due time Drusus, the son of Tiberius, arrived -from Rome with picked guards, including a detachment -of the Germans, who then formed the bodyguard -of the Emperor. Ælius Sejanus accompanied -him as adviser, though Drusus, being of the age of -seven and twenty, could hardly have been considered -a youth. He read a letter from Tiberius empowering -him to remedy such grievances as could be remedied -on the spot, but referring the solution of permanent -difficulties to the Senate. Tiberius as Imperator -had practically unlimited powers over the army, but -either he had not by this time formally accepted the -office of Imperator, or he held that such questions -as increase of pay and reduction of the years of service -were not purely military questions, and must be -referred to the civil authority.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_279">279</span></p> - -<p>The soldiers had listened quietly to Drusus till the -reference to the Senate was mentioned; they then -again burst into uproar, protesting, with a semblance -of reason, that the Senate was only dragged in when -it was a question of favours or rewards, the generals -imposed punishments and ordered severe labours -on their own responsibility. The aged Gnæus -Lentulus, an experienced public servant, who had -accompanied Drusus, and who was held to influence -him in the direction of severity, was nearly killed; -stones were thrown at Drusus himself, who with his -escort and attendants escaped with difficulty into the -permanent camp.</p> - -<p>Fortunately that night there was an eclipse, and -at the same time stormy weather set in. The excitable -superstitious soldiers were frightened by the portent; -Drusus skilfully took advantage of their wavering -resolution, and by means of clever agents set the -individual soldiers against one another, and inspired -mutual distrust between the three legions. There -was a sudden and violent revulsion of feeling, the -ringleaders Percennius and Vibulenus were killed, -order was restored, and Drusus returned to Rome. -It was left to Tiberius and the Senate to redress the -grievances.</p> - -<p>The mutiny was a serious one, not so well organized -as the simultaneous mutiny on the Rhine, and not -so ambitious in its aims; but the facts as given us -ascribe a strange childishness to the Roman legionary. -The story of the eclipse is hard to swallow, but there -is other evidence to the superstitious character of -the legionary; his commanders owed their authority<span class="pagenum" id="Page_280">280</span> -largely to a certain religious awe with which they -were surrounded; the standards were worshipped, -and the Roman soldier, afraid of little else, was -supremely afraid of breaking his military oath.</p> - -<p>The mutiny on the Rhine was of a more serious -character; not only was the number of legions -implicated far larger, more than double that of the -Pannonian legions, but the ambition of the mutineers -was not confined to obtaining a redress of grievances; -they proposed to annex the Empire. “The State -is in our hands,” they said; “it is increased by our -victories; the Emperor takes his title from his armies.” -A vision of plundering Gaul, marching upon Rome, -and setting up an Emperor of their own, floated -before the eyes of the ringleaders. On the Rhine, -as in Pannonia, the agitation was engineered by -the recruits, chiefly enfranchized slaves recently -drawn from the capital. The men who had fought -under Drusus and Tiberius were hardly conscious -of their own grievances; military discipline had -numbed their intelligence; they knew of nothing -else, and they were well content to exchange the -peaceful but laborious routine of the camp for the -hardships of campaigns among the forests and -morasses of Germany, where the enemy was less -terrible than the gloom of primeval trees and the -treachery of bogs and estuaries. They were, however, -only too willing to listen when cleverer men than -themselves told them they had grievances. The -fidelity of the most loyal troops and of the most -trusted servants can seldom long resist the voice -of the tempter, who deplores the injustice with<span class="pagenum" id="Page_281">281</span> -which they are treated. The idlers of Rome, swept -into the ranks from the street corners and the open -air amusements of the great city, awoke from dreams -of plunder and licence to the stern realities of the -centurion’s stick and the heavy fatigue of a Roman -camp. They had no fighting, but they had drill, -and digging and building in plenty; few of them -had ever before done an honest stroke of work. To -the veterans, life on the frontier had become somewhat -dull, and though they would quickly have discovered -the worthlessness of their new associates on active -service, they could not resist the fascinations of jokes -and stories and songs picked up from the professional -buffoons of the Roman theatres.</p> - -<p>There were two armies on the Rhine frontier: -the Lower Army, under Aulus Cæcina, quartered -between the region of the Lippe and the neighbourhood -of Cologne, the Upper Army, under Silius, about -the gorge of the Rhine. The mutiny broke out in -the Lower Army; the Upper Army waited to see -the result before moving on its own account. Germanicus, -as proconsul, was at the time conducting -the census of Gaul in the regions of the Meuse and -Moselle. Fortunately, the lower army was divided; -it was composed of four legions, the twenty-first, -the fifth, the first, and the twentieth; the two former -began the mutiny. Cæcina was with them when it -broke out.</p> - -<p>The scenes of the Pannonian mutiny were repeated. -Centurions were beaten and killed, Cæcina was -powerless to interpose, and in fact seems at first to -have lost his head. He surrendered to the soldiers<span class="pagenum" id="Page_282">282</span> -a centurion who had taken refuge at his tribunal. -Another centurion at the same time fought his way -through the mob; he was Cassius Chærea, destined -some twenty years later to rid Rome of Caligula. -Rejecting the authority of their officers, the mutineers -took the whole organization of the camp into their -own hands; there was no suspension of discipline, -but perfect order, a fact which increased the gravity -of the situation as indicating a settled purpose and -skilled ringleaders.</p> - -<p>Germanicus left his civil duties to repress the -mutineers if possible. He was received sullenly in -the camp. Some of the men, seizing his hand under -the pretext of kissing it, pressed his fingers into -their mouths that he might feel the absence of their -teeth; others pointed at their limbs bent with old -age.</p> - -<p>Germanicus on this occasion, as at the few other -times when we get a fair view of him, showed himself -a man of courage, resource, and strict uprightness. -Before addressing the mutineers, he insisted that -they should group themselves in the customary -divisions, company by company, battalion by battalion, -hoping thus to restore the habit of obedience, but he -was disappointed. His first question as to the causes -of the mutiny raised a storm. Men stripped to -show the scars of wounds, the weals raised by the -centurions’ sticks; eager protests were shouted against -the prices paid for discharges, the smallness of the -pay; the different labours of the camp were mentioned -in detail, the digging of fortifications, the collection -of fodder, timber, firewood. The most serious outcry<span class="pagenum" id="Page_283">283</span> -was that of the veterans demanding immediate -discharge; the immediate payment of the legacy -of Augustus was also demanded, and then voices -were heard offering to follow Germanicus if he -would claim the Empire.</p> - -<p>Germanicus at once jumped from his seat and left -the tribunal. The soldiers endeavoured to force -him back, whereupon he drew his sword and -threatened to drive it into his own heart; a wag of -the camp offered him his own sword with the observation -that it was sharper. Germanicus was hurried -off by his friends into his tent, and a consultation -was held. Seeing that the fidelity of the Upper Army -was insecure, the danger was such that Germanicus -decided to yield; a letter was drawn up in the name -of the Emperor granting a full discharge to men -who had served for twenty years; men who had -served for sixteen years were to be put on the reserve -of “flagmen” for another four years; the legacy -of Augustus was to be paid and doubled.</p> - -<p>The soldiers demanded an immediate fulfilment -of the terms of the letter, and the tribunes at once -set to work to draw up the discharges in authorized -form; the payment of the legacies was to be deferred -till the winter. This, however, did not satisfy the -soldiers of the fifth and twenty-first legions, who -insisted on immediate payment, which was met by -the private resources of Germanicus and his friends. -The first and twentieth then asserted their own -claims, and were marched back to their quarters -near Cologne, under Cæcina, carrying the treasure -chests of their commander-in-chief between the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_284">284</span> -standards. Germanicus then went to the upper -army and renewed the military oath of the second, -thirteenth, and seventeenth legions without any -opposition; the fourteenth legion showed signs of -wavering, and was at once offered the discharges -and the money.</p> - -<p>The beginnings of a mutiny among the “flagmen” -who were settled on the Lippe were summarily -repressed by the prefect of the camp, who illegally -but wisely executed two of the ringleaders.</p> - -<p>Germanicus returned from the Upper Army to -Cologne, where the recently mutinous legions were -quartered, and there received the deputation who -had arrived from Rome with the answer to his report. -The soldiers, without waiting to hear the message -of the deputation, assumed that it was unfavourable, -and again broke out into mutiny; they attacked -and insulted Plancus, who had come from Rome -at the head of the deputation, and he was with difficulty -rescued by Germanicus, and sent away under -an escort of Gallic cavalry.</p> - -<p>The advisers of Germanicus, possibly members -of the deputation, then accused him of too great -leniency and of imprudence. It would have been -much better for him to have secured his personal -safety and that of his wife and child by remaining -with the Upper Army, which was faithful; and -they urged him to send Agrippina and the boy to -the Gauls at Trêves.</p> - -<p>Agrippina protested that she would not retire, -the granddaughter of Augustus was not going to -run away from legionaries, she said. The affectionate<span class="pagenum" id="Page_285">285</span> -remonstrances of her husband, however, prevailed, -and she started; but when she was seen leaving -the camp with an insignificant escort, taking with -her “Little Gaiters,” the pet of the soldiers, and -when it was understood that she was seeking shelter -with foreigners, the temper of the men suddenly -changed; they stopped her flight, they implored -Germanicus to let her stay. He skilfully seized the -opportunity, and addressed them in words which -were so successful in reanimating their lost loyalty -that he ventured in conclusion to bid them, as a -pledge of their renewed fidelity, to set apart the -innocent from the guilty, and vindicate their military -honour. The revulsion of feeling was so complete -that a rough form of trial was at once instituted. -The commander of the first legion presided; each -soldier was placed before him on a platform in turn, -and acquitted or condemned to instant death by -the shouts of his companions.</p> - -<p>Germanicus then wrote to Cæcina, who was -further down the Rhine with the other two mutinous -legions, and said that he was coming to punish them, -unless they previously punished themselves. Cæcina -communicated the tenour of the letter privately to -soldiers whom he trusted, and the camp was purged -of its delinquents before the arrival of Germanicus. -The method was rough, a somewhat indiscriminate -massacre, but it was effective.</p> - -<p>The troops, now anxious to clear themselves and -to appease the spirits of their slaughtered brethren -by sending the enemy to join them in the world -of ghosts, were led across the Rhine, and a series<span class="pagenum" id="Page_286">286</span> -of campaigns kept them too fully occupied to mutiny -for several years.</p> - -<p>Tiberius confirmed the concessions made by Germanicus, -and granted them to all the mutinous -armies alike, both in Pannonia and on the Rhine, -but he adopted twenty years as the fixed period for -service in the future. Excessive length of service -had probably been confined to or felt as a grievance -only in the armies in these comparatively wild -regions. There was no lack of recruits for service -in Syria or parts of the world where life was agreeable, -and there was not the same wastage in the settled -parts of the Empire; but central Europe possessed -no attractions for the Roman soldier, and desperate -expedients had been necessary to keep up the strength -of the legions. A mutiny was also threatened in -Spain, but it was nipped in the bud by the firmness -and tact of Marcus Lepidus, whom we know as one -of the possible aspirants to the Empire.</p> - -<p>The campaigns which followed extended over -five years; they were in every respect a repetition -of previous campaigns in the same regions. The -Roman soldiers occasionally got into difficulties -through ignorance of the country, and especially of -the tides; but, in spite of some severe reverses, they -more than held their own against the Germans; -these latter indeed began to quarrel among themselves. -The differences between Arminius and members of -his family were taken advantage of by Germanicus; -further differences seemed likely to declare themselves -between Arminius and Maroboduus. Tiberius -returned to his previous policy. Germany had been<span class="pagenum" id="Page_287">287</span> -sufficiently exhausted; the Rhine with a line of -outposts must be the frontier. Germanicus was -recalled and given the more coveted position of -proconsul of the Eastern frontier. Drusus, the -son of Tiberius, took his place in Germany.</p> - -<p>The authorities consulted by Tacitus, among which -are included the memoirs of the younger Agrippina, -who was born soon after the mutiny somewhere -near Cologne, ascribed the recall of Germanicus to -the jealousy of Tiberius. The inconsistency which -is involved in giving larger powers and greater -responsibility to a dangerous rival does not strike -them. There was every precedent for dreading -the influence of high official position in the East -upon the mind of an ambitious proconsul. Sulla -had marched upon Rome from the East; the power -of Pompeius was founded upon his victories over -Mithridates and the pirates; Antonius had been -tempted by his power in the East to grasp at universal -dominion; even the young Caius Cæsar had succumbed -to Oriental fascinations. Had Tiberius really been -in dread of Germanicus, he would have kept him -in comparative insignificance at Rome; he certainly -would not have put the wealth, the resources, and -the armies of the East at his disposal.</p> - -<p>It was, however, exceedingly desirable to get -Agrippina away from the armies on the Rhine, -and Germanicus himself at the time of the mutiny -seems already to have had misgivings as to her -influence, for when the soldiers demanded that -she and Caligula should return to the camp, he -granted their demand so far as the boy was concerned,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_288">288</span> -but found an excuse of an interesting and domestic -nature for removing his wife to a distance. She -did not return to the army till the mutiny was -finally suppressed, but before the expected event had -happened. Even Tacitus admits on more than one -occasion that Agrippina was a lady of somewhat -excitable temperament, and the virtues to which -she laid ostentatious claim, and which were universally -ascribed to her, are not incompatible with a restless -ambition. She was a devoted wife, and even as a -widow maintained a reputation for “impenetrable” -chastity. She was the very pink and pattern of -Roman matrons, but there was nothing in this -to prevent her from attempting to push the fortunes -of her husband and children in ways of which the -former disapproved. In the last year of the Rhine -campaigns of Germanicus she temporarily took -command during her husband’s absence. Owing -to a reverse which had just been sustained the -authorities at headquarters proposed to destroy the -bridge across the Rhine, a measure which would -have cut off the retreat of the Roman legions as -effectively as it would have prevented an invasion -of Germans. Agrippina resisted this pusillanimous -counsel; she did more, she took up her position at -the end of the bridge and praised and thanked the -legions as they returned. Nobody can fail to admire -the womanly kindness which impelled her to clothe -the ragged soldiers and poultice the wounded, but -we may pardon Tiberius for complaining that she -had forgotten her position when she inspected the -companies and stood by the standards, and for seeing<span class="pagenum" id="Page_289">289</span> -something more than an exaggerated maternal -pride in the dress of Caligula and the wish that he -should be called Cæsar, a something more than -mere kindness in her freehanded gifts to the private -soldiers.</p> - -<p>Agrippina was not an intriguer, she was too -boisterous, too self-confident for intrigue; but she -was none the less dangerous: a woman of rights, -conjugal rights, maternal rights, ancestral rights; -an injured woman, the daughter of an injured mother, -a woman whose virtues it is pleasantest to contemplate -when exhibited in the bosom of another man’s family. -Tiberius did not take her sufficiently seriously; -on the whole he seems to have been amused by her, -only taking action when action was imperatively -necessary. He did not take sufficiently into account -the power for mischief which a good-hearted wrong-headed -woman of this description may become when -her grievances have been taken up by others, and -when more subtle intriguers have seen in her a -useful tool.</p> - -<p>It was soon after this exhibition of amazonian -propensities that Germanicus was recalled, and -doubtless with his own consent. The sequel indicates -that his health had suffered in the arduous campaigns -on the frontier, and he probably welcomed the exchange -to a warmer climate. Tiberius, in recalling -him, said that some opportunity of conquest must be -left for Drusus, a remark which has been interpreted -as an indication of jealousy on Drusus’ behalf; but -it can also be interpreted as a humorous compliment -to Germanicus himself. There was no occasion to<span class="pagenum" id="Page_290">290</span> -remind him of the claims of Drusus, for the two -cousins were united by a strong friendship, as we are -informed by the same authorities who envelop us in -an atmosphere of hatred, jealousy, envy, and malice.</p> - -<p>The political importance of the mutiny on the -Rhine was very great; it showed that fifty years -of settled government had not done away with the -military danger, and that the civil government -was still at the mercy of the armies. Tiberius -was less than ever inclined to reverse the policy of -Augustus, and extend the State at the expense of -exaggerating the importance of the soldiers, more -than ever disposed to employ diplomacy rather than -force. We shall find him as time goes on almost as -averse to war as the great Elizabeth, and equally in -danger of pursuing peaceful methods too long. He -also found it necessary to revise his conception of -the possible Imperial constitution, and to accept the -hereditary principle as inevitable. The Emperor was -not to be above and outside the State; he was to -be hereditary stadtholder; but to this extent the -dynastic tendency must be accepted, and not the -least of the responsibilities of the reigning Emperor -was to be the provision for an orderly succession and -a capable successor. Hence we shall find Tiberius -following the example of Augustus in training members -of his family for the burden of public duty, -and in ensuring the order of precedence by successive -adoptions. It was solely owing to the loyalty and -fine ambition of Germanicus that the mutiny had -not resulted in a civil war.</p> - -<p>In theory hereditary succession to official responsibilities<span class="pagenum" id="Page_291">291</span> -is demonstrably absurd, but in practice there -is nothing so satisfactory as a dynasty. The mutual -jealousies and intrigues of aspirants are far more -dangerous to a State than the incompetence of the -temporary ruler, and the qualification of birth, -though theoretically ridiculous, has the merit of -being a qualification that everybody can understand. -In the states imagined by philosophers and radical -politicians the eminent virtues of eminent men are -always so conspicuous that meritorious “Amurath -to Amurath succeeds” by the will of the people without -break or intermission and in obedience to a law of -nature, for, given fair play, the capable and trustworthy -men must always find themselves at the top -of the society which is blessed with their presence; -but in the states which unlearned men know of there -is no agreement of opinion as to what constitutes -capacity or trustworthiness or political virtue, and -in a general scramble for power the least scrupulous -has at least an equal chance with the most virtuous. -The dynast is in fact a social necessity, and the larger -the area of the State which is governed in his name, -the more necessary his existence. Society is most -secure when the highest position is reserved for -those who possess an indisputable qualification. Men -may argue about the particular compound of meritorious -characteristics which they wish to see exemplified -in their ruler, and in the search for the perfect -man find anarchy, but the qualification of birth is -not a thing exposed to many varieties of opinion. -Better on the whole the incapable or the overcapable -dynast than an uncertain successor.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_292">292</span></p> - -<p>Tiberius, by modifying his prejudices on the dynastic -question, averted a catastrophe, which fell upon the -Roman Empire as soon as the line of the Cæsars -was extinguished in the person of Nero. Then the -armies of Spain set up one Emperor, and the armies -of Gaul another, and the armies of Syria a third; -for two years a reversion to anarchy seemed inevitable. -The perpetual intrigues of jealous ladies ambitious -for their sons or husbands did not contribute to the -pleasures of existence in the Imperial households, but -they were less evil than the disruption of the Empire -or the emergence of military adventurers. Tiberius -sacrificed his domestic comfort to the interests of -the State; he did not know that he was at the same -time sacrificing his posthumous reputation; he did -not divine the existence of the memoirs of Agrippina.</p> - -<hr /> - -<div id="toclink_293" class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_293">293</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="XIII">XIII<br /> - -<span class="subhead">Tacitus and Tiberius</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class="drop-cap"><span class="smcap1">To</span> tell the story of the reign of Tiberius by -minutely tracking Tacitus through his manifold -inconsistencies and clever insinuations, though -entertaining to the investigator, would prove wearisome -to the reader; but a somewhat careful examination -of the Emperor’s methods of Government during -the first year of his administration will spare us -lengthy explanations in dealing with subsequent -events.</p> - -<p>Tacitus and Suetonius alike seem to have collected -their information from three chief sources, private -memoirs, popular rumours, in which are to be -included pasquinades and the topical songs of actors, -and the official record of the transactions of the Senate. -The first two sources of information are obviously -not of a trustworthy character; memoirs are not to -be relied on even in these days of rapid transmission -of news and wide publicity. An historian who should -essay to compile the biography of a public man of -today, even from the daily and weekly journals -which are filled with personal gossip about those upon -whom the attention of the public is fixed, would find -such a mass of contradictions to deal with that he -would abandon his task in despair; and yet the matter<span class="pagenum" id="Page_294">294</span> -thus afforded to his inspection is day by day subject -to correction. Memoirs written by an irresponsible -person in his private study are even more likely to -contain perversions of fact, to omit, to exaggerate, -to represent exclusively the personal bias of the writer.</p> - -<p>It is hardly necessary to add that loose anecdotes -and the buffooneries of actors do not constitute -evidence; it is, indeed, difficult to understand how -Suetonius, a presumably grave schoolmaster, could -quote snatches of popular songs as serious history, -and repeat the filthy gossip of the Roman streets.</p> - -<p>But the evidence of public documents such as the -record of the transactions of the Senate is unimpeachable; -and this evidence, whenever Tacitus gives it -us, is invariably such as to compel us to believe that -Tiberius was a wise and moderate ruler.</p> - -<p>So overwhelming is this evidence, that the very -creators of the monstrous figure, which passes for -that of Tiberius, had serious misgivings; whenever -they examined the public records, they found the -lustful, rapacious, bloodthirsty tyrant of their imaginations -acting on the strictest lines of constitutional -government. How were they to reconcile their -creation with acknowledged and indeed indisputable -facts? It seemed to them that there was a simple -way out of the difficulty, namely, to ascribe to the -monster the yet further monstrosity of deep dissimulation. -The fascination of the style of Tacitus -is such that this astounding solution of the difficulty -has been all but universally accepted; but even if -we accept it, we have to ask ourselves whether profound -dissimulation of this kind is not a quality to<span class="pagenum" id="Page_295">295</span> -be desired in a ruler rather than the reverse; whether -in fact the general sum of wickedness in the world -would not be diminished almost to vanishing point, -were we to accept as a rule of life the duty of acting -virtuously from motives of profound dissimulation -up to the age of seventy, in order that we may enjoy -unbridled licentiousness and cruelty for the remainder -of our lives. This is the practical result of believing -that Tiberius never did a good action except from -motives of profound dissimulation. We shall find -ourselves, when we come to the events of the year -<span class="allsmcap">A.D.</span> 30, faced with an insoluble problem, which even -the discovery of the missing book of Tacitus might -fail to clear for us; but the only solution of that -problem which has as yet been offered to us is contrary -to the known laws of human nature. Men do not -of forethought and design practise virtue for seventy -years in order that they may indulge in vice at a time -of life when they are oftenest incapable of taking -exercise except in a bath-chair.</p> - -<p>The fable of the dissimulation of Tiberius grew -out of two facts, his naturally reserved nature, and -the mysterious tragedy which clouded the last seven -years of his life. Of the nature of that tragedy, and -of the question whether he was not more sinned -against than sinning, it will be more convenient to -speak when we reach it in the order of events; but -of the personal characteristics which tempted men -to ascribe to him numerous unamiable qualities, -and which gave credence to the cruel insinuations -of his private enemies, it is not inconvenient to speak -at the present moment.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_296">296</span></p> - -<p>The silent man is always terrible, and Tiberius -was a silent man; even when he spoke, he spoke -slowly; his prepared speeches were uttered with -deliberation, and it was not always easy to follow their -meaning; he was in fact apt to speak above the heads -of his audience, and to ascribe to them knowledge -and trains of thought which they did not share with -himself. His obscurity was the more alarming -because it seemed to be premeditated, for when he -was unexpectedly stirred by some strong emotion, -his words were rapid enough and clear enough and -incisive enough to make such of his hearers as had -reason to dread his displeasure feel very uncomfortable. -Given time for preparation, he studied the -statesman’s art of non-committal oratory; he felt -his responsibilities, and was so anxious to avoid -injudicious expressions as to be sometimes unintelligible. -The contrast between this studied reticence and -his occasional vigorous invective, or biting sarcasm, -was so marked as to suggest perpetually smouldering -fires. Sometimes his sense of humour tempted him -to an unseemly display, as when the citizens of Troy -sent a belated deputation to condole with him on -the death of his son, and he returned the compliment -by expressing his sympathy with their grief at the -loss of an eminent fellow-citizen—Hector. He was -contemptuous of the arts by which popularity is -gained; conscious of rectitude of purpose, and of a -generally benevolent temper towards his immediate -attendants and the people of Rome, he never pretended -to take pleasure in things for which he had no taste -in order to win favour. Simple in his tastes, inexpensive<span class="pagenum" id="Page_297">297</span> -in his pleasures, he reserved his money for -great emergencies, and forbore to squander it upon -those sumptuous shows in which the Roman crowds -delighted. It was this severity of temperament in -Tiberius which Augustus endeavoured unsuccessfully -to modify, himself a man naturally disposed to -bask in the popular favour and genuinely enjoying -the lighter side of life. We shall have to record -pleasing instances of the benevolent and wise liberality -of Tiberius on occasions of great distress, but the -common herd is more ready to bestow its affections -upon those who share its everyday amusements than -upon those who provide relief for its exceptional -tribulations; indeed, the man who abstains from -the pleasures of others, inevitably, though unwillingly -and unconsciously, assumes the position of a censor -of morals, for the man who cannot enjoy with others -is often unjustly credited, even in private life, with -a veiled contempt for the lovers of innocent diversions. -Again, seeing events from a point of view which commanded -a large horizon, Tiberius did not feel the sting -of words or actions which appeared to less large -natures necessarily unendurable, and when he forbore -to express resentment his silence was construed as -an indication not of indifference, but of politic self-restraint. -Men do not readily inflict humiliation on -themselves by imputing to an enemy unconsciousness -of their malice or contempt for its smallness; -it is more satisfactory to believe that the wound has -been felt, and that the victim is brooding over his -revenge. The reserve of Tiberius was the more -imposing because his personal appearance was in<span class="pagenum" id="Page_298">298</span> -itself awe-inspiring; the tall, gaunt old man, with -his large eyes, his thin lips, his bush of hair, his stooping -shoulders, and, as his age increased, his fiery -complexion, was a figure calculated to inspire terror, -when the revelation of some unexpected meanness, -some more than ordinarily unjust interpretation of -his actions called forth one of those rare bursts of -passion and scorching vituperation. But a man -may thus terrify without possessing any propensity -to cruelty; mere native superiority is terrifying, -and the more so when its possessor is one whose -powers are vague and believed to be unlimited.</p> - -<p>Tiberius is not the only statesman who has underestimated -the damaging effects of unpopularity; -within certain limits a statesman cannot afford to -be unpopular, and impairs his own usefulness if he -raises an irrational prejudice against himself. There -are times and occasions when it is the duty of a statesman -to face public opinion, and to persist in an unpopular -policy, but it is never the duty of a statesman -to excite personal animosity; in so far as a public -man stirs unnecessary animosities he is a failure, -for it is only a rare combination of circumstances -that reveals to a community the real worth of a man -who has the unfortunate knack of making himself -disliked. On the other hand, the worthlessness of -many a man who has achieved great popularity by -the unconscious flattery of the weaknesses of his -fellow citizens, has often escaped notice, because the -events by which alone he could be tested never happened -to occur in his lifetime, or during his tenure of -power.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_299">299</span></p> - -<p>Conscious of the strictest rectitude of purpose, -contemptuous of the judgment of the crowd, equally -contemptuous of the small aims and narrow outlook -of even the more cultivated Roman Senators, shrewd, -practical and intellectual, but not emotional or sentimental, -impatient of weakness, intolerant of smallness, -Tiberius was not a man to attract sympathy, -or to be appreciated beyond the narrow circle of a -few intimates, who understood his real aspirations. -Augustus was a less noble man and a less intellectual -man, but he was able to do work that Tiberius could -never have done, because he was more in touch with -the men through whom he had to work; where -Augustus was guided by a subtle and unconscious -sympathy, Tiberius practised the lessons drawn -from observation and reason. The result was in -most cases the same, but with this difference, that -Tiberius ignored those things which are incapable -of rational analysis and mathematical expression, -Augustus understood them; while Tiberius refused -to allow altars to be built in his honour, his sturdy -common sense not permitting him to see anything -supernatural in his position, Augustus, with a truer -instinct, allowed himself to be canonized in his lifetime. -Tiberius offended a popular sentiment by his rejection -of divine honours; Augustus by his acceptance added -not only to his own security, but to the strength -of the Empire.</p> - -<p>An examination of the political transactions of -Tiberius for the year 15 <span class="allsmcap">A.D.</span>, and of the account -which Tacitus gives of them, forms at once a good -introduction to the study of subsequent events, and<span class="pagenum" id="Page_300">300</span> -sets in a clear light the policy of the Emperor, the -tendencies of the Senate, and the character of the -impartiality claimed for himself by the historian.</p> - -<p>Augustus had been dead for four months when the -Senate met on the first of January to exchange compliments -with the Emperor, and to inaugurate the policy -of the coming year; the formal business of installing -the officials in their chairs was gone through on this -occasion, and all the ceremonies handed down from -the Republican times were scrupulously observed.</p> - -<p>In addition to the routine business, the Senate -offered a compliment to Tiberius; they wished him -to accept and adopt permanently the title of “Father -of his Country,” which they had given to Augustus. -Tiberius refused it. Suetonius has preserved a few -lines of the speech in which he intimated his refusal: -“If, however, you shall at any time find reason to -mistrust my character, or my devotion to yourselves—and -I pray heaven that death may save me from such -a change in your opinion of me before it comes to -pass—this title will add nothing to my fame, while it -will convict you either of precipitation in conferring -it upon me now, or of levity in forming a contrary -opinion hereafter.” The concluding sentence suggests -a possible touch of irony, but it does not give any -ground for the assumption that Tiberius foresaw his -own unpopularity, or was conscious of being unworthy -of the honour, as is suggested by Suetonius. Tiberius -despised the empty compliment; possibly he was -irritated by the offer, but the tyrant who would -think it worth his while to deprecate a compliment -of this kind, because he was conscious of his unworthiness,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_301">301</span> -or deliberately proposed to make himself -unworthy, is rare in the annals of tyranny.</p> - -<p>The Senate then wished to proceed to a ceremony -which was not merely ceremonial, but of deep political -significance. Cæsar during his short reign had prevailed -on the Senate to take an oath individually -that they would ratify all his transactions. It was -by virtue of this proceeding that Antonius made -his snatch at supreme power. After the murder of -the Dictator the Senate was still pledged to the ratification -of his acts, and Antonius being in possession -of the papers of Cæsar was able to produce Cæsar’s -authority for whatever measures he wished to carry -and whatever appointments he wished to make. -Augustus had reintroduced the same system, and it -had been the custom during his reign to renew the -oath on the first day of each official year. The -Senate’s position was thus reduced from that of a -legislative and executive body to that of a purely -consultative body; the forms of voting, the forms -of the appointment of magistrates might be maintained, -senators might be free to express their opinions -on questions of policy, or to raise questions and direct -the attention of the Emperor to matters requiring -his attention, but they were pledged in advance to -accept his decision. It is a work of supererogation -to enumerate the different magistracies which were -combined in the one person of the Emperor, for so -long as the Senators took this oath, he was above -all magistracies; no power was left to the Senate -except that of formally ratifying his decrees. Much -the same effect has been secured in English politics<span class="pagenum" id="Page_302">302</span> -by the stringent rules of party Government: members -of Parliament do not take an oath to register -the decrees of the leaders or leader of their party, -but the practical result is the same; whatever may -be said in the House of Commons, however violent -the debates, the conclusion is foregone, so soon as the -Government of the day has declared its intentions; -practically no Bill can be introduced without its consent, -no discussion held except with its connivance; -the majority is pledged to vote as its leaders direct, -and the march into the division lobbies is a tedious -and superfluous ceremony, an antiquated and exasperating -formality. Political purists may deplore -such a state of things, but as a practical expedient -it is supremely useful. No country was ever yet -governed by an undisciplined debating society; -the form of discipline may vary, but the discipline -must be there.</p> - -<p>Tiberius, however, wished to be a constitutional -ruler, and to restore to the Senate its independence; -he refused to allow it to swear in advance to ratify -his transactions. Here again we have a few lines -of his speech: “I shall always be like myself, and I -shall never change my character so long as I am of -sound mind; but for the sake of the precedent the -Senate must be cautious not to bind itself to the -transactions of any being who might be changed -by some misadventure.”</p> - -<p>The comment of Tacitus is simply: “He did not, -however, gain credit for a constitutional policy in -this way. For he had revived the ‘Lex Majestatis,’ -etc., etc.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_303">303</span></p> - -<p>Deferring for a moment the consideration of the -“Lex Majestatis,” which was the special bugbear of -Tacitus, we may remark that either he did not realize -the significance of the act by which Tiberius formally -emancipated the Senate from his own control, in -which case we attach little value to his opinions as -a constitutional historian, or that he did see, but -preferred to ignore, in which case we may dismiss -his claim for impartiality. It is quite possible that -he states correctly the opinion of some contemporaries -of Tiberius, who frequently misunderstood a moderation -for which they were not prepared, and who had -so long acquiesced in the policy of Augustus that any -other was beyond their comprehension; but Tacitus -was not bound to a similar dullness, and still less are -we bound to share his blindness. The act was one -of the first political importance, and no modern -historian would dismiss a similar action of a prominent -statesman with a comment of seven words. We shall -see that in this as in other similar measures, Tiberius -was unsuccessful in his attempt to restore the Senatorial -Government, but we cannot without gross -injustice refuse him credit for making the attempt.</p> - -<p>The next statement, “For he had revived the ‘Lex -Majestatis,’ etc.,” is simply a lie, for the words would -naturally be held to imply that the law in question -had fallen into abeyance, and was now recalled to -activity. Tacitus himself tells us in the very next -sentence, that Augustus had extended the application -of this law from deeds to libellous writings; nor was -the “revival” of this application anything that we -should understand as a revival. The Prætors, on<span class="pagenum" id="Page_304">304</span> -entering office each year, made an official announcement -of the sense in which they proposed to interpret -the laws during their term of office, and of any modifications -which were to be introduced in their procedure. -Pompeius Macro, who was one of the -Prætors for the year <span class="allsmcap">A.D.</span> 15, asked Tiberius whether -cases under the “Lex Majestatis” were to be heard. -Tiberius replied that the laws must be enforced; he -neither made a new law nor revived an old one, nor -announced a fresh interpretation of a previous law; -he simply announced that the previous practice -should be continued, and this in the customary -routine of business; it was the duty of Macro the -Prætor, not of Tiberius the Princeps, to announce -any proposed change in procedure. Tacitus may -be right in assuming that it was in the power of -Tiberius at this moment to take the sting out of the -actions under the “Lex Majestatis,” and that he would -have been wise in doing so, but he has totally misrepresented -the facts in stating that Tiberius revived -the operation of this law.</p> - -<p>The history of the “Lex Majestatis” is not absolutely -clear, but it is certain that comparatively early -in the Republican period the laws provided for the -punishment of a Roman citizen who by his acts -diminished the majesty of the Republic: cowardice -in the field, premature surrender, dishonourable -breaches of faith by which the dignity of the State -was impaired, were deeds punishable under this law. -Its operation was extended under Augustus to words -and actions tending to lower the dignity of private -citizens and of the head of the State in whom the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_305">305</span> -majesty of the Republic was centred and personified; -to publish disrespectful or libellous statements about -the Emperor, to plot against his life, to acquiesce -in depreciatory criticism of his actions, were all things -which could be brought under the “Lex Majestatis”; -it dealt with treason, constructive treason, and ordinary -libel. The penalties were severe, but the peculiar -aggravation lay in the fact that the informer was -rewarded. Similar laws are not unknown to modern -States, and are not held to be necessarily detrimental -to the body politic; at the same time, they are capable -of being abused, and under the rule of Caligula, Nero -and Domitian, the “Lex Majestatis” proved to be -an engine of tyranny; informers drove a profitable -trade, and the confiscations made under the law -proved a source of revenue to these spendthrift -princes. There is, however, no evidence that the -grievance had been felt in the reign of Augustus, and -Tiberius is hardly to be blamed for not annulling -ancient legislation within six months of his accession, -which had as yet caused little inconvenience. If -there had been abuses, the remedy lay in the administration -rather than in the repeal of the law.</p> - -<p>Tacitus had at his disposal the whole body of the -transactions of the Senate; if a good case was to be -made out against the manner in which the “Lex -Majestatis” was worked under Tiberius, all the -material was before him; had there been serious -abuses, the evidence was accessible. He, however, -produces only three cases in the year 15 <span class="allsmcap">A.D.</span>, which -he introduces with the following flourish: “It will -be worth while to relate the charges which it was<span class="pagenum" id="Page_306">306</span> -endeavoured to bring against Falanius and Rubrius, -equestrians of no particular distinction, so that it -may be seen from what beginnings this deadly bane -started, with what artful management on the part -of Tiberius it crept on, was then repressed, lastly -blazed up, and carried everything before it.” Falanius -was accused on two charges: he had enrolled a -notoriously disreputable actor among the worshippers -of Augustus; he had sold a statue of Augustus along -with the garden in which it stood. Rubrius was -accused of perjury after swearing by the name of -Augustus. The charges were dismissed. Tiberius -said that Cassius the actor had been included by -Livia herself among the actors appointed to give -a performance in honour of Augustus; that there -was no reason for distinguishing between a statue -of Augustus and statues of other gods, which were -habitually included in the sale of houses and gardens; -that Augustus had not been deified in order that his -worship should lead to the ruin of the citizens; and -as to oaths taken in his name, they must be treated -like oaths taken in the name of Jupiter. He added -with characteristic irony: “The gods can protect -their own dignity.” These remarks contained in a -letter addressed to the Consuls, as soon as the facts -came to the Emperor’s ears, stopped the prosecution. -The accusers were foolish enough, but it is not easy -to see where Tiberius is guilty of encouraging informers -in these cases.</p> - -<p>The third case was more complicated. Granius -Marcellus, the Governor of Bithynia, was accused by -two different men at once of two different crimes:<span class="pagenum" id="Page_307">307</span> -his subordinate, Cæpio Crispinus, charged him with -extortion in the government of his province; Hispo, -a professional informer, according to Tacitus, accused -him of defamation of the character of Tiberius, of -placing his own statue higher than that of the Cæsars, -of cutting the head off a statue of Augustus and replacing -it by one of Tiberius. Marcellus was acquitted -of the charges brought by Hispo, which came under -the “Lex Majestatis”; the charge of extortion was -referred to the court appointed to hear such causes. -Here again there is absolutely no evidence that -Tiberius was inclined to press charges under the -“Lex Majestatis”; the evidence is all in the contrary -direction, but Tacitus, with an absolutely diabolical -ingenuity, contrives to give his story the necessary -twist. “Hispo pretended that Marcellus had made -libellous speeches about Tiberius, a charge which -it was impossible to escape, since the accuser picked -out all the most abominable things in the character -of the Emperor, and imputed the statement of them -to the defendant. For because they were true charges -they were believed to have been uttered.” And yet -it was precisely on these charges that the man was -acquitted. Tacitus, however, succeeded in stating -that Tiberius was a man of abominable moral character, -that everybody knew it, and in further suggesting -that the statements were made in a court of justice -with the acquiescence of the audience. It is not -likely that the speech of Hispo was preserved, even -if the case went so far as to allow him to make one, -but the influence of the senatorial record in favour -of Tiberius had to be dispelled, and is cleverly dispelled<span class="pagenum" id="Page_308">308</span> -by the suggestion that the calumnies against -Tiberius received a quasi-official sanction in the law -court; if they were listened to, their truth was so -obvious that nobody protested. After recounting -the points in Hispo’s indictment, Tacitus continues: -“Thereupon he (Tiberius) lost his temper to such an -extent, that breaking his usual silence he declared -that he would give his opinion on that case openly -and on his oath, in order that the other senators -might be obliged to do the same.” Tacitus would -like us to think that the display of indignation was -caused by the charge of defamation, but there were -two other and better reasons for wrath. In the first -place, extortionate proceedings in the provinces -always stirred the wrath of Tiberius; Bithynia was a -Senatorial Province; the Senate were still apt to deal -leniently with one of their own order, and Tiberius -may have detected indications that they were likely -to take this line; in the second place, to couple a -charge of extortion with a charge of defamation of -the Emperor was a bit of sharp practice; the informer -hoped to get his reward under the “Lex Majestatis,” -because he believed that the man would be condemned -on the charge of extortion, and that the prejudice -thus created against him would secure his condemnation -on both charges. It was an abominable trick, -and Tiberius saw through it.</p> - -<p>The conclusion of the narrative of Tacitus is no -less ingenious; he says: “There even then remained -some traces of expiring liberty. Therefore Gnæus -Piso said, ‘In what place will you give your opinion, -Cæsar? If first, I shall have something to follow;<span class="pagenum" id="Page_309">309</span> -if last, I am afraid I may inadvertently differ from -you.’ Thoroughly alarmed by these words, and -penitent because of the imprudence of his outburst, -he allowed the accused to be acquitted of the charges -of ‘Majestas.’ The case of extortion was referred -to the assessors.”</p> - -<p>As these are the only three cases tried under the -law of “Majestas” in the first twelve months of the -reign of Tiberius, we must admit that he marched -very slowly to that tragic wickedness to which Tacitus -refers, and by means of an art which is so artful, as -to be to our eyes absolutely invisible.</p> - -<p>It is further to be remembered that there was -formal documentary evidence of the charges, and of -their subsequent dismissal, but no evidence can have -been forthcoming as to the Emperor’s burst of temper, -or the acquiescence of the audience in the supposed -revelation of his wickedness except tradition and -private memoirs. The remark of Gnæus Piso was -to the point, but it is evidence of the weakness of the -Senate, not of the tyranny of Tiberius.</p> - -<p>Tiberius having thus summarily quashed three -cases under the “Lex Majestatis,” and sent a senatorial -oppressor of a province to be dealt with by the -constitutional court, may have offended those surviving -heirs of the old senatorial tradition to whom -the restoration of the Senate implied the restoration -of the abuses of the senatorial administration, but -he had done nothing tyrannical. The narrative of -Tacitus proceeds, however, as if Tiberius had waded -knee deep in blood, and triumphed in the perversion -of justice: “Not satiated with the processes in the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_310">310</span> -Senate he used to attend the courts, sitting at the end -of the tribunal, in order not to remove the Prætor -from his official seat.” There is no question about -the fact; Augustus used in the same unofficial -fashion to attend the courts and watch the administration -of justice, acting in this respect like any other -Senator, but the skilful use of the words “not satiated” -gives a sinister significance to an innocent statement.</p> - -<p>The administration of justice was not above suspicion -in the Roman Law Courts, and the presence -of Tiberius among the jury secured a fair hearing. -As Tacitus himself says, “Many decisions were given -in his presence contrary to the bribes and solicitations -of influential men,” and then follows the customary -Tacitean comment, “But while the interests -of truth were being looked after liberty was corrupted.” -If liberty means the sacred right of senatorial juries -and powerful men to secure maladministration of -justice by means of bribes and private influence, -we can hardly blame Tiberius for “corrupting” -such liberty, and may be excused for not seeing any -excessive adulation in the remarks which Paterculus -makes in reference to the same procedure, -“Confidence in the Courts of Law was restored.” -“With what dignity does he (Tiberius) attentively -listen to cases as a senator and juryman, not as -Princeps and Cæsar!”</p> - -<p>By insisting on an impartial administration of -justice, Tiberius made enemies among those who were -interested in the contrary practice, and there is no -doubt that many a senator relieved his feelings by -recording instances of such tyranny in his private<span class="pagenum" id="Page_311">311</span> -diary. It is all a question of point of view; our point -of view does not allow us to stigmatize a man as a -tyrant who steadily worked for the purity of the -law courts.</p> - -<p>The next recorded transaction in the Senate was -of a different nature; the excessive weight of a road -and aqueduct had caused a subsidence of the foundations -of a Senator’s house, and he had applied to the -Senate for compensation; the officials of the Treasury -resisted the claim, but Tiberius ordered the value -of the house to be paid to the owner. Then follows -the inevitable comment: “For he was fond of distributing -money in honourable ways, a virtue which -he long retained, when he was abandoning all others.” -Even this remark is, however, not sufficiently damaging -for Tacitus, and he carefully provides that his -next statement should be calculated to appeal to a -well-known weakness. Propertius Celer asked to be -allowed to retire from the Senatorial Order on account -of insufficiency of means. Tiberius, on ascertaining -that his poverty was inherited, bestowed on him a -million sestertii (about £8,500). So far so good; -no senator could object to this, but something follows: -“When others attempted to get the same relief he -ordered them to prove their case to the Senate, harsh -even in those things which he did in due form, through -his excessive love of strict procedure. For this reason -the rest preferred silence and poverty to confession -and gratuities.” We shall have to record later on a -particularly impudent attempt on the part of an -indigent Senator to extort money for the relief of -his necessities, and shall find that Tiberius had good<span class="pagenum" id="Page_312">312</span> -reason for insisting that men who claimed the assistance -of the Senate should give a full account of their -means and of the causes of their poverty; but it is -easy to see that the severity of Tiberius would not be -popular with the Senate, and that a prejudice could -be created against him by giving an example of his -strictness in this matter early in his reign. Paterculus, -more just than Tacitus, praises Tiberius for -the discrimination with which he assisted impoverished -Senators.</p> - -<p>In the same year there were heavy floods in the -Tiber; the lower regions of the city were inundated, -many buildings fell, many lives were lost. Asinius -Gallus, the second husband of Vipsania, moved that -the Sibylline books should be consulted. We are -not surprised to hear that Tiberius rejected the motion -“on religious no less than practical grounds.” It is -an interesting illustration of the curious development -of the Italian intellect that these same men who could -seriously propose in their solemn assembly to consult -the Roman Mother Shipton in a case of this kind -should form a bold engineering scheme for dealing -with the difficulty. It was suggested, after a committee -had reported, that the tributaries which -brought the floods into the Tiber should be diverted. -The scheme was abandoned, as deputations from the -inhabitants of the valleys through which these rivers -flowed pointed out that they would suffer serious -loss if it were carried out. There were also religious -obstacles; these rivers were worshipped, and Tiber -himself might object to the proposed diminution -of his glorious stream.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_313">313</span></p> - -<p>We then have a fragment of administration dismissed -by Tacitus in a couple of lines without comment. -The provinces of Achaia and Macedonia -begged to be relieved of the expense of the Senatorial -Government and transferred to the Imperial provinces; -both of these provinces had suffered in consequence -of the Pannonian war. The Imperial administration -was less expensive than that of the -Senate, not necessarily because the Senatorial Government -was corrupt, but because the honours paid -to the Senatorial viceroys and their trains were expensive; -there was the difference between maintaining -a court and paying an official. Adverse -comment was in this case impossible, because when -Tacitus was writing, the process of removing the -distinction between Senatorial and Imperial provinces -was in progress. Trajan would hardly have -approved of a reactionary comment, such as Tacitus -might have been tempted to make. These provinces -were restored to the Senate by Claudius.</p> - -<p>This notice is followed by a statement and comment -in the best Tacitean style: “Drusus (the son of -Tiberius) presided at the gladiatorial shows which -he had offered in the names of himself and his brother -Germanicus, although too easily pleased with cheap -bloodshed, a thing which was full of danger to the -commonalty, and which his father is said to have -reproved. Different reasons were assigned for the -Emperor’s own absence from the shows; some said -that he disliked a crowd, others alleged his dismal -nature and his fear of comparisons, for Augustus -had taken part in these events with affability. I<span class="pagenum" id="Page_314">314</span> -should be unwilling to believe that an opportunity -was deliberately given to his son of demonstrating -his cruelty and exciting unpopularity, though that -was also said.”</p> - -<p>The connection of thought is not quite obvious, -for if the gladiatorial shows were popular, and -they certainly were popular, how could Drusus -incur unpopularity by presiding? There is unhappily -no evidence that the populace of Rome ever objected -to bloodshed in the arena, and the president at these -shows would be more likely to make himself disliked -by checking than by permitting or encouraging the -slaughter. Nor again is it easy to see the force of -the phrase, “although too easily pleased with cheap -bloodshed,” unless there is a reference implied to the -pleasure which Drusus was said to have taken in -the executions of the mutineers in Pannonia, an inexpensive -pleasure compared with that afforded -by the fights of trained gladiators; the word -“although” suggests that Drusus could get his -bloodshed more cheaply than by giving gladiatorial -shows.</p> - -<p>Again, if Drusus was wrong in patronizing these -shows, how could Tiberius also be wrong in refusing -to be present? As a matter of fact, one of the many -points in the character of Tiberius which commands -our respect is his aversion to the disgusting spectacles -of all kinds in which the Roman people delighted. -But considerations of this kind did not weigh with -Tacitus; he was not interested in being consistent; -he found in the memoirs adverse interpretations of -the conduct of Tiberius, and he impartially repeated<span class="pagenum" id="Page_315">315</span> -them, though they were in contradiction with his -previous condemnation of Drusus.</p> - -<p>A riot in the theatre was the next event of importance. -We shall have on a later occasion to discuss -the position of the theatres at some length. It is -enough to record that on the present occasion opinions -were given in the Senate to the effect that the Prætors -should be allowed to flog actors. A tribune interposed -his veto according to an old constitutional -practice, and was roundly abused by Asinius Gallus -for doing so. “Tiberius preserved silence, for he -conceded to the Senate such phantoms of liberty.” -However, the veto of the tribune was allowed, “because -the sainted Augustus had once declared that -actors were exempt from the rods, and it was a matter -of conscience with Tiberius not to infringe his utterances.” -The further proceedings in the Senate on -this occasion throw a curious light on the manners -of the time. It was decreed that Senators should -not enter the houses of the pantomimists, that the -Equestrians should not attend them when they went -out, that they should not give performances except -in the theatre, and that the Prætors should have -power to punish the extravagance of the spectators -with banishment.</p> - -<p>Then the Spaniards were allowed to build a temple -to Augustus at Tarragona, thus setting an example -to all the provinces. The people of Tarragona had -not hitherto been fortunate in their worship of -Augustus; they had set up an altar to him in his -lifetime, and soon afterwards announced to him -radiantly that a palm had grown from it. “It is<span class="pagenum" id="Page_316">316</span> -easy to see that you do not often sacrifice,” the old -man had remarked.</p> - -<p>Petitions were presented against the tax of one per -cent. on auctions. Tiberius declared in an edict -that the military chest depended on that source of -income, and added that the burden of the army -was too great for the State unless the soldiers served -for twenty years; thus the reduction to sixteen years -demanded by the mutineers was set aside.</p> - -<p>The two concluding chapters of the first book of -the <i>Annals</i> are also remarkable in their unfairness -or want of perspicacity; and yet the grievances suggested -by them have been alluded to again and again -by historians of repute without criticism and as real -grievances, for it is the melancholy fate of most students -of Tacitus to lose all sense of consistency.</p> - -<p>“Poppæus Sabinus was continued in the governorship -of Moesia, Achaia and Macedonia being added -to the province. This too was one of the ways of -Tiberius, to prolong the periods of office and to keep -most of the officials in command of the same armies -or at the head of the same jurisdictions to the ends -of their lives. Various reasons are given. Some said -that through mere distaste for fresh exertion he -treated appointments once made as eternal, others -that he was envious and wanted few to enjoy power; -some think that selections were a matter of serious -anxiety to him because he was cunning; he had -little regard for eminent virtues, and again he disliked -vices; he feared danger to himself from worthy -men, public disgrace from bad men. At length he -went so far in this kind of dilatoriness that he<span class="pagenum" id="Page_317">317</span> -assigned provinces to some men, whom he did not -intend to leave the city.”</p> - -<p>The frequent change of Governors, Generals, and -other officials had been the curse of the Republican -Government. Again and again it had been necessary, -when serious work was to be done, to lengthen the -limited terms of office allowed by the old senatorial -constitution; the old arrangements had not been -made in the interests of the provincials or the administration -of public business, but so that the members -of the oligarchy at Rome might share and share -alike in the plunder of the conquered countries, and -that no single one of them should acquire sufficient -money or power to set himself above the laws. When -the old arrangements were rigorously carried out, -no Roman Governor had more than a transitory -glance of the province which he occupied; he himself -and the train by which he was attended devoted -their energies to making as much as they could in -the short time at their disposal; the evil had been -pointed out again and again; and as Tacitus has -himself told us, the burden even of the reformed -senatorial government was such that two impoverished -provinces begged to be relieved of it. The -policy of Tiberius was the only sound one for the -provinces, and the sole objection to it was an objection -which he, if he had been a suspicious ruler, might -have felt to be a strong one. There was a danger -that the men who stayed in their provinces long -enough to feel their strength might be tempted to -set up an independent government. This danger -Tiberius preferred to risk, and that he did so acquits<span class="pagenum" id="Page_318">318</span> -him of the charge conveyed in the insinuation that -he was jealous of the enjoyment of power by a number -of persons. Eventually, as we shall see later on, he -made the Governors of provinces Secretaries of State -for the countries which they governed; they did -not leave Rome, but were the channels through which -the business of the provinces was conducted at Rome. -The language which Tacitus here uses is not the -language of an experienced official working under -Trajan with the records of a century of the Empire -behind him, but the language of a reactionary of -the reign of Tiberius. The breed of Romans who -could see nothing in greater Rome but a field for -plundering in the name of governing never quite -died out; even in Trajan’s reign there were probably -more aspirants than offices, and many discontented -men, who thought that there were not sufficient -opportunities of promotion. Tiberius certainly was -careful in his selection of the great officials, but his -caution was in the interests of the unhappy provincials. -There were doubtless many noble Romans -in his day who believed themselves to be possessed -of the eminent virtues necessary to a provincial -governor, but who somehow failed to secure promotion.</p> - -<p>Tacitus on this occasion, as on many others, skilfully -substitutes contemporary comment for contemporary -evidence. All that he really tells us is that -some of the contemporaries of Tiberius disliked his -policy; what he wishes to tell us is that the government -of Tiberius was radically bad, and that his -contemporaries were right in saying so.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_319">319</span></p> - -<p>The last chapter deals with the elections of the -Consuls, a subject which Tacitus professes to find -obscure. The reality of election by the Comitia -Centuriata had already been abolished; it had become -a mere form, and nobody noticed its abolition; -Augustus practically appointed the Consuls; Tiberius -seems to have wished the Senate to elect them, but -found that there were practical difficulties. After -mentioning various ways in which Tiberius secured -the election of his own candidates, Tacitus says: -“Generally he discoursed to the effect that those men -only were candidates whose names he had given -to the Consuls, but that others were at liberty to -stand if they had confidence in their own influence -or deserts. This was plausible enough in words, but -meaningless or insidious in fact, and the more it -was involved in the appearance of liberty, likely to -break out into the more deadly slavery.”</p> - -<p>This imposing malediction ends the book. As a -matter of fact the Consular Office was by this time -purely ornamental.</p> - -<hr /> - -<div id="toclink_320" class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_320">320</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="XIV">XIV<br /> - -<span class="subhead">The Case of Scribonius Libo</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class="drop-cap"><span class="smcap1">Enough</span> has been said in the previous chapter -to show the bias under which Tacitus wrote, -and the dexterity with which he substituted inferences -and insinuations for evidence. It must, however, be -conceded to Tacitus that the operation of the “Lex -Majestatis” was attended by many and serious evils; -for those evils Tiberius and the men of his time were -not responsible. The period was one of transition -in most departments of social organization, and -especially in all matters connected with the administration -of justice. Under the Republic every head -of a great family was in theory, and even in practice, -a skilled lawyer; there was no legal profession. -The Prætors who presided in the law courts were not -specially trained judges; any Senator might become -a Prætor, and preside in one of the law courts for -his year of office; similarly any Senator might be -called upon to take his place as a juryman, and give -his verdict after listening to the evidence and the -speeches of counsel. In course of time the Equestrian -Order shared this duty with Senators.</p> - -<p>Similarly there was no such thing as a professional -advocate; every Senator was bound to plead on<span class="pagenum" id="Page_321">321</span> -behalf of his own clients, and no Senator could -recover fees as an advocate; indeed, advocates were -strictly forbidden to ask for fees. The relation between -the advocate and his client was held to be a -personal one, not professional. The word client still -in use reminds us of this relation; we have lost the -corresponding word “patron,” which Tacitus and -Suetonius employ precisely in the technical sense -of advocate. Such a system could not be maintained -under the increased complexity of life caused by -the expansion of Rome, and the professional advocate -was inevitably evolved; “patrons” who were noticeably -successful in winning their cases naturally attracted -“clients”; and hence we have even in the -Republican period men occupying positions not easily -distinguishable from those of our own barristers, -and in virtue of various legal fictions actually making -large fortunes by the exercise of their profession. -Cicero and Hortensius were eminent examples of -the non-professional and yet professional advocate.</p> - -<p>The fact that there was no organized and officially -recognized body of men to plead in the law courts -caused little inconvenience in private cases. A man -who defended the interests of a friend, or brought -an action in his name, was not in an invidious position, -even though by well known evasions of the law he -received a consideration for his friendly services. -Again so long as the senatorial constitution existed, -the prosecution of offenders against the State was -an honourable public duty, and young men took -their first step in a political career by conducting -a State prosecution or defending the delinquent.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_322">322</span> -Such prosecutions were political rather than legal; -they were episodes in a never-ending party struggle; -they resembled the impeachments and attainders of -our own parliamentary history. The introduction -of the monarch into the Roman Constitution created -a state of affairs for which the Constitution had not -provided; the position of the head of the Government -was not defined; it was only gradually and by -a slow process of development that his person and -his good name were protected from attack. We do -not possess the text of the Julian laws passed in the -reign of Augustus, whose object was in part to protect -the first person in the State, and to make offences -against his person and reputation offences against -the majesty of the State; but we know enough of -their nature to be certain that Augustus with all -his wisdom found an unhappy solution of a real -difficulty. The Roman Republic was not provided -with a Public Prosecutor, nor with law officers of -the Crown, nor could Augustus be provided with -such protectors; he could neither through his agents -nor in person bring actions against offenders under the -“Lex Majestatis,” for in such a case the verdict was -a foregone conclusion. In order, therefore, that -such cases should be spontaneously brought before -the courts, it was enacted that the prosecutor, if -successful, should receive all or part of the fine. Men -were thus tempted not only to get up cases, but to -provide that the evidence should lead to a confiscation -of the goods of the defendant; the greater the penalty, -the greater the reward of the prosecutor. Speculations -in promoting conspiracy and then informing<span class="pagenum" id="Page_323">323</span> -were the natural result. It is easy at this distance -of time to condemn the system, and easier still to -forget the long growth of habits and prescriptions -which have rendered trials for treason and constructive -treason and for libelling the Sovereign almost -obsolete in our own country. In our happy ignorance -of the conditions which made such processes possible -and necessary we may be tempted to ask with surprise -why Tiberius, if he were really a wise and moderate -man, did not abolish or amend the “Lex Majestatis.” -The hostile writers Tacitus and Suetonius -tell us repeatedly that Tiberius never made use of -this law, or of any law, as a means of filling his treasury. -The examples of prosecutions under this law -given by Tacitus almost without exception, and invariably -up to <span class="allsmcap">A.D.</span> 30, show Tiberius moderating -the zeal of the prosecutors, and lightening the sentences -pronounced by the Senate; in fact, the abuses -of the law are perpetrated by the prosecutors and the -Senate, not by Tiberius; and the Emperor may -reasonably have held that as it was always in his -power to check the abuses of the law, its amendment, -a matter of great difficulty, might be left to time, -and that in accordance with Roman custom the desired -result would be achieved better by an accumulation -of precedents than by a formal enactment.</p> - -<p>The case of Scribonius Libo is interesting, less as -affecting the character of Tiberius than as throwing -a light upon the manners of the time. Tacitus does -not provide us with the formal indictment, nor with -the evidence; he is pleased to think that the case -affords a remarkable illustration of the horrors of<span class="pagenum" id="Page_324">324</span> -the “Lex Majestatis,” and omits or insinuates at -discretion. The case as represented by him seems -to have been rather trivial, and more trivial to us -than to the Romans of that time, because we no longer -believe, or believe that we no longer believe in magic.</p> - -<p>Drusus Scribonius Libo was a relative, though -not a very near relative, to members of the Julian -house. Scribonia, his great-great-aunt, was the first -real wife of Augustus and the mother of Julia; he -was therefore a distant cousin to Agrippina and her -brothers. His grandmother, the niece of this Scribonia, -was wife to Sextus Pompeius, and thus the young -man was a descendant of the great Pompeius. Tacitus -speaks of him as a young man at the time of the prosecution, -but this epithet is used by the Roman writers -technically of men between the ages of seventeen -and forty-six, and is therefore applied to men past -their callow youth, such as Germanicus and Drusus; -and as Libo had been Prætor, he was certainly old -enough to manage his own affairs. Libo, according -to Tacitus, fell into the hands of a Senator named -Firmius Catus, who encouraged him in vicious courses -and lent him money, in order to become fully possessed -of his secrets. This same treacherous adviser -stimulated his ambition, and reminded him of the -splendour of his ancestry; he urged him to listen to -the promises of Chaldæans, to consult the mysterious -rites of magians and interpreters of dreams. When -Firmius had sufficiently implicated his victim in -doubtful proceedings, he asked for an interview -with Tiberius, using an Equestrian, Flaccus Vescularius, -a very intimate friend of the Emperor’s, as<span class="pagenum" id="Page_325">325</span> -intermediary. Tiberius refused the interview, saying, -according to Tacitus, that he could get any -further information through Flaccus. “Meanwhile” -he made Libo prætor, frequently invited him to -dinner, discovered no irritation either by look or -word, and “preferred to know all his deeds and words, -although he could have stopped them.”</p> - -<p>In other words, the folly of Libo having been -brought to the notice of Tiberius, he paid no very -serious attention, and endeavoured to demonstrate -the error of his ways by admitting him to familiar -intercourse, for vague though the historian’s “meanwhile” -may be taken to be, there is no improbability -in assuming that the first experiment of Catus was -foiled by the Emperor’s common sense.</p> - -<p>The next stage in the proceedings was more exciting. -Libo endeavoured to bribe one Junius to -call up the spirits of the dead by means of incantations. -This person, probably a professional necromancer, -gave information to Fulcinius Trio, a professional -prosecutor so far as such a thing existed at the time. -“The ability of Trio was well known among the accusers -of those days, and his eager love of notoriety.” -Trio did not allow the grass to grow under his feet; -he held a “plump juicy offender” in his hands, and -was determined to make the best of him; he went -to the consuls and demanded a hearing before the -Senate. Libo, for his part, was not idle; on hearing -of his peril he put on mourning and, accompanied -by ladies of rank, visited the palaces of the great, -implored his family connexions, demanded the aid -of their voices to encounter his danger; but all<span class="pagenum" id="Page_326">326</span> -refused; their excuses were different, but fear was -the real reason for all. Fear of what? Tacitus -leaves us to infer that Tiberius was the object of dread, -but even if we allow that the historian was correct -in assigning fear as the motive of abstention from -assisting Libo, there was another possible cause of -fear. The black art was no laughing matter to the -men and women of those days, and a fashionable -gentleman, who was suddenly discovered to have -been engaged in an attempt to raise the dead, was an -awe-inspiring object in spite of his train of aristocratic -ladies.</p> - -<p>On the day of the meeting of the Senate Libo was -carried in a litter to the doors, either pretending illness -or worn out with anxiety and vexation; he leaned -on his brother, and appealed to Tiberius by word and -gesture, who for his part preserved the immobility -proper to his position. In due time the Emperor -read the declarations aloud and the names of their -authors, in such a way as not to indicate his own -opinion. By this time Trio was not the only accuser; -Catus was there, Fonteius Agrippa and Vibius Serenus, -Senators of repute, all anxiously offering information, -and wrangling between themselves as to which of -them was to have the honour of making the speech -for the prosecution. Libo had no defender. At last -Vibius was allowed to state the charges; there -seemed to be little reason for alarm in them. Among -other things Libo had asked his diviners whether -he should have enough money to cover the Appian -Way with coin from Rome to Brindisi.</p> - -<p>But in spite of such abundant evidence of folly,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_327">327</span> -the audience were horror stricken when a book was -produced, written in Libo’s own hand, in which the -names of the Emperor and leading Senators were -found with strange and occult marks appended. -This gentleman, who wanted to converse with the -dead, was, if a fool, a dangerous fool. It was decided -to question his slaves; but as they could not legally -bear evidence against their master, it was necessary -to transfer them to another owner, and a remand -was granted in order that this might be done. This -skilful evasion of the law of evidence is attributed -by Tacitus to the cunning inventiveness of Tiberius; -but it is not probable that the Romans had waited -so long to discover a solution of a frequently recurring -difficulty. Libo went home, entrusting his last -entreaties to the Emperor to the care of a relative. -A guard was set round his house; the soldiers were -even heard and seen in the outer hall. Libo ordered -himself a magnificent dinner, but even in the midst -of the sumptuous repast his craven spirit gave way; -he handed a sword to his slaves and implored them -to kill him. In the confusion that ensued the lights -were overturned, and the miserable man succeeded -in taking his own life in the funereal darkness. As -soon as his death was made known the soldiers -departed.</p> - -<p>In spite of the suicide of the delinquent the case -was continued on the following day; but Tiberius -took an oath that he would have asked for the culprit’s -life, even though proved guilty, had he not anticipated -the sentence. Libo’s goods were divided between -his accusers, and extraordinary prætorships<span class="pagenum" id="Page_328">328</span> -were given to such of them as were of senatorial -rank. Various Senators then proposed measures -indicating their opinion that the case had been a very -grave one. Libo’s image was no longer to be included -among the family busts; no Scribonius was ever -again to be called Drusus; a public thanksgiving -was to be held; gifts were to be offered to Jupiter, -Mars and Concord; the day on which Libo killed -himself was to be a holiday for ever. Decrees of -the Senate were also passed, expelling “mathematicians” -and magians from Italy; two of their number -were summarily executed.</p> - -<p>Tacitus stigmatizes all these proposals, so strangely -disproportionate to the event as it appears to us, as -acts of adulation to Tiberius; but after all Tiberius -was not the only person concerned, nor indeed chiefly -concerned. There is no evidence of a plot against -Tiberius more than against the other Senators, whose -names were included in the mysterious notebook.</p> - -<p>As a matter of fact, on this occasion as on many -subsequent occasions, the Senators lost their heads; -they, and not Tiberius, were responsible for the -excesses of the sentence and the subsequent transactions. -The fear of magic was strong upon them, -as their subsequent action in driving the practisers -of magic arts from Italy demonstrates. They did -not succeed in doing so, and similar equally futile -senatorial decrees recur again and again. These -solemn rulers of the world behaved like little children -in their terror of the black art; they believed in -incantations, divinations, signs and wonders, spells -and imprecations far more strongly than they did<span class="pagenum" id="Page_329">329</span> -in the precepts of the Stoic and the Epicurean. Here -and there we find one of the ancients superior to -the prevailing superstitions, but only here and there; -and in the Roman palaces, no less than at the court -of Louis XIV., the plotter and the poisoner were -hand in hand with the crafty charlatans, or self-deceived -miracle workers, who haunted the private -apartments of men and women of rank.</p> - -<p>Tiberius could not have resisted the panic of the -Senate on this occasion, even if he had had the opportunity; -we shall find magic a couple of years later -playing an important part in a more notable prosecution.</p> - -<p>Libo was evidently a profligate fool, and not likely -to have been implicated in a serious plot; but it is -not impertinent to ask where Tacitus got his detailed -information; the case is hardly mentioned by other -authors. The scene of the suicide is graphic, the -authority whom Tacitus uses is clearly in sympathy -with Libo. Now Libo was, as we have seen, related -to the Julians, and it is at least probable that a -version of the story was supplied by a correspondent -to Agrippina, who was at the time in Germany, and -so became incorporated in the memoirs which she -handed down to her daughter, who again used it in -the memoirs which Tacitus tells us that he saw.</p> - -<p>The two “mathematicians” who were summarily -punished suffered different penalties: Pituarius was -thrown from the Tarpeian rock, Marcius was proceeded -against “in the manner of our forefathers”; -the trumpet was sounded, calling the centuries to -the Campus Martius, the unhappy man was then<span class="pagenum" id="Page_330">330</span> -bound to a stake, and beaten with rods till he was dead, -after which his head was cut off; these privileges -he enjoyed as being a Roman citizen infected with a -foreign superstition. It is to be hoped that he really -was a charlatan, and not a genuine man of science, -who paid the common penalty for being in advance -of his age.</p> - -<hr /> - -<div id="toclink_331" class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_331">331</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="XV">XV<br /> - -<span class="subhead">Germanicus and Piso</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class="drop-cap"><span class="smcap1">The</span> death of Germanicus occupies a larger space -in the annals of Tacitus than the actual -importance of the event would seem to require. The -space given to the transactions in the East by which -it was preceded, and the trial of Piso by which it was -followed, amounts to nearly a sixth part of the books -dealing with the reign of Tiberius; or perhaps it -would be more correct to say that the aspects of the -premature death of Germanicus, which were really -important, receive small attention in comparison -with those which were less important.</p> - -<p>The death of Germanicus opened the way to the -long series of plots which rendered the life of Tiberius -intolerable, and eventually overwhelmed him in the -disastrous events of the year 30 <span class="allsmcap">A.D.</span> When Germanicus -started for the East in the year 18 <span class="allsmcap">A.D.</span>, -he was the destined successor of Tiberius, with a -possible coadjutor in the person of his first cousin -Drusus, the two men being legally brothers by the -process of adoption. If Tiberius had any personal -preference, he unquestionably inclined to Germanicus, -to whom he showed every mark of favour, and whose -political training he was now completing by sending<span class="pagenum" id="Page_332">332</span> -him to study the Oriental difficulties of the Empire. -Drusus at the same time was promoted to his brother’s -former position in the West, the still disturbed provinces -on the frontiers of the Rhine and Danube -being entrusted to his care. Had both these men lived, -there would have been no Sejanus, and probably -no Caligula. Tiberius himself would have permanently -enjoyed for ever the excellent reputation which -he won during the first sixteen years of his reign, -but an unkind destiny willed it otherwise.</p> - -<p>There was no reason why Tiberius should dislike -Germanicus, to whose father, as we have seen, he was -attached by an affection remarkable even between -brothers, and Germanicus himself had on an occasion, -which strongly tested his loyalty, shown that it could -stand the test. All the authorities, Paterculus -included, speak highly of Germanicus; he was an -able general and a lovable man. Drusus was a less -attractive character, somewhat rough, severe and -passionate, but whatever his weaknesses, he had the -merit of being attached to his cousin and nominal -elder brother; there is no trace of any jealousy -between the two men, and their unity was further -cemented by the fact that the sister of Germanicus -was the wife of Drusus.</p> - -<p>While the three representative men of the Imperial -family were thus in harmony, and lived on terms -of mutual trust and helpfulness, the case was different -with the women. Livia, the widow of Augustus, -and Agrippina, the daughter of Julia, were separated -by ancient hatreds and fresh causes of offence. If -the whole private diary and correspondence of Agrippina<span class="pagenum" id="Page_333">333</span> -had been preserved to us, we should probably -be in a position to compare Livia with Madame de -Maintenon, as she is exhibited to us in the lively -letters of that sturdy little hater, Charlotte Elizabeth, -Duchess of Orleans, for the memoirs of Agrippina, -filtered through her daughter’s editing, and the mind -of a man of letters indicate no want of a proper animosity, -no desire to bury old grudges.</p> - -<p>Livia did not acquiesce willingly in her diminished -glories as dowager; if she had proposed to herself—and -there is every reason to suppose that she did so -propose—to continue to be the power behind the throne -in her son’s reign, as in her husband’s, she was disappointed. -While studiously paying every sign of respect -to his mother as his mother, and even stretching -points in her favour, Tiberius refused to acknowledge -her as a politician; such honours as might decorously -be paid to the widow of Augustus, such consolations -of her affliction as expressions of public sympathy -could afford, he readily sanctioned, but he no less -resolutely drew the line at the point at which complimentary -and consolatory decrees seemed to involve -the recognition of a governing Empress Dowager. -Few things can have been more distasteful to Livia -than the reversion to the Senatorial Constitution -attempted by Tiberius. She could no longer inspire -“transactions of Cæsar,” to which the Senate was -pledged in anticipation, nor was Tiberius inclined to let -the foreign policy of Rome slip out of his own hands -into that of the Jews and Greeks who enjoyed the -confidence of the august lady. A king of Cappadocia, -of whom Tiberius disapproved, accepted an invitation<span class="pagenum" id="Page_334">334</span> -from Livia to come to Rome and depend on her influence -to win the favour of her son. The result -was so disappointing that the aged monarch died -of distress of mind; his kingdom was turned into -a province. Tiberius would stand no tampering -with “native” princes. Nor was Livia allowed to -put herself above the laws at Rome. A lady named -Urgulania, who was a friend of hers, incurred debts, -and was proceeded against in the court of the Prætor -Urbanus. She took refuge with Livia, who urged -her son to defend the lady’s cause. Tiberius undertook -to do so, but by very deliberate walking, and -exceptional graciousness to the friends whom he -encountered on the way, contrived to arrive too late. -Urgulania lost her case, and Livia had to pay her -friend’s debt. The Prætor in this case was Lucius -Piso. Shortly afterwards this same Urgulania refused -to give her evidence in a court of law, and -required the officials to take it in her own house, -a privilege which belonged to the Vestal virgins. -Urgulania was not a Vestal virgin “emerita,” determined -to retain the advantages of her previous -position with the help of Livia, for we find her later -on sending a dagger as a significant hint to a scandalous -grandson.</p> - -<p>Tiberius was certainly in a very difficult position -with regard to his mother. His natural sense of -decorum, and possibly his natural affection, made -him shrink from the very appearance of treating -her with disrespect; but her domineering tendency, -encouraged by years of unquestioned sway during -her husband’s lifetime, tempted her to exaggerate the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_335">335</span> -real claims which she had upon his dutiful affection; -nor were the ladies of her household backward in -regretting the change of circumstances, and in pointing -out how different things had been in the lifetime of -the sainted Augustus. Delicate as they were in any -case, the relations between mother and son were -rendered still more susceptible to disagreeable incidents -by the presence of the aggrieved Agrippina, to whom -mother and son alike were detestable usurpers, enjoying -as the result of their nefarious intrigues the -inalienable rights of the true Julians. Thus both -the belligerent parties were opposed to Tiberius; -his mother because he prevented her from continuing -to enjoy a power which she had long exercised, his -daughter-in-law, stepdaughter and niece, because -in her opinion he usurped a power which she ought -to have enjoyed, and because she had learned to regard -her mother as a saint martyred by the agency of her -stepfather in the cause of the Julian dynasty. There -was no reason why Livia should like Drusus better -than Germanicus; both her grandsons were alike -leagued with her undutiful son to keep the shadow -of petticoats off the Senate House.</p> - -<p>Tiberius made his arrangements without taking -the ladies into consideration. There was one member -of the family whom he may have been glad to please, -the beautiful Antonia, the widow of his brother -Drusus and the mother of Germanicus. It is to -the credit of this lady that her name is never mentioned -in the list of intriguers; she escapes both -praise and censure, though her persistent determination -to live in retirement as a widow might have<span class="pagenum" id="Page_336">336</span> -attracted the attention of those who found so much -to admire in the “impenetrable chastity” of Agrippina. -Perhaps the fortress of her virtue was less frequently -assailed by those storms, assaults, blockades, and -circumvallations which, we may presume, rendered -the epithet no hyperbole in the case of her daughter-in-law.</p> - -<p>The affairs of the East needed a comprehensive -survey. Achaia and Macedonia had recently passed -into the Emperor’s hands; the Senatorial Government -had been defective in Bithynia; several of the Greek -cities on the Ægæan had suffered severely in a disastrous -earthquake; Cappadocia was being organized -as a province; there were dynastic troubles in -Armenia; the Parthians were showing signs of restlessness; -the native princes on the Syrian frontier -were also unsettled by questions of succession; Judæa -was more than usually unquiet. Germanicus was -therefore despatched to the East with proconsular -powers, which gave him an authority higher than -that of all proconsuls or governors in their own -provinces, and with a commission to settle all differences -on the spot according to his own judgment. -So large a share of power had never been entrusted -to any one except Augustus and Pompeius. On a -previous occasion when the same services were required, -Augustus had himself visited the East and -conducted the business in person, but he was then a -younger man than Tiberius was now, and he was able -to leave behind him in the person of Mæcenas a more -experienced, or at least more trustworthy, statesman -than any who were within reach of Tiberius. Drusus,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_337">337</span> -though a good soldier, had not shown statesmanlike -qualities.</p> - -<p>At the same time a new Governor was required -for Syria, the richest of the Imperial Provinces, for -its capital, Antioch, was the second city of the Empire, -the emporium where East met West. To this post -Tiberius appointed Gnæus Piso. Gnæus Piso belonged -to a family which had long maintained its -opposition to the Cæsars, although the last wife of -Julius Cæsar, Calpurnia, had been a daughter of -the house. Republican ideals were still cherished -in this, one of the most ancient and noble of Roman -families. The efforts of Tiberius to restore the Senate -had not had a happy influence upon the two leading -members of this house; one brother, Lucius, threatened -to retire from public business altogether, disgusted -with the obsequiousness of the Senate; the -other, Gnæus, had distinguished himself by an aggressive -outspokenness which threatened to breed -unnecessary difficulties. Lucius was the Prætor who -had refused to allow Urgulania to avoid paying her -just debts, and for this reason it is improbable that -Gnæus was in the confidence of Livia. He had -rendered himself undesirable at Rome, but Tiberius -had no doubt of his integrity, and thought that if -he were honourably withdrawn for a time from the -centre of affairs, public business would march more -smoothly. Tiberius in fact was beginning to learn -that it was not altogether wise to revive the pretensions -of the old families.</p> - -<p>Unfortunately Tiberius did not foresee the possibility -of friction between Germanicus and Piso;<span class="pagenum" id="Page_338">338</span> -still less did he take into account the results of the -juxtaposition of two such explosive fireships as Agrippina -and Plancina the wife of Piso; and he forgot -that Plancina was among the devoted friends of -Livia, who had a long-standing personal interest -in the affairs of Syria and its adjacent principalities. -It was the scene of her first diplomatic triumphs, the -place where she had cemented by the interchange -of presents a friendship with that worthy pater-familias -Herod the Great, whose posterity shared -with Jerusalem the honour of being a meeting point -of the intrigues of the Jews of all nations.</p> - -<p>The story of the events which followed is so obviously -coloured by the partisanship of the chief actors -that much of it must be far from the truth. It is -not, for instance, easy to believe that Piso, having -no authority outside his own province, would follow -Germanicus to Athens, where Germanicus had -authority, and take a pleasure in reversing his compliments -to the Athenians. There is no inherent -improbability in the action ascribed to Piso inside -his own province, where he practically refused to -recognize the proconsular power of Germanicus, -but he could hardly with safety have followed the -footsteps of Germanicus eastwards, loudly proclaiming -his insubordination in places where he had no -more right to express an opinion than a private -citizen; had he done so, a swift Liburnian galley -would have brought his letters of recall. Idle stories -of this kind probably took their origin at a later -period, and were communicated with mistaken zeal -to Agrippina by her sympathizing friends.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_339">339</span></p> - -<p>At first all went well with Germanicus, and his -commission bore the appearance of a holiday progress. -He met his brother Drusus at Nicopolis, the city -which had been built to commemorate the victory -off the promontory of Actium, and they celebrated -the glorious event in company; he then went to -Athens, and up the Ægæan into the Euxine, redressing -grievances and visiting holy places. In the -course of the tour Agrippina’s youngest daughter -Julia was born at Lesbos, destined afterwards to -marry M. Vinicius, the friend of Paterculus. On -the return journey southwards Germanicus met -the convoy of Piso at Rhodes on its way to Syria, -where, the historian tells us, that Germanicus, though -well aware of the persecution of Piso, saved his ship -from destruction in a storm. Germanicus made -his way from thence to Armenia and the frontiers -of the Empire, where he conducted his negotiations -with success. Meanwhile Piso hurried on his way -to Syria, and at once began to make favour with the -army and the residents. His indulgences to the -troops were such that the soldiers called him “father -of the legions”; while Plancina, to the horror of -Agrippina, forgetting the limitations of her sex, took -part in drills and parades.</p> - -<p>The first overt act of insubordination on the part -of Piso was a neglect to forward some cohorts to -Germanicus in Armenia. On the return of Germanicus -he met Piso, and an attempt to adjust their mutual -differences was rendered ineffective by the mischievous -offices of friends. Germanicus himself was inclined -to take a lenient view, but he was influenced by the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_340">340</span> -suggestions of those who told him exaggerated stories -about Piso and his sons and Plancina. A private conference -was held, but the two men left it open enemies. -After this Piso publicly resented all honours paid to -Germanicus, and Plancina was particularly annoyed -because her somewhat lucrative protégé Vonones, -a former aspirant to the Parthian crown, was removed -by Germanicus at the request of the Parthians to a -safer distance from the frontier.</p> - -<p>Germanicus finding that the best part of his work -was accomplished, and that life in Syria was not -pleasant, made a tour in Egypt, going up the Nile -as far as Elephantine and Syene, then the limit of -Roman rule. It is pleasing to find him visiting the -same sights that attract the modern traveller, over -whom he had an advantage in that the priests were -able to read the inscriptions for him.</p> - -<p>In visiting Egypt, Germanicus inadvertently broke -a decree of Augustus, which forbade any Roman -Senator or Equestrian to enter that private domain -of the Emperor without special permission. Tiberius -had written to bring this to his notice, but the letter -arrived too late.</p> - -<p>On returning from his holiday tour in Egypt, -Germanicus found that all his arrangements in -Syria had been reversed by Piso, his disposition of -the legions had been changed, and his formal alliances -with the cities modified. Stormy scenes followed, -and Piso decided to leave Syria, so says our narrative; -but the more probable order of events is that Piso -was ordered by Germanicus to withdraw, and was -at Seleucia on his way home when news reached him<span class="pagenum" id="Page_341">341</span> -of the illness of Germanicus. We are not told the -nature of this illness. Agrippina and possibly Germanicus -himself jumped to the conclusion that poison -and spells were the cause of the sickness. Horrible -things were found in the house; fragments of human -remains embedded in the floors and walls; bits of -parchment covered with spells; leaden tablets inscribed -with the name of Germanicus, and other mystic -apparatus with which it was customary to consign -the spirit of an enemy to the shades. The illness -seems to have been a lingering one. Piso hovered -off the coast, approaching or withdrawing as the -symptoms were declared to be better or worse. In -the end Germanicus died. Agrippina and her friends -were so fully persuaded that he had been the victim -of poison or witchcraft, that they exposed his body -naked in the market place at Antioch, confident that -the flames of the funeral pyre would fail to devour -his heart, for it was well known that the heart of a -man who had been poisoned was incombustible. When -the ceremony was over, Agrippina gathered up the -ashes and started with her youngest children for Rome.</p> - -<p>Meanwhile the Senators and other officials who -had been in the train of Germanicus treated the -Province of Syria as though it were vacant, and -appointed Gnæus Sentius, one of their number, -Governor in the place of Piso. There was no time -to send to Rome for orders. Germanicus had cashiered -Piso, but had died before appointing his successor, -and it was necessary that there should be some one -in authority, in case Piso returned and attempted -to resume the government of Syria.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_342">342</span></p> - -<p>Piso had travelled on his homeward journey as -far as Cos, when the news of the death of Germanicus -reached him. He made thanksgiving offerings to -the gods, and Plancina, who had recently lost a sister, -threw off her mourning. Consultations were held -as to the best course to pursue. Marcus Piso, the -younger of his two sons, urged his father to return -to Rome. So far he had done nothing unpardonable, -but an attempt to resume the government of the -province meant nothing less than civil war. Other -and less prudent friends advised Piso not to recognize -the appointment of Sentius, and to rely on his popularity -with the legions. Tacitus puts into the mouth -of these advisers the following astounding statement, -which he probably found in those memoirs of Agrippina -which are not evidence: “You have the complicity -of Livia, the favour of Cæsar though hidden, -and none mourn more loudly for Germanicus than -those who are best pleased at his death.”</p> - -<p>Piso and Plancina proved to have miscalculated -the affection of the legions, and an attempt to recover -Syria by force was defeated by Sentius, who gave the -unhappy candidate for power ships and a safe conduct -to Rome.</p> - -<p>Agrippina meanwhile had traversed the seas and -arrived at Brundisium with the vase containing -her husband’s ashes early in the year 20 <span class="allsmcap">A.D.</span> The -illness and death of Germanicus had excited much -feeling in the city and Italy, though we are not -bound to believe in the dark suggestions of the historian -that the populace had assumed the complicity -of Tiberius in his nephew’s death. The widow made<span class="pagenum" id="Page_343">343</span> -the best of her affliction, and contrived to give the -procession to the Mausoleum of Augustus, in which -her husband’s ashes were deposited, the aspect of -a public demonstration in favour of the Julian race. -Neither Tiberius himself, nor Livia, nor even the -mother of Germanicus, were present at this ceremony. -Doubtless they had sufficient reasons, but -their absence unfortunately favoured the credulity -of those who at a later time listened to the lamentations -of Agrippina, and her passionate assertions -that her husband had been done to death with the -connivance of his own kith and kin.</p> - -<p>Piso returned slowly to Rome. He sent his son -ahead with letters to Tiberius, in which he represented -himself as the aggrieved party, and accused -Germanicus of debauchery and arrogance; he sought -on his way an interview with Drusus, who had returned -to Illyria after his brother’s funeral. Drusus -received him coldly, and dismissed him with words -so politic that they were thought to have been suggested -by a cooler head. The day after he arrived -in Rome, Fulcinius Trio, the prosecutor of Scribonius -Libo, took the first formal steps in a process against -him.</p> - -<p>The story of this famous trial is so narrated by -Tacitus as to convey the impression that there was -a serious miscarriage of justice, and that the oppressors -of Germanicus were protected by the influence of -Livia and Tiberius; but, as usual, the narrative, -wherever it depends upon accessible documentary -evidence, does not support such a view of the case.</p> - -<p>Accusers and accused alike pressed Tiberius to<span class="pagenum" id="Page_344">344</span> -hear the case himself, knowing “that he was impervious -to the influence of rumour,” and fearing the -excitability of a large court. Tiberius, after hearing -the evidence, referred the whole case to the Senate. -Five of the most respected men in Rome refused to -act as counsel for the defence. Among the three -who did eventually defend Piso was Marcus Lepidus, -whom we have already seen in possession of the full -confidence of the Emperor. On the day of the trial -Tiberius opened the proceedings in the Senate; -he said that Piso had been a trusted officer and friend -of Augustus, that he had himself assigned him as an -assistant to Germanicus in the administration of -the East with the authority of the Senate. It was -the duty of the court to decide without prejudice -whether he had exasperated the young man by insubordination -and opposition and rejoiced over his -death, or had killed him with malice and aforethought, -“for if the subordinate officer exceeded -the limits of his office, if he refused to pay proper -respect to his superior, and rejoiced over his death, -and my sorrow, I shall hate him, and shall exclude -him from my house, and punish his enmity as a -private matter, not with the power I hold as Princeps. -But if it is discovered that a crime in bringing about -the death of any man requires punishment, then -do you confer upon the children of Germanicus and -us his relatives our proper consolation. And at the -same time you must carefully consider this point, -whether Piso handled the armies in an insubordinate -and seditious fashion, whether he tampered disloyally -with the affections of the soldiers, whether he attempted<span class="pagenum" id="Page_345">345</span> -to recover the province by force of arms, or have -the accusers exaggerated these charges? I may say -that I have good reason to be annoyed with their -exercise of partisanship. For was it proper to strip -the body, to expose it to the eager scrutiny of the eyes -of the vulgar, and even to allow statements to spread -among foreigners that he had been poisoned, if this -was still uncertain and a subject of inquiry? I mourn -for the loss of my son, and always shall mourn, but -I do not prevent the accused from advancing every -fact by which his innocence may be supported, or -his guilt extenuated if there was any provocation -on the part of Germanicus; and I implore you not -to take accusations for proved facts, because the case -touches me nearly personally. I beg those who -have been led by the ties of kindred or faithful friendship -to act as counsel for the defendant, to help him -in his danger as far as their eloquence and diligence -allows; and I invite the prosecution to similar efforts -and similar firmness. In one point only we raise -Germanicus above the law, viz., in trying the case -in the Senate House rather than in the forum, before -the Senate and not before a jury. Let everything -else be handled with a like moderation. I would -have no one pay regard to the tears of Drusus and -my own sorrow, nor to any fictitious charges made -against us.”</p> - -<p>Such a speech was doubtless disappointing to -Agrippina, who had already in her own mind condemned -Piso and the amazonian Plancina without -benefit of clergy; she knew Germanicus had been -poisoned, and bewitched; she knew how it had all<span class="pagenum" id="Page_346">346</span> -been done by means of a celebrated poisoner named -Martina, who had been fetched from the East to give -evidence, and had died mysteriously at Brundisium -on the way. Had not the poison been found after -her death tied up in her hair? What further evidence -was wanting? And why did the woman -die so conveniently for the purposes of those who -wished to shield the enemies of Germanicus? The -poor lady had troubles enough, left a widow with a -family of six young children, marked out for the -enmity of a malignant and all powerful grandmother-in-law, -but her inclination to regard herself as the -victim of persistent ill-usage is not evidence; and -though her contemporaries would have had no -difficulty in believing in the effects of witchcraft, -the case against Piso is rendered weak to us by the -introduction of this element; and the more so that -the prosecution was not able to prove the use of -poison, or even to suggest a favourable opportunity -for its administration.</p> - -<p>As the case proceeded it became quite clear that -the charge of poisoning could not be sustained, but -that Piso had been guilty of serious political offences. -Meanwhile there was considerable agitation among -the people, to whom the sensational side of the trial -alone appealed, and who threatened violence if the -murderer of Germanicus escaped by the votes of the -Senate. This at least we are told by Tacitus, though -here again it is more than probable that the public -excitement existed chiefly in the imagination of -Agrippina, who always saw herself playing the part -of injured heroine to a sympathetic audience of the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_347">347</span> -Roman people. Riots were not dreaded at Rome -since the police of the city had been organized and -the Prætorian guards placed in barracks.</p> - -<p>As the case became exclusively political, Plancina -naturally dropped out of it; “machinations of Livia,” -shrieked Agrippina, and Tacitus has repeated the -shriek.</p> - -<p>The case had an abrupt and tragic termination. -Piso, seeing that the hostile evidence steadily accumulated, -and that Tiberius preserved an absolutely -impartial and judicial attitude, killed himself, leaving -a letter to Tiberius, from which the following extract -has been preserved: “Crushed by a conspiracy of -my private enemies, and the hatefulness of a false -accusation, inasmuch as no opportunity is left for -the truth and the establishment of my innocence, -I call heaven to witness, Cæsar, that I have lived -loyally to you, and dutifully to your mother; and -I implore you to take charge of my children, of whom -Gnæus Piso was certainly not concerned in my fortunes -whatever may have been their character, -for he spent the whole time at Rome, and Marcus -Piso dissuaded me from returning to Syria. And I -wish that I had rather given way to the counsels -of my young son than he to those of his aged father. -I beg the more earnestly that his innocence may -not pay the penalty of my perversity. I beg for -the safety of my unhappy son in the name of forty-five -years of loyal duty, of a consulship shared with -yourself, of the confidence placed in me by Augustus, -of the friendship with yourself, and as a last request.” -He made no mention of his wife in this dying petition.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_348">348</span> -Tiberius exempted Marcus Piso from any complicity -in the charges brought against his father, and also -spoke on behalf of Plancina. A two days’ inquiry -was held into her conduct, but to the disgust of -Agrippina she was acquitted. Her escape was attributed -to the influence of Livia.</p> - -<p>The Senate passed severe sentences upon the -sons of Piso, which Tiberius, as usual, considerably -modified. Honours and rewards were bestowed on -the accusers, but Tiberius, in promising Fulcinius -Trio office later on, significantly hinted that he was -in danger of spoiling his eloquence by excessive -violence. It had been in the power of Tiberius to -confiscate the property of Piso, but he bestowed it -upon his son Marcus. Tacitus comments in characteristic -fashion—“Superior to the temptation of -money, as I have often recorded, and the more readily -appeased at that time through an uneasy conscience -about the acquittal of Plancina.”</p> - -<p>There certainly does not seem to have been any -miscarriage of justice, for even if Piso was sincere in -his protestations of innocence, and really was innocent -of the technical offence of waging civil war, his case -was never concluded, and he was never condemned. -It pleased Agrippina and her friends, and it pleased -the sensation mongers of the capital, to see in the -case not a political trial, but a demand for vengeance -on the murderers of Germanicus. In this demand -they were disappointed, for Plancina, the supposed -culprit, escaped altogether, Piso died uncondemned -by his own hand, and whatsoever punishment fell -upon his two sons was inflicted on them as the sons<span class="pagenum" id="Page_349">349</span> -of a man who had been disloyal to the State, not as -the sons of the murderer of Germanicus. It was -therefore superfluous on the part of two Senators -to propose that altars should be erected to Vengeance, -and of another that thanks should be returned to -certain members of the Imperial family because -Germanicus had been avenged.</p> - -<p>There is, in fact, absolutely no evidence that Germanicus -was murdered, while there is abundant -evidence that the relations between him and Piso, -both personal and political, were exceedingly unsatisfactory, -and that Piso was so injudicious as to endeavour -to set aside his authority. Piso was by many years -the older man of the two, he had had long experience -of public affairs, had enjoyed the confidence of -Augustus, and acquiesced very unwillingly in the -arrangements which put Germanicus, a much younger -man, over his head. It is quite possible that he had -private instructions from Tiberius to give Germanicus -the benefit of his experience in friendly fashion, and -that he interpreted these instructions wrongly, -believing them to amount to a declaration of his -own independence of Germanicus, and he would -be the more ready to believe this because he was -touchy on the subject of his own dignity; but that -he actually carried authority to thwart and annoy -Germanicus is as improbable as that he had instructions -to poison him. Tiberius was guilty of a mistake -in not anticipating the friction that would necessarily -arise between an older man and a younger man when -the former was placed in subordination to somewhat -indefinite powers wielded by the latter. If the two<span class="pagenum" id="Page_350">350</span> -men had been left to settle their differences alone, -there would probably have been little trouble, for -Germanicus began with courtesy and forbearance, -but the ladies insisted on taking an active part in the -quarrel. Agrippina saw Livia written large all over -Plancina, with whom she had doubtless enjoyed -several preliminary skirmishes at Rome; and Plancina -met her on her own field and fought her -with her own weapons, for, reprehensible though -Plancina’s military performances appeared in the -eyes of a pattern Roman matron, Agrippina had -herself set the fashion in Germany. The atmosphere -of the East was a particularly unwholesome one for -two ladies thus mutually breathing out threatenings -and slaughters, and listening to tales depreciatory -of one another. The East swarmed with sorcerers -and necromancers, and supple intriguers of all kinds -used to the internecine feuds of the ladies who lived -in the palaces of their princes.</p> - -<p>The most unfortunate result of the death of Germanicus -was that it left Agrippina an embittered -and vindictive woman. Even her husband had -occasionally deprecated the violence of her temper. -Time did nothing to cure her grievances, indeed the -legend of her many sorrows seemed to grow steadily -as the events receded into the distance, and she -handed her quarrel on to her children with its vitality -undiminished.</p> - -<p>One possible solution of the part played by Piso, -and of the difficulty of reconciling it with his last -protestation of innocence, is that Plancina was actually -in the confidence of Livia, from whom she held such<span class="pagenum" id="Page_351">351</span> -a commission as Livia could give her to make arrangements -desired by her patroness. The Oriental princes -had learned to rely on secret influence rather than -on open negotiations with Tiberius and the Senate; -the stern impartiality of the Emperor drove them -to subterranean manœuvres, and Livia was by no -means disinclined to let it be understood that her -influence was paramount. Thus while Piso as -Governor of Syria was the properly constituted -representative of Tiberius, his wife was the accredited -plenipotentiary of the power behind the throne. -The charges against Plancina were really charges -against Livia, and the case which was hushed up -was the case which would have exposed the unauthorized -political intrigues of the Empress Dowager. -Tiberius could either allow his mother’s interference -with State affairs to be a subject of public inquiry, -or he could allow Plancina to be tried on the frivolous -charge of poisoning with the certainty that she -would escape conviction. He preferred the less -heroic course, with the result that both he and his -mother were credited with having been concerned -in a criminal conspiracy against a near relative.</p> - -<p>The tradition repeated by Tacitus, that Piso was -in possession of documents which would have established -his innocence by demonstrating the complicity -of Tiberius and Livia, and that he refrained -from producing them on being assured of his safety -by Sejanus, is not incompatible with this view of -the case. Tiberius would certainly not have been -involved, but instructions given by Livia to Plancina -may very well have existed, and have led to those<span class="pagenum" id="Page_352">352</span> -reversals of the policy of Germanicus which produced -the ultimate quarrel. On this assumption the suicide -of Piso becomes intelligible, he could not defend -his grave political misconduct without exposing the -still graver misconduct of the Empress Dowager, -and when he saw that no other means of escape was -open to him, he took a course which, to the Romans, -did not seem to be devoid of heroism. Tiberius may -have been weak in not dismissing his mother to -an island, but he was certainly not responsible for -the death of Piso, or concerned in a plot to poison -Germanicus.</p> - -<hr /> - -<div id="toclink_353" class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_353">353</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="XVI">XVI<br /> - -<span class="subhead">Tiberius and the Senate</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class="drop-cap b"><span class="smcap1">Drusus, the</span> son of Tiberius, died in <span class="allsmcap">A.D.</span> 23, -under circumstances which it will be more -convenient to consider at a later period. From this -event Tacitus dates the perversion of Tiberius, forgetting -that he has already ascribed to him every -unamiable quality except avarice. After enumerating -the various legions, and recording their distribution, -Tacitus says: “I hope I am not wrong in believing -that it is relevant to review the other departments -of State as well, to say how they were managed up -to that time, since this year marked the beginning -of a change for the worse in the Emperor’s administration. -Now first, public business and the most -important concerns of private men were dealt with -before the Senate, and the chief men were allowed -to make speeches, and he checked them himself, -where they slipped into flattery; and he used to -confer office by taking into consideration nobility -of descent, brilliance in the field, distinguished service -at home, so that it was agreed that there were no -men with higher claims. Consuls and Prætors -enjoyed their proper dignity, the lesser magistrates<span class="pagenum" id="Page_354">354</span> -also were in the full exercise of their powers, and -the laws, with the exception of the “Lex Majestatis,” -were well administered. Moreover, the corn supply -and tribute, and the rest of the public revenues, -were managed by associations of Roman knights. -Cæsar entrusted the management of his own affairs -to the most distinguished men, to some who were -unknown, on hearing of their reputation; and -when once he had adopted a man he retained him -indefinitely, for most of his officers grew old in -the same departments. The commonalty certainly -suffered from a dear market, but the Prince was -not responsible for that; indeed, he met the failure -of crops, or the difficulties of navigation, as far as -expense and care could help him. And he took -measures that the Provinces should not be disturbed -by fresh burdens, and that they should be able to -endure the old ones exempt from the avarice or -cruelty of officials. There was no such thing as -personal outrages or confiscations of property. The -estates of Cæsar were few in Italy, his establishments -of slaves were modest, his household confined to -a few freedmen; and if ever he was at variance -with a private person, he resorted to the ordinary -processes of law, the ordinary courts. All this he -kept up until things were changed by the death -of Drusus, not indeed graciously, but with a repellent -manner, so that he was generally an object of terror.”</p> - -<p>These words, except for the last sentence, differ -but little from those employed by Paterculus in -enumerating the blessings enjoyed by the Roman -people under the sway of Tiberius, though Paterculus<span class="pagenum" id="Page_355">355</span> -does not limit the good administration of the Emperor -to the period which ended with the death of Drusus.</p> - -<p>It is indeed difficult, when we read the record -of the actual transactions of the Senate, to form -any other opinion than that advanced by Tacitus -in the foregoing summary; even in the case of -the “Lex Majestatis” it is the Senate, not Tiberius, -who show a tendency to abuse the powers which -it conferred, and the rare occasions on which the -Emperor himself allows an accusation under this -law to be pressed are those on which the strictest -republican virtue would have demanded its application, -viz., when the misconduct of a provincial governor -had impaired the dignity of the State. It is true that -this extension of the operation of the “Lex Majestatis” -had not been familiar to the Republic, and that -the provincials had been held to be protected sufficiently -by the laws against extortion, but it might -reasonably be held that a Roman magistrate disgraced -his country no less by maladministration in the -Provinces than by cowardice in the field, or a disgraceful -treaty. In fact, this probably was the real -grievance which caused the Senatorial Annalists, -whose diaries were read by Tacitus, to fill their -memoirs with bitter animadversions on the abuse -of the “Lex Majestatis,” and the professional advocates -who were a terror to delinquent Senators. Incapable -or corrupt governors, who might have escaped -punishment on some technical plea, if they had -been accused formally of extortion, were now confronted -with a fuller examination into their conduct -under the vaguer charge of having impaired the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_356">356</span> -dignity of the State. Tiberius constituted himself -the guardian of the dignity of the State; it was his -duty to do so. In upholding the purity of the administration, -he was upholding the Empire, but -he was also declaring an emphatic negative to the -theory that the Roman Senate was at liberty to -deal as it pleased with its Provinces. The restoration -of the Senate, begun in some degree by Augustus -and continued by Tiberius, was attended by this -inconvenience, that it revived the pretensions of -the survivors of the Oligarchy, and though the -majority of the Senate were distinguished rather -by an inclination to hand over all their responsibilities -to the Emperor than by an uncompromising attitude -towards his government, there were a minority -who were disgusted because fuller advantage was -not taken of the opportunities afforded, and because -the liberal policy of the Emperor brought them -little nearer to the cherished abuses of the old oligarchical -government.</p> - -<p>When we reflect that the first six books of the -<i>Annals of Tacitus</i> cover a period of twenty-three -years, and that he had access to the Senatorial -archives no less than to private memoirs, we are -astonished at the meagreness of his information. -If we remove from these books all that refers to the -campaigns in Germany, Thrace, and Africa, all that -is concerned with the death of Germanicus, all that -has to do with the personal history of the Imperial -family, singularly little remains to tell us how the -Senate administered the Provinces which had been -left to its care, and the two great questions in which<span class="pagenum" id="Page_357">357</span> -statesmen are profoundly interested, the questions -of Revenue and Defence, are hardly touched upon.</p> - -<p>For this there are two reasons, apart from the -fact that Tacitus was an incompetent historian; -one is that Tacitus avowedly interested himself -only in recording events which seemed to him striking -illustrations of good or bad behaviour, history to -him being merely a primer of morals and a collection -of examples; the other is that very little business -actually was transacted before the Senate.</p> - -<p>We may take as an example the case of Cappadocia. -This country was annexed by Germanicus, its native -rulers were deposed, and it passed from the status -of an allied kingdom to that of a province. It might -be anticipated that we should have a record of discussions -in the Senate as to the terms upon which -this new Province was to be added to the Empire, -as to whether it was to be Imperial or Senatorial, -as to its probable cost and revenue; but we have -nothing of the kind, we have not even the innuendo -of a grievance based on the fact that Tiberius fixed -its tribute at half the usual amount, and treated it -as an Imperial Province from the outset. Similarly -the Government of Achaia passed into the hands -of the Emperor at the request of the Province itself, -without any debate in the Senate, so far as we -are informed by Tacitus. Africa was a Senatorial -Province; the moment that trouble between the -Roman inhabitants and a native prince declared -itself, the Senate practically threw the whole responsibility -on Tiberius by asking him to nominate a -Governor. With all its pretensions, and in spite of<span class="pagenum" id="Page_358">358</span> -all the encouragement given to it by Tiberius to -assume the position of an advisory council to the -Emperor, if not of a representative assembly of the -Empire, the Senate reverted more and more to its -old position of a domestic council representing the -best families at Rome and attending to little beyond -their interests.</p> - -<p>It was fortunate for the Empire that Tiberius -failed in his attempt to restore the Senate, for no -tyranny can be worse than that of the direct government -of dependencies by an irresponsible debating -society, divided into parties more or less organized, -which intrigue abroad to further their interests at -home, and the Senate itself showed a sounder political -insight than the Emperor in refusing to assume -responsibilities for which it was eminently unfit.</p> - -<p>If, however, the greater political questions are -passed over by Tacitus, some of the minor subjects -with which the Senate dealt are not uninteresting; -it retained the position of guardian of the public -morals, or at the least of the morals of those families -of whom it was composed or whose members were -employed in the government of the city and Empire. -Adultery under the Julian laws passed by Augustus -was not a sin but a crime, and we accordingly have -some cases in which Roman ladies of high rank -are arraigned before the Senate along with their -paramours.</p> - -<p>The number of these cases is not great, and in comparison -with similar cases in our own divorce courts -remarkably small, from which we may conclude -either that the Senate was a lenient censor of morals,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_359">359</span> -or that the standard of morality was high; it is further -possible that the Senate was only called upon to -intervene when the family of the culprit had failed -in its duty.</p> - -<p>Actors seem to have been a source of trouble to -the fathers of the city, but it is not altogether certain -in what the “licence” of actors consisted. At first -sight it might appear that they were guilty merely -of a laxity of morals which is not uncommonly attributed, -with or without justice, to the theatrical -profession, and that the decrees prohibiting Senators -and Equestrians from public and private intercourse -with actors were directed against purely private -scandals; but there is also evidence that the stage -occupied to some extent the position of the modern -press, and that the licence of the actors consisted -in public and private derision of eminent men, and -in the exhibition of caricatures, which if not dangerous -to public order, were at least offensive. The fragments -of references made on the stage to Tiberius, preserved -by Suetonius, are sufficient to indicate a freedom of -criticism which in our own day would be considered -intolerable. Our own habits allow our public men -to be caricatured weekly in the comic papers in a -manner which is not found equally acceptable in -Germany, but lenient though we are in such matters, -even Englishmen have failed to tolerate the caricatures -of eminent statesmen on the stage, and “the Happy -Land,” in which three Cabinet Ministers appeared -under their own names, and in a very successful -counterfeit presentment of their persons, was modified -by the then Lord Chamberlain.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_360">360</span></p> - -<p>The laughter which greets a successful cartoon in -<i>Punch</i>, and the prompt recognition which greets a -happy allusion to current events, do little to shake -a government or to disturb public order, but when the -representatives of law and order are held up to ridicule -by the unmistakeable gestures of a skilled actor -in a large theatre, not only is the effectiveness of -ridicule enormously increased, but the conflicting -sympathies of the spectators provoke an immediate -riot. We have seen that among the business transacted -by Tiberius and the Senate in the first year -of his reign was the discussion of a proposal to restore -to the Prætors the right of beating actors, which -had been withdrawn from them by Augustus. The -reason for this proposal was an increase of turbulence -in the theatres, which had resulted in the deaths -of several of the spectators, the murder of some -soldiers and a centurion, and even of the commander -of a prætorian cohort, who had endeavoured to -check the abuse of magistrates from the stage, and -the consequent disturbance in the audience. An -Italian audience was quick to catch even an undesigned -allusion to current events, and allusion by gesture -never failed to meet with its response; thus the actors -became in a way the mouthpieces of public opinion, -and the despotism of the ruling powers was tempered -by epigrams in flesh and blood, if not in actual words; -parties were formed, distinguished actors were supported -by men of rank, not merely from admiration -of their professional skill, but because they were in -some sense a political power. In the year 23 <span class="allsmcap">A.D.</span> -Tiberius found himself obliged to draw the attention<span class="pagenum" id="Page_361">361</span> -of the Senate to the continued insolence of the actors, -and a decree was passed by which they were banished -from Italy. The particular form of dramatic exhibition -which called down this severity was that known -as the Atellan farce, which had long been used for -the purposes of political satire by educated men. It -had been originally a performance in the Oscan -dialect; then what we should call “topical songs” -had been introduced in Latin. There had been a -period during which the Atellan plays had been -considered eminently respectable, and men of rank -had taken part in them without losing dignity; -but either the character of the performance had -degenerated, or the sentence of expulsion was less -general than the words of Tacitus would imply, and -was restricted to men whom we should not consider -professional actors, and who had adopted this way -of expressing their criticisms of the government.</p> - -<p>These performances were given both in public -and in private houses. The former might well be -restrained as leading to riots; the objection to the -latter was undoubtedly the open ridicule of the -government; for the Atellan farce, which was -originally chiefly spoken, had adopted the procedure -of the mimics who acted entirely in dumb show, -and it is not difficult to imagine the roars of laughter -which would greet the appearance of Tiberius himself -and other eminent personages upon the private stages -of the Roman nobility.</p> - -<p>In penalizing actors Tiberius in fact checked the -liberty of the press, and destroyed whatever popularity -he had hitherto enjoyed. The Romans were passionately<span class="pagenum" id="Page_362">362</span> -devoted to acting, and never forgave the man -who discountenanced their favourite amusement. -There was no readier road to popularity at Rome -than an exhibition of actors or gladiators. Cæsar -and Augustus had both encouraged the taste, and -in the later Republican days profusion in giving -treats of this kind had been a necessary step in the -ladder by which political eminence was reached.</p> - -<p>The wisdom of Tiberius in thus checking the -expression of popular feeling may be open to question, -for we are not in a position to judge how far the -passions excited by the actors constituted a real -danger to public order, but the line which he took -with reference to another kind of legislation is indisputably -wise.</p> - -<p>Sumptuary laws are a well-known weakness of -governments. We are by no means rid of them -yet, as is testified by the importance of the temperance -party in England. The Pagans of Greece and Italy -were no less eager than the Christians of the Middle -Ages, or the Puritans of the Reformation, to prescribe -for men how they should dress, or how they should -eat, and the history of the Roman Senate offers -many instances of attempts to enforce moderation -of living by stringent laws. The Senate of Tiberius -had not forgotten its old traditions; in the year -16 <span class="allsmcap">A.D.</span> the subject of increasing luxury had been -discussed in the Senate, and the Emperor had evaded -action by stating that the matter would be attended -to when the period of the Censorship came round. -Apparently nothing was done, for in the year 22 <span class="allsmcap">A.D.</span> -the Ædiles drew the attention of the Senate to the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_363">363</span> -continued and indeed increasing expenditure upon -silken robes, household plate, and the pleasures -of the table; new laws were demanded, and vigour -in administering the old laws. Even on the evidence -of Tacitus Tiberius himself was moderate in his -household expenditure; Suetonius indeed reproaches -him with niggardliness in this matter, saying that -he would serve up the remainder of a feast at a second -day’s entertainment with the observation “that -the part had the same qualities as the whole.” His -personal example was entirely in the direction of -temperate living, and it was from no want of sympathy -with the worthy aspirations of the Senate that he -refused to legislate in the matter. Tacitus has -preserved for us the letter which he addressed to -the Senate on the subject; it is a document sufficiently -remarkable to be given in full.</p> - -<p>“Although, Conscript Fathers, it is perhaps more -expedient that on all other occasions I should be -asked in your presence my opinion of what is good -for the State, and reply in the same way, still on the -present occasion it was better that my eyes should -be withdrawn, for if you should openly note the -faces of anxiety of those who were involved in the -charge of infamous luxury, I should myself see them, -and as it were catch them in the act. If indeed -our energetic Ædiles had taken counsel with me -beforehand, I am inclined to think that I should -have advised them to abstain from interfering with -vices so firmly rooted, so vigorous, rather than make -it publicly manifest that we are too weak to contend -with these abuses. Well—they have done their duty<span class="pagenum" id="Page_364">364</span> -as I should wish other magistrates also to do theirs; -I could neither be silent with honour, nor was it -expedient that I should be the first to speak, seeing -that I am neither Ædile, nor Prætor, nor Consul. -Something more, something higher is demanded -of the Prince, and whereas each individual earns the -reward of his own good actions, upon the Prince alone -is visited the odium incurred by the bad actions of all.</p> - -<p>“Now what shall I first try to check and to cut -down to the ancient measures? The boundless extent -of country estates? The numbers of native and alien -slaves? The weight of gold and silver plate? The -marvellous bronzes and pictures? The rich materials -common to male and female dress? Or again those -peculiarly feminine forms of luxury owing to which -our money is transferred to foreign and even hostile -races for the sake of mere stones? I am perfectly -well aware that these are things with which fault -is found at dinner parties and social entertainments, -and that there is a cry for interference; but when -a law is passed, penalties are assigned, and those same -guardians of the public virtue will not then fail to -clamour that the State is being turned upside down, -that any magnificent man is threatened with ruin, -that every one is liable to prosecution. And yet it -is only by severe remedies that long-standing diseases -of the body can be checked, and the fever of the mind -at once corrupt and corrupting can only be quenched -by remedies no less violent than the lusts with which -it burns. All the laws which were discovered by -our ancestors, all those that were passed by the -sainted Augustus, have added confidence to luxury,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_365">365</span> -the former because they have been forgotten, the -latter, which is much worse, because they have been -abrogated by contempt. For should a man wish -to do a thing which has not yet been forbidden, he -would be in fear of a prohibition, but if he transgresses -a known prohibition, there is no longer any fear, or any -sense of shame. Now why did frugal living at one -time prevail? Because every man imposed restraint -on himself, because we were then the citizens of a -single city; there was not even temptation for us -when our dominion was confined to Italy. It was -through our foreign victories that we learned to -waste the property of others, by our civil wars to -waste our own. And what a small thing it is to -which our attention is called by the Ædiles! What a -trifle if it is compared with our other responsibilities! -Yes, nobody bethinks himself that Italy is dependent -upon external resources, that the sustenance of the -Roman people is exposed every day to the uncertainties -of the winds and waves!</p> - -<p>“And should the resources of the Provinces fail to -come to the rescue of our landowners, and slaves, -and farms, our own forests, forsooth, our own estates -will protect us! This is the anxiety, Conscript -Fathers, which falls upon the shoulders of the Prince, -and if he refuses to attend to this, the State will -be dragged down to perdition. For those other -difficulties a remedy can be found in our own conduct; -may a sense of honour improve ourselves, necessity -restrain the poor, satiety the rich. Or if any one -of the magistrates holds out a prospect of so much -industry, such rigour as to be able to contend with<span class="pagenum" id="Page_366">366</span> -these abuses, I both commend him, and admit that -I am thereby relieved of part of my burden. But -if they are willing enough to demonstrate abuses, -and then, when they have obtained the credit of -this action, stir animosities, and hand them over -to me, believe me, Conscript Fathers, that I too -have no taste for unpopularity; tasks involving -serious, and generally unjust, unpopularity I will -undertake for the good of the State. I rightly protest -against being required to incur trivial and useless -causes of offence likely to be profitable neither to -myself nor to you.”</p> - -<p>The language of Tacitus leaves it uncertain as to -whether these words are the actual letter of Tiberius, -or only an epitome of the real letter; but the sense, -if not the form, is clearly the Emperor’s own. In -his view of the inefficiency of sumptuary legislation -Tiberius was far in advance of his time; no law -can in these matters do for the individual what -he refuses to do for himself. Indirectly Tiberius -reproaches the Senate for their individual complicity -in the offences against which legislation was demanded; -he also reproaches those zealous magistrates, -the Ædiles, whose business it was to look after the -markets and repress extravagant expenditure, for -their previous neglect of duty; he also points out -that there was an abundance of laws to meet the -offence, and an equally abundant neglect of those -laws. The constitutional position which Tiberius -takes up is also noteworthy; it was not for him to -anticipate the action of the ordinary magistrates; -on the other hand, the greater cares of the Empire<span class="pagenum" id="Page_367">367</span> -are his, and these domestic concerns can be left to -those officials whom the constitution provided for -the purpose.</p> - -<p>Throughout the letter we detect a profound contempt -for the Senate, as being a body ever ready -to talk, but never ready to act, and we are therefore -prepared to believe that there is some truth in the -story which tells us that Tiberius seldom left the -Senate House without exclaiming, “Men made for -slavery!” We also see that Tiberius was sensitive -to public opinion, and was not prepared to face -unpopularity except with good reason. The implied -warning against the folly of passing laws which it -is impossible to enforce shows sound statesmanship; -the vice of clamouring for fresh laws in order to -check offences which have been already provided -for by old ones, and of invoking the aid of legislation -in matters where good example and sound conduct -on the part of individuals are more effective, is a -vice which has survived the Roman Senate.</p> - -<p>The result of the debate was fresh energy on the -part of the Ædiles, but Tacitus says that it was not -until the reign of Vespasian that there was any -marked improvement, that Emperor being himself -averse to luxury. As, however, Tiberius was no -less distinguished by plainness of living, it is more -probable that the effect was produced by a general -equalizing of fortunes among the well-to-do.</p> - -<p>While Tiberius thus refused to take upon himself -the responsibilities of the Senate in domestic matters, -he was equally little inclined to allow them to throw -upon him the burden of administering their own<span class="pagenum" id="Page_368">368</span> -Provinces, and carefully referred deputations from -the Senatorial Provinces to the Consuls; he punished -a private servant of his own who had the management -of his estates in Asia, a Senatorial Province, for attempting -to exercise powers other than those of the -business agent of a private person.</p> - -<p>We may remark that the care of feeding the city, -which we should have expected to be in the department -of the Senate, was really in the hands of the -Emperor, who held Egypt in his own exclusive -management for that special purpose; nor was -Tiberius a sufficiently enlightened economist not -to attempt to control the price of corn.</p> - -<p>Another subject which from time to time still -taxed the energies of the Senate was the prevalence -of alien rites, and especially of all forms of magic -and divination.</p> - -<p>It has been held that the Senate and people of -Rome were particularly free from religious intolerance; -their behaviour in this matter has been favourably -contrasted with that of Christian governments, -and there are many who believe that the Romans -never interfered with religious observances till they -adopted an attitude of exceptional malignity towards -the professors of Christianity. Such a view does -not, however, correctly represent the facts of the -case. Comparatively early in its history the Roman -Senate had proceeded with considerable severity -against those who were infected with that strange -hysterical epidemic which spread over Europe under -the guise of the worship of Bacchus, and in the year -19 <span class="allsmcap">A.D.</span> we find the Senate passing decrees to repress<span class="pagenum" id="Page_369">369</span> -Egyptian and Jewish religious rites. According -to Suetonius the devotees were ordered to burn -their vestments and other religious furniture, while -he and Tacitus agree in telling us that four thousand -freedmen “infected with that superstition” who -were of fitting age for military service were sent -off to Sardinia to check brigandage there, “and -if they should perish in the unwholesome climate, -it was not a serious loss.” “The rest,” according -to Tacitus, “were to withdraw from Italy unless -they abandoned their profane observances before -a fixed date.” The language of Tacitus does not -distinguish between Jew and Egyptian so far as -religion was concerned, for though he mentions -both races, he only alludes to one superstition.</p> - -<p>The persecution of Jews on religious grounds is -thus anterior to Christianity, and the persecutions -were not confined to Jews and Egyptians; Chaldæans -were included, and as we have already seen, after -the case of feather-headed Scribonius Libo Magians -and “mathematicians” were also expelled from -Italy.</p> - -<p>In these persecutions Tiberius is not directly -responsible, he left the matter in the hands of the -Senate. Sardinia was a Senatorial Province, and -he apparently saw no reason for interference. Italy -was not, however, swept clear of “mathematicians” -and other persons under the ban of the Senate, with -whom in fact the head of the executive was probably -in private sympathy, for Thrasyllus the “mathematician” -had been his constant attendant since the -days of the retirement at Rhodes. Decrees for the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_370">370</span> -expulsion of these undesirables recur under subsequent -Emperors.</p> - -<p>The subject is a complicated one, and the more -complicated to us because men so diverse according to -our conceptions are included in the same ban. We -do not know much of the Chaldæans and Magians, -but we know something of the Jews, and we are -surprised to find them classed with Egyptians and -subjected to the same penalties as Chaldæans, Magians -and “mathematicians,” and we further ask ourselves -why the Senate, which countenanced the worship -of the Great Mother and other alien deities, assumed -an attitude of intolerance towards the Jews.</p> - -<p>The attitude of the Jews towards other religions -was essentially different from that of the priests -of Cybele or any other Pagan divinity. Jupiter or -Mars or Vesta could tolerate the temples of other -Gods, and the respect paid to other Gods—it was -of the essence of polytheism to multiply divinities—but -the Jew declared that there was only one God; -his God was not one of many Gods, but the only -God, and the worship of other Gods was wrong and -monstrous. Thus to the Roman Senate the observances -of the Jews were actually “profane”; they -involved hostility to existing religions, and toleration -of the Jews was therefore impossible for the orthodox -Pagan. Again, it is important to remember that -the Jews at this period were not shut up in ghettos, -and visibly separated from the rest of the community; -whatever differences in dress and customs distinguished -them from other inhabitants of the cities -in which they dwelt were not peculiar to them;<span class="pagenum" id="Page_371">371</span> -the Syrian, the Egyptian, the Gaul, men of many -other nationalities wore their distinctive dress and -practised their national religions in every populous -city of the Empire. The Jews might for convenience -live in the neighbourhood of a synagogue, and thus -give portions of the cities which they inhabited -the aspect of a Jewish quarter; but such separate -residence was not enforced upon them; they -moved freely among the people; many of them were -in positions of trust, their princes, the Herods, -were on intimate terms with the Imperial family, -and their young men took part in the diversions -of the Roman youth; among them were ardent -proselytisers, their peculiar doctrines were well -known to the educated, and though Horace might -laugh at their credulity, his sneer indicates how well -they were known. The unhappy four thousand -young men who were sent to Sardinia were either -freedmen or the sons of freedmen, a fact which shows -that they, or their fathers, had been the trusted -servants of Romans. But the Jews were no more -homogeneous then than now; if they had their -Rothschilds, they had also their Jews of mean streets, -their “vagabond Jews, exorcists”; and if the great -financier was the trusted friend of an Emperor, -the small moneylender of the slums was as much -detested in ancient Rome as he is in modern London. -There were Jews who were deservedly respected -for their great intellectual ability, for the purity -of their lives, for the dignity of their religion; but -there were also Jews whose disreputable callings -and mean habits involved at least a section of their<span class="pagenum" id="Page_372">372</span> -race in such contempt as to lead Tacitus to contemplate -with satisfaction their extinction in the fever-haunted -swamps of Sardinia. We should, however, -be on our guard against attributing to the contemporaries -of Tiberius the same degree of animosity against -the Jews which was felt by the contemporaries of -Trajan; for, in spite of the sweeping decrees of the -Senate, the Jews steadily advanced in importance, -and the anti-Semitic sentiment of Tacitus was evoked -not only by the disreputable section of the chosen -people, but also by the men who, as members of -the Imperial household, had a large share in the -administration of the State.</p> - -<p>Again, we should be mistaken if we attributed -to the whole Jewish race distributed throughout -the civilized world the same sentiments which prevailed -among the bigoted Jews of Jerusalem. Even -at Jerusalem, where the introduction of the Roman -standards invariably produced a riot, the priests -of the Temple accepted the offerings made by the -different Roman generals who passed by or occupied -the Sacred City; and the omission of a Gentile -commander to show this form of respect to the -one God was somewhat inconsistently resented. At -Alexandria especially free intercourse with men who -represented the wisdom of the Egyptians and the -Greeks modified the conceptions of orthodox but -not bigoted Jews, and the spirituality of Judaism -steadily tended to prevail over its ceremonial exclusiveness. -Learned Jews enjoyed as wide reputations -as other learned men, and were in communication -with learned Greeks; Tiberius himself is said to<span class="pagenum" id="Page_373">373</span> -have nicknamed Apion the Greek, to whose anti-judaic -treatise Josephus replied, “the rattle of the universe.”</p> - -<p>But while on the one hand a reformed and spiritualized -Judaism was tending to become the effective -religion of the Empire, the debased Judaism was -joining hands with the other demoralizing superstitions -of the East. No one who has read the Acts -of the Apostles and the Epistles of St. Paul attentively -can deny that if there were spiritually-minded Jews -like the great Apostle, there were also Jews who -practised exorcisms and divination, and who studied -“curious books.” We know little of the peculiar -tenets of the Chaldæans and the Magians, equally -little of the Egyptians, except as worshippers of -Isis, but we know that fortune-telling and witchcraft -were practised by them, no less than dignified inquiries -into the laws of nature, so far as their imperfect -means of observation permitted. The dividing line -between Thrasyllus the “mathematician,” the friend -of Tiberius, and those men whom foolish Libo consulted, -would have been difficult to draw, science -was not to be clear of superstition for many ages, -but there were respectable astrologers, genuine, -though perhaps mistaken, searchers after truth, -alongside of the disreputable charlatans who interpreted -dreams and told fortunes and held sway -over the dissolute imaginations of needy profligates -by means of conjuring tricks and skilfully organized -conspiracies with numerous confederates. Even the -purest of Jewish sects—if indeed they can be called -a sect—the Essenians, laid stress upon their powers -of predicting events by means of the stars.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_374">374</span></p> - -<p>Polytheism was in fact tolerant so long as an -enemy had not declared himself; it was no sooner -conscious of an enemy than it persecuted, and the -persecution was no less a persecution because it was -prompted by mixed motives. There may have been -good reason for mistrusting the influence of the -diviners upon persons of weak mind, for suspecting -them of helping to bring about the accomplishment -of their predictions by the use of poisons, and of -prompting plots in whose success they had a personal -interest; but it was also inevitable that the emergence -of a new religious attitude should alarm, and that -its professors should be subject to attack. In times -of popular excitement the monotheists were persecuted -by the enlightened rationalists no less than by the -orthodox polytheists, and many motives over and -above religious intolerance contributed to sharpen -the laws against the Jew and the diviner. Not the -least of these was the dread of poison, a very lively -terror even in modern times, till the accumulations -of chemical and medical knowledge restricted the -sphere of operations of mysterious drugs; and there -may well have been some foundation for the superstitious -dread of secret poisoning by which many -of the ancients were affected. Not only was the -charlatan ready to magnify his own powers, and -to ascribe to his spells and incantations deaths from -purely natural causes, but the older civilizations -of the East had doubtless preserved many secrets -of pharmacy which were skilfully used by adepts -to impress the imagination of the vulgar.</p> - -<p>At this very day the medicine men and women,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_375">375</span> -the Papaloi and Mamaloi of the Black Republic of -Hayti, exert a power above the laws by their knowledge -and use of poisons, from which even the educated -white man cannot escape. Before we condemn the -Roman Senate for its intolerance of magicians and -its superstitious dread of their powers, we must -place ourselves in their position, limit ourselves to -their knowledge; and again we must be modest -enough to remember that we still consider it necessary -to protect the ignorant dupe from the fortune-teller, -that the law is not unfrequently called into action -in such cases, and that the clients of the spiritualist -and diviner of to-day are to be found in all classes, -and not exclusively among the poor and ignorant.</p> - -<p>While the Senate thus endeavoured to repress -alien worships, it continued to protect the sanctity -of its own ritual; vestal virgins were appointed in -due form, though with increasing difficulty, as the -solemn form of marriage necessary for the proper -parentage of a vestal had fallen into disfavour. Considerable -interest attached to the case of a Senator -named Servius Maluginensis, who had a claim to -the Proconsulship of Asia, and wished to evade the -restrictions which were imposed on him by the -fact that he was Flamen Dialis, sublimest priest of -Jupiter. The ancient ritual forbade the Flamen -Dialis to leave the city for more than a day and a -night in succession, and Servius therefore attempted -to prove that the ritual was obsolete, and that exceptions -had been allowed. The Senate discussed the -case with due solemnity, and then referred it to -Tiberius, who in his turn remitted it to the College<span class="pagenum" id="Page_376">376</span> -of Pontiffs. Their decision was against Servius, -and the Province of Asia fell to the Senator next -on the roll.</p> - -<p>A question of even greater importance, partly -religious in its character, required the decision of -the Senate. Numerous Greek towns, chiefly situated -in the islands of the Ægean and along the coasts -of Asia Minor, had abused the rights of Sanctuary -attached to some of their temples. Not only were the -rights of property imperilled by the ready shelter -given to runaway slaves, but the concourse of unruly -ruffians assembled in these insular Alsatias threatened -to disturb the public peace. A sanctuary, if conveniently -situated, might easily assume the character -of a nest of pirates; the Greek genius for brigandage -has always been as remarkable as the Greek gift for -preaching morality. An attempt to suppress the -sanctuaries led to protests, and deputations from -the towns concerned pleaded their cause before the -Senate. The arguments used in defence of the -sanctuaries are interesting, because they show a -sense of continuity of government from the times -of Alexander to those of Tiberius. The claims were -partly based on mythological grounds, but more -effectively on recognitions granted by Alexander, -and afterwards by Roman Proconsuls. The maintenance -of the sanctuaries was regarded as an -honourable distinction, and this aspect of the claims -was pressed rather than the material advantages.</p> - -<p>The abuse, however, was too alarming to be -tolerated. One temple alone, that of Æsculapius -at Pergamus, which from other evidence seems to<span class="pagenum" id="Page_377">377</span> -have assumed the character of a school of medicine, -retained its privileges; the others were dismissed -with honourable compliments, and it was ordered -that a copy of the Senatorial decree should be inscribed -on brass, and placed in a conspicuous position -in the temples concerned. Subsequently other -sanctuaries were similarly dealt with. The credit -of thus dealing with a serious abuse is ascribed by -Suetonius to Tiberius, and it is possible that, though -the actual decision was made in the Senate, because -the towns involved were in a Senatorial Province, -the initiative came from the Emperor himself. If -Tiberius was thus severe in correcting a time-honoured -abuse, he had been no less liberal in remitting taxation -and furnishing relief to numerous cities in the same -part of the world, which had suffered severely from -an earthquake. In fact, though he was careful to -observe the constitutional forms, he kept a watchful -eye upon the Senatorial administration, and supplied -the necessary stimulation for its corporate conscience.</p> - -<p>Reference has already been made to the practice -of supplementing the resources of impoverished -Senators, and to the severity with which Tiberius -treated such cases. The Senate was only too willing -to vote public money to provide pensions for its -members. Tiberius recognized the obligation, but -he insisted that the beneficiary should make out -a good case, and be able to demonstrate that his -distress was due to misfortune, not to thriftlessness. -The case of Hortalus, grandson of Cicero’s rival, -Hortensius, affords an illustration both of the severity<span class="pagenum" id="Page_378">378</span> -of Tiberius and of the curiously domestic character -of the Senate.</p> - -<p>In the year 16 <span class="allsmcap">A.D.</span> Hortalus rose in his place in -the Senate, having posted his four sons at the door, -where they could be seen by all; he then spoke as -follows, fixing his eyes alternately on the statue -of Hortensius standing among the orators, and -that of Augustus:—“It was not by my own will, -but at the suggestion of the Prince, that I begot -and acknowledged these children, whose number -and tender years you behold; and indeed my ancestors -had deserved that I should have successors. -For I, who owing to the revolutionary times could -neither inherit the ancestral property of my house, -nor earn money, nor win the affections of the people, -nor train myself in eloquence, should have had -enough if my poverty had neither shamed nor burdened -others. At the command of the Emperor -I married a wife. Behold the stock and progeny -of all those consuls and dictators. I do not say this -to disparage anybody else, but to win your compassion. -The offices that you confer, Cæsar, will be at your -service while you reign; meanwhile defend the great-grandchildren -of Quintus Hortensius, the children -fostered by the sainted Augustus, from want.” In -spite of the mendacity of this statement—for on the -father’s side, at any rate, the family of Hortensius -could only claim the credit of two consulships and -no dictatorships—the appeal was heard with favour -by the Senate, till Tiberius intervened with these -words:—“If all the poverty-stricken begin to come -here and demand money for their children, the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_379">379</span> -applicants will never be satiated, and the public -purse will run dry. And indeed it was certainly -never contemplated by our ancestors when they -allowed Senators to leave the matter in hand, and -move amendments for the public benefit, that we -should endeavour to increase our private fortunes -in this place in such a manner as to render the Senate -and the Princes unpopular, whether they granted -or refused the largess. This is not a humble request; -it is an impudent demand, unseasonable, and unprecedented, -to rise when the Senate are assembled for -the discussion of other matters, and do violence to -the kindness of the Senate by urging the number -and age of one’s children, and to pass on the same -violence to me, and as it were break open the treasury, -which we shall have to supplement by injustice, if -we exhaust it in courting popularity. Money was -given to you, Hortalus, by the sainted Augustus, -but without previous application, and certainly not -on the terms that once given it should be always -given. Industry will slacken, indolence will gain -strength, if men’s hopes and fears are not to depend -on themselves, if all are confidently to look for resources -from outside, useless to themselves and a -burden to us.” Tiberius was clearly in the right, -but the authorities whom Tacitus consulted evidently -thought that Hortalus had been hardly used, for -the narrative is continued:—“Although these and -similar words were listened to with favour by those -whose custom it is to praise all that falls from the lips -of Princes, honourable and dishonourable alike, the -majority received them in silence or with subdued<span class="pagenum" id="Page_380">380</span> -murmurs. And Tiberius perceived this, and after -a short silence said that he had given Hortalus his -answer. However, if the Senate thought well, he -would give each of his children of the male sex two -hundred thousand sesterces (about £3,000). The -rest expressed their thanks. Hortalus was silent, -either from consternation or because he retained -something of his ancestral nobility even in his indigence. -Nor did Tiberius show him any further -compassion, although the family of Hortensius fell -into disgraceful poverty.”</p> - -<p>The gift made by Tiberius was private and personal; -he did not make use of the public money for a purpose -of which he had expressed strong disapproval. The -incident is chiefly interesting as indicating that, in -spite of the rude shocks given to the Senatorial -system by Julius Cæsar, the body had recovered -its evil tradition of assuming that it was at liberty -to use the public purse to meet the private necessities -of its members. Hortalus was clearly a well-known -spendthrift.</p> - -<p>The Senate, in fact, tended to become more and -more a high court of justice, in which its members -and high officials were tried by their peers, the cases -being either political or such private cases as had by -long tradition fallen to the Senate as the guardian -of the morality of the privileged orders. It was -tenacious of its privileges, careless of its wider responsibilities. -Tiberius treated it with formal respect, and -did his best to make it worthy of its opportunities; -if he could have avoided interfering with its administration -of its own provinces, he would have done so,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_381">381</span> -but he was not prepared to submit the provincials -to misgovernment in order to maintain the prestige -of the Senate, and the misgovernment of Proconsuls -was by no means a thing of the past. Tiberius, like -Augustus, supplied himself with an inner Council -of the Senate, and it is possible that on most occasions -this inner Council represented the whole body; but -he did not restrict himself to Senatorial Counsellors, -and we are told that, in dealing with provincial -questions, he was always careful to provide himself -with the expert evidence of men who knew the -localities concerned.</p> - -<p>Though the Senate could not shake itself free from -the traditions of its existence, and always represented -the great families of the City of Rome rather than -Italy or the Empire, except in so far as it provided -the personnel of the Supreme Court of Appeal, it was -curiously indifferent to municipal matters. The city -was policed by the Prefect of the city, an official -appointed by the Emperor, who held office for long -periods, and it was guarded by troops commanded -by the Emperor. The rank of Senator eventually -became little more than an honourable distinction, -though from time to time the body possessed sufficient -coherence to bid for the power which it had lost, -and even for short periods to wield it. The distinction -between Senatorial and Imperial Provinces did not -last long, the Imperial administration proving better -suited to the needs of the Empire.</p> - -<p>Many writers infected with the spirit of the nineteenth -century have advanced the opinion that the -Roman Empire collapsed because the Romans never<span class="pagenum" id="Page_382">382</span> -hit upon representative government. It is curious -that Augustus very nearly effected this supreme -achievement. He at one time proposed to hold -simultaneous elections of the Roman magistrates in -all the cities of Italy; the names of the candidates -were to be posted up, the votes were to be collected -in ballot boxes, which were to be sent to Rome sealed -up, and afterwards counted in the city itself. This -scheme happily came to nothing, for the strength -of the Roman Empire lay in its respect for local -government. The Provincial Governors were the -supreme umpires in their Provinces, but they did -not concern themselves with the details of local -administration; the constitutions of Athens, and -even Sparta, continued to work even after these -towns were included in the Province of Achaia, -and similarly throughout the Empire original institutions -were left to do their previous work. As we -have seen, the Governors of Provinces did not even -control the organization by which the Imperial taxes -were collected. The local life of the Empire was -strong; Antioch and Alexandria, even the new -cities of Gaul, bowed reluctantly to Rome, and in -course of time the position of the Patriarch of Rome -was not to be that of Primate of Christianity till -many a battle had been fought, and in fact the Popes -never succeeded to the full heritage of the Emperors. -The Empire was the bond of union and the peacemaker -between an infinite number of self-governing -units, it provided a supreme arbitrator, a Supreme -Court of Appeal. The Empire, in fact, was peace; -it was not a system of local as well as universal administration.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_383">383</span> -The introduction of representative -government, the substitution of an Elective Parliament -at Rome for the Senate, would have killed -the vigorous local governments, and would not -have improved the administration of the Empire. -Under such rulers as Augustus and Tiberius, the -Flavians and the Antonines, the organization of -the Roman Empire probably reached the limits of -perfectibility; it would not have been improved by -collecting deputies from all parts of the world, and -expecting them to be responsible for the executive. -Representative institutions have not prevented -official corruption or no less deadly incompetence, -nor has the absence of really free parliaments impeded -the advance of some modern nations; those diseases -of the body politic from which the Roman Empire -is held to have suffered in a special degree, corruption -and official formalism, have not been unknown in -communities blessed with Houses of Representatives -duly elected and accredited. A multitude of counsellors -neither protects an Empire from corruption -nor ensures wisdom in the conduct of its affairs, -while the conscience of any corporate body is -notoriously duller than that of each individual of -which it is composed. The Roman Emperors were -wise in respecting local institutions, and in not -imposing a strict system of centralization, for it is -unfortunately impossible to retrace our steps, and -when once the local life has been killed, it cannot be -revived. Decentralization as a matter of mechanical -convenience is possible after the central authority -has drawn to itself all the prestige of political life, but<span class="pagenum" id="Page_384">384</span> -this is purely administrative decentralization; when -once the central government has absorbed the vitality -of local political life, it cannot give back that which -it has taken away. It was good for the Empire that -the Senate should not exclusively attract the ambition -of capable men from the Provinces, and on the -other hand that the energies of the Emperors should -be distributed over a wide area. The Emperors had no -time for universal tyranny, and the extravagancies -of Caligula, Nero, and Domitian were scarcely felt -outside Rome itself; they certainly did nothing to -shake the foundations of that fabric which had -been so wisely laid by the first two Emperors.</p> - -<hr /> - -<div id="toclink_385" class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_385">385</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="XVII">XVII<br /> - -<span class="subhead">Sejanus</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class="drop-cap b"><span class="smcap1">One</span> of the most trusted public servants of -Augustus was a Roman Equestrian named -Seius Strabo; he hailed from an Italian, or rather -a Tuscan, city, his family having been long settled -at Vulsinii, and was thus exposed at Rome to the -reproach of being a “new man.” Seius Strabo was -content with administrative work, and did not aspire -to high senatorial rank. Augustus made him commander -of the Prætorian cohorts which formed -the garrison of Italy, and afterwards entrusted him -with the most important office in his gift, for he -made him Governor of Egypt, that valuable appanage -of the Roman Emperors upon which the corn supply -of the capital depended. Seius married into the -Junian gens, the gens of Brutus the Liberator, and -his son could in consequence claim affinity through -his mother with the most honourable Roman houses. -This son was adopted by a member of the Ælian -gens, and thus became known as Ælius Sejanus. -He married a daughter of Apicius the Epicure, a -very wealthy man, but notorious rather than distinguished.</p> - -<p>The young Sejanus enjoyed the confidence of<span class="pagenum" id="Page_386">386</span> -Augustus as his father had done. He succeeded -him in command of the Prætorians, and was -made adviser to Caius Cæsar when he went to the -East. In this capacity he did his best to counteract -the mischievous counsels of Marcus Lollius, and -won the gratitude of Tiberius, which he soon improved -into a personal friendship. As Sejanus was made -his father’s colleague in <span class="allsmcap">B.C.</span> 14, soon afterwards -succeeding him in the sole command of the Prætorian -guards, he cannot have been much younger than -Tiberius, for he would hardly have been associated -with his father before he was twenty years of age, -and in that case Tiberius would have been his senior -by only eight years. Even if we assume that Sejanus -became his father’s colleague at the age of sixteen, -an age at which young Romans commonly first -entered on active service, he would still be only twelve -years younger than Tiberius; but it is very improbable -that so young a man would have been entrusted -with the command of the Prætorians. The question -is of some importance, for the language of the historians, -perhaps unintentionally, conveys the impression -that Sejanus was a comparatively youthful -favourite of the Emperor’s, who owed his advancement -to a blind partiality, whereas his acquaintance with -Tiberius had been almost lifelong, even if we assume -that he was little more than a boy when he first -commanded the Prætorian guards. It is far more -probable that there were only three or four years -between the two men, and that the relations between -Sejanus and Tiberius were comparable to those -between Augustus and Agrippa.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_387">387</span></p> - -<p>Paterculus, who admired Sejanus, is curiously -apologetic about the obscurity of his family. He -suggests that it was not so obscure as was generally -supposed, and again that obscurity of descent is -no bar to admission to the public service; he quotes -very ancient examples, and the more modern ones -of Marius, Cicero, and Asinius Pollio.</p> - -<p>In fact the Revolution, which had broken the -political power of the old Roman aristocracy, had -been succeeded by a reaction in favour of great names -and exalted lineages, which would have given the -Senate a new lease of power had that body been -capable of effective work. The History of Livy, -the Fasti of Ovid, the later books of the Æneid, -had all combined to throw a glamour over the great -Roman families, and the new world of capable officials -recruited from Italy and other parts of the Empire -found itself despised at Rome by the futile descendants -of legendary ancestors. We are told that the Emperor -Caligula was ashamed of his grandfather, Marcus -Agrippa, and was offended if reminded of his descent -from the ignoble Vipsanian stock. Tiberius himself -was evidently inclined to be a formalist in matters -affecting the aristocracy, and though he drew his -trusted servants from all classes and races, the deference -which he paid to the Senate and the old constitutional -magistrates, along with his careful observance -of the old legal ritual, tended to foster aristocratic -pretensions.</p> - -<p>To the memoir-writing Senators Sejanus was an -upstart, and in spite of the recent precedents of -Agrippa and Mæcenas and other capable colleagues<span class="pagenum" id="Page_388">388</span> -of Augustus, the strict aristocracy could see nothing -but evil in the “new man.” On the other hand, a -large party in the Senate, representatives of the new -hierarchy of officials, accepted Sejanus, as Agrippa -had been accepted; they followed the lead of Tiberius, -and after the death of Drusus in <span class="allsmcap">A.D.</span> 23 were prepared -to treat Sejanus as the second person in the Empire.</p> - -<p>If Senators of ancient descent were disgusted at -the position held by Sejanus, the family of the Emperor -were even more so. Drusus, a hot-tempered man, -is said on one occasion to have struck him, an incident -which may well have occurred when Drusus was a -little boy or petulant youth, and been turned to -good account by sensation-loving writers of memoirs. -Agrippina could not contain herself in the presence -of this new oppressor of the children of Germanicus, -the great-grandchildren of the sainted Augustus, -and so forth. These poor innocents were, in her -excited imagination, the victims of the ambitions of -Sejanus; that they were not from the moment of -their birth of an age to be entrusted with the conduct -of affairs did not enter into her considerations.</p> - -<p>Drusus died after an illness of some duration. -Dio tells us that his constitution had been impaired -by intemperance and other excesses, and there is -other evidence that he had been a man of pleasure -as well as a man of business. A speech of his is -recorded to the effect that as long as he paid proper -attention to his public duties he was at liberty to -enjoy his leisure as he pleased. He did not share -his father’s taste for literary pursuits or scientific -research; but Dio informs us that Tiberius was<span class="pagenum" id="Page_389">389</span> -really attached to his son, and insinuations to the -contrary are probably derived from tainted sources, -from the private diaries of those to whom it was an -axiom that Tiberius hated those whom he was in -duty bound to love, and loved those only whom -he ought to have hated. Even Tacitus, however -unintentionally, supplies evidence that Tiberius was -much shaken by his son’s death, for though he tells -us that Tiberius did not allow the illness or death -of Drusus to interfere with the discharge of his -public duties—a piece of stoical conduct quite in -accordance with the character of time-honoured -Roman models—he also tells us that the Emperor -spoke at the time of resigning his office to the Consuls -or some other. According to Tacitus, the Emperor -also addressed a long speech to the Senate, in which -he deplored the extreme old age of Livia, and his -own declining years still unprovided with grandchildren. -This latter statement was not correct, -for Drusus had left a son, a second Tiberius, unless -indeed we are to assume that the Emperor did not -think he was at liberty to count a descendant who -was still too young to be introduced to the Senate. -We are further told that Tiberius then begged that -the children of Germanicus, “the one consolation -of his present misfortune,” might be brought into -the Senate house, that the Consuls went out, and -after encouraging the lads, placed them in front of -the Emperor. He took them by the hand, and said: -“Conscript Fathers, I entrusted these orphans to -the care of their uncle, and begged him, although -he had children of his own, to cherish them as he<span class="pagenum" id="Page_390">390</span> -would cherish his own blood, and own them, and -educate them for himself and posterity. Now that -Drusus has been taken from us, I address my petition -to you, and I implore you, in the presence of our -gods and our country, to adopt, to guide the great-grandchildren -of Augustus, descendants of such a -splendid stock, and to fulfil your duty and my own. -These worthy counsellors, Nero and Drusus, will be -your parents. You have been born in such a position -that your good or bad conduct is a matter of public -concern.”</p> - -<p>The funeral of Drusus was conducted with unusual -pomp; the whole line of the Julians back to Æneas -appeared in effigy in the procession, all the Alban -kings, Romulus, the Sabine nobility, Attus Clausus, -and the rest of the famous Claudians. The magnificence -of the Imperial family in both branches -was thus emphasized.</p> - -<p>The death of Drusus, in fact, left Tiberius in much -the same position as Augustus had been left by the -death of Caius Cæsar. Neither the Claudian nor -the Julian lines were represented by men of an age -to lead the State. It is true that the brother of -Germanicus, the future Emperor Claudius, was of -mature age and in full enjoyment of such faculties -as he possessed, but he had long been consigned to -a private life, apparently with his own consent. -The men who had worked with Tiberius all his life, -Marcus Lepidus, Asinius Gallus, Lucius Piso, the -Prefect of the city, and others, were now of very -advanced age. Sejanus was the only administrator -who held a position at all comparable to that which<span class="pagenum" id="Page_391">391</span> -Tiberius had held during the later years of Augustus, -but there was this important difference; Tiberius, -apart from his personal merits and long experience, -had been the representative of the old Roman aristocracy; -his succession did no violence to the prejudices -of the restored Senate. Sejanus, on the other hand, -was a new man; if he represented any particular -party, it was the Equestrians, the old enemies of -senatorial pretensions; his exaltation was a victory -of the officials over the survivors of the hereditary -aristocracy.</p> - -<p>The services which Sejanus had done to the State -were not of that brilliant character which would -seem to justify his promotion; he had not distinguished -himself by conspicuous military service -on the frontiers, though his uncle, Junius Blæsus, -had dealt successfully with the mutineers early in -the reign of Tiberius, and had more recently earned -a triumph by a series of successful campaigns in -northern Africa, and Sejanus may have enjoyed -a reflected glory from these achievements. It is -true that there may be a conspiracy of silence as -to his exploits, but even Paterculus, his admirer, -has nothing definite to record, and praises him in -general terms only as the capable assistant of Tiberius.</p> - -<p>It is probable that his merits were those of a good -organizer, merits which would be known to those -who were working at the centre of affairs, and would -be appreciated by Tiberius himself at their true -value, but would escape general attention, for the -waywardness of human judgement is such that years -of patient faithful and laborious devotion to the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_392">392</span> -public service often fail to secure recognition, and -a moment of victory weighs more in the public -opinion than many hours spent in organizing the -forces by which that victory is obtained.</p> - -<p>The one great work of Sejanus has, quite undeservedly, -involved his name in obloquy. He organized -the Prætorian guards, and collected that portion -of them who were on duty at Rome in barracks. -The Prætorian guards constituted the home army -of Italy; they were not only the bodyguard of the -Emperor. Indeed, it seems that in the time of -Augustus the Emperor’s bodyguard was a selected -troop of Germans, the Swiss guards of the Pope -being thus curiously anticipated by the first Emperor. -The organization of the Prætorians was slightly -different from that of the rest of the army; they -were divided not into legions—or, as we should say, -regiments—of about 6,000 men, but into cohorts (the -cohort, or battalion, ordinarily consisted of 600 men, -but a Prætorian cohort numbered 1,000). In other -words, the home army was divided into units available -by their size for garrison purposes. These men -received higher pay and better allowances than the -legionaries, and were, in fact, the pick of the service. -Everything was done that could be done to attach -them to the person of the Emperor and to distinguish -them from the rest of the army.</p> - -<p>The mutinies in Pannonia and on the Rhine had -indicated a weak spot in the organization of the -Empire. How if the mutineers had been successful, -if Germanicus had not resisted their wish to make -him Emperor? They would have marched upon<span class="pagenum" id="Page_393">393</span> -Rome. It was clearly necessary that Italy should -be provided with a sufficient force to defend the -seat of government from its own armies and to -demonstrate the inevitable failure of any attempt from -the Provinces to overturn the civil power. It was -probably considerations of this nature which impelled -Tiberius to give careful attention to the organization -of the Prætorians, and he doubtless considered himself -fortunate in being able to entrust this important -work to a capable officer of whose fidelity he was -well assured.</p> - -<p>The absence of barracks had proved a source of -disorder; the Prætorians had been scattered in -lodgings throughout the city and other towns. Not -only was their discipline thus rendered a matter of -difficulty, but their sense of corporate unity was -impaired, and the language used of them inclines -us to the supposition that so far from being an -adequate police force, they were not infrequently -themselves the source of disturbances in the streets. -In order to correct these abuses, Sejanus built a large -camp just outside the walls of Rome; it occupied -the site of the well-known Pincian gardens. The -force thus organized numbered twelve thousand men—three -so-called Urban cohorts, nine Prætorian. The -men were carefully chosen from the regions adjacent -to the city, or from the ancient Latin colonies; care -was taken to give them a specially Italian character.</p> - -<p>The distinction between Urban and Prætorian -cohorts, coupled with the statement of Suetonius -that Tiberius placed garrisons throughout Italy, -while there is no mention in Tacitus of any legion<span class="pagenum" id="Page_394">394</span> -told off to the Italian service, suggests that the camp -of the Prætorians at Rome only accommodated those -cohorts which were on duty at the capital. It was -the headquarters of the whole force, but was not -habitually occupied by the whole force. It seems -to have been felt that even the Prætorians were not -strong enough by themselves to defend Italy in case -of emergency, for there was a further provision in -the shape of an arrangement with Cotys, the King -of Thrace, by which he was bound to keep a force -ready, if called upon, to defend northern Italy at -the dangerous corner of the Adriatic. Sejanus -undoubtedly showed capacity as organizing commander-in-chief -in Italy, and Tiberius felt deeply the -need for this assistance. He knew that the defence -of the Empire was inadequate; he knew that the -revenue appropriated to that defence was also inadequate, -and it was for this reason that he habitually -prided himself upon solving difficulties with the -frontier princes by diplomacy rather than by an -appeal to arms. He was thus prepared to be grateful -to a man who could find a means of increasing the -efficiency of the home forces without adding to their -numbers. Tiberius had, in fact, serious misgivings -as to the quality of the troops. Addressing the -Senate early in <span class="allsmcap">A.D.</span> 23, he told them that the supply -of voluntary soldiers was short, and that where the -numbers were adequate the morale of the men was -unsatisfactory, because the recruits were generally -impoverished and homeless men. Apparently, compulsory -service, except in the case of special agreements -with recently conquered territories, such as the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_395">395</span> -Thracian kings, had been allowed to fall into abeyance, -and Tiberius talked of visiting the Provinces in order -to revive the compulsory levies. It is not uninteresting -to note that the organizers of the Roman -Empire had to meet some of our own difficulties. -Men would not enlist who had anything better to -do; they had, as we have seen, the further artificial -difficulty that they could not draw soldiers from the -working classes, who were slaves.</p> - -<p>Tacitus and his authorities, keeping their eyes -fixed as usual upon Rome, do not tell us what arrangements -were made for the rest of Italy, but it is not -probable that the use of the barrack system was -confined to the capital; the same cause will have -everywhere been followed by the same results, and -have demanded the same remedy. The innovation -was an important one, for though the legions on -active service, or in disturbed districts or imperfectly -subjugated countries, lived in permanent camps, -and though the military colonies in Italy had had -something of the same character, a permanent standing -army with permanent barracks was a new thing.</p> - -<p>The arrangement at first met with universal approval. -The towns were relieved of the presence of -disorderly soldiers in the streets, and on the occasion -of a riot the soldiers could be depended on to act -together and preserve order; they were not united -by various ties of familiarity with the rioters.</p> - -<p>The fact that a new force had been created which -could be used to coerce the Government escaped -notice at first, and Sejanus was held to be a public -benefactor.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_396">396</span></p> - -<p>He further achieved some measure of popularity -by his energy and skill in stopping the spread of -a conflagration which originated in the theatre of -Pompeius, and the grateful Senate voted that his -statue, magnificently gilded, should be set up in -the place where he had saved the lives of the citizens.</p> - -<p>When Drusus died Tiberius was sixty-five years -of age. Nothing had occurred to shake his confidence -in Sejanus. At home and abroad the Government -seemed to be strong and settled, and the Emperor felt -that he was at liberty to withdraw himself from any -but the most urgent public business. Tacitus and the -authorities whom he followed accused Tiberius, with -their customary animosity, of mere hypocrisy when -he talked of abdicating; they forgot that he had -once before retired from public life, and only been -brought back to it with difficulty, and that, in accepting -the cares of the Empire, he had expressed a hope -that the Senate would one day allow him a period -of rest in his old age. From this time he, in fact, -began tentatively to absent himself from Rome and -to avoid public functions. Eventually, in <span class="allsmcap">A.D.</span> 26, -he finally withdrew to the island of Capreæ, and though -he sometimes approached the city, never entered it -again. Meanwhile Sejanus acted as his Regent at -Rome.</p> - -<p>We are now approaching the great tragedy of the -reign of Tiberius, a tragedy whose details will never -be made clear unless some happy investigator in -the libraries of a monastery or the sands of Egypt -should recover for us the missing books and chapters of -Tacitus, and other authors whose works we have lost.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_397">397</span></p> - -<p>Though after the death of Drusus Tiberius appeared -less frequently in public, he still conducted business -in the Senate, and even after he had definitely withdrawn -from Rome occasionally appeared in the -vicinity of the city. In the year 27 <span class="allsmcap">A.D.</span> a temporary -wooden theatre, constructed by a speculator at Fidenæ, -not far outside the walls of Rome, collapsed, involving -in its ruins no less than twenty-five thousand persons. -This disaster was almost immediately followed by a -fire on the Cælian Hill, a crowded quarter of Rome. -On both occasions the Emperor gave lavish assistance -from his private purse, and promoted measures likely -to prevent the recurrence of such catastrophes. He -continued to transact the business which appertained -to what we should call the Foreign Office of the -Empire, and on all important occasions communicated -with the Senate by letter, showing in such communications, -at least up to the year 31 <span class="allsmcap">A.D.</span>, no abatement -of his former ability; but he did, in fact, withdraw -his attention from the details of government, and -allowed the conduct of the legal processes in the Senate -to pass into the hands of Sejanus.</p> - -<p>Sejanus, so far as we can learn from our authorities, -took advantage of the increasing aversion of the -Emperor from public affairs to take his place, to -promote his own favourites, and gradually to occupy -even in the eyes of the Prætorians that position -which really belonged to Tiberius. It is possible that -his procedure in the Senate was more autocratic than -that of the Emperor.</p> - -<p>The situation was complicated by the continuance -of the domestic rivalries of the Imperial household,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_398">398</span> -which, on the death of the aged Livia in 29 <span class="allsmcap">A.D.</span>, broke -out into a series of horrors whose exact nature cannot -from want of evidence be determined, though it may -be surmised.</p> - -<p>The opposition to Sejanus was twofold: there -was what may be called the constitutional and personal -opposition of a large party in the Senate, who refused -to submit to the domination of a new man, and there -was the private opposition of members of the Imperial -family, Tiberius being almost alone in his appreciation -of the good qualities of his subordinate. Thus the -sources of our information are discredited from the -outset. The memoirs of Agrippina are coloured by -her mother’s long-standing feud with the Emperor -and all whom he trusted, and the memoirs of Senators -are equally likely to be coloured by detestation of -the upstart. It is perhaps for this reason that the -annals of the seven years succeeding the death of -Drusus are more than usually filled with senatorial -prosecutions and suggestions of unfairness. It is -indeed possible that Sejanus took some pains to remove -political adversaries by encouraging prosecutions -against them, but, except in one instance, there is -no sufficient evidence of perversion of the forms of -justice, and as a rule the hostile comment amounts -to little more than an affirmation of the maxims that -a Senator could do no wrong, that he was always -innocent if he committed suicide, and that somehow -Tiberius or Sejanus, or both, were responsible for -the act of cowardice which terminated his dishonoured -existence.</p> - -<p>In comparison with the greater interests of the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_399">399</span> -Empire, the squalid scandals which ended in the fall -of Sejanus may seem undignified; but they have their -interest also, not only in the obloquy with which -they have covered the name of the “ablest of Roman -Emperors,” but in the disparagement which through -them has attached to the Empire itself. The fall of -Sejanus was, in fact, the fall of Tiberius, and the sinister -events with which it was accompanied have cast their -shadow upon the whole subsequent history of the -Emperors. A fashion was then set, and a tone was -adopted, which has influenced historians for all time. -The lives of the Cæsars in the pages of Suetonius are -little better than a Newgate calendar; the various -works of Tacitus are little better than a continued -jeremiad, in which nobody is good except men unconnected -with the administration, the Germans, -and the historian’s father-in-law. For this peculiar -attitude there was certainly no sufficient reason up -to 23 <span class="allsmcap">A.D.</span>, and in the subsequent events till the -accession of Caligula even the bitterly hostile evidence -indicates that the Emperor was more sinned against -than sinning.</p> - -<p>The story as it has been handed down to us, so far -as it can be collected from fragmentary documents, -is to the following effect. Sejanus formed designs -upon the succession at a comparatively early period; -after the death of Germanicus one man alone, Drusus, -stood between him and the object of his ambition. -In order to compass the destruction of Drusus, -Sejanus, a man certainly past fifty years of age, if -not close upon sixty, laid siege to Livilla, the wife -of Drusus, the sister of Germanicus. Successful in<span class="pagenum" id="Page_400">400</span> -his assaults upon her not impenetrable chastity, he -divorced his wife Apicata, and joined with Livilla -and a favourite freedman of Drusus in a conspiracy. -Drusus, according to the story, did not die a natural -death; he was poisoned by Sejanus through the -instrumentality of his favourite Lygdus. The way -to the succession now lay clear, for the son of Drusus -was still a child, and the eldest sons of Germanicus -were little older; moreover, it was supposed that -Tiberius disliked the family of Germanicus. To the -disappointment of Sejanus, Tiberius showed an -inclination to favour this family, and though he -sharply reproved the Senate for attempting to confer -premature honours upon them, he introduced them -to the Senate, and as they advanced in years treated -them as his probable successors along with his own -grandson.</p> - -<p>Sejanus then, we are told, by means of secret -emissaries worked upon the excitable temperament -of Agrippina in the hope that she would involve herself -and her family in ruin by committing some unpardonable -offence against Tiberius. In this he was eventually -successful, though so long as Tiberius continued -to live at Rome the violence of Agrippina was met -by somewhat amused contempt. Thus it is recorded -that on one occasion Agrippina, goaded by the agents -of Sejanus, burst in upon Tiberius when he was -sacrificing in presence of the statue of Augustus. -The scene is brought home to us if we imagine that -the famous statue of the Prima Porta found on the -site of Livia’s villa was the statue in question. A -friend, and indeed cousin, of Agrippina’s, one Claudia<span class="pagenum" id="Page_401">401</span> -Pulchra, had been accused of unchastity and of -magical performances directed against the Emperor -himself. It was suggested to Agrippina that she -was the person really attacked, and being “always -violent,” as Tacitus says, she went straight to the -Emperor, and, in allusion to the solemn occupation -in which she found him engaged, declared that “a -man had no right to offer victims to the sainted -Augustus and at the same time persecute his posterity. -The divine spirit had not passed into dumb images, -but his real presentment, born of his divine blood, -understood the inconsistency, and mourned.” She -went on to describe the attack upon Claudia as an -attack upon herself. Tiberius for once was provoked -to a retort, and, quoting a Greek poet, said, “Your -only injury, daughter, is that you are not Queen.” -This scene in the calm presence of the statue of -Augustus was followed by another. Cousin Claudia -was found guilty of the offence with which she was -charged; but Agrippina persisted in her grievances. -She fell into ill-health; Tiberius visited her; she -received him at first in silence, then burst into floods -of tears. She bewailed her loneliness, and begged -him to find her a husband; she was still young, -she said; marriage alone would relieve her from -the contumelious position in which she found herself; -there were plenty of men in the State who would -not disdain to welcome the wife and children of -Germanicus.</p> - -<p>Tiberius left her on this occasion without uttering -a word. Then it was suggested to the aggrieved -lady by the emissaries of Sejanus that her life was<span class="pagenum" id="Page_402">402</span> -in danger, that poison was being prepared for her, -that she should refuse to dine with the Emperor. -In consequence, on the next occasion on which -she partook of a meal with the head of the family -she passed all the dishes, till Tiberius, noting her -want of appetite, picked up a particularly fine apple -and handed it to her with much praise of its merits; -the unhappy lady at once passed the fruit to the slave -who stood behind her. Tiberius merely turned to -his mother and remarked that it would not be strange -if he dealt severely with a woman who accused him -of poisoning. This speech led to diverse horrid -surmises, but was obviously without any serious -purpose, as Agrippina lived unmolested for another -five years.</p> - -<p>Tacitus tells us that he quoted these details directly -from the memoirs of the younger Agrippina, who -was possibly present on the last of the three occasions.</p> - -<p>After Tiberius had retired to Capreæ the conspirators -Sejanus and Livilla were able, we are told, -to control the correspondence which was sent to -him from the capital. Imprudent remarks made -by Agrippina and her sons were carefully reported -to him; the provocation which had occasioned them -was not reported. The old man was induced to see -in the conduct of his great-nephews a repetition -of the excesses which had ruined Caius and Lucius -Cæsar at the same age. Sejanus fomented discord -between the brothers. Drusus the elder was given -the office of Prefect of the city; he was encouraged -to fear the jealousy of his brother, who was his -mother’s favourite. After the death of the aged<span class="pagenum" id="Page_403">403</span> -Livia, Agrippina and her son Nero acted in such a -way as to give an opportunity to their enemies; they -courted popular favour, and their friends openly -advised them to take refuge with the armies on the -Rhine, or to take sanctuary with the Senate and -invoke the protection of the Roman people. Meanwhile -Sejanus had in <span class="allsmcap">A.D.</span> 25 formally begged Tiberius -to confer upon him the hand of Livilla, the widow -of his son Drusus. Tacitus gives what profess to be -extracts from the letter which he addressed to the -Emperor on the subject, and from the reply which he -received. They are to the following effect. Sejanus is -represented to have said that “he had become so habituated -to the kindness of Augustus, and then by -many proofs to that of Tiberius, as to address his -hopes and prayers to the ears of the Princes as soon as -to the gods. He had never asked for brilliant office, -he preferred to share with the common soldiers the -toils of guarding the Emperor. Still he had obtained -what he thought most honourable, he was thought -worthy of association with Cæsar. On this his hopes -were founded. And as he heard that Augustus -had once taken into consideration the claims of -Roman knights when he was thinking about placing -his daughter, so he begged Tiberius, if a husband -were sought for Livilla, to remember a friend who -would be content with the mere honour of relationship. -He did not wish to be relieved of the duties which -had been imposed upon him; he thought it sufficient -that the family should be strengthened against -the malicious persecutions of Agrippina, and that -for the sake of the children. For himself the life<span class="pagenum" id="Page_404">404</span> -which he had already lived with such a Prince would -be much and more than enough.”</p> - -<p>The genuineness of this document is certainly -open to suspicion. It is notorious that Tiberius -particularly disliked any form of address or exaggerated -respect which put him on a level with the gods; -nor could Sejanus have openly alluded to the extravagances -of Agrippina without running the risk -of incurring a smart rebuff, unless indeed he were -already on such familiar terms with the Emperor -that his previous humiliation of himself was unnecessary. -The document has probably passed -through the crucible of Agrippina’s memoirs. The -reply attributed to Tiberius, though not beyond -suspicion, has a more genuine note, and resembles -other speeches and documents of the same author -in its general character. The Emperor began with -commending the loyal affection of Sejanus, and, -after demanding time for full consideration, added -that whereas other men have to think only of what -is conducive to their own interests, Princes must -think before all things of their reputation; and -therefore he did not reply, as it was simple to do, that -Livilla could decide for herself whether she would -take another husband in succession to Drusus or -would continue to live in the same house, that she -had her mother and grandmother, her nearer advisers. -He would deal more plainly. In the first place, -there was the question of the animosity of Agrippina, -which would be far more violent if the marriage -of Livilla set the house of the Cæsars at variance. -Even as things were, the rivalries of the women<span class="pagenum" id="Page_405">405</span> -occasionally broke out, and his grandchildren were -the victims of these discords. What if the rivalry -were rendered more intense by such a marriage? -“For you are mistaken, Sejanus, if you think that -you will remain in the same rank, and that Livilla, -who has been the wife of Caius Cæsar and then of -Drusus, will be content to grow old with a mere -Roman knight. Even though I should permit it, -do you think that it would be allowed by those who -have seen her brother, her father, and our ancestors -in the very highest offices? You indeed are willing -to stay in your present station; but those magistrates -and nobles who break through to me against your -will, and consult with me on every question, say -without any concealment that you have already -long ago passed beyond the highest Equestrian -dignity, and gone far in advance of the friendship -which my father showed you, and in consequence -of their envy of you I too am blamed. But you say -Augustus thought about conferring his daughter’s -hand on a Roman knight. Surely we have no reason -to be surprised that when Augustus was distracted -by every kind of anxiety, and foresaw that the man -whom he should raise above others by such a match -was immeasurably exalted, he did discuss the claims -of Gaius Proculeius and some others of noted tranquillity -of life, and in no way concerned with the -business of the State. And if we are affected by -the hesitation of Augustus, how much stronger -an argument is the fact that he did place her with -Marcus Agrippa and then with myself? In consideration -of our friendship, I have not thought it right<span class="pagenum" id="Page_406">406</span> -to conceal these considerations; however, I will not -stand in the way of what you and Livilla propose. -I will omit for the present to refer to some plans -that I have formed, and to tell you the ties by which -I propose to associate you with myself. I will only -disclose this, that there is no position so lofty that -it is not deserved by your virtues and your disposition -towards myself; and when the opportunity comes, -I will speak openly in the Senate, or in a public -address.”</p> - -<p>Even in this letter there are suspicious passages. -Tiberius could hardly have spoken of the magistrates -who broke into him against the will of Sejanus -without an admission of weakness, which is almost -incredible, unless we are to assume that he wished -to snub Sejanus, an assumption, however, which -is not supported by the conclusion of the letter. -Nor was this letter a public document, preserved in -the public records; if preserved at all, it was among -the family papers.</p> - -<p>One important hint we get from this letter: its -writer or editor ranges Livilla and her child in -opposition to Agrippina and her children, and saw -in the possible marriage with Sejanus a strengthening -of the children of Drusus against the children of -Germanicus. A similar protection had been given -thirty-six years previously to the children of Julia, -when Tiberius was made their stepfather. Livilla -never married Sejanus, but her attempt to marry -him supplies a clue to the labyrinth of plots in the -Imperial household. If the principle of heredity was -to be recognized, the heirs to the throne were Livilla’s<span class="pagenum" id="Page_407">407</span> -son, the younger Tiberius, and Agrippina’s sons, -the former representing the Claudians, the latter -the Julians, and the situation was repeated which -had existed when Tiberius and his brother had -represented the Claudians, Caius and Lucius Cæsar -the Julians.</p> - -<p>Livilla, anxious for the safety of her son and eager -to promote his interests, endeavoured to fasten -herself to the strongest man in the State, who would -unquestionably on the decease of Tiberius be in -possession of the controlling military power.</p> - -<p>According to the accepted story, there was a guilty -connexion between Sejanus and Livilla before the -death of her husband, and Sejanus had divorced -his wife at the request of his paramour; the two -together had poisoned Drusus.</p> - -<p>All cases of poisoning are inherently suspect, and -it is by no means incredible that Drusus was not -really poisoned, and that the guilty intimacy of -Livilla with Sejanus previous to the death of her -husband was surmised at a later period when her -subsequent conduct had given colour to such a story. -According to the narrative supplied to us, Sejanus -cannot have been under fifty when this intimacy -began, and was probably nearer sixty; Livilla cannot -have been less than five and thirty. If the story is -true, they were certainly a mature couple of lovers.</p> - -<p>It is at least as probable that on the death of Drusus -Livilla endeavoured to enlist Sejanus in the cause of -her son, and was prepared to marry him, he being only -too ready to strengthen his position by such a match, -as that Livilla had allowed a violent passion for a<span class="pagenum" id="Page_408">408</span> -sexagenarian to tempt her into infidelity to her -husband and actual crime. Again, Sejanus himself -is never accused of plotting against Tiberius; had -his heart been set upon the throne, he would not -have waited for the Emperor’s death, whom in the -ordinary course of nature he was not likely to survive -long. At the period when the Emperor finally -retired to Capreæ, and when he was moving from -one villa to another in Campania, the roof of a grotto -in which the party were dining suddenly fell in. -Sejanus protected the Emperor’s person at the risk -of his own life. Had he been impatient for the -succession, he would have contrived that a happy -accident should open the way to the realization of -his ambition.</p> - -<p>So far as the records go, we are at liberty to believe -that Sejanus made friends with the two probable -successors and their supporters in the Imperial family, -the elder of whom was Drusus the son of Germanicus; -the younger, Tiberius the grandson of the Emperor. -By so doing he incurred the enmity of Agrippina -and her younger son Nero. He was restrained by -no scruples of policy, no ties of kindred, from driving -the latter to desperation, and doubtless had many -private insults to avenge. He possibly considered -it his duty to the Emperor to protect him against -the consequences of a pardonable weakness, which -Agrippina had hitherto abused, and believed himself -to be doing a signal service by eliminating from -the Imperial circle such a dangerous conspirator; -and he was, unfortunately for himself, so unwise -as to use other than straightforward means to secure<span class="pagenum" id="Page_409">409</span> -his ends. Meanwhile, as we have seen, he practically -held the regency, he promoted and rewarded at -will; he held a court at Rome, and it was generally -understood that honours and emoluments were to -be obtained exclusively by courting Sejanus. Some -of the Senate fell in gladly with the new order, the -majority secretly opposed it, and many were bitterly -hostile, though restrained from showing their hostility -by fear of Tiberius or respect for his long services.</p> - -<p>In the year 29 <span class="allsmcap">A.D.</span>, soon after the death of the -aged Livia, a letter came to the Senate from Tiberius -charging Agrippina and her son with various offences, -and demanding that they should be formally accused -and the matter then referred to himself. At this -point there is a gap in the Annals of Tacitus. We -do not know what the steps were in the process, or -what evidence was brought against the guilty. We -gather from other sources that Agrippina was banished -to the island of Pandateria, and her son to another -island, in which he killed himself after a considerable -interval, possibly at the suggestion of his guards. -Agrippina disappears from history ‘semper atrox,’ for -on her way into exile she was so abusive that the -centurion in charge of the party was obliged to impose -restraint by force, and in the struggle which ensued -the lady lost an eye. The historians are silent as -to the previous damage suffered by the centurion. -Nor did she abandon her contumacious attitude on -arriving at Pandateria. It was necessary to feed -her by force, and, in spite of the well-intentioned -efforts of her attendants, she is said to have succeeded -two years later in dying of starvation. Agrippina<span class="pagenum" id="Page_410">410</span> -was not a woman of any real strength of character; -had she honestly revered her husband’s memory, -and followed his example, she would not have continued -the Julian feud and handed it down to two -more generations. It is impossible not to feel some -respect for so stout and so reckless a hater, and -nobody has ever disputed her claim to certain domestic -virtues which were lamentably absent from other -ladies of her family, and were certainly sufficiently -advertised by herself and her admirers; but in her -maternal solicitude she was more pushing than -wise, and the evil of her example influenced her -children more than the good. The mother of -Caligula, the grandmother of Nero, was certainly -not fortunate in the traditions which she transmitted -to her posterity, and if Nero really did poison his -half-brother Britannicus, with the connivance of his -mother, the cup may be said to have been mixed by -his grandmother.</p> - -<p>The disgrace of Agrippina and her son Nero brought -on the stormy stage of the family politics Antonia -the mother of Germanicus. This aged and refined -lady had carefully abstained from meddling in the -feuds which disturbed the Imperial household. She -was now left in charge of the younger children of -Germanicus, of the future Emperor Caligula and -his sisters. Alarmed by the increasing power of the -adverse faction, she began to study the course of -public events; she heard that Sejanus was taking -advantage of the Emperor’s retirement to tamper -with the fidelity of the Prætorians; dark hints reached -her ears as to the means by which Agrippina and her<span class="pagenum" id="Page_411">411</span> -son had been entrapped, she feared some yet more -terrible catastrophe, and having collected her information, -she succeeded in getting it transmitted -to Tiberius. The Emperor’s confidence in his trusted -friend and servant was shaken; he followed up the -evidence, and came to the conclusion that Antonia -was right. Suetonius quotes an extract from a -private diary of Tiberius, in which he says that he -punished Sejanus because he had persecuted the -children of Germanicus. There is no reason to -doubt the honesty of this statement, though the -events which followed have rendered it suspect.</p> - -<p>The blow must have been a severe one. Not only -had Tiberius been disappointed in a friend, but it -was not even certain that he could resume the reins -of power and punish the offender if he wished. It -is the behaviour of Tiberius at this period which -has justifiably gained him credit for proficiency in -dissimulation. He did not at once strike; he first -of all tested the temper of the Senate by writing -coolly on the subject of Sejanus, and sometimes -expressing disapproval of his actions, but yet not in -such a way as to declare a breach with him. Careful -experiments proved that Sejanus had no real hold -on the Senate. In the same way means were found -of testing the Prætorian guards, and it was satisfactorily -ascertained that they obeyed Sejanus simply -as the Emperor’s lieutenant. Tiberius took into -his confidence Macro, the Commander of the cohorts -on guard at Capreæ and in the neighbourhood, and -agreed upon a plan of operations with him. Macro -went to Rome with letters to the Senate and Sejanus;<span class="pagenum" id="Page_412">412</span> -the attendance of the latter at a meeting of the Senate -was particularly requested, it was hinted that unexampled -honours were in store for him. When -Sejanus went to the Senate House, Macro went to the -camp of the Prætorians. The proceedings in the -Senate House were purposely protracted. A very -long letter was read from Tiberius, the purport of -which was for some time uncertain. Gradually it -became evident that it was directed against Sejanus, -and it concluded with a demand for his arrest. Meanwhile -Macro had presented his credentials to the -Prætorian guards; Sejanus was superseded, and -Macro appointed Prefect in his place; the soldiers -proceeded to renew their oath of fidelity to the Emperor, -coupled with that of obedience to their new -commander. By the time when the ceremony was -over, the Senate had risen, and the body of Sejanus -was being dragged about the streets.</p> - -<p>No sooner had it become apparent that Sejanus -was disgraced and no longer enjoyed the favour of -the Emperor than the long smouldering hostility -to the upstart broke out into a blaze of fury. Tiberius -was given no time for repentance or consideration; -the fallen favourite was judged and executed on the -spot; his two children were similarly condemned -and executed; his friends were sought out and -assassinated. For some hours, if not for some days, -there was a veritable reign of terror at Rome, whose -horrors the Emperor in his distant retirement did -not at first surmise, and when informed was powerless -to check.</p> - -<p>This was the end of the careful restoration of the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_413">413</span> -Senate planned by Augustus and fostered by Tiberius, -an outbreak of violence which recalled the days -of the Gracchi and the proscriptions. Tiberius did -not long remain inactive; order was restored, and -judicial prosecutions took the place of unlicensed -murders. To the Emperor himself the change to -law and order brought but little comfort, rather -a deeper depth of despair. The whole story of the -plots of Livilla and Sejanus, as it was then believed, -was revealed. Apicata, the divorced wife of Sejanus, -gave possibly tainted evidence of the machinations -by which the death of Drusus, the son of Tiberius, -had been brought about. Tiberius found that he -had been the accomplice of the murderer of his own -son, and that in banishing Agrippina and Nero -he had played into the hands of that unnatural -son and brother the other Drusus. Many of his -old and intimate friends were implicated with Sejanus; -there had been a conspiracy of silence, if not an active -partisanship, and it was difficult to determine the -degrees of guilt. In spite of so many years of public -service and of single-hearted devotion to the interests -of others, Tiberius found that at the age of seventy-two -he stood alone in the world, hated and mistrusted -by all.</p> - -<p>After the first shock, the vigour of the old man -returned; he checked the indiscriminate persecution -of the friends of Sejanus, and he did his best to secure -for them a fair trial. The Empire itself was not -shaken by the blow, the effects of which did not -extend beyond the city of Rome and Italy; but it -must have been a grievous wound to his sensitive<span class="pagenum" id="Page_414">414</span> -nature to discover that his oldest friends did not -trust him, and that even such a tried associate as -Asinius Gallus followed the example of the many -weak-minded men who preferred suicide to facing -an inquiry into their conduct. Prosecutions in -connection with the Sejanus conspiracy seem to have -continued for four years, but the order of events -is not quite certain. It is not probable that Tiberius -gave orders three years after the event to -execute all the prisoners together without further -hearing.</p> - -<p>As Tiberius himself has generally been credited -with responsibility for the disasters which accompanied -the fall of Sejanus, it is as well to insist upon the -evidence of Dio, who expressly says that Sejanus -and his children were condemned by the Senate, -and that Tiberius had only demanded his arrest. -It had been found necessary on a previous occasion -to check the tendency of the Senate to order immediate -executions of persons whom they had condemned, -and Tiberius had passed a decree that an interval of -ten days was always to elapse between condemnation -in capital offences and execution, in order that he -might be communicated with, and have an opportunity -of revising the sentence. The violence with -which the adherents of Sejanus were persecuted -was really a piece of political vengeance; it was -a revival of the old quarrel between the Senatorial -and Equestrian parties. In spite of the favour of -Tiberius the Senatorial party had not gained upon -the Equestrians; in fact, as the business of the -Empire increased, the power of the Equestrians<span class="pagenum" id="Page_415">415</span> -had increased with it. Sejanus was only one of -many capable administrators whose activity and -efficiency was in disagreeable contrast with Senatorial -incapacity; the outbreak in which he lost his life -was neither concerted nor foreseen. An opportunity -occurred for indulging an animosity which had -hitherto found its expression in private diaries and -drawing-room conspiracies. The way of violence -once opened, self-preservation enforced a continuance -in that evil path. After the first blow had -been struck, root and branch work was inevitable. -Sejanus was to leave no avengers behind him.</p> - -<p>Contrasted with this furious punishment of a -political enemy and his adherents is the curious -patience of the Senate at a later date in submitting -to the excesses of a Caligula or a Nero. Only seven -years later Caligula succeeded his great-uncle. He -apparently lost his reason soon after he ascended -the throne; he persecuted the Senate in every -possible way, he confiscated money, he dishonoured -nobly born women, he fined and executed, he even -poured contempt, for he made his horse Consul, and -having sent for the trembling Senators in the middle -of the night, had them conducted to a dark room, -where they were relieved to find that nothing worse -awaited them than the performance of a <i xml:lang="fr" lang="fr">pas seul</i> by -the Emperor. Caligula was eventually assassinated, -but not by the Senate, who punished his murderer; -they had submitted to his caprices for more than -two years. Nero, though sane, was scarcely less -extravagant in his treatment of the leading men -at Rome, but, as has been before observed, both<span class="pagenum" id="Page_416">416</span> -Caligula and Nero are spoken of with less abhorrence -than Tiberius.</p> - -<p>It would seem that the Senators paid rather a -heavy price for their outbreak, and that a reign of -spies and informers actually did set in after the first -disturbances, which followed the fall of Sejanus, -had been quelled. If Tiberius became suspicious, if -he became apprehensive for his personal safety, if he no -longer interfered to stop trivial charges and prevent -unjust confiscations, if the liberty of allusive libel -was cut short, the Senate had given him very good -reason for mistrusting them individually and collectively. -At the same time the aristocratic party were -smarting under a defeat; they had murdered Sejanus -and his posterity, and cut off the greater number -of his friends, but they had not succeeded in changing -the constitution of the Empire, nor had they shaken -the power of the Emperor, who mounted guard over -them with his cohorts of Prætorians at the gates of -Rome. The city itself was more or less under martial -law, for the part which the populace had taken -in hunting down the adherents of Sejanus had been -a vivid reminder of previous disastrous events in -the history of the capital. The very insecurity of -the succession—for Caligula was barely of age, and -not in good health, while the young Tiberius was -little more than a child—impelled the aged Emperor -to keep a tight hand upon the public order, lest -his death, an event probably near at hand, should -involve the State in civil war. Of those members of -the Imperial family who had known Augustus, -Antonia and her son Claudius alone survived; the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_417">417</span> -former had always abstained from interference in -politics, and the latter was considered to be disqualified -from appearance in any public capacity. Nor had -any of the numerous marriages of the daughters and -granddaughters of the immediate successors of -Augustus brought into the world any man of such -striking ability that he seemed worthy to govern.</p> - -<p>A strange destiny pursued Tiberius; he could -not retire, he could not shake off that servitude -which was imposed upon him by the needs of the -Roman people. As he had been compelled to return -from Rhodes and share the burden of Augustus, so -now he was compelled, if not to return from Capreæ, -yet to feel that upon him, and upon him alone, still -rested the responsibility for preserving the peace -of the civilized world.</p> - -<p>Meanwhile the diaries were steadily written up; -every case of apparent persecution was faithfully -recorded. Nor were the obscenities scribbled on -the walls or slily hinted at by the popular actors -omitted from the record, and of such there was a -plentiful supply, for though Tiberius had never -been popular, and though his appearance in the -streets of Rome had terrified rather than pleased, -the commonalty was insulted by his absence. Undisguised -contempt for the applause of the multitude -stirs a bitterer hatred than active oppression, for -so strange are the freaks of vanity that there are -a large number of human beings who are happier -in being harried and driven than in not attracting -notice.</p> - -<hr /> - -<div id="toclink_418" class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_418">418</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="XVIII">XVIII<br /> - -<span class="subhead">The Retirement at Capreæ</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class="drop-cap"><span class="smcap1">The</span> life of a public man at Rome was conducted -on lines which must have rendered the -transaction even of private business a matter of -difficulty, and must have caused serious inconvenience -to one upon whom the burden fell of conducting -the correspondence of the whole Empire. The -Emperor, equally with other men of eminence, was -expected to live largely in public; his day began -with the dawn, when the crowd of private clients -and public courtiers assembled to greet him in the -hall of his house; the procession to the Senate House -or the Forum followed, when the great man was -expected to recognize acquaintances whom he met, -and even to submit to being kissed by them, a practice -which Tiberius had the courage to forbid in his own -case. After the business of the Curia or the Courts -was finished, the same solemn procession restored -the Emperor to his house. A respite was allowed -in the noonday heat; then followed the visits of -friends, and the great meal of the day, which might -be in itself of the nature of a public function, and an -occasion for the informal transaction of business; -after a short period of relaxation the secretaries came,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_419">419</span> -and letters were written till late into the night. On -the numerous occasions on which there was a public -holiday the Emperor was expected to take part in -the shows and processions, and a holiday for others -was a hard day’s work for the chief of the State. -To escape unnecessary inroads upon his time, and to -secure for himself a fair portion of leisure, Tiberius -decided to live away from Rome, where it seemed to -him that his presence was no longer indispensable. -The state of his health also suggested retirement. -In spite of a somewhat strict self-imposed regimen, -Tiberius seems to have suffered from a form of eczema, -which disfigured his countenance, and practically -made it impossible for him to appear in public. The -Romans were particularly sensitive on the subject -of their personal appearance, and the Roman mob -was by no means considerate of the feelings of those -who were afflicted with any deformity. The tall -figure of the Emperor was now bowed with age, -his once handsome face disfigured with blotches -and sores and the unguents used as palliatives of a -malady probably aggravated by the pestilential and -dusty air of the crowded city. Under these untoward -circumstances Tiberius did what any other man -would have done who was suffering as he suffered: -he looked for some spot healthily situated not far -from Rome, close enough to the great lines of communication -to enable him to correspond freely with -all parts of the world, but sufficiently removed from -the beaten track to relieve him of the throng of -unwelcome and importunate visitors. After trying -various country houses in Campania he fixed upon<span class="pagenum" id="Page_420">420</span> -the island of Capreæ as the ideal residence. Those -who have seen the island have no hesitation in commending -the Emperor’s taste.</p> - -<p>Apart from its inaccessibility and the beauty of -its surroundings, Capreæ had this further attraction -for Tiberius, that its elevated rocks afforded ideal -opportunities for the prosecution of his favourite -pursuit, for the Emperor was, as we have seen, an -astronomer. It would be rash to affirm that Tiberius -in his astronomical research was free from the taint -of superstition with which that branch of natural -science was at that time infected, and indeed the -fact that he is said to have built twelve villas on the -island, which he named after the twelve planets, -and inhabited at different periods, suggests that -he was a believer in the influences of the stars, or -possibly had a superstitious faith that places thus -dedicated would be more favourable to his observations -at different seasons of the year. It is, however, -significant of the character of the intellect of Tiberius -that he fastened upon the one branch of science -which even in those days was tolerably exact, for -though the real nature of the movements of the -heavenly bodies was unknown to the ancients, their -observations were accurate so far as they went; -eclipses and occultations could be predicted with a -near approach to accuracy, and though the vulgar -were still terrified by the temporary disappearances -of the sun or moon, to the educated such events -were, though mysterious, part of the orderly laws -by which the universe seemed to be governed.</p> - -<p>Tiberius himself was believed to be an adept in<span class="pagenum" id="Page_421">421</span> -astrology, and stories of his prescience have been -handed down, based not improbably upon really -successful calculations, by which the future movements -of the planets were foretold. One of these -stories is palpably absurd. It is said that Tiberius -predicted the future reign of Galba by quoting -a Greek verse to the effect that he too would -have a share of the Empire, but the story is also -told of Augustus, and under circumstances which -involve no power of prediction, but simply a promise -made by a kindly potentate to an attractive child -in the presence of his parents.</p> - -<p>The companions whom Tiberius took to share his -retirement were such men as a man with literary and -scientific tastes would naturally select; his old friend -and companion Thrasyllus the “mathematician” -was one; there were also professors of literature; -for the purposes of public business a small staff of -Equestrians and freedmen. The few Senators who -were invited to attend were private friends, a fact -which caused displeasure in high circles at Rome, -where it was not understood, or if understood was -resented, that one object of the Emperor’s retirement -was to avoid the distractions of an official court and -the trammels of etiquette.</p> - -<p>We may dismiss once and for all as unfounded, -and indeed absurd, the stories of unmentionable -obscenities and hideous cruelties practised by the -Emperor upon his lonely island. No man after -reaching the age of sixty-eight could suddenly fling -himself into such an orgy of lust as is described by -Suetonius, and then live for nine years, the thing<span class="pagenum" id="Page_422">422</span> -is a physical impossibility. Again, Tiberius, though -always stern, had never been cruel. Instances of -his humanity are not wanting during his residence -at Capreæ; he again gave lavish assistance to the -sufferers from a fire on the Aventine, and was at -considerable pains to relieve the distress of poor -debtors, though the measures which he adopted -were not such as would commend themselves to -rigid political economists.</p> - -<p>Again, as has been observed in an earlier portion -of this narrative, up to the time of the retirement -to Capreæ Tiberius is known to us only as an absolutely -chaste man, as chaste as Agrippina herself. -There is no record, no insinuation even, of the presence -of sensual favourites in his camp or at his Court; -he is not even accused of that politic amorousness -which is ascribed to the sainted Augustus, or of -the warmer amours which invest the life of the -great Julius Cæsar with an atmosphere of romance. -That a man close on seventy should suddenly change -his habits is incredible, unless we are to assume -the existence of a hideous form of senile dementia, -whose victim is to be pitied rather than condemned. -There are such cases, but the patients are most -commonly those who have continuously led impure -lives, not those who have been distinguished by -self-restraint. We may be asked, how then did -such stories originate? It is impossible to track -these falsehoods back to their source; a reason -for one of them may, however, be suggested. Among -the scandals of Capreæ was said to be the presence -of a large number of young people of both sexes who<span class="pagenum" id="Page_423">423</span> -were sacrificed to the Emperor’s lusts; they were -of the noblest blood of Rome, a fact which was -supposed to have constituted their chief attraction. -Now the two grandchildren of Tiberius were quite -young when the Emperor went to Capreæ. Owing -to his position he was guardian to many other such -children, and it would have been entirely in accordance -with Roman practice to educate all these young -children together. We know that the suite which -accompanied the Emperor contained professional -teachers. For the sinister interpretation put upon -the arrangement we have only to recall the ineffable -prurience of the Italian imagination in ancient -times. There are works of art, there are fragments -of literature, there are household ornaments dating -from this period, and earlier periods and later periods, -which are simply indescribable in modern language. -The mystery of the Emperor’s seclusion was in itself -enough to set the foul tongues wagging and to stimulate -the impure inventiveness of the brothel-keepers -in the capital; and there were men of rank, and -possibly women, only too glad to note down in their -diaries evidence collected from the mouths of slaves -and other dependents. Similarly with the stories -of cruelty. The disturbed condition of political life -after the fall of Sejanus created an atmosphere of -terror. Tiberius had always been dreaded, and -the sensation-mongers could find ready credence -for tales of atrocities, for which there was no such -obvious contradiction as would have existed had -Tiberius been spending his days in the full sight -of his countrymen. These tales were believed because<span class="pagenum" id="Page_424">424</span> -everybody wished to believe them, and because there -was no evidence to the contrary. Because nothing -was seen, anything was imagined.</p> - -<p>Similarly in the sensational narrative of judicial -murders and vexatious prosecutions with which -Tacitus adorns his account of the last seven years -of Tiberius, the record is so imperfect, the animus -is so clear, that we may excusably suspend our judgment. -In none of these cases are we given the full -evidence against the prisoner; in all everything is -told us that can be urged against the judge. It -was further the practice of the historians of the time -to attribute to Tiberius himself acts which were -done by his agents even when he had certainly not -ordered the act in question. Suetonius, for instance, -states that Tiberius knocked out the eye of the obstreperous -Agrippina—he has the grace to add “by -the agency of a centurion,” but the story is told in -such a way that the odium rests upon the Emperor, -and not upon the participants in an undignified -scuffle. Similarly there is a ghastly tale of the -death of Drusus, the son of Agrippina, by starvation, -a process which is said to have lasted for two or -three years, during which every word uttered by -the prisoner, every groan, was faithfully reported -to Tiberius; it is even represented that the miserable -man in the extremity of his anguish devoured his -cushions. That an official report was forwarded -to Tiberius at regular intervals of the conduct of -this prisoner of State is what we should naturally -expect, nor is it impossible that an overzealous gaoler -abounded in details, nor again is it impossible that<span class="pagenum" id="Page_425">425</span> -Agrippina the younger, the sister of the prisoner, -left an exceedingly harrowing, though improbable, -story in her memoirs.</p> - -<p>It is worthy of note that the elder Agrippina and -her son Nero were not recalled from their respective -islands after the fall of Sejanus. Seclusion in an -island did not of itself involve any serious degree of -suffering, and we have mention of occasions on -which Tiberius selected for his exiles islands which -were healthy or otherwise attractive. The exiles -were, in fact, simply removed to places from which -they could no longer disturb the public peace. Though -it had transpired that Agrippina and Nero were -to some extent the victims of Drusus and Sejanus, -they had shown themselves inclined to be dangerous, -and the situation with regard to the succession was -now such as to demand exceptional precautions. -In his dealings with Agrippina, Tiberius surprises -us by his forbearance rather than by his -severity.</p> - -<p>As we do not know the exact nature of the conspiracy -of Sejanus, so we do not know the exact -degree of guilt of the younger Drusus. Since he -was treated with exceptional rigour we may surmise -that he was implicated in a plot to depose the Emperor -and enter at once upon the coveted succession. After -his death Tiberius wrote a letter to the Senate giving -a full account of his misdemeanours, an act which -is represented to have been scandalous, but was -probably necessary. It must be remembered that -Sejanus was disgraced because of his practices against -Agrippina and Nero; he was immediately killed<span class="pagenum" id="Page_426">426</span> -by the Senate. After his death a deeper plot, and -indeed a series of plots, was revealed.</p> - -<p>An attempt was made to implicate Caligula in -the guilt of these dark transactions, but unsuccessfully. -It was on this occasion that Tiberius wrote -that despairing cry to the Senate in which Tacitus -savagely triumphs—“If I know what I am to write -to you, Conscript Fathers, or how I am to write to -you, or what indeed I should not write to you at -such a time, may the gods and goddesses drag me -even into greater depths than those into which I -feel that I am sinking day by day.”</p> - -<p>In spite of the perplexities that assailed him, Tiberius -did not relax his hold upon Greater Rome. Encouraged -by rumours of the Emperor’s failure, the -Parthians began to intrigue to reverse the order -established on the Eastern frontier of the Empire, -but they quickly learned that Tiberius, though -aged and beaten upon, had not forgotten his diplomacy -and still knew where to find, and how to choose, an -able officer who could effectually quell any attempt -to trifle with the dignity of the Roman name. The -general appointed to settle affairs in the East was -Lucius Vitellius, whose son was one day to enjoy a -short and very inglorious career as Roman Emperor.</p> - -<p>During the last three years of the Emperor’s life -Caligula rapidly advanced in his favour. He was -formally adopted, and was continually named as -the Emperor’s heir along with the young Tiberius. -The adviser and friend of Caligula at this time -was the Jewish prince Agrippa, the half-brother of -Herodias, the incestuous wife of Herod Antipas,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_427">427</span> -and grandson of Herod the Great. The election -of Caligula as successor to Tiberius is a somewhat -puzzling circumstance. Tacitus says that he always -showed signs of insanity, but at the same time credits -him with great astuteness in winning the old man’s -favour. It is more probable, from other accounts, -that the madness of Caligula was the result of an -illness to which he fell a victim almost immediately -after his succession, for that he was technically mad -is undeniable. We have a curious picture of him -from the pen of Philo the Jew, who arrived from -Alexandria with a deputation of Jews to protest -against being required to worship Caligula exclusively -as a god. The envoys found Caligula superintending -the building of one of his palaces at Baiæ. They -were introduced to the half-finished edifice, where -the Emperor was hurrying from one room to another, -feverishly running up and down stairs. He suddenly -observed his visitors, and remarking, “So you are -those atheists,” vanished; presently he reappeared, -and after saying “Why don’t you eat pork?” finally -disappeared. It is not likely that Tiberius would -have entrusted the fate of the civilized world to a -man whose intellect was so obviously disturbed. If, -however, we ask who had an interest in the succession -of Caligula, the answer is, Agrippa, who, according -to Josephus, had found men to finance him in order -that he might push his fortunes at Rome. In this -he had been somewhat imprudent, and an impatient -remark he made to Caligula was reported to Tiberius, -who put him under guard for the rest of his reign; -on the death of Tiberius he exchanged captivity for<span class="pagenum" id="Page_428">428</span> -the throne of Herod the Great. There is a story -that Tiberius, being in doubt as to whether he should -nominate his own grandson, the younger Tiberius, -or his adopted son Caligula, consulted his diviners, -who told him to appoint the one of the two children -who should first enter the room after both had been -summoned; the Emperor fell in with the suggestion, -and the parties interested then contrived that Caligula -should be the first to arrive.</p> - -<p>The historians do not allow Tiberius even to die in -peace. We are told that when he became aware that -his health was failing, he was nervously anxious -to conceal the fact; he left Capreæ and took up his -quarters in the villa of Lucullus on the mainland -opposite the island. Having discovered that his -physician had surreptitiously felt his pulse, he ordered -a better dinner than usual, and ostentatiously enjoyed -himself, but the effort was too much for him; he -fainted, and a report was immediately spread through -the household that he was dead. Caligula was -receiving the congratulations of all, and was proceeding -to act as Emperor, when there was a rumour -that the old man had recovered. At the suggestion of -Macro, orders were at once given to smother him -beneath a pile of mattresses. The story is finely -sensational, but it is to be hoped that it is not true.</p> - -<p>Whatever was the exact nature of his end, Tiberius -died in the seventy-eighth year of his life, and the -twenty-third of his reign, having lived through such -vicissitudes of fortune, and such a continuity of hard -work, as have rarely fallen to the lot of any human -being; but far stranger than the events of his life<span class="pagenum" id="Page_429">429</span> -is the horrible reputation that has attached to the -memory of the man who held that in all things -princes were bound to consider their good name.</p> - -<p>Even if we accept the sensational stories which -have accumulated round the retirement at Capreæ, -we have still to recognize a life of sixty-eight years -unstained by vice or crime, and chiefly spent in the -laborious execution of the highest public duties. -As a general, as a statesman, Tiberius stands, if not -in the first rank, then at the very top of the second, -and he deserves this additional credit, that public -life was distasteful to him, power had no attraction -for him, and had he been at liberty to choose for -himself he would have lived in seclusion, a student -of literature and natural science. We see in him, -in fact, the best type of Roman, the best example -of that peculiar character by which Rome rose to -be mistress of the world. It was not the cleverness -of the Romans, nor their military skill, that gave -them the mastery, the Greeks were far cleverer, -and Hannibal was greater than any Roman general, -it was their strong sense of public duty, their passion -for legality, their love of order, their tenacity in -prosecuting large schemes, their self-restraint, their -honour, which enabled them to succeed where Greek -and Phœnician had failed before them, and where -Gaul and Teuton were to fail after them. All these -qualities are strongly represented in Tiberius; he -is the ideal Roman Senator, the realization of those -legendary types which formed the imagination of -Roman children. It is not Cicero, the fluent orator, -the versatile man of letters and agreeable gentleman,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_430">430</span> -who represents the true Roman, nor Cato the bigot, -nor Cæsar the man of genius: it is the dogged, -dutiful, and just Tiberius, not over enthusiastic, -not brilliant, devoid of personal fascination, awful -rather than amiable, but wise enough and temperate -enough and strong enough to do the work which -was set before him.</p> - -<p>Why then this perpetual stream of calumny, -which has filtered down practically unchecked for -nearly two thousand years? The immediate causes -have been demonstrated in the foregoing pages; -the subsequent causes Tiberius shares with the Roman -Empire, of which he was in some sense an incarnation. -It has been the custom of some Christian writers -since the period of the Reformation to oppose Christianity -to the Roman Empire; there is no trace of -any such opposition in the earliest Christian writings. -Neither the Gospels nor the Acts of the Apostles, -nor the letters of St. Paul, nor those ascribed to the -friends and contemporaries of Jesus of Nazareth, -nor even the writings of the early Fathers, show the -faintest indication of dissatisfaction with the Empire -as such. The evidence, in fact, is in the contrary -direction. But the later expounders of Christianity -required a contrast, and it was an easy feat of rhetoric -to collect all that is discreditable from the mass of -Roman records and to compare it disadvantageously -with the pure teaching of the Gospel. Tiberius -himself had in this aspect the misfortune to be the -contemporary of the founder of Christianity, and in -the idle tales of Suetonius and the studied malignity -of Tacitus an opportunity was found for starting<span class="pagenum" id="Page_431">431</span> -the contrast from the very commencement. This -particular antithesis is so convenient that the wickedness -of Tiberius has almost assumed the dignity of an -“articulus fidei,” and to dispute it is to tread the -perilous path of the heresiarch.</p> - -<p>Let us hope that the prescience of Tiberius as he -watched the sun setting over the Mediterranean -from the cliffs of Capreæ did not enable him to -contemplate the long roll of centuries during which -his name would be held in execration by the posterity -of those for whom he had laboured, and on continents -far beyond his ken, or to anticipate that savage howl -of “Tiberius to the Tiber” with which the graceless -populace of Rome greeted his funeral, or the still -more cruel repetition of its echo from one generation -to another.</p> - -<hr /> - -<div id="famtree" class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_432">432</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="The_Imperial_Family">The Imperial Family.</h2> - -<p>There are five chief lines of <span class="locked">descent—</span></p> - -<div class="blockquot hang"> - -<p>From <span class="smcap">Caius Julius Cæsar</span> through his great-nephew and -adopted son Octavianus, known after <span class="allsmcap">B.C.</span> 27 as Augustus.</p> - -<p>From <span class="smcap">Caius Julius Cæsar</span> through his great-niece Octavia, -sister to Augustus.</p> - -<p>From <span class="smcap">Marcus Antonius</span> through his children by his second -wife, Octavia.</p> - -<p>From <span class="smcap">Tiberius Claudius Nero</span> through his two sons by Livia, -the second wife of Augustus.</p> - -<p>From <span class="smcap">Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa</span> through his children by -Julia I, the daughter of Augustus.</p> -</div> - -<p class="p2 center larger">CAIUS JULIUS CÆSAR OCTAVIANUS AUGUSTUS</p> - -<p class="center">married</p> - -<div class="blockquot hang"> - -<p class="hang1">I. A daughter of Marcus Antonius and Fulvia, whom he -almost immediately repudiated.</p> - -<p class="hang2">II. Scribonia, related by marriage to the family of Pompeius, -issue one daughter, Julia I.</p> - -<p>III. Livia, no issue; but by her previous husband, Tiberius -Claudius Nero, Livia had two sons, Tiberius and -Drusus I.</p> -</div> - -<p class="p2 center larger">OCTAVIA</p> - -<p class="center">married</p> - -<div class="blockquot hang"> - -<p>I. <span class="smcap">Marcus Marcellus</span> I, issue Marcus Marcellus II, and two -daughters, Marcella I, Marcella II.</p> - -<div class="blockquot hang"> - -<p>Marcus Marcellus II married Julia I, and died without -issue, “tu Marcellus eris.”</p> - -<p>Marcella I married first Agrippa, no issue, and then<span class="pagenum" id="Page_433">433</span> -Julius Antonius, son of Marcus Antonius, by -his first wife, Fulvia.</p> - -<p>Marcella II, her marriage is not mentioned.</p> -</div> - -<p>II. <span class="smcap">Marcus Antonius</span>, issue two daughters, Antonia I, -Antonia II.</p> - -<div class="blockquot hang"> - -<p>Antonia I married L. Domitius Abenobarbus, and -thus became one of the grandmothers of the -Emperor Nero.</p> - -<p>Antonia II married Drusus I, issue Germanicus, -Claudius, who succeeded Caligula as Emperor, -Livilla. Germanicus married Agrippina I, -Claudius eventually married Agrippina II. -Livilla married Drusus II, the son of Tiberius.</p> -</div> -</div> - -<p class="p2 center larger">MARCUS ANTONIUS</p> - -<p>His blood ran in the family through his two daughters, Antonia -I and Antonia II; his sons by his first wife, Fulvia, did not -marry into the Julian or Claudian families; one of them was -put to death as a paramour of Julia I.</p> - -<p class="p2 center larger">TIBERIUS CLAUDIUS NERO</p> - -<p class="center">married Livia, issue two sons, Tiberius the Emperor -and Drusus I.</p> - -<div class="blockquot hang"> - -<p>Tiberius married first Vipsania, daughter of Agrippa by his first -wife, Pomponia, who was daughter of Pomponius Atticus, -the banker, and friend of Cicero, issue one son, Drusus II, -married Livilla, issue one son, Tiberius, murdered by -Caligula.</p> - -<div class="blockquot hang in1"> - -<p>Secondly, Julia I, daughter of Augustus, no issue.</p> -</div> - -<p>Drusus I married Antonia II, issue Germanicus, Claudius, Livilla. -Germanicus married Agrippina I, daughter of Julia I, granddaughter -of Augustus and M. Vipsanius Agrippa; issue -Nero I, Drusus III, Caius (Caligula) Agrippina II, Drusilla, -Julia Livilla who married M. Vinicius, the friend of Paterculus.</p> - -<p>These are the six children whose claims to represent the true<span class="pagenum" id="Page_434">434</span> -Julian stock were so vehemently asserted by their mother, -Agrippina I. They derived their Julian blood from Octavia, -through their grandmother Antonia II, on the father’s side, -and from Augustus through their grandmother, Julia I, on -the mother’s side.</p> -</div> - -<p class="p2 center larger">MARCUS VIPSANIUS AGRIPPA</p> - -<p class="center">married</p> - -<div class="blockquot hang"> - -<p class="hang1">I. Pomponia, issue Vipsania the first wife of Tiberius, she -was thus the mother of Drusus II; after her divorce -from Tiberius she married Caius Asinius Gallus.</p> - -<p class="hang2">II. Marcella I, sister to “tu Marcellus eris,” daughter of -Octavia by her first husband, no issue; after her -divorce she married Julius Antonius.</p> - -<p>III. Julia I, daughter of Augustus, and his only child; issue -Caius Cæsar, Lucius Cæsar, Julia II, Agrippina I, -Agrippa Postumus; on the death of Agrippa, -Julia I married Tiberius, she was afterwards divorced -and banished on account of misconduct, which appears -to have been political, at least as much as it -was adulterous.</p> - -<div class="blockquot hang in1"> - -<p>Caius Cæsar died without issue.</p> - -<p>Lucius Cæsar died without issue.<br /> -(After being regarded as the probable -heirs of Augustus.)</p> - -<p>Julia II married an Æmilius Paullus, but was -banished like her mother for similar reasons.</p> - -<p>Agrippina I married Germanicus.</p> - -<p>Agrippa Postumus, the intractable, was banished -by Augustus, and put out of the way at the -accession of Tiberius; by whose orders is -not definitely certain.</p> -</div> -</div> - -<p>Through Agrippina the obscure Agrippa was the grandfather of -one Emperor, Caligula, and the great grandfather of another, -Nero.</p> -</div> - -<hr /> - -<div class="chapter index"> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_435">435</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="INDEX">INDEX</h2> - -<ul class="nobreak index"> -<li class="ifrst">A</li> - -<li class="indx">Achaia demands to be transferred to Imperial provinces, <a href="#Page_313">313</a>, <a href="#Page_336">336</a>, <a href="#Page_357">357</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Actium, battle of, <a href="#Page_107">107</a>, <a href="#Page_122">122</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Actors in Rome, <a href="#Page_359">359</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Banished, <a href="#Page_361">361</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Ædiles and sumptuary laws, <a href="#Page_362">362</a>, <a href="#Page_366">366</a>, <a href="#Page_367">367</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Africa a Senatorial province, <a href="#Page_357">357</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Agrippa:</li> -<li class="isub1">As general, <a href="#Page_217">217</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Campaign in Illyria, <a href="#Page_225">225</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Death, <a href="#Page_173">173</a></li> -<li class="isub1">In Octavian’s household, <a href="#Page_145">145</a>, <a href="#Page_168">168</a>, <a href="#Page_169">169</a>, <a href="#Page_172">172</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Minister for war, <a href="#Page_153">153</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Sketch of career, <a href="#Page_116">116</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Agrippa, Fonteius, <a href="#Page_326">326</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Agrippa, grandson of Herod, friend of Caligula, <a href="#Page_426">426</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Agrippa Postumus, <a href="#Page_249">249</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Banished, <a href="#Page_249">249</a>, <a href="#Page_256">256</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Put to death, <a href="#Page_257">257</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Agrippina the younger, Memoirs, <a href="#Page_266">266</a>, <a href="#Page_292">292</a>, <a href="#Page_329">329</a>, <a href="#Page_333">333</a>, <a href="#Page_398">398</a>, <a href="#Page_402">402</a>, <a href="#Page_425">425</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Agrippina, wife of Germanicus, <a href="#Page_211">211</a>, <a href="#Page_249">249</a>, <a href="#Page_269">269</a>, <a href="#Page_332">332</a>, <a href="#Page_338">338</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Conduct after her husband’s death, <a href="#Page_341">341</a>, <a href="#Page_343">343</a>, <a href="#Page_345">345</a>, <a href="#Page_350">350</a>, <a href="#Page_400">400</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Banished, <a href="#Page_409">409</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Character, <a href="#Page_288">288</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Recalled, <a href="#Page_425">425</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Starts for Trêves, <a href="#Page_284">284</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Alexander:</li> -<li class="isub1">Combines city state with Imperial organization, <a href="#Page_7">7</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Effects of his conquests, <a href="#Page_5">5</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Fragments of empire, <a href="#Page_7">7</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Policy, <a href="#Page_8">8</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Alexandria:</li> -<li class="isub1">Antonius’ triumph at, <a href="#Page_121">121</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Insurrection in, <a href="#Page_87">87</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Jews in, <a href="#Page_372">372</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Aliso, Drusus fortifies camp at, <a href="#Page_226">226</a>, <a href="#Page_239">239</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Alpine tribes defeated, <a href="#Page_225">225</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Antonia, wife of Drusus, <a href="#Page_152">152</a>, <a href="#Page_172">172</a>, <a href="#Page_176">176</a>, <a href="#Page_198">198</a>, <a href="#Page_335">335</a></li> -<li class="isub1">In charge of Caligula and his sisters, <a href="#Page_410">410</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Antonian family, <a href="#Page_168">168</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Antonius, Julius, commits suicide, <a href="#Page_190">190</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Antonius, Lucius:</li> -<li class="isub1">At Præneste, <a href="#Page_88">88</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Character, <a href="#Page_99">99</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Joins Constitutional party, <a href="#Page_98">98</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Perusine war, <a href="#Page_58">58</a></li> - -<li class="indx"><a id="Antonius_Marcus"></a>Antonius, Marcus:</li> -<li class="isub1">Alliance with Cleopatra, <a href="#Page_120">120</a></li> -<li class="isub1">At Mutina, <a href="#Page_97">97</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Character, <a href="#Page_119">119</a>, <a href="#Page_126">126</a></li> -<li class="isub1"><span class="pagenum" id="Page_436">436</span>Conduct after Cæsar’s death, <a href="#Page_93">93</a>, <a href="#Page_111">111</a>, <a href="#Page_142">142</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Expeditions against Parthians, <a href="#Page_155">155</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Extravagance, <a href="#Page_58">58</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Goes to East, <a href="#Page_98">98</a>, <a href="#Page_115">115</a>, <a href="#Page_120">120</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Power wielded by, <a href="#Page_215">215</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Share of empire, <a href="#Page_118">118</a>,119</li> -<li class="isub1">Snatch at supreme power, <a href="#Page_301">301</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Tyrant of conventional type, <a href="#Page_8">8</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Antony (<i>see</i> <a href="#Antonius_Marcus">Antonius Marcus</a>)</li> - -<li class="indx">Apicata, wife of Sejanus, <a href="#Page_400">400</a>, <a href="#Page_413">413</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Apicius the Epicure, <a href="#Page_385">385</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Apion the Greek, nickname, <a href="#Page_373">373</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Apollonia, Octavian at, <a href="#Page_94">94</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Appian Aqueduct, <a href="#Page_85">85</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Appian Way, <a href="#Page_85">85</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Apuleius:</li> -<li class="isub1">Accused of magic, <a href="#Page_194">194</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Object of travels, <a href="#Page_132">132</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Aretas of Arabia, <a href="#Page_154">154</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Ariovistus, advance of, <a href="#Page_89">89</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Aristogiton, principles of, <a href="#Page_8">8</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Armenia:</li> -<li class="isub1">Dynastic troubles in, <a href="#Page_336">336</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Rulers of, <a href="#Page_154">154</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Arminius adopts Roman military system, <a href="#Page_220">220</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Rising of, <a href="#Page_239">239</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Arpinum, privileges of Roman citizenship, <a href="#Page_37">37</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Arruntius, L., suicide, <a href="#Page_262">262</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Asia Minor:</li> -<li class="isub1">Commercial cities of, <a href="#Page_98">98</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Roman citizens massacred in, <a href="#Page_13">13</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Asprenas, Lucius, decision of, <a href="#Page_239">239</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Astronomy and astrology, <a href="#Page_193">193</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Atellan farce, <a href="#Page_361">361</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Athenian Constitution and Rome, <a href="#Page_56">56</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Athens:</li> -<li class="isub1">As place of residence, <a href="#Page_192">192</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Constitution provided by Cleisthenes, <a href="#Page_16">16</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Politics of, <a href="#Page_8">8</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Atticus, Pomponius, <a href="#Page_169">169</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Augsburg, Roman military colony at, <a href="#Page_235">235</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Augur, functions of, <a href="#Page_48">48</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Augustus (<i>see</i> <a href="#Octavian">Octavian</a>)</li> - -<li class="indx">Augustales, <a href="#Page_135">135</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">B</li> - -<li class="indx">Bacchus, worship of, <a href="#Page_368">368</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Bassus, Ventidius, <a href="#Page_155">155</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Career, <a href="#Page_273">273</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Bato, Pannonian chief, <a href="#Page_238">238</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Bithynia, a Senatorial province, <a href="#Page_308">308</a>, <a href="#Page_336">336</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Blæsus, Junius, <a href="#Page_391">391</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Arrests ringleaders of mutiny, <a href="#Page_277">277</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Brundisium, Octavian lands at, <a href="#Page_94">94</a>, <a href="#Page_96">96</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Brutus, Decimus, besieged at Mutina, <a href="#Page_97">97</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Brutus’ suicide, difference between Cato’s and, <a href="#Page_55">55</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Bull fights, <a href="#Page_74">74</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">C</li> - -<li class="indx">Cæcina, Aulus, commander of Lower Army on Rhine, <a href="#Page_281">281</a>, <a href="#Page_285">285</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Cæpio, conspiracy of, <a href="#Page_246">246</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Cæsar, Agrippa, <a href="#Page_200">200</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Cæsar, Caius, <a href="#Page_172">172</a>, <a href="#Page_174">174</a>, <a href="#Page_198">198</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Attitude towards Tiberius, <a href="#Page_207">207</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Death, <a href="#Page_209">209</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Training, <a href="#Page_200">200</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Cæsar, Julius:</li> -<li class="isub1"><span class="pagenum" id="Page_437">437</span>Adopts Octavian, <a href="#Page_94">94</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Assassination, <a href="#Page_91">91</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Attitude towards Senate, <a href="#Page_45">45</a>, <a href="#Page_55">55</a>, <a href="#Page_90">90</a>, <a href="#Page_127">127</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Duration of absolute power, <a href="#Page_108">108</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Party supporting, <a href="#Page_58">58</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Portrait in British Museum, <a href="#Page_141">141</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Power wielded by, <a href="#Page_215">215</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Reliance on army, <a href="#Page_123">123</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Sketch of career, <a href="#Page_88">88</a> <i>seqq.</i></li> -<li class="isub1">State of empire after his death, <a href="#Page_106">106</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Cæsar, Lucius, <a href="#Page_172">172</a>, <a href="#Page_198">198</a>, <a href="#Page_208">208</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Death, <a href="#Page_209">209</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Training, <a href="#Page_200">200</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Cæsars and Equestrian Order, <a href="#Page_22">22</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Caligula (Caius), <a href="#Page_249">249</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Adopted by Tiberius, <a href="#Page_426">426</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Ashamed of his descent, <a href="#Page_387">387</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Burns private notes of Tiberius, <a href="#Page_211">211</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Extravagancies only felt in Rome, <a href="#Page_384">384</a>, <a href="#Page_415">415</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Jealous of other divinities, <a href="#Page_135">135</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Meaning of nickname, <a href="#Page_250">250</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Pet of soldiers, <a href="#Page_285">285</a>, <a href="#Page_287">287</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Calpurnia, wife of Julius Cæsar, <a href="#Page_337">337</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Cappadocia, an Imperial province, <a href="#Page_336">336</a>, <a href="#Page_357">357</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Capreæ, Tiberius in, <a href="#Page_396">396</a>, <a href="#Page_420">420</a> <i>seqq.</i></li> - -<li class="indx">Capua, territory confiscated by Rome, <a href="#Page_99">99</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Carthage:</li> -<li class="isub1">Destruction of, <a href="#Page_10">10</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Her dominion in Mediterranean, <a href="#Page_6">6</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Cassius plunders cities of Asia Minor, <a href="#Page_98">98</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Cato’s suicide:</li> -<li class="isub1">Attitude of contemporaries towards, <a href="#Page_52">52</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Difference between suicide of Brutus and, <a href="#Page_55">55</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Catullus, native of Cis-Alpine Gaul, <a href="#Page_119">119</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Catus, Firmius, <a href="#Page_324">324</a>, <a href="#Page_326">326</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Celer, Propertius, desires to retire from Senatorial Order, <a href="#Page_311">311</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Celsus, Horace’s letter to, <a href="#Page_157">157</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Censor:</li> -<li class="isub1">Enrolled members of Equestrian Order, <a href="#Page_16">16</a>, <a href="#Page_18">18</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Power of, <a href="#Page_50">50</a>, <a href="#Page_255">255</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Revised list of Senate, <a href="#Page_43">43</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Censorinus, death of, <a href="#Page_208">208</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Chærea, Cassius, centurion, <a href="#Page_282">282</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Chaldæans expelled from Italy, <a href="#Page_369">369</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Cicero:</li> -<li class="isub1">As governor of frontier province, <a href="#Page_15">15</a></li> -<li class="isub1">As politician, <a href="#Page_9">9</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Conception of early empire, <a href="#Page_88">88</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Conducts case against Verres, <a href="#Page_19">19</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Example of advocate, <a href="#Page_321">321</a></li> -<li class="isub1">In Rome after Cæsar’s death, <a href="#Page_93">93</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Judgment of reformers, <a href="#Page_56">56</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Native of Arpinum, <a href="#Page_37">37</a></li> -<li class="isub1">On “the Roman people,” <a href="#Page_11">11</a>, <a href="#Page_34">34</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Picture of slavery, <a href="#Page_69">69</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Second Philippic, <a href="#Page_114">114</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Treatment of Tiro, <a href="#Page_77">77</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Wishes to remodel Rome on Athenian Constitution, <a href="#Page_55">55</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Cimbrians, invasion of, <a href="#Page_6">6</a>, <a href="#Page_13">13</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Cinna:</li> -<li class="isub1">Forces reforms on Senate, <a href="#Page_56">56</a></li> -<li class="isub1"><span class="pagenum" id="Page_438">438</span>Proscribed, <a href="#Page_57">57</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Claudia Pulchra, accusation against, <a href="#Page_401">401</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Claudian family, <a href="#Page_168">168</a>, <a href="#Page_250">250</a>, <a href="#Page_407">407</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Associations with, <a href="#Page_3">3</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Connexion with Rome, <a href="#Page_85">85</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Claudian Marcellan family, <a href="#Page_168">168</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Claudius, Appius, Censor, <span class="allsmcap">B.C.</span> 312, <a href="#Page_85">85</a>, <a href="#Page_86">86</a>, <a href="#Page_190">190</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Claudius, Emperor:</li> -<li class="isub1">Portrait, <a href="#Page_141">141</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Sketch of, <a href="#Page_148">148</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Claudius Nero defeats Hasdrubal, <a href="#Page_86">86</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Claudius Pulcher, <a href="#Page_86">86</a>, <a href="#Page_127">127</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Cleisthenes provides constitution for Athens, <a href="#Page_16">16</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Cleopatra, alliance with Antony, <a href="#Page_120">120</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Cleopatra and Antony: amusements at Alexandria, <a href="#Page_177">177</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Cologne, mutineers at, <a href="#Page_284">284</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Comitia Centuriata, <a href="#Page_11">11</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Comitia Tributa and rabble, <a href="#Page_11">11</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Consuls, election of, <a href="#Page_319">319</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Corinth, mercantile importance, <a href="#Page_192">192</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Corsica, territorial province, <a href="#Page_23">23</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Cotys, King of Thrace, <a href="#Page_394">394</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Crispinus, Cæpio, charge against G. Marcellus, <a href="#Page_307">307</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Crispinus, Quintius, <a href="#Page_190">190</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Crispus, C. Sallustius, advice to Tiberius, <a href="#Page_257">257</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Cromwell, Oliver:</li> -<li class="isub1">Claims special providence, <a href="#Page_136">136</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Forced to rely on military organization, <a href="#Page_123">123</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Curia, attitude towards monarchy, <a href="#Page_3">3</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">D</li> - -<li class="indx">Dalmatians, <a href="#Page_219">219</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Speak Latin, <a href="#Page_220">220</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Dangerous tracks, injuries to workers in, <a href="#Page_62">62</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Dictatorship an absolute monarchy, <a href="#Page_54">54</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Dio on Drusus’ death, <a href="#Page_388">388</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Dionysius on relations of patron and client, <a href="#Page_30">30</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Dolabella, son-in-law of Cicero, <a href="#Page_97">97</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Plunders cities of Asia Minor, <a href="#Page_98">98</a>, <a href="#Page_120">120</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Domitian, extravagancies only felt in Rome, <a href="#Page_384">384</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Drusus Livius, father of Livia and grandfather of Tiberius, <a href="#Page_53">53</a>, <a href="#Page_58">58</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Forces reforms on Senate, <a href="#Page_56">56</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Political programme, <a href="#Page_36">36</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Drusus, Nero Claudius, brother of Tiberius, <a href="#Page_150">150</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Death, <a href="#Page_183">183</a>, <a href="#Page_227">227</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Marries Antonia, <a href="#Page_172">172</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Prefect of city, <a href="#Page_402">402</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Victory in Alps, <a href="#Page_225">225</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Drusus, son of Agrippina, <a href="#Page_424">424</a>, <a href="#Page_425">425</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Drusus, son of Tiberius:</li> -<li class="isub1">Character, <a href="#Page_332">332</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Death, <a href="#Page_353">353</a>, <a href="#Page_388">388</a>, <a href="#Page_400">400</a>, <a href="#Page_407">407</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Funeral, <a href="#Page_390">390</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Introduced to public life, <a href="#Page_209">209</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Marries sister of Germanicus, <a href="#Page_250">250</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Presides at gladiatorial shows, <a href="#Page_313">313</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Reception of Piso, <a href="#Page_343">343</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Remedies grievances of mutineers, <a href="#Page_278">278</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Succeeds Germanicus, <a href="#Page_287">287</a>, <a href="#Page_332">332</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">E</li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="pagenum" id="Page_439">439</span>Eastern Mediterranean, first period of conquest in, <a href="#Page_10">10</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Egypt as granary for Rome, <a href="#Page_368">368</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Electors and free government, <a href="#Page_31">31</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Elymas the sorcerer, <a href="#Page_195">195</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Emperor an institution at death of Tiberius, <a href="#Page_3">3</a></li> - -<li class="indx">England:</li> -<li class="isub1">Caricatures in papers, <a href="#Page_359">359</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Expansion of, <a href="#Page_34">34</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Rules of party government, <a href="#Page_302">302</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Significance of Roman walls in, <a href="#Page_221">221</a></li> - -<li class="indx">English army, policy of recruiting for, <a href="#Page_228">228</a>, <a href="#Page_275">275</a>, <a href="#Page_276">276</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Englishman, attitude towards law, <a href="#Page_9">9</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Englishmen, political careers open to, <a href="#Page_17">17</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Ephesus, flourishing state of, <a href="#Page_192">192</a></li> - -<li class="indx"><a id="Equestrian_Order"></a>Equestrian Order:</li> -<li class="isub1">Admission to, <a href="#Page_18">18</a>, <a href="#Page_73">73</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Growth of, <a href="#Page_14">14</a> <i>seqq.</i></li> -<li class="isub1">Origin of, <a href="#Page_16">16</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Ranged against Senate, <a href="#Page_19">19</a>, <a href="#Page_20">20</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Represents civil administration and financiers, <a href="#Page_51">51</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Represents party of empire, <a href="#Page_21">21</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Slaves rising through, <a href="#Page_70">70</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Essenians, <a href="#Page_373">373</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">F</li> - -<li class="indx">Falanius, accusations against, <a href="#Page_306">306</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Felix, Procurator of Judæa, a freed man, <a href="#Page_70">70</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Fimbria forces reforms on Senate, <a href="#Page_56">56</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Flaccus, M. Verrius, taught Augustus’ grandchildren, <a href="#Page_72">72</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Flamen Dialis, <a href="#Page_375">375</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Florus, Julius:</li> -<li class="isub1">Accompanies Tiberius to Armenia, <a href="#Page_156">156</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Horace’s letter to, <a href="#Page_156">156</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Social rank, <a href="#Page_91">91</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Fulvia, wife of Marcus Antonius, <a href="#Page_98">98</a>, <a href="#Page_114">114</a></li> -<li class="isub1">At Præneste, <a href="#Page_88">88</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Character, <a href="#Page_99">99</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">G</li> - -<li class="indx">Gallic chieftains in communication with Rome, <a href="#Page_219">219</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Gallus, C. Asinius, husband of Vipsania, <a href="#Page_181">181</a>, <a href="#Page_262">262</a>, <a href="#Page_390">390</a>, <a href="#Page_414">414</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Gallus, Cornelius, Transalpine Gaul, <a href="#Page_91">91</a>, <a href="#Page_119">119</a>, <a href="#Page_152">152</a>, <a href="#Page_248">248</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Gallus, Licinus, <a href="#Page_248">248</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Gaul:</li> -<li class="isub1">Cæsar’s conquest of, <a href="#Page_89">89</a>, <a href="#Page_96">96</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Position in empire, <a href="#Page_119">119</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Gauls, invasions of, <a href="#Page_6">6</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Generals of Augustan age, <a href="#Page_217">217</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Germanic tribes:</li> -<li class="isub1">Civilization of, <a href="#Page_219">219</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Defeat M. Lollius, <a href="#Page_224">224</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Germanicus:</li> -<li class="isub1">Character, <a href="#Page_332">332</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Conducts census of Gaul, <a href="#Page_281">281</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Death, <a href="#Page_331">331</a>, <a href="#Page_341">341</a>, <a href="#Page_342">342</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Destined successor to Tiberius, <a href="#Page_331">331</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Endeavours to quell mutiny, <a href="#Page_282">282</a>, <a href="#Page_284">284</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Finishes Pannonian war, <a href="#Page_238">238</a>, <a href="#Page_250">250</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Loyalty of, <a href="#Page_259">259</a>, <a href="#Page_290">290</a></li> -<li class="isub1"><span class="pagenum" id="Page_440">440</span>Marries Agrippina, <a href="#Page_173">173</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Proconsul of eastern frontier, <a href="#Page_287">287</a>, <a href="#Page_336">336</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Proconsul of Gaul, <a href="#Page_269">269</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Recalled, <a href="#Page_289">289</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Relations with Piso, <a href="#Page_339">339</a>, <a href="#Page_349">349</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Tour in Egypt, <a href="#Page_340">340</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Travels in East, <a href="#Page_132">132</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Gladiators, <a href="#Page_75">75</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Glaucia forces reforms on Senate, <a href="#Page_56">56</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Gnipho, M. Antonius, gave lessons in Cæsar’s house, <a href="#Page_71">71</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Gracchus, Caius, liberal schemes, <a href="#Page_35">35</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Gracchus, Tiberius, attempts agrarian legislation, <a href="#Page_35">35</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Greek ideals of city state, <a href="#Page_7">7</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Greek influence on Romans, <a href="#Page_46">46</a>, <a href="#Page_53">53</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">H</li> - -<li class="indx">Hannibal, invasion of, <a href="#Page_6">6</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Harmodius, principles of, <a href="#Page_8">8</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Hasdrubal defeated by Claudius Nero, <a href="#Page_86">86</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Hawthorne, plot of <i>Transformation</i>, <a href="#Page_138">138</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Hercynian forest, <a href="#Page_222">222</a>, <a href="#Page_234">234</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Herod Antipas, <a href="#Page_426">426</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Herod family, <a href="#Page_147">147</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Herod the Great, <a href="#Page_338">338</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Policy, <a href="#Page_154">154</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Herodotus, temper of, <a href="#Page_132">132</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Hesiod, <i>Farm and the Calendar</i>, <a href="#Page_133">133</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Hesiod, unitarian tendencies, <a href="#Page_132">132</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Hispo, charges against G. Marcellus, <a href="#Page_307">307</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Historians between deaths of Augustus and Vespasian, <a href="#Page_2">2</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Horace:</li> -<li class="isub1">Allusion to M. Verrius Flaccus, <a href="#Page_72">72</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Compliments to Augustus, <a href="#Page_160">160</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Epistles, Book I, <a href="#Page_160">160</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Jests at Jewish Sabbath, <a href="#Page_137">137</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Journey from Rome to Brundisium, <a href="#Page_106">106</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Letter to Celsus quoted, <a href="#Page_157">157</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Letter to Julius Florus quoted, <a href="#Page_156">156</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Letter to Tiberius quoted, <a href="#Page_161">161</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Letters to Lollius, <a href="#Page_158">158</a>, <a href="#Page_201">201</a>, <a href="#Page_202">202</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Moral earnestness, <a href="#Page_158">158</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Ode to Lollius, <a href="#Page_204">204</a></li> -<li class="isub1">On character of Tiberius, <a href="#Page_154">154</a></li> -<li class="isub1">On merits of simplicity, <a href="#Page_153">153</a></li> -<li class="isub1">On Roman empire, <a href="#Page_5">5</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Picture of slavery, <a href="#Page_69">69</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Reminds Romans of their debt to Neros, <a href="#Page_86">86</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Hortalus, case of, <a href="#Page_377">377</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Hortensius, example of advocate, <a href="#Page_321">321</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Hypnotism, <a href="#Page_194">194</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">I</li> - -<li class="indx">Iapygia, Antonius descends on coast of, <a href="#Page_121">121</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Italian agriculture depressed, <a href="#Page_39">39</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Italian superstition, <a href="#Page_134">134</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Italy drained of free population, <a href="#Page_65">65</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">J</li> - -<li class="indx">Jerusalem, Roman generals at, <a href="#Page_372">372</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Jews:</li> -<li class="isub1"><span class="pagenum" id="Page_441">441</span>Attitude towards other religions, <a href="#Page_370">370</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Influence of their faith on educated classes at Rome, <a href="#Page_137">137</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Persecution of, <a href="#Page_369">369</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Protest against worship of Augustus, <a href="#Page_135">135</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Sketch of their customs, <a href="#Page_370">370</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Josephus:</li> -<li class="isub1">Boast about Sabbath, <a href="#Page_137">137</a></li> -<li class="isub1">On Agrippa, <a href="#Page_427">427</a></li> -<li class="isub1">References to Livia, <a href="#Page_175">175</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Judæa unquiet, <a href="#Page_336">336</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Judas Maccabæus:</li> -<li class="isub1">Asks help from Senate, <a href="#Page_12">12</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Respect for Senate, <a href="#Page_50">50</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Jugurtha defies Senate, <a href="#Page_12">12</a>, <a href="#Page_42">42</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Julia, Augustus’ daughter, <a href="#Page_169">169</a>, <a href="#Page_175">175</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Banished, <a href="#Page_190">190</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Her character, <a href="#Page_176">176</a>, <a href="#Page_178">178</a>, <a href="#Page_186">186</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Wife of Agrippa, <a href="#Page_171">171</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Wife of Marcellus, <a href="#Page_170">170</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Wife of Tiberius, <a href="#Page_173">173</a>, <a href="#Page_182">182</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Julian family, <a href="#Page_3">3</a>, <a href="#Page_168">168</a>, <a href="#Page_407">407</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Attitude towards Tiberius, <a href="#Page_214">214</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">L</li> - -<li class="indx">Leland, Charles, on traces of faith in Fauns and Satyrs, <a href="#Page_138">138</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Lentulus, Gnæus, <a href="#Page_279">279</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Lepidus, Marcus, <a href="#Page_229">229</a>, <a href="#Page_248">248</a>, <a href="#Page_390">390</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Defends Piso, <a href="#Page_344">344</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Holds office under Tiberius, <a href="#Page_262">262</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Proconsul, <a href="#Page_93">93</a>, <a href="#Page_97">97</a>, <a href="#Page_98">98</a>, <a href="#Page_118">118</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Stops mutiny in Spain, <a href="#Page_286">286</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Lex Majestatis, <a href="#Page_303">303</a>, <a href="#Page_320">320</a>, <a href="#Page_355">355</a></li> -<li class="isub1">History of, <a href="#Page_304">304</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Liberators:</li> -<li class="isub1">Attitude towards Octavian, <a href="#Page_94">94</a>, <a href="#Page_110">110</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Position after Cæsar’s death, <a href="#Page_93">93</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Libo, Drusus Scribonius, case of, <a href="#Page_323">323</a> <i>seqq.</i></li> -<li class="isub1">Suicide, <a href="#Page_327">327</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Licinus, governor of S. Gaul, <a href="#Page_224">224</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Livia, wife of Tiberius Nero and of Octavian, <a href="#Page_80">80</a>, <a href="#Page_102">102</a>, <a href="#Page_104">104</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Agrippa Postumus and, <a href="#Page_258">258</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Attitude towards Tiberius, <a href="#Page_198">198</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Character, <a href="#Page_175">175</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Death, <a href="#Page_398">398</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Friend of Plancina, <a href="#Page_338">338</a>, <a href="#Page_350">350</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Hatred of Agrippina, <a href="#Page_332">332</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Portraits, <a href="#Page_175">175</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Skilled in intrigue, <a href="#Page_167">167</a>, <a href="#Page_177">177</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Livian family, <a href="#Page_4">4</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Livilla, wife of Drusus, <a href="#Page_399">399</a>, <a href="#Page_402">402</a>, <a href="#Page_406">406</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Livy, <i>History</i> of, <a href="#Page_387">387</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Native of Cis-Alpine Gaul, <a href="#Page_119">119</a></li> -<li class="isub1">On Servian Constitution, <a href="#Page_16">16</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Lollius, Marcus, <a href="#Page_158">158</a>, <a href="#Page_201">201</a> <i>seqq.</i></li> -<li class="isub1">Adviser to Caius Cæsar, <a href="#Page_200">200</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Death, <a href="#Page_208">208</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Defeated by German tribes, <a href="#Page_224">224</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Lombards, <a href="#Page_232">232</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">M</li> - -<li class="indx">Macedonia:</li> -<li class="isub1">Demands to be transferred to Imperial provinces, <a href="#Page_313">313</a>, <a href="#Page_336">336</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Devastated, <a href="#Page_235">235</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Macedonian empire, <a href="#Page_125">125</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Macro, commander at Capreæ, <a href="#Page_411">411</a>, <a href="#Page_428">428</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Macro, Pompeius, Prætor, <a href="#Page_304">304</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Mæcenas, C. Cilnius:</li> -<li class="isub1">Death, <a href="#Page_183">183</a></li> -<li class="isub1"><span class="pagenum" id="Page_442">442</span>Friend of Horace, <a href="#Page_159">159</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Friend of Octavian, <a href="#Page_111">111</a></li> -<li class="isub1">His manners, <a href="#Page_151">151</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Journey from Rome to Brundisium, <a href="#Page_107">107</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Master of finance and diplomacy, <a href="#Page_153">153</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Magians, <a href="#Page_370">370</a>, <a href="#Page_373">373</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Magic, <a href="#Page_328">328</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Maluginensis, Servius, Flamen Dialis, <a href="#Page_375">375</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Mamaloi of Hayti, knowledge of poisons, <a href="#Page_375">375</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Marcellus, death of, <a href="#Page_170">170</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Marcellus, Granius, Governor of Bithynia, accusations against, <a href="#Page_306">306</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Marcellus, M. Pomponius, <a href="#Page_71">71</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Reproves Tiberius for solecism, <a href="#Page_73">73</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Marcius killed, <a href="#Page_329">329</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Marion Crawford, description of Roman palaces, <a href="#Page_144">144</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Marius, C.:</li> -<li class="isub1">Incapacity of, <a href="#Page_57">57</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Influence in Roman politics, <a href="#Page_36">36</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Native of Arpinum, <a href="#Page_37">37</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Power wielded by, <a href="#Page_215">215</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Reliance on army, <a href="#Page_123">123</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Reorganization of army, <a href="#Page_37">37</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Maroboduus, King of Marcomanni:</li> -<li class="isub1">Adopts Roman military system, <a href="#Page_220">220</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Conception of German Empire, <a href="#Page_233">233</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Martina, poisoner, <a href="#Page_346">346</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Mediterranean, piracy not quelled in, <a href="#Page_54">54</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Merivale on policy of Augustus, <a href="#Page_221">221</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Messala, Marcus Valerius, hails Augustus as “Father of his country,” <a href="#Page_245">245</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Metaurus, battle of the, <a href="#Page_86">86</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Mithridates defies Senate, <a href="#Page_13">13</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Mommsen on “ablest of Roman Emperors,” <a href="#Page_84">84</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Munda, Pompeius’ sons defeated at, <a href="#Page_94">94</a>, <a href="#Page_101">101</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Murena, conspiracy of, <a href="#Page_246">246</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Mutina, Decimus Brutus besieged at, <a href="#Page_97">97</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Mutinies in Pannonia and on Rhine, <a href="#Page_270">270</a> <i>seqq.</i></li> - -<li class="ifrst">N</li> - -<li class="indx">Napoleon, army of spies, <a href="#Page_124">124</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Nauportus, news of mutiny reaches, <a href="#Page_276">276</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Negro slavery in America, <a href="#Page_60">60</a>, <a href="#Page_77">77</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Nero:</li> -<li class="isub1">Courts popular favour, <a href="#Page_403">403</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Extravagancies only felt in Rome, <a href="#Page_384">384</a>, <a href="#Page_415">415</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Line of Cæsars ended in, <a href="#Page_292">292</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Recalled from banishment, <a href="#Page_425">425</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Nicopolis, Germanicus and Drusus meet at, <a href="#Page_339">339</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">O</li> - -<li class="indx">Octavia, wife of Antonius, <a href="#Page_124">124</a>, <a href="#Page_150">150</a>, <a href="#Page_169">169</a></li> - -<li class="indx"><a id="Octavian"></a>Octavian:</li> -<li class="isub1">A great civilian, <a href="#Page_109">109</a>, <a href="#Page_122">122</a>, <a href="#Page_124">124</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Adopts Tiberius, <a href="#Page_210">210</a>, <a href="#Page_251">251</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Amnesty to S. Pompeius, <a href="#Page_102">102</a>, <a href="#Page_115">115</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Asserts legal rights, <a href="#Page_97">97</a></li> -<li class="isub1"><span class="pagenum" id="Page_443">443</span>“Augustus,” significance of, <a href="#Page_129">129</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Character, <a href="#Page_113">113</a>, <a href="#Page_127">127</a>, <a href="#Page_128">128</a>, <a href="#Page_135">135</a>, <a href="#Page_139">139</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Conduct after Cæsar’s death, <a href="#Page_94">94</a>, <a href="#Page_110">110</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Connexions, <a href="#Page_126">126</a>, <a href="#Page_128">128</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Conspiracies against, <a href="#Page_246">246</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Death, <a href="#Page_1">1</a>, <a href="#Page_4">4</a>, <a href="#Page_79">79</a> <i>seqq.</i>, <a href="#Page_252">252</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Dislike to army, <a href="#Page_124">124</a>, <a href="#Page_125">125</a>, <a href="#Page_222">222</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Empire of, <a href="#Page_118">118</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Exceptional man, <a href="#Page_255">255</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Funeral ceremonies, <a href="#Page_81">81</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Household, <a href="#Page_103">103</a>, <a href="#Page_150">150</a>, <a href="#Page_152">152</a>, <a href="#Page_168">168</a>, <a href="#Page_172">172</a>, <a href="#Page_249">249</a></li> -<li class="isub2">Hostile forces in, <a href="#Page_175">175</a>, <a href="#Page_191">191</a></li> -<li class="isub1">In Gaul, <a href="#Page_224">224</a>, <a href="#Page_226">226</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Invites Horace to be his private secretary, <a href="#Page_127">127</a>, <a href="#Page_159">159</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Julian laws of, <a href="#Page_358">358</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Lands at Brundisium, <a href="#Page_94">94</a>, <a href="#Page_96">96</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Last years, <a href="#Page_245">245</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Letters, fragments of, <a href="#Page_211">211</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Marriage, <a href="#Page_102">102</a>, <a href="#Page_104">104</a>, <a href="#Page_114">114</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Orator, <a href="#Page_153">153</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Overtures to Cicero, <a href="#Page_112">112</a>, <a href="#Page_113">113</a>, <a href="#Page_114">114</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Palace, <a href="#Page_145">145</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Panegyrics on, <a href="#Page_80">80</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Patronage, <a href="#Page_246">246</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Personal appearance, <a href="#Page_141">141</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Policy, <a href="#Page_58">58</a>, <a href="#Page_142">142</a>, <a href="#Page_171">171</a>, <a href="#Page_221">221</a>, <a href="#Page_242">242</a>, <a href="#Page_290">290</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Policy towards Senate, <a href="#Page_50">50</a>, <a href="#Page_262">262</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Popularity, <a href="#Page_110">110</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Princeps Senatus, <a href="#Page_165">165</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Progress to East, <a href="#Page_154">154</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Relations with Tiberius, <a href="#Page_211">211</a>, <a href="#Page_214">214</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Remodels army, <a href="#Page_115">115</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Scheme of representative government, <a href="#Page_382">382</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Successor, <a href="#Page_83">83</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Tiberius Nero associated with, <a href="#Page_88">88</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Vision of hereditary succession, <a href="#Page_165">165</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Worship of, <a href="#Page_134">134</a>, <a href="#Page_226">226</a>, <a href="#Page_299">299</a>, <a href="#Page_306">306</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Octavian family, <a href="#Page_3">3</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Orbilius, teacher of Horace, <a href="#Page_71">71</a>, <a href="#Page_72">72</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Ovid:</li> -<li class="isub1"><i>Fasti</i>, <a href="#Page_387">387</a></li> -<li class="isub1">On barbarians at Tomi, <a href="#Page_221">221</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Withdraws from Rome, <a href="#Page_246">246</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">P</li> - -<li class="indx">Pallas, a freedman of Claudius, <a href="#Page_70">70</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Pandateria Isle:</li> -<li class="isub1">Agrippina banished to, <a href="#Page_409">409</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Julia banished to, <a href="#Page_190">190</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Pannonia:</li> -<li class="isub1">Army, how reinforced, <a href="#Page_270">270</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Mutiny in, <a href="#Page_270">270</a> <i>seqq.</i>, <a href="#Page_392">392</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Tiberius’ campaigns in, <a href="#Page_226">226</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Pannonians, <a href="#Page_219">219</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Pantheon, dome of, <a href="#Page_116">116</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Papaloi of Hayti, knowledge of poisons, <a href="#Page_375">375</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Parthians:</li> -<li class="isub1">Antonius’ victory over, <a href="#Page_121">121</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Expeditions against, <a href="#Page_155">155</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Show signs of restlessness, <a href="#Page_336">336</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Paterculus, C. Velleius:</li> -<li class="isub1">Associated with Tiberius Nero, <a href="#Page_88">88</a>, <a href="#Page_100">100</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Commits suicide, <a href="#Page_100">100</a>, <a href="#Page_104">104</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Paterculus, Velleius:</li> -<li class="isub1"><span class="pagenum" id="Page_444">444</span>Accompanies Tiberius in campaigns, <a href="#Page_231">231</a>, <a href="#Page_236">236</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Epitome of Roman history, <a href="#Page_229">229</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Indifferent to chronology, <a href="#Page_224">224</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Narrative, <a href="#Page_2">2</a></li> -<li class="isub1">On age of Tiberius, <a href="#Page_104">104</a></li> -<li class="isub2">Fidelity, <a href="#Page_77">77</a></li> -<li class="isub2">Germanicus, <a href="#Page_332">332</a></li> -<li class="isub2">M. Lollius and Tiberius, <a href="#Page_201">201</a></li> -<li class="isub2">Rule of Tiberius, <a href="#Page_354">354</a></li> -<li class="isub2">Sejanus, <a href="#Page_387">387</a>, <a href="#Page_391">391</a></li> -<li class="isub2">Young Cæsars, <a href="#Page_210">210</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Praises Tiberius for discrimination, <a href="#Page_312">312</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Patricians and plebeians, distinction between, <a href="#Page_45">45</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Paulus, L. Æmilius, marries Julia’s daughter, <a href="#Page_210">210</a>, <a href="#Page_246">246</a>, <a href="#Page_257">257</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Percennius:</li> -<li class="isub1">Killed, <a href="#Page_279">279</a></li> -<li class="isub1">On grievances of soldiers, <a href="#Page_271">271</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Speech to soldiers quoted, <a href="#Page_274">274</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Pergamus, rights of sanctuary in temple of Æsculapius, <a href="#Page_376">376</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Perusia, siege of, <a href="#Page_99">99</a>, <a href="#Page_100">100</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Petronius, slaves in <i>Satyricon</i>, <a href="#Page_70">70</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Philippi, battle at, <a href="#Page_98">98</a>, <a href="#Page_104">104</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Philo the Jew, picture of Caligula, <a href="#Page_427">427</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Piso, Gnæus, Governor of Syria, <a href="#Page_263">263</a>, <a href="#Page_308">308</a>, <a href="#Page_337">337</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Conduct to Germanicus, <a href="#Page_338">338</a> <i>seqq.</i>, <a href="#Page_349">349</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Suicide, <a href="#Page_347">347</a>, <a href="#Page_352">352</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Trial of, <a href="#Page_343">343</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Piso, Lucius, <a href="#Page_390">390</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Prætor, <a href="#Page_334">334</a>, <a href="#Page_337">337</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Piso, Marcus:</li> -<li class="isub1">Advice to his father, <a href="#Page_342">342</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Tiberius bestows his father’s property on, <a href="#Page_348">348</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Pituarius thrown from Tarpeian rock, <a href="#Page_329">329</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Planasia Isle, Agrippa Postumus in, <a href="#Page_256">256</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Plancina, wife of Gnæus Piso, <a href="#Page_338">338</a>, <a href="#Page_339">339</a>, <a href="#Page_340">340</a>, <a href="#Page_342">342</a>, <a href="#Page_350">350</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Charges against, <a href="#Page_348">348</a>, <a href="#Page_351">351</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Plancus:</li> -<li class="isub1">At Alexandria, <a href="#Page_126">126</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Suggests use of “Augustus,” <a href="#Page_130">130</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Plato, politics of <i>Republic</i>, <a href="#Page_8">8</a>, <a href="#Page_56">56</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Pliny (elder):</li> -<li class="isub1">Account of journey of Tiberius, <a href="#Page_183">183</a></li> -<li class="isub1">On Tiberius, <a href="#Page_162">162</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Polybius, respect for Senate, <a href="#Page_50">50</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Polytheism, <a href="#Page_132">132</a>, <a href="#Page_138">138</a>, <a href="#Page_374">374</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Pompeius, Sextus, <a href="#Page_98">98</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Brigandage of, <a href="#Page_58">58</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Descent on coast of Iapygia, <a href="#Page_121">121</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Native of Picenum, <a href="#Page_37">37</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Power wielded by, <a href="#Page_215">215</a></li> -<li class="isub1">“Province” assigned to, <a href="#Page_23">23</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Reliance on army, <a href="#Page_123">123</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Seizes Sicily, <a href="#Page_101">101</a>, <a href="#Page_107">107</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Pontifex Maximus, <a href="#Page_255">255</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Functions, <a href="#Page_48">48</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Pontius Pilate, Governor of Judæa, <a href="#Page_273">273</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Portents, faith in, <a href="#Page_138">138</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Præneste, fall of, <a href="#Page_88">88</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Prætorian guards organized, <a href="#Page_392">392</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Prætors, <a href="#Page_320">320</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Right to beat actors, <a href="#Page_360">360</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Princeps, <a href="#Page_255">255</a></li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="pagenum" id="Page_445">445</span>Probus, Valerius, <a href="#Page_71">71</a></li> - -<li class="indx"><i>Punch</i>, cartoons in, <a href="#Page_360">360</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Pyrrhus, invasion of, <a href="#Page_6">6</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">R</li> - -<li class="indx">Republic and empire, <a href="#Page_2">2</a>, <a href="#Page_4">4</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Rhine:</li> -<li class="isub1">Mutiny on, <a href="#Page_280">280</a> <i>seqq.</i>, <a href="#Page_392">392</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Importance of, <a href="#Page_290">290</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Romanized, <a href="#Page_227">227</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Rhodes, flourishing state of, <a href="#Page_192">192</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Rome:</li> -<li class="isub1">As universal peacemaker and ruler, <a href="#Page_23">23</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Disturbances after death of Sejanus, <a href="#Page_412">412</a>, <a href="#Page_416">416</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Fires in, <a href="#Page_396">396</a>, <a href="#Page_397">397</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Food supplies from Sicily, Africa and Sardinia, <a href="#Page_39">39</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Government of city, <a href="#Page_59">59</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Indifferent to municipal matters, <a href="#Page_381">381</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Prefect of city, <a href="#Page_166">166</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Resident aliens in, <a href="#Page_27">27</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Riot in theatre, <a href="#Page_315">315</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Umpire of world, <a href="#Page_125">125</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Roman armies:</li> -<li class="isub1">Barrack system, <a href="#Page_395">395</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Centurion, position of, <a href="#Page_273">273</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Concessions to soldiers, <a href="#Page_283">283</a>, <a href="#Page_286">286</a></li> -<li class="isub1">“Garrison” service, <a href="#Page_272">272</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Grievances of soldiers, <a href="#Page_271">271</a>, <a href="#Page_272">272</a>, <a href="#Page_273">273</a></li> -<li class="isub1">On Rhine frontier, <a href="#Page_281">281</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Pay of soldier, <a href="#Page_272">272</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Prætorian guard, <a href="#Page_392">392</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Recruiting for, <a href="#Page_6">6</a>, <a href="#Page_38">38</a>, <a href="#Page_65">65</a>, <a href="#Page_76">76</a>, <a href="#Page_227">227</a>, <a href="#Page_241">241</a>, <a href="#Page_270">270</a>, <a href="#Page_275">275</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Superstition of soldiers, <a href="#Page_279">279</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Roman Civil Service (<i>see</i> <a href="#Equestrian_Order">Equestrian Order</a>)</li> - -<li class="indx">Roman electorate, <a href="#Page_31">31</a>, <a href="#Page_33">33</a>, <a href="#Page_34">34</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Roman Empire:</li> -<li class="isub1">A religion as well as a state, <a href="#Page_140">140</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Area of wars, <a href="#Page_107">107</a>, <a href="#Page_122">122</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Change of officials, <a href="#Page_317">317</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Christianity and, <a href="#Page_430">430</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Conquests:</li> -<li class="isub2">Conditions of, <a href="#Page_6">6</a></li> -<li class="isub2">Effects of, <a href="#Page_5">5</a></li> -<li class="isub2">Organization, <a href="#Page_7">7</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Constitution:</li> -<li class="isub2">Hereditary succession, <a href="#Page_164">164</a></li> -<li class="isub2">People an organized part of, <a href="#Page_11">11</a></li> -<li class="isub2">Theories on, <a href="#Page_8">8</a>, <a href="#Page_31">31</a></li> -<li class="isub2">Working changed, <a href="#Page_32">32</a>, <a href="#Page_34">34</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Decentralized, <a href="#Page_247">247</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Expansion of, <a href="#Page_1">1</a> <i>seqq.</i></li> -<li class="isub1">Finances, <a href="#Page_228">228</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Frontiers vulnerable, <a href="#Page_217">217</a></li> -<li class="isub1">How broken up, <a href="#Page_228">228</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Imperial Executive founded on Equestrian Order, <a href="#Page_15">15</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Information from authors on, <a href="#Page_2">2</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Local life of, <a href="#Page_382">382</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Policy to allies, <a href="#Page_33">33</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Politics of, <a href="#Page_4">4</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Popular government a legal fiction, <a href="#Page_12">12</a></li> -<li class="isub1">“Province”:</li> -<li class="isub2">Division of, <a href="#Page_59">59</a>, <a href="#Page_313">313</a>, <a href="#Page_357">357</a></li> -<li class="isub2">Signification of, <a href="#Page_22">22</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Slavery in, <a href="#Page_60">60</a></li> -<li class="isub1">State prosecutions, <a href="#Page_321">321</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Supreme Court of Appeal, <a href="#Page_382">382</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Taxes farmed, <a href="#Page_14">14</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Tendency of, <a href="#Page_75">75</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Wars forced on, <a href="#Page_6">6</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Wars of aggression, <a href="#Page_6">6</a></li> -<li class="isub1">(<i>See</i> also <a href="#Equestrian_Order">Equestrian Order</a>, etc.)</li> - -<li class="indx">Roman family a community, <a href="#Page_147">147</a></li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="pagenum" id="Page_446">446</span>Roman generals, <a href="#Page_216">216</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Roman history:</li> -<li class="isub1">Connexion of great houses with, <a href="#Page_146">146</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Greek influence on, <a href="#Page_53">53</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Turning point of, <a href="#Page_6">6</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Roman law courts, <a href="#Page_310">310</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Roman palaces, <a href="#Page_144">144</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Roman people:</li> -<li class="isub1">As financiers, <a href="#Page_13">13</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Character, <a href="#Page_40">40</a>, <a href="#Page_41">41</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Citizen privileges, <a href="#Page_27">27</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Composed of three elements, <a href="#Page_47">47</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Diversions, <a href="#Page_177">177</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Early marriages, <a href="#Page_168">168</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Estimate of generals, <a href="#Page_216">216</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Faith in portents, <a href="#Page_138">138</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Gods of, <a href="#Page_130">130</a>, <a href="#Page_133">133</a>, <a href="#Page_134">134</a>, <a href="#Page_226">226</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Individual independence, <a href="#Page_25">25</a>, <a href="#Page_26">26</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Legal temperament, <a href="#Page_9">9</a>, <a href="#Page_40">40</a>, <a href="#Page_46">46</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Legends of early history, <a href="#Page_47">47</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Love of spectacular bloodshed, <a href="#Page_74">74</a>, <a href="#Page_314">314</a>, <a href="#Page_362">362</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Meaning of phrase, <a href="#Page_24">24</a>, <a href="#Page_41">41</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Morality and religion, <a href="#Page_133">133</a></li> -<li class="isub1">No affection for Rome or Senate, <a href="#Page_40">40</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Patrons and clients, <a href="#Page_28">28</a>, <a href="#Page_29">29</a>, <a href="#Page_30">30</a>, <a href="#Page_321">321</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Religion and superstition, <a href="#Page_131">131</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Religious temperament, <a href="#Page_47">47</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Roman nobles, territorial magnates, <a href="#Page_29">29</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Roman residents in Asia Minor, <a href="#Page_13">13</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Rule of, <a href="#Page_41">41</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Senatorial career, <a href="#Page_17">17</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Sympathy with army, <a href="#Page_40">40</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Training of young, <a href="#Page_147">147</a>, <a href="#Page_149">149</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Two political careers open to, <a href="#Page_16">16</a></li> -<li class="isub1">(<i>See</i> also <a href="#Equestrian_Order">Equestrian Order</a>)</li> - -<li class="indx">Roman Proconsul:</li> -<li class="isub1">Only check upon, <a href="#Page_19">19</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Power in province, <a href="#Page_20">20</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Roman Senate:</li> -<li class="isub1">Admission jealously guarded to, <a href="#Page_73">73</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Advisory council to Emperors, <a href="#Page_58">58</a>, <a href="#Page_256">256</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Affection of its members and adherents, <a href="#Page_52">52</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Aristocratic nature of, <a href="#Page_44">44</a></li> -<li class="isub1">As court of justice, <a href="#Page_380">380</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Attitude of Senators:</li> -<li class="isub2">Towards Cæsar, <a href="#Page_55">55</a></li> -<li class="isub2">Towards Sejanus, <a href="#Page_388">388</a>, <a href="#Page_391">391</a>, <a href="#Page_398">398</a></li> -<li class="isub2">Towards Tiberius, <a href="#Page_258">258</a>, <a href="#Page_261">261</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Cabinet system in, <a href="#Page_262">262</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Cæsar and, <a href="#Page_90">90</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Decision on rights of sanctuary, <a href="#Page_377">377</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Divided into groups, <a href="#Page_31">31</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Duties of Senators, <a href="#Page_320">320</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Equality of members, <a href="#Page_54">54</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Equestrian Order and, <a href="#Page_19">19</a>, <a href="#Page_20">20</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Functions of, <a href="#Page_45">45</a>, <a href="#Page_48">48</a>, <a href="#Page_49">49</a>, <a href="#Page_50">50</a>, <a href="#Page_358">358</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Governorships, <a href="#Page_247">247</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Never formally disestablished, <a href="#Page_59">59</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Not <em>representative</em> of people, <a href="#Page_24">24</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Oath to Emperor, <a href="#Page_301">301</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Of different Emperors, <a href="#Page_1">1</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Offers Tiberius title of “Father of his Country,” <a href="#Page_300">300</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Parties in, <a href="#Page_50">50</a>, <a href="#Page_56">56</a></li> -<li class="isub2">Sections of, <a href="#Page_57">57</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Prosecutions after conspiracy of Sejanus, <a href="#Page_412">412</a>, <a href="#Page_414">414</a>, <a href="#Page_416">416</a></li> -<li class="isub1"><span class="pagenum" id="Page_447">447</span>Provincial Governors, power of, <a href="#Page_382">382</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Questions for Senators to settle, <a href="#Page_51">51</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Religious intolerance, <a href="#Page_368">368</a>, <a href="#Page_375">375</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Represents party of ancient oligarchy, <a href="#Page_21">21</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Resistance to reforms, <a href="#Page_52">52</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Senators’ fear of magic, <a href="#Page_328">328</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Sketch of, <a href="#Page_12">12</a>, <a href="#Page_42">42</a> <i>seqq.</i></li> -<li class="isub1">Sumptuary laws, <a href="#Page_362">362</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Tiberius and, <a href="#Page_253">253</a> <i>seqq.</i></li> - -<li class="indx">Roman women, position of, <a href="#Page_167">167</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Rubrius, accusation against, <a href="#Page_306">306</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">S</li> - -<li class="indx">Sabinus, Poppæus, <a href="#Page_316">316</a></li> - -<li class="indx">St. Paul:</li> -<li class="isub1">“Appeal to Cæsar,” <a href="#Page_184">184</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Journeys from Puteoli to Rome, <a href="#Page_62">62</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Samos, flourishing state of, <a href="#Page_192">192</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Sanctuary, rights of, <a href="#Page_376">376</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Sardinia, territorial province, <a href="#Page_23">23</a>, <a href="#Page_369">369</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Saturninus, Sentius:</li> -<li class="isub1">Acts in combination with Tiberius, <a href="#Page_234">234</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Forces reforms on Senate, <a href="#Page_56">56</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Scipio Æmilianus studies Greek political writers, <a href="#Page_34">34</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Scipio, relative of Julia, <a href="#Page_190">190</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Scribonia, wife of Octavian, <a href="#Page_103">103</a>, <a href="#Page_150">150</a>, <a href="#Page_169">169</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Sejanus, Ælius:</li> -<li class="isub1">Account of, <a href="#Page_385">385</a> <i>seqq.</i></li> -<li class="isub1">Adviser to Drusus, <a href="#Page_278">278</a></li> -<li class="isub1">As Commander-in-Chief in Italy, <a href="#Page_394">394</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Conspiracy, <a href="#Page_2">2</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Fall of, <a href="#Page_230">230</a>, <a href="#Page_399">399</a>, <a href="#Page_412">412</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Opposition to, <a href="#Page_398">398</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Organized Prætorian guards, <a href="#Page_392">392</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Regent, <a href="#Page_396">396</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Seneca, jest on apotheosis of Claudius, <a href="#Page_141">141</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Sentius, Gnæus, Governor of Syria, <a href="#Page_341">341</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Serenus, Vibius, states charges against Libo, <a href="#Page_326">326</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Servian Constitution and Equestrian Order, <a href="#Page_16">16</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Sibylline books consulted, <a href="#Page_47">47</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Sicily, territorial province, <a href="#Page_23">23</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Silius, commander of Upper Army on Rhine, <a href="#Page_281">281</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Simon Magus, <a href="#Page_195">195</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Slavery, <a href="#Page_60">60</a> <i>seqq.</i></li> -<li class="isub1">Agricultural slaves, <a href="#Page_62">62</a>, <a href="#Page_65">65</a>, <a href="#Page_68">68</a>, <a href="#Page_78">78</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Captives in war in, <a href="#Page_70">70</a>, <a href="#Page_73">73</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Condition of slaves in ancient world, <a href="#Page_63">63</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Cosmopolitan influence of, <a href="#Page_70">70</a>, <a href="#Page_76">76</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Domestic slavery, <a href="#Page_66">66</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Earnings of slaves, <a href="#Page_67">67</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Emancipation, <a href="#Page_76">76</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Immunities, <a href="#Page_64">64</a></li> -<li class="isub1">“Libertus,” <a href="#Page_74">74</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Not demoralizing to ancients, <a href="#Page_77">77</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Political disqualifications, <a href="#Page_64">64</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Slave barracks, <a href="#Page_65">65</a>, <a href="#Page_68">68</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Slave’s relation to his patron, <a href="#Page_30">30</a></li> -<li class="isub1">“They of Cæsar’s household,” <a href="#Page_74">74</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Smyrna, flourishing state of, <a href="#Page_192">192</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Society, difference between ancient and modern, <a href="#Page_26">26</a></li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="pagenum" id="Page_448">448</span>Stevenson, R. L., moral earnestness, <a href="#Page_158">158</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Strabo, Seius, <a href="#Page_385">385</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Stuart dynasty, attitude of adherents towards, <a href="#Page_52">52</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Suetonius:</li> -<li class="isub1">Biographies of schoolmaster freedmen, <a href="#Page_71">71</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Fragments of Octavian’s letters, <a href="#Page_211">211</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Idle tales of, <a href="#Page_430">430</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Indifferent to chronology, <a href="#Page_224">224</a></li> -<li class="isub1">On banishment of devotees of Bacchus, <a href="#Page_369">369</a></li> -<li class="isub2">M. Lollius and Tiberius, <a href="#Page_201">201</a></li> -<li class="isub2">M. Verrius Flaccus, <a href="#Page_72">72</a></li> -<li class="isub2">Tiberius and Caius Cæsar, <a href="#Page_207">207</a></li> -<li class="isub2">Tiberius’ expenditure, <a href="#Page_363">363</a></li> -<li class="isub2">Tiberius in Capreæ, <a href="#Page_421">421</a></li> -<li class="isub2">Tiberius in German wars, <a href="#Page_237">237</a></li> -<li class="isub2">Tiberius’ refusal of divine honours, <a href="#Page_137">137</a></li> -<li class="isub2">Tiberius’ refusal of title of “Father of his Country,” <a href="#Page_300">300</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Sources of information, <a href="#Page_293">293</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Stories of Tiberius in Rhodes, <a href="#Page_197">197</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Sulla:</li> -<li class="isub1">Decree on Senators, <a href="#Page_43">43</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Gives back jurisdiction to Senate, <a href="#Page_21">21</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Grants new lease of power to Senate, <a href="#Page_90">90</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Power wielded by, <a href="#Page_215">215</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Proscribed, <a href="#Page_57">57</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Reliance on army, <a href="#Page_123">123</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Sumptuary laws, <a href="#Page_362">362</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Tiberius’ attitude on, <a href="#Page_366">366</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Syria, an Imperial Province, <a href="#Page_337">337</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">T</li> - -<li class="indx">Tacitus:</li> -<li class="isub1"><i>Annals</i>, gap in, <a href="#Page_2">2</a></li> -<li class="isub2">Period covered by, <a href="#Page_356">356</a>, <a href="#Page_409">409</a></li> -<li class="isub2">Quoted, <a href="#Page_316">316</a></li> -<li class="isub1">As historian, <a href="#Page_357">357</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Attitude towards Tiberius, <a href="#Page_430">430</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Conception of early empire, <a href="#Page_88">88</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Mentions schoolmaster freedman, a Senator, <a href="#Page_73">73</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Narrative of Tiberius and his reign, <a href="#Page_263">263</a>, <a href="#Page_265">265</a></li> -<li class="isub2">Instance of misrepresentation, <a href="#Page_266">266</a></li> -<li class="isub1">On Caligula, <a href="#Page_427">427</a></li> -<li class="isub2">Crispus’ advice to Tiberius, <a href="#Page_257">257</a></li> -<li class="isub2">Election of Consuls, <a href="#Page_319">319</a></li> -<li class="isub2">Lex Majestatis, <a href="#Page_302">302</a>, <a href="#Page_303">303</a>, <a href="#Page_305">305</a>, <a href="#Page_307">307</a></li> -<li class="isub2">Perversion of Tiberius, <a href="#Page_353">353</a></li> -<li class="isub2">Policy of Augustus, <a href="#Page_221">221</a></li> -<li class="isub2">Secrets of Empire, <a href="#Page_154">154</a></li> -<li class="isub2">Tiberius, <a href="#Page_293">293</a> <i>seqq.</i></li> -<li class="isub2">Tiberius refusing divine honours, <a href="#Page_137">137</a></li> -<li class="isub2">Trial of Piso, <a href="#Page_351">351</a></li> -<li class="isub1">References to Livia, <a href="#Page_175">175</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Sources of information, <a href="#Page_293">293</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Tarragona, temple to Augustus at, <a href="#Page_315">315</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Tatius, Titius, consort of Romulus, <a href="#Page_85">85</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Teutons:</li> -<li class="isub1">Invasion of, <a href="#Page_6">6</a>, <a href="#Page_13">13</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Inadequate provision to repel, <a href="#Page_54">54</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Thrasyllus, the “Mathematician,” <a href="#Page_195">195</a>, <a href="#Page_369">369</a>, <a href="#Page_373">373</a></li> -<li class="isub1"><span class="pagenum" id="Page_449">449</span>Accompanies Tiberius to Capreæ, <a href="#Page_421">421</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Tiber, floods in, <a href="#Page_312">312</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Tiberius, Claudius Nero, father of Emperor:</li> -<li class="isub1">Attitude towards Cæsar, <a href="#Page_58">58</a>, <a href="#Page_92">92</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Death, <a href="#Page_105">105</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Flees to Corinth, <a href="#Page_102">102</a></li> -<li class="isub1">His character, <a href="#Page_103">103</a></li> -<li class="isub1">In Sicily, <a href="#Page_101">101</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Joins Constitutional party, <a href="#Page_98">98</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Marries Livia, <a href="#Page_102">102</a>, <a href="#Page_104">104</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Mission to Campania, <a href="#Page_99">99</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Returns to Rome, <a href="#Page_102">102</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Sketch of career, <a href="#Page_87">87</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Tiberius, Emperor:</li> -<li class="isub1">Accession, <a href="#Page_253">253</a> <i>seqq.</i></li> -<li class="isub1">Accompanies Octavian to Spain, <a href="#Page_153">153</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Action after death of Sejanus, <a href="#Page_413">413</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Address on army, <a href="#Page_394">394</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Address on sumptuary laws quoted, <a href="#Page_363">363</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Adopted by Augustus, <a href="#Page_210">210</a>, <a href="#Page_251">251</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Adopts Caligula, <a href="#Page_426">426</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Adopts Germanicus and Agrippa Postumus, <a href="#Page_251">251</a></li> -<li class="isub1">As General, <a href="#Page_243">243</a></li> -<li class="isub1">As Imperator, <a href="#Page_278">278</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Attached to Drusus, <a href="#Page_150">150</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Attitude towards Senate, <a href="#Page_353">353</a> <i>seqq.</i></li> -<li class="isub1">Bitterness of writers against, <a href="#Page_3">3</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Campaigns, <a href="#Page_174">174</a>, <a href="#Page_186">186</a>, <a href="#Page_211">211</a>, <a href="#Page_215">215</a> <i>seqq.</i></li> -<li class="isub2">Against Maroboduus, <a href="#Page_233">233</a></li> -<li class="isub2">Combined movements, <a href="#Page_244">244</a></li> -<li class="isub2">Defence of vulnerable frontiers, <a href="#Page_219">219</a>, <a href="#Page_227">227</a></li> -<li class="isub2">Gallic, <a href="#Page_225">225</a></li> -<li class="isub2">Germanic, <a href="#Page_231">231</a>, <a href="#Page_243">243</a></li> -<li class="isub3">Avenges Varus, <a href="#Page_241">241</a></li> -<li class="isub2">In Pannonia, <a href="#Page_226">226</a>, <a href="#Page_235">235</a></li> -<li class="isub2">Spanish, <a href="#Page_223">223</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Character, <a href="#Page_253">253</a>, <a href="#Page_296">296</a>, <a href="#Page_299">299</a>, <a href="#Page_314">314</a>, <a href="#Page_411">411</a>, <a href="#Page_422">422</a>, <a href="#Page_429">429</a></li> -<li class="isub2">Evidence on, <a href="#Page_294">294</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Colleague and successor of Augustus, <a href="#Page_83">83</a>, <a href="#Page_187">187</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Commands army against Parthians, <a href="#Page_155">155</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Concessions to mutinous armies, <a href="#Page_286">286</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Conduct to Livia, <a href="#Page_333">333</a>, <a href="#Page_334">334</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Constitutional theory, <a href="#Page_261">261</a>, <a href="#Page_302">302</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Day in Rome, how spent, <a href="#Page_418">418</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Death, <a href="#Page_428">428</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Descent, <a href="#Page_86">86</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Destroys popularity, <a href="#Page_361">361</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Education, <a href="#Page_149">149</a> <i>seqq.</i></li> -<li class="isub1">Fall of, <a href="#Page_399">399</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Flight to Rhodes, <a href="#Page_184">184</a></li> -<li class="isub2">Cause of, <a href="#Page_189">189</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Funeral, <a href="#Page_431">431</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Governor of Transalpine Gaul, <a href="#Page_224">224</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Grant to Propertius Celer, <a href="#Page_311">311</a></li> -<li class="isub1">His life interesting, <a href="#Page_83">83</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Holds Egypt as granary, <a href="#Page_368">368</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Household, rivalries in, <a href="#Page_397">397</a>, <a href="#Page_404">404</a>, <a href="#Page_406">406</a></li> -<li class="isub1">In law courts, <a href="#Page_310">310</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Letter to Senate, <a href="#Page_426">426</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Makes Emperor an institution, <a href="#Page_3">3</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Marriages, <a href="#Page_172">172</a>, <a href="#Page_173">173</a>, <a href="#Page_182">182</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Nickname, <a href="#Page_254">254</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Palace, <a href="#Page_191">191</a>, <a href="#Page_209">209</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Personal appearance, <a href="#Page_179">179</a>, <a href="#Page_298">298</a>, <a href="#Page_419">419</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Plots against, <a href="#Page_331">331</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Policy, <a href="#Page_227">227</a>, <a href="#Page_317">317</a>, <a href="#Page_377">377</a></li> -<li class="isub2">On German frontier, <a href="#Page_242">242</a>, <a href="#Page_290">290</a></li> -<li class="isub1"><span class="pagenum" id="Page_450">450</span>Proconsular power, <a href="#Page_254">254</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Refuses title of “Father of his Country,” <a href="#Page_300">300</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Relations with Augustus, <a href="#Page_211">211</a>, <a href="#Page_214">214</a></li> -<li class="isub2">With Sejanus, <a href="#Page_386">386</a>, <a href="#Page_396">396</a>, <a href="#Page_411">411</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Reply to Sejanus, <a href="#Page_404">404</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Responsible for peace, <a href="#Page_417">417</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Retires to Capreæ, <a href="#Page_396">396</a>, <a href="#Page_402">402</a>, <a href="#Page_420">420</a> <i>seqq.</i></li> -<li class="isub1">Returns to Rome, <a href="#Page_209">209</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Skilled civilian, <a href="#Page_174">174</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Speech at trial of Piso, <a href="#Page_344">344</a></li> -<li class="isub2">On case of Hortalus, <a href="#Page_378">378</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Strategy, <a href="#Page_225">225</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Studies, <a href="#Page_193">193</a>, <a href="#Page_420">420</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Tribune, <a href="#Page_184">184</a>, <a href="#Page_197">197</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Wishes to return to Rome, <a href="#Page_199">199</a>, <a href="#Page_207">207</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Tiberius the younger, <a href="#Page_407">407</a>, <a href="#Page_408">408</a>, <a href="#Page_416">416</a>, <a href="#Page_426">426</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Tiro, Cicero’s secretary, <a href="#Page_77">77</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Tomi, barbarians at Roman camp at, <a href="#Page_221">221</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Trajan rectifies frontier of Lower Danube, <a href="#Page_221">221</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Tribunate, history of, <a href="#Page_183">183</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Trio, Fulcinius, professional prosecutor, <a href="#Page_325">325</a>, <a href="#Page_343">343</a>, <a href="#Page_348">348</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Tusculum, headquarters of Claudians, <a href="#Page_85">85</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">U</li> - -<li class="indx">Urgulania, friend of Livia’s, <a href="#Page_334">334</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">V</li> - -<li class="indx">Varius, heroic poems, <a href="#Page_152">152</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Varus, Quintilius, Governor of Southern German Marches:</li> -<li class="isub1">Sketch of career, <a href="#Page_239">239</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Slain, <a href="#Page_238">238</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Treats Rhine as Roman Province, <a href="#Page_227">227</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Verres, trial of, <a href="#Page_19">19</a>, <a href="#Page_21">21</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Vescularius, Flaccus, <a href="#Page_324">324</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Vespasian:</li> -<li class="isub1">Averse to luxury, <a href="#Page_367">367</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Scepticism of, <a href="#Page_136">136</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Vibulenus:</li> -<li class="isub1">Killed, <a href="#Page_279">279</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Oration to soldiers, <a href="#Page_277">277</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Vinicius, Marcus, Consul, <a href="#Page_229">229</a>, <a href="#Page_230">230</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Marries Julia Livilla, <a href="#Page_250">250</a>, <a href="#Page_339">339</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Vinicius, Marcus, General, <a href="#Page_231">231</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Vipsania, daughter of Agrippa, <a href="#Page_169">169</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Wife of Tiberius, <a href="#Page_172">172</a>, <a href="#Page_181">181</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Vipsanian family, <a href="#Page_168">168</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Virgil:</li> -<li class="isub1">Allusion to death of Marcellus, <a href="#Page_170">170</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Compliments to Augustus, <a href="#Page_160">160</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Legends in <i>Æneid</i>, <a href="#Page_139">139</a></li> -<li class="isub1">Native of Cis-Alpine Gaul, <a href="#Page_119">119</a></li> -<li class="isub1">On merits of simplicity, <a href="#Page_153">153</a></li> -<li class="isub2">Roman Empire, <a href="#Page_5">5</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Vitellius, Lucius, <a href="#Page_426">426</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Vonones removed by Germanicus, <a href="#Page_340">340</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">W</li> - -<li class="indx">War, captives reckoned as profits of, <a href="#Page_70">70</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Washington, T. Booker, attitude towards slave owners, <a href="#Page_60">60</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">X</li> - -<li class="indx">Xiphilinus, epitome of Dio Cassius, <a href="#Page_138">138</a></li> -</ul> -</div> - -<p class="p2 center smaller">Butler & Tanner, The Selwood Printing Works, Frome, and London.</p> - -<div class="chapter"><div class="transnote"> -<h2 class="nobreak" id="Transcribers_Notes">Transcriber’s Notes</h2> - -<p>Punctuation, hyphenation, and spelling were made -consistent when a predominant preference was found -in the original book; otherwise they were not changed.</p> - -<p>Simple typographical errors were corrected; unbalanced -quotation marks were remedied when the change was -obvious, and otherwise left unbalanced.</p> - -<p>The index was not checked for proper alphabetization -or correct page references.</p> - -<p>A larger version of the Frontispiece may be seen by right-clicking it -and selecting an option to view it separately, or by double-tapping and/or -stretching it.</p> - -<p><a href="#Page_75">Page 75</a>: “de Sevignê” currently is spelled “de Sévigné”.</p> - -<p><a href="#Page_392">Page 392</a>: The two sentences beginning with “How if the -mutineers” were printed that way.</p> -</div></div> - -<div style='display:block; margin-top:4em'>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK TIBERIUS THE TYRANT ***</div> -<div style='text-align:left'> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -Updated editions will replace the previous one—the old editions will -be renamed. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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