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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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