Galba (Suetonius)

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	Galba Author: Suetonius	Translator: Alexander Thomson
1	Progenies Caesarum in Nerone defecit : quod futurum compluribus quidem signis , sed uel euidentissimis duobus apparuit . Liuiae olim post Augusti statim nuptias Veientanum suum reuisenti praeteruolans aquila gallinam albam ramulum lauri rostro tenentem , ita ut rapuerat , demisit in gremium ; cumque nutriri alitem , pangi ramulum placuisset , tanta pullorum suboles prouenit , ut hodieque ea uilla ' ad Gallinas ' uocetur , tale uero lauretum , ut triumphaturi Caesares inde laureas decerperent ; fuitque mos triumphantibus , alias confestim eodem loco pangere ; et obseruatum est sub cuiusque obitum arborem ab ipso institutam elanguisse . ergo nouissimo Neronis anno et silua omnis exaruit radicitus , et quidquid ibi gallinarum erat interiit . ac subinde tacta de caelo Caesarum aede capita omnibus simul statuis deciderunt , Augusti etiam sceptrum e manibus excussum est .	THE race of the Caesars became extinct in Nero; an event prognosticated by various signs, two of which were particularly significant. Formerly, when Livia after her marriage with Augustus, was making a visit to her villa at Veii, an eagle flying by, let drop upon her lap a hen, with a sprig of laurel in her mouth, just as she had seized it. Livia gave orders to have the hen taken care of, and the sprig of laurel set; and the hen reared such a numerous brood of chickens, that the villa, to this day, is called the Vila of the Hens. The laurel grove flourished so much, that the Caesars procured thence the boughs and crowns they bore at their triumphs. It was also their constant custom to plant others on the same spot, immediately after a triumph; and it was observed that, a little before the death of each prince, the tree which had been set by him died away. But in the last year of Nero, the whole plantation of laurels perished to the very roots, and the hens all died. About the same time, the temple of the Caesars being struck with lightning, the heads of all the statues in it fell off at once; and Augustus's sceptre was dashed from his hands.
2	Neroni Galba successit nullo gradu contingens Caesarum domum , sed haud dubie nobilissimus magnaque et uetere prosapia , ut qui statuarum titulis pronepotem se Quinti Catuli Capitolini semper ascripserit , imperator uero etiam stemma in atrio proposuerit , quo paternam originem ad Iouem , maternam ad Pasiphaam Minonis uxorem referret .	Nero was succeeded by Galba, who was not in the remotest degree allied to the family of the Caesars, but, without doubt, of very noble extraction, being descended from a great and ancient family; for he always used to put amongst his other titles, upon the bases of his statues, his being great-grandson to Q. Catulus Capitolinus. And when he came to be emperor, he set up the images of his ancestors in the hall of the palace; according to the inscriptions on which, he carried up his pedigree on the father's side to Jupiter; and by the mother's to Pasiphae, the wife of Minos.
3	Imagines et elogia uniuersi generis exequi longum est , familiae breuiter attingam . qui primus Sulpiciorum cognomen Galbae tulit cur aut unde traxerit , ambigitur . quidam putant , quod oppidum Hispaniae frustra diu oppugnatum inlitis demum galbano facibus succenderit ; alii , quod in diuturna ualitudine galbeo , id est remediis lana inuolutis , assidue uteretur ; nonnulli , quod praepinguis fuerit uisus , quem galbam Galli uocent ; uel contra , quod tam exilis , quam sunt animalia quae in aesculis nascuntur appellanturque galbae . familiam illustrauit Seruius Galba consularis , temporum suorum † et eloquentissimus , quem tradunt Hispaniam ex praetura optinentem , triginta Lusitanorum milibus perfidia trucidatis , Viriatini belli causam extitisse . eius nepos ob repulsam consulatus infensus Iulio Caesari , cuius legatus in Gallia fuerat , conspirauit cum Cassio et Bruto , propter quod Pedia lege damnatus est . ab hoc sunt imperatoris Galbae auus ac pater : auus clarior studiis quam dignitate — non enim egressus praeturae gradum — multiplicem nec incuriosam historiam edidit ; pater consulatu functus , quanquam breui corpore atque etiam gibber modicaeque in dicendo facultatis , causas industrie actitauit . uxores habuit Mummiam Achaicam , neptem Catuli proneptemque L . Mummi , qui Corinthum excidit ; item Liuiam Ocellinam ditem admodum et pulchram , a qua tamen nobilitatis causa appetitus ultro existimatur et aliquanto enixius , postquam subinde instanti uitium corporis secreto posita ueste detexit , ne quasi ignaram fallere uideretur . ex Achaica liberos Gaium et Seruium procreauit , quorum maior Gaius attritis facultatibus urbe cessit prohibitusque a Tiberio sortiri anno suo proconsulatum uoluntaria morte obiit .	To give even a short account of the whole family, would be tedious. I shall, therefore, only slightly notice that branch of it from which he was descended. Why, or whence, the first of the Sulpicii who had the cognomen of Galba, was so called, is uncertain. Some are of opinion, that it was because he set fire to a city in Spain, after he had a long time attacked it to no purpose, with torches dipped in the gum called Galbanum: others said he was so named, because, in a lingering disease, he made use of it as a remedy, wrapped up in wool: others, on account of his being prodigiously corpulent, such a one being called, in the language of the Gauls, Galba; or, on the contrary, because he was of a slender habit of body, like those insects which breed in a sort of oak, and are called Galbae. Sergius Galba, a person of consular rank, and the most eloquent man of his time, gave a lustre to the family. History relates, that, when he was pro-praetor of Spain, he perfidiously put to the sword thirty thousand Lusitanians, and by that means gave occasion to the war of Viriatus. His grandson being incensed against Julius Caesar, whose lieutenant he had been in Gaul, because he was through him disappointed of the consulship, joined with Cassius and Brutus in the conspiracy against him, for which he was condemned by the Pedian law. From him were descended the grandfather and father of the emperor Galba. The grandfather was more celebrated for his application to study, than for any figure he made in the government. For he rose no higher than the praetorship, but published a large and not uninteresting history. His father attained to the consulship: he was a short man and hump-backed, but a tolerable orator, and an industrious pleader. He was twice married: the first of his wives was Mummia Achaica, daughter of Catulus, and great-grand-daughter of Lucius Mummius, who sacked Corinth; and the other, Livia Ocellina, a very rich and beautiful woman, by whom it is supposed he was courted for the nobleness of his descent. They say, that she was farther encouraged to persevere in her advances, by an incident which evinced the great ingenuousness of his disposition. Upon her pressing her suit, he took an opportunity, when they were alone, of stripping off his toga, and showing her the deformity of his person, that he might not be thought to impose upon her. He had by Achaica two sons, Caius and Sergius. The elder of these, Caius, having very much reduced his estate, retired from town, and being prohibited by Tiberius from standing for a pro-consulship in his year, put an end to his own life.
4	Ser . Galba imperator M . Valerio Messala Cn . Lentulo cons . natus est VIIII . Kal . Ian . in uilla colli superposita prope Tarracinam sinistrorsus Fundos petentibus , adoptatusque a nouerca sua Liuia nomen et Ocellare cognomen assumpsit mutato praenomine ; nam Lucium mox pro Seruio usque ad tempus imperii usurpauit . constat Augustum puero adhuc , salutanti se inter aequales , apprehensa buccula dixisse : καὶ σὺ τέκνον ἡμῶν παρατρώξῃ . sed et Tiberius , cum comperisset imperaturum eum uerum in senecta : ' uiuat sane ,' ait , ' quando id ad nos nihil pertinet .' auo quoque eius fulgur procuranti , cum exta de manibus aquila rapuisset et in frugiferam quercum contulisset , responsum est summum sed serum imperium portendi familiae ; et ille irridens : ' sane ,' inquit , ' cum mula pepererit .' nihil aeque postea Galbam temptantem res nouas confirmauit quam mulae partus , ceterisque ut obscaenum ostentum abhorrentibus , solus pro laetissimo accepit memor sacrificii dictique aui . Sumpta uirili toga somniauit Fortunam dicentem , stare se ante fores defessam et nisi ocius reciperetur , cuicumque obuio praedae futuram . utque euigilauit , aperto atrio simulacrum aeneum deae cubitali maius iuxta limen inuenit idque gremio suo Tusculum , ubi aestiuare consueuerat , auexit et in parte aedium consecratum menstruis deinceps supplicationibus et peruigilio anniuersario coluit . Quanquam autem nondum aetate constanti ueterem ciuitatis exoletumque morem ac tantum in domo sua haerentem obstinatissime retinuit , ut liberti seruique bis die frequentes adessent ac mane saluere , uesperi ualere sibi singuli dicerent .	The emperor Sergius Galba was born in the consulship of M. Valerius Messala, and Cn. Lentulus, upon the ninth of the calends of January [24th December], in a villa standing upon a hill, near Terracina, on the lefthand side of the road to Fundi. Being adopted by his step-mother, he assumed the name of Livius, with the cognomen of Ocella, and changed his praenomen; for he afterwards used that of Lucius, instead of Sergius, until he arrived at the imperial dignity. It is well known, that when he came once, amongst other boys of his own age, to pay his respects to Augustus, the latter, pinching his cheek, said to him, "And thou, child, too, wilt taste our imperial dignity." Tiberius, likewise, being told that he would come to be emperor, but at an advanced age, exclaimed, " Let him live, then, since that does not concern me!" When his grandfather was offering sacrifice to avert some ill omen from lightning, the entrails of the victim were snatched out of his hand by an eagle and carried off into an oak-tree loaded with acorns. Upon this, the soothsayers said, that the family would come to be masters of the empire, but not until many years had elapsed: at which he, smiling, said, "Ay, when a mule comes to bear a foal." When Galba first declared against Nero, nothing gave him so much confidence of success, as a mule's happening at that time to have a foal. And whilst all others were shocked at the occurrence, as a most inauspicious prodigy, he alone regarded it as a most fortunate omen, calling to mind the sacrifice and saying of his grandfather. When he took upon him the manly habit, he dreamt that the goddess Fortune said to him, " I stand before your door weary; and unless I am speedily admitted, I shall fall into the hands of the first who comes to seize me." On his awaking, when the door of the house was opened, he found a brazen statue of the goddess, above a cubit long, close to the threshold, which he carried with him to Tusculum, where he used to pass the summer season; and having consecrated it in an apartment of his house, he ever after worshipped it with a monthly sacrifice, and an anniversary vigil. Though but a very young man, he kept up an ancient but obsolete custom, and now nowhere observed, except in his own family, which was, to have his freedmen and slaves appear in a body before him twice a day, morning and evening, to offer him their salutations.
5	inter liberales disciplinas attendit et iuri . dedit et matrimonio operam ; uerum amissa uxore Lepida duobusque ex ea filiis remansit in caelibatu neque sollicitari ulla condicione amplius potuit , ne Agrippinae quidem , quae uiduata morte Domiti maritum quoque adhuc necdum caelibem Galbam adeo omnibus sollicitauerat modis , ut in conuentu matronarum correpta iurgio atque etiam manu pulsata sit a matre Lepidae . Obseruauit ante omnis Liuiam Augustam , cuius et uiuae gratia plurimum ualuit et mortuae testamento paene ditatus est ; sestertium namque quingenties praecipuum inter legatarios habuit , sed quia notata , non perscripta erat summa , herede Tiberio legatum ad quingenta reuocante , ne haec quidem accepit .	Amongst other liberal studies, he applied himself to the law. He married Lepida, by whom he had two sons; but the mother and children all dying, he continued a widower; nor could he be prevailed upon to marry again, not even Agrippina herself, at that time left a widow by the death of Domitius, who had employed all her blandishments to allure him to her embraces, while he was a married man; insomuch that Lepida's mother, when in company with several married women, rebuked her for it, and even went so far as to cuff her. Most of all he courted the empress Livia, by whose favour, while she was living, he made a considerable figure, and narrowly missed being enriched by the will which she left at her death; in which she distinguished him from the rest of the legatees, by a legacy of fifty millions of sesterces. But because the sum was expressed in figures, and not in words at length, it was reduced by her heir, Tiberius, to five hundred thousand: even this he never received.
6	Honoribus ante legitimum tempus initis praetor commissione ludorum Floralium nouum spectaculi genus elephantos funambulos edidit ; exim prouinciae Aquitaniae anno fere praefuit ; mox consulatum per sex menses ordinarium gessit , euenitque ut in eo ipse † L . Domitio patri Neronis , ipsi Saluius Otho pater Othonis succederet , uelut praesagium insequentis casus , quo medius inter utriusque filios extitit imperator . A Gaio Caesare in locum Gaetulici substitutus , postridie quam ad legiones uenit , sollemni forte spectaculo plaudentes inhibuit data tessera , ut manus paenula continerent ; statimque per castra iactatum est : disce miles militare : Galba est , non Gaetulicus . pari seueritate interdixit commeatus peti . ueteranum ac tironem militem opere assiduo corroborauit matureque barbaris , qui iam in Galliam usque proruperant , coercitis , praesenti quoque Gaio talem et se et exercitum approbauit , ut inter innumeras contractasque ex omnibus prouinciis copias neque testimonium neque praemia ampliora ulli perciperent ; ipse maxime insignis , quod campestrem decursionem scuto moderatus , etiam ad essedum imperatoris per uiginti passuum milia cucurrit .	Filling the great offices before the age required for it by law, during his praetorship, at the celebration of games in honour of the goddess Flora, he presented the new spectacle of elephants walking upon ropes. He was then governor of the province of Aquitania for near a year, and soon afterwards took the consulship in the usual course, and held it for six months. It so happened that he succeeded L. Domitius, the father of Nero, and was succeeded by Salvius Otho, father to the emperor of that name; so that his holding it between the sons of these two men, looked like a presage of his future advancement to the empire. Being appointed by Caius Caesar to supersede Gaetulicus in his command, the day after his joining the legions, he put a stop to their plaudits in a public spectacle, by issuing an order, "That they should keep their hands under their cloaks." Immediately upon which, the following verse became very common in the camp: Disce, miles, militare: Galba est, non Gaetulicus. Learn, soldier, now in arms to use your hands, 'Tis Galba, not Getulicus, commands. With equal strictness, he would allow of no petitions for leave of absence from the camp. He hardened the soldiers, both old and young, by constant exercise; and having quickly reduced within their own limits the barbarians who had made inroads into Gaul, upon Caius's coming into Germany, he so far recommended himself and his army to that emperor's approbation, that, amongst the innumerable troops drawn from all the provinces of the empire, none met with higher commendation, or greater rewards from him. He likewise distinguished himself by heading an escort, with a shield in his hand; and running at the side of the emperor's chariot twenty miles together.
7	Caede Gai nuntiata multis ad occasionem stimulantibus quietem praetulit . per hoc gratissimus Claudio receptusque in cohortem amicorum tantae dignationis est habitus , ut cum subita ei ualitudo nec adeo grauis incidisset , dilatus sit expeditionis Britannicae dies . Africam pro consule biennio optinuit extra sortem electus ad ordinandam prouinciam et intestina dissensione et barbarorum tumultu inquietam ; ordinauitque magna seueritatis ac iustitiae cura etiam in paruulis rebus . militi , qui per expeditionem artissima annona residuum cibariorum tritici modium centum denariis uendidisse arguebatur , uetuit , simul atque indigere cibo coepisset , a quoquam opem ferri ; et is fame extabuit . at in iure dicendo cum de proprietate iumenti quaereretur , leuibus utrimque argumentis et testibus ideoque difficili coniectura ueritatis , ita decreuit ut ad lacum , ubi adaquari solebat , duceretur capite inuoluto atque ibidem reuelato eius esset , ad quem sponte se a potu recepisset .	Upon the news of Caius's death, though many earnestly pressed him to lay hold of that opportunity of seizing the empire, he chose rather to be quiet. On this account, he. was in favour with Claudius, and being received into the number of friends, stood so high in his good opinion, that the expedition to Britain was for some time suspended, because he was suddenly seized with a slight indisposition. He governed Africa, as pro-consul, for two years; being chosen out of the regular course to restore order in the province, which was in great disorder from civil dissensions, and the alarms of the barbarians. His administration was distinguished by great strictness and equity, even in matters of small importance. A soldier upon some expedition being charged with selling, in a great scarcity of corn, a bushel of wheat, which was all he had left, for a hundred denarii, he forbad him to be relieved by anybody, when he came to be in want himself: and accordingly he died of famine. When sitting in judgment, a cause being brought before him about some beast of burden, the ownership of which was claimed by two persons; the evidence being slight on both sides, and it being difficult to come at the truth, he ordered the beast to be led to the pond at which he had used to be watered, with his head muffled up, and the covering being there removed, that he should be the property of the person whom he followed of his own accord, after drinking.
8	Ob res et tunc in Africa et olim in Germania gestas ornamenta triumphalia accepit et sacerdotium triplex , inter quindecimuiros sodalesque Titios item Augustales cooptatus ; atque ex eo tempore prope ad medium Neronis principatum in secessu plurimum uixit , ne ad gestandum quidem umquam iter ingressus quam ut secum uehiculo proximo decies sestertium in auro efferret , donec in oppido Fundis moranti Hispania Tarraconensis oblata est . acciditque , ut cum prouinciam ingressus sacrificaret , intra aedem publicam puero e ministris acerram tenenti capillus repente toto capite canesceret , nec defuerunt qui interpretarentur significari rerum mutationem successurumque iuueni senem , hoc est ipsum Neroni . non multo post in Cantabriae lacum fulmen decidit repertaeque sunt duodecim secures , haud ambiguum summae imperii signum .	For his achievements, both at this time in Africa, and formerly in Germany, he received the triumphal ornaments, and three sacerdotal appointments, one among The Fifteen, another in the college of Titius, and a third amongst the Augustals; and from that time to the middle of Nero's reign, he lived for the most part in retirement. He never went abroad so much as to take the air, without a carriage attending him, in which there was a million of sesterces in gold ready at hand; until at last, at the time he was living in the town of Fundi, the province of Hispanic Tarraconensis was offered him. After his arrival in the province, whilst he was sacrificing in a temple, a boy who attended with a censer, became all on a sudden grey-headed. This incident was regarded by some as a token of an approaching revolution in the government, and that an old man would succeed a young one: that is that he would succeed Nero. And not long after, a thunderbolt falling into a lake in Cantabria, twelve axes were found in it; a manifest sign of the supreme power.
9	Per octo annos uarie et inaequabiliter prouinciam rexit , primo acer et uehemens et in coercendis quidem delictis uel immodicus . nam et nummulario non ex fide uersanti pecunias manus amputauit mensaeque eius adfixit , et tutorem , quod pupillum , cui substitutus heres erat , ueneno necasset , cruce adfecit ; implorantique leges et ciuem Romanum se testificanti , quasi solacio et honore aliquo poenam leuaturus , mutari multoque praeter ceteras altiorem et dealbatam statui crucem iussit . paulatim in desidiam segnitiamque conuersus est , ne quid materiae praeberet Neroni et , ut dicere solebat , quod nemo rationem otii sui reddere cogeretur . Carthagine noua conuentum agens tumultuari Gallias comperit legato Aquitaniae auxilia implorante ; superuenerunt et Vindicis litterae hortantis , ut humano generi assertorem ducemque se accommodaret . nec diu cunctatus condicionem partim metu partim spe recepit ; nam et mandata Neronis de nece sua ad procuratores clam missa deprenderat et confirmabatur cum secundissimis auspiciis et ominibus uirginis honestae uaticinatione , tanto magis quod eadem illa carmina sacerdos Iouis Cluniae ex penetrali somnio monitus eruerat ante ducentos annos similiter a fatidica puella pronuntiata . quorum carminum sententia erat oriturum quandoque ex Hispania principem dominumque rerum .	He governed the province during eight years, his administration being of an uncertain and capricious character. At first he was active, vigorous, and indeed excessively severe, in the punishment of offenders. For, a money-dealer having committed some fraud in the way of his business, he cut off his hands, and nailed them to his counter. Another, who had poisoned an orphan, to whom he was guardian, and next heir to the estate, he crucified. On this delinquent imploring the protection of the law, and crying out that he was a Roman citizen, he affected to afford him some alleviation, and to mitigate his punishment, by a mark of honour, ordered a cross, higher than usual, and painted white, to be erected for him But by degrees he gave himself up to a life of indolence and inactivity, from the fear of giving Nero any occasion of jealousy, and because, as he used to say, " Nobody was obliged to render an account of their leisure hours." He was holding a court of justice on the circuit at New Carthage, when he received intelligence of the insurrection in Gaul; and while the lieutenant of Aquitania was soliciting his assistance, letters were brought from Vindex, requesting him " to assert the rights of mankind, and put himself at their head to relieve them from the tyranny of Nero." Without any long demur, he accepted the invitation, from a mixture of fear and hope. For he had discovered that private orders had been sent by Nero to his procurators in the province to get him dispatched; and he was encouraged to the enterprise, as well by several auspices and omens, as by the prophecy of a young woman of good family. The more so, because the priest of Jupiter at Clunia, admonished by a dream, had discovered in the recesses of the temple some verses similar to those in which she had delivered her prophecy. These had also been uttered by a girl under divine inspiration, about two hundred years before. The import of the verses was, "That in time, Spain should give the world a lord and master."
10	Igitur cum quasi manumissioni uacaturus conscendisset tribunal , propositis ante se damnatorum occisorumque a Nerone quam plurimis imaginibus et astante nobili puero , quem exulantem e proxima Baliari insula ob id ipsum acciuerat , deplorauit temporum statum consalutatusque imperator legatum se senatus ac populi R . professus est . dein iustitio indicto , e plebe quidem prouinciae legiones et auxilia conscripsit super exercitum ueterem legionis unius duarumque alarum et cohortium trium ; at e primoribus prudentia atque aetate praestantibus uel instar senatus , ad quos de maiore re quotiens opus esset referretur , instituit . delegit et equestris ordinis iuuenes , qui manente anulorum aureorum usu euocati appellarentur excubiasque circa cubiculum suum uice militum agerent . etiam per prouincias edicta dimisit , auctor in singulis uniuersisque conspirandi simul et ut qua posset quisque opera communem causam iuuarent . Per idem fere tempus in munitione oppidi , quod sedem bello delegerat , repertus est anulus opere antiquo , scalptura gemmae Victoriam cum tropaeo exprimente ; ac subinde Alexandrina nauis Dertosam appulit armis onusta , sine gubernatore , sine nauta aut uectore ullo , ut nemini dubium esset iustum piumque et fauentibus diis bellum suscipi : cum repente ex inopinato prope cuncta turbata sunt . alarum altera castris appropinquantem paenitentia mutati sacramenti destituere conata est aegreque retenta in officio , et serui , quos a liberto Neronis ad fraudem praeparatos muneri ac ceperat , per angiportum in balneas transeuntem paene interemerunt , nisi cohortantibus in uicem ne occasionem omitterent , interrogatisque de qua occasione loquerentur , expressa cruciatu confessio esset .	Taking his seat on the tribunal, therefore, as if there was no other business than the manumitting of slaves, he had the effigies of a number of persons who had been condemned and put to death by Nero, set up before him, whilst a noble youth stood by, who had been banished, and whom he had purposely sent for from one of the neighbouring Balearic isles; and lamenting the condition of the times, and being thereupon unanimously saluted by the title of Emperor, he publicly declared himself "only the lieutenant of the senate and people of Rome." Then shutting the courts, he levied legions and auxiliary troops among the provincials, besides his veteran army consisting of one legion, two wings of horse, and three cohorts. Out of the military leaders most distinguished for age and prudence, he formed a kind of senate, with whom to advise upon all matters of importance, as often as occasion should require. He likewise chose several young men of the equestrian order, who were to be allowed the privilege of wearing the gold ring, and, being called " The Reserve," should mount guard before his bed-chamber, instead of the legionary soldiers. He likewise issued proclamations throughout the provinces of the empire, exhorting all to rise in arms unanimously, and aid the common cause, by all the ways and means in their power. About the same time, in fortifying a town, which he had pitched upon as a military post, a ring was found, of antique workmanship, in the stone of which was engraved the goddess Victory with a trophy. Presently after, a ship of Alexandria arrived at Dertosa, loaded with arms, without any person to steer it, or so much as a single sailor or passenger on board. From this incident, nobody entertained the least doubt but the war upon which they were entering was just and honourable, and favoured likewise by the gods; when all on a sudden the whole design was exposed to failure. One of the two wings of horse, repenting of the violation of their oath to Nero, attempted to desert him upon his approach to the camp, and were with some difficulty kept in their duty. And some slaves which had been presented to him by a freedman of Nero's, on purpose to murder him, had like to have killed him as he went through a narrow passage to the bath. Being overheard to encourage one another not to lose the opportunity, they were called to an account concerning it; and recourse being had to the torture, a confession was extorted from them.
11	accessit ad tanta discrimina mors Vindicis , qua maxime consternatus destitutoque similis non multum afuit quin uitae renuntiaret . sed superuenientibus ab urbe nuntiis ut occisum Neronem cunctosque in uerba sua iurasse cognouit , deposita legati suscepit Caesaris appellationem iterque ingressus est paludatus ac dependente a ceruicibus pugione ante pectus ; nec prius usum togae reciperauit quam oppressis qui nouas res moliebantur , praefecto praetori Nymphidio Sabino Romae , in Germania Fonteio Capitone , in Africa Clodio Macro legatis .	These dangers were followed by the death of Vindex, at which being extremely discouraged, as if fortune had quite forsaken him, he had thoughts of putting an end to his own life; but receiving advice by his messengers from Rome that Nero was slain, and that all had taken an oath to him as emperor, he laid aside the title of lieutenant, and took upon him that of Caesar. Putting himself upon his march in his general's cloak, and a dagger hanging from his neck before his breast, he did not resume the use of the toga. until Nymphidius Sabinus, prefect of the pretorian guards at Rome, with the two lieutenants, Fonteius Capito in Germany, and Claudius Macer in Africa, who opposed his advancement, were all put down.
12	Praecesserat de eo fama saeuitiae simul atque auaritiae , quod ciuitates Hispaniarum Galliarumque , quae cunctantius sibi accesserant , grauioribus tributis , quasdam etiam murorum destructione punisset et praepositos procuratoresque supplicio capitis adfecisset cum coniugibus ac liberis ; quodque oblatam a Tarraconensibus e uetere templo Iouis coronam auream librarum quindecim conflasset ac tres uncias , quae ponderi deerant , iussisset exigi . ea fama et confirmata et aucta est , ut primum urbem introiit . nam cum classiarios , quos Nero ex remigibus iustos milites fecerat , redire ad pristinum statum cogeret , recusantis atque insuper aquilam et signa pertinacius flagitantis non modo inmisso equite disiecit , sed decimauit etiam . item Germanorum cohortem a Caesaribus olim ad custodiam corporis institutam multisque experimentis fidelissimam dissoluit ac sine commodo ullo remisit in patriam , quasi Cn . Dolabellae , iuxta cuius hortos tendebat , proniorem . illa quoque uerene an falso per ludibrium iactabantur , adposita lautiore cena ingemuisse eum , et ordinario quidem dispensatori breuiarium rationum offerenti paropsidem leguminis pro sedulitate ac diligentia porrexisse , Cano autem choraulae mire placenti denarios quinque donasse prolatos manu sua e peculiaribus loculis suis .	Rumours of his cruelty and avarice had reached the city before his arrival; such as that he had punished some cities of Spain and Gaul, for not joining him readily, by the imposition of heavy taxes, and some by levelling their walls; and had put to death the governors and procurators with their wives and children: likewise that a golden crown, of fifteen pounds weight, taken out of the temple of Jupiter, with which he was presented by the people of Tarracona, he had melted down, and had exacted from them three ounces which were wanting in the weight. This report of him was confirmed and increased, as soon as he entered the town. For some seamen who had been taken from the fleet, and enlisted among the troops by Nero, he obliged to return to their former condition; but they refusing to comply, and obstinately clinging to the more honourable service under their eagles and standards, he not only dispersed them by a body of horse, but likewise decimated them. He also disbanded a cohort of Germans, which had been formed by the preceding emperors, for their body guard, and upon many occasions found very faithful; and sent them back into their own country, without giving them any gratuity, pretending that they were more inclined to favour the advancement of Cneius Dolabella, near whose gardens they encamped, than his own. The following ridiculous stories were also related of him; but whether with or without foundation, I know not; such as, that when a more sumptuous entertainment than usual was served up, he fetched a deep groan; that when one of the stewards presented him with an account of his expenses, he reached fim a dish of legumes from his table as a reward for his care and diligence; and when Canus, the piper, had played much to his satisfaction, he presented him, with his own hand, five denarii taken out of his pocket.
13	Quare aduentus eius non perinde gratus fuit , idque proximo spectaculo apparuit , siquidem Atellanis notissimum canticum exorsis : uenit Onesimus a uilla cuncti simul spectatores consentiente uoce reliquam partem rettulerunt ac saepius uersu repetito egerunt .	His arrival, therefore, in the town was not very agreeable to the people; and this appeared at the next public spectacle. For when the actors in a farce began a well-known song, Venit, io, Simus a villa Lo! Clodpate from his village comes all the spectators, with one voice, went on with the rest, repeating and acting the first verse several times over.