Vitellius (Suetonius)

[Close]

	Vitellius Author: Suetonius	Translator: Alexander Thomson
1	Vitelliorum originem alii aliam et quidem diuersissimam tradunt , partim ueterem et nobilem , partim uero nouam et obscuram atque etiam sordidam ; quod ego per adulatores obtrectatoresque imperatoris Vitelli euenisse opinarer , nisi aliquanto prius de familiae condicione uariatum esset . extat Q . † Elogi ad Quintum Vitellium Diui Augusti quaestorem libellus , quo continetur , Vitellios Fauno Aboriginum rege et Vitellia , quae multis locis pro numine coleretur , ortos toto Latio imperasse ; horum residuam stirpem ex Sabinis transisse Romam atque inter patricios adlectam ; indicia stirpis mansisse diu uiam Vitelliam ab Ianiculo ad mare usque , item coloniam eiusdem nominis , quam gentili copia aduersus Aequiculos tutandam olim depoposcissent ; tempore deinde Samnitici belli praesidio in Apuliam misso quosdam ex Vitellis subsedisse Nuceriae eorumque progeniem longo post interuallo repetisse urbem atque ordinem senatorium .	VERY different accounts are given of the origin of the Vitellian family. Some describe it as ancient and noble, others as recent and obscure, nay, extremely mean. I am inclined to think, that these several representations have been made by the flatterers and detractors of Vitellius, after he became emperor, unless the fortunes of the family varied before. There is extant a memoir addressed by Quintus Eulogius to Quintus Vitellius, quzestor to the Divine Augustus, in which it is said, that the Vitellii were descended from Faunus, king of the aborigines, and Vitellia, who was worshipped in many places as a goddess, and that they reigned formerly over the whole of Latium: that all who were left of the family removed out of the country of the Sabines to Rome, and were enrolled among the patricians: that some monuments of the family continued a long time; as the Vitellian Way, reaching from the Janiculum to the sea, and likewise a colony of that name, which, at a very remote period of time, they desired leave from the government to defend against the Aequicolae, with a force raised by their own family only: also that, in the time of the war with the Samnites, some of the Vitellii who went with the troops levied for the security of Apulia, settled at Nuceria, and their descendants, a long time afterwards, returned again to Rome, and were admitted into the patrician order.
2	contra plures auctorem generis libertinum prodiderunt , Cassius Seuerus nec minus alii eundem et sutorem ueteramentarium , cuius filius sectionibus et cognituris uberius compendium nanctus , ex muliere uulgari , Antiochi cuiusdam furnariam exercentis filia , equitem R . genuerit . sed quod discrepat , sit in medio . ceterum P . Vitellius domo Nuceria , siue ille stirpis antiquae siue pudendis parentibus atque auis , eques certe R . et rerum Augusti procurator , quattuor filios amplissimae dignitatis cognomines ac tantum praenominibus distinctos reliquit Aul ( um ), Q ( uintum ), P ( ublium ), L ( ucium ). Aulus in consulatu obiit , quem cum Domitio Neronis Caesaris patre inierat , praelautus alioqui famosusque cenarum magnificentia . Quintus caruit ordine , cum auctore Tiberio secerni minus idoneos senatores remouerique placuisset . P ( ublius ), Germanici comes , Cn . Pisonem inimicum et interfectorem eius accusauit condemnauitque , ac post praeturae honorem inter Seiani conscios arreptus et in custodiam fratri datus scalpro librario uenas sibi incidit , nec tam mortis paenitentia quam suorum obtestatione obligari curarique se passus in eadem custodia morbo periit . L ( ucius ) ex consulatu Syriae praepositus , Artabanum Parthorum regem summis artibus non modo ad conloquium suum , sed etiam ad ueneranda legionum signa pellexit . mox cum Claudio principe duos insuper ordinarios consulatus censuramque gessit . curam quoque imperi sustinuit absente eo expeditione Britannica ; uir innocens et industrius , sed amore libertinae perinfamis , cuius etiam saliuis melle commixtis , ne clam quidem aut raro sed cotidie ac palam , arterias et fauces pro remedio fouebat . idem miri in adulando ingenii primus C . Caesarem adorare ut deum instituit , cum reuersus ex Syria non aliter adire ausus esset quam capite uelato circumuertensque se , deinde procumbens . Claudium uxoribus libertisque addictum ne qua non arte demereretur , proximo munere a Messalina petit ut sibi pedes praeberet excalciandos ; detractumque socculum dextrum inter togam tunicasque gestauit assidue , nonnumquam osculabundus . Narcissi quoque et Pallantis imagines aureas inter Lares coluit . huius et illa uox est : ' saepe facias ,' cum saeculares ludos edenti Claudio gratularetur .	On the other hand, the generality of writers say that the founder of the family was a freedman. Cassius Severus and some others relate that he was likewise a cobbler, whose son having made a considerable fortune by agencies and dealings in confiscated property, begot, by a common strumpet, daughter of one Antiochus, a baker, a child, who afterwards became a Roman knight. Of these different accounts the reader is left to take his choice. It is certain, however, that Publius Vitellius, of Nuceria, whether of an ancient family, or of low extraction, was a Roman knight, and a procurator to Augustus. He left behind him four sons, all men of very high station, who had the same cognomen, but the different praenomina of Aulus, Quintus. Publius, and Lucius. Aulus died in the enjoyment of the consulship, which office he bore jointly with Domitius, the father of Nero Caesar. He was elegant to excess in his manner of living, and notorious for the vast expense of his entertainments. Quintus was deprived of his rank of senator, when, upon a motion made by Tiberius, a resolution passed to purge the senate of those who were in any respect not duly qualified for that honour. Publius, an intimate friend and companion of Germanicus, prosecuted his enemy and murderer, Cneius Piso, and procured sentence against him. After he had been made praetor, being arrested among the accomplices of Sejanus, and delivered into the hands of his brother to be confined in his house, he opened a vein with a penknife, intending to bleed himself to death. He suffered, however, the wound to be bound up and cured, not so much from repenting the resolution he had formed, as to comply with the importunity of his relations. He died afterwards a natural death during his confinement. Lucius, after his consulship, was made governor of Syria, and by his politic management not only brought Artabanus, king of the Parthians, to give him an interview, but to worship the standards of the Roman legions. He afterwards filled two ordinary consulships, and also the censorship jointly with the emperor Claudius. Whilst that prince was absent upon his expedition into Britain, the care of the empire was committed to him, being a man of great integrity and industry. But he lessened his character not a little, by his passionate fondness for an abandoned freedwoman, with whose spittle, mixed with honey, he used to anoint his throat and jaws, by way of remedy for some complaint, not privately nor seldom, but daily and publicly. Being extravagantly prone to flattery, it was he who gave rise to the worship of Caius Caesar as a god, when, upon his return from Syria, he would not presume to accost him otherwise than with his head covered, turning himself round, and then prostrating himself upon the earth. And to leave no artifice untried to secure the favour of Claudius, who was entirely governed by his wives and freedmen, he requested as the greatest favour from Messalina, that she would be pleased to let him take off her shoes; which, when he had done, he took her right shoe, and wore it constantly betwixt his toga and his tunic, and from time to time covered it with kisses. He likewise worshipped golden images of Narcissus and Pallas among his household gods. It was he, too, who, when Claudius exhibited the secular games, in his compliments to him upon that occasion, used this expression, "May you often do the same."
3	decessit paralysi altero die quam correptus est , duobus filiis superstitibus , quos ex Sestilia probatissima nec ignobili femina editos consules uidit , et quidem eodem ambos totoque anno , cum maiori minor in sex menses successisset . defunctum senatus publico funere honorauit , item statua pro rostris cum hac inscriptione : pietatis immobilis erga principem . A . Vitellius L . filius imperator natus est VIII . Kal . Oct ., uel ut quidam VII . Id . Sept ., Druso Caesare Norbano Flacco cons . genituram eius praedictam a mathematicis ita parentes exhorruerunt , ut pater magno opere semper contenderit , ne qua ei prouincia uiuo se committeretur , mater et missum ad legiones et appellatum imperatorem pro afflicto statim lamentata sit . pueritiam primamque adulescentiam Capreis egit inter Tiberiana scorta , et ipse perpetuo spintriae cognomine notatus existimatusque corporis gratia initium et causa incrementorum patri fuisse ;	He died of palsy, the day after his seizure with it, leaving behind him two sons, whom he had by a most excellent and respectable wife, Sextilia. He had lived to see them both consuls, the same year and during the whole year also; the younger succeeding the elder for the last six months. The senate honoured him after his decease with a funeral at the public expense and with a statue in the Rostra, which had this inscription upon the base: "One who was stedfast in his loyalty to his prince." The emperor Aulus Vitellius, the son of this Lucius, was born upon the eighth of the calends of October [24th September], or, as some say, upon the seventh of the ides of September [7th September], in the consulship of Drusus Caesar and Norbanus Flaccus. His parents were so terrified with the predictions of astrologers upon the calculation of his nativity, that his father used his utmost endeavours to prevent his being sent governor into any of the provinces, whilst he was alive. His mother, upon his being sent to the legions and also upon his being proclaimed emperor, immediately lamented him as utterly ruined. He spent his youth with Tiberius at Capri, in all manner of debauchery, which course of life he never altered.
4	sequenti quoque aetate omnibus probris contaminatus , praecipuum in aula locum tenuit , Gaio per aurigandi , Claudio per aleae studium familiaris , sed aliquanto Neroni acceptior , cum propter eadem haec , tum peculiari merito , quod praesidens certamini Neroneo cupientem inter citharoedos contendere nec quamuis flagitantibus cunctis promittere audentem ideoque egressum theatro reuocauerat , quasi perseuerantis populi legatione suscepta , exorandumque praebuerat .	In the subsequent part of his life, being still more scandalously vicious, he rose to great favour at court; being upon a very intimate footing with Caius [Caligula], because of his fondness for chariot-driving, and with Claudius for his love of gaming. But he was in a still higher degree acceptable to Nero, as well on the same accounts, as for other services which he rendered him. When Nero presided in the games instituted by himself, though he was extremely desirous to perform amongst the harpers, yet his modesty would not permit him, notwithstanding the people entreated much for it. Upon his quitting the theatre, Vitellius fetched him back again, pretending to represent the determined wishes of the people, and so afforded him the opportunity of yielding to their entreaties.
5	Trium itaque principum indulgentia non solum honoribus uerum et sacerdotiis amplissimis auctus , proconsulatum Africae post haec curamque operum publicorum administrauit et uoluntate dispari et existimatione . in prouincia singularem innocentiam praestitit biennio continuato , cum succedenti fratri legatus substitisset ; at in urbano officio dona atque ornamenta templorum subripuisse et commutasse quaedam ferebatur proque auro et argento stagnum et aurichalcum supposuisse .	By the favour of these three princes, he was not only advanced to the great offices of the state, but to the highest dignities of the sacred order; after which he held the proconsulship of Africa, and had the superintendence of the public works, in which appointment his conduct, and, consequently, his reputation, were very different. For he governed the province with singular integrity during two years, in the latter of which he acted as deputy to his brother, who succeeded him. But in his office in the city, he was said to pillage the temples of their gifts and ornaments, and to have exchanged brass and tin for gold and silver.
6	Vxorem habuit Petroniam consularis uiri filiam et ex ea filium Petronianum captum altero oculo . hunc heredem a matre sub condicione institutum , si de potestate patris exisset , manu emisit breuique , ut creditum est , interemit , insimulatum insuper parricidii et quasi paratum ad scelus uenenum ex conscientia hausisset . duxit mox Galeriam Fundanam praetorio patre ac de hac quoque liberos utriusque sexus tulit , sed marem titubantia oris prope mutum et elinguem .	He took to wife Petronia, the daughter of a man of consular rank, and had by her a son named Petronius, who was blind of an eye. The mother being willing to appoint this youth her heir, upon condition that he should be released from his father's authority, the latter discharged him accordingly; but shortly after, as was believed, murdered him, charging him with a design upon his life, and pretending that he had, from consciousness of his guilt, drank the poison he had prepared for his father. Soon afterwards, he married Galeria Fundana, the daughter of a man of pretorian rank, and had by her both sons and daughters. Among the former was one who had such a stammering in his speech, that he was little better than if he had been dumb.
7	A Galba in inferiorem Germaniam contra opinionem missus est . adiutum putant T . Vini suffragio , tunc potentissimi et cui iam pridem per communem factionis Venetae fauorem conciliatus esset ; nisi quod Galba prae se tulit nullos minus metuendos quam qui de solo uictu cogitarent , ac posse prouincialibus copiis profundam gulam eius expleri , ut cuiuis euidens sit contemptu magis quam gratia electum . satis constat exituro uiaticum defuisse , tanta egestate rei familiaris , ut uxore et liberis , quos Romae relinquebat , meritorio cenaculo abditis domum in reliquam partem anni ablocaret utque ex aure matris detractum unionem pignerauerit ad itineris impensas . creditorum quidem praestolantium ac detinentium turbam et in iis Sinuessanos Formianosque , quorum publica uectigalia interuerterat , non nisi terrore calumniae amouit , cum libertino cuidam acerbius debitum reposcenti iniuriarum formulam , quasi calce ab eo percussus , intendisset nec aliter quam extortis quinquaginta sestertiis remisisset . Aduenientem male animatus erga principem exercitus pronusque ad res nouas libens ac supinis manibus excepit uelut dono deum oblatum , ter consulis filium , aetate integra , facili ac prodigo animo . quam ueterem de se persuasionem Vitellius recentibus etiam experimentis auxerat , tota uia caligatorum quoque militum obuios exosculans perque stabula ac deuersoria mulionibus ac uiatoribus praeter modum comis , ut mane singulos iamne iantassent sciscitaretur seque fecisse ructu quoque ostenderet .	He was sent by Galba into Lower Germany, contrary to his expectation. It is supposed that he was assisted in procuring this appointment by the interest of Titus Junius, a man of great influence at that time; whose friendship he had long before gained by favouring the same set of charioteers with him in the Circensian games. But Galba openly declared that none were less to be feared than those who only cared for their bellies, and that even his enormous appetite must be satisfied with the plenty of that province; so that it is evident he was selected for that government more out of contempt than kindness. It is certain, that when he was to set out, he had not money for the expenses of his journey; he being at that time so much straitened in his circumstances, that he was obliged to put his wife and children, whom he left at Rome, into a poor lodging which he hired for them, in order that he might let his own house for the remainder of the year; and he pawned a pearl taken from his mother's ear-ring, to defray his expenses on the road. A crowd of creditors who were waiting to stop him, and amongst them the people of Sineussa and Formia, whose taxes he had converted to his own use, he eluded, by alarming them with the apprehension of false accusations. He had, however, sued a certain freedman, who was clamorous in demanding a debt of him, under pretence that he had kicked him; which action he would not withdraw, until he had wrung from the freedman fifty thousand sesterces. Upon his arrival in the province, the army, which was disaffected to Galba, and ripe for insurrection, received him with open arms, as if he had been sent them from heaven. It was no small recommendation to their favour, that he was the son of a man who had been thrice consul, was in the prime of life, and of an easy, prodigal disposition. This opinion, which had been long entertained of him, Vitellius confirmed by some late practices; having kissed all the common soldiers whom he met with upon the road, and been excessively complaisant in the inns and stables to the muleteers and travellers; asking them in a morning, if they had got their breakfasts, and letting them see, by belching, that he had eaten his.
8	castra uero ingressus nihil cuiquam poscenti negauit atque etiam ultro ignominiosis notas , reis sordes , damnatis supplicia dempsit . quare uixdum mense transacto , neque diei neque temporis ratione habita , ac iam uespere , subito a militibus e cubiculo raptus , ita ut erat in ueste domestica , imperator est consalutatus circumlatusque per celeberrimos uicos , strictum Diui Iuli gladium tenens detractum delubro Martis atque in prima gratulatione porrectum sibi a quodam . nec ante in praetorium rediit quam flagrante triclinio ex conceptu camini , cum quidem consternatis et quasi omine aduerso anxiis omnibus : ' bono ,' inquit , ' animo estote ! nobis adluxit ,' nullo sermone alio apud milites usus . consentiente deinde etiam superioris prouinciae exercitu , qui prior a Galba ad senatum defecerat , cognomen Germanici delatum ab uniuersis cupide recepit , Augusti distulit , Caesaris in perpetuum recusauit .	After he had reached the camp, he denied no man any thing he asked for, and pardoned all who lay under sentence for disgraceful conduct or disorderly habits. Before a month, therefore, had passed, without regard to the day or season, he was hurried by the soldiers out of his bed-chamber, although it was evening, and he in an undress, and unanimously saluted by the title of EMPEROR. He was then carried round the most considerable towns in the neighbourhood, with the sword of the Divine Julius in his hand; which had been taken by some person out of the temple of Mars, and presented to him when he was first saluted. Nor did he return to the pretorium, until his dining-room was in flames from the chimney's taking fire. Upon this accident, all being in consternation, and considering it as an unlucky omen, he cried out, " Courage, boys! it shines brightly upon us." And this was all he said to the soldiers. The army of the Upper Province, likewise, which had before declared against Galba for the senate, joining in the proceedings, he very eagerly accepted the cognomen of Germanicus, offered him by the unanimous consent of both armies, but deferred assuming that of Augustus, and refused for ever that of Caesar.
9	ac subinde caede Galbae adnuntiata , compositis Germanicis rebus , partitus est copias , quas aduersus Othonem praemitteret quasque ipse perduceret . praemisso agmine laetum euenit auspicium , siquidem a parte dextra repente aquila aduolauit lustratisque signis ingressos uiam sensim antecessit . at contra ipso mouente statuae equestres , cum plurifariam ei ponerentur , fractis repente cruribus pariter corruerunt , et laurea , quam religiosissime circumdederat , in profluentem excidit ; mox Viennae pro tribunali iura reddenti gallinaceus supra umerum ac deinde in capite astitit . quibus ostentis par respondit exitus ; nam confirmatum per legatos suos imperium per se retinere non potuit .	Intelligence of Galba's death arriving soon after, when he had settled his affairs in Germany he divided his troops into two bodies, intending to send one of them before him against Otho, and to follow with the other himself. The army he sent forward had a lucky omen; for, suddenly, an eagle came flying up to them on the right, and having hovered round the standards, flew gently before them on their road. But, on the other hand, when he began his own march, all the equestrian statues, which were erected for him in several places, fell suddenly down with their legs broken; and the laurel crown, which he had put on as emblematical of auspicious fortune, fell off his head into a river. Soon afterwards, at Vienne, as he was upon the tribunal administering justice, a cock perched upon his shoulder, and afterwards upon his head. The issue corresponded to these omens; for he was not able to keep the empire which had been secured for him by his lieutenants.
10	De Betriacensi uictoria et Othonis exitu , cum adhuc in Gallia esset , audiit nihilque cunctatus , quicquid praetorianarum cohortium fuit , ut pessimi exempli , uno exauctorauit edicto iussas tribunis tradere arma . centum autem atque uiginti , quorum libellos Othoni datos inuenerat exposcentium praemium ob editam in caede Galbae operam , conquiri et supplicio adfici imperauit , egregie prorsus atque magnifice et ut summi principis spem ostenderet , nisi cetera magis ex natura et priore uita sua quam ex imperii maiestate gessisset . namque itinere incohato per medias ciuitates ritu triumphantium uectus est perque flumina delicatissimis nauigiis et uariarum coronarum genere redimitis , inter profusissimos obsoniorum apparatus , nulla familiae aut militis disciplina , rapinas ac petulantiam omnium in iocum uertens , qui non contenti epulo ubique publice praebito , quoscumque libuisset in libertatem asserebant , uerbera et plagas , saepe uulnera , nonnumquam necem repraesentantes aduersantibus . utque campos , in quibus pugnatum est , adit , abhorrentis quosdam cadauerum tabem detestabili uoce confirmare ausus est , optime olere occisum hostem et melius ciuem . nec eo setius ad leniendam grauitatem odoris plurimum meri propalam hausit passimque diuisit . pari uanitate atque insolentia lapidem memoriae Othonis inscriptum intuens dignum eo Mausoleo ait , pugionemque , quo is se occiderat , in Agrippinensem coloniam misit Marti dedicandum . in Appennini quidem iugis etiam peruigilium egit .	He heard of the victory at Bedriacum, and the death of Otho, whilst he was yet in Gaul, and without the least hesitation, by a single proclamation, disbanded all the pretorian cohorts, as having, by their repeated treasons, set a dangerous example to the rest of the army; commanding them to deliver up their arms to his tribunes. A hundred and twenty of them, under whose hands he had found petitions presented to Otho, for rewards of their service in the murder of Galba, he besides ordered to be sought out and punished. So far his conduct deserved approbation, and was such as to afford hope of his becoming an excellent prince, had he not managed his other affairs in a way more corresponding with his own disposition, and his former manner of life, than to the imperial dignity. For, having begun his march, he rode through every city in his route in a triumphal procession; and sailed down the rivers in ships, fitted out with the greatest elegance, and decorated wigh various kinds of crowns, amidst the most extravagant entertainments. Such was the want of discipline, and the licentiousness both in his family and army, that, not satisfied with the provision every where made for them at the public expense, they committed every kind of robbery and insult upon the inhabitants, setting slaves at liberty as they pleased; and if any dared to make resistance, they dealt blows and abuse, frequently wounds, and sometimes slaughter amongst them. When he reached the plains on which the battles were fought, some of those around him being offended at the smell of the carcases which lay rotting upon the ground, he had the audacity to encourage them by a most detestable remark, "That a dead enemy smelt not amiss, especially if he were a fellow-citizen." To qualify, however, the offensiveness of the stench, he quaffed in public a goblet of wine, and with equal vanity and -insolence distributed a large quantity of it among his troops. On his observing a stone with an inscription upon it to the memory of Otho, he said, "It was a mausoleum good enough for such a prince." He also sent the poniard, with which Otho killed himself, to the colony of Agrippina, to be dedicated to Mars. Upon the Appenine hills he celebrated a Bacchanalian feast.
11	urbem denique ad classicum introiit paludatus ferroque succinctus , inter signa atque uexilla , sagulatis comitibus ac detectis commilitonum armis . Magis deinde ac magis omni diuino humanoque iure neglecto Alliensi die pontificatum maximum cepit , comitia in decem annos ordinauit seque perpetuum consulem . et ne cui dubium foret , quod exemplar regendae rei p . eligeret , medio Martio campo adhibita publicorum sacerdotum frequentia inferias Neroni dedit ac sollemni conuiuio citharoedum placentem palam admonuit , ut aliquid et de dominico diceret , incohantique Neroniana cantica primus exultans etiam plausit .	At last he entered the City with trumpets sounding, in his general's cloak, and girded with his sword, amidst a display of standards and banners; his attendants being all in the military habit, and the arms of the soldiers unsheathed. Acting more and more in open violation of all laws, both divine and human, he assumed the office of Pontifex Maximus, upon the day of the defeat at the Allia; ordered the magistrates to be elected for ten years of office; and made himself consul for life. To put it out of all doubt what model he intended to follow in his government of the empire, he nmade his offerings to the shade of Nero in the midst of the Campus Martius, and with a full assembly of the public priests attending him. And at a solemn entertainment, he desired a harper who pleased the company much, to sing something in praise of Domitius; and upon his beginning some songs of Nero's, he started up in presence of.the whole assembly, and could not refrain from applauding him, by clapping his hands.
12	talibus principiis magnam imperii partem non nisi consilio et arbitrio uilissimi cuiusque histrionum et aurigarum administrauit et maxime Asiatici liberti . hunc adulescentulum mutua libidine constupratum , mox taedio profugum cum Puteolis poscam uendentem reprehendisset , coiecit in compedes statimque soluit et rursus in deliciis habuit ; iterum deinde ob nimiam contumaciam et furacitatem grauatus circumforano lanistae uendidit dilatumque ad finem muneris repente subripuit et prouincia demum accepta manumisit ac primo imperii die aureis donauit anulis super cenam , cum mane rogantibus pro eo cunctis detestatus esset seuerissime talem equestris ordinis maculam .	After such a commencement of his career, he conducted his affairs, during the greater part of his reign, entirely by the advice and direction of the vilest amongst the players and charioteers, and especially his freedman Asiaticus. This fellow had, when young, been engaged with him in a course of riotous living, but, being at last quite tired of the occupation, ran away. His master, some time after, caught him at Puteoli, selling a liquor called Posca, and put him in chains, but soon released him, and retained him in his former capacity. Growing weary, however, of his rough and stubborn temper, he sold him to a strolling-fencing-master; after which, when the fellow was to have been brought up to play his part at the conclusion of an entertainment of gladiators, he suddenly carried him off, and at length, upon his being advanced to the government of a province, gave him his freedom. The first day of his reign, he presented him with the gold rings at supper, though in the morning, when all about him requested that favour in his behalf, he expressed the utmost abhorrence of putting so great a strain upon the equestrian order.