11
After the forces of Otho had been worsted, a certain
horseman brought word of the disaster to Otho. When
the bystanders refused to credit his report--it chanced
that there were many gathered there--and some set
to calling him "renegade" and others "enemy," he
exclaimed: "Would that this news were false, Caesar:
for most gladly would I have died to secure thy victory.
As it is, my demise is determined, that no one may
think I fled hither to secure my own safety. But do
thou be assured that the enemy will ere long arrive,
and debate what must be done." Having finished
these words, he despatched himself.
12
This act caused
all to believe him, and they were ready to renew
the conflict. Those present formed a numerous body
and there were not a few others at hand from Pannonia.
But the most important consideration, as
usual in such cases, was that they loved Otho and
were quite devoted to him, not in word but in their
hearts. When, however, they besought him not to
abandon either himself or them, he waited until the
rest, at report of the news, had come running together,
and then, after some muttered words to himself, he
delivered to the soldiers a speech, from which the following
is a brief excerpt:
13
"Enough, quite enough, has already been done. I
hate a civil war, even though I conquer: and I love all
Romans, even though they do not side with me. Let
Vitellius be victor, since this has pleased the gods; and
let the lives of his soldiers also be spared, since this
pleases me. It is far better and more just that one
should perish for all, rather than many for one, and
that I should refuse on account of one single man to
embroil the Roman people and cause so great a mass
of human beings to perish. I certainly should prefer
to be a Mucius, a Decius, a Curtius, a Regulus, rather
than a Marius, a Cinna, or a Sulla,--not to mention
other names. Therefore do not force me to become
one of these men I hate, nor grudge me the privilege of
imitating one of those whom I commend. Do you depart
to meet the conqueror and do him reverence. As
for me, I shall find means to free myself, that all men
may be taught by the event that you have chosen such
an emperor as has not given you up to save himself
but himself to save you."
14
Of this nature were the words of Otho. Falling upon
the ears of the soldiers they aroused both admiration
of the man and pity for what might befall him: his
troops shed tears of lamentation and mourning, calling
him father and terming him dearer than children and
parents.
["Upon thee our lives depend," they said,
"and for thee we will all die."]
This argument
continued so for most of the day, Otho begging to be
allowed to die and the soldiers refusing to permit him
to carry out his wish. Finally, he reduced them to
silence and said: "It can not be that I should show
myself inferior to this soldier, whom you have seen kill
himself for the single reason that he had borne news of
defeat to his own emperor. I shall certainly follow in
his footsteps, that I may cease to see or hear aught any
longer. And you, if you love me in reality, let me die
as I desire and do not compel me to live against my
will, but take your way to the victor and gain his good
graces."
15
At the close of this speech he retired into his apartments
and after sending some messages to his intimate
friends and some to Vitellius in their behalf he burned
all the letters which anybody had written to him containing
hostile statements about Vitellius, not wanting
them to serve as damaging evidence against anybody.
Then he called each one of the persons that were at
hand, greeted them, and gave them money. Meantime
there was a disturbance made by the soldiers, so that
he was obliged to go out and quiet them, and he did
not come back until he had sent them to a place of
safety, some here, some there. So then, when quiet
had been permanently restored, taking a short sword
he killed himself. The grief-stricken soldiery took up
his body and buried it, and some slew themselves upon
his grave. This was the end that befell Otho, after he
had lived thirty-seven years lacking eleven days and
had reigned ninety days, and it overshadowed the impiety
and wickedness of his active career. In life the
basest of men he died most nobly. He had seized the
empire by the most villainous trick, but took leave of it
most creditably.
A series of brawls among the soldiers immediately ensued, and a
number of them were slain by one another; afterwards they reached an
agreement and set out to meet the victorious party.
16
Valens was so eager for money and gathered it so
assiduously from every source that he put to death the
decurion, who had concealed him and had saved his life,
on account of a thousand denarii which he thought had
been purloined from his possessions.
DURATION OF TIME
(Galba (II) and T. Vinius Coss).:
A.D. 69 = a.u. 822, from January 15th.
The following Consules Suffecti took office:
On the Calends of March--T. Virginius Rufus, Vopiscus Pompeius.
On the Calends of May--Caelius Sabinus, T. Flavins Sabinus.
On the Calends of July--T. Arrius Antoninus, P. Marius Celsus (II).
On the Calends of September--C. Fabius Valens, A. Alienus Caecinna (also Roscius Regulus, as Caecinna was condemned on the last day of October).
On the Calends of November--Cn. Caecilius Simplex, C. Quintius Atticus.
A.D. 69 = a.u. 822, from January 15th.
The following Consules Suffecti took office:
On the Calends of March--T. Virginius Rufus, Vopiscus Pompeius.
On the Calends of May--Caelius Sabinus, T. Flavins Sabinus.
On the Calends of July--T. Arrius Antoninus, P. Marius Celsus (II).
On the Calends of September--C. Fabius Valens, A. Alienus Caecinna (also Roscius Regulus, as Caecinna was condemned on the last day of October).
On the Calends of November--Cn. Caecilius Simplex, C. Quintius Atticus.
A.D. 69 (a.u. 822)
1
The population of Rome when it heard of the downfall
of Otho naturally transferred its allegiance immediately.
Otho, whom people previously praised and for
whose victory they prayed, they now abused as an
enemy, and Vitellius, upon whom they had been invoking
curses, they praised and declared emperor. So
truly there is nothing constant in human affairs. Those
who flourish most and those who are lowliest alike
choose unstable standards, and construct their praises
and their censures, their honors and their degradations
to conform to the accidents of their situation.
News of the death of Otho was brought to him
[Vitellius]
while in
Gaul. There he was joined by his wife and child, whom he placed on
a platform and saluted as Germanicus and imperator, though the boy
was only six years old.
[Vitellius witnessed gladiatorial combats at Lugdunum
and again at Cremona, as if the crowds of men
who had perished in the battles and were even then
exposed unburied to the elements did not suffice. He
beheld the slain with his own eyes, for he traversed all
the ground where they lay and gloated over the spectacle
as if he were still in the moment of victory; and
not even after that did he order them to be buried.]
Upon reaching Rome and adjusting affairs to suit him,
he issued a bulletin banishing the astrologers and commanding
them by this particular day (mentioning a
given date) to leave the whole country of Italy. They
by night put up in turn another document, in which
they announced that he should lose his life by the day
on which he actually died. So accurate was their
previous knowledge of what should come to pass.
2
Vitellius was fond of luxury and licentiousness and
cared for nothing else human or divine. He had always
been the kind of man that would spend his time
in taverns and gaming houses, over dancers and charioteers. Incalculable were the sums he spent on such
pursuits, and the consequence was that he had many
creditors. Now, when he attained to so great authority,
his wantonness only increased, and his expenditures
went on most of the day and night alike. He was
insatiate in filling himself, yet kept constantly vomiting
what he ate, apparently living on the mere passage of
food. Yet that was what enabled him to hold out; for
his fellow banqueters fared very badly.
[He was always
inviting numbers of the foremost men to his table
and he was frequently entertained at their houses.]
3
On this point one of them, Vibius Crispus,
[
]
was the
author of a most witty remark. Having been compelled
for some days by sickness to absent himself from
the convivial board, he said: "If I had not fallen ill,
I should certainly have died." The entire period of
his reign consisted in nothing but carousals and revels.
All the most valuable food products were brought together
from the ocean itself (not to go farther) from
the earth and from the Mediterranean, and were prepared
in so costly a fashion that even now some cakes
and other dishes are named Vitellian, after him. Why
should one go into the details of these affairs? It is
admitted by quite everybody that during the period
of his reign he expended on dinners two hundred million
two thousand five hundred denarii. There came
very near being a famine in all costly articles of food,
yet it was imperative that they should be provided.
Once he had a dish made that cost twenty-five myriads,
into which he put a mixture of tongues and brains and
livers of fish and certain kinds of birds. As it was impossible
to make so large a vessel of pottery, it was
made of silver and remained extant for some time, regarded
somewhat in the light of a votive offering, until
Hadrian finally set eyes on it and had it melted down.
4
Since I have mentioned this fact, I will also add
another, namely that not even Nero's Golden House
would satisfy Vitellius. He delighted in and commended
the name and the life and all the practices of
its former owner, yet he found fault with the structure
itself, saying that it had been badly built and was
scantily and meanly equipped. When he fell ill one
time he looked about for a room to afford him an
abode; so little did even Nero's surroundings satisfy
him. His wife Galeria ridiculed the small amount of
decoration found in the royal apartments. This pair,
as they spent other people's money, never stopped to
count the cost of anything; but those who invited them
to meals found themselves in great trouble
[save a few
whom he compensated for it]
. Yet the same persons
would not regularly entertain him the entire day, but
one set of men furnished breakfast, another lunch,
another dinner, and still another certain viands for
dessert calculated to stimulate a jaded appetite.
[
]
[For all who were able were eager to entertain him.]
It is
said that after the elapse of a few days he spent a hundred
myriads upon a dinner.
[His birthday celebration
lasted over two days and numbers of beasts and
of men were slain.]
[The character of Vitellius, being such as I have
described, did not serve to promote temperance on the
part of the soldiers, but numerous instances of their
wantonness and licentiousness were everywhere at
hand.]
Vitellius ascended the Capitol and greeted his mother. She was a
sensible woman, and when she first heard that her son had been given
the name Germanicus, she said: "My child was Vitellius and not
Germanicus."
5
Vitellius, however, furnished many with material
for amusement. They could not restrain their laughter
when they beheld wearing a solemn face in the public
processions a man whom they knew to have played the
strumpet--or saw mounted on a royal steed and clad
in a purple riding-habit him who wore, as they were
well aware, the Blue costume and curried the race-horses--or
viewed ascending the Capitol with so great
a crowd of soldiers him whom previously no one could
catch a glimpse of even in the Forum because of his
throngs of creditors--or gazed at him receiving the
adoration of all, whom once nobody liked very well
even to kiss. Indeed, those who had lent him anything
had laid hold of him when he started out for Germany
and would scarcely release him after he had given
security. Now, however, so far from laughing at him
the same men mourned and hid themselves. But he
sought them out, telling them he spared their lives as
an equivalent of the debt he owed, and he demanded
back his contracts.
6
[Though his life was of this kind he was not entirely
without good deeds. For example, he retained the
coinage minted under Nero and Galba and Otho, evincing
no displeasure at their images; and whatever gifts
had been bestowed upon any persons he held to be
valid and deprived no one of any such possession. He
did not collect any sums still owing of former public
contributions, and he confiscated no one's property. A
very few of those who sided with Otho he put to death
but did not withhold even the property of these from
their relatives. Upon the kinsmen of those previously
executed he bestowed all the funds that were found in
the public treasury. He did not obstruct the execution
of the wills of such as had fought against him and had
fallen in the battles. Furthermore he forbade the senators
and the knights to fight as gladiators or to appear
in any spectacle in the orchestra. And for these measures
he was commended.]
7
He was a constant attendant of the theatres, and this
won the attachment of the populace. He ate with the
most influential men on free and easy terms, and this
gained their favor to an even greater degree. His old
companions he never failed to remember and honored
them greatly, not (like some others) disdaining to
appear to recognize any of them. Many persons
have unexpectedly attained to great power feel hate
for those who are acquainted with their former humble
state.
[Vitellius, when Priscus opposed him in the
senate and denounced one of the soldiers, called the
tribunes to his side as if he had some need of their
assistance. He did not himself do Priscus any harm
and did not allow the officials to hurt him, but merely
said: "Be not indignant, Conscript Fathers, that we
two out of your number have had a little dispute with
each other." This act seemed to have been due to a
kindly disposition. The fact, however, that he wished
to imitate Nero and offered sacrifices to his Manes,
and that he spent so great sums on dinners, though it
caused joy to some, made the sensible grieve, since they
were fully aware that not all the money in the whole
world would be sufficient for him.]
8
While he was behaving in this way, evil omens occurred.
A comet star was seen, and the moon contrary
to precedent appeared to have had two eclipses, being
obscured by shadows on the fourth and on the seventh
day. Also people saw two suns at once, one in the
west weak and pale, and one in the east brilliant and
powerful. On the Capitol many huge footprints were
seen, presumably of some spirits that had descended
that hill. The soldiers who had slept there the night
in question said that the temple of Jupiter had opened
of itself with great clangor and some of the guards
were so terrified that they expired. At the same time
that this happened Vespasian, engaged in warfare with
the Jews,
[sent his son Titus to the emperor Galba to
give him a message. But when Titus returned, having
learned on the way]
of the rebellion of Vitellius and of
Otho, he deliberated what ought to be done.
[For
Vespasian was in general not rashly inclined and he
hesitated very much about involving himself in such
troublous affairs.]
9
But people favored him greatly: his reputation won
in Britain, his fame derived from the war under way,
his kindheartedness and prudence, all led them to desire
to have him at their head. Likewise Mucianus
urged him strongly, hoping that Vespasian should get
the name of emperor and that he as a result of the
other's good nature should enjoy an equal share of
power. Vespasian's soldiers on ascertaining all these
facts surrounded his tent and hailed him as emperor.
Portents and dreams pointing him out as sovereign
long before had also fallen to the lot of Vespasian, and
these will be recited in the story of his life. For the
time being he sent Mucianus to Italy against Vitellius,
while he himself, after taking a look at affairs in Syria
and entrusting to others the conduct of the war against
the Jews, proceeded to Egypt. There he collected
money, of which of course he needed a great deal, and
grin, which he desired to send in as large quantities as
possible to Rome. The soldiers in Moesia, hearing
how matters stood with him, would not wait for
Mucianus,--they had learned that he was
en route
,--and
chose as their general Antonius Primus,
[
]
who had
suffered sentence of exile in Nero's reign but had been
restored by Galba and was commander of the legion
in Pannonia. This man held supreme authority, although
not chosen by the emperor nor by the senate.
So great was the soldiers' anger at Vitellius and their
zest for plunder. They were doing this for no other
purpose except to pillage Italy. And their intention
was realized.
10
Vitellius when he heard about it remained where
he was and went on with his luxurious living even to
the extent of arranging gladiatorial combats. In the
course of these it was proposed that Sporus portray
the role of a maiden being ravished, but he would not
endure the shame and committed suicide. Vitellius
gave the charge of the war to Alienus
[
]
and certain
others. Alienus reached Cremona and occupied the
town, but seeing that his own soldiers were out of
training as a result of their luxurious life in Rome
and impaired by lack of practice, whereas the others
were physically well exercised and stout of heart, he
was afraid. Subsequently, when friendly proposals
came to him from Primus, he called the soldiers together
and by indicating the weakness of Vitellius and
the strength of Vespasian together with the character
of the two men he persuaded them to revolt. Then
they removed the images of Vitellius from their standards
and took an oath that they would be governed by
Vespasian. But, after the meeting had broken up and
they had retired to their tents, they changed their
minds and suddenly gathering excitedly in force with
great outcry they again saluted Vitellius as emperor
and imprisoned Alienus for having betrayed them, and
they paid no heed to his consular office. Such are the
regular practices of civil wars.
11
The great confusion which under these conditions
prevailed in the camp of Vitellius was increased that
night by an eclipse of the moon. It was not so much
its being obscured (though even such phenomena cause
fear to men in excitement) as the fact that the luminary
appeared both blood-colored and black and reflected
still other terrifying shades. Not for this, however,
would the men change their attitude or yield: but when
they encountered each other they contended most vigorously, although, as I said, the Vitellians were leaderless;
for Alienus had been imprisoned at Cremona.
On the following day, when Primus through messengers
tried to induce them to come to terms, the
soldiers of Vitellius sent a return message to him urging
that he espouse the cause of Vitellius. When, moreover,
they joined battle with his soldiers they contended
most vigorously. The battle was not the result of any
concerted plan. Some few horsemen, as often happens
when two forces are encamped opposite each other,
were out foraging in front of the others and suddenly
made an attack. After that reinforcements came from
both armies to each of the two parties in whatever order
the troops happened to become aware of the situation,--first
to one side, then to the other, now of one
kind of fighting force, now of another, infantry or
cavalry: and the conflict was marked by vicissitudes
until all had hastened to the front. Then they got into
some kind of regular formation and carried on the
struggle with some order even though leaderless.
Alienus, as you remember, had been imprisoned.
12
From this point on the battle between them was a
well matched and evenly balanced affair, not only during
the day but at night as well. For the coming of
night did not separate them. They were thoroughly
angry and determined, although they were acquainted
with each other and talked back and forth. Hence not
hunger nor fatigue nor cold nor darkness nor wounds
nor deaths nor the remains of men that fell on this field
before
[nor the memory of the disaster nor the number
of those that perished to no purpose]
mitigated
their fierceness. Such was the madness that possessed
both sides alike
[and so eager were they, incited by the
very memories of the spot, which made one party resolved
to conquer this time also, and the other not to
be conquered this time either. So they fought as
against foreigners instead of kindred, and as if all on
both sides were absolutely obliged either to perish at
once or thereafter to be slaves. Therefore, not even
when night came on, as I stated, would they yield; but
though tired out and for that reason often resting and
indulging in conversation together, they nevertheless
continued to struggle]
. As often as the moon shone out
(it was constantly being concealed by
[numerous]
clouds
[of all shapes that kept passing in front of it]
),
one might see them sometimes fighting, sometimes
13
standing and leaning on their spears, sometimes sitting
down. Now and then they would shout in unison on
one side the name of Vespasian and on the other that
of Vitellius, and again they would challenge each other
with abuse and praise of the two men. At intervals
one soldier would have a private chat with an
opponent:--"Comrade, fellow-citizen, what are we doing?
Why are we fighting? Come over to my side." "Oh,
no, you come to my side." But what is there surprising
about this, considering that when the women of the
city in the course of the night brought food and drink
to give to the soldiers of Vitellius, the latter after eating
and drinking themselves passed the supplies on to
their antagonists? One of them would call out the name
of his adversary (for they practically all knew one
another and were well acquainted) and would say:
"Comrade, take and eat this. I give you not a sword,
but bread. Take and drink: I hold toward you not a
shield but a cup. For whether you kill me or I you,
this will afford us a more comfortable leave-taking, and
will save from feebleness and weakness the hand with
which either you cut me down or I you. These are the
consecrated offerings that Vitellius and Vespasian give
us while we are yet alive, that they may sacrifice us to
the corpses of the past." That would be the style of
their conversation, after which they would rest a while,
eat a bit, and then renew the battle. Soon they would
stop again, and then once more join in conflict.
14
It went on this way the whole night through till
dawn broke. At that time two men of the Vespasian
party wrought a notable achievement. Their side was
being severely damaged by an engine of some sort, and
these two, seizing shields from among the spoils of the
Vitellian faction, mingled with the opposing ranks, and
made their way to the engine without its being noticed
that they did not belong to that side. Thus they managed
to cut the ropes of the affair, so that not another
missile could be discharged from it. As the sun was
rising the soldiers of the third legion, called the Gallic,
that wintered in Syria but was now by chance in the
party of Vespasian, suddenly according to custom
saluted the Sun God. The followers of Vitellius, suspecting
that Mucianus had arrived, underwent a revulsion
of feeling, and panic-stricken at the shout took to
flight. (Another instance of how the smallest things
can produce great alarm in men who are completely
tired out). They retired within the wall, from which
they stretched forth their hands and made supplications.
As no one listened to them, they released the
consul, and, having arrayed him in his robe of office
with the fasces, then sent him as an intercessor. Thus
they obtained a truce, for Alienus because of his rank
and the way he had been treated easily persuaded
Primus to accept their submission.
15
When, however, the gates were opened and an
amnesty had been declared for all, suddenly soldiers
came rushing in from all directions and began plundering
and setting fire to everything. This catastrophe
proved to be one of the greatest recorded. The city
was distinguished for the size and beauty of its buildings,
and great sums of money belonging to natives and
to strangers had been accumulated there. The larger
portion of the harm was done by the Vitellians, since
they knew exactly which were the houses of the richest
men and all about the entrances on the alleys. They
showed no scruples about destroying the persons in
whose behalf they had fought, but dealt blows, committed
murder, and acted as if it were they who had
been wronged and had conquered. Thus, counting
those that fell in battle, five myriads perished altogether.
16
Vitellius, on learning of the defeat, was for a time
quite disturbed. Omens had contributed to make him
uneasy. He had been offering a certain sacrifice, and
after it was addressing the soldiers, when a lot of vultures
swooped down, scattered the sacred meats, and
nearly knocked him from the platform. Accordingly,
the news of the defeat troubled him still more, and he
quietly sent his brother to Tarracina, a strong city,
which the latter occupied. But when the generals of
Vespasian approached Rome he became alarmed and
took his departure. He did nothing and formed no plan,
but in a state of terror was carried back and forth on
the billows of chance. One moment he was for clinging
to the sovereignty and he was making definite preparations
for warfare: the next he was quite willing to give
it up and was definitely getting ready to live as a private
person. At times he wore the purple chlamys and
girded on a sword: again he assumed dark colored clothing.
His public addresses both in the palace and in the
Forum were now of one tenor, now of another, first
urging battle and next terms of peace. At times he
was inclined to surrender himself for the public welfare,
and later he would clasp his child in his arms, kiss
him, and hold him out to the people as if to arouse their
pity. Similarly he would dismiss the Pretorians and
then send for them again, would leave the palace to
retire to his brother's house and then return: in this
way he dulled the enthusiasm of almost everybody interested
in him. Seeing him dashing hither and thither
so frenziedly they ceased to carry out commands with
their usual diligence, and began to consider their own
interests as well as his. They ridiculed him a great
deal, especially when in the assemblies he proffered his
sword to the consuls and to the senators present as if
to show that by this act he had divested himself of the
imperial office. No one of the above persons dared to
take it, and the bystanders jeered.
17
In view of these conditions, when Primus at last drew
near, the consuls, Gaius Quintius Atticus and Gnaeus
Caecilius Simplex, together with Sabinus (a relative of
Vespasian) and the other foremost men held a consultation,
the result of which was that they set out for the
palace in company with the soldiers that favored their
cause, intending to either persuade or force Vitellius to
resign his position as emperor. They encountered,
however, the Celtae who were guarding him, and getting
decidedly the worst of the encounter they fled to the
Capitol. Arrived there they sent for Domitian, son of
Vespasian, and his relatives, and put themselves in a
state of defence. The following day, when their adversaries
assailed them, they managed for a time to
repulse them; but when the environs of the Capitol
were set on fire, its defenders were beaten back by the
flame. In this way the soldiers of Vitellius forced
their way up, slaughtered many of the resisting party,
and after plundering the whole stock of votive offerings
burned down with other structures the great temple.
Sabinus and Atticus they arrested and sent them to
Vitellius. Domitian and the junior Sabinus had made
their escape from the Capitol at the first noise of conflict
and by concealing themselves in houses had succeeded
in eluding observation.
18
Those soldiers of Vespasian that were led by Quintus
Petilius Cerialis
[
]
(one of the foremost senators and a
relative of Vespasian by marriage) and by Antonius
Primus--for Mucianus had not yet overtaken them--were
by this time close at hand, and Vitellius fell into
the depths of terror. The oncoming leaders through
the medium of certain messengers and by placing their
letters in coffins with dead bodies, in baskets full of
fruit, or the reed traps of bird-catchers, learned all that
was being done in the city and formed their plans accordingly.
Now, when they saw the blaze rising from
the Capitol as from a beacon, they made haste. The
first of the two to approach the city with his cavalry
was Cerialis,
[and he was defeated at the very entrance
by being cut off with horsemen in a narrow spot. However,
he prevented any harm being done by his opponents.
For Vitellius, hoping that his proved superiority
would afford him an opportunity to make terms,
restrained his soldiers]
. And having convened the
senate he sent envoys chosen from that body together
with the vestal virgins to Cerialis as envoys.
19
Since no one would listen to them and they came very
near losing their lives, the emissaries visited Primus,
who was also at last approaching; from him they secured
an audience, but accomplished nothing. For at
this juncture his soldiers came angrily toward him and
overcame with ease the guard at the Tiber bridge.
(When the latter took their stand upon it and disputed
their passage, the horsemen forded the stream and
fell upon them from the rear). After this various
bodies of men made assaults at various points and committed
some of the most atrocious deeds. All the behavior
for which they censured Vitellius and his followers,
behavior which they pretended was the cause
of the war between them, they themselves repeated,
slaying great numbers. Many of those killed were
struck with pieces of tiling from the roof or cut down
in alleyways while jostled about by a throng of adversaries.
Thus as many as fifty thousand human beings
were destroyed during those days of carnage.
20
So the city was being pillaged, and the men were
some fighting, some fleeing, some actually plundering
and murdering by themselves in order that they might
be taken for the invaders and so preserve their lives.
Vitellius in dread put on a ragged, dirty, little tunic and
concealed himself in an obscure alcove where dogs were
kept, intending to run off during the night to Tarracina
and join his brother. But the soldiers found him after
a short search, for he could not long be sure of remaining
hid, seeing that he had been emperor. They seized
him, a mass of shavings and blood--for the dogs had
done him some harm already--and stripping off his
clothes they bound his hands behind his back, put a
rope around his neck and dragged from the palace the
Caesar who had reveled there. Down the Sacred Way
they hauled the emperor who had frequently paraded
past in his chair of state. Then they conducted the
Augustus to the Forum, where he had often addressed
the people. Some buffeted him, some plucked at his
beard, all ridiculed him, all insulted him, laying especial
stress in their remarks on his intemperance,
since he had an expansive paunch.
21
When in shame at
this treatment he kept his eyes lowered, the soldiers
would prick him under the chin with their daggers,
to make him look up even against his will. A certain
Celt who saw this would not endure it, but taking pity
on him cried: "I will help you, as well as I can
alone." Then he wounded Vitellius and killed himself.
However, Vitellius did not die of the wound but was
haled to the prison, as were also his statues, while many
amusing and many disgraceful remarks were made
about them. Finally, grieved to the heart at the way
he had been treated and what he was compelled to hear,
he was heard to exclaim: "Yet I was once your emperor!"
At that the soldiers flew into a rage and took
him to the top of the Scalae Gemoniae, where they struck
him down. His head was cut off and carried about all
over the city.
22
Subsequently his wife saw to his burial. He had
lived fifty-four years
[and eighty-nine days]
and had
reigned for a year lacking ten days. His brother had
started from Tarracina to come to his assistance, but
learned while
en route
that he was dead. He also encountered a detachment of men sent against him and
made terms with them on condition that his life should
be spared. In spite of this he was murdered not long
afterward. The son of Vitellius, too, perished soon
after his father, notwithstanding that Vitellius had
killed no relative either of Otho or of Vespasian. After
all these various events had taken place, Mucianus
came up and administered necessary details in conjunction
with Domitian, whom he also presented to the
soldiers and had him make a speech, boy though he
was. Each of the soldiers received twenty-five denarii.