16
Now he
did a great thing in running this risk in the case of a
man who had been calumniated, but a still greater thing
in believing that he would never be harmed by him.
So it was that the confidence of his mind was strengthened by his own
knowledge of his dealings with Sura instead of being influenced by the
fancies of others.
Indeed, when he first handed to him
[
]
who was to be
prefect of the Pretorians the sword which the latter
required to wear by his side, he bared the blade,
holding it up said: "Take this sword, to the end
that if I rule well, you may use it for me, but if ill,
against me."
He also set up images of Sosia and Palma and Celsus,
[
]
--so
greatly did he esteem them above others.
Those, however, who conspired against him (among
whom was Crassus) he brought before the senate and
caused to be punished.
A.D. 114 (a.u. 867)
Again he gathered collections of books. And he set
up in the Forum an enormous column, to serve at once
as a sepulchral monument to himself and as a reminder
of his work in the Forum. The whole region there was
hilly and he dug it down for a distance equaling the
height of the column, thus making the Forum level.
17
Next he made a campaign against the Armenians
and Parthians on the pretext that the Armenian king
[
]
had obtained his diadem not at his hands but from the
Parthian king.
[
]
His real reason, however, was a desire
to win fame.
[On his campaign against the Parthians,
when he had reached Athens, an embassy from Osrhoes
met him asking for peace and proffering gifts. This
king had learned of his advance and was terrified because
Trajan was wont to make good his threats by
deeds. Therefore he humbled his pride and sent a
supplication that war be not made against him: he
asked Armenia for Parthomasiris, who was likewise a
son of Pacorus, and requested that the diadem be sent
to him. He had put a stop, he said, to the reign of
Exedares, who was beneficial neither to the Romans
nor to the Parthians.
The emperor neither received the gifts, nor sent any
answer or command, save that friendship is determined
by deeds and not by words; and that accordingly when
he should reach Syria he would do what was proper.
And being of this mind he proceeded through Asia,
Syria, and adjoining provinces to Seleucia. Upon his
coming to Antioch, Abgarus the Osrhoenian did not
appear in person, but sent gifts and a friendly communication.
For, as he dreaded both him and the Parthians,
he was trying to play a double game and for
that reason would not come to confer with him.]
[Lusius Quietus was a Moor, himself a leader of the
Moors, and had belonged to
[
]
a troop in the cavalry.
Condemned for base conduct he was temporarily relieved
of his command and dishonored.
[
]
But later, when
the Dacian war came on and the army stood in need of
the Moorish alliance, he came to it of his own accord
and gave great exhibitions of prowess. For this he
was honored, and in the second war performed far
greater and more numerous exploits. Finally, he advanced
so far in bravery and good fortune during this
war which we are considering that he was enrolled
among the ex-praetors, became consul, and governed
Palestine. To this chiefly was due the jealousy and
hatred felt for him, and his destruction.]
18
Now when
Trajan had invaded the hostile territory, the satraps
and kings of that region approached him with gifts.
One of these gifts was a horse taught to do obeisance.
It would kneel with its front legs and place its head
beneath the feet of whoever stood near.
19
Parthomasiris behaved in rather violent fashion. In
his first letter to Trajan he had signed himself as king,
but when no answer came to his epistle, he wrote again,
omitting this title, and asked that Marcus Junius, the
governor of Cappadocia, be sent to him, implying that
he wanted to prefer some request through him. Trajan,
accordingly, sent him the son of Junius, and himself
went ahead to Arsamosata, of which he took possession
without a struggle. Then he came to Satala and rewarded
with gifts Anchialus, the king of the Heniochi
and Machelones. At Elegeia in Armenia he awaited
Parthomasiris. He was seated upon a platform in the
trenches. The prince greeted him, took off his diadem
from his head, and laid it at his feet. Then he stood
there in silence, expecting to receive it back. At this
the soldiers shouted aloud, and hailed Trajan imperator
as if on account of some victory. (They termed
it an uncrowned,
[
]
bloodless victory to see the king, a
descendant of Arsaces, a son of Pacorus, and a nephew
of Osrhoes, standing beside Trajan without a diadem,
like a captive). The shout terrified the prince, who
thought that it heralded insult and destruction for him.
He turned about as if to flee, but, seeing that he was
hemmed in on all sides, begged as a favor not to be
obliged to speak before the crowd. Accordingly, he
was escorted into the tent, where he had none of his
wishes granted.
20
So out he rushed in a rage, and from
there out of the camp, but Trajan sent for him, and
again ascending the platform bade him speak in the
hearing of all everything that he desired. This was
to prevent any person from spreading a false report
through ignorance of what had been said in private
conference. On hearing this exhortation Parthomasiris
no longer kept silence, but with great frankness
made many statements, some of them being to the
effect that he had not been defeated or captured, but
had come there voluntarily, believing that he should
not be wronged and should receive back the kingdom,
as Tiridates had received it from Nero. Trajan made
appropriate replies to all his remarks and said that
he should abandon Armenia to no one. It belonged
to the Romans and should have a Roman governor.
He would, however, allow Parthomasiris to depart to
any place he pleased. So he sent the prince away together
with his Parthian companions and gave them
an escort of cavalry to ensure their meeting no one
and adopting no rebellious tactics. All the Armenians
who had come with him he commanded to remain where
they were, on the ground that they were already his
subjects.
21
[Leaving garrisons at opportune points Trajan
came to Edessa, and there for the first time he set eyes
upon Abgarus. Previously this person had sent envoys
and gifts to the prince frequently, but he himself
for different reasons at different times failed to put
in an appearance. The same was true also of Mannus,
the phylarch of adjoining Arabia, and Sporaces, phylarch
of Anthemusia. On this occasion, however, he
was persuaded partly by his son Arvandes, who was
beautiful and in the prime of youth and therefore on
good terms with Trajan, and partly by the fear of the
latter's presence near by; consequently he met him
on the road, made his apologies, and obtained pardon.
He had a powerful intercessor in the boy. Accordingly,
he became a friend of Trajan's and entertained
him with a banquet. At the dinner in question he presented
his boy in some kind of barbaric dance.]
22
[When Trajan came into Mesopotamia, Mannus
sent a herald to him, and Manisarus despatched envoys
in regard to peace, because, he said, Osrhoes was making
a campaign against him, and he was ready to withdraw
from Armenia and Mesopotamia so far as captured.
Thereupon the emperor replied that he would
not believe him until he should come to him and confirm
his offers by deeds, as he was promising. He was
also suspicious of Mannus, especially because the latter
had sent an auxiliary force to Mebarsapes, king
of Adiabene, and then had lost it all at the hands of
the Romans. Therefore Mannus never waited for the
Romans to draw near but took his course to Adiabene
to find shelter with the other two princes. Thus were
Singara and some other points occupied by Lusius,
without a battle.]
23
When he had captured the whole country of Armenia
and had won over also many of the kings, some of
whom, since they submitted, he treated as his friends,
and others, though disobedient, he subdued without
resort to arms, the senate voted to him many honors
of various descriptions, and they bestowed upon him
the title of Optimus, i.e., Excellent.--He was always
accustomed to trudge on foot with his entire army and
he had the ordering and arrangement of the troops
throughout the entire expedition, leading them sometimes
in one order and sometimes in another; and he
forded as many rivers as they did. Sometimes he even
had his scouts circulate false reports, in order that
the soldiers might at the same time practice military
manoeuvres and be so impervious to alarm as to be
ready for anything. After he had captured Nisibis
and Batnae he was given the title of Parthicus. But
he took greater pride in the name of Optimus than in
all the rest, inasmuch as it belonged rather to his
character than to his arms.
A.D. 115 (a.u. 868)
24
While he was staying in Antioch, a dreadful earthquake
occurred. Many cities were damaged, but Antioch
was most of all unfortunate. Since Trajan was
wintering there and many soldiers and many private
persons had flocked thither from all directions for lawsuits,
embassies, business, or sightseeing, there was no
nation nor people that went unscathed. Thus in Antioch
the whole world under Roman sway suffered disaster.
There were many thunderstorms to start with and
portentous winds, but no one could have expected that
so many evils would result from them. First came,
on a sudden, a great bellowing roar, and there followed
it a tremendous shock. The whole earth was up-heaved
and buildings leaped into the air. Those that
were lifted up collapsed and were smashed to pieces,
A.D. 115 (a.u. 868)
while others were beaten this way and that as if by the
surges and were turned about. The wrecks were
strewn a long distance over the countryside. The
crash of grinding and breaking timbers, tiles, and
stones together became most frightful, and an inconceivable
mass of dust arose, so that no one could see
any person nor say or hear anything. Many persons
were hurt even outside the houses, being picked up and
tossed violently about, and then with a momentum as
in a fall from a cliff dashed to the earth. Some were
maimed, others killed. Not a few trees leaped into
the air, roots and all.
The number of those found in the houses who perished
was beyond discovery. Multitudes were destroyed
by the very force of the collapse and crowds
were suffocated in the debris. Those who lay with a
part of their bodies buried under the stones or timbers
suffered fearful agony, being able neither to live
nor to find an immediate death.
25
Nevertheless many even of these were saved, as was
natural in such overwhelming numbers of people.
And those outside did not all get off safe and sound.
Numbers lost their legs or their shoulders and some
[Lacuna]
their
[Lacuna]
heads. Others vomited blood.
One of these was Pedo the consul, and he died at once.
In brief, there was no form of violent experience that
those people did not undergo at that time. And as
Heaven continued the earthquake for several days and
nights, the people were dismayed and helpless, some
crushed and perishing under the weight of the buildings
pressing upon them, and others dying of hunger
in case it chanced that by the inclination of the timbers
they were left alive in a clear space, it might be in a
kind of arch-shaped colonnade. When at last the
trouble had subsided, some one who ventured to mount
the ruins caught sight of a live woman. She was not
alone but had also an infant, and had endured by feeding
both herself and her child with her milk. They
dug her out and resuscitated her together with her
offspring, and after that they searched the other heaps
but were no longer able to find in them any living
creature save a child sucking at the breasts of its
mother, who was dead. As they drew out the corpses
they no longer felt any pleasure at their own escape.
So great were the disasters that had overwhelmed
Antioch at this time. Trajan made his way out
through a window of the room where he was. Some
being of more than human stature had approached him
and led him forth, so that he survived with only a few
small bruises. As the shocks extended over a number
of days, he lived out of doors in the hippodrome.
Casium itself, too, was so shaken that its peaks seemed
to bend and break and to be falling upon the city. Other
hills settled, and quantities of water not previously
in existence came to light, while quantities more escaped
by flowing away.
26
Trajan about spring time proceeded into the enemy's
country. Now since the region near the Tigris is barren
of timbers fit for shipbuilding, he brought the boats
which had been constructed in the forests surrounding
Nisibis on wagons to the river. The vessels had been
arranged in such a way that they could be taken apart
and put together. He had very hard work in bridging
the stream opposite Mount Carduenum, for the
opposing barbarians tried to hinder him. Trajan,
however, had a great abundance of both ships and
soldiers, and so some boats were fastened together
with great speed while others lay motionless in front
of them, carrying heavy infantry and archers. Still
others kept making dashes this way and that, as if they
intended to cross. As a result of these tactics and
from their very astonishment at seeing so many ships
at once appear
en masse
from a land devoid of trees
the barbarians gave way and the Romans crossed over.
They won possession of the whole of Adiabene. (This
is a portion of Assyria in the vicinity of Ninus; and
Arbela and Gaugamela, close to which Alexander conquered
Darius, are also in this same territory. The
country has also been called Atyria in the language of
the barbarians, the double S being changed to T).
[Adenystrae was a strong post to which one Sentius,
a centurion, had been sent as an envoy to Mebarsapes.
He was imprisoned by the latter in that place,
and later, at the approach of the Romans, he made an
arrangement with some of his fellow-prisoners, and
with their aid escaped from his shackles, killed the
commander of the garrison, and opened the gates to his
countrymen.]
Hereupon they advanced as far as
Babylon itself, being quite free from molestation, since
the Parthian power had been ruined by civil conflicts
and was still at this time involved in dissensions.
27
Cassius Dio Cocceianus in writings concerning the Latins has written
that this city
[i.e. Babylon]
comprised a circuit of four hundred stades.
(Compare also Tzetzes, Exegesis of Homer's Iliad, p. 141, 15 ff).
Here, moreover, Trajan saw the asphalt out of which
the walls of Babylon had been built. When mixed with
baked bricks or smooth stones this material affords so
great strength as to render them stronger than rock
or any kind of iron. He also looked at the opening
from which issues a deadly vapor that destroys any
creature living upon the earth and any winged thing
that so much as inhales a breath of it. If it extended
far above ground or had several vents, the place
would not be inhabitable; but, as it is, this gas circles
round within itself and remains stationary. Hence creatures
that fly high enough above it and such as remain to one side
are safe. I saw another opening like it at Hierapolis in
Asia, and tested it by means of birds; I bent over it myself
and myself gazed down upon the vapor. It is enclosed
in a sort of a cistern and a theatre had been built
over it. It destroys all living things save human beings
that have been emasculated. The reason for that I
can not comprehend. I relate what I have seen as I
have seen it and what I have heard as I have heard it.
A.D. 116 (a.u. 869)
28
Trajan had planned to conduct the Euphrates
through a channel into the Tigris, in order that boats
might be floated down by this route, affording him an
opportunity to make a bridge. But on learning that it
had a much higher elevation than the Tigris, he did not
do it, fearing that the water might rush pell-mell down
hill and render the Euphrates unnavigable. So he
conveyed the boats across by means of hauling engines
at the point where the space between the rivers is the
least--the whole stream of the Euphrates empties into
a swamp and from there somehow joins the Tigris--then
crossed the Tigris and entered Ctesiphon. Having
taken possession of this town he was saluted as
imperator and established his right to the title of Parthicus.
Various honors were voted him by the senate,
among others the privilege of celebrating as many triumphs
as he might desire.
After his capture of Ctesiphon he felt a wish to sail
down into the Red Sea. This is a part of the ocean and
has been so named
[
]
from some person formerly ruler
there. Mesene, the island in the Tigris of which Athambelus
was king, he acquired without difficulty.
[And
it remained loyal to Trajan, although ordered to pay
tribute.]
But through a storm, and the violence of the
Tigris, and the backward flow from the ocean, he fell
into danger. The inhabitants of the so-called palisade
of Spasinus
[they were subject to the dominion of Athambelus]
received him kindly.
29
Thence he came to the ocean itself, and when he had
learned its nature and seen a boat sailing to India, he
said: "I should certainly have crossed over to the
Indi, if I were still young." He gave much thought to
the Indi, and was curious about their affairs. Alexander
he counted a happy man and at the same time
declared that he himself had advanced farther. This
was the tenor of the despatch that he forwarded to the
senate, although he was unable to preserve even what
territory had been subdued. On its receipt he obtained
among other honors the privilege of celebrating a triumph
for as many nations as he pleased. For, on account
of the number of those peoples regarding which
communications in writing were being constantly forwarded
to them, they were unable to understand them
or even to name some of them correctly. So the citizens
of the capital prepared a trophy-bearing arch, besides
many other decorations in his own forum, and
were getting themselves in readiness to meet him some
distance out when he should return. But he was destined
never to reach Rome again nor to accomplish
anything deserving comparison with his previous exploits,
and furthermore to lose even those earlier acquisitions.
For, during the time that he was sailing
down the ocean and returning from there again, all his
conquests were thrown into tumult and revolted. And
the garrisons placed among the various peoples were
in some cases driven out and in others killed.
30
Trajan ascertained this in Babylon.
[
]
He had taken
the side-trip there on the basis of reports, unmerited
by aught that he saw (which were merely mounds and
stones and ruins), and for the sake of Alexander, to
whose spirit he offered sacrifice in the room where he
had died. When, therefore, he ascertained it, he sent
Lusius and Maximus against the rebels. The latter
perished after a defeat in the field; but Lusius was generally
successful, recovering Nisibis, besieging Edessa,
plundering and burning. Seleucia was also captured
by Erucius Clarus and Julius Alexander, lieutenants,
and was burned. Trajan, in fear that the
Parthians, too, might begin some revolt, decided to give
them a king of their own. And when he came to Ctesiphon
he called together in a great plain all the Romans
and likewise all the Parthians that were there at the
time. He mounted a lofty platform, and, after describing
in lofty language what he had accomplished, he appointed
Parthamaspates king of the Parthians and set
the diadem upon his head.
LXXV, 9, 6
When Volgaesus, the son of Sanatruces, confronted
in battle array the followers of Severus and before
coming to an actual test of strength asked and
secured an armistice, Trajan sent envoys to him and
granted him a portion of Armenia in return for peace.
31
Next he came into Arabia and commenced operations
against the people of Hatra, since they, too, had revolted.
This city is neither large nor prosperous.
The surrounding country is mostly desert and holds
no water (save a small amount, poor in quality),
nor timber, nor herb. It is protected by these very
features, which make a siege in any form impossible,
and by the Sun, to whom it is, in a way, consecrated.
It was neither at this time taken by Trajan
nor later by Severus, although they knocked down some
parts of its wall. Trajan sent the cavalry ahead against
the wall but failed in his attempt, and the attacking
force was hurled back into the camp. As he was riding
by, he barely missed being wounded himself, in spite
of the fact that he had laid aside his imperial attire to
avoid being recognized. Seeing the majestic gray
head and his august countenance they suspected him
to be the man he was, shot at him, and killed a cavalryman
in his escort. There were peals of thunder and
rainbow tints glimmered indistinctly. Flashes of lightning
and spray-like storms, hail and thunderbolts fell
upon the Romans as often as they made assaults. And
whenever they ate a meal, flies settled on the food and
drink causing universal discomfort. Thus Trajan left
the place and not long after began to fail in health.
32
Meanwhile the Jews in the region of Cyrene had put
one Andreas at their head and were destroying both
the Romans and the Greeks. They would cook their
flesh, make belts for themselves of their entrails,
anoint themselves with their blood, and wear their skins
for clothing. Many they sawed in two, from the head
downwards. Others they would give to wild beasts
and force still others to fight as gladiators. In all,
consequently, two hundred and twenty thousand perished.
In Egypt, also, they performed many similar
deeds, and in Cyprus under the leadership of Artemio.
There, likewise, two hundred and forty thousand perished.
For this reason no Jew may set foot in that
land, but even if one of them is driven upon the island
by force of the wind, he is put to death. Various persons
took part in subduing these Jews, one being
Lusius, who was sent by Trajan.
A.D. 117 (a.u. 870)
33
Now Trajan was preparing to make a new expedition
into Mesopotamia. Finding himself, however, held
fast by the clutches of the disease, he started to sail to
Italy himself and left behind Publius Aelius Hadrian
with the army in Syria. So the Romans, who had conquered
Armenia, most of Mesopotamia, and the Parthians,
had labored in vain and had vainly undergone
danger. The Parthians disdained Parthamaspates
and began to have kings according to their original
custom. Trajan suspected that his falling sick was
due to the administration of poison. Some declare it
was because his blood, which annually descended into
the lower part of his body, was kept from flowing.
He had also become paralyzed, so that part of his body
was disabled, and his general diathesis was dropsical.
And on coming to Selinus in Cilicia, which we also call
Traianoupolis, he suddenly expired after a reign of
nineteen years, six months, and fifteen days.
DURATION OF TIME
Quinctius Niger, Vipsanius Apronianus.
(A.D. 117 = a.u. 870 = First of Hadrian, from Aug. 11th).
Hadrianus Aug. (II), Claudius Fuseus Salinator.
(A.D. 118 = a.u. 871 = Second of Hadrian).
Hadrianus Aug. (III), Q. Iunius Rusticus.
(A.D. 119 = a.u. 872 = Third of Hadrian).
L. Catilius Severus, T. Aurelius Fulvus.
(A.D. 120 = a.u. 873 = Fourth of Hadrian).
L. Annius Verus, Aur. Augurinus.
(A.D. 121 = a.u. 874 = Fifth of Hadrian).
Acilius Aviola, Corellius Pansa.
(A.D. 122 = a.u. 875 = Sixth of Hadrian).
Q. Arrius Paetinus, C. Ventidius Apronianus.
(A.D. 123 = a.u. 876 = Seventh of Hadrian).
Manius Acilius Glabrio, C. Bellicius Torquatus.
(A.D. 124 = a.u. 877 = Eighth of Hadrian).
P. Corn. Scipio Asiaticus (II), Q. Vettius Aquilinus.
(A.D. 125 = a.u. 878 = Ninth of Hadrian).
Annius Verus (III), L. Varius Ambibulus.
(A.D. 126 = a.u. 879 = Tenth of Hadrian).
Gallicianus, Caelius Titianus.
(A.D. 127 = a.u. 880 = Eleventh of Hadrian).
L. Nonius Asprenas Torquatus (II), M. Annius Libo.
(A.D. 128 = a.u. 881 = Twelfth of Hadrian).
Iuventius Celsus (II), Marcellus.
(A.D. 129 = a.u. 882 = Thirteenth of Hadrian).
Q. Fabius Catullinus, M. Flavius Aper.
(A.D. 130 = a.u. 883 = Fourteenth of Hadrian).
Ser. Octav. Laenas Pontianus, M. Antonius Rufinus.
(A.D. 131 = a.u. 884 = Fifteenth of Hadrian).
Augurinus, Severianus (or, according to others, Sergianus).
(A.D. 132 = a.u. 885 = Sixteenth of Hadrian).
Hiberus, Iunius Silanus Sisenna.
(A.D. 133 = a.u. 886 = Seventeenth of Hadrian).
Servianus (III), Vibius Varus.
(A.D. 134 = a.u. 887 = Eighteenth of Hadrian).
Pontianus, Atilianus.
(A.D. 135 = a.u. 888 = Nineteenth of Hadrian).
L. Ceionius Commodus Verus, Sex. Vetulenus Civica Pompeianus.
(A.D. 136 = a.u. 889 = Twentieth of Hadrian).
L. Aelius Verus Caesar, P. Caelius Balbinus Vibullius.
(A.D. 137 = a.u. 890 = Twenty-first of Hadrian).
Camerinus, Niger.
(A.D. 138 = a.u. 891 = Twenty-second of Hadrian, to July 10th).
(A.D. 117 = a.u. 870 = First of Hadrian, from Aug. 11th).
Hadrianus Aug. (II), Claudius Fuseus Salinator.
(A.D. 118 = a.u. 871 = Second of Hadrian).
Hadrianus Aug. (III), Q. Iunius Rusticus.
(A.D. 119 = a.u. 872 = Third of Hadrian).
L. Catilius Severus, T. Aurelius Fulvus.
(A.D. 120 = a.u. 873 = Fourth of Hadrian).
L. Annius Verus, Aur. Augurinus.
(A.D. 121 = a.u. 874 = Fifth of Hadrian).
Acilius Aviola, Corellius Pansa.
(A.D. 122 = a.u. 875 = Sixth of Hadrian).
Q. Arrius Paetinus, C. Ventidius Apronianus.
(A.D. 123 = a.u. 876 = Seventh of Hadrian).
Manius Acilius Glabrio, C. Bellicius Torquatus.
(A.D. 124 = a.u. 877 = Eighth of Hadrian).
P. Corn. Scipio Asiaticus (II), Q. Vettius Aquilinus.
(A.D. 125 = a.u. 878 = Ninth of Hadrian).
Annius Verus (III), L. Varius Ambibulus.
(A.D. 126 = a.u. 879 = Tenth of Hadrian).
Gallicianus, Caelius Titianus.
(A.D. 127 = a.u. 880 = Eleventh of Hadrian).
L. Nonius Asprenas Torquatus (II), M. Annius Libo.
(A.D. 128 = a.u. 881 = Twelfth of Hadrian).
Iuventius Celsus (II), Marcellus.
(A.D. 129 = a.u. 882 = Thirteenth of Hadrian).
Q. Fabius Catullinus, M. Flavius Aper.
(A.D. 130 = a.u. 883 = Fourteenth of Hadrian).
Ser. Octav. Laenas Pontianus, M. Antonius Rufinus.
(A.D. 131 = a.u. 884 = Fifteenth of Hadrian).
Augurinus, Severianus (or, according to others, Sergianus).
(A.D. 132 = a.u. 885 = Sixteenth of Hadrian).
Hiberus, Iunius Silanus Sisenna.
(A.D. 133 = a.u. 886 = Seventeenth of Hadrian).
Servianus (III), Vibius Varus.
(A.D. 134 = a.u. 887 = Eighteenth of Hadrian).
Pontianus, Atilianus.
(A.D. 135 = a.u. 888 = Nineteenth of Hadrian).
L. Ceionius Commodus Verus, Sex. Vetulenus Civica Pompeianus.
(A.D. 136 = a.u. 889 = Twentieth of Hadrian).
L. Aelius Verus Caesar, P. Caelius Balbinus Vibullius.
(A.D. 137 = a.u. 890 = Twenty-first of Hadrian).
Camerinus, Niger.
(A.D. 138 = a.u. 891 = Twenty-second of Hadrian, to July 10th).
A.D. 117 (a.u. 870)
1
Hadrian had not been adopted by Trajan. He was
merely a fellow-citizen of the latter, had enjoyed Trajan's
services as guardian, was of near kin to him,
and had married his niece. In fine, he was a companion
of his, sharing his daily life, and had been assigned to
Syria for the Parthian War. However, he had received
no distinguishing mark of favor from Trajan
and had not been one of the first to be appointed consul.
His position as Caesar and emperor was due to the fact
that, when Trajan died without an heir, Attianus, a
fellow-citizen and former guardian, together with Plotina,
who was in love with him, secured him the appointment,--their
efforts being facilitated by his proximity
and his having a large force under his command. My
father Apronianus, who was governor of Cilicia, had
ascertained accurately the whole story about him. He
used to relate the different incidents, and said in particular
that the death of Trajan was concealed for several
days to the end that the adoption might be announced.
This was shown also by his letters to the
senate, the signature upon which was not his, but Plotina's.
She had not done this in any previous instance.
2
At the time that he was declared emperor, Hadrian
was in Antioch, the metropolis of Syria, of which he
was governor. In a dream just before that day he
seemed to see fire descend from heaven in the midst
of clear sky and wholly fair weather and fall first upon
the left of his throat and then upon the right also,
though it neither frightened nor injured him. And
Hadrian wrote to the senate, asking that his sovereignty
be confirmed also by that body, and forbidding
any measure to be voted (as was so often done) either
then or thereafter that contained any special honor
for him, unless he should first himself approve it.
The bones of Trajan were deposited in his column,
and the so-called Parthian games continued for a number
of years. At a later date even this observance,
like many others, was abolished.
Hadrian's rule was in general most humane.
[In a
letter he expresses himself with the greatest degree of
consideration for others and swears that he will neither
do anything contrary to the public advantage nor put to
death any senator, calling down destruction upon himself,
if he shall transgress these principles in any way.
But]
Still he was spoken against on account of some
murders of excellent men that he had sanctioned in the
beginning of his reign and near the end of his life.
And for this reason he came near not being enrolled
among the heroes. Those murdered at the beginning
were Palma and Celsus, Nigrinus and Lusius, the first
two for the alleged reason that they had conspired
against him during a hunt, and the others on certain
other complaints, because they had great influence, or
were in a strong position as regards wealth and fame.
Hadrian felt so keenly the talk that was made about
them that he defended himself and declared upon oath
that he had not ordered their deaths. Those that perished
at the end of the reign were Servianus and his
grandson Fuscus.
Hadrian was a pleasant man to meet and his presence shed a kind
of grace.
3
As for Hadrian's family, he was a son of
[a man of
senatorial rank, an ex-praetor]
Hadrianus,
[for thus
he was named]
. In regard to his disposition, he was
fond of literature in both languages and has left behind
all kinds of prose pieces as well as compositions in
verse. His ambition was insatiable, and as a result
he practiced all conceivable pursuits, even the most
trivial. He modeled and painted and declared that
there was nothing in peace or in war, in imperial or in
private life, of which he was not cognizant.
[And this,
of course, did people no harm; but his jealousy of those
who excelled in any branch was terrible and]
ruined
many besides utterly destroying quite a few.
[For,]
since he desired to surpass everybody in everything,
[he hated those who attained eminence in any direction.]
This feeling it was which led him to undertake the overthrow
of two sophists, Favorinus the Gaul and Dionysius
the Milesian,
[by various methods, chiefly]
by
stirring up their antagonists
[who were of little or no
worth at all]
. Dionysius is said to have remarked at
this time to Avidius
[
]
Heliodorus, who managed his correspondence:
"Caesar can give you money and honor,
but he can't make you an orator." Favorinus was
about to bring a case before the emperor in regard
to exemption from taxes, a privilege which he desired
to secure in his native city. Suspecting, however, that
he should be unsuccessful and be insulted in addition
he entered the courtroom, to be sure, but made no other
statement save: "My teacher stood this night in a
dream by my side and bade me do service for my
country, since I have been born in it."
4
Now Hadrian spared these men, although he was displeased
with them, for he could find no satisfactory
pretext to use against them that might compass their
destruction. But he first banished and later actually
put to death Apollodorus the architect, who had
planned the various creations of Trajan in Rome,--the
forum, the odeum, and the gymnasium. The excuse
given was that he had been guilty of some misdemeanor,
but the true reason was that, when Trajan was
consulting him on some point about the works, he had
said to Hadrian, who broke in with some remark: "Be
off and draw gourds. You don't understand any of
these matters." It happened that Hadrian at the
time was pluming himself upon some such drawing.
When he became emperor, therefore, he remembered
the slight and would not endure the man's freedom of
speech. He sent him his own plan of the temple of
Venus and Roma by way of showing him that a great
work could be accomplished without his aid, and he
asked Apollodorus whether the structure was a good
one. The latter in his reply said about the temple that
it ought to have been made to tower aloft in the air
and have been scooped out beneath. Then, as a result
of being higher, it would have stood out more conspicuously
on the Sacred Way, and might have received
A.D. 117 (a.u. 870)
within its expanse the engines, so that they could be
built unobserved and could be brought into the theatre
without any one's being aware of it beforehand. In
regard to the statues, he said that they had been made
too tall for the height adopted in the principal room.
"If the goddesses," he said, "wish to get up and go
out, they will be unable to do so." When he wrote this
so bluntly to Hadrian, the latter was both vexed and
exceedingly pained because he had fallen into a mistake
that could not be set right. He restrained neither his
anger nor his grief, but murdered the man.
[By nature]
the emperor was such a person
[that he was jealous
not only of the living, but also of the dead. For
instance,]
he abolished Homer and introduced in his
stead Antimachus, whose name many persons had not
previously known.