The Lives Of The Twelve Caesars, Complete - C. Suetonius Tranquillus
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[Footnote 469: A.U.C. 744.]
[Footnote 470: This epistle, as it was the habit of Augustus, is
interspersed with Greek phrases.]
[Footnote 471: The Alban Mount is the most interesting feature of the
scenery of the Campagna about Rome, Monti Cavo, the summit, rising above
an amphitheatre of magnificent woods, to an elevation of 2965 French feet.
The view is very extensive: below is the lake of Albano, the finest of the
volcanic lakes in Italy, and the modern town of the same name. Few traces
remain of Alba Longa, the ancient capital of Latium.]
[Footnote 472: On the summit of the Alban Mount, on the site of the
present convent, stood the temple of Jupiter Latialis, where the Latin
tribes assembled annually, and renewed their league, during the Feriae
Latinae, instituted by Tarquinus Superbus. It was here, also, that Roman
generals, who were refused the honours of a full triumph, performed the
ovation, and sacrificed to Jupiter Latialis. Part of the triumphal way by
which the mountain was ascended, formed of vast blocks of lava, is still
in good preservation, leading through groves of chestnut trees of vast
size and age. Spanning them with extended arms--none of the shortest--the
operation was repeated five times in compassing their girth.]
[Footnote 473: CALIGULA. See c. v. of his life.]
[Footnote 474: A.U.C. 793. Life of CALIGULA, cc. xliv., xlv., etc.]
[Footnote 475: A.U.C. 794.]
[Footnote 476: The chamber of Mercury; the names of deities being given
to different apartments, as those "of Isis," "of the Muses," etc.]
[Footnote 477: See the note, p. 265.]
[Footnote 478: The attentive reader will have marked the gradual growth
of the power of the pretorian guard, who now, and on so many future
occasions, ruled the destinies of the empire.]
[Footnote 479: See AUGUSTUS, cc. xliii., xlv.]
[Footnote 480: Ib. c. ci.]
[Footnote 481: Germanicus.]
[Footnote 482: Naples and other cities on that coast were Greek
colonies.]
[Footnote 483: This arch was erected in memory of the standards (the
eagles) lost by Varus, in Germany, having been recovered by Germanicus
under the auspices of Tiberius. See his Life, c. xlvii.; and Tacit.
Annal. ii. 41. It seems to have stood at the foot of the Capitol, on the
side of the Forum, near the temple of Concord; but there are no remains of
it.]
[Footnote 484: Tacitus informs us that the same application had been made
by Tiberius. Annal. iii. The prefect of the pretorian guards, high and
important as his office had now become, was not allowed to enter the
senate-house, unless he belonged to the equestrian order.]
[Footnote 485: The procurators had the administration of some of the less
important provinces, with rank and authority inferior to that of the
pro-consuls and prefects. Frequent mention of these officers is made by
Josephus; and Pontius Pilate, who sentenced our Lord to crucifixion, held
that office in Judaea, under Tiberius.]
[Footnote 486: Pollio and Messala were distinguished orators, who
flourished under the Caesars Julius and Augustus.]
[Footnote 487: A.U.C. 795, 796.]
[Footnote 488: A.U.C. 800, 804.]
[Footnote 489: "Ad bestias" had become a new and frequent sentence for
malefactors. It will be recollected, that it was the most usual form of
martyrdom for the primitive Christians. Polycarp was brought all the way
from Smyrna to be exposed to it in the amphitheatre at Rome.]
[Footnote 490: This reminds us of the decision of Solomon in the case of
the two mothers, who each claimed a child as their own, 1 Kings iii.
22-27.]
[Footnote 491: A most absurd judicial conclusion, the business of the
judge or court being to decide, on weighing the evidence, on which side
the truth preponderated.]
[Footnote 492: See the note in CALIGULA, c. xix., as to Suetonius's
sources of information from persons cotemporary with the occurrences he
relates.]
[Footnote 493: The insult was conveyed in Greek, which seems, from
Suetonius, to have been in very common use at Rome: kai su geron ei, kai
moros.]
[Footnote 494: A.U.C. 798, or 800.]
[Footnote 495: There was a proverb to the same effect: "Si non caste,
saltem caute."]
[Footnote 496: Ptolemy appointed him to an office which led him to assume
a foreign dress. Rabirius was defended by Cicero in one of his orations,
which is extant.]
[Footnote 497: The Sigillaria was a street in Rome, where a fair was held
after the Saturnalia, which lasted seven days; and toys, consisting of
little images and dolls, which gave their name to the street and festival,
were sold. It appears from the text, that other articles were exposed for
sale in this street. Among these were included elegant vases of silver
and bronze. There appears also to have been a bookseller's shop, for an
ancient writer tells us that a friend of his showed him a copy of the
Second Book of the Aeneid, which he had purchased there.]
[Footnote 498: Opposed to this statement there is a passage in Servius
Georgius, iii. 37, asserting that he had heard (accipimus) that Augustus,
besides his victories in the east, triumphed over the Britons in the west;
and Horace says:--
Augustus adjectis Britannis
Imperio gravibusque Persis.--Ode iii. 5, 1.
Strabo likewise informs us, that in his time, the petty British kings sent
embassies to cultivate the alliance of Augustus, and make offerings in the
Capitol: and that nearly the whole island was on terms of amity with the
Romans, and, as well as the Gauls, paid a light tribute.--Strabo, B. iv.
p. 138.
That Augustus contemplated a descent on the island, but was prevented from
attempting it by his being recalled from Gaul by the disturbances in
Dalmatia, is very probable. Horace offers his vows for its success:
Serves iturum, Caesarem in ultimos Orbis Britannos.--Ode i. 35.
But the word iturus shews that the scheme was only projected, and the
lines previously quoted are mere poetical flattery. Strabo's statement of
the communications kept up with the petty kings of Britain, who were
perhaps divided by intestine wars, are, to a certain extent, probably
correct, as such a policy would be a prelude to the intended expedition.]
[Footnote 499: Circius. Aulus Gellius, Seneca, and Pliny, mention under
this name the strong southerly gales which prevail in the gulf of Genoa
and the neighbouring seas.]
[Footnote 500: The Stoechades were the islands now called Hieres, off
Toulon.]
[Footnote 501: Claudius must have expended more time in his march from
Marseilles to Gessoriacum, as Boulogne was then called, than in his
vaunted conquest of Britain.]
[Footnote 502: In point of fact, he was only sixteen days in the island,
receiving the submission of some tribes in the south-eastern districts.
But the way had been prepared for him by his able general, Aulus Plautius,
who defeated Cunobeline, and made himself master of his capital,
Camulodunum, or Colchester. These successes were followed up by Ostorius,
who conquered Caractacus and sent him to Rome.
It is singular that Suetonius has supplied us with no particulars of these
events. Some account of them is given in the disquisition appended to
this life of CLAUDIUS.
The expedition of Plautius took place A.U.C. 796., A.D. 44.]
[Footnote 503: Carpentum: see note in CALIGULA, c. xv.]
[Footnote 504: The Aemiliana, so called because it contained the
monuments of the family of that name, was a suburb of Rome, on the Via
Lata, outside the gate.]
[Footnote 505: The Diribitorium was a house in the Flaminian Circus,
begun by Agrippa, and finished by Augustus, in which soldiers were
mustered and their pay distributed; from whence it derived its name. When
the Romans went to give their votes at the election of magistrates, they
were conducted by officers named Diribitores. It is possible that one and
the same building may have been used for both purposes.]
The Flaminian Circus was without the city walls, in the Campus Martius.
The Roman college now stands on its site.]
[Footnote 506: A law brought in by the consuls Papius Mutilus and Quintus
Poppaeus; respecting which, see AUGUSTUS, c. xxxiv.]
[Footnote 507: The Fucine Lake is now called Lago di Celano, in the
Farther Abruzzi. It is very extensive, but shallow, so that the
difficulty of constructing the Claudian emissary, can scarcely be compared
to that encountered in a similar work for lowering the level of the waters
in the Alban lake, completed A.U.C. 359.]
[Footnote 508: Respecting the Claudian aqueduct, see CALIGULA, c. xxi.]
[Footnote 509: Ostia is referred to in a note, TIBERIUS, c. xi.]
[Footnote 510: Suetonius calls this "the great obelisk" in comparison
with those which Augustus had placed in the Circus Maximus and Campus
Martius. The one here mentioned was erected by Caligula in his Circus,
afterwards called the Circus of Nero. It stood at Heliopolis, having been
dedicated to the sun, as Herodotus informs us, by Phero, son of Sesostris,
in acknowledgment of his recovery from blindness. It was removed by Pope
Sixtus V. in 1586, under the celebrated architect, Fontana, to the centre
of the area before St. Peter's, in the Vatican, not far from its former
position. This obelisk is a solid piece of red granite, without
hieroglyphics, and, with the pedestal and ornaments at the top, is 182
feet high. The height of the obelisk itself is 113 palms, or 84 feet.]
[Footnote 511: Pliny relates some curious particulars of this ship: "A
fir tree of prodigious size was used in the vessel which, by the command
of Caligula, brought the obelisk from Egypt, which stands in the Vatican
Circus, and four blocks of the same sort of stone to support it. Nothing
certainly ever appeared on the sea more astonishing than this vessel;
120,000 bushels of lentiles served for its ballast; the length of it
nearly equalled all the left side of the port of Ostia; for it was sent
there by the emperor Claudius. The thickness of the tree was as much as
four men could embrace with their arms."--B. xvi. c. 76.]
[Footnote 512: See AUGUSTUS, c. xxxi. It appears to have been often a
prey to the flames, TIBERIUS, c. xli.; CALIGULA, c. xx.]
[Footnote 513: Contrary to the usual custom of rising and saluting the
emperor without acclamations.]
[Footnote 514: A.U.C. 800.]
[Footnote 515: The Secular Games had been celebrated by Augustus, A.U.C.
736. See c. xxxi. of his life, and the Epode of Horace written on the
occasion.]
[Footnote 516: In the circus which he had himself built.]
[Footnote 517: Tophina; Tuffo, a porous stone of volcanic origin, which
abounds in the neighbourhood of Rome, and, with the Travertino, is
employed in all common buildings.]
[Footnote 518: In compliment to the troops to whom he owed his elevation:
see before, c. xi.]
[Footnote 519: Palumbus was a gladiator: and Claudius condescended to pun
upon his name, which signifies a wood-pigeon.]
[Footnote 520: See before, c. xvii. Described is c. xx and note.]
[Footnote 521: See before, AUGUSTUS, c. xxxiv.]
[Footnote 522: To reward his able services as commander of the army in
Britain. See before, c. xvii.]
[Footnote 523: German tribes between the Elbe and the Weser, whose chief
seat was at Bremen, and others about Ems or Lueneburg.]
[Footnote 524: This island in the Tiber, opposite the Campus Martius, is
said to have been formed by the corn sown by Tarquin the Proud on that
consecrated field, and cut down and thrown by order of the consuls into
the river. The water being low, it lodged in the bed of the stream, and
gradual deposits of mud raising it above the level of the water, it was in
course of time covered with buildings. Among these was the temple of
Aesculapius, erected A.U.C. 462, to receive the serpent, the emblem of
that deity which was brought to Rome in the time of a plague. There is a
coin of Antoninus Pius recording this event, and Lumisdus has preserved
copies of some curious votive inscriptions in acknowledgment of cures
which were found in its ruins, Antiquities of Rome, p. 379.
It was common for the patient after having been exposed some nights in the
temple, without being cured, to depart and put an end to his life.
Suetonius here informs us that slaves so exposed, at least obtained their
freedom.]
[Footnote 525: Which were carried on the shoulders of slaves. This
prohibition had for its object either to save the wear and tear in the
narrow streets, or to pay respect to the liberties of the town.]
[Footnote 526: See the note in c. i. of this life of CLAUDIUS.]
[Footnote 527: Seleucus Philopater, son of Antiochus the Great, who being
conquered by the Romans, the succeeding kings of Syria acknowledged the
supremacy of Rome.]
[Footnote 528: Suetonius has already, in TIBERIUS, c. xxxvi., mentioned
the expulsion of the Jews from Rome, and this passage confirms the
conjecture, offered in the note, that the Christians were obscurely
alluded to in the former notice. The antagonism between Christianity and
Judaism appears to have given rise to the tumults which first led the
authorities to interfere. Thus much we seem to learn from both passages:
but the most enlightened men of that age were singularly ill-informed on
the stupendous events which had recently occurred in Judaea, and we find
Suetonius, although he lived at the commencement of the first century of
the Christian aera, when the memory of these occurrences was still fresh,
and it might be supposed, by that time, widely diffused, transplanting
Christ from Jerusalem to Rome, and placing him in the time of Claudius,
although the crucifixion took place during the reign of Tiberius.
St. Luke, Acts xviii. 2, mentions the expulsion of the Jews from Rome by
the emperor Claudius: Dio, however, says that he did not expel them, but
only forbad their religious assemblies.
It was very natural for Suetonius to write Chrestus instead of Christus,
as the former was a name in use among the Greeks and Romans. Among
others, Cicero mentions a person of that name in his Fam. Ep. 11. 8.]
[Footnote 529: Pliny tells us that Druidism had its origin in Gaul, and
was transplanted into Britain, xxi. 1. Julius Caesar asserts just the
contrary, Bell. Gall. vi. 13, 11. The edict of Claudius was not carried
into effect; at least, we find vestiges of Druidism in Gaul, during the
reigns of Nero and Alexander Severus.]
[Footnote 530: The Eleusinian mysteries were never transferred from
Athens to Rome, notwithstanding this attempt of Claudius, and although
Aurelius Victor says that Adrian effected it.]
[Footnote 531: A.U.C. 801.]
[Footnote 532: A.U.C. 773.]
[Footnote 533: It would seem from this passage, that the cognomen of "the
Great," had now been restored to the descendants of Cneius Pompey, on whom
it was first conferred.]
[Footnote 534: A.U.C. 806.]
[Footnote 535: A.U.C. 803.]
[Footnote 536: This is the Felix mentioned in the Acts, cc. xxiii. and
xxiv., before whom St. Paul pleaded. He is mentioned by Josephus; and
Tacitus, who calls him Felix Antonius, gives his character: Annal. v, 9.
6.]
[Footnote 537: It appears that two of these wives of Felix were named
Drusilla. One, mentioned Acts xxiv. 24, and there called a Jewess, was the
sister of king Agrippa, and had married before, Azizus, king of the
Emessenes. The other Drusilla, though not a queen, was of royal birth,
being the granddaughter of Cleopatra by Mark Antony. Who the third wife
of Felix was, is unknown.]
[Footnote 538: Tacitus and Josephus mention that Pallas was the brother
of Felix, and the younger Pliny ridicules the pompous inscription on his
tomb.]
[Footnote 539: A.U.C. 802.]
[Footnote 540: The Salii, the priests of Mars, twelve in number, were
instituted by Numa. Their dress was an embroidered tunic, bound with a
girdle ornamented with brass. They wore on their head a conical cap, of a
considerable height; carried a sword by their side; in their right hand a
spear or rod, and in their left, one of the Ancilia, or shields of Mars.
On solemn occasions, they used to go to the Capitol, through the Forum and
other public parts of the city, dancing and singing sacred songs, said to
have been composed by Numa; which, in the time of Horace, could hardly be
understood by any one, even the priests themselves. The most solemn
procession of the Salii was on the first of March, in commemoration of the
time when the sacred shield was believed to have fallen from heaven, in
the reign of Numa. After their procession, they had a splendid
entertainment, the luxury of which was proverbial.]
[Footnote 541: Scaliger and Casauhon give Teleggenius as the reading of
the best manuscripts. Whoever he was, his name seems to have been a
bye-word for a notorious fool.]
[Footnote 542: Titus Livius, the prince of Roman historians, died in the
fourth year of the reign of Tiberius, A.U.C. 771; at which time Claudius
was about twenty-seven years old, having been born A.U.C. 744.]
[Footnote 543: Asinius Gallus was the son of Asinius Pollio, the famous
orator, and had written a hook comparing his father with Cicero, and
giving the former the preference.]
[Footnote 544: Quintilian informs us, that one of the three new letters
the emperor Claudius attempted to introduce, was the Aeolic digamma, which
had the same force as v consonant. Priscian calls another anti-signs, and
says that the character proposed was two Greek sigmas, back to back, and
that it was substituted for the Greek ps. The other letter is not known,
and all three soon fell into disuse.]
[Footnote 545: Caesar by birth, not by adoption, as the preceding
emperors had been, and as Nero would be, if he succeeded.]
[Footnote 546: Tacitus informs us, that the poison was prepared by
Locusta, of whom we shall hear, NERO, c. xxxiii. etc.]
[Footnote 547: A.U.C. 806; A.D. 54.]
[Footnote 548: A.U.C. 593, 632, 658, 660, 700, 722, 785.]
[Footnote 549: A.U.C. 632.]
[Footnote 550: A.U.C. 639, 663.]
[Footnote 551: For the distinction between the praenomen and cognomen,
see note, p. 192.]
[Footnote 552: A.U.C. 632.]
[Footnote 553: The Allobroges were a tribe of Gauls, inhabiting Dauphiny
and Savoy; the Arverni have left their name in Auvergne.]
[Footnote 554: A.U.C. 695.]
[Footnote 555: A.U.C. 700.]
[Footnote 556: A.U.C. 711.]
[Footnote 557: A.U.C. 723.]
[Footnote 558: Nais seems to have been a freedwoman, who had been allowed
to adopt the family name of her master.]
[Footnote 559: By one of those fictions of law, which have abounded in
all systems of jurisprudence, a nominal alienation of his property was
made in the testator's life-time.]
[Footnote 560: The suggestion offered (note, p. 123), that the
Argentarii, like the goldsmiths of the middle ages, combined the business
of bankers, or money-changers, with dealings in gold and silver plate, is
confirmed by this passage. It does not, however, appear that they were
artificers of the precious metals, though they dealt in old and current
coins, sculptured vessels, gems, and precious stones.]
[Footnote 561: Pyrgi was a town of the ancient Etruria, near Antium, on
the sea-coast, but it has long been destroyed.]
[Footnote 562: A.U.C. 791; A.D. 39.]
[Footnote 563: The purification, and giving the name, took place, among
the Romans, in the case of boys, on the ninth, and of girls, on the tenth
day. The customs of the Judaical law were similar. See Matt. i. 59-63;
Luke iii. 21. 22.]
[Footnote 564: A.U.C. 806.]
[Footnote 565: Seneca, the celebrated philosophical writer, had been
released from exile in Corsica, shortly before the death of Tiberius. He
afterwards fell a sacrifice to the jealousy and cruelty of his former
pupil, Nero.]
[Footnote 566: Caligula.]
[Footnote 567: A.U.C. 809--A.D. 57.]
[Footnote 568: Antium, the birth-place of Nero, an ancient city of the
Volscians, stood on a rocky promontory of the coast, now called Capo d'
Anzo, about thirty-eight miles from Rome. Though always a place of some
naval importance, it was indebted to Nero for its noble harbour. The
ruins of the moles yet remain; and there are vestiges of the temples and
villas of the town, which was the resort of the wealthy Romans, it being a
most delightful winter residence. The Apollo Belvidere was discovered
among these ruins.]
[Footnote 569: A.U.C. 810.]
[Footnote 570: The Podium was part of the amphitheatre, near the
orchestra, allotted to the senators, and the ambassadors of foreign
nations; and where also was the seat of the emperor, of the person who
exhibited the games, and of the Vestal Virgins. It projected over the
wall which surrounded the area of the amphitheatre, and was raised between
twelve and fifteen feet above it; secured with a breast-work or parapet
against the irruption of wild beasts.]
[Footnote 571: A.U.C. 813.]
[Footnote 572: The baths of Nero stood to the west of the Pantheon. They
were, probably, incorporated with those afterwards constructed by
Alexander Severus; but no vestige of them remains. That the former were
magnificent, we may infer from the verses of Martial:
--------Quid Nerone pejus?
Quid thermis melius Neronianis.--B. vii. ch. 34.
What worse than Nero?
What better than his baths?]
[Footnote 573: Among the Romans, the time at which young men first shaved
the beard was marked with particular ceremony. It was usually in their
twenty-first year, but the period varied. Caligula (c. x.) first shaved
at twenty; Augustus at twenty-five.]
[Footnote 574: A.U.C. 819. See afterwards, c. xxx.]
[Footnote 575: A.U.C. 808, 810, 811, 813.]
[Footnote 576: The Sportulae were small wicker baskets, in which victuals
or money were carried. The word was in consequence applied to the public
entertainments at which food was distributed, or money given in lieu of
it.]
[Footnote 577: "Superstitionis novae et maleficae," are the words of
Suetonius; the latter conveying the idea of witchcraft or enchantment.
Suidas relates that a certain martyr cried out from his dungeon--"Ye have
loaded me with fetters as a sorcerer and profane person." Tacitus calls
the Christian religion "a foreign and deadly [Footnote exitiabilis:
superstition," Annal. xiii. 32; Pliny, in his celebrated letter to Trajan,
"a depraved, wicked (or prava), and outrageous superstition." Epist. x.
97.]
Tacitus also describes the excruciating torments inflicted on the Roman
Christians by Nero. He says that they were subjected to the derision of
the people; dressed in the skins of wild beasts, and exposed to be torn to
pieces by dogs in the public games, that they were crucified, or condemned
to be burnt; and at night-fall served in place of lamps to lighten the
darkness, Nero's own gardens being used for the spectacle. Annal. xv. 44.
Traditions of the church place the martyrdoms of SS. Peter and Paul at
Rome, under the reign of Nero. The legends are given by Ordericus
Vitalis. See vol. i. of the edition in the Antiq. Lib. pp. 206, etc.,
with the notes and reference to the apocryphal works on which they are
founded.]
[Footnote 578: Claudius had received the submission of some of the
British tribes. See c. xvii. of his Life. In the reign of Nero, his
general, Suetonius Paulinus, attacked Mona or Anglesey, the chief seat of
the Druids, and extirpated them with great cruelty. The successes of
Boadicea, queen of the Iceni, who inhabited Derbyshire, were probably the
cause of Nero's wishing to withdraw the legions; she having reduced
London, Colchester, and Verulam, and put to death seventy thousand of the
Romans and their British allies. She was, however, at length defeated by
Suetonius Paulinus, who was recalled for his severities. See Tacit.
Agric. xv. 1, xvi. 1; and Annal. xiv. 29.]
[Footnote 579: The dominions of Cottius embraced the vallies in the chain
of the Alps extending between Piedmont and Dauphiny, called by the Romans
the Cottian Alps. See TIBERIUS, c. xxxvii.]
[Footnote 580: It was a favourite project of the Caesars to make a
navigable canal through the Isthmus of Corinth, to avoid the
circumnavigation of the southern extremity of the Morea, now Cape Matapan,
which, even in our days, has its perils. See JULIUS CAESAR, c. xliv. and
CALIGULA, c. xxi.]
[Footnote 581: Caspiae Portae; so called from the difficulties opposed by
the narrow and rocky defile to the passage of the Caucasus from the
country washed by the Euxine, now called Georgia, to that lying between
the Caspian and the sea of Azof. It commences a few miles north of
Teflis, and is frequently the scene of contests between the Russians and
the Circassian tribes.]
[Footnote 582: Citharoedus: the word signifies a vocalist, who with his
singing gave an accompaniment on the harp.]
[Footnote 583: It has been already observed that Naples was a Greek
colony, and consequently Greek appears to have continued the vernacular
tongue.]
[Footnote 584: See AUGUSTUS, c. xcviii.]
[Footnote 585: Of the strange names given to the different modes of
applauding in the theatre, the first was derived from the humming of bees;
the second from the rattling of rain or hail on the roofs; and the third
from the tinkling of porcelain vessels when clashed together.]