Part 43

XLIX. Now that Philip was borne along upon the full tide of success, he developed many vehement lusts, and the natural wickedness of his nature broke through all the artificial restraints by which it had been hitherto held in check, and gradually revealed him in his true colours. His first act was to seduce the wife of the younger Aratus. This intrigue he carried on for a long time unsuspected, as he lived in their house and was treated as an honoured guest. Next, he began to treat the Greeks in a much harsher fashion, and evidently intended to rid himself of Aratus. His conduct at Messene first gave rise to this suspicion. The Messenians revolted, and Aratus marched to attack them, but Philip reached Messene one day before him, and when he entered the city stirred up the passions of the citizens by asking the aristocracy of the Messenians in private whether they had no laws to keep down the populace, and then again in private inquiring of the leaders of the people whether they had no hands wherewith to quell despots. After this the chief men took heart and fell upon the popular leaders, but they, with the assistance of the people, killed all the magistrates and nearly two hundred of the other leading citizens.

L. After Philip had thus wickedly exasperated the Messenians against one another, Aratus arrived. He made no secret of his distress at what had happened, and did not restrain his son when he bitterly reproached and abused Philip. The young man was thought to have been Philip's lover; and he now told Philip that after such deeds he did not any longer think him handsome, but hideous. Philip made no answer, although he was thought likely to do so, as he often had burst into a fury when thus spoken to, but, just as though he had patiently endured the reproof and was really of a moderate and statesmanlike disposition, he took the elder Aratus by the hand, led him out of the theatre, and proceeded with him as far as the summit of Ithome, to sacrifice to Zeus and to view the place, which is naturally as strong as the citadel of Corinth, and if garrisoned would become a thorn in the side of the neighbouring states, and quite impregnable. After mounting the hill and offering sacrifice, when the soothsayer brought him the entrails of the ox, he, taking them into his own hands, kept showing them first to Aratus and then to Demetrius of Pharos, alternately placing them before each, and asking what they thought was the meaning of the entrails, that he would keep possession of the citadel, or that he would restore it to the Messenians. At this Demetrius laughed and said, "If you have the soul of a soothsayer, you will give up the place; but if you have that of a king, you will clutch the ox by both horns," alluding to Peloponnesus, which, if he held the citadels of Messene and of Corinth, would be quite tame and at his mercy.

Aratus remained silent for a long while, but when Philip begged him to say what he thought, he answered, "My king, there are many high mountains in Crete, and there are many strong positions in Boeotia and Phokis. I believe too, that there are many places of surprising strength in Acarnania, both on the sea coast and inland, yet you have not taken any of these, and nevertheless the people of those countries willingly execute your commands. Brigands cling to high cliffs and haunt precipitous places, but kings find nothing so secure as loyalty and goodwill. This it is that opened to you the Cretan sea, and the Peloponnesus. By these arts you, young as you are, have made yourself the master of the one, and the leader of the other." While Aratus was yet speaking Philip gave back the entrails to the soothsayer, and, taking Aratus by the hand, said, "Come now, let us go back again," having been, as it were, overruled by him into letting the city remain free.

LI. Aratus now began to withdraw himself from the court, and by degrees to break off his intimacy with Philip. When Philip conveyed his army across the Corinthian gulf into Epirus,[597] and desired Aratus to make the campaign with him, Aratus refused and remained at home, fearing that he might share the disgrace of Philip's operations. Philip, after his fleet had been ignominiously destroyed by the Romans, and his whole enterprise had failed,[598] returned to Peloponnesus, and, as he did not succeed in a second attempt to outwit the Messenians and to gain possession of their citadel, he threw off the mask and openly wronged them by ravaging their territory. Aratus now became quite estranged from him, and was misrepresented to him. He had by this time learned the domestic dishonour which he had sustained from Philip, and grieved over it, though he kept it secret from his son; for when he had discovered it, he was powerless to avenge it. Indeed Philip's character seems to have undergone a very great and remarkable change, as from a mild ruler and a modest youth he grew into a profligate man and an atrocious tyrant. This change was not due to any alteration of his real nature, but to the fact that he could now with impunity indulge the vices which fear had hitherto forced him to conceal.

LII. His treatment of Aratus showed that he had always regarded him with a mixture of respect and fear; for though he desired to make away with him, and considered that during Aratus's lifetime he should not even be a free man, much less a despot or king, yet he would not openly attack him, but bade Taurion, one of his generals and friends, to do this secretly, by poison if possible, during his own absence. This man gained the confidence of Aratus, and administered drugs to him, whose action was not quick and sudden, but which produced slight heats in the body and a chronic cough, and so gradually undermined his strength. He did not, however, do this without being discovered by Aratus; but he, as he could gain nothing by convicting him, continued to endure his malady just as if it were some ordinary disorder. Only once when he spat blood, and one of his friends who was in the same room noticed it and expressed his concern, Aratus said, "This, Kephalon, is the return I get for my friendship for the king."

LIII. Thus died Aratus at Ægium, when holding the office of general of the league for the seventeenth time. The Achæans wished his funeral to take place in that city, and to raise a suitable monument over so great a man; but the people of Sikyon regarded it as a national misfortune that he should not be buried in their city, and prevailed upon the Achæans to deliver up the body to them. As there was a law which was regarded with superstitious reverence, forbidding any one to be interred within the walls of Sikyon, they sent ambassadors to Delphi to consult the oracle. The Pythia returned the following answer:--

"Dost thou, fair Sikyon, hesitate to raise A fitting tomb to thy lost hero's praise? Curst be the land, nay, curst the air or wave That grudges room for thy Aratus' grave."

When this response was brought back all the Achæans were delighted, and the Sikyonians in particular, turning their mourning into joy, put on white robes, crowned themselves with garlands, and removed the body of Aratus from Ægium to Sikyon in festal procession with songs and dances. They chose a conspicuous spot, and interred him in it with as much reverence as though he were the founder and saviour of their city. The place is called the Arateum to the present day, and on the day upon which he freed the city from its despot, which is the fifth day of the month Daisius, or Anthesterion in the Athenian calendar, a sacrifice, called the thanksgiving for safety, is offered, and also on the day of the month on which Aratus was born. The former sacrifice used to be conducted by the priest of Zeus the Saviour, and the latter by the priest of Aratus, who wore a headband, not all white, but mixed with purple. Songs used to be chanted to the music of the harp by the actors, called the servants of Dionysius, and the president of the gymnasiums took part in the procession, leading the boys and young men, after whom, followed the council of the city, crowned with flowers, and any of the citizens who wished to do so. Some traces of these proceedings still survive, as religious ceremonies; but the most part of the honours paid to Aratus have died out through lapse of time and change of circumstances.

LIV. This is the account which history gives us of the life and character of the elder Aratus. As for his son, Philip, who was naturally a villain, and whose disposition combined insolence with cruelty, administered drugs to him, which were not deadly, but which deprived him of his reason; so that he conceived a passion for monstrous lusts and shameful debaucheries, by which he was soon so worn out that, although he was in the flower of his age, death appeared to him to be a release from sufferings rather than a misfortune. Yet Zeus, the patron of hospitality and of friendship, exacted a notable penalty from Philip for his wickedness, and pursued him throughout his life: for he was utterly defeated by the Romans, and forced to surrender at discretion to them. He lost all his empire, was obliged to deliver up all his fleet, except five ships, had to pay a thousand talents and give up his own son as a hostage, and then only was allowed, by the pity of his conquerors to keep Macedonia itself and its dependencies. As he always put to death all the leading men of his kingdom, and all his nearest relations, he inspired the whole country with terror and hatred. Amidst all his miseries he had one piece of good fortune, in having a son of remarkable promise, and him he put to death out of jealousy and envy at the honours which were paid him by the Romans. He left his kingdom to his other son Perseus, who was said not to be legitimate, but to be the son of a sempstress named Gnathæna. Over him Paulus Æmilius triumphed, and so put an end to the dynasty of Antigonus. However, the family of Aratus survived in Sikyon and Pellene down to my own times.

LIFE OF GALBA.

I. The Athenian general Iphikrates thought that a mercenary soldier ought to be fond both of money and pleasure, as in that case he would risk his life the more freely to obtain the means of procuring enjoyment. Most persons, however, are of opinion that an army, like a healthy body, should receive no impulses save from its head. Thus we are told that Paulus Æmilius, when he assumed the command of the army in Macedonia, and found that the soldiers did nothing but talk and meddle, as though each man were a general, gave them orders to keep their hands ready and their swords sharp, and leave the rest to him. And Plato likewise, seeing that a good general is useless without a disciplined and united army, thought that soldiers should be mild and gentle, as well as spirited and energetic, because those who know how to obey require a noble nature and a philosophic training as much as those who know how to command. The events which took place at Rome after Nero's death prove most conclusively that nothing is more terrible than a military force which is guided only by its own blind and ignorant impulses. Demades, when he saw the disorderly and senseless movements of the Macedonian army after the death of Alexander, compared it to the Cyclops after he had been blinded; but the state of the Roman Empire resembled the fabled rebellion of the Titans, as it was torn asunder into several portions, which afterwards fought with one another, not so much because of the ambition of those who were proclaimed emperors, as through the avarice and licentiousness of the soldiers, who made use of one emperor to drive out another, just as one nail drives out another. When Alexander of Pheræ was assassinated, after reigning in Thessaly for ten months, Dionysius, sneering at the shortness of his reign, called him a mere tragedy king; but the palace of the Cæsars in a shorter time than this saw four emperors, for the soldiers brought one in and drove another out, as if they were actors on a stage. The only consolation which the unhappy Romans enjoyed was that the authors of their miseries required no avenger to destroy them, for they fell by one another's hands, and first of all, and most justly, perished the man who had seduced the army into expecting such great things from a change of Cæsars, and who brought dishonour upon a glorious action, the dethronement of Nero, by bribing men to do it as though it were a treason.

II. Nymphidius Sabinus, who, as has been related, was together with Tigellinus, Præfect of the Prætorian Guard,[599] when Nero's cause was quite hopeless, and he was evidently preparing to escape to Egypt, persuaded the soldiers to salute Galba as emperor, as though Nero were already gone. He promised to each of the prætorians, or household troops, seven thousand five hundred drachmas, and to each of the legionary soldiers serving in the provinces twelve hundred and fifty drachmæ; a sum which it would have been impossible to collect without inflicting ten thousand-fold more misery on mankind than Nero himself had done.

This offer at once caused the downfall of Nero, and soon afterwards that of Galba; for the soldiery deserted Nero in hopes of receiving the money, and murdered Galba because they did not receive it. After this they sought so eagerly for some one who would give them as much, that before they obtained the hoped-for bribe, their own treasons and rebellions proved their ruin. To relate each event exactly as it happened belongs more properly to the professed historian; yet, those words and deeds of the Cæsars which are worthy of record ought not to be passed over even by an essayist like myself.

III. It is generally agreed that Servius Sulpicius Galba was the richest private person who ever was raised to the throne of the Cæsars. Though illustrious by birth, being descended from the noble family of the Servii, he prided himself even more upon his relationship with Catulus,[600] who, though he shrank from taking any active part in politics, was yet one of the most virtuous and eminent men of the time. Galba was likewise related to Livia, the wife of Augustus, and by her influence he had been raised from the post which he held in the palace to the office of consul. He is said to have ably commanded the army in Germany, and to have gained especial praise by his conduct as proconsul in Libya. But when he became emperor, his simple and inexpensive mode of life was thought to be sheer meanness, while his ideas of discipline and sobriety appeared obsolete and ridiculous. Nero, before he had learned to fear the most eminent of the Romans, had appointed Galba to a command in Spain. Indeed, besides the mildness of his character, it was thought that his advanced age was a guarantee against his engaging in any rash enterprise.

IV. While Galba was in Spain, the procurators of the emperor treated the provincials with the greatest harshness and cruelty. Galba could not afford them any assistance, but he made no secret of his sympathy with them and sorrow at their wrongs, and thus afforded them some relief while they were being condemned unjustly and sold into slavery. Many scurrilous songs also were written about Nero and sung and circulated everywhere, and as Galba did not discourage this, and did not share the indignation of the procurators, he became even more endeared to the natives, with whom he was already intimately acquainted, as he was now in the eighth year of his command, during which Junius Vindex, who commanded the army in Gaul, revolted.

It is said that before Vindex committed any overt act of rebellion he wrote to Galba, and that Galba neither agreed to his proposals nor yet denounced him, as some other generals did; for many of them sent Vindex's letters to Nero, and as far as they were able ruined his cause. Yet these men afterwards became traitors, and so proved that they could betray themselves as well as Vindex. When, however, Vindex openly raised the standard of revolt, and called upon Galba to accept the offer of empire, and constitute himself the head of a strong body--namely, the troops in Gaul, a hundred thousand armed men, and many times more men capable of bearing arms--Galba called a council of his friends. Some of them advised him to temporise, and watch the progress of events at Rome; but Titus Vinius, the captain of the prætorian cohort, said, "Galba, why do you hesitate? for you cannot remain quiet, and yet think of remaining faithful to Nero. If Nero is to be your foe, you must not refuse the proffered alliance of Vindex, or else you must at once denounce him and attack him, because he wishes the Romans to have you for their chief rather than Nero for their tyrant."

V. After this, Galba by an edict appointed a day upon which he would grant manumission to whoever might wish it, and rumour and gossip drew together on that day a great multitude of people eager for revolution. No sooner did Galba appear upon the tribune than all with one voice saluted him as emperor. Galba did not at once accept this title, but spoke in disparagement of Nero, deplored the best citizens of Rome who had been murdered by him, and promised that he would watch over his country to the best of his power, not as Cæsar or Emperor, but merely as the general of the Senate and people of Rome. That Vindex acted justly and on due reflection when he offered the empire to Galba, is proved by the conduct of Nero himself; for though he affected to despise Vindex and to regard Gaul as of no importance, yet as soon as he heard of Galba's rising, which was when he was at breakfast after his bath, he overturned the table. However, as the Senate declared Galba a public enemy, Nero, wishing to show his courage and to jest with his friends, said that this gave him a good pretext for raising the money of which he stood in need; for when he had conquered the Gauls he would sell their spoils by public auction, and in the meantime he could at once confiscate the estate of Galba, as he had been declared a public enemy. Nero, after this, ordered Galba's property to be sold, and Galba, when he heard of this, ordered all Nero's property in Spain to be put up to auction and found people much more ready to purchase it.

VI. Many now revolted from Nero, and all these, as might be expected, declared for Galba, with the exception of Clodius Macer, in Africa, and Virginius Rufus[601] who commanded the German army in Gaul, who each acted for themselves, though for different reasons. Clodius, who had plundered his province, and put many men to death from cruelty and covetousness, hesitated, because he could neither continue to hold his command nor yet give it up with safety. Virginius on the other hand, who was at the head of the most powerful force in the empire, and who was constantly saluted as emperor by his soldiers and urged to assume the purple, declared that he would neither become emperor himself nor yet allow any one else to do so without the consent of the Senate. Galba was at first much disturbed at this. Soon the two armies of Vindex and Virginius, like horses that have taken the bit between their teeth, fought a severe battle with one another. After two thousand Gauls had fallen, Vindex committed suicide; and a rumour became prevalent that after so signal a victory the whole army would either place Virginius upon the throne, or would return to their allegiance to Nero. Galba, who was now greatly alarmed, wrote to Virginius, begging him to act in concert with him, and preserve the empire and liberty of the Romans. Meanwhile he retired with his friends to Colonia, a city of Spain, where he occupied himself more in repenting of the steps which he had taken, and in regretting the loss of his usual life of ease and leisure more than in doing anything to further his cause.

VII. Summer was just beginning, when one evening, shortly before dark, there arrived Icelus, one of Galba's freed men, who had travelled from Rome in seven days. Hearing that Galba was retired to rest, he proceeded at once to his chamber, forced open the door in spite of the resistance of the attendants, made his way in and told him that while Nero was still alive, first the army, and then the people and Senate had declared Galba emperor: and that shortly afterwards a report was spread of Nero's death. The messenger said that he had not believed this rumour, and that he had not left Rome before he had seen the corpse of Nero. This news very greatly raised the credit of Galba, and a multitude of men, whose confidence in him had been restored by this message, flocked to his doors to salute him. Yet the time[602] in which he received the news seemed incredibly short. But, two days afterwards Titus Vinius arrived with several other persons, who brought a detailed account of the proceedings both of the prætorians and of the Senate. He was at once promoted to a post of honour; while Icelus was presented with a gold[603] ring, received the surname of Marcianus, and took the first place among the freed men of Galba.

VIII. Meanwhile at Rome Nymphidius Sabinus, not quietly and by degrees, but by one bold stroke, attempted to get all departments of the state into his own hands. He pointed out that Galba was an old man who would scarcely live long enough to be carried to Rome in a litter; and indeed Galba was in his seventy-third year. The soldiers in the provinces, he declared, had long been his friends, and they now depended on him alone because of the enormous presents which he offered them, which made them regard him as their benefactor, and Galba as their debtor. Nymphidius now at once ordered his colleague Tigellinus to give up his sword, and entertained all men of consular or prætorian rank at state banquets, although he still invited them in the name of Galba, while he suborned many of the prætorian guard to say that they must petition Galba to appoint Nymphidius as their præfect for life without any colleague. He was urged to even more audacious pretensions by the conduct of the Senate, who added to his fame and power by addressing him as their benefactor, by assembling daily to pay their respects to him, and by requiring him to propose and to ratify every decree: so that in a short time he became an object not only of jealousy but of terror to his supporters. When the consuls chose public messengers to carry the decrees of the Senate to the emperor, and had given them the sealed documents known as diplomas,[604] at the sight of which the local authorities in all towns assist the bearer on his journey by relays of horses at each stage. Nymphidius was much vexed at their not having come to him to affix the seals and to provide messengers from the prætorian guard, and he is even said to have thought of wreaking his displeasure on the consuls; but when they begged his pardon he forgave them. In order to win the favour of the people he permitted them to massacre any of Nero's creatures who fell into their hands: and they killed Spicillus the gladiator by throwing him under the statues of Nero when they were being dragged about the Forum; laid Aponius, one of the informers, on the ground and drove waggons loaded with stones over his body, and tore to pieces many other persons, some of whom were perfectly innocent, so that Mauriscus, who was justly held to be one of the noblest men in Rome, openly declared in the Senate that he feared they would soon wish to have Nero back again.