1247vitellius' party was equally a prey to disquiet, and there the dissension was the more fatal, since it was aroused not by the men's suspicions but by the 22treachery of the generals. the sailors of the fleet at ravenna were mostly drawn from the provinces of dalmatia and pannonia, which were both held for vespasian, and while they were still wavering, the admiral, lucilius bassus, decided them in favour of the flavian party. choosing the night-time for their treason, the conspirators assembled at head-quarters without the knowledge of the other sailors. bassus, who was either ashamed or uncertain of their success, awaited developments in his house. amid great disturbance the ships' captains attacked the images of vitellius and cut down the few men who offered any resistance. the rest of the fleet were glad enough of a change, and their sympathies soon came round to vespasian. then lucilius appeared and publicly claimed responsibility. the fleet appointed cornelius fuscus48 as their admiral, and he came hurrying on to the scene. bassus was put under honourable arrest and conveyed with an escort of liburnian cruisers49 to atria,50 where he was imprisoned by vibennius rufinus, who commanded a regiment of auxiliary horse in garrison there. however, he was soon set free on the intervention of hormus, one of the emperor's freedmen. for he, too, ranked as a general.

13when the news that the navy had gone over became known, caecina, carefully selecting a moment when the camp was deserted, and the men had all gone to their various duties, summoned to head-quarters the senior centurions and a few of the soldiers. he then proceeded 23to praise the spirit and the strength of vespasian's party: 'they themselves had been deserted by the fleet; they were cramped for supplies; spain and gaul were against them; rome could not be trusted.' in every way he exaggerated the weakness of vitellius' position. eventually, when some of his accomplices had given the cue and the rest were dumbfoundered by his change of front, he made them all swear allegiance to vespasian. immediately the portraits51 of vitellius were torn down and messengers dispatched to antonius. however, when the treason got abroad in the camp, and the men returning to head-quarters saw vespasian's name on the standards and vitellius' portraits scattered on the ground, at first there was an ominous silence: then with one voice they all vented their feelings. had the pride of the german army sunk so low that without a battle and without a blow they should let their hands be shackled and render up their arms? what had they against them? none but defeated troops. the only sound legions of otho's army, the first and the fourteenth, vespasian had not got, and even those they had routed and cut to pieces on that same field. and all for what? that these thousands of fighting men should be handed over like a drove of slaves to antonius, the convict!52 'eight legions, forsooth, are to follow the lead of one miserable fleet. such is the pleasure of bassus and caecina. they have robbed the emperor of his home, his estate, and all his wealth, and now they want to take away his troops.24 we have never lost a man nor shed a drop of blood. the very flavians will despise us. what answer can we give when they question us about our victory or our defeat?'

14thus they shouted one and all as their indignation urged them. led by the fifth legion, they replaced the portraits of vitellius and put caecina in irons. they selected fabius fabullus, commanding the fifth legion, and the camp-prefect, cassius longus, to lead them. some marines who arrived at this point from three liburnian cruisers,53 quite innocent and unaware of what had happened, were promptly butchered. then the men deserted their camp, broke down the bridge,54 and marched back to hostilia, and thence to cremona to join the two legions, the first italian and twenty-first rapax, which caecina had sent ahead55 with some of the cavalry to occupy cremona.