38during these events vespasian took up his second consulship and titus his first, both in absence.331 rome was depressed and beset by manifold anxieties. apart 143from the real miseries of the moment, it was plunged into a groundless panic on the rumour of a rebellion in africa, where lucius piso was supposed to be plotting a revolution. piso, who was governor of the province, was far from being a firebrand. but the severity of the winter delayed the corn-ships, and the common people, accustomed to buy their bread day by day, whose interest in politics was confined to the corn-supply, soon began to believe their fears that the coast of africa was being blockaded and supplies withheld. the vitellians, who were still under the sway of party spirit, fostered this rumour, and even the victorious party were not entirely displeased at it, for none of their victories in the civil war had satisfied their greed, and even foreign wars fell far short of their ambition.

39on the first of january the senate was convened by the urban praetor,332 julius frontinus, and passed votes of thanks and congratulation to the generals, armies, and foreign princes.333 tettius julianus,334 who had left his legion when it went over to vespasian, was deprived of his praetorship, which was conferred upon plotius grypus.335 hormus336 was raised to equestrian rank. frontinus then resigned his praetorship and caesar domitian succeeded him. his name now stood at the head of all dispatches and edicts, but the real authority 144lay with mucianus, although domitian, following the promptings of his friends and of his own desires, frequently asserted his independence. but mucianus' chief cause of anxiety lay in antonius primus and arrius varus. the fame of their exploits was still fresh; the soldiers worshipped them; and they were popular in rome, because they had used no violence off the field of battle. it was even hinted that antonius had urged crassus scribonianus337 to seize the throne. he was a man who owed his distinction to famous ancestors and to his brother's memory, and antonius could promise him adequate support for a conspiracy. however, scribonianus refused. he had a terror of all risks, and would hardly have been seduced even by the certainty of success. being unable to crush antonius openly, mucianus showered compliments on him in the senate and embarrassed him with promises, hinting at the governorship of nearer spain, which the departure of cluvius rufus338 had left vacant. meanwhile he lavished military commands on antonius' friends. then, having filled his empty head with ambitious hopes, he destroyed his influence at one stroke by moving the seventh legion,339 which was passionately attached to antonius, into winter-quarters. the third, who were similarly devoted to arrius varus, 145were sent back to syria,340 and part of the army was taken out to the war in germany. thus, on the removal of the disturbing factors, the city could resume its normal life under the old regime of law and civil government.

40on the day of his first appearance in the senate domitian spoke a few moderate sentences regretting the absence of his father and brother. his behaviour was most proper, and, as his character was still an unknown quantity, his blushes were taken for signs of modesty.341 he moved from the chair that all galba's honours should be restored, to which curtius montanus proposed an amendment that some respect should also be paid to the memory of piso. the senate approved both proposals, though nothing was done about piso. next, various commissions were appointed by lot to restore the spoils of war to the owners; to examine and affix the bronze tablets of laws, which in course of time had dropped off the walls; to revise the list of public holidays, which in these days of flattery had been disgracefully tampered with; and to introduce some economy into public expenditure. tettius julianus was restored to his praetorship as soon as it was discovered that he had taken refuge with vespasian: but grypus was allowed to retain his rank.342 it was then decided to resume the hearing of the case of146 musonius rufus against publius celer343 publius was convicted and the shade of soranus satisfied. this strict verdict made the day memorable in the annals of rome, and credit was also due to private enterprise, for everybody felt that musonius had done his duty in bringing the action. on the other hand, demetrius, a professor of cynic philosophy, earned discredit for defending an obvious criminal344 more for ostentatious motives than from honest conviction. as for publius, courage and fluency alike failed him at the critical moment. this trial was the signal for further reprisals against prosecutors. junius mauricus345 accordingly petitioned domitian that the senate might be allowed access to the minutes of the imperial cabinet, in order to find out who had applied for leave to bring a prosecution and against whom. the answer was that on such a question as this the emperor must be consulted. 41accordingly, at the instigation of its leading members, the senate framed an oath in these words, 'i call heaven to witness that i have never countenanced any action prejudicial to any man's civil status, nor have i derived any profit or any office from the misfortune of any roman citizen.' the magistrates vied with each other in their haste to take this oath, and the other members 147did the same, when called upon to speak. those who had a guilty conscience were alarmed, and managed to alter the wording of the oath by various devices. the house meanwhile applauded every sign of scruple, and protested against each case of perjury. this kind of informal censure fell most severely on sariolenus vocula, nonius attianus, and cestius severus, who were notorious as habitual informers under nero. against sariolenus there was also a fresh charge of having continued his practices with vitellius. the members went on shaking their fists at him until he left the house. they next turned on paccius africanus, trying to hound him out in the same way. he was supposed to have suggested to nero the murder of the two brothers scribonius,346 who were famous for their friendship and their wealth. africanus dared not admit his guilt, though he could not very well deny it. so he swung round on vibius crispus,347 who was pestering him with questions, and tried to turn the tables by implicating him in the charges which he could not rebut, thus shifting the odium on to his accomplice.

42on this occasion vipstanus messala348 gained a great reputation, both for dutiful affection and for eloquence, by venturing to intercede for his brother aquilius regulus,349 although he had not attained the senatorial age.350 regulus had fallen into great disfavour for having 148brought about the ruin of the noble families of the crassi and of orfitus. it was supposed that, though quite a young man, he had voluntarily undertaken the prosecution, not to escape any danger which was threatening him, but from purely ambitious motives. crassus' wife, sulpicia praetextata, and his four sons were anxious to secure revenge if the senate would grant a trial. messala therefore made no attempt to defend the case or the accused, but tried to shelter his brother, and had already won over some of the senators. curtius montanus now attacked him in a savage speech, and even went so far as to charge regulus with having given money to piso's murderer after galba's death, and with having bitten piso's head.351 'that,' said he, 'nero certainly did not compel you to do. you purchased neither position nor safety by that savage piece of cruelty. we may put up with the pleas of those wretches who prefer to ruin others rather than endanger their own lives. but your father's banishment had guaranteed your security. his property had been divided amongst his creditors.352 you were not of an age to stand for office. nero had nothing either to hope or to fear from you. your talents were as yet untried and you had never exerted them in any man's defence, yet your lust for blood, your insatiable ambition, led you to stain your young hands in the blood of rome's nobility. at one swoop 149you caused the ruin of innocent youths, of old and distinguished statesmen, of high-born ladies; and out of the country's disaster you secured for yourself the spoils of two ex-consuls,353 stuffed seven million sesterces into your purse, and shone with the reflected glory of a priesthood. you would blame nero's lack of enterprise because he took one household at a time, thus causing unnecessary fatigue to himself and his informers, when he might have ruined the whole senate at a single word. why, gentlemen, you must indeed keep and preserve to yourselves a counsellor of such ready resource. let each generation have its good examples: and as our old men follow eprius marcellus or vibius crispus, let the rising generation emulate regulus. villainy finds followers even when it fails. what if it flourish and prosper? if we hesitate to touch a mere ex-quaestor, shall we be any bolder when he has been praetor and consul? or do you suppose that the race of tyrants came to an end in nero? that is what the people believed who outlived tiberius or caligula, and meanwhile there arose one more infamous and more bloody still.354 we are not afraid of vespasian. we trust his years and his natural moderation. but a good precedent outlives a good sovereign. gentlemen, we are growing effete: we are no longer that senate which, after nero had been killed, clamoured for the punishment of all informers and their menials according to our ancestors'150 rigorous prescription. the best chance comes on the day after the death of a bad emperor.'

43the senate listened to montanus's speech with such sympathy that helvidius began to hope that it might be possible to get a verdict even against marcellus. beginning with a eulogy of cluvius rufus, who, though quite as rich and as eloquent as marcellus, had never brought any one into trouble under nero, he went on to attack marcellus, both by contrasting him with rufus and by pressing home the charge against him. feeling that the house was warming to this rhetoric, marcellus got up as though to leave, exclaiming, 'i am off, helvidius: i leave you your senate: you can tyrannize over it under caesar's nose.' vibius crispus followed marcellus, and, though both were angry, their expressions were very different. marcellus marched out with flashing eyes, crispus with a smile on his face. eventually their friends went and brought them back. thus the struggle grew more and more heated between a well-meaning majority and a small but powerful minority; and since they were both animated by irreconcilable hatred, the day was spent in vain recriminations.

44at the next sitting domitian opened by recommending them to forget their grievances and grudges and the unavoidable exigences of the recent past. mucianus then at great length moved a motion in favour of the prosecutors, issuing a mild warning, almost in terms of entreaty, to those who wanted to revive actions which had been begun and dropped.151 seeing that their attempt at independence was being thwarted, the senate gave it up. however, that it might not seem as if the senate's opinion had been flouted and complete impunity granted for all crimes committed under nero, mucianus forced octavius sagitta and antistius sosianus, who had returned from exile, to go back to the islands to which they had been confined. octavius had committed adultery with pontia postumina, and, on her refusal to marry him, had murdered her in a fit of jealous fury. sosianus was an unprincipled scoundrel who had been the ruin of many.355 the senate had found them both guilty, and passed a heavy sentence of exile, nor had their penalty been remitted, although others were allowed to return. however, this failed to allay the ill-feeling against mucianus, for sosianus and sagitta, whether they returned or not, were of no importance, whereas people were afraid of the professional prosecutors, who were men of wealth and ability and experts in crime.

45unanimity was gradually restored in the senate by the holding of a trial according to ancient precedent, before a court of the whole house. a senator named manlius patruitus complained that he had been beaten before a mob of people in the colony of siena by order of the local magistrates. nor had the affront stopped there. they had held a mock funeral before his eyes, and had accompanied their dirges and lamentations with gross insults levelled at the whole senate. the 152accused were summoned; their case was tried; they were convicted and punished. a further decree of the senate was passed admonishing the commons of siena to pay more respect to the laws. about the same time antonius flamma was prosecuted by cyrene for extortion, and exiled for the inhumanity of his conduct.

46meanwhile, a mutiny almost broke out among the soldiers. the men who had been discharged by vitellius356 came together again in support of vespasian, and demanded re-admission. they were joined by the selected legionaries who had also been led to hope for service in the guards, and they now demanded the pay they had been promised. even the vitellians357 alone could not have been dispersed without serious bloodshed, but it would require immense sums of money to retain the services of such a large number of men. mucianus accordingly entered the barracks to make a careful estimate of each man's term of service. he formed up the victorious troops with their own arms and distinctive decorations, each company a few paces from the next. then the vitellians who had surrendered, as we have described, at bovillae,358 and all the other soldiers who had been hunted down in the city and its neighbourhood, were marched out almost entirely without arms or uniforms. mucianus then had them 153sorted out, and drew up in separate corps the troops of the german army, of the british army, and of any others that were in rome. their first glance at the scene astounded them. facing them they saw what looked like a fighting front bristling with weapons, while they were caught in a trap, defenceless and foul with dirt. as soon as they began to be sorted out a panic seized them. the german troops in particular were terrified at their isolation, and felt they were being told off for slaughter. they embraced their comrades and clung upon their necks, asking for one last kiss, begging not to be left alone, crying out, 'our cause is the same as yours, why should our fate be different?' they appealed now to mucianus, now to the absent emperor, and lastly to the powers of heaven, until mucianus came to the rescue of their imaginary terrors by calling them all 'sworn servants of one emperor', for he found that the victorious army was joining in and seconding their tears with cheering. on that day the matter ended there. a few days later, when domitian addressed them, they received him with renewed confidence, refused his offer of lands, and begged for enlistment and their pay instead. this was only a petition, but one that could not be refused: so they were admitted to the guards. subsequently, those who had grown old and completed the regular term of service359 were honourably discharged. others were dismissed for misbehaviour, but one by one at 154different times, which is always the safest method of weakening any kind of conspiracy.

47to return to the senate; a bill was now passed that a loan of sixty million sesterces should be raised from private individuals and administered by pompeius silvanus. this may have been a financial necessity, or they may have wanted it to seem so. at any rate the necessity soon ceased to exist, or else they gave up the pretence. domitian then carried a proposal that the consulships conferred by vitellius should be cancelled, and that a state funeral should be held in honour of flavius sabinus.360 both proposals are striking evidence of the fickleness of human fortune, which so often makes the first last and the last first.

48it was about this time that lucius piso,361 the pro-consul of africa, was killed. to give a true explanation of this murder we must go back and take a brief survey of certain matters which are closely connected with the reasons for such crimes. under the sainted augustus and tiberius the pro-consul of africa had in his command one legion and some auxiliaries with which to guard the frontier of the empire.362 caligula, who was restless by nature and harboured suspicions 155of the then pro-consul, marcus silanus, withdrew the legion from his command and put it under a legate whom he sent out for the purpose. as each had an equal amount of patronage and their functions overlapped, caligula thus caused a state of friction which was further aggravated by regrettable quarrels. the greater permanence of his tenure363 gradually strengthened the legate's position, and perhaps an inferior is always anxious to vie with his betters. the most eminent governors, on the other hand, were more careful of their comfort than of their authority.

49at the present time the legion in africa was commanded by valerius festus,364 an extravagant young man, immoderately ambitious, whose kinship with vitellius had given him some anxiety. he had frequent interviews with piso, and it is impossible to tell whether he tempted piso to rebel or resisted piso's temptations. no one was present at their interviews, which were held in private, and after piso's death most people were inclined to sympathize with his murderer. beyond doubt the province and the garrison were unfavourable to vespasian. besides, some of the vitellian refugees from rome pointed out to piso that the gallic provinces were wavering. germany was ready to rebel, and he himself was in danger; 'and,' they added, 'if you earn suspicion in peace your safest 156course is war.' meanwhile, claudius sagitta, who commanded petra's horse,365 made a good crossing and outstripped the centurion papirius, who had been sent out by mucianus and was commissioned, so sagitta affirmed, to assassinate piso. sagitta further stated that galerianus,366 piso's cousin and son-in-law, had already been murdered, and told him that while his one hope lay in taking a bold step, there were two courses open to him: he might either take up arms on the spot, or he might prefer to sail to gaul and offer to lead the vitellian armies. this made no impression on piso. when the centurion whom mucianus had sent arrived at the gates of carthage, he kept on shouting all sorts of congratulations to piso on becoming emperor. the people he met, who were astounded at this unexpected miracle, were instructed to take up the cry. with a crowd's usual credulity, they rushed into the forum calling on piso to appear, and as they had a passion for flattery and took no interest in the truth, they proceeded to fill the whole place with a confused noise of cheering. piso, however, either at a hint from sagitta, or from his natural good sense, would not show himself in public or give way to the excitement of the crowd. he examined the centurion, and learnt that his object was to trump up a charge against him and then kill him.367 he accordingly had the man executed more from indignation against 157the assassin than in any hope of saving his life; for he found that the man had been one of the murderers of clodius macer,368 and after staining his hand in the blood of a military officer was now proposing to turn it against a civil governor. piso then reprimanded the carthaginians in an edict which clearly showed his anxiety, and refrained from performing even the routine of his office, shutting himself up in his house, for fear that he might by accident provide some pretext for further demonstrations.

50when the news of the popular excitement and the centurion's execution reached the ears of festus, considerably exaggerated and with the usual admixture of falsehood, he at once sent off a party of horsemen to murder piso. riding at full speed, they reached the governor's house in the twilight of early dawn and broke in with drawn swords. as festus had mainly chosen carthaginian auxiliaries and moors to do the murder, most of them did not know piso by sight. however, near his bedroom they happened on a slave and asked him where piso was and what he looked like. in answer the slave told them a heroic lie and said he was piso, whereupon they immediately cut him down. however, piso himself was killed very soon after, for there was one man among them who knew him, and that was baebius massa, one of the imperial agents in africa, who was already a danger to all the best men in rome. his name will recur again and again in this narrative, as one of the causes of the troubles 158which beset us later on.369 festus had been waiting at adrumetum370 to see how things went, and he now hastened to rejoin his legion. he had the camp-prefect, caetronius pisanus, put in irons, alleging that he was one of piso's accomplices, though his real motive was personal dislike. he then punished some of the soldiers and centurions and rewarded others; in neither case for their deserts, but because he wanted it to be thought that he had stamped out a war. his next task was to settle the differences between oea and lepcis.371 these had had a trivial origin in thefts of fruit and cattle by the peasants, but they were now trying to settle them in open warfare. oea, being inferior in numbers, had called in the aid of the garamantes,372 an invincible tribe, who were always a fruitful source of damage to their neighbours. thus the people of lepcis were in great straits. their fields had been wasted far and wide, and they had fled in terror under shelter of their walls, when the roman auxiliaries, both horse and foot, arrived on the scene. they routed the garamantes and recovered all the booty, except what the nomads had already sold among the inaccessible hut-settlements of the far interior.

51after the battle of cremona and the arrival of good 159news from every quarter, vespasian now heard of vitellius' death. a large number of people of all classes, who were as lucky as they were adventurous, successfully braved the winter seas on purpose to bring him the news.373 there also arrived envoys from king vologaesus offering the services of forty thousand parthian cavalry.374 it was, indeed, a proud and fortunate situation to be courted with such splendid offers of assistance, and to need none of them. vologaesus was duly thanked and instructed to send his envoys to the senate and to understand that peace had been made. vespasian now devoted his attention to the affairs of italy and the capitol, and received an unfavourable report of domitian, who seemed to be trespassing beyond the natural sphere of an emperor's youthful son. he accordingly handed over the flower of his army to titus, who was to finish off the war with the jews.375

52it is said that before his departure titus had a long talk with his father and begged him not to be rash and lose his temper at these incriminating reports, but to meet his son in a forgiving and unprejudiced spirit, 'neither legions nor fleets,' he is reported to have said, 'are such sure bulwarks of the throne as a number of children. time, chance and often, too, ambition and misunderstanding weaken, alienate or extinguish friendship: a man's own blood cannot be severed from him; and above all is this the case with 160a sovereign, for, while others enjoy his good fortune, his misfortunes only concern his nearest kin. nor again are brothers likely to remain good friends unless their father sets them an example.' these words had the effect of making vespasian rather delighted at titus' goodness of heart than inclined to forgive domitian. 'you may ease your mind,' he said to titus, 'it is now your duty to increase the prestige of rome on the field: i will concern myself with peace at home.' though the weather was still very rough, vespasian at once launched his fastest corn-ships with a full cargo. for the city was on the verge of famine.376 indeed, there were not supplies for more than ten days in the public granaries at the moment when vespasian's convoy brought relief.

53the task of restoring the capitol377 was entrusted to lucius vestinus, who, though only a knight, yet in reputation and influence could rank with the highest. he summoned all the soothsayers,378 and they recommended that the ruins of the former temple should be carried away to the marshes379 and a new temple erected on the same site: the gods were unwilling, they said, that the original form of the building should be changed. on the 21st of june, a day of bright sun161shine, the whole consecrated area of the temple was decorated with chaplets and garlands. in marched soldiers, all men with names of good omen, carrying branches of lucky trees:380 then came the vestal virgins accompanied by boys and girls, each of whom had father and mother alive,381 and they cleansed it all by sprinkling fresh water from a spring or river.382 next, while the high priest, plautius aelianus, dictated the proper formulae, helvidius priscus, the praetor, first consecrated the site by a solemn sacrifice383 of a pig, a sheep and an ox, and then duly offering the entrails on an altar of turf, he prayed to jupiter, juno, and minerva, as the guardian deities of the empire, to prosper the enterprise, and by divine grace to bring to completion this house of theirs which human piety had here begun. he then took hold of the chaplets to which the ropes holding the foundation-stone were attached. at the same moment the other magistrates and the priests and senators and knights and large numbers of the populace in joyous excitement with one great effort dragged the huge stone into its place. on every side gifts of gold and silver were flung into the foundations, and 162blocks of virgin ore unscathed by any furnace, just as they had come from the womb of the earth. for the soothsayers had given out that the building must not be desecrated by the use of stone or gold that had been put to any other purpose. the height of the roof was raised. this was the only change that religious scruples would allow, and it was felt to be the only point in which the former temple lacked grandeur.