THE LIVES OF THE TWELVE CAESARS

 By C. Suetonius Tranquillus;

 To which are added, HIS LIVES OF THE GRAMMARIANS, RHETORICIANS, AND POETS. 

 The Translation of Alexander Thomson, M. D. 

 revised and corrected by T. Forester, Esq. , A. M. 

A. SALVIUS OTHO. 

(416)

I. The ancestors of Otho were originally of the town of Ferentum, of anancient and honourable family, and, indeed, one of the most considerablein Etruria. His grandfather, M. Salvius Otho (whose father was a Romanknight, but his mother of mean extraction, for it is not certain whethershe was free-born), by the favour of Livia Augusta, in whose house he hadhis education, was made a senator, but never rose higher than thepraetorship. His father, Lucius Otho, was by the mother's side noblydescended, allied to several great families, and so dearly beloved byTiberius, and so much resembled him in his features, that most peoplebelieved Tiberius was his father. He behaved with great strictness andseverity, not only in the city offices, but in the pro-consulship ofAfrica, and some extraordinary commands in the army. He had the courageto punish with death some soldiers in Illyricum, who, in the disturbanceattempted by Camillus, upon changing their minds, had put their generalsto the sword, as promoters of that insurrection against Claudius. Heordered the execution to take place in the front of the camp [670], andunder his own eyes; though he knew they had been advanced to higher ranksin the army by Claudius, on that very account. By this action heacquired fame, but lessened his favour at court; which, however, he soonrecovered, by discovering to Claudius a design upon his life, carried onby a Roman knight [671], and which he had learnt from some of his slaves. For the senate ordered a statue of him to be erected in the palace; anhonour which had been conferred but upon very few before him. AndClaudius advanced him to the dignity of a patrician, commending him, atthe same time, in the highest terms, and concluding with these words: "Aman, than whom I don't so (417) much as wish to have children that shouldbe better. " He had two sons by a very noble woman, Albia Terentia, namely; Lucius Titianus, and a younger called Marcus, who had the samecognomen as himself. He had also a daughter, whom he contracted toDrusus, Germanicus's son, before she was of marriageable age. 

II. The emperor Otho was born upon the fourth of the calends of May[28th April], in the consulship of Camillus Aruntius and DomitiusAenobarbus [672]. He was from his earliest youth so riotous and wild, that he was often severely scourged by his father. He was said to runabout in the night-time, and seize upon any one he met, who was eitherdrunk or too feeble to make resistance, and toss him in a blanket [673]. After his father's death, to make his court the more effectually to afreedwoman about the palace, who was in great favour, he pretended to bein love with her, though she was old, and almost decrepit. Having by hermeans got into Nero's good graces, he soon became one of the principalfavourites, by the congeniality of his disposition to that of the emperoror, as some say, by the reciprocal practice of mutual pollution. He hadso great a sway at court, that when a man of consular rank was condemnedfor bribery, having tampered with him for a large sum of money, toprocure his pardon; before he had quite effected it, he scrupled not tointroduce him into the senate, to return his thanks. 

III. Having, by means of this woman, insinuated himself into all theemperor's secrets, he, upon the day designed for the murder of hismother, entertained them both at a very splendid feast, to preventsuspicion. Poppaea Sabina, for whom Nero entertained such a violentpassion that he had taken her from her husband [674] and entrusted her tohim, he received, and went through the form of marrying her. And notsatisfied with obtaining her favours, he loved her so extravagantly, thathe could not with patience bear Nero for his rival. It is certainlybelieved that he not only refused admittance to those who were sent byNero to fetch her, but that, on one (418) occasion, he shut him out, andkept him standing before the door, mixing prayers and menaces in vain, and demanding back again what was entrusted to his keeping. Hispretended marriage, therefore, being dissolved, he was sent lieutenantinto Lusitania. This treatment of him was thought sufficiently severe, because harsher proceedings might have brought the whole farce to light, which, notwithstanding, at last came out, and was published to the worldin the following distich:--

 Cur Otho mentitus sit, quaeritis, exul honore? Uxoris moechus caeperat esse suae. 

 You ask why Otho's banish'd? Know, the cause Comes not within the verge of vulgar laws. Against all rules of fashionable life, The rogue had dared to sleep with his own wife. 

He governed the province in quality of quaestor for ten years, withsingular moderation and justice. 

IV. As soon as an opportunity of revenge offered, he readily joined inGalba's enterprises, and at the same time conceived hopes of obtainingthe imperial dignity for himself. To this he was much encouraged by thestate of the times, but still more by the assurances given him bySeleucus, the astrologer, who, having formerly told him that he wouldcertainly out-live Nero, came to him at that juncture unexpectedly, promising him again that he should succeed to the empire, and that in avery short time. He, therefore, let slip no opportunity of making hiscourt to every one about him by all manner of civilities. As often as heentertained Galba at supper, he distributed to every man of the cohortwhich attended the emperor on guard, a gold piece; endeavouring likewiseto oblige the rest of the soldiers in one way or another. Being chosenan arbitrator by one who had a dispute with his neighbour about a pieceof land, he bought it, and gave it him; so that now almost every bodythought and said, that he was the only man worthy of succeeding to theempire. 

V. He entertained hopes of being adopted by Galba, and expected it everyday. But finding himself disappointed, by Piso's being preferred beforehim, he turned his thoughts to obtaining his purpose by the use ofviolence; and to this he was instigated, as well by the greatness of hisdebts, as by resentment (419) at Galba's conduct towards him. For he didnot conceal his conviction, "that he could not stand his ground unless hebecame emperor, and that it signified nothing whether he fell by thehands of his enemies in the field, or of his creditors in the Forum. " Hehad a few days before squeezed out of one of the emperor's slaves amillion of sesterces for procuring him a stewardship; and this was thewhole fund he had for carrying on so great an enterprise. At first thedesign was entrusted to only five of the guard, but afterwards to tenothers, each of the five naming two. They had every one ten thousandsesterces paid down, and were promised fifty thousand more. By these, others were drawn in, but not many; from a confident assurance, that whenthe matter came to the crisis, they should have enough to join them. 

VI. His first intention was, immediately after the departure of Piso, toseize the camp, and fall upon Galba, whilst he was at supper in thepalace; but he was restrained by a regard for the cohort at that time onduty, lest he should bring too great an odium upon it; because ithappened that the same cohort was on guard before, both when Caius wasslain, and Nero deserted. For some time afterwards, he was restrainedalso by scruples about the omens, and by the advice of Seleucus. Uponthe day fixed at last for the enterprise, having given his accomplicesnotice to wait for him in the Forum near the temple of Saturn, at thegilded mile-stone [675], he went in the morning to pay his respects toGalba; and being received with a kiss as usual, he attended him atsacrifice, and heard the predictions of the augur [676]. A freedman ofhis, then bringing (420) him word that the architects were come, whichwas the signal agreed upon, he withdrew, as if it were with a design toview a house upon sale, and went out by a back-door of the palace to theplace appointed. Some say he pretended to be seized with an ague fit, and ordered those about him to make that excuse for him, if he wasinquired after. Being then quickly concealed in a woman's litter, hemade the best of his way for the camp. But the bearers growing tired, hegot out, and began to run. His shoe becoming loose, he stopped again, but being immediately raised by his attendants upon their shoulders, andunanimously saluted by the title of EMPEROR, he came amidst auspiciousacclamations and drawn swords into the Principia [677] in the camp; allwho met him joining in the cavalcade, as if they had been privy to thedesign. Upon this, sending some soldiers to dispatch Galba and Piso, hesaid nothing else in his address to the soldiery, to secure theiraffections, than these few words: "I shall be content with whatever yethink fit to leave me. "

VII. Towards the close of the day, he entered the senate, and after hehad made a short speech to them, pretending that he had been seized inthe streets, and compelled by violence to assume the imperial authority, which he designed to exercise in conjunction with them, he retired to thepalace. Besides other compliments which he received from those whoflocked about him to congratulate and flatter him, he was called Nero bythe mob, and manifested no intention of declining that cognomen. Nay, some authors relate, that he used it in his official acts, and the firstletters he sent to the (421) governors of provinces. He suffered all hisimages and statues to be replaced, and restored his procurators andfreedmen to their former posts. And the first writing which he signed asemperor, was a promise of fifty millions of sesterces to finish theGolden-house [678]. He is said to have been greatly frightened thatnight in his sleep, and to have groaned heavily; and being found, bythose who came running in to see what the matter was, lying upon thefloor before his bed, he endeavoured by every kind of atonement toappease the ghost of Galba, by which he had found himself violentlytumbled out of bed. The next day, as he was taking the omens, a greatstorm arising, and sustaining a grievous fall, he muttered to himselffrom time to time:

 Ti gar moi kai makrois aulois; [679] What business have I the loud trumpets to sound!

VIII. About the same time, the armies in Germany took an oath toVitellius as emperor. Upon receiving this intelligence, he advised thesenate to send thither deputies, to inform them, that a prince had beenalready chosen; and to persuade them to peace and a good understanding. By letters and messages, however, he offered Vitellius to make him hiscolleague in the empire, and his son-in-law. But a war being nowunavoidable, and the generals and troops sent forward by Vitellius, advancing, he had a proof of the attachment and fidelity of the pretorianguards, which had nearly proved fatal to the senatorian order. It hadbeen judged proper that some arms should be given out of the stores, andconveyed to the fleet by the marine troops. While they were employed infetching these from the camp in the night, some of the guards suspectingtreachery, excited a tumult; and suddenly the whole body, without any oftheir officers at their head, ran to the palace, demanding that theentire senate should be put to the sword; and having repulsed some of the(422) tribunes who endeavoured to stop them, and slain others, theybroke, all bloody as they were, into the banquetting room, inquiring forthe emperor; nor would they quit the place until they had seen him. Henow entered upon his expedition against Vitellius with great alacrity, but too much precipitation, and without any regard to the ominouscircumstances which attended it. For the Ancilia [680] had been takenout of the temple of Mars, for the usual procession, but were not yetreplaced; during which interval it had of old been looked upon as veryunfortunate to engage in any enterprise. He likewise set forward uponthe day when the worshippers of the Mother of the gods [681] begin theirlamentations and wailing. Besides these, other unlucky omens attendedhim. For, in a victim offered to Father Dis [682], he found the signssuch as upon all other occasions are regarded as favourable; whereas, inthat sacrifice, the contrary intimations are judged the most propitious. At his first setting forward, he was stopped by inundations of the Tiber;and at twenty miles' distance from the city, found the road blocked up bythe fall of houses. 

IX. Though it was the general opinion that it would be proper toprotract the war, as the enemy were distressed by (423) famine and thestraitness of their quarters, yet he resolved with equal rashness toforce them to an engagement as soon as possible; whether from impatienceof prolonged anxiety, and in the hope of bringing matters to an issuebefore the arrival of Vitellius, or because he could not resist theardour of the troops, who were all clamorous for battle. He was not, however, present at any of those which ensued, but stayed behind atBrixellum [683]. He had the advantage in three slight engagements, nearthe Alps, about Placentia, and a place called Castor's [684]; but was, bya fraudulent stratagem of the enemy, defeated in the last and greatestbattle, at Bedriacum [685]. For, some hopes of a conference being given, and the soldiers being drawn up to hear the conditions of peace declared, very unexpectedly, and amidst their mutual salutations, they were obligedto stand to their arms. Immediately upon this he determined to put anend to his life, more, as many think, and not without reason, out ofshame, at persisting in a struggle for the empire to the hazard of thepublic interest and so many lives, than from despair, or distrust of histroops. For he had still in reserve, and in full force, those whom hehad kept about him for a second trial of his fortune, and others werecoming up from Dalmatia, Pannonia, and Moesia; nor were the troops latelydefeated so far discouraged as not to be ready, even of themselves, torun all risks in order to wipe off their recent disgrace. 

X. My father, Suetonius Lenis [686], was in this battle, being at (424)that time an angusticlavian tribune in the thirteenth legion. He usedfrequently to say, that Otho, before his advancement to the empire, hadsuch an abhorrence of civil war, that once, upon hearing an account givenat table of the death of Cassius and Brutus, he fell into a trembling, and that he never would have interfered with Galba, but that he wasconfident of succeeding in his enterprise without a war. Moreover, thathe was then encouraged to despise life by the example of a commonsoldier, who bringing news of the defeat of the army, and finding that hemet with no credit, but was railed at for a liar and a coward, as if hehad run away from the field of battle, fell upon his sword at theemperor's feet; upon the sight of which, my father said that Otho criedout, "that he would expose to no farther danger such brave men, who haddeserved so well at his hands. " Advising therefore his brother, hisbrother's son, and the rest of his friends, to provide for their securityin the best manner they could, after he had embraced and kissed them, hesent them away; and then withdrawing into a private room by himself, hewrote a letter of consolation to his sister, containing two sheets. Helikewise sent another to Messalina, Nero's widow, whom he had intended tomarry, committing to her the care of his relics and memory. He thenburnt all the letters which he had by him, to prevent the danger andmischief that might otherwise befall the writers from the conqueror. What ready money he had, he distributed among his domestics. 

XI. And now being prepared, and just upon the point of dispatchinghimself, he was induced to suspend the execution of his purpose by agreat tumult which had broken out in the camp. Finding that some of thesoldiers who were making off had been seized and detained as deserters, "Let us add, " said he, "this night to our life. " These were his verywords. 

He then gave orders that no violence should be offered to any one; andkeeping his chamber-door open until late at night, he allowed all whopleased the liberty to come and see him. At last, after quenching histhirst with a draught of cold water, he took up two poniards, and havingexamined the points of both, put one of them under his pillow, andshutting his chamber-door, slept very soundly, until, awaking about breakof day, he stabbed himself under the left pap. Some persons burstinginto the room upon his first groan, he at one time covered, and atanother exposed his wound to the view of the bystanders, and thus lifesoon ebbed away. His funeral was hastily performed, according to his ownorder, in the thirty-eighth year of his age, and ninety-fifth day of hisreign. [687]

XII. The person and appearance of Otho no way corresponded to the greatspirit he displayed on this occasion; for he is said to have been of lowstature, splay-footed, and bandy-legged. He was, however, effeminatelynice in the care of his person: the hair on his body he plucked out bythe roots; and because he was somewhat bald, he wore a kind of peruke, soexactly fitted to his head, that nobody could have known it for such. Heused to shave every day, and rub his face with soaked bread; the use ofwhich he began when the down first appeared upon his chin, to prevent hishaving any beard. It is said likewise that he celebrated publicly thesacred rites of Isis [688], clad in a linen garment, such as is used bythe worshippers of that goddess. These circumstances, I imagine, causedthe world to wonder the more that his death was so little in characterwith his life. Many of the soldiers who were present, kissing andbedewing with their tears his hands and feet as he lay dead, andcelebrating him as "a most gallant man, and an incomparable emperor, "immediately put an end to their own lives upon the spot, not far from hisfuneral pile. 

(426) Many of those likewise who were at a distance, upon hearing thenews of his death, in the anguish of their hearts, began fighting amongstthemselves, until they dispatched one another. To conclude: thegenerality of mankind, though they hated him whilst living, yet highlyextolled him after his death; insomuch that it was the common talk andopinion, "that Galba had been driven to destruction by his rival, not somuch for the sake of reigning himself, as of restoring Rome to itsancient liberty. "

 * * * * * *

It is remarkable, in the fortune of this emperor, that he owed both hiselevation and catastrophe to the inextricable embarrassments in which hewas involved; first, in respect of pecuniary circumstances, and next, ofpolitical. He was not, so far as we can learn, a follower of any of thesects of philosophers which justified, and even recommended suicide, inparticular cases: yet he perpetrated that act with extraordinary coolnessand resolution; and, what is no less remarkable, from the motive, as heavowed, of public expediency only. It was observed of him, for manyyears after his death, that "none ever died like Otho. "

FOOTNOTES:

[670] On the esplanade, where the standards, objects of religiousreverence, were planted. See note to c. Vi. Criminals were usuallyexecuted outside the Vallum, and in the presence of a centurion. 

[671] Probably one of the two mentioned in CLAUDIUS, c. Xiii. 

[672] A. U. C. 784 or 785. 

[673] "Distento sago impositum in sublime jactare. "

[674] See NERO, c. Xxxv. 

[675] The Milliare Aureum was a pillar of stone set up at the top of theForum, from which all the great military roads throughout Italy started, the distances to the principal towns being marked upon it. Dio (lib. Liv. ) says that it was erected by the emperor Augustus, when he wascurator of the roads. 

[676] Haruspex, Auspex, or Augur, denoted any person who foretoldfuturity, or interpreted omens. There was at Rome a body of priests, orcollege, under this title, whose office it was to foretell future events, chiefly from the flight, chirping, or feeding of birds, and from otherappearances. They were of the greatest authority in the Roman state; fornothing of importance was done in public affairs, either at home orabroad, in peace or war, without consulting them. The Romans derived thepractice of augury chiefly from the Tuscans; and anciently their youthused to be instructed as carefully in this art, as afterwards they werein the Greek literature. For this purpose, by a decree of the senate, acertain number of the sons of the leading men at Rome was sent to thetwelve states of Etruria for instruction. 

[677] See before, note, c. I. The Principia was a broad open space, which separated the lower part of the Roman camp from the upper, andextended the whole breadth of the camp. In this place was erected thetribunal of the general, when he either administered justice or haranguedthe army. Here likewise the tribunes held their courts, and punishmentswere inflicted. The principal standards of the army, as it has beenalready mentioned, were deposited in the Principia; and in it also stoodthe altars of the gods, and the images of the Emperors, by which thesoldiers swore. 

[678] See NERO, c. Xxxi. The sum estimated as requisite for itscompletion amounted to 2, 187, 500 pounds of our money. 

[679] The two last words, literally translated, mean "long trumpets;"such as were used at sacrifices. The sense is, therefore, "What have Ito do, my hands stained with blood, with performing religiousceremonies!"

[680] The Ancile was a round shield, said to have fallen from heaven inthe reign of Numa, and supposed to be the shield of Mars. It was keptwith great care in the sanctuary of his temple, as a symbol of theperpetuity of the Roman empire; and that it might not be stolen, elevenothers were made exactly similar to it. 

[681] This ideal personage, who has been mentioned before, AUGUSTUS, c. Lxviii. , was the goddess Cybele, the wife of Saturn, called also Rhea, Ops, Vesta, Magna, Mater, etc. She was painted as a matron, crowned withtowers, sitting in a chariot drawn by lions. A statue of her, broughtfrom Pessinus in Phrygia to Rome, in the time of the second Punic war, was much honoured there. Her priests, called the Galli and Corybantes, were castrated; and worshipped her with the sound of drums, tabors, pipes, and cymbals. The rites of this goddess were disgraced by greatindecencies. 

[682] Otherwise called Orcus, Pluto, Jupiter Infernus, and Stygnis. Hewas the brother of Jupiter, and king of the infernal regions. His wifewas Proserpine, the daughter of Ceres, whom he carried off as she wasgathering flowers in the plains of Enna, in Sicily. The victims offeredto the infernal gods were black: they were killed with their faces bentdownwards; the knife was applied from below, and the blood was pouredinto a ditch. 

[683] A town between Mantua and Cremona. 

[684] The temple of Castor. It stood about twelve miles from Cremona. Tacitus gives some details of this action. Hist. Ii. 243. 

[685] Both Greek and Latin authors differ in the mode of spelling thename of this place, the first syllable being written Beb, Bet, and Bret. It is now a small village called Labino, between Cremona and Verona. 

[686] Lenis was a name of similar signification with that ofTranquillus, borne by his son, the author of the present work. We findfrom Tacitus, that there was, among Otho's generals, in this battle, another person of the name of Suetonius, whose cognomen was Paulinus;with whom our author's father must not be confounded. Lenis was only atribune of the thirteenth legion, the position of which in the battle ismentioned by Tacitus, Hist. Xi. 24, and was angusticlavius, wearing onlythe narrow stripe, as not being of the senatorial order; while Paulinuswas a general, commanding a legion, at least, and a consular man; havingfilled that Office A. U. C. 818. There seems no doubt that SuetoniusPaulinus was the same general who distinguished himself by his successesand cruelties in Britain. NERO, c. Xviii. , and note. 

Not to extend the present note, we may shortly refer to our author'shaving already mentioned his grandfather (CALIGULA, c. Xix. ); besidesother sources from which he drew his information. He tells us that hehimself was then a boy. We have now arrived at the times in which hisfather bore a part. Such incidental notices, dropped by historicalwriters, have a certain value in enabling us to form a judgment on thegenuineness of their narratives as to contemporaneous, or recent, events. 

[687] A. U. C. 823. 

[688] Jupiter, to prevent the discovery of his amour with Io, thedaughter of the river Inachus, transformed her into a heifer, in whichmetamorphosis she was placed by Juno under the watchful inspection ofArgus; but flying into Egypt, and her keeper being killed by Mercury, sherecovered her human shape, and was married to Osiris. Her husbandafterwards became a god of the Egyptians, and she a goddess, under thename of Isis. She was represented with a mural crown on her head, acornucopia in one hand, and a sistrum (a musical instrument) in theother.