fealty to the Senate and people of Rome, and then dispersed. After this outbreak the officers began to fear anarchy among the soldiers as much as rebellion: and one of them spoke as follows: "What will become of us, fellow-soldiers, if we neither remain faithful to our present emperor nor yet create another, as though we had not merely thrown off our allegiance to Galba, but refused to obey any master whatever? As for Hordeonius Flaccus we must pass him over, for he is merely a feeble shadow of Galba; but within one day's march of us there is Vitellius, the chief of the army of Lower Germany, whose father was censor and thrice consul, and who can point to the poverty for which some reproach him as a shining proof of honesty and greatness of soul. Come, let us choose this man, and show that we know better than the Iberians or Lusitanians how to elect an emperor." While some approved, and some rejected this advice, a standard-bearer stole quietly away and brought the news of it to Vitellius, who was entertaining a large company at supper. Soon the matter became noised abroad throughout the army, and on the following day Fabius Valens, who commanded one legion,[616] rode over to Vitellius's quarters[617] with a number of horsemen and saluted him emperor. It is said that on the previous days he had refused the purple, and had shrunk from the burden of empire, but that now, excited by food and wine which he had taken at midday, he came forward and willingly heard himself addressed as Germanicus, though he declined the title of Cæsar.[618] The troops under Flaccus now at once forgot their patriotic oaths of fidelity to the Senate, and swore to obey the emperor Vitellius.
XXIII. Thus was Vitellius proclaimed emperor in Germany. Galba, when he heard of the rising there, no longer postponed the choice of his successor. He knew that some of his friends desired the election of Otho, and some that of Dolabella; but as he himself approved of neither candidate, he suddenly without any warning sent for Piso, the son of Crassus and Scribonia, who perished under Nero, a young man remarkable for his virtues, and especially for the modesty and austerity of his life. Galba now at once took this youth to the camp of the prætorian guard to declare him Cæsar and heir to the empire, though as he left the palace he was at once met by evil omens, and when he began to address the soldiers and to read aloud a prepared speech it thundered and lightened so often, and such rain and darkness overshadowed the camp and the city, that it was impossible to doubt that Heaven did not approve of the adoption of Piso, and that no good would come of it. The soldiers were sulky and scowling, as not even on this occasion was any largesse given to them. Piso himself was admired by all who saw him, for as far as they could judge from his voice and manner he was not bewildered by his good fortune, although he was not insensible of it, while Otho's countenance bore manifest tokens of the bitterness of his disappointment, as he thought that Galba's refusal to appoint him after having chosen him and all but raised him to the throne was a clear proof of the emperor's dislike and hatred for him. Otho was not without fears for the future, and went away full of hatred for Piso, blaming Galba, and angry with Vinius. The prophets and Chaldæans whom he kept about his person would not permit him to give up his hopes, and especially one Ptolemæus,[619] who laid great stress upon a prophecy which he had often repeated to him, that Nero would not kill him, but would perish before him, and that he should rule over the Romans; for having proved the one part of his prophecy to be true, this man bade him not despair of the other part also coming to pass, while he was much encouraged by those who came to offer their sympathy, and treated him as an ill-used man: for many of the partizans of Nymphidius and Tigellinus, who had once been in positions of honour, and now had been dismissed and were in poverty, attached themselves to him and urged him to revolt.
XXIV. Among these were Veturius and Barbius, one of whom was an adjutant, and the other an orderly of the corps of guides[620] as the Romans call the scouts and messengers of their armies. Together with them a freedman of Otho's, named Onomastus, went about from man to man, and by bribes and promises induced them to stand by Otho, which they were willing enough to do, as they were thoroughly disloyal to Galba and only wanted an excuse to desert him. Indeed, a loyal army could not have been corrupted in four days, which was all the interval that elapsed between the adoption of Piso by Galba, and the murder of them both: for they perished on the sixth[621] day after, which the Romans call the sixteenth before the Calends of February. Early in the morning of that day Galba was offering sacrifice in the palace, accompanied by many of his friends. The aruspex, Umbricius, as soon as he took the entrails of the victim into his hands and looked at them, said distinctly that they portended great disturbances, and danger to the emperor from a plot at headquarters. Thus was Otho all but delivered up to justice by the hand of God: for he stood close behind Galba and heard what Umbricius said as he pointed to the entrails. He was much alarmed, and turned all manner of colours through fear, when his freedman Onomastus came up to him and said that the architect was waiting for him at his house. This was the preconcerted signal of the time when Otho was to meet the soldiers. He, therefore, explaining that he had just bought an old house, and wished to point out its defects to those who had sold it, went away through what is called the house of Tiberius into the Forum, where stands a gilded column[622] at which all the public roads in Italy terminate.
XXV. Here they say that he was met and saluted as emperor by the first of the conspirators, who were not more than three and twenty in number.
Though the luxury and effeminacy in which he lived had not affected his courage, for he was a most daring man, yet now his heart failed him. The others, however, would not let him draw back, but drew their swords and, standing round his litter,[623] ordered it to proceed, while Otho frequently urged the bearers to go faster, and often muttered to himself, "I am a lost man;" for several persons had heard what had passed, and looked on more in wonder than alarm, because of the small number of the conspirators. While he was being thus carried through the Forum, about as many more men joined him, and then others came up by twos and threes. At length they all faced around, and saluted him as Cæsar, brandishing their naked swords. The tribune Martialis, who was on guard at the camp of the prætorians, is said not to have been in the plot, but to have been terrified and bewildered at Otho's sudden appearance, and let him pass in. When he was once within the camp, no one opposed him; for those who did not know what was being done found themselves enclosed in small parties of two or three together by the conspirators, and being thus cut off from one another, followed the party of Otho at first through fear, and soon, when the matter was explained to them, of their own free will.
News of the rising was brought to Galba at the palace while the aruspex still held the victim in his hands, so that even those who generally refused to believe in the omens drawn from sacrifices were astonished at the evident interposition of Heaven. As a crowd of all kinds of persons now ran up from the Forum, Vinius and Laco and a few of the emperor's freedmen stood round him with drawn swords while Piso went forward and addressed the soldiers who were on guard at the palace, and Marius Celsus, a brave man, was sent to assure himself of the fidelity of a corps of Illyrians who were quartered in the Portico of Agrippa.
XXVI. Galba wished to go forth, but Vinius dissuaded him, while Celsus and Laco urged him to do so, and abused Vinius roundly. At this time a persistent rumour arose that Otho had been murdered in the camp of the prætorians; and presently one Julius Atticus, one of the chiefs of the emperor's guards, came up with his sword drawn, shouting that he had slain the enemy of Cæsar. Pushing his way through the bystanders, he showed Galba his sword, which was covered with blood. Galba looked at him, and said, "Who ordered you to kill him?" As, however, the man spoke of his loyalty, and the oath of fealty which he had sworn, and as the crowd shouted that he had done well, and clapped their hands, Galba got into his litter with the intention of sacrificing to Jupiter and showing himself to his subjects. Just as he entered the Forum, like a change of wind there came a rumour that Otho was at the head of the soldiers. And now, while in that vast crowd some called to Galba to turn back, and some to go on, some bade him be of good courage and others warned him to beware, and the litter was frequently shaken and swayed to and fro as if it were on a stormy sea, there suddenly appeared a body of horsemen, and then some foot-soldiers, who came through the basilica of Paulus, and loudly shouted to the people to take "that citizen" away.
The populace took to their heels, but did not run away in fear, but posted themselves on the tops of the porticoes and on the highest parts of the Forum as though they were spectators at a public show. The civil war was begun by Attilius Vergilio,[624] who tore down the image of Galba which he carried on his staff, and dashed it upon the ground. Many now hurled their javelins at the litter; and, missing their aim at Galba with these, they drew their swords and rushed upon him. No one remained with him or defended him except one man, the only one of all that vast multitude whom the sun beheld that day acting worthily of the Roman Empire. This was a centurion named Sempronius Densus, who had never received any especial favour from Galba, but who, prompted merely by his own honour and fidelity, stood firm in front of his litter. Raising the vine stick, which is carried by centurions to correct their men, he shouted aloud and ordered the men who rushed towards him to spare the emperor. After this, as they tried to push past him, he drew his sword and defended the emperor for a long time, until he was brought to the ground by a blow under the knee.
XXVII. Galba's litter was overset near the place called the Lake of Curtius. As he fell to the ground, wearing a corslet,[625] many ran upon him and stabbed him. He, offering his throat to them, said "Strike, if this be best for Rome." He received many cuts in the legs and arms, but the mortal blow in the throat was given, according to the most common account, by one Camurius, a soldier of the fifteenth legion. Some writers say that his murderer's name was Terentius, some, Lecanius, and some Fabius Fabulus, who is said to have cut off his head and carried it away wrapped in his toga, for being bald, it was difficult to hold with the hands. Afterwards, as those who were with him would not allow him to carry it so, but wished him to display his feat of arms, he stuck it on a spear, and ran along like a Bacchanal, brandishing aloft the aged head of one who had been a virtuous emperor, a pontiff, and a consul, often turning himself about and shaking the spear, down which the blood still ran. When the head of Galba was brought to Otho, he said, "This is nothing, my comrades; show me the head of Piso." Before long it was brought to him: for the youth had been wounded and fled, but had been pursued by one Marcus who slew him near the temple of Vesta. Vinius also was killed, though he admitted that he had been a party to the conspiracy against Galba; for he cried out that "Otho did not mean him to be killed." However, both his head and that of Laco were cut off and taken to Otho, from whom the bearers demanded a present. As Archilochus says, "Though there be of us a thousand, each of whom his man hath slain, Yet we find but corpses seven, when we come to search the plain."
So many who took no part in these murders nevertheless dipped their hands and their swords in the blood and showed them to Otho, and sent petitions to him asking for a reward. A hundred and twenty persons were afterwards discovered to have done this by the written petitions which they sent to the emperor, all of whom afterwards Vitellius caused to be searched for and put to death. Besides these men, Marius Celsus came to the camp. Many at once accused him of having incited the soldiers to help Galba, and the mob clamoured for his execution. Otho, however, did not wish to kill him; but as he did not dare to directly oppose the soldiers, he said that he would not put him to death in such a hurry, for there were several questions which he wished to put to him. On this pretence he ordered him to be imprisoned, and entrusted him to his own most faithful followers.
XXVIII. The Senate was at once called together. Just as though they had become different men, or worshipped different gods, the senators took the oath of fealty to Otho, which Otho himself had just broken: and they addressed him as Cæsar and Augustus while the headless corpses, dressed in their consular robes, were still lying in the Forum. As the murderers had no further use for the heads, they sold that of Vinius to his daughter for two thousand five hundred drachmas. Piso's head was given to his wife Verania,[626] at her earnest entreaty; and that of Galba was given to the slaves of Patrobius[627] and Vitellius, who subjected it to every kind of indignity, and at last threw it into the place which is called the Sessorium, where they execute those who are put to death by the emperor's orders. Galba's body was removed by Helvidius Priscus, with the permission of Otho: and during the night it was buried by one Argius,[628] the emperor's freedman.
XXIX. This was the fate of Galba, who was second to few of the Romans in birth or wealth, being almost the first man of his time in both. He lived through the reigns of five emperors and obtained a great reputation, by which more than by any power at his disposal he drove out Nero: for of the many pretenders of that time some were declared by all to be unfit to reign, and some of their own accord withdrew their pretensions; but Galba was offered the throne and accepted it, so that his mere name caused the rising of Vindex, which had been regarded as a mere revolt, to be called a civil war, because an emperor took part in it. As therefore he considered that he had not so much sought for the management of the empire as he had had it pressed upon him, he thought to govern the spoiled children of Nymphidius and Tigellinus after the fashion of Scipio, Fabricius, and Camillus of old.
Though his faculties were somewhat impaired by age he proved himself in all military matters a thoroughly capable commander of the old school; but he put himself entirely into the hands of Vinius and Laco, who, just like the greedy crew that had surrounded Nero, sold everything in the state to the highest bidder; so that no one looked back with regret to his reign, though many were grieved at his death.
LIFE OF OTHO.
I. The young emperor[629] proceeded at daybreak to the Capitol, and offered sacrifice there. Next, he ordered Marius Celsus to be brought to him, and having embraced him, spoke kindly to him, and invited him to forget the charge which had been made against him rather than to remember his acquittal. Celsus answered with dignity, yet not without appreciation of Otho's kindness, that the crime laid to his charge, being that of fidelity to Galba, to whom he owed nothing, ought of itself to bear witness to his character. By these words both Otho and Celsus were thought to have done themselves equal honour, and were applauded by the soldiers. After this, Otho made a mild and gracious speech to the Senate. He assigned part of the time appointed for his own consulship to Virginius Rufus, and left in force all the other appointments to consulships which had been made by Nero or Galba. He gratified several persons of advanced age, or eminent in other ways, by appointing them to offices in the priesthood, and restored to those senators who had been banished by Nero, and had returned under Galba, all of their property which had not been sold. In consequence of this, many of the leading men in Rome, who had at first shuddered at Otho's accession, regarding him as some avenging demon who had suddenly been placed upon the throne, began to look much more hopefully upon a reign by which they themselves profited.
II. At the same time nothing delighted the common people and reconciled them to Otho so much as his treatment of Tigellinus. This wretch had hitherto escaped notice, for all thoughtful men considered him sufficiently punished already by his fear of the punishment which the people demanded as a debt due to the public, and by the incurable bodily diseases from which he suffered, while they regarded the foul debaucheries which he still even when dying continued to lust after, as a greater misery to him than death itself. Yet many thought it shame that he should still see the light of day, of which he had deprived so many noble spirits. Otho sent a messenger to the country house near Sinuessa, where Tigellinus dwelt, and where several ships were always riding at anchor in case he should wish to flee farther from Rome.
Tigellinus at first offered the messenger a vast bribe to allow him to escape; and as the man refused to do so, he gave him the money nevertheless, begged of him to wait until he had shaved, and then, taking up a razor, cut his throat.
III. The emperor, though he gratified the people by this well-deserved execution, yet bore no malice against any one else of his personal enemies. To please the people he at first allowed them to address him at public spectacles as "Nero"; and he allowed several statues of Nero to be replaced in public. Claudius Rufus states that the diplomas,[630] or imperial despatches, which were sent to Spain by the hands of public couriers, were inscribed with the name of Nero as well as with that of Otho. However, as he perceived that this practice gave offence to the first and most powerful citizens, he put a stop to it. The soldiers of the prætorian guard were extremely dissatisfied with the moderate manner in which Otho began his reign, and they warned him to be on his guard, and cut off all disaffected persons, either out of a genuine anxiety for his safety, or merely as a pretext for causing disturbances and civil wars. One day Otho sent Crispinus[631] to Ostia to bring back the seventeenth manipulus[632] from thence. As Crispinus, while it was still dark, began to make preparations for the journey, and loaded waggons with the men's arms, some of the most daring soldiers openly declared that he had come with disloyal intentions, that the Senate meditated a coup d'état, and that the arms were meant to be used against Otho, not for him. As many took up this idea and became much excited, some seized on the waggons, others killed Crispinus and their own two centurions who tried to oppose them, and all, in confusion, calling upon one another to come to the rescue of Cæsar, marched to Rome. Hearing that Otho was entertaining eighty of the senators at dinner, they rushed to the palace, exclaiming that now was the time to put to death all the enemies of Cæsar at one stroke. The city was panic-stricken, expecting at once to be pillaged by the troops; the palace was filled with confusion and alarm, and Otho himself terribly perplexed as to what to do; for while he feared for the safety of his guests, some of whom had brought their wives to the banquet, they mistrusted him, and he saw them watching his every movement in silent terror. He therefore ordered the prefects of the guard to go and pacify the soldiers, while at the same time he dismissed his guests by another door. They were scarcely gone when the soldiers burst tumultuously into the dining-hall, asking what had become of the enemies of Cæsar. Otho now mounted on a couch and addressed them; and by entreaties, and even by tears, at last prevailed upon them to retire. On the following day, having presented every soldier with twelve hundred and fifty drachmas, he entered the camp, where he praised[633] their zeal on his behalf, and begged them to join him in punishing a few whose intrigues had made both his clemency and their own steady loyalty to be questioned. As all approved, and bade him do so, he, after selecting for punishment two men whose fate no one could regret, left the camp.
IV. Some of the soldiers believed that Otho's character was really changed, and admired him for his conduct; while others bethought that he was only courting popularity perforce, because of the war which was impending. It was indeed reported that Vitellius had already assumed the imperial title and authority; and couriers were constantly arriving with the news of some fresh accession to his forces, though other messengers came who stated that the troops in Dalmatia, Pannonia, and Moesia had, with their officers, declared for Otho. Soon also friendly letters reached him from Mucianus and Vespasianus, the former of whom was at the head of a great army in Syria, and the latter in Judæa. Encouraged by these, Otho wrote to Vitellius, bidding him act like a loyal soldier, and promising that he would bestow on him a great sum of money and a city in which he might dwell in the utmost peace and happiness.
Vitellius replied at first with dissimulation, but soon they became irritated, and overwhelmed one another with abuse, which each well deserved, though it was ridiculous for either of them to reproach the other with vices which were common to them both.[634] Indeed it was hard to say which of them was the more profligate or the more effeminate, which had the least experience of war, or which had been plunged the more deeply in debt by his former poverty.
At this time many prodigies[635] and omens were reported, many of which were vague and could not be traced to any trustworthy source, though all men saw the reins fall from the hands of the figure of Victory in the capitol, who is represented driving a chariot, as though she were no longer able to hold them; and the statue of Caius[636] Cæsar, which stands upon the island in the Tiber, without any wind or earthquake, was turned round, so as to face east instead of west. This is said to have taken place about the time when Vespasianus openly pretended to the throne. Many also regarded the flooding of the Tiber as an evil omen; for though it was the season of the year at which rivers usually are full of water, yet it never rose so high or did so much damage before; for it laid a great part of the city under water, especially in the corn-market, and caused great scarcity of provisions for several days.
V. About this time news was brought to Rome that Cæcina and Valens, acting as the lieutenants of Vitellius, had seized the passes of the Alps. The prætorians also conceived suspicions of the loyalty of Dolabella,[637] a man of patrician family. Whether Otho feared him or some one else is uncertain: however, he assured him of his friendship, and sent him to reside at the city of Aquinum. Otho now selected the officers who were to company him on his campaign. Amongst these was Lucius, the brother of Vitellius, whom he neither promoted nor removed from the rank in the army which he held. He also took especial care of the mother and wife of Vitellius, that they might not have any fear for their own safety. He entrusted the government of Rome to Flavius Sabinus, either because he wished to show his respect for Nero (for Sabinus had been appointed to this post by Nero, and had been deprived of it by Galba), or because by the promotion of Sabinus he declared his good will and confidence in Vespasianus. He himself remained at Brixellum, a city of Italy situated upon the river Padus, and sent on his forces under the command of Marius Celsus, Suetonius Paullinus, and of Gallus and Spurinna, who were all generals of renown, but who, on account of the want of discipline of their troops, were unable to conduct the campaign, according to the plans which they had arranged.
Indeed the soldiers of the guard refused to obey any authority except that of the emperor himself, for he alone, they declared, had the right to command them. Nor were the enemy's troops altogether obedient and well-behaved, but the same causes rendered them also swaggering and untrustworthy. Yet they possessed experience of actual war, and were accustomed to fatigue; whereas Otho's troops were weak from their life of unwarlike leisure, for they spent most of their time in the theatres and at public shows, or else in their quarters, and affected such a degree of insolence that they refused to perform the necessary labours of a campaign, alleging that to do so was beneath their dignity, not that it was beyond their strength. Spurinna, when he endeavoured to force them to do their duty, came within a very little of losing his life. The soldiers insulted him grossly, and set no bounds to their language, calling him a traitor to Cæsar and the ruin of his cause. Some of them actually got drunk and went to Spurinna's tent at night to demand money for a journey; for they said they must go and impeach him before Cæsar.
VI. However, the cause of Otho, and Spurinna with it, received some advantage from the abusive language which these same soldiers met with at Placentia. Here the Vitellians who were besieging the city ridiculed Otho's men whom they saw on the battlements, calling them stay-at-home soldiers, sword-dancers, and spectators of games, declaring that they had never seen or tasted of real war, but were full of pride at having cut off the head of an unarmed old man, meaning Galba, though they dared not come out and fight like men. The soldiers were so furiously exasperated by these reproaches that they eagerly besought Spurinna to employ them in whatever service he pleased, assuring him that they would not shrink from any toils or dangers. When the enemy furiously assaulted the walls, and brought up many battering engines,[638] Spurinna's men won the victory, drove back their opponents with great slaughter, and saved from ruin one of the most famous and prosperous cities of Italy.
The generals of Otho were found both by cities and by individuals to be much less offensive to deal with than those of Vitellius. Among the latter was Cæcina, a man who neither spoke nor dressed like a citizen of Rome, but was harsh and overbearing, of great stature, wearing the Gaulish trousers and sleeves, and using signs[639] even when addressing Roman magistrates. He was accompanied by his wife[640] who rode with him in a showy dress, escorted by a picked body of cavalry.
The other general, Fabius Valens,[641] was so avaricious that neither the plunder which he took from the enemy, nor yet the thefts, which he committed or the bribes which he received from the allied states could satiate him; and he was even suspected of having been too late for the first battle of the war because he delayed his march to amass wealth for himself. Others blame Cæcina, because in his haste to win a victory before Valens came up, he, besides other blunders of less consequence, began a battle so unseasonably and conducted it so remissly that he very nearly brought the cause of Vitellius to ruin.
VII. After Cæcina's repulse at Placentia he proceeded to Cremona, another large and flourishing city. Meanwhile Annius Gallus, who was on his way to Placentia to reinforce Spurinna, hearing while on the march that the troops at Placentia had been victorious, but that Cremona was in danger, changed the direction of his march towards that place, and encamped close to the enemy. Here Cæcina concealed many foot-soldiers in rough and wooded ground ordering his cavalry to ride forward and, if they fell in with the enemy, to retire little by little so as to draw them into the ambuscade. This plan was betrayed to Celsus by deserters.
Celsus attacked them with the best of his cavalry, pursued them with caution, taking care to avoid the ambuscade, and then surrounded the troops in ambush, and threw them into confusion. He now sent for his infantry from the camp: and it was thought that if they had come up promptly after the cavalry, the whole army of Cæcina might have been destroyed; but as it was, Paullinus brought them up slowly and too late, and tarnished his glory as a general by overcaution. The mass of the soldiers charged him with treason, and tried to exasperate Otho against him by boasting that they had won the victory, but that their success was not followed up owing to the cowardice of their generals. Otho, though he did not believe their accusations, yet feared to be thought to disbelieve them. He accordingly sent his brother Titianus to the army, and with him Julius Proculus[642], the prefect of the prætorians, who virtually had the supreme command, though Titianus was the nominal chief, while Celsus and Paullinus were given the titles of counsellors and friends, but were not allowed the least real power or authority.
The enemy also showed want of discipline, especially in the army of Valens. These men, when they heard of the ambuscade and the defeat to which it had led, were greatly enraged at not having been there in time to prevent so great a slaughter of their friends. Valens[643] was forced to beg for his life; for the soldiers were preparing to stone him. He pacified them with difficulty, and led them to join the forces of Cæcina.
VIII. When Otho arrived at the camp at Bedriacum,[644] which is a village near Cremona, he held a council of war. Proculus and Titianus were of opinion that, as the troops were full of confidence and flushed with victory, it would be best to fight a decisive battle at once, and not blunt their spirit by delay, which would also bring Vitellius down upon them from Gaul. On the other hand Paullinus argued that the enemy had already collected their entire available force, whereas Otho might expect another army as large as his present one to join him from Moesia and Pannonia, if he would only wait until it suited him to fight, and not play into the hands of the enemy by engaging prematurely. The troops, he said, after being so largely reinforced, would be no less confident than at present, when they are but few; indeed, they would fight with a great superiority of numbers. Besides this, delay would be all in their favour, as they had abundance of supplies, while the opponents, who were in an enemy's country, would soon be reduced to great straits by the want of provisions. Marius Celsus agreed with the views of Paullinus. Annius Gallus was not present at the council, having been disabled by a fall from his horse: but when Otho wrote a letter to him, asking his opinion, he advised the emperor not to be hasty, but to await the arrival of the legions which were already on their way from Moesia. However Otho was not convinced by these arguments, but agreed with those who urged him to fight at once.
IX. Many other reasons for this decision are given by various writers, and it is evident that the prætorians, or bodyguard of the emperor, who now for the first time had experience of actual warfare, were eager to return to their old haunts at Rome, and the unwarlike pleasures of the theatre and the circus, and that their eagerness for battle could not be restrained, as they imagined that they would overthrow their antagonists at the first onset. It seems, too, that Otho himself could no longer endure the uncertainty of his position, for his ignorance of war and his life of enervating luxury had unfitted him for a calm calculation of his chances of success, and, worn out as he was with anxiety, he longed to let the matter be settled whichever way chance might determine, like a man who covers his face through dizziness at looking over a precipice.
This is the account which is given by the orator Secundus, who acted as private secretary to Otho. Other[645] authorities relate that many efforts were made by the soldiers of both armies to combine, and agree to elect an emperor from among their own officers: or, if this proved impossible, to place the election in the hands of the senate. It seems indeed rightly probable, considering the ill-repute of both claimants of the throne, that the more sedate and thoughtful of the soldiers should have reflected that it would be a horrible and shameful thing that the Romans should be made to suffer for a second time all the miseries which they had once endured in the civil wars of Sulla and of Marius and of Cæsar and Pompeius, merely in order to provide an empire to bear the charges of the gluttony and drunkenness of Vitellius, or of the luxury and profligacy of Otho. It is suspected that Marius Celsus, knowing that this feeling was gaining ground, endeavoured to gain time, hoping that the whole matter might be decided without fighting; and that Otho, fearing this, hurried on an engagement.
X. After the council Otho again retired to Brixellum. This was a mistake, not only because the army would have fought with greater zeal and discipline when under the eye of the emperor, but because by taking away the best and most loyal troops, both of cavalry and infantry, to act as his bodyguard, he made his army like a spear which has lost its steel point. At this time a battle took place on the bank of the Padus, across which Cæcina endeavoured to throw a bridge, while the Othonians tried to prevent him from doing so. As they did not succeed in this, they threw lighted sulphur and pitch into the boats which formed the bridge, and a wind suddenly springing up carried the fire across the stream towards the enemy. At first volumes of smoke, and then a mass of flames burst out, so that the enemy were thrown into confusion and forced to leap from the bridge into the river, upsetting the boats and exposing themselves to the missiles and the ridicule of the enemy.
However, the Germans were victorious in a fight with Otho's corps of gladiators for the possession of an island in the river, and slew many of them.
XI. As, after this, the soldiers in Otho's camp at Bedriacum were frantically eager for battle, Proculus led them forward about six miles from that place and encamped in such an ignorant and ridiculous fashion that the men suffered from want of water, although it was spring time, and all the surrounding country was full of springs and perennial streams. On the next day he wished to lead them at least twelve miles nearer the enemy, but Suetonius Paullinus would not allow him to do so, thinking that the soldiers ought to have some rest, and not first be fatigued with a long march, and then while they were confusedly mixed up