All of Tac Annals 12

C. Antistio M. Suillio consulibus

During the consulship of Gaius Antistius and Marcus Suillius [AD 50],

adoptio in Domitium auctoritate Pallantis festinatur,

the adoption of Domitius was hurried forward by the influence of Pallas,

qui obstrictus Agrippinae ut conciliator nuptiarum

who, bound to Agrippina as the promoter of her marriage

et mox stupro eius inligatus, stimulabat Claudium

and soon tied by debauchery with her, was goading Claudius:

consuleret rei publicae, Britannici pueritiam robore circumdaret:

he should take thought for the republic, he should surround Britannicus' boyhood with strength:

sic apud divum Augustum,

[Pallas continued that] in the same way, in the house of the divine Augustus,

quamquam nepotibus subnixum, viguisse privignos;

although he was supported by his grandsons, his stepsons had thrived;

a Tiberio super propriam stirpem Germanicum adsumptum:

by Tiberius above his own stock Germanicus had been adopted:

se quoque accingeret iuvene partem curarum capessituro.

he should also, [he said], surround himself with a young man to manage part of his labours.

his evictus triennio maiorem natu Domitium filio anteponit,

Won over by these words, [Claudius] placed Domitius, older by three years, ahead of his son,

habita apud senatum oratione eundem in quem a liberto acceperat modum.

making a speech before the senate in the same fashion which he had received from his freedman.

adnotabant periti nullam antehac adoptionem inter patricios Claudios reperiri,

Experts noted that no adoption before this could be found among the patrician Claudii,

eosque ab Atto Clauso continuos duravisse.

and that they had lasted continuously from Attus Clausus.

ceterum actae principi grates, quaesitiore in Domitium adulatione;

But thanks were expressed to the emperor, with more elaborate fawning towards Domitius;

rogataque lex qua in familiam Claudiam et nomen Neronis transiret.

and a law [was passed] by which [Domitius] might transfer into the Claudian family and take on its name of 'Nero'.

augetur et Agrippina cognomento Augustae.

Agrippina, too, was elevated by the family name 'Augusta'.

quibus patratis nemo adeo expers misericordiae fuit

Once these things had been carried out, no one was so devoid of compassion

quem non Britannici fortuna maerore adficeret.

that the plight of Britannicus did not move him with sorrow.

desolatus paulatim etiam servilibus ministeriis

Forsaken gradually even by the services of his slaves,

perintempestiva novercae officia in ludibrium vertebat, intellegens falsi.

he began to turn his stepmother's most inopportune dutifulness [towards him] into a mockery, understanding its falsity.

neque enim segnem ei fuisse indolem ferunt, sive verum,

For they say that his intelligence was not sluggish - whether this was true,

seu periculis commendatus retinuit famam sine experimento.

or whether, winning sympathy because of his dangers, he kept the reputation without it being tested.

Ti. Claudio quintum Servio Cornelio Orfito consulibus

When Ti. Claudius for the fifth time and Servius Cornelius Orfitus were consuls,

virilis toga Neroni maturata

the ceremony of the toga of manhood was hastened for Nero,

quo capessendae rei publicae habilis videretur.

so that he might seem suitable for taking on affairs of state.

et Caesar adulationibus senatus libens cessit

And Caesar (Claudius) gladly yielded to the fawnings of the senate

ut vicesimo aetatis anno consulatum Nero iniret

[when they asked] that Nero, in the twentieth year of his life, should enter the consulship

atque interim designatus proconsulare imperium extra urbem haberet ac princeps iuventutis appellaretur.

and, in the meantime, as consul designate, should hold consular power outside the city and be called 'Emperor of the Youth'.

additum nomine eius donativum militi, congiarium plebei.

There was added in his name a donative for the soldiery, a largesse for the common people.

et ludicro circensium, quod adquirendis vulgi studiis edebatur,

And at the public entertainment of the circus games, which was put on to gain the support of the masses,

Britannicus in praetexta, Nero triumphali veste travecti sunt:

Britannicus in his toga praetexta, Nero in his triumphal garb rode past in procession:

spectaret populus hunc decore imperatorio, illum puerili habitu,

let the people see the latter in his imperatorial splendour, the former in his boy's clothing,

ac perinde fortunam utriusque praesumeret.

and accordingly let them foresee the fortune of each one.

simul qui centurionum tribunorumque sortem Britannici miserabantur,

At the same time those of the centurions and tribunes who pitied the lot of Britannicus,

remoti fictis causis et alii per speciem honoris;

[some] were removed under false pretexts and others under the guise of honour;

etiam libertorum si quis incorrupta fide, depellitur tali occasione.

also if any of the freedmen [showed] incorruptible loyalty towards him (Britannicus), he was banished [by taking] such opportunity [as the following].

obvii inter se Nero Britannicum nomine, ille Domitium salutavere.

Meeting each other, Nero greeted Britannicus by name, but Britannicus greeted him as 'Domitius'.

quod ut discordiae initium Agrippina multo questu ad maritum defert:

This, as the beginning of [a bigger] discord, Agrippina denounced to her husband with many a complaint:

sperni quippe adoptionem,

clearly the adoption was being rejected,

quaeque censuerint patres, iusserit populus, intra penates abrogari;

and what the senators had voted and the people had ordered was being repealed inside his palace;

ac nisi pravitas tam infensa docentium arceatur,

and unless the perverseness of those teaching such hostile behaviours were checked,

eruptura in publicam perniciem.

they would burst out into public destruction.

commotus his quasi criminibus optimum quemque educatorem filii exilio aut morte adficit

Disturbed by these virtual 'charges', he afflicted all the best instructors of his son with exile or death

datosque a noverca custodiae eius imponit.

and imposed [on him] those given by his stepmother for his guardianship.

nondum tamen summa moliri Agrippina audebat,

Nevertheless, not yet did Agrippina dare to set in motion her greatest work,

ni praetoriarum cohortium cura exolverentur Lusius Geta et Rufrius Crispinus,

unless Lucius Geta and Rufrius Crispinus were removed from their command of the praetorian cohorts

quos Messalinae memores et liberis eius devinctos credebat.

men whom she believed to be mindful of Messalina and bound to her children.

igitur distrahi cohortes ambitu duorum et, […] adseverante uxore,

Therefore, with his wife asserting earnestly that the cohorts were being split by the rivalry of the two and,

si ab uno regerentur, intentiorem fore disciplinam

if they were commanded by one man, the discipline would be stricter,

transfertur regimen cohortium ad Burrum Afranium, egregiae militaris famae,

command of the cohorts was transferred to Burrus Afranius, a man of outstanding military reputation,

gnarum tamen cuius sponte praeficeretur.

but well aware at whose initiative he was being given the command.

suum quoque fastigium Agrippina extollere altius: carpento Capitolium ingredi,

Her own eminence also Agrippina raised to greater heights: in a two-wheeled carriage she entered the Capitol,

qui honos sacerdotibus et sacris antiquitus concessus venerationem augebat feminae,

an honour which, in the past conceded to priests and sacred objects, increased the reverence of a woman

quam imperatore genitam, sororem eius qui rerum potitus sit et coniugem et matrem fuisse,

[the fact that] she, born from a general, was sister and wife and mother of an emperor (lit. of a man who had power over things)

unicum ad hunc diem exemplum est.

is the only example to this day.

inter quae praecipuus propugnator eius Vitellius, validissima gratia, aetate extrema

Meanwhile, her foremost champion, Vitellius, a man with very great influence but extremely old [58]

(adeo incertae sunt potentium res)

(so uncertain is the situation of the powerful),

accusatione corripitur, deferente Iunio Lupo senatore.

was attacked by an accusation, with Iunius Lupus the senator denouncing [him].

Is crimina maiestatis et cupidinem imperii obiectabat;

He [JL] kept levelling at him charges of treason and the desire for imperial power;

praebuissetque aures Caesar, nisi Agrippinae minis magis quam precibus mutatus esset,

and Caesar (Claudius) would have offered his ears, if he had not been swayed by the threats of Agrippina more than by her prayers,

ut accusatori aqua atque igni interdiceret.

[with the result] that he banned the accuser from receiving water and fire.

hactenus Vitellius voluerat.

Thus far and no further had Vitellius wanted.

multa eo anno prodigia evenere.

Many monstrous events occurred that year.

insessum diris avibus Capitolium, crebris terrae motibus prorutae domus,

The Capitol was beset by ill-omened birds, homes were made to collapse by frequent earthquakes,

ac dum latius metuitur, trepidatione vulgi invalidus quisque obtriti;

and, as the panic spread more widely, in the fear of the crowd all the weak were trampled;

frugum quoque egestas et orta ex eo fames in prodigium accipiebatur.

there was also a shortage of grain and, arising from this, famine was reckoned as a prodigy.

nec occulti tantum questus, sed iura reddentem Claudium circumvasere clamoribus turbidis,

Nor were there only hidden complaints, but they surrounded Claudius as he delivered justice with mutinous cries,

pulsumque in extremam fori partem vi urgebant,

and pushed him into the furthest part of the forum and began to assail him with violence,

donec militum globo infensos perrupit.

until he burst through the aggressors with a packed throng of soldiers.

quindecim dierum alimenta urbi, non amplius superfuisse constitit,

Food for fifteen days, no more, it was agreed remained for the city,

magnaque deum benignitate et modestia hiemis rebus extremis subventum.

and by the great kindness of the gods and by the mildness of the winter relief was given amid the extreme circumstances.

at hercule olim Italia legionibus longinquas in provincias commeatus portabat,

But, by Hercules! Once upon a time Italy used to carry provisions for its legions into distant provinces,

nec nunc infecunditate laboratur, sed Africam potius et Aegyptum exercemus,

nor is [Italy] now afflicted by a lack of fertility, but we cultivate Africa and Egypt instead,

navibusque et casibus vita populi Romani permissa est.

and the very life of the Roman people has been entrusted to the unpredictable risks of shipping.

Fausto Sulla Salvio Othone consulibus Furius Scribonianus in exilium agitur,

When Faustus Sulla and Salvius Otho were consuls [AD 52], Furius Scribonianus was driven into exile,

quasi finem principis per Chaldaeos scrutaretur.

on the grounds of inquiring from the Chaldaeans about the death of the princeps/emperor.

adnectebatur crimini Vibia mater eius,

His mother, Vibia, was woven into the charge,

ut casus prioris (nam relegata erat) impatiens.

on the grounds that she was unable to come to terms with her earlier misfortune (for she had been banished).

pater Scriboniani Camillus arma per Dalmatiam moverat;

The father of Scribonius, Camillus, had roused war throughout Dalmatia;

idque ad clementiam trahebat Caesar, quod stirpem hostilem iterum conservaret.

and Caesar (Claudius) was using this [as evidence] of his clemency, because he was again allowing a hostile line to live.

neque tamen exuli longa posthac vita fuit:

Nor, however, did the exile have a long life after this:

morte fortuita an per venenum extinctus esset, ut quisque credidit, vulgavere.

[whether] he died by a natural death or by poison, each person spread about as he believed.

De mathematicis Italia pellendis factum senatus consultum atrox et inritum.

Concerning driving astrologers out of Italy a decree of the senate was pronounced which was savage yet futile.

laudati dehinc oratione principis qui ob angustias familiares ordine senatorio sponte cederent,

Praised next in a speech of the emperor were those who, because of their straitened family circumstances, withdrew of their own accord from the senatorial order,

motique qui remanendo impudentiam paupertati adicerent.

and removed were those who added impudence to their poverty by remaining.

inter quae refert ad patres

Among these acts [Claudius] brought [the matter] before the senators

de poena feminarum quae servis coniungerentur;

concerning the punishment of the [type of] women who became partners with slaves;

statuiturque ut ignaro domino ad id prolapsae in servitute, […] haberentur

and it was decided that those who had fallen to this level, if the master did not know, should be held in slavery,

sin consensisset, pro libertis haberentur.

but if [the master] had consented, they should be held as his freedwomen.

Pallanti, quem repertorem eius relationis ediderat Caesar,

To Pallas, whom Caesar had disclosed as the author of this motion to the senate,

praetoria insignia et centies quinquagies sestertium censuit consul designatus Barea Soranus.

the consul designate, Barea Soranus, decreed praetorian badges and fifteen million sesterces.

additum a Scipione Cornelio grates publice agendas,

It was added by Scipio Cornelius that thanks should be given publicly [to Pallas],

quod regibus Arcadiae ortus veterrimam nobilitatem usui publico postponeret

on the grounds that, being descended from kings of Arcadia, he was setting aside his very ancient nobility for the public good

seque inter ministros principis haberi sineret.

and allowing himself to be considered among the emperor's aides.

adseveravit Claudius contentum honore Pallantem intra priorem paupertatem subsistere.

Claudius asserted that, content with his rank, Pallas remained within his former poverty.

et fixum est [aere] publico senatus consultum

And there was fixed on a public bronze plaque a decree of the senate

quo libertinus sestertii ter milies possessor antiquae parsimoniae laudibus cumulabatur.

by which a freedman, owner of 3000 million sesterces, was heaped with praises for his old-fashioned frugality.

sub idem tempus inter lacum Fucinum amnemque Lirim perrupto monte,

At about the same time, between the Fucine Lake and the river Liris a mountainous ridge was broken through

quo magnificentia operis a pluribus viseretur,

and, so that the magnificence of the work would be seen by more [people],

lacu in ipso navale proelium adornatur,

a naval battle was staged on the lake itself,