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Agricola

Tacitus · 5.8k words · Latin Text and English Translation

Contents — 29 sections
  1. Chapter 4
  2. Chapter 5
  3. Chapter 6
  4. Chapter 7
  5. Chapter 8
  6. Chapter 9
  7. Chapter 18
  8. Chapter 19
  9. Chapter 20
  10. Chapter 21
  11. Chapter 22
  12. Chapter 24
  13. Chapter 25
  14. Chapter 26
  15. Chapter 27
  16. Chapter 29
  17. Chapter 30
  18. Chapter 33
  19. Chapter 34
  20. Chapter 35
  21. Chapter 36
  22. Chapter 37
  23. Chapter 38
  24. Chapter 39
  25. Chapter 40
  26. Chapter 41
  27. Chapter 42
  28. Chapter 43
  29. Chapter 44

Chapter 4

CNAEUS JULIUS AGRICOLA was born at the ancient and respectable colony of Forojulium. His grandfather, by the maternal as well as the paternal line, served the office of imperial procurator, a trust of importance, which always confers the equestrian dignity. His father, Julius Grsecinus, was a member of the Senate, distinguished by his eloquence and philosophy. His merit gave umbrage to Caligula. Being commanded by that emperor to undertake the prosecution of Marcus Silanus, he refused to comply, and was put to death. Julia Procilla, Agricola’s mother, was respected for the purity of her manners. Under her care and, as it were, in her bosom, the tender mind of the son was trained to science and every liberal accomplishment. His own ingenuous disposition guarded him against the seductions of pleasure. To that happy temperament was added the advantage of pursuing his studies at Marseilles, that seat of learning, where the refinements of Greece were happily blended with the sober manners of provincial economy.

Chapter 5

His first rudiments of military knowledge were acquired in Britain, under the conduct of Suetonius Paulinus, that experienced officer, active, vigilant, yet mild in command. Agricola was soon distinguished by his general, and selected to live with him at head-quarters. Honoured in this manner, he did not, as is usual with young men, mix riot and dissipation with actual service; nor did he avail himself of his rank of military tribune to obtain leave of absence, in order to pass his time in idle pleasures and ignorance of his duty. To know the province, and make himself known to the army; to learn from men of experience, and to emulate the best examples; to seek no enterprise with a forward spirit, and to decline none with timid caution, were the rules he laid down to himself; prudent with valour, and brave without ostentation.

A more active campaign had never been known, nor was Britain at any time as fiercely disputed. Our veteran forces were put to the sword; our colonies smoked on the ground; and the legions were intercepted on their march. The struggle was then for life; we fought afterwards for fame and victory. In a juncture so big with danger, though the conduct of the war was in other hands, and the glory of recovering the province was justly ascribed to the commander-inchief, yet so fair an opportunity did not fail to improve a young officer, and plant in his mind the early seeds of military ambition.

Chapter 6

He returned from Britain to enter on the gradations of the civil magistracy, and married Domitia Decidiana, a lady of high rank and splendid descent. By that alliance he gained an accession of strength and credit, that served to forward him in the road to public honours. The conjugal state proved a source of domestic happiness. They lived in perfect harmony, endeared by the tenderest affection, and each ascribing to the other the felicity which they enjoyed.

Agricola obtained the office of quaestor, and the province of Asia, of which Salvius Titianus was proconsul, fell to his lot. Neither the place nor the governor could warp his integrity. The wealth of the inhabitants invited ihe hand of rapacity; and Titianus, by the bias of his nature prone to acts of avarice, was ready, on terms of mutual connivance, to cooperate in any scheme of guilt and plunder; but Agricola maintained his honour and his principles. During his stay in As a, his family was increased by the birth of a daughter, who proved soon after, when he lost his infant son, a source of consolation. The intermediate space between the expiration of his quaestorship and his advancement to the post of tribune of the people, he had the prudence to pass in calm tranquillity. Even during the year of his tribuneship he acted with the same reserve, aware of those disastrous times when, under the tyranny of Nero’s reign, the want of exertion was the truest wisdom. He discharged the office of praetor with the same moderation and silent dignity, having no occasion, as his good fortune would have it, to sit in judicature. The pageantry of public spectacles, which belonged to his department, he conducted with economy and magnificence, short of profusion, yet with due regard to popularity.

Chapter 7

In the course of the following year (A. D. 69), a dreadful misfortune happened in his family, and proved to him a severe stroke of affliction. A descent, from Otho’s fleet, which roved about in quest of depredation, was made on the coast of Liguria. The freebooters plundered the city of Intemelium, and in their fury, murdered Agricola’s mother, then residing upon her own estate. They laid waste her lands, and went off with a considerable booty. Agricola set out immediately to pay the last tribute of filial piety, and being informed on his way, that Vespasian aspired to the imperial dignity, he declared at once in favour of that party. In the beginning of the new reign, the government of Rome, and the whole administration, centred in Mucianus, Dornitian being, at that time, too young for business, and from the elevation of his father claiming no other privilege than that of being debauched and profligate without control. Agricola was despatched to raise new levies. He executed that commission with so much zeal and credit to himself, that Mucianus advanced him to the command of the twentieth legion, then quartered in Britain, and for some time unwilling to swear fidelity to Vespasian. Their commander was of pretoran rank; but either on account of his own disaffection, or the turbulent spirit of the soldiers, his authority was too feeble. Agricola succeeded to the command of the legion, and to the task of punishing the guilty. He acquitted himself with consummate address and singular moderation.

Chapter 8

The government of Britain was at that time committed to Vettius Bolanus, a man of milder disposition than consisted with the genius of those ferocious islanders. Agricola, that he might not seem to eclipse his superior officer, restrained his martial ardour, submitting with deference to his commander-in-chief, and, in every part of his conduct, uniting to his love of glory, a due regard for the service. Bolanus was soon recalled, and Petilius Cerealis, an officer of consular rank. succeeded to the command. The field of warlike enterprise was laid open to Agricola Under the new commander, he was, at first, no more than a common sharer m the dangers of the campaign; but in a short time his talents had their free career. The general to make his experiment, sent him at the head of detached parties, and afterwards, encouraged by the event, employed him in more important operations. Agricola never betrayed a symptom of vainglory. From the issue of his expeditions, however successful, he assumed no merit. By this conduct, vigorous in action, but modest in the report of his exploits, he gained a brilliant reputation, secure from the envy that attends it.

Chapter 9

On his return to Rome, Vespasian advanced him to the patrician rank, and soon after to the government of the province of Aquitania; an appointment of the first importance, leading directly to the honours of the consulship, to which he then aspired with the concurrence of the prince The military mind, trained up in the school of war, is generally supposed to want the power of nice discrimination. Agricola, however, indebted to nature for a certain rectitude of understanding, was not out of his sphere even among men versed in questions of jurisprudence. In the council of the province, or on the tribunal of justice, he discharged the duties of his station with awful gravity, intent to inquire, often severe, but more inclined to soften the rigour of the law. In less than three years he was recalled from his province, to take upon him the consular dignity. During his consulship, though I was then very young, he agreed to a marriage between me and his daughter, who certainly might have looked for a prouder connection. The nuptial ceremony was not performed till the term of his consulship expired. In a short time after, he was appointed governor of Britain, with the additional honour of a seat in the pontifical college.

Chapter 18

When Agricola arrived, about the middle of the summer (A. D. 78), to take upon him the command, he found an army lulled in indolence and security, as if the campaign was at an end, while the enemy was on the watch to seize the first opportunity. The Ordovicians, not long before his arrival, had fallen upon a party of horse that happened to be quartered in their district, and put them almost all to the sword. By this blow the courage of the Britons was once more revived; the bold and resolute declared for open war, while others less sanguine, were against unsheathing the sword till the character and genius of the new governor should be better known.

Many things conspired to embarrass Agricola: the summer was far advanced; the troops were stationed at different quarters, expecting a cessation of arms during the remainder of the year; and to act on the defensive, content with strengthening the weakest stations, was in the opinion of the best officers the most prudent measure. These were circumstances unfavourable to a spirit of enterprise; but the general resolved to put his army in motion, and face the danger without delay. For this purpose he drew together val ious detachments from the legions, and, with the addition of a body of auxiliaries, marched against the enemy. The Ordovicians continuing to decline an engagement on the open plain, he determined to seek them on their heights, and, to animate his men by his own example, he advanced at the head of the line. A battle ensued, and the issue was the destruction of the Ordovician state. Knowing of what moment it is to follow the first impressions of fame, Agricola formed a plan for the reduction of the Isle of Mona.

For the execution of an enterprise so sudden and important, no measures had been concerted, and by consequence no vessels were ready to transport the troops. The genius and resolution of the general supplied all deficiencies. He draughted from the auxiliaries a chosen band well acquainted with the fordable places, and inured to the national practice of swimming across lakes and rivers with such dexterity, that they could manage their arms and guide their horses at the same time. This select corps, free from the incumbrance of their baggage, dashed into the water, and made their way with vigour towards the island. This mode of attack astonished the enemy, who expected nothing less than a fleet of transports, and a regular embarkation. Struck with consternation, they thought nothing impregnable to men who waged so unusual a war. Ih despair they sued for peace, and surrendered the island. The event added a new lustre to the name of Agricola, who had thus crowded so much glory into that part of the year which is usually trifled away m vain parade. The moderation with which he enjoyed his victory was remarkable. In his despatches to Rome he assumed no merit, nor were his letters, according to custom, decorated with sprigs of laurel: but this self-denial served only to enhance his fame.

Chapter 19

Agricola knew by the experience of past events, that conquest, while it loads the vanquished with injury and oppression, can never be secure and permanent. He determined, therefore, to suppress the seeds of future hostility. He began a reform in his own household. He removed his slaves and freedmen from every department of public business. Promotions in the army no longer went by favour; merit decided, and the man of worth, Agricola knew, would be the most faithful soldier. To know everything, and yet overlook a great deal; to forgive slight offences, and treat matters of importance with due severity, was the rule of his conduct; never vindictive, and in many instances disarmed by penitence.

The exigencies of the army called for large contributions of corn and other supplies, and yet he lightened the burden by just and equal assessments, providing at the same time against the extortion of the tax-gatherer, more odious and intolerable than even the tax itself.

Chapter 20

The consequence was, that peace, which, through the neglect or connivance of former governors was no less terrible than war itself, began to diffuse its blessings, and to be relished by all. As soon as the summer opened, he assembled his army and marched in quest of the enemy. Having spread a general terror through the country, he then suspended his operations, that, in the interval of repose, the barbarians might taste the sweets of peace. In consequence of these measures, several states, which till then had breathed a spirit of independence, were induced to lay aside their hostile intentions, and to give hostages for their pacific behaviour. Along the frontier of the several districts which had submitted, a chain of posts was established with so much care and judgment, that no part of the country could think itself secure from the vigour of the conqueror.

Chapter 21

To introduce a system of new and wise regulations was the business of the following winter. To establish a plan of education, and give the sons of the leading chiefs a tincture of letters, was part of his policy. By way of encouragement, he praised their talents, and already saw them, by the force of their natural genius, rising superior to the attainments of the Gauls.

Chapter 22

In the course of the third year the progress of the Roman arms discovered new nations, whose territories were laid waste as far as the estuary called the Firth of Tay. The legions had to struggle with all the difficulties of a tempestuous season, and yet the Barbarians, struck with a general panic, never dared to hazard an engagement. The country, as far as the Romans advanced, was secuied by forts and garrisons. No officer knew better than Agricola, how to seize the most advantageous situation; and, accordingly, not one of the stations, fortified by his direction, was taken by storm; not one was reduced to capitulate; not one was surrendered or abandoned to the enemy. The enemy who had been accustomed to retrieve in the winter what they lost in the antecedent summer, now saw no difference of seasons; they were defeated everywhere, and reduced to the last despair.

Chapter 24

In the fifth summer Agricola made an expedition by sea. He embarked in the first Roman vessel that ever crossed the estuary of the Clyde, and having penetrated into regions till then unknown, he defeated the inhabitants in several engagements, and lined the coast. which lies opposite to Ireland, with a body of troops; not so much from an apprehension of danger, as with a view to future projects. He saw that Ireland, lying between Britain and Spain, and at the same time convenient to the ports of Gaul, might prove a valuable acquisition, capable of giving an easy communication, and, of course, strength and union to provinces disjoined by nature.

Chapter 25

In the campaign which began in the sixth summer, having reason to apprehend a general confederacy of the nations beyond the Firth of Bodotria, and fearing, in a country not yet explored, the danger of a surprise, Agricola ordered his ships to sail across the gulf, and gain bome knowledge of those new regions. The fleet, now acting, for the first time, in concert with the land forces, proceeded in sight of the army, forming a magnificent spectacle, and adding terror to the war.

At the sight of the Roman fleet, the Britons, according to intelligence gained from the prisoners, were struck with consternation, convinced that every resource was cut off since the sea, which had always been their shelter, was now laid open to the invader. In this distress, the Caledonians resolved to try the issue of a battle. Without waiting for the commencement of hostilities, they stormed the Roman forts and cas les, and by provoking danger, made such an impression Ihat several officers in Agricola’s army recommended a sudden retreat to avoid the disgrace of being driven back to the other side of the Firth. Meanwhile Agricola received intelligence that the enemy meditated an attack in various quarters at once, and thereupon, lest superior numbers, in a country where he was a stranger to the defiles and passes, should be able to surround him, he divided his army, and marched forward in three columns.

Chapter 26

The Caledonians, informed of this arrangement, changed their plan, and in the dead of night fell with their united force upon the ninth legion, then the weakest of the Roman army. They surprised the advanced guard, and having, in the confusion of sleep and terror, put ihe sentinels to the sword, they forced their way through the entrenchments. The conflict was in the very camp when Agricola, who had been informed that the Barbarians were on their march, and instantly pursued their steps, came up to the relief of the legion. He ordered the swiftest of the horse and light infantry to advance with expedition, and charge the enemy in the rear, while his whole army set up a general shout. At break of day the Roman banners glittered in view of the Barbarians, who found themselves hemmed in by two armies, and began to relax their vigour. The spirit of the legion revived. Acting no longer on the defensive, they rushed on to the attack. The Caledonians were put to the rout, and if the woods and marshes had not favoured their escape, that single action had put an end to the war.

Chapter 27

By this victory, so complete and glorious, the Roman army was inspired with confidence to such a degree, that they now pronounced themselves invincible. The Caledonians, notwithstanding their defeat, abated nothing from their ferocity. They listed the young men of their nation; they sent their wives and children to a place of safety; they held public conventions of the several states, and with solemn rites and sacrifices formed a league in the cause of liberty. The campaign ended in this manner, and the two armies, inflamed with mutual animosity, retired into winter quarters.

Chapter 29

In the beginning of the following summer Agricola met with a stroke of affliction, by the loss of a son about a year old. He did not upon this occasion affect, like many others, the character of a man superior to the feelings of nature; nor yet did he suffer his grief to sink him down into unbecoming weakness.

In the opening of the campaign, he despatched his fleet, with orders to annoy the coast with frequent descents in different places. and spread a general alarm. He put himself, in the meantime, at the head of his army equipped for expedition, and, taking with him a select band of the bravest Britons, of known and approved fidelity, he advanced as far as the Grampian hills, where the enemy was already posted in force. Undismayed by their former defeat, the Barbarians expected no other issue than a total overthrow, or a brave revenge. By treaties of alliance, and by deputations to the several cantons, they had drawn together the strength of their nation. Upwards of thirty thousand men appeared in arms, and their force was increasing every day. Among the chieftains distinguished by their birth and valour, the most renowned was Galgacus. The multitude gathered around him, eager for action, and burning with uncommon ardour.

Chapter 30

He harangued them to the following effect:

All that can inspire the human heart, every motive that can excite us to deeds of valour, is on our side The Romans have no wives in the field to animate their drooping spirit; no parents to reproach their want of courage. They are not listed in the cause of their country,their country, if any they have, lies at a distance. In me behold your general; behold an army of freeborn men. Your enemy is before you, and, in his train, heavy tributes, drudgery in the mines, and all the horrors of slavery. Are those calamities to be entailed upon us? Or shall this day relieve us by a brave revenge? There is the field of battle, and let that determine. Let us seek the enemy, and as we rush upon him, remember the glory delivered down to us by our ancestors; and let each man think that upon his sword depends the fate of all posterity.

Chapter 33

This speech was received with war songs, with savage howlings, and a wild uproar of military applause. Their battalions began to form a line of battle; the brave and warlike rushed forward to the front, and the field glittered with the blaze of arms. The Romans on their side burned with equal ardour. Agricola saw the impatient spirit of his men, but did not think proper to begin the engagement till he confirmed their courage by a speech in which he said:

Chapter 34

If our present struggle were with nations wholly unknown; if we had to do with an enemy new to our swords, I should call to mind the example of other armies. At present what can I propose so bright and animating as your own exploits? I appeal to your own eyes: behold the men drawn up against you: are they not the same, who last year, under the covert of the night, assaulted the ninth legion, and, upon the first shout of our army, fled before you? A band of dastards ! who have subsisted hitherto, because of all the Britons they are the most expeditious runaways. Benumbed with fear they stand motionless on yonder spot, which you will render forever memorable by a glorious victory. Here you may end your labours, and close a scene of fifty years by one great, one glorious day. Let your country see, and let the commonwealth bear witness, if the conquest of Britain has been a lingering work, if the seeds of rebellion have not been crushed, that we at least have done our duty.

Chapter 35

As soon as the general ended, the field rung with shouts of applause. Impatient for the onset, the soldiers grasped their arms. Agricola restrained their violence, till he formed his order of battle. The auxiliary infantry, in number about eight thousand, occupied the centre. The wings consisted of three thousand horse. The legions were stationed in the rear, at the head of the intrenchments as a body of reserve to support the ranks, if necessary, but otherwise to remain inactive, that a victory, obtained without the effusion of Roman blood might be of higher value. The Caledonians kept possession of the rising grounds, extending their ranks as wide as possible, to present a formidable show of battle. Their first line was ranged on the plain, the rest in a gradual ascent on the acclivity of the hill. The intermediate space between both armies was filled with the charioteers and cavalry of the Britons, rushing to and fro in wild career, and traversing the plain with noise and tumult.

Chapter 36

The battle began, and at first was maintained at a distance. The Britons wanted neither skill nor resolution. With their long swords, and targets of small dimension, they had the address to elude the missive weapons of the Romans, and at the same time to discharge a thick volley of their own. To bring the conflict to a speedy decision, Agricola ordered three Batavian and two Tungarian cohorts to charge the enemy sword in hand. To this mode of attack those troops had been long accustomed, but to the Britons it was every way disadvantageous. Their small targets afforded no protection, and their unwieldy swords, not sharpened to a point, could do but little execution in a close engagement. The Batavians rushed to the attack with impetuous fury. Incited by their example, the other cohorts advanced with a spirit of emulation, and cut their way with terrible slaughter. Eager in pursuit of victory, they pressed forward with determined fury, leaving behind them numbers wounded, but not slain, and others not so much as hurt.

The Roman cavalry, in the mean time, was forced to give ground. The Caledonians, in their armed chariots, rushed at full speed into the thick of the battle, where the infantry were engaged. Their first impression struck a general terror, but their career was soon checked by the inequalities of the ground and the close ranks of the Romans. Pent up in narrow places, the Barbarians crowded upon each other, and were driven or dragged along by their own horses. A scene of confusion followed. Chariots without a guide, and horses without a rider, broke from the ranks in wild disorder, and flying every way, as fear and consternation urged, they overwhelmed their own files and trampled down all who came in their way.

Chapter 37

Meanwhile, the Britons who had hitherto kept their post on the hills, began to quit their station. Descending slowly, they hoped, by wheeling round the field of battle, to attack the victors in the rear. To counteract their design, Agricola ordered four squadrons of horse, which he had kept as a body of reserve, to advance to the charge. The Britons poured down with impetuosity, and retired with equal precipitation. At the same time, the cavalry, by the directions of the general, wheeled round from the wings, and fell with great slaughter on the rear of the enemy, who now perceived that their own stratagem was turned against themselves.

The field presented a dreadful spectacle of carnage and destruction. The Britons fled; the Romans pursued; they wounded, gashed, and mangled the runaways; they seized their prisoners, and to be ready for others, butchered them on the spot. Swords and bucklers, mangled limbs and dead bodies, covered the plain. The field was red with blood. The vanquished Britons had their moments of returning courage, and gave proofs of virtue and of brave despair. They fled to the woods, and rallying their scattered numbers, surrounded such of the Romans as pursued with too much eagerness.

Agricola was everywhere present. He saw the danger, and if he had not in the instant taken due precaution, the victorious army would have had reason to repent of too much confidence in success. Night coming on, the Romans weary of slaughter, desisted from the pursuit. Ten thousand of the Caledonians fell in this engagement; on the part of the Romans, the number of slain did not exceed three hundred and forty.

Chapter 38

The Roman army, elated with success, and enriched with plunder, passed the night in exultation. The Britons, on the other hand, wandered about, uncertain which way to turn, helpless and disconsolate. The mingled cries of men and women filled the air with lamentations. It is a fact well authenticated, that some laid violent hands upon their wives and children, determined with savage compassion to end their misery.

Chapter 39

The account of these transactions, sent to Rome by Agricola, was plain and simple, without any decoration of language to heighten the narrative. Domitian received it in the true spirit of his character, with a smile on his countenance, and malignity at his heart. He began to fear that the name of a private citizen might overshadow the imperial title. The reflection planted thorns in his breast. He resolved, however, to nourish resentment in sullen silence, till the tide of popularity which attended the general should ebb away, and the affection of the army had time to cool. Agricola was still in Britain, and had the command of the army and the province.

Chapter 40

Domitian, in the meantime, caused a decree to pass the Senate, by which triumphal ornaments, the honour of a statue crowned with laurel, and all other marks of distinction usually substituted in the place of a real triumph were granted to Agricola. The Emperor had also the art to circulate a report, that the province of Syria, at that time vacant by the death of Atilius Rufus, an officer of consular rank, was intended for Agricola, in order to do him honour by an appointment always given to men of the highest eminence. However that may be, Agricola resigned the command (A. D. 85), and delivered to his successor, Sallustius Lucullus, a quiet and well ordered government.

Lest his arrival at Rome should draw together too great a concourse, he concealed his approach from his friends, and entered the city privately in the dead of night. With the same secrecy, and in the night also, he went, as commanded, to present himself to the Emperor. Domitian received him with a cold salute, and, without uttering a word, left the conqueror of Britain to mix with the servile creatures of the court.

To soften prejudices, Agricola resolved to shade the lustre of his name in the mild retreat of humble virtues. With this view he resigned himself to the calm enjoyments of domestic life. Plain in his apparel, easy of access, and never attended by more than one or two friends, he was remarkable for nothing but the simplicity of his appearance.

Chapter 41

But in the distress of public affairs which soon after followed, the name of Agricola could not be suffered to remain in obscurity. By the rashness or inactivity of the commanders-in-chief, the armies of the empire were lost in Moesia, Dacia, Germany, and Pannonia. Every day brought an account of some new misfortune; forts besieged and taken; garrisons stormed, and whole cohorts with their commanding officers made prisoners of war. In times like those, when calamity followed calamity, and every successive year was marked by the defeat and slaughter of armies, the voice of the people called aloud for Agricola to be employed in the public service.

Chapter 42

The year was now at hand in which Agricola was to have by lot the proconsulship of Asia or of Africa; but the death of Civica, who had been lately murdered in his government, gave at once a warning to Agricola. and a precedent to Domitian. At this point of time, the spies of the court thought proper to pay their visits to Agricola. The design of those pretended friends was to discover whether the government of a province would be acceptable. They contented themselves, in their first approaches, with suggesting to him the value of tranquillity in a private station, and then obligingly undertook, by their interests at court, to obtain permission for him to decline the office. At length the mask fell off: by adding menaces to their insidious advice, they gained their point, and hurried him away to the presence of the Emperor. Domitian knew the part he had to act; with a concerted countenance, and an air of distant pride, he heard Agricola’s apology, and complied with his request, conscious of his own treachery, yet receiving thanks for it without a blush.

The proconsular salary, which had been usually granted in such cases, was withheld upon this occasion; perhaps in resentment, because it was not solicited, or the better reason might be, that the prince might not seem to gain by compromise what he had a right to command.

Chapter 43

The death of Agricola (A. D. 93) was felt by his family with the deepest sorrow, by his friends with tender concern, and even by foreigners with universal regret. During his illness, the common people were constantly at his door, making their inquiries. In the forum, and all circular meetings, he was the subject of conversation. When he breathed his last, no man was so hardened as to rejoice at the news. He died lamented, and not soon forgotten. What added to the public affliction, was a report that so valuable a life was ended by a dose of poison. No proof of the fact appearing, I leave the story to shift for itself. Thus much is certain, during his illness, instead of formal messages, according to the usual practice of courts, the freedmen most in favour, and the principal physicians of the Emperor, were assiduous in their visits. Was this the solicitude of friendship, or were these men the spies of state?

On the day that closed his life, while he was yet in the agony of death, the quickest intelligence of every symptom was conveyed to Domitian by messengers in waiting for the purpose. That so much industry was exerted to hasten news which the Emperor did not wish to hear, no man believed. As soon as the event was known Domitian put on an air of sorrow, and even affected to be touched with real regret. The will of the deceased gave him entire satisfaction; he was named joint heir with Agricola’s excellent wife and his most dutiful daughter, and this the tyrant considered as a voluntary mark of the testator’s love and esteem. A mind like his, debauched and blinded by continued flattery, could not perceive that by a good father, none but an evil prince is ever called to a share in the succession.

Chapter 44

Agricola was born on the ides of June, in the third consulship of Caligula; he died on the tenth before the calends of September, during the consulship of Collega and Priscus, in the fifty-sixth year of his age. [His life extended through the reigns of nine emperors, from Caligula to Domitian.] As to his person, about which in future times there may be some curiosity, he was of that make and stature which may be said to be graceful, not majestic. His countenance had not that commanding air which strikes with awe; a sweetness of expression was the prevailing character.

Though he was snatched away in the vigour of life, yet if we consider the space his glory filled in the eyes of mankind, he might be said to have died full of years. Possessing all the best enjoyments that spring from virtue, and from virtue only; adorned with every dignity, which either the consular rank or triumphal honours could bestow; what further advantage could he derive from fortune? Immoderate riches he never desired, content with an honourable independence. His wife and daughter left in a state of security, his honours blooming around him, his fame unblemished, his relations flourishing, and every tie of friendship preserved to the last, he may be considered as supremely happy, that he did not live to see the tempestuous times that soon after followed. To counterbalance his untimely end, it is at least some consolation, that he escaped that black and horrible period, in which Domitian no longer broke out in sudden fits and starts of cruelty, but, throwing off all restraint, proceeded in one continued course of unrelenting fury, as if determined to crush the commonwealth at a blow.

Sources: English: Perseus Digital Library · Latin: Perseus Digital Library

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