In my opinion, Vitellius’ great political mistake was that he disbanded the Praetorian cohorts and had a hundred and twenty men executed, among them tribunes and centurions, who were responsible for Galba’s murder. From his point of view they deserved rewarding rather than punishing. It is no wonder that such fickleness made the legion commantlers quite justifiably doubt his reliability as an Emperor.
I do not wish to say more about the ruthless murders of so many noblemen. I shall just mention that he did not even spare certain bankers who could have been useful to him but, hoping for easy gain, had them executed and confiscated their property, without realizing that it is wiser to milk a cow than to slaughter it.
When Vitellius was reigning for the eighth month, certain information came that made me think that the moment to persuade Vespasian had come. I promised to lend him my entire fortune, with part of the treasure of the temple in Jerusalem and other war booty as the only security, to finance his accession to the throne. I referred to my twenty iron chests of gold. Naturally they did not contain my entire fortune, but I wanted him to realize how I trusted his chances.
The cautious Vespasian resisted for so long that finally Titus, on my advice, had to forge a letter in which Galba appointed Vespasian as his heir. Titus was the most skillful forger I have ever met and can faithfully copy any handwriting. What this proves about his character must remain unsaid.
Whether Vespasian believed in the authenticity of the letter from Galba, I cannot say. He knows his son. In any case, he moaned all night in his tent until I could stand it no longer and had a few sesterces per man dealt out to the legionaries so that at dawn they could acclaim him Emperor. They were glad to do this and would probably have done so for nothing, but I hoped to gain time. On my advice, they spread it around the other legions what a good and understanding and gifted commantler Vespasian was from the simple soldier’s point of view.
After being acclaimed Emperor outside the walls of Jerusalem, Vespasian was surprised a few days later to receive a message from the legions in Moesia and Pannonia who had sworn an oath of loyalty to him without his knowledge. He hastened to send their long overdue pay to the Danube legions as they requested in their letter. My money chests in Caesarea proved most useful, although at first Vespasian had muttered that he was sure his good name would provide credit with the rich merchants of Syria and Egypt. At first we did not share the same opinion on my rightful share of the temple treasure.
I reminded him that Julius Caesar had managed to raise immense debts on nothing but his name and his hopes for the future, and that his creditors were forced to support him politically since it ultimately required all the spoils from wealthy and fertile Gaul to repay them. But Caesar had still been young then and both politically and militarily had been infinitely more outstanding than Vespasian, who was already aging and well known for his simplicity. After some bargaining, however, we came to a reasonable agreement.
But as long as Nero lived, Vespasian would never have betrayed his military oath or Nero’s confidence. Loyalty is estimable, but the political circumstances do not take a man’s honor into consideration when they change.
Despite this, Vespasian agreed to assume the heavy burden of Imperial duties when he saw that affairs of State were in ruins and that the civil war would go on forever if he did not act. He intervened for the sake of the ordinary people in the country who wanted only peace and quiet and a modest, happy family life. Most people are like this, and so do not have much say in the ordering of world affairs.
I feel I must tell you all I know about Nero’s death, although I was not an eyewitness to it. But as a friend of Nero’s and from human curiosity, I thought it my duty to look into this, to say the least, obscure story as carefully as the altered circumstances afterwards allowed.
Statilia Messalina firmly believes that Nero died in the way which is told and which the historians confirm. But Nero had banished her to Antium, and she was not an eyewitness. As for Acte, I am not certain, for she visits Nero’s grave so faithfully that I am inclined to think she had something to hide. She was one of the few people present when Nero committed his now famous suicide.
When Nero saw that the Gallic revolt under Vindex was beginning to become dangerous, he returned from Naples to Rome. He had not at first taken the matter seriously, although naturally he was hurt by Vindex* shameless letter. In Rome, Nero summoned the Senate and the most influential members of the Order of Knights to a secret council in the Golden Palace, but sensitive as he was, soon noticed the coldness and ill-will they felt for him. After this meeting he began to be truly frightened. When he heard that Galba had joined the rebels in Iberia he fainted, for he realized that the man he had sent had not reached Galba in time to tell him that for the good of the State he should commit suicide.
When the news of Galba’s treachery spread over Rome, there was a wave of insane hatred for Nero such as had not occurred since the days of Octavianus Augustus and the downfall of Marcus Antonius. I do not wish to repeat everything that was said about him and what infamies were scrawled on his statues. The height of insolence was when the Senate hid the keys to the Capitoline after Nero had asked both the Orders to renew their oaths of loyalty and their sacred promises. The keys were soon found, of course, when after a long wait and in a rage, Nero threatened to execute all the leading Senators on the spot, the sanctity of the Capitoline notwithstanding. But the disappearance of the keys was interpreted among the impatiently waiting spectators as the very worst omen for Nero.
Nero still had many possibilities left. Tigellinus had made out a long list which I later found in his secret hiding place and which also had my name prominendy on it. But I forgave him that gladly for the sake of our friendship. I was more surprised at how clearly he had recognized the necessity of executing certain key State officials when the revolt flared in Gaul and Iberia.
On the list were both the Consuls and so many senators that I was horrified when I read it. I was vexed that I had to destroy it for political reasons. It might have been amusing some time later to read chosen names from it to certain guests whom I was forced to invite home for my position’s sake, although I did not particularly wish for their company.
But Nero contented himself with dismissing both Consuls and taking over himself, since his sensitivity and love of mankind hindered him from putting into action the rigorous program which alone could have saved him. He still had the support of the Praetorians, thanks to Tigellinus. But this would have involved pruning the tree to the last branch and he thought that even the strongest tree would not stand such treatment.
After his artistic success in Greece, Nero had grown even more weary of his Imperial duties. Had the Senate been more reliable then, I think he would have gradually transferred a great part of his powers to it. But you know about the disunity in the Senate, and its internal envy and constant intrigues. Not even the most enlightened ruler can trust the Senate completely, not even Vespasian. I hope you will always remember that, although I myself am a senator and do my best to defend its traditions and authority.
Even so, the Senate is a better tool by which to govern the country than are the irresponsible people. To be a member of the Senate, certain qualifications are demantled, while the people blindly follow the man who promises free oil and arranges the best theater performances and the most free days under the cloak of new festivals. The people are a dangerous and unreliable factor in the sound development of the State and they can nullify even the best calculations. So the people must be kept in order and satisfied.