Plutarch: Lives of the noble Grecians and Romans
would assume that honor himself, nor see it given to any other
than whom the senate should elect.
These things at first did not a little disturb Galba, but when
presently Virginius and Vindex were in a manner forced by their
armies, having got the reins, as it were, out of their hands, to
a great encounter and battle, in which Vindex, having seen
twenty thousand of the Gauls destroyed, died by his own hand,
and when the report straight spread abroad, that all desired
Virginius, after this great victory, to take the empire upon
him, or else they would return to Nero again, Galba, in great
alarm at this, wrote to Virginius, exhorting him to join with
him for the preservation of the empire and the liberty of the
Romans, and so retiring with his friends into Clunia, a town in
Spain, he passed away his time, rather repenting his former
rashness, and wishing for his wonted ease and privacy, than
setting about what was fit to be done.
It was now summer, when on a sudden, a little before dusk, comes
a freedman, Icelus by name, having arrived in seven days from
Rome; and being informed where Galba was reposing himself in
private, he went straight on, and pushing by the servants of the
chamber, opened the door and entered the room, and told him,
that Nero being yet alive but not appearing, first the army, and
then the people and senate, declared Galba emperor; not long
after, it was reported that Nero was dead; "but I," said he,
"not giving credit to common fame, went myself to the body and
saw him lying dead, and only then set out to bring you word."
This news at once made Galba great again, and a crowd of people
came hastening to the door, all very confident of the truth of
his tidings, though the speed of the man was almost incredible.
Two days after came Titus Vinius with sundry others from the
camp, who gave an account in detail of the orders of the senate,
and for this service was considerably advanced. On the
freedman, Galba conferred the honor of the gold ring, and
Icelus, as he had been before, now taking the name of Marcianus,
held the first place of the freedmen.
But at Rome, Nymphidius Sabinus, not gently and little by
little, but at once, and without exception, engrossed all power
to himself; Galba, being an old man (seventy-three years of
age), would scarcely, he thought, live long enough to be carried
in a litter to Rome; and the troops in the city were from old
time attached to him, and now bound by the vastness of the
promised gift, for which they regarded him as their benefactor,
and Galba as their debtor. Thus presuming on his interest, he
straightway commanded Tigellinus, who was in joint commission
with himself, to lay down his sword; and giving entertainments,
he invited the former consuls and commanders, making use of
Galba's name for the invitation; but at the same time prepared
many in the camp to propose that a request should be sent to
Galba that he should appoint Nymphidius sole prefect for life
without a colleague. And the modes which the senate took to
show him honor and increase his power, styling him their
benefactor, and attending daily at his gates, and giving him the
compliment of heading with his own name and confirming all their
acts, carried him on to a yet greater degree of arrogance, so
that in a short time he became an object, not only of dislike,
but of terror, to those that sought his favor. When the consuls
themselves had dispatched their couriers with the decrees of the
senate to the emperor, together with the sealed diplomas, which
the authorities in all the towns where horses or carriages are
changed, look at and on that certificate hasten the couriers
forward with all their means, he was highly displeased that his
seal had not been used, and none of his soldiers employed on the
errand. Nay, he even deliberated what course to take with the
consuls themselves, but upon their submission and apology he was
at last pacified. To gratify the people, he did not interfere
with their beating to death any that fell into their hands of
Nero's party. Amongst others, Spiclus, the gladiator, was
killed in the forum by being thrown under Nero's statues, which
they dragged about the place over his body. Aponius, one of
those who had been concerned in accusations, they knocked to the
ground, and drove carts loaded with stones over him. And many
others they tore in pieces, some of them no way guilty, insomuch
that Mauriscus, a person of great account and character, told
the senate that he feared, in a short time, they might wish for
Nero again.
Nymphidius, now advancing towards the consummation of his hopes,
did not refuse to let it be said that he was the son of Caius
Caesar, Tiberius's successor; who, it is told, was well
acquainted with his mother in his early youth, a woman indeed
handsome enough, the off-spring of Callistus, one of Caesar's
freedmen, and a certain seamstress. But it is plain that
Caius's familiarity with his mother was of too late date to give
him any pretensions, and it was suspected he might, if he
pleased, claim a father in Martianus, the gladiator, whom his
mother, Nymphidia, took a passion for, being a famous man in his
way, whom also he much more resembled. However, though he
certainly owned Nymphidia for his mother, he ascribed meantime
the downfall of Nero to himself alone, and thought he was not
sufficiently rewarded with the honors and riches he enjoyed,
(nay, though to all was added the company of Sporus, whom he
immediately sent for while Nero's body was yet burning on the
pile, and treated as his consort, with the name of Poppaea,) but
he must also aspire to the empire. And at Rome he had friends
who took measures for him secretly, as well as some women and
some members of the senate also, who worked underhand to assist
him. And into Spain he dispatched one of his friends, named
Gellianus, to view the posture of affairs.
But all things succeeded well with Galba after Nero's death;
only Virginius Rufus, still standing doubtful, gave him some
anxiety, lest he should listen to the suggestions of some who
encouraged him to take the government upon him, having, at
present, besides the command of a large and warlike army, the
new honors of the defeat of Vindex and the subjugation of one
considerable part of the Roman empire, namely, the entire Gaul,
which had seemed shaking about upon the verge of open revolt.
Nor had any man indeed a greater name and reputation than
Virginius, who had taken a part of so much consequence in the
deliverance of the empire at once from a cruel tyranny and a
Gallic war. But he, standing to his first resolves, reserved to
the senate the power of electing an emperor. Yet when it was
now manifest that Nero was dead, the soldiers pressed him hard
to it, and one of the tribunes, entering his tent with his drawn
sword, bade him either take the government or that. But after
Fabius Valens, having the command of one legion, had first sworn
fealty to Galba, and letters from Rome came with tidings of the
resolves of the senate, at last with much ado he persuaded the
army to declare Galba emperor. And when Flaccus Hordeonius came
by Galba's commission as his successor, he handed over to him
his forces, and went himself to meet Galba on his way, and
having met him, turned back to attend him; in all which no
apparent displeasure nor yet honor was shown him. Galba's
feelings of respect for him prevented the former; the latter was
checked by the envy of his friends, and particularly of Titus
Vinius, who, acting in the desire of hindering Virginius's
promotion, unwittingly aided his happy genius in rescuing him
from those hazards and hardships which other commanders were
involved in, and securing him the safe enjoyment of a quiet life
and peaceable old age.
Near Narbo, a city in Gaul, the deputation of the senate met
Galba, and, after they had delivered their compliments, begged
him to make what haste he could to appear to the people, that
impatiently expected him. He discoursed with them courteously
and unassumingly, and in his entertainment, though Nymphidius
had sent him royal furniture and attendance of Nero's, he put
all aside, and made use of nothing but his own, for which he
was well spoken of, as one who had a great mind, and was
superior to little vanities. But in a short time, Vinius, by
declaring to him that these noble, unpompous, citizen-like ways
were a mere affectation of popularity and a petty bashfulness at
assuming his proper greatness, induced him to make use of Nero's
supplies, and in his entertainments not to be afraid of a regal
sumptuosity. And in more than one way the old man let it
gradually appear that he had put himself under Vinius's
disposal.
Vinius was a person of an excessive covetousness, and not quite
free from blame in respect to women. For being a young man,
newly entered into the service under Calvisius Sabinus, upon his
first campaign, he brought his commander's wife, a licentious
woman, in a soldier's dress, by night into the camp, and was
found with her in the very general's quarters, the principia, as
the Romans call them. For which insolence Caius Caesar cast him
into prison, from whence he was fortunately delivered by Caius's
death. Afterwards, being invited by Claudius Caesar to supper,
he privily conveyed away a silver cup, which Caesar hearing of,
invited him again the next day, and gave order to his servants
to set before him no silver plate, but only earthen ware. And
this offense, through the comic mildness of Caesar's reprimand,
was treated rather as a subject of jest than as a crime. But
the acts to which now, when Galba was in his hands and his power
was so extensive, his covetous temper led him were the causes,
in part, and in part the provocation, of tragical and fatal
mischiefs.
Nymphidius became very uneasy upon the return out of Spain of
Gellianus, whom he had sent to pry into Galba's actions,
understanding that Cornelius Laco was appointed commander of the
court guards, and that Vinius was the great favorite, and that
Gellianus had not been able so much as to come nigh, much less
have any opportunity to offer any words in private, so narrowly
had he been watched and observed. Nymphidius, therefore, called
together the officers of the troops, and declared to them that
Galba of himself was a good, well-meaning old man, but did not
act by his own counsel, and was ill-guided by Vinius and Laco;
and lest, before they were aware, they should engross the
authority Tigellinus had with the troops, he proposed to them to
send deputies from the camp, acquainting him that if he pleased
to remove only these two from his counsel and presence, he would
be much more welcome to all at his arrival. Wherein when he saw
he did not prevail (it seeming absurd and unmannerly to give
rules to an old commander what friends to retain or displace, as
if he had been a youth newly taking the reins of authority into
his hands), adopting another course, he wrote himself to Galba
letters in alarming terms, one while as if the city were
unsettled, and had not yet recovered its tranquillity; then that
Clodius Macer withheld the corn-ships from Africa; that the
legions in Germany began to be mutinous, and that he heard the
like of those in Syria and Judaea. But Galba not minding him
much nor giving credit to his stories, he resolved to make his
attempt beforehand, though Clodius Celsus, a native of Antioch,
a person of sense, and friendly and faithful to Nymphidius, told
him he was wrong, saying he did not believe one single street in
Rome would ever give him the title of Caesar. Nevertheless many
also derided Galba, amongst the rest Mithridates of Pontus,
saying, that as soon as this wrinkled, bald-headed man should be