Plutarch: Lives of the noble Grecians and Romans
employed against Caesar, and not for him. When this report was
once set afoot, it got the belief and excited the passions of
many; they broke out into violence; some seized the wagons, and
others slew Crispinus and two centurions that opposed them; and
the whole number of them, arraying themselves in their arms, and
encouraging one another to stand by Caesar, marched to Rome.
And hearing there that eighty of the senators were at supper
with Otho, they flew to the palace, and declared it was a fair
opportunity to take off Caesar's enemies at one stroke. A
general alarm ensued of an immediate coming sack of the city.
All were in confusion about the palace, and Otho himself in no
small consternation, being not only concerned for the senators
(some of whom had brought their wives to supper thither), but
also feeling himself to be an object of alarm and suspicion to
them, whose eyes he saw fixed on him in silence and terror.
Therefore he gave orders to the prefects to address the soldiers
and do their best to pacify them, while he bade the guests rise,
and leave by another door. They had only just made their way
out, when the soldiers rushed into the room, and called out,
"Where are Caesar's enemies?" Then Otho, standing up on his
couch, made use both of arguments and entreaties, and by actual
tears at last, with great difficulty, persuaded them to desist.
The next day he went to the camp, and distributed a bounty of
twelve hundred and fifty drachmas a man amongst them; then
commended them for the regard and zeal they had for his safety,
but told them, that there were some who were intriguing among
them, who not only accused his own clemency, but had also
misrepresented their loyalty; and, therefore, he desired their
assistance in doing justice upon them. To which when they all
consented, he was satisfied with the execution of two only,
whose deaths he knew would be regretted by no one man in the
whole army.
Such conduct, so little expected from him, was rewarded by some
with gratitude and confidence; others looked upon his behavior
as a course to which necessity drove him, to gain the people to
the support of the war. For now there were certain tidings that
Vitellius had assumed the sovereign title and authority, and
frequent expresses brought accounts of new accessions to him;
others, however, came, announcing that the Pannonian, Dalmatian,
and Moesian legions, with their officers, adhered to Otho.
Erelong also came favorable letters from Mucianus and Vespasian,
generals of two formidable armies, the one in Syria, the other
in Judaea, to assure him of their firmness to his interest: in
confidence whereof he was so exalted, that he wrote to Vitellius
not to attempt anything beyond his post; and offered him large
sums of money and a city, where he might live his time out in
pleasure and ease. These overtures at first were responded to
by Vitellius with equivocating civilities; which soon, however,
turned into an interchange of angry words; and letters passed
between the two, conveying bitter and shameful terms of
reproach, which were not false indeed, for that matter, only it
was senseless and ridiculous for each to assail the other with
accusations to which both alike must plead guilty. For it were
hard to determine which of the two had been most profuse, most
effeminate, which was most a novice in military affairs, and
most involved in debt through previous want of means.
As to the prodigies and apparitions that happened about this
time, there were many reported which none could answer for, or
which were told in different ways, but one which everybody
actually saw with their eyes was the statue in the capitol, of
Victory carried in a chariot, with the reins dropped out of her
hands, as if she were grown too weak to hold them any longer;
and a second, that Caius Caesar's statue in the island of
Tiber, without any earthquake or wind to account for it, turned
round from west to east; and this they say, happened about the
time when Vespasian and his party first openly began to put
themselves forward. Another incident, which the people in
general thought an evil sign, was the inundation of the Tiber;
for though it happened at a time when rivers are usually at
their fullest, yet such height of water and so tremendous a
flood had never been known before, nor such a destruction of
property, great part of the city being under water, and
especially the corn market, so that it occasioned a great dearth
for several days.
But when news was now brought that Caecina and Valens,
commanding for Vitellius, had possessed themselves of the Alps,
Otho sent Dolabella (a patrician, who was suspected by the
soldiery of some ill design), for whatever reason, whether it
were fear of him or of anyone else, to the town of Aquinum, to
give encouragement there; and proceeding then to choose which of
the magistrates should go with him to the war, he named amongst
the rest Lucius, Vitellius's brother, without distinguishing him
by any new marks either of his favor or displeasure. He also
took the greatest precautions for Vitellius's wife and mother,
that they might be safe, and free from all apprehension for
themselves. He made Flavius Sabinus, Vespasian's brother,
governor of Rome, either in honor to the memory of Nero, who had
advanced him formerly to that command, which Galba had taken
away, or else to show his confidence in Vespasian by his favor
to his brother.
After he came to Brixillum, a town of Italy near the Po, he
stayed behind himself, and ordered the army to march under the
conduct of Marius Celsus, Suetonius Paulinus, Gallus, and
Spurina, all men of experience and reputation, but unable to
carry their own plans and purposes into effect, by reason of the
ungovernable temper of the army, which would take orders from
none but the emperor whom they themselves had made their master.
Nor was the enemy under much better discipline, the soldiers
there also being haughty and disobedient upon the same account,
but they were more experienced and used to hard work; whereas
Otho's men were soft from their long easy living and lack of
service, having spent most of their time in theaters and at
state-shows and on the stage; while moreover they tried to cover
their deficiencies by arrogance and vain display, pretending to
decline their duty not because they were unable to do the thing
commanded but because they thought themselves above it. So that
Spurina had like to have been cut in pieces for attempting to
force them to their work; they assailed him with insolent
language, accusing him of a design to betray and ruin Caesar's
interest; nay, some of them that were in drink forced his tent
in the night, and demanded money for the expenses of their
journey, which they must at once take, they said, to the
emperor, to complain of him.
However, the contemptuous treatment they met with at Placentia
did for the present good service to Spurina, and to the cause of
Otho. For Vitellius's men marched up to the walls, and
upbraided Otho's upon the ramparts, calling them players,
dancers, idle spectators of Pythian and Olympic games, but
novices in the art of war, who never so much as looked on at a
battle; mean souls, that triumphed in the beheading of Galba, an
old man unarmed, but had no desire to look real enemies in the
face. Which reproaches so inflamed them, that they kneeled at
Spurina's feet, entreated him to give his orders, and assured
him no danger or toil should be too great or too difficult for
them. Whereupon when Vitellius's forces made a vigorous attack
on the town, and brought up numerous engines against the walls,
the besieged bravely repulsed them, and, repelling the enemy
with great slaughter, secured the safety of a noble city, one of
the most flourishing places in Italy.
Besides, it was observed that Otho's officers were much more
inoffensive, both towards the public and to private men, than
those of Vitellius; among whom was Caecina, who used neither the
language nor the apparel of a citizen; an overbearing,
foreign-seeming man, of gigantic stature and always dressed in
trews and sleeves, after the manner of the Gauls, whilst he
conversed with Roman officials and magistrates. His wife, too,
traveled along with him, riding in splendid attire on horseback,
with a chosen body of cavalry to escort her. And Fabius Valens,
the other general, was so rapacious, that neither what he
plundered from enemies nor what he stole or got as gifts and
bribes from his friends and allies could satisfy his wishes.
And it was said that it was in order to have time to raise money
that he had marched so slowly that he was not present at the
former attack. But some lay the blame on Caecina, saying, that
out of a desire to gain the victory by himself before Fabius
joined him, he committed sundry other errors of lesser
consequence, and by engaging unseasonably and when he could not
do so thoroughly, he very nearly brought all to ruin.
When he found himself beat off at Placentia, he set off to
attack Cremona, another large and rich city. In the meantime,
Annius Gallus marched to join Spurina at Placentia; but having
intelligence that the siege was raised, and that Cremona was in
danger, he turned to its relief, and encamped just by the enemy,
where he was daily reinforced by other officers. Caecina placed
a strong ambush of heavy infantry in some rough and woody
country, and gave orders to his horse to advance, and if the
enemy should charge them, then to make a slow retreat, and draw
them into the snare. But his stratagem was discovered by some
deserters to Celsus, who attacked with a good body of horse, but
followed the pursuit cautiously, and succeeded in surrounding
and routing the troops in the ambuscade; and if the infantry
which he ordered up from the camp had come soon enough to
sustain the horse, Caecina's whole army, in all appearance, had
been totally routed. But Paulinus, moving too slowly, was
accused of acting with a degree of needless caution not to have
been expected from one of his reputation. So that the soldiers
incensed Otho against him, accused him of treachery, and boasted
loudly that the victory had been in their power, and that if it
was not complete, it was owing to the mismanagement of their
generals; all which Otho did not so much believe as he was
willing to appear not to disbelieve. He therefore sent his
brother Titianus, with Proculus, the prefect of the guards, to
the army, where the latter was general in reality, and the
former in appearance. Celsus and Paulinus had the title of
friends and counselors, but not the least authority or power.
At the same time, there was nothing but quarrel and disturbance
amongst the enemy, especially where Valens commanded; for the
soldiers here, being informed of what had happened at the
ambuscade, were enraged because they had not been permitted to
be present to strike a blow in defense of the lives of so many
men that had died in that action. Valens, with much difficulty,
quieted their fury, after they had now begun to throw missiles
at him, and quitting his camp, joined Caecina.
About this time, Otho came to Bedriacum, a little town near
Cremona, to the camp, and called a council of war; where
Proculus and Titianus declared for giving battle, while the
soldiers were flushed with their late success, saying they ought
not to lose their time and opportunity and present height of
strength, and wait for Vitellius to arrive out of Gaul. But
Paulinus told them that the enemy's whole force was present, and
that there was no body of reserve behind; but that Otho, if he
would not be too precipitate, and choose the enemy's time,
instead of his own, for the battle, might expect reinforcements