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VH He was sent by Galba into Lower Germany, contrary to his eXpectation. It is supposed that he was asiis sed in procuring this appotntinent by the interest os T. Junius, at that time very pomerful at couri; whose
friendship he had long before gained by his favoring thes a me party with him in the Circensi an games. But Galba openly declared that none were lese to he feared, than those who were only concerned for their bellies, and that his gluttony could not but be sufficiently satisfied with the plenty of that province; so that it is evident he was pitched Upon for that govern ment more out os contempt than Lindness for him. It is certain, that when he w s to set sorward, he had not money for . the expences of his j ourney; he being at that time somuch strat tened in his circumstances, that he was obligedio put his wiis and child ren whom he lest at Rome, intoa garret which he hired for them, to let his own house for the remaining part of the year ; and pawned a pearltaken stom a pendant of his mother's, to defray his charges on the road. A crowd of creditors who were watting for him to stop him, and amongst them the Sinuessani and Formiani, whose taxes he had converted tollis own use, he eluded, by alai ming them mitti the apprehension os false accusation; having brought an actionsor damages against a Cenain freedman, who was Clamorous in demanding a debl of him, under preteiace that the person had kiched him : whicli action he would notrelinquisti, uniit he had squeeZed stom me defendant fiftythousand sesterces. Upon his arrival in the province, thoariny which was dita Tected to Galba, and ripe for insu
reciton, received hiat with open arms, as is he had beensent them fro in the heavens. It was no sinali recommendation to their favor, that he was the son os a man who hadbeen thrice Consul, was in the Prime of his years, and of
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os an east prodigal disposition. This opinion, Whichhad been long entertained of him, Vitellius confirmed brso me late practices : having kissed ali the common sol-
had got their breakisests, and lettiug them ste by belch-ing that he had
der any charge of infamy, prosecution, or sentence of death. Besore a monili there fore had passed, without re-gard to the day or time of the day, he was hurried by . the soldiers in the evening out of his hed-cham her in aniandi est, and unanimous y saluted by the titie of Emperor. He was then carried round ali the most consider,
able towns in the neighbourbood, with the sword of Julius Caesar in his hand ; which had been taliun by sonae person out of the temple of Mars, and presented to himat the begi 'ning of the solemnity. Nor did he return tollis pavilion, untii his room Of entertainmeiat was ali infames by the chimney's taking sire. Upon this accident, ali being in consternason, and drea ling it as anynluchy omen, he cried oui, Courage, boys, it shines upon us.V And this was ali he sa id to the soldiers uponbis advancement. The arm y of the upper province like-wise, which had besore declared against Galba for the Senate, joining in the proceedings, he very ea gerly accepted the cognomen of Germanicus, offered hi in by the unanimous consent of both armies, but deseri ed assumina that of Augustus, and sor ever refused that os Caesar. IX. Intelligence of Galba's death arriving on aster.
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when he had seissed his assairs in Germany he divided
bis troops into two pari , intending to send one of thembefore him, against Otho, and to follow after with theother himself. The part he sent bes ore had a lucky
X. He heard of the victory at Bedriacum, and theide ath of Otho, whilst he was yet in Galal, and with in ut
ille Praetori an battalions, as having gi ven a pernicio usprecedent xo the armies by the muriter of Galba, and somnian led them to deli ver up their aridis to his Tribunes. A hundred and twenty, under whoic han is heliad se und petitions presented to Otho, for rewariis of their service in the killing of Galba, he bolides ordei od tobe fought out and punished. So far his conduci deservetigreat approbation, and was lacti as to a Tord hope of his heco ming an excellent prince, had he not managed his other assati s in a way more sui table to his own nature, pnil his former manner of lisse, than to the imperiat digni ty. For after he began his march, he rode throughe very city in his rout in a state os triumphal procession :and
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extravagant entertainments. Such was the want of dita
cisine, and the licentio usnest both in his family and a1 my; stat, not satisfied with the provision every where made sor them at the public eXpence, they Committea every kind of ravage and insuli upon the inhabitanis, wantonly violating ali sociat order, setting flaves at liberti as they Neased; and is any dared to mahe resistance, they Would beat and abus e them, frequently w rid, and semetimes hill them. When he had got up-on me plains where the batile was fought, sonae beingoffended at the sineti of the carcases which lay rottingupon the ground, he had me audaci ty to hearten them by a most detestabie remarh, That an enemy whensain sineti very well, especialty a fellow-citigen. V Toquali sy, ho ever, the offensivenese of the stench, hedrank in the face of the army a large quantity of wine, and with equat vani ty and insolence distributed it abouthim. Spying a stone mitti an inscription upon it to the memory of Otho, he se id, he deserved suci, a maus leum and sent the poni ard with which he had killed himself to the colony of Agrippina, to be dedicated toMars. Upon the hilis of the Appennine he celebrated a pervigilium. XI. At last he entered the city with trumpris solanding, in his generat 's cloah, and with his Mord, amidst a dis- play of standards and banners; his attendanis being ali in
the military habit, and the arnas of the soldiers unco vered. ter openly violating, more and more, ali law, both divine and human, he assumed the ossice of high-pi test, uponthe day of the overthrow at Allia, ordei ed the election ofmagistrates to be made at Once sor ten years to come, and made
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made himself Consiit for tis . To put it out os ali doubi, what modet he intended to sol w in his go vertament of the empire, he made his offerings to the gliosi os Nero in the middie of the Field of Mars, and with a fuit assemblyof the public priesis attending him. And at a solemn en-terta inment, ite delired a harper who pleased the companymuch, to sing something os Domitius ; and upon his be- ginning sonae songs of Nero 'si he startia up in presence of the whole assembly, and expressed his approbation byclapping his hanti.
XII. Aster lach a commencement of his career, heconducted his affairs, during the greater part of his rei gn, entirely by the advice and direction of the vilest amongst the players and charioteers, and especialty his freedman Asiaticus. This fellow had, when young, been elagagedwith him in a coui se of mutuat and uianatural pollutiora, but, being at las: quite tired of the occupation, ran aWay. His master, sonae time aster, calched him at Puteoli, sell-ing a liquor called Posca', and ptat him in chains, butsoon released hina, and retained hi in in his former capaci ty. Gro ing weary, however, of his rough and stubboria temper, he sold hi in to a strolling sencing master; asterwhicli, when the sello was to Dave been brought up toplay his part at the conclusion os an entertain ment of
was used as common drin k by the Roman soldieru; and hasbeen found beneficiat in the cure os putrid dis eases.
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times four; brealitast, ditaner, and supper, and a drunken repast after all. This load os victuals he could wellenough bear, from a custom to which he had inured himself, os frequent vomiting. For these severat meais hewould mahe different appotnimenis, at the houses of his friends, in the fame day. None ever entertained him at Iesi expence than four hundred thousand sesterces. Themost famous supper was that given him by his brother, towelcome him to the City ; at whicli, it is Did, there were served up no lese man two thousand Choice times, and
for iis extraordinaru ssipe, he callod The Shield of Μinerva. V In this disti there M e re tossed up together thelivers of scars, the bratias of pheasanis and peacocks, v illi the longues of flamingos, and the guts of tam preys, which had been brought in stii ps of war, as far as frona the Carpathian Sca, and the Spanim Straighis. He was not only a man os an insatiabie appetite, but would grati j it likewise at uias eas nable times, and with any gar-bage that came in his way ; so that, at a sacrifice, he. would snatch Dom the sire festi and calics, whicli hewould eat upon the spol. When he travelled, he would
do the same in the inns upon the road, aether the meat
XIV. ine had a strong propensity to the inficting of
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the governinent. But he was against none more severethan drolis and astrologers, of whom as Mon a s any was
informed against, he put him to death without the formali ty of a tria l. He was eiaraged against them. because aster his proclamation hy which he commanded ali astrologers to quit Rome, and Italy like uvisse, bufore the Ca letids of Odi ober, the following words were immedia telu
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listaed their proclamation, that the sanae Vitellius Gera manicus mould be no more, by the lay of the sard Calends. V He was even suspectedis accessary to his mo-ther's death, by forbidding sustenance to be gi ven her hen me was not weli; a German witch, whom he heldio be oracular, having told him, That he would reignsecure and for a long time, is he larvived his mollier. But others say, that being quite weary of the state os a Llairs, and apprehensive of the future, me obtained without dissiculiy a dose of poison from her fon. XV. In the eighth monili of his rei gn, me armies bothos Moesia and Pannonia revolted froni him ; as did like-wise, of the armies beyond sea, those in Iudaea and Syria, part of which took an oath to Vespasian as their emperor, being upon the spol mitti them ; and others, where he was not personalty present, did the fame for him. Onthis account, Vitellius, to secure the favor and alia stionos the people, lavi ilaed about hi in ali mat he had, public-ly and privately, in the most eXtravagant manner. Holikewise made a levy of soldiers in town, and promis edali that would enter as volunteers, not only their dis-charge after the victory, but ali the advantages due to veterans who had served their fuit time in the wars. Theenem y now pressing on both by sea and land , on one hand he opposed against them his brother with a fleet, thene levi es, and a body of gladiators, and in another quar
ther, to abdicate, upon condition of having his life and aliundred millions os sesterces granted hi m. Immediately, upon the palace-steps he publicly declared to the soldiersthere asiembled in a fuit hody, that he resigned the govern-
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A. VITELLIUS. 343 naeni, which he had received against his Gill. But thesuli remonstrating against it, he deserred the prosecutionos the affati . Next da y early in the morning he camedown to the Forum in a very poor habit, and with manytears repeated the declaration horn a writing whicli helield in his hand: but the soldiers again interposing, and the people likewise, and encoura ging him to have a good heari, promismg him at the fame time their service with
forced Sabinus, with the rest of the Flavian party, whonoue thought thenaseives secure, irato the Capitol, where
rius 's house, M here he was at an entertainment. Notlong after, repenting of what he had done, and throwing the blanae of it upon others, he summoned the peopte to-gether, and swore himself, obliging the rest likewise to
public. '' Then ta king his dagger stom his side, he presente i it first to the Consul, anil, upon his refusing it,
to the magistrates, and then to every one of the Senators ;but notae of them heing willing to accept it, he went away, as is he meant to lay it up in the temple of Concord ; but me crying out to him, You are Concord,'' he came bach again, and said that he would not only heep his sword, but for the future use the cognomen os Concord. XVL He advi sed the Senate to senil deputies Ruth the Vestat Virgins, to destre peace, or, at least, time to Consider of the state os affati s. The ilay aster, vi hilst he was watting for an an, er, he received advice by a sco ut, that the enemy was ad vanCing. Immedia tely, theres ore, throwing himself into a sedan, with only two attendanis, a ba herand a cook, he privately withdreis to bis father's house atN n Aventinum,
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XVII. By this time the fore-runners of the enem y 'Saraay had brohe into the palace, and meeting with no-body, searched ali places, as was natural upon such an