CHAPTER XVI.
The little town of Rodumna[108] lay half-hidden in olive-woods andvineyards, on the right bank of the Liger, in Gallia Lugdunensis.It had formerly been strongly fortified, but since the fall of theRepublic it had lost its strategical and military importance. Theforeign wars of the Empire were carried on far, far away on thenorthern and eastern frontiers, while internal convulsions had beenconstantly more and more centralized in Rome, since the rule of theCaesars had been fairly established, and a civil war in its originalsense had almost ceased to be a possibility. Men lived faster in thesedays, and political changes were rougher and more summary. Thus,Rodumna had gradually dwindled in importance as a citadel; the wallshad begun to fall into ruin, and were being overgrown with ferns andmaiden hair. In Rome, and even in Lugdunum, men had something else todo than to pay any attention to this out-of-the-way little town, whoseinhabitants, for their part, troubled themselves little enough aboutthe affairs of the great world, and repaid contempt with indifference.Here reigned that idyllic peace "far from the madding crowd," whichHoratius Flaccus had sung in his famous odes. The inhabitants, for themost part small land-owners or farmers, won from the surrounding landsall that they needed for actual existence, and even something more;produce which was sent either down the river in vessels to Decetia[109]and Noviodunum,[110] or in carts, over the ridge of mountains to theeast, to the chief town of the province. The poorer inhabitants fishedin the river, labored in humble toil, and kept a few taverns in whichthe thick and muddy wine of the country was sold.
In the course of the last ten years several houses and villas hadbeen built outside the town walls, often separated by wide tracts andsurrounded by gardens, fields and groves, each a little world of itself.
It was one of these isolated country-houses, the home of his old andpaternal friend Rufinus, that Cneius Afranius had designated as theplace of meeting for the conspirators. They were to concentrate on thispoint by the ides of February,[111] and meanwhile each was at workindependently in different parts of the province. They were to assembleas quietly as possible, to report the success and prospects of theirefforts, and to form their plans for future action.
The eventful thirteenth of February had dawned. The evening before,Cneius Afranius and the Batavian, accompanied by his freedmanHerodianus and Magus the Goth, had already met, and early in themorning, before sunrise, the others had arrived, most of them inextraordinary disguise. Ulpius Trajanus appeared dressed as a merchantfrom Palestine, Nerva, who was with him, played the part of hisaccountant--his former tutor. The snowy beard, which he had allowed togrow during the last few months, entirely concealed his identity. Eventhe one-armed centurion had been so cautious as to assume a disguise,though his name was not on the list of the proscribed. He wastravelling as a Lusitanian dealer in amulets. Cinna, on the other hand,like Afranius and Aurelius, though with less reason, had regarded theseprecautions as unnecessary. He wore an ordinary travelling-cloak, gavehimself out to be a Roman knight of Lilybaeum,[112] who had come onbusiness connected with an inheritance to Lugdunum, Vesontio[113] andArgentoratum,[114] and he trusted to his good fortune, which certainlyhad, so far, preserved him from any meeting with a too keen observer.Caius Aurelius had thought it wise to separate from Herodianus. Thefreedman's conspicuous appearance and unmistakable physiognomy made hima dangerous travelling-companion, and it was not till they were closeto Rodumna, that the great worshipper of the Opimian wine-jar[115] hadrejoined him--to his unspeakable delight--for, away from his belovedpatron, to him the finest Caecubum tasted no better than the verjuiceof Veii.
Up to their present meeting, not one of the conspirators had been in aposition of any real danger. Cinna attributed this to a certain amountof negligence and, perhaps, timidity in the administration. Of coursehe could not know, that the conspiracy had a noble and influentialsupporter in the Palatium itself, in the person of Clodianus, who,with all the zeal he seemed to devote to Caesar's interests--andespecially to the work of persecution--nevertheless contrived, bythe subtlest expedients of intrigue, to cripple every active effort,particularly if it originated with Parthenius, and who managed tocombine an appearance of the greatest energy with absolute inaction.His master-stroke consisted in collecting a considerable mass ofevidence, which convinced Domitian, and even the chamberlain, thatthe conspirators were to converge upon Rhaetia,[116] and take thatdistrict as the basis of their operations. Thus, while Caesar's agentswere searching and watching that province with eager haste and, misledby false reports, advanced farther and farther to the north, theconspirators in Gallia Lugdunensis were congratulating themselves ontheir unhoped-for liberty. One old and devoted client of the adjutant'swas indeed cautiously endeavoring to track them--not to circumventthem as a foe, but because Clodianus wanted to open negotiations withthem, and to further their plots against Domitian. This ambiguousconduct on his part was unexpectedly successful, mainly because forsome days Parthenius had also betrayed a strange revulsion, and hadceased to urge on the persecutions with his original virulence. Whatcould have caused this change in the man--whether it was his moreintimate connection with the intriguing Massilian, Lycoris, or somesecret understanding with the Empress--Clodianus could only guess. But,diligently as Parthenius strove to conceal the fact, he soon becameaware of it, and with all his wonted elasticity he stretched out hisfeelers, so to speak, in order with all caution to investigate this newphenomenon.
The friends at Rodumna had no suspicion of all this. Even the fact,that some unknown friend had warned them of the danger, could not putthem on the track of such a wild and incredible idea. When, on boardthe Batavia, Nerva had referred to these warning letters, Cinna hadattributed them to a mercenary betrayal on the part of some subordinateabout the court, who thus perhaps gave vent to his own spite anddisaffection, and counted on a reward at some favorable opportunity.
Now, on the thirteenth of February, the villa near Rodumna was thescene of an agitated discussion. The owner of the house had taken theprecaution of sending off all his slaves the day before, down the riverto an outlying part of his property. Only two trustworthy men hadbeen kept back, and these, as the sun rose over the hills, prepared acountry breakfast for the assembled party, and then went with Magusinto the garden, where they mounted watch over the high-road andcarefully-barred gate. At the back of the house, where a small door-wayopened to the south-east, Herodianus posted himself, in accordance withhis particular wish. The songs of Pindar,[117] and a jar of the bestwine that Rufinus could produce--this was all he should need to keephis spirits up, even if the sitting should last until sundown.
The centurion first made his report. His efforts had been chieflydirected to sounding the feeling of the common soldiers, and he hadtraversed the country in every direction. Everywhere he had been metwith cautious reserve, or even with frank distrust. He had severaltimes been taken for one of those imperial spies,[118] whose businessit was to betray an incautious speaker into some rash utteranceof opinion. These agents, who had hitherto been employed only inRome, had, since Caesar's suspicions had grown to such a head, madetheir appearance among the troops stationed in the provinces, andhad fomented much ill-feeling. It happened that Lugdunum had justlately been the scene of the cruel execution of an officer, who wasuniversally beloved but who, under the influence of wine, had spokensome inconsiderate words and who had been denounced by one of thesetreacherous informers. The centurion had taken good care not to weakenthis prejudice against himself, indeed he had occasionally risked hisown safety in playing the part thus forced upon him. In other places,where he had not been suspected, but had been able to talk frankly andfreely with the men, he found that two facts especially, as reportedfrom the metropolis, had made a deep impression; one was the unhappyend of the miserable Julia, and the other Caesar's action againstCornelius Cinna. Cinna, he said, had already a strong and enthusiasticfollowing among the common soldiers. It had never been forgotten in thearmy, that he had so often spoken in the Senate on their behalf and,m
ore particularly, had taken their part against the unjust partialityshown to the praetorian guard, but he believed it would be harder towin over the military tribunes and the rest of the superior officers.Among them Domitian's ascendancy was on the whole undisputed.
These were the most important results of the old centurion'sexperience; the assembly expressed their thanks and their admirationfor his indefatigable energy, and the worthy man, whom Cinna and evenNerva had greatly undervalued--perhaps because they mistook his modestyfor incapacity--rose at once to a high place in their estimation.Indeed, it presently proved that the enquiries of Trajan, Nerva andCornelius Cinna had yielded relatively smaller results than those ofthis unpretending soldier.
Ulpius Trajanus, who spoke next, frankly admitted that, in spite ofall his efforts, he had only occasionally spoken to a few officers andcenturions, and had convinced himself that, so far as he was concerned,he could not hope for any success excepting by declaring himself,particularly to the divisions of the troops he had formerly commanded.
At these words Caius Aurelius seemed quite delighted--he evidentlythought that the speaker had hit the turning-point of the wholediscussion.
"You know," Ulpius Trajanus went on, "that one of the three legionsstationed here was under my command, in the campaign on the Rhineagainst the Germans.[119] My men were blindly devoted to me, and if Iwere to stand before them to-day and say: Soldiers, behold your generalan exile, persecuted, hunted down, because he defends the cause oftruth, justice and freedom.--I am convinced, especially after whatour worthy centurion has told us, that they would rise as one man toresist the tyrant. The only question is, whether the adherence of onelegion is enough as a beginning of the revolt; whether on the contraryso small a spark might not be at once trodden out. Ah! my friends, hadI only guessed, when I led my army out of Hispania across the endlesswastes of southern Gaul to the shores of the Rhine--had I only dreamedthen, that the real enemy of our country dwelt in the Palatium! had Iknown that the eternal city was more gravely menaced by the canker ather heart, than by the wild hordes of the Teutobergian and Hercynianforests! But I was no more than a soldier, thinking of nothing butthe task in hand, and never troubling my head about anything beyondthe field of battle. At that time I could easily have overthrown thereign of terror, have set the Senate free to act, and so have obtaineda legal verdict against the archtraitor, who now treads our sacredrights under foot with impunity. Why did I not then understand yourmisery and evil plight! I almost feel as if that were my own fault,which is, in fact, only the ordering of fate. Just lately, when Ihave been endeavoring to prepare the soil for our plans, the curse ofdelay has stared me in the face with heart-breaking clearness. Of allthe thousands I then had at my disposal, so few remain with me, thatI doubt, as I said, whether it is safe to reckon on such a handful. Iawait your counsel."
Nerva, who had been Trajan's constant companion during the last fewweeks, had nothing to add to this speech, and Cinna's report was but ameagre one.
"So long as we stick at the preparatory stage," he said,discontentedly, "I am nobody. I have seen and observed many things.With all the precautions I could take, I have found out old connectionsand, as I will tell you presently, I have found a few persons ofdistinction, that are won over to our cause, and who may be of thegreatest service to us. But with all this I fail to see how you proposeto go on. Either one thing or the other.... All now depends on ahazard; it is a game in which everything hangs on a throw of the die."
"The die is cast," said Caius Aurelius.
Every face was turned in astonishment to gaze at the excited young man,who went on as follows in great agitation:
"Yes, my dear friends and colleagues, if I am not greatly deceived, ourcause is as good as won. How should I, an unknown nobody, have achievedso great a success? I can quite understand your being dumb withastonishment.--But the success is not mine, but yours--yours, generousCinna; yours, noble Nerva, and, above all, yours, Ulpius Trajanus.Listen and perpend: After we parted on the coast of Narbonensis, I wascrushed by the consciousness of being the least capable of all of doinganything to promote your prospects. All the circumstances were new tome; I had no connection with any great man; I had no glorious past inmy own life. So for some weeks, accompanied by one of my galley-slaves,I wandered aimlessly about the province doing no good whatever. Thenaccident inspired me with a brilliant idea. I was at no great distancefrom the Rhodanus; I was tired with a long ride, and we had dismountedin the middle of a wood, tied the horses by their bridles to thetrunk of a holm-oak, and had lain down ourselves a little way off,where a clear spot offered us a comfortable couch. Presently we heardvoices--the Propraetor of Lugdunum,[120] as I subsequently discovered,who had a house in the neighborhood, and his eldest son. The two men,who had no servants with them, had been hunting, and were now restingawhile. We kept quiet, for silence and patience are the first virtuesof a refugee. Thus I involuntarily overheard a conversation, which ina few minutes was of the greatest importance to our purpose and plans.I learnt, in short, that the Propraetor highly disapproves of thelatest edicts from the Palatium, and is anything rather than blind tothe crimes of the man, whose representative he is. I discovered thathe esteems many of the proscribed, and you especially, my respectedcolleagues, as brave and upright men, and that he regards Trajan'shostility, especially to the present government, as a highly importantfeature--as a sign, that Caesar is treading a most dangerous road.The son, who is a military tribune, agreed with the father in everyparticular, especially with regard to Ulpius Trajanus.[121] He spoke ofhis distinguished services in the campaigns against the Northmen; heparticularly remarked that at that time--at the head of your legions,when you had the power entirely in your own hands--you never laidany ambitious plans, and he wondered how it could have come to pass,that so moderate a man, after achieving such splendid deeds, shouldbe now placed in the position of a Catiline. All this was said inbroken phrases and a low conversational tone, and then they went onto speak of the games and races in the circus of Lugdunum. However,it was enough for me. The whole tone and style of their speech hadconvinced me, that I was listening to people of position and influence;I therefore determined to keep my men in sight, and when they roseand set out I followed them, leaving the horses in the copse. Beforelong I observed a villa, and meeting some slaves returning from laborin the fields, I learnt, in answer to my questions, that the noblepersonage who walked on so unpretentiously was the Imperial Propraetor,and had been stopping for a few days in his country-house, as he wasparticularly devoted to sport. Indeed, as I approached the house, I sawa number of soldiers and a guard of honor,[122] which left no doubt asto the rank of the owner. Then I felt as if the gods themselves hadinspired me.--My resolution was taken at once. I wrote a few lines onmy wax-tablet, gave it to my rower, and desired him, in case I shouldnot return from the Propraetor's villa, to carry them to Herodianus,that he might give you all due warning. Still, I had every hope thatthe immortals would crown my rashness with success. My slave left me;I went forward, and had myself announced to the Propraetor with thenotice that I had a most important communication to make to him. Tenminutes later I was standing face to face with the governor of theprovince.--My lord, said I, as calmly and steadily as if I had arrivedto announce some imperial fiat--I come in the name of Cinna, of Nerva,and of Trajan, to inform you, that they have determined to accuseDomitian before the Senate,[123] charging him with high-treason, andto depose him, and to this end to lead the legions of this provinceagainst Rome...."
"What madness!" cried Cinna, horrified.
"Yes, noble Cinna," said Aurelius, frankly; "now, when I calmly thinkit over, I am astonished at my own audacity. And yet--what was Irisking after all? My life! And my freedman would have had ample timeto warn you.--This occurred the day before yesterday."
Cinna changed color from red to white, and from white to red again.
"Go on, go on!" urged the others; and Aurelius proceeded:
"The Propraetor was thunderstruck. For a moment I fancied h
e fearedfor his own safety; that he thought that his legions had alreadybeen secretly instigated to rebellion, and that at a given signalthe revolt would break out. He seemed to breathe more freely, when Itold him that the friends of freedom had addressed themselves to him,hoping to precipitate some prompt decision; counting on his knowledgeof affairs, his rectitude, and his time-tested patriotism to guidethem to an issue from the situation. I painted in glowing colors thefermenting discontent, the smothered disaffection and hatred of thepopulace, the tyranny of the capricious and detested despot, his crimesand foul deeds that cry to Heaven, and the inevitable pressure fromwithin towards some complete change. Then I reminded him once moreof your names, you who are here to defend the cause of our country:Nerva, Cinna, Trajan.--What else I may have said I forget, but the godswilled, that I should touch some chord which roused a threatening echoin the old warrior's breast. It may be, that some personal motivesweighed with him--be that as it may, the Propraetor is on our side, andas soon as you please you can go to take counsel and lay schemes withhim."
"If the whole thing is not a trap on his part?" said Afranius.
"No, no," cried Trajan. "I remember now. Clodianus told me last summer,that after the death of his first wife the Propraetor had wished tomarry Julia.... Did he not know how Julia had died?"
"He knew it only by vague report. I told him the facts as they werecommonly current in Rome; and he did, certainly, seem very muchshocked...."
The sudden appearance of Herodianus at the door interrupted CaiusAurelius in his speech. Behind the freedman they could see the raggedfigure of a beggar.
"A messenger from Rome," said Herodianus mysteriously. "He has broughtimportant news, if he speaks the truth."
The beggar came forward, and asked if Cornelius Cinna were present,and when Cinna acknowledged his identity, the man handed him amuch-crumpled letter. Cinna broke the tie and seal with eager haste,and the eyes of the party were fixed in anxious expectation on hisface, which first turned deadly pale, and then flushed with risingcolor.
"A new ally!" he said, as his hand fell on to the table. "And apowerful one too! This note is from the adjutant, Clodianus.... Likethe wolf in the fable.--You had but just spoken of him, Trajan."
"What? Clodianus! impossible!" cried Trajan.
"Not so impossible," said Caius Aurelius. "Only a short time beforeour flight I met him at the house of Norbanus. The things he said--thequestions he asked--I remember it all now."
"By Hercules! but let us hear," said Afranius.
When Herodianus and the messenger had withdrawn, Cornelius Cinna readthe letter aloud. It contained, in the first place, the informationthat it was Clodianus, who had given the mysterious warning of theprojected arrests, and to confirm this, the words were quoted of thenote that Cinna had received--a proof which all the hearers weresatisfied to regard as conclusive. Clodianus then sketched, with greatjudgment, a project for their joint action. He told them how forsome time, he had been working on the minds of the praetorian guard,and assured them that the only difficulty here would arise from thecharacter of Norbanus, who clung to Caesar with considerable obstinacy,who was wholly and solely a soldier, and never troubled himself at allabout questions of State. Still, he was not altogether without hope ofgaining over this important officer to the side of freedom for Rome;if it came to the worst, ways and means might be found to keep him outof the way, without hurting his feelings. Then he added some valuablehints with regard to military operations, and the opening of rapid andreliable means of communication between Clodianus and the conspirators.Finally he wrote as follows:
"If, as I imagine, Caius Aurelius, the Batavian, is with you, tellhim that his betrothed came to my house a few days after the ides ofNovember. She is well. She came to entreat my intercession in favorof her brother Quintus who, as you may chance to have heard, wasarrested soon after your escape, and cast into the Tullianum on acharge of having joined the Nazarenes. I promised to do my best, in thecertainty, however, that so long as Domitian wields the sceptre thereis no hope of justice even, and much less of mercy."
This sentence took a surprising effect on Caius Aurelius.
"My friends," he exclaimed, "you see, the gods themselves have openeda way for us! Why do we hesitate? What better guarantees can we expectfor the success of our plans? Even if the Propraetor has begun towaver, this letter from Clodianus will open his eyes--he must see thatit is vain to struggle against Fate. I would propose that you shouldat once enter into negotiations with the Propraetor, and start as soonas possible for Lugdunum. There, we will proclaim to the legions thatCaesar is deposed, and that the noble old republic of Cincinnatus andRegulus is reestablished!"[124]
"To Lugdunum without delay!" they exclaimed unanimously.
FOOTNOTES:
[108] THE LITTLE TOWN OF RODUMNA. _Municipes_, that is, sharers, was the name originally bestowed upon the inhabitants of those cities most closely connected with Rome, for instance Tusculum, Formiae, Lanuvium. Later the term extended to all the cities in Italy, so that every Roman country-town was called _municipium_. Still later the name included all the cities in the empire. We use the word _municipium_ here incorrectly, in the sense of the German "country-town" for the elevation of all the cities of the empire to _municipia_ did not occur until several decades _after_ Domitian's reign. What is here said of the importance of Rodumna is not supported by the writings of the ancient authors.
[109] DECETIA, now Decise.
[110] NOVIODUNUM, now Nevers.
[111] THE IDES OF FEBRUARY. The middle of the month was called _idus_ (from the Etruscan _iduare_--to divide; see _div--idere_). In March, May, June and October it fell on the 15th, during the rest of the months on the 13th day.
[112] LILYBAEUM. A city on the western point of Sicily, now Marsala.
[113] VESONTIO. Now Besancon.
[114] ARGENTORATUM. Now Strassburg in Alsace.
[115] OPIMIAN WINE-JARS. Jars containing the vintage of former years, jars with wine that was pressed under the rule of the Consul Lucius Opimius (633 years after the building of Rome.) See Cic. _Brut._ 83, 287; _Vell._ II, 7.
[116] RHAETIA, embraced portions of what is now Tyrol, Upper Bavaria and Switzerland.
[117] PINDAR, ([Greek: Pindaros].) A Greek lyric poet, born at Thebes, 522 B. C. The only poems of Pindar which have come down to us complete are his _Epinicia_, festal songs to celebrate the triumph of the victor at the Greek national games.
[118] IMPERIAL SPIES. For such persons, see Epict. _Diss._ IV, 13, 5: "Thoughtless people in Rome allow themselves to be arrested by the soldiers, in consequence of their over-hasty confidence. A soldier in civilian's dress sits down beside you, and begins to abuse the emperor. You believe, that the circumstance that he commenced the reviling, affords you a guarantee of his trustworthiness, you therefore express your thoughts, and are instantly fettered and thrown into prison."
[119] THE CAMPAIGN ON THE RHINE AGAINST THE GERMANS. For Trajan's campaign on the Rhine, see Plin. _Paneg._ 14. Some expressions in the description given there have been literally transcribed.
[120] THE PROPRAETOR OF LUGDUNUM. Augustus divided all the provinces of the empire into two classes: the imperial and senatorial. The management of the former he undertook himself, confiding the latter to the senate. "In one respect, he had selected for himself those most difficult to govern, either because the inhabitants were not yet at peace, or warlike neighbors threatened an assault: the senate, on the contrary, obtained the peaceful ones. Thus the matter looked as if he had granted the senate the best and most lucrative, undertaking all care and peril himself; but in reality, he made the senate defenceless, retaining the army for his own exclusive use. Only one senatorial province (Africa) obtained one, and afterwards two legion
s. The governors of the senatorial provinces were divided into two classes. Africa and Asia, according to the decision of the senate, obtained ex-consuls. The other senatorial provinces were entrusted to praetors, who also bore the title of proconsul. The governors of the imperial provinces, on the contrary, though they might also have been consuls, were called propraetors, to indicate that they commanded the army (_praeire_). These propraetors (_legati Caesaris pro praet. cons. pot._) were distinguished from the senatorial proconsuls in this respect--that they held office longer than a year, in consequence of which the provincials obtained great pecuniary relief." Lugdunensian Gaul belonged to the imperial provinces, and therefore possessed a propraetor and a larger garrison.
[121] WITH REGARD TO ULPIUS TRAJANUS. See Plin. _Paneg._ 14, where the supposition is expressed that Domitian at that time cherished "a certain fear" of his victorious general Trajan.
[122] GUARD OF HONOR. An imperial propraetor had a right to six lictors.
[123] THEY HAVE DETERMINED TO ACCUSE DOMITIAN BEFORE THE SENATE. The senate possessed the right, which however was scarcely more than theoretical, of elevating and deposing emperors.
[124] REPUBLIC OF CINCINNATUS AND REGULUS IS REESTABLISHED. The opposition, under the emperors of the first centuries, possessed a really republican character, which frequently asserted itself in contemporary literature.