2Such considerations held him balanced between hope and fear; but ultimately hope prevailed. Some people believed that his longing16 to get back to Queen Berenice205 fired him to return. True, the young man's fancy was attracted by Berenice, but he did not allow this to interfere17 with business. Still his youth was a time of gay self-indulgence, and he showed more restraint in his own reign12 than in his father's. Accordingly he sailed along the coasts of Greece and Asia Minor18, 112and, skirting the seas which lay upon his left, reached the islands of Rhodes and Cyprus, whence he made a bolder crossing to Syria.206 On his way he conceived a desire to visit the temple of Venus at Paphos,207 which is famous among all the inhabitants and visitors. It may not be tedious to give here a short account of the origin of this worship, the ritual of the cult19, and the shape—unparalleled elsewhere—in which the goddess is depicted20.
3According to an old tradition the temple was founded by King Aerias, and some people maintain that the goddess bears the same name. A more modern version states that the temple was consecrated21 by Cinyras,208 on the spot where the goddess landed when the sea gave her birth. The method of divination,209 however, according to this account, was imported from elsewhere by the Cilician Tamiras, and an arrangement was made that the descendants of both families should preside over the rites22. Later, however, it seemed wrong that the royal line should have no prerogative23, so the descendants of the foreigner210 resigned the practice of the art which they had themselves introduced, and now the priest whom you consult is always of the line of Cinyras. They accept any victim that is offered, but males are preferred. They put most faith 113in kids' entrails. Blood must not be poured on the altar, at which they offer only prayers and fire untainted by smoke. Although the altars stand in the open air they are never wetted by rain. The goddess is not represented in human form; the idol24 is a sort of circular pyramid,211 rising from a broad base to a small round top, like a turning-post. The reason of this is unknown.
4Titus inspected the temple treasures and the offerings made by various kings, and other curiosities which the Greek passion for archaeology25 attributes to a dim antiquity26. He then consulted the oracle7 first about his voyage. Learning that the sea was calm, and that no obstacles stood in his way, he sacrificed a large number of victims, and put covert27 questions about his own fortunes. The priest, whose name was Sostratus, seeing that the entrails were uniformly favourable28, and that the goddess assented29 to Titus' ambitious schemes, returned at the moment a brief and ordinary reply, but afterwards sought a private interview and revealed the future to him. So Titus returned to his father with heightened hopes, and amid the general anxiety of the provinces and their armies his arrival spread boundless30 confidence of success.
Vespasian had already broken the back of the Jewish war.212 Only the siege of Jerusalem remained. That this proved a difficult and laborious31 task was due rather to the high situation of the town and the 114stubborn superstition32 of its inhabitants than to any adequate provision enabling them to endure the hardships of the siege. Vespasian had, as we have already stated,213 three legions well tried in war. Four others were under Mucianus' command.213 Although these had never seen war, yet their envy of the neighbouring army's fame had banished33 sloth34. Indeed, as the former were hardened by work and danger, so the latter owed their ardour to their unbroken inaction, and their shame at having no share in the war.214 Both generals had, besides auxiliary35 infantry36 and cavalry37, foreign fleets215 and allied38 princes,216 and a fame that rested on widely differing claims. 5Vespasian was an indefatigable39 campaigner. He headed the column, chose the camping-ground, never ceasing by night or day to use strategy, and, if need be, the sword to thwart40 the enemy. He eat what he could get, and dressed almost like a common soldier. Indeed, save for his avarice41, he matched the generals of old days. Mucianus, on the other hand, was distinguished42 by his wealth and luxury, and his general superiority to the standards of a private person. He was the better speaker, and a skilful43 administrator44 and statesman. Their combined qualities would have made a fine 115emperor, if one could have blended their virtues45 and omitted their vices46. Governing as they did the neighbouring provinces of Judaea and Syria, jealousy47 at first led to quarrels. However, on the death of Nero, they forgot their dislike and joined hands. It was their friends who first brought them together, and subsequently Titus became the chief bond of union and for the common good suppressed their ignoble48 jealousy. Both by nature and training he had charm to fascinate even such a man as Mucianus. The tribunes and centurions50 and the common soldiers were attracted, each according to his character, either by Titus' meritorious51 industry or by his gay indulgence in pleasure.
6Before the arrival of Titus both armies had sworn allegiance to Otho. News travels fast in such cases, but civil war is a slow and serious undertaking52, and the East, after its long repose53, was now for the first time beginning to arm for it. In earlier times all the fiercest civil wars broke out in Italy or Cisalpine Gaul among the forces of the West. Pompey, Cassius, Brutus, and Antony all courted disaster by carrying the war oversea. Syria and Judaea often heard of Caesars, but seldom saw one. There were no mutinies among the soldiers. They merely made demonstrations55 against Parthia with varying success. Even in the last civil war217 the peace of these provinces had been untroubled by the general confusion. Later they were loyal to Galba. But when they heard that Otho and Vitellius were engaged in a wicked contest for the possession 116of the Roman world, the troops began to chafe56 at the thought that the prizes of empire should fall to others, while their own lot was mere54 compulsory57 submission58. They began to take stock of their strength. Syria and Judaea had seven legions on the spot with a vast force of auxiliaries59. Next came Egypt with two legions:218 beyond lay Cappadocia and Pontus, and all the forts along the Armenian frontier. Asia and the remaining provinces were rich and thickly populated. As for the islands, their girdle of sea was safe from the enemy and aided the prosecution60 of the war.
7The generals were well aware of the soldiers' feelings, but decided14 to await the issue between Vitellius and Otho. 'In civil war,' they reckoned, 'there are no sure ties to unite victor and vanquished61. It matters little which survives: even good generals are corrupted62 by success: as for Otho and Vitellius, their troops are quarrelsome, lazy, and luxurious63, and they are both the victims of their own vices. One will fall on the field and the other succumb64 to his success.' So Vespasian and Mucianus postponed65 their attack for the present. They were themselves recent converts to the project of war, which the others219 had long fostered from various motives66. The better sort were animated67 by patriotism68, many by mere love of plunder69, some by the uncertainty70 of their own fortunes. Thus, though their motives differed, all, good and bad alike, agreed in their eager desire for war.
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About this time Achaia and Asia were thrown into 8 a groundless panic by a rumour that 'Nero was at hand'. The accounts of his death being many and various, people were all the more inclined to allege71 and to believe that he was still alive. We shall mention in the course of this work the attempts and the fate of the other pretenders.220 This time it was a slave from Pontus, or, according to other traditions, a freedman from Italy. His skill as a singer and harpist, combined with his facial resemblance to Nero, gave him some credentials72 for imposture73. He bribed74 some penniless and vagabond deserters by dazzling promises to join him, and they all set out to sea. A storm drove them on to the island of Cythnus,221 where he found some troops homeward bound on leave from the East. Some of these he enrolled75, killing76 all who resisted, and then proceeded to plunder the local merchants and arm all the sturdiest of the slaves. Finding a centurion49 named Sisenna carrying home a pair of silver hands222 as a token of alliance from the army in Syria to the Household Guards, he tried by various devices to seduce77 him, until Sisenna took fright and escaped secretly from the island in fear of violence. Thus the panic spread. The great name of Nero attracted many who pined for revolution and hated the existing state of things. The rumours78 118waxed daily, until a chance dispelled79 them. 9Galba had entrusted80 the government of Galatia and Pamphylia223 to Calpurnius Asprenas, who had been granted an escort of two triremes from the fleet at Misenum. It so happened that with these he touched at Cythnus. The rebels lost no time in appealing to the ship's captains in the name of Nero. The pretender, assuming an air of melancholy81, appealed to 'the loyalty82 of his former soldiers', and begged them to establish him in Syria or Egypt. The captains either from sympathy or guile83 alleged84 that they must talk to their men, and would come back when they had prepared all their minds. However, they faithfully made a full report to Asprenas, on whose instructions they boarded the ship and killed the impostor, whoever he was. The man's eyes and hair and ferocious85 look were so remarkable86 that the body was carried into Asia and thence to Rome.
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1 destined | |
adj.命中注定的;(for)以…为目的地的 | |
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2 misery | |
n.痛苦,苦恼,苦难;悲惨的境遇,贫苦 | |
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3 ostensible | |
adj.(指理由)表面的,假装的 | |
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4 solicit | |
vi.勾引;乞求;vt.请求,乞求;招揽(生意) | |
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5 rumour | |
n.谣言,谣传,传闻 | |
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6 utterances | |
n.发声( utterance的名词复数 );说话方式;语调;言论 | |
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7 oracle | |
n.神谕,神谕处,预言 | |
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8 oracles | |
神示所( oracle的名词复数 ); 神谕; 圣贤; 哲人 | |
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9 endorsed | |
vt.& vi.endorse的过去式或过去分词形式v.赞同( endorse的过去式和过去分词 );在(尤指支票的)背面签字;在(文件的)背面写评论;在广告上说本人使用并赞同某产品 | |
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10 omens | |
n.前兆,预兆( omen的名词复数 ) | |
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11 gratitude | |
adj.感激,感谢 | |
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12 reign | |
n.统治时期,统治,支配,盛行;v.占优势 | |
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13 inevitably | |
adv.不可避免地;必然发生地 | |
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14 decided | |
adj.决定了的,坚决的;明显的,明确的 | |
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15 adherence | |
n.信奉,依附,坚持,固着 | |
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16 longing | |
n.(for)渴望 | |
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17 interfere | |
v.(in)干涉,干预;(with)妨碍,打扰 | |
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18 minor | |
adj.较小(少)的,较次要的;n.辅修学科;vi.辅修 | |
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19 cult | |
n.异教,邪教;时尚,狂热的崇拜 | |
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20 depicted | |
描绘,描画( depict的过去式和过去分词 ); 描述 | |
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21 consecrated | |
adj.神圣的,被视为神圣的v.把…奉为神圣,给…祝圣( consecrate的过去式和过去分词 );奉献 | |
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22 rites | |
仪式,典礼( rite的名词复数 ) | |
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23 prerogative | |
n.特权 | |
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24 idol | |
n.偶像,红人,宠儿 | |
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25 archaeology | |
n.考古学 | |
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26 antiquity | |
n.古老;高龄;古物,古迹 | |
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27 covert | |
adj.隐藏的;暗地里的 | |
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28 favourable | |
adj.赞成的,称赞的,有利的,良好的,顺利的 | |
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29 assented | |
同意,赞成( assent的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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30 boundless | |
adj.无限的;无边无际的;巨大的 | |
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31 laborious | |
adj.吃力的,努力的,不流畅 | |
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32 superstition | |
n.迷信,迷信行为 | |
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33 banished | |
v.放逐,驱逐( banish的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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34 sloth | |
n.[动]树懒;懒惰,懒散 | |
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35 auxiliary | |
adj.辅助的,备用的 | |
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36 infantry | |
n.[总称]步兵(部队) | |
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37 cavalry | |
n.骑兵;轻装甲部队 | |
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38 allied | |
adj.协约国的;同盟国的 | |
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39 indefatigable | |
adj.不知疲倦的,不屈不挠的 | |
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40 thwart | |
v.阻挠,妨碍,反对;adj.横(断的) | |
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41 avarice | |
n.贪婪;贪心 | |
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42 distinguished | |
adj.卓越的,杰出的,著名的 | |
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43 skilful | |
(=skillful)adj.灵巧的,熟练的 | |
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44 administrator | |
n.经营管理者,行政官员 | |
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45 virtues | |
美德( virtue的名词复数 ); 德行; 优点; 长处 | |
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46 vices | |
缺陷( vice的名词复数 ); 恶习; 不道德行为; 台钳 | |
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47 jealousy | |
n.妒忌,嫉妒,猜忌 | |
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48 ignoble | |
adj.不光彩的,卑鄙的;可耻的 | |
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49 centurion | |
n.古罗马的百人队长 | |
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50 centurions | |
n.百人队长,百夫长(古罗马的军官,指挥百人)( centurion的名词复数 ) | |
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51 meritorious | |
adj.值得赞赏的 | |
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52 undertaking | |
n.保证,许诺,事业 | |
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53 repose | |
v.(使)休息;n.安息 | |
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54 mere | |
adj.纯粹的;仅仅,只不过 | |
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55 demonstrations | |
证明( demonstration的名词复数 ); 表明; 表达; 游行示威 | |
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56 chafe | |
v.擦伤;冲洗;惹怒 | |
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57 compulsory | |
n.强制的,必修的;规定的,义务的 | |
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58 submission | |
n.服从,投降;温顺,谦虚;提出 | |
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59 auxiliaries | |
n.助动词 ( auxiliary的名词复数 );辅助工,辅助人员 | |
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60 prosecution | |
n.起诉,告发,检举,执行,经营 | |
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61 vanquished | |
v.征服( vanquish的过去式和过去分词 );战胜;克服;抑制 | |
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62 corrupted | |
(使)败坏( corrupt的过去式和过去分词 ); (使)腐化; 引起(计算机文件等的)错误; 破坏 | |
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63 luxurious | |
adj.精美而昂贵的;豪华的 | |
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64 succumb | |
v.屈服,屈从;死 | |
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65 postponed | |
vt.& vi.延期,缓办,(使)延迟vt.把…放在次要地位;[语]把…放在后面(或句尾)vi.(疟疾等)延缓发作(或复发) | |
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66 motives | |
n.动机,目的( motive的名词复数 ) | |
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67 animated | |
adj.生气勃勃的,活跃的,愉快的 | |
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68 patriotism | |
n.爱国精神,爱国心,爱国主义 | |
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69 plunder | |
vt.劫掠财物,掠夺;n.劫掠物,赃物;劫掠 | |
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70 uncertainty | |
n.易变,靠不住,不确知,不确定的事物 | |
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71 allege | |
vt.宣称,申述,主张,断言 | |
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72 credentials | |
n.证明,资格,证明书,证件 | |
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73 imposture | |
n.冒名顶替,欺骗 | |
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74 bribed | |
v.贿赂( bribe的过去式和过去分词 );向(某人)行贿,贿赂 | |
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75 enrolled | |
adj.入学登记了的v.[亦作enrol]( enroll的过去式和过去分词 );登记,招收,使入伍(或入会、入学等),参加,成为成员;记入名册;卷起,包起 | |
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76 killing | |
n.巨额利润;突然赚大钱,发大财 | |
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77 seduce | |
vt.勾引,诱奸,诱惑,引诱 | |
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78 rumours | |
n.传闻( rumour的名词复数 );风闻;谣言;谣传 | |
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79 dispelled | |
v.驱散,赶跑( dispel的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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80 entrusted | |
v.委托,托付( entrust的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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81 melancholy | |
n.忧郁,愁思;adj.令人感伤(沮丧)的,忧郁的 | |
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82 loyalty | |
n.忠诚,忠心 | |
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83 guile | |
n.诈术 | |
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84 alleged | |
a.被指控的,嫌疑的 | |
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85 ferocious | |
adj.凶猛的,残暴的,极度的,十分强烈的 | |
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86 remarkable | |
adj.显著的,异常的,非凡的,值得注意的 | |
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