79Marching up the Flaminian road, it was already deep night when Antonius reached 'The Red Rocks'.217 His help had come too late. There he heard that Sabinus had been killed, and the Capitol burnt; the city was in panic; everything looked black; even the populace and the slaves were arming for Vitellius. Petilius Cerialis, too, had been defeated in a cavalry engagement. He had pushed on without caution, thinking the enemy already beaten, and the Vitellians with a mixed force of horse and foot had caught him unawares. The engagement had taken place near the city among farm buildings and gardens and winding12 lanes, with which the Vitellians were familiar, while the Flavians were terrified by their ignorance. Besides, the troopers were not all of one mind; some of them belonged to the force which had recently surrendered at Narnia, and were waiting to see which side won. Julius Flavianus, who commanded a regiment13 of cavalry, was taken prisoner. The rest fell into a disgraceful panic and fled, but the pursuit was not continued beyond Fidenae.
80This success served to increase the popular excitement. The city rabble14 now took arms. A few had service-shields: most of them snatched up any weapons 92they could find and clamoured to be given the sign for battle. Vitellius expressed his gratitude16 to them and bade them sally forth17 to protect the city. He then summoned a meeting of the senate, at which envoys18 were appointed to go to the two armies and urge them in the name of public welfare to accept peace. The fortunes of the envoys varied20. Those who approached Petilius Cerialis found themselves in dire21 danger, for the soldiers indignantly refused their terms. The praetor, Arulenus Rusticus,218 was wounded. Apart from the wrong done to a praetor and an envoy19, the man's own acknowledged worth made this seem all the more scandalous. His companions were flogged, and the lictor nearest to him was killed for venturing to make a way through the crowd. Indeed, if the guard provided by the general had not intervened, a Roman envoy, the sanctity of whose person even foreign nations respect, might have been wickedly murdered in the mad rage of civil strife22 under the very walls of Rome. Those who went to Antonius met with a more reasonable reception; not that the soldiers were less violent, but the general had more authority.
81A knight23 named Musonius Rufus had attached himself to the envoys. He was a student of philosophy and an enthusiastic advocate of Stoicism. He mingled24 with the armed soldiers offering them advice and discoursing25 on the advantages of peace and the perils26 of war. This amused many of them and bored still 93more. Some, indeed, wanted to maul him and kick him out, but the advice of the more sober spirits and the threats of others persuaded him to cut short his ill-timed lecture. The Vestal Virgins27, too, came in procession to bring Antonius a letter from Vitellius, in which he demanded one day's postponement28 of the final crisis, saying that everything could easily be settled, if only they would grant this respite29. Antonius sent the Virgins away with all respect, and wrote in answer to Vitellius that the murder of Sabinus and the burning of the Capitol had broken off all negotiations30. 82However, he summoned the legions to a meeting and endeavoured to mollify them, proposing that they should pitch their camp near the Mulvian Bridge and enter the city on the following day. His motive31 for delay was a fear that the troops, when once their blood was up after a skirmish, would have no respect for civilians32 or senators, or even for the temples and shrines33 of the gods. But they suspected every postponement as a hindrance34 to their victory. Moreover, some colours which were seen glittering along the hills, gave the impression of a hostile force, although none but peaceful citizens accompanied them.
The attack was made in three columns. One advanced from its original position on the Flaminian road, one kept near the bank of the Tiber, and the third approached the Colline Gate along the Salarian road. The cavalry rode into the mob and scattered35 them. But the Vitellian troops faced the enemy, themselves, too, in three separate divisions. Again 94and again they engaged before the walls with varying success. But the Flavians had the advantage of being well led and thus more often won success. Only one of the attacking parties suffered at all severely36, that which had made its way along narrow, greasy37 lanes to Sallust's Gardens219 on the left side of the city. Standing38 on the garden walls, the Vitellians hurled39 stones and javelins40 down upon them and held them back until late in the day. But at last the cavalry forced an entrance by the Colline Gate and took the defenders41 in the rear. Then the opposing forces met on the Martian Plain itself. Fortune favoured the Flavians and the sense of victories won. The Vitellians charged in sheer despair, but, though driven back, they gathered again in the city.
83The people came and watched the fighting, cheering and applauding now one side, now the other, like spectators at a gladiatorial contest. Whenever one side gave ground, and the soldiers began to hide in shops or seek refuge in some private house, they clamoured for them to be dragged out and killed, and thus got the greater part of the plunder42 for themselves: for while the soldiers were busy with the bloody43 work of massacre44, the spoil fell to the crowd. The scene throughout the city was hideous45 and terrible: on the one side fighting and wounded men, on the other baths and restaurants: here lay heaps of bleeding dead, and close at hand were harlots and their companions—all the vice15 and licence of luxurious46 peace, 95and all the crime and horror of a captured town. One might well have thought the city mad with fury and mad with pleasure at the same time. Armies had fought in the city before this, twice when Sulla mastered Rome,220 once under Cinna.221 Nor were there less horrors then. What was now so inhuman47 was the people's indifference48. Not for one minute did they interrupt the life of pleasure. The fighting was a new amusement for their holiday.222 Caring nothing for either party, they enjoyed themselves in riotous49 dissipation and took a frank pleasure in their country's disaster.
84The storming of the Guards' camp was the most troublesome task. It was still held by some of the bravest as a forlorn hope, which made the victors all the more eager to take it, especially those who had originally served in the Guards. They employed against it every means ever devised for the storming of the most strongly fortified towns, a 'tortoise',223 artillery50, earthworks, firebrands. This, they cried, was the crown of all the toil51 and danger they had undergone in all their battles. They had restored the city to the senate and people of Rome, and their Temples to the gods: the soldier's pride is his camp, it is his country and his home. If they could not regain52 it at once, they must spend the night in fighting. The Vitellians, for their part, had numbers and fortune against them, but by marring their enemy's victory, by postponing53 96peace, by fouling54 houses and altars with their blood, they embraced the last consolations55 that the conquered can enjoy. Many lay more dead than alive on the towers and ramparts of the walls and there expired. When the gates were torn down, the remainder faced the conquerors56 in a body. And there they fell, every man of them facing the enemy with all his wounds in front. Even as they died they took care to make an honourable57 end.
When the city was taken, Vitellius left the Palace by a back way and was carried in a litter to his wife's house on the Aventine. If he could lie hid during the day, he hoped to make his escape to his brother and the Guards at Tarracina. But it is in the very nature of terror that, while any course looks dangerous, the present state of things seems worst of all. His fickle58 determination soon changed and he returned to the vast, deserted59 Palace, whence even the lowest of his menials had fled, or at least avoided meeting him. Shuddering60 at the solitude61 and hushed silence of the place, he wandered about, trying closed doors, terrified to find the rooms empty; until at last, wearied with his miserable62 search, he crept into some shameful63 hiding-place. There Julius Placidus, an officer of the Guards, found him and dragged him out. His hands were tied behind his back, his clothes were torn, and thus he was led forth—a loathly spectacle at which many hurled insults and no one shed a single tear of pity. The ignominy of his end killed all compassion64. On the way a soldier of the German army either 97aimed an angry blow at him, or tried to put him out of his shame, or meant, perhaps, to strike the officer in command; at any rate, he cut off the officer's ear and was immediately stabbed. 85With the points of their swords they made Vitellius hold up his head and face their insults, forcing him again and again to watch his own statues hurtling down, or to look at the Rostra and the spot where Galba had been killed. At last he was dragged along to the Ladder of Sighs,224 where the body of Flavius Sabinus had lain. One saying of his which was recorded had a ring of true nobility. When some officer flung reproaches at him, he answered, 'And yet I was once your emperor.' After that he fell under a shower of wounds, and when he was dead the mob abused him as loudly as they had flattered him in his lifetime—and with as little reason.
86Vitellius' home was at Luceria.225 He was in his fifty-seventh year, and had won the consulship, priesthoods, and a name and position among Rome's greatest men, all of which he owed to no efforts of his own, but solely65 to his father's eminence66.226 Those who offered him the throne had not yet learnt to know him; and yet his slothful cowardice won from his soldiers an enthusiasm which the best of generals have rarely evoked67. Still he had the qualities of candour and generosity68, which without moderation are 98liable to prove disastrous. He had few friends, though he bought many, thinking to keep them, not by showing moral stamina69, but by giving liberal presents. It was indubitably good for the country that Vitellius should be beaten. But those who betrayed him to Vespasian can hardly make a merit of their perfidy70, for they were the very men who had deserted Galba for Vitellius.
The day was already sinking into evening. The magistrates71 and senators had fled in terror from the city, or were still in hiding at dependants72' houses: it was therefore impossible to call a meeting of the senate. When all fear of violence was at an end, Domitian came out227 and presented himself to the generals of his party. The crowds of soldiers at once hailed him as Caesar, and marched off, still in full armour73, to escort him to his father's house.
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1
disastrous
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| adj.灾难性的，造成灾害的；极坏的，很糟的 | |
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treacherously
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| 背信弃义地； 背叛地； 靠不住地； 危险地 | |
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consulship
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| 领事的职位或任期 | |
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abdicate
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| v.让位，辞职，放弃 | |
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prospect
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| n.前景，前途；景色，视野 | |
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cowardice
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| n.胆小，怯懦 | |
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fortified
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| adj. 加强的 | |
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ambiguity
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| n.模棱两可；意义不明确 | |
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compliance
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| n.顺从；服从；附和；屈从 | |
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appalling
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| adj.骇人听闻的，令人震惊的，可怕的 | |
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cavalry
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| n.骑兵；轻装甲部队 | |
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winding
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| n.绕，缠，绕组，线圈 | |
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regiment
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| n.团，多数，管理；v.组织，编成团，统制 | |
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rabble
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| n.乌合之众，暴民；下等人 | |
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vice
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| n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的 | |
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gratitude
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| adj.感激，感谢 | |
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forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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envoys
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| 使节( envoy的名词复数 )； 公使； 谈判代表； 使节身份 | |
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envoy
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| n.使节，使者，代表，公使 | |
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varied
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| adj.多样的，多变化的 | |
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dire
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| adj.可怕的，悲惨的，阴惨的，极端的 | |
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strife
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| n.争吵，冲突，倾轧，竞争 | |
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knight
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| n.骑士，武士；爵士 | |
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24
mingled
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| 混合，混入( mingle的过去式和过去分词 )； 混进，与…交往[联系] | |
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discoursing
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| 演说（discourse的现在分词形式） | |
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perils
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| 极大危险( peril的名词复数 )； 危险的事（或环境） | |
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virgins
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| 处女，童男( virgin的名词复数 )； 童贞玛利亚（耶稣之母） | |
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28
postponement
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| n.推迟 | |
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respite
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| n.休息，中止，暂缓 | |
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negotiations
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| 协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过 | |
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motive
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| n.动机，目的；adv.发动的，运动的 | |
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civilians
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| 平民，百姓( civilian的名词复数 )； 老百姓 | |
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shrines
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| 圣地，圣坛，神圣场所( shrine的名词复数 ) | |
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hindrance
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| n.妨碍，障碍 | |
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scattered
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| adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的 | |
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severely
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| adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地 | |
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greasy
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| adj. 多脂的，油脂的 | |
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standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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hurled
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| v.猛投，用力掷( hurl的过去式和过去分词 )；大声叫骂 | |
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40
javelins
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| n.标枪( javelin的名词复数 ) | |
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41
defenders
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| n.防御者( defender的名词复数 )；守卫者；保护者；辩护者 | |
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42
plunder
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| vt.劫掠财物，掠夺；n.劫掠物，赃物；劫掠 | |
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43
bloody
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| adj.非常的的；流血的；残忍的；adv.很；vt.血染 | |
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44
massacre
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| n.残杀，大屠杀；v.残杀，集体屠杀 | |
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45
hideous
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| adj.丑陋的，可憎的，可怕的，恐怖的 | |
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46
luxurious
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| adj.精美而昂贵的；豪华的 | |
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47
inhuman
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| adj.残忍的，不人道的，无人性的 | |
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48
indifference
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| n.不感兴趣，不关心，冷淡，不在乎 | |
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49
riotous
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| adj.骚乱的；狂欢的 | |
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50
artillery
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| n.(军)火炮，大炮；炮兵(部队) | |
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51
toil
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| vi.辛劳工作，艰难地行动；n.苦工，难事 | |
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52
regain
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| vt.重新获得，收复，恢复 | |
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53
postponing
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| v.延期，推迟( postpone的现在分词 ) | |
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54
fouling
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| n.（水管、枪筒等中的）污垢v.使污秽( foul的现在分词 )；弄脏；击球出界；（通常用废物）弄脏 | |
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55
consolations
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| n.安慰，慰问( consolation的名词复数 )；起安慰作用的人（或事物） | |
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56
conquerors
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| 征服者，占领者( conqueror的名词复数 ) | |
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57
honourable
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| adj.可敬的；荣誉的，光荣的 | |
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58
fickle
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| adj.(爱情或友谊上)易变的，不坚定的 | |
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59
deserted
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| adj.荒芜的，荒废的，无人的，被遗弃的 | |
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60
shuddering
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| v.战栗( shudder的现在分词 )；发抖；（机器、车辆等）突然震动；颤动 | |
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61
solitude
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| n. 孤独; 独居,荒僻之地,幽静的地方 | |
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62
miserable
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| adj.悲惨的，痛苦的；可怜的，糟糕的 | |
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shameful
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| adj.可耻的，不道德的 | |
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64
compassion
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| n.同情，怜悯 | |
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solely
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| adv.仅仅，唯一地 | |
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eminence
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| n.卓越，显赫；高地，高处；名家 | |
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67
evoked
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| [医]诱发的 | |
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68
generosity
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| n.大度，慷慨，慷慨的行为 | |
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stamina
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| n.体力；精力；耐力 | |
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70
perfidy
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| n.背信弃义，不忠贞 | |
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magistrates
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| 地方法官，治安官( magistrate的名词复数 ) | |
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dependants
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| 受赡养者，受扶养的家属( dependant的名词复数 ) | |
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armour
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| （=armor）n.盔甲；装甲部队 | |
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