Historia Augusta: Carus, Carinus et Numerian

I. 1 Fato rem p. regi eamqu[a]e nunc ad summum evehi, nunc ad minima retrahi Probi mors satis prodidit. 2 nam cum ducta per tempora variis vel erecta[m] motibus vel adflicta[m], nunc tempestate aliqua nunc felicitate variata omnia prope passa esset, quae patitur in homine uno mortalitas, videbatur post diversitatem malorum iam secura continuata felicitate mansura post Aurelianum vehementem principem Probo ex sententia leges et gubernacula [senatus ac populo] temperante. 3 sed ruina ingens vel naufragii modo vel incendii accensis fataliter militibus sublato {e} medio tali principe in eam desperationem votum publicum redegit, ut timerent omnes Domitianos, Vitellios et Nerones.

1. 1 By fate that the republic be ruled and that[a] now to the highest be carried, now to the lowest be drawn back, the death of Probus sufficiently revealed. 2 For when, led through periods, either raised[m] by various movements or afflicted[m], now varied by some tempest, now by felicity, it had suffered nearly all the things which mortality suffers in a single man, it seemed, after the diversity of evils, that, now secure, it would remain in continuous felicity—after Aurelian, a vehement emperor—since Probus, in accordance with the judgment, was tempering the laws and the helm [to the senate and the people]. 3 But a huge collapse, in the manner either of shipwreck or of conflagration, with the soldiers fatally inflamed, with such a prince removed {e} from the midst, drove the public vow into such despair that all feared Domitians, Vitellii, and Neros.

4 plus enim timetur de incertis moribus principis quam speratur, maxime in ea re p., qu<a>e recentibus confossa, vulneribus Valeriani captivitatem, Gallieni luxuriam, triginta etiam prope tyrannorum <conluvionem> caesa civilium membra sibimet vindicantium perpessa m<a>eruerit.

4 for more is feared from the uncertain morals of a prince than is hoped, especially in that Republic which, pierced by recent wounds, has mourned Valerian’s captivity, Gallienus’s luxury, the almost confluence of thirty tyrants, and the limbs of citizens cut down while avenging themselves upon themselves.

II. 1 Nam si velimus ab ortu urbis repetere, quas varietates sit passa Romana, res p., inveniemus nullam magis vel bonis floruisse vel malis laborasse. 2 et, ut a Romulo incipiam, vero patre ac parente rei p., quae illius felicitas fuit, qui fundavit, constituit roboravitque rem p. atque unus omnium conditorum perfectam urbem reliquit? 3 quid deinde Numam loquar, qui frementem bellis et gravidam triumphis civitatem.

2. 1 For if we should wish to retrace from the origin of the city what vicissitudes the Roman Republic has undergone, we shall find none that has more flourished by good things or labored under evils. 2 And, to begin from Romulus, the true father and parent of the Republic, what felicity was his, who founded, established, and strengthened the Republic and, alone of all founders, left a perfect city? 3 What then shall I say of Numa, who [received] a city roaring with wars and pregnant with triumphs.

rel<i>gione munivit? 4 viguit ig<it>ur usque ad Tarquinii Superbi tempora nostra res p., sed passa, tempestatem de moribus regiis non sine gravi exitio semet ulta est. 5 adolevit deinde usque ad tempora Gallicani belli, sed quasi quodam mersa naufragio capta praeter arcem urbe plus prope mali sensit quam timeba<n>t boni.

armed it with religion? 4 therefore our republic flourished up to the times of Tarquinius Superbus, but, having endured the tempest from royal morals, it avenged itself, not without grievous ruin. 5 thereafter it grew up to the times of the Gallic war; but, as if submerged by a certain shipwreck—the city having been captured except for the citadel—it experienced almost more harm than the good were fearing.

6 reddidit se deinde in integrum, sed eo usque gravata est Punicis bellis ac terrore Pyrr<h>i, ut mortalitatis mala praecordiorum timore sentiret.

6 it then restored itself to wholeness, but it was so burdened by the Punic wars and by the terror of Pyrrhus that it felt the ills of mortality with fear in its very precordia.

III. 1 Crevit deinde victa Carthagine trans maria missis imperiis, sed socialibus adfecta discordiis extenuato felicatis sensu usque ad Augustum bellis civilibus, adfecta consenuit. per Augustum deinde reparata, si reparata dici potest libertate deposita.

III. 1 Then it grew, Carthage having been conquered, with its commands dispatched across the seas; but, affected by social dissensions, with the sense of felicity attenuated, up to Augustus, afflicted by civil wars, it grew old. Through Augustus then it was repaired—if “repaired” can be said—with liberty set aside.

2 tamen utcumque, etiamsi domi tristis fuit, apud exteras gentes effloruit; passa deinceps tot Nerones, per Vespasianum extulit caput. 3 nec omni Titi felicitate laetata, Domitiani vulnerata inmanitate per Nervam atque Traianum usque ad Marcum solito melior, Commodi v[a]ecordia et crudelitate lacerata est. 4 nihil post haec praeter Severi diligentiam usque {ad} Alexandrum Mam<a>eae sensit bonum.

2 nevertheless, somehow, even if at home she was sad, among foreign nations she blossomed; having thereafter suffered so many Neros, through Vespasian she raised her head. 3 nor gladdened by all the felicity of Titus, wounded by the brutality of Domitian, through Nerva and Trajan up to Marcus better than usual, she was lacerated by the vaecordia and cruelty of Commodus. 4 after these things she experienced nothing good except the diligence of Severus up to Alexander of Mamaea.

5 longum est, quae secuntur, universa conectere: uti enim principe Valeriano non potuit et Gallienum per annos quindecim passa est. 6 invidit Claudio longi<n>quitatem imperii amans vari[a]etatum prope et semper inimica, fortuna iustitiae. 7 sic enim Aurelianus occisus est, sic Tacitus absumptus, sic Probus caesus, ut appareat nihil tam gratum esse fortunae, quam ut ea, quae sunt in publicis actibus, eventuum vari[a]etate mutentur.

5 it would be lengthy to connect in a whole all that follows: for under the emperor Valerian it could not, and it endured Gallienus for 15 years. 6 Fortune, loving varieties and almost always an enemy to justice, begrudged Claudius the long continuance of the imperium. 7 Thus Aurelian was slain, thus Tacitus consumed, thus Probus cut down, so that it may appear that nothing is so pleasing to Fortune as that the things which are in public acts be changed by the variety of events.

8 sed quorsum talibus qu[a]erellis et temporum casibus detinemur? veniamus ad Carum, medium, ut ita dixerim, virum et inter bonos magis quam inter malos principes conlocandum et longe meliorem, si Carinum non reli[n]quisset heredem.

8 but to what end are we detained by such complaints and by the chances of the times? Let us come to Carus, a middling, so to speak, man, and to be placed among the good rather than among the bad princes, and far better, if he had not left Carinus as heir.

IV. 1 Cari patria sic ambigue a plerisque proditur, ut prae summa varietate dicere nequeam, [ae]quae illa vera si[n]t. 2 Onesimus enim, qui diligentissime vitam Probi scripsit, Romae illum et natum et eruditum, sed Illyricianis parentibus fuisse contendit. 3 sed Fabius Ceryllianus, qui tempora Cari, Carini et Numeriani solertissime persecutus est, neque Romae sed in Illyrico genitum, neque Pannoniis sed Poenis parentibus adserit natum. 4 in ephemeride quadam legisse memini Carum Mediolanensem fuisse, sed abo curia Aquiliensis civitatis insertum.

4. 1 Carus’s fatherland is so ambiguously handed down by most that, by reason of the highest variety, I cannot say which of those are true. 2 For Onesimus, who wrote the life of Probus most diligently, contends that he was both born and educated at Rome, but that he had Illyrian parents. 3 But Fabius Ceryllianus, who most skillfully pursued the times of Carus, Carinus, and Numerian, asserts that he was born not at Rome but in Illyricum, and of not Pannonian but Punic parents. 4 In a certain ephemeris I remember having read that Carus was a Mediolanensian, but that he was inserted in the album of the curia of the city of Aquileia.

5 ipse se, quod negari non potest, ut epistula eius indicat, quam pro consul[a]e ad legatum suum scripsit, cum eum ad bona hortaretur officia, Romanum vult videri. 6 [a]epistula Cari: 'Marc[li]us Aurelius <Carus> pro consul[a]e Ciliciae Iunio legato suo. maiores nostri, Romani illi principes, in legatis creandis hac usi sunt consuetudine, ut morum suorum specimen per eos ostenderent, quibus rem publicam delegabant.

5 he himself — which cannot be denied — as his letter indicates, which he wrote as proconsul[a] to his legate, when he was urging him to good services, wants to seem Roman. 6 [a]letter of Carus: 'Marc[li]us Aurelius <Carus>, proconsul[a] of Cilicia, to his legate Junius. Our ancestors, those Roman princes, used this custom in creating legates, that through them they might show a specimen of their own manners, to whom they were entrusting the republic.

7 ego vero, si ita non esset, aliter non fecissem: <non> feci aliter, si te iuvante non fallar; fac igitur, ut maioribus nostris, id est Romanis non discrepemus viris.' 8 Vides tota [a]epistula maiores suos Romanos illum velle intellegi.

7 But I indeed, if it were not so, would not have done otherwise: I <did not> do otherwise, if, with you aiding, I am not mistaken; therefore see to it that we do not differ from our ancestors, that is, from Roman men.' 8 You see in the whole [a]letter that he wants his ancestors to be understood as Romans.

V. 1 Indicat et oratio eius ad senatum data istam generis praerogativam. nam cum primum imperator esset creatus, sic ad senatorium ordinem scripsit. 2 inter cetera: 'gaudendum est itaque, p. c., quod unus ex vestro ordine, vestri etiam generis imperator est factus.

5. 1 His oration to the senate given also indicates that prerogative of lineage. For when he was first created emperor, thus he wrote to the senatorial order. 2 among the rest: 'Therefore there is cause for rejoicing, Conscript Fathers, that one from your order, of your very stock as well, has been made emperor.'

quare adnitemur, ne meliores peregrini quam vestri esse videantur.' 3 hoc quoque loco satis clarum est illum voluisse intellegi se esse Romanum, id est Roma oriundum. 4 Hic igitur per civiles <et> militares gradus, ut tituli statuarum eius indicant, praef. praet.

wherefore let us strive, lest foreigners seem better than your own.' 3 In this passage also it is sufficiently clear that he wished to be understood to be a Roman, that is, sprung from Rome. 4 He therefore, through civil and military grades, as the titles of his statues indicate, was praetorian prefect.

a Probo factus tantum sibi aput milites amoris locavit, ut interfecto Probo tanto prinicipe solus dignissimus videretur imperio.

by Probus made, he secured for himself so much love among the soldiers, that, with Probus, so great a prince, slain, he alone seemed most worthy of the imperium.

VI. 1 Non me praeteriit suspicatos esse plerosque et eos infasto retulisse Cari factione interemptum Probum, sed que[d] meritum Probi erga Carum neque Cari mores id credi patiuntur, simul quia Probi mortem et acerrime et constantissime vindicavit. 2 quid autem de eo Probus senseri[n]t, indicant littere de eius honoribus ad senatum dat e: 'Probus Augustus amantissimo senatui suo salutem dicit.' inter cetera: 'felix autem esset nostra res p., si, qualis Carus est aut plerique vestrum, plures haberem in actibus conlocatos. 3 quare equestrem statua viro morum veterum, si vobis placeat, decernendam censeo, addito eo ut publico suumptu [vel] eidem exaedificetur domus marmoribus a me delatis.

6. 1 It has not escaped me that many suspected, and those ill-disposed reported, that Probus was slain by the faction of Carus; but neither Probus’s merit toward Carus nor the character of Carus allow this to be believed, and likewise because he avenged Probus’s death both most keenly and most steadfastly. 2 Moreover, what Probus thought about him is indicated by the letters concerning his honors given to the senate: “Probus Augustus sends greeting to his most loving senate.” Among other things: “Our Republic would indeed be happy, if, such as Carus is, or as many of you are, I had more men placed in official business. 3 Wherefore I judge that an equestrian statue should be decreed to a man of ancient morals, if it should please you, with this added: that at public expense [or] a house likewise be built for the same man with marbles brought by me.”

decet enim nos talis integritatem remunerari viri' et reliqua.

for it befits us to remunerate the integrity of such a man, and the rest.

VII. 1 Ac ne minima quaeque conectam et ea, quae apud alios poterunt inveniri, ubi primum accepit imperium, consensu omnium militum bellum Persic[c]um, quod Probus parabat, adgressus est liberis Caesaribus nuncupatis, et ita quidem ut Carinum ad Gallias tuendas cum viris lectissimis destinaret, secum vero Numerianum, adulecentem cum lectissimum tum etiam disertissimum, duceret. 2 et dicitur quidem sepe dixisse se miserum, quod Carinum ad Gallias principem mitteret, neque illa aetas esset Numeriani, ut illi Gallicanum, quod maxime constantem principem quaerit, crederetur imperium.

7. 1 And so that I do not weave together every least detail and those things which can be found among others, as soon as he received the imperium, by the consensus of all the soldiers he undertook the Persian war, which Probus was preparing, with his children proclaimed Caesars; and indeed thus, that he assigned Carinus to the guarding of the Gauls with the most select men, but took with himself Numerian, a youth both most select and also most eloquent. 2 And he is indeed said often to have said that he was wretched because he was sending Carinus as princeps to the Gauls, nor was Numerian’s age such that the Gallican imperium—which most of all seeks a most constant princeps—should be entrusted to him.

sed haec alias. 3 nam exstant <et>iam litter<a>e Cari, quibus aput praefectum suum de Carini moribus qu[a]eratur, ut appareat verum esse, quod Onesimus dicit, habuisse in animo Carum, ut Carino Caesareanum abrogaret imperium. 4 sed haec, ut diximus, alias in ipsius Carini vita dicenda sunt.

But these things elsewhere. 3 For there also exist letters of Carus, in which he complains before his own prefect about Carinus’s morals, so that it may appear true what Onesimus says: that Carus had in mind to abrogate from Carinus the Caesarean imperium. 4 But these things, as we said, are to be told elsewhere, in the Life of Carinus himself.

nunc ad ordinem revertemur.

now we shall return to the order.

VIII. 1 Ingenti apparatu et toti[u]s viribus Probi profligato magna ex parte bello Sarmatico, quod gerebat, contra Persas profectus nullo sibi occurrente Mesopotamia Carus cepit et testifontem usque pervenit occupatisque Persis domestica seditione imperatoris Persi nomen emeruit. 2 verum cum avidus gloriae, prafecto suo maxime [i]urgente, qui et ipsi et filii ~~eius quaerebat exitium cupiens imperare, longius progressus esset, ut alii dicunt morbo, ut plures fulmine interemptus est.~~

8. 1 With immense apparatus and with the entire forces of Probus, the Sarmatian war which he was waging having been brought to an end for the most part, setting out against the Persians, with no one meeting him, Carus seized Mesopotamia and arrived as far as Ctesiphon; and with the Persians preoccupied by a domestic sedition, he earned the Persic title. 2 However, when, eager for glory, especially with his prefect urging—who, desiring to rule, was seeking the destruction of both him and his sons—he had advanced farther, he was, as some say, taken off by illness, but as more say, by lightning.

3 negari non potest eo tempore, quo perit, tantum fuisse subito tonitruum, ut multi terrore ipso exanimati esse dicantur. cum igitur <a>egrotaret atque in tentorio iaceret, ingenti exorta tempestate inmani coruscatione, inmaniore, ut diximus, tonitru exanimatus est. 4 Iulius Ca<l>purnius, qui ad memoriam dictabat, talem ad praefectum urbis super morte Cari [a]epistulam dedit.

3 it cannot be denied that at the time when he perished there was so great a sudden thunderclap that many are said to have been lifeless from the terror itself. And so, while he was ill and lying in his tent, when a great storm had arisen, by an immense lightning-flash, and by an even more immense thunder, as we have said, he was struck dead. 4 Julius Calpurnius, who was dictating for the record, gave such a letter to the prefect of the city concerning the death of Carus.

5 inter cetera: 'cum', inquit,'Carus, princeps noster vere carus, aegrotaret et <in tentorio iaceret>, tanti turbinis subito exorta tempestas est, ut caligarent omnia neque alterutrum nosceret; coruscationum deinde ac tonitruum in modum [fulgurum] igniti sideris continuata vibratio omnibus nobis veritatis scientiam sustulit. 6 subito enim conclamatum est imperatorem mortuum, et post illud praecipu[a]e tonitru<u>m, quo<d> cuncta terruerat. 7 his accessit quod cubiculari dolentes principis mortem incenderunt tentorium.

5 among the rest: '“when,” he says, “Carus, our princeps, truly dear, was ill and <was lying in a tent>, a tempest of such a whirlwind suddenly arose that all things were darkened and no one could recognize one another; then a continuous quivering of coruscations and thunders, in the manner of an ignited star’s [lightnings], took from us all knowledge of the truth. 6 for suddenly it was shouted that the emperor was dead, and after that the preeminent thunderclap, which had terrified everything. 7 to this was added that the chamberlains, grieving the princeps’s death, set the tent on fire.”'

unde su<b>it<o> fama emersit fulmine interemptum eum, quem, quantum scire possumus, aegritudine constat absumptum.'

whence there suddenly arose a report that he had been slain by a thunderbolt, whereas, so far as we can know, it is established that he was consumed by illness.'

IX. 1 Hanc ego epistulam idcirco indidi, quod plerique dicunt vim fati quandam esse, ut Romanus princeps Ctesifontem transire non possit, ideoque Carum fulmine absumptum, quod eos fines transgredi cuperet, qui fataliter constituti sunt. 2 sed sibi habeat artes suas timiditas, calcanda virtutibus. 3 licet plane ac licebit (per sacratissimum Caesarem Maximianum constitit) Persas vincere atque ultra eos progredi, et futurum reor, si a nostris non deseratur promissus numinum favor.

9. 1 I inserted this epistle for this reason, because many say that there is a certain force of fate, that the Roman princeps cannot cross Ctesiphon, and that therefore Carus was consumed by a thunderbolt, because he desired to transgress those borders which are fatally established. 2 But let timidity have its arts to itself, to be trampled underfoot by virtues. 3 It is permitted plainly and it will be permitted (it has been established through the most sacrosanct Caesar Maximianus) to conquer the Persians and to advance beyond them; and I reckon it will come to pass, if the promised favor of the numina be not forsaken by our men.

4 Bonum principem Carum fuisse cum multa indicant tum illud etiam, quod, statim est adeptus imperium, Sarmatas adeo morte Probi feroces, ut invasuros se non solum Illyricum sed Thracias quoque Italiamque minarentur, ita s[i]ci<e>nter bella par<t>iendo contudit, ut paucissimis diebus Pannonias securitate donaverit occisis Sarmatarum sedecim mili[ti]bus, captis diversi sex[s]us viginti milibus.

4 That Carus was a good princeps many things indicate, and this also: that, as soon as he obtained the imperium, he so skillfully, by apportioning the wars, crushed the Sarmatians—who, made ferocious by the death of Probus, threatened that they would invade not only Illyricum but Thrace as well and Italy—that in very few days he bestowed security upon the Pannonias, with 16,000 Sarmatians slain and 20,000 of both sexes taken captive.

X. 1 Haec de Caro satis esse credo. veniamus ad Numerianum. huius et iuntior patri et admirabilior per socerum suum facta videtur historia.

10. 1 I believe these things about Carus to be enough. Let us come to Numerian. The history of this man seems to have been made both more conjoined to his father and more admirable through his own father-in-law.

et quamvis Carinus maior aetate fuerit, prior etiam Caesar quam <Numerianus> sit nuncupatus, tamen necesse est, ut prius de Numeriano loquamur, qui patris secutus est mortem, post de Carino, quem vir rei p. necessarius Augustus Diocletianus habitis conflictibus interemit.

and although Carinus was greater in age, and had also been named Caesar earlier than <Numerianus>, nevertheless it is necessary that we speak first about Numerianus, who followed upon his father’s death, and afterward about Carinus, whom the man necessary to the republic, the Augustus Diocletian, after engagements had been joined, slew.

XI. 1 Numerianus, Cari filius moratus egregi[a]e et vere dignus imperio, eloquentia etiam praepollens, adeo ut puer public[a]e declamaverit feranturque illius scripta nobilia, declamationi tamen magis quam Tulliano adcommodiora stilo. 2 versu autem talis fuisse praedicatur, ut omnes poetas sui temporis vicerit. nam et cum Olympio Nemesiano contendit, qui halieutika kunegetika et nautika scripsit qui[n]que omnibus coloribus inlustratus emicuit, et Aurelium Apollinarem amborum scriptorem, qui patris, eius gesta in litteras retulit, [h]isdem, que recitaverat, editis veluti radio solis obtexit.

11. 1 Numerianus, the son of Carus, of distinguished character and truly worthy of imperial rule, excelling also in eloquence—so much so that as a boy he declaimed publicly—and his writings are reported as notable, yet more suited to declamation than to a Ciceronian style. 2 In verse, moreover, he is proclaimed to have been such that he surpassed all the poets of his time. For he even contended with Olympius Nemesianus, who wrote the Halieutica, the Cynegetica, and the Nautica, and who, adorned with all “colors,” shone forth; and he overshadowed Aurelius Apollinaris, a writer ofiambs, who set down in letters the deeds of his father, by publishing the same pieces that he had recited, as if with a ray of the sun.

3 huius oratio fertur ad senatum missa tantum habuisse eloquentiae, ut illi[s] statua non quasi C<a>esari sed quasi r<h>et[h]ori decerneretur, ponenda in bibliotheca[e] Ulpia, cui suscriptum est: 'Numeriano Caesari, oratori temporibus suis potentissimo.'

3 the oration of this man, sent to the senate, is said to have had so much eloquence that to him a statue was decreed not as to a Caesar but as to a rhetor, to be placed in the Ulpian library, on which is inscribed: 'To Numerian Caesar, an orator most potent in his times.'

XII. 1 Hic patri comes fuit bello Persico. quo mortuo, cum oculos dolere coepisset, quod illud aegritudinis genus nimia utpote confecto familiarissimum fuit, ac lectica portatur, factione Apri soceri sui, qui invadere conabatur imperium, occisus est.

12. 1 He was a companion to his father in the Persian war. When that man had died, since he had begun to have pain in his eyes—a kind of ailment very familiar to one worn out, as it were, by excessive wakefulness—and was being carried in a litter, he was killed through the faction of Aper, his father-in-law, who was trying to seize the empire.

2 sed cum per plurimos dies de imperatoris salute quaereretur a milite, contionareturque Aper idcirco illum videri non posse, quod oculos invalidos, a[c] vento ac sole subtraheret, foetore tamen cadaveris res esset prodita omnes invaserunt Aprum, cuius factio latere non potuit, eumque ante signa et principia protraxere. tunc habita est ingens contio, factum etiam tribunal.

2 but when for very many days the soldiers kept inquiring about the emperor’s safety, and Aper kept haranguing that for that reason he could not be seen, because he was shielding his feeble eyes from the wind and the sun, nevertheless the matter was betrayed by the stench of the corpse; all attacked Aper, whose faction could not remain concealed, and they dragged him out before the standards and the headquarters. Then a huge assembly was held, and a tribunal was even set up.

XIII. 1 et cum quereretur, quis vindex Numeriani iustissimus fieret, quis daretur rei p. bonus princeps, Diocletianum omnes divino consensu, cui multa iam signa facta dicebantur imperii, Augustum appellaverunt, domesticos tunc regentem, virum insignem, callidum, amantem rei p., amantem suorum et ad omnia, quac tempus quaesiverat, temperatum, consiIii semper alti, nonnumquam tamen frontis, sed prudentia e nimia pervicacia motus inquieti pectoris conprimentis. 2 hic cum tribunal consendisset atque Augustus esset appellatus et quaereretur, quem ad modum Numerianus esset occisus, educto gladio Aprum praefectum praetori ostentans percussit, addens verbis suis: 'hic est auctor necis Numeriani.' sic Aper foeda vit et deformibus consiliis agens dignum moribus suis exitum dedit.

13. 1 and when it was being asked who might most justly become the avenger of Numerian, who might be given to the republic as a good princeps, all by a divine consensus hailed Diocletian—upon whom many signs of imperial rule were already said to have been conferred—as Augustus, at that time commanding the Domestics, a distinguished man, crafty, a lover of the republic, a lover of his own, and in all things which the occasion had required, tempered; always of lofty counsel, yet sometimes of an iron brow, but by prudence and an excessive pertinacity suppressing the movements of a restless breast. 2 He, when he had mounted the tribunal and had been hailed Augustus, and it was asked in what way Numerian had been slain, drawing his sword and pointing out Aper, the praetorian prefect, struck him, adding with his words: 'This is the author of Numerian’s murder.' Thus Aper, living a foul life and pursuing misshapen counsels, gave an end worthy of his character.

3 avus meus ret<t>ulit interfuisse conti[ci]oni, cum Diocletiani manu esset Aper occisus; dixisse autem dicebat Diocletianum, <cum Aprum> percussisse<t>: 'gloriare, Aper,

3 my grandfather related that he had been present at the assembly, when Aper was killed by the hand of Diocletian; moreover he said that Diocletian said, when he had struck Aper: 'Boast, Aper,

Aeneae magni dextra cadis.'

By the right hand of great Aeneas you fall.'

4 quod ego miror de homine militari, quamvis pIurimos plane sciam militares vel Gr<a>ec[a]e vel Latin[a]e vel comicorum usurpare dicta vel talium poetarum. 5 ipsi denique comici plerumque sic milites inducunt, ut eos faciant vetera dicta usurpare. nam et 'lepus tute es: pulpamentum quaeris' Livii Andronici dictum est, multa alia, quae Plautus Cae<ci>liusque posuerunt.

4 which I marvel at in a military man, although I plainly know that very many military men usurp dicta either Greek or Latin or of the comic poets or of such poets. 5 Finally, the comic poets themselves for the most part introduce soldiers in such a way that they make them usurp old dicta. For even 'you yourself are a hare: you seek a relish' is a dictum of Livius Andronicus, and many other things which Plautus and Caecilius have set down.

XIV. 1 Curiosum [non] puto neque satis vulgare fabellam de Diocletiano Augusto ponere hoc convenientem loco, quae illi data est ad omen imperii. --avus meus mihi retulit ab ipso Diocletiano compertum--. 2 'cum', inquit, 'Diocletianus apud Tungros in Gallia in quadam caupona moraretur in minoribus adhuc locis militans et cum Dryade quadam muliere [cu]rationem convictus sui cotidiani faceret atque illa diceret: 'Diocletiane, nimium avarus, nimium parcus es', ioco non serio Diocletianus respondisse fertur.

14. 1 I think it a curious and not sufficiently commonplace little tale to set down in this fitting place about Diocletian Augustus, which was given to him as an omen of his imperial power. --My grandfather related to me, as learned from Diocletian himself.-- 2 'When', he says, 'Diocletian was staying among the Tungri in Gaul in a certain inn, serving still in lesser posts, and with a certain woman named Dryas he was making arrangements for his daily board, and when she would say: 'Diocletian, you are too avaricious, too sparing,' he is said to have replied in jest, not in earnest.'

'tunc ero largus, cum fuero imperator.' 3 post quod verbum Dryas dixisse fertur: 'Diocletian[a]e, iocari noli, nam eris imperator, cum Aprum occideris.'

'Then I will be bountiful when I shall be emperor.' 3 after which word Dryas is said to have said: 'Diocletian, do not jest, for you will be emperor when you have killed the Boar.'

XV. 1 Semper in animo Diocletianus habuit imperii cupiditatem, idque Maximiano conscio atque avo meo, cui hoc dictum a Dryad[a]e ipse retulerat. 2 denique, ut erat altus, risit et tacuit. apros tamen in venatibus, ubi fuit facultas, manu sua semper occidit. 3 denique cum Aurelianus imperium accepisset, cum Probus, cum Tacitus, cum ipse Carus, Diocletianus dixit: 'ego semper apros occido, sed alter utitur pulpamento.' 4 iam illud notum est atque vulgatum, quod, cum occidisset Aprum praefectum praet., dixisse fertur: 'tandem occidi Aprum fatalem.' 5 ipsum Diocletianum idem avus meus dixisse dicebat nullam aliam sibi causam occidendi manu sua fuisse, nisi ut impleret Dryadis dictum et suum firmaret imperium.

15. 1 Diocletian always held in mind a desire for the empire, and this with Maximian privy to it, as well as my grandfather, to whom he himself had reported what had been said by Dryas. 2 And so, being a reserved man, he laughed and kept silent. Nevertheless, boars in the hunts, whenever there was opportunity, he always slew with his own hand. 3 Finally, when Aurelian had received the empire, when Probus, when Tacitus, when Carus himself, Diocletian said: 'I always kill boars, but another enjoys the relish.' 4 By now this is known and spread abroad, that, when he had killed Aprus, the praetorian prefect, he is said to have remarked: 'At last I have slain the fated Aprus.' 5 The same my grandfather used to say that Diocletian himself said he had no other cause for killing him with his own hand, except to fulfill Dryas’s saying and to make firm his empire.

6 non enim tam crudelem se innotescere cuperet, primis maxime diebus imperii, nisi illum necessitas ad hanc atrocitatem occisionis adtraheret.

6 for he would not have wished to make himself known as so cruel, especially in the very first days of his imperium, unless necessity dragged him to this atrocity of occision.

XVI. 1 Dictum est de Caro, dictum etiam de Numeriano, superest nobis Carinus, homo omnium contaminatissimus, adulter, frequens corruptor iuventutis (pudet dicere, quod in litteras Onesimus retulit), ipse quoque male usus genio sexus sui. 2 hic cum Caesar decretis sibi Galliis atque Italia[e], Illyrico, Hispanis ac Brittannis et Africa relictus a patre Caesareanum teneret imperium, sed ea lege, ut omnia faceret, quae Augusti faciunt, inormibus se vitiis et ingenti foeditate 3 maculavit, amicos optimos quosque relegit, pessimum quemque elegit aut tenuit, praef.

CHAPTER 16. 1 It has been said about Carus, it has also been said about Numerian; Carinus remains for us, a man most contaminated of all, an adulterer, a frequent corruptor of youth (it shames one to say what Onesimus has set down in letters), he himself also having misused the genius of his own sex. 2 He, when as Caesar, with the Gauls and Italy, Illyricum, the Spains and the Britains and Africa decreed to him, left by his father, held the Caesarean imperium—yet on this condition, that he should do all the things which the Augusti do—stained himself with enormous vices and with vast foulness; 3 he relegated each of the best friends, chose or kept each worst one, the pref.

urbi unum ex cancellariis suis fecit, quo foedius nec cogitari potuit aliquando nec dici. 4 praef. praetorii, quem habebat, occidit; 5 in eius locum Matronianum, veterem conciliatorem, fecit, unum ex his notariis, quem stup<ro>rum et libidinum conscium semper atque adiutorem habuerat.

for the City he made one of his chancellors, than which nothing fouler could ever be conceived or spoken. 4 the Praetorian Prefect whom he had, he killed; 5 in his place he made Matronianus, an old go-between, one from his notaries, whom he had always had as privy to and helper of debaucheries and libidos.

6 invito patre consul processit. superbas ad senatum litteras dedit. 7 vulgo urbis Romae, quasi populo Romano, bona senatus promisit.

6 with his father unwilling, he advanced as consul. He gave superb/haughty letters to the senate. 7 To the mob of the city of Rome, as if to the Roman people, he promised the goods of the senate.

uxores ducendo ac reiciendo novem duxit pulsis pleri<s>que praegnatibus. mimis, meretricibus, pantomimis, cantoribus atque lenonibus Palatium replevit. 8 fastidium suscribendi tantum habuit, ut inpurum quendam, cum quo semper meridi[a]e iocabatur, ad suscribendum poneret, quem obiurgabat plerumque, quod bene, suam imitaretur manum.

By taking wives and casting them off, he married nine, most of them driven away while pregnant. He filled the Palatium with mimes, meretrices (prostitutes), pantomimes, singers, and panders. 8 He had such a fastidiousness about subscribing that he set a certain unclean fellow, with whom he always played at midday, to do the signing—whom he for the most part objurgated, because he imitated his hand too well.

XVII. 1 Habuit gemmas in calceis; nisi gemmata fibula usus non est, balteo[m] etiam saepe gemmato[m]. regem denique illum Illyrici plerique vocitarunt. 2 praef(ectis) numquam, consulibus obviam processit.

17. 1 He had gems on his shoes; he did not use a brooch unless it was bejeweled, and he often even wore a gem-studded baldric. Finally, many called him the king of Illyricum. 2 He never went out to meet prefects, never consuls.

hominibus inprobis plurimum detulit eosque ad convivium semper vocavit. 3 centum libras avium, centum piscium, mill[a]e divers<a>e carnis in convivio suo frequenter exhibuit. vini plurimum effudit.

to depraved men he showed the utmost favor and always invited them to the banquet. 3 he frequently exhibited 100 pounds of birds, 100 of fish, and 1,000 of diverse meat at his banquet. he poured out a very great quantity of wine.

inter poma et melones natavit. rosis Mediola<nen>sibus et triclinia et cubicula stravit. 4 balneis ita frigidis usus est, ut solent esse cellae suppositoriae, frigidariis semper nivalibus.

he swam among fruits and melons. with Milanese roses he strewed both dining rooms and bedrooms. 4 he used baths so cold as the subjacent cells are wont to be, with the frigidaria always snowy.

5 cum hiemis tempore ad quendam locum venisset, in quo fontana esse<t> pertepi<d>a, ut adsolet per hiemem naturaliter, eaque in piscina usus esset, dixisse balneatoribus fertur: 'aquam mihi muliebrem praepara<s>tis.' atque hoc eius clarissimum dictum effertur. 6 audiebat pater eius, quae ille faceret, et clamabat: 'non est meus.' statuerat denique Constantium, qui postea Caesar est factus, tunc autem praesidatum Dalmatiae administrabat, in locum eius subrogare, quod nemo tunc vir melior videbatur, illum vero, ut Onesimus dicit, occidere. 7 longum est, si de eius luxuria plura velim dicere.

5 when in the time of winter he had come to a certain place in which there was a spring rather tepid, as is wont to be naturally in winter, and had used it in a piscina, he is said to have said to the bathkeepers: 'you have prepared for me womanly water.' and this is reported as his most famous dictum. 6 his father was hearing what he was doing, and kept shouting: 'he is not mine.' he had resolved, finally, to subrogate Constantius, who afterwards was made Caesar, but then was administering the governorship (praesidate) of Dalmatia, in his place, because at that time no man seemed better, and him indeed, as Onesimus says, to kill. 7 it would be lengthy, if I should wish to say more about his luxury.

quicumque ostiatim cupit noscere, legat etiam Fulvium Asprianum usque ad t<a>edium gestorum eius universa dicentem.

Whoever desires to know door-to-door, let him also read Fulvius Asprianus, who relates the whole of his deeds even to tedium.

XVIII. 1 Hic ubi patrem fulmine absumptum, fratrem a socero interemptum, Diocletianum Augustum appellatum comperit, maiora vitia, et ~~celera edidit, quasi iam liber a frenis domesticae pi[a]etatis suorum moribus absolutus. 2 nec ei tamen defuit ad vindicandum sibimet imperium vigor mentis.~~

18. 1 Here, when he learned that his father had been consumed by a thunderbolt, his brother slain by his father-in-law, and Diocletian named Augustus, he put forth greater vices and crimes, as if now free from the reins of domestic piety, released by the deaths of his own. 2 Nor, however, did there fail him the vigor of mind to vindicate the imperial power for himself.

nam contra Diocletianum multis proeliis conflixit, sed ultima pugna apud Margum commissa victus occubuit. 3 Hic trium principum fuit finis, Cari, Numeriani et Carini. post quos Diocletianum et Maximianum principes <dii> dederunt, iungentes talibus viris Galerium atque Constantium, quorum alter natus est, qui acceptam ignominiam Valeriani captivitate[m] deleret alter, qui Gallias Romanis legibus redderet.

for he fought against Diocletian in many battles, but in the last battle, committed at Margus, vanquished, he fell. 3 This was the end of the three princes, Carus, Numerian, and Carinus. after whom the gods gave Diocletian and Maximian as princes, joining to such men Galerius and Constantius, of whom the one was born to delete the ignominy received from the captivity of Valerian, the other, to render the Gauls to Roman laws.

4 quattuor sane principes mundi fortes, sapientes, benigni et admodum liberales, unum in rem p. se<n>tientes, [s]per<r>everent<es> Romani senatus, moderati, populi amici, <per>san<c>ti, graves, religiosi et quales principes semper oravimus. 5 quorum vitam singulis libris Claudius Eusthenius qui, Diocletiano ab [a]epistulis fuit, scripsit, quod idcirco dixi, ne quis a me re<m> tan[ta]tam requireret, maxime cum vel vivorum principum vita non sine repr[a]ehensione dicatur.

4 indeed four princes of the world, brave, wise, benign, and very liberal, of one mind for the commonwealth, steadfast for the Roman senate, moderate, friends of the people, most holy, grave, religious, and such princes as we have always prayed for. 5 The life of whom Claudius Eusthenius, who was secretary for letters to Diocletian, wrote in separate books—which I have said for this reason, lest anyone should require so great a matter from me, especially since even the life of living princes is said not without reprehension.

XIX. 1 Memorabile[m] maxime Cari et Carini et Numeriani hoc habuit imperium, quod ludos populo R. novis ornatos spectaculis dederunt, quos in Palatio circa porticum stabuli pictos vidimus. 2 nam et neurobaten, qui velut in ventis coturnatus ferretur, exhibuit et toecobaten, qui per parietem urso eluso cucurrit, et ursos mimum agentes et item centum salpistas uno crepitu concinentes et centum cerataulas, choraulas centum, etiam pytaulas centum, pantomimos et gymnicos mille, pegma praeterea, cuius flammis scaena conflagravit, quam Diocletianus postea magnificentio rem reddidit.

19. 1 Most memorable about the reign of Carus, Carinus, and Numerian was this: that they gave to the Roman people games adorned with new spectacles, which we saw painted in the Palace around the portico of the Stables. 2 For they put on display also a neurobate, who, buskined, was borne as if upon the winds; and a toechobate, who ran along a wall, the bear having been eluded; and bears performing a mime; and likewise a hundred salpists sounding in concert with a single blast, and a hundred ceratauls, a hundred chorauls, even a hundred pythauls; a thousand pantomimes and gymnic performers; besides a stage-machine, by whose flames the stage was set ablaze—which Diocletian later rendered more magnificent.

3 mimos praeterea undique advocavit. exhibuit et ludum Sarmaticum, quo duIcius nihil est. exhibuit Cyclope[m]a. do[r]natum est Gr<a>ecis artificibus et gymnicis et histrionibus et musicis aurum et argentum, donata et vestis serica.

3 moreover he called in mimes from everywhere. he also exhibited a Sarmatian game, than which nothing is sweeter. he exhibited a Cyclops. gold and silver were bestowed upon Greek artificers and gymnic performers and histrions and musicians, and silk clothing was given as well.

XX. 1 Sed haec omnia nescio quantum apud populum gratiae habeant, nullius sunt momenti apud principes bonos. 2 Diocletiani denique dictum fertur, cum ei quidam largitionalis suus [a]editionem Cari laudaret dicens multum placuisse principes illos causa ludorum theatralium ludorumque circensium: 'ergo', inquit, 'bene risus est in imperio suo Carus.' 3 denique cum omnibus gentibus advocatis Diocletianus daret, ludos, parcissime [a]usus {est} libertate, dicens castiores esse oportere ludos spectate censore[m]. 4 Legat hunc locum Iunius Messala, quem ego libere culpare audeo. ille enim patrimonium suum scaenicis dedit, heredibus abnegavit, matris tunicam dedit mimae, lacernam patris mimo, et recte, si aviae pallio aurato atque purpureo pro syrmate tragoedus uteretur.

20. 1 But all these things—however much favor they may have with the populace, I know not—are of no moment with good princes. 2 Finally, a saying of Diocletian is reported: when one of his officials of the largesses was praising Carus’s show, saying that those emperors had greatly pleased because of theatrical shows and circus games, “So then,” he said, “Carus was well laughed at in his own reign.” 3 And in fact, when, with all the nations summoned, Diocletian put on games, he used indulgence very sparingly, saying that the games ought to be more chaste with the censor looking on. 4 Let Junius Messala read this passage—whom I dare freely to blame. For he gave his patrimony to stage-performers, denied it to his heirs, gave his mother’s tunic to a mime-actress, his father’s lacerna to a mime-actor—and rightly so, if a tragedian were to use his grandmother’s gold-embroidered and purple cloak as a syrma (a trailing robe).

5 inscriptum est adhuc in choraulae pallio tyriant<h>ino, quo ille velut spolio nobilitatis exultat, Mes<s>al<a>e nomen uxoris. iam quid lineas petitas, Aegypto loquar? quid Tyro et Sidone tenuitate perlucidas, micantes purpura, plumandi difficultate pernobiles?

5 it is still inscribed on the choraules’ Tyrian-dyed cloak, with which he exults as if in the spoil of nobility, the name of Messala’s wife. And now—shall I speak of linens sought from Egypt? what of those from Tyre and Sidon, translucent by fineness, glittering with purple, most renowned for the difficulty of plumary embroidery?

6 donati sunt <ab> Atrabati[ti]s birri petiti, donati birri Canusini, Afri[n]cani, opes, in scaena n<on> prius visae.

6 sought-after birri were donated by the Atrebates; Canusian birri were donated, African ones—riches n<on> previously seen on the stage.

XXI. 1 Et haec quidem idcirco ego in litteras retuli, quod futuros editores pudore tangeret ne patrimonia sua proscriptis legitimis heredibus mimis et balatronibus deputarent. 2 Habe, mi amice, meum munus, quod ego, ut sep[a]e dixi, non eloquentiae causa sed curiositatis in lumen edidi, id praecipu[a]e agens, ut, si quis eloques vellet facta principum reserare, materiam non requireret, habiturus meos libellos ministros eloquii.

21. 1 And these things indeed I have therefore committed to letters, because it might touch future testators with shame, lest, with the lawful heirs proscribed, they assign their patrimonies to mimes and buffoons. 2 Take, my friend, my gift, which I, as I have often said, have brought into the light not for the sake of eloquence but of curiosity, aiming this chiefly: that, if someone eloquent should wish to unseal the deeds of the princes, he would not lack material, being about to have my little books as ministers of eloquence.

3 te quaeso, sis contentus nosque sic voluisse scribere melius quam potuisse contendas.

3 I beg you, be content, and contend that we wished to write thus rather than that we were able to do it better.