Historia Augusta: Commodus

I. 1 De Commodi Antonini parentibus in vita Marci Antonini satis est disputatum. 2 Ipse autem natus est apud Lanuvium cum fratre Antonino gemino prid(ie) kal. Septemb(res) patre patruoque consulibus, ubi et avus maternus dicitur natus.

1. 1 About the parents of Commodus Antoninus it has been sufficiently discussed in the Life of Marcus Antoninus. 2 He himself, however, was born at Lanuvium with his twin brother Antoninus on the day before the Kalends of September, with his father and paternal uncle as consuls, where also his maternal grandfather is said to have been born.

3 Faustina cum esset Commodum cum fratre praegnans, visa est in somnis serpentes parere, sed ex his unum ferociorem. 4 Cum autem peperisset Commodum atque Antoninum, Antoninus quadrimus elatus est, quem parem astrorum cursu Commodo mathematici promittebant. 5 Mortuo igitur fratre Commodum Marcus et suis praeceptis et [et] magnorum atque optimorum virorum erudire conatus est.

3 When Faustina was pregnant with Commodus together with his brother, she seemed in dreams to give birth to serpents, but one of these was fiercer. 4 And when she had borne Commodus and Antoninus, Antoninus, four years old, died, whom the astrologers were promising, by the course of the stars, to be equal to Commodus. 5 Therefore, his brother being dead, Marcus tried to educate Commodus both by his own precepts and by those of great and most excellent men.

6 Habuit litteratorem Graecum Onesicraten, Latinum Capellam Antistium; orator ei Ateius Sanctus fuit. 7 Sed tot disciplinarum magistri nihil ei profuerunt. Tantum valet aut ingenii vis aut eorum, qui in aula instituto res habentur.

6 He had the Greek teacher of letters Onesicrates, the Latin Antistius Capella; his orator was Ateius Sanctus. 7 But so many masters of disciplines profited him nothing. So much prevails either the force of native genius, or the power of those who, by the court’s institute, have affairs managed.

Nam a prima statim pueritia turpis, improbus, crudelis, libidinosus, ore quoque pollutus et constupratus fuit, 8 iam in his artifex, quae stationis imperatoriae non erant, ut calices fingeret, saltaret, cantaret, sibilaret, scurram deniqueet gladiatorem perfectum ostenderet. 9 Auspicium crudelitatis apud Centumcellas dedit anno aetatis duodecimo; nam cum tepidius forte lotus esset, balneatorem in fornacem conici iussit; quando a paedagogo, cui hoc iussum fuerat, vervecina pellis in fornace consumpta est, ut fidem poenae de fetore nidoris impleret. 10 Appelatus est autem Caesar puer cum fratre Vero.

For from his very earliest boyhood he was foul, depraved, cruel, lustful, and even with his mouth as well polluted and violated, 8 already an artifex in those things which were not of an imperatorial station—so that he would fashion chalices, dance, sing, whistle, and, in fine, display himself as a perfect buffoon and gladiator. 9 He gave the inaugural token of his cruelty at Centumcellae in the 12th year of his age; for when by chance he had bathed rather tepidly, he ordered the bath-attendant to be thrown into the furnace; whereupon, by the pedagogue to whom this had been commanded, a ram’s hide was consumed in the furnace, so as to supply the credibility of the penalty from the fetor of the reek. 10 Moreover, he was called Caesar as a boy together with his brother Verus.

Quarto decimo aetatis anno in collegium sacerdotum adscitus est.

In the fourteenth year of his age he was admitted into the college of priests.

II. 1 Cooptatus est inter + tressolos... princeps iuventutis, cum togam sumpsit. adhuc in praetexta puerili congiarium dedit atque ipse in basilica Traiani praesedit. 2 Indutus autem toga est nonarum Iuliarum die, quo in terris Romulus non apparuit, et eo tempore, quo Cassius a Marco descivit.

2. 1 He was co-opted among + tressolos... as Prince of the Youth, when he assumed the toga. Still in the boyish praetexta he gave a congiary and himself presided in the Basilica of Trajan. 2 Moreover, he was clothed with the toga on the day of the Nones of July (July 7), on which day Romulus did not appear upon the earth, and at the time when Cassius defected from Marcus.

3 Profectus est commendatus militibus cum patre in Syriam et Aegyptum <et cum> eo Romam redit. 4 Post haec venia legis annariae impetrata consul est factus et cum patre imperator est appellatus V. kal. Dec.

3 He set out, having been commended to the soldiers, with his father to Syria and Egypt, and with him he returned to Rome. 4 After these things, a dispensation from the law of years having been obtained, he was made consul and, together with his father, was hailed imperator on the 5th day before the Kalends of December.

die Pollione et Apro consulibus et triumphavit cum patre; nam et hoc patres decreverant. 5 Profectus est cum patre et ad Germanicum bellum. 6 Adhibitos custodes vitae suae honestiores ferre non potuit, pessimos quosque detinuit et summotos usque ad aegritudinem desideravit.

on the day in the consulship of Pollio and Aper he celebrated a triumph with his father; for the Fathers had decreed this too. 5 He set out with his father also for the Germanic war. 6 He could not endure more honorable guardians of his life being appointed; he retained the very worst men and missed those who were removed even to the point of sickness.

7 Quibus per patris mollitiem restitutis popinas et ganeas in Palatinis semper aedibus fecit neque umquam pepercit vel pudori vel sumptui. In domo aleam exercuit. 8 Mulierculas formae scitioris ut prostibula mancipia perficiens lupanarium ad ludibrium pudicitae contraxit.

7 With these, restored through his father’s softness, he made cookshops and gormandizing-houses always in the Palatine house, and he never spared either pudor or expense. In the house he practiced dice. 8 Little women of choicer beauty, making them prostibula as chattel-slaves, he gathered a lupanar, to the mockery of pudicity.

insectatus est propolas circum foranos. Equos currules sibi conparavit. 9 Aurigae habitu currus rexit, gladiatoribus convixit, aquam gessitut lenonum minister, ut probris natum magis quam ei loco eum crederes, ad quem fortuna provexit.

He hounded the circumforan peddlers. He procured chariot-horses for himself. 9 In a charioteer’s habit he drove the chariots, he consorted with gladiators, he carried water as a minister to pimps, so that you would think him born for disgraces rather than for that station to which Fortune had advanced him.

III. 1 Patris ministeria seniora summovit, amicos senes abiecit. 2 Filium Salvi Iuliani, qui exercitibus praeerat, ob inpudicitiam frustra temptavit atque exinde Iuliano tetendit insidias.

3. 1 He removed his father’s elder attendants, he cast away the aged friends. 2 The son of Salvius Julianus, who was in command of the armies, he tried in vain to bring to impudicity, and thereafter he laid snares for Julianus.

3 Honestissimos quosque aut per contumeliam aut per honorem indignissimum abiecit. 4 Appellatus est a mimis quasi obstupratus eosdemque ita, ut non apparerent, subito deportavit. 5 Bellum etiam, quod pater paene confecerat, legibus hostium addictus remisit ac Romam reversus est.

3 He cast aside the most honorable of men, either through contumely or through a most unworthy honor. 4 He was called by the mimes as if violated, and these same men he suddenly deported in such a way that they did not appear. 5 He even remitted the war which his father had nearly finished, being bound to the laws of the enemy, and returned to Rome.

6 Romam ut redit, subactore suo Saotero post se in curru locato ita triumphavit, ut eum saepius cervice reflexa publice oscularetur. Etiam in orchestra hoc idem fecit. 7 Et cum potaret in lucem helluareturque viribus Romani imperii, vespera etiam per tabernas ad lupanaria volitavit.

6 Upon his return to Rome, with his subactor Saoterus placed behind him in the chariot, he thus triumphed, that he would often, with his neck bent back, publicly kiss him. He did the same even in the orchestra. 7 And when he drank till daylight and gorged himself on the resources of the Roman Empire, in the evening he also flitted through the taverns to the brothels.

8 Misit homines ad provincias regendas vel criminum socios vel acriminosis commendatos. 9 In senatus odium ita venit, ut et ipse crudeliter in tanti ordinis perniciem saeviret fieretque contemptu crudelis.

8 He sent men to govern the provinces either accomplices in crimes or those recommended by criminals. 9 He came into such hatred of the senate that he himself raged cruelly to the ruin of so great an order, and through contempt became cruel.

IV. 1 Vita Commodi Quadratum et Lucillam compulit ad eius interfectionem consilia inire, non sine praefecti praetorii Tarruteni Paterni consilio. 2 Datum [n]autem est negotium peragendae necis Claudio Pompeiano propinquo. 3 Qui ingressus ad Commodum destricto gladio, cum faciendi potestatem habuisset, in haec verba prorumpens "Hunc tibi pugionem senatus mittit" detexit facinus fatuus nec implevit multis cum eo participantibus causam.

4. 1 The life of Commodus compelled Quadratus and Lucilla to enter into counsels for his killing, not without the counsel of the praetorian prefect Tarrutenius Paternus. 2 And [n] however the task of accomplishing the murder was assigned to Claudius Pompeianus, a kinsman. 3 He, having gone in to Commodus with sword drawn, although he had had the power to do the deed, bursting forth into these words, "This dagger the senate sends to you," the foolish man exposed the crime and did not carry it out, with many sharing the cause with him.

4 Post haec interfecti sunt Pompeianus primo et Quadratus, dein Norbana atque Norbanus et Paralius; et mater eius et Lucilla in exilium exacta. 5 Tum praefecti praetorio cum vidissent Commodum in tantum odium incidisse obtentu Saoteri, cuius potentiam p(opulus) R(omanus) ferre non poterat, urbane Saoterum eductum a palatio sacrorum causa et redeuntem in hortos suos per frumentarios occiderunt. 6 Id vero gravius quam de se ipso Commodo fuit.

4 After these things Pompeianus was killed first and Quadratus; then Norbana and Norbanus and Paralius; and his mother and Lucilla were driven into exile. 5 Then, when the prefects of the praetorian guard saw that Commodus had fallen into such great hatred under the pretext of Saoterus, whose power the Roman People could not endure, they cleverly had Saoterus—led out from the palace for the sake of sacred rites and, as he was returning to his own gardens—killed through the frumentarii. 6 This, indeed, was more grievous to Commodus than something concerning himself.

7 Paternum autem et huius caedis auctorem et, quantum videbatur, paratae necis Commodi conscium et interventorem, ne coniuratio latius puniretur, instigante Tigidio per lati clavi honorem a praefecturae administratione summovit. 8 Post paucos dies insimulavit eum coniurationis, cum diceret ob hoc promissam Iuliani filio filiam Paterni, ut in Iulianum transferretur imperium. quare et Paternum et Iulianum et Vitruvium Secundu<m>, Paterni familiarissimum, qui epistolas imperatorias curarat, interfecit.

7 But Paternus also—both the author of this slaughter and, so far as it seemed, privy to and an intervener in the prepared murder of Commodus—lest the conspiracy be punished more widely, at Tigidius’s instigation, he removed from the administration of the prefecture by the honor of the broad stripe. 8 After a few days he accused him of conspiracy, alleging that for this reason Paternus’s daughter had been promised to Julianus’s son, in order that the imperium be transferred to Julianus. Wherefore he put to death both Paternus and Julianus, and Vitruvius Secundus, Paternus’s closest intimate, who had managed the imperial letters.

9 Domus praeterea Quintiliorum omnis extincta, quod Sextus Condi[ci]ani filius specie mortis ad defectionem diceretur evasisse. 10 Interfecta et Vitrasia Faustina et Velius Rufus et Egnatius Capito consularis. 11 In exilium autem acti sunt Aemilius Iuncus et Atilius Severus consules.

9 Moreover the whole house of the Quintilii was extinguished, because the son of Sextus Condi[ci]anus was said to have escaped to a defection under the appearance of death. 10 Also slain were Vitrasia Faustina and Velius Rufus and Egnatius Capito, of consular rank. 11 But driven into exile were Aemilius Iuncus and Atilius Severus, consuls.

Et in multos alios varie saevitum est.

And against many others savagery was exercised in various ways.

V. 1 Post haec Commodus nunquam facile in publicum processit neque quicquam sibi nuntiari passus est nisi quod Perennis ante tractasset. 2 Perennis autem Commodi persciens invenit, quemadmodum ipse potens esset. 3 Nam persuasit Commodo, ut ipse deliciis vacaret, idem vero Perennis curis incumberet; quod Commodus laetanter accepit.

5. 1 After these things, Commodus never readily went forth into public, nor did he allow anything to be reported to himself except what Perennis had previously handled. 2 But Perennis, being thoroughly aware of Commodus, found how he himself might be powerful. 3 For he persuaded Commodus that he himself should be at leisure for delights, while Perennis, on the other hand, should incumber himself with the cares; which Commodus gladly accepted.

4 Hac igitur lege vivens ipse cum trecentis concubinis, quas ex matronarum meretricumque dilectu ad formae speciem concivit, trecentisque aliis puberibus exoletis, quos aeque ex plebe ac nobilitate vi pretiisque forma disceptatrice collegerat, in palatio per convivia et balneas bacchabatur. 5 Inter haec habitu victimarii victimas immolavit. In harena rudibus, inter cubicularios gladiator[es] pugnavit lucentibus aliquando mucronibus.

4 Thus, living under this rule, he himself, with three hundred concubines—whom, from a selection of matrons and prostitutes, he had assembled to the show of beauty—and three hundred other pubescent exoleti, whom likewise from the plebs and the nobility he had gathered by force and by payments, beauty being the arbiter, reveled in the palace through banquets and baths. 5 Amid these things, in the garb of a victimarius he immolated victims. In the arena, with wooden practice-swords, among the chamberlains he fought as a gladiator, sometimes with gleaming blades.

6 Tunc tamen Perennis cuncta sibimet vindicavit; quos voluit, interemit, spoliavit plurimos, omnia iura subvertit, praedam omnem in sinum contulit. 7 Ipse autem Commodus Lucillam sororem, cum Capreas mississet, occidit. 8 Sororibus dein suis ceteris, ut dicitur, constupratis, consobrina patris complexibus suis iniuncta uni etiam ex concubinis matris nomen inposuit.

6 Then, however, Perennis claimed all things to himself; those whom he wished, he put away; he despoiled very many; he subverted all rights; he gathered all the booty into his bosom. 7 He himself moreover, Commodus, when he had sent his sister Lucilla to Capreae, killed her. 8 Then, with his other sisters, as it is said, violated, and his father’s cousin joined to his embraces, he even imposed the name of “mother” upon one of his concubines.

9 Uxorem, quam deprehensam in adulterio exegit, exactam relegavit et postea occidit. 10 Ipsas concubinas suas sub oculis suis stuprari iubebat. 11 Nec inruentium in se iuvenum carebat infamia, omni parte corporis atque ore in sexum utrumque pollutus.

9 He drove out his wife, whom he had caught in adultery; the one driven out he relegated and afterwards killed. 10 He used to order his own concubines themselves to be defiled under his own eyes. 11 Nor did he lack the infamy of young men rushing upon him, polluted in every part of the body and with the mouth toward both sexes.

12 Occisus est eo tempore etiam Claudius quasi a latronibus, cuius filius cum pugione quondam ad Commodum ingressus est, multique alii senatores sine iudicio interempti, feminae quoque divites. 13 Et nonnulli per provincias a Perenni ob divitias insimulati spoliati sunt vel etiam interempti. 14 His autem, quibus deerat ficti criminis adpositio, obiciebatur, quod scribere noluissent Commodum heredem.

12 At that time Claudius too was killed, as if by bandits, whose son once entered to Commodus with a dagger, and many other senators were slain without judgment, wealthy women too. 13 And some throughout the provinces, accused by Perennis on account of their riches, were despoiled or even slain. 14 But to those for whom the addition of a fictitious charge was lacking, it was objected that they had been unwilling to inscribe Commodus as heir.

VI. 1 Eo tempore in Sarmatia res bene gestas per alios duces in filium suum Perennis referebat. 2 Hic tamen Perennis, qui tantum potuit, subito, quod bello Brittanni comilitibus equestris loci viros praefecerat amotis senatoribus, prodita re per legatos exercitus hostis appellatus lacerandusque militibus est deditus. 3 In cuius potentiae locum Cleandrum ex cubiculariis subrogavit.

6. 1 At that time, Perennis was attributing in Sarmatia the successfully conducted affairs by other leaders to his own son. 2 This Perennis, however, who had so much power, suddenly—because in the British war he had put men of equestrian rank over the fellow-soldiers, the senators having been removed—the matter having been betrayed through the legates of the army, was called an enemy and was given over to the soldiers to be lacerated. 3 Into the place of his power he subrogated Cleander from the chamberlains.

4 Multa sane post interfectum Perennem eiusque filium quasi a se non gesta rescidit, velut in integrum restituens. 5 Et hanc quidem paenitentiam scelerum ultra XXX dies tenere non potuit, graviora per Cleandrum faciens quam fecerat per supra dictum Perennem. 6 Et in potentia quidem Cleander Perenni successerat, in praefectura vero Niger, qui sex tantum horis praef.

4 Many things indeed, after Perennis and his son had been slain, he rescinded, as though not done by himself, as if restoring matters in integrum. 5 And this penitence for his crimes he could not hold beyond 30 days, doing graver things through Cleander than he had done through the aforesaid Perennis. 6 And in power indeed Cleander had succeeded Perennis, but in the prefecture Niger, who was prefect for only six hours.

praet. fuisse perhibetur; 7 mutabantur enim praef. praet.

he is reported to have been praetorian prefect; 7 for indeed the praetorian prefects were being changed.

per horas ac dies Commodo peiora omnia, quam fecerat ante, faciente; 8 fuit Marcius Quartus praef(ectus) praet(orio) diebus quinque. Horum successores ad arbitrium Cleandri aut retenti sunt aut occisi; 9 ad cuius nutum etiam libertini in senatum atque in patricios lecti sunt tuncque primum viginti quinque consules in unum annum venditaeque omnes provinciae. 10 Omnia Cleander pecunia venditabat: revocatos de exilio dignitatibus ornabat, res iudicatas rescindebat.

as, hour by hour and day by day, Commodus was doing everything worse than he had done before; 8 Marcius Quartus was Praetorian Prefect for five days. Their successors, at Cleander’s discretion, were either retained or killed; 9 at whose nod even freedmen were chosen into the senate and into the patriciate, and then for the first time 25 consuls in a single year, and all the provinces were sold. 10 Cleander was putting everything up for sale for money: those recalled from exile he adorned with dignities, he rescinded adjudicated cases.

11 Qui tantum per stultitiam Commodi potuit, ut Byrrum, sororis Commodivirum, reprehendentem nuntiantemque Commodo, quae fiebant, in suspicionem regni adfectati traheret et occideret multis aliis, qui Byrrum defendebant, pariter interemptis. 12 Praefectus etiam Aebutianus inter hos est interemptus; in cuius locum ipse Cleander cum aliis duobus, quos ipse delegerat, praefectus est factus. 13 Tuncque primum tres praef.

11 He, who through the stupidity of Commodus was able to do so much, dragged Byrrus, the husband of Commodus’s sister—who was reproving and reporting to Commodus the things that were being done—into suspicion of having aspired to kingship and killed him, many others who were defending Byrrus having been slain likewise. 12 The prefect Aebutianus also was slain among these; in whose place Cleander himself, with two others whom he himself had chosen, was made prefect. 13 And then for the first time three prefects.

praet. fuere, inter quos libertinus, qui a pugione appelatus est.

there were praetorian prefects, among whom was a freedman, who was called “the Dagger.”

VII. 1 Sed et Cleandro dignus tandem vitae finis inpositus. Nam cum insidiis illius Arrius Antoninus fictis criminibus in Attali gratiam, quem in proconsulatu Asiae damnaverat, esset occisus nec eam tum invidiam populo saeviente Commodus ferre potuisset, plebi ad poenam donatus est, 2 cum etiam Apolaustus aliique liberti aulici pariter interempti sunt.

7. 1 But even for Cleander a worthy end to life was at last imposed. For when, by his plots, Arrius Antoninus—on fictitious charges, in favor of Attalus, whom he had condemned when proconsul of Asia—had been killed, and Commodus, with the people raging, could not then endure that ill-will, he was handed over to the plebs for punishment, 2 when likewise Apolaustus and other court freedmen were put to death together.

3 Cleander inter cetera etiam concubinas eius constupravit, de quibus filios suscepit, qui post eius interitum cum matribus interempti sunt. 4 In cuius locum Iulianus et Regillus subrogati sunt, quos et ipsos postea poenis adfecit. 5 His occisis interemit Servilium et Dulium Silanos cum suis, mox Antium Lupum et Petronios Mamertinum et Suram filiumque Mamertini Antoninum ex sorore sua genitum 6 et post eos sex simul ex consulibus, Allium Fuscum, Caelium Felicem, Lucceium Torquatum, Larcium Eurupianum, Valerium Bassianum, Pactumeium Magnum cum suis, 7 atque in Asia Sulpicium Crassum pro consule et Iulium Proculum cum suis Claudiumque Lucanum consularem et consobrinam patris sui Faustinam Anniam in Achaia et alios infinitos.

3 Cleander, among other things, also violated his concubines, by whom he begot sons, who after his death were slain together with their mothers. 4 In whose place Julianus and Regillus were subrogated, whom he later also visited with punishments. 5 These having been killed, he slew Servilius and Dulius Silanus with their own, soon after Antius Lupus and the Petronii, Mamertinus and Sura, and Mamertinus’s son Antoninus, begotten from his own sister, 6 and after them six at once from among the consuls, Allius Fuscus, Caelius Felix, Lucceius Torquatus, Larcius Eurupianus, Valerius Bassianus, Pactumeius Magnus, with their own, 7 and in Asia Sulpicius Crassus, proconsul, and Julius Proculus with their own, and Claudius Lucanus, of consular rank, and the cousin-german of his father, Faustina Annia, in Achaea, and countless others.

8 Destinaverat et alios quattuor decem occidere, cum sumptus eius vires Romani imperii sustinere non possent.

8 He had also destined to kill another forty, since his expenditures could not be sustained by the resources of the Roman empire.

VIII. 1 Inter haec Commodus senatu semet ridente, cum adulterum matris consulem designasset, appellatus est Pius; cum occidisset Perennem, appelatus est Felix, inter plurimas caedes multorum civium quasi quidam novus Sylla. 2 Idem Commodus, ille Pius, ille Felix, finxisse etiam quandam contra se coniurationem dicitur, ut multos occideret.

8. 1 Meanwhile, with the senate laughing at him, when he had designated his mother’s adulterer as consul, he was styled Pius; when he had slain Perennis, he was styled Felix, amid very many slaughters of many citizens, as a kind of new Sylla. 2 The same Commodus, that Pius, that Felix, is said even to have fabricated a certain conspiracy against himself, so that he might kill many.

3 Nec alia ulla fuit defectio praeter Alexandri, qui postea se etsuos interemit, <et> sororis Lucillae; 4 appellatus est Commodus etiam Brittannicus ab adulatoribus, cum Brittanni etiam imperatorem contra eum deligere voluerint. 5 Appellatus est etiam Romanus Hercules, quod feras Lanuvium in amphitheatro occidisset; erat enim haec illi consuetudo, ut domi bestias interficeret. 6 Fuit praeterea ea dementia, ut urbem Romanam coloniam Commodianam vocari voluerit; qui furor dicitur ei inter delenimenta Marciae iniectus.

3 Nor was there any other defection except Alexander’s, who later killed himself and his own, <et> of his sister Lucilla; 4 Commodus was also called Britannicus by the adulators, since the Britons even wished to choose an emperor against him. 5 He was also called the Roman Hercules, because he had killed wild beasts at Lanuvium in the amphitheatre; for this was his custom, to kill beasts at home. 6 Moreover there was such dementia that he wanted the city of Rome to be called the Commodian colony; which furor is said to have been injected into him amid the blandishments of Marcia.

7 Voluit etiam in circo quadrigas agitare. 8 Dalmaticatus in publico processit atque ita signum quadrigis emittendis dedit. 9 Et eo quidem tempore, quo ad senatum rettulit de Commodiana facienda Roma, non solum senatus hoc libenter accepit per inrisionem, quantum intellegitur, sed etiam se ipsum Commodianum vocavit, Commodum Herculem et deum appellans.

7 He also wished to drive quadrigae in the circus. 8 Clad in a dalmatic, he came forth in public and thus gave the signal for the quadrigae to be sent out. 9 And indeed at that time, when he reported to the senate about making Rome “Commodian,” not only did the senate accept this gladly in derision, so far as is understood, but it even called itself “Commodian,” styling Commodus Hercules and a god.

IX. 1 Simulavit se et in Africam iturum, ut sumptum itinerarium exigeret, et exegit eumque in convivia et aleam convertit. 2 Motilenum, praef. praetorii, per ficus veneno interemit.

9. 1 He feigned that he would go into Africa, in order to exact the itinerary expense, and he exacted it and converted it into banquets and gaming at dice. 2 He killed Motilenus, praetorian prefect, by poison through figs.

accepit statuas in Herculis habitu, eique immolatum est ut deo. 3 Multos praeterea paraverat interimere. Quod per parvolum quendam proditum est, qui tabulam e cubiculo eiecit, in qua occidendorum erant nomina scripta.

He received statues in the guise of Hercules, and to him it was immolated as to a god. 3 Moreover, he had prepared to kill many. This was betrayed by a certain little boy, who threw a tablet out of the bedroom, on which the names of those to be killed had been written.

4 Sacra Isidis coluit, ut et caput raderet et Anubim portaret. 5 Bellonae servientes vere exsecare brachium praecepit studio crudelitatis. 6 Isiacos vero pineis usque ad perniciem pectus tundere cogebat.

4 He cultivated the rites of Isis, so that he both shaved his head and carried Anubis. 5 Those serving Bellona he ordered, out of a zeal for cruelty, truly to cut off their arm. 6 And the Isiac devotees he compelled to beat the breast with pine-wood to the point of ruin.

Cum Anubin portaret, capita Isiacorum graviter obtundebat ore simulacri. Clava non solum leones in veste muliebri et pelle leonina, sed etiam homines multos adflixit. Debiles pedibus et eos, qui ambulare non possent, in gigantum modum formavit, ita ut a gentibus de pannis et linteis quasi dracones tegerentur, eosdemque sagittis confecit.

While he was carrying Anubis, he was grievously bruising the heads of the Isiac devotees with the mouth of the simulacrum. With a club he afflicted not only lions—while in a woman’s garment and a leonine pelt—but also many men. The lame in their feet, and those who could not walk, he shaped in the manner of giants, such that by the peoples they were covered with rags and linens as if they were dragons, and these same he finished off with arrows.

Sacra Mithriaca homicidio vero polluit, cum illic aliquid ad speciem timoris vel dici vel fingi soleat.

He indeed polluted the Mithraic rites with homicide, whereas there something is usually either said or feigned for the semblance of fear.

X. 1 Iam puer et gulosus et impudicus fuit. Adulescens omne genus hominum infamavit, quod erat secum, et ab omnibus est infamatus. 2 Inridentes se feris obiciebat.

10. 1 Even as a boy he was gluttonous and impudent (unchaste). As a youth he made infamous every kind of people who were with him, and by all he was made infamous. 2 He would throw those mocking him to the wild beasts.

Eum etiam, qui Tranquilli librum vitam Caligulae continentem legerat, feris obici iussit, quia eundem diem natalis habuerat, quem et Caligula. 3 Si quis sane se mori velle praedixisset, hunc invitum praecipitari iubebat. 4 In iocis quoque perniciosus.

He even ordered that the man who had read Tranquillus’s book containing the life of Caligula be thrown to the beasts, because he had the same natal day as Caligula. 3 If anyone indeed had predicted that he wished to die, he ordered him, unwilling, to be cast headlong. 4 Pernicious even in his jokes.

Nam eum, quem vidisset albescentes inter nigros capillos quasi vermiculos habere, sturno adposito, qui se vermes sectari crederet, capite suppuratum reddebat obtunsione oris. 5 Pinguem hominem medio ventre dissicuit, ut eius intestina subito funderentur. 6 Monopodios et luscinios eos, quibus aut singulos oculos tulisset aut singulos pedes fregisset, appellabat.

For the one whom he had seen to have little whitish wormlets among black hairs, by setting a starling upon him, which he believed to chase worms, he made his head suppurated by the bludgeoning of its beak. 5 He split a fat man in the middle of the belly, so that his intestines were suddenly poured out. 6 He called those, from whom he had either taken single eyes or broken single feet, monopods and luscini.

7 Multos praeterea passim extinxit alios, quia barbarico habitu occurrerant, alios quia nobiles et speciosiores erant. 8 Habuit in deliciis homines appellatos nominibus verendorum utriusque sexus, quos libentius suis osculis applicabat. 9 Habuit et hominem pene prominentem ultra modum animalium, quemonon appellabat, sibi carissimum.

7 He furthermore killed many here and there, some because they had encountered him in barbaric habit, others because they were nobles and rather more comely. 8 He had among his delights men called by the names of the pudenda of either sex, whom he more gladly pressed to his own kisses. 9 He also had a man with a penis projecting beyond the measure of animals, whom he called Onon, most dear to himself.

quem et ditavit et sacerdotio Herculis rustici praeposuit.

whom he both enriched and put in charge of the priesthood of Rustic Hercules.

XI. 1 Dicitur saepe pretiosissimis cibis humana stercora miscuisse nec abstinuisse gustum aliis, ut putabat, inrisis. 2 Duos gibbos retortos in lance argentea sibi sinapi perfusos exhibuit eosdemque statim promovit ac ditavit. 3 Praef.

11. 1 He is said often to have mixed human excrements with the most precious foods, and not to have abstained from giving a taste to others, who, as he supposed, were being mocked. 2 He presented two hunchbacks, bent backward, to himself on a silver platter, drenched with mustard, and immediately promoted and enriched those same men. 3 Pref.

praet. suum Iulianum togatum praesente officio suo in piscinam detrusit. Quem saltare etiam nudum ante concubinas suas iussit quatientem cymbala deformato vultu <vario> genere leguminum coctorum.

he shoved his own praetor Julianus, clad in the toga, into the fishpond with his own staff present. Him he also ordered to dance naked before his concubines, shaking cymbals, his face disfigured by a <varied> assortment of cooked legumes.

4 Ad convivium propter luxuriae continuationem raro vocavit. 5 Lavabat per diem septies atque octies et in ipsis balneis edebat. 6 <adibat> deorum templa pollutus stupris et humano sanguine.

4 To a banquet, on account of the continuation of his luxury, he rarely invited. 5 He bathed seven and even eight times per day, and he ate in the baths themselves. 6 <he approached> the temples of the gods, defiled by debaucheries and by human blood.

7 Imitatus est et medicum, ut sanguinem hominibus emitteret scalpris feralibus. 8 Menses quoque in honorem eius pro Augusto Commodum, pro Septembri Herculem, pro Octobri Invictum, pro Novembri Exsuperatorium, pro Decembri Amazonium ex signo ipsius adulatores vocabant. 9 Amazonius autem vocatus est ex amore concubinae suae Marciae, quam pictam in Amazone diligebat, propter quam et ipse Amazonico habitu in harenam Romanam procedere voluit.

7 He also imitated the physician, so that he might let blood from men with deadly scalpels. 8 The flatterers, too, in his honor called the months: for August, “Commodus”; for September, “Hercules”; for October, “Invictus”; for November, “Exsuperatorius”; for December, “Amazonius.” 9 And he was called “Amazonius” from love of his concubine Marcia, whom he loved painted as an Amazon, on account of whom he too wished to step forth into the Roman arena in Amazonian attire.

10 Gladiatorium etiam certamen subiit et nomina gladiatorum recepiteo gaudio, quasi acciperet triumphalia. 11 Iudum semper ingressus est et, quotiens ingrederetur, publicis monumentis indi iussit. 12 Pugnasse autem dicitur septingenties tricies quinquies.

10 He even entered a gladiatorial contest, and he took on gladiators’ names with such joy as if he were receiving triumphal honors. 11 He always entered the arena and, whenever he would enter, he ordered it to be recorded in the public records. 12 Moreover, he is said to have fought 735 times.

13 Nominatus inter Caesares quartum iduum Octobrium, quas Herculeas postea nominavit, Pudente et Pollione conss. 14 Appellatus Germanicus idibus Herculeis Maximo et Orfito consulibus.

13 Named among the Caesars on the fourth day before the Ides of October, which he afterwards called the Herculean [Ides], with Pudens and Pollio as consuls. 14 Styled Germanicus on the Herculean Ides, with Maximus and Orfitus as consuls.

XII. 1 Adsumptus est in omnia collegia sacerdotalia sacerdos XIII.kl. Invictas Pisone Iuliano consulibus. 2 Profectus in Germaniam XIIII.kal.

12. 1 He was taken up into all the priestly colleges as a priest on the 13th day before the Kalends of the Unconquered, in the consulship of Piso Julianus. 2 He set out for Germany on the 14th day before the Kalends.

Aelias, ut postea nominavit. 3 Isdem conss. togam virilem accepit.

Aelias, as he later named it. 3 In the same consulship, he received the virile toga.

4 Cum patre appellatus imperator V. kal. Exsuperatorias Pollione iterum [a]et Apro <iterum> consulibus. 5 Triumphavit X. kal.

4 With his father he was hailed imperator on the 5th day before the Kalends. Exsuperatorias, with Pollio again [and] Aper as consuls. 5 He triumphed on the 10th day before the Kalends.

Ian. isdem consulibus. 6 Iterum profectus III.

Jan. under the same consuls. 6 Again he set out for the 3rd time.

non. Commodias Orfito et Rufo consulibus. 7 Datus in perpetuum ab exercitu et senatu in domo Palatina Commodiana conservandus XI. kal.

on the Nones of Commodias, with Orfitus and Rufus as consuls. 7 Given in perpetuity by the army and the senate, to be preserved in the Commodian Palatine house, 11 days before the Kalends.

Romanas Praesente iterum consule. 8 Tertio meditans de profectione a senatu et populo suo retentus est. 9 Vota pro eo facta sunt nonis Piis Fusciano iterum consule.

At Rome, with Praesens consul for the second time. 8 For the third time, while meditating on departure, he was held back by the senate and his own people. 9 Vows for him were made on the Nones, with Pius Fuscianus consul for the second time.

10 Inter haec refertur in litteras pugnasse illum sub patre trecenties sexagies quinquies, 11 item postea tantum palmarum gladiatoriarum confecisse vel victis retiariis vel occisis, ut mille contingeret. 12 Ferarum autem diversarum manu sua occidit, ita ut <vel> elephantos occideret, multa milia. et haec fecit spectante saepe populo Romano.

10 Among these things it is recorded in the letters that he fought under his father 365 times, 11 likewise afterwards he accomplished so many gladiatorial palms, whether with the retiarii defeated or slain, that it reached 1,000. 12 Moreover, he killed with his own hand wild beasts of various kinds, so that <or even> elephants he killed, many thousands; and he did these things with the Roman people often looking on.

XIII. 1 Fuit autem validus ad haec, alias debilis et infirmus, vitio etiam inter inguina prominenti, ita ut eius tumorem per sericas vestes populus Romanus agnosceret. 2 Versus ideo multi scripti sunt, de quibus etiam in opere suo Marius Maximus gloriatur.

13. 1 He was, however, strong for these things, at other times debilitated and infirm, with a defect also protruding between the groins, such that the Roman people recognized his tumor through his silken garments. 2 Therefore many verses were written, about which Marius Maximus even boasts in his work.

3 Virium ad conficiendas feras tantarum fuit, ut elephantum conto transigeret et orygis cornu basto transmiserit et singulis ictibus multa milia ferarum ingentium conficeret. 4 Inpudentiae tantae fuit, ut cum muliebri veste in amphitheatro vel theatro sedens publice saepissime biberit. 5 Victi sunt sub eo tamen, cum ille sic viveret, per legatos Mauri, victi Daci <et> Pannoniae quoque conpositae, Brittannia, in Germania et in Dacia imperium eius recusantibus provincialibus; 6 quae omnia ista per duces sedata sunt.

3 His strength for dispatching wild beasts was so great that he ran an elephant through with a pole, and with a cudgel drove through the horn of an oryx, and with single blows dispatched many thousands of huge beasts. 4 He was of such shamelessness that, in a woman’s garment, sitting in the amphitheater or the theater, he very often drank in public. 5 Yet under him, while he so lived, the Mauri were defeated through his legates, the Dacians were defeated, and the Pannonias also were set in order, and Britain—while in Germania and in Dacia the provincials were refusing his dominion; 6 all these things were settled by commanders.

7 Ipse Commodus in subscribendo tardus et neglegens, ita ut libellis una forma multis subscriberet, in epistolis autem plurimis "Vale" tantum scriberet. 8 Agebanturque omnia per alios, qui etiam condemnationes in sinum vertisse dicuntur.

7 Commodus himself was slow and negligent in signing, so that to many petitions he would subscribe one and the same formula, but in very many letters he would write only “Farewell.” 8 And everything was transacted through others, who are even said to have turned condemnations into their own pocket.

XIV. 1 Per hanc autem neglegentiam, cum et annonam vastarent hi, qui tunc rem p. gerebant, etiam inopia ingens Romae exorta est, cum fruges non deessent. 2 Et eos quidem, qui omnia vastabant, postea Commodus occidit atque proscripsit.

14. 1 Through this negligence, since those who at that time were managing the state were even ravaging the grain-supply, a huge scarcity arose at Rome, although the crops were not lacking. 2 And those, indeed, who were laying waste everything, Commodus later killed and proscribed.

3 Ipse vero saeculum aureum Commodianum nomine ad simulans vilitatem proposuit, ex qua maiorem penuriam fecit. 4 Multi sub eo et alienam poenam et suam salutem pecunia redemerunt. 5 Vendidit etiam suppliciorum diversitates et sepulturas et inminutiones malorum et alios pro aliis occidit.

3 He himself indeed, proposing a “Commodian Golden Age” by name, feigning cheapness, from which he made a greater penury. 4 Many under him redeemed both another’s punishment and their own safety with money. 5 He even sold the diversities of punishments and burials and diminutions of evils, and he killed some in place of others.

6 Vendidit etiam provincias et administrationes, cum hi, per quos venderet, partem acciperent, partem vero Commodus. 7 Vendidit nonnullis et inimicorum suorum caedes. Vendiderunt subeo etiam eventus litium liberti.

6 He also sold provinces and administrations, while those through whom he sold would take a share, and Commodus a share as well. 7 He even sold to certain persons the killings of his enemies. Under him, the freedmen also sold the outcomes of lawsuits.

8 Praefectos Paternum et Perennem non diu tulit, ita tamen ut etiam de his praefectis, quos ipse fecerat, triennium nullus impleret, quorum plurimos interfecit vel veneno vel gladio. Et praefectos urbi eadem facilitate mutavit.

8 He did not tolerate the prefects Paternus and Perennis for long, yet in such a way that even among those prefects whom he himself had made, no one completed 3 years, of whom he killed very many either by poison or by the sword. And the prefects of the city he changed with the same facility.

XV. 1 Cubicularios suos libenter occidit, cum omnia ex nutu eorum semper fecisset. 2 Eclectus cubicularius cum videret eum tam facile cubicularios occidere, praevenit eum et factioni mortis eius interfuit. 3 Spectator gladiatoria sumpsit arma, panno purpureo nudos humeros advelans.

15. 1 He gladly killed his chamberlains, although he had always done everything at their nod. 2 Eclectus the chamberlain, when he saw him so easily kill chamberlains, forestalled him and took part in the faction for his death. 3 As a spectator he took up gladiatorial arms, veiling his bare shoulders with a purple cloth.

4 Habuit praeterea morem, ut omnia quae turpiter, quae inpure, quae crudeliter, quae gladiatorie, quae lenonie faceret, actis urbis indi iuberet, ut Marii Maximi scripta testantur. 5 Commodianum etiam p. R. dixit, quo saepissime praesente gladiator pugnavit. 6 Sane cum illi saepe pugnanti ut deo populus favisset, in risum se credens populum Romanum a militibus classiariis, qui vela ducebant, in amphitheatro interimi praeceperat.

4 He had, moreover, the habit of ordering that all the things which he did disgracefully, impurely, cruelly, in gladiatorial fashion, in pander-like fashion, be entered in the Acts of the City, as the writings of Marius Maximus attest. 5 He even called the Roman People “Commodian,” and in their presence he most frequently fought as a gladiator. 6 Indeed, since the populace had favored him as a god when he was often fighting, believing that the Roman People were laughing at him, he ordered the Roman People to be slain in the amphitheater by the naval troops who drew the awnings.

7 Urbem incendi iusserat, utpote coloniam suam; quod factum esset, nisi Laetus praef. praet. Commodum deterruisset.

7 He had ordered the city to be set ablaze, as being his colony; which would have been done, had not Laetus, the praetorian prefect, deterred Commodus.

8 Appellatus est sane inter cetera triumphalia nomina etiam sescenties vicies Palus primus secutorum.

8 He was indeed called, among his other triumphal names, also “Palus primus of the Secutores” 620 times.

XVI. 1 Prodigia eius imperio et publice et privatim haec facta sunt: crinita stella apparuit. 2 Vestigia deorum in foro visa sunt exeuntia.

16. 1 The prodigies under his imperium, both publicly and privately, were these: a crinite star (comet) appeared. 2 The footprints of the gods were seen in the forum as they were going out.

Et ante bellum desertorum caelum arsit. Et repentina caligo ac tenebra in circo kalendis Ianuariis oborta. Et ante lucem fuerant etiam incendiariae aves ac dirae.

And before the war of the deserters the sky burned. And a sudden murk and darkness arose in the Circus on January 1. And before light there had also been incendiary and dire birds.

3 De Palatio ipse ad Caelium montem in Vectilianas aedes migravit negans se in Palatio posse dormire. 4 Ianus geminus sua sponte apertus est et Anubis simul acrum marmoreum moveri visum est. 5 Herculis signum aeneum sudavit in Minucia per plures dies.

3 from the Palatine he himself migrated to the Caelian hill into the Vectiliana house, saying he could not sleep in the Palatine. 4 the Geminate Janus was opened of its own accord, and Anubis as well, a marble statue, was seen to move. 5 a bronze statue of Hercules sweated in the Minucia for several days.

Bubo et iam supra cubiculum eius deprehensa est tam Romae quam Lanuvii. 6 Ipse autem prodigium non leve sibi fecit: nam cum in gladiatoris occisi vulnus manum misisset, ad caput sibi detersit et contra consuetudinem paenulatos iussit spectatores, non togatos ad munus convenire, quod funeribus solebat, ipse in pullis vestimentis praesidens. 7 Galea eius bis per portam Libitinensem elata est.

An owl was already caught above his bedroom, both at Rome and at Lanuvium. 6 He himself, moreover, made for himself no light prodigy: for when he had put his hand into the wound of a slain gladiator, he wiped it upon his own head, and contrary to custom he ordered the spectators, cloaked in paenulae, not in togas, to assemble for the munus, which was customary for funerals, he himself presiding in dark garments. 7 His helmet was carried out twice through the Libitinian gate.

8 Congiarium dedit populo singulis denarios septingenos vicenosquinos. Circa alios omnes parcissimus fuit, quod luxuriae sumptibus aerarium minueret. 9 Circenses multos addidit ex libidine potius quam religione et ut dominos factionum ditaret.

8 He gave a congiary to the people, seven hundred and twenty-five denarii apiece. In regard to all others he was very sparing, because he was diminishing the treasury by expenditures of luxury. 9 He added many Circenses, from caprice rather than religion, and in order to enrich the masters of the factions.

XVII. 1 His incitati, licet nimis sero, Quintus Aemilius Laetus praef.et Marcia concubina eius inierunt coniurationem ad occidendum eum. 2 Primumque ei venenum dederunt; quod cum minus operaretur, per athletam, cum quo exerceri solebat, eum strangularunt.

17. 1 Incited by these things, although far too late, Quintus Aemilius Laetus, prefect, and Marcia, his concubine, entered into a conspiracy to kill him. 2 And first they gave him poison; but when it proved too little in effect, by means of an athlete with whom he was accustomed to exercise, they strangled him.

3 Fuit forma quidem corporis iusta, vultu insubido, ut ebriosi solent, et sermone incondito, capillo semper fucato et auri ramentis inluminato, adurens comam et barbam timore tonsoris. 4 Corpus eius ut unco traheretur atque in Tiberim mitteretur, senatus et populus postulavit, sed postea iussu Pertinacis in monumentum Hadriani translatum est. 5 Opera eius praeter Iavacrum, quod Cleander nomine ipsius fecerat, nulla exstant.

3 His bodily form was indeed proper, with a sallow countenance, as drunkards are wont, and with incondite speech, his hair always dyed and illuminated with filings of gold, singeing his head-hair and beard from fear of the barber. 4 That his body be dragged with a hook and thrown into the Tiber, the senate and the people demanded, but afterwards by order of Pertinax it was transferred into the Mausoleum of Hadrian. 5 Of his works, besides the Iavacrum, which Cleander had made in his name, none exist.

6 Sed nomen eius alienis operibus incisum senatus erasit. 7 Nec patris autem sui opera perfecit. Classem Africanam instituit, quae subsidio esset, si forte Alexandrina frumenta cessassent.

6 But the Senate erased his name inscribed on others’ works. 7 Nor, moreover, did he complete the works of his own father. He established an African fleet, which would serve as a relief, if by chance the Alexandrian grain should fail.

8 Ridicule etiam Carthaginem Alexandriam Commodianam togatam appellavit, cum classem quoque Africanam Commodianam Herculeam appellasset. 9 Ornamenta sane quaedam colosso addidit, quae postea cuncta sublatasunt. 10 Colossi autem caput dempsit, quod Neronis esset, ac suum inposuit et titulum more solito subscripsit, ita ut illum gladiatorium et effeminatum non praetermitteret.

8 He even ludicrously called Carthage the Commodian Alexandria Togate, since he had also named the African fleet the Commodian Herculean. 9 Indeed he added certain ornaments to the Colossus, which afterwards were all removed. 10 Moreover, he took off the head of the Colossus, which was Nero’s, and set his own upon it and appended an inscription in the customary manner, such that he did not omit calling that one gladiatorial and effeminate.

11 Hunc tamen Severus, imperator gravis et vir nominis sui, odio, quam videtur, senatus inter deos rettulit flamine addito, quem ipse vivus sibi paraverat, Herculaneo Commodiano. 12 Sorores tres superstites reliquit. ut natalis eius celebraretur, Severus instituit.

11 Nevertheless Severus, a grave emperor and a man worthy of his name, out of hatred, as it seems, of the senate, enrolled him among the gods, with a flamen added — the Herculean Commodian — which he himself had prepared for himself while alive. 12 He left three sisters surviving. Severus instituted that his birthday be celebrated.

XVIII. 1 Adclamationes senatus post mortem Commodi graves fuerunt. 2 Ut autem sciretur, quod iudicium senatus de Commodo fuerit, ipsas adclamationes de Mario Maximo indidi et sententiam senatus consulti : 3 "Hosti patriae honores detrahantur, parricidae honores detrahantur, parricida trahatur.

18. 1 The acclamations of the senate after the death of Commodus were grave. 2 But in order that it might be known what the judgment of the senate concerning Commodus was, I have inserted the acclamations themselves from Marius Maximus and the decision of the senatorial decree : 3 "Let honors be stripped from the enemy of the fatherland, let honors be stripped from the parricide, let the parricide be dragged."

Hostis patriae, parricida, gladiator in spoliario lanietur. 4 Hostis deorum carnifex senatus, hostis deorum parricida senatus: hostis deorum, hostis senatus. Gladiatorem in spoliario.

Enemy of the fatherland, parricide, let the gladiator be torn to pieces in the spoliarium. 4 Enemy of the gods, executioner of the senate, enemy of the gods, parricide of the senate: enemy of the gods, enemy of the senate. The gladiator to the spoliarium.

5 Qui senatum occidit, in spoliario ponatur: qui senatum occidit, unco trahatur: qui innocentes occidit, unco trahatur: hostis parricida, vere vere. Qui sanguini suo non pepercit, unco trahatur. 6 Qui te occisurus fuit, unco trahatur.

5 He who has killed the senate, let him be placed in the spoliary: he who has killed the senate, let him be dragged with a hook: he who has killed innocents, let him be dragged with a hook: enemy parricide, truly, truly. He who did not spare his own blood, let him be dragged with a hook. 6 He who was about to kill you, let him be dragged with a hook.

7 Nobiscum timuisti, nobis cum periclitatus es. Ut salvi simus, Iuppiter optime maxime, serva nobis Pertinacem. 8 Fidei praetorianorum feliciter. praetoriis cohortibus feliciter.

7 You feared with us, with us you were imperiled. So that we may be safe, Jupiter Best and Greatest, preserve for us Pertinax. 8 Good fortune to the fidelity of the praetorians. to the praetorian cohorts, good fortune.

Exercitibus Romanis feliciter. 9 Pietati senatus feliciter. 10 Parricida trahatur.

To the Roman armies, good fortune. 9 To the piety of the senate, good fortune. 10 Let the parricide be dragged.

Rogamus Auguste, parricida trahatur. Hoc rogamus, parricida trahatur. Exaudi Caesar: delatores ad leonem.

We ask, Augustus, let the parricide be dragged. This we ask, let the parricide be dragged. Hear, Caesar: delators to the lion.

exaudi Caesar: Speratum ad leonem. 11 Victoriae populi R. feliciter. Fidei militum feliciter.

hear, Caesar: Speratus to the lion. 11 To the victory of the Roman people, with felicity. To the fidelity of the soldiers, with felicity.

Fidei praetorianorum feliciter. Cohortibus praetoriis feliciter. 12 Hostis statuas undique, parricidae statuas undique, gladiatoris statuas undique.

To the fidelity of the Praetorians, felicitously. To the Praetorian cohorts, felicitously. 12 Statues of the enemy everywhere, statues of the parricide everywhere, statues of the gladiator everywhere.

Gladiatoris et parricidae statuae detrahantur. Necator civium trahatur, parricida civium trahatur. 13 Gladiotoris statuae detrahantur.

Let the statues of the gladiator and the parricide be pulled down. Let the killer of citizens be dragged, let the parricide of citizens be dragged. 13 Let the statues of the gladiator be pulled down.

14 Te salvo salvi et securi sumus, vere, vere, modo vere, modo digne, modo vere, modo libere. 15 Nunc securi sumus: delatoribus metum. Ut securi simus, delatoribus metum.

14 You being safe, we are safe and secure, truly, truly, now truly, now worthily, now truly, now freely. 15 Now we are secure: fear for informers. That we may be secure, fear for informers.

<Ut> salvi simus, delatores de senatu, delatoribus fustem. Te salvo delatores ad leonem. 16 Te imperante delatoribus fustem.

<That> we may be safe, delators out of the Senate, a cudgel for the delators. With you safe, delators to the lion. 16 With you commanding, a cudgel for the delators.

XIX. 1 Parricidae gladiatoris memoria aboleatur, parricidae gladiatoris statuae detrahantur. Impuri gladiatoris memoria aboleatur.

19. 1 Let the memory of the parricidal gladiator be abolished, let the statues of the parricidal gladiator be taken down. Let the memory of the impure gladiator be abolished.

Gladiatorem in spoliario. Exaudi Caesar : carnifex unco trahatur. 2 Carnifex senatus more maiorum unco trahatur.

The gladiator to the spoliarium. Hear us, Caesar : let the executioner be dragged with a hook. 2 Let the senate’s executioner, in the manner of the ancestors, be dragged with a hook.

Saevior Domitiano, impurior Nerone. Sic fecit, sic patiatur. Memoriae innocentium serventur.

More savage than Domitian, more impure than Nero. Thus he did, thus let him suffer. Let the memories of the innocent be preserved.

honores innocentium restituas, rogamus. 3 Parricidae cadaver unco trahatur, gladiatoris cadaver unco trahatur, gladiatoris cadaver in spoliario ponatur. Perroga, perroga, omnes censemus unco trahendum.

restore the honors of the innocent, we ask. 3 Let the corpse of a parricide be dragged by a hook, let the corpse of a gladiator be dragged by a hook, let the corpse of a gladiator be placed in the spoliary. Put it to the vote, put it to the vote, we all deem [him] to be dragged by a hook.

4 Qui omnes occidit, unco trahatur. Qui omnem aetatem occidit, unco trahatur. Qui utrumque sexum occidit, unco trahatur.

4 Whoever has slain all, let him be dragged with a hook. Whoever has slain every age, let him be dragged with a hook. Whoever has slain both sexes, let him be dragged with a hook.

Qui sanguini suo non pepercit, unco trahatur. Qui templa spoliavit, unco trahatur. 5 Qui testamenta delevit, unco trahatur.

He who spared not his own blood, let him be dragged by a hook. He who despoiled temples, let him be dragged by a hook. 5 He who obliterated testaments, let him be dragged by a hook.

Qui vivos spoliavit, unco trahatur. Servis serviimus. 6 Qui pretia vitae exegit, unco trahatur.

Who despoiled the living, let him be dragged by the hook. We serve the slaves. 6 Who exacted the price of life, let him be dragged by the hook.

Qui pretia vitae exegit et fidem non servavit, unco trahatur. Qui senatum vendidit, unco trahatur. Qui filiis abstulit hereditatem, unco trahatur.

Who has exacted the prices of life and has not kept faith, let him be dragged by a hook. Whoever sold the Senate, let him be dragged by a hook. Whoever took away the inheritance from his sons, let him be dragged by a hook.

7 Indices de senatu. Delatores de senatu. Servorum subornatores de senatu.

7 Informers from the senate. Delators from the senate. Suborners of slaves from the senate.

8 Et tu nobiscum timuisti, omnia scis, et bonos et malos nosti. Omnia scis, omnia emenda, pro te timuimus. O nos felices, te viro imperante.

8 And you were afraid with us; you know all things, and you know both the good and the bad. You know everything, amend everything; for you we were afraid. O happy are we, with you, a man, commanding.

De parricida refer, refer, perroga. Praesentiam tuam rogamus. 9 Innocentes sepulti non sunt: parricidae cadaver trahatur.

Concerning the parricide, refer it, refer it, put it to the question. We ask for your presence. 9 Innocents have not been buried: let the cadaver of the parricide be dragged.

Parricida sepultos eruit: parricidae cadaver trahatur."

The parricide has dug up the buried: let the parricide’s cadaver be dragged."

XX. 1 Et cum iussu Pertinacis Livius La[u]rensis, procurator patrimonii, Fabio Chiloni consuli designato dedisset, per noctem Commodi cadaver sepultum. 2 Senatus adclamavit : "Quo auctore sepelierunt? 3 Parricida sepultus eruatur, trahatur." Cingius Severus dixit : "Iniuste sepultus est.

20. 1 And when, by the order of Pertinax, Livius Laurensis, procurator of the patrimony, had delivered it to Fabius Chilo, consul designate, during the night the corpse of Commodus was buried. 2 The senate acclaimed : "By what authority did they bury him? 3 Let the parricide, though buried, be dug up, let him be dragged." Cingius Severus said : "He has been unjustly buried."

Qua pontifex dico, hoc collegium pontificum dicit. 4 Quoniam laeta iam percensui, nunc convertar ad necesseria : censeo, quae is, qui non nisi ad perniciem civium et ad dedecus suum vixit, ob honorem suum decerni coegit, abolenda. 5 Statuas, quae undique sunt, abolendas, nomenque ex omnibus privatis publicisque monumentis eradendum mensesque his nominibus nuncupandos, quibus nuncupabantur, cum primum illud malum in republica incubuit."

As pontifex I say this: the college of pontiffs says it. 4 Since I have now reckoned up the glad things, I will now turn to the necessary : I opine that the things which that man — who lived only for the perdition of the citizens and for his own disgrace — forced to be decreed for his honor, must be abolished. 5 The statues, which are everywhere, are to be abolished, and his name to be eradicated from all private and public monuments, and the months to be denominated by those names by which they were denominated when first that evil settled upon the republic."