Historia Augusta: Firmus, Saturninus, Proculus, et Bonosus

I. 1 Minusculos tyrannos scio plerosque tacuisse aut breviter praeterisse. nam et Suetonius Tranquillus, emendatissimus et candidissimus scriptor, Antoni[n]um, Vindicem tacuit, contentus eo quod eos cursim perstrinxerat, et Marius Maximus, qui Avidium Marci temporibus, Albinum et Nigrum Severi non suis propriis libris sed alienis innexuit. 2 et de Suetonio non miramur, cui familiare fuit amare brevitatem.

1. 1 I know that many have kept silent about the minuscule tyrants or have briefly passed them by. For even Suetonius Tranquillus, a most correct and most candid writer, kept silent about Antoninus and Vindex, content with the fact that he had cursorily sketched them; and Marius Maximus, who interwove Avidius in the times of Marcus, and Albinus and Niger in the times of Severus, not in his own proper books but in others’. 2 And we do not marvel at Suetonius, to whom it was familiar to love brevity.

quid Marius Maximus, homo omnium verbosissimus, qui et mythist[h]oricis se voluminibus inplicavit, num ad istam descriptionem curamque descendit? 3 atque contra, Treb<ell>i<u>s Pollio ea fuit diligentia, ea cura in edendis bonis malisque principibus, ut etiam triginta tyrannos uno breviter libro concluderet, qui Valeriani et Gallieni nec multo superiorum aut inferiorum principum fuere temporibus. 4. quare etiam <laudes, quod nobis> quoque etiamsi <festinemus>, non tamen minima fuerit cura, ut dictis Aureliano, Tacito et Floriano, Probo etiam, magno ac singulari principe, cum dicendi essent Carus, Carinus et Numerianus, de Saturnino, Bonoso et Proculo et Firmo, qui sub Aureliano fuerant, non taceremus.

what of Marius Maximus, the most verbose man of all, who even entangled himself in mythist[h]oric volumes—did he by any chance descend to that description and care? 3 and on the contrary, Treb<ell>i<u>s Pollio was of such diligence, such care in publishing about good and bad princes, that he even enclosed the thirty tyrants in one brief book, who belonged to the times of Valerian and Gallienus, and not much to those of princes earlier or later. 4. wherefore also <praises, as far as concerns us> too, even if <we hasten>, it nevertheless will not have been the least care, that, Aurelian, Tacitus, and Florian having been spoken of, and Probus too, a great and singular prince, when Carus, Carinus, and Numerianus had to be discussed, we should not be silent about Saturninus, Bonosus, and Proculus, and Firmus, who had been under Aurelian.

II. 1 Scis enim, mi Basse, quanta nobis contentio proxime fuerit cum a[r]matore historiarum Marco F[r]onteio, cum ille diceret Firmum, qui Aureliani temporibus Aegyptum occupaverat, latrunculum fuisse, non principem, contra ego mecumque Rufius Celsus et Ceionius Iulianus et Fabius Sossianus contenderent dicentes illum et purpura usum et percussa moneta Augustum esse vocitatum, cum etiam nummos eius Severus Arcontius protulit, de Grecis autem Aegyptiisque libris convicit illum autokratora in [a]edictis suis esse vocatum. 2 et illi quidem adversum nos contendenti haec sola ratio fuit, quod dicebat Aurelianum in edicto suo non scripsisse, quod tyrannum occidisset, sed quod latrunculum quendam a re p. removisset; proinde quasi digne tanti, princeps nominis debuerit tyrannum appellare hominem tenebrarium aut non semper latrones vocitaverint magni principes eos, quos invadentes purpuras necaverunt. 3 ipse ego in Aureliani vita, priusquam de Firmo cuncta cognoscerem, Firmum non inter purpuratos habui, sed quasi quendam latronem; quod idcirco dixi, ne qui~~, me oblitum aestimaret mei.~~

2. 1 For you know, my Bassus, how great a contention we lately had with the sponsor of histories Marcus Fronteius, when he said that Firmus, who in Aurelian’s times had occupied Egypt, had been a brigand, not an emperor, while on the contrary I—and with me Rufius Celsus and Ceionius Julianus and Fabius Sossianus—contended, saying that he both used the purple and, coinage having been struck, was repeatedly called Augustus, since Severus Archontius even produced his coins, and from Greek and Egyptian books proved that he was called autocrat in his edicts. 2 And indeed for him contending against us this was the sole line of argument: that he said Aurelian in his edict did not write that he had slain a tyrant, but that he had removed a certain brigand from the commonwealth; as though a man of that sort, a shadowy fellow, ought deservedly to have been called “tyrant” by a prince of name, or as though great princes have not always called “robbers” those whom, invading the purple, they have killed. 3 I myself in the Life of Aurelian, before I had learned everything about Firmus, did not reckon Firmus among the purple‑wearers, but as, so to speak, a certain robber; which I have said for this reason, lest anyone should think me forgetful of myself.

4 sed ne volumini, quod brevissimum promisi, multa conectam, veniamus ad Firmum.

4 but, lest I connect many things to the volume, which I promised to be most brief, let us come to Firmus.

III. 1 Firmo patria Seleucia fuit, tametsi plerique Graecorum alteram tradunt, ignari eo tempore ipso tres fuisse Firmos, quorum unus praefectus Aegypti, alter dux limi[li]tis Africani idemque pro consule, tertius iste Zenobiae amicus ac socius, qui Alexandriam Aegyptiorum incitatus furore pervasit et quem Aurelianus solita virtutum suarum felicitate contrivit. 2 de huius divitiis multa dicuntur.

3. 1 For Firmus, his homeland was Seleucia, although most of the Greeks hand down another, unaware that at that very time there were three men named Firmus, of whom one was prefect of Egypt, another commander of the African frontier and likewise proconsul, the third this one, a friend and associate of Zenobia, who, incited by the fury of the Egyptians, overran Alexandria of the Egyptians, and whom Aurelian crushed with the accustomed felicity of his virtues. 2 Many things are said about his riches.

nam et vitreis quadraturis bitumine aliisque medicamentis insertis domum in<s>tr[od]uxisse perhibetur et tantum habuisse de c<h>artis, ut publice saepe diceret exercitum se alere posse papyro et glutine. 3 idem et cum Blemmyis societatem maximam tenuit et cum Saracenis. naves quoque ad Indos negotia<to>rias saepe misit.

for he is reported both to have fitted out his house with glass square-panels, with bitumen and other medicaments inserted, and to have had so much in the way of sheets that he would often say publicly that he could feed an army on papyrus and glue. 3 likewise he maintained a very great alliance with the Blemmyes and with the Saracens. He also often sent mercantile ships to the Indians.

4 ipse quoque [ipse perhibetur] dicitur habuisse duos dentes elephanti pedum denum, e quibus Aurelianus sellam constituerat facere ad<d>itis aliis duobus, in qua Iuppiter aureus, et gemmatus sederet cum specie praetext<a>e ponendus in templo Solis, Appenninis sortibus ad[d]itis, quem appellari voluerat lovem Consulem vel Consulentem. 5 sed eosdem dentes postea Carinus mulieri cuidam dono dedit, quae lectum ex his fecisse narratur. <quam>, quia et nunc scitur et sciri apud posteros nihil proderit, taceo.

4 he also [he himself is said] is said to have had two elephant tusks of ten feet, from which Aurelian had decided to make a seat by adding two others, upon which a golden and bejeweled Jupiter would sit, wearing the garb of the praetexta, to be set up in the Temple of the Sun, with the Appennine lots added, whom he had wished to be called Jupiter the Consul or the Consulting. 5 but those same tusks later Carinus gave as a gift to a certain woman, who is reported to have made a bed out of them. , because she is known even now and it will profit nothing to be known among posterity, I am silent.

6 ita donum Indicum, Iovi Optimo Maximo consecratum, per deterrimum principem et ministerium libidinis factum videtur <et> pretium.

6 thus the Indian gift, consecrated to Jupiter Best and Greatest, seems, through the most wicked emperor and the ministry of lust, to have been made into a price as well.

IV. 1 Fuit tamen Firmus statura ingenti, oculis foris eminentibus, capillo crispo, fronte vulnerata, vultu nigriore, reliqua parte corporis candidus sed pilosus atque hispidus, ita ut eum plerique Cyclopem vocarent. carne multa vescebatur, struthionem ad diem comedisse fertur. 2 vini non multum bibit, aque plurimum, mente firmissimus, nervis robustissimus, ita ut Tritanum vinceret, cuius Varro meminit.

4. 1 Yet Firmus was of immense stature, with eyes jutting outward, curly hair, a wounded forehead, a rather darker countenance, but in the rest of his body fair, yet hairy and bristly, so that many called him Cyclops. He used to feed on much meat; he is said to have eaten an ostrich in a single day. 2 He did not drink much wine, but very much water, firmest in mind, most robust in sinews, so that he outdid Tritanus, of whom Varro makes mention.

3 nam et incudem superpositam pectori constanter aliis [s]tu<n>dentibus pertulit, cum ipse reclinis ac resupinus et curvatus in manus penderet potius quam iaceret. fuit tamen ei contentio cum Aureliani ducibus ad bibendum, si quando e[i]um temptare voluisse<n>t. 4 nam quidam Burburus nomine de numero vexillariorum, notissimus potator, cum ad bibendum eundem provocasset, s[a]itu<l>as duas plenas mero duxit et toto postea convivio sobrius fuit; et cum ei Burburus diceret: 'quare non faeces bibisti?', respondit ille: 'stulte, terra non bibitur.' levia persequimur, cum maiora dicenda sint.

3 for he even endured an anvil placed upon his chest steadfastly, while others were pounding, he himself reclining and on his back and bent upon his hands, hanging rather than lying. yet he had a contest with Aurelian’s dukes (generals) at drinking, whenever they wished to test him. 4 for a certain man named Burburus, of the number of the vexillaries, a most notorious drinker, when he had challenged the same to drink, drained two buckets full of unmixed wine and afterward was sober through the whole banquet; and when Burburus said to him, 'why did you not drink the dregs?', he replied: 'fool, earth is not drunk.' we are pursuing trifles, when greater things ought to be told.

V. 1 Hic ergo contra Aurelianum sumpsit imperium ad defendendas partes, quae supererant, Zenobiae. sed Aureliano de Thraciis redeunte superatus est. multi dicunt laqueo eum vitam finisse: aliud dictis suis ostendit . namque cum eum vicisset, tale edictum Romae proponi iussit: 3 'amantissimo sui populo Romano Aurelianus Augustus salutem dicit.

5. 1 Therefore this man took up the imperium against Aurelian to defend the parts of Zenobia that remained. But with Aurelian returning from Thrace he was overcome. Many say he ended his life by a noose; Aurelian shows something different by his edicts. For when he had conquered him, he ordered such an edict to be posted at Rome: 3 'To his most loving-of-him Roman people Aurelian Augustus sends greeting.'

pacato undique gentium toto, qua late patet, orbe terrarum Firmum etiam latronem Aegyptium, barbaricis motibus aestuantem et feminei propudii reliquias colligentem, ne plurimum loquar, fugavimus, obsedimus, cruciavimus et occidimus. 4 nihil est, Romulei Quirites, quod timere possitis. canon Aegypti, qui suspensus per latronem inprobum fuerat, integer veniet.

With the whole orb of lands, wherever it widely extends, of the nations pacified on every side, we also—Firmus the Egyptian brigand, seething with barbarian commotions and collecting the remnants of feminine disgrace, not to speak at too great length—we routed, besieged, excruciated, and slew. 4 there is nothing, Romulean Quirites, that you can fear. the canon of Egypt, which had been suspended by the wicked brigand, will come intact.

5 sit vobis cum senatu concordia, cum equestri ordine amicitia, cum praetorianis adfectio. ego efficiam, ne sit aliqua sollicitudo Romana. 6 vacate ludis, vacate circensibus.

5 let there be for you concord with the senate, friendship with the equestrian order, affection with the Praetorians. I will bring it about that there be no Roman solicitude. 6 be at leisure for the games, be at leisure for the Circensian spectacles.

nos publicae necessitates teneant, vos occupent voluptates. quare sanctissimi Quirites,' et reliqua.

let public necessities hold us, let pleasures occupy you. wherefore, most holy Quirites,' and the rest.

VI. 1 Haec nos de Firmo cognovisse scire debuisti, sed digna memoratu. 2 nam ea, quae de illo Aurelius Festivus, libertus Aureliani, singillatim rettulit, si vis cognoscere, eundem oportet legas, maxime cum dicat Firmum eundem inter crocodillos, unctum crocodillorum adipibus, natasse et elephantum rexisse et hippopotamo sedisse et sedentem ingentibus strutionibus vectum esse et quasi volitasse. 3 sed haec scire quid prodest?

6. 1 You ought to have known that we learned these things about Firmus, but (they are) worthy of remembrance. 2 For the things which Aurelius Festivus, the freedman of Aurelian, related about him item by item, if you wish to learn, you ought to read the same writer, especially since he says that the same Firmus swam among crocodiles, anointed with the fats of crocodiles, and drove an elephant and sat upon a hippopotamus and, while sitting, was carried by huge ostriches and, as if, fluttered. 3 but what good is it to know these things?

cum et Livius et Sallustius taceant res leves de his, quorum vita<s> arripuerunt. 4 non enim scimus, quales mulos Clodius habuerit aut mulas Titus Annius Milo, aut utrum Tusco equo sederit Catil[I]ina an Sardo, vel quali <in> clamide Pompeius usus fuerit purpura. 5 quare finem de Firmo faciemus venientes ad Saturninum, qui contra Probum imperium sibimet in orientis partibus vindicavit.

since both Livy and Sallust keep silence about light matters concerning those whose lives they have undertaken. 4 for we do not know what kind of male mules Clodius had or female mules Titus Annius Milo, or whether Catiline sat on a Tuscan horse or a Sardinian, or what sort of purple in his cloak Pompey used. 5 therefore we will make an end concerning Firmus, coming to Saturninus, who claimed the imperial power for himself in the parts of the East against Probus.

VII. 1 Saturninus oriundo fuit Gallus, ex gente hominum inquietissima et avida semper vel faciendi principis vel imperii. 2 huic inter ceteros duces, quod vere summus vir esset, certe videretur, Aurelianus limitis orientalis ducatum dedit, sapienter praecipiens, ne umquam Aegyptum videret.

7. 1 Saturninus was by origin a Gaul, from a race of men most restless and ever greedy either for making a prince or for empire. 2 To him, among the other leaders, because he truly was a foremost man, or at any rate seemed so, Aurelian gave the command of the eastern frontier, wisely enjoining that he should never see Egypt.

3 cogitabat enim, quantum videmus, vir prudentissimus Gallorum naturam et verebatur, ne, si praeturbidam civitatem vidisset, quo eum natura ducebat, e<o> societate quoque hominum duceretur. 4 sunt enim Aegyptii, ut satis nosti, <in>venti ventosi, furibundi, iactantes, iniuriosi atque adeo vani, liberi, novarum rerum usque ad cantilenas publicas cupientes, versificatores, epigrammatarii, mathematici, haruspices, medici. 5 nam <in> eis C<h>ristiani, Samaritae et quibus praesentia semper tempora cum enormi libertate displiceant.

3 for, as far as we see, the most prudent man weighed the nature of the Gauls, and he was afraid that, if he should see an already-turbulent community, where nature was leading him, there too he would be led by the fellowship of men. 4 for the Egyptians, as you know well enough, are inventive, windy, frenzied, boastful, injurious and even so vain, unbridled, desirous of new things even to the point of public chant-songs, versifiers, epigrammatists, mathematicians, haruspices, physicians. 5 for among them are Christians, Samaritans, and those to whom the present times are always displeasing with enormous license.

6 ac ne quis mihi Aegyptiorum irascatur et meum esse credat, quod in litteras rettuli, Hadriani epistolam, <p>romam ex libris Flegontis liberti eius proditam, ex qua penitus Aegyptiorum vita detegatur.

6 and lest any of the Egyptians be angry with me and believe that what I have set down in letters is my own, [I adduce] the epistle of Hadrian, published at Rome from the books of Phlegon, his freedman, from which the life of the Egyptians is laid bare to the very depths.

VIII. 1 'Hadrianus Augustus Serviano consuli salutem. Aegyptum, quam mihi laudabas, Serviane carissime, totam didici levem, pendulam et ad omnia famae momenta volitantem.

8. 1 'Hadrian Augustus to the consul Servianus, greetings. Egypt, which you were praising to me, dearest Servianus, I have learned entire to be light, pendulous, and flitting at every moment of rumor.

2 illic qui Serapem colunt, C<h>ristiani sunt et devoti sunt Serapi, qui se C<h>risti episcopos dicunt, nemo illic archisynagogus Iud<a>eorum, nemo Samarites, nemo C<h>ristianorum presbyter non mathematicus, non haruspex, non aliptes. 4 ipse ille patriarcha cum Aegyptum venerit, ab aliis Serapidem adorare, ab aliis cogitur Christum. 5 genus hominum seditiosissimum, vanissimum, iniuriosissimun, civitas opulenta, dives, fecunda, in qua nemo vivat otiosus.

2 there those who worship Serapis are C<h>hristians, and those devoted to Serapis are the ones who call themselves bishops of C<h>hrist; there no archisynagogus of the Jew<a>s, no Samaritan, no presbyter of the C<h>hristians is not an astrologer (mathematicus), a haruspex, or an aliptes. 4 that very patriarch himself, when he comes to Egypt, is compelled by some to adore Serapis, by others Christ. 5 a race of men most seditious, most vain, most injurious; a city opulent, rich, fertile, in which no one lives idle.

6 alii vitrum, conflant, aliis c<h>arth[h]a conficitur, omnes certe linifiones <aut> cuiuscumque artis et <professionis> videntur; et habent podagrosi, quod agant, habent <prae>cisi, quod agant, habent caeci, quod faciant, ne chiragrici quidem apud eos otiosi vivunt. unus illis deus nummus est. 7 hunc Christiani, hunc Iud<a>ei, hunc omnes venerantur et gentes.

6 others melt glass, for others paper is manufactured; all, certainly, are linen-workers, or seem to belong to some art and profession; and the gouty have something to do, the amputees have something to do, the blind have something to make—indeed, not even those with chiragra live idle among them. One god for them is money. 7 This one the Christians venerate, this one the Jews, this one all the nations.

et utinam melius esset morata civitas, digna profecto, quae pro sui f<ec>unditate, quae pro sui magnitudine totius Aegypti tenea[n]t principatum. 8 huic ego cuncta concessi, vetera privilegia reddidi, nova sic addidi, ut praesenti gratias agerent. denique ut primum inde discessi, et in filium meum Verum multa dixerint, et de Antin[in]o<o> quae dixerint, comperisse te credo.

and would that the city were of better morals, truly worthy, which, in proportion to its fecundity, which, in proportion to its magnitude, might hold the primacy of all Egypt. 8 To it I granted everything, I restored the ancient privileges, I added new ones in such a way that they rendered thanks to the bearer. Finally, as soon as I departed from there, that they said many things about my son Verus, and what they said about Antinoos, I believe you have found out.

9 nihil illis opto, nisi ut suis pullis alantur, quos quem ad modum fecundant, pudet dicere. 10 calices tibi allassontes <di>versi coloris transmisi, quos mihi sacerdos templi obtulit, tibi et sorori meae specialiter dedicatos, quos tu velim festis diebus conviviis adhibeas. caveas tamen, ne his Africanus noster indulgenter utatur.'

9 I wish nothing for them, except that they be nourished by their own offspring, whom, in what manner they fecundate, it is shameful to say. 10 I have sent you chalices, color‑changing, of diverse color, which the priest of the temple offered to me, specially dedicated to you and to my sister, which I would like you to bring out at banquets on feast days. Take care, however, that our Africanus does not use them too indulgently.'

IX. 1 Haec ergo cogitans de Aegyptiis Aurelianus iusserat, ne Saturninus Aegyptum videret, et mente quidem divina. nam ut primum Aegyptii magnam potestatem ad se venisse viderunt, statim clamarunt: 'Saturnine Auguste, dii te servent!' 2 et ille quidem, quod negari non potest, vir sapiens de Alexandrina civitate mox fugit atque ad Palestinam rediit. 3 ibi tamen cum cogitare coepisset tutum sibi non esse, si privatus viveret, deposita purpura ex simulacro Veneris cy[n]clade uxoria militibus circumstantibus amictus et adoratus est.

9. 1 Therefore, thinking these things about the Egyptians, Aurelian had ordered that Saturninus should not see Egypt—indeed with a divine mind. For as soon as the Egyptians saw that great power had come to them, they immediately shouted: 'Saturninus Augustus, may the gods preserve you!' 2 And he indeed, a wise man, which cannot be denied, straightway fled from the Alexandrian city and returned to Palaestina. 3 There, however, when he began to consider that it was not safe for him if he lived as a private person, with the purple laid aside he was clothed from a statue of Venus with a wifely cyclas, and, the soldiers standing around, was hailed and adored.

4 avum meum saepe dicentem audivi se interfuisse, cum ille adoraretur. 5 'flebat', inquit, 'et dicebat: "necessarium, si non adroganter dicam, res p. virum perdidit. ego certe instauravi Gallias, ego a Mauris possessam Africam reddidi, ego Hispanias pacavi.

4 I often heard my grandfather saying that he had been present when that man was being adored. 5 'He was weeping,' he says, 'and he used to say: "a necessary man—if I may not speak arrogantly—the Republic has lost. I for my part restored the Gauls, I gave back Africa, held by the Moors, I pacified the Spains."'

sed quid prodest? omnia haec adfectato semel honore perierunt."

but what good is it? all these things have perished by the honor once sought."

X. 1 Et cum eum animarent vel ad vitam vel ad imperium, qui amicuerunt purpuram, in haec verba disseruit: 'nescitis, amici, quid mali sit imperare. 2 gladii seta pendente[bu]s cervicibus inminent, hastae undique, undique spicula. ipsi custodes timentur, ipsi comites formidantur.

10. 1 And when they were animating him either to life or to the imperium, those who had clothed him with the purple, he discoursed in these words: 'you do not know, friends, what an evil it is to hold the imperium. 2 swords, often, hang threatening over necks; spears on every side, on every side darts. the very guards are feared, the very companions are dreaded.'

non cibus pro voluptate, non i[n]ter pro auctoritate, non bella pro iudicio, non arma pro studio. 3 adde, quod omnis aetas in imperio reprehenditur: senex est quispiam: inhabilis videtur; at iuvenis: <ard>et furore. iam quid amabilem omnibus Probum dico?

not food for pleasure, not rank for authority, not wars by judgment, not arms by zeal. 3 add that every age is censured in the imperial office: someone is an old man—he seems unfit; but a young man—he burns with frenzy. now why do I speak of Probus, lovable to all?

cui <cum> me <ae>mulum esse cupitis, cui libens c[a]edo et cuius esse dux cupio, in necessitatem mortis me trahitis. habeo solacium mortis: solus perire non potero.' 4 Marcus Salvidienus hanc ipsius orationem vere fuisse dicit, et fuit re vera non parum litteratus. nam et in Africa r<h>e[c]tori[o] operam dederat, Romae frequentavera[n]t pergula<s> magistrales.

to him whom you wish me to be a rival, to whom I gladly yield and whose general I desire to be, you are dragging me into the necessity of death. I have the consolation of death: I shall not be able to perish alone.' 4 Marcus Salvidienus says that this very oration of his was truly such, and in truth he was not a little literate. For both in Africa he had given effort to the rhetorical school, and at Rome he had frequented the magisterial school-stalls.

XI. 1 Et ne longius progrediar, dicendum est, quod praecipue ad hunc pertinet, errare quosdam et putare hunc esse Saturninum, qui Gallieni temporibus imperium occupavit, cum [h]is longe alius sit et [a] Probo paene nolent sit occisus. 2 fertur autem Probus et clementes ad eum litteras saepe misisse et veniam esse pollicitum, sed milites, qui cum eo fuerant, non credidisse. 3 obsessum denique in castro quodam ab his, quos Probus miserat, invito Probo esse iugulatum.

11. 1 And not to go further, it must be said—what pertains especially to this man—that certain people err and suppose this to be the Saturninus who in the times of Gallienus seized the imperium, whereas that one was far another, and he was killed almost against Probus’s will. 2 Moreover, it is reported that Probus often sent clement letters to him and promised pardon, but the soldiers who had been with him did not believe it. 3 Finally, besieged in a certain fort by those whom Probus had sent, he was, with Probus unwilling, cut down.

4 Longum est frivola quaeque conectere, odiosum dicere, quali statura fuerit, quo corpore, quo decore, quid biberit, quid comederit, ab aliis ista dicantur, quae prope ad exemplum nihil prosunt. nos ad ea, quae sunt dicenda, redeamus.

4 It is lengthy to string together every frivolity; it is odious to say of what stature he was, of what body, of what decor, what he drank, what he ate—let these things be said by others, which profit almost nothing for example. Let us return to those things which are to be said.

XII. 1 Proculo patria Albinga[t]uni fuere, positi in Alpibus maritimis. domi nobilis sed maioribus latrocinantibus atque adeo pecore ac servis et his rebus, quas abduxerat, satis dives.

12. 1 For Proculus the homeland was the Albinga[t]uni, situated in the Maritime Alps. at home noble, but with his forebears practicing brigandage, and indeed in livestock and slaves and those things which he had carried off, quite wealthy.

2 fertur denique eo tempore, quo sumpsit imperium, duo milia servorum suorum armasse. 3 huic uxor virago, quae illum in hanc praecipitavit dementiam, nomine Samso, quod ei postea inditum est, nam antea Vituriga nominata est. 4 filius Herennianus, quem et ipsum, si quinquennium implesset, ita enim loquebatur, ditasset imperio.

2 it is reported, finally, that at the time when he assumed the imperium, he armed two thousand of his own slaves. 3 his wife, a virago—who hurled him headlong into this madness—by the name Samso (which was afterward given to her, for previously she was called Vituriga). 4 his son Herennianus, whom also, if he had completed five years—so he used to say—he would have endowed with the imperial power.

5 homo, quod negari non potest ........ e idemque fortissimus, ipse quoque latrociniis adsuetus, qui tamen armatam semper egerit vitam. nam et multis Iegionibus tribunus praefuit et fortia edidit facta. 6 et quoniam minima quaeque iocunda sunt atque habent aliquid gratiae cum leguntur, tacendum non est, quod et ipse gloriatur in quadam sua [a]epistola, quam ipsam melius est ponere quam de ea plurimum dicere: 7 'Proculus Maeciano adfini salutem dicit.

5 a man, which cannot be denied, ........ and likewise most brave, he himself also accustomed to brigandages, who, however, always led an armed life. For as tribune he was in command of many legions and produced brave deeds. 6 And since even the very smallest things are pleasant and have some grace when they are read, it must not be kept silent, that which he himself too boasts in a certain epistle of his— which epistle itself it is better to set down than to say very much about it: 7 'Proculus sends greeting to his affine Maecianus.'

centum ex <S>armatia virgines cepi. ex his una nocte decem in<i>vi; omnes tamen, quod in me erat, mulieres intra dies quindecim reddidi.' — 8 gloriatur, ut vides, rem ineptam et satis libidinosam atque inter fortes se haberi credit, si criminum densitate co<nc>al<l>escat.

I captured a hundred virgins from <S>armatia. Of these, in one night I went in to ten; all, however, so far as was in my power, I returned as women within fifteen days.' — 8 he boasts, as you see, of a silly and quite libidinous matter, and believes he is held among the brave if he grows hot by the density of crimes.

XIII. 1 Hic tamen cum etiam post honores militares [cum] se inprobe, libidinose, tamen fortiter gereret, hortantibus Lugdunensibus, qui et ab Aureliano graviter contusi videbantur et Probum vehementissime pertimescebant, in imperium vocitatus est, ludo pene ac ioco, ut Onesimus dicit, quod quidem apud nullum alium repperisse me scio. 2 nam cum in quodam convivio ad latrunculos luderetur atque ipse decies imperator exisset, quidam non ignobilis scurra 'ave' inquit, 'August[a]e' adIataque Iana purpurea umeros eius vinxit eumque adoravit; timor inde consciorum atque inde iam exercitus temptatio et imperii.

13. 1 This man, however, although even after his military honors he conducted himself improperly and lustfully, yet bravely, with the people of Lugdunum urging him on—who seemed both to have been grievously bruised by Aurelian and to fear Probus most vehemently—was being hailed to the imperium, almost as sport and as a joke, as Onesimus says, a thing which indeed I know to have found in no other. 2 For when at a certain banquet they were playing at latrunculi, and he himself had come out “emperor” 10 times, a certain not-ignoble buffoon said, “Hail, Augustus,” and, a purple woolen cloak having been brought, he wrapped his shoulders with it and did him obeisance; from there, fear among those in the know, and from there now a testing of the army and of the imperial power.

3 non nihilum tamen Gallis profuit. nam Alamannos, qui tunc adhuc Germani dicebantur, non sine gloriae splendore contrivit, numquam aliter quam latrocinandi pugnans modo. 4 hunc tamen Probus fugatum usque ad ultimas terras et cupientem, in Francorum auxilium venire, a quibus originem se trahere ipse dicebat, ipsis prodentibus Francis, quibus familiare est ridendo fidem frangere, vicit et interemit.

3 nevertheless it profited the Gauls not a little. for he crushed the Alamanni, who then were still called Germans, not without the splendor of glory, fighting never otherwise than in the mode of brigandage. 4 nevertheless Probus, having driven him in flight to the farthest lands, and as he was wishing to come into the aid of the Franks—from whom he himself said he drew his origin—the Franks themselves betraying him, to whom it is customary to break faith with a laugh, conquered and slew him.

5 posteri eius etiam nunc apud Albingaunos agunt, qui ioco solent dicere sibi non placere esse vel principes vel latrones. 6 Haec digna memoratu de Proculo didicisse me memini. veniamus ad Bonosum, de quo multo minora condidi.

5 his descendants even now live among the Albingauni, who in jest are wont to say that it does not please them to be either princes or latrones. 6 These things, worthy of remembrance, about Proculus I remember to have learned. Let us come to Bonosus, about whom I have set down much smaller matters.

XIV. 1 Bonosus domo Hispaniensi fuit, origine Brittannus, Galla tamen matre, ut ipse dicebat, ret[h]oris filius ut ab aliis comperi, pedagogi litterarii. parvulus patrem amisit atque a matre fortissima educatus litterarum, nihil didicit.

14. 1 Bonosus was from a Hispanic household, by origin a Briton, yet with a Gallic mother, as he himself used to say, the son of a ret[h]or—though, as I learned from others, of a pedagogue of letters. As a very small child he lost his father, and, though brought up by a most brave mother, in letters he learned nothing.

2 militavit primum inter ordinarios, deinde inter [a]equites; duxit ordines, tribunatus egit, dux limitis R<a>etici fuit, bibit, quantum hominum nemo. 3 de hoc Aurelianus saepe dicebat: 'non ut vivat, natus est, sed ut bibat.' quem quidem diu i<n> honore habuit causa militiae. 4 nam si quando legati barbarorum undecumque gentium venissent, ipsi propinabantur, ut eos inebriaret atque ab his per vinum cuncta cognosceret.

2 he served first among the ordinaries, then among the [a]equites; he led the ranks, he held tribuneships, he was commander of the Raetian frontier (dux limitis R<a>etici), he drank as no man among men. 3 about him Aurelian often used to say: 'he was born not to live, but to drink.' him indeed he long held i<n> honor on account of his soldiering. 4 for if ever envoys of the barbarians from whatever nations had come, drink was proffered to him, so that he might make them drunk and learn everything from them through wine.

ipse quantumlibet bibisset, semper securus et sobrius et, ut <O>nes[c]imus dicit scriptor vitae Probi, adhuc in vino prudentior. 5 habuit praeterea rem mirabilem, ut quantum bibisset, tantum mingeret[ur], neque umquam eius aut pectus aut venter aut vesica, gravaretur.

he himself, no matter how much he had drunk, was always secure and sober and, as <O>nes[c]imus, the writer of the Life of Probus, says, even more prudent in wine. 5 furthermore, he possessed a remarkable thing, namely, that as much as he had drunk, so much he would urinate, nor were ever his chest or belly or bladder weighed down.

XV. 1 Hic idem, cum quodam tempore in Reno Romanas lusorias Germani incendissent, timore ne poenas daret, sumpsit imperium idque diutius tenuit quam merebatur. 2 nam longo gravique certamine a Probo superatus laqueo vitam finivit, cum quidem iocus exstitit amphoram pendere, non hominem. 3 Filios duos reliquit, quibus ambobus Probus pepercit, uxore[m] quoque eius in honore habita et usque ad mortem salario praestito.

15. 1 This same man, when at a certain time on the Rhine the Germans had set Roman pleasure-boats aflame, from fear lest he pay penalties, seized the imperium and held it longer than he deserved. 2 For, overcome by Probus in a long and heavy contest, he ended his life by a noose, when indeed there was a joke that a jar was hanging, not a man. 3 He left two sons, both of whom Probus spared, his wife also being kept in honor and a stipend furnished up to her death.

4 fuisse enim dicitur, ut et avus meus dicebat, femina singularis exempli et familiae nobilis, gentis tamen Gothicae; quam illi Aurelianus uxorem idcirco dederat, ut per eum a Gothis cuncta cognosceret. erat enim illa virgo regalis. 5 exstant litterae ad legatum Thraciarum scriptae de his nuptiis et donis, quae Aurelianus Bonoso duci nuptiarum causa {dari} iussit, quas ego inserui: 6 'Aurelianus Augustus Gallonio Avito salutem.

4 for she is said, as my grandfather also used to say, to have been a woman of singular example and of a noble family, yet of Gothic race; Aurelian gave her to that man as a wife for this reason, that through him he might learn everything from the Goths. For she was a royal maiden. 5 there exist letters written to the legate of Thrace about this wedding and the gifts which Aurelian ordered to be {given} to Bonosus the duke for the sake of the wedding, which I have inserted: 6 'Aurelian Augustus to Gallonius Avitus, greetings.

superioribus litteris scripseram, ut optimates Gothicas aput Perinthum conlocares, decretis salariis, non ut singula<e> acciperent, sed ut septem simul unum convi<vi>um haberent. cum enim divisae accipiunt, et illae parum sumunt, et res p. plurimum perdit. 7 nunc tamen, quoniam placuit Bonoso Hunilam dari, dabis ei iuxta brevem infra scriptum omnia, quae praecipimus; sumptu etiam publico nuptias c[a]elebrabis.' 8 Brevis munerum fuit: 'tunicas palliolatas ianthinas subsericas, tunicam auro clavatam subsericam librilem unam, interulas dilores duas et reliqua, quae matron<a>e conveniunt.

In earlier letters I had written that you should settle the Gothic ladies of rank at Perinthus, with assigned salaries, not that they receive each one individually, but that seven together should have one banquet. For when they receive dividedly, both they receive too little, and the Republic loses very much. 7 Now, however, since it has pleased that Hunila be given to Bonosus, you will give to her, according to the brief written below, all the things which we direct; you will also celebrate the wedding at public expense.' 8 The brief of the gifts was: 'violet sub-silken tunics with little mantles, one sub-silken tunic gold-striped of a pound, two under-tunics “dilores,” and the remaining things which befit a matron.

ipsi dabis aureos Philippeos centum, argenteos Antoninianos mille, aeris sestertium decies.' 9 Haec me legisse teneo de Bonoso. et potui quidem horum vitam praeterire, quos nemo quaerebat, attamen, ne quid fidei deesset, etiam de his, quae didiceram, intimanda curavi. 10 supersunt mihi Carus, Carinus et Numerianus, nam Diocletianus et qui secuntur stilo maiore dicendi sunt.

to him you will give one hundred Philippean gold pieces, one thousand Antoninian silver pieces, one million sesterces in bronze.' 9 I hold that I have read these things about Bonosus. And indeed I could have passed by the life of these men, whom no one was seeking; nevertheless, lest anything be lacking to good faith, I took care to intimate even about these matters which I had learned. 10 There remain for me Carus, Carinus, and Numerianus, for Diocletian and those who follow must be spoken of with a greater style.