|
Main
- books.jibble.org
My Books
- IRC Hacks
Misc. Articles
- Meaning of Jibble
- M4 Su Doku
- Computer Scrapbooking
- Setting up Java
- Bootable Java
- Cookies in Java
- Dynamic Graphs
- Social Shakespeare
External Links
- Paul Mutton
- Jibble Photo Gallery
- Jibble Forums
- Google Landmarks
- Jibble Shop
- Free Books
- Intershot Ltd
|
books.jibble.org
Previous Page
| Next Page
Page 18
The deaths of Caius and Lucius Caesar were therefore a great good
fortune for Tiberius, because it determined his return to power. The
situation of the empire was growing worse on every hand; Germany was in
the midst of revolt, and it was necessary to turn the army over to
vigorous hands. Augustus, old and irresolute, still hesitated, fearing
the dislike which was brewing both in the senate and among the people
against the too dictatorial Tiberius. At last, however, he was forced
to yield.
The more serious, more authoritative, more ancient party of the
senatorial nobility, in accord with Livia and headed by a nephew of
Pompey, Cnaeus Cornelius Cinna, forced him to recall Tiberius,
threatening otherwise to have recourse to some violent measures the
exact character of which we do not know. The unpopularity of Tiberius
was a source of continual misgivings to the aging Augustus, and it was
only through this threat of a yet greater danger that they finally
overcame his hesitation. On June 26, in the fourth year of our era,
Augustus adopted Tiberius as his son, and had conferred upon him for
ten years the office of tribune, thus making him his colleague.
Tiberius returned to power, and, in accordance with the wishes of
Augustus, adopted as his son Germanicus, the elder son of Drusus and
Antonia, his faithful friend. He was an intelligent, active lad of
whom all entertained the highest hopes.
[Illustration: Tiberius, elder son of Livia and stepson of Augustus.
Augustus, lacking a male heir, first adopted his younger stepson
Drusus, who died 9 B.C. owing to a fall from his horse. In 4 A.D. he
adopted Tiberius, and was succeeded by him as Emperor in 14 A.D.]
On his return to power, Tiberius, together with Augustus, took measures
for reorganizing the army and the state, and sought to bring about by
means of new marriages and acts of clemency a closer union between the
Julian and Claudian branches of the family, then bitterly divided by
the violent struggles of recent years. The terms of Julia's exile were
made easier; Germanicus married Agrippina, another daughter of Julia
and Agrippa, and a sister of Julia the Younger; the widow of Caius
Caesar, Livilla, sister of Germanicus and daughter of Antonia, was
given to Drusus, the son of Tiberius, a young man born in the same year
as Germanicus. Drusus, despite certain defects, such as irascibility
and a marked fondness for pleasure, gave evidence that he possessed the
requisite qualities of a statesman--firmness, sound judgment, and
energy. The policy which dictated these marriages was always the
same--to make of the family of Augustus one formidable and united body,
so that it might constitute the solid base of the entire government of
the empire. But, alas! wise as were the intentions, the ferments of
discord and the unhappiness of the times prevailed against them. Too
much had been hoped for in recalling Tiberius to power. During the ten
years of senile government, the empire had been reduced to a state of
utter disorder. The measures planned by Tiberius for reestablishing
the finances of the state roused the liveliest discontent among the
wealthy classes in Italy, and again excited their hatred against him.
In the year 6 A.D., the great revolt of Pannonia broke out and for a
moment filled Italy with unspeakable terror. In an instant of mob
fury, they even came to fear that the peninsula would be invaded and
Rome besieged by the barbarians of the Danube. Tiberius came to the
rescue, and with patience and coolness put down the insurrection, not
by facing it in open conflict, but by drawing out the war to such a
length as to weary the enemy, a method both safe and wise, considering
the unreliable character of the troops at his command. But at Rome,
once the fear had subsided, the long duration of the war became a new
cause for dissatisfaction and anger, and offered to many a pretext for
venting their long-cherished hatred against Tiberius, who was accused
of being afraid, of not knowing how to end the war, and of drawing it
out for motives of personal ambition. The party averse to Tiberius
again raised its head and resorted once more to its former policy--that
of urging on Germanicus against Tiberius. The former was young,
ambitious, bold, and would have preferred daring strokes and a war
quickly concluded. It is certain that there would have risen then and
there a Germanican and a Tiberian party, if Augustus, on this occasion,
had not energetically sustained Tiberius from Rome. But the situation
again became strained and full of uncertainty.
In the midst of these conflicts and these fears, a new scandal broke
out in the family of Augustus. The Younger Julia, like her mother,
allowed herself to be caught in violation of the _Lex Julia de
adulteriis_, and she also was compelled to take the road of exile. In
what manner and at whose instance the scandal was disclosed we do not
know; we do know, however, that Augustus was very fond of his
granddaughter, whence we can assume that in this moment of turbid
agitation, when so much hatred was directed against his family and his
house, and when so many forces were uniting to overthrow Tiberius
again, notwithstanding the fact that he had saved the empire, Augustus
felt that he must a second time submit to his own law. He did not dare
contend with the puritanical party, with the more conservative minority
in the senate,--the friends of Tiberius,--over this second victim in
his family. Without a doubt everything possible was done to hush up
the scandal, and there would scarcely have come down to us even a
summary notice of the exile of the second Julia had it not been that
among those exiled with her was the poet Ovid, who was to fill twenty
centuries with his laments and to bring them to the ears of the latest
generations.
Previous Page
| Next Page
|
|