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Page 22
However that may be, the dissension between Germanicus and Piso filled
the entire Orient with confusion and disorder, and it was early echoed
at Rome, where the party hostile to Tiberius continued to accuse him,
out of motives of hatred and jealousy, of forever laying new obstacles
in the way of his adopted son. Livia, too, now no longer protected by
Augustus, became a target for the accusations of a malevolent public
opinion. It was said that she persecuted Germanicus out of hatred for
Agrippina. Tiberius was much embarrassed, being hampered by public
opinion favorable to Germanicus and at the same time desiring that his
sons should set an example of obedience to the laws.
A sudden catastrophe still further complicated the situation. In 19
A.D. Germanicus was taken ill at Antioch. The malady was long and
marked by periods of convalescence and relapses, but finally, like his
father and like his brothers-in-law, Germanicus, too, succumbed to his
destiny in the fullness of youth. At thirty-four, when life with her
most winning smiles seemed to be stretching out her arms to him, he
died. This one more untimely death brought to an abrupt end a most
dangerous political struggle. Is it to be wondered at, then, that the
people, whose imagination had been aroused, should have begun to murmur
about poison? The party of Germanicus was driven to desperation by
this death, which virtually ended its existence, and destroyed at a
single stroke all the hopes of those who had seen in Germanicus the
instrument of their future fortune. They therefore eagerly collected,
embellished, and spread these rumors. Had Agrippina been a woman of
any judgment or reflection, she would have been the first to see the
absurdity of this foolish gossip; but as a matter of fact no one placed
more implicit faith in such reports than she, now that affliction had
rendered her even more impetuous and violent.
It was not long before every one at Rome had heard it said that
Germanicus had been poisoned by Piso, acting, so it was intimated in
whispers, at the bidding of Tiberius and Livia. Piso had been the tool
of Tiberius; Plancina, the tool of Livia. The accusation is absurd; it
is even recognized as such by Tacitus, who was actuated by a fierce
hatred against Tiberius. We know from him how the accusers of Piso
recounted that the poison had been drunk in a health at a banquet to
which Piso had been invited by Germanicus and at which he was seated
several places from his host; he was supposed to have poured the poison
into his dishes in the presence of all the guests without any one
having seen him! Tacitus himself says that every one thought this an
absurd fable, and such every man of good sense will think it to-day.
But hatred makes even intelligent persons believe fables even more
absurd; the people favorable to Germanicus were embittered against Piso
and would not listen to reason. All the enemies of Tiberius easily
persuaded themselves that some atrocious mystery was hidden in this
death and that, if they instituted proceedings against Piso, they might
bring to light a scandal which would compromise the emperor himself.
They even began to repeat that Piso possessed letters from Tiberius
which contained the order to poison Germanicus.
[Illustration: Costumes of Roman men, women, and children in the
procession of a peace festival. These reliefs formed part of the outer
frieze of the right wall of the Ara Pacis (Altar of Peace), erected by
Augustus and dedicated 9 B.C. This and another well-preserved section
are in the Uffizi Palace, Florence. One of two other fragments in the
Villa Medici contains the head and bust of Augustus, and with the
section here shown completes what is supposed to be a group of the
family of Augustus.]
At last Agrippina arrived at Rome with the ashes of her husband, and
she began with her usual vehemence to fill the imperial house, the
senate, and all Rome with protests, imprecations, and accusations
against Piso. The populace, which admired her for her fidelity and
love for her husband, was even more deeply stirred, and on every hand
the cry was raised that an exemplary punishment ought to be meted out
to so execrable a crime.
If at first Piso had treated these absurd charges with haughty disdain,
he soon perceived that the danger was growing serious and that it was
necessary for him to hasten his return to Rome, where a trial was now
inevitable. One of Germanicus's friends had accused him; Agrippina, an
unwitting tool in the hands of the emperor's enemies, every day stirred
public opinion to still higher pitches of excitement through her grief
and her laments; the party of Germanicus worked upon the senate and the
people, and when Piso arrived at Rome he found that he had been
abandoned by all. His hope lay in Tiberius, who knew the truth and who
certainly desired that these wild notions be driven out of the popular
mind. But Tiberius was watched with the most painstaking malevolence.
Any least action in favor of Piso would have been interpreted as a
decisive proof that he had been the murderer's accomplice and therefore
wished to save him. In fact, it was being reported at Rome with
ever-increasing insistence that at the trial Piso would show the
letters of Tiberius. When the trial began, Livia, in the background,
cleverly directed her thoughts to the saving of Plancina; but Tiberius
could do no more for Piso than to recommend to the senate that they
exercise the most rigorous impartiality. His noble speech on this
occasion has been preserved for us by Tacitus. "Let them judge," he
said, "without regard either for the imperial family or for the family
of Piso." The admonition was useless, for his condemnation was a
foregone conclusion, despite the absurdity of the charges. The enemies
of Tiberius wished to force matters to the uttermost limit in the hope
that the famous letters would have to be produced; and they acted with
such frenzied hatred and excited public opinion to such a pitch that
Piso killed himself before the end of the trial.
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