Galba

Galba was also somehow related to Livia, the wife of Augustus Caesar, and therefore, at the instance of Livia, he was made consul[*](In 33 A.D.) by the emperor. We are told also that he commanded an army in Germany with distinction, and that when he was pro-consul of Africa,[*](In 45 A.D.) he won such praise as few have done. But his simple and contented way of living, the sparing hand with which he dealt out money, always avoiding excess, were counted unto him, when he became emperor, as parsimony, so that the reputation which he bore for moderation and self-restraint was an insipid sort of thing.

By Nero he was sent out as governor of Spain,[*](In 61 A.D.) before Nero had yet learned to be afraid of citizens who were held in high esteem. Galba, however, was thought to be of a gentle nature, and his great age gave an added confidence that he would always act with caution.

But when, as the nefarious agents of Nero savagely and cruelly harried the provinces, Galba could help the people in no other way than by making it plain that he shared in their distress and sense of wrong, this somehow brought relief and comfort to those who were being condemned in court and sold into slavery. And when verses were made about Nero, and men circulated and sang them freely, he did not put a stop to it nor share in the displeasure of Nero’s agents; wherefore he was still more beloved by the inhabitants.