Res Gestae

It was further devised that sundry low-born men, whose very insignificance made them little to be feared, should be appointed to gather gossip in all

And sometimes it happened that if the head of a household, in the seclusion of his private apartments, with no confidential servant present, had whispered something in the ear of his wife, the emperor learned it on the following day, as if it were reported by Amphiaraus or Marcius, those famous seers of old.[*](Amphiaraüs was a famous seer of the heroic age, who took part in the hunt of the Calydonian boar, the expedition of the Argonauts, and unwillingly, because he saw the outcome, in the war of the Seven against Thebes, in which he lost his life. The prophecies of Marcius, or as some say, of two brothers of that name, were discovered in 213; B.C. According to Livy, xxv. 12, 5, they foretold the defeat at Cannae. Cf. also Pausanias, I. 34. 4 ff. and II. 13. 7. At a later time these prophetic writings were preserved on the Capitol at Rome with the Sibylline books.) And so even the walls, the only sharers of secrets, were feared.

Moreover, his fixed purpose of ferreting out these and many similar things increased, spurred on by the queen, who pushed her husband’s fortunes headlong to sheer ruin, when she ought rather, with womanly gentleness, to have recalled him by helpful counsel to the path of truth and mercy, after the manner of the wife[*](Her name is unknown; she was perhaps the diva Paulina whose name appears on a silver coin of the period.) of that savage emperor Maximinus, as we have related in our account of the acts of the Gordians.

Finally, following an unprecedented and destructive course, Gallus also ventured to commit the atrocious crime which, to his utter disgrace, Gallienus is said to have once hazarded at Rome. Taking with him a few attendants with concealed weapons, he used to roam at evening about the inns and street-corners, inquiring of every one in Greek, of which he had remarkable command, what he thought of the Caesar. And this he did boldly in a city[*](That is, Anitioch. The brillant lighting of the city is mentioned also by Lisbanius and Hieronymus.) where the brightness of the lights at night commonly equals the resplendence of day. At last, being often recognized, and reflecting that if he continued that course he would be conspicuous, he appeared only in broad daylight, to attend to matters which he considered important. And all this conduct of his caused very deep sorrow to many.

Now at that time Thalassius was the Praetorian Prefect at court,[*](This office was originally a military one, but the praefectus praetorio under Constantine became the highest civil servant of the emperor. On praesens, see Introd. p. xxxiii. In this case the court of Gallus is referred to, and there would also be a praefectus praetorio praesens at the court of Constantius.) a man who was himself of an imperious character. He, perceiving that Gallus’ temper was rising, to the peril of many, did not try to soothe it by ripe counsel, as sometimes high officials have moderated the ire of princes; but rather roused the Caesar to fury by opposing and reproving him at unseasonable times; very frequently he informed the emperor of Gallus’ doings, exaggerating them and taking pains—whatever his motive may have been—to do it openly. Through this conduct the Caesar was soon still more violently enraged,

And indeed this was not the only calamity to afflict the Orient with various disasters. For the Isaurians[*](A people dwelling in the mountains of Pisida in southern Asia Minor.) too, whose way it is now to keep the peace and now put everything in turmoil by sudden raids, abandoned their occasional secret plundering expeditions and, as impunity stimulated for the worse their growing boldness, broke out in a serious war. For a long time they had been inflaming their warlike spirits by restless outbreaks, but they were now especially exasperated, as they declared, by the indignity of some of their associates, who had been taken prisoner, having been thrown to beasts of prey in the shows of the amphitheatre at Iconium, a town of Pisidia—an outrage without precedent.

And, in the words of Cicero,[*](Pro Cluentio, 25, 67.) as even wild animals, when warned by hunger, generally return to the place where they were once fed, so they all, swooping like a whirlwind down from their steep and rugged mountains, made for the districts near the sea; and hiding themselves there in pathless lurking-places and defiles as the dark nights were coming on-the moon being still crescent and so not shining with full brilliance—they watched the sailors. And when they saw that they were buried in sleep, creeping on all fours along the anchor-ropes and making their

This however did not continue long; for when the fate of those whom they had butchered and plundered became known, no one afterwards put in at those ports, but avoiding them as they would the deadly cliffs of Sciron,[*](A notorious robber slain by Theseus; he haunted the cliffs between Attica and Megara. He not only robbed travellers who came that way, but forced them to wash his feet, and while they were obeying kicked their off into the sea.) they coasted along the shores of Cyprus, which lie opposite to the crags of Isauria.

Then presently, as time went on and nothing came their way from abroad, they left the sea-coast and withdrew to that part of Lycaonia that borders on Isauria; and there, blocking the roads with close barricades, they lived on the property of the provincials and of travellers.