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English Pages 138 Year 1990
CAESARIS AVGVSTI
RES GESTAE ET FRAGMENTA
CLASSICAL STUDIES Pedagogy Series GENERAL EDITOR
Norma Goldman Wayne State University
ADVISORY EDITORS
Herbert W. Bernario Emeritus, Emory University
Sally Davis Wakefield High School Arlington, Virginia
Judith Lynn Sebesta University of South Dakota
Meyer Reinhold Boston University
BOOKS IN THIS SERIES
Caesaris Augusti Res Gestae et Fragmenta Second edition, revised and enlarged by Herbert W. Benario, 1990 Roman Letters: History from a Personal Point of View By Finley Hooper and Matthew Schwartz, 1990 Cicero's Verrine Oration II.4: With Notes and Vocabulary By Sheila K. Dickison, 1992 The Two Worlds of the Poet: New Perspectives on Vergil Edited by Robert M. Wilhelm and Howard Jones, 1992
Res Publica Conquassata: Readings on the Fall of the Roman Republic Selected and edited by James K. Finn and Frank J. Groten, Jr., 1998
CAESARIS AVGVSTI RES GESTAE ET FRAGMENTA
Introduction, Notes, and Vocabulary
Robert S. Rogers Kenneth Scott Margaret M. Ward Second Edition, Revised and Enlarged
Herbert W. Benario y^
Wayne State University Press Detroit
Originally published in 1935, by D. C. Heath and Company. Second edition, revised and enlarged, copyright © 1990 by Wayne State University Press, Detroit, Michigan 48201. All rights are reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced without formal permission. 10 0 9 0 8 0 7 0 6
7 6 5 4 3
Augustus, Emperor of Rome, 63 B.C.-14 A.D. [Res gestae] Caesaris Augusti Res gestae ; et, Fragmenta / with introduction, notes, and vocabulary, Robert S. Rogers, Kenneth Scott, and Margaret M. Ward. — 2nd ed., rev. and enl. / by Herbert W. Benario. p. cm. — (Classical studies pedagogy series) Latin text; commentary in English. ISBN 0-8143-2137-2. — ISBN 0-8143-2138-0 (pbk.) 1. Augustus, Emperor of Rome, 63 B.C.-14 A.D. 2. Rome—History—Augustus, 30 B.C.-14 A.D. 3. Latin language—Readers. I. Rogers, Robert Samuel, d. 1968. II. Scott, Kenneth. III. Ward, Margaret M. IV. Benario, Herbert W. V. Augustus, Emperor of Rome, 63 B.C.-14 A.D. Fragments. 1990. VI. Title. VII. Title: Res gestae. VIII. Series. PA6220.A85A7 1990 937'.07'092—dc20 89-25021 CIP
To Emile B. de Sauze friend of the classics and
Janice M. Benario uxori dilectissimae
Ancient Critics on Augustus' Style "Augustus cultivated a style of speaking which was chaste and elegant. . . . His chief objective was to express his thoughts with the utmost clarity." (Augustus, 86) Suetonius Tranquillus, private secretary to the Emperor Hadrian, and author of the Lives of the Caesars. "Augustus adheres to his father's (Julius Caesar's) elegance of diction." (Nodes Atticae, x, 24) Aulus Gellius, critic of literature and language, and author of the Attic Nights. "Augustus' eloquence is facile and fluent, and such as befits a prince." (Annales, xiii, 3) Tacitus, the greatest orator of his time and the greatest historian of the Roman Empire. "In my judgment Augustus . . . spoke with taste and employed the Latin tongue with its charm still unimpaired." (Epistulae, ed. Mai, p. 119) Fronto, the most distinguished orator of the Antonine period and tutor of Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus. "The deified Augustus spoke with elegance." (Controversiae, ii, 5, 20) The Elder Seneca, a famous teacher of literature and rhetoric, and a tremendous admirer of Cicero. And, from a later period, "Augustus wrote a book of epigrams and another of letters to his friends. The work was composed with the most elegant severity and most distinguished brevity." (Rerum Memorandarum, i, 2, 3) Petrarch, illustrious Italian poet and humanist, and inaugurator of the Renaissance in Italy.
PREFACE To THE FIRST EDITION THE need of fresh material for elementary Latin reading has long been apparent and was recently stressed in the Report of the Classical Investigation [ 1924]. This Latin should be genuine, not artificial, and it should furthermore belong to the period when the so-called Classical Latin, the prose of Caesar, Cicero, and Livy, was spoken and written. At the same time material is required which will be free from the complicated and lengthy periods of these authors. There is one author who meets these requirements, and only one; and he happens to be the most important historical character of the Roman Empire, its founder, Caesar Augustus. His style is crystal clear, equaling or surpassing that of his uncle, Julius. His sentences, moreover, in contrast with the lengthy periods of the Commentaries, are simple and concise, affording examples of almost every common phase of Latin syntax, especially of numerals and of passive periphrastic, infinitival, and participial constructions. But they do not, as is often the case with Caesar, hurl these constructions all at once upon the reader. The Res Gestae, an autobiographical sketch of the emperor's life, gives in clear-cut form the historical background of the Augustan Age, a background indispensable as a preparation for subsequent reading of Vergil, Horace, Ovid, Propertius, Tibullus, and Livy. It provides also an excellent introduction to Roman public life, an understanding of which is so necessary in the Cicero year. Furthermore, scarcely a word is used which is not Ciceronian; and likewise a large part of the vocabulary is found in the word lists of the College Entrance Board. The letters, jests, and other fragments provide a similar introduction to Roman private life and afford an intimate and personal glimpse of the Roman imperial family and of some of Augustus' friends, as his prime minister Maecenas and the poet Horace. vn
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Preface to the First Edition
For the text of the Res Gestae the editors have followed the recent edition of C. Barini (Milano, 1930); no attempt has been made to indicate what part of the text represents restoration of the lacunae by editors, since that is of no value for elementary students. For the fragments the editors have followed H. Malcovati's Caesaris Augusti Imperatoris Operum Fragmenta (Torino, 1928), and they have sometimes taken the liberty of changing indirect to direct discourse. Grateful acknowledgment is made of an obvious indebtedness to the commentaries of Mommsen, Hardy, and Barini; and for the descriptions of coins to Mattingly's Catalogue of Roman Coins in the British Museum. This book not only may be used to precede or supplement Caesar, but would form a valuable addition to the Cicero or Vergil course; it likewise lends itself to use for supplementary or sight reading in college. It may be remarked that this is the only English edition of the Res Gestae or of the fragments annotated for use in the schools. No other edition in English or any other language is accompanied by a vocabulary. The editors have collaborated throughout to the extent that their respective contributions can hardly be differentiated. This book in experimental form has aroused much enthusiasm in classes at Glenville High School, Cleveland, where it has been tested. Particularly striking has been the reaction of the weaker students, whose interest is generally less easily stimulated; their command of grammar and ability to understand Latin have been more rapidly promoted than by the usual books designed for the use of second-year students. And all students manifest enjoyment of the subject matter. The editors wish to acknowledge gratefully the kindness of Sig. Riccardo Davico, Secretary of the American Academy in Rome, in supplying illustrations of the Forum of Augustus and the Theater of Marcellus; and of Professor W. L. Carr, General Editor of this series, and Dr. John F. Gummere of the William Penn Charter School, who read the book in proof and made valuable suggestions. R. S. R. K. S. M. M. W. January, 1935
PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION THE revision and republication of this book serve as an act of pietas, to the emperor himself and to the memory of Professor Rogers, whom I knew well for many years before his untimely death in 1968 and from whom, in conversation and from his many writings, I learned a great deal. There is once again available a skillfully designed text for students at an early stage of reading and comprehension. I have undertaken to maintain the character of the book as much as possible, while expanding and occasionally correcting, to make it as suitable for the student of the 1990s as it was for the student of the 1930s. I have added two items to the Fragmenta and chosen new illustrations. The text of the Res Gestae is now based upon that of V. Ehrenberg and A. H. M. Jones, Documents Illustrating the Reigns of Augustus and Tiberius (Oxford: Clarendon Press 19552). Although macrons (long marks) appear in both text and vocabulary, I have omitted them in the notes, so that the student may become accustomed to plain Latin. I have profited from the comments of my wife, who, as always, has been a searching yet loving critic, and from Wayne State University Press's referee. H. W. B. March, 1990
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CONTENTS
Preface to the First Edition
vii
Preface to the Second Edition
ix
List of Illustrations
xiii
Introduction
xv
RES G E S T A E
3
FRAGMENTA
23
Notes on RES G E S T A E
47
Notes on F R A G M E N T A
63
Chronological Table
87
Genealogical Tables
91
Vocabulary
95
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LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Temple of Rome and Augustus, Ankara
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The beginning of the inscription of the Res Gestae
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Augustus as Imperator, from the Villa at Priina Porta
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Augustus as Pontifex Maximus
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Ara Pacis Augustae
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Ara Pacis Augustae, procession with Augustus
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Dedication to Lucius Caesar, aged fourteen, as princeps iuventutis and consul designate
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Bridge at Narni
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Forum of Augustus, with temple of Mars Ultor
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Model of the Forum of Augustus, with temple of Mars Ultor
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Theater of Marcellus
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Arch of Augustus at Susa, in the Cottian Alps
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The tropaeum Augusti at La Turbie in southern France
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Model of the tropaeum Augusti
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Augustus with the corona civica (Staatliche Antikensammlungen und Glyptothek Miinchen)
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Livia
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The deified Augustus, from an altar in Ravenna
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INTRODUCTION AUGUSTUS, like his great-uncle and adoptive father Julius Caesar, was a master of the Latin language and keenly interested in literature. He was the author of a lost hexameter poem on Sicily, probably a geographical work, of epigrams of which two examples survive, and of ribald poems called Fescennini sent to Asinius Pollio. His Ajax, a tragedy, did not satisfy him; ultimately, when asked how it was getting on, Augustus replied, "My Ajax has fallen on the sponge." Upon the death of his stepson Drusus in 9 B.C., he composed the poetic tomb inscription as well as a prose outline of his life. The letters of the emperor to members of his family or to his friends are a revelation of the human side of a great ruler and statesman. They show sincerity, directness of style, and a delightful sense of humor, which must have had much to do with endearing Augustus to his subjects, and further examples of which are recorded, notably by the Elder Seneca, Quintilian, and Macrobius. Four other prose works, like the letters, have almost completely perished. We know that he wrote "rescripts to Brutus on Cato" and "exhortations to philosophy." Much more important was his autobiography in thirteen books, which covered the years until 25 B.C.; one considerable fragment dealing with the appearance of the Julian comet was cited by the Elder Pliny and is included here. He also wrote a military handbook known as Disciplina, of which one excerpt is also included. Of Augustus' further compositions the biographer Suetonius says: "In one of the three rolls [which he had deposited for safekeeping with the Vestal Virgins, who after his death produced them in the Senate where they were read] he included directions for his funeral; in the second, an account of what he had accomplished, which he desired to have cut upon bronze tablets and set up at the entrance to the Mausoleum [the tomb on xv
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Introduction
the field of Mars which he had built for himself and his family]; in the third, a summary of the conditions of the whole empire" (Augustus 101, Rolfe's translation). These three documents were lost to later times, until in 1555 a Dutch scholar named Buysbecche discovered on the walls of the temple of Rome and Augustus at Ankara (Ancyra) in Turkey a Latin copy of the Res Gestae, the contents of the second roll, and a Greek translation. Later, fragmentary copies of the Greek translation were found at Apollonia and of the Latin version at Antioch in Pisidia. Both places were part of the province of Galatia, as was Ancyra, and one can only wonder why the text was so extensively published in central Asia Minor. This great inscription, also known as the Monumentum Ancyranum, has been called the "queen of Latin inscriptions." It consists of three parts: chapters 1-14 enumerate the offices and honors conferred upon Augustus and his grandsons; chapters 15-24 record his achievements for the Roman people, such as his expenditures, buildings, and festivals; and chapters 25-35 are the res gestae proper, his political deeds in peace and his successes in war. It has been called "a posthumous political manifesto in the retrospective form of a dignified narrative of the emperor's public career" (J. E. Sandys, Latin Epigraphy [Cambridge 19272] 259). Yet it is much more than that. In the words of one of the greatest interpreters of Roman history of this century, it would be imprudent to use the document as a sure guide for history, petulant and pointless to complain of omission and misrepresentation. No less vain the attempt to discover ultimate derivation and exact definition as a literary form. While the Princeps lived, he might, like other rulers, be openly worshipped as a deity in the provinces or receive in Rome and Italy honours like those accorded to gods by grateful humanity: to Romans he was no more than the head of the Roman State. Yet one thing was certain. When he was dead, Augustus would receive the honours of the Founder who was also Aeneas and Romulus, and, like Divus Julius, he would be enrolled by vote of the Roman Senate among the gods of Rome for his great merits—and for reasons of high politics. None the less, it will not help to describe the Res Gestae as the titledeeds of his divinity. If explained they must be, it is not with
Introduction
reference to the religions and kings of the Hellenistic East but from Rome and Roman practice, as a combination between the elogium of a Roman general and the statement of accounts of a Roman magistrate. Like Augustus, his Res Gestae are unique, defying verbal definition and explaining themselves. (R. Syme, The Roman Revolution [Oxford 1939] 523-24)
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CAESARIS AVGVSTI RES GESTAE ET FRAGMENTA
Temple of Rome and Augustus, Ankara (J. M. Conant)
The beginning of the inscription of the Res Gestae (R. V. Schoder, S. J.)
RES GESTAE RERUM gestarum divi August!, quibus orbem terrarum imperio popuh Roman! subiecit, et impensarum quas in rem publicam populumque Romanum fecit, incisarum in duabus ahenels pills, quae sunt Romae positae, exemplar subiectum. 1 Annos undevlgintl natus exercitum private consilio et privata impensa comparavi, per quem rem publicam a dominatione factionis oppressam in llbertatem vindicavi. Eo nomine senatus decretis honorificis in ordinem suum me adlegit, C. Pansa et A. Hirtio consulibus, consularem locum sententiae dicendae tribuens, et imperium mihi dedit. Res publica ne quid detrimentl caperet, me propraetore simul cum consulibus providere iussit. Populus autem eodem anno me consulem, cum cos. uterque in bello cecidisset, et triumvirum re! publicae constituendae creavit. 2 QuI parentem meum trucldaverunt, eos in exilium expull iudicils legitimls ultus eorum facinus, et postea bellum inferentis rel publicae vlcl bis acie. 3 Bella terra et man clvllia externaque toto in orbe terrarum saepe gessi, victorque omnibus veniam petentibus civibus pepercl. Externas gentes, quibus tuto ignosci potuit, conservare quam excidere malul. MQlia clvium Romanorum sub sacramento meo fuerunt circiter quingenta. Ex quibus deduxT in colonias aut remlsl in municipia sua stlpendis emeritls mlllia aliquanto plura quam trecenta, et ils omnibus agros adsignavi aut pecuniam pro praemils mllitiae dedl. Naves cepT sescentas praeter eas, si quae minores quam triremes fuerunt. 4 Bis ovans triumphavl et tris egT curulls triumphos et appellatus sum vlciens et semel imperator, decernente pluris triumphos mihi senatu, qui3
Augustus as Imperator, from the Villa at Prima Porta (Museo Vaticano)
RES G E S T A E
5
bus omnibus supersedi. Laurum de fascibus deposul in Capitolio, votTs quae quoque bello nuncupaveram solutis. Ob res a me aut per legates meos auspicls meis terra manque prospere gestas qumquagiens et quinquiens decrevit senatus supplicandum esse dis immortalibus. Dies autem, per quos ex senatus consulto supplicatum est, fuere DCCCLXXXX. In triumphls meis ductl sunt ante currum meum reges aut regum llberi novem. Consul fueram terdeciens, cum scrfbebam haec, et eram septimum et tricensimum tribunlciae potestatis. 5 Dictaturam et apsentl et praesentl mihi delatam et a populo et a senatu, M. Marcello et L. Arruntio consulibus non recepi. Non sum deprecatus in summa frumentl penuria curationem annonae, quam ita administravl, ut intra dies paucos metu et periclo praesentl civitatem universam llberarem impensa et cura mea. Consulatum quoque turn annuum et perpetuum mihi delatum non recepl. 6 Consulibus M. Vinicio et Q. Lucretio et postea P. Lentulo et Cn. Lentulo et tertium Paullo Fabio Maximo et Q. Tuberone senatu populoque Romano consentientibus ut curator legum et morum summa potestate solus crearer, nullum magistratum contra morem maiorum delatum recepl. Quae turn per me gen senatus voluit, per tribumciam potestatem perfeci, cuius potestatis conlegam et ipse ultro quinquiens a senatu depoposcl et accepi. 7 Triumvirum rel publicae constituendae ful per continues annos decem. Princeps senatus ful usque ad eum diem quo scripseram haec per annos quadraginta. Pontifex maximus, augur, XV virum sacris faciundis, VII virum epulonum, frater arvalis, sodalis Titius, fetialis ful. 8 Patriciorum numerum auxl consul qulntum iussu popull et senatus. Senatum ter legl, et in consulatu sexto censum popull conlega M. Agrippa egi. Lustrum post annum alterum et quadragensimum feel, quo lustro clvium Romanorum censa sunt capita quadragiens centum mlUia et sexaginta tria mlllia. Turn iterum consular! cum imperio lustrum solus feel C. Censorino et C. Asinio cos., quo lustro censa sunt clvium Romanorum capita quadragiens centum mlllia et ducenta triginta tria mlllia. Et tertium consular! cum imperio lustrum conlega Tib. Caesare filio meo fee! Sex. Pompeio et Sex. Appuleio cos., quo lustro censa sunt clvium Romanorum capitum quadragiens centum millia et nongenta triginta et septem millia.
Augustus as Pontifex Maximus (H. W. Benario)
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Legibus novis me auctore latls multa exempla maiorum exolescentia iam ex nostro saeculo reduxi et ipse multarum rerum exempla imitanda posteris tradidl. 9 Vota pro valetudine mea suscipl per consules et sacerdotes quinto quoque anno senatus decrevit. Ex iis votis saepe fecerunt vivo me ludos aliquotiens sacerdotum quattuor amplissima collegia, aliquotiens consules. Privatim etiam et municipatim universl elves unanimiter continenter apud omnia pulvlnaria pro valetudine mea supplicaverunt. 10 Nomen meum senatus consulto inclusum est in saliare carmen, et sacrosanctus in perpetum ut essem et, quoad vlverem, tribunlcia potestas mihi esset, per legem sanctum est. Pontifex maximus ne fierem in vlvl conlegae mel locum, populo id sacerdotium deferente mihi quod pater meus habuerat, recusavl. Quod sacerdotium aliquod post annos, eo mortuo qui clvllis motus occasione occupaverat, cuncta ex Italia ad comitia mea confluente multitudine, quanta Romae nunquam fertur ante id tempus fuisse, recepT, P. Sulpicio C. Valgio consulibus. 11 Aram Fortunae Reducis ante aedes Honoris et Virtutis ad portam Capenam pro reditu meo senatus consacravit, in qua pontifices et virgines Vestales anniversarium sacrificium facere iussit eo die quo, consulibus Q. Lucretio et M. Vinicio, in urbem ex Syria redieram, et diem Augustalia ex cognomine nostro appellavit. 12 Ex senatus auctoritate pars praetorum et tribunorum plebi cum consule Q. Lucretio et principibus viris obviam mihi missa est in Campaniam, qui honos ad hoc tempus neminl praeter me est decretus. Cum ex Hispania Galliaque, rebus in iis provincis prospere gestls, Romam redl, Ti. Nerone P. Quintilio consulibus, aram Pacis Augustae senatus pro reditu meo consacrandam censuit ad campum Martium, in qua magistratus et sacerdotes virginesque Vestales anniversarium sacrificium facere iussit. 13 lanum Quirinum, quern claussum esse maiores nostri voluerunt cum per totum imperium popull Roman! terra manque esset parta victoriis pax, cum, priusquam nascerer, a condita urbe bis omnino clausum fuisse prodatur memoriae, ter me principe senatus claudendum esse censuit.
Ara Pacis Augustae (Fototeca Unione, at the American Academy in Rome, neg. 1038)
Ara Pacis Augustae, procession with Augustus (Fototeca Unione, at the American Academy in Rome, neg. 3246)
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14 FTlios meos, quos iuvenes mihi eripuit fortuna, Gaium et Lucium Caesares honoris me! caussa senatus populusque Romanus annum quintum et decimum agentls consules designavit, ut eum magistratum inlrent post quinquennium, et ex eo die quo deduct! sunt in forum ut interessent consilils publicis decrevit senatus. Equites autem Roman! universi principem iuventutis utrumque eorum parmls et hastls argenteis donatum appellaverunt. 15 Plebei Romanae viritim HS trecenos numerav! ex testamento patris me! et nomine meo HS quadringenos ex bellorum manibiis consul quintum ded!, iterum autem in consulatu decimo ex patrimonio meo HS quadringenos congiar! viritim pernumerav!, et consul undecimum duodecim frumentationes frumento privatim coempto emensus sum, et tribumcia potestate duodecimum quadringenos nummos tertium viritim ded!. Quae mea congiaria pervenerunt ad hominum millia numquam minus quinquaginta etducenta. Tribunlciae potestatis duodevlcensimum, consul XII, trecenfis et v!gint! millibus plebis urbanae sexagenos denarios viritim ded!. Et coloms
Dedication to Lucius Caesar, aged fourteen, as princeps iuventutis and consul designate (Fototeca Unione, at the American Academy in Rome, neg. 1315)
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militum meorum consul qulntum ex manibils vintim millia nummum singula dedi; acceperunt id triumphale congiarium in colonis hominum circiter centum et vlgintl millia. Consul tertium decimum sexagenos denarios plebel quae turn frumentum publicum accipiebat dedi; ea millia hominum paullo plura quam ducenta fuerunt. 16 Pecuniam pro agris quos in consulatu meo quarto et postea consulibus M. Crasso et Cn. Lentulo Augure adsignavT mllitibus solvi municipis; ea summa sestertium circiter sexsiens mflliens fuit quam pro Italicls praedis numeravl, et circiter bis mllliens et sescentiens quod pro agris provincialibus solvi. Id primus et solus omnium quT deduxerunt colonias militum in Italia aut in provincls ad memoriam aetatis meae feel. Et postea, Ti. Nerone et Cn. Pisone consulibus itemque C. Antistio et D. Laelio cos. et C. Calvisio et L. Pasieno consulibus et L. Lentulo et M. Messalla consulibus et L. Canmio et Q. Fabricio cos., mllitibus quos emeriteis stipendTs in sua municipia deduxi praemia numerato persolvl, quam in rem sestertium quater mllliens circiter impend!. 17 Quater pecunia mea iuvl aerarium, ita ut sestertium mllliens et qufngentiens ad eos qul praerant aerario detulerim. Et M. Lepido et L. Arruntio cos. in aerarium militare, quod ex consilio meo constitutum est ex quo praemia darentur mflitibus qul vlcena aut plura stipendia emeruissent, HS mllliens et septingentiens ex patrimonio meo detuli. 18 Ab eo anno quo Cn. et P. Lentull consules fuerunt, cum deficereht vectigalia, turn centum millibus hominum turn pluribus multo frumentarios et nummarios tributus ex horreo et patrimonio meo edidl. 19 Curiam et continens el Chalcidicum templumque Apollinis in Palatio cum porticibus, aedem divi lull, Lupercal, porticum ad circum Flaminium, quam sum appellari passus ex nomine eius qul priorem eodem in solo fecerat, Octaviam, pulvinar ad circum maximum, aedes in Capitolio lovis Feretri et lovis Tonantis, aedem Quirim, aedes Minervae et lunonis Regmae et lovis Libertatis in Aventino, aedem Larum in summa sacra via, aedem deum Penatium in Velia, aedem luventatis, aedem Matris Magnae in Palatio feel.
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20 Capitolium et Pompeium theatrum utrumque opus impensa grandi refecl sine ulla Inscriptione nominis mel. Rivos aquarum compluribus locis vetustate labentes refecl, et aquam quae Marcia appellatur duplicavi fonte novo in rivum eius inmisso. Foram lulium et basilicam quae fuit inter aedem Castoris et aedem Saturn!, coepta profligataque opera a patre meo, perfect et eandem basilicam consumptam incendio, ampliato eius solo, sub titulo nominis ffliorum meorum incohavl, et, si vivus non perfecissem, perfici ab heredibus mels iussi. Duo et octoginta templa deum in urbe consul sextum ex auctoritate senatus refecl nullo praetermisso quod eo tempore reficl debebat. Consul septimum viam Flaminiam ab urbe Ariminum refecl pontesque omnes praeter Mulvium et Minucium. 21 In private solo Martis Ultoris templum forumque Augustum ex manibiis feci. Theatrum ad aedem Apollinis in solo magna ex parte a privatis empto feci, quod sub nomine M. Marcelli generi mel esset. Dona ex manibiis in Capitolio et in aede dlvi lull et in aede Apollinis et in aede Vestae et in templo Martis Ultoris consacravi, quae mihi constiterunt HS
Bridge at Narni (H. W. Benario)
Forum of Augustus, with temple of Mars Ultor (Fototeca Unione, at the American Academy in Rome, neg. 447)
Model of the Forum of Augustus, with temple of Mars Ultor (H. W. Benario)
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Theater of Marcellus (Fototeca Unione, at the American Academy in Rome, neg. 541) circiter milliens. Aim coronan pondo triginta et quinque millia municipils et colonls Italiae conferentibus ad triumphos meos quintum consul remisi, et postea, quotienscumque imperator appellatus sum, aurum coronarium non accept decernentibus municipils et colonls aeque benigne adque antea decreverant. 22 Ter munus gladiatorium dedt meo nomine et qumquiens ffliorum meorum aut nepotum nomine, quibus muneribus depugnaverunt hominum circiter decem millia. Bis athletarum undique accitorum spectaculum populo praebul meo nomine et tertium nepotis meT nomine. Ludos feci meo nomine quater, aliorum autem magistratuum vicem ter et vlciens. Pro conlegio XV virorum magister conlegil collega M. Agrippa ludos saeclares C. Furnio C. Sllano cos. feel. Consul XIII ludos Martiales primus
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feci, quos post id tempus deinceps insequentibus annls s.c. et lege fecerunt consules. Venationes bestiarum Africanarum meo nomine aut ffliorum meorum et nepotum in circo aut in foro aut in amphitheatris populo dedl sexiens et vlciens, quibus confecta sunt bestiarum circiter tria millia et qulngentae. 23 Navalis proel! spectaclum populo dedl trans Tiberim in quo loco nunc nemus est Caesarum, cavato solo in longitudinem mille et octingentos pedes, in latitudinem mille et ducentl, in quo triginta rostratae naves triremes aut biremes, plures autem minores inter se confllxerunt; quibus in classibus pugnaverunt praeter remiges millia hominum tria circiter. 24 In templis omnium civitatium provinciae Asiae victor ornamenta reposui quae spoliatis templis is cum quo bellum gesseram privatim possederat. Statuae meae pedestres et equestres et in quadrigeis argenteae steterunt in urbe XXC circiter, quas ipse sustull, exque ea pecunia dona aurea in aede Apollinis meo nomine et illorum qui mihi statuarum honorem habuerunt posui. 25 Mare pacavl a praedonibus. Eo bello servorum qui fugerant a dorninls suls et arma contra rem publicam ceperant triginta fere millia capta dominls ad supplicium sumendum tradidl. luravit in mea verba tola Italia sponte sua, et me belli quo vlcl ad Actium ducem depoposcit; iuraverunt in eadem verba provinciae Galliae, Hispaniae, Africa, Sicilia, Sardinia. Qui sub signls mels turn mllitaverint fuerunt senatores plures quam DCC, in ils qui vel antea vel postea consules factl sunt ad eum diem quo scripta sunt haec LXXXIII, sacerdotes circiter CLXX. 26 Omnium provinciarum popull RomanI quibus finitimae fuerunt gentes quae non parerent imperio nostro fines auxl. Gallias et Hispanias provincias, item Germaniam, qua includit Oceanus a Gadibus ad ostium Albis fluminis pacavi. Alpes a regione ea quae proxima est Hadriano man ad Tuscum pacificavl nulll genti bello per iniuriam inlato. Classis mea per Oceanum ab ostio Rhem ad solis orientis regionem usque ad fines Cimbrorum navigavit, quo neque terra neque marl quisquam Romanus ante id tempus adit, Cimbrique et Charydes et Semnones et eiusdem tractus alii Germanorum popull per legates amlcitiam meam et popull RomanI petierunt.
Arch of Augustus at Susa, in the Cottian Alps (H. W. Benario)
The tropaeum Augusti at La Turbie in southern France (H. W. Benario)
Model of the tropaeum Augusti (H. W. Benario)
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Meo iussu et auspicio ductl sunt duo exercitus eodem fere tempore in Aethiopiam et in Arabiam quae appellatur Eudaemon, magnaeque hostium gentis utriusque copiae caesae sunt in acie et complura oppida capta. In Aethiopiam usque ad oppidum Nabata perventum est, cui proxima est Meroe; in Arabiam usque in fines Sabaeorum processit exercitus ad oppidum Mariba. 27 Aegyptum imperio populi Romani adiecl. Armeniam maiorem interfecto rege eius Artaxe cum possem facere provinciam malul maiorum nostrorum exemplo regnum id TigranI regis Artavasdis filio, nepoti autem Tigranis regis, per Ti. Neronem tradere, qui turn mihi prlvignus erat. Et eandem gentem postea desciscentem et rebellantem domitam per Gaium filium meum regi Ariobarzani regis Medorum Artabazi filio regendam tradidi, et post eius mortem filio eius Artavasdl; quo interfecto Tigranem qui erat ex regio genere Armeniorum oriundus in id regnum mlsl. Provincias omnis quae trans Hadrianum mare vergunt ad orientem Cyrenasque, iam ex parte magna regibus ea possidentibus, et antea Sicilian! et Sardinian! occupatas bello servill reciperavl. 28 Colonias in Africa, Sicilia, Macedonia, utraque Hispania, Achaia, Asia, Syria, Gallia Narbonensi, Pisidia nrQitum deduxl. Italia autem XXVIII colonias quae vivo me celeberrimae et frequentissimae fuerunt mea auctoritate deductas habet. 29 Signa militaria complura per alios duces amissa devictls hostibus recepi ex Hispania et Gallia et a Dalmateis. Parthos trium exercitum Romanorum spolia et signa reddere mihi supplicesque amlcitiam populi Romani petere coegl. Ea autem signa in penetrall quod est in templo Martis Ultoris reposul. 30 Pannoniorum gentes, quas ante me principem populi Romani exercitus nunquam adit, devictas per Ti. Neronem, qui turn erat privignus et legatus meus, imperio populi Romani subiecl, protullque fines IllyricI ad ripam fluminis Danui. Citra quod Dacorum transgressus exercitus mels auspicls victus profllgatusque est, et postea trans Danuvium ductus exercitus meus Dacorum gentes imperia populi Romani perferre coegit. 31
Ad me ex India regum legationes saepe missae sunt non vlsae ante
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id tempus apud quemquam Romanorum ducem. Nostram amicitiam appetlverunt per legates Bastarnae Scythaeque et Sarmatarum qui sunt citra flumen Tanaim et ultra reges, Albanorumque rex et Hiberorum et Medorum. 32 Ad me supplices confugerunt reges Parthorum Tiridates et postea Phrates regis Phratis fTlius, Medorum Artavasdes, Adiabenorum Artaxares, Britannorum Dumnobellaunus et Tincommius, Sugambrorum Maelo, Marcomanorum Sueborum . . . rus. Ad me rex Parthorum Phrates Orodis fTlius fflios suos nepotesque omnes misit in Italiam non bello superatus, sed amicitiam nostram per llberorum suorum pignora petens. Plurimaeque aliae gentes expertae sunt p. R. fidem me principe quibus antea cum populo Romano nullum extiterat legationum et amlcitiae commercium. 33 A me gentes Parthorum et Medorum per legates principes earum gentium reges petltos acceperunt: Parthi Vononem, regis Phratis filium, regis Orodis nepotem, Medi Ariobarzanem, regis Artavazdis filium, regis Ariobarzanis nepotem. 34 In consulatu sexto et septimo, postquam bella clvllia exstinxeram, per consensum universorum potitus rerum omnium, rem publicam ex mea potestate in senatus popullque Roman! arbitrium transtull. Quo pro merito meo senatus consulto Augustus appellatus sum et laurels postes aedium mearum vestlti publice coronaque clvica super ianuam meam fixa est et clupeus aureus in curia lulia positus, quern mihi senatum populumque Romanum dare virtutis clementiaeque et iustitiae et pietatis caussa testatum est per eius clupel inscrlptionem. Post id tempus auctoritate omnibus praestitl, potestatis autem nihilo amplius habul quam ceteri qui mihi quoque in magistratu conlegae fuerunt. 35 Tertium decimum consulatum cum gerebam, senatus et equester ordo populusque Romanus universus appellavit me patrem patriae, idque in vestibule aedium mearum inscribendum et in curia lulia et in foro Aug. sub quadrigls quae mihi ex s.c. positae sunt censuit. Cum scrips! haec annum agebam septuagensumum sextum. Appendix written after Augustus' death 1 Summa pecuniae quam dedit vel in aerarium vel plebe! Romanae vel d!miss!s militibus: denarium sexiens milliens.
Augustus with the corona civica (Staatliche Antikensammlungen und Glyptothek Munchen)
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2 Opera fecit nova aedem Martis, lovis Tonantis et Feretn, Apollinis, dlvl lull, QuirinI, Minervae, lunonls Reglnae, lovis Libertatis, Larum, deum Penatium, luventatis, Matris Magnae, Lupercal, pulvmar ad circum, curiam cum Chalcidico, forum Augustum, basilicam luliam, theatrum MarcellT, porticum Octaviam, nemus trans Tiberim Caesarum. 3 Refecit Capitolium sacrasque aedes numero octoginta duas, theatrum Pompel, aquarum rivos, viam Flaminiam. 4 Impensa praestita in spectacula scaenica et munera gladiatorum atque athletas et venationes et naumachiam et donata pecunia coloms, municipils, oppidls terrae motu incendioque consumptis aut vintim amlcls senatoribusque quorum census explevit innumerabilis.
Livia (H. W. Benario)
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i Augustus gave this reason for divorcing his first wife, Scribonia: "Morum perversitatem eius pertaesus sum." (Suetonius, Augustus, 62) 2 Letter to his wife, Livia Collocutus sum cum Tiberio, ut mandastl, mea Livia, quid nepoti tuo Tiberio faciendum esset ludls Martialibus. Consentit autem uterque nostrum semel nobls esse statuendum, quod consilium in illo sequamur. Nam si est artius, ut ita dlcam, holocleros, quid est quod dubitemus, quin per eosdem articulos et gradus producendus sit, per quos frater eius productus sit? Sin autem T|\aTT(Ji>cr6ai [to be wanting] sentlmus eum et pepAa9cu KOtl eis T7]v TOU CTwjjiaTos Kal eis TTJV TT^S ila'xinw vocrrijcrounev, f^f^ Trepioi8e vofjaau. [If he be my comrade, even from blazing fire We both should return, for he knows good counsel.] (Suetonius, Tiberius, 21) 14 Letter to Tiberius Attenuatum te esse continuatione laborum cum audio et lego, dl me perdant nisi cohorrescit corpus meum; teque oro ut parcas tibi ne, si te languere audierimus, et ego et mater tua explremus et summa imperi sul populus R. periclitetur. (Suetonius, Tiberius, 21) 15 Letter to Tiberius Nihil interest valeam ipse necne, si tu non valebis. (Suetonius, Tiberius, 21) 16 Letter to Tiberius Deos obsecro ut te nobis conservent et valere nunc et semper patiantur, si non p. R. perosl sunt. (Suetonius, Tiberius, 21) 17 Letter to his daughter, Julia MIsi tibi denarios ducentos qulnquaginta, quos singulls convlvls dederam, si vellent inter se inter cenam vel tails vel par impar ludere. (Suetonius, Augustus, 71)
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18 Julia's hair began to turn prematurely, and her imperial father once surprised her while her maids were pulling out the gray hairs, though he at first pretended not to have noticed. He finally turned the conversation to the subject of age and asked her, "Utrum post aliquot annos cana esse mavis an calva?" She answered, "Ego, pater, cana esse malo," and Augustus replied: "Quid ergo istae te calvam tam cito faciunt?" (Macrobius, Saturnalia, ii, 5, 7) 19 Augustus at first rather prided himself upon Julia's high spirits and gaiety which, while rather extreme, he considered were nevertheless pardonable. And so he once said to his friends: "Duas habeo fflias delicatas, quas necesse habeo ferre, rem publicam et luliam." (Macrobius, Saturnalia, ii, 5, 4) 20 At a gladiatorial show Li via and Julia had been accompanied, the former by numerous men of dignity, the latter by a group of young bloods. Whereupon Augustus sent his daughter a note of rebuke, which contained the following: "Vide quantum inter duas principes feminas intersit." To this the disrespectful young lady made the apt reply: "Et hi mecum senes fient."
'
(Macrobius, Saturnalia, ii, 5, 6) 21 A puritanical parent, Augustus insisted upon strait-laced conduct on the part of his daughter and granddaughters. On one occasion he wrote to Lucius Vinicius, a young man of distinguished family: "Parum modeste fecistl quod flliam meam Baias salutatum venisti." (Suetonius, Augustus, 64) 22 When Julia's immoral conduct could no longer be ignored, Augustus exiled her, and, carried away by his anger, made public the details of her misconduct. Later, overcome by shame and regret, he often exclaimed: "Horum mihi nihil accidisset, si aut Agrippa aut Maecenas vixisset." (Seneca, De Beneficiis, vi, 32)
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23 Upon the downfall and disgrace of Julia, a freedwoman named Phoebe, one of her accomplices, hanged herself. When Augustus heard of this he said: "Maluissem Phoebes pater esse." (Suetonius, Augustus, 65) 24 At every mention of Agrippa Postumus or of the Julias (his daughter and granddaughter), Augustus would groan and paraphrase Homer's Iliad,, iii, 40: al6' 6c|>e\ov cryafjuSs T' c|xevou or/ovos T' diroXeaOaL [Would that I had been unwed or had died without children!] And he always referred to them as "tris vomicas ac tria carcinomata mea." (Suetonius, Augustus, 65) 25 Letter to his grandson, Gains Caesar Quoniam innumerabilia incidunt assidue quae scribl ad alterutrum oporteat et esse secreta, habeamus inter nos notas, si vis, tales ut, cum aliquid notis scribendum erit, pro unaquaque littera scribamus sequentem hoc modo: pro a b, pro b c et deinceps eadem ratione ceteras; pro x autem littera redeundum erit ad duplex a. (Suetonius, De Viris Illustribus, 117) 26 Letter to Gains Caesar
IX Kal. Octobris. Ave, mi Gal, meus asellus iucundissimus, quern semper medius Fidius desidero, cum a me abes. Sed praecipue diebus talibus, qualis est hodiernus, ocull mei requirunt meum Gaium, quern, ubicumque hoc die fuisti, spero laetum et bene valentem celebrasse quartum et sexagesimum natalem meum. Nam, ut vides, KXL(xaKTf|pa [critical point] communem seniorum omnium tertium et sexagesimum annum evasimus. Deos autem oro ut, mini quantumcumque superest temporis, id salvis nobis traducere liceat in statu reipublicae felicissimo, avSpccyaOouvTcov TJJXWV Kai 8ia8exou,evwv [while you serve bravely and relieve me of] stationem meam. (Aulus Gellius, Nodes Atticae, xv, 7, 3)
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Letter to his granddaughter, Agrippina Puerum Gaium XV Kal. lun., si dil volent, ut ducerent Talarius et Asillius, heri cum ils constitul. Mitto praeterea cum eo ex servls mels medicum, quern scripsl Germanico, si vellet, ut retineret. Valebis, mea Agrippina, et dabis operam ut valens prevenias ad Germanicum tuum. (Suetonius, Caligula, 8)
28 Upon the death of his stepson, Drusus, whom he had dearly loved and greatly admired, Augustus said in a public funeral oration: "Deos precor, ut similes tibi Caesares meos faciant mihique tarn honestum quandoque exitum dent quam tibi dederunt." (Suetonius, Claudius, 1) 29 After the Senate had made use of the young Octavian and felt that it could now dispense with his services, Cicero said: "Laudandus adulescens, ornandus, tollendus." Octavian, when he heard of this, remarked: "Non committam ut toll! possim!" (Cicero, Epistulae ad Familiares, xi, 20, 1)
30 Letter to Maecenas Ante ipse sufficiebam scrlbendis epistulis amlcorum, nunc occupatissimus et infirmus Horatium nostrum a te cupio abducere. Veniet ergo ab ista parasitica mensa ad hanc regiam et nos in epistulis scrlbendis adiuvabit. (Suetonius, Horace)
31 Letter to the poet Horace Sume tibi aliquid Juris apud me tamquam si convictor mihi fueris; recte enim et non temere feceris, quoniam id usus mihi tecum esse volui, si per valetudinem tuam fieri possit. (Suetonius, Horace)
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32 Letter to Horace Tul qualem habeam memoriam poteris ex Septimio quoque nostro audlre; nam incidit ut illo coram fieret a me tul mentio. Neque enim, si tu superbus amicitiam nostram sprevistl, ideo nos quoque av(hmepT|avou(ji,ev [shall be haughty in return]. (Suetonius, Horace) 33 Letter to Horace IrascI me tibi sclto, quod non in plerisque eius modi scriptls mecum potissimum loquaris; an vereris ne apud posteros mfame tibi sit, quod videaris familiaris nobls esse? (Suetonius, Horace) 34 Letter to Horace Pertulit ad me Onysius libellum tuum, quem ego ut excusantem, quantuluscumque est, bonl consulo. Vereri autem mihi videris ne maiores libelll tul sint, quam ipse es; sed tibi statura deest, corpusculum non deest. Itaque licebit in sextariolo scribas, quo circuitus voluminis tul sit 6"yKw8eaTaTos [very fat], sicut est ventricull tul. (Suetonius, Horace) 35 Letter to Vergil Vergil had hardly commenced his Aeneid before its fame began to spread. Augustus sent him a letter of entreaty and jocular threat, containing the command: "Mihi de Aeneide vel prima carminis hypographa vel quodlibet colon mitte." (Suetonius, Vergil, 31) 36 Augustus' friend, Cornelius Gallus, was driven by the denunciations of accusers and by decrees of the Senate to such despair that he committed suicide. Augustus praised the loyalty and zeal of the Senate on his behalf and thus tearfully bewailed his lot: "Mihi soli non licet amlcis, quatenus velim, IrascI." (Suetonius, Augustus, 66)
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37
The historian Timagenes indulged in language abusive of Augustus, Livia, and the whole imperial house. After repeated warnings Augustus finally banished him from court. In spite of this mark of disfavor Timagenes was welcomed to the home of Asinius Pollio, where he continued his attacks on the emperor and still escaped social ostracism. Augustus, meeting Pollio, said: "9T|pioTpo4>e!s [You're boarding a wild beast]"; and added, before Pollio could make excuses, "Fruere, ml Pollio, fruere!" Thereupon Pollio said: "SI iubes, Caesar, statim illl domo mea interdlcam"; to which Augustus replied: "Hoc me putas facturum, cum ego vos in gratiam reduxerim?" alluding to a former occasion upon which he had brought about a reconciliation between Timagenes and Pollio. (Seneca, De Ira, iii, 23) 38 Cato Uticensis had been a staunch Republican opposed to Julius Caesar. While Augustus was staying in a house which had once been the residence of Cato, Strabo the geographer, to flatter the emperor, spoke slightingly of the stubbornness of this republican hero. Augustus rebuked him with the words: "Quisquis praesentem statum clvitatis commutari non volet, et clvis et vir bonus est." (Macrobius, Saturnalia, ii, 4, 18) 39 When Cassius Severus accused Augustus' intimate friend, Nonius Asprenas, of murder by poison, Augustus asked the Senate what was the proper thing for him to do, saying: "Cunctor enim ne, si supersim, eripere legibus reum, sin desim, destituere ac praedamnare amlcum existimer." By the consent of the whole Senate he sat on the court benches for several hours, but said nothing. (Suetonius, Augustus, 56) 40 In A.D. 9 one of the generals of Augustus, Publius Quintilius Varus, and three whole legions were annihilated in the swamps of the Teutoburg Forest by the German tribes. Upon receipt of the news the aged emperor as a sign of mourning let his hair and beard grow, and at times would dash his head against the doorposts with the cry "Qulntill Vare, legiones redde!" (Suetonius, Augustus, 23)
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41 From an edict of Augustus Ita mihi salvam ac sospitem rem p. sistere in sua sede liceat atque eius rei fructum percipere, quern peto, ut optiml status auctor dlcar et moriens ut feram mecum spem mansura in vestigio suo fundamenta rei p. quae iecero. (Suetonius, Augustus, 28)
42 When the Senate conferred upon Augustus the honorary title of pater patriae it commissioned Valerius Messalla to notify the emperor of this distinction. By the Senate's instruction Messalla said: "Quod bonum faustumque sit tibi domulque tuae, Caesar Auguste! Sic enim nos perpetuam fellcitatem rei publicae et laeta huic precari existimamus: Senatus te consentiens cum populo Romano consalutat patriae patrem." The emperor, moved to tears, replied: "Compos factus votorum meorum, patres conscriptl, quid habeo aliud deos immortales precari, quam ut hunc consensum vestrum ad ultimum finem vltae mihi perferre liceat?" (Suetonius, Augustus, 58) 43 In a letter to the Senate, in which he had promised that his retirement would be neither without dignity nor at variance with his former fame, Augustus wrote: "Sed ista fieri speciosius quam promittl possunt. Me tamen cupido temporis optatissiml mihi provexit ut, quoniam rerum laetitia moratur adhuc, praeciperem aliquid voluptatis ex verborum dulcedine." (Seneca, Dialogi, x, 4) 44 Augustus never commended his sons without adding: "SI merebuntur." (Suetonius, Augustus, 56)
45 Augustus set up statues of distinguished Romans in his forum, and at their dedication said: "Hoc commentus sum ut ad illorum vltam velut ad exemplar et ego, dum vlvam, et insequentium aetatium principes exigamur a civibus." (Suetonius, Augustus, 31)
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46 A letter of Augustus to his fellow priests, the Quindecimviri, concerning the forthcoming secular games (17 B.C.), was inscribed on stone, and some fragments have been preserved, of which the following is the most readable: " . . . pueros virginesque patrimos matrimosque ad carmen canendum chorosque habendos frequentes convenire itemque ad ea sacrificia atque ad eos ludos parandos diligenter meminerint." (Corpus Inscriptionwn Latinarum, vi, 32323)
47 In a year of famine Augustus expelled from the city of Rome many gladiators, foreigners, and slaves, and was in principle so bitterly opposed to the dole system that he wrote: "Impetus me cepit frumentationes publicas in perpetuum abolendl, quod earum fiducia cultura agrorum cessat; neque tamen perseveravl, quia certum habeo posse per ambitionem quandoque restitul." (Suetonius, Augustus, 42) 48 When the populace grew insistent about a promised dole, Augustus answered them: "Bonae fide! sum." But when they demanded a dole which he had not promised, he rebuked their shameless insolence in an edict with the words: "Non dabo, quamvls dare destinarem." (Suetonius, Augustus, 42) 49 Edict issued by Augustus in A.D. 8 Quaestiones neque semper in omnl causa et persona deslderari debere arbitror, et, cum capitalia et atrociora maleficia non aliter explorar! et investlgari possunt quam per servorum quaestiones, efficacissimas eas esse ad requlrendam veritatem existimo et habendas censeo. (Paulus, Digest, 48, 18, 8 pr.)
50 In his "Military Handbook," the Disciplina, Augustus warned against excessive use of soldiers for construction projects: "EtsT scio fabrilibus operibus exerceri mllites non esse alienum, vereor tamen, si quicquam permlsero, quod in usum meum aut tuum fiat, ne modus in ea re non adhibeatur, qui mihi sit tolerandus." (Macer, Digest, 49, 16, 12, 1) .
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51 Edict of Octavian as triumvir concerning privileges for the veterans Imperator Caesar dlvi fflius triumvir rel publicae constituendae iterum die it:
VIsum est edicendum mihi veteranis dare omnibus ut . . . ipsls parentibus llberisque eorum et uxoribus qul sunt quique erunt immunitatem omnium rerum dare, utlque optimo iure optimaque lege elves Roman! sint; immunes sunto, liberi sunto militiae, muneribus publicls fungendl vocatio, item in quavls tribu suprascripta suffragium ferendi censendique potestas esto et si absentes voluerint censeri; . . . que iuraque sacerdotia quosque honores quaeque praemia beneficia commoda habuerunt item ut habeant, utantur, fruanturque permitto, invltls ils neque magistrates ceteros neque laegatum neque procuratorem neque emptorem tributorum esse placet. . . . (Papyrus, Berlin Museum, 628 verso) 52 Part of a copy of an edict of Augustus providing for the maintenance and regulation of an aqueduct constructed to supply the town of Venafrum in Samnium QuT rivi specus saepta fontes . . . aquae ducendae reficiundae causa supra Infrave llbram factl aedificati struct! sunt, sive quod aliut opus eius aquae ducendae reficiundae causa supra infrave llbram factum est, uti quidquid earum rerum factum est, ita esse habere itaque reficere reponere restituere resarcire semel saepius, fistulas canales tubos ponere, aperturam committere, sive quid aliut eius aquae ducendae causa opus erit, facere placet: dum qui locus ager in fundo, qul Q. Sirim L. f. Ter. est esseve dicitur, et in fundo, qul L. Pompei M. f. Ter. Sullae est esseve dicitur, maceria saeptus est, per quem locum subve quo loco specus eius aquae pervenit, ne ea maceria parsve quae eius maceriae aliter diruatur tollatur, quam specus reficiundi aut inspiciendi causa: neve quid ibi privati sit, quominus ea aqua Ire fluere duclve possit. . . . Dextra sinistraque circa eum rivom circaque ea opera, quae eius aquae ducendae causa facta sunt, octonos pedes agrum vacuom esse placet; per quem locum Venaframs eive, qul Venafranorum nomine opus sumet, iter facere eius aquae ducendae operumve eius aquae ductus faciendorum reficiendorum causa, quod eius sine dolo malo flat, ius sit liceatque, quaeque earum rerum cuius faciendae reficiendae causa opus erunt, quo proxume poterit advehere adferre
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adportare, quaeque inde exempta erunt. quam maxime aequaliter dextra sinistraque pedes VIE iacere, dum ob eas res damn! Infect! iurato promittatur. Earumque rerum omnium ita habendarum colonis Venaframs ius potestatemque esse placet, dum ne ob id opus dominus eorum cuius agri loclve, per quern agrum locumve ea aqua Ire fluere ducive solet, invius fiat; neve ob id opus minus ex agro suo in partem agri quam translre transferee transvertere recte possit; neve cui eorum per quorum agros ea aqua ducitur, eum aquae ductum corrumpere abducere avertere facereve, quominus ea aqua in oppidum Venafranorum recte duel fluere possit, liceat. Quaeque aqua in oppidum Venafranorum it fluit ducitur, earn aquam distribuere dlscrlbere vendundi causa, aut el rei vectigal imponere constituere Hviro Ilviris praefecto praefectls eius coloniae ex maioris partis decurionum decreto, quod decretum ita factum erit, cum in decurionibus non minus quam duae partes decurionum adfuerint, legemque el dlcere ex decreto decurionum, quod ita ut supra scriptum est decretum erit, ius potestatemve esse placet: dum ne ea aqua, quae ita distributa discripta deve qua ita decretum erit, aliter quam fistulls plumbels dum taxat ab rivo pedes L ducatur; neve eae fistulae aut rivos nisi sub terra, quae terra itineris viae publicae limitisve erit, ponantur conlocentur; neve ea aqua per locum privatum invito eo, cuius is locus erit, ducatur. Quamque legem el aquae tuendae operibusve, quae eius aquae ductus ususve causa facta sunt erunt, tuendls Hviri praefectT ex decurionum decreto, quod ita ut supra scriptum est factum erit, dixerint, earn . . . firmam ratamque esse placet . . . (Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum, x, 4842)
53 When the populace complained of the high price of wine, Augustus' comment was: "Satis provisum est a genero meo Agrippa perducfls pluribus aquls, ne homines sitlrent." (Suetonius, Augustus, 42) 54 When Agrippa died in 12 B.C., Augustus delivered a eulogy of him. Part of the Greek version of this laudatio was discovered on a papyrus and first published in 1970. Reverse translation offers the following text: "Enimvero tribunlcia tibi potestas in qulnque annos ex senatus consulto
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P. et Cn. Lentuhs consulibus data est atque iterum eadem in alterum lustrum consulibus Ti. Nerone et Quintilio Varo generis tuls addita est. Et quascumque te in provincias res publica Romana attraxisset, nullius in els ut esset imperium maius tuo per legem sanctum est. Dignatus summo fastlgio . . . " (the text becomes too fragmentary). (M. W. Haslam, Classical Journal 75 [1979-80] 193-99, and E. Badian, CJ 76 [1980-81] 97-109) 55 Commentarii de Vita Sua Ipsis ludorum meorum diebus sldus crinitum per septem dies in regione caell sub septemtrionibus est conspectum. Id oriebatur circa undecimam horam diel clarumque et omnibus e terns conspicuum fuit. E6 sidere significari vulgus credidit Caesaris animam inter deorum immortalium numina receptam, quo nomine id insigne simulacra capitis eius, quod mox in foro consecravimus, adiectum est. (Pliny, Historia Naturalis, ii, 93) 56 Augustus in his autobiography brought the following charge against Mark Antony: "(Antonius) legiones suas apud Cleopatram excubare eiusque nutu et iussu parere iussit." (Servius, Ad Vergili Aeneiden, viii, 696)
57 Letter to Antony Tuque dubitas Cimberne Annius an Veranius Flaccus imitandl sint tibi, ita ut verbls, quae Crispus Sallustius excerpsit ex Orlginibus Catonis, utaris? An potius Asiaticorum oratorum inanis sententiis verborum volubilitas in nostrum sermonem transferenda? (Suetonius, Augustus, 86) 58 Augustus, having listened to Gavius Silo pleading cases in Tarragona and disapproving of his oratorical style as too labored and obvious, said of him: "Numquam audlvl patrem familiae disertiorem." (Seneca, Controversiae, x, praef., 14)
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59 In a letter in which he praised the talent of his granddaughter Agrippina, Augustus wrote: "Sed opus est dare te operam ne moleste scrlbas et loquaris." (Suetonius, Augustus, 86) 60 Letter to Claudius Scribis enim perviam avii TOV (instead of) obiter. (Charisius, Institutio Grammatica, ii, p. 271 ed. Barwick) 61 "Eat, drink, and be merry" Convlvae, tetricas hodie secludite curas, ne maculent niveum nubila corda diem: omnia sollicitae vertantur murmura mentis, ut vacet indomitum pectus amlcitiae. Non semper gaudere licet: fugit hora, iocemur: difficile est falls subripuisse diem. (Codex Bernensis, 109, fol. 136) 62 The biographer Suetonius, in dealing with Augustus' belief in certain auspices and omens, states that he considered it a bad sign if in the morning he put a shoe on the wrong foot. In the following account written by the emperor we may very likely have the reason for his belief in this superstition: "Laevus mihi calceus praepostere inductus est quo die seditione mllitan prope affllctus sum." (Pliny, Historia Naturalis, ii, 24) 63 From a letter Dum lectlca ex regia domum redeo, panis unciam cum paucis acinls uvae duracinae comedi. (Suetonius, Augustus, 76) 64 From a letter Nos in essedo panem et palmulas gustavimus. (Suetonius, Augustus, 76)
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65 When, in the course of the Sicilian War against Sextus Pompey, Octavian's fleet had been almost completely destroyed by a storm, he exclaimed, "Edam invlto Neptuno victoriam adiplscar." (Suetonius, Augustus, 16)
66 It is alleged that after the battle of Philippi Augustus railed at the captives, and in reply to one suppliant's prayer for decent burial said: "Ista volucrum erit potestas." Again, after the fall of Perusia, in 40 B.C., when captives begged forgiveness, he answered all with the words: "Moriendum est." (Suetonius, Augustus, 13 and 15) 67 Of the Rome which he had beautified and improved Augustus boasted: "Marmoream relinquo, quam latenciam accepl." (Suetonius, Augustus, 28)
68 Augustus complained that the color of some crimson cloth which he had purchased was too dark, whereat the dealer said: "Erige altius et suspice." The emperor replied with this jest: "Quid? Ego, ut me populus Romanus dicat bene cultum, in solario ambulaturus sum?" (Macrobius, Saturnalia, ii, 4, 14) 69 A certain Vatinius who was crippled with gout wished to give the impression that he had thrown off his complaint and boasted that he could walk a mile. Augustus remarked: "Non mlror; dies aliquanto sunt longiores." (Macrobius, Saturnalia, ii, 4, 16)
70 Until his death a Roman knight had succeeded in concealing the fact that his debts exceeded twenty million sesterces. At the auction sale in settlement of his estate a pillow was purchased on the emperor's order. Everyone was amazed, but Augustus explained: "Habenda est ad somnum culcita in qua ille, cum tantum deberet, dormlre potuit." (Macrobius, Saturnalia, ii, 4, 17)
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71 Augustus wished to restore to common use the white toga, which the Romans of his day were abandoning. At the sight of citizens at an assembly clad in dark clothes he cited in indignation the following line from Vergil's Aeneid: "En 'Romanes, rerum dominos, gentemque togatam!'" (Suetonius, Augustus, 40) 72 As presiding judge in a case in which the defendant was clearly guilty of having murdered his father, Augustus, wishing to forestall that penalty which the law imposed only if the culprit confessed, thus worded his question to the defendant: "Certe patrem tuum non occldisti?" (Suetonius, Augustus, 33) 73 A soldier who bore a noticeable scar from a wound in the forehead, but boasted of his military exploits, was thus sarcastically advised by Augustus: "At tu, cum fugies, numquam post te respexeris." (Macrobius, Saturnalia, ii, 4, 7) 74 Pacuvius Taurus once asked Augustus for a gift of money and added the comment that it was common gossip that Augustus had already given him no small sum of money. The emperor drily replied: "Sed tu noli credere." (Macrobius, Saturnalia, ii, 4, 4) 75 A certain Galba, who was a hunchback, was pleading a case before Augustus and said repeatedly: "Corrige in me si quid reprehendis." At length the emperor said: "Ego te monere possum, corrigere non possum." (Macrobius, Saturnalia, ii, 4, 8) 76 A man named Vettius ploughed up his father's grave, and Augustus remarked: "Hoc est vere monumentum patris colere!" (Macrobius, Saturnalia, ii, 4, 9) 77 When numerous defendants accused by Cassius Severus were acquitted, and when the architect of Augustus' forum was taking forever to
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finish the job, the emperor made this joke: "Vellem Cassius et meum forum accuset!" (Macrobius, Saturnalia, ii, 4, 9)
78 As a rule Augustus would accept any invitation to dinner. On one occasion his host provided a very poor and ordinary meal. The emperor on departing avenged himself by whispering in the host's ear: "Non putabam me tibi tam familiarem." (Macrobius, Saturnalia, ii, 4, 13) 79 Augustus had been writing a tragedy called Ajax, and, being asked by Lucius Varius, a tragic dramatist, how the play was progressing, he replied: "In spongiam incubuit." (Macrobius, Saturnalia, ii, 4, 2; cf. Suetonius, Augustus, 85) 80 During a trip to Egypt Octavian is said to have visited the tomb of Alexander the Great and paid him homage. Then he was asked whether he wished also to see the dead Ptolemy. Whereupon he replied: "Regem volu! videre, non mortuos." (Suetonius, Augustus, 18) 81 At a banquet a senator named Rufus became intoxicated and was guilty of uttering hostile remarks concerning Augustus. The next day, sober and conscience-stricken, he craved the emperor's pardon and obtained it. Then Rufus said: "Nemo credet te mecum in gratiam redlsse, nisi aliquid mihi donaveris," and asked the gift of a considerable sum. Augustus gave it to him, saying, "Mea causa dabo operam ne unquam tibi Irascar." (Seneca, De Beneficiis, iii, 27, 3) 82 A soldier and a certain Marcianus once approached Augustus with petitions at the same time. The soldier presented his first, and Augustus, suspecting that Marcianus' request would be as improper as was that of
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the soldier, said so that Marcianus would overhear: "Non magis faciam, commllito, quod petis, quam quod Marcianus a me petlturus est." (Quintilian, Institutio Oratorio, vi, 3, 94) 83 The Gauls had bestowed upon Augustus as a decoration a gold chain weighing a hundred pounds. Dolabella, in jest but half hoping for profit, said: "Imperator, torque me dona." Augustus countered with another jest: "Malo te clvica donare." (Quintilian, Institutio Oratorio, vi, 3, 79) 84 By his forgetfulness the servant whose duty it was to remind Augustus of the names of persons whom he met afforded frequent cause for complaint. And so once, when he had asked the emperor, "Numquid ad forum mandas?" Augustus replied: "Accipe commendatlcias, quia illlc neminem nostl." (Macrobius, Saturnalia, ii, 4, 15) 85 When a cavalry officer had been relieved of his command but still asked for his salary, saying, "Non lucrl causa dari hoc mihi rogo, sed ut iudicio tuo munus videar impetrasse et ita officium deposuisse," Augustus replied: "Tu te accepisse apud omnes adfirma, et ego dedisse me non negabo." (Macrobius, Saturnalia, ii, 4, 5) 86 A young officer whom Augustus was dishonorably discharging asked: "Quid respondebo patri meo?" Augustus replied: "Die me tibi displicuisse." (Quintilian, Institutio Oratorio, vi, 3, 64) 87 When an accuser charged Aemilius Aelianus of Corduba with expressing an unfavorable opinion of Caesar, Augustus replied with mock anger: "Velim hoc mihi probes; faciam sciat Aelianus et me linguam habere; plura enim de eo loquar." (Suetonius, Augustus, 51)
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88 When Augustus heard that Herod, King of the Jews, had ordered the death of all boys under two years of age, including Herod's own son, he said: "Mallem Herodis porcus esse quam filius." (Macrobius, Saturnalia, ii, 4, 11) 89 When the people of Tarraco in Spain reported to Augustus that a palm had sprouted on his altar, he remarked: "Apparet quam saepe accendatis." (Quintilian, Institutio Oratorio, vi, 3, 77) 90 Augustus said of a certain Haterius who talked too rapidly: "Haterius noster sufflaminandus est." (Seneca, Controversiae, iv, praef. 7) 91 To an awe-struck soldier who was tendering a petition: "Noll, tamquam assem elephanto des." (Quintilian, Institutio Oratorio, vi, 3, 59) 92 To a knight who was drinking in the theater Augustus sent this message: "Ego, si prandere volo, domum eo." The knight replied: "Tu enim non times ne locum perdas." (Quintilian, Institutio Oratorio, vi, 3, 63) 93 To describe persons who would never pay their debts, Augustus used the phrase: "Ad Kalendas Graecas solvebunt." To advise contentment with one's present lot, whatever it be, Augustus said: "ContentI simus hoc Catone." To express the speed of a hasty action he would say: "Celerius quam asparagl cocuntur." "He continually used baceolus (dolt) for stultus (fool), for pullus (dark) pulleiaceus (darkish), and for cerritus (mad) vacerrosus (blockhead); also vapide se habere (feel flat) for male se habere (feel badly), and betizare
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(be like a beet) for languere (be weak), for which the vulgar term is lachanlzdre (to be like a vegetable). Besides he used simus for sumus and domos in the genitive singular instead of domuos. The last two forms he wrote invariably, for fear they should be thought errors rather than a habit."—J. C. Rolfe in Loeb translation of Suetonius, Life of Augustus. (Suetonius, Augustus, 87) 94 Some favorite expressions of Augustus cnrevSe (3pa8ews [Make haste slowly!] d