198
INSANITY OF NEKO.
and the Parthian king, Vologaesus, was obliged to sue for peace.
Tiridates, the last king of that family, was compelled to go to
Rome, and consent to hold his kingdom as a fief of the Roman
emperor; he was received at Rome in the most magnificent
manner, and obtained the diadem from Nero. This visit
Tiridates to Rome is one of those occurrences, the remem-
brance of which was preserved by tradition even in the middle
ages ; for it is mentioned in the “ Mirabilia Romae ” ; and it was
said that Tiridates had brought to Rome, as presents, the sta-
tues of Castor and Pollux, works of Phidias and PraxiteIes ; but
there is, of course, no foundation for this story. The reward
which Corbulo received for his victories, was — death. He was
an unambitious, faithful, and conscientious Roman, who kept
his faith even to a Nero.10 His bust was discovered about forty
years ago, and shews noble features.
Nero went on from one act of madness to another. I am in-
clined to believe that his conduct was not all moral wickedness.
There seems to have been hereditary insanity in the family;
and there can be no doubt that he was mad, though not in
the same degree as his uncle, Caligula. Many of his acts are
merely contemptible. His travelling about in Greece, and
taking part in the musical and poetical contests, would have
been very harmless amusements; but while he flattered the
Greeks, he robbed their Countryofthe finest works of art. The
praefectuspraetorio, Tigellinus, who had SucceededBurrus, was
then the most detestable among the persons who had influence
over the emperor; but the insurrection of C. Julius Vindex and
Sulpicius Galba delivered the world from him.
LECTURE CXV.
The Roman world had borne Nero⅛ tyranny for twelve years,
when the first attempt was made to get rid of it. A previous
conspiracy of Calpurnius Piso, in which Seneca had perished,
was only a court conspiracy, in which the troops took no part.
Nero had undertaken his j ourney to Greece from sheer vanity, for
the homage of the Greeks was his highest ambition; but while
w Dion Cass. Jxiii. 17; Tacitus, Hist. ii. 76.
REVOLT OF JULIUS VINDEX.
199
he was getting himself crowned everywhere as a victor in the
public games, an insurrection broke out in Gaul, under a noble
Aquitanian C. Julius Vindex1 who had the rank of a Roman
senator, and brought about the revolt by his wealth and
influence. This insurrection was of a different nature from
the one which had occurred in the reign of Tiberius, when
the Gauls hoped to recover their independence; for now their
only intention was, as Romans, to throw off the yoke of a
tyrant which pressed down the Roman world, but not to
separate Gaul from Rome itself. Vindex met with very great
sympathy, and his influence spread from Aquitania as far as
Besançon. The history of this time is in a deplorable con-
dition ; for the part of Tacitus’ Annals, in which the detail of
this insurrection was described, is lost, and we are confined to
Xiphilinus' abridgment of Dion Cassius. Rome had yet its
distinguished men: Corbulo had fallen shortly before, but
T. Virginius Rufus, the commander of the German troops,
was also a true patriot, and one of the few distinguished and
disinterested persons that Rome then possessed. He met
Vindex at Besançon; and fearing lest the insurrection, although
its object was only the delivery of Rome, would lead to a dis-
solution of the empire, he concluded a truce, in which both
generals agreed upon recognising the authority of the Roman
senate. The German troops wanted to have Rufus for their
emperor; but he declined the honour; a tumult however
broke out between the two armies during these transactions,
and Vindex fell a victim to it.
Spain was at that time very badly provided with troops,
and had in reality only one legion, which, together with a
number of veterans, who might be formed into a militia, was
under the command of Servius Sulpicius Galba. While the
events just described were taking place in Gaul, he was
proclaimed emperor by the soldiers. He belonged to one of
the most distinguished Roman families.3 Little is known
1 Nearly all the Gauls that are mentioned under the empire bear the gentile
name of Julius,—just as in Asia many have the gentile name of Claudius—
because they had obtained the ciυιtas either from Julius Caesar or Augustus.
This uniformity in the names has been the cause of much confusion, especially
in the second century. Cn. Julius Agricola was indeed born in the Roman
colony of Forum Julii; but I believe, nevertheless, that he belonged to a Gallic
family, a circumstance which is not mentioned by Tacitus.—N.
2 The praenomen Servius had already assumed the character of a real name