222
NERVA.
memoirs especially of his war against the Dacians; but no
other writer of any importance has chosen that eventful period
for his subject
M. Cocceius Nerva had already reached the age of sixty-
four and was a venerable senator. How it was brought about,
we know not; but he was proclaimed emperor, and received
by the senate with great joy. The praetorians did not object
to him, although he was not a man to their taste. He laid
down the principles of his government, and remained faithful
to them, but proceeded in his reforms with great caution, for
he was old, and did not venture to undertake much, or to
provoke the praetorians; hence he punished but few of the
delatores who had been the curse of the nation in the reign of
his predecessor: many of them escaped with impunity and
were allowed to remain at Borne. This gave offence to men
of honour, and evil-doers gained fresh courage. The feeling
of present happiness was disturbed by the knowledge that
those men were still alive and in office, so that the people
still continued to stand in awe of them, as they might rise
again at any time. The effect of this weakness on the part of
Nerva was, that those who wished to continue the practices
they had indulged in under Domitian employed their influence
in the senate for that purpose, and acted without any scruples.
Junius Mauricus therefore said, when the death of a delator
was mentioned at a banquet given by the emperor, “ Yes, but
if he were alive, he would suffer no harm, but would be here
among us.”1 Nerva, however, could not act otherwise. At
length Casperius, the praefect of the city, who had held the
same office under Domitian, called upon the soldiers to demand
of Nerva the punishment of the murderers of Domitian. On his
refusal, the soldiers seized the persons alluded to, two of whom
were most fearfully ill-used: they then compelled Nerva to
make a public declaration in the senate, that he approved of
the execution of his predecessor’s murderers.2 He felt the
disgrace of this act very keenly, and in order to strengthen
himself, he had recourse to the same means as Galba, and
adopted Trajan, who had then the command of the legions on
the Bhine. By this adoption, Trajan bcame his declared suc-
cessor, and Nerva’s choice was certainly better than that of
Galba.
‘ Plin. Epist. iv. 22. 2 Aurel. Vict. Imp. Rom. Epit. 12.
TRAJAN.
223
M. Ulpius Nerva Trajanus was bom in Spain, and was
the son of a distinguished man. The southern parts of Spain
and Gaul were already entirely Latinised, and were so com-
pletely Italian countries, that the inhabitants of the towns
generally spoke the Latin language, just as West Prussia and
Silesia are completely Germanised. One of the Spanish
towns of this kind was Italica, in the neighbourhood of Seville,
one of the earliest settlements in that part, which had been
founded by the soldiers of the Scipios, who had spent many a
year there, and at last settled and married Spanish women.
The town was constituted as a colony, or as a municipium of
the second class, and became great and flourishing. It was
the birthplace of Trajan and Hadrian. TrajanL family was
among the most distinguished in the place. His father had
obtained high honours in the army as early as the time of
Nero, and, enjoying general esteem, survived the elevation of his
son for many years. The son attracted general attention, and
was honoured even in the time of Domitian, so unfavorable
to the manifestations of virtue. The emperor Nerva, in electing
a successor, could not have made a happier choice; and it
was received by the praetorians with joy and respect.
Trajan was then at Rome; but he soon went to Germany,
where he had his head quarters at Cologne. Our knowledge
of Germany at that time is very defective ; but it is surprising
to see that the relations between the Germans and the Romans
still continued to be peaceful. Arae Flaviae, the name of a
place on the military road from the Main to Augsburg,
proves that, probably under Domitian, the Romans had already
taken possession of that sinus imperii. The fortified ditch
which extended from the Westcrwald across the river Lahn,
Mount Taunus, the river Main, and as far as the Altmilhl,
existed probably as early as this time1 ; but whether it was or was
not, all Germany south of that line, as well as the country in
our neighbourhood, was under the dominion of Rome. Free
German tribes existed only in Franconia, the upper Palatinate,
Hesse, and Westphalia. In the reigns of Augustus and Tibe-
rius, Suabia was not yet subject to Rome; the Frisian tribes
were subdued under Tiberius, but afterwards became free
again. Under Nerva, there was a little war in Suabia, the
3 Frontinus, (Strateg, ɪ. 3,10), expressly ascribes its construction to Do-
ɪnitian.