Annales III.10-15
ceterique Germanicum comitati tendebant, nullas esse partis Trioni; neque se accusatores sed
rerum indices et testis mandata Germanici perlaturos. ille dimissa eius causae delatione, ut
priorem vitam accusaret obtinuit, petitumque est a principe cognitionem exciperet. quod ne reus
quidem abnuebat, studia populi et patrum metuens: contra Tiberium spernendis rumoribus
validum et conscientiae matris innexum esse; veraque aut in deterius credita indice ab uno
facilius discerni, odium et invidiam apud multos valere. haud fallebat Tiberium moles
cognitionis quaque ipse fama distraheretur. igitur paucis familiarium adhibitis minas
accusantium et hinc preces audit integramque causam ad senatum remittit.
[III.xi] Atque interim Drusus rediens Illyrico, quamquam patres censuissent ob receptum
Maroboduum et res priore aestate gestas ut ovans iniret, prolato honore urbem intravit. post
quae reo L. Arruntium, P. Vinicium, Asinium Gallum, Aeserninum Marcellum, Sex. Pompeium
patronos petenti iisque diversa excusantibus M'. Lepidus et L. Piso et Livineius Regulus adfuere,
arrecta omni civitate, quanta fides amicis Germanici, quae fiducia reo; satin cohiberet ac
premeret sensus suos Tiberius. haud alias intentior populus plus sibi in principem occultae vocis
aut suspicacis silentii permisit.
[III.xii] Die senatus Caesar orationem habuit meditato temperamento. patris sui legatum atque
amicum Pisonem fuisse adiutoremque Germanico datum a se auctore senatu rebus apud
Orientem administrandis. illic contumacia et certaminibus asperasset iuvenem exituque eius
laetatus esset an scelere extinxisset, integris animis diiudicandum. 'nam si legatus officii
terminos, obsequium erga imperatorem exuit eiusdemque morte et luctu meo laetatus est, odero
seponamque a domo mea et privatas inimicitias non vi principis ulciscar: sin facinus in
cuiuscumque mortalium nece vindicandum detegitur, vos vero et liberos Germanici et nos
parentes iustis solaciis adficite. simulque illud reputate, turbide et seditiose tractaverit exercitus
Piso, quaesita sint per ambitionem studia militum, armis repetita provincia, an falsa haec in
maius vulgaverint accusatores, quorum ego nimiis studiis iure suscenseo. nam quo pertinuit
nudare corpus et contrectandum vulgi oculis permittere differrique etiam per externos tamquam
veneno interceptus esset, si incerta adhuc ista et scrutanda sunt? defleo equidem filium meum
semperque deflebo: sed neque reum prohibeo quo minus cuncta proferat, quibus innocentia eius
sublevari aut, si qua fuit iniquitas Germanici, coargui possit, vosque oro ne, quia dolori meo
causa conexa est, obiecta crimina pro adprobatis accipiatis. si quos propinquus sanguis aut fides
sua patronos dedit, quantum quisque eloquentia et cura valet, iuvate periclitantem: ad eundem
laborem, eandem constantiam accusatores hortor. id solum Germanico super leges
praestiterimus, quod in curia potius quam in foro, apud senatum quam apud iudices de morte
eius anquiritur: cetera pari modestia tractentur. nemo Drusi lacrimas, nemo maestitiam meam
spectet, nec si qua in nos adversa finguntur.'
[III.xiii] Exim biduum criminibus obiciendis statuitur utque sex dierum spatio interiecto reus per
triduum defenderetur. tum Fulcinius vetera et inania orditur, ambitiose avareque habitam
Hispaniam; quod neque convictum noxae reo si recentia purgaret, neque defensum absolutioni
erat si teneretur maioribus flagitiis. post quem Servaeus et Veranius et Vitellius consimili studio
et multa eloquentia Vitellius obiecere odio Germanici et rerum novarum studio Pisonem vulgus
militum per licentiam et sociorum iniurias eo usque conrupisse ut parens legionum a deterrimis
appellaretur; contra in optimum quemque, maxime in comites et amicos Germanici saevisse;
postremo ipsum devotionibus et veneno peremisse; sacra hinc et immolationes nefandas ipsius
atque Plancinae, peritam armis rem publicam, utque reus agi posset, acie victum.
[III.xiv] Defensio in ceteris trepidavit; nam neque ambitionem militarem neque provinciam pessimo
cuique obnoxiam, ne contumelias quidem adversum imperatorem infitiari poterat: solum veneni
crimen visus est diluisse, quod ne accusatores quidem satis firmabant, in convivio Germanici,
cum super eum Piso discumberet, infectos manibus eius cibos arguentes. quippe absurdum
videbatur inter aliena servitia et tot adstantium visu, ipso Germanico coram, id ausum;
offerebatque familiam reus et ministros in tormenta flagitabat. sed iudices per diversa
implacabiles erant, Caesar ob bellum provinciae inlatum, senatus numquam satis credito sine
fraude Germanicum interisse. * * scripsissent expostulantes, quod haud minus Tiberius quam
Piso abnuere. simul populi ante curiam voces audiebantur: non temperaturos manibus si patrum
sententias evasisset. effigiesque Pisonis traxerant in Gemonias ac divellebant, ni iussu principis
protectae repositaeque forent. igitur inditus lecticae et a tribuno praetoriae cohortis deductus est
vario rumore custos saluti an mortis exactor sequeretur.
[III.xv] Eadem Plancinae invidia, maior gratia; eoque ambiguum habebatur quantum Caesari in eam
liceret. atque ipsa, donec mediae Pisoni spes, sociam se cuiuscumque fortunae et si ita ferret
comitem exitii promittebat: ut secretis Augustae precibus veniam obtinuit, paulatim segregari a
marito, dividere defensionem coepit. quod reus postquam sibi exitiabile intellegit, an adhuc
experiretur dubitans, hortantibus filiis durat mentem senatumque rursum ingreditur;
redintegratamque accusationem, infensas patrum voces, adversa et saeva cuncta perpessus, nullo
magis exterritus est quam quod Tiberium sine miseratione, sine ira, obstinatum clausumque
vidit, ne quo adfectu perrumperetur. relatus domum, tamquam defensionem in posterum
meditaretur, pauca conscribit obsignatque et liberto tradit; tum solita curando corpori exequitur.
dein multam post noctem, egressa cubiculo uxore, operiri foris iussit; et coepta luce perfosso
iugulo, iacente humi gladio, repertus est.
against him by Vitellius and Veranius and the others who had been the companions of
Germanicus, that this was not Trio's proper part, and that they themselves meant to report their
instructions from Germanicus, not as accusers, but as deponents and witnesses to facts. Trio,
abandoning the prosecution on this count, obtained leave to accuse Piso's previous career, and
the emperor was requested to undertake the inquiry. This even the accused did not refuse,
fearing, as he did, the bias of the people and of the Senate; while Tiberius, he knew, was
resolute enough to despise report, and was also entangled in his mother's complicity. Truth too
would be more easily distinguished from perverse misrepresentation by a single judge, where a
number would be swayed by hatred and ill-will. Tiberius was not unaware of the formidable
difficulty of the inquiry and of the rumours by which he was himself assailed. Having therefore
summoned a few intimate friends, he listened to the threatening speeches of the prosecutors and
to the pleadings of the accused, and finally referred the whole case to the Senate.
[3.11] Drusus meanwhile, on his return from Illyricum, though the Senate had voted him an
ovation for the submission of Maroboduus and the successes of the previous summer,
postponed the honour and entered Rome. Then the defendant sought the advocacy of Lucius
Arruntius, Marcus Vinicius, Asinius Gallus, Aeserninus Marcellus and Sextus Pompeius, and
on their declining for different reasons, Marcus Lepidus, Lucius Piso, and Livineius Regulus
became his counsel, amid the excitement of the whole country, which wondered how much
fidelity would be shown by the friends of Germanicus, on what the accused rested his hopes,
and how far Tiberius would repress and hide his feelings. Never were the people more keenly
interested; never did they indulge themselves more freely in secret whispers against the emperor
or in the silence of suspicion.
[3.12] On the day the Senate met, Tiberius delivered a speech of studied moderation. "Piso," he
said, "was my father's representative and friend, and was appointed by myself, on the advice of
the Senate, to assist Germanicus in the administration of the East. Whether he there had
provoked the young prince by wilful opposition and rivalry, and had rejoiced at his death or
wickedly destroyed him, is for you to determine with minds unbiassed. Certainly if a
subordinate oversteps the bounds of duty and of obedience to his commander, and has exulted
in his death and in my affliction, I shall hate him and exclude him from my house, and I shall
avenge a personal quarrel without resorting to my power as emperor. If however a crime is
discovered which ought to be punished, whoever the murdered man may be, it is for you to
give just reparation both to the children of Germanicus and to us, his parents. "Consider this
too, whether Piso dealt with the armies in a revolutionary and seditious spirit; whether he
sought by intrigue popularity with the soldiers; whether he attempted to repossess himself of the
province by arms, or whether these are falsehoods which his accusers have published with
exaggeration. As for them, I am justly angry with their intemperate zeal. For to what purpose
did they strip the corpse and expose it to the pollution of the vulgar gaze, and circulate a story
among foreigners that he was destroyed by poison, if all this is still doubtful and requires
investigation? For my part, I sorrow for my son and shall always sorrow for him; still I would
not hinder the accused from producing all the evidence which can relieve his innocence or
convict Germanicus of any unfairness, if such there was. And I implore you not to take as
proven charges alleged, merely because the case is intimately bound up with my affliction. Do
you, whom ties of blood or your own true-heartedness have made his advocates, help him in
his peril, every one of you, as far as each man's eloquence and diligence can do so. To like
exertions and like persistency I would urge the prosecutors. In this, and in this only, will we
place Germanicus above the laws, by conducting the inquiry into his death in this house instead
of in the forum, and before the Senate instead of before a bench of judges. In all else let the case
be tried as simply as others. Let no one heed the tears of Drusus or my own sorrow, or any
stories invented to our discredit."
[3.13] Two days were then assigned for the bringing forward of the charges, and after six days'
interval, the prisoner's defence was to occupy three days. Thereupon Fulcinius Trio began with
some old and irrelevant accusations about intrigues and extortion during Piso's government of
Spain. This, if proved, would not have been fatal to the defendant, if he cleared himself as to
his late conduct, and, if refuted, would not have secured his acquittal, if he were convicted of
the greater crimes. Next, Servaeus, Veranius, and Vitellius, all with equal earnestness, Vitellius
with striking eloquence, alleged against Piso that out of hatred of Germanicus and a desire of
revolution he had so corrupted the common soldiers by licence and oppression of the allies that
he was called by the vilest of them "father of the legions" while on the other hand to all the best
men, especially to the companions and friends of Germanicus, he had been savagely cruel.
Lastly, he had, they said, destroyed Germanicus himself by sorceries and poison, and hence
came those ceremonies and horrible sacrifices made by himself and Plancina; then he had
threatened the State with war, and had been defeated in battle, before he could be tried as a
prisoner.
[3.14] On all points but one the defence broke down. That he had tampered with the soldiers,
that his province had been at the mercy of the vilest of them, that he had even insulted his chief,
he could not deny. It was only the charge of poisoning from which he seemed to have cleared
himself. This indeed the prosecutors did not adequately sustain by merely alleging that at a
banquet given by Germanicus, his food had been tainted with poison by the hands of Piso who
sat next above him. It seemed absurd to suppose that he would have dared such an attempt
among strange servants, in the sight of so many bystanders, and under Germanicus's own
eyes. And, besides, the defendant offered his slaves to the torture, and insisted on its
application to the attendants on that occasion. But the judges for different reasons were
merciless, the emperor, because war had been made on a province, the Senate because they
could not be sufficiently convinced that there had been no treachery about the death of
Germanicus. At the same time shouts were heard from the people in front of the Senate House,
threatening violence if he escaped the verdict of the Senators. They had actually dragged Piso's
statues to the Gemonian stairs, and were breaking them in pieces, when by the emperor's order
they were rescued and replaced. Piso was then put in a litter and attended by a tribune of one of
the Praetorian cohorts, who followed him, so it was variously rumoured, to guard his person or
to be his executioner.
[3.15] Plancina was equally detested, but had stronger interest. Consequently it was considered
a question how far the emperor would be allowed to go against her. While Piso's hopes were in
suspense, she offered to share his lot, whatever it might be, and in the worst event, to be his
companion in death. But as soon as she had secured her pardon through the secret intercessions
of Augusta, she gradually withdrew from her husband and separated her defence from his.
When the prisoner saw that this was fatal to him, he hesitated whether he should still persist,
but at the urgent request of his sons braced his courage and once more entered the Senate. There
he bore patiently the renewal of the accusation, the furious voices of the Senators, savage
opposition indeed from every quarter, but nothing daunted him so much as to see Tiberius,
without pity and without anger, resolutely closing himself against any inroad of emotion. He
was conveyed back to his house, where, seemingly by way of preparing his defence for the
next day, he wrote a few words, sealed the paper and handed it to a freedman. Then he
bestowed the usual attention on his person; after a while, late at night, his wife having left his
chamber, he ordered the doors to be closed, and at daybreak was found with his throat cut and a
sword lying on the ground.