The Historians' History of the World 06

During the time of these commotions in Germany, the Sarmatians, a barbarous nation to the northeast of the empire, suddenly passed the river Ister, and marching into the Roman dominions with celerity and fury, destroyed several garrisons, and an army under the command of Fonteius Agrippa. However, they were driven back with some slaughter by Rubrius Gallus, Vespasian’s lieutenant, into their native forests; where several attempts were made to confine them, by garrisons and forts placed along the confines of their country. But these hardy nations, having once found their way into the empire, never after desisted from invading it at every opportunity, till at length they overran and destroyed the glory of Rome.

Vespasian continued some months at Alexandria in Egypt.b The sober-minded Tacitus, most accurate and most trustworthy of Roman historians, relates some incidents of this story of Vespasian in Egypt which are worth repeating, if for nothing else, to illustrate the gap between the writing of sober history in that day and in our own.

a

VESPASIAN PERFORMS MIRACLES AND SEES A VISION, ACCORDING TO TACITUS

[70 A.D.]

During the months when Vespasian was waiting at Alexandria for the periodical season of the summer winds, and a safe navigation [says Tacitus], many miracles occurred, by which the favour of heaven and a sort of bias in the powers above towards Vespasian were manifested. One of the common people of Alexandria, known to have a disease in his eyes, embraced the knees of the emperor, importuning with groans a remedy for his blindness. In this he acted in compliance with the admonition of the god Serapis, whom that nation, devoted to superstition, honours above all other gods; and he prayed the emperor that he would deign to sprinkle his cheeks and the balls of his eyes with the secretion of his mouth. Another, who was diseased in the hand, at the instance of the same god, entreated that he might be pressed by the foot and sole of Cæsar. Vespasian at first ridiculed the request, and treated it with contempt; but when they persisted, at one time he dreaded the imputation of weakness, at another he was led to hope for success, by the supplications of the men themselves, and the encouragements of his flatterers. Lastly, he ordered that the opinion of physicians should be taken, as to whether a blindness and lameness of these kinds could be got the better of by human power. The physicians stated various points—that in the one the power of vision was not wholly destroyed, and that it would be restored if the obstacle was removed; in the other, that the joints which had become diseased might be renovated, if a healing power were applied; such peradventure was the pleasure of the gods, and the emperor was chosen to perform their will. To sum up all, that the glory of accomplishing the cure would be Cæsar’s, the ridicule of its failure would rest upon the sufferers. Accordingly, under an impression that everything was within the power of his fortune, and that after what had occurred nothing was incredible, with a cheerful countenance himself, and while the multitude that stood by waited the event in all the confidence of anticipated success, Vespasian executed what was required of him. Immediately the hand was restored to its functions, and the light of day shone again to the blind. Persons who were present even now attest the truth of both these transactions, when there is nothing to be gained by falsehood.

After this, Vespasian conceived a deeper desire to visit the sanctuary of Serapis, in order to consult the god about affairs of the empire. He ordered all persons to be excluded from the temple; and lo, when he entered, and his thoughts were fixed on the deity, he perceived behind him a man of principal note among the Egyptians, named Basilides, whom, at that moment, he knew to be detained by illness at a distance of several days’ journey from Alexandria. Vespasian inquired of the priests whether Basilides that day had entered the temple. He asked of others whom he met whether he was seen in the city. At length, from messengers whom he despatched on horseback, he received certain intelligence, that Basilides was at that instant of time eighty miles distant from Alexandria. He then concluded that it was a divine vision, and deduced the import of the response from the name of Basilides.i

VESPASIAN RETURNS TO ROME

Vespasian

(From a bust in the Vatican)