The exploits of the Romans up to this point, found by me in ancient books that record these matters, written by men of old time, I have drawn thence in a condensed form and have embodied in the present history. As for what comes next in order,—the transactions of the consuls and dictators, so long as the government of Rome was still conducted by these officials,—let no one censure me as having passed this by through contempt or indolence or antipathy and having left the history as it were incomplete. The gap has not been overlooked by me through sloth, nor have I of my own free will left my task half finished, but through lack of books to describe the events. I have frequently instituted a search for them, yet I have not found them, and I do not know whether the cause is that the passage of time has destroyed them, and so they are not preserved, or whether the persons to whom I entrusted the errand perhaps did not search for them with sufficient diligence; for I was living abroad and passing my life on an islet far from the city. And because it has not been my lot to gain access to these books in this instance, my history turns out to be only half complete for the acts of the consuls and even for those of the dictators. Hence, passing over them, though reluctantly, I will record the deeds of the emperors, with some brief introductory remarks to make clear to those who shall read my history by what steps the Romans passed from aristocracy (or democracy) to the rule of one man, and to impart, in addition, coherence to the narrative.
[note].—no summary exists of the missing books twenty-two to thirty-five inclusive, and we are driven to rely on scattered and inconsequential fragments (that have somehow escaped the wreck of seasons) as the basis for whatever mental image we may choose to form of the lost narrative. these bits possess the same value for dio's history as do the unrelated pieces of marble and clay from excavations in enabling us to gain a wider understanding of antique sculpture and pottery. for an account of the sources of these fragments see the introduction, under the caption entitled [THE WRITING].
(BOOK 22, BOISSEVAIN.)
Frag. [LXXIII]¶Viriathus was a Lusitanian, of very obscure origin, as some think, who enjoyed great renown through his deeds, for from a shepherd he became a robber and later on also a general. He was naturally adapted and had trained himself to be very quick in pursuing and fleeing, and of great force in a stationary conflict. He was glad to get any food that came to hand and whatever drink fell to his lot; he lived most of his life under the open sky and was satisfied with nature's bedding. Consequently he was superior to any heat or any cold, and neither was he ever troubled by hunger nor did he suffer from any other disagreeable condition; since he found all his wants met quite sufficiently by whatever he had at hand, which seemed to him unexcelled. While he possessed such a physical constitution, as the result of nature and training, he surpassed still more in spiritual endowment. He was swift to perceive and do whatever was requisite,—he could tell what must be done and at the same time he understood the proper occasion for it,—and he was clever at pretending not to know the most evident facts and to know the most hidden secrets. Furthermore he was not only general but his own assistant in every business equally, and was seen to be neither humble nor pompous, but in him obscurity of family and reputation for strength were so mingled that he seemed to be neither inferior nor superior to any one. And, in fine, he carried on the war not for the sake of personal gain or power nor through anger, but because of the opportunity for action; therefore he was regarded as most thoroughly a lover of war and a successful warrior. (Valesius, p. 614.)
Frag. [LXXIV]
B.C. 143
(a.u. 611) 1. ¶Claudius, the colleague of Metellus, impelled by pride of birth and jealousy of Metellus, when he had had Italy allotted to his command and found no sign of war, was eager to secure by any means some pretext for a triumph; hence without taking the trouble to lodge any formal complaint he set the Salassi, a Gallic tribe, at war with the Romans. He had been sent to reconcile them, because they were disputing with their neighbors about the water necessary for the gold mines, and he overran their entire country ... the Romans sent him two of the ten priests. (Valesius, p. 617.)
2. ¶Claudius, even if he understood thoroughly that he had not conquered, nevertheless even then displayed such arrogance as not to say a word in either the senate or the popular assembly about the triumph; but acting as if the right were indisputably his, even if no one should vote to that effect, he asked for the requisite expenditures. (Valesius, ib.)