[Born at Nursia, in the country of the Sabines, A.D. 9. Died at Cutiliæ, in the country of the Sabines, A.D. 79. Aged 69.]
Of low origin. Went to Britain and subdued the Isle of Wight. Afterwards sent to the East by Nero against the Jews, and was proclaimed Emperor by his troops at Alexandria. On the death of Vitellius proceeded to Rome, where, as Emperor, he restored order, reformed abuses, and improved the condition of the empire. He commenced the Coliseum. A great Emperor, popular with his army, upright, conscientious, simple in his living, and affable in his manners.
[For account of the colossal Bust of Vespasian, see Handbook to Roman Court and Nave, No. 338.]
40. Caligula. Roman Emperor, A.D. 37-41.
[Born at Antium, in Latium, A.D. 12. Died at Rome, A.D. 41. Aged 29.]
Son of Germanicus and Agrippina. His real name was Caius Cæsar, but called Caligula by the soldiers, from his wearing in his boyhood small caligæ or soldier’s boots. Passed his boyhood in his father’s camp in Germany. On the death of Tiberius he became Emperor, and for a time ruled wisely. On recovering, however, from a severe illness, he perpetrated acts of horror characteristic of a madman. He murdered the innocent for his amusement, and married and dissolved his marriages in the most shameless manner. His favourite horse he raised to the Consulship, and he deified himself. After passing three years in raving crime and folly, he was struck down by the conspirator’s sword.
[From the marble in the Gallery of the Emperors, of the Capitoline Museum. Busts of Caligula are very rare, because, like those of Commodus, they were as far as possible destroyed, on account of his atrocities. He is said to have had a complexion of repulsive paleness. Suetonius alludes to his thin lips and expression of confirmed dissimulation.]
41. Vitellius—Aulus. Roman Emperor, A.D. 69.
[Born on the Island of Capreæ, A.D. 15. Died at Rome, A.D. 69. Aged 54.]
A royal glutton. He commanded in Lower Germany, where his popularity with the troops led to his being proclaimed Emperor by the soldiers at Cologne. Vitellius succeeded Otho, and reigned eight months after the death of the latter, when he was murdered. Avaricious of money for the sake of what it would purchase for the stomach. The life of Vitellius is told when we state that it was devoted to eating, drinking, and acts of cruelty. It was his boast that the infamous Nero was his chosen model.