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five hundred is reported to have been spent on dinners, continually gorging himself insatiably, and continually belching and vomiting everything up; by which alone he survived, since his dining companions were very ill. Indeed, Vibius Crispus, having been absent from the mess for some time on account of an illness, said very wittily: "If I had not been sick, I would have perished." To this point, indeed, is the famous dinner of Vitellius at his brother's house remembered; at which they say that, apart from the other extravagance, two thousand fish and seven thousand birds were served for the feast. He also praised the acts of Nero, and he honored the corpse of Nero, which was laid in some hollow and obscure tomb. But by the generals of Vespasian, who was already claiming the empire, he was killed.

98 Exc. De ins.: That Vitellius, having ruled badly and shamefully, when the Jews began to revolt, sent Vespasian as general of the East, ordering him to put down their audacity. When, therefore, he was besieging Jerusalem, the soldiers gathered around him and proclaimed him emperor. When Vitellius heard this, he burned Sabinus, the brother of Vespasian, who had fled to the Capitol, together with the temple. When a very great commotion arose from this, since Vespasian's army was about to approach the city, all rushed together and seized Vitellius, and brought him to Vespasian's soldiers, and they condemned him to a shameful death, the one formerly decreed for Nero. For he was dragged through the whole city naked of clothing, his head being pulled back by the hair, and a sword placed under his chin, being struck by those who met him, finally, his throat cut, he was thrown into the Tiber, being in his 57th year.

t99-101 VESPASIAN.

99 Exc. De virt.: That Vespasian was so gentle and affable, that he did not punish offenses committed against himself and his rule beyond exile. For he quickly shook off from his mind enmities and offenses, and he bore lightly and calmly the jests of orators, by which he was assailed, and those cast at him by the populace; and being common and popular in his audiences, he for the most part dispensed with the pomp of kings. 100 Exc. De ins.: That Vespasian so well knew the fated end concerning his children, both about their life and their succession to the rule, that when a plot was often revealed, he did no harm to those conspiring against him, but openly declared in the senate-house in the hearing of all, that either his sons would have the succession to the empire or no one at all. 101 Exc. Salm.: Vespasian, ten years. When Vespasian died, so much wine overflowed from a vessel in a certain tavern that it even ran into the street.

t102-105 TITUS.

102 Exc. De virt.: That Titus, the son of Vespasian, was a man who had embraced every kind of virtue, so as to be called by all the love and delight of the human race. For he was most eloquent and most warlike and most moderate, and he used the native Latin tongue for the administration of public affairs, but composed poems and tragedies in the Greek language. 103 Ibid.: That when Titus had taken Jerusalem, all of Syria and Egypt and as much as to Palestine

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πεντηκοσίαις ἐς τὰ δεῖπνα δεδαπανηκέναι ἱστόρηται, συνεχῶς μὲν καὶ ἀπλήστως ἐμφορούμενος, συνεχῶς δὲ ἅπαντα ἐξερευγόμενός τε καὶ ἐξεμῶν· ᾧ δὴ καὶ μόνῳ διεγένετο, ἐπεὶ οἵ γε σύσσιτοι αὐτοῦ καὶ πάνυ κακῶς εἶχον. Βίβιος γοῦν Κρίσπος, διὰ νόσον χρόνου τινὸς ἀπολειφθεὶς τοῦ συσσιτίου, μάλα στωμύλως ἔφη· «Εἰ μὴ ἐνενοσήκειν, ἀπωλόμην ἄν.» Ἐς τόδε γοῦν καὶ τὸ παρὰ τῷ ἀδελφῷ δεῖπνον τοῦ Βιτελλίου ἐπίσημον γεγονὸς διαμνημονεύεται· καθ' ὃ φασὶ δίχα τῆς λοιπῆς πολυτελείας δισχιλίους μὲν ἰχθῦς, ἑπτακισχιλίους δὲ ὄρνις ἐπὶ τὴν θοίνην παρενεχθῆναι. Ἐπῄνει δὲ καὶ τὰ Νέρωνος, καὶ τὸν νεκρὸν τοῦ Νέρωνος ἐς κοῖλόν τινα καὶ ἀφανῆ τάφον κατακείμενον ἀπεσέμνυνε. Πρὸς δὲ τῶν στρατηγῶν Οὐεσπασιανοῦ, μεταποιουμένου τῆς βασιλείας ἤδη, κατακτείνεται.

98 Exc. De ins.: Ὅτι Βιτέλλιος βασιλεύσας κακῶς καὶ αἰσχρῶς, τῶν Ἰουδαίων νεωτερίζειν ἀρξαμένων, Βεσπασιανὸν στρατηγὸν ἐκπέμπει τῆς ἕω, τὴν τούτων κελεύσας αὐτῷ καταλῦσαι θρασύτητα. Ὡς οὖν ἐπολιόρκει τὴν Ἱερουσαλὴμ, οἱ στρατιῶται περὶ αὐτὸν ἀθροισθέντες, ἀναγορεύουσιν αὐτὸν βασιλέα. Ὅπερ ἀκηκοὼς Βιτέλλιος, Σαβῖνον τὸν ἀδελφὸν Βεσπασιανοῦ ἐν τῷ Καπιτωλίῳ προσφυγόντα συγκατέπρησε τῷ ἱερῷ. Κινήσεως δὲ ἐντεῦθεν μεγίστης γενομένης, ἐπειδὴ καὶ ὁ Βεσπασιανοῦ στρατὸς ἐγγίζειν ἔμελλε τῇ πόλει, συνδραμόντες ἅπαντες κρατοῦσι τὸν Βιτέλλιον, καὶ προσάγουσι τοῖς Βεσπασιανοῦ στρατιώταις, καὶ κατακρίνουσιν αὐτὸν τελευτῆς ἀσχήμονος, τῆς ἐπὶ τῷ Νέρωνι πρώην ἐψηφισμένης. Εἱλκύσθη γὰρ διὰ πάσης τῆς πόλεως γυμνὸς ἐσθήματος, ἀνελκομένου μὲν αὐτῷ τοῦ κρανίου διὰ τῆς κόμης, τοῦ δὲ ξίφους ὑποβεβλημένου τῷ ἀνθερεῶνι, βαλλόμενος ὑπὸ τῶν προστυγχανόντων, τέλος διατμηθεὶς τὸν λαιμὸν ἐνεβλήθη τῷ Θύβριδι, ἕβδομον καὶ νʹ ἔτος ἄγων.

t99-101 ΒΕΣΠΑΣΙΑΝΟΣ.

99 Exc. De virt.: Ὅτι Βεσπασιανὸς οὕτως ἦν ἤπιος καὶ προσηνὴς, ὡς μηδὲ τὰς εἰς αὐτόν τε καὶ τὴν βασιλείαν γινομένας ἁμαρτίας πέρα τιμωρεῖσθαι φυγῆς. Τάς τε γὰρ ἀπεχθείας καὶ τὰ προσκρούματα τῆς διανοίας ταχέως ἀπεσείετο, καὶ σκώμματα ῥητόρων, ὑφ' ὧν ἠφίετο, καὶ δήμων ἐς αὐτὸν ἀπορριπτούμενα κούφως τε καὶ γαληνῶς ἔφερεν· ἔς τε τὰς ἐντεύξεις κοινὸς καὶ δημοτικὸς ὢν, ἀπεσκήνου μὲν ὡς τὰ πολλὰ τῶν βασιλέων. 100 Exc. De ins.: Ὅτι ὁ Βεσπασιανὸς οὕτως ἄρα τὸ πεπρωμένον ἐπὶ τοῖς παισὶν ἐγίνωσκε τέλος, βίου τε αὐτῶν πέρι, καὶ τῆς ἐς τὴν ἡγεμονίαν παρόδου, ὡς πολλάκις μηνυθείσης ἐπιβουλῆς, μηδὲν μὲν ἐργάσασθαι τοὺς ἐπ' αὐτῷ συνεστῶτας κακὸν, διαρρήδην δὲ ἐν τῷ βουλευτηρίῳ ὑπὸ τῇ πάντων ἀκοῇ προσειπεῖν, ἢ τοὺς παῖδας ἕξειν ἢ μηδένα παντελῶς τῆς βασιλείας διάδοχον. 101 Exc. Salm.: Οὐεσπασιανὸς ἔτη δέκα. Οὐεσπασιανοῦ τελευτήσαντος οἶνος ἐν καπηλείῳ τινὶ τοσοῦτος ὑπὲρ τὸ ἀγγεῖον ἐξεχύθη, ὡς καὶ εἰς τὴν ὁδὸν προχωρῆσαι.

t102-105 ΤΙΤΟΣ.

102 Exc. De virt.: Ὅτι Τίτος, Οὐεσπασιανοῦ υἱὸς, ἀνὴρ ἦν πᾶν ἀρετῆς συνειληφὼς γένος, ὡς πρὸς ἁπάντων ἔρως τε καὶ τρυφὴ τοῦ θνητοῦ προσαγορευθῆναι γένους. Εὐγλωττότατός τε γὰρ καὶ πολεμικώτατος καὶ μετριώτατος ἦν, καὶ τῇ μὲν Λατίνων ἐπιχωρίῳ γλώττῃ πρὸς τὰς τῶν κοινῶν ἐχρῆτο διοικήσεις, ποιήματα δὲ καὶ τραγῳδίας Ἑλλάδι φωνῇ διεπονεῖτο. 103 Ibid.: Ὅτι ἐπεὶ ᾑρήκει τὰ Ἱεροσόλυμα ὁ Τίτος, Συρία τε πᾶσα καὶ Αἴγυπτος καὶ ὅσα τῇ Παλαιστίνῃ