(1) Huic Ser. Galba successit, antīquissimae nōbilitātis senātor, cum septuāgēsimum et tertium annum ageret aetātis, ab Hispānīs et Gallīs imperātōr ēlēctus, mox ab ūniversō exercitū libenter acceptus.

(2) Nam prīvāta eius vīta īnsīgnis fuerat mīlitāribus et cīvīlibus rēbus; saepe consul, saepe prō consule, frequenter dux in gravissimīs bellīs. Huius breve imperium fuit et quod bona habēret exōrdia, nisi ad sevēritātem prōpēnsior vidēretur.

(3) Īnsidiīs tamen Othōnis occīsus est imperiī mēnse septimō. Iugulātus in forō Rōmae sepultusque in hortīs suīs, quī sunt Aurēliā viā nōn longē ab urbe Rōmā.

    Galba Emperor, 6869 CE

    (1) Huic: Nerōnī, dative object of successit (AG 370)

    Ser. Galba: Servius Sulpicius Galba was born in the reign of Augustus of a patrician family. He was in Spain when Julius Vindex, the proconsular governor of Gaul, rose against Nero. Galba joined him, and Otho, governor of Lusitania, followed his example. He was saluted as emperor by the soldiers, and the senate was forced to ratify their choice. The emperors from this time on were set up and overthrown at the will of the army. Galba was very parsimonious in his dealings and so lost the goodwill of the soldiers, who were ready to aid any revolt against him. He ruled for only seven months (Hazzard).

    ab Hispānīs et Gallīs imperātōr ēlēctus: "chosen emperor by Spain and Gaul," as opposed legitimate succession or the will of the Senate. Hispaniae -ārum f. pl.,  "the Spains," is a normal way to refer to the two Spanish provinces, and the same is true of Galliae -ārum. In spring of 68 CE Gaius Julius Vindex, the governor of Gallia Lugdunensis, revolted and made overtures to Galba, who was a distinguished soldier and administrator, who was governing Hispania Tarraconensis. Suetonius describes the events as follows:

    Details

    As he was holding the assizes at Nova Carthago, he learned of the rebellion of the Gallic provinces through an urgent appeal for help from the governor of Aquitania; then came letters from Vindex, calling upon him to make himself the liberator and leader of mankind. So without much hesitation he accepted the proposal, led by fear as well as by hope. For he had intercepted dispatches ordering his own death, which had been secretly sent by Nero to his agents. He was encouraged too, in addition to most favorable auspices and omens, by the prediction of a young girl of high birth, and the more so because the priest of Jupiter at Clunia, directed by a dream, had found in the inner shrine of his temple the very same prediction, likewise spoken by an inspired girl two hundred years before. And the purport of the verses was that one day there would come forth from Hispania the ruler and lord of the world. (Galba 9)

    (2) prīvāta eius vīta: "his life as a private citizen," before he became emperor

    mīlitāribus et cīvīlibus rēbus: "in military and civil affairs" 

    ad sevēritātem prōpēnsior: "rather too inclined to severity." Galba could be cruel even by Roman standards in administering judicial punishments.

    Details

    [H]e cut off the hands of a money-lender who carried on his business dishonestly and nailed them to his counter; crucified a man for poisoning his ward, whose property he was to inherit in case of his death; and when the man invoked the law and declared that he was a Roman citizen, Galba, pretending to lighten his punishment by some consolation and honor, ordered that a cross much higher than the rest and painted white be set up, and the man transferred to it. But he gradually changed to sloth and inaction, not to give Nero any cause for jealousy, and as he used to say himself, because no one could be forced to render an account for doing nothing. (Suetonius, Galba 9)

    (3) Īnsidiīs tamen Othōnis: he was murdered by Otho’s assassins in 69 CE (Bird). He did not receive honorary deification (See Smith, s.v. Apotheosis).

    in forō Rōmae: the Forum Romanum

    Aurēliā viā: see Via Aurelia

    Core Vocabulary | Numbers | Dates

     

    Serv.

    alternate abbreviation of the praenomen Servius

    Galba, ae, m.

    Servius (Sulpicius) Galba, Roman emperor 68–69 A.D.

    succēdō, ere, cessī, cessus

    to come up, advance; succeed, follow

    nōbilitās, ātis [nōbilis], f.

    renown, nobility; the nobles

    senātor, ōris [senātus], m.

    a senator

    Hispānia, ae, f.

    Spain (including Portugal). It was divided into two provinces, Hispania Citerior and Ulterior; hence the pl. Hispaniae.

    Gallus, a, um

    pertaining to Gaul. Gallī, ōrum, pl. m., the Gauls. Gallus, ī, m., a Roman cognomen: (1) C. (Cn.) Cornēlius Gallus, governor of Egypt under Augustus; (2) Gallus Hostīliānus, Roman emperor 251–253 A.D.

    ūniversus, a, um [ūnus + vertō] adj.

    all in one, whole, entire

    libenter [libēns, glad], adv.

    gladly, cheerfully

    īnsīgnis, e [in + sīgnum], adj.

    remarkable, distinguished 2

    mīlitāris, e [mīles], adj.

    military; as subst., a soldier; rēs mīlitāris, the art of war, military operations

    cīvīlis, e [cīvis], adj.

    pertaining to a citizen; civil; polite, moderate

    frequenter [frequēns], adv.

    often

    exōrdium, ī [ex + ōrdō], n.

    a beginning

    sevēritās, ātis [sevērus], f.

    strictness, severity, sternness

    prōpēnsus, a, um, adj.

    hanging down; inclined, disposed, prone

    īnsidiae, ārum [īnsideō, to sit upon], pl. f.

    ambush; treachery 3

    Othō, ōnis, m.

    (M. Salvius) Othō, Roman emperor from January 15 to April 16, 69 A.D.

    mēnsis, is, m.

    a month

    iugulō, āre, āvī, ātus [iugulum, neck]

    to cut the throat, kill, slay, murder

    sepeliō, īre, īvī (iī), sepultus

    to bury, inter

    hortus, ī, m.

    garden, orchard, park

    Aurēlius, a, um

    Aurelian; esp. via Aurēlia, the Aurelian road

     

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