Deadlines, delays and late nights

I aim to get something interesting out for you to read every 3 or 4 days. There was a time when I would produce content daily, but since I started on the Sisyphean task of dealing with my old mate Suetonius, I have slowed up somewhat.

I was hoping to have finally signed off the proofs for the intended vision for the Suetonius hardback on Kickstarter by today and go live tomorrow, but, well… I do, like Nero, love a good fiddle. As such, the initial plan for what I am going to produce has shifted slightly one way, then back, then back the other way, then into the nearest bin, then back and now… I think… the ‘vision’ has been settled on.

Before I became a teacher and writer of history, back in the late 1900s (!), I worked in the print industry and so the incredible world of typography, page layout and book design has always been close to my heart. As such, like all the other stuff with this book, I am designing it, too, which sounds easy, particularly as I am using the industry standard InDesign software from Adobe. But there is much to consider - page size, finished book size, golden ratios, equations, picas, points, typefaces, font sizes, leading….

What I have eventually gone for looks, if I may say so, rather beautiful, and is based largely on medieval page ratios. I will reveal more in the next few days, but if I told you that it has taken me the better part of two months to find the perfect typeface for the main body text, I am not exaggerating. The type comes from a rather magnificent, and astoundingly knowledgeable, otherwise amateur, expert on medieval type design by the name of Peter Baker. It’s called ‘Elstob’ and I adore it. You can get it on GitHub, for those who know that sort of thing.

The reproduction on the right alludes to the route I have taken with the design and layout, although it is much more modern.

Anyway, all this is boring if you’re not into medieval manuscripts. The short version of all this is that I will be back with more fun stuff in a few days once I have finished getting the book ready!

Speaking of which, here’s some of it to read! Meet one of the shorter books from Suetonius’ Twelve Caesars, The Life of Titus. Short because he only ruled for a couple of years before, well…. read on.

The Deified Titus by Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus.

Translated by James Coverley

1 - Titus, who had the same cognomen as his father, was the delight and darling of the human race. He had an amazing ability, either through his nature, skill or good luck, to win the love of all men, which, while he was an emperor, was no easy task. For while he was a private citizen, and even during his father’s rule, he faced plenty of hatred and public criticism.

He was born on the third day before the Kalends of January in the year memorable for the death of Gaius, in a dark and tiny room in a miserable little house near the Septizonium, which is still there and can be visited to this day.

2 - He was brought up at court in the company of Britannicus, and together, they were taught the same subjects by the same masters. They say that a physiognomist was brought in by Narcissus, the freedman of Claudius, to give Britannicus the once-over and declared unequivocally that he would never become emperor but that Titus, who was standing nearby at the time, most surely would. The boys were so close that it is believed that when Britannicus drank the poison that killed him, Titus, who was reclining at his side, drank some of it, too and was dangerously ill for a long time afterwards. Titus never forgot this and later set up a golden statue of his friend in the Palace and dedicated another ivory equestrian statue, which to this day is carried in the procession in the Circus, and he was there when it was unveiled.

3 - Even in his youth, his physical and mental gifts were evident, and they became even more pronounced as he grew older. He was handsome, dignified and graceful, and he was abnormally strong, even if he wasn’t very tall and had a bit of a belly. He had an extraordinary memory and aptitude for almost all of the arts, both of war and peace. He was skilled in arms and riding, made speeches, and wrote in both Greek and Latin with ease and enthusiasm, even off the cuff. He was familiar with most music but sang and played the lyre quite nicely and with no little skill. I have heard from several sources that he also used to write shorthand with great speed and that he would amuse himself with playful contests with his secretaries to see who could write the fastest. Also, it is said he could imitate any handwriting he had ever seen, and he would often say that he might have been the prince of all forgers.

4 - He served as a military tribune in both Germany and Britain, gaining a great reputation as a hard-working and diligent officer, as is evident from the large number of his statues and busts in both of these provinces and from the inscriptions they bear.

After his military service, he became an advocate in the Forum, more for the glory of it than as a career move, and at the same time, he married Arrecina Tertulla, whose father, although only a Roman knight, had once been prefect of the praetorian cohorts. When she died, he then married Marcia Furnilla, a woman of a very distinguished family, but then divorced her after he had acknowledged a daughter that she bore him.

Then, after holding the office of quaestor as commander of a legion, he took the two formidable Judean cities of Taricheae and Gamala, having his horse killed under him in one battle and jumping onto another whose rider had died alongside him.

5 - Soon, he was sent to congratulate Galba on becoming the ruler of the empire and drew attention wherever he went, as people believed he was being summoned to be adopted. But once he realised that everything was still in turmoil, he turned around and dropped into the Oracle of Paphos to consult it about his voyage, where he found encouragement in his hopes for imperial power. When his hopes were further realised, and he was left behind to complete the subjugation of Judea, in the final attack on Jerusalem, he killed twelve defenders with as many arrows and took the city on his daughter’s birthday. The soldiers were so delighted and devoted to him that they hailed him Imperator, and every now and then, when he tried to leave the province, they stopped him from going with entreaties and even threats, demanding that he take them with him or stay. This aroused the suspicion that he had tried to revolt from his father and make himself king in the East, and this suspicion only grew when, on his way to Alexandria, he stopped off at Memphis to consecrate a bull to Apis whilst wearing a diadem, even though this tradition was in accordance with the usual rites of that ancient religion, but viewed with alarm by some. As a result, he sped home to Italy in a transport ship, docking first at Regium and then Puteoli and then racing on to Rome where, as if to show that the reports about him were baseless, he burst in on his father, greeting him with, “Here I am, father! Here I am!”

6 - From that time on, he never stopped being the emperor’s partner and even his protector. He took part in his father’s triumph and was censor with him. He was his colleague in tribunician power and during seven consulships. He took it upon himself to discharge almost all the duties of the office of state, personally dictated letters and wrote edicts in his father’s name and even read his speeches in the senate in lieu of a quaestor. He also took command of the praetorian guard, which before then had been the preserve of a Roman knight, and, in this office, conducted himself in something of a tyrannical and arrogant manner. Whenever he regarded someone with suspicion, he would surreptitiously send out some of the guards to the various camps and theatres to whip up public sentiment against the person, and then, when it appeared that the public was demanding punishment, he would have them dealt with swiftly. Among these was Aulus Caecina, an ex-consul, whom he invited to dinner and then ordered to be stabbed almost before he had finished eating. In this case, however, he was at least led by an imminent danger, having got hold of a handwritten copy of a derogatory speech that he was planning to deliver to the soldiers. Although by doing this, he covered his own back for the future, he incurred so much bad feeling that hardly anyone ever came to the throne with such a terrible reputation or with such unpopularity.

7 - Besides this cruelty, he was also suspected of living the high life since he would party all night with the most riotous of his friends, engaging in all sorts of sexual deviancy alongside his troop of catamites and eunuchs. He was notorious for his wild passion for Queen Berenice, to whom it is said he even proposed marriage. He was accused of being greedy, too, for it was commonly known that in cases which came before his father, he put a price on his influence and was happy to accept bribes. In short, people not only thought but openly declared that he was another Nero. But this reputation soon turned around completely and was replaced with praise of the highest order when not only was no fault whatsoever found in his character, but, on the contrary, he was possessed of the highest virtues.

His banquets were modest rather than extravagant, and he chose friends so well that succeeding emperors also retained them as indispensable to themselves and the running of the state, and they made good use of their special talents. He sent Berenice home from Rome at once, much to her and his own sorrow. Some of his most beloved mistresses, although they were such talented dancers that they later appeared on the public stage, he not only ceased to sleep with, but even to watch dance in their public performances.

He took nothing from any citizen. If anyone respected the property of others, it was he, and in fact, he would refuse to accept even proper and customary gifts. And yet, he was second to none of his predecessors in generosity. At the dedication of his amphitheatre and of the baths that were rapidly built alongside them, he gave a most spectacular and wildly expensive gladiatorial show. He held a mock naval battle in the old naumachia and, in the same place, when the water was let out, a gladiatorial combat exhibiting five thousand wild beasts of various kinds in a single day.

8 - He was incredibly kind by nature, and whereas, in accordance with the tradition established by Tiberius, all the Caesars who came after him refused to regard favours granted by previous emperors as valid unless they had themselves conferred the same one on the same individuals, he was the first to ratify all of them in a single edict without even having to be asked. Moreover, in the case of other requests asked of him, it was his set rule not to let anyone leave without some hope. Even when his household officials warned him that he was promising more than he could deliver, he said that it wasn’t right for anyone to go away from a meeting with his emperor feeling unhappy. Another time, remembering in the middle of dinner that he had done nothing good for anyone that day, he came out with the memorable and kind remark, “Friends, I have wasted a day.”

The whole body of the people, in particular, he treated with such indulgence on all occasions that once, at a gladiatorial show, he announced that he would give it not in the style he preferred but in the style the audience had asked for. He kept his word, too. He never refused anything that anyone asked for and encouraged them to ask for anything they wanted. Furthermore, he openly displayed his support for Thracian gladiators and would banter with the crowds through words and gestures, maintaining his dignity at all times, while remaining entirely fair. Not to omit any form of humility, he would sometimes bathe in the baths he had built in the company of ordinary people. There were some awful disasters during his reign, such as the eruption of Vesuvius in Campania, a fire at Rome that burned for three days and three nights, and a plague the like of which had never been seen before. During these many calamities, he showed not merely the concern of an emperor but even the overwhelming love of a father, first offering consolation in edicts and then lending as much aid as his finances would allow. He chose commissioners by lot from among the ex-consuls for the relief of Campania, and the property of those who died in the eruption and had left no heirs alive was given over to the rebuilding of the devastated cities. During the fire in Rome, he made no remark except, “I am ruined,” and he set aside all the ornaments of his rural villas for the public buildings and temples and put several men of equestrian rank in charge of the work so that everything might be done with great haste. To try and cure the plague and restrict the spread of the epidemic, there was no aid, human or divine, which he didn’t employ, searching for every kind of sacrifice and all kinds of medicine.

Among the worst evils of the times were the informers and their instigators, who had for far too long enjoyed free licence. After these had been beaten savagely in the Forum with whips and clubs and finally paraded around the floor of the arena of the amphitheatre, he had some of them sold as slaves and the rest deported to the remotest islands he could find. To further discourage the practice for all time, among other precautions, he made it unlawful for anyone to be tried under several laws at once for the same charge or for any inquiry to be made as to the legal status of any deceased person after a set number of years.

9 - Having declared that he would accept the office of pontifex maximus for the purpose of making sure his hands remained clean of blood, he was true to his word. For after that, he never once had anyone executed nor set in motion any cause which resulted in their execution, even though he had plenty of perfectly acceptable reasons to do so. Instead, he swore that he would rather be killed than kill a man. When two men of a patrician family were found guilty of aspiring to the throne, he satisfied himself with issuing a warning, telling them to abandon their plans, saying that imperial power was the gift of fate and promising that if there were anything they desired, he himself would see to it that they got it. He then sent his messengers at top speed to the mother of one of them, for she was some distance away, to relieve her anxieties by telling her that her son was safe and well. He then not only invited them to dinner among his friends, but the following day, during a gladiatorial show, he deliberately sat them near him, and when the swords of the contestants were offered to him, he handed them over for inspection. It is even said that on inquiring into the horoscope of each man, he declared that danger threatened them both, but at some point in the distant future and from another man, as turned out to be the case.

Although his brother never stopped plotting against him and nearly always openly stirred up the armies to revolt and even thought about fleeing to join them, he didn’t have the heart to have him put to death or banished from court or even to reduce the honours bestowed on him. On the contrary, as he had done from the very first day of his rule, he would declare that Domitian was his partner and successor. Sometimes, when they were in private, he would beg his brother, in floods of tears and with prayers, that he would return just a tiny amount of the love he felt for him.

10 - But he was cut off in his prime by an untimely death, to the loss of humanity as much as to himself. After finishing the public games, at the close of which he wept profusely in public, he went off to the Sabine countryside in something of a glum mood because an animal had escaped when he was making a sacrifice, and a flash of lightning had shot across a clear blue sky. At the very first inn they stopped at, he fell ill with a fever, and as he was being carried from there in a litter, he pulled back the curtains, looked up to the skies and lamented sadly that his life was being taken from him even though he had done nothing to deserve it. For he said that there was nothing in his life that he regretted. Except for one thing.

What this one thing was, he never actually got around to disclosing, and neither could anyone figure it out. Some think that he recalled the intimacy which he had with his brother’s wife, but Domitia swore blind that this never happened although she would not have denied it had it been even remotely true, but, on the contrary, would have openly boasted about it as she was the sort of slovenly woman who would have revelled in the notoriety.

11 - He died in the same villa as his father on the Ides of September, two years, two months and twenty days after he succeeded him as emperor, in the forty-second year of his life. When his death became known, the whole palace mourned as if they had lost a family member. The senate rushed to the House before it could even be summoned by proclamation and, with the doors at first shut and then thrown open, rendered such thanks to him and heaped such praise on his name after death as they had ever done when he was alive and there before them.

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There are, of course, some endnotes to go with each book.

Have fun and, as always, thank you ever so much for all your kind words. They are rocket fuel for a very tired man.


James.