TIBERIUS AND THE SPIRIT OF

AUGUSTUS
By D. C. A. SHOTTER

T HERE are a number of instances in Tacitus' treatment of Tiberius

which concern the emperor's behaviour when some mention of his
predecessor was made. Critics of Tacitus have apparently overlooked
Tiberius' extreme sensitivity on this subject, with the result that inter-
pretations have been offered which tend to obscure what Tacitus is
trying to say about Tiberius. It is the intention of this note to examine
such passages, in an attempt to clarify Tiberius' attitude and Tacitus'
presentation of it.
In her discussion of the case of Granius Marcellus,1 Walker appears
to misunderstand the reason for Tiberius' outburst, and what, in fact,
Tacitus was trying to show about Tiberius' personality. There were
two charges against Marcellus; first that he had recounted scandalous
stories about Tiberius, which Tacitus describes as an 'inevitable
crimen'. There is nothing sinister in these words; the charge could be
described as 'inevitabile' simply because the aspects of the emperor's
character that were involved were the most unpleasant ones, and the
public would certainly be prejudiced against the defendant for that
reason:2 'Nam quia vera erant, etiam dicta credebantur.' From Tacitus'
text, it is evident that Tiberius did not react to this charge at all. How-
ever, Tacitus then moves on to the second indictment, and it is this one
which apparently interests the historian more. For Marcellus was also
accused of placing his own statue above those of the Caesars, and of
cutting the head off a statue of Augustus and replacing it with the head
of Tiberius. At this point, the emperor came openly into the case:3
Ad quod exarsit adeo, ut rupta taciturnitate proclamaret se quoque in
ea causa laturum sententiam palam et iuratum, quo ceteris eadem necessitas
fieret.
Walker says that Tiberius' behaviour 'on this occasion is somewhat
ambiguous'. Certainly, the interpretations offered would tend to
1
Tac. Ann. i. 74. For her discussion of the case, see B. Walker, The Annals of
Tacitus, (Manchester, 1952), 90-91. Cf. K. von Fritz, 'Tacitus, Agricola, Domitian
and the Problem of the Principate', CPh (1957), 90. Cf. Suet. Tib. 58, who gives
a list of examples, including this one, of Tiberius' excessive regard for Augustus.
2
Tac. Ann. i. 74. 3.
3
Ibid. i. 74. 5.

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 208 TIBERIUS AND THE SPIRIT OF AUGUSTUS
confirm this.1 But is Tiberius' behaviour ambiguous, as it is presented
by Tacitus ?
Walker is certainly right in drawing attention to the imagery ('exarsit';
'rupta') that Tacitus uses to bring out the suddenness and violence of
Tiberius' outburst. But the historian also makes it quite clear why
Tiberius flared up; for after recounting the charge of disrespect shown
to the statue of Augustus, Tacitus introduces the sentence describing
Tiberius' outburst with the words 'ad quod', the significance of which
has apparently been missed. It was this disrespect shown to Augustus
which had angered Tiberius; and his intention was surely to vote for
condemnation. It was fortunate for him that the pertinent interjection
of Cn. Piso gave the emperor a moment to survey the position, and think
better of his outburst.
Now, this sort of behaviour on Tiberius' part was not unique, although
he did not always flare up unreasonably; for instance he was sometimes
able to discern when a charge of disrespect was being used simply to
'frame' the accused, as is the case in the two indictments recorded in the
previous chapter.2 His replies in these two cases show that he considered
neither of the charges as representing any real disrespect to the dead
emperor.3
However, Tiberius' reaction in the case of Granius Marcellus regis-
tered his very strong anger in an instance of what he considered real
disrespect; and this kind of reaction can be paralleled many times. For
example, in the case against Appuleia Varilla,4 who had been arraigned
on a charge of slandering Augustus, Livia, and Tiberius, the emperor's
reaction is notable; he says that he wishes no notice to be taken of
remarks against himself, that Livia must reach her own decision; how-
ever, as regards Augustus, he acted firmly and apparently in anger:'
Maiestatis crimen distingui Caesar postulavit damnarique, si qua de
Augusto inreligiose dixisset.
1
B. Walker, op. cit., 91 (Tiberius' motive was to clear himself of slander); K. von
Fritz, op. cit., 90 (condemnation; but considers that this question is not easy to settle
now); R. S. Rogers, Criminal Trials and Criminal Legislation under Tiberius (Middle-
town, 1935), 9 f. (Rogers thinks that it was Tiberius' intention to vote for Marcellus'
2
acquittal). Tac. Ann. i. 73.
3
To the charge which concerned the admission of Cassius amongst the worshippers
of Augustus and the selling of a statue of Augustus, Tiberius replied: 'Non ideo
decretum patri suo caelum, ut in perniciem civium is honor verteretur' (i. 73. 3);
and to the charge of perjury by the divinity of Augustus, he replied: 'Deorum iniurias
dis curae' (i. 73. 5).
4
Tac. Ann. ii. 50. (Cf. B. Walker, op. cit., 95-96.)
s
Ibid. ii. 50. 2. Cf. R. S. Rogers (op. cit., 27-28), who regards Tiberius' conduct in
this case as dictated solely by considerations of religion. Taken in conjunction with
other passages, it should surely be seen in the wider context of Tiberius' high regard
for the person of his predecessor, and for any precedent set by him.

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 TIBERIUS AND THE SPIRIT OF AUGUSTUS 209
Tiberius' attitude in this matter can be paralleled in a different context;
for when the people of Gytheion proposed honours for Augustus, Livia,
and Tiberius, the emperor replied:1
£9' oTs inias Eiraivcov irpoafiKeiv CrrroAan|3avco KCCI KOIVTJ TT&VTOS dv9pcb-
TTOVJ Kai i5iot Tqv OnETEpav TT6AIV i^aip^rous (pv/Aaacreiv TWI iieyeOei TCOV TOO
EJIOO irorrpos eis cnrocvrcc TOV KOCTUOV euEpyEaicov TOCS ©EOIS TrpeTroOcras
ctCrros 64 apKoOuai Tais HETpicoTEpais TE Kai avr)pcomiois- f| PEVTOI k\xf\
T60* \j\iiv otTTOKpivEiTai oTotv aia0r)Tai Trap' upcov f|v exETE ^ P ' T w v £ '5
OUTT|V TIUCOV Kpiaiv.

It is clear that he took very seriously all honours and disrespect shown
to the dead emperor. In fact, Tiberius' decision to invoke the Lex
Maiestatis in cases of libel and slander was based on Augustus' own
rulings on the matter.2
The way in which Tiberius elected to abide by Augustus' policy-
decision in the case of the Lex Maiestatis can be paralleled in other
aspects of his policy. For example, he followed Augustus' ruling
'coercendi intra terminos imperii'.3 In spite of misgivings, he dutifully
promoted the future of Germanicus.4 He kept to the number of im-
perial nominations for the praetorship elections that Augustus had made.5
He stringently observed Augustus' wishes about the governing and
status of Egypt; for it was for disregarding these wishes that Tiberius
criticized Germanicus most strongly:6
Tiberius cultu habituque eius lenibus verbis perstricto, acerrime increpuit
quod contra instituta Augusti non sponte principis Alexandriam introisset.
1
V. Ehrenberg and A. H. M. Jones, Documents Illustrating the Reigns of Augustus
and Tiberius (Oxford, 1955), 89 (no. 102; SEGxi. 922-3).
2
Tac. Ann. i. 72. 3-5.
3
Ibid. i. 11. 7. That Tiberius kept to this is clear from Tacitus' narrative as a whole,
and from a specific remark he makes in Ann. iv. 32. 3: 'Princeps proferendi imperi
incuriosus erat.' See also Agr. 13. 3, referring to the policy of the early emperors
towards Britain: 'Consilium id divus Augustus vocabat, Tiberius praeceptum.'
4
Germanicus was forced on Tiberius by Augustus {Ann. i. 3. 5); Tiberius' misgivings
are recorded in i. 7.9. Nevertheless Tiberius maintained and strengthened Germanicus'
position (i. 14. 4).
5
Tac. Ann. i. 14, 6: 'Numerum ab Augusto traditum.' (See D. Shorter, 'The
Elections under Tiberius', CQ-—in press.)
6
Ibid. ii. 59. 3. (Augustus' ruling is given in ii. 59. 4.) Cf. the treatment of actors
(Ann. i. 77. 4), where we find another example of Tiberius taking an Augustan ruling as
sacred: 'Valuit tamen intercessio, quia divus Augustus immunes verberum histriones
quondam responderat, neque/aj Tiberio infringere dicta eius.'
The use of 'fas' in this passage well illustrates the sanctity of Augustan precedent in
Tiberius' mind. This sanctity is again reported by Tacitus as expressly stated in a
speech of Tiberius on the subject of the Imperial Cult (Ann. iv. 37. 4-5): 'Cum divus
Augustus sibi atque urbi Romae templum apud Pergamum sisti non prohibuisset, qui
omniafacta dictaque eius vice legis observem, placitum iam exemplum promptius secutus
sum, . . . et vanescet Augusti honor, si promiscis adulationibus vulgatur.'

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 210 TIBERIUS AND THE SPIRIT OF AUGUSTUS
Not only this, but Germanicus was evidently looking upon Egypt as he
would on any other province; on the subject of his entry there, Tacitus
says:1 'Sed cura provinciae praetendebatur.' That Tacitus is not using
the word 'provincia' loosely is shown by a papyrus2 which appears to
give a verbatim report of Germanicus' arrival in Alexandria, and the
speech he made on that occasion, in which he referred to Egypt as an

Again, at the senate's first meeting after Augustus' death, Tiberius

would allow nothing to be discussed except Augustus' will and funeral :3
Nihil primo senatus die agi passus est nisi de supremis Augusti. . . .
At that same meeting, too, Tiberius took offence when he thought that
the senate was not showing the dead emperor sufficient respect.4
With these examples perhaps should be noted other less striking
instances, which by themselves might not be significant, but which in
the light of these examples deserve mention. In the debate on the
accession, Tiberius claimed that only Augustus was capable of carrying
the burden of empires He refused to let the praetors pay for the Ludi
Augustales out of their own pockets; the games were provided at public
expense.6 The building of temples to 'Divus Augustus' was allowed and
encouraged.7 When Germanicus died, Tiberius himself claimed that his
failure to participate in the elaborate obsequies was based on Augustus'
own behaviour after the death of his grandsons.8 Finally, in a debate on
the subject of extravagance, Tiberius showed that it was neglect of
Augustus' legislation that distressed him most:»
Tot a maioribus repertae leges, tot quas divus Augustus tulit, illae oblivione,
hae, quodflagitiosiusest, contemptu abolitae securiorem luxum fecere.

At first sight this respect, even affection, that Tiberius had for Augus-
tus, appears curious. There seems little reason why Tiberius should
have been so respectful towards his predecessor and stepfather. The
sources indeed suggest the uneasy and tense atmosphere that we would
have expected to have existed between the two men.10 Certainly,
1 2
Tac. Ann. ii. 59. 2. Pap. Oxy. 2435 (1959).
3
Tac. Ann. i. 8. 1.
4
Ibid. i. 8. 6. (For this passage, see D. Shotter, 'Three Problems in Tacitus'
Annals i', Mnemosyne—in press.)
5
Ibid. i. 11. 2: 'Solam divi Augusti mentem tantae molis capacem.'
6 7
Ibid. i. 15. 3. Ibid. i. 78. 1.
8
Ibid. iii. 6. 3. ' Ibid. iii. 54. 3.
10
Ibid. i. 10. 6. (Cf. Suet. Tib. 68. 3; 21.2; 23, where Suetonius quotes from Augus-
tus' will: 'Quoniam atrox fortuna Gaium et Lucium filios mihi eripuit.')

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 TIBERIUS AND THE SPIRIT OF AUGUSTUS 211
Augustus' erratic dynastic policies, based, as Maraflon shows,1 on the
intention of keeping the Julian family in a position superior to that of the
Claudian, contained little to conciliate Tiberius, let alone earn his
undying respect.
Previous writers2 have discussed fully the indignities that Tiberius
suffered at the hand of Augustus. Maranon suggests3 that it was Tiberius'
'puritanical and disciplined spirit' that made him seem respectful to
Augustus. Besides this, of course, with his deification, Augustus had
been raised to the ranks of the immortals,4 and Tiberius always showed
himself to be extremely conservative in his attitude to religious
matters.5
However, whilst we should have expected Tiberius to show his
resentment against Augustus for the unhappiness of his life, he seems, in
fact, as Maranon shows, to have borne his grudges against those he
regarded as having usurped his rightful position rather than against
Augustus himself. For instance, he seems to have nurtured an implac-
able hatred against Asinius Gallus,6 who had married Vipsania, the
wife whom Tiberius loved and whom he had been forced by Augustus
to divorce in favour of Julia. Similarly, when he was superseded by
Gaius and Lucius, the sons of Agrippa and Julia, he seems to have borne
the grudge against the two young Caesars, rather than against the actual
author of his demotion.7 It is more than likely, too, that tension between
Tiberius and Germanicus can be explained in this way.
Towards Augustus himself, however, he seems to have borne no such
grudge, at least not openly. Rather he was assiduous in his respect for
Augustus, even in his earlier days; as Suetonius shows,8 Augustus had
1
G. Maranon, Tiberius, a Study in Resentment (London, 1956), 63-82.
2
e.g., G. Maranon, op. cit., and R. Syme, Tacitus (Oxford, 1958), i. 424 ff.
3
G. Maranon, op. cit., 63.
4
See Tac. Ann. ii. 50. 2, where Tiberius refers to slander of 'Divus Augustus' as
speaking 'inreligiose'. (Cf. B. Walker, op. cit., 60.)
5
For example, ibid. i. 62. 3, where Tiberius criticizes Germanicus for burying the
dead of Varus' army, whilst he was augur: 'Neque imperatorem auguratu et vetustis-
simis caerimoniis praeditum adtrectare feralia debuisse.' (For an explanation of this
point, see Furneaux's note on the passage, vol. i, p. 262.) Tiberius is said to have
shielded himself from the sight of his son's body, when, as 'pontifex maximus', he
pronounced the funeral laudation. (See Seneca, Cons, ad Marciam 15. 3.)
6
Tac. Ann. i. 12. 6: 'Nee ideo iram eius lenivit, pridem invisus, tamquam ducta in
matrimonium Vipsania M. Agrippae filia, quae quondam Tiberii uxor fuerat, plus
quam civilia agitaret.'
Suetonius (Tib. 7. 3) describes Tiberius' reaction when he happened to meet
Vipsania by chance after they had been divorced. Augustus was sufficiently concerned
about the effect upon Tiberius to make sure that they did not meet again.
7
Dio Cassius, lv. 9.
8
Div. Aug. 51.3.

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 212 T I B E R I U S AND T H E S P I R I T O F A U G U S T U S
to issue a mild rebuke to Tiberius for his being too easily offended on
his behalf:
Aetati tuae, mi Tiberi, noli in hac re indulgere et nimium indignari
quemquam esse, qui de me male loquatur; satis est enim, si hoc habemus
ne quis nobis male facere possit.
It is interesting that this apparently was one piece of Augustan advice
which Tiberius was never able to bring himself to follow.

NOTES ON CONTRIBUTORS
S. DAVIS: Professor of Classics, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannes-
burg, South Africa.
J. T. CHRISTIE: Principal of Jesus College, Oxford.
D. A. RUSSELL: Fellow of St. John's College, Oxford.
L. A. MORITZ: Professor of Latin, University College of South Wales and
Monmouthshire, Cardiff.
J. B. HAINSWORTH: Lecturer in Classics, University of London King's
College.
JOHN FERGUSON: Professor of Classics, University of Ibadan, Nigeria.
B. C. DIETRICH: Lecturer in Classics, Rhodes University, Grahamstown,
South Africa.
D. C. A. SHOTTER: Lecturer in Classics, Magee University College, London-
derry, Northern Ireland.
J. A. KEMP: Lecturer in Phonetics, Edinburgh University.
DENIS HENRY and B. WALKER: Mr. Henry is Director of Studies at Stony-
hurst College, Lancashire. Miss Walker was Lecturer in Education,
Sheffield University.

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