§105ἔνιοι γὰρ καὶ ἐπὶ Τιβερίου καὶ ἐπὶ τοῦ πατρὸς αὐτοῦ Καίσαρος τῶν διεπόντων τὰς ἐπικρατείας, τὴν ἐπιμέλειαν καὶ προστασίαν εἰς δυναστείαν καὶ τυραννίδα μεθαρμοσάμενοι, τὰς χώρας ἐνέπλησαν κακῶν ἀνηκέστων δωροδοκίαις, ἁρπαγαῖς, καταδίκαις, τῶν μηδὲν ἡμαρτηκότων ἐλάσεσι καὶ φυγαῖς, τῶν δυνατῶν ἀκρίτοις ἀναιρέσεσιν·
For some of those governing the provinces, both under Tiberius and under his father Caesar, having transformed their care and protection into absolute power and tyranny, filled the regions with incurable evils through bribery, plunder, unjust convictions, expulsions and banishments of those who had done no wrong, and executions of the powerful without trial.
οὓς μετὰ τὸν ὁρισθέντα χρόνον τῆς ἀρχῆς ἐπανελθόντας εἰς Ῥώμην οἱ αὐτοκράτορες λόγον καὶ εὐθύνας τῶν πεπραγμένων ᾔτουν, καὶ μάλισθ’ ὁπότε πρεσβεύσαιντο αἱ ἀδικηθεῖσαι πόλεις. §106τότε γὰρ κοινοὺς παρέχοντες ἑαυτοὺς δικαστάς, ἐξ ἴσου καὶ τῶν κατηγόρων καὶ τῶν ἀπολογουμένων ἀκροώμενοι, μηδενὸς ἀκρίτου προκαταγινώσκειν ἀξιοῦντες, ἐβράβευον οὔτε πρὸς ἔχθραν οὔτε πρὸς χάριν, ἀλλὰ πρὸς τὴν φύσιν τῆς ἀληθείας τὰ δόξαντα εἶναι δίκαια. §107Φλάκκῳ δ’ οὐ μετὰ τὴν ἀρχὴν ἀλλ’ ἐμπροθέσμως προϋπήντησεν ἡ μισοπόνηρος δίκη ταῖς ἀμέτροις ὑπερβολαῖς ὧν ἠδίκει καὶ παρηνόμει δυσχεράνασα.
When these men returned to Rome after the appointed term of their office, the emperors demanded of them an account and reckoning of their deeds, especially whenever the injured cities sent embassies. For then, presenting themselves as impartial judges, listening equally both to the accusers and to the defendants, deigning to condemn no one without a trial, they decided what seemed to be just, neither out of hatred nor out of favor, but according to the nature of truth. But to Flaccus, not after his office but within its term, justice, which hates wickedness, came to meet him, having become indignant at the measureless excesses of his injustice and lawlessness. The manner of his arrest was as follows.
§108Γίνεται δ’ ὁ τρόπος αὐτῷ τῆς συλλήψεως τοιόσδε. ὑπέλαβεν ἤδη τὸν Γάιον περὶ ὧν ὕποπτος ἦν ἐξευμενίσθαι, τὰ μὲν ἐπιστολιμαίοις γράμμασιν, ἃ κολακείας ἦν ὑπέρμεστα, τὰ δὲ ἐν οἷς δημηγορῶν πολλάκις ἐθεράπευε λόγους θῶπας καὶ μακρὰς ῥήσεις πεπλασμένων ἐγκωμίων συνείρων, τὰ δὲ καὶ ἐκ τοῦ σφόδρα εὐδοκιμεῖν παρὰ τῷ πλείστῳ μέρει τῆς πόλεως. §109ἔλαθε δ’ αὑτὸν ἀπατῶν· ἀβέβαιοι γὰρ αἱ τῶν πονηρῶν ἀνθρώπων ἐλπίδες, εἰκαζόντων μὲν τὰ χρηστότερα, τὰ δὲ παλίμφημα καὶ ὧν ἄξιοι τυγχάνειν εἰσὶ πασχόντων.
He supposed that he had already appeased Gaius concerning the matters about which he was suspected, partly by letter-writings which were full of flattery, partly because in his public speeches he often courted him with flattering words and long-winded strings of fabricated praises, and partly also from being highly esteemed by the greater part of the city. But he was unconsciously deceiving himself; for unstable are the hopes of wicked men, who conjecture the better, but suffer the reverse and what they deserve to experience.
πέμπεται μὲν γὰρ ἀπὸ τῆς Ἰταλίας Βάσσος ἑκατοντάρχης ὑπὸ Γαΐου χειροτονηθεὶς μετὰ τῆς τάξεως τῶν στρατιωτῶν, ἧς ἀφηγεῖτο. §110σκάφους δ’ ἐπιβὰς τῶν μάλιστα ταχυναυτούντων ὀλίγαις ἡμέραις πρὸς τοῖς λιμέσι γίνεται τῆς Ἀλεξανδρείας κατὰ τὴν Φάρον νῆσον περὶ δείλην ἑσπέραν καὶ κελεύει τῷ κυβερνήτῃ μέχρις ἡλίου καταδύσεως ἔξω θαλαττεύειν, τεχνάζων τὸ ἀνεπίφαντον ἕνεκα τοῦ μὴ προαισθόμενον Φλάκκον καὶ βουλευσάμενόν τι νεώτερον ἄπρακτον αὐτῷ τὴν ὑπηρεσίαν ἐργάσασθαι. §111γενομένης δ’ ἑσπέρας, ἡ μὲν ναῦς προσέσχεν, ὁ δὲ Βάσσος μετὰ τῶν ἰδίων ἀποβὰς προῄει, μήτε γνωρίζων τινὰ μήτε γνωριζόμενος ὑπό του, στρατιώτην δέ τινα τῶν ἐν τοῖς τετραδίοις φυλάκων καθ’ ὁδὸν εὑρὼν κελεύει δεικνύναι τὴν οἰκίαν τοῦ στρατάρχου· τούτῳ γὰρ ἐβούλετο τὸ ἀπόρρητον ἀνενεγκεῖν, ἵνα, κἂν δέῃ πολυχειρίας, ἔχῃ τὸν συναγωνιούμενον. §112πυθόμενος δ’ αὐτὸν ἑστιᾶσθαι παρά τινι σὺν Φλάκκῳ, μηδὲν τάχους ἀνιεὶς συνέτεινεν ἄχρι τῆς τοῦ κεκληκότος οἰκίας — Στεφανίων ἦν τῶν τοῦ Τιβερίου Καίσαρος ἀπελευθέρων, παρ’ ᾧ κατήγοντο — καὶ μικρὸν ἄποθεν ὑποστείλας ἐκπέμπει τινὰ τῶν ἰδίων κατασκεψόμενον εἰς ἀκόλουθον ἀσκήσας, σόφισμα τοῦ μηδένα συναισθέσθαι.
For Bassus, a centurion, was sent from Italy, appointed by Gaius with the division of soldiers which he commanded. And having embarked on one of the fastest sailing vessels, in a few days he arrived near the harbors of Alexandria by the island of Pharos toward late evening, and ordered the pilot to keep out to sea until sunset, planning to remain unnoticed so that Flaccus, not perceiving it beforehand and planning some revolution, might not render his service fruitless. When evening came, the ship came to shore, and Bassus disembarked with his men and proceeded, neither recognizing anyone nor being recognized by anyone; and finding on the road one of the soldiers of the quaternions on guard, he ordered him to show the house of the military commander; for to him he wished to communicate the secret, so that, even if there should be need of a large force, he might have a fellow-combatant. Having learned that he was feasting at someone's house with Flaccus, without slacking his speed he hastened as far as the house of the host—he was Stephanion, one of the freedmen of Tiberius Caesar, at whose house they were staying—and having halted a short distance away, he sent out one of his men disguised as an attendant to spy, a device to prevent anyone from noticing.
παρελθὼν δὲ εἰς τὸ συμπόσιον ὡς ἑνός τινος τῶν παρατυγχανόντων οἰκέτης, ἅπαντα μετ’ ἀκριβείας περιαθρήσας, ἐπανελθὼν ἐμήνυσε τῷ Βάσσῳ. §113γνοὺς δὲ τὸ περὶ τὰς εἰσόδους ἀφύλακτον καὶ τὴν περὶ τὸν Φλάκκον ὀλιγότητα — μόλις γὰρ δέκα ἢ πεντεκαίδεκα τῶν διακονικῶν ἀνδραπόδων ἐπηκολουθήκει — σύνθημα δοὺς τοῖς περὶ αὑτὸν εἰσέδραμεν ἐξαίφνης, καὶ τῶν στρατιωτῶν οἱ μὲν παρὰ τὸ συμπόσιον ἐπιστάντες ὑπεζωσμένοι τὰ ξίφη κυκλοῦσιν αὐτὸν οὐ προϊδόμενον· ἐτύγχανε γὰρ καὶ πρόποσίν τινι διδοὺς καὶ φιλοφρονούμενος τοὺς παρόντας. §114εἰς μέσον δὲ τοῦ Βάσσου παρελθόντος, ἰδὼν εὐθὺς ὑπ’ ἐκπλήξεως ἀχανὴς γίνεται καὶ βουλόμενος ἀναστῆναι, τὴν ἐν κύκλῳ φρουρὰν θεασάμενος, ἔγνω καὶ πρὶν ἀκοῦσαι, τί βούλεται Γάιος ἐπ’ αὐτῷ καὶ τί προστέτακται τοῖς ἥκουσι καὶ τί παραυτίκα μελλήσει ὑπομένειν· δεινὸς γὰρ ὁ νοῦς τὰ κατὰ μέρος ἐν χρόνῳ μακρῷ γινόμενα πάνθ’ ἅμα ἰδεῖν καὶ πάντων ἀθρόων ἀκοῦσαι.
Having gone into the banquet as a servant of one of those present, and having surveyed everything with accuracy, he returned and reported to Bassus. Having recognized the lack of guard around the entrances and the small number of attendants around Flaccus—for barely ten or fifteen of the domestic slaves had followed him—giving a signal to those around him, he rushed in suddenly, and some of the soldiers standing by the banquet, girded with their swords, surrounded him who had not foreseen it; for he happened to be offering a toast to someone and acting cordially to those present. When Bassus advanced into the middle, immediately upon seeing him he became speechless with astonishment, and wishing to stand up, having beheld the guard in a circle, he knew even before hearing what Gaius wished concerning him, what had been commanded to those who had come, and what he would shortly have to undergo; for the mind is wonderfully clever at seeing all at once what happens in detail over a long time, and hearing all things together.