§1Patrem Claudi Caesaris Drusum, olim Decimum mox Neronem praenomine, Liuia, cum Augusto grauida nupsisset, intra mensem tertium peperit, fuitque suspicio ex uitrico per adulterii consuetudinem procreatum.
Livia, having married Augustus when she was already pregnant by him, gave birth to Drusus, the father of Claudius Caesar (whose praenomen was once Decimus and later Nero), within the third month; and there was a suspicion that he had been begotten by his stepfather through adulterous intercourse.
statim certe uulgatus est uersus:
τοῖσ εὐτυχοῦσι καὶ τρίμηνα παιδία.
At all events, the following verse immediately became common: To the fortunate, even three-month children are born.
is Drusus in quaesturae praeturaeque honore dux Raetici, deinde Germanici belli Oceanum septemtrionalem primus Romanorum ducum nauigauit transque Rhenum fossas naui et immensi operis effecit, quae nunc adhuc Drusinae uocantur.
This Drusus, during his holding of the offices of quaestor and praetor, as commander in the Raetian and then the Germanic war, was the first of Roman generals to navigate the northern Ocean, and constructed canals of immense labor beyond the Rhine for ships, which are still called the Drusian canals to this day.
hostem etiam frequenter caesum ac penitus in intimas solitudines actum non prius destitit insequi, quam species barbarae mulieris humana amplior uictorem tendere ultra sermone Latino prohibuisset.
Even when the enemy had been frequently slaughtered and driven far into the innermost wilderness, he did not cease to pursue them until a phantom of a barbarian woman, larger than human size, speaking in the Latin tongue, forbade the victor to advance any further.
quas ob res ouandi ius et triumphalia ornamenta percepit; ac post praeturam confestim inito consulatu atque expeditione repetita supremum diem morbo obiit in aestiuis castris, quae ex eo Scelerata sunt appellata.
For these achievements, he received the right of an ovation and triumphal ornaments; and immediately after his praetorship, having entered upon the consulship and renewed the expedition, he met his final day through illness in the summer camp, which was thereafter called the Accursed Camp.
corpus eius per municipiorum coloniarumque primores suscipientibus obuiis scribarum decuriis ad urbem deuectum sepultumque est in campo Martio.
His body was carried to the city by the chief men of the municipalities and colonies, with the decuries of scribes meeting and receiving it, and was buried in the Campus Martius.
ceterum exercitus honorarium ei tumulum excitauit, circa quem deinceps stato die quotannis miles decurreret Galliarumque ciuitates publice supplicarent.
Furthermore, the army raised an honorary monument to him, around which thereafter the soldiers would run in military maneuvers on a fixed day every year, and the cities of the Gauls would make public supplications.
praeterea senatus inter alia complura marmoreum arcum cum tropaeis uia Appia decreuit et Germanici cognomen ipsi posterisque eius.
Besides, the senate, among many other honors, decreed a marble arch with trophies on the Appian Way, and the surname of Germanicus for himself and his posterity.
fuisse autem creditur non minus gloriosi quam ciuilis animi; nam ex hoste super uictorias opima quoque spolia captasse summoque saepius discrimine duces Germanorum tota acie insectatus; nec dissimulasse umquam pristinum se rei p. statum, quandoque posset, restituturum.
Moreover, he is believed to have been of a spirit no less public-minded than desirous of glory; for, in addition to his victories over the enemy, he also sought the supreme spoils and often pursued the leaders of the Germans along the entire battleline at the greatest risk; and he never concealed that he would restore the ancient state of the republic whenever he could.
unde existimo nonnullos tradere ausos, suspectum eum Augusto reuocatumque ex prouincia et quia cunctaretur, interceptum ueneno.
Hence I believe some have dared to write that he was suspected by Augustus, recalled from his province, and, because he hesitated, removed by poison.
quod equidem magis ne praetermitterem rettuli, quam quia uerum aut ueri simile putem, cum Augustus tanto opere et uiuum dilexerit, ut coheredem semper filiis instituerit, sicut quondam in senatu professus est, et defunctum ita pro contione laudauerit, ut deos precatus sit, similes ei Caesares suos facerent sibique tam honestum quandoque exitum darent quam illi dedissent.
Indeed, I have related this story rather so as not to pass it over, than because I think it true or probable, since Augustus loved him so much while alive that he always appointed him co-heir with his sons, as he once declared in the senate, and so praised him after his death before the public assembly that he prayed to the gods to make his own Caesars like him, and to grant himself at some time as honorable an end as they had given to him.
nec contentus elogium tumulo eius uersibus a se compositis insculpsisse, etiam uitae memoriam prosa oratione composuit.
Not content with having inscribed an epitaph on his tomb in verses composed by himself, he also composed a memorial of his life in prose.
Ex Antonia minore complures quidem liberos tulit, uerum tres omnino reliquit: Germanicum, Liuillam, Claudium.
By the younger Antonia he had several children, but left only three in all: Germanicus, Livilla, and Claudius.
§2Claudius natus est Iullo Antonio Fabio Africano conss. Kal. Aug. Luguduni eo ipso die quo primum ara ibi Augusto dedicata est, appellatusque Tiberius Claudius Drusus.
Claudius was born in the consulship of Iullus Antonius and Fabius Africanus, on the Kalends of August at Lugudunum, on the very day when the altar was first dedicated there to Augustus, and was named Tiberius Claudius Drusus.
mox fratre maiore in Iuliam familiam adoptato Germanici cognomen assumpsit.
Soon, after his elder brother was adopted into the Julian family, he assumed the surname of Germanicus.
infans autem relictus a patre ac per omne fere pueritiae atque adulescentiae tempus uariis et tenacibus morbis conflictatus est, adeo ut animo simul et corpore hebetato ne progressa quidem aetate ulli publico priuatoque muneri habilis existimaretur.
Having been left by his father as an infant, however, and afflicted through almost the whole period of his childhood and youth with various and persistent diseases, he was so weakened both in mind and body that, even when he advanced in age, he was not considered fit for any public or private office.
diu atque etiam post tutelam receptam alieni arbitrii et sub paedagogo fuit; quem barbarum et olim superiumentarium ex industria sibi appositum, ut se quibuscumque de causis quam saeuissime coerceret, ipse quodam libello conqueritur.
For a long time, and even after he attained his majority, he remained under the control of others and under a tutor; Claudius himself complains in a certain book that this tutor was a barbarian and formerly a mule-driver, purposely assigned to him to restrain him as harshly as possible for any reason whatsoever.
ob hanc eandem ualitudinem et gladiatorio munere, quod simul cum fratre memoriae patris edebat, palliolatus nouo more praesedit; et togae uirilis die circa mediam noctem sine sollemni officio lectica in Capitolium latus est.
On account of this same ill health, at the gladiatorial show which he gave together with his brother in memory of his father, he presided wearing a cloak, contrary to custom; and on the day he assumed the toga of manhood, he was carried in a litter to the Capitol around midnight without any solemn ceremony.
§3disciplinis tamen liberalibus ab aetate prima non mediocrem operam dedit ac saepe experimenta cuiusque etiam publicauit.
Nevertheless, he applied no small effort to the liberal disciplines from his earliest years, and often even published specimens of each.
uerum ne sic quidem quicquam dignitatis assequi aut spem de se commodiorem in posterum facere potuit.
But not even in this way could he attain any dignity or create a more favorable hope for himself in the future.
Mater Antonia portentum eum hominis dictitabat, nec absolutum a natura, sed tantum incohatum; ac si quem socordiae argueret, stultiorem aiebat filio suo Claudio.
His mother Antonia used to call him a monster of a man, not completed by nature, but only begun; and if she accused anyone of dullness, she would say he was sillier than her son Claudius.
auia Augusta pro despectissimo semper habuit, non affari nisi rarissime, non monere nisi acerbo et breui scripto aut per internuntios solita.
His grandmother Augusta always held him in the utmost contempt, being accustomed not to speak to him except very rarely, and not to admonish him except by sharp and brief letters or through messengers.
soror Liuilla cum audisset quandoque imperaturum, tam iniquam et tam indignam sortem p. R. palam et clare detestata est.
His sister Livilla, when she heard that he would one day rule, openly and loudly deplored such an unjust and unworthy fate for the Roman people.
nam auunculus maior Augustus quid de eo in utramque partem opinatus sit, quo certius cognoscatur, capita ex ipsius epistulis posui.
For, so that it may be more certainly known what his great-uncle Augustus thought of him in both directions, I have set down extracts from his own letters.