§7Tunc omen quod sibi Iulianus, cum imperium acciperet, fecerat omnibus venit in mentem, nam cum consul designatus de eo sententiam dicens ita pronuntiasset:
Didium Iulianum imperatorem appellandum esse censeo,
Iulianus suggessit
Adde et Severum,
quod cognomentum avi et proavi sibi Iulianus adsciverat.
Then the omen which Julian, when he was receiving the empire, had made for himself, came to the mind of all; for when the consul-designate, delivering his opinion concerning him, had thus declared: ‘I propose that Didius Julianus should be called Emperor,’ Julian suggested: ‘Add also Severus,’ which surname Julian had assumed for himself from his grandfather and great-grandfather.
sunt tamen qui dicant nullum fuisse Iuliani consilium de obtruncando senatu, cum tanta in eum senatus consuluisset.
There are, however, some who say that there was no plan on Julian's part for slaughtering the senate, although the senate had decreed such harsh measures against him.
Post senatus consultum statim Didius Iulianus unum ex praefectis, Tullium Crispinum, misit, ipse autem tertium fecit praefectum Veturium Macrinum, ad quem Severus litteras miserat, ut esset praefectus.
Immediately after the decree of the senate, Didius Julianus sent one of the prefects, Tullius Crispinus, and he himself made Veturius Macrinus a third prefect, to whom Severus had sent letters that he should be prefect.
sed pacem simulatam esse mandatamque caedem Severi Tullio Crispino, praefecto praetorii, et populus locutus est et Severus suspicatus, denique hostem se Iuliano Severus esse maluit quam participem consensu militum.
But both the people said and Severus suspected that the peace was feigned and that the murder of Severus had been entrusted to Tullius Crispinus, the prefect of the praetorians; consequently, Severus preferred to be an enemy to Julian rather than a partner by the consensus of the soldiers.
Severus autem statim et ad plurimos Romam scripsit et occulto misit edicta, quae proposita sunt.
Moreover, Severus immediately both wrote to very many people in Rome and secretly sent edicts, which were posted up.
fuit praeterea in Iuliano haec amentia, ut per magos pleraque faceret, quibus putaret vel odium populi deleniri vel militum arma compesci.
Furthermore, there was this madness in Julian, that he did many things through magicians, by which he thought either the hatred of the people could be soothed or the arms of the soldiers restrained.
nam et quasdam non convenientes Romanis sacris hostias immolaverunt et carmina profana incantaverunt, et ea quae ad speculum dicunt fieri, in quo pueri praeligatis oculis incantato vertice respicere dicuntur, Iulianus fecit, tuncque puer vidisse dicitur et adventum Severi et Iuliani decessionem.
For they both sacrificed certain victims not suitable for Roman rites and chanted profane incantations, and Julian did those things which they say are performed with a mirror, in which boys with their eyes bandaged are said to look, after their heads have been enchanted; and then the boy is said to have seen both the arrival of Severus and the departure of Julian.
§8Et Crispinus quidem, cum occurrisset praecursoribus Severi, Iulio Laeto auctore a Severo interemptus est.
And indeed Crispinus, when he had met the precursors of Severus, was put to death by Severus on the authority of Julius Laetus.
deiecta sunt etiam consulta senatus.
The decrees of the senate were also torn down.
Iulianus convocato senatu quaesitisque sententiis, quid facto opus esset, certi nihil comperit a senatu, sed postea sponte sua gladiatores Capuae iussit armari per Lollianum Titianum, et Claudium Pompeianum e Tarracinensi ad participatum evocavit, quod et gener imperatoris fuisset et diu militibus praefuisset.
Julian, having called the senate together and asked for opinions as to what was necessary to be done, found nothing certain from the senate; but afterwards of his own accord he ordered the gladiators at Capua to be armed through Lollianus Titianus, and summoned Claudius Pompeianus from the territory of Tarracina to a share in the empire, because he had been the son-in-law of an emperor and had long commanded soldiers.
sed hoc ille recusavit, senem se et debilem luminibus respondens.
But he refused this, replying that he was old and weak of sight.
transierant et ex Umbria milites ad Severum, et praemiserat quidem litteras Severus, quibus iubebat interfectores Pertinacis servari.
The soldiers from Umbria also had gone over to Severus; and indeed Severus had sent letters ahead in which he ordered the murderers of Pertinax to be kept in custody.
Brevi autem desertus est ab omnibus Iulianus et remansit in Palatio cum uno de praefectis suis Geniali et genero Repentino, actum est denique ut Iuliano senatus auctoritate abrogaretur imperium, et abrogatum est, appellatusque statim Severus imperator, cum fingeretur quod veneno se absumpsisset Iulianus.
Soon, however, Julian was deserted by all and remained in the Palace with only one of his prefects, Genialis, and his son-in-law Repentinus. Finally, measures were taken so that the empire should be abrogated from Julian by the authority of the senate, and it was abrogated; and immediately Severus was declared Emperor, while it was pretended that Julian had destroyed himself by poison.
missi tamen a senatu, quorum cura per militem gregarium in Palatio idem Iulianus occisus est fidem Caesaris implorans, hoc est Severi.
Nevertheless, men were sent by the senate, through whose care the same Julian was killed in the Palace by a common soldier, while imploring the protection of Caesar, that is, of Severus.
filiam suam potitus imperio dato patrimonio emancipaverat. quod ei cum Augustae nomine statim sublatum est.
On gaining the empire, he had emancipated his daughter, giving her a patrimony; which was immediately taken away from her along with the name of Augusta.
corpus eius a Severo uxori Manliae Scantillae ac filiae ad sepulturam est redditum et in proavi monumenta translatum miliario quinto Via Labicana.
His body was given back by Severus to his wife Manlia Scantilla and his daughter for burial, and was transferred to the monument of his great-grandfather at the fifth milestone on the Via Labicana.
§9Obiecta sane sunt Iuliano haec: quod gulosus fuisset, quod aleator, quod armis gladiatoriis exercitus esset, eaque omnia senex fecerit, cum antea numquam adulescens his esset vitiis infamatus.
To be sure, these things were charged against Julian: that he had been a glutton, that he had been a gambler, that he had practiced with gladiatorial arms, and that he had done all these things as an old man, whereas previously as a young man he had never been defamed by these vices.
obiecta est etiam superbia, cum ille etiam in imperio fuisset humillimus, fuit autem contra humanissimus ad convivia, benignissimus ad subcriptiones, moderatissimus ad libertatem.
Pride was also charged against him, although even in the empire he had been most humble; on the contrary, he was most polite at banquets, most kind in signing petitions, and most moderate towards freedom of speech.
Vixit annis quinquaginta sex mensibus quattuor, imperavit mensibus duobus diebus quinque, reprehensum in eo praecipue, quod eos, quos regere auctoritate sua debuerat, regendae rei publicae sibi praesules ipse fecisset.
He lived fifty-six years and four months, and ruled for two months and five days. It was especially censured in him that he had himself made those whom he ought to have ruled by his own authority, the directors for himself in governing the state.