93 



could not be left longer in the hands of Germanicus without endangering 

 the safety of the German frontier, and compromising the honour and 

 dignity of the whole empire. In fact Germanicus had been allowed too 

 long to indulge in the hope of military glory, and great losses had been 

 the consequence. His recall had at length become inevitable, and 

 though it was no doubt painful to Germanicus, and gave deadly offence 

 to his proud wife, yet he could not complain of the measure, and still 

 less of the manner in which it was effected by Tiberius. A gorgeous 

 triumph awaited him at Rome, and a most honourable commission in 

 the East. It is not mthout pain and regret, that we read in Tacitus a 

 remark by which, without committing himself to an open accusation, he 

 suggests the worst suspicions. He says (Ann. II. 5.) "that Tiberius was 

 by no means displeased to see troubles rising in the East, for that he 

 was thus enabled to remove Germanicus from the legions, which were 

 attached to him, to send him into new provinces, and there expose him 

 to intrigue and misfortunes." Surely this is going too far. Intrigue 

 and misfortunes might have done their work in the north as well as in 

 the East. If assassination had been the object of Tiberius, he would 

 have found the assassin as willing, and poison or the dagger as deadly, 

 in Germany as in Syria ; if, more cowardly and not less treacherous, he 

 had \vished to see Germanicus perish in war, surely warlike Germany 

 offered more chances than the effeminate Eastern nations. It was 

 there tbat Varus had succumbed with his entire army ; Germanicus' 

 own father, Drasus, had there met with a premature death, and Ger- 

 manicus himself had been more than once in the most imminent 

 danger. It is therefore both ungenerous and illogical to attribute his 

 mission to the East to the insidious motives hinted at by Tacitus. 



Simultaneously with the appointment of Germanicus to the supreme 

 command over all the Roman forces and [irovinces in Asia, On. Piso 

 was sent out as governor of Syria, the most important of the eastern 

 possessions of Rome. Piso was a man of haughtj^ and imperious 

 temper, certainly an unamiable and intractable colleague, and no doubt 

 selected for this office to curb and moderate the inordinate passion of 

 Germanicus for military renown, whereby the interests of the empiro 

 might be jeopardised. He soon found an opportunity for checking the 

 ardour of the prince. Pie refused to accede to the request of Ger- 

 manicus to send the Syrian legions into Armenia, where, as the result 

 showed, they were not wanted, for that country was pacified and received 

 a king from Germanicus without the interference of a military force. 

 Nevertheless Germanicus must have been much offended by the reluc- 

 tance of Piso to su2iport him in his schemes. The two geiierals could 

 H'li possibly remain on good terms, but their differences were fanned 



