As winter was approaching, and the low country was
flooded by the
Padus, the army marched on without
its heavy baggage. The standards and eagles of the victorious legions, the
old and wounded soldiers, and even many effec-
FLAVIANIST SOLDIERS DEMORALIZED |
tive men, were left at
Verona. The auxiliary infantry and cavalry, with some
picked troops from the legions, appeared sufficient for a war that was all
but finished. They had been joined by the 11th legion, which at first had
hesitated, but now in the hour of success felt alarm at having stood aloof.
A recent levy of 6000 Dalmatians was attached to the legion. They were under
the command of Pompeius Silvanus, a man of consular rank; the real direction
of affairs was in the hands of Annius Bassus, the legate of the legion. This
officer contrived, under an appearance of submission, to govern Silvanus, a
leader without vigour, and apt to waste in words the opportunities of
action. Bassus, with his unobtrusive energy, was ready for every thing that
had to be done. To these forces were added the
élite of the marines of the
Ravenna fleet, who demanded permission to serve in the
legions. The crews were made up with Dalmatians. The army and generals
halted at the Temple of Fortune, undecided as to their line of action. They
had heard that the Prætorian Guard had marched out of
Rome, and they supposed that the
Apennines were occupied with troops. The generals,
finding themselves in a country utterly impoverished by war, were terrified
by the scarcity of provisions and the mutinous clamours of the soldiery, who
incessantly demanded the "clavarium," as the donative was called. They had
provided neither money nor corn, and they were embarrassed by the general
impatience and rapacity; for what they might have obtained was
plundered.
