given
assistance to the Vitellian cause before this in the war with
Otho;[88] and again, when the Thirteenth had been left behind to
build an amphitheatre,[89] the populace had shown its town-bred
impertinence by assailing them with insolent ridicule. Other causes
increased this bad feeling: it was here that Caecina had given his
show of gladiators:[89] the town had become for a second time the
theatre of the war: the citizens had conveyed food to the Vitellians
during the battle: some women had been killed, whose enthusiasm for
the cause had led them to take part in the fight. Besides all this,
the Fair had filled the rich city with an even greater display of
wealth than usual. All eyes were now centred on Antonius, whose fame
and good fortune overshadowed all the other generals. It so happened
that he hurried off to the baths to wash off the stains of blood.
Finding fault with the temperature of the water, he received the
answer, 'It will not be long before it is hot,' and this phrase was
caught up. The attendant's words were repeated, and brought all the
odium on Antonius, who was thus believed to have given the signal to
set fire to Cremona, which was already in flames.[90]

Thus forty thousand soldiers burst into the town with a yet larger 33
crowd of servants and sutlers, even more depraved than the soldiers in
their readiness for cruelty and lust. Without any respect for age or
for authority they added rape to murder and murder to rape. Aged men
and decrepit old women, who were worthless as booty, were hustled off
to make sport for them. If some grown girl or a handsome youth fell
into their clutches, they would be torn to pieces in the struggle for
possession, while the plunderers were left to cut each other's
throats. Whoever carried off money or any of the solid gold offerings
in the temples was liable to be cut to pieces, if he met another
stronger than himself. Some, disdaining easy finds, hunted for hidden
hoards, and dug out buried treasure, flogging and torturing the
householders. They held torches in their hands and, having once
secured their prize, would fling them wantonly into an empty house or
some dismantled temple. Composed as the army was of citizens, allies,
and foreign troops, differing widely in language and customs, the
objects of the soldiers' greed differed also. But while their views of
what was right might vary, they all agreed in thinking nothing wrong.

Cremona lasted them four d