of a divine saying adapted to existing circumstances. For Nero was indeed
the last emperor of the Julian line descended from Aeneas.

He now began to collect vast sums from both individuals and nations,
sometimes using compulsion, with the conflagration for his excuse, and
sometimes obtaining it by "voluntary" offers; and the mass of the Romans
had the food supply fund withdrawn.

[Sidenote:--19--] While he was so engaged, he received news from Armenia
and soon after a laurel wreath in honor of victory. The scattered bodies
of soldiery in that region had been united by Corbulo, who trained them
sedulously after a period of neglect, and then by the very report of his
coming had terrified both Vologaesus, king of Parthia, and Tiridates,
chief of Armenia. He resembled the primitive Romans in that besides coming
of a brilliant family and besides possessing much strength of body he was
still further gifted with a shrewd intelligence: and he behaved with great
bravery, with great fairness, and with great good faith toward all, both
friends and enemies. For these reasons Nero had despatched him to the
scene of war in his own stead and had entrusted to him a larger force than
to anybody else, being equally assured that the man would subdue the
barbarians and would not revolt against him. And Corbulo proved neither of
these assumptions false.

All other men, however, had it as a particular grievance against him that
he kept faith with Nero. They were very anxious to get him as emperor in
place of the actual despot, and this conduct of his seemed to them his
only defect.

[Sidenote:--20--] Corbulo, accordingly, had taken Artaxata without a
struggle and had razed the city to the ground. This exploit finished, he
marched in the direction of Tigranocerta, sparing all the districts that
yielded themselves but devastating the lands of all such as resisted him.
Tigranocerta submitted to him voluntarily, and he performed other
brilliant and glorious deeds, as a result of which he induced the
formidable Vologaesus to accept terms that accorded with the Roman
reputation. [For Vologaesus, on hearing that Nero had assigned Armenia to
others and that Adiabene was being ravaged by Tigranes, made preparations
himself to go on a campaign into Syria against Corbulo, but sent into
Armenia Monobazus, king of Adiabene, and Monaeses, a Parthian. These two
had shut up Tigranes in Tigranocerta. But since they did not succeed in
harming him at all b