The Lives of the Twelve Caesars — Chapter 12 in Latin
By Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus
Domitianus natus est VIIII. Kal. Domitian was born on the ninth day before the Kalends of November of the year when his father was consul elect and was about to enter on the office in the following month, in a street of the sixth region called "the Pomegranate," in a house which he afterwards converted into a temple of the Flavian family. Pubertatis ac primae adulescentiae tempus tanta inopia tantaque infamia gessisse fertur. He is said to have passed the period of his boyhood and his early youth in great poverty and infamy. Pubertatis ac primae adulescentiae tempus tanta inopia tantaque infamia gessisse fertur, ut nullum argenteum vas in usu haberet; satique constat Clodium Pollionem praetorium virum, in quem est poema Neronis quod inscribitur Luscio, chirographum eius conversasse et nonnumquam protulisse noctem sibi pollicentis; nec defuerunt qui affirmarent, corruptum Domitianum et a Nerva successore mox suo. For he did not possess a single piece of plate and it is a well known fact that Claudius Pollio, a man of praetorian rank, against whom Nero's poem entitled "The One-eyed Man" is directed, preserved a letter in Domitian's handwriting and sometimes exhibited it, in which the future emperor promised him an assignation; and there have not been wanting those who declared that Domitian was also debauched by Nerva, who succeeded him. Bello Vitelliano confugit in Capitolium cum patruo Sabino ac parte praesentium copiarum. In the war with Vitellius he took refuge in the Capitol with his paternal uncle Sabinus and a part of the forces under him. Bello Vitelliano confugit in Capitolium cum patruo Sabino ac parte praesentium copiarum, sed irrumpentibus adversariis et ardente templo apud aedituum clam pernoctavit, ac mane Isiaci celatus habitu interque sacrificulos variae superstitionis, cum se trans Tiberim ad condiscipuli sui matrem comite uno contulisset, ita latuit, ut scrutantibus qui vestigia subsecuti erant, deprehendi non potuerit. When the enemy forced an entrance and the temple was fired, he hid during the night with the guardian of the shrine, and in the morning, disguised in the garb of a follower of Isis and mingling with the priests of that fickle superstition, he went across the Tiber with a single companion to the mother of one of his school-fellows. Ibi ita diligenter occultatus est, ut quamquam acriter quaereretur, inveniri non posset, licet omnia scrutarentur. There he was so effectually concealed, that though he was closely followed, he could not be found, in spite of a thorough search. Post victoriam demum progressus et Caesar consalutatus, honorem praeturae urbanae consulari potestate suscepit titulo tenus (nam iuris dictionem ad collegam proximum transtulit); ceterum omnem vim dominationis tam licenter exercuit, ut iam tum qualis esset ostenderet. It was only after the victory that he ventured forth and after being hailed as Caesar, he assumed the office of city praetor with consular powers, but only in name, turning over all the judicial business to his next colleague. Sed tyrannnidem dignitatis suae tam iniuste exercuit, ut iam tunc appareret, qualis futurus esset. But he exercised all the tyranny of his high position so lawlessly, that it was even then apparent what sort of a man he was going to be. Ne exsequar singula, contrectatis multorum uxoribus, Domitiam Longinam Aelio Lamiae nuptam etiam in matrimonium abduxit, atque uno die super XX. Not to mention all details, after making free with the wives of many men, he went so far as to marry Domitia Longina, who was the wife of Aelius Lamia, and in a single day he assigned more than twenty positions in the city and abroad, which led Vespasian to say more than once that he was surprised that he did not appoint the emperor's successor with the rest.
Expeditionem quoque in Galliam Germaniasque neque necessariam et dissuadentibus paternis amicis inchoavit, tantum ut fratri se et opibus et dignatione adaequaret. He began an expedition against Gaul and the Germanies, which was uncalled for and from which his father's friends dissuaded him, merely that he might make himself equal to his brother in power and rank. Ob haec correptum, quo magis et aetatis et condicionis admoneretur, habitabat cum patre una, sellamque eius ac fratris, quotiens prodirent, lectica sequebatur ac triumphum utriusque Iudaicum equo albo comitatus est. For this he was reprimanded, and to give him a better realisation of his youth and position, he had to live with his father, and when they appeared in public he followed the emperor's chair and that of his brother in a litter, while he also attended their triumph over Judaea riding on a white horse. In sex consulatibus non nisi unum ordinarium gessit, eumque cedente ac suffragante fratre. Moreover, of his six consulships only one was a regular one, and he obtained that only because his brother gave place to him and recommended his appointment.
Simulavit et ipse mire modestiam, in primisque poeticae studium, tam insuentum antea sibi quam postea spretum et abiectum, recitavitque etiam publice. He himself too made a remarkable pretence of modesty and especially of an interest in poetry, an art which had previously been as unfamiliar to him as it was later despised and rejected, and he even gave readings in public. Nec tamen eo setius, cum Vologaesus Parthorum rex auxilia adversus Alanos ducemque alterum ex Vespasiani liberis depoposcisset, omni ope contendit ut ipse potissimus mitteretur; et quia discussa res est, alios Orientes reges ut idem postularent donis ac pollicitationibus sollicitare temptavit. Yet in spite of all this, when Vologaesus, king of the Parthians, had asked for auxiliaries against the Alani and for one of Vespasian's sons as their leader, Domitian used every effort to have himself sent rather than Titus; and because the affair came to nothing, he tried by gifts and promises to induce other eastern kings to make the same request.
Patre defuncto, diu cunctatus an duplum donativum militi offerret, numquam iactare dubitavit relictum se participem imperii, sed fraudem testamento adhibitam; neque cessavit ex eo insidias struere fratri clam palamque, quoad correptum gravi valitudine, prius quam plane efflaret animam, pro mortuo deseri iussit; defunctumque nullo praeterquam consecrationis honore dignatus, saepe etiam carpsit obliquis orationibus et edictis. On the death of his father he hesitated for some time whether to offer a double largess to the soldiers, and he never had any compunction about saying that he had been left a partner in the imperial power, but that the will had been tampered with. Et ex eo tempore numquam cessavit insidias fratri struere clam palamque, donec gravi valitudine correptus Titus esset, cum Domitian prius quam plane animam efflaret pro mortuo deseri iussisset. And from that time on he never ceased to plot against his brother secretly and openly, until Titus was seized with a dangerous illness, when Domitian ordered that he be left for dead, before he had actually drawn his last breath. et post mortem eius nullo praeterquam consecrationis honore dignatus est, memoriam eius saepe obliquis orationibus et edictis carpsit. And after his death he bestowed no honour upon him, save that of deification, and he often assailed his memory in ambiguous phrases, both in his speeches and in his edicts.