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A SUPPER AT VESPASIAN'S 371
CHAPTER XLIV
A SUPPER AT VESPASIAN'S
'
You '11 have no scandal while you dine,
But honest talk and wholesome wine. ' TENNYSON.
'
Arma quidem ultra
Littora Juvernae promovimus, et modo captas
Orcadas et minima contentos nocte Britanuos.
Sed quae nunc populi fiunt victoris in urbe
Non faciunt illi
quos vicimus.'
Jtrv. Sat. ii. 159-163.
THE centurion Julius was genuinely pleased with the invitation
of Titus, and duly presented himself at the modest house
of Vespasian. The other guests were Aulus Plautius and
Pompouia, King Caradoc, Pudens and Claudia, and Seneca,
together with several members of the family, and among
them Vespasian's brother, Flavius Sabiuus, who had just
been appointed Prsefect of the City, in the place of Pedauius
Secundus. The fortunes of the Flavian house were rising
rapidly but
; Sabinus, an eminent soldier, with his blushing
honours fresh upon him, was regarded as the head of the
family.
Vespasian was poor, and was also fond of money. That
he had not amassed a fortune in his various commands
was much to his credit. His house, afterwards occupied by
Josephus, was so unpretending as to excite the wonder of
those who saw it after he had become Emperor, and his
entertainments were usually marked by a more than Sabine
simplicity.
On this occasion, however, since a king, a prime minister,
and a consular his old commander who had enjoyed the
honour of sharing an Emperor's triumphs, were among his
guests, Vespasian had donned the unwonted splendour of his