1But Italy was being afflicted more heavily and more cruelly than by war. 1The Vitellians, scattered through the towns and colonies, robbed, plundered and defiled with violence and rape: greedy for anything right or wrong, or ready to be bought, they kept their hands off nothing sacred or profane. 1And there were some who killed their personal enemies disguised as soldiers. 1And the soldiers themselves, knowing the districts, marked out well-stocked farms and rich owners for plunder or, if there was resistance, for destruction, while the generals, beholden to them, did not dare to stop them. 1There was less greed in Caecina, more desire for popularity: Valens was notorious for his gains and profits, and so he also turned a blind eye to the faults of others.
1Since the resources of Italy had long since been worn down, so great a force of infantry and cavalry, with its violence, damage and outrages, was hardly to be endured.