1But Vitellius, made more arrogant and more savage by the arrival of his brother and by the tutors in tyranny who were creeping in, ordered the killing of Dolabella, who, as we have related, had been banished by Otho to the colony of Aquinum. 1Dolabella, on hearing of Otho's death, had entered the city: Plancius Varus, a former praetor and one of Dolabella's closest friends, laid this as a charge against him before Flavius Sabinus, the prefect of the city, alleging that he had broken out of custody and offered himself as leader to the defeated party; 1he added that he had tampered with the cohort stationed at Ostia; 1and, having no proofs for such grave charges, he turned to repentance and was seeking a late pardon after the crime.
1As Flavius Sabinus hesitated over so grave a matter, Triaria, the wife of Lucius Vitellius, fierce beyond what a woman should be, frightened him from seeking a reputation for clemency at the emperor's peril. 1Sabinus, mild by his own nature, but, once fear had come over him, easily changed and afraid for himself in another's danger, pushed the falling man, lest he seem to have helped him up.