Hist. 2.80.1Hīs pavōribus nūtantem et aliī lēgātī amīcīque firmābant et Mūciānus, post multōs sēcrētōsque sermōnēs iam et cōram ita locūtus: "omnēs, quī magnārum rērum cōnsilia suscipiunt, aestimāre dēbent an quod inchoātur reī pūblicae ūtile, ipsīs glōriōsum, promptum effectū aut certē nōn arduum sit;As he wavered in these fears, both other legates and friends sought to strengthen him, and so did Mucianus, who, after many secret conversations, now spoke to his face as follows: 'All who undertake plans for great affairs ought to judge whether what is being begun is useful to the state, glorious for themselves, and easy to accomplish, or at least not difficult; Hist. 2.80.1simul ipse quī suādet cōnsīderandus est, adiciatne cōnsiliō perīculum suum, et, sī fortūna coeptīs adfuerit, cui summum decus adquīrātur.at the same time the man who gives the advice must himself be considered, whether he adds his own danger to his advice, and, if fortune favours the undertaking, on whom the highest glory is conferred. Hist. 2.80.1Ego tē, Vespasiāne, ad imperium vocō, quam salūtāre reī pūblicae, quam tibi magnificum, iūxtā deōs in tuā manū positum est.I call you, Vespasian, to empire, something as salutary for the state as it is magnificent for you, and, next to the gods, placed in your own hands.
Hist. 2.80.1Nec speciem adūlantis expāverīs: ā contumēliā quam ā laude propius fuerit post Vitellium ēligī.And do not fear the appearance of a flatterer: to be chosen after Vitellius would be closer to an insult than to praise. Hist. 2.80.1Nōn adversus dīvī Augustī ācerrimam mentem nec adversus cautissimam Tiberiī senectūtem, nē contrā Gāī quidem aut Claudiī vel Nerōnis fundātam longō imperiō domum exurgimus;We are not rising up against the most acute mind of the deified Augustus, nor against the most cautious old age of Tiberius, nor even against the house of Gaius or Claudius or Nero, founded on a long rule; Hist. 2.80.1cessistī etiam Galbae imāginibus: torpēre ultrā et polluendam perdendamque rem pūblicam relinquere sopor et ignāvia vidērētur, etiam sī tibi quam inhonesta, tam tūta servitūs esset.you gave way even to Galba's ancestral images: to remain inactive any longer and leave the state to be defiled and ruined would seem sloth and cowardice, even if servitude were as safe for you as it is dishonourable. Hist. 2.80.1Abiit iam et trānsvectum est tempus quō possēs vidērī nōn cupīsse: cōnfugiendum est ad imperium.The time has now gone by and passed when you could seem not to have desired it: you must take refuge in empire.
Hist. 2.80.1An excidit trucīdātus Corbulō?Have you forgotten the murder of Corbulo? Hist. 2.80.1Splendidior orīgine quam nōs sumus, fateor, sed et Nerō nōbilitāte nātālium Vitellium anteībat.He was more distinguished in origin than we are, I admit, but Nero too surpassed Vitellius in nobility of birth. Hist. 2.80.1Satis clārus est apud timentem quisquis timētur.Whoever is feared is illustrious enough in the eyes of the man who fears him. Hist. 2.80.1Et posse ab exercitū prīncipem fierī sibi ipse Vitellius documentō, nūllīs stīpendiīs, nūllā mīlitārī fāmā, Galbae odiō prōvectus.And that an emperor can be made by an army, Vitellius is himself his own proof, raised up with no years of service, no military reputation, by hatred of Galba. Hist. 2.80.1Nē Othōnem quidem ducis arte aut exercitūs vī, sed praeproperā ipsīus dēspērātiōne victum, iam dēsīderābilem et magnum prīncipem fēcit, cum interim spargit legiōnēs, exarmat cohortīs, nova cōtīdiē bellō sēmina ministrat.Even Otho, defeated not by a general's skill or an army's might but by his own over-hasty despair, he has made into a great emperor, already missed, while all the while he scatters the legions, disarms the cohorts, and supplies new seeds for war every day.
Hist. 2.80.1Sī quid ardōris ac ferōciae mīles habuit, popīnīs et cōmissātiōnibus et prīncipis imitātiōne dēteritur: tibi ē Iūdaeā et Syriā et Aegyptō novem legiōnēs integrae, nūllā aciē exhaustae, nōn discordiā corruptae, sed firmātus ūsū mīles et bellī domitor externī: classium alārum cohortium rōbora et fīdissimī rēgēs et tua ante omnīs experientia."Whatever ardour and fierceness his soldiers had is being worn away by taverns and carousals and imitation of their emperor: you have from Judaea and Syria and Egypt nine legions intact, exhausted by no battle, not corrupted by discord, but soldiers hardened by practice and victors in a foreign war: the strength of fleets, cavalry squadrons and cohorts, and the most loyal kings, and your experience beyond all others.'