1But the soldiers, with the camp full and the multitude overflowing, wandering in porticoes or shrines and throughout the whole city, did not know their headquarters, did not keep watches, and were not hardened by toil: through the allurements of the city and practices shameful to speak of, they weakened their bodies by idleness and their minds by lusts. 1Finally, without care even for their health, a large part of them encamped in the unhealthy Vatican district, which led to frequent deaths among the common soldiers; 1and, with the Tiber close by, the bodies of the Germans and Gauls, susceptible to disease, were undermined by their greed for the river and their inability to bear the heat.
1In addition, the order of the service was thrown into confusion through depravity or favouritism: sixteen praetorian and four urban cohorts were being enrolled, each to contain a thousand men. 1Valens ventured more in that levy, as if he had rescued Caecina himself from danger. 1Certainly on his arrival the party had recovered its strength, and he had reversed the unfavourable rumour about his slow march by a successful battle. 1And all the soldiers of Lower Germany attached themselves to Valens, and this is believed to be when Caecina's loyalty first began to waver.