The first day, however, was spent in a furious
onset rather than in the skilful approaches of a veteran army. Exposed and
reckless, the troops came close under the walls stupefied by excess in food
and wine. In this struggle the amphitheatre, a most beautiful building,
situated outside the Walls, was burnt to the ground, possibly set on fire by
the assailants, while they showered brands, fireballs, and ignited missiles,
on the besieged, possibly by the besieged themselves, while they discharged
incessant volleys in return. The populace of the town, always inclined to be
suspicious, believed that combustibles had been purposely introduced into
the building by certain persons from the neighbouring colonies, who viewed
it with envious and jealous eyes, because there was not in
Italy another building so capacious. Whatever the cause
of the accident, it was thought of but
little moment as long as more terrible
disasters were apprehended; but as soon as they again felt secure, they
lamented it as though they could not have endured a heavier calamity. In the
end Cæcina was repulsed with great slaughter among his troops, and the
night was spent in the preparation of siege-works. The Vitellianists
constructed mantlets, hurdles, and sheds, for undermining the walls and
screening the assailants; the Othonianists busied themselves in preparing
stakes and huge masses of stone and of lead and brass, with which to break
and overwhelm the hostile ranks. The shame of failure, the hope of renown,
wrought on both armies; both were appealed to by different arguments; on the
one side they extolled the strength of the legions and of the army of
Germany; on the other, the distinctions of the soldiery
of the capital and the Prætorian cohorts; the one reviled their foes
as slothful and indolent soldiers, demoralized by the circus and the
theatres; the others retorted with the names of foreigner and barbarian. At
the same time they lauded or vituperated Otho and Vitellius, but found
indeed a more fruitful source of mutual provocation in invective than in
praise.
