THE ancestors of Otho were originally of
					the town of Ferentum, of an ancient and honourable family, and, indeed, one of
					the most considerable in Etruria. His grandfather, M. Salvius Otho (whose father
					was a Roman knight, but his mother of mean extraction, for it is not certain
					whether she was free-born), by the favour of Livia Augusta, in whose house he
					had his education, was made a senator, but never rose higher than the
					praetorship. His father, Lucius Otho, was by the mother's side nobly descended,
					allied to several great families, and so dearly beloved by Tiberius, and so much resembled him in his
					features, that most people believed Tiberius was his father. He behaved with great strictness and
					severity, not only in the city offices, but in the pro-consulship of Africa , and some extraordinary commands in the
					army. He had the courage to punish with death some soldiers in Illyricum , who, in the disturbance attempted
					by Camillus, upon changing their minds,
					had put their generals to the sword, as promoters of that insurrection against
					Claudius. He ordered the execution to take place in the front of the camp, On the esplanade, where the standards, objects of religious
						reverence, were planted. See note to c. vi. Criminals were usually executed
						outside the Valium, and in the presence of a centurion. and under
					his own eyes; though he knew they had been advanced to higher ranks in the army
					by Claudius, on that very account. By this action he acquired fame, but lessened
					his favour at court; which, however, he soon recovered, by discovering to
					Claudius a design upon his life, carried on by a Roman knight, Probably one of the two mentioned in CLAUDIUS, c. xiii.
					 and which he had learnt from some of his slaves. For the senate ordered
					a statue of him to be erected in the palace; an honour which had been conferred
					but upon very few before him. And Claudius advanced him to the dignity of a
					patrician, commending him, at the same time, in the highest terms, and
					concluding with these words: " A man, than whom I don't so much as wish to have
					children that should be better." He had two sons by a very noble woman, Albia
					Terentia, namely, Lucius Titianus, and a younger called Marcus, who had the same
					cognomen as himself. He had also a daughter, whom he contracted to Drusus,
					Germanicus's son, before she was of marriageable age. The emperor Otho was born upon the fourth of the calends of May [28th April], in
					the consulship of Camillus Aruntius and Domitius Aenobarbus. A. U. C. 784 or 785. He was from his earliest youth
					so riotous and wild, that he was often severely scourged by his father. He was
					said to run about in the night-time, and seize upon any one he met, who was
					either drunk or too feeble to mal e resistance, and toss him in a blanket. " Distento sago impositum in sublime jactare." After
					his father's death, to make his court more effectually to a freedwoman about the
					palace, who was in great favour, he pretended to be in love with her, though she
					was old and almost decrepit. Having by her means got into Nero's good graces, he soon became one of the
					principal favourites, by the congeniality of his disposition to that of the
					emperor. He had so great a sway at court, that when a man of consular rank was
					condemned for bribery, having tampered with him for a large sum of money, to
					procure his pardon; before he had quite effected it, he scrupled not to
					introduce him into the senate, to return his thanks. Having by means of this woman, insinuated himself into all the emperor's secrets,
					he, upon the day designed for the murder of his mother, entertained them both at
					a very splendid feast, to prevent suspicion. Poppaea Sabina, for whom >Nero entertained such a violent passion that
					he had taken her from her husband See NERO, C. XXXV.
					 and entrusted her to him, he received, and went through the form of
					marrying her. And not satisfied with obtaining her favour, he loved her so
					extravagantly, that he could not with patience bear Nero for his rival. It is
					certainly believed that he not only refused admittance to those who were sent by
					Nero to fetch her, but that, on one occasion, he shut him out, and kept him
					standing before the door, mixing prayers and menaces in vain, and demanding back
					again what was entrusted to his keeping. His pretended marriage, therefore,
					being dissolved, he was sent lieutenant into Lusitania . This treatment of him was thought sufficiently
					severe, because harsher proceedings might have brought the whole farce to light,
					which notwithstanding, at last came out, and was published to the world in the
					following distich: Cur Otho mentitus sit, quaeritis,
							exul honore? Uxoris moechus cseperat esse suae. 
					 You ask why Otho's banish'd? Know, the cause Comes not within the verge of vulgar laws, Against all rules of fashionable life, The rogue had dared to sleep with his own wife. He governed
					the province in quality of quaestor for ten years, with singular moderation and
					justice. As soon as an opportunity of revenge offered, he readily joined in Galba's
					enterprises, and at the same time conceived hopes of obtaining the imperial
					dignity for himself. To this he was much encouraged by the state of the times,
					but still more by the assurances given him by Seleucus, the astrologer, who,
					having formerly told him that he would certainly out-live Nero, came to him at that juncture
					unexpectedly, promising him again that he should succeed in the empire, and that
					in a very short time. He, therefore, let slip no opportunity of making his court
					to every one about him by all manner of civilities. As often as he entertained
					Galba at supper, he distributed to every man of the cohort which attended the
					emperor on guard, a gold piece; endeavouring likewise to oblige the rest of the
					soldiers in one way or another. Being chosen an arbitrator by one who had a
					dispute with his neighbour about a piece of land, he bought it, and gave it to
					him; so that now almost every body thought and said, that he was the only man
					worthy of succeeding to the empire. He entertained hopes of being adopted by Galba, and expected it every day. But
					finding himself disappointed. by Piso's being preferred before him, he turned
					his thoughts to obtaining his purpose by the use of violence; and to this he was
					instigated, as well by the greatness of his debts, as by resentment at Galba's
					conduct towards him. For he did not conceal his conviction, "that he could not
					stand his ground unless he became emperor, and that it signified nothing whether
					he fell by the hands of his enemies in the field, or of his creditors in the
					forum." He had a few days before squeezed out of one of the emperor's slaves a
					million of sesterces for procuring him a stewardship; and this was the whole
					fund he had for carrying on so great an enterprise. At first the design was
					entrusted to only five of the guard, but afterward to ten others, each of the
					five naming two. They had every one ten thousand sesterces paid down, and were
					promised fifty thousand more. By these, others were drawn in, but not many; from
					a confident assurance, that when the matter came to the crisis, they should have
					enough to join them.