Book 4
6.41
The son of Geta pretended to burn his father’s remains in the courtyard of his house, making people believe that he had strangled himself. Then he conveyed him secretly to a newly bought field and left him. There the old man changed his appearance by putting a bandage over one of his eyes. After the return of peace he took off the bandage and found that he had lost the sight of that eye by disuse. Oppius, by reason of the infirmities of age, was unwilling to fly, but his son carried him on his shoulder till he had brought him outside the gates. The remainder of the journey as far as Sicily he accomplished partly by leading and partly by carrying him, nobody suspecting the trick and nobody troubling him. In like manner they say that Aeneas was respected even by his enemies when carrying his father. In admiration of his piety the people in later days elected the young man to the aedileship, and since his property had been confiscated and he could not defray the expenses of the office [for public games], the artisans performed the work appertaining thereto without pay, and each of the spectators tossed such money as he could afford to give into the orchestra,The orchestra of a Roman theatre was the place reserved for the Senate. so that he became a rich man. By the will of Arrianus the following inscription was engraved on the father’s tomb: Here lies one who, when proscribed, was concealed by his son, who had not been proscribed, but who fled with him and saved him.
