For offering Dr. Last observations on a topic which over thirty years ago he reasonably described as ‘trite’ I have little excuse save that our own generation has given the Four Emperors less attention than did the two generations which preceded it. Perhaps the most valuable contribution has come from the numismatists, who have left the believers in provincial ‘nationalism’ with the need for a radical restatement of their case. Epigraphical studies, moreover, have told us more, but not nearly enough, about the origins of the chief actors in the drama, the soldiers and their commanders. Above all, the flood of writing on the thought of Tacitus has continued unchecked. A bibliography here would be tedious but one example will illustrate the theme of this paper. In 1939 Paola Zancan, later reviewed by Dr. Last in this Journal, sought to analyse each of the ancient literary versions of the year 69, and to show how each author's interpretation sprang from his personality, from his position in society, or from the time at which he wrote.