DIO'S ROME

 AN HISTORICAL NARRATIVE ORIGINALLY COMPOSED IN GREEK DURING THE REIGNS OF SEPTIMIUS SEVERUS, GETA AND CARACALLA, MACRINUS, ELAGABALUS AND ALEXANDER SEVERUS:

 AND

 NOW PRESENTED IN ENGLISH FORM

 BY

 HERBERT BALDWIN FOSTER, A. B. (Harvard), Ph. D. (Johns Hopkins), Acting Professor of Greek in Lehigh University

 THIRD VOLUME _Extant Books 45-51 (B. C. 44-29)_. 

 1906

 VOLUME CONTENTS

Book Forty-five

Book Forty-six

Book Forty-seven

Book Forty-eight

Book Forty-nine

Book Fifty

Book Fifty-one

DIO'S ROMAN HISTORY

45

VOL. 3. --1

The following is contained in the Forty-fifth of Dio's Rome:

About Gaius Octavius, who afterward was named Augustus (chapters 1-9). 

About Sextus, the son of Pompey (chapter 10). 

How Caesar and Antony entered upon a period of hostility (chapters 11-17). 

How Cicero delivered a public harangue against Antony (chapters 18-47). 

Duration of time, the remainder of the year of the 5th dictatorship of C. Iulius Caesar with M. Aemilius Lepidus, Master of the Horse, and of his 5thconsulship with Marcus Antonius. (B. C. 44 = a. U. 710. )[1]

(_BOOK 45, BOSSEVAIN_. )

[B. C. 44 (_a. U_. 710)]

[-1-] This was Antony's course of procedure. --Gaius Octavius Copia, --thiswas the name of the son of Caesar's niece, Attia, --came from Velitrae inthe Volscian country, and having been left without a protector by thedeath of his father Octavius he was brought up in the house of his motherand her husband, Lucius Philippus, but on attaining maturity spent histime with Caesar. The latter, who was childless, based great hopes uponhim and was devoted to him, intending to leave him as successor to hisname, authority, and supremacy. He was influenced largely by Attia'sexplicit affirmation that the youth had been engendered by Apollo. Whilesleeping once in his temple, she said, she thought she had intercoursewith a serpent, and through this circumstance at the end of the allottedtime bore a son. Before he came to the light of day she saw in a dreamher womb lifted to the heavens and spreading out over all the earth; andthe same night Octavius thought the sun rose from her vagina. Hardlyhad the child been born when Nigidius Figulus, a senator, straightwayprophesied for him sole command of the realm. [2]

He could distinguish most accurately of his contemporaries the order ofthe firmament and the mutations of the stars, what they accomplishedby separation and what by conjunctions, in their associations andretirements, and for this reason had incurred the charge of practicingsome kind of forbidden pursuits. He accordingly met on that occasionOctavius, who was somewhat tardy in reaching the senate on account of thebirth of the child, --there happened to be a meeting of the senate thatday, --and asked him why he was late. On learning the cause he cried out:"You have begotten a master over us. " [3] At that Octavius was alarmed andwished to destroy the infant, but Nigidius restrained him, saying thatit was impossible for it to suffer any such fate. [-2-] This was theconversation at that time. While the boy was growing up in the country aneagle snatched from his hands a loaf of bread, and after soaring aloftflew down and gave it back to him. [4] When he was a lad and staying inRome Cicero dreamed that the boy was let down by golden chains to thesummit of the Capitol and received a whip from Jupiter. [5] He did notknow who the youth was, but meeting him the next day on the Capitolitself he recognized him, and told the vision to the bystanders. Catulus, who had likewise never seen Octavius, beheld in a vision all the noblechildren on the Capitol at the termination of a solemn procession toJupiter, and in the course of the ceremony the god cast what looked likean image of Rome into that child's lap. Startled at this he went up intothe Capitol to offer prayers to the god, and finding there Octavius, whohad ascended the hill for some other reason, he compared his appearancewith the dream and was satisfied of the truth of the vision. When laterhe had become a young man and was about to reach maturity, he was puttingon the dress of an adult when his tunic was rent on both sides from hisshoulders and fell to his feet. This event of itself not only hadno significance as forecasting any good fortune, but displeased thespectators considerably because it had happened in his first putting onthe garb of a man: it occurred to Octavius to say: "I shall put the wholesenatorial dignity beneath my feet"; and the outcome proved in accordancewith his words. Caesar founded great hopes upon him as a result ofthis, introduced him into the class of patricians and trained him forrulership. In everything that is proper to come to the notice of onedestined to control so great a power well and worthily he educated himwith care. The youth was trained in oratorical speeches, not only in theLatin but in this language [Greek], labored persistently in militarycampaigns, and received minute instruction in politics and the science ofgovernment. 

[-3-] Now this Octavius chanced at the time that Caesar was murdered tobe in Apollonia near the Ionic Gulf, pursuing his education. He had beensent thither in advance to look after his patron's intended campaignagainst the Parthians. When he learned of the event he was naturallygrieved, but did not dare at once to take any radical measures. He hadnot yet heard that he had been made Caesar's son or heir, and moreover thefirst news he received was to the effect that the people were of one mindin the affair. When, however, he had crossed to Brundusium and had beeninformed about the will and the people's second thought, he made nodelay, particularly because he had considerable money and numeroussoldiers who had been sent on under his charge, but he immediatelyassumed the name of Caesar, succeeded to his estate, and began to busyhimself with the situation. [-4-] At the time he seemed to some to haveacted recklessly and daringly in this, but later as a result of hisgood fortune and the successes he achieved he acquired a reputation forbravery. In many instances in history men who were wrong in undertakingsome project have been famed for wisdom because they proved fortunate init: others who used the best possible judgment have had to stand a chargeof folly because they did not attain their ends. He, too, acted in ablundering and dangerous way; he was only just past boyhood, --eighteenyears of age, --and saw that the succession to the inheritance and thefamily was sure to provoke jealousy and censure: yet he started inpursuit of objects that had led to Caesar's murder, and no punishmentbefell him, and he feared neither the assassins nor Lepidus and Antony. Yet he was not thought to have planned poorly, because he becamesuccessful. Heaven, however, indicated not obscurely all the upheavalthat would result from it. As he was entering Rome a great variegatediris surrounded the whole sun. 

[-5-] In this way he that was formerly called Octavius, but already atthis time Caesar, and subsequently Augustus, took charge of affairs andsettled them and brought them to a successful close more vigourously thanany mature man, more prudently than any graybeard. First he entered thecity as if for the sole purpose of succeeding to the inheritance, and asa private citizen with only a few attendants, without any ostentation. Still later he did not utter any threat against any one nor show that hewas displeased at what had occurred and would take vengeance for it. Sofar from demanding of Antony any of the money that he had previouslyplundered, he actually paid court to him although he was insulted andwronged by him. Among the other injuries that Antony did him by both wordand deed was his action when the lex curiata was proposed, according towhich the transfer of Octavius into Caesar's family was to take place:Antony himself, of course, was active to have it passed, but through sometribunes he secured its postponement in order that the young man beingnot yet Caesar's child according to law might not meddle with the propertyand might be weaker in all other ways. [-6-] Caesar was restive under thistreatment, but as he was unable to speak his mind freely he bore it untilhe had won over the crowd, by whose members he understood his father hadbeen raised to honor. He knew that they were angry at the latter's deathand hoped they would be enthusiastic over him as his son and perceivedthat they hated Antony on account of his having been master of the horseand also for his failure to punish the murderers. Hence he undertook tobecome tribune as a starting point for popular leadership and to securethe power that would result from it; and he accordingly became acandidate for the place of Cinna, which was vacant. Though hinderedby Antony's clique he did not desist and after using persuasion uponTiberius Cannutius, a tribune, he was by him brought before the populace. He took as an excuse the gift bequeathed by Caesar and in his speechtouched upon all the important points, promising that he would dischargethis debt at once, and gave them cause to hope for much besides. Afterthis came the festival appointed in honor of the completion of the templeof Venus, which some, while Caesar was alive, had promised to celebrate, but were now holding in, slight regard as they did the horse-raceconnected with the Parilia;[6] and to win the favor of the populace heprovided for it at his private expense on the ground that it concernedhim because of his family. At this time out of fear of Antony he broughtinto the theatre neither Caesar's gilded chair nor his crown set withprecious stones, though it was permitted by decree. [-7-] When, however, a certain star through all those days appeared in the north towardevening, some called it a comet, and said that it indicated the usualoccurrences; but the majority, instead of believing this, ascribed itto Caesar, interpreting it to mean that he had become a god and had beenincluded in the number of the stars. Then Octavius took courage and setup in the temple of Venus a bronze statue of him with a star above hishead. Through fear of the populace no one prevented this, and then, atlast, some of the earlier decrees in regard to honors to Caesar were putinto effect. They called one of the months July after him and in thecourse of certain triumphal religious festivals they sacrificed duringone special day in memory of his name. For these reasons the soldiersalso, and particularly since some of them received largesses of money, readily took the side of Caesar. 

Rumors accordingly went abroad, and it seemed likely that somethingunusual would take place. This idea gained most headway for the reasonthat when Octavius was somewhat anxious to show himself in court in anelevated and conspicuous place, as he had been wont to do in his father'slifetime, Antony would not allow it, but had his lictors drag him downand drive him out. [-8-] All were exceedingly vexed, and especiallybecause Caesar with a view to casting odium upon his rival and arousingthe multitude would no longer even frequent the Forum. So Antony becameterrified, and in conversation with the bystanders one day remarkedthat he harbored no anger against Caesar, but on the contrary owed himaffection, and felt inclined to dispel the entire cloud of suspicion. Thestatement was reported to the other, they held a conference, and somethought they had become reconciled. As a fact they understood eachother's dispositions accurately, and, thinking it inopportune at thattime to put them to the test, they came to terms by making a few mutualconcessions. For some days they were quiet; then they began to suspecteach other afresh as a result of either some really hostile actionor some false report of hostility, --as regularly happens under suchconditions, --and were again at variance. When men become reconciled aftera great enmity they are suspicious of many acts that contain no maliceand of many chance occurrences. In brief, they regard everything, in thelight of their former hostility, as done on purpose and for an evilend. While they are in this condition those who stand on neutral groundaggravate the trouble, irritating them still more by bearing reports toand fro under the pretence of devotion. There is a very large elementwhich is anxious to see all those who have power at variance with oneanother, --an element which consequently takes delight in their enmity andjoins in plots against them. And the party which has previously sufferedfrom calumny is very easy to deceive with words adapted to the purposeby a band of friends whose attachment is not under suspicion. This alsoaccounts for the fact that these men, who did not trust each otherpreviously, became now even more estranged. 

[-9-] Antony seeing that Caesar was gaining ground attempted to attractthe populace by various baits, to see if he could detach the people fromhis rival and number them among his own forces. Hence through LuciusAntonius, his brother, who was tribune, he introduced a measure thatconsiderable land be opened for settlement, among the parcels being theregion of the Pontine marshes, which he stated had already been filledand were capable of cultivation. The three Antonii, who were brothers, all held office at the same time. Marcus was consul, Lucius tribune, andGaius praetor. Therefore they could very easily remove those who weretemporarily rulers of their allies and subjects (except the majority ofthe assassins and some others whom they regarded as loyal) and chooseothers in place of them: they could also grant some the right to holdoffice for an unusually long term, contrary to the laws established byCaesar. Also Macedonia, which fell to Marcus by lot, was appropriatedby his brother Gaius, but Marcus himself with the legions previouslydespatched into Apollonia laid claim to Gaul on this side of the Alps, towhich Decimus Brutus had been assigned; the reason was that it seemed tobe very strong in resources of soldiers and money. After these measureshad been passed the immunity granted to Sextus Pompey by Caesar, as to allthe rest, was confirmed: he had already considerable influence. It wasfurther resolved that whatever moneys of silver or gold the publictreasury had taken from his ancestral estate should be restored. Asfor the lands belonging to it Antony held the most of them and made norestoration. 

[-10-] This was the business in which they were engaged. But I shall nowgo on to describe how Sextus had fared. When he had fled from Corduba, hefirst came to Lacetania and concealed himself there. He was pursued, tobe sure, but eluded discovery through the fact that the natives werekindly disposed to him out of regard for his father's memory. Later, whenCaesar had started for Italy and only a small army was left behind inBaetica, he was joined both by the native inhabitants and by those whoescaped from the battle, and with them he came again into Baetica, becausehe thought it more suitable for the carrying on of war. There he gainedpossession of soldiers and cities, particularly after Caesar's death, somevoluntarily and some by violence; the commandant in charge of them, GaiusAsinius Pollio, held a force that was far from strong. He next set outagainst Spanish Carthage, but since in his absence Pollio made an attackand did some damage, he returned with a large force, met his opponent, and routed him. After that the following accident enabled him to startleand conquer the rest, as well, who were contending fiercely. Pollio hadcast off his general's cloak, in order to suffer less chance of detectionin his flight, and another man of the same name, a brilliant horseman, had fallen. The soldiers, hearing the name of the latter, who was lyingthere, and seeing the garment which had been captured, were deceived, andthinking that their general had perished surrendered. In this way Sextusconquered and held possession of nearly that entire region. When he wasnow a powerful factor, Lepidus arrived to govern the adjoining portion ofSpain, and persuaded him to enter into an agreement on condition that heshould recover his father's estate. Antony, influenced by his friendshipfor Lepidus and by his hostility toward Caesar, caused such a decree to bepassed. 

So Sextus, in this way and on these conditions, held aloof from Spainproper. [-11-] Caesar and Antony in all their acts opposed each other, buthad not fallen out openly, and whereas in reality they were alienatedthey tried to disguise the fact so far as appearances went. As a resultall other interests in the city were in a most undecided state andcondition of turmoil. People were still at peace and yet already at war. Liberty led but a shadow existence, and the deeds done were the deedsof royalty. To a casual observer Antony, since he held the consulship, seemed to be getting the best of it, but the enthusiasm of the masses wasfor Caesar. This was partly on his father's account, partly on account ofthe hopes he held out to them, but above all because they were displeasedat the considerable power of Antony and were inclined to assist Caesarwhile he was yet devoid of strength. Neither man had their affection, butthey were always eager for a change of administration, and it was theirnature to try to overthrow every superior force and to help any partythat was being oppressed. Consequently they made use of the two to suittheir own desires. After they had at this period humbled Antony throughthe instrumentality of Caesar they next undertook to destroy the latteralso. Their irritation toward the men temporarily in power and theirliking for the weaker side made them attempt to overthrow the former. Later they became estranged from the weaker also. Thus they showeddislike for each of them in turn and the same men experienced theiraffection and their hatred, their support and their active opposition. 

[-12-] While they were maintaining the above attitude toward Caesar andAntony, the war began as follows. Antony had set out for Brundusium tomeet the soldiers who had crossed over from Macedonia. Caesar sent somepersons to that city with money, who were to arrive there before Antonyand win over the men, and himself went to Campania, where he collecteda large crowd of men, chiefly from Capua because the people there hadreceived their land and city from his father, whom he said he wasavenging. He made them many promises and gave them on the spot fivehundred denarii apiece. These men usually constituted the corps ofevocati, whom one might term in Greek "the recalled", because havingended their service they have been recalled to it again. Caesar tookcharge of them, hastened to Rome before Antony could make his way back, and came before the people, who had been made ready for him by Cannutius. There he called to their minds in detail all the excellent works hisfather had done, made a considerable, though moderate, defence ofhimself, and brought accusations against Antony. He also praisedthe soldiers who had accompanied him, saying that they were presentvoluntarily to lend aid to the city, that they had elected him to presideover the State and that through his mouth they made known these facts toall. For this speech he received the approbation of his following and ofthe throng that stood by, after which he departed for Etruria with a viewto obtaining an accession to his forces from that country. 

[-13-] While he was doing this Antony had been at first kindly receivedin Brundusium by the soldiers, because they expected they would securemore from him than was offered them by Caesar. This belief was basedon the idea that he had possession of much more than his rival. When, however, he promised to give each of them a hundred denarii, they raisedan outcry, but he reduced them to submission by ordering centurions aswell as others to be slain before the eyes of himself and his wife. Forthe time being the soldiers were quiet, but on the way toward Gaul whenthey arrived opposite the capital they revolted, and many of them, despising the lieutenants that had been set over them, arrayed themselveson Caesar's side. The so-called Martian and the fourth legion went over tohim in a body. He took charge of them and won their attachment by givingmoney to all alike, --an act which added many more to his troops. He alsocaptured all the elephants of Antony, by confronting the train suddenlyas they were being conducted along. Antony stopped in Rome only longenough to arrange a few affairs and to bind by oath all the rest of thesoldiers and the senators who were in their company; then he set out forGaul, fearing that that country too might indulge in an uprising. Caesarwithout delay followed behind him. 

[-14-] Decimus Brutus was at this time governor of that province, andAntony set great hopes upon him, because he had been a slayer of Caesar. But it turned out as follows. Decimus did not look askance particularlyat Caesar, for the latter had uttered no threats against the assassins: onthe other hand, he saw that Antony was no more formidable a foe than hisrival, or, indeed, than himself or any of the rest who were in power asa result of natural acquisitiveness; therefore he refused to give groundbefore him. Caesar, when he heard this decision, was for some time at aloss what course to adopt. The young man hated both Decimus and Antonybut saw no way in which he could contend against them both at once. Hewas by no means yet a match for either one of the two, and he was furtherafraid that if he risked such a move he should throw them into eachother's arms and face the united opposition of the two. After stopping toreflect that the struggle with Antony was already begun and was urgent, but that it was not yet a fitting season for taking vengeance for hisfather, he decided to make a friend of Decimus. He understood well thathe should find no great difficulty in fighting against the latter, ifwith his aid he could first overcome his adversaries, but that Antonywould be a powerful antagonist on any subsequent occasion. So much didthey differ from each other. [-15-] Accordingly he sent a messenger toDecimus, proposing friendship and promising alliance, if he would refuseto receive Antony. This proposal caused the people in the city likewiseto join in expressing their gratitude to Caesar. Just at this time theyear was drawing to a close and no consul was on the ground, Dolabellahaving been previously sent by Antony to Syria. Eulogies, however, weredelivered in the senate by the members themselves and by the soldiers whohad abandoned Antony, --with the concurrence also of the tribunes. Whenthey entered upon the new year they decided, in order that they mightdiscuss freely existing conditions, to employ a guard of soldiersat their meetings. This pleased nearly all who were in Rome at thetime, --for they cordially detested Antony, --but particularly Cicero. He, on account of his bitter and long-standing hostility toward the man, paidcourt to Caesar, and so far as he could, by speech and action, strove toassist him in every way and to injure Antony. It was for this reasonthat, when he had left the city to escort his son to Athens for thebenefit of his education, he had returned on ascertaining that the twowere publicly estranged. 

[-16-] Besides these events which took place that year ServiliusIsauricus died at a very advanced age. I have mentioned him both for thatfact and to show how the Romans of that period respected men who wereprominent through merit and hated those who behaved insolently, even onthe very slightest grounds. This Servilius while walking had once met onthe road a man on horseback, who so far from dismounting on his approachspurned him violently aside. Later he recognized the fellow in adefendant of a case in court, and when he mentioned the affair to thejudge, they paid no further attention to the man's plea, but unanimouslycondemned him. 

[B. C. 43 (_a u_. 711)]

[-17-] In the consulship of Aldus Hirtius (who was now appointed consulin spite of the fact that his father's name had been posted on thetablets of Sulla), with his colleague Gaius Vibius, a meeting of thesenate was held and votes were taken for three successive days, includingthe first of the month itself. As a result of the war which was upon themand the portents, very numerous and extremely unfavorable, which tookplace, they were so excited that they failed to pass over these _diesnefasti_ on which they ought not to deliberate on any matter touchingtheir interests. Ominous had been the falling of great numbers ofthunderbolts, some of which descended on the shrine sacred to CapitolineJupiter, that stood in the temple of Victory. Also a great wind arosewhich snapped and scattered the columns erected about the temple ofSaturn and the shrine of Fides, and likewise knocked down and shatteredthe statue of Minerva the Protectress, which Cicero had set up on theCapitol before his exile. This portended, of course, the death of Cicerohimself. Another thing that frightened the rest of the population wasa great earthquake which occurred, and the fact that a bull which wassacrificed on account of it in the temple of Vesta leaped up after theceremony. In addition to these clear indications of danger a flash dartedacross from the place of the rising sun to the place of its setting and anew star was seen for several days. Then the light of the sun seemed tobe diminished and even extinguished, and at times to appear in threecircles, one of which was surmounted by a fiery crown of sheaves. This, if anything, proved as clear a sign as possible to them. For three menwere in power, --I mean Caesar and Lepidus and Antony, --and of them Caesarsubsequently secured the victory. At the same time that these thingsoccurred all sorts of oracles tending to the downfall of the democracywere recited. Crows, moreover, flew into the temple of the Dioscuri andpecked out the names of the consuls and of Antony and of Dolabella, whichwere inscribed there somewhere on a tablet. And by night dogs in largenumbers gathered throughout the city and especially near the house of thehigh priest, Lepidus, and set up howls. Again, the Po, which had floodeda large portion of the surrounding territory, suddenly receded and leftbehind on the dry land a vast number of snakes. Countless fish were castup from the sea on the shore near the mouth of the Tiber. Succeedingthese terrors a plague spread over nearly the whole of Italy in amalignant form, and in view of this the senate voted that the CuriaHostilia[7] should be rebuilt and the spot where the naval battle hadtaken place be filled up. However, the curse did not appear disposed torest even at this point, especially when during Vibius's conduct of theinitial sacrifices on the first of the month one of his lictors suddenlyfell down and died. Because of these events many men in the course ofthose days took one side or the other in their speeches and advice, andamong the deliverances was the following, of Cicero:--[-18-] "You haveheard recently, Conscript Fathers, when I made a statement to you aboutthe matter, why I made preparations for my departure as if I were goingto be absent from the city a very long time and then returned rapidlywith the idea that I could benefit you greatly. I would not endure anexistence under a sovereignty or a tyranny, since under such forms ofgovernment I can not enjoy the rights of free[8] citizenship nor speakmy mind safely nor die in a way that is of service to you; and again, ifopportunity is afforded to obey any of duty's calls, I would not shrinkfrom action, though it involved danger. I deem it the task of an uprightman equally to keep watch over himself for his country's interests(guarding himself that he may not perish uselessly), and in this courseof action not to fail to say or do whatever is requisite, even if it benecessary to suffer some harm in preserving his native land. 

[-19-] "These assumptions granted, a large degree of safety was affordedby Caesar both to you and to me for the discussion of pressing questions. And since you have further voted to assemble under guard, we must frameall our words and behavior this day in such a fashion as to establishthe present state of affairs and provide for the future, that we maynot again be compelled to decide in a similar way about it. That ourcondition is difficult and dangerous and requires much care and attentionyou yourselves have made evident, if in no other way, at least by thismeasure. For you would not have voted to keep the senate-house underguard, if it had been possible for you to deliberate at all with youraccustomed orderliness, and in quiet, free from fear. It is necessary forus even on account of the presence of the soldiers to accomplish somemeasure of importance, that we may not incur the disgrace that wouldcertainly follow from asking for them as if we feared somebody, and thenneglecting affairs as if we were liable to no danger. We shall appear tohave acquired them only nominally in behalf of the city against Antony, but to have given them in reality to him against our own selves, and itwill look as if in addition to the other legions which he gathers againsthis country he needed to acquire these very men and so prevent yourpassing any vote against him even to-day. 

[-20-] "Yet some have attained such a height of shamelessness as to dareto say that he is not warring against the State and have credited youwith so great folly as to think that they will persuade you to attend totheir words rather than to his acts. But who would choose to desist fromregarding his performances and the campaign which he has made against ourallies without any orders from the senate or the people, the countrieswhich he is overrunning, the cities which he is besieging, and the hopesupon which he is building in his entire course, --who would distrust, Isay, the evidence of his own eyes, and to his ruin yield credence to thewords of these men and their false statements, by which they put you offwith pretexts and excuses?

I myself am far from asserting that in doing this he is carrying out anylegal act of administration. On the contrary, because he has abandonedthe province of Macedonia, which was assigned to him by lot, and becausehe chose instead the province of Gaul, which in no way pertained to him, and because he assumed control of the legions which Caesar had sent aheadagainst the Parthians, keeping them about him though no danger threatensItaly, and because he has left the city during the period of hisconsulship to go about pillaging and injuring the country, --for all thesereasons I declare that he has long been an enemy of us all. [-21-] If youdid not perceive it immediately at the start or experience vexationat each of his actions, he deserves to be hated all the more onthis account, in that he does not cease injuring you, who are solong-suffering. He might perchance have obtained pardon for the errorswhich he committed at first, but now by his perseverance in evil he hasreached such a pitch of knavery that he ought to be brought to book forhis former offences as well. And you ought to be especially careful inregard to the situation, noticing and considering this point, --that theman who has so often despised you in such weighty matters cannot submitto be corrected by the same gentleness and kindliness that you haveshown, but must now against his will, even though never previously, bechastised by force of arms. 

"And because he partly persuaded and partly compelled you to votehim some privileges, do not think that this makes him less guilty ordeserving of less punishment. Quite the reverse, --for this very procedurein particular he merits the infliction of a penalty: he determined fromthe outset to commit many outrages, and after accomplishing some of themthrough you, he employed against your own selves the resources which camefrom you, which by deception, he forced you to vote to him, though youneither knew nor foresaw any such result. On what occasion did youvoluntarily abolish the commands given by Caesar or by the lot to eachman, and allow this person to distribute many appointments to his friendsand companions, sending his brother Gaius to Macedonia, and assigningGaul to himself with the aid of the legions which he was not by any meanskeeping to use in your defence? Do you not remember how, when he foundyou startled at Caesar's demise, he carried out all the plans thathe chose, communicating some to you carefully dissimulated and atinopportune moments, and on his own responsibility executing others thatinflicted injuries, while all his acts were characterized by violence? Heused soldiers, and barbarians at that, against you. And need any one besurprised that in those days some vote was passed which should not havebeen, when even now we have not obtained a free hand to speak and do whatis requisite in any other way than by the aid of a body-guard? If we hadbeen formerly endued with this power, he would not have obtained what anyone may say he has obtained, nor would he have risen to the prominenceenabling him to do the deeds that were a natural sequence. Accordingly, let no one retort that the rights which we were seen to give him undercommand and compulsion and amid laments were legally and rightfullybestowed. For, even in private business, that is not considered bindingwhich a man does under compulsion from another. 

[-23-] "And yet all these measures which you are seen to have voted youwill find to be slight and varying but little from established custom. What was there dreadful in the fact that one man was destined to governMacedonia or Gaul in place of another? Or what was the harm if a manobtained soldiers during his consulship? But these are the facts that areharmful and abominable, --that your land should be damaged, allied citiesbesieged, that our soldiers should be armed against us and our meansexpended to our detriment: this you neither voted nor intended. Do not, merely because you have granted him some privileges, allow him to usurpwhat was not granted him; and do not think that just as you have concededsome points he ought similarly to be permitted to do what has not beenconceded. Quite the reverse: you should for this very reason both hateand punish him, because he has dared not only in this case but in allother cases to use the honor and kindness that you bestowed against you. Look at the matter. Through my influence you voted that there should bepeace and harmony between individuals. This man was ordered to manage thebusiness, and conducted it in such a way (taking Caesar's funeral as apretext) that almost the whole city was burned down and great numberswere once more slaughtered. You ratified all the grants made to variouspersons and all the laws laid down by Caesar, not because they wereall excellent--far from it!, --but because our mutual and unsuspectingassociation, quite free from any disguise, was not furthered by changingany one of those enactments. This man, appointed to examine into them, has abolished many of his acts and has substituted many others in thedocuments. He has taken away lands and citizenship and exemption fromtaxes and many other honors from the possessors, --private individuals, kings, and cities, --and has given them to men who had not received any, altering the memoranda of Caesar; from those who were unwilling to giveup anything to his grasp he took away even what had been given them, and sold this and everything else to such as wished to buy. Yet you, foreseeing this very possibility, had voted that no tablet should be setup after Caesar's death which might contain any article given by him toany person. Notwithstanding, it happened many times after that. He alsosaid it was necessary for some provisions found in Caesar's papers to bespecially noted and put into effect. You then assigned to him, in companywith the foremost men, the task of making these excerpts; but he, payingno attention to his colleagues, carried out everything alone according tohis wishes, in regard to the laws, the exiles, and other points which Ienumerated a few moments since. This is the way in which he wishes toexecute all your decrees. 

[-24-] "Has he then shown himself such a character only in these affairs, while managing the rest rightly? In what instance? On what motive? He wasordered to search for and declare the public money left behind by Caesar, and did he not seize it, paying some of it to his creditors and spendingsome on high living so that he no longer has even any of this left? Youhated the name of dictator on account of Caesar's sovereignty and rejectedit entirely from the constitution: but is it not true that Antony, thoughhe has avoided adopting it (as if the name in itself could do any harm), has exhibited the behavior belonging to it and the greed for gain, underthe title of consulship? You assigned to him the duty of promotingharmony, and has he not on his own responsibility begun this great war, neither necessary nor sanctioned, against Caesar and Decimus, whom youapprove? Innumerable cases might be mentioned, if one wished to go intodetails, in which you entrusted business to him to manage as consul, andhe has not conducted a single bit of it as the circumstances demanded, but has done quite the opposite, using against you the authority that youimparted. Now will you assume to yourself also these errors that he hascommitted and say that you yourselves are responsible for all that hashappened, because you assigned to him the management and investigation ofthe matters in question? It is ridiculous. If some general or envoy thathad been chosen should fail in every way to do his duty, you who sent himwould not incur the blame for this. It would be a sorry state of things, if all who are elected to perform some work should themselves receive theadvantages and the honors, but lay upon you the complaints and the blame. [-25-] Accordingly, there is no sense in paying any heed to him when hesays: 'It was you who permitted me to govern Gaul, you ordered me toadminister the public finances, you gave me the legions from Macedonia. 'Perhaps these measures were voted--yet ought you to put it that way, andnot instead exact punishment from him for his action in compelling you tomake that decision? At any rate, you never at any time gave him theright to restore the exiles, to add laws surreptitiously, to sell theprivileges of citizenship and exemption from taxes, to steal the publicfunds, to plunder the possessions of allies, to abuse the cities, orto undertake to play the tyrant over his native country. And you neverconceded to any one else all that was desired, though you have granted byyour votes many things to many persons; on the contrary you have alwayspunished such men so far as you could, as you will also punish him, ifyou take my advice. For it is not in these matters alone that he hasshown himself to be such a man as you know and have seen him to be, butbriefly in all undertakings which he has ever attempted to perform forthe commonwealth. 

[-26-] "His private life and his private examples of licentiousnessand avarice I shall willingly pass over, not because one would fail todiscover that he had committed many abominable outrages in the course ofthem, but because, by Hercules, I am ashamed to describe minutely andseparately--especially to you who know it as well as I--how he conductedhis youth among you who were boys at the time, how he auctioned offthe vigor of his prime, his secret lapses from chastity, his openfornications, what he let be done to him as long as it was possible, whathe did as early as he could, his revels, his periods of drunkenness, andall the rest that follows in their train. It is impossible for a personbrought up in so great licentiousness and shamelessness to avoid defilinghis entire life: and so from his private concerns he brought his lewdnessand greed to bear upon public matters. On this I will refrain fromdilating, and likewise by Jupiter on his visit to Gabinius in Egyptand his flight to Caesar in Gaul, that I may not be charged with goingminutely into every detail; for I feel ashamed for you, that knowing himto be such a man you appointed him tribune and master of the horse andsubsequently consul. I will at present recite only his drunken insolenceand abuses in these very positions. 

[-27-] "Well, then, when he was tribune he first of all prevented youfrom settling suitably the work you then had in hand by shouting andbawling and alone of all the people opposing the public peace of theState, until you became vexed and because of his conduct passed the votethat you did. Then, though by law he was not permitted to be absent fromtown a single night, he escaped from the city, abandoning the duties ofhis office, and, having gone as a deserter to Caesar's camp, guided thelatter back as a foe to his country, drove you out of Rome and all therest of Italy, and, in short, became the prime cause of all the civildisorders that have since taken place among you. Had he not at that timeacted contrary to your wishes, Caesar would never have found an excuse forthe war and could not, in spite of all his shamelessness, have gathered acompetent force in defiance of your resolutions; but he would haveeither voluntarily laid down his arms, or been brought to his sensesunwillingly. As it is, this fellow is the man who furnished him with theexcuses, who destroyed the prestige of the senate, who increased theaudacity of the soldiers. He it is who planted the seeds of evils whichsprang up afterward: he it is who has proved the common bane not only ofus, but also of practically the whole world, as, indeed, Heaven ratherplainly indicated. When, that is to say, he proposed those astonishinglaws, the whole air was filled with thunder and lightning. Yet thisaccursed wretch paid no attention to them, though he claims to be asoothsayer, but filled not only the city but the whole world with theevils and wars which I mentioned. 

[-28-] "Now after this is there any need of mentioning that he served asmaster of the horse an entire year, something which had never before beendone? Or that during this period also he was drunk and abusive and in theassemblies would frequently vomit the remains of yesterday's debauch onthe rostra itself, in the midst of his harangues? Or that he went aboutItaly at the head of pimps and prostitutes and buffoons, women as well asmen, in company with the lictors bearing festoons of laurel? Or that healone of mankind dared to buy the property of Pompey, having no regardfor his own dignity or the great man's memory, but grasping eagerly thosepossessions over which we even now as at that time shed a tear? He threwhimself upon this and many other estates with the evident intention ofmaking no recompense for them. Yet with all his insolence and violencethe price was nevertheless collected, for Caesar took this way ofdiscountenancing his act. And all that he has acquired, vast in extentand gathered from every source, he has consumed in dicing, consumed inharlotry, consumed in feasting, consumed in drinking, like a secondCharybdis. 

[-29-] "Of this behavior I shall make no chronicle. But on the subject ofthe insults which he offered to the State and the assassinations whichhe caused throughout the whole city alike how can any man be silent? Ismemory lacking of how oppressive the very sight of him was to you, butmost of all his deeds? He dared, O thou earth and ye gods, first inthis place, within the wall, in the Forum, in the senate-house, on theCapitol, at one and the same time to array himself in the purple-borderedgarb, to gird a sword on his thigh, to employ lictors, and to be escortedby armed soldiers. Next, whereas he might have checked the turmoil of thecitizens, he not only failed to do so, but set you at variance when youwere in concord, partly by his own acts and partly through the mediumof others. Moreover he directed his attention in turn to the latterthemselves, and by now assisting them and now abandoning them[9] incurredfull responsibility for great numbers of them being slain and for thefact that the entire region of Pontus and of the Parthians was notsubdued at that time immediately after the victory over Pharnaces. Caesar, being called hither in haste to see what he was doing, did not finishentirely any of those projects, as he was surely intending. 

[-30-] "Even this result did not sober him, but when he was consul hecame naked, naked, Conscript Fathers, and anointed into the Forum, takingthe Lupercalia as an excuse, then proceeded in company with his lictorsto the rostra, and there harangued us from the elevation. From the daythe city was founded no one can point to any one else, even a praetor ortribune or aedile, let alone a consul, who has done such a thing. To besure it was the festival of the Lupercalia, and the Lupercalia had beenput in charge of the Julian College[10]; yes, and Sextus Clodius hadtrained him to conduct himself so, upon receipt of two thousand plethraof the land of Leontini[11]. But you were consul, respected sir (for Iwill address you as though you were present), and it was neither propernor permissible for you as such to speak in such a way in the Forum, hardby the rostra, with all of us present, and to cause us both to beholdyour remarkable body, so corpulent and detestable, and to hear youraccursed voice, choked with unguent, speaking those outrageous words; forI will preferably confine my comment to this point about your mouth. TheLupercalia would not have missed its proper reverence, but you disgracedthe whole city at once, --not to speak a word yet about your remarks onthat occasion. Who is unaware that the consulship is public, the propertyof the whole people, that its dignity must be preserved everywhere, andthat its holder must nowhere strip naked or behave wantonly? [-31-] Didhe perchance imitate the famous Horatius of old or Cloelia of bygonedays? But the latter swam across the river with all her clothing, andthe former cast himself with his armor into the flood. It would befitting--would it not?--to set up also a statue of this consul, so thatpeople might contrast the one man armed in the Tiber and the other nakedin the Forum. It was by such conduct as has been cited that those heroesof yore were wont to preserve us and give us liberty, while he took awayall our liberty from us, so far as was in his power, destroyed the wholedemocracy, set up a despot in place of a consul, a tyrant in place ofa dictator over us. You remember the nature of his language when heapproached the rostra, and the style of his behavior when he had ascendedit. But when a man who is a Roman and a consul has dared to name any oneKing of the Romans in the Roman Forum, close to the rostra of liberty, inthe presence of the entire people and the entire senate, and straightwayto set the diadem upon his head and further to affirm falsely in thehearing of us all that we ourselves bade him say and do this, what mostoutrageous deed will that man not dare, and from what action, howeverrevolting, will he refrain? [-32-] Did we lay this injunction upon you, Antony, we who expelled the Tarquins, who cherished Brutus, who hurledCapitolinus headlong, who put to death the Spurii?[12] Did we order youto salute any one as king, when we have laid a curse upon the very nameof monarch and furthermore upon that of dictator as the most similar? Didwe command you to appoint any one tyrant, we who repulsed Pyrrhus fromItaly, who drove back Antiochus beyond the Taurus, who put an end to thetyranny even in Macedonia? No, by the rods of Valerius and the law ofPorcius, no, by the leg of Horatius and the hand of Mucius, no, by thespear of Decius and the sword of Brutus! But you, unspeakable villain, begged and pleaded to be made a slave as Postumius pleaded to bedelivered to the Samnites, as Regulus to be given back to theCarthaginians, as Curtius to be thrown into the chasm. And where didyou find this recorded? In the same place where you discovered that theCretans had been made free after Brutus was their governor, when we votedafter Caesar's death that he should govern them. 

[-33-] "So then, seeing that you have detected his baneful dispositionin so many and so great enterprises, will you not take vengeance on himinstead of waiting to learn by experience what the man who caused so muchtrouble naked will do to you when he is armed? Do you think that he isnot eager for the tyrant's power, that he does not pray to obtain it someday, or that he will put the pursuit of it out of his thoughts, when hehas once allowed it a resting-place in his mind, and that he will everabandon the hope of sole rulership for which he has spoken and acted soimpudently without punishment! What human being who, while master of hisown voice, would undertake to help some one else secure an honor, wouldnot appropriate it himself when he became powerful? Who that has daredto nominate another as tyrant over his country and himself at once wouldhimself refuse to be monarch? [-34-] Hence, even if you spared himformerly, you must hate him now for these acts. Do not desire to learnwhat he will do when his success equals his wishes, but on the basis ofhis previous ventures plan beforehand to suffer no further outrages. Whatdefence could any one make of what took place? That Caesar acted rightlyat that time in accepting neither the name of king nor the diadem? If so, this man did wrong to offer something which pleased not even Caesar. Or, on the other hand, that the latter erred in enduring at all to look on atand listen to such proceedings? If so, and Caesar justly suffered deathfor this error, does not this man, admitted in a certain way that hedesired a tyranny, most richly deserve to perish? That this is so isevident from what I have previously said, but is proved most clearly bywhat he did after that. What other end than supremacy had he in mind thathe has undertaken to cause agitation and to meddle in private business, when he might have enjoyed quiet with safety? What other end, that he hasentered upon campaigns and warfare, when it was in his power to remain athome without danger? For what reason, when many have disliked to go outand take charge even of the offices that belonged to them, does he notonly lay claim to Gaul, which pertains to him in not the slightestdegree, but use force upon it because of its unwillingness? For whatreason, when Decimus Brutus is ready to surrender to us himself andhis soldiers and the cities, has this man not imitated him, instead ofbesieging and shutting him up? The only interpretation to be put upon itis that he is strengthening himself in this and every other way againstus, and to no other end. 

[-35-] "Seeing this, do we delay and give way to weakness and train up somonstrous a tyrant against our own selves? Is it not disgraceful that ourforefathers, brought up in slavery, felt the desire for liberty, but wewho have lived under an independent government become slaves of our ownfree will? Or again, that we were glad to rid ourselves of the dominionof Caesar, though we had first received many favors from his hands, andaccept in his stead this man, a self-elected despot, who is far worsethan he; this allegation is proved by the fact that Caesar spared manyafter his victories in war, but this follower of his before attaining anypower has slaughtered three hundred soldiers, among them some centurions, guilty of no wrong, at home, in his own quarters, before the face andeyes of his wife, so that she too was defiled with blood. What do youthink that the man who treated them so cruelly, when he owed themcare, will refrain from doing to all of you, --aye, down to the utmostoutrage, --if he shall conquer? And how can you believe that the man whohas lived so licentiously even to the present time will not proceed toall extremes of wantonness, if he shall further secure the authoritygiven by arms?

[-36-] "Do not, then, wait until you have suffered some such treatmentand begin to rue it, but guard yourselves before you are molested. It isout of the question to allow dangers to come upon you and then repent ofit, when you might have anticipated them. And do not choose to neglectthe seriousness of the present situation and then ask again for anotherCassius or some more Brutuses. It is ridiculous, when we have the powerof aiding ourselves in time, to seek later on men to set us free. Perhapswe should not even find them, especially if we handle in such a waythe present situation. Who would privately choose to run risks for thedemocracy, when he sees that we are publicly resigned to slavery? It mustbe evident to every man that Antony will not rest contented with whathe is now doing, but that in far off and small concerns even he isstrengthening himself against us. He is warring against Decimus andbesieging Mutina for no other purpose than to provide himself, byconquering and capturing them, with resources against us. He has not beenwronged by them that he can appear to be defending himself, nor does hemerely desire the property that they possess and with this in mind enduretoils and dangers, while ready and willing to relinquish that belongingto us, who own their property and much beside. Shall we wait for him tosecure the prize and still more, and so become a dangerous foe? Shall wetrust his deception when he says that he is not warring against the City?[-37-] Who is so silly as to decide whether a man is making war on us ornot by his words rather than by his deeds? I do not say that now for thefirst time is he unfriendly to us, when he has abandoned the City andmade a campaign against allies and is assailing Brutus and besieging thecities; but on the basis of his former evil and licentious behavior, notonly after Caesar's death but even in the latter's lifetime, I decide thathe has shown himself an enemy of our government and liberty and a plotteragainst them. Who that loved his country or hated tyranny would havecommitted a single one of the many and manifold offences laid to thisman's charge? From every point of view he is proved to have long been anenemy of ours, and the case stands as follows. If we now take measuresagainst him with all speed, we shall get back all that has been lost:but if, neglecting to do this, we wait till he himself admits that he isplotting against us, we shall lose everything. This he will never do, noteven if he should actually march upon the City, any more than Marius orCinna or Sulla did. But if he gets control of affairs, he will not failto act precisely as they did, or still worse. Men who are anxious toaccomplish an object are wont to say one thing, and those who havesucceeded in accomplishing it are wont to do quite a different thing. Togain their end they pretend anything, but having obtained it they denythemselves the gratification of no desire. Furthermore, the last bornalways desire to surpass what their predecessors have ventured: theythink it a small thing to behave like them and do something that has beeneffected before, but determine that something original is the only thingworthy of them, because unexpected. 

[-38-] "Seeing this, then, Conscript Fathers, let us no longer delay norfall a prey to the indolence that the moment inspires, but let us takethought for the safety that concerns the future. Surely it is a shamewhen Caesar, who has just emerged from boyhood and was recently registeredamong those having attained years of discretion, shows such greatinterest in the State as to spend his money and gather soldiers forits preservation that we should neither ourselves perform our dutynor coöperate with him even after obtaining a tangible proof of hisgood-will. Who is unaware that if he had not reached here with thesoldiers from Campania, Antony would certainly have come rushing fromBrundusium instanter, just as he was, and would have burst into our citywith all his armies like a winter torrent?[13] There is, moreover, astriking inconsistency in our conduct. Men who have long been campaigningvoluntarily have put themselves at your service for the present crisis, regarding neither their age nor the wounds which they received in pastyears while fighting for you, and you both refuse to ratify the war inwhich these very men elected to serve, and show yourselves inferior tothem, who are ready to face dangers; for while you praise the soldiersthat detected the defilement of Antony and withdrew from him, though hewas consul, and attached themselves to Caesar, (that is, to you throughhim), you shrink from voting for that which you say they were right indoing. Also we are grateful to Brutus that he did not even at thestart admit Antony to Gaul, and is trying to repel him now that Antonyconfronts him with a force. Why in the world do we not ourselves do thesame? Why do we not imitate the rest whom we praise for their soundjudgment? There are only two courses open to us. [-39-] One is to saythat all these men, --Caesar, I mean, and Brutus, the old soldiers, thelegions, --have decided wrongly and ought to submit to punishment, becausewithout our sanction or that of the people they have dared to offer armedresistance to their consul, some having deserted his standard, and othershaving been gathered against him. The other is to say that Antony byreason of his deeds has in our judgment long since admitted that he isour enemy and by public consent ought to be chastised by us all. No onecan be ignorant that the latter decision is not only more just but moreexpedient for us. The man neither understands how to handle businesshimself (how or by what means could a person that lives in drunkennessand dicing?) nor has he any companion who is of any account. He lovesonly such as are like himself and makes them the confidants of all hisopen and secret undertakings. Also he is most cowardly in extreme dangersand most treacherous even to his intimate friends, neither of whichqualities is suited for generalship or war. [-40-] Who can be unawarethat this very man caused all our internal troubles and then shared thedangers to the slightest possible degree? He tarried long in Brundusiumthrough cowardice, so that Caesar was isolated and on account of himalmost failed: likewise he held aloof from all succeeding wars, --thatagainst the Egyptians, against Pharnaces, the African, and the Spanish. Who is unaware that he won the favor of Clodius, and after using thelatter's tribuneship for the most outrageous ends would have killed himwith his own hand, if I had accepted this promise from him? Again, in thematter of Caesar, he was first associated with him as quaestor, when Caesarwas praetor in Spain, next attached himself to him during the tribuneship, contrary to the liking of us all, and later received from him countlessmoney and excessive honors: in return for this he tried to inspire hispatron with a desire for supremacy, which led to talk against him and wasmore than anything else responsible for Caesar's death. 

[-41-] "Yet he once stated that it was I who directed the assassins totheir work. He is so senseless as to venture to invent so great praisefor me. And I for my part do not affirm that he was the actual slayer ofCaesar, --not because he was not willing, but because in this, too, he wastimid, --yet by the very course of his actions I say that Caesar perishedat his hands. For this is the man who provided a motive, so that thereseemed to be some justice in plotting against him, this is he who calledhim 'king', who gave him the diadem, who previously slandered himactually to his friends. Do I rejoice at the death of Caesar, I, who neverenjoyed anything but liberty at his hands, and is Antony grieved, who hasrapaciously seized his whole property and committed many injuries onthe pretext of his letters, and is finally hastening to succeed to hisposition of ruler?

[-42-] "But I return to the point that he has none of the qualities of agreat general or such as to bring victory, and does not possess many orformidable forces. The majority of the soldiers and the best ones haveabandoned him to his fate, and also, by Jupiter, he has been deprivedof the elephants. The remainder have perfected themselves rather inoutraging and pillaging the possessions of the allies than in waging war, A proof of the sort of spirit that animates them lies in the fact thatthey still adhere to him, and of their lack of fortitude in that theyhave not taken Mutina, though they have now been besieging it for so longa time. Such is the condition of Antony and of his followers found to be. But Caesar and Brutus and those arrayed with them are firmly intrenchedwithout outside aid; Caesar, in fact, has won over many of his rival'ssoldiers, and Brutus is keeping the same usurper out of Gaul: and if youcome to their assistance, first by approving what they have done of theirown motion, next by ratifying their acts, at the same time giving themlegal authority for the future, and next by sending out both the consulsto take charge of the war, it is not possible that any of his presentassociates will continue to aid him. However, even if they should clingto him most tenaciously, they would not he able to resist all the restat once, but he will either lay down his arms voluntarily, as soon ashe ascertains that you have passed this vote, and place himself in yourhands, or he will be captured involuntarily as the result of one battle. 

"I give you this advice, and, if it had been my lot to be consul, Ishould have certainly carried it out, as I did in former days when Idefended you against Catiline and Lentulus (a relative of this very man), who had formed a conspiracy. [-43-] Perhaps some one of you regards thesestatements as well put, but thinks we ought first to despatch envoys tohim, then, after learning his decision, in case he will voluntarily giveup his arms and submit himself to you, to take no action, but if hesticks to the same principles, then to declare war upon him: this is theadvice which I hear some persons wish to give you. This policy is veryattractive in theory, but in fact it is disgraceful and dangerous to thecity. Is it not disgraceful that you should employ heralds and embassiesto citizens? With foreign nations it is proper and necessary to treat byheralds in advance, but upon citizens who are at all guilty you shouldinflict punishment straightway, by trying them in court if you can getthem under the power of your votes, and by warring against them if youfind them in arms. All such are slaves of you and of the people and ofthe laws, whether they wish it or not; and it is not fitting either tocoddle them or to put them on an equal footing with the highest class offree persons, but to pursue and chastise them like runaway servants, witha feeling of your own superiority. [-44-] Is it not a disgrace that heshould not delay to wrong us, but we delay to defend ourselves? Or again, that he should for a long time, weapons in hand, have been carrying onthe entire practice of war, while we waste time in decrees and embassies, and that we should retaliate only with letters and phrases upon the manwhom we have long since discovered by his deeds to be a wrongdoer? Whatdo we expect? That he will some day render us obedience and pay usrespect? How can this prove true of a man who has come into such acondition that he would not be able, even should he wish it, to be anordinary citizen with you under a democratic government? If he werewilling to conduct his life on fair and equitable principles, he wouldnever have entered in the first place upon such a career as his: and ifhe had done it under the influence of folly or recklessness, he wouldcertainly have given it up speedily of his own accord. As the casestands, since he has once overstepped the limits imposed by the laws andthe government and has acquired some power and authority by this action, it is not conceivable that he would change of his own free will or heedany one of our resolutions, but it is absolutely requisite that such aman should be chastised with those very weapons with which he has daredto wrong us. [-45-] And I beg you now to remember particularly a sentencewhich this man himself once uttered, that it is impossible for you to besaved, unless you conquer. Hence those who bid you send envoys are doingnothing else than planning how you may be dilatory and the body of yourallies become as a consequence more feeble and dispirited; while he, onthe other hand, will be doing whatever he pleases, will destroy Decimus, storm Mutina, and capture all of Gaul: the result will be that we can nolonger find means to deal with him, but shall be under the necessity oftrembling before him, paying court to him, worshiping him. This one thingmore about the embassy and I am done:--that Antony also gave you noaccount of what business he had in hand, because he intended that youshould do this. 

"I, therefore, for these and all other reasons advise you not to delaynor to lose time, but to make war upon him as quickly as possible. Youmust reflect that the majority of enterprises owe their success rather toan opportune occasion than to their strength; and you should by all meansfeel perfectly sure that I would never give up peace if it were reallypeace, in the midst of which I have most influence and have acquiredwealth and reputation, nor have urged you to make war, did I not think itto your advantage. 

[-46-] And I advise you, Calenus, and the rest who are of the same mindas you, to be quiet and allow the senate to vote the requisite measuresand not for the sake of your private good-will toward Antony recklesslybetray the common interests of all of us. Indeed, I am of the opinion, Conscript Fathers, that if you heed my counsel I may enjoy in yourcompany and with thorough satisfaction freedom and preservation, but thatif you vote anything different, I shall choose to die rather than tolive. I have, in general, never been afraid of death as a consequence ofmy outspokenness, and now I fear it least of all. That accounts, indeed, for my overwhelming success, the proof of which lies in the fact thatyou decreed a sacrifice and festival in memory of the deeds done in myconsulship, --an honor which had never before been granted to any one, even to one who had achieved some great end in war. Death, if it befellme, would not be at all unseasonable, especially when you consider thatmy consulship was so many years ago; yet remember that in that veryconsulship I uttered the same sentiment, to make you feel that in anyand all business I despised death. To dread any one, however, that wasagainst you, and in your company to be a slave to any one would proveexceedingly unseasonable to me. Wherefore I deem this last to be the ruinand destruction not only of the body, but of the soul and reputation, by which we become in a certain sense immortal. But to die speaking andacting in your behalf I regard as equivalent to immortality. 

[-47-] "And if Antony, also, felt the force of this, he would never haveentered upon such a career, but would have even preferred to die like hisgrandfather rather than to behave like Cinna who killed him. For, puttingaside other considerations, Cinna was in turn slain not long afterwardfor this and the other sins that he had committed; so that I am surprisedalso at this feature in Antony's conduct, that, imitating his works ashe does, he shows no fear of some day falling a victim to a similardisaster: the murdered man, however, left behind to this very descendantthe reputation of greatness. But the latter has no longer any claim tobe saved on account of his relatives, since he has neither emulated hisgrandfather nor inherited his father's property. Who is unaware of thefact that in restoring many who were exiled in Caesar's time and later, inaccordance forsooth with directions in his patron's papers, he did notaid his uncle, but brought back his fellow-gambler Lenticulus, who wasexiled for his unprincipal life, and cherishes Bambalio, who is notoriousfor his very name, while he has treated his nearest relatives as I havedescribed and as if he were half angry at them because he was born intothat family. Consequently he never inherited his father's goods, but hasbeen the heir of very many others, some whom he never saw or heardof, and others who are still living. That is, he has so stripped anddespoiled them that they differ in no way from dead men. "

DIO'S ROMAN HISTORY

46

The following is contained in the Forty-sixth of Dio's Rome:

How Calenus replied to Cicero in defence of Antony (chapters 1-28). 

How Antony was defeated at Mutina by Caesar and the consuls (chapters29-38). 

How Caesar came to Rome and was appointed consul (chapters 39-49). 

How Caesar, Antony, and Lepidus formed a solemn pact of union (chapters50-56). 

Duration of time one year, in which there were the following magistrateshere enumerated:

C. Vibius C. Filius Pansa Capronianus, Aulus Hirtius Auli filius (B. C. 43= a. U. 711). 

(_BOOK 46, BOISSAVAIN_)

[B. C. 43 (_a. U_. 711) ]

[-1-] When Cicero had finished speaking in this vein, Quintus FufiusCalenus arose and said:--"Ordinarily I should not have wished either tosay anything in defence of Antony or to assail Cicero. I really do notthink it proper in such discussions as is the present to do either ofthese things, but simply to make known what one's opinion is. Theformer method belongs to the courtroom, whereas this is a matter ofdeliberation. Since, however, he has undertaken to speak ill of Antony onaccount of the enmity that exists between them, instead of sending him asummons, as he ought, if Antony were guilty of any wrong, and since hehas further mentioned me in a calumnious fashion, as if he could not haveexhibited his cleverness without heedlessly insulting one or two persons, it behooves me also to set aside the imputation against Antony and tobring counter-charges against the speaker. I would not have his innateimpudence fail of a response nor let my silence aid him by incurring thesuspicion of a guilty conscience; nor would I have you, deceived by whathe said, come to a less worthy decision by accepting his private spleenagainst Antony in exchange for the common advantage. [-2-] He wishesto effect nothing else than that we should abandon looking out for thesafest course for the commonwealth and fall into discord again. It is notthe first time that he has done this, but from the outset, ever since hehad to do with politics, he has been continually causing disturbance oneway or the other. 

"Is he not the one who embroiled Caesar with Pompey and prevented Pompeyfrom becoming reconciled with Caesar? The one who persuaded you to passthat vote against Antony by which he irritated Caesar, and persuadedPompey to leave Italy and transfer his quarters to Macedonìa? This provedthe chief cause of all the evils which befell us subsequently. Is not hethe one who killed Clodius by the hand of Milo, and slew Caesar by thehand of Brutus? The one who made Catiline hostile to us and despatchedLentulus without a trial? [-3-] Hence I should be very much surprisedat you, seeing that you then changed your mind about his conduct justmentioned and made him pay the penalty for it, if you should now heed himagain, when his talk and actions are similar. Do you not see, too, thatafter Caesar's death when our affairs were settled in a most tranquil wayby Antony, as not even his accuser can deny, the latter left town becausehe deemed our life of harmony to be alien and dangerous to him? That whenhe perceived that turmoil had again arisen, he bade a long farewell tohis son and to Athens, and returned? That he insults and abuses Antony, whom he was wont to say he loved, and coöperates with Caesar, whose fatherhe killed? And if chance so favor, he will ere long attack Caesar also. For the fellow is naturally distrustful and turbulent and has no ballastin his soul, and he is always stirring things up and twisting about, turning more ways than the sea-passage to which he fled and got the titleof deserter for it, asking all of you to take that man for friend or foewhom he bids. 

[-4-] "For these reasons be on your guard against man. He is a jugglerand imposter and grows rich and strong from the ills of others, blackmailing, dragging, tearing the innocent, as do dogs; but in themidst of public harmony he is embarrassed and withers away. It is notfriendship or good-will among us that can support this kind of orator. From what other source do you think he has become rich or from what othersource great? Certainly neither family nor wealth was bequeathed him byhis father the fuller, who was always trading in grapes and olives, a manwho was glad to make both ends meet by this and by his washing, and whosetime was taken up every day and night with the vilest occupations. Theson, having been brought up in them, not unnaturally tramples and dowseshis superiors, using a species of abuse invented in the workshops and onthe street corners. 

[-5-] "Now being of such an origin yourself, and after growing up nakedamong your naked companions, picking up pig manure and sheep dung andhuman excrement, have you dared, O most accursed wretch, first to slanderthe youth of Antony who had the advantage of pedagogues and teachers ashis rank demanded, and next to impugn him because in celebrating theLupercalia, an ancestral festival, he came naked into the Forum? But Iask you, you that always used all the clothes of others on accountof your father's business and were stripped by whoever met you andrecognized them, what ought a man who was not only priest but also leaderof his fellow priests to have done? Not to conduct the procession, not tocelebrate the festival, not to sacrifice according to ancestral custom, not to appear naked, not to anoint himself? 'But it is not for that thatI censure him, ' he answers, 'but because he delivered a speech andthat kind of speech naked in the Forum. ' Of course this man has becomeacquainted in the fuller's shop with all minute matters of etiquette, that he should detect a real mistake and be able to rebuke it properly. 

[-6-] "In regard to this matter I will say later all that needs to besaid, but just now I want to ask the speaker a question or two. Is itnot true that you for your part were nourished by the ills of others andeducated in the misfortunes of your neighbors and for this reason areacquainted with no liberal branch of knowledge, that you have establisheda kind of association here and are always waiting, like the harlots, fora man who will give something, and that having many men in your pay toattract profit to you you pry into people's affairs to find out who haswronged (or seems to have wronged) whom, who hates whom, and who isplotting against whom? With these men you make common cause, and throughthese men you are supported, selling them the hopes that chance bestows, trading in the decisions of the jurors, deeming him alone a friend whogives more and more, and all those enemies who furnish you no business oremploy some other advocate, while you pretend not even to know those whoare already in your clutch and affect to be bored by them, but fawn uponand giggle at those just approaching, like the mistresses of inns?

[-7-] How much better it were that you too should have been bornBambalio, --if this Bambalio really exists, --than to have taken up such alivelihood, in which it is absolutely inevitable that you should eithersell your speech in behalf of the innocent, or else preserve the guilty. Yet you can not do even this effectively, though you wasted three yearsin Athens. On what occasion? By what help? Why, you always come tremblingup to court as if you were going to fight in armor and after speaking afew words in a low and half-dead voice you go away, not remembering aword of the speech you practiced at home before you came, and withoutfinding anything to say on the spur of the moment. In making affirmationsand promises you surpass all mankind in audacity, but in the conteststhemselves beyond uttering some words of abuse and defamation you aremost weak and cowardly. Do you think any one is ignorant of the fact thatyou never delivered one of those wonderful speeches of yours that youhave published, but wrote them all up afterward, like persons who formgenerals and masters-of-horse out of day? If you feel doubtful of thispoint, remember how you accused Verres, --though, to be sure, you onlygave him an example of your father's trade, when you made water. 

[-8-] "But I hesitate, for fear that in saying precisely what fits yourcase I may seem to be uttering words that are unfitting for myself. [14]This I will pass over; and further, by Jupiter, also the affairs ofGabinius, against whom, you prepared accusers and then pled his cause insuch a way that he was condemned; and the pamphlets which you composeagainst your friends, in regard to which you feel yourself so guiltythat you do not dare to make them public. Yet it is a most miserable andpitiable state to be in, not to be able to deny these charges which arethe most disgraceful conceivable to admit. But I will leave these to oneside and bring forward the rest. Well, though we did grant the trainer, as you say, two thousand plethra of the ager Leontinus, we still learnednothing adequate from it. [15] But who should not admire your system ofinstruction? And what is it? You are ever jealous of your superiors, you always toady to the prominent man, you slander him who has attaineddistinction, you inform against the powerful and you hate equally all theexcellent, and you pretend love only for those through whom you may dosome mischief. This is why you are always inciting the younger againsttheir elders and lead those who trust you even in the slightest intodangers, where you desert them. [-9-] A proof of this is, that you havenever accomplished any achievement worthy of a distinguished man eitherin war or in peace. How many wars have we won under you as praetor andwhat kind of territory did we acquire with you as consul? Your privateactivity all these years has consisted in continually deceiving some ofthe foremost men and winning them to your side and managing everythingyou like, while publicly you have been shouting and bawling out at randomthose detestable phrases, --'I am the only one that loves you, ' or, if itshould so chance, 'And what's-his-name, all the rest, hate you, ' and 'Ialone am friendly to you, all the rest are engaged in plots, ' and othersuch stuff by which you fill some with elation and conceit, only tobetray them, and scare the rest so that you gain their attachment. If anyservice is rendered by any one whomsoever of the whole people, you layclaim to it and write your own name upon it, repeating: 'I moved it, Iproposed it, it was through me that this was done so. ' But if anythinghappens that ought not to have occurred, you take yourself out of the wayand censure all the rest, saying: 'You see I wasn't praetor, you seeI wasn't envoy, you see I wasn't consul. ' And you abuse everybodyeverywhere all the time, setting more store by the influence whichcomes from appearing to speak your mind boldly than by saying what dutydemands: and you exhibit no important quality of an orator. [-10-] Whatpublic advantage has been preserved or established by you? Who thatwas really harming the city have you indicted, and who that was reallyplotting against us have you brought to light? To neglect the othercases, --these very charges which you now bring against Antony are of sucha nature and so many that no one could ever suffer any adequate penaltyfor them. Why, then, if you saw us being wronged by him at the start, asyou assert, did you never attack or accuse him at the time, instead oftelling us now all the transgressions he committed when tribune, all hisirregularities when master of horse, all his villanies when consul? Youmight at once, at the time, in each specific instance, have inflicted theappropriate penalty upon him, if you had wanted to show yourself in verydeed a patriot, and we could have imposed the punishment in securityand safety during the course of the offences themselves. One of twoconclusions is inevitable, --either that you believed this to be so at thetime and renounced the idea of a struggle in our behalf, or else that youcould not prove any of your charges and are now engaged in a recklesscourse of blackmail. 

[-11-] "That this is so I will show you clearly, Conscript Fathers, bygoing over each point in detail. Antony did say some words during histribuneship in Caesar's behalf: Cicero and some others spoke in behalf ofPompey. Why now does he accuse him of preferring one man's friendship, but acquit himself and the rest who warmly embraced the opposite cause?Antony, to be sure, hindered at that time some measures adverse to Caesarfrom being passed: and Cicero hindered practically everything that wasknown to be favorable to Caesar. 'But Antony obstructed, ' he replies, 'thepublic judgment of the senate. ' Well, now, in the first place, how couldone man have had so much power? Second, if he had been condemned forthis, as is said, how could he have escaped punishment? 'Oh, he fled, hefled to Caesar and got out of the way. ' Of course you, Cicero, did not'leave town' just now, but you fled, as in your former exile. [16] Don'tbe so ready to apply your own shame to all of us. To flee is what youdid, in fear of the court, and pronouncing condemnation on yourselfbeforehand. Yes, to be sure, an ordinance was passed for your recall; howand for what reasons I do not say, but at any rate it was passed, and youdid not set foot in Italy before the recall was granted. But Antony bothwent away to Caesar to inform him what had been done and returned, withoutasking for any decree, and finally effected peace and friendship with himfor all those that were found in Italy. And the rest, too, would have hada share in it, if they had not taken your advice and fled. [-12-] Now inview of those circumstances do you dare to say he led Caesar against hiscountry and stirred up the civil war and became more than any one elseresponsible for the subsequent evils that befell us? Not so, but you, who gave Pompey legions that belonged to others and the command, andundertook to deprive Caesar even of those that had been given him: it wasyou, who agreed with Pompey and the consuls not to accept the offers madeby Caesar, but to abandon the city and the whole of Italy: you, who didnot see Caesar even when he entered Rome, but had run off to Pompeyand into Macedonia. Not even to him, however, did you prove of anyassistance, but you neglected what was going on, and then, when he metwith misfortune, you abandoned him. Therefore you did not aid him at theoutset on the ground that he had the juster cause, but after settingin motion the dispute and embroiling affairs you lay in wait at a safedistance for a favorable turn; you at once deserted the man who failed, as if that somehow proved him guilty, and went over to the victor, as ifyou deemed him more just. And in addition to your other defects you areso ungrateful that not only are you not satisfied to have been preservedby him, but you are actually displeased that you were not made master ofthe horse. 

[-13-] "Then with this on your conscience do you dare to say that Antonyought not to have held the office of master of the horse for a year, andthat Caesar ought not to have remained dictator for a year? But whether itwas wise or necessary for these measures to be framed, at any rate theywere both passed, and they suited us and the people. Censure these men, Cicero, if they have transgressed in any particular, but not, by Jupiter, those whom they have chosen to honor for showing themselves worthy ofso great a reward. For if we were forced by the circumstances that thensurrounded us to act in this way and contrary to good policy, why do younow lay this upon Antony's shoulders, and why did you not oppose it thenif you were able? Because, by Jupiter, you were afraid. Then shall you, who were at that time silent, obtain pardon for your cowardice, and shallhe, because he was preferred before you, submit to penalties for hisexcellence? Where did you learn that this was just, or where did you readthat this was lawful?

[-14-] "'But he did not rightly use his position as master of horse. 'Why? 'Because, ' he answers, 'he bought Pompey's possessions. ' How manyothers are there who purchased numberless articles, no one of whomis blamed? That was the purpose in confiscating certain articles andexposing them in the market and proclaiming them by the voice of thepublic crier, to have somebody buy them. 'But Pompey's goods ought not tohave been sold. ' Then it was we who erred and did wrong in confiscatingthem; or (to clear your skirts and ours) it was at least Caesar who actedirregularly, he who ordered this to be done: yet you did not censure himat all. I maintain that in this charge he is proven to be absolutelybeside himself. He has brought against Antony two quite oppositeaccusations, --one, that after helping Caesar in very many ways andreceiving in return vast gifts from him he was then required undercompulsion to surrender the price of them, and the second, that heinherited naught from his father, spent all that he had like Charybdis(the speaker is always bringing in some comparison from Sicily, as if wehad forgotten that he had been exiled there), and paid the price of allthat he purchased. 

[-15-] "So in these charges this remarkable orator is convicted ofviolently contradicting himself and, by Jupiter, again in the followingstatements. At one time he says that Antony took part in everythingthat was done by Caesar and by this means became more than any one elseresponsible for all our internal evils, and again he charges him withcowardice, reproaching him with not having shared in any other exploitsthan those performed in Thessaly. And he makes a complaint against him tothe effect that he restored some of the exiles and finds fault with himbecause he did not secure the recall of his uncle; as if any one believesthat he would not have restored him first of all, if he had been able torecall whomsoever he pleased, since there was no grievance on either sidebetween them, as this speaker himself knows. Indeed, though he told manywretched lies about Antony, he did not dare to say anything of that kind. But he is utterly reckless about letting slip anything that comes to histongue's end, as if it were mere breath. 

[-16-] "Why should one follow this line of refutation further? Turningnow to the fact that he goes about with such a tragic air, and has butthis moment said in the course of his remarks that Antony rendered thesight of the master of the horse most oppressive by using everywhereand under all circumstances the sword, the purple, the lictors, and thesoldiers at once, let him tell me clearly how and in what respect we havebeen wronged by this. He will have no statement to make; for if he hadhad, he would have sputtered it out before anything else. Quite thereverse of his charge is true. Those who were quarreling at that timeand causing all the trouble were Trebellius and Dolabella: Antony did nowrong and was active in every way in our behalf, so much so that he wasentrusted by us with guarding the city against those very men, and notonly did this remarkable orator not oppose it (he was there) but evenapproved it. Else let him show what syllable he uttered on seeing thelicentious and accursed fellow (to quote from his abuse), besides doingnothing that the occasion required, securing also so great authority fromyou. He will have nothing to show. So it looks as if not a word of whathe now shouts aloud was ventured at that time by this great and patrioticorator, who is everywhere and always saying and repeating: 'I alone amcontending for freedom, I alone speak freely for the democracy; I cannotbe restrained by favor of friends or fear of enemies from looking out foryour advantage; I, even if it should be my lot to die in speaking in yourbehalf, will perish very gladly. ' And his silence was very natural, forit occurred to him to reflect that Antony possessed the lictors and thepurple-bordered vesture in accordance with the customs of our ancestorsin regard to masters of horse, and that he was using the sword and thesoldiers perforce against the rebels. For what most excessive outrageswould they not have committed but for his being hedged about with theseprotections, when some of them so despised him as it was?

[-17-] "That these and all his other acts were correct and mostthoroughly in accord with Caesar's intention the facts themselves show. The rebellion went no further, and Antony, far from paying a penalty forhis course, was subsequently appointed consul. Notice, I beg of you, howhe administered this office of his. You will find, if you scrutinize thematter minutely, that its tenure proved of great value to the city. His traducer, knowing this, could not endure his jealousy but dared toslander him for those deeds which he would have longed to do himself. That is why he introduced the matter of his stripping and anointing andthose ancient fables, not because there was any pertinence in them now, but in order to obscure by external noise his opponent's consummate skilland success. Yet this same Antony, O thou earth, and ye gods (I shallcall louder than you and invoke them with greater justice), saw that thecity was already in reality under a tyranny through the fact that allthe legions obeyed Caesar and all the people together with the senatesubmitted to him to such an extent that they voted among other measuresthat he should be dictator for life and use the appurtenances of a king. Then he showed Caesar his error most convincingly and restrained him mostprudently, until the latter, abashed and afraid, would not accept eitherthe name of king or the diadem, which he had in mind to bestow uponhimself even against our will. Any other man would have declared thathe had been ordered to do it by his master, and putting forward thecompulsion as an excuse would have obtained pardon for it, --yes, indeed, he would, when you think of what kind of votes we had passed at that timeand what power the soldiers had secured. Antony, however, because he wasthoroughly acquainted with Caesar's disposition and accurately aware ofall he was preparing to do, by great good judgment succeeded in turninghim aside from his course and retarding his ambitions. The proof of itis that afterward he no longer behaved in any way like a monarch, butmingled publicly and unprotected with us all; and that accounts most ofall for the possibility of his meeting the fate that he did. 

[-18-] "This is what was done, O Cicero or Cicerulus or Ciceracius orCiceriscus or Graeculus[17] or whatever you like to be called, by theuneducated, the naked, the anointed man: and none of it was done by you, the clever, the wise, the user of much more olive oil than wine, you wholet your clothing drag about your ankles not, by Jupiter, as the dancersdo, who teach you intricacies of reasoning by their poses, but in orderto hide the ugliness of your legs. Oh no, it's not through modesty thatyou do this, you who delivered that long screed about Antony's habits. Who is there that does not see these soft clothes of yours? Who does notscent your carefully combed gray locks? Who is there unaware that you putaway your first wife who had borne you two children, and at an advancedage married another, a mere girl, in order that you might pay your debtsout of her property? And you did not even retain her, to the end that youmight keep Caerellia fearlessly, whom you debauched when she was as mucholder than yourself as the maiden you married was younger, and to whomyou write such letters as a jester at no loss for words would write ifhe were trying to get up an amour with a woman seventy years old. This, which is not altogether to my taste, I have been induced to say, Conscript Fathers, in the hope that he should not go away without gettingas good as he sent in the discussion. Again, he has ventured to reproachAntony for a little kind of banquet, because he, as he says, drinkswater, his purpose being to sit up at night and compose speeches againstus, --though he brings up his son in such drunkenness that the latter issober neither night nor day. Furthermore he undertook to make derogatoryremarks about Antony's mouth, this man who has shown so greatlicentiousness and impurity throughout his entire life that he would notkeep his hands off even his closest kin, but let out his wife for hireand deflowered his daughter. 

[-18-] "These particulars I shall leave as they stand and return to thepoint where I started. That Antony against whom he has inveighed, seeingCaesar exalted over our government, caused him by granting what seemedpersonal favors to a friend not to put into effect any of the projectsthat he had in mind. Nothing so diverts persons from objects which theymay attain without caring to secure them righteously, as for those whofear such results to appear to endure the former's conduct willingly. These persons in authority have no regard for their own consciousness ofguilt, but if they think they have been detected, they are ashamed andafraid: thereafter they usually take what is said to them as flattery andbelieve the opposite, and any action which may result from the words asa plot, being suspicious in the midst of their shame. Antony knewthis thoroughly, and first of all he selected the Lupercalia and thatprocession in order that Caesar in the relaxation of his spirit and thefun of the affair might be rebuked with immunity, and next he selectedthe Forum and the rostra that his patron might be shamed by the veryplaces. And he fabricated the commands from the populace, in order thathearing them Caesar might reflect not on what Antony was saying at thetime, but on what the Roman people would order a man to say. How couldhe have believed that this injunction had really been laid upon any one, when he knew that the people had not voted anything of the kind and didnot hear them shouting out. But it was right for him to hear this in theRoman Forum, where we had often joined in many deliberations for freedom, and beside the rostra from which we had sent forth thousands andthousands of measures in behalf of the democracy, and at the festival ofthe Lupercalia, in order that he should remember Romulus, and from themouth of the consul that he might call to mind the deeds of the earlyconsuls, and in the name of the people, that he might ponder the factthat he was undertaking to be tyrant not over Africans or Gauls orEgyptians, but over very Romans. These words made him turn about; theyhumiliated him. And whereas if any one else had offered him the diadem, he might have taken it, he was then stopped short by that speech and felta shudder of alarm. 

"These, then are the deeds of Antony: he did not uselessly break a leg, in order himself to escape, nor burn off a hand, in order to frightenPorsenna, but by his cleverness and consummate skill he put an end tothe tyranny of Caesar better than any spear of Decius and better than thesword of Brutus. [-20-] But you, Cicero, what did you effect in yourconsulship, not to mention wise and good things, that was not deservingof the greatest punishment? Did you not throw our city into uproar andparty strife when it was quiet and harmonious, and fill the Forum andCapitol with slaves, among others, that you had called to your aid? Didyou not ruin miserably Catiline, who was overanxious for office, butotherwise guilty of no violence? Did you not pitiably destroy Lentulusand his followers, who were not guilty, not tried, and not convicted, inspite of the fact that you are always and everywhere prating interminablyabout the laws and about the courts? If any one should take these phrasesfrom your speeches, there is nothing left. You censured Pompey becausehe conducted the trial of Milo contrary to legalized precedent: yet youafforded Lentulus no privilege great or small that is enjoined in thesecases, but without a speech or trial you cast him into prison, a manrespectable, aged, whose ancestors had given many great pledges that hewould be friendly to his country, and who by reason of his age and hischaracter had no power to do anything revolutionary. What trouble did hehave that would have been cured by the change of condition? What blessingdid he possess that would not certainly be jeopardized by rebellion? Whatarms had he collected, what allies had he equipped, that a man who hadbeen consul and was praetor should be so pitilessly and impiously castinto a cell without being allowed to say a word of defence or hear asingle charge, and die there like the basest criminals? For this is whatthis excellent Tullius most of all desired, --that in [the Tullianum, ] theplace that bears his name, he might put to death the grandson of thatLentulus once became the head of the senate. [-21-] What would hehave done if he had obtained authority to bear arms, seeing that heaccomplished so many things of such a nature by his words alone? Theseare your brilliant achievements, these are your great exhibitions ofgeneralship; and not only were you condemned for them by the rest, butyou were so ready to vote against your own self in the matter that youfled before your trial came on. Yet what greater demonstration of yourbloodguiltiness could there be than that you came in danger of perishingat the hands of those very persons in whose behalf you pretended you haddone this, that you were afraid of the very ones whom you said you hadbenefited by these acts, and that you did not wait to hear from them orsay a word to them, you clever, you extraordinary man, you aider of otherpeople, but secured your safety by flight as if from a battle? And youare so shameless that you have undertaken to write a history of theseevents that I have related, whereas you ought to have prayed that noother man even should give an account of any of them: then you might atleast derive this advantage, that your doings should die with you and nomemory of them be transmitted to posterity. Now, gentlemen, if you wantto laugh, listen to his clever device. He set himself the task of writinga history of the entire existence of the city (for he pretends to be asophist and poet and philosopher and orator and historian), and he begannot from the founding of it, like the rest are similarly busied, but fromhis own consulship, so that he might proceed backwards, making that thebeginning of his account, and the kingdom of Romulus the end. 

[-22-] "Tell me now, you who write such things and do such things, whatthe excellent man ought to say in popular address and do in action: foryou are better at advising others about any matter whatsoever than atdoing your own duty, and better at rebuking others than at reformingyourself. Yet how much better it were for you instead of reproachingAntony with cowardice to lay aside yourself that effeminacy both ofspirit and of body, instead of bringing a charge of disloyalty againsthim to cease yourself from doing anything disloyal or playing thedeserter, instead of accusing him of ingratitude to cease yourself fromwronging your benefactors! For this, I must tell you, is one of hisinherent defects, that he hates above all those who have done him anyfavor, and is always fawning upon somebody else but plotting againstthese persons. To leave aside other instances, he was pitied andpreserved by Caesar and enrolled among the patricians, after which hekilled him, --no, not with his own hand (he is too cowardly and womanish), but by persuading and making ready others who should do it. The menthemselves showed that I speak the truth in this. When they ran out intothe Forum with their naked blades, they invoked him by name, saying'Cicero!' repeatedly, as you all heard. His benefactor, Caesar, then, heslew, and as for Antony from whom he obtained personally safety anda priesthood when he was in danger of perishing at the hands of thesoldiers in Brundusium, he repays him with this sort of thanks, byaccusing him for deeds with which neither he himself nor any one elseever found any fault and attacking him for conduct which he praises inothers. Yet he sees this Caesar, who has not attained the age yet to holdoffice or have any part in politics and has not been chosen by you, seeshim equipped with power and standing as the author of a war without ourvote or orders, and not only has no blame to bestow, but pronounceslaudations. So you perceive that he investigates neither what is justwith reference to the laws nor what is useful with reference to thepublic weal, but simply manages everything to suit his own will, censuring in some what he extols in others, spreads false reports againstyou, and calumniates you gratuitously. [-23-] For you will find that allof Antony's acts after Caesar's demise were ordered by you. To speak aboutthe disposition of the funds and the examination of the letters I deem tobe superfluous. Why so? Because first it would be the business of the onewho inherited his property to look into the matter, and second, if therewas any truth in the charge of malfeasance, it ought to have beenstopped then on the moment. For none of the transactions was carried onunderhandedly, Cicero, but they were all recorded on tablets, as youyourself affirm. If Antony committed his many wrongs so openly andshamelessly as you say, and plundered the whole of Crete on the pretextthat in accord with Caesar's letters it had been left free after thegovernorship of Brutus, though the latter was later given charge of it byus, how could you have kept silent and how could any one else have borneit? But these matters, as I said, I shall pass over; for the majority ofthem have not been mentioned individually, and Antony is not present, who could inform you exactly of what he has done in each instance. As toMacedonia and Gaul and the remaining provinces and legions, yours arethe decrees, Conscript Fathers, according to which you assigned to thevarious governors their separate charges and delivered to Antony Gaul, together with the soldiers. This is known also to Cicero. He was thereand helped vote for all of them just like you. Yet how much better itwould have been for him then to speak in opposition, if any item ofbusiness was not going as it should, and to instruct you in these mattersthat are now brought forward, than to be silent at the time and allowyou to make mistakes, and now nominally to censure Antony but really toaccuse the senate!

[-24-] "Any sensible person could not assert, either, that Antony forcedyou to vote these measures. He himself had no band of soldiers so as tocompel you to do anything contrary to your inclinations, and further thebusiness was done for the good of the city. For since the legions hadbeen sent ahead and united, there was fear that when they heard ofCaesar's assassination they might revolt, put some inferior man at theirhead, and begin to wage war again: so it seemed good to you, taking aproper and excellent course, to place in command of them Antony theconsul, who was charged with the promotion of harmony, who had rejectedthe dictatorship entirely from the system of government. And that is thereason that you gave him Gaul in place of Macedonia, that he should stayhere in Italy, committing no harm, and do at once whatever errand wasassigned him by you. 

[-25-] "This I have said to you that you may know that you decidedrightly. For Cicero that other point of mine was sufficient, --namely, that he was present during all these proceedings and helped us to passthe measures, though Antony had not a soldier at the time and could nothave brought to bear on us pressure in the shape of any terror that wouldhave made us neglect a single point of our interest. But even if you werethen silent, tell us now at least: what ought we to have done under thecircumstances? Leave the legions leaderless? Would they have failedto fill both Macedonia and Italy with countless evils? Commit them toanother? And whom could we have found more closely related and suitedto the business than Antony, the consul, the director of all the city'saffairs, the one who had taken such good care of harmony among us, theone who had given countless examples of his affection for the State? Someone of the assassins, perhaps? Why, it wasn't even safe for them to livein the city. Some one of the party opposed to them? Everybody suspectedthose people. What other man was there surpassing him in esteem, excelling him in experience? Or are you vexed that we did not choose you?What kind of administration would you have given? What would you not havedone when you got arms and soldiers, considering that you occasioned somany and so great instances of turmoil in your consulship as a result ofthese elaborate antitheses, which you have made your specialty, of whichalone you were master. [-26-] But I return to my point that you werepresent when it was being voted and said nothing against it, but assentedto all the measures as being obviously excellent and necessary. You didnot lack opportunity to speak; indeed you roared out considerable thatwas beside the purpose. Nor were you afraid of anybody. How could you, who did not fear the armed warrior, have quailed before the defencelessman? Or how have feared him alone when you do not dread him in thepossession of many soldiers! Yes, you also give yourself airs forabsolutely despising death, as you affirm. 

"Since these facts are so, which of the two, senators, seems to be in thewrong, Antony, who is managing the forces granted him by us, or Caesar, who is surrounded with such a large band of his own? Antony, who hasdeparted to take up the office committed to him by us, or Brutus, whoprevents him from setting foot in the country? Antony, who wishes tocompel our allies to obey our decrees, or they, who have not received theruler sent them by us but have attached themselves to the man who wasvoted against? Antony, who keeps our soldiers together, or the soldiers, who have abandoned their commander? Antony, who has introduced not one ofthese soldiers granted him by us into the city, or Caesar, who by moneypersuaded those who had long ago been in service to come here? I thinkthere is no further need of argument to answer the imputation that hedoes not seem to be managing correctly all the duties laid upon him byus, and to show that these men ought to suffer punishment for what theyhave ventured on their own responsibility. Therefore you also secured theguard of soldiers that you might discuss in safety the present situation, not on account of Antony, who had caused no trouble privately norintimidated you in any way, but on account of his rival, who both hadgathered a force against him and has often kept many soldiers in the cityitself. 

[-27-] "I have said so much for Cicero's benefit, since it was he whobegan unfair argument against us. I am not generally quarrelsome, as heis, nor do I care to pry into others' misdeeds, as he continually giveshimself airs for doing. Now I will tell you what advice I have to give, not favoring Antony at all nor calumniating Caesar or Brutus, but planningfor the common advantage, as is proper. I declare that we ought not yetto make an enemy of either of these men in arms nor to enquire exactlywhat they have been doing or in what way. The present crisis is notsuitable for this action, and as they are all alike our fellow-citizens, if any one of them fails the loss will be ours, or if any one of themsucceeds his aggrandizement will be a menace to us. Wherefore I believethat we ought to treat them as friends and citizens and send messengersto all of them alike, bidding them lay down their arms and put themselvesand their legions in our hands, and that we ought not yet to wage war onany one of them, but after their replies have come back approve those whoare willing to obey us and fight against the disobedient. This course isjust and expedient for us, --not to be in a hurry or do anything rashly, but to wait and after giving the leaders themselves and their soldiers anopportunity to change their minds, then, if in such case there be need ofwar, to give the consuls charge of it. 

[-28-] "And you, Cicero, I advise not to show a womanish sauciness norto imitate Bambalio even in making war[18] nor because of your privateenmity toward Antony to plunge the whole city publicly again into danger. You will do well if you even become reconciled to him, with whom you haveoften enjoyed friendly intercourse. But even if you continue embitteredagainst him, at least spare us, and do not after acting as the promoterof friendship among us then destroy it. Remember that day and the speechwhich you delivered in the precinct of Tellus, and yield a little to thisgoddess of Concord under whose guidance we are now deliberating, andavoid discrediting those statements and making them appear as if notuttered from a sincere heart, or by somebody else on that occasion. Thisis to the advantage of the State and will bring you most renown. Do notthink that audacity is either glorious or safe, and do not feel sureof being praised just for saying that you despise death. Such men allsuspect and hate as being likely to venture some deed of evil throughdesperation. Those whom they see, however, paying greatest attention totheir own safety they praise and laud, because such would not willinglydo anything that merited death. Do you, therefore, if you honestlywish your country to be safe, speak and act in such a way as will bothpreserve yourself and not, by Jupiter, involve us in your destruction!"

[-29-] Such language from Calenus Cicero would not endure. He himselfalways spoke his mind intemperately and immoderately to all alike, but henever thought he ought to get a similar treatment from others. On thisoccasion, too, he gave up considering the public interest and set himselfto abusing his opponent until that day was spent, and naturally forthe most part uselessly. On the following day and the third many otherarguments were adduced on both sides, but the party of Caesar prevailed. So they voted first a statue to the man himself and the right todeliberate among the ex-quaestors as well as of being a candidate for theother offices ten years sooner than custom allowed, and that he shouldreceive from the City the money which he had spent for his soldiers, because he had equipped them at his own cost for her defence: second, that both his soldiers and those that had abandoned Antony should havethe privilege of not fighting in any other war and that land should begiven them at once. To Antony they sent an embassy which should order himto give up the legions, leave Gaul, and withdraw into Macedonia--and tohis followers they issued a proclamation to return home before a givenday or to know that they would occupy the position of enemies. Moreoverthey removed the senators who had received from him governorships overthe provinces and resolved that others should be sent in their place. These measures were ratified at that time. Not long after, beforelearning his decision, they voted that a state of rebellion existed, changed their senatorial garb, gave charge of the war against him to theconsuls and Caesar (a kind of pretorian office), and ordered Lepidus andLucius Munatius Plancus, who was governing a portion of Transalpine Gaul, to render assistance. 

[-30-] In this way did they themselves furnish an excuse for hostilityto Antony, who was without this anxious to make war. He was pleased toreceive news of the decrees and forthwith violently reproached the envoyswith not treating him rightly or fairly as compared with the youth(meaning Caesar). He also sent others in his turn, so as to put the blameof the war upon the senators, and make some counter-propositions whichsaved his face but were impossible of performance by Caesar and those whosided with him. He intended not to fulfill one of their demands, wellaware that they too would not take up with anything that he submitted. Hepromised, however, that he would do all that they had determined, that hehimself might have a refuge in saying that he would have done it, whileat the same time his opponent's party would be before him in becomingresponsible for the war, by refusing the terms he laid before them. Infine, he said that he would abandon Gaul and disband his legions, if theywould grant these soldiers the same rewards as they had voted to Caesar'sand would elect Cassius and Marcus Brutus consuls. He brought in thenames of these men in his request with the purpose that they shouldnot harbor any ill-will toward him for his operations against theirfellow-conspirator Decimus. 

[-31-] Antony made these offers knowing well that neither of them wouldbe acted upon. Caesar would never have endured that the murderers of hisfather should become consuls or that Antony's soldiers by receiving thesame as his own should feel still more kindly toward his rival. Nor, as amatter of fact, were his offers ratified, but they again declared waron Antony and gave notice to his associates to leave him, appointing adifferent day. All, even such as were not to take the field, arrayedthemselves in military cloaks, and they committed to the consuls the careof the city, attaching to the decree the customary clause "to the endthat it suffer no harm. " And since there was need of large funds for thewar, they all contributed the twenty-fifth part of the property theyowned and the senators also four asses[19] per tile of all the houses inthe city that they themselves owned or dwelt in belonging to others. Thevery wealthy besides donated no little more, while many cities andmany individuals manufactured gratuitously weapons and other necessaryaccoutrements for a campaign. The public treasury was at that time soempty that not even the festivals which were due to fall during thatseason were celebrated, except some small ones out of religious scruple. [-32-] These subscriptions were given readily by those who favored Caesarand hated Antony. The majority, however, being oppressed by the campaignsand the taxes at once were irritated, particularly because it wasdoubtful which of the two would conquer but quite evident that they wouldbe slaves of the conqueror. Many of those, therefore, that wished Antonywell, went straight to him, among them tribunes and a few praetors: othersremained in their places, one of whom was Calenus, but did all that theycould for him, some things secretly and other things with an open defenceof their conduct. Hence they did not change their costume immediately, and persuaded the senate to send envoys again to Antony, among themCicero: in doing this they pretended that the latter might persuade himto make terms, but their real purpose was that he should be removed fromtheir path. He too reflected on this possibility and becoming alarmedwould not venture to expose himself in the camp of Antony. As a resultnone of the other envoys set out either. 

[-33-] While this was being done portents of no small moment againoccurred, significant for the City, and for the consul Vibius himself. In the last assembly before they set out for the war a man with theso-called sacred disease[20] fell down while Vibius was speaking. Also abronze statue of him which stood at the porch of his house turned aroundof itself on the day and at the hour that he started on the campaign, andthe sacrifices customary before war could not be interpreted by the seersby reason of the quantity of blood. Likewise a man who was just thenbringing him a palm slipped in the blood which had been shed, fell, anddefiled the palm. These were the portents in his case. Now if they hadbefallen him when a private citizen, they would have pertained to himalone, but since he was consul they had a bearing on all alike. Theyincluded the following incidents: the figure of the Mother of the Gods onthe Palatine formerly facing the east turned around of its own accordto the west; that of Minerva held in honor near Mutina, where the mostfighting was going on, sent forth after this a quantity of blood andmilk; furthermore the consuls took their departure just before the FeriaeLatinae; and there is no case where this happened that the forces faredwell. So at this time, too, both the consuls and a vast multitude of thepeople perished, some immediately and some later, and also many of theknights and senators, including the most prominent. For in the firstplace the battles, and in the second place the assassinations at homewhich occurred again as in the Sullan régime, destroyed all the flower ofthem except those actually concerned in the murders. 

[-34-] Responsibility for these evils rested on the senators themselves. For whereas they ought to have set at their head some one man of superiorjudgment and to have coöperated with him continuously, they failed to dothis, but made protégés of a few whom they strengthened against therest, and later undertook to overthrow these favorites as well, andconsequently they found no one a friend but all hostile. The comparativeattitude of men toward those who have injured them and toward theirbenefactors is different, for they remember a grudge even against theirwills but willingly forget to be thankful. This is partly because theydisdain to appear to have been kindly treated by any persons, sincethey will seem to be the weaker of the two, and partly because they areirritated at the idea that they will be thought to have been injured byanybody with impunity, since that will imply cowardice on their part. So those senators by not taking up with some one person, but attachingthemselves to one and another in turn, and voting and doing now somethingfor them, now something against them, suffered much because of themand much also at their hands. All the leaders had one purpose in thewar, --the abolition of the popular power and the setting up of asovereignty. Some were fighting to see whose slaves they should be, andothers to see who should be their master; and so both of them equallywrought havoc, and each of them won glory according to fortune, whichvaried. The successful warriors were deemed shrewd and patriotic, and thedefeated ones were called both enemies of their country and pestilentialfellows. 

[-35-] This was the state that the Roman affairs had at that timereached: I shall now go on to describe the separate events. There seemsto me to be a very large amount of self-instruction possible, when onetakes facts as the basis of his reasoning, investigates the nature ofthe former by the latter, and then proves his reasoning true by itscorrespondence with the facts. 

The precise reason for Antony's besieging Decimus in Mutina was thatthe latter would not give up Gaul to him, but he pretended that it wasbecause Decimus had been one of Caesar's assassins. For since the truecause of the war brought him no credit, and at the same time he saw thepopular party flocking to Caesar to avenge his father, he put forward thisexcuse for the conflict. That it was a mere pretext for getting controlof Gaul he himself made plain in demanding that Cassius and Marcus Brutusbe appointed consuls. Each of these two utterances, of the most oppositecharacter as they were, he made with an eye to his own advantage. Caesarhad begun a campaign against his rival before the war was granted him bythe vote, but had done nothing worthy of importance. When he learnedof the decrees passed he accepted the honors and was glad, especiallybecause when he was sacrificing at the time of receiving the distinctionand authority of praetor the livers of all the victims, twelve in number, were found to be double. He was impatient, to be sure, at the fact thatenvoys and proposals had been sent also to Antony, instead of unrelentingwar being declared against him at once, and most of all because heascertained that the consuls had forwarded some private despatch to hisrival about harmony, that when some letters sent by the latter to certainsenators had been captured these officials had handed them to the personsaddressed, concealing the transaction from him, and that they were notcarrying on the war zealously or promptly, making the winter theirexcuse. However, as he had no means of making known these facts, --for hedid not wish to alienate them, and on the other hand he was unable to useany persuasion or force, --he stayed quiet himself in winter quarters inForum Cornelium, until he became frightened about Decimus. [-36-] Thelatter had previously been vigorously fighting Antony off. On oneoccasion, suspecting that some men had been sent into the city by himto corrupt the soldiers, he called all those present together and aftergiving them a few hints proclaimed by herald that all the men under armsshould go to one side of a certain place that he pointed out and theprivate citizens to the other side of it: in this way he detected andarrested Antony's followers, who were isolated and did not know which wayto turn. Later he was entirely shut in by a wall; and Caesar, fearing hemight be captured by storm or capitulate through lack of provisions, compelled Hirtius to join a relief party. Vibius was still in Romeraising levies and abolishing the laws of Antony. Accordingly, theystarted out and without a blow took possession of Bononia, which had beenabandoned by the garrisons, and routed the cavalry who later confrontedthem: by reason of the river, however, near Mutina and the guard besideit they found themselves unable to proceed farther. They wished, notwithstanding, even so to make known their presence to Decimus, thathe might not in undue season make terms, and at first they tried sendingsignals from the tallest trees. But since he did not understand, theyscratched a few words on a thin sheet of lead, and rolling it up like apiece of paper gave it to a diver to carry across under water by night. Thus Decimus learned at the same time of their presence and their promiseof assistance, and sent them a reply in the same fashion, after whichthey continued uninterruptedly to communicate all their plans to eachother. 

[-37-] Antony, therefore, seeing that Decimus was not inclined to yield, left him to the charge of his brother Lucius, and himself proceededagainst Caesar and Hirtius. The two armies faced each other for a numberof days and a few insignificant cavalry battles occurred, with honorseven. Finally the Celtic cavalry, of whom Caesar had gained possessionalong with the elephants, withdrew to Antony's side again. They hadstarted from the camp with the rest and had gone on ahead as if intendingto engage separately those of the enemy who came to meet them; but aftera little they turned about and unexpectedly attacked those followingbehind (who did not stand their ground), killing many of them. After thissome foraging parties on both sides fell to blows and when the remainderof each party came to the rescue a sharp battle ensued between the twoforces, in which Antony was victorious. Elated by his success and inthe knowledge that Vibius was approaching he assailed the antagonists'fortification, thinking possibly to destroy it beforehand and make therest of the conflict easier. They, in consideration of their disaster andthe hope which Vibius inspired, kept guard but would not come out forbattle. Hence Antony left behind there a certain portion of his army withorders to come to close quarters with them and so make it appear as muchas possible that he himself was there and at the same time to takegood care that no one should fall upon his rear. After issuing theseinjunctions he set out secretly by night against Vibius, who wasapproaching from Bononia. By an ambush he succeeded in wounding thelatter severely, in killing the majority of his soldiers and confiningthe rest within their ramparts. He would have annihilated them, hadhe proceeded to besiege them for any time at all. As it was, afteraccomplishing nothing at the first assault he began to be alarmed lestwhile he was delaying he should receive some setback from Caesar and therest; so he again turned against them. Wearied by the journey both waysand by the battle he was also in doubt whether he should find that hisopponents had conquered the force hostile to them; and in this conditionhe was confronted by Hirtius and suffered a decisive defeat. For whenHirtius and Caesar perceived what was going on, the latter remained tokeep watch over the camp while the former set out against Antony. [-38-]Upon the latter's defeat not only Hirtius was saluted as imperator bythe soldiers and by the senate, but likewise Vibius, though he hadfared badly, and Caesar who had done no fighting even. To those who hadparticipated in the conflict and had perished there was voted a publicburial, and it was resolved that the prizes of war which they had takenwhile alive should be restored to their fathers and sons. 

Following this official action Pontius Aquila, one of the assassins anda lieutenant of Decimus, conquered in battle Titus Munatius Plancus, whoopposed him; and Decimus, when a certain senator deserted to Antony, so far from displaying anger toward him sent back all his baggage andwhatever else he had left behind in Mutina, the result being that theaffection of many of Antony's soldiers grew cool, and some of the nationswhich had previously sympathized with him proceeded to rebel: Caesar andHirtius, however, were elated at this, and approaching the fortificationsof Antony challenged him to combat; he for a time was alarmed andremained quiet, but later when some reinforcements sent by Lepidus cameto him he took courage. Lepidus himself did not make it clear to whichof the two sides he sent the army: he thought well of Antony, who was arelative, but had been summoned against him by the senate; and for thesereasons he made plans to have a refuge in store with both parties, by notgiving to Marcus Silanus, the commander, orders that were in the leastclear. But he, doubtless knowing well his master's frame of mind, went onhis own responsibility to Antony. [-39-] So when the latter had been thusassisted he became bold and made a sudden sally from the gates: there wasgreat slaughter on both sides, but at last he turned and fled. 

Up to this time Caesar was being strengthened by the people and thesenate, and because of this expected that among other honors to bebestowed he would be forthwith appointed consul. It happened that Hirtiusperished in the occupation of Antony's camp and Vibius died of his woundsnot long after, so that Caesar was charged with having caused their deaththat he might succeed to the office. But the senate had previously, whileit was still uncertain which of the two would prevail, done away with allthe privileges which formerly, granted to any person beyond the customsof the forefathers, had paved the way to sovereignty: they voted thatthis edict should apply to both parties, intending by it to anticipatethe victor, while laying the blame upon the other, who should bedefeated. First they forbade any one to hold office more than a year, andsecond that any superintendent of grain supplies or commissioner of foodshould be chosen. When they ascertained the outcome, they rejoiced atAntony's defeat, changed their raiment once more, and celebrated a solemnthanksgiving for sixty[21] days. All those arrayed on his side they heldin the light of enemies, and took possession of their property as theydid of the leader's. [-40-] Nor did they propose that Caesar any longershould receive any great reward, but even undertook to overthrow him, byallowing Decimus to secure all the prizes for which he was hoping. Theyvoted Decimus not only the right of sacrifice but a triumph and gave himcharge of the rest of the war and of the legions, --those of Vibius andothers. Upon the soldiers that had been besieged with him they resolvedthat eulogies should be bestowed and all the other rewards whichhad formerly been offered to Caesar's men, although these troops hadcontributed nothing to the victory, but had merely beheld it from thewalls. Aquila, who had died in the battle, they honored with an image, and restored to his heirs the money which he had expended from his ownpurse for the equipment of Decimus's soldiers. In a word, practicallyevery advantage that had been given Caesar against Antony was voted toothers against the man himself. And to the end that no matter how much hemight wish it he should not be able to do any harm, they armed all hisenemies against him. To Sextus Pompey they entrusted the fleet, to MarcusBrutus Macedonia, and to Cassius Syria together with the war againstDolabella. They would certainly have further deprived him of the forcesthat he had, but they were afraid to vote this openly, owing to theirknowledge that his soldiers were devoted to him. Still, even so, theystrove to set his followers at variance with one another and with him. They did not wish to approve and honor all of them, for fear they shouldfill them with too great conceit, nor again to dishonor and neglect all, for fear they should alienate them the more and as a consequence forcethem to agree together. Hence they adopted a middle course, and byapproving some of them and others not, by allowing some to wear an olivegarland at the festivals and others not, and furthermore by voting tosome money to the extent of twenty-five hundred denarii and to othersnot a farthing, they hoped to bring about between them and by that meansweaken them. [-41-] Those charged with these commissions also they sentnot to Caesar but to the men in the field. He became enraged at this, butnominally allowed the envoys to mix with the army without his presence, though he sent word beforehand that no answer should be given and thathe himself should be at once sent for. So when he came into the camp andjoined them in listening to the despatches, he succeeded in conciliatingthem much more by that very action. Those who had been preferred in honorwere not so delighted at this precedence as they were suspicious of theaffair, particularly as a result of Caesar's influence. And those who hadbeen slighted were not at all angry at their comrades, but added theirdoubts of the sincerity of the decrees, imputing their dishonor to alland sharing their anger with them. The people in the City, on learningthis, though frightened did not even so appoint him consul, for which hewas most anxious, but granted him the distinction of consular honors, sothat he might now record his vote along with the ex-consuls. When he tookno account of this, they voted that he should be made a praetor of thefirst rank and subsequently also consul. In this way did they think theyhad handled Caesar cleverly as if he were in reality a mere youth andchild, as they were always repeating. He, however, was exceedingly vexedat their general behavior and especially at this very fact that he wascalled child, and so made no further delay, but turned against theircamps and powers. With Antony he secretly arranged a truce, and heassembled the men who had escaped from the battle, whom he himself hadconquered and the senate had voted to be enemies, and in their presencemade many accusations against both the senate and the people. 

[-42-] The people in the City on hearing this for a time held him incontempt, but when they heard that Antony and Lepidus had become of onemind they began again to court his favor, --for they were in ignorance ofthe propositions he had made to Antony, --and assigned to him charge ofthe war against the two. Caesar was accordingly ready to accept even thisif he could be made consul for it. He was working in every way to beelected, through Cicero among others, and so earnestly that he promisedto make him his colleague. When he was not even then chosen, he madepreparations, to be sure, to carry on war, as had been decreed, butmeanwhile arranged that his own soldiers (of their own motion, of course)should suddenly take an oath not to fight against any legion that hadbeen Caesar's. This had a bearing on Lepidus and Antony, since themajority of their adherents were of that class. So he waited and sentas envoys to the senate on this business four hundred of the soldiersthemselves. 

[-43-] This was the excuse that they had for an embassy, but in additionthey demanded the money that had been voted them and urged that Caesar beappointed consul. While the senators were postponing their reply, whichrequired deliberation, as they said, they asked (naturally on theinstructions from Caesar) that amnesty be granted to some one who hadembraced Antony's cause. They were not really anxious to obtain it, butwanted to test the senators and see if they would grant the request, or, if such were not the issue, whether to pretend to be displeased aboutit would serve as a starting point for indignation. They failed togain their petition, for while no one spoke against it there were manypreferring the same request on behalf of others and thus among a mass ofsimilar representations their demand also was rejected on some plausibleexcuse. Then they openly showed their anger, and one of them issued fromthe senate-chamber and grasping a sword (they had gone in unarmed) said:"If you do not grant the consulship to Caesar, this shall grant it. " AndCicero interrupting him answered: "If you exhort in this way, he will getit. " Now for Cicero this instrument had destruction in readiness. Caesardid not censure the soldier's act, but made a complaint because they hadbeen obliged to lay aside their arms on entering the senate and becauseone of them was asked whether they had been sent by the legions or byCaesar. He summoned in haste Antony and Lepidus (whom he had attached tohim through friendship for Antony), and he himself, pretending to havebeen forced to such measures by his soldiers, set out with all of themagainst Rome. [-44-] Some[22] of the knights and others who were presentthey suspected were acting as spies and they consequently slew them, besides injuring the lands of such as were not in accord with them anddoing much other damage with this excuse. The senators on ascertainingtheir approach sent them their money before they came near, hoping thatwhen the invaders received that they might retire, and when they stillpressed on they appointed Caesar consul. Nothing, however, was gained bythis step. The soldiers were not at all grateful to them for whatthey had done not willingly but under compulsion, but were even moreemboldened, in the idea that they had thoroughly frightened them. Learning of this the senate altered its policy and bade the host notapproach the city but remain over one hundred and fifty stadia fromit. They themselves also changed their garb again and committed tothe praetors the care of the city, as had been the custom. And besidesgarrisoning other points they occupied Janiculum in advance with thesoldiers that were at hand and with others from Africa. 

[-45-] While Caesar was still on the march this was the condition ofthings; and all the people who were at that time in Rome with one accordsought a share in the proceedings, as the majority of men are wont to bebold until they come in sight and have a taste of dangers. When, however, he arrived in the suburbs, they were alarmed, and first some of thesenators, later many of the people, went over to his side. Thereuponthe praetors also came down from Janiculum and surrendered to him theirsoldiers and themselves. Thus Caesar took possession of the city without ablow and was appointed consul also by the people, though two proconsulswere chosen to hold the elections; it was impossible, according toprecedent, for an interrex to be created for so short a period merely tosuperintend the comitia, because many men who held the curule officeswere absent from the city. They endured having the two proconsuls namedby the praetor urbanus rather than to have the consuls elected under hisdirection, because now these proconsular officials would limit theiractivities to the elections and consequently would appear to have beeninvested with no powers outlasting them. [23] This was of course doneunder pressure of arms. Caesar, that he might appear to not to have usedany force upon them, did not enter the assembly, --as if it was hispresence that any one feared instead of his power. 

[-46-] Thus he was chosen consul, and there was given him as afellow-official--perhaps one ought to say _under_-official--QuintusPedius. He was very proud of this fact that he was to be consul at anearlier age than it had ever been the lot of any one else, and furtherthat on the first day of the elections, when he had entered the CampusMartius, he saw six vultures, and later while haranguing the soldiertwelve others. For, comparing it with Romulus and the omen that hadbefallen the latter, he began to expect that he should obtain hissovereignty. He did not, however, simply on the ground that he hadalready been given the distinction of the consular honors, assumedistinction as being consul for the second time. This custom was sincethen observed in all similar cases to our own day. The emperor Severuswas the first to change it; for he honored Plautianus with the consularhonors and afterward introduced him to the senate and appointed himconsul, proclaiming that he was entering the consulship the second time. In imitation of him the same thing was done in other instances. Caesar, accordingly, arranged affairs in general in the city to suit his taste, and gave money to the soldiers, to some what had been voted from thefunds prescribed, and to the rest individually from his private funds, asthe story went, but in reality from the public store. 

In this way and for the reasons mentioned did the soldiers receive themoney on that occasion. But some of them got a wrong idea of the matterand thought it was compulsory for absolutely all the citizen forces atall times to be given the twenty-five hundred denarii, if they went toRome under arms. For this reason the followers of Severus who had come tothe city to overthrow Julianus behaved most terrifyingly both to theirleader himself and to us, while demanding it. And they were won over bySeverus with two hundred and fifty denarii, while people in general wereignorant what claim was being set up. 

[-47-] Caesar while giving the soldiers the money also expressed to themhis fullest and sincerest thanks. He did not even venture to enterthe senate-chamber without a guard of them. To the senate he showedgratitude, but it was all fictitious and pretended. For he was acceptingas if it were a favor received from willing hands what he had attainedby violence. And they actually took great credit to themselves for theirbehavior, as if they had given him the office voluntarily; and moreoverthey granted to him whom previously they had not even wished to chooseconsul the right after his term expired to be honored, as often as heshould be in camp, above all those who were consuls at one time oranother. To him on whom they had threatened to inflict penalties, becausehe had gathered forces on his own responsibility without the passing ofany vote, they assigned the duty of collecting others: and to the man forwhose disenfranchisement and overthrow they had ordered Decimus tofight with Antony they added Decimus's legions. Finally he obtained theguardianship of the city, so that he was able to do everything that hewished according to law, and he was adopted into Caesar's family in theregular way, as a consequence changing his name. He had, as some think, been even before this accustomed to call himself Caesar, as soon as thisname was bequeathed to him together with the inheritance. He was not, however, exact about his title, nor did he use the same one in dealingwith everybody until at this time he had ratified it in accordance withancestral custom, and was thus named, after his famous predecessor, GaiusJulius Caesar Octavianus. For it is the custom when a person is adoptedfor him to take most of his appellation from his adopter but to keep oneof his previous names slightly altered in form. This is the status of thematter, but I shall call him not Octavianus but Caesar, because this namehas prevailed among all such as secure dominion over the Romans. He tookanother one in addition, namely _Augustus_, and therefore the subsequentemperors assume it. That one will be given when it comes up in thehistory, but until then the title Caesar will be sufficient to show thatOctavianus is indicated. 

[-48-] This Caesar, then, as soon as he had conciliated the soldiers andenslaved the senate, turned himself to avenging his father's murder. Ashe was afraid of somehow causing an upheaval among the populace in thepursuit of this business he did not make known his intention until he hadseen to the payment of the bequests made to them. When they had been madedocile by means of the money, although it belonged to the public fundsand had been collected on the pretext of war, then at length he began tofollow up the assassins. In order that this procedure of his might notappear to be characterized by violence but by justice, he proposed a lawabout their trial and tried the cases in their absence. The majority ofthem were out of town and some even held governorships over provinces. Those who were present also did not come forward, by reason of fear, andwithdrew unobserved. Consequently they were convicted by default, andnot only those who had been the actual murderers of Caesar and theirfellow-conspirators, but many others who so far from plotting againstCaesar, had not even been in the city at the time. This action wasdirected chiefly against Sextus Pompey. The latter though he had had noshare whatever in the attack was nevertheless condemned because he hadbeen an enemy. Those adjudged guilty were debarred from fire and waterand their property was confiscated. The provinces, --not only those whichsome of them were governing, but all the rest, --were committed to thefriends of Caesar. 

[-49-] Among those held liable was also Publius Servilius Casca, thetribune. He had suspected Caesar's purpose in advance, before he enteredthe city, and had quietly slipped away. For this act he was at onceremoved from his office, on the charge of having left the city contraryto precedent, by the populace convened by his colleague Publius Titius;and in this way he was condemned. When Titius not long after died, theproverbial fate that had been observed from of old was once more inevidence. No one up to that time who had expelled a colleague had livedthe year out: but first Brutus after the expulsion of Collatinus died inhis turn, then Gracchus was stabbed after expelling Octavius, and Cinnawho put Marullus and Flavus out of the way not long after perished. Thishas been the general experience. 

Now the assassins of Caesar had many accusers who were anxious toingratiate themselves with his son, and many who were persuaded so toact by the rewards offered. They received money from the estate of theconvicted man and the latter's honors and office, if he had any, andexemption from further service in the army, applicable to themselvesand their children and grandchildren. Of the jurors the majority votedagainst the accused out of fear of Caesar and a wish to please him, generally hinting that they were justified in doing this. Some cast theirvotes in consideration of the law enacted about punishing the culprits, and others in consideration of the arms of Caesar. And one, SiliciusCorona, a senator, voted outright to acquit Marcus Brutus. He made agreat boast of this at the time and secretly received approval from therest: that he was not immediately put to death gained for Caesar a greatreputation for toleration, but later he was executed as the result of aproscription. 

[-50-] After accomplishing this Caesar's next step was naturally acampaign against Lepidus and Antony. Antony on fleeing from the battledescribed had not been pursued by Caesar on account of the war beingentrusted to Decimus; and the latter had not pursued because he did notwish a rival to Caesar to be removed from the field. Hence the fugitivecollected as many as he could of the survivors of the battle and cameto Lepidus, who had made preparations to march himself into Italy inaccordance with the decree, but had again been ordered to remain where hewas. For the senators, when they ascertained that Silanus had embracedAntony's cause, were afraid that Lepidus and Lucius Plancus might alsocoöperate with him, and sent to them to say that they had no further needof them. To prevent their suspecting anything ulterior and consequentlycausing trouble they ordered them to help in building homes for the menonce driven out of Vienna (in Gallia Narbonensis) by the Allobrogesand then located between the Rhone and the Arar, at their confluence. Therefore they submitted, and founded the so-called Lugudunum, now knownas Lugdunum. They might have entered Italy with their arms, had theywished, for the decrees by this time exerted a very weak influence uponsuch as had troops, but, with an eye to the outcome of the war Antony wasconducting, they wished to appear to have yielded obedience to the senateand incidentally to strengthen their position. [-51-] Indeed, Lepiduscensured Silanus severely for making an alliance with Antony, and whenthe latter himself came would not hold conversation with him immediately, but sent a despatch to the senate containing an accusation of his ownagainst him, and for this stand he received praise and command of thewar against Antony. Hence the first part of the time he neither admittedAntony nor repelled him, but allowed him to be near and to associate withhis followers; he would not, however, hold a conference with him. Butwhen he ascertained Antony's agreement with Caesar, he then came to termswith both of them himself. Marcus Juventius, [24] his lieutenant, learnedwhat was being done and at first tried to alter his purpose; then, whenhe did not succeed in persuading him, he made away with himself in thesight of the soldiers. For this the senate voted eulogies and a statue toJuventius and a public funeral, but Lepidus they deprived of his imagewhich stood upon the rostra and made him an enemy. They also set acertain day for his comrades and threatened them with war if they shouldnot abandon him before that day. Furthermore they changed theirclothing again, --they had resumed citizen's apparel in honor of Caesar'sconsulship, --and summoned Marcus Brutus and Cassius and Sextus to proceedagainst them. When the latter seemed likely to be too slow in responding, they committed the war to Caesar, being ignorant of the conspiracyexisting. [-52-] He nominally received it, in spite of having madehis soldiers give voice to a sentiment previously mentioned, [25] butaccomplished no corresponding results. This was not because he hadformed a compact with Antony and through him with Lepidus, --little hecared for that fact, --but because he saw they were powerful and knewtheir purposes were linked by the bands of kinship, and he could not useforce with them; and besides he cherished hopes of bringing aboutthrough them the downfall of Cassius and Brutus, who were already veryinfluential, and subsequently of wearing them out one against the other. Accordingly, even against his will he kept his covenant with them anddirected his efforts to effecting a reconciliation for them with thesenate and with the people. He did not himself propose the matter, lestsome suspicion of what had really taken place should arise, but he setout as if to make war on them, while Quintus urged, as if it were his ownidea, that amnesty and restoration be granted them. He did not securethis, however, until the senate had communicated it to the supposedlyignorant Caesar and he had unwillingly agreed to it, compelled, as healleged, by the soldiers. 

[-53-] While this was being done Decimus at first set forth in theintention of making war upon the pair, and associated with him LuciusPlaneus, since the latter had been appointed in advance as his colleaguefor the following year. Learning, however, of his own condemnation and oftheir reconciliation he wished to lead a campaign against Caesar, but wasabandoned by Plancus who favored the cause of Lepidus and Antony. Then hedecided to leave Gaul and hasten into Macedonia on land through Illyricumto Marcus Brutus, and sent ahead some of the soldiers while he wasengaged in finishing some business he had in hand. But they embracedCaesar's cause, and the rest were pursued by Lepidus and Antony and thenwere won over through the agency of others. So, being deserted, he wasseized by a personal foe. When he was about to be executed he complainedand lamented so loudly that one Helvius Blasio, who was kindly disposedto him from association on campaigns, in his sight voluntarily slewhimself first. 

[-54-] So Decimus afterward died also. Antony and Lepidus leftlieutenants in Gaul and themselves proceeded to join Caesar in Italy, taking with them the larger and the better part of their armies. They didnot trust him very far and wished not to owe him any favor, but to seemto have obtained amnesty and restoration on their own merits and by theirown strength, and not through him. They also hoped to become masters ofwhatever they desired, of Caesar and the rest in the City, by the sizeof their armies. With such a feeling they marched through the country, according it friendly treatment. Still, it was damaged by their numbersand audacity no less than if there had been a war. They were met nearBononia by Caesar with many soldiers: he was exceedingly well prepared todefend himself against them, if they should offer any violence. Yet atthis time he found no need of arms to oppose them. They really hatedone another bitterly, but because they had just about equal forces anddesired one another's assistance to take vengeance first on the rest oftheir enemies, they entered upon a simulated agreement. [-55-] They cametogether to confer, not alone but bringing an equal number of soldiers, on a little island in the river that flows past Bononia, with theunderstanding that no one else should be present on either side. Firstthey withdrew to a distance from the various followers and searched oneanother carefully to make sure that no one had a dagger hidden under hisarm. Then they considered at leisure different points and in general madea solemn compact for securing sovereignty and overthrowing enemies. But to prevent its appearing that they were headed straight toward anoligarchy and so envy and opposition arise on the part of the people atlarge, the three were to be chosen in common as a kind of commissionersand correctors for the administration and settlement of affairs. Thisoffice was not to be perpetual, but for five years, under the generalproviso that they should manage all questions, whether they made anycommunication about them to the people and the senate or not, and givethe offices and other honors to whomsoever they pleased. The privatearrangement, however, in order that they should not be thought to beappropriating the entire sovereignty, was that both Libyas, Sardinia, andSicily should be given to Caesar, all of Spain and Gallia Narbonensis toLepidus, and the rest of Gaul south and north of the Alps to Antony torule. The former was called Gallia Togata, as I have said, because itseemed to be more peaceful than the other divisions, and because thedwellers there already employed Roman citizen-garb: the other was termedGallia Comata because the Gauls there mostly let their hair grow long, and were in this way distinguished from the others. [-56-] So they madethese allotments, for the purpose of securing the strongest provincesthemselves and giving others the impression that they were notstriving for the whole. A further agreement was that they should causeassassinations of their enemies, that Lepidus after being appointedconsul in Decimus's stead should keep guard over Rome and the remainderof Italy, and that the others should make an expedition against Brutusand Cassius. They also pledged themselves to this course by oath. Afterthis, in order to let the soldiers hear and be witnesses of the termsthey had made, they called them together and made known to them inadvance all that it was proper and safe to tell them. Meanwhile thesoldiers of Antony, of course at the latter's direction, committed toCaesar's charge the daughter of Fulvia (Antony's wife), whom she hadby Clodius, --and this in spite of Caesar's being already betrothed toanother. He, however, did not refuse her; for he did not think thisinter-marriage would hinder him at all in the designs which he hadagainst Antony. Among other points for his reflection was his knowledgethat his father Caesar had not failed to carry out all of his plansagainst Pompey, in spite of the relationship between the two. 

DIO'S

ROMAN HISTORY

47

The following is contained in the Forty-seventh of Dio's Rome:

How Caesar, Antony, and Lepidus came to Rome and instituted a reign ofslaughter (chapters 1-19). 

About Brutus and Cassius and what they did before the battle of Philippi(chapters 20-36). 

How Brutus and Cassius were defeated by Caesar and perished (chapters37-49). 

Duration of time, the remainder of the consulship of Gaius Vibius Pansaand Aulus Hirtius, together with one additional year, in which there werethe following magistrates here enumerated:

M. Aemilius M. F. Lepidus cos. (II), L. Munatius L. F. Plancus. (B. C. 42 =a. U. 712. )

(_BOOK 47, BOISSEVAIN. _)

[B. C. 43 (_a. U. _ 711)]

[-1-] After forming these compacts and taking mutual oaths they hastenedto Rome under the assumption that they were all going to rule on equalterms, but each one had the intention of getting the entire powerhimself. Yet they had learned in advance very clearly before this, butmost plainly at this time, what would be the future. In the case ofLepidus a serpent coiled about a centurion's sword and a wolf thatentered his camp and his tent while he was eating dinner and knockeddown the table indicated at once power and disappointment as a result ofpower: in that of Antony milk flowing about the ramparts and a kind ofchant echoing about at night signified gladness of heart and destructionsucceeding it. These portents befell them before they entered Italy. InCaesar's case at the very time after the covenant had been made an eaglesettled upon his tent and killed two crows that attacked it and tried topluck out its feathers, --a sign which granted him victory over his tworivals. 

[-2-] So they came to Rome, first Caesar, then the others, each oneseparately, with all their soldiers, and immediately through the tribunesenacted such laws as pleased them. The orders they gave and force thatthey used thus acquired the name of law and furthermore brought themsupplications; for they required to be besought earnestly when they wereto pass any measures. Consequently sacrifices were voted for them asif for good fortune and the people changed their attire as if they hadsecured prosperity, although they were considerably terrified by thetransactions and still more by omens. For the standards of the armyguarding the city were covered with spiders, and weapons were seenreaching up from earth to heaven while a great din resounded from them, and in the shrines of Aesculapius bees gathered in numbers on the roof andcrowds of vultures settled on the temple of the Genius Populi and on thatof Concord. [-3-] And while these conditions still remained practicallyunchanged, those murders by proscription which Sulla had once caused wereput into effect and the whole city was filled with corpses. Many werekilled in their houses, many in the streets, and scattered about in thefora and near the temples: the heads of such were once more attached tothe rostra and their trunks flung out to be devoured by the dogs andbirds or cast into the river. Everything that had been done before inthe days of Sulla found a counterpart at this time, except that only twowhite tablets were posted, one for the senators and one for the rest. Thereason for this I have not been able to learn from any one else nor tofind out myself. The cause which one might have imagined, that fewer wereput to death, is least of all true: for many more names were listed, because there were more leaders concerned. In this respect, then, thecase differed from the murders that had earlier taken place: but that thenames of those prominent were not posted with the rabble, but separately, appeared very nonsensical to the men who were to be murdered in the sameway. Besides this no few other very unpleasant conditions fell to theirlot, although the former régime, one would have said, had left nothing tobe surpassed. [-4-] But in Sulla's time those guilty of such murderousmeasures had some excuse in their very hardihood: they were trying themethod for the first time, and not with set intentions; hence in mostcases they behaved less maliciously, since they were acting not accordingto definite plans but as chance dictated. And the victims, succumbingto sudden and unheard of catastrophes, found some alleviation in theunexpectedness of their experience. At this time, on the other hand, they were executing in person or beholding or at least understandingthoroughly by fresh descriptions merely deeds that had been dared before;in the intervals, expecting a recurrence of similar acts, some wereinventing various new methods to employ, and others were becomingafflicted by new fears that they too should suffer. The perpetratorsresorted to most unusual devices in their emulation of the outrages ofyore and their consequent eagerness to add, through the resources of art, novel features to their attempts. The others reflected on all that theymight suffer and hence even before their bodies were harmed their spiritswere thoroughly on the rack, as if they were already undergoing thetrial. [-5-] Another reason for their faring worse on this occasion thanbefore was that previously only Sulla's own enemies and the foes of theleaders associated with him were destroyed: among his friends and thepeople in general no one perished at his bidding; so that except the verywealthy, --and these can never be at peace with the stronger elementat such a time, --the remainder took courage. In this second series ofassassinations, however, not only the men's enemies or the rich werebeing killed, but also their best friends and quite without looking forit. On the whole it may be said that almost nobody had incurred theenmity of those men from any private cause that should account forhis being slain by them. Politics and compromises regarding posts ofauthority had created both their friendships and their violent hatreds. All those that had aided or assisted one of the group in any way theothers held in the light of an enemy. So it came about that the samepersons had become friends to some one of them, and enemies to the entirebody, so that while each was privately quelling his antagonists, theydestroyed the dearest friends of all in general. In the course of theirjoint negotiations[26] they made a kind of account of who was on theirside and who was opposed, and no one was allowed to take vengeance on oneof his own enemies who was a friend of another without giving up somefriend in his turn: and because of their anger over what was past andtheir suspicion of the future they cared nothing about the preservationof an associate in comparison with vengeance on an adversary, and so gavethem up without much protest. [-6-] Thus they offered one another staunchfriends for bitter enemies and implacable foes for close comrades; andsometimes they exchanged even numbers, at others several for one or fewerfor more, altogether carrying on the transactions as if at a market, andoverbidding one another as at an auction room. If some one was found justequivalent to another and the two were ranked alike, the exchange was asimple one; but all whose value was raised by some excellence or esteemor relationship could be despatched only in return for several. As therehad been civil wars, lasting a long time and embracing many events, nota few men during the turmoil had come into collision with their nearestrelatives. Indeed, Lucius Caesar, Antony's uncle, had become his enemy, and Lepidus's brother, Lucius Paulus, hostile to him. The lives of thesewere saved, but many of the rest were slaughtered even in the houses oftheir very friends and relatives, from whom they especially expectedprotection and honor. And in order that no person should feel lessinclined to kill any one out of fear of being deprived of the rewards(remembering that in the time of Sulla Marcus Cato, who was quaestor, haddemanded of some of the murderers all they had received for theirwork), they proclaimed that the name of no proscribed person should beregistered in the public records. On this account they slew ordinarycitizens more readily and made away with the prosperous, even though theyhad no dislike for a single one of them. For since they stood in needof vast sums of money and had no other source from which to satisfy thedesire of their soldiers, they affected a kind of common enmity againstthe rich. Among the other transgressions they committed in the line ofthis policy was to declare a mere child of age, so that they might killhim as already exercising the privileges of a man. 

[-7-] Most of this was done by Lepidus and Antony. They had been honoredby the former Caesar for a very long time and as they had been in officeand holding governorships most of the period they had many enemies. Itappeared as if Caesar had a part in the business merely because of hissharing the authority, for he himself was not at all anxious to kill anylarge number. He was not naturally cruel and had been brought up inhis father's ways. Moreover, as he was young and had just entered thepolitical arena, there was no inevitable necessity for his bitterlyhating many persons, and he wished to have people's affection. This isindicated by the fact that from the time he broke off his joint rulershipwith his colleagues and held the power alone he did nothing of the sort. And at this time he not only refrained from destroying many but preserveda large number. Those also who betrayed their masters or friends hetreated most harshly and those who helped anybody most leniently. Aninstance of it occurs in the case of Tanusia, a woman of note. Sheconcealed her husband Titus Vinius, who was proscribed, at first in achest at the house of a freedman named Philopoemen[27] and so made itappear that he had been killed. Later she waited for a national festival, which a relative of hers was to direct, and through the influence of hissister Octavia brought it about that Caesar alone of the three entered thetheatre. Then she sprang up and informed him of the deception, of whichhe was still ignorant, brought in the very chest and led from it herhusband. Caesar, astonished, released all of them (death being the penaltyalso for such as concealed any one) and enrolled Philopoemen among theknights. 

[-8-] He, then, saved the lives of as many as he could. Lepidus allowedhis brother Paulus to escape to Miletus and toward others was notinexorable. But Antony killed savagely and relentlessly not only thosewhose names had been posted, but likewise those who had attempted toassist any of them. He had their heads in view when he happened to beeating and sated himself to the fullest extent on this most unholy andpitiable sight. Fulvia also put to death many herself both by reason ofenmity and on account of their money, and some with whom her husband wasnot acquainted. When he saw the head of one man, he exclaimed: "I didn'tknow about him!" Cicero's head also being brought to them (he had beenovertaken and slain while trying to flee), Antony uttered many bitterreproaches against him and then ordered it to be exposed on the rostramore prominently than the rest, in order that he might be seen in theplace from which he used to be heard inveighing against him, --togetherwith his right hand, just as it had been cut off. Before it was takenaway Fulvia took it in her hands and after abusing it spitefully andspitting upon it, set it on her knees, opened the mouth, and pulled outthe tongue, which she pierced with the brooches that she used for herhair, at the same time uttering many brutal jests. Yet even this pairsaved some persons from whom they got more money than they could expectto obtain by their death. But in order that the places for their nameson the tablets might not be empty, they inscribed others in their stead. Except that Antony did release his uncle at the earnest entreaty of hismother Julia he performed no other praiseworthy act. 

[-9-] For these causes the murders had great variety of detail, and therescues that fell to the lot of some were of many kinds. Numbers wereruined by their most intimate friends, and numbers were saved by theirmost inveterate foes. Some slew themselves and others were given freedomby the very pursuers, who approached as if to murder them. Some whobetrayed masters or friends were punished and others were honored forthis very reason: of those who helped others to survive some paid thepenalty and others received rewards. Since there was not one man butthree, who were acting in all cases each according to his own desire andfor his private advantage, and since the same persons were not enemies orfriends of the whole group, since, also, two of them might be anxious forsome one to be saved whom the third wished to destroy, or for some oneto perish whom the third wished to survive, many complicated situationsresulted, according as they felt good-will or hatred toward any one. [-10-] I, accordingly, shall omit an accurate and detailed description ofall the events, --it would be a vast undertaking and would not add muchto the history, --but shall relate what I deem to be most worthy ofremembrance. Here is one. 

A slave had hidden his master in a cave, and then, when even so throughanother's information he was likely to perish, this slave changed clotheswith him and wearing his master's apparel confronted the pursuers as theman himself and was slain. So they were turned aside, thinking they haddespatched the desired man, but he when they had departed made his escapeto some other place. 

Or a second. Another slave had likewise changed his entire accoutrementwith his master, and entered a covered litter which he made the otherhelp to carry. When they were overtaken the one in the litter was killedwithout being even looked at, and the master, as a baggage-carrier, was saved. Those services were rendered by those servants to theirbenefactors in return for some kindness previously received. 

There was also a branded runaway who so far from betraying the man whohad branded him very willingly preserved him. He was detected in carryinghim away and was being pursued, when he killed somebody who met him bychance and gave the latter's clothes to his master. Having then placedhim upon a pyre he himself took his master's clothing and ring and goingto meet the pursuers pretended that he had killed the man while fleeing. Because of his spoils and the marks of the branding he was believed andboth saved the person in question and was himself honored. 

The names connected with the above anecdotes have not been preserved. But in the case of Hosidius Greta his son arranged a funeral for him asthough already dead and preserved him in that way. Quintus Cicero, thebrother of Marcus, was secretly led away by his child and saved, so faras his rescuer's responsibility went. The boy concealed his father sowell that he could not be discovered and when tormented for it by allkinds of torture did not utter a syllable. His father, learning what wasbeing done, was filled at once with admiration and pity for the boy, and therefore came voluntarily to view and surrendered himself to theslayers. 

[-11-] This gives an idea of the greatness of the manifest achievementsof virtue and piety at the time. It was Popillius Laenas who killedMarcus Cicero, in spite of the latter's having done him favors as hisadvocate; and in order that he might depend not wholly on hearsay butalso on the sense of sight to establish himself as the murderer of theorator, he set up an image of himself wearing a crown beside his victim'shead, with an inscription that gave his name and the service rendered. Bythis act he pleased Antony so much that he secured more than the priceoffered. Marcus Terentius Varro was a man who had given no offence, butas his appellation was identical with that of one of the proscribed, except for one name, he was afraid that, this might lead him to suffersuch a fate as did Cinna. Therefore he issued a statement making knownthis fact; he was tribune at the time. For this he became the subject ofmuch idle amusement and laughter. The uncertainty of life, however, wasevidenced by the very fact that Lucius Philuscius, who had previouslybeen proscribed by Sulla and had escaped, had his name now inscribedagain on the tablet and perished, whereas Marcus Valerius Messala, condemned to death by Antony, not only continued to live in safety butwas later appointed consul in place of Antony himself. Thus many survivefrom inextricable difficulties and no fewer are ruined through a spiritof confidence. Hence a man ought not to be alarmed to the point ofhopelessness by the calamities of the moment, nor to be elated toheedlessness by temporary exultation, but by placing his hope of thefuture half-way between both to make reliable calculations for eitherevent. [-12-] This is the way it befell at that time: very many of thosenot proscribed were involved in the downfall of others on account ofspite or money, and very many whose names were proclaimed not onlysurvived but returned to their homes again, and some of them even heldoffices. They had a refuge, of course, with Brutus and Cassius andSextus, and the majority directed their flight toward the last mentioned. He had been chosen formerly to command the fleet and had held sway forsome time on the sea, so that he had surrounded himself with a force ofhis own, though he was afterward deprived of his office by Caesar. He hadoccupied Sicily, and then, when the order of proscription was passedagainst him, too, a host of assassinations took place, he aided greatlythose who were in like condition. Anchoring near the coast of Italy hesent word to Rome and to the other cities offering among other things tothose who saved anybody double the reward advertised for murdering thesame and promising to the men themselves a reception and assistance andmoney and honors. [-13-] Therefore great numbers came to him. I havenot even now recorded the precise total of those who were proscribed orslaughtered or who escaped, because many names originally inscribed onthe tablets were erased and many were later inscribed in their place, andof these not a few were saved while many outside of these succumbed. It was not even allowed anybody to mourn for the victims, but severalperished from this cause also. And finally, when the calamities brokethrough all the pretence they could assume and no one even of the moststout-hearted could any longer wear an air of indifference to them, butin all their work and conversation their countenances were overcast andthey were not intending to celebrate the usual festival at the beginningof the year, they were ordered by a public notice to appear in goodspirits, on pain of death if they should refuse to obey. So they wereforced to rejoice over the common evils as over blessings. Yet why need Ihave mentioned it, when they voted to those men (the triumvirs, I mean)civic crowns and other distinctions as to benefactors and saviors ofthe State? They did not think of being held to blame because they werekilling a few, but wished to receive additional praise for not puttingmore out of the way. And to the populace they once openly stated thatthey had emulated neither the cruelty of Marius and Sulla so as to incurhatred, nor the mildness of Caesar so as to be despised and as a resultbecome objects of a conspiracy. 

[-14-] Such were the conditions of the murders; but many other unusualproceedings took place in regard to the property of persons left alive. They actually announced, as if they were just and humane rulers, thatthey would give to the widows of the slain their dowries, to the malechildren a tenth, and to the female children a twentieth of the propertyof each one's father. This was not, however, granted save in a fewcases: of the rest all the possessions without exception were ruthlesslyplundered. In the first place they levied upon all the houses in the Cityand those in the rest of Italy a yearly rent, which was the entire amountfrom dwellings which people had let, and half from such as they occupiedthemselves, with reference to the value of the domicile. Again, fromthose who had lands they took away half of the proceeds. Besides, theyhad the soldiers get their support free from the cities in which theywere wintering, and distributed them to various rural districts, pretending that they were sent to take charge of confiscated territoryor that of persons who still opposed them. For this last class they hadtermed likewise enemies because they had not changed their attitudebefore the appointed day. So that the whole country outside the towns wasalso pillaged. The autocrats allowed the soldiers to do this to the endthat, having their pay before the work, they might devote all theirenergy to their commanders' interests, and promised to give them citiesand lands: And with this in view they further assigned to them persons todivide the land and settle them. The mass of the soldiers was made loyalby this course: of the more prominent they tempted some with the goods ofthose that had been despatched by lowering the price on certain articlesand granting others to them free, and others they honored with theoffices and priesthoods of the victims. The commanders, to make sure thatthey themselves should get the finest both of lands and buildings andgive their followers what they pleased, gave notice that no one elseshould frequent the auction room unless he wanted to buy something:whoever did so should die. And they handled bona fide purchasers in sucha way that the latter discovered nothing and paid the very highest pricefor what they wanted, and consequently had no desire to buy again. 

[-15-] This was the course followed in regard to possessions. As to theoffices and priesthoods of such as had been put to death they distributedthem not in the fashion prescribed by law but however it suited them. Caesar resigned the office of consul, giving up willingly that which hehad so desired as to make war for it, and his colleague gave up hisplace, whereupon they appointed Publius Ventidius, though praetor, and oneother; and to the former's praetorship they promoted one of the aediles. Afterward they removed all the praetors (who held office five days longerthan Ventidius) and sent them to be governors of the provinces, whilethey installed others in their places. Some laws were abolished andothers introduced instead. 

And, in brief, they ordered everything elsejust as seemed good to them. They did not, to be sure, lay claim totitles which were offensive and had been therefore done away with, butthey managed matters according to their own wish and desire, so thatCaesar's sovereignty by comparison appeared all gold. 

[B. C. 42 (_a. U_. 712)]

In addition to transacting that year the business mentioned, they voted atemple to Serapis and Isis. [-16-] When Marcus Lepidus and Lucius Plancusbecame consuls tablets were again exposed, not bringing death to anyone any longer, but defrauding the living of their property. They werecollecting funds because they were in need of more money, due to the factthat they owed large sums to large numbers of soldiers, were expendingconsiderable on works undertaken by the latter, and thought they shouldlay out far more still on wars in prospect. The fact that those taxeswhich had been formerly abrogated were now again put in force orestablished on a new basis, and the institution of joint contributions, many of which kept being levied on the land and on the servants, displeased people moderately, it can not be denied. But to have those whowere in the slightest degree still prosperous, not only of the senatorsor knights but even among the freedmen, and men and women alike, bulletined on the tablets and another tenth of their wealth confiscateddisturbed all beyond measure. For it was only nominally that a tenth ofhis property was exacted from each one: in reality not so much as a tenthwas left. They were not ordered to contribute a stated amount accordingto the value of their possessions, but they had the duty of estimatingtheir own goods and then, being accused of not having made a fairestimate, they lost the rest besides. 

[-17-] If any still escaped this somehow, yet they were brought intostraits by the assessments, and as they were terribly destitute of moneythey too were in a way deprived of everything. Moreover, the followingdevice, distressing to hear but most distressing in practice, was putinto operation. Whoever of them wished was allowed by abandoning hisproperty afterward to make a requisition for one-third of it, which meantgetting nothing and also having trouble. For when they were beingopenly and violently despoiled of two-thirds, how should they get backone-third, especially since goods were being sold for an infinitesimalprice? In the first place, since many wares were being advertised forsale at once and the majority of men were without gold or silver, and therest did not dare to buy because it would look as if they had somethingand they would place in jeopardy the remnant of their wealth, the priceswere relaxed: in the second place, everything was sold to the soldiersfar below its value. Hence no one of the private citizens saved anythingworth mentioning. In addition to other drains they surrendered servantsfor the fleet, buying them if they had none, and the senators repairedthe roads at their individual expense. Only those who wielded armsenjoyed superlative wealth. _They_, to be sure, were not satisfied withtheir pay, though it was in full, nor with their outside perquisites, though of vast extent, nor with the very large prizes bestowed for themurders, nor with the acquisition of lands, which was made almost withoutcost to them. But in addition some would ask for and receive all theproperty of the dying, and others still forced their way into thefamilies of such as were old and childless. To such an extent were theyfilled with greed and shamelessness that one man asked from Caesar himselfthe property of Attia, Caesar's mother, who had died at the time and hadbeen honored by a public burial. 

[-18-] While these three men were behaving in this wise, they were alsomagnifying the former Caesar to the greatest degree. As they were allaiming at sole supremacy and were all striving for it, they vindictivelypursued the remainder of the assassins, apparently in the idea that theywere preparing from afar immunity for themselves in what they were doing, and safety; and everything which tended to his honor they readily tookup, in expectation of some day being themselves deemed worthy of similardistinctions: for this reason they glorified him by the decrees which hadbeen passed, and by others which they now added to them. On the first dayof the year they themselves took an oath and made others swear that theywould consider binding all his acts; this action is still taken in thecase of all officials who successively hold power, or again of thosewho lived in his era, and have not been dishonored. They also laid thefoundation of a hero-shrine in the Forum, on the spot where he had beenburned, and escorted a kind of image of him at the horse-races togetherwith a second statue of Venus. In case news of a victory came fromanywhere they assigned the honor of a thanksgiving to the victor byhimself and to Caesar, though dead, by himself. They compelled everybodyto celebrate his birthday wearing laurel and in good spirits, passinga law that all others, neglected it, were accursed before Jupiter andbefore him while any senators or their sons should forfeit twenty-fivemyriads of denarii. Now it happened that the Ludi Apollinares fell on thesame day, and they therefore voted that his natal feast should be heldon the previous day, [28] because (they said) there was an oracle of theSibyl forbidding a festival to be celebrated during that twenty-fourhours to any god except Apollo. [-19-] Besides granting him theseprivileges they regarded the day on which he had been murdered (on whichthere was always a regular meeting of the senate) as a dies nefas. Theroom in which he had been murdered they closed immediately and latertransformed it into a privy. They also built the Curia Julia, calledafter him, next to the so-named Comitium, as had been voted. Besides, they forbade any likeness of him, because he was in very truth a god, tobe carried at the funerals of his relatives, which ancient custom wasstill being observed. And they enacted that no one who took refuge in hisshrine to secure immunity should be banished or stripped of his goods, --aright given to no one of the gods even, save to such as had a place inthe days of Romulus. Yet after men began to gather there the place hadinviolability in name without its effects; for it was so fenced aboutthat no one at all could any longer enter it. 

In addition to those gifts to Caesar they allowed the vestal virgins toemploy one lictor each, because one of them had been insulted, owing tonot being recognized, while returning home from dinner toward evening. The offices in the City they assigned for a greater number of years inadvance, thus at the same time giving honor through the expected officesto those fitted for them and retaining a grasp on affairs for a longertime by means of those who were to hold sway. 

[-20-] When this had been accomplished, Lepidus remained there, as I havesaid, to take up the administration of the City and of the rest of Italy, and Caesar and Antony started on their campaign. Brutus and Cassius had atfirst, after the compact made by them with Antony and the rest, goneinto the Forum and discharged the activities of praetorship with the samediligence as before. 

[B. C. 44 (_a. U. _ 710)]

But when some began to be displeased at the killing of Caesar, theywithdrew, pretending to be in haste to reach the governorships abroad towhich they had been appointed. Cassius, who was praetor urbanus, [29] hadnot yet finished his duties in connection with the Ludi Apollinares. However, though absent he accomplished that task most brilliantly throughthe medium of his fellow-praetor Antony, and did not himself sail awayfrom Italy at once, but lingered with Brutus in Campania, to watch thecourse of events. And in their capacity as praetors they sent a certainnumber of letters to Rome to the people, until such time as CaesarOctavianus began to aspire to public position and to win the affectionsof the populace. Then, in despair of the republic and fear of him, theyset sail. The Athenians gave them a splendid reception; for though theywere indeed honored by nearly everybody else for what they had done, theinhabitants of this city voted them bronze images beside that ofHarmodius and that of Aristogeiton, as having emulated them. [-21-]Meanwhile, learning that Caesar was making progress they neglected theCretans and Bithynians, to whom they were directing their course, foramong them they saw no aid forthcoming worthy the name: but they turnedto Syria and to Macedonia, which did not, to be sure, appertain to themin the least, because they were teeming with money and troops forthe occasion. Cassius proceeded to the Syrian country, because itsinhabitants were acquainted with him and friendly as a result of hiscampaign with Crassus, while Brutus united Greece and Macedonia. Theinhabitants would have followed him anywhere because of the glory of hisdeeds and in the hope of similar achievements, and they were furtherinfluenced by the fact that he had acquired numerous soldiers, somesurvivors of the battle of Pharsalus, who were still at this timewandering about in that region, and others who either by reason ofdisease or because of want of discipline had been left behind from thecontingent that took the field with Dolabella. Money came to him, too, from Trebonius in Asia. So without the least effort, perhaps because itcontained no force worth mentioning, he by this means gained the countryof Greece. He reached Macedonia at the time that Gaius Antonius had justarrived and Quintus Hortensius, who had governed it previously, was aboutto lay down his office. However, he experienced no trouble. The departingofficial embraced his cause at once, and Antonius was weak, beinghindered by Caesar's supremacy in Rome from performing any of the dutiesbelonging to his office. The neighboring territory of Illyricum wasgoverned by Vatinius, who came thence to Dyrrachium and occupied it inadvance. He was a political adversary of Brutus, but could not injure himat all, for his soldiers, who disliked him and furthermore despised himby reason of a disease, went over to the other side. 

[B. C. 43 (_a. U_. 711)]

Brutus, taking charge of these, led an expedition against Antonius, whowas in Apollonia: the latter came out to meet him, whereupon Brutus wonover his soldiers and confined him within the walls, whither he fledbefore him. After this Antonius was by betrayal taken alive, but no harmwas done to him. [-22-] Close upon this success the victor acquired allof Macedonia and Epirus, and then despatched a letter to the senate, stating what had been accomplished, and placing himself, the provinces, and the soldiers at its disposal. The senators, who by chance alreadyfelt suspicious of Caesar, praised him strongly and bade him govern allthat region. When, then, he had confirmed his leadership by the decree, he himself felt more encouraged and he found his subjects ready tosupport him unreservedly. For a time he communicated with Caesar, when thelatter appeared to be hostile to Antony, urging him to resist his enemyand be reconciled with him (Brutus), and he was making preparations tosail to Italy because the senate summoned him. After Caesar, however, had matters thoroughly in hand in Rome, and proceeded openly to takevengeance on his father's slayers, Brutus remained where he was, deliberating how he should successfully ward off the other's attack whenit occurred: and besides managing admirably the other districts as wellas Macedonia, he calmed the minds of his legions when they had beenthrown into a state of discontent by Antonius. [-23-] For the latter, although his conqueror had not even deprived him of a praetor'sperquisites, did not enjoy keeping quiet in safety and honor, butconnived at a revolt among the soldiers of Brutus. Being discovered atthis work before he had done any great harm, he was stripped of hispraetor's insignia, and delivered to be guarded without confinement thathe might not cause an uprising. Yet not even then did he remain quiet, but concocted more schemes of rebellion than ever, so that some of thesoldiers came to blows with one another and others started for Apolloniaafter Antonius himself, in the intention of rescuing him. This, however, they were unable to do: Brutus had learned in advance from someintercepted letters what was to be done and by putting him into anenclosed chair got him out of the way on the pretence that he was movinga sick man. The soldiers, not being able to find the object of theirsearch, in fear of Brutus seized a point of high ground commanding thecity. Brutus induced them to come to an understanding, and by executing afew of the most audacious and dismissing others from his service he setmatters in such a light that the men arrested and killed those sent away, on the ground that they were most responsible for the sedition, and askedfor the surrender of the quaestor and the lieutenants of Antonius. [-24-]Brutus did not give up any of the latter, but put them aboard boats withthe avowed intention of drowning them, and so conveyed them to safety. Fearing, however, that when they should hear the next news of moreterrifying transactions in Rome they might change their attitude, hedelivered Antonius to a certain Gaius Clodius to guard, and left him atApollonia. Meanwhile Brutus himself took the largest and strongest partof the army and retired into upper Macedonia, whence he later sailed toAsia, to the end that he might remove his men as far as possible fromItaly and support them on the subject territory there. Among other allieswhom he won over at this time was Deiotarus, although he was of a greatage and had refused assistance to Cassius. While he was delaying here aplot was formed against him by Gellius Poplicola, and Mark Antony sentsome men to attempt to rescue his brother. Clodius, accordingly, ashe could not guard his prisoner safely, killed him, either on his ownresponsibility, or according to instructions from Brutus. For the storyis that at first the latter made his safety of supreme importance, butlater, learning that Decimus had perished, cared nothing more about it. Gellius was detected, but suffered no punishment. Brutus released himbecause he had always held him to be among his best friends and knew thathis brother, Marcus Messala, was on very close terms with Cassius. Theman had also attacked Cassius, but had suffered no evil in that case, either. The reason was that his mother Polla learned of the plot inadvance, and being very fearful lest Cassius should be overtaken by hisfate (for she was very fond of him) and lest her son should be detected, voluntarily informed Cassius of the plot herself beforehand, and receivedthe preservation of her son as a reward. His easy escapes, however, didnot improve him at all, and he deserted his benefactors to join Caesarand Antony. [-25-] As soon as Brutus learned of the attempt of MarkAntony and of the killing of his brother, he feared that some otherinsurrection might take place in Macedonia during his absence, andimmediately hastened to Europe. On the way he took charge of theterritory which had belonged to Sadalus (who died childless and left itto the Romans), and invaded the country of the Bessi, to see if he couldat the same time recompense them for the trouble they were causing andsurround himself with the name and reputation of imperator, which wouldenable him to fight more easily against Caesar and Antony. Both projectshe accomplished, being chiefly aided by Rhascuporis, a certain prince. After going thence into Macedonia and making himself master of everythingthere, he withdrew again into Asia. 

[B. C. 44 (_a. U_. 710)]

[-26-] Brutus besides doing this had stamped upon the coins which werebeing minted his own likeness and a helmet and two daggers, indicating bythis and by the inscription that in company with Cassius he had liberatedhis country. At that same period Cassius had crossed over to Trebonius inAsia ahead of Dolabella, and after securing money from him and a numberof the cavalry whom Dolabella had sent before him into Syria attachedto his cause many others of the Asiatics and Cilicians. As a result hebrought Tarcondimotus[30] and the people of Tarsus into the alliance, though they were reluctant. For the Tarsians were so devoted to theformer Caesar (and out of regard for him to the second also) that theyhad changed the name of their city to Juliopolis after him. This done, Cassius went to Syria, and without striking a blow assumed entiredirection of the nations and the legions. 

[B. C. 43 (_a. U_. 710)]

The situation in Syria at that time was this. Caecilius Bassus, a knight, who had made the campaign with Pompey and in the retreat had arrivedat Tyre, continued to spend his time there, incognito. On 'Change. NowSextus was governing the Syrians, for Caesar, since he was quaestor andalso a relative of his, had entrusted to his care all Roman interestsin that quarter on the occasion of his own march from Egypt againstPharnaces. So Bassus at first remained quiet, satisfied to be allowed tolive: when, however, some similar persons had associated themselves withhim and he had attracted to his enterprise various soldiers of Sextuswho at various times came there to garrison the city, and likewise manyalarming reports kept coming in from Africa about Caesar, he was no longerpleased with existing circumstances but raised a rebellion, his aim beingeither to help the followers of Scipio and Cato and the Pompeians or toclothe himself in some authority. Sextus discovered him before he hadfinished his preparations, but he explained that he was collecting thisbody as an auxiliary force for Mithridates of Pergamum against Bosporus;his story was believed, and he was released. So after this he forged anepistle, which he pretended had been sent to him by Scipio, in which heannounced that Caesar had been defeated and had perished in Africa andstated that the governorship of Syria had been assigned to him. His nextstep was to use the forces he had in readiness for occupying Tyre andfrom there he approached the camp of Sextus. In the attack on the latterwhich followed Bassus was defeated and wounded. Consequently, after thisexperience, he no longer employed violent tactics, but sent messages tohis opponent's soldiers, and in some way or other so prevailed over someof them that they took upon themselves the murder of Sextus. 

[-27-] The latter out of the way the usurper gained possession of all hisarmy except some few. The soldiers wintering in Apamea withdrew beforehe reached them toward Cilicia, and were pursued but were not won over. Bassus returned to Syria, where he was named commander, and he conqueredApamea so as to have it as a base for warfare. He enlisted not only thefree but the slave fighting population, gathered money, and accumulatedarms. While he was thus engaged one Gaius Antistius invested the positionhe was holding, and the two had a nearly even struggle in which neitherparty succeeded in gaining any great advantage. Thereupon they parted, without any definite truce, to await the bringing up of allies. Thetroops of Antistius were increased by such persons in the vicinity asfavored Caesar and soldiers that had been sent by him from Rome, those ofBassus by Alchaudonius the Arabian. The latter was the leader who hadformerly made an arrangement with Lucullus, as I mentioned, [31] andlater joined with the Parthian against Crassus. On this occasion he wassummoned by both sides, but entered the space between the city and thecamps and before making any answer auctioned off his services; and asBassus offered more money he assisted him, and in the battle wroughtgreat havoc with his arrows. The Parthians themselves, too, came at theinvitation of Bassus, but on account of the winter failed to remain withhim for any considerable time, and hence did not accomplish anything ofimportance. This commander, then, had his own way for a time, but waslater again held in check by Marcius Crispus[32] and Lucius StaiusMurcus. 

[-28-] Things were in this condition among them when Cassius came on thescene and at once conciliated all the cities through the reputation ofwhat he had done in his quaestorship and his other fame, and attached thelegions of Bassus and of the rest without additional labor. While hewas encamped in one spot with all of them a great downpour from the skysuddenly occurred, during which wild swine rushed into the camp throughall the gates at once, overturning and mixing up everything there. Some, accordingly, inferred from this that his power was only temporary andthat disaster was subsequently coming. Having secured possession of Syriahe set out into Judea on learning that the followers of Caesar left behindin Egypt were approaching. Without effort he enlisted both them and theJews in his undertaking. Next he sent away without harming in the leastBassus and Crispus and such others as did not care to share the campaignwith him; for Staius he preserved the rank with which he had come thereand besides entrusted to him the fleet. 

Thus did Cassius in brief time become strong: and he sent a despatch toCaesar about reconciliation and to the senate about the situation, couchedin similar language to that of Brutus. Therefore the senate confirmed hisgovernorship of Syria and voted for the war with Dolabella. [-29-] Thelatter had been appointed to govern Syria and had started out whileconsul, but he proceeded only slowly through Macedonia and Thrace intothe province of Asia and delayed there also. While he was still therehe received news of the decree, and did not go forward into Syria butremained where he was, treating Trebonius in such a way as to make himbelieve most strongly that Dolabella was his friend. Trebonius had hisfree permission to take food for his soldiers and to live on intimateterms with him. When his dupe became in this way imbued with confidenceand ceased to be on his guard, Dolabella by night suddenly seized Smyrna, where the other was, slew him, and hurled his head at Caesar's image, andthereafter occupied all of Asia. When the Romans at home heard of thisthey declared war against him; for as yet Caesar had neither conqueredAntony nor obtained a hold upon affairs in the City. The citizens alsogave notice to Dolabella's followers of a definite day before which theymust leave off friendship with him, in order to avoid being regarded alsoin the light of enemies. And they instructed the consuls to carry onopposition to him and the entire war as soon as they should have broughttheir temporary business to a successful conclusion (not knowing yet thatCassius held Syria). But in order that he should not gain still greaterpower in the interval they gave the governors of the neighboringprovinces charge of the matter. Later they learned the news aboutCassius, and before anything whatever had been done by his opponents athome they passed the vote that I cited. [-30-] Dolabella, accordingly, after becoming in this way master of Asia came into Cilicia while Cassiuswas in Palestine, took over the people of Tarsus with their consent, conquered a few of Cassius's guards who were at Aegeae, and invaded Syria. 

From Antioch he was repulsed by the contingent guarding the place, butgained Laodicea without a struggle on account of the friendship which itsinhabitants felt for the former Caesar. Upon this he spent some days inacquiring new strength, --the fleet among other reinforcements came tohim speedily from Asia, --and crossed over into Aradus with the objectof getting both money and ships from the people also. There he wasintercepted with but few followers and ran into danger. He had escapedfrom this when he encountered Cassius marching toward him, and gavebattle, which resulted in his own defeat. He was then shut up andbesieged in Laodicea, where he was entirely cut off from the land, tobe sure (Cassius being assisted by some Parthians among others), butretained some power through the Asiatic ships and the Egyptian ones whichCleopatra had sent him, and furthermore by means of the money which cameto him from her. So he carried on marauding expeditions until Staius gottogether a fleet, and sailing into the harbor of Laodicea vanquished theships that moved out to meet him, and barred Dolabella from the sea also. Then, prevented on both sides from bringing up supplies, he was led bylack of necessaries to make a sortie. However, he was quickly hurled backwithin the fortress, and seeing that it was being betrayed he fearedthat he might be taken alive, and so despatched himself. His example wasfollowed by Marcus Octavius, his lieutenant. These were deemed worthy ofburial by Cassius, although they had cast out Trebonius unburied. The menwho had participated in the campaign with them and survived obtained bothsafety and amnesty, in spite of having been regarded as enemies by theRomans at home. Nor yet did the Laodiceans suffer any harm beyond beingobliged to contribute money. But for that matter no one else, though manysubsequently plotted against Cassius, was chastised. 

[B. C. 42 (_a. U. _ 712)]

[-31-] While this was going on the people of Tarsus had attempted to keepfrom the passage through the Taurus Tillius Cimber, an assassin of Caesarwho was then governing Bithynia and was hurrying forward to help Cassius. Out of fear, however, they abandoned the spot and at the time made atruce with him, because they thought him strong, but afterward theyperceived the small number of his soldiers and neither took him intotheir city nor furnished him provisions. He constructed a kind of fortover against them and set out for Syria, believing it to be of moreimportance to aid Cassius than himself to destroy their city. They thenmade an attack upon this and got possession of it, after which theystarted for Adana, a place on their borders always at variance with them, giving as an excuse that it was following the cause of Cassius. Thelatter, when he heard of it, first, while Dolabella was still alive sentLucius Rufus against them, but later came himself, to find that they hadalready capitulated to Rufus without a struggle. Upon them he inflictedno severe penalty save to take away all their money, private and public. As a result, the people of Tarsus received praise from the triumvirate, who now held sway in Rome, and were inspired with hope of obtaining somereturn for their losses. Cleopatra also, on account of the detachmentshe had sent to Dolabella, was granted the right to have her son calledKing of Egypt. This son, whom she named Ptolemy, she also pretended wassprung from Caesar, and she was therefore wont to address him as Caesarion. 

[-32-] Cassius when he had settled matters in Syria and in Ciliciacame to meet Brutus in Asia. For when they learned of the union of thetriumvirs and what the latter were doing against them, they cametogether there and made common cause more than ever. As they had a likeresponsibility for the war and looked forward to a like danger and didnot even now recede from their position regarding the freedom of thepeople, and as they were eager also to overthrow their opponents, threein number and the authors of such deeds, they could plan and accomplisheverything in common with much greater zest. To be brief, they resolvedto enter Macedonia and to hinder the others from crossing over there, orelse to cross into Italy before the others started. Since the men weresaid to be still settling affairs in Rome and it was thought likely thatthey should have their hands full with Sextus, lying in wait near by, they did not carry out their plans immediately. Instead, they went aboutthemselves and sent others in various directions, winning over such aswere not yet in accord with them, and gathering money and soldiers. [-33-] In this way nearly all the rest, even those who had before paid noattention to them, at once made agreements with them; but Ariobarzanes, the Rhodians, and the Lycians, though they did not oppose them, werestill unwilling to form an alliance with them. These were thereforesuspected by Brutus and Cassius of favoring their antagonists, since theyhad been well treated by the former Caesar, and fear was entertained bythe two leaders lest when they themselves departed this group shouldcause some turmoil and lead the rest to revolt. Hence they determined toturn first in the direction of these doubtful parties, hoping that sincethey were far stronger in point of weapons and were willing to bestowfavors ungrudgingly they might soon either persuade or force them tojoin. The Rhodians, who had so great an opinion of their seamanship thatthey anticipated Cassius by sailing to the mainland and displayed to hisarmy the fetters they were bringing with the idea that they were going tocapture many alive, were yet conquered by him, first in a naval battlenear Myndus and later close to Rhodes itself. The commanding officer wasStaius, who overcame their skill by the number and size of his ships. Thereupon Cassius himself crossed over to their island, where he met withno resistance, possessing, as he did, their goodwill because of the stayhe had made there in the interests of his education. And he did them nohurt except to appropriate their ships and money and holy and sacredvessels, --all save the chariot of the Sun. Afterward he arrested andkilled Ariobarzanes. 

[-34-] Brutus overcame in battle the public army of the Lycians whichconfronted him near the borders, and entering the citadel at the sametime as the fugitives captured it at a single stroke; the majority ofthe cities he brought to his side, but Xanthus he shut up in a state ofsiege. Suddenly the inhabitants made a sortie, and themselves rushedin with them, and once inside arrows and javelins at once rendered hisposition very dangerous. He would, indeed, have perished utterly, hadnot his soldiers pushed their way through the very fire and unexpectedlyattacked the assailants, who were light-armed. These they hurled backwithin the walls and themselves rushed in with them, and once inside castsome of the fire on several houses, terrifying those who saw what wasbeing done, and giving those at a distance the impression that they hadsimply captured everything. The result was that the natives of their ownaccord helped set fire to the rest, and most of them slew one another. Next Brutus came to Patara and invited the people to conclude friendship;but they would not obey, for the slaves and the poorer portion of thefree population, who had received in advance for their services theformer freedom, the latter remission of debts, prevented any compactbeing made. So at first he sent them the captive Xanthians, to whom manyof them were related by marriage, in the hope that through these he mightbring them to terms. When they yielded none the more, in spite of hisgiving to each man gratuitously his own kin, he erected a kind ofsalesroom in a safe spot under the very wall, where he led each one ofthe prominent men past and auctioned him off, to see if by this means atleast he could gain the Patareans. They were as little inclined as everto make concessions, whereupon he sold a few and let the rest go. Whenthose within saw this, they no longer were stubborn, but forthwithattached themselves to his cause, regarding him as an upright man; andthey were punished only in a pecuniary way. The people of Myra took thesame action when after capturing their general at the harbor he thenreleased him. Similarly in a short time he secured control of the rest. 

[-35-] When both had effected this they came again into Asia; and all thesuspicious facts they had heard from slanderous talk which will ariseunder such conditions they brought up in common, one case at a time, and, after they were settled, hastened into Macedonia. They had beenanticipated by Gaius Norbanus and Decidius Saxa, who had crossed overinto Ionium before Staius reached there, had occupied the whole countryas far as Pangaeum, and had encamped near Philippi. This city is locatedclose beside Mount Pangaeum and close beside Symbolon. Symbolon is aname they give the place for the reason that the mountain mentionedcorresponds (_symballei_) to another that rises in the interior; and itis between Neapolis and Philippi. The former was near the sea, acrossfrom Thasos, while the latter has been built within the mountains on theplain. Saxa and Norbanus happened to have occupied the shortest pathacross, therefore Brutus and Cassius did not even try to get through thatway, but went around by a longer path, --the so-called Crenides. [33]Here, too, they encountered a guard, but overpowered it, got inside themountains, approached the city along the high ground, and there encampedeach one apart, --if we are to follow the story. As a matter of fact theybivouacked in one spot. In order that the soldiers might preserve betterdiscipline and be easier to manage, the camp was made up of two separatedivisions: but as all of it, including the intervening space, wassurrounded by a ditch and a rampart, the entire circuit belonged to both, and from it they derived safety in common. [-36-] They were far superiorin numbers to their adversaries then present and by that means gotpossession of Symbolon, having first ejected the inhabitants. In this waythey were able to bring provisions from the sea, over a shorter stretchof country, and had only to make a descent from the plain to get them. For Norbanus and Saxa did not venture to offer them battle with theirentire force, though they did send out horsemen to make sorties, whereveropportunity offered. Accomplishing nothing, however, they were rathercareful to keep their camp well guarded than to expose it to danger, and sent in haste for Caesar and Antony. These leaders on learning thatCassius and Brutus were for some time busy with the Rhodians and theLycians had thought that their adversaries would have more fighting ontheir hands there, and so instead of hastening had sent Saxa and Norbanusforward into Macedonia. On finding out that their representatives werecaught they bestowed praise on the Lycians and Rhodians, promising tomake them a present of money, and they themselves at once set out fromthe city. Both, however, encountered a delay of some time, --Antony nearBrundusium, because blocked by Staius, and Caesar near Rhegium, havingfirst turned aside to meet Sextus, held Sicily and was making an attempton Italy. [-37-] When it seemed to them to be impossible to dislodge him, and the case of Cassius and Brutus appeared to be more urgent, they lefta small part of their army to garrison Italy and with the major portionsafely crossed the Ionian sea. Caesar fell sick and was left behind atDyrrachium, while Antony marched for Philippi. For a time he was a sourceof some strength to his soldiers, but after laying an ambush for some ofthe opposite party that were gathering grain and failing in his attempthe was no longer of good courage himself. Caesar heard of it and fearedeither possible outcome, that his colleague should be defeated in aseparate attack or again that he should conquer: in the former event hefelt that Brutus and Cassius would attain power, and in the latter thatAntony would have it all himself; therefore he made haste though stillunwell. At this action the followers of Antony also took courage. Andsince it did not seem safe for them to refuse to encamp together, theybrought the three divisions together to one spot and into one stronghold. While the opposing forces were facing each other sallies and excursionstook place on both sides, as chance dictated. For some time, however, noordered battle was joined, although Caesar and Antony were exceedinglyanxious to bring on a conflict. Their forces stronger than those of theiradversaries, but they were not so abundantly supplied with provisions, because their fleet was away fighting Sextus and they were therefore notmasters of the sea. 

[-38-] Hence these men for the reasons specified and because of Sextus, who held Sicily and was making an attempt on Italy, were excited bythe fear that while they delayed he might capture Italy and comeinto Macedonia. Cassius and Brutus had no particular aversion to abattle, --they had the advantage in the number of soldiers, though thelatter were deficient in strength, --but some reflection on their owncondition and that of their opponents showed them that allies were beingadded to their own numbers every day and that they had abundant food bythe help of the ships; consequently they put off action in the hope ofgaining their ends without danger and loss of men. Because they werelovers of the people in no pretended sense and were contending withcitizens, they consulted the interests of the latter no less than thoseof their own associates, and desired to afford preservation and libertyto both alike. For some time, therefore, they waited, not wishing toprovoke a contest with them. The troops, however, being composed mostlyof subject nations, were oppressed by the delay and despisedtheir antagonists who, apparently out of fear, offered within thefortifications the sacrifice of purification, which regularly precedesstruggles. Hence they urged a battle and spread a report that if thereshould be more delay, they would abandon the camp and disperse; and atthis the leaders, though against their will, went to meet the foe. 

[-39-] You might not unnaturally guess that this struggle provedtremendous and surpassed all previous civil conflicts of the Romans. This was not because these contestants excelled those of the old days ineither the number or the valor of the warriors, for far larger massesand braver men than they had fought on many fields, but because on thisoccasion they contended for liberty and for democracy as never before. And they came to blows with one another again later just as they hadpreviously. But the subsequent struggles they carried on to see to whomthey should belong: on this occasion the one side was trying to bringthem into subjection to sovereignty, the other side into a state ofautonomy. Hence the people never attained again to the absolute rightof free speech, in spite of being vanquished by no foreign nation (thesubject population and the allied nations then present on both sides weremerely a kind of complement of the citizen army): but the people at oncegained the mastery over and fell into subjection to itself; it defeateditself and was defeated; and in that effort it exhausted the democraticelement and strengthened the monarchical. I do not say that the people'sdefeat at that time was not beneficial. (What else can one say regardingthose who fought on both sides than that the Romans were conquered andCaesar was victorious?) They were no longer capable of concord in theestablished form of government; for it is impossible for an unadulterateddemocracy that has grown to acquire domains of such vast size to havethe faculty of moderation. After undertaking many similar conflictsrepeatedly, one after another, they would certainly some day have beeneither enslaved or ruined. 

[-40-] We may infer also from the portents which appeared to them on thatoccasion that the struggle between them was clearly tremendous. Heaven, as it is ever accustomed to give indications before most remarkableevents, foretold to them accurately both in Rome and in Macedonia all theresults that would come from it. In the City the sun at one time appeareddiminished and grew extremely small, and again showed itself now huge, now tripled in form, and once shone forth at night. Thunderboltsdescended on many spots, and most significantly upon the altar of JupiterVictor; flashes darted hither and thither; notes of trumpets, clashing ofarms, and cries of camps were heard by night from the gardens of Caesarand of Antony, located close together beside the Tiber. Moreover a dogdragged the body of a dog to the temple of Ceres, where he dug the earthwith his paws and buried it. A child was born with hands that had tenfingers, and a mule gave birth to a prodigy of two species. The frontpart of it resembled a horse, and the rest a mule. The chariot of Minervawhile returning to the Capitol from a horse-race was dashed to pieces, and the statue of Jupiter at Albanum sent forth blood at the very timeof the Feriae from its right shoulder and right hand. These were advanceindications to them from Heaven, and the rivers also in their land gaveout entirely or began to flow backward. And any chance deeds of menseemed to point to the same end. During the Feriae the prefect of the citycelebrated the festival of Latiaris, [34] which neither belonged to himnor was ordinarily observed at that time, and the plebeian aedilesoffered to Ceres contests in armor in place of the horse-race. This waswhat took place in Rome, where certain oracles also both before theevents and pertaining to them were recited, tending to the downfallof the democracy. In Macedonia, to which Pangeaum and the territorysurrounding it are regarded as belonging, bees in swarms pervaded thecamp of Cassius, and in the course of its purification some one set thegarland upon his head wrong end foremost, and a boy while carryinga Victory in some procession, such as the soldiers inaugurate, felldown. [35] But the thing which most of all portended destruction to them, so that it became plain even to their enemies, was that many vultures andmany other birds, too, that devour corpses gathered only above the headsof the conspirators, gazing down upon them and squawking and screechingwith terrible and bloodcurdling notes. 

[-41-] To that party these signs brought evil, while the others, so faras we know, were visited by no omen, but saw some such, visions as thefollowing in dreams. A Thessalian dreamed that the former Caesar hadbidden him tell Caesar that the battle would occur on the second dayafter that one, and that he should resume some of the insignia which hispredecessor wore while dictator: Caesar therefore immediately put hisfather's ring on his finger and wore it often afterward. That was thevision which that man saw, whereas the physician who attended Caesarthought that Minerva enjoined him to lead his patient, though still inpoor health, from his tent and place him in line of battle: and by thisact he was saved. In most cases safety is the lot of such as remain inthe camp and of those in the fortifications, while danger accompaniesthose who proceed into the midst of weapons and battles; but this wasreversed in the case of Caesar. It was quite visibly the result of hisleaving the rampart and mingling with the fighting men that he survived, although from sickness he stood with difficulty even without his arms. 

[-42-] The engagement was of the following nature. No arrangement hadbeen made as to when they should enter battle, yet as if by some compactthey all armed themselves at dawn, advanced into the square interveningbetween them quite leisurely, as though they were competitors in games, and there were quietly marshaled. When they stood opposed advice wasgiven partly to the entire bodies and partly to individuals of bothforces by the generals and lieutenants and subalterns. They made manysuggestions touching the immediate danger and many adapted to the future, words such as men would speak who were to encounter danger on the momentand were endeavoring to anticipate troubles to come. For the most partthe speeches were very similar, inasmuch as on both sides alike therewere Romans together with allies. Still, there was a difference. Theofficers of Brutus offered their men the prizes of liberty and democracy, of freedom from tyrants and freedom from masters; they pointed out tothem the excellencies of equality in government, and all the unfairnessof monarchy that they themselves had experienced or had heard in othercases; they called to the attention of the soldiers the separate detailsof each system and besought them to strive for the one, and to take carenot to endure the other. The opposing officers urged their army to takevengeance on the assassins, to possess the property of their antagonists, to be filled with a desire to rule all of their race, and (the clausewhich inspired them most) they promised to give them five thousanddenarii apiece. [-43-] Thereupon they first sent around theirwatchwords, --the followers of Brutus using "Liberty, " and the otherswhatever happened to be given out, --and then one trumpeter on each sidesounded the first note, followed by the blare of the remainder. Those infront sounded the "at rest" and the "ready" signal on their trumpets ina kind of circular spot, and then the rest came in who were to rousethe spirit of the soldier and incite them to the onset. Then there wassuddenly a great silence, and after waiting a little the leaders issued aclear command and the lines on both sides joined in a shout. After thatwith a yell the heavy-armed dashed their spears against their shields andhurled the former at each other, while the slingers and the archers senttheir stones and missiles. Then the two bodies of cavalry trotted forwardand the contingents shielded with breastplates following behind joined inhand to hand combat. [-44-] They did a great deal of pushing and a greatdeal of stabbing, looking carefully at first to see how they should woundothers and not be wounded themselves; they desired both to kill theirantagonists and to save themselves. Later, when their charge grew fiercerand their spirit flamed up, they rushed together without stopping toconsider, and paid no more attention to their own safety, but would evensacrifice themselves in their eagerness to destroy their adversaries. Some threw away their shields and seizing hold of those arrayed oppositethem either strangled[36] them in their helmets and struck them from therear, or snatched away their defence in front and delivered a stroke ontheir breasts. Others took hold of their swords and then ran theirown into the bodies of the men opposite, who had been made as good asunarmed. And some by exposing some part of their bodies to be woundedcould use the rest more readily. Some clutched each other in an embracethat prevented the possibility of striking, but they perished in theintertwining of swords and bodies. Some died of one blow, others of many, and neither had any perception of their wounds, dying too soon to feelpain, nor lamented their taking off, because they did not reach the pointof expressing grief. One who killed another thought in the excessive joyof the moment that he could never die. Whoever fell lost consciousnessand had no knowledge of his state. [-45-] Both sides remained stubbornlyin their places and neither side retired or pursued, but there, just asthey were, they wounded and were wounded, slew and were slain, until latein the day. And if all had contested with all, as may happen under suchcircumstances, or if Brutus had been arrayed against Antony and Cassiusagainst Caesar, they would have proved equally matched. As it was, Brutusforced the invalid Caesar from his path, while Antony overruled Cassius, who was by no means his equal in warfare. At this juncture, because notall were conquering the other side at once, but both parties were in turndefeated and victorious, the results[37] were practically the same. Bothhad conquered and had been defeated, each had routed their adversariesand had been routed, pursuits and flights had fallen to the lot of bothalike and the camps on both sides had been captured. As they were manythey occupied a large expanse of plain, so that they could not see eachother distinctly. In the battle each one could recognize only what wasopposite him, and when the rout took place each side fled the oppositeway to its own fortifications, situated at a distance from eachother, without stopping to look back. Because of this fact and of theimmeasurable quantity of dust that rose they were ignorant of thetermination of the battle, and those who had conquered thought they hadbeen victorious over everything, and those who were defeated deemed theyhad been worsted everywhere. They did not learn what had happened untilthe ramparts had been laid in ruins, and the victors on each side onretiring to their own head-quarters encountered each other. 

[-46-] So far, then, as the battle was concerned, both sides bothconquered thus and were defeated. At this time they did not resume theconflict, but as soon as they had retired and beheld each other andrecognized what had taken place, they both withdrew, not venturinganything further. They had beaten and had proved inferior to each other. This was shown first by the fact that the entire ramparts of Caesarand Antony and everything within them had been captured. (That provedpractically the truth of the dream, for if Caesar had remained in hisplace, he would certainly have perished with the rest. ) It was shownagain in the fate of Cassius. He came away safe from the battle, butstripped of his fortifications he had fled to a different spot, andsuspecting that Brutus, too, had been defeated and that several of thevictors were hastening to attack him he made haste to die. He had sent acertain centurion to view the situation and report to him where Brutuswas and what he was doing. This man fell in with some horsemen whomBrutus had dispatched to seek his colleague, turned back with them andproceeded leisurely, with the idea that there was hurry, because nodanger presented itself. Cassius, seeing them afar off, suspected theywere enemies and ordered Pindarus, a freedman, to kill him. The centurionon learning that his leader's death was due to his dilatoriness slewhimself upon his body. 

[-47-] Brutus immediately sent the body of Cassius secretly to Thasos. Heshrank from burying it upon the ground, for fear the army would be filledwith grief and dejection at sight of the preparations. The remainderof his friend's soldiers he took under his charge, consoled them in aspeech, won their devotion by a gift of money to make up for what theyhad lost, and then transferred his position to their enclosure, whichwas more suitable. From there he started out to harass his opponents invarious ways, especially by assaulting their camp at night. He had nointention of joining issue with them again in a set battle, but had greathopes of overcoming them without danger by the lapse of time. Hence hetried regularly to startle them in various ways and disturb them bynight, and once by diverting the course of the river he washed awayconsiderable of their wall. Caesar and Antony were getting short of bothfood and money, and consequently gave their soldiers nothing to replacewhat had been seized and carried off. Furthermore, the force that wassailing to them in transports from Brundusium had been destroyed byStaius. Yet they could not safely transfer their position to any otherquarter nor return to Italy, and so, even as late as this, they set alltheir hopes upon their weapons, --hopes not merely of victory but evenof preservation. They were eager to meet the danger before the navaldisaster became noised abroad among their opponents and their own men. [-48-] As Brutus evinced an unwillingness to meet them in open fight, they somehow cast pamphlets over his palisade, challenging his soldierseither to embrace their cause (promises being attached) or to come intoconflict if they had the least particle of strength. During this delaysome of the Celtic force deserted from their side to Brutus, and Amyntas, the general of Deiotarus, and Rhascuporis deserted to them. The latter, as some say, immediately returned home. Brutus was afraid, when thishappened, that there might be further similar rebellion and decided tojoin issue with them. And since there were many captives in his camp, andhe neither had any way to guard them during the progress of the battle, and could not trust them to refrain from doing mischief, he despatchedthe majority of them, contrary to his own inclination, being a slave inthis matter to necessity; but he was the more ready to do it because ofthe fact that his opponents had killed such of his soldiers as had beentaken alive. After doing this he armed his men for battle. When theopposing ranks were arrayed, two eagles that flew above the heads of thetwo armies battled together and indicated to the combatants the outcomeof the war. The eagle on the side of Brutus was beaten and fled: andsimilarly his heavy-armed force, after a contest for the most part even, was defeated, and then when many had fallen his cavalry, though it foughtnobly, gave way. Thereupon the victors pursued them, as they fled, thisway and that, but neither killed nor captured any one; and then they keptwatch of the separate contingents during the night and did not allow themto unite again. 

[-49-] Brutus, who had reached in flight a steep and lofty spot, undertook to break through in some way to the camp. In this he wasunsuccessful, and on learning that some of his soldiers had made termswith the victors he had no further hope, but despairing of safety anddisdaining capture he himself also took refuge in death. He uttered aloudthis sentence of Heracles:

 "Unhappy Virtue, thou wert but a name, while I, Deeming thy godhead real, followed thee on, Who wert but Fortune's slave. " [38]

Then he called one of the bystanders to kill him. His body receivedburial by Antony, --all but his head, which was sent to Rome: but as theships encountered a storm during the voyage across from Dyrrachium thatwas thrown into the sea. At his death the mass of his soldiers, onamnesty being proclaimed for them, immediately transferred theirallegiance. Portia perished by swallowing red-hot charcoal. Most of theprominent men who had held any offices or belonged to the assassins orthe proscribed, straightway killed themselves, or, like Favonius, werecaptured and destroyed: the remainder at this time escaped to the sea andthereafter joined Sextus. 

DIO'S ROMAN HISTORY

48

The following is contained in the Forty-eighth of Dio's Rome:

How Caesar contended with Fulvia and Lucius Antonius (chapters 1-16). 

How Sextus Pompey occupied Sicily (chapters 17-23). 

How the Parthians occupied the country to the edge of the Hellespont(chapters 24-26). 

How Caesar and Antony reached an agreement with Sextus (chapters 27-38). 

How Publius Ventidius conquered the Parthians and recovered Asia(chapters 39-42). 

How Caesar began to make war upon Sextus (chapters 43-48). 

About Baiae (chapters 49-54). 

Duration of time five years, in which there were the followingmagistrates here enumerated:

L. Antonius M. F. Pietas, P. Servilius P. F. Isauricus consul (II). (B. C. 41 = a. U. 713. )

Cn. Domitius M. F Calvinus [consul] (II), C. Asinius|| Cn. F. Pollio. (B. C. 40 = a. U. 714. )

L. Marcius L. F. Censorinus, C. Calvisius||[39] C. F. Sabinus. (B. C. 39 =a. U. 715. )

Appius Claudius C. F. Pulcher, C. Norbanus C. F. Flaccus. (B. C. 38 = a. U. 716. )

M. Vipsanius L. F. Agrippa, L. Caninius L. F. Gallus. (B. C. 37 = a. U. 717. )

(_BOOK 48, BOISSEVAIN_. )

[B. C. 42(_a. U_. 712)]

[-1-] So perished Brutus and Cassius, slain by the swords with which theyhad despatched Caesar. The rest also who had shared in the plot againsthim were all except a very few destroyed, some previously, some at thistime, and some subsequently. Justice and the Divine Will seemed to sweeponward and lead forward to such a fate the men who had killed theirbenefactor, one who had attained such eminence in both excellence andgood fortune. Caesar and Antony for the moment secured an advantage overLepidus, because he had not shared the victory with them; yet theywere destined ere long to turn their arms against each other. It is adifficult matter for three men or two that are equal in rank and havecome into power over such vast interests as a result of war to be of oneaccord. Hence, whatever they had gained for a time while in harmony forthe purpose of the overthrow of their adversaries they now began toset up as prizes in their rivalry with each other. They immediatelyredistributed the empire, so that Spain and Numidia fell to Caesar, Gauland Africa to Antony; they further agreed that in case Lepidus showed anyvexation at this Africa should be evacuated for him. [-2-] This was allthey could allot between them, since Sextus was still occupying Sardiniaand Sicily, and other regions outside of Italy were in a state ofturmoil. About the peninsula itself I need say nothing, for it has alwaysremained a kind of choice exception in such divisions: and not even nowdid they talk as if they were struggling to obtain it, but to defend it. So, leaving these other regions to be common property, Antony took itupon himself to settle affairs of nations that had fought against themand to collect the money which had been offered to the soldiers inadvance: Caesar was charged with curtailing the power of Lepidus, if heshould make any hostile move, with conducting the war against Sextus, andwith assigning to those of his campaigners who had passed the age limitthe land which he had promised them; and these he forthwith dismissed. Furthermore he sent with Antony two legions of his followers, and hiscolleague sent word that he would give him in return an equal numberof those stationed at that tune in Italy. After making these compactsseparately, putting them in writing, and sealing them, they exchanged thedocuments, to the end that if any transgression were committed, it mightbe proved from the very records. Thereupon Antony set out for Asia andCaesar for Italy. [-3-] Sickness attacked the latter violently on thejourney and during the voyage, giving rise in Rome to an expectation ofhis death. They did not believe, however, that he was lingering somuch by reason of ill health as because he was devising some harm, andconsequently they expected to fall victims to every possible persecution. Yet they voted to these men many honors for their victory, such as wouldhave been given assuredly to the others, had they conquered; in suchcrises it is ever the case that all trample on the loser and honor thevictor; and in particular they decided, though against their will, tocelebrate thanksgivings during practically the entire year. ThisCaesar ordered them outright to do in gratitude for vengeance upon theassassins. At any rate during his delay all sorts of stories werecurrent, and all sorts of behavior resulted. For example, some spread areport that he was dead, and aroused delight in many breasts: otherssaid he was planning some evil, and filled numerous persons with fear. Therefore some hid their property and took care to protect themselves, and others considered in what way they might make their escape. Others, and the majority, not being able to apprehend anything clearly by reasonof their excessive fear, prepared to meet a certain doom. The confidentelement was extremely small, and its numbers few. In the light of theformer frequent and diverse destruction of both persons and possessionsthey expected that anything similar or still worse might happen, becausenow they had been utterly vanquished. Wherefore Caesar, in dread thatthey might take some rebellious step, especially since Lepidus was there, forwarded a letter to the senate urging its members to be of good cheer, and further promising that he would do everything in a mild and humaneway, after the manner of his father. 

[B. C. 41 (_a. U_. 713)]

[-4-] This was what then took place. The succeeding year PubliusServilius and Lucius Antonius nominally became consuls, but in reality itwas the latter and Fulvia. She, the mother-in-law of Caesar and wife ofAntony, had no respect for Lepidus because of his slothfulness, andherself managed affairs, so that neither the senate nor the people daredtransact any business contrary to her pleasure. Actually, when Luciushimself was anxious to have a triumph over certain peoples dwelling inthe Alps, on the ground that he had conquered them, for a time Fulviaopposed him and no one would grant it; but when her favor was courted andshe permitted it, all voted for the measure: therefore it was nominallyAntonius . . . Over the people whom he said he had vanquished (in realityhe had done nothing deserving a triumph nor had any command at all inthose regions), --but in truth Fulvia . . . [40] and had the procession. Andshe assumed a far prouder bearing over the affair than did he, becauseshe had a truer cause; to give any one authority to hold a triumph wasgreater than to celebrate it by securing the privilege from another. Except that Lucius donned the triumphal apparel, mounted the chariot, andperformed the other rites customary in such cases, Fulvia herself seemedto be giving the spectacle, employing him as her assistant. It tookplace on the first day of the year, and Lucius, just as Marius had done, exulted in the circumstance that he held it on the first day of the monththat he began to be consul. Moreover he exalted himself even above hispredecessor, saying that he had voluntarily laid aside the decorations ofthe procession and had assembled the senate in his street dress, whereasMarius had done it unwillingly. He added that the latter had received acrown from almost nobody, whereas he obtained many, and particularly fromthe people, tribe by tribe, as had never been the case with any formertriumphator. (It was done by the aid of Fulvia and by the money which hehad secretly given some persons to spend. )

[-5-] It was in this year that Caesar arrived in Rome, and, after takingthe usual steps to celebrate the victory, turned his attention to theadministration and despatch of business. For Lepidus through fear of himand out of his general weakness of heart had not rebelled; and Lucius andFulvia, on the supposition that they were relatives and sharers in hissupremacy were quiet, --at least at first. As time went on they became atvariance, the persons just mentioned because they did not get a share inthe portion of lands to be assigned which belonged to Antony, and Caesarbecause he did not get back his troops from the other two. Hence theirkinship by marriage was dissolved and they were brought to open warfare. Caesar would not endure the domineering ways of his mother-in-law, and, choosing to appear to be at odds with her rather than with Antonius, sentback her daughter, whom he declared on oath to be still a virgin. Inpursuing such a course he was careless whether it should be thoughtthat the woman had remained a virgin in his house so long a time forcommon-place reasons, or whether it should seem that he had planned thesituation considerably in advance, as a measure of preparation for thefuture. After this action there was no longer any friendship betweenthem. Lucius together with Fulvia attempted to get control of affairs, pretending to be doing this in behalf of Marcus, and would yield to Caesaron no point: therefore on account of his devotion to his brother he tookthe additional title of Pietas. Caesar naturally found no fault withMarcus, not wishing to alienate him while he was attending to the nationsin Asia, but reproached and resisted the pair, giving out that they werebehaving in all respects contrary to their brother's desire and wereeager for individual supremacy. 

[-6-] In the land allotments both placed the greatest hope of power, andconsequently the beginning of their quarrel was concerned with them. Caesar for his part wished to distribute the territory to all such as hadmade the campaign with himself and Antony, according to the compactmade with them after the victory, that by so doing he might win theirgood-will: the others demanded to receive the assignment that appertainedto their party and settle the cities themselves, in order that they mightget the power of these settlements on their side. It seemed to both tobe the simplest method to grant the land of the unarmed to those whohad participated in the conflict. Contrary to their expectation greatdisturbance resulted and the matter took the aspect of a war. For atfirst Caesar was for taking from the possessors and giving to the veteransall of Italy (except what some old campaigner had received as a gift orbought from the government and was now holding), together with the bandsof slaves and other wealth. The persons deprived of their property wereterribly enraged against him, and caused a change of policy. Fulvia andthe consul now hoped to find more power in the cause of the others, theoppressed, and consequently neglected those who were to receive thefields, but turned their attention to that party which was of greaternumbers and was animated by a righteous indignation at the deprivationthey were suffering. Next they took some of them individually, aided andunited them, so that the men who were before afraid of Caesar now thatthey had got leaders became courageous and no longer gave up any of theirproperty: they thought that Marcus, too, would approve their course. [-7-] Among these, therefore, Lucius and Fulvia secured a following, andstill made no assault upon the adherents of Caesar. Their attitude was notthat there was no need for the soldiers to receive allotments, butthey maintained that the goods of their adversaries in the combat weresufficient for them; especially they pointed out lands and furniture, some still being held intact, others that had been sold, of which theydeclared the former ought to be given to the men outright and in thesecond case the price realized should be presented to them. If even thisdid not satisfy them, they tried to secure the affection of them all byholding out hopes in Asia. In this way it quickly came about that Caesar, who had forcibly robbed the possessors of any property and causedtroubles and dangers on account of it to all alike, found himselfdisliked by both parties; whereas the other two, since they took nothingfrom anybody and showed those who were to receive the gifts a way to thefulfillment of the pledges from already existing assets and without acombat, won over each of the bodies of men. As a result of this andthrough the famine which was trying them greatly at this time, becausethe sea off Sicily was in control of Sextus, and the Ionian Gulf wasin the grasp of Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus, Caesar found himself in aconsiderable dilemma. For Domitius was one of the assassins, and, havingescaped from the battle fought at Philippi, he had got together a smallfleet, had made himself for a time master of the Gulf, and was doing thegreatest damage to the cause of his opponents. 

[-8-] There was not only this to trouble Caesar greatly but also the factthat in the disputes which had been inaugurated between the ex-soldiersand the senators as well as the rest of the multitude that possessedlands, --and these proved very numerous because the contestants werestruggling for the greatest interests, --he could not attach himself toeither side without danger. It was impossible for him to please both. Theone side wished to run riot, the other to be unharmed: the one side toget the other's property, the other to hold what belonged to it. Asoften as he gave the preference to the interests of this party or that, according as he found it necessary, he incurred the hatred of the others:and he did not meet with so much gratitude for the favors he conferred aswith anger for what he failed to yield. Those benefited took all that wasgiven them as their due and regarded it as no kindness, and the oppositeparty was wrathful because robbed of their own belongings. And as aresult he continued to offend either this group or the other, at onetime reproached with being a friend of the people and again with beinga friend of the army. He could make no headway, and further learned byactual experience that arms had no power to hold those injured friendlytoward him, and that it was possible for all such as would not submit toperish by the use of weapons, but out of the question for any one to beforced to love a person whom he will not. After this, though reluctantly, he stopped taking anything from the senators; previously he used to deemit his right to distribute everything that was theirs, asking seriously:"From what source else shall we pay the prizes of war to those who haveserved?"--as if any one had commanded him to wage war or to make suchgreat promises. He also kept his hands off the valuables, --whatevercostly objects women had for dowries, or others had less in value thanthe land individually given to the old soldiers. [-9-] When this was donethe senate and the rest, finding nothing taken from them, became fairlyresigned to his rule, but the veterans were indignant, regarding hissparingness and the honor shown to the others to be their own dishonorand loss, since they were to receive less. They killed not a few of thecenturions and the other intimates of Caesar who tried to restrainthem from mutiny, and came very near compassing their leader's owndestruction, using every plausible excuse possible for their anger. Theydid not cease their irritation till the land that belonged to theirrelatives and the fathers and sons of those fallen in battle but was heldby somebody else was granted to these three classes freely. This measurecaused the soldier element to become somewhat more conciliatory, but thatvery thing produced vexation again among the people. The two used to comein conflict and there was continual fighting amongst them, so that manywere wounded and killed on both sides alike. The one party was superiorby being equipped with weapons and having experience in wars, and theother by its numbers and the ability to pelt opponents from the roofs. Owing to this a number of houses were burned down, and to those dwellingin the city rent was entirely remitted to the extent of five hundreddenarii, while for those in the rest of Italy it was reduced a fourth forone year. For they used to fight in all the cities alike, wherever theyfell in with each other. 

[-10-] When this took place constantly and soldiers sent ahead by Caesarinto Spain made a kind of uprising at Placentia and did not come toorder until they received money from the people there, and they werefurthermore hindered from crossing the Alps by Calenus and Ventidius, who held Farther Gaul, Caesar became afraid that he might meet with somedisaster and began to wish to be reconciled with Fulvia and the consul. He could not accomplish anything by sending messages personally and withonly his own authorization, and so went to the veterans and through themattempted to negotiate a settlement. Elated at this they took charge ofthose who had lost their land, and Lucius went about in every directionuniting them and detaching them from Caesar, while Fulvia occupiedPraeneste, had senators and knights for her associates, and was wont toconduct all her deliberations with their help, even sending orders towhatever points required it. Why should any one be surprised at this, when she was girt with a sword, and used to pass the watchwords to thesoldiers, yes, often harangued them, --an additional means of givingoffence to Caesar? [-11-] The latter, however, had no way to overthrowthem, being far inferior to them not only in troops, but in good-will onthe part of the population; for he caused many distress, whereas theyfilled every one with hope. He had often privately through friendsproposed reconciliation to them, and when he accomplished nothing, hesent envoys from the number of the veterans to them. He expected bythis stroke pretty surely to obtain his request, to adjust presentdifficulties, and to gain a strength equal to theirs for the future. Andeven though he should fail of these aims, he expected that not he butthey would bear the responsibility for their quarrel. This actually tookplace. When he effected nothing even through the soldiers, he despatchedsenators, showing them the covenants made between himself and Antony, andoffering the envoys as arbitrators of the differences. But his opponentsin the first place made many counter-propositions, demands with whichCaesar was sure not to comply, and again, in respect to everything thatthey did said they were doing it by the orders of Mark Antony. So thatwhen nothing was gained in this way either, he betook himself once moreto the veterans. [-12-] Thereupon these assembled in Rome in greatnumbers, with the avowed intention of making some communication to thepeople and the senate. But instead of troubling themselves about thiserrand they collected on the Capitol and commanded that the compactswhich Antony and Caesar made be read to them. They ratified theseagreements and voted that they should be made arbitrators of thedifferences existing. After recording these acts on tablets and sealingthem they delivered them to the vestal virgins to keep. To Caesar, who waspresent, and to the other party by an embassy they gave orders to meetfor adjudication at Gabii on a stated day. Caesar showed his readiness tosubmit to arbitration, and the others promised to put in an appearance, but out of fear or else perhaps disdain did not come. (For they were wontto make fun of the warriors, calling them among other names _senatuscaligatus_ on account of their use of military boots. ) So they condemnedLucius and Fulvia as guilty of some injustice, and gave precedence to thecause of Caesar. After this, when the latter's adversaries had deliberatedagain and again, they took up the war once more and did not make readyfor it in any quiet fashion. Chief among their measures was to securemoney from sources, even from temples. They took away all the votiveofferings that could be turned into bullion, those deposited in Romeitself as well as those in the rest of Italy that was under theircontrol. Both money and soldiers came to them also from Gallia Togata, which had been included by this time in the domain of Italy, to the endthat no one else, under the plea that it was a single district, shouldkeep soldiers south of the Alps. 

[-13-] Caesar, then, was making preparations, and Fulvia and Lucius weregathering hoards of supplies and assembling forces. Meanwhile both sentembassies and despatched soldiers and officers in every direction, andeach managed to seize some places beforehand and was repulsed fromothers. The most of these transactions, and those connected with no greator important occurrence, I shall pass over, and briefly relate the pointswhich are of chief value. 

Caesar made an expedition against Nursia, among the Sabini, and routed thegarrison encamped before it but was repulsed from the city by TisienusGallus. Accordingly, he went over into Umbria and laid siege to Sentinum, but failed to capture it. Lucius had meanwhile been sending on one excuseand another soldiers to his friends in Rome, and then coming suddenly onthe scene himself conquered the cavalry force that met him, hurled theinfantry back to the wall, and after that took the city, since those thathad been there for some days helped the defenders within by attacking thebesiegers. Lepidus, to whom had been entrusted the guarding of the place, made no resistance by reason of his inherent slothfulness, nor didServilius the consul, who was too easy-going. On ascertaining this Caesarleft Quintus Salvidienus Rufus to look after the people of Sentinum, andhimself set out for Rome. Hearing of this movement Lucius withdrew inadvance, having had voted to him the privilege of going out on some war. Indeed, he delivered an address in soldier's costume, which no one elsehad done. Thus Caesar was received into the capital without striking ablow, and when he did not capture the other by pursuit, he returned andkept a more careful watch over the city. Meantime, as soon as Caesar hadleft Sentinum, Gaius Furnius the guarder of the fortifications had issuedforth and pursued him a long distance, and Rufus unexpectedly attackedthe citizens within, captured the town, plundered, and burned it. Theinhabitants of Nursia came to terms--and suffered no ill treatment; when, however, after burying those that had fallen in the battle which hadtaken place between themselves and Caesar, they inscribed on their tombsthat they had died contending for liberty, an enormous fine was imposedupon the people, so that they abandoned their city and entire countrytogether. 

[-14-] While they were so engaged, Lucius on setting out from Rome afterhis occupancy had proceeded toward Gaul: his road was blocked, however, and so he turned aside to Perusia, an Etruscan city. There he was cut offfirst by the lieutenants of Caesar and later by Caesar himself, and wasbesieged. The investing of the place proved a long operation: thesituation is naturally a strong one and had been amply stocked withprovisions; and horsemen sent out by him before he was entirely hemmedin harassed his antagonists greatly while many others, moreover, fromvarious sections vigorously defended him. Many attempts were made uponthe besieged individually and there was sharp fighting close to thewalls, until the followers of Lucius in spite of being generallysuccessful were nevertheless overcome by hunger. The leader and someothers obtained pardon, but most of the senators and knights were putto death. And the story goes that they did not merely suffer death in asimple form, but were led to the altar consecrated to the former Caesarand there sacrificed, --three hundred[41] knights and many senators, amongthem Tiberius Cannutius who formerly during his tribuneship had assembledthe populace for Caesar Octavianus. Of the people of Perusia and the restthere captured the majority lost their lives, and the city itself, exceptthe temple of Vulcan and statue of Juno, was entirely destroyed by fire. This piece of sculpture was preserved by some chance and was brought toRome in accordance with a vision that Caesar saw in a dream: there itaccorded those who desired to undertake the task permission to settle thecity again and place the deity on her original site, --only they did notacquire more than seven and one-half stadia of the territory. 

[B. C. 40 (_a. U. _ 714)]

[-15-] When that city had been captured during the consulship of GnaeusCalvinus and Asinius Pollio, --the former holding office the secondtime, --other posts in Italy partly perforce and partly voluntarilycapitulated to Caesar. For this reason Fulvia with her children made herescape to her husband, and many of the other foremost men made theirway some to him and some to Sextus in Sicily. Julia, the mother of theAntonii, went there at first and was received by Sextus with extremekindness; later she was sent by him to her son Marcus, carryingpropositions of friendship and with envoys whom she was to conduct to hispresence. In this company which at that time turned its steps away fromItaly to Antony was also Tiberius Claudius Nero. He was holding a kind offort in Campania, and when Caesar's party got the upper hand set out withhis wife Livia Drusilla and with his son Tiberius Claudius Nero. Thisepisode illustrated remarkably the whimsicality of fate. This Livia whothen fled from Caesar later on was married to him, and this Tiberius whothen escaped with his parents succeeded him in the office of emperor. 

[-16-] All this was later. At that time the inhabitants of Rome resumedthe garb of peace, which they had taken off without any decree, undercompulsion from the people; they gave themselves up to merrymaking, conveyed Caesar in his triumphal robe into the city and honored him witha laurel crown, so that he enjoyed this decoration as often as thecelebrators of triumphs were accustomed to use it. Caesar, when Italyhad been subdued and the Ionian Gulf had been cleared, --for Domitiusdespairing of continuing to prevail any longer by himself had sailed awayto Antony, --made preparations to proceed against Sextus. When, however, he ascertained his power and the fact that he had been in communicationwith Antony through the latter's mother and through envoys, he fearedthat he might get embroiled with both at once; therefore preferringSextus as more trustworthy or else as stronger than Antony he sent himhis mother Mucia and married the sister of his father-in-law, LuciusScribonius Libo, in the hope that by the aid of his kindness and hiskinship he might make him a friend. 

[B. C. 44 (_a. U. _ 710)]

[-17-] Sextus, after he had originally left Spain according to hiscompact with Lepidus and not much later had been appointed admiral, wasremoved from his office by Caesar. For all that he held on to his fleetand had the courage to sail to Italy; but Caesar's adherents were alreadysecuring control of the country and he learned that he had been numberedamong the assassins of Caesar's father. 

[B. C. 43 (_a. U. _ 711)]

Therefore he kept away from the mainland but sailed about among theislands, maintaining a sharp watch on what was going on and supplyinghimself with food without resort to crimes. As he had not taken part inthe murder he expected to be restored by Caesar himself. When, however, his name was exposed on the tablet and he knew that the edict ofproscription was in force against him also, he despaired of getting backthrough Caesar and put himself in readiness for war. He had triremesbuilt, received the deserters, made an alliance with the pirates, andtook under his protection the exiles. By these means in a short time hebecame powerful and was master of the sea off Italy, so that he madedescents upon the harbors, cut loose the boats, and engaged in pillage. As matters went well with him and his activity supplied him with soldiersand money, he sailed to Sicily, where he seized Mylae and Tyndaris withouteffort but was repulsed from Messana by Pompeius Bithynicus, thengovernor of Sicily. Instead of retiring altogether from the place, heoverran the country, prevented the importation of provisions, gained theascendancy over those who came to the rescue, --filling some with fearof suffering a similar hardship, and damaging others by some form ofambuscade, --won over the quaestor together with the funds, and finallyobtained Messana and also Bithynicus, by an agreement that the lattershould enjoy equal authority with him. The governor suffered no harm, atleast for the time being: the others had their arms and money taken fromthem. His next step was to win over Syracuse and some other cities, from which he gathered more soldiers and collected a very strong fleet. Quintus Cornificius also sent him quite a force from Africa. 

[-18-] While he was thus growing strong, Caesar for a time took no actionin the matter, both because he despised him and because the business inhand kept him occupied. 

[B. C. 42 (_a. U. _ 712)]

But when owing to the famine the deaths in the City became numerous andSextus commenced to make attempts on Italy also, Caesar began to have asmall fleet equipped and sent Salvidienus Rufus with a large force aheadto Rhegium. Rufus managed to repel Sextus from Italy and when the latterretired into Sicily he undertook to manufacture boats of leather, similarto those adapted to ocean sailing. He made a framework of light rods forthe interior and stretched on the outside an uncured oxhide, making anaffair like an oval shield. For this he got laughed at and decided thatit would be dangerous for him to try to use them in crossing the strait, so he let them go and ventured to undertake the passage with the fleetthat had been equipped and had arrived. He was not able, however, toaccomplish his purpose, for the number and size of his ships were nomatch for the skill and daring of the enemy. This took place in thecourse of Caesar's expedition into Macedonia, and he himself was aneye-witness of the battle; the result filled him with chagrin, most ofall because he had been defeated in this their first encounter. For thisreason he no longer ventured, although the major part of his fleet hadbeen preserved, to cross over by main force: he frequently tried toeffect it secretly, feeling that if he could once set foot on the island, he could certainly conquer it with his infantry; after a time, since thevigilant guard kept in every quarter prevented him from gaining anything, he ordered others to attend to the blockade of Sicily and he himself wentto meet Antony at Brundusium. Whence with the aid of the ships he crossedthe Ionian Gulf. [-19-] Upon his departure Sextus occupied all of theisland and put to death Bithynicus on the charge that the latter hadplotted against him. He also produced a triumphal spectacle and had anaval battle of the captives in the strait close to Rhegium itself, sothat his opponents could look on; in this combat he had wooden boatscontend with others of leather, in the intention of making fun of Rufus. After this he built more ships and dominated the sea all round about, acquiring some renown, in which he took pride, based on the assumptionthat he was the son of Neptune, and that his father had once ruled thewhole sea. So he fared as long as the resistance of Cassius and Brutusheld out. When they had perished, Lucius Staius and others took refugewith him. He was at first glad to receive this ally and incorporated thetroops that Staius led in his own force: subsequently, seeing that thenew accession was an active and high-spirited man, he executed him on acharge of treachery. Then he acquired the other's fleet and the mass ofslaves who kept arriving from Italy and gained tremendous strength. Somany persons, in fact, deserted that the vestal virgins prayed in thename of the sacrifices that their desertions might be restrained. 

[B. C. 40 (_a. U_. 714)]

[-20-] For these reasons and because he gave the exiles a refuge, wasnegotiating friendship with Antony, and plundering a great portion ofItaly, Caesar felt a wish to become reconciled with him. When he failedof that he ordered Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa to wage war against him, andhimself set out for Gaul. Sextus when he heard of that kept watch ofAgrippa, who was busy superintending the Ludi Apollinares. This personwas praetor at the time, holding a brilliant position in many ways becausehe was such an intimate friend of Caesar, and for two days he had beenconducting the horse-race and enjoyed the so-called "Troy contest, "carried on by children of the nobility, which added to his glory. Whilehe was so engaged Sextus crossed over into Italy and remained therecarrying on marauding expeditions until Agrippa arrived. Then, afterleaving a garrison at certain points, he sailed back again. --Caesar hadformerly tried, as has been described, to get possession of Gaul throughothers, but had not been able on account of Calenus and the rest whofollowed Antony's fortunes. But now he occupied it in person, for hefound Calenus dead of a disease and acquired his army without difficulty. Meanwhile, seeing that Lepidus was vexed at being deprived of the officethat belonged to him, he sent him to Africa; for he proposed, by beingthe sole bestower of that position, instead of allowing Antony to sharein the appointment, to gain in a greater degree Lepidus's attachment. 

[B. C. 44 (_a. U_. 710)]

[-21-] As I have remarked, [42] the Romans had two provinces in that partof Libya. The governors, before the union of the three men, were TitusSextius over the Numidian region, and Cornificius with Decimus Laeliusover the rest; the former was friendly to Antony, the latter two toCaesar. For a time Sextius waited in the expectation that the others, who had a far larger force, would invade his domain, and prepared towithstand them there. When they delayed, he began to disdain them; andhe was further elated by a cow, as they say, that uttered human speechbidding him lay hold of the prize before him, and by a dream in which abull that had been buried in the city of Tucca seemed to urge him to digup its head and carry it about on a spear-shaft, since by this means heshould conquer. Without hesitation, then, especially when he found thebull in the spot where the dream said it was, he invaded Africa firsthimself. 

[B. C. 43 (_a. U_. 711)]

At the beginning he occupied Adrymetum andsome few other places, taken by surprise at his sudden assault. Then, while in an unguarded state because of this very success, he was ambushedby the quaestor, lost a large portion of his army, and withdrew intoNumidia. His misfortune had happened to occur when he was without theprotection of the bull's head, and he therefore ascribed his defeat tothat fact and made preparations to take the field again. Meantime hisopponents anticipated him by invading his domain. While the rest werebesieging Cirta, the quaestor with the cavalry proceeded against him, overcame him in a few cavalry battles, and won over the otherquaestor. After these experiences Sextius, who had secured some freshreinforcements, risked battle again, conquered the quaestor in histurn, and shut up Laelius, who was overrunning the country, within hisfortifications. He deceived Cornificius, who came to the defence of hiscolleague, making him believe that the latter had been captured, andafter thus throwing him into a state of dejection defeated him. SoCornificius met his death in battle, and Laelius, who made a sally withthe intention of taking the enemy in the rear, was also slain. 

[-22-] When this had been accomplished, Sextius occupied Africa andgoverned both provinces without interference, until Caesar according tothe covenant made by him with Antony and Lepidus took possession of theoffice and assigned Gaius Fuficius Fango to take charge of the people;then the governor voluntarily gave up the provinces. When the battle withBrutus and Cassius had been fought, Caesar and Antony redistributed theworld, Caesar taking Numidia for his share of Libya, and Antony Africa. Lepidus, as I have stated, [43] had power among the three only in name, and often was not recorded in the documents even to this extent. When, therefore, this occurred Fulvia bade Sextius resume his rule of Africa. He was at this time still in Libya, making the winter season his plea, but in reality his lingering there was due to his certain knowledge thatthere would be some kind of upheaval. As he could not persuade Fango togive up the country, he associated himself with the natives, who detestedtheir ruler; he had done evil in his office, for he was one of thatmercenary force, many of whose members, as has been stated in mynarrative, [44] had been elected even into the senate. At this turn ofaffairs Fango retired into Numidia, where he accorded harsh treatment tothe people of Cirta because they despised him on seeing his condition. There was also one Arabio who was a prince among the barbarians dwellingclose at hand, who had first helped Laelius and later attached himselfto Sextius: him he ejected from his kingdom, when he refused to makean alliance with him. Arabio fled to Sextius and Fango demanded hissurrender. When his request was refused, he grew angry, invaded Africaand did some damage to the country: but Sextius took the field againsthim, and he was defeated in conflicts that were slight but numerous;consequently he retired again into Numidia. Sextius went after him andwas in hopes of soon vanquishing him, especially with the aid of Arabio'shorse, but he became suspicious of the latter and treacherously murderedhim, after which he accomplished for the time being nothing further. Forthe cavalry, enraged at Arabio's death, left the Romans in the lurch andmost of them took the side of Fango. [-23-] After these skirmishes theyconcluded friendship, agreeing that the cause for war between them hadbeen removed. Later Fango watched until Sextius, trusting in the truce, was free from fear, and invaded Africa. Then they joined battle with eachother, and at first both sides conquered and were beaten. The one leaderprevailed through the Numidian horsemen and the other through his citizeninfantry, so that they plundered each other's camps, and neither knewanything about his fellow-soldiers. When as they retired they ascertainedwhat had happened, they came to blows again, the Numidians were routed, and Fango temporarily fled to the mountains. During the night somehartbeestes ran across the hills, and thinking that the enemy's cavalrywere at hand he committed suicide. Thus Sextius gained possession ofnearly everything without trouble, and subdued Zama, which held outlongest, by famine. Thereafter he governed both the provinces again untilsuch time as Lepidus was sent. Against him he made no demonstration, either because he thought the step had the approval of Antony, or becausehe was far inferior to him in troops. 

[B. C. 40 (_a. U. _ 714)]

He remained quiet, pretending that the necessity was a favor to himself. In this way Lepidus took charge of both provinces. 

[B. C. 42 (_a. U_. 712)]

[-24-] About this same period that the above was taking place, and afterthe battle the scene of which was laid at Philippi, Mark Antony cameto the mainland of Asia and there by visiting some points himself andsending deputies elsewhere he levied contributions upon the citiesand sold the positions of authority. Meanwhile he fell in love withCleopatra, whom he had seen in Cilicia, and no longer gave a thought tohonor but was a slave of the fair Egyptian and tarried to enjoy her love. This caused him to do many absurd things, one of which was to drag herbrothers from the temple of Artemis at Ephesus and put them to death. Finally, leaving Plancus in the province of Asia and Saxa in Syria, hestarted for Egypt. Many disturbances resulted from this action of his:the Aradii, islanders, would not yield any obedience to the messengerssent by him to them after the money and also killed some of them, and theParthians, who had previously been restless, now assailed the Romans morethan ever. Their leaders were Labienus and Pacorus the latter the son ofKing Orodes, and the former a child of Titus Labienus. I will narrate howhe came among the Parthians and what he did in conjunction with Pacorus. He was by chance an ally of Brutus and Cassius and had been sent toOrodes before the battle to secure some help: he was detained by him along time (over three lines starting at line beginning "constant illtreatment"): and his presence ignored, because the king hesitated toconclude the alliance with him yet feared to refuse. 

[B. C. 41 (_a. U. _ 713)]

Subsequently, when news of the defeat was brought and it appeared to bethe intention of the victors to spare no one who had resisted them, heremained among the barbarians, choosing to live with them rather thanperish at home. This Labienus, accordingly, as soon as he perceivedAntony's relaxation, his passion, and his journeying into Egypt, persuaded the Parthian monarch to make an attempt upon the Romans. Hesaid that their armies had been partly ruined, partly damaged, and thatthe remainder of the warriors were in revolt and would again be at war. Therefore he advised the king to subjugate Syria and the adjoiningdistricts, while Caesar was detained in Italy and with Sextus, and Antonyabandoned himself to love in Egypt. He promised that he would act asleader in the war, and announced that in this way he could detach many ofthe provinces, inasmuch as they were hostile to the Romans owing to thelatter's constant ill treatment of them. 

[-25-] By such words Labienus persuaded Orodes to wage war and the kingentrusted to him a large force and his son Pacorus, and with them invadedPhoenicia. They marched to Apamea and were repulsed from the wall, butwon over the garrisons in the country without resistance. These hadbelonged to the troops that followed Brutus and Cassius. Antony hadincorporated them in his own forces and at this time had assigned them togarrison Syria because they knew the country. So Labienus easily won overthese men, since they were well acquainted with, him, all except Saxa, their temporary leader. He was a brother of the general and was quaestor, and hence he alone refused to join the Parthian invaders. Saxa thegeneral was conquered in a set battle through the numbers and abilityof the cavalry, and when later by night he made a dash from hisentrenchments to get away, he was pursued. His flight was due to his fearthat his associates might take up with the cause of Labienus, who laboredto prevail upon them by shooting various pamphlets into the camp. Labienus took possession of these men and slew the greater part, thencaptured Apamea, which no longer resisted when Saxa had fled intoAntioch, since he was believed to be dead; he later captured Antioch, which the fugitive had abandoned, and at last, pursuing him in his flightinto Cilicia, seized the man himself and killed him. [-26-] Upon hisdeath Pacorus made himself master of Syria and subjugated all of itexcept Tyre. This city the Romans that survived and the natives who sidedwith them had occupied in advance, and neither persuasion nor force(for Pacorus had no fleet) could prevail against them. They accordinglyremained secure from capture. The rest Pacorus gained and then invadedPalestine, where he removed from office Hyrcanus, to whom the affairs ofthe district had been entrusted by the Romans, and set up his brotherAristobulus[45] as ruler instead because of the enmity existing betweenthem. Meantime Labienus had occupied Cilicia and had obtained theallegiance of the cities of the mainland except Stratonicea; Plancus infear of him had crossed over to the islands: most of these towns he tookwithout conflict, but Mylasa and Alabanda with great peril. These citieshad accepted garrisons from him, but murdered them on the occasion ofa festival and revolted. For this he himself punished the people ofAlabanda when he had captured it, and razed to the ground Mylasa, abandoned by the dwellers there. Stratonicea he besieged for a long time, but was unable to capture it in any way. 

In satisfaction of the defections mentioned he continued to levy moneyand rob the temples; and he named himself imperator and Parthicus, --thelatter being quite the opposite of the Roman custom, in that he took histitle from those he had led against his countrymen: whereas regularlyit would imply that he had conquered the Parthians instead of citizens. [-28-] Antony kept hearing of these operations as he did of whatever elsewas being done, such as matters in Italy, of which he was not in theleast ignorant; but in each instance he failed to make a timely defence, for owing to passion and drunkenness he devoted no thought either to hisallies or to his enemies. While he had been classed as a subordinate andwas pursuing high prizes, he gave strict attention to his task: when, however, he attained power, he no longer gave painstaking care to anysingle matter but joined in the wanton life of Cleopatra and the rest ofthe Egyptians until he was entirely undone. 

[B. C. 40 (_a. U_. 714)]

Rather late he was at last forced to bestir himself and sailed to Tyrewith the announcement that he was going to aid it, but on seeing that theremainder of the country had been occupied before his coming, he desertedthe inhabitants on the pretext that he had to wage war against Sextus. Onthe other hand he excused his dilatoriness with regard to the latter bybringing forward the activity of the Parthians. So on account of Sextushe gave no assistance to his allies and on account of his allies noassistance to Italy, but coasted along the mainland as far as Asia andcrossed into Greece. There, after meeting his mother and wife, he madeCaesar his enemy and cemented a friendship with Sextus. After this he wentover to Italy and got possession of Sipontum but besieged Brundusium, which refused to come to terms with him. 

[-28-] While he was thus engaged, Caesar, who had already arrived fromGaul, had collected his forces and had sent Publius Servilius Rullus toBrundusium, and Agrippa against Sipontum. The latter took the city bystorm, but Servilius was suddenly attacked by Antony who destroyed manyand won over many others. The two leaders had thus broken out into openwar and proceeded to send about to the cities and to the veterans, or toany place whence they thought they could get any aid. All Italy was againthrown into turmoil and Rome especially; some were already choosing oneside or the other, and others were hesitating. While the chief figuresthemselves and those who were to follow their fortunes were in a quiverof excitement, Fulvia died in Sicyon, --the city where she was staying. Antony was really responsible for her death through his passion forCleopatra and the latter's lewdness. But at any rate, when this news wasannounced, both sides laid down their arms and effected a reconciliation, either because Fulvia had actually been the original cause of theirvariance or because they chose to make her death an excuse in view of thefear with which each inspired the other and the equality of their forcesand hopes. The arrangement made allotted to Caesar Sardinia, Dalmatia, Spain and Gaul, and to Antony all the districts that belonged to theRomans across the Ionian Sea, both in Europe and in Asia. The provincesin Libya were held by Lepidus, and Sicily by Sextus. 

[-29-] The government they divided anew in this way and the war againstSextus they made a common duty, although Antony through messengers hadtaken oaths before him against Caesar. And it was chiefly for this reasonthat Caesar had schooled himself to receive under a general amnesty allthose who had gone over to the enemy in the war with Lucius, Antony'sbrother, some among them, Domitius particularly, who had been of theassassins, as well as all those whose names had been posted on thetablets or had in any way coöperated with Brutus and Cassius and laterembraced the cause of Antony. So great is the irony to be found infactions and wars; for those in power decide nothing according tojustice, but determine on friend and foe as their temporary needs andadvantages demand. Therefore they regard the same men now as enemies, nowas useful helpers, according to the occasion. 

[-30-] When they had reached this agreement in the camp outsideBrundusium, they entertained each other, Caesar in a soldierly, Romanfashion, and Antony with Asiatic and Egyptian manners. As it appearedthat they had become reconciled, the soldiers who were at that timefollowing Caesar surrounded Antony and demanded of him the money whichthey had promised them before the battle of Philippi. It was for thishe had been sent into Asia, to collect as much as possible. And when hefailed to give them anything, they would certainly have done him someharm, if Caesar had not restrained them by feeding them with new hopes. After this experience, to guard against further unruliness, they sentthose soldiers who were clearly disqualified by age into the colonies, and then took up the war anew. For Sextus had come into Italy accordingto the agreement made between himself and Antony, intending with thelatter's help to wage war against Caesar: when he learned that they hadsettled their difficulties he himself went back into Sicily, but orderedMenas, a freedman of his on whom he placed great reliance, to coast aboutwith a portion of the fleet and damage the interests of the other side. He, accordingly, inflicted injury upon considerable of Etruria andmanaged to capture alive Marcus Titius, the son of Titius who had beenproscribed and was then with Sextus; this son had gathered ships forenterprises of his own and was blockading the province of Narbonensis. Titius underwent no punishment, being preserved for his father's sake andbecause his soldiers carried the name of Sextus on their shields: he didnot, however, recompense his benefactor fairly, but fought him to thelast ditch and finally slew him, so that his name is remembered among themost prominent of his kind. Menas besides the exploits mentioned sailedto Sardinia and had a conflict with Marcus Lurius, the governor there;and at first he was routed, but later when the other was pursuing himheedlessly he awaited the attack and contrary to expectations won avictory in turn. Thereupon his enemy abandoned the island and he occupiedit. All the towns capitulated, save Caralis, which he took by siege:it was there that many fugitives from the battle had taken refuge. Hereleased without ransom among others of the captives Helenus, a freedmanof Caesar in whom his master took especial delight: he thus laid up forhimself with that ruler a kindness long in advance by way of preparing arefuge for himself, if he should ever need aught at Caesar's hands. 

[-31-] He was occupied as above described. And the people in Rome refusedto remain quiet since Sardinia was in hostile hands, the coast was beingpillaged, and they had been cut off from importation of grain, whilefamine and the great number of taxes of all sorts that were being imposedand the "contributions, " in addition, that were laid upon such aspossessed slaves irritated them greatly. As much as they were pleasedwith the reconciliation of Antony and Caesar, --for thought that harmonybetween these men meant peace for themselves, --they were equally or moredispleased at the war the two men were carrying on against Sextus. Buta short time previously they had brought the two rulers into the citymounted on horses as if at a triumph, and had bestowed upon them thetriumphal robe precisely similar to that worn by persons celebrating, hadmade them view the festivals from their chairs of state and had hastenedto espouse to Antony, when once her husband was dead, Octavia the sisterof Caesar, though she was then pregnant. Now, however, they changed theirbehavior to a remarkable degree. At first forming in groups or gatheringat some spectacle they urged Antony and Caesar to secure peace, crying outa great deal to this effect. When the men in power would not heed them, they fell at odds with them and favored Sextus. They talked frequently inhis behalf, and at the horse-races honored by a loud clapping of handsthe statue of Neptune carried in the procession, evincing great pleasureat it. When for some days it was not brought in, they took stones anddrove the officials from the Forum, threw down the images of Caesar andAntony, and finally, on not accomplishing anything in this way even, rushed violently upon them as if to kill them. Caesar, although hisfollowers were wounded, rent his clothes and betook himself tosupplicating them, whereas Antony presented a less yielding front. Hence, because the wrath of the populace was aroused to the highest pitch andit was feared that they would commit some violence, the two rulers wereforced unwillingly to make propositions of peace to Sextus. 

[-32-] Meantime they removed the praetors and the consuls though it wasnow near the close of the year, and appointed others instead, caringlittle that these would have but a few days to hold office. (One of thosewho at this time became consuls was Lucius Cornelius Balbus, of Gades, who so much surpassed the men of his generation in wealth and munificencethat at his death he left a bequest of twenty-five denarii to each of theRomans. ) They not only did this, but when an aedile died on the last dayof the year, they chose another to fill out the closing hours. It was atthis same time that the so-called Julian supply of water was piped intoRome and the festival that had been vowed for the successful completionof the war against the assassins was held by the consuls. The dutiesbelonging to the so-called Septemviri were performed by the pontifices, since none of the former was present: this was also done on many otheroccasions. 

[-33-] Besides these events which took place that year Caesar gave apublic funeral to his pedagogue Sphaerus, who had been freed by him. Alsohe put to death Salvidienus Rufus, suspected of plotting against him. This man was of most obscure origin, and while he was a shepherd a flamehad issued from his head. He had been so greatly advanced by Caesar thathe was made consul without even being a member of the senate, and hisbrother who died before him had been laid to rest across the Tiber, abridge being constructed for this very purpose. But nothing human islasting, and he was finally accused in the senate by Caesar himself andexecuted as an enemy of his and of the entire people; thanksgivingswere offered for his downfall and furthermore the care of the city wascommitted to the triumvirs with the customary admonition, "that it shouldsuffer no harm. "

[B. C. 41 (_a. U_. 713)]

In the year previous to this men belonging to the order of knights hadslaughtered wild beasts at the horse-race which came in the course ofthe Ludi Apollinares, and an intercalary day was inserted, contrary tocustom, in order that the market held every nine days should not fallon the first day of the following year, --something which was strictlyforbidden from very early times. Naturally the day had to be subtractedagain later, in order that the calendar should run according to thesystem devised by the former Caesar. The domain of Attalus and ofDeiotarus, who had both died in Gaul, was given to a certain Castor. Alsothe so-called Lex Falcidia, which has the greatest force even stillin regard to the succession to inheritances, was enacted by PubliusFalcidius, a tribune: its terms are that if an heir feels oppressed inany way, he may secure at least a fourth, of the property left behind bysurrendering the rest. 

[B. C. 39 (_a. U_. 715)]

[-34-] These were the events of the two years; the next season, whenLucius Marcius and Gaius Sabinus held the consulship, the acts of thetriumvirs from the time they had formed a close combination receivedratification at the hands of the senate, and certain further taxes wereimposed by them, because the expenditures proved far greater than hadbeen allowed for in the time of the former Caesar. For they were expendingvast sums, especially upon the soldiers, and were ashamed of being theonly ones to lay out money contrary to custom. Then I might mention thatCaesar now for the first time shaved his beard, and held a magnificententertainment himself besides granting all the other citizens a festivalat public expense. He also kept his chin smooth afterward, like the rest;he was already beginning to conceive a passion for Livia, and for thisreason divorced at once Scribonia, who had borne him a daughter. Hence, as the expenditures grew far greater than before, and the revenues werenot anywhere sufficient but at this time came in in even smaller amountsby reason of the factional disputes, they introduced certain new taxes;and they enrolled in the senate as many persons as possible, not onlyfrom among the allies or soldiers, or sons of freedmen, but even slaves. At any rate one Maximus, when about to become quaestor, was recognized byhis master and taken away. And he incurred no injury through having daredto stand for the office: but another who had been caught serving as apraetor, was hurled down the rocks of the Capitol, having beenfirst freed, that there might be some legal justification for hispunishment[46]. 

[-35-] The expedition which Antony was getting in readiness against theParthians afforded them some excuse for the mass of prospective senators. The same plea permitted them to extend all the offices for a number ofyears and that of consul to eight full years, rewarding some of those whohad coöperated with them, and bringing others to trial. They chose nottwo annual consuls, as had been the custom, but now for the first timeseveral, and on the very day of the elections. Formerly, to be sure, somehad held office after others who had neither died nor been removed fordisenfranchisement or in any other way: but those persons had becomeofficials as suited those who had been elected for the entire year, whereas now no magistrate was chosen to serve for a year, but first one, then another would be appointed for different divisions of the entiretime. Also the men first to enter upon office were accustomed to hold thetitle of the consulship through the entire year as is now done: the restwere accorded the same title by the dwellers in the capital themselvesand by the people in the rest of Italy during each period of their office(as is also now the custom), but those in outside nations knew few ornone of them and therefore called them lesser consuls. 

[-36-] This was the situation at home when the leaders first madeproposals to Sextus through companions as to how and on what terms theycould effect a reconciliation; afterward the parties concerned held aconference near Misenum. The two from the capital took their stand on theland, the other on a kind of mound constructed for his safety in the sea, by which it was purposely surrounded, not far from them. There was alsopresent the entire fleet of Sextus and the entire infantry force of theother two; and not that merely, but the one command had been drawn up onthe shore and the other on the ships, both fully armed, so that this veryfact made it perfectly evident to all that it was from fear of theiraccoutrement and from necessity, that the two rulers were making peacebecause of the people and Sextus because of his adherents. The compactwas framed upon the following conditions, --that the deserters fromamong the slaves should be free and that all those driven out, savethe assassins, should be restored. The latter, of course, they had toexclude, but in reality several of them were destined to return. Sextushimself, indeed, was thought to have been one of them. It was recorded, at any rate, that all the rest save those mentioned should be allowed toreturn under a general amnesty and with a right to a quarter of theirconfiscated property; that tribuneships, praetorships and priesthoodsshould be given to some of them immediately; that Sextus himself shouldbe chosen consul and be appointed augur, should obtain seventeen hundredand fifty myriads of denarii from his paternal estate, and should governSicily, Sardinia and Achaea for five years, not receiving deserters noracquiring more ships nor keeping any garrisons in Italy, but bendinghis efforts to secure peace on the sea for the peninsula, and sending astated amount of grain to the people of the City. They limited him tothis period of time because they wished it to appear that they also wereholding merely a temporary and not an unending authority. 

[-37-] After settling and drafting these compacts they deposited thedocuments with the priestesses, --the vestal virgins, --and then exchangedpledges and treated one another as friends. Upon this a tremendous andinextinguishable shout arose from the mainland and the ships at once. Formany soldiers and many individuals who were present suddenly uttered acry in unison because they were terribly tired of the war and vehementlydesired peace. And the mountains resounded so that great panic and alarmwere spread, and many died of fright at the very reverberation, whileothers perished by being trampled under foot and suffocated. Those whowere in the small boats did not wait to reach the land itself but jumpedout into the sea and the rest rushed out into the breakers. Meantimethey embraced one another while swimming and threw their arms around oneanother's necks under water, making a diversified picture accompanied bydiversified sounds. Some knew that their relatives and associates wereliving and seeing them present gave way to unrestrained joy. Others, thinking that those dear to them had died previously, saw them nowunexpectedly and for a long time knew not what to do but were renderedspeechless, distrusting their sight yet praying that it might be true;and they were not sure of them until they had called their names and hadheard them say something. They rejoiced as if the men had been broughtto life again, but as they were forced to share their pleasure with amultitude they did not continue without tears. Again, some who wereunaware that their loved ones had perished and thought they were aliveand present sought for them and went about asking every one they metregarding them. As long as they could learn nothing they were likemaniacs and were torn different ways, both hoping to find them andfearing that they were dead, --not able to despair in view of their desirenor to indulge in grief in view of their hope. On learning at last thetruth they would tear their hair and rend their clothing, calling uponthe lost by name as if they could hear anything and giving way to griefas if their friends were just dead and lying there somewhere. And if anyof them were affected in no such way, they were at least disturbed by theexperiences of the rest. They either rejoiced with somebody in joy orgrieved with somebody in pain, and so, even if they were free frompersonal interest, yet they could not remain indifferent on account oftheir connection with the rest. As a result there was no possibility oftheir being either sated or ashamed, because they were all affected inthe same way, and they spent the entire day as well as the greater partof the night in this behavior. 

[-38-] After this the parties chiefly concerned as well as the restreceived one another and inaugurated entertainments in turn, firstSextus on the ship and then Caesar and Antony on the shore. Sextus so farsurpassed them in power that he would not disembark to meet them on themainland until they had gone aboard his boat. In the course of thisproceeding, however, he refused to murder them both in the small boatwith only a few followers, though he might easily have done so and Menasadvised it[47]. To Antony, who had possession of his ancestral home atCarinae (the spot so named is in the city of Rome), he uttered a jestin the happiest manner, saying that he was entertaining them atCarinae, --that is, on the "keels of ships, " which is the meaning of theword in Latin. Nevertheless he did not act in any way as if he boremalice toward them, and on the following day he was feasted in turn andbetrothed his daughter to Marcus Marcellus, the nephew of Caesar. 

[-39-] This war, then, had been deferred: that of Labienus and theParthians came to an end in the following way. Antony himself returnedfrom Italy to Greece and delayed there a very long time, satisfying hisdesires and harming the cities, to the end that they should be deliveredto Sextus in the weakest possible condition. He lived during this time inmany ways contrary to the customs of his country. He called himself theyounger Dionysus and insisted on being called so by others. When theAthenians in view of this and his other behavior betrothed Athena to him, he declared he accepted the marriage and he exacted from them a dowry ofone hundred myriads. While he was occupied in this way he sent PubliusVentidius before him into Asia. The latter came upon Labienus beforehis presence was announced and terrified him by the suddenness of hisapproach and by his legions; for the Parthian leader was separated fromthe members of his tribe and had only soldiers from the neighborhood. Ventidius found that he would not even risk a conflict and so pushed himback and pursued him into Syria, taking the lightest part of his fightingforce with him on the expedition. He overtook him near the Taurus rangeand allowed him to proceed no farther, and they encamped there quietlyfor several days. Labienus awaited the Parthians and Ventidius theheavy-armed soldiers. [-40-] Both came at once during the same days andVentidius through fear of the barbarian cavalry remained on the highground, where he was encamped. The Parthians, because of their numbersand because they had conquered once before, despised their opponents androde up to the hill at dawn, before joining Labienus; as no one came outto meet them, they attacked it, charging straight up the incline. Whenthey were in that position the Romans rushed out and easily routed them, as it was down-hill. Many of the assailants were killed in conflict, butstill more in turning back were confused with one another; for some hadalready been routed and others were coming up. The survivors took refugenot with Labienus but in Cilicia. Ventidius pursued them as far as thecamp, and there, seeing Labienus, stopped. The latter marshaled hisforces as if to offer him battle, but perceiving that his soldiers weredejected by reason of the flight of the barbarians he did not thenventure any opposition and when night came he attempted to escape insome direction. Ventidius learned beforehand from deserters of thecontemplated move and by posting ambushes killed many in the retreat andtook possession of the rest, who were abandoned by Labienus. The latterby changing his dress reached safety and for some time escaped detectionin Cilicia. Later he was captured by Demetrius, a freedman of the formerCaesar, who had at this time been assigned to Cyprus by Antony. He learnedthat Labienus was in hiding and made a search for him, which resulted inthe fugitive's arrest. 

[-41-] After this Ventidius recovered Cilicia and attended himself tothe administration of this district, but sent ahead Pompaedius Silo withcavalry to Amanus. This is a mountain on the border between Cilicia andSyria, and contains a pass so narrow that a wall and gates were oncebuilt across it and the place received its name from that fact. Silo, however, found himself unable to occupy it and ran in danger of beingannihilated by Phranapates, lieutenant of Pacorus, who was guarding thepassage. And that would have been his fate, had not Ventidius by chancecome upon him when he was fighting and defended him. He attacked thebarbarians, who were not looking for his arrival and were likewise fewerin number, and slew Phranapates and many others. In this way he gainedSyria deserted by the Parthians, --all except the district of theAradii, --and subsequently without effort occupied Palestine, by scaringaway from it King Antigonus. Besides accomplishing this he exacted largesums of money from the rest individually, and large sums also fromAntigonus and Antiochus and Malchus the Nabathaean, because they hadgiven help to Pacorus. Ventidius himself received no reward for theseachievements from the senate, since he was acting not with full powers, but as a lieutenant: Antony, however, obtained praise and thanksgivings. As for the Aradii, they were afraid that they might have to pay thepenalty for what they had ventured against Antony, and would not come toterms though they were besieged by him for a time; later they were withdifficulty captured by others. 

[-40-] About this same time an uprising took place in Parthian Illyricum, but was put down by Pollio after some conflicts. There was another on thepart of the Ceretani in Spain, and they were subjugated by Calvinus afterhe had had some little preliminary successes and also a preliminarysetback; this last was occasioned by his lieutenant, who was ambuscadedby the barbarians and deserted by his soldiers. Their leader undertookno operation against the enemy until he had punished them. Callingthem together as if for some other purpose he had the rest of the armysurround them; and out of two companies of a hundred he chose out everytenth man for punishment and chastised the centurion who was serving inthe so-called primus pilus as well as many others. After doing this andgaining, like Marcus Crassus, a renown for his disciplining the army, heset out against his opponents and with no great difficulty vanquishedthem. He obtained a triumph in spite of the fact that Spain was assignedto Caesar; for the rulers could at will grant the honors to those whoserved as their lieutenants. The money customarily given by the citiesfor the purpose Calvinus took only from the Spanish towns, and of it hespent a part on the festival but the greater portion on the palace. Ithad been burned down and he built it up, adorning it splendidly at thededication with various objects and with images, in particular, which heasked from Caesar, implying that he would send them back. Though askedfor them later, he did not return them, excusing himself by a witticism. Pretending that he had not enough assistants, he said: "Send some men andtake them. " Caesar shrank from seizure of sacred things and hence allowedthem to remain as votive offerings. 

[B. C. 38 (_a. U_. 716)]

[-43-] This is what happened at that time. Now in the consulship ofAppius Claudius and Gaius Norbanus, who were the first to have twoquaestors apiece as associates, the populace revolted against the taxgatherers, who oppressed them severely, and came to blows with the menthemselves, their assistants, and the soldiers that helped them to exactthe money; and sixty-seven praetors one after another were appointed andheld office. One who was chosen to be quaestor while still reckoned asa child then on the next day obtained the standing of a iuvenis: andanother person who had been enrolled in the senate desired to fight inthe arena. He was prevented, however, from doing this, and an act waspassed prohibiting any senator from taking part in gladiatorial combats, any slave from serving as lictor, and any burning of dead bodies frombeing carried on within fifteen stadia of the city. 

Many things of a portentous nature had come to pass even before that time(such as olive oil spouting beside the Tiber), and many, also, preciselythen. The tent of Romulus was burned as a result of some ritual which thepontifices were performing in it; a statue of Virtus, standing beforesome of the gates, fell upon its face; and certain persons renderedinspired by the Mother of the Gods declared that the goddess was angrywith them. On this point the Sibylline books were consulted. They madethe same statements and prescribed that the statue be taken down tothe sea and purified with water from it. In obedience to the order thegoddess went very far indeed out into the surges, where she remained anextremely long time and returned only quite late, --her action causing theRomans no little fear, so that they did not recover courage until fourpalm trees grew up round about her temple and in the Forum. 

[-44-] Besides these occurrences at the time Caesar married Livia. She wasthe daughter of Livius Drusus, who had been among those proscribed by thetablet and had committed suicide after the defeat in Macedonia, andthe wife of Nero, whom she had accompanied in his flight, as has beenrelated. She was also in the sixth month with child from him. When Caesaraccordingly hesitated and enquired of the pontifices whether it waspermissible to wed her while pregnant, they answered that if the originof the foetus were doubtful, the marriage should be put off, but if itwere definitely admitted, nothing prevented an immediate consummation. Perhaps they really found this among the ordinances of the forefathers, but certainly they would have said so even had they not found it. Thewoman was given in marriage by her husband himself, as some father mightdo. And the following incident occurred at the marriage feast. One of theprattling boys, such as women frequently keep about them naked to playwith, [48] on seeing Livia reclining in one place with Caesar and Nero inanother with some man, went up to her and said: "What are you doing here, mistress? For your husband, " pointing him out, "is reclining over there. "After these events, when the woman went to live with Caesar, she gavebirth to Claudius Drusus Nero. Caesar took him and sent him to his father, making this entry in the records, that Caesar returned to its father Nerothe child borne by Livia, his own wife. Nero died not long after and leftCaesar himself as guardian to this boy and to Tiberius: the populace had agood deal to say about this, among other things that the prosperous havechildren in three months; and this saying passed into a proverb. 

[-45-] At just about the same time that this was going on in the cityBogud the Moor sailed to Spain, acting either on instructions from Antonyor on his own motion, and did much damage, receiving also considerableinjury in return: meantime the people of his own land in the neighborhoodof Tingi rose against him, and so he evacuated Spain but failed to winback his own domain. For the adherents of Caesar in Spain and Bocchus cameto the aid of the rebels and proved too much for him. Bogud departed tojoin Antony, while Bocchus forthwith took possession of his kingdom, andthis act was afterward confirmed by Caesar. The Tingitanians were givencitizenship. 

At this time and even earlier Sextus and Caesar had broken out into war;for since they had come to an agreement not of their own free will orchoice but under compulsion, they did not abide by it any time at all, so to speak, but broke the truce at once and stood opposed. They weredestined to come to war under any conditions, even if they had found noexcuse; their alleged grievances, however, were the following. Menas, whowas at this time still in Sardinia, as if he were a kind of praetor, hadincurred the suspicion of Sextus by his release of Helenus and because hehad been in communication with Caesar, and he was slandered to some extentby his peers, who envied his position of power. He was therefore summonedby Sextus on the pretext that he should give an account of the grain andmoney of which he had charge; instead of obeying he seized and killedthe men sent to him on this errand, and after negotiating with Caesarsurrendered to him the island, the fleet together with the army, andhimself. Caesar was glad to see him and declared that Sextus was harboringdeserters contrary to the treaty, having triremes built, and keepinggarrisons in Italy: and so far from giving up Menas on demand, hesupported him in great honor, gave him the decoration of gold rings, andenrolled him in the order of the knights. The matter of the gold ringsis as follows. Of the ancient Romans no one, --not to mention such as hadonce been slaves, --who had grown up as a free citizen even, was allowedto wear gold rings, save senators and knights, --as has been stated. Therefore they are given to those freedmen whom the man in power mayselect; although they may use gold in other ways, this is still anadditional honor and distinguishes them as superior, or as capable, through having been freed, of becoming knights. 

[-46-] Such is the matter in question. Sextus, having this as a reproachagainst Caesar, and the further facts that Achaea had been impoverishedand the rights agreed upon were not granted either to him or to therestored exiles, sent to Italy Menecrates, another freedman of his, andhad him ravage Volturnum and other parts of Campania. Caesar on learningthis took the documents containing the treaty from the vestal virgins andsent for Antony and Lepidus. Lepidus did not at once obey. Antony came toBrundusium from Greece where, by chance, he still was: but before he metCaesar, who was in Etruria, he became alarmed because a wolf had enteredhis head-quarters and killed soldiers; so he sailed back to Greece again, making the urgency of the Parthian situation his excuse. Caesar, howevermuch he felt that he had been abandoned by his colleague with the purposethat he should face the difficulties of the war alone, neverthelessshowed no anger openly. Sextus kept repeating that Antony was not forpunishing him and set himself more zealously to the task in hand. Finallyhe sailed against Italy, landed at different points, inflicted muchinjury and endured much in return. Meantime off Cyme there was a navalbattle between Menecrates and Calvisius Sabinus. In this several ships ofCaesar were destroyed, because he was arrayed against expert seafarers;but Menecrates out of rivalry attacked Menas and perished, making theloss of Sextus an equal one. For this reason the latter laid no claim tovictory and Caesar consoled himself over the defeat. [-47-] He happened atthis time to be in Rhegium, and the party of Sextus feared he would crossover into Sicily; and being somewhat disheartened, too, at the deathof Menecrates, they set sail from Cyme. Sabinus pursued them as faras Scyllaeum, the Italian promontory, without trouble. But, as he wasrounding that point, a great wind fell upon him, hurling some of theships against the promontory, sinking others out at sea, and scatteringall the rest. Sextus on ascertaining this sent the fleet under command ofApollophanes against them. He, discovering Caesar coasting along somewherein these parts with the intention of crossing into Sicily along withSabinus, made a dash upon him. Caesar had the ships come to anchor, marshaled the heavy-armed soldiers upon them, and at first made a nobleresistance. The ships were drawn up with prows facing outward and sooffered no safe point for attack, but being shorter and higher could domore hurt to those that approached them, and the heavy-armed fighters, when they could come in conflict with the enemy, proved far superior. Apollophanes, however, transferred such as were wounded and were indifficulty from time to time to other ships assigned for the purpose, bybacking water, and took on board fresh men; he also made constant chargesand used missiles carrying fire, so that his adversary was at lastrouted, fled to the land, and came to anchor. When even then the pursuerspressed him hard, some of Caesar's ships suddenly cut their anchors andunexpectedly offered opposition. It was only this and the fact that nightinterrupted operations that kept Apollophanes from burning some of theships and towing all the rest away. 

[-48-] After this event an ill-fated wind on the following day fell uponCaesar and Sabinus as they were anchored together and made their previousreverse seem small. The fleet of Sabinus suffered the less, for Menas, being an old hand on the sea, foresaw the storm. He immediately stationedhis ships out at sea, letting them ride with slack anchors some distanceapart, so that the ropes should not be stretched and break; then he roweddirectly against the wind, and in this way no rope was strained, and heremained constantly in the same position, recovering by the use of theoars all the distance which he lost by the impetus of the wind. Theremaining commanders, because they had gone through a severe experiencethe day before, and as yet had no precise knowledge of nautical matters, were cast out upon the shore close by and lost many ships. The night, which had been of the greatest aid to them before, was now among thechief agencies in promoting disaster. All through it the wind blewviolently, tearing the vessels from their anchors and dashing themagainst the rocks. That of course was the end of them, and the sailorsand marines likewise perished without hope of rescue, since the darknessprevented them from seeing ahead and they could not hear a word becauseof the uproar and the reverberation from the mountains, especially sincethe wind smote them in the face. So it was that Caesar despaired of Sicilyand was satisfied to guard the coast country: Sextus on the other handwas still more elated, believing himself in very truth to be the son ofNeptune, and he put on a dark blue robe besides, as some relate, castinghorses as well as men alive into the straits. He plundered and harassedItaly himself, sending Apollophanes to Libya. The latter was pursued byMenas, who overtook and injured him. The islands round about Sicily wentover to the side of Sextus, whereupon Caesar seized the territory of theLipareans in advance and ejecting them from the island conveyed them toCampania, where he forced them to live in Neapolis so long as the warshould continue. [-49-] Meantime he kept having boats made throughoutalmost all of Italy and collected slaves for rowers first from hisfriends, who were supposed to give willingly, and then from therest, --senators and knights and well-to-do private citizens. He alsoassembled heavy-armed troops and gathered money from all citizens, allies, and subjects, both in Italy and abroad. 

This year and the following he spent on the construction of ships and thegathering and training of rowers. 

[B. C. 37 (_a. U_. 717)]

He himself oversaw and arranged these details and all other matters inItaly and in Gaul (where there was a slight uprising). To Agrippa heentrusted the equipment of the boats. He sent for this man, who wasfighting against the revolted Gauls, at the time when he had been thesecond of the Romans to cross the Rhine for purposes of warfare, and hehonored him by bestowing a triumph and bidding him to secure thebuilding and training of the fleet. Agrippa, --he was consul with LuciusGallus, --would not hold the triumph, deeming it disgraceful for him toexalt himself when Caesar had fared poorly, but set to work heart and soulto fit out the fleet. All along the coasts of Italy vessels were takingshape; but since no shore was found safe for them to ride at anchor, --themajority of the coast land being still in those days without harbors, --heconceived and executed a magnificent enterprise which I shall describe atsome length, showing its nature and the present characteristics of thelocality where it took place. 

[-50-] At Cyme in Campania, between Misenum and Puteoli, there is acrescent-shaped spot. It is shut in by small hills, bare except in afew places, and the sea there forms a kind of triple bay. The first isoutside and near the cities; the second is separated from it by a smallpassage; and the third, like a real harbor, is seen far back. The lastnamed is called Avernus, and the middle bay Lucrinus: the outer onebelongs to the Tyrrhenian Sea and takes its name from that water. In thisroadstead within the other two, which had but narrow entrances then, Agrippa, by cutting channels close along the shore through the landseparating Lucrinus from the sea on each side, produced harbors affordingmost safe anchorage for ships. While the men were working a certain imagesituated above Avernus, either of Calypso to whom this place, whitherthey say Odysseus also sailed, is devoted, or to some other heroine, wascovered with sweat like a human body. [-51-] Now what this imported Icannot say; but I will go on to tell of everything else worth reportingwhich I saw in that place. These mountains close to the inner bodies ofwater have springs full of both fire and water in considerable quantitymixed together. Neither of the two elements is anywhere to be found byitself (that is, neither pure fire or cold water alone is to be seen) butfrom their association the water is heated and the fire moistened. Theformer on its way down the foothills to the sea runs into reservoirs andthe inhabitants conduct the steam from it through pipes into rooms setup high, where they use the steam for vapor baths. The higher it ascendsfrom the earth and from the water, the dryer it becomes. Costly apparatushas been installed for turning both the fire and the vapor to practicaluse; and they are very well suited for employment in the conduct of dailylife and also for effecting cures. 

Now besides these products that mountain makes an earth, the peculiarnature of which I am going to describe. Since the fire has not the powerof burning (for by its union with, the water all its blazing qualitiesare extinguished) but is still able to separate and melt the substanceswith which it comes in contact, it follows that the oily part of theearth is melted by it, whereas the hard and what I might call the bonypart of it is left as it was. Hence the masses of earth necessarilybecome porous and when exposed to the dry air crumble into dust, but whenthey are placed in a swirl of water and sand grow into a solid piece; asmuch of them as is in the liquid hardens and petrifies. The reason forthis is that the brittle element in them is disintegrated and broken upby the fire, which possesses, the same nature, but by the admixture ofdampness is chilled, and so, being compressed all over, through andthrough, becomes indissoluble. Such is Baiae, where Agrippa as soon as hehad constructed the entrances collected ships and rowers, of which hefortified the former with armor and trained the latter to row on woodenbenches. 

[-52-] Now the population of Rome was being disturbed by signs. Among thevarious pieces of news brought to them was one to the effect that manydolphins battled with one another and perished near Aspis, the Africancity. And in the vicinity of the City blood descended from heaven and wassmeared all about by the birds. When at the Ludi Romani not one of thesenators was entertained on the Capitol, as had been the custom, theytook this, too, as a portent. Again, the incident that happened to Liviacaused her pleasure, but inspired the rest with terror. A white birdcarrying a sprig of fruited laurel had been thrown by an eagle into herlap. As this seemed to be a sign of no small importance, she took care ofthe bird and planted the laurel. The latter took root and grew, so thatit amply supplied those who were afterward to celebrate triumphs; andLivia was destined to hold Caesar's power in a fold of her robe and todominate him in everything. 

[-53-] The rest, however, in the City had their peace of mind thoroughlyshattered by this and the differences between officials. Not only theconsuls and praetors but even the quaestors were arrayed against oneanother, and this lasted for some time. The reason was that all wereanxious not so much to hold office a longer time at home as to be countedamong the ex-officials and secure the outward honors and influence thatbelonged to that class. They were no longer chosen for any specifiedtime, but took just long enough to enter upon the title of the office andresign, whenever it so seemed good to those in power. Many did bothon the same day. Some actually had to abandon hope of offices throughpoverty, and in this I am not speaking of those then supporting Sextus, who had been disenfranchised as if by some principle of right. Butwe have the case of a certain Marcus Oppius who through lack of meansdesired to resign the aedileship, --both he and his father had been amongthe proscribed, --and the populace would not permit it, but contributedmoney for his various necessities of life and the expenses of his office. And the story goes that some criminals, too, really came into the theatrein masks as if they were actors and left their money there with the rest. So this man was loved by the multitude while in life and at his death notlong after was carried to the Campus Martius and there burned and buried. The senate was indignant at the utter devotion of the masses to him andtook up his bones, on the plea that it was impious for them to lie inthat consecrated spot; they were persuaded by the pontifices to make thisdeclaration although they buried many other men there both before andafter. 

[-54-] At this same period Antony came into Italy again from Syria. Thereason he gave was that he intended to bear his share of the war againstSextus because of Caesar's mishaps; he did not, however, stay by hiscolleague, but, having come to spy upon his actions rather than toaccomplish anything, he gave him some ships and promised to send others, in return for which he received heavy-armed infantry and set sailhimself, stating that he was going to conduct a campaign against theParthians. Before he departed they presented to each other their mutualgrievances, at first through friends and then personally. As they had noleisure for war together they became reconciled in a way, chiefly throughthe instrumentality of Octavia. In order that they might be bound bystill more ties of relationship Caesar betrothed his daughter to Antyllis, Antony's son, and Antony betrothed to Domitius, though he had been anassassin of Caesar and had been proscribed to die, his own daughter, borneto him by Octavia. This was all mutual pretence. They had no intention ofcarrying out any of these unions, but were acting a part in view of theneeds of the existing situation. Furthermore Antony sent Octavia herselfat once from Corcyra to Italy, that she might not share his danger whilehe was warring against the Parthians. Besides the above negotiations atthat time they removed Sextus from his priesthood as well as from theconsulship to which he had been appointed, and granted themselves chiefauthority for another five years, since the first period had elapsed. After this Antony hastened to Syria and Caesar gave his attention to thewar. Nearly everything went as he wished, but Menas, who was naturallyuntrustworthy and always followed the fortunes of the stronger, and wasfurther vexed because he held no office but had been made a subordinateof Sabinus, deserted again to Sextus. 

DIO'S

ROMAN HISTORY

49

The following is contained in the Forty-ninth of Dio's Rome. 

How Caesar conquered Sextus and overthrew Lepidus (chapters 1-18). 

How Ventidius conquered and slew Pacorus and expelled the Parthians, driving them across the Euphrates (chapters 19-21). 

How Antony was defeated by the Parthians (chapters 22-33). 

How Caesar subjugated the Pannonians (chapters 34-38). 

How Antony by guile captured Artavasdes, the king of Armenia (chapters39-41). 

How the Portico of Paulus was consecrated (chapter 42). 

How Mauritania Caesariensis became Roman property (chapters 43, 44). 

Duration of time four years, in which there were the followingmagistrates here enumerated. 

L. Gellius L. F. Poplicola, M. Cocceius Nerva. (B. C. 36 = a. U. 718. )

L. Cornificius L. F. , Sextusi Pompeius Sexti F. (B. C. 35 = a. U. 719. )

M. Antonius M. F. (II), L. Scribonius L. F. Libo. (B. C. 34 = a. U. 720. )

Caesar (II), L. Volcacius L. F. Tullus. (B. C. 33 = a. U. 721. )

(_BOOK 49, BOISSEVAIN_. )

[B. C. 36 (a. U. 718)]

[-1-] This happened in the winter when Lucius Gellius and Cocceius Nervabecame consuls. Caesar, when his fleet had been made ready and spring setin, started from Baise and coasted along Italy, having great hopes ofencompassing Sicily on all sides. For he was sailing thither with manyships and those of Antony were already in the strait. Also Lepidus, though reluctantly, had promised to assist him. His greatest ground ofconfidence lay in the height of the vessels and the thickness of thetimbers. They had been built unusually stout and unusually high so asto carry the largest number of marines possible; indeed, they weresurmounted by towers, in order that the conflict might be waged from ahigher point, as if from a wall: they were further intended to resistthe rammings of antagonists and to bend aside their beaks by making thecollision more violent. With such calculations Caesar was hastening toSicily. As he was passing the promontory of Palinurus, so-called, a greatstorm fell upon him. This destroyed many ships, and Menas coming upon therest in confusion burned a number and towed away the rest. And had he notagain changed sides on the promise of immunity and through some otherhopes, besides betraying the whole fleet that he commanded by receivingsome triremes that simulated desertion, Caesar's voyage to Sicily on thisoccasion also would have proved fruitless. Menas's action was due to thefact that he was not allowed by Sextus to fight against Lepidus and wasunder suspicion in nearly every way. Caesar was then extremely glad toreceive him, but trusted him no longer. He first repaired the damagedships, freed the slaves that served on the triremes, and assigned thespare seamen, (many of whom when their vessels were destroyed in thewreck had dived and escaped by swimming) to Antony's fleet, which wasshort of men. Then he came to Lipara, and leaving there Agrippa and theships, returned to the mainland with the intention of transporting theinfantry across into Sicily, when an opportunity should arise. 

[-2-] On learning this Sextus himself lay quietly at anchor off Messana, watching for his attempt to cross, and ordered Demochares to anchoropposite Agrippa at Mylae. This pair spent most of the time in testingeach other's strength according as each one would temporarily give waya little; yet they did not dare to risk an engagement with their entirearmaments. They were not acquainted with each other's forces and on bothsides they figured everything about their opponents as being greater andmore terrible than the reality. Finally Agrippa comprehended that itwas not advantageous for him to delay, --for the adherents of Sextus, occupying a friendly position, had no need to hurry, --and taking the bestof his ships set out for Mylae to spy out the numbers of the enemy. As hecould not see them all and no one of them manifested any inclination tocome out into the open sea, he despised them, and on his return madepreparations to sail against Mylae on the following day with all hisships. Demochares came to much, the same conclusion. He had the idea thatthe ships which had approached him were the only ones, and seeing thatthey sailed very slowly by reason of their size he sent for Sextus bynight and made preparations to assail Lipara itself. When day broke, theywere sailing against each other, expecting to meet inferior numbers. [-3-] As they came near together and each contrary to his expectationssaw that his opponents were many more than he had thought, they were atfirst both alike thrown into confusion, and some even backed water. Then, fearing flight more than battle, because in the latter they hoped toprevail, but in the former they expected to be utterly destroyed, theymoved toward each other and joined in conflict on the sea. The one sidesurpassed in the number of its ships, the other in the experience of itssailors: to the first the height of the vessels, the thickness of thecatheads and the towers were a help, but charges straight ahead furtheredthe progress of the second, and the strength of Caesar's marines wasmatched by the daring of their antagonists; for the majority of them, being deserters from Italy, were quite desperate. As a result, possessingthe mutual advantages and deficiencies which I have mentioned, they hadequal power contributed by their evenly balanced equipment, and so theircontest was close for a very long period. The followers of Sextus alarmedtheir opponents by the way they dashed up the waves: and they knockedholes in some ships by assailing them with a rush and bursting open theparts outside the oars, but as they were struck from the towers in thecombat and brought alongside by grappling irons, they suffered no lessharm than they inflicted. The Caesarians, also, when they came into closeconflict and had crossed over to the hostile ships, proved superior; butas the enemy leaped out into the sea whenever the boats sank, and bytheir swimming well and being lightly equipped succeeded easily inclimbing upon others, the attackers were at a corresponding disadvantage. Meantime the rapidity with which the ships of the one party could sailproved an offset to the solidity of those on the other side, and theheaviness of the latter counterbalanced the agility of the former. [-4-]Late in the day, near nightfall, Caesar's party finally conquered, but instituted no pursuit: the reason as it appears to me and may beconjectured from probability was that they could not overtake the fleeingships and were afraid of running aground in the shallows, with which theywere unacquainted, near the coast. Some say that Agrippa because he wasbattling for Caesar and not for himself thought it sufficient merely torout his adversaries. For he had been in the habit of saying to his mostintimate associates that the majority of those holding sovereign powerwish no one to display more ability than themselves; and that theyattended personally to nearly all such matters as afford them a conquestwithout effort, but assign the less favorable and more complicatedbusiness to others. And if they ever are forced to entrust some choiceenterprise to their assistants, they are irritated and displeased at thelatter's renown. They do not pray that these subordinates may be defeatedand fare badly, yet they do not choose to have them win a completesuccess and secure glory from it. His advice therefore was that theman who intended to survive must relieve his masters of the annoyanceincident to such undertakings and still reserve for them the successfulcompletion of the work. As for me, I know that the above is regularlytrue and that Agrippa paid attention to it, but I am not setting downthat on that particular occasion this was the cause of his failure topursue. For he was not able, no matter how much he might have desired it, to follow up the foe. 

[-5-] While the naval battle was in progress, Caesar, as soon as heperceived that Sextus was gone from Messana and that the strait wasdestitute of guards, did not let slip this opportunity of the war butimmediately embarked on Antony's vessels and crossed to Tauromenium. Yetthis seizure of the opportunity was not accompanied by good fortune. Noone prevented him from sailing or disembarking, and he constructed hiscamp, as he had done everything else, at leisure. When, however, thenaval battle had ended, Sextus got back to Messana with speed, andlearning of Caesar's presence he quickly filled the ships with freshwarriors and assailed him with the vessels and also with his heavy-armedmen on land. Caesar did not come out to fight the latter, but sailed outagainst Sextus through contempt of the few opposing ships and becausethey had been previously defeated: then it was that he lost the majorityof his fleet and barely avoided destruction himself. He could not evenescape to his own men that were in Sicily but was glad to reach themainland in safety. He was himself then in security, but was mightilydisturbed at seeing his army cut off on the island. His confidence wasnot restored until a fish of its own accord jumped out of the sea andfell at his feet. By this incident his spirits were invigorated and hebelieved the soothsayers who had told him that he should make Sicily hisslave. 

[-6-] Caesar in haste sent for Agrippa to render aid to them, and meantimethey were being besieged. When, provisions began to fail them and norescuing force appeared, Cornificius their leader became afraid that ifhe stayed where he was he should in the course of time be compelled byhunger to yield to the besieging party; and he reflected that while hedelayed there in that way none of the enemy would come into conflict withhim, because he was stronger in point of heavy-armed infantry, but ifhe should go forward in any direction one of two things wouldhappen, --either they would be attacked by the enemy and come offvictorious, or, if their adversaries were unwilling to do this, theywould retire to a place of safety, get a supply of provisions, and obtainsome help from Caesar or from Agrippa. Therefore he burned all the vesselswhich had survived from the sea-fight and had been cast up against theramparts, and started out himself as if to proceed to Mylae. Both cavalryand light-armed troops attacked him from a distance (not daring to cometo close quarters) and proved frightfully troublesome to him. For theenemy came close, whenever there was good opportunity, and again turnedback with rapidity. But his men, being heavy-armed, could not pursue themin any way owing to the weight of their armor, and were endeavoring toprotect the unarmed, who had been saved from the fleet. As a result theywere continually suffering disastrously and could do no damage in return;for, in case they made a rush upon any group, they would put the foe toflight, but not being able to pursue farther they found themselves ina worse plight on their return, since by their sortie they had beenisolated. They endured the greatest hardship throughout their entirejourney, but chiefly in crossing the rivers. Then their adversarieshemmed them in as they were going along rapidly, in disorder, a few at atime, as usual on such occasions, and struck them in favorable spots thatthey saw exposed. They were shot at, moreover, whenever they encounteredplaces that were muddy or where the current was strong, and when theyhappened to be stuck for a moment or were carried down stream. [-7-]This the enemy did for three whole days and on the last demoralized themcompletely, especially since Sextus with his heavy-armed contingent hadbeen added to their attacking force. Consequently the Caesarians no longermourned such as were perishing but counted them fortunate to escape fromfurther torment, and in their hopelessness wished that they, too, wereamong those already dead, wounded were far more in number than thosedied, and being struck from a distance with stones and javelins andreceiving no blow from near at hand their wounds were in many places, and not as a rule favorably located. These men were themselves in greatdistress and they caused the survivors far more trouble than did theenemy. For if they were carried they usually brought about the death ofthe men supporting them, and if they were left behind, they threw thewhole army into dejection by their laments. The detachment would haveperished utterly, had not the foe, though reluctantly, taken their handsoff them. Agrippa, after winning the naval battle, had sailed backto Lipara, but when he learned that Sextus had fled to Messana andDemochares had gone off in some other direction, he crossed over toSicily, occupied Mylae and Tyndaris, and sent food and soldiers to theother party. Sextus, thinking that Agrippa himself would come likewise, became frightened and beat a hasty retreat before his approach, evenabandoning some baggage and supplies in his fortifications. The followersof Cornificius obtained from these ample support and made their way insafety to Agrippa. Caesar received them back with praises and gifts, although he had treated them after the victory of Agrippa in a verysupercilious manner, thinking the latter had finished the war. Cornificius, indeed, prided himself so much upon his preservation of thesoldiers, that in Rome, whenever he went out of his house to dine, healways returned home on the back of an elephant. 

[-8-] Caesar after this entered Sicily and Sextus encamped opposite him inthe vicinity of Artemisium. They did not have any great battle atonce, but indulged in a few slight cavalry skirmishes. While they werestationed there in hostile array Sextus received as an accession TisienusGallus, and Caesar Lepidus with his forces. Lepidus had encountered thestorm which I mentioned, and also Demochares, and he had lost a numberof ships: he did not come to Caesar immediately, but on account of hisreverse or to the end that his colleague should face difficulties byhimself or in the wish to draw Sextus away from him he had made anassault on Lilybaeum. Gallus was sent thither by Sextus and contendedagainst him. From there both the contestants, as they accomplishednothing, went to Artemisium. Gallus proved a source of strength toSextus, but Lepidus quarreled with Caesar; he claimed the privilege ofmanaging everything on equal terms with Caesar as his fellow-commander, whereas he was employed by him entirely in the capacity of lieutenant:therefore he inclined to favor Sextus and secretly held communicationwith him. Caesar suspected this, but dared not give expression to hisdoubts and alienate him openly, nor could he safely conceal his thoughts:he felt it would look suspicious if he should not consult him at all andthat it would be dangerous to reveal all his plans. Hence he determinedto dispose of the uncertainty as quickly as possible, before there wasany rebellion, though for most reasons there was no need of particularhaste. He had as much food and as much money as Sextus, and thereforehoped to overthrow him without effort before a great while. Still, whenhe had once reached this decision, he himself led out his land force andmarshaled it in front of the camp, while simultaneously Agrippa sailedclose in and lay at anchor. Sextus, whose forces were far inferior totheirs, would not oppose them on either element. This lasted for severaldays. Finally, Pompey became afraid that he might be despised for hisbehavior and be deserted by his allies, hence he gave orders for theships to weigh anchor; in these he reposed his chief trust. 

[-9-] When the signal was raised and the trumpet gave the first call, all the boats joined battle near the land and the infantry force ofboth alike was marshaled at the very edge of the breakers, so that thespectacle was a most notable one. The whole sea in that vicinity was fullof ships, --they were so many that they formed a long line, --and theland just back of it was occupied by the armed men, while that furtherremoved, but adjoining, was taken up by the rest of the throng thatfollowed each side. Wherefore, though the struggle seemed to be betweenthe fighters on the ships alone, in reality the others too participated. For those on the ships contended more valiantly in order to exhibittheir prowess to those beholding them, and the latter, in spite of beingconsiderably separated from them, nevertheless in watching the men inaction were themselves in a way concerned in the conflict. The battle wasfor a long time an even one, the fighting being precisely similar tothat in previous encounters, and the men on shore followed it with mindsequally intent. They were very hopeful of having the whole war settled bythis engagement: yet they felt encouraged even should that not prove thecase, the one party expecting that if they should conquer then no furtherlabor of importance would be theirs, and that if they should prevail onthis occasion they would incur no further danger of defeat. Accordingly, in order that they might keep their eyes fixed upon the action and notincommode those taking part in it they were silent or employed but littleshouting. Their cries were directed to the combatants or were addressedby way of invocation to the gods; such as got the upper hand receivedpraise and such as gave way abuse, and besides uttering many exhortationsto their warriors they shouted not a little against each other, wishingtheir own men to hear more easily what was said, and their opponents tocatch familiar words less frequently. 

[-10-] While the two sides were equally matched, these were theconditions among both parties alike and they even tried to show bygestures of the whole body that they could see and understand. When, however, the adherents of Sextus were routed, then in unison and withone impulse the one side raised the paean and the others a wail oflamentation. The soldiers as if they too had shared defeat at onceretired to Messana. Caesar took up such of the vanquished as were cast onshore and went into the sea itself to set on fire all the vesselsthat ran aground in shoal water; thus there was no safety for such ascontinued to sail, for they would be disabled by Agrippa, nor for such astried to land anywhere, for they were destroyed by Caesar, except fora few that made good their escape to Messana. In this hard positionDemochares on the point of being taken slew himself and Apollophanes whohad his ship unscathed and might have fled went over to Caesar. The samewas done by others, --by Gallus and all the cavalry that followed himand subsequently by some of the infantry. [-11-] This most of all causedSextus to despair of the situation, and he resolved to flee. He took hisdaughter and certain other persons, his money and the rest of his chiefvaluables, put them by night aboard of such ships as sailed best out ofthe number that had been preserved, and departed. No one pursued him, forhis sailing had been secret and Caesar was temporarily in the midst ofgreat disturbance. 

Lepidus had attacked Messana and on being admitted to the town set fireto some of it and pillaged other portions. When Caesar on ascertainingthis came up quickly and withstood him, he was alarmed and slipped outof the city, but encamped on a strong hill and made complaints about histreatment; he detailed all the slights he had received and demandedall that had been conceded to him according to their first compact andfurther laid claim to Sicily, on the ground that he had helped subdueit. He sent some men to Caesar with these charges and challenged himto submit to arbitration: his forces consisted of troops which he hadbrought in from Libya and all of those who had been left behind inMessana; for he had been the first to enter it and had suggested to themsome hopes of a change in the government. [-12-] Caesar made no answerto it, thinking that he had justice all on his side and in his weapons, since he was stronger than his rival. He immediately set out, however, against him with some few followers, expecting to alarm him by hissuddenness, --Lepidus not being of an energetic nature, --and to win overhis soldiers. On account of the fewness of the men accompanying him theythought when he entered the camp that he was on a peaceful errand. Butas his words were not at all to their liking, they became irritated andattacked him, even killing some of the men: he himself quickly receivedaid and was saved. After this he came against them once more with hisentire army, shut them within their ramparts, and besieged them. Thismade them afraid of capture, and without creating any general revolt, through dread of Lepidus, they individually, a few at a time or one byone, deserted him and transferred their allegiance. In this way he toowas compelled on his own initiative to array himself in mourning garmentsand become a suppliant of Caesar. As a result Lepidus was shorn of allauthority and could not even live in Italy without a guard. Of those whohad been enlisted in the cause of Sextus, members of the senatorial orequestrian classes were punished, save a few, while in the case of therank and file all free citizens were incorporated in the legions ofCaesar, and those that had been slaves were given back to their mastersfor vengeance: in case no master could be found for any one of them, hewas impaled. Of the cities some voluntarily opened their gates to thevictor and received pardon, and others resisted him and were disciplined. 

[-13-] While Caesar was thus occupied his soldiers revolted. Being so manythey drew encouragement from their very numbers and when they stoppedto think of their dangers and the hopes that rested on them they becameinsatiable in the matter of rewards, and gathering in groups theydemanded whatever each one longed for. When their talk had noeffect, --for Caesar since no enemy longer confronted him made light ofthem, --they became clamorous. Setting before him all the hardships theyhad endured and bringing to his notice any promise he had ever made themthey uttered many threats besides, and thought to render him willy-nillytheir slave. As they gained nothing this way, they demanded with muchheat and deafening shouts to be relieved at least from further service, saying they were worn out. This was not because they really wished to befree from it, for most of them were in their prime, but because they hadan inkling of the coming conflict between Caesar and Antony and for thatreason set a high value upon themselves. And what they could not obtainby requests they expected they could secure by threatening to abandonhim. Not even this, however, served their purpose. Caesar would not yieldto them, even if he knew for an absolute certainty that the war was goingto occur and clearly understood their wishes. He did not think it properfor a commander to do anything against his will under compulsion fromthe soldiers, because they would be sure, if he did, to want to get theadvantage of him again in some other matter. [-14-] So he pretended thattheir request was a fair one and their desire only human and dismissedfirst those that had accompanied him in the campaign against Antony atMutina, and next, since the rest were troublesome, all of them who hadbeen ten years in the service. And in order to restrain the remainder hegave further notice that he would no longer employ any one of them, nomatter how much such a person might wish it. On hearing this they utterednot another word, but began to exhibit great devotion toward him becausehe announced that he would give to the men that had been released, --notto all, save to the first of them, but to the worthiest, --everything thathe had promised, and would assign them land. They were also influenced bythe fact that he gave to all of them five hundred denarii and to thosewho had been victors in the sea-fight a crown of olive besides. Afterthis he inspired them all personally with great hopes and the centurionswith the idea that he would appoint them to the senatorial bodies intheir native lands. Upon his lieutenants he bestowed various gifts andupon Agrippa a golden crown adorned with beaks of ships, --a decorationgiven to nobody before or since. And it was later ratified by a decreethat as often as any persons celebrated a triumph, wearing[49] the laurelcrown, Agrippa should always wear this trophy of the naval encounter. Inthis way Caesar calmed the soldiers temporarily. The money he gave them atonce and the land not much later. And since what was still held by thegovernment at the time did not suffice, he bought more in addition, especially considerable from the Campanians dwelling in Capua, sincetheir city needed a number of settlers. To them he also gave in returnthe so-called Julian supply of water, one of their chief sources of prideat all times, and the Gnosian territory, [50] from which they still gatherharvests. 

That took place later. At the time under discussion he administered thegovernment in Sicily and through Statilius Taurus won both the Libyaswithout a struggle and sent back to Antony a number of ships equivalentto those lost. [-15-]Meantime conditions in Etruria which had been fullof rebellion regained a state of quiet when the inhabitants heard of hisvictory. The people of the capital unanimously bestowed laudations uponhim and images, the right to front seats and an arch surmounted by atrophy, as well as the privilege of riding into the city on horseback, ofwearing the laurel crown on all occasions, and of holding a banquet withhis wife and children in the precinct of the Capitoline Jupiter on theanniversary of the day that he had conquered, which was to be a perpetualday of thanksgiving. This is what they granted him directly after thevictory. The persons to announce it were, first, a soldier stationed inthe city, who on the very day in question had become possessed by somegod and after saying and doing many unusual things finally ran up tothe temple on the Capitol and laid his sword at the feet of Jupiter tosignify that there would be no further use for it; after that came therest who had been present at the action and had been sent to Rome byCaesar. When he arrived himself he assembled them according to ancestralcustom outside the pomerium, gave them an account of what had been done, and renounced some of the honors voted him. He then remitted the tributecalled for by the registered lists and everything else that was owing thegovernment since before the period of the civil wars, abolished certaintaxes, and refused to accept the priesthood of Lepidus, which was offeredto him; for it was not lawful to take away the appointment from a manstill alive. At this time they voted him many other distinctions. Some atonce declared that this striking magnanimity of his at this time was dueto the calumnies of Antony and of Lepidus and was intended to lay theblame of former unjust behavior upon them alone. Others said that sincehe was unable in any way to collect the debts he made of the people'simpotency a favor that cost him nothing. In spite of this various talkthat gained currency in different quarters they now resolved that a housebe presented to him from the public treasury. He had made the place onthe Palatine which he had bought to erect a structure public property, and had consecrated it to Apollo, because a thunderbolt descended uponit. Hence they voted him the house and protection from any insult by deedor word. Any one who committed such an offence was to be bound by thesame penalties as prevailed in the case of a tribune. For he receivedpermission to sit upon the same benches with them. 

[-16-] These were the gifts bestowed upon Caesar by the senate. As forhim, he enrolled among the augurs above the proper number, ValeriusMessala, whom he previously in the proscriptions condemned to death, madethe people of Utica citizens, and gave orders that no one should wearpurple clothing except senators and such as held public office. For ithad been already appropriated by ordinary individuals in a few cases. Inthis same year there was no aedile owing to a lack of candidates, and thepraetors and the tribunes performed the aediles' duties: also no praetorurbanus was appointed for the Feriae, but some of the regular praetorsdischarged his functions. Other matters in the city and in the rest ofItaly were under the charge of one Gaius Maecenas, a knight, both then andfor a long time afterward. 

[-17-] Now Sextus after taking ship from Messana was afraid of pursuitand suspected that there might be some act of treachery on the part ofhis retinue. Therefore he gave notice to them that he was going to sailseaward, but when he had extinguished the light which flagships exhibitduring night voyages for the purpose of having the rest follow closebehind, he coasted along Italy, then went over to Corcyra and from therecame to Cephallenia. Here the remainder of his vessels, which hadby chance been driven from the course by a storm, joined him again. Accordingly, after calling them together, he took off his general'suniform and made an address of which the substance was that while theyremained together they could render no lasting aid to one another orescape detection, but if they scattered they could more easily makegood their escape; and he advised each man to look out individually andseparately for his own safety. The majority were led to give ear to hisarguments and they departed in different directions, while he with theremainder crossed over to Asia with the intention of going straight toAntony. When he reached Lesbos and learned that the latter had gone ona campaign against the Medes and that Caesar and Lepidus had becomeestranged, he decided to winter in the country. The Lesbians, indeed, out of affectionate remembrance for his father were ready to receive anddetain him. He ascertained, however, that Antony had met with a mishap inMedia, and reflected further that Gaius Furnius, temporarily the governorof Asia, was not friendly to him. Hence he did not remain, but hoping tosucceed to Antony's leadership because a number of men had come to himfrom Sicily and still others had rallied around him, some drawn by theglamour of his father's renown and some who were seeking a livelihood, heresumed the outfit of a general and continued his preparations to occupythe opposite shore. [-18-] Meantime Antony had got back again intofriendly territory and on learning what Sextus was doing promised hewould grant him amnesty and favor, if he would lay down his arms. Sextuswrote back to the effect that he would obey him, but did not do so, because he felt a contempt for the man, inspired by his recent disasters, and because he immediately set off for Egypt. Hence he held to hisprevious design and entered into negotiations with the Parthians. Antonyascertained this, but without turning back sent against him the fleet andMarcus Titius, who had formerly come to him from Sextus and was stillwith him. Sextus received information of this move in advance, and inalarm, since his preparations were not yet complete, abandoned hisanchorage. He went forward then, taking the course which seemed mostlikely to afford escape, and reached Nicomedea, where he was overtaken. At this he opened negotiations with Antony, placing some hope in himbecause of the kindness which had been shown him. When the chieftain, however, refused to enter into a truce with him without first takingpossession of the ships and the rest of his force, Sextus despaired ofsafety by sea, put all of his heavier baggage into the ships (which hethereupon burned) and proceeded inland. Titius and Furnius pursued him, and overtaking him at Midaeium in Phrygia surrounded him and captured himalive. When Antony learned this he at first under the influence of angersent a despatch that the captive should be put to death, but again notlong after repenting[51] . . . That his life should be spared. . . . [51] Nowthe bearer of the second letter came in before the first, and laterTitius received the epistle in regard to killing him. Thinking, therefore, that it was really the second, or else knowing the truth butnot caring to heed it, he followed the order of the arrival of thetwo, but not their manifest intention. So Sextus was executed in theconsulship of Lucius Cornificius and one Sextus Pompeius. 

[B. C. 35 (_a. U_. 719)]

Caesar held a horse-race in honor of the event, and set up for Antonya chariot in front of the rostra and images in the temple of Concord, giving him also authority to hold banquets there with his wife andchildren, this being similar to the decree that had once been passedin his own honor. He pretended to be still Antony's friend and wasendeavoring to console him for the disasters inflicted by the Parthiansand in that way to cure any jealousy that might be felt at his ownvictory and the decrees which followed it. 

[B. C. 38 (_a. U_. 716)]

[-19-]This was what Caesar did: Antony's experience with the barbarianswas as follows. Publius Ventidius heard that Pacorus was gathering anarmy and was invading Syria, and became afraid, since the cities had notgrown quiet and the legions were still scattered in winter-quarters, andso he acted as follows to delay him and make the assembling of an armya slow process. He knew that a certain prince Channaeus, with whom heenjoyed an acquaintance, was rather disposed to favor the Parthian cause. Ventidius, then, honored him as if he had his entire confidence and tookhim as an adviser in some matters where he could not himself be injuredand would cause Channaeus to think he possessed his most hidden secrets. Having reached this point he affected to be afraid that the barbariansmight abandon the place where they customarily crossed the Euphrates nearwhere the city Zeugma is located, and use some other road farther downthe river. The latter, he said, was in a flat district convenient for theenemy, whereas the former was hilly and suited _them_ best. He persuadedthe prince to believe this and through the latter deceived Pacorus. TheParthian leader took the route through the flat district, where Ventidiuskept pretending he hoped he would not go, and as this was longer than theother it gave the Roman time to assemble his forces. [-20-] So he metPacorus when he had advanced to Cyrrestician Syria and conquered him. Forhe did not prevent them from crossing the river, and when they had gotacross he did not at once attack them, so that they imputed slothand weakness to the Romans and therefore marched against the Romanfortification, although on higher ground, expecting to take it withoutresistance. When a sally was suddenly made, the attacking party, beingcavalry, was driven back without effort down the slope. At the foot theydefended themselves valiantly, --the majority of them were in armor, --butwere confused by the unexpectedness of the onslaught and stumbling overone another were damaged most of all by the heavy-armed men and theslingers. The latter struck them, from a distance with powerful weaponsand proved a very great annoyance. The fall of Pacorus at this criticaljuncture injured them most of all. As soon as they saw that their leaderhad perished, a few steadily contended over his body, but when these weredestroyed all the rest gave way. Some of them desired to escape homewardacross the bridge and were not able, being cut off and killed before theycould reach it, and others fled for refuge to Antiochus in Commagene. Ventidius easily reduced the rest of the places in Syria, whose attitudehad depended on the outcome of the war, by sending the monarch's headabout through the different cities; their doubtful allegiance had beendue to their extreme love for Pacorus because of his justness andmildness, --a love which had equaled that bestowed by them upon anyprevious sovereign. The general himself led an expedition againstAntiochus on the plea that he had not delivered up the suppliants, butreally because of his money, of which he had vast stores. 

[-21-] When he had progressed so far Antony suddenly came upon him, andso far from being pleased was actually jealous of his having gained somereputation by his own efforts. Consequently he removed him from hiscommand and employed him on no other business either at the time orlater, though he obtained thanksgivings for both achievements and atriumph for his assistant's work. The Romans of the capital voted thesehonors to Antony as a result of his prominence and in accordance withlaw, because he was commander: but they voted them also to Ventidius, since they thought that he had paid the Parthians in full through thedeath of Pacorus for the disasters that Roman arms had incurred in thetime of Crassus, especially since both events had befallen on the sameday of the corresponding years. And it turned out that Ventidius alonecelebrated the triumph, even as the victory had been his alone, forAntony met an untimely fate, and he acquired a greater reputation fromthis fact and the irony of fortune alike. He himself had once marched inprocession with the other captives at the triumph of Pompeius Strabo, and now he was the first of the Romans to celebrate a triumph over theParthians. 

[-22-] This took place at a later period: at the time mentioned Antonyattacked Antiochus, shut him up in Samosata and proceeded to besiegehim. As he accomplished nothing and the time was spent in vain, and hesuspected that the soldiers felt coldly toward him on account of hisdishonoring Ventidius, he secretly opened negotiations with the foe, and made fictitious agreements with him so that he might have a fairappearing reason for withdrawal. In the end Antony got neither hostages(except two and these of little importance) nor the money which he haddemanded, but he granted Antiochus the death of one Alexander, who hadearlier deserted from him to the Roman side. After doing this he set outfor Italy, and Gaius Sosius received from him the governorship of Syriaand Cilicia. This man subdued the Aradii, who had been besieged up tothis time and had been reduced to hard straits by famine and disease, andconquered Antigonus in battle after killing the Roman guards that he keptabout him, and reduced him by siege when he took refuge in Jerusalem. TheJews had committed many outrages upon the Romans, --for the race is verybitter when aroused to anger, --but they suffered far more themselves. Thefirst of them were captured fighting for the precinct of their god, andlater the rest on the day even then called the day of Saturn. And sogreat still were their religious scruples that the men who had been firstcaptured along with the temple obtained leave from Sosius when the day ofSaturn came around again, and went up with the remaining population intothe building, where they performed all the customary rites. These peopleAntony entrusted to one Herod to govern, and Antigonus he bound toa cross and flogged, --treatment accorded to no other king by theRomans, --and subsequently slew him. 

[B. C. 37 (_a. U_. 717)]

[-23-] This was the course of events in the days of Claudius andNorbanus: the following year the Romans accomplished nothing worthyof note in Syria. Antony arrived in Italy and returned again to theprovince, consuming the entire season: and Sosius, because he wouldbe advancing his master's interests and not his own, and furthermoredreading his jealousy and anger, spent the time in devising means not forachieving success and drawing down his enmity, but for pleasing him byremaining quiet. Parthian affairs with no outside interference underwenta severe revolution from the following cause. Orodes their king succumbedto age and grief for Pacorus combined, and while still alive deliveredthe government to Phraates, the eldest of his remaining children. Hein his discharge of it proved himself the most impious of men. Hetreacherously murdered his brothers, sons of the daughter of Antiochus, because they were his superiors in excellence and (on their mother'sside) in family: when Antiochus chafed under this outrage he killed himin addition and after that destroyed the noblest men in the remainingpopulation and kept committing many other abuses. Consequently a numberof the more prominent persons abandoned him and betook themselves tovarious places, some going to Antony, among whom was Monaeses. Thishappened in the consulship of Agrippa and Gallus. 

[B. C. 36 (_a. U_. 718)]

[-24-] During the remainder of winter, when Gallus and Nerva wereholding office, Publius Canidius Crassus made a campaign against theIberians that inhabit this portion of the world, conquered in battletheir king Pharnabazus and brought them into alliance; with this king heinvaded Albanis, the adjoining country, and, after overcoming thedwellers there and their king Zober, conciliated them likewise. Antonywas elated at this and furthermore based great hopes upon Monaeses, whohad promised him to lead his army and bring over to him most of Parthiawithout conflict. Hence the Roman took up the war against the Parthiansin earnest and besides making various presents to Monaeses gave him threeRoman cities to govern until he should finish the war, and promised himin addition the Parthian kingdom. While they were so occupied Phraatesbecame terrified, especially because the Parthians took the flight ofMonaeses very much amiss, and he opened negotiations with him, offeringhim anything whatever, and so persuaded him to return. When Antony foundthis out, he was naturally angry, but did not kill Monaeses although thelatter was still in his power; for he felt sure he could not win theconfidence of any other of the barbarians, in case he should do such athing, and he wanted to try a little trick against them. He accordinglyreleased Monaeses, apparently supposing the latter was going to bring theParthian affairs under his control, and sent envoys with him to Phraates. Nominally he was arranging for peace on the condition of getting back thestandards and the prisoners captured in the disaster of Crassus, intending to take the king off his guard while the latter was expectinga pacific settlement; but in fact he was putting everything in readinessfor war. [-25-] And he went as far as the Euphrates, thinking it wasfree of guards. When, however, he found that whole region carefullyguarded, he turned aside from it, but led a campaign against Artavasdes, the king of the Medes, persuaded thereto by the king of Greater Armenia, who had the same name and was an enemy of the aforementioned. Just as hewas he at once advanced toward Armenia, and learning there that the Medehad gone a considerable distance from his own land in the discharge ofhis duties as an ally of the Parthian king, he left behind the beasts ofburden and a portion of the army with Oppius Statianus, giving ordersfor them to follow, and himself taking the cavalry and the strongest ofthe infantry hurried on in the confidence of seizing all his opponent'sstrongholds at one blow; he assailed Praaspa, the royal residence, heaped up mounds and made constant attacks. When the Parthian and theMedan kings ascertained this, they left him to continue his idletoil, --for the walls were strong and many were defending them, --butassailed Statianus off his guard and wearied on the march and slew thewhole detachment except Polemon, king of Pontus, who was thenaccompanying the expedition. Him alone they took alive and released inexchange for ransom. They were able to accomplish this because theArmenian king was not present at the battle; but though he might havehelped the Romans, as some say, he neither did this nor joined Antony, but retired to his own country. [-26-] Antony hastened at the firstmessage sent him by Statianus to go to his assistance, but was toolate. For except corpses he found no one. This outcome caused him fear, but, inasmuch as he fell in with no barbarian, he suspected that they haddeparted in some direction through terror, and this lent him new courage. Hence when he met them a little later he routed them, for his slingerswere numerous, and as the latter could shoot farther than would the bowsthey inflicted severe injury upon the men in armor. However, he did notkill any remarkable number of them, because the barbarians could ridefast. So he proceeded again against Praaspa and besieged it, though hedid no great damage to the enemy; for the men inside the walls repulsedhim vigorously, and those outside could not easily be entrapped into acombat. Thus he lost many of his own men in searching for and bringingprovisions, and many by his own discipline. At first, as long as theycould get their food from somewhere in the neighborhood, they had nodifficulty about either undertaking: they could attend to the siege andsafely secure supplies both at once. When, however, all material at handhad been used up, and the soldiers were obliged to go to some distance, it happened to them that if few were sent anywhere, not only did they notbring anything, but they perished as well; if a number were sent, theyleft the wall destitute of besiegers and meantime lost many men and manyengines at the hands of the barbarians, who would make a sortie againstthem. [-27-] For this reason Antony gave them all barley instead of wheatand destroyed every tenth man in some instances: indeed, the entire forcewhich was supposed to be besieging endured the hardships of personsbesieged. The men within the walls watched carefully for opportunitiesto make sallies; and those outside harassed fearfully the Romans thatremained in position as often as they became separated, accomplishingthis by making a sudden charge and wheeling about again in a narrowspace: this force outside did not trouble the food trains while thelatter were en route to the villages, but would fall upon themunexpectedly when scattered in the homeward march. But since Antony evenunder these conditions maintained his place before the city, Phraates, fearing that in the long run he might do it some harm either by himselfor through securing some allied force, secretly sent some men to opennegotiations with him and persuaded him by pretending that it would bevery easy to secure peace. After this, when men were sent to him byAntony, he held a conference with them seated upon a golden chair andtwanging his bowstring; he first inveighed against them at length, butfinally promised that he would grant peace, if they would straightwayremove their camp. On hearing this Antony was both alarmed at hisboastfulness and ready to believe that a truce could be secured if hehimself should shift his position: hence he withdrew without destroyingany of his implements of siege but behaved as if in friendly territory. [-28-] When he had done this and was awaiting the truce, the Medesburned the engines and scattered the mounds, while the Parthians madeno proposition to him respecting peace but suddenly attacked him andinflicted very serious damage. He found out that he had been deceivedand did not venture to employ any further envoys, being sure that thebarbarians would not agree to any reasonable terms, and not wishing tocast the soldiers into dejection by failing to arrange a truce. Thereforehe resolved, since he had once started, to hurry on into Armenia. Histroops took another road, since the one by which they had come theybelieved to have been blocked entirely, and on the way their sufferingswere unusually great. They came into unknown regions where they wanderedat random, and furthermore the barbarians seized the passes in advance oftheir approach, digging trenches outside of some and building palisadesin front of others, spoiled the water-courses everywhere, and droveaway the flocks. In case they ever got a chance to march through morefavorable territory, the enemy would turn them aside from such places byfalse announcements that they had been occupied beforehand, and causedthem to take different roads along which ambuscades had been previouslyposted, so that many perished through such mishaps and many of hunger. [-29-] As a result there were some desertions, and they would all havegone over, had not the barbarians shot down before the eyes of the othersany who dared to take this course. Consequently the men refrained fromthis, and from Fortune's hands obtained the following relief. One daywhen they fell into an ambush and were struck with fast-flying arrows, they suddenly made by joining shields the _testudo_, and rested theirleft knees on the ground. The barbarians had never seen anything of thekind before and thought that they had fallen from their wounds and neededonly one finishing blow; so they threw aside their bows, leaped fromtheir horses, and drawing their daggers came close to put an end to them. At this the Romans rose to their feet, spread out the phalanx at a word, and each one attacked the man nearest and facing him; thus they cut downgreat numbers since they were contending armed against an unprotectedfoe, men prepared against men off their guard, heavy infantry againstarchers, Romans against barbarians. All the survivors immediately retiredand no one followed them for the future. 

[-30-] This _testudo_ and the way in which it is formed deserve a word ofexplanation. The baggage animals, the light-armed troops, and the cavalryare marshaled in the center of the army. Those infantrymen who use theoblong, hollow, grooved shields are drawn up around the edges, making arectangular figure; and, facing outward with spear-points projecting, [52]they enclose the rest. The other infantrymen, who have flat shields, forma compact body in the center and raise their shields above themselves andabove all the rest, so that nothing but shields can be seen in every partof the phalanx alike and all the men by the density of formation areunder shelter from missiles. It is so marvelously strong that men canwalk upon it, and when ever they get into a hollow, narrow passage, evenhorses and vehicles can be driven over it. Such is the method ofthis arrangement, and this shows why it has received the title of_testudo_, [53]--with reference to its strength and to the excellentshelter it affords. They use it in two ways: either they approach somefort to assault it, often even enabling men to scale the very walls, or where sometimes they are surrounded by archers they all bendtogether, --even the horses being taught to kneel and recline, --andthereby cause the foe to think that they are exhausted; then, when theothers draw near, they suddenly rise, to the latter's great alarm. 

[-31-] The _testudo_, then, is the kind of device just described. As forAntony, he suffered no further harm from the enemy, but underwent severehardships by reason of the cold. It was now winter, and the mountaindistricts of Armenia, through which, as the only route open to him, hewas actually thankful to be able to proceed, are never free from snowand ice. The wounds, of which the men had many, there created especialdiscomfort. So many kept perishing and were continually rendered uselessfor fighting that he would not allow reports of each individual case, butforbade any one to bring him any such news; and although he was angrywith the Armenian king for deserting them, and anxious to take vengeanceon him, he nevertheless humiliated himself before the monarch and paidcourt to him for the purpose of obtaining provisions and money from him. Finally, as the soldiers could not hold out to march farther, in thewinter time, too, and were at any rate going to have their hardships fornothing since he was minded to return to Armenia before a great while, heflattered the prince tremendously and made him many attractive promises, to get him to allow the men to winter where they were; he said that inthe spring he would make another campaign against the Parthians. Moneyalso came to him from Cleopatra, so that to each of the infantrymen wasgiven one hundred denarii[54] and to the rest a proportionate allowance. But inasmuch as the amount sent was not enough for them he paid theremainder from his own funds, and though the expense was his own he gaveCleopatra the credit of the favor. For he both solicited contributionsfrom his friends and levied a great deal of money upon the allies. 

[-32-] Following these transactions he departed for Egypt. Now the Romansat home were not ignorant of anything that had taken place in spite ofthe fact that his despatches did not contain the truth; for he concealedall his unpleasant experiences and some of them he described as just theopposite, making it appear that he was progressing famously: but, for allthat, rumor reported the truth and Caesar and his circle investigated itcarefully and discussed it. They did not, however, make public theirevidence, but instead sacrificed cattle and held festivals. Since Caesarat that time was still getting the worst of it against Sextus, the truthof the facts could not be rendered fitting or opportune. Besides hisabove actions Antony assigned positions of government, giving Gaul toAmyntas, though he had been only the secretary of Deiotarus, and alsoadding to his domain Lycaonia with portions of Pamphylia, and bestowingupon Archelaus Cappadocia after driving out Ariarathes. This Archelaus onhis father's side belonged to those Archelauses who had contended againstthe Romans, but on his mother's side was the son of Glaphyra, an hetaera. It is quite true that for these appointments Antony, who could be verymagnanimous in dealing with the possessions of other people, was somewhatless ill spoken of among the soldiers. 

But in the matter of Cleopatra he incurred outspoken dislike becausehe had taken into his family children of hers, --the elder ones beingAlexander and Cleopatra, twins at a birth, and the younger one Ptolemy, called also Philadelphus, --and because he had granted to them a greatdeal of Arabia, both the district of Malchus and that of the Ituraeans(for he executed Lysanias, whom he had himself made king over them, on the charge that he had favored Paccrus) and also a great deal ofPhoenicia and Palestine together with parts of Crete, and Cyrene andCyprus. 

[B. C. 35 (_a. U_. 719)]

[-33-] These are his acts at that time: the following year, when Pompeiusand Cornificius were consuls, he attempted to conduct a campaign againstthe Armenian prince; and as he placed no little hope in the Mede, becausethe latter was indignant at Phraates owing to not having received fromhim much of the spoils or any other honor, and was anxious to punish theArmenian king for bringing in the Romans, Antony sent Polemon to him andrequested friendship and alliance. And he was so well satisfied with thebusiness that he both made terms with the Mede and later gave PolemonLesser Armenia as a reward for his embassy. First he summoned theArmenian to Egypt as a friend, intending to seize him there withouteffort and make away with him; but when the prince suspected this and didnot obey, he plotted to deceive him in another fashion. He did not openlyevince anger toward him, in order not to alienate him, but to the endthat he might find his foe unprepared set sail from Egypt with the avowedobject of making one more campaign against the Parthians. On the wayAntony learned that Octavia was arriving from Rome, and went no farther, but returned; this he did in spite of having at once ordered her to gohome and later accepting the gifts which she sent, some of them beingsoldiers which she had begged from her brother for this very purpose. 

[-34-] As for him, he became more than ever a slave to the passion andwiles of Cleopatra. Caesar meantime, since Sextus had perished and affairsin Libya required settlement, went to Sicily as if intending to take shipthither, but after delaying there found that the winter made it too latefor crossing. Now the Salassi, Taurisci, Liburni, and Iapudes had not fora long time been behaving fairly toward the Romans, but had failed tocontribute revenue and sometimes would invade and harm the neighboringdistricts. At this time, in view of Octavius's absence, they were openlyin revolt. Consequently he turned back and began his preparations againstthem. Some of the men who had been dismissed when they became disorderly, and had received nothing, wished to serve again: therefore he assignedthem to one camp, in order that being alone they might find it impossibleto corrupt any one else and in case they should wish to show themselvesrebellions might be detected at once. As this did not teach themmoderation any the more, he sent out a few of the eldest of them tobecome colonists in Gaul, thinking that thus he would inspire the restwith hopes and win their devotion. Since even then they continuedaudacious, some of them paid the penalty. The rest displayed rage atthis, whereupon he called them together as if for some other purpose, hadthe rest of the army surround them, took away their arms, and removedthem from the service. In this way they learned both their own weaknessand Caesar's force of mind, and so they really experienced a change ofheart and after urgent supplications were allowed to enter the serviceanew. For Caesar, being in need of soldiers and fearing that Antony wouldappropriate them, said that he pardoned them, and he found them mostuseful for all tasks. 

[-35-] It was later that they proved their sincerity. At this time hehimself led the campaign against the Iapudes, assigning the rest of thetribes to others to subdue. Those that were on his side of the mountains, dwelling not far from the sea, he reduced with comparatively littletrouble, but he overcame those on the heights and beyond them with nosmall hardship. They strengthened Metulum, the largest of their cities, and repulsed many assaults of the Romans, burned to the ground manyengines and laid low Octavius himself as he was trying to step from awooden tower upon the circuit of the wall. Later, when he still did notdesist but kept sending for additional forces, they pretended to wish tonegotiate terms and received members of garrisons into their citadel. Then by night they destroyed all of these and set fire to their houses, some killing themselves and some their wives and children in addition, sothat nothing whatever remained for Caesar. For not only they but alsosuch as were captured alive destroyed themselves voluntarily shortlyafterward. 

[-36-] When these had perished and the rest had been subdued withoutperforming any exploit of note, he made a campaign against thePannonians. He had no complaint to bring against them, not having beenwronged by them in any way, but he wanted both to give his soldierspractice and to support them abroad: for he regarded every demonstrationagainst a weaker party as just, when it pleased the man whom weapons madetheir superior. The Pannonians are settled near Dalmatia close alongthe Ister from Noricum to European Moesia and lead the most miserableexistence of mankind. They are not well off in the matter of land or sky, they cultivate no olives or vines except to the slightest extent, andthese wretched varieties, since the greater part of their days is passedin the midst of most rigorous winter, but they drink as well as eatbarley and millet. They have been considered very brave, however, duringall periods of which we have cognizance. For they are very quick to angerand ready to slay, inasmuch as they possess nothing which can give thema happy life. This I know not by hearsay or reading only, but I havelearned it from actual experience as their governor. For after my term asruler in Africa and in Dalmatia, --the latter position my father also heldfor a time, --I was appointed[55] to Upper Pannonia, so-called, and hencemy record is founded on exact knowledge of all conditions among them. Their name is due to the fact that they cut up a kind of toga in a waypeculiar to themselves into strips which they call _panni_, and thenstitch these together into sleeved tunics for themselves. 

They have been named so either for this or for some other reason; butcertain of the Greeks who were ignorant of the truth have spoken of themas Paeones, which is an old word but does not belong there, but ratherapplies to Rhodope, close to the present Macedonia, as far as the sea. Wherefore I shall call the dwellers in the latter district Paeones, butthe others Pannonians, just as they themselves and as the Romans do. 

[-37-] It was against this people, then, that Caesar at that timeconducted a campaign. At first he did not devastate or plunder at all, although they abandoned their villages in the plain. He hoped to makethem his subjects of their free will. But when they harassed him as headvanced to Siscia, he became angry, burned their land, and took allthe booty he could. When he drew near the city the natives for a momentlistened to their rulers and made terms with him and gave hostages, butafterward shut their gates and accepted a state of siege. They possessedstrong walls and were in general encouraged by the presence of twonavigable rivers. The one named the Colops[56] flows past the verycircuit of the wall and empties into the Savus not far distant: ithas now encircled the entire city, for Tiberius gave it this shape byconstructing a great canal through which it rejoins its ancient course. At that time between the Colops on the one hand, which flowed on pastthe very walls, and the Savus on the other, which flowed at a littledistance, an empty space had been left which had been buttressed withpalisades and ditches. Caesar secured boats made by the allies in thatvicinity, and after towing them through the Ister into the Savus, andthrough that stream into the Colops, he assailed the enemy with infantryand ships together, and had some naval battles on the river. For thebarbarians prepared in turn some boats made of one piece of wood withwhich they risked a conflict; and on the river they killed besides manyothers Menas the freedman of Sextus, and on the land they vigorouslyrepulsed the invader until they ascertained that some of their allies hadbeen ambushed and destroyed. Then in dejection they yielded. When theyhad thus been captured the remainder of Pannonian territory was inducedto capitulate. 

[-38-] After this he left Fufius Geminus there with a small force andhimself returned to Rome. The triumph which had been voted to himhe deferred, but granted Octavia and Livia images, the right ofadministering their own affairs without a supervisor, and freedom fromfear and inviolability equally with the tribunes. 

[B. C. 34 (_a. U. _ 720)]

In emulation of his father he had started out to lead an expedition intoBritain, and had already advanced into Gaul after the winter in whichAntony for the second time and Lucius Libo were consuls, when some of thenewly captured and Dalmatians with them rose in revolt. Geminus, althoughexpelled from Siscia, recovered the Pannonians by a few battles; andValerius Messala overthrew the Salassi and the rest who had joined themin rebellion. Against the Dalmatians first Agrippa and then Caesar alsomade campaigns. The most of them they subjugated after undergoing manyterrible experiences themselves, such as Caesar's being wounded, barleybeing given to some of the soldiers instead of wheat, and others, who haddeserted the standards, being decimated: with the remaining tribes[57]Statilius Taurus carried on war. 

[-39-] Antony meanwhile resigned his office as soon as appointed, puttingLucius Sempronius Atratinus in his place; consequently some name thelatter and not the former in the enumeration of the consuls. In thecourse of his efforts to take vengeance on the Armenian king with leasttrouble to himself, he asked the hand of his daughter, pretending to wantto unite her in marriage to his son Alexander; he sent on this errand oneQuintus Deillius, who had once been a favorite of his, and promised togive the monarch many gifts. Finally, at the beginning of spring, he camesuddenly into Nicopolis (founded by Pompey) and sent for him, statingthat he wanted to deliberate on and execute with his aid some measuresagainst the Parthians. The king suspecting the plot did not come, so hesent Deillius to have another talk with him and marched with undiminishedhaste toward Artaxata. In this way, after a long time, partly bypersuading him through friends, and partly by scaring him through hissoldiers, and writing and acting toward him in every way as thoroughlyfriendly, he induced him to come into his camp. Thereupon the Romanarrested him and at first keeping the prince without bonds he led himaround among the garrisons with whom his treasures were deposited, to seeif he could win them without a struggle. He made a pretence of havingarrested him for no other purpose than to collect tribute of theArmenians that would ensure both his preservation and his sovereignty. When, however, the guardians of the gold would have nothing to do withhim and the troops under arms chose Artaxes, the eldest of his children, king in his stead, Antony bound him in silver chains. It seemeddisgraceful, probably, for one who had been a king to be made fast iniron bonds. [-40-] After this, capturing some settlements peaceably andsome by force, Antony occupied all of Armenia, for Artaxes after fightingan engagement and being worsted retired to the Parthian prince. Afterdoing this he betrothed to his son the daughter of the Median king withthe intention of making him still more his friend; then he left thelegions in Armenia and went once more to Egypt, taking the great mass ofbooty and the Armenian with his wife and children. He sent them aheadwith the other captives for a triumph held in Alexandria, and himselfdrove into the city upon a chariot, and among the other favors he grantedto Cleopatra he brought before her the Armenian and his family in goldenbonds. She was seated in the midst of the populace upon a platform platedwith silver and upon a gilded chair. The barbarians would not be hersuppliants nor do obeisance to her, though much coercion was brought tobear upon them and hopes were held out to persuade them, but they merelyaddressed her by name: this gave them a reputation for spirit, but theywere subject to a great deal of ill usage on account of it. 

[-41-] After this Antony gave an entertainment to the Alexandrians, andin the assemblage had Cleopatra and her children sit by his side: also inthe course of a public address he enjoined that she be called Queen ofMonarchs, and Ptolemy (whom he named Caesarion) King of Kings. He thenmade a different distribution by which he gave them Egypt and Cyprus. For he declared that one was the wife and the other the true son of theformer Caesar and he made the plea that he was doing this as a mark offavor to the dead statesman, --his purpose being to cast reproach in thisway upon Octavianus Caesar because he was only an adopted and not a realson of his. Besides making this assignment to them, he promised to giveto his own children by Cleopatra the following lands, --to Ptolemy Syriaand all the region west of the Euphrates as far as the Hellespont, toCleopatra Libya about Cyrene, and to their brother Alexander Armenia andthe rest of the districts across the Euphrates as far as the Indi. Thelatter he bestowed as if they were already his. Not only did he say thisin Alexandria, but sent a despatch to Rome, in order that it might secureratification also from the people there. Nothing of this, however, wasread in public. 

[B. C. 32 (_a. U. _ 722)]

Domitius and Sosius were consuls by that time and being extremely devotedto him refused to accede to Caesar's urgent demands that they shouldpublish it to all. Though they prevailed in this matter Caesar won avictory in turn by not having anything that had been written about theArmenian king made known to the public. He felt pity for the princebecause he had been secretly in communication with him for the purpose ofinjuring Antony, and he grudged the latter his triumph. While Antony wasengaged as described he dared to write to the senate that he wished togive up his office and put all affairs into the hands of that body and ofthe people: he was not really intending to do anything of the kind, buthe desired that under the influence of the hopes he roused they mighteither compel Caesar, because on the spot, to give up his arms first, orbegin to hate him, if he would not heed them. 

[-42-] In addition to these events at that time the consuls celebratedthe festival held in honor of Venus Genetrix. During the Feriae, prefects, boys and beardless youths, appointed by Caesar and sprung from knightsbut not from senators, directed ceremonies. Also Aemilius Lepidus Paulusconstructed at his own expense the so-called _Porticus Pauli_ anddedicated it in his consulship; for he was consul a portion of thatyear. And Agrippa restored from his own purse the so-called Marcianwater-supply, which had been cut off by the destruction of the pipes, andcarried it in pipes to many parts of the city. These men, though rivalsin the outlay of their private funds, still dissembled the fact andbehaved sensibly: others who were holding even some most insignificantoffice strove to get a triumph voted to themselves, some through Antonyand some through Caesar; and on this pretext they levied large sums uponforeign nations for gold crowns. 

[B. C. 33 (_a. U. _ 721)]

[-43-] The next year Agrippa agreed to be made aedile and without takinganything from the public treasury repaired all the public buildingsand all the roads, cleaned out the sewers, and sailed through themunderground into the Tiber. And seeing that in the hippodrome men mademistakes about the number of turns necessary, he established the systemof dolphins and egg-shaped objects, so that by them the number of timesthe track had been circled might be clearly shown. Furthermore hedistributed to all olive oil and salt, and had the baths open free ofcharge throughout the year for the use of both men and women. In themany festivals of all kinds which he gave (so many that the children ofsenators could perform the "Troy" equestrian exercise), he also paidbarbers, to the end that no one should be at any expense for theirservices. Finally he rained upon the heads of the people in the theatretickets that were good for money in one case, clothes in another, andsomething else in a third, and he also would place various other largestocks of goods in the squares and allow the people to scramble for them. Besides doing this Agrippa drove the astrologers and charlatans from thecity. During these same days a decree was passed that no one belonging tothe senatorial class should be tried for piracy, and so those who wereunder any such charge at the time were released and some were given_carte blanche_ to commit crimes in future. Caesar became consul for thesecond time with Lucius Tullus as his colleague, but on the very firstday, as Antony had done, he resigned; and with the sanction of the senatehe introduced some persons from the populace to the rank of patricians. When a certain Lucius Asellius, who was praetor, on account of a longsickness wished to lay down his office, he appointed his son in hisstead. And another praetor died on the last day of his term, whereuponCaesar chose another for the remaining hours. At the decease of Bocchushe gave his kingdom to no one else, but enrolled it among the Romanprovinces. And since the Dalmatians had been utterly subdued, he erectedfrom the spoils thus gained the porticoes and secured the collection ofbooks called the Octavian, after his sister. 

[-44-] Antony meantime had marched as far as the Araxes, presumably toconduct a campaign against the Parthians, but was satisfied to arrangeterms with the Median monarch. They made a covenant to serve each otheras allies, the one against the Parthians and the other against Caesar, andto cement the compact they exchanged some soldiers; the Median princereceived a portion of the newly acquired Armenia and Antony his daughterIotape, to be united in marriage with Alexander, and the militarystandards taken in the battle with Statianus; after this Antony bestowedupon Polemon, as I have stated, Lesser Armenia, both made Lucius Flaviusconsul and removed him (as his colleague), and set out for Ionia andGreece to wage war against Caesar. The Median at first, by employing theRomans as allies, conquered the Parthians and Artaxes who came againsthim; but as Antony sent for his soldiers and moreover retained those ofthe prince, the latter was in turn defeated and captured, and so Armeniawas lost together with Media. 

DIO'S ROMAN HISTORY 50

The following is contained in the Fiftieth of Dio's Rome. 

How Caesar and Antony commenced hostilities against each other (chapters1-14). 

How Caesar conquered Antony at Actium (chapters 15-35). 

Duration of time two years, in which there were the following magistrateshere enumerated:

Cn. Domitius L. F. Cn. N. Ahenobarbus, C. Sosius C. F. T. N. (B. C. 32 = a. U. 722. )

Caesar (III), M. Valerius M. F. Messala Corvinus. (B. C. 31 = a. U. 723. )

(_BOOK 50, BOISSEVAIN_. )

[-1-] The Roman people had been robbed of democracy but had not becomedefinitely a monarchy: Antony and Caesar still controlled affairs on anequal footing, had divided the management of most of them, and nominallyconsidered that the rest belonged to them in common, though in realitythey endeavored to appropriate each interest as fast as either was ableto gain any advantage over the other. Sextus had now perished, theArmenian king had been captured, the parties hostile to Caesar weresilent, the Parthians showed no signs of restlessness, and so after thisthey turned openly against each other and the people became entirelyenslaved. The causes for the war, or the pretexts, were as follows. Antony charged against Caesar that he had removed Lepidus from hisposition, and had taken possession of his territory and the troopsof both him and Sextus, which ought to have been common property. Hedemanded the half of these as well as the half of the soldiers that hadbeen levied in the parts of Italy which belonged to both of them. Caesar'scharge against him was that he was holding Egypt and other countries thathe had not drawn by lot, had killed Sextus (whom he would willingly havespared, he said), and by deceiving and binding the Armenian king hadcaused much ill repute to attach to the Roman people. He, too, demandedhalf of the spoils, and above all reproached him with Cleopatra and thechildren of hers which he had seen fit to regard as his own, the giftsbestowed upon them, and particularly that he called the boy such a nameas Caesarion and placed him in the family of Caesar. [-2-] These were theirmutual charges; and to a certain extent mutual rejoinders were made, somesent by letter to each other and others given to the public, by Caesarorally, by Antony in writing. On this pretext also they kept constantlysending envoys back and forth, wishing to appear as far as possiblejustified in the complaints they made and to reconnoitre each other'sposition at the same time. 

[B. C. 32 (_a. U. _ 722)]

Meanwhile they were collecting money avowedly for some different purposeand were making all other preparations for war as if against otherpersons, until the time that Gnaeus Domitius and Gaius Sosius, bothbelonging to Antony's party, became consuls. Then they made no furtherconcealment, but admitted their alienation outright. It happened in thefollowing way. 

Domitius did not openly attempt any radical measures, since he had hadthe experience of many calamities. Sosius, however, had never experiencedsuch evils, and so on the very first day of the month he spoke at lengthin praise of Antony and inveighed forcibly against Caesar. Indeed, hewould have immediately introduced measures against the latter, had notNonius Balbus, a tribune, prevented it. Caesar had suspected what hewas going to do and wished neither to permit it to come to pass nor byoffering opposition to appear to be commencing war; hence he did notenter the senate at this time nor even live in the city at all, butinvented some excuse which took him out of town. He was not onlyinfluenced by the above considerations but desired to deliberate atleisure according to the reports brought to him and decide by maturereflection upon the proper course. Later he returned and convened thesenate; he was surrounded by a guard of soldiers and friends who haddaggers concealed, and sitting between the consuls upon his chair ofstate he spoke at length, and calmly, from where he sat regarding his ownposition, and brought many accusations against Sosius and Antony. Whenneither of the consuls themselves nor any one else ventured to utter aword, he bade them come together again on a specified day, giving them tounderstand that he would prove by certain documents that Antony was inthe wrong. The consuls did not dare to reply to him and could not endureto be silent, and therefore secretly left the city before the time camefor them to appear again; after that they took their way to Antony, followed by not a few of the senators who were left. Caesar on learningthis declared, to prevent its appearing that he had been abandoned bythem as a result of some injustice, that he had sent them out voluntarilyand that he granted the rest who so wished permission to depart unarmedto Antony. 

[-3-] This action of theirs just mentioned was counterbalanced by thearrival of others who had fled from Antony to Caesar--among them Titiusand Plancus, though they were honored by Antony among the foremost andknew all his secrets. Their desertion was due to some friction betweenthemselves and the Roman leader, or perhaps they were disgusted in thematter of Cleopatra: at any rate they left soon after the consuls hadtaken the final step and Caesar in the latter's absence had convened thesenate and read and spoken all that he wished, upon hearing of whichAntony assembled a kind of senate from the ranks of his followers, andafter considerable talk on both sides of the question took up the war andrenounced his connection with Octavia. Caesar was very glad to receive thepair and learned from them about Antony's condition, what he was doing, what he had in mind, what was written in his will, and the name of theman that had it; for they had taken part in sealing it. He became stillmore violently enraged from this cause and did not shrink from searchingfor the document, seizing it, and then carrying it into the senate andsubsequently the assembly, and reading it. The clauses contained in itwere of such a nature that his most lawless behavior brought upon himno reproach from the citizens. The writer had asseverated the fact thatCaesarion was truly sprung from Caesar, had given some enormous presents tohis children by the Egyptian queen, who were being reared by him, and hadordered that his body be buried in Alexandria and by her side. 

[-4-] This made the Romans in their indignation believe that the otherreports circulated were also true, --viz. , that if Antony should prevail, he would bestow their city upon Cleopatra and transfer the seat of powerto Egypt. And thereat they became so angry that all, not only such asdisliked him or were indifferent to the two men, censured him, but evenhis most intimate friends did so severely. For in consternation at whatwas read and eager to relieve themselves of the suspicion felt towardthem by Caesar, they said the same as the rest. They deprived him of theconsulship, to which he had been previously elected, and of all hisremaining authority. They did not declare him an enemy in so many words, because they feared its effect on his adherents, since it would benecessary that they also be held in the position of enemies in case theyshould not abandon him; but by action they showed their attitude asplainly as possible. For they voted to the men arrayed on his side pardonand praise if they would abandon him, and declared war outright uponCleopatra, put on their military cloaks as though he were close at hand, and went to the temple of Bellona where they performed through Caesar as_fetialis_ all the rites preliminary to war in the customary fashion. These were stated to refer to Cleopatra, but their real bearing was onAntony. [-5-] She had enslaved him so absolutely that she persuaded himto act as gymnasiarch[58] to the Alexandrians; and she was saluted by himas "queen" and "mistress, " had Roman soldiers in her body-guard, and allof these inscribed her name upon their shields. She used to frequent themarket-place with him, joined him in the management of festivals, in thehearing of lawsuits, and in riding; and in the cities she was actuallycarried in a chair, while Antony accompanied her on foot along with theeunuchs. He also termed his head-quarters "the palace", sometimes wore anOriental dagger at his belt, dressed in a manner not in accordance withthe customs of his native land, and let himself be seen even in publicupon a gilded couch and a chair of similar appearance. He joined her insitting for paintings and statues, he representing Osiris and Dionysus, and she Selene and Isis. This more than all made him seem to have becomecrazed by her through some enchantment. She so charmed and enthrallednot only him but all the rest who had any influence with him that sheconceived the hope of ruling the Romans, and made her greatest vow, whenever she took any oath, that of dispensing justice on the Capitol. 

[-6-] This was the reason that they voted for war against Cleopatra, butthey made no such declaration against Antony, knowing well that he wouldbe made hostile in any case, for he was certainly not going to betrayher and espouse Caesar's cause. And they wished to have this additionalreproach to heap upon him, that he had voluntarily taken up war in behalfof the Egyptian woman against his native country, though no ill treatmenthad been accorded him personally at home. 

Now the men of fighting age were being rapidly assembled on both sides, money was being collected from all quarters, and all warlike equipmentwas being gathered with speed. The entire armament distinctly surpassedin size anything previous. All the following nations coöperated with oneside or the other in this war. Caesar had Italy--he attached to his causeeven all those who had been placed in colonies by Antony, partly byfrightening them on account of their small numbers and partly byconferring benefits; among other things that he did was to settle againas an act of his own the men who inhabited Bononia, so that they mightseem to be his colonists. His allies, then, were Italy, Gaul, Spain, Illyricum, the Libyans, --both those who had long since accepted Romansway (except those about Cyrene), and those that had belonged to Bogudand Bocchus, --Sardinia, Sicily, and the rest of the islands adjacent tothe aforementioned divisions of the mainland. On Antony's side were theregions obeying Rome in continental Asia, the regions of Thrace, Greece, Macedonia, the Egyptians, the Cyrenaeans together with the surroundingcountry, the islanders dwelling near them, and practically all theprinces and potentates who were neighbors to that part of the Romanempire then under his control, --some taking the field themselves andothers being represented by troops. And so enthusiastic were the outsidecontingents on both sides that they confirmed by oath their alliance witheach man. 

[-7-] Such was the strength of the contestants. Antony took an oath tohis own soldiers that he would fight without quarter and further promisedthat within two months after his victory he would give up his entirepower and commit it to the senate and the people: some of them withdifficulty persuaded him to do so only when six months had elapsed, sothat he might be able to settle matters leisurely. And he, however farhe was from seriously contemplating such an act, yet made the offer tostrengthen the belief that he was certainly and without fail going toconquer. He saw that his own force was much superior in numbers andhoped to weaken that of his opponent by bribes. He sent gold in everydirection, most of all into Italy, and especially to Rome; and he temptedhis opponents individually, trying to win followers. As a result Caesarkept the more vigilant watch and gave money to his soldiers. 

[-8-] Such was the vigor and the equipment of the two; and meantime allsorts of stories were circulated by men, and from the gods also therewere many plain indications. An ape entered the temple of Ceres duringa certain service, and tumbled about everything in the building. An owlflew first upon the temple of Concord and then upon practically all theother holiest buildings, and finally after being driven away from everyother spot settled upon the temple of the Genius Populi and was notcaught, and did not depart until late in the day. The chariot of Jupiterwas demolished in the Roman hippodrome, and for many days a flash wouldrise over the sea toward Greece and dart up into the firmament. Manyunfortunate accidents also were caused by storm: a trophy standing uponthe Aventine fell, a statue of Victory was dislodged from the back wallof the theatre, and the wooden bridge was broken down completely. Manyobjects were destroyed by fire, and moreover there was a fierce volcanicdischarge from Aetna which damaged cities and fields. On seeing andhearing these things the Romans remembered also about the serpent, because he too had doubtless indicated something about the situationconfronting them. A little before this a great two-headed serpent, eighty-five feet long, had suddenly appeared in Etruria and after doingmuch damage had been killed by lightning. This had a bearing upon all ofthem. The chief force engaged on both sides alike was made up of Romans, and many were destined at that juncture to perish in each army, and thenall of the survivors to become the property of the victor. Antony wasgiven omens of defeat beforehand by the children in Rome; without anyone's having suggested it they formed two parties, of which one calleditself the Antonians and the other the Caesarians, and they foughtwith each other for two days, when those that bore Antony's name weredefeated. His death was portended by what happened to one of his imagesset up as an offering in the temple of Jupiter at Albanum; although itwas stone it sent forth streams of blood. 

[-9-] All alike were excited over these events, yet in that yearnothing further took place. Caesar was busied settling matters in Italy, especially when he discovered the presence of money sent by Antony, andso could not go to the front before winter. His rival started out withthe intention of carrying the war into Italy before they suspected hismovements, but when he came to Corcyra and ascertained that the advanceguard of ships sent to reconnoitre his position was hiding in thevicinity of the mountains of Ceraunia, he conceived the idea that Caesarhimself with all his fleet had arrived; hence he would proceed nofarther. Instead, he sailed back to the Peloponnesus, the season beingalready late autumn, and passed the winter at Patrae, distributing thesoldiers in every direction to the end that they might keep guard overthe various districts and secure more easily an abundance of provisions. Meanwhile volunteers from each party went over to both sides, senatorsas well as others, and Lucius Messius was caught as a spy by Caesar. Hereleased the man in spite of his being one of those previously capturedat Perusia, but first showed him all his power. To Antony Caesar senta letter, bidding him either withdraw from the sea a day's journey onhorseback, and grant him the free privilege of coming to him by boat oncondition that they should meet within five days, or else to cross overto Italy himself on the same terms. Antony made a great deal of fun ofhim and said: "Who will be our arbitrator, if the compact is transgressedin any way?" And Caesar did not expect that his demands would receivecompliance, but hoped to inspire his own soldiers with courage and hisopponents with terror by this act. 

[B. C. 31 (_a. U. _ 723)]

[-10-] As consuls for the next year after this Caesar and Antony had beenappointed at the time when they settled the offices for eight years atonce[59]; and this was the last year of the period: and as Antony hadbeen deposed, --a fact which I stated, [60]--Valerius Messala, who had oncebeen proscribed by them, [61] became consul with Caesar. About this time amadman rushed into the theatre at one of the festivals, seized the crownof the former Caesar and put it on, whereupon he was torn to pieces by thebystanders. A wolf that darted into the temple of Fortune was caught andkilled, and at the hippodrome during the very contest of the horses a dogoverpowered and devoured another dog. Fire also consumed a considerableportion of the hippodrome, the temple of Ceres, another shrine dedicatedto Spes, besides a large number of other structures. The freedmen werethought to have caused this. All of them who were in Italy and possessedproperty worth five myriads[62] or more had been ordered to contributean eighth of it. The result was numerous riots, murders, and firing ofbuildings on their part, and they were not brought to order until theywere subdued by armed force. After this the freedmen who held any land inItaly grew frightened and kept quiet: they had been ordered, too, to givea quarter of their annual income, and though they were on the point ofrebelling against this extortion, they were not bold enough after thedemonstration mentioned to show further insubordination, but reluctantlymade their contribution without disputing the matter. Therefore it wasbelieved that the fire was due to a plot originated by the freedmen: yetthis did not prevent it from being recorded among the great portents, because of the number of buildings burned. 

[-11-] Disregarding such omens as had appeared to them they neither feltfear nor displayed less hostility but spent the winter in employing spiesand annoying each other. Caesar had set sail from Brundusium and proceededas far as Corcyra, intending to attack the ships near Actium while offtheir guard, but he encountered rough weather and received damage whichcaused him to withdraw. When spring came, Antony made no move at anypoint: the crews that manned the triremes were made up of all kinds ofnations, and as they had been wintering at a distance from him they hadsecured no practice and had been diminished in numbers by disease anddesertions; Agrippa also had seized Methone by storm, had killed Bogudthere, was watching for merchant vessels to come to land, and was makingdescents from time to time on various parts of Greece, which causedAntony extreme disturbance. Caesar in turn was encouraged by this andwished to employ as soon as possible the energy of the army, which wastrained to a fine point, and to carry on the war in Greece near hisrival's supporters rather than in Italy near Rome. Therefore he collectedall his soldiers who were of any value, and all of the men of influence, both senators and knights, at Brundusium. He wished to have the first tocoöperate with him and to keep the second from being alone and acting inany revolutionary way, but chiefly he wished to show mankind that thelargest and strongest element among the Romans was in accord with him. Therefore he ordered all to bring with them a stated number of servantsand that, except the soldiers, they should also carry food forthemselves; after this with the entire array he crossed the Ionian Gulf. [-12-] He was leading them not to the Peloponnesus or against Antony, butto Actium, where the greater part of his rival's fleet was at anchor, tosee if he could gain possession of it, willing or unwilling, in advance. Consequently he disembarked the cavalry under the shadow of the Ceraunianmountains and sent them to the point mentioned, while he himself with hisships seized Corcyra, deserted by the garrisons within it, and came toa stop in the so-called Sweet Harbor: it is so named because it is madesweet by the river emptying into it. There he established a naval stationand from there he set out to sail to Actium. No one came out to meet himor would hold parley with him, though he urged them to do one of twothings, --come to an agreement or come into battle. But the firstalternative they would not accept through distrust, nor the second, through fear. He then occupied the site where Nicopolis now stands andtook up a position on a high piece of ground there from which there is aview over all the outer sea near Paxa, over the inner Ambracian Gulf, andthe intermediary water (on which are the harbors near Nicopolis) alike. This spot he strengthened and constructed walls from it down to Comarus, the outer harbor, so that he commanded Actium with his camp and hisfleet, by land and sea. I have heard the report that he transferredtriremes from the outer sea to the gulf through the fortifications, usingnewly flayed hides smeared with olive oil instead of hauling-engines. However, I can find no exploit recorded of these ships in the gulf andtherefore I am unable to trust the tradition; for it was certainly nosmall task to draw triremes on hides over a long and uneven tract ofland. Still, it is said to have been performed. Actium is a place sacredto Apollo and is located in front of the mouth of the narrows leadinginto the Ambracian Gulf opposite the harbors at Nicopolis. These narrowsare of uniform breadth, though closely confined, for a long distance, andboth they and all the waters outside the entrance are fit for ships tocome to anchor in and lie in wait. This space the adherents of Antony hadoccupied in advance, had built towers on each side of the mouth, and hadtaken up the intervening space with ships so that they could both sailout and retreat with security. The men were bivouacked on the fartherside of the narrows, along by the sanctuary, on an extensive level areaquite suitable for either battle or encampment. The nature of the placemade them far more subject to disease both in winter and in summer. 

[-13-] As soon as Antony ascertained Caesar's arrival, he did not delay, but hastened to Actium with his followers. He reached there in a shorttime but did not at once risk an encounter, though Caesar was constantlymarshaling his infantry in front of the camp, often making dashes at themwith his ships and beaching their transports; for his object was to joinbattle with only such as were present, before Antony's entire commandassembled. For this very reason the latter was unwilling to risk his all, and he had recourse for several days to trials and skirmishes until hehad gathered his legions. With these, especially since Caesar no longerdisplayed an equal readiness to assail them, he crossed the narrows andencamped not far from him, after which he sent cavalry around the gulfand besieged him on both sides. Caesar himself remained quiet, and did nottake any risks which he could avoid, but sent a detachment into Greeceand Macedonia with the intention of drawing Antony off in that direction. While they were so engaged Agrippa sailed suddenly to Leucas and capturedthe vessels there, took Patrae by conquering Quintus Nasidius in a fightat sea, and later also reduced Corinth. Following upon these eventsMarcus Titius and Statilius Taurus made a sudden charge upon Antony'scavalry, which they defeated, and won over Philadelphus, king ofPaphlagonia. Meantime, also, Gnaeus Domitius, having some grievanceagainst Cleopatra, transferred his allegiance and proved, indeed, of noservice to Caesar (for he fell sick and died not long after), but stillcreated the impression that his desertion was due to despair of thesuccess of the party on whose side he was ranged. Many others followedhis example, so that Antony was no longer equally imbued with courage butwas suspicious of everybody. It was after this that he tortured andput to death Iamblichus, king of some of the Arabians, and others, anddelivered Quintus Postumius, a senator, to his servants to be placed onthe rack. Finally he became afraid that Quintus Deillius and Amyntas theGaul, who happened to have been sent into Macedonia and Thrace aftermercenaries, would espouse Caesar's cause, and he started to overtakethem, pretending that he wished to render them assistance in case anyhostile force should attack. And meantime a battle at sea occurred. [-14-] Lucius Tarius, [63] with a few ships was anchored opposite Sosius, and the latter hoped to achieve a notable success by attacking him beforeAgrippa, to whom the whole fleet had been entrusted, should arrive. Accordingly, after waiting for a thick mist, so that Tarius should notbecome aware of their numbers beforehand and flee, he set sail suddenlyjust before dawn and immediately at the first assault routed his opponentand pursued him, but failed to capture him; for Agrippa by chance metSosius on the way, so that he not only gained nothing from the victorybut perished[64] together with Tarcondimotus and many others. 

Antony, because of his conflict and because he himself on his return hadbeen defeated in a cavalry battle by Caesar's advance guard, no longerthought it well to encamp in two different places, but during the nightleft the redoubt which was near his opponents and retired to the otherside of the narrows, where the larger part of his army had bivouacked. When provisions also began to fail him because he was cut off fromforaging, he held a council to deliberate whether they should remain inposition and hazard an encounter or transfer their post somewhere elseand make the war a long one. [-15-] After several had given opinionsthe advice of Cleopatra prevailed, --that the choicest sites be given inpossession of garrisons and that the rest of the force weigh anchor withthem for Egypt. She held this view as a result of being disturbed byomens. Swallows had built their nests about her tent and on the flagshipon which she sailed, and milk and blood together had dripped frombeeswax. Their images with the forms of gods which the Athenians hadplaced on their Acropolis were hurled down by thunderbolts into theTheatre. This and the consequent dejection and listlessness of the armybegan to alarm Cleopatra and she filled Antony with fears. They did notwish, however, to sail out either secretly or openly as fugitives, forfear they should strike terror to the hearts of their allies, but ratherwith preparations made for a naval battle, in order that they mightequally well force their way through in case there should be anyresistance. Therefore they chose out first the best of the vessels, sincethe sailors had become fewer by death and desertion, and burned the rest;next they secretly put all their most prized valuables aboard of them bynight. When the boats were ready, Antony gathered his soldiers and spokeas follows:--

[-16-] "All provisions that I was required to make for the war havereceived due attention, fellow-soldiers, in advance. First, there is yourimmense throng, all the chosen flower of our dependents and allies; andto such a degree are you masters of every form of combat recognized amongus that alone by yourselves you are formidable to adversaries. Thenagain, you yourselves can see how large and how fine a fleet we have andhow many fine hoplites, cavalry, slingers, peltasts, archers, mountedarchers. Most of these classes are not found at all on the other side, and so far as they are found they are much fewer and weaker thanours. The funds of the enemy are small, though obtained by forcedcontributions, and can not last long, while they have rendered thecontributors better disposed toward us than toward the men who took them;hence the population is in no way favorable to the oppressors and ismoreover on the point of open revolt. Our treasury, filled from abundantresources, has harmed no one and will aid all of us. [-17-] In additionto these considerations so numerous and of such great importance I amon general principles disinclined to make any bombastic statementabout myself. Yet since this too is one of the factors contributingto supremacy in war and is believed among all men to be of greatestimportance, --I mean that men who are to fight well must secure anexcellent general--necessity itself has rendered quite indispensablesome remarks about myself, their purpose being to enable you to realizestill more the fact that not only are you such soldiers that you couldconquer even without a good leader, but I am such a leader that I canwin even with poor soldiers. I am at that age when persons attain theirgreatest perfection both of body and intellect and suffer deteriorationneither through the rashness of youth nor the feebleness of old age, butare strongest because in a condition half-way between the two. Moreover Ipossess such a nature and such a training that I can with greatest easediscern what requires to be done and make it known. Experience, whichcauses even the ignorant and the uneducated to appear to be of somevalue, I have been acquiring through my whole political and wholemilitary career. From boyhood till now I have been continually exercisedin similar pursuits; I have been much ruled and done much ruling, fromwhich I have learned on the one hand what kind of orders and of whatmagnitude must be issued, and on the other how far and in what way onemust render obedience. I have been subject to terror, to confidence: as aresult I have made it my custom neither to entertain any fear too readilynor to venture on any hazard too heedlessly. I have met with goodfortune, I have met with failure: consequently I find it possible toavoid both despair and excess of pride. 

[-18-] "I speak to you who know these facts and make you who hear themmy witnesses not in the intention of uttering idle boasts aboutmyself, --your consciousness of the truth being sufficient glory forme, --but to the end that you may in this way bring home to yourselveshow much better we are equipped than our opponents. For, while they areinferior to us in quantity both of soldiers and of money and in diversityof equipment, in no one respect are they so strikingly lacking as in theage and inexperience of their general. About him I need in general makeno exact or detailed statement, but to sum up I will say this, which youall understand, that he is a veritable weakling in body and has neverhimself been victor in any important battle either on land or on the sea. Indeed, at Phillipi and in the same conflict I won the day, whereas hewas defeated. 

"To this degree do we differ from each other, and usually victories fallto the better equipped. And if they have any strength at all, you wouldfind it to exist in their heavy-armed force on land; as for their ships, they will not so much as be able to sail out against us. You yourselvescan of course see the size and stoutness of our vessels, which are suchthat if the enemy's were equivalent to them in number, yet because ofthese advantages the foe could do no damage either by charges from theside or by charges from the front. For first the thickness of the timbersand second the very height of the ships would certainly check them, evenif there were no one on board to defend them. Where will any one find achance to assail ships which carry so many archers and slingers strikingassailants, moreover, from the towers up aloft? If any one shouldapproach, how could he fail to get sunk by the very number of the oarsor how could he fail to be plunged under water when shot at by all thewarriors on the decks and in the towers? [-19-] Do not think that theyhave any nautical ability because Agrippa won a sea-fight off Sicily:they contended not against Sextus but against his slaves, not against alike equipment with ours but against one far inferior. If, again, any onemakes much of their good fortune in that combat, he is bound to take intoequal consideration the defeat which Caesar himself suffered at the handsof Sextus. By this comparison he will find that conditions are not thesame, but that all our advantages are more numerous and greater thantheirs. And, in general, how large a part does Sicily form of the wholeempire and how large a fraction of our equipment did the troops of Sextuspossess, that any one should properly fear Caesar's armament, which isprecisely the same as before and has grown neither larger nor better, just on account of his good luck, instead of taking courage from thedefeat that he endured? Reflecting on this fact I have not cared torisk our first engagement with the infantry, where they appear to havestrength in a way, in order that no one of you should be liable todiscouragement as a result of any failure in that department: instead, I have chosen to begin with the ships where we are strongest and have avast superiority over our antagonists, to the end that after a victorywith these we may despise the infantry. You know well that the wholeoutcome of the war depends on each side on our fleets. If we come outvictorious in this engagement, we shall suffer no harm from any of therest but cut them off on a kind of islet, --for all surrounding regionsare in our possession, --and without effort subdue them, if in no otherway, by hunger. 

[-20-] "Now I do not think that further words are necessary to tell youthat we shall be struggling not for small or unimportant interests, butit will prove true that if you are zealous you will obtain the greatestrewards, but if careless will suffer the most frightful misfortunes. What would they not do to us, if they should prevail, when they killedpractically all the followers of Sextus that had been of any prominence, and even destroyed many followers of Lepidus that coöperated with Caesar'sparty? But why should I mention this, seeing that they have removedLepidus, who was guilty of no wrong and was further their ally, fromall his powers as general and keep him under guard as if he were somecaptive? They have further hounded for money all the freedmen in Italyand likewise other men who possess any land to such an extent as toforce some of them to take up arms, with the consequence that not a fewperished. Is it possible that those who spared not their allies willspare us? Will those who seized for funds the property of their ownadherents refrain from our wealth? Will they show humanity as victors whobefore victory have committed every conceivable outrage? Not to spendtime in speaking of the concerns of other people, I will enumerate theaudacity that they have displayed toward us who stand here. Who wasignorant that I was chosen a partner and colleague of Caesar and receivedcharge of the management of public affairs equally with him, receivedsimilar honors and offices, and have been a great while now in possessionof them? Yet of all of them, so far as is in his power, I have beendeprived; I have become a private citizen instead of a leader, an outcastfrom the franchise instead of consul, and this not by the action of thepeople or the senate but by his own act and that of his adherents, who donot comprehend that they are preparing a sovereign for themselves firstof all. For how could one speak of enactments of people and senate, whenthe consuls and some others fled straightway from the city, in orderto escape casting any such vote? How will that man spare either you oranybody else, when he dared while I was alive, in possession of suchgreat power, a victor over the Armenians, to seek for my will, take it byviolence from those who had received it, open it, and read it publicly?And how will he manifest any humanity to others with whom he has noconnection, when he has shown himself such a man toward me, --his friend, his table companion, his relative?

[-21-] "Now in case we are to draw any inferences from his decrees, hethreatens you openly, having made the majority of you enemies outright, but against me personally no such declaration has been made, though he isat war with me and is already acting in every way like one who has notonly conquered me but murdered me. Hence, when he treated me in such away whom he pretends not yet even at this day to regard as an enemy, hewill surely not keep his hands off you, with whom he clearly admits thathe is at odds. What does it signify that he is threatening us all alikewith arms but in his decree declares he is at war with some and notwith others? It is not, by Jupiter, with the intention of making anydistinction between us, or treating one class in one way and another inanother, if he prevails, but it is in order to set us at variance and incollision and thus render us weaker. He is not unaware that while we arein accord and doing everything as one body he can never in any way getthe upper hand, but if we quarrel, and some choose one policy and therest another, he may perhaps prevail. [-22-] It is for this reason thathe assumes this kind of attitude toward us. I and the Romans that cleaveto me foresee the danger, although so far as the decrees are concerned weenjoy a kind of amnesty: we comprehend his plot and neither abandon younor look personally to our own advantage. In like manner you, too, whomhe does not even himself deny that he regards as hostile, yes, mosthostile, ought to bear in mind all these facts, and embracing commondangers and common hopes coöperate in every way and show enthusiasm to anequal degree in our enterprise and set over against each other carefullyfirst what we shall suffer (as I said), if defeated, and what we shallgain, if victorious. For it is a great thing for us to escape beingworsted and so enduring any form of insult or rapacity, but greatest ofall to conquer and effect whatever any one of us may wish. On the otherhand, it is most disgraceful for us, who are so many and so valiant, whohave weapons and money and ships and horses, to choose the worse insteadof the better course, and when we might afford the other party libertyto prefer to join them in slavery. Our aims are so utterly opposed that, whereas he desires to reign as sovereign over you, I wish to free you andthem together, and this I have confirmed by oath. Therefore as men whoare to struggle for both sides alike and to win blessings that shall becommon to all, let us labor, fellow-soldiers, to prevail at the presentjuncture and to gain happiness for all time. "

[-23-] After delivering a speech of this sort Antony put all his mostprominent associates aboard the boats, to prevent them from concertingrevolutionary measures when they got by themselves, as Deillius and someother deserters had done; he also embarked great numbers of archers, slingers, and hoplites. And since the defeat of Sextus had been largelydue to the size of Caesar's ships and the number of his marines, Antonyhad equipped his vessels to surpass greatly those of his opponents, forhe had had constructed only a few triremes, but the rest were ships withfour banks and with ten banks, and represented all the remaining degreesof capacity: upon these he had built lofty towers, and he had put aboarda crowd of men who could fight from behind walls, as it were. Caesar forhis part was observing their equipment and making his preparations; whenhe learned from Deillius and others their intention he himself assembledthe army and spoke to this effect:--

[-24-] "Having discovered, fellow-soldiers, both from what I have learnedfrom hearsay and from what I have tested by experience, that the most andgreatest military enterprises, or, indeed, I might say human affairs ingeneral, turn out in favor of those persons who both think and act in amore just and pious manner, I am keeping this strictly in mind myself andI advise you to consider it. No matter how numerous and mighty the forcewe possess, no matter if it be such that even a man who chose the lessjust of two courses might expect to win with its aid, nevertheless I basemy confidence far more upon the causes underlying the war than upon thisfactor. For that we who are Romans and lords of the greatest and bestportion of the world should be despised and trodden under foot of anEgyptian woman is unworthy of our fathers who overthrew Pyrrhus, Philip, Perseus, Antiochus, who uprooted the Numantini and the Carthaginians, whocut down the Cimbri and the Ambrones; it is unworthy also of ourselveswho have subjugated the Gauls, have subdued the Pannonians, have advancedas far as the Ister, have crossed the Rhine, have gone over into Britain. How could all those who have had a hand in the exploits mentioned failto grieve vehemently, if they should learn that we had succumbed to anaccursed woman? Should we not be guilty of a gross deviation from rightconduct, if, after surpassing all men everywhere in valor, we should thenbear humbly the insults of this throng, who, O Hercules, are Alexandriansand Egyptians (what worse or what truer name could one apply to them?), who serve reptiles and other creatures as gods, who embalm their bodiesto secure a reputation for immortality, who are most reckless inbraggadocio but most deficient in bravery, and worst of all are slavesto a woman instead of a man? Yet these have dared to lay claim to ourpossessions and to acquire them through us, evidently expecting that wewill give up the prosperity which we possess for them. [-25-] Who canhelp lamenting to see Roman soldiers acting as body-guards of theirqueen? Who can help groaning when he hears Roman knights and senatorsflattering her like eunuchs? Who can help weeping when he both hears andsees Antony himself, the man twice consul, often imperator, to whom wascommitted in common with me the superintendence of the public business, who was entrusted with so many cities, so many legions, --when he seesthat this man has now abandoned all his ancestors' habits of life, hasemulated all alien and barbaric customs, that he pays no honor to us orto the laws or to his fathers' gods, but worships that wench as if shewere some Isis or Selene, calling her children Sun and Moon, and finallyhimself bearing the title of Osiris and Dionysus, in consequence of whichhe has bestowed entire islands and some of the continents, as though hewere master of the whole earth and the whole sea? I am sure that thisappears marvelous and incredible to you, fellow-soldiers: therefore youought to be the more indignant. For if that is actually so which you donot even believe on hearing it, and if that man in his voluptuary careercommits acts at which any one who learns of them must grieve, would younot properly become exceedingly enraged?

[-26-] "Yet at the start I was so devoted to him that I gave him a shareof my leadership, married my sister to him, and granted him legions. Evenafter this I felt so kindly, so affectionately toward him that I wasunwilling to wage war on him because of his insulting my sister, orbecause he neglected the children she had borne him, or because hepreferred the Egyptian woman to her, or because he bestowed upon theformer's children practically all your possessions, or, in fine, for anyother reason. The cause is that, first of all, I did not think it properto assume the same attitude toward Antony as toward Cleopatra. I deemedher by the very fact of her foreign birth to be at the outset hostile tohis career, but I believed that he, as a citizen, could be corrected. Later I entertained the hope that if not voluntarily at least reluctantlyhe might change his mind as a result of the decrees passed against her. Consequently I did not declare war upon him. He, however, has lookedhaughtily and disdainfully upon my efforts and will neither be released, though we would fain release him, nor be pitied though we try to pityhim. He is either unreasonable or mad, --and this which I have heard Ido believe, that he has been bewitched by that accursed female, --andtherefore pays no heed to our kindness or humaneness, but being inslavery to that woman he undertakes in her behalf both war and needlessdangers which are both against our interests and against those of hiscountry. What else, then, is our duty except to fight him back togetherwith Cleopatra? [-27-]Hence let no one call him a Roman but rather anEgyptian, nor Antony but rather Serapio. Let no one think that he wasever consul or imperator, but only gymnasiarch. He has himself of his ownfree will chosen the latter title instead of the former, and casting awayall the august terms of his own land has become one of the cymbal playersfrom Canopus. [65] Again, let no one fear that he can give any unfavorableturn to the war. Even previously he was of no ability, as you knowclearly who conquered him near Mutina. And even if once he did attain tosome capacity through campaigning with us, be well assured that he hasnow ruined all of it by his changed manner of life. It is impossible forone who leads an existence of royal luxury and coddles himself like awoman to think any valorous thoughts or do valorous deeds, because it isquite inevitable that a person takes the impress of the practices withwhich he comes in contact. A proof of this is that in the one war whichhe has waged in all this long time and the one campaign that he has madehe lost great numbers of citizens in the battles, returned in thoroughdisgrace from Praaspa, and parted with very many additional men inthe flight. If any one of us were obliged to perform a set dance orcordax[66] in an amusing way, such a person would surely yield the honorsto him; he has practiced this: but since it is a case of arms andbattle, what is there about him that any one should dread? His physicalcondition? He has passed his prime and become effeminate. His strength ofmind? He plays the woman and has surrendered himself to unnatural lust. His piety toward our gods? He is at war both with them and his country. His faithfulness to his allies? But is any one unaware how he deceivedand imprisoned the Armenian? His liberal treatment of his friends? Butwho has not seen the men who have miserably perished at his hands? Hisreputation with the soldiers? But who even of them has not condemned him?Evidence of their feeling is found in the fact that numbers daily comeover to our side. For my part I think that all our citizens will do this, as on a former occasion when he was going from Brundusium into Gaul. Solong as they expected to get rich without danger, some were very gladto cleave to him. But they will not care to fight against us, their owncountrymen, in behalf of what does not belong to them at all, especiallywhen they are given the opportunity to win without hazard bothpreservation and prosperity by joining us. 

[-28-] "Some one may say, however, that he has many allies and a store ofwealth. Well, how we have been accustomed to conquer the dwellers on Asiathe mainland is known to Scipio Asiaticus the renowned, is known to Sullathe fortunate, to Lucullus, to Pompey, to my father Caesar, and to yourown selves, who vanquished the supporters of Brutus and Cassius. Thisbeing so, if you think their wealth is so much more than others', youmust be all the more eager to make it your own. It is but fair that forthe greatest prizes the greatest conflicts should be undergone. And Ican tell you nothing else greater than that prize which lies within yourgrasp, --namely, to preserve the renown of your forefathers, to guard yourindividual pride, to take vengeance on those in revolt against us, torepulse those who insult you, to conquer and rule all mankind, to allowno woman to make herself equal to a man. Against the Taurisci and Iapudesand Dalmatians and Pannonians you yourselves now before me battled mostzealously and frequently for some few walls and desert land; you subduedall of them though they are admittedly a most warlike race; and, byJupiter, against Sextus also, for Sicily merely, and against this veryAntony, for Mutina merely, you carried on a similar struggle, so thatyou came out victorious over both. And now will you show any less zealagainst a woman whose plots concern all your possessions, and againsther husband, who has distributed to her children all your property, andagainst their noble associates and table companions whom they themselvesstigmatize as 'privy' councillors? Why should you? Because of theirnumber? But no number of persons can conquer valour. Because of theirrace? But they have practiced carrying burdens rather than warfare. Because of their experience? But they know better how to row than howto fight at sea. I, for my part, am really ashamed that we are going tocontend with such creatures, by vanquishing whom we shall gain no glory, whereas if we are defeated we shall be disgraced. 

[-29-] "And surely you must not think that the size of their vessels orthe thickness of the timbers of their ships is a match for our valour. What ship ever by itself either wounded or killed anybody? Will they notby their very height and staunchness be more difficult for their rowersto move and less obedient to their pilots? Of what use can they possiblybe to the fighting men on board of them, when these men can employneither frontal assault nor flank attack, manoeuvres which you know areessential in naval contests? For surely they do not intend to employinfantry tactics against us on the sea, nor on the other hand are theyprepared to shut themselves up as it were in wooden walls and undergo asiege, since that would be decidedly to our advantage--I mean assaultingwooden barriers. For if their ships remain in the same place, as iffastened there, it will be possible for us to rip them open with ourbeaks, it will be possible, too, to damage them with our engines froma distance, and also possible to burn them to the water's edge withincendiary missiles; and if they do venture to stir from their place, they will not overtake anyone by pursuing nor escape by fleeing, sincethey are so heavy that they are entirely too inert to inflict any damage, and so huge that they are exceptionally liable to suffer it. 

[-30-] "Indeed, what need is there to spend time in speaking further ofthem, when we have already often made trial of them, not only off Leucasbut also here just the other day, and so far from proving inferior tothem, we have everywhere shown ourselves superior? Hence you should beencouraged not so much by my words as by your own deeds, and shoulddesire to put an end forthwith to the whole war. For be well assured thatif we beat them to-day we shall have no further trouble. For in generalit is a natural characteristic of human nature everywhere, that whenevera man fails in his first contests he becomes disheartened with respect towhat is to come; and as for us, we are so indisputably superior to themon land that we could vanquish them even if they had never suffered anyinjury. And they are themselves so conscious of this truth--for I am notgoing to conceal from you what I have heard--that they are discouraged atwhat has already happened and despair of saving their lives if they staywhere they are, and they are therefore endeavouring to make their escapeto some place or other, and are making this sally, not with the desire togive battle, but in expectation of flight. In fact, they have placed intheir ships the best and most valuable of the possessions they have withthem, in order to escape with them if they can. Since, then, they admitthat they are weaker than we, and since they carry the prizes of victoryin their ships, let us not allows them to sail anywhere else, but letus conquer them here on the spot and take all these treasures away fromthem. "

Such were Caesar's words. [-31-]After this he formed a plan to let themslip by, intending to fall upon them from the rear: he himself by fastsailing expected to capture them directly, and when the leaders hadplainly shown that they were attempting to run away he thought that theremainder would make no contest about surrendering. He was restrained, however, by Agrippa, who feared that they might not overtake thefugitives, who would probably use sails, and he also felt some confidenceof conquering without much effort because meantime a squall of rain withlarge quantities of spray had driven in the face of Antony's fleet aloneand had created disturbance all through it. Hence he abandoned this plan, and after putting vast numbers of infantry aboard the ships himselfand placing all his associates into auxiliary boats for the purpose ofsailing about quickly, giving notice of requisite action to the warriors, and reporting to him what he ought to know, he awaited the onset of thefoe. They weighed anchor to the sound of the trumpet and with shipsin close array drew up their line a little outside the narrows, notadvancing any farther: he in turn started out as if to come to closequarters or even make them retire. When they neither made a correspondingadvance nor turned about, but remained in position and further madetheir array extremely dense, he became doubtful what to do. Therefore heordered the sailors to let their oars rest in the water and waited for atime: then suddenly at a given signal led forward both the wings and bentaround in the hope chiefly of surrounding the enemy, or otherwise of atleast breaking their formation. Antony was afraid of this movement of histo wheel about and surround them, and hence adopted so far as he couldcorresponding tactics, which brought him, though reluctantly, into closecombat. [-32-] So they attacked and began the conflict, both sidesuttering many exhortations in their own ranks as to both artifice andzeal, and hearing many from the men on shore that shouted to them. Thestruggle was not of a similar nature on the two sides, but Caesar'sfollowers having smaller and swifter ships went with a rush, and whenthey rammed were fenced about on all sides to avoid being wounded. Ifthey sank any boat, well: if not, they would back water before a closeengagement could be begun, and would either ram the same vessels suddenlyagain, or would let some go and turn their attention to others; andhaving damaged them slightly, to whatever degree the limited time wouldallow, they would proceed against others and then still others, inorder that their assault upon any vessel might be so far as possibleunexpected. Since they dreaded the defence of the enemy from a distanceand likewise the battle at close quarters, they delayed neither in theapproach nor in the encounter, but running up suddenly with the object ofarriving before the opposing archers could work, they would inflict somewounds and cause a disturbance merely, so as to escape being held, andthen retire out of range. The enemy tried to strike the approachingships with many stones and arrows flying thick and fast, and to cast thegrapnels upon the assailants. And in case they could reach them, they gotthe better of it, but if they missed, their boats would be pierced andthey begin to sink, or else in their endeavor to avoid this calamity theywould waste time and lay themselves open to attack on the part of someothers. For when two or three at once fell upon the same ship, partwould do all the damage they could and the rest suffer the brunt of theinjuries. On the one side the pilots and the rowers endured the mostannoyance and fatigue, and on the other the marines: and the one sideresembled cavalry, now making a charge, now withdrawing, on account ofthe manoeuvres on their part in assaulting and backing water, and theother was like heavy-armed men guarding against the approach of foes andtrying as much as possible to hold them. As a result they gained mutualadvantages: the one party fell unobserved upon the lines of oarsprojecting from the ships and shattered the blades, whereas the otherparty with rocks and engines from above tried to sink them. Therewere also certain disadvantages: the one party could not injure thoseapproaching it, and the other party, if it failed to sink some vessels byits ramming, was hemmed in and found no longer an equal contest. 

[-33-] The battle was an even one for a long time and neither antagonistcould get the upper hand, but the outcome of it was finally like this. Cleopatra, riding at anchor behind the warriors, could not endure thelong, obscure uncertainty and delay, but harassed with worry (which wasdue to her being a woman and an Egyptian) at the struggle which for solong continued doubtful, and at the fearful expectancy on both sides, suddenly herself started to flee and raised the signal for the remainderof her subjects. So, as they at once raised their sails and sped out tosea, while a wind of some force had by chance arisen, Antony thought theywere fleeing not at the bidding of Cleopatra, but through fear becausethey felt themselves vanquished, and followed them. When this took placethe rest of the soldiers became both discouraged and confused, and ratherwishing themselves to escape likewise kept raising their sails, and theothers kept throwing the towers and the furnishings into the sea in orderto lighten the vessels and make good their departure. While they wereoccupied in this way their adversaries fell upon them, not pursuing thefugitives, because they themselves were without sails and prepared onlyfor a naval battle, and many contended with one ship, both from afarand alongside. Then on the part of both alike the conflict became mostdiverse and fierce. Caesar's men damaged the lower parts of the ships allaround, crushed the oars, knocked off the rudders, and climbed on thedecks, where they took hold of some and pulled them down, pushed offothers, and fought with still others, since they were now equal to themin numbers. Antony's soldiers pushed them back with boathooks, cut themdown with axes, threw down upon them rocks and other masses of materialmade ready for just this purpose, repulsed those that tried to climb up, and joined issue with such as came close enough. 

And one viewing the business might have compared it, likening smallthings to great, to walls or many thickset islands being besieged by sea. Thus the one party strove to scale the boats like some land or fortressand eagerly brought to bear everything that contributed to this result. The others tried to repel them, devising every means that is commonlyused in such, a case. 

[-34-] As the fight continued equal, Caesar, at a loss what he should do, sent for fire from the camp. Previously he had wished to avoid usingit, in order to gain possession of the money. Now he saw that it wasimpossible for him to win in any other way, and had recourse to this, asthe only thing that would assist him. Thus another form of battle wasbrought about. The assailants would approach their victims from manydirections at once, shoot blazing missiles at them, and hurl torchesfastened to javelins from their hands, and with the aid of engines threwpots full of charcoal and pitch upon some boats from a distance. Thedefenders tried to ward these off individually and when any of them flewpast and caught the timbers and at once started a great flame, as must bethe case in a ship, they used first the drinking-water which they carriedon board and extinguished some conflagrations: when that was gone theydipped up the sea-water. And in case they could use great quantities ofit at once, they would stop the fire by main force: but they were unableto do this everywhere, for they did not have many buckets or large ones, and in their confusion brought them up half full, so that far from doingany service they only quickened the flame. For salt water poured ona fire in small quantities makes it burn up brightly. As they foundthemselves getting the worst of it in this, they heaped on the blazetheir thick mantles and the corpses. For a time these checked the fireand it seemed to abate; later, especially as the wind came upon it ingreat gusts, it shot up more brilliant than ever and was increased by thefuel. While only a part of a ship was burning, others stood by it and themen would leap into it and hew down some parts and carry away others. These detached parts some threw into the sea and others upon theiropponents, in case they could do them any damage. Others were constantlygoing to the sound portion of the vessel and now more than ever they usedthe grappling irons and the long spears with the purpose of attachingsome hostile ship to theirs and transferring themselves to it; or, ifthat was out of the question, they tried to set it on fire likewise. [-35-] But the hostile fleet was guarding against this very attempt andnone of it came near enough; and as the fire spread to the encirclingwalls and descended to the flooring, the most terrible of fatesconfronted them. Some, and particularly the sailors, perished by thesmoke before the flame approached them, while others were roasted in themidst of it as though in ovens. Others were cooked in their armor, whichbecame red-hot. There were still others, who, before suffering such adeath, or when they were half burned, threw off their armor and werewounded by the men shooting from a distance, or again were choked byleaping into the sea, or were struck by their opponents and drowned, orwere mangled by sea-monsters. The only ones to obtain an endurable death, considering the sufferings round about, were such as killed one anotheror themselves before any calamity befell them. These did not have tosubmit to torture, and as corpses had the burning ships for their funeralpyre. The Caesarians, who saw this, at first so long as any of the foewere still able to defend themselves would not come near; but when thefire began to consume the ships and the men so far from being able to doany harm to an enemy could not even help themselves, they eagerly sailedup to them to see if they could in any way gain possession of the money, and they endeavored to extinguish the fire which they themselves hadcaused. As a result many of them also perished in the course of theirplundering in the flame. 

DIO'S ROMAN HISTORY

51

The following is contained in the Fifty-first of Dio's Rome:

How Caesar after his victory at Actium transacted business requiringimmediate attention (chapters 1-4). 

About Antony and Cleopatra and their movements after the defeat (chapters5-8). 

How Antony, defeated in Egypt, killed himself (chapters 9-14). 

How Caesar subdued Egypt (chapters 15-18). 

How Caesar came to Rome and conducted a triumph (chapters 19-21). 

How the Curia Julia was dedicated (chapter 22). 

How Moesia was reduced (chapters 23-27). 

Duration of time the remainder of the consulships of Caesar (3rd) and M. Valerius Corvinus Messala, together with two additional years, in whichthere were the following magistrates here enumerated:

Caesar (IV), M. Licinius M. F. Crassus. (B. C. 30 = a. U. 724. )

Caesar (V), Sextus Apuleius Sexti F. (B. C. 29 = a. U. 725. )

(_BOOK 51, BOISSEVAIN_. )

[B. C. 31 (_a. U_. 723)]

[-1-] Such was the naval battle which occurred between them on the secondof September. I have not elsewhere used a like expression, not being inthe habit of giving precise dates, but I do it here because then forthe first time Caesar alone held the entire power. Consequently theenumeration of the years of his supremacy starts from precisely that day. And before it had gone he set up as an offering to Apollo of Actium atrireme, a four-banked ship, and so on up to one of ten banks, from thecaptive vessels; and he built a larger temple. He also instituted aquinquennial musical and gymnastic contest involving horseracing, --a"sacred" festival, as they call all which include distribution offood, --and entitled it Actia. Further, by gathering some settlers andousting others who dwelt nearby from their homes, he founded a city onthe site of the camp and named it Nicopolis. [67] On the spot where hehad had his tent he laid a foundation of square stones, and put there ashrine of Apollo open to the sky, adorning it with the captured beaks. 

But this was done later. At the time he despatched one division of theships to pursue Antony and Cleopatra; so these followed in their wake, but as it seemed impossible to overtake the fugitives they returned. Withhis remaining vessels he took the enemy's ramparts, where no one opposedhim because of small numbers, and then overtook and without a battle gotpossession of the other army which was retreating into Macedonia. Variousimportant contingents had already made their escape, the Romans to Antonyand the rest of the allies to their homes. The latter moreover evincedno further hostility to Caesar, but both they and all the peoples who hadformerly belonged to Rome remained quiet, and some at once and otherslater made terms. Caesar now proceeded to teach the cities a lessonby levying money and taking away the remnant of authority over theircitizens that they possessed in their assemblies. From all the potentatesand kings, save Amyntas and Archelaus, he took all the lands that theyhad received from Antony. Philopator son of Tarcondimotus, Lycomedesruler in a portion of Cappadocian Pontus, and Alexander the brother ofIamblichus he even removed from their principalities. The last named, because he had secured his appointment as a reward for accusing theconqueror, he placed in his triumphal procession and afterward killed. The kingdom of Lycomedes he gave to one Medeus, because the latter hadprevious to the naval engagement detached the Mysians in Asia from Antonyand with them had waged war upon such as followed Antony's fortunes. Thepeople of Cydonea and Lampea he set free, because they had rendered himsome assistance, and he helped the Lampeans found anew their city, fromwhich they had been uprooted. As for the senators and knights and otherprominent men who had been active in Antony's cause, he imposed finesupon many of them, executed many of them, and some he spared entirely. Among the last Sosius was a distinguished example: for though he hadoften fought against Caesar and now fled and hid himself, but wassubsequently discovered, his life was nevertheless preserved. Likewiseone Marcus Scaurus, a half-brother of Sextus on the mother's side, hadbeen condemned to death, but was later released for the sake of hismother Mucia. Of those who underwent the extreme punishment the AquiliiFlori and Curio were the most noted. The latter met death because he wasa son of the former Curio who had once been of great assistance to theformer Caesar. And the Flori both perished because Octavius commanded thatone of them should draw the lot to be slain. They were father andson, and when the latter, before any drawing took place, voluntarilysurrendered himself to the executioner the former felt such great griefthat he died also by his own hand. 

[-3-] This, then, was the end of these persons. The mass of Antony'ssoldiers was included in the ranks of Caesar's legions and later he sentback to Italy the citizens over age of both forces, without giving anyof them anything, and the remainder he disbanded. They had shown an uglytemper toward him in Sicily after the victory, and he feared they mightcreate a disturbance again. Hence he hastened before the least signs ofan uprising were manifested to discharge some entirely from the serviceunder arms and to scatter the great majority of the rest. As he was evenat this time suspicious of the freedmen, he remitted their one-quartercontribution[68] which they were still owing of the money assessed uponthem. And they no longer bore him any malice for deprivations they hadendured, but rejoiced as if they had received as a gift what they hadnot been obliged to contribute. The men still left in the rank and fileshowed no disposition to rebel, partly because they were held in checkby their commanding officers, but mostly through hopes of the wealth ofEgypt. The men, however, who had helped Caesar to gain the victory and hadbeen dismissed from the service, were irritated at having obtained nomeed of valor, and not much later they began a revolutionary movement. Caesar was suspicious of them, and fearing that they might despiseMaecenas, to whom at that time Rome and the remainder of Italy had beenentrusted, because he was a knight, he sent Agrippa to Italy as if onsome routine business. He also gave to Agrippa and to Maecenas so greatauthority over everything that they might read beforehand the letterswhich he often wrote to the senate and to various officials, and thenchange whatever they wished in them. Therefore they received also fromhim a ring, so that they should have the means of sealing the epistles. He had had the seal which he used most at that time made double, with asphinx raised on both sides alike. Subsequently he had his own image madein _intaglio_, and sealed everything with that. Later emperors likewiseemployed it, except Galba. The latter gave his sanction with an ancestraldevice which showed a dog bending forward from the prow of a ship. Theway that Octavius wrote both to these two magistrates and to the rest ofhis intimate friends whenever there was need of forwarding information tothem secretly was to write in place of the proper letter in each word thesecond one following. 

[-4-] Octavius, with the idea that there would be no more danger from theveterans, administered affairs in Greece and took part in the Mysteriesof the two goddesses. He then went over into Asia and settled mattersthere, all the time keeping a sharp lookout for Antony's movements. Forhe had not yet received any definite information regarding the course hisrival had followed in his escape, and so he kept making preparationsto proceed against him, if he should find out exactly. Meantime theex-soldiers made an open demonstration, because he was so far separatedfrom them, and he began to fear that if they got a leader they might dosome damage. 

[B. C. 30 (_a. U. _ 724)]

Consequently he assigned to others the task of searching for Antony, andhurried to Italy himself, in the middle of the winter of the year that hewas holding office for the fourth time, with Marcus Crassus. The latter, in spite of having been attached to the cause of Sextus and of Antony, was then his fellow consul without having even passed through thepraetorship. Caesar came, then, to Brundusium but progressed no farther. The senate on ascertaining that his boat was Hearing Italy went thereto meet him, save the tribunes and two praetors, who by decree stayed athome; and the class of knights as well as the majority of the peopleand still others, some represented by embassy and many as voluntaryfollowers, came together there, so that there was no further sign ofrebellion on the part of any one, so brilliant was his arrival, and soenthusiastic over him were the masses. They, too, some through fear, others through hopes, others obeying a summons, had come to Brundusium. To certain of them Caesar gave money, but to the rest who had been theconstant companions of his campaigns, he assigned land also. By turningthe townspeople in Italy who had sided with Antony out of their homes hewas able to grant to his soldiers their cities and their farms. To mostof the outcasts from the settlements he granted permission in turn todwell in Dyrrachium, Philippi, and elsewhere. To the remainder he eitherdistributed or promised money for their land. Though he had now acquiredgreat sums by his victory, he was spending still more. For this reasonhe advertised in the public market his own possessions and those of hiscompanions, in order that any one who desired to buy or claim any of themmight do so. Nothing was sold, however, and nothing repaid. Who, pray, would have dared to undertake to do either? But he secured by this meansa reasonable excuse for a delay in carrying out his offers, and later hedischarged the debt out of the spoils of the Egyptians. 

[-5-] He settled this and the rest of the urgent business, and gave tosuch as had received a kind of semi-amnesty the right to live in Italy, not before permitted. After this he forgave the populace left behindin Rome for not having come to him, and on the thirtieth day after hisarrival set sail again for Greece. In the midst of winter he dragged hisships across the isthmus of the Peloponnesus and got back to Asiaso quickly that Antony and Cleopatra received each piece of newssimultaneously, --that he had departed and that he had returned. They, on fleeing from the naval battle, had gone as far as the Peloponnesustogether. From there they sent away some of their associates, --all, infact, whom they suspected, --while many withdrew against their will, andCleopatra hastened to Egypt, for fear that her subjects might perhapsrevolt, if they heard of the disaster before her coming. In order tomake her approach safe, at any rate, she crowned her prows, as a signof conquest, with garlands, and had some songs of victory sung byflute-players. When she reached safety, she murdered many of the foremostmen, who had ever been restless under her rule and were now in a stateof excitement at her disaster. From their estates and from variousrepositories hallowed and sacred she gathered a vast store of wealth, sparing not even the most revered of consecrated treasures. She fittedout her forces and looked about for possible alliances. The Armenian kingshe killed and sent his head to the Median, who might be influenced bythis act, she thought, to aid them. As for Antony, he sailed to PinariusScarpus in Libya, and to the army previously collected under him therefor the protection of Egypt. This general, however, would[69] not receivehim and also slew the first men that Antony sent, besides destroying someof the soldiers under his command who showed displeasure at this act. Then Antony, too, proceeded to Alexandria, having accomplished nothing. 

[-6-] Now among the other preparations that they made for speedy warfarethey enrolled among the ephebi their sons, Cleopatra Caesarion and AntonyAntyllus, who was borne to him by Fulvia and was then with him. Theirpurpose was to arouse interest among the Egyptians, who would feel thatthey already had a man for king, and that the rest might recognize thesechildren as their lords, in case any untoward accident should happen tothe parents, and so continue the struggle. This proved the lads' undoing. For Caesar, on the ground that they were men and held a certain formof sovereignty, spared neither of them. But to return: the two werepreparing to wage war in Egypt with ships and infantry, and to this endthey called also upon the neighboring tribes and the kings that werefriendly to them. Nor did they relax their readiness also to sail toSpain, if there should be urgent need, believing that they could alienatethe inhabitants of that land by their money if nothing more, and againthey thought of transferring the seat of the conflict to the Red Sea. Tothe end that while engaged in these plans they might escape observationfor the longest possible time or deceive Caesar in some way or slay him bytreachery, they despatched men who carried letters to him in regard topeace, but money for his followers. Meantime, also, unknown to Antony, Cleopatra sent to him a golden scepter and a golden crown and the royalthrone, through which she signified that she delivered the governmentto him. He might hate Antony, if he would only take pity on her. Caesaraccepted the gifts as a good omen, but made no answer to Antony. ToCleopatra he forwarded publicly threatening messages and an announcementthat if she would renounce the use of arms and her sovereignty, he woulddeliberate what ought to be done in her case. Secretly he sent word that, if she would kill Antony, he would grant her pardon and leave her empireunmolested. 

[-7-] While these negotiations were going on, the Arabians, influenced byQuintus Didius, the governor of Syria, burned the ships which had beenbuilt in the Arabian Gulf for the voyage to the Red Sea, and all thepeoples and the potentates refused their assistance. And it occurs to meto wonder that many others also, though they had received many gifts fromAntony and Cleopatra, now left them in the lurch. The men, however, oflowest rank who were being supported for gladiatorial combats showedthe utmost zeal in their behalf and contended most bravely. These werepracticing in Cyzicus for the triumphal games which they were expectingto hold in honor of Caesar's overthrow, and as soon as they were madeaware of what had taken place, they set out for Egypt with the intentionof aiding their superiors. Many were their contests with Amyntas in Gaul, and many with the children of Tarcondimotus in Cilicia, who had beentheir strongest friends but now in view of the changed circumstanceshad gone over to the other side; and many were their struggles againstDidius, who hindered them while passing through. They proved unable, after all, to make their way to Egypt. Yet even when they had beenencompassed on all sides, not even then would they accept any terms ofsurrender, though Didius made them many promises. They sent for Antony, feeling that they could fight with him better in Syria: then, when heneither came himself nor sent them any message, they decided that he hadperished, and reluctantly made terms with the condition that they shouldnever take part in a gladiatorial show. They received from Didius Daphne, the suburb of Antioch, to dwell in, until the matter was called toCaesar's attention. Then they were tricked (somewhat later) by Messala andwere sent in different directions under the pretext that they were to beenlisted in different legions and were in some convenient way destroyed. 

[-8-] When Antony and Cleopatra heard from the envoys the commands whichCaesar issued regarding them, they sent to him again. The queen promisedthat she would give him large amounts of money. Antony reminded him oftheir friendship and kinship, and also made a defence of his associationwith the Egyptian woman; he enumerated the occasions on which they hadhelped each other gain the objects of their loves, [70] and all the wantonpranks in which they two had shared as young men. Finally he surrenderedto him Publius Turullius, a senator, who had been an assassin of Caesar, but was then living with him as a friend. He actually offered to commitsuicide, if in that way Cleopatra might be saved. Caesar put Turulliusto death; it happened that this man had cut wood for the fleet from theforest of Asclepius in Cos, and by his punishment in the same place hewas thought to have paid the penalty to the god. But to Antony Caesar didnot even then answer a word. The latter consequently despatched a thirdembassy, sending him his son Antyllus with considerable gold coin. Hisrival accepted the money, but sent the boy back empty-handed and gave himno answer. To Cleopatra, however, as the first time so the second and thethird time he sent many threats and promises alike. Yet he was afraid, even so, that they might despair of in any way obtaining pardon from himand so hold out, and that they would survive by their own efforts, or setsail for Spain and Gaul, or destroy the money, the bulk of which heheard was immense. Cleopatra had gathered it all in the monument she wasconstructing in the palace; and she threatened to burn all of it withher, in case she should miss the smallest of her demands. Octavius senttherefore Thyrsus, a freedman of his, to speak to her kindly in every wayand to tell her further that it so happened that he was in love with her. He hoped at least by this means, since she thought she had the power toarouse passion in all mankind, that he might remove Antony from the sceneand keep her and her money intact. And so it proved. 

[-9-] Before quite all this had occurred Antony learned that CorneliusGallus had taken charge of Scarpus's army and with the men had suddenlymarched upon Paxaetonium and occupied it. Hence, though he wished to setout and follow the summons of the gladiators, he did not go into Syria. He proceeded against Gallus, believing that he could certainly win overhis soldiers without effort; they had been with him on campaigns and werewell disposed. At any rate he could subdue them by main strength, sincehe was leading a large force both of ships and of infantry upon them. However, he found himself unable even to hold converse with them, although he approached their wall and shouted and hallooed. For Gallus byordering his trumpeters to sound their instruments all together gave noone a chance to hear a word. Antony further failed in a sudden assaultand subsequently met a reverse with his ships. Gallus by night had chainsstretched across the mouth of the harbor under water and took no openmeasures to guard against them but quite disdainfully allowed them tosail freely in. When, however, they were inside, he drew up the chains bymeans of machines and encompassing his opponent's ships on all sides, --onland, from the houses, and on the sea, --he burned some and sank others. The next event was that Caesar took Pelusium, pretendedly by storm, butreally betrayed by Cleopatra. She saw that no one came to her aid andperceived that Caesar was not to be withstood; most important of all, she heard the message sent to her by Thyrsus, and believed that she wasreally the object of affection. Her confidence was strengthened firstof all by her wish that it be true, and second by the fact that she hadenslaved his father and Antony alike. As a result she expected that sheshould gain not only forgiveness and sovereignty over the Egyptians, butempire over the Romans as well. At once she yielded Pelusium to him. After this, when he marched against the city, she secretly prevented theAlexandrians from making a sortie, though she pretended to urge themstrongly to do so. 

[-10-] At the news about Pelusium Antony returned from Paraetonium and infront of Alexandria met Caesar, who was exhausted from travel; he joinedbattle with him, therefore, with his cavalry and was victorious. Fromthis success Antony gained courage, as also from his being able to shootarrows into his rival's camp carrying pamphlets which promised the menfifteen hundred denarii; so he attacked also with his infantry and wasdefeated. Caesar himself voluntarily read the pamphlets to his soldiers, reproaching Antony the while, and led them to feel ashamed of treacheryand to acquire enthusiasm in his behalf. They gained by this in zeal, both through indignation at being tempted and through their attempt toshow that they would not willingly gain a reputation for baseness. Antonyafter his unexpected setback took refuge in his fleet and prepared tohave a combat on the water, or in any case to sail to Spain. Cleopatraseeing this caused the ships to desert and she herself rushed suddenlyinto the mausoleum pretending that she feared Caesar and desired by somemeans to destroy herself before capture, but really as an invitation toAntony to enter there also. He had an inkling that he was being betrayed, but his infatuation would not allow him to believe it, and, as one mightsay, he pitied her more than himself. Cleopatra was fully aware of thisand hoped that if he should be informed that she was dead, he would notprolong his life but meet death at once. Accordingly, she hastened intothe monument with one eunuch and two female attendants and from theresent a message to him to the effect that she had passed away. When heheard it, he did not delay, but was seized with a desire to follow her indeath. Then first he asked one of the bystanders to slay him, but theman drew a sword and despatched himself. Wishing to imitate his courageAntony gave himself a wound and fell upon his face, causing thebystanders to think that he was dead. An outcry was raised at his deed, and Cleopatra hearing it leaned out over the top of the monument. By acertain contrivance its doors once closed could not be opened again, butabove, near the ceiling, it had not yet been completed. That was wherethey saw her leaning out and some began to utter shouts that reached theears of Antony. He, learning that she survived, stood up as if he hadstill the power to live; but a great gush of blood from his wound madehim despair of rescue and he besought those present to carry him to themonument and to hoist him by the ropes that were hanging there to elevatestone blocks. This was done and he died there on Cleopatra's bosom. 

[-11-] She now began to feel confidence in Caesar and immediately made himaware of what had taken place, but did not feel altogether confidentthat she would experience no harm. Hence she kept herself within thestructure, in order that if there should be no other motive for herpreservation, she might at least purchase pardon and her sovereigntythrough fear about her money. Even then in such depths of calamity sheremembered that she was queen, and chose rather to die with the name anddignities of a sovereign than to live as an ordinary person. It shouldbe stated that she kept fire on hand to use upon her money and asps andother reptiles to use upon herself, and that she had tried the latteron human beings to see in what way they killed in each case. Caesar wasanxious to make himself master of her treasures, to seize her alive, andto take her back for his triumph. However, as he had given her a kindof pledge, he did not wish to appear to have acted personally as animpostor, since this would prevent him from treating her as a captive andto a certain extent subdued against her will. He therefore sent to herGaius Proculeius, a knight, and Epaphroditus, a freedman, giving themdirections what they must say and do. So they obtained an audience withCleopatra and after some accusations of a mild type suddenly laid holdof her before any decision was reached. Then they put out of her wayeverything by which she could bring death upon herself and allowed herto spend some days where she was, since the embalming of Antony's bodyclaimed her attention. After that they took her to the palace, but didnot remove any of her accustomed retinue or attendants, to the end thatshe should still more hope to accomplish her wishes and do no harm toherself. When she expressed a desire to appear before Caesar and conversewith him, it was granted; and to beguile her still more, he promised thathe would come to her himself. 

[-12-] She accordingly prepared a luxurious apartment and costly couch, and adorned herself further in a kind of careless fashion, --for hermourning garb mightily became her, --and seated herself upon the couch;beside her she had placed many images of his father, of all sorts, and inher bosom she had put all the letters that his father had sent her. When, after this, Caesar entered, she hastily arose, blushing, and said: "Hail, master, Heaven has given joy to you and taken it from me. But you seewith your own eyes your father in the guise in which he often visited me, and you may hear how he honored me in various ways and made me queen ofthe Egyptians. That you may learn what were his own words about me, takeand read the missives which he sent me with his own hand. "

As she spoke thus, she read aloud many endearing expressions of his. Andnow she would lament and caress the letters and again fall before hisimages and do them reverence. She kept turning her eyes toward Caesar, andmelodiously continued to bewail her fate. She spoke in melting tones, saying at one time, "Of what avail, Caesar, are these your letters?, " andat another, "But in the man before me you also are alive for me. " Thenagain, "Would that I had died before you!, " and still again, "But if Ihave him, I have you!"

Some such diversity both of words and of gestures did she employ, at thesame time gazing at and murmuring to him sweetly. Caesar comprehended heroutbreak of passion and appeal for sympathy. Yet he did not pretend to doso, but letting his eyes rest upon the ground, he said only this: "Be ofcheer, woman, and keep a good heart, for no harm shall befall you. " Shewas distressed that he would neither look at her nor breathe a word aboutthe kingdom or any sigh of love, and fell at his knees wailing: "Life forme, Caesar, is neither desirable nor possible. This favor I beseech of youin memory of your father, --that since Heaven gave me to Antony after him, I may also die with my lord. Would that I had perished on the very instantafter Caesar's death! But since this present fate was my destiny, send meto Antony: grudge me not burial with him, that as I die because of him, soin Hades also I may dwell with him. "

[-13-] Such words she uttered expecting to obtain commiseration: Caesar, however, made no answer to it. Fearing, however, that she might make awaywith herself he exhorted her again to be of good cheer, did not removeany of her attendants, and kept a careful watch upon her, that she mightadd brilliance to his triumph. Suspecting this, and regarding it as worsethan innumerable deaths, she began to desire really to die and beggedCaesar frequently that she might be allowed to perish in some way, anddevised many plans by herself. When she could accomplish nothing, shefeigned to change her mind and to repose great hope in him, as well asgreat hope in Livia. She said she would sail voluntarily and made readymany treasured adornments as gifts. In this way she hoped to inspireconfidence that she had no designs upon herself, and so be more free fromscrutiny and bring about her destruction. This also took place. The otherofficials and Epaphroditus, to whom she had been committed, believedthat her state of mind was really as it seemed, and neglected to keepa careful watch. She, meanwhile, was making preparations to die aspainlessly as possible. First she gave a sealed paper, in which shebegged Caesar to order that she be buried beside Antony, to Epaphroditushimself to deliver, pretending that it contained some other matter. Having by this excuse freed herself of his presence, she set to her task. She put on her most beauteous apparel and after choosing a most becomingpose, assumed all the royal robes and appurtenances, and so died. 

[-14-] No one knows clearly in what manner she perished, for there werefound merely slight indentations on her arm. Some say that she appliedan asp which had been brought in to her in a water-jar or among someflowers. Others declare that she had smeared a needle, with which she waswont to braid her hair, with some poison possessed of such propertiesthat it would not injure the surface of the body at all, but if ittouched the least drop of blood it caused death very quickly andpainlessly. The supposition is, then, that previously it had been hercustom to wear it in her hair, and on this occasion after first making asmall scratch on her arm with some instrument, she dipped the needle inthe blood. In this or some very similar way she perished with her twohandmaidens. The eunuch, at the moment her body was taken up, presentedhimself voluntarily to the serpents, and after being bitten by themleaped into a coffin which had been prepared by him. Caesar on hearing ofher demise was shocked, and both viewed her body and applied drugs toit and sent for Psylli, [71] in the hope that she might possibly revive. These Psylli, who are male, for there is no woman born in their tribe, have the power of sucking out before a person dies all the poison ofevery reptile and are not harmed themselves when bitten by any suchcreature. They are propagated from one another and they test theiroffspring, the latter being thrown among serpents at once or havingserpents laid upon their swaddling-clothes. In such cases the poisonouscreatures do not harm the child and are benumbed by its clothing. Thisis the nature of their function. But Caesar, when he could not in any wayresuscitate Cleopatra, felt admiration and pity for her and was himselfexcessively grieved, as much as if he had been deprived of all the gloryof the victory. 

[-15-] So Antony and Cleopatra, who had been the authors of many evilsto the Egyptians and to the Romans, thus fought and thus met death. Theywere embalmed in the same fashion and buried in the same tomb. Theirspiritual qualities and the fortunes of their lives deserve a word ofcomment. 

Antony had no superior in comprehending his duty, yet he committed manyacts of folly. He was distinguished for his bravery in some cases, yet heoften failed through cowardice. He was characterized equally by greatnessof soul and a servile disposition of mind. He would plunder the propertyof others, and still relinquish his own. He pitied many without cause andchastised even a greater number unjustly. 

Consequently, though he rose from weakness to great strength, and fromthe depths of poverty to great riches, he drew no profit from eithercircumstance, but whereas he had hoped to hold the Roman power alone, heactually killed himself. 

Cleopatra was of insatiable passion and insatiable avarice, was ambitiousfor renown, and most scornfully bold. By the influence of love she wondominion over the Egyptians, and hoped to attain a similar position overthe Romans, but being disappointed of this she destroyed herself also. She captivated two of the men who were the greatest Romans of her day, and because of the third she committed suicide. 

Such were these two persons, and in this way did they pass from thescene. Of their children Antyllus was slain immediately, though he wasbetrothed to the daughter of Caesar, and had taken refuge in his father'shero-shrine which Cleopatra had built. Caesarion was fleeing to Ethiopia, but was overtaken on the road and murdered. Cleopatra was married to Jubathe son of Juba. To this man, who had been brought up in Italy andhad been with him on campaigns, Caesar gave the maid and her ancestralkingdom, and he granted them the lives of Alexander and Ptolemy. To hisnieces, children of Antony by Octavia and reared by her, he assignedmoney from their father's estate. He also ordered his freedmen to give atonce to Iullus, the child of Antony and Fulvia, everything which by lawthey were obliged to bequeath him at their death. [-16-] As for the restwho had until then been connected with Antony's cause, he punished someand released others, either from personal motives or to oblige hisfriends. And since there were found at the court many children ofpotentates and kings who were being supported, some as hostages andothers for the display of wanton power, he sent some back to their homes, joined others in marriage with one another, and kept possession of stillothers. I shall omit most of these cases and mention only two. He freelyrestored Iotape to the Median king, who had found an asylum with himafter the defeat, but refused the request of Artaxes that his brothers besent him, because this prince had put to death the Romans left behind inArmenia. This was the disposition he made of such captives. 

The Egyptians and Alexandrians were all spared, and Caesar did not injureone of them. The truth was that he did not see fit to visit any extremevengeance upon so great a people, who might prove very useful to theRomans in many ways. He nevertheless offered the pretext that he wishedto please their god Serapis, Alexander their founder, and, third, Areusa citizen, who was a philosopher and enjoyed his society. The speech inwhich he proclaimed to them his pardon he spoke in Greek, so that theymight understand him. After this he viewed the body of Alexander and alsotouched it, at which a piece of the nose, it is said, was crushed. But hewould not go to see the remains of the Ptolemies, though the Alexandrianswere extremely anxious to show them, for he said: "I wanted to see aking, and not corpses. " For the same reason he would not enter thepresence of Apis, declaring that he was "accustomed to worship gods andnot cattle. " [-17-] Soon after he made Egypt tributary and gave it incharge of Cornelius Gallus. In view of the populousness of both citiesand country, and the facile, fickle character of the inhabitants, and theimportance of grain supplies and revenue, so far from daring to entrustthe land to any senator he would not even grant one permission to live init, unless he made the concession to some one _nominatim_. On the otherhand, he did not allow the Egyptians to be senators in Rome, butafter considering individual cases on their merits he commanded theAlexandrians to conduct their government without senators; with suchcapacity for revolution did he credit them. And of the system thenimposed upon them most details are rigorously preserved to the presentday, but there are senators in Alexandria, beginning first under theemperor Severus, and they also may serve in Rome, having first beenenrolled in the senate in the reign of his son Antoninus. 

Thus was Egypt enslaved. All of the inhabitants who resisted were subduedafter a time, as, indeed, Heaven very clearly indicated to them wouldoccur. For it rained not only water, where previously no drop had everfallen, but also blood. At the same time that this was falling from theclouds glimpses were caught of armor. Elsewhere there was the clashing ofdrums and cymbals and the notes of flutes and trumpets. A serpent of hugesize was suddenly seen and gave a hiss incredibly loud. Meanwhile cometstars came frequently into view and ghosts of the dead took shape. Thestatues frowned: Apis bellowed a lament and shed tears. Such was thestatus of things in that respect. 

In the palace quantities of money were found. Cleopatra had takenpractically all the offerings from even the holiest shrines and so helpedto swell the spoils of the Romans, while the latter on their own partincurred no defilement. Large sums were also obtained from every manunder accusation. More than that, all the rest against whom no personalcomplaint could be brought had two-thirds of their property demanded ofthem. Out of this all the soldiers got what was still owing to them, andthose who were with Caesar at that time secured in addition two hundredand fifty denarii apiece for not plundering the city. All was made goodto those who had previously loaned anything, and to both senators andknights who had taken part in the war great sums were given. In fine, theRoman empire was enriched and its temples adorned. 

[-18-] After attending to the matters before mentioned Caesar foundedthere also on the site of the battle a city and gave to it likewise aname and dedicatory games, as in the previous instance. In regard to thecanals he cleared out some of them and dug others over again, and he alsosettled important questions. Then he went through Syria into the provinceof Asia and passed the winter there attending to the business of thesubject nations in detail and likewise to that of the Parthians. Therehad been disputes among them and a certain Tiridates had risen againstPhraates; as long as Antony's opposition lasted, even after the navalbattle, Caesar had not only not attached himself to either side, thoughthey sought his alliance, but made no other answer than that he wouldthink it over. His excuse was that he was busy with Egypt, but in realityhe wanted them meantime to exhaust themselves by fighting against eachother. Now that Antony was dead and of the two combatants Tiridates, defeated, had taken refuge in Syria, and Phraates, victorious, had sentenvoys, he negotiated with the latter in a friendly manner: and withoutpromising to aid Tiridates, he allowed him to live in Syria. He receiveda son of Phraates as a mark of friendliness, and took the youth to Rome, where he kept him as a hostage. 

[-19-] Meanwhile, and still earlier, the Romans at home had passed manyresolutions respecting the victory at sea. They granted Caesar a triumph(over Cleopatra) and granted him an arch bearing a trophy at Brundusium, and another one in the Roman Forum. Moreover, the lower part of theJulian hero-shrine was to be adorned with the beaks of the captive shipsand a festival every five years to be celebrated in his honor. Thereshould be a thanksgiving on his birthday and on the anniversary of theannouncement of the victory: when he entered the city the (vestal virgin)priestesses, the senate and the people, with their wives and children, were to meet him. It is quite superfluous to mention the prayers, theimages, the privileges of front seats, and everything else of the sort. At the very first they both voted him these honors, and either tore downor erased the memorials that had lent Antony distinction. They declaredthe day on which the latter had been born accursed and forbade theemployment of the surname Marcus by any one of his kin. His death wasannounced during a part of the year when Cicero, the son of Cicero, wasconsul; and on ascertaining this some believed it had come to pass notwithout divine direction, since the consul's father had owed his deathchiefly to Antony. Then they voted to Caesar additional crowns and manythanksgivings, and granted him among other rights authority to conduct atriumph over the Egyptians also. For neither previously nor at that timedid they mention by name Antony and the rest of the Romans who hadbeen vanquished with him, and so imply that it was proper to hold acelebration over them. The day on which Alexandria was captured theydeclared fortunate and directed that for the years to come it should betaken as the starting-point of enumeration by the inhabitants of thattown. [72] Also Caesar was to hold the tribunician power for life, to havethe right to defend such as called upon him for help both within thepomerium and outside to the distance of eight half-stadia (a privilegepossessed by none of the tribunes), as also to judge appealed cases; anda vote of his, like the vote of Athena, [73] was to be cast in all thecourts. In the prayers in behalf of the people and the senate petitionsshould be offered for him alike by the priests and by the priestesses. They also ordered that at all banquets, not only public but private also, all should pour a libation to him. These were the resolutions passed atthat time. 

[B. C. 29 (_a. U. _ 725)]

[-20-] When he was consul for the fifth time with Sextus Apuleius, theyratified all his acts by oath on the very first day of January. And whenthe letter came regarding the Parthians, they decreed that he shouldhave a place in hymns along with the gods, that a tribe should be named"Julian" after him, that he should wear the triumphal crown during theprogress of all the festivals, that the senators who had participated inhis victory should take part in the procession wearing purple-borderedtogas, and that the day on which he should enter the city should beglorified by sacrifices by the entire population and be held ever sacred. They further agreed that he might choose priests beyond the specifiednumber, as many and as often as he should wish. This custom was handeddown from that decision and the numbers have increased till they areboundless: hence I need go into no particulars about the multitude ofsuch officials. Caesar accepted most of the honors (save only a few):but that all the population of the city should meet him he particularlyrequested might not occur. Yet he was pleased most of all and more thanat all the other decrees by the fact that the senators closed the gatesof Janus, implying that all their wars had ceased, --and took the "auguryof health, " [74] which had all this period been omitted for reasons I havementioned. For there were still under arms the Treveri, who had broughtthe Celts to help them, the Cantabri, Vaccaei, and Astures. These lastwere subjugated by Statilius Taurus, and those first mentioned by NoniusGallus. There were numerous other disturbances going on in the isolateddistricts. Since, however, nothing of importance resulted from any ofthem, the Romans of that time did not consider that war was in progressand I have nothing notable to record about them. Caesar meanwhile wasgiving his attention to various business, and granted permission thatprecincts dedicated to Rome and to Caesar his father, --calling him "theJulian hero, "--should be set apart in Ephesus and in Nicaea. Thesecities had at that time attained chief place in Asia and in Bithyniarespectively. To these two divinities he ordered the Romans who dweltnear them to pay honor. He allowed the foreigners (under the name of"Hellenes") to establish a precinct to himself, --the Asians havingtheirs in Pergamum and the Bithynians theirs in Nicomedea. This custom, beginning with him, has continued in the case of other emperors, andimperial precincts have been hallowed not only among Hellenic nationsbut in all the rest which yield obedience to the Romans. In the capitalitself and in the rest of Italy there is no one, however, no matter howgreat renown he has achieved, that has dared to do this. Still, eventhere, after their death, honors as to gods are bestowed upon those whohave ruled uprightly, and hero-shrines are built. 

[-21-] All this took place in the winter, during which the Pergameniansalso received authority to celebrate the so-called "Sacred" contest inhonor of his temple. In the course of the summer Caesar crossed over toGreece and on to Italy. Among the others who offered sacrifice, ashas been mentioned, when he entered the City, was the consul ValeriusPotitus. Caesar was consul all the year, as the two previous, but Potituswas the successor of Sextus. It was he who publicly and in personsacrificed oxen in behalf of the senate and of the people at Caesar'sarrival, something that had never before been done in the case of anysingle man. After this his newly returned colleague praised and honoredhis lieutenants, as had been the custom. Among the many marks of favor bywhich Caesar distinguished Agrippa was the dark blue symbol[75] of navalsupremacy. To his soldiers also he made certain presents: to the peoplehe distributed a hundred denarii each, first to those ranking as adults, and afterward to the children as a mark of his affection for his nephewMarcellus. Further let it be noted that he would not accept from thecities of Italy the gold to be used for the crowns. Moreover he paideverything which he himself owed to any one and, as has been said, he didnot exact what the others were owing to him. All this caused the Romansto forget every unpleasantness, and they viewed his triumph withpleasure, quite as if the defeated parties had all been foreigners. Sovast an amount of money circulated through all the city alike that theprice of goods rose and loans which had previously been in demand attwelve per cent. Were now made at one-third that rate. The celebrationon the first day was in honor of the wars against the Pannonians andDalmatians, Iapudia and adjoining territory, and a few Celts and Gauls. Graius Carrinas had subdued the Morini and some others who had risenagainst Roman dominion, and had repulsed the Suevi, who had crossed theRhine to wage war. Therefore he too held a triumph, in spite of the factthat his father had been put to death by Sulla and he himself had oncebeen prevented from holding office with the rest of his peers. Caesaralso held one since the credit of this victory properly pertained to hisposition as imperator. 

These were the celebrations on the first day. On the second came thecommemoration of the naval victory at Actium; on the third that of thesubjugation of Egypt. All the processions proved notable by reason of thespoils from this land, --so many had been gathered that they sufficed forall the occasions, --but this Egyptian celebration was especially costlyand magnificent. Among other features a representation of Cleopatra uponthe bed of death was carried by, so that in a way she too was seen withthe other captives, and with Alexander, otherwise Helios, and Cleopatra, otherwise Selene, her children, and helped to grace the triumph. Behindthem all Caesar came driving and did everything according to custom exceptthat he allowed his fellow-consul and the other magistrates, contraryto custom, to follow him with the senators who had participated in thevictory. It had been usual for such dignitaries to lead and for only thesenators to follow. [76]

[-22-] After completing this, he dedicated the temple of Minerva, calledalso the Chalcidicum, and the Julian senate-house, which had been builtin honor of his father. [77] In it he set up the statue of Victory whichis still in existence, probably signifying that it was from her that hehad received his dominion. It belonged to the Tarentini, and had beenbrought from there to Rome, where it was placed in the senate-chamber anddecked with the spoils of Egypt. The spoils were also employed at thistime for adorning the Julian hero-shrine, when it was consecrated. Manyof them were placed as offerings in it and others were dedicated toCapitoline Jupiter and Juno and Minerva, while all the votive gifts thatwere thought to have previously reposed there or were still reposing werenow by decree taken down as defiled. Thus Cleopatra, although defeatedand captured, was nevertheless glorified, because her adornments reposein our temples and she herself is seen in gold in the shrine of Venus. 

At the consecration of the hero-shrine there were all sorts of contests, and the children of the nobles performed the Troy equestrian exercise. Men who were their peers also contended on chargers and pairs andthree-horse teams. A certain Quintus Vitellius, a senator, fought as agladiator. All kinds of wild beasts and kine were slain by the wholesale, among them a rhinoceros and a hippopotamus, then seen for the first timein Rome. Many have described the appearance of the hippo and it has beenseen by many more. As for the rhinoceros, it is in most respects likean elephant, but has a projecting horn at the very tip of its nose andthrough this fact has received its name. Besides the introduction ofthese beasts Dacians and Suebi fought in throngs with each other. Thelatter are Celts, the former a species of Scythian. The Suebi, to beexact, dwell across the Rhine (though many cities elsewhere claim theirname), and the Dacians on both sides of the Ister. Such of them, however, as live on this side of it and near the Triballic country are reckoned inwith the district of Moesia and are called Moesi save among those whoare in the very neighborhood. Such as are on the other side are calledDacians, and are either a branch of the Getae or Thracians belonging tothe Dacian race that once inhabited Rhodope. Now these Dacians had beforethis time sent envoys to Caesar: but when they obtained none of theirrequests, they turned away to follow Antony. To him, however, they wereof no great assistance, owing to disputes among themselves. Some wereconsequently captured and later set to fight the Suebi. 

The whole spectacle lasted naturally a number of days. There was nointermission in spite of a sickness of Caesar's, but it was carried onin his absence, under the direction of others. During its course thesenators on one day severally held banquets in the entrance to theirhomes. Of what moved them to this I have no knowledge, for it has notbeen recorded. Such was the progress of the events of those days. 

[-23-] While Caesar was yet in his fourth consulship Statilius Taurus hadboth constructed at his own expense and dedicated with armed combat ahunting-theatre of stone on the Campus Martius. On this account he waspermitted by the people to choose one of the praetors year after year. During this same period Marcus Crassus was sent into Macedonia and Greeceand carried on war with the Dacians and Bastarnae. It has already beenstated who the former were and how they had been made hostile. TheBastarnae are properly classed as Scythians and at this time had crossedthe Ister and subdued the part of Moesia opposite them, then the Triballiwho live near it, and the Dardani who inhabit the Triballian country. While they were so engaged they had no trouble with the Romans. But whenthey crossed the Haemus and overran the portion of Thrace belonging to theDentheleti who had a compact with Rome, then Crassus, partly to defendSitas king of the Dentheleti, who was blind, but chiefly because of fearfor Macedonia, came out to meet them. By his mere approach, he threw theminto a panic and drove them from the land without a conflict. Next hepursued them, as they were retiring homeward, gained possession of thedistrict called Segetica, and invading Moesia damaged that territory. Hemade an assault upon a strong fortification, also, and though his advanceline met with a rebuff, --the Moesians making a sally against it, becausethey thought these were all of the enemy, --still, when he came to therescue with his whole remaining army he both cut his opponents down inopen fight and annihilated them by an ambuscade. 

[-24-] While he was thus engaged, the Bastarnae ceased their flight andremained near the Cedrus[78] river to watch what would take place. When, after conquering the Moesians, the Roman general started against them, they sent envoys forbidding him to pursue them, since they had done theRomans no harm. Crassus detained them, saying he would give them theiranswer the following day, and besides treating them kindly he made themdrunk, so that he learned all their plans. The whole Scythian race isinsatiable in the use of wine and quickly succumbs to its influence. Crassus meanwhile, during the night, advanced to a wood, and afterstationing scouts in front of the forest made his army stop there. Thereupon the Bastarnae, thinking the former were alone, made a chargeupon them, following them up also when the men retreated into the denseforest, and many of the pursuers perished there as well as many others inthe flight which followed were obstructed by their wagons, which werebehind them, and owed their defeat further to their desire to save theirwives and children. Their king Deldo was slam by Crassus himself. Thearmor stripped from the prince he would have dedicated as spolia opimato Jupiter Feretrius, had he been a general acting on his own authority. Such was the course of that engagement: of the remainder some took refugein a grove, which was set on fire all around, and others leaped into afort, where they were annihilated. Still others perished, either by beingdriven into the Ister or after being scattered through the country. Somesurvived even yet and occupied a strong post where Crassus besieged themin vain for several days. Then with the aid of Roles, king of some of theGetae, he destroyed them. Roles when he visited Caesar was treated as afriend and ally for this assistance: the captives were distributed to thesoldiers. 

[-25-] After accomplishing this Crassus turned his attention to theMoesians; and partly by persuading some of them, partly by scaring them, and partly by the application of force he subjugated all except a veryfew, though with labor and danger. Temporarily, owing to the winter, heretired into friendly territory after suffering greatly from the cold, and still more at the hands of the Thracians, through whose country, asfriendly, he was returning. Hence he decided to be satisfied with whathe had effected. For sacrifices and a triumph had been voted not only toCaesar but to him also, though, according at least to some accounts, hedid not secure the title of imperator, but Caesar alone might apply it tohimself. The Bastarnae, however, angry at their disasters, on learningthat he would make no further campaigns against them turned again uponthe Dentheleti and Sitas, whom they regarded as having been the chiefcause of their evils. Then Crassus, though reluctantly, took the fieldand by forced marches fell upon them unexpectedly, conquered, andthereafter imposed such terms as he pleased. Now that he had once takenup arms again he conceived a desire to recompense the Thracians, who hadharassed him during his retreat from Moesia; for news was brought at thistime that they were fortifying positions and were spoiling for a fight. And he did subdue them, though not without effort, by conquering inbattle the Merdi and the Serdi and cutting off the hands of the captives. He overran the rest of the country except the land of the Odrysae. Thesehe spared because they are attached to the service of Dionysus, and hadcome to meet him on this occasion without arms. Also he granted them thepiece of land in which they magnify the god, and took it away from theBessi, who were occupying it. 

[-26-] While he was so occupied he received a summons from Roles, who hadbecome embroiled with Dapyx, himself also a king of the Getae. Crassuswent to help him and by hurling the horse of his opponents back uponthe infantry he thoroughly terrified the latter, so that he carried thebattle no further but caused a great slaughter of the fugitives of bothdivisions. Next he cut off Dapyx, who had taken refuge in a fort, andbesieged him. During the investment some one from the walls saluted himin Greek, and upon obtaining an audience arranged to betray the place. The barbarians caught in this way turned upon one another, and Dapyx waskilled, besides many others. His brother, however, Crassus took alive andnot only did him no harm, but released him. 

At the close of this exploit he led his army against the cave calledKeiri. The natives in great numbers had occupied this place, which isextremely large and so very strong that the tradition obtains that theTitans after the defeat administered to them by the gods took refugethere. Here the people had brought together all their flocks and theirother principal valuables. Crassus after finding all its entrances, whichare crooked and hard to search out, walled them up, and in this waysubjugated the men by famine. Upon this success he did not keep his handsfrom the rest of the Getae, though they had nothing to do with Dapyx. Hemarched upon Genoucla, the most strongly defended fortress of the kingdomof Zuraxes, because he heard that the standards which the Bastarnae hadtaken from Gaius Antonius near the city of the Istriani were there. Hisassault was made both with the infantry and upon the Ister, --the citybeing near the water, --and in a short time, though with much labor inspite of the absence of Zuraxes, he took the place. The king as soon ashe heard of the Roman's approach had set off with money to the Scythiansto seek an alliance, and did not return in time. 

This he did among the Getae. Some of the Moesians who had been subduedrose in revolt, and them he won back by the energy of others: [-27-] hehimself led a campaign against the Artacii and a few other tribes whohad never been captured and would not acknowledge his authority, pridingthemselves greatly on this point and imbuing the rest with both anger anda disposition to rebel. He brought them to terms partly by force, asthey did but little, and partly by the fear which the capture of someinspired. This took a long time. I record the names, as the facts, according to the tradition which has been handed down. Anciently Moesiansand Getae occupied all the land between the Haemus and the Ister. As timewent on some of them changed their names to something else. Since thenthere have been included under the name of Moesia all the tribes whichthe Savus by emptying into the Ister north of Dalmatia, Macedonia andThrace, separates from Pannonia. Two of the many nations found amongthem are the Triballi, once so named, and the Dardani, who have the samedesignation at present. 

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote 1: The events, however, run over into the following year. ]

[Footnote 2: Interesting to compare are three citations from an unknownByzantine writer (in Excerpta cod. Paris, suppl. Gr. 607 A, edited by M. Treu, Ohlau, 1880, p. 29 ff. ), who seems to have used Dio as a source:

a) The mother of Augustus just one day previous to her travail beheld ina dream how her womb was snatched away and carried up into heaven. 

b) And in the same night as Octavius was born his father thought that thesun rose from his wife's entrails. 

c) And a certain senator, Nigidius Figulus, who was an astrologer, askedOctavius, the father of Augustus, why he was so slow in leaving hishouse. The latter replied that a son had been born to him. Nigidiusthereupon exclaimed: "Ah, what hast thou done? Thou hast begotten amaster for us!" The other believing it and being disturbed wished to makeaway with the child. But Nigidius said to him: "Thou hast not the power. For it hath not been granted thee to do this. "]

[Footnote 3: Suetonius in relating this anecdote (Life of Augustus, chapter 5) says that the senate-meeting in question was called toconsider the conspiracy of Catiline. Since, however, Augustus is on allhands admitted to have been born a. D. IX. Kal. Octobr. And mention ofCatiline's conspiracy was first made in the senate a. D. XII. Kal. Nov. (Cicero, Against Catiline, I, 3, 7), the claim of coincidence isevidently based on error. ]

[Footnote 4: Compare again the same Byzantine writer quoted in footnoteto chapter 1, --two excerpts:

d) Again, while he was growing up in the country, an eagle swooping downsnatched from his hands the loaf of bread and again returning replaced itin his hands. 

e) Again, during his boyhood, Cicero saw in a dream Octavius himselffastened to a golden chain and wielding a whip being let down from thesky to the summit of the Capitol. ]

[Footnote 5: Compare Súetonius, Life of Augustus, chapter 94]

[Footnote 6: See footnote to Book Forty-three, chapter 42. ]

[Footnote 7: The senate-house already mentioned in Book Forty, chapter50. ]

[Footnote 8: This word is inserted by Boissevain on the authority of asymbol in the manuscript's margin, indicating a gap. ]

[Footnote 9: Inserting with Reimar [Greek: proihemenos], to complete thesense. ]

[Footnote 10: See Roscher I, col. 1458, on the Puperci Iulii. And compareSuetonius, Life of Caesar, chapter 76. ]

[Footnote 11: For further particulars about Sex. Clodius and the _agerLeontinus_ (held to be the best in Sicily, Cicero, Against Verres, III, 46) see Suetonius, On Rhetoric, 5; Arnobuis, V, 18; Cicero, Philippics, II, 4, 8; II, 17; II, 34, 84; II, 39, 101; III, 9, 22. ]

[Footnote 12: Compare here (and particularly with, reference to theplural _Spurii_) the passage in Cicero, Philippics, III, 44, 114:

Quod si se ipsos illi nostri liberatores e conspectu nostro abstulerunt, at exemplum facti reliquerunt: illi, quod nemo fecerat, fecerunt:Tarquinium Brutus bello est persecutus, qui tum rex fuit, cum esse Romaelicebat; Sp. Cassius, Sp. Maelius, M. Manlius propter suspitionem regniappetendi sunt necati; hi primum cum gladiis non in regnum appetentem, sed in regnum impetum fecerunt. ]

[Footnote 13: For the figure, compare Aristophanes, The Acharnians, vv. 380-381 (about Cleon):

 [Greek: dieballe chai pseudae chateglottise mou chachychloborei chaplunen. ]]

[Footnote 14: Dio has in this sentence imitated almost word for word theutterance of Demosthenes, inveighing against Aischines, in the speech onthe crown (Demosthenes XVIII, 129). ]

[Footnote 15: Compare Book Forty-five, chapter 30. ]

[Footnote 16: There is a play on words here which can not be exactlyrendered. The Greek verb [Greek: _pheaegein_] means either "to flee" or"to be exiled. "]

[Footnote 17: Various diminutive endings, expressing contempt. ]

[Footnote 18: The MS. Reading is not wholly satisfactory here. Bekker, bya slight change, would produce (after "Bambalio"): "nor by declaring warbecause of, " etc. ]

[Footnote 19: The Greek word is [Greek: obolos] a coin which in the fifthcentury B. C. Would have amounted to considerably more than the Roman_as_; but as time went on the value of the [Greek: obolos] diminishedindefinitely, so that glossaries eventually translate it as _as_ inLatin. ]

[Footnote 20: I. E. , epilepsy. ]

[Footnote 21: Sturz changes this reading of _sixty_ days to _fifty_, comparing Appian, Civil Wars, Book Three, chapter 74. Between the twoauthorities it is difficult to decide, and the only consideration thatwould incline one to favor Appian is the fact that he says this period offifty days was unusually long ("more than the Romans had ever voted uponvanquishing the Celtae or winning any war"). Boissevain remarks that Diois not very careful about such details. ]

[Footnote 22: Adopting Reiske's reading, [Greek: _tinas_]. ]

[Footnote 23: Compare here Mommsen (_Staatsrecht_, 23, 644, 2 or 23, 663, 3), who says that since the only objection to be found with thisarrangement was that since the praetor urbanus could not himself conductthe comitia, he ought not properly to have empowered others to do so. ]

[Footnote 24: _M. Juventius Laterensis. _]

[Footnote 25: This refers to the latter half of chapter 42, where Caesarbinds his soldiers by oath never to fight against any of their formercomrades. ]

[Footnote 26: [Greek: _pragmaton_] here is somewhat uncertain and mightgive the sense "as a result of the troubles in which they had beeninvolved, one with another. " Sturz and Wagner appear to have viewed it inthat light: Boissée and friends consulted by the translator choose themeaning found in the text above. ]

[Footnote 27: The name of this freedman as given by Appian (Civil Wars, IV, 44) is Philemon; but Suetonius (Life of Augustus, chapter 27) agreeswith Dio in writing Philopoemen. ]

[Footnote 28: In B. C. 208 the Ludi Apollinares were set for Julythirteenth, but by the year B. C. 190 they occupied three days, and inB. C. 42 the entire period of the sixth to the thirteenth of July wasallotted to their celebration. Now Caesar's birthday fell on July twelfthand the day before that, July eleventh, would have conflicted quite asmuch with the festival of Apollo. Hence this expression "the previousday" must mean July fifth. (See Fowler's Roman Festivals, p. 174. )]

[Footnote 29: There seems to be an error here made either by Dio or bysome scribe in the course of the ages. For, according to many reliableauthorities (Plutarch, Life of Brutus, chapter 21; Appian, Civil Wars, Book Three, chapter 23; Cicero, Philippics, II, 13, 31, and X, 3, 7; id. , Letters to Atticus, Book Fifteen, letters 11 and 12), it was Brutusand not Cassius who was praetor urbanus and had the games given in hisabsence. Therefore the true account, though not necessarily the truereading would say that "_Brutus_ was praetor urbanus, " and (below) that he"lingered in Campania with _Cassius_. "

See also Cobet, Mnesmosyne, VII, p. 22. ]

[Footnote 30: That this is the right form of the name is proved by theevidence of coins, etc. In Caesar's Civil War, Book Three, chapter 4, the same person is meant when it is said that _Tarcondarius Castor_ andDorylaus furnished Pompey with soldiers. ]

[Footnote 31: See Book Thirty-six, chapter 2 (end). ]

[Footnote 32: _Q. Marcius Crispus_. (The MSS. Give the form _Marcus_, butthe identity of this commander is made certain by Cicero, Philippics, XI, 12, 30, and several other passages. )]

[Footnote 33: I. E. , "The Springs, "--a primitive name for Philippiitself. ]

[Footnote 34: Iuppiter Latiaris was the protecting deity of Latium, andhis festival is practically identical with the _Feriae Latinae_. Roscher(II, col. 688) thinks that Dio has here confused the praefectus urbi witha special official (dictator feriarum Latinarum causa) appointed whenthe consuls were unable to attend. Compare Book Thirty-nine, chapter 30, where our historian does not commit himself to any definite name for thismagistrate. ]

[Footnote 35: "While carrying a golden Victory slipped and fell" is thephrase in the transcript of Zonaras. ]

[Footnote 36: Reading [Greek: _aegchon_] (as Boissevain) in preference to[Greek: _aegon_] or [Greek: _eilchon_]. ]

[Footnote 37: Accepting Reiske's interpretative insertion, [Greek:telos]. ]

[Footnote 38: Among the Fragmenta Adespota in Nauck's _FragmentaTragicorum Groecorum_ this is No. 374. ]

[Footnote 39: The names within these parallel lines are wanting in theMS. , but were inserted by Reimar on the basis of chapter 34 of this book, and slightly modified by Boissevain. ]

[Footnote 40: Both MSS. , the Mediceus and the Venetus, here exhibit a gapof three lines. ]

[Footnote 41: Owing to an inaccuracy of spelling in the MSS. This numberhas often been corrupted to "four hundred". The occurrence of "threehundred" in Suetonius's account of the affair (Life of Augustus, chapter15) assures us, however, that this reading is correct. ]

[Footnote 42: Compare Book Forty three, chapter 9 (§4). ]

[Footnote 43: Compare the first chapter of this Book. ]

[Footnote 44: Compare Book Forty-three, chapter 47 (and see also XLVIII, 33, and LII, 41). ]

[Footnote 45: This is an error either of Dio or of some copyist. Theperson made king of the Jews at this time was in reality Antigonus theson of Aristobulus and nephew of Hyrcanus. Compare chapter 41 of thisbook, and Book Forty-nine, chapter 22. 

In this same sentence I read _[Greek: echthos]_ (as Boissevain and theMSS. ) in place of _[Greek: ethos]_. ]

[Footnote 46: Hurling from the Tarpeian rock was a punishment that mightbe inflicted only upon freemen. Slaves would commonly be crucified or putout of the way by some method involving similar disgrace. ]

[Footnote 47: After "Menas advised it" Zonaras in his version of Dio has:"bidding him cut the ship's cable, if he liked, and sail away. "]

[Footnote 48: Suetonius (Life of Augustus, chapter 83) also mentions thisfashion. ]

[Footnote 49: Verb suggested by Leunclavius. ]

[Footnote 50: This is the well known Gnosos in Crete. For furtherinformation in regard to the matter see Strabo X, 4, 9 (p. 477) andVelleius Paterculus, II, 81, 2. ]

[Footnote 51: There is at this point a gap of one line in the MSS. ]

[Footnote 52: Using Naber's emendation [Greek: probeblaemenoi]. ]

[Footnote 53: The Latin word _testudo_, represented in Greek by theprecisely equivalent [Greek: chelonae] in Dio's narrative, means"tortoise. "]

[Footnote 54: The amount is not given in the MSS. The traditional sum, incorporated in most editions to fill the gap and complete the sense, is_thirty-five_. "One hundred" is a clever conjecture of Boissevain's. ]

[Footnote 55: Probably in A. D. 227. ]

[Footnote 56: Called _Colapis_ by Strabo and Pliny. ]

[Footnote 57: A marginal note in Reimar's edition suggests amending therather abrupt [Greek: loipois] at this point to [Greek: Libournois]("waged war with (i. E. , against) thee Liburni"); and we might be temptedto follow it, but for the fact that Appian uses language almost identicalwith Dio's in his Illyrian Wars, chapter 27 ("He [Augustus] leftStatilius Taurus to finish the war"). ]

[Footnote 58: The gymnasiarch was an essentially Greek official, butmight be found outside of Hellas in such cities as had come under Greekinfluence. In Athens he exercised complete supervision of the gymnasium, paying for training and incidentals, arranging the details of contests, and empowered to eject unsuitable persons from the enclosure. We havecomparatively little information about his duties and general standingelsewhere, but probably they were nearly the same. The office wascommonly an annual one. 

Antony did not limit to Alexandria his performance of the functions ofgymnasiarch. We read in Plutarch (Life of Antony, chapter 33) that atAthens on one occasion he laid aside the insignia of a Roman general toassume the purple mantle, white shoes, and the rods of this official; andin Strabo (XIV, 5, 14) that he promised the people of Tarsos to presidein a similar manner at some of their games, but the time came sent arepresentative instead. --See Krause, _Gymnnastik und Agonistik derHellenen_, page 196. ]

[Footnote 59: See Book Forty-eight, chapter 35. ]

[Footnote 60: Chapter 4 of this book. ]

[Footnote 61: Cp. Book Forty-seven, chapter 11. ]

[Footnote 62: Sc. Of denarii. ]

[Footnote 63: _L. Tarius Rufus. _]:

[Footnote 64: Dio in some unknown manner has at this point evidentlymade a very striking mistake. Sosius was not killed in the encounter butsurvived to be pardoned by Octavius after the latter's victory. And ourhistorian, who here says he perished, speaks in the next book (chapter 2)of the amnesty accorded. ]

[Footnote 65: Canopus was only fifteen miles distant from Alexandria(hence its pertinence here) and was noted for its many festivals and badmorals, --the latter being superinduced by the presence in the city of alarge floating population of foreigners and sailors. The atmosphere ofthe town (to compare small things with great) was, in a word, that ofCorinth. ]

[Footnote 66: The cordax was a dance peculiar to Greek comedy and of anappropriately licentious character, resembling in some points certain ofthe Oriental dances that survive to the present day. ]

[Footnote 67: Nicopolis, i. E. , "City of Victory. " The same name wasgiven by Pompey to a town founded after his defeat of Mithridates. (SeeBook Thirty-six, chapter 50. )]

[Footnote 68: An allusion to the second of the two taxes mentioned inBook Fifty, chapter 10. ]

[Footnote 69: Verb supplied by R. Stephanus. ]

[Footnote 70: Cobet's interpretation (Mnemosyne X (N. S. ), 1882). ]

[Footnote 71: Compare Pliny, Natural History, XXI, 78. ]

[Footnote 72: There is an ambiguous [Greek: aùrtuv] here. Only Boissée, however, takes it to mean the Romans. Leonieenus, Sturz and Wagnertranslate is as "Alexandrians. "]

[Footnote 73: A reminiscence of the _Eumenides_ of Aischylos. ]

[Footnote 74: See Glossary (last volume) and also compare the beginningof chapter 24 in Book Thirty-seven. ]

[Footnote 75: Latin "vexillum caeruleum, "--a kind of flag or banner. ]

[Footnote 76: The custom was that the magistrates should issue from thetown to meet the triumphator and then march ahead of him. Octavius byputting them behind him symbolized his position as chief citizen of theState. ]

[Footnote 77: These buildings are mentioned together also in theMonumentum Ancyranum (C:L. , 1T:, part 2, pp. 780-781). ]

[Footnote 78: The name of this river is also spelled _Cebrus_. ]