Appian, Civil Wars

Appian, The Civil Wars, translated by Horace White (d. 1916) (New York: MacMillan, 1899), a work in the public domain digitized by the Perseus Project and under a Creative Commons License. This text has 1640 tagged references to 311 ancient places.
CTS URN: urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0551.tlg017; Wikidata ID: Q87768678; Trismegistos: authorwork/53     [Open Greek text in new tab]

§ 1.0.1  The plebeians and Senate of Rome [in the olden time] were often at strife with each other concerning the enactment of laws, the cancelling of debts, the division of lands, or the election of magistrates. Internal discord did not bring them to blows, however; these were dissensions merely and contests within the law, which they composed by making mutual concessions, and with much respect for each other. Once when the plebeians were going to a war they fell into such a controversy, but they did not use the weapons in their hands, but withdrew to the hill, which from this time on was called the Sacred Mount. Even then no violence was done, but they created a magistrate for their protection and called him the tribune of the plebs, to serve especially as a check upon the consuls, who were chosen by the Senate, so that the political power should not be exclusively in their hands. Whence arose still greater bitterness, and the magistrates were arrayed in stronger animosity to each other after this event, and the Senate and plebeians took sides with them, each believing that it would prevail over the other by augmenting the power of its own magistrates. In the midst of contests of this kind Marcius Coriolanus, having been banished contrary to justice, took refuge with the Volsci and levied war against his country.

Event Date: -494 GR

§ 1.0.2  This is the only case of armed strife that can be found in the ancient seditions, and this was caused by an exile. The sword was never carried into the assembly, and there was no civil butchery until Tiberius Gracchus, while serving as tribune and bringing forward new laws, was the first to fall a victim to internal commotion; and many others besides, who were assembled with him at the Capitol, were slain around the temple. Sedition did not end with this abominable deed. Repeatedly the parties came into open conflict, often carrying daggers; and occasionally in the temples, or the assemblies, or the forum, some one serving as tribune, or praetor, or consul, or a candidate for those offices, or some person otherwise distinguished, would be slain. Unseemly violence prevailed almost constantly, together with shameful contempt for law and justice. As the evil gained in magnitude open insurrections against the government and large warlike expeditions against the country were undertaken by exiles, or criminals, or persons contending against each other for some office or military command. There were chiefs of factions in different places aspiring to supreme power, some of them refusing to disband the troops intrusted to them by the people, others levying forces against each other on their own account, without public authority. Whichever of them first got possession of the city, the others made war nominally against their adversaries, but actually against their country. They assailed it like a foreign enemy. Ruthless and indiscriminate massacres of citizens were perpetrated. Men were proscribed, others banished, property was confiscated, and some were even subjected to excruciating tortures.

Event Date: -133 GR

§ 1.0.3  No unseemly deed was wanting until, about fifty years after the death of Gracchus, Cornelius Sulla, one of these chiefs of factions, doctoring one evil with another, made himself the absolute master of the state for an indefinite period. Such officials were formerly called dictators — an office created in the most perilous emergencies for six months only, and long since fallen into disuse. Sulla, although nominally elected, became dictator for life by force and compulsion. Nevertheless he became satiated with power and was the first man, so far as I know, holding supreme power, who had the courage to lay it down voluntarily and to declare that he would render an account of his stewardship to any who were dissatisfied with it. And so, for a considerable period, he walked to the forum as a private citizen in the sight of all and returned home unmolested, so great was the awe of his government still remaining in the minds of the onlookers, or their amazement at his laying it down. Perhaps they were ashamed to call for an accounting, or entertained other good feeling toward him, or a belief that his despotism had been beneficial to the state. Thus there was a cessation of factions for a short time while Sulla lived, and a compensation for the evils which Sulla had wrought.

Event Date: -79 GR

§ 1.0.4  After his death the troubles broke out afresh and continued until Gaius Caesar, who had held the command in Gaul by election for some years, was ordered by the Senate to lay down his command. He charged that it was not the wish of the Senate, but of Pompey, his enemy, who had command of an army in Italy, and was scheming to depose him. So he sent a proposal that both should retain their armies, so that neither need fear the other's enmity, or that Pompey should dismiss his forces also and live as a private citizen under the laws in like manner with himself. Both requests being refused, he marched from Gaul against Pompey in the Roman territory, entered it, put him to flight, pursued him into Thessaly, won a brilliant victory over him in a great battle, and followed him to Egypt. After Pompey had been slain by the Egyptians Caesar set to work on the affairs of Egypt and remained there until he had settled the dynasty of that country. Then he returned to Rome. Having overpowered by war his principal rival, who had been surnamed the Great on account of his brilliant military exploits, he now ruled without disguise, nobody daring any longer to dispute him about anything, and was chosen, next after Sulla, dictator for life. Again all civil dissensions ceased until Brutus and Cassius, envious of his great power and desiring to restore the government of their fathers, slew in the Senate this most popular man, who was also the one most experienced in the art of government. The people mourned for him greatly. They scoured the city in pursuit of his murderers. They buried him in the middle of the forum and built a temple on the place of his funeral pile, and offered sacrifice to him as a god.

Event Date: -44 GR

§ 1.0.5  And now civil discord broke out again worse than ever and increased enormously. Massacres, banishments, and proscriptions of both senators and the so-called knights took place straightway, including great numbers of both classes, the chief of factions surrendering their enemies to each other, and for this purpose not sparing even their friends and brothers; so much does animosity toward rivals overpower the love of kindred. So in the course of events the Roman empire was partitioned, as though it had been their private property, by these three men: Antony, Lepidus, and the one who was first called Octavius, but afterward Caesar from his relationship to the other Caesar and adoption in his will. Shortly after this division they fell to quarrelling among themselves, as was natural, and Octavius, who was the superior in understanding and skill, first deprived Lepidus of Africa, which had fallen to his lot, and afterward, as the result of the battle of Actium, took from Antony all the provinces lying between Syria and the Adriatic gulf. Thereupon, while all the world was filled with astonishment at these wonderful displays of power, he sailed to Egypt and took that country, which was the oldest and at that time the strongest possession of the successors of Alexander, and the only one wanting to complete the Roman empire as it now stands. In consequence of these exploits he was at once elevated to the rank of a deity while still living, and was the first to be thus distinguished by the Romans, and was called by them Augustus. He assumed to himself an authority like Caesar's over the country and the subject nations, and even greater than Caesar's, not needing any form of election, or authorization, or even the pretence of it. His government being strengthened by time and mastery, and himself successful in all things and revered by all, he left a lineage and succession that held the supreme power in like manner after him.

Event Date: -31 GR

§ 1.0.6  Thus, out of multifarious civil commotions, the Roman state passed into solidarity and monarchy. To show how these things came about I have written and compiled piled this narrative, which is well worth the study of those who wish to know the measureless ambition of men, their dreadful lust of power, their unwearying perseverance, and the countless forms of evil. It is especially necessary for me to describe these things beforehand since they are the preliminaries of my Egyptian history, and end where that begins, for Egypt was seized in consequence of this last civil commotion, Cleopatra having joined forces with Antony. On account of its magnitude I have divided the work, first taking up the events that occurred from the time of Sempronius Gracchus to that of Cornelius Sulla; next, those that followed to the death of Caesar. The remaining books of the civil wars treat of those waged by the triumvirs against each other and the Roman people, until the end of these conflicts, and the greatest achievement, the battle of Actium, fought by Octavius Caesar against Antony and Cleopatra together, which will be the beginning of the Egyptian history.

Event Date: -400 GR

§ 1.1.7  The Romans, as they subdued the Italian nations successively in war, seized a part of their lands and built towns there, or established their own colonies in those already existing, and used them in place of garrisons. Of the land acquired by war they assigned the cultivated part forthwith to settlers, or leased or sold it. Since they had no leisure as yet to allot the part which then lay desolated by war (this was generally the greater part), they made proclamation that in the meantime those who were willing to work it might do so for a share of the yearly crops a tenth of the grain and a fifth of the fruit. From those who kept flocks was required a share of the animals, both oxen and small cattle. They did these things in order to multiply the Italian race, which they considered the most laborious of peoples, so that they might have plenty of allies at home. But the very opposite thing happened; for the rich, getting possession of the greater part of the undistributed lands, and being emboldened by the lapse of time to believe that they would never be dispossessed, and adding to their holdings the small farms of their poor neighbors, partly by purchase and partly by force, came to cultivate vast tracts instead of single estates, using for this purpose slaves as laborers and herdsmen, lest free laborers should be drawn from agriculture into the army. The ownership of slaves itself brought them great gain from the multitude of their progeny, who increased because they were exempt from military service. Thus the powerful ones became enormously rich and the race of slaves multiplied throughout the country, while the Italian people dwindled in numbers and strength, being oppressed by penury, taxes, and military service. If they had any respite from these evils they passed their time in idleness, because the land was held by the rich, who employed slaves instead of freemen as cultivators.

Event Date: -400 GR

§ 1.1.8  For these reasons the people became troubled lest they should no longer have sufficient allies of the Italian stock, and lest the government itself should be endangered by such a vast number of slaves. Not perceiving any remedy, as it was not easy, nor exactly just, to deprive men of so many possessions they had held so long, including their own trees, buildings, and fixtures, a law was once passed with difficulty at the instance of the tribunes, that nobody should hold more than 500 jugera of this land, or pasture on it more than 100 cattle or 500 sheep. To ensure the observance of this law it was provided also that there should be a certain number of freemen employed on the farms, whose business it should be to watch and report what was going on. Those who held possession of lands under the law were required to take an oath to obey the law, and penalties were fixed for violating it, and it was supposed that the remaining land would soon be divided among the poor in small parcels. But there was not the smallest consideration shown for the law or the oaths. The few who seemed to pay some respect to them conveyed their lands to their relations fraudulently, but the greater part disregarded it altogether.

Event Date: -367 GR

§ 1.1.9  At length Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus, an illustrious man, eager for glory, a most powerful speaker, and for these reasons well known to all, delivered an eloquent discourse, while serving as tribune, concerning the Italian race, lamenting that a people so valiant in war, and blood relations to the Romans, were declining little by little in pauperism and paucity of numbers without any hope of remedy. He inveighed against the multitude of slaves as useless in war and never faithful to their masters, and adduced the recent calamity brought upon the masters by their slaves in Sicily, where the demands of agriculture had greatly increased the number of the latter; recalling also the war waged against them by the Romans, which was neither easy nor short, but long-protracted and full of vicissitudes and dangers. After speaking thus he again brought forward the law, providing that nobody should hold more than 500 jugera of the public domain. But he added a provision to the former law, that the sons of the present occupiers might each hold one-half of that amount, and that the remainder should be divided among the poor by triumvirs, who should be changed annually.

Event Date: -133 GR

§ 1.1.10  This was extremely disturbing to the rich because, on account of the triumvirs, they could no longer disregard the law as they had done before; nor could they buy the allotments of others, because Gracchus had provided against this by forbidding sales. They collected together in groups, and made lamentation, and accused the poor of appropriating the results of their tillage, their vineyards, and their dwellings. Some said that they had paid the price of the land to their neighbors. Were they to lose the money with the land? Others said that the graves of their ancestors were in the ground, which had been allotted to them in the division of their fathers' estates. Others said that their wives' dowries had been expended on the estates, or that the land had been given to their own daughters as dowry. Money-lenders could show loans made on this security. All kinds of wailing and expressions of indignation were heard at once. On the other side were heard the lamentations of the poor — that they had been reduced from competence to extreme penury, and from that to childlessness, because they were unable to rear their offspring. They recounted the military services they had rendered, by which this very land had been acquired, and were angry that they should be robbed of their share of the common property. They reproached the rich for employing slaves, who were always faithless and ill-tempered and for that reason unserviceable in war, instead of freemen, citizens, and soldiers. While these classes were lamenting and indulging in mutual accusations, a great number of others, composed of colonists, or inhabitants of the free towns, or persons otherwise interested in the lands and who were under like apprehensions, flocked in and took sides with their respective factions. Emboldened by numbers and exasperated against each other they attached themselves to turbulent crowds, and waited for the voting on the new law, some trying to prevent its enactment by all means, and others supporting it in every possible way. In addition to personal interest the spirit of rivalry spurred both sides in the preparations they were making against each other for the day of the comitia.

Event Date: -133 GR

§ 1.1.11  What Gracchus had in his mind in proposing the measure was not wealth, but an increase of efficient population. Inspired greatly by the usefulness of the work, and believing that nothing more advantageous or admirable could ever happen to Italy, he took no account of the difficulties surrounding it. When the time for voting came he advanced many other arguments at considerable length and also asked them whether it was not just to divide among the common people what belonged to them in common; whether a citizen was not worthy of more consideration at all times than a slave; whether a man who served in the army was not more useful than one who did not; and whether one who had a share in the country was not more likely to be devoted to the public interests. He did not dwell long on this comparison between freemen and slaves, which he considered degrading, but proceeded at once to a review of their hopes and fears for the country, saying that the Romans had acquired most of their territory by conquest, and that they had hopes of occupying the rest of the habitable world, but now the question of greatest hazard was, whether they should gain the rest by having plenty of brave men, or whether, through their weakness and mutual jealousy, their enemies should take away what they already possessed. After exaggerating the glory and riches on the one side and the danger and fear on the other, he admonished the rich to take heed, and said that for the realization of these, hopes they ought to bestow this very land as a free gift, if necessary, on men who would rear children, and not, by contending about small things, overlook larger ones; especially since they were receiving an ample compensation for labor expended in the undisputed title to 500 jugera each of free land, in a high state of cultivation, without cost, and half as much more for each son of those who had sons. After saying much more to the same purport and exciting the poor, as well as others who were moved by reason rather than by the desire for gain, he ordered the scribe to read the proposed law.

Event Date: -133 GR

§ 1.1.12  Marcus Octavius, another tribune, who had been induced by those in possession of the lands to interpose his veto (for among the Romans the tribune's veto always prevailed), ordered the scribe to keep silence. Thereupon Gracchus reproached him severely and adjourned the comitia to the following day. Then he stationed a sufficient guard, as if to force Octavius against his will, and ordered the scribe with threats to read the proposed law to the multitude. He began to read, but when Octavius again vetoed he stopped. Then the tribunes fell to wrangling with each other, and a considerable tumult arose among the people. The leading citizens besought the tribunes to submit their controversy to the Senate for decision. Gracchus seized on the suggestion, believing that the law was acceptable to all well-disposed persons, and hastened to the senate-house. There, as he had only a few followers and was upbraided by the rich, he ran back to the forum and said that he would take the vote at the comitia of the following day, both on the law and on the magistracy of Octavius, to determine whether a tribune who was acting contrary to the people's interest could continue to hold his office. And so he did, for when Octavius, nothing daunted, again interposed, Gracchus distributed the pebbles to take a vote on him first. When the first tribe voted to abrogate the magistracy of Octavius, Gracchus turned to him and begged him to desist from this veto. As he would not yield, the votes of the other tribes were taken. There were thirty-five tribes at that time. The seventeen that voted first angrily sustained this motion. If the eighteenth should do the same it would make a majority. Again did Gracchus, in the sight of the people, urgently importune Octavius in his present extreme danger not to prevent this most pious work, so useful to all Italy, and not to frustrate the wishes so earnestly entertained by the people, whose desires he ought rather to share in his character of tribune, and not to risk the loss of his office by public condemnation. After speaking thus he called the gods to witness that he did not willingly do any despite to his colleague. As Octavius was still unyielding he went on taking the vote. Octavius was forthwith reduced to the rank of a private citizen and slunk away unobserved.

Event Date: -133 GR

§ 1.1.13  Quintus Mummius was chosen tribune in his place, and the agrarian law was enacted. The first triumvirs appointed to divide the land were Gracchus himself, the proposer of the law, his brother of the same name, and his father-in-law, Appius Claudius, since the people still feared that the law might fail of execution unless Gracchus should be put in the lead with his whole family. Gracchus became immensely popular by reason of the law and was escorted home by the multitude as though he were the founder, not of a single city or race, but of all the nations of Italy. After, this the victorious party returned to the fields from which they had come to attend to this business. The defeated ones remained in the city and talked the matter over, feeling bitterly, and saying that as soon as Gracchus should become a private citizen he would be sorry that he had done despite to the sacred and inviolable office of tribune, and had opened such a fountain of discord in Italy.

Event Date: -133 GR

§ 1.2.14  At the advent of summer the notices for the election of tribunes were given, and as the day for voting approached it was very evident that the rich were earnestly promoting the election of those most inimical to Gracchus. The latter, fearing that evil would befall if he should not be reelected for the following year, summoned his friends from the fields to attend the comitia, but as they were occupied with their harvest he was obliged, when the day fixed for the voting drew near, to have recourse to the plebeians of the city. So he went around asking each one separately to elect him tribune for the ensuing year, on account of the danger he had incurred for them. When the voting took place the first two tribes pronounced for Gracchus. The rich objected that it was not lawful for the same man to hold the office twice in succession. The tribune Rubrius, who had been chosen by lot to preside over the comitia, was in doubt about it, and Mummius, who had been chosen in place of Octavius, urged him to turn over the comitia to his charge. This he did, but the remaining tribunes contended that the presidency should be decided by lot, saying that when Rubrius, who had been chosen in that way, resigned, the casting of lots ought to be done over again for all. As there was much strife over this question, Gracchus, who was getting the worst of it, adjourned the voting to the following day. In utter despair he clothed himself in black, while still in office, and led his son around the forum and introduced him to each man and committed him to their charge, as if he were about to perish at the hands of his enemies.

Event Date: -133 GR

§ 1.2.15  The poor were moved with deep sorrow, and rightly so, both on their own account (for they believed that they were no longer to live in a free state under equal laws, but were reduced to servitude by the rich), and on account of Gracchus himself, who had incurred such danger and suffering in their behalf. So they all accompanied him with tears to his house in the evening, and bade him be of good courage for the morrow. Gracchus cheered up, assembled his partisans before daybreak, and communicated to them a signal to be displayed in case of a fight. He then took possession of the temple on the Capitoline hill, where the voting was to take place, and occupied the middle of the assembly. As he was obstructed by the other tribunes and by the rich, who would not allow the votes to be taken on this question, he gave the signal. There was a sudden shout from those who saw it, and a resort to violence in consequence. Some of the partisans of Gracchus took position around him like body-guards. Others, having girded themselves, seized the fasces and staves in the hands of the lictors and broke them in pieces. They drove the rich out of the assembly with such disorder and wounds that the tribunes fled from their places in terror, and the priests closed the doors of the temple. Many ran away pell-mell and scattered wild rumors. Some said that Gracchus had deposed all the other tribunes, and this was believed because none of them could be seen. Others said that he had declared himself tribune for the ensuing year without an election.

Event Date: -133 GR

§ 1.2.16  Under these circumstances the Senate assembled at the temple of Fides. It is astonishing to me that they never thought of appointing a dictator in this emergency, although they had often been protected by the government of a single ruler in such times of peril. Although this resource had been found most useful in former times few people remembered it, either then or later. After reaching the decision that they did reach, they marched up to the Capitol, Cornelius Scipio Nasica, the pontifex maximus, leading the way and calling out with a loud voice, "Let those who would save the country follow me." He wound the border of his toga about his head either to induce a greater number to go with him by the singularity of his appearance, or to make for himself, as it were, a helmet as a sign of battle for those who looked on, or in order to conceal from the gods what he was about to do. When he arrived at the temple and advanced against the partisans of Gracchus they yielded to the reputation of a foremost citizen, for they saw the Senate following with him. The latter wrested clubs out of the hands of the Gracchans themselves, or with fragments of broken benches or other apparatus that had been brought for the use of the assembly, began beating them, and pursued them, and drove them over the precipice. In the tumult many of the Gracchans perished, and Gracchus himself was caught near the temple, and was slain at the door close by the statues of the kings. All the bodies were thrown by night into the Tiber.

Event Date: -133 GR

§ 1.2.17  So perished on the Capitol, and while still tribune, Gracchus, the son of the Gracchus who was twice consul, and of Cornelia, daughter of that Scipio who subjugated Carthage. He lost his life in consequence of a most excellent design, which, however, he pursued in too violent a manner. This shocking affair, the first that was perpetrated in the public assembly, was seldom without parallels thereafter from time to time. On the subject of the murder of Gracchus the city was divided between sorrow and joy. Some mourned for themselves and for him, and deplored the present condition of things, believing that the commonwealth no longer existed, but had been supplanted by force and violence. Others considered that everything had turned out for them exactly as they wished. These things took place at the time when Aristonicus was contending with the Romans for the government of Asia.

Event Date: -133 GR

§ 1.3.18  After Gracchus was slain Appius Claudius died, and Fulvius Flaccus and Papirius Carbo were appointed, in conjunction with the younger Gracchus, to divide the land. As the persons in possession neglected to hand in lists of their holdings, a proclamation was issued that informers should furnish testimony against them. Immediately a great number of embarrassing lawsuits sprang up. Wherever a new field had been bought adjoining an old one, or wherever a division of land had been made with allies, the whole district had to be carefully inquired into on account of the measurement of this one field, to discover how it had been sold and how divided. Not all owners had preserved their contracts, or their allotment titles, and even those that were found were often ambiguous. When the land was resurveyed some owners were obliged to give up their fruit-trees and farm-buildings in exchange for naked ground. Others were transferred from cultivated to uncultivated lands, or to swamps, or pools. In fact, the measuring had not been carefully done when the land was first taken from the enemy. As the original proclamation authorized anybody to work the undistributed land who wished to do so, many had been prompted to cultivate the parts immediately adjoining their own, till the line of demarkation between them had faded from view. The progress of time also made many changes. Thus the injustice done by the rich, although great, was not easy of ascertainment. So there was nothing but a general turn-about, all parties being moved out of their own places and settled down in other people's.

Event Date: -132 GR

§ 1.3.19  The Italian allies who complained of these disturbances, and especially of the lawsuits hastily brought against them, chose Cornelius Scipio, the destroyer of Carthage, to defend them against these grievances. As he had availed himself of their very valiant services in war he was reluctant to disregard their request. So he came into the Senate, and although, out of regard for the plebeians, he did not openly find fault with the law of Gracchus, he expatiated on its difficulties and held that these causes ought not to be decided by the triumvirs, because they did not possess the confidence of the litigants, but should be turned over to others. As his view seemed reasonable, they yielded to his persuasion, and the consul Tuditanus was appointed to give judgment in these cases. But when he took hold of the work he saw the difficulties of it, and marched against the Illyrians as a pretext for not acting as judge, and since nobody brought cases for trial before the triumvirs they relapsed into idleness. From this cause hatred and indignation arose among the people against Scipio because they saw him, in whose favor they had often opposed the aristocracy and incurred their enmity, electing him consul twice contrary to law, now taking the side of the Italian allies against them. When Scipio's enemies observed this, they cried out that he was determined to abolish the law of Gracchus utterly and was about to inaugurate armed strife and bloodshed for that purpose.

Event Date: -129 GR

§ 1.3.20  When the people heard these charges they were in a state of alarm until Scipio, after placing near his couch at home one evening a tablet on which he intended to write during the night the speech he intended to deliver before the people, was found dead in his bed without a wound. Whether this was done by Cornelia, the mother of the Gracchi (aided by her daughter, Sempronia, who was married to Scipio, and was unloved and unloving because she was deformed and childless), lest the law of Gracchus should be abolished, or whether, as some think, he committed suicide because he saw plainly that he could not accomplish what he had promised, is not known. Some say that slaves, who were subjected to torture, testified that unknown persons were introduced through the rear of the house by night who suffocated him, and that those who knew about it hesitated to tell because the people were angry with him still and rejoiced at his death. So died Scipio, and although he had been of immense service to the Roman power he was not honored with a public funeral; so much does the anger of the present moment outweigh gratitude for the past. And this event, sufficiently important in itself, took place as an incident of the sedition of Gracchus.

Event Date: -129 GR

§ 1.3.21  Those who were in possession of the lands even after these events postponed the division on various pretexts for a very long time. Some thought that the Italian allies, who made the greatest resistance to it, ought to be admitted to Roman citizenship so that, out of gratitude for the greater favor, they should no longer quarrel about the land. The Italians were glad to accept this, because they preferred Roman citizenship to possession of the fields. Fulvius Flaccus, who was then both consul and triumvir, exerted himself to the utmost to bring it about, but the Senate was angry at the proposal to make their subjects equal citizens with themselves. For this reason the attempt was abandoned, and the people, who had been so long in the hope of acquiring land, became disheartened. While they were in this mood Gaius Gracchus, who had made himself agreeable to them as a triumvir, offered himself for the tribuneship. He was the younger brother of Tiberius Gracchus, the promoter of the law, and had been silent for some time on the subject of the fate of his brother, but since many of the senators treated him scornfully he announced himself as a candidate for the office of tribune. As soon as he was elected to this distinguished position he began to lay plots against the Senate, and proposed that a monthly distribution of corn should be made to each citizen at the public expense, which had not been customary before. Thus he got the leadership of the people quickly by one measure of policy, in which he had the cooperation of Fulvius Flaccus. Directly after that he was chosen tribune for the following year, for in cases where there was not a sufficient number of candidates the law authorized the people to choose from the whole number then in office.

Event Date: -123 GR

§ 1.3.22  Thus Gaius Gracchus became tribune a second time. Having bought the plebeians, as it were, he began, by another like political manoeuvre, to court the equestrian order, who hold the middle place between the Senate and the plebeians. He transferred the courts of justice, which had become discredited by reason of bribery, from the senators to the knights, reproaching the former especially with the recent examples of Aurelius Cotta, Salinator, and, third in the list, Manius Aquilius (the one who subdued Asia), all notorious bribe-takers, who had been acquitted by the judges, although ambassadors sent to complain against them were still present, going around uttering hateful accusations against them. The Senate was extremely ashamed of these things and yielded to the law, and the people ratified it. In this way were the courts of justice transferred from the Senate to the knights. It is said that soon after the passage of this law Gracchus remarked that he had broken the power of the Senate once for all. This saying of Gracchus has been even more confirmed by experience in the course of events. This power of sitting in judgment on all Romans and Italians, including the senators themselves, in all matters as to property, civil rights, and banishment, exalted the knights like rulers over them and put senators on the same level with subjects. Moreover, as the knights voted in the election to sustain the power of the tribunes, and obtained from them whatever they wanted in return, they became more and more formidable to the senators. So it shortly came about that the political mastery was turned upside down, the power being in the hands of the knights, and the honor only remaining with the Senate. The knights went so far that they not only held power over the senators, but they openly flouted them beyond their right. They also became addicted to bribe-taking, and having once tasted these enormous gains, they indulged in them even more basely and immoderately than the senators had done. They suborned accusers against the rich and did away with prosecutions for bribe-taking altogether, partly by concert of action and partly by force and violence, so that the practice of this kind of investigation became entirely obsolete. Thus the judiciary law gave rise to another struggle of factions, which lasted a long time and was not less baneful than the former ones.

Event Date: -122 GR

§ 1.3.23  Gracchus made long roads throughout Italy and thus put a multitude of contractors and artisans under obligations to him and made them ready to do whatever he wished. He proposed the founding of numerous colonies. He also called on the Latin allies to demand the full rights of Roman citizenship, since the Senate could not with decency refuse this privilege to their blood relations. To the other allies, who were not allowed to vote in Roman elections, he sought to give the right of suffrage, in order to have their help in the enactment of laws which he had in contemplation. The Senate was very much alarmed at this, and it ordered the consuls to give the following public notice, "Nobody who does not possess the right of suffrage shall stay in the city or approach within forty stades of it while voting is going on concerning these laws." The Senate also persuaded Livius Drusus, another tribune, to interpose his veto against the laws proposed by Gracchus, but not to tell the people his reasons for doing so; for a tribune was not required to give reasons for his veto. In order to conciliate the people they gave Drusus the privilege of founding twelve colonies, and the plebeians were so much pleased with this that they began to scoff at the laws proposed by Gracchus.

Event Date: -129 GR

§ 1.3.24  Having lost the favor of the rabble, Gracchus sailed for Africa in company with Fulvius Flaccus, who, after his consulship, had been chosen tribune for the same reasons as Gracchus himself. A colony had been voted to Africa on account of its reputed fertility, and these men had been expressly chosen the founders of it in order to get them out of the way for a while, so that the Senate might have a respite from demagogism. They marked out a town for the colony on the place where Carthage had formerly stood, disregarding the fact that Scipio, when he destroyed it, had devoted it with curses to sheep-pasturage forever. They assigned 6000 colonists to this place, instead of the smaller number fixed by law, in order further to curry favor with the people thereby. When they returned to Rome they invited the 6000 from the whole of Italy. The functionaries who were still in Africa laying out the city wrote home that wolves had pulled up and scattered the boundary marks made by Gracchus and Fulvius, and the soothsayers considered this an ill omen for the colony. So the Senate summoned the comitia, in which it was proposed to repeal the law concerning this colony. When Gracchus and Fulvius saw their failure in this matter they were furious, and declared that the Senate had lied about the wolves. The boldest of the plebeians joined them, carrying daggers, and proceeded to the Capitol, where the assembly was to be held in reference to the colony.

Event Date: -121 GR

§ 1.3.25  Now the people were assembled, and Fulvius had begun speaking about the business in hand, when Gracchus arrived at the Capitol attended by a body-guard of his partisans. Disturbed by what he knew about the extraordinary plans on foot he turned aside from the meeting-place of the assembly, passed into the portico, and walked about waiting to see what would happen. Just then a plebeian named Antyllus, who was sacrificing in the portico, saw him in this disturbed state, seized him by the hand, either because he had heard something or suspected something, or was moved to speak to him for some other reason, and asked him to spare his country. Gracchus, still more disturbed, and startled like one detected in a crime, gave the man a piercing look. Then one of his party, although no signal had been displayed or order given, inferred merely from the very sharp glance that Gracchus cast upon Antyllus that the time for action had come, and thought that he should do a favor to Gracchus by striking the first blow. So he drew his dagger and slew Antyllus. A cry was raised, the dead body was seen in the midst of the crowd, and all who were outside fled from the temple in fear of a like fate. Gracchus went into the assembly desiring to exculpate himself of the deed. Nobody would so much as listen to him. All turned away from him as from one stained with blood. Gracchus and Flaccus were nonplussed and, having lost the chance of accomplishing what they wished, they hastened home, and their partisans with them. The rest of the crowd occupied the forum throughout the night as though some calamity were impending. Opimius, one of the consuls, who was staying in the city, ordered an armed force to be stationed at the Capitol at daybreak, and sent heralds to convoke the Senate. He took his own station in the temple of Castor and Pollux in the centre of the city and there awaited events.

Event Date: -129 GR

§ 1.3.26  When these arrangements had been made the Senate summoned Gracchus and Flaccus from their homes to the senate-house to defend themselves. But they ran out armed toward the Aventine hill, hoping that if they could seize it first the Senate would agree to some terms with them. They ran through the city offering freedom to the slaves, but none listened to them. With such forces as they had, however, they occupied and fortified the temple of Diana, and sent Quintus, the son of Flaccus, to the Senate seeking to come to an arrangement and to live in peace. The Senate replied that they should lay down their arms, come to the senate-house, tell what they wanted, or else send no more messengers. When they sent Quintus a second time the consul Opimius arrested him, as being no longer an ambassador after he had been warned, and at the same time sent an armed force against the Gracchans. Gracchus fled across the river by the Sublician bridge, with one slave, to a grove where he presented his throat to the slave, as he was on the point of being arrested. Flaccus took refuge in the workshop of an acquaintance. As his pursuers did not know which house he was in they threatened to burn the whole row. The man who had given shelter to the suppliant hesitated to point him out, but directed another man to do so. Flaccus was seized and put to death. The heads of Gracchus and Flaccus were carried to Opimius, and he gave their weight in gold to those who brought them. The people plundered their houses. Opimius arrested their fellow-conspirators, cast them into prison, and ordered that they should be strangled. He allowed Quintus, the son of Flaccus, to choose his own mode of death. After this a lustration was performed in behalf of the city for the bloodshed, and the Senate ordered the building of a temple to Concord in the forum.

Event Date: -129 GR

§ 1.4.27  So the sedition of the younger Gracchus came to an end. Not long afterward a law was enacted to permit the holders to sell the land about which they had quarrelled; for even this had been forbidden by the law of the elder Gracchus. Presently the rich bought the allotments of the poor, or found pretexts for seizing them by force. So the condition of the poor became even worse than it was before, until Spurius Borius, a tribune of the people, brought in a law providing that the work of distributing the public domain should no longer be continued, but that the land should belong to those in possession of it, who should pay rent for it to the people, and that the money so received should be distributed. This distribution was a kind of solace to the poor, but it did not serve to increase the population. By these devices the law of Gracchus (most excellent and useful if it could have been carried out) was once for all frustrated, and a little later the rent itself was abolished at the instance of another tribune. So the piebeians lost everything. Whence resulted a still further decline in the numbers of both citizens and soldiers, and in the revenue from the land and the distribution thereof; and about fifteen years after the enactment of the law of Gracchus, the laws themselves fell into abeyance by reason of the slackness of the judicial proceedings.

Event Date: -129 GR

§ 1.4.28  About this time the consul Scipio [Nasica] demolished the theatre begun by Lucius Cassius, and now nearly finished, because he considered this also the source of new seditions or because he thought it not altogether desirable that the Romans should become accustomed to Grecian pleasures. The censor, Quintus Caecelius Metellus, attempted to degrade Glaucia, a senator, and Apuleius Saturninus, who had already been a tribune, on account of their disgraceful mode of life, but was not able to do so because his colleague would not agree to it. Accordingly Saturninus, a little later, in order to have revenge on Metellus, became a candidate for the tribuneship again, seizing the occasion when Glaucia held the office of praetor and presided over the election of the tribunes; but Nonius, a man of noble birth, who used much plainness of speech in reference to Saturninus and reproached Glaucia bitterly, was chosen for the office. As they feared lest he should punish them as tribune, they made a rush upon him with a crowd of ruffians just as he was going away from the comitia, pursued him into a certain inn, and stabbed him. As this murder had a pitiful and shocking aspect, the adherents of Glaucia came together early the next morning, before the people had assembled, and declared Saturninus elected tribune. In this way the killing of Nonius was hushed up, since everybody was afraid to call Saturninus to account because he was a tribune.

Event Date: -101 GR

§ 1.4.29  Metellus was banished by them at the instigation of Gaius Marius, who was then in his sixth consulship, and was the secret enemy of Metellus. Thus they all helped each other. Saturninus brought forward a law to divide the land which the Cimbri (a Celtic tribe lately driven out by Marius) had seized in the country now called Gaul by the Romans, and which was considered as no longer Gallic but Roman territory. It was provided also in this law that if the people should enact it the senators should take an oath within five days to obey it, and that any one who should refuse to do so should be expelled from the Senate and should pay a fine of twenty talents for the benefit of the people. Thus they intended to punish those who should take it with a bad grace, and especially Metellus, who was too high-spirited to submit to the oath. Such was the proposed law. Saturninus appointed the day for holding the comitia and sent messengers to summon from the country districts those in whom he had most confidence, because they had served in the army under Marius. As the law gave the larger share to the Italian allies the city people were not pleased with it.

Event Date: -100 GR

§ 1.4.30  Sedition broke out in the comitia. Those who attempted to prevent the passage of the laws proposed by the tribunes were assaulted by Saturninus and driven away from the Rostra. The city folks exclaimed that thunder was heard in the assembly, in which case it is not permitted by Roman custom to finish the business that day. As the adherents of Saturninus persisted nevertheless, the city people girded themselves, seized whatever clubs they could lay their hands on, and dispersed the rustics. The latter were rallied by Saturninus; they attacked the city folks with clubs, overcame them, and passed the law. When this was done Marius, in his capacity as consul, forthwith proposed to the Senate that they consider concerning taking the oath. Knowing that Metellus was a man of fixed opinion and firm in whatever he might believe or commit himself to, he gave his own opinion publicly, but deceitfully, saying that he would never willingly take this oath himself. When Metellus had agreed with him in this, and the others had praised them both, Marius adjourned the Senate. On the fifth day thereafter (the last day prescribed in the law for taking the oath) he called them together in haste about the tenth hour, saying that he was afraid of the people because they were so zealous for the law. He saw a way, however, to avoid it, and he proposed the following trick — to swear that they would obey the law as far as it was a law, and thus at once disperse the country people by stratagem. Afterward it could be easily shown that this thing, which had been enacted by violence and in spite of thunder, contrary to the custom of their ancestors, was not a law.

Event Date: -100 GR

§ 1.4.31  After speaking thus he did not wait for the result, but while all were in silent amazement at the plot, and confused because there was no time to be lost and no opportunity for thinking, he rose and went to the temple of Saturn, where the quaestors were accustomed to administer oaths, and took the oath first with his friends. The rest followed his example, as each one feared for his own safety. Metellus alone refused to swear, but stood fearlessly by his first determination. Saturninus proceeded against him at once on the next day. He sent an officer for him and dragged him out of the senate-house. As the other tribunes defended him Glaucia and Saturninus hastened to the country people and told them that they would never get the land, and that the law would not be executed, unless Metellus were banished. They proposed a decree of banishment against him and directed the consuls to interdict fire and water and shelter to him, and appointed a day for the ratification of this decree. Great was the indignation of the city people, who constantly escorted Metellus, carrying daggers. He thanked them and praised them for their good intentions, but said that he could not allow any danger to befall the country on his account. After saying this he withdrew from the city. Saturninus got the decree ratified, and Marius made proclamation that it was a part of the law.

Event Date: -100 GR

§ 1.4.32  In this way was Metellus, a most admirable man, sent into banishment. Thereupon Saturninus was made tribune a third time and he had for a colleague one who was thought to be a fugitive slave, but who claimed to be a son of the elder Gracchus. The multitude supported him in the election because they regretted Gracchus. When the election for consuls came on Marcus Antonius was chosen as one of them by common consent. The aforesaid Glaucia and Memmius contended for the other place. Memmius was the more illustrious man by far, and Glaucia and Saturninus were fearful of the result. So they sent a gang of ruffians to attack him with clubs while the election was going on. They fell upon him in the midst of the comitia and beat him to death in the sight of all. The assembly was broken up in terror. Neither laws nor courts nor sense of shame remained. The people ran together in anger the following day intending to kill Saturninus, but he had collected another mob from the country and, with Glaucia and Gaius Saufeius, the quaestor, seized the Capitol. The Senate voted them public enemies. Marius was vexed; nevertheless he armed some of his forces reluctantly, and, while he was delaying, some other persons cut off the water-supply from the Capitoline temple. Saufeius was near perishing with thirst and proposed to set the temple on fire, but Glaucia and Saturninus, who hoped that Marius would assist them, surrendered first, and after them Saufeius. As everybody demanded that they should be put to death, Marius shut them up in the senate-house as though he intended to deal with them in a more legal manner. The crowd considered this a mere pretext. They tore the tiles off the roof and stoned them to death, including a quaestor, a tribune, and a praetor, who were still wearing their insignia of office.

Event Date: -100 GR

§ 1.4.33  Very many others were swept out of existence in this sedition. Among them was that other tribune who was supposed to be the son of Gracchus, and who perished on that first day of his magistracy. Freedom, democracy, laws, reputation, official position, were no longer of any use to anybody, since even the tribunician office, which had been devised for the restraint of wrong-doers and the protection of the plebeians, and was sacred and inviolable, now committed such outrages and suffered such indignities. When the party of Saturninus was destroyed the Senate and people clamored for the recall of Metellus, but Publius Furius, a tribune who was not the son of a free citizen but of a freedman, boldly resisted them. Not even Metellus, the son of Metellus, who besought him in the presence of the people with tears in his eyes, and threw himself at his feet, could move him. From this spectacle the son ever afterward bore the name of Metellus Pius. The following year Furius was called to account for his obstinacy by the new tribune, Gaius Canuleius. The people did not wait for the argument, but tore Furius in pieces. Thus every year some new deed of abomination was committed in the forum. Metellus was allowed to return, and it is said that a whole day was not sufficient for the greetings of those who went to meet him at the city gates. Such was the third civil strife (that of Saturninus) which succeeded those of the two Gracchi, and such results it brought to the Romans.

Event Date: -99 GR

§ 1.5.34  While they were thus occupied the so-called Social War, in which many Italian peoples were engaged, broke out. It began unexpectedly, grew to great proportions rapidly, and extinguished the Roman seditions for a long time by a new terror. When it was ended it gave rise to new seditions under more powerful leaders, who did not work by introducing new laws, or by playing the demagogue, but by employing whole armies against each other. I have treated it in this history because it had its origin in a Roman sedition and resulted in another one much worse. It began in this way. Fulvius Flaccus in his consulship first openly excited among the Italians the desire for Roman citizenship, so as to be partners in the hegemony instead of subjects. When he introduced this idea and strenuously persisted in it, the Senate, for that reason, sent him away to take command in a war, in the course of which his consulship expired, but he obtained the tribuneship after that and managed to have the younger Gracchus for a colleague, with whose cooperation he brought forward other measures in favor of the Italians. When they were both killed, as I have previously related, the Italians were still more excited. They could not bear to be considered subjects instead of equals, or to think that Flaccus and Gracchus should suffer such calamities while working for their political advantage.

Event Date: -125 GR

§ 1.5.35  After them the tribune Livius Drusus, a man of most illustrious birth, promised the Italians, at their urgent request, that he would bring forward a new law to give them citizenship. They desired this especially because by that one step they would become rulers instead of subjects. In order to conciliate the plebeians to this measure he led out to Italy and Sicily several colonies which had been voted some time before, but not yet planted. He endeavored to bring to an agreement the Senate and the equestrian order, who were then in sharp antagonism to each other, in reference to the law courts. As he was not able to restore the courts to the Senate openly, he tried the following artifice on both of them. As the senators had been reduced by the seditions to scarcely 300 in number, he brought forward a law that an equal number should be added to their enrolment from the knights, to be chosen according to merit, and that the law courts should be made up from all of these hereafter. He provided in the law that they should make investigations about bribery, as accusations of that kind were almost unknown, since the custom of bribe-taking prevailed without restraint. This was the plan that he contrived for both of them, but it turned out contrary to his expectations, for the senators were indignant that so large a number should be added to their enrolment at one time and be transferred from knighthood to the highest rank. They thought it not unlikely that they would form a faction in the Senate by themselves and contend against the old senators more powerfully than ever. The knights, on the other hand, suspected that, by this doctoring, the courts of justice would be transferred from their order to the Senate exclusively. Having acquired a relish for the great gains and power of the judicial office, this suspicion disturbed them. Most of them fell into doubt and distrust toward each other, discussing which ones seemed more worthy than others to be enrolled among the 300; and envy against their betters filled the breasts of the remainder. Above all were they angry at the revival of the charge of bribery, which they thought had been ere this entirely suppressed, so far as they were concerned.

Event Date: -91 GR

§ 1.5.36  Thus it came to pass that both the Senate and the knights, although opposed to each other, were united in hating Drusus. Only the plebeians were gratified with the colonies. The Italians, in whose interest chiefly Drusus was devising these plans, were apprehensive about the law providing for the colonies, because they thought that the Roman public domain (which was still undivided and which they were cultivating, some by force and others clandestinely) would be taken away from them, and that in many cases they might even be disturbed in their private holdings. The Etruscans and the Umbrians had the same fears as the Italians, and when they were summoned to the city, as it was thought, by the consuls, ostensibly for the purpose of complaining against the law of Drusus, but actually, as is believed, for the purpose of killing him, they cried down the law publicly and waited for the day of the comitia. Drusus learned of the plot against him and did not go out frequently, but transacted business from day to day in the atrium of his house, which was poorly lighted. One evening as he was sending the crowd away he exclaimed suddenly that he was wounded, and fell down while uttering the words. A shoemaker's knife was found thrust into his hip.

Event Date: -91 GR

§ 1.5.37  Thus was Drusus also slain while serving as tribune. The knights, in order to make his policy a ground of accusation against their enemies, persuaded the tribune Quintus Varius to bring forward a law to prosecute those who should, either openly or secretly, aid the Italians to acquire citizenship. They hoped to bring all the leaders under malicious indictment, and themselves to sit in judgment on them, and that when their enemies were out of the way they should be more powerful than ever in the government of Rome. When the other tribunes interposed their veto the knights surrounded them with drawn daggers and enacted the measure, whereupon accusers at once brought actions against the most illustrious of the senators. Of these Bestia did not respond, but went into exile voluntarily rather than surrender himself into the hands of his enemies. After him Cotta went before the court, made a brilliant defence of his administration of public affairs, and openly reviled the knights. He, too, departed from the city before the vote of the judges was taken. Mummius, the one who had conquered Greece, was basely ensnared by the knights, who promised to acquit him, but condemned him to banishment. He passed the remainder of his life at Delos.

Event Date: -91 GR

§ 1.5.38  As this wickedness prevailed more and more against the best citizens, the people were grieved because they were deprived all at once of so many men who had rendered such great services. When the Italians learned of the killing of Drusus and of the reason alleged for banishing the others, they considered it no longer bearable that those who were laboring for their political advancement should suffer such outrages, and as they saw no other means of acquiring citizenship they decided to revolt from the Romans altogether, and to make war against them with all their might. They sent envoys to each other secretly, formed a league, and exchanged hostages as a pledge of good faith. The Romans were in ignorance of these facts for a long time, being preoccupied by the judicial proceedings and the seditions in the city. When they heard what was going on they sent men around to the towns, choosing those who were best acquainted with each, to collect information quietly. One of these saw a young man who was being taken as a hostage from the town of Asculum to another town, and informed Servilius, the proconsul in those parts. (It appears that there were proconsuls at that time governing the various parts of Italy; Hadrian revived the custom a long time afterward when he held the supreme power, but it did not long survive him.) Servilius hastened to Asculum and indulged in very menacing language to the people, who were celebrating a festival, and they put him to death, supposing that the plot was discovered. They also killed Fonteius, his legate (for so they call those of the senatorial order who accompany the governors of provinces as assistants). After these were slain none of the other Romans in Asculum were spared. The inhabitants fell upon them, slaughtered them all, and plundered their goods.

Event Date: -91 GR

§ 1.5.39  When the revolt broke out all the neighboring peoples showed their preparedness at the same time, the Marsi, the Peligni, the Vestini, the Marrucini; and after them the Picentines, the Frentani, the Hirpini, the Pompeiians, the Venusini, the Apulians, the Lucanians, and the Samnites, all of whom had been hostile to the Romans before; also all the rest extending from the river Liris (which is now, I think, the Liternus) to the extremity of the Adriatic gulf, both inland and sea-coast. They sent ambassadors to Rome to complain that although they had cooperated in all ways with the Romans in building up the empire, the latter had not been willing to admit their helpers to citizenship. The Senate answered sternly that if they repented of what they had done they could send ambassadors, otherwise not. The Italians, in despair of any other remedy, went on with their preparations for war. Besides the soldiers which were kept for guards at each town, they had forces in common amounting to about 100,000 foot and horse. The Romans sent an equal force against them, made up of their own citizens and of the Italian peoples who were still in alliance with them.

Event Date: -90 GR

§ 1.5.40  The Romans were led by the consuls Sextus Julius Caesar and Publius Rutilius Lupus, for in this great civil war both consuls marched forth at once, leaving the gates and walls in charge of others, as was customary in cases of danger arising at home or very near by. When the war was found to be complicated and many-sided, they sent their most renowned men as lieutenant-generals to aid the consuls: to Rutilius, Gnaeus Pompeius, the father of Pompey the Great, Quintus Caepio, Gaius Perpenna, Gaius Marius, and Valerius Messala; to Sextus Caesar, Publius Lentulus, a brother of Caesar himself, Titus Didius, Licinius Crassus, Cornelius Sulla, and Marcellus. All these served under the consuls and the country was divided among them. The consuls visited all parts of the field of operations, and the Romans sent them additional forces continually, knowing that it was a great conflict. The Italians had generals for their united forces besides those of the separate towns. The chief commanders were Titus Lafrenius, Gaius Pontilius, Marius Egnatius, Quintus Pompaedius, Gaius Papius, Marcus Lamponius, Gaius Judacilius, Herius Asinius, and Vettius Cato. They divided their army in equal parts, took their positions against the Roman generals, performed many notable exploits, and suffered many disasters. The most memorable events of each class I shall here summarize.

Event Date: -90 GR

§ 1.5.41  Vettius Cato defeated Sextus Julius, killed 2000 of his men, and marched against Aesernia, which adhered to Rome. L. Scipio and L. Acilius, who were in command here, escaped in the disguise of slaves. The enemy, after a considerable time, reduced it by famine. Marius Egnatius captured Venafrum by treachery and slew two Roman cohorts there. Publius Presenteius defeated Perpenna, who had 10,000 men under his command, killed 4000 and captured the arms of the greater part of the others, for which reason the consul Rutilius deprived Perpenna of his command and gave his division of the army to Gaius Marius. Marcus Lamponius destroyed some 800 of the forces under Licinius Crassus and drove the remainder into the town of Grumentum.

Event Date: -90 GR

§ 1.5.42  Gaius Papius captured Nola by treachery and offered to the 2000 Roman soldiers in it the privilege of serving under him if they would change their allegiance. They did so, but as their officers refused the proposal the latter were taken prisoners and starved to death by Papius. In conjunction with Stabias he captured Minturnae, and Salernum, which was a Roman colony. The prisoners and the slaves from these places were taken into the military service. Then he plundered the entire country around Nuceria. The towns in the vicinity were struck with terror and submitted to him, and when he demanded military assistance they furnished him about 10,000 foot and 1000 horse. With these Papius laid siege to Acerrae. Sextus Caesar, with 10,000 Gallic foot and certain Numidian and Mauretanian horse and foot, advanced toward Acerrae. Papius took a son of Jugurtha, formerly king of Numidia, named Oxynta, who was under charge of a Roman guard at Venusia, led him out of that place, clothed him in royal purple, and showed him frequently to the Numidians who were in Caesar's army. Many of them deserted, as if to their own king, so that Caesar was obliged to send the rest back to Africa, as they were not trustworthy. Papius attacked him rashly, and had already made a breach in his fortified camp when Caesar debouched with his horse through the other gates and slew about 6000 of his men, after which Caesar withdrew from Acerrae. Canusia and Venusia and many other towns in Apulia sided with Judacilius. Some that did not submit he besieged, and he put to death the principal Roman citizens in them, but the common people and the slaves he enrolled in his army.

Event Date: -90 GR

§ 1.5.43  The consul Rutilius and Gaius Marius built bridges over the river Liris at no great distance from each other. Vettius Cato pitched his camp opposite them, but nearer to the bridge of Marius, and placed an ambush by night in some ravines around the bridge of Rutilius. Early in the morning, after he had allowed Rutilius to cross the bridge, he started up from ambush and killed a large number of the enemy on the dry land and drove many into the river. In this fight Rutilius himself was wounded in the head by a missile and died soon afterward. Marius was on the other bridge and when he guessed, from the bodies floating down stream, what had happened, he pushed away those in his front, crossed the river, and captured the camp of Cato, which was guarded by only a small force, so that Cato was obliged to spend the night where he had won his victory, and to retreat in the morning for want of provisions. The body of Rutilius and those of many other patricians were brought to Rome for burial. The corpses of the consul and his numerous comrades made a piteous spectacle and the mourning lasted many days. The Senate decreed from this time on that those who were killed in war should be buried where they fell, lest others should be deterred by the spectacle from entering the army. When the enemy heard of this they made a similar decree for themselves.

Event Date: -90 GR

§ 1.6.44  There was no successor to Rutilius in the consulship for the remainder of the year, as Sextus Caesar did not have leisure to go to the city and hold the comitia. The Senate appointed G. Marius and Q. Caepio to command the forces of Rutilius in the field. The opposing general, Q. Pompaedius, fled as a pretended deserter to this Caepio. He brought with him and gave as a pledge two slave babies, clad with the purple-bordered garments of free-born children, pretending that they were his own sons. As further confirmation of his good faith he brought masses of lead plated with gold and silver. He urged Caepio to follow him in all haste with his army and capture the hostile army while destitute of a leader. Caepio was deceived and followed him. When they had arrived at a place where an ambush had been laid, Pompaedius ran up to the top of a hill as though he were searching for the enemy, and gave his own men a signal. The latter sprang out of their concealment and cut Caepio and most of his force in pieces. The Senate joined the rest of Caepio's army to that of Marius.

Event Date: -90 GR

§ 1.6.45  While Sextus Caesar was passing through a rocky defile with 30,000 foot and 5000 horse Marius Egnatius suddenly fell upon him and defeated him in it. He retreated on a litter, as he was sick, to a certain stream where there was only one bridge, and there he lost the greater part of his force and the arms of the survivors. He escaped to Teanum with difficulty and there he armed the remainder of his men as best he could. Reinforcements were sent to him speedily and he marched to the relief of Acerrae, which was still besieged by Papius, but when their camps were pitched opposite each other neither of them dared to attack the other.

Event Date: -90 GR

§ 1.6.46  Cornelius Sulla and Gaius Marius defeated the Marsians, who had attacked them. They pursued the enemy vigorously as far as the walls enclosing their vineyards. The Marsians scaled these walls with loss, but Marius and Sulla did not deem it wise to follow them farther. Cornelius Sulla was encamped on the other side of these enclosures and when he knew what had happened he came out to meet the Marsians, as they tried to escape, and killed a great number. More than 6000 Marsians were slain that day, and the arms of a still greater number were captured by the Romans. The Marsians were rendered as furious as wild beasts by this disaster. They armed their forces again and prepared to march against the enemy, but did not dare to take the offensive or to begin a battle. They are a very warlike race, and it is said that no triumph was ever awarded for a victory over them except for this single disaster. There had been up to this time a saying, "No triumph over Marsians or without Marsians."

Event Date: -90 GR

§ 1.6.47  Judacilius and T. Lafrenius and P. Ventidius united their forces near Mount Falerinus and defeated Gnaeus Pompeius and pursued him to the city of Firmum. Then they went different ways. Lafrenius besieged Pompeius, who had shut himself up in Firmum. The latter armed his remaining forces, but did not come to an engagement. Having learned that another army was approaching, he sent Sulpicius around to take Lafrenius in the rear while he made a sally in front. Battle was joined and both sides were having a doubtful fight when Sulpicius set fire to the enemy's camp. When the latter saw this they fled to Asculum in disorder and without a general, for Lafrenius had fallen in the battle. Pompeius then advanced and laid siege to Asculum.

Event Date: -90 GR

§ 1.6.48  Asculum was the native town of Judacilius, and as he feared for its safety he hastened to its relief with eight cohorts. He sent word beforehand to the inhabitants that when they should see him advancing at a distance they should make a sally against the besiegers, so that the enemy should be attacked on both sides at once. The inhabitants were afraid to do so; nevertheless Judacilius forced his way into the city through the midst of the enemy with what followers he could get, and upbraided the citizens for their cowardice and disobedience. As he despaired of saving the city he first put to death all of his enemies, who had been at variance with him before and who, out of jealousy, had prevented the people from obeying his recent orders. Then he erected a funeral pile in the temple and placed a couch upon it, and had a feast with his friends, and while the drinking-bout was at its height he swallowed poison, threw himself on the pile, and ordered his friends to set fire to it. Thus perished Judacilius, a man who considered it glorious to die for his country. Sextus Caesar was invested with the consular power by the Senate after his term of office had expired. He attacked 20,000 of the enemy at some place while they were changing camping-places, killed about 8000 of them, and captured the arms of a much larger number. He died of a disease while pushing the long siege of Asculum; the Senate appointed Gaius Baebius his successor.

Event Date: -90 GR

§ 1.6.49  While these events were transpiring on the Adriatic side of Italy, the inhabitants of Etruria and Umbria and other neighboring peoples on the other side of Rome heard of them and all were excited to revolt. The Senate, fearing lest they should be surrounded by enemies for want of guards, garrisoned the sea-coast from Cumae to the city with freedmen, who were then for the first time enrolled in the army on account of the scarcity of soldiers. The Senate also voted that those Italians who had adhered to their alliance should be admitted to citizenship, which was the one thing they all desired most. They sent this decree around among the Etruscans, who gladly accepted the citizenship. By this favor the Senate made the faithful more faithful, confirmed the wavering, and mollified their enemies by the hope of similar treatment. The Romans did not enroll the new citizens in the thirty-five existing tribes, lest they should outvote the old ones in the elections, but incorporated them in ten new tribes, which voted last. So it often happened that their vote was useless, since a majority was obtained from the thirty-five tribes that voted first. This fact was either not noticed by the Italians at the time or they were satisfied with what they had gained, but it was observed later and became the source of a new conflict.

Event Date: -90 GR

§ 1.6.50  The insurgents along the Adriatic coast, before they learned of the change of sentiment among the Etruscans, sent 15,000 men to their assistance by a long and difficult road. Gnaeus Pompeius, who was now consul, fell upon them and killed 5000 of them. The rest made their way homeward through a trackless region, in a severe winter, living on acorns; and half of them perished. The same winter Porcius Cato, the colleague of Pompeius, was killed while fighting with the Marsians. While Sulla was encamped near the Pompeiian mountains Lucius Cluentius pitched his camp in a contemptuous manner at a distance of only three stades from him, Sulla did not tolerate this insolence, but attacked Cluentius without waiting for his own foragers to come in. He was worsted and put to flight, but when he was reinforced by his foragers he turned and defeated Cluentius. The latter then moved his camp to a greater distance. Having received certain Gallic reenforcements he again drew near to Sulla and just as the two armies were coming to an engagement a Gaul of enormous size advanced and challenged any Roman to single combat. A Mauritanian soldier of short stature accepted the challenge and killed him, whereupon the Gauls became panic-stricken and fled. Cluentius' line of battle was thus broken and the remainder of his troops did not stand their ground, but fled, in disorder to Nola. Sulla followed them and killed 3000 in the pursuit, and as the inhabitants of Nola received them by only one gate, lest the enemy should rush in with them, he killed about 20,000 more outside the walls and among them Cluentius himself, who fell fighting bravely.

Event Date: -89 GR

§ 1.6.51  Then Sulla moved against the Hirpini and attacked the town of Aeculanum. The inhabitants, who expected aid from the Lucanians that very day, asked Sulla to give them time for consideration. He understood the trick and gave them one hour, and meanwhile piled fagots around their walls, which were made of wood, and at the expiration of the hour set them on fire. They were terrified and surrendered the town. Sulla plundered it because it had not been delivered up voluntarily but by necessity. He spared the other towns that gave themselves up, and in this way the entire population of the Hirpini was brought under subjection. Then Sulla moved against the Samnites, not where Mutilus, the Samnite general, guarded the roads, but by another circuitous route where his coming was not expected. He fell upon them suddenly, killed many, and scattered the rest in disorderly flight. Mutilus was wounded and took refuge with a few followers in Aesernia. Sulla destroyed his camp and moved against Bovianum, where the common council of the rebels was held. The city had three towers. While the inhabitants were looking at Sulla from one of these he ordered a detachment to capture whichever of the others they could, and to make a signal by means of smoke. When the smoke was seen he made an attack in front and, after a severe fight of three hours, took the city. These were the successes of Sulla during that summer. When winter came he returned to Rome to solicit the consulship.

Event Date: -90 GR

§ 1.6.52  Gnaeus Pompeius brought the Marsians, the Marrucini, and the Vestini under subjection. Gaius Cosconius, another Roman praetor, advanced against and burned Salapia. He received the surrender of Cannae and laid siege to Canusium. He had a severe fight with the Samnites, who came to its relief. After great slaughter on both sides Cosconius was beaten and retreated to Cannae. A river separated the two armies, and Trebatius sent word to Cosconius either to come over to his side and fight him, or to withdraw and let him cross. Cosconius withdrew, and while Trebatius was crossing attacked him and got the better of him, and, while he was flying toward the stream, killed 15,000 of his men. The remainder took refuge with Trebatius in Canusium. Cosconius overran the territory of Larinum, Venusia, and Asculum, and invaded that of the Poediculi, and within two days received their surrender.

Event Date: -89 GR

§ 1.6.53  Caecilius Metellus, his successor in the praetorship, attacked the Apulians and overcame them in battle. Pompaedius, one of the rebel generals, here lost his life. The survivors joined Metellus separately. Such was the course of events throughout Italy as regards the Social War, which had raged with violence thus far and until the whole of Italy came into the Roman state except the Lucanians and the Samnites. These also seem to have obtained what they desired somewhat later. They were each enrolled in tribes of their own, like those who had been admitted to citizenship before, so that they might not, by being mingled with the old citizens, vote them down in the elections by force of numbers.

Event Date: -88 GR

§ 1.6.54  About the same time dissensions arose in the city between debtors and creditors, since the latter exacted the money due them with interest, although an old law distinctly forbade lending on interest and imposed a penalty upon any one doing so. It seems that the ancient Romans, like the Greeks, abhorred the taking of interest on loans as something knavish, and hard on the poor, and leading to contention and enmity; and by the same kind of reasoning the Persians considered lending itself as having a tendency to deceit and lying. But, since time had sanctioned the practice of taking interest, the creditors demanded it according to custom. The debtors, on the other hand, put off the payment by causing war and civil commotion. Some indeed threatened to visit the legal penalty on the interest-takers. The praetor Asellio, who had charge of these matters, as he was not able to compose their differences by persuasion, allowed them to proceed against each other in the courts, thus bringing the conflict of law and custom before the judges. The lenders, exasperated that the old law should be revived, killed the praetor in the following manner. He was offering sacrifice to Castor and Pollux in the Forum, with a crowd standing around as was usual at such a ceremony. In the first place somebody threw a stone at him. He dropped the libation-bowl and ran toward the temple of Vesta. They got ahead of him and prevented him from reaching the temple, and after he had fled into a certain tavern they cut his throat. Many of his pursuers, thinking that he had taken refuge with the Vestal virgins, ran in there, where it was not lawful for men to go. Thus was Asellio, while serving as praetor, and pouring out the libation, and wearing the sacred gilded vestments customary in such ceremonies, slain at the second hour of the day, in the midst of the forum, by the side of the sacrificial offerings. The Senate offered a reward of money to any free person, and freedom to any slave, and impunity to any accomplice, who should give testimony leading to the conviction of the murderers of Asellio, but nobody gave any information. The money-lenders covered up everything.

Event Date: -89 GR

§ 1.7.55  Hitherto the murders and seditions had been merely intestine squabbles. Afterward the chiefs of factions assailed each other with great armies, according to the usage of war, and the country lay as a prize between them. The beginning and origin of these contentions came about directly after the Social War, in this wise. When Mithridates, king of Pontus and of other nations, invaded Bithynia and Phrygia and that part of Asia adjacent to those countries, as I have related in the preceding book, the consul Sulla was chosen by lot to the command of Asia and the Mithridatic war, but was still in Rome. Marius thought that this would be an easy and lucrative war and he desired the command of it. So he prevailed upon the tribune, Publius Sulpicius, by many promises, to help him obtain it. He also led the new Italian citizens, who had very little power in the elections, to hope that they should be distributed among all the tribes — not putting forward anything concerning his own advantage, but with the expectation of employing them as loyal servants in his every attempt. Sulpicius straightway brought forward a law for this purpose. If it were enacted Marius and Sulpicius would have everything they wanted, because the new citizens far outnumbered the old ones. The old citizens saw this and opposed the new ones with all their might. They fought each other with sticks and stones, and the evil increased continually. The consuls, becoming apprehensive, as the day for voting on the law drew near, proclaimed a vacation of many days' duration, such as was customary on festal occasions, in order to postpone the voting and the danger.

Event Date: -88 GR

§ 1.7.56  Sulpicius would not wait for the vacation's end. He ordered his faction to come to the forum with concealed daggers and to do whatever the exigency might require, and not to spare the consuls themselves upon occasion. When everything was in readiness he denounced the vacation as illegal and ordered the consuls, Cornelius Sulla and Quintus Pompeius, to put an end to it at once, in order to proceed to the enactment of laws. A tumult arose, and those who had been armed drew their daggers and threatened to kill the consuls, who were making opposition. Finally Pompeius escaped secretly and Sulla withdrew on the pretext of taking advice. In the meantime the son of Pompeius, who was the son-in-law of Sulla, and who was speaking his mind rather freely, was killed by the Sulpicians. Presently Sulla returned and annulled the vacation, but hurried away to Capua, where his army was stationed, in order to cross over to Asia to take command of the war against Mithridates, for he knew nothing as yet of the designs against himself. As the vacation was annulled and Sulla had left the city, Sulpicius enacted his law, and Marius, for whose sake it was done, was forthwith chosen commander of the war against Mithridates in place of Sulla.

Event Date: -88 GR

§ 1.7.57  When Sulla heard of this he resolved to decide the question by war. He called the army together in a conference. They were eager for the war against Mithridates because it promised much plunder, and they feared that Marius would enlist other soldiers instead of themselves. Sulla spoke of the indignity put upon him by Sulpicius and Marius, and while he did not openly allude to anything else (for he did not dare as yet to mention this kind of a war), he urged them to be ready to obey his orders. They understood what he meant, and as they feared lest they should miss the campaign they spoke boldly what Sulla had in his mind, and told him to be of good courage, and to lead them to Rome. Sulla was overjoyed and led six legions thither forthwith, but all of his superior officers, except one quaestor, left him and hastened to the city, because they would not submit to the idea of leading an army against their country. Envoys met him on the road and asked him why he was marching with armed forces against his country. "To deliver her from her tyrants," he replied. He gave the same answer to a second and a third embassy that came to him, one after another, but he announced to them finally that the Senate and Marius and Sulpicius might meet him in the Campus Martius if they liked, and that he would do whatever might be agreed upon after consultation. As he was approaching, his colleague, Pompeius, came to meet him and praised him for what he had done, for Pompeius was delighted, and cooperated with him in every way. As Marius and Sulpicius needed some short interval for preparation, they sent other messengers, in the guise of envoys from the Senate, directing him not to move his camp nearer than forty stades from the city until they could consider of the business in hand. Sulla and Pompeius understood their game perfectly and promised to comply, but as soon as the envoys were returning they followed them.

Event Date: -88 GR

§ 1.7.58  Sulla took possession of the Coelian gate and of the adjoining wall with one legion of soldiers, and Pompeius occupied the Colline gate with another. A third advanced to the Sublician bridge, and a fourth remained on guard in front of the walls. With the remainder Sulla entered the city, being in appearance and in fact an enemy. The inhabitants round about tried to fight him off by hurling missiles from the roofs until he threatened to burn the houses; then they desisted. Marius and Sulpicius went, with some forces they had hastily armed, to meet the invaders near the Aesquiline forum, and here a battle took place between the contending parties, the first that was regularly fought in Rome with trumpet and signal under the rules of war, and not at all in the similitude of a faction fight. To such extremity of evil had the recklessness of party strife progressed among them. Sulla's forces were beginning to waver when Sulla seized a standard and exposed himself to danger in the foremost ranks. Out of regard for their general and fear of ignominy if they should abandon their standard, they rallied at once. Sulla ordered up fresh troops from his camp and sent others around by the socalled Suburran road to take the enemy in the rear. The Marians fought feebly against these new-comers, and as they feared lest they should be surrounded they called to their aid the other citizens who were still fighting from the houses, and proclaimed freedom to slaves who would share their labors. As nobody came forward they fell into utter despair and fled at once out of the city, together with those of the nobility who had cooperated with them.

Event Date: -88 GR

§ 1.7.59  Sulla advanced to the so-called Via Sacra and there, in sight of everybody, punished certain soldiers who had plundered persons on the road. He stationed guards at intervals throughout the city, he and Pompeius keeping watch by night. Each kept moving about his own command to see that no calamity was brought about either by the frightened people or by the victorious troops: They summoned the people to an assembly at daybreak and lamented the condition of the republic, which had been so long given over to demagogues, and said that they had done what they had done as a matter of necessity. They proposed that no question should ever again be brought before the people which had not been previously considered by the Senate, an ancient practice which had been abandoned long ago. Also that the voting should not be by tribes, but by centuries, as King Servius Tullius had ordained. They thought that by these two measures — namely, that no law should be brought before the people unless it had been previously before the Senate, and that the voting should be controlled by the well-to-do and sober-minded rather than by the pauper and reckless classes — there would no longer be any starting-point for civil discord. They proposed many other measures for curtailing the power of the tribunes, which had become extremely tyrannical. They enrolled 300 of the best citizens at once in the list of senators, who had been reduced at that time to a very small number and had fallen into contempt for that reason. They annulled all the acts performed by Sulpicius after the vacation had been proclaimed by the consuls, as being illegal.

Event Date: -88 GR

§ 1.7.60  Thus the seditions proceeded from strife and contention to murder, and from murder to open war, and now the first army of her own citizens had invaded Rome as a hostile country. From this time the civil dissensions were decided only by the arbitrament of arms. There were frequent attacks upon the city and battles before the walls and other calamities incident to war. Henceforth there was no restraint upon violence either from the sense of shame, or regard for law, institutions, or country. Now Sulpicius, who still held the office of tribune, together with Marius, who had been consul six times, and his son Marius, also Publius Cethegus, Junius Brutus, Gnaeus and Quintus Granius, Publius Albinovanus, Marcus Laetorius, and others with them, about twelve in number, fled from Rome, because they had stirred up the sedition, had borne arms against the consuls, had incited slaves to insurrection, had been voted enemies of the Roman people, and anybody meeting them had been authorized to kill them with impunity or to drag them before the consuls, and their goods had been confiscated. Detectives were in pursuit of these men. They caught Sulpicius and killed him.

Event Date: -88 GR

§ 1.7.61  Marius escaped them and fled to Minturnae without a companion or a servant. While he was resting in a secluded house the magistrates of the city, whose fears were excited by the proclamation of the Roman people, but who hesitated to be the murderers of a man who had been six times consul and had performed so many brilliant exploits, sent a Gaul who was living there to kill him with a sword. It is said that as the Gaul was approaching the pallet of Marius in the dusk he thought he saw the gleam and flash of fire darting from his eyes, and that Marius rose from his bed and shouted to him in a thundering voice, "Do you dare to kill Gaius Marius?" The Gaul turned and fled out of doors like a madman, exclaiming, "I cannot kill Gaius Marius." As the magistrates had come to their previous decision with reluctance, so now a kind of religious awe came over them as they remembered the prophecy uttered while he was a boy, that he should be consul seven times. It was said that while he was a boy seven young eaglets alighted on his breast, and that the soothsayers predicted that he would attain the highest office seven times.

Event Date: -88 GR

§ 1.7.62  Bearing these things in mind and believing that the Gaul had been inspired with fear by divine influence, the magistrates of Minturnae sent Marius out of the town forthwith, to seek safety wherever he could. As he knew that Sulla was searching for him and that horsemen were pursuing him, he moved toward the sea by unfrequented roads and came to a hut where he rested, covering himself up with leaves. Hearing a noise, he concealed himself more carefully with the leaves. Hearing a somewhat louder noise, he rushed to the boat of an old fisherman, overpowered him, leaped into it, and, although a storm was raging, he cut the rope, spread the sail, and committed himself to chance. He was driven to an island where he found a ship navigated by his own friends, and sailed thence to Africa. He was prohibited from landing there by the governor, Sextius, because he was an enemy, and he passed the winter in his ship a little beyond the province of Africa, along the shore of Numidia. While he was sailing thither he was joined by Cethegus, Granius, Albinovanus, Laetorius, and others, including the son of Marius himself, who had gained tidings of his approach. They had fled from Rome to Hiempsal, prince of Numidia, and now they had run away from him, fearing lest they should be delivered up. They were ready to do just as Sulla had done, that is, to master their country by force, but as they had no army they waited for some opportunity.

Event Date: -88 GR

§ 1.7.63  In Rome Sulla, who had been the first one to seize the city by force of arms, and was now able perhaps to wield supreme power, having rid himself of his enemies, desisted from violence of his own accord. He sent his army forward to Capua and resumed his functions as consul. The faction under banishment, especially the rich ones, and many wealthy women, who now found a respite from the terror of arms, bestirred themselves for the return of their male relatives from exile. They spared neither pains nor expense to this end, even conspiring against the persons of the consuls when they thought they could not secure the recall of their friends while the consuls survived. Sulla's army furnished ample protection for himself even after he should cease to be consul, since he had been voted commander of the war against Mithridates. The people commiserated the fears of the other consul, Quintus Pompeius, for his personal safety, and gave him the command of Italy and of the army appertaining to it, which was then under Gnaeus Pompeius. When the latter learned this fact he was greatly displeased. Nevertheless he received Quintus in the camp, and, after transacting the necessary business with him the following day, withdrew for a short time as a private person, but a little later a crowd that had collected around the consul under pretence of listening to him killed him. After the guilty ones had fled, Gnaeus came to the camp in a high state of indignation over the killing of a consul contrary to law. Notwithstanding his displeasure he forthwith resumed his command over them.

Event Date: -88 GR

§ 1.8.64  When the murder of Pompeius became known in the city, Sulla became apprehensive for his own safety and was surrounded by friends wherever he went, and had them with him even by night. He did not remain long in the city, but went to the army at Capua and from thence to Asia. The friends of the exiles, encouraged by Cinna, Sulla's successor in the consulship, excited the new citizens in favor of the scheme of Marius, that they should be distributed among the old tribes, so that they should not be powerless by reason of voting last. This was preliminary to the recall of Marius and his friends. Although the old citizens resisted with all their might, Cinna cooperated with the new ones. It was supposed that he had been bribed with 300 talents to do this. The other consul, Octavius, sided with the old citizens. The partisans of Cinna took possession of the forum with concealed daggers, and with loud cries demanded that they should be distributed among all the tribes. The more reputable part of the plebeians adhered to Octavius, and they also carried daggers. While Octavius was still at home awaiting the result, the news was brought to him that the majority of the tribunes had vetoed the proposed action, but that the new citizens had started a riot, drawn their daggers on the street, and assaulted the opposing tribunes on the Rostra. When Octavius heard this he ran down through the Via Sacra with a very dense mass of men, burst into the forum like a torrent, pushed through the midst of the crowd, and separated them. He struck terror into them, pushed on to the temple of Castor and Pollux, and drove Cinna away. His companions fell upon the new citizens without orders, killed many of them, put the rest to flight, and pursued them to the city gates.

Event Date: -87 GR

§ 1.8.65  Cinna, who had been emboldened by the numbers of the new citizens to think that he should conquer, seeing the victory won contrary to his expectation by the bravery of the few, ran through the city calling the slaves to his assistance by an offer of freedom. As none responded he hastened to the towns near by, which had lately been admitted to Roman citizenship, Tibur, Praeneste, and the rest as far as Nola, inciting them all to revolution and collecting money for the purposes of war. While Cinna was making these preparations and plans, certain senators of his party joined him, among them Gaius Milo, Quintus Sertorius, and Gaius Marius the younger. The Senate decreed that since Cinna had left the city in danger while holding the office of consul, and had offered freedom to the slaves, he should no longer be consul, or even a citizen, and elected in his stead Lucius Merula, the priest of Jupiter (flamen Dialis). It is said that this priest alone wore the flamen's cap at all times, the others wearing it only during sacrifices. Cinna proceeded to Capua, where there was another Roman army, the officers of which, and the senators who were present, he courted. He went to meet them as consul in an assembly, where he laid down the fasces as though he were a private citizen, and shedding tears, said, "From you, citizens, I received this authority. The people voted it to me; the Senate has taken it away from me without your consent. Although I am the sufferer by this wrong I grieve amid my own troubles equally for your sakes. What need is there that we should solicit the favor of the tribes in the elections hereafter? What need have we of you? Where will be your power in the assemblies, in the elections, in the choice of consuls? If you do not confirm what you bestow, you will be robbed whenever you give your decision."

Event Date: -87 GR

§ 1.8.66  He said this to stir them up, and after exciting much pity for himself he rent his garments, leaped down from the Rostra, and threw himself on the ground before them, where he lay a long time. With tears in their eyes they raised him up; they restored him to the curule chair; they lifted up the fasces and bade him be of good cheer, as he was consul still, and lead them wherever he would. At their instance the officers came forward and took the military oath to support Cinna, and administered it each to the soldiers under him. When he had been confirmed in this way he traversed the allied cities and stirred them up also, because it was on their account chiefly that this misfortune had happened to him. They furnished him both money and soldiers; and many others, even of the aristocratic party in Rome, to whom a stable form of government was irksome, came and joined him. While Cinna was thus occupied, the consuls, Octavius and Merula, fortified the city with trenches, repaired the walls, and planted engines on them. To raise an army they sent around to the towns that were still faithful and also to the neighboring Gauls. They also summoned Gnaeus Pompeius, the proconsul who commanded the army on the Adriatic, to come in haste to the aid of his country.

Event Date: -87 GR

§ 1.8.67  Pompeius came and encamped before the Colline gate. Cinna advanced against him and encamped near him. When Gaius Marius heard of these transactions he sailed to Etruria with his fellow-exiles and about 500 slaves who had joined their masters from Rome. Filthy and longhaired, he marched through the towns presenting a pitiable appearance, descanting on his battles, his victories over the Cimbri, and his six consulships; and what was extremely pleasing to them, promising, and also seeming, to be faithful to their interests in the matter of the voting. In this way he collected 6000 Etruscans and joined Cinna, who received him gladly by reason of their common interest in the present enterprise. After their armies were joined they encamped on the banks of the Tiber and divided their forces in three parts: Cinna and Carbo opposite the city, Sertorius above it, and Marius toward the sea. The two latter threw bridges across the river in order to cut off the city's food-supply. Marius captured Ostia and plundered it. Cinna sent a force and captured Ariminum in order to prevent an army coming to the city from the subject Gauls.

Event Date: -87 GR

§ 1.8.68  The consuls were alarmed. They needed more troops, but they were unable to call Sulla because he had already crossed over to Asia. They ordered Caecilius Metellus, who was carrying on the remainder of the Social War against the Samnites, to make peace on the best terms he could, and come to the rescue of his beleaguered country. Metellus would not agree to what the Samnites demanded, and when Marius heard of this he made an engagement with them to grant all that they asked from Metellus. In this way the Samnites became allies of Marius. Appius Claudius, a military tribune, who had command of the defences of Rome at the hill called the Janiculum, had once received a favor from Marius which the latter now reminded him of, in consequence of which he admitted him into the city, opening a gate for him at about daybreak. Then Marius admitted Cinna. They were thrust out by Octavius and Pompeius, who attacked them together, but a severe thunder-storm broke upon the camp of Pompeius, and he was killed by lightning together with others of the nobility.

Event Date: -87 GR

§ 1.8.69  After Marius had stopped the passage of food-supplies from the sea, or by way of the river above, he hastened to attack the neighboring towns where grain was stored for the Romans. He fell upon their garrisons unexpectedly and captured Antium, Aricia, Lanuvium, and others. There were some also that were delivered up to him by treachery. Having cut off their supplies by land in this manner, he advanced boldly against Rome, by the so-called Appian Way, before any other supplies were brought to them by another route. He and Cinna, and their lieutenant-generals, Carbo and Sertorius, halted at a distance of 100 stades from the city and went into camp. Octavius, Crassus, and Metellus had taken position against them at the Alban Mount, where they observed the enemy's movements. Although they considered themselves superior in bravery and numbers, they hesitated to risk hastily their country's fate on the hazard of a single battle. Cinna sent heralds around the city to offer freedom to slaves who would desert to him, and forthwith a large number did desert. The Senate was alarmed. Anticipating the most serious consequences from the people if the scarcity of corn should be protracted, it changed its mind and sent envoys to Cinna to treat for peace. The latter asked them whether they had come to see him as a consul or as a private citizen. They were at a loss for an answer and went back to the city; and now a large number of freemen flocked to Cinna, some from fear of famine and others because they had been previously favorable to his party and had been waiting to see which way the scales would turn.

Event Date: -87 GR

§ 1.8.70  Now Cinna began to despise his enemies and drew near to the wall, halting at the distance of a stone's throw, where he encamped. Octavius and his party were undecided and fearful, and hesitated to attack him on account of the desertions and the negotiations. The Senate was greatly perplexed and considered it a dreadful thing to depose Lucius Merula, the priest of Jupiter, who had been chosen consul in place of Cinna, and who had done nothing wrong in his office. Yet on account of the impending danger it reluctantly sent envoys to Cinna again, and this time as consul. They no longer expected favorable terms, so they only asked that Cinna should swear to them that he would abstain from bloodshed. He refused to take the oath, but he promised nevertheless that he would not willingly be the cause of anybody's death. He directed, however, that Octavius, who had gone around and entered the city by another gate, should keep away from the forum lest anything should befall him against Cinna's will. This answer he delivered to the envoys from a high platform in his character as consul. Marius stood beside the curule chair silent, but showed by the asperity of his countenance how much murder he would commit. When the Senate had accepted these terms and had invited Cinna and Marius to enter (for it was understood that all the things that Cinna had subscribed to were the doings of Marius), the latter said with a scornful smile that it was not lawful for the banished to enter. Forthwith the tribunes voted to repeal the decree of banishment against him and all the others who were expelled under the consulship of Sulla.

Event Date: -87 GR

§ 1.8.71  Accordingly Cinna and Marius entered the city and everybody received them with fear. Straightway they began to plunder without restraint the goods of those who were supposed to be of the opposite party. Cinna and Marius had sworn to Octavius, and the augurs and soothsayers had predicted, that he would suffer no harm, yet his friends advised him to fly. He replied that he would never desert the city while he was consul. So he withdrew from the forum to the Janiculum with the nobility and what was left of his army, where he occupied the curule chair and wore his robes of office, attended by lictors as a consul. Here he was attacked by Censorinus with a body of horse, and again his friends and the soldiers who stood by him urged him to fly and brought him a horse, but he disdained even to arise, and awaited death. Censorinus cut off his head and carried it to Cinna, and it was suspended in the forum in front of the Rostra, the first head of a consul that was so exposed. After him the heads of others who were slain were suspended there. This shocking custom, which began with Octavius, was not discontinued, but was handed down to subsequent intestine massacres. Now the victors sent out spies to search for their enemies of the senatorial and equestrian orders. After the knights were killed no further attention was paid to them, but all the heads of senators were exposed in front of the Rostra. Neither reverence for the gods, nor the indignation of men, nor the fear of odium for their acts existed any longer among them. After committing savage deeds they turned to hideous sights. They killed remorselessly and severed the necks of men already dead, and they paraded these horrors before the public eye, either to inspire fear and terror, or for a monstrous spectacle.

Event Date: -87 GR

§ 1.8.72  Gaius Julius and Lucius Julius, two brothers, Atilius Serranus, Publius Lentulus, Gaius Numatorius, and Marcus Baebius were arrested in the street and killed. Crassus was pursued with his son. He anticipated the pursuers by killing his son, but was himself killed by them. Marcus Antonius, the orator, fled to a certain country place, where he was concealed and entertained by the farmer, who sent his slave to a tavern for wine of a better quality than he was in the habit of buying. The innkeeper asked him why he wanted the better quality. The slave whispered the reason to him, bought the wine, and went back. The seller ran and told Marius. When Marius heard this he sprang up with joy as though he would rush to do the deed himself, but he was restrained by his friends. A tribune was despatched to the house, who sent some soldiers upstairs, whom Antonius, a delightful speaker, entertained with a long discourse. He moved their pity by recounting many and various things, until the tribune, who was at a loss to know what had happened, rushed into the house and, finding his soldiers listening to Antonius, killed him while he was still addressing them, and sent his head to Marius.

Event Date: -87 GR

§ 1.8.73  Cornutus concealed himself in a hut and was saved by his slaves in an ingenious way. They found a dead body and placed it on a funeral pile, and when the searchers came they set fire to it and said that they were burning the body of their master, who had hanged himself. In this way he was saved by his slaves. Quintus Ancharius watched his opportunity till Marius was about to offer sacrifice in the Capitol, hoping that the temple would be a more propitious place for him. But when he approached and saluted Marius, the latter, who was just beginning the sacrifice, ordered the guards to kill him in the Capitol forthwith; and his head, with that of the orator Antonius, and those of others who had been consuls and praetors, was exposed in the forum. Burial was not permitted to any of the slain. The bodies of such men as these were torn in pieces by birds and dogs. There was also much private and irresponsible murder committed by the factions upon each other. There were banishments, and confiscations of property, and depositions from office, and a repeal of the laws enacted during Sulla's consulship. All of Sulla's friends were put to death, his house was razed to the ground, his property confiscated, and himself voted a public enemy. Search was made for his wife and children, but they escaped. Altogether no sort of calamity was wanting, either general or particular.

Event Date: -87 GR

§ 1.8.74  In addition to the foregoing and under the similitude of legal authority, and after so many had been put to death without trial, accusers were suborned to make false charges against Merula, the priest of Jupiter, who was hated because he had been the successor of Cinna in the consulship, although he had committed no other fault. Accusation was also brought against Lutatius Catulus, who had been the colleague of Marius in the war against the Cimbri, and whose life Marius once saved. It was charged that he had been very ungrateful to Marius and was bitter against him when he was banished. These men were put under secret surveillance, and when the day for holding court arrived were summoned to trial (the proper way was to put the accused under arrest after they had been cited four times at certain fixed intervals), but Merula had opened his own veins, and a tablet lying at his side showed that when he cut his veins he had removed his flamen's cap, for it was accounted a sin for the priest to wear it at his death. Catulus suffocated himself with burning charcoal in a chamber newly plastered and still moist. So these two men perished. The slaves who had joined Cinna in answer to his proclamation and had thereupon been freed and were at this time enrolled in the army by Cinna himself, broke into and plundered houses, and killed persons whom they met on the street. Some of them attacked their own masters particularly. After Cinna had forbidden this several times, but without avail, he surrounded them with his Gallic soldiery one night while they were taking their rest, and killed them all. Thus did the slaves receive fit punishment for their repeated treachery to their masters.

Event Date: -87 GR

§ 1.8.75  The following year Cinna was chosen consul for the second time, and Marius for the seventh time; to whom, notwithstanding his banishment and proscription, the augury of the seven young eaglets was yet fulfilled. But he died in the first month of his consulship, while forming all sorts of terrible designs against Sulla. Cinna caused Valerius Flaccus to be chosen in his place and sent him to Asia, and when Flaccus lost his life Cinna chose Carbo as his successor.

Event Date: -86 GR

§ 1.9.76  Sulla now hastened his return to meet his enemies, having quickly finished all his business with Mithridates, as I have already related. Within less than three years he had killed 160,000 men, recovered Greece, Macedonia, Ionia, Asia, and many other countries that Mithridates had previously occupied, taken the king's fleet away from him, and from such vast possessions restricted him to his paternal kingdom alone. He returned with a large and well-disciplined army, devoted to him and elated by its exploits. He had abundance of ships, money, and apparatus suitable for all emergencies, and was an object of terror to his enemies. Carbo and Cinna were in such fear of him that they despatched emissaries to all parts of Italy to collect money, soldiers, and supplies. They took their leading citizens into friendly intercourse and appealed especially to the newly created citizens of the towns, pretending that it was on their account that they were threatened with the present danger. They hastily repaired the ships, and recalled those that were in Sicily, guarded the coast, and, with fear and trembling, made rapid preparations in every way.

Event Date: -85 GR

§ 1.9.77  Sulla wrote to the Senate in a tone of superiority concerning himself. He recounted what he had done in Africa in the Jugurthine war while he was still quaestor, what he had done as lieutenant in the Cimbric war, as praetor in Cilicia and in the Social war, and as consul. Most of all he dwelt upon his recent victories in the Mithridatic war, enumerating to them the many nations that had been under Mithridates and that he had recovered for the Romans. Of nothing did he make more account than that those who had been banished from Rome by Cinna had fled to him, and that he had received the helpless ones and supported them in their affliction. In return for which he said that he had been declared a public enemy by his foes, his house had been destroyed, his friends put to death, and his wife and children had with difficulty made their escape to him. He would be there presently to take vengeance, for them and for the entire city, upon the guilty ones. He assured the other citizens, and the new citizens, that he made no complaint against them. When the contents of the letters became known fear fell upon all, and they began sending messengers to reconcile him with his enemies and to tell him in advance that if he wanted any security he should write to the Senate at once. They ordered Cinna and Carbo to cease recruiting soldiers until Sulla's answer should be received. They promised to do so, but as soon as the messengers had gone they proclaimed themselves consuls for the ensuing year so that they need not come back to the city directly to hold the election. They traversed Italy, collecting soldiers whom they carried across by detachments on shipboard to Liburnia, as they expected to meet Sulla there.

Event Date: -50 GR

§ 1.9.78  The first detachment had a prosperous voyage. The next one encountered a storm and those who reached land went home immediately, as they did not relish the prospect of fighting their fellow-citizens. When the rest learned this they refused to cross to Liburnia. Cinna was angry and called them to an assembly in order to coerce them. They, angry also and ready to defend themselves, assembled. One of the lictors, who was clearing the road for Cinna, struck somebody who was in the way and one of the soldiers struck the lictor. Cinna ordered the arrest of the offender, whereupon a clamor rose on all sides, stones were thrown at him, and those who were near him drew their swords and stabbed him. So Cinna also perished during his consulship. Carbo recalled those who had been sent over by ship to Liburnia. As he was solicitous about the present state of things, he did not go back to the city, although the tribunes summoned him with urgency to hold an election for the choice of a colleague. When they threatened to reduce him to the rank of a private citizen he came back and ordered the holding of the consular election, but as the omens were unfavorable he postponed it to another day. When that day came lightning struck the temples of Luna and of Ceres; so the augurs prorogued the comitia beyond the summer solstice, and Carbo remained the sole consul.

Event Date: -84 GR

§ 1.9.79  Sulla answered those who came to him from the Senate, saying that he would never be on friendly terms with the men who had committed such crimes. Still he would not prevent the city from extending clemency to them. As for security he said that, as he had a devoted army, he could better furnish lasting security to them, and to those who had fled to his camp, than they to him; whereby it was made plain in a single sentence that he would not disband his army, but was contemplating the exercise of supreme power. He demanded of them his former dignity, his property, and the sacerdotal office, and that they should restore to him in full measure whatever other honors he had previously held. He sent some of his own men with the Senate's messengers to confer about these matters. As soon as they learned from the Brundusians that Cinna was dead and that Rome was in an unsettled state, they went back to Sulla without transacting their business. He started with five legions of Italian troops and 6000 horse, to whom he added some other forces from the Peloponnesus and Macedonia, in all about 40,000 men. He led them from the Piraeus to Patrae, and then sailed from Patrae to Brundusium in 1600 ships. The Brundusians received him without a fight, for which favor he afterward gave them exemption from customs-duties, which they enjoy to this day. Then he put his army in motion and went forward.

Event Date: -83 GR

§ 1.9.80  He was met on the road by Caecilius Metellus Pius, who had been chosen some time before to finish up the Social War, but who did not return to the. city for fear of Cinna and Marius. He had been awaiting the turn of events in Liguria, and now offered himself as a volunteer ally with the force under his command, as he was still a proconsul; for those who have been chosen to this office retain it till they come back to Rome. After Metellus, came Pompey, who not long afterward was surnamed the Great, son of the Pompeius who was killed by lightning and who was supposed to be unfriendly to Sulla. The son removed this suspicion by coming with a legion which he had collected from the territory of Picenum on the reputation of his father, who had been very influential there. A little later he recruited two more legions and became Sulla's most useful right-hand man in these affairs. So Sulla held him in honor, though still very young; and they say he rose at the entrance of none other than this youth. After the war was finished Sulla sent him to Africa to drive out the party of Carbo and to restore Hiempsal (who had been expelled by the Numidians) to his kingdom. For this service Sulla allowed him a triumph over the Numidians, although he was under age, and was still in the equestrian order. He took his start to greatness from this beginning, and was sent against Sertorius in Spain and later against Mithridates in Pontus. Cethegus also joined Sulla, although with Cinna and Marius he had been violently hostile to him and had been driven out of the city with them. He was now a suppliant, and offered his services to Sulla in any capacity he might desire.

Event Date: -83 GR

§ 1.9.81  Sulla now had plenty of soldiers and a sufficient number of friends of the higher orders, whom he used as lieutenants. He and Metellus, who were both proconsuls, marched in advance, for it seems that Sulla, who had been appointed proconsul against Mithridates, had at no time laid down his command, although he had been voted a public enemy at the instance of Cinna. Now Sulla moved against his enemies with a most intense yet concealed hatred. The people in the city, who had formed a pretty fair judgment of the character of the man, and who remembered his former attack and capture of the city, and who took into account the decrees they had proclaimed against him, and who had witnessed the destruction of his house, the confiscation of his property, the killing of his friends, and the narrow escape of his family, were in a state of terror. Conceiving that there was no middle ground between victory and utter destruction, they united with the consuls to resist Sulla, but with trepidation. They despatched messengers throughout Italy to collect soldiers, provisions, and money, and, as in cases of extreme peril, they omitted nothing that zeal and earnestness could suggest.

Event Date: -83 GR

§ 1.9.82  Gaius Norbanus and Lucius Scipio, who were then the consuls, and with them Carbo, who had been consul the previous year (all of them moved by equal hatred of Sulla and more fearful than others because they knew that they were more to blame for what had been done), levied the best possible army from the city, obtained an additional one from Italy, and marched against Sulla in detachments. They had 200 cohorts of 500 men each at first, and their forces were considerably augmented afterward. The sympathies of the people were much in favor of the consuls, because the action of Sulla, who was marching against his country, seemed to be that of an enemy, while that of the consuls, even if they were working for themselves, was ostensibly the cause of the republic. Many persons, too, who knew that they had shared the guilt of the consuls, and who were believed to share their fears, cooperated with them. They knew very well that Sulla was not meditating merely prevention, correction, and alarm for them, but destruction, death, confiscation, and complete extermination. In this they were not mistaken, for the war ruined everything. From 10,000 to 20,000 men were slain in a single battle more than once. Fifty thousand on both sides lost their lives around the city, and to the survivors Sulla was unsparing in severity, both to individuals and to communities, until, finally, he made himself the undisputed master of the whole Roman government, so far as he wished or cared to be.

Event Date: -83 GR

§ 1.9.83  It seems, too, that divine Providence foretold to them the results of this war. Sights terrible and unexpected were observed by many, both in public and in private, throughout all Italy. Ancient, awe-inspiring oracles were remembered. Many monstrous things happened. A mule gave birth to a colt. A pregnant woman was delivered of a viper instead of a baby. There was a severe earthquake divinely sent and some of the temples in Rome were thrown down (the Romans gave altogether too much attention to such things). The Capitol, that had been built by the kings 400 years before, burned down, and nobody could discover the cause of the fire. All things seemed to point to a succession of slaughters, to the conquest of Italy and of the Romans themselves, to the capture of the city, and a change in the form of government.

Event Date: -83 GR

§ 1.9.84  This war began as soon as Sulla arrived at Brundusium, which was in the 174th Olympiad. Considering the magnitude of the work accomplished, its length was not great, compared with such wars in general, since the combatants rushed upon each other with the fury of private enemies. For this reason greater and more distressing calamities than usual befell the eager participants in a short space of time. Nevertheless the war lasted three years in Italy alone, until Sulla had secured the supreme power, but in Spain it continued even after Sulla's death. Battles, skirmishes, sieges, and fighting of all kinds were numerous throughout Italy, both regular engagements under the generals and by detachments, and all were noteworthy. The greatest and most remarkable of them I shall mention in this book. First of all Sulla and Metellus fought a battle against Norbanus at Canusium and killed 6000 of his men, while Sulla's loss was seventy, but many of his men were wounded. Norbanus retreated to Capua.

Event Date: -83 GR

§ 1.10.85  While Sulla and Metellus were near Teanum, L. Scipio advanced against them with another army which was very downhearted and longed for peace. The Sullan faction knew this and sent envoys to Scipio to negotiate, not because they hoped or desired to come to an agreement, but because they expected to create dissensions in Scipio's army, which was in a state of dejection. In this they succeeded. Scipio took hostages for the armistice and marched down to the plain. Only three from each side came to the conference, hence what passed between them is not known. It seems that during the armistice Scipio sent Sertorius to his colleague, Norbanus, to communicate with him concerning the negotiation and that there was a cessation of hostilities while they were waiting for an answer. Sertorius on his way took possession of Suessa, which had espoused the side of Sulla, and Sulla made complaint of this to Scipio. The latter, either because he was privy to the affair or because he did not know what answer to make concerning the strange act of Sertorius, sent back Sulla's hostages. His army blamed the consuls for the unjustifiable seizure of Suessa during the armistice and for the surrender of the hostages, who were not demanded back, and made a secret agreement with Sulla to go over to him if he would draw nearer. This he did and straightway they all went over en masse, so that the consul, Scipio, and his son Lucius, alone of the whole army, were left nonplussed in their tent, where they were captured by Sulla. That Scipio was not aware of a conspiracy of this kind, embracing his whole army, seems to me inexcusable in a general.

Event Date: -83 GR

§ 1.10.86  When Sulla was unable to induce Scipio to change, he sent him away with his son unharmed. He also sent other envoys to Norbanus at Capua to open negotiations, either because he was apprehensive of the result (since the greater part of Italy still adhered to the consuls), or in order to play the same game on him that he had played on Scipio. As nobody came back and no answer was returned (for it seems that Norbanus feared lest he should be accused by his army in the same way that Scipio had been), Sulla again advanced, devastating all hostile territory. Norbanus did the same thing on other roads. Carbo hastened to the city and caused Metellus, and all the other senators who had joined Sulla, to be decreed public enemies. It was at this time that the Capitol was burned. Some attributed this deed to Carbo, others to the consuls, others to somebody sent by Sulla. It was a great mystery; nor am I able now to conjecture what caused the fire. Sertorius, who had been some time previously chosen praetor for Spain, after the taking of Suessa fled to his provincet and as the former praetors refused to recognize his authority, he stirred up a great deal of trouble for the Romans there. In the meantime the forces of the consuls were constantly increasing from the major part of. Italy, which still adhered to them, and also from the neighboring Gauls on the Po. Nor was Sulla idle. He sent messengers to all parts of Italy that he could reach, to collect troops by friendship, by fear, by money, and by promises. In this way the remainder of the summer was consumed on both sides.

Event Date: -83 GR

§ 1.10.87  The consuls for the following year were Papirius Carbo again and Marius, the nephew of the great Marius, then twenty-seven years of age. At first the winter and severe frost kept the combatants apart. At the beginning of spring, on the banks of the river Aesis, there was a severe engagement lasting from early morning till noon between Metellus and Carinas, Carbo's lieutenant. Carinas was put to flight after heavy loss, whereupon all the country thereabout seceded from the consuls to Metellus. Carbo came up with Metellus and besieged him until he heard that Marius, the other consul, had been defeated in a great battle near Praeneste, when he led his forces back to Ariminum. Pompey hung on his rear doing damage. The defeat at Praeneste was in this wise. Sulla captured the town of Setia. Marius, who was encamped near by, drew a little farther away. When he arrived at the so-called sacred lake (Sacriportus) he gave battle and fought bravely. When his left wing began to give way five cohorts of foot and two of horse decided not to wait for open defeat, but lowered their standards together and went over to Sulla. This was the beginning of a terrible disaster to Marius. His shattered army fled to Praeneste with Sulla in hot pursuit. The Praeestians gave shelter to those who arrived first, but when Sulla pressed upon them the gates were closed, and Marius was hauled up by ropes. There was another great slaughter around the walls by reason of the closing of the gates. Sulla captured a large number of prisoners. All the Samnites among them he killed, because they were always ill-affected toward the Romans.

Event Date: -82 GR

§ 1.10.88  About the same time Metellus gained a victory over the other army of Carbo, and here again five cohorts, for safety's sake, deserted to Metellus during the battle. Pompey overcame Marcius near Senae and plundered the town. Sulla, having shut Marius up in Praeneste, drew a line of circumvallation around the town a considerable distance from it and left the work in charge of Lucretius Ofella, as he intended to reduce Marius by famine, not by fighting. When Marius saw that his condition was hopeless he hastened to put his private enemies out of the way. He wrote to Brutus, the city praetor, to call the Senate together on some pretext or other and to kill Publius Antistius, the other Papirius, Lucius Domitius, and Mucius Scaevola, the pontifex maximus. Of these the two first were slain in their seats as Marius had ordered, assassins having been introduced into the senate-house for this purpose. Domitius ran out, but was killed at the door, and Scaevola was killed a little farther away. Their bodies were thrown into the Tiber, for it was now the custom not to bury the slain. Sulla sent an army to Rome in detachments by different roads with orders to seize the gates, and if they were repulsed to rendezvous at Ostia. The towns on the way received them with fear and trembling, and the city opened its gates to them because the people were oppressed by hunger, and because, of present evils, they were accustomed to yield to the ones which were immediately weighing upon them.

Event Date: -82 GR

§ 1.10.89  When Sulla learned this he came on immediately and established his army before the gates in the Campus Martius. He went inside himself, all of the opposite faction having fled. Their property was at once confiscated and exposed to public sale. Sulla summoned the people to an assembly, where he lamented the necessity of his present doings and told them to cheer up, as the troubles would soon be over and the government go as it ought. Having arranged such matters as were pressing and put some of his own men in charge of the city, he set out for Clusium, where the war was still raging. In the meantime a body of Celtiberian horse, sent by the praetors in Spain, had joined the consuls, and there was a cavalry fight on the banks of the river Glanis. Sulla killed about fifty of the enemy, and then 270 of the Celtiberian horse deserted to him, and Carbo himself killed the rest of them, either because he was angry at the desertion of their countrymen or because he feared similar action on their own part. About the same time Sulla overcame another detachment of his enemies near Saturnia, and Metellus sailed around toward Ravenna and took possession of the level, wheat-growing country of Uritanus. Another Sullan division effected an entrance into Neapolis by treachery in the night, killed all the inhabitants except a few who had made their escape, and seized the triremes belonging to the city. A severe battle was fought near Clusium between Sulla himself and Carbo, lasting all day. Neither party had the advantage when darkness put an end to the conflict.

Event Date: -82 GR

§ 1.10.90  In the plain of Spoletium, Pompey and Crassus, both Sulla's officers, killed some 3000 of Carbo's men and besieged Carinas, the opposing general. Carbo sent reinforcements to Carinas, but Sulla learned of their movement, laid an ambush for them, and killed about 2000 of them on the road. Carinas escaped by night during a heavy rain-storm and thick darkness, and although the besiegers were aware of some movement, they made no opposition on account of the storm. Carbo sent Marcius with eight legions to the relief of his colleague, Marius, at Praeneste, having heard that he was suffering from hunger. Pompey fell upon them from ambush in a defile, defeated them, killed a large number, and surrounded the remainder on a hill. Marcius made his escape, leaving his fires burning. His army blamed him for being caught in an ambush and stirred up an angry mutiny. One whole legion marched off under their standards to Ariminum without orders. The rest separated and went home in squads, so that only seven cohorts remained with their general. Marcius, having made a mess of it in this way, returned to Carbo. However, Marcus Lamponius from Lucania, Pontius Telesinus from Samnium, and Gutta the Capuan, with 70,000 men, hastened to deliver Marius from the siege, but Sulla occupied a pass which was the only approach to the place, and blocked the road. Marius now despaired of aid from without, and built a citadel in the wide space between himself and the enemy, within which he collected his soldiers and his engines, and from which he attempted to force his way through the besieging army of Lucretius. The attempt was renewed several days in different ways, but he accomplished nothing and was again shut up in Praeneste.

Event Date: -82 GR

§ 1.10.91  About the same time Carbo and Norbanus went by a short road to attack the camp of Metellus in Faventia just before nightfall. There was only one hour of daylight left, and there were thick vineyards thereabout. They made their plans for battle in hot temper and not with good judgment, hoping to take Metellus unawares and to stampede him. But they were beaten, both the place and the time being unfavorable for them. They became entangled in the vines, and suffered a heavy slaughter, losing some 10,000 men. About 6000 more deserted, and the rest were dispersed, only 1000 getting back to Ariminum in good order. Another legion of Lucanians under Albinovanus, when they heard of this defeat, went over to Metellus to the great chagrin of their leader. As the latter was not able to restrain this impulse of his men, he, for the time, returned to Norbanus. Not many days later he sent secretly to Sulla, and having obtained a promise of safety from him, if he should accomplish anything important, he invited Norbanus and his lieutenants, Gaius Antipater and Flavius Fimbria (brother of the one who committed suicide in Asia), together with such of Carbo's lieutenants as were then present, to a feast. When they had all assembled except Norbanus (he was the only one who did not come), Albinovanus killed them all at the banquet and then fled to Sulla. Norbanus having learned that, in consequence of this disaster, Ariminum and many other camps in the vicinity were going over to Sulla, and being unable to rely on the good faith and firm support of any of his friends there present, since he found himself in adversity, took ship as a private individual and sailed to Rhodes. When, at a later period, Sulla demanded his surrender, and while the Rhodians were deliberating on it, he killed himself in the market-place.

Event Date: -82 GR

§ 1.10.92  Carbo sent Damasippus in haste with two other legions to Praeneste to relieve Marius, who was still besieged, but not even these could force their way through the pass that was guarded by Sulla. The Gauls who inhabited the country lying between Ravenna and the Alps went over to Metellus en masse and Lucullus won a victory over another body of Carbo's forces near Placentia. When Carbo learned these facts, although he still had 30,000 men around Clusium, and the two legions of Damasippus, and others under Carinas and Marcius, besides a large force of Samnites, who were courageously enduring hardships at the pass, he fell into despair and weakly fled to Africa with his friends, although he was still consul, in order to make a stand there instead of in Italy. Of those whom he left behind, the army around Clusium had a battle with Pompey in which they lost 20,000. Naturally, after this greatest disaster of all, the remainder of the army dissolved in fragments and each man went to his own home. Carinas, Marcius, and Damasippus went with all the forces they had to the pass in order to force their way through it in conjunction with the Samnites. Failing in the attempt, they marched to Rome, thinking that the city might be easily taken, as it was bereft of men and provisions, and they encamped in the Alban territory at a distance of 100 stades from it.

Event Date: -82 GR

§ 1.10.93  Sulla feared for the safety of the city, and sent his cavalry forward with all speed to hinder their march, and then hastened in person with his whole army and encamped alongside the Colline gate around the temple of Venus about noon. The enemy were already encamped around the city. A battle was fought at once, late in the afternoon. On the right wing Sulla was victorious. His left wing was vanquished and fled to the gates. The old soldiers on the walls, when they saw the enemy rushing in with their own men, dropped the portcullis. It fell upon and killed many soldiers and many senators. But the majority, impelled by fear and necessity, turned and fought the enemy. The fighting continued through the night and a great many were killed. The generals, Telesinus and Albinus, were killed and their camp was taken. Lamponius the Lucanian, Marcius, and Carinas, and the other generals of the faction of Carbo, fled. It was estimated that 50,000 men on both sides lost their lives in this engagement. Prisoners, to the number of more than 8000, were shot down with darts by Sulla because they were mostly Samnites. The next day Marcius and Carinas were captured and brought in. Sulla did not spare them because they were Romans, but killed them both and sent their heads to Lucretius at Praeneste to be displayed around the walls.

Event Date: -82 GR

§ 1.10.94  When the Praenestians saw them and knew that Carbo's army was completely destroyed, and that Norbanus himself had fled from Italy, and that Rome and all the rest of Italy were in the power of Sulla, they surrendered their city to Lucretius. Marius hid himself in an underground tunnel and shortly afterward committed suicide. Lucretius cut off his head and sent it to Sulla, who exposed it in the forum in front of the Rostra. It is said that he indulged in a jest at the youth of the consul, saying that one ought to be a rower before he manages the helm. When Lucretius took Praeneste he seized the senators who had held commands under Marius, and put some of them to death and cast the others into prison. The latter were put to death by Sulla when he came that way. All the others who were taken in Praeneste he ordered to march out to the plain without arms, and when they had done so he chose out a very few who had been in any way serviceable to him. The remainder he ordered to be divided into three parts, consisting of Romans, Samnites, and Praenestians respectively. When this had been done he announced to the Romans by herald that they had merited death, but nevertheless he would pardon them. The others he massacred to the last man. He allowed their wives and children to go unharmed. He plundered the town, which was extremely rich at that time. In this way was Praeneste served. Norba, another town, still resisted with all its might until Aemilius Lepidus was admitted to it in the night by treachery. The inhabitants were maddened by this treason. Some killed themselves, or fell on each other's swords, others strangled themselves with ropes. Still others closed the gates and set fire to the town. A strong wind fanned the flames, which so far consumed the place that no plunder was left in it. In this way did these stout-hearted men perish.

Event Date: -82 GR

§ 1.11.95  After accomplishing these deeds throughout Italy by war, fire, and murder, Sulla's generals visited the several cities and established garrisons at the suspected places. Pompey was despatched to Africa against Carbo and to Sicily against Carbo's friends who had taken refuge there. Sulla himself called the Roman people together in an assembly and made them a speech vaunting his own exploits and making other menacing statements in order to inspire terror. He finished by saying that he would bring about a change which would be beneficial to the public if they would obey him. He would not spare one of his enemies, but would visit them with the utmost severity. He would take vengeance by every means in his power on all praetors, quaestors, military tribunes, and everybody else who had committed any hostile act after the day when the consul Scipio violated the agreement made with him. After saying this he forthwith proscribed about forty senators and 1600 knights. He seems to have been the first one to punish by proscription, to offer prizes to assassins and rewards wards to informers, and to threaten with punishment those who should conceal the proscribed. Shortly afterward he added the names of other senators to the proscription. Some of these, taken unawares, were killed where they were caught, in their houses, in the streets, or in the temples. Others were picked up, carried to Sulla, and thrown down at his feet. Others were dragged through the city and trampled on, none of the spectators daring to utter a word of remonstrance against these horrors. Banishment was inflicted upon some and confiscation upon others. Spies were searching everywhere for those who had fled from the city, and those whom they caught they killed.

Event Date: -82 GR

§ 1.11.96  There was much killing, banishment, and confiscation also among those Italians who had obeyed Carbo, or Marius, or Norbanus, or their lieutenants. Severe judgments of the courts were rendered against them throughout all Italy on various charges — for exercising military command, for serving in the army, for contributing money, for rendering other service, or even giving counsel against Sulla. Hospitality, private friendship, the borrowing or lending of money, were alike accounted crimes. Now and then one would be arrested for doing a kindness to a suspect, or merely for being his companion on a journey. These accusations abounded mostly against the rich. When charges against individuals failed Sulla took vengeance on whole communities. He punished some of them by demolishing their citadels, or destroying their walls, or by imposing heavy fines and contributions on them. Among most of them he placed colonies of his troops in order to hold Italy under garrisons, sequestrating their lands and houses and dividing them among his soldiers, whom he thus made true to him during his life and even after his death. As they could not be secure in their own holdings unless all of Sulla's affairs were on a firm foundation, they were his stoutest champions even after he was deceased. While the affairs of Italy were in this state, Pompey sent a force and captured Carbo, who had fled with many persons of distinction from Africa to Sicily and thence to the island of Cossyra. He ordered his officers to kill all of the others without bringing them into his presence; but Carbo, who had been thrice consul, he caused to be brought before his feet in chains, and after making a public harangue at him, killed him and sent his head to Sulla.

Event Date: -82 GR

§ 1.11.97  When everything had been accomplished against his enemies as he desired, and there was no longer any hostile force except that of Sertorius, who was far distant, Sulla sent Metellus into Spain against him and managed everything in the city to suit himself. There was no longer any occasion for laws, or elections, or for casting lots, because everybody was shivering with fear and in hiding, or dumb. Everything that Sulla had done as consul, or as proconsul, was confirmed and ratified, and his gilded equestrian statue was erected in front of the Rostra with the inscription, "Cornelius Sulla, a fortunate commander," for so his flatterers called him on account of his unbroken success against his enemies. And this flattering title still attaches to him. I have come across a history which relates that Sulla was styled Epaphroditus by a decree of the Senate itself. This does not seem to me to be inappropriate for he was also called Faustus (lucky), which name seems to have very nearly the same signification as Epaphroditus. There was also an oracle given to him somewhere which, in response to his question concerning the future, assured his prosperous career as follows:
"Believe me, Roman, the Cyprian goddess cares for the race of Aeneas and has given it great power. Render yearly gifts to all the immortals, and do not forget them. Convey gifts to Delphi. There is also a place where men go up under snowy Taurus, a wide-reaching city of the Carians, whose inhabitants have named it for Aphrodite. Give the goddess an axe and you shall gain sovereign power." Whichever decree the Romans voted when they erected the statue, they seem to me to have made the inscription by way of jest or cajolery. However, Sulla sent a golden crown and an axe to Venus with this inscription: "The dictator Sulla dedicates this to thee, Venus, because in a dream he saw thee in panoply setting the army in order of battle and fighting with the weapons of Mars."

Event Date: -82 GR

§ 1.11.98  Thus Sulla became king, or tyrant, de facto, not elected, but holding power by force and violence. As, however, he needed some pretence of being elected it was managed in this way. The kings of the Romans in the olden time were chosen for their bravery, and when one of them died the senators held the royal power in succession for five days each, until the people could decide who should be the new king. This five-day ruler was called the Interrex, which means king for the time being. The retiring consuls always presided over the election of their successors in office, and if there chanced to be no consul at such a time an Interrex was appointed for the purpose of holding the consular comitia. Sulla took advantage of this custom. There were no consuls at this time, Carbo having lost his life in Sicily and Marius in Praeneste. So Sulla went out of the city for a time and ordered the Senate to choose an Interrex. They chose Valerius Flaccus, expecting that he would soon hold the consular comitia. But Sulla wrote to Flaccus to bring before the people the proposition that he (Sulla) considered it advisable, under present circumstances, that the city should be governed by a dictator according to a custom that had been abandoned 400 years. He told them not to appoint the dictator for any definite time, but until the city and Italy and the whole government, so shaken by factions and wars, should be put upon a firm foundation. That this proposal referred to Sulla himself was not at all doubtful. Sulla made no concealment of it. At the conclusion of the letter he declared openly that, in his judgment, he could be serviceable to the city in that capacity.

Event Date: -82 GR

§ 1.11.99  Such was Sulla's letter. The Romans were unwilling, but they had no more opportunities for elections according to law, and they considered that this matter was not altogether in their own power. So, in the absence of everything else, they welcomed this pretence of an election as an image and semblance of freedom and chose Sulla their absolute master for as long a time as he pleased. There had been autocratic rule of the dictators before, but it was limited to short periods. But in Sulla's time it first became unlimited and so an absolute tyranny; yet they added, for propriety's sake, that they chose him dictator for the enactment of such laws as he might deem best and for the regulation of the commonwealth. Thus the Romans, after having government by kings for sixty Olympiads, and a democracy, under consuls chosen yearly, for 100 Olympiads, resorted to kingly government again. This was in the 175th Olympiad according to the Greek calendar, but there were no Olympic games then except races in the stadium, since Sulla had carried away the athletes and all the sights and shows to Rome to celebrate his victories in the Mithridatic and Italian wars, under the pretext that the masses needed a breathing-spell and recreation after their toils.

Event Date: -82 GR

§ 1.11.100  Nevertheless, as the form of the republic remained he allowed them to appoint consuls. Marcus Tullius and Cornelius Dolabella were chosen. But Sulla, like a reigning sovereign, was dictator over the consuls. Twenty-four axes were borne in front of him, as was customary with dictators, the same number that were borne before the ancient kings, and he had a large body-guard also. He repealed laws and he enacted others. He forbade anybody to hold the office of praetor until after he had held that of quaestor, or to be consul before he had been praetor, and he prohibited any man from holding the same office a second time till after the lapse of ten years. He reduced the tribunician power to such an extent that it seemed to be destroyed. He curtailed it by a law which provided that one holding the office of tribune should never afterward hold any other office; for which reason all men of reputation or family, who formerly contended for this office, shunned it thereafter. I am not able to say positively whether Sulla transferred this office from the people to the Senate, where it is now lodged, or not. To the Senate itself, which had been much thinned by the seditions and wars, he added about 300 members from the best of the knights, taking the vote of the tribes for each one. To the plebeians he added more than 10,000 slaves of proscribed persons, choosing the youngest and strongest, to whom he gave freedom and Roman citizenship, and he called them Cornelii after himself. In this way he made sure of having 10,000 men among the plebeians always ready to obey his commands. In order to provide the same kind of safeguard throughout Italy he distributed to the twenty-three legions that had served under him a great deal of land among the communities, as I have already related, some of which was public property and some taken from the communities by way of fine.

Event Date: -81 GR

§ 1.11.101  So terrible was he and so uncontrollable in anger that he slew in the middle of the forum Q. Lucretius Ofella, the one who had besieged and captured Praeneste and the consul Marius, and had won the final victory for him. He did this because, in spite of the new law, Lucretius persisted, though Sulla opposed and forbade, in being a candidate for the consulship while he was still in the equestrian order and before he had been quaestor and praetor, presuming on the greatness of his services, according to the former custom, and captivating the populace. Then Sulla assembled the people and said to them, "Know, citizens, and learn from me, that I caused the death of Lucretius because he disobeyed me." And then he told the following story: "A husbandman was bitten by fleas while ploughing. He stopped his ploughing twice in order to clear them out of his shirt. When they bit him. again he burned his shirt, so that he might not be so often interrupted in his work. And I tell you, who have felt my hand twice, to take warning lest the third time fire be brought in requisition." With these words he terrified them and thereafter ruled as he pleased. He had a triumph on account of the Mithridatic war, during which some of the scoffers called his government "the royalty disavowed" because only the name of king was concealed. Others took the contrary view, judging from his acts, and called it "the tyranny confessed."

Event Date: -81 GR

§ 1.11.102  Into such evils were the Romans and all the Italians plunged by this war; and so likewise were all the countries beyond Italy by the recent piracies, or by the Mithridatic war, or by the many exhausting taxes levied to meet the deficit in the public treasury due to the seditions. All the allied nations and kings, and not only the tributary cities, but those which had delivered themselves to the Romans voluntarily under sworn agreements, and those which by virtue of their furnishing aid in war or for some other merit were autonomous and not subject to tribute, all were now required to pay and to obey. Some that had surrendered themselves under treaty arrangements were deprived of their territory and their harbors. Sulla decreed that Alexander (the son of Alexander the former sovereign of Egypt), who had been reared in Cos and given to Mithridates by the inhabitants of that island, and had fled to Sulla and become intimate with him, should be king of Alexandria. He did this because the government of Alexandria was destitute of a sovereign in the male line, and the women of the royal house wanted a man of the same lineage, and because he (Sulla) expected to reap a large reward from the rich kingdom. As Alexander behaved himself in a very offensive manner toward them, relying upon Sulla, the Alexandrians, on the nineteenth day of his reign, dragged him from the palace to the gymnasium and put him to death; so little fear had they of foreigners, either by reason of the magnitude of their own government or their inexperience as yet of external dangers.

Event Date: -81 GR

§ 1.12.103  The following year Sulla, although he was dictator, undertook the consulship a second time, with Metellus Pius for his colleague, in order to preserve the pretence and form of democratic government. It is perhaps from this example that the Roman emperors now make a showing of consuls to the country and even exhibit themselves in that capacity, considering it not unbecoming to hold the office of consul in connection with the supreme power. The next year the people, in order to pay court to Sulla, chose him consul again, but he refused the office and nominated Servilius Isauricus and Claudius Pulcher for their suffrages, and voluntarily laid down the supreme power, although nobody was troubling him. This act seems wonderful to me — that Sulla should have been the first, and till then the only one, to abdicate such vast power without compulsion, not to sons (like Ptolemy in Egypt, or Ariobarzanes in Cappadocia, or Seleucus in Syria), but to the very people over whom he had tyrannized. Almost incredible is it that after incurring so many dangers in forcing his way to this power he should have laid it down of his own free will after he had acquired it. Paradoxical beyond anything is the fact that he was afraid of nothing, although more than 100,000 young men had perished in this war, and he had destroyed of his enemies ninety senators, fifteen consulars, and 2600 of the so-called knights, including the banished. The property of these men had been confiscated and many of their bodies cast out unburied. Undaunted by the relatives of these persons at home, or by the banished abroad, or by the cities whose towers and walls he had thrown down and whose lands, money, and privileges he had swept away, Sulla now returned to private life.

Event Date: -80 GR

§ 1.12.104  So great was this man's boldness and good fortune. It is said that he made a speech in the forum when he laid down his power in which he offered to give the reasons for what he had done to anybody who should ask them. He dismissed the lictors with their axes and discontinued his body-guard, and for a long time walked to the forum with only a few friends, the multitude looking upon him with awe even then. Once only when he was going home he was reproached by a boy. As nobody restrained this boy he made bold to follow Sulla to his house, railing at him, and Sulla, who had opposed the greatest men and states with towering rage, endured his reproaches with calmness and as he went into the house said, divining the future either by his intelligence or by chance, "This young man will prevent any other holder of such power from laying it down." This saying was shortly confirmed to the Romans, for Gaius Caesar never laid down his power. Sulla seems to me to have been the same masterful and able man in all respects, whether striving to reach supreme power from private life, or changing back to private life from supreme power, or later when passing his time in rural solitude; for he retired to his own estate at Cumae in Italy and there occupied his leisure in hunting and fishing. He did this not because he was afraid to live a private life in the city, nor because he had not sufficient bodily strength for whatever he might try to do. He was still of virile age and sound constitution, and there were 120,000 men throughout Italy who had recently served under him in war and had received large gifts of money and land from him, and there were the 10,000 Cornelii ready in the city, besides other people of his party devoted to him and still formidable to his opponents, all of whom rested upon Sulla's safety their hopes of impunity for what they had done in cooperation with him. But I think that he was satiated with war, with power, with city affairs, and that he took to rural life finally because he loved it.

Event Date: -79 GR

§ 1.12.105  Directly after his retirement the Romans, although delivered from slaughter and tyranny, began gradually to fan the flames of new seditions. Quintus Catulus and Aemilius Lepidus were chosen consuls, the former of the Sullan faction and the latter of the opposite party. They hated each other bitterly and began to quarrel immediately, from which it was plain that fresh troubles were brewing. While he was living in the country Sulla had a dream in which he thought he saw his Genius already calling him. Early in the morning he told the dream to his friends and in haste began writing his will, which he finished that day. After sealing it he was taken with a fever towards evening and died the same night. He was sixty years of age and had been the most fortunate of men even to the very last, and realized in all respects the title he bore; that is, if one can be considered fortunate who obtains all that he desires. Immediately a dissension sprang up in the city over his remains, some proposing to bring them in a procession through Italy and exhibit them in the forum and give him a public funeral. Lepidus and his faction opposed this, but Catulus and the Sullan party prevailed. Sulla's corpse was borne through Italy on a golden litter with royal splendor. Musicians and horsemen in great numbers went in advance and a great multitude of armed men followed on foot. His fellow-soldiers flocked from all directions under arms to join the procession, and each one was assigned his place in due order as he came. The crowd of other people that came together was unprecedented. The standards and the fasces that he had used while living and ruling were borne in the procession.

Event Date: -78 GR

§ 1.12.106  When the remains reached the city they were borne through the streets with an enormous procession. More than 2000 golden crowns which had been made in haste were carried in it, the gifts of cities and of the legions that he had commanded and of individual friends. It would be impossible to describe all the splendid things contributed to this funeral. From fear of the assembled soldiery all the priests and priestesses escorted the remains, each in proper costume. The entire Senate and the whole body of magistrates attended with their insignia of office. A multitude of the Roman knights followed with their peculiar decorations, and, in their turn, all the legions that had fought under him. They came together with eagerness, all hastening to join in the task, carrying gilded standards and silver-plated shields, such as are still used on such occasions. There was a countless number of trumpeters who by turns played the most mournful dirges. Loud cries were raised, first by the Senate, then by the knights, then by the soldiers, and finally by the plebeians. For some really longed for Sulla, but others were afraid of his army and his dead body, as they had been of himself when living. As they looked at the present spectacle and remembered what this man had accomplished they were amazed, and agreed with their opponents that he had been most beneficial to his own party and most formidable to themselves even in death. The corpse was shown in the forum on the Rostra, where public speeches were usually made, and the most eloquent of the Romans then living delivered the funeral oration, as Sulla's son, Faustus, was still very young. Then strong men of the senators took up the litter and carried it to the Campus Martius, where only kings were buried, and the knights and the army coursed around the funeral pile. And this was the last of Sulla.

Event Date: -78 GR

§ 1.13.107  Directly after their return from the funeral the consuls fell into a wordy quarrel and the citizens began to take sides with them. Lepidus, in order to curry favor with the Italians, said that he would restore the land which Sulla had taken from them. The Senate was afraid of both factions and made them take an oath that they would not carry their differences to the point of war. To Lepidus the province of transalpine Gaul was assigned by lot and he did not come back to the comitia because he would be released in the following year from his oath about making war on the Sullans; for it was considered that the oath was binding only during the term of office. As his designs did not escape observation he was recalled by the Senate, and as he knew why he was recalled he came with his whole army, intending to bring them into the city with him. As he was prevented from doing this, he ordered his men under arms and Catulus did the same on the other side. A battle was fought not far from the Campus Martius. Lepidus was defeated and, soon giving up the struggle, sailed shortly afterward to Sardinia, where he died of a wasting disease. His army was frittered away little by little and dissolved, the greater part of it was conducted by Perpenna to Sertorius in Spain.

Event Date: -78 GR

§ 1.13.108  There remained of the Sullan troubles the war with Sertorius, which had been going on for eight years, and was not an easy war to the Romans since it was waged not merely against Spaniards, but against other Romans and Sertorius. He had been chosen governor of Spain while he was cooperating with Carbo against Sulla; and after taking the city of Suessa during the armistice he fled and assumed his praetorship. He had an army from Italy itself and he raised another from the Celtiberians, and drove out of Spain the former praetors, who, in order to favor Sulla, refused to surrender the government to him. He had also fought nobly against Metellus, who had been sent against him by Sulla. Having acquired a reputation for bravery he enrolled a council of 300 members from the friends who were with him, and called it the Roman Senate in derision of the real one. After Sulla died, and Lepidus later, he obtained another army of Italians which Perpenna, the lieutenant of Lepidus, brought to him and it was supposed that he intended to march against Italy itself, and would have done so had not the Senate become alarmed and sent another army and general into Spain in addition to the former ones. This general was Pompey, who was still a young man, but renowned for his exploits in the time of Sulla, in Africa and in Italy itself.

Event Date: -77 GR

§ 1.13.109  Pompey courageously crossed the Alps, not in the face of such difficulties as Hannibal experienced, but he opened another passage around the sources of the Rhone and the Eridanus. These issue from the Alpine mountains not far from each other. One of them runs through Transalpine Gaul and empties into the Tyrrhenian sea; the other from the interior of the Alps to the Adriatic. The name of the latter has been changed from the Eridanus to the Po. Directly Pompey arrived in Spain Sertorius cut in pieces a whole legion of his army, that had been sent out foraging, with its animals and servants. He also plundered and destroyed the Roman town of Lauro before the very eyes of Pompey. In this siege a woman tore out with her fingers the eyes of a soldier who had insulted her and was trying to commit an outrage upon her. When Sertorius heard of this he put to death the whole cohort that was supposed to be addicted to such brutality, although it was composed of Romans. Then the armies were separated by the advent of winter. When spring came they resumed hostilities, Metellus and Pompey coming from the Pyrenees mountains, where they had wintered, and Sertorius and Perpenna from Lusitania. They met near the town of Sucro. While the fight was going on flashes of lightning came unexpectedly from a clear sky, but these trained soldiers were not in the least dismayed. They continued the fight, with heavy slaughter on both sides, until Metellus defeated Perpenna and plundered his camp. On the other hand, Sertorius defeated Pompey, who received a dangerous wound from a spear in the thigh, and this put an end to that battle. Sertorius had a white fawn that was tame and allowed to move about freely. When this fawn was not visible Sertorius considered it a bad omen. He became low-spirited and abstained from fighting; nor did he mind the enemy's scoffing at the fawn. When she made her appearance running through the woods Sertorius would run to meet her and, as though he were inspired by her, he would begin to harass the enemy. Not long afterward Sertorius fought a great battle near Seguntia, lasting from noon till night. Sertorius fought on horseback and vanquished Pompey, killing nearly 6000 of his men and losing about half that number himself. Metellus at the same time destroyed about 5000 of Perpenna's army. The day after this battle Sertorius, with a large reinforcement of barbarians, attacked the camp of Metellus unexpectedly towards evening with the intention of besieging it with a trench, but Pompey hastened up and caused Sertorius to desist from his bold enterprise. In this way they passed the summer, and again they separated to winter quarters. The following year, which was in the 176th Olympiad, two countries were acquired by the Romans by bequest. Bithynia was left to them by Nicomedes, and Cyrene by Ptolemy Apion, of the house of the Lagidae. There were wars and wars; the Sertorian was raging in Spain, the Mithridatic in the East, that of the pirates on the entire sea, and another one around Crete against the Cretans themselves, besides the gladiatorial war in Italy, which started suddenly and became very serious. Although distracted by so many conflicts the Romans sent another army of two legions into Spain. With these and the other forces in their hands Metellus and Pompey again descended from the Pyrenees mountains to the Ebro and Sertorius and Perpenna advanced from Lusitania to meet them. At this juncture many of the soldiers of Sertorius deserted to Metellus.

Event Date: -75 GR

§ 1.13.112  Sertorius was so exasperated by this that he visited savage and barbarous punishment upon many of his men and fell into disrepute in consequence. The soldiers blamed him particularly because wherever he went he surrounded himself with a body-guard of Celtiberian spearmen instead of Romans, removing the latter in favor of the former. Nor could they bear to be reproached with treachery by him while they were serving under an enemy of the Roman people. That they should be charged with bad faith by Sertorius while they were acting in bad faith to their country on his account, was the very thing that vexed them most. Nor did they consider it just that those who remained with the standards should be condemned because others deserted. Moreover, the Celtiberians took this occasion to insult them as men under suspicion. Still they were not altogether alienated from Sertorius since they derived advantages from his service, for there was no other man of that period more skilled in the art of war or more successful in it. For this reason, and on account of the rapidity of his movements, the Celtiberians gave him the name of Hannibal, whom they considered the boldest and most crafty general ever known in their country. In this way the army stood affected toward Sertorius. The forces of Metellus overran many of his towns and brought the men belonging to them under subjection. While Pompey was laying siege to Pallantia and underrunning the walls with wooden supports, Sertorius suddenly appeared on the scene and raised the siege. Pompey hastily set fire to the timbers and retreated to Metellus. Sertorius rebuilt the part of the wall which had fallen and then attacked his enemies who were encamped around the castle of Calagurris and killed 3000 of them. And so this year went by in Spain.

Event Date: -75 GR

§ 1.13.113  In the following year the Roman generals plucked up rather more courage and advanced in an audacious manner against the towns that adhered to Sertorius, drew many away from him, assaulted others, and were much elated by their success. No great battle was fought, but again . . . until the following year, when they advanced again even more audaciously. Sertorius was now evidently misled by a god, for he relaxed his labors, fell into habits of luxury, and gave himself up to women, and to carousing and drinking, for which reason he was defeated continually. He became hot-tempered, from various suspicions, and extremely cruel in punishment, and distrustful of everybody, so much so that Perpenna, who had belonged to the faction of Lepidus and had come hither as a volunteer with a considerable army, began to fear for his own safety and formed a conspiracy with ten other men against him. The conspiracy was betrayed, some of the guilty ones were punished and others fled, but Perpenna escaped detection in some unaccountable manner and applied himself all the more to carry out the design. As Sertorius was never without his guard of spearmen, Perpenna invited him to a banquet, plied him and his guards with wine, and assassinated him after the feast.

Event Date: -73 GR

§ 1.13.114  The soldiers straightway rose in tumult and anger against Perpenna, their hatred of Sertorius being suddenly turned to affection for him, as people generally mollify their anger toward the dead, and when the one who has injured them is no longer before their eyes recall his virtues with tender memory. Reflecting on their present situation they despised Perpenna as though he had been a private individual, for they considered that the bravery of Sertorius had been their only salvation. They were angry with Perpenna, and the barbarians were no less so; most of all were the Lusitanians, of whose services Sertorius had especially availed himself. When the will of Sertorius was opened a bequest to Perpenna was found in it, and thereupon still greater anger and hatred of him entered into the minds of all, since he had committed such an abominable crime, not merely against his ruler and commanding general, but against his friend and benefactor. And they would not have abstained from violence had not Perpenna bestirred himself, making gifts to some and promises to others. Some he terrified with threats and some he killed in order to strike terror into the rest. He came forward and made a speech to the multitude, and released from confinement some whom Sertorius had imprisoned, and dismissed some of the Spanish hostages. Reduced to submission in this way they obeyed him as praetor (for he held the next rank to Sertorius) yet they were not without bitterness toward him even then. As he grew bolder he became very cruel in punishments, and put to death three of the nobility who had fled together from Rome to him, and also his own nephew.

Event Date: -73 GR

§ 1.13.115  As Metellus had gone to other parts of Spain, — for he considered it no longer a difficult task for Pompey alone to vanquish Perpenna, — these two skirmished and made tests of each other for several days, but did not bring their whole strength into the field. On the tenth day, however, a great battle was fought between them. They resolved to decide the contest by one engagement — Pompey because he despised the generalship of Perpenna; Perpenna because he did not believe that his army would long remain faithful to him, and he could now engage with nearly his whole strength. Pompey, as might have been expected, soon got the better of this inferior general and disaffected army. Perpenna was defeated all along the line and concealed himself in a thicket, more fearful of his own troops than of the enemy's. He was seized by some horsemen and dragged toward Pompey's headquarters, loaded with the execrations of his own men, as the murderer of Sertorius, and crying out that he could give Pompey a great deal of information about the factions in Rome. This he said either because it was true, or in order to be brought safe to Pompey's presence, but the latter sent orders to kill him before bringing him into his presence, fearing lest the news that Perpenna wanted to communicate should be the source of new troubles at Rome. Pompey seems to have behaved very prudently in this matter, and his action added to his high reputation. So ended the war in Spain with the life of Sertorius. I think that if he had lived longer the war would not have ended so soon or so successfully.

Event Date: -73 GR

§ 1.14.116  At the same time Spartacus, a Thracian by birth, who had once served as a soldier with the Romans, but had since been a prisoner and sold for a gladiator, and was in the gladiatorial training-school at Capua, persuaded about seventy of his comrades to strike for their own freedom rather than for the amusement of spectators. They overcame the guards and ran away. They armed themselves with clubs and daggers that they took from people on the roads and took refuge on Mount Vesuvius. There many fugitive slaves and even some freemen from the fields joined Spartacus, and he plundered the neighboring country, having for subordinate officers two gladiators named Oenomaus and Crixus. As he divided the plunder impartially he soon had plenty of men. Varinius Glaber was first sent against him and afterward Publius Valerius, not with regular armies, but with forces picked up in haste and at random, for the Romans did not consider this a war as yet, but a raid, something like an outbreak of robbery. When they attacked Spartacus they were beaten. Spartacus even captured the horse of Varinius; so narrowly did a Roman praetor escape being captured by a gladiator. After this still greater numbers flocked to Spartacus till his army numbered 70,000 men. For these he manufactured weapons and collected apparatus.

Event Date: -73 GR

§ 1.14.117  Rome now sent out the consuls with two legions. One of them overcame Crixus with 30,000 men near Mount Garganus, two-thirds of whom perished together with himself. Spartacus endeavored to make his way through the Apennines to the Alps and the Gallic country, but one of the consuls anticipated him and hindered his march while the other hung upon his rear. He turned upon them one after the other and beat them in detail. They retreated in confusion in different directions. Spartacus sacrificed 300 Roman prisoners to the manes of Crixus, and marched on Rome with 120,000 foot, having burned all his useless material, killed all his prisoners, and butchered his pack-animals in order to expedite his movement. Many deserters offered themselves to him, but he would not accept them. The consuls again met him in the country of Picenum. Here was another great battle and then, too, a great defeat for the Romans. Spartacus changed his intention of marching on Rome. He did not consider himself ready as yet for that kind of a fight, as his whole force was not suitably armed, for no city had joined him, but only slaves, deserters, and riff-raff. However, he occupied the mountains around Thurii and took the city itself. He prohibited the bringing in of gold or silver by merchants, and would not allow his own men to acquire any, but he bought largely of iron and brass and did not interfere with those who dealt in these articles. Supplied with abundant material from this source his men provided themselves with plenty of arms and continued in robbery for the time being. When they next came to an engagement with the Romans they were again victorious, and returned laden with spoils.

Event Date: -72 GR

§ 1.14.118  This war, so formidable to the Romans (although ridiculous and contemptible in the beginning, considered as the work of gladiators), had now lasted three years. When the election of new praetors came on, fear fell upon all, and nobody offered himself as a candidate until Licinius Crassus, a man distinguished among the Romans for birth and wealth, assumed the praetorship and marched against Spartacus with six new legions. When he arrived at his destination he received also the two legions of the consuls, whom he decimated by lot for their bad conduct in several battles. Some say that Crassus, too, having engaged in battle with his whole army, and having been defeated, decimated the whole army and was not deterred by their numbers, but destroyed about 4000 of them. Whichever way it was, he demonstrated to them that he was more dangerous to them than the enemy. Presently he overcame 10,000 of the Spartacans, who were encamped somewhere in a detached position, and killed two-thirds of them. He then marched boldly against Spartacus himself, vanquished him in a brilliant engagement, and pursued his fleeing forces to the sea, where they tried to pass over to Sicily. He overtook them and enclosed them with a line of circumvallation consisting of ditch, wall, and paling.

Event Date: -71 GR

§ 1.14.119  Spartacus tried to break through and make an incursion into the Samnite country, but Crassus slew about 6000 of his men in the morning and as many more towards evening. Only three of the Roman army were killed and seven wounded, so great was the improvement in their morale inspired by the recent punishment. Spartacus, who was expecting from somewhere a reinforcement of horse, no longer went into battle with his whole army, but harassed the besiegers by frequent sallies here and there. He fell upon them unexpectedly and continually, threw bundles of fagots into the ditch and set them on fire and made their labor difficult. He crucified a Roman prisoner in the space between the two armies to show his own men what fate awaited them if they did not conquer. When the Romans in the city heard of the siege they thought it would be disgraceful if this war against gladiators should be prolonged. Believing also that the work still to be done against Spartacus was great and severe they ordered up the army of Pompey, which had just arrived from Spain, as a reinforcement.

Event Date: -71 GR

§ 1.14.120  On account of this vote Crassus tried in every way to come to an engagement with Spartacus so that Pompey might not reap the glory of the war. Spartacus himself, thinking to anticipate Pompey, invited Crassus to come to terms with him. When his proposals were rejected with scorn he resolved to risk a battle, and as his cavalry had arrived he made a dash with his whole army through the lines of the besieging force and pushed on to Brundusium with Crassus in pursuit. When Spartacus learned that Lucullus had just arrived in Brundusium from his victory over Mithridates he despaired of everything and brought his forces, which were even then very numerous, to close quarters with Crassus. The battle was long and bloody, as might have been expected with so many thousands of desperate men. Spartacus was wounded in the thigh with a spear and sank upon his knee, holding his shield in front of him and contending in this way against his assailants until he and the great mass of those with him were surrounded and slain. The remainder of his army was thrown into confusion and butchered in crowds. So great was the slaughter that it was impossible to count them. The Roman loss was about 1000. The body of Spartacus was not found. A large number of his men fled from the battle-field to the mountains and Crassus followed them thither. They divided themselves in four parts, and continued to fight until they all perished except 6000, who were captured and crucified along the whole road from Capua to Rome.

Event Date: -71 GR

§ 1.14.121  Crassus accomplished his task within six months, whence arose a contention for honors between himself and Pompey. Crassus did not dismiss his army, for Pompey did not dismiss his. Both were candidates for the consulship. Crassus had been praetor as the law of Sulla required. Pompey had been neither praetor nor quaestor, and was only thirty-four years old. He promised the tribunes of the people that much of their former power should be restored. When they were chosen consuls they did not even then dismiss their armies, which were stationed near the city. Each one offered an excuse. Pompey said that he was waiting the return of Metellus for his Spanish triumph. Crassus said that Pompey ought to dismiss his army first. The people, seeing fresh seditions brewing and fearing two armies encamped round about, besought the consuls, while they were occupying the curule chairs in the forum, to be reconciled to each other. At first both of them repelled these solicitations. When certain persons, who seemed to be divinely inspired, predicted many direful consequences if the consuls did not come to an agreement, the people again implored them with lamentation and the greatest dejection, reminding them of the evils produced by the contentions of Marius and Sulla. Crassus yielded first. He came down from his chair, advanced to Pompey, and offered him his hand in the way of reconciliation. Pompey rose and hastened to meet him. They shook hands amid general acclamations and the people did not leave the assembly until the consuls had given orders in writing to disband the armies. Thus was the well-grounded fear of another great dissension happily dispelled. This was about the sixtieth year in the course of the civil convulsions, reckoning from the killing of Tiberius Gracchus.

Event Date: -70 GR

§ 2.1.1  BOOK II
AFTER the reign of Sulla, and the later operations of Sertorius and Perpenna in Spain, other internal commotions of a similar nature took place among the Romans until Gaius Caesar and Pompey the Great waged war against each other, and Caesar made an end of Pompey and was himself killed in the senate-chamber because he was accused of exercising royal power. How these things came about and how both Pompey and Caesar lost their lives, this second book of the Civil Wars will show. Pompey had lately cleared the sea of pirates, who were then more numerous than ever before, and afterward had overthrown Mithridates, king of Pontus, and regulated his kingdom and the other nations that he had subdued in the East. Caesar was still a young man, but powerful in speech and action, daring in every way, ambitious of everything, and profuse beyond his means in the pursuit of honors. While yet aedile and praetor he had incurred great debts and had made himself wonderfully agreeable to the multitude, who always sing the praises of those who are lavish in expenditures.

Event Date: -64 GR

§ 2.1.2  At this time Lucius Catiline was a person of importance, of great celebrity, and high birth, but a madman. It was believed that he had killed his own son because of his own love for Aurelia Orestilla, who was not willing to marry a man who had a son. He had been a friend and zealous partisan of Sulla. He had reduced himself to poverty in order to gratify his ambition, but still he was courted by the powerful, both men and women, and he became a candidate for the consulship as a step leading to absolute power. He confidently expected to be elected; but the suspicion of his ulterior designs defeated him, and Cicero, the most eloquent orator and rhetorician of the period, was chosen instead. Catiline, by way of raillery and contempt for those who voted for him, called him a "New Man," on account of his obscure birth (for so they call those who achieve distinction by their own merits and not by those of their ancestors); and because he was not born in the city he called him "The Lodger," by which term they designate those who occupy houses belonging to others. From this time Catiline abstained wholly from politics as not leading quickly and surely to absolute power, but as full of the spirit of contention and malice. He procured much money from many women who hoped that they would get their husbands killed in the rising, and he formed a conspiracy with a number of senators and knights, and collected together a body of plebeians, foreign residents, and slaves. His leading fellow-conspirators were Cornelius Lentulus and Cethegus, who were then the city praetors. He sent emissaries throughout Italy to those of Sulla's soldiers who had squandered the gains of their former life of plunder and who longed for similar doings. For this purpose he sent Gaius Mallius to Faesulae in Etruria and others to Picenum and Apulia, who enlisted soldiers for him secretly.

Event Date: -64 GR

§ 2.1.3  All these facts, while they were still secret, were communicated to Cicero by Fulvia, a woman of quality. Her lover, Quintus Curius, who had been expelled from the Senate for many deeds of shame and was thought fit to share in this plot of Catiline's, told his mistress in a vain and boastful way that he would soon be in a position of great power. By now, too, a rumour of what was transpiring in Italy was getting about. Accordingly Cicero stationed guards at intervals throughout the city, and sent many of the nobility to the suspected places to watch what was going on. Catiline, although nobody had ventured to lay hands on him, because the facts were not yet accurately known, was nevertheless fearful lest suspicion should increase with time. Trusting to rapidity of movement he forwarded money to Faesulae and directed his fellow-conspirators to kill Cicero and set the city on fire at a number of different places the same night. Then he departed to join Gaius Mallius, intending to collect additional forces and invade the city while burning. So extremely vain was he that he had the rods and axes borne before him as though he were a proconsul, and he proceeded on his journey to Mallius, enlisting soldiers as he went. Lentulus and his fellow-conspirators decided that when they should learn that Catiline had arrived at Faesulae, Lentulus and Cethegus should present themselves at Cicero's door early in the morning with concealed daggers, expecting to be admitted because of their rank; enter into conversation with him in the vestibule on some subject, no matter what; draw him away from his own people, and kill him; that Lucius Bestia, the tribune, should at once call an assembly of the people by heralds and accuse Cicero of timidity and of stirring up war and disturbing the city without cause, and that on the night following Bestia's speech the city should be set on fire by others in twelve places and plundered, and the leading citizens killed.

Event Date: -63 GR

§ 2.1.4  Such were the designs of Lentulus, Cethegus, Statilius, and Cassius, the chiefs of the conspiracy, and they waited for the appointed time. Meanwhile ambassadors of the Allobroges, who were in the city making complaint against their magistrates, were solicited to join the conspiracy of Lentulus in order to cause an uprising against the Romans in Gaul. Lentulus sent in company with them, to Catiline, a man of Croton named Vulturcius, who carried letters without signatures. The Allobroges being in doubt communicated the matter to Fabius Sanga, the patron of their state — it was the custom of all the subject states to have patrons at Rome. Sanga communicated the facts to Cicero, who captured the Allobroges and Vulturcius on their journey and brought them straightway before the Senate. They confessed to their understanding with Lentulus and testified in his presence that Cornelius Lentulus had often said that it was written in the book of fate that three Cornelii should be monarchs of Rome, two of whom, Cinna and Sulla, had already been such.

Event Date: -63 GR

§ 2.1.5  When they had so testified the Senate deprived Lentulus of his office. Cicero put each of the conspirators under arrest at the houses of the praetors, and returned directly to take the vote of the Senate concerning them. In the meantime there was a great tumult around the senate-house, the affair being as yet little understood, and those who did understand it being alarmed. The slaves and freedmen of Lentulus and Cethegus, reinforced by numerous artisans, made a circuit by back streets and assaulted the houses of the praetors in order to rescue their masters. When Cicero heard of this he hurried out of the senate-house and stationed the necessary guards and then came back and hastened the taking of the vote. Silanus, the consul-elect, spoke first, as it was the custom among the Romans for the one who was about to assume that office to deliver his opinion first, because, as I think, he would have most to do with the execution of the decrees, and hence would give more careful consideration and circumspection to each. It was the opinion of Silanus that the culprits should suffer the extreme penalty, and many senators agreed with him until it came Nero's turn to deliver his opinion. Nero judged that it would be best to keep them under guard until Catiline should be beaten in the field and they could obtain the most accurate knowledge of the facts.

Event Date: -63 GR

§ 2.1.6  Gaius Caesar was not free from the suspicion of complicity with these men, but Cicero did not venture to bring into the controversy one so popular with the masses. Caesar proposed that Cicero should distribute the culprits among the towns of Italy, according to his own discretion, to be kept until Catiline should be beaten in fight, and that then they should be regularly tried, instead of inflicting an irremediable punishment upon members of the nobility in advance of argument and trial. As this opinion appeared to be just and acceptable, most of the senators changed completely, until Cato openly manifested his suspicion of Caesar; and Cicero, who had apprehensions concerning the coming night (lest the crowd who were concerned with the conspiracy and were still in the forum in a state of suspense, fearful for themselves and the conspirators, might do something desperate), persuaded the Senate to give judgment against them without trial as persons caught in the act. Cicero immediately, while the Senate was still in session, conducted each of the conspirators from the houses where they were in custody to the prison, without the knowledge of the crowd, and saw them put to death. Then he went back to the forum and signified that they were dead. The crowd dispersed in alarm, congratulating themselves that they had not been found out. Thus the city breathed freely once more after the great fear that had weighed upon it that day.

Event Date: -63 GR

§ 2.1.7  Catiline had assembled about 20,000 troops, of whom one-fourth part were already armed, and was moving toward Gaul in order to complete his preparations, when Antonius, the other consul, overtook him beyond the Alps and easily defeated the madly conceived adventure of the man, which was still more madly put to the test without preparation. Neither Catiline nor any of the nobility who were associated with him deigned to fly, but all perished at close quarters with their enemies. Such was the end of the uprising of Catiline, which almost brought the city to the extreme of peril. Cicero, who had been hitherto distinguished only for eloquence, was now in everybody's mouth as a man of action, and was considered unquestionably the saviour of his country on the eve of its destruction, for which reason the thanks of the assembly were bestowed upon him, amid general acclamations. At the instance of Cato the people saluted him as the Father of his Country. Some think that this appellation, which is now bestowed upon those emperors who are deemed worthy of it, had its beginning with Cicero. Although they are in fact kings, it is not given to them with their other titles immediately upon their accession, but is decreed to them in the progress of time, not as a matter of course, but as a final testimonial of the greatest services.

Event Date: -62 GR

§ 2.2.8  Caesar, who had been chosen praetor for Spain, was detained in the city by his creditors, as he owed much more than he could pay, by reason of his political expenses. He was reported as saying that he needed 25,000,000 sesterces in order to have nothing at all. However, he arranged with those who were detaining him as best he could and proceeded to Spain. Here he neglected the transaction of public business, the administration of justice, and all matters of that kind because he considered them of no use to his purposes, but he raised an army and attacked the independent Spanish tribes one by one until he made the whole country tributary to the Romans. He also sent much money to the public treasury at Rome. For these reasons the Senate awarded him a triumph. He was making preparations outside the walls for a most splendid procession, during the days when candidates for the consulship were required to present themselves. It was not lawful for one who was going to have a triumph to enter the city and then go back again for the triumph. As Caesar was very anxious to secure the office, and his procession was not yet ready, he sent to the Senate and asked permission to stand for the consulship while absent, through the intercession of friends, for although he knew it was against the law it had been done by others. Cato opposed his proposition and used up the last day for the presentation of candidates, in speech making. Thereupon Caesar abandoned his triumph, entered the city, offered himself as a candidate, and waited for the comitia.

Event Date: -61 GR

§ 2.2.9  In the meantime Pompey, who had acquired great glory and power by his Mithridatic war, was asking the Senate to ratify numerous concessions that he had granted to kings, princes, and cities. Many senators, however, moved by envy, made opposition, and especially Lucullus, who had held the command against Mithridates before Pompey, and who considered that the victory was his, since he had left the king in a state of extreme weakness for Pompey. Crassus cooperated with Lucullus in this matter. Pompey was indignant and made friends with Caesar and promised under oath to support him for the consulship. The latter thereupon brought Crassus into friendly relations with Pompey. Thus these three most powerful men cooperated together for their mutual advantage. This coalition the Roman writer Varro treated in a book entitled Tricaranus (the three-headed monster). The Senate had its suspicions of them and elected Lucius Bibulus as Caesar's colleague to hold him in check.

Event Date: -60 GR

§ 2.2.10  Strife sprang up between them immediately and they proceeded to arm themselves secretly against each other. Caesar, who was a master of dissimulation, made speeches in the Senate in the interest of harmony with Bibulus, as though he were taking care lest harm should come to the republic from their disagreement. As he was believed to be sincere, Bibulus was thrown off his guard. While Bibulus was unprepared and suspecting nothing, Caesar secretly got a large band of soldiers in readiness and brought before the Senate measures for the relief of the poor by the distribution of the public land to them. The best part of this land around Capua, which was leased for the public benefit, he proposed to bestow upon those who were the fathers of at least three children, by which means he bought for himself the favor of a multitude of men. Twenty-thousand, who had three children each, came forward at once. As many senators opposed his motion he pretended to be indignant at their injustice, and rushed out of the Senate and did not convene it again for the remainder of the year, but harangued the people from the Rostra. In a public assembly he asked Pompey and Crassus what they thought about his proposed laws. Both gave their approval, and the people came to the voting-place carrying concealed daggers.

Event Date: -59 GR

§ 2.2.11  The Senate (since no one called it together and it was not lawful for one consul to do so without the consent of the other) assembled at the house of Bibulus, but did nothing to counteract the force and preparation of Caesar. They planned, however, that Bibulus should oppose Caesar's laws, so that they should seem to be overcome by force rather than by their own negligence. Accordingly, Bibulus burst into the forum while Caesar was still speaking. Strife and tumult arose, blows were given, and those who had daggers broke the fasces and insignia of Bibulus and wounded some of the tribunes who stood around him. Bibulus was in no wise terrified, but bared his neck to Caesar's partisans and loudly called on them to strike. "If I cannot persuade Caesar to do right," he said, "I will affix upon him the guilt and stigma of my death." His friends, however, led him, against his will, out of the crowd and into the neighboring temple of Jupiter Stator. Cato was indignant at these proceedings, and, being a young man, forced his way to the midst of the crowd and began to make a speech, but was lifted up and dragged out by Caesar's partisans. Then he went around secretly by another street and again mounted the Rostra; but as he despaired of making a speech, since nobody would listen to him, he abused Caesar roundly until he was ejected by the Caesarians, and Caesar secured the enactment of his laws.

Event Date: -59 GR

§ 2.2.12  The plebeians swore to observe these laws forever, and Caesar directed the Senate to do the same. Many of them, including Cato, refused, and Caesar proposed and the people enacted the death penalty to the recusants. Then they became alarmed and took the oath, including the tribunes, for it was no longer of any use to speak against it after the law had been confirmed by the others. And now Vettius, a plebeian, ran into the forum with a drawn dagger and said that he had been sent by Bibulus, Cicero, and Cato to kill Caesar and Pompey, and that the dagger had been given to him by Postumius, the lictor of Bibulus. Although this affair was open to suspicion on both sides, Caesar made use of it to inflame the multitude and postponed the examination of the assailant. Vettius was thrown into prison and killed the same night. As this transaction was variously commented on, Caesar did not let it pass unnoticed, but said that it had been done by the opposite party who were afraid of exposure. Finally, the people furnished him a guard to protect him against conspirators, and Bibulus abstained from public business altogether, like a private citizen, and did not go out of his house for the remainder of his official term.

Event Date: -59 GR

§ 2.2.13  As Caesar now had the sole administration of public affairs, he did not make any further inquiry concerning Vettius. He brought forward new laws to win the favor of the multitude, and caused all of Pompey's acts to be ratified, as he had promised him. The so-called knights, who held the middle place in rank between the Senate and the plebeians, and were extremely powerful in all ways by reason of their wealth, and of the farming of the provincial revenues which they contracted for, and who kept for this purpose multitudes of very trusty servants, had been asking the Senate for a long time to release them from a part of what they owed to the treasury. The Senate was consuming time on this question. As Caesar did not want anything of the Senate then, but was employing the people only, he released the publicans from a third part of their contracts. For this unexpected favor, which was far beyond their deserts, the knights extolled Caesar to the skies. Thus a more powerful body of defenders than that of the plebeians was added to Caesar's support through one political act. He gave spectacles and combats of wild beasts beyond his means, borrowing money on all sides, and surpassing all former exhibitions in lavish display and splendid gifts, in consequence of which he was appointed governor of both Cisalpine and Transalpine Gaul for five years, with the command of four legions.

Event Date: -59 GR

§ 2.2.14  As Caesar saw that he would be away from home a long time, and believed that envy would be in proportion to benefits conferred, he gave his daughter in marriage to Pompey, although she was betrothed to Caepio, because he feared that even a friend might become envious of his great success. He promoted the boldest of his partisans to the principal offices for the ensuing year. He designated his friend Aulus Gabinius as consul, with Lucius Piso as his colleague, whose daughter, Calpurnia, Caesar married, although Cato cried out that the government was debauched by marriages. For tribunes he chose Vatinius and Clodius Pulcher, although the latter had been suspected of an amour with the wife of Caesar himself during a religious ceremony of women, but whom Caesar did not bring to trial because Clodius was very popular with the masses; but he divorced his wife. Others prosecuted Clodius for impiety at the sacred rites, and Cicero made the argument for the prosecution. When Caesar was called as a witness he refused to testify against Clodius, but even raised him to the tribuneship as a foil to Cicero who was already decrying the triumvirate as tending toward monarchy. Thus Caesar turned a private grievance to useful account and benefited one enemy in order to revenge himself on another. It appears, however, that Clodius had previously requited Caesar by helping him to secure the governorship of Gaul.

Event Date: -59 GR

§ 2.3.15  Such were the acts of Caesar's consulship. He then laid down his magistracy and proceeded directly to his new government. Clodius now brought an accusation against Cicero for putting Lentulus and Cethegus and their followers to death without trial. Cicero, who had exhibited the highest courage in that transaction, became utterly unnerved at his trial. He put on coarse raiment and, defiled with squalor and dirt, supplicated those whom he met in the streets, not being ashamed to annoy people who knew nothing about the business, so that his doings excited laughter rather than pity by reason of his unseemly aspect. Into such trepidation did he fall at this single trial of his own, although he had been managing other people's causes successfully all his life. In like manner they say that Demosthenes the Athenian did not stand his ground when accused, but fled before the trial. When Clodius interrupted Cicero's supplications on the streets with contumely, he gave way to despair and, like Demosthenes, went into voluntary exile. A multitude of his friends went out of the city with him, and the Senate recommended him to the attention of cities, kings, and princes. Clodius demolished his house and his villas. Clodius was so much elated by this affair that he compared himself with Pompey, who was then the most powerful man in Rome.

Event Date: -58 GR

§ 2.3.16  Accordingly, Pompey held out to Milo, who was Clodius' colleague in office and a bolder spirit than himself, the hope of the consulship, and incited him against Clodius, and directed him to procure a vote for the recall of Cicero. He hoped that when Cicero should come back he would no longer speak against the existing status (the triumvirate), remembering what he had suffered, but would make trouble for Clodius and bring punishment upon him. Thus Cicero, who had been exiled by means of Pompey, was recalled by means of Pompey about sixteen months after his banishment, and the Senate rebuilt his house and his villas at the public expense. He was received magnificently at the city gates. It is said that a whole day was consumed by the greetings extended to him, as was the case with Demosthenes when he returned.

Event Date: -57 GR

§ 2.3.17  In the meantime Caesar, who had performed the many brilliant exploits in Gaul and Britain which have been described in my Celtic history, had returned with vast riches to Cisalpine Gaul on the river Po to give his army a short respite from continuous fighting. From this place he sent large sums of money to many persons in Rome, to those who were holding the yearly offices and to persons otherwise distinguished as governors and generals, and they went thither by turns to meet him. So many of them came that 120 lictors could be seen around him at one time, and more than 200 senators, some returning thanks for what they had already received, others asking for money or seeking some other advantage for themselves from the same quarter. All things were now possible to Caesar by reason of his large army, his great riches, and his readiness to oblige everybody. Pompey and Crassus, his partners in the triumvirate, came also. In their conference it was decided that Pompey and Crassus should be elected consuls again and that Caesar's governorship over his provinces should be extended for five years more. Thereupon they separated and Domitius Ahenobarbus offered himself as a candidate for the consulship against Pompey. When the appointed day came, both went down to the Campus Martius before daylight to attend the comitia. Their followers got into an altercation and came to blows, and finally somebody assaulted the torchbearer of Domitius with a sword. There was a scattering straightway, and Domitius escaped with difficulty to his own house. Even Pompey's clothing was carried home stained with blood, so great was the danger incurred by both candidates.

Event Date: -56 GR

§ 2.3.18  Accordingly, Pompey and Crassus were chosen consuls and Caesar's governorship was extended for five years according to the agreement. The provinces were allotted with an army to each consul in the following manner: Pompey chose Spain and Africa, but sent friends to take charge of them, he himself remaining in Rome. Crassus took Syria and the adjacent country because he wanted a war with the Parthians, which he thought would be easy as well as glorious and gainful. But when he took his departure from the city there were many unfavorable omens, and the tribunes forbade the war against the Parthians, who had done no wrong to the Romans. As he would not obey, they invoked public imprecations on him, which Crassus disregarded; wherefore he perished in Parthia, together with his son of the same name, and his army, not quite 10,000 of whom, out of 100,000, escaped to Syria. The disaster to Crassus will be described in my Parthian history. As the Romans were suffering from scarcity, they appointed Pompey the sole manager of the grain supply and gave him, as in his operations against the pirates, twenty assistants from the Senate. These he distributed in like manner among the provinces while he superintended the whole, and thus Rome was very soon provided with abundant supplies, by which means Pompey again gained great reputation and power.

Event Date: -55 GR

§ 2.3.19  About this time the daughter of Caesar, who was married to Pompey, died in childbirth, and fear fell upon all lest, with the termination of this marriage connection, Caesar and Pompey with their great armies should come into conflict with each other, especially as the commonwealth had been for a long time disorderly and unmanageable. The magistrates were chosen by means of money, and faction fights, with dishonest zeal, with the aid of stones and even swords. Bribery and corruption prevailed in the most scandalous manner. The people themselves went to the elections to be bought. A case was found where a deposit of 800 talents had been made to obtain the consulship. The consuls holding office yearly could not hope to lead armies or to command in war because they were shut out by the power of the triumvirate. The baser ones strove for gain, instead of military commands, at the expense of the public treasury or from the election of their own successors. For these reasons good men abstained from office altogether. The disorder was such that at one time the republic was without consuls for eight months, Pompey conniving at the state of affairs in order that there might be need of a dictator.

Event Date: -54 GR

§ 2.3.20  Many citizens began to talk to each other about this, saying that the only remedy for existing evils was the one-man power, but that there was need of a man who combined strength of character and mildness of temper, thereby indicating Pompey, who had a sufficient army under his command and who appeared to be both a friend of the people and a leader of the Senate by virtue of his rank, a man of temperance and self-control and easy of access, or at all events so considered. This expectation of a dictatorship Pompey discountenanced in words, but in fact he did everything secretly to promote it, and willingly overlooked the prevailing disorder and the interregnum consequent upon it. Milo, who had assisted him in his controversy with Clodius, and had acquired great popularity by the recall of Cicero, now sought the consulship, as he considered it a favorable time in view of the present interregnum; but Pompey kept postponing the comitia until Milo became disgusted, believing that Pompey was false to him, and withdrew to his native town of Lanuvium, which they say was the first city founded in Italy by Diomedes on his return from Troy, and which is situated about 150 stades from Rome.

Event Date: -53 GR

§ 2.3.21  Clodius happened to be coming from his own country-seat on horseback and he met Milo at Bovillae. They merely exchanged hostile scowls and passed along; but one of Milo's servants attacked Clodius, either because he was ordered to do so or because he wanted to kill his master's enemy, and stabbed him through the back with a dagger. Clodius' groom carried him bleeding into a neighboring inn. Milo followed with his servants and finished him, — whether he was still alive, or already dead, is not known, — for, although he claimed that he had neither advised nor ordered the killing, he was not willing to leave the deed unfinished because he knew that he would be accused in any event. When the news of this affair was circulated in Rome, the people were thunderstruck, and they passed the night in the forum. When daylight came, the corpse of Clodius was displayed on the Rostra. Some of the tribunes and the friends of Clodius and a great crowd with them seized it and carried it to the senate-house, either to confer honor upon it, as he was of senatorial birth, or as an act of contumely to the Senate for conniving at such deeds. There the more reckless ones collected the benches and chairs of the senators and made a funeral pile for him, which they lighted and from which the senate-house and many buildings in the neighborhood caught fire and were consumed with the corpse of Clodius.

Event Date: -53 GR

§ 2.3.22  Such was the hardihood of Milo that he was moved less by fear of punishment for the murder than by indignation at the honor bestowed upon Clodius at his funeral. He collected a crowd of slaves and rustics, and, after sending some money to be distributed among the people and buying Marcus Caelius, one of the tribunes, he came back to the city with the greatest boldness. Directly he entered, Caelius dragged him to the forum to be tried by those whom he had bribed, as though by an assembly of the people, pretending to be very indignant and not willing to grant any delay, but hoping that if those present should acquit him he would escape a more regular trial. Milo said that the deed was not premeditated, since one would not set out with such intentions encumbered with his luggage and his wife. The remainder of his speech was directed against Clodius as a desperado and a friend of desperadoes, who had set fire to the senate-house and burned it to ashes with his body. While he was still speaking the other tribunes, with the unbribed portion of the people, burst into the forum armed. Caelius and Milo escaped disguised as slaves, but there was a heavy slaughter of the others. Search was not made for the friends of Milo, but all who were met with, whether citizens or strangers, were killed, and especially those who wore fine clothes and gold rings. As the government was without order these ruffians, who were for the most part slaves and were armed men against unarmed, indulged their rage and, making an excuse of the tumult that had broken out, they turned to pillage. They abstained from no crime, but broke into houses, looking for any kind of portable property, but pretending to be searching for the friends of Milo. For several days Milo was their excuse for burning, stoning, and every sort of outrage.

Event Date: -53 GR

§ 2.3.23  The Senate assembled in consternation and looked to Pompey, intending to make him dictator at once, for they considered this necessary as a cure for the present evils; but at the suggestion of Cato they appointed him consul without a colleague, so that by ruling alone he might have the power of a dictator with the responsibility of a consul. He was the first of consuls who had two of the greatest provinces, and an army, and the public money, and the one-man power in the city, by virtue of being sole consul. In order that Cato might not cause obstruction by his presence, it was decreed that he should go to Cyprus and take the island away from King Ptolemy — a law to that effect having been enacted by Clodius because once, when he was captured by pirates, the avaricious Ptolemy contributed only two talents for his ransom. When Ptolemy heard of the decree he threw his money into the sea and killed himself, and Cato settled the government of Cyprus. Pompey proposed the prosecution of offenders and especially of those guilty of bribery and corruption. He thought that the seat of the public disorder was there, and that by beginning there he should effect a speedy cure. He brought forward a law, that any citizen who chose to do so might call for an accounting from anybody who had held office from the time of his own first consulship to the present. This embraced a period of a little less than twenty years, during which Caesar also had been consul; wherefore Caesar's friends suspected that he included so long a time in order to cast reproach and contumely on Caesar, and urged him to straighten out the present crookedness rather than stir up the past to the annoyance of so many distinguished men, among whom they named Caesar. Pompey pretended to be indignant at the mention of Caesar's name, as though he were above suspicion, and said that his own second consulship was embraced in the period, and that he had reached back a considerable time in order to effect a complete cure of the evils from which the republic had been so long wasting away.

Event Date: -53 GR

§ 2.4.24  After making this answer he passed his law, and straightway there ensued a great number and variety of prosecutions. In order that the jurors might act without fear Pompey stationed soldiers around them and superintended them in person. The first ones convicted were absentees: Milo for the murder of Clodius; Gabinius both for violation of law and for impiety, because he had invaded Egypt without a decree of the Senate and contrary to the Sibylline books; Hypsaeus, Memmius, Sextius, and many others for bribery and for corrupting the populace. The people interceded for Scaurus, but Pompey made proclamation that they should wait for the decision of the court. When the crowd again interrupted the accusers, Pompey's soldiers made a charge and killed several. Then the people held their tongues and Scaurus was convicted. All of them were banished. Gabinius was fined in addition. The Senate praised Pompey highly for these proceedings, voted him two more legions, and extended the term of his provincial government. As Pompey's law offered impunity to any one who should turn state's evidence, Memmius, who had been convicted of bribery, called Lucius Scipio, the father-in-law of Pompey himself, to trial for like participation in bribery. Thereupon Pompey put on mourning and many of the jurors did the same. Memmius took pity on the republic and withdrew the accusation.

Event Date: -53 GR

§ 2.4.25  Pompey, as though he had completed the reforms that made the one-man power necessary, now made Scipio his colleague in the consulship for the remainder of the year. At the expiration of his term, however, although others were invested with the consulship, he was none the less the supervisor, and ruler, and all-in-all in Rome. He enjoyed the good-will of the Senate, particularly because they were jealous of Caesar, who did not consult the Senate during his consulship, and because Pompey had so speedily restored the sick commonwealth, and had not made himself troublesome or offensive to any of them during his term of office. The banished ones went to Caesar in crowds and advised him to beware of Pompey, saying that his law about bribery was especially directed against himself. Caesar cheered them up and spoke well of Pompey. He also induced the tribunes to bring in a law to enable himself to stand for the consulship a second time while absent, and this was enacted while Pompey was still consul and without opposition from him. Caesar suspected that the Senate would resist this project and feared lest he should be reduced to the condition of a private citizen and exposed to his enemies. So he tried to retain his power until he should be elected consul, and asked the Senate to grant him a little more time in his present command of Gaul, or of a part of it. Marcellus, who succeeded Pompey as consul, forbade it. They say that when this was announced to Caesar, he clapped his hand on his sword-hilt and exclaimed, "This shall give it to me."

Event Date: -51 GR

§ 2.4.26  Caesar built the town of Novum Comum at the foot of the Alps and gave it the Latin rights, which included a provision that those who had exercised the yearly chief magistracy should be Roman citizens. One of these men, who had held this office and was consequently considered a Roman citizen, was beaten with rods for some reason by order of Marcellus in defiance of Caesar — a punishment that was never inflicted on Roman citizens. Marcellus in his passion revealed his real intention that the blows should be the marks of the foreigner, and he told the man to carry his scars and show them to Caesar. So insulting was Marcellus. Moreover, he proposed to send successors to take command of Caesar's provinces before his time had expired, but Pompey interfered, making a pretence of fairness and good-will, saying that they ought not to put an indignity on a distinguished man who had been so extremely useful to his country, merely on account of a short interval of time; but he made it plain that Caesar's command must come to an end immediately on its expiration. For this reason the bitterest enemies of Caesar were chosen consuls for the ensuing year: Aemilius Paulus and Claudius Marcellus, cousin of the Marcellus before mentioned. Curio, who was also a bitter enemy of Caesar, but extremely popular with the masses and a most accomplished speaker, was chosen tribune. Caesar was not able to influence Claudius with money, but he bought the neutrality of Paulus for 1500 talents and the assistance of Curio with a still larger sum, because he knew that the latter was heavily burdened with debt. With the money thus obtained Paulus built and dedicated to the Roman people the Basilica that bears his name, a very beautiful structure.

Event Date: -50 GR

§ 2.4.27  Curio, in order that he might not be detected changing sides too suddenly, brought forward vast plans for repairing and building roads, of which he was to be superintendent for five years. He knew that he could not carry any such measure, but he hoped that Pompey's friends would oppose him so that he might have that as an excuse for opposing Pompey. Things turned out as he had anticipated, so that he had a pretext for disagreement. Claudius proposed the sending of successors to take command of Caesar's provinces, as his term was now expiring. Paulus was silent. Curio, who was thought to differ from both, praised the motion of Claudius, but added that Pompey ought to resign his provinces and army just like Caesar, for in this way he said the commonwealth would be made free and be relieved from fear in all directions. Many opposed this as unjust, because Pompey's term had not yet expired. Then Curio came out more openly and decidedly against appointing successors to Caesar unless Pompey also should lay down his command; for since they were both suspicious of each other, he contended that there could be no lasting peace to the commonwealth unless both were reduced to the character of private citizens. He said this because he knew that Pompey would not give up his command and because he saw that the people were incensed against Pompey on account of his prosecutions for bribery. As Curio's position was plausible, the plebeians praised him as the only one who was willing to incur the enmity of both Pompey and Caesar in order to fulfil worthily his duties as a citizen; and once they escorted him home like an athlete, scattering flowers, as though he had won the prize in some great and difficult contest, for nothing was considered more perilous then than to have a difference with Pompey.

Event Date: -50 GR

§ 2.4.28  Pompey, while lying sick in Italy, wrote an artful letter to the Senate, praising Caesar's exploits and also recounting his own from the beginning, saying that he had been invested with a third consulship, and with provinces and an army afterward, which he had not solicited, but had been called to serve the public weal. He added that the powers which he had accepted unwillingly he would gladly yield to those who wished to take them back, and would not wait the time fixed for their expiration. The artfulness of this communication consisted in showing the fairness of Pompey and in exciting prejudice against Caesar, as though the latter was not willing to give up his command even at the appointed time. When Pompey came back to the city, he spoke to the senators in the same way and then, also, promised to lay down his command. As a friend and marriage connection of Caesar he said that the latter would very cheerfully do the same, for his had been a long and laborious contest against very warlike peoples; he had added much to the Roman power and now he would come back to his honors and his sacrificings and take his rest. He said these things in order that successors to Caesar might be sent at once, while he (Pompey) should merely stand on his promise. Curio exposed his artifice, saying that promises were not sufficient, and insisting that Pompey should lay down his command now and that Caesar should not be disarmed until Pompey himself had returned to private life. On account of private enmity, he said, it would not be advisable either for Caesar or for the Romans that such great authority should be held by one man. Rather should each of them have power against the other in case one should attempt violence against the commonwealth. Throwing off all disguise, he denounced Pompey unsparingly as one aiming at supreme power, and said that unless he would lay down his command now, when he had the fear of Caesar before his eyes, he would never lay it down at all. He moved that, unless they both obeyed, both should be voted public enemies and military forces be levied against them. In this way he concealed the fact that he had been bought by Caesar.

Event Date: -50 GR

§ 2.4.29  Pompey was angry with him and threatened him and at once withdrew indignantly to his country-seat. The Senate now had suspicions of both, but it considered Pompey the better republican of the two, and it hated Caesar because he had not shown it proper respect during his consulship. Some of the senators really thought that it would not be safe to the commonwealth to deprive Pompey of his power until after Caesar should lay down his, since the latter was outside of the city and was the man of more towering designs. Curio held the contrary opinion, that they had need of Caesar against the power of Pompey, or otherwise that both armies should be disbanded at the same time. As the Senate would not agree with him he dismissed it, leaving the whole business still unfinished. He had the power to do so as tribune. Thus Pompey had occasion to regret that he had restored the tribunician power to its pristine vigor after it had been reduced to extreme feebleness by Sulla. Nevertheless, one decree was voted before the session was ended, and that was that Caesar and Pompey should each send one legion of soldiers to Syria to defend the province on account of the disaster to Crassus. Pompey artfully recalled. the legion that he had lately lent to Caesar on account of the disaster to Caesar's two generals, Titurius and Cotta. Caesar awarded to each soldier 250 drachmas and sent the legion to Rome together with another of his own. As the expected danger did not show itself in Syria, these legions were sent into winter quarters at Capua.

Event Date: -50 GR

§ 2.4.30  The persons who had been sent by Pompey to Caesar to bring these legions spread many reports derogatory to Caesar and repeated them to Pompey. They said that Caesar's army was wasted by protracted service, that the soldiers longed for their homes and would change to the side of Pompey as soon as they should cross the Alps. They spoke in this way either from ignorance or because they were corrupted. In fact, every soldier was strongly attached to Caesar and labored zealously for him, under the force of discipline and the influence of the gain which war usually brings to victors and which they received from Caesar also; for he gave with ar lavish hand in order to mould them to his designs. They knew what his designs were, but they stood by him nevertheless. Pompey believed what was reported to him and collected neither soldiers nor apparatus suitable for so great a contest. In the Senate the opinion of each member was asked and Claudius craftily divided the question and took the votes separately, thus: "Shall successors be sent to Caesar?" and again, "Shall Pompey be deprived of his command?" The majority voted against the latter proposition, and it was decreed that successors to Caesar should be sent. Then Curio put the question whether both should lay down their commands, and 22 senators voted in the negative while 370 went back to the opinion of Curio in order to avoid civil discord. Then Claudius dismissed the Senate, exclaiming, "Enjoy your victory and have Caesar for a master."

Event Date: -50 GR

§ 2.4.31  Suddenly a false rumor came that Caesar had crossed the Alps and was marching on the city, whereupon there was a great tumult and consternation on all sides. Claudius moved that the army at Capua be turned against Caesar as a public enemy. When Curio opposed him on the ground that the rumor was false he exclaimed, "If I am prevented by the vote of the Senate from taking steps for the public safety, I will take such steps on my own responsibility as consul." After saying this he darted out of the Senate and proceeded to the suburbs with his colleague, where he presented a sword to Pompey, and said, "I and my colleague command you to march against Caesar in behalf of your country, and we give you for this purpose the army now at Capua, or in any other part of Italy, and whatever additional forces you yourself choose to levy." Pompey promised to obey the orders of the consuls, but he added, "unless we can do better," thus dealing in trickery and still making a pretence of fairness. Curio had no power outside of the city (for it was not permitted to the tribunes to go beyond the walls), but he publicly deplored the state of affairs and demanded that the consuls should make proclamation that nobody need obey the conscription ordered by Pompey. As he could accomplish nothing, and as his term of office as tribune was about expiring, and he feared for his safety and despaired of being able to render any further assistance to Caesar, he hastily departed to join the latter.

Event Date: -50 GR

§ 2.5.32  Caesar had lately recrossed the straits from Britain and, after traversing the Gallic country along the Rhine, had passed the Alps with 5000 foot and 300 horse and arrived at Ravenna, which was contiguous to Italy and the last town in his government. After embracing Curio and returning thanks for what he had done for him, he looked over the present situation. Curio advised him to bring his whole army together now and lead it to Rome, but Caesar thought it best still to try and come to terms. So he directed his friends to make an agreement in his behalf, that he should deliver up all his provinces and soldiers, except that he should retain two legions and Illyria with Cisalpine Gaul until he should be chosen consul. This was satisfactory to Pompey, but the consuls refused. Caesar then wrote a letter to the Senate, which Curio carried a distance of 1300 stades in three days and delivered to the newly elected consuls as they entered the senate-house on the first of the calends of January. The letter embraced a calm recital of all that Caesar had done from the beginning of his career and a proposal that he would lay down his command at the same time with Pompey, but that if Pompey should retain his command he would not lay down his own, but would come quickly and avenge his country's wrongs and his own. When this letter was read, as it was considered a declaration of war, a vehement shout was raised on all sides that Lucius Domitius be appointed as Caesar's successor. Domitius took the field immediately with 4000 of the new levies.

Event Date: -49 GR

§ 2.5.33  Since Antony and Cassius, who succeeded Curio as tribunes, agreed with the latter in opinion, the Senate became more bitter than ever and declared Pompey's army the protector of Rome, and that of Caesar a public enemy. The consuls, Marcellus and Lentulus, ordered Antony and his friends out of the Senate lest they should suffer some harm, although they were tribunes. Then Antony sprang from his chair in anger and with a loud voice called gods and men to witness the indignity put upon the sacred and inviolable office of tribune, saying that while they (the tribunes) were expressing the opinion which they deemed conducive to the public interest, they were driven out with contumely though they had wrought no murder or other outrage. Having spoken thus he rushed out like one possessed, predicting war, slaughter, proscription, banishment, confiscation, and various other impending evils, and invoking direful curses on the authors of them. Curio and Cassius rushed out with him, for a detachment of Pompey's army was already observed standing around the senate-house. The tribunes made their way to Caesar the next night with the utmost speed, concealing themselves in a hired carriage, and disguised as slaves. Caesar showed them in this condition to his army, whom he excited by saying that his soldiers, after all their great deeds, had been stigmatized as public enemies and that distinguished men like these, who had dared to speak out for them, had been thus driven with ignominy from the city.

Event Date: -49 GR

§ 2.5.34  The war had now been begun on both sides and already openly declared. The Senate, thinking that Caesar's army would be slow in arriving from Gaul and that he would not rush into so great an adventure with a small force, directed Pompey to assemble 130,000 Italian soldiers, chiefly veterans who had had experience in war, and to recruit as many able-bodied men as possible from the neighboring provinces. They voted him for the war all the money in the public treasury at once, and their own private fortunes in addition if they should be needed for the pay of the soldiers. With the fury of party rage they levied additional contributions on the allied cities, which they collected with the greatest possible haste. Caesar had sent messengers to bring his own army, but as he was accustomed to rely upon the terror caused by the celerity and audacity of his movements, rather than on the magnitude of his preparations, he decided to take the aggressive in this great war with his 5000 men and to anticipate the enemy by seizing the advantageous positions in Italy.

Event Date: -49 GR

§ 2.5.35  Accordingly, he sent forward some centurions with a few of his bravest troops in peaceful garb to go inside the walls of Ariminum and take it by surprise. This was the first town in Italy after leaving Cisalpine Gaul. Toward evening Caesar himself rose from a banquet on a plea of indisposition, leaving some friends who were still feasting. He mounted his chariot and drove toward Ariminum, his cavalry following at a short distance. When his course brought him to the river Rubicon, which forms the boundary line of Italy, he stopped and, while gazing at the stream, revolved in his mind the evils that might result from his crossing it with arms. Recovering himself he said to those who were present, "My friends, stopping here will be the beginning of sorrows for me; crossing over will be such for all mankind." Thereupon, he crossed with a rush like one inspired, uttering the common phrase, "Let the die be cast." Then he resumed his hasty journey and took possession of Ariminum about daybreak, advanced beyond it, stationed guards at the commanding positions, and, either by force or by kindness, mastered all whom he fell in with. As is usual in cases of panic, there was flight and migration from all the country-side in disorder and tears, the people having no exact knowledge, but thinking that Caesar had arrived with an army of boundless strength.

Event Date: -49 GR

§ 2.5.36  When the consuls learned the facts they did not allow Pompey to act according to his own judgment, experienced as he was in military affairs, but urged him to traverse Italy and raise troops, as though the city were on the point of being captured. The Senate also was alarmed at Caesar's unexpectedly swift advance, for which it was still unprepared, and in its panic repented that it had not accepted Caesar's proposals, which it considered just at last, after fear had turned it from party rage to the counsels of prudence. Many portents and signs in the sky took place. It rained blood. Sweat issued from the statues of the gods. Lightning struck several temples. A mule gave birth to a colt. There were many other prodigies which betokened an overturn and change in the form of government for all time. Prayers were offered up in public as was customary in times of danger, and the people who remembered the evil times of Marius and Sulla, clamored that both Caesar and Pompey ought to lay down their commands as the only means of averting war. Cicero proposed to send messengers to Caesar in order to come to an arrangement.

Event Date: -49 GR

§ 2.5.37  As the consuls opposed all accommodation Favonius, in ridicule of Pompey for something he had said a little before, advised him to stamp on the ground with his foot and raise armies in that way. "You can have them," replied Pompey, "if you will follow me and not consider it such a terrible thing to leave Rome, and Italy also if need be. Places and houses are not strength and freedom to men; but men, wherever they may be, have these qualities within themselves, and by defending themselves shall recover their homes." After saying this and after threatening those who should remain behind and desert their country's cause in order to save their fields and their goods, he left the Senate and the city immediately to take command of the army at Capua, and the consuls followed him. The other senators remained undecided a long time and passed the night together in the senate-house. At daybreak, however, most of them departed and hastened after Pompey.

Event Date: -49 GR

§ 2.6.38  At Corfinium Caesar came up with and besieged Lucius Domitius, who had been sent to be his successor in the command of Gaul but who did not have all of his 4000 men with him. The inhabitants of Corfinium captured him at the gates, as he was trying to escape, and brought him to Caesar. The latter received the soldiers of Domitius, who offered themselves to him, with kindness, in order to encourage others to join him, and he allowed Domitius to go unharmed wherever he liked, and to take his money with him. He hoped perhaps that Domitius would stay with him on account of this beneficence, but he did not prevent him from joining Pompey. While these transactions were taking place so swiftly, Pompey hastened from Capua to Luceria and thence to Brundusium in order to cross the Adriatic to Epirus and complete his preparations for war there. He wrote letters to all the provinces and the commanders thereof, to princes, kings, and cities to send aid for carrying on the war with the greatest possible speed, and this they did zealously. Pompey's own army was in Spain ready to move wherever it might be needed. Pompey gave some of the legions he already had in Italy to the consuls to be moved from Brundusium to Epirus.

Event Date: -49 GR

§ 2.6.39  The consuls crossed safely to Dyrrachium, which some persons, by reason of the following error, consider the same as Epidamnus. A barbarian king of the region, Epidamnus by name, built a city on the sea-coast and named it after himself. Dyrrachus, the son of his daughter and of Neptune (as is supposed), added a dockyard to it which he named Dyrrachium. When the brothers of this Dyrrachus made war against him, Hercules, who was returning from Erythea, formed an alliance with him for a part of his territory; wherefore the Dyrrachians claim Hercules as their founder because he had a share of their land, not that they repudiate Dyrrachus, but because they pride themselves on Hercules even more as a god. In the battle which took place it is said that Hercules killed Ionius, the son of Dyrrachus, by mistake, and that after performing the funeral rites he threw the body into the sea in order that it might bear his name. At a later period the Briges, returning from Phrygia, took possession of the city and the surrounding country. They were supplanted by the Taulantii, an Illyrian tribe, who were displaced in their turn by the Liburnians, another Illyrian tribe, who were in the habit of making piratical expeditions against their neighbors, with very swift ships. Hence the Romans call swift ships liburnicoe, because these were the first ones they came in conflict with. The people who had been expelled from Dyrrachium by the Liburnians procured the aid of the Corcyreans, who then ruled the sea, and drove out the Liburnians. The Corcyreans mingled their own colonists with them and thus it came to be considered a Greek port; but the Corcyreans changed its name, because they considered it unpropitious, and called it Epidamnus from the town just above it, and Thucydides gives it that name also. Nevertheless, the former name prevailed finally and it is now called Dyrrachium.

Event Date: -49 GR

§ 2.6.40  A portion of Pompey's forces had crossed to Dyrrachium with the consuls. Pompey led the remainder to Brundusium, where he awaited the return of the ships that had carried the others over. Here Caesar advanced against him, and he defended himself by walls and dug trenches in the city until his fleet came back. Then he took his departure in the early evening, leaving the bravest of his troops on the walls. These also sailed away after nightfall, with a favorable wind. Thus Pompey and his whole army abandoned Italy and passed over to Epirus. Caesar, seeing the general drift of public opinion toward Pompey, was at a loss which way to turn or from what point to begin the war. As he had apprehensions of Pompey's army in Spain, which was large and well disciplined by long service (lest while he was pursuing Pompey it should fall upon his rear), he decided to march to Spain and destroy that army first. He now divided his forces into five parts, one of which he left at Brundusium, another at Hydrus, and another at Tarentum to guard Italy. Another he sent under command of Quintus Valerius to take possession of the grain-producing island of Sardinia, which he did. He sent Asinius Pollio to Sicily, which was then under the command of Cato. When Cato asked him whether he had brought the order of the Senate, or that of the people, to take possession of a government that had been assigned to another, Pollio replied, "The master of Italy has sent me on this business." Cato answered that in order to spare the lives of those under his command he would not make resistance there. He then sailed away to Corcyra and from Corcyra to Pompey.

Event Date: -49 GR

§ 2.6.41  Caesar hastened to Rome. He found the people shuddering with recollection of the horrors of Marius and Sulla and he cheered them with the prospect and promise of clemency. In proof of his kindness to his enemies, he said that he had taken Lucius Domitius prisoner and allowed him to go away unharmed with his money. Nevertheless, he broke the bolts of the public treasury, and when Metellus, one of the tribunes, tried to prevent him from entering, threatened him with death. He took away money hitherto untouched, which, they say, had been deposited there long ago, at the time of the Gallic invasion, with a public curse upon anybody who should take it out except in case of a war with the Gauls. Caesar said that he had subjugated the Gauls completely and thus released the commonwealth from the curse. He then placed Aemilius Lepidus in charge of the city, and the tribune, Mark Antony, in charge of Italy and of the army guarding it. Outside of Italy he chose Curio to take command of Sicily in place of Cato, and Quintus Valerius for Sardinia. He sent Gaius Antonius to Illyria and intrusted Cisalpine Gaul to Licinius Crassus. He ordered the building of two fleets with all speed, one in the Adriatic and the other in the Tyrrhenian sea, and appointed Hortensius and Dolabella their admirals while they were still under construction.

Event Date: -49 GR

§ 2.6.42  Having prevailed so far as to make Italy inaccessible to Pompey, Caesar went to Spain, where he encountered Petreius and Afranius, Pompey's lieutenants, and was worsted by them at first and afterward had an indecisive engagement with them near the town of Ilerda. He pitched his camp on some high ground and obtained his supplies by means of a bridge across the river Sicoris. Suddenly a freshet of melting snow carried away his bridge and cut off a great number of his men on the opposite side. These were destroyed by the forces of Petreius. Caesar himself, with the rest of his army, suffered very severely from the difficulty of the place, from hunger, from the weather, and from the enemy, his situation being in no wise different from that of a siege. Finally, on the approach of summer, Afranius and Petreius withdrew to the interior of Spain to recruit more soldiers, but Caesar continually anticipated them, blocked their passage, and prevented their advance. He also surrounded one of their divisions that had been sent forward to capture his camp. They raised their shields over their heads in token of surrender, but Caesar neither captured nor slaughtered them, but allowed them to go back to Afranius unharmed, after his usual manner of winning the favor of his enemies. Whence it came to pass that there was continual intercourse between the camps and talk of reconciliation among the rank and file.

Event Date: -49 GR

§ 2.6.43  To Afranius and some of the other officers it now seemed best to abandon Spain to Caesar, provided they could go unharmed to Pompey. Petreius opposed this and ran through the camp killing those of Caesar's men whom he found holding communication with his own. He even slew with his own hand one of his officers who tried to restrain him. Moved by these acts of severity on the part of Petreius, the minds of the soldiers were still more attracted to the clemency of Caesar. Soon afterward Caesar managed to cut off the enemy's access to water, and Petreius was compelled by necessity to come with Afranius to a conference with Caesar between the two armies. Here it was agreed that they should abandon Spain to Caesar, and that he should conduct them unharmed to the other side of the river Varus and allow them to proceed thence to Pompey. Arrived at this stream, Caesar called a meeting of all those who were from Rome or Italy and addressed them as follows: "My enemies (for by still using this term I shall make my meaning clearer to you), I did not destroy those of you who surrendered to me when you had been sent to seize my camp, nor the rest of your army when I had cut you off from water, although Petreius had previously slaughtered those of my men who were intercepted on the other side of the river Sicoris. If there is any gratitude among you for these favors tell them to all of Pompey's soldiers." After speaking thus he dismissed them uninjured, and he appointed Quintus Cassius governor of Spain. So much for the operations of Caesar.

Event Date: -49 GR

§ 2.7.44  Attius Varus commanded the Pompeian forces in Africa, and Juba, king of the Mauritanian Numidians, was in alliance with him. Curio sailed from Sicily against them in behalf of Caesar with two legions, twelve war vessels, and a number of ships of burden. He landed at Utica and put to flight a body of Numidian horse in a small cavalry engagement near that place, and allowed himself to be saluted as Imperator by the soldiers with their arms still in their hands. This title is an honor conferred upon generals by their soldiers, who thus testify that they consider them worthy to be their commanders. In the olden time the generals accepted this honor only for the greatest exploits. At present I understand that the distinction is limited to cases where at least 10,000 of the enemy have been killed. While Curio was crossing from Sicily the inhabitants of Africa thinking that, in emulation of the glory of Scipio, he would establish his quarters near the camp of the latter, poisoned the water in the neighborhood. Their expectation was fulfilled. Curio encamped there and his army immediately fell sick. When they drank the water their eyesight became dim as in a mist, and sleep with torpor ensued, and after that frequent vomiting and spasms of the whole body. For this reason Curio changed his camp to the neighborhood of Utica itself, leading his enfeebled army through an extensive marshy region. But when they received the news of Caesar's victory in Spain they took courage and put themselves in order of battle in a narrow space along the seashore. Here a severe battle was fought in which Curio lost only one man, while Varus lost 600 killed, besides a still larger number wounded.

Event Date: -49 GR

§ 2.7.45  Meantime, while Juba was advancing a false report preceded him, that he had turned back at the river Bagradas, which was not far distant, because his kingdom had been invaded by his neighbors, and that he had left Saburra, his general, with a small force at the river. Curio believed this report and about the third hour of a hot summer day led the greater part of his army against Saburra by a sandy road destitute of water; for even if there were any streams there in winter they were now dried up by the heat of the sun. He found the river in possession of Saburra and of the king himself. Disappointed in his expectation Curio retreated to some hills, oppressed by fatigue, heat, and thirst. When the enemy beheld him in this condition they crossed the river prepared for fight. Curio despised the danger and very imprudently led his enfeebled army down to the plain, where he was surrounded by the Numidian horse. Here for some time he sustained the attack by retiring slowly and drawing his men together into a small space, but being much distressed he retreated again to the hills. Asinius Pollio, at the beginning of the trouble, had retreated with a small force to the camp at Utica lest Varus should make an attack upon it as soon as he should hear the news of the disaster at the river. Curio perished fighting bravely, together with all his men, not one returning to Utica after Pollio. Such was the result of the battle at the river Bagradas. Curio's head was cut off and carried to Juba.

Event Date: -49 GR

§ 2.7.46  As soon as the news of this disaster reached the camp at Utica, Flamma, the admiral, fled, fleet and all, not taking a single one of the land forces on board, but Pollio rowed out in a small boat to the merchant ships that were lying at anchor near by and besought them to come to the shore and take the army on board. Some of them did so by night. The soldiers came aboard in such crowds that some of the small boats were sunk. Of those who were carried out to sea, and who had money with them, many were thrown overboard by the merchants for the sake of the money. So much for those who put to sea, but similar calamities, while it was still night, befell those who remained on shore. At daybreak they surrendered themselves to Varus, but Juba came up and, having collected them under the walls, put them all to the sword, claiming that they were the remainder of his victory, and paying no attention to the remonstrances of even Varus. Thus the two Roman legions that sailed to Africa with Curio were totally destroyed, together with the cavalry, the light-armed troops, and the servants belonging to the army. Juba, after vaunting his great exploit to Pompey, returned home.

Event Date: -49 GR

§ 2.7.47  About this time [Gaius] Antonius was defeated in Illyria by Pompey's lieutenant, Octavius, and another army of Caesar mutinied at Placentia, crying out against their officers for prolonging the war and not paying them the five minae that Caesar had promised them as a donative while they were still at Brundusium. When Caesar heard of this he flew from Massilia to Placentia and coming before the soldiers, who were still in a state of mutiny, addressed them as follows: "You know what kind of speed I use in everything I undertake. This war is not prolonged by us, but by the enemy, who have fled from us. You reaped great advantages from my command in Gaul, and you took an oath to me for the whole of this war and not for a part only; and now you abandon us in the midst of our labors, you revolt against your officers, you propose to give orders to those from whom you are bound to receive orders. Being myself the witness of my liberality to you heretofore I shall now execute the law of our country by decimating the ninth legion, where this mutiny began." Straightway a cry went up from the whole legion, and the officers threw themselves at Caesar's feet in supplication. Caesar yielded little by little and so far remitted the punishment as to designate 120 only (who seemed to have been the leaders of the revolt), and chose twelve of these by lot to be put to death. One of the twelve proved that he was absent when the conspiracy was formed, and Caesar put to death in his stead the centurion who had accused him.

Event Date: -49 GR

§ 2.7.48  After thus quelling the mutiny at Placentia Caesar proceeded to Rome, where the trembling people chose him dictator without any decree of the Senate and without the intervention of a magistrate. But he, either deprecating the office as likely to prove invidious or not desiring it, after holding it only eleven days (as some say) designated himself and Publius Isauricus as consuls. He appointed or changed the governors of provinces according to his own pleasure. He assigned Marcus Lepidus to Spain, Aulus Albinius to Sicily, Sextus Peducaeus to Sardinia, and Decimus Brutus to the newly acquired Gaul. He distributed corn to the suffering people and at their petition he allowed the return of all exiles except Milo. When he was asked to decree an abolition of debts, on the ground that the wars and seditions had caused a fall of prices, he refused it, but appointed appraisers of vendible goods which debtors might give to their creditors instead of money. When this had been done, about the winter solstice, he sent for his whole army to rendezvous at Brundusium and he himself took his departure in the month of December, according to the Roman calendar, not waiting for the beginning of his consulship on the calends of the new year, which was close at hand. The people followed him to the city gates, urging him to come to an arrangement with Pompey, for it was evident that whichever of them should conquer would wield sovereign power. Caesar departed on his journey and travelled with all possible speed.

Event Date: -49 GR

§ 2.8.49  In the meantime Pompey was using all diligence to build ships and collect additional forces of men and money. He captured forty of Caesar's ships in the Adriatic and guarded against his crossing. He disciplined his army and took part in the exercises of both infantry and cavalry, and was foremost in everything, notwithstanding his age. In this way he readily gained the good-will of his soldiers; and the people flocked to see Pompey's military drills as to a spectacle. Caesar at that time had ten legions of infantry and 10,000 Gallic horse. Pompey had five legions from Italy, with which he had crossed the Adriatic, and the cavalry belonging to them; also the two surviving legions that had served with Crassus in the Parthian war and a certain part of those who had made the incursion into Egypt with Gabinius, making altogether eleven legions of Italian troops and about 7000 horse. He had auxiliaries also from Ionia, Macedonia, Peloponnesus, and Boeotia, Cretan archers, Thracian slingers, and Pontic javelin-throwers. He had also some Gallic horse and others from Galatia in the east, together with Commageneans sent by Antiochus, Cilicians, Cappadocians, some from Lesser Armenia, also Pamphylians and Pisidians. Pompey did not intend to use all these for fighting. Some were employed in garrison duty, in building fortifications, and in other service for the Italian soldiers, so that none of the latter should be kept away from the battles. Such were Pompey's land forces. He had 600 war-ships perfectly equipped, of which about 100 were manned by Romans and were understood to be much superior to the rest. He also had a great number of transports and ships of burthen. There were numerous naval commanders for the different divisions, and Marcus Bibulus had the chief command over all.

Event Date: -49 GR

§ 2.8.50  When all was in readiness Pompey called the senators, the knights, and the whole army to an assembly and addressed them as follows: "Fellow-soldiers, the Athenians, too, abandoned their city for the sake of liberty when they were fighting against invasion, because they believed that it was not houses that made a city, but men; and after they had done so they presently recovered it and made it more renowned than even before. So, too, our own ancestors abandoned the city when the Gauls invaded it, and Camillus hasted from Ardea and recovered it. All men of sound mind think that their country is wherever they can preserve their liberty. Because we were thus minded we sailed hither, not as deserters of our native land, but in order to prepare ourselves to defend it gloriously against one who has long conspired against it, and, by means of bribe-takers, has at last seized Italy by a sudden invasion, and whom you have decreed a public enemy. He now sends governors to take charge of your provinces. He appoints others over the city and still others throughout Italy. With such audacity has he deprived the people of their own government. If he does these things while the war is still raging and while he is apprehensive of the result and when we intend, with a god's help, to bring him to punishment, what cruelty, what violence is he likely to abstain from if he wins the victory? And while he is doing these things against the fatherland certain men, who have been bought with money that he obtained from our province of Gaul, cooperate with him, choosing to be his slaves instead of his equals.

Event Date: -49 GR

§ 2.8.51  "I have not failed and I never will fail to fight with you and for you. I give you my services both as soldier and as general. If I have had any experience in war, if it has been my good fortune to remain unvanquished to this day, I pray the gods to continue all these blessings in our present need and that I may become a man of destiny for my country in her perils as I was in extending her dominion. Surely we may trust in the gods and in the righteousness of the war, which has for its noble and just object the defence of our country's constitution. In addition to this we may rely upon the magnitude of the preparations which we behold on land and sea, which are all the time growing and will be augmented still more as soon as we come into action. We may say that all the nations of the East and around the Euxine Sea, both Greek and barbarian, stand with us, and the kings, who are friends of the Roman people or of myself, are supplying us soldiers, arms, provisions, and other implements of war. Come to your task then with a spirit worthy of your country, of yourselves, and of me, mindful of the wrongs you have received from Caesar, and ready to obey my orders promptly."

Event Date: -49 GR

§ 2.8.52  When Pompey had thus spoken the whole army, including the senators and a great many of the nobility who were with him, applauded him vociferously and told him to lead them wherever he would. Pompey thought that as the weather was bad and the sea boisterous Caesar would not attempt to cross till the end of winter, but would be occupied in the meantime with his duties as consul. So he ordered his naval officers to keep watch of the sea, and then divided his army and sent it into winter quarters in Thessaly and Macedonia. So heedlessly did Pompey form his judgment of what was about to take place. Caesar, as I have already said, hastened to Brundusium about the winter solstice, intending to strike terror into his enemies by taking them by surprise. Although he found neither provisions, nor apparatus, nor his whole army collected at Brundusium, he, nevertheless, called those who were present to an assembly and addressed them as follows: —

Event Date: -49 GR

§ 2.8.53  "Fellow-soldiers, — you who are joined with me in the greatest of undertakings, — neither the winter weather, nor the delay of our comrades, nor the want of suitable preparation shall check my onset. I consider rapidity of movement the best substitute for all these things. I think that we who are first at the rendezvous should leave behind us here our servants, our pack-animals, and all our apparatus in order that the ships which are here may take us on board and carry us over at once without the enemy's knowledge. Let us oppose our good fortune to the winter weather, our courage to the smallness of our numbers, and to our want of supplies the abundance of the enemy, which will be ours to take as soon as we touch the land, if we realize that nothing is ours unless we conquer. Let us go then and possess ourselves of their servants, their apparatus, their provisions, while they are spending the winter under cover. Let us go while Pompey thinks that I am spending my time in winter quarters also, or in processions and sacrifices appertaining to my consulship. It is needless to tell you that the most potent thing in war is the unexpected. It will be glorious for us to carry off the first honors of the coming conflict and to prepare a safe pathway yonder for those who will immediately follow us. For my part I would rather now be sailing than talking, so that I may come in Pompey's sight while he thinks me engaged in my official duties at Rome. Although I am certain that you agree with me I await your response."

Event Date: -49 GR

§ 2.8.54  The whole army cried out with enthusiasm that he should lead on. Caesar at once led, from the platform to the seashore, five legions of foot-soldiers and 600 chosen horse, but as a storm came up he was obliged to cast anchor. It was now the winter solstice and the wind kept him back, against his will, and held him in Brundusium, to his great disappointment, until the first day of the new year. In the meantime two more legions arrived and Caesar embarked these also and started in the winter time on merchant ships, for he had only a few war-ships and these were guarding Sardinia and Sicily. The ships were driven by the winds to the Ceraunian Mountains and Caesar sent them back immediately to bring the rest of the army. He then marched by night against the town of Oricum by a rough and narrow path, with his force divided in several parts on account of the difficulties of the road, so that if his army had been anticipated he might have been easily beaten. With much trouble he got his detachments together about daylight and the commander of the garrison of Oricum, having been forbidden by the townsmen to oppose the entrance of a Roman consul, delivered the keys of the place to Caesar and remained with him in a position of honor. Lucretius and Minucius, who were on the other side of Oricum with eighteen war-ships guarding merchant ships loaded with corn for Pompey, sunk the latter to prevent them from falling into Caesar's hands, and fled to Dyrrachium. From Oricum Caesar hastened to Apollonia, the inhabitants of which received him. Straberius, the commander of the garrison, abandoned the city.

Event Date: -48 GR

§ 2.8.55  Caesar assembled his army and congratulated them on the success they had achieved by their rapid movement in mid-winter, on conquering such a sea without war-ships, on taking Oricum and Apollonia without a fight, and on capturing the enemy's supplies, as he had predicted, without Pompey's knowledge. "If we can anticipate him in reaching Dyrrachium, his military arsenal," he added, "we shall be in possession of all the things they have collected by the labors of a whole summer." After speaking thus he led his soldiers directly toward Dyrrachium over a long road, not stopping day or night. Pompey, being advised beforehand, marched toward the same place from Macedonia with extreme haste also, cutting down trees along the road, in order to obstruct Caesar's passage, destroying bridges, and setting fire to all the supplies he met with, considering it of the greatest importance (as it was) to defend his own arsenal. If either of them saw any dust, or fire, or smoke at a distance they thought it was caused by the other, and they strove like athletes in a race. They did not allow themselves time for food or sleep. All was haste and eagerness mingled with the shouts of guides who carried torches, causing tumult and fear as when hostile armies are ever drawing nearer and nearer to each other. Some of the soldiers from fatigue threw away their loads. Others hid themselves in ravines and were left behind, exchanging their fear of the enemy for a moment's rest.

Event Date: -48 GR

§ 2.8.56  In the midst of such vicissitudes on either side Pompey arrived first at Dyrrachium and encamped near it. He sent a fleet and retook Oricum and kept the strictest watch on the sea. Caesar pitched his camp so that the river Alor ran between himself and Pompey. By crossing the stream they had occasional cavalry skirmishes with each other. The armies did not come to a general engagement, however, for Pompey was still exercising his new levies and Caesar waited for the forces left at Brundusium. The latter apprehended that if these should sail in merchant ships in the spring they would not escape Pompey's triremes, which would be patrolling the sea, as guard ships, in great numbers, but if they should cross in winter while the enemy were lying inside among the islands they might perhaps be unnoticed, or might force their way by the strength of the wind and the size of their ships. So he sent orders to them to hasten. As they did not come he decided to cross over secretly to that army, because no one else could bring them so easily. He concealed his intention and sent three servants to the river, a distance of twelve stades, to procure a fast-sailing vessel and a first rate pilot as for a messenger sent by Caesar.

Event Date: -48 GR

§ 2.9.57  Then he rose from supper pretending to be fatigued and told his friends to remain at the table. He put on the clothing of a private person, stepped into a chariot, and drove away to the ship, pretending to be the one sent by Caesar. He gave the rest of his orders through his servants and remained concealed by the darkness of the night and unrecognized. As there was a severe wind blowing the servants told the pilot to be of good courage and seize this opportunity to avoid the enemy who were in the neighborhood. The pilot made his way down the river by rowing. When they came toward the mouth they found it broken into surf by the wind and the sea. The pilot at the instigation of the servants put forth all his efforts, but as he could make no progress he became fatigued and gave it up. Then Caesar threw off his disguise and called out to him, "Brave the tempest with a stout heart, you carry Caesar and Caesar's fortunes." Both the rowers and the pilot were astounded and all took fresh courage and gained the mouth of the river, but the wind and waves cast the ship high on the bank. As the dawn was near and they feared lest the enemy should discover them in the daylight, Caesar, after accusing his evil genius for its invidiousness, allowed the ship to return, and it sailed up the river with a strong wind.

Event Date: -48 GR

§ 2.9.58  Some of Caesar's friends were astonished at this act of bravery; others blamed him, saying that it was a deed becoming a soldier but not a general. As Caesar saw that he could not conceal a second attempt he ordered Postumius to sail to Brundusium in his place and tell Gabinius to cross over with the army immediately, and if he did not obey, to give the same order to Antony, and if he failed then to give it to Calenus. Another letter was written to the whole army in case all three should hesitate, saying, "that every one who was willing to do so should follow Postumius on shipboard and sail to any place where the wind might carry them, and not to mind what happened to the ships, because Caesar did not want ships but men." Thus did Caesar put his trust in fortune rather than in prudence. Pompey, in order to anticipate Caesar's reinforcements, made haste and led his army forward prepared for battle. While two of his soldiers were searching in midstream for the best place to cross the river, one of Caesar's men attacked and killed them both, whereupon Pompey drew back, as he considered this event inauspicious. All of his friends blamed him for missing this capital opportunity.

Event Date: -48 GR

§ 2.9.59  When Postumius arrived at Brundusium Gabinius did not obey the order, but led those who were willing to go with him by way of Illyria by forced marches. Almost all of them were destroyed by the Illyrians and Caesar was obliged to endure the outrage on account of his preoccupation. Antony embarked the remainder of the army and sailed for Apollonia with a favorable wind. About noon the wind failed and twenty of Pompey's ships, that had put out to search the sea, discovered and pursued them. There was great fear on Caesar's vessels lest in this calm the warships of the enemy should ram them with their prows and sink them. They prepared themselves for battle and began to discharge stones and darts, when suddenly the wind sprang up stronger than before, filled their great sails unexpectedly, and enabled them to complete their voyage without fear. The pursuers were left behind and they suffered severely from the wind and waves in the narrow sea and were scattered along a harborless and rocky coast. With difficulty they captured two of Caesar's ships that ran on a shoal. Antony brought the remainder to the port of Nymphaeum.

Event Date: -48 GR

§ 2.9.60  Now Caesar had his whole army together and so had Pompey his. They encamped opposite each other on hills in numerous redoubts. There were frequent collisions around each of these redoubts while they were making lines of circumvallation and trying to cut off each other's supplies. In one of these fights in front of a redoubt Caesar's men were worsted, and a centurion, of the name of Scaeva, while performing many deeds of valor, was wounded in the eye with a dart. He advanced in front of his men beckoning with his hand as though he wished to say something. When silence was obtained he called out to one of Pompey's centurions, who was likewise distinguished for bravery, "Save one of your equals, save your friend, send somebody to lead me by the hand, for I am wounded." Two soldiers advanced to him thinking that he was a deserter. One of these he killed before the stratagem was discovered and he cut off the shoulder of the other. This he did because he despaired of saving himself and his redoubt. His men, moved by shame at this act of self-devotion, rushed forward and saved the redoubt. Minucius, the commander of the post, also suffered severely. It is said that he received 120 missiles on his shield, was wounded six times, and, like Scaeva, lost an eye. Caesar honored them both with many military gifts. A certain man of Dyrrachium having offered to betray the town to him, Caesar went by agreement with a small force by night to the gates at the temple of Artemis. . . . The same winter Pompey's father-in-law (Scipio) advanced with another army from Syria. Caesar's general, Gaius Calvisius, had an engagement with him in Macedonia, was beaten, and lost a whole legion except 800 men.

Event Date: -48 GR

§ 2.9.61  As Caesar could obtain no supplies by sea, on account of Pompey's naval superiority, his army began to suffer from hunger and was compelled to make bread from herbs. When deserters brought loaves of this kind to Pompey, thinking that he would be gladdened by the spectacle, he was not at all pleased, but said, "What kind of wild beasts are we fighting with ?" Then Caesar, compelled by necessity, drew his whole army together in order to force Pompey to fight even against his will. The latter occupied a number of the redoubts that Caesar had vacated and remained quiet. Caesar was greatly vexed at this and ventured upon an extremely difficult and chimerical task; that is, to carry a line of circumvallation around the whole of Pompey's positions from sea to sea, thinking that even if he should fail he would acquire great renown from the boldness of the enterprise. The circuit was 1200 stades. So, great was the work that Caesar undertook. Pompey built a line of countervallation. Thus they parried each other's efforts. Nevertheless, they fought one great battle in which Pompey defeated Caesar in the most brilliant manner and pursued his men in headlong flight to his camp and took many of his standards. The eagle (the standard held in highest honor by the Romans) was saved with difficulty, the bearer having just time to throw it over the palisade to those within.

Event Date: -48 GR

§ 2.9.62  While this remarkable defeat was in progress Caesar brought up other troops from another quarter, but these also fell into a panic even when they beheld Pompey still far distant. Although they were already close to the gates they would neither make a stand, nor enter in good order, nor obey the commands given to them, but all fled pell-mell without shame, without orders, without reason. Caesar ran among them and with reproaches showed them that Pompey was still far distant, yet under his very eye some threw down their standards and fled, while others bent their gaze upon the ground in shame and did nothing; so great consternation had befallen them. One of the standard bearers, with his standard reversed, dared to thrust the end of it at Caesar himself, but the attendants of the latter cut him down. When the soldiers entered the camp they did not station any guards. All precautions were neglected and the fortification was left unprotected, so that it is probable that Pompey might then have captured it and brought the war to an end by that one engagement had not Labienus, misled by a god, persuaded him to pursue the fugitives instead. Moreover Pompey himself hesitated, either because he suspected a stratagem when he saw the gates unguarded or because he considered the war already decided by this battle. So he turned against those outside of the camp and made a heavy slaughter and took twenty-eight standards in the two engagements of this day, but he here missed his second opportunity to give the finishing stroke to the war. It is reported that Caesar said, "The war would have been ended today in the enemy's favor if they had had a commander who knew how to make use of a victory."

Event Date: -48 GR

§ 2.10.63  Pompey sent letters to all the kings and cities magnifying his victory, and he expected that Caesar's army would come over to him directly, conceiving that it was oppressed by hunger and cast down by defeat, and especially the officers because apprehensive of punishment for their bad conduct in the battle. But the latter, as though some god had brought them to repentance, were ashamed of their fault, and as Caesar chided them gently and granted them pardon, they became still more angry with themselves and by a surprising change demanded that they should be decimated according to the law of their country. When Caesar did not agree to this they were still more mortified, and acknowledged that he had been shamefully treated by them. They cried out that he should at least put the standard bearers to death because they themselves would never have run away unless the standards had turned in flight first. Caesar would not consent to this, but he reluctantly punished a few. So great was the zeal excited among all by his moderation that they demanded to be led against the enemy immediately. They urged him vehemently, beseeching and promising to wipe out their disgrace by a splendid victory. Of their own accord they visited each other in military order and took an oath by companies, under the eye of Caesar himself, that they would not leave the field of battle except as victors.

Event Date: -48 GR

§ 2.10.64  Wherefore Caesar's friends urged him to avail himself of the army's repentance and eagerness promptly, but he said in the hearing of the host, that he would take a better opportunity to lead them against the enemy, and he exhorted them to be mindful of their present zeal. He privately admonished his friends that it was necessary first for the soldiers to recover from the very great alarm of their recent defeat, and for the enemy to lose something of their present high confidence. He confessed also that he had made a mistake in encamping before Dyrrachium where Pompey had abundance of supplies, whereas he ought to have drawn him to some place where he would be subject to the same scarcity as themselves. After saying this he marched directly to Apollonia and from there to Thessaly, advancing by night in order to conceal his movements. The small town of Gomphi to which he came refused to open its gates to him, and he took it by storm and allowed his army to plunder it. The soldiers, who had suffered much from hunger, stuffed themselves immoderately and drank wine to excess. The Germans among them were especially ridiculous under the influence of drink. It seems probable that Pompey might have attacked them then and gained another victory had he not disdainfully neglected a close pursuit. After seven days of rapid marching Caesar encamped near Pharsalus. It is said that among the notable calamities of Gomphi the bodies of twenty venerable men of the first rank were found lying on the floor in an apothecary's shop, not wounded, and with goblets near them, as though they were drunk, and that one of them, like a physician, was seated in a chair and had dealt out poison to them.

Event Date: -48 GR

§ 2.10.65  After Caesar had withdrawn Pompey called a council of war, at which Afranius advised that they should make use of their naval force in which they were much superior, and being masters of the sea should harass Caesar, who was now wandering and destitute, and that Pompey himself should conduct his infantry with all haste to Italy, which was well disposed toward him and was now free from a hostile army. Having mastered it, together with Gaul and Spain, they could attack Caesar again from their own home, the seat of imperial power. Although this was the best possible advice Pompey disregarded it and allowed himself to be persuaded by those who said that Caesar's army would presently desert to him on account of hunger, and that there was not much left of it anyway after the victory of Dyrrachium. They said it would be disgraceful to abandon the pursuit of Caesar when he was in flight, and for the victor to flee as though vanquished. Pompey sided with these advisers partly out of regard for the opinions of the eastern nations that were looking on, partly to prevent any harm befalling Lucius Scipio, who was still in Macedonia, but most of all because he thought that he ought to fight while his army was in high spirits. Accordingly he advanced and pitched his camp opposite to Caesar's near Pharsalus, so that they were separated from each other by a distance of thirty stades.

Event Date: -48 GR

§ 2.10.66  Pompey's supplies came from every quarter, for the roads, harbors, and strongholds had been so provided beforehand that food was brought to him at all times from the land, and every wind blew it to him from the sea. Caesar, on the other hand, had only what he could find with difficulty and seize by hard labor. Yet even so nobody deserted him, but all, by a kind of divine fury, longed to come to close quarters with the enemy. They considered that they, who had been trained in arms for ten years, were much superior to the new levies of Pompey in fighting, but that for digging ditches and building fortifications and for laborious foraging they were weaker by reason of their age. Tired as they were they altogether preferred to perform some deed of valor rather than perish with hunger in inaction. Pompey perceived this and he considered it dangerous to risk everything on a single battle with disciplined and desperate men, and against the amazing luck of Caesar. It would be easier and safer to reduce them by want as they controlled no fertile territory, and could get nothing by sea, and had no ships for rapid flight. So he decided on the most prudent calculation to protract the war and wear out the enemy by hunger from day to day.

Event Date: -48 GR

§ 2.10.67  Pompey was surrounded by a great number of senators, of equal rank with himself, by very distinguished knights, and by many kings and princes. Some of these, by reason of their inexperience in war, others because they were too much elated by the victory at Dyrrachium, others because they outnumbered the enemy, and others because they were quite tired of the war and preferred a quick decision rather than a sound one — all urged him to fight, pointing out to him that Caesar was always drawn up for battle and challenging him. Pompey answered along this very line of argument by saying that Caesar was compelled to do so by his want of supplies, and that they had the more reason to remain quiet because Caesar was pushed by necessity. Yet, harassed by the whole army, which was unduly puffed up by the victories at Dyrrachium, and by men of rank who accused him of being fond of power and of delaying purposely in order to prolong his authority over so many men of his own rank — and for this reason called him derisively king of kings and Agamemnon, because that general also ruled over kings while war lasted — he allowed himself to be moved from his own purpose and gave in to them, being deceived now by the god that had misled him on other occasions during the whole of this war. He had now become, contrary to his nature, sluggish and dilatory in all things, and he prepared for battle against his will, to his own hurt and that of the men who had persuaded him to it.

Event Date: -48 GR

§ 2.10.68  That same night three of Caesar's legions started out to forage; for Caesar himself approved Pompey's dilatory proceedings and had no idea that he would change, and accordingly sent them out to procure food. When he perceived that the enemy was preparing to fight he was delighted at the pressure which he conjectured had been put upon Pompey by his army, and he recalled all of his forces at once and made preparations on his own side. He offered sacrifice at midnight and invoked Mars and his own ancestress, Venus (for it was believed that from Aeneas and his son, Ilus, was descended the Julian race, with a slight change of name), and he vowed that he would build a temple in Rome as a thank-offering to her as the Bringer of Victory if everything went well. Thereupon a flame from heaven flew through the air from Caesar's camp to Pompey's, where it was extinguished. Pompey's men said that it signified a brilliant victory for them over their enemies, but Caesar interpreted it as meaning that he should fall upon and extinguish the fame and power of Pompey. When Pompey was sacrificing the same night some of the victims escaped and could not be caught, and a swarm of bees settled on the altar, the type of weakness. Shortly before daylight a panic occurred in his army. He himself went around and quieted it and then fell into a deep sleep.

Event Date: -48 GR

§ 2.10.69  When his friends aroused him he said that he had just dreamed that he had dedicated a temple in Rome to Venus the Bringer of Victory (Nikephoros). His friends and his whole army when they heard of this were delighted, being in ignorance of Caesar's vow, and they went about their work in a reckless and contemptuous way as though it were already accomplished. Many of them adorned their tents with laurel branches, the insignia of victory, and their slaves prepared magnificent banquets for them. Some of them began already to contend with each other for Caesar's office of Pontifex Maximus. Pompey, being experienced in military affairs, turned away from these squabbles with concealed indignation. He remained altogether silent in hesitancy and dread, as though he were no longer commander but under command, and as though he were doing everything under compulsion and against his judgment; such dejection had come over this man of great deeds (who, until this day, had been most fortunate in every undertaking), either because he had not carried his point when he had decided what was the best course but was about to cast the die involving the safety of so many men and also involving his own reputation, until now invincible; or because some presentiment of approaching evil troubled him, presaging his complete downfall that very day from a position of such vast power. After merely saying to his friends that whichever should conquer, that day would be the beginning of great evils to the Romans for all future time, he began to make arrangements for the battle. In this remark some people thought his real intentions escaped him, involuntarily expressed in a moment of fright, and they inferred that if Pompey had been victorious he would not have laid down the supreme power.

Event Date: -48 GR

§ 2.10.70  Caesar's army (for since many writers differ I shall follow the most credible Roman authorities, who give the most careful enumeration of the Italian soldiers, in whom they place most confidence, but do not make much account of the allied forces or record them exactly, regarding them as foreigners and as contributing to them little real assistance) consisted of about 22,000 men and of these about 1000 were cavalry. Pompey had more than double that number, of whom about 7000 were cavalry. Some of the most trustworthy writers say that 70,000 Italian soldiers were engaged in this battle. Others give the smaller number, 60,00000. Still others, grossly exaggerating, say 400,000. Of the whole number some say Pompey's forces were to those of Caesar as one-and-a-half to one, others say that he had two parts out of three. So much doubt is there as to the exact truth. However that may be, each of them placed his chief reliance on his Italian troops. In the way of allied forces Caesar had cavalry from both Cisalpine and Transalpine Gaul, besides some light-armed Greeks, consisting of Dolopians, Acarnanians, and Aetolians. Such were Caesar's allies. Pompey had a great number from all the eastern nations, part horse, part foot. From Greece he had Lacedemonians marshalled by their own kings, and others from Peloponnesus and Boeotians with them. The Athenians marched to his aid also, although proclamation had been made on both sides that no harm should be done to them by the soldiers, since they were the priests of the Thesmophorae. Nevertheless, they wished to share in the glory of the war because this was a contest for the Roman leadership.

Event Date: -48 GR

§ 2.10.71  Besides the Greeks almost all the nations that one meets in making the circuit of the eastern sea sent aid to Pompey: Thracians, Hellespontines, Bithynians, Phrygians, Ionians, Lydians, Pamphylians, Pisidians, Paphlagonians, Cilicians, Syrians, Phoenicians, Hebrews, and their neighbors the Arabs, Cyprians, Rhodians, Cretan slingers, and other islanders. Kings and princes were there leading their own troops: Deiotarus, the tetrarch of Galatia in the East, and Ariarthes, king of Cappadocia. Taxiles commanded the Armenians from the hither side of the Euphrates. Those from the other side were led by Megabates, the lieutenant of King Artabazes. Some other small princes took part with Pompey in the work. It was said that sixty ships from Egypt were contributed to him by the sovereigns of that country, Cleopatra and her brother, who was still a boy. But these did not take part in the battle, nor did any other naval force. They remained idle at Corcyra. Pompey seems to have acted very foolishly in this respect in disregarding the fleet, in which he excelled so greatly that he could have deprived the enemy of all the supplies brought to them from abroad, and in risking a battle on land with men who boasted that they were inured to every kind of toil and who were ferocious fighters. Although he had been on his guard against them at Dyrrachium, a certain spell seems to have come over him at a time when it would inure most to Caesar's advantage. Under this spell also Pompey's army was most nonsensically puffed up, and rendered insubordinate to its own commander, and hurried into action without previous experience in war. But this was the ordering of divine Providence to bring in the imperial power which now embraces everything.

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§ 2.11.72  Then each of the commanders assembled his soldiers and made an appeal to them. Pompey spoke as follows: "You, my fellow soldiers, are the leaders in this task rather than the led, for while I was still desirous of wearing Caesar out by hunger you urged on this engagement. Since, therefore, you are the arbiters of the battle, conduct yourselves like those who are greatly superior in numbers. Despise the enemy as victors do the vanquished, as young men do the old, as fresh troops do those who are wearied with many toils. Fight like those who have the power and the means, and the consciousness of a good cause. We are contending for liberty and country. On our side are the laws and honorable fame, and this great number of senators and knights, against one man who has seized the government by robbery. Go forward then, as you have determined to do, with good hope, keeping in vision the flight of the enemy at Dyrrachium, and the great number of their standards that we captured in one day when we defeated them there." Such was Pompey's speech.

Event Date: -48 GR

§ 2.11.73  Caesar addressed his men as follows: "My friends, we have already overcome our most formidable enemies, and are now about to encounter not hunger and want, but men. This day will decide everything. Remember what you promised me at Dyrrachium. Remember how you swore to each other in my presence that you would never leave the field except as conquerors. These men, fellow-soldiers, are the same that we met at the Pillars of Hercules, the same that we drove out of Italy. They are the same who sought to disband us without honors, without a triumph, without rewards, after the toils and struggles of ten years, after we had finished those great wars, after innumerable victories, and after we had added 400 nations in Spain, Gaul, and Britain to our country's sway. I have not been able to prevail upon them by offering fair terms, nor to win them by benefits. You know that I dismissed them unharmed, hoping that we should obtain justice from them. Recall all these facts to your minds today, and if you have had any experience of me recall also my care for you, my good faith, and the generosity of my gifts to you.

Event Date: -48 GR

§ 2.11.74  "Nor is it difficult for hardy and veteran soldiers to overcome new recruits who are without experience in war, and who, moreover, like boys, spurn the rules of discipline and of obedience to their commander. I learn that he was afraid and unwilling to come to an engagement. His star has already passed its zenith; he has become slow and hesitating in all his acts, and no longer commands, but obeys the orders of others. I say these things of his Italian forces only. As for his allies, do not think about them, pay no attention to them, do not fight with them at all. They are Syrian, Phrygian, and Lydian slaves, always ready for flight or servitude. I know very well, and you will presently see, that Pompey himself will not assign them any place in his line of battle. Give your attention to the Italians only, even though these allies come running around you like dogs trying to frighten you. When you have put the enemy to flight let us spare the Italians as being our own kindred, but slaughter the allies in order to strike terror into the others. Before all else, in order that I may know that you are mindful of your promise to choose victory or death, throw down the walls of your camp as you go out to battle and fill up the ditch, so that we may have no place of refuge if we do not conquer, and so that the enemy may see that we have no camp and know that we are compelled to occupy theirs."

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§ 2.11.75  Nevertheless, after he had thus spoken Caesar detailed 2000 of his oldest men to guard the tents. The rest, as they passed out, demolished their fortification in the profoundest silence and filled up the ditch with the debris. When Pompey saw this, although some of his friends thought that it was a preparation for flight, he knew it was an exhibition of daring and groaned in spirit, that although they had with them famine, the most appropriate cure for such wild beasts, he must now meet these creatures in a hand-to-hand contest. But there was no drawing back now, his affairs being on the razor's edge. Wherefore, leaving 4000 of his Italian troops to guard his camp, Pompey drew up the remainder between the city of Pharsalus and the river Enipeus opposite the place where Caesar was marshalling his forces. Each of them ranged his Italians in front, divided into three lines with a moderate space between them, and placed his cavalry on the wings of each division. Archers and slingers were mingled among all. Thus were the Italian troops disposed, on which each commander placed his chief reliance. The allied forces were marshalled by themselves rather for show than for use. There was great clamor and confusion of tongues among Pompey's auxiliaries. Pompey stationed the Macedonians, Peloponnesians, Boeotians, and Athenians near the Italian legions, as he approved of their good order and quiet behavior. The rest, as Caesar had anticipated, he ordered to lie in wait by tribes outside of the line of battle, and when the engagement should become close to surround the enemy, to pursue, to do what damage they could, and to plunder Caesar's camp, which was without defences.

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§ 2.11.76  The centre of Pompey's formation was commanded by his father-in-law, Scipio, the left wing by Domitius Ahenobarbus, and the right by Lentulus. Afranius and Pompey guarded the camp. On Caesar's side the commanders were P. Sulla, Antony, and Cn. Domitius. Caesar took a convenient place in the tenth legion, as was his custom. When the enemy saw this they transferred, to face that legion, the best of their horse, in order to surround it if they could, by their superiority of numbers. When Caesar perceived this movement he placed 3000 of his bravest foot-soldiers in ambush and ordered them, when they should see the enemy trying to flank him, to rise, dart forward, and thrust their spears directly in the faces of the men because, as they were fresh and inexperienced and still in the bloom of youth, they could not endure injury to their faces. Thus they laid their plans against each other, and each commander passed through the ranks of his own troops, attending to what was needful, exhorting his men to courage, and giving them the watchword, which on Caesar's side was "Venus the Victorious," and on Pompey's "Hercules the Invincible."

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§ 2.11.77  When all was in readiness on both sides they waited for some time in profound silence, hesitating, looking steadfastly at each other, each expecting the other to begin the battle. They were stricken with sorrow for the great host, for never before had such large Roman armies confronted the same danger together. They had pity for the valor of these men (the elite of both parties), especially because they saw Romans embattled against Romans. As the danger came nearer, the ambition that had inflamed and blinded them was extinguished, and gave place to fear. Reason purged the mad passion for glory, estimated the peril, and exposed the cause of the war, showing how two men contending with each other for supremacy had put themselves in a position where the one who should be vanquished could no longer hold even the humblest place, and how so great a number of the nobility were incurring the same risk on their account. The leaders reflected also that they, who had lately been friends and relatives by marriage, and had cooperated with each other in many ways to gain rank and power, had now drawn the sword for mutual slaughter and were leading to the same impiety those serving under them, men of the same city, of the same tribe, blood relations, and in some cases brothers against brothers. Even these circumstances were not wanting in this battle; because many unexpected things must happen when thousands of the same nation come together in the clash of arms. Reflecting on these things each of them was seized with unavailing repentance, and since this day was to decide for each whether he should be the highest or the lowest of the human race, they hesitated to begin the fight. It is said that both of them shed tears.

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§ 2.11.78  While they were waiting and looking at each other the day was advancing. All the Italian troops stood motionless in their places, but when Pompey saw that his allied forces were falling into confusion by reason of the delay he feared lest the disorder should spread from them before the beginning of the battle. So he gave the signal first and Caesar reechoed it. Straightway the trumpets, of which there were many distributed among so great a host, aroused the soldiers with their inspiring blasts, and the standard-bearers and officers put themselves in motion and exhorted their men. The latter advanced confidently to the encounter, but with stolidity and absolute silence, like men who had had experience in many similar engagements. And now, as they came nearer together, there was first a discharge of arrows and stones. Then as the cavalry were a little in advance of the infantry they charged each other. Those of Pompey prevailed and began to flank the tenth legion. Caesar then gave the signal to the cohorts in ambush and these, starting up suddenly, advanced to meet the cavalry, and with spears elevated aimed at the faces of the riders. The latter could not endure the enemy's savagery, nor the blows on their mouths and eyes, but fled in disorder. Thereupon Caesar's men, who had just now been afraid of being surrounded, fell upon the flank of Pompey's infantry which was denuded of its cavalry supports.

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§ 2.11.79  When Pompey learned this he ordered his infantry not to advance farther, not to break the line of formation, and not to hurl the javelin, but to bring their spears to a rest and ward off the onset of the enemy. Some persons praise this order of Pompey as the best in a case where one is attacked in flank, but Caesar criticises it in his letters. He says that the blows are delivered with more force, and that the spirits of the men are raised, by running, while those who stand still lose courage by reason of their immobility and become excellent targets for those charging against them. So, he says, it proved in this case, for the tenth legion, with Caesar himself, surrounded Pompey's left wing, now deprived of cavalry, and assailed it with javelins in flank, where it stood immovable; until, finally, the assailants threw it into disorder, routed it, and this was the beginning of the victory. In the rest of the field killing and wounding of all kinds were going on, but no cry came from the scene of carnage, no lamentation from the wounded or the dying, only sighs and groans from those who were falling honorably in their tracks. The allies, who were looking at the battle as at a game, were astonished at the discipline of the combatants. So dumfounded were they that they did not dare attack Caesar's tents, although they were guarded only by a few old men. Nor did they accomplish anything else, but stood in a kind of stupor.

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§ 2.11.80  As Pompey's left wing began to give way his men even still retired step by step and in perfect order, but the allies who had not been in the fight, fled with headlong speed, shouting, "we are vanquished," dashed upon their own tents and fortifications as though they had been the enemy's, and pulled down and plundered whatever they could carry away in their flight. Now the rest of Pompey's legions, perceiving the disaster to the left wing, retired slowly at first, in good order, and still resisting as well as they could; but when the enemy, flushed with victory, pressed upon them they turned in flight. Then, in order that they might not rally, and that this might be the end of the whole war and not of one battle merely, Caesar, with the greatest prudence, sent heralds everywhere among the ranks to order the victors to spare their own countrymen and to smite only the auxiliaries. The heralds drew near to the retreating enemy and told them to stand still without fear. As this proclamation was passed from man to man they halted, and the phrase "stand without fear" began to be passed as a sort of watchword among Pompey's soldiers; for, being Italians, they were clad in the same style as Caesar's men and spoke the same language. Accordingly, the latter passed by them and fell upon the auxiliaries, who were not able to resist, and made a very great slaughter among them.

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§ 2.11.81  When Pompey saw the retreat of his men he became dazed and retired slowly to his camp, and when he reached his tent he sat down speechless, resembling Ajax, the son of Telamon, who, they say, suffered in like manner in the midst of his enemies at Troy, being deprived of his senses by a god. Very few of the rest returned to the camp, for Caesar's proclamation caused them to remain unharmed, and as their enemies had passed beyond them they dispersed in groups. As the day was declining Caesar ran hither and thither among his troops and besought them to continue their exertions till they should capture Pompey's camp, telling them that if they allowed the enemy to rally they would be the victors for only a single day, whereas if they should take the enemy's camp they would finish the war with this one blow. He stretched out his hands to them and took the lead in person. Although they were weary in body, the words and example of their commander lightened their spirits. Their success so far, and the hope of capturing the enemy's camp and the contents thereof, excited them; for in the midst of hope and prosperity men feel fatigue least. So they fell upon the camp and assaulted it with the utmost disdain for the defenders. When Pompey learned this he started up from his strange silence, exclaiming, "What! in our very camp?" Having spoken thus he changed his clothing, mounted a horse, and fled with four friends, and did not draw rein until he reached Larissa early the next morning. So Caesar established himself in Pompey's camp as he had promised to do when he was preparing for the battle, and ate Pompey's supper, and the whole army feasted at the enemy's expense.

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§ 2.11.82  The losses of Italians on each side — for there was no report of the losses of auxiliaries, either because of their multitude or because they were despised — were as follows: in Caesar's army. thirty centurions and 200 legionaries, or, as some authorities have it, 1200; on Pompey's side ten senators, among whom was Lucius Domitius, the same who had been sent to succeed Caesar himself in Gaul, and about forty distinguished knights. Some exaggerating writers put the loss in the remainder of his forces at 25,000, but Asinius Pollio, who was one of Caesar's officers in this battle, records the number of dead Pompeians found as 6000. Such was the result of the famous battle of Pharsalus. Caesar himself carries off the palm for first and second place by common consent, and with him the tenth legion. The third place is taken by the centurion Crastinus, whom Caesar asked at the beginning of the battle what result he anticipated, and who responded proudly, "We shall conquer, O Caesar, and you will thank me either living or dead." The whole army testifies that he darted through the ranks like one possessed and did many brilliant deeds. When sought for he was found among the dead, and Caesar bestowed military honors on his body and buried it, and erected a special tomb for him near the common burial-place of the others.

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§ 2.12.83  From Larissa Pompey continued his flight to the sea where he embarked in a small boat, and meeting a ship by chance he sailed to Mitylene. There he joined his wife, Cornelia, and they embarked with four triremes which had come to him from Rhodes and Tyre. He decided not to sail for Corcyra and Africa, where he had other large military and naval forces as yet untouched, but intended to push on eastward to the king of the Parthians, expecting to receive every assistance from him. He concealed his intention until he arrived at Cilicia, where he revealed it hesitatingly to his friends; but they advised him to beware of the Parthian, against whom Crassus had lately led an expedition, and who was puffed up by his victory over the latter, and especially not to put in the power of these barbarians the beautiful Cornelia, who had formerly been the wife of Crassus. Then he made a second proposal respecting Egypt and Juba. The latter they despised as not sufficiently distinguished, but they all agreed about going to Egypt, which was near and was a great kingdom, still prosperous and abounding in ships, provisions, and money. Its sovereigns, although children, were allied to Pompey by their father's friendship. For these reasons he sailed to Egypt.

Event Date: -48 GR

§ 2.12.84  Cleopatra, who had previously reigned with her brother, had been lately expelled from Egypt and was collecting an army in Syria. Ptolemy, her brother, was at Mount Casius in Egypt, lying in wait for her invasion, and, as Providence would have it, the wind carried Pompey thither. Seeing a large army on the shore he stopped his ship, judging that the king was there, which was the fact. So he sent messengers to tell of his arrival and to speak of his father's friendship. The king was then about thirteen years of age and was under the tutelage of Achillas, who commanded his army, and the eunuch Pothinus, who had charge of his treasury. These took counsel together concerning Pompey. There was present also Theodotus, a rhetorician of Samos, the boy's tutor, who offered the infamous advice that they should lay a trap for Pompey and kill him in order to curry favor with Caesar. His opinion prevailed. So they sent a miserable skiff to bring him, pretending that the sea was shallow and not adapted to large ships. Some of the king's attendants came in the skiff, among them a Roman, named Sempronius, who was then serving in the king's army and had formerly served under Pompey himself. He gave his hand to Pompey in the king's name and directed him to take passage in the boat to the young man as to a friend. At the same time the whole army was marshalled along the shore as if to do honor to Pompey, and the king was plainly seen in the midst of them wearing a purple robe.

Event Date: -48 GR

§ 2.12.85  Pompey's suspicions were aroused by all that he observed — the marshalling of the army, the meanness of the skiff, and the fact that the king himself did not come to meet him nor send any of his high dignitaries. Nevertheless, he entered the skiff, repeating to himself these lines of Sophocles, "Whoever resorts to a tyrant becomes his slave, even if he were free when he went." While rowing to the shore all were silent, and this made him still more suspicious. Finally, either recognizing Sempronius as a Roman soldier who had served under him or guessing that he was such because he alone remained standing (for, according to military discipline, a soldier does not sit in the presence of his commander), he turned to him and said, "Do I not know you, comrade? " The other nodded and, as Pompey turned away, he immediately gave him the first stab and the others followed his example. Pompey's wife and friends who saw this at a distance cried out and, lifting their hands to heaven, invoked the gods, the avengers of violated faith. Then they sailed away in all haste as from an enemy's country.

Event Date: -48 GR

§ 2.12.86  The servants of Pothinus cut off Pompey's head and kept it for Caesar, in expectation of a large reward, but he visited condign punishment on them for their nefarious deed. The remainder of the body was buried by somebody on the shore, and a small monument was erected over it, on which somebody else wrote this inscription: "What a pitiful tomb is here for one who had temples in abundance." In the course of time the monument was wholly covered with sand, and the bronze images that had been erected to Pompey by his partisans at a later period near Mount Casius had been degraded and removed to the secret recess of the temple, but in my time they were sought for and found by the Roman emperor Hadrian, while making a journey thither, who cleared away the rubbish from the monument and made it again conspicuous, and placed Pompey's images in their proper places. Such was the end of Pompey, who had carried on the greatest wars and had made the greatest additions to the empire of the Romans, and had acquired by that means the title of Great. He had never been defeated before, but had remained unvanquished and most fortunate from his youth till now. From his twenty-third to his fifty-eighth year he had not ceased to exercise royal power, but on account of his jealousy of Caesar he had seemed to rule in the interest of the people.

Event Date: -48 GR

§ 2.12.87  Lucius Scipio, Pompey's father-in-law, and the other notables who had escaped from the battle of Pharsalus, more prudent than Pompey, proceeded to Corcyra and joined Cato, who had been left there with another army and 300 triremes. The leaders apportioned the fleet among themselves, and Cassius sailed to Pharnaces in Pontus to induce him to take up arms against Caesar. Scipio and Cato embarked for Africa, relying on Varus and his army and his ally, Juba, king of Numidia. The elder son of Pompey, together with Labienus and Scapula, each with his own part of the army, hastened to Spain and, having detached it from Caesar, collected a new army of Spaniards, Celtiberians, and slaves, and made formidable preparations for war. So great were the forces still remaining which Pompey had prepared, and which Pompey himself over-looked and ran away from in his insanity. Cato had been chosen commander of the forces in Africa, but he declined the appointment since there were consulars present who outranked him, he having held only the praetorship in Rome. So Lucius Scipio was made the commander and he collected and drilled a large army there. Thus two armies of considerable magnitude were brought together against Caesar, one in Africa and the other in Spain.

Event Date: -48 GR

§ 2.13.88  Caesar remained two days at Pharsalus after the victory, offering sacrifice and giving his army a respite from fighting. Then he set free his Thessalian allies and granted pardon to the suppliant Athenians, and said to them, "How often will the glory of your ancestors save you from self-destruction?" On the third day he marched eastward, having learned that Pompey had fled thither, and for want of triremes he essayed to cross the Hellespont in skiffs. Here Cassius came upon him in mid-stream, with a part of his fleet, as he was hastening to Pharnaces. Although he might have mastered these small boats with his numerous triremes he was panic-stricken by Caesar's astounding success, which was then heralded with consternation everywhere, and he thought that Caesar had sailed purposely against him. So he extended his hands in entreaty from his trireme toward the skiff, begged pardon, and surrendered his fleet. So great was the power of Caesar's prestige. I can see no other reason myself, nor can I think of any other instance where fortune was more propitious in a trying emergency than when Cassius, a most valiant man, with seventy triremes, fell in with Caesar when he was unprepared, but did not venture to come to blows with him. And yet he who thus disgracefully surrendered to Caesar, through fear alone, when the latter was crossing the straits, afterward murdered him in Rome when he was at the height of his power; by which fact it is evident that the panic which then seized Cassius was due to the fortune by which Caesar was uplifted.

Event Date: -48 GR

§ 2.13.89  Being thus unexpectedly saved, Caesar passed the Hellespont and granted pardon to the Ionians, the Aeolians, and the other peoples who inhabit the great peninsula called by the common name of Lower Asia, and who sent ambassadors to him to ask it. Learning that Pompey had gone to Egypt he sailed for Rhodes. He did not wait there for his army, which was coming forward by detachments, but embarked with those whom he had on board the triremes of Cassius and the Rhodians. Letting nobody know whither he intended to go he set sail toward evening, telling the other pilots to steer by the torch of his own ship by night and by his signal in the daytime. After they had proceeded a long way from the land he ordered his pilot to steer for Alexandria. After a three days' sail he arrived there. He was received by the king's guardians, the king himself being still at Mount Casius. At first, on account of the smallness of his forces, he pretended to take his ease, receiving visitors in a friendly way, traversing the city, admiring its beauty, and listening to the lectures of the philosophers while he stood among the crowd. Thus he gained the good-will and esteem of the Alexandrians as one who had no designs against them.

Event Date: -48 GR

§ 2.13.90  When his soldiers arrived by sea he punished Pothinus and Achillas with death for their crime against Pompey. (Theodotus escaped and was afterward crucified by Cassius, who found him wandering in Asia.) The Alexandrians thereupon rose in tumult, and the king's army marched against Caesar and various battles took place around the palace and on the neighboring shores. In one of these Caesar escaped by leaping into the sea and swimming a long distance in deep water. The Alexandrians captured his cloak and hung it up as a trophy. He fought the last battle against the king on the banks of the Nile, in which he won a decisive victory. He consumed nine months in this strife, at the end of which he established Cleopatra on the throne of Egypt in place of her brother. He ascended the Nile with 400 ships, exploring the country in company with Cleopatra and enjoying himself with her in other ways. The details of these events are related more particularly in my Egyptian history. Caesar could not bear to look at the head of Pompey when it was brought to him, but ordered that it be buried, and set apart for it a small plot of ground near the city which was dedicated to Nemesis, but in my time, while the Roman emperor Trajan was exterminating the Jewish race in Egypt, it was devastated by them in the exigencies of the war.

Event Date: -47 GR

§ 2.13.91  After Caesar had performed these exploits in Alexandria he hastened by way of Syria against Pharnaces. The latter had Already accomplished many of his aims, had seized some of the Roman countries, had fought a battle with Caesar's lieutenant, Domitius, and won a very brilliant victory over him. Being much elated by this affair he had subjugated the city of Amisus in Pontus, which adhered to the Roman interest, sold their inhabitants into slavery, and made all their boys eunuchs. On the approach of Caesar he became alarmed and repented of his deeds, and when Caesar was within 200 stades he sent ambassadors to him to treat for peace. They bore a golden crown and foolishly offered him the daughter of Pharnaces in marriage. When Caesar learned what they were bringing he moved forward with his army, walking in advance and chatting with the ambassadors until he arrived at the camp of Pharnaces, when he merely said, "Why should I not take instant vengeance on this parricide?" Then he sprang upon his horse and at the first shout put Pharnaces to flight and killed a large number of the enemy, although he had with him only about 1000 of his own cavalry who had accompanied him in the advance. Here it is said that he exclaimed, "O fortunate Pompey, who wast considered and named the Great for warring against such men as these in the time of Mithridates, the father of this man." Of this battle he wrote to Rome the words, "I came, I saw, I conquered."

Event Date: -47 GR

§ 2.13.92  After this, Pharnaces was glad to escape to the kingdom which Pompey had assigned to him on the Bosporus. As Caesar had no time to waste on small matters while such great wars were still unfinished elsewhere, he returned to the province of Asia and while passing through it transacted public business in the cities, which were oppressed by the farmers of the revenue, as I have shown in my Asiatic history. Learning that a sedition had broken out in Rome and that Antony, his master of horse, had occupied the forum with soldiers, he laid aside everything else and hastened to the city. When he arrived there the sedition had been quieted, but another one sprang up against himself in the army because the promises made to them after the battle of Pharsalus had not been kept, and because they had been held in service beyond the term fixed by law. They demanded that they should be dismissed to their homes. Caesar had made them certain indefinite promises at Pharsalus, and others equally indefinite after the war in Africa should be finished. Now he sent them a promise of 1000 drachmas more to each man. They answered him that they did not want any more promises but all cash down. Sallustius Crispus, who had been sent to them on this business, had a narrow escape. He would have been killed if he had not fled. When Caesar learned of this he stationed the legion, with which Antony had been guarding the city, around his own house and the city gates, as he apprehended attempts at plunder. Then, notwithstanding all his friends were alarmed and cautioned him against the fury of the soldiers, he went boldly among them while they were still riotous in the Campus Martius, without sending word beforehand, and showed himself on the platform.

Event Date: -47 GR

§ 2.13.93  The soldiers ran together tumultuously without arms, and, as was their custom, saluted their commander who had suddenly appeared among them. When he bade them tell what they wanted they were so surprised that they did not venture to speak openly of the donative in his presence, but they adopted the more moderate course of demanding their discharge from the service, hoping that, since he needed soldiers for the unfinished wars, he would speak about the donative himself. But, contrary to the expectation of all, he replied without hesitation, "I discharge you." Then, to their still greater astonishment, and while the silence was most profound, he added, "And I will give you all that I have promised when I have my triumph with others." At this expression, as unexpected as it was kind to them, shame immediately took possession of all, and reflection, together with jealousy at the thought of their abandoning their commander in the midst of such great wars and of others joining in the triumph instead of themselves, and of their losing the gains of the war in Africa, which were expected to be great, and becoming enemies of Caesar himself as well as of the opposite party. Moved by these fears they remained still more silent and embarrassed, hoping that Caesar would yield and change his mind on account of his immediate necessity. But he remained silent also, until his friends urged him to say something more to them and not leave his old comrades of so many campaigns with a short and austere word. Then he began to speak, addressing them first as "citizens," not "fellow-soliders," which implied that they were already discharged from the army and were private individuals.

Event Date: -47 GR

§ 2.13.94  They could endure it no longer, but cried out that they repented of what they had done, and besought him to keep them in his service. But Caesar turned away and was leaving the platform when they shouted with greater eagerness and urged him to stay and punish them for their misdeeds. He delayed a while longer, not going away and not turning back, but pretending to be undecided. At length he came back and said that he would not punish any of them, but that he was grieved that even the tenth legion, to which he had always given the first place of honor, should join in such a riot. "And this legion alone," he continued, "I will discharge from the service. Nevertheless, when I return from Africa I will give them all that I have promised. And when the wars are ended I will give lands to all, not as Sulla did by taking it from the present holders and colonizing the takers among the losers, and making them everlasting enemies to each other, but I will give the public land, and my own, and will purchase what may be needful." There was clapping of hands and joyful acclaim on all sides, but the tenth legion was plunged in grief because to them alone Caesar appeared inexorable. They begged him to choose a portion of their number by lot and put them to death. But Caesar, seeing that there was no need of stimulating them any further when they had repented so bitterly, became reconciled to all, and departed straightway for the war in Africa.

Event Date: -47 GR

§ 2.14.95  He crossed from Rhegium to Messana and went to Lilybaeum. Here, learning that Cato was guarding the enemy's magazines with a fleet and a part of the land forces at Utica, and that he had with him 300 men who had for a long time constituted their council of war and were called the Senate, and that the commander, L. Scipio, and the flower of the army were at Adrumetum, he sailed against the latter. He arrived at a time when Scipio had gone away to meet Juba, and he drew up his forces for battle near Scipio's very camp in order to come to an engagement with the enemy at a time when their commander was absent. Labienus and Petreius, Scipio's lieutenants, attacked him, defeated him badly, and pursued him in a haughty and disdainful manner until Labienus' horse was wounded in the belly and threw him, and his attendants carried him off. Petreius, thinking that he had made a thorough test of the army and that he could conquer whenever he liked, drew off his forces, saying to those around him, "Let us not deprive our general, Scipio, of the victory." In one part of the day's work did Caesar's luck show itself, in that the victorious enemy seems to have abandoned the field at the very moment of success. It is said that in the flight Caesar dashed up to his whole line and turned it around and seizing one of those who carried the principal standards (the eagles) dragged him to the front. Finally, Petreius retired and Caesar was glad to do the same. Such was the result of Caesar's first battle in Africa.

Event Date: -46 GR

§ 2.14.96  Not long afterward it was reported that Scipio himself was advancing with eight legions of foot, 20,000 horse (of which most were Africans), and a large number of light-armed troops, and thirty elephants; together with King Juba, who had some 30,000 foot-soldiers in addition, raised for this war, and 20,000 Numidian cavalry, besides a large number of spearmen and sixty elephants. Caesar's army began to be alarmed and a tumult broke out among them on account of the disaster they had already experienced and of the reputation of the forces advancing against them, and especially of the numbers and bravery of the Numidian cavalry. War with elephants, to which they were unaccustomed, also frightened them. But Bocchus, another Mauritanian prince, seized Cirta, which was the capital of Juba's kingdom. When this news reached Juba he started for home at once with his army, leaving thirty of his elephants only with Scipio. Thereupon Caesar's men plucked up courage to such a degree that the fifth legion begged to be pitted against the elephants, and it overcame them valiantly. From that day to the present this legion has borne the figure of an elephant on its standards.

Event Date: -46 GR

§ 2.14.97  The battle was long, severe, and doubtful in all parts of the field until toward evening, when victory declared itself on the side of Caesar, who went straight on and captured Scipio's camp and did not desist, even in the night, from reaping the fruits of his victory until he had made a clean sweep. The enemy scattered in small bodies wherever they could. Scipio himself with Afranius, abandoning everything, fled by sea with twelve open ships. And thus was this army also, composed of nearly 80,000 men who had been under long training and were inspired with hope and courage by the previous battle, in the second engagement, completely annihilated. And now Caesar's fame began to be celebrated as of a man of invincible fortune, and those who were vanquished by him attributed nothing to his merit, but ascribed everything, including their own blunders, to Caesar's luck. And it seems that the result of this war also was due to the bad generalship of the commanders who, as in Thessaly, neglected their opportunity to wear out Caesar by delay until his supplies were exhausted, in this foreign land, and in like manner failed to reap the fruits of their first victory by pushing it sharply to the end.

Event Date: -46 GR

§ 2.14.98  As these facts became known at Utica some three days later, and as Caesar was marching right against that place, a general flight began. Cato did not detain anybody. He gave ships to all the nobility who asked for them, but himself adhered firmly to his post. When the inhabitants of Utica promised to intercede for him before doing so for themselves, he answered with a smile that he did not need any intercessors with Caesar, and that Caesar knew it very well. Then he placed his seal on all the public property and gave the accounts of each kind to the magistrates of Utica. Toward evening he bathed and dined. He ate in a sitting posture, as had been his custom since Pompey's death. He changed his habits in no respect. He partook of the dinner, neither more nor less than usual. He conversed with the others present concerning those who had sailed away and inquired whether the wind was favorable and whether they would make sufficient distance before Caesar should arrive the next morning. Nor did he change any of his habits when he retired to rest, except that he embraced his son rather more affectionately than usual. As he did not find his sword in its accustomed place by his couch, he exclaimed that he had been betrayed by his servants to the enemy. "What weapon shall I use if I am attacked in the night ?" he said. When they besought him to do no violence to himself but to go to sleep without his sword, he replied still more plausibly, "Could I not strangle myself with my clothing if I wished to, or knock my brains out against the wall, or throw myself headlong to the ground, or destroy myself by holding my breath?" Much more he said to the same purport until he persuaded them to bring back his sword. When it had been put in its place he called for Plato's treatise on the soul and began to read.

Event Date: -46 GR

§ 2.14.99  When he had read the book through and when he thought that those who were stationed at the doors were asleep, he stabbed himself under the breast. His intestines protruded and the attendants heard a groan and rushed in. Physicians replaced his bowels, which were still uninjured, in his body, and after sewing up the wound put a bandage around it. When Cato came to himself he dissembled again. Although he blamed himself for the insufficiency of the wound, he expressed thanks to those who had saved him and said that he only needed sleep. The attendants then retired, taking the sword with them, and closed the door, thinking that he had become quiet. When Cato thought that they were asleep, he tore off the bandage with his hands without making any noise, opened the suture of the wound, enlarged it with his nails like a wild beast, plunged his fingers into his stomach, and tore out his entrails until he died, being then about fifty years of age. He was considered the most steadfast of all men in upholding any opinion that he had once espoused and in adhering to justice, rectitude, and morality, not as a matter of custom merely, but rather from high-souled considerations. He had married Marcia, the daughter of Philippus, when she was a virgin. He was extremely fond of her and had had children by her. Nevertheless, he gave her to Hortensius, one of his friends, — who desired to have children but was married to a barren wife, — until she bore a child to him also, when Cato took her back to his own house as though he had merely loaned her. Such a man was Cato. The Uticans gave him a magnificent funeral. Caesar said that Cato had envied him the opportunity for a deed of honor, 01 but when Cicero pronounced an encomium on him which he styled the Cato, Caesar wrote an answer to it which he called the Anti-Cato.

Event Date: -47 GR

§ 2.14.100  Juba and Petreius, in view of the circumstances, perceiving no chance of flight or safety, slew each other with swords at a banquet. Caesar made Juba's kingdom tributary to the Romans and appointed Sallustius Crispus its governor. He pardoned the Uticans and the son of Cato. He captured the daughter of Pompey together with her two children in Utica and sent them safe to young Pompey. Of the 300 he put to death all that he found. 02 Lucius Scipio, the general-in-chief, was overtaken by a storm, and met a hostile fleet and bore himself bravely until he was overpowered, when he stabbed himself and leaped into the sea. This was the end of Caesar's war in Africa.

Event Date: -47 GR

§ 2.15.101  When Caesar returned to Rome he had four triumphs together: one for his Gallic wars, in which he had added many great nations to the Roman sway and subdued others that had revolted; one for the Pontic war against Pharnaces; one for the war in Africa against the African allies of L. Scipio, in which the historian Juba (the son of King Juba), then an infant, was led a captive. Between the Gallic and the Pontic triumphs he introduced a kind of Egyptian triumph, in which he led some captives taken in the naval engagement on the Nile. 03 Although he took care not to inscribe any Roman names in his triumph (as it would have been unseemly in his eyes and base and inauspicious in those of the Roman people to triumph over fellow-citizens), yet all these misfortunes were represented in the processions and the men also by various images and pictures, all except Pompey, the only one whom he did not venture to exhibit, since the latter was still greatly regretted by all. The people, although restrained by fear, groaned over their domestic ills, especially when they saw the picture of Lucius Scipio, the general-in-chief, wounded in the breast by his own hand, casting himself into the sea, and Petreius committing self-destruction at the banquet, and Cato torn open by himself like a wild beast. They applauded the death of Achillas and Pothinus, and laughed at the flight of Pharnaces.

Event Date: -46 GR

§ 2.15.102  It is said that money to the amount of 60,000 talents [of silver] was borne in the procession and 2822 crowns of gold weighing 20,014 pounds, from which wealth Caesar made apportionments immediately after the triumph, paying the army all that he had promised and more. Each soldier received 5000 Attic drachmas, each centurion double, and each tribune of infantry and praefect of cavalry fourfold that sum. To each plebeian citizen also was given an Attic mina. He gave also various spectacles with horses and music, a combat of foot-soldiers, 1000 on each side, and a cavalry fight of 200 on each side. There was also another combat of horse and foot together. There was a combat of elephants, twenty against twenty, and a naval engagement of 4000 oarsmen, where 1000 fighting men contended on each side. He erected a temple to Venus, his ancestress, as he had vowed to do when he was about to begin the battle of Pharsalus, and he laid out ground around the temple which he intended to be a forum for the Roman people, not for buying and selling, but a meeting-place for the transaction of public business, like the public squares of the Persians, where the people assemble to seek justice or to learn the laws. He placed a beautiful image of Cleopatra by the side of the goddess, which stands there to this day. He caused an enumeration of the people to be made, and it is said that it was found to be only one-half of the number existing before this war. 04 To such a degree had the rivalry of these two men reduced the city.

Event Date: -46 GR

§ 2.15.103  Caesar, now in his fourth consulship, marched against young Pompeius in Spain. This was all that was left of the civil war, but it was not to be despised, for such of the nobility as had escaped from Africa had assembled here. The army was composed of soldiers from Pharsalus and Africa itself, who had come hither with their leaders, and of Spaniards and Celtiberians, a strong and warlike race. There was a great number of emancipated slaves also in Pompeius' camp. All had been under discipline four years and were ready to fight with desperation. Pompeius was misled by this fact and did not postpone the battle, but engaged Caesar straightway on his arrival, although the older ones, who had learned by experience at Pharsalus and Africa, advised him to wear Caesar out by delay and reduce him to want, as he was in a hostile country. Caesar made the journey from Rome in twenty-seven days, coming with a heavily-laden army by a very long route. Fear fell upon his soldiers as never before, in consequence of the reports received of the numbers, the discipline, and the desperate valor of the enemy.

Event Date: -45 GR

§ 2.15.104  For this reason Caesar himself also was ready to move slowly until Pompeius approached him at a certain place where he was reconnoitering and accused him of cowardice. Caesar could not endure this reproach. He drew up his forces for battle near Corduba 05 and then, too, gave Venus for his watchword. Pompeius, on the other hand, gave Piety for his. When battle was joined fear seized upon Caesar's army and hesitation was joined to fear. Caesar, lifting his hands toward heaven, implored all the gods that his many glorious deeds be not stained by this single disaster. He ran up and encouraged his soldiers. He took his helmet off his head and shamed them to their faces and exhorted them. As they abated nothing of their fear he seized a shield from a soldier and said to the officers around him, "This shall be the end of my life and of your military service." Then he sprang forward in advance of his line of battle toward the enemy so far that he was only ten feet distant from them. Some 200 missiles were aimed at him, some of which he dodged while others were caught on his shield. Then each of the tribunes ran toward him and took position by his side, and the whole army rushed forward and fought the entire day, advancing and retreating by turns until, toward evening, Caesar with difficulty won the victory. It was reported that he said that he had often fought for victory, but that this time he had fought even for existence.

Event Date: -45 GR

§ 2.15.105  After a great slaughter the Pompeians fled to Corduba, and Caesar, in order to prevent the fugitives from preparing for another battle, ordered a siege of that place. The soldiers, wearied with toil, piled the bodies and arms of the slain together, fastened them to the earth with spears, and encamped behind this kind of a wall. On the following day the city was taken. Scapula, one of the Pompeian leaders, erected a funeral pile on which he consumed himself. The heads of Varus, Labienus, and other distinguished men were brought to Caesar. 07 Pompeius himself fled from the scene of his defeat with 150 horsemen toward Carteia, where he had a fleet, and entered the dockyard secretly as a private individual borne in a litter. When he saw that the men here despaired of their safety he feared lest he should be delivered up, and took to flight again. While going on board a small boat his foot was caught by a rope, and a man who attempted to cut the rope with his sword cut the sole of his foot instead. So he sailed to a certain place for medical treatment. Being pursued thither he fled by a rough and thorny road that aggravated his wound, until fagged out he took a seat under a tree. Here his pursuers came upon him and he was cut down while defending himself bravely. His head was brought to Caesar who gave orders for its burial. Thus this war also, contrary to expectation, was brought to an end in one battle. A younger brother of this Pompeius, also named Pompeius but called by his first name, Sextus, collected those who escaped from this fight; but as yet he kept moving about in concealment and lived by robbery.

Event Date: -45 GR

§ 2.16.106  Having ended the civil wars Caesar hastened to Rome, honored and feared as no one had ever been before. All kinds of honors were devised for his gratification without stint, even such as were superhuman — sacrifices, games, statues in all the temples and public places, by every tribe, by all the provinces, and by the kings in alliance with Rome. His likeness was painted in various forms, in some cases crowned with oak as the savior of his country, by which crown the citizens were accustomed formerly to reward those to whom they owed their safety. He was proclaimed the Father of his Country and chosen dictator for life and consul for ten years, and his person was declared sacred and inviolable. It was decreed that he should transact business on a throne of ivory and gold; that he should perform his sacerdotal functions always in triumphal costume; that each year the city should celebrate the days on which he had won his victories; that every five years the priests and Vestal virgins should offer up public prayers for his safety; and that the magistrates immediately upon their inauguration should take an oath not to oppose any of Caesar's decrees. In honor of his gens the name of the month Quintilis was changed to July. Many temples were decreed to him as to a god, and one was dedicated in common to him and the goddess Clemency, who were represented as clasping hands.

Event Date: -45 GR

§ 2.16.107  Thus while they feared his power they besought his clemency. There were some who proposed to give him the title of king, but when he learned of their purpose he forbade it with threats, saying that it was an inauspicious name by reason of the curse of their ancestors. He dismissed the praetorian cohorts that had served as his bodyguard during the wars, and showed himself with the ordinary public attendance only. 08 To him in this state and while he was transacting business in front of the Rostra, the Senate, preceded by the consuls, each one in his robes of office, brought the decree awarding him the honors aforesaid. He extended his hand to them, but did not rise when they approached nor while they remained there, which afforded his slanderers a pretext for accusing him of wishing to be greeted as a king. He accepted all the honors conferred upon him except the ten-year consulship. As consuls for the ensuing year he designated himself and Antony, his master of horse, and he appointed Lepidus, who was then governor of Spain, but was administering it by his friends, master of horse in place of Antony. Caesar also recalled the exiles, except those who were banished for some very grave offence. He pardoned his enemies and forthwith advanced many of those who had fought against him to the yearly magistracies, or to the command of provinces and armies. Therefore the wearied people especially hoped that he would restore the republic to them as Sulla did after he had grasped the same power. But in this they were disappointed.

Event Date: -45 GR

§ 2.16.108  Some person among those who wished to spread the report of his desire to be king placed a crown of laurel on his statue, bound with a white fillet. The tribunes, Marullus and Caesetius, sought out this person and put him in prison, pretending to gratify Caesar in this way, as he had threatened any who should talk about making him king. Caesar was well satisfied with their action. Some others who met him at the city gates as he was returning from some place greeted him as king, and when the people groaned, he said with happy readiness to those who had thus saluted him, "I am no king, I am Caesar," as though they had mistaken his name. The attendants of Marullus found out which man began the shouting and ordered the officers to bring him to trial before his tribunal. Caesar was at last vexed and accused the faction of Marullus before the Senate of conspiring to make him odious by artfully accusing him of aiming at royalty. He added that they were deserving of death, but that it would be sufficient if they were deprived of their office and expelled from the Senate. Thus he confirmed the suspicion that he desired the title, and that he was privy to the attempts to confer it upon him, and that his tyranny was already complete; for the cause of their punishment was their zeal against the title of king, and, moreover, the office of tribune was sacred and inviolable according to law and the ancient oath. By not waiting for the expiration of their office he sharpened the public indignation.

Event Date: -44 GR

§ 2.16.109  When Caesar perceived this he repented, and, reflecting that this was the first severe and arbitrary act that he had done without military authority and in time of peace, it is said that he ordered his friends to protect him, since he had given his enemies the handle they were seeking against him. But when they asked him if he would bring together again his Spanish cohorts as a body-guard, he said, "There is nothing more unlucky than perpetual watching; that is the part of one who is always afraid." Nor were the attempts to claim royal honors for him brought to an end even thus, for, while he was in the forum looking at the games of the Lupercal, seated on his golden chair before the Rostra, Antony, his colleague in the consulship, who was running naked and anointed, as was the priests' custom at that festival, sprang upon the Rostra and put a diadem on his head. At this sight some few clapped their hands, but the greater number groaned, and Caesar threw off the diadem. Antony again put it on him and again Caesar threw it off. While they were thus contending the people remained silent, being in suspense to see how it would end. When they saw that Caesar prevailed they shouted for joy, and at the same time applauded him because he did not accept it.

Event Date: -44 GR

§ 2.16.110  And now Caesar, either renouncing his hope, or tired out, and wishing to avoid the plot and accusation, or giving up the city to certain of his enemies, or to cure his bodily ailment of epilepsy and convulsions, which came upon him suddenly and especially when he was inactive, conceived the idea of a long campaign against the Getae and the Parthians. The Getae, a hardy, warlike, and neigh-boring nation, were to be attacked first. The Parthians were to be punished for their perfidy toward Crassus. He sent across the Adriatic in advance sixteen legions of foot and 10,000 horse. And now another rumor gained currency that the Sibylline books had predicted that the Parthians would never submit to the Romans until the latter should be commanded by a king. For this reason some people ventured to say that Caesar ought to be called dictator and emperor of the Romans, as he was in fact, or whatever other name they might prefer to that of king, and that he ought to be distinctly named king of the nations that were subject to the Romans. Caesar declined this also, and was wholly engaged in hastening his departure from the city in which he was exposed to such envy.

Event Date: -44 GR

§ 2.16.111  Four days before his intended departure he was slain by his enemies in the senate-house, either from jealousy of his fortune and power, now grown to enormous proportions, or, as they themselves alleged, from a desire to restore the republic of their fathers; for they well knew that if he should conquer those nations he would be a king without a doubt. But I think that they took, as a pretext for their own design, this plan for an additional title, which really made no difference to them except in name, for in fact a dictator is exactly the same as a king. Chief among the conspirators were two men, Marcus Brutus, surnamed Caepio (son of the Brutus who was put to death during the Sullan revolution), who had sided with Caesar after the disaster of Pharsalus, and Gaius Cassius, the one who had surrendered his triremes to Caesar in the Hellespont, both having been of Pompey's party. Among the conspirators also was Decimus Brutus Albinus, one of Caesar's dearest friends. All of them had been held in honor and trust by Caesar at all times. He had employed them in the largest affairs. When he went to the war in Africa he gave them the command of armies, putting Decimus Brutus in charge of Transalpine, and Marcus Brutus of Cisalpine, Gaul.

Event Date: -44 GR

§ 2.16.112  Brutus and Cassius, who had been designated as praetors at the same time, had a controversy with each other as to which of them should be the city praetor, this being the place of highest honor, either because they were really ambitious of the distinction or as a pretence so that they might not seem to have a common understanding with each other. Caesar, who was chosen umpire between them, is reported to have said to his friends that justice seemed to be on the side of Cassius, but that he must nevertheless favor Brutus. He exhibited the same affection and preference for this man in all things. It was even thought that Brutus was his son, as Caesar was the lover of his mother, Servilia (Cato's sister) at the time of his birth, for which reason, when he won the victory at Pharsalus, it is said that he gave an immediate order to his officers to save Brutus by all means. Whether Brutus was ungrateful, or ignorant of his mother's fault, or disbelieved it, or was ashamed of it; whether he was such an ardent lover of liberty that he preferred his country to everything, or whether it was because he was a descendant of that Brutus of the olden time who expelled the kings, he was aroused and shamed to this deed principally by people who secretly affixed to the statues of the elder Brutus and also to the tribunal of Brutus himself such writings as these, "Brutus, are you corrupted by bribes?" "Brutus, are you dead?" or "would that you were still alive!" or, "your posterity is unworthy of you," or, "you are not the descendant of that Brutus." These and many like incentives fired the young man to a deed like that of his own ancestor.

Event Date: -44 GR

§ 2.16.113  While the talk about the kingship was going on, and just before there was to be a meeting of the Senate, Cassius met Brutus, and, seizing him by the hand, said, "What shall we do in the senate-house if Caesar's flatterers propose a decree making him king?" Brutus replied that he would not be there. Then Cassius asked him further, "What if we are summoned there as praetors, what shall we do then, my good Brutus? " "I will defend my country to the death," he replied. Cassius embraced him, saying, "Which of the nobility will you allow to share your thought? Do you think that artisans and shopkeepers have written those clandestine messages on your tribunal, or rather the noblest Romans, those who ask from the other praetors games, horse-races, and combats of wild beasts, but from you liberty, as a boon worthy of your ancestry?" Thus did they disclose to each other what they had been privately thinking about for a long time. Each of them tested those of their own friends, and of Caesar's also, whom they considered the most courageous of either faction. Of their own friends they inveigled two brothers, Caesilius and Bucolianus, and besides these Rubrius Ruga, Quintus Ligarius, Marcus Spurius, Servilius Casca, Servius Galba, Sextius Naso, and Pontius Aquila. These were of their own faction. Of Caesar's friends they secured Decimus Brutus, whom I have already mentioned, also Gaius Casca, Trebonius, Tillius Cimber, and Minucius Basillus.

Event Date: -44 GR

§ 2.16.114  When they thought that they had a sufficient number, and that it would not be wise to divulge the plot to any more, they pledged each other without oaths or sacrifices, yet no one changed his mind or betrayed the secret. They sought a time and place. Time was pressing because Caesar was to depart on his campaign four days hence and would thereupon have a body-guard of soldiers. They chose the Senate as the place, believing that, even though the senators did not know of it beforehand, they would join heartily when they saw the deed. It was said that this happened in the case of Romulus when he changed from a king to a tyrant. They thought that this deed, like that one of old, taking place in open Senate, would seem to be performed not by private plotters, but in behalf of the country, and that, being in the public interest, there would be no danger from Caesar's army. At the same time they thought the honor would be theirs because the public would not be ignorant that they took the lead. For these reasons they unanimously chose the Senate as the place, but they were not agreed as to the mode. Some thought that Antony ought to be killed also because he was consul with Caesar, and was his most powerful friend, and the one of most repute with the army; but Brutus said that they would win the glory of tyrannicide from the death of Caesar alone, because that would be the killing of a king. If they should kill his friends also, the deed would be imputed to private enmity and to the Pompeian faction.

Event Date: -44 GR

§ 2.16.115  The day before the meeting of the Senate Caesar went to sup with Lepidus, his master of horse, taking Decimus Brutus Albinus with him to the drinking-bout. While they were in their cups the conversation turned on the question, "What is the best kind of death for a man?" Various opinions were given, but Caesar alone expressed the preference for a sudden death. In this way he foretold his own end, and conversed about what was to happen on the morrow. After the banquet a certain bodily faintness came over him in the night, and his wife, Calpurnia, had a dream, in which she saw him streaming with blood, for which reason she tried to prevent him from going out in the morning. When he offered sacrifice there were many unfavorable signs. He was about to send Antony to dismiss the Senate when Decimus, who was with him, persuaded him, in order not to incur the charge of disregard for the Senate, to go there and dismiss it himself. Accordingly he was borne thither in a litter. Games were going on in Pompey's theatre, and the Senate was about to assemble in one of the adjoining buildings, as was the custom when the games were taking place. Brutus and Cassius were early at the portico in front of the theatre, very calmly engaging in public business as praetors with those seeking their services. When they heard of the bad omens at Caesar's house and that the Senate was to be dismissed, they were greatly disconcerted. While they were in this state of mind a certain person took Casca by the hand and said, "You kept the secret from me, although I am your friend, but Brutus has told me all." Casca was suddenly conscience-stricken and shuddered, but his friend, smiling, continued, "Where shall you get the money to stand for the aedileship?" Then Casca recovered himself. While Brutus and Cassius were conferring and talking together, Popillius Laena, one of the senators, drew them aside and said that he joined them in his prayers for what they had in mind, and he urged them to make haste. They were confounded, but remained silent from terror.

Event Date: -44 GR

§ 2.16.116  While Caesar was being borne to the Senate one of his intimates, who had learned of the conspiracy, ran to his house to tell what he knew. When he arrived there and found only Calpurnia he merely said that he wanted to speak to Caesar about urgent business, and then waited for him to come back from the Senate, because he did not know all the particulars of the affair. Meantime Artemidorus, whose hospitality Caesar had enjoyed at Cnidus, ran to the Senate and found him already murdered. A tablet informing him of the conspiracy was put into Caesar's hand by another person while he was sacrificing in front of the curia, but he went in immediately and it was found in his hand after his death. Directly after he stepped out of the litter Popillius Laena, who a little before had joined his prayers with the party of Cassius, accosted Caesar and engaged him aside in earnest conversation. The sight of this proceeding and especially the length of the conversation struck terror into the hearts of the conspirators, and they made signs to each other that they would kill themselves rather than be captured. As the conversation was prolonged they saw that Laena did not seem to be revealing anything to Caesar, but rather to be urging some petition. They recovered themselves and when they saw him return thanks to Caesar after the conversation they took new courage. It was the custom of the magistrates, when about to enter the Senate, to take the auspices at the entrance. Here again Caesar's first victim was without a heart, or, as some say, the beginning of the entrails was wanting. A soothsayer said that this was a sign of death. Caesar, laughing, said that the same thing had happened to him when he was beginning his campaign against Pompeius in Spain. The soothsayer replied that he had been in very great danger then and that now the omen was still more entitled to credence. So Caesar ordered him to sacrifice again. None of the victims were more propitious; but being ashamed to keep the Senate waiting, and being urged by his enemies in the guise of friends, he went in disregarding the omens. For it was fated that Caesar should meet his doom.

Event Date: -44 GR

§ 2.16.117  The conspirators had left Trebonius, one of their number, to engage Antony in conversation at the door. The others, with concealed daggers, stood around Caesar like friends as he sat in his chair. Then one of them, Tillius Cimber, came up in front of him and petitioned him for the recall of his brother, who had been banished. When Caesar answered that the matter must be deferred, Cimber seized hold of his purple robe as though still urging his petition, and pulled it away so as to expose his neck, exclaiming, "Friends, what are you waiting for?" Then first Casca, who was standing over Caesar's head, drove his dagger at his throat, but missed his aim and wounded him in the breast. Caesar snatched his toga from Cimber, seized Casca's hand, sprang from his chair, turned around, and hurled Casca with great violence. While he was in this position another one stabbed him with a dagger in the side, which was exposed by his turning around, Cassius wounded him in the face, Brutus smote him in the thigh, and Bucolianus between the shoulder-blades. With rage and outcries Caesar turned now upon one and now upon another like a wild animal, but after receiving the wound from Brutus he despaired and, veiling himself with his robe, he fell in a decent position at the foot of Pompey's statue. They continued their attack after he had fallen until he had received twenty-three wounds. Several of them while thrusting with their swords wounded each other.

Event Date: -44 GR

§ 2.17.118  When the murderers had perpetrated their crime, in a sacred place, on one whose person was sacred and inviolable, there was an immediate flight from the curia and throughout the whole city. Some senators were wounded in the tumult and others killed. Many other citizens and strangers were murdered also, not designedly, but as such things happen in public commotions, by the mistakes of those into whose hands they fell. Gladiators, who had been armed early in the morning for that day's spectacles, ran out of the theatre into the balcony of the Senate. The theatre itself was emptied in haste and panic-terror, and the markets were plundered. All citizens closed their front doors and put themselves in a posture of defence on their roofs. Antony fortified his house, apprehending that the conspiracy was against him as well as Caesar. Lepidus, the master of horse, being in the forum at the time, learned what had been done and ran to the island in the river where he had a legion of soldiers, which he transferred to the plain in order to be in greater readiness to execute Antony's orders; for he yielded to Antony as a closer friend of Caesar and also as consul. While pondering over the matter they were strongly moved to avenge the death of Caesar, but they feared lest the Senate should espouse the side of the murderers and so they concluded to await events. There had been no military guard around Caesar, for he did not like guards except the usual attendants of the magistracy. Many civilian officers and a large crowd of citizens and strangers, of slaves and freedmen, had accompanied him from his house to the Senate, but had fled en masse, all except three slaves, who placed the body in a litter and, with uneven step (being an uneven number), bore him homeward who, a little before, had been master of the earth and sea.

Event Date: -44 GR

§ 2.17.119  The murderers wished to make a speech in the Senate, but as nobody remained there they wrapped their togas around their left arms to serve as shields, and, with swords still reeking with blood, ran, crying out that they had slain a king and tyrant. One of them bore a cap on the end of a spear as a symbol of freedom and exhorted the people to restore the government of their fathers and recall the memory of the elder Brutus and of those who took the oath together against the ancient kings. With them ran some with drawn swords who had not participated in the deed, but wanted to share the glory, among whom were Lentulus Spinther, Favonius, Aquinus, Dolabella, Murcus, and Patiscus. These did not share the glory, but they suffered punishment with the guilty. As the people did not flock to them they were disconcerted and alarmed. Although the Senate had at first fled through ignorance and alarm, they had confidence in it nevertheless as being their own relatives and friends, and oppressed equally with themselves by the tyranny. They had apprehensions of the plebeians and of Caesar's soldiers, many of whom were then present in the city, some lately dismissed from the service and to whom lands had been allotted; others who had been already settled, but had come in to serve as an escort for Caesar on his departure from the city. The assassins had fears of Lepidus, too, and of the army under him in the city, and also of Antony in his character as consul, lest he should consult the people alone, instead of the Senate, and bring some fearful punishment upon them.

Event Date: -44 GR

§ 2.17.120  In this frame of mind they hastened up to the Capitol with their gladiators. There they took counsel and decided to bribe the populace, hoping that if some would begin to praise the deed others would join in from love of liberty and longing for the republic. They thought that the Roman people were still exactly the same as they had heard that they were at the time when the elder Brutus expelled the kings. They did not perceive that they were counting on two incompatible things, namely, that people could be lovers of liberty and bribe-takers at the same time. The latter class were much easier to find of the two, because the government had been corrupt for a long time. The plebeians were now much mixed with foreign blood, freedmen had equal rights of citizenship with them, and slaves were dressed in the same fashion as their masters. Except in the case of the senatorial rank the same costume was common to slaves and to free citizens. Moreover the distribution of corn to the poor, which took place in Rome only, drew thither the lazy, the beggars, the vagrants of all Italy. The multitude of discharged soldiers no longer returned one by one to their native places as formerly, fearing that some of them might be accused of having engaged in iniquitous wars, but were sent in groups to unjust allotments of lands and houses belonging to others. These were now encamped in temples and sacred enclosures under one standard, and one person appointed to lead them to their colony, and as they had already sold their own be longings preparatory to their departure they were in readiness to be bought for any purpose.

Event Date: -44 GR

§ 2.17.121  From so many men of this kind a considerable crowd was drawn speedily and without difficulty to the party of Cassius in the forum. These, although bought, did not dare to praise the murder, because they feared Caesar's reputation and doubted what course the rest of the people might take. So they shouted for peace as being for the public advantage, and with one accord recommended this policy to the magistrates, intending by this device to secure the safety of the murderers; for there could be no peace without amnesty to them. While they were thus engaged the praetor Cinna, a relative of Caesar by marriage, made his appearance, advanced unexpectedly into the middle of the forum, laid aside his praetorian robe, as if disdaining the gift of a tyrant, and called Caesar a tyrant and his murderers tyrannicides. He extolled their deed as exactly like that of their ancestors, and ordered that the men themselves should be called from the Capitol as benefactors and rewarded with public honors. So spake Cinna, but when the hirelings saw that the unbought portion of the crowd did not agree with them they did not call for the men in the Capitol, nor did they do anything else but continually demand peace.

Event Date: -44 GR

§ 2.17.122  But after Dolabella, a young man of noble family who had been chosen by Caesar as consul for the remainder of his own year when he was about to leave the city, and who had put on the consular garb and taken the other insignia of the office, came forward next and railed against the man who had advanced him to this dignity and pretended to have been privy to the conspiracy against him, and that his hand alone was unwillingly absent — some say that he even proposed a decree that this day should be consecrated as the birthday of the republic — then the hirelings took new courage, seeing that they had both a praetor and a consul on their side, and demanded that Cassius and his friends be summoned from the Capitol. They were delighted with Dolabella and thought that now they had a young optimate, who was also consul, to oppose against Antony. Only Cassius and Marcus Brutus came down, the latter with his hand still bleeding from the wound he had received when he and Cassius were dealing blows at Caesar. When they reached the forum neither of them said anything which betokened humility. On the contrary they praised each other as for something confessedly admirable. They considered the city fortunate and bore special testimony to the merits of Decimus Brutus because he had furnished them gladiators at a critical moment. They exhorted the people to be like their ancestors, who had expelled the kings, although the latter were exercising the government not by violence like Caesar, but had been chosen according to law. They advised the recall of Sextus Pompey (the son of Pompey the Great, the defender of the republic against Caesar), who was still warring against Caesar's lieutenants in Spain. They also recommended that the tribunes, Caesetius and Marullus, who had been deposed by Caesar, should be recalled from exile.

Event Date: -44 GR

§ 2.17.123  After they had thus spoken Cassius and Brutus returned directly to the Capitol, because they had not yet entire confidence in the present posture of affairs. Having first enabled their friends and relatives to come to them in the temple, they chose from among them messengers to treat on their behalf with Lepidus and Antony for conciliation and the preservation of liberty, and for warding off the evils that would befall the country if they should not come to an agreement. This the messengers asked, not extolling the deed that had been done, however, for they did not dare to do this in the presence of Caesar's friends. They asked that it be tolerated now that it was done, out of pity for the perpetrators (who had been actuated, not by hatred toward Caesar, but by love of country), and out of compassion for the city exhausted by long-continued civil strife, and which a new sedition might deprive of the good men still remaining. "If enmity were entertained against certain persons," they said, "it would be an act of impiety to gratify it in a time of public danger. It would be far preferable to sink private animosity in the public weal, or, if anybody were irreconcilable, at least to postpone his private grievances for the present."

Event Date: -44 GR

§ 2.17.124  Antony and Lepidus wished to avenge Caesar, as I have already said, either on the score of friendship, or of the oaths they had sworn, or because they were aiming at the supreme power themselves and thought that their course would be easier if so many men of such rank were put out of the way at once. But they feared the friends and relatives of these men and the leaning of the rest of the Senate toward them, and especially they feared Decimus Brutus, who had been chosen by Caesar governor of Cisalpine Gaul, which had a large army. So they decided to watch a future opportunity and to try if possible to draw over to themselves the army of Decimus, which was already disheartened by its protracted labors. Having come to this decision, Antony replied to the messengers, "We shall do nothing from private enmity, yet in consequence of the crime and of the oaths we have all sworn to Caesar, that we would either protect his person or avenge his death, a solemn regard for our oath requires us to drive out the guilty and to live with a smaller number of innocent men rather than that all should be liable to the divine curse. Yet for our own part, although this seems to us the proper course, we will consider the matter with you in the Senate and we will agree to whatever may be decided in common to be propitious for the city."

Event Date: -44 GR

§ 2.17.125  Thus did Antony make a safe answer. The messengers returned their thanks and went away full of hope, for they had entire confidence that the Senate would cooperate with them. Antony ordered the magistrates to have the city watched by night, stationing guards at intervals as in the daytime, and he had fires lighted throughout the city. By this means the friends of the murderers were enabled to traverse the city the whole night, going to the houses of the senators and beseeching them in behalf of these men and of the republic. On the other hand, the leaders of the colonized soldiers ran about uttering threats lest they should fail to hold the lands set apart, either already assigned or proclaimed to them. And now the more honest citizens began to recover courage when they learned how small was the number of the conspirators, and when they remembered Caesar's merits they became much divided in opinion. That same night Caesar's money and his official papers were transferred to Antony's house, either because Calpurnia thought that they would be safer there or because Antony ordered it.

Event Date: -44 GR

§ 2.18.126  While these things were taking place Antony, by means of a notice sent around by night, called the Senate to meet before daybreak at the temple of Tellus, which was very near his own house, because he did not dare to go to the senate-house situated just below the Capitol, where the gladiators were aiding the conspirators, nor did he wish to disturb the city by bringing in the army. Lepidus, however, did that. As daylight was approaching the senators assembled at the temple of Tellus, including the praetor Cinna, clothed again in the robe of office which he had cast off the previous day as the gift of a tyrant. Some of the unbribed people and some of Caesar's veterans, when they saw him, were indignant that he, although a relative of Caesar, should have been the first to slander him in a public speech, threw stones at him, pursued him, and when he had taken refuge in a house brought fagots and were about to set it on fire when Lepidus came up with his soldiers and stopped them. This was the first decided expression of opinion in favor of Caesar. The hirelings, and the murderers themselves, were alarmed by it.

Event Date: -44 GR

§ 2.18.127  In the Senate only a small number were free from sympathy with the act of violence and indignant at the murder. Most of them sought to aid the murderers in various ways. They proposed first to invite them to be present under a pledge of safety and sit in council with them, thus changing them from criminals to judges. Antony did not oppose this because he knew they would not come; and they did not come. Then, in order to test the feeling of the Senate, some of them extolled the deed openly and without disguise, called the men tyrannicides, and proposed that they should be rewarded. Others were opposed to giving rewards, saying that the men did not want them and had not done the deed for the sake of reward, but thought that they should merely be thanked as public benefactors. Still others were opposed to thanking them and thought that it would be sufficient to grant them impunity. Such were the devices to which they resorted, and were trying to discover which of these courses the Senate would be inclined to accept first, hoping that after a little that body would be more easily led on by them to the other measures. The honester portion revolted at the murder as impious, but out of respect for the great families of the murderers would not oppose the granting of impunity, yet they were indignant at the proposal to honor them as public benefactors. Others argued that if impunity were granted it would not be fitting to refuse the most ample means of safety. When one speaker said that honoring them would be dishonoring Caesar, it was answered that it was not permissible to prefer the interests of the dead to those of the living. Another having said plainly that one of two things must be decided beforehand — either that Caesar was a tyrant or that his murderers were to be pardoned as an act of clemency — the others [Caesar's enemies] seized upon this simple proposition and asked that an opportunity be given them of expressing themselves by vote concerning the character of Caesar, under the solemn pledge that, if they voluntarily should give their unbiased judgment, the penalty of the oath should not befall them for having previously voted Caesar's decrees under compulsion — never willingly and never until they were in fear for their own lives, after the killing of Pompey and of numberless others besides Pompey.

Event Date: -44 GR

§ 2.18.128  When Antony, who had been looking on and waiting, saw that sufficient material for discussion had been introduced which was not open to dispute, he resolved to balk their scheme by exciting fear and anxiety for themselves. Seeing a great number of these senators themselves who had been designated by Caesar for city magistracies, priestly offices, and the command of provinces and armies (for, as he was going on a long expedition, he had appointed them for five years), Antony proclaimed silence as consul and said: "Those who are asking for a vote on the character of Caesar ought to consider in the first place that all the things done and decreed under his government and while he was the chosen ruler of the state remain in full force. If it is decided that he usurped the government by violence, his body should be cast out unburied and all his acts annulled. These acts, to speak briefly, embrace the whole earth and sea, and most of them will stand whether we like them or not, as I shall presently show. Those things which alone belong to us to decide, because they concern us alone, I will propose to you first, so that you may gain a conception of the more difficult questions from a consideration of the easier ones. Almost all of us have held office under Caesar; or do so still, having been chosen thereto by him; or will do so soon, having been designated in advance by him; for, as you know, he had disposed of the city offices, the yearly magistracies, and the command of provinces and armies for five years. If you are willing to resign these offices (for this is entirely in your power), I will put that question to you first and then I will take up the remaining ones."

Event Date: -44 GR

§ 2.18.129  Having lighted this kind of a firebrand among them, not in reference to Caesar, but to themselves, Antony relapsed into silence. They rose immediately en masse, and with loud clamor protested against new elections or submitting their claims to the people. They preferred to keep a firm hold on what they possessed. Some were opposed to new elections because they were not of lawful age, or for some other unavowed reason, and among these was the consul Dolabella himself, who could not legally stand for an election to that office as he was only twenty-five years old. Although he had pretended yesterday that he had a share in the conspiracy, a sudden change came over him, and now he reviled the majority for seeking to confer honor on murderers and dishonoring their own magistrates under the pretext of securing the safety of the former. Some encouraged Dolabella himself and the other magistrates to believe that they would obtain for them the same positions from the people's gratitude without any change of officers, but simply by the more legal method of election in place of monarchical appointment, and that it would be an additional honor to them to hold the same places under the monarchy and the republic. While these speakers were still talking some of the praetors, in order to ensnare the opposing faction, laid aside their robes of office as if they were about to exchange them for a more legal title to their places, in common with the others; but the others did not fall into the trap. They knew that these men could not control the future election.

Event Date: -44 GR

§ 2.18.130  While affairs were proceeding thus, Antony and Lepidus went out of the Senate, having been called for by a crowd that had been assembling for some time. When they were perceived in an elevated place, and the shouters had been with difficulty silenced, one of their number, either of his own volition or because he was prompted, called out, "Have a care lest you suffer a like fate." Antony loosened his tunic and showed him a coat-of-mail inside, thus exciting the beholders, as though it were impossible even for consuls to be safe without arms. Some cried out that the deed must be avenged, but a greater number demanded peace. To those who called for peace Antony said, "That is what we are striving for, that it may come and be permanent, but it is hard to get security for it when so many oaths and solemnities were of no avail in the case of Caesar." Then, turning to those who demanded vengeance, he praised them as more observant of the obligations of oaths and religion, and added, "I myself would join you and would be the first to call for vengeance if I were not the consul, who must care for what is called expedient rather than for what is just. So these people who are inside tell us. So Caesar himself perhaps thought when, for the good of the country, he spared those citizens whom he captured in war, and was slain by them."

Event Date: -44 GR

§ 2.18.131  When Antony had in this way worked upon both parties by turns, those who wanted to have vengeance on the murderers asked Lepidus to execute it. As Lepidus was about to speak those who were standing at a distance asked him to go down to the forum where all could hear him equally well. So he went directly there, thinking that the crowd was now changing its mind, and when he had taken his place on the Rostra he groaned and wept in plain sight for some time. Then recovering himself, he said, "Yesterday I stood with Caesar here, where now I am com- pelled to ask what you wish me to do about his murder." Many cried out "Avenge Caesar." The hirelings shouted on the other side, "Peace for the republic." To the latter he replied, "Agreed, but what kind of a peace do you mean? By what sort of oaths shall it be confirmed? We all swore the national oaths to Caesar and we have trampled on them — we who are considered the most distinguished of the oath-takers." Then, turning to those who called for vengeance, he said, "Caesar, that truly sacred and revered man, has gone from us, but we hesitate to deprive the republic of those who still remain. Our conscript fathers," he added, "are considering these matters, and this is the opinion of most of them." They shouted again, "Avenge him yourself." "I would like to," he replied, "and it is right that I should do it even alone, but it is not fitting that you and I should wish to do it alone, or alone set ourselves up against them."

Event Date: -44 GR

§ 2.18.132  While Lepidus was employing such devices the hirelings, who knew that he was ambitious, praised him and offered him Caesar's place as pontifex maximus. He was delighted. "Mention this to me later," he said, "if you consider me worthy of it," whereupon the mercenaries, encouraged by their offer of the priesthood, insisted still more strongly on peace. "Although it is contrary to religion and law," he said, "I will do what you wish." So saying he returned to the Senate, where Dolabella had consumed all the intervening time in unseemly talk about his own office. Antony, who was waiting to see what the people would do, looked at Dolabella with derision, for the two were at variance with each other. After enjoying the spectacle sufficiently and perceiving that the people would not do anything rashly, he decided, under compulsion, to extend protection to the murderers (concealing the necessity, however, and pretending to act in this way as a matter of the greatest favor), and at the same time to have Caesar's acts ratified and his plans carried into effect by common agreement. Accordingly he commanded silence again and spoke as follows: —

Event Date: -44 GR

§ 2.18.133  "Fellow-citizens, while you have been considering the case of the offenders I have not joined in the debate. When you called for a vote on Caesar instead of on them, I had brought forward, until this moment, only one of Caesar's acts. This one threw you into these many present controversies, and not without reason, for if we resign our offices we shall confess that we (so many and of such high rank as we are) came by them undeservedly. Consider the matters that cannot be easily controlled by us. Reckon them up by cities and provinces, by kings and princes. Almost all of these, from the rising to the setting sun, Caesar either subdued for us by force and arms, or organized by his laws, or confirmed in their allegiance by his favors and kindness. Which of these powers do you think will consent to be deprived of what they have received, unless you mean to fill the world with new wars — you who propose to spare these wretches for the sake of your exhausted country? But, omitting the more distant dangers and apprehensions, we have others not only near at hand, but even of our own household throughout Italy itself, — men who are here after receiving the rewards of victory, many of them with arms in their hands and in the same organization in which they fought, men assigned to colonies by Caesar (many thousands of whom are still in the city), — what think you they will do if they are deprived of what they have received, or expect to receive, in town and country? The past night showed you a sample. They were coursing the streets with threats against you who were supplicating in behalf of the murderers.

Event Date: -44 GR

§ 2.18.134  "Think you that Caesar's fellow-soldiers will allow his body to be dragged through the streets, dishonored, and cast away unburied — for our laws prescribe such treatment for tyrants? Will they consider the rewards they have received for their victories in Gaul and Britain secure, when he who gave them is treated with contumely? What will the Roman people themselves do? What the Italians? What ill-will of gods and men will attend you if you put ignominy upon one who advanced your dominion to shores of the ocean hitherto unknown? Will not such fickleness on our part be held in greater reprobation and condemnation if we vote to confer honor on those who have slain a consul in the senate-house, an inviolable man in a sacred place, in full senate, under the eyes of the gods, and if we dishonor one whom even our enemies honor for his bravery? I warn you to abstain from these proceedings as being sacrilegious in themselves and not in our power. I move that all the acts and intentions of Caesar be ratified and that the authors of the crime be by no means applauded (for that would be neither pious, nor just, nor consistent with the ratification of Caesar's acts). Let them be spared, if you please, as an act of clemency only, for the sake of their families and friends, if the latter will accept it in this sense in behalf of the murderers and acknowledge it in the light of a favor."

Event Date: -44 GR

§ 2.18.135  When Antony had said these things with intense feeling and impetuosity, all the others remaining silent and agreeing, the following decree was passed: "There shall be no prosecution for the murder of Caesar, but all of his acts and decrees are confirmed, because this policy is deemed advantageous to the commonwealth." The friends of the murderers insisted that those last words should be added for their security, implying that Caesar's acts were confirmed as a measure of utility and not of justice; and in this matter Antony yielded to them. When this decree had been voted the leaders of the colonists who were present asked for another act special to themselves, in addition to the general one, in order to confirm their colonies. Antony did not oppose this, but rather intimidated the Senate to pass it. So this was adopted, and another like it concerning the colonists who had been already sent out. The Senate was thereupon dismissed, and a number of senators collected around Lucius Piso, whom Caesar had made the custodian of his will and urged him not to make the will public, and not to give the body a public funeral, lest some new disturbance should arise therefrom. As he would not yield they threatened him with a public prosecution for defrauding the people of such an amount of wealth which ought to go into the public treasury; thus giving new signs that they were suspicious of a tyranny.

Event Date: -44 GR

§ 2.19.136  Then Piso called out with a loud voice and demanded that the consuls should reconvene the senators, who were still present, which was done, and then he said: "These men who talk of having killed a tyrant are already so many tyrants over us in place of one. They forbid the burying of a Pontifex Maximus and they threaten me when I produce his will. Moreover, they intend to confiscate his property as that of a tyrant. They have ratified Caesar's acts as regards themselves, but they annul those which relate to him. It is no longer Brutus or Cassius who do this, but those who instigated them to the murder. Of his burial you are the masters. Of his will I am, and never will I betray what has been intrusted to me unless somebody kills me also." This speech excited clamor and indignation on all sides, and especially among those who hoped that they should obtain something from the will. It was decreed that the will should be read in public and that Caesar should have a public funeral. Thereupon the Senate adjourned.

Event Date: -44 GR

§ 2.19.137  When Brutus and Cassius learned what had been done they sent messengers to the plebeians, whom they invited to come up to them at the Capitol. Presently a large number came together and Brutus addressed them as follows: "Here, citizens, we meet you, we who yesterday met together with you in the forum. We have come hither, not as taking refuge in a sanctuary (for we have done nothing wrong), nor in a citadel (for as regards our own affairs we intrust ourselves to you), but the sudden and unexpected attack made upon Cinna compelled us to do so. I know that our enemies accuse us of perjury and say that we render a lasting peace difficult. What we have to reply to these accusations we will say in your presence, citizens, with whose help we shall do what remains to be done for the restoration of democratic government. After Gaius Caesar advanced from Gaul with hostile arms against his country, and Pompey, the most popular man among you, suffered as he did, and after him a great number of other good citizens, who had been driven into Africa and Spain, had perished, Caesar was naturally apprehensive, although his power was firmly intrenched, and we granted him amnesty at his request and confirmed it by oath. If he had required us to swear not only to condone the past, but to be willing slaves for the future, what would our present accusers have done? For my part I think that, being Romans, they would have chosen to die many times rather than take an oath of voluntary servitude.

Event Date: -44 GR

§ 2.19.138  "If Caesar did no more against your liberty then are we perjured. But if he restored to you neither the magistracies of the city nor those of the provinces, neither the command of armies, the priestly offices, the leadership of colonies, nor any other posts of honor; if he neither consulted the Senate about anything nor asked the authority of the people, but if Caesar's command was all in all; if he was not even ever satiated with our misfortunes as Sulla was (for Sulla, when he had destroyed his enemies restored to you the government of the commonwealth, but Caesar, as he was going away for another long military expedition, anticipated by his appointments your elections for five years), what sort of freedom was this in which not a ray of hope could be any longer discerned? What shall I say of the defenders of the people, Caesetius and Marullus? Were not the incumbents of a sacred and inviolable office ignominiously banished? Although the law and the oath prescribed by our ancestors forbid calling the tribunes to account during their term of office, Caesar banished them even without a trial. Have we then, or has he, done violence to inviolable persons — unless you say that Caesar was sacred and inviolable, upon whom we conferred that distinction not of our own free will, but by compulsion, and not until he had invaded his country with arms and killed a great number of our noblest and best citizens? Did not our fathers in a democracy and without compulsion take an oath that the office of tribune should be sacred and inviolable, and declare with maledictions that it should remain so forever? What has become of the public tribute? What of the public accounts? Who opened the public treasury without our consent? Who removed part of the consecrated money? Who threatened with death another tribune who opposed him?

Event Date: -44 GR

§ 2.19.139  "'But what kind of an oath after this will be a guarantee of peace ?' they ask. If there is no tyrant there will be no need of oaths. Our fathers never needed any. If anybody else seeks to establish tyranny, no faith, no oath, will ever bind Romans to the tyrant. This we said before, while we were still in danger; this we will continue to say forever for our country's sake. We, who held places of honor securely at the hands of Caesar, had a higher regard for our country than for our offices. They slander us about the colonies and so excite you against us. If there are any present who have been settled in colonies, or are about to be settled, you will gratify me by making yourselves known."

Event Date: -44 GR

§ 2.19.140  A large number did so, whereupon Brutus continued, "Bravo, my men, you have done well to come here with the others. You ought, since you receive due honors and bounties from your country, to give her equal honor in return as she sends you forth. The Roman people gave you to Caesar to fight against the Gauls and Britons, and your valiant deeds call for recognition and recompense. But Caesar, taking advantage of your military oath, led you against your country much against your will. He led you against our best citizens in Africa, in like manner against your will. If this were all that you had done you would perhaps be ashamed to ask reward for such exploits, but since neither envy, nor time, nor the forgetfulness of men can extinguish the glory of your deeds in Gaul and Britain, you shall have the rewards due to them, such as the people gave to those who served in the army of old, yet not by taking land from your unoffending fellow-citizens, nor by dividing other people's property with new-comers, nor by considering it proper to requite your services by means of acts of injustice. When our ancestors overcame their enemies they did not take from them all their land. They shared it with them and colonized a portion of it with Roman soldiers, who were to serve as guards over the vanquished. If the conquered territory was not sufficient for the colonies, they added some of the public domain or bought other land with the public money. In this way the people colonized you without harm to anybody. But Sulla and Caesar, who invaded their country like a foreign land and needed guards and garrisons against their own country, did not dismiss you to your homes, nor buy land for you, nor divide among you the property of citizens which they confiscated, nor did they make compensation for the relief of those who were despoiled, although those who despoiled them had plenty of money from the treasury and plenty from confiscated estates. They took, by the law of war, — nay, by the practice of robbery, — from Italians who had committed no offence, who had done no wrong, their land and houses, tombs and temples, which we do not take away even from foreign enemies, except a mere tenth of their produce by way of tax.

Event Date: -44 GR

§ 2.19.141  "They divided among you the property of your own people, the very ones who sent you with Caesar to the Gallic war, and who offered up their prayers at your festival of victory. They colonized you in that way collectively, under your standards and in your military organization, so that you could neither enjoy peace nor be free from fear of those whom you displaced. The man who is driven out and deprived of his goods will always be watching his opportunity to ensnare you. This was the very thing that the tyrants sought to accomplish, — not to provide you with land, which they could have obtained for you elsewhere; but that you, because always beset by lurking enemies, might be the firm bulwark of a government that was committing wrongs in common with you. A common interest between tyrants and their satellites grows out of common crimes and common fears. And this, ye gods, they call colonization, in which are common the lamentations of a kindred people and the expulsion of innocent men from their homes. They purposely made you enemies to your countrymen for their own advantage. We, the defenders of the republic, to whom our opponents say they grant safety out of pity, confirm this very same land to you and will confirm it forever; and to this promise we call to witness the god of this temple. You have and shall keep what you have received. None of us will take it from you, neither Brutus, nor Cassius, nor any of us who have incurred danger for your freedom. The one thing wanting in this business we will supply — a reconciliation with your fellow-countrymen most agreeable to them now, as they hear that we shall at once pay them out of the public money the price of this land of which they have been deprived; so that not only shall your colony be secure, but it shall not even be exposed to hatred."

Event Date: -44 GR

§ 2.19.142  While Brutus was still speaking in this sort, and after the assembly was dissolved, his discourse was approved by all as being entirely just. He and his associates were admired as men of intrepidity, and as peculiarly the friends of the people. The latter were favorably inclined toward them, and promised to cooperate with them on the following day. At daybreak the consuls called the people to an assembly and communicated to them the decisions of the Senate, and Cicero pronounced a long encomium on the decree of amnesty. The people were delighted with it and invited Cassius and his friends to come down from the Capitol. The latter asked that hostages be sent to them in the meantime, and, accordingly, the sons of Antony and Lepidus were sent. When Brutus and his associates made their appearance they were received with shouts of applause, and when the consuls desired to say something the people would not allow them to do so, but demanded that they should first shake hands with these men and make peace with them, which was done. The minds of the consuls were much disturbed by fear and envy lest the conspirators should get the upper hand of them in other political matters.

Event Date: -44 GR

§ 2.20.143  Caesar's will was now produced and the people ordered that it be read at once. In it Octavius, the grandson of his sister, was adopted by Caesar. His gardens were given to the people as a place of recreation, and to every Roman still living in the city he gave seventy-five Attic drachmas. The people were again stirred to anger when they saw the will of this lover of his country, whom they had before heard accused of tyranny. Most of all did it seem pitiful to them that Decimus Brutus, one of the murderers, should have been named by him for adoption in the second degree; for it was customary for the Romans to name alternate heirs in case of the failure of the first. Whereupon there was still greater disturbance among the people, who considered it shocking and sacrilegious that Decimus should have conspired against Caesar when he had been adopted as his son. When Piso brought Caesar's body into the forum a countless multitude ran together with arms to guard it, and with acclamations and magnificent display placed it on the Rostra. Wailing and lamentation were renewed for a long time, the armed men clashed their shields, and gradually they began to repent themselves of the amnesty. Antony, seeing how things were going, did not abandon his purpose, but, having been chosen to deliver the funeral oration, as a consul for a consul, a friend for a friend, a relative for a relative (for he was related to Caesar on his mother's side), resumed his artful design and spoke as follows: —

Event Date: -44 GR

§ 2.20.144  "It is not fitting, citizens, that the funeral oration of so great a man should be pronounced by me alone, but rather by his whole country. The decrees which all of us, in equal admiration of his merit, voted to him while he was alive — the Senate and the people acting together — I will read, so that I may voice your sentiments rather than my own." Then he began to read with a severe and gloomy countenance, pronouncing each sentence distinctly and dwelling especially on those decrees which declared Caesar to be superhuman, sacred, and inviolable, and which named him the father of his country, or the benefactor, or the chieftain without a peer. With each decree Antony turned his face and his hand toward Caesar's corpse, illustrating his discourse by his action, and at each appellation he added some brief remark full of grief and indignation; as, for example, where the decree spoke of Caesar as the father of his country he added that this was a testimonial of his clemency; and again, where he was made sacred and inviolable and everybody else was to be held unharmed who should find refuge with him, — "Nobody," said Antony, "who found refuge with him was harmed, but he, whom you declared sacred and inviolable, was killed, although he did not extort these honors from you as a tyrant, and did not even ask for them. Most servile are we if we give such honors to the unworthy who do not ask for them. But you, faithful citizens, vindicate us from this charge of servility by paying such honors as you now pay to the dead."

Event Date: -44 GR

§ 2.20.145  Antony resumed his reading and recited the oaths by which all were pledged to guard Caesar and Caesar's body with all their strength, and all were devoted to perdition who should not avenge him against any conspiracy. Here, lifting up his voice and extending his hand toward the Capitol, he exclaimed, "Jupiter, guardian of this city, and ye other gods, I stand ready to avenge him as I have sworn and vowed, but since those who are of equal rank with me have considered the decree of amnesty beneficial, I pray that it may prove so." A commotion arose among the senators in consequence of this exclamation, which seemed to have special reference to them. So Antony quieted them again and recanted, saying, "It seems to me, fellow-citizens, that this deed is not the work of human beings, but of some evil spirit. It becomes us to consider the present rather than the past, since the greatest danger approaches, if it is not already here, lest we be drawn into our former civil commotions and lose whatever remains of noble birth in the city. Let us then conduct this sacred one to the abode of the blest, chanting our accustomed hymn of lamentation for him."

Event Date: -44 GR

§ 2.20.146  Having spoken thus,, he gathered up his garments like one inspired, girded himself so that he might have the free use of his hands, took his position in front of the bier as in a play, bending down to it and rising again, and sang first as to a celestial deity. In order to testify to Caesar's godlike origin, he raised his hands to heaven and with rapid speech recited his wars, his battles, his victories, the nations he had brought under his country's sway, and the spoils he had sent home, extolling each exploit as miraculous, and all the time exclaiming, "Thou alone hast come forth unvanquished from all the battles thou hast fought. Thou alone hast avenged thy country of the out-rage put upon it 300 years ago, bringing to their knees those savage tribes, the only ones that ever broke into and burned the city of Rome." Many other things Antony said in a kind of divine frenzy, and then lowered his voice from its high pitch to a sorrowful tone, and mourned and wept as for a friend who had suffered unjustly, and prayed that his own life might be given in exchange for Caesar's. Carried away by extreme passion he uncovered the body of Caesar, lifted his robe on the point of a spear and shook it aloft, pierced with dagger-thrusts and red with the dictator's blood. Whereupon the people, like a chorus, mourned with him in the most lugubrious manner, and from sorrow became again filled with anger. After the discourse other lamentations were chanted with funeral music according to the national custom, by the people in chorus, to the dead; and his deeds and his sad fate were again recited. Somewhere from the midst of these lamentations Caesar himself was supposed to speak, recounting the benefits he had conferred on his enemies by name, and speaking of the murderers themselves, exclaiming, as it were, "Oh that I should have spared these men to slay me!" The people could endure it no longer. It seemed to them monstrous that all the murderers who, with the single exception of Decimus Brutus, had been made prisoners while belonging to the faction of Pompey, and who, instead of being punished, had been advanced by Caesar to the magistracies of Rome and to the command of provinces and armies, should have conspired against him; and that Decimus should have been deemed by him worthy of adoption as his son.

Event Date: -44 GR

§ 2.20.147  While they were in this temper and were already near to violence, somebody raised above the bier an image of Caesar himself made of wax. The body itself, as it lay on its back on the couch, could not be seen. The image was turned round and round by a mechanical device, showing the twenty-three wounds in all parts of the body and on the face, which gave him a shocking appearance. The people could no longer bear the pitiful sight presented to them. They groaned, and, girding themselves, they burned the senate-chamber where Caesar was slain, and ran hither and thither searching for the murderers, who had fled some time previously. They were so mad with rage and grief that like wild beasts they tore in pieces the tribune Cinna on account of his similarity of name to the praetor Cinna who had made a speech against Caesar, not waiting to hear any explanation about the similarity of name, so that no part of him was ever found for burial. They carried fire to the houses of the other murderers, but the domestics valiantly fought them off and the neighbors besought them to desist. So the people abstained from the use of fire, but they threatened to come back with arms on the following day.

Event Date: -44 GR

§ 2.20.148  The murderers fled from the city secretly. The people returned to Caesar's bier and bore it as a consecrated thing to the Capitol in order to bury it in the temple and place it among the gods. Being prevented from doing so by the priests, they placed it again in the forum where in the olden time stood the palace of the kings of Rome. There they collected together sticks of wood and benches, of which there were many in the forum, and anything else they could find of that sort, for a funeral pile, throwing on it the adornments of the procession, some of which were very costly. Some of them cast their own crowns upon it and many military gifts. Then they set fire to it, and the entire people remained by the funeral pile throughout the night. There an altar was first erected, but now there stands the temple of Caesar himself, as he was deemed worthy of divine honors; for Octavius, his son by adoption, who took the name of Caesar, and, following in the footsteps of the latter in political matters, greatly strengthened the government founded by Caesar, and which remains to this day, decreed divine honors to his father. From this example the Romans now pay like honors to each emperor at his death if he has not reigned in a tyrannical manner or made himself odious, although at first they could not bear to call them kings while living.

Event Date: -44 GR

§ 2.21.149  So died Gaius Caesar on the so-called Ides of March, which correspond nearly with the middle of the Greek month Anthesterion, which day the soothsayer predicted that he should not survive. Caesar jokingly said to him early in the morning, "Well, the Ides have come," and the latter, nothing daunted, answered, "But they are not past." Despising such prophecies, uttered with so much confidence by the soothsayer, and other prodigies that I have previously mentioned, Caesar went on his way and was killed, being fifty-six years of age. He was a man most fortunate in all things, superhuman, of grand designs, and fit to be compared with Alexander. Both were men of the greatest ambition, both were most skilled in the art of war, most rapid in executing their decisions, most reckless of danger, least sparing of themselves, and relying as much on audacity and luck as on military skill. Alexander made a long journey through the desert in the hot season to visit the oracle of Ammon and crossed the Gulf of Pamphylia against a head sea successfully. A god restrained the waves for him until he had passed over, and sent him rain on his journey by land. In India he ventured upon an unknown sea. Once he was the first to ascend the scaling ladders and leaped over the wall among his enemies alone, and in this condition received thirteen wounds. Yet he was never defeated, and he finished almost every war in one or two battles. He conquered many barbarians in Europe and made himself master of Greece, a people hard to control, fond of freedom, who boasted that they had never obeyed anybody before him, except Philip for a little while under the guise of his leadership in war. He overran almost the whole of Asia. To sum up Alexander's fortune and power in a word, he acquired as much of the earth as he saw, and died while he was devising means to capture the rest.

Event Date: -44 GR

§ 2.21.150  The Adriatic Sea yielded to Caesar, becoming navigable and quiet in mid-winter. He also crossed the western ocean to Britain, which had never been attempted before, and he ordered his pilots to break their ships in pieces by running them on the rocks of the British coast. He was exposed to the violence of another tempest when alone in a small boat by night, and he ordered the pilot to spread his sails and to keep in mind Caesar's fortune rather than the waves of the sea. He often dashed against the enemy single-handed when all others were afraid. He fought thirty pitched battles in Gaul alone, where he conquered forty nations so formidable to the Romans previously that in the law which exempted priests and old men from military enrolment an exception was made of a Gallic war, in case of which priests and old men were required to serve in the army. Once in the course of the Alexandrian war, when he was left alone on a bridge in extreme peril, he threw off his purple garment, leaped into the sea, and, being sought by the enemy, swam under water a long distance, coming to the surface only at intervals to take breath, until he came near a friendly ship, when he made himself known by raising his hands, and was saved. In these civil wars, in which he engaged either through apprehension, as he says, or ambition, he was brought in conflict with the first generals of the age and with many large armies, not now of barbarians, but of Romans in the highest state of efficiency and good fortune, and, like Alexander, he overcame them all by one or two engagements with each. His forces were not, like Alexander's, always victorious, for they were defeated by the Gauls most disastrously under the command of his lieutenants, Cotta and Titurius; and in Spain Petreius and Afranius shut them up like an army besieged. At Dyrrachium and in Africa they were put to flight, and in Spain they were terrified by young Pompey. But Caesar himself was always undaunted and was victorious at the end of every war. He grasped, partly by force, partly by good-will, the Roman power which ruled the earth and sea from the setting sun to the river Euphrates, and held it much more firmly and strongly than Sulla had done, and he showed himself to be a king in spite of opposition, even though he did not accept the title. And, like Alexander, he expired while planning new wars.

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§ 2.21.151  Their armies were equally zealous and devoted to both, and in battles they fought with the greatest ferocity, but were often disobedient and mutinous on account of the severity of their tasks. Yet they mourned and longed for their commanders when they were dead, and paid them divine honors. Both were well-formed and handsome in person, and both were descended from Jupiter, Alexander through Aeacus and Hercules, Caesar through Anchises and Venus. Both were as prompt to fight their adversaries as they were ready to make peace and grant pardon to the vanquished, and after pardon to confer benefits; for they desired only to conquer. Thus far let the parallel hold good, although they did not both start toward empire from the same footing; Alexander from the monarchy founded by Philip, Caesar from a private station, well born and illustrious indeed, but very short of money.

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§ 2.21.152  Both of them despised the prodigies relating to themselves, but they did not deal harshly with the sooth-sayers who predicted their death; for more than once the very same prodigies confronted both, pointing to the same end. Twice in the case of each the victims were without a liver, and the first time it indicated a doubtful danger. It happened to Alexander when he was among the Oxydracae and while he was leading his Macedonians in scaling the enemy's wall. The ladder broke, leaving him alone on the top. Taking counsel of his courage, he leaped inside the town against his enemies, and was struck severely in the breast and on the neck by a very heavy club, so that he fell down, and was rescued with difficulty by the Macedonians, who broke down the gates in their alarm for him. It happened to Caesar in Spain while his army was in great fear of young Pompey, and hesitated to join battle. Caesar dashed in advance of all into the space between the armies, and received 200 darts on his shield until his army, moved by shame and fear for his safety, rushed forward and rescued him. Thus in the case of each the first victims without livers presaged danger of death; the second presaged death itself. As Peithagoras, the soothsayer, was inspecting the entrails, he told Apollodorus, who was in fear of Alexander and Hephestion, not to be afraid of them, because they would both be out of the way very soon. Hephestion died immediately, and Apollodorus, being apprehensive lest some conspiracy might exist against Alexander, communicated the prophecy to him. Alexander smiled, and asked Peithagoras himself what the prodigy meant. When the latter replied that it meant fatality, he smiled again. Nevertheless, he commended Apollodorus for his good-will and the soothsayer for his freedom of speech.

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§ 2.21.153  As Caesar was entering the Senate for the last time, as I have shortly before related, the same omens were observed, but he said, jestingly, that the same thing had happened to him in Spain. When the soothsayer replied that he was in danger then too, and that the omen was now more deadly, he yielded somewhat to the warning and sacrificed again, and continued to do so until he became vexed with the priests for delaying him, and went in and was killed. The same kind of thing happened to Alexander. As he was returning from India to Babylon with his army, and was nearing the latter place, the Chaldeans urged him to postpone his entrance for the present. He replied with the iambic verse, "He who guesses right is the best prophet." Again, the Chaldeans urged him not to march his army into the city while looking toward the setting sun, but to go around and enter facing the east. It is said that he yielded to this suggestion and started to go around, but being bothered by a lake and marshy ground, he disregarded this second prophecy also, and entered the city looking toward the west. Not long after entering he went down the Euphrates in a boat to the river Pallacotta, which takes its water from the Euphrates and carries it away in marshes and ponds and thus hinders the irrigation and navigation of the Assyrian country. While he was considering how he should dyke this stream and while he was sailing out to it for this purpose, it is said that he jeered at the Chaldeans because he had gone into Babylon and sailed out of it safely. But scarcely had he returned back to it when he died. Caesar jeered at the prophecies in like manner, for the soothsayer predicted the day of his death, saying that he should not survive the Ides of March, and when the day came Caesar mocked him saying, "The Ides have come"; and the same day he died. Thus both alike made light of the prophecies concerning themselves, and were not angry at the soothsayers who uttered them, yet they became the inevitable victims of the prophecies.

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§ 2.21.154  Both were students of the science and arts of their own country, of Greece, and of foreign nations. As to those of India, Alexander interrogated the Brahmins who seem to be the astronomers and learned men of that country, like the Magi among the Persians. Caesar likewise interrogated the Egyptians while he was there restoring Cleopatra to the throne, by which means he made many improvements among the peaceful arts for the Romans. He changed the calendar, which was still in disorder by reason of the intercalary months till then in use, for the Romans reckoned the year by the moon. Caesar changed it to the sun's course, as the Egyptians reckoned it. It happened in his case that not one of the conspirators against him escaped, but all were brought to condign punishment by his adopted son, just as the murderers of Philip were by Alexander. How they were punished the succeeding books will show.

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§ 3.1.1  BOOK III
Thus was Gaius Caesar, who had been foremost in extending the Roman sway, slain by his enemies and buried by the people. All of his murderers were brought to punishment. How the most distinguished of them were punished this book and the next one will show, and the other civil wars waged by the Romans will likewise be included in them.

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§ 3.1.2  The Senate blamed Antony for his funeral oration over Caesar, by which, chiefly, the people were incited to disregard the decree of amnesty lately passed, and to scour the city in order to fire the houses of the murderers. But he changed it from bad to good feeling toward himself by one capital stroke of policy. There was a certain pseudo-Marius in Rome named Amatius. He pretended to be a grandson of Marius, and for this reason was popular with the masses. Being, according to this pretence, a relative of Caesar, he was pained beyond measure by the latter's death, and erected an altar on the site of his funeral pyre. He collected a band of reckless men and made himself a perpetual terror to the murderers. Some of these had fled from the city, and those who had accepted the command of provinces from Caesar himself had gone away to take charge of the same, Decimus Brutus to Cisalpine Gaul, Trebonius to Asia adjoining Ionia, and Tillius Cimber to Bithynia. Cassius and Marcus Brutus, who were the special favorites of the Senate, had been chosen by Caesar as governors for the following year, the former of Syria, and the latter of Macedonia. Being still city praetors, they remained there necessarily, and in their official capacity they conciliated the colonists by various decrees, and among others by one enabling them to sell their allotments, the law hitherto forbidding the alienation of the land till the end of twenty years.

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§ 3.1.3  It was said that Amatius was only waiting an opportunity to entrap Brutus and Cassius. On the rumor of this plot, Antony, using his consular authority, arrested Amatius and boldly put him to death without a trial. The senators were astonished at this deed as an act of violence and contrary to law, but they enjoyed it exceedingly because they thought that the situation of Brutus and Cassius would never be safe without such boldness. The followers of Amatius, and the plebeians generally, missing Amatius and feeling indignation at the deed, and especially because it had been done by Antony, whom the people had honored, determined that they would not be scorned in that way. With shouts they took possession of the forum, exclaiming against Antony and called on the magistrates, in place of Amatius, to dedicate the altar and to offer the first sacrifices on it to Caesar. Having been driven out of the forum by soldiers sent by Antony, they became still more indignant, and vociferated more loudly, and some of them showed places where Caesar's statues had been torn from their pedestals. One man told them that he could show a shop where the statues had been broken up. The others followed, and having witnessed the fact, they set fire to the place. Finally, Antony sent more soldiers and some of those who resisted were killed, others were captured, and of these the slaves were crucified and the freemen thrown over the Tarpeian rock.

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§ 3.1.4  So this tumult was quieted. The extreme fondness of the plebeians for Antony was turned into extreme hatred. The Senate was delighted, because it believed that Brutus and his associates could not rest secure otherwise. Antony also moved that Sextus Pompeius (the son of Pompey the Great, who was still much beloved by all) should be recalled from Spain, where he was still at war with Caesar's lieutenants, and that he should be paid 50,000,000 of Attic drachmas out of the public treasury for his father's confiscated property and be appointed commander of the sea, as his father had been, with charge of all the Roman ships, wherever situated, which were needed for immediate service. The astonished Senate accepted each of these decrees with alacrity and applauded Antony the whole day; for nobody, in their estimation, was more devoted to the republic than the elder Pompey, and hence nobody was more regretted. Cassius and Brutus, who were of Pompey's faction, and the ones most honored by all at that time, thought that they would be entirely safe. They thought that what they had done would be confirmed, and the republic be at last restored, and their party successful. Wherefore Cicero praised Antony continually, and the Senate, perceiving that the plebeians were making plots against him on its account, allowed him a guard for his personal safety, chosen by himself from the veterans who were sojourning in the city.

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§ 3.1.5  Antony, either because he had done everything for this very purpose, or seizing the happy chance as very useful to him, enlisted his guard and kept adding to it till it amounted to 6000 men. They were not common soldiers. He thought that he should easily get the latter for his service otherwise. These were composed wholly of centurions, as being fit for command, and of long experience in war, and his own acquaintances through service under Caesar. He appointed tribunes over them, chosen from their own number and adorned with military decoration, and these he held in honor and made sharers of his public councils. The Senate began to be suspicious of the number of his guards, and of his care in choosing them, and advised him to reduce them to a moderate number so as to avoid invidious remarks. He promised to do so as soon as the disorder among the plebeians should be quieted. It had been decreed that all the things done by Caesar, and all that he intended to do, should be ratified. The memoranda of Caesar's intentions were in Antony's possession, and Caesar's secretary, Faberius, was obedient to him in every way since Caesar himself, on the point of his departure, had placed all petitions of this kind in Antony's discretion. Antony made many additions in order to secure the favor of many persons. He made gifts to cities, to princes, and to his own guards, and although all were advised that these were Caesar's memoranda, yet the recipients knew that the favor was due to Antony. In the same way he enrolled many new names in the list of senators and did many other things to please the Senate, in order that it might not bear him ill-will in reference to his guards.

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§ 3.1.6  While Antony was busy with these matters, Brutus and Cassius, seeing nobody among either the plebeians or the veterans inclined to be at peace with them, and considering that any other person might lay plots against them like that of Amatius, became distrustful of the fickleness of Antony, who now had an army under his command. Seeing that the republic was not confirmed by deeds, they suspected Antony for that reason also. They reposed most confidence in Decimus Brutus, who had three legions near by. They sent secretly to Trebonius in Asia and to Tillius in Bithynia, asking them to collect money quietly and to prepare an army. They were anxious to enter upon the government of the provinces assigned to them by Caesar, but as the time for doing so had not yet come, they thought that it would be indecorous for them to leave their service as city praetors unfinished, and that they should incur the suspicion of an undue longing for power over the provinces. They preferred, nevertheless, to spend the remainder of their year as private citizens somewhere, as a matter of necessity, rather than serve as praetors in the city where they were not safe, and were not held in honor corresponding to the benefits they had conferred upon their country. Being in this state of mind, and the Senate holding the same opinion as themselves, the latter gave them charge of the supply of corn for the city from all parts of the world until the time should arrive for them to take command of their provinces. This was done in order that Brutus and Cassius might not at any time seem to have fled. So great was the anxiety and regard for them that the Senate cared for the other murderers chiefly on their account.

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§ 3.1.7  After Brutus and Cassius had left the city, Antony, being in possession of something like monarchical power, cast about for the government of a province and an army for himself. He desired that of Syria most of all, but he was not ignorant of the fact that he was under suspicion and that he would be more so if he should ask for it; for the Senate had secretly encouraged Dolabella, the other consul, to oppose Antony, as the former had always been at variance with the latter. Antony, knowing that this young Dolabella was himself ambitious, persuaded him to solicit the province of Syria and the army enlisted against the Parthians, in place of Cassius, and to ask it, not from the Senate, which had not the power to grant it, but from the people by a law. Dolabella was delighted, and immediately brought forward the law. The Senate accused him of nullifying the decrees of Caesar. He replied that Caesar had not assigned the war against the Parthians to anybody, and that Cassius, who had been assigned to the command of Syria, had himself been the first to alter the decrees of Caesar by authorizing colonists to sell their allotments before the expiration of the legal period of twenty years. He said also that it would be an indignity to himself if he, being Dolabella, were not chosen for Syria instead of Cassius. The Senate then persuaded one of the tribunes, named Asprenas, to falsify the signs in the sky during the comitia, expecting that Antony, who was both consul and augur, and was supposed to be still at variance with Dolabella, would cooperate with him. But when the voting came on, and Asprenas said that the signs in the sky were unfavorable, as it was not his business to attend to this, Antony, angry at his lying, ordered that the tribes should go on with the voting on the subject of Dolabella.

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§ 3.1.8  Thus Dolabella became governor of Syria and general of the war against the Parthians and of the forces enlisted for that purpose by Caesar, together with those that had gone in advance to Macedonia. Then it became known for the first time that Antony was cooperating with Dolabella. After this business had been transacted by the people, Antony solicited the province of Macedonia from the Senate, well knowing that after Syria had been given to Dolabella, they would be ashamed to deny Macedonia to himself, especially as it was a province without an army. They gave it to him unwillingly, at the same time wondering why Antony should let Dolabella have the army, but glad nevertheless that the latter had it rather than the former. They themselves took the opportunity to ask of Antony other provinces for Brutus and Cassius. They assigned to them Cyrenaica and Crete; or, as some say, both of these to Cassius and Bithynia to Brutus. Such was the state of affairs at Rome.

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§ 3.2.9  Octavius, the son of the daughter of Caesar's sister, had been appointed master of Caesar's horse for one year, for Caesar at times made this a yearly office, passing it around among his friends. Being still a young man, he had been sent by Caesar to Apollonia on the Adriatic to be educated and trained in the art of war, so that he might accompany Caesar on his expeditions. Troops of horse from Macedonia were sent to him by turns for the purpose of drill, and certain army officers visited him frequently as a relative of Caesar. As he received all with kindness, an acquaintance and good feeling grew up by means of them between himself and the army. At the end of a six months' sojourn in Apollonia, it was announced to him one evening that Caesar had been killed in the senate-house by those who were dearest to him, and were then the most powerful ones under him. As the rest of the story was untold he was overcome by fear, not knowing whether the deed had been committed by the Senate as a whole or was confined to the immediate actors; nor whether they had already been punished by the people, or would be, or whether the people were pleased with what had been done.

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§ 3.2.10  Thereupon his Roman friends advised him to take refuge with the army in Macedonia to insure his personal safety, and that when he should learn that the murder was only a private transaction he should take courage and avenge Caesar of his enemies; and there were high officers who promised to protect him if he would come. But his mother and his stepfather, Philippus, wrote to him from Rome not to be too confident and not to attempt anything rash, but to bear in mind what Caesar, after conquering every enemy, had suffered at the hands of his closest friends; that it would be safer under present circumstances to choose a private life and hasten to them at Rome, but with caution. Octavius yielded to them because he did not know what had happened after Caesar's death. He took leave of the army officers and crossed the Adriatic, not to Brundusium (for as he had made no test of the army at that place he avoided all risk), but to another town not far from it and out of the direct route, named Lupiae. There he took lodgings and remained for a while.

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§ 3.2.11  When more accurate information about the murder and the public grief had reached him, together with copies of Caesar's will and the decrees of the Senate, his relatives still cautioned him to beware of the enemies of Caesar, as he was the latter's adopted son and heir. They even advised him to renounce the adoption, together with the inheritance. But he thought that to do so, and not to avenge Caesar, would be disgraceful. So he went to Brundusium, first sending in advance to see that none of the murderers had laid any trap for him. When the army there advanced to meet him, and received him as Caesar's son, he took courage, offered sacrifice, and immediately assumed the name of Caesar; for it is customary among the Romans for the adopted son to take the name of the adoptive father. He not only assumed it, but he changed his own name and his patronymic completely, calling himself Caesar the son of Caesar, instead of Octavius the son of Octavius, and he continued to do so ever after. Directly multitudes of men from all sides flocked to him as Caesar's son, some from friendship to Caesar, others his freedmen and slaves, and with them other soldiers, who were either engaged in conveying supplies and money to the army in Macedonia, or bringing other money and tribute from other countries to Brundusium.

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§ 3.2.12  Encouraged by the numbers who were joining him, and by the glory of Caesar, and by the good-will of all toward himself, he journeyed to Rome with a notable crowd which, like a torrent, grew larger and larger each day. Although he was safe from any open attacks by reason of the multitude surrounding him, he was all the more on his guard against secret ones, because almost all of those accompanying him were new acquaintances. Some of the towns were not altogether favorable to him, but Caesar's veterans, who had been distributed in colonies, flocked from their settlements to greet the young man. They bewailed Caesar, and cursed Antony for not proceeding against the monstrous crime, and said that they would avenge it if anybody would lead them. Octavius praised them, but postponed the matter for the present and sent them away. When he had arrived at Tarracina, about 400 stades from Rome, he received news that Cassius and Brutus had been deprived of Syria and Macedonia by the consuls, and had received the smaller provinces of Cyrenaica and Crete by way of compensation; that certain exiles had returned; that Sextus Pompey had been recalled; that some new members had been added to the Senate in accordance with Caesar's memoranda, and that many other things were happening.

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§ 3.2.13  When he arrived at the city his mother and Philippus and the others who were interested in him were anxious about the estrangement of the Senate from Caesar, and the decree that his murderers should not be punished, and the contempt shown him by Antony, who was then all-powerful, and had neither gone to meet Caesar's son when he was coming nor sent anybody to him. Octavius quieted their fears, saying that he would call on Antony, as the younger man on the older and the private citizen on the consul, and that he would show proper respect for the Senate. As for the decree, he said that it had been passed because nobody had prosecuted the murderers; whenever anybody should have courage to prosecute, the people and the Senate would lend their aid to him as one enforcing the law, the gods would do so for the justice of his cause, and perhaps Antony himself would help. If he (Octavius) should reject the inheritance and the adoption, he would be false to Caesar and would wrong the people who had a share in the will. As he was finishing his remarks he burst out that he ought not only to incur danger, but even to die, after he had been preferred before all others in this way by Caesar, if he would show himself worthy of one who had himself braved every danger. Then turning to his mother, he repeated the words of Achilles to Thetis, which were then fresh in his mind: "Then quickly let me die since fate denied That I should aid my friend against the foes That slew him." After saying this he added that these words of Achilles, and especially the deed that followed, had of all things given him immortal renown; and he invoked Caesar not as a friend, but a father; not as a fellow-soldier, but a commander-in-chief; not as one who had fallen by the law of war, but as the victim of sacrilegious murder in the senate-house.

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§ 3.2.14  Thereupon his mother's anxiety was changed to joy, and she embraced him as the only one worthy of Caesar. She checked his speaking and urged him to prosecute his designs with the favor of fortune. She advised him, however, to use art and patience rather than open boldness. Octavius approved of this policy and promised to adopt it in action, and forthwith sent around to his friends the same evening, asking them to come to the forum early in the morning and bring a crowd with them. There presenting himself to Gaius Antonius, the brother of Antony, who was the city praetor, he said that he accepted the adoption of Caesar; for it is a Roman custom that adoptions are confirmed by witnesses before the praetors. When the public scribes had taken down his declaration, Octavius went from the forum straightway to Antony. The latter was in the gardens that Caesar had given to him, that had formerly been Pompey's. As Octavius was kept waiting at the vestibule for some time, he interpreted the fact as a sign of Antony's displeasure. When he was admitted there were greetings and mutual questionings proper to the occasion. When the time came to speak of the business in hand, Octavius said: —

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§ 3.2.15  "Father Antony (for the benefits that Caesar conferred upon you and your gratitude toward him warrant me in giving you that title), for some of the things that you have done since his death I praise you and owe you thanks; for others I blame you. I shall speak freely of what my sorrow prompts me to speak. When Caesar was killed you were not present, as the murderers detained you at the door; otherwise you would have saved him or incurred the danger of sharing the same fate with him. If the latter would have befallen you, then it is well that you were not present. When certain senators proposed rewards to the murderers as tyrannicides you strongly opposed them. For this I give you hearty thanks, although you knew that they intended to kill you also; not, as I think, because you were likely to avenge Caesar, but, as they themselves say, lest you should be his successor in the tyranny. At the same time they made it clear that they were not tyrant-killers, but murderers, by taking refuge in the Capitol, either as guilty suppliants in a temple or as enemies in a fortress. How then could they have obtained amnesty and impunity for their crime unless some portion of the Senate and people had been corrupted by them? Yet you, as consul, ought to have seen what would be for the interest of the majority, and if you had wished to avenge such a monstrous crime, or to reclaim the erring, your office would have enabled you to do either. But you sent hostages from your own family to the murderers at the Capitol for their security. Let us suppose that those who had been corrupted forced you to do this also, yet when Caesar's will had been read, and you had delivered your righteous funeral oration, and the people, in lively remembrance of Caesar, had carried firebrands to the houses of the murderers, but spared them for the sake of their neighbors, agreeing to come back armed the next day, why did you not cooperate with them and lead them with fire or arms? Or why did you not bring them to trial, if trial was necessary for men seen in the act of murder — you, Caesar's friend; you, the consul; you, Antony?

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§ 3.2.16  "The pseudo-Marius was put to death by your order in the plenitude of your authority, but you connived at the escape of the murderers, some of whom have passed on to the provinces which they nefariously hold as gifts at the hands of him whom they slew. These things were no sooner done than you and Dolabella, the consuls, proceeded, very properly, to strip them and possess yourselves of Syria and Macedonia. I should have owed you thanks for this also, had you not immediately voted them Cyrenaica ana Crete; had you not preferred these fugitives for governorships, where they can always defend themselves against me, and had you not tolerated Decimus Brutus in the command of Hither Gaul, although he, like the rest, was one of my father's slayers. It may be said that these were decrees of the Senate. But you put the vote and you presided over the Senate — you who ought most of all to have opposed them on your own account. To grant amnesty to the murderers was merely to insure their personal safety as a matter of favor, but to vote them provinces and rewards forthwith was to insult Caesar and annul your own opinion. Grief has compelled me to speak these words, against the rules of decorum perhaps, considering my youth and the respect I owe you. They have been spoken, however, to the firmest friend of Caesar, to one who was invested by him with the greatest honor and power, and who would have been adopted by him no doubt if he had known that you would accept kinship with the family of Aeneas in exchange for that of Hercules; for this created doubt in his mind when he was thinking strongly of designating you as his successor.

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§ 3.2.17  "For the future, Antony, I conjure you by the gods who preside over friendship, and by Caesar himself, to change somewhat the measures that have been adopted, for you can change them if you wish to; if not, that you will hereafter aid and cooperate with me in punishing the murderers, with the help of the people and of those who are still my father's faithful friends. If you still have regard for the conspirators and the Senate, do not be hard on us. So much for that. You know about my private affairs and the expense I must incur for the legacy which my father directed to be given to the people, and the haste involved in it lest I may seem churlish by reason of delay, and lest those who have been assigned to colonies be compelled to remain in the city and waste their time on my account. Of Caesar's movables, that were brought immediately after the murder from his house to yours as a safer place, I beg you to take keepsakes and anything else by way of ornament and whatever you like to retain from us. But in order that I may pay the legacy to the people, please give me the gold coin that Caesar had collected for his intended wars. That will suffice for the distribution to 300,000 men now. For the rest of my expenses I may perhaps borrow from you, if I may be so bold, or from the public treasury on your security, if you will give it, and I will offer my own property for sale at once."

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§ 3.2.18  While Octavius was speaking in this fashion Antony was astonished at his freedom of speech and his boldness, which seemed much beyond the bounds of propriety and of his years. He was offended by the words because they were wanting in the respect due to him, and still more by the demand for money, and, accordingly, he replied in the severe terms following: "Young man, if Caesar left you the government, together with the inheritance and his name, it is proper for you to ask and for me to give the reasons for my public acts. But if the Roman people never surrendered the government to anybody to dispose of in succession, not even when they had kings, whom they expelled and swore never to have any more (this was the very charge that the murderers brought against your father, saying that they killed him because he was no longer leading but reigning), then there is no need of my answering you as to my public acts. For the same reason I release you from any indebtedness to me in the way of gratitude for those acts. They were performed not as a favor to you, but to the people, except in one particular, which was of the greatest importance to Caesar and to yourself. For if, to secure my own safety and to shield myself from enmity, I had allowed honors to be voted to the murderers as tyrannicides, Caesar would have been declared a tyrant, to whom neither glory, nor any kind of honor, nor confirmation of his acts would have been possible; who could make no valid will, have no son, nor any burial of his body, even as a private citizen. The laws provide that the bodies of tyrants shall be cast out unburied, their memory stigmatized, and their property confiscated.

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§ 3.2.19  "Apprehending all of these consequences, I entered the lists for Caesar, for his immortal honor, and his public funeral, not without danger, not without incurring hatred to myself, contending against hot-headed, blood-thirsty men, who, as you know, had already conspired to kill me; and against the Senate, which was displeased with your father on account of his usurped authority. But I willingly chose to incur these dangers and to suffer anything rather than allow Caesar to remain unburied and dishonored — the most valiant man of his time, the most fortunate in every respect, and the one to whom the highest honors were due from me. It is by reason of the dangers I incurred that you enjoy your present distinction as the successor of Caesar, his family, his name, his dignity, his wealth. It was more becoming in you to testify your gratitude to me for these things than to reproach me for concessions made to soothe the Senate, or in compensation for what I demanded of it, or in pursuance of other needs or reasons — you a younger man addressing an older one. But enough of that. You hint that I am ambitious of the leadership. I am not ambitious of it, although I do not consider myself unworthy of it. You think that I am distressed because I was not mentioned in Caesar's will, though you agree with me that the family of the Heraclidae is enough to content one.

Event Date: -44 GR

§ 3.2.20  "As to your pecuniary needs and your wishing to borrow from the public funds, I should think you must be joking, unless we might believe that you are still ignorant of the fact that the public treasury was left empty by your father. After he assumed the government the public revenues were brought to him instead of to the treasury, and they will presently be found among Caesar's assets when we vote an investigation into these matters. This will not be unjust to Caesar now that he is dead, nor would he say that it was unjust if he were living and were asked for the accounts. And as there will be many private persons to dispute with you concerning single pieces of property, you may assume that this portion will not be uncontested. The money transferred to my house was not so large a sum as you conjecture, nor is any part of it in my custody now. The men in power and authority, except Dolabella and my brothers, divided up the whole of it straightway as the property of a tyrant, but were brought around by me to support the decrees in favor of Caesar, and you, if you are wise, when you get possession of the remainder, will distribute it among those who are disaffected toward you rather than among the people. The former, if they are in harmony with you, will send the people, who are to be colonized, away to their settlements. The people, however, as you ought to have learned from the Greek studies you have been lately pursuing, are as unstable as the waves of the sea, now advancing, now retreating. In like manner, among us also, the people are forever exalting their favorites, and casting them down again."

Event Date: -44 GR

§ 3.3.21  Feeling outraged by the many insulting things said by Antony, Octavius went away, invoking his father repeatedly by name, and offered for sale all the property which had come to him by the inheritance, at the same time exhorting the people to stand by him. While this hasty action made manifest Antony's enmity toward him, and the Senate voted an immediate investigation of the public accounts, most of them grew apprehensive of the young Caesar' on account of the favor in which his father was held by the soldiers and the plebeians, and on account of his own present popularity based on the expected distribution of the money, and by reason of the wealth which had fallen to him in such vast measure that in the opinion of many he would not restrict himself to the rank of a private citizen. But they were most apprehensive of Antony, lest he should bring the young Caesar, distinguished and rich as he was, under his own control, and grasp the sovereignty held by the elder Caesar. Others were delighted with the present state of affairs, believing that the two men would come in conflict with each other; and that the investigation concerning the public money would presently put an end to the wealth of Octavius, and that the treasury would be filled thereby because much of the public property would be found in Caesar's estate.

Event Date: -44 GR

§ 3.3.22  In the meantime many persons brought lawsuits against Octavius for the recovery of landed property, some making one claim and some another, differing in other respects, but for the most part having this in common, that it had been confiscated from persons who had been banished or put to death by the proscription. These suits were brought before Antonius himself or the other consul, Dolabella. If any were brought before other magistrates, Octavius was worsted through Antony's influence, although he showed by the public records that the purchases had been made by his father, and that the last decree of the Senate had confirmed all of Caesar's acts. Great wrongs were done him in these judgments, and the losses in consequence thereof were going on without end, until Pedius and Pinarius, who had a certain portion of the inheritance under Caesar's will, complained to Antony, both for themselves and for Octavius, that they were suffering injustice in violation of the Senate's decree. They thought that he ought to annul only the things done in derogation of Caesar, and to ratify all that had been done by him. Antony acknowledged that his course was perhaps somewhat contrary to the agreements voted. The decrees also, he said, had been recorded in a sense different from the understanding at the time. While hastily passing a mere decree of amnesty, it had been registered that whatever had been previously determined on should stand unrepealed, not for its own sake, not because it was satisfactory in all respects, but rather to promote good order and to quiet the people, who had been thrown into tumult by these events. It would be more just, he added, to observe the spirit than the letter of the decree, and not to make an unseemly opposition to so many men who had lost their own and their ancestors' property in the civil convulsions, and to do this in favor of a young man who had received an amount of other people's wealth disproportionate to a private station and beyond his hopes, and who was not making good use of his fortune, but employing it in the rashest adventures. He would take care of them (Pedius and Pinarius) after their portion should have been separated from that of Octavius. This was the answer made by Antony to Pedius and Pinarius. So they took their portion immediately, in order not to lose their own share by the lawsuits, and they did this not so much on their own account as on that of Octavius, for they were going to bestow the whole of it upon him soon afterward.

Event Date: -44 GR

§ 3.3.23  The games were now approaching, which Gaius Antonius, the brother of Antony, was about to give in behalf of Brutus, the praetor, as he attended also to the other duties of the praetorship which devolved on him in the latter's absence. Lavish expense was incurred in the preparations for them, in the hope that the people, gratified by the spectacle, would recall Brutus and Cassius. Octavius, on the other hand, intrigued against this scheme, distributing the money derived from the sale of his property among the head men of the tribes by turns, to be divided by them among the first comers. He went around to the places where his property was on sale and ordered the auctioneers to announce the lowest possible price for everything, both on account of the uncertainty and danger of the lawsuits still pending, and on account of his own zeal for the people, all of which brought him both popularity and sympathy as one undeserving of such treatment. When, in addition to what he had received as Caesar's heir, he offered for sale his own property derived from his father Octavius, and whatever he had from other sources, and all that belonged to his mother and to Philippus, and the shares of Pedius and Pinarius which he begged from them, in order to make the distribution to the people (because in consequence of the litigation Caesar's property was not sufficient even for this purpose), then the people considered it no longer the gift of the elder Caesar, but of the younger one, and they commiserated him deeply and praised him both for what he endured and for what he aspired to be. It was evident that they would not long tolerate the wrong that Antony was doing him.

Event Date: -44 GR

§ 3.3.24  They showed their feelings clearly while Brutus' games were in progress, lavish as these were. Although a certain number, who had been hired for the purpose, shouted that Brutus and Cassius should be recalled, and the rest of the spectators were thus wrought up to a feeling of pity for them, crowds ran in and stopped the games until the demand for their recall ceased. When Brutus and Cassius learned that Octavius had frustrated what they had hoped to obtain from the games, they decided to go to Syria and Macedonia, which had been theirs before these provinces were voted to Dolabella and Antony, and to seize them by force. When their intentions became known, Dolabella hastened to Syria, taking the province of Asia in his way in order to collect money there. Antony, thinking that he should soon need troops for his own purposes, conceived the idea of transferring to himself the army in Macedonia, which was composed of the very best material and was of large size (it consisted of six legions, besides a great number of archers and light-armed troops, much cavalry, and a corresponding amount of apparatus of all kinds), although it properly belonged to Dolabella, who had been intrusted with Syria and the war against the Parthians, because Caesar was about to use these forces against the Parthians. Antony wanted it especially because it was close at hand, and, by crossing the Adriatic, could be thrown at once into Italy.

Event Date: -44 GR

§ 3.3.25  Presently a rumor was noised about that the Getae, learning of Caesar's death, had made an incursion into Macedonia and were ravaging it. Antony asked the Senate to give him an army in order to punish them, saying that this army had been prepared by Caesar to be used against the Getae before marching against the Parthians, and that everything was now quiet on the Parthian frontier. The Senate distrusted the rumor, and sent messengers to make inquiry. Antony, in order to dissipate their fear and suspicion, proposed a decree that it should not be lawful for anybody, for any cause whatever, to vote for a dictatorship, or to accept it if offered. If anybody should disregard any of these provisions, he might be killed with impunity by anybody who should meet him. Having deceived the Senate chiefly by this means, and having agreed with the friends of Dolabella to give him one legion, he was chosen absolute commander of the forces in Macedonia. Having obtained what he desired, he sent his brother Gaius with haste to communicate the decree of the Senate to the army. Those who had been sent to inquire into the rumor came back and reported that they had seen no Getae in Macedonia, but they added, either truthfully, or because they were instructed to do so by Antony, that it was feared that they would make an incursion into Macedonia if the army were withdrawn.

Event Date: -44 GR

§ 3.3.26  While these things were taking place at Rome, Cassius and Brutus were collecting troops and money, and Trebonius, who was governor of the province of Asia, was fortifying his towns for them. When Dolabella arrived, Trebonius would not admit him to Pergamus or Smyrna, but allowed him, as consul, to occupy a market-place outside the walls. When the latter attacked the walls with fury, but accomplished nothing, Trebonius said that he would be admitted to Ephesus. Dolabella started for Ephesus forthwith, and Trebonius sent a force to follow him at a certain distance. While these were observing Dolabella's march, they were overtaken by night, and, having no farther suspicions, returned to Smyrna, leaving a few of their number to follow him. Dolabella laid an ambush for this small number, captured and killed them, and went back the same night to Smyrna. Finding it unguarded, he took it by escalade. Trebonius, who was captured in bed, told his captors to lead the way to Dolabella, saying that he was willing to follow them. One of the centurions answered him facetiously, "Go where you please, but you must leave your head behind, for we are ordered to bring your head, not yourself." With these words the centurion immediately cut off his head, and early in the morning Dolabella ordered it to be displayed on the praetor's chair where Trebonius was accustomed to transact public business. Since Trebonius had participated in the murder of Caesar by detaining Antony in conversation at the door of the senate-house while the others killed him, the soldiers and camp-followers fell upon the rest of his body with fury and treated it with every kind of indignity. They rolled his head from one to another in sport along the city pavements like a ball till it was completely crushed. This was the first of the murderers who was visited with such punishment.

Event Date: -44 GR

§ 3.4.27  Antony conceived the idea of bringing his army from Macedonia to Italy; and being in want of any other pretext for this step he asked the Senate to let him exchange the province of Macedonia for that of Cisalpine Gaul, which was under the command of Decimus Brutus Albinus. He remembered that Caesar had marched from the latter province when he overthrew Pompey and he thought that he should appear to be transferring his army to Gaul and not to Italy. The Senate, which looked upon Cisalpine Gaul as its own fortress, was angry, and now for the first time perceived the stratagem and repented having given him Macedonia. The principal members sent word privately to Decimus to keep a strong hold on his province, and to raise additional troops and money lest he should be overpowered by Antony, so much did they fear and hate the latter. Antony then bethought him to ask the people, instead of the Senate, for this province by a law, in the same manner that Caesar had obtained it at a former time and Dolabella had recently obtained Syria. In order to intimidate the Senate he ordered his brother, Gaius, to bring his army across the Adriatic to Brundusium; and the latter proceeded to do as he was directed.

Event Date: -44 GR

§ 3.4.28  This was the time for the games that the aedile Critonius was about to exhibit, and Octavius made preparations to display his father's gilded throne and crown, which the Senate had voted should be placed in front for him at all games. When Critonius said that he could not allow Caesar to be honored in this way at games given at his expense, Octavius brought him before Antony as consul. Antony said he would refer the matter to the Senate. Octavius was vexed and said, "Refer it; I will place the throne there as long as the decree is in force." Antony was angry and prohibited it. He prohibited it still more unreasonably in the next games given by Octavius himself, which had been instituted by his father in honor of Venus Genetrix when he dedicated a temple to her in a forum, together with the forum itself. It was evident that universal hatred of Antony had already grown out of this affair, since he seemed to be moved not so much by a feeling of rivalry toward the younger Caesar as by an ungrateful purpose to insult the memory of the elder one. Octavius himself, with a crowd of people like a body-guard, moved about among the plebeians and those who had received benefits from his father, or had served under him in war, stirring their anger and beseeching them not to despise him, the victim of so many and so great outrages, nor willingly desert him, but to defend Caesar, their commander and benefactor, dishonored by Antony; to defend him for their own sakes, because they would never be secure in what they had received from Caesar unless the decrees passed in his honor should remain in full force. He exclaimed against Antony everywhere throughout the city, and especially from the high places that he came to, saying, "O Antony, do not be angry with Caesar on my account. Do not insult one who has been the greatest benefactor to you. Heap indignities on me to your heart's content. Cease plundering his property until the legacy to the citizens is paid; then take all the rest. However poor I may be, my father's glory, if that remains, and the distribution to the people, if you will allow it to be made, will be all-sufficient for me."

Event Date: -44 GR

§ 3.4.29  Henceforth there were open and repeated outcries against Antony on all sides. The latter indulged in severer threats against Octavius, and when they became known the people were still more incensed against him. The tribunes of Antony's guard, who had served under the elder Caesar, and who were then in the highest favor with Antony, urged him to refrain from insult, both on their account and on his own, as he had served under Caesar and had obtained his present good fortune at Caesar's hands. Antony, recognizing the truth of these words, and feeling a sense of shame before those who uttered them and needing some help from Octavius himself, with the people, to procure the exchange of provinces, agreed with what they said and swore that what he had done had been quite contrary to his intention, but that he had been compelled to change his purpose because the young man was inordinately puffed up, being still a youth and showing no respect for his elders and no honor for those in authority. Although for his own benefit the young man still needed reproof, yet in deference to their remonstrances he would restrain his anger and return to his former disposition and intention if Octavius, also, would curb his presumption.

Event Date: -44 GR

§ 3.4.30  The tribunes were delighted with this reply and they brought Antony and Octavius together, who, after some mutual chiding, formed an alliance. The law concerning Cisalpine Gaul was proposed at once to the great dismay of the senators. They intended, if Antony should first bring the law before them, to reject it, and if he should bring it before the popular assembly without consulting them, to have the tribunes of the people veto it. There were some who advised that this province be made free altogether, so much was it dreaded on account of its nearness. Antony, on the other hand, accused them of intrusting it to Decimus because he had been one of Caesar's murderers and of having no confidence in himself because he had not joined in killing the man who had subdued the province and brought it to its knees — throwing out these insinuations openly against all of his opponents, as persons who rejoiced over the assassination. When the day for the comitia came the Senate desired that the votes should be taken by centuries, but the Antonians, who had enclosed the forum with a rope during the night, demanded that the votes be taken by tribes according to a plan they had agreed upon. Although the plebeians were incensed against Antony they nevertheless cooperated with him for the sake of Octavius, who stood alongside the rope and begged them to do so. He did this in order that Decimus, who had been one of his father's murderers, might not have the government of a province so convenient, and of the army belonging to it, and, moreover, to gratify Antony, who was now in league with him. He expected also to get some assistance from Antony in return. The tribunes had been corrupted with money by Antony and remained silent. So the law was passed and Antony now with plausible reason brought his army across the Adriatic.

Event Date: -44 GR

§ 3.5.31  One of the tribunes of the people having died Octavius favored the election of Flaminius as his successor. The people thought that he was ambitious of this office for himself, but that he refrained from being a candidate because he was under age, and, accordingly, they proposed to cast their votes for him for tribune. The Senate begrudged him this increase of power, fearing lest, as tribune, he should bring the murderers of his father before the popular assembly for trial. Antony, in disregard of his recent alliance with Octavius, either to curry favor with the Senate, or to appease its dissatisfaction with the law respecting Cisalpine Gaul, or for private reasons, gave public notice, as consul, that Octavius should not solicit votes contrary to law; and that if he should do so he (Antony) would use every means in his power against him. As this edict was an act of ingratitude toward Octavius, and was insulting both to him and to the people, the latter were extremely angry and took steps to defeat Antony's wishes in the election, so that he became alarmed and annulled the comitia, saying that the remaining number of tribunes was sufficient. Octavius, thus at last openly attacked, sent numerous agents to the towns colonized by his father to tell how he had been treated and to learn the state of feeling in each. He also sent certain persons in the guise of traders into Antony's camp to mingle with the soldiers, to work upon the boldest of them, and secretly distribute handbills among the rank and file.

Event Date: -44 GR

§ 3.5.32  While Octavius was doing this the military tribunes again sought an audience with Antony and addressed him thus: We, O Antony, and the others who served with you under Caesar, established his rule and continued to maintain it from day to day as its faithful supporters. We know how his murderers hate and conspire against us and how the Senate favors them. But after the people drove them out we took fresh courage seeing that Caesar's acts were not altogether without friends, were not forgotten, were not unappreciated. For our future security we put our trust in you, the friend of Caesar, after him the most experienced of all as a commander, our present leader, and the one most fit to be such. Our enemies are starting up afresh. They have boldly seized Syria and Macedonia and are raising money and troops against us. The Senate is stirring up Decimus Brutus against you. Yet you are wasting your powers of mind in a disagreement with the young Caesar. We naturally fear lest there be added to the war, which has not yet broken out but is imminent, dissensions among you, which shall accomplish all that our enemies desire against us. We beseech you to consider these things for the sake of piety toward Caesar and care for us, who have never given you cause for complaint, and for your own interest even more than ours. Help Octavius as much as you can, or at all events as much as may be needful, to punish the murderers. Then you will enjoy your power without anxiety and will provide security for us, who are now apprehensive both for ourselves and for you."

Event Date: -44 GR

§ 3.5.33  To the tribunes who had thus spoken Antony made the following reply: "What friendship and zeal I had for Caesar while he lived, what dangers I braved in his service, you, who have been my fellow-soldiers and the sharers in those events, know full well. What favors he showed me, what honors he continually bestowed upon me, it does not become me to say. The murderers, too, were acquainted with these facts. They conspired to kill me with Caesar because they knew that if I were living they could not compass their designs. Whoever dissuaded them from that purpose did so not from regard for my safety, but to preserve the appearance of tyrannicide, so that they might not seem to be killing a number of persons as enemies, but only one as a despot. Who, then, will believe that I have no care for Caesar, who was my benefactor, that I prefer his enemies, and that I willingly condone his murder at the hands of those who conspired against me also, as the young Caesar imagines? Whence came their amnesty, whence their preferment? For he wishes to charge these things upon me instead of the Senate. Learn from me how they came about.

Event Date: -44 GR

§ 3.5.34  " When Caesar was suddenly slain in the senate-house fear fell upon me most of all by reason of my friendship for him and my ignorance of the facts, as I knew not the particulars of the conspiracy nor against whom it was designed. The people were terror-stricken. The murderers with their gladiators took possession of the Capitol and shut themselves up in it. The Senate was on their side, just as it now is more openly, and was about to vote rewards to them as tyrannicides. If Caesar were declared a tyrant then might we all have perished as the friends of a tyrant. In the midst of such confusion, anxiety, and fear, when it would not have been surprising if I had been at a loss what to do, you will find, if you examine, that where courage was needed I was boldest and where artifice was required I was most crafty. The first thing to be done, because it embraced everything else, was to prevent the voting of rewards to the conspirators. This I accomplished against the strong opposition of the Senate and of the murderers, with unfailing courage and in the face of danger, because I then believed that we of Caesar's party could be safe only in case Caesar were not declared a tyrant. But when I saw our enemies, and the Senate itself, plunged in the same fear (lest, if Caesar were not decreed a tyrant, they themselves should be convicted of murder), and making their fight, for this reason, I yielded and granted amnesty instead of rewards to the murderers, in order to gain what I wanted in exchange. What did I want and how important was it? That Caesar's name should not be blotted out was the dearest wish of all to me, that his property should not be confiscated, that the adoption on which this young man prides himself should not be annulled, that the will should not be declared invalid, that his body should have a royal funeral, that the immortal honors previously decreed to him should be fulfilled, that all his acts should be confirmed, and that his son, and we his friends, both generals and soldiers, should remain in perfect safety and enjoy a life of honor instead of ignominy.

Event Date: -44 GR

§ 3.5.35  " Think you that I asked few or small things from the Senate in exchange for the amnesty, or that the Senate would have made these concessions without the amnesty? If this exchange had been made in all sincerity it would have been a fair bargain to actually spare the murderers for the sake of Caesar's immortal glory and our complete security, but in fact I did it not with that intention, but in order to gain time. Accordingly, as soon as I had obtained what I wanted from the Senate, and the murderers were freed from anxiety, I took fresh courage and undermined the amnesty, not by votes, not by decrees (for that was impossible), but by working on the people imperceptibly. I brought Caesar's body into the forum under pretence of burial, I laid bare his wounds, I showed the number of them and his clothing all bloody and slashed by the knives. In public speech I dwelt on his bravery and his services to the common people in pathetic terms, weeping for him as slain and invoking him as a god. These acts and words of mine stirred up the people, kindled a fire in spite of the amnesty, sent them against the houses of our enemies, and drove the murderers from the city. How much the Senate was thwarted and grieved by this was presently shown when they blamed me for exciting the people and sent the murderers away to take command of provinces, Brutus and Cassius to Syria and Macedonia, which were provided with great armies, telling them to hasten before the appointed time, under pretence of looking after the corn supply. And now another and still greater fear took possession of me (as I had no military force of my own anywhere), lest we should be exposed without arms to the assaults of so many armed men. I suspected my colleague also because he was always at variance with me. He had pretended to be in the conspiracy against Caesar and he had proposed that the day of the murder should be celebrated as the birthday of the republic.

Event Date: -44 GR

§ 3.5.36  " While I was at a loss what to do, desiring to disarm our enemies and to arm ourselves instead, I put Amatius to death and recalled Sextus Pompeius in order to entrap the Senate again and bring it over to my side. But as even then I had no confidence in it I persuaded Dolabella to ask for the province of Syria, not from the Senate, but from the people by a law, and I favored his petition so that he should become an enemy instead of a friend of the murderers, and so that the senators should be ashamed to refuse me Macedonia afterwards. Still, the Senate would not have assigned Macedonia to me, even after Dolabella had been provided for, by reason of the army belonging to it, if I had not previously transferred the army to Dolabella, as the war against the Parthians fell to the lot of the one governing Syria. But they would not have taken Macedonia and Syria away from Brutus and Cassius unless other provinces had been obtained for them to ensure their safety. When it became necessary to make them a recompense, look at the quid pro quo that was given to them — Cyrene and Crete, devoid of troops, provinces which even our enemies despise as not sufficient for their safety; and they are now trying to seize by force those that were taken from them. Thus in fact was the army transferred from our enemies to Dolabella by artifice, by stratagem, by exchange; for when there was no way to gain our end openly by arms we had necessarily to have recourse to the laws.

Event Date: -44 GR

§ 3.5.37  "After these events our enemies had raised another army and it became needful for me to have the one in Macedonia; but I was in want of a pretext. A rumor gained currency that the Getae were ravaging Macedonia. This was disbelieved, and while messengers were sent to make inquiry I brought forward the decree about the dictatorship, providing that it should not be lawful to speak of it, to vote for it, or to accept it if offered. The senators were particularly taken with this proposal and they gave me the army. Then for the first time I considered myself on an equality with my enemies, not merely with the open ones [as Octavius thinks], but with the more numerous and powerful ones who still choose to remain secret. When I had accomplished these plans there remained one of the murderers on my flank, Decimus Brutus, who governed a conveniently placed province with a large army, whom I, knowing him to be bolder than the rest, have deprived of Cisalpine Gaul, by promising, in order to keep up appearances with the Senate, to give him in exchange Macedonia, when it has lost its army. The Senate was indignant, for it now perceived the stratagem, and you know what kind of letters, and how many, they are writing to Decimus, and how they are inciting my successors in the consulship. I decided to take a bolder course and ask the people for this province by a law, instead of asking the Senate, and I brought my army from Macedonia to Brundusium so that I might use it in emergencies. And, with the help of the gods, we will use it as may be needful.

Event Date: -44 GR

§ 3.5.38  "Thus have we changed from the great fear that formerly beset us to a state of entire safety for ourselves, where we can boldly face our foes. When these facts became known the multitude showed their zeal against our enemies. You see how the latter regret the decrees that have been passed and what a fight they are making to deprive me of the Gallic province which has already been given to me. You know what they have written to Decimus and how they are urging my successors in the consulship to get the law relating to this province changed. But with the help of our country's gods, and with pious intent, and by means of your valor, with which Caesar also conquered, we will avenge him, devoting to that purpose our powers of body and of mind. While these events were in progress, fellow-soldiers, I preferred that they should not be talked of; now that they are accomplished I have laid them before you, whom I shall make the sharers of my deeds and my counsels in every particular hereafter. Communicate to others, if there are any, who do not see them in the same light — excepting only Octavius, who behaves ungratefully toward us."

Event Date: -44 GR

§ 3.6.39  These words of Antony convinced the tribunes that in all he had done he had been moved by bitter animosity toward the murderers and that he had been scheming against the Senate. Nevertheless they urged him to come to an agreement with Octavius; and as both yielded they formed a new alliance in the Capitol. Not long afterward Antony announced to his friends that some of his body-guard had been tampered with by Octavius, who had formed a plot against him. This he said either as a slander, or because he believed it to be true, or because he had heard of the emissaries of Octavius in his camp and thought they were actually plotting against his life. When this story was noised about there was a general tumult forthwith and great indignation, for there were few who had sufficient penetration to see that it was for the interest of Octavius that Antony, even though he were unjust to him, should live, because he (Antony) was a terror to the murderers. If he were dead they would quite fearlessly dare anything, especially as they had the support of the Senate. The more intelligent knew this, but the greater part, seeing what Octavius suffered daily from the indignities and the losses inflicted on him, considered the accusation not incredible, yet held it to be impious and intolerable that a conspiracy should be formed against Antony's life while he was consul. Octavius ran with mad fury to those who held this opinion of him, exclaiming that it was Antony that had conspired against him to alienate from him the friendship of the people, which was the only thing left to him. He ran to Antony's door and repeated the same things, calling the gods to witness, taking all kinds of oaths, and inviting Antony to a judicial investigation. As nobody came forward he said, "I will accept your friends as judges." With these words he attempted to enter the house. Being prevented from doing so he again cried out and railed at Antony and vented his wrath against the doorkeepers who restrained him from having a dispute with Antony. Then he went away and called the people to witness that if anything should happen to him his death would be due to Antony's plots. As these words were spoken with deep feeling the multitude underwent a change, and a kind of penitence took the place of their former opinion. There were some who still doubted, and hesitated to put faith in either of them. Some accused them both of making false pretences, believing that they had come to an agreement in the temple, and that these were plots devised against their enemies. Still others thought that this was a device of Antony to increase his body-guard. or to alienate the veterans from Octavius.

Event Date: -44 GR

§ 3.6.40  Presently news was brought to Octavius by his secret emissaries that the army at Brundusium and the colonized soldiers were incensed against Antony for neglecting to avenge the murder of Caesar, and that they would assist him (Octavius) to do so if they could. For this reason Antony departed to Brundusium. As Octavius feared lest Antony, returning with the army, should catch him unprotected he went to Campania with money to enlist the veterans who had been colonized in those towns by his father. He first brought over those of Calatia and next those of Casilinum, two towns situated on either side of Capua, giving 500 drachmas to each man. He collected about 10,000 men, not fully armed and not mustered in regular cohorts, but serving merely as a body-guard under one banner The citizens of Rome were alarmed at the approach of Antony with an army, and when they learned that Octavius was advancing with another one some were doubly alarmed, while others were well pleased, believing that they could make use of Octavius against Antony. Still others, who had seen them reconciled to each other in the Capitol, considered these transactions a game of false pretences by which Antony was to have the supreme power and Octavius was to wreak vengeance on the murderers in return therefor.

Event Date: -44 GR

§ 3.6.41  In this time of consternation Canutius, a tribune of the people and enemy of Antony, and hence friendly to Octavius, went to meet the latter. Having learned his intentions Canutius addressed the people, saying that Octavius was advancing with real hostility to Antony and that those who were afraid that Antony was aiming at tyranny should side with Octavius as they had no other army at present. After speaking thus he brought in Octavius, who was encamped before the city at the temple of Mars, fifteen stades distant. When the latter arrived he proceeded to the temple of Castor and Pollux, which his soldiers surrounded carrying concealed daggers. Canutius addressed the people first, speaking against Antony. Octavius also reminded them of his father and of what he had himself suffered at the hands of Antony, on account of which he had enlisted this army as a guard for himself. He declared himself the obedient servant of his country in all things, and said that he was ready to confront Antony in the present emergency.

Event Date: -44 GR

§ 3.6.42  After he had thus spoken and the assembly had been dissolved, the soldiers, taking the opposite view (that they had come to support the alliance of Antony and Octavius or as a mere guard for the latter and to punish the murderers), were vexed at the declaration of war against Antony, who had been their general and was now consul. Some of them asked leave to return home in order to arm themselves, saying that they could not perform their duty with other arms than their own. Others spoke out the truth. As things had turned out contrary to his expectation, Octavius was at a loss what to do. Hoping, however, to retain them by persuasion rather than by force he yielded to their requests, and sent some of them to get their arms and others simply to their homes. Concealing his disappointment he praised all of the assembled multitude, gave them new presents, and said that he would reward them still more generously, for he made use of them for emergencies rather as the friends of his father than as soldiers. After he had spoken these words, from 10,000 he influenced 1000 only to remain with him, or perhaps 3000, for accounts differ as to the number. The rest then took their departure, but presently they remembered the toils of agriculture and the gains of military service, the words of Octavius, his compliance with their wishes, and the favors they had received and hoped still to receive from him. And so, like the fickle multitude, they repented, and seizing upon their former pretext for the sake of appearances, they armed themselves and went back to him. Octavius had already proceeded with new supplies of money to Ravenna and the neighboring parts, enlisting new forces continually and sending them all to Arretium.

Event Date: -44 GR

§ 3.7.43  In the meantime four of the five Macedonian legions had joined Antony at Brundusium. They blamed him because he had not proceeded against the murderers of Caesar. They conducted him without applause to the platform, implying that they required explanations on this subject first. Antony was angry at their silence. He did not keep his temper, but charged them with ingratitude in that they had expressed no thanks for being transferred from the Parthian expedition to Italy. He blamed them because they had not arrested and delivered to him the emissaries of a rash boy (for so he called Octavius) who had been sent among them to stir up discord. But he would find them out, he said. He would lead the army to the province voted to him, the fair Gallic country, and would give 100 drachmas to each man present. They laughed at his parsimony, and when he became angry they broke out in tumult and went away. Antony rose and departed, saying, "You shall learn to obey orders." Then he required the military tribunes to bring before him the fomenters of the sedition (for it is customary in Roman armies to keep at all times a record of the character of each man). From these he chose by lot a certain number according to military law, and he put to death not every tenth man, but a smaller number, thinking to strike terror into the rest by means of the few. But the others were turned to rage and hatred instead of fear by this act.

Event Date: -44 GR

§ 3.7.44  In view of these facts the men whom Octavius had sent to tamper with the soldiers distributed the greatest possible number of handbills throughout the camp, reflecting on Antony's stinginess and cruelty, recalling the memory of the elder Caesar and urging them to share the service of the younger one and his liberal gifts. Antony tried to find these emissaries by means of rewards to informers and threats against those who abetted them, but as he caught no one he became angry, believing that the soldiers concealed them. When the news came of what Octavius was doing among the colonized veterans and at Rome, he became alarmed, and going before the army again he said that he was sorry for what he had been compelled by military discipline to do to a few instead of the much larger number who were punishable by law, and that they must know very well that Antony was neither cruel nor stingy. Let us lay aside ill-will," he continued, "and rest satisfied with these faults and punishments. The 100 drachmas which I have ordered to be given you is not my donative, for that would be unworthy of the fortune of Antony, but rather the salutation of our first meeting than a full reward, but it is necessary to obey the laws of our country, and of the army, in this affair as in all others." When he had thus spoken he did not as yet add anything to the donative, that it might not seem that as general he had yielded anything to the army. Whether moved by penitence or by fear they took what was given them. Antony, being still angry at the outbreak, or from some other suspicion, changed their tribunes. The remainder he treated well because he had need of their services, and he sent them forward by detachments along the sea-coast toward Ariminum.

Event Date: -44 GR

§ 3.7.45  Antony chose from the whole number a praetorian cohort of the men who were best in body and character and marched to Rome, intending to push on thence toward Ariminum. He entered the city in a haughty manner leaving his squadron of horse encamped outside the walls. But the troops that accompanied him were girded as for war, and they mounted guard over his house at night under arms, and he gave them a countersign and relieved them regularly, just as in a camp. He convoked the Senate in order to make complaint of the acts of Octavius, and just as he was entering it he learned that the so-called Martian legion, one of the four on the road, had gone over to Octavius. While he was waiting at the entrance cogitating over this news it was announced to him that another legion, called the Fourth, had followed the example of the Martian and espoused the side of Octavius. Disconcerted as he was he entered the senate-house, pretending that he had convened them about other matters, said a few words, and immediately departed to the city gates, and thence to the town of Alba, in order to persuade the deserters to come back to him. They shot arrows at him from the walls, and he retreated. To the other legions he forwarded 500 drachmas per man. With the soldiers he had with him he marched to Tibur, taking the apparatus customary to those who are going to war; for war was now certain, since Decimus Brutus had refused to give up Cisalpine Gaul.

Event Date: -44 GR

§ 3.7.46  While Antony was at Tibur nearly all the Senate, and the greater part of the knights, and the most influential plebeians, came there to do him honor. These persons, arriving while he was swearing into his service the soldiers present and also the discharged veterans who had flocked in (of whom there was a goodly number), voluntarily joined in taking the oath that they would not fail in friendship and fidelity to Antony; so that one would have been at a loss to know who were the men who, a little before, had decried Antony at Octavius' public meeting. With this brilliant send-off Antony started for Ariminum, which lies on the border of Cisalpine Gaul. His army, exclusive of the new levies, consisted of three legions summoned from Macedonia (for the remainder had now arrived). There were also some discharged veterans, old men, who appeared nevertheless to be worth twice as much as the new levies. Thus Antony had four legions of well-disciplined troops, and the helpers who usually accompanied them, besides his body-guard and the new levies. Lepidus in Spain with four legions, Asinius Pollio with two, and Plancus in Transalpine Gaul with three, seemed likely to espouse the side of Antony.

Event Date: -44 GR

§ 3.7.47  Octavius had two legions equally efficient, which had deserted from Antony to him, also one legion of new levies and two of discharged veterans, not complete in numbers or in arms, but filled up with new recruits. He brought them all to Alba and there communicated with the Senate, which congratulated him in such a way that now one would have been at a loss to know who were those who had lately ranged themselves with Antony; but it regretted that the legions had not come over to the Senate itself instead of to him. It praised them and Octavius nevertheless, and said that it would vote them whatever was needful as soon as the new magistrates should enter upon their duties. It was plain that the Senate would use these forces against Antony; but having no army of its own anywhere, and being unable to levy one without consuls, it adjourned all business until the new consuls should come in.

Event Date: -44 GR

§ 3.7.48  The soldiers of Octavius furnished him lictors provided with fasces and urged him to assume the title of propraetor, carrying on war and leading themselves, since they were always marshalled under magistrates. He thanked them for the honor, but referred the matter to the Senate. When they wanted to go before the Senate en masse he prevented them and would not even allow them to send messengers, believing that the Senate would vote these things to him voluntarily; "and would do this all the more," he said, "if they know of your zeal and my hesitation." They were reconciled to this course with difficulty. The leading officers complained that he disdained them, and he explained to them that the Senate was moved not so much by good-will toward him as by fear of Antony and the want of an army; "and that will be the case," he continued, "until we humble Antony, and until the murderers, who are friends and relatives of the senators, collect a military force for them. Knowing these facts I falsely pretend to be serving them. Let us not be the first to expose this false pretence. If we usurp the office they will accuse us of arrogance and violence, whereas if we are modest they will probably give it of their own accord, fearing lest I accept it from you." After he had thus spoken he witnessed some military exercises of the two legions that had deserted from Antony, who ranged themselves opposite each other and gave a complete representation of a battle, except only the killing. Octavius was delighted with the spectacle and was pleased to make this a pretext for distributing 500 drachmas more to each man, and he promised that in case of war he would give them 5000 drachmas each if they were victorious. Thus, by means of lavish gifts, did Octavius bind these mercenaries to himself. Such was the course of events in Italy.

Event Date: -44 GR

§ 3.8.49  In Cisalpine Gaul Antony ordered Decimus Brutus to withdraw to Macedonia in obedience to the decree of the Roman people, and for his own good. Decimus, in reply, sent him the letters that had been furnished him by the Senate, as much as to say that he cared no more for the command of the people than Antony did for that of the Senate. Antony then fixed a day for his compliance, after which he should treat him as an enemy. Decimus advised him to fix a later day lest he (Antony) should too soon make himself an enemy to the Senate. Although Antony could have easily overcome him, as he was still in the open country, he decided to proceed first against the cities. These opened their gates to him. Decimus, fearing lest none of them should be opened to him, fabricated letters from the Senate calling him to Rome with his army and retired towards Italy, welcomed by all as he passed along, until he arrived at the wealthy city of Mutina. Here he closed the gates and possessed himself of the property of the inhabitants for the support of his army. He slaughtered and salted all the cattle he could find there in anticipation of a long siege, and he awaited Antony. His army consisted of a large number of gladiators and three legions of infantry, one of which was composed of new recruits as yet inexperienced. The other two had served under him before and were entirely trustworthy. Antony advanced against him with fury, drew a line of circumvallation around Mutina, and laid siege to Decimus.

Event Date: -44 GR

§ 3.8.50  In Rome, at the beginning of the new year, the consuls, Hirtius and Pansa, convened the Senate on the subject of Antony immediately after the sacrifices had been performed and in the very temple. Cicero and his friends urged that Antony be now declared a public enemy, since he had seized Cisalpine Gaul with an armed force against the will of the Senate and made of it a point of attack on the republic, and had brought into Italy an army given to him to operate against the Thracians. They spoke also of his seeking the supreme power as Caesar's successor, because he publicly surrounded himself in the city with such a large body of armed centurions, and converted his house into a fortress with arms and countersigns, and had borne himself more haughtily in other respects than was befitting a yearly magistrate. Lucius Piso, who had charge of Antony's interests in his absence, a man among the most illustrious in Rome, and others who sided with him on his own account, or on Antony's, or because of their own opinion, contended that Antony ought to have a trial, that it was not the custom of their ancestors to condemn a man unheard, that it was not decent to declare a man an enemy today who was a consul yesterday, and especially one whom Cicero himself as well as the rest had so often lavishly praised. The Senate, which was about equally divided in opinion, remained in session till night. Early the next morning it reassembled to consider the same question and then the party of Cicero was in the majority and Antony would have been voted a public enemy had not the tribune Salvius adjourned the sitting to the following day; for among the magistrates the one who has the veto power always prevails.

Event Date: -43 GR

§ 3.8.51  The Ciceronians heaped gross reproaches and insults on Salvius for this, and sallied out among the plebeians to excite them against him and summoned him to answer before them. He set forth to obey the summons undismayed until he was restrained by the Senate, which feared lest he should change the people around by recalling Antony to their memory; for the senators well knew that they were condemning an illustrious man without a trial, and that the people had given him this very Gallic province. But since they feared for the safety of the murderers they were angry with Antony because he had made the first movement against them after the amnesty, for which reason the Senate had previously needed the help of Octavius against him. Although Octavius knew this he desired nevertheless to take the lead in humbling Antony. Such were the reasons why the Senate was angry with Antony. Although the vote on him was adjourned by the command of the tribune, they passed a decree praising Decimus for not abandoning Cisalpine Gaul to Antony, and directing Octavius to assist the consuls, Hirtius and Pansa, with the army he now had. They awarded him a gilded statue and the right to declare his opinion among the consulars in the Senate even now, and the right to stand for the consulship itself ten years before the legal period, and voted from the public treasury to the legions that deserted from Antony to him the same amount that he had promised to give them if they should be victorious. After passing these decrees they adjourned, thinking that Antony would in fact know from the votes taken that he was declared a public enemy and believing, also, that on the following day the tribune would no longer interpose his veto. The mother, the wife, and the son of Antony (who was still a young man), and his other relatives and friends went around the whole night visiting the houses of influential men and beseeching them. In the morning they put themselves in the way of those going to the senate-house, fell at their feet with wailing and lamentation and in mourning garments, crying out alongside the doors. Some of the senators were moved by these cries, this spectacle, this so sudden change of fortune. Cicero, fearing the result, addressed the Senate as follows: —

Event Date: -43 GR

§ 3.8.52  "What decision ought to be reached concerning Antony we determined yesterday. When we bestowed honors on his enemies we thereby voted him an enemy. Salvius, who alone interrupted the proceedings, must either have been wiser than all the rest, or moved to do so by private friendship, or by ignorance of present circumstances. It would be most disgraceful to us, on the one hand, if all should seem to know less than one, and to Salvius, on the other hand, if he should prefer private friendship to the public weal. If he is not well acquainted with the present circumstances he ought to repose confidence in the consuls, rather than in himself, in the praetors, in his fellow-tribunes, and the other senators, so imposing in dignity and in numbers, so much his superiors in age and experience, who have condemned Antony. In our elections and in our jury trials justice is ever on the side of the majority. If it be needful still to acquaint him with the reasons for our action I will briefly recount the principal ones by way of reminder. At Caesar's death Antony possessed himself of our money. Having been invested with the government of Macedonia by us he seized upon that of Cisalpine Gaul without our authority. Having received an army to operate against the Thracians he brought it into Italy against us instead. Each of these powers with his own secret motives he asked from us, and when they were refused he acted on his own authority. At Brundusium he organized a royal cohort for his own use and openly made men-at-arms his private guards and night watchmen, serving under a countersign. The whole remainder of the army he led from Brundusium to the city, aiming by a shorter path at the same designs that Caesar contemplated. Being anticipated by the younger Caesar and his army he became alarmed and turned his course to the Gallic province as a convenient point of attack on us, just as Caesar found it when he made himself our master.

Event Date: -43 GR

§ 3.8.53  "In order to intimidate the soldiers to do every unlawful act he should order, he decimated them although they had not revolted and had not abandoned their watch or their ranks in time of war, for which offences alone military law allows such cruel punishment, which only a few generals have visited upon their soldiers and with reluctance, in cases of extreme peril, as a matter of necessity. These citizens Antony put to death for a word or a laugh when they had not been regularly condemned but chosen by lot. For this reason those who could do so revolted from him, and you yesterday voted them a donative as well-doers. Those who could not desert joined him in wrong-doing under the influence of fear, marched against our province as enemies, and besieged our army and our general, to whom you sent letters directing him to hold the province. Antony now orders him to evacuate it. Are we voting Antony an enemy, or is he already making war against us? And these things our tribune is still ignorant of, and will remain so until Decimus is overthrown and this great province on our border, together with the army of Decimus, is added to the resources with which Antony hopes to attack us. I suppose that the tribune will vote Antony an enemy as soon as the latter becomes more powerful than we are."

Event Date: -43 GR

§ 3.8.54  Scarcely had Cicero finished speaking when his friends broke forth in such tumultuous applause that for a long time nobody could be heard on the other side, until finally Piso came forward, when the senators, out of respect for him, became silent and even the Ciceronians restrained themselves. Then Piso said: "Our law, Conscript Fathers, requires that the accused shall himself hear the charge preferred against him and shall be judged after he has made his own defence; and for the truth of this I appeal to Cicero, our greatest orator. Since he hesitates to accuse Antony when present, but brings against him in his absence certain charges which he considers of the greatest gravity, and not open to doubt, I have come forward to show, in the fewest words, that these charges are false. He says that Antony converted the public money to his own use after Caesar's death. The law declares such a person to be a thief, not a public enemy, and limits his punishment accordingly. After Brutus had killed Caesar he accused the latter before the people of plundering the public money and leaving the treasury empty. Soon afterward Antony proposed a decree to investigate these matters and you adopted and confirmed his motion and promised a reward of one-tenth to informers, which reward we will double if anybody will prove that Antony had any part in the fraud. So much for the charge in reference to money.

Event Date: -43 GR

§ 3.8.55  "We did not vote the governorship of Cisalpine Gaul to Antony. The people gave it to him by a law, Cicero being present; just as other provinces had often been given, and as this same governorship had previously been given to Caesar. It was a part of this law that, when Antony should arrive at the province given to him, if Decimus would not yield it Antony should declare war and lead the army into the Gallic province against him, instead of using it against the Thracians, who were still quiet. But Cicero does not consider Decimus, who is bearing arms against the law, an enemy, although he considers Antony an enemy who is fighting in accordance with law. He who accuses the law itself accuses the authors of the law, whom he ought to change by persuasion, not to insult after having himself agreed with them. He ought not to intrust the province to Decimus, whom the people drove out of the city on account of the murder, while refusing to intrust to Antony what the people gave to him. It is not the part of good counsellors to be at variance with the people, especially in times of danger, or to forget that this very power of deciding who are friends and who are enemies formerly belonged to the people. According to the ancient laws the people are the sole arbiters of peace and war. Heaven grant that they may not be reminded of this, and consequently be angry with us when they have found a leader.

Event Date: -43 GR

§ 3.8.56  "But it is said that Antony put certain soldiers to death. Being commander-in-chief he was empowered to do so by you. No commander has ever rendered an account of such matters. The laws do not consider it expedient that the general should be answerable to his soldiers. There is nothing worse in an army than disobedience, on account of which some soldiers have been put to death even after a victory, and no one called to account those who killed them. None of their relatives complain now, but Cicero complains and while accusing Antony of murder stigmatizes him as a public enemy, instead of calling for the punishment prescribed for murderers. The desertion of two of his legions shows how insubordinate and arrogant Antony's army was — which legions you had voted that he should command, and who deserted, in violation of military law, not to you, but to Octavius. Nevertheless Cicero praised them and yesterday proposed that they be paid out of the public treasury. Heaven grant that this example may not plague you hereafter. Hatred has betrayed Cicero into inconsistency, for he accused Antony of aiming at supreme power and yet punishing his soldiers, whereas such conspirators are always lenient, not severe, toward the men serving under them. As Cicero does not hesitate to arraign as tyrannical all the rest of Antony's administration since Caesar's death, come, let me examine his acts one by one.

Event Date: -43 GR

§ 3.8.57  "Whom has Antony put to death in a tyrannical manner without trial — he who is now in danger of being condemned unheard? Whom has he banished from the city? Whom has he slandered in our presence? Or, if innocent toward us individually, has he conspired against all of us collectively? When, O Cicero? Was it when he carried through the Senate the act of amnesty for the past? Was it when he abstained from prosecuting anybody for the murder? Was it when he moved an investigation of the public moneys? Was it when he proposed the recall of Sextus Pompey, the son of your Pompey, and payment for his father's confiscated property out of the public treasury? Was it when he seized that conspirator, the false Marius, and put him to death, and you all applauded? And because you did so it was the only act of Antony that Cicero did not calumniate. Was it when he brought in a decree that nobody should ever propose a dictatorship, or vote for it, and that anybody disobeying the decree might be killed with impunity by any one who wished? These are the public acts that Antony performed for us during two months the only months that he remained in the city after Caesar's death, the very time when the people were pursuing the murderers and you were apprehensive of the future. If he were a villain what better opportunity could he have had? But it is said that he was not in a condition to do otherwise. How? Did he not exercise the sole authority after Dolabella departed for Syria? Did he not have an armed force in readiness in the city, one that you gave him? Did he not patrol the city by night? Was he not guarded at night against any conspiracy of his enemies? Did he not have an excuse for this in the murder of Caesar, his friend and benefactor, the man most beloved by the common people? Did he not have another of a personal kind in the fact that the murderers conspired against his life also? None of them did he kill or banish, but pardoned them what he could in decency, and did not begrudge them the governorships that were offered to them. Ye behold then, O Romans, these very grave and indisputable charges of Cicero against Antony.

Event Date: -43 GR

§ 3.8.58  " Since, in addition to charges, surmises are introduced to the effect that Antony was about to lead an army to the city, but became alarmed because Octavius had anticipated him with another army, how does it happen that when the mere intention to do this makes a man an enemy the one who actually comes and encamps alongside of us without authority is not considered an enemy? What would have prevented Antony from coming if he had wanted to? With 30,000 troops in line was he afraid of Octavius' 3000, half-armed, unorganized, who had come together merely to gain his friendship, and who left him as soon as they knew that he had chosen them for war? If Antony was afraid to come with 30,000 how did he dare to come with only 1000? With these what a crowd of us accompanied him to Tibur! What a crowd of us voluntarily joined the soldiers in taking the oath of fidelity to him! What praises did Cicero lavish on his acts and virtues! If Antony himself contemplated any such thing [as invasion] why did he leave as pledges in our hands his mother, his wife, and his grown up son, who are even now at the door of the Senate weeping and fearful, not on account of what Antony has done, but on account of the overwhelming power of his enemies.

Event Date: -43 GR

§ 3.8.59  "These facts furnish you an example of Antony's defence and of Cicero's fickleness. I will add an exhortation to right-minded men, not to do injustice to the people or to Antony, not to expose the public interests to new enmities and dangers while the commonwealth is sick and in want of timely defenders, but to establish a sufficient force in the city to ward off danger before breeding disorder outside, to provide against attacks from every quarter, and to come to such decisions as you please when you are able to carry them into effect. How shall these ends be accomplished? By allowing Antony, as a matter of policy, or for the sake of the people, to have Cisalpine Gaul. Call Decimus thence with his three legions, and when he comes send him to Macedonia, retaining his legions here. If the two legions that deserted from Antony deserted to us, as Cicero says, let us summon them also from Octavius to the city. Thus with five legions sustaining us we might pass such decrees as we think best with entire confidence, depending on the favor of no man.

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§ 3.8.60  " I have addressed these words to men who listen to me without malice or the spirit of contention. Those who would excite you heedlessly and inconsiderately on account of private enmity and private strife I exhort not to come to hasty and rash decisions against the most important personages, who command strong armies, and not to force them into war against their will. Remember Marcius Coriolanus. Recall the recent doings of Caesar, whom we rashly voted an enemy while he was in like manner leading an army and offering us the fairest terms of peace, whereby we forced him to be an enemy in fact. Have regard for the people who were lately pursuing Caesar's murderers, lest we seem to insult them by giving those murderers the governorship of provinces, by praising Decimus for nullifying the people's law, and by voting Antony an enemy because he accepted the Gallic province from the people. For which reasons the well-wishers of the country ought to take thought for the erring, and the consuls and tribunes ought to be more than ever careful in view of the public dangers."

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§ 3.8.61  Thus did Piso defend Antony, reproaching his enemies and alarming them. He was evidently the cause of their not voting Antony an enemy. Nevertheless, he did not succeed in securing for him the governorship of the Gallic province. The friends and relatives of the murderers prevented it, fearing lest, at the end of the war, Antony should join Octavius in avenging the murder, for which reason they meant to keep Octavius and Antony always at variance with each other. They voted to offer Antony Macedonia instead of the Gallic province, and they ordered, either heedlessly or designedly, that the other commands of the Senate be reduced to writing by Cicero and delivered to the ambassadors. Cicero altered the decree and wrote as follows: "Antony must raise the siege of Mutina forthwith, relinquish Cisalpine Gaul to Decimus, withdraw to the hither side of the river Rubicon (which forms the boundary between Italy and the province) before a specified day, and submit himself in all things to the Senate." Thus provokingly and falsely did Cicero write the orders of the Senate, not by reason of an underlying hostility, as it seems, but at the instigation of some evil spirit that was goading the republic to revolution and meditating destruction to Cicero himself. The remains of Trebonius having been lately brought home and the indignities visited upon them more carefully inquired into, the Senate with little opposition declared Dolabella a public enemy.

Event Date: -43 GR

§ 3.8.62  The ambassadors who had been sent to Antony, ashamed of the extraordinary character of the orders, said nothing, but simply delivered them to him. Antony in his wrath indulged in many invectives against the Senate and Cicero. "He was astonished," he said, "that they should consider Caesar (the man who had contributed most to the Roman sway) a tyrant and a king, and did not so consider Cicero, whom Caesar had captured in war and whose life he had spared, while Cicero in return now prefers Caesar's assassins to his friends. He hated Decimus as long as the latter was the friend of Caesar, but loves him now that he has become his murderer. He favors a man who took the province of Gaul after Caesar's death without authority, and makes war on one who received it at the hands of the people. He gives rewards to those who deserted from the legions voted to me, and none to those who remain faithful, thus impairing military discipline not more to my disadvantage than to that of the state. He has given amnesty to the murderers, to which I have assented on account of two respectable men. He holds Antony and Dolabella as enemies because we keep what was given to us. That is the real reason. And if I but withdraw from Gaul, then I am neither enemy nor monarch! I declare that I will bring to naught the amnesty with which they are not satisfied."

Event Date: -43 GR

§ 3.8.63  After saying much more to the same purpose Antony wrote his reply to the decree, saying that he would obey the Senate in all respects as the voice of his country, but to Cicero, who wrote the orders, he would make the following answer: "The people gave me the province of Gaul by a law, and I shall prosecute Decimus for not obeying the law, and I shall visit punishment for the murder upon him alone, as representative of them all, in order that the Senate, which now participates in the wickedness by reason of Cicero's support of Decimus, may at last be purged of the shocking crime." These words Antony spoke and wrote in reply. The Senate immediately voted him an enemy and also the army under him if it should not abandon him. The government of Macedonia and Illyria, with the troops still remaining in both, was assigned to Marcus Brutus until the republic should be reestablished. The latter already had an army of his own and had received some troops from Apuleius. He also had war-ships and ships of burden and about 16,000 talents in money and quantities of arms which he found in Demetrias, where they had been placed by Gaius Caesar long before, all of which the Senate now voted that he should use for the advantage of the republic. They voted that Cassius should be governor of Syria and that he should make war against Dolabella, and that all other commanders of Roman provinces and soldiers between the Adriatic sea and the Orient should obey the orders of Cassius and Brutus in all things.

Event Date: -43 GR

§ 3.9.64  Thus quickly did the Senate seize the opportunity to put the affairs of Cassius and his party in a brilliant aspect. When Octavius learned what had been done he was troubled. He had considered the amnesty in the light of an act of humanity and of pity for the relatives and compeers of these men, and that the very small commands had been given them for their safety merely; finally, the confirming of the Gallic province to Decimus seemed to him to have been done by reason of the Senate's difference with Antony respecting the supreme power, on which ground also they were inciting him against Antony. But the voting of Dolabella an enemy because he had put one of the murderers to death, the changing of the commands of Brutus and Cassius to the largest provinces, the granting of great armies and large sums of money to them and putting them in command of all the governors beyond the Adriatic sea — all pointed plainly to the building up of the party of Pompey and the pulling down of that of Caesar. He bethought himself of their artifice in treating him as a young man, in providing him a statue and a front seat, and giving him the title of propraetor, when in fact they were taking from him what army he did have, for a proprietor has no authority when consuls are serving with him. Then the rewards voted only to those of his soldiers who had deserted from Antony to him were an indignity to those who had enlisted under him. Finally the war would be nothing but a disgrace to him, for the Senate would simply make use of him against Antony till the latter was crushed.

Event Date: -43 GR

§ 3.9.65  Meditating thus to himself he performed the sacrifices appertaining to the command assigned to him, and said to his army: "I owe these honors of mine to you, fellow-soldiers, not now merely but from the time when you gave me the command; for the Senate conferred them upon me on account of you. Know, therefore, that my gratitude will be due to you for these things, and that it will be expressed to you abundantly if the gods grant success to our undertakings." In this way he conciliated the soldiers and attached them to himself. In the meantime, Pansa, one of the consuls, was collecting recruits throughout Italy, and the other one, Hirtius, shared the command of the forces with Octavius, and as he was secretly ordered to do it by the Senate he demanded as his share the two legions that had deserted from Antony, knowing that they were the most reliable in the army. Octavius yielded to him in everything and they shared with each other and went into winter quarters together. As winter advanced Decimus began to suffer from hunger, and Hirtius and Octavius advanced toward Mutina lest Antony should receive in surrender Decimus' army now weak with famine; but as Mutina was closely hemmed in by Antony, they did not venture to come to close quarters with him at once, but waited for Pansa. There were frequent cavalry engagements, as Antony had a much larger force of horse, but the difficulty of the ground, which was cut up by torrents, deprived him of the advantage of numbers.

Event Date: -43 GR

§ 3.9.66  Such was the course of events around Mutina. At Rome, in the absence of the consuls, Cicero took the lead by public speaking. He held frequent assemblies, procured arms by inducing the artificers to work without pay, collected money, and exacted heavy contributions from the Antonians. These paid without complaining in order to avoid calumny, until Publius Ventidius, who had served under Gaius Caesar and was a friend of Antony, unable to endure the exactions of Cicero, betook himself to Caesar's colonies, where he was well known, and raised two legions for Antony and hastened to Rome to seize Cicero. The consternation was extreme. They removed most of the women and children in a panic, and Cicero himself fled from the city. When Ventidius learned this he turned his course toward Antony, but being intercepted by Octavius and Hirtius, he proceeded to Picenum, where he recruited another legion and waited to see what would happen. When Pansa was drawing near with his army, Octavius and Hirtius sent Carsuleius to him with Octavius' praetorian cohort and the Martian legion to assist him in passing through a defile. Antony had disdained to occupy the defile as it served no other purpose than to hinder the enemy; but, eager to fight, and having no chance to win distinction with his cavalry, because the ground was marshy and cut by ditches, he placed his two best legions in ambush in the marsh, where they were concealed by the reeds and where the road, which had been thrown up artificially, was narrow.

Event Date: -43 GR

§ 3.9.67  Carsuleius and Pansa passed through the defile by night. At daybreak, with only the Martian legion and five other cohorts, they entered upon the road above mentioned, which was still free from enemies, and looked over the marsh on either side. There was a suspicious agitation of the bushes, then a gleaming of shields and helmets, and Antony's praetorian cohort suddenly showed itself directly in their front. The Martian legion, surrounded on all sides and having no way to escape, ordered the new levies, if they came up, not to join in the fight lest they should cause confusion by their inexperience. The praetorians of Octavius confronted the praetorians of Antony. The other troops divided themselves in two parts and advanced into the marsh on either side, the one commanded by Pansa and the other by Carsuleius. Thus there were two battles in two marshes, and neither division could see the other by reason of the elevated road, while along the road itself the praetorian cohorts fought another battle of their own. The Antonians were determined to punish the Martians for desertion as being traitors to themselves. The Martians were equally determined to punish the Antonians for condoning the slaughter of their comrades at Brundusium. Recognizing in each other the flower of either army they hoped to decide the whole war by this single engagement. The one side was moved by shame lest its two legions should be beaten by one; the other by ambition that its single legion should overcome the two.

Event Date: -43 GR

§ 3.9.68  Thus urged on rather by their own animosity and ambition than by their generals they assailed each other, considering this their own affair. Being veterans they raised no battle-cry, since they could not expect to terrify each other, nor in the engagement did they utter a sound, either as victors or vanquished. As there could be neither flanking nor charging in marshes and ditches, they stood together in close order, and since neither could dislodge the other they locked together with their swords as in a wrestling match. No blow missed its mark. There were wounds and slaughter but no cries, only groans; and when one fell he was instantly borne away and another took his place. They needed neither admonition nor encouragement, since experience had made each one his own general. When they were overcome by fatigue they drew apart from each other for a brief space to take breath, as in gymnastic games, and then rushed again to the encounter. Amazement took possession of the new levies who had come up, as they beheld such deeds done with such precision and in such silence.

Event Date: -43 GR

§ 3.9.69  All put forth superhuman exertions, and the praetorians of Octavius perished to the last man. Those of the Martians who were under Carsuleius got the better of those opposed to them, who gave way, not in disgraceful rout, but little by little. Those under Pansa were likewise in difficulties, but they held out with equal bravery on both sides until Pansa was wounded in the abdomen by a javelin and carried off the field to Bononia. Then his soldiers retired, at first step by step, but afterward they turned and took refuge in flight. When the new levies saw this they fled in disorder, and with loud cries, to their camp, which the quaestor, Torquatus, had put in readiness for them while the battle was in progress, apprehending that it might be needed. The new levies dashed into it confusedly although they were Italians, the same as the Martians, so much more than race does training contribute to bravery. The Martians for fear of shame did not enter into the camp, but ranged themselves near it. Although fatigued they were still furious and ready to fight to the bitter end if anybody should attack them. Antony refrained from the attack as a bad job, but he fell upon the new levies and made a great slaughter.

Event Date: -43 GR

§ 3.9.70  When Hirtius near Mutina heard of this fight, at a distance of sixty stades, he hurried thither with the other legion that had deserted from Antony. It was already evening and the victorious Antonians were returning singing hymns of triumph. While they were in loose order Hirtius made his appearance in perfect order with his legion complete and fresh. The Antonians got themselves in line under compulsion, and performed against this foe also many splendid deeds of valor; but being wearied by their recent exertions they were overcome by the fresh army opposed to them, and the greater part of them were slain in this encounter by Hirtius, although the latter did not pursue, being apprehensive of the marshy ground. As darkness was coming on he allowed them to escape. A wide stretch of the marsh was filled with arms, corpses, wounded men, and half-dead men. Some were unhurt but were overcome by fatigue. Antony's cavalry, as many as he had with him, went to their assistance and collected them through the entire night. Some they put on horse-back in their own places, others they took on the horses with themselves, still others they urged to take hold of the horses' tails and run along with them and so secure their safety. Thus were Antony's forces, after he had fought splendidly, scattered by the coming of Hirtius. He encamped without entrenchments in a village near the plain, named Forum Gallorum. Antony and Pansa each lost about one-half of their men. The whole of Octavius' praetorian cohort perished. The loss of Hirtius was slight.

Event Date: -43 GR

§ 3.10.71  The next day they all withdrew to the camps at Mutina. After so severe a disaster Antony decided not to come to a general engagement with his enemies at present, not even if they should attack him, but merely to harass them daily with his cavalry until Decimus, who was reduced to extremity by famine, should surrender. For this very reason Hirtius and Octavius decided to push on a fight. As Antony would not come out when they offered battle, they moved toward the other side of Mutina where it was less closely besieged on account of the badness of the ground, as if about to force their way into the town with their strong army. Antony followed their movement with his cavalry and this time also with those alone. As the enemy fought him with their cavalry only, moving the rest of their army in whatever way they chose, Antony, lest he should lose Mutina, drew out of his entrenchments two legions. Then his enemies rejoiced at this, turned and delivered battle. Antony ordered up other legions from other camps, but as they came slowly, by reason of the suddenness of the call or the long distance, the army of Octavius won the victory. Hirtius even broke into Antony's camp, where he was killed, fighting near the general's tent. Octavius rushed in and carried off his body and possessed himself of the camp. A little later he was driven out by Antony. Both sides passed the night under arms.

Event Date: -43 GR

§ 3.10.72  When Antony had suffered this second defeat, he took counsel with his friends directly after the battle. They advised him to adhere to his first resolution, to continue the siege of Mutina and not to go out and fight, saying that the losses had been about equal on both sides, Hirtius having been killed and Pansa wounded; that he (Antony) was superior in cavalry and that Mutina was reduced to extremity by famine and must soon succumb. Such was the advise of his friends, and it was truly for the best. But Antony, now misled by a god, was fearful lest Octavius should make another attempt to break into Mutina like that of yesterday, or even try to enclose him (Antony), as Octavius had the greater force of laborers, "in which case," said he, "our cavalry will be useless and Lepidus and Plancus will despise me as a vanquished man. If we withdraw from Mutina, Ventidius will presently join us with three legions from Picenum, and Lepidus and Plancus will be emboldened to ally themselves with us." So he spoke, although he was not a timid man in the presence of danger; and breaking camp forthwith he made his way toward the Alps.

Event Date: -43 GR

§ 3.10.73  When Decimus was delivered from the siege he began to be afraid of Octavius, whom, after the removal of the two consuls, he feared as an enemy. So he broke down the bridge over the river before daybreak and sent certain persons to Octavius in a boat, as if to return thanks for rescuing him, and asked that Octavius would come to the opposite bank of the river to hold a conversation with him in the presence of the citizens as witnesses, because he could convince Octavius, he said, that an evil spirit had deceived him and led him into the conspiracy against Caesar with the others. Octavius answered the messengers in a tone of anger, declining the thanks that Decimus gave him, saying: "I am here not to rescue Decimus, but to fight Antony, with whom I may properly come to terms sometime, but nature forbids that I should even look at Decimus or hold any conversation with him. Let him have safety, however, as long as the authorities at Rome please." When Decimus heard this he stood on the river bank and, calling Octavius by name, read with a loud voice the letters of the Senate giving him command of the Gallic province, and forbade Octavius to cross the river without consular authority, into the government belonging to another, and not to follow Antony further, because he (Decimus) would suffice for the pursuit of the latter. Octavius knew that he was prompted to this audacious course by the Senate, and although able to seize him by giving an order, he spared him for the present and withdrew to Pansa at Bononia, where he wrote a full report to the Senate, and Pansa did likewise.

Event Date: -43 GR

§ 3.10.74  In Rome Cicero read to the people the report of the consul, and to the Senate alone that of Octavius. For the victory over Antony, he caused them to vote a thanksgiving of fifty days, — a longer festivity than the Romans had ever decreed even after the Gallic or any other war. He induced them to give the army of the consuls to Decimus, although Pansa was still alive (for his life was now despaired of), and to appoint Decimus the sole commander against Antony. Public prayers were offered that Decimus might prevail over him. Such was Cicero's passion and want of decorum in reference to Antony. He confirmed again, to the two legions that had deserted from Antony, the 5000 drachmas per man previously promised to them as the rewards of victory, as though they had already conquered, and gave them the perpetual right to wear the olive crown at the public festivals. There was nothing about Octavius in the decrees, and his name was not even mentioned. He was forthwith disregarded as though Antony were already destroyed. They wrote to Lepidus, to Plancus, and to Asinius Pollio to fight Antony when he should draw near them. Such was the course of events at Rome.

Event Date: -43 GR

§ 3.10.75  In the meantime Pansa was dying of his wound, and he summoned Octavius to his side, and said: "I loved your father as I did myself, yet I could not avenge his death, nor could I fail to unite with the majority, whom you have also done well to obey, although you have an army. At first they feared you and Antony, and especially Antony, as he seemed to be the one most ambitious to fill the role of Caesar, and they were delighted with your dissensions, thinking that you would mutually destroy each other. When they saw you the master of an army, they complimented you as a young man with specious and inexpensive honors. When they saw that you were more proud and self-restrained in respect of honors than they had supposed, and especially when you declined the magistracy that your army offered you, they were alarmed and they appointed you to the command with us in order that we might draw your two experienced legions away from you, hoping that when one of you was vanquished the other would be weakened and isolated, and so the whole of Caesar's party would be effaced and that of Pompey be restored to power. This is their chief aim.

Event Date: -43 GR

§ 3.10.76  "Hirtius and I did what we were ordered to do, until we could humble Antony, who was much too arrogant; but we intended when he was vanquished to bring him into alliance with you and thus to pay the debt of gratitude we owed to Caesar's friendship, the only payment that could be serviceable to Caesar's party hereafter. It was not possible to communicate this to you before, but now that Antony is vanquished and Hirtius dead, and I am about to pay the debt of nature, the time for speaking has come, not that you may be grateful to me after my death, but that you, born to a happy destiny, as your deeds proclaim, may know what is for your own interest, and know that the course taken by Hirtius and myself was a matter of necessity. The army that you yourself gave to us should most properly be given back to you, and I do give it. If you can take and hold the new levies, I will give you those also. If they are too much in awe of the Senate (for their officers were sent to act as spies upon us), and if the task would be an invidious one, and would create trouble for you prematurely, the quaestor Torquatus will take command of them." After speaking thus he transferred the new levies to the quaestor and expired. The quaestor transferred them to Decimus as the Senate had ordered. Octavius sent the bodies of Hirtius and Pansa with honors to Rome, where they received a public funeral.

Event Date: -43 GR

§ 3.11.77  The following events took place in Syria and Macedonia about the same time. Gaius Caesar, when he passed through Syria, left a legion there, as he was already contemplating an expedition against the Parthians. Caecilius Bassus had charge of it, but the title of commander was held by Sextus Julius, a young man related to Caesar himself, who was given over to dissipation and who led the legion around everywhere in an indecorous manner. Once when Bassus reproved him, he replied insultingly, and sometime later, when he called Bassus to him and the latter was slow in obeying, he ordered him to be dragged before him. A tumult and blows ensued. The soldiers would not tolerate the indignity and stabbed Julius. This act was followed by repentance and fear of Caesar. Accordingly, they took an oath together that they would defend themselves to the death if they were not pardoned and restored to confidence, and they compelled Bassus to take the same oath. They also enlisted and drilled another legion as associates with themselves. This is one account of Bassus, but Libo says that he belonged to the army of Pompey and that after the latter's defeat he became a private citizen in Tyre, where he corrupted certain members of the legion, who slew Sextus and chose Bassus for their leader. However that may have been, Caesar sent Statius Marcus against him with three legions. Bassus defeated him badly. Finally, Marcus appealed to Marcius Crispus, the governor of Bithynia, and the latter came to his aid with three legions.

Event Date: -43 GR

§ 3.11.78  While Bassus was besieged by the latter, Cassius suddenly came up with them and took possession, not only of the two legions of Bassus, but also of the six that were besieging him, whose leaders surrendered in a friendly way and obeyed him as proconsul; for the Senate had decreed, as I have already said, that all [beyond the Adriatic] should obey Cassius and Brutus. Just then Allienus, who had been sent to Egypt by Dolabella, brought from that quarter four legions of soldiers dispersed by the disasters of Pompey and of Crassus, or left with Cleopatra by Caesar. Cassius surrounded him unawares in Palestine and compelled him to surrender, as he did not dare to fight with four legions against eight. Thus Cassius became the master, in a surprising way, of twelve legions, and laid siege to Dolabella, who was coming from Asia with two legions and had been received in Laodicea in a friendly manner. The Senate was delighted when it heard the news.

Event Date: -43 GR

§ 3.11.79  In Macedonia Gaius Antonius, the brother of Mark Antony, with one legion of foot soldiers, contended with Brutus, and, being inferior in strength to the latter, laid an ambuscade for him. Brutus avoided the trap, and, in his turn, laid an ambuscade, but he did no harm to those whom he caught in it, but ordered his own soldiers to salute their adversaries. Although the latter did not return the salutation or accept the courtesy he allowed them to pass out of the trap unharmed. Then he went around by other roads and confronted them again at a precipice, and again did them no harm but saluted them. Then, regarding him as a saviour of his fellow-citizens, and as one deserving the reputation he had gained for wisdom and mildness, they conceived an admiration for him, saluted him, and passed over to him. Gaius also surrendered himself and was treated with honor by Brutus until he was convicted of having tried several times to corrupt the army, when he was put to death. Thus, including his former forces, Brutus had possession of six legions, and since he approved the valor of the Macedonians he raised two legions among them, whom he drilled in the Italian discipline.

Event Date: -43 GR

§ 3.11.80  Such was the state of affairs in Syria and Macedonia. In Italy Octavius, although he considered it an insult that Decimus, instead of himself, was chosen general against Antony, concealed his indignation and asked the honors of a triumph for his exploits. Being disdained by the Senate as though he were seeking honors beyond his years, he began to fear lest if Antony were destroyed he should be despised still more, and so he desired a reconciliation with Antony, as Pansa on his death-bed had recommended to him. Accordingly, he began to make friends of those of Antony's army who had been taken prisoners, both officers and soldiers. He enrolled them among his own troops, or if they wished to return to Antony he allowed them to do so, in order to show that he was not moved by implacable hatred against him. When he was encamped near to Ventidius, Antony's friend, who had command of three legions, he inspired the latter with fear, but performed no hostile act, and in like manner gave him the opportunity to join himself or to go on safely with his army to Antony, and told him to chide the latter for ignoring their common interests. Ventidius took the hint and proceeded to join Antony. Octavius also allowed Decius, one of Antony's officers, who had been taken prisoner at Mutina, and had been treated with honor, to return to Antony if he wished, and when Decius tried to find out what were his sentiments toward Antony, he said that he had given plenty of indications to persons of discernment and that more would be insufficient for fools.

Event Date: -43 GR

§ 3.11.81  After conveying these hints to Antony, Octavius wrote still more plainly to Lepidus and Asinius concerning the indignities put upon himself and the rapid advancement of the murderers, causing them to fear, lest in consequence of the favor extended to the Pompeian faction, each of the Caesarians should, one by one, share the fate of Antony, although he was suffering the consequences of his own folly and arrogance. He advised that, for the sake of appearances, they should obey the Senate, but that they should confer together for their own safety while they could still do so, and reproach Antony for his conduct; that they should follow the example of their own soldiers, who did not separate even when they were discharged from the service but, in order that they might not be exposed to the assaults of enemies, preferred to unite their strength by settling together on ground that belonged not to them in groups, rather than enjoy their own homesteads singly. These things Octavius wrote to Lepidus and Asinius. The first soldiers of Decimus fell sick by reason of excessive eating after their famine, and suffered from dysentery, and the newer ones were still undrilled. Plancus soon joined him with his army, and then Decimus wrote to the Senate that he would pursue and capture Antony immediately.

Event Date: -43 GR

§ 3.11.82  When the Pompeians learned what had happened (and an astonishing number showed themselves to be of that party), they exclaimed that their ancestral freedom had at last been regained, and they each offered sacrifices. Decemvirs were chosen to examine the accounts of Antony's magistracy. This was a preliminary step to annulling Caesar's arrangements, for Antony had done little or nothing himself, but had conducted all the affairs of state in accordance with Caesar's memoranda. The Senate knew this well, but it hoped that by finding a pretext for annulling a part of the measures it should be enabled in the same way to annul the whole. The decemvirs gave public notice that whoever had received anything from Antony's government should make it known in writing immediately, and threatened any who should disobey. The Pompeians also sought the consulship for the remainder of the year in place of Hirtius and Pansa. But Octavius also sought it, applying not to the Senate, but to Cicero privately, whom he urged to become his colleague, saying that Cicero should carry on the government, as he was the elder and more experienced, and that he (Octavius) would enjoy the title only, by which means he could dismiss his army in a becoming manner, for which reason he had previously asked the honor of a triumph. Cicero, whose desire for office was excited by this proposal, said to the Senate that he understood that a negotiation was on foot among the generals commanding the provinces, and he advised that they should conciliate the man whom they had treated with disdain and who was still at the head of a large army, and allow him to hold office in the city, notwithstanding his youth, rather than that he should remain under arms in a hostile attitude. But lest he should do anything contrary to the interest of the Senate, Cicero proposed that some man of prudence from among the older ones should be chosen as his colleague as a firm check upon the immaturity of Octavius. The Senate laughed at Cicero's ambition, and the relatives of the conspirators especially opposed him, fearing lest Octavius, as consul, should bring the murderers to punishment."

Event Date: -43 GR

§ 3.12.83  For various reasons the election was postponed in accordance with the law. Meanwhile, Antony passed over the Alps with the permission of Culleo, who had been stationed there by Lepidus to guard them, and advanced to a river where the latter was encamped. He neglected to surround himself with palisade and ditch, as though he were camping alongside a friend. Messengers were going back and forth between them constantly, Antony reminding Lepidus of their friendship and of his various good offices, and showing him that after he (Antony) should be destroyed all who had enjoyed Caesar's friendship would suffer a like fate, one by one. Lepidus feared the Senate, which had ordered him to make war on Antony, but he promised nevertheless that he would not do so voluntarily. The army of Lepidus, having respect for Antony's dignity and perceiving the messengers going back and forth, and being gratified with the simple manners prevailing in Antony's camp, mingled with his men, at first secretly, then openly, like fellow-citizens and fellow-soldiers, disregarding the orders of the tribunes, who forbade their doing so; and in order to facilitate their intercourse they made a bridge of boats across the river. The so-called Tenth Legion, that had been enlisted by Antony originally, arranged things for him inside the camp of Lepidus.

Event Date: -43 GR

§ 3.12.84  When Laterensis, one of the distinguished members of the Senate, perceived this he warned Lepidus. As the latter was incredulous Laterensis advised him to divide his army in several parts and send them away on certain errands in order to test whether they were faithful or not. Accordingly, Lepidus divided them in three parts, and ordered them to go out by night in order to protect some quaestors who were approaching. About the last watch the soldiers armed themselves as if for the march, seized the fortified parts of the camp, and opened the gates to Antony. The latter came running to the tent of Lepidus, whose whole army was now escorting Antony, and they besought Lepidus for peace and compassion to their unfortunate fellow-citizens. Lepidus leaped out of bed among them undressed, just as he was, promised to do what they asked, embraced Antony, and pleaded necessity as his excuse. Some say that he fell on his knees before Antony, being an inexperienced and timid man. Not all writers put faith in this report, nor do I, for he had as yet done nothing whatever inimical to Antony and nothing to cause fear. Thus did Antony again become a very powerful man and most formidable to his enemies. He had the army with which he had abandoned the siege of Mutina, including its magnificent cavalry. Ventidius had joined him on the road with three legions. Lepidus had become his ally with seven legions of foot soldiers and a great number of auxiliary troops and apparatus in proportion. Lepidus nominally retained the command of these, but Antony directed every-thing.

Event Date: -43 GR

§ 3.12.85  When these facts became known at Rome a wonderful and sudden change took place. Those who had just now held Antony in contempt were alarmed, while the fears of others were changed to courage. The edicts of the decemvirs were torn down with derision and the consular election was still further postponed. The Senate, wholly at a loss what to do and fearful lest Octavius and Antony should form an alliance, sent two of their number, Lucius and Pansa, secretly to Brutus and Cassius, under pretence of attending the games in Greece, to urge them to lend all the assistance possible. It recalled from Africa two of the three legions under Sextius, and ordered the third to be given over to Cornificius, who commanded another portion of Africa, and who favored the senatorial party. Although they knew that these legions had served under Gaius Caesar, and although they suspected everything of his, yet the want of other forces compelled them to take this course. Most awkwardly, too, they reappointed the young Octavius as general with Decimus against Antony, for they feared lest he should unite with Antony.

Event Date: -43 GR

§ 3.12.86  Octavius excited the army to anger against the Senate on account of its repeated indignities toward himself, and for requiring the soldiers to undertake a second campaign before paying them the 5000 drachmas per man which it had promised to give them for the first. He advised them to send and ask for the money. They sent their centurions. The Senate understood that the men had been advised to this course by Octavius and said that it would make answer by its own legates. It sent the latter, under instructions, to address themselves, when Octavius was not present, to the two legions which had deserted from Antony, and to advise the soldiers not to rest their hopes on a single person, but on the Senate, which alone had perpetual power, and to go to the camp of Decimus, where they would find the promised money. Having delivered this charge to the legates it forwarded one-half of the donative and appointed ten men to divide it, to whom it did not add Octavius as the eleventh. As the two legions refused to meet them without Octavius, the legates returned leaving the business unfinished. Octavius no longer held communication with the troops through the medium of others and no longer asked them to wait, but assembled the army and came before them and related to them the indignities he had suffered from the Senate, and its purpose to destroy all the friends of Gaius Caesar, one by one. He admonished them also to beware against being transferred to a general opposed to their party and sent to one war after another for the purpose of being killed or arrayed in opposition to each other. This was the reason why, after their common struggles at Mutina were ended, rewards were given to only two legions, in order to induce strife and sedition in the army.

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§ 3.12.87  "You know," he said, "the reason why Antony was lately vanquished. You have heard what the Pompeians in the city did to those who had received certain gifts from Caesar. What confidence can you have of keeping the lands and money you have received from him, or what confidence can I have in my own safety while the relatives of the murderers dominate the Senate? I shall accept my fate, whatever it may be, for it is beautiful to suffer anything in the service of a father; but I fear for you, such a host of brave men, who have incurred danger in behalf of me and my father. You know that I have been free from ambition from the time when I declined the praetorship that you offered me with the insignia of that office. I see only one path of safety now for both of us, and that is that I obtain the consulship by your help. In that case all of my father's gifts to you will be confirmed, the colonies that are still due to you will be forthcoming, and all your rewards will be paid in full; and after bringing the murderers to punishment I will release you from any more wars."

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§ 3.12.88  At these words the army cheered heartily, and forthwith sent their centurions to ask the consulship for Octavius. When the Senate began to make talk about his youth, the centurions replied, as they had been instructed, that in the olden time Corvinus had held the office and at a later period the Scipios, both the elder and the younger, before the legal age, and that the country profited much from the youth of each. They instanced, as recent examples, Pompey the Great and Dolabella and said that it had been granted to Caesar himself to stand for the consulship ten years before the legal age. While the centurions were arguing with much boldness, some of the senators, who could not endure that army officers should use such freedom of speech, rebuked them for exceeding the bounds of military discipline. When the army heard of this, they were still more exasperated and demanded to be led immediately to the city, saying that they would hold a special election and elevate him to the consulship because he was Caesar's son. At the same time they extolled the elder Caesar without stint. When Octavius saw them in this excited state, he led them directly from the assembly toward the city, eight legions of foot and a corresponding number of horse, and the auxiliary troops that were serving with the legions. Having crossed the river Rubicon from the Gallic province into Italy, — the stream that his father crossed in like manner at the beginning of the civil war, — he divided his army in two parts. One of these divisions he ordered to follow in a leisurely way. The other and better one, consisting of picked men, made forced marches, hastening in order to take the city unprepared. Meeting a convoy on the road with a part of the money which the Senate was sending as a present to the soldiers, Octavius feared the effect it might have on his mercenaries. So he secretly sent forward a force to scare away the convoy, and they took to flight with the money.

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§ 3.13.89  When the news of Octavius' approach reached the city there was immense confusion and alarm. People ran hither and thither, and some conveyed their wives and children and whatever they held most dear to the fields and to the fortified parts of the city, for it was not yet known that he aimed only at securing the consulship. Having heard that an army was advancing with hostile intentions, there was nothing that they did not fear. The Senate was struck with consternation since it had no military force in readiness. As is usual in cases of panic they blamed each other. Some were blamed because they had wrongfully deprived him of the command of the campaign against Antony, others because they had treated with contempt his demand for a triumph, a request which was not without justice; others because they had envied him the honor of distributing the money; others because he had not been made an additional member of the board of ten. Still others said that the army had become hostile because the gifts voted to them had not been quickly and fully paid. They complained especially because of the inopportune time for such a strife, while Brutus and Cassius were far away and their forces not yet organized, and on their own flank in a hostile attitude were Antony and Lepidus, who, they thought, might form an alliance with Octavius. Thus their fears were greatly augmented. Cicero, who had so long taken the lead, was nowhere to be seen.

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§ 3.13.90  There was a sudden change on all hands. Instead of 2500 drachmas 5000 were given. Instead of two legions only, the entire eight were to be paid. Octavius was appointed to make the distribution instead of the ten commissioners, and he was allowed to be a candidate for the consulship while absent. Messengers were hastily despatched to tell him these things. Directly after they had left the city the Senate repented. It felt that it ought not to be so weakly terror-stricken, or accept a new tyranny without bloodshed, or accustom those seeking office to gain it by violence, or the soldiers to govern the country by the word of command. Rather should they arm themselves as far as possible and oppose the laws to the invaders, for there was some hope that, if the laws were opposed to them, not even they would bear arms against their country. If they should do so, it would be best to endure a siege until Decimus and Plancus should come to the rescue, and to defend themselves to the death rather than submit voluntarily to a slavery thenceforth without remedy. They recounted the high spirit and endurance in behalf of freedom of the Romans of old, who never yielded anything prejudicial to their liberty.

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§ 3.13.91  As the two legions sent for from Africa happened to arrive in the harbor on the same day, it seemed as though the gods were urging them to defend their freedom. Their regret for what they had done was confirmed; Cicero again made his appearance, and they repealed all of the decrees above mentioned. All who were of military age were called to arms, also the two legions from Africa, and 1000 horse with them, and another legion that Pansa had left behind, all these were assigned to their proper places. Some of them guarded the so-called hill of Janiculum, where the money was stored, others held the bridge over the Tiber, and the city praetors were put in command of the separate divisions. Others made ready small boats and ships in the harbor, together with money, in order to escape by sea in case they should be vanquished. While courageously making these hasty preparations they hoped to alarm Octavius in his turn, and induce him to seek the consulship from them instead of the army, or they hoped at least to defend themselves to the last extremity. They hoped also to change those of the opposite faction as soon as it became a contest for liberty. When they sought for the mother and sister of Octavius, and did not discover them either in any open or secret abode, they were again alarmed at finding themselves deprived of such important hostages, and as the Caesarians showed no disposition to yield to them they concluded that these women had been carefully concealed by them.

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§ 3.13.92  While Octavius was still giving audience to the messengers, it was announced to him that the decrees had been rescinded. The messengers thereupon withdrew, covered with confusion. With his army still more exasperated Octavius hastened to the city, fearing lest some evil should befall his mother and sister. To the plebeians, who were in a state of consternation, he sent horsemen in advance to tell them to have no fear. While all were amazed he took a position just beyond the Quirinal hill, no one daring to fight or prevent him. Now another wonderful and sudden change took place. Patricians flocked out and saluted him. The common people ran also and admired the good order of the soldiers, which they considered a sign of peace. On the following day Octavius advanced toward the city, leaving his army where it was, and having with him only a sufficient guard. Here, again, crowds met him along the whole road and saluted him, omitting nothing that savored of friendliness and weak compliance. His mother and sister, who were in the temple of Vesta with the Vestal virgins, embraced him. The three legions, in spite of their generals, sent ambassadors and transferred themselves to him. One of the generals in command of them, Cornutus, killed himself. The others allied themselves with Octavius. When Cicero learned this he sought an interview with Octavius through friends. When it was granted he defended himself and dwelt much upon his proposing Octavius for the consulship, as he had done in the Senate on a former occasion. Octavius answered ironically that Cicero seemed to be the last of his friends to greet him.

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§ 3.13.93  The next night a rumor gained currency that two of Octavius' legions, the Martian and the Fourth, had gone over to the side of the republic, because they had been led against their country by deception. The praetors and the Senate put faith in this report heedlessly, although the army was very near, thinking that with the assistance of these two legions, as they were the bravest, it would be possible to hold out against the rest of Octavius' army until some force from elsewhere should come to the rescue. The same night they sent Manius Aquilius Crassus to Picenum to raise troops, and ordered one of the tribunes, named Apuleius, to run through the city and proclaim the good news to the people. The senators assembled by night in the senate-house, and Cicero received them at the door, but when the news was contradicted he took flight in a litter.

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§ 3.13.94  Octavius laughed at them and moved his army nearer to the city and stationed it in the Campus Martius. He did not then punish any of the praetors, not even Crassus who had rushed off to Picenum, although the latter was brought before him just as he was caught, in the disguise of a slave. He pardoned all in order to acquire a reputation for clemency. But not long afterward they were put on the list of the proscribed. He ordered that the public money on the Janiculum or elsewhere be brought to him, and that the amount that had been previously ordered to be paid on the motion of Cicero be distributed; that is, he divided 2500 drachmas per man and promised to give them the remainder. Then he took his departure from the city until the consuls should be chosen by the comitia. Having been elected, together with Quintus Pedius, whom he desired to have as his colleague, and who had given to him his own portion of his inheritance from Caesar, he entered the city as consul. He offered the usual sacrifices, and twelve vultures were seen; the same number, they say, that appeared to Romulus when he laid the foundations of the city. After the sacrifices he caused his adoption by his father to be ratified again, according to the lex curiata, — that is, by a popular vote, — for the parts into which the tribes, or the common people, are divided are called curioe, just as I suppose the similar divisions among the Greeks are called phratrioe. Among the Romans this was the method of adoption most in accordance with law in the case of orphans; and those who follow it have the same rights as real sons in respect of the relatives and the freedmen of the persons who adopt them. Among the other splendid accessories of Caesar was a large number of freedmen, many of them rich, and this was perhaps the principal reason why Octavius wanted the adoption by a vote of the people in addition to the former adoption which came to him by Caesar's will.

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§ 3.14.95  He caused a new law to be passed to repeal the one which declared Dolabella a public enemy, and also to punish the murder of Caesar. Indictments were found forthwith, the friends of Caesar bringing accusations against some for actual participation in the crime and against others as having guilty knowledge only. Several were indicted, and among them some who were not in the city when Caesar was killed. One day was fixed by public proclamation for the trial of all, and judgment was taken against all by default while Octavius was overlooking the court. None of the judges voted for acquittal except one patrician, who then escaped with impunity, but was included with others in the proscription a little later. It appears that about this time Quintus Gallius, a city praetor and brother of Marcus Gallius, who was serving with Antony, asked Octavius for the command of Africa, and, being thus brought into his presence, attempted to take his life. His colleagues stripped him of his praetorship, the people tore his house down, and the Senate condemned him to death. Octavius ordered him to depart to his brother, and it is said that he took ship and was never seen again.

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§ 3.14.96  These things accomplished, Octavius formed plans for a reconciliation with Antony, for he had learned that Brutus and Cassius had already collected twenty legions of soldiers, and he needed Antony's help against them. He moved out of the city toward the Adriatic coast and proceeded in a leisurely way, waiting to see what the Senate would do. Pedius persuaded the senators, after Octavius had taken his departure, not to make their differences with each other irremediable, but to be reconciled to Lepidus and Antony. They foresaw that such a reconciliation would not be for their advantage or for that of the country, but would be merely an assistance to Octavius against Brutus and Cassius. Nevertheless, they gave their approval and assent to it as a matter of necessity. So the decrees declaring Antony and Lepidus, and the soldiers under them, public enemies, were repealed, and others of a peaceful nature were sent to them. Thereupon Octavius wrote and congratulated them, and he promised to lend assistance to Antony against Decimus Brutus if he needed it. They replied to him at once in a friendly spirit and eulogized him. Antony wrote that he would himself take vengeance on Decimus for Caesar's account and on Plancus for his own, and that then he would join forces with Octavius.

Event Date: -43 GR

§ 3.14.97  Such were the letters which they exchanged with each other. While pursuing Decimus, Antony was joined by Asinius Pollio with two legions. Asinius also brought about an arrangement with Plancus, by virtue of which the latter passed over to Antony with three legions, so that Antony now had much the strongest force. Decimus had ten legions, of whom four, the most experienced in war, had suffered severely from famine and were still enfeebled. The other six were new levies, still untrained and unaccustomed to their labors. As he despaired of fighting, he decided to flee to Marcus Brutus in Macedonia. He retreated not by the higher Alps, but toward Ravenna and Aquileia. Since Caesar had travelled by this route, Decimus proposed another longer and more difficult one — to cross the Rhine and traverse the wild country of barbarian tribes. Thereupon the new levies, bewildered and fatigued, were the first to desert him and join Octavius. After them the four older legions joined Antony, and the auxiliaries did the same, except a body-guard of Gallic horse. Then Decimus allowed those who wished to do so to return to their own homes, and, after distributing among them the gold he had with him, proceeded toward the Rhine with 300 followers, the only ones who remained. As it was difficult to cross the river with so few, he was now abandoned by all the others except ten. He put on Gallic clothing, and, as he was acquainted with the language, he proceeded on his journey with these, passing himself off as a Gaul. He no longer followed the longer route, but went toward Aquileia, thinking that he should escape notice by reason of the smallness of his force.

Event Date: -43 GR

§ 3.14.98  Having been captured by robbers and bound, he asked them who was the chief of this Gallic tribe. He was informed that it was Camillus, a man to whom he had done many favors. So he told them to bring him to Camillus. When the latter saw him led in, he greeted him in a friendly way in public, and scolded those who had bound him, for putting an indignity on so great a man through ignorance; but he sent word to Antony secretly. Antony was somewhat touched by this change of fortune, and was not willing to see Decimus, but he ordered Camillus to kill him and send his head to himself. When he saw the head he ordered his attendants to bury it. Such was the end of Decimus, who had been Caesar's praefect of horse and had governed Farther Gaul under him and had been designated by him for the consulship the coming year and for the governorship of Hither Gaul. He was the next of the murderers after Trebonius to meet punishment, within a year and a half of the assassination. About the same time Minucius Basilus, another of Caesar's murderers, was killed by his slaves, some of whom he was castrating by way of punishment.

Event Date: -43 GR

§ 4.1.1  BOOK IV
Thus was punishment visited upon two of Caesar's murderers, who were conquered in their own provinces, Trebonius in Asia and Decimus Brutus in Gaul. How vengeance overtook Cassius and Marcus Brutus, who were the principal leaders in the conspiracy against Caesar, and who controlled the territory from Syria to Macedonia, and had large forces of cavalry and sailors, and more than twenty legions of infantry, together with ships and money, this fourth book of the Civil Wars will show. During the progress of these events came the pursuit and capture of the proscribed in Rome and the sufferings consequent thereon, the like of which cannot be recalled among the civil commotions or wars of the Greeks, or those of the Romans themselves save only in the time of Sulla, who was the first to put his enemies on a proscription list. Marius searched for his and punished those whom he found, but Sulla proclaimed large rewards to persons who should kill the proscribed and severe punishment to those who should conceal them. But what took place in the time of Marius and Sulla I have previously narrated in the history relating to them. The following events came next in order.

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§ 4.1.2  Octavius and Antony composed their differences on a small, gradually sloping islet in the river Lavinius, near the city of Mutina. Each had five legions of soldiers whom they stationed opposite each other, after which each proceeded with 300 men to the bridges over the river. Lepidus himself went before them, searched the island, and shook his military cloak as a signal to them to come. Then each left his three hundred in charge of friends on the bridges and advanced to the middle of the island in plain sight, and there the three sat together in council, Octavius in the centre because he was consul. They were in conference from morning till night for two days, and came to these decisions: That Octavius should resign the consulship and that Ventidius should take it for the remainder of the year; that anew magistracy for quieting the civil dissensions should be created by law, which Lepidus, Antony, and Octavius should hold for five years with consular power (for this name seemed preferable to that of dictator, perhaps because of Antony's decree abolishing the dictatorship); that these three should at once designate the yearly magistrates of the city for the five years; that a distribution of the provinces should be made, giving to Antony the whole of Gaul except the part bordering the Pyrenees Mountains, which was called Old Gaul. The latter, together with Spain, was assigned to Lepidus, while Octavius was to have Africa, Sardinia, and Sicily, and the other islands in the vicinity thereof.

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§ 4.1.3  Thus was the dominion of the Romans divided by the triumvirate among themselves. The assignment of the parts beyond the Adriatic only was postponed, since these were still under the control of Brutus and Cassius, against whom Antony and Octavius were to wage war. Lepidus was to be consul the following year and to remain in the city to do what was needful there, meanwhile governing Spain by proxy. He was to retain three of his legions to guard the city, and to divide the other seven between Octavius and Antony, three to the former and four to the latter, so that each of them might lead twenty legions to the war. To encourage the army with the expectation of booty they promised them, beside other gifts, eighteen cities of Italy as colonies — cities which excelled in wealth, in the fertility of their territory, and in handsome houses, and which were to be divided among them (land, buildings, and all), just as though they had been captured from an enemy in war. The most renowned among these were Capua, Rhegium, Venusia, Beneventum, Nuceria, Ariminum, and Vibo. Thus were the most beautiful parts of Italy marked out for the soldiers. But they decided to destroy their personal enemies beforehand, so that the latter should not interfere with their arrangements while they were carrying on war abroad. Having come to these decisions, they reduced them to writing, and Octavius, as consul, communicated them to the soldiers, all except the proscriptions. When the soldiers heard them they applauded and embraced each other in token of mutual reconciliation.

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§ 4.1.4  While these transactions were taking place many fearful prodigies and portents were observed at Rome. Dogs howled exactly like wolves — a fearful sign. Wolves darted through the forum — an animal unused to the city. Cattle used the human voice. A newly born infant spoke. Sweat issued from statues; some even sweated blood. Loud voices of men were heard and the clashing of arms and the tramp of horses where none could be seen. Many fearful signs were observed around the sun, there were showers of stones, and continuous lightning fell upon the sacred temples and images; in consequence of which the Senate sent for diviners and soothsayers from Etruria. The oldest of them said that the kingly rule of former times was coming back, and that they would all be slaves except himself, whereupon he closed his mouth and held his breath till he was dead.

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§ 4.2.5  As soon as the triumvirs were by themselves they joined in making a list of those who were to be put to death. They put on the list those whom they suspected because of their power, and also their personal enemies, and they swapped their own relatives and friends with each other for death, both then and later. For they made additions to the catalogue from time to time, some on the ground of enmity, others for a grudge merely, or because the victims tims were friends of their enemies or enemies of their friends. Some were proscribed on account of their wealth, for the triumvirs needed a great deal of money to carry on the war, since the revenue from Asia had been paid to Brutus and Cassius, who were still collecting it, and the kings and satraps were cooperating with them. So the triumvirs were short of money because Europe, and especially Italy, was exhausted by wars and exactions; for which reason they levied very heavy contributions from the plebeians and finally even from women, and contemplated taxes on sales and rents. Some were proscribed because they had handsome villas or city residences. The number of senators who were sentenced to death and confiscation was about 300, and of the so-called knights about 2000. There were brothers and uncles of the triumvirs in the list of the proscribed, and also some of the lieutenants serving under them who had had some difficulty with the leaders, or with their fellow-lieutenants.

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§ 4.2.6  As they left the conference to proceed to Rome they postponed the proscription of the greater number of victims, but they decided to send executioners in advance and without warning to kill twelve, or, as some say, seventeen, of the most important ones, among whom was Cicero. Four of these were slain immediately, either at banquets or as they were met on the streets. Search was made for the others in temples and houses. There was a sudden panic which lasted through the night, and a running to and fro with cries and lamentation as in a captured city. When it was known that men had been seized and massacred, although nobody had been previously sentenced by proscription, every man thought that he was the one whom the pursuers were in search of. In despair some were on the point of burning their own houses, and others the public buildings, or of committing some terrible deed in their frenzied state before the blow should fall upon them; and they would have done so had not the consul Pedius hurried around with heralds and encouraged them, telling them to wait till daylight and get more accurate information. When morning came Pedius, contrary to the intention of the triumvirs, published the list of seventeen as deemed the sole authors of the civil strife and the only ones condemned. To the rest he pledged the public faith, being ignorant of the determinations of the triumvirs. Pedius died in consequence of fatigue the following night.

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§ 4.2.7  The triumvirs entered the city separately on three successive days, Octavius, Antony, and Lepidus, each with a praetorian cohort and one legion. As they arrived, the city was speedily filled with arms and military standards, disposed in the most advantageous places. A public assembly was forthwith convened in the midst of these armed men, and the tribune Publius Titius proposed a law providing for a new magistracy for settling the present disorders, to consist of three men to hold office for five years, namely, Lepidus, Antony, and Octavius, with the same power as consuls. (Among the Greeks these would have been called harmosts, which is the name the Lacedaemonians gave to those whom they appointed over their subject states.) No time was given for consideration of this measure, nor was a future day appointed for voting on it, but it was passed forthwith. That same night, the proscription of 130 men in addition to the seventeen was proclaimed in various parts of the city, and a little later 150 more, and additions to the lists were constantly made of those who had been previously condemned or killed by mistake, so that they might seem to have perished justly. It was ordered that the heads of all the victims should be brought to the triumvirs in order to adjust the rewards, which to a free person were payable in money and to a slave in both money and freedom. All were required to afford opportunity for searching their houses. Those who received fugitives, or concealed them, or refused to allow search to be made, were liable to the same penalties as the proscribed, and those who informed against concealers were allowed the same rewards [as those who killed the proscribed].

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§ 4.2.8  The proscription was in the following words: "Marcus Lepidus, Mark Antony, and Octavius Caesar, chosen by the people to set in order and regulate the republic, do declare that, had not perfidious scoundrels begged for mercy and when they obtained it become the enemies of their benefactors and conspired against them, neither would Gaius Caesar have been slain by those whom he saved by his clemency after capturing them in war, whom he admitted to his friendship and upon whom he heaped offices, honors, and gifts; nor should we have been compelled to use severity against those who have insulted us and declared us public enemies. Now, seeing that the malice of those, who have conspired against us and from whom Gaius Caesar suffered, cannot be overcome by kindness, we prefer to anticipate our enemies rather than suffer at their hands. Let no one who sees what both Caesar and ourselves have suffered consider our action unjust, cruel, or immoderate. Although Caesar was clothed with supreme power, although he was pontifex maximus, although he had overthrown and added to our sway the nations most formidable to the Romans, although he was the first man to attempt the untried sea beyond the pillars of Hercules and was the discoverer of a country hitherto unknown to the Romans, this man was slain in a public and sacred place designated as the senate-house, under the eyes of the gods, with twenty-three dastardly wounds, by men whom he had taken prisoners in war and had spared, some of whom he had named as co-heirs of his wealth. After this execrable crime, instead of arresting the guilty wretches, the rest sent them forth as commanders and governors, in which capacity they seized upon the public money with which they are collecting an army against us and are seeking reinforcements from barbarians ever hostile to Roman rule. Cities subject to Rome that would not obey them they have burned, or ravaged, or levelled to the ground; other cities they have forced by terror to bear arms against the country and against us.

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§ 4.2.9  "Some of them we have punished already; and by the aid of divine providence you shall see the rest punished presently. Although the chief part of this work has been finished by us or is well in hand, appertaining to Spain and Gaul as well as to Italy, one task still remains, and that is to march against Caesar's assassins beyond the sea. On the eve of undertaking this foreign war for you, we do not consider it safe, either for you or for us, to leave other enemies behind to take advantage of our absence and watch for opportunities during the war. We think that there should be no delay in such an emergency, but that we ought rather to sweep them out of our pathway, once for all, seeing that they began the war against us when they voted us and the armies under us public enemies.

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§ 4.2.10  "What vast numbers of citizens have they doomed to destruction with us, disregarding the vengeance of the gods and the reprobation of mankind! We shall not deal harshly with any multitude of men, nor shall we count as enemies all who have opposed us or plotted against us, or those distinguished for their riches merely, their estates, or their high position; nor shall we go to the same lengths as another man who held the supreme power before us, when he, too, was regulating the commonwealth in civil convulsions, and whom you named the Fortunate on account of his success; and yet necessarily three persons will have more enemies than one. We shall take vengeance only on the worst and most guilty. This we shall do for your interest no less than for our own, for while we keep up our conflicts you will all be involved necessarily in great dangers. It is incumbent on us also to do something to quiet the army, which has been insulted, irritated, and decreed a public enemy by our common foes. Although we might arrest on the spot whomsoever we please, we prefer to proscribe rather than seize them unawares; and this, too, on your account, so that it may not be in the power of enraged soldiers to exceed their orders, but that they may be restricted to a certain number designated by name, and spare the others according to order.

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§ 4.2.11  "In God's name then, let no one harbor any one of those whose names are hereto appended, or conceal them, or send them away, or be corrupted by their money. Whoever shall be detected in saving, or aiding, or conniving with them we will put on the list of the proscribed without allowing any excuse or pardon. Those who kill the proscribed and bring us their heads shall receive the following rewards: to a free man 25,000 Attic drachmas per head; to a slave his freedom and 10,000 Attic drachmas and his master's right of citizenship. Informers shall receive the same rewards. In order that they may remain unknown the names of those who receive the rewards shall not be inscribed in our registers." Such was the language of the proscription of the triumvirate as nearly as it can be rendered from Latin into Greek.

Event Date: -43 GR

§ 4.3.12  Lepidus was the first to begin the work of proscription, and his brother Paulus was the first on the list of the proscribed. Antony came next, and the second name on the list was that of his uncle, Lucius Caesar. These two men had been the first to vote Lepidus and Antony public enemies. The third and fourth victims were relatives of the consuls-elect for the coming year, namely, Plotius, the brother of Plancus, and Quintus, the father-in-law of Asinnius. These four were placed at the head of the list, not so much on account of their dignity as to produce terror and despair, so that none of the proscribed might hope to escape. Among the proscribed was Thoranius, who was said by some to have been a tutor of Octavius. When the lists were published, the gates and all the other exits from the city, the harbor, the marshes, the pools, and every other place that was suspected as adapted to flight or concealment, were occupied by soldiers; the centurions were charged to scour the surrounding country. All these things took place simultaneously.

Event Date: -43 GR

§ 4.3.13  Straightway, throughout city and country, wherever each one happened to be found, there were sudden arrests and murder in various forms, and decapitations for the sake of the rewards when the head should be shown; also undignified flights in strange costumes, of persons hitherto well dressed. Some descended into wells, others into filthy sewers. Some took refuge in chimneys. Others crouched in the deepest silence under the thick-set tiles of their roofs. Some were not less fearful of their wives and ill-disposed children than of the murderers. Others feared their freedmen and their slaves; creditors feared their debtors and neighbors feared neighbors who coveted their lands. There was a sudden outburst of previously smouldering hates and a shocking change in the condition of senators, consulars, praetors, tribunes (men who were about to enter upon those offices, or who had already held them), who threw themselves with lamentations at the feet of their own slaves, giving to the servant the character of savior and master. It was most lamentable that even after submitting to this humiliation they did not obtain pity.

Event Date: -43 GR

§ 4.3.14  Every kind of calamity was rife, but not as in ordinary sedition or military occupation, for in those cases the people had to fear only the members of the opposite faction, or the enemy, and could rely on their own domestics. But now they were more afraid of them than of the assassins, for as the former had nothing to fear on their own account, as in ordinary seditions or wars, they were suddenly transformed from domestics into enemies, either from some concealed hatred, or in order to obtain the published rewards, or to possess themselves of the gold and silver in their masters' houses. For these reasons each one became treacherous to the household, preferring his own gain to compassion for the home. Those who were faithful and well-disposed feared to aid, or conceal, or connive at the escape of the victims, because such acts made them liable to the very same punishments. This was quite different from the peril that befell the seventeen men first condemned. Then there was no proscription, but certain persons were arrested unexpectedly, and as all feared similar treatment all sheltered each other. After the proscriptions some immediately became the betrayers of all. Others, being free from danger themselves and eager for gain, became hunting dogs for the murderers for the sake of the rewards. Of the remainder, some plundered the houses of the slain, and their private gains turned their thoughts away from the public calamities; others, more prudent and upright, were palsied with consternation. It seemed most astounding to them, when they reflected upon it, that while other states afflicted by civil strife had been rescued by harmonizing the factions, in this case the dissensions of the leaders had wrought ruin in the first instance and their agreement with each other had had like consequences afterwards.

Event Date: -43 GR

§ 4.3.15  Some died defending themselves against their slayers. Others made no resistance, considering the assailants not to blame. Some starved, or hanged, or drowned themselves, or flung themselves from their roofs or into the fire. Some offered themselves to the murderers or sent for them when they delayed. Others concealed themselves and made abject entreaties, or dodged, or tried to buy themselves off. Some were killed by mistake, or by private malice, contrary to the intention of the triumvirs. It was evident that a corpse was not one of the proscribed if the head was still attached to it, for the heads of the proscribed were displayed on the Rostra in the forum, where it was necessary to bring them in order to get the rewards. Equally conspicuous were the fidelity and courage of others — of wives, of children, of brothers, of slaves, who rescued the proscribed or planned for them in various ways, and died with them when they did not succeed in their designs. Some even killed themselves on the bodies of the slain. Of those who made their escape some perished by shipwreck, ill luck pursuing them to the last. Others were preserved, contrary to expectation, to become city magistrates, commanders in war, and even to enjoy the honors of a triumph. Such a display of paradoxes did this time afford.

Event Date: -43 GR

§ 4.3.16  These things took place not in an ordinary city, not in a weak and petty kingdom; but the deity thus smote the most powerful mistress of so many nations and of land and sea, and so brought about, after a long period of time, the present well-ordered condition. Other like events had taken place in the time of Sulla and even before him in that of Gaius Marius. The most notable of these calamities I have narrated in my history of those times, in which was the added horror that the dead were cast away unburied. The matters we are now considering are the more remarkable by reason of the dignity of the triumvirs and especially of one of them, who, by means of his character and good fortune, established the government on a firm foundation, and left his lineage and name to those who now rule after him. I shall now run over the most remarkable as well as the most shocking of these events, which are all the more worthy to be remembered because they were the last of the kind. I shall not speak of all, however, because the mere killing, or flight, or subsequent return of those who were pardoned by the triumvirs at a later period and passed undistinguished lives at home, is not worthy of mention. I shall refer only to those which are calculated to astonish by their extraordinary nature or to confirm what has already been said. These events are many, and they have been written in numerous books by many Roman historians successively. By way of summary, and to shorten my narrative, I shall record a few of each kind in order to confirm the truth of each and to illustrate the happiness of the present time.

Event Date: -43 GR

§ 4.4.17  The massacre began, as it happened, among those who were still in office, and the first one slain was the tribune Salvius. His was, according to the laws, a sacred and inviolable office, endowed with the greatest powers, even that of imprisoning the consuls in certain circumstances. Salvius was the tribune who had at first prevented the Senate from declaring Antony a public enemy, but later he had cooperated with Cicero in everything. When he heard of the agreement of the triumvirs, and of their hastening to the city, he gave a banquet to his friends, believing that he should not have many more opportunities for doing so. Soldiers burst in while the feast was going on. Some of the guests started up in tumultuous alarm, but the centurion in command ordered them to resume their places and remain quiet. Then, seizing Salvius by the hair, just as he was, the centurion drew him as far as need be across the table, cut off his head, and ordered the guests to stay where they were and make no disturbance unless they wished to suffer a like fate. So they remained after the centurion's departure, stupefied and speechless, till the most silent watches of the night, reclining by the side of the tribune's body. The second one slain was the praetor Minucius, who was holding the comitia in the forum. Learning that the soldiers were seeking him, he fled, and while he was still running about looking for a hiding-place he changed his clothes, and then darted into a shop, sending away his attendants and the insignia of his office. The attendants, moved by shame and pity, lingered near the place, and thus unintentionally made the discovery of the praetor more easy to his slayers.

Event Date: -43 GR

§ 4.4.18  Annalis, another praetor, was going around with his son, who was a candidate for the quaestorship, and soliciting votes for him. Some friends who accompanied him, and those who bore his insignia of office, when they heard that he was on the list of the proscribed, ran away from him. Annalis took refuge with one of his clients, who had in the suburbs a small, mean apartment in every way despicable, where he remained safely concealed until his son, suspecting that he had fled to this client, guided the murderers to the place. The triumvirs gave him his father's fortune and raised him to the aedileship. As he was returning home drunk he fell into a quarrel about something, and was killed by the same soldiers who had killed his father. Thoranius, who was not then praetor but had been such, and who was the father of a young man who was a scapegrace generally, but had great influence with Antony, asked the centurions to postpone his death for a short time, till his son could appeal to Antony for him. They laughed at him, and said, "He has already appealed, but on the other side." When the old man knew this he asked for another very short interval until he could see his daughter, and when he saw her he told her not to claim her share of the inheritance lest her brother should ask for her death also from Antony. It happened in the son's case that, after squandering his fortune in disgraceful ways, he was convicted of theft and sentenced to banishment.

Event Date: -43 GR

§ 4.4.19  Cicero, who had held supreme power after Caesar's death, as much as a public speaker could, was proscribed, together with his son, his brother, and his brother's son and all of his household, his faction, and his friends. He fled in a small boat, but as he could not endure the seasickness, he landed and went to a country place of his own near Caieta, a town of Italy, which I visited to gain knowledge of this lamentable affair, and here he remained quiet. While the searchers were approaching (for of all others Antony sought for him most eagerly and the rest did so for Antony's sake), crows flew into his chamber and awakened him from sleep by their croaking, and pulled off his bed-covering until his servants, perceiving that this was a warning from one of the gods, put him in a litter and again conveyed him toward the sea, going cautiously through a dense thicket. Many soldiers were hurrying around in squads inquiring if Cicero had been seen anywhere. Some people, moved by good-will and pity, said that he had already put to sea; but a shoemaker, a client of Clodius, who had been a most bitter enemy of Cicero, pointed out the path to Laena, the centurion, who was pursuing with a small force. The latter ran after him, and seeing slaves mustering for the defence in much larger number than the force under his own command, he called out by way of stratagem, "Come on, you centurions in the rear, this is the place;" whereupon the slaves, thinking that more soldiers were coming, were terror-stricken.

Event Date: -43 GR

§ 4.4.20  Laena, although he had been once saved by Cicero when under trial, drew his head out of the litter and cut it off, striking it three times, or rather sawing it off by reason of his inexperience. He also cut off the hand with which Cicero had written the speeches against the tyranny of Antony and which he had entitled Philippics in imitation of those of Demosthenes. Then some of the soldiers hastened on horseback and others on shipboard to convey the good news quickly to Antony. The latter was sitting in front of the tribunal in the forum when Laena, a long distance off, showed him the head and hand by lifting them up and shaking them. Antony was delighted beyond measure. He crowned the centurion and gave him 250,000 Attic drachmas in addition to the stipulated reward for killing the man who had been his greatest and most bitter enemy. The head and hand of Cicero were suspended for a long time from the Rostra in the forum where formerly he had been accustomed to make public speeches, and more people came together to behold this spectacle than had previously come to listen to him. It is said that even at his meals Antony placed the head of Cicero before his table, until he became satiated with the horrid sight. Thus was Cicero, a man famous even yet for his eloquence, and one who had rendered the greatest service to his country when he held the office of consul, slain, and insulted after his death. His son had been sent in advance to Brutus in Greece. Cicero's brother, Quintus, was captured, together with his son. He begged the murderers to kill him before his son, and the son prayed that he might be killed before his father. The murderers said that they would grant both requests, and, dividing themselves into two parties, each taking one, killed them at the same time according to agreement.

Event Date: -43 GR

§ 4.4.21  The Egnatii, father and son, while embracing each other, died by the same blow, and their heads were cut off while the remainder of their bodies were still locked together. Balbus sent his son in advance of himself in flight toward the sea in order that they might not be too conspicuous travelling together, and he followed at a short interval. Somebody told him, either by design or by mistake, that his son had been captured. He went back and delivered himself to the murderers. It happened, too, that his son perished by shipwreck. Thus did ill luck add to the calamities of the time. Aruntius had a son who was not willing to fly without his father. The latter with difficulty persuaded him to seek his safety because he was young. His mother accompanied him to the city gates and returned only to bury her slain husband. When she learned that her son also had perished at sea she starved herself to death. Such examples were there of good and bad sons.

Event Date: -43 GR

§ 4.4.22  Two brothers of the name of Ligarius, being proscribed together, hid themselves in an oven till their slaves found them, when one of them was killed and the other fled. When the latter learned that his brother had perished he threw himself from a bridge into the Tiber. Some fishermen seized him thinking that he had fallen into the water instead of leaping in. He resisted rescue and tried to throw himself into the river again. When he was overcome by the fishermen he exclaimed, "You are not saving me, but ruining yourselves by helping one who is proscribed." Nevertheless they had pity on him and saved him until some soldiers who were guarding the bridge saw him, ran to him, and cut off his head. One of two brothers threw himself into the river and one of his slaves searched for the body five days. At last he found it, and as it was still possible to recognize it, he cut off the head for the sake of the reward. The other brother had concealed himself in a dung-heap and another slave betrayed him. The murderers disdained to go into the heap, but thrust their spears into him and dragged him out. They then cut off his head, just as he was, without washing it. Another one seeing his brother arrested ran up to him, not knowing that he was himself proscribed also, and said, "Kill me instead of him." The centurion, having the proscription list at hand, said, "Your request is a proper one, for your name comes before his." And so saying, he killed both of them in due order. Let these serve as examples in the case of brothers.

Event Date: -43 GR

§ 4.4.23  Ligarius was concealed by his wife, who communicated the secret to only one female slave. Having been betrayed by the latter, she followed her husband's head as it was carried away, crying out, "I sheltered him; those who give shelter are to share the punishment." As nobody killed her or informed of her, she came to the triumvirs and accused herself before them. Being moved by her love for her husband they pretended not to see her. So she starved herself to death. I have mentioned her in this place because she failed to save her husband and would not survive him. I shall refer to those who were successful in their devotion to their husbands when I speak of the men who escaped. Other women betrayed their husbands infamously. Among these was the wife of Septimius, who had an amour with a certain friend of Antony. Being impatient to exchange this illicit connection for matrimony, she besought Antony through her paramour to rid her of her husband. Septimius was at once put on the list of the proscribed. He learned this fact from his wife, and in ignorance of his domestic ills prepared for flight. She, as though with loving anxiety, closed the doors, and kept him until the murderers came. The same day that her husband was killed she celebrated her new nuptials.

Event Date: -43 GR

§ 4.4.24  Salassus escaped, and, not knowing what to do with himself, came back to the city by night, thinking that the danger had mostly passed away. His house had been sold. The janitor, who had been sold with the house, was the only one who recognized him, and he received him in his room, promising to conceal him and feed him as well as he could. Salassus told the janitor to call his wife from her own house. She pretended to be very desirous to come, but to be fearful of the night and distrustful of her servants, and said that she would come at daybreak. When daylight came she went for the murderers. The janitor, because she was delaying, ran to her house to hasten her coming. When the janitor went out Salassus feared that he had gone to lay a plot against him, and went up to the roof to watch what would happen. Seeing that it was not the janitor but his wife who was bringing the murderers, he precipitated himself from the roof. Fulvius fled to the house of a female servant, who had been his mistress, and to whom he had given freedom and a dowry on her marriage. Although she had been so well treated by him she betrayed him on account of jealousy of the woman whom Fulvius had married after his relations with her. Let these serve as examples of depraved women.

Event Date: -43 GR

§ 4.4.25  Statius, the Samnite, who had had great influence with the Samnites during the social war and who had been raised to the rank of a Roman senator for his noble deeds, his wealth, and his lineage, and who was now eighty years of age, was proscribed on account of his riches. He threw open his house to the people and to his own slaves to carry away whatever they pleased. He also scattered his property around with his own hand. When at last the house was empty he closed the doors, set fire to it, and perished, and the fire spread to many other parts of the city. Capito, through his half-opened door, for a long time resisted those who had been sent against him, killing them one by one. Finally, he was overpowered by numbers and slain after killing single-handed many of his assailants. Vetulinus assembled around Rhegium a large force of the proscribed and those who had fled with them, and others from the eighteen cities which had been promised as rewards of victory to the soldiers and who were indignant at such treatment. With these men Vetulinus slew the centurions who were scouting thereabouts, until a larger force was sent against him, and even then he did not desist, but passed over to Sicily and joined Sextus Pompeius, who had mastered that island and who received the fugitives. There he fought bravely until he was defeated in several engagements. Then he sent his son and the remainder of the proscribed who were with him to Messana, and when he saw that their boat was passing the straits he dashed upon the enemy and was cut in pieces.

Event Date: -43 GR

§ 4.4.26  Naso, having been betrayed by a freedman who had been his favorite, snatched a sword from one of the soldiers, and, having killed his betrayer with it, surrendered himself to the murderers. A slave who was devoted to his master left the latter on a hill while he went to the sea-shore to hire a boat. On his return he found that his master had been killed, and while he was breathing his last the slave called out to him, "Wait a moment, my master," whereupon he fell suddenly upon the centurion and slew him. Then he killed himself, saying to his master, "Now you have consolation." Lucius placed his gold in the hands of his two most faithful freedmen and started for the seashore. They ran away with it, and he turned around, despairing of his life, and gave himself up to the murderers. Labienus, who had captured and killed many persons in the time of the proscription of Sulla, thought that he would be disgraced if he did not bear himself bravely under similar circumstances. So he.went to his front door, seated himself in a chair, and waited for the murderers. Cestius concealed himself in the fields among faithful slaves. When he saw centurions running hither and thither with weapons and the heads of the proscribed he could not endure the prolonged fear. He persuaded the slaves to light a funeral pyre, so that they might say that they were paying the last rites to the dead Cestius. They were deceived by him and lighted the pyre accordingly, whereupon he leaped into it. Aponius concealed himself securely, but, as he could not endure the meanness of his diet, he came forth and delivered himself to slaughter. Another proscript voluntarily seated himself in full view, and, as the murderers delayed their coming, he strangled himself in public.

Event Date: -43 GR

§ 4.4.27  Lucius, the father-in-law of Asinius, who was then consul, fled by sea, but, as he could not endure the anguish of the tempest, he leaped overboard. Sisinius fled from his pursuers, exclaiming that he was not proscribed, but that they had conspired against him on account of his money. They brought him to the proscription list and told him to read his name on it, and while he was reading killed him. Aemilius, not knowing that he was proscribed and seeing another man pursued, asked the pursuing centurion who the proscribed man was. The centurion, recognizing Aemilius, replied, "You and he," and killed them both. Cilo and Decius were going out of the senate-house when they learned that their names were on the list of the proscribed, but no one had yet gone in pursuit of them. They fled incontinently through the city gates, and their running betrayed them to the centurions whom they met on the road. Icilius, who was one of the judges in the trial of Brutus and Cassius when Octavius presided over the tribunal with his army, and who, when all the other judges deposited secret ballots of condemnation, alone publicly deposited one of acquittal, now unmindful of his former magnanimity and independence put his shoulder under a dead body that was being conveyed to burial, and took a place among the carriers of the bier. The guards at the city gates noticed that the number of corpse-bearers was greater by one man than usual, but they did not suspect the bearers. They only searched the bier to make sure that it was not somebody counterfeiting a corpse, but, as the bearers fell into a dispute with Icilius as not being a member of their trade, he was recognized by the murderers and killed.

Event Date: -43 GR

§ 4.4.28  Varus, who was betrayed by a freedman, ran away, and after wandering from mountain to mountain came to a marsh at Minturnae, where he stopped to take rest. The inhabitants of Minturnae were mounting guard over this marsh in search of robbers, and the agitation of the reeds revealed the hiding-place of Varus. He was captured and said that he was a robber. He was condemned to death and resigned himself to his fate, but as they were preparing to subject him to torture to compel him to reveal his accomplices, he could not bear such an indignity. "I forbid you, citizens of Minturnae," he said, "either to torture or to kill one who has been a consul and — what is more important in the eyes of our present rulers — also proscribed! If it is not permitted me to escape, I prefer to suffer at the hands of my equals." The Minturnians did not believe him. They discredited his story until a centurion, who was scouting in that neighborhood, recognized him, and cut off his head, leaving the remainder of his body to the Minturnians. Largus was captured in the fields by soldiers who were pursuing another man. They took pity on him because he had been captured when they were not seeking him, and allowed him to escape in the forest. Being pursued by others, he ran back to his first captors, saying, "I would rather that you, who had compassion on me, should kill me, so that you may have the reward instead of those men." Thus he recompensed them with his death for their kindness to him.

Event Date: -43 GR

§ 4.4.29  Rufus possessed a handsome house near that of Fulvia, the wife of Antony, which she had wanted to buy, but he would not sell it, and although he now offered it to her as a free gift, he was proscribed. His head was brought to Antony, who said it did not concern him and sent it to his wife. She ordered that it be fastened to the front of his own house instead of the Rostra. Another man had a very handsome and well-shaded country-place in which was a beautiful and deep grotto, on account of which probably he was proscribed. He was taking the air in this grotto when the murderers were observed by a slave, as they were coming toward him, but still some distance off. The slave conveyed him to the innermost recess of the grotto, dressed himself in his master's short tunic, pretended that he was the man and simulated alarm, and would have been killed on the spot had not one of his fellow-slaves exposed the trick. In this way the master was killed, but the people were so indignant that they gave the triumvirs no rest until they had obtained from them the crucifixion of the slave who had betrayed his master, and the freedom of the one who had tried to save him. A slave revealed the hiding-place of Aterius and obtained his freedom in consequence. He had the impudence to bid against the sons at the sale of the dead man's property, and insulted them grossly. They followed him everywhere with silent tears till the people became exasperated, and the triumvirs made him again the slave of the sons of the proscript, for doing more than was needful. Such were the evils that befell the men.

Event Date: -43 GR

§ 4.5.30  The calamity extended to orphan children on account of their wealth. One of these, who was going to school, was killed, together with the attendant, who threw his arms around the boy and would not give him up. Atilius, who was just assuming the virile toga, went, as was customary, with a procession of friends to sacrifice in the temples. His name being put on the proscription list unexpectedly, his friends and servants ran away. Left alone, and bereft of his brilliant escort, he went to his mother. She was afraid to receive him. As he did not consider it safe to ask help from anybody else after his mother had failed him, he fled to a mountain. Hunger drove him down to the plain, where he was captured by a robber and committed to a workhouse. The delicate boy, unable to endure the toil, escaped to the high road with his fetters, revealed himself to some passing centurions, and was killed.

Event Date: -43 GR

§ 4.5.31  While these events were taking place Lepidus enjoyed a triumph for his exploits in Spain, and an edict was displayed in the following terms: "In God's name, let it be proclaimed to all men and women that they celebrate this day with sacrifices and feasting. Whoever shall fail to do so shall be put on the list of the proscribed." Lepidus led the triumphal procession to the Capitol, accompanied by all the citizens, who showed the external appearance of joy, but were sad at heart. The houses of the proscribed were gutted, but there were not many buyers of their lands. Some were ashamed to add to the burdens of the unfortunate. Others thought that such property would bring them bad luck, or that it would not be quite safe for them to be seen with gold and silver in their possession, or that, as they were not free from danger with their present holdings, it would be extra-hazardous to increase them. Only the boldest spirits came forward and purchased at the lowest prices, because they were the only buyers. Thus it came to pass that the triumvirs, who had hoped to realize a sufficient sum for their preparations, were short 20,000,000 of drachmas.

Event Date: -43 GR

§ 4.5.32  The triumvirs addressed the people on this subject and published an edict requiring 1400 of the richest women to make a valuation of their property, and to furnish for the service of the war such portion as the triumvirs should require from each. It was provided further that if any should conceal their property or make a false valuation they should be fined, and that rewards should be given to informers, whether free persons or slaves. The women resolved to beseech the female relatives of the triumvirs. With the sister of Octavius and the mother of Antony they did not fail, but they were repulsed from the doors of Fulvia, the wife of Antony, whose rudeness they could scarce endure. They then forced their way to the tribunal of the triumvirs in the forum, the people and the guards dividing to let them pass. There, through the mouth of Hortensia, they spoke as follows, according to previous arrangement: "As is befitting women of our rank addressing a petition to you, we had recourse to your female relatives. Having suffered unseemly treatment on the part of Fulvia, we have been compelled by her to visit the forum. You have deprived us of our fathers, our sons, our husbands, and our brothers, whom you accused of having wronged you. If you take away our property also, you reduce us to a condition unbecoming our birth, our manners, our sex. If we have done you wrong, as you say our husbands have, proscribe us as you do them. If we women have not voted you public enemies, have not torn down your houses, destroyed your army, or led another one against you; if we have not hindered you in obtaining offices and honors, — why do you visit upon us the same punishment as upon the guilty, whose offences we have not shared?

Event Date: -43 GR

§ 4.5.33  "Why should we pay taxes when we have no part in the honors, the commands, the state-craft, for which you contend against each other with such harmful results? 'Because this is a time of war,' do you say? When have there not been wars, and when have taxes ever been imposed on women, who are exempted by their sex among all mankind? Our mothers once for all rose superior to their sex and made contributions when you were in danger of losing the whole empire and the city itself through the conflict with the Carthaginians. But then they contributed voluntarily, not from their landed property, their fields, their dowries, or their houses, without which life is not possible to free women, but only from their own jewellery, and not according to fixed valuation, not under fear of informers or accusers, not by force and violence, but what they themselves were willing to give. Who now causes you alarm for the empire or the country? Let war with the Gauls or the Parthians come, and we shall not be inferior to our mothers in zeal for the common safety; but for civil wars may we never contribute, nor ever assist you against each other. We did not contribute to Caesar or to Pompey. Neither Marius nor Cinna imposed taxes upon us. Nor did Sulla, who held despotic power in the state, do so, whereas you say that you are reestablishing the commonwealth."

Event Date: -43 GR

§ 4.5.34  When Hortensia had thus spoken the triumvirs were angry that women should dare to hold a public meeting when the men were silent; that they should demand from magistrates the reasons for their acts, and not furnish money while the men were serving in the army. They ordered the lictors to drive them away from the tribunal, which they proceeded to do until cries were raised by the multitude outside, when the lictors desisted and the triumvirs said they would postpone till the next day the consideration of the matter. On the following day they reduced the number of women, who were to present a valuation of their property, from 1400 to 400, and decreed that all men who possessed more than 100,000 drachmas, both citizens and strangers, freedmen and priests, and men of all nationalities without a single exception, should (under the same dread of penalty and also of informers) lend them at interest a fiftieth part of their property and contribute one year's income to the war expenses.

Event Date: -43 GR

§ 4.5.35  Such calamities befell the Romans from the orders of the triumvirs. Even worse ones were visited upon them by the soldiers in disregard of orders. Believing that they alone enabled the triumvirs to do what they were doing with impunity, some of them asked for the confiscated houses, or fields, or villas, or entire property of the proscribed. Others demanded that they should be made the adopted sons of rich men. Others, of their own motion, killed men who had not been proscribed, and plundered the houses of those who were not under accusation, so that the triumvirs were obliged to publish an edict that one of the consuls should put a restraint upon those who were exceeding their orders. The consul did not dare to touch the soldiers lest he should excite their rage against himself, but he seized and crucified certain slaves who were masquerading as soldiers and committing outrages in company with them.

Event Date: -43 GR

§ 4.6.36  Such are examples of the extreme misfortunes that befell the proscribed. Instances where some were unexpectedly saved and at a later period raised to positions of honor are more agreeable to me to relate, and will be more useful to my readers, as showing that hope should not be abandoned in adverse circumstances. Some, who were able to do so, fled to Cassius, or to Brutus, or to Africa, where Cornificius upheld the republican cause. The greater number, however, went to Sicily because of its nearness to Italy, where Sextus Pompeius received them gladly. The latter showed the most admirable zeal in behalf of the unfortunate at this crisis, sending heralds who invited all to come to him, and offered to those who should save the proscribed, both slaves and free persons, double the rewards that had been offered for killing them. His small boats and merchant ships met those who were escaping by sea, and his war-ships sailed along the shore and made signals to those wandering there and saved such as they found. Pompeius himself met the newcomers and provided them at once with clothing and other necessaries. To those who were worthy he assigned commands in his military and naval forces. When, at a later period, he entered into negotiations with the triumvirs, he would not conclude a treaty without embracing in its terms those who had taken refuge with him. In this way he rendered to his unfortunate country the greatest service, from which he gained a high reputation of his own in addition to that which he had inherited from his father, and not less than that. Others escaped by concealing themselves in various ways, some in the fields or in the tombs, others in the city itself, undergoing cruel anxiety until peace was restored. Remarkable examples were shown of the love of wives for their husbands, of sons for their fathers, and of slaves for their masters, quite beyond expectation. Some of the most remarkable of these I shall now relate.

Event Date: -43 GR

§ 4.6.37  Paulus, the brother of Lepidus, made his escape to Brutus by the connivance of the centurions who respected him as the brother of the triumvir. After the death of Brutus he went to Miletus, which he refused to leave after peace was restored, although he was invited to return. The mother of Antony gave shelter to her brother Lucius, Antony's uncle, without concealment, and the centurions had respect for her for a long time as the mother of the triumvir. When, later, they attempted to do violence to him, she dashed into the forum where Antony was seated with his colleagues, and exclaimed, "I denounce myself to you, triumvir, for having received Lucius under my roof and for still keeping him, and I shall keep him till you kill us both together, for it is decreed that those who give shelter shall suffer the same punishment." Antony reproached her for being an unreasonable mother, although a good sister, saying that she ought to have prevented Lucius in the first place from voting her son a public enemy instead of seeking to save him now. Nevertheless, he procured from the consul Plancus a decree restoring Lucius to citizenship.

Event Date: -43 GR

§ 4.6.38  Messala, a young man of distinction, fled to Brutus. The triumvirs, fearing his high spirit, published the following edict: "Since the relatives of Messala have made it clear to us that he was not in the city when Gaius Caesar was slain, let his name be removed from the list of the proscribed." He would not accept pardon, but, after Brutus and Cassius had fallen in Thrace, although there was a considerable army left, as well as ships and money, and although strong hopes of success still existed, Messala would not accept the command when it was offered to him, but persuaded his associates to yield to overpowering fate and join forces with Antony. He became intimate with Antony and adhered to him until the latter became the slave of Cleopatra. Then he heaped reproaches upon him and joined himself to Octavius, who made him consul in place of Antony himself when the latter was deposed and again voted a public enemy. After the battle of Actium, where he held a naval command against Antony, Octavius sent him as a general against the revolted Celts and awarded him a triumph for his victory over them. Bibulus was received into favor at the same time with Messala, and was given a naval command by Antony, and often served as an intermediary in the negotiations between Octavius and Antony. He was appointed governor of Syria by Antony and died while serving in that capacity.

Event Date: -43 GR

§ 4.6.39  Acilius fled from the city secretly. His hiding-place was disclosed by a slave to the soldiers, but he prevailed upon them, by the hope of a larger reward, to send some of their number to his wife with a private token that he gave them. When they came she gave them all of her jewellery, saying that she gave it in return for what they had promised, although she. did not know whether they would keep their agreement. But her fidelity to her husband was not disappointed, for the soldiers hired a ship for Acilius and conducted him to Sicily. The wife of Lentulus asked that she might accompany him in his flight and kept watch upon his movements for that purpose, but he was not willing that she should share his danger, and fled secretly to Sicily. Being appointed praetor there by Pompeius he sent word to her that he was saved and elevated to office. When she learned in what part of the earth her husband was she escaped with two slaves from her mother, who was keeping watch over her. With these she travelled in the guise of a slave, with great hardship and the meanest fare, until she was able to make the passage from Rhegium to Messana about nightfall. She learned without difficulty where the praetor's tent was, and there she found Lentulus, not in the attitude of a praetor, but on a low pallet with unkempt hair and wretched food, mourning for his wife.

Event Date: -43 GR

§ 4.6.40  The wife of Apuleius threatened that, if he should fly without her, she would give information against him. So he took her with him unwillingly, and he succeeded in avoiding suspicion in his flight by travelling with his wife and his male and female slaves in a public manner. The wife of Antius wrapped him up in a clothes-bag and gave the bundle to some porters to carry from the house to the sea-shore, whence he made his escape to Sicily. The wife of Rheginus concealed him in a sewer by night. The soldiers were not willing to follow him there in the daytime, on account of the foul odor. The next night she fixed him up as a charcoal dealer, and furnished him an ass to drive, carrying coals. She led the way at a short distance, borne in a litter. One of the soldiers at the city gates suspected the litter and searched it. Rheginus was alarmed and hastened his steps, and as he passed along admonished the soldier not to give trouble to women. The latter, who took him for a charcoal dealer, answered him angrily, but suddenly recognizing him (for he had served under him in Syria), said, "Go on your way rejoicing, general, for such I ought still to call you." The wife of Coponius obtained his safety by yielding herself to Antony, although she had previously been chaste, thus curing one evil with another.

Event Date: -43 GR

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

Event Date: -43 GR

§ 4.6.42  There were two men named Metellus, father and son. The father held a command under Antony at the battle of Actium and was taken prisoner, but not recognized. The son fought on the side of Octavius and held a command under him at the same battle. When Octavius looked over the prisoners at Samos the son was sitting with him. The old man was led forward covered with hair, misery, and dirt, and completely metamorphosed by them. When his name was called by the herald in the array of prisoners the son sprang from his seat, and, with difficulty recognizing his father, embraced him with a cry of anguish. Then restraining his lamentation he said to Octavius, "He was your enemy, I was your fellow-soldier. He has earned your punishment, I your reward. I ask you either to spare my father on my account, or to kill me at the same time on his account." There was much emotion on all sides, and Octavius spared Metellus, although he had been bitterly hostile to himself and had scorned many offers made to him to desert Antony.

Event Date: -43 GR

§ 4.6.43  The slaves of Marcus guarded him with fidelity and success within his own house during the whole period of the proscription until there was nothing more to fear, when Marcus came out of his house as though from exile. Hirtius escaped from the city with his household servants and traversed Italy releasing prisoners, collecting runaways, and ravaging small towns at first and afterward large ones, until he found himself possessed of sufficient force to master Bruttium. When an army was sent against him he crossed the straits with his forces and joined Pompeius. When Restio fled, thinking that he was alone, he was followed secretly by a slave, who had been brought up by himself and had been very well treated by him formerly, but had lately been branded for bad conduct. While Restio was stopping in a marsh the slave came up to him. He was startled at the sight, but the slave said that he did not feel the pain of the brand so much as he remembered the former kindness shown to him. Then he found a resting-place for his master in a cave, and by working procured such sustenance for him as he could. The soldiers in the neighborhood of the cave had their suspicions aroused concerning Restio, and went to it. The slave observed their movements and followed them, and, seeing an old man walking in front of them, he ran up and killed him and cut off his head. The soldiers were astounded. They arrested him for a highwayman, but he said, "I have killed Restio, my master, the man who marked me with these scars." The soldiers took the head from him for the sake of the reward, and made haste to the city to no purpose. The slave brought his master away and conveyed him by ship to Sicily.

Event Date: -43 GR

§ 4.6.44  Appion was resting at his country-place when the soldiers burst in. A slave put on his master's clothes and threw himself on his bed and voluntarily died for his master, who was standing beside him dressed as a slave. When the soldiers made a descent upon the house of Menenius, one of his slaves got into his master's litter and procured himself to be carried by his fellow-slaves, and in this way allowed himself to be killed for Menenius, who thereby escaped to Sicily. Vinius had a freedman named Philemon, the owner of a splendid mansion, who concealed him in the inmost recess thereof, in an iron chest used for holding money or manuscripts, and gave him food in the night-time, until the return of peace. Another freedman, who had the custody of his master's tomb, guarded his master's son, who had been proscribed, in the tomb with his father. Lucretius, who had been wandering about with two faithful slaves and had become destitute of food, set out to find his wife and was carried in a litter, in the guise of a sick man, by the slaves to the city. One of the slaves broke his leg and walked leaning upon the other with his hand. When they reached the gate where the father of Lucretius, who had been proscribed by Sulla, had been captured, he saw a cohort of soldiers coming out. Being unnerved by the coincidence, he concealed himself with one of the slaves in a tomb. When some tomb-robbers came there searching for plunder, the slave offered himself to these robbers to be stripped till Lucretius could escape to the city gate. There Lucretius waited for him and shared his clothing with him, and then went to his wife, by whom he was concealed between the planks of a double roof until his friends got his name erased from the proscription. After the restoration of peace he was raised to the consulship.

Event Date: -43 GR

§ 4.6.45  Sergius was concealed at the house of Antony himself until Antony persuaded the consul Plancus to procure a decree of amnesty for him. At a later period, when Octavius and Antony had fallen into disagreement, and when the Senate was voting Antony a public enemy, Sergius alone cast his vote openly in the negative. The following named persons were saved as I shall now relate. Pomponius arrayed himself in the garb of a praetor and disguised his slaves as his official attendants. He passed through the city as a praetor attended by lictors, his attendants pressing close to him lest he should be recognized. At the city gates he took possession of public carriages and traversed Italy in the character of a praetor sent by the triumvirs to conduct negotiations with Pompeius, all the people receiving him and sending him on as such, until he entered into a public ship and passed over to Pompeius.

Event Date: -43 GR

§ 4.6.46  Apuleius and Aruntius assumed the character of centurions, armed their slaves as soldiers, and passed through the gates pretending to be in pursuit of other persons. For the remainder of their course they took different roads. They released prisoners and collected fugitives until a sufficient force was obtained by each to display the standards, the equipment, and the appearance of an army. When they arrived at the sea-shore they took position on either side of a certain hill and contemplated each other with great apprehension. At daybreak the next morning, after reconnoitring each other from the hillside, each army took the other for an army sent against itself, and they actually came to blows and fought until they discovered their error, when they dropped their arms and broke into lamentations, blaming the hard fate that pursued them everywhere. Then they took ship, and one of them sailed to Brutus and the other to Pompeius. The latter was included in the reconciliation with Pompeius. The former took command of Bithynia for Brutus, and when Brutus fell he surrendered Bithynia to Antony and was restored to citizenship. When Ventidius was proscribed one of his freedmen put fetters on him as though intending to deliver him to the murderers. But at night he gave instructions to some slaves, whom he armed as soldiers, and then he led his master forth in the character of a centurion, and traversed the whole of Italy as far as Sicily, and often passed the night in company with other centurions who were in search of Ventidius.

Event Date: -43 GR

§ 4.6.47  Another proscript was concealed by a freedman in a tomb, but as he could not endure the horror of the place he was transferred to a miserable hired hovel. A soldier was lodged near him, and as he could not endure this fear he changed from a feeling of cowardice to the most wonderful audacity. He cut off his hair and opened a school in Rome itself, which he taught until the return of peace. Volusius was proscribed while holding the office of aedile. He had a friend who was a priest of Isis, whose robe he begged. He clothed himself with this linen garment reaching to his feet, put on the dog's head, and thus celebrating the mysteries of Isis he made the journey to Pompeius. The inhabitants of Cales protected Sittius, one of their citizens who had made lavish expenditures from his own fortune for their benefit, and provided an armed guard for him. They silenced his slaves by threats and prevented the soldiers from approaching their walls until the troubles began to subside, when they sent envoys to the triumvirs on his behalf and obtained for Sittius that he might remain at home, but should be excluded from the rest of Italy. Sittius was the first or the only man who was ever an exile in his own country. Varro was a philosopher and a historian, a soldier and a distinguished general, and for these reasons perhaps was proscribed as hostile to the monarchy. His friends were eager to give him shelter and contended with each other for the honor of doing so. Calenus won the privilege and took him to his country house, where Antony was accustomed to stop when travelling. Yet no slave, either of Calenus or of Varro himself, revealed the fact that Varro was there.

Event Date: -43 GR

§ 4.6.48  Virginius, an orator of distinction, told his slaves that if they should kill him for a small and uncertain reward they would be filled with remorse and terror afterward, while if they should save him they would enjoy an excellent reputation and good hopes, and, later, a much larger and more certain reward. So they fled, taking him with them in the guise of a fellow-slave, and when he was recognized on the road they fought against the soldiers. Being captured by the latter, he told them that they had no reason for killing him except for money, and that they would get a more honorable reward and a larger one by going with him to the sea-shore, "where," said he, "my wife has arranged to bring a ship with money." They followed his suggestion and went with him to the sea-shore. His wife had come to the rendezvous according to agreement, but as Virginius had been delayed, she thought that he had already sailed to Pompeius. So she had embarked, leaving a slave at the rendezvous, however, to tell him if he should come. When the slave saw Virginius he ran up as though to his master, and pointed out to him the ship which had just started, and told him about his wife and the money and why he (the slave) had been left behind. The soldiers now believed all that they heard, and when Virginius asked them to wait till his wife could be called back, or to go with him after her to obtain the money, they embarked in a small boat and conveyed him to Sicily, rowing with all their might. There they received what had been promised them, and they did not go back, but remained in his service until peace was declared. A ship captain received Rebilus in his vessel in order to convey him to Sicily and then demanded money, threatening to betray him if he did not get it. Rebilus followed the example of Themistocles when he fled. He threatened in turn that he would tell how the captain was helping a proscript to escape for money. The captain was afraid, and he carried Rebilus over to Pompeius.

Event Date: -43 GR

§ 4.6.49  Marcus was one of the lieutenants of Brutus and was proscribed for that reason. When Brutus was defeated he was captured. He pretended to be a slave and was bought by Barbula. The latter, perceiving that he was skilful, placed him over his fellow-slaves and gave him charge of his private disbursements. As he was clever in all respects and superior in intelligence to the condition of a slave, his master had suspicions and encouraged him to hope that if he would confess that he was one of the proscribed he (Barbula) would procure his pardon. He denied stoutly, and gave himself a feigned name and family and former masters. Barbula brought him to Rome, expecting that if he were a proscript he would show reluctance to come, but he followed all the same. One of Barbula's friends, who met him at the gates, saw Marcus standing by his side in the character of a slave, and privately told Barbula who he was. The latter obtained from Octavius, through the intercession of Agrippa, the erasure of the name of Marcus from the proscription. The latter became a friend of Octavius, and some time later served as his lieutenant against Antony at the battle of Actium. Barbula was then serving with Antony, and the fortune of both of them was reversed. For when Antony was vanquished Barbula was taken prisoner and he pretended to be a slave, and Marcus bought him, pretending not to know him. Then he laid the whole matter before Octavius and asked that he might compensate Barbula with a like service, and his request was granted. Like good fortune attended them in after times, for they both held the chief magistracy in the city the same year.

Event Date: -43 GR

§ 4.6.50  Balbinus took refuge with Pompeius and was restored with him, and became consul not long afterward. Lepidus, who had meanwhile been deposed from the triumvirate by Octavius and reduced to private life, presented himself to Balbinus under the following stress. Maecenas prosecuted the son of Lepidus for lese-majeste against Octavius and also the young man's mother as knowing to the crime. Lepidus himself he overlooked as being a person of no consequence. Maecenas sent the son to Octavius at Actium, but in order to spare his mother the journey on account of her sex, he demanded that she should give bail to the consul for her appearance before Octavius. As nobody offered bail for her, Lepidus presented himself frequently at the door of Balbinus and also at his tribunal, and though the attendants long forced him away, he made himself heard with difficulty to this effect: "The accusers testify to my innocence, since they say that I was not an accomplice of my wife and son. I did not cause you to be proscribed, yet I am now inferior to the proscribed. Consider the mutability of human affairs and grant to one, who stands by your side, the favor of becoming security for my wife's appearance before Octavius, or let me go there with her." When Lepidus had thus spoken, Balbinus took pity on his reverse of fortune and released his wife from bail altogether.

Event Date: -43 GR

§ 4.6.51  Cicero, the son of Cicero, had been sent away to Greece by his father, who anticipated these evils. From Greece he proceeded to join Brutus, and after the latter's death he joined Pompeius, by both of whom he was honored with a military command. Afterward Octavius, by way of apology for his betrayal of Cicero, caused him to be appointed augur, and not long afterward consul and then proconsul of Syria. When the news of the overthrow of Antony at Actium was forwarded by Octavius this same Cicero, as consul, announced it to the people and affixed it to the Rostra where formerly his father's head had been exhibited. Appius distributed his goods among his slaves and then sailed with them to Sicily. Being overtaken by a storm, the slaves formed a plot to get possession of his money, and placed Appius in a small boat, pretending to transfer him to a safer place; but it turned out that he reached port most unexpectedly, while their ship was wrecked and they all perished. Publius, quaestor of Brutus, was solicited by the party of Antony to betray his chief, but refused, and was for that reason proscribed. Afterward he was restored to citizenship and became a friend of Octavius. Once when Octavius came to visit him Publius showed him some images of Brutus, and Octavius praised him for doing so. Such were some of the most remarkable cases where the proscribed were lost or saved. Many others I have omitted.

Event Date: -43 GR

§ 4.7.52  While these transactions were taking place at Rome all the outlying countries were torn by hostilities growing out of the same commotion. Chief among these wars was the one in Africa between Cornificius and Sextius, the one in Syria between Cassius and Dolabella, and the one against Pompeius around Sicily. Many cities suffered the calamity of capture by siege. I shall pass by the smaller ones and confine myself to the largest, and especially the very celebrated ones of Laodicea, Tarsus, Rhodes, Patara, and Xanthus. I shall relate briefly what took place at each of these.

Event Date: -43 GR

§ 4.7.53  That part of Africa which the Romans took from the Carthaginians they still call Old Africa. The part that belonged to King Juba, and which was taken by Gaius Caesar at a later period, they call for that reason New Africa; it might also be called Numidian Africa. Accordingly Sextius, who held the government of New Africa as the appointee of Octavius, summoned Cornificius to abandon Old Africa to him because the whole country had been assigned to Octavius in the allotment of the triumvirs. Cornificius replied that he did not know what allotment the triumvirs had made among themselves, and that since he had received the government from the Senate he would not surrender it to anybody else without the order of the Senate. This was the origin of hostilities between them. Cornificius had the heavier and more numerous army. That of Sextius was more nimble though inferior in number, by which means he was enabled to dash around and detach from Cornificius his inland districts until he was besieged by Ventidius, a lieutenant of Cornificius, who brought against him superior forces and whom he resisted valiantly. Laelius, another lieutenant of Cornificius, ravaged the province of Sextius, sat down before the city of Cirta, and laid siege to it.

Event Date: -43 GR

§ 4.7.54  Both parties sent ambassadors to secure the alliance of King Arabio and of the so-called Sittians, who received their name from the following circumstance. A certain Sittius, who was under accusation at Rome, took flight in order to avoid trial. Collecting an army from Italy and Spain, he crossed over to Africa, where he allied himself now with one and now with another of the warring kings of that country. As those with whom he joined himself were always victorious, Sittius acquired a reputation and his army became wonderfully efficient. When Gaius Caesar pursued the Pompeians to Africa Sittius joined him and destroyed Juba's famous general, Saburra, and received from Caesar, as a reward for these services, the territory of Masinissa, not all, but the best part of it. Masinissa was the father of this Arabio and the ally of Juba. Caesar gave his territory to this Sittius, and to Bocchus, the king of Mauritania, and Sittius divided his own portion among his soldiers. Arabio then fled to the sons of Pompey in Spain. He returned to Africa after Caesar's death and kept sending to the younger Pompeius detachments of his men, whom he received back in a state of good training. He expelled Bocchus from his territory and killed Sittius by stratagem. Although for these reasons he was friendly toward the Pompeians, he nevertheless decided against that party, because it was so extremely unlucky, and joined Sextius, through whom he acquired the favor of Octavius. The Sittians also joined him by reason of their friendship for the elder Caesar.

Event Date: -43 GR

§ 4.7.55  Thus encouraged Sextius made a sortie by which Ventidius was killed and his army put to headlong flight. Sextius pursued them, killing and taking prisoners. When Laelius heard the news he raised the siege of Cirta and joined Cornificius. Sextius, elated by his success, advanced against Cornificius himself at Utica and encamped opposite him, although the latter had the superior force. Cornificius sent Laelius with his cavalry to make a reconnoissance, and Sextius ordered Arabio to engage him with his own cavalry in front, and Sextius himself with his light troops fell upon the enemy's flank and threw them into such confusion that Laelius, although not vanquished, feared lest his retreat should be cut off and took possession of a hill near by. Arabio hung upon his rear, killed many, and surrounded the hill. When Cornificius saw this he sallied out with a larger force to assist Laelius. Sextius, who was in his rear, dashed up and attacked him, but Cornificius turned upon him and drove him back, although suffering severely.

Event Date: -43 GR

§ 4.7.56  Meanwhile Arabio, with a band of men accustomed to climbing rocks, scaled a precipice to the camp of Cornificius and stole into it unobserved. When the camp was captured Roscius, the custodian, offered his throat to one of his assistants and was killed. Cornificius, overcome by the fatigue of the engagement, retired toward Laelius on the hill, not yet knowing what had happened to his camp. While he was retreating the cavalry of Arabio charged upon him and killed him, and when Laelius, looking down from the hill, saw what had happened he killed himself. When the leaders had fallen the soldiers fled in various directions. Of the proscribed who were with Cornificius, some crossed over to Sicily, others took refuge wherever they could. Sextius gave great spoils to Arabio and the Sittians. He brought the cities into allegiance to Octavius and granted pardon to all. This was the end of the war in Africa between Sextius and Cornificius, which seemed inconsiderable by reason of the rapidity with which it was prosecuted.

Event Date: -43 GR

§ 4.8.57  Resuming the narrative of Cassius and Brutus, I shall repeat some small part of what has already been said, in order to refresh the memory. When Caesar was assassinated his murderers took possession of the Capitol, and when amnesty was voted to them they came down. The people were greatly moved at Caesar's funeral and scoured the city in pursuit of his murderers. The latter defended themselves from the roofs of their houses, and those of them who had been appointed by Caesar himself as governors of provinces departed from the city forthwith. Cassius and Brutus were still city praetors. Cassius had been chosen by Caesar as governor of Syria and Brutus of Macedonia. As they could not enter at once upon these offices, and as they were afraid to remain in the city, they took their departure while still praetors, and the Senate, for the sake of appearances, gave them charge of the supply of corn, so that they might not seem to have taken flight in the interval. After they had gone, the provinces of Syria and Macedonia were transferred to the consuls Dolabella and Antony much against the will of the Senate. Nevertheless, Cyrene and Crete were given to Brutus and Cassius in exchange. These provinces they despised because of their insignificance, and, accordingly, they set about raising troops and money in order to invade Syria and Macedonia.

Event Date: -43 GR

§ 4.8.58  While they were thus engaged Dolabella put Trebonius to death in Asia and Antony besieged Decimus Brutus in Cisalpine Gaul. The Senate in indignation voted both Dolabella and Antony public enemies, and restored both Brutus and Cassius to the former commands and added Illyria to that of Brutus. It also ordered all other persons holding commands of Roman provinces or armies, between the Adriatic and Syria, to obey the orders of Cassius and Brutus. Thereupon Cassius anticipated Dolabella by entering Syria, where he raised the standards of a governor and won over twelve legions of soldiers who had been enlisted and trained by Gaius Caesar long before. One of these Caesar had left in Syria when he was contemplating a war against the Parthians, and had placed it under the charge of Caecilius Bassus, but had given the nominal command to Sextus Julius, a young man who was his kinsman. This Julius was a fellow of loose habits who led the legion into shameful dissipations and once insulted Bassus when the latter remonstrated with him. Afterward he summoned Bassus to his presence, and when the latter delayed he ordered that he be dragged before him. There was a disgraceful tumult in consequence, and some blows were given to Bassus, the sight of which the army resented, and Julius was stabbed. This act was followed straightway by repentance and fear of Caesar, and so they bound each other by an oath that, unless they were granted pardon and reconciliation, they would fight to the death; and they compelled Bassus to take the same oath. They recruited another legion and both were drilled together. Caesar sent Statius Murcus against them with three legions, but they resisted bravely. Marcius Crispus was then sent from Bithynia to the aid of Murcus with three additional legions, and thus Bassus was besieged by six legions altogether.

Event Date: -43 GR

§ 4.8.59  Cassius speedily intervened in this siege and took command at once of the army of Bassus with its consent, and afterward of the legions of Murcus and Marcius, who surrendered them to him in a friendly way and in pursuance of the decree of the Senate, which they obeyed in all respects. About the same time Allienus, who had been sent to Egypt by Dolabella, brought from that country four legions composed of men who had been dispersed after the disasters of Pompey and Crassus, and who had been left with Cleopatra by Caesar. Cassius surrounded him in Palestine unexpectedly, while he was in ignorance of what had happened, and compelled him to come to terms and surrender his army, as he did not dare to fight with four legions against eight. Thus in a marvellous manner Cassius came into possession of twelve first-rate legions, to whom were added a certain number of Parthian mounted bowmen, who were attracted by the reputation he had acquired among them from the time when, as quaestor to Crassus, he had shown himself to be more skilful than that general.

Event Date: -43 GR

§ 4.8.60  Dolabella was spending his time in Ionia, having put Trebonius to death, levied tribute on the towns, and hired a naval force, by means of Lucius Figulus, from the Rhodians, Lycians, Pamphylians, and Cilicians. When this was in readiness he advanced toward Syria, leading two legions by land while Figulus proceeded by sea. After he had learned of the forces of Cassius he passed on to Laodicea, a city friendly to himself, situated on a peninsula, fortified on the landward side and having a roadstead in the sea, so that supplies might be easily obtained by water and he might sail away securely whenever he wished. When Cassius learned this, fearing lest Dolabella should escape him, he threw up a mound across the isthmus, two stades in length, composed of stones and all sorts of material brought together from suburban houses and tombs, and at the same time sent to Phoenicia, Lycia, and Rhodes for ships.

Event Date: -43 GR

§ 4.8.61  Being refused by all except the Sidonians, he came to a naval engagement with Dolabella, in which a number of ships were sunk on both sides and Dolabella captured five with their crews. Then Cassius again sent to those who had rejected his application, and also to Cleopatra, queen of Egypt, and to Serapio, her viceroy in Cyprus. The Tyrians, the Aradii, and Serapio, without consulting Cleopatra, sent Cassius what ships they had. The queen excused herself on the ground that Egypt was at that time suffering from famine and pestilence, but she was really cooperating with Dolabella on account of her relations with the elder Caesar. This was the reason why she had sent him the four legions by Allienus, and had another fleet ready to assist him, which was kept back by adverse winds. The Rhodians and the Lycians said that they would help neither Cassius nor Brutus in civil wars, and that when they supplied ships to Dolabella they furnished them as an escort, not knowing that they were to be used as allies in war.

Event Date: -43 GR

§ 4.8.62  When Cassius was again ready with the forces in hand he engaged Dolabella a second time. The first battle was doubtful, but in the next one Dolabella was beaten on the sea. Then Cassius completed his mound and battered Dolabella's walls till they trembled. He tried unsuccessfully to corrupt Marsus, the captain of the night-watch, but he bribed the centurions of the day force and, while Marsus was taking his rest, effected an entrance by daylight through a number of small gates that were secretly opened to him one after another. When the city was taken Dolabella offered his head to his own body-guard and told him to cut it off and carry it to Cassius in order to secure his own safety. The guard cut it off, but he killed himself also, and Marsus took his own life. Cassius swore Dolabella's army into his own service. He plundered the temples and the treasury of Laodicea, punished the chief citizens, and exacted very heavy contributions from the rest, so that the city was reduced to the extremest misery.

Event Date: -43 GR

§ 4.8.63  After the capture of Laodicea Cassius turned his attention to Egypt. Having learned that Cleopatra was about to join Octavius and Antony with a strong fleet, he purposed to prevent its sailing and to punish the queen for her intention. He had before this thought that the condition of Egypt was especially favorable for these designs, because it was wasted by famine and had no considerable foreign army, now that the forces of Allienus had taken their departure. In the midst of his eagerness, his hopes, and his opportunity came a hasty summons from Brutus telling him that Octavius and Antony were crossing the Adriatic. Cassius reluctantly gave up his hopes in respect of Egypt. He also sent back his Parthian mounted bowmen with presents, and with them ambassadors to their king asking for a larger force of auxiliaries. This force arrived after the decisive battle, ravaged Syria and many of the neighboring provinces as far as Ionia, and then returned home. Cassius left his nephew in Syria with one legion and sent his cavalry in advance into Cappadocia, who presently killed Ariobarzanes for plotting against Cassius. Then they seized his large treasures and other military supplies and brought them to Cassius.

Event Date: -43 GR

§ 4.8.64  The people of Tarsus were divided into factions. One of these factions had crowned Cassius, who was the first to arrive. The other had done the same for Dolabella, who came later. Both had acted thus in the name of the city. As the inhabitants bestowed their honors upon each alternately, each of them treated it despitefully as a fickleminded place. After Cassius had overcome Dolabella he levied a contribution on it of 1500 talents. Being unable to find the money, and being pressed for payment with violence by the soldiers, the people sold all their public property and after that they coined all the sacred articles used in religious processions and the temple offerings into money. As this was not sufficient, the magistrates sold free persons into bondage, first girls and boys, afterward women and miserable old men, who brought a very small price, and finally young men. Most of these committed suicide. Finally Cassius, on his return from Syria, took pity on their sufferings and released them from the remainder of the contribution. Such were the calamities that befell Tarsus and Laodicea.

Event Date: -43 GR

§ 4.9.65  When Brutus and Cassius had their conference, Brutus was in favor of uniting their armies and making Macedonia their chief concern, since the enemy had forty legions, of which eight had already crossed the Adriatic. Cassius was of the opinion that the enemy might still be disregarded, believing that they would waste away for want of supplies by reason of their great numbers. He thought it would be best to subvert the Rhodians and Lycians, who were friendly to Octavius and Antony and who had fleets, lest they should fall upon the rear of the republicans while the latter were busy with the enemy. Having decided to do this, they separated, Brutus proceeding against the Lycians and Cassius against Rhodes, in which place he was brought up, and educated in the literature of Greece. As he had to contend with men of superior naval prowess, he prepared his own ships with care, filled them with troops, and drilled them at Myndus.

Event Date: -43 GR

§ 4.9.66  The Rhodians of distinction were alarmed at the prospect of a conflict with Romans, but the common people were in high spirits, because they recalled former victories achieved over men of different character. They launched thirty-three of their best ships, but while doing so they sent messengers to Myndus nevertheless to urge Cassius not to despise Rhodes, which had always defended herself against those who underestimated her, and not to disregard the treaty which existed between the Rhodians and the Romans which bound them not to bear arms against each other. If he complained of them for not rendering military assistance, they would be glad to hear from the Roman Senate, and if called upon they would lend such assistance. When they had spoken thus Cassius replied that as to the other matters war would decide instead of words, but as regarded the treaty, which forbade them to bear arms against each other, the Rhodians had violated it by allying themselves with Dolabella against Cassius. The treaty required them to assist each other in war, but when Cassius asked for assistance they quibbled about the Roman Senate, which was either in flight or held captive at present by the tyrants who had mastered the city. Those tyrants would be punished, and the Rhodians would be punished also for siding with them, unless they speedily obeyed his commands. Such was the answer Cassius returned to them. The more prudent Rhodians were still more alarmed, but the multitude were excited by two public speakers named Alexander and Mnaseas, who reminded them that Mithridates had invaded Rhodes with a still larger fleet, and that Demetrius had done so before him; whereupon they elected Alexander as prytanis, who is the magistrate exercising the supreme power among them, and Mnaseas as admiral of their fleet.

Event Date: -43 GR

§ 4.9.67  Nevertheless, they sent still another ambassador to Cassius in the person of Archelaus, who had been his teacher in Greek literature in Rhodes, to present a more earnest petition. This he did, taking Cassius by the right hand in a familiar manner, and saying, "O friend of the Greeks, do not subvert a Greek city. O friend of freedom, do not attack Rhodes. Do not put to shame the glory of a Doric state hitherto unvanquished. Do not forget the famous histories you learned both at Rhodes and at Rome — at Rhodes, what the Rhodians accomplished against states and kings (and especially against Demetrius and Mithridates, who were deemed invincible), in behalf of that freedom for which you say that you also are now contending — at Rome, our services to you, among others those that were rendered when we fought with you against Antiochus the Great, concerning which you have monuments inscribed in our honor. So much, O Roman, for our race, our dignity, our condition hitherto unenslaved, our alliance, and our good-will toward you.

Event Date: -43 GR

§ 4.9.68  "As for you, Cassius, you owe a peculiar reverence to this city in which you were brought up and educated, restored to health when sick, where you had your hearthstone, and where you attended my very school. You owe respect to me who have hoped that I should some time plume myself on your education with different hopes, but I am now pleading this relation in behalf of my country, lest it be forced into a war with you, its pupil and its ward, where one of two things must necessarily happen: either that the Rhodians perish utterly, or Cassius be defeated. In addition to my entreaty I give you the advice that while engaged in such important tasks in behalf of the Roman commonwealth you take the gods for your leaders at every step. You, Romans, swore by the gods when you recently concluded the treaty with us through Gaius Caesar, and to the oaths you added libations and gave the right hand, which is valid even among enemies, not to mention friends and wards. Besides dreading the judgment of the gods, have regard for the opinions of mankind, who consider nothing more base than a violation of treaties, which causes the violators to be distrusted in all respects by both friends and enemies."

Event Date: -43 GR

§ 4.9.69  When the old man had thus spoken he did not let go Cassius' hand, but shed tears on it, so that Cassius blushed at the spectacle and was moved somewhat by the sense of shame, yet he drew away his hand, and said, "If you have not counselled the Rhodians not to wrong me, you have yourself done me wrong. If you have so counselled them and they have not followed your advice I will avenge you. That I have suffered injury is plain enough. The first wrong done me was when I asked assistance and was slighted by my guardians and instructors. In the next place they gave the preference to Dolabella, whom they had not brought up and educated, rather than to me. And what makes it worse, O freedom-loving Rhodians, is that Brutus and I and the noblest men of the Senate, whom you see here, were fugitives from tyranny for endeavoring to liberate their country, while Dolabella was seeking to enslave it to others, whom you also favor while pretending to abstain from our civil wars. This would be a civil war if we also were aiming at supreme power, but it is plainly a war of the republic against monarchy. And you, who appeal to me in behalf of your own freedom, have refused aid to the republic. While professing friendship for the Romans you have no pity for those who have been sentenced to death and confiscation without trial. You pretend that you want to hear from the Senate, which is suffering from these very evils and is not yet able to defend itself. But the Senate had answered you beforehand when it decreed that all the peoples of the Orient should lend aid to Brutus and myself.

Event Date: -43 GR

§ 4.9.70  "Whatever aid you have rendered us when we were adding to our possessions (for which you reaped an abundant reward) you remind us of, but when in our time of adversity you fail us in the struggle for freedom and safety, you have very short memories. Even if we had had no relations with each other before, you ought, as members of the Doric race, to be willing to begin now to fight for the Roman republic. Instead of such thoughts and deeds you quote to us treaties, — treaties made with you by Gaius Caesar, the founder of the present monarchy, — yet these very treaties say that the Romans and the Rhodians shall assist each other in case of need. Therefore, assist the Romans in the time of their greatest peril! It is Cassius who quotes these very treaties to you and calls for your help in war, — Cassius, a Roman citizen and a Roman general, whom, as the Senate's decree says, all the countries beyond the Adriatic are required to obey. The same decrees are presented to you by Brutus, and also by Pompeius, who has been invested by the Senate with the command of the sea. Added to these decrees are the prayers of all these senators who have fled, some to myself and Brutus, and others to Pompeius. The treaty provides that the Rhodians shall lend aid to the Romans even in cases where the application is made by single individuals. If you do not consider us as generals or even as Romans, but as exiles, or strangers, or persons condemned, as the proscribers call us, O Rhodians, you have no treaties with us, but only with the Roman people. Being strangers and foreigners to the treaties, we will fight you till you obey our orders in everything." With this ironical remark Cassius sent Archelaus away.

Event Date: -43 GR

§ 4.9.71  Alexander and Mnaseas, the Rhodian leaders, put to sea with their thirty-three ships against Cassius at Myndus, intending to surprise him by the suddenness of their attack. They built their hopes somewhat lightly on the supposition that by sailing against Mithridates at Myndus they had brought that war to a successful end. In order to display their seamanship they took their station the first day at Cnidus. The next day they showed themselves to the forces of Cassius on the high sea. The latter in astonishment put to sea against them, and it was a battle of strength and skill on both sides. The Rhodians with their light ships darted swiftly through the enemy's line, turned around, and attacked them in the rear. The Romans had heavier ships, and whenever they could come to close quarters they prevailed, as in an engagement on land, by their greater strength. Cassius, by reason of his more numerous fleet, was enabled to surround his enemy, and then the latter could no longer turn and dart through his line. When they could only attack in front and then haul off, their nautical skill was of no avail in the narrow space where they were confined. The ramming with their prows and broadside movements against the heavier Roman ships did little damage, while those of the Romans against the lighter vessels were more effective. Finally, three Rhodian ships were captured with their crews, two were rammed and sunk, and the remainder took flight to Rhodes in a damaged condition. All of the Roman ships returned to Myndus, where they were repaired, the greater part having suffered injury.

Event Date: -43 GR

§ 4.9.72  Such was the result of the naval engagement of the Romans and the Rhodians at Myndus. Cassius watched the fight while it was going on from the summit of a mountain. When he had repaired his ships he sailed to Loryma, a fortified place belonging to the Rhodians on the mainland opposite the island, from which he sent his foot-soldiers across in transports under the command of Fannius and Lentulus. He advanced in person with eighty ships rigged in a way to produce terror. He surrounded Rhodes with his land and naval forces, and then remained quiet, expecting that the enemy would show signs of weakening. But they sailed out again valiantly and, after losing two more ships, were hemmed in on all sides. Then they mounted the walls, heaped them with missiles, and resisted simultaneously the soldiers of Fannius, who were assailing them on the landward side, and Cassius, who was advancing his naval force, prepared for wall-fighting, against the defences on the sea. Anticipating such a necessity he had brought with him turrets in sections, which were then elevated. Thus was Rhodes, after suffering two naval defeats, beleaguered by land and sea, and, as frequently happens in sudden and unexpected trouble, found herself wholly unprepared for siege; whence it became evident that the city must speedily be taken either by assault or by famine. The more intelligent of the Rhodians perceived this and opened communications with Fannius and Lentulus.

Event Date: -43 GR

§ 4.9.73  While they were doing so Cassius suddenly made his appearance in the midst of the city with a chosen band of soldiers, without any show of violence or use of ladders. Most people conjectured, as seemed the fact, that those of the citizens who were favorable to him had opened the small gates, being moved by pity for the town and the apprehension of famine. Thus was Rhodes captured; and Cassius took his seat on the tribunal and planted a spear by the side of it to indicate that he had taken the city by force. Laying strict commands upon his soldiers to remain quiet, and threatening with death any who should resort to violence or plunder, he summoned by name about fifty citizens, and punished with death those who were led before him. The others, who were not found, numbering about twenty-five, he ordered to be banished. All the money that was found, either gold or silver, in the temples and the public treasury, he seized, and he ordered private citizens who had any to bring it to him on a day named, proclaiming death to those who should conceal it, together with a reward of one-tenth to informers and freedom in addition in the case of slaves. At first many concealed what they had, hoping that in the end the threat would not be carried out, but when they saw the rewards paid and those who had been informed against punished, they became alarmed, and having procured the appointment of another day, some of them dug their money out of the ground, others drew it out of wells, and others brought it from tombs, in much larger amounts than the former collections.

Event Date: -43 GR

§ 4.9.74  Such were the calamities that befell the Rhodians. Lucius Varus was left in charge of them with a garrison. Cassius, although delighted with the quickness of the capture and the quantity of money taken, nevertheless ordered all the other peoples of Asia to pay ten years' tribute, and this they did within a short space of time. News now reached him that Cleopatra was about to sail with a large fleet and very extensive apparatus to Octavius and Antony. She had espoused their cause previously on account of her relations with the first Caesar, and now she espoused it all the more by reason of her fear of Cassius. The latter sent Murcus, with a legion of the best soldiers and a certain number of archers, with sixty decked ships, to the Peloponnesus, to lie in wait in the neighborhood of Taenarum and to collect what booty they could from that country.

Event Date: -43 GR

§ 4.10.75  We will now relate the transactions of Brutus in Lycia, first glancing at what has been mentioned above in order to refresh the memory. When he had received from Apuleius certain soldiers which the latter had under his command, together with 16,000 talents in money which Apuleius had collected from the tribute of Asia, he passed into Boeotia. The Senate having voted that he should use this money for his present necessities and that he should have command of Macedonia, and of Illyria in addition, he came into possession of three legions of soldiers which Vatinius, the former governor of Illyria, delivered to him. Another one he captured from Gaius, the brother of Mark Antony, in Macedonia. He collected four more in addition to these, so that he had eight legions in all, most of whom had served under Gaius Caesar. He had a large force of cavalry, light-armed troops, and archers. He had a high opinion of his Macedonian soldiers and he trained them in the Roman discipline. While he was still collecting soldiers and money a piece of good luck came to him from Thrace, of the following sort. Polemocratia, the wife of one of the Thracian princes, whose husband had been killed by his enemies, being alarmed for her son, who was still a boy, came to Brutus bringing the boy, whom she placed in his hands together with her husband's treasures. Brutus delivered the boy to the inhabitants of Cyzicus to be cared for until he (Brutus) should have leisure to restore him to his kingdom. Among the treasures he found an unexpected quantity of gold and silver. This he stamped and converted into money.

Event Date: -43 GR

§ 4.10.76  When Cassius came, and it was decided to begin by reducing the Lycians and Rhodians, Brutus turned his attention first to the inhabitants of Xanthus in Lycia. The latter destroyed their suburbs in order that Brutus might not effect a lodgment or find material there. They also surrounded the city with a trench and embankment of more than fifty feet vertically and of corresponding breadth, from which they fought, so that standing upon it they could hurl darts and shoot arrows as though protected by an impassable river. Brutus invested the place, pushed forward coverings for his workmen, divided his army into day and night forces, brought up material from long distances, hurrying and cheering as in contests for prizes, and spared neither zeal nor labor. So the work which it seemed most likely could not be done at all in the face of an opposing enemy, or only at the end of many months, was accomplished by him in a few days.

Event Date: -42 GR

§ 4.10.77  The Xanthians were now subjected to close siege. Brutus attacked them now with battering-rams against the walls, now by assaults upon the gates with foot-soldiers, whom he kept changing continually. The defenders, although fatigued by being always pitted against fresh soldiers, and all wounded, nevertheless held out as long as their parapets remained. When these were battered down and the towers broken through, Brutus, foreseeing what would happen, ordered those who were attacking the gates to withdraw. The Xanthians, thinking that the enemy's works were deserted and unguarded, darted out by night to set fire to the machines. Suddenly the Romans attacked them as ordered, and they again fled to the gates, the guards of which closed them before they entered, fearing lest the enemy should rush in with them — in consequence of which there was around the gates a great slaughter of the Xanthians who were shut out.

Event Date: -42 GR

§ 4.10.78  Soon afterwards the remainder made a fresh sally about midday, and as the besiegers withdrew again, they burned all the machines. As the gates were left open for them on account of the former calamity, about 2000 Romans broke in with them. While others were pushing in at the entrance the portcullis suddenly fell upon them, either by the design of the Xanthians or the accidental breaking of the ropes, so that some of the Romans who were forcing their way in were crushed and the others found their retreat cut off, as they could not raise the portcullis without the hoisting apparatus. Pelted by missiles hurled upon them by the Xanthians from the roofs in the narrow streets, they forced their way with difficulty till they came to the forum, which was near by, and there they overcame the forces which were at close quarters with them, but, being under a heavy volley of arrows and having themselves neither bows nor javelins, they took refuge in the temple of Sarpedon to avoid being surrounded. The Romans who were outside the walls were excited and anxious for those inside, and tried every means [to effect an entrance], Brutus meantime darting hither and thither, but they were not able to break the portcullis, which was protected with iron, nor could they procure ladders or towers since their own had been burned. Nevertheless some of them made extemporized ladders, and others pushed trunks of trees against the walls to serve in place of ladders. Still others fastened iron hooks to ropes and hurled them up to the walls, and whenever one of them caught fast they climbed up.

Event Date: -42 GR

§ 4.10.79  The Oenoandians, who were neighbors of the Xanthians, and who had formed an alliance with Brutus by reason of their enmity to the latter, clambered up by way of a precipice. When the Romans saw them they toiled up after them. Many fell off, but some scaled the wall and opened a small gate, defended with a very dense palisade, and admitted the most daring of the assailants, who swung themselves over the palings. Being now more numerous they began to chop down the portcullis, which was not protected with iron on the inside, while others outside chopped in conjunction with them, and cooperated to the same end. While the Xanthians, with loud cries, were rushing upon the Romans who were at the temple of Sarpedon, the Romans within and without who were demolishing the portcullis, fearful for their comrades, struggled with frantic zeal. Finally they broke it down and rushed through in crowds about sunset, with a loud shout intended as a signal to those in the temple.

Event Date: -42 GR

§ 4.10.80  When the city was taken the Xanthians ran to their houses and killed those dearest to them, all of whom willingly offered themselves to the slaughter. Upon hearing cries of lamentation, Brutus thought that plundering was going on, and he gave orders to the army to stop it; but when he knew what the facts were he commiserated the freedom-loving spirit of the citizens, and sent messengers to offer them terms. They hurled missiles at the messengers, and, after destroying their own families, placed the bodies on funeral piles, which they had previously erected in their houses, set fire to them, and slew themselves on the same. Brutus saved such of the temples as he could, but he captured only the slaves of the Xanthians; and of the citizens a few free women and hardly 150 men. Thus the Xanthians perished the third time by their own hands on account of their love of liberty; for when the city was besieged by Harpagus, the Mede, the general of Cyrus the Great, they destroyed themselves in like manner rather than be enslaved, and the city, shut up by Harpagus, then became the tomb of the Xanthians; and it is said that they suffered a similar fate at the hands of Alexander, the son of Philip, as they would not submit to obey him even after he had become the master of so large a portion of the earth.

Event Date: -42 GR

§ 4.10.81  Brutus went from Xanthus down to Patara, a city which was something like a seaport of the Xanthians. He surrounded it with his army and ordered the inhabitants to obey him in everything, under penalty of meeting the fate of the Xanthians. Certain Xanthians were brought to them who lamented their own misfortunes and advised them to adopt wiser counsels. As the inhabitants of Patara made no sort of answer to the Xanthians, Brutus gave them the remainder of the day to consider the matter, and went away. The next morning he moved his troops forward. The Patarans cried out from the walls that they would obey all his commands, and opened their gates. He came in, but he neither killed nor banished anybody; but he ordered them to deliver to him whatever gold and silver the city possessed, and each citizen to bring in his private holdings under the same penalties and rewards to informers as those proclaimed by Cassius at Rhodes. They obeyed his order. One slave testified that his master had concealed his gold, and showed it to a centurion who was sent to find it. All the parties were brought before the tribunal. The master remained silent, but his mother, who had followed in order to save her son, cried out that she had concealed the gold. The slave, although not interrogated, disputed her, saying that she lied and that his master had concealed it. Brutus approved of the young man's silence and sympathized with his mother's grief. He allowed them both to depart unharmed and to take their gold with them, and he crucified the slave for superserviceable zeal in accusing his superiors.

Event Date: -42 GR

§ 4.10.82  At the same time Lentulus, who had been sent to Andriace, the seaport of the Myreans, broke the chain which closed the harbor and ascended to Myra. As the inhabitants obeyed his commands, he collected money in the same way as at Patara and returned to Brutus. The confederation of Lycia sent ambassadors to Brutus promising to form a military league with him and to contribute what money they could. He imposed taxes on them and he restored the free Xanthians to their city. He ordered the Lycian fleet, together with his own ships, to set sail for Abydus, where he would rendezvous with his land forces and await Cassius, who was coming from Ionia, so that they might cross over to Sestus together. When Murcus, who was at Peloponnesus lying in wait for Cleopatra, learned that her fleet had been damaged by a storm on the Libyan coast, and saw the wreckage borne by the waves as far as Laconia, and knew that she had returned home with difficulty and in ill health, he sailed for Brundusium in order that he might not be idle with so great a fleet. He came to anchor at the island lying opposite the harbor, and prevented the remainder of the enemy's army and supplies from passing over to Macedonia. Antony fought him with the few war-ships that he had, and with towers mounted on floats, whenever he sent out detachments of his army on transports and was favored by a strong wind from the land, in order that they might not be captured by Murcus. As he fared badly he called for help from Octavius, who was contending on the water with Sextus Pompeius along the coast of Sicily for possession of that island.

Event Date: -42 GR

§ 4.11.83  With Pompeius the situation was as follows. Being the younger son of Pompey the Great, he was at first disregarded by Gaius Caesar in Spain as not likely to accomplish anything of importance on account of his youth and inexperience. He roamed about the ocean with a few followers, committing piracy and concealing the fact that he was Pompeius. When larger numbers joined him for the purpose of pillage, and his force became powerful, he revealed his name. Presently those who had served with his father and his brother, and who were leading a vagabond life, drifted to him as their natural leader, and Arabio, who had been deprived of his ancestral kingdom, as I have related previously, came to him from Africa. His forces being thus augmented, his doings were now more important than robbery, and as he flew from place to place the name of Pompeius spread through the whole of Spain, which was the most extensive of the provinces; but he avoided coming to an engagement with the governors of it appointed by Gaius Caesar. When Caesar learned of his doings he sent Carinas with a stronger army to fight him. Pompeius, however, being the more nimble of the two, would show himself and then disappear, and so he wore out his enemy and got possession of a number of towns, large and small.

Event Date: -42 GR

§ 4.11.84  Then Caesar sent Asinius Pollio as successor to Carinas to prosecute the war against Pompeius. While they were carrying on the same kind of warfare, Caesar was assassinated and the Senate recalled Pompeius. The latter came to Massilia and there watched the course of events at Rome. Having been appointed commander of the sea with the same powers that his father had exercised, he did not yet come back to the city, but, taking what ships he found in the harbors, and joining them with those he had brought from Spain, he put to sea. When the triumvirate was established he sailed to Sicily, and as Bithynicus, the governor, would not yield the island, he besieged him, until Hirtius and Fannius, two men who had been proscribed and had fled from Rome, persuaded Bithynicus to surrender Sicily to Pompeius.

Event Date: -42 GR

§ 4.11.85  In this way Pompeius possessed himself of Sicily, and thus had ships, and an island lying convenient to Italy, and an army, now of considerable size, composed of those whom he had before, and those who had fled from Rome, both freemen and slaves, or those sent to him by the Italian cities which had been proclaimed as prizes of victory for the soldiers. These cities dreaded a victory of the triumvirs more than anything else, and whatever they could do against them secretly they did. The wealthy citizens fled from a country that they could no longer consider their own and took refuge with Pompeius, who was near by and greatly beloved by all at that time. There were present with him also many seafaring men from Africa and Spain, skilled in naval affairs, so that Pompeius was well provided with officers, ships, troops, and money. When Octavius learned these facts he sent Salvidienus with a fleet to come alongside of Pompeius and destroy him, as though it were an easy task, while he passed through Italy himself with the intention of joining Salvidienus at Rhegium. Pompeius advanced with a large fleet to meet Salvidienus, and a naval engagement took place between them at the entrance of the straits near the promontory of Scyllaeum. The ships of Pompeius, being lighter and manned by better sailors, excelled in swiftness and skill, while those of the Romans, being of great tonnage and size, labored heavily. When the usual rush of waves through the straits came on, and the sea dashed hither and thither under the influence of the current, the ships of Pompeius suffered less than their adversaries, because they were accustomed to the agitation of the waters; while those of Salvidienus, being unable to maintain their position firmly, or to work their oars, or manage their rudders, by reason of their inexperience, were thrown into confusion. Accordingly, about sunset, Salvidienus was the first to give the signal of retreat. Pompeius withdrew also. The ships suffered about equally on both sides. Salvidienus retired to the port of Balarus, facing the straits, where he repaired what was left of his damaged and wasted fleet.

Event Date: -42 GR

§ 4.11.86  When Octavius arrived he gave a solemn promise to the inhabitants of Rhegium and Vibo that they should be exempt from the list of prizes of victory, for he feared them on account of their nearness to the straits. As Antony had sent him a hasty summons, he set sail to join the latter at Brundusium, having Sicily and Pompeius on his left hand; and postponing the conquest of the island for the time being. On the approach of Octavius, Murcus withdrew a short distance from Brundusium in order that he might not be between Antony and Octavius, and there he watched for the passage of the transports that were carrying the army across from Brundusium to Macedonia. The latter were escorted by triremes, but a strong and favorable wind having sprung up they darted across fearlessly, needing no escort. Murcus was vexed, but he lay in wait for the empty ships on their return. Yet these returned, took on board the remainder of the soldiers, and crossed again with full sails until the whole army, together with Octavius and Antony, had passed over. Although Murcus recognized that his plans were frustrated by some fatality, he held his position nevertheless, in order to hinder as much as possible the passage of the enemy's munitions and supplies, or supplementary troops. Domitius Ahenobarbus was sent by Brutus and Cassius to cooperate with him in this work, which they deemed most useful, together with fifty additional ships, one legion, and a body of archers; for, as the triumvirs did not have a plentiful supply of provisions from elsewhere, it was deemed important to cut off their convoys from Italy. And so Murcus and Domitius, with their 130 long ships and a still greater number of small ones, and their large military force, sailed hither and thither harassing the enemy.

Event Date: -42 GR

§ 4.11.87  Decidius and Norbanus, whom Octavius and Antony had sent in advance with eight legions to Macedonia, proceeded from that country a distance of 1500 stades toward the mountainous part of Thrace until they had passed beyond the city of Philippi, and seized the passes of the Corpileans and the Sapaeans, tribes under the rule of Rhascupolis, where lies the only known route of travel from Asia to Europe. Here was the first obstacle encountered by Brutus and Cassius after they had crossed over from Abydus to Sestus. Rhascupolis and Rhascus were brothers of the royal family of Thrace, ruling one country. They differed in opinion at that time in regard to the proper alliance. Rhascus had taken up arms for Antony and Rhascupolis for Cassius, each having 3000 horse. When the Cassians came to inquire about the roads, Rhascupolis told them that the one by way of Aenus and Maronea was the short and usual and most travelled route, but that it led to the gorge of the Sapaeans, which was occupied by the enemy and hence was impassable, but that there was a roundabout road which was difficult and three times as long.

Event Date: -42 GR

§ 4.11.88  Brutus and Cassius, thinking that the enemy had taken that position not so much to close the passage to them as to transfer themselves from Macedonia to Thrace for want of provisions, marched toward Aenus and Maronea from Lysimacheia and Cardia, which clasp the neck of the Thracian Chersonesus like gates. The next day brought them to the gulf of Melas. Here they reviewed their army, which contained in all nineteen legions of infantry. Of these Brutus had eight and Cassius nine, not full, but among them were two legions that were nearly full, so that they mustered about 80,000 foot-soldiers. Brutus had 4000 Gallic and Lusitanian horse, 3000 Thracian and Illyrian, and 2000 Parthian and Thessalian. Cassius had 2000 Spanish and Gallic horse and 4000 mounted bowmen, Arabs, Medes, and Parthians. The allied kings and tetrarchs of the Galatians in Asia followed him, leading a large additional force of foot-soldiers and about 5000 horse.

Event Date: -42 GR

§ 4.12.89  Such was the size of the army reviewed by Brutus and Cassius at the gulf of Melas, and with it they advanced to battle, leaving the remainder of their forces on duty elsewhere. After performing a lustration for the army, they completed the payment of the promised donative still due to the soldiers. They had provided themselves with an abundant supply of money in order to propitiate them with gifts, especially the large number who had served under Gaius Caesar, lest at the sight or the name of the younger Caesar, who was advancing, they should change their minds. For which reason also it was deemed best to address the soldiers publicly. A large platform was built, upon which the generals took their places, accompanied by the senators only. The soldiers, both their own and their allies, stood around it below, filled with joy at the sight of their vast number, the most powerful they had ever beheld. To both the generals this was an immediate source of the greatest hope and courage. This more than anything else confirmed the fidelity of the army to the generals, for common hopes generate good feeling. There was a great deal of noise, as is usual on such occasions. The heralds and trumpeters proclaimed silence, and, when this was obtained, Cassius, who was the elder of the two, advanced a little in front of his companions and spoke as follows: —

Event Date: -42 GR

§ 4.12.90  "A common peril, fellow-soldiers, is the first thing that binds us in a common fidelity to each other. The second is, that we have given you all that we have promised, and this is the surest guarantee for what we have promised you in the future. All our hopes rest in bravery — the bravery of you, fellow-soldiers, and of us whom you see on this platform, this large and noble body of senators. We have, as you see, the most abundant munitions of war, supplies, arms, money, ships, and auxiliaries both from Roman provinces and the allied kings. Why is it needful, then, to exhort you with words to zeal and unanimity — you whom a common purpose and common interests have brought together? As to the slanders that those two men, our enemies, have brought against us, you understand them perfectly, and it is for that reason that you were ready to take up arms with us. Yet it seems fitting to explain our reasons once more. These will prove to you that we have the most honorable and righteous cause for war.

Event Date: -42 GR

§ 4.12.91  "We raised Caesar to his high place, serving him in war in conjunction with you and holding commands under him. We continued his friends so long that no one could imagine that we conspired against him on account of any private grudge. It was in time of peace that he sinned, not against us, his friends (for we were honored before others by him), but against the laws, against the order of the commonwealth. There was no longer any law supreme, either aristocratic or plebeian, nor any of the institutions that our fathers established when they expelled the kings and swore never to tolerate royal government again. We, descendants of the men who thus swore, sustained that oath and warded off the curse from ourselves. We could no longer endure that one man, although he was our friend and benefactor, should take from the people and vest in himself the control of the public money, the armies, and the elections, and from the Senate the appointment of governors of the provinces; that his will should take the place of the laws, his rule should supplant that of the people, and his supremacy that of the Senate in everything.

Event Date: -42 GR

§ 4.12.92  "Perhaps you did not understand these matters particularly, but saw only his bravery in war. Yet you may easily learn about them now by observing only the part that concerns yourselves. You, of the common people, when you go to the wars, obey your generals as masters in everything. But in time of peace you resume the mastery over us. The Senate deliberates first, in order that you may not make a slip, but you decide for yourselves; you give your votes by tribes, or by centuries; you choose the consuls, the tribunes, the praetors. In the comitia you pass judgment on the weightiest questions, and you decide rewards and punishments when we have deserved rewards or punishments at your hands. This balance of powers, O citizens, has raised the empire to the summit of fortune and conferred honors upon those worthy of them, and the men thus honored have returned thanks to you. By virtue of this power you made Scipio consul when you bore testimony to his deeds in Africa, and you elected whom you pleased each year as tribunes, to oppose us in your interest if necessary. But why should I repeat so many things that you already know?

Event Date: -42 GR

§ 4.12.93  "From the time when Caesar's domination began you no longer elected any magistrate, either praetor, or consul, or tribune. Nor did you bear testimony to anybody's deeds, nor, if you had done so, could you have rewarded them. In a word, nobody owed you any thanks either for a magistracy or a governorship, either for approving his accounts or acquitting him on a trial. Most lamentable of all, you could not defend your tribunes against insult, whom you had constituted your own peculiar and perpetual magistracy, and had made sacred and inviolable. Yet you saw these inviolable men despoiled with contumely of this inviolable office, and of their sacred vestments, without trial, at the order of one man, because in your behalf they saw fit to proceed against certain persons who wished to proclaim him as king. The senators were deeply grieved at this on your account, for the office of tribune is yours, not theirs. But they were not able to censure this man openly or to bring him to trial by reason of the strength of the armies, which, although heretofore belonging to the republic, he had made his own. So they adopted the only remaining method to ward off tyranny, and that was to conspire against the person of the tyrant.

Event Date: -42 GR

§ 4.12.94  "It was necessary that the decision should be that of the best men, but that the deed should be done by a few. When it was done the Senate voiced the general approval clearly by proposing rewards to the tyrannicides. Antony restrained them from doing so on the pretext that it would lead to disorder; nor was it our intention to confer this benefit upon Rome for the sake of reward, but solely for the sake of the country. Accordingly the senators refrained, not wishing to insult Caesar, but only to get rid of the tyranny. So they voted amnesty for all, and it was more particularly decreed that there should be no prosecution for the murder. After a little, when Antony excited the mob against us, the Senate gave us command of the largest provinces and armies, and ordered all the countries between Syria and the Adriatic to obey us. In so doing did they punish us as monsters, or did they rather distinguish us as tyrannicides with the royal purple and with the rods and axes? For like reason the Senate recalled from exile the younger Pompeius (who was not concerned in this conspiracy), because he was the only son of Pompey the Great, who first took up arms to defend the republic, and because the young man had made some little opposition in a private way to the tyranny in Spain. It passed a decree also to pay back to him, out of the public funds, the value of his father's property, and it appointed him admiral in order that he also might hold a command because he was on the side of the republic. What more could you ask of the Senate by way of deed or of sign to show that everything was done with their approval, unless that they should declare it to you in so many words? But they will do and say this very thing, and saying it they will repay you with magnificent gifts, when they are able to speak and to requite your services.

Event Date: -42 GR

§ 4.12.95  "What their present situation is you know. They have been proscribed without trial, and their property confiscated. Without being condemned, they have been put to death in their houses, in the streets, in temples, by soldiers, by slaves, by personal enemies. They have been dragged out of their hiding-places and pursued everywhere, although the laws allow anybody to go into voluntary exile. In the forum, where the head of an enemy was never carried, but only captured arms and the beaks of ships, the heads of those who were lately consuls, praetors, tribunes, aediles, and knights have been exhibited. Rewards have been assigned for these horrors. This is a breaking out of all the wounds that had been previously healed over, — sudden seizures of men, and all kinds of infamy perpetrated by wives and sons, freedmen and slaves. Into so desperate a plight and such conditions has the city now been plunged. At the head of all these villains are the triumvirs, who proscribe their own brothers and uncles and tutors first of all. It is said that the city was once captured by the most savage barbarians, but the Gauls never cut off any heads, they never insulted the dead, they never begrudged their enemies a chance to hide or fly. Nor did we ever treat in this way any city that we had captured in war, nor did we ever hear of others doing so. Moreover, it is no ordinary city, but the mistress of the world, that is thus wronged by those who have been chosen to set in order and regulate the republic. What did Tarquin ever do like this, — Tarquin, whom our ancestors hurled from the throne for an outrage committed upon one woman under the influence of the amatory passion, and then, for that one act, they resolved to be ruled by kings no longer?

Event Date: -42 GR

§ 4.12.96  "While the triumvirs are committing these outrages, O citizens, they call us infamous wretches. They say they are avenging Caesar when they proscribe men who were not in Rome when he was killed. Very many of these are here, as you see, who have been proscribed on account of their wealth, their family, or their preferences for republican government. For this reason Pompeius was proscribed with us, although he was far away in Spain when we did the deed. Because he was the son of a republican father (for which reason also he was recalled by the Senate and made commander of the sea), he was proscribed by the triumvirs. What part have those women had in the conspiracy against Caesar, who have been condemned to pay tribute? What part have those plebeians had, whose property is worth 100,000 drachmas each, upon whom new taxes and contributions have been imposed, which they have been ordered to pay under penalty of being informed against and fined? And even while levying these exactions the triumvirs have not fully paid the sums promised to their troops, while we, who have done nothing contrary to justice, have given you all that we promised and have other funds ready for still larger rewards. So it comes about that the gods favor us because we do what is just.

Event Date: -42 GR

§ 4.12.97  "Besides the favor of the gods you can see that we have that of mankind by looking at these, your fellow-citizens, whom you have often beheld as your generals and your consuls, and who have won your praises as such. You see that they have had recourse to us as to men doing right and defending the republic. They espouse our cause, they offer up their prayers, and they cooperate with us for what still remains to be done. Far more just are the rewards we have offered to those who rescue them than those which the triumvirs offer for killing them. The triumvirs know that we, who killed Caesar because he assumed the monarchy, would not tolerate them in assuming his power and that we would not assume it ourselves, but that we would restore to the people in common the government as we received it from our ancestors. So you see the two sides have not taken up arms for the same reason, — the enemy aiming at monarchy and despotism, as their proscription already proves, while we seek nothing but the mere privilege of living as private citizens under the laws of our country made once more free. Naturally the men before you espouse our side as the gods had done previously. In war the greatest hope lies in the justice of one's cause.

Event Date: -42 GR

§ 4.12.98  "Let it give no one any concern that he has been one of Caesar's soldiers. We were not his soldiers then, but our country's. The pay and the rewards given were not Caesar's, but the republic's. For the same reason you are not now the soldiers of Cassius, or of Brutus, but of Rome. We, Roman generals, are your fellow-soldiers. If our enemies were of the same spirit with ourselves it would be possible for all to lay down their arms without danger, and give back all the armies to the commonwealth, and let it choose its own destiny. If they will accept such terms, we challenge them to do so. Since they will not (for they could not, on account of the proscription and the other things they have done), let us go forward, fellow-soldiers, with unwavering confidence and honest zeal, fighting only for the freedom of the Senate and people of Rome."

Event Date: -42 GR

§ 4.12.99  They all cried out, "Let us go forward!" and urged him to lead them on immediately. Cassius was delighted with their spirit, and again proclaimed silence and again addressed them, saying: "May the gods who preside over just wars and over good faith reward your zeal, fellow-soldiers. How far superior we are to the enemy in everything that the human foresight of generals can provide let me tell you. We are equal to them in the number of legions, although we have left behind us the large detachments needed in many places. In cavalry and ships we greatly surpass them, as also in auxiliaries from kings and nations as far as the Medes and Parthians. Besides this we have to deal only with an enemy in front, while Pompeius is cooperating with us in Sicily in their rear, and in the Adriatic Murcus and Ahenobarbus with a large fleet and abundance of small craft, besides two legions of soldiers and a body of archers, are cruising hither and thither harassing them in various ways, while both land and sea in our rear are cleared of enemies. As regards money, which some call the sinews of war, they are destitute. They cannot pay what they have promised their army. The proceeds of the proscription have not met their expectation, because no good man will buy lands entailed with hate. Nor can they obtain resources elsewhere from Italy, exhausted as it is by civil strife, exactions, and proscriptions. Thanks to abundant foresight, we have plenty for the present, so that we can give you more shortly, and there are other large sums on the road collected from the nations behind us.

Event Date: -42 GR

§ 4.12.100  "Provisions, the supply of which is the chief difficulty in large armies, they can obtain only from Macedonia, a mountainous region, and the narrow country of Thessaly, and this must be carried to them overland with severe labor. If they try to obtain any from Africa, or Lucania, or Apulia, Pompeius, Murcus, and Domitius will cut them off entirely. We have abundance, and it is brought to us daily by sea without labor from all the islands and mainlands which lie between Thrace and the river Euphrates, and without hindrance, since we have no enemy in our rear. So it rests with us either to hasten the battle, or by delaying it to waste the enemy by hunger. Such and so great, fellow-soldiers, are our preparations, so far as they depend on human foresight. May the future event correspond to these preparations by your efforts and by the help of the gods. As we have paid you all that we promised for your former exploits and have rewarded your fidelity with abundant gifts, so for this greater battle we will, under the favor of the gods, provide you a reward worthy of it. And now, to increase the zeal with which you already advance to your task, and in remembrance of this assembly and of these words, we will make an additional gift from this platform — to each soldier 1500 Italic drachmas, to each centurion five times that sum, and to each tribune in proportion."

Event Date: -42 GR

§ 4.12.101  Having thus spoken and having put his army in good spirits by deed and word and gifts, he dissolved the assembly. The soldiers remained a long time heaping praises on Cassius and Brutus and promising to do their duty. The generals immediately counted out the money to them, and to the bravest awarded an additional sum on various pretexts. As they received their pay they were dismissed by detachments on the march to Doriscus, and the generals themselves followed soon afterward. Two eagles alighted upon the two silver eagles which surmounted the standards, pecking at them, or, as others say, protecting them, and there they remained, being fed by the generals from the public stores until the day before the battle, when they flew away. After marching two days around the gulf of Melas the army came to Aenus and thence to Doriscus and other towns on the coast as far as Mount Serrium.

Event Date: -42 GR

§ 4.13.102  As Mount Serrium projected into the sea Cassius and Brutus turned to the mainland, but they sent Tillius Cimber with the fleet and one legion of troops and some archers to sail around the promontory, which, although fertile, was formerly deserted because the Thracians were not accustomed to the sea and avoided the coast for fear of pirates. So the Chalcideans and other Greeks took possession of it, being seafaring people, and caused it to flourish with commerce and agriculture, and the Thracians were much gratified by the opportunity for the exchange of products. Finally Philip, the son of Amyntas, drove out the Chalcideans and other Greeks so that no traces of them were to be seen except the ruins of their temples. Tillius sailed along this promontory, again deserted, as he had been ordered to do by Cassius and Brutus, measuring and mapping places suitable for camps, and approaching it with his ships now and then in order that the forces of Norbanus might abandon the pass, under the belief that it was useless to hold it longer. And it turned out as he had anticipated, for on the appearance of the ships Norbanus became alarmed for the Sapaean pass and called on Decidius to hasten from that of the Corpileans to his assistance, which he did. As soon as the latter pass was abandoned Brutus and Cassius marched through it.

Event Date: -42 GR

§ 4.13.103  When the stratagem became manifest Norbanus and Decidius occupied the gorge of the Sapaeans strongly. Again Brutus and Cassius could find no passage. They fell into discouragement lest they should now have to begin the roundabout journey which they had disdained, and to turn upon their own tracks, although pressed by time and the lateness of the season. While they were in this mood Rhascupolis said that there was a circuitous route (along the very side of the Sapaean mountain) of three days' march, which had been impassable to men up to this time on account of rocks, scarcity of water, and dense forests. If they would carry their water and make a narrow but sufficient pathway, they would be so enveloped in shade that they would not be perceived even by birds. On the fourth day they would come to the river Harpessus, which falls into the Hebrus, and in one day more they would be at Philippi, flanking the enemy so as to cut him off completely and leave him no chance to retreat. They adopted this plan since there was nothing else to do, and especially because it held out the hope of surrounding so large a force of the enemy.

Event Date: -42 GR

§ 4.13.104  They sent a detachment in advance under command of Lucius Bibulus, in company with Rhascupolis, to cut a path. They found it a very laborious task, but they accomplished it nevertheless with enthusiastic zeal, and all the more when some who had gone ahead came back and said that they had had a distant view of the river. On the fourth day, fatigued with labor and thirst, the water which they carried being nearly exhausted, they recollected that it had been said that they should be in a waterless region only three days. So they fell into a panic, fearing that they were the victims of a stratagem. They did not disbelieve those who had been sent in advance and who said that they had seen the river, but they thought that they themselves had been led in a different direction. They lost heart and cried aloud, and when they saw Rhascupolis riding by and exhorting them to have courage, they reviled him and threw stones at him. While Bibulus was beseeching them with words of good cheer to persevere to the end, towards evening the river was seen by those in front, who, as was natural, raised a cry of joy, which was taken up by those behind in due order until it reached the rear. When Brutus and Cassius learned this they hurried forward at once, leading on the remainder of their army through the pathway that had been cleared. Nevertheless, they did not conceal their doings from the enemy altogether, nor surround them, for Rhascus, the brother of Rhascupolis, having his suspicions aroused by the shouting, made a reconnoissance; and when he saw what was being done he was astonished at so large an army traversing a pathway where no water could be obtained, and where he thought not even a wild beast could penetrate by reason of the dense foliage, and he forthwith communicated the news to the army of Norbanus. The latter retreated by night from the gorge of the Sapaeans toward Amphipolis. Each of the Thracian brothers received an ovation in his own army, the one because he had led an army by an unknown path, the other because he had discovered the movement.

Event Date: -42 GR

§ 4.13.105  Thus Brutus and Cassius by an astounding act of audacity advanced to Philippi, where Tillius also disembarked, and the whole army was there assembled. Philippi is a city that was formerly called Datus, and before that Crenides, because there are many springs bubbling around a hill there. Philip fortified it because he considered it an excellent stronghold against the Thracians, and named it from himself, Philippi. It is situated on a precipitous hill and its size is exactly that of the summit of the hill. There are woods on the north through which Rhascupolis led the army of Brutus and Cassius. On the south is a marsh extending to the sea. On the east are the gorges of the Sapaeans and Corpileans, and on the west a very fertile and beautiful plain extending to the towns of Murcinus and Drabiscus and the river Strymon, about 350 stades. Here it is said that Kore was carried off while gathering flowers, and here is the river Zygactes, in crossing which they say that the yoke of the god's chariot was broken, from which circumstance the river received its name. The plain slopes downward so that movement is easy to those descending from Philippi, but toilsome to those going up from Amphipolis.

Event Date: -42 GR

§ 4.13.106  There is another hill not far from Philippi which is called the Hill of Dionysus, in which are gold mines called the Asyla. Ten stades farther are two other hills, at a distance of eighteen stades from Philippi itself and eight stades from each other. On these hills Cassius and Brutus were encamped, the former on the southern and the latter on the northern of the two. They did not advance against the retreating army of Norbanus because they learned that Antony was approaching, Octavius having been left behind at Epidamnus on account of sickness. The plain was admirably situated for fighting and the precipitous hill-tops for camping, since on one side of them were marshes and ponds stretching as far as the river Strymon, and on the other gorges destitute of roads and impassable. Between these hills, eight stades apart, lay the main pass from Europe to Asia as between gates. Across this space they built a fortification from camp to camp, leaving a gate in the middle, so that the two camps became virtually one. Alongside this fortification flowed a river, which is called by some the Ganga and by others the Gangites, and behind it was the sea, where they could keep their supplies and shipping in safety. Their depot was on the island of Thasos, 100 stades distant. Their triremes were anchored at Neapolis, at a distance of seventy stades. Brutus and Cassius were satisfied with the position and they proceeded to fortify their camps.

Event Date: -42 GR

§ 4.14.107  Antony moved his army rapidly, wishing to anticipate the enemy in occupying Amphipolis as an advantageous position for the battle. When he found it already fortified by Norbanus he was delighted. Leaving his apparatus there and one legion, under the command of Pinarius, he advanced with the greatest boldness and encamped in the plain at a distance of only eight stades from the enemy, and straightway the superiority of the enemy's situation and the inferiority of his own became evident. The former were on elevated ground, the latter on the plain; the former procured fuel from the mountains, the latter from the marshes; the former obtained water from a river, the latter from wells freshly dug; the former drew their supplies from Thasos, requiring carriage of only a few stades, while the latter was 350 stades from Amphipolis. Still it seems that Antony was compelled to do as he did, for there was no other hill, and the rest of the plain, lying in a sort of hollow, was liable to inundation at times from the river; for which reason also the fountains of water were found fresh and abundant in the wells that were dug there. Antony's audacity, although he was driven to it by necessity, confounded the enemy when they saw him pitch his camp so near them and in such a contemptuous manner as soon as he arrived. He raised numerous towers and fortified himself on all sides with ditch, wall, and palisade. The enemy also completed their fortification wherever the work was defective. Cassius, observing that Antony's advance was reckless, extended his fortification at the only place where it was still wanting, from the camp to the marsh, a space which had been overlooked on account of its narrowness, so that there was now nothing unfortified except the cliffs on Brutus's flank and the marsh on that of Cassius and the sea lying against the marsh. In the centre everything was intercepted by ditch, palisade, wall, and gates.

Event Date: -42 GR

§ 4.14.108  In this way both sides had fortified themselves, in the meantime making trial of each other by cavalry skirmishes only. When they had done all that they intended and Octavius had arrived (for, although he was not yet strong enough for a battle, he could be carried along the ranks reclining in a litter), he and Antony prepared for battle forthwith. Brutus and Cassius also drew out their forces on their higher ground, but did not come down. They decided not to give battle, hoping to wear out the enemy by want of supplies. There were nineteen legions of infantry on each side, but those of Brutus and Cassius lacked something of being full, while those of Octavius and Antony were complete. Of cavalry the latter had 13,000 and the former 20,000, including Thracians on both sides. Thus in the multitude of men, in the spirit and bravery of the commanders, and in arms and munitions, was beheld a most magnificent display on both sides; yet they did nothing for several days. Brutus and Cassius did not wish to engage, but rather to continue wasting the enemy by lack of provisions, since they themselves had abundance from Asia, all transported by the sea from close at hand, while the enemy had nothing in abundance and nothing from their own territory. They could obtain nothing through merchants from Egypt, since that country was exhausted by famine, nor from Spain or Africa by reason of Pompeius, nor from Italy by reason of Murcus and Domitius. Macedonia and Thessaly, which were the only countries then supplying them, would not suffice much longer.

Event Date: -42 GR

§ 4.14.109  Mindful chiefly of these facts Brutus and Cassius protracted the war. Antony, fearful of the same, resolved to force them to an engagement. He formed a plan of effecting a passage through the marsh secretly, if possible, in order to get in the enemy's rear without their knowledge, and cut off their avenue of supply from Thasos. So he arrayed his forces for battle with all the standards set each day, so that it might seem that his entire army was drawn up, while a part of his force was really working night and day cutting a narrow passage in the marsh, cutting down reeds, throwing up a causeway and flanking it with stone so that the earth should not fall away, and bridging the deeper parts with piles, all in the profoundest silence. The reeds, which were still growing around his passage-way, prevented the enemy from seeing his work. After working ten days in this manner he sent a column of troops by night suddenly, who occupied all the strong positions inside and built several redoubts at the same time. Cassius was amazed at the ingenuity as well as the secrecy of this work, and he formed the counter design of cutting Antony off from his redoubts. He carried a transverse wall across the whole marsh from his camp to the sea, cutting and bridging in the same manner as Antony had done, and laying a solid foundation for his rampart, thus intercepting the passage sage made by Antony, so that those inside could not escape to him, nor he render assistance to them.

Event Date: -42 GR

§ 4.14.110  When Antony saw this about noon, instantly, with rage and fury, he turned his own army, which was facing in another direction, and led it against the fortification of Cassius which lay between his camp and the marsh. He carried tools and ladders intending to take it by storm and force his way into Cassius' camp. While he was making this audacious charge, obliquely and up hill, across the space that separated the two armies, the soldiers of Brutus were provoked at the insolence of the enemy in dashing boldly athwart their front while they stood there armed. So they charged of their own volition, without any order from their officers, took them in flank, and killed as many as they could reach. The battle once begun they charged upon the army of Octavius, also, which was drawn up opposite, put it to flight, pursued it to the camp which Antony and Octavius had in common, and captured it. Octavius himself was not there, having been warned in a dream to beware of that day, as he has himself written in his Memoirs.

Event Date: -42 GR

§ 4.14.111  When Antony saw that battle was joined he was delighted because he had forced it, for he had been in trouble about his supplies. He judged it inadvisable to turn again toward the plain, lest in making the evolution his ranks should be thrown into disorder. So he continued his charge, as he had begun it, on the run, and advanced under a shower of missiles, and forced his way till he struck a body of Cassius' troops, which had not moved from its assigned position and which was amazed at this unexpected audacity. He courageously broke this advance guard and dashed against the fortification that ran between the marsh and the camp, demolished the palisade, filled up the ditch, undermined the works, and killed the men at the gates, disregarding the missiles hurled from the wall, until he had forced an entrance through the gates, and others had made breaches in the fortification, and still others had climbed up on the debris. All this was done so swiftly that those who had just now captured the fortification met Cassius' men, who had been at work in the marsh, coming to the assistance of their friends, and, with a powerful charge, put them to flight, drove them into the marsh, and then at once wheeled against the camp of Cassius itself. These were only the men who had scaled the fortification with Antony, the remainder being engaged in conflict with the enemy on the other side of the wall.

Event Date: -42 GR

§ 4.14.112  As the camp was in a strong position it was guarded by only a few men, for which reason Antony easily overcame them. Cassius' soldiers outside the camp were already worsted, and when they saw that the camp was taken they scattered in disorderly flight. The victory was complete and alike on either side, Brutus defeating the enemy's left wing and taking their camp, while Antony overcame Cassius and ravaged his camp with irresistible courage. There was great slaughter on both sides, but by reason of the extent of the plain and the clouds of dust they were ignorant of each other's fate. When they learned the facts they recalled their scattered forces. Those who returned resembled porters rather than soldiers, and did not at once perceive each other nor see anything clearly. Otherwise either party would have flung down their burdens and fiercely attacked the others carrying off plunder in this disorderly fashion. According to conjecture the number of killed on the side of Cassius, including slave shield-bearers, was about 8000 and on the side of Octavius double that number.

Event Date: -42 GR

§ 4.15.113  When Cassius was driven out of his fortifications and no longer had any camp to go to, he ascended the hill to Philippi and took a survey of the situation. He could not see accurately on account of the dust, nor could he see everything, but upon discovering that his own camp was captured he ordered Pindarus, his shield-bearer, to draw his sword and kill him. While Pindarus delayed a messenger ran up and said that Brutus had been victorious on the other wing and was ravaging the enemy's camp. Cassius merely answered, "Tell him that I pray his victory may be complete." Then, turning to Pindarus, he said, "What are you waiting for? Why do you not deliver me from my shame?" Then, as he presented his throat, Pindarus slew him. This is one account of the death of Cassius. Others say that as some horsemen were approaching, bringing the good news from Brutus, he took them for enemies and sent Titinius to find out exactly; that the horsemen pressed around Titinius joyfully as a friend of Cassius, and at the same time uttered loud hurrahs; that Cassius, thinking that Titinius had fallen into the hands of enemies, said, "Have I waited to see my friend torn from me?" and that then he withdrew to a tent with Pindarus, and Pindarus was never seen afterward. For this reason some persons think that he killed Cassius without orders. Cassius ended his life on his birthday, on which also the battle was fought, and Titinius killed himself because he had been too slow.

Event Date: -42 GR

§ 4.15.114  Brutus wept over the dead body of Cassius and called him the last of the Romans, meaning that his equal in virtue would never exist again. He reproached him for haste and precipitancy, but at the same time he esteemed him happy because he was freed from cares and troubles, "which," he said, "are leading Brutus, ah, whither?" He delivered the corpse to friends to be buried secretly lest the army should be moved to tears at the sight; and himself passed the whole night, without food and without care for his own person, restoring order in Cassius' army. In the morning the enemy drew up their army in order of battle, so that they might not seem to have been beaten. Brutus, perceiving their design, exclaimed, "Let us arm also and make believe that we have suffered no defeat." So he put his forces in line, and the enemy withdrew. Brutus said to his friends, jeeringly, "They challenged us when they thought we were tired, but they dared not put us to the test."

Event Date: -42 GR

§ 4.15.115  On the same day that witnessed the battle of Philippi another great calamity took place in the Adriatic. Domitius Calvinus was bringing two legions of infantry on transport ships to Octavius, one of which was known as the Martian legion, a name which had been given to it as a distinction for bravery. He led also a praetorian cohort of about 2000 men, four squadrons of horse, and a considerable corps d'elite of other troops, under the convoy of a few triremes. Murcus and Ahenobarbus met them with 130 war-ships. A few of the transports that were in front got away under sail. The wind suddenly failing, the rest floated about in a dead calm on the sea, having been delivered by some god into the hands of their enemies. The latter, without danger to themselves, fell upon each ship and crushed it; nor could the triremes that escorted them render any aid, since they were hemmed in by reason of their small number. The men who were exposed to this danger performed many deeds of valor. They hastily lashed their ships together with ropes and spars to prevent the enemy from breaking through their line. But when they succeeded in doing this Murcus discharged burning arrows at them. Then they cast off their fastenings as quickly as possible and separated from each other on account count of the fire, and thus again were exposed to being surrounded or rammed by the triremes.

Event Date: -42 GR

§ 4.15.116  Some of the soldiers, and especially the Martians, who excelled in bravery, were exasperated that they should lose their lives uselessly, and so killed themselves rather than be burned to death; others leaped on board the triremes of the enemy, giving and receiving blows. Vessels half burned floated a long time, containing men perishing by fire, by hunger, and by thirst. Others, clinging to masts or planks, were thrown upon barren rocks or promontories, and of these some were saved unexpectedly. Some of them were nourished for five days by licking pitch, or chewing sails or ropes, until the waves bore them to the land. The greater part, vanquished by their misfortunes, surrendered to the enemy. Seventeen triremes surrendered, and the men in them took the oath to Murcus. Their general, Calvinus, who was believed to have perished, returned to Brundusium on his ship five days later. Such was the catastrophe that befell in the Adriatic on the same day that the battle of Philippi was fought, whether it be more fitly called a shipwreck or a naval engagement. The coincidence of the two battles caused amazement when it became known later.

Event Date: -42 GR

§ 4.16.117  Brutus assembled his army and addressed it as follows: "In yesterday's engagement, fellow-soldiers, you were in every respect superior to the enemy. You began the battle eagerly, although without orders, and you utterly destroyed their far-famed fourth legion, on which their wing placed its reliance, and all those supporting it as far as their camp, and you took and plundered their camp first, so that our victory far outweighs the disaster on our left wing. When it was in your power to finish the whole work, you chose rather to plunder than to kill the vanquished. Most of you passed by the enemy and made a rush for his property. We are the superior again in this, that of our two camps they captured only one, while we took all of theirs, so that here our gain is twice as great as our loss. So great are our advantages in the battle. How far we excel them in other respects you may learn from our prisoners — concerning the scarcity and dearness of provisions among them, the difficulty of procuring further supplies, and how near they are to absolute want. They can obtain nothing from Sicily, Sardinia, Africa, or Spain, because Pompeius, Murcus, and Ahenobarbus with 260 ships close the sea against them. They have already exhausted Macedonia. They are now dependent on Thessaly alone. How much longer will it suffice?

Event Date: -42 GR

§ 4.16.118  "When, therefore, you see them eager to fight, bear in mind that they are so pressed by hunger that they prefer death by battle. We will make it part of our plan that hunger shall engage them before we do, so that when it is necessary to fight we shall find them weakened and exhausted. Let us not be carried away by our ardor before the proper time. Let no one think that delay implies want of generalship more than haste, when he casts his eye on the sea behind us, which sends us aid and provisions and enables us to win victory without danger if we wait and do not mind the insults and provocations of the enemy, who are not braver than ourselves, as yesterday's work shows, but are trying to avert another danger. Let the zeal which I now desire you to repress be shown abundantly when I ask it. The rewards of victory I will pay you in full when it shall please the gods that our work be finished. And now for your bravery in yesterday's engagement, I will give to each soldier 1000 drachmas and to your officers in proportion." After speaking thus he distributed the donative to the legions in their order. Some writers say that he promised to give them also the cities of Lacedaemon and Thessalonica to plunder.

Event Date: -42 GR

§ 4.16.119  Octavius and Antony, seeing that Brutus was not willing to fight, assembled their men, and Antony addressed them thus: "Soldiers, I am sure that the enemy claim in their speeches a share of yesterday's victory because they drove some of us and plundered our camp, but they will show by their action that it was wholly yours. I promise you that neither to-morrow nor on any subsequent day will they be willing to fight. It is the clearest proof of their defeat yesterday and of their lack of courage that, like those who have been vanquished in public games, they keep out of the arena. Surely they did not collect so numerous an army in order to pass their time in fortifications in the desert parts of Thrace. They built their fortifications when you were still approaching because they were afraid. Now that you have come they adhere to them because of yesterday's defeat, on which account also the older and more experienced of their generals in utter despair committed suicide, and this act is itself the greatest proof of their disaster. Since, therefore, they do not accept our challenge and come down from the mountain, but trust to their rocky fastnesses instead of their arms, be valliant, O my soldiers of Rome, and force them to it again as you forced them yesterday. Let us consider it base to yield to those who are afraid of us, to keep our hands off such sluggards, or, soldiers as we are, to be unequal to the capture of their fortifications. We did not come hither to pass our lives in this plain, and if we delay we shall be in want of everything. If we are well advised we shall prosecute the war sharply, in order that peace may be of the longest duration possible.

Event Date: -42 GR

§ 4.16.120  "We, who have not incurred your censure for the onset and the plan of yesterday's battle, will devise fresh opportunities and means for this end. You, on the other hand, when you are asked, repay your generals with your valor. Nor will you be troubled, after a little, by yesterday's plundering of our camp, for our wealth consists not in the property we hold, but in conquering with might, which will restore to us as victors not only what we lost yesterday, which is still safe in the enemy's possession, but the enemy's wealth in addition. And if we are in haste to take these things let us hasten to bring on a battle. What we took from them yesterday balances what we lost, and perhaps more, for they brought with them all that they had extorted and plundered from Asia, while we, coming from our own country, left at home everything in the way of luxury, and brought with us only what was necessary. If there was anything lavish in our camp it was the property of your generals, who will gladly give it all to you as a reward for your victory. And as compensation for your losses we will give you an additional reward of 5000 drachmas for each soldier, five times as much to each centurion, and twice the latter sum to each tribune."

Event Date: -42 GR

§ 4.16.121  Having spoken thus, he led out his men again on the following day. As the enemy would not come down then, Antony was disgusted, but he continued to lead out his men daily. Brutus had a part of his army in line lest he should be compelled to fight; and with another part he guarded the road by which his supplies were conveyed. There was a hill very near the camp of Cassius, which it was difficult for an enemy to occupy because, by reason of its nearness, it was exposed to arrows from the camp. Nevertheless, Cassius had placed a guard on it, lest it should be forced unexpectedly. As it had been abandoned by Brutus, the army of Octavius occupied it by night with four legions and protected themselves with wickerwork and hides against the enemy's bowmen. When this position was secured they transferred ten other legions a distance of more than five stades toward the sea. Four stades farther they placed two legions, in order to extend themselves in this manner quite to the sea, with a view of breaking through the enemy's line either along the sea itself, or through the marsh, or in some other way, and to cut off their supplies. Brutus counteracted this movement by building fortified posts opposite their camps and in other ways.

Event Date: -42 GR

§ 4.16.122  The task of Octavius and Antony became pressing, hunger was already felt, and fear fell upon them more and more each day, for Thessaly could no longer furnish sufficient supplies, nor could they hope for anything from the sea, which was commanded by the enemy everywhere. News of their recent disaster in the Adriatic having now reached both armies, it caused them fresh alarm, as also did the approach of winter while they were quartered in this muddy plain. Moved by these considerations they sent a legion of troops to Achaia to collect all the food they could find and send it to them in haste. As they could not rest under so great an impending danger, and as their other artifices were of no avail, they ceased offering battle in the plain and advanced with shouts to the enemy's fortifications, and challenged Brutus to fight, reviling and scoffing at him, intending not so much to besiege him as by a mad rush to bring him to an engagement against his will.

Event Date: -42 GR

§ 4.16.123  Brutus adhered to his original intention, and all the more because he knew of the famine and of his own success in the Adriatic, and of the enemy's desperation for want of supplies. He preferred to endure a siege, or anything else, rather than come to an engagement with men who were famishing, and whose hopes rested solely on fighting because they despaired of every other resource. His soldiers, however, without reflection, entertained a different opinion. They took it hard that they should be shut up, idle and cowardly, like women, within their fortifications. Their officers, although they approved of Brutus' design, were vexed, thinking that in the present temper of the army they might overpower the enemy more quickly. Brutus himself was the cause of these murmurs, being of a gentle and kindly disposition toward all — not like Cassius, who was austere and imperious in every way, for which reason the army obeyed his orders promptly, not interfering with his authority, not inquiring the reasons for his orders, and not criticising them when they had learned them. But in the case of Brutus they expected nothing else than to share the command with him on account of his mildness of temper. Finally, the soldiers began openly to collect together in companies and groups and to ask each other, "Why does our general put a stigma upon us? How have we offended lately — we who conquered the enemy and put him to flight; we who slaughtered those opposed to us and took their camp?" Brutus took no notice of these murmurs, nor did he call an assembly, lest he should be forced from his position, contrary to his dignity, by the unreasoning multitude, and especially by the mercenaries, who, like fickle slaves seeking new masters, always rest their hopes of safety on desertion to the enemy.

Event Date: -42 GR

§ 4.16.124  His officers kept teasing and urging him to make use of the eagerness of the army now, which would speedily bring glorious results. If the battle should turn out adversely, they could fall back to their walls and put the same fortifications between themselves and the enemy. Brutus was especially vexed with these, for they were his officers, and he grieved that they, who were exposed to the same peril as himself, should capriciously side with the soldiers in preferring a quick and doubtful chance to a victory without danger; but, to the ruin of himself and them, he yielded, chiding them with these words, "I seem to be carrying on war like Pompey the Great, not so much commanding as commanded." I think that Brutus restricted himself to these words in order to conceal his greatest fear, lest those of his soldiers who had formerly served under Caesar should become disaffected and desert to the enemy. This both himself and Cassius had apprehended from the beginning, and they had been careful not to give any excuse for such disaffection toward themselves.

Event Date: -42 GR

§ 4.16.125  So Brutus led out his army unwillingly and formed them in line of battle before his walls, ordering them not to advance very far from the hill so that they might have a safe retreat if necessary and a good position for hurling darts at the enemy. In each army the men exchanged exhortations with each other. There was great eagerness for battle, and unbounded confidence. On the one side was the fear of famine, on the other a well-deserved shame that they had constrained their general to fight when he still favored delay, and fear lest they should come short of their promises and prove weaker than their boastings, and expose themselves to the charge of rashness instead of winning praise for good counsel; because also Brutus, riding through the ranks on horseback, showed himself before them with a severe countenance and reminded them in a few words of what the opportunity offered. "You want to fight," he said; "you force me to battle when I am able to conquer otherwise. Do not falsify my hopes or your own. You have the advantage of the higher ground and everything safe in your rear. The enemy's position is the one of peril because he lies between you and famine." With these words he passed on, the soldiers telling him to trust them and echoing his words with shouts of confidence.

Event Date: -42 GR

§ 4.16.126  Octavius and Antony rode through their own ranks shaking hands with those nearest them, and urging them in the most serious manner to do their duty, and not concealing the danger of famine, because they believed that that would be the greatest incitement to bravery. "Soldiers," they said, "we have found the enemy. We have before us those whom we sought to catch outside of their fortifications. Let none of you shame his own challenge or prove unequal to his own threat. Let no one prefer hunger, that unmanageable and distressing evil, to the walls and bodies of the enemy which they will yield to bravery, to the sword, to despair. Our situation at this moment is so pressing that nothing can be postponed till to-morrow, but this very day must decide for us either a complete victory or an honorable death. If we conquer we gain in one day and by one blow provisions, money, ships, and camps, and the prizes of victory offered by ourselves. Such will be the result if, from our first onset upon them, we are mindful of the necessity urging us on, and if, after breaking their ranks, we immediately cut them off from their gates and drive them upon the rocks or into the plain, so that the war may not spring up again or these enemies get away for another period of idleness — the only warriors who are so weak as to rest their hopes, not on fighting, but on declining to fight."

Event Date: -42 GR

§ 4.16.127  In this way Octavius and Antony roused the spirit of those with whom they came in contact. The emulation of the troops was excited to show themselves worthy of their commanders and also to escape the danger of famine, which had been greatly augmented by the naval disaster in the Adriatic. They preferred, if necessary, to suffer in battle, with the hope of success, rather than be wasted by an irresistible foe. Inspired by these thoughts, which each man exchanged with his nearest neighbor, the spirit of the two armies was wonderfully raised and both were filled with undaunted courage. They did not now remember that they were fellow-citizens of their enemies, but hurled threats at each other as though they had been enemies by birth and descent, so much did the anger of the moment extinguish reason and nature in them. Both sides divined equally that this day and this battle would decide the fate of Rome completely; and it did decide it.

Event Date: -42 GR

§ 4.16.128  The day was consumed in preparations till the ninth hour, at which time two eagles fell upon each other and fought in the space between the armies, amid the profoundest silence. When the one on the side of Brutus took flight his enemies raised a great shout and battle was joined. The onset was superb and terrible. They had little need of arrows, stones, or javelins, which are customary in war, for they did not resort to the usual manoeuvres and tactics of battles, but, coming to close combat with naked swords, they slew and were slain, seeking to break each other's ranks. On the one side it was a fight for self-preservation rather than victory; on the other for victory and for the satisfaction of the general who had been forced to fight against his will. The slaughter and the groans were terrible. The bodies of the fallen were carried back and others stepped into their places from the rear ranks. The generals flew hither and thither overlooking everything, exciting the men by their ardor, exhorting the toilers to toil on, and relieving those who were exhausted so that there was always fresh courage at the front. Finally, the soldiers of Octavius, either from fear of famine, or by the good fortune of Octavius himself (for the soldiers of Brutus were not blameworthy), pushed back the enemy's line as though they were putting in motion a very heavy machine. The latter were driven back step by step, slowly at first and without loss of courage. Presently their ranks began to dissolve and they retreated more rapidly, and then the second and third ranks in the rear retreated with them, all mingled together in disorder, crowded by each other and by the enemy, who pressed upon them without ceasing until it became plainly a flight. The soldiers of Octavius, then especially mindful of the order they had received, seized the gates of the enemy's fortification, but at great risk to themselves because they were exposed to missiles from above and in front, but they prevented a great many of the enemy from gaining entrance. These fled, some to the sea, and some through the river Zygactes to the mountains.

Event Date: -42 GR

§ 4.16.129  The enemy having been routed, the generals divided the remainder of the work between themselves, Octavius to capture those who should break out of the camp and to watch the main camp, while Antony was everywhere, and everywhere attacking, falling upon the fugitives and those who still held together, and upon their other camping-places, crushing all with vehement impetuosity. Fearing lest the leaders should escape him and collect another army, he despatched cavalry upon the roads and outlets of the field of battle to capture those who were trying to escape. These divided their work; some of them hurried up the mountain with Rhascus, the Thracian, who was sent with them on account of his knowledge of the roads. They surrounded the fortified positions and escarpments, hunted down the fugitives, and kept watch upon those inside. Others pursued Brutus himself. Lucilius seeing them rushing on furiously, surrendered himself, pretending to be Brutus, and asked them to take him to Antony instead of Octavius; for which reason chiefly he was believed to be Brutus trying to avoid his implacable enemy. When Antony heard that they were bringing him, he went to meet him, with a pause to reflect on the fortune, the dignity, and the virtue of the man, and thinking how he should receive Brutus. As he was approaching, Lucilius presented himself, and said with perfect boldness, "You have not captured Brutus, nor will virtue ever be taken prisoner by vice. I deceived these men and so here I am." Antony, observing that the horse-men were ashamed of their mistake, consoled them, saying, "The game you have caught for me is not worse, but better than you think — as much better as a friend is than an enemy." Then he committed Lucilius to the care of one of his friends, and later took him into his own service and employed him in a confidential capacity.

Event Date: -42 GR

§ 4.17.130  Brutus fled to the mountains with a considerable force, intending to return to his camp by night, or to move down to the sea. But since all the roads were encompassed by guards he passed the night under arms with all his party, and it is said that, looking up to the stars, he exclaimed: "Forget not, Zeus, the author of these ills," referring to Antony. It is said that Antony himself repeated this saying at a later period in the midst of his own dangers, regretting that, when he might have associated himself with Cassius and Brutus, he had become the tool of Octavius. At the present time, however, Antony passed the night under arms with his outposts over against Brutus, fortifying himself with a breastwork of dead bodies and spoils collected together. Octavius toiled till midnight and then retired on account of his illness, leaving Norbanus to watch the enemy's camp.

Event Date: -42 GR

§ 4.17.131  On the following day Brutus, seeing the enemy still lying in wait for him, and having less than four full legions, which had ascended the mountain with him, thought it best not to address himself to his troops, but to their officers, who were ashamed and repentant of their fault. To them he sent to put them to the test and to learn whether they were willing to break through the enemy's lines and regain their own camp, which was still held by their troops who had been left there. These officers, though they had rushed to battle unadvisedly, had been of good courage for the most part, but now, misled by a god, gave to their general the undeserved answer that he should look out for himself, that they had tempted fortune many times, and that they would not throw away the last remaining hope of accommodation. Then Brutus said to his friends, "I am no longer useful to my country if such is the temper of these men," and calling Strato, the Epirote, who was one of his friends, gave him the order to stab him. While Strato was still willing to deliberate, Brutus called one of his servants. Then Strato said, "Your friend shall not come short of your servants in executing your last commands, if the decision is actually reached." With these words he thrust his sword into the side of Brutus, who did not shrink or turn away.

Event Date: -42 GR

§ 4.17.132  So died Cassius and Brutus, two most noble and illustrious Romans, and of incomparable virtue, but for one crime. Although they belonged to the party of Pompey the Great, and had been the enemies, in peace and in war, of Gaius Caesar, he made them his friends, and from being friends he was treating them as sons. The Senate at all times had a peculiar attachment to them, and commiseration for them when they fell into misfortune. On account of those two it granted amnesty to all the assassins, and when they took flight it bestowed governorships on them in order that they should not be exiles; not that it was disregardful of Gaius Caesar or rejoiced at what had happened to him, for it admired his bravery and good fortune, gave him a public funeral at his death, ratified his acts, and had for a long time awarded the magistracies and governorships to his nominees, considering that nothing better could be devised than what he proposed. But its zeal for these two men and its solicitude for them brought it under suspicion of complicity in the assassination, — so much were those two held in honor by all. By the most illustrious of the exiles they were preferred to [Sextus] Pompeius, although he was nearer and not implacable to the triumvirs, while they were farther away and irreconcilable.

Event Date: -42 GR

§ 4.17.133  When it became necessary for them to take up arms, two whole years had not elapsed ere they had brought together upward of twenty legions of infantry and something like 20,000 cavalry, and 200 ships of war, with corresponding apparatus and a vast amount of money, some of it from willing and some from unwilling contributors. They carried on wars with many peoples and with cities and with men of the adverse faction successfully. They brought under their sway all the nations from Macedonia to the Euphrates. Those whom they had fought against they had brought into alliance with them and had found them most faithful. They had had the services of the independent kings and princes, and in some small measure even of the Parthians, who were enemies of the Romans; but they did not wait for them to come and take part in the decisive battle, lest this barbarous and hostile race should become accustomed to encounters with the Romans. Most extraordinary of all was the fact that the greater part of their army had been the soldiers of Gaius Caesar and wonderfully attached to him, yet they were won over by the very murderers of Caesar and followed them more faithfully against Caesar's son than they had followed Antony, who was Caesar's companion in arms and colleague; for not one of them deserted Brutus and Cassius even when they were vanquished, while some of them had abandoned Antony at Brundusium before the war began. The reason for their service, both under Pompey aforetime and now under Brutus and Cassius, was not their own interest, but the cause of democracy; a specious name indeed, but generally hurtful. Both of the leaders, when they thought they could no longer be useful to their country, alike despised their own lives. In that which related to their cares and labors Cassius gave his attention strictly to war, like a gladiator to his antagonist. Brutus, wherever he might be, wanted to see and hear everything because he was by nature a seeker after knowledge.

Event Date: -42 GR

§ 4.17.134  Against all these virtues and merits must be set down the crime against Caesar, which was not an ordinary or a small one, for it was committed unexpectedly against a friend, ungratefully against a benefactor who had spared them in war, and nefariously against the head of the state, in the senate-house, against a pontiff clothed in his sacred vestments, against a ruler without an equal, who was most useful above all other men to Rome and its empire. For these reasons Heaven was incensed against them and often forewarned them of their doom. When Cassius was performing a lustration for his army his lictor presented his garland wrong side up. A gilded statue of Victory dedicated to Cassius fell down. Many birds hovered over his camp, but uttered no sound, and swarms of bees continually settled upon it. While Brutus was celebrating his birthday at Samos it is said that in the midst of the feast, although not a ready man with such quotations, he shouted out this verse without any apparent cause: "A cruel fate O'ertakes me, aided by Latona's son." Once when he was about to cross from Asia into Europe with his army, and while he was awake at night and the light was burning low, he beheld an apparition of extraordinary form standing near him, and when he boldly asked who of men or gods it might be, the spectre answered, "I am thy evil genius, Brutus. I shall appear to thee again at Philippi." And it is said that it did appear to him before the last battle. When the soldiers were going out to the fight an Ethiopian met them in front of the gates, and as they considered this a bad omen they immediately cut him in pieces. It was due to divine interposition, no doubt, that Cassius gave way to despair without reason after a drawn battle, and that Brutus was forced from his policy of wise delay to an engagement with men who were pressed by hunger, while he himself had supplies in abundance and the command of the sea, so that his calamity proceeded rather from his own troops than from the enemy. Although they had participated in many engagements, they never received any hurt in battle, but both became the slayers of themselves, as they had been of Cae sar. Such was the punishment that overtook Cassius and Brutus.

Event Date: -42 GR

§ 4.17.135  Antony found the body of Brutus, wrapped it in his best purple garment, burned it, and sent the ashes to his mother, Servilia. Brutus' army, when it learned of his death, sent envoys to Octavius and Antony and obtained pardon, and was divided between their armies. It consisted of about 14,000 men. Besides these a large number who were in garrisons surrendered. The garrisons themselves and the enemy's camp were given to the soldiers of Octavius and Antony to be plundered. Of the distinguished men in Brutus' camp some perished in the battles, others killed themselves as the two generals had done, others purposely continued fighting till death. Among these men of note were Lucius Cassius, a nephew of Cassius himself, and Cato, the son of Cato. The latter charged upon the enemy many times; then, when his men began to retreat, he threw off his helmet, either that he might be recognized, or be easily hit, or for both reasons. Labeo, a man renowned for learning, father of the Labeo who is still celebrated as a jurisconsult, dug a trench in his tent the size of his body, gave orders to his slaves in reference to the remainder of his affairs, made such arrangements as he desired for his wife and children, and gave letters to his domestics to carry to them. Then, taking his most faithful slave by the right hand and whirling him around, as is the Roman custom in granting freedom, he handed him a sword as he turned, and presented his throat. And so his tent became his tomb.

Event Date: -42 GR

§ 4.17.136  Rhascus, the Thracian, brought many troops from the mountains. He asked and received as his reward the pardon of his brother, Rhascupolis, from which it was made plain that from the beginning these Thracians had not been at variance with each other, but that seeing two great and hostile armies coming into conflict near their territory, they took sides in the contest in such a way that the victor might save the vanquished. Portia, the wife of Brutus and sister of the younger Cato, when she learned that both had died in the manner described, although very strictly watched by domestics, seized some coals of fire that they were carrying, and swallowed them. Of the members of the nobility who escaped to Thasos some took ship from thence, others committed themselves with the remains of the army to the judgment of Messala Corvinus and Lucius Bibulus, men of equal rank, to do for all what they should decide to do for themselves. These came to an arrangement with Antony and Octavius, whereby they delivered to Antony on his arrival at Thasos the money and arms, besides abundant supplies and a great quantity of war material, there in store.

Event Date: -42 GR

§ 4.17.137  Thus did Octavius and Antony by perilous daring and by two infantry engagements achieve a success, the like of which was never before known; for never before had such numerous and powerful Roman armies come in conflict with each other. These soldiers were not enlisted from the ordinary conscription, but were picked men. They were not new levies, but under long drill and arrayed against each other, not against foreign or barbarous races. Speaking the same language and using the same tactics, being of like discipline and power of endurance, they were for these reasons evenly matched. Nor was there ever such fury and daring in war as here, when citizens contended against citizens, families against families, and fellow-soldiers against each other. The proof of this is that, taking both battles into the account, the number of the slain among the victors appeared to be not less [than among the vanquished].

Event Date: -42 GR

§ 4.17.138  Thus the army of Antony and Octavius confirmed the prediction of their generals, passing in one day and by one blow from extreme danger of famine and fear of destruction to lavish wealth, absolute security, and glorious victory. That result came about which Antony and Octavius had predicted as they advanced into battle. Their form of government was decided by that day's work chiefly, and they have not gone back to democracy yet. Nor was there any further need of similar contentions with each other, except the strife between Antony and Octavius not long afterward, which was the last that took place between Romans. The events that transpired after the death of Brutus, under Sextus Pompeius and the friends of Cassius and Brutus, who escaped with the very considerable remains of their extensive war material, were not to be compared to the former in daring or in the devotion of men, cities, and armies to their leaders; nor did any of the nobility, nor the Senate, nor the same glory, attend them as attended Brutus and Cassius.

Event Date: -42 GR

§ 5.1.1  BOOK V
AFTER the death of Cassius and Brutus, Octavius returned to Italy. Antony proceeded to Asia, where he met Cleopatra, queen of Egypt, and succumbed to her charms at first sight. This passion brought ruin upon them and upon all Egypt besides. For this reason a part of this book will treat of Egypt — a small part, however, not worth mentioning in the title, since it is incidental to the narrative of the civil wars, which constitutes much the larger portion. Other similar civil wars took place after Cassius and Brutus, but there was no one in command of all the forces as they had been. The later wars were sporadic. But, finally, Sextus Pompeius, the younger son of Pompey the Great, the last remaining leader of that faction, was slain, as Brutus and Cassius had been, and Lepidus was deprived of his share of the triumvirate, and the whole government of the Romans was centred in two only, Antony and Octavius. These events came about in the following manner.

Event Date: -42 GR

§ 5.1.2  Cassius, surnamed Parmesius, had been left by Cassius and Brutus in Asia with a fleet and an army to collect money. After the death of Cassius, not anticipating the like fate of Brutus, he selected thirty ships belonging to the Rhodians, which he intended to man, and burned the rest, except the sacred one, so that they might not be able to revolt. Having done this he took his departure with his own ships and the thirty. Clodius, who had been sent by Brutus to Rhodes with thirteen ships, found the Rhodians in revolt (for Brutus also was now dead). Clodius took away the garrison, consisting of 3000 soldiers, and joined Parmesius. They were joined by Turulius, who had a numerous fleet and a large sum of money which he had previously extorted from Rhodes. To this fleet, which was now quite powerful, flocked those who were rendering service in various parts of Asia, and they manned the ships with soldiers as well as they could, and with slaves, prisoners, and inhabitants of the islands where they touched, as rowers. The son of Cicero joined them, and others of the nobility who had escaped from Thasos. Thus in a short time there was a considerable gathering and organization of officers, soldiers, and ships. Having received additional forces under Lepidus, who had brought Crete under subjection to Brutus, they made sail to the Adriatic and united with Murcus and Domitius Ahenobarbus, who had a large force under their command. Some of these sailed with Murcus to Sicily to join Sextus Pompeius. The rest remained with Ahenobarbus and formed a faction by themselves. Such was the first reassembling of what remained of the war preparations of Cassius and Brutus.

Event Date: -42 GR

§ 5.1.3  After the battle of Philippi Octavius and Antony offered a magnificent sacrifice and awarded praise to their army. In order to provide the rewards of victory Octavius went to Italy to divide the land among the soldiers and to settle the colonies. He was chosen for this purpose on account of his illness. Antony went to the nations beyond the Aegean to collect the money that had been promised to the soldiers. They divided the provinces among themselves as before and took those of Lepidus besides. It was decided, at the instance of Octavius, to make Cisalpine Gaul free, as the elder Caesar had intended. Lepidus had been accused of betraying the affairs of the triumvirate to Pompeius. It was decided that if Octavius should find that this accusation was false other provinces should be given to Lepidus. They dismissed from the military service the soldiers who had served their full time, except 8000 who had asked to remain. These they took back and divided between themselves and formed them in praetorian cohorts. There remained to them, including those who had come over from Brutus, eleven legions of infantry and 14,000 horse. Of these Antony took, for his foreign expedition, six legions and 10,000 horse. Octavius had five legions and 4000 horse, but of these he gave two legions to Antony in exchange for others that Antony had left in Italy under the command of Calenus. Then Octavius proceeded toward the Adriatic.

Event Date: -41 GR

§ 5.1.4  When Antony arrived at Ephesus he offered a splendid sacrifice to the city's goddess and pardoned those who, after the disaster to Brutus and Cassius, had fled to the temple as suppliants, except Petronius, who had been privy to the murder of Caesar, and Quintus, who had betrayed Dolabella to Cassius at Laodicea. Having assembled the Greeks and other peoples who inhabited the Asiatic country around Pergamos, and who were present on a peace embassy, and others who had been summoned thither, Antony addressed them as follows: "Your King Attalus, O Greeks, left you to us in his will, and straightway we proved better to you than Attalus had been, for we released you from the taxes that you had been paying to him, until the action of popular agitators among us made these taxes necessary. When they became necessary we did not impose them upon you according to a fixed valuation so that we could collect an absolutely certain sum, but we required you to contribute a portion of your yearly harvest in order that we might share with you the vicissitudes of the seasons. When the publicans, who made these collections by the authority of the Senate, wronged you by demanding more than was due, Gaius Caesar remitted to you one-third of what you had paid to them and put an end to their outrages; for he even turned over to you the collection of the taxes from the cultivators of the soil. And this was the kind of man that our honorable citizens called a tyrant, and you contributed vast sums of money to the murderers of your benefactor and against us, who were seeking to avenge him.

Event Date: -41 GR

§ 5.1.5  "Now that a just fortune has decided the war, not as you wished, but as was right, if we were to treat you as allies of our enemies we should be obliged to punish you. But as we are willing to believe that you were constrained to this course by necessity, we will release you from the heavier penalty. We need money and land and cities as rewards for our soldiers. There are twenty-eight legions of infantry which, with the auxiliaries, amount to upwards of 170,000 men, besides cavalry and various other arms of the service. The sum that we need for such a vast number of men you can easily imagine. Octavius has gone to Italy to provide them with land and cities — to expropriate Italy, if we must speak plainly. That we may not be under the necessity of expelling you from your lands, cities, houses, temples, and tombs, we must count upon getting money from you, not all that you have (we could not think of that), but a part, a very small part, which, when you learn it, I think you will cheerfully pay. What you contributed to our enemies in two years (for you gave them the taxes of ten years in that time) will be quite sufficient for us; but it must be paid in one year, because we are pressed by necessity. As you are sensible of our leniency toward you, I will merely add that the penalty imposed is by no means equal to your deserts."

Event Date: -41 GR

§ 5.1.6  Antony spoke thus of providing a donative for twenty-eight legions of infantry, whereas I think that they had forty-three legions when they came to their agreement at Mutina and made these promises, but the war had probably reduced them to this number. The Greeks, while he was still speaking, threw themselves upon the ground, declaring that they had been subjected to force and violence by Brutus and Cassius, and that they were deserving of pity, not of punishment; that they would willingly give to their benefactors, but that they had been stripped by their enemies, to whom they had delivered not only their money, but, in default of money, their plate and their ornaments, and who had coined these things into money in their presence. Finally, they prevailed by their entreaties that the amount should be reduced to nine years' taxes, payable in two years. It was ordered that the kings, princes, and free cities should make additional contributions according to their means, respectively.

Event Date: -41 GR

§ 5.1.7  While Antony was making the circuit of the provinces Lucius Cassius, the brother of Gaius, and some others, who feared for their own safety, when they heard of the pardon of Ephesus, presented themselves to him as suppliants. He released them all except those who had been privy to the murder of Caesar. To these alone he was inexorable. He gave relief to the cities that had suffered most severely. He released the Lycians from taxes altogether, and urged the rebuilding of Xanthus. He gave to the Rhodians Andros, Tenos, Naxos, and Myndus, which were taken from them not long afterward because they ruled them harshly. He made Laodicea and Tarsus free cities and released them from taxes entirely, and those inhabitants of Tarsus who had been sold into slavery he liberated by an order. To the Athenians when they came to see him he gave Aegina in exchange for Tenos, and also Icos, Cea, Sciathos, and Peparethos. Proceeding onward to Phrygia, Mysia, Galatia, Cappadocia, Cilicia, Coele-Syria, Palestine, Ituraea, and the other provinces of Syria, he imposed heavy contributions on all, and acted as arbiter between kings and cities, — in Cappadocia, for example, between Ariarthes and Sisinna, awarding the kingdom to Sisinna on account of his mother, Glaphyra, who appeared to him to be a beautiful woman. In Syria he delivered the cities from tyrants one after another.

Event Date: -41 GR

§ 5.1.8  Cleopatra came to meet him in Cilicia, and he blamed her for not sharing their labors in avenging Caesar. Instead of apologizing she enumerated to him the things she had done, saying that she had sent the four legions that had been left with her to Dolabella forthwith, and that she had another fleet in readiness, but had been prevented from sending it by adverse winds and by the misfortune of Dolabella, whose defeat came suddenly; that she did not lend assistance to Cassius, who had threatened her twice; that while the war was going on she had set sail for the Adriatic in person with a fleet to assist them, in defiance of Cassius, and disregarding Murcus, who was lying in wait for her; but that a tempest shattered the fleet and prostrated herself with illness, for which reason she was not able to put to sea again till they had already gained their victory. Antony was amazed at her wit as well as her good looks, and became her captive as though he were a young man, although he was forty years of age. It is said that he was always very susceptible in this way, and that he had been enamoured of her long ago when she was still a girl and he was serving as master of horse under Gabinius at Alexandria.

Event Date: -41 GR

§ 5.1.9  Straightway Antony's interest in public affairs began to dwindle. Whatever Cleopatra ordered was done, regardless of laws, human or divine. While her sister Arsinoe was a suppliant in the temple of Artemis Leucophryne at Miletus, Antony sent assassins thither and put her to death. Serapion, Cleopatra's prefect in Cyprus, who had assisted Cassius and was now a suppliant at Tyre, Antony ordered the Tyrians to deliver to her. He commanded the Aradians to deliver up another suppliant who, when Ptolemy, the brother of Cleopatra, disappeared at the battle with Caesar on the Nile, said that he was Ptolemy, and whom the Aradians now held. He ordered the priest of Artemis at Ephesus, whom they called Megabyzus, and who had once received Arsinoe as queen, to be brought before him, but in response to the supplications of the Ephesians, addressed to Cleopatra herself, released him. So swiftly was Antony transformed, and this passion was the beginning and the end of evils that befell him. When Cleopatra returned home Antony sent a cavalry force to Palmyra, situated not far from the Euphrates, to plunder it, bringing the trifling accusations against its inhabitants, that, being on the frontier between the Romans and the Parthians, they had avoided taking sides between them; for, being merchants, they bring the products of India and Arabia and dispose of them in the Roman territory. In fact, Antony's intention was to enrich his horsemen, but the Palmyreans were forewarned and they transported their property across the river, and, stationing themselves on the bank, prepared to shoot anybody who should attack them, for they were expert bowmen. The cavalry found nothing in the city. They turned around and came back, having met no foe, and empty-handed.

Event Date: -41 GR

§ 5.1.10  It seems that this course on Antony's part caused the outbreak of the Parthian war not long afterward, as many of the rulers expelled from Syria had taken refuge with the Parthians. Syria, until the reign of Antiochus Pius and his son, Antiochus, had been ruled by the descendants of Seleucus Nicator, as I have related in my Syrian history. Pompey added it to the Roman sway, and Scaurus was appointed praetor over it. After Scaurus the Senate sent others, including Gabinius, who made war against the Alexandrians, and after Gabinius, Crassus, who lost his life in the Parthian war, and after Crassus, Bibulus. At the time of Caesar's death and the intestine strife which followed, tyrants got possession of the cities one by one, and they were assisted by the Parthians, who made an irruption into Syria after the disaster to Crassus and cooperated with the tyrants. Antony drove out the latter, who took refuge in Parthia. He then imposed very heavy tribute on the masses and committed the outrage already mentioned against the Palmyreans, and did not wait for the disturbed country to become quiet, but distributed his army in winter quarters in the provinces, and himself went to Egypt to join Cleopatra.

Event Date: -41 GR

§ 5.1.11  She gave him a magnificent reception, and he spent the winter there without the insignia of his office and with the habit and mode of life of a private person, either because he was in a foreign jurisdiction, in a city under royal sway, or because he regarded his wintering as a festal occasion. He laid aside the cares and duties of a general, and wore the square-cut garment of the Greeks instead of the costume of his own country, and the white Attic shoe of the Athenian and Alexandrian priests, which they call the phoecasium. He went out only to the temples, the schools, and the discussions of the learned, and spent his time with Greeks, out of deference to Cleopatra, to whom his sojourn in Alexandria was wholly devoted. Such was the state of affairs with Antony.

Event Date: -41 GR

§ 5.2.12  As Octavius was journeying to Rome he became dangerously ill at Brundusium, and a rumor gained currency that he was dead. On his recovery he returned to the city and showed to Antony's friends the letters Antony had written. The Antonians directed Calenus to give Octavius the two legions, and wrote to Sextius in Africa to turn that province over to him. This was the course of the Antonians while, as it appeared that Lepidus had not been guilty of any serious wrong, Octavius transferred Africa to him in exchange for his former provinces. He also sold the remainder of the property confiscated under the conscriptions. The task of assigning the soldiers to their colonies and dividing the land was one of exceeding difficulty. The soldiers demanded the cities which had been selected for them before the war as prizes for their valor. The cities demanded that the whole of Italy should share the burden, or that the cities should cast lots with the other cities, and that those who gave the land should be paid the value of it; but there was no money. They came to Rome in crowds, young and old, women and children, to the forum and the temples, uttering lamentations, saying that they had done no wrong for which they, Italians, should be driven from their fields and their hearthstones, like people conquered in war. The Romans mourned and wept with them, especially when they reflected that the war had been waged, and the rewards of victory given, not in behalf of the commonwealth, but against themselves and for a change of the form of government; that the colonies were established so that democracy should never again lift its head, — colonies composed of hirelings settled there by the rulers to be in readiness for whatever purpose they might be wanted.

Event Date: -41 GR

§ 5.2.13  Octavius explained to the cities the necessity of the case, but he knew that it would not satisfy them; and it did not. The soldiers encroached upon their neighbors in an insolent manner, seizing more than had been given to them and choosing the best lands; nor did they cease when Octavius rebuked them and made them numerous other presents. They were contemptuous in the knowledge that their rulers needed them to confirm their power, for the five years' term of the triumvirate was passing away, and army and rulers needed the services of each other for mutual security. The chiefs depended on the soldiers for the continuance of their government, while, for the control of what they had received, the soldiers depended on the permanence of the government of those who had given it. Believing that they could not keep a firm hold unless the givers had a strong government, they fought for them with good-will, necessarily. Octavius made many other gifts to the indigent soldiers, borrowing from the temples for that purpose, for which reason the affections of the army were turned toward him. The greater thanks were bestowed upon him both as the giver of the land, the cities, the money, and the houses, and as the object of denunciation on the part of the despoiled, and as one who bore this contumely for the army's sake.

Event Date: -41 GR

§ 5.2.14  Observing this, Lucius Antonius, the brother of Antony, who was then consul, and Fulvia, the wife of Antony, and Manius, his procurator during his absence, resorted to artifices to delay the settlement of the colonies till Antony should return home, in order that it might not seem to be wholly the work of Octavius, and that he might not reap the thanks alone, and Antony be bereft of the favor of the soldiers. As this could not be done, on account of the haste of the soldiers, they asked that Octavius should take the colony leaders of Antony's legions from Antony's own friends, although the agreement with Antony yielded the selection to Octavius exclusively. They made it a matter of complaint that Antony was not present. They brought Fulvia and Antony's children before the soldiers, and, in envious terms, besought them not to forget Antony or allow him to be deprived of the glory or the gratitude due to his service to them. The fame of Antony was then at its maximum, not only among the soldiers, but among all others. The victory of Philippi was considered wholly due to him, on account of Octavius' illness. Although Octavius was not ignorant that it was a violation of the agreement, he yielded as a matter of favor to Antony, and appointed friends of the latter as colony leaders for Antony's legions. These leaders, in order that they might appear more favorable to the soldiers than Octavius was, allowed them to commit still greater outrages. So there was another multitude from other communities, neighbors of the dispossessed ones, suffering many injuries at the hands of the soldiers, and crying out against Octavius, saying that the colonization was worse than the proscription, since the latter was directed against foes, while the former was against inoffensive persons.

Event Date: -41 GR

§ 5.2.15  Octavius knew that these citizens were suffering injustice, but he was without means to prevent it. There was no money to pay the value of the land to the cultivators, nor could the rewards to the soldiers be postponed, on account of the enemies who were still on foot. Pompeius ruled the sea and was reducing the city to famine by cutting off supplies. Ahenobarbus and Murcus were collecting a new fleet and army. The soldiers would be less zealous in the future if they were not paid for their former service. It was a matter of much importance that the five years' term of office was running out, and that the good-will of the soldiers was needed to renew it, for which reason he was willing to overlook for the time being their insolence and arrogance. Once in the theatre when he was present, a soldier, not finding his own seat, went and took one in the place reserved for the knights. The people pointed him out and Octavius had him removed. The soldiers were angry. They gathered around Octavius as he was going away from the theatre and demanded their comrade, for, as they did not see him, they thought that he had been put to death. When he was produced before them they supposed that he had been brought from prison, but he denied that he had been imprisoned and related what had taken place. They said that he had been instructed to tell a lie and reproached him for betraying their common interests. Such was the example of their insolence in the theatre.

Event Date: -41 GR

§ 5.2.16  Having been called, about that time, to the Campus Martius for a division of the land, they came in haste while it was still night, and they grew angry because Octavius delayed his coming. Nonius, a centurion, chided them with considerable freedom, urging decent treatment of the commander by the commanded, and saying that the cause of the delay was Octavius' illness, not his disregard of them. They first jeered at him as a sycophant. Then, as the excitement waxed hot on both sides, they reviled him, threw stones at him, and pursued him when he fled. Finally he plunged into the river and they pulled him out and killed him and threw his body into the road where Octavius was about to pass along. The friends of Octavius advised him not to go among them, but to keep out of the way of their mad career. But he went forward, thinking that their madness would be augmented if he did not come. When he saw the body of Nonius he turned aside. Then, assuming that the crime had been committed by a few, he chided them and advised them to exercise forbearance toward each other hereafter, and proceeded to divide the land. He allowed the meritorious ones to ask for rewards, and he gave to some who were not meritorious, contrary to their expectation. Finally the crowd were confounded. They repented and were ashamed of their importunity. They condemned themselves and asked him to search out and punish the slayers of Nonius. He replied that he knew them and would punish them only with their own guilty consciences and the condemnation of their comrades. The soldiers, thus honored with pardon, rewards, and gifts, changed at once to joyful acclamations.

Event Date: -41 GR

§ 5.2.17  Let these two instances serve as examples of the prevailing insubordination. The cause was that the generals, for the most part, as is usually the case in civil wars, were not regularly chosen; that their armies were not drawn from the enrolment according to the custom of the fathers, nor for the benefit of their country; that they did not serve the public so much as they did the individuals who brought them together; and that they served these not by the force of law, but by reason of private promises; not against the common enemy, but against private foes; not against foreigners, but against fellow-citizens, their equals in rank. All these things impaired military discipline, and the soldiers thought that they were not so much serving in the army as lending assistance, by their own favor and judgment, to leaders who needed them for their own personal ends. Desertion, which had formerly been unpardonable, was now rewarded with gifts, and whole armies resorted to it, including some illustrious men, who did not consider it desertion to change to a similar cause, for all parties were alike, since neither of them could be distinguished as battling against the common enemy of the Roman people. The common pretence of the generals that they were all striving for the good of the country made desertion easy in the thought that one could serve his country in any party. Understanding these facts the generals tolerated this behavior, for they knew that their authority over their armies depended on donatives rather than on law. Thus, everything was torn in factions, and the armies indulged in insubordination toward the leaders of the factions.

Event Date: -41 GR

§ 5.3.18  Now famine began to afflict Rome, the supplies by sea being cut off by Pompeius, and Italian agriculture ruined by the wars. Whatever food was produced was consumed by the troops. Many robberies were committed by night in the city. There were acts of violence worse than robbery which went unpunished, and which were supposed to have been committed by soldiers. The people closed their shops and drove the magistrates from their places as though there were no need of courts of justice, or of the useful arts in a city oppressed by hunger and infested with brigands.

Event Date: -41 GR

§ 5.3.19  Lucius Antonius, who was a republican and ill affected toward the triumvirate, which seemed not likely to come to an end at the appointed time, fell into controversy, and even graver differences, with Octavius. He alone received kindly, and promised aid to, the agriculturists who had been deprived of their lands and who were now the suppliants of every man of importance; and they promised to carry out his orders. Antony's soldiers, and Octavius also, blamed him for working against Antony's interests, and Fulvia blamed him for stirring up war at an inopportune time, until Manius maliciously changed her mind by telling her that as long as Italy remained at peace Antony would stay with Cleopatra, but that if war should break out there he would come back speedily. Then Fulvia, moved by a woman's jealousy, incited Lucius to discord. While Octavius was leading out the last of the colonies she sent the children of Antony, together with Lucius, to follow him, so that he should not acquire too great eclat with the army by being seen alone. A body of Octavius' cavalry made an expedition to the coast of Bruttium, which Pompeius was ravaging, and Lucius either thought or pretended to think that it had been sent against himself and Antony's children. Accordingly, he betook himself to the Antonian colonies to collect a body-guard, and accused Octavius to the soldiers as being treacherous to Antony. Octavius replied that everything was on a friendly and harmonius footing between himself and Antony, and that Lucius was trying to stir up a war between them for another reason, in that he was working against the triumvirate, by virtue of which the soldiers had a firm hold upon their colonies, and that the cavalry were now in Bruttium executing the triumvirate's orders.

Event Date: -41 GR

§ 5.3.20  When the officers of the army learned these facts, they arbitrated between Lucius and Octavius at Teanum and brought them to an agreement on the following terms: That the consuls should exercise their office in the manner of the fathers and not be hindered by the triumvirs; that the land should be assigned only to those who fought at Philippi; that of the money derived from confiscated property, and of the value of that which was still to be sold, Antony's soldiers in Italy should have an equal share; that neither Antony nor Octavius should draw soldiers from Italy by conscription hereafter; that two of Antony's legions should serve with Octavius in the campaign against Pompeius; that the passes of the Alps should be opened to the forces sent by Octavius into Spain, and that Asinius Pollio should not further interfere with them; that Lucius should be satisfied with those conditions, should dispense with his body-guard, and administer his office fearlessly. Such was the agreement which they made with each other through the influence of the officers of the army. Of these only the two last were carried into effect, and Salvidienus crossed the Alps unhindered.

Event Date: -41 GR

§ 5.3.21  As the other conditions were not carried into effect, or were delayed, Lucius departed to Praeneste, saying that he was in fear of Octavius, who, by virtue of his office, had a guard, while he (Lucius) was unprotected. Fulvia went there to meet Lucius, saying now that she had fears for her children on account of Lepidus. She used him for a pretext this time instead of Octavius. Both of them wrote these things to Antony, and friends were sent to him with the letters, who were to give him particulars about each complaint. Although I have searched, I have not been able to find any clear account of what Antony wrote in reply. The officers of the armies bound themselves by an oath to act as umpires again between their magistrates, to decide what was right, and to coerce whichever should refuse to obey the decision; and they summoned Lucius and his friends to attend for this purpose. These refused to come, and Octavius reproached them in invidious terms to the officers of the army and in the presence of the optimates of Rome. The latter hastened to Lucius and implored him to have pity on the city and on Italy, torn by the civil wars, and to accept the arbitration of themselves, or of the officers, whatever the decision might be.

Event Date: -41 GR

§ 5.3.22  Although Lucius had respect for the speakers and for what they said, Manius boldly declared that while Antony was doing nothing but collecting money from foreigners, Octavius was, by his favors, preoccupying the affections of the army and the desirable places in Italy; that in fraud of Antony he had freed Cisalpine Gaul, which had previously been given to Antony; that he had assigned to the soldiers almost the whole of Italy instead of the eighteen cities; that, instead of the twenty-eight legions that had participated in the battle, he had admitted thirty-four to a share of the lands and also of the money from the temples, which he had collected on the pretext of fighting Pompeius, against whom he had done nothing as yet, although the city was oppressed by famine; that he had distributed this money in order to curry favor with the soldiers, to the prejudice of Antony, and that the property of the proscribed had been not so much sold as given to the soldiers outright; and, finally, that if he really wanted peace he should give his reasons for what he had already done, and for the future do only what should be agreed upon in common. Thus arrogantly did Manius proclaim his views, implying that Octavius could not do anything by his own authority and that his agreement with Antony was of no validity, although it provided that each should have absolute power over the affairs committed to him, and that each should ratify what was done by the other. When Octavius saw that they were everywhere preparing for war, he made similar preparations on his own side.

Event Date: -41 GR

§ 5.3.23  Two legions of the army which had been colonized at Ancona and which had served under the elder Caesar and under Antony, hearing of their respective preparations for war, and being moved by friendship for each of them, sent ambassadors to Rome to beseech them both to come to an agreement. Octavius replied that he was not making war against Antony, but that Lucius was making war against him. The ambassadors then united with the officers of this army in a common embassy to Lucius asking him to submit his controversy with Octavius to a tribunal; and they made it plain what they would do if he should not accept the decision. Lucius and his friends accepted the proposal, and fixed the place for the trial at Gabii, a city midway between Rome and Praeneste. A council-chamber was prepared for the arbiters, and two platforms for the speakers in the centre, as in a regular trial. Octavius, who arrived first, sent some horsemen along the road by which Lucius was to come, in order to find out whether any stratagem was discoverable. These met certain horsemen of Lucius, either his advance guard or men spying like the others, and as the two parties came into collision some of them were killed. Lucius retreated, saying that he was afraid of being entrapped, and, although recalled by the officers of the army, who promised to escort him, he could not be persuaded to come again.

Event Date: -41 GR

§ 5.3.24  Thus the negotiations came to nothing, and Octavius and Lucius resolved upon war and issued proclamations full of bitterness against each other. The army of Lucius consisted of six legions of infantry, which he commanded by virtue of his consulship, and eleven others belonging to Antony, which were under the command of Calenus. These were all in Italy. Octavius had four legions at Capua and some praetorian cohorts about his person. Salvidienus was leading six other legions to Spain. Lucius had supplies of money from Antony's provinces where peace prevailed. War was raging in all the provinces that had fallen to the lot of Octavius except Sardinia, for which reason he borrowed money from the temples, promising to return it with thanks — from the Capitoline temple at Rome, from those of Antium, of Lanuvium, of Nemus, and of Tibur, in which cities there are today the most abundant stores of consecrated money.

Event Date: -41 GR

§ 5.3.25  The affairs of Octavius were in disorder outside of Italy also. Pompeius, by reason of the proscription, the colonizing of the soldiers, and the dissensions with Lucius, had gained much in reputation and power. Those who feared for their safety, or had been despoiled of their property, or who utterly abhorred the form of government, mostly went and joined him. Young men, also, eager for military service for the sake of gain, and who thought that it made no difference under whom they served, since all service was Roman service, rather preferred to join Pompeius as representing the better cause. He had become rich by sea-robbery and had a numerous fleet and a full complement of men. Murcus joined him with two legions of soldiers, 500 archers, a large sum of money, and eighty ships. He also sent after the other army from Cephalenia. Accordingly, some persons think that if Pompeius had then invaded Italy, which was afflicted with famine and civil strife, and was looking for him, he might have mastered it. But Pompeius lacked wisdom. His idea was not to invade, but only to defend, and this he did till he failed of that also.

Event Date: -41 GR

§ 5.3.26  In Africa Sextius, Antony's lieutenant, had just delivered his army, in pursuance of an order from Lucius, to Fango, a lieutenant of Octavius. He was ordered to resume the command, and as Fango would not relinquish it he collected a force composed of retired veterans, a miscellaneous crowd of Africans, and auxiliaries of the native princes, and made war on him. Fango, having been defeated on both wings and having lost his camp, thought that he had been betrayed, and committed suicide; and Sextius again became master of the two African provinces. Bocchus, king of Mauritania, at the instance of Lucius, made war on Carinas, who was Octavius' procurator in Spain. Ahenobarbus, who was patrolling the Adriatic with seventy ships, two legions of soldiers, and a force of archers and slingers, light-armed troops and gladiators, devastated the regions subject to the triumvirs. He sailed against Brundusium, captured some of the triremes of Octavius, burned others, shut the inhabitants up in their walls, and plundered their territory.

Event Date: -41 GR

§ 5.3.27  Octavius sent a legion of soldiers to Brundusium and hastily recalled Salvidienus from his march to Spain. Both Octavius and Lucius sent recruiting officers through-out Italy, who had skirmishes with each other of more or less importance, and frequent ambuscades. The good-will of the Italians was of great service to Lucius, as they believed that he was fighting for them against the new colonies. Not only the cities that had been designated for the army, but almost the whole of Italy, rose, fearing like treatment. They drove out of the towns, or killed, those who were borrowing money from the temples for Octavius, manned their walls, and joined Lucius. On the other hand, the colonized soldiers joined Octavius. Each one in both parties took sides as though this were his own war.

Event Date: -41 GR

§ 5.3.28  Though these events were taking place, Octavius, nevertheless, convoked the Senate and the equestrian order and addressed them as follows: "I know very well that I am accused by Lucius and his friends of weakness and want of courage because I do not fight them, and that I shall be still further accused on account of my calling you together. I have strong forces who have suffered wrong in common with me, both those who have been dispossessed of their colonies by Lucius and the others whom I have in hand. I am strong in all respects except only in the purpose to fight. I am not fond of fighting in civil wars except under dire necessity, or of wasting the remainder of our citizens in conflicts with each other; least of all in this civil war, whose horrors will be announced to us not from Macedonia or Thrace, but will take place in Italy itself, which, if it becomes the field of battle, must suffer countless evils in addition to the loss of life. For these reasons I hesitate. And now I protest that I have done Antony no wrong. Nor have I suffered any wrong from him. I beseech you to reason with Lucius and his friends on your own account, and to bring them to a reconciliation with me. If you cannot now persuade them, I shall presently show them that I have hitherto been moved by good-will, not by cowardice. I ask you to be witnesses for me not only among yourselves, but also to Antony, and to sustain me on account of the arrogance of Lucius."

Event Date: -41 GR

§ 5.3.29  So spake Octavius. Thereupon some of his hearers went again to Praeneste. Lucius said to them merely, that both sides had already begun hostilities, that Octavius was practising deception; for he had lately sent a legion to Brundusium to prevent Antony from coming home. Manius showed a letter of Antony's, either true or fictitious, saying that they should fight if anybody assailed his dignity. When the senators asked if anybody had assailed Antony's dignity, and urged Manius to submit that question to trial, he indulged in many other quibbles till they went away without transacting their business. Nor did they collectively bring any answer to Octavius, either because they had communicated it each for himself, or because they were ashamed, or for some other reason. The war broke out and Octavius set forth to take part in it, leaving Lepidus with two legions to guard Rome. Most of the optimates then showed, by joining Lucius, that they were not pleased with the rule of the triumvirs.

Event Date: -41 GR

§ 5.4.30  The following were the principal events of the war. A sedition broke out in two of Lucius' legions at Alba, which expelled their commanding officers and started to revolt. Both Octavius and Lucius hastened to them. Lucius arrived there first and kept them by a large donative and great promises. While Furnius was bringing a reinforcement to Lucius, Octavius fell upon his rear guard. Furnius took refuge on a hill and withdrew by night to Sentia, a city of his own faction. Octavius did not dare to follow by night, suspecting an ambush, but the next day he laid siege to Sentia and Furnius' camp together. Lucius, who was hastening toward Rome, sent forward three cohorts, which effected an entrance into the city clandestinely by night. He followed with his main army and some cavalry and gladiators. Nonius, who had charge of the gates, admitted him, and handed over to him the forces under his own command. Lepidus fled to Octavius. Lucius made a speech to the citizens, saying that he should visit punishment upon Octavius and Lepidus for their lawless rule, and that his brother would voluntarily resign his share of it and accept the consulship, exchanging an unlawful magistracy for a lawful one, and establishing the government of their fathers in place of a tyranny.

Event Date: -41 GR

§ 5.4.31  All were delighted with this speech, and thought that the government of the triumvirs was already ended. Lucius was saluted as imperator by the people. He marched against Octavius, and collected a fresh army from the cities colonized by Antony's soldiers, and strengthened their fortifications. These colonies were well affected toward Antony. Barbatius, a quaestor of Antony, who had had some difficulty with him and was returning home for that reason, said, in answer to inquiries, that Antony was displeased with those who were making war on Octavius to the prejudice of their common sway; whereupon some, who were not aware of the deception practised by Barbatius, changed sides from Lucius to Octavius. Lucius put himself in the way of Salvidienus, who was returning to Octavius with a large army from Gaul. Asinius and Ventidius, Antony's generals, were following Salvidienus to prevent him from advancing. Agrippa, who was the closest friend of Octavius, fearing lest Salvidienus should be surrounded, seized Sutrium, a stronghold very useful to Lucius, expecting that Lucius would turn from Salvidienus against himself, and that Salvidienus, who would then be in the rear of Lucius, would assist him (Agrippa). It all turned out as Agrippa had anticipated. So Lucius, having failed of his undertaking, marched to join Asinius and Ventidius. Salvidienus and Agrippa harassed him on both sides, watching especially for an opportunity to catch him in the defiles.

Event Date: -41 GR

§ 5.4.32  When Lucius perceived their design he did not dare to come to an engagement with both of them closing in upon him. So he turned aside to Perusia, a strongly fortified city, and encamped near it, to wait there for Ventidius. Agrippa, Salvidienus, and Octavius advanced against him and against Perusia and enclosed them with three armies, and Octavius summoned reinforcements in haste from all directions, as against the vital point of the war, where he had Lucius surrounded. He sent others forward to hold in check the forces of Ventidius, who were approaching. The latter, however, hesitated on their own account to advance, as they did not altogether approve of the war and did not know what Antony thought about it, and on account of mutual rivalry were unwilling to yield to each other the military chieftainship. Lucius did not go out to battle with the forces surrounding him, because they were better and more numerous and well drilled, while his were for the most part new levies; nor did he resume his march, for so many enemies were on his flanks. He sent Manius to Ventidius and Asinius to hasten them to the aid of the besieged, and he sent Tisienus with 4000 horse to pillage the enemy's supplies, in order to force him to raise the siege. Lucius entered within the walls of Perusia so that he might winter in a strong place, if necessary, until Ventidius and Asinius should arrive.

Event Date: -41 GR

§ 5.4.33  Octavius, with all haste and with his whole army, drew a line of circumvallation around Perusia fifty-six stades in circuit, on account of the hill on which it was situated; he extended long arms to the Tiber, so that nothing could be introduced into the place. Lucius built a similar line of countervallation, thus fortifying the foot of the hill. Fulvia urged Ventidius, Asinius, Ateius, and Calenus to hasten from Gaul to the assistance of Lucius, and collected reinforcements, which she sent to Lucius under the lead of Plancus. Plancus destroyed one of Octavius' legions, which was on the march to Rome. While Asinius and Ventidius were proceeding, at the instance of Fulvia and Manius, to the relief of Lucius (but with hesitation and doubt as to Antony's preference), in order to raise the blockade, Octavius and Agrippa, leaving a guard at Perusia, threw themselves in the way. The former, who had not yet formed a junction with each other and were not proceeding with much alacrity, retreated, — Asinius to Ravenna and Ventidius to Ariminum. Plancus took refuge in Spoletium. Octavius stationed a force in front of each, to prevent them from forming a junction, and returned to Perusia, where he speedily strengthened his investment of the place and doubled the depth and width of his ditch to the dimensions of thirty feet each way. He increased the height of his wall and built 1500 wooden towers on it, sixty feet apart. He had also strong redoubts and every other kind of intrenchment, with double front, to besiege those within and to repel assaults from without. While these works were under construction there were frequent sorties and fights, in which the forces of Octavius had the advantage in the use of missiles, and the gladiators of Lucius were better at hand-to-hand fighting. So these killed many at close quarters.

Event Date: -41 GR

§ 5.4.34  When the work of Octavius was finished famine fastened upon Lucius, and the evil grew more pressing, since neither he nor the city had made preparations before-hand. Knowing this fact Octavius kept the most vigilant watch. On the day preceding the Calends of January, Lucius thought to avail himself of the holiday, under the belief that the enemy would be off their guard, to make a sally by night against their gates, hoping to break through them and bring in his other forces, of which he had abundance in many places. But the legion that was lying in wait near by, and Octavius himself with some praetorian cohorts, attacked him, and Lucius, although he fought valiantly, was driven back. About the same time the mass of the people in Rome openly denounced the war and the victory, because the grain was kept under guard for the soldiers. They broke into houses in search of food, and carried off whatever they could find.

Event Date: -41 GR

§ 5.4.35  Ventidius and his friends, ashamed to look on while Lucius was perishing of hunger, all moved to his support, intending to overpower the forces surrounding and besieging him. Agrippa and Salvidienus went to meet them with still larger forces. Fearing lest they should be surrounded, they diverged to the stronghold of Fulginium, distant 160 stades from Perusia. There Agrippa besieged them, and they lighted fires as signals to Lucius. Ventidius and Asinius were of the opinion that they should go forward and fight, but Plancus said that, as they were between Octavius and Agrippa, they had best await events. The opinion of Plancus prevailed. Those in Perusia were rejoiced when they saw the fires, but when Ventidius delayed his coming they conjectured that he, too, was in difficulties, and when the fires ceased they thought that he had been destroyed. Lucius, oppressed by hunger, again fought a night battle, extending from the first watch till daylight, around the whole circumvallation; but he failed and was driven back into Perusia. There he took an account of the remaining provisions, and forbade the giving of any to the slaves, and prohibited them from escaping, lest the enemy should gain better knowledge of his desperate situation. The slaves wandered about in crowds, threw themselves upon the ground in the city, and between the city and their forts, and ate grass or green leaves wherever they could find them. Those who died Lucius buried in long trenches, lest, if he burned them, the enemy should discover what was taking place, and, if they were unburied, disease should result from the poisonous exhalations.

Event Date: -40 GR

§ 5.4.36  As no end of the famine, or of the deaths, could be discerned, the soldiers became restive under the condition of affairs, and implored Lucius to make another attempt upon the enemy's works, believing that they could break through them completely. He approved of their ardor, saying, "In our recent battle we did not fight in a way corresponding to our present necessity. Now we must either surrender, or, if that seems worse than death, we must fight to the death." All assented eagerly, and, in order that no one should have the night for an excuse, they demanded to be led out by daylight. Lucius marched out at dawn. He took an abundance of iron tools, for wall fighting, and ladders of every form. He carried machines for filling the ditches, and folding towers from which planks could be thrown to the walls; also all kinds of missiles and stones and wickerwork to be thrown upon the palisades. They made a violent assault, filled up the ditch, scaled the palisades, and advanced to the walls, which some of them undermined, while others applied the ladders, and others simultaneously moved up the towers and defended themselves with stones, arrows, and leaden balls, with absolute contempt of death. This was done at many different places, and the enemy being drawn in many different directions made a more feeble resistance.

Event Date: -40 GR

§ 5.4.37  The planks having been thrown upon the walls at some places, the struggle became very hazardous, for the forces of Lucius fighting on bridges were exposed to missiles and javelins on every side. They forced their way, nevertheless, and a few leaped over the wall. Others followed, and they would speedily have accomplished something important in their desperation had not the fact become known to Octavius that they had not many such machines, and had not the best of his reserves been brought to the assistance of the tired men. These fresh troops flung the assailants down from the walls, broke their machines in pieces, and hurled missiles upon them contemptuously from above. Their enemy, although their shields and bodies were pierced and even their voices had failed, held their ground bravely. When the corpses of those who had been killed on the wall were stripped and thrown down among them, they could not bear the indignity, but turned away from the spectacle and stood for a moment undecided, like athletes taking a breathing-spell in the gymnastic games. Lucius had pity on them in this condition and sounded a retreat. Then the troops of Octavius joyfully clashed their arms as for a victory, whereupon those of Lucius were roused to anger and again seized their ladders (although they had no more towers), and carried them to the walls with desperation. Yet they did not do any harm to the enemy, for they could not. Lucius ran among them and besought them to sacrifice their lives no longer, and led them back groaning and reluctant.

Event Date: -40 GR

§ 5.4.38  This was the end of this hotly contested siege. In order that the enemy might not make another attempt on his works, Octavius stationed a part of his army, that was held in reserve, alongside the fortifications, and instructed others in other places to leap upon the wall at the sound of the trumpet. Although no one urged them on, they went through this exercise continually, in order to become familiar with it, and to inspire the enemy with fear. The troops of Lucius began to grow down-hearted, and, as usually happens in such cases, the guards relaxed their vigilance, and thus desertion became more frequent, not only of the common soldiers, but, in some cases, of the higher officers also. And now Lucius inclined toward peace, out of pity for the perishing multitude, but the fears of some of the enemies of Octavius for their own safety still restrained him. But as Octavius was observed to treat the deserters kindly, and the desire for peace increased among all, Lucius began to fear lest, if he refused, he should be delivered up.

Event Date: -40 GR

§ 5.5.39  Accordingly, having made a sort of test which gave him encouragement, Lucius called his army together and spoke as follows: "It was my intention, fellow-soldiers, to restore the republic to you when I saw that the government of the triumvirs was a tyranny, which was established, indeed, on the pretext of combating Brutus and Cassius, but was not relaxed after their death. Lepidus had been deprived of his share of the government, Antony was far away collecting money, and this one man was managing everything according to his own will, and the ancient system of Roman government was only a pretence and a laughing-stock. With the intention of reverting to the freedom and democratic government of our ancestors, I asked that after the rewards of victory had been distributed the monarchy should be dissolved. When my request was not granted, I sought to enforce it by virtue of my office. Octavius falsely accused me, before the army, of obstructing the colonies out of pity for the landowners. I was ignorant of this slander for a long time, and even when I learned of it I did not suppose that anybody could believe it, when one saw that the colony officers were men assigned by my very self to divide the lands among you. But the calumny misled some people, who joined Octavius in order to make war against us as they think. But eventually they will find that they have been warring against their own interests. I affirm that you have chosen the better cause, and that you have suffered for it beyond your strength. We are vanquished, not by our enemies, but by hunger, to which we have been left a prey by our own generals. It would be becoming in me to fight to the last extremity for my country. Such an end would make my fame glorious after my high purposes. To that destiny I do not submit, for the sake of you, whom I prefer to my own fame. I will send to the conqueror and beg that he will inflict such punishment as he chooses upon me alone, in place of all of you; that he will grant amnesty, not to me, but to you, his fellow-citizens and formerly his soldiers, who are not now in the wrong, who are not fighting without good cause, and are vanquished, not by war, but by hunger."

Event Date: -40 GR

§ 5.5.40  After speaking thus he at once selected three men from the optimates for this mission. The multitude wept, some on their own account, some on account of their general, who appeared to them to have been actuated by the most excellent and democratic purpose, and who now yielded to extreme necessity. The three envoys, when admitted to the presence of Octavius, reminded him that the soldiers on both sides were all of one race, and that they had made campaigns together. They called to mind the friendship of the nobility on either side and also the virtue of their ancestors, who did not allow their differences to become irreconcilable. They advanced other like arguments which were calculated to prevail with him. Octavius, knowing that some of the enemy were still raw recruits, while others were colonized veterans, replied artfully that he would grant amnesty to Antony's soldiers out of regard for him, but that the others must surrender at discretion. This he said in the presence of all, but, taking aside Furnius, one of the three, he led him to expect mild treatment for Lucius and the rest, except his own personal enemies.

Event Date: -40 GR

§ 5.5.41  These personal enemies of Octavius, having learned of Furnius' private interview and suspecting that it related to themselves, reproached him when he came back, and demanded of Lucius either that he should ask a new treaty, which should include all alike, or fight to the death, saying that this had not been a private war for any individual, but a public one in behalf of the country. Lucius in pity commended them as men of the same rank as himself, and said that he would send another embassy. Then he added that no one was better fitted for this task than himself, and went immediately without a herald, merely preceded by some persons who went in advance to announce to Octavius his coming. The latter at once advanced to meet him. There they saw each other surrounded by their friends and distinguished by the standards and military equipment of generals on either side. Then Lucius, dismissing his friends, went forward with two lictors only, showing his state of mind by his outward appearance. Octavius understood and imitated his example, showing his intended good-will toward Lucius. When he saw the latter hastening to pass inside his fortification, indicating thereby that he had already surrendered, Octavius anticipated him and went outside the fortification in order that Lucius might still be free to consult and decide concerning his own interests. Thus as they moved forward they foreshadowed their intentions to each other in advance, by their retinue and their outward appearance.

Event Date: -40 GR

§ 5.5.42  When they came to the ditch they saluted each other, and Lucius said: "If I were a foreigner waging war against you, Octavius, I should consider it disgraceful to be vanquished in this way and still more disgraceful to surrender, and I should have for myself an easy means of deliverance from such humiliation. Since I have been contending with a countryman, my equal in rank, in a matter appertaining to our common country, I do not consider it disgraceful to be beaten in such a cause by such a man. This I say not to deprecate any suffering that you may choose to inflict upon me (for you see that I have come to your camp without any guarantee), but to ask for others such pardon as may be just, and conducive to your own interests. That I may make this clear to you it is necessary to separate their cause from mine, so that, when you know that I am the only one to blame, you may visit your wrath upon me, and not think that I have come here to bandy words (that would be inopportune), but to tell the truth, for it is not in my power to speak otherwise.

Event Date: -40 GR

§ 5.5.43  "I undertook this war against you, not in order to succeed to the leadership by destroying you, but to restore to the country the patrician government which had been subverted by the triumvirate, as not even yourself will deny. For when you created the triumvirate you acknowledged that it was not in accordance with law, but you established it as something necessary and temporary because Cassius and Brutus were still alive and you could not be reconciled to them. When they, who had been the head of the faction, were dead, and the remainder, if there were any left, were bearing arms, not against the state, but because they feared you, and moreover the five years' term was running out, I demanded that the magistracies should be revived in accordance with the customs of our fathers, not even preferring my brother to my country, but hoping to persuade him to assent upon his return and hastening to bring this about during my own term of office. If you had begun this reform you alone would have reaped the glory. Since I was not able to persuade you, I thought to march against the city and to use force, being a citizen, a nobleman, and a consul. These are the causes of the war I waged and these alone; not my brother, nor Manius, nor Fulvia, nor the colonization of those who fought at Philippi, nor pity for the cultivators who were deprived of their holdings, since I myself appointed the leaders of colonies to my brother's legions who deprived the cultivators of their possessions and divided them among the soldiers. Yet you brought this charge against me before the soldiers, shifting the cause of the war from yourself to the land distribution, and in this way chiefly you drew them to your side and overcame me, for they were persuaded that I was warring against them, and that they were defending themselves against my wrong-doing. You certainly needed to use artifice in the war you were waging. Now that you have conquered, if you are the enemy of the country you must consider me your enemy also, since I wished what I thought was for her advantage, but was prevented by famine from accomplishing it.

Event Date: -40 GR

§ 5.5.44  "While I say these things I surrender myself to you, as I have already declared, to do with me whatever you wish. I came here alone merely to show what I have thought of you heretofore and what I still think. So much for myself. Concerning my friends and my whole army, if you will not discredit my words, I will give you some advice for your own best interests, and that is, that you inflict no severity upon them on account of the quarrel between you and me. As you are a mortal and in the hands of fortune, which is always fickle, do not deter those who might be willing to incur danger for you in hazardous or trying times hereafter, by teaching them that under your rules there is no hope of safety except for the victors. Even if all advice from an enemy is suspected or untrustworthy, I would not hesitate to implore you not to punish my friends for my fault and my ill fortune, but to put the whole punishment on me, who am alone to blame. I purposely left my friends behind so that I might not seem, by using these words in their presence, to be securing favor for myself in an underhand way."

Event Date: -40 GR

§ 5.5.45  After Lucius had thus spoken he relapsed into silence, and Octavius said: "When I saw you, Lucius, approaching without any guarantee I hastened to meet you while you were still outside my intrenchments, so that you might even now be master of your own counsels and be able to say or do whatever you should think best for your own interests. Since you deliver yourself to me (as is customary to those who acknowledge that they are in the wrong), it is not necessary that I should discuss the false accusations that you have brought against me with so much art. You began by injuring me and you continue to do so. If you were here negotiating a treaty, you would be dealing with a victor whom you had wronged. Now that you surrender yourself and your friends and your army without conditions, you take away not only all resentment, but also the power which, under negotiations for a treaty, you would necessarily have given me. There is involved in this question not only what you and your friends ought to suffer, but what it is becoming in me, as a just man, to do. I shall make the latter my chief consideration on account of the gods, on my own account, and on yours, Lucius, and I shall not disappoint the expectation with which you came to me." These things they said to each other, as nearly as it is possible to gather the meaning of the speakers from the Memoirs and translate it into our language. They then separated, and Octavius eulogized and admired Lucius because he had said nothing impolite or inconsiderate (as is usual in adversity), and Lucius praised Octavius for his mildness and brevity of speech. The others gathered the meaning of what had been said from the countenances of the speakers.

Event Date: -40 GR

§ 5.5.46  Lucius sent tribunes to receive the watchword for the army from Octavius. They took the army roll to him, as it is still customary for the tribune who asks for the watchword to deliver to the commander the daily register of the number of troops present. After they had received the watchword they still kept their outposts on duty, for Octavius himself ordered that each army should keep its own guard that night. The next morning Octavius offered sacrifice, and Lucius sent his soldiers to him bearing their arms, but prepared for marching. They saluted Octavius as imperator while still at some distance, and each legion took its separate position as Octavius had directed, the colonized veterans being apart from the new levies. When Octavius had finished the sacrifice he took his seat in front of the tribunal, crowned with laurel, the symbol of victory, and ordered them all to lay down their arms where they stood. When they had done so he ordered the veterans to draw nearer, intending to reproach them for their ingratitude and to strike terror into them. It was known beforehand what he was about to do, and his own army, either purposely (as soldiers are often advised beforehand), or moved by sympathy as for their own relatives, broke from the formation in which they had been placed, crowded around Lucius' men as they approached their former fellow-soldiers, embraced them, wept with them, and implored Octavius in their behalf, and ceased not crying out and embracing them, the new levies sharing in the outburst of feeling, so that it was impossible to distinguish or discriminate between them.

Event Date: -40 GR

§ 5.5.47  For this reason Octavius did not persist in his intention, but, after appeasing the tumult with difficulty, addressed his own men as follows: "You have always behaved in such a way to me, fellow-soldiers, that you can ask nothing from me in vain. I think that the new levies served Lucius under compulsion. I intended to ask the old soldiers, who have often served with us and who are now saved from punishment by you, what they have suffered at our hands, or what favor they have asked in vain, or what greater favors they expected from anybody else, that they have taken up arms against me, against you, against them-selves. All the trouble I have met with has grown out of the division of the lands, in which they had their share. And now if you will permit me I will ask them these questions." They would not allow him to do so, but continued their beseeching. "I grant what you wish," he said. "They are dismissed without punishment for their wrongdoing, provided they will hereafter be like-minded with you." They promised on both sides with acclamations and thanks to Octavius, who allowed some of his own men to entertain some of their men as guests. He ordered the remainder to pitch their tents where they had been stationed, at a certain distance from the others, until he should assign them towns for winter quarters and appoint persons to lead them thither.

Event Date: -40 GR

§ 5.5.48  Then, seated on his tribunal, Octavius summoned from Perusia Lucius and the Romans of responsibility who were with him. Many of the senators and knights came down, all presenting a pitiful appearance by reason of their sudden change of fortune. As soon as they passed out of Perusia a guard was stationed around it. When they reached the tribunal Octavius placed Lucius by his own side. Of the rest, some were taken in charge by the friends of Octavius, others by centurions, all of whom had been instructed beforehand to show them honor and to keep watch upon them unobserved. He commanded those Perusians to come forward who had stretched out their hands to him from the walls, all except their town council, and as they presented themselves he pardoned them. The councillors were thrown into prison and soon afterward put to death, except Lucius Aemilius, who had sat as a judge at Rome in the trial of the murderers of Caesar, who had voted openly for condemnation, and had advised all the others to do the same in order to expiate the guilt.

Event Date: -40 GR

§ 5.5.49  Octavius intended to turn Perusia itself over to the soldiers for plunder, but Cestius, one of the citizens, who was somewhat out of his mind, who had fought in Macedonia and for that reason called himself the Macedonian, set fire to his house and plunged into the flames. A strong wind fanned the conflagration and drove it over the whole of Perusia, which was entirely consumed, except the temple of Vulcan. Such was the end of Perusia, a city renowned for its antiquity and importance. It is said that it was one of the first twelve cities built by the Etruscans in Italy in the olden time. For this reason the worship of Juno prevailed there, as among the Etruscans generally. But thereafter those who shared among themselves the remains of the city took Vulcan for their tutelary deity instead of Juno. On the following day Octavius made peace with all of them, but the soldiers did not desist from tumults against some of them until the latter were killed. These were chiefly the personal enemies of Octavius, namely, Canutius, Gaius Flavius, Clodius Bithynicus, and others. Such was the conclusion of the siege of Lucius in Perusia, and thus came to an end a war which had promised to be long-continued and most grievous to Italy.

Event Date: -40 GR

§ 5.6.50  Now Asinius, Plancus, Ventidius, Crassus, Ateius, and the others of that party, who had forces not to be despised, numbering about thirteen legions of disciplined troops and upward of 6500 horse, considering Lucius the chief actor in the war, retired to the sea-coast by various routes, some to Brundusium, some to Ravenna, some to Tarentum, some to Murcus and Ahenobarbus, and still others to Antony. The friends of Octavius followed them, offering terms of peace, and harassing those who refused, especially the infantry. From among them only two legions, belonging to Plancus, who were intercepted at Cameria, were persuaded by Agrippa to desert to him. Fulvia fled with her children to Dicaearchia, and thence to Brundusium, with 3000 horse, who were sent with her by the generals as an escort. At Brundusium there were five war-ships which had been sent for from Macedonia, and she embarked and put to sea, accompanied by Plancus, who abandoned the remains of his army through cowardice. These soldiers chose Ventidius as their commander. Asinius drew over Ahenobarbus to the side of Antony. Both Asinius and Ventidius wrote these facts to Antony, and they prepared landing-places, in expectation of his early arrival, and stores of provisions throughout Italy.

Event Date: -40 GR

§ 5.6.51  Octavius was planning to get possession of another considerable army belonging to Antony, that was under the command of Fufius Calenus near the Alps. He already had suspicions of Antony, and he hoped, if the latter remained friendly, to preserve these forces for him, or, if war should break out, to add this large force to his own strength. While he was still delaying and looking around for a fair-seeming occasion, Calenus died. Octavius, believing that he had found a good excuse for both transactions, went and took possession of the army and of Gaul and Spain besides, which were Antony's provinces. Fufius, the son of Calenus, was terrified, and delivered everything over to him without a fight. Octavius, having acquired eleven legions of soldiers and these large provinces by one stroke, dismissed the chief officers from their commands, substituted his own, and returned to Rome.

Event Date: -40 GR

§ 5.6.52  As it was still winter, Antony retained the deputies of the colonized veterans, who had been sent to him, and concealed his intentions. In the spring he set out from Alexandria and proceeded by land to Tyre, and thence by sea, touching at Cyprus and Rhodes, to the province of Asia. There he learned of the doings at Perusia and he blamed his brother and Fulvia, and, most of all, Manius. He found Fulvia at Athens, whither she had fled from Brundusium. His mother, Julia, who had fled to Pompeius, had been sent thither by him from Sicily with warships, and escorted by some of the optimates of his party, by Lucius Libo, his father-in-law, by Saturninus and others, who, being attracted by Antony's capacity for great deeds, sought to bring him into friendly relations with Pompeius and to form an alliance between them against Octavius. Antony replied that he thanked Pompeius for sending his mother and that he would requite him for the service in due time; that if there should be a war with Octavius he would ally himself with Pompeius, but that if Octavius should adhere to their agreements he would endeavor to reconcile him with Pompeius. Such was his answer.

Event Date: -40 GR

§ 5.6.53  When Octavius returned from Gaul to Rome he heard about those who had set sail for Athens. Not knowing exactly what answer Antony had given them, he began to excite the colonized soldiers against the latter, representing that Antony intended to bring back Pompeius with the owners of the lands which the soldiers now held, for most of the owners had taken refuge with Pompeius. Although this cause of irritation was plausible, the soldiers would not even then take up arms against Antony with any zeal, the reputation he had gained at Philippi having made him popular. Octavius considered himself far superior to Antony, to Pompeius, and to Ahenobarbus in the number of troops, as he now had more than forty legions, but as he had no ships and no time to make any, while they had 500, he feared lest they should bring famine upon Italy by patrolling the coast. While meditating on those things, and while he had the choice of many virgins in marriage, he wrote to Maecenas to make an engagement for him with Scribonia, the sister of Libo, the father-in-law of Pompeius, so that he might have the means of coming to an arrangement with the latter if need be. When Libo heard of this he wrote to his family that they should betroth her to Octavius without delay. Then Octavius, on various pretexts, sent away, to this place and that, such of Antony's friends and soldiers as he could not trust, and he sent Lepidus to Africa, the province assigned to him, and with him the six of Antony's legions who were under suspicion.

Event Date: -40 GR

§ 5.6.54  Then he summoned Lucius to his presence and praised him for his attachment to his brother, because he had taken the blame upon himself while carrying out Antony's wishes, but reproached him with ingratitude if, after meeting such a favor from himself, he should now refuse to confess concerning the aims of Antony, who was said to have formed an alliance openly with Pompeius. "Having confidence in you," he said, "when Calenus died I took charge of his provinces and army through my friends for Antony, so that they might not be without a head, but now that the plot is unveiled I shall keep them all for myself, and if you wish to go to your brother I will allow you to do so fearlessly." He spoke thus, either to test Lucius or in order that what he said might reach Antony. Lucius replied in the same spirit as before, saying, "I knew that Fulvia was in favor of the monarchy, but I joined with her and made use of my brother's soldiers to overthrow all of you. And now if my brother should come to dissolve the monarchy I would go to join him, either openly or secretly, and would fight you again in behalf of the country, although you have been a benefactor to me. If he seeks allies to assist him in maintaining the tyranny, I will fight on your side against him as long as I think that you are not trying to establish a monarchy. I shall always set my country above gratitude and above family." So spake Lucius. Octavius, holding him in the same admiration as recently [at Perusia], said that he did not wish to incite him against his brother, but that he would intrust to Lucius, because he was what he was, the whole of Spain, and the army in it, which were now under the command of his lieutenants, Peducaeus and Lucius. So Octavius dismissed Lucius with honor, but kept a secret watch upon him by means of his lieutenants.

Event Date: -40 GR

§ 5.6.55  Antony left Fulvia ill at Sicyon, and set sail from Corcyra into the Adriatic with an inconsiderable army and 200 ships that he had built in Asia. Antony learned that Ahenobarbus was coming to meet him with a fleet and a large number of soldiers. Then some of Antony's friends thought that it was not safe to trust to the agreement exchanged between them, since Ahenobarbus had been condemned at the trial of Caesar's murderers, and had been placed on the list of the proscribed, and had fought against Antony and Octavius at the time of the battle of Philippi. Nevertheless, Antony advanced with five of his best ships in order to seem to have confidence in Ahenobarbus, and he ordered the others to follow at a certain distance. When Ahenobarbus was observed coming forward, rowing swiftly, with his whole army and fleet, Plancus, who was standing by the side of Antony, was alarmed and advised him to check his course and send a few men forward to make a test, as to a man whose intentions were doubtful. Antony replied that he would rather die by a breach of the treaty than to be saved by an appearance of cowardice, and continued his course. Now they were drawing near, and the vessels which bore the chiefs were distinguishable by their ensigns and approached each other. Antony's first lictor, who stood on the prow as was customary, either forgetful that Ahenobarbus was a man of doubtful purpose, and that he was leading his own forces, or moved by a lofty spirit as though he were meeting subject or inferior men, ordered them to lower their flag. They did so, and laid their ship alongside of Antony's. When the two commanders saw each other they exchanged greetings, and the army of Ahenobarbus saluted Antony as imperator. Plancus recovered his courage with difficulty. Antony received Ahenobarbus in his own ship and sailed to Paloeis, where Ahenobarbus had his infantry, and here he yielded his tent to Antony.

Event Date: -40 GR

§ 5.6.56  From thence they sailed to Brundusium, which was garrisoned by five cohorts of Octavius' troops. The citizens closed their gates against Ahenobarbus, as an old enemy, and against Antony, as one introducing an enemy. Antony was indignant. Considering this a pretence, and that he was in fact shut out by Octavius' garrison at the latter's instance, he drew a ditch and palisade across the isthmus that connects the town with the mainland. The city is situated on a peninsula which fronts a crescent-shaped harbor. Now the people coming from the mainland could no longer reach the rising ground on which the city stands, as it had been cut off and walled in. Antony also surrounded the harbor, which is large, and the islands in it, with towers planted closely together. He sent forces along the coasts of Italy, whom he ordered to seize the advantageous positions. He called upon Pompeius to move against Italy with his fleet and to do whatever he could. Pompeius, with alacrity, despatched Menodorus with a numerous fleet and four legions of soldiers, who seized Sardinia, which belonged to Octavius, and two legions in it, who were panic-stricken at this agreement between Pompeius and Antony. In Italy Antony's men captured the town of Sipuntum of Ausonia. Pompeius besieged Thurii and Consentia and ravaged their territory with his cavalry.

Event Date: -40 GR

§ 5.6.57  Octavius, attacked so suddenly and in so many places, sent Agrippa into Ausonia to succor the distressed inhabitants. Agrippa called out the colonized veterans along the road, and they followed at a certain interval, supposing that they were moving against Pompeius, but when they learned that what had happened had been done at Antony's instance, they turned around and went back secretly. Octavius was greatly alarmed by this. Nevertheless, while marching to Brundusium with another army he again fell in with the colonized veterans, and interceded with them, and prevailed upon those who had been colonized by himself to follow him. They were ashamed to refuse, but they had the secret intention to bring Antony and Octavius into harmony with each other, and if Antony should refuse and should go to war, then to defend Octavius. The latter was detained some days at Canusium by sickness. Although his forces considerably outnumbered those of Antony, he found Brundusium walled in, and he could do nothing but encamp alongside of it and await events.

Event Date: -40 GR

§ 5.6.58  Antony was enabled by means of his intrenchments to defend himself easily, although he was much inferior in numbers. He summoned his army from Macedonia in haste, and in the meantime he resorted to the stratagem of sending war-ships and merchant vessels to sea by night secretly with a multitude of private citizens on board, which returned, one after another, the next day, in sight of Octavius, bearing armed men, as though they had just come from Macedonia. Antony had his machines already prepared and was about to attack the Brundusians, to the great chagrin of Octavius, since he was not able to defend them. Toward evening the news reached both armies that Agrippa had captured Sipuntum and that Pompeius had been repulsed from Thurii, but was still besieging Consentia. Antony was disturbed by this news. When it was announced that Servilius was coming to the assistance of Octavius with 1500 horse, Antony could not restrain his rage, but sprang up from supper, and, with such friends as he could find ready and with 400 horse, he pressed forward with the utmost intrepidity, and fell upon the 1500, who were still asleep near the town of Uria, threw them into a panic, captured them without a fight, and returned to Brundusium the same day. Thus did the reputation that Antony had gained at Philippi as an invincible man still inspire terror.

Event Date: -40 GR

§ 5.6.59  Antony's praetorian cohorts, proud of his prestige, approached the camp of Octavius in groups and reproached their former comrades for coming hither to fight Antony, to whom they all owed their safety at Philippi. When the latter replied that the others had come making war against themselves, they fell to arguing and brought charges against each other. Antony's men said that Brundusium had been closed against him and that Calenus' troops had been taken from him. The others spoke of the investment and siege of Brundusium, the invasion of Southern Italy, the agreement with Ahenobarbus, one of Caesar's murderers, and the treaty with Pompeius, their common enemy. Finally Octavius' men revealed their purpose to the others, saying that they had come with Octavius, not because they were forgetful of Antony's merits, but with the intention of bringing them to an agreement, or, if Antony refused and continued the war, of defending Octavius against him. These things they openly said also when they approached Antony's works. While these events 'were in progress the news came that Fulvia was dead. It was said that she was dispirited by Antony's reproaches and fell sick; and it was thought that she had become a willing victim of disease on account of the anger of Antony, who had left her while she was sick and had not visited her even when he was going away. The death of this turbulent woman, who had stirred up so disastrous a war on account of her jealousy of Cleopatra, seemed extremely fortunate to both of the parties who were rid of her. Nevertheless, Antony was much saddened by this event because he considered himself in some sense the cause of it.

Event Date: -40 GR

§ 5.7.60  There was a certain Lucius Cocceius, a friend of both, who had been sent, in company with Caecina, by Octavius, the previous summer, to Antony in Phoenicia, and had remained with Antony after Caecina returned. This Cocceius, seizing his opportunity, pretended that he had been sent for by Octavius for the purpose of a friendly greeting. When Antony allowed him to go he asked, by way of testing his disposition, whether Antony would like to write any letter to Octavius which he could convey. Antony replied: "What can we write to each other, now that we are enemies, except mutual recrimination? I wrote letters in reply to his of some time ago, which I sent by the hand of Caecina. Take copies of those if you like." This he said by way of jest, but Cocceius would not yet allow him to call Octavius an enemy after his generous behavior toward Lucius and Antony's other friends. But Antony replied: "He has shut me out of Brundusium and taken my provinces and the army of Calenus from me. He is kind only to my friends, and evidently not to keep them friendly, but to make them enemies to me by his benefactions." Cocceius, after hearing these complaints, did not care to irritate further a naturally passionate disposition, but proceeded to make his visit to Octavius.

Event Date: -40 GR

§ 5.7.61  When Octavius saw him he expressed astonishment that he had not come sooner. "I did not save your brother," he exclaimed, "in order that you should be my enemy." Cocceius replied, "How is it that you, who make friends out of enemies, call your friends enemies and take from them their armies and provinces?" "It was not fitting," replied Octavius, "that after the death of Calenus such large resources should be left in the hands of such a stripling as Calenus' son while Antony was still far distant. Lucius was excited to frenzy by them and Asinius and Ahenobarbus, who were near by, were about to use them against us. So, too, I took sudden possession of the legions of Plancus, in order that they might not join the Pompeians. His cavalry have actually gone to Sicily." "These matters have been told differently," said Cocceius; "but Antony did not credit the statements made to him until he was shut out of Brundusium as an enemy." "I gave no order on that subject," replied Octavius, "nor did I know beforehand that he was coming, nor did I anticipate that he would come here with enemies. The Brundusians themselves and the praefect, who had been left with them on account of the raids of Ahenobarbus, of their own motion excluded Antony, who was in league with the common enemy, Pompeius, and was bringing in Ahenobarbus, one of my father's murderers, who has been condemned by vote of the Senate, by judgment of the court, and by the proscription, who besieged Brundusium after the battle of Philippi, and is still blockading the Adriatic coast, who has burned my ships and plundered Italy."

Event Date: -40 GR

§ 5.7.62  "But it was agreed between you," said Cocceius, "that you might treat with whomsoever you chose. Yet Antony has not made a treaty with any of the murderers, and he holds your father in no less honor than you do. Ahenobarbus was not one of the murderers. The vote was cast against him on account of personal animosity, for he had no share whatever in the plots of those days. If we consider him unpardonable because he was a friend of Brutus, are we not in a fair way to be bitter against almost everybody? Antony made an agreement with Pompeius, not to make an aggressive war with him, but either to secure his help in case of an attack by you, or to bring him into good relations with you, since he has done nothing which should make him irreconcilable. You are the one to blame for these things, for if there had been no war in Italy those men would not have ventured to send ambassadors to Antony." Octavius repeated his accusations, saying, "Manius and Fulvia and Lucius brought war against Italy, and against me as well as Italy; and Pompeius, who did not attack before, now makes descents upon the coast, encouraged by Antony." Cocceius replied, "Not encouraged by Antony, but directed by him; for I will not conceal from you the fact that the rest of Italy, which is destitute of naval defences, will be attacked by a powerful fleet unless you agree to peace." Octavius, who gave due weight to this artful suggestion, reflected a moment, and then said, "But Pompeius will have the worst of it. He has just been repulsed from Thurii as he deserves." Then Cocceius, having gone over the whole controversy, led the conversation up to the death of Fulvia and the manner of it, saying that she fell sick because she could not bear the anger of Antony and wasted away with grief because he would not see her when she was ill, and that he was in a manner the cause of his wife's death. "Now that she is dead," he continued, "it only remains for you to tell each other frankly what your suspicions are."

Event Date: -40 GR

§ 5.7.63  In this way Cocceius won the confidence of Octavius and passed the day as his guest, and begged him to write to Antony as the younger man to the older. Octavius said that he would not write to one who was still waging war against him, because Antony had not written to him, but that he would make complaint to Antony's mother, because, although a relative and held in the highest honor by Octavius, she had fled from Italy, as though she could not have obtained everything from him as from her own son. This was his artful way of opening a correspondence by writing to Julia. As Cocceius was going away from the camp many of the higher officers advised him of the purpose of the army, and he communicated this and other things he had learned to Antony, so that he might know that they would fight against him because he did not come to an agreement. So he advised Antony that Pompeius should be called back from his ravaging to Sicily, and that Ahenobarbus should be sent somewhither until a treaty of peace should be made. Antony's mother besought him to the same purpose, for she belonged to the Julian gens. Antony apprehended that if the negotiations should fail he would be put to the shame of calling on Pompeius for assistance again, but his mother encouraged him to believe that they would not fail, and Cocceius confirmed her, intimating that he knew more than he had told. So Antony yielded, and ordered Pompeius back to Sicily, implying that he would take care of their mutual concerns, and sent Ahenobarbus away as governor of Bithynia.

Event Date: -40 GR

§ 5.7.64  When Octavius' soldiers learned these facts they chose deputies and sent the same ones to both commanders. They took no notice of accusations because they had been chosen, not to decide a controve sy, but to restore peace. Cocceius was added to their number as she common friend of both, together with Pollio from" Antony's party and Maecenas from that of Octavius. It was determined that there should be amnesty between Antony and Octavius for the past and friendship for the future. Moreover, as Marcellus, the husband of Octavius' sister Octavia, had recently died, the umpires decided that her brother should betroth her to Antony, which he did immediately. Then Antony and Octavius embraced each other. Thereupon shouts went up from the soldiers and congratulations were offered to each of the generals, without intermission, through the entire day and night.

Event Date: -40 GR

§ 5.7.65  Now Octavius and Antony made a fresh partition of the whole Roman empire between themselves, the boundary line being Scodra, a city of Illyria which was supposed to be situated about midway up the Adriatic gulf. All provinces aid islands east of this place, as far as the river Euphrates, were to belong to Antony and all west of it to the ocean to Octavius. Lepidus was to govern Africa, as Octavius had given it to him. Octavius was to make war against Pompeius unless they should come to some agreement, and Antony was to make war against the Parthians to avenge their treachery toward Crassus. Octavius was to make the same agreement with Ahenobarbus that Antony had already made. Both of them might freely enlist soldiers in Italy in equal numbers. These were the last conditions of peace between Octavius and Antony. Straightway each of them sent his friends to attend to urgent business. Antony despatched Ventidius to Asia against the Parthians and against Labienus, the son of Labienus, who, with the Parthians, had made a hostile incursion into Syria and had advanced as far as Ionia during the late troubles. What Labienus and the Parthians did and suffered I will show in my Parthian history.

Event Date: -40 GR

§ 5.7.66  In the meantime Helenus, a lieutenant of Octavius, who had repossessed Sardinia by a sudden onset, was driven out again by Menodorus, the lieutenant of Pompeius. Octavius was so exasperated by this that he rejected Antony's endeavors to bring him to an agreement with Pompeius. They proceeded to Rome together and celebrated the marriage. Antony put Manius to death because he had excited Fulvia by his accusations against Cleopatra and had been the cause of so many evils. He also revealed to Octavius the fact that Salvidienus, who was in command of Octavius' army on the Rhone, had had the intention of deserting him, and had sent word to that effect to Antony while he was besieging Brundusium. This secret Antony revealed, not with universal approbation, but because of his frankness and eagerness to show his good-will. Octavius instantly summoned Salvidienus to Rome, pretending that he had some private communication to make to him, and that he should send him back to the army. When he came Octavius confronted him with proofs of his treachery and put him to death, and gave his army to Antony, as he considered it untrustworthy.

Event Date: -40 GR

§ 5.8.67  Now famine fell upon Rome, since the merchants of the Orient could not put to sea for fear of Pompeius, who controlled Sicily, and those of the west were deterred by Sardinia and Corsica, which the lieutenants of Pompeius held, while those of Africa opposite were prevented by the same hostile fleets, which infested both shores. There was great dearness of provisions, and the people considered the cause of it to be the strife between the chiefs, and cried out against them and urged them to make peace with Pompeius. As Octavius would by no means yield, Antony advised him to hasten the war on account of the scarcity. As there was no money for this purpose, an edict was published that the owners of slaves should pay a tax for each one, equal to one-half of the twenty-five drachmas that had been ordained for the war against Brutus and Cassius, and that those who acquired property by legacies should contribute a share thereof. The people tore down the edict with fury. They were exasperated that, after exhausting the public treasury, stripping the provinces, burdening Italy itself with contributions, taxes, and confiscations, not for foreign war, not for extending the empire, but for private enmities and to add to their own power (for which reason the proscriptions and this terrible famine had come about), the triumvirs should deprive them of the remainder of their property. They banded together, with loud cries, and stoned those who did not join them, and threatened to plunder and burn their houses, until the whole populace was aroused.

Event Date: -40 GR

§ 5.8.68  Octavius with his friends and a few attendants came into the forum intending to intercede with the people and to show the unreasonableness of their complaints. As soon as he made his appearance they stoned him unmercifully, and they were not ashamed when they saw him enduring this treatment patiently, and offering himself to it, and even bleeding from wounds. When Antony learned what was going on he came with haste to his assistance. When the people saw him coming down the Via Sacra they did not throw stones at him, since he was in favor of a treaty with Pompeius, but they told him to go away. When he refused to do so they stoned him also. He called in a larger force of troops, who were outside the walls. As the people would not allow him to pass through, the soldiers divided right and left on either side of the street and the forum, and made their attack from the narrow lane, striking down those whom they met. The people could no longer find ready escape on account of the crowd, nor was there any way out of the forum. There was a scene of slaughter and wounds, while shrieks and groans sounded from the housetops. Antony made his way into the forum with difficulty, and snatched Octavius from the most manifest danger, in which he then was, and brought him safe to his house. The mob having been dispersed, the corpses were thrown into the river in order to avoid a shocking spectacle. It was a fresh cause of lamentation to see them floating down the stream, and the soldiers stripping them, and certain miscreants, as well as the soldiers, carrying off the clothing of the better class as their own property. This insurrection was suppressed, but with terror and hatred for the triumvirs. The famine grew worse. The people groaned, but did not stir.

Event Date: -40 GR

§ 5.8.69  Antony suggested to the relatives of Libo that they should summon him from Sicily for the purpose of congratulating his brother-in-law, and to accomplish something more important; and he promised him a safe-conduct. His relatives wrote promptly and Pompeius acquiesced. Libo, on his arrival, cast anchor at the isle of Pithecusa, which is now called Aenaria. When the people learned this, they assembled together again and besought Octavius with tears to send letters of safeguard to Libo, who desired to negotiate with him for peace. He did so reluctantly. The people also threatened to burn Mucia, the mother of Pompeius, with her house, if she did not communicate with her son in the interest of peace. When Libo perceived that his enemies were on the point of yielding, he demanded that the leaders themselves should come together in order to make such concessions to each other as they could agree upon. The people compelled them to this course, and, accordingly, Octavius and Antony went to Baiae.

Event Date: -39 GR

§ 5.8.70  All the friends of Pompeius urged him with one accord to make peace, except Menodorus, who wrote to him from Sardinia either to prosecute the war vigorously or still to procrastinate, because famine was fighting for them, and he would thus get better terms if he should decide to make peace. Menodorus also advised him to distrust Murcus, who opposed these views, intimating that he was seeking power for himself. Pompeius, who had been vexed with Murcus lately on account of his high position and his stubbornness, became still more averse to him for this reason, and held no communication with him whatever, until, finally, Murcus retired in disgust to Syracuse. Here he saw some of Pompeius' guards following him, and he expressed his opinion of Pompeius to them freely. Then Pompeius bribed a tribune and a centurion of Murcus, and induced them to kill him and to say that he had been murdered by slaves. To give credibility to this falsehood he crucified the slaves. But he did not succeed in concealing this crime, — the next one committed by him after the murder of Bithynicus, — Murcus having been a man distinguished for his warlike deeds, who had been strongly attached to that party from the beginning, and had rendered great assistance to Pompeius in Spain, and had joined him in Sicily voluntarily. Such was the death of Murcus.

Event Date: -39 GR

§ 5.8.71  His other friends urged Pompeius to make peace, and they accused Menodorus of fondness of power and as opposing peace not so much from good-will to his master as from a desire to command an army and a province. Pompeius yielded and set sail for Aenaria with a large number of his best ships, having embarked himself on a magnificent one with six banks of oars. In this style, toward evening, he sailed proudly past Puteoli in sight of his enemies. Early in the morning two sets of piles were driven in the sea a short distance apart, and planks were placed upon them. Upon the platform nearest the shore Octavius and Antony took their places, while Pompeius and Libo occupied the seaward one, a small space of water separating them, but not preventing them from hearing each other without shouting. As Pompeius thought that he had come in order to be admitted to a share of the government in place of Lepidus, while the others would concede nothing but his recall from exile, they separated for the time without accomplishing anything. Nevertheless, negotiations were continued on the part of friends, who advanced various proposals from one side to the other. Pompeius demanded that, of the proscripts and the men with him, those who had participated in the murder of Gaius Caesar should be allowed a safe place of exile, and the rest an honorable recall to their homes, and that the property they had lost should be restored to them. Urged on by the famine and by the people to an agreement, Octavius and Antony reluctantly conceded a fourth part of this property, promising to buy it from the present holders. They wrote to this effect to the proscripts themselves, hoping that this would satisfy them. The latter accepted all the terms, for they already had apprehensions of Pompeius on account of his crime against Murcus. So they gathered around Pompeius and besought him to come to an agreement. Pompeius rent his garments, declaring that he had been betrayed by those for whom he had fought, and he frequently invoked the name of Menodorus as his most competent officer and his only friend.

Event Date: -39 GR

§ 5.8.72  Finally, at the instance of his mother, Mucia, and of his wife, Julia, again the three men (Octavius, Antony, and Pompeius) came together on the mole of Puteoli, washed by the waves on both sides, and with ships moored around it as guards. Here they came to an agreement on the following terms: That the war should cease on both land and sea, and that commerce should be everywhere unmolested; that Pompeius should remove his garrisons from Italy and no longer afford a refuge to fugitive slaves; that he should not assail with his fleet the Italian coast, but should govern Sardinia, Sicily, and Corsica, and any other islands then in his possession, as long as Antony and Octavius should hold sway over the other countries; that he should send to Rome the corn that had been previously required as tribute from those islands, and that he might have Peloponnesus in addition; that he might hold the consulship in his absence through any friend he might choose, and be inscribed as a member of the priesthood of the first rank. Such were the conditions accorded to Pompeius himself. Members of the nobility who were still in exile were allowed to return, except those who had been condemned by vote of the Senate and judgment of court for participation in the murder of Gaius Caesar. The property of those who had fled merely from fear, and whose goods had been seized by violence, should all be restored except movables. Proscripts should receive one fourth part of theirs. Slaves who had served in the army of Pompeius should be free, and free persons who had thus served should, upon their discharge, receive the same rewards as those who had served under Octavius and Antony.

Event Date: -39 GR

§ 5.8.73  Such were the terms of the treaty, to which they attached their names and seals and sent it to Rome to be placed in the custody of the Vestal virgins. Then they entertained each other, casting lots to determine the order of the ceremony. The first banquet took place on Pompeius' six-banked ship, moored alongside the mole. On succeeding days Antony and Octavius gave banquets in tents pitched on the mole, on the pretext that thus all might participate, but perhaps really for their better security and to quiet apprehensions; for they did not even then neglect precautions. Their ships were moored alongside and guards were stationed around them, and the banqueters were girded with concealed daggers. It is said that, while the three were feasting in the ship, Menodorus sent a message to Pompeius advising him to entrap these men and avenge the wrongs of his father and his brother, and to avail himself of this most favorable occasion to resume the sway that his father had exercised, saying that he, with his own ships, would take care that nobody should escape; but that Pompeius replied, in a manner worthy of his family and his position, "Would that Menodorus had done this without my knowledge. False swearing may become Menodorus, but not Pompeius." At this banquet the daughter of Pompeius and granddaughter of Libo was betrothed to Marcellus, the stepson of Antony and nephew of Octavius. On the following day they designated the consuls for the next four years, viz., for the first year Antony and Libo, Antony being privileged to substitute whomsoever he liked in his own place; next Octavius and Pompeius; next Ahenobarbus and Sossius; and, finally, Antony and Octavius again; and as they would then have been consuls the third time it was expected that they would restore the government to the people.

Event Date: -39 GR

§ 5.8.74  Having finished this business they separated, Pompeius going to Sicily by sea, Octavius and Antony to Rome by land. When the Romans and Italians learned the news there was universal rejoicing at the return of peace and at their deliverance from intestine war, from the conscription of their sons, from the arrogance of guards, from the running away of slaves, from the pillage of fields, from the ruin of agriculture, and, above all, from the famine that had pressed upon them with the greatest severity. As the triumvirs were proceeding on their journey sacrifices were offered in their honor as to saviours. The city would have given them a magnificent reception, had they not entered secretly by night in order to avoid jealousies. The only ones disappointed were those to whom had been allotted lands belonging to men who were to be restored with Pompeius. They thought that they should have irreconcilable enemies dwelling alongside of them as landlords, who would do them injury whenever they could. The exiles who were with Pompeius, all but a few, took leave of him at Puteoli and set sail for Rome. Their coming was to the people a new source of joy and acclamations, so great a number of illustrious men having been unexpectedly saved from death.

Event Date: -39 GR

§ 5.8.75  After these events Octavius set forth on an expedition to Gaul, which was in a disturbed state, and Antony started for the war against the Parthians. The Senate having voted to ratify all that he had done or should do, Antony again despatched his lieutenants in all directions and arranged everything else as he wished. He set up kings here and there as he pleased, on condition of their paying a prescribed tribute: in Pontus, Darius, the son of Pharnaces and grandson of Mithridates; in Idumea and Samaria, Herod; in Pisidia, Amyntas; in a part of Cilicia, Polemon, and others in other countries. Desiring to enrich as well as to exercise the soldiers, who were to go with him into winter quarters, he sent some of them against the Partheni, an Illyrian tribe near Epidamnus, who had been very much attached to Brutus; others against the Dardani, another Illyrian tribe, who were forever making.incursions into Macedonia. Others he ordered to remain in Epirus, in order to have them all within reach, as he intended to pass the winter himself in Athens. He sent Furnius to Africa to bring four legions, that were under the command of Sestius, for service against the Parthians. He did not know as yet that Lepidus had deprived Sestius of the command of these troops.

Event Date: -39 GR

§ 5.8.76  Having made these dispositions, he spent the winter at Athens with Octavia just as he had spent the previous one at Alexandria with Cleopatra, merely looking over the reports sent from the army, exchanging the display of a commander for the simplicity of private life, wearing the square-cut pallium and the Attic shoe, and without formal company. He went out, in like manner, without the insignia of office, accompanied by two friends and two attendants, to the discussions and lectures of the public teachers. He took his meals in the Greek fashion, passed his leisure time with Greeks, and enjoyed their festivals in company with Octavia, with whom he was very much in love, being by nature excessively fond of women. At the end of the winter he was like another man. He changed his clothing, and with his clothing his whole appearance. There was straightway a crowd around his doors composed of lictors, army officers, guards, and all things that inspire terror and awe. Embassies were received which had previously been kept waiting by his orders, lawsuits were decided, ships were launched, and all other preparations for the campaign were put in motion.

Event Date: -38 GR

§ 5.9.77  While Antony was thus occupied the treaty existing beween Octavius and Pompeius was broken for other reasons, as was suspected, than those avowed by Octavius, which were the following: Antony had ceded Peloponnesus to Pompeius on condition that the tribute then due from the Peloponnesians should either be given over at once, or that it should be guaranteed by Pompeius to Antony, or that the former should wait till the collection had been made. Pompeius had not accepted it on these conditions. He thought that it had been given to him with the amount of tribute then due. Vexed, as Octavius said, whether at this state of things, or from his general faithlessness, or his jealousy because the others had large armies, or because Menodorus had prompted him to consider the agreement as a truce rather than a lasting peace, he began to build ships, and recruit crews, and once harangued his soldiers, telling them they must be prepared for everything. Private robbery again infested the sea, and there was little or no relief from the famine among the Romans, who cried out that the treaty had brought no deliverance from their sufferings, but only a fourth partner to the tyranny. Octavius having caught certain pirates and put them to torture, they said that Pompeius had sent them out, and Octavius proclaimed this to the people and wrote it to Pompeius himself, who disavowed it and made a counter complaint respecting the Peloponnesus.

Event Date: -38 GR

§ 5.9.78  Those of the nobility who were still with Pompeius, seeing him always under the influence of his freedmen, bribed some of them, either for their own purposes or to gratify Octavius, to incite their master against Menodorus, who was still governing Corsica and Sardinia. The freedmen did this gladly, because they were envious of the power of Menodorus. In this way Pompeius was brought to an estrangement with Menodorus. About the same time Philadelphus, a freedman of Octavius, made a voyage to Menodorus to procure corn, and Micylio, the closest friend of Menodorus, visited Octavius to arrange for the desertion of Menodorus. The latter promised to hand over to him Sardinia, Corsica, three legions of soldiers, and a large number of light-armed troops. Whether this was the work of Philadelphus, or was a consequence of the calumnies against Menodorus, which Pompeius had listened to, Octavius accepted the offer, not immediately, but soon, since he considered the peace broken in fact. He invited Antony to come from Athens and meet him at Brundusium on an appointed day, in order to take counsel with him about the war. At the same time he brought war-ships from Ravenna and an army from Gaul, and the remainder of his apparatus, rapidly to Brundusium and Puteoli, intending to sail from both sides of Italy to Sicily if Antony should agree in opinion with him.

Event Date: -38 GR

§ 5.9.79  Antony came at the appointed day with a small escort, but not finding Octavius there he did not wait, either because he did not approve of the war, considering it a violation of the treaty, or because he observed Octavius' great preparations (for the desire to be the sole ruler did not permit their fears to slumber at any time), or because he was alarmed by a prodigy. 'It was found that one of the guards who slept around his tent had been devoured by wild beasts except his face only, as though this had been left for the purpose of recognition, and that he had uttered no cry, nor did any of those who were asleep with him know of it. The Brundusians said that a wolf had been seen just before daybreak running away from the tents. Nevertheless Antony wrote to Octavius not to violate the treaty, and he threatened Menodorus with punishment as his own fugitive slave; for the latter had been the slave of Pompey the Great, whose property Antony had bought when it was sold under the law of war.

Event Date: -38 GR

§ 5.9.80  Octavius sent officers to receive Sardinia and Corsica, which Menodorus turned over to them. He strengthened the Italian coast with numerous towers to prevent Pompeius from raiding it again. He ordered the building of new triremes at Rome and Ravenna, and he sent for a large army from Illyria. When Menodorus came he made the latter a free citizen instead of a freedman, and put him in command, under the admiral Calvisius, of the ships which he had brought with him. When he had finished these preparations and brought together a still larger amount of war material he yet delayed, and he reproached Antony for not waiting. He ordered Cornificius to bring with him to Tarentum everything that was now in readiness. While Cornificius was making the voyage a storm overtook him which destroyed only the admiral's ship, which had been built for Octavius himself. This was considered an omen of what was to take place. As the belief still prevailed that this war was a violation of the treaty, Octavius sought to dispel the suspicion. He wrote to the city and he told his soldiers that Pompeius had violated the treaty by encouraging piracy, that the pirates had confessed this, that Menodorus had revealed the whole design, and that Antony knew it, and for that reason had refused to give up the Peloponnesus.

Event Date: -38 GR

§ 5.9.81  When all things were in readiness he set sail for Sicily, going himself from Tarentum, while Calvisius, with Sabinus and Menodorus, sailed from Etruria. The infantry was sent on the march to Rhegium and great haste was displayed in all quarters. Pompeius had scarcely heard of the desertion of Menodorus when Octavius was already moving against him. While the hostile fleets were advancing from both sides, he awaited the attack of Octavius at Messana, and ordered his freedman Menecrates, who was the bitterest enemy of Menodorus, to advance against Calvisius and Menodorus with a large fleet. Menecrates was observed by his enemies near nightfall on the open sea. They retired into the bay near Cumae, where they passed the night, Menecrates proceeding to Aenaria. At daybreak they drew up their fleet, in the form of a crescent, as close to the shore as possible, in order to prevent the enemy from breaking through it. Menecrates again showed himself, and immediately came on with a rush. As his enemies would not advance to the open sea, and he could do nothing of importance there, he made a charge in order to drive them upon the land. They beached their ships and fought back against the attacking prows. Menecrates had the opportunity to draw off and renew the attack as he pleased, and to bring up fresh ships by turns, while the enemy were distressed by the rocks, on which they had grounded, and by the inability to move. They were like infantry contending against sea forces, unable either to pursue or retreat.

Event Date: -38 GR

§ 5.9.82  In this situation Menodorus and Menecrates came in sight of each other; and, abandoning the rest of the fight, drove against each other with fury and shouting, as though they had staked the issue of the battle on this encounter, whichever should be the victor. Their ships came into violent collision and were badly damaged, Menodorus losing his prow and Menecrates his oar-blades. Grappling irons were thrown by both, and the ships, being fastened together, could no longer manoeuvre, but the men, as in a battle on land, failed not in deeds of valor. Showers of javelins, stones, and arrows were discharged, and bridges for boarding were thrown from one ship to the other. As the ship of Menodorus was higher than the other his bridges made a better passageway for his daring crew, and his missiles were more effective for the same reason. Many men were already slain, and the remainder wounded, when Menodorus was pierced in the arm with a dart, which was, however, drawn out. Menecrates was struck in the thigh with a Spanish javelin, made wholly of iron with numerous barbs, which could not be readily extracted. Although Menecrates could no longer take part in the fight, he remained there all the same, encouraging the others, until his ship was captured, when he plunged into the depths of the sea. Menodorus towed the captured ship to the land, but was able to do nothing more himself.

Event Date: -38 GR

§ 5.9.83  This took place on the left wing of the naval fight. Calvisius directed his course from the right to the left and cut off some of Menecrates' ships from the main body, and when they fled pursued them to the open sea. Demochares, who was a fellow-freedman of Menecrates and his lieutenant, fell upon the remainder of Calvisius' ships, put some of them to flight, broke others in pieces on the rocks, and set fire to them after the crews had abandoned them. Finally Calvisius, returning from the pursuit, led back his own fleeing ships and prevented the burning of any more. As night was approaching, all returned to their former station. Such was the end of this naval fight, in which the forces of Pompeius had much the best of it; but Demochares, grieving over the death of Menecrates as the greatest possible defeat (for those two, Menecrates and Menodorus, had been the foremost of Pompeius' sea captains), abandoned everything and sailed for Sicily immediately, mediately, as though he had lost not merely the body of Menecrates and one ship, but his whole, fleet.

Event Date: -38 GR

§ 5.9.84  Calvisius, as long as he expected that Demochares would renew his attack, remained at his station, unable to fight in the open sea, for his best ships had been destroyed and the others were unfit for battle. When he learned that his antagonist had gone to Sicily, he repaired his ships and coasted along the shore exploring the bays. Octavius, in the meantime, proceeded from Tarentum to Rhegium, with a large fleet and army, and near Messana came up with Pompeius, who had forty ships only. Octavius' friends advised him to improve this most favorable opportunity and attack Pompeius with his great fleet, while the latter had so few ships and before the rest of his naval force should arrive. He did not follow this advice, but waited for Calvisius, saying that it was not good policy to run a risk when he was expecting reinforcements. When Demochares arrived at Messana, Pompeius appointed him and Apollophanes, another of his freedmen, admirals in place of Menodorus and Menecrates.

Event Date: -38 GR

§ 5.9.85  When Octavius heard of his disaster at Cumae he sailed out of the straits to meet Calvisius. After accomplishing the greater part of the distance and while he was passing Stylis and turning into Scyllaeum, Pompeius darted out of Messana and fell upon his rear, pushed on to his front, attacked him all along the line, and challenged him to fight. Although beset in this way, Octavius' fleet did not give battle, since Octavius did not permit it, either because he feared to fight in the straits or because he adhered to his first determination not to fight without Calvisius. He gave orders, however, that all should hug the shore, cast anchor, and defend themselves with their prows toward the enemy. Demochares, by setting two of his ships by turns against one of the enemy's, threw them into confusion. They dashed against the rocks and against each other, and began to fill with water. And so these ships were lost, like those at Cumae, without striking a blow, being stuck fast and battered by the enemy, who had freedom of movement to advance and retreat.

Event Date: -38 GR

§ 5.9.86  Octavius leaped from his ship upon the rocks and pulled out of the water those who swam ashore, and conducted them to the mountain above. However, Cornificius and the other generals who were there, encouraged each other, cut loose from their anchors without awaiting orders, and put to sea against the enemy, thinking that it was better to be conquered fighting than to fall unresisting before the blows of their assailants. First, with wonderful audacity, Cornificius rammed the flag-ship of Demochares and captured it. The latter leaped upon another vessel. Then, while the struggle and carnage were in progress, Calvisius and Menodorus hove in sight, advancing from the open sea, although they had not been observed by Octavius' men either from the land or the water. The Pompeians, being farther out at sea, beheld them first, and, when they saw them, retreated, for darkness was approaching, and, fatigued as they were, they dared not encounter fresh men. This conjuncture happened very opportunely for those who had just now been in difficulties.

Event Date: -38 GR

§ 5.9.87  At nightfall, those who had reached the shore from the ships took refuge on the mountains and lighted numerous fires as signals to those who were still on the sea, and there passed the night without food, uncared for, and in want of everything. Octavius fared like the rest, and moved around exhorting them to endure their privations till morning. While he was undergoing these hardships it was not known that Calvisius had arrived, nor could anything thing needful be obtained from the ships in their wrecked condition. But good luck came to them from another quarter. The thirteenth legion was approaching by way of the mountains, and, learning of the disaster and judging of the road by the fire, they made their way through the crags. They found their commander, and those who had taken refuge with him, suffering from fatigue and want of food, and ministered to them, dividing the work, some caring for some, others for others. The centurions brought their commander into an improvised tent, as none of his body-servants were present, these having been dispersed in the darkness and disorder. He sent messengers in all directions forthwith, to announce that he was safe, and he learned that Calvisius had arrived with the vanguard of his fleet; and, in view of these two helpful and unexpected events, he allowed himself some rest.

Event Date: -38 GR

§ 5.10.88  The next morning, when Octavius looked out upon the water, he beheld some of his ships burned, others partly burned, others still burning, and others broken in pieces; and the sea filled with sails, rudders, and furniture, while, of the ships that were saved, the greater part were damaged. Having ranged the fleet of Calvisius in front, he made repairs on those of his vessels that most needed them, turning them on their sides, the enemy meantime remaining quiet, either because they feared Calvisius, or because they had decided to attack again in the open sea. Thus they remained on either side until midday, when a south wind burst upon them, raising violent billows in that surging and confined channel. Pompeius was then inside the harbor of Messana. The ships of Octavius were again shattered on the rough and inhospitable coast, dashing against the rocks and against each other, for, as they were not fully manned, they were not under good control.

Event Date: -38 GR

§ 5.10.89  Menodorus, apprehending that this rising storm would increase in violence, moved farther seaward and rode at anchor where, on account of the depth of water, the waves were less boisterous; and even here he had recourse to hard rowing to avoid being driven ashore. Some of the others followed his example, but most of them, thinking that the wind would soon subside, as it usually did in the springtime, moored themselves with anchors on either side, landward and seaward, and thrust out poles to prevent collisions with each other. As the wind grew more violent everything was thrown into confusion. The ships collided, broke their anchors, and were upset on the shore one after another. Cries of alarm and groans of pain were mingled together, and exhortations that fell upon deaf ears. Orders could not be heard. There was no distinction between pilot and common sailor. Knowledge and authority were alike unavailing. The same destruction awaited those in the ships and those who fell overboard, the latter being crushed by wind, waves, and floating timber. The sea was full of sails, spars, and men, living and dead. Those who sought to escape by swimming to land were dashed against the rocks by the surf. When the convulsion seized the water, as is usual in that strait, they were terrified, being unaccustomed to it, and then their vessels were whirled around and dashed against each other worse than ever. As night came on the wind increased in fury, so that they perished no longer in the light but in the darkness.

Event Date: -38 GR

§ 5.10.90  Groans were heard throughout the entire night, and the cries of men running along the shore and calling their friends and relatives upon the sea by name, and mourning for them as lost when they could hear no responses; and anon the cries of others lifting their heads above the waves and beseeching aid from those on shore. Nothing' could be done on either land or water. Not only was the sea inexorable to those engulfed in it, as well as to those still in the ships, but the danger from the storm was almost as great on land, lest the surf should dash them against the rocks. So distressed were they by this unexampled tempest that those who were nearest the land feared the land, yet could not get sufficient offing to avoid collision with each other, for the narrowness of the place and its naturally difficult outlet, together with the force of the waves, the rotary motion of the wind, caused by the surrounding mountains, and the whirlpool of the deep, holding everything in its grasp, allowed neither tarrying nor escape. The darkness of a very black night added to their distress. And so they perished, no longer even seeing each other, some uttering confused cries, others yielding in silence, accepting their doom, some even hastening it, believing that they were utterly lost. The disaster so far surpassed their experience that it bereft them of the hope of saving themselves even by chance. Finally, at the approach of daylight, the wind suddenly relaxed its force, and after sunrise wholly died away; yet even then, although the storm had ceased, the surges rolled a long time. The fury of the tempest surpassed the memory of the oldest inhabitants. It was altogether unexampled, and the greater part of Octavius' ships and men were destroyed by it.

Event Date: -38 GR

§ 5.10.91  Octavius, who had lost heavily in the battle the previous day and had sustained two severe calamities together, took the road in haste to Vibo that same night, by way of the mountains, being unable to repair this disaster, for which there was no help at hand. He wrote to all his friends and generals to be on the alert lest a plot should be formed against him here or there, as is liable to be the case when adversity comes. He despatched the infantry he had with him to all points on the Italian coast, lest Pompeius should be emboldened by his good luck even to invade the mainland. But the latter had no thought of an expedition by land. He did not even attack the ships that were left from the wreck, nor those that went away after the storm had subsided. On the contrary, he paid no attention to the enemy while they were tying their ships together with ropes as well as they could, and sailing with a favorable wind to Vibo. He neglected them either because he thought that the disaster was all-sufficient for him, or because he did not know how to follow up a victory, or, as I have said elsewhere, because he was altogether inefficient in attack and cared only to defend himself against assailants.

Event Date: -38 GR

§ 5.10.92  Less than half of Octavius' ships were saved, and these badly damaged. He left certain officers in charge of them and proceeded to Campania much cast down, for he had no other ships and he needed many; nor did he have time to build them, pressed as he was by the famine and by the people, who were again harassing him about a new treaty and mocking at the war as being in violation of the old one. He needed money, but had none. The Romans were not paying the taxes, nor would they allow the use of the revenues that he had devised. But he was always clever at discovering what was for his advantage. He sent Maecenas to Antony to change the mind of the latter respecting the things about which they had lately had some bickering, and to bring him to an alliance. If Maecenas should not succeed, he intended to embark his infantry on merchant vessels, cross over to Sicily, abandon the sea, and wage war on land. While in this state of dejection the news reached him that Antony had agreed to the alliance, and he heard of a splendid victory over the Gauls of Aquitania, gained under the leadership of Agrippa. His friends and certain cities also promised him ships, and built them. Accordingly, Octavius cast off his despondency, and made more formidable preparations than his previous ones.

Event Date: -37 GR

§ 5.10.93  At the beginning of spring, Antony set sail from Athens to Tarentum with 300 ships to assist Octavius as he had promised. But the latter had changed his mind and postponed his movement until his own ships should be finished. When called upon again and told that Antony's forces were ready and sufficient, he advanced other reasons for delay. It was evident that he was again offended with Antony about something, or that he disdained his assistance because his own resources were abundant. Antony was vexed, but he remained, nevertheless, and communicated with Octavius again, because the expense of his fleet was burdensome. Moreover, he needed Italian soldiers for his war against the Parthians, and he contemplated exchanging his fleet for a part of Octavius' army; for, although it was provided in their treaty that each of them might recruit soldiers in Italy, it would be difficult for him to do so when Italy had fallen to the lot of Octavius. Accordingly, Octavia betook herself to her brother to act as mediator between them. Octavius complained that he had been abandoned by Antony when he was overtaken by danger in the straits. She replied that that had been explained through Maecenas. Octavius said that Antony had sent his freedman Callias to Lepidus in Africa to induce the latter to make an alliance against him. She replied that she knew that Callias had been sent to make arrangements about a marriage, because Antony desired, before setting out on his Parthian expedition, to marry his daughter to the son of Lepidus, as had been agreed. After Octavia had made this statement Antony sent Callias to Octavius with permission to put him to torture [in order to learn the truth]. Octavius would not receive him, but said that he would go and have an interview with Antony between Metapontum and Tarentum, at a place where there is a river of the latter name between them.

Event Date: -36 GR

§ 5.10.94  They both chanced to reach the river at the same time. Antony sprang down from his chariot and leaped alone into one of the skiffs moored near by, and rowed toward Octavius, showing confidence in him as a friend. When Octavius saw this he followed the example. So they met in the stream and contended with each other which of them should disembark on the other's bank. Octavius prevailed because he was going to make a visit to Octavia at Tarentum. He took a seat with Antony in the latter's chariot, and proceeded to his lodgings at Tarentum unprotected, and passed the night there without guards. On the following day Antony made the same exhibition of trust. Thus they were continually changing from suspicion born of rivalry to confidence due to their mutual needs.

Event Date: -36 GR

§ 5.10.95  However, Octavius postponed his expedition against Pompeius till the following year. On account of the Parthian war Antony was not able to wait. Nevertheless, they made an exchange with each other, Antony giving to Octavius 120 ships, which he sent at once and delivered at Tarentum, in return for which Octavius promised to send him 20,000 Italian legionaries. Octavia, begging the favor from Antony, made her brother a present of ten three-banked phaseli — a combination of war-ship and merchant vessel — and Octavius gave her in return 1000 picked men as a body-guard, to be selected by Antony. As the term of the triumvirate voted to them was about expiring, they renewed it for five years without again asking the people. And so they separated, Antony proceeding straightway to Syria and leaving Octavia with her brother, and also a daughter already born to them.

Event Date: -36 GR

§ 5.10.96  But Menodorus, — either because he was an habitual traitor, or because he feared the former threat of Antony, who had said that he would punish him as a rebellious slave, or because he had received less consideration than he had expected, or because the other freedmen of Pompeius were continually reproaching him for unfaithfulness to his master and urging him to return, — now that Menecrates was dead, asked forgiveness, and, having obtained it, deserted to Pompeius with seven ships, without the knowledge of Octavius' admiral, Calvisius. For this reason Octavius dismissed the latter from his command and appointed Agrippa in his place. When the fleet was ready, Octavius performed a lustration for it in the following manner. Altars were erected on the margin of the sea, and the multitude were ranged around them in ships, observing the most profound silence. The priests who performed the ceremony offered the sacrifice while standing at the water's edge, and carried the expiatory offerings in skiffs three times around the fleet, the general sailing with them, beseeching the gods to turn the bad omens against the victims instead of the fleet. Then, dividing the entrails, they cast a part of them into the sea, and put the remainder on the altars and burned them, while the multitude chanted in unison. In this way the Romans perform lustrations of the fleet.

Event Date: -36 GR

§ 5.11.97  It was intended that Octavius should set sail from Puteoli, Lepidus from Africa, and Taurus from Tarentum, to Sicily, in order to surround the enemy at once, from the east, the west, and the south. The day of Octavius' sailing had been previously communicated to all. It was the tenth day after the summer solstice. This, in the Roman calendar, was the calends of the month which, in honor of the first Caesar, they call July instead of Quintilis. Octavius fixed on this day, perhaps because he considered it propitious on account of his father, who was always victorious. Pompeius stationed Plennius at Lilybaeum with one legion and a considerable body of light-armed troops, to oppose Lepidus. He guarded the whole coast of Sicily, both east and west, and especially the islands of Lipara and Cossyra, lest they should become convenient harbors and naval stations for Octavius and Lepidus against Sicily. The best part of his naval force he kept together at Messana watching its chances. In this way they made their preparations on either side.

Event Date: -36 GR

§ 5.11.98  When the calends came they all set sail at daybreak, Lepidus from Africa with 1000 ships of burden, seventy war vessels, twelve legions of soldiers, 500 Numidian horse, and a great quantity of apparatus; Taurus from Tarentum with only 102 of the 130 ships that Antony had left, since the oarsmen of the remainder had perished during the winter. Octavius sailed from Puteoli, offering sacrifices and pouring out libations from the admiral's ship into the water to the propitious winds, and to Neptune, the guardian, and to the tranquil sea, that they should be his assistants against his father's enemies. Certain ships sent in advance made examination of the bays, and Appius with a large squadron followed as a rear guard. On the third day after their departure a south wind blew with violence and capsized a large number of ships of burden belonging to Lepidus. Nevertheless, he reached the Sicilian coast, laid siege to Plennius in Lilybaeum, and got possession of some towns by persuasion and others by force. When the wind began to blow Taurus returned to Tarentum. While Appius was doubling the promontory of Minerva, some of his ships were shattered against the rocks, others ran with violence on the shoals, and the rest were dispersed, not without injury. At the beginning of the storm, Octavius took refuge in the sheltered bay of Elea, except one six-banked ship, which was wrecked on the promontory. The south wind was succeeded by a southwester, which threw the bay into commotion, as it opened toward the west. It was impossible to sail out of the bay with the wind still ahead, nor could the ships be held by oars or anchors. They crashed against each other or against the rocks, and the confusion became worse confounded by night.

Event Date: -36 GR

§ 5.11.99  When the tempest had subsided, Octavius buried the dead, cared for the wounded, clothed those who had swum ashore and furnished them with new weapons, and repaired his whole fleet with the means at his command. Six of his heavy ships, twenty-six lighter ones, and a still larger number of liburnicas had been destroyed. He was likely to consume nearly thirty days in these repairs; and now the end of summer was approaching, for which reason he deemed it best to postpone the war till the following summer, but as the people were suffering from scarcity he drew his ships upon the land and made his preparations rapidly, and sent the crews of the ships that he had lost to fill the empty ones in the fleet of Taurus. In anticipation of more serious misfortune he sent Maecenas to Rome on account of those who were still under the spell of the memory of Pompey the Great, for the fame of that man had not yet lost its influence over them. Octavius himself visited the new colonies throughout Italy and dispelled their fears, which had been excited by the recent events. He also went to Tarentum and inspected the naval force under Taurus. Thence he proceeded to Vibo, where he encouraged his infantry and hastened the preparations of his fleet, the time for his second invasion of Sicily being near at hand.

Event Date: -36 GR

§ 5.11.100  Pompeius did not deign to seize the fine opportunity presented to him by so many shipwrecks. He merely offered sacrifice to the sea and to Neptune, assuming to call himself their son, and persuading himself that it was not without the special act of Providence that his enemies had been twice overwhelmed in this way in the summer months. It is said that he was so much puffed up by these circumstances that he exchanged the purple cloak customary to Roman commanders for a dark blue one, to signify that he was the adopted son of Neptune. He hoped that Octavius would now desist from his undertaking, but when he learned that the latter was building ships and was about to renew the expedition against him that summer, he became alarmed at finding himself at war with a man of such indomitable spirit and such formidable preparations. He sent Menodorus, with the seven ships he had brought, to reconnoitre the dockyards of Octavius and to do whatever damage he could. Menodorus had been vexed for some time past because the naval command had not been given to him, and he now perceived that he was intrusted with only the ships that he had brought, because he was under suspicion. So he plotted a new desertion.

Event Date: -36 GR

§ 5.11.101  Conceiving that, however matters might turn out, he should first signalize himself by some act of valor, he distributed among his companions all the gold he had, and sailed, by rowing three days, accomplishing a distance of 1500 stades, and fell like a thunderbolt, unperceived, on the vessels that were guarding Octavius' shipyards, and darted away to an unseen place carrying off the guard-ships by twos and threes. He also sunk, or captured, or burned some merchant vessels, laden with corn, that were moored there or sailing along the coast. Everything was thrown into confusion by this raid of Menodorus, both Octavius and Agrippa being absent. The latter had gone away to procure timber. In a spirit of bravado Menodorus ran his ship upon the soft ground, voluntarily and contemptuously, and pretended to be stuck in the mud, until his enemies dashed down from the mountains as to a certain prey, when he backed away, laughing, and left the soldiers of Octavius the victims of both chagrin and astonishment. When he had sufficiently shown what he was capable of, as enemy or friend, he dismissed a senator whom he had taken prisoner, named Rebillus, having a view already to the future.

Event Date: -36 GR

§ 5.11.102  During his former desertion he had been a friend of Mindius Marcellus, one of the companions of Octavius, and he now told his own men that Mindius had the intention of betraying his party and deserting to that of Pompeius. Then he drew near to the enemy and invited Mindius to go with him to a small island in order to have a conference. When the latter came, and there was nobody else within earshot, Menodorus said that he had gone back to Pompeius because he was ill-treated by the admiral of those days, Calvisius, but that since Agrippa had been appointed to the command of the fleet he would come back to Octavius, who had done him no wrong, if Mindius would bring him a safe-conduct from Messala, who was commanding in Agrippa's absence. He said that on his return he would make amends for his fault by brilliant exploits, but that until the safe-conduct arrived he should be obliged to harass the forces of Octavius as before in order to avoid suspicion; and this he did. Messala hesitated on account of the baseness of the transaction, but he nevertheless yielded, either because he considered such things necessary in war, or because he had learned beforehand, or conjectured, the mind of Octavius. Menodorus at once deserted, and, upon the approach of Octavius, threw himself at his feet and begged that he would pardon him without asking for the reasons for his flight. Octavius conceded his safety on account of the pledges made, but had him secretly watched. He dismissed the captains of his triremes and allowed them to go wherever they pleased.

Event Date: -36 GR

§ 5.11.103  When the fleet was ready Octavius set sail again. He landed at Vibo and ordered Messala, who had two legions of infantry, to cross over to Sicily, join the army of Lepidus, pass through to the bay in front of Tauromenium, and station himself there. He sent three legions to Stylis and the extremity of the straits, to await events. He ordered Taurus to sail around from Tarentum to Mount Scylacium, which is opposite Tauromenium. Taurus did so, having prepared himself for fighting as well as for rowing. His infantry kept even pace with him, the cavalry reconnoitring by land and the liburnicas by sea. While he was making this movement Octavius, who had advanced from Vibo, made his appearance near Scylacium, and, after giving his approval to the good order of the forces, returned to Vibo. Pompeius, as I have already said, guarded all the landing-places on the island and retained his fleet at Messana, in order to send aid where it might be needed.

Event Date: -36 GR

§ 5.11.104  Such were the preparations of Octavius and Pompeius in this quarter. Meanwhile four more legions were en route to Lepidus from Africa in merchant ships, being the remainder of his army. Papias, one of Pompeius' captains, threw himself in their way on the sea, and, after they had received him as a friend (for they thought that these were ships sent by Lepidus to meet them), destroyed them. Some ships were despatched by Lepidus later, and when these were approaching, the merchant ships that had escaped mistook them for other enemies and fled. So some of them were burned, some captured, some upset, and the rest returned to Africa. Two legions perished in the sea, or, if any of them could swim, Tisienus, the lieutenant of Pompeius, slew them when they reached the land. The other legions reembarked and joined Lepidus, some sooner and some later. Papias sailed back to Pompeius.

Event Date: -36 GR

§ 5.11.105  Octavius crossed from Vibo with his whole fleet to Strongyle, one of the five Aeolian islands, having made a reconnoissance of the sea beforehand. Seeing large forces in front of him on the Sicilian shore at Pelorum, Mylae, and Tyndaris, he conjectured that Pompeius himself was there. So he left Agrippa in command and returned again to Vibo, and thence hastened with Messala and three legions to the camp of Taurus, intending to seize Tauromenium while Pompeius was still absent, and thus threaten him on two sides at once. In pursuance of this plan Agrippa moved forward from Strongyle to the island of Hiera, and as Pompeius' garrison made no resistance he occupied it and intended on the following day to attack, at Mylae, Demochares, the lieutenant of Pompeius, who had forty ships. Pompeius observed the menacing attitude of Agrippa, and sent to Demochares from Messana forty-five ships, under the command of his freedman Apollophanes, and followed in person with seventy others.

Event Date: -36 GR

§ 5.11.106  Agrippa, with half of his ships, sailed out of Hiera before daylight in order to have a naval engagement with Papias only. When he saw the fleet of Apollophanes also, and seventy ships on the other wing, he sent word to Octavius at once that Pompeius was at Mylae with the greater part of his naval forces. Then he placed himself with his heavy ships in the centre, and summoned the remainder of his fleet from Hiera in all haste. The preparations on both sides were superb. The ships had towers on both stem and stern. When the usual exhortation had been given and the standards raised, they rushed against each other, some coming bow on, others making flank attacks, the shouts of the men and the spray from the ships adding terror to the scene. The Pompeian ships were shorter and lighter, and better adapted to blockading and darting about. Those of Octavius were larger and heavier, and, consequently, slower, yet stronger to give blows and not so easily damaged. The Pompeian crews were better sailors than those of Octavius, but the latter were stronger. Accordingly, the former excelled not so much in close fighting as in the nimbleness of their movements, in breaking oar blades and rudders, cutting off oar handles, or separating the enemy's ships entirely, doing them no less harm than by ramming. Those of Octavius sought to cut down with their beaks the hostile ships, which were smaller in size, or shatter them, or break through them. When they came to close quarters, being higher, they could hurl missiles down upon the enemy, and more easily throw the corvus and the grappling-irons. The Pompeians, whenever they were overpowered in this manner, leaped into the sea and were picked up by their small boats, which were hovering around for this purpose.

Event Date: -36 GR

§ 5.11.107  Agrippa bore down directly upon Papias and struck his ship under the bow, shattering it and breaking a hole in the keel. The men in the towers were shaken down, the water rushed into the ship, and all the oarsmen on the lower benches were cut off. The others broke through the deck and escaped by swimming. Papias escaped to a ship alongside of his own, and returned to the battle. Pompeius, who observed from a mountain that his ships were making little headway, and that whenever they came to close quarters with the enemy they were denuded of fighting men, and that reinforcements were coming to Agrippa from Hiera, gave the signal to retire in good order. This they did, advancing and retreating little by little. Agrippa continued to bear down upon them, and they took refuge, not on the beach, but among the shoals formed in the sea by river deposits.

Event Date: -36 GR

§ 5.11.108  Agrippa's pilots prevented him from running his large ships on the shoals. He cast anchor in the open sea, intending to blockade the enemy and to fight a battle by night if necessary; but his friends advised him not to be carried away by rashness and not to wear out his soldiers with excessive toil and want of sleep, and not to trust to that tempestuous sea. So in the evening he reluctantly withdrew. The Pompeians made sail to their harbors, having lost thirty of their ships, and sunk five of the enemy's, and having inflicted considerable other damage and suffered as much in return. Pompeius praised his own men because they had resisted such formidable vessels, saying they had fought against walls rather than against ships; and he rewarded them as though they had been victorious. He encouraged them to believe that, as they were lighter, they would prevail over the enemy in the straits on account of the current. He said also that he would make some addition to the height of his ships. Such was the result of the naval battle at Mylae between Agrippa and Papias.

Event Date: -36 GR

§ 5.12.109  Pompeius suspected that Octavius had gone to the camp of Taurus for the purpose of attacking Tauromenium, which was the fact. So, directly after supper, he sailed to Messana, leaving a part of his forces at Mylae so that Agrippa might think that he was still there. Agrippa, as soon as his army was sufficiently rested, bestirred himself and set sail for Tyndaris, which had offered to surrender. He entered the town, but the garrison fought valiantly and drove him out. Some other towns espoused his cause and received his garrisons, and he returned that evening. In the meantime, Octavius had sailed from Scylacium to Leucopetra, having learned for a certainty that Pompeius had gone from Messana to Mylae on account of Agrippa. He was about to cross the straits from Leucopetra to Tauromenium by night, but learning of the sea-fight he changed his mind, thinking that a victor ought not to steal his passage, but to cross with his army boldly by daylight; for he was fully convinced that Pompeius was still confronting Agrippa. Looking down from the mountains upon the sea at daybreak and finding that it was clear of enemies, he set sail with as many troops as the ships could carry, leaving the rest with Messala until the fleet could return to him. Arriving at Tauromenium, he sent messengers to demand its surrender. As his guards were not admitted, he made sail to the river Onobalas and the temple of Venus, and moored his fleet at the shrine of the Archegetes, the god of the Naxians, intending to pitch his camp there and attack Tauromenium. The Archegetes is a small statue of Apollo, erected by the Naxians when they first migrated to Sicily.

Event Date: -36 GR

§ 5.12.110  When Octavius disembarked from his ship he slipped and fell, but arose without assistance. While he was yet laying out his camp, Pompeius made his appearance with a large fleet — an astounding spectacle, since Octavius believed that he had been beaten by Agrippa. Pompeius' cavalry advanced at the same time, rivalling the fleet in rapidity of movement, and his infantry was seen on the other side. The forces of Octavius were terrified at finding themselves surrounded by enemies on three sides, and Octavius himself was alarmed because Messala could not join him. The cavalry of Pompeius assailed Octavius' men while they were still fortifying their camp. If his infantry and his naval force had attacked simultaneously with the cavalry, Pompeius might have accomplished greater results, but, being inexperienced in war and ignorant of the panic among the troops of Octavius, and hesitating to begin a battle at the approach of nightfall, one part of his forces stationed themselves at the promontory of Coccynus, while his infantry, deeming it unwise to encamp near the enemy, withdrew to the town of Phoenix. Night coming on they went to rest, and Octavius' soldiers finished their camp, but were incapacitated for battle by toil and want of sleep. They consisted of three legions, and 500 cavalry without horses, 1000 light-armed, and 2000 colonists serving as allies, but not enrolled, besides his fleet.

Event Date: -36 GR

§ 5.12.111  Octavius placed all of his infantry under charge of Cornificius, and ordered him to drive back the enemy and do whatever the exigency required. He took ship before daylight and went seaward lest the enemy should enclose him on this side also, giving the right wing of the fleet to Titinius and the left to Carcius, and embarking himself on a liburnica, with which he sailed around the whole fleet, exhorting them to have courage. Having done this he lowered the general's ensign, as is customary in times of extreme danger. Pompeius put to sea against him, and they encountered each other twice, the battle ending with the night. Some of Octavius' ships were captured and burned; others spread their small sails and made for the Italian coast, contrary to orders. Those of Pompeius followed them a short distance and then turned against the remainder, capturing some and burning others. Some of the crews swam ashore, most of whom were slaughtered or taken prisoners by Pompeius' cavalry. Some of them set out to reach the camp of Cornificius, who sent only his light-armed troops to assist them as they came near, because he did not consider it prudent to move his disheartened legionaries against the enemy's infantry, who were naturally much encouraged by their victory.

Event Date: -36 GR

§ 5.12.112  Octavius spent the greater part of the night among his small boats, in doubt whether he should go back to Cornificius through the scattered remains of his fleet, or take refuge with Messala. Providence brought him to the harbor of Abala with a single armor-bearer, without friends, attendants, or slaves. Certain persons, who had come down from the mountain to learn the news, found him suffering in body and mind and brought him in rowboats (changing from one to another for the purpose of concealment) to the camp of Messala, which was not far distant. Straightway, and before he had attended to his bodily wants, he despatched a liburnica to Cornificius, and sent word throughout the mountains that he was safe, and ordered all his forces to help Cornificius, and wrote to him that he would send him aid forthwith. After attending to his own person and taking a little rest, he set forth by night, accompanied by Messala, to Stylis, where Carinas was stationed with three legions ready to embark, and ordered him to set sail for Lipara, to which place he would shortly follow. He wrote to Agrippa and urged him to send Laronius with an army to the rescue of Cornificius with all speed. He sent Maecenas again to Rome on account of the revolutionists; and some of these, who were stirring up disorder, were punished. He also sent Messala to Puteoli to bring the so-called first legion to Vibo.

Event Date: -36 GR

§ 5.12.113  This was the same Messala whom the triumvirs proscribed at Rome, and for the killing of whom money and freedom were offered as rewards. He had fled to Cassius and Brutus, and after their death had delivered his fleet to Antony, in pursuance of an agreement made between them. It seems fitting to recall this fact in honor of Roman magnanimity, inasmuch as Messala, when he had in his power, overwhelmed with misfortune, the man who had proscribed him, saved him and cared for him as his commander. Cornificius was able easily to defend his camp against attack; but, being in danger from want of supplies, he drew his men out for battle and challenged the enemy. But Pompeius did not care to come to an engagement with men whose only hope rested in battle and whom he expected to subdue by famine. Cornificius, having placed in the centre the unarmed men who had escaped to him from the ships, took to the road, grievously exposed to missiles in the open plains from the enemy's horsemen and in the broken country from the light-armed troops from Numidia in Africa, who hurled darts from long distances and made their escape when charged by their enemies.

Event Date: -36 GR

§ 5.12.114  On the fourth day, with difficulty, they arrived at the waterless region which they say was formerly inundated by a stream of fire that ran down as far as the sea and dried up all the streams in the district. The inhabitants of the country traverse it only by night, on account of the stifling heat and the dust and ashes with which it abounds. Being ignorant of the roads and fearing ambush, Cornificius and his men did not dare to march through it by night, especially as there was no moon, nor could they endure the daytime, because of suffocation. Moreover, the bottoms of their feet were burned (especially those who had no shoes), as it was now the hottest part of the summer. On account of the tormenting thirst they could not delay. They could no longer charge upon their assailants, but received wounds without any means of defence. When they saw the place of exit from this burned district occupied by enemies, the able-bodied ones, heedless of their sick and barefooted companions, dashed at the defiles with amazing courage and overpowered the enemy with all their remaining strength. When they found the next defiles occupied by hostile forces they gave way to despair and succumbed to thirst and heat. Cornificius aroused them by showing them a spring of water near by; and again they overpowered the enemy, but with heavy loss to themselves. Another body of enemies held possession of the fountain, and now Cornificius' men lost all courage and gave way completely.

Event Date: -36 GR

§ 5.12.115  While they were in this state Laronius, who had been sent by Agrippa with three legions, made his appearance a long way off. Although it was not yet plain that he was a friend, still, as they had been all the time hoping for something of this kind, they once more recovered their spirits. When they saw the enemy abandon the water in order not to be exposed to attack on both sides, they shouted for joy with all their strength. When the troops of Laronius shouted in return, they ran and seized the fountain. The leaders forbade the men to drink to excess. Some who neglected this advice died while drinking. In this unexpected manner did Cornificius, and what was left of his army, escape to Agrippa at Mylae.

Event Date: -36 GR

§ 5.12.116  Agrippa had just taken Tyndaris, a stronghold full of provisions and admirably situated for naval warfare. Thither Octavius transported his infantry and cavalry. He had in Sicily all together twenty-one legions of the former, 20,000 of the latter, and more than 5000 light-armed troops. The garrison of Pompeius still held Mylae, and all the places from Mylae to Naulochi and Pelorus, and all the coast. These garrisons, in fear of Agrippa, kept fires burning continually, signifying that they would set fire to any ships that should sail against them. Pompeius was also master of the defiles on both sides of the island. The mountain passes in the neighborhood of Tauromenium and around Mylae were fortified by him, and he harassed Octavius when the latter was making a forward movement from Tyndaris, but not coming to an engagement. Believing that Agrippa was moving his fleet against him, Pompeius changed his position to Pelorus, abandoning the defiles around Mylae; and Octavius occupied them and also Mylae and Artemisium, a very small town, in which, they say, were the cattle of the Sun and where Ulysses fell asleep.

Event Date: -36 GR

§ 5.12.117  When the report of Agrippa's movement turned out to be false, Pompeius was troubled that he had lost the defiles, and he called to his assistance Tisienus with his army. Octavius sought to intercept Tisienus, but lost his way around Mount Myconium. He passed the night there without tents. There was a heavy rainfall, as often occurs in the autumn, and some of his armor-bearers held a Gallic shield over his head the whole night. Harsh mutterings and prolonged roars from Mount Etna were heard, accompanied by flames which lighted up the camp, so that the Germans sprang from their beds in fear. Others, who had heard what had been related of Mount Etna, would not have been surprised, in presence of these remarkable phenomena, if a torrent of fire had rolled upon them. After this Octavius ravaged the territory of the Abacaenians, where Lepidus, who was foraging, met him, and they both encamped near Messana.

Event Date: -36 GR

§ 5.12.118  As there had been many skirmishes throughout Sicily, but no general engagement, Octavius sent Taurus to cut off Pompeius' supplies by first capturing the towns that furnished them. Pompeius was so much inconvenienced by this that he decided to stake everything on a great battle. Since he feared the enemy's infantry, but had confidence in his own ships, he sent and asked Octavius if he would allow the war to be decided by a naval engagement. Octavius, although he dreaded all naval encounters, which until now had turned out badly for him, considered it base to refuse, and, accordingly, accepted the challenge. A day was fixed by them, for which 300 ships were put in readiness on either side, provided with missiles of all kinds, with towers and whatever machines they could think of. Agrippa devised one called the harpago, a piece of wood five cubits long bound with iron and having rings at the extremities. To one of these rings was attached the harpago, an iron claw, to the other numerous ropes, which drew the harpago by machine power after it had been thrown by a catapult and had seized the enemy's ships.

Event Date: -36 GR

§ 5.12.119  When the appointed day came the rival shouts of the oarsmen were first heard, accompanied by missiles thrown by machines and by hand, such as stones, firebrands, and arrows. Then the ships dashed against each other, some striking amidships, others on the prows, others on the beaks, where the blows are most effectual in discomposing the crew and rendering the vessel useless. Others broke the opposing line by sailing through it, at the same time discharging arrows and javelins; and the small boats picked up those who fell overboard. There was a struggle of soldiers while the sailors put forth their strength and the pilots their skill and their lung-power. The generals cheered their men, and all the machines were brought into requisition. The harpago achieved the greatest success. Thrown from a long distance upon the ships, as it could be by reason of its lightness, it clutched them, especially when the ropes pulled on it from behind. On account of the iron bands it could not be easily cut by the men whom it attacked, and those who tried to cut the ropes were prevented from reaching them by its length. As this apparatus had never been known before, the enemy had not provided themselves with scythe-mounted poles. One thing seemed advisable in this unexpected emergency, and that was, to back water and draw the ship away; but as the enemy did the same the force exerted by the men was equal on both sides, and the harpago did its work.

Event Date: -36 GR

§ 5.12.120  Accordingly, when the ships were drawn together, there was every kind of fighting, the men leaping upon each other's decks. It was no longer easy to distinguish an enemy from a friend, as they used the same weapons for the most part, and nearly all spoke the Latin tongue, and the watchwords of each side were divulged to the other while they were mingled together. Hence arose many and divers frauds and lack of confidence on both sides on the part of those using the same watchword. They failed to recognize each other completely, and meanwhile the fighting and the sea were a confused medley of corpses, clashing arms, and crashing ships. They left nothing untried except fire. This they abstained from, after their first onset, because they were locked together. The foot-soldiers of each army on the land beheld this sea-fight with apprehension and eagerness, believing that their own hope of safety was bound up in it. They could not distinguish anything, however sharply they might look, but merely a long-drawn-out line of 600 ships, and an alternation of cries and groans now on one side and now on the other.

Event Date: -36 GR

§ 5.12.121  Judging from the colors of the towers, which constituted the only difference between them, Agrippa with difficulty made out that Pompeius' ships had sustained the greater loss, and he cheered on those who were close to him as though they were already victors. Then he drove at the enemy and pressed upon them without ceasing, until he overpowered those nearest him. They then lowered their towers and turned their ships in flight toward the straits. Seventeen of them, which were in advance, made their escape thither. The rest were cut off by Agrippa and some were pursued and driven aground. The pursuers ran aground with them in the rush, and either pulled off those that had come to a standstill or set fire to them. When the Pompeian ships that were still fighting saw what had befallen these, they surrendered to their enemies. Then the soldiers of Octavius who were in the ships raised a shout of victory and those on the land gave an answering shout. Those of Pompeius groaned. Pompeius himself, darting away from Naulochi, hastened to Messana, giving no orders to his infantry in his panic. Accordingly Octavius received the surrender of Tisienus on terms agreed upon, and of the cavalry besides, who were surrendered by their officers. Three of Octavius' ships were sunk in the fight. Pompeius lost twenty-eight in this way, and the remainder were burned, or captured, or run aground, and stove in pieces, except the seventeen that escaped.

Event Date: -36 GR

§ 5.12.122  Pompeius learned of the defection of his infantry while on the road, and changed his costume from that of a commander to that of a private citizen, and sent orders to Messana to put on shipboard everything possible. All preparations to this end had been made long before. He summoned Plennius from Lilybaeum in haste, with the eight legions he had, intending to take flight with them. Plennius hastened to comply with this order, but as other friends, garrisons, and soldiers were deserting, and the enemy's fleet was moving into the straits, Pompeius did not wait for Plennius in his well-fortified city, but fled, with his seventeen ships, from Messana to Antony, whose mother he had saved in similar circumstances. After his departure Plennius arrived at Messana and occupied the place. Octavius himself remained in the camp at Naulochi, but he ordered Agrippa to lay siege to Messana, which the latter did, in conjunction with Lepidus. Plennius sent envoys to treat for peace. Agrippa wanted to wait till morning for the arrival of Octavius, but Lepidus granted terms, and, in order to conciliate the soldiers of Plennius to himself, allowed them to join the rest of the army in plundering the city. They had asked for nothing but safety, and now, finding unexpected gain in addition, they plundered Messana the whole night, in conjunction with the soldiers of Lepidus, and then ranged themselves under his standards.

Event Date: -36 GR

§ 5.13.123  Including this new accession, Lepidus now had twenty-two legions of infantry and a large body of cavalry. He was elated, and thought to make himself master of Sicily, using the pretext that he was the first to invade the island and that he had induced many cities to join the triumvirs. He sent word to the garrisons of these places that they should not admit the emissaries of Octavius, and he seized all the defiles. Octavius arrived on the following day, and reproached Lepidus through friends, who reminded him that he had come into Sicily as an ally of Octavius, not to acquire it for himself. Lepidus replied that he had been despoiled of his former allotment, which was now in the exclusive possession of Octavius, and that, if the latter pleased, he would now exchange Africa and Sicily for that former allotment. Octavius was exasperated. He came to Lepidus in anger and heaped reproaches on him for ingratitude. They separated, indulging in mutual threats. They forthwith surrounded themselves with guards, and the ships of Octavius were anchored away from the shore, as it was said that Lepidus intended to set fire to them.

Event Date: -36 GR

§ 5.13.124  The soldiers were angry at the thought of engaging in another civil war, and that there was never to be an end of sedition. They did not, however, seek to compare Octavius and Lepidus; not even the army of Lepidus did that. They admired the energy of Octavius, and.they were aware of the indolence of Lepidus. They also blamed him for admitting the defeated enemy to an equal share of the plunder. When Octavius learned their state of mind, he sent emissaries among them to advise them secretly of their individual interests. Many of them he tampered with, especially those who had served under Pompeius, who feared lest the terms of their capitulation should not be valid if Octavius did not ratify them. While Lepidus, by reason of his ineptitude, remained ignorant of these things Octavius came to his camp with a large body of horse, whom he left at the entrance, and himself went in with a few. Coming forward, he declared to those whom he met that he was drawn into war unwillingly. Those who saw him saluted him as imperator. First of all the Pompeians, who had been tampered with, collected together and asked his forgiveness. He said that he was astonished that persons asking forgiveness should not do what their own interests demanded. They understood his meaning, and forthwith seized their standards and went over to him, while others began to take down their tents.

Event Date: -36 GR

§ 5.13.125  When Lepidus became aware of this tumult he sprang from his tent to arms. Blows were exchanged and one of Octavius' armor-bearers was killed. Octavius himself was struck by a weapon on his breastplate, but it did not penetrate the flesh, and he ran and took refuge with his horsemen. A detachment of guards belonging to Lepidus jeered at him as he ran. Octavius was so angry that he could not restrain himself from dashing upon them with his horsemen and destroying them. The officers of the other guards transferred their allegiance from Lepidus to Octavius, some immediately, others during the night; some without solicitation, others pretending to be coerced more or less by the cavalry. There were some who still resisted the assault and beat off the assailants, for Lepidus sent reenforcements in all directions; but when these very reinforcements went over, the remainder of his army, even those who were yet well disposed toward him, changed their opinion. Again the first to move were those Pompeians who still remained with him. They transferred themselves by detachments, one after another. Lepidus armed others to prevent them from going, but the very ones who were armed for this purpose seized their standards and went over to Octavius with the rest. Lepidus threatened and besought them as they took their departure. He held fast to the standards, and said he would not give them up, until one of the standard-bearers said to him, "Let go, or you are a dead man." Then he was afraid and let go.

Event Date: -36 GR

§ 5.13.126  The last to come over were the cavalry. They sent a messenger to Octavius to ask if they should kill Lepidus, who was no longer a commander. He replied in the negative. Thus was Lepidus deserted by all and bereft, in a moment of time, of so exalted a station and so great an army. He changed his costume and hastened to Octavius, all the spectators running with him to enjoy the spectacle. Octavius started up as he approached, and prevented him from throwing himself at his feet, and sent him to Rome in the garb of a private citizen, which he was wearing, deprived of his command, but not of the priesthood, which he held. And so this man, who had often been a commander and once a triumvir, who had appointed magistrates and had proscribed so many men of his own rank, passed his life as a private citizen, asking favors of some of the proscribed, who were magistrates at a later period.

Event Date: -36 GR

§ 5.13.127  Octavius neither pursued Pompeius nor allowed others to do so; either because he refrained from encroaching on Antony's dominions, or because he preferred to wait and see what Antony would do to Pompeius and make that a pretext for a quarrel if he should do wrong (for they had long entertained the suspicion that ambition would bring them into mutual conflict when other rivals were out of the way), or, as Octavius said later, because Pompeius was not one of his father's murderers. He now brought his forces together, and they amounted to forty-five legions of infantry, 25,000 horse, and some 40,000 light-armed troops. He also had 600 war-ships and an immense number of merchant vessels, which he sent back to their owners. To the soldiers he awarded the prizes of victory, paying a part down and promising the rest later. He distributed crowns and other honors to all, and granted pardon to the Pompeian leaders.

Event Date: -36 GR

§ 5.13.128  Fortune became jealous of his great prosperity. His army revolted, especially his own troops. They demanded to be discharged from the service and that rewards should be given them equal to those given to the men who fought at Philippi. Octavius knew that the present war had not been of the same grade as that one. He promised nevertheless to pay what their services were worth, and to include the soldiers serving under Antony when the latter should return. As to their breach of discipline, he reminded them, in a threatening tone, of the laws of their ancestors, of their oaths and of the punishments. As they gave little heed to what he said, he abandoned his threatening tone lest the spirit of mutiny should extend to his newly acquired troops, and said that he would discharge them at the proper time in conjunction with Antony. He said, also, that he would not engage them in any more civil wars, which had fortunately come to an end, but in war against the Illyrians and other barbarous tribes, who were disturbing the peace which had been gained with so much difficulty; from which war the soldiers would acquire great riches. They said that they would not go to war again until they had received the prizes and honors of the previous wars. He said that he would not postpone the honors. So he distributed many prizes, and gave to the legions additional crowns, and to the centurions and tribunes purple-bordered garments and the dignity of chief councillors in their native towns. While he was distributing other awards of this kind, the tribune Ofilius exclaimed that crowns and purple garments were playthings for boys, that the rewards for soldiers were lands and money. The multitude cried out, "Well said"; whereupon Octavius descended from the platform in anger. The soldiers gathered around the tribune, praising him and railing at those who did not join with them. Ofilius said that he alone would suffice to defend so just a cause, but after saying this he disappeared the following day, and it was never known what became of him.

Event Date: -36 GR

§ 5.13.129  The soldiers no longer dared to give utterance to their complaints singly, but they joined together in groups and called for their discharge in common. Octavius conciliated their leaders in various ways. He released those who had served at Philippi and Mutina, and who wished to be discharged, as their time had expired. These, to the number of 20,000, he dismissed and sent out of the island at once, lest they should seduce the others. To those only who had served at Mutina he added, that, although they were discharged in this way, he would fulfil the promises made to them at that time. He came before the rest of the army and called upon them to bear witness to the perjury of the revolters, who had been dismissed contrary to the wish of their military commander. He praised those who remained with him, and encouraged them to expect a speedy release, saying that nobody would be sorry, and that they would be discharged rich, and that he would give them 500 drachmas per man now. Having thus spoken, he exacted tribute from Sicily to the amount of 1600 talents, appointed propraetors for Africa and Sicily, and assigned a division of the army to each of these provinces. He sent back Antony's ships to Tarentum. A part of the army he sent in advance of himself to Italy in ships, and took the remainder with him when he departed from the island.

Event Date: -36 GR

§ 5.13.130  When he arrived at Rome the Senate voted him unbounded honors, giving him the privilege of accepting all, or such as he chose. They and the people went out a long distance to meet him, wearing garlands on their heads, and escorted him, when he arrived, first to the temples, and then from the temples to his house. The next day he made speeches to the Senate and to the people, recounting his exploits and his policy from the beginning to the present time. These speeches he wrote down and distributed in pamphlet form. He proclaimed peace and good-will, said that the civil wars were ended, remitted the unpaid taxes, and released the farmers of the revenue and the holders of public leases from what they owed. Of the honors voted to him, he accepted an ovation and annual solemnities on the days of his victories, and a golden image to be erected in the forum, with the garb he wore when he entered the city, to stand on a column surrounded by the beaks of captured ships. There the image was placed bearing the inscription: "PEACE, LONG DISTURBED, HE REESTABLISHED ON LAND AND SEA."

Event Date: -36 GR

§ 5.13.131  When the people desired to transfer from Lepidus to himself the office of pontifex maximus, which the law bestowed upon one person for life, he would not accept it, and when they prayed that Lepidus might be put to death as a public enemy he would not allow it. He sent sealed letters to all the armies, with instructions to open them all on a designated day and to execute the orders contained therein. These orders related to the slaves who had run away during the civil dissensions and joined the armies, for whom Pompeius had asked freedom, which the Senate and the treaty had granted. These were all arrested on the same day and brought to Rome, and Octavius returned them to their Roman or Italian masters, or to the heirs of the same. He also gave back those belonging to Sicilian masters. Those whom nobody claimed he caused to be put to death in the cities from which they had absconded.

Event Date: -36 GR

§ 5.13.132  This seemed to be the end of the civil dissensions. Octavius was now twenty-eight years of age. Cities joined in placing him among their tutelary gods. At this time Italy and Rome itself were openly infested with bands of robbers, whose doings were more like barefaced plunder than secret theft. Sabinus was chosen by Octavius to correct this disorder. He executed many of the captured brigands, and within one year brought about a condition of absolute security. At that time, they say, originated the custom and system of cohorts of night watchmen still in force. Octavius excited astonishment by having put an end to this evil with such unexampled rapidity. He allowed the yearly magistrates to administer public affairs, in many particulars, according to the customs of the fathers. He burned the writings which contained evidence concerning the civil strife, and said that he would abdicate entirely when Antony should return from the Parthian war, for he was persuaded that Antony, too, would be willing to lay down the government, the civil wars being at an end. Thereupon he was chosen tribune for life by acclamation, the people urging him, by the offer of this perpetual magistracy, to give up his former one. This he accepted, and at the same time he wrote privately to Antony in reference to their government. Antony gave instructions to Bibulus, who was going away from him, to confer with Octavius. He sent governors to take charge of his provinces in like manner as Octavius had done, and he had thoughts of joining the latter in his expedition against the Illyrians.

Event Date: -36 GR

§ 5.14.133  Pompeius, fleeing from Sicily to Antony, stopped at the Lacinian promontory and robbed the rich temple of Juno of its gifts. He landed at Mitylene and spent some time at that place, where his father, when at war with Caesar, had bestowed him with his mother, when he was still a boy, and where his father had recovered him after his defeat. As Antony was now waging war in Media against the Medes and the Parthians, Pompeius decided to intrust himself to Antony on his return. When he heard that Antony had been worsted, and this result was confirmed by the reports, his hopes once more revived, and he fancied that he might succeed Antony if the latter were dead, or share his power if he returned. He was continually thinking of Labienus, who had overrun Asia not long before. While he was in this frame of mind the news reached him that Antony had returned to Alexandria. Scheming with both projects, he sent ambassadors to Antony ostensibly to place himself at the latter's disposal and to offer himself as a friend and ally, but really to get accurate information about Antony's affairs. At the same time he sent others secretly to the princes of Thrace and Pontus, intending, if he should not obtain what he desired from Antony, to take flight through Pontus to Armenia. He sent also to the Parthians, hoping that, for the remainder of their war against Antony, they would be eager to receive him as a general, because he was a Roman, and especially because he was the son of Pompey the Great. He refitted his ships and drilled the soldiers he had brought in them, pretending at one time that he was in fear of Octavius, and at another that he was getting ready to assist Antony.

Event Date: -36 GR

§ 5.14.134  As soon as Antony heard of the coming of Pompeius he designated Titius to take the field against him. He ordered the latter to take ships and soldiers from Syria and to wage war vigorously against Pompeius if he showed himself hostile, but to treat him with honor if he submitted himself to Antony. Then he gave audience to the ambassadors who had arrived, and who addressed him as follows: "Pompeius has sent us to you, not because he was without a place of refuge (if he were minded to continue the war) in Spain, a country friendly to him on his father's account and which espoused his own cause when he was younger, and even now calls upon him for that purpose, but because he prefers to enjoy peace with you, or, if need be, to fight under your orders. He makes these advances now not for the first time, but did so while he was master of Sicily and was ravaging Italy, and when he rescued your mother and sent her to you. If you had accepted these advances, Pompeius would not have been driven out of Sicily (for you would not have provided Octavius with ships against him), nor would you have been defeated in Parthia, in consequence of Octavius, not sending you the soldiers he agreed to send. In fact, you would now be in possession of Italy in addition to your other dominions. As you did not accept the offer at the time when it would have been most advantageous to you, he repeats it now in order that you may not be so often ensnared by Octavius' words and by the marriage relationship existing between you; for you will remember that, although he is connected by marriage with Pompeius, he declared war against the latter after the treaty had been made, and without excuse. He also deprived Lepidus, his partner in the government, of his share, and divided no part of it with you.

Event Date: -36 GR

§ 5.14.135  "You are now the only remaining one who stands between him and the monarchy that he longs for. He would already have been at blows with you, had not Pompeius stood in the way. Although you ought to have foreseen these things for yourself, Pompeius calls your attention to them out of good-will, because he prefers a candid and magnanimous man to a deceitful, treacherous, and artful one. He does not blame you for the gift of ships which you made to Octavius against him as a matter of necessity, in order to procure soldiers for the Parthian war in exchange, but he reminds you that those soldiers were not sent. In short, Pompeius delivers himself to you with the ships which he still has and his most faithful soldiers, who have not abandoned him even in his flight. If peace is maintained, it will be a great glory to you to have saved the son of Pompey the Great. In case of war, he will be a considerable help to your party in the conflict which is coming, unless, to be sure, it has already come."

Event Date: -36 GR

§ 5.14.136  When the ambassadors had thus spoken, Antony showed them the orders he had sent to Titius, and said that if Pompeius was truly in this frame of mind he should come in person under the escort of Titius. In the meantime, the messengers who had been sent by Pompeius to the Parthians were captured by Antony's generals and brought to Alexandria. After Antony had examined each of them he summoned the ambassadors of Pompeius and showed the captives to them. They made excuses for Pompeius even then as a young man in a desperate plight, fearful lest Antony should not treat him kindly, and driven by necessity to make trial even of the bitterest enemies of Rome. They said that he would show his true disposition as soon as he should learn Antony's, and would then need no other attempt or devices. Antony believed them, being in other respects and at all times of a frank, magnanimous, and unsuspecting nature.

Event Date: -36 GR

§ 5.14.137  In the meantime Furnius, who was governing the province of Asia for Antony, had received Pompeius when he arrived, as he was behaving quietly; since Furnius had not sufficient force to prevent him and did not yet know Antony's mind. Seeing Pompeius drilling his troops, he mustered a force from the provincials and hastily summoned Ahenobarbus, who had command of an army in the vicinity, and also Amyntas from the other side. They responded promptly, and Pompeius complained against Furnius for regarding him in the light of an enemy when he had sent ambassadors to Antony and was waiting for an answer from him. While he was saying this he was meditating the project of seizing Ahenobarbus, with the connivance of Curius, one of Ahenobarbus' officers, intending to hold that general as a valuable hostage to exchange for himself in case of need. The treachery was discovered and Curius was convicted before the Romans present and put to death. Pompeius put to death his freedman Theodorus, the only person who was privy to the plan, believing that he had divulged it. As he no longer expected to conceal his projects from Furnius, he possessed himself of Lampsacus by treachery, a city which contained many Italians, colonized there by Gaius Caesar. These Italians he induced to enter his military service by large bounties. Having now 200 horse and three legions of infantry, he attacked Cyzicus by land and sea. He was repulsed on both sides, because there was a force, although not a large one, in Cyzicus, that was guarding some gladiators whom Antony supported there. So Pompeius retired to the harbor of the Achaeans and collected provisions.

Event Date: -35 GR

§ 5.14.138  Furnius did not begin hostilities, but he continually camped alongside of Pompeius with a large body of horse and prevented his foe from foraging or winning the cities to his side. As Pompeius had no cavalry, he assaulted the camp of Furnius in front and, at the same time, sent a force secretly around to his rear. Furnius accordingly directed his forces against Pompeius' front attack, but he was driven out of his camp by the force in his rear. Pompeius pursued his men and killed many as they fled over the Scamandrian plain, which was saturated with recent rains. Those who were saved withdrew to a place of safety, as they were not fit for battle. While they were waiting for assistance from Mysia, the Propontis, and elsewhere, the inhabitants, who were distressed by continual exactions, enlisted gladly under Pompeius, especially on account of the reputation he had gained by his victory at the harbor of the Achaeans. While Pompeius was deficient in cavalry, and was thus crippled in procuring supplies, he learned that a troop of Italian horse was coming to Antony, sent by Octavia, who was passing the winter in Athens. So he sent emissaries with gold to corrupt this troop, but Antony's governor of Macedonia caught these men and distributed their gold to the cavalry.

Event Date: -35 GR

§ 5.14.139  Pompeius took Nicaea and Nicomedia, from which he obtained large supplies of money, and his strength was augmented in all respects with a rapidity that exceeded his expectations. But Furnius, who was camping not far away from him, was reinforced, at the beginning of spring, first with seventy ships that had come from Sicily, which had been saved from those that Antony had lent to Octavius against Pompeius; for after the close of the war in Sicily Octavius had dismissed them. Then Titius arrived from Syria with 120 additional ships and a large army; and all these had landed at Proconnesus. Pompeius became alarmed and burned his own ships and armed his oarsmen, believing that he could fight to better advantage with all of his forces combined on land. Cassius of Parma, Nasidius, Saturninus, Thermus, Antistius, and the other distinguished men of his party who were still with him as friends, and Fannius, who held the highest rank of all, and Pompeius' father-in-law, Libo, when they saw that he did not desist from war against superior forces even after Titius, to whom Antony had given entire charge, had arrived, despaired of him, and, having made terms for themselves, went over to Antony.

Event Date: -35 GR

§ 5.14.140  Pompeius, now deserted by his friends, withdrew to the interior of Bithynia, being reported as making his way to Armenia. One night as he marched out of his camp quietly, Furnius and Titius followed him, and Amyntas joined in the pursuit. After a hot chase they came up with him toward evening, and each encamped by himself around a certain hill without ditch or palisade, as it was late and they were tired. While they were in this state, Pompeius made a night attack with 300 light troops and killed many who were still asleep or springing out of bed. The rest took to disgraceful flight in a state of nudity. It is evident that if Pompeius had made this night attack with his entire army, or if he had followed up energetically the victory he did win, he would have overcome them completely. But, misled by a god, he gave no heed to these opportunities, and he gained no other advantage from the affair than to penetrate farther into the interior of the country. His enemies, having formed a junction, followed him and cut off his supplies, until he was in danger from want. Then he sought an interview with Furnius, who had been a friend of Pompey the Great, and who was of higher rank and of a more trustworthy character than the others.

Event Date: -35 GR

§ 5.14.141  Taking a position where a river flowed between them, Pompeius said that he had sent ambassadors to Antony, and he added that, being in need of provisions meanwhile, and nobody supplying him, he had done what he had done. "If you have fought against me," he continued, "by Antony's direction, Antony has misconceived his own interests in not foreseeing the coming war. If you are anticipating Antony's intentions, I protest and implore you to wait for the embassy that I sent to Antony or to take and bring me to him now. I will surrender myself to you alone, Furnius, asking merely your pledge that you will conduct me to him in safety." He spoke thus because he had confidence in Antony as a man of generous nature, and he apprehended merely that something might happen to him on the journey. Furnius replied to him as follows: "If you wished to surrender yourself to Antony you ought to have done so in the beginning, or else have waited quietly at Mitylene for his answer. But if you desired the war you should have done as you have done. Why is it necessary to recount your deeds to one who knows them? If now you repent, do not bring us, generals, into collision with each other, but surrender yourself to Titius, to whom these matters have been intrusted by Antony. The pledge which you ask from me you can ask from him. He has been ordered by Antony to put you to death if you wage war, but, if you surrender yourself, to send you to him in an honorable manner."

Event Date: -35 GR

§ 5.14.142  Pompeius was angry with Titius as an ingrate, in that he undertook to wage this war against him, for he had once been taken prisoner and spared by Pompeius. Besides being angry he considered it beneath his dignity to be in the power of Titius, who was not of noble birth. Moreover he suspected Titius, either because he was acquainted with his character and did not consider him trustworthy, or because he was conscious of some old injury done to him previous to the benefaction above mentioned. Again he offered to surrender himself to Furnius, and begged that he would receive him. When the latter refused he said that he would surrender to Amyntas. Furnius said that Amyntas would not receive him, because that would be an insult to the one whom Antony had intrusted with this whole business; and so the interview ended. The opinion prevailed in the camp of Furnius that, for want of other resources, Pompeius would deliver himself up to Titius on the following day. When night came Pompeius left the customary fires burning, and the trumpets giving the usual signal at intervals through the night, while he quietly withdrew from the camp with a well-prepared band, who had not been previously advised whither they were to go. He intended to go to the sea-shore and burn Titius' fleet, and perhaps would have done so had not Scaurus deserted from him and communicated the fact of his departure and the road he had taken, although ignorant of his design. Amyntas, with 1500 horse, pursued Pompeius, who had no cavalry. When Amyntas drew near, Pompeius' men passed over to him, some privately, others openly. Pompeius, being almost entirely deserted and afraid of his own men, surrendered himself to Amyntas without conditions, although he had scorned to surrender to Titius with conditions.

Event Date: -35 GR

§ 5.14.143  Thus was Sextus Pompeius captured. He was the last remaining son of Pompey the Great, and had been deprived of his father when very young and of his brother while still a stripling. After their death he concealed himself for a long time and practised robbery secretly in Spain until he had collected a large following, because he made himself known as Pompey's son. Then he practised more open robbery. After the death of Gaius Caesar he carried on war vigorously and collected a large army, together with ships and money, took islands, became master of the western sea, brought famine upon Italy, and compelled his enemies to make peace on such terms as he chose. Of most importance was the aid that he rendered to the proscribed in Rome exposed to utter destruction, rescuing many of the nobility who were, at this later time, safe at home by means of him. But stricken with mental aberration, he never pursued an aggressive policy against his foes, although fortune offered him many opportunities; he only defended himself. After such a career Pompeius was taken prisoner.

Event Date: -35 GR

§ 5.14.144  Titius brought Pompeius' soldiers into Antony's service and put Pompeius himself to death at Miletus in the fortieth year of his age. This he did either on his own account, angry at some former insult, and ungrateful for the subsequent kindness, or in pursuance of Antony's order. Some say that Plancus, not Antony, gave this order. They think that Plancus, while governing Syria, was authorized by letters to sign Antony's name in cases of urgency and to use his seal. Others think that it was written by Plancus with Antony's knowledge, but that the latter was ashamed to write it on account of the name Pompeius, and because Cleopatra was favorable to him on account of Pompey the Great. Still others think that Plancus, being cognizant of these facts, took it upon himself to give the order as a matter of precaution, lest Pompeius, with the cooperation of Cleopatra, should breed dissension between Antony and Octavius.

Event Date: -35 GR

§ 5.14.145  After the death of Pompeius Antony made a new expedition to Armenia, and Octavius made one against the Illyrians, who were plundering Italy, some of whom had never been subject to the Romans, while others had revolted during the civil wars. Since these Illyrian affairs are not very well known to me, and are not of sufficient length to make a book by themselves, and have no suitable place to be treated elsewhere, I have recorded them above (beginning with the time when Illyria was acquired by the Romans and bringing them down to the end), and added them to the history of the neighboring Macedonia.

Event Date: -35 GR
END
Event Date: -35

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