Cassius Dio
Roman History
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Book XLII
The following is contained in the Forty-second of Dio's Rome:—
1. How Pompey, defeated in Thessaly, fled to Egypt and perished (chaps.
1-5).
2. How Caesar, pursuing Pompey, came into Egypt (chaps. 6-9).
3. How the news about Caesar and Pompey was announced at Rome, and what
decrees were passed in honour of Caesar (chaps. 17-20).
4. How the people in Rome fell into strife during Caesar's absence
(chaps. 21-33).
5. How Caesar fought and subdued the Egyptians and made a present of
them to Cleopatra (chaps. 34-44).
6. How Caesar conquered Pharnaces (chaps. 45-48).
7. How Caesar returned to Rome and settled matters there (chaps. 49-55).
8. How Caesar led an expedition into Africa (chaps. 56-58).
Duration of time, the remainder of the consulship of C. Julius Caesar
(II) and Publius Servilius Isauricus, together with one additional
year, in which there were the magistrates (consuls) here enumerated:—
B.C.
47
C. Iulius C. F. Caesar, dictator (II), M. Antonius
M. F., master of horse, and the two consuls Q. Fufius Q. F. Calenus and
P. Vatinius P. F.
Such was the general character of the battle. As a result of it Pompey
straightway despaired of all his projects and no longer took any
account of his own valour or of the multitude of troops remaining to
him or of the fact that Fortune often restores the fallen in a moment
of time; yet previously he had always possessed the greatest
cheerfulness and the greatest hopefulness on all occasions of failure.
The reason for this was that on those occasions he had usually been
evenly matched with his foe and hence had not taken his very for
granted; but by reflecting beforehand on the two possible issues of
events while he was still cool-headed and was not yet involved in any
alarm he had not neglected to prepare for the worst. In this way he had
not been compelled to yield to disasters and had always been able
easily to renew the conflict; but this time, as he had expected to
prove greatly superior to Caesar, he had taken no precautions. For
instance, he had not placed his camp in a suitable position, nor had he
provided a refuge for himself in case of defeat. And whereas he might
have delayed action and so have prevailed without a battle,— since his
army kept increasing every day and he had abundant provisions, being in
a country for the most part friendly and being also master of the sea,—
nevertheless, whether of his own accord, because he expected to conquer
in any event, or because his hand was forced by associates, he joined
issue. Consequently, as soon as he was defeated, he became greatly
terrified and had no opportune plan or sure hope to enable him to face
the danger anew. Thus it is that whenever an event befalls a man
unexpectedly and contrary to all calculation, it humbles his spirit and
strikes his reason with panic, so that he becomes the poorest and
weakest judge of what must be done. For reason cannot dwell with fear;
if it occupies the ground first, it boldly thrusts the other out, but
if it be last on the field, it gets the worst of the encounter.
Hence Pompey, also, having considered none of the chances beforehand,
was found naked and defenceless, whereas, if he had taken any
precautions, he might, perhaps, without trouble have quietly recovered
everything. For large numbers of the combatants on his side had
survived and he had other forces of no small importance. Above all, he
possessed large sums of money and was master of the whole sea, and the
cities both there and in Asia were devoted to him even in his
misfortune. But, as it was, since he had fared ill where he felt most
confident, through the fear that seized him at the moment he made no
use of any one of these resources, but left the camp at once and fled
with a few companions toward Larissa. He did not enter the city,
because he feared that they might incur some blame in consequence; but
bidding them go over to the victor, he himself took provisions, went
down to the sea, and sailed away on a merchantman to Lesbos, to his
wife Cornelia and his son Sextus. After taking them on board, he did
not enter Mitylene either, but departed for Egypt, hoping to secure an
auxiliary force from Ptolemy, the king of that country. This was the
son of that Ptolemy who had received back the kingdom at his hands,
through the agency of Gabinius, and in return for that service he had
sent a fleet to Pompey's assistance. I have heard, indeed, that Pompey
even thought of fleeing to the Parthians, but I cannot credit the
report. For that race so hated the Romans as a people ever since
Crassus had made his expedition against them, and Pompey especially,
because he was related to Crassus, that they had even imprisoned his
envoy who came with a request for aid, though he was a senator. And
Pompey would never have endured in his misfortune to become a suppliant
of his bitterest foe for what he had failed to obtain while enjoying
success.
He set out, then, for Egypt, for the reasons mentioned, and after
coasting along the shore as far as Cilicia crossed from there to
Pelusium, where Ptolemy was encamped while making war upon his sister
Cleopatra. Bringing the ships to anchor, he sent some men to remind the
prince of the favour shown his father and to ask that he be permitted
to land under certain definite guarantees; for he did not venture to
disembark before obtaining some guarantee of safety. Ptolemy gave him
no answer, for he was still a mere boy, but some of the Egyptians and
Lucius Septimius, a Roman who had once served with Pompey and after
becoming associated with Gabinius had been left behind by him with some
troops to guard Ptolemy, came in the guise of friends; but they
impiously plotted against him and by their act brought a curse upon
themselves and all Egypt. For not only did they themselves perish not
long afterward, but the Egyptians for their part were first delivered
to be slaves of Cleopatra, which they particularly disliked, and later
were enrolled among the subjects of Rome. At this time, then, Septimius
and Achillas, the commander-in-chief, and others who were with them
declared they would readily receive Pompey, their purpose being that he
might be the more easily deceived and ensnared. So they sent his
messengers on ahead, after some had bidden them be of good cheer, and
afterwards the conspirators themselves embarked on some small boats and
sailed out to him. After many friendly greetings they begged him to
come over to their boats, declaring that by reason of its size and the
shallow water a ship could not come close to land and that Ptolemy was
very eager to see him promptly. Accordingly, though all his
fellow-voyagers urged him not to do so, he changed boats, trusting in
his hosts and saying merely:
"Whoever to a tyrant wends his way,
His slave is he, e'en though his steps be free."
Now when they drew near the land, fearing that if he met Ptolemy he
might be saved, either by the king himself or by the Romans who were
with him or by the Egyptians, who regarded him with very kindly
feelings, they killed him before sailing into the harbour. He uttered
not a word and made no complaint, but as soon as he perceived their
plot and recognized that he would not be able to ward them off or
escape, he veiled his face.
Such was the end of Pompey the Great, whereby was proved once more the
weakness and the strange fortune of the human race. For, although he
was not at all deficient in foresight, but had always been absolutely
secure against any force able to do him harm, yet he was deceived; and
although he had won many unexpected victories in Africa, and many, too,
in Asia and Europe, both by land and sea, ever since boyhood, yet now
in his fifty-eighth year he was defeated without apparent reason.
Although he had subdued the entire Roman sea, he perished on it; and
although he had once been, as the saying is, "master of a thousand
ships," he was destroyed in a tiny boat near Egypt and in a sense by
Ptolemy, whose father he had once restored from exile to that land and
to his kingdom. The man whom Roman soldiers were then still guarding,—
soldiers left behind by Gabinius as a favour from Pompey and on account
of the hatred felt by the Egyptians for the young prince's father,—
this very man seemed to have put him to death by the hands of both
Egyptians and Romans. Thus Pompey, who previously had been considered
the most powerful of the Romans, so that he even received the nickname
of Agamemnon, was now butchered like one of the lowest of the Egyptians
themselves, not only near Mount Casius but on the anniversary of the
day on which he had once celebrated a triumph over Mithridates and the
pirates. So even in this respect the two parts of his career were
utterly contradictory: on that day of yore he had gained the most
brilliant success, whereas he now suffered the most grievous fate;
again, following a certain oracle, he had been suspicious of all the
citizens named Cassius, but instead of being the object of a plot by
any man called Cassius he died and was buried beside the mountain that
had this name. Of his fellow-voyagers some were captured at once, while
others escaped, among them his wife and son. His wife later obtained
pardon and came back safely to Rome, while Sextus proceeded to Africa
to his brother Gnaeus; these are the names by which they were
distinguished, since they both bore the name of Pompey.
Caesar, when he had attended to pressing demands after the battle and
had assigned Greece and the rest of that region to certain others to
win over and reduce, set out himself in pursuit of Pompey. He hurried
forward as far as Asia following information received about him, and
there waited for a time, since no one knew which way he had sailed.
Everything turned out favourably for him; for instance, while crossing
the Hellespont in a kind of ferry-boat, he met Pompey's fleet sailing
with Lucius Cassius in command, but so far from suffering any harm at
their hands, he terrified them and won them over to his side.
Thereupon, meeting with no further resistance, he proceeded to take
possession of the rest of that region and to regulate its affairs,
levying a money contribution, as I have said, but otherwise doing no
one any harm and even conferring benefits on all, so far as was
possible. In any case he did away with the tax-gatherers, who had been
abusing the people most cruelly, and he converted the amount accruing
from the taxes into a joint payment of tribute.
Meanwhile he learned that Pompey was sailing to Egypt, and fearing that
the other by occupying that country first might again become strong, he
set out with all speed. And finding him no longer alive, with a few
followers he sailed far in advance of the others to Alexandria itself
before Ptolemy came from Pelusium. On discovering that the people of
the city were in a tumult over Pompey's death he did not at once
venture to go ashore, but put out to sea and waited till he saw the
head and finger-ring of the murdered man, sent him by Ptolemy.
Thereupon he confidently put in to land; the multitude, however, showed
irritation at the sight of his lictors and he was glad to make his
escape into the palace. Some of his soldiers had their weapons taken
from them, and the rest accordingly put to sea again until all the
ships had reached port. Now Caesar at the sight of Pompey's head wept
and lamented bitterly, calling him countryman and son-in-law, and
enumerating all the kindnesses they had shown each other. As for the
murderers, far from admitting that he owed them any reward, he actually
heaped reproaches upon them; and he commanded that the head should be
adorned, properly prepared, and buried. For this he received praise,
but for his hypocrisy he incurred ridicule. He had, of course, from the
outset been very eager for dominion; he had always hated Pompey as his
antagonist and rival, and besides all his other measures against him he
had brought on this war with no other purpose than to secure this
rival's ruin and his own supremacy; he had but now been hurrying to
Egypt with no other end in view than to overthrow him completely if he
should still be alive; yet he feigned to mourn his loss and made a show
of vexation over his murder.
In the belief that now that Pompey was out of his way there was no
longer any hostility left against him, he spent some time in Egypt
levying money and deciding the differences between Ptolemy and
Cleopatra. Meanwhile other wars were being prepared against him. Egypt
revolted, and Pharnaces, just as soon as he had learned that Pompey and
Caesar were at variance, had began to lay claim to his ancestral
domain, since he hoped that they would waste a lot of time in their
quarrel and use up the Roman forces upon each other; and he now still
went ahead with his plans, partly because he had once made a beginning
and partly because he learned that Caesar was far away, and he actually
seized many points before the other's arrival. Meanwhile Cato and
Scipio and the others who were of the same mind with them set foot in
Africa a struggle that was at once a civil and a foreign war.
It came about in this way. Cato had been left behind at Dyrrachium by
Pompey to keep an eye out for any forces from Italy which might try to
cross over, and to repress the Parthini, in case they should begin any
disturbance. At first he carried on war with the latter, but after
Pompey's defeat he abandoned Epirus, and proceeding to Corcyra with
those of the same mind as himself, he there received the men who had
escaped from the battle and the rest who had the same sympathies.
Cicero and a few other senators had set out for Rome at once, but the
majority, including Labienus and Afranius, who had no hope in Caesar,—
the one because he had deserted him, and the other because after having
been pardoned by him he had again made war on him,— went to Cato, put
him at their head, and continued the war. Later Octavius also joined
them. After sailing into the Ionian Sea and arresting Gaius Antonius,
he had conquered several places, but could not take Salonae, though he
besieged it a very long time. For the inhabitants, having Gabinius to
assist them, vigorously repulsed him and finally along with the women
made a sortie and performed a remarkable deed. The women let down their
hair and robed themselves in black garments, then taking torches and
otherwise making their appearance as terrifying as possible, they
assaulted the camp of the besiegers at midnight. They threw the
outposts, who thought they were spirits, into a panic, and then from
all sides at once hurled the fire within the palisade, and the men,
following them, slew many while they were in confusion and many who
were still asleep, promptly gained possession of the camp, and captured
without a blow the harbour in which Octavius was lying. They were not,
however, left in peace. For he escaped them somehow, gathered a force
again, and after defeating them in battle besieged them. Meanwhile, as
Gabinius had died of some disease, he gained control of the whole sea
in that vicinity, and by making descents upon the land ravaged many
districts. This lasted until the battle at Pharsalus, after which his
soldiers, as soon as a force sailed against them from Brundisium,
changed sides without even coming to blows with them. Then, destitute
of allies, Octavius retired to Corcyra.
Gnaeus Pompey first sailed about with the Egyptian fleet and overran
the district called Epirus, almost capturing Oricum. The commander of
the place, Marcus Acilius, had blocked up the entrance to the harbour
by means of boats loaded with stones and about the mouth of it had
raised towers on either side, both on the land and on freight-ships.
Pompey, however, had divers scatter the stones that were in the
vessels, and when the latter had been lightened, he dragged them out of
the way, freed the passage, and then, after putting heavy-armed troops
ashore on each half of the breakwater, he sailed in. He burned all the
boats and most of the city, and would have captured the rest of it, had
he not been wounded and caused the Egyptians to fear that he might die.
When, how, his wound had been cured, he did not continue to assail
Oricum, but journeyed about pillaging various places and once vainly
made an attempt upon Brundisium itself, as did some others. He was thus
occupied for a time; but when his father had been defeated and the
Egyptians on receipt of the news sailed home, he betook himself to
Cato. And his example was followed by Gaius Cassius, who had done very
great mischief both in Italy and in Sicily and had overcome a number of
opponents in many battles both on sea and on land.
Many, indeed, fled to Cato for refuge, since they saw that he excelled
them in uprightness; and he, using them as helpers and counsellors in
all matters, sailed to the Peloponnesus with the intention of occupying
it, for he had not yet heard that Pompey was dead. They seized Patrae
and there received among other accessions Petreius and Pompey's
son-in-law, Faustus. Subsequently Quintus Fufius Calenus marched
against them, whereupon they set sail, and coming to Cyrene, learned
there of the death of Pompey. Their views were now no longer
harmonious: Cato, through hatred of Caesar's domination, and some
others in despair of receiving pardon from him, sailed to Africa with
the army, added Scipio to their number, and were as active as possible
against Caesar; but the majority scattered, some of them retiring and
escaping wherever they could, while the rest, among them Gaius Cassius,
went to Caesar at once and received pardon.
Calenus had been sent by Caesar into Greece before the battle, and he
captured among other places the Piraeus, owing to its being unwalled.
Athens he had been unable to take, in spite of a great deal of damage
he did to its territory, until the defeat of Pompey. The inhabitants
then came over to him voluntarily, and Caesar, cherishing no
resentment, let them go unharmed, merely remarking that in spite of
their many offences they were saved by the dead. This remark signified
that it was on account of their ancestor and on account of their glory
and excellence that he spared them. Accordingly Athens and most of the
rest of Greece then at once made terms with him; but the Megarians in
spite of this resisted and were captured only at a considerably later
date, partly by force and partly by treachery. Therefore many of the
inhabitants were slain and the survivors sold. Calenus took this course
so that men might think that he had punished them according to their
deserts; but since he feared that the city might perish utterly, he
sold the captives in the first place to their relatives, and in the
second place for a very small sum, so that they might regain their
freedom.
After these achievements he marched upon Patrae and occupied it easily,
as he had already frightened Cato and his followers away. Now while
these various operations were being carried on, there was an uprising
in Spain, although the country had been at peace. For the Spaniards
were at the time being subjected to many abuses by Quintus Longinus,
and at first some few banded together to kill me; he was wounded but
escaped, and after that proceeded to injure them a great deal more.
Then a number of Cordubans and a number of soldiers who had formerly
belonged to the Pompeian party rose against him, putting at their head
Marcus Marcellus Aeserninus, the quaestor. The latter, however, did not
accept their appointment with his whole heart, but seeing the
uncertainty of events and looking for them to turn out either way, he
played a double game, taking a neutral attitude in all that he said and
did, so that whether Caesar or Pompey should prevail he might seem to
have fought for the victor in either case. He favoured Pompey, on the
one hand, but receiving those who had transferred their allegiance to
him and by fighting against Longinus, who declared he was on Caesar's
side; on the other hand, he did a kindness to Caesar in taking charge
of the soldiers when, as he would say, Longinus was beginning a
rebellion, and in keeping these men for him and not allowing their
commander to become hostile. And when the soldiers inscribed the name
of Pompey on their shields, he erased it, so that he might thereby
plead with the one man the deeds done by the arms and with the other
their apparent ownership, and by laying claim to the deeds that turned
out to be in behalf of the victor and by laying upon necessity or upon
other persons the blame for the contrary events he might be on the safe
side. Consequently, although he had the opportunity of utterly
defeating Longinus by his superior numbers, he refused, but by managing
his affairs so as to create appearances and to carry out his designs,
he put the responsibility for his questionable acts upon others. Thus
both in his reverses and in his successes he could make the plea that
he was acting equally in behalf of the same person: in the one case he
would urge that he had, or had not, done the thing himself, and in the
other case that others had or had not been responsible. He went on in
this way until Caesar actually conquered, and though at the moment he
incurred his anger and was banished, yet later he was restored and
honoured. Longinus, however, being denounced by the Spaniards through
an embassy, was deprived of his office, and while on his way home
perished near the mouths of the Iberus.
These events were occurring abroad. In Rome, as long as the issue
between Caesar and Pompey was doubtful and unsettled, the people all
ostensibly favoured Caesar, because of his troops that were in their
midst and because of his colleague Servilius. Whenever a victory of his
was reported, they rejoiced, and whenever a reverse, they grieved, some
sincerely and some feignedly in each case; for there were many spies
and eavesdroppers prowling about, observing all that was said and done
on such occasions. But privately the talk and actions of those who
detested Caesar and preferred Pompey's side were the very opposite of
their public expressions. Hence, as both sides received the various
reports in the light of their own advantage, they were inspired
sometimes with fear and sometimes with boldness, and inasmuch as many
diverse rumours would often be going about on the same day and at the
same hour, their position was a most trying one; for they were pleased
and distressed, bold and fearful, all within the briefest space of
time. When the battle of Pharsalus was announced, they were long
incredulous. For Caesar sent no despatch to the government, hesitating
to appear to rejoice publicly over such a victory, for which reason
also he celebrated no triumph; and furthermore the event was clearly
very improbable in view of the relative equipment of the two forces and
the hopes entertained. But when at last they gave the story credence,
they removed the images of Pompey and of Sulla that stood upon the
rostra, but did nothing further at the time. Many, indeed, did not wish
to do even this, and many also, fearing that Pompey might renew the
strife, regarded the as quite enough for Caesar and expected that it
would be a fairly simple matter to placate Pompey on account of it.
Even when he had died, they did not believe it for a long time, not, in
fact, until they saw his seal-ring that had been sent; it had three
trophies carved on it, as had that of Sulla. So when he was really
dead, at last they openly praised the victor and abused the vanquished,
and proposed that everything in the world which they could devise
should be given to Caesar. And not only in this respect was there great
rivalry among practically all the foremost men, who were eager to outdo
one another in fawning upon him, but also in voting such measures. By
their shouts and by their gestures they all, as if Caesar were present
and looking on, showed the very greatest zeal and thought that in
return for it they would get immediately — as if they were doing it to
please him at all and not from necessity — one and office, another a
priesthood, and a third some pecuniary reward. I shall omit those
honours which had either been voted to some others previously — images,
crowns, front seats, and things of that kind — or which, while novel
and proposed now for the first time, were not confirmed by Caesar, for
fear that I might become wearisome, were I to enumerate them all. This
same plan I shall follow in my subsequent account, adhering the more
strictly to it, as the honours proposed continually grew more numerous
and more absurd. Only such as had some special and extraordinary
importance and were confirmed will be related.
They granted him, then, permission to do whatever he wished to those
who had favoured Pompey's cause, not that he had not already received
this right from himself, but in order that he might seem to be acting
with some show of legal authority. They appointed him arbiter of war
and peace with all mankind — using the conspirators in Africa as a
pretext — without the obligation even of making any communication on
the subject to the people or the senate. This, of course, also lay in
his power before, inasmuch as he had so large an armed force; at any
rate the wars he had fought he had undertaken on his own authority in
nearly every case. Nevertheless, because they wished still to appear to
be free and independent citizens, they voted him these rights and
everything else which it was in his power to have even against their
will. Thus he received the privilege of being consul for five
consecutive years and of being chosen dictator, not for six months, but
for an entire year, and he assumed the tribunician authority
practically for life; for he secured the right of sitting with the
tribunes upon the same benches and of being reckoned with them for
other purposes — a privilege which was permitted to no one.All the
elections except those of the plebs now passed into his hands, and for
this reason they were delayed till after his arrival and were held
toward the close of the year. In the case of the governorships in
subject territory the citizens pretended to allot themselves those
which fell to the consuls, but voted that Caesar should give the others
to the praetors without the casting of lots; for they had gone back to
consuls and praetors again contrary to their decree. And they also
granted another privilege, which was customary, to be sure, but in the
corruption of the times might cause hatred and resentment: they decreed
that Caesar should hold a triumph for the war against Juba and the
Romans who fought with him, just as if had been the victor, although,
as a matter of fact, he had not then so much as heard that there was to
be such a war.
In this way these measures were voted and ratified. Caesar entered upon
the dictatorship at once, although he was outside of Italy, and chose
Antony, although he had not yet been praetor, as his master of horse;
and the consuls proposed the latter's name also, although the augurs
very strongly opposed him, declaring that no one might be master of the
horses for more than six months. But for this course they brought upon
themselves a great deal of ridicule, because, after having decided that
the dictator himself should be chosen for a year, contrary to all
precedent, they were now splitting hairs about the master of the horse.
Marcus Caelius actually lost his life because he dared to set aside the
laws established by Caesar regarding loans, assuming that their author
had been defeated and had perished, and because as a result he stirred
up are and Campania. He had been among the foremost in carrying out
Caesar's wishes, for which reason he had been appointed praetor; but he
became angry because he had not been made praetor urbanus, and because
his colleague Trebonius had been preferred before him for this office,
not by lot, as had been the custom, but by Caesar's choice. Hence he
opposed his colleague in everything and would not let him perform any
of the duties devolving upon him. He not only would not consent to his
pronouncing judgments according to Caesar's laws, but he also gave
notice to such as owed anything that he would assist them against their
creditors, and to all who dwelt in other people's houses that he would
release them from payment of the rent. Having by this course gained a
considerable following, he set upon Trebonius with their aid and would
have slain him, had the other not managed to change his dress and
escape in the crowd. After this failure Caelius privately issued a law
in which he granted everybody the use of houses free of rent and
annulled all debts.
Servilius consequently sent for some soldiers who chanced to be going
by on the way to Gaul, and after convening the senate under their
protection he proposed a measure in regard to the situation. No action
was taken, since the tribunes prevented it, but the sense of the
meeting was recorded and Servilius then ordered the court officers to
take down the offending tablets. When Caelius drove these men away and
even involved the consul himself in a tumult, they convened again,
still protected by the soldiers, and entrusted to Servilius the
guarding of the city, a procedure concerning which I have often spoken
before. After this he would not permit Caelius to do anything in his
capacity as praetor, but assigned the duties pertaining to his office
to another praetor, debarred him from the senate, dragged him from the
rostra while he was delivering some tirade or other, and broke his
chair in pieces. Caelius was very angry with him for each of these
acts, but since Servilius had a body of troops in town that matched his
own, he was afraid that he might be punished, and so decided to set out
for Campania to join Milo, who was beginning a rebellion. For Milo,
when he alone of the exiles was not restored by Caesar, had come to
Italy, where he gathered a large crowd of men, some in want of a
livelihood and others who feared some punishment, and proceeded to
ravage the country, assailing Capua and other cities. To him, then,
Caelius wished to betake himself, in order that with his aid he might
do Caesar all possible harm. He was watched, however, and could not
leave the city openly; and he did not venture to escape secretly
because, among other reasons, he expected to accomplish a great deal
more by using the dress and the title of his praetorship. At last,
therefore, he approached the consul and asked him for leave of absence,
even saying that he wished to proceed to Caesar. The other, though he
suspected his intention, still allowed him to do this, particularly
because he was very insistent, invoking Caesar's name and pretending
that he was eager to submit his defence; but he sent a tribune with
him, so that if he should attempt any rebellious act he might be held
in check. When they reached Campania, and found that Milo, after a
defeat near Capua, had taken refuge on Mount Tifata, and Caelius gave
up his plan of going farther, the tribune was alarmed and wished to
bring him back home. Servilius, learning of this in time, declared war
upon Milo in the senate and gave orders that Caelius should remain in
the suburbs, so that he might not stir up any trouble; nevertheless, he
did not keep him under strict surveillance, because the man was a
praetor. Thus Caelius made his escape and hastened to Military, and he
would certainly have created some disturbance had he found him alive;
but as it was, Milo had been driven from Campania and had perished in
Apulia. Caelius, therefore, went to Bruttium, hoping to form some
league in that district at any rate, and there he perished before
accomplishing anything of importance; for those who favoured Caesar
banded together and killed him.
So these men died, but that did not bring quiet to Rome. On the
contrary, many dreadful events took place, as, indeed, omens had
indicated beforehand. Among other things that happened toward the end
of that year bees settled on the Capitol beside the statue of Hercules.
Sacrifices to Isis chanced to be going on there at the time, and the
soothsayers gave their opinion to the effect that all precincts of that
goddess and of Serapis should be razed to the ground once more. In the
course of their demolition a shrine of Bellona was unwittingly
destroyed and in it were found jars full of human flesh. The following
year a violent earthquake occurred, an owl was seen, thunderbolts
descended upon the Capitol and upon the temple of the Public Fortune,
as it was called, and into the gardens of Caesar, where a horse of no
small value was destroyed by them, and the temple of Fortune opened of
its own accord. In addition to this, blood issued from a bake-shop and
flowed to another temple of Fortune — that Fortune whose statue, on
account of the fact that a man must needs observe and consider
everything that lies before his eyes as well as behind him and must not
forget from what beginnings he has become what he is, they had set up
and named in a way not easy to describe to Greeks. Also some infants
were born holding their left hands to their heads, so that while no
good was looked for from the other signs, from this especially an
uprising of inferiors against superiors was both foretold by the
soothsayers and expected by the people.
These portents, thus revealed by Heaven, disturbed them; and their fear
was augmented by the very appearance of the city, which had become
strange and unfamiliar at the beginning of the year and continued so
for a long time. For there was as yet no consul or praetor, and while
Antony, in so far as his costume went, which was the purple-bordered
toga, and his lictors, of whom he had only the usual six, and his
convening of the senate, furnished some semblance of the republic, yet
the sword with which he was girded, and the throng of soldiers that
accompanied him, and his very actions in particular indicated the
existence of a monarchy. In fact many robberies, outrages, and murders
took place. And not only was the existing situation most distressing to
the Romans, but they suspected Caesar of intending far more and greater
deeds of violence. For when the master of the horse never laid aside
his sword even at the festivals, who would not have been suspicious of
the dictator himself? Most of these festivals, by the way, Antony gave
at Caesar's expense, although the tribunes also gave a few. Even if any
one stopped to think of Caesar's goodness, which had led him to spare
many enemies, even such as had opposed him in battle, nevertheless,
seeing that men who have gained an office do not stick to the
principles that guided them when striving for it, they expected that
he, too, would change his course. They were distressed, therefore, and
discussed the matter with one another at length, at least those who
were safe in so doing, for they could not be intimate with any and
every one with impunity. For those who seemed to be one's very good
friends and others who were relatives would slander one, perverting
some statements and telling downright lies on other points. And so it
was that the rest found herein the chief cause of their distress, that,
since they were unable either to lament or to share their views with
others, they could not so much as give their feelings vent. For, while
it is true that intercourse with those similarly afflicted lightened
their burden somewhat, and the man who could safely utter and hear in
return something of what the citizens were undergoing felt easier, yet
their distrust of such as were not of like habits with themselves
confined their vexation within their own hearts and inflamed them the
more, as they could obtain neither escape nor relief. Indeed, in
addition to having to keep their sufferings shut up within their own
breasts, they were compelled to praise and admire their treatment, as
also to celebrate festivals, perform sacrifices, and appear happy over
it all.
This was the condition of the Romans in the city at that time. And, as
if it were not sufficient for them to be abused by Antony, one Lucius
Trebellius and Publius Cornelius Dolabella, tribunes, fell to
quarrelling. The latter championed the cause of the debtors, to which
class he belonged, and had therefore changed from the ranks of the
patricians to the plebs, in order to secure the tribuneship. The former
claimed to represent the nobles, but issued edicts and had recourse to
murders no less than the other. the, too, naturally resulted in great
turmoil and many weapons were everywhere to be seen, although the
senators had commanded that no changes should be made before Caesar's
arrival, and Antony that no private individual in the city should carry
arms. As the tribunes, however, paid no attention to these orders, but
resorted to absolutely every sort of measure against each other and
against the men just mentioned, a third party arose, consisting of
Antony and the senate. For in order to let it be thought that his
weapons and the authority that resulted from their possession, an
authority which he had already usurped, had been granted by that body,
he got the privilege of keeping soldiers within the walls and of
helping the other tribunes to guard the city. After this Antony did
whatever he desired with a kind of legal right, while Dolabella and
Trebellius were nominally guilty of violence; but their effrontery and
resources led them to resist both each other and him, as if they too
had received some position of command from the senate.
Meanwhile Antony learned that the legions which Caesar after the battle
had sent ahead into Italy, with the intention of following them later,
were engaged in questionable proceedings; and fearing that they might
begin some rebellion, he turned over the charge of the city to Lucius
Caesar, appointing him city prefect, an office never before conferred
by a master of the horse, and then set out himself to join the
soldiers. The tribunes who were at variance with each other despised
Lucius because of his advanced age and inflicted many outrages upon one
another and upon the rest, until they learned that Caesar having
settled affairs in Egypt, had set out for Rome. For they were carrying
on their quarrel upon the assumption that he would never return again
but would of course perish there at the hands of the Egyptians, as,
indeed, they kept hearing was the case. When, however, his coming was
reported, they moderated their conduct for a time; but as soon as he
set out against Pharnaces first, they fell to quarrelling once more.
Accordingly Antony, seeing that he was unable to restrain them and that
his opposition to Dolabella was obnoxious to the populace, at first
joined himself to that tribune and brought various charges against
Trebellius, among them one to the effect that he was appropriating the
soldiers to his own use. Later, when he perceived that he himself was
not held in any esteem by the multitude, which was attached only to
Dolabella, he became vexed and changed sides, the more so because,
while not sharing with the plebeian leader the favour of the people, he
nevertheless received the greatest share of blame from the senators. So
nominally he adopted a neutral attitude toward the two, but in fact
secretly preferred the cause of Trebellius, and coöperated with
him in various ways, particularly by allowing him to obtain soldiers.
Thenceforward he became merely a spectator and director of their
contest, while they fought, seized in turn the most advantageous points
in the city, and entered upon a career of murder and arson, to such an
extent that on one occasion the holy vessels were carried by the
virgins out of the temple of Vesta. So the senators once more voted
that the master of the horses should keep the city under stricter
guard, and practically the whole city was filled with soldiers. Yet
there was no respite. For Dolabella, in despair of obtaining any pardon
from Caesar, desired to accomplish some terrible deed before perishing,
hoping thus to gain lasting renown; thus there are actually some men
who become infatuated with the basest deeds for the sake of fame! From
this motive he, too, caused confusion generally, even promising that on
a certain specified day he would enact his laws in regard to debts and
house-rents. On receipt of these announcements the crowd erected
barricades around the Forum, setting up wooden towers at some points,
and put itself in readiness to cope with any force that might oppose
it. At that, Antony led down from the Capitol at dawn a large body of
soldiers, cut down the tablets containing Dolabella's laws and
afterwards hurled some of the disturbers from the very cliffs of the
Capitoline.
However, even this did not stop their quarrelling. Instead, the greater
the number of those who perished, the greater disturbance did the
survivors make, thinking that Caesar had become involved in a very
great and difficult war. And they did not cease until he himself
suddenly appeared before them; then they reluctantly quieted down. They
were expecting to suffer every conceivable ill fate, and there was talk
about them all through the city, some judging one way and others
another; but Caesar even at this juncture followed his usual practice.
Accepting their attitude of the moment as satisfactory and not
concerning himself with their past conduct, he spared them all, and
even honoured some of them, including Dolabella. For he owed the latter
some kindness, which he did not see fit to forget; in other words, in
place of overlooking that favour because he had been wronged, he
pardoned him in consideration of the benefit he had received, and
besides honouring him in other ways he not long afterward appointed him
consul, though he had not even served as praetor.
These were the events which occurred in Rome during Caesar's absence.
Now the reasons why he was so long in coming there and did not arrive
immediately after Pompey's death were as follows. The Egyptians were
discontented at the levies of money and indignant because not even
their temples were left untouched. For they are the most religious
people on earth in many respects and wage wars even against one another
on account of their beliefs, since they are not all greed in their
worship, but are diametrically opposed to each other in some matters.
As a result, then, of their vexation at this and, further, of their
fear that they might be surrendered to Cleopatra, who had great
influence with Caesar, they began a disturbance. Cleopatra, it seems,
had at first urged with Caesar her claim against her brother by means
of agents, but as soon as she discovered his disposition (which was
very susceptible, to such an extent that he had his intrigues with ever
so many other women — with all, doubtless, who chanced to come in his
way) she sent word to him that she was being betrayed by her friends
and asked that she be allowed to plead her case in person. For she was
a woman of surpassing beauty, and at that time, when she was in the
prime of her youth, she was most striking; she also possessed a most
charming voice and a knowledge of how to make herself agreeable to
every one. Being brilliant to look upon and to listen to, with the
power to subjugate every one, even a love-sated man already past his
prime, she thought that it would be in keeping with her rôle to
meet Caesar, and she reposed in her beauty all her claims to the
throne. She asked therefore for admission to his presence, and on
obtaining permission adorned and beautified herself so as to appear
before him in the most majestic and at the same time pity-inspiring
guise. When she had perfected her schemes she entered the city (for she
had been living outside of it), and by night without Ptolemy's
knowledge went into the palace. Caesar, upon seeing her and hearing her
speak a few words was forthwith so completely captivated that he at
once, before dawn, sent for Ptolemy and tried to reconcile them, thus
acting as advocate for the very woman whose judge he had previously
assumed to be. For this reason, and because the sight of his sister
within the palace was so unexpected, the boy was filled with wrath and
rushed out among the people crying out that he was being betrayed, and
at last he tore the diadem from his head and cast it away. In the great
tumult which thereupon arose Caesar's troops seized the person of the
prince and the Egyptian populace continued to be in an uproar. They
assaulted the palace by land and sea at the same time and might have
taken it without a blow, since the Romans had no adequate force
present, owing to the apparent friendship of the natives; but Caesar in
alarm came out before them, and standing in a safe place, promised to
do for them whatever they wished. Afterward he entered an assembly of
theirs, and producing Ptolemy and Cleopatra, read their father's will,
in which it was directed that they should live together according to
the custom of the Egyptians and rule in common, and that the Roman
people should exercise a guardianship over them. When he had done this
and had added that it belonged to him as dictator, holding all the
power of the people, to have an oversight of the children and to
fulfill their father's wishes, he bestowed the kingdom upon them both
and granted Cyprus to Arsinoë and Ptolemy the Younger, a sister
and a brother of theirs. For so great fear possessed him, it would
seem, that he not only laid hold on none of the Egyptian domain, but
actually gave them some of his own besides.
By this action they were temporarily calmed, but not long afterward
were roused even to the point of making war. For Pothinus, a eunuch who
was charged with the management of Ptolemy's funds and who had taken a
leading part in stirring up the Egyptians, became afraid that he might
some time have to pay the penalty for his conduct, and he accordingly
sent secretly to Achillas, who was still at this time near Pelusium,
and by frightening him and at the same time inspiring him with hopes he
made him his associate, and next won over also all the rest who bore
arms. To all of them alike it seemed a shame to be ruled by a woman —
for they suspected that Caesar on the occasion mentioned had given the
kingdom ostensibly to both the children merely to quiet the people, and
that in the course of time he would offer it to Cleopatra alone — and
they thought themselves a match for the army he then had present. So
they set out at once and proceeded toward Alexandria. Caesar, learning
of this and feeling afraid of their numbers and daring, sent some men
to Achillas, not his own, but in Ptolemy's name, bidding him keep the
peace. Achillas, however, realizing that this was not the boy's
command, but Caesar's, so far from giving it any attention, was filled
with contempt for the sender, believing him afraid. So he called his
soldiers together and by haranguing them at length in favour of Ptolemy
and against Caesar and Cleopatra he finally roused their anger against
the messengers, though these were Egyptians, so that they should defile
themselves with their murder and thus be forced into a relentless war.
Caesar, apprised of this, summoned his soldiers from Syria and
fortified the palace and the other buildings near it by a moat and wall
reaching to the sea. Meanwhile Achillas arrived with the Romans and the
others who had been left behind with Septimius by Gabinius to keep
guard over Ptolemy; for these troops as a result of their stay there
had changed their habits and had adopted those of the natives. And he
immediately won over the larger part of the Alexandrines and made
himself master of the most advantageous positions. After this many
battles occurred between the two forces both by day and by night, and
many places were set on fire, with the result that the docks and the
storehouses of grain among other buildings were burned, and also the
library, whose volumes, it is said, were of the greatest number and
excellence. Achillas was in possession of the mainland, with the
exception of what Caesar had walled off, and the latter of the sea
except the harbour. Caesar, indeed, was victorious in a sea-fight, and
when the Egyptians, consequently, fearing that he would sail into their
harbour, had blocked up the entrance with the exception of a narrow
passage, he cut off that outlet also by sinking freight ships loaded
with stones; so they were unable to stir, no matter how much they might
desire to sail out. After this achievement provisions, and water in
particular, were brought in more easily; for Achillas had deprived them
of the local water-supply by cutting the pipes.
While these events were taking place, one Ganymedes, a eunuch, secretly
brought Arsinoë to the Egyptians, as she was not very well
guarded. They declared her queen and proceeded to prosecute the war
more vigorously, inasmuch as they now had as leader a representative of
the family of the Ptolemies. Caesar, therefore, in fear that Pothinus
might kidnap Ptolemy, put the former to death and guarded the latter
strictly without any further dissimulation. This served still more to
incense the Egyptians, to whose party numbers were being added
continually, whereas the Roman soldiers from Syria were not yet
present. Caesar was therefore anxious to win the people's friendship,
and so he led Ptolemy up to a place from which they could hear his
voice, and then bade him say to them that he was unharmed and did not
desire war; and he urged them toward peace, and moreover promised to
arrange it for them. Now if he had talked to them thus of his own
accord, he might have persuaded them to become reconciled; but as it
was, they suspected that it was all prearranged by Caesar, and so did
not yield.
As time went on a dispute arose among the followers of Arsinoë,
and Ganymedes prevailed upon her to put Achillas to death, on the
ground that he was going to betray the fleet. When this had been done,
he assumed command of the soldiers and gathered all the boats that were
in the river and lake, besides constructing others; and he conveyed
them all through the canals to the sea, where he attacked the Romans
while off their guard, burned some of their freight ships to the
water's edge and towed others away. Then he cleared out the entrance to
the harbour and by lying in wait for vessels there he caused the Romans
great annoyance. So Caesar, having waited for a time when they were
acting carelessly by reason of their success, suddenly sailed into the
harbour, burned a large number of vessels, and disembarking on Pharos,
slew the inhabitants of the island. When the Egyptians on the mainland
saw this, they rushed over the bridges to the aid of their friends, and
after killing many of the Romans in turn drove the remainder back to
the ships. While the fugitives were forcing their way into these in
crowds anywhere they could, Caesar and many others fell into the sea.
He would have perished miserably, being weighted down by his robes and
pelted by the Egyptians (for his garments, being of purple, offered a
good mark), had he not thrown off his clothing and then succeeded in
swimming out to where a skiff lay, which he boarded. In this way he was
saved, and that, too, without wetting one of the documents of which he
held up a large number in his left hand as he swam. The Egyptians took
his clothing and hung it upon the trophy which they set up to
commemorate this rout, just as if they had captured him himself. They
also kept a close watch upon the landings, since the legions which had
been sent for from Syria were already drawing near, and were doing the
Romans much injury. For while Caesar could defend in a fashion those of
them who came ashore on the Libyan side, yet near the mouth of the Nile
the Egyptians deceived many of his men by means of signal fires, as if
they too were Romans, and thus captured them, so that the rest no
longer ventured to come to land, until Tiberius Claudius Nero at this
time sailed up the river itself, conquered the foe in battle, and made
it safer for his followers to come to land.
Thereupon Mithridates, called the Pergamenian, undertook to go up with
his ships into the mouth of the Nile opposite Pelusium; but when the
Egyptians barred his entrance with their vessels, he betook himself by
night to the canal, hauled the ships over into it, since it does not
empty into the sea, and through it sailed up into the Nile. After that
he suddenly attacked, from both sea and river at once, those who were
guarding the mouth of the river, and thus breaking up their blockade,
he assaulted Pelusium with his infantry and his fleet simultaneously
and captured it. Advancing then toward Alexandria, and learning that a
certain Dioscorides was coming to confront him, he ambushed and
destroyed him.
But the Egyptians on receiving the new would not end the war even then;
yet they were irritated at the rule of the eunuch and of the woman and
thought that if they could put Ptolemy at their head they would be
superior to the Romans. So then, finding themselves unable to seize him
in any way, inasmuch as he was skilfully guarded, they pretended that
they were worn out by their disasters and desired peace; and they sent
to Caesar, making overtures and asking for Ptolemy, in order, as they
claimed, that they might consult with him about the terms on which a
truce could be effected. Now Caesar believed that they had in very
truth changed their mind, since he heard that they were cowardly and
fickle in general and perceived that at this time they were terrified
in the face of their defeats; but even in case they should be planning
some trick, in order that he might not be regarded as hindering peace,
he said that he approved their request, and sent them Ptolemy. For he
saw no source of strength in the lad, in view of his youth and lack of
education, and hoped that the Egyptians would either become reconciled
with him on the terms he wished or else would more justly deserve to be
warred upon and subjugated, so that there might be some reasonable
excuse for delivering them over to Cleopatra; for of course he had no
idea that he would be defeated by them, particularly now that his
troops had joined him. But the Egyptians, when they secured the lad,
took not a thought for peace, but straightway set out against
Mithridates, as if they were sure to accomplish some great achievement
by the name and by the family of Ptolemy; and they surrounded
Mithridates near the lake, between the river and the marshes, and
routed his forces. Now Caesar did not pursue them, through fear of
being ambushed, but at night he set sail as if he were hurrying to some
outlet of the Nile, and kindled an enormous fire on each vessel, so
that it might be widely believed that he was going thither. He started
at first, then, to sail away, but afterwards extinguished the fires,
returned, passed alongside the city to the peninsula on the Libyan
side, where he came to land; and there he disembarked the soldiers,
went around the lake, and fell upon the Egyptians unexpectedly about
dawn. They were immediately so dismayed that they made overtures for
peace, but since he would not listen to their entreaty, a fierce battle
later took place in which he was victorious and slew great numbers of
the enemy. Ptolemy and some others tried in their haste to escape
across the river, and perished in it.
In this way Caesar overcame Egypt. He did not, however, make it subject
to the Romans, but bestowed it upon Cleopatra, for whose sake he had
waged the conflict. Yet, being afraid that the Egyptians might rebel
again, because they were delivered over to a woman to rule, and that
the Romans might be angry, both on this account and because he was
living with the woman, he commanded her to "marry" her other brother,
and gave the kingdom to both of them, at least nominally. For in
reality Cleopatra was to hold all the power alone, since her husband
was still a boy, and in view of Caesar's favour there was nothing that
she could not do. Hence her living with her brother and sharing the
rule with him was a mere pretence which she accepted, whereas in truth
she ruled alone and spent her time in Caesar's company.
She would have detained him even longer in Egypt or else would have set
out with him at once for Rome, had not Pharnaces not only drawn Caesar
away from Egypt, very much against his will, but also hindered him from
hurrying to Italy. This king was a son of Mithridates and ruled the
Cimmerian Bosporus, as has been stated; he conceived the desire to win
back again the entire kingdom of his ancestors, and so he revolted just
at the time of the quarrel between Caesar and Pompey, and, as the
Romans were at that time occupied with one another and after were
detained in Egypt, he got possession of Colchis without any difficulty,
and in the absence of Deiotarus subjugated all Armenia, and part? of
Cappadocia, and some cities of Pontus that had been assigned to the
district of Bithynia. While he was thus engaged, Caesar himself did not
stir, inasmuch as Egypt was not yet in a settled state and he had some
hope of overcoming Pharnaces through others; but he sent Gnaeus
Domitius Calvinus, assigning him charge of Asia and of .. legions. This
officer added to his forces Deiotarus and Ariobarzanes and marched
straight against Pharnaces, who was at Nicopolis, which he had already
seized; and feeling contempt for his enemy, because the latter in dread
of his arrival was ready through an embassy to agree to an armistice,
he did not conclude a truce with him, but attacked him and was
defeated. After that he retired to Asia, since he was no match for his
conqueror and winter was approaching. Pharnaces was greatly elated, and
after acquiring all the rest of Pontus, capture Amisus also, though it
long held out against him; and he plundered the city and put to the
sword all the men of military age there. He then hastened into Bithynia
and Asia with the same hopes as his father had cherished. Meanwhile,
learning that Asander, whom he had left as governor of Bosporus, had
revolted, he gave up advancing any farther. For Asander, as soon as
word was brought that Pharnaces was moving far away from him, and it
seemed likely that however prosperous he might be temporarily, he would
not fare well later on, rose against him, thinking thus to do a favour
to the Romans and to receive the sovereignty of Bosporus from them.
It was at the news of this that Pharnaces set out against him, but all
in vain; for on ascertaining that Caesar was on the way and was
hurrying into Armenia, he turned back and met him there near Zela. For
now that Ptolemy was dead and Domitius vanquished, Caesar had decided
that his delay in Egypt was neither creditable nor profitable to him,
and had set out from there and had come with great speed into Armenia.
And so the barbarian, alarmed and fearing Caesar's rapidity much more
than his army, sent messengers to him before he drew near, making
frequent proposals to see if he might on some terms or other except the
present danger. One of the principal pleas that he presented was that
he had not coöperated with Pompey, and he hoped to induce Caesar
to grant a truce, particularly since the latter was anxious to hasten
to Italy and Africa; and once Caesar was gone, he hoped to wage war
again at his ease. Caesar suspected this, and do treated the first and
second embassies with great kindness, in order that he might fall upon
his foes as unexpectedly as possible because of his hopes of peace; but
when the third deputation came, he uttered various reproaches against
him one being that he had deserted Pompey, his benefactor. Then he no
longer delayed, but immediately, that very day and just as he came from
the march, joined battle. For a little while some confusion was caused
him by the enemy's cavalry and scythe-bearing chariots, but after that
he conquered with his heavy-armed troops. Pharnaces escaped into the
sea and later tried to force his way into Bosporus, but Asander
repulsed and killed him. Caesar took great pride in this victory,— more
in fact, than in any other, even though it had not been very
brilliant,— because on the same day and in the same hour, he had come
to the enemy, had seen him, and had conquered him. All the spoils,
though of great magnitude, he bestowed upon the soldiers, and he set up
a trophy to offset one which Mithridates had raised somewhat in that
region to commemorate the defeat of Triarius. He did not dare to take
down that of the barbarians, because it had been dedicated to the gods
of war, but by the erection of his own near it he overshadowed and in a
sense overthrew the other. Next he recovered all the territory
belonging to the Romans and those under treaty with them which
Pharnaces had taken, and restored it all to the persons who had been
dispossessed, except a portion of Armenia, which he granted to
Ariobarzanes. The people of Amisus he rewarded with freedom, and to
Mithridates the Pergamenian he gave a tetrarchy in Galatia and the
title of king and allowed him to wage war against Asander, so that by
conquering him, he might get Bosporus also, since Asander had proved
base toward his friend.
After accomplishing this and ordering Domitius to arrange other matters
he came to Bithynia and from there to Greece, whence he sailed for
Italy, collecting along the way great sums of money from everybody, and
upon every pretest, just as before. In the first place, he exacted all
that any had previously promised to Pompey, and again, he asked for
still more from other sources, bringing various accusations to justify
his action. He removed all the votive offerings of Heracles at Tyre,
because the inhabitants had received the wife and son of Pompey when
they fled. He also got many golden crowns for potentates and kings in
honour of his victories. All this he did, not out of malice, but
because his expenditures were on a vast scale and because he was
intending to lay out still more upon his legions, his triumph, and
everything else that gratified his pride. In short, he showed himself a
money-getter, declaring that there were two things which created,
protected, and increased sovereignties,— soldiers and money,— and that
these two were dependent of each other. For it was by proper
maintenance, he said, that armies were kept together, and this
maintenance was secured by arms; and in case either one of them were
lacking, the other also would be overthrown at the same time.
About these matters he ever thought and spoke thus. Now it was to Italy
that he hurried and not to Africa, although the latter region had
become hostile to him, because he learned of the disturbances in the
capital and feared that they might be carried to dangerous heights.
Nevertheless, as I have said, he did no harm to any one, except that
there, too, he collected large amounts, partly in the shape of crowns
and statues and the like which he received as gifts, and partly by
"borrowing as he styled it, not only from individual cities but also
from cities. This term "borrowing" he applied to those levies of money
for which there was no other reasonable excuse; for he exacted these
sums also in a high-handed way and no less by force than he collected
money actually due him, and it was his intention never to repay them.
He claimed, indeed, that he had spent his private possessions for the
public good and that indeed it was for that reason he was borrowing.
Accordingly, when the multitude demanded an annulment of debts, he
would not grant this, saying: "I, too, owe large amounts." It was easy
to see that he was wresting away others' property also by his position
of supremacy, and for this his associates as well as others disliked
him. For these men, who had bought a great deal of the confiscated
property, in some cases for more than its real value, in the hope of
retaining it without paying for it, now found themselves compelled to
pay the full price.
But to such persons he paid no attention. Nevertheless, to a certain
extent he did court them, too, as individuals. For he made a present to
the multitude of all the interest they were owing from the time he had
gone to war with Pompey, and he released them from all rent for one
year, up to the sum of two thousand sesterces; furthermore he raised
the valuation on the goods, in terms of which it was required by law
for loans to be paid to their worth at the time the loan had been made,
in view of the fact that everything had become much cheaper as a result
of the great amount of confiscated property. By these acts he attached
the people to himself; and he attached the members of his party and
those who had fought for him in the following manner. Upon the senators
he bestowed priesthoods and offices, some of them for the rest of that
year and some for the next. Indeed, in order to reward a larger number,
he appointed ten praetors for the next year and more than the customary
number of priests; for he added one member each to the pontifices and
to the augurs, of whom he was one, and also to the Quindecemviri, as
they were called, although he had desired to take all the priesthoods
himself, as had been decreed. The knights in the army and the
centurions and subordinate officers he conciliated in various ways,
especially by appointing some of them to the senate to fill the places
of those who had perished.
The legions, however, caused him no slight trouble; for they had
expected to receive a great deal, and when they found their rewards
inferior to their expectation, though not less, to be sure, than their
deserts, they made a disturbance. The most of them were in Campania,
being destined to sail on ahead to Africa. These nearly killed Sallust,
who had been appointed praetor in order to recover his senatorial rank;
and when, after escaping them, he set out for Rome to inform Caesar of
what was going on, many followed him, sparing no one on their way, but
killing, among others whom they met, two senators. Caesar, as soon as
he heard of their approach, wished to send his body-guard against them,
but fearing that it, too, might join in the mutiny, he remained quiet
until they reached the suburbs. While they waited there he sent to them
and inquired what wish or what need had brought them. Upon their
replying that they would tell him personally he allowed them to enter
the city unarmed, except for their swords; for they were regularly
accustomed to wear these in the city, and they would not have submitted
to laying them aside at that time. They had much to say about the toils
and dangers they had undergone and much about what they had hoped for
and what they declared they deserved to obtain. Next they asked to be
released are service and were very insistent with him upon this point,
not that they wished to return to private life,— indeed they were far
from anxious for this, since they had long been accustomed to the gains
of war,— but because they thought they would scare Caesar in this way
and accomplish anything they pleased, since his projected invasion of
Africa was close at hand. He, however, made no reply to their first
statements, but said merely: "Why, of course, Quirites, what you say is
right; you are naturally weary and worn out with wounds," and then at
once disbanded them all as if he had no further need of them, promising
that he would give the rewards in full to such as had served the
appointed time. .4">At these words they were struck with alarm both
at his intention in general and particularly because he had called them
Quirites instead of soldiers; and so, humiliated and fearing they
should meet with some severe penalty, they changed front and addressed
him with many entreaties and offers, promising that they would join his
expedition as volunteers and would carry the war through for him by
themselves. When they had reached this stage and one of their leaders
also, either on his own impulse or as a favour to Caesar, had said a
few words and presented a few petitions in their behalf, he replied: "I
discharge both you who are present here and all the rest whose years of
service have expired; for I really have no further need of you. Yet
even so I will pay you the rewards, that no one may say that after
using you in dangers I later showed myself ungrateful, even though you
were unwilling to join my campaign while perfectly strong in body and
able to carry through all the wars that remain." This he said for
effect, for they were quite indispensable to him. He then assigned them
all land from the public holdings and from his own, settling them in
different places, and separating them far from one another, so that
they should not, but living somewhat together, either be a source of
terror to their neighbours or, again, be ready for rebellion. As to the
money that he owed them,— and on the eve of practically every action he
had promised to give them large amounts,— he offered to pay part
immediately and to settle for the remainder with interest in the near
future. When he had said this and had so enthralled them that they
showed no sign of boldness but even went so far as to express their
gratitude, he added: "You have all that is due to you for me, and I
will compel no one of you to make campaigns any longer. If, however,
any one wishes of his own accord to help me accomplish what remains, I
will gladly receive him." Hearing this, they were overjoyed, and all
alike volunteered to serve again. Caesar put aside the turbulent
spirits among them,— not all to be sure, but as many as were moderately
well acquainted with farming and so could make a living,— and the
others he used. He did the same also in the case of the rest of his
soldiers: those who were overbold and able to cause serious trouble he
took away from Italy, in order that they might not be left behind there
and begin an insurrection; and he took great satisfaction in using them
up in Africa on various pretexts, since at the same time he was
destroying his foes through their efforts he was also ridding himself
of them. For although he was the kindliest of men and showed many
favours not only to the citizens in general but particularly to his
soldiers, he bitterly hated those of them who were mutinous and
punished them with extreme severity.
These were the things he did in that year in which he really ruled
alone as dictator for the second time, though Calenus and Vatinius,
appointed near the close of the year, were said to be the consuls. He
also crossed over to Africa, although winter had set in. And he met
with no little success from this very circumstance, by attacking his
opponents unexpectedly. On all occasions, indeed, he accomplished a
great deal by his rapidity and by the unexpectedness of his movements,
so that if any one should try to find out what it was that made him so
superior in the art of war to his contemporaries, he would find by
careful comparison that there was nothing more striking than this very
characteristic. Now Africa had not been friendly to Caesar in the first
place, and after Curio's death it became thoroughly hostile. For Varus
and Juba were in charge of affairs, and furthermore Cato, Scipio and
their followers had all taken refuge there, as I have stated. After
this they made common cause in the war, carried on their preparations
by land, and also made descents by sea upon Sicily and Sardinia,
harrying their cities and taking back their ships, from which they
obtained a plentiful supply of arms and of iron in other forms, which
alone they lacked. Finally they reached a state of preparedness and
courage that, when no army opposed them and Caesar delayed in Egypt and
the capital, they sent Pompey to Spain. For on learning that the
country was in revolt they thought that the people would readily
receive him as the son of Pompey the Great; and while he was making
preparations to occupy Spain in a short time and to set out from there
to the capital, the others were getting ready to make the voyage to
Italy. At first they experienced a slight delay, due to a dispute
between Varus and Scipio about the leadership, inasmuch as the former
had held sway for a longer time in these regions, and Juba also, elated
by his victory, demanded that he should have first place because of it.
But Scipio and Cato, who far excelled them all in rank and in
shrewdness respectively, reached an agreement and won the rest over to
it, persuading them to entrust everything to Scipio. For Cato, who
might have commanded on equal terms with him, or even alone, refused,
first, because he thought it a most injurious course in such
circumstances, and second, because he was inferior to the other in
official rank. He saw that in military matters even more than elsewhere
it was very important that the commander should have some legal
precedence over the others, and therefore he willingly yielded him the
command and furthermore delivered to him the armies that he had brought
there. After this Cato interceded on behalf of Utica, which was
suspected of favouring Caesar's cause and had come near being destroyed
by the others on this account, and thus he received it to guard, and
the whole country and sea in that vicinity were entrusted to his
protection. The other districts were governed by Scipio as
commander-in-chief. His very name was a source of strength to all those
who sided with him, since by some strange, unreasonable hope they
believed that no Scipio could meet with misfortune in Africa.
When Caesar learned of this and saw that his own soldiers also were
persuaded that it was so and were consequently afraid, he added to his
retinue a man of the family of the Scipios who bore that name (he was
otherwise known as Salutio), and then made the voyage to Hadrumetum,
since the neighbourhood of Utica was strictly guarded; and since his
crossing in the winter was unexpected, he escaped the enemy's notice.
When he had left his ship, an accident happened to him which, even if
some disaster was portended to his expedition by Heaven, he
nevertheless turned to a good omen. Just as he was setting foot on land
he slipped, and the soldiers, seeing him fall on his face, were
disheartened and in their chagrin raised an outcry; Caesar, however,
did not lose his presence of mind, but stretching out his hands as if
he had fallen on purpose, he embraced and kissed the ground, crying
out: "I have thee, Africa!" Thereupon he made an assault of Hadrumetum,
but was repulsed and actually driven out of his camp by main force.
Then he transferred his position to another city called Ruspina, and
being received by the inhabitants, established his winter quarters
there and proceeded to carry on the war from that base.
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