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30When they had reached this agreement in their camps at Brundisium, they entertained each other at banquets, Caesar in military and Roman fashion and Antony in Asiatic and Egyptian style. 2And now that they had become reconciled, as it appeared, the soldiers who were at that time with Caesar surrounded Antony and demanded of him the money which the two had promised them before the battle of Philippi; and, indeed, it was for this that he had been sent into Asia, in order to collect as much as possible. 3And when he failed to give them anything, they would certainly have done him some harm, if Caesar had not restrained them by inspiring them somehow with new hopes. After this experience, in order to guard against further unruliness, they sent the superannuated soldiers to the colonies, and then took up the war. 4For Sextus had come to Italy in accordance with the agreement he had made with Antony, intending, with Antony’s help, to wage war against Caesar; but when he learned of their agreement he himself went back to Sicily, and ordered Menas, a freedman of his to whom he was altogether devoted, to coast about with a portion of the fleet and injure the property of his opponents. 5Menas, accordingly, ravaged many parts of Etruria and captured Marcus Titius, the son of Titius who was one of the proscribed and was then on the side of Sextus; this son had got together some ships in the interest of his own supremacy and had taken up his station off the province of Narbonensis. 6This Titius suffered no harm, for on his father’s account, and because his soldiers carried the name of Sextus on their shields, his life was spared; yet he did not recompense his benefactor fairly, but, on the contrary, defeated him in battle and finally slew him, so that his conduct in this matter is remembered among the most notable examples of its kind. 7Now after Menas had accomplished all this as described, he sailed to Sardinia and engaged in a conflict with Marcus Lurius, the governor there; and at first he was routed, but later, when the other was pursuing him heedlessly, he awaited his attack and turned the tables upon Lurius by winning an unexpected victory over him. 8Thereupon Lurius abandoned the island and Menas occupied it, taking all the places by capitulation, except Caralis, which he took by siege; for many fugitives from the battle had taken refuge there. He released without ransom several of the captives, including Helenus, a freedman of Caesar, who stood in high favour with his master, thus laying up for himself with Caesar a store of kindness against some future time and preparing a refuge for himself, if he should ever need anything at Caesar’s hands.
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