Roman History, 48

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1Thus Brutus and Cassius perished, slain by the swords with which they had murdered Caesar; and also the others who had shared in the plot against him were all, except a very few, destroyed, some before this, some at this time, and some subsequently. For justice and the Divine Will seem to have led to suffer death themselves men who had killed their benefactor, one who had attained such eminence in both virtue and good fortune. 2As for Caesar and Antony, on the other hand, they secured an advantage over Lepidus for the moment, because he had not shared the victory with them; yet they were destined ere long to turn against each other. For it is a difficult matter for three men, or even two, who are equal in rank and as a result of war have gained control over such vast interests, to be of one accord. 3Hence, whatever they for a time had gained while acting in harmony for the purpose of overthrowing their adversaries, all this they now began to set up as prizes to be won by rivalry with each other. Thus, they immediately redistributed the empire, so that Spain and Numidia fell to Caesar, Gaul and Africa to Antony; and they further agreed that, in case Lepidus showed any vexation at this, they should give up Africa to him. 2This was all they allotted between them, since Sextus was still occupying Sardinia and Sicily, and the other regions outside of Italy were still in a state of turmoil. About Italy itself I need say nothing, of course, as it was always excluded from such allotments; for they never even talked as if they were struggling to obtain it, but as if they were defending it. 2So they left Italy and the places held by Sextus to be common property, and Antony undertook to reduce those who had fought against them and to collect the money necessary to pay what had been promised to the soldiers; and Caesar undertook to curtail the power of Lepidus, in case he should make any hostile move, to conduct the war against Sextus, 3and to assign to those of their troops who had passed the age-limit the land which they had promised them; and these they forthwith discharged. Furthermore, he sent with Antony two legions of his followers, and Antony promised to give him in return an equal number of those stationed at the time in Italy. 4After making these agreements by themselves, putting them in writing, and sealing them, they exchanged copies of the documents, to the end that, if any transgression were committed, it might be proved by these records. Thereupon Antony set out for Asia and Caesar for Italy.

3Caesar was so prostrated by his sickness on the journey and during the voyage as to cause even the people in Rome to look for his death. They did not believe, however, that he was lingering so much by reason of ill health as because he was devising some mischief, and consequently they expected to suffer every possible injury. 2Yet they not only voted to the conquerors many honours for their victory, such as would have been given, of course, to their opponents, had they conquered (for on such occasions everybody always spurns the loser and honours the victor), but they also decided, though against their will, to celebrate a thanksgiving during practically the entire year; for Caesar ordered them outright to do this in recognition of the vengeance taken upon the assassins. 3During this delay of Caesar’s all sorts of stories were current and all sorts of feelings resulted from them. For example, some spread a report that he was dead and caused pleasure to many people; others said he was planning some evil and filled numerous persons with fear. 4Therefore some proceeded to hide their property and to protect themselves, and others considered in what way they might possibly make their escape. Others, and they were the majority, being unable even to devise a plan by reason of their excessive fear, prepared to meet a certain doom. 5The courageous element was insignificant and exceedingly small; for in the light of the former great and manifold destruction of both lives and property they expected that anything whatever of a like character or worse might happen, inasmuch as they now had been utterly vanquished. 6Therefore Caesar, fearing that they might begin a revolt, especially since Lepidus was there, forwarded a letter to the senate urging its members to be of good cheer, and promising, further, that he would do everything in a mild and humane way, after the manner of his father.

4This was what took place then. The following year Publius Servilius and Lucius Antonius nominally became consuls, but in reality it was Antonius and Fulvia. She, the mother-in -law of Caesar and wife of Antony, had no respect for Lepidus because of his slothfulness, and managed affairs herself, so that neither the senate nor the people transacted any business contrary to her pleasure. 2At any rate, when Lucius urged that he be allowed to celebrate a triumph over certain peoples dwelling in the Alps, on the ground that he had conquered them, Fulvia for a time opposed him and no one was for granting it, but when her favour was courted and she gave permission, they voted for the measure unanimously; 3therefore, though it was nominally Antonius who . . . and celebrated a triumph over the people whom he claimed to have vanquished (in reality he had done nothing deserving a triumph and had held no command at all in those regions), yet it was actually Fulvia. . . . At all events, she assumed a far prouder bearing over the affair than he did, because she had a truer cause; 4for to give any one authority to hold a triumph was a greater thing than to celebrate one which had been received at another’s hands. Except that Lucius donned the triumphal garb, mounted the chariot, and performed the other rites customary in such cases, it was Fulvia herself who seemed to be giving the spectacle, employing him as her assistant. 5It took place on the first day of the year, and Lucius plumed himself as much as Marius had done on the circumstance that he held it on the first day of the month in which he began his consulship. 6Moreover, he exulted even more than Marius, claiming that he had voluntarily laid aside the trappings of the procession and had assembled the senate in his civilian dress, whereas Marius had done so unwillingly. And he added that scarcely a single crown had been given to Marius, whereas he himself had obtained many, and particularly from the people, tribe by tribe, an honour which had been conferred upon no former victor—in his case owing to the influence of Fulvia and to the money which he had secretly lavished upon various persons.

5It was in this year that Caesar arrived in Rome; and after he had taken the usual steps to celebrate his victory, he turned his attention to the administration and despatch of the affairs of state. Lepidus, it seems, did not resort to revolutionary measures, partly because he feared Caesar and partly because he was lacking in resolution; and as for Lucius and Fulvia, they kept quiet at first, because they counted upon their kinship with Caesar and upon their being partners in his supremacy. 2But as time went on, they quarrelled, Lucius and Fulvia, because when the lands were apportioned they did not secure a share in the portion which belonged to Antony, and Caesar, because he did not get back from the others his troops. Hence their kinship by marriage was dissolved and they were brought to open warfare. 3For Caesar could not endure the difficult temper of his mother-in -law, and choosing to appear to be at odds with her rather than with Antony, he sent back her daughter, with the remark that she was still a virgin,—a statement which he confirmed by an oath,—indifferent whether it should be thought that the woman had remained a virgin in his house so long a time for other reasons, or whether it should seem that he had so planned it long in advance by way of preparing for the future. 4After this had happened there was no longer any friendship between them, but Lucius together with Fulvia attempted to get control of affairs, pretending to be doing this on behalf of Antony, and would yield to Caesar on no point (in fact because of his devotion to his brother he took the cognomen Pietas); 5while Caesar on his part made no open charge against Antony, fearing to make him an enemy while he was in charge of the provinces in Asia, but he accused the other two and took measures to thwart them, on the ground that they were acting in all respects contrary to Antony’s desire and were aiming at their own supremacy.

6Both sides placed the greatest hope of power in the allotment of land, and consequently the beginning of their quarrel was concerned with that. For Caesar wished to act by himself in distributing the territory to all those who had made the campaign with himself and Antony, according to the compact made with them after the victory, in order to win their good-will, 2while Lucius and Fulvia claimed the right to assign to their troops the lands that fell to them and to colonize the cities, in order to appropriate to themselves the influence of these colonies. For it seemed to both sides to be the simplest method to give to the troops which had fought with them the possessions of the unarmed. But, contrary to their expectation, great disturbance resulted and the matter began to tend toward war. 3For at first Caesar proceeded to take from the possessors and to give to the veterans all Italy (except what some old campaigner might have received as a gift or bought from the government and was then holding), together with the slaves and the entire equipment of the estates; consequently the persons who were being deprived of their property were terribly enraged against him. 4Thereupon Fulvia and the consul changed their plan, since they hoped to gain more power in the cause of the oppressed, and consequently neglected those who were to receive the estates and turned their attention to the other class, which was more numerous and was animated by a righteous indignation at the despoliation they were suffering. 5Next they espoused the cause of these persons individually, aiding and uniting them, so that the men who previously had been afraid of Caesar became courageous now that they had found champions, and would no longer give up any of their property; for they supposed that Marcus, too, approved of the consul’s policy. 7Lucius and Fulvia, accordingly, were winning over this class and at the same time were not clashing with the adherents of Caesar. For instead of pretending that there was no need for the soldiers to receive allotments, they tried to show that the possessions of those who had fought against them were sufficient for the soldiers, 2particularly by pointing out lots of land and articles of furniture, some still available and some already sold, of which, they declared, the former ought to be given to the men outright and the price of the latter presented to them. If even this did not satisfy them, they tried to secure the affection of them all by holding out hopes in Asia. 3In this way it quickly came about that Caesar, inasmuch as he was forcibly taking away the property of those who possessed anything and was causing troubles and dangers on account of it to all alike, gave offence to both parties; whereas the other two, since they were taking nothing from anybody and were showing those who were to receive the gifts how the promises made to them could be fulfilled without a conflict by drawing upon the resources lying ready at hand, won over each of the two classes. 4In consequence of this and of the famine, which was grievously oppressing them at this time, inasmuch as the sea off Sicily was controlled by Sextus and the Ionian Gulf by Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus, Caesar found himself in dire straits. 5For Domitius was one of Caesar’s murderers, and having escaped from the battle at Philippi, he had got together a small fleet, had made himself for a time master of the Gulf, and was doing the greatest harm to the cause of his opponents.

8Now all this troubled Caesar greatly, and likewise the fact that in the disputes which had arisen between the veterans and the senators and the landholding class in general—and these disputes were coming up in great numbers, since they were struggling for the greatest prizes—he could not attach himself to either side without danger. 2It was impossible, of course, for him to please both; for the one side wished to run riot, the other to be unharmed, the one side to get the property of others, the other to hold what was their own. And as often as he gave the preference to the interests of this party or that, according as he found it necessary, he incurred the hatred of the other; and he did not meet with so much gratitude for the favours he conferred as anger for the concessions he refused to make. 3For the one class took as their due all that was given them and regarded it as no kindness, while the other was indignant on the ground that they were being robbed of their own belongings. And as a result he continued to offend either the one group or the other, and to be reproached, now with being a friend of the people, and now with being a friend of the army. 4Consequently he was making no headway, and he furthermore learned by actual experience that arms had no power to make the injured feel friendly toward him, and that, while all those who would not submit might perish by arms, yet it was out of the question for any one to be compelled to love a person whom he does not wish to love. 5Thereupon he reluctantly yielded, and not only desisted from depriving the senators of their property (for previously he used to think it right to distribute anything that was theirs, asking them: “From what other source, then, are we to pay the veterans their prize money?”—as if anyone had commanded him to wage war or to make his large promises to the soldiers), but also kept his hands off other private property, such as the objects of value which women had acquired for their marriage portions or the property possessed by other persons, when it was of less value than the allotment of land given to the individual veteran.

9When this was done the senate and the others who were having nothing taken from them became fairly meek in their attitude toward him, but the veterans were indignant, feeling that Caesar’s sparing of the others’ property and the honour shown them were at the expense of their own honour and profit, since they would thus receive less. 2They killed many of the centurions and of the others who were friendly to Caesar and were trying to restrain them from rioting, and they came very near slaying Caesar himself, making any excuse suffice for their anger. 3And they did not cease from their irritation until their own relatives and also the fathers and sons of those who had fallen in battle had had restored to them all the land that any of them had possessed. As a result of this the soldiers became more friendly toward him once more, while for that very reason the populace was again indignant. 4They repeatedly came to blows and there was continual fighting between them, so that many were wounded and killed on both sides alike. The one party was superior by reason of the arms with which it was equipped and of its experience in the wars, and the other by its larger numbers and by their tactics in hurling missiles upon their opponents from the roofs. 5Consequently many houses were burned down, and the rent of those who dwelt in the city was entirely remitted up to a maximum of two thousand sesterces, while for those who lived in the rest of Italy it was reduced to a fourth for one year. For the fighting went on in all the cities alike, wherever the two parties fell in with each other.

10When these things kept occurring, and soldiers sent ahead by Caesar into Spain made an uprising at Placentia and were not quieted until they had received money from the people there, and when, furthermore, they were hindered from crossing the Alps by Calenus and Ventidius, who held Transalpine Gaul, 2Caesar became afraid that he might meet with some disaster and began to wish to be reconciled with Fulvia and the consul. And when he could not accomplish anything by making overtures to them personally and on his own responsibility, he had recourse to the veterans and through them attempted to effect a reconciliation. 3The others were elated at this, and since they were winning over those who had lost their land, Lucius went about in every direction organizing them and detaching them from Caesar, while Fulvia occupied Praeneste, and with senators and knights for her associates was wont to conduct all her deliberations with their help, even sending orders to whatever points required it. 4And why should anyone be surprised at this, when she would gird herself with a sword, give out the watchword to the soldiers, and in many instances harangue them, all of which gave additional offence to Caesar? 11He, however, had no way of overthrowing his opponents, being far inferior to them not only in troops, but also as regards the good-will of the citizens; for he was causing distress to many, whereas they were filling everyone with hope. Accordingly he often proposed reconciliation to them personally through friends, and when he accomplished nothing, he sent to them envoys from the veterans. 2For he expected by this means, if possible, to obtain his request, adjust his present difficulties, and gain a strength equal to theirs for the future; but in case he should fail of these aims, he believed that, at any rate, they and not he would bear the responsibility for the quarrel. 3And this actually happened. For when he effected nothing even through the soldiers, he sent senators, showing them the compact which Antony had made with him and appointing them arbitrators of their “differences,” as he expressed it. 4But even then nothing was accomplished, since his opponents in the first place made many counter-proposals, demands which Caesar was sure not to comply with, and then claimed to be doing everything that they did by the order of Mark Antony; thereupon Caesar betook himself once more to the veterans.

12After this the veterans assembled in Rome in great numbers, giving out that they intended to make some communication to the people and the senate. But instead of troubling themselves about this errand, they assembled on the Capitol, and after commanding that the compact which Antony and Caesar had made should be read to them, they ratified these agreements and voted that they themselves should be made arbitrators of the differences between them. 2After recording this action on tablets and sealing them, they delivered them to the Vestal Virgins to keep; and they gave command to Caesar, who was present, and to the other party through an embassy, to present themselves for the trial at Gabii on a stated day. 3Caesar showed his readiness to submit to arbitration, and the others promised to be there but did not go, either because they were afraid or because they thought it beneath them; at any rate, they were wont to make fun of the veterans, calling them among other names senatus caligatus, on account of the military boots they wore. So the veterans condemned Lucius and Fulvia as guilty of wrong-doing and espoused the cause of Caesar; 4and then, after many further deliberations, they took up the war once more and proceeded vigorously with their preparations for it. In particular they collected money from all sources, even from the temples; for they took away all the votive offerings that could be converted into money, those deposited in Rome itself as well as those in the rest of Italy that was under their control. 5Both money and soldiers came to them also from Gallia Togata, which had been included by this time in the district of Italy in order that no one else, under the plea of ruling that province, should keep soldiers south of the Alps.

13Both Caesar was making his preparations, then, and Fulvia and Lucius were gathering their supplies and assembling their forces. Meanwhile both sides in turn sent embassies and despatched soldiers and officers in every direction, and each managed to seize some places first, though repulsed from others. The most of these operations, especially those involving no great or memorable achievement, I will pass over, but will relate briefly the points which are most worthy of mention.

2Caesar made an expedition against Nursia, among the Sabines, and routed the garrison encamped before it, but was repulsed from the city by Tisienus Gallus. Accordingly he went over into Umbria and laid siege to Sentinum, but failed to capture it. 3For Lucius meanwhile had sent soldiers at first to his friends in Rome on one excuse and another, and then had suddenly marched against the city himself, conquered the cavalry force that met him, hurled the infantry back within the walls, 4and after that had taken the city, since his soldiers who had already arrived there joined in attacking the defenders inside, and since neither Lepidus, who had been entrusted with the guarding of the place, offered any resistance by reason of his inherent slothfulness, nor did Servilius, the consul, who was too easy-going. So on ascertaining this Caesar left Quintus Salvidienus Rufus to look after the people of Sentinum, and himself set out for Rome. 5Now when Lucius learned of this, he withdrew before Caesar’s arrival, having had a vote passed authorizing him to leave the city in order to begin a war; indeed, he delivered an address before the people in military uniform, which no one else had done. Thus Caesar was received into the capital without striking a blow, and when he pursued Lucius and failed to capture him, he returned and kept a more careful watch over the city. 6Meanwhile, as soon as Caesar had left Sentinum and Gaius Furnius, the defender of the walls, had issued forth and pursued him a long distance, Rufus unexpectedly attacked the citizens inside, and capturing the town, plundered and burned it. The inhabitants of Nursia came to terms without having suffered any ill treatment; when, however, after burying those who had fallen in the battle they had had with Caesar, they inscribed on their tombs that they had died contending for their liberty, they were punished by an enormous fine, so that they abandoned their city and at the same time all their territory.

14While they were thus engaged, Lucius withdrew from Rome as I have stated and set out for Gaul; but finding his way blocked, he turned aside to Perusia, an Etruscan city. There he was intercepted first by the lieutenants of Caesar and later by Caesar himself, and was besieged. 2The investment proved a long operation; for the place is naturally a strong one and had been amply stocked with provisions; and horsemen sent by Lucius before he was entirely hemmed in greatly harassed the besiegers, while many others besides came speedily to his defence from various quarters. 3Many attacks were made upon these reinforcements separately and many engagements were fought close to the walls, until the followers of Lucius, even though they were generally successful, nevertheless were forced by hunger to capitulate. The leader and some others obtained pardon, but most of the senators and knights were put to death. 4And the story goes that they did not merely suffer death in an ordinary form, but were led to the altar consecrated to the former Caesar and were there sacrificed—three hundred knights and many senators, among them Tiberius Cannutius, who previously during his tribuneship had assembled the populace for Caesar Octavianus. 5Of the people of Perusia and the others who were captured there the majority lost their lives, and the city itself, except the temple of Vulcan and the statue of Juno, was entirely destroyed by fire. 6This statue, which was preserved by some chance, was brought to Rome, in accordance with a vision that Caesar saw in a dream, and it secured for the city the privilege of being peopled again by any who desired to settle there, though they did not acquire anything of its territory beyond the first mile.

15After the capture of Perusia in the consulship of Gnaeus Calvinus (who was serving for the second time) and Asinius Pollio, the other places in Italy also went over to Caesar, partly as the result of force and partly of their own accord. For this reason Fulvia fled with her children to her husband, 2and many of the foremost men made their way partly to him and partly to Sextus in Sicily. Julia, the mother of the Antonii, went there at first and was received by Sextus with extreme kindness; later she was sent by him to her son Marcus, carrying proposals of friendship to him and taking along envoys. 3In this company, which at that time departed from Italy and took refuge with Antony, was Tiberius Claudius Nero. He had been in charge of a garrison in Campania, and when Caesar’s party got the upper hand, he withdrew with his wife Livia Drusilla and with his son Tiberius Claudius Nero. 4This, again, was one of the strangest whims of fate; for this Livia, who then fled from Caesar, later on was married to him, and this Tiberius, who then took flight with his parents, succeeded Caesar in the office of emperor.

16This, however, occurred later. At the time in question the citizens of Rome resumed the garb of peace, which they had laid aside without any decree, under compulsion from the people; they gave themselves up to merry-making, conveyed Caesar in his triumphal dress into the city and honoured him with a laurel crown, giving him also the right to wear it on every occasion on which it was the custom of those celebrating triumphs to use it. 2And after Italy had been subdued and the Ionian Gulf cleared (for Domitius, despairing of ever again being able to dominate it unsupported, had sailed away to Antony), Caesar proceeded to make preparations to set out against Sextus. When, however, he learned the power of this foe and that he had been in communication with Antony through Antony’s mother and through envoys, he feared that he might become embroiled with both at once; 3therefore, since he preferred Sextus as more trustworthy, or perhaps as stronger, than Antony, he sent him his mother Mucia and married the sister of Sextus’ father-in -law, Lucius Scribonius Libo, in the hope that by this favour and by this relationship he might make him a friend.

17Sextus, it should be explained, after leaving Spain at the time already referred to in accordance with his compact with Lepidus, had been appointed admiral a little later; and although he had been removed from his office by Caesar, he nevertheless held on to his fleet and made bold to sail to Italy. But when Caesar’s adherents had now secured control of the country 2and he learned that he had been convicted as one of the assassins of Caesar’s father, he kept away from the mainland, but sailed about among the islands, maintaining a sharp watch on what was going on and supplying himself with food without resort to crimes; for inasmuch as he had not taken part in the murder, he expected to be restored by Caesar himself. 3When, however, his name actually was posted on the tablet and he knew that the edict of proscription was in force against him also, he despaired of being restored by Caesar and made ready for war. He proceeded to build triremes, receive the deserters, win the support of the pirates, and take the exiles under his protection. 4By these means he soon grew powerful and became master of the sea off Italy, so that he made descents upon its harbours, towed away the vessels, and engaged in pillage. As matters went well with him and his activity supplied him with soldiers and money, he sailed to Sicily and seized Mylae and Tyndaris without effort, though he was repulsed from Messana by Pompeius Bithynicus, then governor of Sicily. 5Nevertheless he did not retire altogether from the island, but overran the country, prevented the importation of provisions, and won over those who brought help to the Sicilians by filling some with fear of suffering a similar fate and by laying ambushes for others and injuring them; he also attached to himself the quaestor, securing the funds he had, and finally got possession of Messana and also Bithynicus under an agreement that the latter should enjoy equal authority with him. 6Bithynicus he did not harm at the time; but from the citizens he took away their arms and money. His next step was to win over Syracuse and some other cities, from which he gathered more soldiers and got together a very strong fleet. Quintus Cornificius also sent him a considerable force from Africa.

18While Sextus was thus growing stronger, Caesar for a time took no notice of him, both because he despised him and because the business in hand kept him occupied. But when, owing to the famine, many deaths occurred in the city, and Sextus made an attempt on Italy also, Caesar at last began to have a fleet equipped and sent Salvidienus Rufus ahead with a large force to Rhegium. 2Rufus managed to repel Sextus from Italy, and when Sextus retired to Sicily, undertook to manufacture boats of leather, similar to those used on the ocean. He made a framework of light rods for the interior and stretched over them an uncured ox-hide after the manner of a circular shield. 3When he got himself laughed at and decided that it would be dangerous for him to try to use them in crossing the strait, he abandoned them and ventured to undertake the passage with the fleet that had been got ready and had since arrived; but it proved impossible for him to do so, since the superior number and size of his ships were far from being a match for the skill and daring of the enemy. 4Now Caesar was an eye-witness of the battles, inasmuch as these events took place when he was setting out on his expedition into Macedonia, and he was filled with chagrin, particularly because this was the first time he had been defeated in any encounter. For this reason, although the major part of his fleet had been preserved, he did not again venture to cross over by main force, 5but he made many attempts to do so secretly, feeling that if he could once set foot on the island he would certainly be decidedly superior with his infantry. After a time, however, finding that he was accomplishing nothing because of the vigilant guard maintained on every side, he ordered others to keep a watch on Sicily and himself went to meet Antony at Brundisium, whence, reinforced by his main fleet, he crossed the Ionian Gulf.

19After this Sextus occupied the whole of the island and put Bithynicus to death on the charge that he had plotted against him. He also produced triumphal spectacles and held a naval battle of the captives in the strait close to Rhegium itself,—so that his opponents could look on,—causing small wooden boats to contend with others of leather in mockery of Rufus. 2After this he built more ships and dominated the sea round about; and he assumed a certain additional glory and pride by representing himself to be the son of Neptune, since his father had once ruled the whole sea. Thus he fared as long as the forces of Cassius and Brutus held together; 3but when those men had perished, Lucius Staius and others took refuge with him. He was at first glad to receive him, for he brought with him the force he commanded; but later, observing that he was an active and high-spirited man, he put him to death on a charge of treachery. 4Thus reinforced by the fleet of Staius and also by the multitude of slaves who kept arriving from Italy, he gained tremendous strength; in fact, so many persons deserted that the Vestal Virgins prayed over the sacrifices that their desertions might be checked.

20For these reasons, and because Sextus was harbouring the exiles, cultivating the friendship of Antony, and plundering a great portion of Italy, Caesar desired to become reconciled with him; but when he failed of that, he ordered Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa to wage war against him, and himself set out for Gaul. 2However, when Sextus learned of this, he waited until Agrippa was busy with the Ludi Apollinares; for he was praetor at the time, and was not only giving himself airs in various other ways on the strength of his being an intimate friend of Caesar, but also in particular gave a two-days’ celebration of the Circensian games and prided himself upon his production of the game called “Troy,” which was performed by the boys of the nobility. Now while he was thus occupied, Sextus crossed over into Italy and remained there, carrying on marauding expeditions, until Agrippa arrived; then he left a garrison at certain points and sailed back again. 3As for Caesar, he had formerly tried, as I have related, to get possession of Gaul through various agents, but had been unable on account of Calenus and the others who supported Antony’s cause; but he now occupied it in person, when he discovered that Calenus had fallen ill and died, and when he had acquired his army without difficulty. 4Meanwhile, seeing that Lepidus was vexed at being deprived of the province that belonged to him, he sent him to Africa, desiring that he should receive the province as a gift from himself alone, and not from Antony also, and should thus become more closely attached to him.

21The Romans had two provinces in that part of Africa, as I have remarked; the governors, before the league of the triumvirs, were Titus Sextius over the Numidian country and Cornificius with Decimus Laelius over the other, the first-named being friendly to Antony and the other two to Caesar. 2For a time Sextius waited, expecting that the others, who had a far larger force, would invade his domain, and he was preparing to withstand them there. But when they delayed he began to despise them; and he was further elated when a cow spoke with a human voice, as they say, and bade him lay hold of the task before him, 3and when he had a dream in which a bull that had been buried in the city of Tucca seemed to urge him to dig up its head and carry it about on a pole, intimating that by this means he should conquer. Without hesitation, then, especially when he found the bull at the place where the dream said it was, he took the initiative by invading Africa. 4At the outset he occupied Hadrumetum and some few other places, which were taken by surprise at his sudden assault; but later, while off his guard because of this very success, he was ambushed by the quaestor of Cornificius, lost a large portion of his army, and withdrew into Numidia. And since he chanced to meet with this reverse when he was without the bull’s head, he ascribed his defeat to that fact and made preparations to take the field again. 5Meanwhile his opponents anticipated him by invading his province, and while the others were besieging Cirta, the quaestor of Cornificius, with the cavalry, proceeded against him, overcame him in a few cavalry battles, and won over Sextius’ quaestor. After these experiences Sextius secured some fresh reinforcements, risked battle again, conquered the quaestor in his turn, and shut up Laelius, who was overrunning the country, within his fortifications. 6He deceived Cornificius, who was intending to come to the defence of his colleague, making him believe that Laelius had been captured, and after thus throwing him into a state of dejection defeated him; and he not only slew Cornificius in the battle, but also Laelius, who made a sally with the intention of taking his enemy in the rear.

22After this achievement Sextius occupied Africa and governed both provinces in security, until Caesar, according to the compact made by him with Antony and Lepidus, took over the command of these provinces and put Gaius Fuficius Fango in charge of them; then, indeed, Sextius voluntarily gave up the provinces. 2When, however, the battle with Brutus and Cassius had been fought, and Caesar and Antony had redistributed the world, Caesar taking Numidia for his share of Libya, and Antony Africa,—for Lepidus, as I have stated, ruled with them only in name, and often was not recorded in the documents even to this extent,— 3when, I say, this had occurred, Fulvia bade Sextius resume his rule of Africa. He was at this time still lingering in Libya, making the winter season his plea, but in reality knowing full well that there would be some kind of revolution. As he could not persuade Fango to retire from the country, he associated himself with the natives, who detested Fango; for he had served in the mercenary force—many of whose members, as has been stated in my narrative, had actually been elected to the senate—and was ruling the natives badly. 4At this turn of affairs Fango retired into Numidia, where he ill-treated the people of Cirta because they despised him in view of the present circumstances. He also expelled from his kingdom a certain Arabio, a prince among the neighbouring barbarians, who had first helped Laelius and had later attached himself to Sextius; this he did because Arabio refused to make an alliance with him. 5When the prince fled to Sextius, Fango demanded his surrender, and upon being refused he grew angry, invaded Africa, and ravaged a part of the country; but when Sextius took the field against him, he was defeated in slight but numerous engagements and consequently retired again into Numidia. 6Sextius went after him and had hopes of soon vanquishing him, especially with the aid of Arabio’s horse, but he became suspicious of Arabio and treacherously murdered him, after which he accomplished nothing further at that time, for the cavalry, enraged at Arabio’s death, left Sextius in the lurch and most of them took the side of Fango. 23For the time being Sextius and Fango concluded an alliance, agreeing that the cause for war between them had been removed; later, however, Fango waited until Sextius was feeling secure on account of the truce and then invaded Africa. 2Thereupon they joined battle with each other, and at first both sides were victorious and also beaten; for Fango was superior in his Numidian cavalry and Sextius in his citizen infantry, so that they plundered each other’s camps without the men on either side knowing what fate had befallen their comrades. 3Then when they retired and perceived what had happened, they came to blows again, the Numidians were routed, and Fango escaped for the moment into the mountains; but during the night some hartbeestes ran past, and, thinking that the enemy’s cavalry were at hand, he committed suicide. 4Thus Sextius gained possession of all the other districts without trouble, and subdued by famine Zama, which held out for a long time. Thereafter he governed both the provinces again until Lepidus was sent. 5Against him he took no measures, either because he thought this policy had the approval of Antony, or because he was by no means so strong as Lepidus in troops; instead, he remained quiet, acting as if the inevitable were a favour on his own part to Lepidus. In this way Lepidus gained possession of both provinces.

24So much for these events. During this same period, following the battle at Philippi, Mark Antony came to the mainland of Asia, where he levied contributions upon the cities and sold the positions of authority; some of the districts he visited in person and to others he sent agents. 2Meanwhile he fell in love with Cleopatra, whom he had seen in Cilicia, and thereafter gave not a thought to honour but became the Egyptian woman’s slave and devoted his time to his passion for her. This caused him to do many outrageous things, and in particular to drag her brothers from the temple of Artemis at Ephesus and put them to death. 3And finally he left Plancus in the province of Asia and Saxa in Syria and departed for Egypt. This action was chiefly responsible for many disturbances: the inhabitants of the island of Arados paid no heed to the agents sent them by him to secure money, and even went so far as to kill some of them, and the Parthians, who had previously been active, 4now assailed the Romans more than ever. Their leaders were Labienus and Pacorus, the latter being a son of King Orodes and the former a son of Titus Labienus. The manner of Labienus’ coming among the Parthians, and what he did in conjunction with Pacorus, was as follows. 5He was an ally of Brutus and Cassius, and having before the battle been sent to Orodes to secure some reinforcements, was detained by him a long time while the king was waiting the turn of events and hesitating to join forces with him, yet fearing to refuse. 6Later, when the news of the defeat reached him, and it appeared to be the intention of the victors to spare none who had resisted them, Labienus remained among the barbarians, choosing to live with them rather than to perish at home. Now as soon as Labienus was aware of Antony’s demoralization, of his passion, and of his departure for Egypt, he persuaded the Parthian king to make an attack upon the Romans. 7For he declared their armies were either destroyed utterly or impaired, while the remainder of the troops were in a state of mutiny and would again be at war; and he accordingly advised the king to subjugate Syria and the adjoining districts, while Caesar was busy in Italy with Sextus and Antony was indulging his passion in Egypt. 8He promised to assume command in the war, and assured Orodes that if allowed to follow this course he would detach many of the provinces, inasmuch as they were already estranged from the Romans through the constant ill-treatment they had experienced.

25By these arguments Labienus persuaded Orodes to wage war and was entrusted by him with a large force and with the king’s son Pacorus. With them he invaded Phoenicia, and advancing against Apamea, he was repulsed from its walls but won the garrisons in the country to his side without resistance. 2For these garrisons consisted of troops that had served with Brutus and Cassius; Antony had incorporated them in his own forces and at this time had assigned them to garrison Syria because they knew the country. So Labienus easily won over all these men, since they were well acquainted with him, with the exception of Saxa, their leader at the time, who was brother of the general Saxa as well as quaestor and therefore refused to go over to the other side, being the only one who did; 3and Saxa the general he conquered in a pitched battle through the superior numbers and ability of his own cavalry, and when the other later on made a dash by night from his intrenchments, he pursued him. The reason why Saxa fled was that he feared his associates would take up with the cause of Labienus, who was trying to lure them away by means of pamphlets which he kept shooting into Saxa’s camp. 4Now when Labienus overtook the fugitives, he slew most of them, and then, when Saxa made his escape to Antioch, he captured Apamea, which no longer resisted, since the inhabitants believed that Saxa was dead; and subsequently he brought Antioch also to terms, now that Saxa had abandoned it, and finally, after pursuing the fugitive into Cilicia, he seized Saxa himself and put him to death. 26After the death of Saxa, Pacorus made himself master of Syria and subjugated all of it except Tyre; but that city had already been occupied by the Romans who survived and by the natives who were in sympathy with them, and neither persuasion could prevail against them nor force, since Pacorus had no fleet. 2They accordingly continued to be proof against capture, but Pacorus secured all the rest of Syria. He then invaded Palestine and deposed Hyrcanus, who was at the moment in charge of affairs there, having been appointed by the Romans, and in his stead set up his brother Aristobulus as a ruler because of the enmity existing between them. 3In the meantime Labienus had occupied Cilicia and had obtained the allegiance of the cities of the mainland except Stratonicea, since Plancus, in fear of him, had crossed over to the islands; most of the places he took without conflict, but for Mylasa and Alabanda he had to fight. 4For although these cities had accepted garrisons from him, they murdered them on the occasion of a festival and revolted; and because of this he punished the people of Alabanda when he had captured it, and razed to the ground the town of Mylasa after it had been abandoned. As for Stratonicea, he besieged it for a long time, but was unable to capture it in any way.

5Now in consequence of these successes Labienus proceeded to levy money and to rob the temples; and he styled himself imperator and Parthicus, in the latter respect acting directly contrary to the Roman custom, in that he took his title from those whom he was leading against the Romans, as if it were the Parthians and not his fellow-citizens that he was defeating. 27As for Antony, although he kept himself informed of all these operations, as no doubt he did in the case of what was going on in Italy also (for he was ignorant of none of them whatsoever), yet he failed in both instances to take defensive measures in time; instead, he was so under the sway of his passion and of his drunkenness that he gave not a thought either to his allies or to his enemies. 2It is indeed true that he had earnestly devoted himself to his duties so long as he had been in a subordinate station and had been aiming at the highest prizes, but now that he had got into power, he no longer paid strict attention to any of these things, but joined Cleopatra and the Egyptians in general in their life of luxurious ease until he was entirely demoralized. 3So when at last he was forced to bestir himself, he sailed to Tyre with the intention of aiding it, but on seeing that the rest of Syria had already been occupied before his coming, he left the inhabitants to their fate, on the pretext that he had to wage war against Sextus; and yet he excused his dilatoriness with regard to the latter by alleging his business with the Parthians. 4And thus on account of Sextus, as he pretended, he gave no assistance to his allies, and none to Italy on account of his allies, but coasted along the mainland as far as Asia and crossed to Greece. 5There, after meeting his mother and wife, he made Caesar his enemy and made an alliance with Sextus. After this he went over to Italy, got possession of Sipontum, and proceeded to besiege Brundisium, which had refused to come to terms with him.

28While he was thus engaged, Caesar, who had already arrived from Gaul, had collected his forces and had sent Publius Servilius Rullus to Brundisium and Agrippa against Sipontum. Agrippa took the city by storm, but Servilius was suddenly attacked by Antony, who destroyed many of his men and won many over. 2The two leaders thus broke out into open war and were sending messages to the various cities and to the veterans, wherever they thought they could get any aid; and all Italy was again thrown into turmoil, especially Rome, and some were already choosing one side or the other, and others were hesitating. While the leaders themselves and those who were to assist them in the war were in a state of suspense, Fulvia died in Sicyon, where she had been staying. 3And although Antony was held responsible for her death because of his passion for Cleopatra and her wantonness, nevertheless, when this news was announced, both sides laid down their arms and effected a reconciliation, either because Fulvia had really been the cause of their variance hitherto or because they chose to make her death an excuse, in view of the fear which each inspired in the other, inasmuch as the forces which they had, as well as their ambitions, were equally matched. 4By the arrangement then made Caesar received Sardinia, Dalmatia, Spain, and Gaul, and Antony all the districts that belonged to the Romans across the Ionian Sea, both in Europe and in Asia; as for the provinces in Africa, they were of course still held by Lepidus, and Sicily by Sextus.

29They accordingly divided the empire anew in this way and undertook in common the war against Sextus, although Antony through messengers had taken oaths by which he had bound himself to Sextus against Caesar. 2And it was chiefly for this reason that Caesar brought himself to receive, under a general amnesty, all those who had gone over to Antony in the war with Lucius, Antony’s brother,—among them being Domitius and some of the other assassins of Caesar,—as well as all those whose names had been posted on the tablets or had in any way coöperated with Brutus and Cassius and had later embraced the cause of Antony. 3So great, indeed, is the perversity that reigns in factional strife and war; for men in power take no account of justice, but determine on friend and foe according as their own interests and advantage at the time dictate, and accordingly they regard the same men, now as their enemies, now as their friends, according to the occasion.

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.

31Menas, then, was so employed; but as for the people in Rome, they would no longer hold their peace, inasmuch as Sardinia was in hostile hands, the coast was being pillaged, and they had had their corn supply cut off, while the famine, the great number of taxes of all sorts which were being imposed, and in addition contributions assessed upon such as possessed slaves, all irritated them greatly. 2Much as they were pleased with the reconciliation of Antony and Caesar,—for they thought that harmony between these men meant peace for themselves,—they were equally or even more displeased at the war which the two men were carrying on against Sextus. 3But a short time before they had brought the two rulers into the city mounted on horses as if at a triumph, had bestowed upon them the triumphal dress just as upon those who celebrated triumphs, had allowed them to view the festivals seated upon their chairs of state, and had espoused to Antony Caesar’s sister, Octavia, now that her husband was dead, though she was pregnant; 4at the present time, however, they changed their behaviour to a remarkable degree. At first, when they met at various gatherings or came together to witness a spectacle, they would urge Antony and Caesar to secure peace, and at this they raised loud shouts of approval; and when these leaders would not heed them, they were alienated from them and favoured Sextus. 5They not only kept up a general talk to foster his interests, but also at the games in the Circus honoured by loud applause the statue of Neptune carried in the procession, thus expressing their great delight in him. And when on certain days it was not brought out, they took stones and drove the magistrates from the Forum, threw down the statues of Caesar and Antony, and finally, when they could not accomplish anything even in this way, they rushed violently upon those men as if to kill them. 6Caesar, although his followers were wounded, rent his garments and betook himself to supplicating them, whereas Antony bore himself with more violence toward them; and when, chiefly because of this, the people became angered and it was feared that they would even commit some act of violence in consequence, the two were forced against their will to make overtures to Sextus.

32Meanwhile Caesar and Antony removed the praetors and the consuls, although it was now near the close of the year, and appointed others instead, caring little that these would remain in office but a few days. 2One of those who at this time became consuls was Lucius Cornelius Balbus, of Gades, who so far surpassed the men of his generation in wealth and munificence that at his death he left a bequest of one hundred sesterces to each Roman citizen. 3They not only did this, but when an aedile died on the last day of the year, they chose another to fill out the remaining hours. It was at this same time that the Aqua Iulia, as it was called, was brought into Rome 4and the festival that had been vowed for the completion of the war against the assassins of Caesar was celebrated by the consuls. The duties belonging to the college called the Septemviri were performed by the pontifices, since no member of the college was present; this was also done on many other occasions afterwards.

33Besides these events which took place that year Caesar gave a public funeral to Sphaerus, who had been his attendant in childhood and had been given his freedom. Also he put to death Salvidienus Rufus, whom he suspected of having plotted against him. 2This man was of most obscure origin, and once while he was tending his flocks a flame had issued from his head; but he had been so greatly advanced by Caesar as to be made consul without even being a member of the senate, and his brother who died before him had been laid to rest across the Tiber, after a bridge had been constructed for this very purpose. 3But nothing in the life of man is lasting, and he was finally accused in the senate by Caesar himself and slain as an enemy both of him and of the entire people; thanksgivings were offered for his downfall and furthermore the care of the city was committed to the triumvirs with the customary admonition “that it should suffer no harm.” 4In the year preceding this, men belonging to the order of knights had slaughtered wild beasts at the games in the Circus on the occasion of the Ludi Apollinares, and an intercalary day had been inserted, contrary to the rule, in order that the first day of the succeeding year should not coincide with the market held every nine days—a clash which had always been strictly guarded against from very early times. Naturally the day had to be subtracted again later, in order that the calendar should run according to the system devised by the former Caesar. 5The domains of Attalus and of Deiotarus, who had both died in Galatia, were given to a certain Castor. Also the law which went by the name of the Lex Falcidia, a law which is in full force even to -day in the matter of the succession to inheritances, was enacted by Publius Falcidius while tribune; its terms are, that if an heir feels burdened in any way, he may secure a fourth of the property bequeathed him by surrendering the rest.

34These were the events of the two years; the next year, when Lucius Marcius and Gaius Sabinus held the consulship, the acts of the triumvirs from the time they had formed their oligarchy received ratification at the hands of the senate, 2and certain further taxes were imposed by them, because the expenditures proved far greater than the budget made in the time of the former Caesar. For though they were expending vast sums for themselves and especially upon the soldiers, the only thing they were ashamed of was that the expenditures they were making were contrary to precedent. 3For example, when Caesar now for the first time shaved off his beard, he held a magnificent entertainment himself besides granting all the other citizens a festival at public expense. He also kept his chin smooth afterwards, like the rest; for he was already beginning to be enamoured of Livia also, and for this reason divorced Scribonia the very day she bore him a daughter. 4Since the expenditures, then, were growing far greater than before, and the revenues, which were in any case insufficient, came in at this time in even smaller amounts by reason of the factional discord, they introduced certain new taxes; and they enrolled ever so many men in the senate, not only from among the allies, or else soldiers, or sons of freedmen, but even slaves. 5At any rate, one Maximus, when about to become quaestor, was recognized by his master and haled away; and while in his case immunity was granted him for having dared to stand for the office, yet another slave who was detected while serving as a praetor was hurled down the rocks of the Capitol, having first been freed, that his punishment might take on the proper dignity.

35The expedition which Antony was preparing against the Parthians afforded them some excuse for the large number of new senators. On this same plea they also appointed various magistrates for a number of years ahead, including the consuls for eight full years, thus rewarding some of those who had coöperated with them and winning the favour of others. 2And they did not choose two annual consuls only, as had been the custom, but now for the first time chose several, and these on the very day of the elections. Even before this time, to be sure, some had held office after others who had neither died nor been removed because of disfranchisement or any other reason, but all such persons had become officials presumably in accordance with the decision of the magistrates who had been chosen to office for the entire year, whereas now nobody was chosen to serve for a year, but various sets of officials were appointed for the different portions of the entire period. 3And the men first to enter upon the office of consul secured the name of consuls for the whole year, as is even now the case; the others were accorded the same title, it is true, by those who lived in the city or in the rest of Italy during the period of each one’s office, as, indeed, is the case to -day, but the other citizens of the empire knew few or none of them and therefore called them “lesser consuls.”

36These were the acts of Caesar and Antony at home; with Sextus they first reached an understanding through their associates as to how and on what terms they could effect a reconciliation, and later they themselves conferred with him near Misenum. The two took their station on the land and Sextus not far from where they were on a mound that had been constructed in the sea, with water all around it, for the purpose of securing his safety. 2There was present also the whole fleet of Sextus and the whole infantry of the other two; and not merely that, but the forces on the one side had been drawn up on the shore and those of the other side on the ships, both fully armed, so that it was perfectly evident to all from this very circumstance that it was from fear of each other’s military strength and from necessity that they were making peace, the two because of the people and Sextus because of his adherents. 3The compact was made upon these conditions, that the slaves who had deserted should be free and that all those who had been banished should be restored, except Caesar’s assassins. They merely pretended, of course, to exclude the last-named, since in reality some of them also were about to be restored; indeed, Sextus himself was reputed to have been one of them. 4But at any rate it was recorded that all the rest except those should be permitted to return in safety and with a right to a quarter of their confiscated property; that tribuneships, praetorships and priesthoods should be given to some of them immediately; that Sextus himself should be chosen consul and appointed augur, 5should obtain seventy million sesterces from his father’s estate, and should govern Sicily, Sardinia and Achaia for five years; that he should not receive deserters or acquire more ships or keep any garrisons in Italy, 6but should devote his efforts to securing peace for the peninsula from the side of the sea, and should send a stated amount of grain to the people in the city. They limited him to this period of time because they wished it to appear that they also were holding a temporary and not a permanent authority.

37After drafting these compacts and reducing them to writing they deposited the documents with the Vestal Virgins, and then exchanged pledges and embraced one another. Upon this a great and mighty shout arose from the mainland and from the ships at the same moment. 2For many soldiers and many civilians who were present suddenly cried out all together, being terribly tired of the war and strongly desirous of peace, so that even the mountains resounded; and thereupon great panic and alarm came upon them, and many died of no other cause, while many others perished by being trampled under foot or suffocated. 3Those who were in the small boats did not wait to reach the land itself, but jumped out into the sea, and those on land rushed out into the water. Meanwhile they embraced one another while swimming and threw their arms around one another’s necks as they dived, making a spectacle of varied sights and sounds. 4Some knew that their relatives and associates were living, and seeing them now present, gave way to unrestrained joy. Others, supposing that those dear to them had already died, saw them now unexpectedly and for a long time were at a loss what to do, and were rendered speechless, at once distrusting the sight they saw and praying that it might be true, and they would not accept the recognition as true until they had called their names and had heard their voices in answer; 5then, indeed, they rejoiced as if their friends had been brought back to life again, but as they must yield perforce to a flood of joy, they could not refrain from tears. Again, some who were unaware that their dearest ones had perished and thought they were alive and present, went about seeking for them and asking every one they met regarding them. 6As long as they could learn nothing definite they were like madmen and were reduced to despair, both hoping to find them and fearing that they were dead, unable either to give up hope in view of their longing or to give up to grief in view of their hope. 7But when at last they learned the truth, they would tear their hair and rend their garments, calling upon the lost by name as if their voices could reach them and giving way to grief as if their friends had just then died and were lying there before their eyes. 8And even if any had no such cause themselves for joy or grief, they were at least affected by the experiences of the rest; for they either rejoiced with him that was glad or grieved with him that mourned, and so, even if they were free from an experience of their own, yet they could not remain indifferent on account of their comradeship with the rest. 9Accordingly they became neither sated with joy nor ashamed of grief, because they were all affected in the same way, and they spent the entire day as well as the greater part of the night in these demonstrations.

38After this the leaders as well as the rest received and entertained one another, first Sextus on his ship and then Caesar and Antony on the shore; for Sextus so far surpassed them in military strength that he would not disembark to meet them on the mainland until they had gone aboard his ship. 2And although, by this arrangement, he might have murdered them both while they were in the small boat with only a few followers, as Menas, in fact, advised, he was unwilling to do so. Indeed to Antony, who had possession of his father’s house in the Carinae (the name of a region in the city of Rome), 3he uttered a jest in the happiest manner, saying that he was entertaining them in the Carinae; for this is also the name for the keels of ships. Nevertheless, he did not act toward them in any way as if he recalled the past with bitterness, and on the following day he was not only feasted in turn but also betrothed his daughter to Marcus Marcellus, Caesar’s nephew.

39This war, then, had been deferred; and that of Labienus and the Parthians came to an end in the following way. Antony himself returned from Italy to Greece and delayed there a long time, satisfying his desires and injuring the cities, so that they should be in the weakest possible condition when delivered up to Sextus. 2He lived during this time in many respects contrary to the customs of his country, calling himself, for example, the young Dionysus and insisting on being called so by others; and when the Athenians, in view of this and his general behaviour, betrothed Athena to him, he declared that he accepted the marriage and exacted from them a dowry of four million sesterces. While he was occupied with these matters he sent Publius Ventidius before him into Asia. 3This officer came upon Labienus before his coming had been announced and terrified him by the suddenness of his approach and by his legions; for Labienus was without his Parthians and had with him only the soldiers from the neighbourhood. Ventidius found he would not even risk a conflict with him and so thrust him forthwith out of that country and pursued him into Syria, taking the lightest part of his army with him. 4He overtook him near the Taurus range and allowed him to proceed no farther, but they encamped there for several days and made no move, for Labienus was awaiting the Parthians and Ventidius his heavy-armed troops. 40These reinforcements, however, arrived during the same days on both sides, and though Ventidius through fear of the barbarian cavalry remained on the high ground, where he was encamped, 2the Parthians, because of their numbers and because they had been victorious once before,despised their opponents and rode up to the hill at dawn, without even waiting to join forces with Labienus; and when nobody came out to meet them, they actually charged straight up the incline. 3When they were at length on the slope, the Romans rushed down upon them and easily hurled them down-hill. Many of the Parthians were killed in hand-to -hand conflict, but still more caused disaster to one another in the retreat, as some had already turned to flight and others were still coming up; and the survivors fled, not to Labienus, but into Cilicia. 4Ventidius pursued them as far as the camp, but stopped when he saw Labienus there. The latter marshalled his forces as if to offer him battle, but perceiving that his soldiers were dejected by reason of the flight of the barbarians, he ventured no opposition at the time, although when night came he attempted to escape somewhere. 5Nevertheless, Ventidius learned his plan beforehand from deserters, and by setting ambushes killed many in the retreat and gained over all the rest, after they had been abandoned by Labienus. The latter by changing his dress gained safety at the time and escaped detection for awhile in Cilicia, 6but was afterwards captured by Demetrius, a freedman of the former Caesar, who had at this time been assigned to Cyprus by Antony; for Demetrius, learning that Labienus was in hiding, made a search for him and arrested him.

41After this Ventidius recovered Cilicia and attended to the administration of this district himself, but sent ahead Pompaedius Silo with cavalry to the Amanus. 2This mountain is on the border between Cilicia and Syria, and has a pass so narrow that a wall and gates were once built across it and the place received its name from that fact. 3Silo, however, was unable to occupy it and actually came near perishing at the hands of Phranapates, a lieutenant of Pacorus in charge of the garrison at the pass. This would certainly have been his fate, had not Ventidius by chance come upon him when he was fighting and succoured him. 4For Ventidius fell upon the barbarians when they were not expecting him and were at the same time in smaller force, and slew Phranapates and many others. In this way he took over Syria without a battle, now that it was deserted by the Parthians, with the exception of the Aradii, and later occupied Palestine without trouble, after he had frightened the king, Antigonus, out of the country. 5Besides accomplishing all this he exacted large sums of money from the rest individually, and large sums also from Antigonus and Antiochus and Malchus the Nabataean, because they had given help to Pacorus. Ventidius himself received no reward for these achievements from the senate, since he was not acting with independent authority but as lieutenant to another; but Antony was honoured with eulogies and thanksgivings. 6As for the Aradii, they were afraid they would have to pay the penalty for their boldness against Antony, and so would not come to terms with him, though they were besieged by him for a time; but later they were captured by others after much difficulty.

7About this same time an uprising took place among the Parthine Illyrians, but it was put down by Pollio after a few battles. 42There was another on the part of the Cerretani in Spain, and they were subjugated by Calvinus after he had met with a preliminary success and also a reverse,—the latter through his lieutenant, who was ambushed by the barbarians and deserted by his soldiers. 2Calvinus undertook no operation against the enemy until he had punished these deserters; calling them together as if for some other purpose, he made the rest of the army surround them, and then put to death every tenth man in two centuries and punished many of the centurions, including the one who was serving in the primus pilus, as it is called. 3After doing this and gaining, like Marcus Crassus, a reputation for his disciplining of his army, he set out against his opponents and with no great difficulty vanquished them. 4And he obtained a triumph in spite of the fact that Spain had been assigned to Caesar; for those in power could grant the honours at will to those who served as their lieutenants. The gold customarily given by the cities for the triumph Calvinus took from the Spanish towns alone, and of it he spent only a part on the festival, but the greater portion on the Regia. 5This had been burned down, and he now rebuilt and dedicated it, adorning it splendidly with various objects and with statues in particular, which he asked Caesar to send him, intimating that he would give them back. And when asked for them later, he did not return them, excusing himself by a witticism. 6Pretending that he had not enough assistants, he said: “Send some men and take them.” And thus Caesar, since he shrank from the sacrilege, allowed them to remain as votive offerings.

43This is what happened at that time. But in the consulship of Appius Claudius and Gaius Norbanus, who were the first to have two quaestors apiece as associates, the populace revolted against the tax-gatherers, who oppressed them severely, and came to blows with the men themselves, their assistants, and the soldiers who helped them to collect the money; 2and sixty-seven praetors one after another were appointed and held office. One person was chosen to be quaestor while still accounted a boy, and did not obtain the standing of a juvenis until the next day; and another, who had been enrolled in the senate, desired to fight as a gladiator. 3Not only was he prevented, however, from doing this, but an act was also passed prohibiting any senator from fighting as a gladiator, any slave from serving as lictor, and any burning of dead bodies from being carried on within two miles of the city.

4Now many events of a portentous nature had occurred even before this, such as the spouting of olive oil on the bank of the Tiber, and many also at this time. Thus the hut of Romulus was burned as a result of some ritual which the pontifices were performing in it; a statue of Virtus, which stood before one of the gates, fell upon its face, and certain persons, becoming inspired by the Mother of the Gods, declared that the goddess was angry with them. 5For this reason the Sibylline books were consulted, and they made the same declarations and prescribed that the statue should be taken down to the sea and purified in its waters. Now when the goddess was taken out a long distance from the land into the deep water and remained there a good while, being brought back only after a long time, 6this circumstance also caused the Romans no little fear, and they did not recover their spirits until palm trees, four in number, sprang up round about her temple and in the Forum.

Besides these occurrences at that time, Caesar married Livia. 44She was the daughter of Livius Drusus, who had been among those proscribed on the tablet and had committed suicide after the defeat in Macedonia, and the wife of Nero, whom she had accompanied in his flight, as has been related. And it seems that she was in the sixth month with child by him. 2At any rate, when Caesar was in doubt and enquired of the pontifices whether it was permissible to wed her while pregnant, they answered that if there was any doubt whether conception had taken place the marriage should be put off, but if this was admitted, there was nothing to prevent its taking place immediately. Perhaps they really found this among the ordinances of the forefathers, but certainly they would have said so, even had they not found it. 3Her husband himself gave the woman in marriage just as a father would; and the following incident occurred at the marriage feast. One of the prattling boys, such as the women keep about them for their amusement, naked as a rule, on seeing Livia reclining in one place with Caesar, and Nero in another with a man, went up to her and said: “What are you doing here, mistress? For your husband,” pointing him out, “is reclining over there.” 4So much then, for this. Later, when the woman was now living with Caesar, she gave birth to Claudius Drusus Nero. Caesar both acknowledged him and sent him to his real father, making this entry in his memoranda: “Caesar returned to its father Nero the child borne by Livia, his wife.” 5Nero died not long afterward and left Caesar himself as guardian to this boy and to Tiberius. Now the populace gossiped a great deal about this and said, among other things, “The lucky have children in three months”; and this saying passed into a proverb.

45During this same time, while these events were occurring in the city, Bogud the Moor sailed to Spain, acting either on instructions from Antony or on his own initiative, and did much damage, receiving also considerable injury in turn; 2meantime the people of his own land in the neighbourhood of Tingis rose against him, and so he evacuated Spain, but failed to win back his own domain. For the adherents of Caesar in Spain and Bocchus came to the aid of the rebels and proved too much for him. 3Bogud departed to join Antony, while Bocchus forthwith took possession of his kingdom, which was afterwards confirmed to him by Caesar; and the people of Tingis were given citizenship.

4At this time, or even earlier, war was begun between Sextus and Caesar also; for since they had made their agreement, not of their own free will or by choice, but under compulsion, they did not abide by it for any time to speak of, but broke the truce at once and quarrelled. 5They were bound, of course, to go to war in any case, even if they had found no excuse; their grievances, however, were the following. Menas, who was at this time still in Sardinia, as if he were a kind of praetor, had incurred the suspicion of Sextus by his release of Helenus and because he had been in communication with Caesar; and he was also slandered to some extent by the people of his own rank, who envied him his power. 6He was therefore summoned by Sextus on the pretext that he should give an account of the grain and money of which he had been in charge; but instead of obeying, he seized and killed the men sent to him on this errand, and after first negotiating with Caesar, surrendered to him the island, the fleet together with the army, and himself. 7Caesar, on his part, was glad to see him, for he declared that Sextus was harbouring deserters contrary to the treaty, was having triremes built, and was keeping garrisons in Italy; and not only did he fail to give up Menas on Sextus’ demand, but even went farther and treated him with great honour, decorated him with gold rings, and enrolled him in the order of the knights. 8Now the matter of the gold rings is as follows. Of the ancient Romans no one, not merely of those who had once been slaves but even of those who had been brought up as free, was allowed to wear gold rings, except the senators and the knights, as has been stated; 9and for this reason they are given to such freedmen as the ruler may choose, even though these men are already wearing gold in other ways, as a mark of honour indicating that they are superior to the status of freedmen and are eligible to become knights.

46So much for this matter. Sextus, now, blamed Caesar, not only for harbouring Menas, but for the further reasons that Achaia had been injured and the terms agreed upon were not being carried out either in his case or in that of the restored exiles, and he accordingly sent to Italy Menecrates, another freedman of his, and had him ravage Volturnum and other parts of Campania. 2Now when Caesar learned of this, he took the documents containing the treaty from the Vestal Virgins and sent for Antony and Lepidus. Lepidus did not at once answer the summons, and as for Antony, although he came to Brundisium (for he chanced to be still in Greece), 3yet before he could meet Caesar, who was in Etruria, he became alarmed because a wolf had entered his headquarters and killed some soldiers, and so he sailed back to Greece again, making the urgency of the Parthian situation his excuse. 4At this, Caesar, in spite of his strong conviction that he had been left in the lurch by Antony with the purpose of making him face the difficulties of the war alone, nevertheless showed no anger openly. But Sextus, on his part, noised it abroad that Antony did not think Caesar’s conduct right and set himself more zealously to the task in hand. Finally he sailed against Italy, landed at various points, inflicted much injury, and suffered much in turn. 5Meanwhile a naval battle occurred off Cumae between Menecrates and Calvisius Sabinus, in which Caesar lost a larger number of ships, since he was arrayed against expert seamen; but Menecrates attacked Menas out of jealousy and perished, thus making the loss of Sextus equally great. 6For this reason Sextus laid no claim to his victory and Caesar consoled himself over his defeat. 47Now Caesar happened at this time to be at Rhegium, and the followers of Sextus, fearing that he would cross over into Sicily, and furthermore being somewhat disheartened at the death of Menecrates, set sail from Cumae. 2Sabinus pursued them as far as Scyllaeum, the Italian promontory, without trouble; but as he was rounding that point a great wind fell upon him, dashing some of the ships against the promontory, sinking others out at sea, and scattering all the rest. 3So when Sextus learned of this disaster he sent his fleet against them, putting Apollophanes in command. This commander discovered Caesar, as he was coasting along somewhere in those parts with the intention of crossing into Sicily along with Sabinus, and rushed upon him. Thereupon Caesar brought his ships to anchor together, marshalled the heavy-armed soldiers on deck, and at first beat off his assailants nobly; 4for the ships were drawn up with their prows facing the foe and so offered him no safe point for attack, but, being heavier and higher, did greater damage to those that approached them, and his heavy-armed fighters, when they came to close quarters with the enemy, proved far superior. 5Then Apollophanes by backing water kept transferring the wounded, and those who were at the time wearied by toil, to other ships assigned for the purpose and took on board fresh men; he also made constant attacks and used fire-bearing missiles, so that Caesar was at last routed, fled to the land, and came to anchor. 6When even then the enemy pressed him hard, some of Caesar’s men suddenly cut loose their anchors and unexpectedly sailed out to oppose the others. It was only this and the interruption of operations by the coming of night that kept Apollophanes from burning some of the ships and taking in tow all the rest.

48After this event an extraordinary windstorm on the following day fell upon Caesar and Sabinus as they were anchored together and made their previous reverse seem a trifling matter. The fleet of Sabinus suffered the less, 2for Menas, being an old hand on the sea, foresaw the storm and immediately shifted his ships to the open sea and moored them there, placing them at intervals with their anchor-lines slack, so that the lines should not be stretched and break, and kept rowing directly against the wind; in this way no rope was strained and he remained constantly in the same position, recovering by the use of the oars all the ground he lost by the force of the wind. 3But the other commanders, since they had gone through a severe experience the day before, and had as yet no accurate knowledge of nautical matters, were cast upon the shore close by and lost many ships. Night, which had been of the greatest aid to them before, was now the chief cause of disaster; for the wind blew violently all night long, tearing the vessels from their anchors and dashing them against the rocks. 4That was the end of them; and the sailors and marines likewise perished ingloriously, since the darkness prevented them from seeing ahead and they could not hear a word because of the uproar and of the reverberation from the mountains, the more so as the wind drowned out other sounds. 5Because of this disaster Caesar despaired of Sicily and was satisfied to guard the coast of the mainland; but Sextus was still more elated, believing himself in very truth to be the son of Neptune, and he put on a dark blue robe and cast alive into the strait not only horses but also, as some relate, men as well. 6He himself pillaged Italy and sent Apollophanes to Africa. Apollophanes was pursued by Menas, who overtook him and did him some damage; and when the inhabitants of the islands off the coast of Sicily proceeded to go over to the side of Sextus, Caesar thwarted the Liparaeans by removing them from their island and taking them to Campania, where he forced them to live in Neapolis as long as the war should continue. 49Meanwhile he kept constructing vessels throughout practically all Italy and collecting slaves for rowers, first from his friends, who were supposed to give willingly, and then from the rest—senators and knights and well-to -do plebeians. He also levied heavy-armed troops and gathered money from all the citizens, allies, and subjects, both in Italy and abroad.

2This year and the following he spent in constructing ships and gathering and training rowers. He himself supervised and managed all this business and all other matters both in Italy and in Gaul, where there was a slight uprising, but he entrusted to Agrippa the equipping of the fleet. 3He had sent for this man, who had been fighting against the insurgent Gauls, at the time when he had been the second of the Romans to cross the Rhine for war, and after honouring him by the bestowal of a triumph he bade him finish the work on the fleet and train the men. 4Agrippa, who was consul with Lucius Gallus, did not celebrate the triumph, considering it disgraceful for him to make a display when Caesar had fared so poorly, but set to work with great enthusiasm to fit out the fleet. All along the coasts of Italy vessels were being built; 5but since no shore was found where it was safe for them to come to anchor, inasmuch as most of the coast of Italy was even at that time without harbours, he conceived and executed a magnificent enterprise, which I shall describe at some length, giving an account of the enterprise itself and of the general matters connected with it as they are to -day.

50At Cumae in Campania, between Misenum and Puteoli, there is a crescent-shaped region, surrounded,except for brief gaps, by small, bare mountains; and it contains a branch of the sea which is like a bay and is divided into three parts. 2The first is outside, near the cities, the second is separated from it by a narrow strip of land, and the third, which is marshy in character, is seen at the very head of the inlet. The last is called Avernus, and the middle one the Lucrine Lake; the outer one is a part of the Tyrrhenian Sea and is classed with it also by its designation. 3Now since the Lucrine lay between a sea on either side, Agrippa cut narrow channels at this time, close to the shore on both sides, through the strip of land that separated it from the open sea, and thus produced excellent harbours for ships. 4While the men were working, a statue overlooking Avernus, either of Calypso, to whom this place, whither they say Ulysses also sailed, is dedicated, or of some other heroine, was covered with sweat like a human body. Now what this imported I cannot say; but I will go on to tell of everything else worth reporting which I saw in that place.

51The mountains here, which lie close to the inner bodies of water, have springs which send forth a great deal of fire mingled with water; and neither of the two elements is found anywhere by itself (that is, neither pure fire nor cold water alone is to be seen), but from their association the water is heated and the fire moistened. 2The water on its way down the foot-hills to the sea runs into reservoirs and the inhabitants conduct the steam from it through pipes into upper rooms, where they use the steam for vapour baths; for the higher it ascends from the earth and from the water, the dryer it becomes. Costly apparatus is in use for turning both the vapour and the water to practical use, and they are very serviceable indeed for the uses of daily life and also for effecting cures. 3Now besides these products that mountain furnishes an earth, the peculiar nature of which I am going to describe. Since the fire has not the power of burning, since by its union with the water all its scorching qualities are extinguished, yet is still able to separate and melt the substances with which it comes in contact, it follows that the soft part of the earth is melted out by it, whereas the hard and what might be called the bony part of it is left. 4Hence the masses of earth necessarily become porous and when exposed to the dry air crumble into dust, but when mixed with water and lime become compact, and as long as they remain in the liquid they harden and petrify. The reason for this is that the brittle element in them is disintegrated and broken up by the fire, which possesses the same nature, but by the admixture of moisture is chilled, and so is wholly packed together on the inside and becomes indissoluble. 5So much for the description of Baiae. Here Agrippa, as soon as he had constructed the entrances, set about collecting his ships, which he proceeded to equip with decks, and his oarsmen, whom he trained to row on practice benches.

52Now the population of Rome was being disturbed by signs also. Among the numerous reports brought to them was one to the effect that many dolphins had battled with one another and perished near Aspis, the African city. 2And in the very vicinity of the city blood flowed from heaven and was carried in all directions by the birds. And when at the Ludi Romani not one of the senators gave a banquet on the Capitol, as had been the custom, they took this, too, as a portent. 3Again, the incident that happened to Livia, although it caused her pleasure, inspired the rest with dread; a white bird carrying a sprig of laurel with the berries on it was thrown by an eagle into her lap. As this seemed to be a sign of no small moment, she cared for the bird and planted the laurel, 4which took root and grew, so that it long supplied those who celebrated triumphs in after time; and Livia was destined to hold in her lap even Caesar’s power and to dominate him in everything. 53However, the other people in the city were greatly disturbed not only by this but also by the changes in the magistrates; for not only the consuls and praetors but even the quaestors were continually succeeding one another, and this lasted for some time. 2The reason was that all were anxious, not so much to hold office for any considerable time at home, as to be counted among the ex-officials and so secure the offices and military forces outside of Italy. Accordingly, some of the magistrates were no longer chosen for a specified period, but merely for a time sufficient to assume the title of the office, and then to resign from it whenever it seemed good to those in power; 3indeed, many did both on the same day. But there were some who had to abandon hope of office altogether because of poverty, to say nothing of those who were at this time with Sextus, whose disfranchisement was in a manner justified. 4Yet when a certain Marcus Oppius planned to resign the aedileship because of poverty (for both he and his father had been among the proscribed), the populace did not permit it, but contributed money to meet the various necessities of his living and the expenses of his office. 5And the story goes that some criminals, too, actually came into the theatre in masks as if they were acting a play, and contributed their money also. Thus was this man loved by the multitude while in life, and at his death not much later he was carried to the Campus Martius and there burned and buried. 6The senate, however, feeling vexed at the utter devotion of the masses to him, took up his bones, on the plea that it was impious for them to lie in that sacred ground; they were persuaded by the pontifices to make this declaration, although they buried many other men there both before and after this.

54At this same period Antony came back to Italy from Syria. The reason he gave was that he intended to bear his share of the war against Sextus because of Caesar’s mishaps; he did not, however, stay by his colleague, 2but, having come to spy upon his actions rather than to accomplish anything, he gave him some ships and promised to send others, in return for which he received heavy-armed troops and departed, stating that he was going to conduct a campaign against the Parthians. 3Before he left, they presented to each other their mutual grievances, at first through their friends and then personally; and since they had as yet no leisure for war with each other, they became reconciled in a way, chiefly through the instrumentality of Octavia. 4And in order that they might be bound by still more ties of relationship, Caesar betrothed his daughter to Antyllus, Antony’s son, and Antony betrothed to Domitius, though he had been one of Caesar’s murderers and one of those proscribed to die, his own daughter, borne to him by Octavia. 5These agreements were merely pretences on both sides; for they really had no intention of carrying out any of them, but were acting a part in view of the exigencies of the moment. At all events, Antony immediately sent back Octavia herself from Corcyra to Italy, in order that, as he represented, she might not share his danger while he was warring against the Parthians. 6Nevertheless, they made these agreements at that time as stated and removed Sextus from his priesthood as well as from the consulship to which he had been appointed, and granted themselves the leadership for another five years, since the first period had elapsed. After this Antony hastened to Syria and Caesar entered upon the war. 7Nearly everything was going as he wished; but Menas, who was naturally untrustworthy and always cultivated the stronger side, and was furthermore vexed because he held no command but had been made subordinate to Sabinus, deserted again to Sextus.

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