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8Antony and Cleopatra, for their part, upon hearing from the envoys the demands which Caesar made of them, sent to him again. Cleopatra promised to give him large amounts of money, and Antony reminded him of their friendship and kinship, made a defence also of his connexion with the Egyptian woman, and recounted all the amorous adventures and youthful pranks which they had shared together. 2Finally, he surrendered to him Publius Turullius, who was a senator and one of the assassins of Caesar and was then living with Antony as a friend; and he offered to take his own life, if in that way Cleopatra might be saved. 3Caesar put Turullius to death (it chanced that this man had cut wood for the fleet from the grove of Aesculapius in Cos, and since he was executed in Cos, he was thought to be making amends to the god as well as to Caesar), but this time also he gave no answer to Antony. 4So Antony despatched a third embassy, sending him his son Antyllus with much gold. Caesar accepted the money, but sent the boy back empty-handed, giving him no answer. To Cleopatra, however, as in the first instance, so again on the second and third occasions, he sent many threats and promises alike. 5Yet he was afraid, even so, that they might perhaps despair of obtaining pardon from him and so hold out, and either prove superior by their own efforts, or set sail for Spain and Gaul, or else might destroy their wealth, which he kept hearing was of vast extent; 6for Cleopatra had collected it all in her tomb which she was constructing in the royal grounds, and she threatened to burn it all up with her in case she should fail of even the slightest of her demands. So, he sent Thyrsus, a freedman of his, to say many kind things to her and in particular to tell her that he was in love with her. 7He hoped that by this means at least, since she thought it her due to be loved by all mankind, she would make away with Antony and keep herself and her money unharmed. And so it proved.
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