Searching for “=+Caesar -Cicero”

But he wished to be far from giving the impression that Italy was the stake for which he was fighting, and did not think he ought to cause any fear to the people who were then in Rome. Hence he made no attempt on Italy, nor even sent to the government any despatch about his successes; but after this he set out against Caesar and came into Thessaly.

In temper they differed from each other to this extent, that Pompey desired to be second to no man and Caesar to be first of all, and the former was anxious to be honoured by a willing people and to preside over and be loved by men who fully consent, whereas the latter cared not at all if he ruled over even an unwilling people, issued orders to men who hated him, and bestowed the honours with his own hand upon himself.

As to their forces, Caesar had the largest and the most genuinely Roman portion of the state legions and the most warlike men from the rest of Italy, from Spain, and the whole of Gaul and the islands that he had conquered; Pompey had brought along many from the senatorial and the equestrian order and from the regularly enrolled troops, and had gathered vast numbers from the subject and allied peoples and kings.

Indeed, the Parthian had promised to be his ally if he should receive Syria; but as he did not get it, he lent him no help. While Pompey, then, greatly excelled in numbers, Caesar’s followers were their equals in strength; and so, the advantages being even, they were an equal match for each other and the risks they incurred were equal.

When they reflected on this fact and furthermore thought of their former deeds,—Pompey of Africa, Sertorius, Mithridates, Tigranes, and the sea, and Caesar of Gaul, Spain, the Rhine, and Britain,—

So there was great silence and dejection on both sides; no one went forward or moved at all, but with heads bowed they stood motionless, as if devoid of life. Caesar and Pompey, therefore, fearing that if they remained quiet any longer their animosity might be lessened or they might even become reconciled, hurriedly commanded the trumpeters to give the signal and the men to raise the war cry in unison.

For thunderbolts had fallen upon his camp, a fire had appeared in the air over Caesar’s camp and had then fallen upon his own, bees had swarmed about his military standards, and many of the victims after being led up close to the very altar had run away.

in Tralles a palm tree grew up in the temple of Victory and the goddess herself turned about toward an image of Caesar that stood beside her; in Syria two young men announced the result of the battle and vanished; and in Patavium, which now belongs to Italy but was then still a part of Gaul, some birds not only brought news of it but even acted it out to some extent,

Of Pompey’s followers who were not destroyed on the spot some fled whithersoever they could, and others [were captured] later on. Those of them who were soldiers of the line Caesar enrolled in his own legions, exhibiting no resentment.

These men, then, he treated in this wise. Pharnaces, on his side, made a plea that he had not assisted Pompey and therefore, in view of his behaviour, deserved to obtain pardon; but Caesar showed him no consideration, and furthermore reproached him for this very thing, that he had proved himself base and impious toward his benefactor.

The reason for this was that on those occasions he had usually been evenly matched with his foe and hence had not taken his victory for granted; but by reflecting beforehand on the two possible issues of events while he was still cool-headed and was not yet involved in any alarm he had not neglected to prepare for the worst. In this way he had not been compelled to yield to disasters and had always been able easily to renew the conflict; but this time, as he had expected to prove greatly superior to Caesar, he had taken no precautions.

Caesar, when he had attended to pressing demands after the battle and had assigned Greece and the rest of that region to certain others to win over and reduce, set out himself in pursuit of Pompey. He hurried forward as far as Asia following information received about him, and there waited for a time, since no one knew which way he had sailed. Everything turned out favourably for him; for instance, while crossing the Hellespont in a kind of ferry-boat, he met Pompey’s fleet sailing with Lucius Cassius in command, but so far from suffering any harm at their hands, he terrified them and won them over to his side. Thereupon, meeting with no further resistance, he proceeded to take possession of the rest of that region and to regulate its affairs, levying a money contribution, as I have said, but otherwise doing no one any harm and even conferring benefits on all, so far as was possible. In any case he did away with the tax-gatherers, who had been abusing the people most cruelly, and he converted the amount accruing from the taxes into a joint payment of tribute.

Now Caesar at the sight of Pompey’s head wept and lamented bitterly, calling him countryman and son-in -law, and enumerating all the kindnesses they had shown each other. As for the murderers, far from admitting that he owed them any reward, he actually heaped reproaches upon them; and he commanded that the head should be adorned, properly prepared, and buried.

Egypt revolted, and Pharnaces, just as soon as he had learned that Pompey and Caesar were at variance, had begun to lay claim to his ancestral domain, since he hoped that they would waste a lot of time in their quarrel and use up the Roman forces upon each other;

and he now still went ahead with his plans, partly because he had once made a beginning and partly because he learned that Caesar was far away, and he actually seized many points before the other’s arrival. Meanwhile Cato and Scipio and the others who were of the same mind with them set on foot in Africa a struggle that was at once a civil and a foreign war.