Dio's Rome Volume II Part 7

(_BOOK 39, BOISSEVAIN_.)

[B.C. 57 (_a.u._ 697)]

[-1-] Such was the end of these wars. After this, when the winter had pa.s.sed in which Cornelius Spinther and Metellus Nepos began their consuls.h.i.+p, a third war burst upon them. The Belgae, dwelling near the Rhine with many mingled tribes and extending to the ocean opposite Britain, had been during the previous epoch at peace with the Romans so far as concerned a part of their nation, while the rest paid no heed to them: but now, noting Caesar's prosperity and fearing that he might advance against them, they made a change of front and by common agreement (except on the part of the Remi) took counsel against the Romans and conspired, making Galba their head.

Caesar learned this from the Remi and was on his guard against them: subsequently he encamped at the river Axona, collected his soldiers all together and exercised them. He did not venture to come into close quarters with the enemy, though they were overrunning Roman territory, until they felt contempt for him, thinking him afraid, and undertook to destroy the bridge and put a stop to the conveyance of grain, which the allies brought across it. He was made aware beforehand by deserters that this was to be done, and by night sent against the foe the light-armed troops and the cavalry. [-2-] So they, unexpectedly a.s.saulting the barbarians, killed many of them, so that the following night they all withdrew thence to their own land, especially since the Aeduans were reported to have invaded it. Caesar perceived what was going on, but through ignorance of the country did not dare to pursue them immediately. At daybreak, however, he took the cavalry, bade the infantry follow behind, and came up with the fugitives. They proceeded to give battle, for he was thought to have come with his cavalry alone, and he delayed them until the infantry arrived. In this way he surrounded them with his whole force, cut down the majority, and made terms with the survivors. Later he brought into allegiance some of the peoples without fighting and some by war.

[-3-] The Nervii voluntarily retired before him from their plain country,--for they were not a match for his forces,--but betook themselves into the wooded parts of the mountains, and then, when they saw him settled in camp,[47] they came charging down unexpectedly.

Opposite Caesar himself they soon turned to flight, but got the better of the major part of his army, capturing the camp without striking a blow.

When Caesar became aware of this,--he had advanced a little way in pursuit of those he had routed,--he turned back and came upon them engaged in pillage within the fortification, where he ensnared and slaughtered them. After accomplis.h.i.+ng this he found no difficulty in subduing the rest of the Nervii.

[-4-] Meanwhile the Aduatuci, near neighbors of theirs, sprung from the Cimbri and possessing their spirit, started out as if to a.s.sist them but were overpowered before they effected anything, whereupon they withdrew, and leaving all their other sites established themselves in one fort, the strongest. Caesar a.s.saulted it but was for many days repulsed, until he turned to the making of engines. Then for a time they gazed at the Romans cutting wood and constructing the machines and through their inexperience laughed at what was taking place. But when the things were finished and heavy-armed soldiers upon them approached from all sides, they were panic-stricken because never before had they seen such an affair; so they sent the heralds for peace, supplied the soldiers with provisions, and threw some of their weapons from the wall. When, however, they saw the machines stripped of men again, and noticed the latter, as after a victory, following their own hearts' desires, they changed their minds and recovering courage made a sally by night to cut them down unawares. But Caesar was carefully managing everything every moment, and when they fell on the outposts from every side they were beaten back. Not one of the survivors could any longer obtain pardon, and they were all sold.

[-5-] When these had been subjugated and others, too, some by him and many by his lieutenants, winter set in and he retired to winter-quarters. The Romans at home heard of this and were astonished that he had seized so many nations, whose names they had known but imperfectly before, and voted a sacrifice of fifteen days for his deeds,--something that had never before occurred.

During the same period Servius Galba, acting as his lieutenant, had, while the season lasted and the army remained a unit, brought to terms the Varagri, dwelling beside Lake Lemannus and beside the Allobroges as far as the Alps: some he had mastered by force and others by capitulation, so that he was even preparing to winter where he was.

When, however, the majority of the soldiers had departed, some on furloughs because they were not far from Italy, and others elsewhere to their own possessions, the natives took advantage of this fact and unexpectedly attacked him. Then he was led by despair to a kind of frenzy and suddenly das.h.i.+ng out of the winter camp astounded those attacking him by the strangeness of the move and pa.s.sing through them gained the heights. On reaching safety he fought them off and later enslaved them: he did not winter there, however, but transferred his quarters to the Allobroges.

[-6-] These were the events in Gaul. Pompey meanwhile had brought about a vote for the recall of Cicero. The man that he had expelled through the agency of Clodius he now brought back to help him against that very person. So p.r.o.ne is human nature to change and in such wise do persons select in turn the very opposite things as likely to cause them benefit or injury. His helpers among the praetors and tribunes were t.i.tus Annius Milo and the rest, who brought the proposition before the populace.

Spinther the consul was zealous[48] for Cicero partly as a favor to Pompey and partly to damage Clodius, by reason of a private enmity which had led him as judge to condemn the man for incest: Clodius was supported by various men in public office, by Appius Claudius, his brother, who was praetor, and by Nepos the consul who hated Cicero for some reason of his own. [-7-] These parties, accordingly, with the consuls as leaders made more noise than before, and so did the rest in the city, championing one side or the other. Many disorderly proceedings were the result, chiefest of which was that during the very casting of the vote on the subject Clodius, knowing that the ma.s.ses would be for Cicero, took the gladiators that his brother held in readiness for the funeral games in honor of Marcus his relative, leaped into the a.s.semblage, wounded many and killed many more. Consequently no decision was reached and the perpetrator, as the companion of armed champions, was dreaded in general by all: he then stood for the aediles.h.i.+p, with a view to escaping the penalty for his violence by being elected. Milo had indicted him but did not succeed in bringing him to court, for the quaestors, by whom the allotment of jurors had to be made, had not been elected, and Nepos forbade the praetor to allow any case before their allotment. Now it was proper for the aediles to be chosen before the quaestors, and this proved the princ.i.p.al cause of delay. [-8-] Much disturbance was created by the contest over this very point, and at last Milo himself collected some gladiators and others who desired the same objects as he did and kept continually coming to blows with Clodius, so that fatal conflicts took place throughout practically the entire city.

Nepos now, inspired with fear by his colleague and by Pompey and by the other prominent men, changed his att.i.tude, and as the senate decreed, on motion of Spinther, that Cicero should be restored, and the populace on the motion of both consuls voted it, Clodius, to be sure, spoke against it to them, but he had Milo as an opponent so that he could commit no violence, and Pompey, among others, spoke in favor of the enactment, so that that party proved much the stronger.

[-9-] Cicero accordingly came home from exile and expressed his grat.i.tude to both senate and people,--the consuls affording him an opportunity,--in their respective a.s.semblies. He laid aside his hatred of Pompey for his banishment, became reconciled with him, and immediately repaid his kindness. A sore famine had arisen in the city and the entire populace rushed into the theatre (the kind of theatre that they were then still using for public gatherings) and from there to the Capitol where the senators were in session, threatening first to slay them with their own hands and later to burn them alive, temple and all. It was then that Cicero persuaded them to elect Pompey as commissioner of the grain supply and to give him consequently the office of proconsul for five years both within Italy and without. So he now, as previously in the case of the pirates, was to hold sway over the entire world at that time under Roman power.

[-10-] Caesar and Cra.s.sus really disliked Cicero, but paid some attention to him when they perceived that he would return in any case, Caesar even while absent displaying some good-will toward him; they received, however, no thanks for their pains. Cicero knew that they had not acted according to their real inclination and regarded them as having been most to blame for his banishment. And though he was not quite bold enough to oppose them openly, since he had recently tasted the fruits of unrestrained free speech, nevertheless he composed secretly a little book and inscribed upon it that it contained a kind of defence of his policy. In it he heaped together ma.s.ses of denunciation against them and others, which led him to such fear of these statements getting out in his lifetime that he sealed up the volume and delivered it to his son with the injunction not to read nor to publish what was written, until his father should have departed from life.

[-11-] Cicero, accordingly, took root anew and got back his property and likewise the foundation of his home, although the latter had been given up to Liberty and Clodius both called the G.o.ds to witness and interposed religious scruples against its desecration. But Cicero found a flaw in the enactment of the lex curiata by the provisions of which his rival had been taken from the n.o.bles into the rank of the people, on the ground that it had not been proposed within the limit of days set by ancestral custom. Thus he tried to make null and void the entire tribunes.h.i.+p of Clodius (in which also the decree regarding his house had been pa.s.sed), saying that inasmuch as the transference of the latter to the common people had taken place unlawfully, it was not possible for any one of his acts while in office to be considered binding. By this means he persuaded the pontifices to give back to him the foundation as properly his and unconsecrated. So he obtained that and money for the construction of his house, and whatever else of his property had been damaged.

[-12-] After this there was further trouble on account of King Ptolemy.

He had spent much money upon some of the Romans, some of his own income and some borrowed, in order to strengthen his kingdom and receive the name of friend and ally. He was collecting this sum forcibly from the Egyptians and was irritated at the difficulty he encountered as well as at their bidding him demand back Cyprus from the Romans or else renounce his friends.h.i.+p for the foreigners,--neither of which demands suited his wishes. Since he could neither persuade them to be quiet nor yet force them, as he had no foreign troops, he made his escape from Egypt, went to Rome, and accused them of having expelled him from his kingdom: he obtained the right to be restored by Spinther, to whom Cilicia had been entrusted.

[-13-] While this was going on, the people of Alexandria, who for a while did not know that he had departed for Italy or supposed he was dead, placed Berenice his daughter on the throne in his place. Then, learning the truth, they sent a hundred men to Rome to defend themselves against his complaints and to bring counter charges of all the wrongs they had suffered. He heard of it in advance (he was still in Rome) and lay in wait for the envoys, by sending various men in different directions, before their arrival. The majority of them perished on the road, and of the survivors he slew some in the city itself and others he either terrified by what had happened or by administering bribes persuaded them neither to touch upon the matters regarding which they had been sent, nor to make any mention at all of those who had been killed. [-14-] The affair, however, became so noised abroad that even the senate was mightily displeased, being urged on to action chiefly by Marcus Favonius, who a.s.signed two causes for his indignation,--first, that many envoys sent by allies had perished by violence, and second, that numerous Romans also on this occasion had taken bribes. So they summoned Dio, the presiding officer of the envoys (for he had survived) in order to learn the truth from him. But this time, too, Ptolemy gained such a victory by money that neither did Dio enter the a.s.semblage, nor was any mention made of the murder of the dead men, so long as Ptolemy was on the ground.[49] Furthermore, when Dio was subsequently treacherously slain, he paid no penalty for that deed, either. This was chiefly due to the fact that Pompey had entertained him in his house and continued to render him powerful a.s.sistance. Of the other abuses that sprang from this source many were accused at a later time, but few convicted. For bribery was rampant and each cooperated with the other because of his own fear.

[-15-] While mortals were being influenced by money to behave themselves so, Heaven at the very beginning of the next year by striking with a thunderbolt the statue of Jupiter erected on the Alban hill, delayed the return of Ptolemy some little time. For when they had recourse to the Sibylline verses they found written in them this very pa.s.sage: "If the king of Egypt come requesting some aid, refuse him not friends.h.i.+p altogether, nor yet succor him with any great force: otherwise, you will have both toils and dangers." Thereupon, amazed at the coincidence between the verses and the events of the time, they were persuaded by Gaius Cato the tribune to rescind all their decisions in the case. This was the way the oracle was given, and it was made public by Cato (for it was forbidden to announce to the populace any of the Sibylline statements unless the senate voted it). Yet as soon as the sense of the verses, as usually happens, began to be talked about, he was afraid that it might be concealed, led the priests before the populace and there compelled them to utter the oracle before the senate had given them any instructions. The more scruples they had against doing so, the more insistent[50] was the mult.i.tude. [-16-] Cato's wish prevailed; it was written in the Latin tongue and proclaimed. After this they gave their opinions: some were for a.s.signing the restoration of Ptolemy to Spinther without an army and others urged that Pompey with two lictors should escort him home (Ptolemy, on learning of the oracle, had preferred this latter request and his letter was read in public by Aulus Plautius, the tribune). The senators then, fearing that Pompey would by this means obtain still greater power, opposed it, using the matter of the grain as an excuse.

All this happened in the consuls.h.i.+p of Lucius Philippus and Gnaeus Marcellinus. Ptolemy, when he heard of it, refused the favor of restoration, went to Ephesus, and pa.s.sed his time in the temple of the G.o.ddess.

[-17-] The year before a peculiar incident, which still has some bearing upon history, had taken place. It was this. The law expressly forbids any two persons of the same clan to hold the same priesthood at the same time. Now Spinther the consul was anxious to place his son Cornelius Spinther among the augurs, and when Faustus, the son of Sulla, of the Cornelian gens had been enrolled before him, took his son out of the clan and put him in that of Manlius Torquatus, and thus though the letter of the law was preserved, its spirit was broken.

[B.C. 56 (_a.u._ 698)]

[-18-] Clodius had now come to the office of aedile, in the year of Philippus and Marcellinus; being anxious to avoid the lawsuit he had got himself elected by a political combination. He immediately inst.i.tuted proceedings against Milo for procuring gladiators: what he was doing himself and was likely to be brought to trial for he brought as a charge against his rival. He did this not really in the expectation of convicting Milo,--for the latter had many strong champions, among them Cicero and Pompey,--but in order that under this pretext he might carry on a campaign against Milo and hara.s.s his helpers. The following was one of his numerous devices. [-19-] He had instructed his clique that whenever he should ask them in the a.s.semblies: "Who was it that did or said so-and-so?" they should all cry out: "Pompey!" Then on several occasions he would suddenly ask about everything that could be taken amiss in Pompey, either in physical peculiarities or any other respect, taking up various small topics, one at a time, as if he were not speaking of him particularly. Thereupon, as usually happens in such cases, some would start off and others join in the refrain, saying "Pompey!" and there was considerable jeering. The man attacked could not control himself and keep quiet nor would he stoop to a trick like Clodius's, so that he grew exceedingly angry, yet could not stir: thus nominally Milo was condemned, but in reality Pompey was convicted without even making a defence. For Clodius went one step farther and would not allow the lex curiata to be brought up for discussion; and until that was enacted no other serious business could be transacted in the commonwealth or any suit introduced.

[-20-] For a season Milo served as a s.h.i.+eld for their abuses and a.s.sa.s.sinations, but about this time some portents occurred. In Albanum a small temple of Juno, set on a kind of table facing the east, was turned around to the west; a flash of light starting from the south shot across to the north; a wolf entered the city; an earthquake occurred; some of the citizens were killed by a thunderbolt; in Latin territory a subterranean tumult was distinctly heard: and the soothsayers, being anxious to produce a remedy, said that some spirit was angry with them because of some temples or sites not inhabited for holy purposes. Then Clodius subst.i.tuted Cicero for Milo and attacked him vigorously in speeches because he had built upon the foundation of the house dedicated to Liberty; and once he went to it, with the apparent intention of razing it anew to the ground, though he did not do so, being prevented by Milo. [-21-] Cicero was angry at such treatment and kept making complaints, and finally with Milo and some tribunes as attendants he ascended the Capitol and took down the tablets set up by Clodius to commemorate his exile. This time Clodius came up with his brother Gaius, a praetor, and took them away from him, but later he watched for a time when Clodius was out of town, ascended the Capitol again, took them and carried them home. After this occurrence no quarter was shown on either side, but they abused and slandered each other as much as they could, without refraining from the basest means. One declared that the tribunes.h.i.+p of Clodius had been contrary to law and that therefore his deeds in office had no authority, and the other that Cicero's exile had been justly decreed and his restoration unlawfully voted.

[-22-]While they were contending, and Clodius was getting much the worst of it, Marcus Cato came upon the scene and made them equal. He had a grudge against Cicero and was likewise afraid that all his acts in Cyprus would be annulled, because he had been sent out under Clodius as tribune: hence he readily took sides with the latter. He was very proud of his deeds and anxious above all things that they should be confirmed.

For Ptolemy, who at that time was master of the island, when he learned of the vote that had been pa.s.sed, and neither dared to rise against the Romans nor could endure to live, deprived of that province, had taken his life by drinking poison.[51] Then the Cypriots, without reluctance, accepted Cato, expecting to be friends and allies of the Romans instead of slaves. It was not, however, of this that Cato made his chief boast; but because he had administered everything in the best possible manner, had collected slaves and large amounts of money from the royal treasury, yet had met with no reproach but had given account of everything unchallenged,--it was for this that he laid claim to valor no less than if he had conquered in some war. So many persons accepted bribes that he thought it more unusual for a man to despise money than to conquer the enemy.

[-23-] So at that time Cato for the reasons specified had some hope of a proper triumph, and the consuls in the senate proposed that a praetors.h.i.+p be given him, although by law it could not yet be his. He was not appointed (for he spoke against the measure himself), but obtained even greater renown from it. Clodius undertook to name the servants brought from Cyprus Clodians, because he himself had sent Cato there, but failed because the latter opposed it. So they received the t.i.tle of Cyprians, although some of them wanted to be called Porcians; but Cato prevented this, too. Clodius took his opposition extremely ill and tried to pick flaws in his administration: he demanded accounts for the transactions, not because he could prove him guilty of any wrongdoing, but because nearly all of the doc.u.ments had been destroyed by s.h.i.+pwreck and he might gain some prestige by following this line. Caesar, also, although not present, was aiding Clodius at this time, and according to some sent him in letters the accusations brought against Cato. One of their attacks upon Cato consisted in the charge that he himself had persuaded the consuls (so they affirmed) to propose a praetors.h.i.+p for him, and that he had then voluntarily put it by, in order not to appear to have missed it when he wanted it.

[B.C. 56 (_a.u._ 698)]

[-24-] So they kept up the conflict, and Pompey, too, encountered some trouble in the distribution of the grain. Many slaves had been freed in antic.i.p.ation of the event, of whom he wished to take a census in order that the grain delivery might take place with some decency and order.

This, to be sure, he managed fairly easily through his own wisdom and because of the large supply of grain: but in seeking the consuls.h.i.+p he found annoyances which likewise entailed a measure of censure for him.

Clodius's behavior irritated him, but even more the fact that he was treated slightingly by the rest, whose superior he was: and he felt injured both on account of his reputation and on account of the hopes by reason of which while still a private citizen he had thought to be honored beyond them all. Sometimes he could bring himself to despise all this. At first when people began to speak ill of him he was annoyed, but after a time, when he came to consider carefully his own excellence and their baseness, he paid no further attention to them. [-25-] The fact, however, that Caesar's influence had grown and the populace admired his achievements so much as to despatch ten men from the senate in recognition of the apparently absolute subjugation of the Gauls[52] and that the people were so slated by consequent hopes as to vote him large sums of money was a thorn in Pompey's side. He attempted to persuade the consuls not to read Caesar's letters but conceal the facts for a very long time until the glory of his deeds should of its own motion spread itself abroad, and further to send some one to relieve him even before the specified date. So jealous was he that he proceeded to disparage and abrogate all that he himself had effected with Caesar's aid: he was displeased at the great and general praise bestowed upon the latter (whereby his own exploits were being over-shadowed) and reproached the populace for paying little heed to himself and going frantic over Caesar.

Especially was he vexed to see that they remembered former achievements just so long as nothing occurred to divert them, that they turned with greatest readiness to each new event, even if it were inferior to something previous because they became tired of the usual and liked the novel, and that they overthrew all established glory by reason of envy, but helped to build up any new power by reason of their hopes. [-26-]

This was what caused his displeasure; and as he could not effect anything through the consuls and saw that Caesar had pa.s.sed beyond the need of keeping faith with him, he regarded the situation as grave. He held that there were two things that destroy friends.h.i.+p,--fear and envy,--and that these can only arise from rival glory and strength. As long as persons possess these last in equal shares, their friends.h.i.+p is firm, but when one or the other excels in the least degree, then the inferior party is jealous and hates the superior while the stronger despises and abuses the weaker: so, whichever way you take it, the one is vexed by his inferiority, the other is elated by his advantage, and they come to strife and war in place of their former friends.h.i.+p. On the basis of some such calculations Pompey began to arm himself against Caesar. And because he thought he could not easily alone overthrow him, he cultivated Cra.s.sus even more than before, that he might act with him.

[-27-] When they had compared notes, they decided that it would be really impossible for them to accomplish anything as private citizens, but if they should get the consuls.h.i.+p and divide the authority between them for rivalry against him, they would both be a match for him and quickly overcome him, being two against one. So they arranged an entire plan of dissimulation, to wit, that if any of their companions should urge them to the office, they should say they no longer cared to obtain the consuls.h.i.+p: after this they put forth their best efforts to get it, in spite of the fact that they had formerly been friends with some of the other candidates. When they began to canva.s.s for the office outside of the times directed by law and others made it plain that they would not allow them to be appointed (among these were the consuls themselves, for Marcellinus had some little influence), they brought it about that the elections should not be held that year (and to this end they employed Gaius Cato and some others), in order that an interrex might be chosen and they seek and secure the place in accordance with the laws.

[-28-] Now this was done under some other pretext (as it was said, by reason of engagements made at a different time), but in reality by their own influence, for they openly showed dislike of those who opposed them.

The senate, however, was violently enraged, and once while they were wrangling left the room. That was the end of the proceedings for the time being, and again when the same disturbance happened the senators voted to change their dress, as if for some calamity, and they paid no attention to Cato, who, because he gained nothing by speaking against the proposed step, rushed out of the gathering and called in any one he met in the market-place,[53] in order that no decision might be reached; for, if any person not a senator were within, they might not give their vote. But other tribunes were quick and prevented those invited from entering, and so this decree was pa.s.sed, and it was also proposed that the senators should not be spectators at the festival then going on.

When Cato opposed this measure, too, they rushed out in a body, and after changing their dress returned, hoping thus to frighten him. When even so he would not moderate his behavior, they all together proceeded to the Forum and brought to a state of sincere sorrow the mult.i.tude, who had come running to that place; Marcellinus was the speaker, and he lamented the present occurrences, while the rest listening wept and groaned, so that no one had a word to say against him. After doing this the senators entered the senate-house immediately, intending to vent their wrath upon those who were responsible.[-29-] But Clodius had meantime jumped to the side of Pompey and espoused his cause again in the hope that if he should help him in securing the prize now at stake, he would make him entirely his friend. So he came before the populace in his ordinary garb, without making any change as the decree required, and addressed a speech to them against Marcellinus and the rest. As great indignation at this act was shown by the senators, he abandoned the people in the midst of his speech and hastened to the senate, where he came near meeting his end. For the senate confronted him and prevented his going in, while at that moment he was surrounded by the knights and would have been torn limb from limb, had he not raised an outcry, calling upon the people for aid; whereupon many ran to the scene bringing fire and threatening to burn his oppressors along with the senate-house, if they should do him any harm.

[-30-] He, then, came within an ace of being killed. But Pompey, not alarmed at all by this, on one occasion rushed into the senatorial a.s.sembly, thwarting them as they were just about to vote, and prevented the measure from being carried. When Marcellinus after that publicly asked him whether he really desired to become consul, he in hope that the other might give ground admitted that he was a candidate, but said that he did not want the office so far as the just men were concerned, but that on account of the seditious he was exerting every influence to that end. So Pompey came out openly as his rival, and Cra.s.sus on being interrogated gave the same implication himself, not admitting the fact, to be sure, but not denying it, either: instead, he took, as usual, a middle course and said that he would do whatever was advantageous to the republic. In view of this situation Marcellinus and many others were terrified, as they observed their equipment and opposing array, and would no longer frequent the senate-house.

As the number required by custom for pa.s.sing any vote about the elections did not a.s.semble, it was impossible to have any business at all about them brought forward, and the year thus pa.s.sed away. However, the senators did not change their attire nor attend the festivals nor celebrate the feast of Jupiter on the Capitol nor go out to Albanum for the Feriae Latinae, held there for the second time by reason of something not rightly done. Instead, like persons in bondage and not possessing authority to choose officials or conduct any other public business they spent the rest of the year.

[B.C. 55 (_a.u._ 699)]

[-31-]And after this Cra.s.sus and Pompey were appointed consuls by the interrex, as no one else of the earlier canva.s.sers opposed them. Lucius Domitius, who contested the office up to the very last day of the year, started out from home for the a.s.sembly of the people just after dark, but when the boy that carried the torch in front of him was stabbed, he was frightened and went no farther. Hence, as no one else contested their election, and furthermore because of the action of Publius Cra.s.sus, who was a son of Marcus and then lieutenant under Caesar, in bringing soldiers to Rome for this very purpose, they were easily chosen.

[-32-] When they had thus a.s.sumed the leaders.h.i.+p of the State, they had the other offices given to such as were well disposed toward them and prevented Marcus Cato from being appointed praetor. They suspected that he would not submit to their regime and were unwilling to add any legal power to his outspoken opposition. The nomination of the praetors was made in peace, for Cato did not see fit to offer any violence: in the matter of the curule aediles, however, a.s.sa.s.sinations took place, so that Pompey was implicated in much bloodshed. The other officials, too,--those elected by the people,--they appointed to please themselves (for they controlled the elections), and they made friends with the other aediles and most of the tribunes. Two tribunes, Gaius Ateius Capito and Publius Aquilius Gallus, would not come to terms with them.

[-33-] Accordingly, when the offices had been settled, they possessed the object of their strivings. They themselves made no mention of these matters before either the senate or the populace, but gravely pretended that they wanted nothing further. Gaius Trebonius, however, a tribune, presented a measure that to the one Syria and its environs be given to rule over for five years, and to the other the Hispaniae, where there had recently been an uprising, for a similar period; also that they should employ as many soldiers as they might wish, both citizens and allies, and should make peace and war with whomsoever they pleased.

Many, and especially the friends of Caesar, took offence at this, because those men after obtaining provinces to govern were likely to keep Caesar from holding his position for a much longer time; and therefore some prepared to speak against the measure. Then the consuls fearing that they might fail utterly of the projects they had in hand won over all such supporters on the condition of extending his leaders.h.i.+p also for three [54] years more (to follow the actual facts). However, they submitted no part of his case to the populace until their own business had been ratified. And the adherents of Caesar antic.i.p.ated in this way, kept quiet, and the greater part of the rest, in bondage to fear and satisfied if even so they should save their lives, remained still.

[-34-]On the other hand, Cato and Favonius resisted all their schemes, having the two tribunes and others to help them, since in fighting few against many their frankness was of no avail. Favonius, who obtained from Trebonius only one hour for his speech in opposition, used it up in crying out at random about the distressing condition of the times. Cato received the right of employing two hours in his harangue and turned his efforts to censuring the immediate proposition and the whole situation, as he was wont, and so he exhausted his time before he had touched upon any of the revolutionary aspects of the matter. This was done not because he did not have the privilege of speaking also on that topic, but in order that he might be silenced by Trebonius while still appearing to have something more to say and thus obtain this additional grievance to bring up against him. For he well understood that had he employed the entire day, he was still sure to be unable to persuade them to vote anything that he wished. Hence, when bidden to be silent he did not stop immediately, but had to be pushed and dragged from the a.s.semblage, whereupon he came back, and at last though consigned to prison he did not moderate his behavior.

[-35-] That day was so spent that the tribunes were unable to speak any word at all. For in the meetings of the people where a measure was also under discussion, the right to speak was given to all the private citizens before those that held the offices, to the end, as it seemed, that none of them captivated beforehand by the opinion of a superior should dissimulate the thoughts that he had in mind, but should say what he thought with entire frankness. Hence Gallus, being afraid that some one might on the next day keep him from the Forum or do something worse still, went into the place of a.s.sembly directly after nightfall and pa.s.sed the night there for the sake of the safety that the place afforded, and for the purpose of leaving there at dawn to join the populace outside. Trebonius, by shutting all the doors of the senate-house, caused this man to have spent the night and most of the day there in vain. Others occupied the site of the gathering by night and barred out Ateius, Cato, Favonius and the remainder of their followers. When Favonius and Ninnius got in somehow un.o.bserved and Cato and Ateius climbed upon the shoulders of some of those standing around and being lifted up by them declared an omen directing the meeting to break up, the attendants of the tribunes drove them both out, wounded the rest who were with them and actually killed a few.

[-36-] After the law was in this way ratified and the people were already departing from the a.s.sembly Ateius took Gallus covered with blood (he had been struck in being forced out of the gathering), led him into the presence of those still on the spot, exhibited him to them, and by making all the comments that were natural, stirred them mightily. The consuls were made aware of this and came quickly, having, indeed, been waiting somewhere near to see what was going on. As they had a considerable body-guard they intimidated the men, immediately called a meeting and pa.s.sed the additional measures relating to Caesar. The same persons tried to resist these, too, but were unable to accomplish anything.

[-37-] The consuls had this enactment pa.s.sed, and next they laid heavier penalties upon such as bribed any persons, as if they themselves were any the less guilty because they had secured their office not by money but by force. They had even undertaken to curtail personal expenditures, which had gone to great lengths, although they themselves indulged in every kind of luxury and delicacy; they were prevented, however, by this very business of lawmaking. For Hortensius, one of the men fondest of expensive living, by reviewing the great size of the city and adverting with commendation to the costliness of their homes and their magnanimity toward others, persuaded them to give up their intention, for he could use their mode of life to champion his words. They respected his contention, and furthermore, because they shrank from appearing to debar others through any envy from rights that they themselves enjoyed, they voluntarily withdrew their motion.

[-38-] These were the same days in which Pompey dedicated the theatre wherein we take pride even at the present time. In it he provided an entertainment consisting of music and gymnastic contests, and in the hippodrome a horse-race and the slaughter of many beasts of all kinds.

Five hundred lions were used up in five days, and eighteen elephants fought against men in heavy armor. Some of these beasts were killed immediately and others much later. For some of them, contrary to Pompey's wish, were pitied by the people when they were wounded and ceased fighting and walked about with their trunks raised toward heaven.

They lamented so bitterly as to give rise to the report that they did so not by accident, but were crying out upon the oaths in which they trusted when crossing over from Libya, and were calling upon Heaven to avenge them. For it is said that they would not set foot upon the s.h.i.+ps before they received a pledge under oath from their leaders that they should verily suffer no harm: whether this is really so or otherwise, I know not. For some in time past have further declared that in addition to understanding the language of their native country they also comprehend what is going on in the sky, so that at the time of new moon, before that luminary comes within the gaze of men, they reach running water and there make a kind of purification of themselves. These are some of the things I have heard; I have heard also that this theatre was not erected by Pompey, but by one Demetrius, a freedman of his, with the money he had gained while making campaigns with the general. Wherefore he yielded the name of the structure most justly to his master, that he might not be ill spoken of for having, as his freedman, gathered money enough to suffice for so huge an expenditure.

[-39-] No doubt in this Pompey afforded the populace no little delight, but in making with Cra.s.sus the levies, according to their votes, he displeased them exceedingly. Then the majority repented of their course and praised Cato and the rest. So the latter group both on his account and because a certain lawsuit, nominally against their lieutenants but really against them and with reference to their acts had been inst.i.tuted by some of the tribunes, dared indeed to commit no act of violence, but, together with the malcontents in the senate, changed their clothing as if for a calamity. They immediately, however, repented in regard to this costume and without waiting for any excuse went back to their accustomed dress. Now when the tribunes endeavored to abolish the levies and rescind the vote for the proposed campaigns, Pompey, for his part, showed no anger. He had sent out his lieutenants without delay and he himself was glad to remain where he was on the plea that he was prevented from going abroad, especially as he ought to be in Rome on account of his duties in the care of the grain; and his plan in that case was to let his officers subdue the Hispaniae and himself manage the affairs at Rome and in the rest of Italy. Cra.s.sus, however, since neither of these considerations operated in his case, turned to force of arms. The tribunes, then, seeing that their boldness, being unarmed, was too weak to hinder any of his undertakings, in general kept silence.

They announced many unusual portents, however, that applied to him, as if they could avoid including the public in their curse: at one time as he was offering on the Capitol the customary prayers for his campaign they spread a report of omens and wonders, and again when he was setting out they called down many terrible curses upon him. Ateius even attempted to cast him into prison, but other tribunes resisted, and there was a conflict among them and a delay, in the midst of which Cra.s.sus left the pomerium.

[B.C. 56 (_a.u._ 698)]

[-40-] Now he, whether by chance or as a result of the curses, before long met with defeat. As for Caesar, he, in the consuls.h.i.+p of Marcellinus and Philippus, had made an expedition against the Veneti, who live near the ocean. They had seized some Roman soldiers sent out for grain and afterward detained the envoys who came to see about them, to the end that in exchange they might get back their own hostages. Caesar, instead of giving these back, sent out different bodies of troops in various directions, some to waste the possessions of those who had joined the revolt and thus to prevent the two bands from aiding each other, and others to guard the possessions of those that were under treaty for fear they too might cause some disturbance: he himself meanwhile went straight against the Veneti. He constructed in the interior boats, which he heard were of advantage for the reflux tide of the ocean, and conveyed them down the river Liger, but in so doing used up almost the entire season to no purpose. Their cities, established in strong positions, were inaccessible, and the ocean surging around practically all of them rendered an infantry attack out of the question, and a naval attack equally so in the midst of the ebb and flow of the tide.

Consequently Caesar was in despair until Decimus Brutus came to him with swift s.h.i.+ps from the Mediterranean. And he was inclined to think he would be unable to accomplish anything with those either, but the barbarians through contempt for the smallness and weakness of the cutters incurred defeat. [-41-] For these boats, with a view to rapid progress, had been built rather light in the prevailing style of naval architecture among us, whereas those of the barbarians, because in the constant reflux of the ocean they often needed to rest on dry ground and to hold out against the succession of ebb and flow, surpa.s.sed them very much in both size and stoutness. For these reasons the barbarians, never having had any experience with such a fleet, in view of the appearance of the s.h.i.+ps believed their effectiveness of no importance; and as soon as they were lying at anchor they set sail against them, thinking to sink them in a very short time by means of their boathooks. They were carried by an extremely powerful wind, for their sails were of leather and so received greedily the full force of the wind. [-42-] Now Brutus for a time paid good heed to that fact and did not dare to sail out against them because of the number and size of the s.h.i.+ps and the sweep of the wind and their impetus, but prepared to repel their attack near the land and to abandon the boats altogether. When, however, the wind suddenly fell, the waves were stilled, and the boats could no longer be propelled even with oars but because of their great heaviness stopped almost motionless, then he took courage and sailed to meet them. Falling upon them he wrought them many serious injuries with impunity, using both flank and smas.h.i.+ng tactics,[55] now ramming one of them, now backing water, in whatever way and as much as he liked, sometimes with many vessels against one and again with equal numbers opposed, occasionally even approaching safely with few against many. At whatever point he was superior to them, there he stuck to them closely, and some he sank by ripping them open, and others he boarded from all sides with his mariners for a hand to hand conflict, thus slaughtering many. If he found himself inferior at any place, he very easily retired, so that the advantage rested with him in any case. [-43-] The barbarians did not use archery and had not provided themselves beforehand with stones, not expecting to have any need of them. Hence, if any one came into close quarters with them, they fought him off after a fas.h.i.+on, but with those that stood a little distance from them they knew not how to cope. So they were wounded and killed, some being unable to repel any one, and some of the boats were rammed and torn open, while others were set on fire and burned; still others were drawn off in tow, as if empty of men.

The rest of the crews seeing this waited no longer: some killed themselves to avoid being captured alive and others leaped into the sea with the idea that from there they might board the hostile s.h.i.+ps, or in any event not perish at the hands of the Romans. In earnestness and daring they were no whit inferior, but grieved terribly at being betrayed by the stationary qualities of their vessels. The Romans, to make sure that the wind when it sprang up again should not move the s.h.i.+ps, applied from a distance long poles fitted with knives, by means of which they cut the ropes and split the sails. Through the circ.u.mstance that the enemy were compelled to fight a kind of land battle in their boats against a foe conducting a naval battle, great numbers perished there and all the survivors were captured. Of these Caesar slew the most prominent and sold the rest.

[-44-] Next he made a campaign against the Morini and Menapii, their neighbors, expecting to terrify them by what he had already accomplished and capture them easily. He failed, however, to subdue any of them. They had no cities, living only in huts, and they conveyed their most valued treasures to the ruggedest parts of the mountains, so that they did the attacking parties of the Romans much more harm than they themselves suffered. Caesar attempted by cutting down the forests to make his way into the very mountains, but renounced his plan on account of their size and the nearness of winter, and retired.

[-45-] While he was still in Venetia, Quintus t.i.turius Sabinus, his lieutenant, was despatched against the Unelli, whose leader was Viridovix. At first he was greatly terrified at their numbers and would have been satisfied if only the camp should be saved, but later he perceived that though this advantage made them bolder, they were not in reality dangerous, and he took courage. Most of the barbarians, in fact, in their threats make all sorts of terrible boasts that are without foundation.