Plutarch's Lives Volume III Part 31

[Footnote 543: See life of Pompeius, c. 42, notes; and Appia.n.u.s (_Civil Wars_, ii. 88).]

[Footnote 544: Caesar crossed the h.e.l.lespont, where he met with C.

Ca.s.sius Longinus going with a fleet to aid Pharnakes in Pontus.

Ca.s.sius surrendered and was kindly treated, in consideration of which he afterwards a.s.sisted to murder Caesar. (Appia.n.u.s, _Civil Wars_, ii.

88.)]

[Footnote 545: Of Knidus. The same who is mentioned by Cicero (_Ad Attic._ xiii. 7) as a friend of Caesar, and by Strabo, p. 48, &c.

Asia is the Roman province of Asia.]

[Footnote 546: Caesar (_Civil War_, iii. 106) speaks of his arrival on the coast of Egypt. The Egyptians were offended to see the Roman fasces carried before him.]

[Footnote 547: Caesar had the head of Pompeius burnt with due honours, and he built a temple to Nemesis over the ashes. The temple was pulled down by the Jews in their rising in Egypt during the time of Traja.n.u.s.

(Appia.n.u.s, _Civil Wars_, ii. 90.)

As to the seal ring see the Life of Pompeius, c. 80, and Dion Ca.s.sias (42. c. 18).]

[Footnote 548: The Alexandrine war, which is confusedly told here, is recorded in a single book ent.i.tled De Bello Alexandrino and in Dion Ca.s.sius (42. c. 34-44). The origin of it is told by Caesar at the end of the third Book of the Civil War. The history of the Alexandrine war by Appia.n.u.s was in his aegyptiaca, which is lost. Dion Ca.s.sius, a lover of scandal, mentions that Caesar's attachment to Kleopatra was the cause of the Alexandrine war (42. c. 44). But it could not be the sole cause. Caesar landed with the insignia of his office, as if he were entering a Roman province, and it might be reasonably suspected by the Egyptians that he had a design on the country. Instead of thanking them for ridding him of his rival, he fixed himself and his soldiers in one of the quarters of Alexandria. Caesar went to get money (Dion, 42. c. 9). Kleopatra kept him there longer than he at first intended to stay.]

[Footnote 549: Ptolemaeus Auletes through Caesar's influence had been declared a friend and ally of the Romans in Caesar's consuls.h.i.+p B.C.

59. (Cic. _Ad Attic._ ii. 16.) Ptolemaeus had to spend money for this: he both gave and promised. It does not appear that this money was promised to Caesar: it is more probable that it was promised to the Roman State and Caesar came to get it.]

[Footnote 550: The story of Kleopatra coming to Caesar is also told by Dion Ca.s.sius (42. c. 34). Caesar mentions his putting Pothinus to death (_Civil War_, iii. 112). Caesar had at first only 3200 foot soldiers and 800 cavalry to oppose to the 20,000 men of Achillas, who were not bad soldiers. Besides these 20,000 men Achillas had a great number of vagabonds collected from all parts of Cilicia and Syria.]

[Footnote 551: Alexandria had no springs, and it was supplied from the Nile, the water of which was received into cisterns under the houses.

This supply was (_Bell. Alex._ 5, &c.) damaged by Ganymedes the Egyptian drawing up salt water from the sea and sending it into the cisterns. Caesar supplied himself by digging wells in the sand.]

[Footnote 552: As to the destruction of the library see Dion Ca.s.sius (42. c. 38) and the notes of Reimarus. The destruction is not mentioned by Caesar or the author of the Alexandrine war. Kleopatra afterwards restored it, and the library was famed for a long time after. Lipsius (Opera iii. 1124, Vesal 1675) has collected all that is known of this and other ancient libraries.]

[Footnote 553: The Pharos is a small island in the bay of Alexandria, which was connected with the mainland by a mole, and so divided the harbour into two parts. The story of the battle of the Pharos is told by Dion Ca.s.sius (42. c. 40), with the particulars about Caesar's escape. See the notes of Reimarus.

The modern city of Alexandria is chiefly built on the mole which joined the old city to the mainland. (Article _Alexandria_, 'Penny Cyclopaedia,' by the author of this note.)]

[Footnote 554: The King, the elder brother of Kleopatra, was drowned in the Nile. (Dion Ca.s.sius, 42. c. 43, and the notes of Reimarus.) His body was found. (Florus, ii. 60.)]

[Footnote 555: Caesar did not add Egypt to the Roman Empire. He married Kleopatra to her younger brother, who was a boy. Dion says that he still continued his commerce with Kleopatra. Caesar was nine months in Egypt, from October 48 to July 47 of the unreformed Kalendar.

Caesarion, a Greek form from the word Caesar, may have been Caesar's son, for there is no doubt that Caesar cohabited with Kleopatra in Egypt.

There is more about this Caesarion in Suetonius, _Caesar_, c. 52, where the reading is doubtful; _Caesar Octavian_. c. 17. When Caesar Octavia.n.u.s took Egypt he put Caesarion to death.]

[Footnote 556: He had been acknowledged by Pompeius as king of the Bosporus after the death of his father. He was now in Asia Minor, where he had taken Amisus and had castrated all the male children.

Caesar after hearing of the defeat of Domitius Calvinus, his legatus, by Pharnakos, advanced against him and routed his army. Zela is eight hours south of Amasia, the birthplace of Strabo, and about 40 15' N.

lat. Pharnakes was afterwards murdered by Asander, one of his generals. (Appia.n.u.s, _Civil Wars_, ii. 91; Dion Ca.s.sius, 42, 46; _Bell. Alexandria_, c. 72.)

The modern town of Zilleh, which contains 2000 houses, stands on the site of Zela. A hill rises abruptly above the plain near the centre of the present town, and occupies a commanding position. The appearance of the place corresponds very well with Strabo's description (p. 561), in whose time it was the capital of Zelitis. (Hamilton's _Asia Minor_, i. 361.)]

[Footnote 557: This is the best MS. reading, not Amintius; the true name is probably C. Matius. He was an intimate friend of Caesar, and he is well spoken of by Cicero. He remained faithful to the cause of Caesar after his death, and he attached himself to Octavia.n.u.s. There is a letter of Cicero to Matius, with the answer of Matius (Cicero, _Ad Diversos_, xi. 27, 28) written after Caesar's death, which shows him to have been a man of honour and courage, and worthy of the name of Caesar's friend.

This letter of Caesar's is probably a forgery of the anecdote-makers.

Davis (note to Oudendorp's Caesar, ii. 992) has indicated the probable source of this supposed letter. (Suetonius, _Caesar_, c. 37.) The battle was a smart affair of several hours, and was not won without some loss.]

[Footnote 558: He was named Dictator for B.C. 47 by the Senate in Rome immediately after the battle of Pharsalia: he was at Alexandria when he received this news. He appointed M. Antonius his Master of the Horse and sent him to Rome. (Dion Ca.s.sius, 42. c. 21-33.)]

[Footnote 559: It broke out during his dictators.h.i.+p. (Suetonius, _Caesar_, c. 70; Dion Ca.s.sius, 42. c. 52.) The story is told very circ.u.mstantially by Appia.n.u.s (_Civil Wars_, ii. 92). The soldiers demanded of Caesar release from service (missio), and he granted it to them in a single word, Mitto. The soldiers having got what they asked for were no longer soldiers, but citizens; and Caesar in the subsequent part of the conference properly addressed them as Quirites, just as Cicero addresses the Roman people by this name in one of his orations against Rullus. The soldiers at last prevailed on him to restore them to their former condition; and he set out with them for his African war. This affair is alluded to by Tacitus. (_Annal._ ii. 42; Luca.n.u.s, v. 357.)]

[Footnote 560: P. Cornelius Dolabella, a devoted adherent of Caesar.

His turbulent tribunate is recorded by Dion Ca.s.sius (42. c. 29, &c.).

He was consul with M. Antonius B.C. 44. The name Amantius occurs here again. It is Amintius in some editions of Plutarch. Kaltwa.s.ser observes that nothing is known of Amintius and Corfinius. But Corfinius should be Cornificius; and Amantius should probably be C.

Matius.]

[Footnote 561: Cato was not in the battle of Pharsalus. After the battle Cato, Scipio, Afranius, and Labienus went to Corcyra, whence they sailed to Africa to join Juba. (Life of Cato, c. 55; Dion Ca.s.sius, 42. c. 10; Appia.n.u.s, _Civil Wars_, ii. 95, &c.)

The history of the African War is contained in one book, and is printed in the editions with the Gallic War of Caesar. Caesar landed at Hadrumetum, because Utica was strongly guarded. (Dion Ca.s.sius, 42. c.

58.)]

[Footnote 562: Comp. the _African War_, c. 1.]

[Footnote 563: Dion Ca.s.sius (42. c. 58) calls him Salatto. Suetonius (_Caesar_, c. 59) also tells the same story. The African campaign is told by Dion Ca.s.sius, 43. c. 1, &c.]

[Footnote 564: Scipio avoided fighting as long as he could. Thapsus was situated on a kind of peninsula, south of Hadrumetum, as Dion Ca.s.sius states. But his description is not clear. There were salt-pans near it, which were separated from the sea by a very narrow tract.

Caesar occupied this approach to Thapsus, and then formed his lines about the town in the form of a crescent. Scipio came to relieve Thapsus, and this brought on a battle. (_African War_, 80.) Caesar could not stop the slaughter after the battle was won.]

[Footnote 565: Petreius, Caesar's former opponent in Spain, fled with Juba to Zama, where Juba had his family and his treasures. But the people would not receive Juba into the place. On which, after rambling about for some time with Petreius, in despair they determined to fight with one another that they might die like soldiers. Juba, who was strong, easily killed Petreius, and then with the help of a slave he killed himself. (_African War_, 94; Dion Ca.s.sius, 43, c. 8.)

Scipio attempted to escape to Spain on s.h.i.+p-board. Near Hippo Regius (Bona) he was in danger of falling into the hands of P. Silius, on which he stabbed himself. Afranius and Faustus Sulla, the son of the dictator, were taken prisoners and murdered by the soldiers in Caesar's camp.]

[Footnote 566: As to the death of Cato, see the Life of Cato, c. 65.]

[Footnote 567: The work was in two books, and was written about the time of the battle of Munda, B.C. 45. (Suetonius, c. 56; Cicero, _Ad Attic_, xii. 40; Dion Ca.s.sius, 43. c. 13, and the notes of Reimarus about the "Anticato.")]

[Footnote 568: Caesar made the kingdom of Juba a Roman province, of which he appointed C. Sall.u.s.tius, the historian, proconsul. He laid heavy impositions on the towns of Thapsus and Hadrumetum. He imposed on the people of Leptis an annual tax of 3,000,000 pounds weight of oil (pondo olei), which Plutarch translates by the Greek word litrae.

On his voyage to Rome he stayed at Carales (Cagliari) in Sardinia. He reached Rome at the end of July, B.C. 46. (_African War_, 97, &c.)

Dion Ca.s.sius (43. c. 15, &c.) gives us a speech of Caesar before the Senate on his return to Rome.]

[Footnote 569: As Kaltwa.s.ser remarks, Plutarch has omitted the triumph over Gaul. (Dion Ca.s.sius, 43. c. 19; Appia.n.u.s, _Civil Wars_, ii. 101.) After the triumph Vercingetorix was put to death. Arsin, the sister of Kleopatra, appeared in the Egyptian triumph in chains.]

[Footnote 570: See the Life of Sulla, c. 16 notes; and Dion Ca.s.sius, 51. c. 15.]

[Footnote 571: Plutarch has the word [Greek: triklinos] t????????. The Latin form is triclinium, a couch which would accomodate three persons at table. The word is of Greek origin, and simply means a place which will allow three persons to recline upon it. As triclinia were placed in eating-rooms, such a room is sometimes called triclinium. It is sometimes incorrectly stated that triclinium means three couches, and that a dining-room had the name of triclinium because it contained three couches; which is absurd. Vitruvius describes ci(dining-rooms) square and large enough to contain four triclinia, and leave room also for the servants (vi. 10). It may be true that three couches was a common number in a room.]

[Footnote 572: There was no census this year, as Rualdus quoted by Kaltwa.s.ser shows. Augustus had a census made in his sixth consuls.h.i.+p, B.C. 28; and there had then been none for twenty-four years. That of B.C. 42 was in the consuls.h.i.+p of M. aemilius Lepidus and Munatius Plancus. It has been remarked that Plutarch gives the exact numbers that are given in Suetonius (_Caesar_, 41), when he is speaking of the number of poor citizens who received an allowance of corn from the state, which number Caesar reduced from 320,000 to 150,000. This pa.s.sage, compared with Dion Ca.s.sius (43. c. 21), seems to explain the origin of Plutarch's statement. Appia.n.u.s (_Civil Wars_, ii. 102) also supposed that it was a census. See Clinton, _Fasti_, l.u.s.tra Romana, B.C. 50. (See the Life of Caius Gracchus, c. 5, notes.)]

[Footnote 573: Caesar was sole consul in the year B.C. 45. He was still dictator.]

[Footnote 574: Munda was in Baetica, west of Malaca (Malaga). The battle was fought on the day of the Liberalia, the feast of Liber or Bacchus, the 17th of March. Pompeius, B.C. 49, left Brundisium on the Ides of March, the 15th.

The Spanish campaign is contained in a book ent.i.tled "De Bello Hispaniensi," which is printed with the "Commentaries of Caesar:"