Cassius Dio
Roman History
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Book L(50)
The following is contained in the Fiftieth of Dio's Rome:—
1. How Caesar and Antony began hostilities against each other (chaps.
1-14).
2. How Caesar conquered Antony at Actium (chaps. 15-35).
Duration of time, two years, in which there were the magistrates
(consuls) here enumerated:—
B.C.
32
Cn. Domitius L. F. Cn. N. Ahenobarbus, C. Sosius C.
F. T. N.
31
Caesar (III), M. Valerius M. F. Messalla Corvinus.
The Roman people had been robbed of their democratic form of
government, but had not become a monarchy in the strict sense of the
term; Antony and Caesar still controlled affairs on an equal footing,
having divided by lot most of the functions of government between them,
and though nominally they considered all the rest as belonging to them
in common, in reality they were trying to appropriate it to themselves,
according as either of them was able to seize any advantage over the
other. But afterwards, when Sextus had now perished, the Armenian king
had been captured, the forces that had warred upon Caesar were quiet,
and the Parthians were stirring up no trouble, these two turned openly
against each other and the people were actually reduced to slavery. The
causes for the war and the pretexts they had for it were as follows.
Antony charged Caesar with having removed Lepidus from his office, and
with having taken possession of his territory and of the troops of both
him and Sextus, which ought to have been their common property; and he
demanded the half of these as well as the half of the soldiers that had
been levied in the parts of Italy which belonged to both of them.
Caesar's charge against Antony was that he was holding Egypt and other
countries without having drawn them by lot, had killed Sextus (whom he
himself had willingly spared, he said), and by deceiving, arresting,
and putting in chains the Armenian king had cause much ill repute to
attach to the Roman people. He, too, demanded half of the spoils, and
above all he reproached him with Cleopatra and the children of hers
which Antony had acknowledged as his own, the gifts bestowed upon them,
and particularly because he was calling the boy Caesarion and was
bringing him into the family of Caesar. These were the charges they
made against each other and were in a way their justification of their
conduct, and they communicated them to each other partly by private
letters and partly by public speeches on the part of Caesar and public
messages on the part of Antony. On this pretext also they were
constantly sending envoys back and forth, wishing to appear as far as
possible justified in the complaints they made and at the same time to
reconnoitre each other's position. Meanwhile they were collecting
funds, ostensibly for a different purpose, and were making all other
preparations for war as if against other persons, until the time that
Gnaeus Domitius and Gaius Sosius, both belonging to Antony's party,
became consuls. Then they made no further concealment, but became
openly hostile. It happened in the following way.
Domitius did not openly attempt any revolutionary measures, since he
had experienced many disasters. Sosius, however, had had no experience
with misfortunes, and so on the very first day of the year he said much
in praise of Antony and inveighed much against Caesar. Indeed, he would
have introduced measures immediately against the latter, had not Nonius
Balbus, a tribune, prevented it. Caesar, it seems, had suspected what
he was going to do and wished neither to ignore it nor by offering
opposition to appear to be beginning the war; hence he did not enter
the senate at this time nor even live in the city at all, but invented
some excuse which kept him out of town, not only for the reasons given,
but also in order that he might deliberate at his leisure according to
the reports brought to him and then act, after mature reflection, as
necessity dictated. But afterwards he returned and convened the senate,
surrounding himself with a guard of soldiers and friends who carried
concealed daggers; and sitting with the consuls upon his chair of
state, he spoke from there at length and with moderation in defence of
himself, and brought many accusations against Sosius and Antony. And
when neither of the consuls themselves nor anyone else ventured to
utter a word, he bade the senators come together again on a specified
day, giving them to understand that he would prove by certain documents
that Antony was in the wrong The consuls, accordingly, as they did not
dare to reply to him and could not endure to be silent, left the city
secretly before the day appointed and later made their way to Antony,
followed by not a few of the other senators. And when Caesar learned
this he declared that he had sent them away voluntarily, hoping thus
that it might not be thought that they had abandoned him because of
some wrong-doing on his part, and added that he granted the rest who so
wished permission to depart unmolested to Antony.
This action of theirs was counterbalanced by the arrival of others who
fled from Antony in turn to Caesar, among them being Titius and
Plancus, though they had been honoured by Antony among the foremost and
knew all his secrets. For after the consuls had taken the step
described and Caesar, moreover, in their absence had convened the
senate and had read and said all that he wished, and after Antony,
hearing of these things, had assembled a kind of senate from among
those who were with him, and after considerable talk on both sides of
the question had taken up the war and renounced his connection with
Octavia as his wife, then it was that Titius and Plancus, because of
some friction with him or because of anger against Cleopatra, deserted
him. And Caesar was very glad to receive them and learned from them all
about Antony's affairs, what he was doing, what he had in mind to do,
what was written in his will, and the name of the man who had the will;
for these two men had attached their seals to it. Thereupon Caesar
became still more violently enraged and did not shrink from searching
for the document, seizing it, and then carrying it into the senate and
later into the assembly, and reading it. For the clauses contained in
it were of such a nature that this most lawless procedure on Caesar's
part brought upon him no reproach from the citizens; for Antony had
borne witness to Caesarion that he was truly sprung from Caesar, had
given some enormous presents to his children by the Egyptian queen, who
were being reared by him, and had ordered that his body be buried in
Alexandria by her side.
This caused the Romans in their indignation to believe that the other
reports in circulation were also true, to the effect that if Antony
should prevail, he would bestow their city upon Cleopatra and transfer
the seat of power to Egypt. And they became so angry at this that all,
not only Antony's enemies or those who were not siding with either man,
but even his most intimate friends, censured him severely; for in their
consternation at what was read and in their eagerness to counteract
Caesar's suspicion of them, they spoke in the same way as the rest.
They deprived him of the consulship, to which he had been previously
elected, and of all his authority in general. They did not, to be sure,
declare him an enemy in so many words, because they were afraid his
adherents would also have to be regarded in the light of enemies, in
case they should not abandon him; but by this action they showed their
attitude more plainly than by any words. For they voted to the men
arrayed on his side pardon and praise if they would abandon him, and
declared war outright upon Cleopatra, put on their military cloaks as
if he were close at hand, and went to the temple of Bellona, where they
performed through Caesar as fetialis all the rites preliminary to war
in the customary fashion. These proceedings were nominally directed
against Cleopatra, but really against Antony. For she had enslaved him
so absolutely that she persuaded him to act as gymnasiarch to the
Alexandrians; and she was called "queen" and "mistress" by him, had
Roman soldiers in her bodyguard, and all of these inscribed her name
upon their shields. She used to frequent the market-place with him,
joined him in the management of festivals and in the hearing of
lawsuits, and rode with him even in the cities, or else was carried in
a chair while Antony accompanied her on foot along with her eunuchs. He
also termed his headquarters "the palace," sometimes wore an oriental
dagger at his belt, dressed in a manner not in accordance with the
customs of his native land, and let himself be seen even in public upon
a gilded couch or a chair of that kind. He posed with her for portrait
paintings and statues, he representing Osiris or Dionysus and she
Selene or Isis. This more than all else made him seem to have been
bewitched by her through some enchantment. For she so charmed and
enthralled not only him but also the rest who had any influence with
him that she conceived the hope of ruling even the Romans; and whenever
she used an oath her strongest phrase in swearing was by her purpose to
dispense justice on the Capitol.
This was the reason they voted for war against Cleopatra, but they made
no such declaration against Antony, forsooth, knowing full well that he
would become an enemy in any event, since he certainly was not going to
prove false to her and espouse Caesar's cause; and they wished to have
this additional reproach to put upon him, that he had voluntarily taken
up war on the side of the Egyptian woman against his native country,
though no ill-treatment had been accorded him personally by the people
at home.
Accordingly, the men of fighting age were being rapidly assembled on
both sides, money was being collected from every quarter, and all the
equipment of war was being speedily gathered together. The preparations
as a whole far surpassed in size anything that had ever been seen
before; for all these nations coöperated with one side or other in
the war: Caesar had, in the first place, Italy (he had even attached to
his cause all those who had been placed in colonies by Antony, partly
by frightening them, since they were few in number, and partly by
conferring benefits upon them; for example, among his other acts, he
personally gave a new charter to the colonists who had settled in
Bononia, so that the impression might prevail that the colony had been
sent out by him), and besides Italy he also had in alliance with him
Gaul, Spain, Illyricum, the Africas (including not only those who long
since had adopted the Latin tongue, with the exception of the people in
Cyrenaica, but also those who had belonged to Bogud and Bocchus),
Sardinia, Sicily, and the rest of the islands adjacent to the
aforementioned divisions of the mainland. On Antony's side were the
regions subject to Rome in continental Asia, the regions of Thrace,
Greece, and Macedonia, the Egyptians, the people of Cyrene and the
surrounding country, the islanders dwelling near them, and practically
all the kings and potentates whose territories bordered upon that part
of the Roman empire then under his control — some taking the field
themselves and others represented by lieutenants. And such was the zeal
of both sides that the alliances which they made with the two leaders
were cemented by oaths of allegiance.
Such was the strength of the contestants. As for Antony, he on his part
swore to his own soldiers that he would admit no truce in the war he
wage, and promised in addition that within two months after his victory
he would relinquish his office and restore to the senate and the people
all its authority; and it was with difficulty, forsooth, that certain
persons prevailed upon him to postpone this act to the sixth month, so
that he might be able to settle the public business at his leisure. And
however far he was from intending to carry out this offer, he yet made
the proposal as if he were certainly and without fail going to conquer.
For he saw that his own forces were much the stronger by reason of
their superior numbers, and hoped by means of bribes to weaken those of
his opponents; indeed, he proceeded to send gold in every direction,
and particularly to Italy in general and especially to Rome, and thus
tried to shake the allegiance of each individual element and to tempt
them of to his side. For this reason Caesar on his part kept a more
vigilant watch over everything else, and made donations of money to his
soldiers.
Such was the enthusiasm of the two sides and such were their
preparations; meanwhile many and divers rumours were noised abroad by
men, and many clear portents were shown by the gods. For example, an
ape entered the temple of Ceres during a service and upset everything
in it; an owl flew first into the temple of Concord and then to
practically all the other most holy temples, and finally, when it had
been driven away from every other place, it settled upon the temple of
the Genius Populi, and it was not only not caught, but did not depart
until late in the day. The chariot of Jupiter was demolished in the
Circus at Rome, and for many days a torch would rise over the sea
toward Greece and dart up into the sky. Much damage was also caused by
storm; thus, a trophy which stood upon the Aventine fell, a statue of
Victory fell from the back wall of the theatre, and the wooden bridge
was utterly demolished. And many objects were destroyed by fire also,
and moreover there was a huge flow of lava from Aetna which damaged
cities and fields. Now when the Romans saw and heard about these
things, they recalled also the incident of the serpent, realising that
it too had given them a sign which bore upon the present situation. A
little before this, it seems, a two-headed serpent, so huge that its
length came to eighty-five feet, had suddenly appeared in Etruria, and
after doing much damage had been killed by lightning. Now all these
signs had significance for the whole people; for it was the Romans on
whom would fall the brunt of the fighting on both sides alike, and it
was fated that many perish in each army at this time and that afterward
all the survivors should belong to the victor. In the case of Antony,
an omen of his defeat was given beforehand by the children in Rome; for
although nobody suggested it, they formed two parties, of which one
called itself the Antonians the other the Caesarians, and they fought
with each other for two days, when those who bore Antony's name were
defeated. And his death was portended by what happened to a statue of
him that stood on the Alban Mount beside that of Jupiter; for in spite
of its being of marble it sent forth streams of blood.
All alike were excited over these events, yet in that year nothing
further took place. For Caesar, on his part, was busy settling matters
in Italy, especially when he discovered the presence of money sent by
Antony, and so could not go to the front before winter; and as for
Antony, although he set out with the intention of carrying the war into
Italy before they should suspect his movements, yet when he came to
Corcyra and ascertained that the advance guard of ships sent to
reconnoitre his position was lying off the Ceraunian mountains, he
suspected that Caesar himself with all his fleet had arrived, and hence
proceeded no further. Instead, he sailed back to the Peloponnesus, the
season being already late autumn, and passed the winter at Patrae,
distributing his soldiers in every direction in order that they might
keep guard over the strategic points and secure more easily an
abundance of provisions. Meanwhile men were going over voluntarily from
each to the other side, senators as well as others, and Caesar caught a
spy, Lucius Messius; but he released him, in spite of his being one of
the men who had previously been captured at Perusia, after having first
showed him his entire force. And Caesar sent Antony a letter, bidding
him either withdraw from the sea a day's journey on horseback and
permit him to land in security, on condition that they should join
battle within five days, or else cross over to Italy himself on the
same understanding. He did not, of course, expect that anything would
come of it, and indeed Antony made a great deal of fun of him, saying,
"Who will be our arbitrator if the compact is transgressed in any way?"
But he hoped to inspire his own soldiers with courage and his opponents
with terror by making this demand.
As consuls for the next year after this Caesar and Antony had been
appointed at the time when they had settled the offices for eight years
at once, and this was the last year of the period; but as Antony had
been deposed, as I have stated, Valerius Messalla, who had once been
proscribed by them, became consul with Caesar. About this time a madman
rushed into the theatre at one of the festivals and seized the crown of
the former Caesar and put it on, whereupon he was torn to pieces by the
bystanders. A wolf was caught as it was running into the temple of
Fortune and killed, and in the Circus at the very time of the
horse-race a dog killed and devoured another dog. Fire also consumed a
considerable portion of the Circus itself, along with the temple of
Ceres, another shrine dedicated to Spes, and a large number of other
structures. The freedmen were thought to have caused this; for all of
them who were in Italy and possessed property worth two hundred
thousand sesterces or more had been ordered to contribute an eighth of
it. This resulted in numerous riots, murders, and the burning of many
buildings on their part, and they were not brought to order until they
were subdued by armed force. In consequence of this the freemen who
held any land in Italy grew frightened and kept quiet; for they also
had been ordered to give a quarter of their annual income, and though
they were on the point of rebelling against this extortion, they were
not bold enough after what had just happened to make any disturbance,
but reluctantly brought in their contributions without resort to arms.
Therefore it was believed that the fire was due to a plot originated by
the freedmen; yet this did not prevent it from being recorded among the
out-and-out portents, because of the number of buildings burned.
Although such omens had appeared to them, the two leaders neither were
dismayed nor relaxed their preparations for war, but spent the winter
in spying upon and annoying each other. For Caesar had set sail from
Brundisium and had proceeded as far as Corcyra, intending to attack
while off their guard the enemy forces lying off Actium, but he
encountered a storm and received damage which caused him to withdraw.
When spring came, Antony made no move at any point; for the crews that
manned his triremes were made up of all sorts of races, and as they had
been wintering at a distance from him, they had had no practice and
their numbers had been diminished by disease and desertions. Moreover
Agrippa had captured Methone by storm and killed Bogud there, and was
now watching for the merchant vessels that came to land and was making
descents from time to time on various parts of Greece, all of which
disturbed Antony greatly. But Caesar was encouraged by this and wished
to bring into play as soon as possible the enthusiasm of his army,
which was splendidly trained, and to wage the war in Greece near his
rival's bases rather than in Italy near Rome. Therefore he assembled
all his troops that were of any value, and likewise all the men of
influence, both senators and knights, at Brundisium, wishing to make
the first coöperate with him and to keep the others from beginning
a rebellion as they might if left by themselves, but chiefly with the
purpose of showing to all the world that he had the largest and
strongest element among the Romans in sympathy with himself. From
Brundisium he sent orders to all these that they should take along with
them a stated number of servants and also, except in the case of the
soldiers, should carry with them their own supplies. Thereupon he
crossed the Ionian Gulf with the entire array. He was leading them, not
to the Peloponnesus or against Antony, but toward Actium, where the
greater part of his rival's fleet was at anchor, to see if he could
forestall Antony by gaining possession of it, willing or unwilling.
With this object in view Caesar disembarked the cavalry at the foot of
the Ceraunian mountains and sent them to the point mentioned, while he
himself with his ships seized Corcyra, which had been deserted by the
garrisons there, and come to anchor in the Fresh Harbour, so named
because it is made fresh by the river which empties into it. there he
established a naval station, and with that as his base made excursions
to Actium. But no one came out to meet him or would hold parley with
him, though he challenged them to do one of two things — either come to
terms or give battle. But the first alternative they would not accept
because of their confidence, nor the second, because of their fear. He
then occupied the site where Nicopolis now stands, and took up a
position on high ground there from which there is a view over all the
outer sea around the Paxos islands and over the inner, or Ambracian,
gulf, as well as over the intervening waters, in which are the harbours
of Nicopolis. This spot he fortified, and he constructed walls from it
down to Comarus, the outer harbour, and consequently commanded Actium
by land and sea, watching it from above with his army and blockading it
with his fleet. I have even heard the report that he actually
transported triremes from the outer sea to the gulf by way of the
fortifications, using newly flayed hides smeared with olive oil instead
of runways, yet I am unable to name any exploit of these ships inside
the gulf and therefore cannot believe the tradition; for it certainly
would have been no small task to draw triremes over so narrow and
uneven a tract of land on hides. Nevertheless, this feat is said to
have been accomplished in the manner described. Now Actium is a place
sacred to Apollo and is situated in front of the mouth of the strait
leading into the Ambracian Gulf opposite the harbours of Nicopolis.
This strait extends for a long distance in a narrow course of uniform
breadth, and both it and all the waters in front of it furnish an
excellent place in which to anchor and lie in wait. The forces of
Antony had occupied these positions in advance, had built towers on
each side of the mouth, and had stationed ships in the intervening
waters at intervals so that they could both sail out and return in
safety. The men were encamped on the farther side of the narrows,
beside the sanctuary, in a level and broad space, which, however, was
more suitable as a place for fighting than for encamping; it was
because of this fact more than any other that they suffered severely
from disease, not only during the winter, but much more during the
summer.
As soon as Antony learned of Caesar's arrival he did not delay, but
hastened to Actium with his followers. And he arrived there not long
afterwards, but did not at once risk an encounter, though Caesar
constantly drew up his infantry in battle order in front of the enemy's
camp, often sailed against them with his ships and carried off their
transports, with the object of joining battle with only such as were
then present, before Antony's entire command should assemble. For this
very reason the latter was unwilling to stake his all on the cast, and
he had recourse for select days to feeling out his enemy and to
skirmished until he had gathered his legions. With these, especially
since Caesar no longer kept assailing him as before, he crossed the
narrows and encamped not far from him, after which he sent cavalry
around the gulf and thus invested him on both sides. Caesar,
accordingly, remained quiet himself, and no longer accepted any
encounter which he could avoid, but sent some troops into Greece and
Macedonia with the intention of drawing Antony off in that direction.
While they were so engaged Agrippa made a sudden dash with his fleet
and captured Leucas and the vessels which were there, took Patrae by
conquering Quintus Nasidius in a sea-fight, and later reduced Corinth
also. Accordingly, when all this had happened, and when Marcus Titius
and Statilius Taurus made a sudden charge upon Antony's cavalry and
defeated it and won over Philadelphus, king of Paphlagonia, and
meanwhile Gnaeus Domitius, having some grievance against Cleopatra,
transferred his allegiance also,— to be sure, he proved of no service
to Caesar, since he fell sick and died not long after, yet he created
the impression that it was because of his disapproval of the situation
on the side on which he was that he had deserted to the other, for many
others followed his example,— Antony no longer felt the same
confidence, but was suspicious of everybody. For this reason he
tortured and put to death, among others, Iamblichus, king of a tribe of
the Arabians, and handed over Quintus Postumius, a senator, to be torn
asunder. Finally he became afraid that Quintus Dellius and Amyntas, the
Galatian, who, as it chanced, had been sent into Macedonia and Thrace
to secure mercenaries, would espouse Caesar's cause, and he set out to
overtake them, pretending that he wished to render them assistance in
case any hostile force should attack them. And in the meantime a naval
battle occurred. Lucius Tarius, it seems, was anchored with a few ships
opposite Sosius, who hoped to achieve a notable success by attacking
him before the arrival of Agrippa, to whom the whole fleet had been
entrusted. Accordingly, Sosius waited for a thick mist, so that Tarius
should not beforehand because aware of his numbers and flee, and
suddenly sailed out just before dawn and immediately at the first
assault routed his opponent and pursued him, but failed to capture him;
for Agrippa by chance met Sosius on the way, so that he not only gained
nothing from the victory, but perished, together with Tarconditomotus
and many others.
Now, because of this reverse and because Antony himself on his return
had been defeated in a cavalry battle by Caesar's advance guard, he
decided not to let his men encamp thereafter in two different places,
and so during the night he left the intrenchments which were near his
opponents and retired to the other side of the narrows, where the
largest part of his army was encamped. And when provisions also began
to fail him because he was shut off from bringing in grain, he held a
council to deliberate whether they should remain where they were and
hazard an encounter or should move somewhere else and protract the war.
After various opinions had been expressed by different men, Cleopatra
prevailed with her advice that they should entrust the best strategic
positions to garrisons, and that the rest should depart with herself
and Antony to Egypt. She had reached this opinion as the result of
being disturbed by omens. For swallows had built their nest about her
tent and on the flagship, on which she was sailing, and milk and blood
together had dripped from beeswax; also the statues of herself and
Antony in the guise of gods, which the Athenians had placed on their
Acropolis, had been hurled down by thunderbolts into the theatre. In
consequence of these portents and of the resulting dejection of the
army, and of the sickness prevalent among them, Cleopatra herself
became alarmed and filled Antony with fears. They did not wish,
however, to sail out secretly, nor yet openly, as if they were in
flight, lest they should inspire their allies also with fear, but
rather as if they were making preparations for a naval battle, and
incidentally in order that they might force their way though in case
there should be any resistance. Therefore they first chose out the best
of the vessels and burned the rest, since the sailors had become fewer
by death and desertion; next they secretly put all their most valuable
possessions on board by night. Then when the ships were ready, Antony
called his soldiers together and spoke as follows:
"The preparations for the war which it was my duty to attend to have
all been adequately made, soldiers, in advance. First, there is your
immense throng, all the chosen flower of our dependents and allies; and
to such a degree are you masters of every form of combat that is in
vogue among us that each of you, unsupported, is formidable to your
adversaries. Again, you yourselves surely see how large and how fine a
fleet we have, and how many fine hoplites, cavalry, slingers, peltasts,
archers, and mounted archers. Most of these arms are not found at all
on the other side, and those that they have are much fewer and far less
powerful than ours. Moreover, their funds are scanty, and that, too,
though they have been raised by forced contributions and cannot last
long, and at the same time they have rendered the contributors better
disposed toward us than toward the men who took their money; hence the
population is in no way favourable to them, and is on the point of open
revolt besides. Our resources, on the other hand, drawn as they have
been from our accumulations, have caused no one person to feel
aggrieved, and will aid us all collectively.
"In addition to these considerations, numerous and important as they
are, I hesitate on general principles to add anything personal
concerning myself by way of boasting; yet since this, too, is one of
the factors which contribute to victory in war, and in the opinion of
all men is of supreme importance,— I mean that men who are to wage war
successfully must also have an excellent general,— necessity itself has
rendered quite inevitable what I shall say about myself, in order that
you may realize even better than you do this truth, that you yourselves
are the kind of soldiers that could win even without a good leader, and
that I am the kind of leader that could prevail even with poor
soldiers. For I am at that age when men are at their very prime, both
in body and in mind, and are hampered neither by the rashness of youth
nor by the slackness of old age, but are their strongest, because they
occupy the mean between these two extremes. Moreover, I have the
advantage of such natural gifts and of such a training that I can with
the greatest ease make the right decision in every case and give it
utterance. As regards experience, which, as you know, causes even the
ignorant and the uneducated to appear to be of some value, I have been
acquiring that through my whole political and my whole military career.
For from boyhood down to the present moment I have continually trained
myself in these matters; I have been ruled much and have ruled much,
and thereby I have learned, on the one hand, all the tasks of whatever
kind the leader must impose, and, on the other, all the duties of
whatever kind the subordinate must obediently perform. I have known
fear, I have known confidence; thereby I have schooled myself, through
the one, not to be afraid of anything too readily, and, through the
other, not to venture on any hazard too heedlessly. I have known good
fortune, I have known failure; consequently I am able to avoid both
despair and excess of pride.
"I speak to you who know what I say is true, and make you who hear it
my witnesses to its truth, not with the intention of uttering idle
boasts about myself,— enough for me, so far as fame is concerned, is
your consciousness of it,— but to the end that you may in this way
bring home to yourselves how much better we are equipped than our
opponents. For while they are inferior to us not only in number of
troops and in abundance of money, but also in diversity of equipment,
yet in no one respect are they so lacking as in the youth and
inexperience of their commander. About his deficiencies in general I do
not need to speak precisely of in detail, but I will sum up the whole
matter and say, what you also know, that he is a veritable weakling in
body and has never by himself been city in any important battle either
on the land or on the sea. Indeed, at Philippi, in one and the same
conflict, it was I that conquered and he that was defeated.
"So great is the difference between us two; but, as a rule, it is those
who have the better equipment that secure the victories. Now if our
opponents have any strength at all, you will find it to exist in their
heavy-armed force and on land; as for their ships, they will not even
be able to sail out against us at all. For you yourselves, of course,
see the length and beam of our vessels, which are such that even if the
enemy's were a match for them in number, yet because of these
advantages on our side they could do no damage either by charging
bows-on or by ramming our sides. For in the one case the thickness of
our timbers, and in the other the very height of our ships, would
certainly check them, even if there were no one on board to ward them
off. Where, indeed, will anyone find a chance to assail ships which
carry so many archers and slingers, who have the further advantage of
striking their assailants from the towers aloft? But if anyone should
manage to come up close, how could he fail to get sunk by the very
number of our oars, or how could he fail to be sent to the bottom when
shot at by all the warriors on our decks and in our towers? Do not
imagine, now, that they possess any particular seamanship just because
Agrippa won a naval battle off Sicily; for they contended, not against
Sextus, but against his slaves, not against a like equipment with ours,
but against one far inferior. And if anyone is inclined to make much of
their good fortune in that combat, he is bound to reckon on the other
side the defeat which Caesar himself suffered at the hands of Sextus
himself; in this way he will find, not merely that our chances are
equal, but that all the considerations on our side are far more
numerous and far better than on theirs. In a word, how large a part
does Sicily form of the whole empire, and how large a fraction of our
force did the troops of Sextus possess, that anyone should reasonably
fear Caesar's armament, which is precisely the same as before and has
grown neither larger nor better, merely because of his good luck,
rather than take courage because of his defeat? It is precisely in view
of these considerations, therefore, that I have not cared to risk a
first engagement with the infantry, where they appear to have strength
in a way, in order that no one of you should become disheartened as the
result of a reverse in that arm; instead, I have chosen to begin with
the ships, where we are strongest and have a vast superiority over our
antagonists, in order that after a victory with these we may scorn
their infantry also. For you know well that the turn of the scale in
this war depends for both sides entirely upon just this — I mean our
fleets; for if we come out victorious with this arm we shall
thenceforth suffer no harm from any of their other forces either, but
shall cut them off on an islet, as it were, since all the regions round
about are in our possession, and shall subdue them without trouble, if
inn of other way, at least by hunger.
"Now I think that there is no further need even of words to show you
that we shall be struggling, not for small or insignificant ends, but
in a contest such that, if we are zealous, we shall obtain the greatest
rewards, and if careless, we shall suffer the most grievous
misfortunes. Why, what would they not do to us, if they should prevail,
when they have put to death practically all the followers of Sextus who
were of any prominence, and have even destroyed many followers of
Lepidus though they coöperated with Caesar's party? But why do I
mention this, seeing that they have removed from his command altogether
Lepidus himself, who was guilty of no wrong and furthermore had been
their ally, and keep him under guard as if he were a prisoner of war,
and when they have also extracted contributions of money from all the
freedmen of Italy and from all the rest likewise who possess any land,
going so far as to force some of them actually to resort to arms, and
then for that act to put large numbers to death? Is it possible that
those who have not spared their allies will spare us? Will those who
levied tribute upon the property of their own adherents keep their
hands from ours? Will they show humanity as victors who, even before
gaining supremacy, have committed every conceivable outrage? Not to
spend time in speaking of the experience of other people, I will
enumerate their acts of insolence toward ourselves. Who does not know
that, although I was chosen a partner and colleague of Caesar and was
given the management of public affairs on equal terms with him, and
received like honours and offices, in possession of which I have
continued for so long a time, yet I have been deprived of them all, so
far as lay in his power; I have become a private citizen instead of a
commander, disenfranchised instead of consul, and this not by the
action of the people nor yet of the senate (for how could that be, when
the consuls and some other senators went so far as to flee at once from
the city in order to escape casting any such vote?), but by the act of
this one man and of his adherent, who do not perceive that they are
training a sovereign to rule over themselves first of all? Why, the man
who dared while I was still alive and in possession of so great power
and was conquering the Armenians, to hunt out my will, to take it
forcibly from those who received it, to open it and read it public
column — how, I say, should a man like that spare either you or anybody
else? And how will he show any kindness to others to whom he is bound
by no tie, when he has shown himself such a man toward me — his friend,
his table-companion, his kinsman?
"Now in case we are to draw any inferences from his decrees, he
threatens you openly, — at any rate he has made the majority of you
enemies outright,— but against me personally no such declaration has
been made, though he is at war with me and is already acting in every
way like one who has not only conquered me but also murdered me. Hence,
when he has treated me in such a way,— me, whom he pretends not even
yet at this day to regard as an enemy,— he surely will not keep his
hands off you, with whom even he clearly admits that he is at war. What
in the world does he mean, then, by threatening us all alike with arms,
but in the decree declaring that he is at war with some and not with
others? It is not, by Jupiter, with the intention of making any
distinction among us, or of treating one class in one way and another
in another, if he prevails, but it is in order to set us at variance
and bring us in collision, and thus render us weaker. For of course he
is not unaware that while we are in accord, and acting as one in
everything, he can never get the upper hand, but that if we quarrel,
and some choose one policy and the rest another, he may perhaps
prevail; and it is for this reason that he acts as he does toward us.
"Just as I, therefore, and the Romans associated with me foresee the
danger, in spite of our enjoying a kind of immunity so far as the
decrees are concerned, and as we comprehend his plot, and yet neither
abandon you nor look privately to our own advantage, in like manner
you, too, whom even he himself does not deny that he regards as
hostile, yes, most hostile, ought to bear in mind all these facts, and
counting both our dangers and our hopes as common to us all, you should
coöperate in every way in what we have to do and eagerly share in
our zeal, balancing against each other what we shall suffer (as I have
explained) if defeated, and what we shall gain if victorious. For while
it is a great thing for us just to escape being the victims of insult
and greed, if by any chance we are defeated, yet it is greatest of all
to conquer and thus to be able to accomplish all we have prayed for. On
the other hand, it is most disgraceful for us, who are so many and so
valiant, who have weapons, money, ships, and horses, to choose the
worse instead of the better course, and when it is in our power to
confer liberty upon the other side as well as upon ourselves, to prefer
to share their slavery with them. Our aims, you must know, are so
opposed that, whereas he desires to reign as a sovereign over you, I
wish to free them as well as you, and this indeed I have confirmed by
oath. Therefore, as men who are to struggle for both sides alike and to
win blessings in which all will share, let us earnestly strive,
soldiers, to prevail at the present moment and to gain happiness for
all time."
After speaking to this effect Antony put all his most prominent
associates on board the ships, to prevent them from beginning any
mutiny if left by themselves, as Dellius and some other deserters had
done; he also embarked great numbers of archers, slingers, and
heavy-armed troops. For seeing that the size of Caesar's ships and the
number of marines were chiefly responsible for the defeat of Sextus,
Antony had built his vessels much higher in the water than those of his
opponents, constructing only a few triremes, but instead some ships
with four and some with ten banks of oars, and all the remainder in
between these two; upon these he had built lofty towers, and he had put
aboard a large number of men, who could thus fight from walls, as it
were. Caesar, for his part, was observing their equipment and making
his preparations, and when he learned from Dellius and others their
intention, he also assembled his army and spoke to this effect:
"Observing, soldiers, both from what I have learned by hearsay and from
what I have proved by experience, that almost all of the greatest
undertakings of warfare, or rather, I may say, the undertakings of men
without exception, turn out in favour of those whose thoughts and acts
are upon the higher level of justice and reverence for the gods, I have
myself taken to heart this truth above all others, and I advise you
also to have regard for it. For even if we possess ever so vast and
mighty a force, such that even a man who chose the less just of two
courses might expect to win with it aid, nevertheless I base my
confidence far more upon the causes underlying the war than upon such a
force. For that we who are Romans and lords of the greatest and best
portion of the world should be despised and trodden under foot by an
Egyptian woman is unworthy of our fathers, who overthrew Pyrrhus,
Philip, Perseus, and Antiochus, who drove the Numantians and the
Carthaginians from their homes, who cut down the Cimbri and the
Ambrones; it is unworthy also of ourselves, who have subjugated the
Gauls, subdued the Pannonians, advanced as far as the Ister, crossed
the Rhine, and passed over the sea into Britain. Would not all those
who have performed the exploits I have named grieve mightily if they
should learn that we had succumbed to an accursed woman? Should we not
be acting most disgracefully if, after surpassing all men everywhere in
valour, we should then meekly bear the insults of this throng, who, oh
heavens! are Alexandrians and Egyptians (what worse or what truer name
could one apply to them?), who worship reptiles and beasts as gods, who
embalm their own bodies to give them the semblance of immortality, who
are most reckless in effrontery but most feeble in courage, and who,
worst of all, are slaves to a woman and not to a man, and yet have
dared to lay claim to our possessions and to use us to help them
acquire them, expecting that we will voluntarily give up to them the
prosperity which we possess? Who would not lament at seeing Roman
soldiers acting as bodyguards of their queen? Who would not groan at
hearing that Roman knights and senators fawn upon her like eunuchs? Who
would not weep when he hears and sees Antony himself, the man twice
consul, often imperator, to whom was committed in common with me the
management of the public business, who was entrusted with so many
cities, so many legions — when he sees that this man has now abandoned
all his ancestors' habits of life, has emulated all alien and barbaric
customs, that he pays no honour to us or to the laws or to his fathers'
gods, but pays homage to that wench as if she were some Isis or Selene,
calling her children Helios and Selene, aand finally taking for himself
the title of Osiris or Dionysus, and, after all this, making presents
of whole islands and parts of the continents, as though he were master
of the whole earth and the whole sea? All these things seem marvellous
and incredible to you, soldiers, as I am well aware, but you ought
therefore to be the more indignant. For if that is actually true which
you do not believe even when you hear it, and if that man in his
luxurious indulgence does commit acts at which anyone would grieve who
learns of them, would it not be reasonable that you should go past all
bounds in your rage?
"Yet I myself was so devoted to him at the beginning that I gave him a
share in our command, married my sister to him, and granted him
legions. After that I felt so kindly, so affectionately, towards him,
that I was unwilling to wage war on him merely because he had insulted
my sister, or because he neglected the children that she had borne him,
or because he preferred the Egyptian woman to her, or because he
bestowed upon that woman's children practically all your possessions,
or for any other cause. My reason was, first of all, that I did not
think it proper to assume the same attitude toward Antony as toward
Cleopatra; for I adjudged her, if only on account of her foreign birth,
to be an enemy by reason of her very conduct, but I believed that he,
as a citizen, might still be brought to reason. Later I entertained the
hope that he might, if not voluntarily, at least reluctantly, change
his course as a result of the decrees passed against her. Consequently
I did not declare war upon him at all. He, however, has looked
haughtily and disdainfully upon my efforts, and will neither be
pardoned though we would fain pardon him, nor be pitied though we try
to pity him. He is either heedless or mad — for, indeed, I have heard
and believed that he has been bewitched by that accursed woman — and
therefore pays no heed to our generosity or kindness, but being a slave
to that woman, he undertakes the war and its self-chosen dangers on her
behalf against us and against his country. In view of all this, what is
left to us but the duty of fighting him, together with Cleopatra, and
repelling him?
"Therefore let no one count him a Roman, but rather an Egyptian, nor
call him Antony, but rather Serapion; let no one think he was ever
consul or imperator, but only gymnasiarch. For he has himself, of his
own free will, chosen the latter names instead of the former, and
casting aside all the august titles of his own land, has become one of
the cymbal players from Canopus. Again, let no one fear him on the
ground that he will turn the scale of the war. For even in the past he
was of no account, as you who conquered him at Mutina know clearly
enough. And even if he did at one time attain to some valour through
campaigning with us, be well assured that he has now spoiled it utterly
by his changed manner of life. For it is impossible for one who leads a
life of royal luxury, and coddles himself like a woman, to have a manly
thought or do a manly deed, since it is an inevitable law that a man
assimilates himself to the practices of his daily life. A proof of this
is that in the one war which he has waged in all this long time, and
the one campaign that he has made, he caused the death of vast numbers
of citizens in the battles, returned in utter disgrace from Praaspa,
and lost ever so many men besides in his flight. So, then, if any one
of us were called upon to execute a ridiculous dance or to cut a
lascivious fling, such a person would surely have to yield the honours
to him, since these are the specialities he has practised, but now that
the occasion calls for arms and battle, what is there about him that
anyone should dread? His physical fitness? But he has passed his prime
and become effeminate. His strength of mind? But he plays the woman and
has worn himself out with unnatural lust. His piety toward our gods?
But he is at war with them as well as with his country. His
faithfulness to his allies? But who does not know how he deceived and
imprisoned the Armenian? His kindness to his friends? But who has not
seen the men who have miserably perished at his hands? His reputation
with the soldiers? But who even of them has not condemned him? A sign
of this is that numbers daily come over to our side. For my part I
think that all our citizens will do this, as on a former occasion when
he was on his way from Brundisium to Gaul. So long, to be sure, as they
expected to get rich without danger, some were very glad to cleave to
him; but they will not care to fight against us, their own countrymen,
on behalf of what does not belong to them at all, especially when they
may without risk gain both their lives and their happiness by joining
us.
"Some one may say, however, that he has many allies and much wealth.
But how have we been wont to conquer the inhabitants of the continent
of Asia? The famous Scipio Asiaticus can bear witness, or the fortunate
Sulla, or Lucullus, or Pompey, or my father Caesar, or you yourselves,
who vanquished the supporters of Brutus and Cassius. This being so, in
proportion as you think the wealth of Antony and his allies is so much
greater than that of others, you ought to be all the more eager to make
it your own; for it is worth while, in order to win the greatest
prizes, to wage the greatest contests. And yet I can tell you of no
greater prize that is set before you than to maintain the renown of
your forefathers, to preserve your own proud traditions, to take
vengeance on those who are in revolt against us, to repel those who
insult you, to conquer and rule all mankind, to allow no woman to make
herself equal to a man. Against the Taurisci and Iapydes and Dalmatians
and Pannonians you yourselves who are now present battled most
zealously, often to win a few walls and a barren land; and you subdued
all these people, though they are admittedly most warlike; yes, by
Jupiter, against Sextus also, to win Sicily only, and against this very
Antony, to win Mutina only, you carried on similar struggles, and so
zealously that you came out victorious over both. And now will you show
any less zeal against a woman who has designs upon all your
possessions, and against her husband who has distributed to her
children all your property, and against their noble associates and
table companions whom they themselves stigmatize as 'privy'
councillors? Why should you? Because of their number? But no number of
persons can conquer valour. Because of their race? But they have
practised carrying burdens rather than warfare. Because of their
experience? But they know better how to row than how to fight at sea.
I, for my part, am really ashamed that we are going to contend with
such creatures, by vanquishing whom we shall gain no glory, whereas if
we are defeated we shall be disgraced.
"And surely you must not think that the size of their vessels or the
thickness of the timbers of their ships is a match for our valour. What
ship ever by itself either wounded or killed anybody? Will they not by
their very height and staunchness be more difficult for their rowers to
move and less obedient to their pilots? Of what use can they possibly
be to the fighting men on board of them, when these men can employ
neither frontal assault nor flank attack, manoeuvres which you know are
essential in naval contests? For surely they do not intend to employ
infantry tactics against us on the sea, nor on the other hand are they
prepared to shut themselves up as it were in wooden walls and undergo a
siege, since that would be decidedly to our advantage — I mean
assaulting wooden barriers. For if their ships remain in the same
place, as if fastened there, it will be possible for us to rip them
open with our beaks, it will be possible, too, to damage them with our
engines from a distance, and also possible to burn them to the water's
edge with incendiary missiles; and if they do venture to stir from
their place, they will not overtake anyone by pursuing nor escape by
fleeing, since they are so heavy that they are entirely too inert to
inflict any damage, and so huge that they are exceptionally liable to
suffer it.
"Indeed, what need is there to spend time in speaking further of them,
when we have already often made trial of them, not only off Leucas but
also here just the other day, and so far from proving inferior to them,
we have everywhere shown ourselves superior? Hence you should be
encouraged not so much by my words as by your own deeds, and should
desire to put an end forthwith to the whole war. For be well assured
that if we beat them to-day we shall have no further trouble. For in
general it is a natural characteristic of human nature everywhere, that
whenever a man fails in his first contests he becomes disheartened with
respect to what is to come; and as for us, we are so indisputably
superior to them on land that we could vanquish them even if they had
never suffered any injury. And they are themselves so conscious of this
truth — for I am not going to conceal from you what I have heard — that
they are discouraged at what has already happened and despair of saving
their lives if they stay where they are, and they are therefore
endeavouring to make their escape to some place or other, and are
making this sally, not with the desire to give battle, but in
expectation of flight. In fact, they have placed in their ships the
best and most valuable of the possessions they have with them, in order
to escape with them if they can. Since, then, they admit that they are
weaker than we, and since they carry the prizes of victory in their
ships, let us not allows them to sail anywhere else, but let us conquer
them here on the spot and take all these treasures away from them."
Such were Caesar's words. After this he formed a plan to let them slip
by, intending to fall upon them in the rear as they fled, for he hoped
on his own part that by swift sailing he should speedily capture Antony
and Cleopatra, and expected that then, when they had made it clear that
they were attempting to run away, he could in consequence of their act
win over the rest without fighting. He was restrained, however, by
Agrippa, who feared that they would be too slow for the fugitives, who
were going to use sails, and he was also confident himself that he
would conquer without difficulty, because in the meantime a violent
rainstorm, accompanied by a mighty wind, had struck Antony's fleet,
though not his own, and had thrown it utterly into confusion. Hence he
abandoned his plan, and following the plan of Antony, put large numbers
of infantry on board his ships also, and placed all his friends in
auxiliary boats in order that they might quietly sail here and there,
giving the necessary advice to men in action and reporting to him what
he ought to know; then he waited for the enemy to sail out. And when
they set sail at the sound of the trumpet, and with their ships in
dense array drew up their line a little outside the strait and advanced
no further, Caesar set out as if to engage with them, if they stood
their ground, or even to make them retire. But when they neither came
out against him on their side nor turned to retire, but remained where
they were, and not only that, but also vastly increased the density of
their line by their close formation, Caesar checked his course, in
doubt what to do. He then ordered his sailors to let their oars rest in
the water, and waited for a time; after this he suddenly, at a given
signal, led forward both his wings and bent his line in the form of a
crescent, hoping if possible to surround the enemy, or otherwise to
break their formation in any case. Antony, accordingly, fearing this
flanking and encircling movement, advanced to meet it as best he could,
and thus reluctantly joined battle with Caesar.
So they engaged and began the conflict, each side indulging in a great
deal of exhortation to its own men in order to call forth the skill and
zeal of the fighters, and also hearing many orders shouted out to them
from the men on shore. The struggle was not of a similar nature on the
two sides, but Caesar's followers, having smaller and swifter ships,
would dash forward and ram the enemy, being armoured on all sides to
avoid receiving damage. If they sank a vessel, well and good; if not,
they would back water before coming to grips, and would either ram the
same vessels suddenly again, or would let those go and turn their
attention to others; and having done some damage to these also, so far
as they could in a brief time, they would proceed against others and
then against still others, in order that their assault upon any vessel
might be so far as possible unexpected. For since they dreaded the
long-range missiles of the enemy no less than their fighting at close
quarters, they wasted no time either in the approach or in the
encounter, but running up suddenly so as to reach their object before
the enemy's archers could get in their work, they would inflict
injuries or else cause just enough disturbance to escape being held,
and then would retire out of range. The enemy, on the other hand, tried
to hit the approaching ships with dense showers of stones and arrows,
and to cast iron grapnels upon their assailants. And in case they could
reach them they got the better of it, but if they missed, their own
boats would be pierced and would sink, or else in their endeavour to
avoid this calamity they would waste time and lay themselves more open
to attack by other ships; for two or three ships would fall at one time
upon the same ship, some doing all the damage they could while the
others took the brunt of the injuries. On the one side the pilots and
the rowers endured the most hardship and fatigue, and on the other side
the marines; and the one side resembled cavalry, now making a charge
and now retreating, since it was in their power to attack and back off
at will, and the others were like heavy-armed troops guarding against
the approach of foes and trying their best to hold them. Consequently
each gained advantages over the other; the one party would run in upon
the lines of oars projecting from the ships and shatter the blades, and
the other party, fighting from the higher level, would sink them with
stones and engines. On the other hand, there were also disadvantages on
each side: the one party could do no damage to the enemy when it
approached, and the other party, if in any case it failed to sink a
vessel which it rammed, was hemmed in no longer fought an equal contest.
The battle was indecisive for a long time and neither antagonist could
get the upper hand anywhere, but the end came in the following way.
Cleopatra, riding at anchor behind the combatants, could not endure the
long and anxious waiting until a decision could be reached, but true to
her nature as a woman and an Egyptian, she was tortured by the agony of
the long suspense and by the constant and fearful expectation of either
possible outcome, and so she suddenly turned to flight herself and
raised the signal for the others, her own subjects. And thus, when they
straightway raised their sails and sped out to sea, since a favouring
wind had by chance arisen, Antony thought they were fleeing, not at the
bidding of Cleopatra, but through fear because they felt themselves
vanquished, and so he followed them. When this took place the rest of
the soldiers became both discouraged and confused, and wishing to make
their own escape also in some way or another, they proceeded, some to
raise their sails and others to throw the towers and the furnishings
into the sea, in order to lighten the vessels and make good their
escape. While they were occupied in this way their adversaries fell
upon them; they had not pursued the fugitives, because they themselves
were without sails and were prepared only for a naval battle, and there
were many to fight against each ship, both from afar and alongside.
Therefore on both sides alike the conflict took on the greatest variety
and was waged with the utmost bitterness. For Caesar's men damaged the
lower parts of the ships all around, crushed the oars, snapped off the
rudders, and climbing on the decks, seized hold of some of the foe and
pulled them down, pushed off others, and fought with yet others, since
they were now equal to them in numbers; and Antony's men pushed their
assailants back with boathooks, cut them down with axes, hurled down
upon them stones and heavy missiles made ready for just this purpose,
drove back those who tried to climb up, and fought with those who came
within reach. An eye-witness of what took place might have compared it,
likening small things to great, to walled towns or else islands, many
in number and close together, being besieged from the sea. Thus the one
party strove to scale the boats as they would the dry land or a
fortress, and eagerly brought to bear all the implements that have to
do with such an operation, and the others tried to repel them, devising
every means that is commonly used in such a case.
As the fight continued equal, Caesar, at a loss what he should do, sent
for fire from the camp. Previously he had wished to avoid using it, in
order to gain possession of the money; but now that he saw it was
impossible for him to win in any other way, he had recourse to this, as
the only thing that would assist him. And now another kind of battle
was entered upon. The assailants would approach their victims from many
directions at once, shoot blazing missiles at them, hurl with their
hands torches fastened to javelins and with the aid of engines would
throw from a distance pots full of charcoal and pitch. The defenders
tried to ward these missiles off one by one, and when some of them got
past them and caught the timbers and at once started a great fire, as
must be the case in a ship, they used first the drinking water which
they carried on board and extinguished some of the conflagrations, and
when that was gone they dipped up the sea-water. And if they used great
quantities of it at once, they would somehow stop the fire by main
force; but they were unable to do this everywhere, for the buckets they
had were not numerous nor large size, and in their confusion they
brought them up half full, so that, far from helping the situation at
all, they only increased the flames, since salt water poured on a fire
in small quantities makes it burn vigorously. So when they found
themselves getting the worst of it in this respect also, they heaped on
the blaze their thick mantles and the corpses, and for a time these
checked the fire and it seemed to abate; but later, especially when the
wind raged furiously, the flames flared up more than ever, fed by this
very fuel. So long as only a part of the ship was on fire, men would
stand by that part and leap into it, hewing away or scattering the
timbers; and these detached timbers were hurled by some into the sea
and by others against their opponents, in the hope that they, too,
might possibly be injured by these missiles. Others would go to the
still sound portion of their ship and now more than ever would make use
of their grappling-irons and their long spears with the purpose of
binding some hostile ship to theirs and crossing over to it, if
possible, or, if not, of setting it on fire likewise. But when none of
the enemy came near enough, since they were guarding against this very
thing, and when the fire spread to the encircling walls and descended
into the hold, the most terrible of fates came upon them. Some, and
particularly the sailors, perished by the smoke before the flame so
much as approached them, while others were roasted in the midst of it
as though in ovens. Others were consumed in their armour when it became
heated. There were still others, who, before they should suffer such a
death, or when they were half-burned, threw off their armour and were
wounded by the shots which came from a distance, or again leaped into
the sea and were drowned, or were struck by their opponents and sank,
or were mangled by sea-monsters. Those alone found a death that was
tolerable, considering the sufferings which prevailed, who were killed
by their fellows in return for the same service, or else killed
themselves, before any such fate could befall them; for they not only
had no tortures to endure, but when dead had the burning ships for
their funeral pyres.
When Caesar's forces saw the situation, they at first refrained from
approaching the enemy, since some of them were still able to defend
themselves; but when the fire began to destroy the ships, and the men,
far from being able to do any harm to an enemy, could not even help
themselves any longer, they eagerly sailed up to them in the hope that
they might possibly gain possession of the money, and they endeavoured
to extinguish the fire which they themselves had caused. Consequently
many of these men also fell victims to the flames and to their own
rapacity.
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