proposals to Sextus through companions as to how and on what terms they
could effect a reconciliation; afterward the parties concerned held a
conference near Misenum. The two from the capital took their stand on the
land, the other on a kind of mound constructed for his safety in the sea,
by which it was purposely surrounded, not far from them. There was also
present the entire fleet of Sextus and the entire infantry force of the
other two; and not that merely, but the one command had been drawn up on
the shore and the other on the ships, both fully armed, so that this very
fact made it perfectly evident to all that it was from fear of their
accoutrement and from necessity, that the two rulers were making peace
because of the people and Sextus because of his adherents. The compact
was framed upon the following conditions,--that the deserters from
among the slaves should be free and that all those driven out, save
the assassins, should be restored. The latter, of course, they had to
exclude, but in reality several of them were destined to return. Sextus
himself, indeed, was thought to have been one of them. It was recorded,
at any rate, that all the rest save those mentioned should be allowed to
return under a general amnesty and with a right to a quarter of their
confiscated property; that tribuneships, praetorships and priesthoods
should be given to some of them immediately; that Sextus himself should
be chosen consul and be appointed augur, should obtain seventeen hundred
and fifty myriads of denarii from his paternal estate, and should govern
Sicily, Sardinia and Achaea for five years, not receiving deserters nor
acquiring more ships nor keeping any garrisons in Italy, but bending
his efforts to secure peace on the sea for the peninsula, and sending a
stated amount of grain to the people of the City. They limited him to
this period of time because they wished it to appear that they also were
holding merely a temporary and not an unending authority.
[-37-] After settling and drafting these compacts they deposited the
documents with the priestesses,--the vestal virgins,--and then exchanged
pledges and treated one another as friends. Upon this a tremendous and
inextinguishable shout arose from the mainland and the ships at once. For
many soldiers and many individuals who were present suddenly uttered a
cry in unison because they were terribly tired of the war and vehemently
desired peace. And the mountains resounded so that great panic and alarm
were spread, and many died of fright at the very reverberation, while
others perished by being trampled under foot and suffocated. Those who
were in the small boats did not wait to reach the land itself but jumped
out into the sea and the rest rushed out into the breakers. Meantime
they embraced one another while swimming and threw their arms around one
another's necks under water, making a diversified picture accompanied by
diversified sounds. Some knew that their relatives and associates were
living and seeing them present gave way to unrestrained joy. Others,
thinking that those dear to them had died previously, saw them now
unexpectedly and for a long time knew not what to do but were rendered
speechless, distrusting their sight yet praying that it might be true;
and they were not sure of them until they had called their names and had
heard them say something. They rejoiced as if the men had been brought
to life again, but as they were forced to share their pleasure with a
multitude they did not continue without tears. Again, some who were
unaware that their loved ones had perished and thought they were alive
and present sought for them and went about asking every one they met
regarding them. As long as they could learn nothing they were like
maniacs and were torn different ways, both hoping to find them and
fearing that they were dead,--not able to despair in view of their desire
nor to indulge in grief in view of their hope. On learning at last the
truth they would tear their hair and rend their clothing, calling upon
the lost by name as if they could hear anything and giving way to grief
as if their friends were just dead and lying there somewhere. And if any
of them were affected in no such way, they were at least disturbed by the
experiences of the rest. They either rejoiced with somebody in joy or
grieved with somebody in pain, and so, even if they were free from
personal interest, yet they could not remain indifferent on account of
their connection with the rest. As a result there was no possibility of
their being either sated or ashamed, because they were all affected in
the same way, and they spent the entire day as well as the greater part
of the night in this behavior.
[-38-] After this the parties chiefly concerned as well as the rest
received one another and inaugurated entertainments in turn, first
Sextus on the ship and then Caesar and Antony on the shore. Sextus so far
surpassed them in power that he would not disembark to meet them on the
mainland until they had gone aboard his boat. In the course of this
proceeding, however, he refused to murder them both in the small boat
with only a few followers, though he might easily have done so and Menas
advised it[47]. To Antony, who had possession of his ancestral home at
Carinae (the spot so named is in the city of Rome), he uttered a jest
in the happiest manner, saying that he was entertaining them at
Carinae,--that is, on the "keels of ships," which is the meaning of the
word in Latin. Nevertheless he did not act in any way as if he bore
malice toward them, and on the following day he was feasted in turn and
betrothed his daughter to Marcus Marcellus, the nephew of Caesar.
[-39-] This war, then, had been deferred: that of Labienus and the
Parthians came to an end in the following way. Antony himself returned
from Italy to Greece and delayed there a very long time, satisfying his
desires and harming the cities, to the end that they should be delivered
to Sextus in the weakest possible condition. He lived during this time in
many ways contrary to the customs of his country. He called himself the
younger Dionysus and insisted on being called so by others. When the
Athenians in view of this and his other behavior betrothed Athena to him,
he declared he accepted the marriage and he exacted from them a dowry of
one hundred myriads. While he was occupied in this way he sent Publius
Ventidius before him into Asia. The latter came upon Labienus before
his presence was announced and terrified him by the suddenness of his
approach and by his legions; for the Parthian leader was separated from
the members of his tribe and had only soldiers from the neighborhood.
Ventidius found that he would not even risk a conflict and so pushed him
back and pursued him into Syria, taking the lightest part of his fighting
force with him on the expedition. He overtook him near the Taurus range
and allowed him to proceed no farther, and they encamped there quietly
for several days. Labienus awaited the Parthians and Ventidius the
heavy-armed soldiers. [-40-] Both came at once during the same days and
Ventidius through fear of the barbarian cavalry remained on the high
ground, where he was encamped. The Parthians, because of their numbers
and because they had conquered once before, despised their opponents and
rode up to the hill at dawn, before joining Labienus; as no one came out
to meet them, they attacked it, charging straight up the incline. When
they were in that position the Romans rushed out and easily routed them,
as it was down-hill. Many of the assailants were killed in conflict, but
still more in turning back were confused with one another; for some had
already been routed and others were coming up. The survivors took refuge
not with Labienus but in Cilicia. Ventidius pursued them as far as the
camp, and there, seeing Labienus, stopped. The latter marshaled his
forces as if to offer him battle, but perceiving that his soldiers were
dejected by reason of the flight of the barbarians he did not then
venture any opposition and when night came he attempted to escape in
some direction. Ventidius learned beforehand from deserters of the
contemplated move and by posting ambushes killed many in the retreat and
took possession of the rest, who were abandoned by Labienus. The latter
by changing his dress reached safety and for some time escaped detection
in Cilicia. Later he was captured by Demetrius, a freedman of the former
Caesar, who had at this time been assigned to Cyprus by Antony. He learned
that Labienus was in hiding and made a search for him, which resulted in
the fugitive's arrest.
[-41-] After this Ventidius recovered Cilicia and attended himself to
the administration of this district, but sent ahead Pompaedius Silo with
cavalry to Amanus. This is a mountain on the border between Cilicia and
Syria, and contains a pass so narrow that a wall and gates were once
built across it and the place received its name from that fact. Silo,
however, found himself unable to occupy it and ran in danger of being
annihilated by Phranapates, lieutenant of Pacorus, who was guarding the
passage. And that would have been his fate, had not Ventidius by chance
come upon him when he was fighting and defended him. He attacked the
barbarians, who were not looking for his arrival and were likewise fewer
in number, and slew Phranapates and many others. In this way he gained
Syria deserted by the Parthians,--all except the district of the
Aradii,--and subsequently without effort occupied Palestine, by scaring
away from it King Antigonus. Besides accomplishing this he exacted large
sums of money from the rest individually, and large sums also from
Antigonus and Antiochus and Malchus the Nabathaean, because they had
given help to Pacorus. Ventidius himself received no reward for these
achievements from the senate, since he was acting not with full powers,
but as a lieutenant: Antony, however, obtained praise and thanksgivings.
As for the Aradii, they were afraid that they might have to pay the
penalty for what they had ventured against Antony, and would not come to
terms though they were besieged by him for a time; later they were with
difficulty captured by others.
[-40-] About this same time an uprising took place in Parthian Illyricum,
but was put down by Pollio after some conflicts. There was another on the
part of the Ceretani in Spain, and they were subjugated by Calvinus after
he had had some little preliminary successes and also a preliminary
setback; this last was occasioned by his lieutenant, who was ambuscaded
by the barbarians and deserted by his soldiers. Their leader undertook
no operation against the enemy until he had punished them. Calling
them together as if for some other purpose he had the rest of the army
surround them; and out of two companies of a hundred he chose out every
tenth man for punishment and chastised the centurion who was serving in
the so-called primus pilus as well as many others. After doing this and
gaining, like Marcus Crassus, a renown for his disciplining the army, he
set out against his opponents and with no great difficulty vanquished
them. He obtained a triumph in spite of the fact that Spain was assigned
to Caesar; for the rulers could at will grant the honors to those who
served as their lieutenants. The money customarily given by the cities
for the purpose Calvinus took only from the Spanish towns, and of it he
spent a part on the festival but the greater portion on the palace. It
had been burned down and he built it up, adorning it splendidly at the
dedication with various objects and with images, in particular, which he
asked from Caesar, implying that he would send them back. Though asked
for them later, he did not return them, excusing himself by a witticism.
Pretending that he had not enough assistants, he said: "Send some men and
take them." Caesar shrank from seizure of sacred things and hence allowed
them to remain as votive offerings.
[B.C. 38 (_a. u_. 716)]
[-43-] This is what happened at that time. Now in the consulship of
Appius Claudius and Gaius Norbanus, who were the first to have two
quaestors apiece as associates, the populace revolted against the tax
gatherers, who oppressed them severely, and came to blows with the men
themselves, their assistants, and the soldiers that helped them to exact
the money; and sixty-seven praetors one after another were appointed and
held office. One who was chosen to be quaestor while still reckoned as
a child then on the next day obtained the standing of a iuvenis: and
another person who had been enrolled in the senate desired to fight in
the arena. He was prevented, however, from doing this, and an act was
passed prohibiting any senator from taking part in gladiatorial combats,
any slave from serving as lictor, and any burning of dead bodies from
being carried on within fifteen stadia of the city.
Many things of a portentous nature had come to pass even before that time
(such as olive oil spouting beside the Tiber), and many, also, precisely
then. The tent of Romulus was burned as a result of some ritual which the
pontifices were performing in it; a statue of Virtus, standing before
some of the gates, fell upon its face; and certain persons rendered
inspired by the Mother of the Gods declared that the goddess was angry
with them. On this point the Sibylline books were consulted. They made
the same statements and prescribed that the statue be taken down to
the sea and purified with water from it. In obedience to the order the
goddess went very far indeed out into the surges, where she remained an
extremely long time and returned only quite late,--her action causing the
Romans no little fear, so that they did not recover courage until four
palm trees grew up round about her temple and in the Forum.
[-44-] Besides these occurrences at the time Caesar married Livia. She was
the daughter of Livius Drusus, who had been among those proscribed by the
tablet and had committed suicide after the defeat in Macedonia, and
the wife of Nero, whom she had accompanied in his flight, as has been
related. She was also in the sixth month with child from him. When Caesar
accordingly hesitated and enquired of the pontifices whether it was
permissible to wed her while pregnant, they answered that if the origin
of the foetus were doubtful, the marriage should be put off, but if it
were definitely admitted, nothing prevented an immediate consummation.
Perhaps they really found this among the ordinances of the forefathers,
but certainly they would have said so even had they not found it. The
woman was given in marriage by her husband himself, as some father might
do. And the following incident occurred at the marriage feast. One of the
prattling boys, such as women frequently keep about them naked to play
with,[48] on seeing Livia reclining in one place with Caesar and Nero in
another with some man, went up to her and said: "What are you doing here,
mistress? For your husband," pointing him out, "is reclining over there."
After these events, when the woman went to live with Caesar, she gave
birth to Claudius Drusus Nero. Caesar took him and sent him to his father,
making this entry in the records, that Caesar returned to its father Nero
the child borne by Livia, his own wife. Nero died not long after and left
Caesar himself as guardian to this boy and to Tiberius: the populace had a
good deal to say about this, among other things that the prosperous have
children in three months; and this saying passed into a proverb.
[-45-] At just about the same time that this was going on in the city
Bogud the Moor sailed to Spain, acting either on instructions from Antony
or on his own motion, and did much damage, receiving also considerable
injury in return: meantime the people of his own land in the neighborhood
of Tingi rose against him, and so he evacuated Spain but failed to win
back his own domain. For the adherents of Caesar in Spain and Bocchus came
to the aid of the rebels and proved too much for him. Bogud departed to
join Antony, while Bocchus forthwith took possession of his kingdom, and
this act was afterward confirmed by Caesar. The Tingitanians were given
citizenship.
At this time and even earlier Sextus and Caesar had broken out into war;
for since they had come to an agreement not of their own free will or
choice but under compulsion, they did not abide by it any time at all,
so to speak, but broke the truce at once and stood opposed. They were
destined to come to war under any conditions, even if they had found no
excuse; their alleged grievances, however, were the following. Menas, who
was at this time still in Sardinia, as if he were a kind of praetor, had
incurred the suspicion of Sextus by his release of Helenus and because he
had been in communication with Caesar, and he was slandered to some extent
by his peers, who envied his position of power. He was therefore summoned
by Sextus on the pretext that he should give an account of the grain and
money of which he had charge; instead of obeying he seized and killed
the men sent to him on this errand, and after negotiating with Caesar
surrendered to him the island, the fleet together with the army, and
himself. Caesar was glad to see him and declared that Sextus was harboring
deserters contrary to the treaty, having triremes built, and keeping
garrisons in Italy: and so far from giving up Menas on demand, he
supported him in great honor, gave him the decoration of gold rings, and
enrolled him in the order of the knights. The matter of the gold rings
is as follows. Of the ancient Romans no one,--not to mention such as had
once been slaves,--who had grown up as a free citizen even, was allowed
to wear gold rings, save senators and knights,--as has been stated.
Therefore they are given to those freedmen whom the man in power may
select; although they may use gold in other ways, this is still an
additional honor and distinguishes them as superior, or as capable,
through having been freed, of becoming knights.
[-46-] Such is the matter in question. Sextus, having this as a reproach
against Caesar, and the further facts that Achaea had been impoverished
and the rights agreed upon were not granted either to him or to the
restored exiles, sent to Italy Menecrates, another freedman of his, and
had him ravage Volturnum and other parts of Campania. Caesar on learning
this took the documents containing the treaty from the vestal virgins and
sent for Antony and Lepidus. Lepidus did not at once obey. Antony came to
Brundusium from Greece where, by chance, he still was: but before he met
Caesar, who was in Etruria, he became alarmed because a wolf had entered
his head-quarters and killed soldiers; so he sailed back to Greece again,
making the urgency of the Parthian situation his excuse. Caesar, however
much he felt that he had been abandoned by his colleague with the purpose
that he should face the difficulties of the war alone, nevertheless
showed no anger openly. Sextus kept repeating that Antony was not for
punishing him and set himself more zealously to the task in hand. Finally
he sailed against Italy, landed at different points, inflicted much
injury and endured much in return. Meantime off Cyme there was a naval
battle between Menecrates and Calvisius Sabinus. In this several ships of
Caesar were destroyed, because he was arrayed against expert seafarers;
but Menecrates out of rivalry attacked Menas and perished, making the
loss of Sextus an equal one. For this reason the latter laid no claim to
victory and Caesar consoled himself over the defeat. [-47-] He happened at
this time to be in Rhegium, and the party of Sextus feared he would cross
over into Sicily; and being somewhat disheartened, too, at the death
of Menecrates, they set sail from Cyme. Sabinus pursued them as far
as Scyllaeum, the Italian promontory, without trouble. But, as he was
rounding that point, a great wind fell upon him, hurling some of the
ships against the promontory, sinking others out at sea, and scattering
all the rest. Sextus on ascertaining this sent the fleet under command of
Apollophanes against them. He, discovering Caesar coasting along somewhere
in these parts with the intention of crossing into Sicily along with
Sabinus, made a dash upon him. Caesar had the ships come to anchor,
marshaled the heavy-armed soldiers upon them, and at first made a noble
resistance. The ships were drawn up with prows facing outward and so
offered no safe point for attack, but being shorter and higher could do
more hurt to those that approached them, and the heavy-armed fighters,
when they could come in conflict with the enemy, proved far superior.
Apollophanes, however, transferred such as were wounded and were in
difficulty from time to time to other ships assigned for the purpose, by
backing water, and took on board fresh men; he also made constant charges
and used missiles carrying fire, so that his adversary was at last
routed, fled to the land, and came to anchor. When even then the pursuers
pressed him hard, some of Caesar's ships suddenly cut their anchors and
unexpectedly offered opposition. It was only this and the fact that night
interrupted operations that kept Apollophanes from burning some of the
ships and towing all the rest away.
[-48-] After this event an ill-fated wind on the following day fell upon
Caesar and Sabinus as they were anchored together and made their previous
reverse seem small. The fleet of Sabinus suffered the less, for Menas,
being an old hand on the sea, foresaw the storm. He immediately stationed
his ships out at sea, letting them ride with slack anchors some distance
apart, so that the ropes should not be stretched and break; then he rowed
directly against the wind, and in this way no rope was strained, and he
remained constantly in the same position, recovering by the use of the
oars all the distance which he lost by the impetus of the wind. The
remaining commanders, because they had gone through a severe experience
the day before, and as yet had no precise knowledge of nautical matters,
were cast out upon the shore close by and lost many ships. The night,
which had been of the greatest aid to them before, was now among the
chief agencies in promoting disaster. All through it the wind blew
violently, tearing the vessels from their anchors and dashing them
against the rocks. That of course was the end of them, and the sailors
and marines likewise perished without hope of rescue, since the darkness
prevented them from seeing ahead and they could not hear a word because
of the uproar and the reverberation from the mountains, especially since
the wind smote them in the face. So it was that Caesar despaired of Sicily
and was satisfied to guard the coast country: Sextus on the other hand
was still more elated, believing himself in very truth to be the son of
Neptune, and he put on a dark blue robe besides, as some relate, casting
horses as well as men alive into the straits. He plundered and harassed
Italy himself, sending Apollophanes to Libya. The latter was pursued by
Menas, who overtook and injured him. The islands round about Sicily went
over to the side of Sextus, whereupon Caesar seized the territory of the
Lipareans in advance and ejecting them from the island conveyed them to
Campania, where he forced them to live in Neapolis so long as the war
should continue. [-49-] Meantime he kept having boats made throughout
almost all of Italy and collected slaves for rowers first from his
friends, who were supposed to give willingly, and then from the
rest,--senators and knights and well-to-do private citizens. He also
assembled heavy-armed troops and gathered money from all citizens,
allies, and subjects, both in Italy and abroad.
This year and the following he spent on the construction of ships and the
gathering and training of rowers.
[B.C. 37 (_a. u_. 717)]
He himself oversaw and arranged these details and all other matters in
Italy and in Gaul (where there was a slight uprising). To Agrippa he
entrusted the equipment of the boats. He sent for this man, who was
fighting against the revolted Gauls, at the time when he had been the
second of the Romans to cross the Rhine for purposes of warfare, and he
honored him by bestowing a triumph and bidding him to secure the
building and training of the fleet. Agrippa,--he was consul with Lucius
Gallus,--would not hold the triumph, deeming it disgraceful for him to
exalt himself when Caesar had fared poorly, but set to work heart and soul
to fit out the fleet. All along the coasts of Italy vessels were taking
shape; but since no shore was found safe for them to ride at anchor,--the
majority of the coast land being still in those days without harbors,--he
conceived and executed a magnificent enterprise which I shall describe at
some length, showing its nature and the present characteristics of the
locality where it took place.