been we cannot tell; but the leading citizens took alarm at this, and
hurried him away as quickly as possible to sea, voting whatever measures
he pleased, and allowing him to choose his own colleagues. He set sail
with his hundred ships, reached Andros, and defeated the inhabitants of
that island, and the Lacedaemonian garrison there. He did not, however,
capture the city, and this afterwards became one of the points urged
against him by his enemies. Indeed, if there ever was a man destroyed by
his reputation, it was Alkibiades. Being supposed to be such a prodigy
of daring and subtlety, his failures were regarded with suspicion, as if
he could have succeeded had he been in earnest; for his countrymen would
not believe that he could really fail in anything which he seriously
attempted. They expected to hear of the capture of Chios, and of the
whole Ionian coast, and were vexed at not at once receiving the news of
a complete success. They did not take into account the want of money
which Alkibiades felt, while warring against men who had the king of
Persia for their paymaster, and which made frequent absences from his
camp necessary to provide subsistence for his troops. It was one of
these expeditions, indeed, which exposed him to the last and most
important of the many charges brought against him. Lysander had been
sent by the Lacedaemonians to take the command of their fleet. On his
arrival, by means of the money paid by Cyrus, he raised the pay of his
sailors from three obols a day to four. Alkibiades, who could with
difficulty pay his men even three obols, went to Caria to levy
contributions, leaving in command of the fleet one Antiochus, a good
seaman, but a thoughtless and silly man. He had distinct orders from
Alkibiades not to fight even if the enemy attacked him, but such was his
insolent disregard of these instructions that he manned his own trireme
and one other, sailed to Ephesus, and there passed along the line of the
enemy's ships, as they lay on the beach, using the most scurrilous and
insulting language and gestures. At first Lysander put to sea with a few
ships to pursue him, but as the Athenians came out to assist him, the
action became general. The entire fleets engaged and Lysander was
victorious. He killed Antiochus, captured many ships and men, and set up
a trophy. When Alkibiades on his return to Samos heard of this, he put
to sea with all his ships, and offered battle to Lysander; but he was
satisfied with his previous victory, and refused the offer.
XXXVI. Thrasybulus, the son of Thrason, a bitter personal enemy of
Alkibiades, now set sail for Athens to accuse him, and to exasperate his
enemies in the city against him. He made a speech to the people,
representing that Alkibiades had ruined their affairs and lost their
ships by insolently abusing his authority and entrusting the command,
during his own absence, to men who owed their influence with him to deep
drinking and cracking seamen's jokes, and that he securely traversed the
provinces to raise money, indulging in drunken debauches with Ionian
courtezans, while the enemy's fleet was riding close to his own. He was
also blamed for the construction of certain forts in Thrace, near
Bisanthe, which he destined as a place of refuge for himself, as if he
could not or would not live in his native city.
The Athenians were so wrought upon by these charges against Alkibiades,
that they elected other generals to supersede him, thus showing their
anger and dislike for him. Alkibiades, on learning this, left the
Athenian camp altogether, got together a force of foreign troops, and
made war on the irregular Thracian tribes on his own account, thus
obtaining much plunder and freeing the neighbouring Greek cities from
the dread of the barbarians. Now when the generals Tydeus, Menander, and
Adeimantus came with the entire Athenian fleet to Aegospotamoi, they
used early every morning to go to Lampsakus to challenge the fleet of
Lysander, which lay there, to a sea-fight. After this ceremony they
would return and spend the whole day in careless indolence, as if
despising their enemy. Alkibiades, who lived close by, did not disregard
their danger, but even rode over on horseback and pointed out to the
generals that they were very badly quartered in a place where there was
no harbour and no city, having to obtain all their provisions from
Sestos, and, when the ships were once hauled up on shore, allowing the
men to leave them unguarded and straggle where they pleased, although
they were in the presence of a fleet which was trained to act in silence
and good order at the command of one man.
XXXVII. Though Alkibiades gave this advice, and urged the generals to
remove to Sestos, they would not listen to him. Tydeus indeed rudely
bade him begone, for they, not he, were now generals. Alkibiades, too,
suspected that there was some treachery in the case, and retired,
telling his personal friends, who escorted him out of the camp, that if
he had not been so outrageously insulted by the generals, he could in a
few days have compelled the Lacedaemonians either to fight a battle at
sea against their will, or abandon their ships. To some this seemed mere
boasting, while others thought that he could very possibly effect it by
bringing many Thracian light-armed troops and cavalry to assault the
camp on the land side. However, the result soon proved that he had
rightly seen the fault of the Athenian position. Lysander suddenly and
unexpectedly assailed it, and except eight triremes which escaped under
Konon, took all the rest, nearly two hundred in number. Lysander also
put three thousand prisoners to the sword. He shortly afterwards
captured Athens, burned her ships, and pulled down her Long Walls.
Alkibiades, terrified at seeing the Lacedaemonians omnipotent by sea and
land, shifted his quarters to Bithynia, sending thither a great amount
of treasure, and taking much with him, but leaving much more in his
Thracian fortresses. In Bithynia, however, he suffered much loss at the
hands of the natives, and determined to proceed to the court of
Artaxerxes, thinking that the Persian king, if he would make trial of
him, would find that he was not inferior to Themistokles in ability,
while he sought him in a much more honourable way; for it was not to
revenge himself on his fellow-citizens, as Themistokles did, but to
assist his own country against its enemy that he meant to solicit the
king's aid. Imagining that Pharnabazus would be able to grant him a safe
passage to the Persian court, he went into Phrygia to meet him, and
remained there for some time, paying his court to the satrap, and
receiving from him marks of respect.
XXXVIII. The Athenians were terribly cast down at the loss of their
empire; but when Lysander robbed them of their liberty as well, by
establishing the government of the Thirty Tyrants, they began to
entertain thoughts which never had occurred to them before, while it was
yet possible that the State might be saved from ruin. They bewailed
their past blunders and mistakes, and of these they considered their
second fit of passion with Alkibiades to have been the greatest. They
had cast him off for no fault of his own, but merely because they were
angry with his follower for having lost a few ships disgracefully; they
had much more disgraced themselves by losing the services of the ablest
and bravest general whom they possessed. Even in their present abasement
a vague hope prevailed among them that Athens could not be utterly lost
while Alkibiades was alive; for he had not during his former exile been
satisfied with a quiet life, and surely now, however prosperous his
private circumstances might be, he would not endure to see the triumph
of the Lacedaemonians, and the arrogant tyranny of the Thirty. Indeed
this was proved to be no vain dream by the care which the Thirty took to
watch all the motions of Alkibiades. At last, Kritias informed Lysander,
that while Athens was governed by a democracy, the Lacedaemonian empire
in Greece could never be safe; and if the Athenians were ever so much
inclined to an oligarchical form of government, Alkibiades, if he lived,
would not long suffer them to submit to it. However, Lysander was not
prevailed upon by these arguments until a despatch came from Sparta
bidding him make away with Alkibiades, either because the home
government feared his ability and enterprise, or because they wished to
please his enemy, King Agis.
XXXIX. Lysander now sent orders for his death to Pharnabazus, who
entrusted their execution to his brother Magaeus and his uncle
Susamithres. Alkibiades was at this time dwelling in a village in
Phrygia, with Timandra the courtezan, and one night he dreamed that he
was dressed in his mistress's clothes, and that she, holding his head in
her arms, was painting his face and adorning him like a woman. Others
say that he saw Magaeus in his dream cutting off his head, and his body
all in flames. All, however, agree that the dream took place shortly
before his death. His murderers did not dare to enter the house, but
stood round it in a circle and set it on fire. Alkibiades, on
discovering them, flung most of the bedding and clothes on to the fire,
wrapped his cloak round his left arm, and with his dagger in his right
dashed through the flames unhurt, not giving his clothes time to catch
fire. None of the barbarians dared to await his onset, but as soon as
they saw him they scattered, and from a distance shot at him with darts
and arrows. After he had fallen and the barbarians were gone, Timandra
took up his corpse, covered it with her own clothes, and, as far as was
in her power, showed it every mark of honour and respect.
This Timandra is said to have been the mother of Lais, commonly called
the Corinthian, who really was brought as a captive from Hykkara, a
small town in Sicily. Some writers, although they agree in their account
of the manner of his death, differ as to its cause, alleging that it was
neither due to Pharnabazus nor to Lysander nor the Lacedaemonians, but
that Alkibiades had debauched a girl of noble birth and was living with
her, and that her relatives, enraged at this insult, during the night
set fire to the house in which Alkibiades was living, and, as has been
related, shot him as he leaped out through the flames.
LIFE OF CAIUS MARCIUS CORIOLANUS.
I. The patrician family of the Marcii at Rome produced many illustrious
men, amongst whom was Ancus Marcius, the grandson of Numa, who became
king after the death of Tullus Hostilius. To this family also belonged
Publius and Quintus Marcius, who supplied Rome with abundance of
excellent water, and Censorinus, twice appointed censor by the Roman
people, who afterwards passed a law that no one should hold that office
twice.
Caius Marcius, the subject of this memoir, was an orphan, and brought up
by a widowed mother. He proved that, hard though the lot of an orphan
may be, yet it does not prevent a man's becoming great and
distinguished, and that the bad alone allege it as an excuse for an
intemperate life. He also proves to us that a naturally noble nature, if
it be not properly disciplined, will produce many good and bad qualities
together, just as a rich field, if not properly tilled, will produce
both weeds and good fruit. The immense energy and courage of his mind
used to urge him to attempt and to perform great exploits, but his harsh
and ambitious temper made it difficult for him to live on friendly terms
with his companions. They used to admire his indifference to pleasure
and pain, and his contempt for bribes, but in politics they were angered
by his morose and haughty manner, too proud for a citizen of a republic.
Indeed there is no advantage to be gained from a liberal education so
great as that of softening and disciplining the natural ferocity of our
disposition, by teaching it moderation, and how to avoid all extremes.
However, at that period warlike virtues were valued above all others at
Rome, which is proved by the Romans possessing only one word for virtue
and for bravery, so that virtue, a general term, is applied by them to
the particular form, courage.
II. Marcius, having an especial passion for war, was familiar from
childhood with the use of arms. Reflecting that artificial weapons are
of little use without a body capable of wielding them, he so trained
himself for all possible emergencies that he was both able to run
swiftly and also to grapple with his foe so strongly that few could
escape from him. Those who entered into any contest with him, when
beaten, used to ascribe their defeat to his immense bodily strength,
which no exertions could tire out.
III. He served his first campaign while yet a youth, when Tarquin, the
exiled King of Rome, after many battles and defeats, staked all upon one
last throw, and assembled an army to attack Rome. His force consisted
chiefly of Latins, but many other Italian states took his part in the
war, not from any attachment to his person, but through fear and dislike
of the growing power of Rome. In the battle which ensued, in which
various turns of fortune took place, Marcius, while fighting bravely
under the eye of the dictator himself, saw a Roman fallen and helpless
near him. He at once made for this man, stood in front of him, and
killed his assailant. After the victory, Marcius was among the first who
received the oak-leaf crown. This crown is given to him who has saved
the life of a citizen in battle, and is composed of oak-leaves, either
out of compliment to the Arcadians, whom the oracle calls 'acorn
eaters,' or because in any campaign in any country it is easy to obtain
oak-boughs, or it may be that the oak, sacred to Jupiter the protector
of cities, forms a suitable crown for one who has saved the life of a
citizen. The oak is the most beautiful of all wild trees, and the
strongest of those which are artificially cultivated. It afforded men in
early times both food and drink, by its acorns and the honey found in
it, while by the bird-lime which it produces, it enables them to catch
most kinds of birds and other creatures, as additional dainties.
This was the battle in which they say that the Dioscuri, Castor and
Pollux, appeared, and immediately after the battle were soon in the
Forum at Rome announcing the victory, with their horses dripping with
sweat, at the spot where now there is a temple built in their honour
beside the fountain. In memory of this, the day of the victory, the 15th
of July, is kept sacred to the Dioscuri.
IV. To win distinction early in life is said to quench and satisfy the
eagerness of some men whose desire for glory is not keen; but for those
with whom it is the ruling passion of their lives, the gaining of
honours only urges them on, as a ship is urged by a gale, to fresh
achievements. They do not regard themselves as having received a reward,
but as having given a pledge for the future, and they feel it their duty
not to disgrace the reputation which they have acquired, but to eclipse
their former fame by some new deed of prowess. Marcius, feeling this,
was ever trying to surpass himself in valour, and gained such prizes and
trophies that the later generals under whom he served were always
striving to outdo the former ones in their expressions of esteem for
him, and their testimony to his merits. Many as were the wars in which
Rome was then engaged, Marcius never returned from any without a prize
for valour or some especial mark of distinction. Other men were brave in
order to win glory, but Marcius won glory in order to please his mother.
That she should hear him praised, see him crowned, and embrace him
weeping for joy, was the greatest honour and happiness of his life.
Epameinondas is said to have had the same feelings, and to have
considered it to be his greatest good-fortune that his father and mother
were both alive to witness his triumphant success at the battle of
Leuktra. He, however, enjoyed the sympathy and applause of both parents,
but Marcius, being fatherless, lavished on his mother all that affection
which should have belonged to his father, besides her own share. So
boundless was his love for Volumnia that at her earnest desire he even
married a wife, but still continued to live in the house of his mother.
V. At this time, when his reputation and influence were very
considerable because of his prowess, there was a party-quarrel going on
in Rome between the patricians, who wished to defend the privileges of
men of property, and the people, who were suffering terrible
ill-treatment at the hands of their creditors. Those who possessed a
small property were forced either to pledge or to sell it, while those
who were absolutely destitute were carried off and imprisoned, though
they might be scarred and enfeebled from the wars in which they had
served in defence of their country. The last campaign was that against
the Sabines, after which their rich creditors promised to treat them
with less harshness. In pursuance of a decree of the Senate, Marcus
Valerius the consul was the guarantee of this promise. But when, after
serving manfully in this campaign and conquering the enemy, they met
with no better treatment from their creditors, and the Senate seemed
unmindful of its engagements, allowing them to be imprisoned and
distresses to be levied upon their property as before, there were
violent outbreaks and riots in the city. This disturbed condition of the
commonwealth was taken advantage of by the enemy, who invaded the
country and plundered it. When the consuls called all men of military
age to arms, no one obeyed, and then at last the patricians hesitated.
Some thought that they ought to yield to the lower classes, and make
some concessions instead of enforcing the strict letter of the law
against them; while others, among whom was Marcius, opposed this idea,
not because he thought the money of great consequence, but because he
considered this to be the beginning of an outburst of democratic
insolence which a wise government would take timely measures to suppress
before it gathered strength.
VI. As the Senate, although it frequently met, came to no decision on
this matter, the plebeians suddenly assembled in a body, left the city,
and established themselves on what was afterwards called the Mons Sacer,
or Sacred Hill, near the river Anio. They abstained from all factious
proceedings, and merely stated that they had been driven from the city
by the wealthy classes. Air and water and a place in which to be buried,
they said, could be obtained anywhere in Italy, and they could get
nothing more than this in Rome, except the privilege of being wounded or
slain in fighting battles on behalf of the rich. At this demonstration,
the Senate became alarmed, and sent the most moderate and popular of its
members to treat with the people. The spokesman of this embassy was
Menenius Agrippa, who, after begging the plebeians to come to terms, and
pleading the cause of the Senate with them, wound up his speech by the
following fable: Once upon a time, said he, all the members revolted
against the belly, reproaching it with lying idle in the body, and
making all the other members work in order to provide it with food; but
the belly laughed them to scorn, saying that it was quite true that it
took all the food which the body obtained, but that it afterwards
distributed it among all the members. "This," he said, "is the part
played by the Senate in the body politic. It digests and arranges all
the affairs of the State, and provides all of you with wholesome and
useful measures."
VII. Upon this they came to terms, after stipulating that five men
should be chosen to defend the cause of the people, who are now known as
tribunes of the people. They chose for the first tribunes the leaders of
the revolt, the chief of whom were Junius Brutus and Sicinius Vellutus.
As soon as the State was one again, the people assembled under arms, and
zealously offered their services for war to their rulers. Marcius,
though but little pleased with these concessions which the plebeians had
wrung from the patricians, yet, noticing that many patricians were of
his mind, called upon them not to be outdone in patriotism by the
plebeians, but to prove themselves their superiors in valour rather than
in political strength.
VIII. Corioli was the most important city of the Volscian nation, with
which Rome then was at war. The consul Cominius was besieging it, and
the Volscians, fearing it might be taken, gathered from all quarters,
meaning to fight a battle under the city walls, and so place the Romans
between two fires. Cominius divided his army, and led one part of it to
fight the relieving force, leaving Titus Lartius, a man of the noblest
birth in Rome, to continue the siege with the rest of his troops. The
garrison of Corioli, despising the small numbers of their besiegers,
attacked them and forced them to take shelter within their camp. But
there Marcius with a few followers checked their onset, slew the
foremost, and with a loud voice called on the Romans to rally. He was,
as Cato said a soldier should be, not merely able to deal weighty blows,
but struck terror into his enemies by the loud tones of his voice and
his martial appearance, so that few dared to stand their ground before
him. Many soldiers rallied round him and forced the enemy to retreat;
but he, not satisfied with this, followed them close and drove them in
headlong flight back to the city. On arriving there, although he saw
that the Romans were slackening their pursuit as many missiles were
aimed at them from the city walls, and none of them thought of daring to
enter together with the fugitives into a city full of armed men, yet he
stood and cheered them on, loudly telling them that fortune had opened
the city gates as much to the pursuers as to the pursued. Few cared to
follow him, but he, forcing his way through the crowd of fugitives,
entered the city with them, none daring at first to withstand him. Soon,
when the enemy saw how few of the Romans were within the gates, they
rallied and attacked them. Marcius, in the confused mass of friends and
foes, fought with incredible strength, swiftness, and courage,
overthrowing all whom he attacked, driving some to the further parts of
the town, and forcing others to lay down their arms, so that Lartius was
able to march the rest of the Roman army into the gates unmolested.