obvious, that we should wonder at his success with the people, did we
not know the power which flattery exerts over all mankind, and that
when a man of rank and talents becomes a demagogue, he is usually more
successful than other men. It was so, at least, with Cæsar. He courted
the populace on all occasions; he distributed money with a lavish hand,
particularly among the poorer voters.
After many intrigues, he obtained the office of prætor, at the end
of a sharply contested election. This office was one of high dignity
and trust. The prætor administered justice, protected the rights of
widows and orphans—presided at public festivals was president of the
senate, in the absence of the consul, and assembled or prorogued the
senate at his pleasure. He also exhibited shows to the people, and in
the festivals of Bona Dea, where none but women were admitted, his wife
presided.
In obtaining this office, Cæsar achieved a great triumph. He also
increased his power, and reached a situation which enabled him still
more to flatter the people. An event, however, occurred about this
time, which gave him great annoyance. During the ceremonies in honor
of the Bona Dea, at his house, a profligate person, named Clodius,
disguised as a woman, gained access to the festivities. This caused a
great deal of scandal, and Cæsar divorced his wife, Pompeia, whom he
had married after the death of Cornelia.
In the year 63 B. C., a conspiracy, which had for its object the
subversion of the Roman government, was detected by Cicero, the orator,
then consul. It was headed by Cataline, a Roman nobleman of dissolute
habits, whose life had been stained with many crimes. His accomplices
were men of similar character, who took an oath of fidelity to the
cause, which they sealed by drinking human blood. After the disclosure
of the plot, Cataline braved the senate for a time, but five of his
associates being seized, he fled to Gaul, where, having raised some
troops, he was attacked, and fell, bravely fighting to the last.
When the trial of the five accomplices came on in the Roman senate,
there was but a single person who dared to oppose their execution, and
this was Cæsar. His courage, moral or physical, never failed him. In
policy and war, he often undertook what might seem the most desperate
schemes, yet the event usually bore out his judgment, or his skill
and energy generally ensured success. In the present case, he failed;
though his speech in the senate had a wonderful effect. Even Cicero
wavered. As that speech is handed down by Sallust, it is a masterly
performance. It gave Cæsar a high place as an orator, he being now
regarded as second to Cicero alone. Though he did not obtain his direct
object respecting the conspirators, and was driven from his office by
the aristocratic faction, he gained more than he lost, by increased
popularity with the plebeians.
In the year 60 B. C., when the time was approaching for the choice of
consuls, Cæsar being a candidate, the aristocratic faction saw that
they could not defeat his election; they therefore thought to check
him, by associating with him Bibulus, one of their own party. When
the election took place, Cæsar and Bibulus were chosen. The latter
was rather a weak man, and offered no effectual obstacle to Cæsar’s
schemes. On one occasion, he determined to check his colleague, and for
this purpose, resorted to the use of an extreme power, vested, however,
in his hands. It was the custom, before any public business, to consult
the augurs. These were officers of state, who were supposed to foretell
future events.
The augur sat upon a high tower, where he studied the heavens, and
particularly noticed comets, thunder and lightning, rain and tempest.
The chirping or flying of birds—the sudden crossing of the path by
quadrupeds—accidents, such as spilling salt hearing strange noises,
sneezing, stumbling, &c.—were all esteemed ominous, and were the means
by which the soothsayers pretended to unravel the fate of men and of
nations. When these gave an unfavorable report, a consul could stop
public business, and even break up the sittings of the senate. Bibulus
resorted to the use of this power, and not only declared that the
augurs were unfavorable, but that they would be so all the year! This
extravagant stretch of authority was turned to ridicule by Cæsar and
his friends, and the baffled consul, in disgust and shame, shut himself
up in his own house. Cæsar was now, in fact, the sole consul of Rome.
Pompey the Great was at this period in the full flush of his fame.
His military achievements had been of the most splendid character. He
was, therefore, a man of the highest consideration, and even superior
to Cæsar in standing. The latter, by a series of intrigues, gained
his favor, and these two, rivals at heart, both yearning for supreme
authority in Rome, entered into a political alliance, which they
cemented by the marriage of Julia, Cæsar’s daughter, to Pompey. It
mattered not, among these unscrupulous politicians, that Julia had long
been betrothed to Marcus Brutus. Cæsar, at this time, also took a wife,
named Calpurnia, daughter of Piso—a political match, which greatly
enlarged his power. Three great men were now at the head of affairs in
Rome—Cæsar, Pompey, and Crassus—and this union is called in history
the First Triumvirate.
Cæsar was, however, the master as well of the senate as of the people.
By his influence, an agrarian law was passed, for the division of some
public lands in Campania, among the poorer citizens, which he carried
by intimidation. Everything gave way before him; even Cicero, who was
in his way, was banished. Cæsar’s desire was now to have an army at
his command: this he obtained, being appointed to the charge of the
provinces of Gaul, on both sides of the Alps, for five years.
From this time, the history of Rome presents a striking parallel to
that of the republic of France during Bonaparte’s first campaigns
in Italy. In both cases we see a weak republic, torn by contending
factions, and rather feeding discontent than seeking tranquillity. In
both cases we see vast provinces of the distracted republic occupied
by a general of unlimited powers—a man of superior genius, desperate
resolves, and fearful cruelty—a man, who, under the show of democratic
principles and a love of the people, gains a complete ascendency over
the soldiers, that he may lead them on to victory, bloodshed, plunder,
and despotism!
We shall not follow Cæsar in the details of his victorious career. It
is sufficient to say, that, in nine campaigns, he waged war against
the numerous tribes which occupied the present territory of France,
Britain, Switzerland, and Germany. Some of these were warlike and
populous nations, and frequently brought into the field immense armies
of fierce and formidable soldiery. Though often pushed to extremity, by
a series of splendid achievements, Cæsar reduced them all to subjection
at last. During this period, it is said that he fought nearly a
thousand battles, captured eight hundred towns, slew a million of
men, and reduced to captivity as many more! If the warrior’s glory is
estimated by the blood he sheds, the life he extinguishes, the liberty
he destroys—Cæsar’s crown must be one of surpassing splendor.
Though Cæsar did not visit Rome during this long period, he was by no
means ignorant of what was transpiring there. It was his custom to
spend his winters in Cisalpine Gaul, that is, on the southern side of
the Alps, about two hundred and fifty miles from Rome. Here he was able
to keep up a correspondence with his friends, and to mingle in all the
intrigues that agitated the mighty city—the heart of the empire.
Pompey had at length broken through the alliance with Cæsar, and set
up for supreme authority. It was now understood that Cæsar had similar
views, and Rome began to look with fear and trembling upon the issue
that was approaching between these powerful rivals. Pompey succeeded
in getting certain acts passed by the senate, requiring Cæsar to quit
his army, and come to Rome. The latter saw danger in this, and while he
determined to visit Rome, he resolved that his army should accompany
him. The southern boundary of his provinces was a small stream, called
the Rubicon. When Cæsar came to this, he hesitated. To cross it with
his troops, was a declaration of war. Staggered with the greatness of
the attempt, he stopped to weigh with himself its evils and advantages;
and, as he stood revolving in his own mind the arguments on both sides,
he seemed to waver in his opinion. In a state of doubt, he conferred
with such of his friends as were by, enumerating the calamities
which the passage of that river would bring upon the world, and the
reflections that might be made upon it by posterity. At last, upon some
sudden impulse, bidding adieu to his reasonings, and plunging into the
abyss of futurity—in the words of those who embark in doubtful and
arduous enterprises—he cried out, “The die is cast;” and immediately
passed the river.
He now travelled with the utmost rapidity, having but about three
hundred horse and five thousand foot. The consternation of the whole
country was evinced by the movements visible on all hands—not
individuals, only, were seen wandering about, but whole cities were
broken up, the inhabitants seeking safety in flight. Pompey himself,
with his friends, fled from Rome, and Cæsar entered the city, and took
possession of the government without opposition.
A senate was hastily assembled, and the forms of law observed, though
in obedience to Cæsar’s will. He was declared dictator, and then
marched to Brundusium, whither Pompey had fled. After many skirmishes,
the two armies met on the plains of Pharsalia, a town of Thessaly, in
Greece, and a decisive and bloody engagement took place. Pompey was
defeated, and, wandering like a distracted man, came at last to Egypt,
where he was treacherously murdered. Cæsar followed, as the remorseless
eagle pursues its prey, but finding his rival slain, he repaired in
triumph to Rome. These events occurred in the year 48 B. C.
After various proceedings, Cæsar was elected consul for ten years, and
declared dictator for life. The mask was now thrown off—the despot
stood disclosed. Forty senators, incensed at his subversion of the
constitution of Rome, entered into a conspiracy to take his life, and,
on the 18th of March, B. C. 44, they stabbed him, as he was entering
the senate chamber. Proud even in death, Cæsar muffled his face in his
cloak as he fell, that his expiring agonies might not be witnessed.
Thus lived and thus died, Julius Cæsar. His talents were only equalled
by his ambition. If he sought glory, it was often by worthy means—by
valuable improvements, and real benefits. Yet he hesitated not to
trample upon life, principles, bonds, rights—upon liberty—his
country—everything that stood in the way of his towering wishes.
He left behind him an account of his battles, written from day to day,
as events occurred. These are called Commentaries, and furnish a fund
of authentic narrative for history, beside being admired for their
elegance of style. It was after a victory over Pharnaces, king of
Pontus, in Asia Minor, that he used the remarkable words, _veni, vidi,
vinci_—“I came, I saw, I conquered.” They well express the celerity
and decision of his movements. In private affairs he was extravagant of
money; his debts at one time amounted to eight hundred talents—almost
a million of dollars. These were paid by his friends. In public
concerns he did not appear greedy of wealth. As an evidence of the
activity and energy of his faculties, it was said that at the same time
he could employ his ear to listen, his eye to read, his hand to write,
and his mind to dictate. His disposition led him irresistibly to seek
dominion; in battle, he must be a conqueror; in a republic, he must be
the master. This leading feature in his character is well illustrated,
in his saying to the inhabitants of a village, “I would rather be first
here, than second in Rome.” His character is delineated by an eminent
writer, in the following terms:—
“Such was the affection of his soldiers, and their attachment to his
person, that they, who, under other commanders, were nothing above the
common rate of men, became invincible when Cæsar’s glory was concerned,
and met the most dreadful dangers with a courage which nothing could
resist.
“This courage, and this great ambition, were cultivated and cherished,
in the first place, by the generous manner in which Cæsar rewarded his
troops, and the honors which he paid them. His whole conduct showed
that he did not accumulate riches to minister to luxury, or to serve
any pleasures of his own, but that he laid them up in a common stock,
as prizes to be obtained by distinguished valor; and that he considered
himself no farther rich, than as he was in a condition to do justice to
the merit of his soldiers. Another thing that contributed to make them
invincible, was their seeing Cæsar always take his share in the danger,
and never desire any exemption from labor and fatigue.
“As for his exposing his person to danger, they were not surprised at
it, because they knew his passion for glory; but they were astonished
at his patience under toil, so far, in all appearance, above his
bodily powers; for he was of a slender make, fair, of a delicate
constitution, and subject to violent headaches, and epileptic fits. He
had the first attack of the falling sickness at Corduba. He did not,
however, make these disorders a pretence for indulging himself. On the
contrary, he sought in war a remedy for his infirmities, endeavoring
to strengthen his constitution by long marches, by simple diet, by
seldom coming under cover. Thus he contended against his distemper, and
fortified himself against its attacks.
“When he slept, it was commonly upon a march, either in a chariot or a
litter, that rest might be no hindrance to business. In the daytime he
visited the castles, cities, and fortified camps, with a servant at his
side, and with a soldier behind, who carried his sword.
“As a warrior and a general, we behold him not in the least inferior to
the greatest and most admired commander the world ever produced; for,
whether we compare him with the Fabii, the Scipios, the Metelli—with
the generals of his own time, or those who flourished a little before
him—with Sylla, Marius, the two Luculli, or with Pompey himself,
whose fame in every military excellence, reached the skies, Cæsar’s
achievements bear away the palm. One he surpassed in the difficulty of
the scene of action; another in the extent of the countries he subdued;
this, in the number and strength of the enemies he overcame; that,
in the savage manners and treacherous dispositions of the people he
humanized; one, in mildness and clemency to his prisoners; another, in
bounty and munificence to his troops; and all, in the number of battles
that he won, and enemies that he killed. In less than ten years’ war
in Gaul, he took eight hundred cities by assault, conquered three
hundred nations, and fought pitched battles, at different times, with
three millions of men, one million of which he cut in pieces, and made
another million prisoners.”
Such was Cæsar, one of the greatest, yet worst of men. It appears that
after his death he was enrolled among the gods. It is evident that a
people who looked upon such a being as divine, must have worshipped
power, and not virtue; and that what we call vice and crime, were, in
their view, compatible with divinity.
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
HANNIBAL.
This great man, a native of Carthage, and son of Hamilcar Barcas, was
born 247 B. C. At this period, Rome and Carthage were rival powers and
both seated upon the borders of the Mediterranean Sea. Rome had been
in existence about five hundred years, and had already extended her
conquests over Italy and a portion of Spain. She had not yet crossed
the Alps, to conquer the more northern Gauls or Goths, but she was
rapidly advancing in power; and, about a century after, Greece and Asia
Minor fell before her. Already her proud eagle began to spread his
wing, and whet his beak for conquest and slaughter.
Rome was a nation of soldiers; and, paying little respect to commerce,
manufactures and productive industry, she sought to enrich herself by
robbing other countries—thus building herself up by the very means
which the Goths and Vandals employed, seven hundred years after, for
her destruction. Carthage was, in most respects, the opposite of Rome;
her citizens were chiefly devoted to commerce and manufactures. The
Mediterranean was dotted over with her vessels, and she had numerous
colonies in Spain and along the coasts of Africa.
The city of Rome was the centre of the republic and the seat of
government. Here all the laws were enacted; here all the military
movements and other affairs of state were decided upon. The city was
at this time nearly twenty miles in circuit, and defended by a triple
range of walls. The number of its inhabitants was several millions.
Carthage was also a vast city, situated in Africa, about four hundred
miles south-west of Rome, the Mediterranean Sea lying between them. It
originated with a small colony of people from Tyre, a maritime city in
Syria, about a hundred years before Rome was founded by Romulus. It
increased rapidly, and became a flourishing place. The city exercised
dominion over the whole country around. Its government was a mixture
of aristocracy and democracy; the chief men ruling on all ordinary
occasions, but sometimes consulting the people.
The Carthaginians were an industrious nation and appear to have had no
taste or leisure for the gladiator fights, the shows of wild beasts,
the theatrical exhibitions and other amusements, that excited such
deep interest among the idle and dissipated Romans. They were, in many
respects, exemplary in their morals—even abstinence from wine being
required of the magistrates while in office. Their religion, however,
was a gloomy superstition, and their punishments were cruel. They even
sacrificed children to their gods, in the earlier periods of their
history.
Though chiefly addicted to commerce, the Carthaginians paid great
attention to agriculture. The rich men laid out their surplus money in
cultivating the lands; and in the time of Hannibal, the whole extent
of country around Carthage, which was the territory now called Tunis,
was covered with vast herds of the finest cattle, fields waving with
corn, vineyards and olive grounds. There were a multitude of small
villages scattered over the country; near to the great city, the whole
landscape was studded with the splendid villas of the rich citizens. To
such a pitch was the art of agriculture carried, that one Mago wrote
twenty-eight books upon the subject. These were carried to Rome, after
the conquest of Carthage, and greatly increased the knowledge and skill
of the Romans, in the science of husbandry.
It was at a period when these two great powers had already extended
themselves so far as to come in frequent collision, that Hannibal was
born. His father was a general, who had served in Spain and fought
against the Romans in the first Punic war. His mind was filled with
hatred of that nation; and while Hannibal was yet a boy of nine years
old, and about to accompany his father in his Spanish campaigns, he
caused him to kneel before the altar, and swear eternal hatred to the
Romans.
Asdrubal, the brother of Hamilcar, succeeded, at the death of the
latter, to the command of the Carthaginian army in Spain; at his death,
Hannibal, now twenty-one years old, was made general of the whole army,
as well by the acclamations of the soldiers, as the decree of the
Carthaginian senate. He immediately marched against various barbarous
tribes in Spain, yet unsubdued, and quickly reduced them to submission.
During the first Punic war, Carthage had lost her finest colonies—the
island of Sicily, as well as the Lipari isles—all of which had fallen
into the hands of Rome. She had now recovered from the losses of that
war, and Hannibal determined to revenge the injuries Rome had inflicted
upon his country. Accordingly, he laid siege to Saguntum, in Spain, a
large city subject to Rome, and situated on the Mediterranean, near the
present town of Valencia. Faithful to their alliance, and expecting
succors from Rome, the people made the most determined resistance for
eight months. They were at last reduced to such fearful extremity
for food, that they killed their infant children and fed upon their
blood and flesh. Filled with a horrid despair, they finally erected
an immense pile of wood, and setting it on fire, the men first hurled
their women, slaves and treasures into the blaze, and then plunged into
it themselves. Hannibal now entered the city, but, instead of finding
rich spoils, he only witnessed a heap of ashes. The solitude of that
scene might have touched even a warrior’s heart. The present town of
Murviedo, the site of the ancient Saguntum and the witness of these
horrid scenes, still abounds in remains of Roman architecture.
The second Punic war was begun by these proceedings against Saguntum.
Hannibal, who had determined upon the invasion of Italy, spent the
winter in making his preparations. Leaving a large force in Africa, and
also in Spain, to defend these points, he set out, in the spring of
the year 218, with eighty thousand foot and twelve thousand horse, to
fulfil his project.
His course lay along the Mediterranean; the whole distance to Rome
being about one thousand miles by the land route which he contemplated.
When he had traversed Spain, he came to the Pyrenees, a range of
mountains separating that country from Gaul, now France. Here he was
attacked by wild tribes of brave barbarians, but he easily drove them
back. He crossed the Pyrenees, traversed Gaul, and came at last to
the Alps, which threw up their frowning battlements, interposing a
formidable obstacle between him and the object of his expedition. No
warrior had then crossed these snowy peaks with such an army; and
none but a man of that degree of resolution and self-relience which
will not be baffled, would have hazarded the fearful enterprise.
Napoleon accomplished the task, two thousand years afterwards, but with
infinitely greater facilities.
Hannibal, after a march of five months, descended the southern slopes
of the Alps, and poured down upon the soft and smiling plains of Italy.
The northern portion, called Cisalpine Gaul, was peopled with Gothic
tribes, long settled in the country. They were desirous, however, of
throwing off the Roman yoke, and therefore favored the Carthaginian
cause. Hannibal, whose army had been greatly reduced in his march,
especially in crossing the Alps, remained among some of these people
for a time, to recruit, and then proceeded southward toward Rome.
On the banks of the river Tessino he was met by a Roman army despatched
against him; but, after a bloody conflict, he was victorious. In a few
weeks he again encountered the Romans, and again he triumphed. Thus,
the whole of Cisalpine Gaul fell into his hands, and these people,
relieved from the presence of the Roman army, aided him freely with
every kind of supplies.
Rome now presented a scene of the greatest activity. She was not
yet softened by luxuries, or corrupted by indulgence; she did not,
therefore, yield to fear, as in after days, when the wild leaders
of the north poured down from the Alps, like an avalanche. She was
alarmed, but yet she met the emergency with courage and resolution.
Every artisan in the city was busy in preparation; the senate were
revolving deep schemes; generals held councils of war; soldiers were
recruited and trained; the people ran to and fro in the streets,
telling the last news, and recounting some marvellous legend of the
Carthaginians and their dreaded leader. All was bustle and preparation.