This Forum was a magnificent square, surrounded by splendid edifices
and adorned with sculptures and statues and many gorgeous trophies of
past victories. There were vast colonnades forming covered porticoes,
where the populace assembled and where courts of justice were held.
This Forum was constantly embellished with new monuments, temples,
statues, arches, and columns by the successful generals, as they
returned in triumph from foreign campaigns. Here the various orators
delivered their famous orations which inflamed the people to arms, or
moved them to wild outbursts of enthusiastic applause in favor of some
successful candidate, or calmed their boisterous tumult into silent and
breathless attention to the impassioned and eloquent words which fell
from the lips of these intellectual monarchs over the minds of their
less gifted countrymen. It is night now in this great public square,
and as the procession of priests and attendants slowly pass beneath a
row of majestic colonnades and enter one of the temples, we note the
face and figure of the foremost one. He is scarcely more than a boy,
but he wears the purple robe called _læna_, and a conical mitre known
as the _apex_, which mark his distinguished rank as holding the office
of _Flamen Dialis_, or High Priest of Jupiter. This youth, seventeen
years of age, is tall and fair, and though slender in form, is handsome
and noble in bearing. He is descended from patrician families of
high rank and proud position; and as he passes within the portal of
the sacred temple, the beholder would involuntarily cast upon him an
admiring glance, and if a stranger, would surely inquire who was this
comely, noble youth who so early in life was distinguished by so high
an office and royal bearing.
Again we enter the Forum, but it is now high noon. A noted orator
has ascended the pulpit, where public speakers were accustomed to
stand when addressing the assemblies. This pulpit was ornamented with
brazen beaks of ships, which had been taken by the Romans in their
many wars. Such a beak was named a rostrum, and the pulpit so adorned
was called the _Rostra_, or the Beaks,—often termed in modern books
a rostrum. As the orator of the day began to speak, a youth might
have been seen pressing through the crowd, and listening with wrapt
attention to the eloquent words which fell from the speaker’s lips. As
the burst of impassioned appeal became more persuasive, the dark eyes
of the youth flashed with responsive fire, and his cheek glowed with
a flush of kindling enthusiasm. Though he wears now the robes of a
Roman patrician, we recognize him as the same person whom we beheld at
midnight entering the temple in the attire of a High Priest of Jupiter.
Again the scene changes to midnight, but it is not in the Roman Forum,
but at a grand feast in one of the sumptuous palaces of a Roman lord.
Amidst a party of gay and joyous young men, seemingly intent only upon
luxurious pleasures, we see once more the face and figure of this
same youth who has already so attracted our interest and admiration.
Priest, student, devotée of pleasure, little did his companions or
acquaintances imagine that this young Julius Cæsar, patrician born,
but at the same time personally inclined towards the plebeian party,
would become Julius Cæsar, future Master of Rome, and therefore ruler
of nearly all of the then known world. This Julius Cæsar became the
greatest hero of Roman history, and ranks as one of the three heroes of
ancient days,—Alexander of the Greeks, Hannibal of the Carthaginians,
and Julius Cæsar of the Romans, forming the famous trio.
Again we must return to the old exile among the ruins of Carthage.
One day he is awakened from his hopeless despondency by wild rumors
from Rome. His rival and enemy, Sylla, had equipped a fleet and sailed
away to wage war with Mithridates. The friends of Marius now rally
again, and the old exile is brought back from Africa in triumph and
given the command of a large army. As he pretended to be the friend of
the common people, they flocked to his standard. Vast multitudes of
revolted slaves, outlaws, and desperadoes joined his forces, which now
advanced toward Rome. As soon as Marius gained possession of the city,
he began a dreadful work of murder and destruction. He beheaded one of
the consuls, and ordered his head to be set up as a spectacle of horror
in the public square. Blood ran like a red river in the streets of
Rome. Patricians of the highest rank and station were everywhere seized
without warning, without trial, and put to torture and death.
It is midnight in the great city, and under cover of the darkness, the
evil deeds of blood-thirsty men, fired by hatred and lawless ambition,
are renewed with fresh ferocity.
Against his bitterest enemies Marius contrived special modes of
execution, in order to wreak upon them his insatiable revenge for his
exile, and consequent sufferings and privations.
See! a party of men, composed of soldiers, and an enfuriated mob of
people are dragging a lord of noble rank up to the top of a high rock,
known as the Tarpeian Rock, from the summit of which state criminals
were hurled down the precipice, upon sharp rocks below, where they
were left to die in awful torture. This patrician, or Roman noble, had
incurred the especial animosity of Marius, and so by his orders, the
proud old man is torn from family and friends; and without trial, with
the senate powerless to help, he is dragged here at midnight to suffer
the ignominious and terrible death of a state criminal. This noted
Tarpeian Rock still stands in Rome, and it received its name from this
ancient story. In early times there was a Roman girl, named Tarpeia,
living in the ancient city, when it was besieged by an army from a
neighboring country. The soldiers of the besieging forces wore golden
bracelets upon their arms, as well as shields; and upon demanding
that Tarpeia should open the gates to them, she declared that if they
would give her, “those things they wore upon their arms,” she would
comply with their demands. She meant, of course, their bracelets; but
not knowing the word by which they were designated, she brought upon
herself a fearful doom. The soldiers agreed to grant her desire, and
so she opened to them the gates. As they passed within, they threw
their shields upon the poor girl, in proud derision, instead of giving
her the coveted bracelets, exclaiming, “Here are the things we wear
upon our arms.” Tarpeia was crushed to death beneath the weight of the
ponderous shields; and so the spot where she fell became a rock of
blood, and was ever afterwards called, in remembrance of her sad fate,
the Tarpeian Rock. There is a further legend connected with this spot,
for some of the ignorant people believe that in the interior of one of
the many caverns, which have been found perforating this rock, Tarpeia
still sits, enchanted, covered with gold and jewels. But should any one
attempt to find her, he is fated to lose his way, and never to return
from his reckless adventure. But the bloody triumph of Marius was of
short duration. He was seized with a fatal sickness, and the cruel
tyrant was obliged to meet an enemy he could not conquer. Death meted
out to him some of the horrible torments he had inflicted upon others,
as he died in delirious ravings, haunted by the presence of phantom
foes. His son Marius assumed his father’s power; but Sylla, having
returned from the Asiatic wars, and in his turn taking possession of
the city of Rome, the followers of Marius were put to death with the
same ferocity with which they had murdered others, and Sylla even
exceeded the bloody deeds which had so brutally been performed by
his hated rival. Thus the city of Rome was again plunged into wild
confusion, and the scenes of murder and massacre, with all their
shocking horrors, were re-enacted.
[Illustration: JULIUS CÆSAR.
(From Photograph of Bust in Capitol, Rome.)]
It is at this time that the young Julius Cæsar first becomes a
prominent figure in that bloody drama. Although Julius Cæsar was a
patrician by birth, he was favorable to the plebian party. The elder
Marius had married his aunt, and Cæsar himself had married a daughter
of Cinna, who was four times consul, and was a powerful and ardent
partisan of the party of Marius. Julius Cæsar, although at this time a
very young man, was too prominent a person to be overlooked by Sylla,
in his vengeance against the plebian party. The friends of Julius
Cæsar tried to plead his youth with Sylla, saying that surely such a
mere boy could do no harm. But Sylla had marked the aspiring spirit of
the young nobleman, who with all his love of gayety and pleasure had
not neglected his studies, and who was already gaining the dangerous
reputation of an eloquent orator. Sylla now demanded that Julius
Cæsar should divorce his wife Cornelia, the daughter of Cinna. Cæsar
absolutely refused, partly from devotion to his wife, and partly
from a proud indomitable spirit, which thus early was a prominent
trait in his character, and which made him brave any danger rather than
allow himself to be controlled. Knowing that punishment for his refusal
to comply with the commands of Sylla would be destruction, Cæsar fled
from Rome. Sylla deprived him of his rank and titles, confiscated the
property of his wife and his own estates, and placed his name on the
list of public enemies.
Cæsar was now a fugitive and exile. He was also suffering from
intermittent fever, and was obliged to seek some new place of refuge
each day, as a price was set upon his head. He was at one time seized
by a centurion, but Cæsar offered him a bribe sufficient to secure
his release. After various adventures, he wandered into Asia Minor,
and coming to the kingdom of Bithynia, he joined himself to the
court of the king Nicomedes, and remained some time in that country.
After leaving Bithynia, Julius Cæsar, while sailing near the isle of
Pharmacusa, was taken prisoner by some pirates from a mountainous
country called Cilicia. These Cilician pirates were half sailors and
half mountaineers. They built swift galleys, and made excursions
over the Mediterranean Sea for conquest and plunder. Cæsar asked the
pirates what sum they demanded for his ransom. They replied twenty
talents, whereupon Cæsar laughed at such a paltry sum being considered
sufficient for his ransom, and told them they evidently did not know
who he was. He then declared he would give them fifty talents, and
forthwith sent all of his companions and attendants to the shore to
go to the cities where he was known, and secure the sum required.
Meanwhile he boldly remained among these rough men, with no attendants
but a physician and two servants. Cæsar now assumed command over his
very captors, giving orders, and demanding quiet when he wished to
sleep. He joined them in their sports, and wrote and read orations to
them as though he was their ruler. His boldness and skill elicited
their profound admiration. The pirates one day asked him what he would
do to them if he should ever capture them after obtaining his own
release. He replied laughingly that he would crucify them all. This,
though a seeming jest, was well fulfilled. His attendants, having
returned with the ransom money, Julius Cæsar was released. He proceeded
immediately to Miletus, equipped a small fleet, then sailed back to the
place where the ships of the pirates still lay at anchor, and having
attacked them, he recovered the ransom money, seized their ships, and
took all the men prisoners. He carried his captives to the land, and
having cut all their throats he hung their dead bodies upon crosses, in
fulfilment of his threat.
Julius Cæsar then went to Rhodes, where his former teacher Apollonius,
a noted philosopher and rhetorician, resided. Cicero was also one of
the pupils of this philosopher. Cæsar at length obtained pardon from
Sylla, through the intercession of the vestal virgins and some of his
friends. When Sylla at last yielded to their importunity, he exclaimed,
“Your suit is granted; but know that this man, for whose safety you are
so extremely anxious, will some day or other be the ruin of the party
of the nobles, in defence of which you are leagued with me, for in
this one Cæsar you will find many a Marius.” Sylla had since died, and
though the aristocratical party were still in the ascendency, the party
of Marius were recovering somewhat from their overthrow.
Julius Cæsar now returned to Rome, and boldly espoused the popular
cause. His first public act was the arraignment of Dolabella,
governor of the province of Macedonia. When the trial came on Cæsar
appeared in the Forum, and gained great applause for his eloquence and
daring. Dolabella was defended by noted orators, and was acquitted by
the Senate. But Julius Cæsar had displayed his marvellous powers of
eloquence, which immediately gave him great renown.
Cæsar now devoted himself to public speaking in the Forum, and acquired
much celebrity. He pronounced a splendid panegyric upon the wife of
Marius at her funeral; and also upon his wife Cornelia, who died
soon after. Cæsar now became ambitious of securing public offices,
and lavished large sums in shows and spectacles to amuse the people
and secure their votes. He thus became deeply involved in debt, but
he was still successful in rising from one office to still higher
positions, until he obtained that of _quæstor_ in the province of
Spain. This was the second office in command, the first officer being
called a _prætor_. During his absence in Spain, Cæsar beheld a statue
of Alexander the Great, which adorned one of the public buildings in
the city of Cadiz, or Hades, as it was then called. Cæsar was now
about thirty-five years of age, and reflecting upon the conquests of
Alexander, who had died when only thirty-two years of age, Cæsar sighed
over his own tardy accomplishment of his lofty ambitions, and leaving
his post, returned to Rome, determined to seek higher honors.
He was chosen _ædile_ by the people. He now had charge of the public
edifices of the city, and of the games and spectacles which were
exhibited in them. The arrangements made by him for the amusement of
the people were on the most magnificent and extravagant scale. He
exhibited three hundred and twenty pair of gladiators, and he made
great additions to the public buildings. He now endeavored to have
Egypt assigned to him as a province; but the senate resisted this plan,
and Cæsar was obliged to abandon it. About this time, Cæsar obtained
a triumph over the senate, who were very jealous of his increasing
power. He replaced the statues and trophies of Marius in the capital,
which had been taken down and destroyed by the order of Sylla when
he returned to power. In their place, Cæsar had ordered magnificent
new ones to be made, and put up secretly in the night. The senate
endeavored to take them down again, but the people rallied in such
vast numbers, as to prevent the work of destruction, and Cæsar was
triumphant.
A dangerous conspiracy, headed by the notorious Catiline, was now
discovered, and several conspirators were arrested. It was when the
senate was debating whether they should be put to death, that Cæsar
made his noted speech which was replied to so hotly by Cato.
Cæsar was by some accused of being cognizant of this plot, if he were
not indeed a participant.
After the death of Cornelia, Cæsar had married Pompeia, but he
afterwards divorced her. Julius Cæsar now began to plan for a still
higher office, and upon the death of Metellus, the chief pontiff, Cæsar
solicited the office.
He was now so heavily involved in debt, that he faced ruin if defeated,
or glory if elected. When the day of election came, Cæsar parted with
his mother, saving,—“You will see me this day either chief pontiff or
an exile.”
But he succeeded in gaining the election. Having obtained this added
power, he desired to procure the position of _prætor_ in Spain. This
he also secured, but so large were his debts, that Crassus, a man of
immense wealth, was, by Cæsar’s promises of using his political power
in his behalf, persuaded to lend him the sum needed to satisfy his
creditors.
Cæsar was very successful in his province in Spain, and he returned in
a short time with military glory, and with money sufficient to pay his
debts, and furnish fresh supplies for further bribes to secure still
higher positions. He now aspired to the office of consul, which was the
highest office in the Roman state.
At this time, Pompey was the military idol of the people, and Crassus,
powerful on account of his vast wealth, was Pompey’s bitter enemy.
Cæsar conceived the plan of reconciling these two dangerous foes,
and availing himself of the aid of both to further his own ambitious
projects.
Cæsar was successful in this plan, and they then formed a triple
league, binding themselves to promote the political elevation of each
other. Having secured such powerful adherents, Cæsar now pushed his
claims for consulship. He chose a man of great wealth, named Lucceius,
to be associated with himself, who agreed to pay all the expenses of
the election, for the sake of the honor of being consul with Cæsar. But
the political enemies of Cæsar, knowing that they could not defeat his
election, determined to place Bibulus, in the place of Lucceius, as the
associate of Cæsar. Accordingly they raised as much money to expend for
Bibulus as Lucceius should employ. The result was the election of Cæsar
and Bibulus as the two consuls. But having entered upon the duties
of that office, Cæsar so completely ignored Bibulus, and assumed so
entirely the whole control of the consular power, that Bibulus retired
to his house in chagrin and mortification, and allowed Cæsar to have
his own way. Two consuls were always required by law, and so the wags
of the city, in speaking of Cæsar’s consulship, instead of saying, “In
the year of Cæsar and Bibulus, consuls,” according to the usual form,
would often say, “In the year of Julius and Cæsar, consuls,” ignoring
the name of Bibulus, and taking the two names of Cæsar to denote his
supreme rule.
[Illustration: CÆSAR IN GAUL.]
Cæsar’s ambition was not yet satisfied. He had secured the highest
place in the state, and now he aspired to military glory and foreign
conquest. Having obtained the command of an army, he entered upon a
campaign in the heart of Europe, which he continued for eight years.
The large tract of country now known as Northern Italy, Switzerland,
France, Germany, and England, was then spoken of as Gaul. The part on
the Italian side of the Alps was called Cisalpine Gaul, and that which
lay beyond was termed Transalpine Gaul.
Cæsar now placed himself at the head of an army of three Roman legions,
and set out for Gaul. The first battle he fought was with the German
king Ariovistus. Cæsar was victorious, and the Germans were put in
complete subjection. Other provinces of Gaul now submitted without
resistance, and those who determined to league together to resist this
new military power were soon brought to submission.
One of the most interesting of the various excursions made by Cæsar
during these eight years was his expedition into Great Britain.
When Cæsar arrived on the northern shores of France, he began to
inquire of all the travelling merchants whom he met, and who in those
days journeyed from one nation to another to buy and sell goods, about
the best manner of crossing the channel, and regarding the people on
the English side of the water. But the merchants could give him little
information, and so he fitted out a galley, manned with many oarsmen,
and placing it under the command of an officer, he directed him to
cross the channel and discover the best harbors to land on the other
side, and then to return and report. This officer was gone five days,
and upon his return, Cæsar determined to transport his troops across
the channel. Cæsar had collected a large number of sailing vessels upon
which he embarked his forces, and upon a given day, at one o’clock in
the morning, the fleet set sail.
The Britons had in the meantime learned of Cæsar’s intended invasion,
and they collected in vast numbers to guard the shore.
When the Roman fleet approached the land, the cliffs were everywhere
lined with troops of Britons, and every available point was well
guarded.
Cæsar now proceeded with his fleet along the shore, the Britons
following on the land until a level plain was reached. Here Cæsar
determined to attempt to disembark. A dreadful struggle ensued. The
Britons plunged into the water, and the Romans shot darts and arrows
from the decks of the vessels upon the assailants of their comrades,
who were endeavoring to make the landing. The Britons were at last
driven back, and Cæsar succeeded in obtaining possession of the shore.
These campaigns of Cæsar, in a military point of view, were a
succession of magnificent exploits. The people at Rome were unbounded
in their enthusiastic praise, and decreed him triumph after triumph,
and were prepared to welcome him with high honors when he should
return. Plutarch says of these eight years of foreign conquest, that
Cæsar took eight hundred cities, conquered three hundred nations,
fought pitched battles, at separate times, with three millions of men,
took one million of them prisoners, and killed another million on the
field.
[Illustration: THE LANDING OF JULIUS CÆSAR IN BRITAIN.]
From a humane standpoint, however, what a fearful destruction of
human lives, to satisfy the insatiable ambition of one man. How much
more desirable would have been the fame of blessing, rather than
destroying and injuring three millions of his fellow men. The time
was now drawing near for Cæsar’s return to Rome. During his absence a
dangerous rival had become the idol of the fickle people. After the
death of Pompey’s wife Julia, who was the daughter of Julius Cæsar, the
former alliance between these two powerful rivals had been broken, and
they were now open foes. While Cæsar was absent in Gaul, he had not
neglected to endeavor to retain his hold upon the populace of Rome. He
had distributed vast sums for the adornment of the city. He expended
over four million dollars in purchasing ground for the enlargement of
the Forum; and when he heard of the death of his daughter Julia, the
wife of Pompey, he ordered her funeral to be celebrated with gorgeous
splendor. He distributed corn in immense quantities among the people,
and sent home many captives to be trained as gladiators to amuse the
populace in the theatres. Men were astounded at the magnitude of these
vast expenditures; but Pompey was, nevertheless, fast securing the
heart of the people. Pompey, in his vanity, imagined that he was so far
above Cæsar that he need feel no solicitude at the return of his rival,
and therefore took no precautions to resist any hostile designs. Cæsar
had now advanced toward the Rubicon, which was a little stream that
formed the boundary line between the north of Italy, which was a Roman
province called Hither Gaul, and the immediate jurisdiction of the city
of Rome.
Generals commanding in Gaul were never allowed to pass this river
with an army. Hence, to cross the Rubicon with an armed force, was
rebellion and treason. When Cæsar arrived at the farther shore of this
small but significant stream, he halted at a small town called Ravenna,
and established his headquarters there. Pompey now sent to him to
demand the return of a legion he had lent him when they were friends.
Cæsar returned the legion immediately, adding some of his own troops to
show his indifference to the size of his own force.