purpose of enjoying that life of voluptuous ease which he craved more
than power and distinction. Here he spent the brief remainder of his
life in nocturnal orgies and literary converse, completing his
"Memoirs," in which he told, in exaggerated phrase, the story of his
life and exploits.
He lived but about a year. His excesses brought on a complication of
disorders, which ended, we are told, in a loathsome disease. The senate
voted him a gorgeous funeral, after which his body was burned on the
Campus Martius, that no future tyrant could treat his remains as he had
done those of his great rival Marius.
_THE REVOLT OF THE GLADIATORS._
At the beginning of the first Punic War, or war with Carthage, a new
form of entertainment was introduced into Rome. This was the
gladiatorial show, the fights of armed men in the arena, the first of
which was given in the year 264 B.C., at the funeral of D. Junius
Brutus. These exhibitions were long confined to funeral occasions, money
being frequently left for this purpose in wills, but they gradually
extended to other occasions, and finally became the choice amusement of
the brutal Roman mob. The gladiators were divided into several classes,
in accordance with their particular weapons and modes of fighting, and
great pains were taken to instruct them in the use of their special
arms. But in the period that followed the death of Sulla Rome was to
have a gladiatorial exhibition of a different sort.
In the city of Capua was a school of gladiators, kept by a man named
Lentulus. It was his practice to hire out his trained pupils to nobles
for battles in the arena during public festivals. His school was a large
one, and included in its numbers a Thracian named Spartacus, who had
been taken prisoner while leading his countrymen against the Romans, and
was to be punished for his presumption by making sport for his
conquerors.
But Spartacus had other and nobler aims. He formed a plot of flight to
freedom in which two hundred of his fellows joined, though only
seventy-eight succeeded in making their escape. These men, armed merely
with the knives and spits which they had seized as they fled, made their
way to the neighboring mountains, and sought a refuge in the crater of
Mount Vesuvius. It must be borne in mind that this mountain, in that
year of 73 B.C., was silent and seemingly extinct, though before another
century passed it was to awake to vital activity. It was only biding its
time in slumber.
It was better to die on the open field than in the amphitheatre, argued
Spartacus, and his followers agreed with him. Their position in the
crater was a strong one, and the news of their revolt soon brought them
a multitude of allies,--slaves and outlaws of every kind. These
Spartacus organized and drilled, supplying them with officers from the
gladiators, mostly old soldiers, and placing them under rigid
discipline. It was liberty he wanted, not rapine, and he did his utmost
to restrain his lawless followers from acts of violence.
Pompey, the chief Roman general of that day, was then absent in Spain,
fighting with a remnant of the Marian forces. Two Roman praetors led
their forces against the gladiators, but were driven back with loss, and
the army of Spartacus swelled day by day. The wild herdsmen of Apulia
joined him in large numbers. They were slaves to their lords, whom they
hated bitterly, and here was an opening for freedom and revenge.
It was soon evident that Rome had on its hands the greatest and most
dangerous of its servile wars. Spartacus was brave and prudent, and
possessed the qualities of an able leader. Unfortunately for him, he led
an unmanageable host. In the next year both the consuls took the field
against him. By this time his army had swelled to more than one hundred
thousand men, and with these he pushed his way northward through the
passes of the Apennines. But now insubordination appeared. Crixus, one
of his lieutenants, ambitious of independent command, led off a large
division of the army, chiefly Germans. He was quickly punished for his
temerity, being surprised and slain with the whole of his force.
Spartacus, wise enough to know that he could not long hold out against
the whole power of Rome, kept on northward, hoping to pass the Alps and
find a place of refuge remote from the stronghold of his foes. Both the
consuls attacked him in his march, and both were defeated, while he
retaliated on Rome by forcing his prisoners to fight as gladiators in
memory of the slain Crixus.
Reaching the provinces of the north, his diminished force was repulsed
by Crassus, one of the richest men of Rome, who had taken the field as
praetor. Spartacus would still have fought his way towards the Alps but
for his followers, whose impatient thirst for rapine forced him to march
southward again.
Every Roman force that assailed him on this march was hurled back in
defeat. He even meditated an attack on Rome itself, but relinquished
this plan as too desperate, and instead employed his men in collecting
arms and treasure from the cities of central and southern Italy.
Discipline was almost at an end. The wild horde of slaves and outlaws
were beyond any strict military control. So great and general were their
ravages that in a later day the poet Horace promised his friend a jar of
wine made in the Social War, "if he could find one that had escaped the
ravages of roaming Spartacus."
In the year 71 B.C. the most vigorous efforts were made to put down this
dangerous revolt. Pompey was still in Spain. The only man at home of any
military reputation was the praetor Crassus, who had amassed an enormous
fortune by buying up property at famine prices during the Proscription
of Sulla, and in speculative measures since.
He was given full command, took the field with a large army, restored
discipline to the beaten bands of the consuls by cruel and rigorous
measures, and assailed Spartacus in Calabria, where he was seeking to
rekindle the Servile War, or slave outbreak, in Sicily. He had even
engaged with pirate captains to transport a part of his force to Sicily,
but the freebooters took the money and sailed away without the men.
And now began a struggle for life and death. Spartacus was in the
narrowest part of the foot of Southern Italy. Crassus determined to keep
him there by building strong lines of intrenchment across the neck of
land. Spartacus attacked his works twice in one day, but each time was
repulsed with great slaughter. But he defended himself vigorously.
Pompey was now returning from Spain. Crassus, not caring to be robbed of
the results of his labors, determined to assault Spartacus in his camp.
But before he could do so the daring gladiator attacked his lines again,
forced his way through, and marched for Brundusium, where he hoped to
find ships that would convey him and his men from Italy.
As it happened, a large body of Roman veterans, returning from
Macedonia, had just reached Brundusium, and undertook its defence.
Foiled in his purpose, Spartacus turned upon the pursuing army of
Crassus, like a wolf at bay, and attacked it with the energy of
desperation. The battle that ensued was contested with the fiercest
courage. Spartacus and his men were fighting for their lives, and the
result continued doubtful till the brave gladiator was wounded in the
thigh by a javelin. Falling on his knee, he fought with the courage of a
hero until, overpowered by numbers, he fell dead.
His death decided the conflict. Most of his followers were slain on the
field. A strong body escaped to the mountains, but these were pursued,
and many fell. Five thousand of them made their way to the north of
Italy, where they were met by Pompey, on his return from Spain, and
slaughtered to a man.
Crassus took six thousand prisoners, and these he disposed of in the
cruel Roman way of dealing with revolted slaves, hanging or crucifying
the whole of them along the road between Rome and Capua.
Thus ended far the most important outbreak of Roman gladiators and
slaves. The south of Italy suffered horribly from its ravages, but not
through any act of Spartacus, who throughout showed a moderation equal
to his courage and military ability. Had it not been for the lawless
character of his followers his career might have had a very different
ending, for he had shown himself a commander of rare ability and
unconquerable courage.
_CAESAR AND THE PIRATES._
We have spoken of the pirates who agreed to convey the forces of
Spartacus from Italy to Sicily, but faithlessly sailed away with his
money and without his men. From times immemorial the Mediterranean had
been ravaged by pirate fleets, which made the inlets of Asia Minor and
the isles of the Archipelago their places of shelter, whence they dashed
out on rapid raids, and within which they vanished when attacked.
This piracy reached its highest power during and after the Social and
Civil Wars of Rome, the outlaws taking prompt advantage of the
distractions of the times, and gaining a strength and audacity unknown
before. Their chief places of refuge were in the coast districts of
Cilicia and Pisidia, in Asia Minor, while in the mountain valleys which
led down from Taurus to that coast they had strongholds difficult of
access, and enabling them to defy attack by land.
They were now aided by Mithridates, who supplied them with money and
encouraged their raids. So great became their audacity that they carried
off important personages from the coast of Italy, among them two
praetors, whom they held to ransom. They ravaged all unguarded shores,
and are said to have captured in all four hundred important towns. The
riches gained in these raids were displayed with the ostentation of
conquerors. The sails of their ships were dyed with that costly Tyrian
purple which at a later date was reserved for the robes of emperors;
their oars were inlaid with silver, and their pennants glittered with
gold. As for the merchant fleets of Rome, they made their journeys under
constant risk, and there was danger, if the pirates were not suppressed,
that they would cut off the entire grain-supply from Africa and Sicily.
The most interesting story told in connection with these marauders is
connected with the youthful days of Julius Caesar, afterwards so great a
man in Rome.
In the year 76 B.C. Caesar, then a young man of twenty-four, and
seemingly given over to mere enjoyment of life, with no indications of
political aspiration, was on his way to the island of Rhodes, where he
wished to perfect himself in oratory in the famous school of Apollonius
Melo, in which Cicero, a few years before, had gained instruction in the
art. Cicero had taught Rome the full power of oratory, and Caesar, who
was no mean orator by nature, and recognized the usefulness of the art,
naturally sought instruction from Cicero's teacher.
He was travelling as a gentleman of rank, but on his way was taken
prisoner by pirates, who, deeming him a person of great distinction,
held him at a high ransom. For six weeks Caesar remained in their hands,
waiting until his ransom should be paid. He was in no respect downcast
by his misfortune, but took part freely in the games and pastimes of
the pirates, and, according to Plutarch, treated them with such disdain
that whenever their noise disturbed his sleep he sent orders to them to
keep silence. In his familiar conversations with the chiefs he plainly
told them that he would one day crucify them all. Doubtless they laughed
heartily at this pleasantry, as they deemed it, but they were to find it
a grim sort of jest.
Caesar was released at last, the ransom paid amounting to about fifty
thousand dollars. He lost not a moment in carrying out his threat.
Obtaining a fleet of Milesian vessels, he sailed immediately to the
island in which he had been held captive, and descended upon the pirates
so suddenly that he took them prisoners while they were engaged in
dividing their plunder. Carrying them to Pergamus, he handed them over
to the civil authorities, by whom his promise of crucifying them all was
duly carried out. Then he went to Rhodes, and spent two years in the
study of elocution. He had proved himself an awkward kind of prey for
pirates.
These worthies continued their depredations, and became at length so
annoying that extraordinary measures were taken for their suppression.
Pompey, then the most powerful man in Rome, was given absolute control
over the Mediterranean. This was not done without opposition, for it was
feared that he aspired to kingly rule. "You aspire to be Romulus; beware
of the fate of Romulus," said some of the opposing senators.
Despite opposition the power was given him, and he used it with
remarkable results. A large fleet was at once got ready and put to sea,
confining its operations at first to the west of the Mediterranean, and
driving the piratical fleets towards their lurking-places in the east.
Land troops meanwhile guarded the coasts. In the brief space of forty
days he reported to the senate that the whole sea west of Greece was
cleared of pirates.
Then he sailed for the Archipelago, swept its inlets, spread his ships
everywhere, and drove the foe towards Cilicia. Here they gathered their
fleet and gave him battle, but suffered a total defeat. A surrender
followed, to which he won them over by lenient terms. In three months
from the day he began his work the war was ended, and the pirates who
had so long troubled the republic of Rome had retired from business.
_CAESAR AND POMPEY._
There were three leaders in Rome, Pompey, whom Sulla had named the
Great, Crassus, the rich, and Caesar, the shrewd and wise. Two of these
had reached their utmost height. For Pompey there was to be no more
greatness, for Crassus no more riches. But Caesar was the coming man of
Rome. After a youth given to profligate pleasures, in which he spent
money as fast as Crassus collected it, and accumulated debt more rapidly
than Pompey accumulated fame, the innate powers of the man began to
declare themselves. He studied oratory and made his mark in the Roman
Forum; he studied the political situation, and step by step made himself
a power among men. He was shrewd enough to cultivate Pompey, then the
Roman favorite, and brought himself into closer relations with him by
marrying his relative. Steadily he grew into public favor and respect,
and laid his hands on the reins of control.
There was a fourth man of prominence, Cicero, the great scholar,
philosopher, and orator. He prosecuted Verres, who, as governor of
Sicily, had committed frightful excesses, and drove him from Rome. He
prosecuted Catiline, who had made a conspiracy to seize the government,
and even to burn Rome. The conspirators were foiled and Catiline killed.
But Cicero, earnest and eloquent as he was, lacked manliness and
courage, and was driven into exile by his enemies.
There remained the three leaders, Pompey, Caesar, and Crassus, and these
three made a secret compact to control the government, forming what
became known as a _triumvirate_, or three man power. Pompey married
Julia, the young and beautiful daughter of Caesar, and the two seemed
very closely united.
Caesar was elected consul, and in this position won public favor by
proposing some highly popular laws. After his year as consul he was made
governor of Gaul, and now began an extraordinary career. The man who had
by turns shown himself a dissolute spendthrift, an orator, and a
political leader, suddenly developed a new power, and proved himself one
of the greatest soldiers the world has ever known.
Gaul, as then known, had two divisions,--Cisalpine Gaul, or the Gaulish
settlements in Northern Italy; and Transalpine Gaul, or Gaul beyond the
Alps, including the present countries of France and Switzerland. In the
latter country Rome possessed only a narrow strip of land, then known as
the Province, since then known as the country of Provence.
From this centre Caesar, with the small army under his command,
consisting of three legions, entered upon a career of conquest which
astonished Rome and drew upon him the eyes of the civilized world. He
had hardly been appointed when he received word that the Helvetian
tribes of Switzerland were advancing on Geneva, the northern outpost of
the Province, with a view of invading the West. He hastened thither, met
and defeated them, killed a vast multitude, and drove the remnant back
to their own country. Then, invited by some northern tribes, he attacked
a great German band which had invaded Northern Gaul, and defeated them
so utterly that few escaped across the Rhine. From that point he made
his way into and conquered Belgium. In a year's time he had vastly
extended the Roman dominion in the West.
For nine years this career of conquest continued. The barbarian Gauls
proved fierce and valiant soldiers, but at the end of that time they had
been completely subdued and made passive subjects of Rome. Caesar even
crossed the sea into Britain, and look the first step towards the
conquest of that island, of which Rome had barely heard before.
During this career of conquest many hundreds of thousands of men were
slain. But, then, Caesar was victorious and Rome triumphant, and what
mattered it if a million or two of barbarians were sacrificed to the
demon of conquest? It mattered little to Rome, in which great city
barbarian life was scarcely worth a second thought. It mattered little
to Caesar, who, like all great conquerors, was quite willing to mount to
power on a ladder of human lives.
Meanwhile what were Caesar's partners in the Triumvirate doing? When
Caesar was given the province of Gaul, Pompey was made governor of
Spain, and Crassus of Syria. Crassus, who had gained some military fame
by overcoming Spartacus the gladiator, wished to gain more, and sailed
for Asia, where he stirred up a war with distant Parthia. That was the
end of Crassus. He marched into the desert of Mesopotamia, and left his
body on the sands. His head was sent to Orodes, the Parthian king, who
ordered molten gold to be poured into his mouth,--a ghastly commentary
on his thirst for wealth.
Pompey left Spain to take care of itself, and remained in Rome, where he
sought to add to his popularity by building a great stone theatre, large
enough to hold forty thousand people, where for many days he amused the
people with plays and games. Here, for the first time, a rhinoceros was
shown. Eighteen elephants were killed by Libyan hunters, and five
hundred lions were slain, while hosts of gladiators fought for life and
honor.
While thus seeking popular favor, Pompey was secretly working against
the interests of Caesar, of whose fame he had grown jealous. His wife
Julia died, and he joined his strength with that of the aristocrats;
while Caesar, a nephew of old Marius, was looked upon as a leader of the
party of the people.
Pompey's power and influence over the senate increased until he was
virtually dictator in Rome. Caesar's ten years' governorship in Gaul
would expire on the 1st of January, 49 B.C., and it was resolved by
Pompey and the senate to deprive him of the command of the army. But
Caesar was not the man to be dealt with in this summary manner. His
career of conquest ended, he entered his province of Cisalpine Gaul, or
Northern Italy, where he was received as a great hero and conqueror.
From here he sent secret agents to Rome, bribed with large sums a number
of important persons, and took other steps to guard his interests.
Meanwhile the senate tried to disarm Caesar by unfair means. They had the
power to shorten or lengthen the year as they pleased, and announced
that that year would end on November 12, and that Caesar must resign his
authority on the 13th. Curio, a tribune of Rome and Caesar's agent, said
that it was only fair that Pompey also should give up the command of the
army which he had near Rome. This he refused to do, and Curio publicly
declared that he was trying to make himself a tyrant.
Finally the senate decreed that each general should give up one legion,
to be used in a war with the Parthians. There was no such war, but it
was pretended that there soon would be. Pompey agreed, but he called
upon Caesar to send him back a legion which he had lent him three years
before. Caesar did not hesitate to do so: he sent Pompey's legion and his
own; but he took care to win the soldiers by giving each a valuable
present as he went away. These legions were not sent to Asia, but to
Capua. The senate wanted them for use nearer than Parthia.
Caesar was then at Ravenna, a sea-side city on the southern limit of his
province. South of it flowed a little stream called the Rubicon, which
formed his border-line. Here he took a bold step. He sent a letter to
the senate, offering to give up his command if Pompey would do the same.
A violent debate followed in the senate, and a decree was passed that
unless Caesar laid down his command by a certain day he should be
declared an outlaw and enemy of Rome. At the same time the two consuls
were made dictators, and the two tribunes who favored Caesar--one of them
the afterwards famous Marc Antony--fled for safety from Rome.
The decree of the senate was equivalent to a declaration of war. On the
one side was Pompey, proud, over-confident, and unprepared. On the other
was Caesar, knowing his strength, satisfied in the power of the money he
had so freely distributed, and sure of his men. He called his soldiers
together and asked if they would support him. They answered that they
would follow wherever he led. At once he marched for the Rubicon, the
limit of his province, to cross which stream meant an invasion of Italy
and civil war.
Plutarch tells us that he halted here and deeply meditated, troubled by
the thought that to cross that stream meant the death of thousands of
his countrymen. After a period of such meditation, he cried aloud, "The
die is cast; let us go where the gods and the injustice of our foes
direct!" and, spurring his horse forward, he plunged into the stream.
This story, which has been effectively used by a great epic poet of
Rome, probably relates what never happened. From all we know of Caesar,
the question of bloodshed in attaining the aims of his ambition did not
greatly trouble his mind. Yet the story has taken hold, and "to cross
the Rubicon" has become a proverb, signifying the taking of a step of
momentous importance.
Caesar, after the legions sent the senate, had but a single legion left
with him. He sent orders to others to join him with all haste, but they
were distant. As for Pompey, knowing and despising the weakness of his
rival, he had made no preparations. He had Caesar's two legions at Capua
and one of his own at Rome, while thousands of Sulla's veterans were
settled in the country round. "I have but to stamp my foot," he said,
"and armed men will start from the soil of Italy."
He did not stamp, or, if he did, the armed men did not start. Caesar
marched southward with his accustomed rapidity. Town after town opened
its gates to him. Labienus, one of his principal officers, deserted to
Pompey. Caesar showed his contempt by sending his baggage after him. Two
legions from Gaul having reached him, he pushed more boldly still to the
south. The cities taken were treated as friends; there was no pillage,
no violence. Everywhere Caesar won golden opinions by his humanity.
Meanwhile Pompey's armed men came not; his rival was rapidly
approaching; he and his party of the senate fled from Rome. They reached
Brundusium, where Caesar with six legions quickly appeared. The town was
strong, and Pompey took his time to embark his men and sail from Italy.
Disappointed of his prey, Caesar turned back, and entered Rome on April
1, now full lord and master of Italy and its capital city. In the
treasury of that city was a sacred hoard of money, which had been set
aside since the invasion of the Gauls, centuries before. The people
voted this money for his use. There was no more danger from the Gauls,
it was said, for they had all become subjects of Rome. Yet the keeper of
the treasury refused to produce the keys, and when Caesar ordered the
doors to be broken open, tried to bar his passage into the sacred
chamber.
"Stand aside, young man," said Caesar, with stern dignity; "it is easier
for me to do than to say."