_(Of the World, 3966--Of Rome, 666.)_
Marius, [1]though now [2]broken with [3]age and years, yet being very
[4]ambitious of getting [5]employed against Mithridates, could not
[6]bear with patience the [7]bestowing that [8]province upon Sylla.
[9]Wherefore he [10]prevailed by the [11]means of C. Sulpicius, the
tribune of the people, to have it [12]taken from Sylla, and bestowed
upon himself. At which Sylla being [13]enraged, [14]seized upon the
city, and having [15]slain Sulpicius, [16]obliged Marius to [17]fly.
In his [18]absence, Cinna the consul, making a [19]disturbance, was
[20]driven out of the city, and being [21]joined by Marius, Carbo, and
Sertorius, [22]assaulted Rome; which, having [23]taken, [24]he put a
great many of the Romans [25]to the sword. Marius [26]died a natural
death the year following.
Sylla having made peace with Mithridates, [27]returned into Italy, and
[28]made an end of the civil war in two years time, by the [29]defeat
of Carbo, Norbanus, young Marius, and others; and being [30]declared
[31]dictator, [32]took off a great many of Marius’s party by means of a
[33]proscription. Q. Sertorius [34]retired into Farther Spain, where he
[35]held out for some years very [36]valiantly.
Sylla having in the year 675 [37]laid down the [38]dictatorship,
died the year following of the [39]lousy [40]disease, in the
sixtieth year of his [41]age. After his death, Lepidus the consul,
[42]endeavouring to [43]annul the [44]acts of Sylla, was [45]forced
out of the city by his [46]colleague Catulus. And the year following
[47]advancing up to the city with an [48]army, he was defeated by the
same Catulus and Cn. Pompey, and [49]fled into [50]Sardinia, where
he [51]fell ill and died. The same Pompey being [52]sent into Spain
against Sertorius, [53]performed no important things; but the latter
being [54]treacherously [55]slain by his own people, he [56]easily
[57]recovered that province in the year 681.
In the mean time the war with Mithridates [58]broke out again, while
Sylla was yet living; and after Sylla’s death, Mithridates having
[59]entered into an [60]alliance with Sertorius, [61]seized by force of
arms upon Bithynia, which Nicomedes at his death in 679, had [62]left
to the Roman people. L. Lucullus consul, in 680, [63]went against
him, and being very [64]successful both by [65]sea and [66]land, he
[67]obliged him to fly, first into [68]Pontus, and soon after to
[69]Tigranes in Armenia. Lucullus [70]conquered Pontus, and defeated
both the kings who [71]engaged him with an army of two hundred thousand
[72]foot and sixty thousand [73]horse, in the year of the city 685.
After this, Tigranocerta, the capital of Armenia, and [74]Nisibis, two
very great cities, were [75]taken. But this excellent general being
[76]forsaken by his men, was [77]obliged to [78]leave the [79]fruit
of his [80]toil and [81]victories to Cn. Pompey, in the year 688.
He having [82]forced Tigranes to [83]surrender, obliged him to be
[84]satisfied with Armenia; and whilst he [85]pursued Mithridates,
he [86]added the [87]Iberians and [88]Albanians to the Roman empire,
in the year 689. [89]Finally, Mithridates, in the year 691, being
[90]every where [91]beaten, [92]thought of [93]flying into [94]Gaul,
but being [95]discouraged by the [96]revolt of his son [97]Pharnaces
and the army, he [98]slew himself.
Whilst the war with Mithridates was [99]warmly [100]carried on,
there [101]broke out another with the [102]slaves, in the year
of the city 681. One [103]Spartacus Ænomanus, and [104]Crixus,
[105]gladiators, having [106]broken up a [107]school of gladiators
at Capua, [108]belonging to Lentulus, and [109]assembled an army of
[110]desperadoes, [111]routed the Roman armies several times, but at
last were [112]vanquished by Crassus the prætor, and Pompey, in the
year 685.
Pompey [113]likewise [114]subdued the [115]pirates, who, at the
[116]instigation of Mithridates, [117]infested the seas, having
an [118]extraordinary [119]commission [120]for that purpose by
the [121]Gabinian law. Whilst Pompey was [122]enlarging the Roman
empire [123]abroad, the [124]head of the empire was in no small
[125]danger from a [126]conspiracy which [127]Cataline, [128]Lentulus
the prætor, [129]Cethegus, and other senators, had [130]entered
into, to [131]murder the consul [132]Cicero, and to [133]burn and
[134]plunder the city. But their [135]designs were [136]prevented by
the [137]vigilance of the consul. Catiline being [138]forced out of the
city, [139]repaired to the army, which some of his [140]accomplices
had [141]collected. Lentulus, and the rest of the [142]ringleaders of
the [143]plot were put to death. This [144]happened in the year 691,
and the following year Cataline was [145]defeated by [146]Petreius
[147]Antony the proconsul’s [148]lieutenant, and [149]slain in the
[150]fight.
The whole [151]world being now almost [152]subdued, the Roman empire
was [153]arrived to that [154]grandeur, that it could [155]hardly
[156]extend itself farther. No [157]outward [158]force was
[159]sufficient to [160]ruin it; it [161]fell by its own [162]power,
which was [163]occasioned by the [164]ambition of the [165]leading men,
and the civil [166]contests that [167]arose from thence.
C. Cæsar, after the time of his [168]prætorship in the city was
[169]expired, [170]obtained the province of Lusitania; and by the
great feats he [171]performed there, [172]deserved well the honor
of a [173]triumph; but [174]postponed the [175]hopes of that to
the [176]consular [177]dignity; for which, [178]while he made all
[179]possible [180]interest, Pompey [181]united with Cæsar and Crassus,
while Lucullus and some others of the [182]grandees, [183]opposing his
[184]acts, which he [185]desired might be [186]ratified by the senate.
Thus Cæsar [187]gained the [188]consulship in the year 695, in which
he [189]established the acts of Pompey by the senate, and [190]divided
the [191]public [192]lands in Campania amongst the [193]citizens. He
[194]married his daughter Julia to Pompey, and [195]took Calphurnia,
the daughter of [196]Piso [197]as a wife. Having by these [198]arts,
and a [199]boundless [200]generosity, [201]gained the [202]favor
of all [203]ranks and [204]degrees of men, he [205]procured the
province of Gaul, which he [206]governed for nine years; during
which time he [207]reduced all Gaul, that is [208]comprehended
within the [209]Pyrenean mountains, the [210]Alps, the Rhone, and
the [211]Rhine, in the [212]form of a province, and [213]imposed a
[214]yearly [215]tribute upon it. He was the first of all the Romans
that [216]attacked the [217]Germans [218]beyond the Rhine. He likewise
[219]visited the [220]Britons, where [221]none before him had ever
[222]come. In this [223]interval, in the year 698, he [224]entered into
an [225]association with Pompey and Crassus; by [226]virtue of which he
was to have Gaul [227]continued to him. Pompey was to have [228]Spain,
and Crassus Syria, in order to a war against the [229]Parthians; to
which he [230]accordingly [231]went in the year 699, and the third year
after, [232]perished most [233]miserably, with the greater [234]part of
his army; after which the Parthians made an [235]irruption into Syria,
but were [236]bravely [237]repulsed by Cassius.
After the death of Crassus, Pompey not being able to [238]endure
an [239]equal, nor Cæsar a [240]superior, the civil war broke out.
Pompey’s [241]party [242]endeavouring to [243]take away from Cæsar
both his army and province, as soon as the time of his [244]government
should [245]expire; whilst Cæsar’s on the other [246]hand were for
[247]treating Pompey [248]in like manner. At last in the year 705,
in the [249]consulship of C. Claudius Marcellus, and L. Cornelius
Lentulus, the senate, by a [250]vote, obliged Cæsar to [251]disband his
army by a certain day. Antonius and Cassius, tribunes of the people,
[252]interposing their [253]authority in vain, [254]left the town, and
[255]repaired to Cæsar, who [256]advancing his army towards the city,
[257]struck such a [258]consternation into Pompey and the rest, that
[259]leaving the city [260]without much ado, and [261]shortly after
Italy, they [262]passed over into [263]Greece. Cæsar went to Spain,
where he [264]vanquished Petreius and Afranius, and [265]forced their
armies to [266]surrender [267]prisoners of war. In his [268]return
he [269]took [270]Marseilles, and after that was made dictator, to
which [271]office he was [272]chosen four times, and at last had it
[273]given him for [274]life.
In the year 706, Pompey being [275]defeated by Cæsar in the
[276]fields of [277]Pharsalia, went to [278]Egypt, where he was
slain by the [279]order of [280]Ptolemy, in the 59th year of his
[281]age. Hither Cæsar [282]likewise [283]came the following year, and
after a very [284]dangerous [285]rencounter, which he [286]happily
[287]accomplished, [288]delivered the [289]kingdom of Egypt to
Cleopatra and her brother. In the year following he vanquished Scipio
and Cato, with king Juba, in Africa. Cato [290]laid violent hands upon
himself at Utica. The year that [291]followed was [292]remarkable
for the [293]correction of the [294]calendar and the year. The same
year likewise he [295]conquered Pompey’s sons; and the year after was
[296]stabbed in the [297]senate house, by a [298]conspiracy of Brutus
and Cassius, and some others, in the 56th year of his age.
Besides these [299]convulsions, with which the whole [300]world was
[301]shattered, there were some less [302]disturbances [303]happened
a little before. [304]Clodius Pulcher being [305]made tribune of
the people, [306]banished Cicero, for having [307]condemned the
[308]associates of Cataline to death without a [309]trial; which
[310]calamity he [311]bore too [312]meanly, and [313]by no means
[314]agreeable to the [315]dignity of his past life. But he was
[316]recalled the year after by the [317]interposition of Pompey, and
Lentulus the consul, and [318]received with the greatest [319]honor.
The same Clodius [320]declared [321]Cyprus to [322]belong to the
Roman people, and Cato being [323]sent to [324]take possession of
it, Ptolemy, king of the [325]island, after first [326]throwing all
his [327]money into the sea, [328]prevented his [329]disgrace by a
[330]voluntary death. The senate [331]bestowed the [332]prætorship
upon Cato at his [333]return, by a [334]vote of the house, without
any [335]election; which honor he [336]refused, being [337]desirous
to [338]obtain it rather by the [339]free [340]votes of the people.
But he was [341]disappointed in his [342]hopes, and Vatinius was
[343]preferred to him.
[344]Bribery [345]ruling in [346]all [347]elections, and the
[348]candidates making a most [349]dismal [350]confusion, after a long
[351]interregnum, Pompey was made consul, without a [352]colleague,
a thing [353]wholly new, and never heard of before; in which office
he made a [354]severe [355]inquiry into all other [356]misdemeanors,
as likewise into the death of Clodius, whom Milo [357]killed the same
year, and for which he was [358]banished.
After the death of Cæsar, Antony the consul so [359]inflamed the
people by [360]a seditious [361]harangue, that they [362]burnt his
[363]body [364]publicly, and [365]threatened to set fire, and [366]pull
down the houses of the [367]assassins. Octavius Cæsar, the son of
Accia [368]Julius’s sister, was his [369]adopted son by [370]will. He
being [371]slighted by M. Antony, [372]raised an army of [373]veteran
soldiers, and [374]opposed his [375]tyrannical [376]proceedings.
Antonius [377]extorted from the people by force the province of Gaul,
but his [378]passage there was opposed by D. Brutus at Modena, where he
was [379]besieged by Antony.
In the [380]consulship of [381]Hirtius and Pansa, in the year of the
city 711, at the [382]instigation of Cicero Antony was [383]declared
[384]enemy, and a war [385]undertaken against him; when Octavius
[386]joined in [387]commission with the consuls, with the [388]power
of proconsul, being then about the 20th year of his age. There was a
[389]dreadful and [390]bloody [391]battle [392]fought near Modena, in
which all Cæsar’s [393]life-guards were slain; but Antony was routed,
and the [394]siege [395]raised, yet both the consuls were killed.
In Macedon, Brutus [396]took off C. Antonius, M. Antony’s brother,
who was [397]intriguing against him, and [398]got together a
[399]formidable army. Upon which the senate [400]resolved by
[401]degrees to [402]take down Octavius, [403]for fear of his
[404]growing too [405]powerful; which he being [406]apprehensive of,
[407]he entered into an [408]association with Antony and Lepidus;
and [409]consequently they were all three made [410]commissioners
[411]for settling the [412]republic. They having [413]divided the whole
[414]empire into three parts, [415]proscribed a great many of the
Romans, and amongst the rest M. [416]Tully Cicero, who, whilst he was
[417]endeavouring to [418]make his escape into Greece, was killed by
Pompilius, a [419]captain, whose [420]cause he had [421]pleaded in a
capital [422]action. There was a [423]dreadful [424]havoc made in this
[425]proscription. The [426]Epitome of Livy speaks of no less than an
hundred and thirty senators; the same year, [427]gave [428]beginning to
one of the finest cities of France, [429]Lyons.
The year following, Octavius and Antony [430]fought a battle with M.
Brutus and the [431]principal of the [432]conspirators, near the city
of Philippi. The [433]right [434]wings were [435]victorious on both
[436]sides, and on both sides the [437]camps were [438]plundered.
But Cassius, who was in the wing that was [439]routed, [440]giving
up all for lost, [441]slew himself. Brutus, being [442]defeated in
another [443]engagement, likewise put an end to his own life, being
then thirty-seven years of age, and none of Cæsar’s [444]assassins
[445]lived above three years after, being all [446]taken off by a
[447]violent death, as [448]Suetonius says; some too [449]killed
themselves with the same [450]dagger with which they had slain Cæsar.
After the [451]victory, Antony [452]went to Asia, and Octavius to
Italy; where he [453]was engaged in a war with L. Antony, the brother
of the [454]triumvir, and his [455]wife Fulvia, a [456]woman of a
[457]manly [458]spirit. He forced Lucius from the town; after which,
being [459]declared an enemy, he [460]besieged him in Perusia, and
obliged him to [461]surrender. In the mean time, the Parthians being
[462]invited by Labienus, one of Pompey’s party, made an [463]irruption
into Syria, whom Ventidius, after a very [464]signal [465]overthrow,
in which the king was slain, [466]drove out again, and [467]recovered
Syria.
S. Pompey, Cneius’s son, having a [468]fleet at his [469]command,
[470]infested the seas. Cæsar made with him a peace, which was
[471]soon [472]broken. [473]An engagement [474]followed, wherein
Pompey was [475]worsted, and [476]forced to [477]fly. He was soon
after [478]put to death by [479]order of M. Antony, under whose
[480]protection he had put himself. About this time Antony made an
[481]attempt upon the Parthians, by whom he was most [482]shamefully
[483]beaten. At last Antony being [484]entirely [485]devoted to his
Cleopatra, [486]divorced Octavia, Cæsar’s sister, and [487]declared war
against him, in which he was at last defeated by sea near [488]Actium,
a [489]promontory of [490]Epirus. Cæsar had upwards of 400 [491]ships,
and Antony about 200, but so [492]prodigiously [493]large, that they
[494]looked like [495]castles and cities [496]moving through the
sea. The [497]flight of Cleopatra [498]turned the [499]fate of a
[500]dubious [501]engagement into the [502]ruin of Antony; he followed
her into Egypt, and being [503]besieged in Alexandria, he [504]slew
himself, and Cleopatra soon [505]followed his [506]example.