CRASSUS

Marcus Crassus, whose father had borne the office of a censor, and

received the honor of a triumph, was educated in a little house

together with his two brothers, who both married in their parents'

lifetime; they kept but one table amongst them; all which,

perhaps, was not the least reason of his own temperance and

moderation in diet. One of his brothers dying, he married his

widow, by whom he had his children; neither was there in these

respects any of the Romans who lived a more orderly life than he

did, though later in life he was suspected to have been too

familiar with one of the vestal virgins, named Licinia, who was,

nevertheless, acquitted, upon an impeachment brought against her

by one Plotinus. Licinia stood possessed of a beautiful property

in the suburbs, which Crassus desiring to purchase at a low price,

for this reason was frequent in his attentions to her, which gave

occasion to the scandal, and his avarice, so to say, serving to

clear him of the crime, he was acquitted. Nor did he leave the

lady till he had got the estate.

People were wont to say that the many virtues of Crassus were

darkened by the one vice of avarice, and indeed he seemed to have

no other but that; for it being the most predominant, obscured

others to which he was inclined. The arguments in proof of his

avarice were the vastness of his estate, and the manner of raising

it; for whereas at first he was not worth above three hundred

talents, yet, though in the course of his political life he

dedicated the tenth of all he had to Hercules, and feasted the

people, and gave to every citizen corn enough to serve him three

months, upon casting up his accounts, before he went upon his

Parthian expedition, he found his possessions to amount to seven

thousand one hundred talents; most of which, if we may scandal him

with a truth, he got by fire and rapine, making his advantages of

the public calamities. For when Sylla seized the city, and

exposed to sale the goods of those that he had caused to be slain,

accounting them booty and spoils, and, indeed, calling them so

too, and was desirous of making as many, and as eminent men as he

could, partakers in the crime, Crassus never was the man that

refused to accept, or give money for them. Moreover observing how

extremely subject the city was to fire, and falling down of

houses, by reason of their height and their standing so near

together, he bought slaves that were builders and architects, and

when he had collected these to the number of more than five

hundred, he made it his practice to buy houses that were on fire,

and those in the neighborhood, which, in the immediate danger and

uncertainty, the proprietors were willing to part with for little,

or nothing; so that the greatest part of Rome, at one time or

other, came into his hands. Yet for all he had so many workmen,

he never built anything but his own house, and used to say that

those that were addicted to building would undo themselves soon

enough without the help of other enemies. And though he had many

silver mines, and much valuable land, and laborers to work in it,

yet all this was nothing in comparison of his slaves, such a

number and variety did he possess of excellent readers,

amanuenses, silversmiths, stewards, and table-waiters, whose

instruction he always attended to himself, superintending in

person while they learned, and teaching them himself, accounting

it the main duty of a master to look over the servants, that are,

indeed, the living tools of housekeeping; and in this, indeed, he

was in the right, in thinking, that is, as he used to say, that

servants ought to look after all other things, and the master

after them. For economy, which in things inanimate is but

money-making when exercised over men becomes policy. But it was

surely a mistaken judgment, when he said no man was to be

accounted rich that could not maintain an army at his own cost and

charges, for war, as Archidamus well observed, is not fed at a

fixed allowance, so that there is no saying what wealth suffices

for it, and certainly it was one very far removed from that of

Marius; for when he had distributed fourteen acres of land a man,

and understood that some desired more, "God forbid," said he,

"that any Roman should think that too little which is enough to

keep him alive and well."

Crassus, however, was very eager to be hospitable to strangers; he

kept open house, and to his friends he would lend money without

interest, but called it in precisely at the time; so that his

kindness was often thought worse than the paying the interest

would have been. His entertainments were, for the most part,

plain and citizenlike, the company general and popular; good taste

and kindness made them pleasanter than sumptuosity would have

done. As for learning, he chiefly cared for rhetoric, and what

would be serviceable with large numbers; he became one of the best

speakers at Rome, and by his pains and industry outdid the best

natural orators. For there was no trial how mean and contemptible

soever that he came to unprepared; nay, several times he undertook

and concluded a cause, when Pompey and Caesar and Cicero refused

to stand up, upon which account particularly he got the love of

the people, who looked upon him as a diligent and careful man,

ready to help and succor his fellow-citizens. Besides, the people

were pleased with his courteous and unpretending salutations and

greetings; for he never met any citizen however humble and low,

but he returned him his salute by name. He was looked upon as a

man well-read in history, and pretty well versed in Aristotle's

philosophy, in which one Alexander instructed him, a man whose

intercourse with Crassus gave a sufficient proof of his

good-nature, and gentle disposition; for it is hard to say whether

he was poorer when he entered into his service, or while he

continued in it; for being his only friend that used to accompany

him when traveling, he used to receive from him a cloak for the

journey, and when he came home had it demanded from him again;

poor patient sufferer, when even the philosophy he professed did

not look upon poverty as a thing indifferent. But of this

hereafter.

When Cinna and Marius got the power in their hands, it was soon

perceived that they had not come back for any good they intended

to their country, but to effect the ruin and utter destruction of

the nobility. And as many as they could lay their hands on they

slew, amongst whom were Crassus's father and brother; he himself,

being very young, for the moment escaped the danger; but

understanding that he was every way beset and hunted after by the

tyrants, taking with him three friends and ten servants, with all

possible speed he fled into Spain, having formerly been there and

secured a great number of friends, while his father was Praetor of

that country. But finding all people in a consternation, and

trembling at the cruelty of Marius, as if he was already standing

over them in person, he durst not discover himself to anybody, but

hid himself in a large cave, which was by the sea-shore, and

belonged to Vibius Pacianus, to whom he sent one of his servants

to sound him, his provisions, also, beginning to fail. Vibius was

well pleased at his escape, and inquiring the place of his abode

and the number of his companions, he went not to him himself, but

commanded his steward to provide every day a good meal's meat, and

carry it and leave it near such a rock, and so return without

taking any further notice or being inquisitive, promising him his

liberty if he did as he commanded, and that he would kill him if

he intermeddled. The cave is not far from the sea; a small and

insignificant looking opening in the cliffs conducts you in; when

you are entered, a wonderfully high roof spreads above you, and

large chambers open out one beyond another, nor does it lack

either water or light, for a very pleasant and wholesome spring

runs at the foot of the cliffs, and natural chinks, in the most

advantageous place, let in the light all day long; and the

thickness of the rock makes the air within pure and clear, all the

wet and moisture being carried off into the spring.

While Crassus remained here, the steward brought them what was

necessary, but never saw them, nor knew anything of the matter,

though they within saw, and expected him at the customary times.

Neither was their entertainment such as just to keep them alive,

but given them in abundance and for their enjoyment; for Pacianus

resolved to treat him with all imaginable kindness, and

considering he was a young man, thought it well to gratify a

little his youthful inclinations; for to give just what is

needful, seems rather to come from necessity than from a hearty

friendship. Once taking with him two female servants, he showed

them the place and bade them go in boldly, whom when Crassus and

his friends saw, they were afraid of being betrayed, and demanded

what they were, and what they would have. They, according as they

were instructed, answered, they came to wait upon their master who

was hid in that cave. And so Crassus perceiving it was a piece of

pleasantry and of goodwill on the part of Vibius, took them in and

kept them there with him as long as he stayed, and employed them

to give information to Vibius of what they wanted, and how they

were. Fenestella says he saw one of them, then very old, and

often heard her speak of the time and repeat the story with

pleasure.

After Crassus had lain concealed there eight months, on hearing

that Cinna was dead, he appeared abroad, and a great number of

people flocking to him, out of whom he selected a body of two

thousand five hundred, he visited many cities, and, as some write,

sacked Malaca, which he himself, however, always denied, and

contradicted all who said so. Afterwards, getting together some

ships, he passed into Africa, and joined with Metellus Pius, an

eminent person that had raised a very considerable force; but upon

some difference between him and Metellus, he stayed not long

there, but went over to Sylla, by whom he was very much esteemed.

When Sylla passed over into Italy, he was anxious to put all the

young men that were with him in employment; and as he dispatched

some one way, and some another, Crassus, on its falling to his

share to raise men among the Marsians, demanded a guard, being to

pass through the enemy's country, upon which Sylla replied

sharply, "I give you for guard your father, your brother, your

friends and kindred, whose unjust and cruel murder I am now going

to revenge;" and Crassus, being nettled, went his way, broke

boldly through the enemy, collected a considerable force, and in

all Sylla's wars acted with great zeal and courage. And in these

times and occasions, they say, began the emulation and rivalry for

glory between him and Pompey; for though Pompey was the younger

man, and had the disadvantage to be descended of a father that was

disesteemed by the citizens, and hated as much as ever man was,

yet in these actions he shone out, and was proved so great, that

Sylla always used, when he came in, to stand up and uncover his

head, an honor which he seldom showed to older men and his own

equals, and always saluted him Imperator. This fired and stung

Crassus, though, indeed, he could not with any fairness claim to

be preferred; for he both wanted experience, and his two innate

vices, sordidness and avarice, tarnished all the lustre of his

actions. For when he had taken Tudertia, a town of the Umbrians,

he converted, it was said, all the spoil to his own use, for which

he was complained of to Sylla. But in the last and greatest

battle before Rome itself, where Sylla was worsted, some of his

battalions giving ground, and others being quite broken, Crassus

got the victory on the right wing, which he commanded, and pursued

the enemy till night, and then sent to Sylla to acquaint him with

his success, and demand provision for his soldiers. In the time,

however, of the proscriptions and sequestrations, he lost his

repute again, by making great purchases for little or nothing, and

asking for grants. Nay, they say he proscribed one of the

Bruttians without Sylla's order, only for his own profit, and

that, on discovering this, Sylla never after trusted him in any

public affairs. As no man was more cunning than Crassus to

ensnare others by flattery, so no man lay more open to it, or

swallowed it more greedily than himself. And this particularly

was observed of him, that though he was the most covetous man in

the world, yet he habitually disliked and cried out against others

who were so.

It troubled him to see Pompey so successful in all his

undertakings; that he had had a triumph before he was capable to

sit in the senate, and that the people had surnamed him Magnus, or

the Great. When somebody was saying Pompey the Great was coming,

he smiled, and asked him, "How big is he?" Despairing to equal

him by feats of arms, he betook himself to civil life, where by

doing kindnesses, pleading, lending money, by speaking and

canvassing among the people for those who had objects to obtain

from them, he gradually gained as great honor and power as Pompey

had from his many famous expeditions. And it was a curious thing

in their rivalry, that Pompey's name and interest in the city was

greatest when he was absent, for his renown in war, but when

present he was often less successful than Crassus, by reason of

his superciliousness and haughty way of living, shunning crowds of

people, and appearing rarely in the forum, and assisting only some

few, and that not readily, that his interest might be the stronger

when he came to use it for himself. Whereas Crassus, being a

friend always at hand, ready to be had and easy of access, and

always with his hands full of other people's business, with his

freedom and courtesy, got the better of Pompey's formality. In

point of dignity of person, eloquence of language, and

attractiveness of countenance, they were pretty equally excellent.

But, however, this emulation never transported Crassus so far as

to make him bear enmity, or any ill-will; for though he was vexed

to see Pompey and Caesar preferred to him, yet he never minded any

hostility or malice with his jealousy; though Caesar when he was

taken captive by the corsairs in Asia, cried out, "O Crassus, how

glad you will be at the news of my captivity!" Afterwards they

lived together on friendly terms, for when Caesar was going

praetor into Spain, and his creditors, he being then in want of

money, came upon him and seized his equipage, Crassus then stood

by him and relieved him, and was his security for eight hundred

and thirty talents. And, in general, Rome being divided into

three great interests, those of Pompey, Caesar, and Crassus, (for

as for Cato, his fame was greater than his power, and he was

rather admired than followed,) the sober and quiet part were for

Pompey, the restless and hotheaded followed Caesar's ambition, but

Crassus trimmed between them, making advantages of both, and

changed sides continually, being neither a trusty friend nor an

implacable enemy, and easily abandoned both his attachments and

his animosities, as he found it for his advantage, so that in

short spaces of time, the same men and the same measures had him

both as their supporter and as their opponent. He was much liked,

but was feared as much or even more. At any rate, when Sicinius,

who was the greatest troubler of the magistrates and ministers of

his time, was asked how it was he let Crassus alone, "Oh," said

he, "he carries hay on his horns," alluding to the custom of tying

hay to the horns of a bull that used to butt, that people might

keep out of his way.

The insurrection of the gladiators and the devastation of Italy,

commonly called the war of Spartacus, began upon this occasion.

One Lentulus Batiates trained up a great many gladiators in Capua,

most of them Gauls and Thracians, who, not for any fault by them

committed, but simply through the cruelty of their master, were

kept in confinement for this object of fighting one with another.

Two hundred of these formed a plan to escape, but their plot being

discovered, those of them who became aware of it in time to

anticipate their master, being seventy-eight, got out of a cook's

shop chopping-knives and spits, and made their way through the

city, and lighting by the way on several wagons that were carrying

gladiator's arms to another city, they seized upon them and armed

themselves. And seizing upon a defensible place, they chose three

captains, of whom Spartacus was chief, a Thracian of one of the

nomad tribes, and a man not only of high spirit and valiant, but

in understanding, also, and in gentleness, superior to his

condition, and more of a Grecian than the people of his country

usually are. When he first came to be sold at Rome, they say a

snake coiled itself upon his face as he lay asleep, and his wife,

who at this latter time also accompanied him in his flight, his

country-woman, a kind of prophetess, and one of those possessed

with the bacchanal frenzy, declared that it was a sign portending

great and formidable power to him with no happy event.

First, then, routing those that came out of Capua against them,

and thus procuring a quantity of proper soldiers' arms, they

gladly threw away their own as barbarous and dishonorable.

Afterwards Clodius, the praetor, took the command against them

with a body of three thousand men from Rome, and besieged them

within a mountain, accessible only by one narrow and difficult

passage, which Clodius kept guarded, encompassed on all other

sides with steep and slippery precipices. Upon the top, however,

grew a great many wild vines, and cutting down as many of their

boughs as they had need of, they twisted them into strong ladders

long enough to reach from thence to the bottom, by which, without

any danger, they got down all but one, who stayed there to throw

them down their arms, and after this succeeded in saving himself.

The Romans were ignorant of all this, and, therefore, coming upon

them in the rear, they assaulted them unawares and took their

camp. Several, also, of the shepherds and herdsman that were

there, stout and nimble fellows, revolted over to them, to some of

whom they gave complete arms, and made use of others as scouts and

light-armed soldiers. Publius Varinus, the praetor, was now sent

against them, whose lieutenant, Furius, with two thousand men,

they fought and routed. Then Cossinius was sent, with

considerable forces, to give his assistance and advice, and him

Spartacus missed but very little of capturing in person, as he was

bathing at Salinae; for he with great difficulty made his escape,

while Spartacus possessed himself of his baggage, and following

the chase with a great slaughter, stormed his camp and took it,

where Cossinius himself was slain. After many successful

skirmishes with the praetor himself, in one of which he took his

lictors and his own horse, he began to be great and terrible; but

wisely considering that he was not to expect to match the force of

the empire, he marched his army towards the Alps, intending, when

he had passed them, that every man should go to his own home, some

to Thrace, some to Gaul. But they, grown confident in their

numbers, and puffed up with their success, would give no obedience

to him, but went about and ravaged Italy; so that now the senate

was not only moved at the indignity and baseness, both of the

enemy and of the insurrection, but, looking upon it as a matter of

alarm and of dangerous consequence, sent out both the consuls to

it, as to a great and difficult enterprise. The consul Gellius,

falling suddenly upon a party of Germans, who through contempt and

confidence had straggled from Spartacus, cut them all to pieces.

But when Lentulus with a large army besieged Spartacus, he sallied

out upon him, and, joining battle, defeated his chief officers,

and captured all his baggage. As he made toward the Alps,

Cassius, who was praetor of that part of Gaul that lies about the

Po, met him with ten thousand men, but being overcome in battle,

he had much ado to escape himself, with the loss of a great many

of his men.

When the senate understood this, they were displeased at the

consuls, and ordering them to meddle no further, they appointed

Crassus general of the war, and a great many of the nobility went

volunteers with him, partly out of friendship, and partly to get

honor. He stayed himself on the borders of Picenum, expecting

Spartacus would come that way, and sent his lieutenant, Mummius,

with two legions, to wheel about and observe the enemy's motions,

but upon no account to engage or skirmish. But he, upon the first

opportunity, joined battle, and was routed, having a great many

of his men slain, and a great many only saving their lives, with

the loss of their arms. Crassus rebuked Mummius severely, and

arming the soldiers again, he made them find sureties for their

arms, that they would part with them no more, and five hundred

that were the beginners of the flight, he divided into fifty tens,

and one of each was to die by lot, thus reviving the ancient Roman

punishment of decimation, where ignominy is added to the penalty

of death, with a variety of appalling and terrible circumstances,

presented before the eyes of the whole army, assembled as

spectators. When he had thus reclaimed his men, he led them

against the enemy; but Spartacus retreated through Lucania toward

the sea, and in the straits meeting with some Cilician pirate

ships, he had thoughts of attempting Sicily, where, by landing two

thousand men, he hoped to new kindle the war of the slaves, which

was but lately extinguished, and seemed to need but a little fuel

to set it burning again. But after the pirates had struck a

bargain with him, and received his earnest, they deceived him and

sailed away. He thereupon retired again from the sea, and

established his army in the peninsula of Rhegium; there Crassus

came upon him, and considering the nature of the place, which of

itself suggested the undertaking, he set to work to build a wall

across the isthmus; thus keeping his soldiers at once from

idleness, and his foes from forage. This great and difficult work

he perfected in a space of time short beyond all expectation,

making a ditch from one sea to the other, over the neck of land,

three hundred furlongs long, fifteen feet broad, and as much in

depth, and above it built a wonderfully high and strong wall. All

which Spartacus at first slighted and despised, but when

provisions began to fail, and on his proposing to pass further, he

found he was walled in, and no more was to be had in the

peninsula, taking the opportunity of a snowy, stormy night, he

filled up part of the ditch with earth and boughs of trees, and so

passed the third part of his army over.

Crassus was afraid lest he should march directly to Rome, but was

soon eased of that fear when he saw many of his men break out in a

mutiny and quit him, and encamp by themselves upon the Lucanian

lake. This lake they say changes at intervals of time, and is

sometimes sweet, and sometimes so salt that it cannot be drunk.

Crassus falling upon these beat them from the lake, but he could

not pursue the slaughter, because of Spartacus suddenly coming up,

and checking the flight. Now he began to repent that he had

previously written to the senate to call Lucullus out of Thrace,

and Pompey out of Spain; so that he did all he could to finish the

war before they came, knowing that the honor of the action would

redound to him that came to his assistance. Resolving, therefore,

first to set upon those that had mutinied and encamped apart, whom

Caius Cannicius and Castus commanded, he sent six thousand men

before to secure a little eminence, and to do it as privately as

possible, which that they might do, they covered their helmets,

but being discovered by two women that were sacrificing for the

enemy, they had been in great hazard, had not Crassus immediately

appeared, and engaged in a battle which proved a most bloody one.

Of twelve thousand three hundred whom he killed, two only were

found wounded in their backs, the rest all having died standing in

their ranks, and fighting bravely. Spartacus, after this

discomfiture, retired to the mountains of Petelia, but Quintius,

one of Crassus's officers, and Scrofa, the quaestor, pursued and

overtook him. But when Spartacus rallied and faced them, they

were utterly routed and fled, and had much ado to carry off their

quaestor, who was wounded. This success, however, ruined

Spartacus, because it encouraged the slaves, who now disdained any

longer to avoid fighting, or to obey their officers, but as they

were upon their march, they came to them with their swords in

their hand, and compelled them to lead them back again through

Lucania, against the Romans, the very thing which Crassus was

eager for. For news was already brought that Pompey was at hand;

and people began to talk openly, that the honor of this war was

reserved for him, who would come and at once oblige the enemy to

fight and put an end to the war. Crassus, therefore, eager to

fight a decisive battle, encamped very near the enemy, and began

to make lines of circumvallation; but the slaves made a sally, and

attacked the pioneers. As fresh supplies came in on either side,

Spartacus, seeing there was no avoiding it, set all his army in

array, and when his horse was brought him, he drew out his sword

and killed him, saying, if he got the day, he should have a great

many better horses of the enemies, and if he lost it, he should

have no need of this. And so making directly towards Crassus

himself, through the midst of arms and wounds, he missed him, hut

slew two centurions that fell upon him together. At last being

deserted by those that were about him, he himself stood his

ground, and, surrounded by the enemy, bravely defending himself,

was cut in pieces. But though Crassus had good fortune, and not

only did the part of a good general, but gallantly exposed his

person, yet Pompey had much of the credit of the action. For he

met with many of the fugitives, and slew them, and wrote to the

senate that Crassus indeed had vanquished the slaves in a pitched

battle, but that he had put an end to the war. Pompey was honored

with a magnificent triumph for his conquest over Sertorius and

Spain, while Crassus could not himself so much as desire a triumph

in its full form, and indeed it was thought to look but meanly in

him to accept of the lesser honor, called the ovation, for a

servile war, and perform a procession on foot. The difference

between this and the other, and the origin of the name, are

explained in the life of Marcellus.

And Pompey being immediately invited to the consulship, Crassus,

who had hoped to be joined with him, did not scruple to request

his assistance. Pompey most readily seized the opportunity, as he

desired by all means to lay some obligation upon Crassus, and

zealously promoted his interest; and at last he declared in one of

his speeches to the people, that he should be not less beholden to

them for his colleague, than for the honor of his own appointment.

But once entered upon the employment, this amity continued not

long; but differing almost in everything, disagreeing,

quarreling, and contending, they spent the time of their

consulship, without effecting any measure of consequence, except

that Crassus made a great sacrifice to Hercules, and feasted the

people at ten thousand tables, and measured them out corn for

three months. When their command was now ready to expire, and

they were, as it happened addressing the people, a Roman knight,

one Onatius Aurelius, an ordinary private person, living in the

country, mounted the hustings, and declared a vision he had in his

sleep: "Jupiter," said he, "appeared to me, and commanded me to

tell you, that you should not suffer your consuls to lay down

their charge before they are made friends." When he had spoken,

the people cried out that they should be reconciled. Pompey stood

still and said nothing, but Crassus, first offering him his hand,

said, "I cannot think, my countrymen, that I do any thing

humiliating or unworthy of myself, if I make the first offers of

accommodation and friendship with Pompey, whom you yourselves

styled the Great, before he was of man's estate, and decreed him a

triumph before he was capable of sitting in the senate."

This is what was memorable in Crassus's consulship, but as for his

censorship, that was altogether idle and inactive, for he neither

made a scrutiny of the senate, nor took a review of the horsemen,

nor a census of the people, though he had as mild a man as could

be desired for his colleague, Lutatius Catulus. It is said,

indeed, that when Crassus intended a violent and unjust measure,

which was the reducing Egypt to be tributary to Rome, Catulus

strongly opposed it, and falling out about it, they laid down

their office by consent. In the great conspiracy of Catiline,

which was very near subverting the government, Crassus was not

without some suspicion of being concerned, and one man came

forward and declared him to be in the plot; but nobody credited

him. Yet Cicero, in one of his orations, clearly charges both

Crassus and Caesar with the guilt of it, though that speech was

not published till they were both dead. But in his speech upon

his consulship, he declares that Crassus came to him by night, and

brought a letter concerning Catiline, stating the details of the

conspiracy. Crassus hated him ever after, but was hindered by his

son from doing him any open injury; for Publius was a great lover

of learning and eloquence, and a constant follower of Cicero,

insomuch that he put himself into mourning when he was accused,

and induced the other young men to do the same. And at last he

reconciled him to his father.

Caesar now returning from his command, and designing to get the

consulship, and seeing that Crassus and Pompey were again at

variance, was unwilling to disoblige one by making application to

the other, and despaired of success without the help of one of

them; he therefore made it his business to reconcile them, making

it appear that by weakening each other's influence they were

promoting the interest of the Ciceros, the Catuli, and the Catos,

who would really be of no account if they would join their

interests and their factions, and act together in public with one

policy and one united power. And so reconciling them by his

persuasions, out of the three parties he set up one irresistible

power, which utterly subverted the government both of senate and

people. Not that he made either Pompey or Crassus greater than

they were before, but by their means made himself greatest of all;

for by the help of the adherents of both, he was at once

gloriously declared consul, which office when he administered with

credit, they decreed him the command of an army, and allotted him

Gaul for his province, and so placed him as it were in the

citadel, not doubting but they should divide the rest at their

pleasure between themselves, when they had confirmed him in his

allotted command. Pompey was actuated in all this by an

immoderate desire of ruling, but Crassus, adding to his old

disease of covetousness, a new passion after trophies and

triumphs, emulous of Caesar's exploits, not content to be beneath

him in these points, though above him in all others, could not be

at rest, till it ended in an ignominious overthrow, and a public

calamity. When Caesar came out of Gaul to Lucca, a great many

went thither from Rome to meet him. Pompey and Crassus had

various conferences with him in secret, in which they came to the

resolution to proceed to still more decisive steps, and to get the

whole management of affairs into their hands, Caesar to keep his

army, and Pompey and Crassus to obtain new ones and new provinces.

To effect all which there was but one way, the getting the

consulate a second time, which they were to stand for, and Caesar

to assist them by writing to his friends, and sending many of his

soldiers to vote.

But when they returned to Rome, their design was presently

suspected, and a report was soon spread that this interview had

been for no good. When Marcellinus and Domitius asked Pompey in

the senate if he intended to stand for the consulship, he

answered, perhaps he would, perhaps not; and being urged again,

replied, he would ask it of the honest citizens, but not of the

dishonest. Which answer appearing too haughty and arrogant,

Crassus said, more modestly, that he would desire it if it might

be for the advantage of the public, otherwise he would decline it.

Upon this some others took confidence and came forward as

candidates, among them Domitius. But when Pompey and Crassus now

openly appeared for it, the rest were afraid and drew back; only

Cato encouraged Domitius, who was his friend and relation, to

proceed, exciting him to persist, as though he was now defending

the public liberty, as these men, he said, did not so much aim at

the consulate, as at arbitrary government, and it was not a

petition for office, but a seizure of provinces and armies. Thus

spoke and thought Cato, and almost forcibly compelled Domitius to

appear in the forum, where many sided with them. For there was,

indeed, much wonder and question among the people, "Why should

Pompey and Crassus want another consulship? and why they two

together, and not with some third person? We have a great many men

not unworthy to be fellow-consuls with either the one or the

other." Pompey's party, being apprehensive of this, committed all

manner of indecencies and violences, and amongst other things lay

in wait for Domitius, as he was coming thither before daybreak

with his friends; his torchbearer they killed, and wounded several

others, of whom Cato was one. And these being beaten back and

driven into a house, Pompey and Crassus were proclaimed consuls.

Not long after, they surrounded the house with armed men, thrust

Cato out of the forum, killed some that made resistance, and

decreed Caesar his command for five years longer, and provinces

for themselves, Syria, and both the Spains, which being divided by

lots, Syria fell to Crassus, and the Spains to Pompey.

All were well pleased with the chance, for the people were

desirous that Pompey should not go far from the city, and he,

being extremely fond of his wife, was very glad to continue there;

but Crassus was so transported with his fortune, that it was

manifest he thought he had never had such good luck befall him as

now, so that he had much to do to contain himself before company

and strangers; but amongst his private friends he let fall many

vain and childish words, which were unworthy of his age, and

contrary to his usual character, for he had been very little given

to boasting hitherto. But then being strangely puffed up, and his

head heated, he would not limit his fortune with Parthia and

Syria; but looking on the actions of Lucullus against Tigranes and

the exploits of Pompey against Mithridates as but child's play, he

proposed to himself in his hopes to pass as far as Bactria and

India, and the utmost ocean. Not that he was called upon by the

decree which appointed him to his office to undertake any

expedition against the Parthians, but it was well known that he

was eager for it, and Caesar wrote to him out of Gaul, commending

his resolution, and inciting him to the war. And when Ateius, the

tribune of the people, designed to stop his journey, and many

others murmured that one man should undertake a war against a

people that had done them no injury, and were at amity with them,

he desired Pompey to stand by him and accompany him out of the

town, as he had a great name amongst the common people. And when

several were ready prepared to interfere and raise an outcry,

Pompey appeared with a pleasing countenance, and so mollified the

people, that they let Crassus pass quietly. Ateius, however, met

him, and first by word of mouth warned and conjured him not to

proceed, and then commanded his attendant officer to seize him and

detain him; but the other tribunes not permitting it, the officer

released Crassus. Ateius, therefore, running to the gate, when

Crassus was come thither, set down a chafing-dish with lighted

fire in it, and burning incense and pouring libations on it,

cursed him with dreadful imprecations, calling upon and naming

several strange and horrible deities. In the Roman belief there

is so much virtue in these sacred and ancient rites, that no man

can escape the effects of them, and that the utterer himself

seldom prospers; so that they are not often made use of, and but

upon a great occasion. And Ateius was blamed at the time for

resorting to them, as the city itself, in whose cause he used

them, would be the first to feel the ill effects of these curses

and supernatural terrors.

Crassus arrived at Brundusium, and though the sea was very rough,

he had not patience to wait, but went on board, and lost many of

his ships. With the remnant of his army he marched rapidly

through Galatia, where meeting with king Deiotarus, who, though he

was very old, was about building a new city, Crassus scoffingly

told him, "Your majesty begins to build at the twelfth hour."

"Neither do you," said he, "O general, undertake your Parthian

expedition very early." For Crassus was then sixty years old, and

he seemed older than he was. At his first coming, things went as

he would have them, for he made a bridge over Euphrates without

much difficulty, and passed over his army in safety, and occupied

many cities of Mesopotamia, which yielded voluntarily. But a

hundred of his men were killed in one, in which Apollonius was

tyrant; therefore, bringing his forces against it, he took it by

storm, plundered the goods, and sold the inhabitants. The Greeks

call this city Zenodotia, upon the taking of which, he permitted

the army to salute him Imperator, but this was very ill thought

of, and it looked as if he despaired a nobler achievement, that he

made so much of this little success. Putting garrisons of seven

thousand foot and one thousand horse in the new conquests, he

returned to take up his winter quarters in Syria, where his son

was to meet him coming from Caesar out of Gaul, decorated with

rewards for his valor, and bringing with him one thousand select

horse. Here Crassus seemed to commit his first error, and except,

indeed, the whole expedition, his greatest; for, whereas he ought

to have gone forward and seized Babylon and Seleucia, cities that

were ever at enmity with the Parthians, he gave the enemy time to

provide against him. Besides, he spent his time in Syria more

like an usurer than a general, not in taking an account of the

arms, and in improving the skill and discipline of his soldiers,

but in computing the revenue of the cities, wasting many days in

weighing by scale and balance the treasure that was in the temple

of Hierapolis, issuing requisitions for levies of soldiers upon

particular towns and kingdoms, and then again withdrawing them on

payment of sums of money, by which he lost his credit and became

despised. Here, too, he met with the first ill-omen from that

goddess, whom some call Venus, others Juno, others Nature, or the

Cause that produces out of moisture the first principles and seeds

of all things, and gives mankind their earliest knowledge of all

that is good for them. For as they were going out of the temple,

young Crassus stumbled, and his father fell upon him.

When he drew his army out of winter quarters, ambassadors came to

him from Arsaces, with this short speech: If the army was sent

by the people of Rome, he denounced mortal war, but if, as he

understood was the case, against the consent of his country,

Crassus for his own private profit had invaded his territory, then

their king would be more merciful, and taking pity upon Crassus's

dotage, would send those soldiers back, who had been left not so

truly to keep guard on him as to be his prisoners. Crassus

boastfully told them he would return his answer at Seleucia, upon

which Vagises, the eldest of them, laughed and showed the palm of

his hand, saying, "Hail will grow here before you will see

Seleucia;" so they returned to their king, Hyrodes, telling him it

was war. Several of the Romans that were in garrison in

Mesopotamia with great hazard made their escape, and brought word

that the danger was worth consideration, urging their own

eye-witness of the numbers of the enemy, and the manner of their

fighting, when they assaulted their towns; and, as men's manner

is, made all seem greater than really it was. By flight it was

impossible to escape them, and as impossible to overtake them when

they fled, and they had a new and strange sort of darts, as swift

as sight, for they pierced whatever they met with, before you

could see who threw; their men-at-arms were so provided that their

weapons would cut through anything, and their armor give way to

nothing. All which when the soldiers heard, their hearts failed

them; for till now they thought there was no difference between

the Parthians and the Armenians or Cappadocians, whom Lucullus

grew weary with plundering, and had been persuaded that the main

difficulty of the war consisted only in the tediousness of the

march, and the trouble of chasing men that durst not come to

blows, so that the danger of a battle was beyond their

expectation; accordingly, some of the officers advised Crassus to

proceed no further at present, but reconsider the whole

enterprise, amongst whom in particular was Cassius, the quaestor.

The soothsayers, also, told him privately the signs found in the

sacrifices were continually adverse and unfavorable. But he paid

no heed to them, or to anybody who gave any other advice than to

proceed. Nor did Artabazes, king of Armenia, confirm him a

little, who came to his aid with six thousand horse; who, however,

were said to be only the king's life-guard and suite, for he

promised ten thousand cuirassiers more, and thirty thousand foot,

at his own charge. He urged Crassus to invade Parthia by the way

of Armenia, for not only would he be able there to supply his army

with abundant provision, which he would give him, but his passage

would be more secure in the mountains and hills, with which the

whole country was covered, making it almost impassable to horse,

in which the main strength of the Parthians consisted. Crassus

returned him but cold thanks for his readiness to serve him, and

for the splendor of his assistance, and told him he was resolved

to pass through Mesopotamia, where he had left a great many brave

Roman soldiers; whereupon the Armenian went his way. As Crassus

was taking the army over the river at Zeugma, he encountered

preternaturally violent thunder, and the lightning flashed in the

faces of the troops, and during the storm a hurricane broke upon

the bridge, and carried part of it away; two thunderbolts fell

upon the very place where the army was going to encamp; and one of

the general's horses, magnificently caparisoned, dragged away the

groom into the river and was drowned. It is said, too, that when

they went to take up the first standard, the eagle of itself

turned its head backward; and after he had passed over his army,

as they were distributing provisions, the first thing they gave

was lentils and salt, which with the Romans are the food proper to

funerals, and are offered to the dead. And as Crassus was

haranguing his soldiers, he let fall a word which was thought very

ominous in the army; for "I am going," he said, "to break down the

bridge, that none of you may return;" and whereas he ought, when

he had perceived his blunder, to have corrected himself, and

explained his meaning, seeing the men alarmed at the expression,

he would not do it out of mere stubbornness. And when at the last

general sacrifice the priest gave him the entrails, they slipped out

of his hand, and when he saw the standers-by concerned at it, he

laughed and said, "See what it is to be an old man; but I shall

hold my sword fast enough."

So he marched his army along the river with seven legions, little

less than four thousand horse, and as many light-armed soldiers,

and the scouts returning declared that not one man appeared, but

that they saw the footing of a great many horses which seemed to

be retiring in flight, whereupon Crassus conceived great hopes,

and the Romans began to despise the Parthians, as men that would

not come to combat, hand to hand. But Cassius spoke with him

again, and advised him to refresh his army in some of the garrison

towns, and remain there till they could get some certain

intelligence of the enemy, or at least to make toward Seleucia,

and keep by the river, that so they might have the convenience of

having provision constantly supplied by the boats, which might

always accompany the army, and the river would secure them from

being environed, and, if they should fight, it might be upon equal

terms.

While Crassus was still considering, and as yet undetermined,

there came to the camp an Arab chief named Ariamnes, a cunning and

wily fellow, who, of all the evil chances which combined to lead

them on to destruction, was the chief and the most fatal. Some of

Pompey's old soldiers knew him, and remembered him to have

received some kindnesses of Pompey, and to have been looked upon

as a friend to the Romans, but he was now suborned by the king's

generals, and sent to Crassus to entice him if possible from the

river and hills into the wide open plain, where he might be

surrounded. For the Parthians desired anything, rather than to

be obliged to meet the Romans face to face. He, therefore, coming

to Crassus, (and he had a persuasive tongue,) highly commended

Pompey as his benefactor, and admired the forces that Crassus had

with him, but seemed to wonder why he delayed and made

preparations, as if he should not use his feet more than any arms,

against men that, taking with them their best goods and chattels,

had designed long ago to fly for refuge to the Scythians or

Hyrcanians. "If you meant to fight, you should have made all

possible haste, before the king should recover courage, and

collect his forces together; at present you see Surena and

Sillaces opposed to you, to draw you off in pursuit of them, while

the king himself keeps out of the way." But this was all a lie,

for Hyrodes had divided his army in two parts, with one he in

person wasted Armenia, revenging himself upon Artavasdes, and sent

Surena against the Romans, not out of contempt, as some pretend,

for there is no likelihood that he should despise Crassus, one of

the chiefest men of Rome, to go and fight with Artavasdes, and

invade Armenia; but much more probably he really apprehended the

danger, and therefore waited to see the event, intending that

Surena should first run the hazard of a battle, and draw the enemy

on. Nor was this Surena an ordinary person, but in wealth,

family, and reputation, the second man in the kingdom, and in

courage and prowess the first, and for bodily stature and beauty

no man like him. Whenever he traveled privately, he had one

thousand camels to carry his baggage, two hundred chariots for his

concubines, one thousand completely armed men for his life-guards,

and a great many more light-armed; and he had at least ten

thousand horsemen altogether, of his servants and retinue. The

honor had long belonged to his family, that at the king's

coronation he put the crown upon his head, and when this very king

Hyrodes had been exiled, he brought him in; it was he, also, that

took the great city of Seleucia, was the first man that scaled the

walls, and with his own hand beat off the defenders. And though

at this time he was not above thirty years old, he had a great

name for wisdom and sagacity, and, indeed, by these qualities

chiefly, he overthrew Crassus, who first through his overweening

confidence, and afterwards because he was cowed by his calamities,

fell a ready victim to his subtlety. When Ariamnes had thus

worked upon him, he drew him from the river into vast plains, by a

way that at first was pleasant and easy, but afterwards very

troublesome by reason of the depth of the sand; no tree, nor any

water, and no end of this to be seen; so that they were not only

spent with thirst, and the difficulty of the passage, but were

dismayed with the uncomfortable prospect of not a bough, not a

stream, not a hillock, not a green herb, but in fact a sea of

sand, which encompassed the army with its waves. They began to

suspect some treachery, and at the same time came messengers from

Artavasdes, that he was fiercely attacked by Hyrodes, who had

invaded his country, so that now it was impossible for him to send

any succors, and that he therefore advised Crassus to turn back,

and with joint forces to give Hyrodes battle, or at least that he

should march and encamp where horses could not easily come, and

keep to the mountains. Crassus, out of anger and perverseness,

wrote him no answer, but told them, at present he was not at

leisure to mind the Armenians, but he would call upon them another

time, and revenge himself upon Artavasdes for his treachery.

Cassius and his friends began again to complain, but when they

perceived that it merely displeased Crassus, they gave over, but

privately railed at the barbarian, "What evil genius, O thou worst

of men, brought thee to our camp, and with what charms and potions

hast thou bewitched Crassus, that he should march his army through

a vast and deep desert, through ways which are rather fit for a

captain of Arabian robbers, than for the general of a Roman army?"

But the barbarian being a wily fellow, very submissively exhorted

them, and encouraged them to sustain it a little further, and ran

about the camp, and, professing to cheer up the soldiers, asked

them, jokingly, "What, do you think you march through Campania,

expecting everywhere to find springs, and shady trees, and baths,

and inns of entertainment? Consider you now travel through the

confines of Arabia and Assyria." Thus he managed them like

children, and before the cheat was discovered, he rode away; not

but that Crassus was aware of his going, but he had persuaded him

that he would go and contrive how to disorder the affairs of the

enemy.

It is related that Crassus came abroad that day not in his scarlet

robe, which Roman generals usually wear, but in a black one,

which, as soon as he perceived, he changed. And the

standard-bearers had much ado to take up their eagles, which

seemed to be fixed to the place. Crassus laughed at it, and

hastened their march, and compelled his infantry to keep pace with

his cavalry, till some few of the scouts returned and told them

that their fellows were slain and they hardly escaped, that the

enemy was at hand in full force, and resolved to give them battle.

On this all was in an uproar; Crassus was struck with amazement,

and for haste could scarcely put his army in good order. First,

as Cassius advised, he opened their ranks and files that they

might take up as much space as could be, to prevent their being

surrounded, and distributed the horse upon the wings, but

afterwards changing his mind, he drew up his army in a square, and

made a front every way, each of which consisted of twelve cohorts,

to every one of which he allotted a troop of horse, that no part

might be destitute of the assistance that the horse might give,

and that they might be ready to assist everywhere, as need should

require. Cassius commanded one of the wings, young Crassus the

other, and he himself was in the middle. Thus they marched on

till they came to a little river named Balissus, a very

inconsiderable one in itself, but very grateful to the soldiers,

who had suffered so much by drought and heat all along their

march. Most of the commanders were of the opinion that they ought

to remain there that night, and to inform themselves as much as

possible of the number of the enemies, and their order, and so

march against them at break of day; but Crassus was so carried

away by the eagerness of his son, and the horsemen that were with

him, who desired and urged him to lead them on and engage, that he

commanded those that had a mind to it to eat and drink as they

stood in their ranks, and before they had all well done, he led

them on, not leisurely and with halts to take breath, as if he was

going to battle, but kept on his pace as if he had been in haste,

till they saw the enemy, contrary to their expectation, neither so

many nor so magnificently armed as the Romans expected. For

Surena had hid his main force behind the first ranks, and ordered

them to hide the glittering of their armor with coats and skins.

But when they approached and the general gave the signal,

immediately all the field rung with a hideous noise and terrible

clamor. For the Parthians do not encourage themselves to war with

cornets and trumpets, but with a kind of kettle-drum, which they

strike all at once in various quarters. With these they make a

dead hollow noise like the bellowing of beasts, mixed with sounds

resembling thunder, having, it would seem, very correctly

observed, that of all our senses hearing most confounds and

disorders us, and that the feelings excited through it most

quickly disturb, and most entirely overpower the understanding.

When they had sufficiently terrified the Romans with their noise,

they threw off the covering of their armor, and shone like

lightning in their breastplates and helmets of polished Margianian

steel, and with their horses covered with brass and steel

trappings. Surena was the tallest and finest looking man himself,

but the delicacy of his looks and effeminacy of his dress did not

promise so much manhood as he really was master of; for his face

was painted, and his hair parted after the fashion of the Medes,

whereas the other Parthians made a more terrible appearance, with

their shaggy hair gathered in a mass upon their foreheads after

the Scythian mode. Their first design was with their lances to

beat down and force back the first ranks of the Romans, but when

they perceived the depth of their battle, and that the soldiers

firmly kept their ground, they made a retreat, and pretending to

break their order and disperse, they encompassed the Roman square

before they were aware of it. Crassus commanded his light-armed

soldiers to charge, but they had not gone far before they were

received with such a shower of arrows that they were glad to

retire amongst the heavy-armed, with whom this was the first

occasion of disorder and terror, when they perceived the strength

and force of their darts, which pierced their arms, and passed

through every kind of covering, hard and soft alike. The

Parthians now placing themselves at distances began to shoot from

all sides, not aiming at any particular mark, (for, indeed, the

order of the Romans was so close, that they could not miss if they

would,) but simply sent their arrows with great force out of

strong bent bows, the strokes from which came with extreme

violence. The position of the Romans was a very bad one from the

first; for if they kept their ranks, they were wounded, and if

they tried to charge, they hurt the enemy none the more, and

themselves suffered none the less. For the Parthians threw their

darts as they fled, an art in which none but the Scythians excel

them, and it is, indeed, a cunning practice, for while they thus

fight to make their escape, they avoid the dishonor of a flight.

However, the Romans had some comfort to think that when they had

spent all their arrows, they would either give over or come to

blows; but when they presently understood that there were numerous

camels loaded with arrows, and that when the first ranks had

discharged those they had, they wheeled off and took more, Crassus

seeing no end of it, was out of all heart, and sent to his son

that he should endeavor to fall in upon them before he was quite

surrounded; for the enemy advanced most upon that quarter, and

seemed to be trying to ride round and come upon the rear.

Therefore the young man, taking with him thirteen hundred horse,

one thousand of which he had from Caesar, five hundred archers,

and eight cohorts of the full-armed soldiers that stood next him,

led them up with design to charge the Parthians. Whether it was

that they found themselves in a piece of marshy ground, as some

think, or else designing to entice young Crassus as far as they

could from his father, they turned and began to fly; whereupon he

crying out that they durst not stand, pursued them, and with him

Censorinus and Megabacchus, both famous, the latter for his

courage and prowess, the other for being of a senator's family,

and an excellent orator, both intimates of Crassus, and of about

the same age. The horse thus pushing on, the infantry stayed

little behind, being exalted with hopes and joy, for they supposed

they had already conquered, and now were only pursuing; till when

they were gone too far, they perceived the deceit, for they that

seemed to fly, now turned again, and a great many fresh ones came

on. Upon this they made an halt, for they doubted not but now the

enemy would attack them, because they were so few. But they

merely placed their cuirassiers to face the Romans, and with the

rest of their horse rode about scouring the field, and thus

stirring up the sand, they raised such a dust that the Romans

could neither see nor speak to one another, and being driven in

upon one another in one close body, they were thus hit and killed,

dying, not by a quick and easy death, but with miserable pains and

convulsions; for writhing upon the darts in their bodies, they

broke them in their wounds, and when they would by force pluck out

the barbed points, they caught the nerves and veins, so that they

tore and tortured themselves. Many of them died thus, and those

that survived were disabled for any service, and when Publius

exhorted them to charge the cuirassiers, they showed him their

hands nailed to their shields, and their feet stuck to the ground,

so that they could neither fly nor fight. He charged in himself

boldly, however, with his horse, and came to close quarters with

them, but was very unequal, whether as to the offensive or

defensive part; for with his weak and little javelins, he struck

against targets that were of tough raw hides and iron, whereas the

lightly clad bodies of his Gaulish horsemen were exposed to the

strong spears of the enemy. For upon these he mostly depended,

and with them he wrought wonders; for they would catch hold of the

great spears, and close upon the enemy, and so pull them off from

their horses, where they could scarce stir by reason of the

heaviness of their armor, and many of the Gauls quitting their own

horses, would creep under those of the enemy, and stick them in

the belly; which, growing unruly with the pain, trampled upon

their riders and upon the enemies promiscuously. The Gauls were

chiefly tormented by the heat and drought being not accustomed to

either, and most of their horses were slain by being spurred on

against the spears, so that they were forced to retire among the

foot, bearing off Publius grievously wounded. Observing a sandy

hillock not far off, they made to it, and tying their horses to

one another, and placing them in the midst, and joining all their

shields together before them, they thought they might make some

defense against the barbarians. But it fell out quite contrary,

for when they were drawn up in a plain, the front in some measure

secured those that were behind; but when they were upon the hill,

one being of necessity higher up than another, none were in

shelter, but all alike stood equally exposed, bewailing their

inglorious and useless fate. There were with Publius two Greeks

that lived near there at Carrhae, Hieronymus and Nicomachus; these

men urged him to retire with them and fly to Ichnae, a town not

far from thence, and friendly to the Romans. "No," said he,

"there is no death so terrible, for the fear of which Publius

would leave his friends that die upon his account;" and bidding

them to take care of themselves, he embraced them and sent them

away, and, because he could not use his arm, for he was run

through with a dart, he opened his side to his armor-bearer, and

commanded him to run him through. It is said that Censorinus fell

in the same manner. Megabacchus slew himself, as did also the

rest of best note. The Parthians coming upon the rest with their

lances, killed them fighting, nor were there above five hundred

taken prisoners. Cutting off the head of Publius, they rode off

directly towards Crassus.

His condition was thus. When he had commanded his son to fall

upon the enemy, and word was brought him that they fled and that

there was a distant pursuit, and perceiving also that the enemy

did not press upon him so hard as formerly, for they were mostly

gone to fall upon Publius, he began to take heart a little; and

drawing his army towards some sloping ground, expected when his

son would return from the pursuit. Of the messengers whom Publius

sent to him, (as soon as he saw his danger,) the first were

intercepted by the enemy, and slain; the last hardly escaping,

came and declared that Publius was lost, unless he had speedy

succors. Crassus was terribly distracted, not knowing what

counsel to take, and indeed no longer capable of taking any;

overpowered now by fear for the whole army, now by desire to help

his son. At last he resolved to move with his forces. Just upon

this, up came the enemy with their shouts and noises more terrible

than before, their drums sounding again in the ears of the Romans,

who now feared a fresh engagement. And they who brought Publius's

head upon the point of a spear, riding up near enough that it

could be known, scoffingly inquired where were his parents and

what family he was of, for it was impossible that so brave and

gallant a warrior should be the son of so pitiful a coward as

Crassus. This sight above all the rest dismayed the Romans, for

it did not incite them to anger as it might have done, but to

horror and trembling, though they say Crassus outdid himself in

this calamity, for he passed through the ranks and cried out to

them, "This, O my countrymen, is my own peculiar loss, but the

fortune and the glory of Rome is safe and untainted so long as you

are safe. But if any one be concerned for my loss of the best of

sons, let him show it in revenging him upon the enemy. Take away

their joy, revenge their cruelty, nor be dismayed at what is past;

for whoever tries for great objects must suffer something.

Neither did Lucullus overthrow Tigranes without bloodshed, nor

Scipio Antiochus; our ancestors lost one thousand ships about

Sicily, and how many generals and captains in Italy? no one of

which losses hindered them from overthrowing their conquerors; for

the State of Rome did not arrive to this height by fortune, but by

perseverance and virtue in confronting danger."

While Crassus thus spoke exhorting them, he saw but few that gave

much heed to him, and when he ordered them to shout for the

battle, he could no longer mistake the despondency of his army,

which made but a faint and unsteady noise, while the shout of the

enemy was clear and bold. And when they came to the business, the

Parthian servants and dependents riding about shot their arrows,

and the horsemen in the foremost ranks with their spears drove the

Romans close together, except those who rushed upon them for fear

of being killed by their arrows. Neither did these do much

execution, being quickly dispatched; for the strong thick spear

made large and mortal wounds, and often run through two men at

once. As they were thus fighting, the night coming on parted

them, the Parthians boasting that they would indulge Crassus with

one night to mourn his son, unless upon better consideration he

would rather go to Arsaces, than be carried to him. These,

therefore, took up their quarters near them, being flushed with

their victory. But the Romans had a sad night of it; for neither

taking care for the burial of their dead, nor the cure of the

wounded, nor the groans of the expiring, everyone bewailed his

own fate. For there was no means of escaping, whether they should

stay for the light, or venture to retreat into the vast desert in

the dark. And now the wounded men gave them new trouble, since to

take them with them would retard their flight, and if they should

leave them, they might serve as guides to the enemy by their

cries. However, they were all desirous to see and hear Crassus,

though they were sensible that he was the cause of all their

mischief. But he wrapped his cloak around him, and hid himself,

where he lay as an example, to ordinary minds, of the caprice of

fortune, but to the wise, of inconsiderateness and ambition; who,

not content to be superior to so many millions of men, being

inferior to two, esteemed himself as the lowest of all. Then came

Octavius, his lieutenant, and Cassius, to comfort him, but he

being altogether past helping, they themselves called together the

centurions and tribunes, and agreeing that the best way was to fly,

they ordered the army out, without sound of trumpet, and at first

with silence. But before long, when the disabled men found they

were left behind, strange confusion and disorder, with an outcry

and lamentation, seized the camp, and a trembling and dread

presently fell upon them, as if the enemy were at their heels. By

which means, now and then fuming out of their way, now and then

standing to their ranks, sometimes taking up the wounded that

followed, sometimes laying them down, they wasted the time, except

three hundred horse, whom Egnatius brought safe to Carrhae about

midnight; where calling, in the Roman tongue, to the watch, as

soon as they heard him, he bade them tell Coponius, the governor,

that Crassus had fought a very great battle with the Parthians;

and having said but this, and not so much as telling his name, he

rode away at full speed to Zeugma. And by this means he saved

himself and his men, but lost his reputation by deserting his

general. However, his message to Coponius was for the advantage

of Crassus; for he, suspecting by this hasty and confused delivery

of the message that all was not well, immediately ordered the

garrison to be in arms, and as soon as he understood that Crassus

was upon the way towards him, he went out to meet him, and

received him with his army into the town.

The Parthians, although they perceived their dislodgement in the

night, yet did not pursue them, but as soon as it was day, they

came upon those that were left in the camp, and put no less than

four thousand to the sword, and with their light; horse picked up

a great many stragglers. Varguntinus, the lieutenant, while it

was yet dark, had broken off from the main body with four cohorts

which had strayed out of the way; and the Parthians, encompassing

these on a small hill, slew every man of them excepting twenty,

who with their drawn swords forced their way through the thickest,

and they admiring their courage, opened their ranks to the right

and left, and let them pass without molestation to Carrhae.

Soon after a false report was brought to Surena, that Crassus,

with his principal officers, had escaped, and that those who were

got into Carrhae were but a confused rout of insignificant people,

not worth further pursuit. Supposing, therefore, that he had lost

the very crown and glory of his victory, and yet being uncertain

whether it were so or not, and anxious to ascertain the fact, that

so he should either stay and besiege Carrhae or follow Crassus, he

sent one of his interpreters to the walls, commanding him in Latin

to call for Crassus or Cassius, for that the general, Surena,

desired a conference. As soon as Crassus heard this, he embraced

the proposal, and soon after there came up a band of Arabians, who

very well knew the faces of Crassus and Cassius, as having been

frequently in the Roman camp before the battle. They having

espied Cassius from the wall, told him that Surena desired a

peace, and would give them safe convoy, if they would make a

treaty with the king his master, and withdraw all their troops out

of Mesopotamia; and this he thought most advisable for them both,

before things came to the last extremity; Cassius, embracing the

proposal, desired that a time and place might be appointed where

Crassus and Surena might have an interview. The Arabians, having

charged themselves with the message, went back to Surena, who wee

not a little rejoiced that Crassus was there to be besieged.

Next day, therefore, he came up with his army, insulting over the

Romans, and haughtily demanding of them Crassus and Cassius bound,

if they expected any mercy. The Romans, seeing themselves deluded

and mocked, were much troubled at it, but advising Crassus to lay

aside his distant and empty hopes of aid from the Armenians,

resolved to fly for it; and this design ought to have been kept

private, till they were upon their way, and not have been told to

any of the people of Carrhae. But Crassus let this also be known

to Andromachus, the most faithless of men, nay he was so

infatuated as to choose him for his guide. The Parthians then, to

be sure, had punctual intelligence of all that passed; but it

being contrary to their usage, and also difficult for them to

fight by night, and Crassus having chosen that time to set out,

Andromachus, lest he should get the start too far of his pursuers,

led him hither and thither, and at last conveyed him into the

midst of morasses and places full of ditches, so that the Romans

had a troublesome and perplexing journey of it, and some there

were who, supposing by these windings and turnings of Andromachus

that no good was intended, resolved to follow him no further. And

at last Cassius himself returned to Carrhae, and his guides, the

Arabians, advising him to tarry there till the moon was got out of

Scorpio, he told them that he was most afraid of Sagittarius, and

so with five hundred horse went off to Syria. Others there were,

who having got honest guides, took their way by the mountains

called Sinnaca, and got into places of security by daybreak; these

were five thousand under the command of Octavius, a very gallant

man. But Crassus fared worse; day overtook him still deceived by

Andromachus, and entangled in the fens and the difficult country.

There were with him four cohorts of legionary soldiers, a very few

horsemen, and five lictors, with whom having with great difficulty

got into the way, and not being a mile and a half from Octavius,

instead of going to join him, although the enemy were already upon

him, he retreated to another hill, neither so defensible nor

impassable for the horse, but lying under the hills of Sinnaca,

and continued so as to join them in a long ridge through the

plain. Octavius could see in what danger the general was, and

himself, at first but slenderly followed, hurried to the rescue.

Soon after, the rest, upbraiding one another with baseness in

forsaking their officers, marched down, and falling upon the

Parthians, drove them from the hill, and compassing Crassus about,

and fencing him with their shields, declared proudly, that no

arrow in Parthia should ever touch their general, so long as there

was a man of them left alive to protect him.

Surena, therefore, perceiving his soldiers less inclined to expose

themselves, and knowing that if the Romans should prolong the

battle till night, they might then gain the mountains and be out

of his reach, betook himself to his usual craft. Some of the

prisoners were set free, who had, as it was contrived, been in

hearing, while some of the barbarians spoke of a set purpose in

the camp to the effect that the king did not design the war to be

pursued to extremity against the Romans, but rather desired, by

his gentle treatment of Crassus, to make a step towards

reconciliation. And the barbarians desisted from fighting, and

Surena himself, with his chief officers, riding gently to the

hill, unbent his bow and held out his hand, inviting Crassus to an

agreement, and saying that it was beside the king's intentions,

that they had thus had experience of the courage and the strength

of his soldiers; that now he desired no other contention but that

of kindness and friendship, by making a truce, and permitting them

to go away in safety. These words of Surena the rest received

joyfully, and were eager to accept the offer; but Crassus, who had

had sufficient experience of their perfidiousness, and was unable

to see any reason for the sudden change, would give no ear to

them, and only took time to consider. But the soldiers cried out

and advised him to treat, and then went on to upbraid and affront

him, saying that it was very unreasonable that he should bring

them to fight with such men armed, whom himself, without their

arms, durst not look in the face. He tried first to prevail with

them by entreaties, and told them that if they would have patience

till evening, they might get into the mountains and passes,

inaccessible for horse, and be out of danger, and withal he

pointed out the way with his hand, entreating them not to abandon

their preservation, now close before them. But when they mutinied

and clashed their targets in a threatening manner, he was

overpowered and forced to go, and only turning about at parting,

said, "You, Octavius and Petronius, and the rest of the officers

who are present, see the necessity of going which I lie under, and

cannot but be sensible of the indignities and violence offered to

me. Tell all men when you have escaped, that Crassus perished

rather by the subtlety of his enemies, than by the disobedience of

his countrymen."

Octavius, however, would not stay there, but with Petronius went

down from the hill; as for the lictors, Crassus bade them be gone.

The first that met him were two half-blood Greeks, who, leaping

from their horses, made a profound reverence to Crassus, and

desired him, in Greek, to send some before him, who might see that

Surena himself was coming towards them, his retinue disarmed, and

not having so much as their wearing swords along with them. But

Crassus answered, that if he had the least concern for his life,

he would never have entrusted himself in their hands, but sent two

brothers of the name of Roscius, to inquire on what terms, and in

what numbers they should meet. These Surena ordered immediately

to be seized, and himself with his principal officers came up on

horseback, and greetings him, said, "How is this, then? A Roman

commander is on foot, whilst I and my train are mounted." But

Crassus replied, that there was no error committed on either side,

for they both met according to the custom of their own country.

Surena told him that from that time there was a league between the

king his master and the Romans, but that Crassus must go with him

to the river to sign it, "for you Romans," said he, "have not good

memories for conditions," and so saying, reached out his hand to

him. Crassus, therefore, gave order that one of his horses should

be brought; but Surena told him there was no need, "the king, my

master, presents you with this;" and immediately a horse with a

golden bit was brought up to him, and himself was forcibly put

into the saddle by the grooms, who ran by the side and struck the

horse to make the more haste. But Octavius running up, got hold

of the bridle, and soon after one of the officers, Petronius, and

the rest of the company came up, striving to stop the horse, and

pulling back those who on both sides of him forced Crassus

forward. Thus from pulling and thrusting one another, they came

to a tumult, and soon after to blows. Octavius, drawing his

sword, killed a groom of one of the barbarians, and one of them,

getting behind Octavius, killed him. Petronius was not armed, but

being struck on the breastplate, fell down from his horse, though

without hurt. Crassus was killed by a Parthian, called

Pomaxathres; others say, by a different man, and that Pomaxathres

only cut off his head and right hand after he had fallen. But

this is conjecture rather than certain knowledge, for those that

were by had not leisure to observe particulars, and were either

killed fighting about Crassus, or ran off at once to get to their

comrades on the hill. But the Parthians coming up to them, and

saying that Crassus had the punishment he justly deserved, and

that Surena bade the rest come down from the hill without fear,

some of them came down and surrendered themselves, others were

scattered up and down in the night, a very few of whom got safe

home, and others the Arabians, beating through the country, hunted

down and put to death. It is generally said, that in all twenty

thousand men were slain, and ten thousand taken prisoners.

Surena sent the head and hand of Crassus to Hyrodes, the king,

into Armenia, but himself by his messengers scattering a report

that he was bringing Crassus alive to Seleucia, made a ridiculous

procession, which by way of scorn, he called a triumph. For one

Caius Paccianus, who of all the prisoners was most like Crassus,

being put into a woman's dress of the fashion of the barbarians,

and instructed to answer to the title of Crassus and Imperator,

was brought sitting upon his horse, while before him went a parcel

of trumpeters and lictors upon camels. Purses were hung at the

end of the bundles of rods, and the heads of the slain fresh

bleeding at the end of their axes. After them followed the

Seleucian singing women, repeating scurrilous and abusive songs

upon the effeminacy and cowardliness of Crassus. This show was

seen by everybody; but Surena, calling together the senate of

Seleucia, laid before them certain wanton books, of the writings

of Aristides, the Milesian; neither, indeed, was this any

forgery, for they had been found among the baggage of Rustius, and

were a good subject to supply Surena with insulting remarks upon

the Romans, who were not able even in the time of war to forget

such writings and practices. But the people of Seleucia had

reason to commend the wisdom of Aesop's fable of the wallet,

seeing their general Surena carrying a bag full of loose Milesian

stories before him, but keeping behind him a whole Parthian

Sybaris in his many wagons full of concubines; like the vipers and

asps people talk of, all the foremost and more visible parts

fierce and terrible with spears and arrows and horsemen, but the

rear terminating in loose women and castanets, music of the lute,

and midnight revellings. Rustius, indeed, is not to be excused,

but the Parthians had forgot, when they mocked at the Milesian

stories, that many of the royal line of their Arsacidae had been

born of Milesian and Ionian mistresses.

Whilst these things were doing, Hyrodes had struck up a peace with

the king of Armenia, and made a match between his son Pacorus and

the king of Armenia's sister. Their feastings and entertainments

in consequence were very sumptuous, and various Grecian

compositions, suitable to the occasion, were recited before them.

For Hyrodes was not ignorant of the Greek language and literature,

and Artavasdes was so expert in it, that he wrote tragedies and

orations and histories, some of which are still extant. When the

head of Crassus was brought to the door, the tables were just

taken away, and one Jason, a tragic actor, of the town of Tralles,

was singing the scene in the Bacchae of Euripides concerning

Agave. He was receiving much applause, when Sillaces coming to

the room, and having made obeisance to the king, threw down the

head of Crassus into the midst of the company. The Parthians

receiving it with joy and acclamations, Sillaces, by the king's

command, was made to sit down, while Jason handed over the

costume of Pentheus to one of the dancers in the chorus, and

taking up the head of Crassus, and acting the part of a bacchante

in her frenzy, in a rapturous impassioned manner, sang the lyric

passages,

We've hunted down a mighty chase to-day,

And from the mountain bring the noble prey;

to the great delight of all the company; but when the verses of

the dialogue followed,

What happy hand the glorious victim slew?

I claim that honor to my courage due;

Pomaxathres, who happened to be there at the supper, started up

and would have got the head into his own hands, "for it is my

due," said he, "and no man's else." The king was greatly pleased,

and gave presents, according to the custom of the Parthians, to

them, and to Jason, the actor, a talent. Such was the burlesque

that was played, they tell us, as the afterpiece to the tragedy of

Crassus's expedition. But divine justice failed not to punish

both Hyrodes, for his cruelty, and Surena for his perjury; for

Surena not long after was put to death by Hyrodes, out of mere

envy to his glory; and Hyrodes himself, having lost his son

Pacorus, who was beaten in a battle with the Romans, falling into

a disease which turned to a dropsy, had aconite given him by his

second son, Phraates; but the poison working only upon the

disease, and carrying away the dropsical matter with itself, the

king began suddenly to recover, so that Phraates at length was

forced to take the shortest course, and strangled him.