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HISTORY 
 
 JULIUS C M S A R, 
 
 BY JACOB ABBOTT. 
 
 Hi) Hnavabtufls. 
 
 N E W YORK 
 
 HARPER & BROTHERS, PUBLISHER; 
 
 B 2 CLIFF STREET 
 
Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year one thousand 
 eight hundred and forty -nine, by 
 
 Harper & Brothers, 
 
 in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the Southern District 
 of New York. 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 It is the object of this series of histories to 
 present a clear, distinct, and connected narra- 
 tive of the lives of those great personages who 
 have in various ages of the world made them- 
 selves celebrated as leaders among mankind, 
 and, by the part they have taken in the public 
 affairs of great nations, have exerted the widest 
 influence on the history of the human race. 
 The end which the author has had in view is 
 twofold: first, to communicate such informa- 
 tion in respect to the subjects of his narratives 
 as is important for the general reader to possess; 
 and, secondly, to draw such moral lessons from 
 the events described and the characters deline- 
 ated as they may legitimately teach to the peo- 
 ple of the present age. Though written in a 
 direct and simple style, they are intended for, 
 and addressed to. minds possessed of some con- 
 
viii Preface. 
 
 siderable degree of maturity, for such minds 
 only can fully appreciate the character and ac- 
 tion which exhibits itself, as nearly all that is 
 described in these volumes does, in close com- 
 bination with the conduct and policy of govern- 
 ments, and the great events of international 
 history. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 Chapter Page 
 
 I. MARIUS AND SYLLA 13 
 
 ii. Cesar's early years 35 
 
 III. ADVANCEMENT TO THE CONSULSHIP 58 
 
 IV. THE CONQUEST OF GAUL. 82 
 
 V. POMPEY 107 
 
 VI. CROSSING THE RUBICON 129 
 
 VII. THE BATTLE OF PHARSALIA 154 
 
 VIII. FLIGHT AND DEATH OF POMPEY 171 
 
 IX. CESAR IN EGYPT- 193 
 
 X. CESAR IMPERATOR 213 
 
 XI. THE CONSPIRACY 235 
 
 XII. THE ASSASSINATION 255 
 
JULIUS C^SAR. 
 
 Chapter I. 
 Marius and Sylla. 
 
 The three great European nations of antiquity. Alexander. 
 
 fTlHERE were three great European nations 
 -*■ in ancient days, each of which furnished 
 history with a hero : the Greeks, the Cartha- 
 ginians, and the Romans. 
 
 Alexander was the hero of the Greeks. He 
 was King of Macedon, a country lying north 
 of Greece proper. He headed an army of his 
 countrymen, and made an excursion for con- 
 quest and glory into Asia. He made himself 
 master of all that quarter of the globe, and 
 reigned over it in Babylon, till he brought him- 
 self to an early grave by the excesses into which 
 his boundless prosperity allured him. His fame 
 rests on his triumphant success in building up 
 for himself so vast an empire, and the admira- 
 tion which his career has always excited among 
 mankind is heightened by the consideration of 
 
14 Julius Cm bar. [B.C. 100. 
 
 Hannibal. His terrible energy. Julius Caesar. 
 
 his youth, and of the noble and generous im- 
 pulses which strongly marked his character. 
 
 The Carthaginian hero was Hannibal. We 
 class the Carthaginians among the European 
 nations of antiquity ; for, in respect to their ori- 
 gin, their civilization, and all their commercial 
 and political relations, they belonged to the Eu- 
 ropean race, though it is true that their capital 
 was on the African side of the Mediterranean 
 Sea. Hannibal was the great Carthaginian 
 hero. He earned his fame by the energy and 
 implacableness of his hate. The work of his 
 life was to keep a vast empire in a state of con- 
 tinual anxiety and terror for fifty years, so that 
 his claim to greatness and glory rests on the de- 
 termination, the perseverance, and the success 
 with which he fulfilled his function of being, 
 while he lived, the terror of the world. 
 
 The Roman hero was Caesar. He was born 
 just one hundred years before the Christian era. 
 His renown does not depend, like that of Alex- 
 ander, on foreign conquests, nor, like that of Han- 
 nibal, on the terrible energy of his aggressions 
 upon foreign foes, but upon his protracted and 
 dreadful contests with, and ultimate triumphs 
 over, his rivals and competitors at home. When 
 he appeared upon the stage, the Roman empire 
 
B.C. 100.] Marius and Sylla. 15 
 
 The ancient Roman empire. The provinces. 
 
 already included nearly all of the world that 
 was worth possessing. There were no more 
 conquests to be made. Caesar did, indeed, en- 
 large, in some degree, the boundaries of the em- 
 pire ; but the main question in his day was, 
 who should possess the power which preceding 
 conquerors had acquired. 
 
 The Roman empire, as it existed in those 
 days, must not be conceived of by the reader 
 as united together under one compact and con- 
 solidated government. It was, on the other 
 hand, a vast congeries of nations, widely dissim- 
 ilar in every respect from each other, speaking 
 various languages, and having various customs 
 and laws. They were all, however, more or 
 less dependent upon, and connected with, the 
 great central power. Some of these countries 
 were provinces, and were governed by officers 
 appointed and sent out by the authorities at 
 Rome. These governors had to collect the tax- 
 es of their provinces, and also to preside over 
 and direct, in many important respects, the ad- 
 ministration of justice. They had, according- 
 ly, abundant opportunities to enrich themselves 
 in their provinces, by collecting more money 
 than they paid over to the government at home, 
 and bv taking bribes to favor the rich man's 
 
16 Julius C^sar. [B.C. 100. 
 
 Foreign wars. The victorious general. 
 
 cause in court. Thus the more wealthy and 
 prosperous provinces were objects of great com- 
 petition among aspirants for office at Rome. 
 Leading men would get these appointments, 
 and, after remaining long enough in their prov- 
 inces to acquire a fortune, would come back to 
 Rome, and expend it in intrigues and maneu- 
 vers to obtain higher offices still. 
 
 Whenever there was any foreign war to be 
 carried on with a distant nation or tribe, there 
 was always a great eagerness among all the 
 military officers of the state to be appointed to 
 the command. They each felt sure that they 
 should conquer in the contest, and they could 
 enrich themselves still more rapidly by the 
 spoils of victory in war, than by extortion and 
 bribes in the government of a province in peace. 
 Then, besides, a victorious general coming back 
 to Rome always found that his military renown 
 added vastly to his influence and power in the 
 city. He was welcomed with celebrations and 
 triumphs ; the people flocked to see him and to 
 shout his praise. He placed his trophies of vic- 
 tory in the temples, and entertained the popu- 
 lace with games and shows, and with combats 
 of gladiators or of wild beasts, which he had 
 brought home with him for this purpose in the 
 
B.C. 100.1 Marius and Sylla. 17 
 
 Military rivals. Marius and Sylla. 
 
 train of his army. While he was thus enjoy- 
 ing his triumph, his political enemies would be 
 thrown into the back ground and into the shade ; 
 unless, indeed, some one of them might himself 
 be earning the same honors in some other field, 
 to come back in due time, and claim his share 
 of power and celebrity in his turn. In this case, 
 Rome would be sometimes distracted and rent 
 by the conflicts and contentions of military ri- 
 vals, who had acquired powers too vast for all 
 the civil influences of the Republic to regulate 
 or control. 
 
 There had been two such rivals just before 
 the time of Csesar, who had filled the world with 
 their quarrels. They were Marius and Sylla. 
 Their very names have been, in all ages of the 
 world, since their day, the symbols of rivalry 
 and hate. They were the representatives re- 
 spectively of the two great parties into which 
 the Roman state, like every other community 
 in which the population at large have any voice 
 in governing, always has been, and probably al- 
 ways will be divided, the upper and the lower ; 
 or, as they were called in those days, the patri- 
 cian and the plebeian. Sylla was the patrician ; 
 the higher and more aristocratic portions of the 
 community were on his side. Marius was the 
 B 
 
18 Julius C,esar. [B.C. 100. 
 
 The patricians and plebeians. Civil contests. 
 
 favorite of the plebeian masses. In the contests, 
 however, which they waged with each other, 
 
 Roman Plebeians. 
 
 they did not trust to the mere influence of votes. 
 They relied much more upon the soldiers they 
 could gather under their respective standards, 
 and upon their power of intimidating, by means 
 of them, the Roman assemblies. There was a 
 
B.C. 100.] Mabius and Sylla. 
 
 19 
 
 Quarrel about the co mmand of the army. Sylla'a violence. 
 
 war to be waged with Mithridates, a very pow- 
 erful Asiatic monarch, which promised great op- 
 portunities for acquiring fame and plunder. 
 Sylla was appointed to the command. While 
 he was absent, however, upon some campaign 
 in Italy, Marius contrived to have the decision 
 reversed, and the command transferred to him. 
 Two officers, called tribunes, were sent to Syl- 
 la's camp to inform him of the change. Sylla 
 killed the officers for daring to bring him such 
 a message, and began immediately to march to- 
 ward Rome. In retaliation for the murder of 
 the tribunes, the party of Marius in the city 
 killed some of Sylla's prominent friends there, 
 and a general alarm spread itself throughout 
 the population. The Senate, which was a sort 
 of House of Lords, embodying mainly the pow- 
 er and influence of the patrician party, and was, 
 of course, on Sylla's side, sent out to him, when 
 he had arrived within a few miles of the city, 
 urging him to come no further. He pretended 
 to comply; he marked out the ground for a 
 camp ; but he did not, on that account, materi- 
 ally delay his march. The next morning he 
 was in possession of the city. The friends of 
 Marius attempted to resist him, by throwing 
 stones upon his troops from the roofs of the 
 
20 
 
 Julius Cesar. 
 
 [B.C. 100. 
 
 Defeat of Marias. 
 
 
 His flight. 
 
 houses. Sylla ordered every house from which 
 these symptoms of resistance appeared to be set 
 on fire. Thus the whole population of a vast 
 and wealthy city were thrown into a condition 
 of extreme danger and terror, by the conflicts 
 of two great bands of armed men, each claim- 
 ing to be their friends. 
 
 Marius was conquered in this struggle, and 
 fled for his life. Many of the friends whom he 
 left behind him were killed. The Senate were 
 assembled, and, at Sylla's orders, a decree was 
 passed declaring Marius a public enemy, and 
 offering a reward to any one who would bring 
 his head back to Rome. 
 
 Marius fled, friendless and alone, to the south- 
 ward, hunted every where by men who were 
 eager to get the reward offered for his head. 
 After various romantic adventures and narrow 
 escapes, he succeeded in making his way across 
 the Mediterranean Sea, and found at last a ref- 
 uge in a hut among the ruins of Carthage. He 
 was an old man, being now over seventy years 
 of age. 
 
 Of course, Sylla thought that his great rival 
 and enemy was now finally disposed of, and he 
 accordingly began to make preparations for his 
 Asiatic campaign. He raised his army, built 
 
B.C. 100.] Marius and Sylla. 21 
 
 Return of Marius. He marches against Rome. 
 
 and equipped a fleet, and went away. As soon 
 as he was gone, Marius's friends in the city be- 
 gan to come forth, and to take measures for re- 
 instating themselves in power. Marius return- 
 ed, too, from Africa, and soon gathered about 
 him a large army. Being the friend, as he pre- 
 tended, of the lower classes of society, he col- 
 lected vast multitudes of revolted slaves, out- 
 laws, and other desperadoes, and advanced to- 
 ward Rome. He assumed, himself, the dress, 
 and air, and savage demeanor of his followers. 
 His countenance had been rendered haggard 
 and cadaverous partly by the influence of ex- 
 posures, hardships, and suffering upon his ad- 
 vanced age, and partly by the stern and moody 
 plans and determinations of revenge which his 
 mind was perpetually revolving. He listened 
 to the deputations which the Roman Senate sent 
 out to him from time to time, as he advanced 
 toward the city, but refused to make any terms. 
 He moved forward with all the outward delib- 
 eration and calmness suitable to his years, while 
 all the ferocity of a tiger was burning within. 
 
 As soon as he had gained possession of the 
 city, he began his work of destruction. He first 
 beheaded one of the consuls, and ordered his 
 head to be set up, as a public spectacle, in the 
 
22 Julius C^sar. [B.C. 100. 
 
 Executions by order of Marius. The Tarpeian Rock. 
 
 most conspicuous place in the city. This was 
 the beginning. All the prominent friends of 
 Sylla, men of the highest rank and station, 
 were then killed, wherever they could be found, 
 without sentence, without trial, without any 
 other accusation, even, than the military decis- 
 ion of Marius that they were his enemies, and 
 must die. For those against whom he felt any 
 special animosity, he contrived some special 
 mode of execution. One, whose fate he wish- 
 ed particularly to signalize, was thrown down 
 from the Tarpeian Rock. 
 
 The Tarpeian Rock was a precipice about 
 fifty feet high, which is still to be seen in Rome, 
 from which the worst of state criminals were 
 sometimes thrown. They were taken up to the 
 top by a stair, and were then hurled from the 
 summit, to die miserably, writhing in agony aft- 
 er their fall, upon the rocks below. 
 
 The Tarpeian Rock received its name from 
 the ancient story of Tarpeia. The tale is, that 
 Tarpeia was a Roman girl, who lived at a time 
 in the earliest periods of the Roman history, 
 when the city was besieged by an army from 
 one of the neighboring nations. Besides their 
 shields, the story is that the soldiers had gold- 
 en bracelets upon their arms. They wished 
 
B.C. 100.] Marius and Sylla. 23 
 
 The story of Tarpeia. Subterranean passages. 
 
 Tarpeia to open the gates and let them in. 
 She promised to do so if they would give her 
 their bracelets ; but, as she did not know the 
 name of the shining ornaments, the language 
 she used to designate them was, " Those things 
 you have upon your arms." The soldiers ac- 
 ceded to her terms ; she opened the gates, and 
 they, instead of giving her the bracelets, threw 
 their shields upon her as they passed, until the 
 poor girl was crushed down with them and de- 
 stroyed. This was near the Tarpeian Rock, 
 which afterward took her name. The rock is 
 now found to be perforated by a great many 
 subterranean passages, the remains, probably, 
 of ancient quarries. Some of these galleries 
 are now walled up ; others are open ; and the 
 people who live around the spot believe, it is 
 said, to this day, that Tarpeia herself sits, en- 
 chanted, far in the interior of these caverns, 
 covered with gold and jewels, but that whoev- 
 er attempts to find her is fated by an irresisti- 
 ble destiny to lose his way, and he never re- 
 turns. The last story is probably as true as 
 the other. 
 
 Marius continued his executions and massa- 
 cres until the whole of Sylla's party had been 
 slain or put to flight. He made every effort to 
 
24 Julius Cesar. [B.C. 100. 
 
 Escape of Sylla's wife. Illness of Marios; 
 
 discover Sylla's wife and child, with a view to 
 destroying them also, but they could not be 
 found. Some friends of Sylla, taking compas- 
 sion on their innocence and helplessness, con- 
 cealed them, and thus saved Marius from the 
 commission of one intended crime. Marius 
 was disappointed, too, in some other cases, 
 where men whom he had intended to kill de- 
 stroyed themselves to baffle his vengeance. 
 One shut himself up in a room with burning 
 charcoal, and was suffocated with the fumes. 
 Another bled himself to death upon a public 
 altar, calling down the judgments of the god to 
 whom he offered this dreadful sacrifice upon the 
 head of the tyrant whose atrocious cruelty he 
 was thus attempting to evade. 
 
 By the time that Marius had got fairly es- 
 tablished in his new position, and was com- 
 pletely master of Rome, and the city had be- 
 gun to recover a little from the shock and con- 
 sternation produced by his executions, he fell 
 sick. He was attacked with an acute disease 
 of great violence. The attack was perhaps pro- 
 duced, and was certainly aggravated by, the 
 great mental excitements through which he 
 had passed during his exile, and in the entire 
 change of fortune which had attended his re- 
 
B.C. 100.] Marius and Sylla. 25 
 
 Sylla outlawed. Marius delirious. 
 
 turn. From being a wretched fugitive, hiding 
 for his life among gloomy and desolate ruins, 
 he found himself suddenly transferred to the 
 mastery of the world. His mind was excited, 
 too, in respect to Sylla, whom he had not yet 
 reached or subdued, but who was still prosecu- 
 ting his war against Mithridates. Marius had 
 had him pronounced by the Senate an enemy to 
 his country, and was meditating plans to reach 
 him in his distant province, considering his tri- 
 umph incomplete as long as his great rival was 
 at liberty and alive. The sickness cut short 
 these plans, but it only inflamed to double vio- 
 lence the excitement and the agitations which 
 attended them. 
 
 As the dying tyrant tossed restlessly upon 
 his bed, it was plain that the delirious ravings 
 which he began soon to utter were excited by 
 the same sentiments of insatiable ambition and 
 ferocious hate whose calmer dictates he had 
 obeyed when well. He imagined that he had 
 succeeded in supplanting Sylla in his command, 
 and that he was himself in Asia at the head of 
 his armies. Impressed with this idea, he stared 
 wildly around ; he called aloud the name of Mith- 
 ridates ; he shouted orders to imaginary troops ; 
 he struggled to break away from the restraints 
 
26 
 
 Julius Caesar. 
 
 [B.C. 100. 
 
 Death of Marina. 
 
 
 Return of Sylla. 
 
 which the attendants about his bedside impos- 
 ed, to attack the phantom foes which haunted 
 him in his dreams. This continued for several 
 days, and when at last nature was exhausted 
 by the violence of these paroxysms of phrensy, 
 the vital powers which had been for seventy long 
 years spending their strength in deeds of self- 
 ishness, cruelty, and hatred, found their work 
 done, and sunk to revive no more. 
 
 Marius left a son, of the same name with him- 
 self, who attempted to retain his father's pow- 
 er ; but Sylla, having brought his war with 
 Mithridates to a conclusion, was now on his re- 
 turn from Asia, and it was very evident that a 
 terrible conflict was about to ensue. Sylla ad- 
 vanced triumphantly through the country, while 
 Marius the younger and his partisans concen- 
 trated their forces about the city, and prepared 
 for defense. The people of the city were di- 
 vided, the aristocratic faction adhering to the 
 cause of Sylla, while the democratic influences 
 sided with Marius. Political parties rise and 
 fall, in almost all ages of the world, in alternate 
 fluctuations, like those of the tides. The fac- 
 tion of Marius had been for some time in the 
 ascendency, and it was now its turn to fall. 
 Sylla found, therefore, as he advanced, every 
 
B.C. 100.] Marius and Svlla. 27 
 
 Marius's son. Proscriptions and massacres of Sylla. 
 
 thing favorable to the restoration of his own 
 party to power. He destroyed the armies which 
 came out to oppose him. He shut up the young 
 Marius in a city not far from Rome, where he 
 had endeavored to find shelter and protection, 
 and then advanced himself and took possession 
 of the city. There he caused to be enacted 
 again the horrid scenes of massacre and mur- 
 der which Marius had perpetrated before, going, 
 however, as much beyond the example which 
 he followed as men usually do in the commis- 
 sion of crime. He gave out lists of the names 
 of men whom he wished to have destroyed, and 
 these unhappy victims of his revenge were to 
 be hunted out by bands of reckless soldiers, in 
 their dwellings, or in the places of public resort 
 in the city, and dispatched by the sword wher- 
 ever they could be found. The scenes which 
 these deeds created in a vast and populous city 
 can scarcely be conceived of by those who have 
 never witnessed the horrors produced by the 
 massacres of civil war. Sylla himself went 
 through with this work in the most cool and 
 unconcerned manner, as if he were performing 
 the most ordinary duties of an officer of state. 
 He called the Senate together one day, and, 
 while he was addressing them., the attention of 
 
28 Julius Caesar. [B.C. 100. 
 
 Executions. Extent of Sylla's proscriptions. 
 
 the Assembly was suddenly distracted by the 
 noise of outcries and screams in the neighbor- 
 ing streets from those who were suffering mili- 
 tary execution there. The senators started 
 with horror at the sound. Sylla, with an air 
 of great composure and unconcern, directed the 
 members to listen to him, and to pay no atten- 
 tion to What was passing elsewhere. The 
 sounds that they heard were, he said, only 
 some correction which was bestowed by his or- 
 ders on certain disturbers of the public peace. 
 
 Sylla's orders for the execution of those who 
 had taken an active part against him were not 
 confined to Rome. They went to the neigh- 
 boring cities and to distant provinces, carrying 
 terror and distress every where. Still, dread- 
 ful as these evils were, it is possible for us, in 
 the conceptions which we form, to overrate the 
 extent of them. In reading the history of the 
 Roman empire during the civil wars of Mari- 
 us and Sylla, one might easily imagine that 
 the whole population of the country was organ- 
 ized into the two contending armies, and were 
 employed wholly in the work of fighting with 
 and massacring each other. But nothing like 
 this can be true. It is obviously but a small 
 part, after all, of an extended community that 
 
B.C. 82.] Marius and Sylla. 29 
 
 Man's nature. Husbandmen. 
 
 can be ever actively and personally engaged in 
 these deeds of violence and blood. Man is not 
 naturally a ferocious wild beast. On the con- 
 trary, he loves, ordinarily, to live in peace and 
 quietness, to till his lands and tend his flocks, 
 and to enjoy the blessings of peace and repose. 
 It is comparatively but a small number in any 
 age of the world, and in any nation, whose pas- 
 sions of ambition, hatred, or revenge become 
 so strong as that they love bloodshed and war. 
 But these few, when they once get weapons 
 into their hands, trample recklessly and merci- 
 lessly upon the rest. One ferocious human ti- 
 ger, with a spear or a bayonet to brandish, will 
 tyrannize as he pleases over a hundred quiet 
 men, who are armed only with shepherds' 
 crooks, and whose only desire is to live in 
 peace with their wives and their children. 
 
 Thus, while Marius and Sylla, with some 
 hundred thousand armed and reckless followers, 
 were carrying terror and dismay wherever they 
 went, there were many millions of herdsmen 
 and husbandmen in the Roman world who were 
 dwelling in all the peace and quietness they 
 could command, improving with their peaceful 
 industry every acre where corn would ripen or 
 grass grow. It was by taxing and plundering 
 
30 Julius Cjesar. [B.C. 82. 
 
 How the Roman edifices were built Standing armies. 
 
 the proceeds of this industry that the generals 
 and soldiers, the consuls and prsetors, and pro- 
 consuls and propraetors, filled their treasuries, 
 and fed their troops, and paid the artisans for 
 fabricating their arms. With these avails they 
 built the magnificent edifices of Rome, and 
 adorned its environs with sumptuous villas. 
 As they had the power and the arms in their 
 hands, the peaceful and the industrious had no 
 alternative but to submit. They went on as 
 well as they could with their labors, bearing 
 patiently every interruption, returning again 
 to till their fields after the desolating march of 
 the army had passed away, and repairing the 
 injuries of violence, and the losses sustained by 
 plunder, without useless repining. They look- 
 ed upon an armed government as a necessary 
 and inevitable affliction of humanity, and sub- 
 mitted to its destructive violence as they would 
 submit to an earthquake or a pestilence. The 
 tillers of the soil manage better in this country 
 at the present day. They have the power in 
 their own hands, and they watch very narrow- 
 ly to prevent the organization of such hordes 
 of armed desperadoes as have held the peaceful 
 inhabitants of Europe in terror from the earli- 
 est periods down to the present day. 
 
B.C.82.] Marius and Sylla. 31 
 
 Julius Csesar. Sylla's animosity against him. 
 
 When Sylla returned to Rome, and took pos- 
 session of the supreme power there, in looking 
 over the lists of public men, there was one whom 
 he did not know at first what to do with. It 
 was the young Julius Csesar, the subject of this 
 history. Csesar was, by birth, patrician, having 
 descended from a long line of noble ancestors. 
 There had been, before his day, a great many 
 Csesars who had held the highest offices of the 
 state, and many of them had been celebrated in 
 history. He naturally, therefore, belonged to 
 Sylla's side, as Sylla was the representative of 
 the patrician interest. But then Csesar had 
 personally been inclined toward the party of 
 Marius. The elder Marius had married his 
 aunt, and, besides, Csesar himself had married 
 the daughter of China, who had been the most 
 efficient and powerful of Marius' s coadjutors and 
 friends. Csesar was at this time a very young 
 man, and he was of an ardent and reckless char- 
 acter, though he had, thus far, taken no active 
 part in public affairs. Sylla overlooked him 
 for a time, but at length was about to put his 
 name on the list of the proscribed. Some of the 
 nobles, who were friends both of Sylla and of 
 Csesar too, interceded for the young man ; Sylla 
 yielded to their request, or, rather, suspended 
 
32 Julius Caesar. [B.C. 82. 
 
 Caesar refuses to repudiate his wife. His flight. 
 
 his decision, and sent orders to Csesar to repudi- 
 ate his wife, the daughter of China. Her name 
 was Cornelia. Csesar absolutely refused to re- 
 pudiate his wife. , He was influenced in this 
 decision partly by affection for Cornelia, and 
 partly by a sort of stern and indomitable in- 
 submissiveness, which formed, from his earliest 
 years, a prominent trait in his character, and 
 which led him, during all his life, to brave every 
 possible danger rather than allow himself to be 
 controlled. Csesar knew very well that, when 
 this his refusal should be reported to Sylla, the 
 next order would be for his destruction. He 
 accordingly fled. Sylla deprived him of his 
 titles and offices, confiscated his wife's fortune 
 and his own patrimonial estate, and put his 
 name upon the list of the public enemies. Thus 
 Csesar became a fugitive and an exile. The ad- 
 ventures which befell him in his wanderings 
 will be described in the following chapter. 
 
 Sylla was now in the possession of absolute 
 power. He was master of Rome, and of all the 
 countries over which Rome held sway. Still 
 he was nominally not a magistrate, but only a 
 general returning victoriously from his Asiatic 
 campaign, and putting to death, somewhat ir- 
 regularly, it is true, by a sort of martial law, 
 
B.C.82.] Marius and Sylla. 33 
 
 Sylla made dictator. He resigns his power. 
 
 persons whom he found, as he said, disturbing 
 the public peace. After having thus effectually 
 disposed of the power of his enemies, he laid 
 aside, ostensibly, the government of the sword, 
 and submitted himself and his future measures 
 to the control of law. He placed himself os- 
 tensibly at the disposition of the city. They 
 chose him dictator, which was investing him 
 with absolute and unlimited power. He re- 
 mained on this, the highest pinnacle of worldly 
 ambition, a short time, and then resigned his 
 power, and devoted the remainder of his days to 
 literary pursuits and pleasures. Monster as he 
 was in the cruelties which he inflicted upon his 
 political foes, he was intellectually of a refined 
 and cultivated mind, and felt an ardent interest 
 in the promotion of literature and the arts. 
 
 The quarrel between Marius and Sylla, in 
 respect to every thing which can make such a 
 contest great, stands in the estimation of man- 
 kind as the greatest personal quarrel which the 
 history of the world has ever recorded. Its 
 origin was in the simple personal rivalry of 
 two ambitious men. It involved, in its conse- 
 quences, the peace and happiness of the world. 
 In their reckless struggles, the fierce combatants 
 trampled on every thing that came in their way, 
 C 
 
34 Julius C^sar. [B.C. 82 
 
 Opinion of mankind in regard to Marius and Sylla. 
 
 and destroyed mercilessly, each in his turn, all 
 that opposed them. Mankind have always ex- 
 ecrated their crimes, but have never ceased to 
 admire the frightful and almost superhuman 
 energy with which they committed them. 
 
B.C. 82.] Cesar's Early Years. 35 
 
 Csesar's resolution. His person and character. 
 
 Chapter II. 
 Cesar's Early Years. 
 
 CiESAR does not seem to have been much 
 disheartened and depressed by his misfor- 
 tunes. He possessed in his early life more than 
 the usual share of buoyancy and light-hearted- 
 ness of youth, and he went away from Rome to 
 enter, perhaps, upon years of exile and wander- 
 ing, with a determination to face boldly and to 
 brave the evils and dangers which surrounded 
 him, and not to succumb to them. 
 
 Sometimes they who become great in their 
 maturer years are thoughtful, grave, and se- 
 date when young. It was not so, however, 
 with Caesar. He was of a very gay and lively 
 disposition. He was tall and handsome in his 
 person, fascinating in his manners, and fond of 
 society, as people always are who know or who 
 suppose that they shine in it. He had seemed, 
 in a word, during his residence at Rome, wholly 
 intent upon the pleasures of a gay and joyous 
 life, and upon the personal observation which 
 his rank, his wealth, his agreeable manners, 
 
36 Julius Cjesar. [B.C. 82. 
 
 Sylla's estimate of Caesar. Caesar's friends intercede for him. 
 
 and his position in society secured for him. In 
 fact, they who observed and studied his charac- 
 ter in these early years, thought that, although 
 his situation was very favorable for acquiring 
 power and renown, he would never feel any 
 strong degree of ambition to avail himself of its 
 advantages. He was too much interested, they 
 thought, in personal pleasures ever to become 
 great, either as a military commander or a 
 statesman. 
 
 Sylla, however, thought differently. He had 
 penetration enough to perceive, beneath all the 
 gayety and love of pleasure which characterized 
 Caesar's youthful life, the germs of a sterner 
 and more aspiring spirit, which, he was very 
 sorry to see, was likely to expend its future 
 energies in hostility to him. By refusing to 
 submit to Sylla's commands, Caesar had, in ef- 
 fect, thrown himself entirely upon the other 
 party, and would be, of course, in future iden- 
 tified with them. Sylla consequently looked 
 upon him now as a confirmed and settled ene- 
 my. Some friends of Caesar among the patri- 
 cian families interceded in his behalf with Syl- 
 la again, after he had fled from Rome. They 
 wished Sylla to pardon him, saying that he was 
 a mere boy and could do him no harm. Sylla 
 
B.C.82.] Cesar's Early Years. 37 
 
 Caesar's studies. His ambition to be an orator. 
 
 shook his head, saying that, young as he was, 
 he saw in him indications of a future power 
 which he thought was more to be dreaded than 
 that of many Mariuses. 
 
 One reason which led Sylla to form this opin- 
 ion of Caesar was, that the young nobleman, 
 with all his love of gayety and pleasure, had 
 not neglected his studies, but had taken great 
 pains to perfect himself in such intellectual pur- 
 suits as ambitious men who looked forward to 
 political influence and ascendency were accus- 
 tomed to prosecute in those days. He had 
 studied the Greek language, and read the works 
 of Greek historians ; and he attended lectures 
 on philosophy and rhetoric, and was obviously 
 interested deeply in acquiring power as a pub- 
 lic speaker. To write and speak well gave a 
 public man great influence in those days. Many 
 of the measures of the government were determ- 
 ined by the action of great assemblies of the 
 free citizens, which action was itself, in a great 
 measure, controlled by the harangues of orators 
 who had such powers of voice and such quali- 
 ties of mind as enabled them to gain the atten- 
 tion and sway the opinions of large bodies of 
 men. 
 
 It must not be supposed, however, that this 
 
38 Julius Cesar. [B.C. 82. 
 
 The Forum. Its porticoes and statues. 
 
 popular power was shared by all the inhabit- 
 ants of the city. At one time, when the popu- 
 lation of the city was about three millions, the 
 number of free citizens was only three hundred 
 thousand. The rest were laborers, artisans, 
 and slaves, who had no voice in public affairs. 
 The free citizens held very frequent public as- 
 semblies. There were various squares and open 
 spaces in the city where such assemblies were 
 convened, and where courts of justice were held. 
 The Roman name for such a square was forum. 
 There was one which was distinguished above 
 all the rest, and was called emphatically The 
 Forum. It was a magnificent square, surround- 
 ed by splendid edifices, and ornamented by 
 sculptures and statues without number. There 
 were ranges of porticoes along the sides, where 
 the people were sheltered from the weather 
 when necessary, though it is seldom that there 
 is any necessity for shelter under an Italian 
 sky. In this area and under these porticoes 
 the people held their assemblies, and here courts 
 of justice were accustomed to sit. The Forum 
 was ornamented continually with new monu- 
 ments, temples, statues, and columns by suc- 
 cessful generals returning in triumph from for- 
 eign campaigns, and by proconsuls and praetors 
 
B.C.82.] Cesar's Early Years. 41 
 
 Attractions of the Forum. Harangues and political discussions. 
 
 coming back enriched from their provinces, un- 
 til it was fairly choked up with its architectu- 
 ral magnificence, and it had at last to be par- 
 tially cleared again, as one would thin out too 
 dense a forest, in order to make room for the 
 assemblies which it was its main function to 
 contain. 
 
 The people of Rome had, of course, no printed 
 books, and yet they were mentally cultivated 
 and refined, and were qualified for a very high 
 appreciation of intellectual pursuits and pleas- 
 ures. In the absence, therefore, of all facilities 
 for private reading, the Forum became the great 
 central point of attraction. The same kind of 
 interest which, in our day, finds its gratification 
 in reading volumes of printed history quietly at 
 home, or in silently perusing the columns of 
 newspapers and magazines in libraries and read- 
 ing-rooms, where a whisper is seldom heard, in 
 Caesar's day brought every body to the Forum, 
 to listen to historical harangues, or political dis- 
 cussions, or forensic arguments in the midst of 
 noisy crowds. Here all tidings centered ; here 
 all questions were discussed and all great elec- 
 tions held. Here were waged those ceaseless 
 conflicts of ambition and struggles of power on 
 which the fate of nations, and sometimes the 
 
42 Julius Caesar. [B.C. 80-70. 
 
 Apollonius. Caesar studies under him. 
 
 welfare of almost half mankind depended. Of 
 course, every ambitious man who aspired to an 
 ascendency over his fellow-men, wished to make 
 his voice heard in the Forum. To calm the 
 boisterous tumult there, and to hold, as some 
 of the Roman orators could do, the vast assem- 
 blies in silent and breathless attention, was a 
 power as delightful in its exercise as it was glo- 
 rious in its fame. Caesar had felt this ambition, 
 and had devoted himself very earnestly to the 
 study of oratory. 
 
 His teacher was Apollonius, a philosopher and 
 rhetorician from Rhodes. Rhodes is a Grecian 
 island, near the southwestern coast of Asia Mi- 
 nor. Apollonius was a teacher of great celeb- 
 rity, and Caesar became a very able writer and 
 speaker under his instructions. His time and 
 attention were, in fact, strangely divided be- 
 tween the highest and noblest intellectual avo- 
 cations, and the lowest sensual pleasures of a 
 gay and dissipated life. The coming of Sylla 
 had, however, interrupted all ; and, after re- 
 ceiving the dictator's command to give up his 
 wife and abandon the Marian faction, and de- 
 termining to disobey it, he fled suddenly from 
 Rome, as was stated at the close of the last 
 chapter, at midnight, and in disguise. 
 
B.C. 80-70.] Cesar's Early Years. 43 
 
 Caesar's wanderings. He is seized by a centurion. 
 
 He was sick, too, at the time, with an inter- 
 mittent fever. The paroxysm returned once in 
 three or four days, leaving him in tolerable 
 health during the interval. He went first into 
 the country of the Sabines, northeast of Rome, 
 where he wandered up and down, exposed con- 
 tinually to great dangers from those who knew 
 that he was an object of the great dictator's dis- 
 pleasure, and who were sure of favor and of a 
 reward if they could carry his head to Sylla. 
 He had to change his quarters every day, and 
 to resort to every possible mode of concealment. 
 He was, however, at last discovered, and seized 
 by a centurion. A centurion was a commander 
 of a hundred men ; his rank and his position, 
 therefore, corresponded somewhat with those of 
 a captain in a modern army. Caesar was not 
 much disturbed at this accident. He offered 
 the centurion a bribe sufficient to induce him 
 to give up his prisoner, and so escaped. 
 
 The two ancient historians, whose records 
 contain nearly all the particulars of the early 
 life of Caesar which are now known, give some- 
 what contradictory accounts of the adventures 
 which befell him during his subsequent wander- 
 ings. They relate, in general, the same inci- 
 dents, but in such different connections, that the 
 
44 Julius Caesar. [B.C. 80-70. 
 
 Caesar in Asia Minor. He joins the court of Nicomedes. 
 
 precise chronological order of the events which 
 occurred can not now be ascertained. At all 
 events, Caesar, finding that he was no longer safe 
 in the vicinity of Rome, moved gradually to the 
 eastward, attended by a few followers, until he 
 reached the sea, and there he embarked on 
 board a ship to leave his native land altogether. 
 After various adventures and wanderings, he 
 found himself at length in Asia Minor, and he 
 made his way at last to the kingdom of Bithyn- 
 ia, on the northern shore. The name of the 
 king of Bithynia was Nicomedes. Caesar joined 
 himself to Nicomedes's court, and entered into 
 his service. In the mean time, Sylla had ceased 
 to pursue him, and ultimately granted him a 
 pardon, but whether before or after this time is 
 not now to be ascertained. At all events, Caesar 
 became interested in the scenes and enjoyments 
 of Nicomedes's court, and allowed the time to 
 pass away without forming any plans for re- 
 turning to Rome. 
 
 On the opposite side of Asia Minor, that is, 
 on the southern shore, there was a wild and 
 mountainous region called Cilicia. The great 
 chain of mountains called Taurus approaches 
 here very near to the sea, and the steep confor- 
 mations of the land, which, in the interior, pro- 
 
B.C.80-70.] Cesar's Early Years. 45 
 
 CUicia. Character of its inhabitants. 
 
 duce lofty ranges and summits, and dark valleys 
 and ravines, form, along the line of the shore, 
 capes and promontories, bounded by precipitous 
 sides, and with deep bays and harbors between 
 them. The people of Cilicia were accordingly 
 half sailors, half mountaineers. They built 
 swift galleys, and made excursions in great force 
 over the Mediterranean Sea for conquest and 
 plunder. They would capture single ships, and 
 sometimes even whole fleets of merchantmen. 
 They were even strong enough on many occa- 
 sions to land and take possession of a harbor and 
 a town, and hold it, often, for a considerable 
 time, against all the efforts of the neighboring 
 powers to dislodge them. In case, however, 
 their enemies became at any time too strong 
 for them, they would retreat to their harbors, 
 which were so defended by the fortresses which 
 guarded them, and by the desperate bravery of 
 the garrisons, that the pursuers generally did 
 not dare to attempt to force their way in ; and 
 if, in any case, a town or a port was taken, the 
 indomitable savages would continue their re- 
 treat to the fastnesses of the mountains, where 
 it was utterly useless to attempt to follow them. 
 But with all their prowess and skill as naval 
 combatants, and their hardihood as mountain- 
 
46 Julius Caesar. [B.C. 80-70. 
 
 The Cilicians wanting in poets and historians. Robbers and pirates. 
 
 eers, the Cilicians lacked one thing which is 
 very essential in every nation to an honorable 
 military fame. They had no poets or histori- 
 ans of their own, so that the story of their deeds 
 had to be told to posterity by their enemies. 
 If they had been able to narrate their own ex- 
 ploits, they would have figured, perhaps, upon 
 the page of history as a small but brave and ef- 
 ficient maritime power, pursuing for many 
 years a glorious career of conquest, and acquir- 
 ing imperishable renown by their enterprise 
 and success. As it was, the Romans, their en- 
 emies, described their deeds and gave them 
 their designation. They called them robbers 
 and pirates ; and robbers and pirates they must 
 forever remain. 
 
 And it is, in fact, very likely true that the 
 Cilician commanders did not pursue their con- 
 quests and commit their depredations on the 
 rights and the property of others in quite so 
 systematic and methodical a manner as some 
 other conquering states have done. They prob- 
 ably seized private property a little more un- 
 ceremoniously than is customary ; though all 
 belligerent nations, even in these Christian ages 
 of the world, feel at liberty to seize and confis- 
 cate private property when they find it afloat 
 
B.C. 80-70.] Cesar's Early Years. 47 
 
 Depredations of the Cilicians. Expeditions sent against thom. 
 
 at sea, while, by a strange inconsistency, they 
 respect it on the land. The Cilician pirates 
 considered themselves at war with all mankind, 
 and, whatever merchandise they found passing 
 from port to port along the shores of the Medi- 
 terranean, they considered lawful spoil. They 
 intercepted the corn which was going from Sic- 
 ily to Rome, and filled their own granaries with 
 it. They got rich merchandise from the ships 
 of Alexandria, which brought, sometimes, gold, 
 and gems, and costly fabrics from the East; 
 and they obtained, often, large sums of money 
 by seizing men of distinction and wealth, who 
 were continually passing to and fro between It- 
 aly and Greece, and holding them for a ransom. 
 They were particularly pleased to get posses- 
 sion in this way of Roman generals and officers 
 of state, who were going out to take the com- 
 mand of armies, or who were returning from 
 their provinces with the wealth which they had 
 accumulated there. 
 
 Many expeditions were fitted out and many 
 naval commanders were commissioned to sup- 
 press and subdue these common enemies of 
 mankind, as the Romans called them. At one 
 time, while a distinguished general, named An- 
 tonius, was in pursuit of them at the head 
 
48 Julius C^sar. IB.C. 80-70. 
 
 Boldness and courage of the Cilicians. They capture Caesar. 
 
 of a fleet, a party of the pirates made a descent 
 upon the Italian coast, south of Rome, at Ni- 
 cenum, where the ancient patrimonial mansion 
 of this very Antonius was situated, and took 
 away several members of his family as captives, 
 and so compelled him to ransom them by pay- 
 ing a very large sum of money. The pirates 
 grew bolder and bolder in proportion to their 
 success. They finally almost stopped all inter- 
 course between Italy and Greece, neither the 
 merchants daring to expose their merchandise, 
 nor the passengers their persons to such dangers 
 They then approached nearer and nearer to 
 Rome, and at last actually entered the Tiber, 
 and surprised and carried off a Roman fleet 
 which was anchored there. Csesar himself fell 
 into the hands of these pirates at some time 
 during the period of his wanderings. 
 
 The pirates captured the ship in which he 
 was sailing near Pharmacusa, a small island 
 in the northeastern part of the iEgean Sea. He 
 was not at this time in the destitute condition 
 in which he had found himself on leaving Rome, 
 but was traveling with attendants suitable to 
 his rank, and in such a style and manner as at 
 once made it evident to the pirates that he was 
 a man of distinction. They accordingly held 
 
B.C. 80-70.] Cjesar's Early Years. 49 
 
 Caesar's air of superiority. His ransom. 
 
 him for ransom, and, in the mean time, until he 
 could take measures for raising the money, they 
 kept him a prisoner on board the vessel which 
 had captured him. 
 
 In this situation, Csesar, though entirely in 
 the power and at the mercy of his lawless cap- 
 tors, assumed such an air of superiority and 
 command in all his intercourse with them as 
 at first awakened their astonishment, then ex- 
 cited their admiration, and ended in almost sub- 
 jecting them to his will. He asked them what 
 they demanded for his ransom. They said 
 twenty talents, which was quite a large amount, 
 a talent itself being a considerable sum of money. 
 Csesar laughed at this demand, and told them 
 it was plain that they did not know who he was. 
 He would give them fifty talents. He then sent 
 away his attendants to the shore, with orders to 
 proceed to certain cities where he was known, 
 in order to procure the money, retaining only a 
 physician and two servants for himself. While 
 his messengers were gone, he remained on board 
 the ship of his captors, assuming in every re- 
 spect the air and manner of their master. When 
 he wished to sleep, if they made a noise which 
 disturbed him, he sent them orders to be still. 
 He joined them in their sports and diversions 
 D 
 
50 Julius C^sar. [B.C. 80-70. 
 
 Caesar at liberty. He captures the pirates in his turn. 
 
 on the deck, surpassing them in their feats, and 
 taking the direction of every thing as if he were 
 their acknowledged leader. He wrote orations 
 and verses which he read to them, and if his 
 wild auditors did not appear to appreciate the 
 literary excellence of his compositions, he told 
 them that they were stupid fools without any 
 taste, adding, by way of apology, that nothing 
 better could be expected of such barbarians. 
 
 The pirates asked him one day what he should 
 do to them if he should ever, at any future time, 
 take them prisoners. Csesar said that he would 
 crucify every one of them. 
 
 The ransom money at length arrived. Caesar 
 paid it to the pirates, and they, faithful to their 
 covenant, sent him in a boat to the land. He 
 was put ashore on the coast of Asia Minor. He 
 proceeded immediately to Miletus, the near- 
 est port, equipped a small fleet there, and put 
 to sea. He sailed at once to the roadstead 
 where the pirates had been lying, and found 
 them still at anchor there, in perfect security . # 
 He attacked them, seized their ships, recovered 
 his ransom money, and took the men all pris- 
 oners. He conveyed his captives to the land, 
 and there fulfilled his threat that he would cru- 
 
 * See Frontispiece. 
 
B.C. 80-70.] Cesar's Early Years. 51 
 
 Caesar at Rhodes. He returns to Rome. 
 
 cify them by cutting their throats and nailing 
 their dead bodies to crosses which his men 
 erected for the purpose along the shore. 
 
 During his absence from Rome Caesar went 
 to Rhodes, where his former preceptor resided, 
 and he continued to pursue there for some time 
 his former studies. He looked forward still to 
 appearing one day in the Roman Forum. In 
 fact, he began to receive messages from his 
 friends at home that they thought it would be 
 safe for him to return. Sylla had gradually 
 withdrawn from power, and finally had died. 
 The aristocratical party were indeed still in 
 the ascendency, but the party of Marius had 
 begun to recover a little from the total over- 
 throw with which Sylla's return, and his terri- 
 ble military vengeance, had overwhelmed them. 
 Caesar himself, therefore, they thought, might, 
 with prudent management, be safe in return- 
 ing to Rome. 
 
 He returned, but not to be prudent or cau- 
 tious ; there was no element of prudence or 
 caution in his character. As soon as he arriv- 
 ed, he openly espoused the popular party. His 
 first public act was to arraign the governor of 
 the great province of Macedonia, through which 
 he had passed on his way to Bithynia. It was 
 
52 Julius Caesar. [B.C. 80-70. 
 
 Caesar impeaches Dolabella. Excitement in consequence. 
 
 a consul whom he thus impeached, and a strong 
 partisan of Sylla's. His name was Dolabella. 
 The people were astonished at his daring in thus 
 raising the standard of resistance to Sylla's pow- 
 er, indirectly, it is true, but none the less real- 
 ly on that account. When the trial came on, 
 and Caesar appeared at the Forum, he gained 
 great applause by the vigor and force of his or- 
 atory. There was, of course, a very strong and 
 general interest felt in the case ; the people all 
 seeming to understand that, in this attack on 
 Dolabella, Csesar was appearing as their cham- 
 pion, and their hopes were revived at having at 
 last found a leader capable of succeeding Ma- 
 rius, and building up their cause again. Dola- 
 bella was ably defended by orators on the oth- 
 er side, and was, of course, acquitted, for the 
 power of Sylla's party was still supreme. All 
 Rome, however, was aroused and excited by the 
 boldness of Caesar's attack, and by the extraor- 
 dinary ability which he evinced in his mode of 
 conducting it. He became, in fact, at once 
 one of the most conspicuous and prominent 
 men in the city. 
 
 Encouraged by his success, and the applaus- 
 es which he received, and feeling every day a 
 greater and greater consciousness of power, he 
 
B.C. 80-70.] Cesar's Early Years. 53 
 
 Caesar's increasing power. Death of Marius's wife. 
 
 began to assume more and more openly the 
 character of the leader of the popular party. 
 He devoted himself to public speaking in the 
 Forum, both before popular assemblies and in 
 the courts of justice, where he was employed a 
 great deal as an advocate to defend those who 
 were accused of political crimes. The people, 
 considering him as their rising champion, were 
 predisposed to regard every thing that he did 
 with favor, and there was really a great intel- 
 lectual power displayed in his orations and ha- 
 rangues. He acquired, in a word, great celeb- 
 rity by his boldness and energy, and his bold- 
 ness and energy were themselves increased in 
 their turn as he felt the strength of his position 
 increase with his growing celebrity. 
 
 At length the wife of Marius, who was Cae- 
 sar's aunt, died. She had lived in obscurity 
 since her husband's proscription and death, his 
 party having been put down so effectually that 
 it was dangerous to appear to be her friend. 
 Csesar, however, made preparations for a mag- 
 nificent funeral for her. There was a place in 
 the Forum, a sort of pulpit, where public orators 
 were accustomed to stand in addressing the as- 
 sembly on great occasions. This pulpit was 
 adorned with the brazen beaks of ships which 
 
54 Julius Cjesar. [B.C. 67. 
 
 Ceesar's panegyric on Marius's wife. Its success. 
 
 had been taken by the Romans in former wars. 
 The name of such a beak was rostrum ; in the 
 plural, rostra. The pulpit was itself, therefore, 
 called the Rostra, that is, The Beaks ; and the 
 people were addressed from it on great public 
 occasions.* Caesar pronounced a splendid pan- 
 egyric upon the wife of Marius, at this her fu- 
 neral, from the Rostra, in the presence of a vast 
 concourse of spectators, and he had the bold- 
 ness to bring out to view on the occasion cer- 
 tain household images of Marius, which had 
 been concealed from view ever since his death. 
 Producing them asfain on such an occasion was 
 annulling, so far as a public orator could do it, 
 the sentence of condemnation which Sylla and 
 the patrician party had pronounced against him, 
 and bringing him forward again as entitled to 
 public admiration and applause. The patrician 
 partisans who were present attempted to re- 
 buke this bold maneuver with expressions of dis- 
 approbation, but these expressions were drown- 
 ed in the loud and long-continued bursts of ap- 
 plause with which the great mass of the assem- 
 bled multitude hailed and sanctioned it. The 
 experiment was very bold and very hazardous, 
 but it was triumphantly successful. 
 
 * In modern books this pulpit is sometimes called the Ros- 
 trum, using the word in the singular. 
 
B.C. 67.] Cesar's Early Years. 55 
 
 Caesar's oration on his wife. Alarm of the patricians. 
 
 A short time after this Caesar had another 
 opportunity for delivering a funeral oration ; it 
 was in the case of his own wife, the daughter 
 of China, who had been the colleague and co- 
 adjutor of Marius during the days of his power. 
 It was not usual to pronounce such panegyrics 
 upon Roman ladies unless they had attained 
 to an advanced age. Caesar, however, was dis- 
 posed to make the case of his own wife an ex- 
 ception to the ordinary rule. He saw in the 
 occasion an opportunity to give a new impulse 
 to the popular cause, and to make further prog- 
 ress in gaining the popular favor. The exper- 
 iment was successful in this instance too. The 
 people were pleased at the apparent affection 
 which his action evinced ; and as Cornelia was 
 the daughter of Cinna, he had opportunity, un- 
 der pretext of praising the birth and parentage 
 of the deceased, to laud the men whom Sylla's 
 party had outlawed and destroyed. In a word, 
 the patrician party saw with anxiety and dread 
 that Caesar was rapidly consolidating and organ- 
 izing, and bringing back to its pristine strength 
 and vigor, a party whose restoration to power 
 would of course involve their own political, and 
 perhaps personal ruin. 
 
 Caesar began soon to receive appointments to 
 
56 Julius Caesar. [B.C. 67. 
 
 Csesar in office. Shows and entertainments. 
 
 public office, and thus rapidly increased his in- 
 fluence and power. Public officers and candi- 
 dates for office were accustomed in those days 
 to expend great sums of money in shows and 
 spectacles to amuse the people. Csesar went 
 to a great extreme in these expenditures. He 
 brought gladiators from distant provinces, and 
 trained them at great expense, to fight in the 
 enormous amphitheaters of the city, in the 
 midst of vast assemblies of men. Wild beasts 
 were procured also from the forests of Africa, 
 and brought over in great numbers, under his 
 direction, that the people might be entertained 
 by their combats with captives taken in war, 
 who were reserved for this dreadful fate. C&e- 
 sar gave, also, splendid entertainments, of the 
 most luxurious and costly character, and he 
 mingled with his guests at these entertainments, 
 and with the people at large on other occasions, 
 in so complaisant and courteous a manner as to 
 gain universal favor. 
 
 He soon, by these means, not only exhausted 
 all his own pecuniary resources, but plunged 
 himself enormously into debt. It was not dif- 
 ficult for such a man in those days to procure 
 an almost unlimited credit for such purposes as 
 these, for every one knew that, if he finally sue- 
 
B.C.67.] Cesar's Early Years. 57 
 
 Caesar's extravagance. His embarrassments. 
 
 ceeded in placing himself, by means of the pop- 
 ularity thus acquired, in stations of power, he 
 could soon indemnify himself and all others 
 who had aided him. The peaceful merchants, 
 and artisans, and husbandmen of the distant 
 provinces over which he expected to rule, would 
 yield the revenues necessary to fill the treasu- 
 ries thus exhausted. Still, Caesar's expendi- 
 tures were so lavish, and the debts he incurred 
 were so enormous, that those who had not the 
 most unbounded confidence in his capacity and 
 his powers believed him irretrievably ruined. 
 
 The particulars, however, of these difficulties, 
 and the manner in which Caesar contrived to 
 extricate himself from them, will be more fully 
 detailed in the next chapter. 
 
58 Julius Cjesar. [B.C. 67. 
 
 Caesar's rise to power. Government of Rome. 
 
 Chapter III. 
 Advancement to the Consulship. 
 
 FROM this time, which was about sixty- 
 seven years before the birth of Christ, Caesar 
 remained for nine years generally at Rome, en- 
 gaged there in a constant struggle for power. 
 He was successful in these efforts, rising all the 
 time from one position of influence and honor to 
 another, until he became altogether the most 
 prominent and powerful man in the city. A 
 great many incidents are recorded, as attending 
 these contests, which illustrate in a very striking 
 manner the strange mixture of rude violence and 
 legal formality by which Rome was in those 
 days governed. 
 
 Many of the most important offices of the 
 state depended upon the votes of the people ; 
 and as the people had very little opportunity to 
 become acquainted with the real merits of the 
 case in respect to questions of government, they 
 gave their votes very much according to the 
 personal popularity of the candidate. Public 
 men had very little moral principle in those 
 
B.C. 67-65.] Made Consul. 59 
 
 Bribery and corruption. Public amusements. 
 
 days, and they would accordingly resort to any 
 means whatever to procure this personal popu- 
 larity. They who wanted office were accus- 
 tomed to bribe influential men among the people 
 to support them, sometimes by promising them 
 subordinate offices, and sometimes by the direct 
 donation of sums of money ; and they would try 
 to please the mass of the people, who were too 
 numerous to be paid with offices or with gold, 
 by shows and spectacles, and entertainments of 
 every kind which they would provide for their 
 amusement. 
 
 This practice seems to us very absurd ; and 
 we wonder that the Roman people should toler- 
 ate it, since it is evident that the means for de- 
 fraying these expenses must come, ultimately, 
 in some way or other, from them. And yet, ab- 
 surd as it seems, this sort of policy is not wholly 
 disused even in our day. The operas and the 
 theaters, and other similar establishments in 
 France, are sustained, in part, by the govern- 
 ment ; and the liberality and efficiency with 
 which this is done, forms, in some degree, the 
 basis of the popularity of each succeeding admin- 
 istration. The plan is better systematized and 
 regulated in our day, but it is, in its nature, 
 substantially the same. 
 
60 Julius C^sar. [B.C. 67-65. 
 
 Amusements for the people. Provided by the government. 
 
 In fact, furnishing amusements for the people, 
 and also providing supplies for their wants, as 
 well as affording them protection, were consid- 
 ered the legitimate objects of government in 
 those days. It is very different at the present 
 time, and especially in this country. The 
 whole community are now united in the desire 
 to confine the functions of government within 
 the narrowest possible limits, such as to include 
 only the preservation of public order and public 
 safety. The people prefer to supply their own 
 wants and to provide their own enjoyments, 
 rather than to invest government with the power 
 to do it for them, knowing very well that, on 
 the latter plan, the burdens they will have to 
 bear, though concealed for a time, must be 
 doubled in the end. 
 
 It must not be forgotten, however, that there 
 were some reasons in the days of the Eomans 
 for providing public amusements for the people 
 on an extended scale which do not exist now. 
 They had very few facilities then for the private 
 and separate enjoyments of home, so that they 
 were much more inclined than the people of this 
 country are now to seek pleasure abroad and 
 in public. The climate, too, mild and genial 
 nearly all the year, favored this. Then they 
 
B.C. 67-65.] Made Consul. 61 
 
 How the people were supported. Agrarian laws. 
 
 were not interested, as men are now, in the pur- 
 suits and avocations of private industry. The 
 people of Rome were not a community of mer- 
 chants, manufacturers, and citizens, enriching 
 themselves, and adding to the comforts and en- 
 joyments of the rest of mankind by the products 
 of their labor. They were supported, in a great 
 measure, by the proceeds of the tribute of for- 
 eign provinces, and by the plunder taken by the 
 generals in the name of the state in foreign 
 wars. From the same source, too — foreign con- 
 quest — captives were brought home, to be train- 
 ed as gladiators to amuse them with their com- 
 bats, and statues and paintings to ornament the 
 public buildings of the city. In the same man- 
 ner, large quantities of corn, which had been 
 taken in the provinces, were often distributed 
 at Rome. And sometimes even land itself, in 
 large tracts, which had been confiscated by the 
 state, or otherwise taken from the original pos- 
 sessors, was divided among the people. The 
 laws enacted from time to time for this purpose 
 were called Agrarian laws ; and the phrase after- 
 ward passed into a sort of proverb, inasmuch as 
 plans proposed in modern times for conciliating 
 the favor of the populace by sharing among them 
 property belonging to the state or to the rich, 
 are designated by the name of Agrarianism. 
 
62 Julius Caesar. [B.C 67-65. 
 
 Government of Rome. Its foreign policy. 
 
 Thus Rome was a city supported, in a great 
 measure, by the fruits of its conquests, that is, 
 in a certain sense, by plunder. It was a vast 
 community most efficiently and admirably or- 
 ganized for this purpose : and yet it would not 
 be perfectly just to designate the people simply 
 as a band of robbers. They rendered, in some 
 sense, an equivalent for what they took, in 
 establishing and enforcing a certain organiza- 
 tion of society throughout the world, and in 
 preserving a sort of public order and peace. 
 They built cities, they constructed aqueducts 
 and roads ; they formed harbors, and protected 
 them by piers and by castles ; they protected 
 commerce, and cultivated the arts, and encour- 
 aged literature, and enforced a general quiet 
 and peace among mankind, allowing of no vio- 
 lence or war except what they themselves cre- 
 ated. Thus th.ej governed the world, and they 
 felt, as all governors of mankind always do, fully 
 entitled to supply themselves with the comforts 
 and conveniences of life, in consideration of the 
 service which they thus rendered. 
 
 Of course, it was to be expected that they 
 would sometimes quarrel among themselves 
 about the spoils. Ambitious men were always 
 arising, eager to obtain opportunities to make 
 
B.C. 67-65.] 
 
 Made Consul. 
 
 63 
 
 Caesar's policy. 
 
 His success. 
 
 He is made quaestor. 
 
 fresh conquests, and to bring home new sup- 
 plies, and those who were most successful in 
 making the results of their conquests available 
 in adding to the wealth and to the public en- 
 joyments of the city, would, of course, be most 
 popular with the voters. Hence extortion in 
 the provinces, and the most profuse and lavish 
 expenditure in the city, became the policy which 
 every great man must pursue to rise to power. 
 
 Csesar entered into this policy with his whole 
 soul, founding all his hopes of success upon the 
 favor of the populace. Of course, he had many 
 rivals and opponents among the patrician ranks, 
 and in the Senate, and they often impeded and 
 thwarted his plans and measures for a time, 
 though he always triumphed in the end. 
 
 One of the first offices of importance to which 
 he attained was that of quaestor, as it was call- 
 ed, which office called him away from Rome 
 into the province of Spain, making him the sec- 
 ond in command there. The officer first in 
 command in the province was, in this instance, 
 a praetor. During his absence in Spain, Cae- 
 sar replenished in some degree his exhausted 
 finances, but he soon became very much dis- 
 contented with so subordinate a position. His 
 discontent was greatly increased by his com- 
 
64 Julius Caesar. [B.C. 65. 
 
 Caesar leaves Spain. His project. 
 
 ing unexpectedly, one day, at a city then called 
 Hades — the present Cadiz — upon a statue of 
 Alexander, which adorned one of the public ed- 
 ifices there. Alexander died when he was only 
 about thirty years of age, having before that 
 period made himself master of the world. Cae- 
 sar was himself now about thirty-five years of 
 age, and it made him very sad to reflect that, 
 though he had lived five years longer than Al- 
 exander, he had yet accomplished so little. He 
 was thus far only the second in a province, 
 while he burned with an insatiable ambition to 
 be the first in Rome. The reflection made him 
 so uneasy that he left his post before his time 
 expired, and went back to Rome, forming, on 
 the way, desperate projects for getting power 
 there. 
 
 His rivals and enemies accused him of vari- 
 ous schemes, more or less violent and treasona- 
 ble in their nature, but how justly it is not now 
 possible to ascertain. They alleged that one of 
 his plans was to join some of the neighboring col- 
 onies, whose inhabitants wished to be admitted 
 to the freedom of the city, and, making com- 
 mon cause with them, to raise an armed force 
 and take possession of Rome. It was said that, 
 to prevent the accomplishment of this design, 
 
B.C. 65-60.] Made Consul. 65 
 
 Csesar accused of treason. He is made sedile. 
 
 an army which they had raised for the purpose 
 of an expedition against the Cilician pirates 
 was detained from its march, and that Caesar, 
 seeing that the government were on their guard 
 against him, abandoned the plan. 
 
 They also charged him with having formed, 
 after this, a plan within the city for assassina- 
 ting the senators in the senate house, and then 
 usurping, with his fellow-conspirators, the su- 
 preme power. Crassus, who was a man of vast 
 wealth and a great friend of Caesar's, was asso- 
 ciated with him in this plot, and was to have 
 been made dictator if it had succeeded. But, 
 notwithstanding the brilliant prize with which 
 Caesar attempted to allure Crassus to the en- 
 terprise, his courage failed him when the time 
 for action arrived. Courage and enterprise, in 
 fact, ought not to be expected of the rich ; they 
 are the virtues of poverty. 
 
 Though the Senate were thus jealous and 
 suspicious of Caesar, and were charging him 
 continually with these criminal designs, the 
 people were on his side ; and the more he was 
 hated by the great, the more strongly he became 
 intrenched in the popular favor. They chose 
 him cedile. The aedile had the charge of the 
 public edifices of the city, and of the games, 
 E 
 
66 Julius C^sar. [B.C. 60-6O. 
 
 Gladiatorial shows. Caesar's increasing popularity. 
 
 spectacles, and shows which were exhibited in 
 them. Caesar entered with great zeal into the 
 discharge of the duties of this office. He made 
 arrangements for the entertainment of the peo- 
 ple on the most magnificent scale, and made 
 great additions and improvements to the pub- 
 lic buildings, constructing porticoes and piazzas 
 around the areas where his gladiatorial shows 
 and the combats with wild beasts were to be 
 exhibited. He provided gladiators in such num- 
 bers, and organized and arranged them in such 
 a manner, ostensibly for their training, that his 
 enemies among the nobility pretended to believe 
 that he was intending to use them as an armed 
 force against the government of the city. They 
 accordingly made laws limiting and restricting 
 the number of the gladiators to be employed. 
 Caesar then exhibited his shows on the reduced 
 scale which the new laws required, taking care 
 that the people should understand to whom the 
 responsibility for this reduction in the scale of 
 their pleasures belonged. They, of course, mur- 
 mured against the Senate, and Caesar stood 
 higher in their favor than ever. 
 
 He was getting, however, by these means, 
 very deeply involved in debt; and, in order 
 partly to retrieve his fortunes in this respect, 
 
B.C. 65-60.] 
 
 Made Consul. 
 
 67 
 
 Csesar thwarted. 
 
 
 Hie resentment. 
 
 he made an attempt to have Egypt assigned to 
 him as a province. Egypt was then an im- 
 mensely rich and fertile country. It had, how- 
 ever, never been a Roman province. It was an 
 independent kingdom, in alliance with the Ro- 
 mans, and Caesar's proposal that it should be 
 assigned to him as a province appeared very 
 extraordinary. His pretext was, that the peo- 
 ple of Egypt had recently deposed and expelled 
 their king, and that, consequently, the Romans 
 might properly take possession of it. The Sen- 
 ate, however, resisted this plan, either from 
 jealousy of Csesar or from a sense of justice 
 to Egypt ; and, after a violent contest, Caesar 
 found himself compelled to give up the design. 
 He felt, however, a strong degree of resent- 
 ment against the patrician party who had thus 
 thwarted his designs. Accordingly, in order to 
 avenge himself upon them, he one night re- 
 placed certain statues and trophies of Marius 
 in the Capitol, which had been taken down by 
 order of Sylla when he returned to power. Ma- 
 rius, as will be recollected, had been the great 
 champion of the popular party, and the enemy 
 of the patricians ; and, at the time of his down- 
 fall, all the memorials of his power and great- 
 ness had been every where removed from Rome, 
 
68 Julius Cesar. [B.C. 65-60. 
 
 The statues of Marius restored. Rage of the patricians. 
 
 and among them these statues and trophies, 
 which had been erected in the Capitol in com- 
 memoration of some former victories, and had 
 remained there until Sylla's triumph, when 
 they were taken down and destroyed. Csesar 
 now ordered new ones to be made, far more 
 magnificent than before. They were made 
 secretly, and put up in the night. His office 
 as sedile gave him the necessary authority. 
 The next morning, when the people saw these 
 splendid monuments of their great favorite re- 
 stored, the whole city was animated with ex- 
 citement and joy. The patricians, on the other 
 hand, were filled with vexation and rage. ' ' Here 
 is a single officer," said they, " who is attempt- 
 ing to restore, by his individual authority, what 
 has been formally abolished by a decree of the 
 Senate. He is trying to see how much we will 
 bear. If he finds that we will submit to this, 
 he will attempt bolder measures still." They 
 accordingly commenced a movement to have 
 the statues and trophies taken down again, but 
 the people rallied in vast numbers in defense of 
 them. They made the Capitol ring with their 
 shouts of applause ; and the Senate, finding their 
 power insufficient to cope with so great a force, 
 gave up the point, and Caesar gained the day. 
 
B.C. 65-60.] Made Consul. 69 
 
 The Good Goddess. Clodius. 
 
 Csesar had married another wife after the 
 death of Cornelia. Her name was Pompeia. 
 He divorced Pompeia about this time, under 
 very extraordinary circumstances. Among the 
 other strange religious ceremonies and celebra- 
 tions which were observed in those days, was 
 one called the celebration of the mysteries of the 
 Good Goddess. This celebration was held by 
 females alone, every thing masculine being most 
 carefully excluded. Even the pictures of men, 
 if there were any upon the walls of the house 
 where the assembly was held, were covered. 
 The persons engaged spent the night together 
 in music and dancing and various secret cere- 
 monies, half pleasure, half worship, according 
 to the ideas and customs of the time. 
 
 The mysteries of the Good Goddess were to 
 be celebrated one night at Caesar's house, he 
 himself having, of course, withdrawn. In the 
 middle of the night, the whole company in one 
 of the apartments were thrown into consterna- 
 tion at finding that one of their number was a 
 man. He had a smooth and youthful-looking 
 face, and was very perfectly disguised in the 
 dress of a female. He proved to be a certain 
 Clodius, a very base and dissolute young man, 
 though of great wealth and high connections. 
 
70 Julius C^sar. [B.C. 65-60. 
 
 Caesar divorces his wife. Quarrel of Clodius and Milo. 
 
 He had been admitted by a female slave of Pom- 
 peia's, whom he had succeeded in bribing. It 
 was suspected that it was with Pompeia's con- 
 currence. At any rate, Caesar immediately di- 
 vorced his wife. The Senate ordered an inquiry 
 into the affair, and, after the other members of 
 the household had given their testimony, Csesar 
 himself was called upon, but he had nothing to 
 say. He knew nothing about it. They asked 
 him, then, why he had divorced Pompeia, unless 
 he had some evidence for believing her guilty. 
 He replied, that a wife of Csesar must not only 
 be without crime, but without suspicion. 
 
 Clodius was a very desperate and lawless 
 character, and his subsequent history shows, in 
 a striking point of view, the degree of violence 
 and disorder which reigned in those times. He 
 became involved in a bitter contention with an- 
 other citizen whose name was Milo, and each, 
 gaining as many adherents as he could, at 
 length drew almost the whole city into their 
 quarrel. Whenever they went out, they were 
 attended with armed bands, which were con- 
 tinually in danger of coming into collision. The 
 collision at last came, quite a battle was fought, 
 and Clodius was killed. This made the diffi- 
 culty worse than it was before. Parties were 
 
B.C. 65-60.] Made Consul. 71 
 
 Violence of the times. Conspiracy of Catiline. 
 
 formed, and violent disputes arose on the ques- 
 tion of bringing Milo to trial for the alleged 
 murder. He was brought to trial at last, but 
 so great was the public excitement, that the 
 consuls for the time surrounded and filled the 
 whole Forum with armed men while the trial 
 was proceeding, to ensure the safety of the court. 
 In fact, violence mingled itself continually, 
 in those times, with almost all public proceed- 
 ings, whenever any special combination of cir- 
 cumstances occurred to awaken unusual ex- 
 citement. At one time, when Caesar was in 
 office, a very dangerous conspiracy was brought 
 to light, which was headed by the notorious 
 Catiline. It was directed chiefly against the 
 Senate and the higher departments of the gov- 
 ernment ; it contemplated , in fact, their utter 
 destruction, and the establishment of an entirely 
 new government on the ruins of the existing 
 constitution. Caesar was himself accused of 
 a participation in this plot. When it was dis- 
 covered, Catiline himself fled ; some of the 
 other conspirators were, however, arrested, and 
 there was a long and very excited debate in the 
 Senate on the question of their punishment. 
 Some were for death. Caesar, however, very 
 earnestly opposed this plan, recommending, in- 
 
72 Julius Cesar. [B.C. 65-60. 
 
 Warm debate in the Senate. Csesar in danger of violence. 
 
 stead, the confiscation of the estates of the con- 
 spirators, and their imprisonment in some of the 
 distant cities of Italy. The dispute grew very- 
 warm, Caesar urging his point with great per- 
 severance and determination, and with a degree 
 of violence which threatened seriously to ob- 
 struct the proceedings, when a body of armed 
 men, a sort of guard of honor stationed there, 
 gathered around him, and threatened him with 
 their swords. Quite a scene of disorder and 
 terror ensued. Some of the senators arose 
 hastily and fled from the vicinity of Caesar's 
 seat to avoid the danger. Others, more coura- 
 geous, or more devoted in their attachment to 
 him, gathered around him to protect him, as far 
 as they could, by interposing their bodies be- 
 tween his person and the weapons of his assail- 
 ants. Caesar soon left the Senate, and for a 
 long time would return to it no more. 
 
 Although Caesar was all this time, on the 
 whole, rising in influence and power, there were 
 still fluctuations in his fortune, and the tide 
 sometimes, for a short period, went strongly 
 against him. He was at one time, when greatly 
 involved in debt, and embarrassed in all his af- 
 fairs, a candidate for a very high office, that of 
 Pontifex Maximus, or sovereign pontiff. The 
 
B.C. 65-60.] Made Consul. 73 
 
 Caesar's struggle for the office of pontifex maximus. He is deposed. 
 
 office of the pontifex was originally that of build- 
 ing and keeping custody of the bridges of the 
 city, the name being derived from the Latin 
 word pons, which signifies bridge. To this, 
 however, had afterward been added the care 
 of the temples, and finally the regulation and 
 control of the ceremonies of religion, so that it 
 came in the end to be an office of the highest 
 dignity and honor. Caesar made the most des- 
 perate efforts to secure his election, resorting to 
 such measures, expending such sums, and in- 
 volving himself in debt to such an extreme, that, 
 if he failed, he would be irretrievably ruined. 
 His mother, sympathizing with him in his anxi- 
 ety, kissed him when he went away from the 
 house on the morning of the election, and bade 
 him farewell with tears. He told her that he 
 should come home that night the pontiff, or he 
 should never come home at all. He succeeded 
 in gaining the election. 
 
 At one time Caesar was actually deposed 
 from a high office which he held by a decree of 
 the Senate. He determined to disregard this 
 decree, and go on in the discharge of his office 
 as usual. But the Senate, whose ascendency 
 was now, for some reason, once more estab- 
 lished, prepared to prevent him by force of arms. 
 
74 Julius Cesar. [B.C. 65-60. 
 
 Caesar's forbearance. He is restored to office. 
 
 Caesar, finding that he was not sustained, gave 
 up the contest, put off his robes of office, and 
 went home. Two days afterward a reaction 
 occurred. A mass of the populace came to- 
 gether to his house, and offered their assistance 
 to restore his rights and vindicate his honor. 
 Caesar, however, contrary to what every one 
 would have expected of him, exerted his in- 
 fluence to calm and quiet the mob, and then 
 sent them away, remaining himself in private 
 as before. The Senate had been alarmed at 
 the first outbreak of the tumult, and a meeting 
 had been suddenly convened to consider what 
 measures to adopt in such a crisis. When, how- 
 ever, they found that Caesar had himself inter- 
 posed, and by his own personal influence had 
 saved the city from the danger which threat- 
 ened it, they were so strongly impressed with a 
 sense of his forbearance and generosity, that 
 they sent for him to come to the senate house, 
 and, after formally expressing their thanks, they 
 canceled their former vote, and restored him to 
 his office again. This change in the action of 
 the Senate does not, however, necessarily indi- 
 cate so great a change of individual sentiment 
 as one might at first imagine. There was, un- 
 doubtedly, a large minority who were opposed 
 
B.C. 65-60.] Made Consul. 75 
 
 Caesar implicated in Catiline's conspiracy. He arrests Vettius. 
 
 to his being deposed in the first instance ; but, 
 being outvoted, the decree of deposition was 
 passed. Others were, perhaps, more or less 
 doubtful. Caesar's generous forbearance in re- 
 fusing the offered aid of the populace carried 
 over a number of these sufficient to shift the 
 majority, and thus the action of the body was 
 reversed. It is in this way that the sudden and 
 apparently total changes in the action of delib- 
 erative assemblies which often take place, and 
 which would otherwise, in some cases, be al- 
 most incredible, are to be explained. 
 
 After this, Caesar became involved in another 
 difficulty, in consequence of the appearance of 
 some definite and positive evidence that he was 
 connected with Catiline in his famous conspir- 
 acy. One of the senators said that Catiline 
 himself had informed him that Caesar was one 
 of the accomplices of the plot. Another wit- 
 ness, named Vettius, laid an information against 
 Caesar before a Roman magistrate, and offered 
 to produce Caesar's handwriting in proof of 
 his participation in the conspirator's designs. 
 Caesar was very much incensed, and his manner 
 of vindicating himself from these serious charges 
 was as singular as many of his other deeds. He 
 arrested Vettius, and sentenced him to pay a 
 
76 Julius Cesar. [B.C. 60. 
 
 Caesar's embarrassment. Spain is assigned to him. 
 
 heavy fine, and to be imprisoned ; and he con- 
 trived also to expose him, in the course of the 
 proceedings, to the mob in the Forum, who 
 were always ready to espouse Caesar's cause, 
 and who, on this occasion, beat Vettius so un- 
 mercifully, that he barely escaped with his life. 
 The magistrate, too, was thrown into prison for 
 having dared to take an information against a 
 superior officer. 
 
 At last Csesar became so much involved in 
 debt, through the boundless extravagance of his 
 expenditures, that something must be done to 
 replenish his exhausted finances. He had, how- 
 ever, by this time, risen so high in official in- 
 fluence and power, that he succeeded in having 
 Spain assigned to him as his province, and he 
 began to make preparations to proceed to it. 
 His creditors, however, interposed, unwilling to 
 let him go without giving them security. In 
 this dilemma, Csesar succeeded in making an 
 arrangement with Crassus, who has already 
 been spoken of as a man of unbounded wealth 
 and great ambition, but not possessed of any 
 considerable degree of intellectual power. Cras- 
 sus consented to give the necessary security. 
 with an understanding that Csesar was to re- 
 pay him by exerting his political influence in 
 
B.C. 60.1 Made Consul. 77 
 
 The Swiss hamlet. Caesar's ambition. 
 
 his favor. So soon as this arrangement was 
 made, Caesar set off in a sudden and private 
 manner, as if he expected that otherwise some 
 new difficulty would intervene. 
 
 He went to Spain by land, passing through 
 Switzerland on the way. He stopped with his 
 attendants one night at a very insignificant vil- 
 lage of shepherds' huts among the mountains. 
 Struck with the poverty and worthlessness of 
 all they saw in this wretched hamlet, Caesar's 
 friends were wondering whether the jealousy, 
 rivalry, and ambition which reigned among 
 men every where else in the world could rind 
 any footing there, when Caesar told them that, 
 for his part, he should rather choose to be first 
 in such a village as that than the second at 
 Rome. The story has been repeated a thousand 
 times, and told to every successive generation 
 now for nearly twenty centuries, as an illustra- 
 tion of the peculiar type and character of the 
 ambition which controls such a soul as that of 
 Caesar. 
 
 Caesar was very successful in the administra- 
 tion of his province ; that is to say, he returned 
 in a short time with considerable military glory, 
 and with money enough to pay all his debts, and 
 furnish him with means for fresh electioneering. 
 
78 Julius Caesar. [B.C.59. 
 
 Manner of choosing the consuls. Pompey and Crassus. 
 
 He now felt strong enough to aspire to the 
 office of consul, which was the highest office of 
 the Roman state. When the line of kings had 
 been deposed, the Romans had vested the su- 
 preme magistracy in the hands of two consuls, 
 who were chosen annually in a general election, 
 the formalities of which were all very carefully 
 arranged. The current of popular opinion was, 
 of course, in Csesar's favor, but he had many 
 powerful rivals and enemies among the great, 
 who, however, hated and opposed each other as 
 well as him. There was at that time a very 
 bitter feud between Pompey and Crassus, each 
 of them struggling for power against the efforts 
 of the other. Pompey possessed great influence 
 through his splendid abilities and his military 
 renown. Crassus, as has already been stated, 
 was powerful through his wealth. Caesar, who 
 had some influence with them both, now con- 
 ceived the bold design of reconciling them, and 
 then of availing himself of their united aid in 
 accomplishing his own particular ends. 
 
 He succeeded perfectly well in this manage- 
 ment. He represented to them that, by con- 
 tending against each other, they only exhausted 
 their own powers, and strengthened the arms 
 of their common enemies. He proposed to them 
 
B.C. 59.] Made Consul. 79 
 
 The first triumvirate. Caesar a candidate for the consulship. 
 
 to unite with one another and with him, and 
 thus make common cause to promote their com- 
 mon interest and advancement. They willingly 
 acceded to this plan, and a triple league was ac- 
 cordingly formed, in which they each bound 
 themselves to promote, by every means in his 
 power, the political elevation of the others, and 
 not to take any public step or adopt any meas- 
 ures without the concurrence of the three. 
 Csesar faithfully observed the obligations of this 
 league so long as he could use his two associ- 
 ates to promote his own ends, and then he aban- 
 doned it. 
 
 Having, however, completed this arrange- 
 ment, he was now prepared to push vigorously 
 his claims to be elected consul. He associated 
 with his own name that of Lucceius, who was 
 a man of great wealth, and who agreed to defray 
 the expenses of the election for the sake of the 
 honor of being consul with Csesar. Caesar's en- 
 emies, however, knowing that they probably 
 could not prevent his election, determined to 
 concentrate their strength in the effort to pre- 
 vent his having the colleague he desired. They 
 made choice, therefore, of a certain Bibulus as 
 their candidate. Bibulus had always been a 
 political opponent of Caesar's, and they thought 
 
80 Julius Caesar. [B.C.59. 
 
 Caesar assumes the whole power. He imprisons Cato. 
 
 that, by associating him with Caesar in the su- 
 preme magistracy, the pride and ambition of 
 their great adversary might be held somewhat in 
 check. They accordingly made a contribution 
 among themselves to enable Bibulus to expend 
 as much money in bribery as Lucceius, and the 
 canvass went on. 
 
 It resulted in the election of Caesar and Bib- 
 ulus. They entered upon the duties of their 
 office ; but Caesar, almost entirely disregarding 
 his colleague, began to assume the whole power, 
 and proposed and carried measure after measure 
 of the most extraordinary character, all aiming 
 at the gratification of the populace. He was at 
 first opposed violently both by Bibulus and by 
 many leading members of the Senate, especially 
 by Cato, a stern and inflexible patriot, whom 
 neither fear of danger nor hope of reward could 
 move from what he regarded his duty. But 
 Caesar was now getting strong enough to put 
 down the opposition which he encountered with- 
 out much scruple as to the means. He ordered 
 Cato on one occasion to be arrested in the Sen- 
 ate and sent to prison. Another influential 
 member of the Senate rose and was going out 
 with him. Caesar asked him where he was 
 going. He said he was going with Cato. He 
 
B.C. 59.] Made Consul. 81 
 
 Eibulus retires to his house. The year of " Julius and Caasar." 
 
 would rather, he said, be with Cato in prison, 
 than in the Senate with Caesar. 
 
 Caesar treated Bibulus also with so much 
 neglect, and assumed so entirely the whole con- 
 trol of the consular power, to the utter exclusion 
 of his colleague, that Bibulus at last, com- 
 pletely discouraged and chagrined, abandoned 
 all pretension to official authority, retired to 
 his house, and shut himself up in perfect se- 
 clusion, leaving Caesar to his own way. It was 
 customary among the Romans, in their histori- 
 cal and narrative writings, to designate the suc- 
 cessive years, not by a numerical date as with 
 us, but by the names of the consuls who held 
 office in them. Thus, in the time of Caesar's 
 consulship, the phrase would have been, "In the 
 year of Caesar and Bibulus, consuls," according 
 to the ordinary usage; but the wags of the city, 
 in order to make sport of the assumptions of 
 Caesar and the insignificance of Bibulus, used 
 to say, " In the year of Julius and Caesar, con- 
 suls," rejecting the name of Bibulus altogether, 
 and taking the two names of Caesar to make 
 out the necessary duality. 
 F 
 
82 Julius Caesar. [B.C. 58. 
 
 Cgesar aspires to be a soldier. His success and celebrity. 
 
 Chapter IV. 
 The Conquest of Gaul. 
 
 IN attaining to the consulship, Caesar had 
 reached the highest point of elevation which 
 it was possible to reach as a mere citizen of 
 Rome. His ambition was, however, of course, 
 not satisfied. The only way to acquire higher 
 distinction and to rise to higher power was to 
 enter upon a career of foreign conquest. Csesar 
 therefore aspired now to be a soldier. He ac- 
 cordingly obtained the command of an army, 
 and entered upon a course of military campaigns 
 in the heart of Europe, which he continued for 
 eight years. These eight years constitute one 
 of the most important and strongly-marked pe- 
 riods of his life. He was triumphantly suc- 
 cessful in his military career, and he made, ac- 
 cordingly, a vast accession to his celebrity and 
 power, in his own day, by the results of his cam- 
 paigns. He also wrote, himself, an account of 
 his adventures during this period, in which the 
 events are recorded in so lucid and in so elo- 
 quent a manner, that the narrations have con^ 
 
B.C. 58.] Conquest of Gaul. 83 
 
 Scenes of Caesar's exploits. Cisalpine and Transalpine Gaul. 
 
 tinued to be read by every successive genera- 
 tion of scholars down to the present day, and 
 they have had a great influence in extending 
 and perpetuating his fame. 
 
 The principal scenes of the exploits which 
 Caesar performed during the period of this his 
 first great military career, were the north of 
 Italy, Switzerland, France, Germany, and En- 
 gland, a great tract of country, nearly all of 
 which he overran and conquered. A large por- 
 tion of this territory was called Gaul in those 
 days ; the part on the Italian side of the Alps 
 being named Cisalpine Gaul, while that which 
 lay beyond was designated as Transalpine. 
 Transalpine Gaul was substantially what is 
 now France. There was a part of Transalpine 
 Gaul which had been already conquered and 
 reduced to a Roman province. It was called 
 The Province then, and has retained the name, 
 with a slight change in orthography, to the pres- 
 ent day. It is now known as Provence. 
 
 The countries which Caesar went to invade 
 were occupied by various nations and tribes, 
 many of which were well organized and war- 
 like, and some of them were considerably civil- 
 ized and wealthy. They had extended tracts 
 of cultivated land, the slopes of the hills and the 
 
84 Julius C^sar. 
 
 [B.C. 58-50. 
 
 Condition of Gaul in Caesar's day. 
 
 Singular cavalry. 
 
 mountain sides being formed into green pastu- 
 rages, which were covered with flocks of goats, 
 and sheep, and herds of cattle, while the smooth- 
 er and more level tracts were adorned with 
 smiling vineyards and broadly-extended fields 
 of waving grain. They had cities, forts, ships, 
 and armies. Their manners and customs would 
 be considered somewhat rude by modern na- 
 tions, and some of their usages of war were half 
 barbarian. For example, in one of the nations 
 which Csesar encountered, he found, as he says 
 in his narrative, a corps of cavalry, as a con- 
 stituent part of the army, in which, to every 
 horse, there were two men, one the rider, and 
 the other a sort of foot soldier and attendant. 
 If the battle went against them, and the squad- 
 ron were put to their speed in a retreat, these 
 footmen would cling to the manes of the horses, 
 and then, half running, half flying, they would 
 be borne along over the field, thus keeping al- 
 ways at the side of their comrades, and escaping 
 with them to a place of safety. 
 
 But, although the Romans were inclined to 
 consider these nations as only half civilized, still 
 there would be great glory, as Csesar thought, 
 in subduing them, and probably great treasure 
 would be secured in the conquest, both by the 
 
B.C. 58-50.] Conquest of Gaul. 85 
 
 Csesar's-plans. His pretexts. 
 
 plunder and confiscation of governmental prop- 
 erty, and by the tribute which would be col- 
 lected in taxes from the people of the countries 
 subdued. Caesar accordingly placed himself at 
 the head of an army of three Roman legions, 
 which he contrived, by means of a great deal 
 of political maneuvering and management, to 
 have raised and placed under his command. 
 One of these legions, which was called the tenth 
 legion, was his favorite corps, on account of the 
 bravery and hardihood which they often dis- 
 played. At the head of these legions, Caesar 
 set out for Gaul. He was at this time not far 
 from forty years of age. 
 
 Csesar had no difficulty in finding pretexts for 
 making war upon any of these various nations 
 that he might desire to subdue. They were, 
 of course, frequently at war with each other, 
 and there were at all times standing topics of 
 controversy and unsettled disputes among them. 
 Caesar had, therefore, only to draw near to the 
 scene of contention, and then to take sides with 
 one party or the other, it mattered little with 
 which, for the affair almost always resulted, in 
 the end, in his making himself master of both. 
 The manner, however, in which this sort of op- 
 eration was performed, can best be illustrated 
 
86 Julius Caesar. [B.C.58-50. 
 
 Ariovistus. The iEduans. 
 
 by an example, and we will take for the pur- 
 pose the case of Ariovistus. 
 
 Ariovistus was a German king. He had 
 been nominally a sort of ally of the Romans. 
 He had extended his conquests across the Rhine 
 into Gaul, and he held some nations there as 
 his tributaries. Among these, the iEduans 
 were a prominent party, and, to simplify the 
 account, we will take their name as the repre- 
 sentative of all who were concerned. When 
 Csesar came into the region of the iEduans, he 
 entered into some negotiations with them, in 
 which they, as he alleges, asked his assistance 
 to enable them to throw off the dominion of 
 their German enemy. It is probable, in fact, 
 that there was some proposition of this kind 
 from them, for Csesar had abundant means of 
 inducing them to make it, if he was disposed ; 
 and the receiving of such a communication 
 furnished the most obvious and plausible pre- 
 text to authorize and justify his interposition. 
 
 Csesar accordingly sent a messenger across 
 the Rhine to Ariovistus, saying that he wished 
 to have an interview with him on business of 
 importance, and asking him to name a time 
 which would be convenient to him for the inter- 
 view, and also to appoint some place in Gaul 
 where he would attend. 
 
B.C. 58-50.] Conquest of Gaul. 87 
 
 Cassar's negotiations with Ariovistus. His message. 
 
 To this Ariovistus replied, that if he had, 
 himself, any business with Caesar, he would 
 have waited upon him to propose it ; and, in 
 the same manner, if Caesar wished to see him, 
 he must come into his own dominions. He said 
 that it would not be safe for him to come into 
 Gaul without an army, and that it was not con- 
 venient for him to raise and equip an army for 
 such a purpose at that time. 
 
 Caesar sent again to Ariovistus to say, that 
 since he was so unmindful of his obligations to 
 the Roman people as to refuse an interview 
 with him on business of common interest, he 
 would state the particulars that he required of 
 him. The iEduans, he said, were now his al- 
 lies, and under his protection ; and Ariovistus 
 must send back the hostages which he held from 
 them, and bind himself henceforth not to send 
 any more troops across the Rhine, nor make war 
 upon the iEduans, or injure them in any way. 
 If he complied with these terms, all would be 
 well. If he did not, Caesar said that he should 
 not himself disregard the just complaints of his 
 allies. 
 
 Ariovistus had no fear of Caesar. Caesar had, 
 in fact, thus far, not begun to acquire the mil- 
 itary renown to which he afterward attained. 
 
88 Julius Caesar. [B.C. 58-50. 
 
 Ariovistus's spirited reply to Csesar. Preparations for war. 
 
 Ariovistus had, therefore, no particular cause 
 to dread his power. He sent him back word 
 that he did not understand why Csesar should 
 interfere between him and his conquered prov- 
 ince. " The ^Eduans," said he, " tried the for- 
 tune of war with me, and were overcome ; and 
 they must abide the issue. The Romans man- 
 age their conquered provinces as they judge 
 proper, without holding themselves accountable 
 to any one. I shall do the same with mine. 
 All that I can say is, that so long as the iEdu- 
 ans submit peaceably to my authority, and pay 
 their tribute, I shall not molest them ; as to 
 your threat that you shall not disregard their 
 complaints, you must know that no one has 
 ever made war upon me but to his own destruc- 
 tion, and, if you wish to see how it will turn out 
 in your case, you may make the experiment 
 whenever you please." 
 
 Both parties immediately prepared for war. 
 Ariovistus, instead of waiting to be attacked, 
 assembled his army, crossed the Rhine, and ad- 
 vanced into the territories from which Caesar 
 had undertaken to exclude him. 
 
 As Csesar, however, began to make his ar- 
 rangements for putting his army in motion to 
 meet his approaching enemy, there began to cir- 
 
B.C. 58-50.] Conquest of Gaul. 89 
 
 Panic in the Roman army. Caesar's address. 
 
 culate throughout the camp such extraordinary 
 stories of the terrible strength and courage of 
 the German soldiery as to produce a very gen- 
 eral panic. So great, at length, became the 
 anxiety and alarm, that even the officers were 
 wholly dejected and discouraged; and as for the 
 men, they were on the very eve of mutiny. 
 
 When Caesar understood this state of things, 
 he called an assembly of the troops, and made 
 an address to them. He told them that he was 
 astonished to learn to what an extent an un- 
 worthy despondency and fear had taken pos- 
 session of their minds, and how little confidence 
 they reposed in him, their general. And then, 
 after some further remarks about the duty of a 
 soldier to be ready to go wherever his command- 
 er leads him, and presenting also some consid- 
 erations in respect to the German troops with 
 which they were going to contend, in order to 
 show them that they had no cause to fear, he 
 ended by saying that he had not been fully de- 
 cided as to the time of marching, but that now 
 he had concluded to give orders for setting out 
 the next morning at three o'clock, that he might 
 learn, as soon as possible, who were too coward- 
 ly to follow him. He would go himself, he said, 
 if he was attended by the tenth legion alone. 
 
90 Julius Cesar. [B.C. 58-50. 
 
 Effect of Caesar's address. Proposals for an interview. 
 
 He was sure that they would not shrink from 
 any undertaking in which he led the way. 
 
 The soldiers, moved partly by shame, partly 
 by the decisive and commanding tone which 
 their general assumed, and partly reassured by 
 the courage and confidence which he seemed to 
 feel, laid aside their fears, and vied with each 
 other henceforth in energy and ardor. The ar- 
 mies approached each other. Ariovistus sent 
 to Caesar, saying that now, if he wished it, he 
 was ready for an interview. Caesar acceded to 
 the suggestion, and the arrangements for a con- 
 ference were made, each party, as usual in such 
 cases, taking every precaution to guard against 
 the treachery of the other. 
 
 Between the two camps there was a rising 
 ground, in the middle of an open plain, where it 
 was decided that the conference should be held. 
 Ariovistus proposed that neither party should 
 bring any foot soldiers to the place of meeting, 
 but cavalry alone ; and that these bodies of cav- 
 alry, brought by the respective generals, should 
 remain at the foot of the eminence on either 
 side, while Caesar and Ariovistus themselves, 
 attended each by only ten followers on horse- 
 back, should ascend it. This plan was acceded 
 to by Csesar, and a long conference was held in 
 
B.C. 58-50.] Conquest of Gaul. 91 
 
 Conference between Caesar and ATiovistus. Cassar's messenger seized. 
 
 this way between the two generals, as they sat 
 upon their horses, on the summit of the hill. 
 
 The two generals, in their discussion, only 
 repeated in substance what they had said in 
 their embassages before, and made no progress 
 toward coming to an understanding. At length 
 Csesar closed the conference and withdrew. 
 Some days afterward Ariovistus sent a request 
 to Csesar, asking that he would appoint another 
 interview, or else that he would depute one of 
 his officers to proceed to Ariovistus's camp and 
 receive a communication which he wished to 
 make to him. Csesar concluded not to grant 
 another interview, and he did not think it pru- 
 dent to send any one of his principal officers 
 as an embassador, for fear that he might be 
 treacherously seized and held as a hostage. He 
 accordingly sent an ordinary messenger, accom- 
 panied by one or two men. These men were all 
 seized and put in irons as soon as they reached 
 the camp of Ariovistus, and Csesar now prepared 
 in earnest for giving his enemy battle. 
 
 He proved himself as skillful and efficient in 
 arranging and managing the combat as he had 
 been sagacious and adroit in the negotiations 
 which preceded it. Several days were spent 
 in maneuvers and movements, by which each 
 
92 Julius Cesar. [B.C. 58-50. 
 
 Defeat of the Germans. Release of Caesar's messenger. 
 
 party endeavored to gain some advantage over 
 the other in respect to their position in the ap- 
 proaching struggle. When at length the com- 
 bat came, Caesar and his legions were entirely 
 and triumphantly successful. The Germans 
 were put totally to flight. Their baggage and 
 stores were all seized, and the troops themselves 
 fled in dismay by all the roads which led back 
 to the Rhine ; and there those who succeeded 
 in escaping death from the Romans, who pur- 
 sued them all the way, embarked in boats and 
 upon rafts, and returned to their homes. Ari- 
 ovistus himself found a small boat, in which, 
 with one or two followers, he succeeded in get- 
 ting across the stream. 
 
 As Csesar, at the head of a body of his troops, 
 was pursuing the enemy in this their flight, he 
 overtook one party who had a prisoner with 
 them confined by iron chains fastened to his 
 limbs, and whom they were hurrying rapidly 
 along. This prisoner proved to be the messen- 
 ger that Csesar had sent to Ariovistus's camp, 
 and whom he had, as Caesar alleges, treacher- 
 ously detained. Of course, he was overjoyed to 
 be recaptured and set at liberty. The man 
 said that three times they had drawn lots to see 
 whether they should burn him alive then, or re- 
 
B.C. 58-50.] Conquest of Gaul. 93 
 
 Results of the victory. Caesar's continued success. 
 
 serve the pleasure for a future occasion, and 
 that every time the lot had resulted in his favor. 
 The consequence of this victory was, that 
 Caesar's authority was established triumphantly 
 over all that part of Gaul which he had thus 
 freed from Ariovistus's sway. Other parts of 
 the country, too, were pervaded by the fame of 
 his exploits, and the people every where began 
 to consider what action it would be incumbent 
 on them to take, in respect to the new military 
 power which had appeared so suddenly among 
 them. Some nations determined to submit 
 without resistance, and to seek the conqueror's 
 alliance and protection. Others, more bold, 
 or more confident of their strength, began to 
 form combinations and to arrange plans for re- 
 sisting him. But, whenever they did, the re- 
 sult in the end was the same. Caesar's as- 
 cendency was every where and always gaining 
 ground. Of course, it is impossible in the com- 
 pass of a single chapter, which is all that can 
 be devoted to the subject in this volume, to 
 give any regular narrative of the events of the 
 eight years of Caesar's military career in Gaul. 
 Marches, negotiations, battles, and victories 
 mingled with and followed each other in a long 
 succession, the particulars of which it would re- 
 
94 Julius Caesar. [B.C. 58-50. 
 
 Account of the northern nations. Their strange customs. 
 
 quire a volume to detail, every thing resulting 
 most successfully for the increase of Csesar's 
 power and the extension of his fame. 
 
 Csesar gives, in his narrative, very extraordi- 
 nary accounts of the customs and modes of life 
 of some of the people that he encountered. 
 There was one country, for example, in which 
 all the lands were common, and the whole struc- 
 ture of society was based on the plan of forming 
 the community into one great martial band. 
 The nation was divided into a hundred cantons, 
 each containing two thousand men capable of 
 bearing arms. If these were all mustered into 
 service together, they would form, of course, an 
 army of two hundred thousand men. It was 
 customary, however, to organize only one half 
 of them into an army, while the rest remained 
 at home to till the ground and tend the flocks 
 and herds. These two great divisions inter- 
 changed their work every year, the soldiers be- 
 coming husbandmen, and the husbandmen sol- 
 diers. Thus they all became equally inured to 
 the hardships and dangers of the camp, and to 
 the more continuous but safer labors of agricul- 
 tural toil. Their fields were devoted to pastur- 
 age more than to tillage, for flocks and herds 
 could be driven from place to place, and thus 
 
B.C. 58-50.] Conquest op Gaul. 95 
 
 Well-trained horses. Caesar's popularity with the army. 
 
 more easily preserved from the depredations of 
 enemies than fields of grain. The children grew 
 up almost perfectly wild from infancy, and hard- 
 ened themselves by bathing in cold streams, 
 wearing very little clothing, and making long 
 hunting excursions among the mountains. The 
 people had abundance of excellent horses, which 
 the young men were accustomed, from their 
 earliest years, to ride without saddle or bridle, 
 the horses being trained to obey implicitly every 
 command. So admirably disciplined were they, 
 that sometimes, in battle, the mounted men 
 would leap from their horses and advance as 
 foot soldiers to aid the other infantry, leaving 
 the horses to stand until they returned. The 
 horses would not move from the spot ; the men, 
 when the object for which they had dismounted 
 was accomplished, would come back, spring to 
 their seats again, and once more become a squad- 
 ron of cavalry. 
 
 Although Csesar was very energetic and de- 
 cided in the government of his army, he was 
 extremely popular with his soldiers in all these 
 campaigns. He exposed his men, of course, to 
 a great many privations and hardships, but then 
 he evinced, in many cases, such a willingness 
 to bear his share of them, that the men were 
 
96 Julius C^sar. [B.C. 58-50. 
 
 Caesar's military habits. His bridge across the Rhine. 
 
 very little inclined to complain. He moved at 
 the head of the column when his troops were 
 advancing on a march, generally on horseback, 
 but often on foot; and Suetonius says that he 
 used to go bareheaded on such occasions, what- 
 ever was the state of the weather, though it is 
 difficult to see what the motive of this appa- 
 rently needless exposure could be, unless it was 
 for effect, on some special or unusual occasion. 
 Csesar would ford or swim rivers with his men 
 whenever there was no other mode of transit, 
 sometimes supported, it was said, by bags in- 
 flated with air, and placed under his arms. At 
 one time he built a bridge across the Rhine, to 
 enable his army to cross that river. This bridge 
 was built with piles driven down into the sand, 
 which supported a flooring of timbers. Csesar, 
 considering it quite an exploit thus to bridge 
 the Rhine, wrote a minute account of the man- 
 ner in which the work was constructed, and the 
 description is almost exactly in accordance with 
 the principles and usages of modern carpentry. 
 After the countries which were the scene of 
 these conquests were pretty well subdued, Cse- 
 sar established on some of the great routes of 
 travel a system of posts, that is, he stationed 
 supplies of horses at intervals of from ten to 
 
B.C. 58-50.] Conquest of Gaul. 97 
 
 System of posts. Their great utility. 
 
 twenty miles along the way, so that he himself, 
 or the officers of his army, or any couriers whom 
 he might have occasion to send with dispatches, 
 could travel with great speed by finding a fresh 
 horse ready at every stage. By this means he 
 sometimes traveled himself a hundred miles in 
 a day. This system, thus adopted for military 
 purposes in Csesar's time, has been continued 
 in almost all countries of Europe to the present 
 age, and is applied to traveling in carriages as 
 well as on horseback. A family party purchase 
 a carriage, and arranging within it all the com- 
 forts and conveniences which they will require 
 on the journey, they set out, taking these post 
 horses, fresh at each village, to draw them to 
 the next. Thus they can go at any rate of 
 speed which they desire, instead of being limited 
 in their movements by the powers of endurance 
 of one set of animals, as they would be com- 
 pelled to be if they were to travel with their 
 own. This plan has, for some reason, never 
 been introduced into America, and it is now 
 probable that it never will be, as the railway 
 system will doubtless supersede it. 
 
 One of the most remarkable of the enterprises 
 which Csesar undertook during the period of 
 these campaigns was his excursion into Great 
 G 
 
98 Julius Cesar. [B.C. 58-50. 
 
 Caesar's invasion of Britain. His pretext for it. 
 
 Britain. The real motive of this expedition 
 was probably a love of romantic adventure, 
 and a desire to secure for himself at Rome the 
 glory of having penetrated into remote regions 
 which Roman armies had never reached before. 
 The pretext, however, which he made to justify 
 his invading the territories of the Britons was, 
 that the people of the island were accustomed 
 to come across the Channel and aid the Gauls 
 in their wars. 
 
 In forming his arrangements for going into 
 England, the first thing was, to obtain all the 
 information which was accessible in Gaul in re- 
 spect to the country. There were, in those days, 
 great numbers of traveling merchants, who went 
 from one nation to another to purchase and sell, 
 taking with them such goods as were most easy 
 of transportation. These merchants, of course, 
 were generally possessed of a great deal of in- 
 formation in respect to the countries which they 
 had visited, and Csesar called together as many 
 of them as he could find, when he had reached 
 the northern shores of France, to inquire about 
 the modes of crossing the Channel, the harbors 
 on the English side, the geographical conforma- 
 tion of the country, and the military resources 
 of the people. He found, however, that the 
 
B.C. 58-50.] Conquest of Gaul. 99 
 
 Caesar consults the merchants. Volusenus. 
 
 merchants could give him very little informa- 
 tion. They knew that Britain was an island, 
 but they did not know its extent or its bounda- 
 ries ; and they could tell him very little of the 
 character or customs of the people. They said 
 that they had only been accustomed to land 
 upon the southern shore, and to transact all 
 their business there, without penetrating at all 
 into the interior of the country. 
 
 Caesar then, who, though undaunted and bold 
 in emergencies requiring prompt and decisive 
 action, was extremely cautious and wary at all 
 other times, fitted up a single ship, and, putting 
 one of his officers on board with a proper crew, 
 directed him to cross the Channel to the En- 
 glish coast, and then to cruise along the land 
 for some miles in each direction, to observe 
 where were the best harbors and places for 
 landing, and to examine generally the appear- 
 ance of the shore. This vessel was a galley, 
 manned with numerous oarsmen, well selected 
 and strong, so that it could retreat with great 
 speed from any sudden appearance of danger. 
 The name of the officer who had the command 
 of it was Volusenus. Volusenus set sail, the 
 army watching his vessel with great interest as 
 it moved slowly away from the shore. He was 
 
100 Julius Cesar. [B.C. 58-50. 
 
 Caesar collects vessels. Embarkation of the troops. 
 
 gone five days, and then returned, bringing Cse- 
 sar an account of his discoveries. 
 
 In the mean time, Caesar had collected a 
 large number of sailing vessels from the whole 
 line of the French shore, by means of which he 
 proposed to transport his army across the Chan- 
 nel. He had two legions to take into Britain, 
 the remainder of his forces having been station- 
 ed as garrisons in various parts of Gaul. It 
 was necessary, too, to leave a considerable force 
 at his post of debarkation, in order to secure a 
 safe retreat in case of any disaster on the Brit- 
 ish side. The number of transport ships pro- 
 vided for the foot soldiers which were to be 
 taken over was eighty. There were, besides 
 these, eighteen more, which were appointed to 
 convey a squadron of horse. This cavalry force 
 were to embark at a separate port, about eighty 
 miles distant from the one from which the in- 
 fantry were to sail. 
 
 At length a suitable day for the embarka- 
 tion arrived ; the troops were put on board the 
 ships, and orders were given to sail. The day 
 could not be fixed beforehand, as the time for 
 attempting to make the passage must necessa- 
 rily depend upon the state of the wind and 
 weather. Accordingly, when the favorable op- 
 
B.C. 58-50.] Conquest of Gaul. 101 
 
 Sailing of the fleet. Preparations of the Britons. 
 
 portunity arrived, and the main body of the 
 army began to embark, it took some time to 
 send the orders to the port where the cavalry 
 had rendezvoused ; and there were, besides, 
 other causes of delay which occurred to detain 
 this corps, so that it turned out, as we shall 
 presently see, that the foot soldiers had to act 
 alone in the first attempt at landing on the 
 British shore. 
 
 It was one o'clock in the morning when the 
 fleet set sail. The Britons had, in the mean 
 time, obtained intelligence of Caesar's threat- 
 ened invasion, and they had assembled in great 
 force, with troops, and horsemen, and carriages 
 of war, and were all ready to guard the shore. 
 The coast, at the point where Caesar was ap- 
 proaching, consists of a line of chalky cliffs, 
 with valley-like openings here and there be- 
 tween them, communicating with the shore, 
 and sometimes narrow beaches below. When 
 the Roman fleet approached the shore, Caesar 
 found the cliffs every where lined with troops 
 of Britons, and every accessible point below 
 carefully guarded. It was now about ten 
 o'clock in the morning, and Caesar, finding the 
 prospect so unfavorable in respect to the prac- 
 ticability of effecting a landing here, brought 
 
102 Julius Cjss a r. [B.C. 58-50. 
 
 Caesar calls a council of officers. The landing. 
 
 his fleet to anchor near the shore, but far 
 enough from it to be safe from the missiles of 
 the enemy. 
 
 Here he remained for several hours, to give 
 time for all the vessels to join him. Some of 
 them had been delayed in the embarkation, or 
 had made slower progress than the rest in cross- 
 ing the Channel. He called a council, too, of 
 the superior officers of the army on board his 
 own galley, and explained to them the plan 
 which he now adopted for the landing. About 
 three o'clock in the afternoon he sent these of- 
 ficers back to their respective ships, and gave 
 orders to make sail along the shore. The an- 
 chors were raised and the fleet moved on, borne 
 by the united impulse of the wind and the tide. 
 The Britons, perceiving this movement, put 
 themselves in motion on the land, following the 
 motions of the fleet so as to be ready to meet 
 their enemy wherever they might ultimately 
 undertake to land. Their horsemen and car- 
 riages went on in advance, and the foot soldiers 
 followed, all pressing eagerly forward to keep 
 up with the motion of the fleet, and to prevent 
 Caesar's army from having time to land before 
 they should arrive at the spot and be ready to 
 oppose them. 
 
■■■■ i " ' iiiii||]iiiii 
 
B.C. 58-50.] Conquest of Gaul. 105 
 
 The battle. Defeat of the Britons. 
 
 The fleet moved on until, at length, after 
 sailing about eight miles, they came to a part 
 of the coast where there was a tract of compar- 
 atively level ground, which seemed to be easily 
 accessible from the shore. Here Caesar de- 
 termined to attempt to land ; and drawing up 
 his vessel, accordingly, as near as possible to the 
 beach, he ordered the men to leap over into the 
 water, with their weapons in their hands. The 
 Britons were all here to oppose them, and a 
 dreadful struggle ensued, the combatants dyeing 
 the waters with their blood as they fought, half 
 submerged in the surf which rolled in upon the 
 sand. Some galleys rowed up at the same time 
 near to the shore, and the men on board of them 
 attacked the Britons from the decks, by the 
 darts and arrows which they shot to the land. 
 Csesar at last prevailed : the Britons were driven 
 away, and the Roman army established them- 
 selves in quiet possession of the shore. 
 
 Csesar had afterward a great variety of ad- 
 ventures, and many narrow escapes from immi- 
 nent dangers in Britain, and, though he gained 
 considerable glory by thus penetrating into such 
 remote and unknown regions, there was very 
 little else to be acquired. The glory, however, 
 was itself of great value to Caesar. During the 
 
106 Julius Cesar. [B.C. 58-50. 
 
 Caesar's popularity at Rome. Results of his campaigns. 
 
 whole period of his campaigns in Gaul, Rome, 
 and all Italy in fact, had been filled with the 
 fame of his exploits, and the expedition into 
 Britain added not a little to his renown. The 
 populace of the city were greatly gratified to 
 hear of the continued success of their former fa- 
 vorite. They decreed to him triumph after 
 triumph, and were prepared to welcome him, 
 whenever he should return, with greater hon- 
 ors and more extended and higher powers than 
 he had ever enjoyed before. 
 
 Caesar's exploits in these campaigns were, in 
 fact, in a military point of view, of the most 
 magnificent character. Plutarch, in summing 
 up the results of them, says that he took eight 
 hundred cities, conquered three hundred na- 
 tions, fought pitched battles at separate times 
 with three millions of men, took one million of 
 prisoners, and killed another million on the field. 
 What a vast work of destruction was this for a 
 man to spend eight years of his life in perform- 
 ing upon his fellow-creatures, merely to gratify 
 his insane love of dominion. 
 
B.C. 106.] Pompey. 107 
 
 Chapter V. 
 Pompey. 
 TT/'HILE Caesar had thus been rising to so 
 high an elevation, there was another 
 Roman general who had been, for nearly the 
 same period, engaged, in various other quar- 
 ters of the world, in acquiring, by very similar 
 means, an almost equal renown. This general 
 was Pompey. He became, in the end, Cesar's 
 great and formidable rival. In order that the 
 reader may understand clearly the nature of the 
 great contest which sprung up at last between 
 these heroes, we must now go back and relate 
 some of the particulars of Pompey's individual 
 history down to the time of the completion of 
 Caesar's conquests in Gaul. 
 
 Pompey was a few years older than Casar, 
 having been born in 106 B.C. His father was 
 a Roman general, and the young Pompey was 
 brought up in camp. He was a young man of 
 very handsome figure and countenance, and 
 of very agreeable manners. His hair curled 
 slightly over his forehead, and he had a dark 
 
108 Julius Cesar. [B.C. 106. 
 
 Pompey's personal appearance. Plan to assassinate him. 
 
 and intelligent eye, full of vivacity and mean- 
 ing. There was, besides, in the expression of 
 his face, and in his air and address, a certain 
 indescribable charm, which prepossessed every 
 one strongly in his favor, and gave him, from 
 his earliest years, a great personal ascendency 
 over all who knew him. 
 
 Notwithstanding this popularity, however, 
 Pompey did not escape, even in very early life, 
 incurring his share of the dangers which seemed 
 to environ the path of every public man in those 
 distracted times. It will be recollected that, in 
 the contests between Marius and Sylla, Caesar 
 had joined the Marian faction. Pompey's fa- 
 ther, on the other hand, had connected himself 
 with that of Sylla. At one time, in the midst 
 of these wars, when Pompey was very young, 
 a conspiracy was formed to assassinate his fa- 
 ther by burning him in his tent, and Pompey's 
 comrade, named Terentius, who slept in the 
 same tent with him, had been bribed to kill 
 Pompey himself at the same time, by stabbing 
 him in his bed. Pompey contrived to discover 
 this plan, but, instead of being at all discom- 
 posed by it, he made arrangements for a guard 
 about his father's tent, and then went to supper 
 as usual with Terentius, conversing with him 
 
B.C. 90-80.] Pompey. 109 
 
 P ompey's adv entures and escapes. Death of his father. 
 
 all the time in even a more free and friendly 
 manner than usual. That night he arranged 
 his bed so as to make it appear as if he was in 
 it, and then stole away. When the appointed 
 hour arrived, Terentius came into the tent, and, 
 approaching the couch where he supposed Pom- 
 pey was lying asleep, stabbed it again and again, 
 piercing the coverlets in many places, but doing 
 no harm, of course, to his intended victim. 
 
 In the course of the wars between Marius 
 and Sylla, Pompey passed through a great va- 
 riety of scenes, and met with many extraordi- 
 nary adventures and narrow escapes, which, 
 however, can not be here particularly detailed. 
 His father, who was as much hated by his sol- 
 diers as the son was beloved, was at last, one 
 day, struck by lightning in his tent. The sol- 
 diers were inspired with such a hatred for his 
 memory, in consequence, probably, of the cru- 
 elties and oppressions which they had suffered 
 from him, that they would not allow his body 
 to be honored with the ordinary funeral obse- 
 quies. They pulled it off from the bier on 
 which it was to have been borne to the funeral 
 pile, and dragged it ignominiously away. Pom- 
 pey's father was accused, too, after his death, 
 of having converted some public moneys which 
 
110 Julius Cms a r. [B.C. 90-80. 
 
 Pompey appears in his father's defense. His success as a general. 
 
 had been committed to his charge to his own 
 use, and Pompey appeared in the Roman Fo- 
 rum as an advocate to defend him from the 
 charge and to vindicate his memory. He was 
 very successful in this defense. All who heard 
 it were, in the first instance, very deeply inter- 
 ested in favor of the speaker, on account of his 
 extreme youth and his personal beauty ; and, 
 as he proceeded with his plea, he argued with 
 so much eloquence and power as to win univer- 
 sal applause. One of the chief officers of the 
 government in the city was so much pleased 
 with his appearance, and with the promise of 
 future greatness which the circumstances indi- 
 cated, that he offered him his daughter in mar- 
 riage. Pompey accepted the offer, and married 
 the lady. Her name was Antistia. 
 
 Pompey rose rapidly to higher and higher de- 
 grees of distinction, until he obtained the com- 
 mand of an army, which he had, in fact, in a 
 great measure raised and organized himself, and 
 he fought at the head of it with great energy 
 and success against the enemies of Sylla. At 
 length he was hemmed in on the eastern coast 
 of Italy by three separate armies, which were 
 gradually advancing against him, with a cer- 
 tainty, as they thought, of effecting his destruc- 
 
B.C. 90-80.] Pompey. Ill 
 
 Potnpey defeats the armies. His rising fame. 
 
 tion. Sylla, hearing of Pompey's danger, made 
 great efforts to march to his rescue. Before he 
 reached the place, however, Pompey had met 
 and defeated one after another of the armies of 
 his enemies, so that, when Sylla approached, 
 Pompey marched out to meet him with his army 
 drawn up in magnificent array, trumpets sound- 
 ing and banners flying, and with large bodies of 
 disarmed troops, the prisoners that he had taken, 
 in the rear. Sylla was struck with surprise and 
 admiration ; and when Pompey saluted him 
 with the title of Imperator, which was the high- 
 est title known to the Roman constitution, and 
 the one which Sylla's lofty rank and unbounded 
 power might properly claim, Sylla returned the 
 compliment by conferring this great mark of 
 distinction on him. 
 
 Pompey proceeded to Rome, and the fame of 
 his exploits, the singular fascination of his person 
 and manners, and the great favor with Sylla 
 that he enjoyed, raised him to a high degree of 
 distinction. He was not, however, elated with 
 the pride and vanity which so young a man 
 would be naturally expected to exhibit under 
 such circumstances. He was, on the contrary, 
 modest and unassuming, and he acted in all re- 
 spects in such a manner as to gain the appro- 
 
112 Julius C^sar. 
 
 [B.C. 83. 
 
 Pompey's modesty. 
 
 An example. 
 
 bation and the kind regard of all who knew him, 
 as well as to excite their applause. There was 
 an old general at this time in Gaul — for all these 
 events took place long before the time of Caesar's 
 campaigns in that country, and, in fact, before 
 the commencement of his successful career in 
 Rome — whose name was Metellus, and who, 
 either on account of his advancing age, or for 
 some other reason, was very inefficient and un- 
 successful in his government. Sylla proposed 
 to supersede him by sending Pompey to take 
 his place. Pompey replied that it was not right 
 to take the command from a man who was so 
 much his superior in age and character, but 
 that, if Metellus wished for his assistance in the 
 management of his command, he would proceed 
 to Gaul and render him every service in his 
 power. When this answer was reported to Me- 
 tellus, he wrote to Pompey to come. Pompey 
 accordingly went to Gaul, where he obtained 
 new victories, and gained new and higher honors 
 than before. 
 
 These, and various anecdotes which the an- 
 cient historians relate, would lead us to form 
 very favorable ideas of Pompey's character. 
 Some other circumstances, however, which oc- 
 curred, seem to furnish different indications. 
 
B.C. 83.] Pompey. 113 
 
 Pompey divorces his wife. He marries Sylla's daughter-in-law. 
 
 For example, on his return to Rome, some time 
 after the events above related, Sylla, whose es- 
 timation of Pompey's character and of the im- 
 portance of his services seemed continually to 
 increase, wished to connect him with his own 
 family by marriage. He accordingly proposed 
 that Pompey should divorce his wife Antistia, 
 and marry iEmilia, the daughter-in-law of Syl- 
 la. ^Emilia was already the wife of another 
 man, from whom she would have to be taken 
 away to make her the wife of Pompey. This, 
 however, does not seem to have been thought 
 a very serious difficulty in the way of the ar- 
 rangement. Pompey's wife was put away, and 
 the wife of another man taken in her place. 
 Such a deed was a gross violation not merely 
 of revealed and written law, but of those uni- 
 versal instincts of right and wrong which are 
 implanted indelibly in all human hearts. It 
 ended, as might have been expected, most dis- 
 astrously. Antistia was plunged, of course, 
 into the deepest distress. Her father had re- 
 cently lost his life on account of his supposed 
 attachment to Pompey. Her mother killed 
 herself in the anguish and despair produced by 
 the misfortunes of her family ; and JEmilia, 
 the new wife, died suddenly, on the occasion 
 H 
 
114 Julius CiESAR. [B.C. 80-70. 
 
 Pompey's success in Africa. Attachment of his soldiers. 
 
 of the birth of a child, a very short time after 
 her marriage with Pompey. 
 
 These domestic troubles did not, however, 
 interpose any serious obstacle to Pompey's prog- 
 ress in his career of greatness and glory. Syl- 
 la sent him on one great enterprise after anoth- 
 er, in all of which Pompey acquitted himself 
 in an admirable manner. Among his other 
 campaigns, he served for some time in Africa 
 with great success. He returned in due time 
 from this expedition, loaded with military hon- 
 ors. His soldiers had become so much attach- 
 ed to him that there was almost a mutiny in 
 the army when he was ordered home. They 
 were determined to submit to no authority but 
 that of Pompey. Pompey at length succeeded, 
 by great efforts, in subduing this spirit, and 
 bringing back the army to their duty. A false 
 account of the affair, however, went to Rome. 
 It was reported to Sylla that there was a revolt 
 in the army of Africa, headed by Pompey him- 
 self, who was determined not to resign his com- 
 mand. Sylla was at first very indignant that 
 his authority should be despised and his power 
 braved, as he expressed it, by "such a boy;" 
 for Pompey was still, at this time, very young. 
 When, however, he learned the truth, he con- 
 
B.C. 80-70.] Pompey. 115 
 
 Pompey's title of "Great." He demands a triumph. 
 
 ceived a higher admiration for the young gen- 
 eral than ever. He went out to meet him as 
 he approached the city, and, in accosting him, 
 he called him Pompey the Great. Pompey has 
 continued to bear the title thus given him to 
 the present day. 
 
 Pompey began, it seems, now to experience, 
 in some degree, the usual effects produced upon 
 the human heart by celebrity and praise. He 
 demanded a triumph. A triumph was a great 
 and splendid ceremony, by which victorious gen- 
 erals, who were of advanced age and high civil 
 or military rank, were received into the city 
 when returning from any specially glorious cam- 
 paign. There was a grand procession formed 
 on these occasions, in which various emblems 
 and insignia, and trophies of victory, and cap- 
 tives taken by the conqueror, were displayed. 
 This great procession entered the city with 
 bands of music accompanying it, and flags and 
 banners flying, passing under triumphal arches 
 erected along the way. Triumphs were usual- 
 ly decreed by a vote of the Senate, in cases 
 where they were deserved ; but, in this case, 
 Sylla's power as dictator was supreme, and 
 Pompey's demand for a triumph seems to have 
 been addressed accordingly to him. 
 
116 Julius C^sar. [B.C. 80-70. 
 
 Sylla refuses Pompey a triumph. But at last consents. 
 
 Sylla refused it. Pompey's performances in 
 the African campaign had been, he admitted, 
 very creditable to him, but he had neither the 
 age nor the rank to justify the granting him a 
 triumph. To bestow such an honor upon one 
 so young and in such a station, would only 
 bring the honor itself, he said, into disrepute, 
 and degrade, also, his dictatorship for suffer- 
 ing it. 
 
 To this Pompey replied, speaking, however, 
 in an under tone to those around him in the as- 
 sembly, that Sylla need not fear that the tri- 
 umph would be unpopular, for people were much 
 more disposed to worship a rising than a setting 
 sun. Sylla did not hear this remark, but, per- 
 ceiving by the countenances of the by-standers 
 that Pompey had said something which seemed 
 to please them, he asked what it was. When 
 the remark was repeated to him, he seemed 
 pleased himself with its justness or with its 
 wit, and said, " Let him have his triumph." 
 
 The arrangements were accordingly made, 
 Pompey ordering every thing necessary to be 
 prepared for a most magnificent procession. He 
 learned that some persons in the city, envious 
 at his early renown, were displeased with his 
 triumph ; this only awakened in him a determ- 
 
B.C. 80-70.] Pompey. 117 
 
 Pompey's triumph. His course of conduct at Rome. 
 
 ination to make it still more splendid and im- 
 posing. He had brought some elephants with 
 him from Africa, and he formed a plan for hav- 
 ing the car in which he was to ride in the pro- 
 cession drawn by four of these huge beasts as 
 it entered the city ; but, on measuring the gate, 
 it was found not wide enough to admit such a 
 team, and the plan was accordingly abandoned. 
 The conqueror's car was drawn by horses in 
 the usual manner, and the elephants followed 
 singly, with the other trophies, to grace the 
 train. 
 
 Pompey remained some time after this in 
 Rome, sustaining from time to time various of- 
 fices of dignity and honor. His services were 
 often called for to plead causes in the Forum, 
 and he performed this duty, whenever he un- 
 dertook it, with great success. He, however, 
 seemed generally inclined to retire somewhat 
 from intimate intercourse with the mass of the 
 community, knowing very well that if he was 
 engaged often in the discussion of common 
 questions with ordinary men, he should soon 
 descend in public estimation from the high po- 
 sition to which his military renown had raised 
 him. He accordingly accustomed himself to 
 appear but little in public, and, when he did so 
 
118 Julius Caesar. [B.C. 67. 
 
 The Cilician pirates. Their increasing depredations. 
 
 appear, he was generally accompanied by a 
 large retinue of armed attendants, at the head 
 of which he moved about the city in great state, 
 more like a victorious general in a conquered 
 province than like a peaceful citizen exercising 
 ordinary official functions in a community gov- 
 erned by law. This was a very sagacious 
 course, so far as concerned the attainment of 
 the great objects of future ambition. Pompey 
 knew very well that occasions would probably 
 arise in which he could act far more effectually 
 for the promotion of his own greatness and 
 fame than by mingling in the ordinary munic- 
 ipal contests of the city. 
 
 At length, in fact, an occasion came. In 
 the year B.C. 67, which was about the time 
 that Caesar commenced his successful career in 
 rising to public office in Rome, as is described 
 in the third chapter of this volume, the Cilician 
 pirates, of whose desperate character and bold 
 exploits something has already been said, had 
 become so powerful, and were increasing so rap- 
 idly in the extent of their depredations, that 
 the Roman people felt compelled to adopt some 
 very vigorous measures for suppressing them. 
 The pirates had increased in numbers during 
 the wars between Marius and Sylla in a very 
 
B.C. 67.] Pompey. 119 
 
 Ships and fortresses of the Cilicians. Their conquests. 
 
 alarming degree. They had built, equipped, 
 and organized whole fleets. They had various 
 fortresses, arsenals, ports, and watch-towers all 
 along the coasts of the Mediterranean. They 
 had also extensive warehouses, built in secure 
 and secluded places, where they stored their 
 plunder. Their fleets were well manned, and 
 provided with skillful pilots, and with ample 
 supplies of every kind ; and they were so well 
 constructed, both for speed and safety, that no 
 other ships could be made to surpass them. 
 Many of them, too, were adorned and decora- 
 ted in the most sumptuous manner, with gild- 
 ed sterns, purple awnings, and silver-mounted 
 oars. The number of their galleys was said to 
 be a thousand. With this force they made 
 themselves almost complete masters of the sea. 
 They attacked not only separate ships, but 
 whole fleets of merchantmen sailing under con- 
 voy ; and they increased the difficulty and ex- 
 pense of bringing grain to Rome so much, by 
 intercepting the supplies, as very materially to 
 enhance the price and to threaten a scarcity. 
 They made themselves masters of many isl- 
 ands and of various maritime towns along the 
 coast, until they had four hundred ports and 
 cities in their possession. In fact, they had 
 
120 Julius Caesar. [B.C. 67. 
 
 Plan for destroying the pirates. Its magnitude. 
 
 gone so far toward forming themselves into a 
 regular maritime power, under a systematic 
 and legitimate government, that very respecta- 
 ble young men from other countries began to 
 enter their service, as one opening honorable av- 
 enues to wealth and fame. 
 
 Under these circumstances, it was obvious 
 that something decisive must be done. A friend 
 of Pompey's brought forward a plan for com- 
 missioning some one, he did not say whom, 
 but every one understood that Pompey was in- 
 tended, to be sent forth against the pirates, 
 with extraordinary powers, such as should be 
 amply sufficient to enable him to bring their 
 dominion to an end. He was to have supreme 
 command upon the sea, and also upon the land 
 for fifty miles from the shore. He was, more- 
 over, to be empowered to raise as large a force, 
 both of ships and men, as he should think re- 
 quired, and to draw from the treasury whatev- 
 er funds were necessary to defray the enormous 
 expenses which so vast an undertaking would 
 involve. If the law should pass creating this 
 office, and a person be designated to fill it, it is 
 plain that such a commander would be clothed 
 with enormous powers; but then he would in- 
 cur, on the other hand, a vast and commensu- 
 
B.C. 67.] Pompey. 121 
 
 Pompey appointed to the command. Fall in the price of grain. 
 
 rate responsibility, as the Roman people would 
 hold him rigidly accountable for the full and 
 perfect accomplishment of the work he under- 
 took, after they had thus surrendered every pos- 
 sible power necessary to accomplish it so un- 
 conditionally into his hands. 
 
 There was a great deal of maneuvering, man- 
 agement, and debate on the one hand to effect 
 the passage of this law, and, on the other, to de- 
 feat it. Caesar, who, though not so prominent 
 yet as Pompey, was now rising rapidly to in- 
 fluence and power, was in favor of the meas- 
 ure, because, as is said, he perceived that the 
 people were pleased with it. It was at length 
 adopted. Pompey was then designated to fill 
 the office which the law created. He accepted 
 the trust, and began to prepare for the vast un- 
 dertaking. The price of grain fell immediately 
 in Rome, as soon as the appointment of Pom- 
 pey was made known, as the merchants, who 
 had large supplies in the granaries there, were 
 now eager to sell, even at a reduction, feeling 
 confident that Pompey's measures would result 
 in bringing in abundant supplies. The people, 
 surprised at this sudden relaxation of the press- 
 ure of their burdens, said that the very name 
 of Pompey had put an end to the war. 
 
122 Julius Cesar. [B.C.67. 
 
 Pompey's complete success. His mode of operation. 
 
 They were not mistaken in their anticipa- 
 tions of Pompey's success. He freed the Med- 
 iterranean from pirates in three months, by 
 one systematic and simple operation, which af- 
 fords one of the most striking examples of the 
 power of united and organized effort, planned 
 and conducted by one single master mind, which 
 the history of ancient or modern times has re- 
 corded. The manner in which this work was 
 effected was this : 
 
 Pompey raised and equipped a vast number 
 of galleys, and divided them into separate fleets, 
 putting each one under the command of a lieu- 
 tenant. He then divided the Mediterranean 
 Sea into thirteen districts, and appointed a 
 lieutenant and his fleet for each one of them 
 as a guard. After sending these detachments 
 forth to their respective stations, he set out 
 from the city himself to take charge of the op- 
 erations which he was to conduct in person. 
 The people followed him, as he went to the 
 place where he was to embark, in great crowds, 
 and with long and loud acclamations. 
 
 Beginning at the Straits of Gibraltar, Pom- 
 pey cruised with a powerful fleet toward the 
 east, driving the pirates before him, the lieu- 
 tenants, who ware stationed along the coast, 
 
B.C. 67.] Pompey. 123 
 
 Pompey drives the pirates before him. Exultation at Rome. 
 
 being on the alert to prevent them from finding 
 any places of retreat or refuge. Some of the 
 pirates' ships were surrounded and taken. Oth- 
 ers fled, and were followed by Pompey's ships 
 until they had passed beyond the coasts of Sic- 
 ily, and the seas between the Italian and Afri- 
 can shores. The communication was now open 
 again to the grain-growing countries south of 
 Rome, and large supplies of food were immedi- 
 ately poured into the city. The whole popula- 
 tion was, of course, filled with exultation and 
 joy at receiving such welcome proofs that Pom- 
 pey was successfully accomplishing the work 
 they had assigned him. 
 
 The Italian peninsula and the island of Sic- 
 ily, forming a sort of projection from the north- 
 ern shores of the Mediterranean, and a salient 
 angle of the coast nearly opposite to them on 
 the African side, form a sort of strait which di- 
 vides this great sea into two separate bodies of 
 water, and the pirates were now driven entire- 
 ly out of the western division. Pompey sent 
 his principal fleet after them, with orders to 
 pass around the island of Sicily and the south- 
 ern part of Italy to Brundusium, which was the 
 great port on the western side of Italy. He 
 himself was to cross the peninsula by land, tak- 
 
124 Julius C^sar. [B.C. 62 
 
 The pirates concentrate themselves. Some of them surrender 
 
 ing Rome in his way, and afterward to join the 
 fleet at Brundusium. The pirates, in the mean 
 time, so far as they had escaped Pompey's 
 cruisers, had retreated to the seas in the neigh- 
 borhood of Cilicia, and were concentrating then 
 forces there in preparation for the final struggle. 
 
 Pompey was received at Rome with the ut- 
 most enthusiasm. The people came out in 
 throngs to meet him as he approached the city, 
 and welcomed him with loud acclamations. He 
 did not, however, remain in the city to enjoy 
 these honors. He procured, as soon as possible, 
 what was necessary for the further prosecution 
 of his work, and went on. He found his fleet 
 at Brundusium, and, immediately embarking, 
 he put to sea. 
 
 Pompey went on to the completion of his 
 work with the same vigor and decision which 
 he had displayed in the commencement of it. 
 Some of the pirates, finding themselves hemmed 
 in within narrower and narrower limits, gave up 
 the contest, and came and surrendered. Pom- 
 pey, instead of punishing them severely for their 
 crimes, treated them, and their wives and chil- 
 dren, who fell likewise into his power, with great 
 humanity. This induced many others to follow 
 their example, so that the number that remained 
 
B.C. 62.] Pompey. 125 
 
 A great battle. Disposal of the pirates. 
 
 resisting to the end was greatly reduced. There 
 were, however, after all these submissions, a 
 body of stern and indomitable desperadoes left, 
 who were incapable of yielding. These retreat- 
 ed, with all the forces which they could retain, 
 to their strong-holds on the Silician shores, 
 sending their wives and children back to still 
 securer retreats among the fastnesses of the 
 mountains. 
 
 Pompey followed them, hemming them in 
 with the squadrons of armed galleys which he 
 brought up around them, thus cutting off from 
 them all possibility of escape. Here, at length, 
 a great final battle was fought, and the domin- 
 ion of the pirates was ended forever. Pompey 
 destroyed their ships, dismantled their fortifica- 
 tions, restored the harbors and towns which they 
 had seized to their rightful owners, and sent 
 the pirates themselves, with their wives and 
 children, far into the interior of the country, 
 and established them as agriculturists and 
 herdsmen there, in a territory which he set 
 apart for the purpose, where they might live in 
 peace on the fruits of their own industry, with- 
 out the possibility of again disturbing the com- 
 merce of the seas. 
 
 Instead of returning to Rome after these ex- 
 
126 Julius C;esar. [B.C. 50. 
 
 Pompey's conquests in Asia Minor. His magnificent triumph. 
 
 ploits, Pompey obtained new powers from the 
 government of the city, and pushed his way into 
 Asia Minor, where he remained several years, 
 pursuing a similar career of conquest to that 
 of Caesar in Gaul. At length he returned to 
 Rome, his entrance into the city being sig- 
 nalized by a most magnificent triumph. The 
 procession for displaying the trophies, the cap- 
 tives, and the other emblems of victory, and for 
 conveying the vast accumulation of treasures 
 and spoils, was two days in passing into the 
 city ; and enough was left after all for another 
 triumph. Pompey was, in a word, on the very 
 summit of human grandeur and renown. 
 
 He found, however, an old enemy and rival 
 at Rome. This was Crassus, who had been 
 Pompey's opponent in earlier times, and who 
 now renewed his hostility. In the contest that 
 ensued, Pompey relied on his renown, Crassus 
 on his wealth. Pompey attempted to please the 
 people by combats of lions and of elephants 
 which he had brought home from his foreign 
 campaigns ; Crassus courted their favor by dis- 
 tributing corn among them, and inviting them 
 to public feasts on great occasions. He spread 
 for them, at one time, it was said, ten thousand 
 tables. All Rome was filled with the feuds of 
 
B.C. 50.] Pompey. 127 
 
 The first triumvirate. Pompey's wife Julia. 
 
 these great political foes. It was at this time 
 that Caesar returned from Spain, and had the 
 adroitness, as has already been explained, to ex- 
 tinguish these feuds, and reconcile these appa- 
 rently implacable foes. He united them to- 
 gether, and joined them with himself in a triple 
 league, which is celebrated in Roman history 
 as the first triumvirate. The rivalry, however, 
 of these great aspirants for power was only sup- 
 pressed and concealed, without being at all 
 weakened or changed. The death of Crassus 
 soon removed him from the stage. Csesar and 
 Pompey continued afterward, for some time, 
 an ostensible alliance. Csesar attempted to 
 strengthen this bond by giving Pompey his 
 daughter Julia for his wife. Julia, though so 
 young — even her father was six years younger 
 than Pompey — was devotedly attached to her 
 husband, and he was equally fond of her. She 
 formed, in fact, a strong bond of union between 
 the two great conquerors as long as she lived. 
 One day, however, there was a riot at an elec- 
 tion, and men were killed so near to Pompey 
 that his robe was covered with blood. He 
 changed it; the servants carried home the 
 bloody garment which he had taken off, and 
 Julia was so terrified at the sight, thinking that 
 
128 Julius Caesar. [B.C.50. 
 
 Pompey and Caesar open enemies. Their ambition. 
 
 her husband had been killed, that she fainted, 
 and her constitution suffered very severely by 
 the shock. She lived some time afterward, but 
 finally died under circumstances which indicate 
 that this occurrence was the cause. Pompey 
 and Csesar now soon became open enemies. 
 The ambitious aspirations which each of them 
 cherished were so vast, that the world was not 
 wide enough for them both to be satisfied. 
 They had assisted each other up the ascent 
 which they had been so many years in climb- 
 ing, but now they had reached very near to the 
 summit, and the question was to be decided 
 which of the two should have his station there. 
 
B.C. 50.] Crossing the Rubicon. 129 
 
 The Rubicon. Its insignificance as a stream. 
 
 Chapter VI. 
 
 Crossing the Rubicon. 
 
 f INHERE was a little stream in ancient times, 
 -*- in the north of Italy, which flowed west- 
 ward into the Adriatic Sea, called the Rubicon. 
 This stream has been immortalized by the trans- 
 actions which we are now about to describe. 
 
 The Rubicon was a very important bounda- 
 ry, and yet it was in itself so small and insig- 
 nificant that it is now impossible to determine 
 which of two or three little brooks here running 
 into the sea is entitled to its name and re- 
 nown. In history the Rubicon is a grand, per- 
 manent, and conspicuous stream, gazed upon 
 with continued interest by all mankind for near- 
 ly twenty centuries ; in nature it is an uncer- 
 tain rivulet, for a long time doubtful and unde- 
 termined, and finally lost. 
 
 The Rubicon originally derived its import- 
 ance from the fact that it was the boundary be- 
 tween all that part of the north of Italy which 
 is formed by the valley of the Po, one of the 
 richest and most magnificent countries of the 
 I 
 
130 Julius Caesar. [B.C. 50. 
 
 Importance of the Rubicon as a boundary. 
 
 world, and the more southern Roman territo- 
 ries. This country of the Po constituted what 
 was in those days called the hither Gaul, and 
 was a Roman province. It belonged now to 
 Caesar's jurisdiction, as the commander in Gaul. 
 All south of the Rubicon was territory reserved 
 for the immediate jurisdiction of the city. The 
 Romans, in order to protect themselves from 
 any danger which might threaten their own 
 liberties from the immense armies which they 
 raised for the conquest of foreign nations, had 
 imposed on every side very strict limitations 
 and restrictions in respect to the approach of 
 these armies to the Capitol. The Rubicon was 
 the limit on this northern side. Generals com- 
 manding in Gaul were never to pass it. To 
 cross the Rubicon with an army on the way to 
 Rome was rebellion and treason. Hence the 
 Rubicon became, as it were, the visible sign 
 and symbol of civil restriction to military power. 
 As Csesar found the time of his service in 
 Gaul drawing toward a conclusion, he turned 
 his thoughts more and more toward Rome, en- 
 deavoring to strengthen his interest there by 
 every means in his power, and to circumvent 
 and thwart the designs of Pompey. He had 
 agents and partisans in Rome who acted for 
 
B.C. 50.] Crossing the Rubicon. 131 
 
 Caesar's expenditures of money at Rome. His influence. 
 
 him and in his name. He sent immense sums 
 of money to these men, to be employed in such 
 ways as would most tend to secure the favor 
 of the people. He ordered the Forum to be re- 
 built with great magnificence. He arranged 
 great celebrations, in which the people were en- 
 tertained with an endless succession of games, 
 spectacles, and public feasts. When his daugh- 
 ter Julia, Pompey's wife, died, he celebrated 
 her funeral with indescribable splendor. He 
 distributed corn in immense quantities among 
 the people, and he sent a great many captives 
 home, to be trained as gladiators, to fight in the 
 theaters for their amusement. In many cases, 
 too, where he found men of talents and influ- 
 ence among the populace, who had become in- 
 volved in debt by their dissipations and extrav- 
 agance, he paid their debts, and thus secured 
 their influence on his side. Men were astound- 
 ed at the magnitude of these expenditures, and, 
 while the multitude rejoiced thoughtlessly in 
 the pleasures thus provided for them, the more 
 reflecting and considerate trembled at the great- 
 ness of the power which was so rapidly rising 
 to overshadow the land. 
 
 It increased their anxiety to observe that 
 Pompey was gaining the same kind of infku 
 
132 Julius Cesar. [B.C. 50. 
 
 Pompey's personal popularity. Public thanksgiving in his behalf. 
 
 ence and ascendency too. He had not the ad- 
 vantage which Caesar enjoyed in the prodig- 
 ious wealth obtained from the rich countries 
 over which Caesar ruled, but he possessed, in- 
 stead of it, the advantage of being all the time 
 at Rome, and of securing, by his character and 
 action there, a very wide personal popularity 
 and influence. Pompey was, in fact, the idol 
 of the people. At one time, when he was ab- 
 sent from Rome, at Naples, he was taken sick. 
 After being for some days in considerable dan- 
 ger, the crisis passed favorably, and he recov- 
 ered. Some of the people of Naples proposed 
 a public thanksgiving to the gods, to celebrate 
 his restoration to health. The plan was adopt- 
 ed by acclamation, and the example, thus set, 
 extended from city to city, until it had spread 
 throughout Italy, and the whole country was 
 filled with the processions, games, shows, and 
 celebrations, which were instituted every where 
 in honor of the event. And when Pompey re- 
 turned from Naples to Rome, the towns on the 
 way could not afford room for the crowds that 
 came forth to meet him. The high roads, the 
 villages, the ports, says Plutarch, were filled 
 with sacrifices and entertainments. Many re- 
 ceived him with garlands on their" heads and 
 
B.C. 50.] Crossing the Rubicon. loo 
 
 Pompey's estimate of Caesar's power. Plans of the latter. 
 
 torches in their hands, and, as they conducted 
 him along, strewed the way with flowers. 
 
 In fact, Pompey considered himself as stand- 
 ing far above Caesar in fame and power, and 
 this general burst of enthusiasm and applause, 
 educed by his recovery from sickness, confirmed 
 him in this idea. He felt no solicitude, he said, 
 in respect to Caesar. He should take no special 
 precautions against any hostile designs which 
 he might entertain on his return from Gaul. 
 It was he himself, he said, that had raised 
 Caesar up to whatever of elevation he had at- 
 tained, and he could put him down even more 
 easily than he had exalted him. 
 
 In the mean time, the period was drawing 
 near in which 'Caesar's command in the prov- 
 inces was to expire ; and, anticipating the 
 struggle with Pompey which was about to en- 
 sue, he conducted several of his legions through 
 the passes of the Alps, and advanced gradually, 
 as he had a right to do, across the country of 
 the Po toward the Rubicon, revolving in his ca- 
 pacious mind, as he came, the various plans by 
 which he might hope to gain the ascendency 
 over the power of his mighty rival, and make 
 himself supreme. 
 
 He concluded that it would be his wisest 
 
134 Julius Cjesar. [B.C. 50. 
 
 Caesar arrives at Ravenna. Pompey's demands. 
 
 policy not to attempt to intimidate Pompey by 
 great and open preparations for war, which 
 might tend to arouse him to vigorous measures 
 of resistance, but rather to cover and conceal 
 his designs, and thus throw his enemy off his 
 guard. He advanced, therefore, toward the Ru- 
 bicon with a small force. He established his 
 headquarters at Ravenna, a city not far from 
 the river, and employed himself in objects of 
 local interest there, in order to avert as much as 
 possible the minds of the people from imagining 
 that he was contemplating any great design. 
 Pompey sent to him to demand the return of 
 a certain legion which he had lent him from 
 his own army at a time when they were friends. 
 Csesar complied with this demand without any 
 hesitation, and sent the legion home. He sent 
 with this legion, also, some other troops which 
 were properly his own, thus evincing a degree 
 of indifference in respect to the amount of the 
 force retained under his command which seem- 
 ed wholly inconsistent with the idea that he 
 contemplated any resistance to the authority of 
 the government at Rome. 
 
 In the mean time, the struggle at Rome be- 
 tween the partisans of Caesar and Pompey grew 
 more and more violent and alarming. Csesar, 
 
B.C. 50.] Crossing the Rubicon. 135 
 
 Caesar demands to be made consul. Excitement in consequence. 
 
 through his friends in the city, demanded to be 
 elected consul. The other side insisted that he 
 must first, if that was his wish, resign the com- 
 mand of his army, come to Rome, and present 
 himself as a candidate in the character of a pri- 
 vate citizen. This the constitution of the state 
 very properly required. In answer to this req- 
 uisition, Caesar rejoined, that, if Pompey would 
 lay down his military commands, he would do 
 so too ; if not, it was unjust to require it of him. 
 The services, he added, which he had performed 
 for his country, demanded some recompense, 
 which, moreover, they ought to be willing to 
 award, even if, in order to do it, it were neces- 
 sary to relax somewhat in his favor the strict- 
 ness of ordinary rules. To a large part of the 
 people of the city these demands of Caesar ap- 
 peared reasonable. They were clamorous to 
 have them allowed. The partisans of Pompey, 
 with the stern and inflexible Cato at their head, 
 deemed them wholly inadmissible, and contend- 
 ed with the most determined violence against 
 them. The whole city was filled with the ex- 
 citement of this struggle, into which all the ac- 
 tive and turbulent spirits of the capital plunged 
 with the most furious zeal, while the more con- 
 siderate and thoughtful of the population, re- 
 
136 Julius Cjesar. [B.C. 50. 
 
 Debates in the Senate. Tumult and confusion. 
 
 membering the days of Marius and Sylla, trem- 
 bled at the impending clanger. Pompey himself 
 had no fear. He urged the Senate to resist to 
 the utmost all of Caesar's claims, saying, if Cae- 
 sar should be so presumptuous as to attempt to 
 march to Rome, he could raise troops enough 
 by stamping with his foot to put him down. 
 
 It would require a volume to contain a full 
 account of the disputes and tumults, the ma- 
 neuvers and debates, the votes and decrees which 
 marked the successive stages of this quarrel. 
 Pompey himself was all the time without the 
 city. He was in command of an army there, 
 and no general, while in command, was allow- 
 ed to come within the gates. At last an ex- 
 citing debate was broken up in the Senate by 
 one of the consuls rising to depart, saying that 
 he would hear the subject discussed no longer. 
 The time had arrived for action, and he should 
 send a commander, with an armed force, to de- 
 fend the country from Caesar's threatened in- 
 vasion. Caesar's leading friends, two tribunes 
 of the people, disguised themselves as slaves, 
 and fled to the north to join their master. The 
 country was filled with commotion and panic. 
 The Commonwealth had obviously more fear 
 of Caesar than confidence in Pompey. The 
 
B.C. 50.] Crossing the Rubicon. 137 
 
 Panic at Rome. Caesar at- Ravenna. 
 
 country was full of rumors in respect to Cae- 
 sar's power, and the threatening attitude which 
 he was assuming, while they who had insisted 
 on resistance seemed, after all, to have provid- 
 ed very inadequate means with which to resist. 
 A thousand plans were formed, and clamorously 
 insisted upon by their respective advocates, for 
 averting the danger. This only added to the 
 confusion, and the city became at length per- 
 vaded with a universal terror. 
 
 While this was the state of things at Rome, 
 Caesar was quietly established at Ravenna, 
 thirty or forty miles from the frontier. He was 
 erecting a building for a fencing school there, 
 and his mind seemed to be occupied very busily 
 with the plans and models of the edifice which 
 the architects had formed. Of course, in his 
 intended march to Rome, his reliance was not 
 to be so much on the force which he should 
 take with him, as on the co-operation and sup- 
 port which he expected to find there. It was 
 his policy, therefore, to move as quietly and pri- 
 vately as possible, and with as little display of 
 violence, and to avoid every thing which might 
 indicate his intended march to any spies which 
 might be around him, or to any other persons 
 who might be disposed to report what they ob- 
 
138 Julius C^sar. [B.C. 50. 
 
 Caesar's midnight march. He loses his way. 
 
 served at Rome. Accordingly, on the very eve 
 of his departure, he busied himself with his fenc- 
 ing school, and assumed with his officers and 
 soldiers a careless and unconcerned air, which 
 prevented any one from suspecting his design. 
 
 In the course of the day he privately sant 
 forward some cohorts to the southward, with 
 orders for them to encamp on the banks of the 
 Rubicon. When night came he sat down to 
 supper as usual, and conversed with his friends 
 in his ordinary manner, and went with them 
 afterward to a public entertainment. As soon 
 as it was dark and the streets were still, he 
 set off secretly from the city, accompanied by a 
 very few attendants. Instead of making use 
 of his ordinary equipage, the parading of which 
 would have attracted attention to his move- 
 ments, he had some mules taken from a neigh- 
 boring bake-house, and harnessed into his chaise. 
 There were torch-bearers provided to light the 
 way. The cavalcade drove on during the night, 
 finding, however, the hasty preparations which 
 had been made inadequate for the occasion. 
 The torches went out, the guides lost their 
 way, and the future conqueror of the world 
 wandered about bewildered and lost, until, just 
 after break of day, the party met with a peas- 
 
B.C. 50.] Crossing the Rubicon. 141 
 
 Ctesar at the Rubicon. His hesitation at the river. 
 
 ant who undertook to guide them. Under his 
 direction they made their way to the main 
 road again, and advanced then without further 
 difficulty to the banks of the river, where they 
 found that portion of the army which had been 
 sent forward encamped, and awaiting their ar- 
 rival. 
 
 Caesar stood for some time upon the banks 
 of the stream, musing upon the greatness of 
 the undertaking in which simply passing across 
 it would involve him. His officers stood by his 
 side. "We can retreat noiv" said he, " but 
 once across that river and we must go on." He 
 paused for some time, conscious of the vast im- 
 portance of the decision, though he thought 
 only, doubtless, of its consequences to himself. 
 Taking the step which was now before him 
 would necessarily end either in his realizing the 
 loftiest aspirations of his ambition, or in his ut- 
 ter and irreparable ruin. There were vast pub- 
 lic interests, too, at stake, of which, however, 
 he probably thought but little. It proved, in 
 the end, that the history of the whole Roman 
 world, for several centuries, was depending upon 
 the manner in which the question now in Cae- 
 sar's mind should turn. 
 
 There was a little bridge across the Rubicon 
 
142 Julius Cesar. [B.C. 50. 
 
 Story of the shepherd trumpeter. Caesar crosses the Rubicon. 
 
 at the point where Caesar was surveying it. 
 While he was standing there, the story is, a 
 peasant or shepherd came from the neighboring 
 fields with a shepherd's pipe — a simple musical 
 instrument, made of a reed, and used much by 
 the rustic musicians of those days. The sol- 
 diers and some of the officers gathered around 
 him to hear him play. Among the rest came 
 some of Caesar's trumpeters, with their trumpets 
 in their hands. The shepherd took one of these 
 martial instruments from the hands of its pos- 
 sessor, laying aside his own, and began to sound 
 a charge — which is a signal for a rapid advance 
 — and to march at the same time over the bridge. 
 "An omen! a prodigy!" said Caesar. "Let 
 us march where we are called by such a divine 
 intimation. The die is castP 
 
 So saying, he pressed forward over the bridge, 
 while the officers, breaking up the encampment, 
 put the columns in motion to follow him. 
 
 It was shown abundantly, on many occasions 
 in the course of Caesar's life, that he had no 
 faith in omens. There are equally numerous 
 instances to show that he was always ready 
 to avail himself of the popular belief in them, 
 to awaken his soldiers' ardor or to allay their 
 fears. Whether, therefore, in respect to this 
 
B.C. 50.] Crossing the Rubicon. 143 
 
 Caesar assembles his troops. His address to them. 
 
 story of the shepherd trumpeter, it was an in- 
 cident that really and accidentally occurred, or 
 whether Caesar planned and arranged it him- 
 self, with reference to its effect, or whether, 
 which is, perhaps, after all, the most probable 
 supposition, the tale was only an embellishment 
 invented out of something or nothing by the 
 story-tellers of those days, to give additional 
 dramatic interest to the narrative of the cross- 
 ing of the Rubicon, it must be left for each 
 reader to decide. 
 
 As soon as the bridge was crossed, Caesar 
 called an assembly of his troops, and, with signs 
 of great excitement and agitation, made an ad- 
 dress to them on the magnitude of the crisis 
 through which they were passing. He showed 
 them how entirely he was in their power ; he 
 urged them, by the most eloquent appeals, to 
 stand by him, faithful and true, promising them 
 the most ample rewards when he should have 
 attained the object at which he aimed. The 
 soldiers responded to this appeal with promises 
 of the most unwavering fidelity. 
 
 The first town on the Roman side of the Ru- 
 bicon was Ariminum. Caesar advanced to this 
 town. The authorities opened its gates to him 
 — very willing, as it appeared, to receive him 
 
144 Julius C^sar. [B.C. 50. 
 
 Surrender of various towns. Domitius appointed to supersede Caesar. 
 
 as their commander. Caesar's force was yet 
 quite small, as he had been accompanied by 
 only a single legion in crossing the river. He 
 had, however, sent orders for the other legions, 
 which had been left in Gaul, to join him with- 
 out any delay, though any re-enforcement of his 
 troops seemed hardly necessary, as he found no 
 indications of opposition to his progress. He 
 gave his soldiers the strictest injunctions to do 
 no injury to any property, public or private, as 
 they advanced, and not to assume, in any re- 
 spect, a hostile attitude toward the people of 
 the country. The inhabitants, therefore, wel- 
 comed him wherever he came, and all the cities 
 and towns followed the example of Ariminum, 
 surrendering, in fact, faster than he could take 
 possession of them. 
 
 In the confusion of the debates and votes in 
 the Senate at Rome before Caesar crossed the 
 Rubicon, one decree had been passed deposing 
 him from his command of the army, and ap- 
 pointing a successor. The name of the general 
 thus appointed was Domitius. The only real 
 opposition which Caesar encountered in his prog- 
 ress toward Rome was from him. Domitius 
 had crossed the Apennines at the head of an 
 army on his way northward to supersede Caesar 
 
B.C. 50.] Crossing the Rubicon. 145 
 
 Caesar's treatment of Dornitius. Dismay at Rome. 
 
 in his command, and had reached the town of 
 Corfinium, which was perhaps one third of the 
 way between Rome and the Rubicon. Caesar 
 advanced upon him here and shut him in. 
 
 After a brief siege the city was taken, and 
 Dornitius and his army were made prisoners. 
 Every body gave them up for lost, expecting 
 that Caesar would wreak terrible vengeance 
 upon them. Instead of this, he received the 
 troops at once into his own service, and let Do- 
 rnitius go free. 
 
 In the mean time, the tidings of Caesar's hav- 
 ing passed the Rubicon, and of the triumphant 
 success which he was meeting with at the com- 
 mencement of his march toward Rome, reach- 
 ed the Capitol, and added greatly to the pre- 
 vailing consternation. The reports of the mag- 
 nitude of his force and of the rapidity of his 
 progress were greatly exaggerated. The party 
 of Pompey and the Senate had done every thing 
 to spread among the people the terror of Cae- 
 sar's name, in order to arouse them to efforts 
 for opposing his designs ; and now, when he had 
 broken through the barriers which had been in- 
 tended to restrain him, and was advancing to- 
 ward the city in an unchecked and triumphant 
 career, they were overwhelmed with dismay. 
 K 
 
146 Julius Cesar. [B.C. 50. 
 
 Pomppy's distress. He leaves Rome. 
 
 Pornpey began to be terrified at the danger 
 which was impending. The Senate held meet- 
 ings without the city — councils of war, as it 
 were, in which they looked to Pompey in vain 
 for protection from the danger which he had 
 brought upon them. He had said that he could 
 raise an army sufficient to cope with Caesar at 
 any time by stamping with his foot. They 
 told him they thought now that it was high 
 time for him to stamp. 
 
 In fact, Pompey found the current setting 
 every where strongly against him. Some rec- 
 ommended that commissioners should be sent 
 to Caesar to make proposals for peace. The 
 leading men, however, knowing that any peace 
 made with him under such circumstances would 
 be their own ruin, resisted and defeated the 
 proposal. Cato abruptly left the city and pro- 
 ceeded to Sicily, which had been assigned him 
 as his province. Others fled in other directions. 
 Pompey himself, uncertain what to do, and not 
 daring to remain, called upon all his partisans 
 to join him, and set off at night, suddenly, and 
 with very little preparation and small supplies, 
 to retreat across the country toward the shores 
 of the Adriatic Sea. His destination was Brun- 
 dusium, the usual port of embarkation for Mac- 
 edon and Greece. 
 
B.C. 50.] Crossing the Rubicon. 147 
 
 Enthusiasm of Caesar's soldiers. His policy in releasing Domitius. 
 
 Caesar was all this time gradually advancing 
 toward Rome. His soldiers were full of en- 
 thusiasm in his cause. As his connection with 
 the government at home was sundered the mo- 
 ment he crossed the Rubicon, all supplies of 
 money and of provisions were cut off in that 
 quarter until he should arrive at the Capitol and 
 take possession of it. The soldiers voted, how- 
 ever, that they would serve him without pay. 
 The officers, too, assembled together, and ten- 
 dered him the aid of their contributions. He 
 had always observed a very generous policy in 
 his dealings with them, and he was now great- 
 ly gratified at receiving their requital of it. 
 
 The further he advanced, too, the more he 
 found the people of the country through which 
 he passed disposed to espouse his cause. They 
 were struck with his generosity in releasing 
 Domitius. It is true that it was a very saga- 
 cious policy that prompted him to release him. 
 But then it was generosity too. In fact, there 
 must be something of a generous spirit in the 
 soul to enable a man even to see the policy of 
 generous actions. 
 
 Among the letters of Csesar that remain to 
 the present day, there is one written about this 
 time to one of his friends, in which he speaks 
 
148 
 
 Julius Cjssar. [B.C. 50. 
 
 Letter of Caesar. 
 
 Ingratitude of Domitius. 
 
 of this subject. "I am glad," says he, "that 
 you approve of my conduct at Corfinium. I am 
 satisfied that such a course is the best one for 
 us to pursue, as by so doing we shall gain the 
 good will of all parties, and thus secure a per- 
 manent victory. Most conquerors have incur- 
 red the hatred of mankind by their cruelties, 
 and have all, in consequence of the enmity they 
 have thus awakened, been prevented from long 
 enjoying their power. Sylla was an exception ; 
 but his example of successful cruelty I have no 
 disposition to imitate. I will conquer after a 
 new fashion, and fortify myself in the posses- 
 sion of the power I acquire by generosity and 
 mercy." 
 
 Domitius had the ingratitude, after this re- 
 lease, to take up arms again, and wage a new 
 war against Caesar. When Caesar heard of it, 
 he said it was all right. " I will act out the 
 principles of my nature," said he, " and he may 
 act out his." 
 
 Another instance of Caesar's generosity oc- 
 curred, which is even more remarkable than 
 this. It seems that anions; the officers of his 
 army there were some whom he had appointed 
 at the recommendation of Pompey, at the time 
 when he and Pompey were friends. These men 
 
B.C. 50.] Crossing the Rubicon. 149 
 
 Caesar's generosity. Modern politicians. 
 
 would, of course, feel under obligations of grati- 
 tude to Pompey, as they owed their military 
 rank to his friendly interposition in their behalf. 
 As soon as the war broke out, Caesar gave them 
 all his free permission to go over to Pompey's 
 side, if they chose to do so. 
 
 Caesar acted thus very liberally in all respects. 
 He surpassed Pompey very much in the spirit 
 of generosity and mercy with which he entered 
 upon the great contest before them. Pompey 
 ordered every citizen to join his standard, de- 
 claring that he should consider all neutrals as 
 his enemies. Caesar, on the other hand, gave 
 free permission to every one to decline, if he 
 chose, taking any part in the contest, saying 
 that he should consider all who did not act 
 against him as his friends. In the political con- 
 tests of our day, it is to be observed that the 
 combatants are much more prone to imitate the 
 bigotry of Pompey than the generosity of Caesar, 
 condemning, as they often do, those who choose 
 to stand aloof from electioneering struggles, more 
 than they do their most determined opponents 
 and enemies. 
 
 When, at length, Caesar arrived at Brundu- 
 sium, he found that Pompey had sent a part of 
 his army across the Adriatic into Greece, and 
 
150 Julius Cjssar. [B.C. 50. 
 
 Caesar arrives at Brundusium. He besieges Pompey. 
 
 was waiting for the transports to return that he 
 might go over himself with the remainder. In 
 the mean time, he had fortified himself strongly 
 in the city. Csesar immediately laid siege to 
 the place, and he commenced some works to 
 block up the mouth of the harbor. He built 
 peers on each side, extending out as far into the 
 sea as the depth of the water would allow them 
 to be built. He then constructed a series of 
 rafts, which he anchored on the deep water, in 
 a line extending from one pier to the other. He 
 built towers upon these rafts, and garrisoned 
 them with soldiers, in hopes by this means to 
 prevent all egress from the fort. He thought 
 that, when this work was completed, Pompey 
 would be entirely shut in, beyond all possibility 
 of escape. 
 
 The transports, however, returned before the 
 work was completed. Its progress was, of 
 course, slow, as the constructions were the scene 
 of a continued conflict ; for Pompey sent out 
 rafts and galleys against them every day, and the 
 workmen had thus to build in the midst of con- 
 tinual interruptions, sometimes from showers 
 of darts, arrows, and javelins, sometimes from 
 the conflagrations of fireships, and sometimes 
 from the terrible concussions of great vessels 
 
B.C. 50.] Crossing the Rubicon. 151 
 
 Pompey's plan of escape. It is made known to Cassar. 
 
 of war, impelled with prodigious force against 
 them. The transports returned, therefore, be- 
 fore the defenses were complete, and contrived 
 to get into the harbor. Pompey immediately 
 formed his plan for embarking the remainder of 
 his army. 
 
 He filled the streets of the city with barri- 
 cades and pitfalls, excepting two streets which 
 led to the place of embarkation. The object 
 of these obstructions was to embarrass Caesar's 
 progress through the city in case he should 
 force an entrance while his men were getting 
 on board the ships. He then, in order to divert 
 Caesar's attention from his design, doubled the 
 guards stationed upon the walls on the evening 
 of his intended embarkation, and ordered them 
 to make vigorous attacks upon all Caesar's forces 
 outside. He then, when the darkness came on, 
 marched his troops through the two streets 
 which had been left open to the landing place, 
 and got them as fast as possible on board the 
 transports. Some of the people of the town 
 contrived to make known to Caesar's army what 
 was going on by means of signals from the 
 walls ; the army immediately brought scaling 
 ladders in great numbers, and, mounting the 
 walls with great ardor and impetuosity, they 
 
152 Julius Cesar. [B.C. 50. 
 
 Success of Pompey's plan. Ciesar's conduct at Rome. 
 
 drove all before them, and soon broke open the 
 gates and got possession of the city. But the 
 barricades and pitfalls, together with the dark- 
 ness, so embarrassed their movements, that 
 Pompey succeeded in completing his embarka- 
 tion and sailing away. 
 
 Caesar had no ships in which to follow. He 
 returned to Rome. He met, of course, with no 
 opposition. He re-established the government 
 there, organized the Senate anew, and obtained 
 supplies of corn from the public granaries, and of 
 money from the city treasury in the Capitol. In 
 going to the Capitoline Hill after this treasure, 
 he found the officer who had charge of the money 
 stationed there to defend it. He told Caesar 
 that it was contrary to law for him to enter. 
 Caesar said that, for men with swords in their 
 hands, there was no law. The officer still re- 
 fused to admit him. Caesar then told him to 
 open the doors, or he would kill him on the spot. 
 "And you must understand," he added, "that 
 it will be easier for me to do it than it has been 
 to say it." The officer resisted no longer, and 
 Caesar went in. 
 
 After this, Caesar spent some time in vig- 
 orous campaigns in Italy, Spain, Sicily, and 
 Gaul, wherever there was manifested any op- 
 

 B.C. 50.] Crossing the Rubicon. 153 
 
 Cassar subdues various countries. He turns his thoughts to Pompey. 
 
 position to his sway. When this work was ac- 
 complished, and all these countries were com- 
 pletely subjected to his dominion, he began to 
 turn his thoughts to the plan of pursuing Pom- 
 pey across the Adriatic Sea. 
 
154 Julius Cesar. [B.C. 48. 
 
 The gathering armies. Pompey's preparations. 
 
 Chapter VII. 
 
 The Battle of Pharsalia. 
 
 fTIHE gathering of the armies of Caesar and 
 ■*■ Pompey on the opposite shores of the Adri- 
 atic Sea was one of the grandest preparations 
 for conflict that history has recorded, and the 
 whole world gazed upon the spectacle at the 
 time with an intense and eager interest, which 
 was heightened by the awe and terror which 
 the danger inspired. During the year while 
 Caesar had been completing his work of subdu- 
 ing and arranging all the western part of the 
 empire, Pompey had been gathering from the 
 eastern division every possible contribution to 
 swell the military force under his command, 
 and had been concentrating all these elements 
 of power on the coasts of Macedon and Greece, 
 opposite to Brundusium, where he knew that 
 Caesar would attempt to cross the Adriatic Sea. 
 His camps, his detachments, his troops of arch- 
 ers and slingers, and his squadrons of horse, fill- 
 ed the land, while every port was guarded, and 
 the line of the coast was environed by batteries 
 
B.C. 48.] Battle of Pharsalia. 155 
 
 Csesar at Brundusium. His address to his army. 
 
 and castles on the rocks, and fleets of galleys on 
 the water. Caesar advanced with his immense 
 army to Brundusium, on the opposite shore, in 
 December, so that, in addition to the formida- 
 ble resistance prepared for him by his enemy 
 on the coast, he had to encounter the wild surges 
 of the Adriatic, rolling perpetually in the dark 
 and gloomy commotion always raised in such 
 wide seas by wintery storms. 
 
 Caesar had no ships, for Pompey had cleared 
 the seas of every thing which could aid him in 
 his intended passage. By great efforts, howev- 
 er, he succeeded at length in getting together 
 a sufficient number of galleys to convey over 
 a part of his army, provided he took the men 
 alone, and left all his military stores and bag- 
 gage behind. He gathered his army together, 
 therefore, and made them an address, represent- 
 ing that they were now drawing toward the 
 end of all their dangers and toils. They were 
 about to meet their great enemy for a final con- 
 flict. It was not necessary to take their serv- 
 ants, their baggage, and their stores across the 
 sea, for they were sure of victory, and victory 
 would furnish them with ample supplies from 
 those whom they were about to conquer. 
 
 The soldiers eagerly imbibed the spirit of con- 
 
156 Julius Cesar. [B.C. 48. 
 
 Caesar crosses the Adriatic. He subdues several towns. 
 
 fidence and courage which Caesar himself ex- 
 pressed. A large detachment embarked and 
 put to sea, and, after being tossed all night upon 
 the cold and stormy waters, they approached 
 the shore at some distance to the northward of 
 the place where Pompey's fleets had expected 
 them. It was at a point where the mountains 
 came down near to the sea, rendering the coast 
 rugged and dangerous with shelving rocks and 
 frowning promontories. Here Csesar succeeded 
 in effecting a landing of the first division of his 
 troops, and then sent back the fleet for the re- 
 mainder. 
 
 The news of his passage spread rapidly to all 
 Pompey's stations along the coast, and the ships 
 began to gather, and the armies to march to- 
 ward the point where Caesar had effected his 
 landing. The conflict and struggle commenced. 
 One of Pompey's admirals intercepted the fleet 
 of galleys on their return, and seized and burn- 
 ed a large number of them, with all who were 
 on board. This, of course, only renewed the 
 determined desperation of the remainder. Cae- 
 sar advanced along the coast with the troops 
 which he had landed, driving Pompey's troops 
 before him, and subduing town after town as 
 he advanced. The country was filled with ter- 
 
B.C.4S.] Battle of Pharsalia. 157 
 
 Cesar's advance. Distress of the armies. 
 
 ror and dismay. The portion of the army which 
 Ceesar had left behind could not now cross, part- 
 ly on account of the stormy condition of the 
 seas, the diminished number of the ships, and 
 the redoubled vigilance with which Pompey's 
 forces now guarded the shores, but mainly be- 
 cause Caesar was now no longer with them to 
 inspire them with his reckless, though calm and 
 quiet daring. They remained, therefore, in 
 anxiety and distress, on the Italian shore. As 
 Ceesar, on the other hand, advanced along the 
 Macedonian shore, and drove Pompey back into 
 the interior, he cut off the communication be- 
 tween Pompey's ships and the land, so that the 
 fleet was soon reduced to great distress for want 
 of provisions and water. The men kept them- 
 selves from perishing with thirst by collecting 
 the dew which fell upon the decks of their gal- 
 leys. Csesar's army was also in distress, for 
 Pompey's fleets cut off all supplies by water, 
 and his troops hemmed him in on the side of 
 the land ; and, lastly, Pompey himself, with the 
 immense army that was under his command, 
 began to be struck with alarm at the impend- 
 ing danger with which they were threatened. 
 Pompey little realized, however, how dreadful 
 a fate was soon to overwhelm him. 
 
158 Julius Caesar. [B.C. 48. 
 
 Caesar's impatience. He attempts to cross the Adriatic. 
 
 The winter months rolled away, and nothing 
 effectual was done. The forces, alternating and 
 intermingled, as above described, kept each oth- 
 er in a continued state of anxiety and suffering. 
 Caesar became impatient at the delay of that 
 portion of his army that he had left on the Ital- 
 ian shore. The messages of encouragement 
 and of urgency which he sent across to them 
 did not bring them over, and at length, one dark 
 and stormy night, when he thought that the 
 inclemency of the skies and the heavy surging 
 of the swell in the offing would drive his vig- 
 ilant enemies into places of shelter, and put 
 them off their guard, he determined to cross 
 the sea himself and bring his hesitating army 
 over. He ordered a galley to be prepared, and 
 went on board of it disguised, and with his head 
 muffled in his mantle, intending that not even 
 the officers or crew of the ship which was to 
 convey him should know of his design. The 
 galley, in obedience to orders, put off from the 
 shore. The mariners endeavored in vain for 
 some time to make head against the violence 
 of the wind and the heavy concussions of the 
 waves, and at length, terrified at the imminence 
 of the danger to which so wild and tumultuous 
 a sea on such a night exposed them, refused to 
 
B.C. 48.] Battle of Pharsalia. 159 
 
 Caesar lands the remainder of his army. Attempts at negotiation. 
 
 proceed, and the commander gave them orders 
 to return. Caesar then came forward, threw 
 off his mantle, and said to them, "Friends! 
 you have nothing to fear. You are carrying 
 Caesar." 
 
 The men were, of course, inspirited anew by 
 this disclosure, but all was in vain. The ob- 
 stacles to the passage proved insurmountable, 
 and the galley, to avoid certain destruction, was 
 compelled to return. 
 
 The army, however, on the Italian side, hear- 
 ing of Caesar's attempt to return to them, fruit- 
 less though it was, and stimulated by the re- 
 newed urgency of the orders which he now sent 
 to them, made arrangements at last for an em- 
 barkation, and, after encountering great dan- 
 gers on the way, succeeded in landing in safety. 
 Caesar, thus strengthened, began to plan more 
 decided operations for the coming spring. 
 
 There were some attempts at negotiation. 
 The armies were so exasperated against each 
 other on account of the privations and hardships 
 which each compelled the other to suffer, that 
 they felt too strong a mutual distrust to attempt 
 any regular communication by commissioners or 
 embassadors appointed for the purpose. They 
 came to a parley, however, in one or two in- 
 
160 Julius Caesar. [B.C. 48. 
 
 Conferences. End in violence and disorder. 
 
 stances, though the interviews led to no result. 
 As the missiles used in those days were such 
 as could only be thrown to a very short distance, 
 hostile bodies of men could approach much 
 nearer to each other then than is possible now, 
 when projectiles of the most terribly destructive 
 character can be thrown for miles. In one in- 
 stance, some of the ships of Pompey's fleet ap- 
 proached so near to the shore as to open a confer- 
 ence with one or two of Caesar's lieutenants who 
 were encamped there. In another case, two 
 bodies of troops from the respective armies were 
 separated only by a river, and the officers and 
 soldiers came down to the banks on either side, 
 and held frequent conversations, calling to each 
 other in loud voices across the water. In this 
 way they succeeded in so far coming to an agree- 
 ment as to fix upon a time and place for a more 
 formal conference, to be held by commissioners 
 chosen on each side. This conference was thus 
 held, but each party came to it accompanied 
 by a considerable body of attendants, and these, 
 as might have been anticipated, came into open 
 collision while the discussion was pending ; thus 
 the meeting consequently ended in violence and 
 disorder, each party accusing the other of viola- 
 ting the faith which both had plighted. 
 
B.C. 48.] Battle of Pharsalia. 161 
 
 Undecided warfare. Bread made of roots. 
 
 This slow and undecided mode of warfare be- 
 tween the two vast armies continued for many 
 months without any decisive results. There 
 were skirmishes, struggles, sieges, blockades, 
 and many brief and partial conflicts, but no 
 general and decided battle. Now the advant- 
 age seemed on one side, and now on the other. 
 Pompey so hemmed in Caesar's troops at one 
 period, and so cut off his supplies, that the men 
 were reduced to extreme distress for food. At 
 length they found a kind of root which they dug 
 from the ground, and, after drying and pulver- 
 izing it, they made a sort of bread of the powder, 
 which the soldiers were willing to eat rather 
 than either starve or give up the contest. They 
 told Caesar, in fact, that they would live on the 
 bark of trees rather than abandon his cause. 
 Pompey 's soldiers, at one time, coming near to 
 the walls of a town which they occupied, taunt- 
 ed and jeered them on account of their wretch- 
 ed destitution of food. Caesar's soldiers threw 
 loaves of this bread at them in return, by way 
 of symbol that they were abundantly supplied. 
 
 After some time the tide of fortune turned. 
 Caesar contrived, by a succession of adroit ma- 
 neuvers and movements, to escape from his 
 toils, and to circumvent and surround Pompey 's 
 L 
 
162 Julius Cesar. [B.C. 48. 
 
 Caesar hems Pornpey in. Anxiety of the rivals. 
 
 forces so as soon to make them suffer destitution 
 and distress in their turn. He cut off all com- 
 munication between them and the country at 
 large, and turned away the brooks and streams 
 from flowing through the ground they occupied. 
 An army of forty or fifty thousand men, with 
 the immense number of horses and beasts of 
 burden which accompany them, require very 
 large supplies of water, and any destitution or 
 even scarcity of water leads immediately to the 
 most dreadful consequences. Pompey's troops 
 dug wells, but they obtained only very insuffi- 
 cient supplies. Great numbers of beasts of 
 burden died, and their decaying bodies so taint- 
 ed the air as to produce epidemic diseases, which 
 destroyed many of the troops, and depressed and 
 disheartened those whom they did not destroy. 
 During all these operations there was no de- 
 cisive general battle. Each one of the great ri- 
 vals knew very well that his defeat in one gen- 
 eral battle would be his utter and irretrievable 
 ruin. In a war between two independent na- 
 tions, a single victory, however complete, sel- 
 dom terminates the struggle, for the defeated 
 party has the resources of a whole realm to fall 
 back upon, which are sometimes called forth 
 with renewed vigor after experiencing such re- 
 
B.C. 48.] Battle of Pharsalia. 163 
 
 Nature of the contest between Csesar and Pompey. Both hesitate. 
 
 verses ; and then defeat in such cases, even if 
 it be final, does not necessarily involve the ruin 
 of the unsuccessful commander. He may ne- 
 gotiate an honorable peace, and return to his 
 own land in safety ; and, if his misfortunes are 
 considered by his countrymen as owing not to 
 any dereliction from his duty as a soldier, but 
 to the influence of adverse circumstances which 
 no human skill or resolution could have con- 
 trolled, he may spend the remainder of his days 
 in prosperity and honor. The contest, how- 
 ever, between Caesar and Pompey was not of 
 this character. One or the other of them was 
 a traitor and a usurper — an enemy to his coun- 
 try. The result of a battle would decide which 
 of the two was to stand in this attitude. Vic- 
 tory would legitimize and confirm the authori- 
 ty of one, and make it supreme over the whole 
 civilized world. Defeat was to annihilate the 
 power of the other, and make him a fugitive 
 and a vagabond, without friends, without home, 
 without country. It was a desperate stake; 
 and it is not at all surprising that both parties 
 lingered and hesitated, and postponed the throw- 
 ing of the die. 
 
 At length Pompey, rendered desperate by the 
 urgency of the destitution and distress into 
 
164 Julius Cjssa-r. [B.C. 48. 
 
 The armies enter Thessaly. The plain of Pharsalia. 
 
 which Caesar had shut him, made a series of 
 vigorous and successful attacks upon Caesar's 
 lines, by which he broke away in his turn from 
 his enemy's grasp, and the two armies moved 
 slowly back into the interior of the country, 
 hovering in the vicinity of each other, like birds 
 of prey contending in the air, each continually 
 striking at the other, and moving onward at the 
 same time to gain some position of advantage, 
 or to circumvent the other in such a design. 
 They passed on in this manner over plains, and 
 across rivers, and through mountain passes, un- 
 til at length they reached the heart of Thes- 
 saly. Here at last the armies came to a stand 
 and fought the final battle. 
 
 The place was known then as the plain 
 of Pharsalia, and the greatness of the contest 
 which was decided there has immortalized its 
 name. Pompey's forces were far more numer- 
 ous than those of Csesar, and the advantage in 
 all the partial contests which had taken place 
 for some time had been on his side ; he felt, con- 
 sequently, sure of victory. He drew up his men 
 in a line, one flank resting upon the bank of a 
 river, which protected them from attack on that 
 side. From this point, the long line of legions, 
 drawn up in battle array, extended out upon 
 
B.C. 48.] Battle of Pharsalia. 
 
 165 
 
 Roman standard bearers. 
 
 Pompey draws up his army. 
 
 Roman Standard Beakehs. 
 
 the plain, and was terminated at the other ex- 
 tremity by strong squadrons of horse, and bodies 
 of slingers and archers, so as to give the force 
 of weapons and the activity of men as great a 
 range as possible there, in order to prevent Ceb- 
 sar's being able to outflank and surround them. 
 There was, however, apparently very little 
 danger of this, for Csesar, according to his own 
 
166 Julius Cjssar. [B.C. 48. 
 
 Forces on both sides. Appearance of Pompey s camp. 
 
 story, had but about half as strong a force as 
 Pompey. The army of the latter, he says, con- 
 sisted of nearly fifty thousand men, while his 
 own number was between twenty and thirty 
 thousand. Generals, however, are prone to 
 magnify the military grandeur of their exploits 
 by overrating the strength with which they 
 had to contend, and under-estimating their own. 
 We are therefore to receive with some distrust 
 the statements made by Caesar and his parti- 
 sans ; and as for Pompey's story, the total and 
 irreparable ruin in which he himself and all who 
 adhered to him were entirely overwhelmed im- 
 mediately after the battle, prevented its being 
 ever told. 
 
 In the rear of the plain where Pompey's lines 
 were extended was the camp from which the 
 army had been drawn out to prepare for the 
 battle. The camp fires of the preceding night 
 were moldering away, for it was a warm sum- 
 mer morning ; the intrenchments were guard- 
 ed, and the tents, now nearly empty, stood ex- 
 tended in long rows within the inclosure. In 
 the midst of them was the magnificent pavilion 
 of the general, furnished with every imaginable 
 article of luxury and splendor. Attendants 
 were busy here and there, some rearranging 
 
B.C. 48.] Battle of Pharsalia. 167 
 
 Pompey's tent. His confidence of victory. 
 
 what had been left in disorder by the call to 
 arms by which the troops had been summoned 
 from their places of rest, and others preparing 
 refreshments and food for their victorious com- 
 rades when they should return from the battle. 
 In Pompey's tent a magnificent entertainment 
 was preparing. The tables were spread with 
 every luxury, the sideboards were loaded with 
 plate, and the whole scene was resplendent with 
 utensils and decorations of silver and gold. 
 
 Pompey and all his generals were perfectly 
 certain of victory. In fact, the peace and har- 
 mony of their councils in camp had been de- 
 stroyed for many days by their contentions and 
 disputes about the disposal of the high offices, 
 and the places of profit and power at Rome, 
 which were to come into their hands when Cae- 
 sar should have been subdued. The subduing 
 of Caesar they considered only a question of 
 time ; and, as a question of time, it was now 
 reduced to very narrow limits. A few days 
 more, and they were to be masters of the whole 
 Roman empire, and, impatient and greedy, they 
 disputed in anticipation about the division of 
 the spoils. 
 
 To make assurance doubly sure, Pompey 
 gave orders that his troops should not advance 
 
168 Julius Cesar. [B.C. 48. 
 
 The battle of Pharsalia. Defeat of Pompey. 
 
 to meet the onset of Caesar's troops on the mid- 
 dle ground between the two armies, but that 
 they should wait calmly for the attack, and re- 
 ceive the enemy at the posts where they had 
 themselves been arrayed. 
 
 The hour at length arrived, the charge was 
 sounded by the trumpets, and Caesar's troops 
 began to advance with loud shouts and great 
 impetuosity toward Pompey's lines. There 
 was a long and terrible struggle, but the forces 
 of Pompey began finally to give way. Notwith- 
 standing the precautions which Pompey had ta- 
 ken to guard and protect the wing of his army 
 which was extended toward the land, Caesar 
 succeeded in turning his flank upon that side 
 by driving off the cavalry and destroying the 
 archers and slingers, and he was thus enabled 
 to throw a strong force upon Pompey's rear. 
 The flight then soon became general, and a 
 scene of dreadful confusion and slaughter en- 
 sued. The soldiers of Caesar's army, maddened 
 with the insane rage which the progress of a 
 battle never fails to awaken, and now excited 
 to phrensy by the exultation of success, pressed 
 on after the affrighted fugitives, who trampled 
 one upon another, or fell pierced with the weap- 
 ons of their assailants, filling the air with their 
 
B.C. 48.] Battle of Pharsalia. 169 
 
 Scene of horror. Pompey's flight to the camp. 
 
 cries of agony and their shrieks of terror. The 
 horrors of the scene, far from allaying, only ex- 
 cited still more the ferocity of their bloodthirsty 
 foes, and they pressed steadily and fiercely on, 
 hour after hour, in their dreadful work of de- 
 struction. It was one of those scenes of horror 
 and woe, such as those who have not witnessed 
 them can not conceive of, and those who have 
 witnessed can never forget. 
 
 When Pompey perceived that all was lost, 
 he fled from the field in a state of the wildest 
 excitement and consternation. His troops were 
 flying in all directions, some toward the camp, 
 vainly hoping to find refuge there, and others 
 in various other quarters, wherever they saw 
 the readiest hope of escape from their merciless 
 pursuers. Pompey himself fled instinctively 
 toward the camp. As he passed the guards at 
 the gate where he entered, he commanded them, 
 in his agitation and terror, to defend the gate 
 against the coming enemy, saying that he was 
 going to the other gates to attend to the defenses 
 there. He then hurried on, but a full sense of 
 the helplessness and hopelessness of his condi- 
 tion soon overwhelmed him ; he gave up all 
 thought of defense, and, passing with a sinking 
 heart through the scene of consternation and 
 
170 Julius C^sar. [B.C. 48. 
 
 Pompey in his tent. His consternation and despair. 
 
 confusion which reigned every where within 
 the encampment, he sought his own tent, and, 
 rushing into it, sank down, amid the luxury 
 and splendor which had been arranged to do 
 honor to his anticipated victory, in a state of 
 utter stupefaction and despair. 
 
B.C. 48.] Death of Pompey. 171 
 
 Pursuit of the vanquished. Pompey recovers himself. 
 
 Chapter VIII. 
 
 Flight and Death of Pompey. 
 
 /^i^ESAR pursued the discomfited and flying 
 ^-^ bodies of Pompey's army to the camp. 
 They made a brief stand upon the ramparts 
 and at the gates, in a vain and fruitless strug- 
 gle against the tide of victory which they soon 
 perceived must fully overwhelm them. They 
 gave way continually here and there along the 
 lines of intrenchment, and column after column 
 of Caesar's followers broke through into the 
 camp. Pompey, hearing from his tent the in- 
 creasing noise and uproar, was at length aroused 
 from his stupor, and began to summon his fac- 
 ulties to the question what he was to do. At 
 length a party of fugitives, hotly pursued by 
 some of Caesar's soldiers, broke into his tent. 
 "What!" said Pompey, "into my tent too!" 
 He had been for more than thirty years a vic- 
 torious general, accustomed to all the deference 
 and respect which boundless wealth, extended 
 and absolute power, and the highest military 
 rank could afford. In the encampments which 
 
172 Julius Cesar. [B.C. 48. 
 
 Potnpey disguises himself. He escapes from the camp. 
 
 he had made, and in the cities which he had 
 occupied from time to time, he had been the 
 supreme and unquestioned master, and his tent, 
 arranged and furnished, as it had always been, 
 in a style of the utmost magnificence and splen- 
 dor, had been sacred from all intrusion, and in- 
 vested with such a dignity that potentates and 
 princes were impressed when they entered with 
 a feeling of deference and awe. Now, rude 
 soldiers burst wildly into it, and the air without 
 was filled with an uproar and confusion, draw- 
 ing every moment nearer and nearer, and warn- 
 ing the fallen hero that there was no longer any 
 protection there against the approaching torrent 
 which was coming on to overwhelm him. 
 
 Pompey aroused himself from his stupor, 
 threw off the military dress which belonged to 
 his rank and station, and assumed a hasty dis- 
 guise, in which he hoped he might make his es- 
 cape from the immediate scene of his calamities. 
 He mounted a horse and rode out of the camp 
 at the easiest place of egress in the rear, in com- 
 pany with bodies of troops and guards who were 
 also flying in confusion, while Caesar and his 
 forces on the other side were carrying the in- 
 trenchments and forcing their way in. As soon 
 as he had thus made his escape from the im- 
 
B.C. 48.] Death of Pompey. 173 
 
 The Vale of Tempe. Its picturesqueness. 
 
 mediate scene of danger, he dismounted and left 
 his horse, that he might assume more com- 
 pletely the appearance of a common soldier, and, 
 with a few attendants who were willing to fol- 
 low his fallen fortunes, he went on to the east- 
 ward, directing his weary steps toward the 
 shores of the ^Egean Sea. 
 
 The country through which he was traveling 
 was Thessaly. ThessaJy is a vast amphithea- 
 ter, surrounded by mountains, from whose sides 
 streams descend, which, after watering many 
 fertile valleys and plains, combine to form one 
 great central river that flows to the eastward, 
 and after various meanderings, finds its way 
 into theiEgean Sea through a romantic gap be- 
 tween two mountains, called the Vale of Tempe 
 — a vale which has been famed in all asres for the 
 extreme picturesqueness of its scenery, and in 
 which, in those days, all the charms both of the 
 most alluring beauty and of the sublimest gran- 
 deur seemed to be combined. Pompey followed 
 the roads leading along the banks of this stream, 
 weary in body, and harassed and disconsolate 
 in mind. The news which came to him from 
 time to time, by the flying parties which were 
 moving through the country in all directions, 
 of the entire and overwhelming completeness 
 
174 Julius Cesar. [B.C. 48. 
 
 Pompey's sufferings. A drink of water. 
 
 of Caesar's victory, extinguished all remains of 
 hope, and narrowed down at last the grounds 
 of his solicitude to the single point of his own 
 personal safety. He was well aware that he 
 should be pursued, and, to baffle the efforts 
 which he knew that his enemies would make 
 to follow his track, he avoided large towns, and 
 pressed forward in by-ways and solitudes, bear- 
 ing as patiently as he was able his increasing 
 destitution and distress. He reached, at length, 
 the Vale of Tempe, and there, exhausted with 
 hunger, thirst, and fatigue, he sat down upon 
 the bank of the stream to recover by a little 
 rest strength enough for the remainder of his 
 weary way. He wished for a drink, but he had 
 nothing to drink from. And so the mighty po- 
 tentate, whose tent was full of delicious bever- 
 ages, and cups and goblets of silver and gold, 
 extended himself down upon the sand at the 
 margin of the river, and drank the warm water 
 directly from the stream. 
 
 While Pompey was thus anxiously and toil- 
 somely endeavoring to gain the sea-shore, Cae- 
 sar was completing his victory over the army 
 which he had left behind him. When Caesar 
 had carried the intrench ments of the camp, and 
 the army found that there was no longer any 
 
B.C. 48.] Death of Pompey. 175 
 
 Caesar in Pompey's camp. Retreat of Pompey's army. 
 
 safety for them there, they continued their re- 
 treat under the guidance of such generals as re- 
 mained. Caesar thus gained undisputed pos- 
 session of the camp. He found every where 
 the marks of wealth and luxury, and indica- 
 tions of the confident expectation of victory 
 which the discomfited army had entertained. 
 The tents of the generals were crowned with 
 myrtle, the beds were strewed with flowers, 
 and tables every where were spread for feasts, 
 with cups and bowls of wine all ready for the 
 expected revelers. Caesar took possession of 
 the whole, stationed a proper guard to protect 
 the property, and then pressed forward with his 
 army in pursuit of the enemy. 
 
 Pompey's army made their way to a neighbor- 
 ing rising ground, where they threw up hasty in- 
 trenchments to protect themselves for the night. 
 A rivulet ran near the hill, the access to which 
 they endeavored to secure, in order to obtain 
 supplies of water. Caesar and his forces follow- 
 ed them to this spot. The day was gone, and it 
 was too late to attack them. Caesar's soldiers, 
 too, were exhausted with the intense and pro- 
 tracted excitement and exertions which had now 
 been kept up for many hours in the battle and 
 in the pursuit, and they needed repose. They 
 
176 Julius Cesar. [B.C. 48. 
 
 Surrender of Pompey's army. Pompey in the Vale of Tempe. 
 
 made, however, one effort more. They seized 
 the avenue of approach to the rivulet, and threw 
 up a temporary intrenchment to secure it, 
 which intrenchment they protected with a 
 guard ; and then the army retired to rest, leav- 
 ing their helpless victims to while away the 
 hours of the night, tormented with thirst, and 
 overwhelmed with anxiety and despair. This 
 could not long be endured. They surrendered 
 in the morning, and Caesar found himself in 
 possession of over twenty thousand prisoners. 
 
 In the mean time, Pompey passed on through 
 the Vale of Tempe toward the sea, regardless of 
 the beauty and splendor that surrounded him, 
 and thinking only of his fallen fortunes, and 
 revolving despairingly in his mind the various 
 forms in which the final consummation of his 
 ruin might ultimately come. At length he 
 reached the sea-shore, and found refuge for the 
 night in a fisherman's cabin. A small number 
 of attendants remained with him, some of whom 
 were slaves. These he now dismissed, direct- 
 ing them to return and surrender themselves to 
 Caesar, saying that he was a generous foe, and 
 that they had nothing to fear from him. His 
 other attendants he retained, and he made ar- 
 rangements for a boat to take him the next day 
 
B.C. 48.] Death op Pompey. 177 
 
 Pompey embarks on board a vessel. The shipmaster's dream. 
 
 along the coast. It was a river boat, and un- 
 suited to the open sea, but it was all that he 
 could obtain. 
 
 He arose the next morning at break of day, 
 and embarked in the little vessel, with two or 
 three attendants, and the oarsmen began to 
 row away along the shore. They soon came in 
 sight of a merchant ship just ready to sail. The 
 master of this vessel, it happened, had seen 
 Pompey, and knew his countenance, and he had 
 dreamed, as a famous historian of the times re- 
 lates, on the night before, that Pompey had 
 come to him in the guise of a simple soldier 
 and in great distress, and that he had received 
 and rescued him. There was nothing extraor- 
 dinary in such a dream at such a time, as the 
 contest between Caesar and Pompey, and the 
 approach of the final collision which was to de- 
 stroy one or the other of them, filled the minds 
 and occupied the conversation of the world. 
 The shipmaster, therefore, having seen and 
 known one of the great rivals in the approach- 
 ing conflict, would naturally find both his wak- 
 ing and sleeping thoughts dwelling on the sub- 
 ject ; and his fancy, in his dreams, might eas- 
 ily picture the scene of his rescuing and saving 
 the fallen hero in the hour of his distress. 
 M 
 
178 Julius C^sar. [B.C. 48. 
 
 Pompey goes on board a merchant ship. His arrival at Amphipolis. 
 
 However this may be, the shipmaster is said 
 to have been relating his dream to the seamen 
 on the deck of his vessel when the boat which 
 was conveying Pompey came into view. Pom- 
 pey himself, having escaped from the land, sup- 
 posed all immediate danger over, not imagining 
 that seafaring men would recognize him in such 
 a situation and in such a disguise. The ship- 
 master did, however, recognize him. He was 
 overwhelmed with grief at seeing him in such 
 a condition. With a countenance and with 
 gestures expressive of earnest surprise and sor- 
 row, he beckoned to Pompey to come on board. 
 He ordered his own ship's boat to be immedi- 
 ately let down to meet and receive him. Pom- 
 pey came on board. The ship was given up to 
 his possession, and every possible arrangement 
 was made to supply his wants, to contribute to 
 his comfort, and to do him honor. 
 
 The vessel conveyed him to Amphipolis, a 
 city of Macedonia near the sea, and to the north- 
 ward and eastward of the place where he had 
 embarked. When Pompey arrived at the port, 
 he sent proclamations to the shore, calling upon 
 the inhabitants to take arms and join his stand- 
 ard. He did not, however, land, or take any 
 other measures for carrying these arrangements 
 
B.C. 48.] Death of Pompey. 179 
 
 Pompey's wife Cornelia. Her beauty and accomplishments. 
 
 into effect. He only waited in the river upon 
 which Amphipolis stands long enough to re- 
 ceive a supply of money from some of his friends 
 on the shore, and stores for his voyage, and then 
 set sail again. Whether he learned that Cae- 
 sar was advancing in that direction with a force 
 too strong for him to encounter, or found that 
 the people were disinclined to espouse his cause, 
 or whether the whole movement was a feint to 
 direct Caesar's attention to Macedon as the field 
 of his operations, in order that he might escape 
 more secretly and safely beyond the sea, can 
 not now be ascertained. 
 
 Pompey's wife Cornelia was on the island of 
 Lesbos, at Mitylene, near the western coast of 
 Asia Minor. She was a lady of distinguished 
 beauty, and of great intellectual superiority and 
 moral worth. She was extremely well versed 
 in all the learning of the times, and yet was 
 entirely free from those peculiarities and airs 
 which, as her historian says, were often ob- 
 served in learned ladies in those days. Pom- 
 pey had married her after the death of Julia, 
 Caesar's daughter. They were strongly devot- 
 ed to each other. Pompey had provided for her 
 a beautiful retreat on the island of Lesbos, 
 where she was living in elegance and splendor, 
 
180 Julius Cesar. [B.C. 48. 
 
 Pompey's arrival at Mitylene. His meeting with Cornelia. 
 
 beloved for her own intrinsic charms, and high- 
 ly honored on account of the greatness and fame 
 of her husband. Here she had received from 
 time to time glowing accounts of his success, 
 all exaggerated as they came to her, through 
 the eager desire of the narrators to give her 
 pleasure. 
 
 From this high elevation of honor and happi- 
 ness the ill-fated Cornelia suddenly fell, on the 
 arrival of Pompey's solitary vessel at Mitylene, 
 bringing as it did, at the same time, both the 
 first intelligence of her husband's fall, and him- 
 self in person, a ruined and homeless fugitive 
 and wanderer. The meeting was sad and sor- 
 rowful. Cornelia was overwhelmed at the sud- 
 denness and violence of the shock which it 
 brought her, and Pompey lamented anew the 
 dreadful disaster that he had sustained, at find- 
 ing how inevitably it must involve his beloved 
 wife as well as himself in its irreparable ruin. 
 
 The pain, however, was not wholly without 
 some mingling of pleasure. A husband finds 
 a strange sense of protection and safety in the 
 presence and sympathy of an affectionate wife 
 in the hour of his calamity. She can, perhaps, 
 do nothing, but her mute and sorrowful con- 
 cern and pity comfort and reassure him. Cor- 
 
B.C. 48.] Death of Pompey. 181 
 
 Pompey gathers a little fleet. He sails along the Mediterranean. 
 
 nelia, however, was able to render her husband 
 some essential aid. She resolved immediately 
 to accompany him wherever he should go ; and, 
 by their joint endeavors, a little fleet was gath- 
 ered, and such supplies as could be hastily ob- 
 tained, and such attendants and followers as 
 were willing to shars his fate, were taken on 
 board. During all this time Pompey would 
 not go on shore himself, but remained on board 
 his ship in the harbor. Perhaps he was afraid 
 of some treachery or surprise, or perhaps, in 
 his fallen and hopeless condition, he was un- 
 willing to expose himself to the gaze of those 
 who had so often seen him in all the splendor 
 of his former power. 
 
 At length, wiien all was ready, he sailed away. 
 He passed eastward along the Mediterranean, 
 touching at such ports as he supposed most 
 likely to favor his cause. Vague and uncer- 
 tain, but still alarming rumors that Csesar was 
 advancing in pursuit of him met him every 
 where, and the people of the various provinces 
 were taking sides, some in his favor and some 
 against him, the excitement being every where 
 so great that the utmost caution and circum- 
 spection were required in all his movements. 
 Sometimes he was refused permission to land ; 
 
182 Julius Cesar. [B.C. 48. 
 
 Pompey receives additional supplies. He seeks refuge in Egypt. 
 
 at others, his friends were too few to afford him 
 protection ; and at others still, though the au- 
 thorities professed friendship, he did not dare to 
 trust them. He obtained, however, some sup- 
 plies of money and some accessions to the num- 
 ber of ships and men under his command, until 
 at length he had quite a little fleet in his train. 
 Several men of rank and influence, who had 
 served under him in the days of his prosperity, 
 nobly adhered to him now, and formed a sort 
 of court or council on board his galley, where 
 they held with their great though fallen com- 
 mander frequent conversations on the plan which 
 it was best to pursue. 
 
 It was finally decided that it was best to seek 
 refuge in Egypt. There seemed to be, in fact, 
 no alternative. All the rest of the world was 
 evidently going over to Csesar. Pompey had 
 been the means, some years before, of restoring 
 a certain king of Egypt to his throne, and many 
 of his soldiers had been left in the country, and 
 remained there still. It is true that the king 
 himself had died. He had left a daughter 
 named Cleopatra, and also a son, who was at 
 this time very young. The name of this youth- 
 ful prince was Ptolemy. Ptolemy and Cleo- 
 patra had been made by their father joint heirs 
 
B.C. 48.] Death of Pompey. 183 
 
 Ptolemy and Cleopatra. Pompey arrives at Pelusium. 
 
 to the throne. But Ptolemy, or, rather, the 
 ministers and counselors who acted for him and 
 in his name, had expelled Cleopatra, that they 
 might govern alone. Cleopatra had raised an 
 army in Syria, and was on her way to the fron- 
 tiers of Egypt to regain possession of what she 
 deemed her rights. Ptolemy's ministers had 
 gone forth to meet her at the head of their own 
 troops, Ptolemy himself being also with them. 
 They had reached Pelusium, which is the fron- 
 tier town between Egypt and Syria on the coast 
 of the Mediterranean. Here their armies had 
 assembled in vast encampments upon the land, 
 and their galleys and transports were riding at 
 anchor along the shore of the sea. Pompey and 
 his counselors thought that the government of 
 Ptolemy would receive him as a friend, on ac- 
 count of the services he had rendered to the 
 young prince's father, forgetting that gratitude 
 has never a place on the list of political virtues. 
 Pompey's little squadron made its way slowly 
 over the waters of the Mediterranean toward 
 Pelusium and the camp of Ptolemy. As they 
 approached the shore, both Pompey himself and 
 Cornelia felt many anxious forebodings. A mes- 
 senger was sent to the land to inform the young- 
 king of Pompey's approach, and to solicit his 
 
184 Julius Cesar. [B.C. 48. 
 
 Ptolemy's council resolve to murder Pompey. The assassin Achillas. 
 
 protection. The government of Ptolemy held a 
 council, and took the subject into consideration. 
 
 Various opinions were expressed, and various 
 plans were proposed. The counsel which was 
 finally followed was this. It would be danger- 
 ous to receive Pompey, since that would make 
 Caesar their enemy. It would be dangerous to 
 refuse to receive him, as that would make Pom- 
 pey their enemy, and, though powerless now, he 
 might one day be in a condition to seek venge- 
 ance. It was wisest, therefore, to destroy him. 
 They would invite him to the shore, and kill him 
 when he landed. This would please Caesar ; 
 and Pompey himself, being dead, could never re- 
 venge it. " Dead dogs," as the orator said who 
 made this atrocious proposal, " do not bite." 
 
 An Egyptian, named Achillas, was appointed 
 to execute the assassination thus decreed. An 
 invitation was sent to Pompey to land, accom- 
 panied with a promise of protection ; and, when 
 his fleet had approached near enough to the 
 shore, Achillas took a small party in a boat, and 
 went out to meet his galley. The men in this 
 boat, of course, were armed. 
 
 The officers and attendants of Pompey watch- 
 ed all these movements from the deck of his 
 galley. They scrutinized every thing that oc- 
 
B.C. 48.] Death of Pompey. 185 
 
 Suspicions of Pompey's friends. Entreaties of Cornelia. 
 
 curred with the closest attention and the great- 
 est anxiety, to see whether the indications de- 
 noted an honest friendship or intentions of 
 treachery. The appearances were not favora- 
 ble. Pompey's friends observed that no prepa- 
 rations were making along the shore for receiv- 
 ing him with the honors due, as they thought, 
 to his rank and station. The manner, too, in 
 which the Egyptians seemed to expect him 
 to land was ominous of evil. Only a single 
 insignificant boat for a potentate who recent- 
 ly had commanded half the world ! Then, be- 
 sides, the friends of Pompey observed that sev- 
 eral of the principal galleys of Ptolemy's fleet 
 were getting up their anchors, and preparing 
 apparently to be ready to move at a sudden call. 
 These and other indications appeared much 
 more like preparations for seizing an enemy 
 than welcoming a friend. Cornelia, who, with 
 her little son, stood upon the deck of Pompey's 
 galley, watching the scene with a peculiar in- 
 tensity of solicitude which the hardy soldiers 
 around her could not have felt, became soon ex- 
 ceedingly alarmed. She begged her husband 
 not to go on shore. But Pompey decided that 
 it was now too late to retreat. He could not 
 escape from the Egyptian galleys if they had 
 
186 Julius Cesar. [B.C. 48. 
 
 Pompey's forlorn condition. He determines to land. 
 
 received orders to intercept him, nor could he 
 resist violence if violence were intended. To do 
 any thing like that would evince distrust, and 
 to appear like putting himself upon his guard 
 would be to take at once, himself, the position 
 of an enemy, and invite and justify the hostility 
 of the Egyptians in return. As to flight, he 
 could not hope to escape from the Egyptian gal- 
 leys if they had received orders to prevent it ; 
 and, besides, if he were determined on attempt- 
 ing an escape, whither should he fly ? The 
 world was against him. His triumphant en- 
 emy was on his track in full pursuit, with all 
 the vast powers and resources of the whole Ro- 
 man empire at his command. There remained 
 for Pompey only the last forlorn hope of a refuge 
 in Egypt, or else, as the sole alternative, a com- 
 plete and unconditional submission to Caesar. 
 His pride would not consent to this, and he de- 
 termined, therefore, dark as the indications 
 were, to place himself, without any appearance 
 of distrust, in Ptolemy's hands, and abide the 
 issue. 
 
 The boat of Achillas approached the galley. 
 When it touched the side, Achillas and the 
 other officers on board of it hailed Pompey in 
 the most respectful manner, giving him the title 
 
B.C. 48.] Death of Pompey. 187 
 
 Preparations for landing. Pompey takes leave of his wife. 
 
 of Imperator, the highest title known in the 
 Roman state. Achillas addressed Pompey in 
 Greek. The Greek was the language of edu- 
 cated men in all the Eastern countries in those 
 days. He told him that the water was too 
 shallow for his galley to approach nearer to the 
 shore, and invited him to come onboard of his 
 boat, and he would take him to the beach, where, 
 as he said, the king was waiting to receive him. 
 
 With many anxious forebodings, that were 
 but ill concealed, Pompey made preparations to 
 accept the invitation. He bade his wife fare- 
 well, who clung to him as they were about to 
 part with a gloomy presentiment that they 
 should never meet again. Two centurions who 
 were to accompany Pompey, and two servants, 
 descended into the boat. Pompey himself fol- 
 lowed, and then the boatmen pushed off from 
 the galley and made toward the shore. The 
 decks of all the vessels in Pompey's little squad- 
 ron, as well as those of the Egyptian fleet, were 
 crowded with spectators, and lines of soldiery 
 and groups of men, all intently watching the 
 operations of the landing, were scattered along 
 the shore. 
 
 Among the men whom Achillas had provid- 
 ed to aid him in the assassination was an offi- 
 
188 
 
 Julius Caesar. 
 
 [B.C. 48. 
 
 The assassins. 
 
 
 Gloomy silence. 
 
 cer of the Roman army who had formerly serv- 
 ed under Pompey. As soon as Pompey was 
 seated in the boat, he recognized the counte- 
 nance of this man, and addressed him, saying, 
 "I think I remember you as having been in for- 
 mer days my fellow-soldier." The man replied 
 merely by a nod of assent. Feeling somewhat 
 guilty and self-condemned at the thoughts of 
 the treachery which he was about to perpetrate, 
 he was little inclined to renew the recollection 
 of the days when he was Pompey's friend. In 
 fact, the whole company in the boat, filled on 
 the one part with awe in anticipation of the ter- 
 rible deed which they were soon to commit, 
 and on the other with a dread suspense and 
 alarm, were little disposed for conversation, 
 and Pompey took out a manuscript of an ad- 
 dress in Greek which he had prepared to make 
 to the young king at his approaching interview 
 with him, and occupied himself in reading it 
 over. Thus they advanced in a gloomy and 
 solemn silence, hearing no sound but the dip of 
 the oars in the water, and the gentle dash of 
 the waves along the line of the shore. 
 
 At length the boat touched the sand, while 
 Cornelia still stood on the deck of the galley, 
 watching every movement with great solicitude 
 
B.C. 48.] Death of Pompey. 189 
 
 Assassination of Pompey. Cornelia. 
 
 and concern. One of the two servants whom 
 Pompey had taken with him, named Philip, his 
 favorite personal attendant, rose to assist his 
 master in landing. He gave Pompey his hand 
 to aid him in rising from his seat, and at that 
 moment the Roman officer whom Pompey had 
 recognized as his fellow-soldier, advanced behind 
 him and stabbed him in the back. At the same 
 instant Achillas and the others drew their 
 swords. Pompey saw that all was lost. He 
 did not speak, and he uttered no cry of alarm, 
 though Cornelia's dreadful shriek was so loud 
 and piercing that it was heard upon the shore. 
 From the suffering victim himself nothing was 
 heard but an inarticulate groan extorted by his 
 agony. He gathered his mantle over his face, 
 and sank down and died. 
 
 Of course, all was now excitement and con- 
 fusion. As soon as the deed was done, the per- 
 petrators of it retired from the scene, taking 
 the head of their unhappy victim with them, to 
 offer to Caesar as proof that his enemy was re- 
 ally no more. The officers who remained in 
 the fleet which had brought Pompey to the 
 coast made all haste to sail away, bearing the 
 wretched Cornelia with them, utterly distract- 
 ed with grief and despair, while Philip and his 
 
190 Julius C^sar. [B.C. 48. 
 
 The funeral pile. Pompey's ashes sent to Cornelia. 
 
 fellow-servant remained upon the beach, stand- 
 ing bewildered and stupefied over the headless 
 body of their beloved master. Crowds of spec- 
 tators came in succession to look upon the hid- 
 eous spectacle a moment in silence, and then to 
 turn, shocked and repelled, away. At length, 
 when the first impulse of excitement had in 
 some measure spent its force, Philip and his 
 comrades so far recovered their composure as 
 to begin to turn their thoughts to the only con- 
 solation that was now left to them, that of per- 
 forming the solemn duties of sepulture. They 
 found the wreck of a fishing boat upon the 
 strand, from which they obtained wood enough 
 for a rude funeral pile. They burned what re- 
 mained of the mutilated body, and, gathering 
 up the ashes, they put them in an urn and 
 sent them to Cornelia, who afterward buried 
 them at Alba with many bitter tears. 
 
„,, r 
 
 
 
B.C. 48.] Cesar in Egypt. 193 
 
 Caesar after the battle of Pharsalia. His clemency. 
 
 Chapter IX. 
 
 CiESAR IN E GYPT. 
 
 f liESAR surveyed the field of battle after 
 ^^ the victory of Pharsalia, not with the feel- 
 ings of exultation which might have been ex- 
 pected in a victorious general, but with compas- 
 sion and sorrow for the fallen soldiers whose 
 dead bodies covered the ground. After gazing 
 upon the scene sadly and in silence for a time, 
 he said, " They would have it so," and thus 
 dismissed from his mind all sense of his own 
 responsibility for the consequences which had 
 ensued. 
 
 He treated the immense body of prisoners 
 which had fallen into his hands with great clem- 
 ency, partly from the natural impulses of his 
 disposition, which were always generous and 
 noble, and partly from policy, that he might 
 conciliate them all, officers and soldiers, to ac- 
 quiescence in his future rule. He then sent 
 back a large portion of his force to Italy, and, 
 taking a body of cavalry from the rest, in order 
 that he might advance with the utmost possible 
 N 
 
194 Julius Cjisar. [B.C. 48. 
 
 Caesar pursues Pompey. Treasures of the Temple of Diana. 
 
 rapidity, he set off through Thessaly and Mac- 
 edon in pursuit of his fugitive foe. 
 
 He had no naval force at his command, and 
 he accordingly kept upon the land. Besides, 
 he wished, by moving through the country at 
 the head of an armed force, to make a demon- 
 stration which should put down any attempt 
 that might be made in any quarter to rally or 
 concentrate a force in Pompey's favor. He 
 crossed the Hellespont, and moved down the 
 coast of Asia Minor. There was a great tem- 
 ple consecrated to Diana at Ephesus, which, 
 for its wealth and magnificence, was then the 
 wonder of the world. The. authorities who had 
 it in their charge, not aware of Caesar's ap- 
 proach, had concluded to withdraw the treas- 
 ures from the temple and loan them to Pompey, 
 to be repaid when he should have regained his 
 power. An assembly was accordingly convened 
 to witness the delivery of the treasures, and take 
 note of their value, which ceremony was to be 
 performed with great formality and parade, 
 when they learned that Caesar had crossed the 
 Hellespont and was drawing near. The whole 
 proceeding was thus arrested, and the treasures 
 were retained. 
 
 Caesar passed rapidly on through Asia Minor, 
 
B.C. 48.] CiESAR in Egypt. 195 
 
 Caesar in Asia Minor. He sails for Egypt. 
 
 examining and comparing, as he advanced, the 
 vague rumors which were continually coming 
 in in respect to Pompey's movements. He 
 learned at length that he had gone to Cyprus ; 
 he presumed that his destination was Egypt, 
 and he immediately resolved to provide himself 
 with a fleet, and follow him thither by sea. As 
 time passed on, and the news of Pompey's de- 
 feat and flight, and of Caesar's triumphant pur- 
 suit of him, became generally extended and con- 
 firmed, the various powers ruling in all that re- 
 gion of the world abandoned one after another 
 the hopeless cause, and began to adhere to Cae- 
 sar. They offered him such resources and aid 
 as he might desire. He did not, however, stop 
 to organize a large fleet or to collect an army. 
 He depended, like Napoleon, in all the great 
 movements of his life, not on grandeur of prep- 
 aration, but on celerity of action. He organ- 
 ized at Rhodes a small but very efficient fleet 
 of ten galleys, and, embarking his best troops 
 in them, he made sail for the coasts of Egypt. 
 Pompey had landed at Pelusium, on the east- 
 ern frontier, having heard that the young king 
 and his court were there to meet and resist Cle- 
 opatra's invasion. Caesar, however, with the 
 characteristic boldness and energy of his char- 
 
196 Julius C^sar. [B.C. 48. 
 
 Caesar at Alexandria. The Roman fasces. 
 
 acter, proceeded directly to Alexandria, the cap- 
 ital. 
 
 Egypt was, in those days, an ally of the Ro- 
 mans, as the phrase was ; that is, the country, 
 though it preserved its independent organiza- 
 tion and its forms of royalty, was still united 
 to the Roman people by an intimate league, so 
 as to form an integral part of the great empire. 
 Caesar, consequently, in appearing there with 
 an armed force, would naturally be received as 
 a friend. He found only the garrison which 
 Ptolemy's government had left in charge of the 
 city. At first the officers of this garrison gave 
 him an outwardly friendly reception, but they 
 soon began to take offense at the air of author- 
 ity and command which he assumed, and which 
 seemed to them to indicate a spirit of encroach- 
 ment on the sovereignty of their own king. 
 
 Feelings of deeply-seated alienation and ani- 
 mosity sometimes find their outward expression 
 in contests about things intrinsically of very 
 little importance. It was so in this case. The 
 Roman consuls were accustomed to use a cer- 
 tain badge of authority called the fasces. It 
 consisted of a bundle of rods, bound around the 
 handle of an ax* Whenever a consul appeared 
 
 * For a representation of the fasces, see the illuminated 
 title-page of this volume, in the border, on the right hand. 
 
B.C. 48.] Cesar in Egypt. 197 
 
 The lictors. Pompey's head sent to Caesar. 
 
 in public, he was preceded by two officers called 
 lictors, each of whom carried the fasces as a 
 symbol of the power which was vested in the 
 distinguished personage who followed them. 
 
 The Egyptian officers and the people of the 
 city quarreled with Caesar on account of his 
 moving about among them in his imperial state, 
 accompanied by a life guard, and preceded by 
 the lictors. Contests occurred between his 
 troops and those of the garrison, and many dis- 
 turbances were created in the streets of the 
 city. Although no serious collision took place, 
 Caesar thought it prudent to strengthen his force, 
 and he sent back to Europe for additional le- 
 gions to come to Egypt and join him. 
 
 The tidings of Pompey's death came to Cae- 
 sar at Alexandria, and with them the head of 
 the murdered man, which was sent by the gov- 
 ernment of Ptolemy, they supposing that it 
 would be an acceptable gift to Caesar. Instead 
 of being pleased with it, Caesar turned from the 
 shocking spectacle in horror. Pompey had been, 
 for many years now gone by, Caesar's colleague 
 and friend. He had been his son-in-law, and 
 thus had sustained to him a very near and en- 
 dearing relation. In the contest which had at 
 last unfortunately arisen, Pompey had done no 
 
198 Julius Cesar. [B.C. 48. 
 
 Caesar mourns Pompey. Pompey's signet ring. 
 
 wrong either to Caesar or to the government at 
 Rome. He was the injured party, so far as 
 there was a right and a wrong to such a quar- 
 rel. And now, after being hunted through half 
 the world by his triumphant enemy, he had been 
 treacherously murdered by men pretending to 
 receive him as a friend. The natural sense of 
 justice, which formed originally so strong a trait 
 in Caesar's character, was not yet wholly extin- 
 guished. He could not but feel some remorse at 
 the thoughts of the long course of Violence and 
 wrong which he had pursued against his old 
 champion and friend, and which had led at last 
 to so dreadful an end. Instead of being pleas- 
 ed with the horrid trophy which the Egyptians 
 sent him, he mourned the death of his great ri- 
 val with sincere and unaffected grief, and was 
 filled with indignation against his murderers. 
 
 Pompey had a signet ring upon his finger at 
 the time of his assassination, which was taken 
 off by the Egyptian officers and carried away 
 to Ptolemy, together with the other articles of 
 value which had been found upon his person. 
 Ptolemy sent this seal to Caesar to complete the 
 proof that its possessor was no more. Caesar re- 
 ceived this memorial with eager though mourn- 
 ful pleasure, and he preserved it with great 
 
B.C. 48.] CiESAR in Egypt. 
 
 199 
 
 Caesar's respect for Pompey's memory. 
 
 Pompey's Pillar. 
 
 care. And in many ways, during all the re- 
 mainder of his life, he manifested every outward 
 indication of cherishing the highest respect for 
 Pompey's memory. There stands to the pres- 
 ent day, among the ruins of Alexandria, a beau- 
 tiful column, about one hundred feet high, which 
 has been known in all modern times as Pompey's 
 Pillar. It is formed of stone, and is in three 
 
 Pompey's Pillar. 
 
200 Julius Cesar. [B.C. 48. 
 
 Origin of Pompey's Pillar. Surrender of Pompey's officers. 
 
 parts. One stone forms the pedestal, another 
 the shaft, and a third the capital. The beauty 
 of this column, the perfection of its workman- 
 ship, which still continues in excellent preser- 
 vation, and its antiquity, so great that all dis- 
 tinct record of its origin is lost, have combined 
 to make it for many ages the wonder and ad- 
 miration of mankind. Although no history of 
 its origin has come down to us, a tradition has 
 descended that Caesar built it during his resi- 
 dence in Egypt, to commemorate the name of 
 Pompey ; but whether it was his own victory 
 over Pompey, or Pompey's own character and 
 military fame which the structure was intended 
 to signalize to mankind, can not now be known. 
 There is even some doubt whether it was erect- 
 ed by Caesar at all. 
 
 While Caesar was in Alexandria, many of 
 Pompey's officers, now that their master was 
 dead, and there was no longer any possibility 
 of their rallying again under his guidance and 
 command, came in and surrendered themselves 
 to him. He received them with great kindness, 
 and, instead of visiting them with any penal- 
 ties for having fought against him, he honored 
 the fidelity and bravery they had evinced in the 
 service of their own former master. Caesar had, 
 
B.C. 48.] C^sar in Egypt. 201 
 
 Caesar's generosity. His position at Alexandria. 
 
 in fact, shown the same generosity to the sol- 
 diers of Pompey's army that he had taken pris- 
 oners at the battle of Pharsalia. At the close 
 of the battle, he issued orders that each one of 
 his soldiers should have permission to save one 
 of the enemy. Nothing could more strikingly 
 exemplify both the generosity and the tact that 
 marked the great conqueror's character than 
 this incident. The hatred and revenge which 
 had animated his victorious soldiery in the battle 
 and in the pursuit, were changed immediately 
 by the permission to compassion and good will. 
 The ferocious soldiers turned at once from the 
 pleasure of hunting their discomfited enemies 
 to death, to that of protecting and defending 
 them ; and the way was prepared for their being 
 received into his service, and incorporated with 
 the rest of his army as friends and brothers. 
 
 Caesar soon found himself in so strong a po- 
 sition at Alexandria, that he determined to ex- 
 ercise his authority as Roman consul to settle 
 the dispute in respect to the succession of the 
 Egyptian crown. There was no difficulty in 
 finding pretexts for interfering in the affairs of 
 Egypt. In the first place, there was, as he con- 
 tended, great anarchy and confusion at Alex- 
 andria, people taking different sides in the con- 
 
202 Julius Cesar. [B.C. 48. 
 
 Caesar's interference in Egyptian affairs. Cleopatra. 
 
 troversy with such fierceness as to render it im- 
 possible that good government and public order 
 should be restored until this great question was 
 settled. He also claimed a debt due from the 
 Egyptian government, which Photinus, Ptole- 
 my's minister at Alexandria, was very dilatory 
 in paying. This led to animosities and dis- 
 putes ; and, finally, Caesar found, or pretended to 
 find, evidence that Photinus was forming plots 
 against his life. At length Caesar determined 
 on taking decided action. He sent orders both 
 to Ptolemy and to Cleopatra to disband their 
 forces, to repair to Alexandria, and lay their 
 respective claims before him for his adjudication. 
 
 Cleopatra complied with this summons, and 
 returned to Egypt with a view to submitting 
 her case to Caesar's arbitration. Ptolemy de- 
 termined to resist. He advanced toward Egypt, 
 but it was at the head of his army, and with a 
 determination to drive Caesar and all his Roman 
 followers away. 
 
 When Cleopatra arrived, she found that the 
 avenues of approach to Caesar's quarters were 
 all in possession of her enemies, so that, in at- 
 tempting to join him, she incurred danger of 
 falling into their hands as a prisoner. She re- 
 sorted to a stratagem, as the story is, to gain a 
 
B.C. 48.] Caesar in Egypt. 203 
 
 Caesar's guilty passion for Cleopatra. Resistance of Ptolemy. 
 
 secret admission. They rolled her up in a sort 
 of bale of bedding or carpeting, and she was 
 carried in in this way on the back of a man, 
 through the guards, who might otherwise have 
 intercepted her. Caesar was very much pleased 
 with this device, and with the successful result 
 of it. Cleopatra, too, was young and beautiful, 
 and Caesar immediately conceived a strong but 
 guilty attachment to her, which she readily re- 
 turned. Caesar espoused her cause, and decided 
 that she and Ptolemy should jointly occupy the 
 throne. 
 
 Ptolemy and his partisans were determined 
 not to submit to this award. The consequence 
 was, a violent and protracted war. Ptolemy 
 was not only incensed at being deprived of what 
 he considered his just right to the realm, he was 
 also half distracted at the thought of his sister's 
 disgraceful connection with Caesar. His ex- 
 citement and distress, and the exertions and ef- 
 forts to which they aroused him, awakened a 
 strong sympathy in his cause among the people, 
 and Caesar found himself involved in a very se- 
 rious contest, in which his own life was brought 
 repeatedly into the most imminent danger, and 
 which seriously threatened the total destruction 
 of his power. He, however, braved all the dif- 
 
204 Julius Cesar. [B.C. 48. 
 
 The Alexandrine war. 
 
 ficulty and dangers, and recklessly persisted in 
 the course he had taken, under the influence of 
 the infatuation in which his attachment to Cleo- 
 patra held him, as by a spell. 
 
 The war in which Caesar was thus involved 
 by his efforts to give Cleopatra a seat with her 
 brother on the Egyptian throne, is called in his- 
 tory the Alexandrine war. It was marked by 
 many strange and romantic incidents. There 
 was a light-house, called the Pharos, on a small 
 island opposite the harbor of Alexandria, and it 
 was so famed, both on account of the great mag- 
 nificence of the edifice itself, and also on account 
 of its position at the entrance to the greatest 
 commercial port in the world, that it has given 
 its name, as a generic appellation, to all other 
 structures of the kind — any light-house being 
 now called a Pharos, just as any serious diffi- 
 culty is called a Gordian knot. The Pharos 
 was a lofty tower — the accounts say that it was 
 five hundred feet in height, which would be an 
 enormous elevation for such a structure — and 
 in a lantern at the top a brilliant light was kept 
 constantly burning, which could be seen over 
 the water for a hundred miles. The tower was 
 built in several successive stories, each being 
 ornamented with balustrades, galleries, and col- 
 
B.C. 48.] C;esar in Egypt. 205 
 
 Great splendor of the Pharos. It is captured by Cgesar. 
 
 umns, so that the splendor of the architecture 
 by day rivaled the brilliancy of the radiation 
 which beamed from the summit by night. Far 
 and wide over the stormy waters of the Medi- 
 terranean this meteor glowed, inviting and guid- 
 ing the mariners in ; and both its welcome and 
 its guidance were doubly prized in those ancient 
 days, when there was neither compass nor sex- 
 tant on which they could rely. In the course 
 of the contest with the Egyptians, Caesar took 
 possession of the Pharos, and of the island on 
 which it stood : and as the Pharos was then 
 regarded as one of the seven wonders of the 
 world, the fame of the exploit, though it was 
 probably nothing remarkable in a military point 
 of view, spread rapidly throughout the world. 
 
 And yet, though the capture of a light-house 
 was no very extraordinary conquest, in the 
 course of the contests on the harbor which were 
 connected with it Caesar had a very narrow 
 escape from death. In all such struggles he was 
 accustomed always to take personally his full 
 share of the exposure and the danger. This 
 resulted in part from the natural impetuosity 
 and ardor of his character, which were always 
 aroused to double intensity of action by the ex- 
 citement of battle, and partly from the ideas 
 
206 Julius C^sar. [B.C. 48. 
 
 Situation of the Pharos. Caesar's personal danger. 
 
 of the military duty of a commander which pre- 
 vailed in those days. There was besides, in 
 this case, an additional inducement to acquire 
 the glory of extraordinary exploits, in Caesar's 
 desire to be the object of Cleopatra's admira- 
 tion, who watched all his movements, and who 
 was doubly pleased with his prowess and brav- 
 ery, since she saw that they were exercised for 
 her sake and in her cause. 
 
 The Pharos was built upon an island, which 
 was connected by a pier or bridge with the main 
 land. In the course of the attack upon this 
 bridge, Caesar, with a party of his followers, got 
 driven back and hemmed in by a body of the 
 enemy that surrounded them, in such a place 
 that the only mode of escape seemed to be by a 
 boat, which might take them to a neighboring 
 galley. They began, therefore, all to crowd into 
 the boat in confusion, and so overloaded it that 
 it was obviously in imminent danger of being 
 upset or of sinking. The upsetting or sinking 
 of an overloaded boat brings almost certain de- 
 struction upon most of the passengers, whether 
 swimmers or not, as they seize each other in 
 their terror, and go down inextricably entangled 
 together, each held by the others in the convul- 
 sive grasp with which drowning men always 
 
B.C. 48.] CiESAR in Egypt. 207 
 
 Caesar's narrow escape. The Alexandrian library. 
 
 cling to whatever is within their reach. Caesar, 
 anticipating this danger, leaped over into the 
 sea and swam to the ship. He had some papers 
 in his hand at the time — plans, perhaps, of the 
 works which he was assailing. These he held 
 above the water with his left hand, while he 
 swam with the right. And to save his purple 
 cloak or mantle, the emblem of his imperial 
 dignity, which he supposed the enemy would 
 eagerly seek to obtain as a trophy, he seized it 
 by a corner between his teeth, and drew it after 
 him through the water as he swam toward the 
 galley. The boat which he thus escaped from 
 soon after went down, with all on board. 
 
 During the progress of this Alexandrine war 
 one great disaster occurred, which has given to 
 the contest a most melancholy celebrity in all 
 subsequent ages : this disaster was the destruc- 
 tion of the Alexandrian library. The Egyp- 
 tians were celebrated for their learning, and, 
 under the munificent patronage of some of their 
 kings, the learned men of Alexandria had made 
 an enormous collection of writings, which were 
 inscribed, as was the custom in those days, on 
 parchment rolls. The number of the rolls or 
 volumes was said to be seven hundred thousand ; 
 and when we consider that each one was writ- 
 
208 Julius C^sar. [B.C. 48. 
 
 Burning of the Alexandrian library. Caesar returns to Rome. 
 
 ten with great care, in beautiful characters, with 
 a pen, and at a vast expense, it is not surprising 
 that the collection was the admiration of the 
 world. In fact, the whole body of ancient litera- 
 ture was there recorded. Caesar set fire to some 
 Egyptian galleys, which lay so near the shore 
 that the wind blew the sparks and flames upon the 
 buildings on the quay. The fire spread among 
 the palaces and other magnificent edifices of that 
 part of the city, and one of the great buildings 
 in which the library was stored was reached and 
 destroyed. There was no other such collection 
 in the world ; and the consequence of this calam- 
 ity has been, that it is only detached and insu- 
 lated fragments of ancient literature and science 
 that have come down to our times. The world 
 will never cease to mourn the irreparable loss. 
 Notwithstanding the various untoward inci- 
 dents which attended the war in Alexandria 
 during its progress, Caesar, as usual, conquered 
 in the end. The young king Ptolemy was de- 
 feated, and, in attempting to make his escape 
 across a branch of the Nile, he was drowned. 
 Caesar then finally settled the kingdom upon 
 Cleopatra and a younger brother, and, after re- 
 maining for some time longer in Egypt, he set 
 out on his return to Rome. 
 
UK? ' 
 
 
 . 
 
 
B.C. 48.] Cesar in Egypt. 211 
 
 Subsequent adventures of Cleopatra. Her splendid barge. 
 
 The subsequent adventures of Cleopatra were 
 so romantic as to have given her name a very 
 wide celebrity. The lives of the virtuous pass 
 smoothly and happily away, but the tale, when 
 told to others, possesses but little interest or at- 
 traction ; while those of the wicked, whose days 
 are spent in wretchedness and despair, and are 
 thus full of misery to the actors themselves, af- 
 ford to the rest of mankind a high degree of 
 pleasure, from the dramatic interest of the story. 
 
 Cleopatra led a life of splendid sin, and, of 
 course, of splendid misery. She visited Caesar 
 in Rome after his return thither. Caesar re- 
 ceived her magnificently, and paid her all pos- 
 si ble honors ; but the people of Rome regarded 
 her with strong reprobation. When her young 
 brother, whom Caesar had made her partner on 
 the throne, was old enough to claim his share, 
 she poisoned him. After Caesar's death, she 
 went from Alexandria to Syria to meet An- 
 tony, one of Caesar's successors, in a galley or 
 barge, which was so rich, so splendid, so mag- 
 nificently furnished and adorned, that it was 
 famed throughout the world as Cleopatra's 
 barge. A great many beautiful vessels have 
 since been called by the same name. Cleopa- 
 tra connected herself with Antony, who became 
 
212 Julius Cesar." [B.C. 48. 
 
 Antony and Octavius. Death of Cleopatra. 
 
 infatuated with her beauty and her various 
 charms as Caesar had been. After a great va- 
 riety of romantic adventures, Antony was de- 
 feated in battle by his great rival Octavius, and, 
 supposing that he had been betrayed by Cleo- 
 patra, he pursued her to Egypt, intending to 
 kill her. She hid herself in a sepulcher, spread- 
 ing a report that she had committed suicide, 
 and then Antony stabbed himself in a fit of 
 remorse and despair. Before he died, he learn- 
 ed that Cleopatra was alive, and he caused him- 
 self to be carried into her presence and died in 
 her arms. Cleopatra then fell into the hands 
 of Octavius, who intended to carry her to Rome 
 to grace his triumph. To save herself from 
 this humiliation, and weary with a life which, 
 full of sin as it had been, was a constant series 
 of sufferings, she determined to die. A servant 
 brought in an asp for her, concealed in a vase 
 of flowers, at a great banquet. She laid the 
 poisonous reptile on her naked arm, and died 
 immediately of the bite which it inflicted. 
 
B.C. 47.] Cesar Imperator. 213 
 
 Caesar again at Rome. Combinations against him. 
 
 Chapter X. 
 C^sar Imperator. 
 
 ALTHOUGH Pompey himself had been 
 killed, and the army under his immediate 
 command entirely annihilated, Caesar did not 
 find that the empire was yet completely sub- 
 missive to his sway. As the tidings of his con- 
 quests spread over the vast and distant regions 
 which were under the Roman rule — although 
 the story itself of his exploits might have been 
 exaggerated — the impression produced by his 
 power lost something of its strength, as men 
 generally have little dread of remote danger. 
 While he was in Egypt, there were three great 
 concentrations of power formed against him in 
 other quarters of the globe : in Asia Minor, in 
 Africa, and in Spain. In putting down these 
 three great and formidable arrays of opposi- 
 tion, Caesar made an exhibition to the world 
 of that astonishing promptness and celerity of 
 military action on which his fame as a general 
 so much depends. He went first to Asia Minor, 
 and fought a great and decisive battle there, in 
 
214 Julius Caesar. [B.C. 47. 
 
 Veni, vidi, vici. Ceesar made dictator. 
 
 a manner so sudden and unexpected to the 
 forces that opposed him that they found them- 
 selves defeated almost before they suspected that 
 their enemy was near. It was in reference to 
 this battle that he wrote the inscription for the 
 banner, "Veni, vidi, vici." The words may be 
 rendered in English, "I came, looked, and con- 
 quered," though the peculiar force of the ex- 
 pression, as well as the alliteration, is lost in 
 any attempt to translate it. 
 
 In the mean time, Caesar's prosperity and 
 success had greatly strengthened his cause at 
 Rome. Rome was supported in a great meas- 
 ure by the contributions brought home from the 
 provinces by the various military heroes who 
 were sent out to govern them ; and, of course, 
 the greater and more successful was the con- 
 queror, the better was he qualified for stations 
 of highest authority in the estimation of the 
 inhabitants of the city. They made Caesar 
 dictator even while he was away, and appointed 
 Mark Antony his master of horse. This was 
 the same Antony whom we have already men- 
 tioned as having been connected with Cleopatra 
 after Caesar's death. Rome, in fact, was filled 
 with the fame of Caesar's exploits, and, as he 
 crossed the Adriatic and advanced toward the 
 
B.C. 47.] Cesar Imperator. 215 
 
 Opposition of Cato. Pompey's sons. 
 
 city, he found himself the object of universal 
 admiration and applause. 
 
 But he could not yet be contented to estab- 
 lish himself quietly at Rome. There was a 
 large force organized against him in Africa un- 
 der Cato, a stern and indomitable man, who had 
 long been an enemy to Caesar, and who now 
 considered him as a usurper and an enemy of 
 the republic, and was determined to resist him 
 to the last extremity. There was also a large 
 force assembled in Spain under the command 
 of two sons of Pompey, in whose case the or- 
 dinary political hostility of contending partisans 
 was rendered doubly intense and bitter by their 
 desire to avenge their father's cruel fate. Caesar 
 determined first to go to Africa, and then, after 
 disposing of Cato's resistance, to cross the Medi- 
 terranean into Spain. 
 
 Before he could set out, however, on these 
 expeditions, he was involved in very serious 
 difficulties for a time, on account of a great dis- 
 content which prevailed in his army, and which 
 ended at last in open, mutiny. The soldiers 
 complained that they had not received the re- 
 wards and honors which Caesar had promised 
 them. Some claimed offices, others money, 
 others lands, which, as they maintained, they 
 
216 Julius Cesar. [B.C. 47. 
 
 Complaints of the soldiers. They mutiny. 
 
 had been led to expect would be conferred upon 
 them at the end of the campaign. The fact 
 undoubtedly was, that, elated with their suc- 
 cess, and intoxicated with the spectacle of the 
 boundless influence and power which their gen- 
 eral so obviously wielded at Rome, they formed 
 expectations and hopes for themselves altogether 
 too wild and unreasonable to be realized by sol- 
 diers ; for soldiers, however much they may be 
 flattered by their generals in going into battle, 
 or praised in the mass in official dispatches, are 
 after all but slaves, and slaves, too, of the very 
 humblest caste and character. 
 
 The famous tenth legion, Caesar's favorite 
 corps, took the most active part in fomenting 
 these discontents, as might naturally have been 
 expected, since the attentions and the praises 
 which he had bestowed upon them, though at 
 first they tended to awaken their ambition, and 
 to inspire them with redoubled ardor and cour- 
 age, ended, as such favoritism always does, in 
 making them vain, self-important, and unreas- 
 onable. Led on thus by the tenth legion, the 
 whole army mutinied. They broke up the 
 camp where they had been stationed at some 
 distance beyond the walls of Rome, and march- 
 ed toward the city. Soldiers in a mutiny, even 
 
B.C. 47.] Cjisar Imperator. 217 
 
 The army marches to Rome. Plan of the soldiers. 
 
 though headed by their subaltern officers, are 
 very little under command ; and these Roman 
 troops, feeling released from their usual re- 
 straints, committed various excesses on the 
 way, terrifying the inhabitants and spreading 
 universal alarm. The people of the city were 
 thrown into utter consternation at the approach 
 of the vast horde, which was coming like a ter- 
 rible avalanche to descend upon them. 
 
 The army expected some signs of resistance 
 at the gates, which, if offered, they were pre- 
 pared to encounter and overcome. Their plan 
 was, after entering the city, to seek Caesar and 
 demand their discharge from his service. They 
 knew that he was under the necessity of im- 
 mediately making a campaign in Africa, and 
 that, of course, he could not possibly, as they 
 supposed, dispense with them. He would, con- 
 sequently, if they asked their discharge, beg 
 them to remain, and, to induce them to do it, 
 would comply with all their expectations and 
 desires. 
 
 Such was their plan. To tender, however, 
 a resignation of an office as a means of bringing 
 an opposite party to terms, is always a very 
 hazardous experiment. We easily overrate the 
 estimation in which our own services are held, 
 
218 Julius CLesar. [B.C. 47. 
 
 The army marches into the city. . The Campus Martius. 
 
 taking what is said to us in kindness or cour- 
 tesy by friends as the sober and deliberate judg- 
 ment of the public ; and thus it often happens 
 that persons who in such case offer to resign, 
 are astonished to find their resignations readily 
 accepted. 
 
 When Caesar's mutineers arrived at the gates, 
 they found, instead of opposition, only orders 
 from Caesar, by which they were directed to 
 leave all their arms except their swords, and 
 march into the city. They obeyed. They 
 were then directed to go to the Campus Mar- 
 tius, a vast parade ground situated within the 
 walls, and to await Caesar's orders there.* 
 
 Caesar met them in the Campus Martius, 
 and demanded why they had left their encamp- 
 ment without orders and come to the city. 
 They stated in reply, as they had previously 
 planned to do, that they wished to be discharged 
 from the public service. To their great aston- 
 ishment, Caesar seemed to consider this request 
 as nothing at all extraordinary, but promised, 
 on the other hand, very readily to grant it. He 
 said that they should be at once discharged, and 
 should receive faithfully all the rewards which 
 had been promised them at the close of the war, 
 
 * See map of the city of Rome, fronting the title-page. 
 
B.C. 47.] Cesar Imperator. 219 
 
 Caesar's address to the army. Its effects. 
 
 for their lonsr and arduous services. At the 
 same time, he expressed his deep regret that, 
 to obtain what he was perfectly willing and 
 ready at any time to grant, they should have 
 so far forgotten their duties as Romans, and 
 violated the discipline which should always be 
 held absolutely sacred by every soldier. He 
 particularly regretted that the tenth legion, on 
 which he had been long accustomed so implicit- 
 ly to rely, should have taken a part in such trans- 
 actions. 
 
 In making this address, Csesar assumed a 
 kind and considerate, and even respectful tone 
 toward his men, calling them Quirites instead 
 of soldiers — an honorary mode of appellation, 
 which recognized them as constituent members 
 of the Roman commonwealth. The effect of 
 the whole transaction was what might have 
 been anticipated. A universal feeling was 
 awakened throughout the whole army to return 
 to their duty. They sent deputations to Csesar, 
 begging not to be taken at their word, but to be 
 retained in the service, and allowed to accom- 
 pany him to Africa. After much hesitation 
 and delay, Csesar consented to receive them 
 again, all excepting the tenth legion, who, he 
 said, had now irrevocably lost his confidence 
 
220 Julius C^sar. [B.C. 47. 
 
 Attachment of Caesar's soldiers. Caesar goes to Africa. 
 
 and regard. It is a striking illustration of the 
 strength of the attachment which bound Caesar's 
 soldiers to their commander, that the tenth le- 
 gion would not be discharged, after all. They 
 followed Caesar of their own accord into Africa, 
 earnestly entreating him again and again to re- 
 ceive them. He finally did receive them in de- 
 tachments, which he incorporated with the rest 
 of his army, or sent on distant service, but he 
 would never organize them as the tenth legion 
 again. 
 
 It was now early in the winter, a stormy 
 season for crossing the Mediterranean Sea. 
 Caesar, however, set off from Rome immediate- 
 ly, proceeded south to Sicily, and encamped on 
 the sea-shore there till the fleet was ready to 
 convey his forces to Africa. The usual fortune 
 attended him in the African campaigns. His 
 fleet was exposed to imminent dangers in cross- 
 ing the sea, but, in consequence of the extreme 
 deliberation and skill with which his arrange- 
 ments were made, he escaped them all. He 
 overcame one after another of the military dif- 
 ficulties which were in his way in Africa. His 
 army endured, in the depth of winter, great ex- 
 posures and fatigues, and they had to encounter 
 a great hostile force under the charge of Cato. 
 
B.C. 47.] Cesar Imperator. 221 
 
 Cato shuts himself up in Africa. He stabs himself. 
 
 They were, however, successful in every under- 
 taking. Cato retreated at last to the city of 
 Utica, where he shut himself up with the re- 
 mains of his army; but finding, at length, when 
 Caesar drew near, that there was no hope or pos- 
 sibility of making good his defense, and as his 
 stern and indomitable spirit could not endure 
 the thought of submission to one whom he con- 
 sidered as an enemy to his country and a traitor, 
 he resolved upon a very effectual mode of es- 
 caping from his conqueror's power. 
 
 He feigned to abandon all hope of defending 
 the city, and began to make arrangements to 
 facilitate the escape of his soldiers over the sea. 
 He collected the vessels in the harbor, and al- 
 lowed all to embark who were willing to take 
 the risks of the stormy water. He took, appa- 
 rently, great interest in the embarkations, and, 
 when evening came on, he sent repeatedly down 
 to the sea-side to inquire about the state of the 
 wind and the progress of the operations. At 
 length he retired to his apartment, and, when 
 all was quiet in the house, he laid down upon 
 his bed and stabbed himself with his sword. 
 He fell from the bed by the blow, or else from 
 the effect of some convulsive motion which the 
 penetrating steel occasioned. His son and serv- 
 
222 Julius Cesar. [B.C. 47. 
 
 Death of Cato. Folly of his suicide. 
 
 ants, hearing the fall, came rushing into the 
 room, raised him from the floor, and attempted 
 to bind up and stanch the wound. Cato would 
 not permit them to do it. He resisted them vi- 
 olently as soon as he was conscious of what they 
 intended. Finding that a struggle would only 
 aggravate the horrors of the scene, and even 
 hasten its termination, they left the bleeding 
 hero to his fate, and in a few minutes he died. 
 The character of Cato, and the circumstances 
 under which his suicide was committed, makes 
 it, on the whole, the most conspicuous act of 
 suicide which history records ; and the events 
 which followed show in an equally conspicuous 
 manner the extreme folly of the deed. In re- 
 spect to its wickedness, Cato, not having had the 
 light of Christianity before him, is to be lenient- 
 ly judged. As to the folly of the deed, however, 
 he is to be held strictly accountable. If he had 
 lived and yielded to his conqueror, as he might 
 have done gracefully and without dishonor, 
 since all his means of resistance were exhaust- 
 ed, Caesar would have treated him with gen- 
 erosity and respect, and would have taken him 
 to Rome ; and as within a year or two of this 
 time Caesar himself was no more, Cato's vast 
 influence and power might have been, and un- 
 
B.C. 47.] Cesar Imperator. 223 
 
 Caesar in Spain. Defeat of Pompey's sons. 
 
 doubtedly would have been, called most effectu- 
 ally into action for the benefit of his country. 
 If any one, in defending Cato, should say he 
 could not foresee this, we reply, he could have 
 foreseen it ; not the precise events, indeed, which 
 occurred, but he could have foreseen that vast 
 changes must take place, and new aspects of 
 affairs arise, in which his powers would be called 
 into requisition. We can always foresee in the 
 midst of any storm, however dark and gloomy, 
 that clear skies will certainly sooner or later 
 come again ; and this is just as true metaphori- 
 cally in respect to the vicissitudes of human 
 life, as it is literally in regard to the ordinary 
 phenomena of the skies. 
 
 From Africa Caesar returned to Rome, and 
 from Rome he went to subdue the resistance 
 which was offered by the sons of Pompey in 
 Spain. He was equally successful here. The 
 oldest son was wounded in battle, and was car- 
 ried off from the field upon a litter faint and 
 almost dying. He recovered in some degree, 
 and, finding escape from the eager pursuit of 
 Caesar's soldiers impossible, he concealed him- 
 self in a cave, where he lingered for a little 
 time in destitution and misery. He was dis- 
 covered at last ; his head was cut off by his 
 
224 Julius Caesar. [B.C. 47. 
 
 Caesar's triumphs. The triumphal car breaks down. 
 
 captors and sent to Caesar, as his father's had 
 been. The younger son succeeded in escaping, 
 but he became a wretched fugitive and outlaw, 
 and all manifestations of resistance to Caesar's 
 sway disappeared from Spain. The conqueror 
 returned to Rome the undisputed master of the 
 whole Roman world. 
 
 Then came his triumphs. Triumphs were 
 great celebrations, by which military heroes in 
 the days of the Roman commonwealth signal- 
 ized their victories on their return to the city. 
 Caesar's triumphs were four, one for each of his 
 four great successful campaigns, viz., in Egypt, 
 in Asia Minor, in Africa, and in Spain. Each 
 was celebrated on a separate day, and there was 
 an interval of several days between them, to 
 magnify their importance, and swell the general 
 interest which they excited among the vast 
 population of the city. On one of these days, 
 the triumphal car in which Caesar rode, which 
 was most magnificently adorned, broke down on 
 the way, and Caesar was nearly thrown out of 
 it by the shock. The immense train of cars, 
 horses, elephants, flags, banners, captives, and 
 trophies which formed the splendid procession 
 was all stopped by the accident, and a consider- 
 able delay ensued. Night came on, in fact, 
 
B.C. 47.] CiESAR Imperator. 227 
 
 Elephant torch -bearers. Trophies and emblems. 
 
 before the column could again be put in motion 
 to enter the city, and then Qesar, whose genius 
 was never more strikingly shown than when he 
 had opportunity to turn a calamity to advant- 
 age, conceived the idea of employing the forty 
 elephants of the train as torch-bearers ; the 
 long procession accordingly advanced through 
 the streets and ascended to the Capitol, lighted 
 by the great blazing flambeaus which the sa- 
 gacious and docile beasts were easily taught to 
 bear, each elephant holding one in his proboscis, 
 and waving it above the crowd around him. 
 
 In these triumphal processions, every thing 
 was borne in exhibition which could serve as a 
 symbol of the conquered country or a trophy of 
 victory. Flags and banners taken from the 
 enemy; vessels of gold and silver, and other 
 treasures, loaded in vans ; wretched captives 
 conveyed in open carriages or marching sor- 
 rowfully on foot, and destined, some of them, 
 to public execution when the ceremony of the 
 triumph was ended ; displays of arms, and im- 
 plements, and dresses, and all else which might 
 serve to give the Roman crowd an idea of the 
 customs and usages of the remote and conquered 
 nations; the animals they used, caparisoned in 
 the manner in which they used them: these, 
 
228 Julius Cesar. [B.C. 47. 
 
 Banners and paintings. Public entertainmenis. 
 
 and a thousand other trophies and emblems, 
 were brought into the line to excite the admira- 
 tion of the crowd, and to add to the gorgeous- 
 ness of the spectacle. In fact, it was always a 
 great object of solicitude and exertion with all 
 the Roman generals, when on distant and dan- 
 gerous expeditions, to possess themselves of 
 every possible prize in the progress of their cam- 
 paign which could aid in adding splendor to the 
 triumph which was to signalize its end. 
 
 In these triumphs of Csesar, a young sister 
 of Cleopatra was in the line of the Egyptian 
 procession. In that devoted to Asia Minor was 
 a great banner containing the words already re- 
 ferred to, Veni, Vidi, Vici. There were great 
 paintings, too, borne aloft, representing battles 
 and other striking scenes. Of course, all Rome 
 was in the highest state of excitement during 
 the days of the exhibition of this pageantry. 
 The whole surrounding country flocked to the 
 capital to witness it, and Caesar's greatness and 
 glory were signalized in the most conspicuous 
 manner to all mankind. 
 
 After these triumphs, a series of splendid 
 public entertainments were given, over twenty 
 thousand tables having been spread for the pop- 
 ulace of the city. Shows of every possible char- 
 
B.C. 47.] Caesar Imperator. 229 
 
 Various spectacles and amusements. Naval combats. 
 
 acter and variety were exhibited. There were 
 dramatic plays, and equestrian performances in 
 the circus, and gladiatorial combats, and battles 
 with wild beasts, and dances, and chariot races, 
 and every other imaginable amusement which 
 could be devised and carried into effect to grat- 
 ify a population highly cultivated in all the arts 
 of life, but barbarous and cruel in heart and char- 
 acter. Some of the accounts which have come 
 down to us of the magnificence of the scale on 
 which these entertainments were conducted 
 are absolutely incredible. It is said, for ex- 
 ample, that an immense basin was constructed 
 near the Tiber, large enough to contain two 
 fleets of galleys, which had on board two thou- 
 sand rowers each, and one thousand fighting 
 men. These fleets were then manned with 
 captives, the one with Asiatics and the other 
 with Egyptians, and when all was ready, they 
 were compelled to fight a real battle for the 
 amusement of the spectators which thronged 
 the shores, until vast numbers were killed, and 
 the waters of the lake were dyed with blood. 
 It is also said that the whole Forum, and some 
 of the great streets in the neighborhood where 
 the principal gladiatorial shows were held, were 
 covered with silken awnings to protect the vast 
 
230 Julius Cesar. [B.C. 47. 
 
 CiBsar's power. Honors conferred upon him. 
 
 crowds of spectators from the sun, and thou- 
 sands of tents were erected to accommodate the 
 people from the surrounding country, whom the 
 buildings of the city could not contain. 
 
 All open opposition to Caesar's power and do- 
 minion now entirely disappeared. Even the 
 Senate vied with the people in rendering him 
 every possible honor. The supreme power had 
 been hitherto lodged in the hands of two consuls, 
 chosen annually, and the Roman people had 
 been extremely jealous of any distinction for 
 any one higher than that of an- elective annual 
 office, with a return to private life again when 
 the brief period should have expired. They now, 
 however, made Caesar, in the first place, consul 
 for ten years, and then Perpetual Dictator. 
 They conferred upon him the title of the Father 
 of his Country. The name of the month in 
 which he was born was changed to Julius, from 
 his prsenomen, and we still retain the name. He 
 was made, also, commander-in-chief of all the 
 armies of the commonwealth, the title to which 
 vast military power was expressed in the Latin 
 language by the word Ijviperator. 
 
 Caesar was highly elated with all these sub- 
 stantial proofs of the greatness and glory to 
 which he had attained, and was also very evi- 
 
B.C. 47.] Cesar Imperator. 231 
 
 Statues of Csesar. His plans of internal improvement. 
 
 dently gratified with smaller, but equally ex- 
 pressive proofs of the general regard. Statues 
 representing his person were placed in the pub- 
 lic edifices, and borne in processions like those 
 of the gods. Conspicuous and splendidly orna- 
 mented seats were constructed for him in all the 
 places of public assembly, and on these he sat 
 to listen to debates or witness spectacles, as if 
 he were upon a throne. He had, either by his 
 influence or by his direct power, the control of 
 all the appointments to office, and was, in fact, 
 in every thing but the name, a sovereign and an 
 absolute king. 
 
 He began now to form great schemes of in- 
 ternal improvement for the general benefit of 
 the empire. He wished to increase still more 
 the great obligations which the Roman people 
 were under to him for what he had already 
 done. They really were under vast obligations 
 to him ; for, considering Rome as a community 
 which was to subsist by governing the world, 
 Csesar had immensely enlarged the means of 
 its subsistence by establishing its sway every 
 where, and providing for an incalculable increase 
 of its revenues from the tribute and the taxation 
 of conquered provinces and kingdoms. Since 
 this work of conquest was now completed, he 
 
232 Julius Caesar. [B.C. 47. 
 
 Ancient division of time. Change effected by Caesar. 
 
 turned his attention to the internal affairs of the 
 empire, and made many improvements in the 
 system of administration, looking carefully into 
 every thing, and introducing every where those 
 exact and systematic principles which such a 
 mind as his seeks instinctively in every thing 
 over which it has any control. 
 
 One great change which he effected continues 
 in perfect operation throughout Europe to the 
 present day. It related to the division of time. 
 The system of months in use in his day corre- 
 sponded so imperfectly with the annual circuit 
 of the sun, that the months were moving con- 
 tinually along the year in such a manner that 
 the winter months came at length in the sum- 
 mer, and the summer months in the winter. 
 This led to great practical inconveniences ; for 
 whenever, for example, any thing was required 
 by law to be done in certain months, intending 
 to have them done in the summer, and the 
 specified month came at length to be a winter 
 month, the law would require the thing to be 
 done in exactly the wrong season. Caesar reme- 
 died all this by adopting a new system of 
 months, which should give three hundred and 
 sixty-five days to the year for three years, and 
 three hundred and sixty-six for the fourth ; and 
 
B.C. 47.] Cjssar Imperator. 233 
 
 The old and new styles. Magnificent schemes. 
 
 so exact was the system which he thus intro- 
 duced, that it went on unchanged for sixteen 
 centuries. The months were then found to be 
 eleven days out of the way, when a new cor- 
 rection was introduced, # and it will now go 
 on three thousand years before the error will 
 amount to a single day. Caesar employed a 
 Greek astronomer to arrange the system that 
 he adopted ; and it was in part on account of 
 the improvement which he thus effected that 
 one of the months, as has already been men- 
 tioned, was called July. Its name before was 
 Quintilis. 
 
 Caesar formed a great many other vast and 
 magnificent schemes. He planned public build- 
 ings for the city, which were going to exceed in 
 magnitude and splendor all the edifices of the 
 world. He commenced the collection of vast 
 libraries, formed plans for draining the Pontine 
 Marshes, for bringing great supplies of water 
 into the city by an aqueduct, for cutting a new 
 passage for the Tiber from Rome to the sea, 
 and making an enormous artificial harbor at its 
 mouth. He was going to make a road along 
 the Apennines, and cut a &anal through the 
 
 * By Pope Gregory XIII., at the time of the change from 
 the old style to the new. 
 
234 Julius Caesar. [B.C.47. 
 
 Caesar collects the means to carry out his vast schemes. 
 
 Isthmus of Corinth, and construct other vast 
 works, which were to make Rome the center of 
 the commerce of the world. In a word, his 
 head was filled with the grandest schemes, and 
 he was gathering around him all the means and 
 resources necessary for the execution of them. 
 
B.C. 44.] The Conspiracy. 
 
 235 
 
 Jealousies awakened by Caesar's power. The Roman Constitution. 
 
 Chapter XL 
 The Conspiracy. 
 
 CAESAR'S greatness and glory came at last 
 to a very sudden and violent end. He was 
 assassinated. All the attendant circumstances 
 of this deed, too, were of the most extraordinary 
 character, and thus the dramatic interest which 
 adorns all parts of the great conqueror's history 
 marks strikingly its end. 
 
 His prosperity and power awakened, of course, 
 a secret jealousy and ill will. Those who were 
 disappointed in their expectations of his favor 
 murmured. Others, who had once been his 
 rivals, hated him for having triumphed over 
 them. Then there was a stern spirit of democ- 
 racy, too, among certain classes of the citizens 
 of Rome which could not brook a master. It 
 is true that the sovereign power in the Roman 
 commonwealth had never been shared by all the 
 inhabitants. It was only in certain privileged 
 classes that the sovereignty was vested ; but 
 among these the functions of government were 
 divided and distributed in such a way as to 
 
236 Julius C^sar. [B.C. 44. 
 
 Struggles and conflicts. Roman repugnance to royalty. 
 
 balance one interest against another, and to give 
 all their proper share of influence and authority. 
 Terrible struggles and conflicts often occurred 
 among these various sections of society, as one 
 or another attempted from time to time to en- 
 croach upon the rights or privileges of the rest. 
 These struggles, however, ended usually in at 
 last restoring again the equilibrium which had 
 been disturbed. No one power could ever gain 
 the entire ascendency ; and thus, as all monarch- 
 ism seemed excluded from their system, they 
 called it a republic. Caesar, however, had now 
 concentrated in himself all the principal elements 
 of power, and there began to be suspicions that 
 he wished to make himself in name, and openly 
 as well as secretly and in fact, a king. 
 
 The Romans abhorred the very name of king. 
 They had had kings in the early periods of their 
 history, but they made themselves odious by 
 their pride and their oppressions, and the people 
 had deposed and expelled them. The modern 
 nations of Europe have several times performed 
 the same exploit, but they have generally felt 
 unprotected and ill at ease without a personal 
 sovereign over them, and have accordingly, in 
 most cases, after a few years, restored some 
 branch of the expelled dynasty to the throne. 
 
B.C. 44.] The Conspiracy. 237 
 
 Firmness of the Romans. Caesar's ambitious plans. 
 
 The Romans were more persevering and firm. 
 They had managed their empire now for five 
 hundred years as a republic, and though they 
 had had internal dissensions, conflicts, and quar- 
 rels without end, had persisted so firmly and 
 unanimously in their detestation of all regal 
 authority, that no one of the long line of ambi- 
 tious and powerful statesmen, generals, or con- 
 querors by which the history of the empire had 
 been signalized, had ever dared to aspire to the 
 name of king. 
 
 There began, however, soon to appear some 
 indications that Caesar, who certainly now pos- 
 sessed regal power, would like the regal name. 
 Ambitious men, in such cases, do not directly 
 assume themselves the titles and symbols of 
 royalty. Others make the claim for them, while 
 they faintly disavow it, till they have oppor- 
 tunity to see what effect the idea produces on 
 the public mind. The following incidents oc- 
 curred which it was thought indicated such a 
 design. 
 
 There were in some of the public buildings 
 certain statues of kings ; for it must be under- 
 stood that the Roman dislike to kings was only 
 a dislike to having kingly authority exercised 
 over themselves. They respected and some- 
 
238 Julius Caesar. [B.C. 44. 
 
 Regal power. American feeling. 
 
 times admired the kings of other countries, and 
 honored their exploits, and made statues to com- 
 memorate their fame. They were willing that 
 kings should reign elsewhere, so long as there 
 were no king of Rome. The American feeling 
 at the present day is much the same. If the 
 Queen of England were to make a progress 
 through this country, she would receive, per- 
 haps, as many and as striking marks of atten- 
 tion and honor as would be rendered to her in 
 her own realm. We venerate the antiquity of 
 her royal line ; we admire the efficiency of her 
 government and the sublime grandeur of her 
 empire, and have as high an idea as any of the 
 powers and prerogatives of her crown — and these 
 feelings would show themselves most abund- 
 antly on any proper occasion. We are willing, 
 nay, wish that she should continue to reign over 
 Englishmen; and yet, after all, it would take 
 some millions of bayonets to place a queen se- 
 curely upon a throne over this land. 
 
 Regal power was accordingly, in the ab- 
 stract, looked up to at Rome, as it is elsewhere, 
 with great respect ; and it was, in fact, all the 
 more tempting as an object of ambition, from the 
 determination felt by the people that it should 
 not be exercised there. There were, according- 
 
B.C. 44] The Conspiracy. 239 
 
 Caesar's seat in the theater. Public celebrations. 
 
 ly, statues of kings at Rome. Caesar placed 
 his own statue among them. Some approved, 
 others murmured. 
 
 There was a public theater in the city, where 
 the officers of the government were accustom- 
 ed to sit in honorable seats prepared expressly 
 for them, those of the Senate being higher 
 and more distinguished than the rest. Caesar 
 had a seat prepared for himself there, sim- 
 ilar in form to a throne, and adorned it mag- 
 nificently with gilding and ornaments of gold, 
 which gave it the entire pre-eminence over all 
 the other seats. 
 
 He had a similar throne placed in the senate 
 chamber, to be occupied by himself when at- 
 tending there, like the throne of the King of En- 
 gland in the House of Lords. 
 
 He held, moreover, a great many public cel- 
 ebrations and triumphs in the city in commem- 
 oration of his exploits and honors ; and, on one 
 of these occasions, it was arranged that the 
 Senate were to come to him at a temple in a 
 body, and announce to him certain decrees 
 which they had passed to his honor. Vast 
 crowds had assembled to witness the ceremony. 
 Caesar was seated in a magnificent chair, which 
 might have been called either a chair or a throne, 
 
240 Julius Caesar. [B.C. 44. 
 
 Caesar receives the Senate sitting. Consequent excitement. 
 
 and was surrounded by officers and attendants. 
 When the Senate approached, Caesar did not 
 rise to receive them, but remained seated, like 
 a monarch receiving a deputation of his sub- 
 jects. The incident would not seem to be in 
 itself of any great importance, but, considered 
 as an indication of Caesar's designs, it attracted 
 great attention, and produced a very general ex- 
 citement. The act was adroitly managed so 
 as to be somewhat equivocal in its character, in 
 order that it might be represented one way or 
 the other on the following day, according as the 
 indications of public sentiment might incline. 
 Some said that Caesar was intending to rise, 
 but was prevented, and held down by those who 
 stood around him. Others said that an officer 
 motioned to him to rise, but he rebuked his in- 
 terference by a frown, and continued his seat. 
 Thus while, in fact, he received the Roman 
 Senate as their monarch and sovereign, his own 
 intentions and designs in so doing were left 
 somewhat in doubt, in order to avoid awakening 
 a sudden and violent opposition. 
 
 Not long after this, as he was returning in 
 public from some great festival, the streets being 
 full of crowds, and the populace following him 
 in great throngs with loud acclamations, a man 
 
B.C. 44.] The Conspiracy. 241 
 
 Csesar's statue crowned. Caesar's disavowals. 
 
 went up to his statue as he passed it, and 
 placed upon the head of it a laurel crown, fast- 
 ened with a white ribbon, which was a badge 
 of royalty. Some officers ordered the ribbon 
 to be taken down, and sent the man to prison. 
 Caesar was very much displeased with the offi- 
 cers, and dismissed them from their office. He 
 wished, he said, to have the opportunity to dis- 
 avow, himself, such claims, and not to have 
 others disavow them for him. 
 
 Caesar's disavowals were, however, so faint, 
 and people had so little confidence in their sin- 
 cerity, that the cases became more and more 
 frequent in which the titles and symbols of roy- 
 alty were connected with his name. The people 
 who wished to gain his favor sainted him in 
 public with the name of Rex, the Latin word 
 for king. He replied that his name was Caesar, 
 not Rex, showing, however, no other signs of 
 displeasure. On one great occasion, a high pub- 
 lic officer, a near relative of his, repeatedly 
 placed a diadem upon his head, Caesar himself, 
 as often as he did it, gently putting it off. At 
 last he sent the diadem away to a temple that 
 was near, saying that there was no king in 
 Rome but Jupiter. In a word, all his conduct 
 indicated that he wished to have it appear that 
 
 Q 
 
242 Julius Cjssar. [B.C. 44. 
 
 Some willing to make Ctesar king. Others oppose it. 
 
 the people were pressing the crown upon him, 
 when he himself was steadily refusing it. 
 
 This state of things produced a very strong 
 and universal, though suppressed excitement in 
 the city. Parties were formed. Some began 
 to be willing to make Csesar king ; others were 
 determined to hazard their lives to prevent it. 
 None dared, however, openly to utter their sen- 
 timents on either side. They expressed them 
 by mysterious looks and dark intimations. At 
 the time when Caesar refused to rise to receive 
 the Senate, many of the members withdrew in 
 silence, and with looks of offended dignity. 
 When the crown was placed upon his statue or 
 upon his own brow, a portion of the populace 
 would applaud with loud acclamations ; and 
 whenever he disavowed these acts, either by 
 words or counter-actions of his own, an equally 
 loud acclamation would arise from the other 
 side. On the whole, however, the idea that 
 Caesar was gradually advancing toward the 
 kingdom steadily gained ground. 
 
 And yet Caesar himself spoke frequently with 
 great humility in respect to his pretensions and 
 claims ; and when he found public sentiment 
 turning against the ambitious schemes he seems 
 secretly to have cherished, he would present 
 
B.C.44.] The Conspiracy. 243 
 
 Caesar's pretexts. His assumed humility. 
 
 some excuse or explanation for his conduct plau- 
 sible enough to answer the purpose of a disa- 
 vowal. When he received the Senate, sitting 
 like a king, on the occasion before referred to, 
 when they read to him the decrees which they 
 had passed in his favor, he replied to them that 
 there was more need of diminishing the public 
 honors which he received than of increasing: 
 them. When he found, too, how much excite- 
 ment his conduct on that occasion had produced, 
 he explained it by saying that he had retained 
 his sitting posture on account of the infirmity 
 of his health, as it made him dizzy to stand. 
 He thought, probably, that these pretexts would 
 tend to quiet the strong and turbulent spirits 
 around him, from whose envy or rivalry he had 
 most to fear, without at all interfering with the 
 effect which the act itself would have produced 
 upon the masses of the population. He wished, 
 in a word, to accustom them to see him assume 
 the position and the bearing of a sovereign, 
 while, by his apparent humility in his inter- 
 course with those immediately around him, he 
 avoided as much as possible irritating and 
 arousing the jealous and watchful rivals who 
 were next to him in power. 
 
 If this were his plan, it seemed to be advanc- 
 
244 Julius Cesar. [B.C. 44. 
 
 Progress of Caesar's plans. The Sibylline books. 
 
 ing prosperously toward its accomplishment. 
 The population of the city seemed to become 
 more and more familiar with the idea that Caesar 
 was about to become a king. The opposition 
 which the idea had at first awakened appeared 
 to subside, or, at least, the public expression of 
 it, which daily became more and more determ- 
 ined and dangerous, was restrained. At length 
 the time arrived when it appeared safe to intro- 
 duce the subject to the Roman Senate. This, 
 of course, w T as a hazardous experiment. It was 
 managed, however, in a very adroit and ingeni- 
 ous manner. 
 
 There were in Rome, and, in fact, in many 
 other cities and countries of the world in those 
 days, a variety of prophetic books, called the 
 Sibylline Oracles, in which it was generally be- 
 lieved that future events were foretold. Some 
 of these volumes or rolls, which were very an- 
 cient and of great authority, were preserved in 
 the temples at Rome, under the charge of a 
 board of guardians, who were to keep them with 
 the utmost care, and to consult them on great 
 occasions, in order to discover beforehand what 
 would be the result of public measures or great 
 enterprises which were in contemplation. It 
 happened that at this time the Romans were 
 
B.C. 44.] The Conspiracy. 245 
 
 Declaration of the Sibylline books. Plan for crowning Cassar. 
 
 engaged in a war with the Parthians, a very- 
 wealthy and powerful nation of Asia. Csesar 
 was making preparations for an expedition to 
 the East to attempt to subdue this people. He 
 gave orders that the Sibylline Oracles should 
 be consulted. The proper officers, after con- 
 sulting them with the usual solemn ceremonies, 
 reported to the Senate that they found it re- 
 corded in these sacred prophecies that the Par- 
 thians could not be conquered except by a king. 
 A senator proposed, therefore, that, to meet the 
 emergency, Csesar should be made king during 
 the war. There was at first no decisive action 
 on this proposal. It was dangerous to express 
 any opinion. People were thoughtful, serious, 
 and silent, as on the eve of some great convul- 
 sion. No one knew what others were meditat- 
 ing, and thus did not dare to express his own 
 wishes or designs. There soon, however, was 
 a prevailing understanding that Csesar's friends 
 were determined on executing the design of 
 crowning him, and that the fifteenth of March, 
 called, in their phraseology, the Ides of March, 
 was fixed upon as the coronation day. 
 
 In the mean time, Caesar's enemies, though 
 to all outward appearance quiet and calm, had 
 not been inactive. Finding that his plans were 
 
246 Julius Caesar. [B.C.44. 
 
 The conspiracy. Cassius. Marcus Brutus. 
 
 now ripe for execution, and that they had no 
 open means of resisting them, they formed a 
 conspiracy to assassinate Caesar himself, and 
 thus bring his ambitious schemes to an effectual 
 and final end. The name of the original leader 
 of this conspiracy was Cassius. 
 
 Cassius had been for a long time Caesar's 
 personal rival and enemy. He was a man of 
 a very violent and ardent temperament, impet- 
 uous and fearless, very fond of exercising power 
 himself, but very restless and uneasy in having 
 it exercised over him. He had all the Roman 
 repugnance to being under the authority of a 
 master, with an additional personal determina- 
 tion of his own not to submit to Caesar. He 
 determined to slay Caesar rather than to allow 
 him to be made a king, and he went to work, 
 with great caution, to bring other leading and 
 influential men to join him in this determina- 
 tion. Some of those to whom he applied said 
 that they would unite with him in his plot pro- 
 vided he would get Marcus Brutus to join them. 
 
 Brutus was the praetor of the city. The 
 praetorship of the city was a very high munici- 
 pal office. The conspirators wished to have 
 Brutus join them partly on account of his sta- 
 tion as a magistrate, as if they supposed that 
 
B.C. 44.] The Conspiracy. 247 
 
 Character of Brutus. His firmness and courage. 
 
 by having the highest public magistrate of the 
 city for their leader in the deed, the destruction 
 of their victim would appear less like a murder, 
 and would be invested, instead, in some re- 
 spects, with the sanctions and with the dignity 
 of an official execution. 
 
 Then, again, they wished for the moral sup- 
 port which would be afforded them in their des- 
 perate enterprise by Brutus's extraordinary per- 
 sonal character. He was younger than Cas- 
 sius, but he was grave, thoughtful, taciturn, 
 calm — a man of inflexible integrity, of the cool- 
 est determination, and, at the same time, of the 
 most undaunted courage. The conspirators dis- 
 trusted one another, for the resolution of im- 
 petuous men is very apt to fail when the emer- 
 gency arrives which puts it to the test ; but as 
 for Brutus, they knew very well that whatever 
 he undertook he would most certainly do. 
 
 There was a great deal even, in his name. It 
 was a Brutus that five centuries before had been 
 the main instrument of the expulsion of the Ro- 
 man kings. He had secretly meditated the de- 
 sign, and, the better to conceal it, had feigned 
 idiocy, as the story was, that he might not be 
 watched or suspected until the favorable hour 
 for executing his design should arrive. He 
 
248 Julius Cm&ar. [B.C. 44. 
 
 The ancient Brutus. His expulsion of the kings. 
 
 therefore ceased to speak, and seemed to lose 
 his reason ; he wandered about the city silent 
 and gloomy, like a brute. His name had been 
 Lucius Junius before. They added Brutus 
 now, to designate his condition. When at last, 
 however, the crisis arrived which he judged fa- 
 vorable for the expulsion of the kings, he sud- 
 denly reassumed his speech and his reason, 
 called the astonished Romans to arms, and tri- 
 umphantly accomplished his design. His name 
 and memory had been cherished ever since that 
 day as of a great deliverer. 
 
 They, therefore, who looked upon Caesar as 
 another king, naturally turned their thoughts to 
 the Brutus of their day, hoping to find in him 
 another deliverer. Brutus found, from time to 
 time, inscriptions on his ancient namesake's 
 statue expressing the wish that he were now 
 alive. He also found each morning, as he came 
 to the tribunal where he was accustomed to sit 
 in the discharge of the duties of his office, brief 
 writings, which had been left there during the 
 night, in which few words expressed deep mean- 
 ing, such as, "Awake, Brutus, to thy duty ;" 
 and " Art thou indeed a Brutus ?" 
 
 Still it seemed hardly probable that Brutus 
 could be led to take a decided stand against 
 
B.C. 44.] The Conspiracy. 249 
 
 The history of Brutus. His obligations to Caesar. 
 
 Caesar, for they had been warm personal friends 
 ever since the conclusion of the civil wars. Bru- 
 tus had, indeed, been on Pompey's side while 
 that general lived ; he fought with him at the 
 battle of Pharsalia, but he had been taken pris- 
 oner there, and Caesar, instead of executing him 
 as a traitor, as most victorious genferals in a 
 civil war would have done, spared his life, for- 
 gave him for his hostility, received him into his 
 own service, and afterward raised him to very 
 high and honorable stations. He gave him the 
 government of the richest province, and, after 
 his return from it, loaded with wealth and hon- 
 ors, he made him praetor of the city. In a word, 
 it would seem that he had done every thing 
 which it was possible to do to make him one of 
 his most trustworthy and devoted friends. The 
 men, therefore, to whom Cassius first applied, 
 perhaps thought that they were very safe in 
 saying that they would unite in the intended 
 conspiracy if he would get Brutus to join them. 
 They expected Cassius himself to make the 
 attempt to secure the co-operation of Brutus, as 
 Cassius was on terms of intimacy with him on 
 account of a family connection. Cassius's wife 
 was the sister of Brutus. This had made the 
 two men intimate associates and warm friends 
 
250 Julius C^sar. [B.C. 44. 
 
 Caesar's friendship for Brutus. Interview between Brutus and Caesar. 
 
 in former years, though they had been recently 
 somewhat estranged from each other on account 
 of having been competitors for the same offices 
 and honors. In these contests Caesar had de- 
 cided in favor of Brutus. " Cassius," said he, 
 on one such occasion, " gives the best reasons ; 
 but I can not refuse Brutus any thing he asks 
 for." In fact, Caesar had conceived a strong 
 personal friendship for Brutus, and believed him 
 to be entirely devoted to his cause. 
 
 Cassius, however, sought an interview with 
 Brutus, with a view of en^asrino- him in his de- 
 sign. He easily effected his own reconciliation 
 with him, as he had himself been the offended 
 party in their estrangement from each other. 
 He asked Brutus whether he intended to be 
 present in the Senate on the Ides of March, 
 when the friends of Caesar, as was understood, 
 were intending to present him with the crown. 
 Brutus said he should not be there. " But sup- 
 pose," said Cassius, " we are specially sum- 
 moned." "Then," said Brutus, "I shall go, 
 and shall be ready to die if necessary to defend 
 the liberty of my country." 
 
 Cassius then assured Brutus that there were 
 many other Roman citizens, of the highest rank, 
 who were animated by the same determination, 
 
B.C. 44.] The Conspiracy. 251 
 
 Arguments of Cassius. Effect on Brutus. 
 
 and that they all looked up to him to lead and 
 direct them in the work which it was now very 
 evident must be done. " Men look," said Cas- 
 sius, " to other praetors to entertain them with 
 games, spectacles, and shows, but they have 
 very different ideas in respect to you. Your 
 character, your name, your position, your an- 
 cestry, and the course of conduct which you 
 have already always pursued, inspire the whole 
 city with the hope that you are to be their de- 
 liverer. The citizens are all ready to aid you, 
 and to sustain you at the hazard of their lives ; 
 but they look to you to go forward, and to act 
 in their name and in their behalf, in the crisis 
 which is now approaching." 
 
 Men of a very calm exterior are often sus- 
 ceptible of the profoundest agitations within, 
 the emotions seeming to be sometimes all the 
 more permanent and uncontrollable from the 
 absence of outward display. Brutus said little, 
 but his soul was excited and fired by Cassius's 
 words. There was a struggle in his soul be- 
 tween his grateful sense of his political obliga- 
 tions to Caesar and his personal attachment to 
 him on the one hand, and, on the other, a cer- 
 tain stern Roman conviction that every thing 
 should be sacrificed, even friendship and grati- 
 
252 J LLIUS C .ESAR. 
 
 [B.C. 44. 
 
 Brutus engages in the conspiracy. 
 
 Ligurius. 
 
 tude, as well as fortune and life, to the welfare 
 of his country. He acceded to the plan, and 
 began forthwith to enter upon the necessary 
 measures for putting it into execution. 
 
 There was a certain general, named Ligu- 
 rius, who had been in Pompey's army, and 
 whose hostility to Caesar had never been really 
 subdued. He was now sick. Brutus went to 
 see him. He found him in his bed. The ex- 
 citement in Rome was so intense, though the 
 expressions of it were suppressed and restrained, 
 that every one was expecting continually some 
 great event, and every motion and look was in- 
 terpreted to have some deep meaning. Ligu- 
 rius read in the countenance of Brutus, as he 
 approached his bedside, that he had not come on 
 any trifling errand. " Ligurius," said Brutus, 
 "this is not a time for you to be sick." "Bru- 
 tus," replied Ligurius, rising at once from his 
 couch, " if you have any enterprise in mind that 
 is worthy of you, I am well." Brutus explained 
 to the sick man their design, and he entered into 
 it with ardor. 
 
 The plan was divulged to one after another 
 of such men as the conspirators supposed most 
 worthy of confidence in such a desperate under- 
 taking, and meetings for consultation were held 
 
B.C. 44] The Conspiracy. 253 
 
 Consultations of the conspirators. Their bold plan. 
 
 to determine what plan to adopt for finally ac- 
 complishing their end. It was agreed that 
 Caesar must be slain ; but the time, the place, 
 and the manner in which the deed should be 
 performed were all yet undecided. Various 
 plans were proposed in the consultations which 
 the conspirators held ; but there was one thing 
 peculiar to them all, which was, that they did 
 not any of them contemplate or provide for any 
 thing like secrecy in the commission of the 
 deed. It was to be performed in the most open 
 and public manner. With a stern and un- 
 daunted boldness, which has always been con- 
 sidered by mankind as truly sublime, they de- 
 termined that, in respect to the actual execution 
 itself of the solemn judgment which they had 
 pronounced, there should be nothing private or 
 concealed. They thought over the various pub- 
 lic situations in which they might find Caesar, 
 and where they might strike him down, only to 
 select the one which would be most public of 
 all. They kept, of course, their preliminary 
 counsels private, to prevent the adoption of 
 measures for counteracting them ; but they 
 were to perform the deed in such a manner as 
 that, so soon as it was performed, they should 
 stand out to view, exposed fully to the gaze of 
 
254 Julius Caesar. [B.C. 44. 
 
 Final arrangements. The place and the day. 
 
 all mankind as the authors of it. They plan- 
 ned no retreat, no concealment, no protection 
 whatever for themselves, seeming to feel that 
 the deed which they were about to perform, of 
 destroying the master and monarch of the world, 
 was a deed in its own nature so grand and sub- 
 lime as to raise the perpetrators of it entirely 
 above all considerations relating to their own 
 personal safety. Their plan, therefore, was to 
 keep their consultations and arrangements se- 
 cret until they were prepared to strike the blow, 
 then to strike it in the most public and impos- 
 ing manner possible, and calmly afterward to 
 await the consequences. 
 
 In this view of the subject, they decided that 
 the chamber of the Roman Senate was the prop- 
 er place, and the Ides of March, the day on which 
 he was appointed to be crowned, was the proper 
 time for Csesar to be slain. 
 
B.C. 44.] The Assassination. 255 
 
 Caesar receives many warnings of his approaching fate. 
 
 Chapter XII. 
 
 The Assassination. 
 
 A CCORDING to the account given by his 
 -£\- historians, Csesar received many warn- 
 ings of his approaching fate, which, however, he 
 would not heed. Many of these warnings were 
 strange portents and prodigies, which the philo- 
 sophical writers who recorded them half believed 
 themselves, and which they were always ready 
 to add to their narratives even if they did not 
 believe them, on account of the great influence 
 which such an introduction of the supernatural 
 and the divine had with readers in those days in 
 enhancing the dignity and the dramatic interest 
 of the story. These warnings were as follows : 
 At Capua, which was a great city at some 
 distance south of Rome, the second, in fact, in 
 Italy, and the one which Hannibal had proposed 
 to make his capital, some workmen were re- 
 moving certain ancient sepulchers to make room 
 for the foundations of a splendid edifice which, 
 among his other plans for the embellishment of 
 the cities of Italy, Caesar was intending to have 
 
256 Julius Cesar. [B.C. 44. 
 
 The tomb and inscription. Caesar's horses. 
 
 erected there. As the excavations advanced, 
 the workmen came at last to an ancient tomb, 
 which proved to be that of the original founder 
 of Capua ; and, in bringing out the sarcophagus, 
 they found an inscription, worked upon a brass 
 plate, and in the Greek character, predicting 
 that if those remains were ever disturbed, a 
 great member of the Julian family would be 
 assassinated by his own friends, and his death 
 would be followed by extended devastations 
 throughout all Italy. 
 
 The horses, too, with which Caesar had passed 
 the Rubicon, and which had been, ever since 
 that time, living in honorable retirement in a 
 splendid park which Ceesar had provided for 
 them, by some mysterious instinct, or from 
 some divine communication, had warning of the 
 approach of their great benefactor's end. They 
 refused their food, and walked about with melan- 
 choly and dejected looks, mourning apparently, 
 and in a manner almost human, some impend- 
 ing grief. 
 
 There was a class of prophets in those days 
 called by a name which has been translated 
 soothsayers. These soothsayers were able, as 
 was supposed, to look somewhat into futurity — 
 dimly and doubtfully, it is true, but really, by 
 
B.C. 44.] The Assassination. 257 
 
 The soothsayers. The hawks and the wren. 
 
 means of certain appearances exhibited by the 
 bodies of the animals offered in sacrifices. 
 These soothsayers were consulted on all im- 
 portant occasions ; and if the auspices proved 
 unfavorable when any great enterprise was 
 about to be undertaken, it was often, on that 
 account, abandoned or postponed. One of these 
 soothsayers, named Spurinna, came to Caesar 
 one day, and informed him that he had found, 
 by means of a public sacrifice which he had just 
 been offering, that there was a great and mys- 
 terious danger impending over him, which was 
 connected in some way with the Ides of March, 
 and he counseled him to be particularly cautious 
 and circumspect until that day should have 
 passed. 
 
 The Senate were to meet on the Ides of 
 March in a new and splendid edifice, which had 
 been erected for their use by Pompey. There 
 was in the interior of the building, among other 
 decorations, a statue of Pompey. The day be- 
 fore the Ides of March, some birds of prey from 
 a neighboring grove came flying into this hall, 
 pursuing a little wren with a sprig of laurel in 
 its mouth. The birds tore the wren to pieces, 
 the laurel dropping from its bill to the marble 
 pavement of the floor below. Now, as Caesar 
 E 
 
258 Julius C^sar. [B.C. 44. 
 
 Caesar's agitation of mind. His dream. 
 
 had been always accustomed to wear a crown 
 of laurel on great occasions, and had always 
 evinced a particular fondness for that decoration, 
 the laurel had come to be considered his own 
 proper badge, and the fall of the laurel, there- 
 fore, was naturally thought to portend some 
 great calamity to him. 
 
 The night before the Ides of March Csesar 
 could not sleep. It would not seem, however, 
 to be necessary to suppose any thing super- 
 natural to account for his wakefulness. He lay 
 upon his bed restless and excited, or if he fell 
 into a momentary slumber, his thoughts, in- 
 stead of finding repose, were only plunged into 
 greater agitations, produced by strange, and, as 
 he thought, supernatural dreams. He imagined 
 that he ascended into the skies, and was received 
 there by Jupiter, the supreme divinity, as an 
 associate and equal. While shaking hands with 
 the great father of gods and men, the sleeper 
 was startled by a frightful sound. He awoke, 
 and found his wife Calpurnia groaning and 
 struggling in her sleep. He saw her by the 
 moonlight which was shining into the room. 
 He spoke to her, and aroused her. After staring 
 wildly for a moment till she had recovered her 
 thoughts, she said that she had had a dreadful 
 
B.C. 44.] The Assassination. 259 
 
 Calpumia's dream. The effect of a disturbed mind. 
 
 dream. She had dreamed that the roof of the 
 house had fallen in, and that, at the same in- 
 stant, the doors had been burst open, and some 
 robber or assassin had stabbed her husband as 
 he was lying in her arms. The philosophy of 
 those days found in these dreams mysterious 
 and preternatural warnings of impending dan- 
 ger ; that of ours, however, sees nothing ei- 
 ther in the absurd sacrilegiousness of Caesar's 
 thoughts, or his wife's incoherent and incon- 
 sistent images of terror — nothing more than 
 the natural and proper effects, on the one hand, 
 of the insatiable ambition of man, and, on the 
 other, of the conjugal affection and solicitude 
 of woman. The ancient sculptors carved out 
 images of men, by the forms and lineaments of 
 which we see that the physical characteristics 
 of humanity have not changed. History seems 
 to do the same with the affections and passions 
 of the soul. The dreams of Caesar and his wife 
 on the night before the Ides of March, as thus 
 recorded, form a sort of spiritual statue, which 
 remains from generation to generation, to show 
 us how precisely all the inward workings of hu- 
 man nature are from age to age the same. 
 
 When the morning came Caesar and Calpur- 
 nia arose, both restless and ill at ease. Caesar 
 
260 Julius Cesar. [B.C. 44. 
 
 Ceesar hesitates. Decimus Brutus. 
 
 ordered the auspices to be consulted with refer- 
 ence to the intended proceedings of the day. 
 The soothsayers came in in due time, and re- 
 ported that the result was unfavorable. Cal- 
 purnia, too, earnestly entreated her husband not 
 to go to the senate-house that day. She had 
 a very strong presentiment that, if he did go, 
 some great calamity would ensue. Caesar him- 
 self hesitated. He was half inclined to yield, 
 and postpone his coronation to another occasion. 
 
 In the course of the day, while Caesar was in 
 this state of doubt and uncertainty, one of the 
 conspirators, named Decimus Brutus, came in. 
 This Brutus was not a man of any extraordi- 
 nary courage or energy, but he had been invited 
 by the other conspirators to join them, on ac- 
 count of his having under his charge a large 
 number of gladiators, who, being desperate and 
 reckless men, would constitute a very suitable 
 armed force for them to call in to their aid in 
 case of any emergency arising which should re- 
 quire it. 
 
 The conspirators having thus all their plans 
 arranged, Decimus Brutus was commissioned 
 to call at Caesar's house when the time ap- 
 proached for the assembling of the Senate, both 
 to avert suspicion from Caesar's mind, and to 
 
B.C. 44.] The Assassination. 261 
 
 Decimus Brutus waits upon Caesar. He persuades him to go. 
 
 assure himself that nothing had been discovered. 
 It was in the afternoon, the time for the meet- 
 ing of the senators having been fixed at five 
 o'clock. Decimus Brutus found Csesar troubled 
 and perplexed, and uncertain what to do. After 
 hearing what he had to say, he replied by urg- 
 ing him to go by all means to the senate-house, 
 as he had intended. " You have formally called 
 the Senate together," said he, " and they are 
 now assembling. They are all prepared to con- 
 fer upon you the rank and title of king, not only 
 in Parthia, while you are conducting this war, 
 but every where, by sea and land, except in 
 Italy. And now, while they are all in their 
 places, waiting to consummate the great act, 
 how absurd will it be for you to send them word 
 to go home again, and come back some other 
 day, when Calpurnia shall have had better 
 dreams !" 
 
 He urged, too, that, even if Csesar was de- 
 termined to put off the action of the Senate to 
 another day, he was imperiously bound to go 
 himself and adjourn the session in person. So 
 saying, he took the hesitating potentate by the 
 arm, and adding to his arguments a little gen- 
 tle force, conducted him along. 
 
 The conspirators supposed that all was safe. 
 
262 Julius Cjesar. [B.C. 44. 
 
 Artemidorus discovers the plot. He warns Caesar. 
 
 The fact was, however, that all had been dis- 
 covered. There was a certain Greek, a teacher 
 of oratory, named Artemidorus. He had con- 
 trived to learn something of the plot from some 
 of the conspirators who were his pupils. He 
 wrote a brief statement of the leading particu- 
 lars, and, having no other mode of access to 
 Csesar, he determined to hand it to him on the 
 way as he went to the senate-house. Of course, 
 the occasion was one of great public interest, 
 and crowds had assembled in the streets to see 
 the great conqueror as he went along. As 
 usual at such times, when powerful officers of 
 state appear in public, many people came up 
 to present petitions to him as he passed. These 
 he received, and handed them, without reading, 
 to his secretary who attended him, as if to have 
 them preserved for future examination. Ar- 
 temidorus, who was waiting for his opportunity, 
 when he perceived what disposition Csesar made 
 of the papers which were given to him, began 
 to be afraid that his own communication would 
 not be attended to until it was too late. He 
 accordingly pressed up near to Csesar, refusing 
 to allow any one else to pass the paper in ; and 
 when, at last, he obtained an opportunity, he 
 gave it directly into Caesar's hands, saying to 
 
B.C.44.] The Assassination. 263 
 
 Csesar and Spurinna. Caesar arrives at the senate-house. 
 
 him, " Read this immediately : it concerns your- 
 self, and is of the utmost importance." 
 
 Csesar took the paper and attempted to read 
 it, but new petitions and other interruptions 
 constantly prevented him ; finally he gave up 
 the attempt, and went on his way, receiving and 
 passing to his secretary all other papers, but re- 
 taining this paper of Artemidorus in his hand. 
 
 Caesar passed Spurinna on his way to the 
 senate-house — the soothsayer who had predict- 
 ed some great danger connected with the Ides 
 of March. As soon as he recognized him, he 
 accosted him with the words, " Well, Spurinna, 
 the Ides of March have come, and I am safe." 
 "Yes," replied Spurinna, "they have come, but 
 they are not yet over." 
 
 At length he arrived at the senate-house, with 
 the paper of Artemidorus still unread in his 
 hand. The senators were all convened, the 
 leading conspirators among them. They all 
 rose to receive Caesar as he entered. Caesar 
 advanced to the seat provided for him, and, when 
 he was seated, the senators themselves sat down. 
 The moment had now arrived, and the conspir- 
 ators, with pale looks and beating hearts, felt 
 that now or never the deed was to be done. 
 
 It requires a very considerable degree of phys- 
 
264 Julius Cesar. [B.C. 44. 
 
 Resolution of the Conspirators. Caesar and Pompey'e statue. 
 
 ical courage and hardihood for men to come to 
 a calm and deliberate decision that they will 
 kill one whom they hate, and, still more, actu- 
 ally to strike the blow, even when under the 
 immediate impulse of passion. But men who 
 are perfectly capable of either of these often find 
 their resolution fail them as the time comes for 
 striking a dasher into the living flesh of their 
 victim, when he sits at ease and unconcerned 
 before them, unarmed and defenseless, and doing 
 nothing to excite those feelings of irritation and 
 anger which are generally found so necessary to 
 nerve the human arm to such deeds. Utter de- 
 fenselessness is accordingly, sometimes, a great- 
 er protection than an armor of steel. 
 
 Even Cassius himself, the originator and the 
 soul of the whole enterprise, found his courage 
 hardly adequate to the work now that the mo- 
 ment had arrived ; and, in order to arouse the 
 necessary excitement in his soul, he looked up 
 to the statue of Pompey, Caesar's ancient and 
 most formidable enemy, and invoked its aid. 
 It gave him its aid. It inspired him with some 
 portion of the enmity with which the soul of 
 its great original had burned ; and thus the soul 
 of the living assassin was nerved to its work by 
 a sort of sympathy with a block of stone. 
 
B.C. 44.] The Assassination. 265 
 
 Plan of the conspirators. Marc Antony. 
 
 Foreseeing the necessity of something like a 
 stimulus to action when the immediate moment 
 for action should arrive, the conspirators had 
 agreed that, as soon as Caesar was seated, they 
 would approach him with a petition, which he 
 would probably refuse, and then, gathering 
 around him, they would urge him with their 
 importunities, so as to produce, in the confusion, 
 a sort of excitement that would make it easier 
 for them to strike the blow. 
 
 There was one person, a relative and friend of 
 Caesar's, named Marcus Antonius, called com- 
 monly, however, in English narratives, Marc 
 Antony, the same who has been already men- 
 tioned as having been subsequently connected 
 with Cleopatra. He was a very energetic and 
 determined man, who, they thought, might pos- 
 sibly attempt to defend him. To prevent this, 
 one of the conspirators had been designated to 
 take him aside, and occupy his attention with 
 some pretended subject of discourse, ready, at 
 the same time, to resist and prevent his inter- 
 ference if he should show himself inclined to 
 offer any. 
 
 Things being thus arranged, the petitioner, 
 as had been agreed, advanced to Caesar with his 
 petition, others coming up at the same time as 
 
266 Julius Cjesar. [B.C. 44. 
 
 The petition. Caesar assaulted. He resists. 
 
 if to second the request. The object of the pe- 
 tition was to ask for the pardon of the brother 
 of one of the conspirators. Caesar declined 
 granting it. The others then crowded around 
 him, urging him to grant the request with press- 
 ing importunities, all apparently reluctant to 
 strike the first blow. Caesar began to be alarm- 
 ed, and attempted to repel them. One of them 
 then pulled down his robe from his neck to lay 
 it bare. Caesar arose, exclaiming, " But this 
 is violence." At the same instant, one of the 
 conspirators struck at him with his sword, and 
 wounded him slightly in the neck. 
 
 All was now terror, outcry, and confusion. 
 Caesar had no time to draw his sword, but 
 fought a moment with his style, a sharp in- 
 strument of iron with which they wrote, in 
 those days, on waxen tablets, and which he 
 happened then to have in his hand. With this 
 instrument he ran one of his enemies through 
 the arm. 
 
 This resistance was just what was necessary 
 to excite the conspirators, and give them the 
 requisite resolution to finish their work. Caesar 
 soon saw the swords, accordingly, gleaming all 
 around him, and thrusting themselves at him 
 on every side. The senators rose in confusion 
 
B.C. 44.] The Assassination. 
 
 267 
 
 Caesar is overcome. 
 
 Pompey's statue. 
 
 and dismay, perfectly thunderstruck at the 
 scene, and not knowing what to do. Antony 
 perceived that all resistance on his part would 
 be unavailing, and accordingly did not attempt 
 any. Csesar defended himself alone for a few 
 minutes as well as he could, looking all around 
 him in vain for help, and retreating at the same 
 time toward the pedestal of Pompey's statue. 
 At length, when he saw Brutus among his mur- 
 derers, he exclaimed, "And you too, Brutus?" 
 and seemed from that moment to give up in 
 despair. He drew his robe over his face, and 
 
 Pompey's Statue. 
 
268 Julius Cesar. [B.C. 44. 
 
 CfEsar's death. Flight of the senators. Great commotion. 
 
 soon fell under the wounds which he received. 
 His blood ran out upon the pavement at the 
 foot of Pompey's statue, as if his death were a 
 sacrifice offered to appease his ancient enemy's 
 revenge. 
 
 In the midst of the scene Brutus made an 
 attempt to address the senators, and to vindi- 
 cate what they had done, but the confusion and 
 excitement were so great that it was impossible 
 that any thing could be heard. The senators 
 were, in fact, rapidly leaving the place, going 
 off in every direction, and spreading the tidings 
 over the city. The event, of course, produced 
 universal commotion. The citizens besran to 
 close their shops, and some to barricade their 
 houses, while others hurried to and fro about the 
 streets, anxiously inquiring for intelligence, and 
 wondering what dreadful event was next to 
 be expected. Antony and Lepidus, who were 
 Caesar's two most faithful and influential friends, 
 not knowing how extensive the conspiracy might 
 be, nor how far the hostility to Csesar and his 
 party might extend, fled, and, not daring to go 
 to their own houses, lest the assassins or their 
 confederates might pursue them there, sought 
 concealment in the houses of friends on whom 
 they supposed they could rely, and who were 
 willing to receive them. 
 
B.C. 44.] The Assassination. 269 
 
 The conspirators proceed to the Capitol. They glory in their deed. 
 
 In the mean time, the conspirators, glorying 
 in the deed which they had perpetrated, and 
 congratulating each other on the successful 
 issue of their enterprise, sallied forth together 
 from the senate-house, leaving the body of their 
 victim weltering in its blood, and marched, with 
 drawn swords in their hands, along the streets 
 from the senate-house to the Capitol. Brutus 
 went at the head of them, preceded by a liberty 
 cap borne upon the point of a spear, and with 
 his bloody dagger in his hand. The Capitol 
 was the citadel, built magnificently upon the 
 Capitoline Hill, and surrounded by temples, and 
 other sacred and civil edifices, which made the 
 spot the architectural wonder of the world. As 
 Brutus and his company proceeded thither, they 
 announced to the citizens, as they went along, 
 the great deed of deliverance which they had 
 wrought out for the country. Instead of seek- 
 ing concealment, they gloried in the work which 
 they had done, and they so far succeeded in in- 
 spiring others with a portion of their enthusi- 
 asm, that some men who had really taken no 
 part in the deed joined Brutus and his company 
 in their march, to obtain by stealth a share in 
 the glory. 
 
 Tho body of Csesar lay for some time un- 
 
270 Julius Cjesar. [B.C. 44. 
 
 Number of Caesar's wounds. His slaves convey his body home. 
 
 heeded where it had fallen, the attention of 
 every one being turned to the excitement, which 
 was extending through the city, and to the ex- 
 pectation of other great events which might sud- 
 denly develop themselves in other quarters of 
 Rome. There were left only three of Caesar's 
 slaves, who gathered around the body to look at 
 the wounds. They counted them, and found 
 the number twenty-three. It shows, however, 
 how strikingly, and with what reluctance, the 
 actors in this tragedy came up to their work at 
 last, that of all these twenty-three wounds only 
 one was a mortal one. In fact, it is probable 
 that, while all of the conspirators struck the 
 victim in their turn, to fulfill the pledge which 
 they had given to one another that they would 
 every one inflict a wound, each one hoped that 
 the fatal blow would be given, after all, by some 
 other hand than his own. 
 
 At last the slaves decided to convey the 
 body home. They obtained a sort of chair, 
 which was made to be borne by poles, and 
 placed the body upon it. Then, lifting at the 
 three handles, and allowing the fourth to hang 
 unsupported for want of a man, they bore the 
 ghastly remains home to the distracted Calpur- 
 nia. 
 
B.C. 44.] The Assassination. 271 
 
 Address of the conspirators. Feelings of the populace. 
 
 The next day Brutus and his associates called 
 an assembly of the people in the Forum, and 
 made an address to them, explaining the mo- 
 tives which had led them to the commission of 
 the deed, and vindicating the necessity and the 
 justice of it. The people received these expla- 
 nations in silence. They expressed neither ap- 
 probation nor displeasure. It was not, in fact, 
 to be expected that they would feel or evince 
 any satisfaction at the loss of their master. He 
 had been their champion, and, as they believed, 
 their friend. The removal of Caesar brought 
 no accession of power nor increase of liberty to 
 them. It might have been a gain to ambitious 
 senators, or powerful generals, or high officers 
 of state, by removing a successful rival out of 
 their way, but it seemed to promise little ad- 
 vantage to the community at large, other than 
 the changing of one despotism for another. Be- 
 sides, a populace who know that they must be 
 governed, prefer generally, if they must sub- 
 mit to some control, to yield their submission 
 to some one master spirit whom they can look 
 up to as a great and acknowledged superior. 
 They had rather have a Caesar than a Senate 
 to command them. 
 
 The higher authorities, however, were, as 
 
272 Julius Cesar. [B.C. 44. 
 
 Caesar's will. Its provisions. 
 
 might have been expected, disposed to acqui- 
 esce in the removal of Caesar from his intended 
 throne. The Senate met, and passed an act of 
 indemnity, to shield the conspirators from all 
 legal liability for the deed they had done. In 
 order, however, to satisfy the people too, as far 
 as possible, they decreed divine honors to Caesar, 
 confirmed and ratified all that he had done while 
 in the exercise of supreme power, and appointed 
 a time for the funeral, ordering arrangements 
 to be made for a very pompous celebration of it. 
 A will was soon found, which Caesar, it seems, 
 had made some time before. Calpurnia's father 
 proposed that this will should be opened and 
 read in public at Antony's house ; and this was 
 accordingly done. The provisions of the will 
 were, many of them, of such a character as re- 
 newed the feelings of interest and sympathy 
 which the people of Rome had begun to cherish 
 for Caesar's memory. His vast estate was di- 
 vided chiefly among the children of his sister, 
 as he had no children of his own, while the 
 very men who had been most prominent in 
 his assassination were named as trustees and 
 guardians of the property ; and one of them, 
 Decimus Brutus, the one who had been so ur- 
 gent to conduct him to the senate-house, was a 
 
B.C. 44] The Assassination. 273 
 
 Preparations for Caesar's funeral. The Field of Mars. 
 
 second heir. He had some splendid gardens 
 near the Tiber, which he bequeathed to the cit- 
 izens of Rome, and a large amount of money 
 also, to be divided among them, sufficient to 
 give every man a considerable sum. 
 
 The time for the celebration of the funeral 
 ceremonies was made known by proclamation, 
 and, as the concourse of strangers and citizens 
 of Rome was likely to be so great as to forbid 
 the forming of all into one procession without 
 consuming more than one day, the various class- 
 es of the community were invited to come, each 
 in their own way, to the Field of Mars, bringing 
 with them such insignia, offerings, and obla- 
 tions as they pleased. The Field of Mars was 
 an immense parade ground, reserved for mili- 
 tary reviews, spectacles, and shows. A funeral 
 pile was erected here for the burning of the body. 
 There was to be a funeral discourse pronounced, 
 and Marc Antony had been designated to per- 
 form this duty. The body had been placed in 
 a gilded bed, under a magnificent canopy in the 
 form of a temple, before the rostra where the 
 funeral discourse was to be pronounced. The 
 bed was covered with scarlet and cloth of gold, 
 and a-t the head of it was laid the robe in which 
 Csesar had been slain. It was stained with 
 
274 Julius Cesar. [B.C. 44 
 
 Marc Antony's oration. The funeral pile. 
 
 blood, and pierced with the holes that the swords 
 and daggers of the conspirators had made. 
 
 Marc Antony, instead of pronouncing a for- 
 mal panegyric upon his deceased friend, ordered 
 a crier to read the decrees of the Senate, in 
 which all honors, human and divine, had been 
 ascribed to Csesar. He then added a few words 
 of his own. The bed was then taken up, with 
 the body upon it, and borne out into the Forum, 
 preparatory to conveying it to the pile which 
 had been prepared for it upon the Field of Mars. 
 A question, however, here arose among the 
 multitude assembled in respect to the proper 
 place for burning the body. The people seemed 
 inclined to select the most honorable place which 
 could be found within the limits of the city. 
 Some proposed, a beautiful temple on the Capi- 
 toline Hill. Others wished to take it to the 
 senate-house, where he had been slain. The 
 Senate, and those who were less inclined to pay 
 extravagant honors to the departed hero, were 
 in favor of some more retired spot, under pre- 
 tense that the buildings of the city would be en- 
 dangered by the fire. This discussion was fast 
 becoming a dispute, when it was suddenly ended 
 by two men, with swords at their sides and 
 lances in their hands, forcing their way through 
 
B.C. 44.] The Assassination. 277 
 
 The~body bur ned in the Forum. The conflagration. 
 
 the crowd with Tignted torches, and setting the 
 bed and its canopy on fire where it lay. 
 
 This settled the question, and the whole com- 
 pany were soon in the wildest excitement with 
 the work of building up a funeral pile upon the 
 spot. At first they brought fagots and threw 
 upon the fire, then benches from the neighbor- 
 ing courts and porticoes, and then any thing 
 combustible which came to hand. The honor 
 done to the memory of a deceased hero was, in 
 some sense, in proportion to the greatness of his 
 funeral pile, and all the populace on this oc- 
 casion began soon to seize every thing they 
 could find, appropriate and unappropriate, pro- 
 vided that it would increase the flame. The 
 soldiers threw on their lances and spears, the 
 musicians their instruments, and others stripped 
 off the cloths and trappings from the furniture 
 of the procession, and heaped them upon the 
 burning pile. 
 
 So fierce and extensive was the fire, that it 
 spread to some of the neighboring houses, and 
 required great efforts to prevent a general con- 
 flagration. The people, too, became greatly ex- 
 cited by the scene. They lighted torches by the 
 fire, and went to the houses of Brutus and Cas- 
 sius, threatening vengeance upon them for the 
 
278 Julius Cjssar. [B.C. 44. 
 
 Cuesar's monument The comet. 
 
 murder of Caesar. The authorities succeeded, 
 though with infinite difficulty, in protecting 
 Brutus and Cassius from the violence of the 
 mob, but they seized one unfortunate citizen 
 of the name of Cinna, thinking it a certain 
 Cinna who had been known as an enemy of 
 Caesar. They cut off his head, notwithstanding 
 his shrieks and cries, and carried it about the 
 city on the tip of a pike, a dreadful symbol of 
 their hostility to the enemies of Caesar. As 
 frequently happens, however, in such deeds of 
 sudden violence, these hasty and lawless aven- 
 gers found afterward that they had made a 
 mistake, and beheaded the wrong man. 
 
 The Roman people erected a column to the 
 memory of Caesar, on which they placed the in- 
 scription, " To the Father of his Country." 
 They fixed the figure of a star upon the summit 
 of it, and some time afterward, while the people 
 were celebrating some games in honor of his 
 memory, a great comet blazed for seven nights 
 in the sky, which they recognized as the mighty 
 hero's soul reposing in heaven. 
 
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