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R.Talitherforce.
THIS BOOK
FORMS PART OF THE
ORIGINAL LIBRARY
OF THE
UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN
BOUGHT IN EUROPE
1838 TO 1839
BY
ASA GRAY
THE
LIVES
OF THE
TWELVE CÆSARS.
BY
ELISA ROGERS.
IN FIVE VOLUMES.
VOL. I.
Hinc fore ductores, revocato a sanguine Teucri
Qui mare, qui terras, omni ditione tenerent.
VIRG.
PUBLISHED FOR THE AUTHOR;
AND SOLD BY BARRY, BRISTOL; CRUTTWELL, BATH;
AND HATCHARD, LONDON.
1811.
SUBSCRIBERS' NAMES.
A.
Abbot, M. A. Mrs. Clifton.
Anderdon, James Hughes, Esq. London.
Anderson, J. P. Esq.
Anderdon, Thomas Oliver, Esq. Ditto.
Anderdon, C. Proctor, Esq. Bath.
Anderdon, C. P. Mrs. Ditto.
Anderdon, W. P. Captain, Ditto.
Andrewes, Colonel, Blandford, Dorsetshire.
Atkins, George, Esq. Wood-house, Ipswich, Suffolk.
B.
Bacheleer, the Rev. L. Bristol.
Ball, Henry, Esq. Bristol.
Bailey, Mrs. Wraxall.
Baillie, Colonel Hugh, Abbot's Leigh.
Bedford, the Rev. R. Royal-fort, Bristol.
Berkeley, the Countess of, Berkeley-castle.
Blosse, Sir Robert Lynch, Bart. Gabalva-house,
Cardiff.
VOL. I.
a
vi
Bosanquet, Charles, Esq. Wildwood, Hampstead.
Bosanquet, Mrs. C. Ditto, ditto.
Bosanquet, Henry, Esq. Bath.
Bourk, Edmund, Esq. Exmouth.
Brett, Mrs. Bath.
Bright, Richard, Esq. Ham-green.
Budworth, Joseph, Esq. F. A. S. Clifton.
Bush, Robert, Esq. Aston-house.
Byam, Mrs. Exeter.
Bradley, Mrs.
C.
Cave, John, Esq. Brentry-house.
Cave, Mr. Oliver, Ditto.
Cave, Mrs. Ditto.
Cave, Stephen, Esq. Clive-hill.
Chisholm, Dr. M. D. York-place, Clifton.
Claxton, Mrs. Bristol.
Claxton, Mrs. Butler, Ditto.
Clayfield, Edward Rolle, Esq. Bristol.
Cooben, Miss, Landsdown-crescent, Bath.
Cottle, Miss, Bristol.
Cowan, the Rev. T. C. Hotwells.
Crabtree, the Misses, East Sheen.
Cross, George Robert, Esq. Lincoln's-inn.
Cumberland, George, Esq. Bristol.
Cumberland, R. D. the Rev. Driffield, Gloucester-
shire.
vii
1
}
D.
Daniel, Thomas, Esq. Henbury.
Davenport, James, the Rev. Stratford-upon-Avon.
Davis, R. H. Esq. M. P. Colchester.
Davis, Major, Monmouth and Brecon Militia.
Davis, Miss Elizabeth,
Davis, Mrs. R. H. Mortimer-house, Clifton.
Davis, Miss, Clifton.
Dickenson, William, Esq. M. P. Somersetshire.
Durbin, Major, Bath.
Elton, Mrs. Stapleton.
E.
Everett, Mrs. Hill, near Bridgewater.
Fisher, Mrs. Langford.
Fisher, Mrs. Langford.
F.
Forster, the Rev. Mr. Wales.
G.
Garratt, Miss, Clifton-school,
Goodrich, William, Esq. Gloucester.
Goodrich, John, Esq. Innerglyn, Wales.
Vill
H.
Harford, John, Jun. Esq. Blaize-castle,
Harford, Charles Gray, Esq. Ditto.
Heighham, the Rev. Henry, Clifton.
Hensman, the Rev. John, Clifton.
Hill, Jeremiah, Esq. Down-house.
Hill, Mrs. Thomas, Clifton,
Hobbes, Robert, Esq. Stratford-upon-Avon.
Holder, Mrs. Bath.
Horsley, G. H. Esq. London.
Hunt, Thomas, Esq. Stratford-upon-Avon.
I. & J.
Jenkins, the Rev. Stiverd, Abbots Langley, Herts.
Jenkins, Mrs. Bath.
Inglis, George, Esq. King's-mills, near Inverness,
North Britain.
Jones, the Rev. Dr. Redland.
K.
King, W. E. Mrs. London.
L.
Lavicount, John, Esq. Clifton.
Layard, the Rev. B. V. Uffington, Lincolnshire,
Lechmere, Miss, Bristol.
ix
Leman, Miss, Clifton.
Lemaitre, J. G. London.
Lindsay, the Right Hon. the Earl of, Hobart-house,
Lindsay, the Countess of, Hobart-house.
Lintern, Miss, Langford.
M.
Macauley, Colonel, Hotwells.
Mackenzie, Colonel, Cowslip-green.
Manning, Mrs. Totteridge.
Manring, W. Esq.
Marsden, William, Esq. Clapham.
Mellish, Miss, Bishopsgate-street.
Miles, Mrs. Philip John, Clifton.
More, Mrs. H. Barley-wood,
N.
Nelmes, Mrs. Bradley-house, Gloucester.
O.
Oliver, Thomas, Esq. Bristol.
Oliver, Miss, H. W. Ditto.
Oliver, Miss, Ditto.
P.
Park, James Allan, Esq.
Parsons, Thomas, Esq. Newbury, Berkshire.
Partridge, C. A. Esq. Blagdon-court.
X
Peach, Samuel Peach, Esq. Tockington.
Phillotte, Colonel William, Winterhead.
Phippen, Mrs. Blackford.
Phipps, Miss, Bath.
Pigott, the Rev. Wadham, Weston, Super-mare.
Pinney, Charles, Esq. Bristol.
Pitt, Mrs. Gloucester.
Pitt, Thomas, Esq.
Pond, John, Esq. Astronomer Royal, Greenwich.
Portus, Mr. Bath.
Price, Miss, Mall, Clifton.
Priest, J. Esq. Bristol.
Protheroe, Sir Henry, Cote house.
Protheroe, Philip, Esq. Mayor, Bristol.
Randolph, Rev. Dr.
Rowe, Mrs. Redland.
R.
Russell, James, Esq. Clifton.
S.
Salisbury, Sir Robert, Bart. Lonwern.
Sanders, Captain, Ipswich.
Sanders, Robert, Esq. Sanders-park, Charleville.
Savidge, Miss, Badgeworth.
Shipton, the Rev. Dr. Portishead.
Şimmons, Mrs. Langford.
Smith, Miss, Sydling-house, Dorsetshire.
Smith, the Rev. Samuel, St. Quintin, Wilts,
Smith, Captain, Bath.
xi
Stone, Major, South Brent.
Stovin, Colonel, 17th Regiment of Foot.
Stubbs, Walter, Esq. Stratford-upon-Avon.
Synge, Sir Thomas, Bart. Oxford.
T.
Tobin, James, Esq. Bristol.
Tobin, Mrs. Henry Hope, Ditto.
Tooker, Miss, Norton-hall, Chilcompton.
Tottenham, Ponsonby, Esq. Clifton.
Traherne, -, Esq. St. Hilary, Cowbridge.
U & V
Vassall, Mrs. Spencer, Clifton.
Vassall, Mrs. Bath.
Vaughan, the Rev. James, Wraxall.
Vaughan, Richard, Esq. Redland.
W.
Waight, J. J. Mr. Bristol.
Whalley, Rev. Dr. Mendip-lodge, Somersetshire.
Whalley, Mrs. Winscombe-court.
Wheat, Mrs. Holles-street, London.
White, William, Esq. Sand-house, near Wells.
White, Mrs. Ditto, ditto.
Whitley, John, Esq. Wrington,
xii
Wilberforce, William, Esq. M. P. Yorkshire.
Williamson, Mrs. Bath.
Worrall, Samuel, Esq. Knowle-park.
Wylde, the Rev. S. T. Burrington.
Wyndowe, Samuel, Esq. Jun. Bristol.
DEDICATION.
TO MRS. H. MORE.
MADAM,
THE uniform delight I
of your
have experienced in the study of
various literary performances, and the con-
templation of your many virtues and bril-
liant talents, have, from a very early period
of my life, not only excited my admiration,
but proved a strong incentive to me to imi-
tate (at however humble a distance) such
an example. This has, indeed, been the
earnest endeavour of my life, and the acmé
of my wishes.
Armed with the solid and firm foundation
your sacred and moral writings had esta-
ૐ
ii
DEDICATION.
blished in my heart, I ventured to explore
those Pagan volumes which had excited my
curiosity, and which alone could develope
many allusions of the ancient poets, and
which but for your excellent precepts I should
have dreaded, lest my principles should
have been contaminated, and my faith
shaken, by the perusal of authors whose
writings were tinctured with the licentious-
ness which too frequently marked the man-
ners of the people of Rome, two thousand
years ago.
Your own thoughts "On the religious and
moral advantages of the use of History," as
displayed in your beautiful Strictures on
Education, your assurances "that the study
"of history might serve to give a clear in-
sight into the corruption of human nature;
"show the plan of Providence in the direc-
❝tion of events, and in the use of unworthy
"instruments; assist in the vindication of
"Providence, in the common failure of
040
DEDICATION.
111
"virtue, and the success of vice; lead to a
"distrust of our own judgment, and con-
"tribute to our improvement in self-
""
knowledge:" these assurances taught me,
that I might read with safety, and convinced
me that I should look with horror at the
licentiousness of the Romans, while my heart
would "glow with rapture at every display
"of a virtuous character in history."
To whom, then, could I, with so much
propriety, inscribe the result of my histo-
rical researches, as yourself? or how could I
stamp so great a value on them, as by offer-
ing them to you, to whom I am indebted for
the chief attainments I possess, and, above
all, for the proper regulation of the mind,
so eminently and so certainly to be acquired
by the earnest study of your literary pro-
ductions?
That you may long be spared to the world,
and continue to witness the influence of
your
virtues, and of your works, which have
b 2
iv
DEDICATION.
already reclaimed and improved so many,
as well as the hundreds rescued by them
from gross ignorance to a knowledge of the
Deity, is, my dear Madam, the ardent
prayer of
Your obliged and faithful Servant,
ELISA ROGERS.
PREFACE.
IT has been the opinion of many eminent
moral writers, that the history of the Pagans,
anterior to the era of Christianity, was very
inimical to the morals of young people.
With a view, therefore, to obviate this
objection, to enlighten young minds to a
full comprehension of the works of the
immortal poets, who flourished prior even
to the first century, as well as to open their
hearts to the perception and appreciation of
the blessings which result from a Christian
education, and to the comforts to be derived
from living under a just and mild govern-
ment, to enable them not only to mingle
in conversation, but to give them the history
of the Pagans, divested of the licentiousness
vi
PREFACE.
and depravity of manners which reigned
amongst the Romans, is the present Work
intended. To accomplish these important
objects, the Author has sedulously endea-
voured to render her compilation in such
language as may be sufficiently chaste to
meet the eye of the most refined delicacy,
yet without deviating an iota from the
authenticity of historical facts.
To those persons whose principles are
fixed on the immovable foundation of the
Christian religion, the perusal of Pagan
authors may not be detrimental; but, to
put them into the hands of very young pcr-
sons, must, indeed, make a mother tremble
for the morals and principles of her child,
Ignorance, though a distressing alternative,
would be a singular blessing in such a
case.
" I see
The judicious Cumberland says,
"no danger in such studies to a man of
"deep erudition, but much to the superficial
PREFACE.
vii
"and shallow scholar; for the morality of
"the heathen writers is not, in all respects,
"the morality of the gospel; and the phi-
C
losophy of the Greeks is in no respect the
"religion of a Christian."*
It has often been a subject of deep regret
to the Author, that histories, which have
afforded her the most exquisite delight, and
given her a perfect comprehension of the
works of the poets, should be inimical to
sound morals, and the principles of the
Christian religion. This reflection led her
to compile, from different authors, such
parts of history as she was convinced would
open and polish the minds of two beloved
daughters, give them a perfect knowledge of
Pagan history, develope not only poetical
allusions, but acquaint them with subjects,
from which many of the exquisitely-fine
paintings of the ancient schools are derived,
and, at the same time, without impairing
the fixed principles of their religious faith.
* John de Lancaster.
viii
PREFACE.
This pursuit soon became so delightful,
and its result of such obvious advantage,
that she was induced to enlarge her plan,
and render to the use of her children the
entire fruits of her historical researches. It
has been suggested to her, that, by extend-
ing them also to the public, she might assist,
not only those engaged in the conduct of
schools, but many parents, equally inte-
rested with herself, in the education of their
children. This consideration, amongst
others, has induced her to commit the
present work, though not without pro-
found and unfeigned diffidence, to the can-
dour of her friends, the good-nature of the
public, and the much-dreaded shafts of the
severe critic.
The study of poetry, and of the fine
arts, may be enforced, but a just com-
prehension of them is impossible, unless a
thorough knowledge of history be added to
elucidate many points in those elegant
PREFACE.
ix
accomplishments. But, above all other con-
siderations, the knowledge of history is of
the greatest importance and advantage, not
only in the perusal of the scriptures, and
the study of the holy prophets; but the
manner in
in which the prophecies were
accomplished and fulfilled, may more ably
be compared, as well as immediately dis-
covered; the analogy, and beautiful har-
mony, which are so evidently seen to
subsist between sacred and profane history;
and the more closely and accurately they are
examined, the more fully and obviously will
they display the grand object to which they
point; which will not fail to induce the
Christian to believe" he has found him of
"whom Moses and the Prophets have writ-
"ten.'
The formation of the heart is, doubtless,
of the first importance, and should precede
the cultivation of the understanding; for
which the most distinguished and striking
X
PREFACE.
instances ought always to be culled, and
which will soon be read with eagerness, and
revolved on with delight. The young mind
will, in consequence, become inspired with
the love of moral beauty, and every feeling
be engaged on the side of humanity.
Knowledge will not fail to co-operate with
the advances of morality, and the under-
standing will, imperceptibly and gradually,
become dilated and improved.
"Accustom your pupil," says the admi-
rable Author of Colebs, "not merely to
"store her mind with facts and epochas,
"but accustom her also to trace effects to
"their causes, to examine the secret springs
"of action, and accurately to observe the
"operations of the passions."
In reading a proper compilation from
ancient writers, this excellent advice may be
followed with the greatest effect, and the
unformed taste will be rendered so exqui-
sitely chaste, that it will begin to relish the
PREFACE.
xi
irresistible energy, greatness, and sublimity,
of the immortal Homer; the serene ma-
jesty, the melody, and pathos, of Virgil;
the tenderness and purity of Tibullus; the
elegance and propriety of Terence; and the
grace, vivacity, satire, and refined senti-
ment, of the social and polished Horace.
It may with truth be asserted, that if pure
and rational happiness is any where to be
found, except in the temples of religion,
she resides in the studies of the learned;
and, surely, no finer eulogium on the plea-
sures of literature, and the knowledge of
history, exists, than what Cicero pro-
nounced in his oration for the poet, Archias :
"Such studies," said he, " are not only
"suited to every time, to every age, to every
66
place, but they give joy in old age, and
"strength to youth; adorn prosperity, and
are the comfort and consolation of adver-
66
""
sity at home they are delightful, abroad
"they are easy, at night they are company :
xii
PREFACE.
66
thus, when we travel they attend us, and
"in our rural retirement they do not for-
"sake us.'
Cicero was an example of literary excel-
lence, and therefore himself experienced the
advantage of his hypothesis; and, during
the troubles in which his country were in-
volved, he found that consolation in study
which the pursuits of literature so largely
promise.
The author has been minute in her
statements of facts, as well as in her geo-
graphical references, with a view of fixing
on young minds the exact era of historical
events, and the immediate situation of the
countries of which they read. Mr. Nichol-
son, in his Encyclopedia, says, "The stu-
"dent who wishes to pursue historical
66
enquiries with becoming accuracy, must
"make himself master of the details of
geography, and the statistical calculations;
" and he must moreover be versed in all the
PREFACE.
xiii
"minutiæ of chronological researches. In
"the settling of dates, he will at once evince
"his labour and ingenuity; and, for the
"correct arrangement of the order of events,
" he will not shrink from the task of poring
"over pedigrees, or examining coins; for
by the study of medals alone, Vaillant
46
<<
کا
86
was enabled to ascertain, in a very great
degree, the chronology of three important
'kingdoms; viz. Egypt, Syria, and Par-
"thia."
But, perhaps, one of the chief and most
important advantages of the present Work
is, that it comprises and treats at large the
stupendous point of the birth of our blessed
Saviour, the great Redeemer of Mankind,
which event happened in the Augustan age;
the first dawn of Christianity; the dreadful
persecution of the Christians; the sufferings,
as well as the integrity and constancy they
evinced, which cannot fail to excite our
admiration, as well as to awaken our pity :
xiv
PREFACE.
while we are amply satisfied that super-
natural aid was imparted to them, which
alone could have supported them under the
tortures and cruel agonies they were destined
to endure. Many elegant historians, we
see, have not scrupled to infer,
" that pos-
sessing an extraordinary share of fortitude
and bodily strength, those martyrs were
not only desirous, but even anxious, of par-
taking of that popular fame conferred on
martyrdom," thus injuring the cause of
religion, by allowing the glorious sufferers
in the benign cause of Christianity little
praise; while at the same time they sedu-
lously rendered prominent only the objec-
tionable features in the characters of her
professed disciples and followers.
This history shows the immediate influ-
erice of a divine miracle on the mind of
Constantine the Great; the downfal of the
Pa gan temples; the restitution of the same,
in the reign of the apostate Julian, whose
PREFACE.
XV
implacable severity against the Christians,
(had his inauspicious reign been extended)
would, perhaps, have caused the abolition
of the Christian faith.
It embraces, also, the reign of Jovian,
which was marked by two great events,
namely, the re-establishment of Christianity,
which is happily seen to re-ascend the
throne of the Cæsars, never again to leave
it; and the fatal treaty of peace made by
Jovian with king Sapor, which caused the
ruin of the celebrated city of Nisibis, and
announced and completed the fall of the
Roman empire.
To blend the geographical explanations
with the history, in preference to the intro-
duction of them in notes, has caused incal-
culable trouble; and to this the Author has
been induced from a conviction, that young
persons too frequently omit the investigation
of notes, from an ardent clesire of perusing
the history.
xvi
PREFACE.
Having thus developed the causes which
first impelled the Author to the present
undertaking, and the motives which have
induced her to appear before the public, she
has only to deprecate the rancour of criti-
cism, and to confide in the purity and bene-
volence of her intentions. And if the
cause of truth and virtue shall be promoted
in but a small degree, or in a single mind,
by the result of her labours, she will feel a
consolation and delight, far more precious.
than all the joys which adulation can
bestow she does not arrogate to herself any
self-complacency in the researches she has
made; on the contrary, she is well con-
vinced the whole merit of her Work con-
sists in the labour she has bestowed upon it,
with a very little, perhaps, on the score or
arrangement.
A
SUCCINCT
ACCOUNT OF ROME.
CHAPTER I.
From the arrival of Eneas in Italy, to the
foundation of Rome, by Romulus.
Ir may be necessary that the lives of the twelve
Cæsars should be preceded by a succinct account
of Rome, such as it was on its first founda-
tion, and immediately anterior to the reign of
Julius Cæsar. The original poverty of the Ro-
mans has often been disguised by their historians
and poets, who evidently wished to conceal that
a nation, which was mistress of the world, had
no better beginning than a race of shepherds, or
a band of robbers: yet to this the Romans owed
their simplicity of character, and were indebted
for many of their distinguished successes.
VOL. I.
R
10
Amidst the doubt and obscurity in which the
early part of the Roman history is involved,
the facts most generally admitted are,-that
Æneas came into Italy, after the destruction of
Troy, and that the founders of Rome were
descended from him and his followers.
All the Latin historians expressly narrate these
facts; and the Greeks, less zealous for the re-
putation of the Romans, adhere to the same
tradition. When the Greeks, by the treachery
of the sons of Antenor, who was a Trojan
prince, nearly related to Priam, were become
masters of Troy, Eneas, with the forces under
his command, bravely defended the citadel.
Æneas was a Trojan prince, son of Anchises;
he improved himself in the elements of litera-
ture, in Thessaly, under Chiron, a venerable
sage, whose house, or seminary, was frequented
by the young princes and heroes of the age in
which he lived.
Soon after his return to Troy, he married
Creusa, the daughter of Priam, by whom he had
a son, called Ascanius. During the Trojan war,
Eneas came to an engagement with Diomedes
and Achilles; but at length, yielding to ne-
cessity, when he saw Troy in flames, he con-
veyed away his household gods, together with
all his valuable possessions; and taking his aged
father upon his shoulders, and leading his
3
son, Ascanius, by the hand, his wife followed
him, attended by a numerous crowd of
Trojans. They fled to Mount Ida, a cele-
brated mountain, or, more properly, a ridge
of mountains, in Troas, chiefly in the neigh-
bourhood of Troy. The abundance of its
waters became the source of many rivers, and
more particularly of the,Simois and Scamander;
it was covered with a fertile wood, and the
elevation of its top opened an extensive view of
the Hellespont and the adjacent countries.
Being thus advantageously settled, the Tro-
jans patiently waited for the departure of the
Greeks; whom they imagined would return to
their native country, as soon as they had ran-
sacked and pillaged Troy.
Instead of this, after the Greeks had enriched
themselves with the valuable spoils of the coun-
try, they turned their arms against the fugi-
tives. Æneas, alarmed at these hostile mea-
sures, and not willing to run the risk of being
compelled to submit, had recourse to a negoti-
ation.
He sent heralds to the enemy, with overtures
of peace, to which the Greeks acceded on the
following conditions:
Eneas and his followers were to quit the
Trojan territories, and the Greeks were not to
harass them in their retreat, but to allow them
B 2
4
quietly to depart through all the extent of their
dominions."
Eneas having passed the Hellespont, arrived
at Macedonia, where he built the city called
after him, Æneia; and there left a part of the
people who had followed him, which he was
constrained to do on account of the difficulty
of transporting them, the Trojan women, weary
of their voyages by sea, having destroyed by fire
a considerable part of the fleet of the Trojan
prince.
Eneas then steered his course to Italy, across
the Tyrrhenian sea, the name formerly given to
that part of the Mediterranean, which washes
the shores of Tuscany and the kingdom of
Naples. He landed at Palinurus, now Capo di
Palinuro; and here this Trojan prince, with his
chosen band, finished his tedious and trouble-
some voyages, on the coast of Latium, which
was a small territory on the cast-side of the
Tiber, containing a part of the present Campagna
di Roma.
Latium was, at that time, governed by king
Latinus; the capital town, in which he held his
court, was denominated Laurentum.
Latinus was a son of Faunus, king of the
Aborigines; he succeeded his father in the go-
vernment of the people of the country, who
from him acquired the name of Latini. Latinus
5
married Amata, by whom he had a son and a
daughter; the former died in his infancy, but
the daughter was secretly promised in marriage,
by her mother, to Turnus, king of the Rutuli,
one of her most passionate admirers. The gods
opposed this union, and the oracles declared,
that the lovely Lavinia must become the wife of
a foreign prince.
Being far removed from his inveterate ene-
mies, the Greeks, Eneas and his followers un-
dertook to erect another Troy: they fortified
a camp near the mouth of the Tiber, gave it
the name of Troy, and flattered themselves
with the hope of having established a quiet and
comfortable settlement.
Some of the earliest inhabitants of Italy were
the Siculi, against whom the Aborigines waged
war; and, having received a reinforcement of a
colony of the Pelasgi from Thessaly, the Abo-
rigines drove out their enemies and seized their
towns. They afterwards granted a large ex-
tent of land to the Pelasgi, and borrowed from
them many of the customs of the Greeks, who
were indiscriminately called Pelasgians.
About sixty years before the reduction of
Troy, another colony, which had arrived from
Peloponnesus, under the auspices of Evander,
the Arcadian, had also settled in a part of La-
6
tium; and Evander gave his firmest support and
protection to Eneas. Turnus, who was na-
turally, a humane prince, and who reigned over
that part of the kingdom, considered that lit-
tle was to be apprehended from a few unhappy
men, who had been conveyed thither in two
small and miserably-appointed vessels. He
therefore suffered Evander to settle on a small
uncultivated hill near the Tiber; there he built
a little town, and called it Pallanteum, after
his father, Pallas, or after the appellation of
his native city in Arcadia, which a popular
commotion had constrained him to leave. The
hill itself, from thence called Palatine, in the
time of Augustus, (the second Cæsar) stood in
the middle of the city of Rome. The mixture
of this new colony of Arcadians with the Abo-
rigines, did not a little contribute to polish and
civilize the latter. The art of expressing their
thoughts by writing was unknown to the
Italians, till Evander taught them the Greek
alphabet, which was the first the Latins used.
According to Dionysius Halicarnassus, there
were visible proofs of this long remaining, as a
treaty, which Tarquin the Proud made with
the Gabii, was still to be seen in the temple of
Jupiter Fidius. The characters were Greek,
but the words were Latin, engraven on a wooden
7
shield, covered with the skin of an ox, which
had been sacrificed on that occasion.
Evander likewise introduced the use of such
musical instruments as he had brought from
Arcadia, changing their oaten reeds into har-
monious flutes, and giving them a taste for the
exquisite sounds of the pipe.
The arrival of Æneas in Italy seemed favour-
able to the prediction of the oracle respecting
Lavinia, and the Trojan prince married the
beautiful daughter of Latinus. By the death of
his father-in-law he came into the peaceable pos-
session of the kingdom of Latium, which he
governed with wisdom and equity, and which
he transmitted to his descendants.
Æneas established the worship of the gods of
his own country. The Palladium, which had
been considered the protector of Troy before its
destruction, became afterwards the tutelar deity
of the whole Roman empire. It was deposited
in the temple of Vesta, and the Vestal virgins
alone were permitted the sight of it.
Ascanius, the son of Eneas, built a city
which he called Alba Longa. He died, after a
reign of thirty-eight years, twelve of which he
had passed in his new settlement. He left a
son called Iulus. The kingdom of Alba con-
tinued for four hundred years in a state of per-
fect tranquillity, inhabited by the descendants
of Æneas. Procas was the twelfth king, and
he was the father of Numitor and Amulius: at
his death, Procas bequeathed the throne to Nu-
mitor; and Plutarch says, that Amulius, being
the youngest, received the gold and silver for
his portion, and made use of his riches in order
to dethrone his brother. He was also supposed
to surpass him in understanding, and to possess
a great superiority of courage and bravery.
Having no respect to priority of birth, or the
sacred appointment of his father, he not only
wrested the sceptre from the hand of Numitor,
but doomed him to pass his days in seclusion
and retirement. He evinced, also, the cruel
precautions of a tyrant, in order to secure the
throne to himself, by extinguishing his brother's
posterity, Numitor had an only son, named
Ægestus, and a daughter called Rhea Sylvia.
Amulius, pretending to have a great affection
for his nephew, made a party for the chase,
during which he caused Ægestus secretly to be
slain. In order to prevent the beautiful Rhea
from interfering with his ambitious views, he
consecrated her to the temple of Vesta, and
compelled her to take those vows which con-
demned her to perpetual celibacy. This precau-
tion, however, proved ineffectual; for Rhea had
a lover, who, personating Mars, the god of
war, persuaded her to leave the temple, and
9
afterwards married her. Rhea, becoming the
mother of two beautiful boys, her uncle was so
incensed at the frustration of his plans, that he
exaggerated the turpitude of her conduct to the
people, and they, with one common voice, de-
clared that the breach of her vows deserved that
dreadful punishment which was customary on
such occasions. The unfortunate Rhea was
consequently condemned to be buried alive, and
her two babes to be thrown into the Tiber. A
small wooden bark, or skiff, was prepared, in
which the infants, Romulus and Remus, were
inhumanly exposed: they were carried to the
foot of Mount Palatine, and committed to the
Tiber, which at that time happened to have
overflowed its banks, and impetuously washed
the foot of the mountain.
The little bark floated for some time, without
receiving any injury, but at length, by the
ebbing of the flood, it beat against a stone, and
was overset. The two infant brothers were
thrown on the shore, and it has been the gene-
ral tradition, that a female wolf, hearing their
cries, came and nurtured them, till they were
discovered by Faustulus, the king's shepherd,
who carried them to Acca Laurentia, his wife,
and she nursed them as her own, with maternal
tenderness.
Faustulus, on his part, loved the young
10
princes; and was so careful of their educa-
tion, that, at a proper time, he sent them to
Gabii, a city of Latium, to be instructed
in Grecian literature. As they advanced to
manhood, they acquired a distinguished air and
mien, which commanded respect; and they
naturally assumed a superiority over the other
shepherds.
A quarrel happening between the herdsmen of
Amulius, the reigning king, and those of the
deposed Numitor, the two brothers united in
taking the part of the former; and in the com-
bat they killed and wounded several of those
belonging to Numitor. Remus was secured, in
order to be judged by Numitor: he was con-
demned to die, and the sentence was about to
be executed, when, either from compassion, in-
stinct, or admiration of the young shepherd,
Numitor felt himself so strongly impelled to-
wards him, by love and parental affection, that
he embraced the youth, pressed him to his heart,
and ordered the execution instantly to be sus-
pended. Numitor desired to have some con-
versation with the criminal, when he inquired,
with singular agitation, into the history of his
family. The youth, much astonished, replied,
in the most open and unconstrained manner,
that the place of his nativity was wholly un-
known to him." All that I can learn," added
11
Remus, "from the good shepherd, Faustulus,
who has been a father to my brother Romulus
and myself, is, that we are twins, and that we
were found exposed on the banks of the river
Tiber."
This answer struck the heart of Numitor
with the most lively remembrance of his grand-
sons' fate. Their age, which was eighteen,
exactly tallied with the era at which was prac-
tised the barbarity of Amulius. Numitor, trans-
ported with delight, again clasped to his aged
heart the son of his beloved daughter, Rhea
Sylvia. In the mean time, Romulus, im-
patient at the detention of his brother, was
eager to attack and pursue those persons who
had carried him off. Faustulus, dreading to
lose Romulus also, dissuaded him from follow-
ing his brother, and disclosed to him the im-
portant information of his illustrious and noble
birth, which awakened in his mind sentiments
worthy of his exalted extraction. Romulus
determined, at all events, to deliver his grand-
father from the oppression of the usurper. He
armed himself, and assembled the country peo-
ple, animating them in his interest, and dis-
posing every thing for the execution of his
project. Numitor, on his part, had also dis-
covered to Remus the injustice himself and his
daughter had experienced, and intreated him
12
to concur with Romulus in avenging his causé.
Romulus joyfully attended his grandfather,
and Faustulus followed the brothers, taking
with him the credentials of their birth, in order
to convince Numitor of their identity.
Remus undertook to raise a commotion in the
city, and to irritate the minds of the people
against the usurper, whilst Romulus should
attack the palace. The country people soon
arrived, and formed themselves into companies,
of an hundred men each. Their ensigns were
bundles of hay, hanging upon poles, which
the Latins, at that time, called Manipuli; and
from that circumstance arose the name of Ma-
nipulus, which was originally given to a body
consisting of an hundred men.
With this tumultuous
tumultuous army, Romulus
boldly attacked the avenues of the palace,
subdued the guard, and killed the usurper, Amu-
lius; after which he restored his venerable
grandfather to the throne. Numitor soon after
his re-establishment in the kingdom, finding
that Alba was already become too populous by
means of the troops, which Romulus had
brought thither, proposed to his grandsons, that
they should migrate elsewhere, and form another
colony. The brothers readily consented, and
the king gave them, for their new settlement,
those lands near the Tiber, upon which they
13
had been cast by the waves, and where they had
been nurtured by the female wolf. Numitor
supplied them with all kinds of instruments for
agricultural pursuits, with slaves and cattle;
and granted to any of his subjects the privilege
of joining and attaching themselves to Romu-
lus and Remus. Under this permission, some
of the best families, with several who where de-
scended from the most illustrious Trojans, chose
to follow the fortunes of the young princes; and
in the time of Augustus, the second Cæsar,
there were in Rome fifty noble families who
were descended from Trojan ancestors, and who
had resided in Rome from its first foundation.
Romulus and Remus now collected all the in-
habitants of Pallanteum and Saturnia, two small
towns in the vicinity of Rome, and it was
thought expedient to divide those who were to
be employed in building the new city into two
companies, the one to be commanded by Romu-
lus, and the other by his brother. This division
gave birth to two rival factions, and unfortu-
nately produced a jealously between the brothers
themselves, which was more immediately dis-
played when they were about to fix on a place
whereon to establish the city. Romulus de-
clared in favour of Mount Palatine, and Remus
for Mount Aventine. There were no reasonable
means by which they could decide the contro-
C
14
versy, as neither of them could pretend to su-
periority of birth or years.
The dispute was, therefore, referred to their
grandfather, who being much prepossessed in
favour of augury, declared the brothers should
have recourse to the gods, in order to end a dis-
pute which no man had a right authoritatively
to decide. They agreed that it should be deter-
mined by the flight of birds. Remus therefore
placed himself on Mount Aventine, and Romulus
on Mount Palatine. It was determined, that
which ever of them should first see a flight of
vultures, or a larger number of them, should be
entitled to the ascendancy.
The rival brothers had for a while earnestly
watched the appearance of a favourable augury,
when Romulus, either to engage his brother's
attention, or to secure the public voice, sent a
messenger to inform him he had seen several
vultures. In the mean time Remus, having ac-
tually seen six, ran soon to Mount Palatine, in
order to examine the truth of his brother's au-
gury. He had no sooner arrived thither, than
twelve vultures appeared to Romulus, who, in a
transport of delight, and pointing to the birds,
cried, "be yourself the judge, my brother, of
the truth of what my messengers have told
you." Remus, nevertheless, soon discerned the
cheat, having been informed by his adherents
15
that Romulus did not see the twelve vultures
till after himself had seen six.
A controversy again arose: the one insisted on
the number of the birds he had seen, and the
other on the time of seeing them. The peò-
ple were divided into two factions, each man
taking part with his leader; and the dispute
being fomented by altercation, terminated in a
severe combat. Faustulus, throwing himself
unarmed into the midst of the contest, for the
purpose of parting the combatants, who were
dearer to him than life, was, by an unfortunate
blow, killed on the spot. It has been said, that
Remus received his death at the same time; but
Livy declares that he fell by the hand of his
brother, on his having leaped over the wall of
the new city, in derision of the furrows by
which Romulus had marked out its boundaries.
Thus Romulus laid the foundation of the
city of Rome, on the 21st of April, 431 years
after the destruction of Troy, and seven hundred
and fifty years before the birth of Christ.
:
( 16 )
CHAP. II.
From the foundation of Rome to the death of
Tullus Hostilius, third King of Rome.
WHEN Rome had been brought to the highest
degree of perfection, which men, rude, uncul-
tivated, uncivilized, and indigent, were able tó
give it, it consisted only of one thousand poor
huts, which were without ornaments, and had
no upper apartments. The walls of the palace
of Romulus were constructed of rushes, and
covered with thatch. Every man having cho-
sen his spot of ground, on which to build or to
erect, his habitation, according to his own fancy,
paid no regard to regularity. The streets were,
therefore, crooked and narrow; and Rome, at
its first foundation, was but a miserable village,
the inhabitants of which followed the plough;
and of all the means which the necessities of
nature have set men upon inventing for subsist-
ence, the Romans only practised tillage and
war. They lived upon their own harvests, or
upon those which they reaped sword in hand,
on the territories of their enemies. All the me-
17
chanic arts, not subservient to these two objects,
were unknown at Rome, or left to foreigners
and slaves.
The Romans, generally speaking, from the
senator to the meanest plebeian, were all hus-
bandmen; and some of the most renowned ge-
nerals and captains were called from the plough-
share to the command of legions. The most
illustrious men in the republic inured their chil-
dren to hard and laborious lives, in order to
render them more robust, and more capable of
enduring the fatigues of war.
In the second year of Rome, Romulus was
declared king, and invested with royal autho-
rity; he instituted military levies, and soon
organized 3000 infantry and 300 cavalry;
but, considering his city to be yet thinly inha-
bited, he established it as an asylum, or sanc-
tuary of refuge for criminals, debtors, and mur-
derers. He declared that such persons should
live securely under his protection, and that he
would receive them as lawful subjects and in-
habitants of Rome.
It will readily be imagined that, from an as-
semblage so corrupt, their morals must have been
depraved, and their manners uncultivated. They
were, therefore, naturally in disrepute with the
neighbouring countries; and Romulus, perceiv-
ing his subjects to be unhappy without the so-
VOL. 1.
C
18
ciety of females, whose manners would tend to
polish and refine their uncouth minds, and at
the same time secure the duration of the state,
sent his heralds to the Sabines, and the other
adjacent nations, not only proposing alliances
with them, but demanding their daughters in
marriage. These overtures were received with
derision and contempt; the Sabines declaring
that their daughters were not to be degraded by
an union with fugitives, loaded with crimes and
debts.
Romulus received this insulting reply with the
deepest resentment; he resolved to be revenged,
and declared that force should acquire what
they had denied to his solicitations. He therefore
proclaimed a solemn festival, and prepared to
perform sacrifices, and to institute public games:
these were to be exhibited on the festival: and he
made all the pompous preparations on the oc-
casion which the poverty of the colony would
admit. The Sabines, who were most contigu-
ous to Rome, flocked in crowds, on the day ap-.
pointed, to witness the celebration of the solem-
nity.
The strangers were received by the Romans with
every demonstration of joy: each vied with the
other in evincing their respect; and they con-
ducted the Sabines to the places most favourable
for their witnessing the sports. These indica-
19
tions of peace and attention lulled the strangers
into a state of security. The Romans had re-
ceived orders to come prepared with arms, but
to conceal them under their dresses. At the
moment when the strangers were most attentive
to the exhibitions, Romulus, who presided at
them, habited in a striped robe, called Trabea,
suddenly rising, wound it round his body. This
was the proposed signal. The Romans instantly
rushed amongst the strangers, and seizing their
wives and daughters, carried them off. The
Sabines, being unarmed, and taken thus by sur-
prise, were unable to make effectual resistance,
and escaped; which the Romans readily per-
mitted, well pleased with the success of their
plans.
Romulus commanded the Sabine women to be
brought into his presence, and expostulated
with, and consoled them, on the privation of
their relatives and friends. He immediately
ordered the marriage ceremony to be celebrated
between the Sabine women and his own people.
These violent measures were productive of a
series of furious and sanguinary conflicts be-
tween the Romans, the Sabines, and other neigh-
bouring countries; but they were eventually
terminated by the intercession of the Sabine
women, who, with wonderful address, prevailed
on their husbands and brothers to a compromise
C 2
20
with the Romans, to relinquish their own ter-
ritory, and to reside wholly at Róme. Under
this organization of the two people, Tatius, the
king of the Sabines, appeared to share the
sovereign power with Romulus.
Romulus had laid the foundation of the
capital of Italy in a quadrangular form, on the
summit of Mount Palatine, the largest of the
seven hills, on which the city afterwards stood.
There he kept his court, as did afterwards Tul-
lus Hostilius, the third king of Rome. Augus-
tus Cæsar, the second emperor, had his resi-
dence there, and he was followed by the suc-
ceeding Cæsars. Thence the emperor's house
was called Palatinen, or palace.
The seven hills, on which Rome was built,
were denominated, the Palatinus; the Aven-
tinus; the Capitolinus; the Quirinalis; the
Cælius; the Viminalis; and the Esquilinus.
The Aventine hill was 13,000 feet in circum-
ference at its base, and was given to the people
on which to build their houses, by Aventinus,
one of the kings of Alba. It was not reckoned
to be within the precincts of the city, till the
reign of Claudius, the 4th Cæsar, because the
astrologers and soothsayers declared it to be a
place of ill omen, Remus, whose blood had
been criminally shed, having being buried there.
The Capitolinus was so called from the capitol
21
having been built on it, and because, on digging
the foundation, a man's head, sound and entire,
was discovered; and from these circumstances
it derived its name.
The consuls and magistrates offered sacrifices
on this hill on their inauguration to the offices;
and the triumphal processions were always con-
ducted to the capitol. The Quirinal originally
derived its name from the inhabitants of Cures,
who settled there under Tatius, their king.
There were two marble statues each of a horse;
one of them was the work of Phidias, and the
other of Praxiteles. The Cælian hill received
its name from Cælius, who assisted Romulus
against the Sabines; he surrounded it with a
ditch and rampart, and by the succeeding kings
it was enclosed with walls. The Viminal
derived its name from the profusion of osiers
which grew there. Servius Tullius first made
it part of the city, and a Temple, dedicated to
Jupiter, was erected on it. The Esquiline
was so called, because birds of prey frequently
came to devour the dead bodies of criminals
who were usually executed there.
Exclusive of these seven hills, three others, of
inferior importance, were afterwards added to the
city; one of them, the Mons Janiculum, was,
by Ancus Martius, made a citadel, to protect
the place against invasion. This hill, which
22
was on the opposite side of the Tiber, was
joined by a bridge to the city, by Sublicius.
It was the first bridge ever built across that
river, or, perhaps, in Italy; and this part of
the city was less inhabited than any other part
of Rome, on account of the insalubrity of the
air, though from its summit the eye commanded
a beautiful view of the whole city, and the ad-
jacent country. It was celebrated as being the
place of interment of king Numa, and the poet
Italicus. Porsenna, king of Etruria, established
his camp on Mount Janiculum, and there the
senators took refuge in the civil wars,
avoid the resentment of Augustus, the second
Cæsar.
to
Another of these additional hills was called
Vaticanus it was near the Tiber, and was
planted with vineyards which produced a wine
of no great esteem. It was disregarded by the
Romans in consequence of the impurity of the
atmosphere, occasioned by the continual efflu-
via of the filth and stagnated waters. Heliogaba-
lus was the first who cleansed it of all disagree-
able nuisances. It is, at this time, much cele-
brated, and contains many ancient monuments
and pillars, a magnificent public library, and
the palace of the pope, which, taking its name
from the hill, is called the Vatican.
23
The Mons Hortulorum was so called from its
being originally covered with gardens. This
hill was taken into the city by the emperor
Aurelian, and it was afterwards called Pincius,
from the Pincii, an illustrious family who held
a splendid seat there.
The military spirit of Romulus had organized
his subjects with strict discipline, with a
view to make them soldiers, and he had, in a few
years, increased the number of them from
3500 men, to 47,000 well-trained warriors, all
actuated by the same view of preserving their
own liberty, and invading that of other nations.
Plutarch says, the senate and the Roman people
became jealous of the attentions Romulus
bestowed on the Sabines, and the Cures, who had
settled among them, and, after a reign of thirty-
nine years, he was assassinated on an open plain,
as he was haranguing his soldiers, and giving
instructions to the senators, who each assisted
in conveying away, under their robes, the man-
gled remains of the king;-and to impose on the
credulity of the people, Julius Proculus, the
intimate friend of Romulus, propagated a report
that he had been taken up into heaven, in a
sudden manner, as he stood amidst the senators.
An eclipse of the sun, which happened about
the same period, rendered this story still more
credible to the superstitious multitude; divine
24
;
honors were consequently decreed to Romulus ;
a temple was raised; and a regular priest, called
Flamen Quirinalis, was appointed to offer him
sacrifices. The senate thus consented to make a
god of him, whom they could not endure as a
king.
The death of Romulus was followed by an
interregnum; but the Romans soon became
weary of it, and unanimously resolved to chuse
a king. They elected for their sovereign a cele-
brated philosopher of Cures, a village of the
Sabines, whose name was Numa Pompilius, and
who was born on the very day Romulus laid the
foundation of Rome. He had married Tatia,
the daughter of Tatius, the Sabine king; at her
death he went into retirement, that he might
indulge his grief, and devote himself, with less
restraint, to literary pursuits.
The Romans having thus elected Numa to be
their king, sent two senators to acquaint him
with the decisions of the senate and the people.
Numa mildly refused their offers, as conferring
too high an honour on him; but after con-
sulting an augury, which proved favourable to
their solicitations, he consented to their wishes,
and accepted the supreme power. The first mea-
sure he adopted was to dismiss three hundred body
guards, who were the first soldiers ever enrolled
by the Romans, and formed into a regular body.
These had been appointed by his prede-
25
cessor, to be about his person. His friends
opposed his resolution on this head; but Numa
declared he did not distrust a people who had
even compelled him to assume the reins of
government. He was not like Romulus, fond
of war and military pursuits; but he particu-
larly applied himself to civilize, and instruct
the barbarous ferocity of his subjects; to
cultivate and open their minds to a reverence
of the gods; and to heal their dissensions, and
meliorate their situation.
These objects he accomplished, by dividing
the citizens into different classes, by establishing
different orders of priesthood, and by teaching
them not to worship the Deity by images.
Indeed, through his example, no statues or
images of their gods appeared, in the temples
or sanctuaries of Rome, for more than an hun-
dred and sixty years. He established the col-
lege of the Vestals, and inspired the people
with a belief, that the safety of he empire
depended upon the preservation of the sacred
Ancile, or shield, which, as was generally be-
lieved, had fallen from heaven, when the
Roman people laboured under a pestilence.
Upon the preservation of this shield depended
the fate of the Roman empire. In order to
secure it, Numa ordered eleven of the same size
and form to be made, that if ever any attempt
"
26
was made to carry them off, the plunderer
might find it difficult to distinguish the real
one. They were made with such exactness,
that the king promised Veterius Mamurius, the
artist, whatever reward he desired. He required
only that frequent mention might be made of
him in the hymns which were sung by the Salii
on the feast of the Ancilia. They were kept in
the temple of Vesta, and an order of priests
was chosen to watch over them, and these priests
were called Salii. They were twelve in number;
they carried every year, on the first of March,
the shields in a solemn procession round the walls
of Rome.
Numa dedicated a temple to Janus, which,
during his whole reign, remained shut, as an
emblem of the peace and tranquillity of Rome.
The temple of Janus was a square building of
entire brass, ornamented with brazen gates on
each side, of stupendous size. The gates were
seldom shut after the reign of Numa, the Romans
being almost continually at war: they were,
however, shut three distinct times by Augustus,
the second Cæsar; once by Nero, the sixth Cæ-
sar; again by Vespasian, the tenth Cæsar; and,
lastely, by Constantinus, when, upon the death
of Magnentius, he was left sole possessor of the
empire. Of this custom Virgil gives a noble
description.
27
Numa died, after a reign of forty-three years.
He forbad his body to be burnt, according to
the custom of the Romans, but ordered it to be
buried at Mount Janiculum, and with it many
of the books he had written. These books
were reported to have been found about four
hundred years after his death; but as they con-
tained nothing interesting, or of any importance,
except his reasons for the innovations he had
made in the form of worship, and the religion
of the Romans, they were burnt by order of
the senate.
The senate consisted of a body of illustrious
men, instituted by Romulus, to be the perpe-
tual council of the republic. They, at that
time, consisted of one hundred persons, and
were chosen from the patricians: for the people
were divided into two ranks, namely, patricians
and plebeians, or patrons and clients.
Tullus Hostilius increased the number of the
senators on his coming to the throne, after the
death of Numa. He was the third king of
Rome; was of an active and warlike disposition,
and signalized himself by his expedition against.
the people of Alba, whom he conquered, and
whose city he destroyed, after the memorable
engagement between the Horatii and Curiatii.
This celebrated battle was fought 667 years
before Christ, between three Romans born
28
1
at the same birth, and three brothers from the
people of Alba.
It took place on a plain
between the camps of the two hostile armies,
and on the event of it was to depend the fate of
the war.
In the first attack, two of the Hora-
tii were killed. The surviving brother pre-
tended to fly, and was pursued by his three
antagonists;—having separated one of them from
the rest, he turned upon him, and killed him ;
and afterwards, by the same activity and address,
conquered the other two. Thus by combining
stratagem with valor he gained an honorable
victory. He returned triumphantly to Rome,
loaded with the spoils of his vanquished anta-
gonists. A trophy was raised in the forum, on
which he suspended the armour of the con-
quered Curiatius, of which he had stripped him
as he lay gasping on the ground, exclaiming,
"Two I have already sacrificed to the manes of
my brothers: the third I offer up to my coun-
try, that henceforth Rome may give laws to
Alba." When the young Horatius, surnamed
Marcus, reached the gates of Rome, he was
met by his sister, who had been promised in
marriage to one of the Curiatii; and who, re-
gardless of the refinement and decency of her
sex, rushed forward amidst all the spectators, in
the hope of receiving her expected lover. On
seeing her brother, habited in an embroidered
29
robe which she had curiously wrought, and
in which Curiatius was to have been attired on
the nuptial day, she burst into a flood of tears,
in all the wildness of grief, tore her hair, and,
in the anguish of distress, passionately arraigned
the exulting conqueror for the murder of her
intended bridegroom. Horatius inebriated with
his success, in a moment of inflamed resentment
and wounded pride at the rebuke he had re-
ceived, committed a crime which cast an inde-
lible stain on his memory, and a disgrace on
humanity.
He stabbed his sister dead on the spot; and,
while he plunged the sword, already stained
with the blood of her lover, into the bosom of
the unfortunate Horatia, he exclaimed with in-
dignation, Thus let every Roman perish who
laments the death of an enemy of Rome."
This sanguinary act of Horatius was not only
justified, but approved of by his father; for
the nobler feelings of the parent, and the bro-
ther, were engulphed in the obdurate pride and
patriotism of the citizen. He had, however,
forfeited his life to the insulted laws of his
country, and he was capitally convicted for this
dreadful murder: but in consequence of his emi-
nent and distinguished services, and heroic
deeds, the sentence of death, wineb had been
pronounced against him, was remitted, for the
30
more moderate, but not less ignominious, pu-
nishment of being compelled to pass under the
yoke.
A similar punishment was, at a subsequent pe-
riod, instituted by Cincinnatus, in commemoration
of his own agricultural pursuits and occupations.
Two stakes, or spears, were planted in the ground;
and another transversely placed over them, under
which the vanquished troops were made to
march, divested of their military costume, their
arms and accoutrements, like cattle, as it were,
subdued to the yoke; a token of disgrace and
submission to the Roman will.
Cincinnatus was a celebrated Roman, who
was called upon, as he was in the act of plough-
ing his fields, to fight the battles of his coun-
try. On being informed that the Roman se-
nate had raised him to the dictatorial power, he
left his lands with the deepest regret, and dis-
played the greatest sorrow at being drawn from
his beloved retirement, to the acceptance of so
high an honour.
Cincinnatus, however, cheerfully repaired to
the field of battle, where he found his country-
men closely besieged by their opponents, the
Volsci and the Equi. By his singular courage,
and military skill, this great warrior soon conquer-
ed the enemy, and made the former people pass
under the yoke in ignominy and shame; he then
31
returned to Rome in triumph; and in sixteen
days from his appointments he resigned his of
fice, and retired, amidst the acclamations of the
people, to cultivate his farm, and enjoy his fer-
tile meadows.
In the eightieth year of his age, Cincinnatus,
was again summoned by the Romans against
Præneste, as dictator; and after another suc-
cessful campaign, he resigned, once more, the
absolute and dictatorial power, which, in the
latter instance, he had enjoyed only twenty-one
days, nobly disregarding the rich rewards and
distinguished honors that were offered him by
the senate and the people.
In the course of events, the Samnites retar
liated upon the inventors of this punishment of
passing under the yoke, by making them in
their turn submit to the same mark of infamy
and ignominy: so likewise did Jugurtha, the
Numidian king, and descendant of the great
Masinissa, who evidently borrowed the practice
from the Romans. The Jugurthine war has
been immortalized by the elegant pen of Sal-
lust; and from him we learn, that Jugurtha
suffered severely from the very people on whom
he had inflicted an infamy so degrading. The
destructive treaty made by Aulus, the brother
of Albinus, the consul, excited the resentment
and indignation of all such as had distinguished
32
!
themselves in the field of battle; and Cæcilius
Metellus was sent by the Komans to take the
conduct of the war. The firmness of Metellus
soon gained him success, and he reduced the
crafty Numidian to fly amongst his savage
neighbours for support. Those celebrated war-
riors, Marius and Sylla, succeeded Metellus,
and fought with redoubled success. Jugurtha
was at length betrayed by Bocchus, his father-
in-law, and taken in ambush by Sylla: his
attendants were cut to pieces, and himself de-
livered over in chains to the camp of Marius.
Thus, after supporting a sanguinary war for
five years, he was carried to Rome in triumph,
and with his two sons, and their attendants,
appeared at the chariot wheels of the proud con-
queror. An exhibition so humiliating was more
than could be endured by the high-spirited
Jugurtha, who, before the close of the proces-
sion, became a complete maniac. The captives
were then sent to execution: Jugurtha was led
to the Tullian dungeon; and such was the haste
of the lictors to strip him, and seize the splen-
did ornaments of his person, that his magnifi-
cent robe was rent in pieces, and the tips of his
ears torn away, together with the rich pendants
with which they were adorned. Plutarch says,
on being precipitated naked to the bottom of
the vault, Jugurtha cried out, with a frantic
33
voice and Sardonic laugh, "Heavens, how very
cold is this bath of your's!" There, struggling
with cold and hunger six days, the wretched
Numidian breathed his last, 106 years before
the birth of Christ.
The Tullian dungeon was situated in the
court-yard of the prison, built on the side of the
Capitoline hill; a little to the left, and about
twelve feet under ground, was a dismal and
gloomy vault, on all sides enclosed with walls
of stone, strongly arched at the top;-this
loathsome place was often the last abode of
guilt and misery. This prison was erected by
Ancus Martius, the fourth of the Roman kings,
and enlarged by Servius Tullius. From the
description of Sallust, it appears to have been
divided into two principal parts, the upper and
lower, of which the former was denominated
robur, from its strength and security; from
this malefactors were precipitated; the latter
was called Tullianum, or the dungeon of Tul-
lius, from the name of the founder. M. de
Brosses tells us he went through the whole pri-
son, and that it accurately corresponds with the
description. The Tullian dungeon now serves
as a subterraneous chapel to a small church
built on the spot, called San Pietro in Carcere,
in commemoration of the holy St. Peter's im-
prisonment at Rome, where he is said to have
VOL. I.
D
34
been confined in the dungeon of Tullius. The
only light afforded to this cruel dungeon was
communicated by a grate in the roof, which
opens into the church above it. Below the
Tullian dungeon is another vault, or sink and
drain, as from the lives of the martyrs we learn,
that the common sewer of the prison passed
under the dungeon.
This edifice, and the grand sewers, built by
Ancus Martius, for the use of the city of Rome,
and which are still said to subsist, are more
than two thousand four hundred and seven years
old, beyond a doubt the most ancient pieces of
masonry in Europe.
Tullus Hostilius instituted the games of the
Saturnalia, (which were festivals in honor of
Saturn) after a victory obtained over the Sabines.
The Saturnalia were originally celebrated only du-
ring one day, and that on the first day of the new
year: but, afterwards, the solemnity continued
during four or five days, and, in the reign of
the Cæsars, for seven days.
The celebration was remarkable for the li-
berty which universally prevailed. The slaves
were permitted to ridicule their master, and to
speak with freedom upon every subject. It was
usual for friends to exchange presents, and to
make new year's gifts; all animosity ceased; no
criminals were executed; public schools were
35
shut; war was never declared; but all was mirth
and jubilee. In the sacrifices, the priests made
their offerings with their heads uncovered, a
custom which was never observed at other
festivals.
In his advanced age, Tullus Hostilius gave
himself up so devotedly to superstition, and the
study of magic, that he was assassinated in his
own palace, through the resentment of the
people, 640 years before Christ, after a reign of
thirty-two years.
D G
( 36 )
CHAP. III.
From the accession of Ancus Martius to the
death of Lucius Tarquinius.
ANCUS MARTIUS, the fourth king of Rome,
was grandson to Numa, by the mother's side.
He extended the confines of the Roman terri-
tories to the sea, and built the town of Ostia,
at the mouth of the Tiber. He defeated the Fi-
denates, Sabines, Veientes, and Volsci. Ancus
Martius combined the courage of Romulus
with the prudence of Numa. After a reign of
twenty-four years, he died, 616 years before
Christ, leaving his two sons under the tuition
and guardianship of Lucius Tarquinius, who
was fifth king of Rome. Tarquinius was the
son of Demaratus, a native of Greece, who,
with his family, had migrated to Etruria in
Italy, and settled at Tarquinii. The first name
of Lucius Tarquinius was Lucumon; but this
he changed, in order to gratify his wife, Tana-
quil, who was deeply skilled in augury, inas-
much as she promised her husband great and ex-
!
37
traordinary good fortune.
Tarquinii is now
called Turchina, a town of Etruria: it was
built by Tarchon, who assisted Æneas against
Turnus.
The prognostication of his wife did not dis-
appoint Tarquinius; for, on his settlement at
Rome, he distinguished himself so highly by
his liberal education, engaging and polished
manners, that Ancus Martius, the then reign-
ing king, relinquished to him the entire educa-
tion of his children. The princes were young
at the death of their royal father: an artful ora-
tion, delivered to the people, immediately trans-
ferred the crown of the deceased monarch to
the head of the ci-devant Lucumon. The peo-
ple had every reason to be satisfied with their
choice, for he reigned with wisdom and mode-
ration. The glory of the Roman arms, which
had been sustained and supported with so much
dignity by the former kings, was not neglected
in this reign; and Tarquinius evinced that he
was possessed of military vigor and prudence,
by the victories he obtained over the united for-
ces of the Latins and the Sabines, as well as
over the twelve nations of Etruria.
Tarquin proved himself a stern supporter of
the order of priests, whose province it was to
attend the temple of Vesta, which contained
the palladium, the tutelar deity of the whole
38
Roman empire. Tarquin, conceiving the punish-
ment awarded by king Numa to the Vestals,
which was no less than being stoned to death,
insufficient for the violation of the vows of the
priestesses, appointed that a deep cavern should
be built, under the earth, where should be
placed a bed, or bier, a little allowance of bread,
water, wine, and oil, with a lighted lamp; the
guilty victim was to be stripped of the habit of
her order, and compelled to descend into the
subterranean chamber, which was immediately to
be closed over her head, and the unfortunate
culprit existed only so long as her sustenance
lasted, which, however, was a sufficient period
to excite her horror at the enormity of her
crime.
The Vestals were priestesses consecrated to
Vesta, who was worshipped by the Romans as
the goddess of Fire, and called the daughter of
Saturn and Rhea, This office was very ancient,
as we must recollect the mother of Romulus was
one of the vestals,
Eneas was the first who introduced the mys
teries of Vesta into Italy; and as the palladium
was supposed to be within her sanctuary, a fire
was continually kept lighted, by a certain num-
ber of virgins, who were dedicated to the service
of the goddess.
The palladium of Troy was a celebrated statue
39
of Pallas. It was three cubits high, and repre-
sented the goddess in a sitting posture, holding
in her right hand a pike, in her left a distaff
and spindle; by some authors the palladium is
said to have fallen from heaven near the tent of
Ilus, as that prince was building the citadel of
Ilium; by others it is reported to have been
received by Dorelanus, as a present from his
mother Electra.
Various accounts have been disseminated re-
specting the palladium of Troy; but Apollo-
dorus, a celebrated grammarian and mythologist
of Athens, whose Bibliotheca, which treats on
the history of ancient heroes, is generally
thought to give a faithful account of these sub-
jects, says, it was a piece of clock-work, which
moved of itself; and however discordant the
opinions of the most authentic authors might
be, respecting this celebrated statue, it was a
received point, that on its preservation depended
the fate of Troy. This fatality was well
known to the Greeks during the Trojan war;
therefore, Ulysses and Diomedes were commis-
sioned to steal it. They were directed how to
proceed, and to become masters of it, by Hele-
nus, the son of Priam, who proved in this in-
stance unfaithful to his country. They effected
their purpose; but Minerva was so deeply
displeased at the violence offered her statue,
40
that, according to Virgil, the palladium itself
appeared to have received life and motion, and
not only by the furious flashes which started
from its eyes, but by its sudden springs from
the earth, it seemed to evince the deep resent-
ment of the goddess.
By some authors it is asserted, that the real
palladium was not carried away from Troy by
the Greeks, but a palladium of similar shape
and size, which was placed near it, in order to
deceive the sacrilegious persons who might be
bold enough to attempt to steal it.
The true palladium, therefore, as they say,
was that which was conveyed from Troy to
Italy by Eneas. It was preserved by the
Romans, with the greatest secrecy and venera-
tion, in the temple of Vesta; and so sacredly
was the secret kept, that none were supposed
to know the circumstance, except the priests
and the Vestals themselves.
Eneas selected the first Vestal, the venerable
Numa appointed four, to whom Tarquin added
two: they were usually selected by the mo-
narchs, but at length the high priests were
entrusted with the care of them.
They were chosen young, even from the age
of six to ten. If there was not a sufficient
number who presented themselves for the elec-
tion, as candidates of the sacred office, twenty
41
children were selected, under the age of ten
years, and they upon whom the lot fell were
obliged to become priestesses.
Plebeians as well as Patricians were permitted
to propose themselves; but it was requisite that
they should be born of good and honest families,
and be free from blemish or deformity.
During thirty years they were bound to celi-
bacy : e first ten years were spent in learning
the duties of their office and order; the ten fol-
lowing were employed in performing them with
fidelity and sanctity; and the last ten in sedu-
lously instructing such as had entered the no-
viciate.
At the expiration of the thirty years, they were
permitted to leave the temple; or, if they still
perferred remaining there, they were permitted
to wait upon the rest of the Vestals.
On the initiation of a Vestal, her head was
shaved, in order to evince her liberty, inasmuch
as she was then not only free from the shackles
of paternal authority, but permitted to dispose
of her possessions.
The employment of the Vestals was to take
care that the sacred fire of Vesta was not extin-
guished; for if that calamity ever happened, it
was considered the greatest prognostic of evil
to the state that could possibly occur; and
42
the offender was punished in the most severe
manner for her negligence.
In such a case, all was consternation and ter-
ror in Rome; and the fire was again only kindled
by the rays of the sun. Another sacred pledge,
on which depended the very existence of Rome,
was the palladium of Troy, which, as we have
seen, was admitted among the tutelar deities of
the Romans.
The privileges of the Vestals were great; they
had the most honorable seats at the spectacles
and public festivals; they were preceded by a
lictor with the fasces; they were allowed not
only to ride in a chariot, but could pardon any
criminal they might meet on their way to exe-
cution. Their declarations in trials were re-
ceived as sacred oaths; they were selected as
arbiters, in cases of moment; and so great was
the deference paid them by the magistrates, that
when met by the consuls the lictors dropped the
fasces. To insult them was a capital crime, and
punished with death. The Vestals were always
buried within the walls of the city, an honor
rarely granted to others.
Such of the Vestals as violated their oaths
were buried alive! For the space of one thou-
sand years, during which the order continued in
force, from the reign of Numa, only eighteen
were punished for the violation of their vows.
43
Their dress was peculiar; it was a white vest
with a purple border. A white linen surplice,
called Linteum Supernum, over which was a
purple mantle, which flowed to the ground, but
which was tucked up when they offered sacri-
fice. They had a close covering to their heads
called Infula, from which were suspended ribbons
or vittæ.
They were maintained at the public expense,
and their tables were sumptuously served, and
displayed the luxuries of the grand and opulent.
The festival, in honour of Vesta, was observed
in the month of the calends of June: banquets
were prepared before the temple; and meat was
sent to the Vestals in order to be offered and
sacrificed to the gods; mill-stones were dressed
with garlands of ribbon, and the mules that
turned them were led in state round the city,
ornamented with gay trappings. The matrons of
Rome walked in the procession without their
sandals to the temple of the goddess, and an
altar was erected to Jupiter, surnamed Pistor.
Tarquin occupied himself most sedulously in
the affairs of the city. He repaired and en-
larged the walls of the capitol, the public
buildings, and useful ornamental porticos.
Many centuries afterwards, those who were
spectators of the stately mansions, stupendous
edifices, and the golden lodging of Nero, saw
44
with peculiar delight, and higher veneration, the
simple, but useful edifices of Tarquin. He laid
the foundation of the capitol, and to his indus-
try the Romans were indebted for their aque-
ducts, and subterraneous sewers, neither of which
were rendered perfect till the reign of the Ca-
sars. Tarquin distinguished himself as a king,
the senators, and other inferior magistrates, by
particular robes and ornaments, with chairs of
ivory, in which to sit at public exhibitions and
spectacles. The axe, carried before the public
magistrates, was, by his order, surrounded by
bundles of sticks, that they might impress the
people with more terror, and be viewed with
higher reverence. After Tarquin had reigned
thirty-eight years, the sons of Ancus Martius
conspired against him, and he was assassinated
in his own palace, in the eightieth year of his
age, 578 years before Christ.
1
( 45 )
CHAP. IV.
From the death of Ancus Martius to the expulsion
of Tarquin.
SERVIUS TULLIUS, the sixth king of Rome,
was son of Ocrisia, a woman slave, of extraor-
dinary beauty and distinguished virtue; she was
taken captive at the sacking of Corniculum, a
town of Latium.
The father of Tullius was a warrior of illus-
trious extraction, and was killed in the defence
of that city. Ocrisia, his widow, was seized
by Tarquin, who presented the captive beauty
to queen Tanaquil. Tanaquil soon conceived
towards her the most affectionate esteem, and
restored her to freedom, after she had given birth
to a posthumous child, who, being born in a
state of slavery, his mother named Servius.
The young Servius was highly favoured by the
royal family, because a lambent fire was ob-
served to play about his head when he slept,
which was interpreted as an omen of his future
46
greatness. He was educated with singular care,
and became so amiable, and so acceptable to
Tarquin, that he was contracted, and soon after
married to the king's daughter. Ancus and
Martius, the true heirs to the crown, fearing
this marriage would interfere with their succes-
sion to the throne, hired two shepherds to assas-
sinate the king: this they failed in doing as
dexterously as they intended, for he lived,
though insensible, for several days after the
fatal blow was given.
Meantime, queen Tanaquil, who loved Ser-
vius as her own son, caused the gates of the
palace to be kept shut, assuring the people that
the wound he had received was not mortal,
but, on the contrary, that he was in a fair
way of recovery, and had given strict orders
that the people should pay homage and obedi-
ence to the young Servius Tullius, his son-in-
law, till he recovered. This royal favour soon
recommended the young prince to the notice of
the people, and he became the delight of
the Romans, by means of his courtesy, libe-
rality, distinguished bravery, and knowledge
in military tactics. When the death of his
father-in-law was made known to the Romans,
Servius Tullius was solemnly crowned, and soon
rendered himself popular, not only as an able
warrior, but a wise legislator. Livy adds this
47
commendation, that with him "Justa ac ligi
tima regna occiderunt;" which agrees with what
we read in Juvenal, who says he was the last
"good king."
The last good king, whom willing Rome obey'd,
Was the poor offspring of a captive maid :
Yet he those robes of empire justly bore,
Which Romulus, our sacred founder, wore.
Nicely he gain'd, and well possess'd the throne,
Not for his father's merit, but his own,
And reign'd himself a family alone.
He
He defeated the Veientes and the Tuscans, and,
by an excellent act of policy, established the
census, which will hereafter be described.
mcreased the number of the tribes, beautified
and adorned the city, and extended its boun-
daries; and, that he might not seem to neglect
the worship of the gods, he built several temples
to the goddess of fortune, to whom he deemed
himself particularly indebted for his having ob-
tained the kingdom. He built also a temple to
Diana, on the Aventine, and a noble palace for
himself on the Esquiline hill. Servius married
his two daughters to the grandsons of his father-
in-law, the elder to Tarquin, and the younger
to Aruns. He hoped by this arrangement to
have secured and established the peace of his
family; but, unhappily, he was disappointed.
48
累
​The fierce and violent temper of the wife of
Aruns, the haughty Tullia, created such dissen-
sions, that Servius was forced out of the senate
by Lucius Tarquinius, and murdered by his
orders, after a reign of forty-one years. Tar-
quin the second, surnamed Superbus, from his
pride and insolence, ascended the throne. He
was the seventh, and last king of Rome. The
crown, which he had obtained by violence and
parricide, he endeavoured to preserve by a con-
tinuation of tyranny. Unlike his royal prede-
cessors, he paid no regard to the decisions of
the senate, or the approbation of the public;
and, by disregarding both, he incurred the
jealousy of the one, and the odium of the other.
The public treasury was soon exhausted by the
continual extravagance of Tarquin; and, to si-
lence the discontent and murmurs of his sub-
jects, he resolved to divert their attention by
engaging them in new wars.
&
In his military operations he was successful.
The neighbouring cities submitted, and he
inarched his army to Ardea, about twenty miles
from Rome, expecting to become possessed of
it without opposition; but he was disappointed,
and obliged to besiege it in form. During the
siege, the depravity of his son Sextius, at Rome,
for ever extinguished the progress of his arms;
for the Romans, whom a series of barbarity and
49
oppression had hitherto provoked, no sooner
witnessed the death of the beautiful and vir
tuous Lucretia, whose person had been violated
by Sextius, and who had stabbed herself that
she might not survive the indignant and cruel
treatment, than the whole city and the camp
arose with indignation against Tarquin and his
son. The gates of Rome were shut against them,
and they were for ever banished from the
throne, in the year of Rome 244.
Unable to find support under his disappoint-
ments, or forgiveness from his subjects, and
Sextus having been killed in a war which the
Latins sustained against Rome, in order to esta-
blish Tarquin on his throne, he retired into the
country of the Etrurians, who themselves at-
tempted to restore him to the throne, but with-
out success.
VOL. ♪.
I
( 50 )
CHAP. V.
From the expulsion of Tarquin to the invasion of
Rome by the Gauls.
THE republican government was immediately
established in Rome, and all Italy refused to
support the cause of the exiled monarch, against
a nation, who heard the name of Tarquin, of
king, and of tyrant, with equal horror and in-
dignation. Thus, during 244 years, the Ro-
mans were governed by kings; but immediately
on the expulsion of Tarquin, the people new-
modelled the government, and elected, from
patrician families, who had served in the infe-
rior offices of the state, two consuls, who were
to govern as colleagues annually.
The power of the consuls was unbounded;
they knew no superior, but the gods and the
laws. The badge of their office was a robe
fringed with purple. They were preceded, when
they went abroad, by twelve lictors, carrying
the fasces, or bundle of sticks, iu the middle of
which appeared the axe: but as the axe was the
51
characteristic rather of tyranny than freedom, it
was taken away from the fasces, by Valerius
Publicola, who succeeded Lucretius, one of
the first consuls; but it was restored by his
successor.
The consuls took it by turns monthly, to be
preceded by the lictors, while at Rome, that the
appearance of two persons with the badges of
royal authority might not raise apprehensions
in the multitude. While one appeared publicly
in state, only a crier walked before the other,
and the lictors followed behind, without the
fasces. The authority of the consuls was equal;
yet the Valerian law gave the right of priority
to the elder; but the Julian law to him who had
the most children, and he was generally called,
"consul major." As their power was absolute,
the consuls presided over the senate, and could
convene and dismiss it at pleasure. The se-
nators were their counsellors, and the manner
of reckoning the Roman years was by the
names of the consuls. This custom continued
from the year of Rome 244, till the year 1294,
or 541st year of the Christian era, when the
consular office was totally suppressed by Jus-
tinian.
In public assemblies, the consuls sat in ivory
chairs, and held in their hands an ivory wand,
which had an eagle on its top, as an ensign of
E 2
52
dignity and power. When they had drawn by
lot the provinces over which they were to pre-
side during their consulship, they went to the
capitol, to offer their prayers to the gods, and
intreat them to protect the republic. After
this they departed from the city, arrayed in
their military dress, preceded by the lictors, and
provided by the state with whatever was requi-
site during their expedition. They were not
permitted to return to Rome without the spe-
cial command of the senate, and they always
remained in the province till the arrival of their
successor, as no man could be consul two years
following.
The office of consul, so dignified during the
period of the commonwealth, became a mere
title under the twelve Cæsars.
It was in the consulship of Cominius that
the Romans waged a sanguinary war with a
nation called the Volsci; and in this war with
the Volscians, Caius Martius, a descendant of
the house of the Marcii, received the surname
of Coriolanus, from the celebrated victory he
obtained over Corioli, a town of Latium, on
the borders of the Volsci.
Caius Martius was a soldier of fortune; he
was left early, by the death of his father, to
the sole guidance of his mother, Volumnia.
He was ever anxious to distinguish himself in
53
his love of arms, and always engaged in some
new exploit. If he signalized himself in one
action, he felt it incumbent upon him to exceed
himself in another: thus he added to his laurels
and his trophies, until he became an object of
admiration and respect to the most eminent
generals.
The chief gratification which Coriolanus re-
ceived in these honors, was the delight evinced
by his mother, Volumnia. To witness the
tears of joy which filled the eyes of this excel-
lent parent, as well as to receive the maternal
embraces of the affectionate and noble matron,
were sufficient rewards for her heroic son.
When master of Corioli, the only remuneration
which the disinterested conqueror would accept
was, the surname of Coriolanus, a noble horse,
and the restitution of his ancient host, to whom
he gave instant liberty.
After seventeen years of the most signal ser-
vices to his country, and after receiving in its
behalf the deepest scars and the most danger us
wounds, Coriolanus was refused the consulship
by the people, because he scorned to request
this high honour, expecting to have it unani-
mously conferred upon him. The ingratitude.
of the Romans raised the just resentment of the
son of Volumnia; and when the Romans re-
ceived a present of corn from Gelo, king of
54
Sicily, Coriolanus insisted that it should be sold
for money, instead of being given gratis to the
people.
Extremely irritated at his conduct, the tri-
bunes raised against him a sedition amongst the
populace, who, unanimously, insisted that Co-
riolanus should be put to death: this rigorous
sentence was, however, prevented by the influ-
ence of the senate, and Coriolanus submitted to
a trial.
It was decided, by a majority of three tribes,
that he should be banished from Rome. In con-
sequence of this mandate, he retired to the Vol-
scians, whom he knew to be still vigorous and
flourishing, and to be possessed, not only of
strength, but immense treasure. Tullus Aufi-
dius, of Antium, who had been his enemy, pcs-
sessed wealth and prowess, and lived in such
splendor, that he was considered even as a king,
by the Volscians. Coriolanus was well aware
of the inveterate hatred which Aufidius felt,
not only towards him, but to the Romans gene-
rally. Therefore, muffling himself up, he en-
tered the palace of the Volscian, and thus ad-
dressed him: "I must of necessity be mine
own accuser; know, that I am Caius Martius;
the author of such incalculable mischief to the
Volscians; which, if I should presume to deny,
the cognomen of Coriolanus, which I now bear,
55
would be sufficient evidence against me; and I
have no other recompense to boast, for all the
hardships and perils I have gone through, during
the wars which have been waged between us,
but a title that proclaims my enmity to your
nation. Through the cowardice and treachery
of the magistrates, and of those of my own
rank, I am deprived of all, driven out as an
exile, and become an humble suppliant before
your household gods, not so much to claim safety
and protection, as to procure vengeance against
those that have expelled Coriolanus from his
country. If, Tullus Aufidius, you are inclined
to attack your enemies, come on! reap the be-
nefit of my miseries, and make my personal ca-
lamities a national benefit to the Volscians.'
Astonished and delighted at this discourse,
Tullus Aufidius gave him his right hand: "Rise,
Martius!" said he; "take courage! your wrongs
shall be revenged; the offer you thus make of
your services is inestimable, and you may assure
yourself the Volscians will not be ungrateful.
On the ensuing day, they entered into close
debate, upon the measures necessary to be taken,
not only to renew the war, but to carry it on
with vigour and success; and Coriolanus
marched at the head of the Volsci, as commander-
in chief of the army, against his country.
The hostile approach of the intrepid warrior
56
greatly alarmed the Roman people, who did not
scruple to send several embassies, to reconcile
him to his country, and to solicit his re-
turn; he was, however, deaf to all their propo-
sals and intreaties, and commanded them to pre-
pare for war. He pitched his camp at the dis-
tance only of five miles from the city, and his
enmity against the Romans would have been
fatal, had not his mother, Volumnia, and his
wife, Vergilia, been prevailed on by the Roman
matrons to meet him and appease his resentment.
The meeting between Coriolanus and his family,
was tender and affecting; and is exquisitely
described by our immortal Shakespeare.
The mother of Coriolanus prevailed over the
stern and obstinate resolutions of the enemy;
and Coriolanus struck his camp, and marched
the Volsci from the vicinity of Rome. The
centurions who guarded the walls, no sooner
gave notice that the Volscians were retired,
than the Romans threw open their temples, and,
to evince their sense of the merit and patriotism
of Volumnia and Vergilia, they dedicated a
temple to the fortune of women. The joy and
transport of the whole city were displayed in
the respect and honour paid to the matrons, as
well by the populace as the senate and patri-
cians; each declaring that they were the evident
57
causes and immediate instruments of the public
safety.
To perpetuate the memory of that important
service, it was decreed, that an encomium
should be engraven on a public monument, in
honour of Volumnia and Vergilia.
The senate and the people passed a decree,
that whatever they demanded, by way of re-
compense, should be allowed them, as a memorial
of their fame, and an acknowledgement of their
merit; they, however, disdained any other
remuneration than that the temple should be
erected on the identical spot where Coriola-
nus was softened by the intreaties of his wife and
mother; this took place on the Latine way, about
four miles from Rome.
The behaviour of Coriolanus, however, dis-
pleased the Volsci, and particularly excited the
resentment of Tullus Aufidius, who summoned
him to appear before the people of Antium.
The clamors which were raised by his enemies,
were so great, and the minds of the Volscians
so inflamed against him, that Coriolanus was
murdered on the place appointed for his trial,
488 years before Christ. The Roman matrons
were inconsolable for his death, and put on,
during ten months, the deepest mourning for
that conqueror, who, in listening to their prayers
and intreaties, had sealed his own fate. The Vol-
58
scians themselves honoured his body by a mag-
nificent funeral, and they adorned his sepulchre
with arms and trophies, as they would have done
the monuments of the most celebrated hero or
noble general.
The Volscians soon felt the loss of Coriolanus:
they now wanted his assistance against the
Equi; their confederates and friends could not
agree respecting the nomination of a gene-
ral, who should be the commander-in-chief of
their joint forces; the dispute was, at length,
pursued with such violence, on both sides, that
slaughter and bloodshed were to be seen on
every hand.
Shortly after this, the Volsci were defeated
by the Romans in a pitched battle, where not
only Tullus Aufidius lost his life, but the flower
of their army was cut to pieces, in consequence
of which they were obliged to submit, and ac-
cept of peace on the most dishonorable terms,
promising strict obedience to the Roman orders,
whatever should be imposed.
With their liberty the Romans acquired a
spirit of faction, and they became so jealous of
their rights andindependence, that the first con-
sul was banished because he was a collateral branch
of the family of Tarquin, and bore the name;
and so zealous were they in the assertion of their
freedom, that another of them was obliged to
59
raze his house to the ground, because its supe-
rior magnificence seemed to be incompatible with
the pretensions of a citizen.
Porsenna, king of Etruria, to whom Tare
quin had fled for protection, declared war against
the Romans, with a view of replacing his friend
Tarquin on the throne; and at the first encoun-
ter he was successful. The Romans were
defeated, and the victorious Porsenna would
have entered Rome, had not Cocles, an intrepid
Roman, maintained his ground, alone, at the
head of a bridge, and resisted the fury of the
Etrurian army, though very severely wounded,
while the Roman army in the rear were cutting
off the communication with the opposite shore.
The heroism and intrepidity of Cocles so as-
tonished Porsenna, that he recalled his soldiers,
and no longer dared to encounter the Romans,
or to interfere in their government, but offered
a treaty of peace, which was accepted.
Porsenna entirely relinquished the claims of
Tarquin, who died fourteen years after his ex-
pulsion, and in the 90th year of his age.
Though it appeared so odious among the Romans,
his reign was not without some share of glory.
His conquests were numerous; to beautify the
buildings and porticos of Rome was his wish;
and he finished the capitol, with great magni-
ficence and care, which his predecessor, Tar-
60
quinius, had begun. He also bought the Sibyline
books which the Romans consulted on so many
occasions, and of which a more detailed account
will be given hereafter. The Romans admired
the gallant conduct of Cocles so much, that
they raised a brazen statue to his honour.
The expulsion of Porsenna, with other ad-
vantages obtained over several of the neigh-
bouring states who had interfered in their poli-
tics, exalted the Romans still more in their own
estimation. They daily became more civilized;
they performed the most glorious exploits; and
to the fame which their conquests had gained
them abroad, the Romans were not a little
indebted for their gradual rise and distinguished
superiority. The policy of the Census contri-
buted still farther to this effect. Every fifth
year, each man in Rome was compelled to
appear for the purpose of being registered, and
of giving, in writing, the place of his residence,
his name, his quality, the number of his tenants,
his domestics, and the slaves he had bought or
manumitted. This regulation the republic con-
sidered as very salutary, because it gave them
an entire knowledge of their own strength, and
ability to make a levy to support a war, or to
raise a tribute.
After the expulsion of the Tarquins, it bec me
one of the duties and privileges of the consuls
61
to collect this census; but, as the republic grew
more powerful, the number of the citizens was
increased. The consuls, from the multiplicity
of their duties and avocations, were incompe-
tent to it, and two magistrates were elected,
every five years, who were deputed to this sepa-
rate office. It was a constant source of
satisfaction to the Romans, who were continu-
ally making war, to observe, notwithstanding
all their losses, the almost incredible increase
of the inhabitants; and had Romulus lived
after the battle of Actium, nearly seven
centuries afterwards, he would scarcely have
credited, that above 4,000,000 inhabitants were
contained within those very walls which, in the
most flourishing period of his reign, had
scarcely exceeded 48,000.
After Rome had increased in glory, under the
consular government, for a hundred and twenty
years, and had beheld with delight her noble
conquests, and great extent of country, the
irruption of the barbarians of Gaul endangered
her very existence, and nearly extinguished her
name. The valor, however, of an injured indi-
vidual, Camillus, (who was called a second
Romulus, from his services to his country,)
restored the dignity of the capital of the world.
He had been exiled by the people for having
distributed, contrary to his vow, the spoils he
62
had obtained at Veii. This was a powerful
city of Etruria, twelve miles from Rome, which,
after sustaining many wars with courage and
success against the Romans, was at length taken
and entirely destroyed by Camillus, after a siege
of ten years.
At the period of its destruction, Veii was
larger, and more magnificent, than even Rome
itself; its situation was so beautiful, and so
eligible, that the Romans, after the burning of
their city by the Gauls, were inclined to migrate
thither, and to abandon their native Rome.
The eloquence, however, of the good Camillus,
Avho opposed their intentions, prevented their
carrying them into effect.
During the banishment of Camillus, Rome
was besieged by the Gauls, under Brennus, a
general of the Galli Senones, an uncivilized
nation of Gallia Transalpina. They were a
very superstitious people, and, in their sacrifices,
often immolated human victims. In some of
their places of worship they had large statues,
woven with twigs, which they filled with men,
and reduced to ashes. They considered then-
selves as descended from Pluto; and from that
circumstance they reckoned their time, not by
days, as other nations, but by nights. Their
obsequies were very splendid; their most pre-
cious possessions, not only their oxen, but their
63
slaves, were burnt on their funeral piles; and
their children were never allowed to appear
before their parents till they were able to bear
arns.
In the midst of their misfortunes, the besieged
Romans elected Camillus dictator. He had been
once censor, three times interrex, twice a military
tribune, and had obtained four triumphs. He
was particularly celebrated for the generosity
he evinced towards the illustrious children of
the inhabitants of Falisci, which place he be-
sieged; but rejected, with proper indignation, the
offers of a schoolmaster, who would have be-
trayed into his hands the sons of the most noble
of the citizens, that, by such a possession, he
might easily oblige the place to surrender.
Falisci was originally a Macedonian colony;
and the generous conduct of Camillus was so
properly appreciated by the people, that they
surrendered to the Romans.
The
Brennus, in his attack upon Rome, displayed
the most distinguished courage, defeated the
Romans on the banks of the Allia, a river of
Italy, falling into the Tiber, and with his army.
entered the city without opposition.
Romans, dismayed, fled to the capitol, and left
the city to the fury of the enemy, who had
already began their pillage and depredations.
In the night, the enterprising Gauls scaled the
64
Tarpeian rock; and the capitol would inevitably
have been taken, had not the Roman guard
been awakened, as it is said, by the cackling of
the geese, which, being consecrated to Juno,
had, notwithstanding the scarcity the Romans
had experienced, been preserved alive.
Manlius, a Roman of consular dignity, start-
ing from his sleep, fled to defend the walls; and,
cutting off the hand of the first advancing Gaul
with his battle axe, rallied the Roman forces,
and for a time repelled the enemy. This action
gained him the surname of Capitolinus, and
the geese, which by their clamor had awakened
him, were for ever held sacred among the Ro-
mans.
In this momentous and critical situation they
resorted to Camillus, who, notwithstanding the
ingratitude he had experienced from the Romans,
evinced his magnanimity by immediately heading
their armies, and marched to the relief of his
distressed country; and so totally did he defeat
the presumptuous and enterprising Gauls, that
not a single soul of them was left to publish
their destruction.
Many of the superb edifices and elegant build-
ings of Rome were entirely reduced to ashes. The
whole of this incident, which has been much
celebrated by historians, gave the appellation of
another founder of Rome, to the brave Camillus;
65
and this was considered to be the most glorious
æra of the Roman history, till the reign of the
twelve Cæsars. The huts and cottages, which
had been built by Romulus, and which the sub-
sequent kings repaired and beautified, and the
other structures which they had erected, being
now no more, the city rose again, like another
phoenix, from its ruins. The streets were
greatly enlarged; convenience and order were
established; taste, elegance, and regularity were
consulted; buildings, whose noble structure
delighted the eye, were erected; and the
rusticity of the Romans themselves appeared to
have been extinguished at the same time with
their mean and wretched habitations.
The Tarpeian rock, before mentioned, was so
called because Tarpeia the daughter of Tar-
peius, the governor of the citadel of Rome,
had been buried there. When king Tatius,
who governed the Cures, a people of the Sa-
bines, led his armies against the Romans, the
gates of the city were betrayed into his hands
by the cupidity of Tarpeia, who readily pro-
mised to open them to the Sabines, provided
they would give her their golden bracelets, or,
as she expressed herself, "what they wore on
their left arms." The king of the Sabines
readily consented to her demands; but as he
entered the city, he threw not only his brace-
VOL. I.
F
66
lets, but his ponderous shield on the worthless
Tarpeia. His army followed the example of
their king, and Tarpeia was crushed to death
under the weight of the shields of the Sabine
army.
( 67 )
CHAP. VI.
From the invasion of the Gauls to the second
Punic war.
No sooner were the Romans rescued from the
invasion of the Gauls, and re-established in
their prosperity, than the thoughts of war
again occupied their minds; and they turned
their arms against those states who refused to
acknowledge their supremacy, or yield to them.
their independence. Their wars with Pyrrhus,
and the Tarentines, displayed the character of
the Romans in a point of view in which it had
not yet been seen. If they before fought for
freedom and for independence, they now un-
sheathed the sword for glory and honor.
Tarentum was a town in Calabria, near the
mouth of the river Galesus, now Galeso, whose
banks were so fertile that the inhabitants fed
immense flocks of sheep, celebrated for the
whiteness and softness of their fleeces. Taren-
tum, long independent, retained its superiority
over thirteen tributary cities, and could at once
}
F 9
68
:
.:
arm 100,000 infantry and 3,000 cavalry; but
the people were very indolent. As they were
equally supplied with necessaries and luxuries
from Greece, they surrendered themselves to
indolence and pleasure, and to so great a degree
of refinement and effeminacy, that "the delights.
of Tarentum" became proverbial.
The Tarentines commenced a war against the
Romans, with the assistance of Pyrrhus, the
king of Epirus, a country situated between
Macedonia, Achaia, and the Ionian sea. It is
now called Larta.
Pyrrhus, possessing an ardent mind, and
loving military pursuits, gladly accepted the
suminons he received from the Tarentines to
join them against the Romans. He reached
the shores of Italy, after the loss of the greatest
part of his own army in his passage across the
Adriatic Sea. He,
He, however, introduced the
most strict and rigorous discipline among the
Tarentines, taught them to bear fatigue, and
despise danger.
In the first battle against the Romans, he ob-
tained the victory; but for this he was more
particularly indebted to his elephants, whose
extraordinary bulk, and uncommon appearance,
astonished the Romans, and terrified their ca
valry. The number of the slaughtered was
equal on both sides, and the conqueror declared,
69
that another such victory would totally ruin
him. He sent Cineas, his chief minister, to
Rome, to demand a cessation of hostilities.
This was imperiously refused; and, when Pyrr-
hus questioned Cineas as to the manners and
character of the Romans, the sagacious minis-
ter replied, that their senate was a venerable
assemblage of kings; and to fight against them
was to attack another Hydra.
Pyrrhus still continued to support the Taren-
tines; and a second battle was fought near As-
culum, now Ascoli, a town of Picenum, a
country of Italy, near the Umbrians and Sabines,
on the borders of the Adriatic. The slaughter
on both sides was so great, and the valor of
each so equal, that the Romans and their
enemies reciprocally claimed the victory: and
this deplorable war lasted ten years. At length
the Tarentines were subdued, 30,000 were killed
and taken prisoners, and Tarentum became sub-
ject to the Romans.
The beautiful and capacious harbour of Ta-
rentum has been much admired, and frequently
described, by ancient writers. Tarentum is
now called Tarento, and is at this time inhabited
by about 18,000 souls, who still maintain the
character of their predecessors. The celebrated
philosopher, Pythagoras, resided at Tarentum,
and by his example inspired the citizens with at
1
70
love of virtue and letters: he rendered them
superior to their neighbours in the cabinet as
well as the field.
The advantages which the Romans gained,
by their victories in this war with the Taren-
tines, were singularly great. The Roman name
became celebrated in Greece, Sicily, and Africa,
and whether in their defeat, or their conquest,
they strictly examined the manoeuvres, observed
the discipline, and contemplated the order, and
the encampments of those soldiers, whose friends
and ancestors had accompanied Alexander the
Great in his conquest of Asia,
The whole of Italy now became subject to the
Romans; and this period has been called the
second age, or the Adolescence of the Roman
Empire.
At this memorable epoch they wished to try
their strength, not only with distant nations,
but on a new and dangerous element; and in
their long and sanguinary wars against Carthage,
they not only acquired territory, but gained the
superiority and sovereignty of the sea.
The first war between Rome and Carthage was
commenced by the former against the latter,
264 years before Christ, and was called the first
Punic war. The ambition of Rome, it may
well be said, was the foundation of this dreads
ful contest.
71
For the space of 240 years, these rival nations
had beheld, with secret jealousy, each other's
power: but they had dismissed every reasonable
cause of contention, by having settled, in three
different treaties, the boundaries of their repec-
tive territories, the number of their allies, and
how far one nation might sail in the Mediterra-
nean sea, without creating the envy of the
other. The possession of Sicily, however, was
the cause of the first dissension, it being an
island of the most important consequence to the
Carthaginians as a commercial nation.
The Mamertini, a body of Italian mercenaries,
were appointed by Hiero, the king of Syracuse,
to guard the town of Massana. This tumul-
tuous tribe, however, instead of granting their
protection to the inhabitants and citizens, not
only basely seized their possessions, but inhu-
manly massacred them.
This act of barbarity and cruelty raised the
indignation of all the Sicilians; and the king of
Syracuse, who had employed them, now occu-
pied himself in making preparations to punish
their perfidy. The Mamertini, finding them-
selves besieged in Massana, without friends or
resources, promptly resolved to throw themselves
for protection into the hands of the first power
that could relieve them.
They were not, however, unanimous in their
1
72
ļ
sentiments: and, while some of them implored
the assistance of Carthage, others intreated the
Romans for protection. Without reflecting on
the danger to which they exposed themselves,
the Carthaginians entered Massana in an hostile.
manner: the Romans hastened also to give to
the Mamertini that aid which had been claimed
from them, with as much, or, perhaps, more
eagerness, than that received from the capital of
Africa.
At the approach of the Roman troops, the
Mamertini took up arms, and forced the Car-
thaginians to evacuate Massana: new troops
were forced in on every side, and, notwithstand-
ing Carthage appeared superior not only in arms,
but in other resources, yet the singular valor and
intrepidity of the Romans daily appeared more
formidable; and Hiero, the Syracusan king, who
had hitherto embraced the interests of the Car-
thaginians, became the most faithful ally of the
republic and thus, from a private quarrel, the
war became general.
The Romans obtained a victory in Sicily: but,
as their enemies were masters of the sea, the
advantages they gained were inconsiderable, and
of little utility. In order to make themselves
equal to their enemies, they now aspired to the
dominion of the ocean; and in the space of
three months, a fleet of no less than one hun-
73
dred and fifty gallies, was completely manned
and provisioned.
The naval successes of the Romans were at
first trivial, and little advantage could be ex-
pected over an enemy who were sailors by ac-
tual practice, and tried experience. Cornelius
Duillius Nepos, however, the commander in
chief of the naval forces of Rome, at last
obtained a victory over the Carthaginians; he
was a Roman consul of great valor and cele-
brity; he took fifty of the enemy's ships, and
was the first Roman who ever received a triumph
after a naval victory. The senate rewarded his
distinguished bravery by permitting him to have
martial music and lighted torches, at the public
expense, every night during the time he was at
supper.
Medals were struck in commemoration of this
victory, and, it is said, there still exists at Rome
a marble column, which was erected in honor of
the occasion.
The losses they had already sustained induced
the Carthaginians to sue for peace; and the
Romans, whom an unsuccessful descent upon
Africa, under Regulus, had rendered diffident,
listened to the proposais.
Marcus Attilius Regulus had, on his first land-
ing in Africa, not only defeated three generals,
but rendered himself master of several places of
74
consequence on the coast; these successes al-
most disheartened the Carthaginians; at length,
however, Regulus was defeated by Xanthippus,
and no less than thirty thousand of the Romans
left on the field of battle, besides fifteen thou-
sand taken prisoners; Regulus himself was in
the number of the captives, and was carried in
triumph to Carthage. He was afterwards sent
to Rome, by the enemy, to propose an accommo-
dation, as well as an exchange of prisoners. It
was settled, that he should be bound by the most
solemn oaths to return immediately to Carthage,
if his mission proved unsuccessful. When he
arrived in Rome, he strenuously advised the
Romans not to accede to the terms of the Car-
thaginians; his opinion had great weight and
influence with the august fathers, and Regulus
returned to Carthage in compliance with his
oath, and regardless of the unmitigated cruel-
ties he well knew he should experience in the
capital of Africa.
When the Carthaginians were informed that
their overtures of peace had been rejected at
Rome, by means of the immediate advice of
Regulus, they proposed to punish him with a
severity that was an indelible stain to their fu-
ture character. His eye-lashes were cut off, and
he was exposed to the excessive heat of the me-
ridian sun; after which he was confined in a
75
barrel, whose sides were filled with sharply-
pointed iron spikes, till he expired in the greatest
agony. When his sufferings became known at
Rome, the senate permitted his widow to inflict
the sort of punishment she thought fit on any
of the most illustrious Carthaginian captives in
their power.
She was, however, on her part,
so violent against the Carthaginians, that the
senate was obliged to interfere to put an end
to her barbarity.
After a short period, apparently of peace, the
Carthaginians, who had lost the dominion of
Sardinia and Sicily, made new conquests in
Spain, in consequence of which they began to
repair their losses, not only by industry and
labor, but by craft and cunning. They planted
colonies, and secretly proposed to revenge them-
selves upon their powerful rivals, the Romans;
who, on their part, were not insensible of the
successes of their enemies in Spain; and, to
retard their progress towards Italy, they made
a stipulation with the Carthaginians, by which
the latter were not permitted to cross the Iberus,
or to molest th cities of their allies, the Sagun-
tines.
The Iberus was a river of Spain; it is now
called Ebro, and it separated the Roman from
the Carthaginian possessions. The treaty was
76
for some time observed; but, when Annibal suc-
ceeded to the command of the Carthaginian
armies in Spain, he spurned the boundaries
which the jealousy of Rome had set to his arms,
and immediately formed the siege of Sagun-
tum.
The Romans were apprized of the hostilities
which had been commenced against their allies;
but Saguntum was already in the hands of an
active enemy, before any steps had been taken
to oppose them.
Saguntum was a town of Hispania Tarraco-
nensis, at the west of the Iberus, and one mile
from the sea-shore; it is now called Morvedeo.
It was celebrated for the superiority of the clay
in its neighbourhood, with which vases, denomi
nated Saguntina, were made.
( 77 )
CHAPTER VII.
From the beginning of the second Punic war to
the death of Annibal.
COMPLAINTS were made to Carthage, by the
senate of Rome, and a second war was deter-
mined upon by the influence of Annibal in the
Carthaginian senate. Annibal took Saguntum,
after a siege of eight months; and the inhabi-
tants, strongly attached to the interests of
Rome, to avoid falling into the hands of the
Carthaginians, burnt themselves, with their
houses, and all their effects.
The conqueror soon rebuilt the city, and
placed there a garrison, with all the noble and
illustrious men whom he detained as hostages
from the several neighbouring nations of Spain.
Annibal, the Carthaginian general, was cele-
brated for having passed the Alps with his
army, which consisted of ninety thousand foot,
and twelve thousand cavalry. A most absurd
opinion was entertained, that Annibal softened
the rocks with fire and vinegar, so that even
78
his armed men, and elephants, descended those
stupendous mountains, which before, even to
man, unincumbered, had been impracticable.
Annibal found, after he had crossed the
Rhone, the Alps, and the Apennines, that the
Roman consuls. were already stationed to
stop his progress, as soon as he should enter
Italy.
He then defeated the army of the consul, Fla-
minius, near the lake Trasimenes. This, to-
gether with the battle of Trebia, threw Rome
into the greatest consternation: but the prudent
measures of the dictator, Fabius, soon taught
them to hope for better days.
The conduct of the well-judging Fabius wast
univerally censured as cowardice; and the two
consuls, who succeeded him in the command of
the forces, by pursuing a different plan of ope-
ration, soon brought on a decisive action at
Cannæ.
Annibal met the two consuls, C. Turrentius
and Lucius Æmilius, at the memorable battle
of Cannæ, in which forty-five thousand Ro-
mans were left dead on the field of battle,
and the conqueror made a bridge of their dead
bodies.
This sanguinary victory caused so much hor-
ror at Rome, that several authors have declared,
if the Carthaginian general had immediately
79
marched from the plains of Cannæ to the city
of Rome, he would have met with little re-
sistance, but would have terminated a long and
dangerous war with singular glory to himself,
and the most inestimable and distinguished
advantages to his country.
This celebrated victory at Cannæ left the
elated Annibal master of two camps, and im-
mense booty; and the cities which had hereto-
fore observed a neutrality, no sooner witnessed
the defeat of the Romans, than they eagerly em-
braced the interests of Carthage. The news of
this victory was carried to the capital of Africa
by Mago, and the Carthaginians refused to cre-
dit it, until three bushels of golden rings were
displayed before them, which had been taken
from the knights left dead on the field of battle.
Plutarch says, the ill-judged delay of Annibal
gave his enemies, the Romans, time to rally,
which excited a new degree of spirit and deter-
mination in that brave people: and when, at
last, Annibal appeared with his army at the
walls of the capital, he was tauntingly told,
that the piece of ground on which his army
then stood, was selling at a high price in the
Roman forum.
After hovering for some time round the city
of Rome, Annibal retired to Capua, were the
Carthaginian soldiers soon forgot, in the plea-
80
sures and riot of that luxurious city, the pride
of being conquerors; and it might truly be said,
Capua was as baneful to the interests of Anni-
bal, as the village of Cannæ had been to the
Romans.
In the different parts of the world the Romans
were making rapid conquests; and though the
sudden and unexpected arrival of a Carthagi-
nian army in Italy, at first raised their fears,
they were soon enabled again to dispute with
their enemies the sovereignty of Spain. Anni-
bal no longer appeared formidable in Italy. If
he conquered towns in Campania, or Magna
Græcia, he remained master of them no longer
than while his army remained in the neighbour-
hood; and if he marched towards Rome, the
alarm he occasioned was momentary; the Ro-
mans were instantly prepared to oppose him,
and his retreat therefore became the more dis-
honorable.
The conquests of young Scipio in Spain had
now raised the expectations of the Romans, and
he had no sooner returned to Rome, than he
proposed to remove Annibal from the capital of
Italy, by carrying the war to the gates of Car-
thage. This was a bold measure, and an ha-
zardous enterprize; and though Fabius again
opposed it, the plan was adopted by the Roman
senate, and Scipio was empowered to sail for
81
in
Africa. The sordid meanness of the Cartbagi-
nians induced them to disregard the continual
demands made upon them for fresh supplies of
troops; and Annibal therefore depended,
his conquest of Italy, much on the assistance
of his brother Asdrubal, who was a brave Car-
thaginian, and who had attempted to penetrate
into Italy, but had been defeated by the gover-
nor of Sardinia.
After this, Annibal re-called his brother
Asdrubal from Spain, with a large re-inforce-
ment; but his march was intercepted by the
Romans, his army defeated, and himself killed
in the battle: fifty-six thousand Carthaginians
shared the same fate; five thousand four hun-
dred were taken prisoners; whilst only eight
thousand of the Romans were killed.
The head of Asdrubal was cut off, and thrown
into his brother Annibal's camp, at the moment
in which he was in expectation of a promised
reinforcement. At this sight, the general, in an
agony of grief, exclaimed, "in losing Asdrubal,
I lose all I love, and Carthage all her hopes."
This event altered the posture of affairs,
and Marcellus, a distinguished Roman gene-
ral, who had the command of the Roman
legions in Italy, soon evinced that he was not
to be opposed even by Annibal himself; and he
was the first who obtained the slightest advan-
VOL. 1.
E
82
tage over that experienced commander. Mar-
cellus had been, heretofore, very formidable in
Syracuse, where he had been sent with a
powerful army, in his third consulship, to re-
duce the Sicilians. He attacked Syracuse by
sea and land, but his operations were alike in-
effectual; for the ingenuity, and then unheard-
of application, of the powers of a philosopher,
baffled all his efforts, and destroyed the stu-
pendous machines and military engines of the
Romans, which had been prepared by the labor
of three whole years. The name of this man was
Archimedes; he was one of the greatest philoso-
phers and mathematicians of antiquity. Like
Plato, he travelled into Egypt, that he might
improve his mind by conversing with the sages
of that country, who were at that time considered
as the great repositories of eastern learning.
But speculative science alone did not entirely
occupy
his attention he turned his thoughts to
the construction of such military engines as
were used in those days; and it is supposed
that he contributed greatly to their improve-
ment. The Romans were, no doubt, surprised
at finding themselves opposed by machinery of
greater power than their own; and tradition
has preserved many absurd stories of the won-
derful effects of the engines employed at the
siege of Syracuse. It is related, that ships were
83
lifted up from the sea to a considerable height,
and again dashed down beneath the waves, with
such violence as entirely to destroy them.
These tales, however, should only be considered
as originating in that propensity to exaggera-
tion, which astonishment never fails to pro-
duce, when combined with credulity and igno-
rance.
The burning mirrors of Archimedes, said to
be used on the same occasion, might, from
their novelty, have produced great alarm and dis-
may; but there is no reason to believe they
could ever have been permanently employed with
effect, for military purposes. It is the present
opinion of philosophers, that, in their principle,
they resembled the burning mirror of Buffon,
which consisted of a great number of
small moveable reflectors, which, by an inge-
nious mechanism, were made to throw the
image of the sun, at the same moment, on the
object intended to be consumed. It was found
that a plank of wood, of considerable dimen-
sions, could, by this contrivance, be reduced
speedily to ashes, at the distance of many
yards.
Marcellus, however, through his own intrepi-
dity and perseverance, and the inattention of
the inhabitants, who were occupied in a noctur-
nal celebration of the festivities of Diana, en-
Go
Ꮐ
84
a
tered the town, and made himself master of it.
He gave strict orders to his soldiers not to injure,
or incommode, Archimedes; and offered
great reward to the person who should bring
the philosopher safe into his presence, that he
might evince his respect and attention towards
him. All his precautions, however, were of no
avail; for, according to Plutarch, a soldier, see-
ing him occupied with a brass cylinder, and mis-
taking it for a box of gold, insisted on wresting
it from him; but the philosopher, deeply en-
gaged in solving a problem, so enraged the
Roman by his indifference, and his obstinacy in
refusing to follow him, or to deliver to him his
treasure, that, in a scuffle which ensued, Archi-
medes was killed on the spot.
Marcellus was much mortified at the loss of
a man, who would have so much enlightened
the Romans. He raised a monument to his me-
mory, placing on it a cylinder and a sphere; and
Cicero afterwards, during his questorship in
Sicily, went to see it. Many of the works of
this great man are still extant, and are held in
great esteem.
The conqueror of Syracuse enriched the
capital of Italy with the spoils of Sicily; and
when he was accused of rapacity, for having
stripped the temples of their paintings and
ornaments, he confessed he had done it not only
85
to adorn the public buildings of Rome, but to
give his countrymen a taste for the fine arts and
the elegancies of the Greeks.
Marcellus, in his campaign against the Car-
thaginians, behaved with greater courage, and
gained greater celebrity, than on any former
occasion.
The Samnites, who had revolted against Rome,
were subdued by force of arms, and 3,000 of the
soldiers of Annibal, who had taken part with
the revolters, were made prisoners.
Shortly after, an engagement with the Cartha-
ginian general proved unfavorable; but a more
successful skirmish vindicated the military cha-
racter of Marcellus, as well as the honor of the
Roman soldiers. Marcellus was not, however,
sufficiently vigilant against the address of An-
nibal. He imprudently separated himself from
his camp, and was killed in ambuscade. The
Carthaginians, in consequence of their great
losses, became solicitous for the fate of their
own capital. They recalled Annibal from Italy,
and preferred their safety at home, to maintain-
ing a long and expensive war in another part of
the globe.
Annibal received their orders with indigna-
tion; and left Italy in disgust, where, for six-
teen years, he had known no superior in the
field of battle.
86
On his arrival in Africa, Annibal soon col-
lected a large army, and met his exulting foes in
the plains of Zama, The battle was long and
sanguinary, one nation fought for glory, and the
other for liberty, the Romans obtained the vic-
tory; and Annibal, who had sworn eternal en-
mity to Rome, fled from Carthage to Adrime
tum, after he had advised his countrymen to
accept the terms of the Romans.
The battle of Zama was decisive; the Car-
thaginians sued for peace, which the haughty
conquerors granted with reluctance, and on con-
ditions so humiliating, that the Carthaginian
senators burst into tears, on subscribing them.
Annibal dreaded the power of Rome, and, find-
ing that the senate had sent ambassadors to de-
mand him of Antiochus king of Syria, with
whom he had taken shelter, he again fled to
avoid them, and went to Prusias, king of
Bithynia. Hither he was also pursued by Fla-
minius, the Roman consul. The king was un-
willing to betray Annibal, and violate the laws
of hospitality; yet at the same time he dreaded
the power of Rome, Annibal, to relieve him
from this embarassment, when he found his
palace was besieged, took a dose of poison, which
he carried in his ring, (182 years before Christ);
and as he breathed his last, he exclaimed, " By
this I relieve the Romans from all their difficulties
87
and all their fears!"
It was observed, this
ring made an atonement to the Romans, for the
many thousands which had been sent to Car-
thage from the battle of Cannæ.
( 88 )
CHAP. VIII.
From the death of Annibal to the destruction
of Carthage.
DURING the fifty years which succeeded, the
Carthaginians applied themselves, with the
most unremitting industry, to repairing the
losses they had sustained: but they still found
Rome a jealous rival, and a haughty conqueror;
and Masinissa, king of Numidia, an ally of
Rome, and an intriguing and ambitious mo-
narch, had made himself master of one of
their provinces; and, as the Carthaginians were
unable to make war without the consent of the
Romans, they sought redress by embassies, and
complaints against the Numidians.
Commissioners were appointed to examine the
cause of their complaint; but whatever appeared
to depress the republic of Carthage was agree-
able to the Romans. Cato, the censor, who
was one of the commissioners, regarded the
capital of Africa with a jealous eye; he saw
it, as it were, rising from its ruins into
89
splendour; and when he returned to Rome, he
declared, in full senate, that the peace of
Italy could never be established while Carthage
was in being. While this debate was tardily
proceeding, the Carthaginians, bereft of all pa-
tience, suffering daily under the tyranny of
Masinissa, and feeling that the wrongs of Africa
were without other redress, resolved to do their
own cause that justice which the Romans denied
them, and entered the field against the Numi-
dians. They were, however, defeated by Masi-
nissa, though then ninety years old.
Numidia, as described by ancient writers,
appears pretty nearly to correspond with the mo-
dern country of Algiers and Barbary; but none
of the descriptions given by the ancient geogra-
phers of this country convey a very accurate idea
of it. It was bounded by the river Tusca, now
the Zaine, or the Fluvius Rubricatus, which
nearly separated it from the territory of Car-
thage. On the west it was bounded by the river
Malva, (now called Mullooiah) which separa-
ted it from Mauritania Tingitanæ, or the king-
dom of Bocchus; and, on the south, by the
Gætuli, Naimusii, and other barbarous nations.
Numidia was anciently peopled by a number
of petty tribes, but chiefly by two nations, the
Massyli, on the east, and Masæsylii, on the
west. We learn from Diodorus Siculus, that
90
during the Peloponnesian war, each of the
lesser tribes had its own chief, like the savage
nations of Africa at this day. In process of
time, Numidia was subdued, partly by Carthage,
and partly by Agathocles, king of Syracuse,
(who was perhaps the greatest tyrant that ever
appeared in the annals of history.) Neither of
these powers, however, being long able to retain
their conquests, the country fell under the do
minion of its native princes, the ancestors of
Syphax and Jugurtha; those of the former
reigned over the Masæsylii, or western nations.
The most ancient of the kings of the Mas-
sylian race, of whom authentic mention is made
in history, was Narva; he married the sister of
Annibal, and daughter of Amilcar Barcas; his
son Gela reigned over the eastern Numidians,
at the period of the second Punic war, and was
father to Masinissa; at the same period, Syphax
was king of the Masæsylii, or western Numi-
dians.
Of all the princes, of whom we read in the
Roman history, distinguished by the name of
Barbarians, Masinissa may be considered as the
most eminent, not even excepting Mithri-
dates, king of Pontus, so celebrated for his wars
with Rome.
Masinissa was educated at Carthage, and was
early signalized by his courage, as well as known
91
for his extraordinary endowments of body and
mind. In order to engage him, and fix him
more firmly in their interests, the Carthaginians
betrothed to him the young and beautiful Sopho-
nisba, universally
universally considered as the
most
accomplished woman in Africa, and put him at
the head of their army. After defeating Syphax,
Masinissa passed over into Spain, and joined his
forces to those of Asdrubal; but during the ab-
sence of both these warriors, Syphax, the king
of the western Numidia, was gained over by
the Carthaginians, which was the more easily
effected from the violent passion he felt for
Sophonisba. He, therefore, faithlessly deserted
the Roman interest; and, having made a secret
alliance with the former people, received, as a
recompense, the hand of Sophonisba, the in-
tended bride of the brave Massinissa.
Euraged at this act of perfidy, so black and
daring in the Carthaginians, Masinissa instantly
determined on revenge; he joined his arms to
those of Scipio, to which he was the further
induced by the honourable conduct of the latter,
as well as by the unqualified veneration he felt
for the Roman character, and the following
act of generosity rendered him not only ami-
cable to the interests of Rome, but one of her
most firm supporters.
·
92
}
After the defeat of Asdrubal, Scipio, the first
Africanus, who had so gloriously fought for his
country, and obtained the victory, found amongst
the prisoners of war, one of the nephews of the
gallant Masinissa: instead of putting him to
death, Scipio sent him back to his uucle, not
only loaded with presents, but attended by
a detachment of cavalry, for the more perfect
security and protection of his person.
Masinissa, struck with this generous action
of the Roman general, forgot former hostilities,
and joined his troops to those of Scipio. This
change of sentiment proved very detrimental to
the interests of the Carthaginians, as Masinissa
proved the most attached and disinterested ally
the Romans ever had; and to his exertions it
was that they owed many of their victories in
Africa, and particularly in the battle which
proved fatal to Asdrubal and Syphax.
The latter was a king of the Massæsylii, a
people of Lybia; he had married Sophonisba,
the beautiful daughter of Asdrubal, and, such
was his affection to his wife, and his attachment
to his father-in-law, that he broke his alliance
with the Romans, in order to unite himself
more faithfully to their interests, which were
deeply involved in the fate of Carthage. The
unfortunate Syphax fell a victim to this senti-
93
ment of affection; he was conquered, in a bat-
tle, by Masinissa himself; who imagined he
could no ways so highly testify his gratitude
to Scipio, as by presenting the ruined Syphax to
the mercy of the Roman general.
The Numidian conqueror, no less charmed
with the superior beauty of the captive wife of
Syphax, who had once been betrothed to him,
again became so enamoured of her, that he was
regardless of the tears which had not yet ceased
to flow for the wretched fate of her murdered
father, and more ignominious state of her beloved
Syphax, who had been defeated and made cap-
tive, and who was bound in chains, and sent
to Rome, to grace the triumph of Scipio.
Masinissa carried the lovely Sophonisba to
his camp, where he sought by most honorable.
treatment, to renew the interest in her heart she
had formerly felt; and at length he succeeded,
and married the captive Carthaginian. This
conduct displeased the Romans; and Scipio, not
only severely reprimanded the monarch, but
commanded him to part with Sophonisba.
This order deeply afflicted the Numidian king;
he dreaded the Romans, though he had espoused
their interest; the task imposed was indeed
arduous; to have delivered his queen into the
hands of the brave Scipio only, would not have
afflicted him, as he well knew the superior
94
}
honor of that conqueror. He recollected that
Scipio had refused to see a beautiful princess
whom the fate of war had thrown into his hands,
after the taking of Carthage.
Publius Cornelius Scipio was descended from
an illustrious patrician family at the age of
seventeen he was at the battle of Tesin, where
he was so fortunate as to save the life of his
father, at that time consul. In this engagement
he distinguished himself by his courage, and
displayed a conduct superior to his years.
The battle of Canna happened soon after,
where Annibal, whose force scarcely equalled
half the Roman army, gave them the most com-
plete defeat they had ever experienced, as has
been before mentioned. This, however, did
not abate the resolution of the Romans; on the
contrary, their greatness of mind was never
more conspicuous; and when Varro, the consul,
returned to Rome, after the loss of this battle,
of which he had been the principal cause, the
senate went in procession and thanked him for
not despairing of the republic. Instead of
suing to the conqueror, they did not even men-
tion peace; and, at a crisis when other states
would either have opened their gates to the
victors, or have abandoned themselves to the
baseness of despair, they not only made the ne-
cessary dispositions of a vigorous defence, but
95
even detached a large body of troops, for the
security of Spain. The examples of Scipio and
Fabius Maximus had some share in producing
this effect; but the chief cause was the equani-
mity, bravery, and intrepidity, which were be-
come inherent in the Romans. The death of the
two Scipios, father and uncle of Publius Corne-
lius, appeared to indicate the ruin of the Roman
affairs in Spain. Many tears were shed when the
Romans assembled to appoint a successor to
these great men; nobody dared to offer himself
as a candidate, every thing appeared so despe-
rate in that province; and the strict silence which
reigned, made them feel, and regret still more,
their immense loss. In this general consterna-
tion, Scipio, then twenty-four years old, stood
up, and offered to command in Spain, if the
electors approved of him. This heroic propo-
sal of the successor of the great Scipio restored
life and joy to the people, and he was unani-
mously appointed general.
The arrival of Scipio in Spain inspired the
army with renewed courage; they saw with joy,
that his physiognomy resembled those of his
father and uncle, from whence they drew a
happy presage. On a further investigation of
his character, they found he even excelled them
in elegance of manner, docility of mind, and
solidity of judgment: nor did he frustrate their
96
expectations, but in his first enterprize subdued
the Carthaginians.
Scipio, who was the most pious of all the Ro-
mans, immediately returned thanks to the gods,
not only for obtaining this conquest, but like-
wise for assembling there almost all the riches of
Spain and Africa. After the performance of this
primary duty, he rewarded the troops, according
to their merits, with praise, honor, and presents:
he then sent for the hostages, and told them,
with the utmost benevolence, that they had
fallen into the hands of the Romans, who wished
rather to obtain their hearts by kindness, and
gain their esteem by the honorable title of friends
and allies, than reduce them to the ignominious
and miserable condition of abject slavery.
On this occasion, a lady of illustrious birth,
the wife of Mandonius, brother to Indibilis,
king of Illergetes, threw herself at the feet of
Scipio, with several young princesses, the
daughters of Indibilis, intreating the conque-
ror to give them instant death, rather than
suffer them to fall into the hands of his
soldiery. Scipio, deeply affected at this ad-
dress, exclaimed, My honor, and that of
my country, must lead me not only to appre-
ciate the virtue which fill the minds of yourself
and these young creatures: but you have all
furnished me with new motives for affording you
""
97
my peculiar protection, by evincing, in the midst
of your apprehensions, during the horrors of a
sanguinary war, that the preservation of female
dignity was your first consideration." He then
entrusted them to the charge of an officer of
approved fidelity, who conducted them in safety
to their relatives.
The soldiers now brought to Scipio a prin-
cess, so extremely beautiful and accomplished,
that she surpassed all her contemporaries. She
was contracted to Allucius, prince of the Celti-
berians. Scipio sent for the parents of the
princess, as well as for the prince destined to be
her husband; on their arrival, he presented her
to them, saying, "I return to you the most
virtuous and beautiful of her sex, worthy of
you and me, and I ask no return, but that you
become the friend of the Romans." The pa-
rents of the young princess pressed Scipio to
accept an immense sum, and the most costly
jewels, which they had brought for the ransom
of their daughter, and laid them at the feet of
the conqueror; but Scipio, addressing himself
to Allucius, said, "this vast sum, and these
jewels, I add to the marriage portion which you
are to receive from your intended father-in-law."
Scipio was at this time young, and a conqueror!
No sooner were the virtuous lovers re-
stored to their country, than they proclaimed
VOL. I.
H
98
the excellent qualities of the magnanimous
Scipio; they represented him as a young Roman
of the most exalted disposition, who subdued
all men equally by the force of arms, and by be-
nevolence, generosity, and condescension;-this
honorable action was the glory of the nation,
the glory of the age, and an inimitable exam-
ple for posterity. The two princes, Indibilis
and Mandonius, met him with their forces, and
assured him their persons only had been with
his enemies, their hearts having been where they
knew honour, justice, and virtue were revered;
they then presented their wives and children to
him, and the general joy was so great, that they
could only evince their respect by tears and em-
braces. Allucius, also, not only sent fifteen
hundred horse for the use of Scipio, but rejoined
the conqueror soon after himself.
Scipio, on his arrival in Rome, was chosen
consul; the fame of his exploits disposed every
mind in his favor, and Sicily was awarded to
him by one common voice. Already famous
for his victories, he attracted the attention of
the whole world; and the Romans, admiring
the bravery of his enterprizes, which none but
himself had dared to plan, or execute, rewarded
him with a triumph.
Envy procured for the great Scipio the most
bitter enemies: Cato, his inveterate rival, raised
99
seditions against him; and the Petilli, two tri-
bunes of the people, injured the conqueror of
Annibal, and accused him of corresponding
with Antiochus. Tiberius Servius Gracchus,
however, also his declared enemy, shocked at
the ingratitude of the Romans, had the gene-
rosity to defend his character against all the
efforts of calumny. In return, Scipio gave him
his daughter in marriage.
Scipio retired to Liternum, a town in Cam-
pania, where he resided the remainder of his
life, and caused a mausoleum to be erected
there, that he might not be interred in an un-
grateful country. On this mausoleum his
wife, Emilia, placed his statue, with that of
the poet Ennius, who had been the companion
of his peace and retirement.
He is represented as having had all the re-
quisites and qualities necessary to form a com-
plete general; courage, prudence, clemency,
and moderation. He never practised the least
finesse to protract a war for his own private ad-
vantage. When he first commanded an army,
his exalted genius, improved by the study of
the arts and sciences, served him instead of
experience, which evinced the necessity and
importance of a good education. The talents
of his mind, however great, were excelled by
the virtues of his heart: he thought nothing
H 2
100
satisfactory, but a good conscience; nothing
honorable, but virtue; nothing disgraceful, but
vice; he was never elated by prosperity: he paid
great regard and respect to learned men. Con-
tented to attract respect by his excellent quali-
ties, he banished all vain appearances, which he
declared only deceived the senses: he lived with-
out pomp, without luxury, almost without at-
tendants. He bore the ingratitude of his coun-
trymen with a greatness of mind equalled by
few, and surpassed by none; his nature induced
him to maintain the liberty of his country, and
his reason informed him it should be preserved
entire for the benefit of posterity. In his youth,
he possessed the experience of mature age, and
in his old age he possessed the vivacity of youth.
Splendid in public life, in private frugal; he
excelled all the Romans in moderation, con-
tinence, and urbanity; he not only vanquished
every army that opposed him, but performed
that most difficult task, of conquering himself.
He was simple in his diet, plain in his dress,
and moderate in his furniture;-in fine, Scipio
was all that is laudable.
Masinissa now reflected with horror on the
consequences of delivering Sophonisba to the
Romans, in whose city her unfortunate husband
had already paid the debt of nature, after lan-
guishing in a dungeon.
1
101
The wretched monarch oppressed with grief,
entered the tent of Sophonisba: that courageous
heart, which had never till now felt the influence
of fear, and those eyes, which had never been
sullied by a tear, were now bedewed with the
most bitter affliction. He threw himself at the
feet of the captive, and declared, that since
she could not live as became her dignity, and as
all his exertions had failed to deliver her from
her captivity, and the jealousy of the Romans,
he intreated her, as the strongest pledge of her
love and affection, to die like the daughter of
Asdrubal, and the niece of the great Annibal.
Sophonisba raised the monarch from his hum-
ble posture, and, with a courage firm and serene,
not only comforted him, but promised to drink
the cup of poison he should send her. As her
husband left the tent, a slave entered, and pre-
sented that cup, which was to save her from the
indignation of the Romans, and which she drank
with undaunted composure.
The Romans, often spectators of the courage
and valor of Masinissa, rewarded his fidelity
with the kingdom of Syphax, and several of the
Carthaginian territories.
The alliance of the Numidian king, with the
Romans, was the cause of all his great-
ness. In the last years of his life, we see him,
at the head of his armies, signalizing himself
102
with the most indefatigable activity. It is re-
ported, that this great warrior often remained
for many successive days on horse-back, without
a saddle, or the least covering to his head, and
without evincing the least appearance of fatigue.
This strength of mind and body he chiefly owed
to the temperance which he observed: he was
seen at the door of his tent, eating the coarsest
bread, like a private soldier, the day after he had
obtained an immortal victory over the armies of
Carthage. At his death he displayed the supe-
rior confidence he had in the Romans, and the
esteem he entertained of the rising virtues and
talents of young Scipio Emilianus, the son of
the great Scipio, by entrusting to him the dis-
posal of his kingdom among his children.
sinissa left fifty four sons, three of whom only
were legitimate, Micipsa, Gulussa, and Manas-
tabal, between whom young Scipio divided the
kingdom, and the other sons received valuable
presents as their portions: the death, however,
of the two youngest, left Micipsa entire master
of the large possessions of Masinissa.
Ma-
The Carthaginians, by waging war against
the Numidians (by whom, as we have seen, they
were defeated) had broken the peace with the
Romans; and, as their late defeat rendered them
desperate, they hastened to Rome, to justify
themselves, and to implore forgiveness of the
103
senate. They received evasive and unsatisfac-
tory answers, the Romans acting with the deep-
est policy and dissimulation. No declaration of
war was made, but hostilities appeared inevitable;
and, in answer to the submissive overtures of
Carthage, the consuls declared, that the Car-
thaginians must deliver into their hands 300
hostages, all the children of the senators, and
of the most illustrious families. When this was
acceded to, the Romans next demanded their
armies, their engines of war, their naval stores,
and their military accoutrements. To this the
oppressed Carthaginians were obliged to submit,
and 200,000 suits of armour, and 20,000 large
engines of war, with every other warlike imple-
ment, were delivered up.
This duplicity having succeeded, the Cartha-
ginians were next informed, they must immedi-
ately leave their ancient habitations, retire into
the interior of Africa, and establish another
city at least ten miles from the sea. They were
filled with horror at this mandate; their indig-
nation was roused, and, though Carthage was
filled with bitter tears and lamentations, yet the
spirit of independence was not extinguished,
and they determined to sacrifice their lives for
the protection of their gods, the tombs of their
forefathers, and the place of their nativity.
They made preparations to support a siege;
4
104
1
and the ramparts of Carthage were covered with
stones, to compensate for those instruments and
engines of war, which they had been so unguarded
as to yield up into the hands of their enemy.
The town was blockaded by the Romans, and a
regular siege began. Two years were spent
in unavailing preparations and defence, and
Carthage seemed still able to rise from it ruins,
and to dispute the empire of the world, even
without arms and weapons. The Romans now
sent for Scipio Emilius, the conqueror of An-
nibal in the plains of Zama. On his arrival, he
cut off the communication between the city and
the land, a space of twenty miles in circumfe-
rence; and that the Carthaginians might also
be deprived of the command of the sea, a stu-
penduous mole was thrown across the harbour,
with immense labor and vast expense. These
measures, which might have dispirited the most
active enemy, rendered this heroic people, who
deserved a better fate, more eager in the cause
of freedom. All the inhabitants, without diş-
tinction either of rank, age, or sex, employed
themselves, without cessation, to dig another
harbor, and to equip another fleet; and had they
immediately, with equal decision, attacked the
Roman ships, they might have gained a victory,
as, by their unexpected appearance, they would
have surprised the enemy: but the delay of the
105
Carthaginians proved fatal to their cause, and
the Romans had sufficient time to make
rations.
prepa-
Scipio soon got possession of a small eminence
in the harbor, where the battlements were low
and unguarded; and, by the most unlooked for
success, he forced the gates of the devoted city.
His entrance was opposed with fury; he at
length effected his hostile design by fire and
sword. The surrender of fifty thousand Car-
thaginians was followed by the entire submis-
sion of Carthage itself. The captured city was
set on fire, and continued burning seventeen
days. Thus was reded to ashes that city
which had been the seat of commerce, the rival
of Rome, and the model of magnificence.
Scipio was compelled to demolish the very walls,
to obey the vindictive feelings of the Romans.
The great, the noble Scipio himself shed tears
over this melancholy and tragical scene, and
expressed his fears lest Rome, in her turn, should
experience such another conflagration. This
event happened 147 years before Christ. Scipio's
return to Rome was that of another conqueror
of Annibal; and, like the former Scipio, his
grandfather, he was honored with a magnificent
triumph, and received the surname of Afri-
canus.
( 106 )
CHAP. IX.
From the destruction of Carthage to the beginning
of the Mithridatic war.
THE Romans, impatient for still further con-
quests, soon engaged in a war with Philip, king
of Macedon. The pretext for this was hostili-
ties, which Philip had committed against the
Archæans, who were the friends and allies of
Rome. To the consul Flaminius was com-
mitted the conduct of the war; he had been
twice employed against Annibal, and evinced
himself fully capable of discharging the high
trust reposed in him, at the head of the Roman
legions, where he signalized himself in the most
distinguished manner. The Greek states gra-
dually declared themselves his firmest supporters,
and at length he totally defeated Philip on the
confines of Epirus; and added Macedonia to the
Roman states. He made all Locris, Thessaly,
and Phocis, tributary to the power of the Ro-
man people.
!
107
After the island of Euboea had been taken,
Philip sued for peace, which was granted to the
deposed monarch in the fourth year of the war.
This event procured for all Greece freedom
and independence, and this memorable action
acquired so much celebrity for the Romans, that
they assumed the appellation of "the patrons.
of Greece," and insensibly paved their way to
universal dominion. The Isthmian games were
celebrated among the Greeks for the purpose of
commemorating this event. They received their
appellation from the Isthmus of Corinth, where
they were observed every fifth year, and were
held so inviolable, that even a public calamity
could not prevent the celebration of them.
When Mummius, the Roman general, in his
consulship with Cneius Cornelius Lentulus, de-
stroyed Corinth, these games were observed with
the usual solemnity, and the Sicyonians were en-
trusted with the superintendence of them, which
had been previously the privilege of the ruined
Corinthians. Combats of every kind were ex-
hibited, and the victors were rewarded with
garlands of pine leaves.
The years were reckoned from the celebration
of the Isthmian games, as amongst the Romans
they were computed from the consular govern-
The Sicyonians, who superintended
these celebrations, were inhabitants of Sicyonia,
ment.
108
a province of Peloponnesus, on the bay of
Corinth, on which Sicyonia was the capital. It
was at that time the most eminent kingdom of
Greece, and abounded with corn, wine, and
olives; and it also possessed valuable iron
mines.
Flaminius behaved towards the Greeks with
the greatest policy; and, by his ready compli
ance with their national customs and prejudices,
he gained the most distinguished popularity, as
well as the appellation of "father and deliverer
of Greece."
It
Philip has been compared to his ancestor of
the same name; but it appears he was much less
sagacious, and infinitely more intriguing.
was prophecied by one of the Sybils, "that
Macedon would be indebted to one Philip for
its rise, and to another for its fall." The am-
bitious cruelty of Perses, son of Philip, whose
enmity towards the Romans was as deeply
rooted as his father's, led him, after making
great preparations for the purpose, again to
declare war against Rome. His operations
·
were, however, slow
slow and injudicious; he
wanted resolution, decision, and celerity of
action; and, though he had at first obtained
some evident advantages, yet his avarice and his
timidity proved destructive to his cause. Al-
though victory ultimately decided in favor of
109
three years.
the Romans, yet twenty thousand of them
were lost in the conquest. This decisive event.
put an end to the war, which had already lasted
Perses and his sons were carried to
Rome, to adorn the triumphs of the conqueror,
and Macedonia was finally settled into a Roman
province. Thus Rome saw captive in her streets,
a monarch who had defeated her armies, and
alarmed Italy by the magnificence of his mili-
tary preparations. He died in prison, during the
first year of his captivity. His son Alexander
was apprenticed to a carpenter, and passed the
greatest part of his life in obscurity; till his
ingenuity raised him to notice, and he was
made secretary to the senate.
( 110 )
CHAP. X.
From the commencement of the Mithridatic war to
the age of Julius Cæsar.
The provinces of Asia now attracted the atten-
tion of the Romans, and they determined to add
them to their empire. The Mithridatic war was
set on foot. It was the most celebrated of any
that had ever been carried on by the Romans
against a foreign power. The ambition of
Mithridates, the third king of Pontus, and his
views on the kingdom of Cappadocia, of which
he had been stripped by the Romans, first en-
gaged him to take up arms against the republic
of Rome. Cappadocia is a country of Asia
Minor, near the Euphrates, a large river of
Mesopotamia. Three Roman officers of great
celebrity, Cassius, Acquillius, and Oppius,
opposed Mithridates with the troops of Bythy-
nia, of Cappadocia, and Gallogræcia, which,
together with the Roman legions in Asia,
111
amounted to 70,000 infantry, and 6,000 ca-
valry.
The forces of the king of Pontus were greatly
superior to these; he brought into the field
250,000 infantry, 40,000 cavalry, and 130 armed
chariots, under the command of Neoptolemus
and Archelaus. His fleet also consisted of 400
ships of war, well manned and provisioned.
On the meeting of the hostile armies, the conflict
was terrible; but Mithridates was victorious,
and he disarmed the Roman forces in Asia, of
great part of which country he possessed him-
self; the Hellespont also submitted to his power,
Two of the Roman generals were taken; one of
them, Acquillius, was carried about in Asia, and
exposed to the ridicule and insults of the soldiers,
and was, at last, put to death by Mithridates,
who ordered melted gold to be poured down his
throat, as a censure on the avarice and avidity of
the Romans. The conqueror took every possible
advantage; he subdued all the islands of the
Egean sea; and, though Rhodes refused to
submit to his power, yet all Greece was terri-
fied at the approach of his general, Archelaus,
who made many of their provinces tributary to
the kingdom of Pontus.
In the mean time, the Romans, incensed
against Mithridates, through whose cruelty
80,000 of their countrymen had been massacred
112
in Asia, appointed Sylla, a Roman of great cele-
brity and illustrious family, to march against
him. Sylla landed in Greece, a chief part of
whose inhabitants acknowledged his supremacy ;
but Athens shut her gates against him; and
Archelaus, who defended it, defeated with the
greatest courage all the efforts and operations
of the enemy. At length, Archelaus retreated
into Boeotia, whither Sylla followed him; and
Lucullus, a Roman knight of great bravery and
skill in military operations, was appointed over
Asia, and managed the war so judiciously, that
the king of Pontus was defeated in several san-
guinary engagements, and saved his life only by
flying to Tigranes, his father-in-law, king of
Armenia. Lucullus immediately pursued him,
and crossing the Euphrates with the greatest
expedition, gave battle to the numerous forces
which Tigranes had assembled to support his
son-in-law. Many thousands fell in this battle;
Plutarch says, they amounted to 100,000 foot,
and 65,000 cavalry; and this carnage was made
by a Roman army consisting only of 18,000
men, of whom only 500 were killed, and 100
wounded, in the combat.
The taking of Tigranocerta, the capital of
Armenia, now called Sered, was the conse-
quence of this splendid victory; and Lucullus
there obtained the greatest part of the immense
113
royal treasures. This continual success, how-
ever, was attended with fatal consequences to
Lucullus himself; for his severity in military
discipline, and the haughtiness of his manners
and commands, offended his soldiers, and dis-
pleased his adherents at Rome. A mutiny
amongst the troops was the consequence; Lu-
cullus was superceded, and Pompey was sent to
replace him, and to continue the Mithridatic
war. His interview with Lucullus began with
acts of mutual courtesy and kindness; but
ended with the most inveterate reproaches and
open enmity. Lucullus was permitted to return
to Rome, and sixteen hundred of his soldiers,
who had shared his dangers and his glory, were
allowed to accompany him. He was received
with coldness by the Romans, and with difficulty
obtained the honor of a triumph, though he
had so eminently deserved it by his successes
and his virtues.
Thus ended the days of his glory, and he re-
tired to the enjoyment of ease and peaceful
society, no longer interesting himself in the com-
motions of Rome, or regarding the ingratitude
of his countrymen. He dedicated his time to stu-
dious pursuits, and to literary conversation with
the learnedmen of his time. His villa was enriched
with a valuable library, which he kept open for
the inspection and use of the curious; and he
VOL. I.
I
114
L
was admired for his numerous accomplishments.
At the same time he was censured for his extra-
vagance and prodigality; the expenses of his
meals being immoderate, and his halls distin-
guished by the names of the different Gods.
When Cicero and Pompey endeavoured to sur-
prise him, they were astonished at the costliness
of a supper, which put the generous host to the
expense of fifty thousand drachmas, computed
to be £1,614, 11s. 8d. sterling, and which was
prepared on the single word of Lucullus, who
merely bid his servant "serve the supper in the
hall of Apollo."
He exhausted every con-
trivance of art to improve and vary the beau-
ties of his charming retreat: subterraneous
caves and passages were dug under the hills on
the coast of Campania; and the sea was con-
veyed by canals round the villa and pleasure
grounds, where every sort of fish was found in
the highest perfection and abundance. At his
death it was reported, that not less than twenty-
five thousand pounds worth of fish was sold
from those canals.
Pompey, the new general, proved himself wor-
thy to succeed Lucullus; he entirely defeated
Mithridates, whose situation he rendered so des-
perate, that he fled for safety to the country of
the Scythians, which was situated on the most
northern parts of Europe and Asia. The boun-
115
daries of Scythia were unknown to the ancients,
as no traveller had penetrated Leyond the vast
tracts of land which lay at the north, east, and
west. Scythia comprehended the modern king-
doms of Tartary, Russia in Asia, Siberia, Mus-
covy, the Crimea, Poland, part of Hungary,
Lithuania, the northern parts of Germany,
Sweden, and Norway.
In Scythia Mithridates again meditated the
ruin of the Roman empire; and, with more
courage than prudence, resolved to invade
Italy by land, and to march an army across the
northern wilds of Asia and Europe to the Apen-
nines. Not only the kingdom of Mithridates
had fallen into the hands of the Romans, but
the neighbouring kings also were subdued; and
Pompey saw at his feet Tigranes, the father-in-law
of the king of Pontus, who had always treated
the Romans with the greatest contempt.
The provinces of Rome were invaded by
an army of 300,000 barbarians, consisting of the
Ambrones, Teutones, and Cimbri, 109 years be-
fore Christ. These barbarians were so coura-
geous, and even desperate, that they united their
ranks to each other with cords, in order to pre-
vent themselves from leaving their station in the
battle. In the first combat, they are said to have
destroyed 80,000 Romans, under the consuls
Manlius and Servilius Cæpio. The Romans.
I 2
116
1
then selected Marius, a distinguished warrior, to
resist so numerous and formidable an enemy.
He met the Teutones in his second consulship,
at Aquæ Sextiæ now Aix, a place in Cisalpine
Gaul; and, after a most sanguinary engagement,
he left dead on the field of battle 20,000 of the
barbarians, and took 90,000 prisoners.
The following year, the Cimbri, who had
formed another army, had already penetrated
into Italy, where they were met at the Athesis,
now the Adige, a river of Cisalpine Gaul, near
the Po, by Marius, and his colleague Catullus,
and 140,000 of them were slain. The two
generals entered Rome in triumph, and Marius,
for his eminent services, was styled "the third
founder of Rome," and was again elected
consul.
His ever-restless ambition, however, induced
him to raise seditions at home, and to oppose
the power of Sylla, who every day gained new
victories. This was the foundation of a civil
war, as Marius ordered Sylla to give up the
command of the forces with which he was en-
trusted. Marius had by his intrigues, while he
exercised the inferior offices of the state, ren-
dered himself conspicuous; and his marriage
with Julia, who was of the family of the
Cæsars, contributed in some measure to raise
him into consequence and honor. Sylla had
117
entered into the army under Marius, who soon
discovered his military abilities. He engaged
him to accompany him into Numidia, in the
capacity of questor, which was the first office
tenable in the state. Besides retaining the Ro-
man ensigns in their possession, it was requi-
site that every general, before he was honored
with a triumph, should tell the questor, on oath,
that he had given a just and fair account of the
number of the slain on each side, and that he
had been saluted by the title of " Imperator" by
the soldiers; the title every commander received
from the army after he had obtained a victory.
Sylla, having rendered himself conspicuous
in military affairs, his rising fame gave great
umbrage to Marius, who was ever jealous of an
equal, and never allowed a superior. Sylla re-
sisted the unjust demands of Marius, and abso-
lutely refused to deliver up the command of the
legions, which order he considered as arbitrary
and insulting; declaring that with his life he
would oppose such demands. He therefore
boldly advanced to Rome, putting a price on the
head of Marius, who was obliged to save his
life by immediate flight. The unpropitious
winds prevented him from seeking a safe retreat
in Africa, and he was left on the coast of Cam-
pania, where he was discovered in a deep marsh,
in which he had secreted himself.
He was
118
dragged to the neighbouring town of Min-
turnæ. The magistrates, devoted to the cause
of Sylla, pronounced sentence of death on their
prisoner. A military guard was ordered to
decapitate him, but the stern countenance of
Marius disarmed the courage of the executioner;
and when Marius, with a steady and undaunted
voice, exclaimed, "Where is the man who dare
decapitate Marius?" the impending axe dropped
from the hand of the guard; the feelings and
compassion of the people were awakened, and they
declared that Marius must be saved!
He was
released from his bonds, and his escape to Africa
connived at, where his son had already inte-
rested the leading men in his favor, and
armed the people. Marius landed near the walls
of Carthage, were he received some little con-
solation at the sight of the venerable ruins of a
once powerful city, which, like himself, had
been exposed to calamity, and had felt the bitter
and cruel vicissitudes of fortune,
The governor of Africa dreading the power
of Sylla, advised him to fly to some neighbour-
ing island, where Marius was soon after informed
that Cinna had embraced his cause, and raised
an army in his favor at Rome. This inspired
him with so much confidence, and animated him
with such hopes of success, that he immediately
sailed with a view to co-operate with his friend.
119
His army increased; his faction enlarged; and
he entered Rome like a conqueror. All his
enemies were sacrificed to his resentment and
fury. Rome was inundated with blood; and
Marius, who had once been the father of his
country, marched through the city, attended by
a number of assassins, who murdered all whose
salutations were not answered by their leader,
which was the signal given for carnage and
bloodshed.
When Marius and Cinna had sufficiently gra
tified and satiated their revenge, by their horrid
massacre, they declared themselves consuls; but
Marius, already devoured by infirmities and fa-
tigue, expired sixteen days after he had been
honored by the consular dignity, in the 69th year
of his age and 81 years before Christ. Thejealousy
of Marius had rather inflamed than extinguished
the ambition of Sylla, who had gained a com-
plete victory in Asia, and before he left the
Asiatic plains, had received in his tent the am-
bassadors of the king of Parthia, with over-
tures of an alliance with the Romans. Sylla, how-
ever, received them with such haughtiness, and
behaved with such arrogance, that one of them
exclaimed, "Surely this man is master of the
world, or doomed to be so!" On Sylla's return
to Rome, he was commissioned to continue a
war which had broken out with the Marsi, a
120
nation in Germany, who afterwards settled near
the lake of Fucinus, in Italy; a country beauti-
fully chequered with forests, but abounding with
wild boars, and other ferocious animals. They
were, at first, highly inimical to the Romans, but
became at length their firmest supporters. The
Marsi have been much celebrated in history for
the civil war in which they engaged, and which
was denominated the Marsian war.
The large contributions which these people
made, to support the interests of Rome, ren-
dered them bold and aspiring; and they claimed,
with the rest of the Italians, a share of the
honors and privileges which were enjoyed by
the citizens of Rome. They declared themselves
a republic, and made Corfinium, now San Ferino,
their capital. After several sanguinary conflicts,
a decisive battle was fought near Asculum, now
Ascoli, which proved fatal to the cause of the
Marsi, and four thousand of their army fell in
the field. Their general, Francus, was killed,
and those who thought themselves fortunate to
escape from the battle, perished by hunger in
the Apennines, where they had taken shelter.
The Marsi and their allies, after being entirely
subdued by Sylla, sued for peace, and all the
states of Italy were made citizens of Rome.
Sylla was rewarded with a triumph; and, after
having put to death Sulpitius, who had always
121
opposed his views, he marched towards Asia,
disregarding the flames of discord which he
left unextinguished at Rome. When he reached
the coast of Peloponnesus, he was delayed on
the coast of Athens, one of the first cities of
Greece, or perhaps of Europe, the seat of learn-
ing, of the fine arts, and of arms. It is now
the see of a Greek archbishop, with several
churches, but inconsiderable, if compared with
its ancient splendor.
Sylla carried on his operations against it with
such vigor, that the feeble efforts of the Athe-
nians were of little avail. The Piraeus sur-
rendered. When his resources failed, Sylla
scrupled not to possess himself of the immense
riches of the temples of the gods, with which
he bribed his soldiers, and rendered them de-
voted to his service. He was, however, struck
with reverence and astonishment, at the
beautiful and magnificent edifices at Athens,
which were erected on the most scientific con-
struction, and grieved that so many of them,
with their superb porticos, had already been
destroyed; porticos in which Socrates and Plato,
with their followers, had often reasoned and
disputed. He, therefore, determined to spare
the city which he had devoted to destruction;
and he enthusiastically declared, he forgave the
living for the sake of the dead.
122
Two sanguinary battles at Cheronea, and
Orchomenus, rendered Sylla master of all
Greece.
The Piraeus was the celebrated and capacious
harbor of Athens. It was united to the city of
Athens (from which it was distant three miles)
by two stupendous walls, seven miles and a
half in circumference, and sixty feet high.
Themistocles, the Athenian general, highly dis-
tinguished in history, who built one of them,
wished to have raised it to double its height;
the other was erected by Pericles. The towers
which were raised on the walls, as a defence to
the citadel, were, as the population of Athens
gradually increased, converted into dwelling
houses. This was considered by the Athenians
as the most capacious of all their harbours, and
was naturally divided into three large basons,
called Cantharos, Aphrodisium, and Zea: they
had been improved by the labors of Themis-
tocles, and made sufficiently capacious to ac-
commodate a fleet of four hundred sail of ships,
affording that number the greatest security. The
walls which had joined it to Athens, with their
immense fortifications, were totally demolished,
when Lysander put an end to the Peloponne-
sian war, by the reduction of Attica, the prin-
cipal country of Achaia. Sylla, after this, crossed
123
the Hellespont, and attacked Mithridates, in
the very interior of his kingdom.
The Hellespont is now known by the name of
the Dardanelles; it is a narrow strait between
Asia and Europe, near the Propontis. There
were two castles, one on each side of the strait
of Gallipoli, between the Archipelago and the
sea of Marmora, built in the year 1658, by
Mahomet the fourth, to guard the entrance of
the narrow sea, which is not more than a league
wide. It is sixty miles long, and in the broad-
est parts, the Asiatic coast is about three miles
distant from the European.
Mithridates, who well knew the valor and
perseverence of his enemy, made proposals of
peace; and Sylla, whose interest at home was
decreasing, did not scruple to put an end to a
war which rendered him master of so much ter-
ritory, and which enabled him to return to Rome
in triumph, and to dispute the sovereignty of
the republic, with the aid of a victorious army.
Murena was left at the head of the Roman
forces in Asia, and Sylla hastened to Italy. In
the plains of Campania, he was met by a few of
his adherents, whom the success of his rival had
banished from the city, and he was soon inform-
ed, that if he wished to contend with the Marian
faction, he must be prepared to encounter fifteen
generals, commanding twenty-five well disci-
124
plined legions of troops. In this critical situa
tion, Sylla had recourse to that artifice which
never deserted him: and, while he seemed to
propose terms of accommodation to his enemies,
he secretly strengthened himself, and saw with
delight his army daily increase, by the revolt of
soldiers whom his bribes and promises corrupted.
Sylla appeared in the field with eclat; the confi-
dence of the persons comprising the Marian
faction had diminished with the life of their
leader; and Sylla entered Rome, like a tyrant
and a conqueror, condemning all he met to the
sword.
The streets of Rome were again inundated
with blood, and filled with dead bodies; and
seven thousand citizens, who had not joined his
party, and to whom he had already promised
pardon, were suddenly massacred in the circus;
a large edifice, where the spectacles were exhi-
bited, and the public games performed. It had
been erected by Tarquinius Priscus, and could
contain 300,000 spectators. The form of the
building was oval; it was 2,187 feet in length,
and 960 in breadth. The shrieks of the unhappy
people who, at the time of this outrage, were
witnessing the representation of some public spec-
tacle, were so piercing, that the senate, who were
assembled in the temple of Bellona, were lost in
horror at the sufferings of their dying country-
125
men.
They enquired into the cause of this
dreadful massacre: Sylla coldly replied, "They
are, my conscript fathers, only a few rebels,
whom I have ordered to be chastised." If
this had been the last sad scene which Rome had
been doomed to witness, she might have been
content and happy. These, however, were but
the beginning of her sufferings; each succeeding
day exhibited scenes which it is impossible to
depict; hundreds of slaughtered bodies filled the
streets; and, when the senators dared to ask
the tyrant when his cruelties would have an end,
Sylla, with an air of sang froid, answered, he
had not yet determined, but he would take it
into consideration.
The massacre still continued, and new lists.
of the proscribed were daily stuck up in the
streets, and on the walls of the houses. The
slave was rewarded for his master's head, and
the son encouraged to slay his father. No less
than 4,700 of the most opulent and most illus-
trious of the Roman citizens were murdered,
and Sylla made himself perpetual consul and
dictator. He enacted new laws, abrogated such
as were inimical to his own restless views and
ambitious projects. At length, having performed
all that the most absolute sovereign could have
done, he abdicated the dictatorial power, and re-
tired to a solitude at Puteoli, where he rioted
126
in luxury, though he still contínued to interest
himself in the affairs of the republic. His vin-
dictive spirit continued to the last moment of
his life, as appears by his treatment of the chief
magistrate of Puteoli.
A tax had been imposed on the tributary
eities for the repair of the capitol, which mag-
nificent edifice had been nearly consumed in the
late commotions. Grassus, the governor of
Puteoli, had received the contribution of his
fellow citizens, but he delayed to pay the
money, imagining he should be able to retain it
for his own use, in case of the death of Sylla,
who had been long declining in health. Sylla,
informed of this, and enraged at the insolence
of a man, who founded his hopes on the pro-
spect of his own speedy dissolution, sent for
Grassus, and ordered him to be strangled in his
presence.
The violent emotions excited in
Sylla's mind, on the occasion, were the cause
of his death. They caused the breaking of an
impostume in his lungs, of which he suddenly
expired: and it may be said, that the famous
Cornelius Sylla terminated his life with an un-
relenting act of revenge. By some authors,
however, Sylla is declared to have died of the
pedicularian complaint.
The consuls disputed respecting his funeral.
Lepidus wished to have him interred in the
:
127
mausoleum of his fathers; but Catullus, sup-
ported by Pompey, prevailed in having his body
carried in great pomp, dressed in a triumphal
robe, and lying on a bed of state. It was de-
corated with gold, and twenty-four lictors
walked before it in the procession, with the
rods and axes, until it reached the Campus
Martius, where it was burnt with funeral
honors.
Sylla was the first patrician of the Cornelii
family, whose body was not interred. It was
dreaded, by his friends, that his bones might
one day be treated as he had treated the remains
of Marius, whose body he ordered to be dug
up, and thrown into the Tiber.
Plutarch mentions that, in his time, the
tomb, in which the ashes of Sylla were depo-
sited, was still to be seen in the Campus Mar-
tius, and on it engraven an epitaph composed
by himself, which was to this effect: "No
man ever surpassed Sylla, either in obliging his
friends, or in revenging himself on his enemies.”
On the death of Sylla, the people were anx-
ious to support their liberty, and enjoy their
emancipation from his tyranny; they reflected
on the miseries and cruelties to which they had
been exposed, without mercy, and which they
had endured under Marius and Sylla, with hor
ror and indignation.
128
The plebeians, though originally the poorest
and most contemptible citizens of an indigent
nation, whose food, in the first ages of the
empire of the world, was bread only, of the
coarsest sort, seasoned with salt, and whose
drink was only water, soon gained rights and
privileges by their opposition to the patricians.
and the senate. Thus, from abject slavery, they
became powerful in the state, and one conces-
sion from the patricians produced another.
The tribunes now asserted their rights, and
afforded them their open and unqualified assist-
ance; and they were not only admitted to the
most important offices of the state, but the
laws which forbad the intermarriage of plebeian
and patrician families were repealed; and the
meanest peasant could, by valor and fortitude,
be raised, not only to the consular dignity, but
to the dictatorship.
These privileges being once obtained by the
people from the senatorial body, Rome began
to enjoy internal peace and tranquillity. Her
soldiers were now animated with vigor in fight-
ing her battles, and her sovereignty universally
established.
All the ancient writers agree, that the first
Romans conquered their enemies by valor,
temperance, and fortitude: their moderation
and justice was so highly distinguished amongst
129
their neighbours, that not only private posses-
sions, but even mighty kingdoms and empires,
were left in their hands, to be distributed among
a family, or to be insured in the hands of a suc-
cessor.
The foreign victories of the Romans proved
their ruin as a brave people: they became attached
to the luxuries and indulgences of the Asi-
atics.
The indolence and the vices of the nations
which they had subdued were bad examples for
them, which they followed, and, becoming equally
deceitful and effeminate, they were degraded
from the virtues and fortitude which had marked
the characters of their ancestors.
As we have seen, Marcellus first introduced
a taste for the fine arts amongst his countrymen:
the spoils, treasures, and sumptuous plunder
of the temples, had the effect he proposed.
The Romans soon became fond of all the
elegant refinements of ornamental furniture,
and splendid equipage. From their intercourse
with the Greeks they also soon became attached
to literature and philosophy.
Carmedes, of Cyrene, which was an African
colony, was sent by the Athenians, with Dio-
genes the stoic, and Critolaus the Peripatetic,
as ambassadors to Rome.
The Roman youth were soon captivated with
VOL. I.
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130
the society of these learned men, and they not
only vied with each other in cultivating the good
opinion of the philosophers, but were emulous.
in forming their minds in direct unison with men
possessed of such superior attainments; and a
report prevailed, that three Grecians had arrived,
who had inspired the public with such enthu-
siastic delight, that they had forgotten their
military tactics, and had run mad after philoso-
phy and literature
When this reached the ears of Cato, the
censor, he was extremely mortified, as he had
not only declared against the innovations of
these new principles of philosophy, but had
maintained that war was the only profession
necessary to his countrymen.
He hastened, therefore, to give audience to
the ambassadors in the senate-house: and
though he was in some degree pleased with their
conversation, yet he sternly dismissed them,
fearing their notions should obliterate the love
of arms in the people, and not only render
them refined and literary, but effeminate and
luxurious.
Notwithstanding the decisive measures of the
censor, and his singular care to subvert what he
thought the ill effects already disseminated by
these wise men, the Romans had sufficiently
conversed with them, to appreciate their talents,
131
and to value their acquisitions. They devoted
their time to the study of literature; and daily
became more ardent in the acquisition of science,
and the pursuit of knowledge.
They gradually became enlightened, and
their manners gained such a degree of polish,
that they cultivated, to a degree of enthusiasm,
a taste for poetry and the fine arts.
The Romans had formerly banished the Athe-
nian sophists from their city; they now earnestly
intreated their return, and not only beheld with
rapture their settlement in their principal towns,
but cultivated, with delight, the friendship of
their polished neighbours.
The courage, bravery, and valor of their
heroes and conquerors, afforded excellent sub-
jects to the genius of their poets and historians.
We must, however, look to the Augustan age,
as the golden era in which the talents of the
Romans shone forth in their meridian splendor;
-when Virgil, the incomparable and immortal
Virgil! added such lustre to the Latin name.
The triumphs and victories of his country
appeared with tenfold applause in the distin-
guished and superior elegance of his numbers,
the brilliant lustre of his muse, and the chaste
delicacy of his expressions.
To the lyric powers of the social Horace
every degree of admiration and applause must
K 2
132
be given, as long as the name of Rome survives,
or human taste exists.
The impassioned and poetical effusions of the
polished Tibullus are rarely to be equalled; they
evince a mind which could ill endure the toils
and horrors of war, to which he was early initi-
ated. His elegies are marked by a purity of
thought, which at once fascinates the heart and
captivates the understanding.
Before their intercourse with the Greeks, the
Romans resisted the building of theatres and
the exhibitions of plays, with which the latter
indulged themselves even to excess. They now,
however, imitated their instructors, and became
attached to the compositions of Plautus, Cæci-
lius, and Terence, who all gained the most dis-
tinguished applause. The latter was a slave,
and a native of Carthage; he had been purchased
and educated by Terentius Lucanus, a Roman
senator, and manumitted by him on account
of the brilliancy of his talents and genius.
He applied himself to the study of Greek
comedy; and, when his own compositions
were repeated in the theatres, (though the au-
dience generally consisted of foreigners of the
conquered nations, allies, and citizens of Rome,)
acclamations in their favor were unanimous;
and the circle on which they were recited re-
sounded with reiterated applause.
133
•
Quintilian, who candidly acknowledged the
excellence of the Roman theatrical writers,
declared Terence to be the most elegant and
refined of all the comedians, whose writings had
at that time appeared.
In historical writings, the Romans were infe-
rior, in early times: for many years, we find,
they employed the pen of foreigners to compile
their annals, and until the superior abilities of
Livy and Tacitus became known, when the dis-
tinguished genius of those writers produced
works which have been unrivalled by pos-
terity.
The Romans were highly superstitious in the
worship of their gods; and, in their sacrifices,
the will of the gods was consulted on every occa-
sion. Romulus was ranked in the number of
their twelve great gods, as they considered him
the founder of their empire, and the son of the
god of war.
Their sanctuaries were numerous; they raised
altars to the deities, who, as they supposed,
presided over their city, as well as to the diffe-
rent virtues and passions. There were no less
than 420 temples at Rome; they were crowded
with valuable statues; the priests were nume-
rous; and each divinity had a particular college
of sacerdotal servants.
No general ever marched on an expedition
134
without consulting the augurs, and receiving
from them assurances that the omens were pro-
pitious, and certain of his success.
The augurs were supposed to be endowed with.
the supernatural power of foretelling future
events. Romulus created three, Servius Tullus
added a fourth, and the tribunes of the people
increased the number to nine. Sylla during his
dictatorship, added six more. They had a parti-
cular college, and their chief was called the
magistrate of the college. The office was con-
sidered highly honorable, and if any one of them
was convicted of a crime, he could not be
deprived of his privileges; an indulgence granted
to no other sacerdotal body in Rome.
The augurs made their observations from a
high tower; their faces were turned to the east;
and, with a crooked staff, they appeared to
divide the face of the heavens into four different
parts; after this they sacrificed to the gods,
covering their heads with their vestments: there
were five different circumstances from whence
they drew their omens:
First, from their observation of the phono-
mena of the heavens, such as thunder, light-
ening, comets, &c. &c.
Secondly, from the chirping or flying of birds,
and particularly of vultures.
Thirdly, from the sacred gallini, or chickens,
135
whose eagerness, or indifference, in eating the
bread which was thrown to them, augured
favorably, or otherwise.
Fourthly, from quadrupeds, either crossing
the paths, or appearing in some unaccustomed
place.
Fifthly, from different casualties, such as
spilling salt or wine on their tables, hearing
strange noises, sneezing, stumbling, meeting a
wolf, a fox, or even a hare. The sight of birds
on the left hand was a singularly-fortunate
presage.
From such absurd and ridiculous circum-
stances did the Romans derive their prophecies;
and from this it may well be imagined, they
were greatly in the power of their priests and
astrologers, whose good or ill omens conse
quently depended on the remuneration they
received, or the views by which they were
actuated.
Their wars were declared in the most awful
and solemn manner; and prayers were offered in
the temples for the prosperity of Rome, when a
defeat had been sustained, or a victory gained.
What an example, from a Pagan people, to us,
who are ennobled by the name of Christians,
When soldiers were enlisted, the general, or
centurion, went to the capitol, where he erected
two standards, with flowing colours; the one
136.
1
red, for the infantry, the other blue, for the
cavalry. He then exclaimed,
He then exclaimed, "let all those,
who regard the safety of the republic, chuse
their colour, and follow me." On this, all those
who were within hearing obeyed, with the
loudest acclamations of joy.
The power of parents over their children was
unlimited, and even carried to such an extent
that they could sell them, and actually decide
on their death, without the forms of trial, or
the interference of the civil magistrate.
Many ancient families had produced great
and eminent men; but the vigorous and active
part they took in the guidance and management
of the republic, often exposed them to danger;
and the Romans lost their greatest heroes when
the families of the Cornelii, the Fabii, the
Emilii, the Marcellii, who had so often sup-.
ported their spirits, and led them on to glory
and victory, were extinguished in the bloody
wars of Marius and Sylla,
When Rome was become thus powerful,
she was distinguished from other cities by the
flattery of her neighbours and citizens. A form
of worship was established to her as a deity,
and temples were raised to her honor, not only
in the city, but in the provinces of Rome.
The goddess Roma was represented like
Minerva, armed, and sitting upon a rock, hold-
137
ing a pike in her hand, her imperial head
covered by a helmet, and a trophy at her feet.
Rome, though the capital of the world, never
reached the acme of her power, glory, science,
literature, and the fine arts, until the reign of
the twelve Cæsars, under whom the Romans
enjoyed the most luxurious lives. To this epoch,
therefore, as the most interesting, and as the
immediate object of investigation, we must now
proceed.
1
Chronological Account of Roman Affairs,
anterior to the Birth of Christ.
Years before Christ.
Era of the foundation of Rome by Romulus,
· 753
The first Eclipse of the Moon on record,
720
Byzantium, now Constantinople, built by a colony of
Athenians,
Alba destroyed,
658
654
The Fidenates and Sabines rebel against the Romans,
which produces a war which continues, by intervals, for
fifty years,
Tarquin the Seventh and last king of Rome is expelled,
Rome governed by two Consuls, from the year 509 unțil
the battle of Pharsalia, being a space of 461 years.
The Decemvirs created at Rome, and the laws of the
twelve tables compiled and ratified,
631
509
451
140
The first Punic war began, and continued twenty-three
years. The chronology of the Arundelian marbles com-
posed,
The second Punic war begins and continues 17 years.
Annibal passes the Alps, and defeats the Romans in
several battles, but, being amused by his flatterers,
omitted to improve his victories, by storming Rome, -
Perseus was defeated by the Romans, which ended the
264
218
Macedonian kingdom,
163
Carthage razed to the ground, and reduced to ashes, by
Scipio, the Roman general,
146
Corinth was destroyed by Mummius in the same year.
Julius Cæsar born,
100
The Ambrians defeated by Marius and Catulus, and the
Teutones at Aqua Sextiæ, the year before the birth of
Cæsar.
Dollabella conquers Lusitania,
99
The social war began and continued three years, till finished
by the dictator Sylla,
91
The Mithridatic war began and continued 26 years,
89
Sylla conquers Athens, and sends the valuable libraries to
Rome,
80
Marius defeated by Sylla,
82
The death of Sylla,
78
Bithynia left by Nicomedes to the Romans,
75
The servile war under Spartacus began,
73
The rebel general was defeated and killed by Pompey and
Crassus,
71
141
Mithridates and Tigranes defeated by Lucullus
69
Mithridates conquered by Pompey in a night battle. Crete
also subdued by Metellus,
66
The reign of the Seleucidæ ends in Syria, on the conquest
of that country by Pompey,
65
Catiline's conspiracy detected by Cicero. Mithridates
killed himself,
63
!
THE LIFE
CAIUS JULIUS CÆSAR,
FIRST EMPEROR OF ROME.
CAIUS JULIUS CESAR was born in the
year of
Rome 654, exactly one hundred years before
the birth of Christ. He was descended from
the Julian family, which was originally from
Alba, which city having been a powerful rival
of Rome, had been destroyed by the Romans
665 years before Christ. The predecessors of
Cæsar had been brought from Alba by Romulus
himself, and had gradually attained the highest
honors of the state. The grandfather of Julius
Cæsar had married Martia, who was descended
from Ancus Martius.
It was generally supposed that they were
also lineally descended from Æneas, whose suc-
cessors had reigned in Alba three hundred and
144
thirty years. Eneas had been the founder of
Lavinium, a town in Italy, so called in com-
pliment to Lavinia, the wife of Eneas; and it
was the capital of Latium during the reign of
her husband.
It was, amongst the Romans, an established
rule of flattery, to deduce the descent of
princes and great men fro.n the gods. Thus
Eneas, from whom the family of Cæsar af-
fected to derive their origin, is represented to
have been the son of Venus and Anchises.
Such of the Romans as were free born had three
names-the Prenomen, the Nomen, and the
Cognomen. The first answered to our Chris-
tian names; the Nomen was the standing name
of the family; and the Cognomen was added
to distinguish the families, and was also here-
ditary.
་
The nomen of Cæsar was given to the Julian
family at Rome, either because his grandfather
killed an elephant, which bears the same name
in the Punic language, or because one of them
possessed an unusually thick head of hair.
Julius and Augustus Cæsar were of this family;
and the name, after it had been dignified in their
persons, was always given to the heir apparent
of the empire, during the succession of the
twelve Cæsars, who reigned in the following
order: Julius, Augustus, Tiberius, Caligula,
A
1
145
Claudius, Nero, Galba, Otho, Vitellius, Ves-
pasian, Titus, and Domitian.
Julius Cæsar was son of Lucius Cæsar, and
of Aurelia, the daughter of Marcus Aurelius
Cotta, a Roman of great celebrity, but whơ
had been defeated by Mithridates, king of
Pontus, in a severe naval engagement. The
young Julius was but fifteen years old when his
father died; but his mother, an eloquent and
learned woman, had taken singular care of his
education. During his minority he married
Cossutia, a descendant of the Cossutii, a very
illustrious family of Rome, possessed of abun-
dant riches. One of the Cossuti, who was
highly distinguished as an architect, was the
first who introduced into Italy the more perfect
models of Greece.
Julius Cæsar, being soon afterwards appointed
Flamen Dialis, or Priest of Jupiter, was
obliged to divorce his wife, Cossutia: but,
shortly after, he secretly married Cornelia, the
daughter of Cinna, who excelled so much in
the epistolary style, that her letters are quoted
by Cicero and Quintilian; she loved science,
and was acquainted with various languages:
Cinna had been four times consul, but his
name had been rendered very odious by his
joining Marius in the massacre at Rome, eighty-
six years before Christ. Sylla, the dictator,
VOL. I.
1.
146
discovered Cæsar's marriage with Cornelia, and
used every argument to induce him to relin-
quish her; but he was so tenderly attached to
Cornelia, that he openly refused obedience
to the dictator, by whose tyranny he was
deprived of the priesthood, of the dowry of his
wife, and of his paternal estate.
His affection for Cornelia, and Julia, his
infant daughter, supported him under these
privations. At the instance of Sylla, he was
accused of having been in league with the
Marian faction. The ground-work of the dic-
tator's hatred to Cæsar was the alliance which
had existed between him and Marius, who had
married his aunt; and Sylla, observing that
Julius Cæsar was of an ambitious and aspiring
mind, evidently saw that he must become a
distinguished character; he had, therefore, been
sedulous to remove him from the priesthood,
and had not only exerted all his endeavours.
to effect his purpose, but to destroy a youth,
whose rising fame militated against his views.
Cæsar, however, penetrated into his designs,
and to avoid the wicked machinations by which
he was beset, was under the necessity of chang-
ing his residence every succeeding night, though
afflicted with a quartan ague.
At length the influence of the Vestal virgins,
added to the interest of Mamercus Emilius,
147
and Aurelius Cotta, his near relations, procured
him a pardon, much to the disappointment and
chagrin of Sylla, who assured Cæsar's adherents,
that the youth they were so importunate to
save, would one day be the ruin of the patrician
party, for he could discover a host of Mariuses
in Cæsar.
He made his first military campaign in Asia,
under the guidance of M. Thermus, the prætor, and
was sent by him to Bithynia, a country of Asia
Minor, to hasten the return of the Roman
fleet from thence. Bithynia was formerly
called Bebrycia; it was bounded by the Euxine
sea on the north, on the south by Phrygia and
Mysia, on the east by the Propontis, and on the
west by Paphlagonia. The country had been
first invaded by the Thracians, under Bithynus,
the son of Jupiter, who gave it the name of
Bithynia. It was once a very powerful coun-
try, and, according to Pausanius, the inhabitants
originally came from Mantinea, in Peloponnesus.
At Bithynia, Julius Cæsar behaved with so
much bravery, and used so much address and
expedition in the return of the fleet, that he
acquired great reputation, and was, soon after,
honored with a civic crown, on the taking of
Mytilene, the capital of Lesbos.
The civic crown was composed only of the
leaves of the oak, but it was considered to be
L. 2
148
the most eminent mark of distinction; and
when the person, who had been honored by the
civic crown, appeared at the spectacles, he was
seated next to the senate, and the whole audience
rose, on his entrance, to receive him. The
Romans distributed the brightest rewards that
the most ambitious could desire to promote
valor in the field; and besides the civic crown,
there were five other crowns, equally honorable:
the crown of the camp was conferred for the
exploit of first mounting the ramparts of the
enemy; the mural crown was given for first
scaling the walls of a city during an assault;
the naval crown was given for first boarding the
ship of the enemy; the golden crown was pre-
sented for any peculiar or singular act of cou-
rage; the crown on blockade was bestowed by
the soldiers on the general who freed the army
from a blockade it was woven of the grass
which grew in the place where the troops had
been blocked up, and was held as the greatest
of all military honors. In consequence of
these rewards for courage, no nation on earth
ever excelled the Romans in acts of heroism
and valor.
The city of Lesbos was long the seat of
learning, and, with Rhodes and Athens, had
the honor of educating many of the great and
learned men, both of Greece and Rome.
149
In the Peloponnesian war, the Mitylenians.
suffered greatly from their revolt from the
power of Athens; and, in the Mithridatic war,
they had the arrogance to oppose the Romans,
and to resist the treaty which had been made
between Mithridates and the consul, Sylla.
Julius Cæsar served in a military capacity
under the celebrated Servilius Isauricus, of
Cilicia, a country of Asia Minor, on the sea
coast, at the north of Cyprus. The inhabi-
tants had greatly enriched themselves by pira-
tical excursions, till they were conquered by
Pompey. The country was opulent, and go-
verned by kings, under some of the Cæsars ;
but on Vespasian's coming to the empire, he re-
duced it into a province. Cicero presided over
it as proconsul, and it derived its name from
Cilix, the son of Agenor, king of Phoenicia,
who was supposed to be the son of Neptune.
During his stay in Cilicia, Julius Cæsar re-
ceived intelligence of the death of Sylla, his
mortal enemy. He, therefore, hastened to Rome,
in order to meet Lepidus, who had engaged in
new dissensions, and who offered him every in-
ducement to engage with his party, and in his
views. Cæsar, however, refused to associate
with him in his measures, because he not only
distrusted the abilities of Lepidus, but found the
situation of affairs to be less favorable to his
150
views than he had imagined they would have
been.
These civil commotions having been shortly
afterwards settled, Julius Cæsar impeached
Dolabella, a man of consular dignity, and of
so much repute and celebrity, that he had been
rewarded with a triumph. The accusation was
bribery, of which, however, Dolabella was most
honorably acquitted by the artful management
of Hortensius, though there was little doubt of
his guilt. Cæsar, extremely disappointed, with-
drew to Rhodes, as well to avoid any odium he
might have provoked, as to finish his studies,
as he had previously entered his name in the
school of Apollodorus, a famous rhetorician,
and in which school the great Cicero also
studied.
Cæsar was, by nature, altogether formed for
a perfect statesman and orator, and took such
pains to cultivate his mind and understanding,
that, without dispute, he might have challenged
the second place among the literary men of his
day: At more than this he did not aspire,
chusing rather to be first among men of arms
and power. He, therefore, never arrived to
that eminent degree of eloquence, to which
nature would have carried him, had he not been
diverted from his studies by those pursuits and
151
designs, which, with his distinguished valor.
afterwards gained him the empire.
So great was his devotion to the profession
of arms, that he often gazed at a statue of
Alexander the Great, and shed tears at the re-
collection of that hero's having conquered the
world at an age when he himself had done no-
thing. His heart panted to be engaged in the
cause and service of his country, and to perform
achievements which would render his name im-
mortal. This opportunity soon presented itself,
and he evinced how superior to most of his com-
petitors he was in every requisite to form a
complete warrior.
He commenced his travels to Rhodes, which
he performed by sea. This expedition, at the
outset, was highly prosperous; but near the
island of Pharmacusa, in the Egean sea, he
was seized by a desperate set of pirates, and he
had the mortification to continue in their hands
forty days. They soon became interested by
his noble appearance and elegant manners, and
offered him his release and liberty for thirty
talents.
Cæsar was highly delighted at his unex-
pected good fortune, and immediately agreed to
give them fifty, conceiving it would more effec-
tually secure and confirm the contract. He
152
immediately dispatched his train with some of
his friends, to raise the money for his ransom.
In the mean time, he continued in the hands
of those villains, accompanied only by his phy-
sician and one attendant, exerting the most
undaunted courage, and assuming the most au-
thoritative manner. When he felt inclined to
sleep, or to re se himself, he ordered them, in
a commanding voice, to silence, carrying himself
with all possible freedom, as though he had not
been dependent on them, but as if they had been
his body guards, slaves, and attendants.
He composed verses and orations, and made
those who considered him their prisoner his
auditors such of them as did not appear
delighted, he called illiterate, ignorant, and
barbarous. If they opposed him, he threatened
to hang or crucify them. The pirates admired his
vivacity, and attributed his frank and open
manners to his courage and juvenile humour,
which eminently delighted them. As soon as
the friends of Cæsar arrived, which they shortly
did, from Milètus, furnished with the means
of his ransom, he obtained his release, and was
put on shore.
Julius Cæsar, having paid his ransom to regain
his liberty, with the most unbounded joy took
his course to Miletus, at which port he manned
several ships, and went in pursuit of the pirates,
153
whom he surprised as they were at anchor.
These relentless men had committed the most
dreadful depredations, and inflicted the most
unparalleled cruelties, where they found the poor
objects of their persecution unprovided with the
means of satisfying their exorbitant demands.
To prevent their commission of further enormni-
ties, Cæsar seized them, and inflicted the punish-
ment with which he had often threatened them;
but the humanity of his disposition led him to
direct, that they should be smothered previously
to their crucifixion.
Miletus was a celebrated town of Asia Minor,
the capital of all Ionia, about ten stadia, some-
what more than a mile, south of the mouth of
the river Mæander, near the sea coast, on the
confines of Ionia and Caria. The inhabitants,
called Milesii, were very powerful, and long
maintained an obstinate war against the kings
of Lydia. They early applied themselves to
navigation, and established no less than 380
colonies, according to Seneca, in different parts
of the world. Miletus gave birth to Thales,
the first Greek astronomer and geographer, and
one of the seven wise men of Greece. Under
the priests of Memphis, Thales studied astro-
nomy, geometry, and philosophy, and was
enabled to measure with exactness the height
and extent of a pyramid by its shadow only.
His discoveries in astronomy were great and in-
154
genious; he was the first who calculated with
accuracy a solar eclipse. He explained the sol-
stices and equinoxes, he divided the heavens
into five zones, and recommended the division
of the year into 365 days, which computation
was universally adopted by the Egyptian philo-
sophy. Like the immortal Homer, he looked
upon water as the principle of every thing. He
lived 548 years before Christ.
Miletus was also celebrated for a temple, and
an oracle of Apollo Didymæus, and for the
superior quality of its wool, with which were
made stuffs, held in high estimation.
Mithridates was at that time laying waste all
the neighbouring countries; and Cæsar, not
willing to be inactive while the Roman allies
were in danger, changed his course from Rhodes,
whither he had at first intended to go, and
steered directly for Asia.
Having arrived thither, he collected a large
body of forces and auxiliaries, and drove the
king's lieutenants out of the provinces, pre-
serving those cities in their fidelity which were
beginning to waver, and which, but for his
seasonable interference, would certainly have
revolted.
In his military tribuneship, (the first honor to
which the people elected Cæsar on his return to
Rome) he united most zealously with those who
155
were attempting to restore the power of the
tribunes, which Sylla had greatly reduced.
By the Plotian law, so called because enacted
by Plotus, Cæsar recalled from exile Lucius
Cinna, his wife's brother, and other partizans
of the dissensions of Lepidus, who, after the
consul's death, had fled to Sertorius, a general
much celebrated. Sertorius had entered Rome
with Marius and Cinna, at the time they com-
mitted the indiscriminate slaughter already
described; but feeling the deepest compunction
at the destruction of so many of his country-
men, he retired quickly into Spain for safety,
Sylla having proscribed him. In that distant
province, he behaved with so much address and
valor, that he was considered as the prince of
the country. The Lusitanians universally
revered him; and the noble Roman did not
shew himself less attentive to their interests, as
he established public schools, and educated the
children of the country in the fine arts, as well
as in the literature of Greece and Rome. They
were experimentally convinced of his bravery
and magnanimity; and his great popularity in
Spain having alarmed the Romans, they sent
troops to oppose him. Four armies were found
insufficient to crush, or even hurt, Sertorius;
and Pompey and Metellus, who were generally
victorious, were driven with dishonor from the
156
field. This favorite of the Lusitanians was not
to be conquered, but he was exposed to the
danger of envy; which is rarely to be guarded
against by those who bask in the sunshine of
glory.
Perpenna, one of his officers, jealous of his
fame, and tired of a superior, conspired against
him, and gained over a number of adherents to
his plans.
At a banquet, one of the con-
spirators discovered their intentions, by speak-
ing with freedom and licentiousness in the pre-
sence of Sertorius, whose age and character had
hitherto claimed respect and deference. The
spilling of a glass of wine was the signal of
attack, and Antonias, the friend of Perpenna,
rushed on his generous host and stabbed him;---
his example was followed by the rest of the
assassins, and Sertorius died, pierced with many
wounds, 73 years before Christ. Sertorius had
given refuge to Cinna and his partisans, and
Cæsar, on their return, made an eloquent and
popular harangue. It was usual for the images
of the deceased to be carried in the sacred cha-
riot at the funerals of the illustrious people of
Rome, and it had also been the custom with
them to make funeral orations in praise of
ancient matrons; and Cæsar delivered a very
florid one in the forum, on the death of his
aunt Julia, the wife of Marius. It was singu-
157
larly elegant, and maintained that she was de-
scended from kings on the maternal side, and
on the paternal from the Julii, who sprung from
Venus.
The forum, or great square of the city, was
the place where the assemblies of the people
were held, and where all the public pleadings
and judicial proceedings were usually transacted.
As this, therefore, was the grand school of
business and eloquence, the scene on which all
the affairs of the empire were determined, it was
there that those who aspired after public digni-
ties laid the foundation of their fortunes; there
they applied themselves, to the pleading of
causes, and to the defence of the innocent in
distress, as the most certain way to popularity,
and in consequence of that to power and in-
fluence in the state and Cæsar, we are told,
practised in this manner, from the twenty-first
year of his age to the twenty-ninth. There had
been no precedent of orations at the funerals of
young women, until Cæsar made one on the
death of his wife, Cornelia. He lamented her
loss with so much affection and tenderness, and
in language so ardent and impressive, that he
won the hearts of the Roman people.
The generous and profuse manner in which
Cæsar lived, equally appeared to promote his
interest before he was appointed to any public
158
employment, he was in debt thirteen hundred
talents, about £252,000 sterling; most of his
friends thought that his being at so great and
unbounded an expense, for the purpose of
acquiring popularity, as it ruined his fortune,
exposed him to the loss of what they thought
greater and more solid advantages: but, in fact,
Cæsar purchased by these means what was to
him of inestimable value.
He was made surveyor of the Appian way, a
celebrated road leading from the Porta Capena,
the principal gate in Rome, from which it led
to Capua, and from Capua to Brundusium, at
the distance of 330 miles, which was considered
by the Romans five days journey!
The Appian way passed successively through
the following towns; viz. Aricia, an ancient
town in Italy, whose forest was highly cele-
brated, and the impervious gloom of which was
said to be terrific; and no horse would by any
means enter it, because Hyppolitus, the son of
Theseus, had been destroyed there.
2. Appii Forum, a small village near Rome,
celebrated in holy writ as being the place of
meeting between the holy apostle St. Paul and
the brethren, after his shipwreck.
3. Tarracina, or Anxur, a town of the
Volsci, in Latium, which was a country of Italy,
near the Tiber, a large river on the banks of
159
which, as we have seen, the city of Rome itself
was built.
4. Fundi, a small town of Italy, near
Caieta, at the bottom of a small deep bay,
called Fundanus, which discharged itself into
the Mediterranean sea.
5. Minternæ, a town of Campania, between
Sinuessa and Formiæ, extremely marshy. In
those marshes it was that Marius concealed him-
self, in order to avoid the partisans of Sylla.
6. Sinuessa, a maritime town in Campania,
celebrated for its numerous mineral springs
and hot baths, which were imagined to cure
insanity.
This
7. Capua, the capital of Campania.
city was so ancient and so opulent that it rivalled
Rome itself.
8. Caudium, a town of the Samnites, near
which is a place called Caudine Furculæ, where
the Roman army, under Veturius Corvinus, and
Spurius Posthumus, were taken in ambush by
Pontius Herennius, the general of the enemy,
and obliged to pass under the yoke, with the
whole
army, in disgrace.
9. Beneventum, a town of the Hirpini, a
people of the Samnites, 28 miles from Capua :
its orignal name was Maleventum, but the
Romans founding a colony there, changed its
name to the more auspicious appellation of Bene-
160
ventum. It is, at this time, much an object
of notoriety, as abounding, above any town
in Italy, in the remains of ancient sculp-
ture.
10. Equotuticum, now called Castel Franco,
a little town of Apulia, to which Horace alludes
in his fifth satire, for he
says,
In chariots thence, at a large rate we came eight leagues,
And baited at a town,
Whose name cannot in verse or measure be express'd.
11. Canusia, now Canosa, a town of Apulia,
of which Horace speaks, and mentions the
gritty sandiness of their bread, and also whi-
ther the Romans fled, after the battle of Cannæ,
at which, as we have seen, Annibal defeated
Paulus Æmilius, and Terentius Varro, and
slaughtered forty thousand Romans, on the 31st
of May, 216 years before Christ. The natives,
to this day, shew the exact spot on which this
memorable battle was decided, which they
denominated "the field of blood!"
12. Barium, now Bari, a town also of Apulia,
of much celebrity for its excellent fish. Apulia
is now called Puglia, a country of Italy, between
Daunia and Calabria. It was part of the
ancient Magna Græcia, and generally divided
into Apulia Daunia and Apulia Peucetia. It
161
was famous for its wool, which was distin-
guished for its superiority to all the produce of
Italy.
13. Egnatia, or Gnatia, another small town
of Apulia, thirty miles from Brundusium, and,
according to Horace, badly supplied with
water.
Brundusium, now Brindisi, a city of Cala-
bria, on the Adriatic sea, and sheltered by the
land, and by small islands, at the entrance of
the harbour, against the fury of the winds and
waves: but of the ancient city very little re-
mains, through the idleness and sloth of the
inhabitants even the harbour is choked up
with dirt and filth. At this place the Appian
way terminated. It was called, by way of
pre-eminence, the queen of all the ways. It
was made so strong, and the stones were so
thoroughly cemented, that it remained entire
for many hundred years, and some parts of it
are said even now to be discovered in the neigh-
bourhood of Naples. The Appian way was
began by Appius Claudius, one of the decem-
virs, who were made magistrates, and chosen in
the month of December, and who became such
tyrants in the third year after their creation,
that they grew perfectly odious to the people,
and were immediately afterwards totally abo-
lished So far did Appius Claudius extend his
VOL. I.
M
162
*
tyranny, that the Roman populace, highly
exasperated, demanded him of the senate, that
they might burn him alive.
Julius Cæsar persevered with such surprising
zeal and activity in the continuation of the
Appian way, that, besides the public money
appointed by the state for its completion, he
distributed an immense sum from his own pri-
vate purse.
He extended this celebrated road an hun-
dred and fifty miles; and Augustus, his ne-
phew and successor, finished it, as far as Brun-
dusium.
Cæsar was then created Edile; a magistrate,
whose peculiar business it was to take charge of
all the public buildings, edifices, baths, and
aqueducts, who were to examine all weights and
measures, and observe that nothing was sold
under its due value.
4
The Ediles were accustomed to appear with
great pomp, and were allowed, when in the
exercise of their public functions, to sit in an
ivory chair. This office was always considered
honorable, and was also a preparatory step to
higher dignities in the republic.
Julius Cæsar adorned the council-hall, the
forum, the courts of judicature, and the capi-
tol, with porticos, that part of the preparations
which he made for the public entertainments
163
might be lodged there. He then provided a
number of gladiators, who were men so called
from their use of the gladius, or sword; and
they originated from the custom of sacrificing
criminals, captives, and disobedient slaves, to
the manes of chiefs killed in battle. These
men were trained to be gladiators, and classed
so carefully, that scarcely any difference could
be discovered in the height, size, or strength of
the combatants who were matched together.
They were previously sworn to fight until they
expired or were victorious; and in case of re-
creancy or cowardice, they were made to suffer
the most excruciating torture. The combat was,
therefore, always sanguinary and obstinate:
according to Plutarch, the number of gladiators
Cæsar retained was so great, that his ene-
mies, through jealousy, compelled him to limit
them to three hundred and thirty pair;
notwithstanding which, by his great munifi-
cence and liberality in the exhibition of spec-
tacles, public entertainments, and splendid
banquets, he eclipsed the glory of all the
Romans who had preceded him, and gained so
much the affection of the people, that all were
ready to invent, and bestow new honors on
him, in return for these gratifications.
1
On the death of Metellus, Cæsar appeared
as a candidate for the high priesthood; and,
M 2
164
on the day of election, he was so much agi-
tated as to the event, that he said to his
mother, "My dear mother, you will this day
either see your son high priest, or an exile for
ever!"
The high priesthood was an office of singular
power and dignity. The Pontifex Maximus
was the supreme judge and arbiter in all matters.
of religious concern: he took care that the
sacred rites of the gods were religiously per-
formed, for which purpose all the other priests
were subject to him. He could fine and punish
such as neglected his orders, although they
filled the highest magistracies; and his presence
was absolutely essential at all solemn and
religious acts: he attended the comitia, or
Roman assemblies; he was present at the dedi-
cation of temples; when magistrates vowed
games; when adoptions or testaments were
made; and, united with the college, he judged
in all affairs concerning marriage. He had the
privilege and charge of regulating the year, and
the public calendar, at his own pleasure; and he
kept the early records of the republic, before
the composition of history.
The pontifical
college had frequently the power of dispensing
life and death; and, in some respects, the high-
priest was not accountable to the senate or the
people for his conduct. This high honor was
165
always retained during life; and though it had
been conferred by the pontifical college, it was
now to be awarded Cæsar by a vote of the
people. There was an official palace, or house,
allowed by the public for the residence of the
person who was honored by the office; and he
constantly lived in a style of distinguished mag-
nificence.
The entertainment given by the high-priest,
on the day of his inauguration, was celebrated
by the ancients for its superior splendor and
luxury; and Horace, we see, alludes to this
in the conclusion of his beautiful ode to
Posthumus, book the second, ode the four-
teenth.
It is said, by his biographers, that no election
was ever more strenuously contested than this
of Cæsar's for the office of Pontifex Maximus;
and the expenses incurred appear incredible;
bribes were so profusely scattered, on both
sides, that the fortunes of the opponents were
seriously injured.
Lutatius Catulus, the then prince of the senate,
(and, indeed, the last senator who bore that
high-sounding appellation) and Servilius Isau-
ricus, were the candidates with Cæsar, and far
surpassed him in age and dignity. Immoderate
sums were offered Cæsar to relinquish his suit;
but, so deeply had the hero this object at heart,
166
1
that he absolutely staked his career in life on
the issue of the contest. The event of it
crowned all his wishes; for his election was in
a style of triumph so distinguished and com-
plete, as to render Catulus and Isauricus almost
in despair at their mortification, inasmuch as,
on taking the suffrages, Cæsar had more votes
against them in their own tribes, and among
their own friends, than they had been able to
procure, notwithstanding their large bribes
amongst the citizens.
Finding himself baffled in his suit for the
priesthood, Catulus urged Cicero, the consul,
to name Cæsar, together with Crassus, as privy
to the conspiracy of Catiline, which happened
much about that time, and which will be de-
scribed hereafter.
Catulus declared it as his opinion, that Cæsar
was as much implicated in the measures of Ca-
tiline as were Lentulus, or Caius Cethegus, who
had both been publicly executed.
The senate of Rome, on the election of
Cæsar to the priesthood, were greatly alarmed
at the success of this " young and aspiring
demagogue," as they styled Cæsar; and the
majority of them, with Piso and Catulus at
their head, actually blamed Cicero for sparing
this high-priest, when the conspiracy of Cati-
167
line allowed so glorious an opportunity for
cutting him off.
The life of Cicero had been attempted by the
conspirator himself, as well as by his emissaries.
Many of the Roman knights, and young men.
of illustrious families, had in consequence as-
sembled round the senate-house, for the pur-
pose of guarding the life of the orator.
On
their seeing Cæsar, and imagining him, from
the report of Catulus, to be inimical to their
friend, they hastily drew their swords, and
fell upon the unarmed Cæsar, with an intention
of putting him to instant death, upon the nod
of the consul, had he given his assent.
a momentary and ardent impulse of right feeling
Curio, a celebrated orator, who admired the
rising talents of Cæsar, started forward to his
rescue, threw his robe over the devoted victim,
and thus saved him from the tumult.
From
M. de Brosses enters largely into the animo-
sity, and continued competition, that subsisted,
on the part of Catulus, from the popular man-
ner in which Cæsar had been elected to the
high priesthood, and who was now considered
as being at the head of the popular faction;
whilst Catulus himself was at that of the
patrician, who agreed with Cato and his con-
temporaries, that Cæsar's plans of ambition were
cool, deliberate, and systematic; and that,
168
from the designs he had formed, they were
satisfied he meditated the overthrow of the
republic of Rome. Cicero, however, did not
enter into these notions: "I plainly perceive,"
said he, "a disposition to despotism in every
thing this wonderful man projects or executes ;
but on the other hand, when I observe him
adjusting a lock of hair with so much nicety,
and with the point of his finger only, gently
rubbing his head, I can scarcely think that this
is the man to conceive so vast, so fatal a de-
sign, as the destruction of the Roman common-
wealth."
After passing through the most exalted and
honorable offices of the state, Cæsar was ap-
pointed governor of Spain, where he exercised
the greatest urbanity and justice; and, having
at length amicably settled the provinces, he
returned to Rome precipitately, without wait-
ing the arrival of a successor, impatient to re-
ceive at once the consulate, and to be honored
by a triumph. But since he could not be ad-
mitted as a candidate at the election of the con-
suls, which was then begun, unless he entered
the city as a private man, without pomp, he
was obliged to relinquish the triumph that he
might not be excluded from the consulate,
though he petitioned to have the usual law sus-
pended in his favor.
2
169
Of his two rivals for the consulship, Bibulus
and L. Luceius, Cæsar determined to unite his
interest with the latter; and as Luceius was
less popular, but abundantly more wealthy
than Cæsar, it was agreed, that it should be
the business of the latter, who was beloved to
a degree of enthusiasm by the populace, to dis-
tribute, as bribes, the usual sums of money
among the sentinels and legions on their common
account. The nobles being apprised of this
agreement, and knowing there was nothing
which the persevering and ardent mind of
Caesar would not effect, in case he should be-
come possessed of the supreme magistracy, with
a colleague who was rich, and who would readily
give into his measures, espoused the cause of
the other candidate, Bibulus, with all their
authority; and, that he might bribe the
troops as high as his competitors, they deter-
mined to afford him their pecuniary assistance,
and many of them actually contributed to the
expense, and even Cato himself did not deny
that such an arrangement, and such a contri-
bution, under the then existing circumstances,
was for the public good. By this contrivance
the senate effected their designs, and Bibulus
was elected. He was 2 man, firm to the
interests of his patrons, and determined to ob-
struct every attempt Cæsar should make to dis-
170
please the august fathers; Cæsar soon, however,
evinced his disregard of his colleague, by break-
ing the fasces before his face, and becoming
sole consul.
Crassus, Pompey, and Cæsar, then maintained
the greatest sway in the Roman state. The
first, from his immense fortune; Pompey from
his power over the legions; and Cæsar from his
superior eloquence, his personal popularity, pe-
culiar nobleness of spirit, and distinguished
elegance of manner, which was unequalled.
The nobles and the senate, from the same
principles of jealousy, endeavoured to restrain
the consuls from being employed in any but
matters of little importance. Highly inflamed
at this indignity, Cæsar made his court, by the
most obliging offices, to Pompey, who had
carly distinguished himself in the field of battle,
and fought with success and bravery.
The beauty, and manly elegance, of Pompey's
person, gained him the admiration of the
Romans, and the eloquence he displayed at the
bar acquired for him universal applause. He
had followed the interests of Sylla during his
dictatorship, and, by raising three legions for
his service, he obtained his friendship, and pro-
tection.
He conquered Sicily, which had been in the
power of Marius and his party, and he soon re-
171
gained all the territories of Africa, which had
forsaken the interests of Sylla. These rapid suc-
cesses had amazed the Romans; bat Sylla, who
had dreaded Pompey's increasing fame, recalled
him to Rome. Pompey obeyed tc summons;
and the dictator, by saluting him with the p-
pellation of GREAT, evinced the expectation he
had formed of his lieutenant. This high-sound-
ing title did not sufficiently gratify the ambi-
tious mind of Pompey : he demanded a triumph,
which Sylla could not bring his jealous mind to
grant. Pompey was irritated, and emphatically
exclaimed on the refusal. "The sun shines with
more ardor at its rising than at its setting."
The boldness and authority, however, of the
lieutenant, gained what petitions could not
effect; and he was the first Roman knight, who,
without possessing an office under the senate,
marched, in triumphal procession, through the
streets of Rome. This incident involved in it
important consequences, for Pompey appeared
no longer as a subordinate, but as a otent rival
to the dictator, Sylla; and, on the death of that
tyrant, Pompey supported himself against the
Marian faction, which had been headed by
Lepidus.
He defeated his enemies, and put an end to
the war which the revolt of Sertorius had occa-
sioned.
172
Pompey, having discovered the character of
Cæsar, thought it expedient to strengthen him-
self by uniting his interest with that of Cæsar,
and expressed great dissatisfaction at the senate,
for their unpardonable delay in satisfying his
military demands, after the assistance they had
received from him in the conquest of Mithri-
dates.
Pompey and Crassus having been avowed
enemies, and constantly at variance during their
joint consulate, Cæsar entirely reconciled them,
and, with them, formed a coalition; and these
three solemnly agreed that, in their triple
alliance, nothing should be done in the republic
which did not meet their united approbation and
concurrence. Thus was formed the first Roman
triumvirate, and they solemnly declared, that
their union should be permanent, and their
attachment mutual. Pompey, by this measure
and alliance, expected to get his acts confirmed,
through the influence of Cæsar in his consulate;
and the aim of Crassus was to maintain, by the
assistance of Pompey's authority, and Cæsar's
vigor, that rank in the state which, without
their aid, he could not have hoped to preserve.
Crassus had formerly gained the friendship of
Cæsar, when the latter was on the point of set-
ting out to take possession of his government
in Spain, and was harassed and importuned for
:
173
payment of his debts, by his clamorous creditors,
who endeavoured to prevent his departure;
Crassus then became bound for him, in the enor
mous sum of £200,000 sterling; and it was
supposed at the time, that Crassus was induced
to this friendly part, that he might be enabled
to take the lead of his rival, Pompey, through
the auxiliary strength of Cæsar. Thus it now
became the interest of Crassus to join with
Pompey as well as with Cæsar, in one common
confederacy.
Cæsar, to strengthen this agreement, gave
his only daughter, the beautiful and accom-
plished Julia, in marriage to Pompey, as he
wisely concluded that no means would be so
effectual as an alliance of affinity; nor did
Cæsar fail of success in this measure; for Pom-
pey became so attached to his young wife, that
he devoted the greatest part of his time to her
society.
Cæsar's comprehensive mind discovered, that
the league of the triumvirs required a man of
Cicero's character to make its power complete;
for, whenever they should be engaged in foreign
governments, or the command of armies abroad,
Cicero's authority would be of singular aid at
home, to manage the affairs of the city, and to
negotiate what the triumvirs had to transact
with the senate or the people. Cæsar, therefore,
*
174
informed Cicero that he would be guided in
every step by him, Pompey, and Crassus. This
gave Cicero no pleasing prospect, as he dreaded
the triple alliance as far as it affected the public
welfare.
The provinces of the republic were now arbi-
trarily divided amongst the Triumvirs. To
Pompey was allotted Africa and the two Spains;
Crassus went to Syria, intending to add Parthia
to the empire; Cæsar was satisfied with the go-
vernment of Gaul. Pompey, whose schemes were
to conduct the city, undertook the management
of the granaries, and of the distribution of the
corn, under pretence of preventing a scarcity. This
he pursued so faithfully, that, for the six years
he was proconsul of Spain, he never once visited
his province, but governed it by his lieutenants,
a measure that had been without example in the
republic.
Cæsar, on the death of Cornelia, had married
Pompeia, the daughter of Q. Pompey, and
grand daughter of Sylla; he soon, however,
divorced her, because Clodius, a noble Roman,
of illustrious birth, but of profligate manners
and abandoned character, had introduced him-
self, in the habit of a female, to the celebration
of the sacred solemnities of the Bona déa, or
good goddess, at which it was the province of
Pompeia to preside. These festivities were held
175
so sacred and mysterious, that it was considered
to be the highest profanation, for any man to
enter the temple, during the celebration of them;
and so strict were the female matrons in this
respect, that even the paintings, which were in
the temple, were covered during the ceremo-
nies.
Pompeia was publicly declared innocent, even
of the intention of this outrage, but which had
been unexpectedly discovered by one of the
attendants, and made known to Aurelia, the
mother of Cæsar, who, jealous for the honour of
her son, instantly informed him of the atrocious
act.
Cæsar, whose nobleness of spirit, and exqui-
site sense of delicacy, was the prominent feature
in his character, pronounced that Pompeia must
be repudiated, because all belonging to him must
be without stain, and that "the wife of Cæsar
must not even be suspected."
He afterwards married Calpurnia, the daugh-
ter of Piso, who was to succeed him in the con-
sulate, and who had supported him in his choice
of the government of Gaul.
The republic was soon in the greatest state
of consternation, at the murder of this same
Clodius, who, but for the corruption of the
Court of Judicature, by which he was tried,
as well as his own dreadful perjury, must
176
have already forfeited his life to the laws of his
country.
Clodius had gained many enemies in his per-
secution of Cicero, and had rendered himself
particularly obnoxious to Milo, who was the
beloved friend of the orator, and who wished
also to secure to himself the consulate; but
Clodius, who was the tribune, opposed his mea-
sures, and interrupted his views.
As Milo was going to his villa in the country,
attended by his wife and an immense retinue of
gladiators and servants, he met, on the Appian
way, his enemy Clodius, who was attended by
three of his friends, and a considerable number
of domestics completely armed. The servants
of each participating in the animosites of
their masters, a quarrel arose between them;
Milo supported his attendants, and the dispute
was so acceptable to the masters, that it soon be-
came general amongst all those who accompanied
them. Clodius received several severe wounds,
and was carried to a neighbouring cottage.
Milo pursued his enemy to his retreat, and,
assisted by his attendants, dispatched him, toge-
ther with eleven of his servants.
The body of the murdered tribune was carried
to Rome, and exposed to public view, to inflame
the minds of the people. Milo was condemned
177
to banishment, for the barbarity he had exer-
cised towards the sacred person of the tribune.
Cicero undertook the defence of Milo; but
the natural diffidence of the great orator, the
continual clamour of the friends of the deceased,
added to the sight of an armed soldiery, which
surrounded the seat of judgment, agitated him.
so much, that he forgot the strongest points of
his case, and, in consequence, the defence ap-
peared weak and injudicious.
Milo was banished to Massilia, now Mar-
seilles, and Cicero soon afterwards sent his
friend a copy of the beautiful and able oration
he intended to have delivered, and which is to
be found in his works at this day. After Milo
had read it, he ejaculated, "O, Cicero! hadst
thou thus spoken before my accusers, Milo
would not now have been eating these excellent
figs at Massilia.
Marseilles was a celebrated city of Narbonese
Gaul; it was renowned for the learning and polite-
ness of its inhabitants; and Cicero mentions
their fidelity and attachment to the Romans, in
his second book of offices.
It is now a flourishing sea-port, situated on the
mouths of the Rhone, lately an episcopal see;
it was so celebrated in the time of the Romans,
that it was styled the Athens of Gaul, and
Pliny called it the mistress of education. It is
VOL. I.
N
178
seated in the Mediterranean, at the upper end
of a gulph, covered and defended by many small
islands, and is divided into the old town, or
the city, and the new town. The first appears
like a beautiful amphitheatre to the vessels which
enter the port; but the houses are mean and
shabby; and the streets dirty, narrow, and steep:
in the latter, the houses and edifices are hand-
some, and the streets broad and straight. In
this part is the principal church, built by the
Goths on the ruins of the temple of Diana, after
Christianity had begun to rear its benign head:
this place was endowed with an invaluable privi-
lege, confirmed by different Popes, namely, that it
should be for ever exempt from an interdict.
The armoury is the finest in the kingdom, and
contains arms for 40,000 men. There is also a
large arsenal, well stored with all the implements
for building and fitting out the galleys; the har-
bour is not sufficiently deep for men of war.
The inhabitants are estimated at 90,000 souls;
gold and silver stuffs are made there. With
respect to commerce, Marseilles has been most
eminent since the days of antiquity, and it is
now honoured by the name of "Europe in
miniature,” on account of the variety of dresses
and languages. In 1649, the plague raged with
great violence in Marseilles, and with still
greater, in 1720, 1721, and 1722, when it car-
179
ried off no less than fifty thousand of the inha-
bitants. During this last visitation, M. de Bel-
funce, the "Marseilles good bishop," so highly
celebrated by Pope, as well as the canon, Bour-
geret, the magistrate Moustier, and the comman-
dant Langeron, by their intrepid and indefatig-
able humanity, their distinguished zeal in the
performance of their several duties, did honour
to themselves as well as to humanity.
In Gaul, Cæsar enlarged the boundaries of
the Roman empire by conquest, and from thence
invaded Britannia, the island which is now called
Britain, and was unknown to the Romans till this
time, though it had traded with the Phoenicians,
and afterwards with the Greeks for tin. It was-
formerly the granary of the Western empire;
from thence was every year transported an im-
mense quantity of corn, for the supply of the
army on the frontiers of Germany. The
Southern parts of Briton were peopled by the
Gauls, and Tacitus says, "If we consider all
circumstances, it is probable that Gaul first
peopled Britain, which lies so near it;"-this
opinion, which is adopted by most of the an-
cient writers, and indeed of the modern also,
is chiefly founded on the agreement observed by
the Roman writers, between the two nations, in
their customs, manners, language, religion, form
of government, and manuer of fighting; and
A
N 2
ţ
180
as the Gauls sent colonies into Italy, Spain,
Germany, Thrace, and Asia, it is but reasonable
to conclude, they did the same with respect to
Britain, which lay so near them, that they could
discern it from the continent.
Cæsar, in his elegant commentaries, describes.
the Britons, and their manner of engaging the
enemy; he extols their valor, and the undaunted
bravery with which they went to battle;
describes their use of chariots, driving furiously
amongst the enemy's ranks, and discharging
their darts, by which means they often put the
Romans into the greatest disorder. When they
engaged the cavalry, they left their chariots to
fight on foot, their charioteers in the mean time
retiring, and placing themselves so that their
masters, if overpowered by numbers or fatigue,
might readily find them, to effect an easy and
safe retreat. By this arrangement, Cæsar de-
clared they had the speed of the cavalry, and
the steadiness of the infantry, and that they
were, by daily practice, so singularly expert,
that they could stop their horses even in a steep
descent, though in full career, turn them in the
narrowest compass, run along the pole, sit on
the yoke, and from thence, with incredible
quickness, return to their chariots.
The first blow which was struck at the
liberties of the Britons, was on Cæsar's second
181
landing in Britain, near Richborough, in Kent,
on the 26th of August, forty-four years before
the Christian era. The Britons well knew the
character of Rome, by the cruel wars she had
so long and so fatally waged in Gaul; they
therefore prepared to oppose the Roman gene-
ral with all the forces they could rally. In his
first expedition against Britain, Cæsar had
given the most unbounded testimony of his
courage and prowess, for he was the first who
brought a navy into the Western Ocean, or
who sailed through the Atlantic sea, for the
purpose of making war; he however gained
but few laurels on the hostile shore in his first
attempt.
As the Britons expected Cæsar, all the petty
states had united under one commander, elected
for the preservation of the whole; their natural
love of liberty inspired the Britons with a cou-
rage equal to that of the deepest despair. To
prevent the Romans from landing, they rushed
into the sea, hoping to repulse their gallies,
and, by their singular intrepidity, struck their
invaders with something like terror. At length,
Cæsar's standard-bearer cast himself into the
sea, and was followed by the soldiers, from the
dread of the greatest dishonor which could
happen to themselves, the loss of their stan
dards. The Romans then formed their ranks,
182
and their regular disposition annoyed the Bri
tons, and obliged them to retire.
In this instance, it is said, that Cæsar was
chiefly indebted for his victory over the Britons
to his elephant. We find, in the stratagems of
Polyænus, that he attempted to pass a great
river, supposed to be the Thames, when Cassi-
vellaunus, the king of the Britons, opposed his
passage with a large body of horse and chariots.
Cæsar had in his ariny a stupendous elephant,
a creature before that time unknown to the
Britons. This elephant he fenced with a coat
of mail, erected on its back an immense turret,
and, putting up bowmen and slingers, ordered
them to pass into the stream, himself leading
the way, and was the first to spring on the
opposite shore. The Britons, dismayed and
terrified at the sight of such a monstrous beast,
precipitately fled with their horses and chariots,
and the Romans passed the river without the
least opposition. From the advantage thus
gained, the Romans did not fail to bring many
of those noble animals into Britain, which were
of great service in intimidating the Britons.
Cæsar did not pursue the fugitives, but was
glad to depart, after taking Verulam, now St.
Albans, which was Cassivellaunus's chief town,
and defeating their forces; he obliged the
Britons to promise the payment of an annual
183
tribute, and to give hostages and security for
their amicable conduct.
The intercourse between the Britons and
Gauls, rendered the former very familiar
with the Romans, to whom the latter were
subject.
In Britain, Cæsar's fleet was nearly destroyed,
for the weather being tempestuous, and the
tides running high, as the moon was at her
full, the galleys and transports were beat in
pieces, from not being properly secured against
the weather.
(C
Soon after this event, Cæsar checked the
imperious Germans on the frontiers of his own
government, where his lieutenants, Titurius and
Aurunculeius, were killed in ambush. Tacitus
gives a beautiful description of the affection
displayed by the German women towards their
husbands, fathers, and brothers. During their
long wars, he says, they did not disdain to
dress the wounds of the vanquished, and to
exhort them to exert themselves, as well to
bear their sufferings, as to lead them on to
victory; and such veneration did the German
warriors entertain for the women of their coun-
try, that they considered them as superior
beings, and were regulated by their advice and
opinions on every occasion."
The government of Gaul was now further
184
extended to Julius Cæsar, for five more years,
which was considered as a more than ordinary
compliment to him, because it was hostile to
the Roman laws, that the same government
should be a second time entrusted to the same
person.
But while Cæsar was thus multiplying his
victories, and gaining new reputation, he had
the misfortune to lose his mother, Aurelia,
and his daughter, Julia, the wife of Pompey,
who died in child-bed, at Rome; her son expired
shortly after its birth. Her loss was not more
deeply regretted by her husband and father,
who both tenderly loved her, than by all their
common friends, and the well-wishers to the
peace of the republic, who mutually feared that
fresh sources of disturbance to the state would
arise. We see that the poet, Lucan, in his
Pharsalia, pathetically deplores the unexpected
and untimely death of Julia, declaring that she
was endowed with that rare address which had
been able to soothe the rage and jealousy of
those ambitious rivals; and that, with an in-
fluence not less successful than the Sabine
women displayed, in the field of battle, over
their husbands and brothers, she had united her
husband and father.
The jealousies, and separate interests, of the
Triumvirs, had of necessity obliged them to ex-
185
tend their power, though rarely beyond the
then customary forms; and it was thought,
that whenever that league which had elevated
them so much above private subjects should
be dissolved, that the next contest must neces-
sarily be for the dominion and single possession
of the empire.
The death of Crassus, which happened in a
sanguinary engagement with the Parthians, and
was attended by the destruction of his forces,
the loss of the Roman standards, and many
brave officers, was a cause of deep sorrow to
the people of Italy. But the principal mischief
was, that no means were now left to curb the
power of Pompey, and the ambition of the
aspiring Cesar:-this, added to the conduct of
the senate in voting a single consul, and that in
the person of Pompey, so highly elated the
conqueror of Mithridates, that he now felt
himself almost a sovereign, and boldly de-
clared to the people, he had found the Lesser
Asia the boundary of the empire, but gloried in
leaving it the middle. Pompey had triumphed
at three several times over the three different
parts of the then known world, Europe, Asia,
and Africa; and, by his victories, had almost
doubled the extent of the Roman dominions.
Italy beheld him voluntarily raise an army to
support the cause of Sylla and the republic.
186
Sicily was, by his arrival, freed from the de-
vastations of Perpenna and Carbo, who, after
quitting Italy, had taken possession of that
island. Africa saw him victorious over Cor-
nelius Domitius, and Hiarbas, king of Numi-
dia; Gaul had her troops cut to pieces for op-
posing his march into Spain; and Spain,
abounding in warlike nations, headed by a
general of distinguished reputation, was yet
unable to withstand this mighty conqueror.
In short, all the nations of Asia, all the mari-
time states along the coast of the Mediterra-
nean, the seas, gulfs, and havens, which had
swarmed with pirates, were so many witnesses
of his renown, and testimonies of his victories.
by sea and land. So daring had been the pirates,
that they landed at Ostia, burnt and plundered
the Roman vessels, and, as though they enter-
tained no thoughts of retiring, had remained
there with all their booty, and the prisoners
that had escaped slaughter, as if it had been a
city immediately belonging to themselves.
The great expectations the Roman people had
formed of Pompey, and their disposition to
grant him honors, induced them to chuse him
consul, not only singly, but before the usual
age, or before he had held any other magis-
tracy: for, by the Villian law, no man could
be consul till he had completed his forty-
187
first year: and the Cornelian laws excluded
from this office all who had not been questors or
prætors.
During this period, the adherents of Cæsar
were not silent; they demanded that the con-
sulship should be given him, or that he should
retain his government of Gaul. Cæsar, on
his part, prevailed on those tribunes who
seemed resolved to appoint him a colleague
with Pompey, to impose a law which should
enable him to offer himself a second time for
the consulate, even though he should be absent
from Rome, and which should supercede the
necessity of his being obliged to leave his pro-
vince, previous to the accomplishment of the
conquests he had in contemplation.
As soon as Cæsar had attained this impor-
tant point, his ambition led him to more
exalted views; and he spared no expense, nor
omitted any address, to increase his popu-
larity.
He immediately doubled the pay of all his
legions, distributed corn most liberally, and
gave to some of them even lands and slaves,
where their families were numerous and needy.
He also, in a singularly sumptuous manner,
presented an exhibition of gladiators, with a
banquet, in honor of his daughter Julia's me-
mory. This was the first instance of a gladia-
188
i
tory spectacle to commemorate a death, but
which was ever afterwards adopted.
Exclusive of the provinces which Cæsar had
made allies, and the cities which he induced to
adopt the Roman laws, he reduced to provinces
all that part of Gaul which is bounded by the
Pyrenees, the Alps, Gebenna, a town and
mountain in Gaul, and the rivers Rhine and
Rhone. This district may be computed at three
thousand two hundred miles in circumference;
and he imposed on it an annual tribute of corn,
wine, and oil, adequate in amount to thirty-
three thousand three hundred and thirty-three
pounds sterling.
Cæsar was the first man who, forming a bridge
across the Rhine, led his army over, and at-
tacked the Germans on the opposite side, and
entirely defeated the Helvetic state, which, about
fifty years before, had vanquished and killed the
consul, L. Cassius, and obliged his army to
pass under the yoke. This event had particu-
larly gratified Cæsar, who declared, that whether
by chance, or by direction of the immortal
gods, he had been enabled to punish a state
which had imposed so great a calamity on the
Roman people; and that he not only revenged
the public grievance, but his own domestic in-
jury; as L. Piso, the grandfather of Calphurnia,
had fallen in the same action with L. Cassius.
189
During this period, Pompey was quietly
settled at Rome. He feared his father-in-law,
though he affected to hold him in contempt; and,
by suffering anarchy to prevail in the capital of
Italy, he endeavoured to convince the citizens,
and the senate, of the policy of their investing
him with dictatorial power.
With an intention still to preserve the friend-
ship of Pompey, which the death of Julia had
evidently diminished, Cæsar offered him his
sister's granddaughter in marriage; he also paid
him singular deference, and anxiously sought to
oblige all those persons who were immediately
connected with him; he lent also large sums of
money to the Roman senate, at a very reduced
interest, and made the most magnificent presents
to all those who paid hin the least attention,
He was no less anxious to insinuate himself into
the good opinion of the kings of the different
countries in subjection to Rome, to the gover-
nors of provinces in all parts of the world,
giving a thousand captives to several of them,
and sending auxiliary troops to others, when-
ever and wherever they required them, without
the authority of the senate or the people. He
adorned the principal cities of Italy, Gaul,
Spain, Asia, and Greece, with the most splendid
edifices.
The senate were no less astonished than
190
alarmed at the object Cæsar had in view, and
which dictated this conduct. Some of the se-
nators began seriously to reflect on his designs:
Claudius Marcellus, the consul, declared he
would suggest to the senate the means by which
these intentions of Cæsar, however ambitious,
should be frustrated. In this communica-
tion, he proposed, if necessary, not only to
appoint a successor to Cæsar, before the expira-
tion of his government, as he appeared to have
no intention of relinquishing his province, but
to prevent him from standing for the consulate
in his absence, which might easily be effected,
as the law which Pompey had made to enable
Cæsar to be elected consul, during his absence,
had never been engraven on brass, or deposited
in the treasury, in conformity to the regulation
required by the Roman legislature.
Cato also, taking part with Marcellus, did
not think it sufficient thus to deprive Cæsar of
his grants, his influences over the provinces, and
to incapacitate him from holding the consulate ;
but he proposed, also, to make him disband the
troops, as the war was at an end, and to dis-
franchise the colonies which, by the Vatinian
law, had appointed Cæsar governor of Gallia,
Cisalpina, and Illyricum for five years: and by
which, without a decree of the senate, or the
usual custom of casting lots, lieutenants and
191
legions had been appointed to attend him, and
had been paid from the public treasury. He had
been allowed, likewise, to establish a colony of
Romans, at Novum Comum, a town of Insu-
bria, situated near the Po, supposed to be of
Gallic origin; but, on its being conquered, had
become a Roman province. It now contains the
modern towns of Milan and Pavia.
Inasmuch as the freedom of this province had
been obtained by Cæsar, exceeding the bounds
prescribed by the Vatinian law, he became
alarmed at the measures of the senate, and at
the situation in which he was involved, and he
plainly saw that the enmity of Marcellus in-
duced him to contend against the colonial rights
of Novum Comum; for the consul, having
taken a Comensian magistrate, who was acting
the citizen at Rome, he ordered him to be seized
and publicly whipped, an indignity from which
the Roman citizens were exempted by law; bid-
ding him to go and show those marks of citizen-
ship to Cæsar.
Feeling it would be more difficult for the
Roman people to degrade him from the first
order in Rome to the second, than from the
second to the lowest, Cæsar exerted himself with
the utmost vigor, to oppose the designs of the
senate.
Cæsar purposed to effect all he wished, both
192
by the assistance of the tribunes, who strongly
protested against the proceedings of the senate,
and by the promises of his friend, Servius Sulpi-
cius, the consul elect; and he retained on his
side, by remunerating them most extravagantly,
those tribunes who had, in the first instance,
appeared against him. He felt he had been igno-
miniously treated, in three different instances;
first, after the administration of Gaul had been
entrusted to him for the space of ten years, a
successor was appointed to him before the time
was expired; secondly, when he left Gaul, and
applied for the consulate, it was denied to him;
thirdly, when the honor of a triumph, in con-
sequence of a victory he had gained, was refused
him, and the senate desired he should give an
account of his management of affairs!
He was, however, desirous of an accommo-
dation, and endeavored particularly to persuade
Cicero, that he had no other view than to se-
cure himself from the insults of his enemies, and
yield the first rank to Pompey; but that he
would not disband his forces while that general
had the command of Spain, as all the chief
magistrates and senators of Rome were
Pompey's side; whereas scarcely a single person
of consular dignity was on that of Cæsar; in
consequence of which every thing was most
arbitrarily carried against him; but feeling satis-
193
fied that he could re-assemble his veteran troops
at pleasure, more easily than Pompey could
convene his newly-raised soldiers, he offered to
relinquish the command of eight cohorts, and
the possession of Transalpine Gaul, provided
he might retain two legions, with the province
of Cisalpine Gaul, or one legion only, with
Illyricum, either to be secured to him till he
should be created consul.
The senate declining to interfere in this
affair, and the adversaries of Cæsar refusing
to come to any terms of negotiation with him,
he returned into Cisalpine Gaul, and, having
performed the judicial circuit, settled himself
at Ravenna; resolving, if the senate should pass
hostile deerees against those tribunes who
had already supported him, to avenge the affront
by force of arms.
any
At length the entire defalcation of Pompey's
friendship, who imperiously demanded the two
legions he had entrusted to Cæsar, added to the
resolutions of the senate, which militated against
his views, produced a civil war in Rome!
Neither of these celebrated generals could
suffer a superior; each pretended he thought
only of liberty, while both were actuated by
motives of the most unparalleled ambition.
The most trifling circumstance now widened the
breach, and appeared sufficient cause for un-
VOL. I.
194
sheathing the sword. All Cæsar's remonstrances
were received with indifference, if not with
disgust, by the senate, and, at last, a decree was
passed to strip him of his power.
Mark Antony, who was tribune, and the pro-
fessed friend of Cæsar, was extremely irritated at
these proceedings, and opposed them with open
violence; he then fled to Cæsar with intelli-
gence, who, on receiving the information, and,
perhaps, rejoiced at an event which gave him a
plea for conquest, collected his troops, and
ordered them off promptly, and then, with the
greatest secresy, prepared to follow them, while
Pompey remained in indolence, gratifying his
vanity and self-love, in receiving the adulation
of the people, as all Italy united in giving en-
tertainments and banquets, to celebrate his re-
covery from a trifling indisposition.
In the mean time, not to awaken the smallest
suspicion of his designs, which were so hostile
to the republic of Rome, as well as to Pompey,
Cæsar presented himself at all the exhibitions as
usual, even dining in public. As soon, however,
as night favored his designs, he ordered his
mules, and putting them to his chariot, pro-
ceeded, very privately, and slightly attended, to
join his army.
1
The night was tempestuous, and the vio-
lence of the wind soon extinguished his torches;
!
195
but the undaunted hero wandered all night,
entirely at a loss to discover the direction of the
country. At the break of day, he fortunately
met with a guide, who conducted him on foot
across the country, and through narrow and
difficult paths, to the river Rubicon, where he
met his forces, and which was the boundary of
his province.
The Rubicon is a river in Italy, now called
Rugone, which separates it from the Cisalpine
Gaul; it runs through the Apennine mountains,
and falls into the Adriatic sea.
At the Rubicon, Julius Cæsar made a pause,
revolving in his mind the importance of the act
he was about to undertake. He knew the lives
and happiness of thousands were implicated in
his decisions on this momentous event! but am-
bition had led him on to vast designs! As he
thus lingered in reflection, it is related that a
singular omen presented itself to him: a person
of large statue, but of graceful mien and dis-
tinguished beauty, appeared as the Genius of
Rome, playing most exquisitely on a pastoral
pipe. On the sight of this singular figure, the
soldiers left their ranks to listen to the sound of
the pipe, and among them the trumpeters of the
legion.
The Genius impressively addressed Cæsar:
"Are you a citizen or soldier? Where are you.
0 2
196
taking your standards and legions? If citizens
of Rome, dare not pass the Isis; if soldiers in
the cause of liberty, be bold!" Then, seizing
the trumpet from the hand of the trumpeter,
the Genius plunged into the Rubicon, blew a
violent charge, and swam rapidly to the oppo-
site side of the river.
" As
This auspicious omen appeared to favor the
cause of Cæsar, and determined the conduct of
the warrior. He delivered an harangue to his
soldiers, exhorting them to act with heroism
and bravery; then, with tears, he added,
yet, my friends and fellow soldiers, we have it
in our power to retract; but, if once we pass
this little bridge, we must settle all by the
sword! Let us go," ejaculated he, with enthu-
siastic valor; "the die is cast! our courage is
victory!" Cæsar then led his legions over the
river Rubicon, and by thus transgressing the
boundaries of his territories, he declared war
against the senate of Rome and Pompey, on the
pretence of revenging the violence which had
been offered to the sacred cffice of tribune, in
the person of Mark Antony.
Cæsar now entered Italy, sword in hand, and
received the tribunes who fled to him for his
protection, on their expulsion from Rome, with
the most distinguished respect.
The tribunes were magistrates of Rome,
197
created at a very early epoch, when the citizens,
after a serious dispute with the senate, had
retired to Mons Sacer, a mountain near Rome.
The first two were C. Licinius and L. Albinus,
who were elected to quell this tumult; their
number was soon raised to five; and, thirty-
seven years after, to ten, which remained fixed.
Their office was annual; and, as the first had
been created on the 4th of the ides of December,
that day was ever after chosen for the election.
Their power, though at first small, and granted
by the power of the patricians, to appease the
momentary seditions of the populace, soon be-
came formidable, and the conscript fathers too
late regretted having elected magistrates, who
not only preserved the rights of the people, but
whose power could summon the senate, propose.
laws, silence their consultations, and even abolish
their decrees, by the word veto, if they did not
approve of them; while their approbation was
necessary to confirm their consultations and re-
solutions, which was done by affixing the letter
T under them. On the event of any irregularity
in the state, the power of the tribunes was most
absolute they criticised the conduct of all the
public magistrates, and even committed the
person of the consul to prison, if the measures
he pursued were hostile to the peace of Rome.
The dictator was their only superior; but, un-
;
198
like all other inferior magistrates, the office of
tribune was not abolished, while he continued
at the head of the state. Their persons were
held sacred, and from thence they were called
Sacrosancti; to interrupt them while they spoke
in the assemblies, called for the immediate inter-
ference of power, and to strike them was a ca-
pital offence. As their consultations and resolu-
tions were of no effect, if they were not unani-
mous, the senate often took advantage of their
avarice, and, by scattering bribes profusely, and
gaining some of them, they, as it were, sus-
pended the authority of the whole, From the
power with which they were at last invested by
the activity, the intrigues, and continual appli-
cations of those who were in office, they became
so powerful in the state, that they caused far
greater troubles than those which they were at
first created to silence. Their authority received
a deep wound when Sylla was raised to the dic-
tatorship; and, by one of his decrees, they were
no longer permitted to harangue and inflame the
minds of the people. This disgrace was, how-
ever, of short duration; at the death of that
tyrant, the tribunes recovered their privileges,
by means of Cotta and Pompey; but their au-
thority did not exceed the walls of the city, nor
were they ever suffered to sleep out of it, except
at the Feriæ Latina, when they attended the
199
other magistrates to offer sacrifices upon a
mountain near Alba.
The spirited conduct of Cæsar roused from
his inactivity the astonished Pompey, who, thus
taken by surprise, felt it necessary now to seek
his friends, if any were to be found, among a
capricious and fickle people.
He well knew Cæsar had passed the Rubicon,
and as he had once boasted that he could raise
armies to his assistance by striking the ground
with his foot, he left Rome with precipitation,
followed by the senators, the consuls, and all
the friends of liberty, and retired to Dyrrachium,
now Durazzo, a large city of Macedonia, bor-
dering on the Adriatic sea, which was anciently
called Epidamnus.
The cause of Pompey appeared popular. The
senate had impressively called upon him to pro-
tect the republic against the usurpation and ·
tyranny of Cæsar. Cato not only embraced the
cause of Pompey, but publicly appeared in his
tent, which evidently proved his approbation
of Pompey's conduct, inasmuch as he was the
friend of the republic, and the father of Roman
liberty and independence.
Cæsar, by force of arms, had, in sixty days,
rendered all Italy subservient to his power. He
entered Rome, and, providing himself with
money from the public treasury, the conqueror
7,
200
:
hastened to Spain, there to defeat the partisans
of Pompey, under Petreius, Afranius, and
Varro, as well as to alienate the hearts of the
soldiers under the command of those generals.
Cæsar was successful every where he seized
Ficenum, Umbria, Etruria, and ordered L. Do-
mitius, who had been appointed as his successor,
to surrender, notwithstanding he had a very
strong garrison at Corfinium, now San Ferino,
the capital of the Peligni, who were a people of
Italy that were situated near the Sabines and
Marsi; and, according to Horace, the most
expert magicians were amongst the Peligni.
Domitius was nobly pardoned by Cæsar, who
returned to Rome, and was immediately de-
clared dictator, and shortly after he was ho-
nored by the consulship. He then crossed
Italy, and arrived in Greece, where Pompey
had taken refuge, supported by all the power
of the east, the ardent wishes of the repub-
lic, and a numerous and well-disciplined army.
Though his legions were superior in number,
yet Pompey refused to give the enemy battle;
while the impatient Cæsar harassed him on all
sides, and at length, bereft of all moderation,
even attacked his camp. Pompey repelled him
with great success; and Plutarch says, might
have decided the war, if he had pursued the
enemy while their confusion was great, and
201
their retreat almost impossible. But the in-
activity of Pompey, in this instance, proved
his ruin. Want of provisions obliged Cæsar
to take his course to Thessaly, to replenish
his stores, and to recruit his army, which
consisted of nine legions of Roman citizens,
three thousand archers from Crete and Lacedæ-
mon, six cohorts of slingers, and a large, nu-
merous, and well-disciplined army from the
Bessians and Dardanians, a people of Thrace
and Illyricum, besides his cavalry, which
amounted to seven thousand horse. With this
force, he derided Pompey's army, who had pur-
sued him, headed by their general.
Cæsar advanced towards the bravest and best
of Pompey's forces, saying, he had once met
an army without a general, but was going to
meet a general without an army.
In the plains of Pharsalia, near the town of
Thessaly, the two hostile generals met, and
their armies engaged. A most sanguinary
battle was fought, on the 12th of May, forty-
eight years before Christ, in which Cæsar
obtained the most decided victory, losing only
twelve hundred men, while the loss of Pompey
amounted to
to twenty-five thousand, besides
twenty-four thousand of his army, which were
made prisoners of war by the conqueror, Julius
Cæsar.
202
The whole battle, it is said, was conducted
against the opinion and approbation of Pompey.
By suffering his troops to wait for the approach
of the enemy, he deprived his soldiers of that
eminent advantage which the army of Cæsar
obtained by running to the charge, with the
spirit, vigor, and animation, so peculiarly their
own. The cavalry of Pompey soon gave
way, and Cæsar's army remained masters of
the field.
Pompey endeavoured to rally; but all being
lost, the conquered general, completely subdued,
and overwhelmed with grief and shame, retired
to his camp, but there he felt no security.
Cæsar's army surrounded him on every side; he
therefore speedily disguised himself, and, taking
his wife, Cornelia, fled to the sea-coast, and hired
a vessel, in which he embarked for Egypt,
where he hoped to find a safe asylum in the
court of Ptolemy, a prince whom Pompey had
once protected.
Ptolemy had been driven out of his king-
dom by his own subjects, on account of his
tyrannical government, and went to Rome, to
beg the assistance and protection of the senate.
The Sibylline books were consulted upon the
occasion, and these absolutely prohibited the
Romans from restoring an Egyptian prince by
force of arms. Gabinius, however, tempted
203
by the gold of the Egyptian prince, and the
plunder of Egypt, and encouraged also by
Pompey, undertook to replace Ptolemy on
the throne of Egypt, with the Syrian army.
This Pompey executed with a high hand,
and destroyed all the king's enemies, in open
defiance of the authority of the senate, and
the direction of the Sibyl: he had constantly
received proofs of the gratitude of Ptolemy,
in immense presents; he therefore doubted
not but he should still experience the favor of
the monarch. X
When Ptolemy was informed of the state of
the case, and that Pompey the Great claimed
his protection, he consulted his ministers on
the plan of conduct to be adopted in this
affair; the result of their deliberation was, that
to receive him would be to offend Cæsar,
whose prowess they dreaded, and whose favor
they knew they must court, to secure them-
selves. Thus, the king of Egypt had the
baseness and perfidy to deceive and betray a
man, to whose courage he owed his greatness!
for whom Pompey had, as we see, braved the
strict prohibition of the gods, the answers of
their priests, the authority of the senate, and
the orders of the people.
A boat was sent to convey the Roman gene-
ral on shore, replete with every convenience,
204
and attended by the first officers of the Egyp-
tian state, who, as it appeared, presented them-
selves with a view to do honor to the Roman
general, who, on his part, left his galley, little
suspecting he was resting his hopes on a mise-
rable fabric, and looking for support to an un-
grateful friend.
Pompey took an affectionate and tender leave.
of his wife, who was to retire to her villa at
Alba, till more happy prospects, and more fa-
vourable times, attended them.
As he turned in grief from Cornelia, Pompey
repeated two verses from Sophocles, which were
very analagous to his own state, and which
intimated, that "whoever goes for refuge to
the court of a king, becomes from that moment
a slave!"
During the passage from the galley to the
land, none of the attendants evinced the least
respect, or betrayed one mark of attention to
the Roman general; who at length said, look-
ing inquisitively in the face of Septimius,
"Methinks I remember you, and that you
formerly served under me." The insolent Sep-
timius answered only by a disrespectful nod of
his head., Pompey, deeply offended, with con-
temptuous silence, took from his bosom a speech
in Greek, which he had prepared to deliver to
205
the king of Egypt, and began to read it with
attention.
In this manner they reached the Egyptian
shore: Pompey, rising to leave the boat, was,
as he turned his back, assassinated by Septi-
mius and Achillas. The gallant general, with-
out resistance, or uttering a word, covered his
head with his robe, and fell resigned tohis sad
fate.
The wretched Cornelia, whose aching eyes
had followed her husband to the shore, was
overwhelmed with despair. Her attendants
weighed anchor, and made off to sea, lest the
bay of Alexandria should also prove her ruin.
The head of Pompey was cut off and sent to
Cæsar; his body was taken by his freedman,
Philip, who, with the assistance of a veteran
soldier, made a funeral pile of an old broken
boat; and thus were the last rites performed for
Pompey the Great! and that conqueror, who
had once declared, that he had found the capa-
cious earth too narrow for his victories, was at
last without a spot sufficient for his grave!
His ashes were carefully collected, and taken
to Cornelia, who deposited them in a mauso-
leum at her villa.
Pompey might have known a better fate, and
terminated his life with glory, if he had not
been so hostile to Cæsar, whose conduct was
*
206
replete with kindness to his son-in-law, but whỏ
himself kindled the flames of civil war, which
was carried to unprecedented excess, and which
was not merely to avenge a private injury, but
was a contest for sovereignty; and, though
each party wore the mask of pretended sin
cerity, and professed to be the supporter of the
republic, yet the abolition of freedom and pub-
lic liberty was the aim.
Though the marriage of Pompey with Julia
had been a step of policy, yet they loved each
other with tenderness. At her death, Pompey
had married the daughter of Metellus Scipio,
who was highly celebrated for her beauty, vir-
tue, and accomplishments.
Cæsar, after making a noble use of conquest,
pursued his enemy into Egypt, where, finding
him murdered, he erected a monument to his
memory. Theodotas, hoping to flatter the
conqueror, presented him with the head of the
valiant general; but the generous Cæsar, re-
collecting he had been his friend, and the
beloved husband of his Julia, turned with
horror from the sight, took his signet, and
wept over it.
Cæsar, on landing in Egypt, took up his resi-
dence in the royal palace, where, however, he
kept a strict guard, as, on his arrival, he had
been received in a clamorous manner by the
207
1
garrison.
The populace appeared dissatisfied
to see the fasces carried before him, which they
interpreted as a degradation of the regal autho-
rity.
Cæsar was under the necessity of prolonging
his stay in Alexandria, as the Itesian winds,
which prevailed at that time, were inauspicious
to any passage by sea from that place. These
winds are northerly; they begin to blow about
the beginning of the Summer solstice, and do
not cease till the end of August.
Julius Cæsar conceived it was due from him,
as chief of the Roman empire, to take cogni-
zance of the quarrel between Ptolemy the king,
and his sister, Cleopatra, which had been fo-
mented into an open war.
He did not reflect
on the many difficulties in which he should be
involved by interfering in the dispute. He sent
privately for queen Cleopatra, who had been
banished from court by her tyrannical brother:
and that princess, fearful of again falling into
his hands, accompanied by Apollodorus, the
Sicilian, in the dusk of the evening, got into a
little skiff, and landed near the gates of the
palace. Finding it quite impossible to elude.
the observation of the guards who watched the
palace, Cleopatra conceived the idea of extend-
ing herself at length in the tick of a feather-bed,
which being safely bound up, was carried
208
through the palace gates, by the Sicilian, to
the apartment of Cæsar, who immediately
sent for Ptolemy, the king, to hold a conference
with him.
Frightened and shocked, at seeing his sister
Cleopatra with the consul of Rome, the king
of Egypt fled from the palace to the market-
place, in a state of mental derangement,
crying, as he ran, that he was basely betrayed;
and, in the excess of his grief, he tore the
diadem from his head. The Roman soldiers,
seing him in this state of degradation, seized
him, and carried him to Cæsar.
Cæsar mildly assured Ptolemy, he had no
hostile intention against him, and that his
only desire was, to see the will of the late
king his father put in force, and to declare
himself and his sister king and queen of
Egypt.
Ptolemy, less generous than Cæsar, sought to
murder him, and conspiracies were formed on
every side; but these were easily discovered by
Cæsar, or his soldiers, who would gladly have
avoided an open rupture, as the season of the
year was unpropitious for a siege, for it was
already winter, and Cæsar felt he was not only
enclosed in the city of a well-furnished and
subtle enemy, but unprovided and entirely bare
of every necessary for his army; and he well
209
knew Ptolemy would exert every endeavour to
harass and distress him.
Cæsar had already forgotten his fame, and
character, in resigning himself to an immo-
derate passion for the beautiful Cleopatra; she
had become the sovereign mistress of his heart,
and, by the influence of her charins, had
induced him to support her on the throne of
Egypt.
All these circumstances rendered Ptolemy
so dissatisfied, that he ordered Achillas, the
captain of his guards, and the same who assas-
sinated Pompey, to head his troops, and to
attack the Roman consul and his forces; and,
to distress the enemy as much as possible, the
king ordered all the aqueducts of the city to
be turned these aqueducts conveyed the water
from the Nile (which, after filtration, became
pure), to the quarters where Cæsar's troops were
stationed, and, as the Nile was in the power of
the enemy, they could easily stop up the con-
duits, by which means the Roman forces were
deprived of water.
Cæsar, however, who could remedy most in-
conveniences, by celerity of action, and perse-
verance, found, also, a resource in this cala-
mity; he assembled his legions, and convinced
them of the necessity of instant exertion, to
escape the evils which attended them.
VOL. I.
W6.
P
210
With the alacrity of well-disciplined soldiers,
the legions immediately began sinking wells,
and, in the space of one night, they found suffi-
cient quantity of pure and delicious water,
which contributed as well to their comfort as
to their health, which, from the intense heat of
Egypt, had began to deline.
Ptolemy, the king, assisted by Achillas,
bravely met the forces of Cæsar, who defended
themselves so valiantly, that they soon defeated
the Egyptians, and the king, reduced to
the last extremity, was drowned in his re-
treat. While Cæsar lamented the loss of his
immense fleet, which he was obliged to de-
stroy by fire, to prevent its falling into the
hands of the enemy, the flames extended to
the building which contained the inestimable
library of Alexandria, which was supposed to
possess 400,000 valuable books and manu-
scripts.
Cæsar, at length, having extricated himself
with wonderful sagacity, conducted himself
with so much vigor, that he made Egypt sub-
mit to his laws, and then entrusted the govern-
ment of it to Cleopatra and her younger bro-
ther; he was fearful of making Egypt a
province, lest coming, at some future period,
under the command of an enterprising go-
211
vernor, it should again be subject to new com
motions.
Monsieur Crevier says, in his interesting his-
tory, "The charms of Cleopatra must indeed
have been very powerful, as they appeared to
subdue the activity of such a mind as Cæsar's,
for he continued nine months in Alexandria,
during which period the business of Rome and
Italy was entirely at a stand, by which means
the vanquished party there found means to
strengthen themselves, and become formidable
in Africa. Cæsar attended Cleopatra in a tour
round Alexandria; they went on board a beautiful
galiey, attended by four hundred sail of ships,
superbly ornamented. They coasted up the
Nile, banquets were daily given to the enchan-
tress, and nothing could exceed the splendor
of them, or the profuse magnificence of the de-
voted slave of Cleopatra."
Cæsar contemplated the city of Alexandria
with great admiration; the noble buildings, and
luxurious baths, of that delightful city, wers
objects worthy of his observation; but, above
all, its having been founded by Alexander the
Great, that hero, whose brave actions, from
the early youth of Cæsar, it had been his study,
peculiar ambition, and earnest desire, to imitate,
was particularly interesting to him. The com-
prehensive mind of Alexander the Great, that
212
illustrious monarch, the conqueror of the an-
cient world, saw how exactly Alexandria was
adapted to an extensive commerce; he had not
therefore confined his views to the land, being
fully aware how advantageous a maritime
intercourse would prove between the more
remote parts of the world. His grand object
had been that of uniting all nations under one.
head, and confirming their union, by uniting
their habits and manners.
It is said that this great warrior employed
the celebrated Dinocrates, an architect of
Macedonia, who had acquired the highest repu-
tation in building the temple of Diana, at
Ephesus, and who had proposed to Alexander
to cut Mount Athos in the form of a statue,
holding a city in one hand, and in the other
a basin, into which all the waters of the
mountain should discharge themselves. This.
project was rejected by the well-judging mind
of the pupil of Aristotle, as chimerical; but
he declared he would employ the talents of the
artist, in the more useful project of building
and beautifying Alexandria, his new city of
Egypt.
One great street, of considerable width, inter-
sected Alexandria in a straight line from north to
south, and was crossed by another of equal
dimension, from east to west. These streets
213
were embellished by the most magnificent
houses, superb temples, and public edifices, built
on the most scientific construction, each dis-
playing a profusion of marble and porphyry,
destined, as we shall see, at a future period to
ornament Rome, the capital of the world.
Parallel to these ran other streets of inferior
dimensions, though not by any means confined,
leaving a free current of air, particularly towards
the north, which wind alone conveys coolness
and salubrity into Egypt.
A mole, of nearly a mile in length, reached
from the continent to the island of Pharos,
exactly opposite the city, and which made an
equal division in the harbor.
On this island was erected the celebrated
light-house, began by Ptolemy Soter, and
finished in the reign of Philadelphus, his son,
and which afforded an excellent model for the
imitation of future ages.
The light-house is represented as a square
tower of six stories high, and was esteemed one
of the seven wonders of the world; at the top
of the tower was a circular building, in the form
of a lantern, in which large fires were constantly
kept up, to direct mariners in the bay, which
was dangerous and difficult to navigate. The
light of these fires extended its influence many
leagues.
i
214
On every story it is said to have been adorned
with columns, ballustrades, and galleries, all
of the finest marble, and most exquisitely sculp-
tured. The steps, by which was the ascent to
the lantern, were of hewn stone.
The expense of this light-house to the Egyp-
tian monarch was estimated at eight hundred
talents, which is equal to one hundred and sixty-
five thousand pounds sterling.
66
Sostrates, of Cnidas, was reported to have
been the architect, and wishing to claim all the
glory, engraved his own name on the stones,
after which he filled the hollow with mortar,
and wrote the inscription, instituted by king
Ptolemy, which was to this effect: King
Ptolemy to the gods, for the benefit of the
sailors." When, in process of time, the mortar
decayed, Ptolemy's name disappeared, and the
following inscription became visible: "Sostrates,
the Cnidian, son of Dexiphanes, to the gods, for
the benefit of sailors."
In the great harbor of Alexandria was the
island of Anterhodes, on which stood a magni-
ficent theatre, and a palace of royal residence.
In the eastern part of the city was a Gym-
nasium, with large porticos, of distinguished
beauty, and immense size, being more than an
hundred feet long; and supported by six rows.
Mчou
215
of marble columns sculptured in hieroglyphical
devices.
Near the canopic gate was a superb circus, of
extraordinary magnitude, appropriated for the
chariot races. Beyond the suburbs of Nicopo-
lis was a stupendous amphitheatre, to which was
attached a race ground, for the celebration of
the quinquinnales ludi, which were games cele-
brated by the Chians, in honor of Homer, every
fifth year. The Romans, we see, also celebrated
games of the same name.
The magnificent bath of the beautiful Cleo-
patra was a little to the west of the port. It
was an immense basin, hollowed out of a solid
rock on one side, in which were three square
rooms, formed from the same stupendous mate-
rial across these were benches of marble.
:
A canal, in a zigzag form, for the purpose of
restraining the sands, conveyed into them, exqui-
sitely pure, and beautifully transparent, the
water of the sea, which rises higher than the
waist of the bather, while sitting on the bench,
at which time the feet rest on a firm and singu-
larly fine sand.
The delightful sound of the waves are heard
roaring against the rock, and foaming in the
canal. The swell of the sea rushes into the
bath, and the force of it raises the person up with
sudden velocity; and, when at its height, then
4
216
immediately subsides. Thus alternately entering
and retiring it brings a continual fresh supply of
water, with a coolness which must be truly
delicious in a climate so hot and enervating as
Egypt.
The costly ornaments of this bath are beyond
description; the magnificence with which the
different rooms were appointed is scarcely to be
imagined; there the luxurious Cleopatra, at-
tended by her women of honor, passed all the
hours of the day in which the heat was oppres-
sive. In this calm and delightful retreat, she
had a band of musical performers who attended,
and who, with the exquisite sounds of their
melody, added to the enchantment of the
scene.
A great part of the city of Alexandria was oc-
cupied by the royal palace, the magnificence of
which may easily be conceived from the national
profusion, and the grandeur with which the
buildings were ornamented. Within its precincts
were the museums, or noble apartments for the
accomodation of literary men, and in which
resided fourteen hundred students, who were
not only educated, but lodged and maintained at
the public expense.
There was also a temple called the Serapeum,
built in honor of Serapis, (or Apis,) whose
image was brought from Pontus, in the reign
217
of Ptolemy Soter. This structure was supposed
to surpass, in beauty and magnificence, every
other building in the world, except the capitol
at Rome.
Within the ample precincts of the palace was
the magnificent and costly temple, in which was
erected the sepulchre of the founder of Alexan-
dria, whose royal body was deposited in a golden
coffin, magnificently embossed, and chased with
hieroglyphics, descriptive of the distinguished
actions of his life.
When the museums in the palace were filled
with books, to the amount of four hundred
thousand volumes, an additional library was built,
within the verge of the temple of Serapeum,
which, after a time, contained three hundred
thousand volumes.
As we have seen, this celebrated library of
Alexandria was destroyed when Cæsar was
obliged to burn his fleet in the bay. But Cleo-
patra added two hundred thousand volumes from
the Pergamean library to that in the Serapeum,
which, from its gradual increase, at length
became as rich in books as both had formerly
been.
1
During the civil wars which afflicted the
Roman empire, at different periods, this library
was frequently plundered, and as often supplied
with new books, till at length the fa-
218
mous syllogism of the Khalif Omar consigned
them to the devouring flames." If," said the
memorable argumentator to Omrou, his general,
who took Alexandria, " the books contain
nothing but what is in the Koran, they are use-
less; if they contain any thing contrary to its
doctrines, they ought not to be suffered; let
them, therefore, be destroyed.' This order
being absolute; they were distributed amongst
the keepers of the public baths, of which there.
were upwards of one thousand; and these books
are said to have supplied a sufficient quantity of
fuel, to heat them, during the space of six
months! Doubtless, incalculable treasures of
erudition and science were lost to the world
by this act of violence and barbarism.
long before Rome existed, and when the
inhabitants of Greece were still savages, the
Egyptians were not only a numerous but a ci-
vilized people, to whom science was no stranger.
From them the Greeks received the first rudi-
ments of instruction; and from them all the
knowledge of the ancients may be traced.
For
From the most remote epoch, to the present
era, no country has excited so much attention
as Egypt. Their riches, their stupendous
buildings, the fertility of their lands, their
knowledge and practice of agriculture, have
mutually contributed to distinguish them, and
1
219
render them celebrated even to future ages.
But of all the unparalleled works of the Egyp-
tians, the pyramids are the most celebrated for
their strength and durability. The period of
their erection is too remote for inquiry with any
probable success. As Alexandria was destitute
of fresh water, ample reservoirs were formed.
They were curiously vaulted underneath the city,
to enable them to contain the water brought from
the Nile, from which it was conveyed, by aque-
ducts, through the city.
We learn, that for nearly three hundred years,
during the reign of the Ptolemies, Alexandria
continued to flourish. She possessed an inex-
haustible source of wealth from the destruction
of Tyre, as the commerce of the world was in
her power; and she could boast such an estab-
lishment for the promotion of science and
literature, as, perhaps, scarcely existed in any
other part of the world, Athens itself not ex-
cepted.
At length, as we have seen, the race of the
Ptolemies began to decline, and Rome, that
emporium of the world, laid her grasping hand
upon Egypt. And, in the course of this his-
tory, we shall see her fall entirely into de-
cay, and experience dreadful vicissitudes and
changes.
Of her population, in falling into the hands
220
1
of Omrow, we may form some idea, from what
was said by that general, according to whose
statement she then contained "four thousand
magnificent palaces, four thousand baths, twelve
thousand merchants, who traded in fresh oil,
twelve hundred horticulturists, forty thousand
Jews, paying tribute, and four hundred come-
dians."
It is admitted, that, from the period of the
discovery of the passage round the Cape of
Good Hope, the most southern point of the
continent of Africa, to the East Indies, the
ruin of Alexandria was sealed; and we see it
dwindled to a mere shadow under the oppres-
sive sceptre of the Turks.
According to Herder, Alexandria was the
cradle of Christianity. In this school of know-
ledge, science, and philosophy, the renovating
and comforting power of Christianity was pro-
mulgated, and attracted to itself, or its benign
influence, whatever it supposed itself capable
of assimilating. From this circumstance, it is
said, various corruptions were generated, and
the simplicity of the Christian doctrines de-
stroyed.
It has, however, been ascertained by many
writers, and we shall see, in the course of this
history, that the ancient fathers of this church
possessed great merit, and many of them suf-
221
fered in the pious cause with singular magna-
nimity. Origen, who did so much for Chris-
tianity, transmitted his spirit to some of his
scholars. From his superior assiduity in the
cause of religion, as well as from his devotion
to his faith, this Greek writer was surnamed
Adamantus. He was a most rigid Christian,
and suffered martyrdom in the 69th year of his
age, 254 years after Christ.
The canal of Alexandria had ceased to be
navigable for ages, when Buonaparté, while he
was in Egypt, cleansed it in some degree; for
we see he was enabled, during the inundation
of the Nile, to send provisions by it from Cairo
to Alexandria, and to transport from thence
a considerable quantity of artillery to Geeza,
or Gaza, an ancient town of Palestine, situated
about a mile from the sea, with an harbour,
called New Gaza.
At length, however, the beauties and luxu-
ries of Alexandria, and even the witchery of
Cleopatra, lost their influence on the ardent and
ambitious mind of Julius Cæsar, which had
already lain too long dormant, but which
now panted daily for new conquests. He there-
fore left Alexandria, and went into Syria, a
large country of Asia, whose boundaries were
not exactly ascertained by the ancients, though,
generally speaking, it was bounded on the east
222
!
by the Euphrates, north by Mount Taurus,
west by the Mediterranean sea, and south by
Arabia. It was divided into several districts,
or provinces, amongst which were Phoenicia,
Seleusis, Judea, or Palestine, Mesopotamia,
Babylon and Assyria. It had been subject to
the monarchs of Persia; but on the death of
Alexander the Great, Seleucus, surnamed Nica-
tor, who had received this province as his lot,
on the division of the Macedonian dominions,
raised it into an empire, known in history by
the name of Syria, or Babylon. The succes-
sors of Seleucus reigned in succession, till it came
into the bands of Tigranes, king of Armenia,
and Antiochus Asiaticus, who was dethroned
by Pompey the Great, 65 years before Christ;
in consequence of which Syria became subject
to the Romans, and was reduced into a pro-
vince.
From Syria, Cæsar went to Pontus, a king-
dom of Asia Minor, being intreated and has-
tened thither by the repeated advices he received
of the imperious conduct of Pharnaces, the son
of Mithridates, who, taking advantage of the
confused and harassed state of the Roman
republic, from their civil dissensions, and inso-
lent from the numerous successes he had enjoyed,
began to imagine himself not only powerful,
but even invulnerable.
223
Julius Cæsar, however, soon crushed his
aspiring hopes; he vanquished him in a single
battle, five days after his arrival in that country,
and in four hours after he was within sight of
the enemy.
He then reduced Pontus to a
Roman province, and a regular governor was
from that period appointed over it, during the
reign of the twelve Cæsars.
Soon after this victory, Cæsar defeated Scipio
and Juba, the king of Nunidia and Mauritania.
He had succeeded his father, Hiempsal, and had
favored the cause of Pompey against Cæsar; he
had also defeated Curio, one of Cæsar's generals,
who had been sent by him into Africa, after the
battle of Pharsalia. Juba, having joined his
forces to those of Scipio, they rallied their
shattered armies, flattering themselves they
might oppose Cæsar. He, however, completely
routed them, and took the son of the king of
Numidia prisoner. The young captive (Juba)
proved the happiest that was ever rendered such;
from an uncivilized Numidian he became one
of the most distinguished of the Greek histo-
rians, and, by the elegance of his literary ta
lents, soon gained the hearts of the enlightened
Romans, and eventually wrote the history of
the empire.
The king, his father, having been entirely aban-
doned by his subjects, killed himself, together
224
with his favorite, Petreius, who was highly cele-
brated for his affection to his royal master. He
loved him sufficiently to share his adversity, as
he had done the smiles of fortune. The battle
was fought at Thapsus, a town of Africa Pro-
pria, which lies about the middle of Africa, on
the Meditterranean sea, and of which Carthage
is the capital.
The Numidian kingdom became a Roman
province, and to the government of it Cæsar
deputed Sallust, who had invariably espoused
his cause.
Sallust had, from his depravity of morals,
been degraded from the rank he had held in
the senate. His attachment to Cæsar not only
restored him to his senatorial honors, but to the
government of Africa; in which administration
he behaved with unusual tyranny; and the histo-
rian again degraded human nature by plunder-
ing the poor and wretched Africans.
On his return to Rome, finding himself in
possession of the spoils he had amassed, he was
enabled to purchase an ample tract of land on
the Quirinal hill, situated in that district of
Rome called, from its exalted and beautiful
situation,* Alta Semita: there he erected a mag-
nificent palace, the front of which looked into
the beautiful gardens he had planted, which,
* Vid. Plan of Rome.
225
>
were embellished with every beauty of nature
and art, that could gratify the most fastidious
fancy. Statues, of the most exquisite sculpture,
were interspersed with the delicious flowers and
aromatic shrubs. Baths were erected in the
most distinguished style of magnificence and
grandeur; and, so highly celebrated, and in
such repute, were these gardens, that the spot
where they were situated is still known, in
Rome, by the name of the gardens of Sallust.
On the death of Sallust, these gardens were
found too extravagant and expensive for a
private individual, and the Sallustian palace and
gardens, as they were called, became, from that
period, the residence of the emperors, which
they preferred to the palace of the Cæsars.
The Romans usually retired to their gardens for
the purpose of study, as well as for convivial
entertainment, and in seasons of grief, melan-
choly, or disappointment.
Sallust married Terentia, the divorced wife
of Cicero, whose character Sallust does not paint
with that fidelity and accuracy which would
have done him credit; passing in silence many
actions which would have reflected singular
honor on the memory of that distinguished
orator.
Cæsar soon followed the sons of Pompey into
Spain; and, after defeating them, hurried to
VOL. I.
226
Utica, to see Cato, whom he was anxious to
preserve, and to make his friend. Cato had
always opposed him, and had joined the inte-
rests of Pompey, though he had not attended
him to Phiarsalia, but with Cicero had remained
at Dyrrachium, He had been entrusted with
the ammunition and fifteen cohorts, after the
battle of Pharsalia. When Labienus brought
him the news of Pompey's defeat, he offered the
command of the cohorts, as well as of the Cor-
cyrean fleet, to Cicero, as the superior in dig
nity; and upon his refusal of it, as Plutarch tells
us, young Pompey was so enraged, that he drew
his sword, and would have killed him on the
spot, if Cato had not prevented it. He imme-
diately traversed the deserts of Lybia, to join
himself to Scipio, who suffered a defeat, in great
measure, from not regarding the advice of the
experienced Cato. That general finding his
party ruined, fortified himself in Utica; not,
however, with a view of supporting a siege
against Cæsar, but with a determination of not
being taken by surprise.
When the conqueror approached the city, Cato
disdained to fly, and, dreading to become cap-
tive, even to Cæsar, in the agony of disappoint-
ment, and wounded pride, stabbed himself,
after reading Plato's treatise on the immortality
of the soul.
227
On his arrival at Utica, Cæsar was deeply
distressed at learning the desperate course Cato
had pursued. He sorrowfully exclaimed, "Oh,
Cato Cæsar envies thee thy death! because
thou enviedst him the honor of saving thy valua-
ble life?"
The miserable Cato had regularly appeared in
mourning, and had never reposed himself at his
meals, since the beginning of hostilities; but,
on the contrary, sat, in opposition to the custom
of the Romans. He had declared to the senate,
that they had introduced a tyrant into the
capital, when they awarded the provinces of
Gaul to the government of Cæsar a second
five years. Cato had, also, strenuously opposed
the formation of the triumvirate, and foretold
to the Romans all the misfortunes which
eventually accrued to them from that circum-
stance.
In all the civil wars, Cæsar had never known
a defeat; and animosities being now at an
end, and his provinces amicably settled, he re-
turned to Rome, covered with glory, and was
received with joyful acclamations by the senate
and the people.
He was honored with five triumphs; the first,
which was undoubtedly the most splendid, was
the Gallic. The triumphal chariot procession
began from the Campus Martius; it then pro-
Q 2
228
1
ceeded through the circus, to the Porta Trium-
phalis, and from thence through the most pub-
lic streets in the city, to the capitol :-First pro-
ceeded the musicians, with instruments of
various descriptions, playing and singing tri-
umphal songs; next were led the oxen, to be
sacrificed, having their horns gilt, and their
heads adorned with silken fillets and garlands.
of flowers. In the chariots were carried the
spoils taken in war from the enemy, statues,
pictures, plate, armour, gold, and silver, with
the golden crowns and gifts sent by the allies
and the tributary states.
}
The titles of the vanquished nations were
inscribed on wooden frames, with the images
and representations of the conquered provinces,
countries, and cities. The captives, generals,
or leaders, followed in chains, with their wives,
children, and slaves. Then came the lictors,
with the fasces wreathed with laurel, followed
by another company of musicians and dancers,
dressed like satyrs, with crowns of gold, in the
midst of whom was a pantomimic, dressed in
female attire, who was to insult and revile the
vanquished. Then followed a train of persons,
scattering the most exquisite perfumes, preceded
by the victorious Cæsar, arrayed in the imperial
purple, embroidered with gold; a crown of
laurel on his head, a bunch of laurel in his right
229
C
hand, and in his left an ivory sceptre, with an
eagle on the top; his face painted with ver-
million, to resemble the statue of Jupiter on
the days of festival; a golden ball suspended
from his neck, in which was contained some
kind of amulet, or magical preservative against
envy. Cæsar stood erect in his chariot, which
was adorned with ivory, and drawn by six
white horses. He was attended by his generals,
officers, relations, and friends, with all the citi-
zens of Rome, dressed in white.
His adopted son, Octavius, attended him in
his chariot. That the emperor might not be
too highly elated, a slave, who carried behind
him a golden crown, glittering with gems,
frequently whispered in his ear, "Remember,
Cæsar, that thou art a man." Then followed
the consuls and senators in their robes; the
military tribunes rode by the side of the emperor.
Then came the victorious army, cavalry and
infantry, according to order, attended by their
captains and lieutenants, who were crowned
with laurel, and decorated with the gifts they
had received as rewards for their valor, singing
the praises of Cæsar, frequently exclaiming,
"Io triumphe!" in which they were joined
by the citizens.
When the triumphal chariots had turned from
the forum to the capitol, the captive kings were
*
230
remanded to prison, where they were usually
ordered to be slain. But Cæsar spared all those
who were deserving of his moderation. It may
be worthy of observation, that even these Pagans
were attentive to the forms of their religious
worship. A prayer of thanksgiving was always
offered to Jupiter, and the other gods, for their
successes, and the victims were then sacrificed,
which were of a brilliant whiteness, and taken
from the banks of the river Clitumnus. The
golden crown was then deposited in the lap of
Jupiter, to whom also was dedicated part of the
spoil,
After this, Cæsar gave a magnificent banquet
in the sacred capitol, to his friends, his officers,
and the chief men of the city.
He was then conducted home by torch-light;
musical instruments preceded him, and on all
sides prevailed the most exquisite harmony,
The gold and silver was then deposited in the
public treasury, and a specified sum was given
to the lieutenants and soldiers, who were honor-
ably disbanded.
The second triumph was the Alexandrian;
the next the Pontic; then came the African;
and last the Spanish; in all of which the deco-
rations were equally sumptuous, the inventions
different, and splendidly elegant. In the Gallic
triumph, the general joy was for a moment
231
clouded, and the consternation great, as the
victorious Cæsar was nearly thrown from his
chariot, by the sudden breaking of the axis.
In the Pontic triumph, Cæsar entered the
capital of Italy with torches, forty elephants
marching on each side of him, mounted by pages,
holding flambeaux. There was borne before him,
by his lieutenants, habited in their military cos-
tume, a device, inscribed in gold, and only
these three words,-Veni, vidi, vici; I came,
I saw, I conquered; not expressing the actions
of the war, but the celerity of the action and
conquest.
Instead of plunder, this wise and munificent
prince gave to his veteran legions seven hundred
crowns to each company, besides the two hun-
dred he had promised them on the commence-
ment of the war.
To the cavalry he gave fourteen thousand
crowns, and to the people at large he presented
an hundred bushels of corn, and an hundred
pints of oil, which he also promised to them
annually. He added a hundred crowns to the
two hundred, as a reward for the delay of pay-
ment to the legions.
He remitted one year's taxes, and made pub;
lic the usual weekly donations of meat to the
people, which had formerly been select. He
gave the most costly banquets to the court, the
232
officers of the army, and his friends: the most.
exquisite delicacies, and delicious wines, were:
served, and nothing omitted that could render
them magnificent. He then exhibited spectacles
of every description; gladiators combated;
games were exhibited in the circus, which
were called the Circensian games. These were
divided into several different kinds; one of which
was the pentathlum or quinquertium; this con-
sisted of five robust exercises then much prac-
tised at Rome; the cestus, which is described
by Virgil in the fifth book of the Eneid; the
races on foot; the discus, which consisted in
throwing a heavy iron quoit; a sport now very
common in Cornwall and many other parts of
England; the saltus, or leaping; and wrestling,
besmeared with oil. The sons of the princes
of Asia and Bithynia danced the Pyrrhic dance;
and, to render the circus more commodious for
the games, it was enlarged on every side, and
moated round by a beautiful canal, where the
naval engagements were displayed.
Young patricians drove the race-chariots;
and troops of the still younger nobility performed
the Trojan exercise, which will be described
hereafter.
A battle was then represented by five hun-
dred infantry, twenty elephants mounted by as
many lieutenants, and three hundred cavalry,
233
including the chariots of dismounted men ;—all
these forces engaged at the same moment; the
object of each was to avoid, the weapons of their
antagonists, and this was done with singular
dexterity, and such distinguished agility, as
rendered the exhibition highly interesting.
These amusements continued for many days;
on the morning of the last, a naval engage-
ment was represented by Tyrian and Egyptian
gallies, elegantly decorated. The rowers were
habited in a costly uniform of purple and gold,
they rowed with silver oars, which, from the
reflection of the sun-beams on the water, glit
tered magnificently, and displayed a scene at
once animated and delightful; twenty-five
days of thanksgiving were decreed to Cæsar,
for his victories in Gaul, and forty days were
decreed him for the same purpose after the civil
wars, an honour which had never been before
granted to any man. When the general joy
had a little subsided, and the daily entertain-
ments and banquets had given way to a tranquil
kind of happiness, Cæsar began to turn his
thoughts to state affairs, and to the new model-
ing of the empire.
His first object was the reformation of the
calendar, which had, through the negligence and
remissness of the Pontifex Maximus, been
brought into such confusion, by making the
234
!
!
:
intercalation uncertain, and at his own pleasure,
that the months were transposed from their
stated seasons; the winter months carried back
to the autumn, and the autumnal to the sum-
mer; this, by Plutarch, was called the year of
confusion.
Cæsar now resolved to put an end to this
disorder by abolishing the source of it. For
this purpose, with the assistance of Soxigenes,
an able astronomer of Alexandria, whom the
emperor had brought to Rome, he adjusted the
year according to the solar system, and assigned
to each month the number of days they still
contain. He was led to this method of divi-
ding the year, by observing the manner of
computing time among the Egyptians, who
divided their years into twelve months, each
consisting of thirty days. Cæsar added five
intercalary days at the end of the year, and
every fourth year he added six days. These
supernumerary days, and also the two days he
took from February, he disposed of among those
months which now contain thirty one days.
Cæsar adjusted the year so exactly to the course
of the sun, that the insertion of one intercalary
day, in one thousand four hundred and seventy-
one years, would make up the difference. He
also made another difference between the Julian
and Egyptian year; the latter began with Sep-
1
ab
:
1
235
tember, but he ordered that the former should
begin in January. A new calendar was there-
fore formed according to this arrangement,
written by Flavius, a scribe, which instituted
a solar year of 365 days, and which is now
known under the name of the Julian year,
digested according to the Roman festivals, and
the old manner of computing the days, by
kalends, nones, and ides, which act was imme-
diately published, and authorised by a special
edict of Cæsar, the Dictator.
Afterwards, in order to adjust this year to
the annual revolution of the earth, which is six
hours and forty-nine minutes more than three
hundred and sixty-five days, the length of the
ordinary year, a day was appointed as an
intercalation, every fourth year in the month
of February. This day, from its position in
the Roman calendar, was called "bissextile,"
a name given to the year in which the interca-
lation takes place. This famous Julian, or solar
year, continues in use in all Christian countries
to this day, without any other alteration than
that of the old and new style, which was occa-
sioned by a regulation of Pope Gregory, A. D.
1582, who observed, that the vernal equinox,
which at the time of the council of Nice, A. D.
325, had been on the 21st of March, then
happened on the 10th of the same month. By
}
236
the advice of some able astronomers of that
age, he caused ten days to be entirely thrown,
out of the current year, between the 4th and
15th of October. To make the civil year, for
the future, agree with the real one, or with the
annual motion of the sun round the ecliptic,
which is completed in 365 days, six hours, and
some minutes, he ordered that every 100th year
should not be bissextile, or leap year, unless
it was the 400th, so that the difference hardly
amounted to a day, in 5,200 years.
.
This alteration of style was immediately
adopted in all Roman Catholic countries, but
not in Britain, till A. D. 1752, when eleven days
were dropped between the 2d and 14th of Sep-
tember. That month, in course, containing
only nineteen days, the new style was adopted,
as it had been before, in other countries of
Europe. In the same year also, we must not
omit to observe, another alteration was made in
England. The legal year, which had before
commenced on the 25th of March, was appointed
to begin on the 1st of January.
The arrangement of the calendar, though it
was highly approved by the senate and literary
people, irritated the enemies of Cæsar, all of
whom were jealous of his abundant attain-
ments, and they openly declared, that "his
pride was insatiable, that he was not satisfied
237
and content to rule the earth, but he must reform
the heavens also." Cæsar, however, disregarded
all their malignity, and daily reformed some
abuse, gave orders, or drew plans for the erec-
tion of some fine edifice, or formed some design
for adorning the city, and for establishing his
own power.
Cæsar was a passionate admirer of beauty, and
indulged his taste for variety without restraint.
He was accused of squandering large sums on
the lovely Moorish queen Eunoe. She was the
wife of Bogud, a king of Mauritania, who had
earnestly espoused the interests of Julius Cæsar.
Mauritania was a country on the western part of
Africa, which forms the modern kingdom of
Fez and Morocco. It was bounded on the west
by the Atlantic, south by Gætulia, (a country
of Libya, near the Garamantes) and north by the
Mediterranean.
2
Cæsar was said to have been munificent to a
degree of folly, in his presents to Servilia, the
mother of Marcus Brutus, and sister of Cato of
Utica, to whom he was most tenderly attached,
though her brother was his professed enemy.
The lovers having long held a secret correspon-
dence, and one of the letters of Servilia being
delivered to Caesar, while he was in the senate
house, during the discussion of the conspiracy of
Çatiline, her brother, the virtuous Cato insisted
238
on seeing the contents, as he imagined it might
be from the conspirator Catiline. Cæsar very
reluctantly delivered it to the stern senator, to
prevent the contents from being made public.
Cato no sooner read the letter, than he threw it
back to Cæsar, in the highest indignation, ex-
claiming, take it, thou drunkard, and then, as if
nothing had happened, he resumed the thread of
his discourse. Cæsar presented Servilia with one
single pearl, estimated at the immense value of
£48,417, 10s. this, besides vast sums expended
on her, greatly injured his fortune.
Cæsar was, by some of his enemies, accused
of favouring the conspiracy of Catiline, who
was descended from a very illustrious family,
and had squandered his noble fortune in extra-
vagance and profligacy. On being refused the
consulship he secretly meditated the ruin of his
country, and conspired with many other illus-
trious Romans, as dissolute as himself, to extir-
pate the senate, plunder the treasury, and set
Rome on fire. This conspiracy, however, had
been fortunately discovered by Fulvia, who
made it known to the consul Cicero, whom he
had resolved to murder. Catiline, after having
openly declared his intentions to the senate, and
even attempted to vindicate himself, seeing five-
of his accomplices arrested, retired precipitately
into Gaul, where his partisans had assembled an
239
army of barbarians, to invade the capital of the
world. In the mean time, Cicero, at Rome,
condemned the conspirators, Caius Cethegus and
Lentulus, to death, and his colleague in the con-
sulate, sent Petreius, his lieutenant, to attack
the ill-disciplined Gallic troops of Catiline, who
were completely defeated, Cataline being killed
in the engagement, 63 years before Christ.
Cæsar's great care in his government of the
empire was, to administer justice in the most
impartial manner, using severity only when
absolutely necessary. He prohibited the use of
jewels, and the purple robe, except to those of
a certain quality, age, and distinguished merit,
unless on occasions of festivity. He laid a
severe duty upon foreign commodities, and
degraded from their order, even if it were
senatorial, all who were convicted of bribery,
He caused the sumptuary laws to be strictly
enforced, and such was his vigilance in this
respect, that he placed overseers round the
markets, to seize and condemn all prohibited
provisions, or those sold at an enormous rate;
and if he had cause to suspect the prohibition.
was evaded, he secretly sent a band of lictors
and soldiers, to the persons who had offended,
to take from them their illegally acquired pro-
perty.
Cæsar proposed to erect a theatre of extraor-
240
1
↓
dinary magnitude near the Tarpeian mountain,
and to reduce the civil law into a small com-
pass; and, from a diffused number of statutes, to
select the most valuable and necessary, to
prevent litigation, and to arrange them with
'méthod.
He began to collect an excellent library of
Greek and Latin authors, the arrangement and
choice of which he deputed to Varro, the con-
sul, and grandson to the same Varro, who had
been defeated at the battle of Cannæ, by
Annibal. Varro was a Latin writer of great
eininence, and was supposed to have written 500
volumes; he had been Pompey's lieutenant in
his piratical wars, and had obtained a naval
crown. Cæsar had subdued him in the civil
wars, and by him Varro had been proscribed,
but on the application and through the influence
of Cicero, had been not only pardoned, in con-
sequence of his great erudition, but employed
in the literary pursuits of Julius Cæsar.
Julius now determined to drain the marshes
of Pontina; these were immense lakes in the
country of the Volsci, through which the great
Appian road passed. Travellers were obliged
to be conveyed in boats drawn by mules, who,
with difficulty and danger, waded through the
canal that flowed along the road from Forum
Appii to Terracina. This lake is now become
1
241
so dangerous, from the exhalations of its stag-
nant waters, that travellers avoid passing near it.
Julius Cæsar attempted to discharge the
Fucine Lake, in Italy, in the country of the
Marsi, situated at the mouth of the Liris, now
called Garigliano, a river in Campania, which it
separates from Latium, and falls into the Medi-
terranean sea; he also resolved to pave a cause-
way from the Adriatic shore across the ridges
of the Alps to the Tiber.
He purposed also to cut through the Isth-
mus of Corinth, as he had established there
not only a colony, but had rebuilt the noble
city of Corinth, and restored it to its former
grandeur, by the erection of magnificent edifices,
and porticos built on the most scientific con-
struction, and in the most exquisite taste.
The beautiful city of Corinth had been destroyed
by the Roman consul, Lucius Mummius, forty-
six years anterior to the birth of Julius Cæsar.
It was situated on the Isthmus which joins the
Morea to Greece. The paintings and statues
which the Roman generals found in Corinth,
were of immense value, and all of them were
imported into Italy for the embellishment of
its capital. Scarcely to be computed were the
riches found in the ruined and devoted city;
some writers affirm that, on the burning of the
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242
city, all the metals which Corinth contained
melted and intermingled, by which it formed
that valuable composition, called Corinthian
brass, which the Romans so much admired,
and for the possession of which so many illus-
trious persons were said to have been proscribed,
by the succeeding Cæsars. Other historians
again declare that idea to be ill-founded, because
the Grecian artists united a portion of copper,
with small quantities of gold and silver, and
so beautifully brilliant was the composition, that
the appellation of Corinthian brass afterwards
stamped an extraordinary and ideal value on
pieces of very inferior worth and quality.
Corinth is now nearly in decay; the ruins of
beautiful temples, and other marks of its former
stupendous edifices still remain; but the rem-
nants of elegant houses and villas are inter-
mixed with fields, orange groves, and gardens,
resembling a small insignificant village, the
inhabitants scarcely exceeding thirteen or four-
teen hundred souls.
The surrounding and adjacent country abounds
with corn, wine, and oil; and the castle,
seated at the top of an almost inaccessible rock,
is supposed to command one of the finest pros-
pects, both by sea and land, in the whole world.
The Morea was formerly denominated Pelo-
243
ponnesus, a peninsula in the southern part of
Greece; its present name of Morea is derived
from Morus, the mulberry, from the great num-
ber of mulberry trees which the place produces.
After Carthage, that celebrated city of Africa,
and rival of Rome, had lain considerably more
than an hundred and twenty years in ruins, and
at the same time that he rebuilt Corinth, Cæsar
sent a colony to rebuild Carthage, which speedily
began to resume a degree of her pristine splen-
dor. Ancient Carthage was situated ten miles
east of Tunis, usually dignified with the title
of kingdom, and near the promontory called
Cape Carthage, bounded on the north-east by
the Mediterranean and the kingdom of Tripoli;
on the south, by several tribes of the Arabs; and
on the west, by the kingdom of Algiers and
the country of Esab; extending about 200
miles from N. to E. and 120 from E. to W.-
Little is known of Carthage but what we learn
from its inveterate enemies, the Romans; and
the contest of the two rival republics, which,
as we have seen in the view of Rome, termi-
nated in the total subversion of Carthage, and
the demolition of her ancient and stupendous
walls. This contest evinced, according to the
opinion of Gibbon, the greatness to which
commerce had raised a simple colony of Phe-
R 2
244
nicians. The events, nevertheless, sufficiently
prove, that trade, however necessary and apt for
the acquisition of wealth, power, and commerce,
is not sufficient of itself, for the maintenance ·
of them.
The Carthaginians, wholly devoted to the ac-
quisition of wealth, were, if possible, less scru-
pulous in the means to obtain it, than the Pho-
nicians, from whom they were descended;
for truth, faith, and honor, appear to have been
equally unknown amongst them.
So insatiate was their love of money, that,
to save a few pounds of gold, we witness the
brave Annibal, who had brought Rome to the
very verge of destruction, denied, by the avarice
of his country, that support which might per-
haps have completed her entire overthrow, and
have rendered Carthage the capital of the world.
The Romans had, by their destruction of this city,
retarded the civilization of Africa; but Cæsar,
as if to make amends for the envy and barbarity
of his country, sent some of the most illustrious
Romans, to whom he judiciously awarded large
possessions, to civilize the Carthaginians. Little
success, however, attended his endeavors; they
were still barbarous, even to very late ages.
After Christianity had diffused its delightful
and benign influence over the northern coast of
245
Africa, Carthage made a conspicuous figure,
in the annals of ecclesiastical history. Their
bishops soon acquired a considerable and dis-
tinguished power in the church, and were fre-
quently involved in controversies with their
European and Asiatic rivals.
The episcopal thrones of Christian Rome, and
of New Carthage, contended for superior sway,
with great animosity; but these disputes ter-
minated, as we read in the lives of the ancient
fathers, with the same success as attended the
civil governments of Pagan Rome and Ancient
Carthage in former times.
Carthage, was acknowledged the second city
of the western world, when Genseric, a cele-
brated Vandal prince, passed from Spain into
Africa, A. D. 439, which he invaded.-He
finally took Carthage, and he established there
the Vandal kingdom, from whence he sent forth
numerous and powerful fleets, which claimed
the empire of the Mediterranean sea, and in
some measure retaliated ancient injuries by the
sacking of Rome:
At length, under the caliph Abdalmelek,
Hassan, the governor of Egypt, took Carthage
by assault. On the arrival of the Greek general
he was obliged to abandon his prize; but the
following year he defeated the Grecian army,
246
and delivered the devoted Carthage to the
flames! and the colony of Dido and Cæsar
lay desolate above two hundred years, (says
Gibbon) till a part, perhaps a twentieth of the
old circumference, was re-peopled by the Fatimite
caliphs.
In the beginning of the sixteenth century,
the second capital of the West was represented
by a mosque, a college without students, a few
insignificant shops, and the miserable huts of
five hundred peasants, who, in the most abject
poverty, affected the arrogance of their Punic
ancestors. Their futile attempts proved abortive,
and this paltry and insignificant village was
swept away by the Spaniards, whom Charles the
Fifth had stationed at Goletta, an island and
fortress at the entrance of the Bay of Tunis.
Even the ruins of the once proud Carthage
have now perished, or but few vestiges of them
are to be seen. The place of it is not exactly
known, unless the remains of some of the stu-
pendous aqueducts, by which the city was sup→
plied with water, should mark the site of ancient
Carthage.
After Cæsar had settled his plans for the co-
lonization of Corinth and Carthage, he deter-
mined to rally his legions, arm all his forces,
and oppose the Daci, who had become trouble-
some, and were making daily incursions.
247
The Daci were a warlike people of Germany,
beyond the Danube. They had nearly subdued
Pontus and Thrace, and promised themselves
equal success against the Romans.
•
Cæsar proposed to make war against the
Parthians in Armenia; but not to give them
battle till he had made some careful observa-
tions on the force and genius of their nation,
lest he should be liable to the same misfortunes,
and fall into the same difficulties, which Crassus
had experienced, who, with his whole army,
had been cut off by the artifices of the Par-
thians; this arose from his ignorance of their
manner of fighting, which was peculiar to
themselves, and is celebrated by the poets, and
which will be described hereafter.
Whilst Cæsar was forming and contemplating
all these designs for the public good of the em-
pire, he was exciting the envy and jealousy of
his enemies, and scarcely a day passed without
bringing with it some ungrateful sarcasm, or
threatening conspiracy. For a long time he
disregarded every indignity that was offered him
by persons who wished to create dissensions in
the state; and when nocturnal cabals or conspi-
racies were discovered to him, he took no fur-
ther notice of them, than by publishing an
edict, purporting, "that Cæsar was well aware
of the evil intentions of his adversaries; but
248
that he disregarded their futile attempts, and
even pardoned this dereliction from their duty."
Cæsar had been made perpetual consul and dic-
tator, and possessed all the powers of a censor, un-
der a qualified name. The censors were invested
with uncontrolled power, even extending over
private families, to punish irregularity, without
the sanction of the law: they could regulate the
conduct of families, as well as their expenses,
and degrade even a senator, if guilty of extra-
vagance or depravity. He had assumed the
title of Emperor and Father of his Country, at
the same time that he had been invested with
the imperial purple. His statue was placed
among those of the kings, and he had a parti-
cular seat erected for him in the theatre. This
was considered the first mark of royalty, and it
occasioned many remonstrances, and severe dis-
sensions.
The Romans could not endure the thought of
a sceptre, and though they loved Cæsar, they
could not consent to his becoming a king. Yet
they suffered a decree to pass, which elevated
him above all men: it determined that a chair
of gold should be placed for him in the senate-
house, and in the forum, instead of the curule
chair, which was usually made of stone: That
his effigy should be borne in procession, in a
consecrated chariot, at the Circensian games.
249
Temples, altars, and images representing Cæsar,
were erected on the right hand of those of the
gods; a sacred couch was raised for his shrine;
and, above all glory, he had the honor of having
one of the months called after his name.
The learning of Julius Cæsar, as well as his
military achievements, deserve the most dis-
tinguished eulogium, and warmest commen-
dation. He wrote commentaries
commentaries on the
Gallic wars, which were so sanguinary against
the Romans, that Cæsar was ten years in
subduing a barbarian horde of people to any
degree of submission.
The accounts were generally written on the
moment, and even on the very spot where the
actions took place.
These Commentaries have been deservedly
ranked among the most elegant specimens of
classic writing now extant, from the correctness,
accuracy, and beauty of their style. The ma-
nuscript was nearly lost at a time when Cæsar,
harassed on every side by the crafty Egyptians,
in the bay of Alexandria, took refuge in a boat,
which was soon so filled with soldiers, that its
sinking appeared inevitable. To save himself,
Cæsar sprung into the sea, and, with the utmost
difficulty, and the greatest resolution, swam off,
though he was incessantly darted at by the
enemy, and frequently obliged to keep his head
950
under water: yet he preserved his Commentaries,
as the dear objects of his care, by holding them
above the water in one hand, while with his
shield in the other, he swam from the ship, hold-
ing, with his teeth, his general's robe, that it
might not fall into the hands of the enemy.
It was after the conquest of Pharnaces, which
was concluded in one day, that Cæsar made use
of those memorable and truly expressive words,
when describing the battle to his friend, Amin-
tius, "I came! I saw! I conquered!" Which
promptly and elegantly expressed the celerity of
his operations.
Cæsar was considered one of the principal
pleaders in the state. Cicero, in his enumera-
tion of the chief orators to Brutus, declared he
did not know" one, to whom Cæsar could give
place!" He added, his expressions are sub-
lime and magnificently elegant." In a letter
to Cornelius Nepos, Cicero again says,
"Which of the orators, even of those who have
wholly applied themselves to the profession,
will you prefer to Cæsar? Whose sentences are
more pointed? or whose words are more nobly,
or more exquisitely chosen?" Indeed, Cæsar
was ranked by Cicero amongst the greatest
orators that Rome ever bred. Quintilian says
of Cæsar, that he spoke with the same force with
which he fought; and that if he had devoted
251
himself to the bar, he would have been the only
man capable of rivalling Cicero.
Cæsar pronounced his orations with an acute
and harmonious tone of voice. His words
flowed mellifluously, and his gestures were ar-
dent, lively, and graceful. Many of his orations
are still extant, as is one of his harangues to his
soldiers. They are nervous, heroic, simple, and
conveyed in such purity of language, as touched
the hearts, and reached the understandings, of
his soldiers with peculiar force, and inspired
them with incalculable ardor and affection.
Pliny says, Cæsar employed at the same
time, his ears to listen, his eyes to read, his mind
to dictate, and his hand to write."
There was no danger to which Cæsar would
not expose himself for the good of his coun-
try; no labour from which he pleaded an
exemption his contempt of danger, his patient
endurance of every hardship, which appeared
even beyond his natural strength, as he was
subject to a distressing epilepsy, were conspi-
cuous and distinguished. But he did not make
the weakness of his constitution a pretext for
ease and indolence; on the contrary, he used
warlike exercises as a physician against his
indispositions; while, by unwearied toils, coarse
diet, and continually sleeping in the fields and
open air, he struggled with his disease, and
252
prepared his body against every evil. He slept
in his litter and chariot; even his hours of rest
were employed in the pursuit of glory. During
the day, he reviewed his garrisons, examined.
his fortresses and castles, and one of his lieu-
tenants generally attended him, to commit his
observations to paper. He was a most expert
rider, and he has been known to hold his hands
behind him, and put his horse on full speed.
He often dictated his letters to his generals and
friends while on horseback; he taught them to
converse by cyphers, when, either through
multiplicity of business, or distance, he had no
opportunity for personal conversation on those
subjects and incidents which required prompti-
tude and dispatch.
Plutarch admirably describes the speed with
which this great warrior executed his vast de-
signs. He says, "Nothing could stop him;
and no man ever better apprehended how much
it concerned the general of an army to be dili-
gent." How many times have his victories been
owing to his speedy marches? He never gave
the enemy time to recover or recruit themselves;
he forestalled even fame itself, and his enemies.
did not know that his troops were marching
till they fell upon them.
Drawing up his troops.
in three columns, and marching eight miles with
incredible expedition, he once arrived at the
253
camp of the enemy, before the Germans were
apprized of his approach. They were astonished
at his celerity, had neither time to call a coun-
cil of war, nor to take arms, and were at a
loss whether to face the enemy, or to betake
themselves to flight. The mountains, covered
with snow, deceived those who looked upon
them as ramparts against his marches; and
though Mount Gebenna, which separated the
Averni from Helvetii, retarded his march by a
very deep snow, yet, digging through, to the
depth of six feet, he opened a passage, and ar-
rived with his army at the borders of the Averni.
The enemy, thinking themselves secured by
Mount Gebenna, which no single person had
ever passed at that season of the year, were sa-
tisfied. Cæsar, however, unexpectedly fell upon
them and routed them completely.
Having arrived with equal speed on the fron-
tiers of Auvergne, he remained there but two
days, when he proceeded with the same degree of
zeal and success, to prevent the designs of Ver-
cingetorix, a chief of the Gauls. The inhabitants
of Alexia had been besieged by Cæsar, and
impatiently waited the arrival of Vercingetorix to
raise the siege with three hundred thousand
men. They knew not that Cæsar had marched
to attack that great army, nor could they be-
lieve it possible, that it could be subdued, till
254
to say,
they saw him from the tops of their ramparts
return victorious to the siege, and their cries and
complaints gave the Roman soldiers, who oc-
cupied the lines of the countervallation, the
first news of Cæsar's victory, who had reason
"that the immense army of Vercinge-
torix had vanished like a dream and apparition."
Plutarch says,
"Cæsar could march an hun-
dred miles a day in cases of necessity; he swam
over deep rivers, or was carried over them upon
swelled hides." Florus compares this wonderful
man to lightning, which at one and the same
instant comes, strikes, and is gone! and he
adds, nor did Cæsar boast in vain when he said;
that the enemy was conquered as soon as seen.
Cicero, even at the time that he mentioned
Cæsar as an enemy, regarded him as a prodigy
of speed and enterprise; and he considered the
great actions of Cæsar, as rendering the ram-
parts with which nature had blessed Italy, use-
less and superfluous. He says, "I oppose not
the Alps against the ascent and passage of the
Gauls, nor the overflowing of the Rhine, against
the most barbarous nations of the Germans.
Were the hills to subside, and the mighty rivers
to dry up, Italy, destitute of the defence of na-
ture, would yet be guarded and secured by the
exploits of Julius Caesar!"
This great warrior conquered three hundred
255
nations, took eight hundred cities, and de-
feated three millions of men, one of which fell
on the field of battle! We are told by Pliny,
that Cæsar himself used to say,
"his conquests
in Gaul had cost one million and two hundred
thousand lives!"
If the civil wars be added to this account,
Cæsar must have made greater desolation in the
world than any individual that ever lived in it.
We see that he waged war in Spain, Britain,
Gaul, Egypt, Germany, Asia, Africa, and
Greece; for he subdued Pompey at Pharsalia,
Ptolemy in Egypt, Pharnaces, the son of Mi-
thridates, in Pontus, Scipio and Juba, in
Africa, and the sons of Pompey in Spain.
Cæsar's disregard of diet was proverbial, and
he severely reproved his officers and attendants
for complaining of the inferiority of the oil,
which was given them at a repast, by Valerius
Leo, which was
was indeed rancid, but which
Cæsar ate with his asparagus, declaring, he was
sorry his friends should have hurt the feelings
of their host by observations which displayed
their dissatisfaction, and appeared to charge
him with carelessness.
Even the enemies of Cæsar allowed he was
exempt from the pernicious habit of inebriety,
as it was the common saying of Cato of Utica,
"that Cæsar was the only sober man, free from
256
dissipation, who ever attempted to overthrow a
state!"
It was the constant habit of this experienced
warrior, not to lead his legions through hazard-
ous or difficult paths, till he had first himself
surveyed the situation of the country; nor did
he make his attack upon Britain before he had
in person viewed the ports, and the avenues of
the coast. Yet he was so regardless of his own
safety, that, when he heard his camp was be-
sieged in Germany, he ventured singly, into
the quarters of the enemy, in the habit of a
Gaul, resolutely and boldly passing through the
numerous guards, and barbarian chiefs, to reach
his own forces.
During a long siege, in the midst of winter,
the intrepid Cæsar beat his way through two
fleets of the enemy, from Brundusium to Dyr-
rachium, expecting to meet a reinforcement:
and his troops not arriving, after several orders
to hasten them, Cæsar, impatient beyond mea-
sure at their delay, put to sea, in a small and
miserable boat, muffled in a deep disguise. The
pilot in vain represented the danger that threat-
ened them; he insisted on compliance with his
order. The wretched mariner declared, they
must be overwhelmed by the impetuous waves,
if they did not put into some port: Cæsar was
not to be intimidated, or diverted from his
257
designs; therefore, losing all patience, he
exclaimed," Man, what have you to fear?
be bold! you bear Cæsar and his fortunes in
your boat!" The pilot, awed and encouraged,
renewed his endeavors, but without effect;-
they were obliged to put back to the shore.
His legions, delighted at his return, sur-
rounded him in multitudes, telling him, with
tender affection, that he reflected on their cou-
rage, in going in quest of new forces, when
they, however inadequate they might be, were
sure to conquer under his direction, and inspired
by his example.
The well-regulated mind of Cæsar was never
diverted from the execution of his military
designs, or warlike expeditions, by foolish or
ridiculous omens. The victim breaking loose,
and running from the sacrifice, appeared very
natural. He turned to a most fortunate and
excellent account, the accident of his falling
down, on landing in Africa, which, otherwise,
would have been deemed by his army a most
terrifying omen; but this wonderful man, with
the most ready self-possession, exclaimed, as
he fell, "Oh, Africa! I thus embrace thee!"
Cæsar took advantage of the prophecy, which
had been prevalent, of the invincibility of
Scipio, by keeping in his camp a half-witted
creature, known to be of a collateral branch of
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258
that family, even giving him a commission in
one of his legions: he was called Salutio, from
the name of a player of the same appella-
tion.
If the event of a battle was dubious, Cæsar
ordered all the horses of the officers out of the
field, beginning with his own, that they might
stand to their arms more desperately, when
they saw themselves divested of that means of
flight.
Cæsar was able sometimes, by his personal
courage, to recover the advantage, when the
battle seemed to be lost: he would rashly throw
himself in the way of those who fled, forcing
them back, and compelling them, with his
drawn sword, to face the enemy, though they
were overwhelmed with consternation and
terror. He once seized a standard-bearer in his
flight, who struggled so severely to elude the
grasp of Cæsar, that he left the ensigns in the
hands of his noble opponent.
After the battle of Pharsalia, Cæsar gave the
greatest proof of his inflexible intrepidity and
firmness of mind. He sent his forces before him
into Asia, and, as he passed the straits of the
Hellespont, in a small transport, unattended, he
met Brutus and Cassius, who were generals of
the enemy's party, with ten ships of war. His
situation was extremely precarious and danger-
259
ous, as he might easily have been overpowered
by numbers.
The soul of this undaunted, this magnani-
mous hero was not to be appalled; he resolutely
bore up to them, and ordered them, in an impe-
rious tone, to yield immediately to Cæsar, their
conqueror! Brutus and Cassius considered
Cæsar as a host in himself, and were van-
quished only by the sound of his voice they
tamely submitted, and calmly entered his
vessel.
Their ships of war, their forces, and their
ammunition, followed the conqueror, with
their colours struck, and themselves as prisoners
of war.
Cæsar, whose noble heart scorned to take
advantage of a fallen enemy, freely pardoned
Brutus and Cassius, between whom there existed
an inviolable attachment; and many of the im-
prudent acts of the former were to be attributed
to the injudicious advice of the latter, who was
a better commander than Brutus, though a
less sincere friend. These ungrateful men were
forgetful of the clemency of their conqueror,
and of the generosity with which they were
treated, and eventually, as we shall see, mur-
dered their preserver.
In the choice of his soldiers, Cæsar required,
that they should possess fortitude, courage, and
$ 2
260
strength; he governed them equally, with well-
disciplined severity and indulgence; exerting the
former only when necessary, or when the enemy
were at hand; then he was rigid to an extreme. He
made it an invariable rule never to inform them
the particular hour he should be under arms, but
obliged them to be on the alert, to be prepared
when he should give the signal.
If his troops were alarmed at the report of the
immense forces of the enemy, his expedient to
animate and rouse their spirits was not to deny
or lessen the rumor, but, on the contrary, to
amplify it, and describe it as even greater than
it really was. When the approach of the king
of Numidia terrified his troops, and occasioned
a panic at the immensity of his forces, Cæsar
summoned his legions, and, in a beautiful ha-
rangue, inspired every one of them with such
bravery and courage, that an enthusiastic valor
prevailed, and victory was soon decided in his
favor.
Cæsar was lenient to the common faults of
his soldiers; but he punished, with unmitigated
severity, mutiny and desertion. After an en-
gagement he indulged them in every sort of
luxury and enjoyment; and it was his constant
boast, that his legions could fight in the midst
of their pleasures. He equipped them in a
sumptuous manner: their arms were adorned
261
with silver. This, he declared, not only con-
tributed to their military appearance, but in-
duced them to dread the loss of them in
battle.
The affection which he entertained for his
officers and soldiers was very great, entering
into all their petty concerns, to contribute to
their comforts, and render them satisfied with
their state. When he heard of the defeat of
Titurius, who was killed by Ambiorix, he let his
beard grow until he had revenged it: this act
was considered as a mark of the deepest sorrow.
amongst the Romans.
Ambiorix was a king of the Eburones, a peo-
ple of Belgium, now the country of Liege.
They had been very inimical to Rome. Cæsar,
at length, conquered them, and himself killed
Ambiorix. The battle was so sanguinary that
sixty thousand of the Eburones were slain!
By his popular manners, Cæsar so entirely
gained the hearts of the soldiers, that they ab-
solutely idolized his person, and were devoted to
his interests. They were captivated with his
courage and bravery, which acted as a stimulus,
and excited their own to a wonderful degree.
When he first engaged in the civil wars, the
centurions of every legion presented him with
a cavalry-man and horse, from their own pay.
The army declared, universally, they would
262
volunteer their services exempt from any remu-
neration. The wealthy supported the necessi-
tous, and whole legions were raised at the expense
of individuals.
It will be scarcely credited that, during the
whole time, a single man was never known to
desert; and those who were taken prisoners by
the enemy refused to save their lives, if they
were required to fight against Cæsar. His
armies endured hunger, and other privations,
when they were besieged, or, on the contrary,
besieging an enemy, with such unexampled
resolution, that when the bread made of herbs,
with which they were slightly subsisted, during
the blockade of Dyrrachium, was shewn to
Pompey, and his adherents, they declared they
had to war with wild beasts, and commanded it
should be strictly concealed, lest their own sol-
diers should be disheartened at the resolution
and obstinacy of the army with whom they had
to contend.
Cæsar, with unparalleled attention, regarded
the ease and accommodation of his friends and
adherents. He was once travelling through a
forest with Cornelius Oppius, who has been
celebrated for writing an history of the Spanish
wars, and who was also affectionately attached
to Cæsar. Oppius was suddenly taken ill, in an
unfrequented and very slightly-inhabited coun-
263
•
try. The only place they could find was a
poor man's hut, which contained but one miser-
able room, and that so small, so poor, and so
ill-contrived, as scarcely to afford reception for
one person. Cæsar insisted that Oppius should
have the accommodation, and that himself and
his officers should repose under the shed, on the
outside of the door. Oppius, in his history,
represents Cæsar as the most distinguished war-
rior, and the copy of Alexander the Great, in
his military exploits, but far exceeding that
hero in his moderation, clemency, and magna-
nimity, which, in the civil wars, have ever been
the subject of the highest eulogiums and admi-
ration.
If there were no other proof of it, than his
conduct in his victories, his memory must have
been immortalized by his conduct in his armistice
with Pompey. When proposals of surrender
were made at Herda, a city in Spain, a free inter-
course was set on foot by both parties. The
generals of Pompey, Afranius and Petreius,
suddenly broke off the truce, and inhumanly
and shamefully murdered all the soldiers of
Cæsar, that were found in their camps.
Cæsar, though deeply wounded at this per-
fidious conduct, disdained to retaliate an action
so disgraceful on that part of the innocent army
of the adversary, who were dispersed through
264
his camp with their comrades, Pompey had
declared, he should consider as enemies all who
did not take arms for himself and the republic;
but the more noble and magnanimous Cæsar
declared, he should esteem as friends all who
observed a neutrality, and even allowed those
whom he had promoted in his days of friendship
with his son-in-law, at that general's recommen-
dation, to take the part of Pompey, whose
statue he also restored, which the people in their
fury had thrown down.
The only charge brought against him by his
professed enemies was, his putting to the sword
three hundred thousand Germans, in breach of
the peace between them and the Romans; and
this act was so eminently justified and approved
by the latter, that they voted him the highest
honors, and publicly returned thanks to the gods
for his conduct.
Even those enemies who secretly sought his
life, he forgave, as may be seen in his conduct
to Cornelius Phagita, and the other emissaries
of Sylla, who constantly pursued him to his
destruction, during the life of that tyrant. He
punished the pirates, not from the mean and
disgraceful passion of revenge, but to rid
the country of such sanguinary depreda-
tors.
Julius Cæsar was of a lofty, well-proportioned
265
stature, of an animated complexion, rather full
in the face; his eyes were black, expressive, and
sparkling; his skin was exquisitely soft and
delicate, and his limbs were finely turned. He
was bald on the head, which was a subject of
such mortification that, when not on his con-
quests, he took immense pains to remedy the
defect, by bringing his hair, which was profuse,
from behind, over the top of his head; and,
of all the honors awarded Cæsar, none so emi-
nently delighted him, was received with greater
gratitude, than the privilege of appearing con-
stantly in the crown of laurel! He was par-
ticularly nice in his person, and dressed himself
with distinguished care. He wore his senatorial
robe with deep fringes at his wrists, loosely
wrapped round him, to display his shape, and
slightly fastened with a girdle. This occa-
sioned the envious Sylla to warn the senate, to
beware of the ill-girt youth."
The epilepsy with which he was afflicted, had
attacked him, for the first time, after suffering
immense fatigue, and marching with his legions
for many nights successively towards Cordova,
where he was under the necessity of remaining
several days, under the influence of a danger-
rous illness.
Cordova was a beautiful city of Andalusia,
in Spain, which is a large country of Europe,
266
$
separated from Gaul by the Pyrenean moun-
tains, and bounded on every other side by the
sea. Spain was first known to the merchants
of Phoenicia, and afterwards passed to the
Carthaginians, to whose power it was long in
subjection. The Romans became sole masters
of it, at the end of the second Punic war; they
divided it at first into citerior and ulterior, and
the latter was afterwards separated into Botica
and Lusitania. Andalusia is the most rich and
fertile province in Spain; it is 250 miles in
length, and 150 in breadth. The river Guadal-
quivir runs through the whole extent, and
Seville is its capital. Spain was highly valued
by the Romans, on account of its gold and
silver mines. It is at present a place of immense
trade, as its harbours are very commodious,
which open to the western ocean, near the
entrance to the Mediterranean sea, such as
Cadiz, &c. &c. &c.
The principal inducement of Cæsar, for his
visit to Britain, was the hope of possessing
the valuable pearls which were said to be found
on its coast, and which, when brought to him
for inspection, he was accustomed to examine,
and, by the weight of them in his hand, so
accurately to compare them, and judge of their
bulk, that his decisions seldom proved erroneous.
He anxiously collected jewels, works in basso
relievo, statues, and paintings of antiquity, where-
267
ever he could obtain them, and spared no ex-
pense to become possessed of them. He did not
cultivate his elegant taste for the fine arts so
ardently as he would have done, if his love of
arms and of glory had not superseded every
other passion.
The villa which he built in the Arician grove,
upon the most scientific construction, not
entirely answering his expectations, he ordered
it to be taken down, though he was at the same
time deeply in debt. His taste was so chastely
just, that he could not tolerate the minutest
offence to the eye. In all his expeditions he
carried with him a marble flooring, which was
beautifully chequered, and which fitted nicely
together, and formed the ground of his tent.
At his first settlement in Rome, Cæsar lived
in the Suburra, a famous street; but in his
pontificate he moved to the Via Sacra.
During his government in the provinces,
Cæsar kept two open tables elegantly appointed,
at one of which the Roman nobility, the officers,
and the most distinguished people of the pro-
vince were received, and were served with the
most exquisite delicacies in profusion. At the
other, the next description of people, and the
Greeks, were entertained with hospitality and
neatness. He was very particular in the trivial
arrangements of his domestic concerns, as well
258
as in matters of greater moment. He was once
known to order his baker to be put in irons, be-
cause he gave bread of inferior quality to the
guests, and served that of peculiar excellence to
his master.
When Cæsar attained the command of Rome,
he promoted some of the lowest of the people to
the highest honors, openly declaring, when he
was censured for the measure, " that if high-
waymen and robbers had assisted him in the
support of his dignity, he would have shewn
them the same favour, to display his gratitude."
He dispensed all honors at his own pleasure, and
was eminently delighted to heap them where
they were merited, even seeking opportunities
to confer them on those who were diffident.
Cæsar loved power, and held no election of the
usual officers of the state, being determined to
keep it in his own hands. The prætors and
quæstors, and other principal migistrates, ought
to have been chosen at stated times. With the
same presumption, also, he lengthened the term
of power in the magistrates to several years, in
contempt of the ancient custom of making them
annual. The consulate becoming vacant, by
the sudden demise of one of the consuls on the
last day of December, he bestowed the honor
on a person who requested it of him, for the
short space of a few hours. The consuls were.
269
chosen by the whole body of the people, there-
fore, Cæsar had no right, singly, to appoint them,
and the senate considered that he was now break-
He
ing in upon all parts of the constitution.
also allowed ten men, who had been prætors, the
distinguished honor of wearing the consular
robes; and received into the senate, many who
had scarcely the privilege of citizens; they were
Gauls who had not yet been admitted to that
honor.
The management of the treasury and reve-
nues, he put into the hands of men who were
considered by the senate, as his creatures; and
he gave the command of the three legions he
had left at Alexandria, to the son of his freed-
man Rufinius.
Several expressions which fell imprudently and
unguardedly from Cæsar in the public courts,
were considered as arbitrary and insulting. He
was even heard to declare," that the republic
was become an empty name; a shadow without
a substance; that Sylla was a very fool to abdi-
cate the dictatorial power, and that the senate
ought to consider how they addressed themselves
to him, inasmuch as he was the dictator, and
that his words should be regarded as so many
laws."
All this, together with his disregard of certain
omens and soothsayers, as well as of their pre-
270
dictions, which the Romans conceived to be
the most unpardonable arrogance, concurred
to render Cæsar less popular than heretofore.
The art of soothsaying and predicting future.
events, from inspecting the entrails of beasts,
was held in particular honour among the Tus-
cans, and cultivated with the greatest care.
We read in the Roman history, that at first,
only the natives of Tuscany exercised this office
at Rome, but that, afterwards, the senate made
a decree, that twelve of the sons of the most
illustrious families should be sent into that coun-
try, in order to be instructed in the rules, rites,
and ceremonies of their religion, of which this
secret was a chief part.
Tuscany is a sovereign state of Italy, situated
between the dominions of the Pope, and the
Modenese, and the state of Lucca; it is esti-
mated as being 115 miles in length, and 80 in
breadth, exclusive of some parts distributed in
the territories of Modena, Lucca, and Genoa :
it is watered by several rivers, of which the
Arno is the chief. It contains quarries of mar-
ble, alabaster, and porphyry, besides hot baths
and mineral springs. This duchy is divided into
three parts; called the Florentine, the Pisano,
and the Siennese;-Florence is the capital,
and is beautifully situated in the middle of the
vale of Arno. The prospect is bounded on every
side, by an amphitheatre of fertile hills, adorned
271
with villages, country-houses, and beautiful
gardens.
Florence was founded by the soldiers of Sylla,
destroyed by Totila, and rebuilt by Charle-
magne. After Rome, this is the principal city
in Italy for curiosities of antiquity. The archi-
tecture of the houses, in general, is executed in
good taste; the streets are clean, and are paved
with large broad stones, chiseled so as to pre-
vent the horses from sliding; the squares are
spacious, and the palaces, churches, and other
public structures, are in a style of singularly
splendid architecture; pillars, statues, pyra-
mids, and fountains, are to be
to be seen in
every street. The city is divided into two
unequal parts, by the most beautiful river
in the world, over which are four bridges, erected
within sight of each other, and all of peculiar
beauty. The bridge, called the Ponte de la
Trinita, is built of white marble, and adorned
with four elegant statues, highly ornamented,
representing the seasons. The grand fabric
called the Palazzo Pitti, was built by a Floren-
tine merchant of vast wealth, about the middle
of the fifteenth century: it still bears the name
of its founder, who failed under the prodigious
expense of the building, and it was immediately
purchased by the Medici family, and has con-
tinued ever since to be the residence of the grand
duke. Besides the beautiful gardens, only ex-
272
celled by the Sallustian, the furniture, antique
statues, paintings, so justly and universally
admired, are various other curiosities, as the
cabinet of arts, of astronomy, of natural his-
tory, of medals, of porcelain, and of antiqui-
ties. In the year 1530, Alexander de Medicis
was created grand duke of Tuscany, by the
emperor Charles the Vth. and in 1757, the Me-
dici family becoming extinct, Florence and the
duchy of Tuscany fell to the duke of Lorraine,
afterwards emperor. Florence contains a cele-
brated university, and is 125 miles NN. W. of
Rome.
The Aruspex, or soothsayer, telling Cæsar, at
a sacrifice, that the entrails were ominous, and
wanted an heart, Cæsar imprudently said, "they
shall prophecy good fortune to me, whenever I
shall chuse it, and, for a beast to be without a
heart, is a very trifling circumstance, and has
nothing portentous in it."-The superior and in-
vestigating mind of Cæsar fully evinced to him
the folly of the superstition in which the Romans
indulged themselves; and, as far as it was pos-
sible for him to subdue them, by irony and his
own example, he ventured; but he well knew
their minds were too deeply devoted to their
own superstitious notions, to venture on the act
of invading their usual sacrifices.
Cæsar was the most liberal patron of wit and
learning; and, from the love he felt of those
273
talents, readily pardoned such as employed them
against himself, rightly judging, that by mak-
ing those men his friends, he should draw
praises from the same fountain from which he
had been aspersed. His leading passions were
ambition and the love of pleasure, which we
see he indulged, in their turns, to the greatest
excess; yet the first was always predominant,
and to which he could easily sacrifice all the
charms of the second, and draw pleasure even
from toils and dangers, when they ministered to
his glory. He thought tyranny, says Cicero,
"the greatest of goddesses," and repeated fre-
quently a verse of Euripides, which expressed
the image of his ambitious soul; " that if right
and justice were ever to be violated, they were
to be violated for the sake of reigning!" This
was the chief end and purpose of his life. The
scheme which he had formed from his early
youth; and he frequently said there were two
things necessary to acquire strength and power,
namely, "soldiers and money," which yet de-
pended mutually upon each other: with money,
therefore, he provided soldiers, and with soldiers
he extorted money. He was rapacious in plun-
dering friends and foes, sparing neither prince
nor state, nor temple; but generous in the ex-
treme to his army in sharing that treasure.
The great abilities Cæsar possessed, must
VOL. I.
274
necessarily have made him the first man in
Rome; but disdaining the condition of a sub-
ject, he never rested till he made himself a mo-
narch. In acting this last part, his usual pru-
dence seemed to fail him, as though the height
to which he was mounted had inebriated him
and made him giddy for a vain ostentation of
his power, he destroyed the stability of it; and,
as men shorten their lives, and ruin their fortunes,
by living too profusely; so by an intemperate
use of power, he brought his reign, as we shall
see, to a violent and speedy end; and,
in a letter which Cassius wrote to Cicero, he
says, "that Cæsar meditated nothing but what
was violent and tragical, nor even spoke in any
other strain.”
It was Cæsar who invented writing from one
leaf to another, in the form of a note-book.
The Roman consuls and generals had been ac-
customed to leave a convenient space on each
side, having filled the leaf, they turned it, and
wrote along the margin, instead of beginning
another leaf. The Romans did not, like us,
write their letters on paper, but usually on
tablets of wood covered with white or coloured
wax: they were tied up with a string or thread,
and sealed with a seal instead of a signature,
which they never used at the bottom of a letter;
their seals were generally the impression of the
275
heads of their fathers or grandfathers, or of
some eminent person. Cæsar was much cele-
brated for letter-writing, and wrote many epis-
tles on domestic affairs to Cicero. When he
wished to convey secret intelligence, he arranged
his letters in such a manner, that it appeared
impossible to make a sentence of them. The way,
however, to decypher them, was to exchange
every fourth letter in the alphabet, reading d for
a, and h ford, and so on to the end.
Besides his Commentaries, he wrote two
volumes on the "Analogy of Language, or the
Art of speaking correctly;" two against Cato,
in answer to a treatise, by Cicero, in praise of
Cato of Utica." He wrote also, says Suetonius,
a poem, called " the Journey;" this he composed
on his own journey from Rome to Spain; which
was performed in twenty-four days.
The first work he composed, during his pas-
sage over the Alps, as he was returning to his
army, after having performed the judicial cir-
cuit in Nether Gaul.
Julius Cæsar, we find, instituted the noc-
turnal watches in the camps; guards placed be-
fore the gates, were denominated " stationes,"
and those on the ramparts, "custodiæ:" it was
enacted by him that desertion of their posts
should be punished by death. The watch-word
was distributed through the camp or army by
T 2
276
means of a square tablet of wood, called Tessera,
from its four corners; on it was inscribed the
word on which the general fixed, and which he
varied every night. The usual word that Cæsar
used, was "Venus Genetrix," while that of
Brutus was "Libertas." This was usually sent
by the generals to the tribunes and prefects of
the allies, by them to the centurions, and by the
latter to the soldiers.
In this manner also were made known the
particular commands of the generals to the
whole army, which Cæsar was always accustom-
ed to draw up in three lines. In the battle of
Pharsalia he formed a corps de reserve, which he
called a fourth line, to oppose the cavalry of
Pompey. This corps is said, by Sallust, to have
determined the fortune of the day.
It was contrary to the Roman custom to
place the most brave and finest soldiers in front,
but Julius Cæsar deviated from this rule, and his
example was afterwards followed by all the Ro-
man generals.
To lose the Roman standards was the most
disgraceful and mortifying circumstance that
could occur, particularly to the standard bearers.
The Romans made use of various devices, as
standards or colors in their armies, namely, that
of the eagle, the wolf, the dragon, the mino-
taur, the wild boar, and the horse. Of all these
the eagle only was composed of gold or silver,
277
en
and carried on the top of a spear, pointed at
bottom, for the purpose of being fixed into the
ground, on the encampment of the army.
These standards were denominated Numina
Legionum, and worshipped by soldiers, with a
high and singular degree of religious reverence.
The eagle being considered as the principal
standard was always carried at the head of the
first cohort of every legion; and as there were
ten cohorts in every legion, the first claimed
this honor. Every maniple also had its ensign,
or standard, which, as we have seen, in the time
of Romulus, was nothing more than a bundle
of hay carried on the top of a pole. Afterwards
a spear, with a cross piece of wood on the top.
Sometimes the figure of a hand, and a small
round or oval shield, commonly of silver, on
which were represented figures of the warlike
deities. Marius was so partial to the eagle, that,
in his second consulship, he abolished all other
ensigns, which rendered the number of eagles in
an army, almost incredible; and Cæsar tells
us that at the battle of Pharsalia, he took no
fewer than fifty nine eagles!
The eagles used by Buonaparte are said to
be the same as those used by the Romans.
The senate soon became convinced that Cæsar
held their power in contempt, in consequence of
which they regarded him with a jealous eye, and
scrupled not to declare amongst themselves,
978
!
that he was making hasty strides to monopolize
the whole power of the state, and to render them
all slaves to his tyranny.
The cause which immediately and effectually
drew on Cæsar the greatest odium was, his
refusing to rise when the senate waited upon him
in a large body, to present several addresses, and
very honorable decrees, which that august
assembly had the day before declared in his fa-
vor. Cæsar received them sitting before the
temple of Venus. He had been advised to this
measure by Cornelius Balbus, who, though pro-
fessing an eminent degree of friendship, and,
apparently his friend, wished his entire extinc-
tion, and was one amongst the conspirators.
This hypocrite, on the motion Cæsar made to
rise, said, "Remember you are Cæsar! and
should have even royal honors paid you." The
senate were so highly inflamed at this insult,
that it was a subject of serious discussion at
their next meeting. Their anger was greatly
increased when they reflected on the insolence
of his conduct, particularly as Trebatius had
prompted Cæsar to rise by the most imploring
and significant gestures, which Cæsar sternly
refused to obey, darting on his judicious adviser
the most indignant and angry glances.-Tre-
batius was a man no less distinguished for his
learning than his integrity, military experience,
and knowledge of the art of war. He had
279
been engaged in the interests of Pompey, and
implicated in that general's views against Cæsar;
but Trebatius had been nobly pardoned by Cæsar
on Cicero's exercising his eloquence in his favor.
He was sincerely grateful to Cæsar for the
magnanimity he had displayed towards him, and
ardently desired to deprecate the anger of the
august fathers, who, on their part, declared this
haughty insult to be the more unpardonable, be-
cause Cæsar had himself resented the omission
of rising, in Pontius Aquila, one of the tribunes,
who had refused to pay Cæsar that mark of
attention as he passed him, to get to his seat
after the triumph; and at that moment, Cæsar,
highly incensed, had exclaimed, "I would have
you, Pontius Aquila, next demand the common-
wealth out of my hands."
For many days succeeding this latter occur-
rence, Cæsar never made a promise with-
out this exception, "provided Pontius Aquila
will please to give me leave." To this indignity,
which Cæsar had offered the senate, he added
another, which gave still greater umbrage. He
was, on his return from sacrificing at the Latin
festival, surrounded on every side by the joyful
acclamations of the army and the people. A
soldier, in the enthusiastic feelings of delight
at the sight of his so justly-beloved general,
280
had woven a crown of laurel in the form of a
diadem, and placed it on the statue of Cæsar.
Epidius Marullus, and Cæsetius Flavus, the
tribunes, angrily ordered the diademn to be taken
down, and the soldier to be put in irons.
Cæsar, extremely provoked, and very much
displeased that the tribunes had taken the
badge of supreme power from his hands, not
enly severely reprimanded them, but even dis-
possessed them of their power. They, in re-
turn, declared that Cæsar was mortified, that the
insinuation of royal dignity had not succeeded;
and from that period Cæsar was never thorough-
ly able to clear himself from the imputation of
aspiring to the title of king, though when he
was saluted by that high-sounding title, he
replied, "I am Cæsar, not a king."
When the celebration of the lupercal games
commenced at Rome, at which Cæsar always
presided, habited in purple, and seated in his
golden chair, Antony, the friend of Cæsar,
and the consul, assisted at the ceremony, and
presented him with a crown of gold, which
had been prepared for the occasion. The peo-
ple were greatly agitated, lest he should accept
the crown, and allow the coronation to take
place. They evinced their disgust by frowns and
deep murmurs. The discriminating Cæsar, whose
penetrating mind easily perceived their feelings,
281
and their reluctance to accede to the proposal
of the consul Antony, rising with dignity, said,
"Jupiter alone is king!" He then emphatically
ordered the golden crown to be taken to the
capitol, and solemnly offered to that god.
The lupercal festivals were observed in honor
of Pan, god of the Shepherds, and were first
instituted by the Romans in honor of Faustulus,
and the female wolf, who was supposed to have
nurtured the twins, Romulus and Remus.
These festivals were celebrated annually, at
the foot of Mount Aventine. They were held
sacred, and called Lupercalia.
The sacrifice was two goats and a dog. In
the ceremonies observed, the priest was accus-
tomed to touch with a bloody knife the fore-
heads of two illustrious youths, who were
expected to be quite serene, and even smile,
during the ceremony.
The blood was then
wiped away with the finest wool dipped in milk.
The skins of the victims were cut into thongs,
with which whips were made, to be used by the
two youths, who ran about the streets of Rome,
lashing every body they met. Men of the
highest consequence had been accustomed, as
youths, to run about the streets, during these
festivals. Cicero, in his philippics against
Antony, reproaches him for having disgraced
the dignity of the consulate by complying with
this absurd custom.
#
's
282
Augustus, during his reign, forbad any of the
youths to expose themselves during the Luper-
calia. The order of priests who attended, was
one of the most honorable, ancient, and respect-
able of all the sacerdotal offices. It was divi-
ded into two separate colleges, called Fabiani
and Quintiliani, from Fabius and Quintilius,
two of their high priests. The former was
instituted in honor of Romulus; the latter of
Remus.. To these sacerdotal bodies Julius
Cæsar added a third, called, from himself, "The
Julii." This, Plutarch says, contributed still
further to render him unpopular, and irritate
the minds of the senate. They again met, and.
argued loudly on the impropriety of this act;
and they scrupled not to declare, it fully eluci-
dated the ambition, views, and aspiring mind of
Cæsar.
The enemies of Cæsar, observing his increas-
ing unpopularity, still further to distract the
minds of the people, set on foot a rumour, that
he intended to move the seat of government to
Alexandria, or to Ilium, and to transport thither
all the riches of the state, with the best and
most efficient legions of the empire, and leave
the government of Rome in the hands of An-
tony.
It was also circulated, that Cotta, one of the
fifteen priests who kept the Sibyline books and
283
CC
prophecies, and who was the friend of Cæsar,
intended to propose, at the next convention of
the senate,
That, since those oracles pro-
nounced that the Parthians were not to be
conquered but by a king, that exalted title
should be bestowed upon Cæsar without delay."
This report determined the conspirators against
the life of Cæsar, (who were sixty in number)
to hasten the execution of their designs, lest
they should be obliged to accede to these mea-
sures in honor of Cæsar.
They held a general meeting of their mem-
bers, the most prominent of whom were Brutus
and Cassius, who, forgetful of the benefits
conferred on them by the dictator, sought to
take the life of Cæsar, who had so nobly pro-
tected them. Their envy was also excited by
the daily exaltation of Cæsar, and they jointly
agreed, that his oppressive tyranny had been
the ruin of Pompey. Cassius, on his part,
addressed himself to the statue of his general,
invoking the image of his friend to witness the
death of that tyrant, by whose avarice and am-
bition he had fallen, and whom, (he then swore)
he would never rest satisfied till he had assas-
sinated!
The conspirators debated, whether they should
form two separate parties, of which one should
seize him in the Campus Martius, where Cæsar
was to poll the tribes, at the ensuing election,
284
while the other party should be stationed below
the bridge, to receive him on his being preci-
pitated over, and to dispatch him.
The senate, however, being convened to meet
in Pompey's court, on the Ides of March, the
conspirators, with one common voice, declared
that it was the place of all others to enable them,
with singular case, to execute their hostile plans
on the devoted Cæsar.
The death of this great man, according to
the superstition of the Romans, was pre-signi-
fied to him by many omens :-he had sent a
new colony to be established at Capua;-as some
of the companies were demolishing the old se-
pulchres, and removing ruins, to re-build their
edifices, the curiosity of many of them were
excited by digging up many antiquities and
reliques.
In their progress, they found a brazen monu-
ment, in which Capys, the founder of Capua,
had been interred. On the monument was a
tablet of gold, on which was inscribed in Greek
this omen," Whenever the bones of Capys are
discovered, one of the offspring of Julus, the
son of Æneas, shall be slain by the hands of
assassins, and his death shall be revenged in
Italy by prodigious slaughter."
As Julius Cæsar claimed descent from Eneas,
this omen raised confidence in the superstitious
:
285
minds of the Romans, and, perhaps, influenced
the conspirators, and encouraged them in their
sanguinary undertaking.
Spurinna, the astrologer, had warned Cæsar to
beware of the Ides of March; the day prior to
which an immense flight of birds of prey, of
different descriptions, issued from a neighbouring
grove, and pursued a regaliolus, or wren, which
held a laurel branch in its bill, and which fled
with precipitation, for protection, into Pompey's
court. The defenceless wren was there seized
by the devouring birds of prey, and torn in
pieces!
On the night of the succeeding day, Cæsar
seemed, in his sleep, to soar above the clouds,
to shake hands with Jupiter:-this dream, with
the superstitious Romans, always presignified
death. Calphurnia, the wife of Cæsar, had
also been tormented by ominous dreams: she
fancied Cæsar had been stabbed as he lay by her,
and that the pinnacle of their house had fallen
to the ground, and was totally destroyed.
Brutus, as the son of Servilia, had been par-
ticularly favoured by Cæsar, and had so entirely
gained his affection that he had made him his
bosom friend, daily heaping benefits on him and
his wife, Portia.
Brutus was lineally descended from the cele-
brated Junius Brutus, who was the chief cause
286
of the expulsion of the Tarquins from Rome.
He inherited the republican principles of his
ancestor, and joined himself to the fortunes of
Pompey, though he had been the immediate
cause of his father's death, because he consi-
dered Pompey to be more just and patriotic
in his claims.
The generosity and humanity Cæsar had
evinced to Brutus, had been disregarded by the
latter, because Cæsar aspired to the regal power.
Portia was the daughter of Cato, and had early
been married to Brutus. She was highly cele-
brated for her prudence, filial affection, conjugal
tenderness, and accomplishments. She soon
discovered that some secret oppressed her hus-
band; she questioned him, as to the anxiety
which filled his bosom: Brutus evaded her obser-
vations, and was inexorable to all her intreaties.
Portia, in order to exemplify the fortitude
with which she could endure the most poignant
bodily sufferings, wounded herself deeply and
dangerously, to convince her husband that she
was worthy of being admitted into his secret
and hidden thoughts, and of being the daughter
of Cato.
Brutus, astonished at her courage, no longer
withheld from her knowledge the conspiracy
in which himself and Cassius were involved,
with the senate, against his friend and protector.
287
Brutus well knew the virtuous rectitude of
the mind of Portia, the gratitude and the
admiration she had ever expressed at the gene-
rosity of Cæsar. He therefore expected strong
and powerful arguments from her, to induce
him to relinquish his project. Nor was he mis-
taken. Portia was overwhelmed with the
deepest horror at the ingratitude of her hus-
band, and the perfidy of the undertaking. She
exerted all her rhetoric and influence, to deter
him from the completion of such a sanguinary
act.
On finding her arguments, however, of no
avail, she was faithful to her promise of
secrecy, and hinted nothing that could affect
the conspirators.
When the morning appointed for the impor-
tant deed arrived, on the departure of Brutus
for the senate-house, to assassinate the dictator,
she fell into a deep swoon, which lasted the
whole day.
The fears and feelings of Calphurnia had
been so powerfully awakened by her various
dreams and omens, that, on the morning of the
Ides of March, she intreated Cæsar to remain
at home, to avoid the evils which had been
prognosticated by Spurinna.
Cæsar did not feel so free from anxiety as he
wished to appear, which Calphurnia observing,
[
288
declared she would only require him to stay
at home till the Ides of March were past.
During this discussion, Decimus Brutus, who
had free access to the palace, entered hastily,
as if coming immediately from the senate. He
informed the unsuspecting Cæsar, that public
business was at a stand, and the august fathers
waited his presence, to end a debate very impor-
tant to the state.
Calphurnia urged to Brutus, that Cæsar was
greatly indisposed, and would on no account
leave his house that day. Brutus, much alarmed,
began to cherish fears that the conspirators and
himself would be disappointed in their purposes.
He reflected deeply for a moment; but, decid-
ing in an instant, he familiarly took the arm
of Cæsar, and led him forward, saying, “I would
not, my friend, on any account, you should avoid
meeting the senate to day: they will still far-
ther charge you with neglect and disregard of
their wishes, and even accuse you of foolish
fears and idle terrors."
1
Calphurnia still persisted in her interference,
and again, with tears, besought Cæsar to com-
ply with her wishes; but the ill-fated Cæsar
disregarded her feminine fears, and, with affec-
tion, gently resisting her exertions to detain
him, pursued his unfortunate course.
They had not proceeded far, when Artemi-
289
dorus, a Greek philosopher, put a written paper
into the hand of Cæsar, which unfolded the
whole conspiracy. The unfortunate and ill-
fated Cæsar put the writing with other papers,
which he had in his hand, declaring he would
read it at leisure. Cæsar and Brutus then
entered the senate, called Pompey's senate house,
at which moment a messenger arrived in the
greatest haste, intreating Brutus to return to
his house, as Portia lay extended and divested
of every sense of animation.
Brutus, however, evinced his Roman firmness
by disregarding the summons. At the entrance
of the court, Cæsar met Spurinna, with whom
he laughed facetiously, and told him, he was
a very false prophet, as the Ides of March were
come, and he was still free from danger. Spu-
rinna seriously and emphatically replied, "The
Ides of March are indeed come, but they are
not past."
On seating himself in his curule chair, Cæsar
was surrounded by all the conspirators, who af-
fected the most distinguished and profound
respect; but, alas! the glory of Cæsar was near
its close.
Tullius Cimber, who was singularly resolute,
was appointed to make the first attempt; he ap-
proached boldly, to offer a petition, which de-
manded the recall and return of one of the
VOL. I.
U
290
courtiers. On the rejection of the request,
Cimber seized him by the robe on both shoulders.
In the utmost astonishment, Cæsar exclaimed,
"This is open violence!" upon which one of
the Cassii wounded him deeply in the throat.
Cæsar seized the arm of Cassius, which he
wounded with his style;* he then attempted
to rush out of the court, but was arrested by
another wound: he made great resistance with
his dagger on every side, but Casca fell upon
him, and with one effort drew his robe over his
head.
Cæsar struggled to disengage himself; when,
casting his eyes on Brutus, in horror he ex-
claimed, "And thou too, Brutus !" As if struck
with indignation, and wounded friendship,
he lost all power of resistance or contention ;
drawing his robe round, and muffling himself in
it, he gave way to his feelings, submitted to
his wretched fate, and fell, pierced with twenty-
three wounds!
The sanguinary deed was no sooner effected
by the conspirators, than Brutus, lifting his
dagger, stained with the blood of Cæsar, con-
* An iron pen so called, with which the ancients were
accustomed to write on their tablets of wax. It was sharply-
pointed at one end, in order to form the letters with precision
and care, and, on the contrary, blunted at the other, to erase
them, if there happened to be errors in the writing.
291
gratulated the senate, and Cicero in particular,
on the death of the tyrant, and the recovery of
their liberty, and began earnestly to harangue
them on the occasion. The senators were, how-
ever, seized with such astonishment at the daring
attempt, that, after being silent spectators of
the horrid deed, they rushed out of the senate-
house, followed by Cicero, who was no less
amazed than wounded at this public charge by
Brutus, not only of his being privy to the as-
sassination of Cæsar, but the adviser of it, when
he felt his own innocence, and knew nothing
of the conspiracy; for, although he lived in
habits of the most strict intimacy with Brutus,
and the other chief actors, yet his age, his cha-
racter, and dignity, rendered him wholly unfit
to bear a part in such a scene, or to embark in
an attempt so desperate, and so fraught with
danger, and with men also, who, excepting a few
of their leaders, were either too young to be
trusted, or too obscure to be known, by the illus-
trious Cicero.
Even Mark Antony and Lepidus, whose
friendship to the murdered Cæsar had been so
well known, were glad to take refuge in a neigh-
bouring house from the fury of the populace;
and the former, throwing off the insignia of his
consular dignity, hastily retired to his own villa,
where he secured himself.
U 2
292
The conspirators, disappointed by the timid
conduct of the senate, addressed themselves to
the people, and marching out in a body, with a
cap, the sign of liberty,* carried before them on
a spear, proceeded in a calm and regular manner
through the forum, where several of the
young
nobility, who had borne no part in the conspi-
racy, joined themselves to the party with their
swords drawn, to appear as partners in the act;
for which ambition they severely suffered, for
it involved them in the ruin which eventually
overwhelmed the conspirators.
The dead body of Cæsar still lay in the senate-
house. It happened, either from the effect of
chance, or by design of the murderers, that Cæsar
fell near the pedestal, on which stood the sta-
tue of his inveterate enemy, Pompey, which was
much stained by the blood which had flowed
from the wounds of Cæsar.
The conspirators perceiving that the populace
were become clamorous, sought refuge from any
immediate violence in the capitol. In the mean
time, the body of the murdered dictator was put
into a litter, by three of his afflicted slaves.
When the senators found that the city had
* When slaves were manumitted, they had given them a cap,
which was the sign of liberty; and the prætor held a wand in
his hand, with which he gently struck the slave on the head,
the master saying,
I will that this man be free!"
293
become more calm, they ventured to the capitol,
followed by Cicero, who advised that Brutus
and Cassius, as prætors, should convene the
senate in the capitol, to proceed to some
vigorous decrees, for the security of the public
tranquillity.
Brutus and his accomplices were for proceed-
ing with all proper respect to the authority of
the consul, and exhorting him to terms of peace.
Antony, who had no thought of acceding to
this wish, which was entirely hostile to his plans,
but whose determination it was, by dissimula-
tion, to gain time, professed a sincere inclination
to it, and affected to have no other desire than
to see the republic settled again, on its old basis,
and he even pretended he had brought Lepidus
into the same measures.
Lepidus was, at this time, at the head of a
legion, on the point of his departure to take
the goverment of Spain, which, together with
a port of Gaul, had been assigned him by Cæsar.
In the night, therefore, after the assassination
of Cæsar, Lepidus brought his troops into the
field of Mars, and, sensible of his superiority,
began to think of making himself master of the
city, and taking immediate revenge on the con-
spirators.
This resolution of Lepidus might have been
executed with ease, but Antony guided this
294
weak general according to his own views,
and diverted him from his designs. The forces
and authority of Lepidus he made subservient
to harass and terrify the conspirators from the
city.
Cicero, who dreaded the horrors of a civil
war, advised the assembly to decree a general
amnesty, or act of oblivion, for all that had
passed, to which they unanimously agreed.
Antony affected to be all condescension; talked
of nothing but healing measures; and, as a proof
of his sincerity, moved, that the conspirators
should not only be suffered to return to the
city, but should be invited to take a part in all
their deliberations, and even sent his son as an
hostage for their safety. On this the conspi-
rators came down from the capitol, and such
was the favor shewn, that Brutus supped with
Lepidus, and Cassius with Antony,
On the following day, Antony received the
thanks of the senate for his prudent and amica
ble conduct, which they openly declared was the
only means of preventing a civil war; and some
writers represent that the most valuable pro-
vinces of the empire were decreed to the con-
spirators. To Brutus, Macedonia; to Cassius,
Syria; to Trebonius, Asia; to Tullius Cimber,
Bithynia; and the former was confirmed in the
government of Cisalpine Gaul,
295
This calm, however, was of short duration.
The will of the mangled Cæsar was opened at
the house of Antony ;-it appeared that the
young Octavius, his sister's grandson, who had
been already adopted into the family and name
of Julius Cæsar, was appointed his heir to
three quarters of his estate.
Several of the conspirators were named as
preceptors to the son of the young Octavius, in
case he should have one. Cæsar decreed a
quarter of his estate to be divided between Pe-
dius and Pinarius. Decimus Brutus was one of
those named to the succession of his estate, in
case of the failure of his first heirs. He be-
queathed his beautiful gardens, near the Tiber,
to the public at large, with the addition of three
hundred sesterces to every Roman citizen.
This last act animated the feelings of the
people, and revived that affection, which the
harangues of the conspirators had depressed;
they declared, in one voice, that Cæsar had evinced
such distinguished proofs of tenderness and
generosity for his people, that he could not be a
tyrant. It was now resolved, that the funeral
of Cæsar should be solemnized at the public
expense; and general marks of concern ap-
peared throughout Rome.
A superb temple, glittering with gold, was
erected in the form of that dedicated to Venus
296
Genetrix, before the Rostra: in this temple the
body was placed on an ivory bier, covered with
a purple and gold cloth; at the head rose a
trophy with laurel branches, upon which hung
the senatorial robe, in which Cæsar was assassi-
nated.
At the same time, in the Campus Martius,
near the sepulchre of his daughter Julia, was
raised a pile, to consume the body, whither all
those who had brought perfumes to burn with it
were directed to carry them.
When every one of the chief magistrates
were ready, Antony mounted the Rostrum, and
ordered an herald to read the several decrees of
the senate, which declared Cæsar's person sa-
cred, and accumulated all honors, divine as well
as human, upon him. Antony then, with
apparent sorrow, unfolded before the populace
the sanguinary garment of Cæsar as pierced by
the daggers of the conspirators; he also caused
an image of wax to be shewn, which represented
Cæsar, impressed with the marks of the twenty-
three wounds with which he had been pierced :
several parts of the tragedy of Pacuvius were
then recited, the subject of which was, the
strife between Ajax and Ulysses, for the posses-
sion of the arms of Achilles; this was also done
for the purpose of inflaming the minds of the
people, and to excite commiseration, as some
297
of the lines were considered as very appro-
priate:-
"Ah! did I then preserve their lives, that I
(C
Should, by their malice, thus unpitied die ?"
Several other passages, to the same effect, were
recited from the Electra of Attilius. Besides,
in an elegant oration of his own, Antony an-
nounced the apotheosis* of Cæsar, and re-
minded the senate and the people of the oaths,
by which they had pledged themselves to re-
venge the death of Cæsar on the heads of
Brutus and Cassius.
* Apotheosis was a ceremony, by which the ancient Ro-
mans complimented their emperors after their death with a
place amongst the gods. It is thus described :-After the body
of the deceased had been burned, with the usual solemnities,
an image of wax, exactly resembling him, was placed on an
ivory couch, where it lay for seven days, attended by the senate
and ladies of the most illustrious quality, in the deepest mourn-
ing. The younger senators and knights bore the bed of state
through the Via Sacra to the old Forum, and from thence to
the Campus Martius, where it was deposited upon an edifice,
built in the form of a pyramid. The bed being thus placed,
amidst a quantity of spices and combustibles, and the knights.
having made a procession in solemn measure round the pile,
the new emperor, with a torch in his hand, set fire to it, while
an eagle, let fly from the top of the building, and moùnting in
the air with a firebrand, was supposed to convey the soul of the
deceased to heaven; and thenceforward he was ranked among

gods.
298
The people, deeply afflicted at this melancholy
spectacle, and their passions raised by the
means so industriously exercised, would not
allow the body to be carried further than the
Field of Mars, but declared it should be con-
sumed in the senate-house, where the murder
had taken place: others, on the contrary, de-
manded that it should be burnt in the temple of
Jupiter, as the most honorable place.
During this dispute, two centurions, armed
with javelins and swords, ran suddenly up to
the funeral pile, which they kindled with a
flaming torch they had brought for the occasion.
With the most enthusiastic ardor, the nobles
and people threw into the pile the seats of the
tribunes, the tables and benches, and all the fire
wood which was near them; the musical pro-
fessors and the comedians stripped themselves
of their jewels and triumphal ornaments, in
which they had habited themselves in honor of
the solemnity.
The veteran legions threw their valuable and
splendid arms, the munificent gifts of their
adored Cæsar, which they valued as their most
precious possessions, into the funeral pile, with
all their accoutrements. The Roman matrons.
added their superb and costly ornaments, and
the rich bullæ* or studs of their children.
* The bulla was a sort of golden button, usually worn by
299
It is said, the flame of the pile became so im-
petuous, that the house of L. Bellienus was en-
tirely consumed. In the violence of their grief,
the populace, with the slaves, who had now be-
come a confused mob, ran with large brands,
to set fire to the houses of the conspirators.
Helvius Cinna, one of the tribunes, and the
most esteemed friend of Cæsar, fell a victim to
the rabble, inasmuch as he was mistaken for the
person of the prætor, L. Cornelius Cinna, who
had not only secreted some of the conspirators,
but highly extolled the glorious act of assassi-
nating Cæsar.
The mob fixed the head of Helvius upon a
pike, and carried it about the city; which mea-
sure alarmed persons whose names bore any
similitude to those of the conspirators.
This was a forcible warning to the conspira-
tors, and evinced the little reason they had to
expect any safety in the city, without a power-
ful guard for their defence.
Brutus and Cassius retired immediately to
Lanuvium, fifteen miles from Rome. Decimus
the sons of illustrious families; it was either attached to
their habits, or, sometimes in the shape of a heart, hung sus-
pended from their bosoms, as a talisman, to guard them against
harm or envy. The Romans imagined that to sacrifice their
precious jewels and ornaments on the funeral pile, evinced a
singular affection and distinguished veneration for the deceased.
300
Brutus and Trebonius kept their station in the
city, and even demanded a guard from the con-
sul Antony, who, on his part, informed them by
Hirtius, the consul elect for the ensuing year,
that the soldiers and populace were so deeply
enraged, that he did not think it possible for
them to remain secure twenty-four hours in
Rome; adding, that he could not consent that
Decimus Brutus should take possession of the
province to which he had been nominated.
Brutus, on hearing this account, advised his
confederates, as the most prudent step in the
present posture of affairs, to submit to fortune,
and retire to Rhodes, or to some other part of
the world, where they might adjust their mea-
sures to public circumstances, and wait to see
how the death of Cæsar would influence the
several parties.
Brutus, however, on further consideration,
put himself in possession of his province of
Cisalphine Gaul, without the consent of the
consul. Trebonius fled privately into Asia, and
Tullus Cimber into Bithynia.
Soon after this dispersion of the chiefs of the
conspirators, Cicero, with several other senators,
retired from Rome, but they all concurred in
the opinion, that the safety of the conspirators
was a certain benefit to the republic.
Antony immediately seized not only on all
301
the sums of money in the treasury, but demanded
of the wretched Calphurnia all the money left by
Cæsar, which she readily delivered into his hands.
With these vast sums he not only paid his own
debts, but withdrew entirely from the party of
Cicero and the nobles, and determined to follow
his own measures. Cicero now retired, happy
in the consciousness of having done his duty.
Cleopatra, who was on a visit in Rome, being
terrified at the assassination of Cæsar, fled from
the city, though not before she had a conference
with Cicero on the subject of having her son,
young Cæsario, acknowledged and declared the
heir of her own kingdom.
Appreciating the taste and character of the
orator, she made him the promise of some beau-
tiful statues and curiosities from Egypt to
ornament his library.
Cicero, however, refused to be concerned in
the affair, because the haughtiness of her man-
ner, as well as her demand, highly displeased
him.
The bones and ashes of the lamented Cæsar
were sprinkled with the richest perfumes, and
deposited in an urn of gold, with a small glass
phial of tears, called a Lacrymatory, which, by
the priests of the different colleges, was depo-
sited in the sepulchre within the Pomærium;
which place had been decreed as a mausoleum,
302
and which was considered as a distinguished
honour to Cæsar.
The people erected a solid pillar of Numidian
marble in the Forum, with this inscription, "To
the Father of his country." There whole beca-
tombs blazed on the altars, and there the Romans
continued to sacrifice, and to make vows, to
determine every controversy, by swearing in the
name of Cæsar, who was not only consecrated
among the Gods, but really esteemed such by
the populace; for, at the celebration of the games
and spectacles, which Octavius dedicated to the
memory of Cæsar, a blazing star appeared, at
five o'clock in the afternoon, and shone brilliantly
for seven successive days. This the Roman
populace imagined to be the soul of Cæsar
ascending into Heaven.
It was decreed that the senate-house of Pom-
pey should be shut up for ever, or entirely razed
to the ground, and that the Ides of March
should be called the Ides of Parricide, because
Cæsar was the father of his country;-and it
was further enacted, that the senate should never
again meet on that inauspicious day, the Ides
of March. It was also decreed, that the image
of Caius Julius Cæsar should be impressed on
all the Roman coins, which was the first instance
of the kind known in Rome, but which was
303
afterwards followed by all the succeeding
emperors.
It is said that the conduct and conversation of
Cæsar induced some of his friends to imagine
he had little wish to protract his life, because he
disregarded a religious omens, and continually
resisted the importunate warnings of his augurs
and the advice of his friends.
Cæsar ever evinced the most singular confi-
dence in the decrees of the senate, and the oaths
which they had taken in his favor; he therefore
incautiously dismissed the guard of Spaniards,
who were accustomed to attend his person armed,
and who were devotedly attached to him. He
was often heard to say he had rather fall into
any snare which might be laid for him, than live
in a state of anxiety to avoid his enemics, which
he emphatically declared he considered to be
not only cowardly but degrading.
On reading Xenophon, he had expressed his
abhorrence of the languishing death of Cyrus,
and ever hoped his own might be sudden and
unexpected.
The day previous to his assassination a conver-
sation, which arose at the table of Lepidus,
plainly displayed how little expectation he had
of the death he experienced.
He declared he had purchased power and
glory enough; that if any ill befel him, there
304
would be no peace or repose for the common-
wealth, as they would be more deeply plunged
in the miseries of a new civil war, than they
had hitherto been. He therefore considered his
safety as of more consequence to the interest
of the republic of Rome, than to himself.
The shrine of Cæsar, which had been erected
in a chapel, consecrated to him by the Triumviri,
in the forum, and which stood near his funeral
pile, was held sacred, and a decree was past to
render it a sanctuary so inviolable, that no per-
son could be taken from it to punishment.
This was an honor which had never, since
the time of Romulus, been conferred, even on a
divinity.
The pillar of Numidian marble, twenty feet
high, which had been erected to Cæsar, on the
identical spot on which his body had been con-
sumed, and which was denominated "Cæsar's
column," endangered the peace of the city. The
rage of worshipping at this new altar spread so
fast, with the meaner sort of the populace
and the soldiers, that, inflamed with an enthu-
siastic sort of fury, they ran with violence about
the city, committing all sorts of depredations
and outrages against the supposed friends of
liberty.
It proceeded to open rebellion, and called for
an immediate remedy. Antony committed the
!
305
ringleader to prison, where he was strangled
without the forms of law, and his body dragged
about the city. Dolabella, the colleague of
Antony in the consulate, not only demolished
the pillar and altar, but paved the area upon
which they stood. This measure, we are told by
Cicero, gave unbounded joy to the city: the
body of the people attended the consul to his
house, and in the theatres gave him the usual
testimony of their thanks, by the loudest accla-
mations. The friends of the banished conspi-
rators never ceased their praises at this distin-
guished act of bravery in the coadjutor of An-
tony, who had bound himself to follow strictly
the advice, and enter into the measures, of his
friend, in consequence of his having released him
from a load of accumulated debt.
Antony now only thought of making himself
absolute, and, by the deepest dissimulation, to
quiet the conspirators; while, at the same time, he
proposed several seasonable acts, and appeared to
have nothing so much at heart as the public.
safety, and unity of the city. Among several
ineasures he offered one which was proposed and
drawn up by himself, and which not only ap-
peared to be a sure pledge of his good intentions,
but which gave universal satisfaction to the
senate; this was no other than the total abolition
of the odious name and office of dictator. The
VOL. I.
X
306
1
decree was joyfully passed, as it were, by accla-
mation, without even putting it to the vote, and
the senate awarded thanks to Antony, who
was soon, however, disappointed in the hopes he
had formed of gaining the imperial dignity; for
Octavius Cæsar, the adopted son and chosen
heir of Julius Cæsar, was appointed to the
government of the capital of the world, and was
invested with the imperial purple.
}
Years before Christ.
100
Julius Cæsar born exactly,
The first Triumvirate, in the persons of Pompey, Cæsar,
and Crassus,
Cicero banished from Rome, but recalled next year,
Julius Cæsar passed the Rhine, defeated the Germans, and
60
58
made his first expedition into Britain,
55
Crassus is killed by Surena.
53
Civil war between Cæsar and Pompey
50
Battle of Pharsalia
4S
The Alexandrian library, consisting of 400,000 valuable
books, burnt by accident,
47
46
The War of Africa, in which Cato, from wounded pride,
kills himself
The Battle of Munda
Cæsar, the greatest of the Roman conquerors, after having
fought fifty pitched battles, and slain 1,192,000 men,
and subdued the liberties of his country, was killed in
the senate-house of Rome,
45
44
X
缸
​THE LIFE
OF
OCTAVIUS AUGUSTUS CESAR,
SECOND EMPEROR OF ROME,
OCTAVIUS CESAR AUGUSTUS was born in the
year of Rome 691, sixty-three years before the
birth of Christ. He was descended from the
Octavii, one of the principal families at Veli-
træ, a town in Italy, which belonged to the
Volsci, a people of Latium, whose territories
were bounded, on the south, by the Tyrrhene
Sea, north, by the country of the Hernici and
Marsi, west, by the Latins and Rutulians, and
east, by Campania.
The Octavii had been naturalized at Rome,
and introduced into the senate-house by Tar-
quinius Priscus. The great-grandfather of
Octavius served in a military tribuneship in the
second Punic war in Sicily, during the period
that Æmilius Peppus was general. He left a
noble fortune to his son, who, being of a retired
310
disposition, and fond of literature, would not
accept of any office in the state, but grew old
as a private citizen, in enviable tranquillity.
Octavius Cæsar himself always declared his
family was of no higher rank than equestrian.
His father, Cornelius Octavius, was the first of
the family who was honored with the senatorial
dignity; and, as he inherited a large fortune in
right of his father, and possessed an unblemished
reputation, he was advanced to the most honor-
able station in the republic, and appointed to the
government of the provinces, where he evinced
no less justice in his administration, than bra-
very and fortitude in his military capacity. He
vanquished the Bessi, a people of Thrace, on
the left of the Strymon, which separates Thrace
from Macedonia, and falls into the Ægean Sea.
This barbarous people had, by their continual
plunder, and constant depredations, very much
annoyed the Romans.
The father of Octavius Cæsar treated all the
allies of the provinces with so much lenity and
kindness, that Cicero exhorted his brother,
Quintus, who was at the same time proconsul of
Asia, to imitate the excellent example of his
neighbouring coadjutor, Cornelius Octavius, in
order to gain the good opinion of the allies,
which would tend to render the Asiatics obe-
dient and civilized.
311
Cornelius Octavius was called upon to stand
for the consulate; he, therefore, left Macedonia,
but on his journey he was suddenly paralyzed,
and died in the act of putting on his shoes.-
His death was an incalculable loss to his family,
as his sons were young and helpless.
Atia, his widow, was the daughter of Atius
Balbus, and Julia, the sister of Julius Cæsar.
Octavius Cæsar was born in the consulship of
M. Tullius Cicero and Mark Antony, a little
before the rising of the sun, and in that part of
the city of Rome called Palatine. It is said,
there is now to be seen the remains of a small
temple, which was erected after the death of
Cæsar Augustus, in honour of his birth.
It was a superstitious ceremony among the
ancients, to cause the feet of the new-born infant,
immediately on its birth, to touch the earth.
The spot of ground on which the infant Octa-
vius was put, was esteemed so sacred, that Lic-
torius, who had been impeached for depravity
and profligacy of conduct, claimed exemption
from the punishment awarded him, because he
was the fortunate possessor of that piece of
ground: he was even regarded as a sort of priest,
because the earth had received consecration in
honour of Cæsar Augustus.
In the old suburbs of Rome, near Velitræ,
the apartment, which had been his nursery, is
312
reported to be an object of observation, at this
present time; it is represented as a small square
room, and it was unlawful to enter it, unless
upon extraordinary occasions, or on festivals,
and then only with the highest marks of venera-
tion and sanctity.
It was an ancient and received opinion that
whoever was so daring as to enter the apart-
ment hastily, or without the proper solemnities,
was suddenly seized with a consternation and
horror resembling insanity.
This tradition, according to Suetonius, was
exemplified in a person, who was determined to
try the experiment, by sleeping in the bed;
when, after the lapse of a few hours, he was
thrown out by a supernatural and irresistible
power, and in a condition bordering on derange-
ment.
When Octavius was only three years old, the
surname of Thurinus was given him, in honor
of his father's having destroyed some fugitives
in Thurium, a province of Thrace. These fugi-
tives were the remains of the army of Spartacus;
who, with some other gladiators, had resided at
Capua, in the house of Lentulus, a trainer of
gladiators. Spartacus escaped from his con-
finement with thirty of his companions, who
all took up arms in favor of Catiline during his
conspiracy; after which Spartacus found him-
1
313
self followed by a powerful party, equally reso-
lute with himself. Though they were at first
obliged to hide themselves in the woods, and
solitary retreats of Campania, they soon laid
waste the country, and even boldly attacked the
Roman generals in the field of battle. Two
consuls, with their lieutenants, were defeated
by the fugitives; but at length they were entirely
subdued by Crassus.
It is said that a brazen image of Octavius, when
a boy, had the name of Thurinus marked on it
with iron letters. In the time of the emperor
Adrian, this image was presented to him as a
most valuable relic. The letters, which com-
posed the name, were much effaced; but the
emperor so highly valued this possession that
he is represented as having kept it in his bed-
room.
Mark Antony, by way of derision, in some
of his letters, calls Octavius Cæsar, Thurinus;
but we see, he wisely makes him no other reply,
than that he wondered his primitive name should
be made a reproach to him.
Octavius was scarcely four years old at the
death of his father. He was immediately
adopted into the family of his mother, by Atia's
uncle, Julius Cæsar, by whom he was reared
with distinguished care and affection. Such
attention was paid to the literary attainments
314
of the son of Cornelius Octavius, that, at the
age of nine years, he composed an elegant ora-
tion, on the death of his grandmother, Julia,
and repeated it in public.
The early accomplishments of the young
Octavius, displayed the peculiar strength of his
ardent mind, and his dawning love of the fine
arts, as well as his love of learning, soon dis-
tinguished him.
At sixteen, he put on the Toga Virilis, or
habit of manhood, which was two years pre-
vious to the usual period; and he received the
usual military presents at Julius Cæsar's African
triumph, though he was yet too young to bear
'arms.
When his great uncle went into Spain against
the sons of Pompey, he was scarcely recovered
from a severe illness; yet the noble youth
insisted on being allowed to follow Cæsar, and
left Rome, with few attendants, notwithstand-
ing he was surrounded by inveterate enemies
on all sides. Octavius was, however, unfortu-
nately shipwrecked, and escaped with the great-
est difficulty.
When Julius Cæsar was informed of this early
display of courage, and of the singular genius
he had evinced to extricate himself from the
dangers which had surrounded him, he pre-
dicted his nephew would be as great and emi-
315
nent in the profession of arms, as in his career
of literature.
Octavius was sent to Apollonia, to pro-
secute his studies. He was particularly delighted,
not only with the school of literature of that
place, but with the festivities which were usually
celebrated there. They were the same as those
represented at Ægialia, in honour of Diana and
Apollo, and which were said to have arisen from
the following circumstance. Apollo and Diana
settled at Ægialia, after the conquest of the
serpent Python, and being frightened by the
inhabitants, whose threats and menaces obliged
them to go from thence to Crete, Ægialia was
visited by an epidemical complaint. By the
advice of their priests and prophets, the people
of Ægialia sent seven chosen boys, and as many
girls, of illustrious families, to intreat and per-
suade the deities to return to their city, where
they should be received with joy and festivity.
Apollo and Diana acceded to their requests, in
honor of which a temple was raised to the
goddess of persuasion, and, ever after this event,
a number of youths of both sexes were chosen
to march, annually, in solemn procession at Apol-
lonia.
Octavius was witnessing these festivities and
ceremonies, when an express arrived with an ac-
count of the assassination of Julius Cæsar, and
316
ཝར
an order from the senate, that he should immedi-
ately return to Rome, to attend the obsequies of
his great uncle, and to be instated in his dig-
nities,
As soon as the death of Cæsar was promul-
gated at Apollonia, all the officers and comman-
ders of the different troops quartered there made
Octavius an offer of their services, towards
securing his succession to the command.
Agrippa and Salvidienus were of opinion,
that he would do well to accept them, and
Plutarch thinks if he had followed their advice,
he would have settled the business speedily, and
amicably. All the veterans would have repaired
to him, and, in the confused and unsettled state
of things in Italy, he might have made himself
master of Rome, and even induced Mark Antony
to have joined him.
F
Octavius, however, thought this too rash an
undertaking, before he had sounded the dispo-
sitions of the citizens and soldiers. The sole
intention, therefore, that he avowed at that
time was, to assert his right to his uncle's estates,
and to claim the possession of them. This at-
tempt was even considered as too bold and dan-
gerous, for a mere boy, scarcely eighteen years
old.
The aristocratical party feared, lest, with the
inheritance of the estate, he should also grasp at
the power of Julius Cæsar.
317
Antony had destined that succession to him-
self, and even seized the effects of his friend,
lest, by the advantage of that we 1th, Octavius
might be enabled, by bribery, to make a party
against him.
Atia trembled for the safety of her son, dread-
ing the same unhappy fate that had attended
her uncle, Julius Cæsar. She, therefore, with
the assistance of Philip, her second husband,
pressed Octavius, in the most affectionate and
impressive letters, to suspend his claims, for a
time, and not to assume Cæsar's name, until he
could ascertain what aspect the public affairs
were likely to take.
On the other side, there were many of his
friends, who intreated them to throw himself on
the affections of the city of Rome and the army,
before Antony and his party had made themselves
too strong for him.
The remonstrances of his friends had their due
weight with Octavius, and, incited by his na-
tural ambition, he resolved, without delay, to
pass over into Italy.
On his landing at Brundusium, he was re-
ceived by the soldiers with the greatest demon-
strations of attachment to his cause. The ve-
terans already settled in Italy, came from all
parts, to meet him, complaining of the indo-
318
lence of Antony, in revenging the death of his
great friend and benefactor, Julius Cæsar.
Octavius now crossed the country, to join his
mother and father, Philip, who were at their
villa, at Cumæ, where Cicero was at that time,
as was also Balbus, with Hirtius and Pansa, the
consuls elect for the ensuing year, who each pre-
sented the noble youth to Cicero, to whom Oc-
tavius made the strongest assurances, that he
would be guided implicitly by his advice; treated
him with the greatest respect and most distin-
guished friendship; and disclosed to him, the
vow he had made to revenge the death of Ca-
sar, his adopted father, and that he should not
rest satisfied till he had pursued Brutus and
Cassius to their destruction.
The domestics of Octavius had already given
him the name of Cæsar, who, on his part, was
determined to risk all his hopes on the credit of
that title. Cicero disapproved of his hostile
intentions, as he feared to involve the city of
Rome in anarchy and confusion.
As he approached towards Rome, Octavius
was met by crowds of the friends of Julius
Cæsar, who were attended by his own adherents.
By them he was conducted, in pomp and triumph,
to the city. Before he parted from them, he de-
sired they would attend him on the morrow, in
order to introduce him to the forum; after which
319
he repaired to C. Antonius, who, since the flight
of Brutus, executed the functions of Prætor
Urbanus. There he claimed, in a legal manner,
his adopted father's possessions, and caused his
claims to be entered in form in the public regis-
ter. He then went to the residence of Mark
Antony, which was situated in Pompey's Gar-
dens. After the first compliments were over,
Octavus Cæsar peremptorily demanded of the
consul to be put in possession of the money and
other effects of Cæsar, in order to discharge the
legacies of his will.
Mark Antony gave Octavius a very hasty re-
ception, and short audience, telling him he was
young, and did not know what he was about;
that the title he had assumed, of heir and exe-
cutor to Cæsar's will, was a burthen too great
for his extreme youth. Antony took, likewise,
all possible means to prevent young Cæsar from
getting his adoption confirmed by the peo-
ple, in an assembly of the Curiæ, as required
by law, and opposed his getting into the tri-
buneship, which was then vacant by the death
of Helvius Cinna, who had been destroyed by
the populace in the height of their inflamed
passion on Cæsar's death. Octavius, being
satisfied that Antony appeared openly to declare
against him, determined by every possible means
to make himself popular. He was intro-
320
duced into the rostrum by one of the tribunes,
where he made an elegant oration to the peo-
ple, which he seconded by what was certain to
please the inferior part of the city infinitely
more;-this was a promise of not only paying
them the legacies, so nobly bequeathed by his
adopted father's will, but of adding largely to
them, and moreover by entertaining them with
spectacles and plays, in honor of Cæsar's vic-
tories.
This oration was received with loud acclama-
tions of applause; and the name of Octavius
Cæsar resounded through the forum.
He paid also great attention and court to the
senate, who, on their part, shewed him the
more regard, in proportion as Antony became
more formidable.
Octavius now exhibited games and spectacles,
at his own expense, in honor of Venus Mater,
and in commemoration of Cæsar's victories.
In these spectacles he brought forward the
golden chair, which, among other honors decreed
to his adopted father when living, had been
placed in the theatres and circusses on all solemn
occasions. The tribunes, however, ordered the
golden chair to be removed, conceiving the
honor due only to Julius Cæsar. It was during
these spectacles that the comet, near the great
bear, appeared for seven days successively. It
321
was extremely brilliant, and generally arose an
hour before the setting of the sun. The people
imagined, that the appearance of this star was
to inform them that Cæsar's soul was received
among the immortal gods: for this reason a star
was placed over the head of the statue, which
Octavius Cæsar consecrated soon after in the fo-
rum. The star became afterwards the distin-
guishing attribute of the Cæsars, in all the mo-
numents erected to their honor; and we find it
upon many of the Roman medals.
In order to defray the immense expense of
these games and spectacles, and of other exhi-
bitions in which he soon engaged, Octavius was
obliged to sell his estate, and Philip, his father-in-
law, with the concurrence of his mother, se-
conded his views, and even joined in disposing
of their property, to enable him to pay the large
sums he had promised, and to support the splen-
did entertainments he daily gave to the court,
and to the populace.
Mark Antony still resolutely refused to
acknowledge the heir of Cæsar, and summoned
Cicero to the senate, to frustrate his plans with
regard to Octavius. Cicero refused to appear,
excusing himself by an amicable message, as
being indisposed. This Antony considered as
an affront, and, in a rage, openly threatened in
the senate to order him a severe punishment.
VOL. I.
322
Plutarch says, that Antony actually sent soldiers
to bring the orator, or to set his house on fire,
but the interference of the senate prevented the
perpetration of this violent measure. The con-
sul uttered bitter invectives against him, and
chiefly insisted on Cicero's having been not only
privy to the murder of Julius Cæsar, but the
contriver of the conspiracy, as well as the
author of every step the conspirators had taken.
Cicero, on his part, seeing that the intention of
his enemy was to inflame the minds of the legions
to some act of violence against him, because he
had placed them for that purpose about the ave-
nues of the temple of Concord, where the
senate met, and within hearing of the debates,
was determined to retire from Rome, and to
visit his villa near Naples, where he is said to
have composed his second philippic against Mark
Antony.
Brutus and Cassius, convinced by these trans-
actions that Antony seriously meditated a war,
and that their affairs were daily growing more
desperate, left Italy.
Antony no longer kept any amicable mea-
sures with the republican party, and in order
to ingratiate himself into the affections of the
veteran legions, he erected a statue in the Rostra
to Julius Cæsar, and inscribed it to the most
worthy father of his country.
323
All the hopes of the republicans were now
grounded on the quarrel between Octavius and
Antony. The former perceiving there was
nothing to be done for him in the city against
a cousul armed with supreme power, both civil
and military, promptly determined to form his
own party, and no longer to be lenient in his
measures. These two chiefs, therefore, now
openly made preparations for war.
Antony left Rome, to meet and engage in his
service four legions from Macedonia, which had
been sent thither by Julius Cæsar himself, on
their way to Parthia, and were, by his order, on
their return to Italy.
Octavius, in the mean time, sent his adherents
with large donations, with a view to induce
them to prefer his service to that of Antony;
and he himself went into Campania to solicit
the veterans, who were distributed into the
different colonies about Capua. Those of Galatia
and Casilinum joined him, to the number of
1000, to each of whom he distributed 500
denarii; these were afterwards distinguished by
the name of Evocati.
The town of Galatia was situated on the
Appian way, and had been made a Roman co-
lony by Julius Cæsar.
Casilinum was a town of Campania, and cele-
brated for sustaining a siege a long time against
Y 2
3.24
Annibal, the Carthaginian general, at which
period, such was the distress of the besieged,
that a mouse was reported to have been sold for
the enormous sum of 200 denarii! Casilinum
was bravely defended by 570 natives of Præ-
neste, who, when three parts of their number
had perished by famine, surrendered to the con-
queror, Annibal.
Antony could not boast a very favourable
reception from the four Macedonian legions,
whom he had appointed to meet at Brundusium.
They were dissatisfied by his tardy behaviour
towards the conspirators, and that the death of
Cæsar was still unrevenged: they followed him
in sullen silence to his tribunal, to hear any
oration he might intend to deliver. Antony
harangued them a long time, and at length
offered them an hundred denarii, whereas Octa-
vius had actually already given them five times
that sum, as well as to those other legions who
had followed him. This they immediately, in
one common voice, declared to Antony, who
was enraged to such a degree of passion that,
calling together the centurions, whom he ima-
gined to be the authors of the disaffection
which reigned towards himself, he ordered
them to be massacred on the spot, while his
wife, Fulvia, stood calmly by to witness the
sanguinary scene.
395
The emissaries of Octavius did not fail to
profit by this shameful outrage. They issued
among the soldiers placards, on which they
compared the noble and magnanimous conduct
of Julius Cæsar, and what they expected from
his son and heir, the gallant Octavius Cæsar,
with the present cruel and vengeful treatment
of Antony.
All Antony could effect, either by his pro-
mises or threats, was to engage the legion of
the Alaudæ, which regiment had been raised
by Julius Cæsar, when he was in Gaul, and was
composed of the natives of that country, but
armed and disciplined according to the Roman
custom, and to all of whom he had given the
freedom of the city of Rome.
Julius Cæsar,
to distinguish this legion, had given it the
Gallic appellation of Alaudæ, which, in that
language, signified a lark with a crest rising
from its head, in imitation of which this legion
wore a crest of feathers on the crown of the
helmet, and on which occasion the word was
adopted into the Latin language. To this
legion Antony paid the most servile and flatter-
ing compliments, for which we see Cicero often
reproaches him.
Octavius Cæsar, on his part, was indefatigable
in soliciting the troops in the distant colonies,
326
and, by the influence of Cicero, he expected to
gain all the others.
Notwithstanding he dreaded the power of
Mark Antony, Cicero exerted himself in the
cause of his young friend, and openly advised
Octavius to march to Rome, where he felt as-
sured that he would have the populace on his side.
The event happened as Cicero expected; he was
received again with bursts of applause, and led
to the rostrum, where he made a fine oration
against Antony, in which he solemnly declared
he came to deliver the republic of Rome from
their oppressor, and reaching his hand to the
statue of Cæsar, he used this impressive oath,
"And so may I arrive at the honors of my
father!" Octavius then left Rome, amidst the
blessings and rejoicings of the populace, to join
the army.
Antony now entered Rome with his colours.
displayed, at the head of his crested legion,
having raised contributions in all the great
towns through which he had passed. He obliged
the soldiers to do camp duty, regularly gave
the word of command himself, and the city
appeared ready to engage any hostile intruders:
he published, at the same time, several violent
edicts, in which he gave Octavius the name of
Spartacus; reproached him with his ignoble
birth, and charged Cicero with being the author
327
of all his councils. During this period, Antony
received the mortifying information, that not
only the fourth legion, but that called the Mar-
tial, had actually declared in favor of young
Cæsar, and that they had posted themselves at
Alba, in the immediate neighbourhood of
Rome.
This account distressed Antony so deeply, that,
instead of prosecuting the scheme he had pro-
jected on his settling his forces in the city, he
hurried over, what no one opposed, a suppli-
cation to Lepidus for his assistance; and the
same evening, after he had distributed to his
friends, by a pretended allotment, the several
provinces of the empire, which none of them
would accept from so precarious a title, he
changed the habit of a consul for that of a ge-
neral, and left the city of Rome with precipita-
tion, to head his army, and to possess himself
of Cisalpine Gaul, assigned to him by a pre-
tended law of the people, against the will of the
senate.
On the news of his retreat, Cicero left his re-
tirement, and entered Rome. It appeared as
though he was once more called by the voice of
the republic, to take the reins of government.
The field appeared open to him, there was nei-
ther consul, prætor, troops, nor commander, in
the city, from whom he could apprehend the
t
328
1
1
least danger. He immediately conferred with
Pansa and Hirtius, who were the consuls elect,
respecting the measures proper to be taken on
their approaching entrance into the consulship.
Cicero declared to them, the republic would
have been utterly ruined, had it not been for
the courage and virtue of young Cæsar, who,
contrary to all expectation, and what no man
thought it possible for him to do, had, by his
private authority and expense, raised a strong
army of veterans, and baffled the designs of
Mark Antony, who, if he had succeeded at
Brundusium, in prevailing with the legions to
follow him, would have filled the city, at his
return, with bloodshed and slaughter. He
further added, that it was their duty to confirm
what the youth had so nobly done, to induce him
to do more, by employing his troops in the fur-
ther service of the state;-and that they ought
to make a special provision for the two legions
which had declared in favour of Octavius, to the
detriment of Antony; and that the two consuls,
on their entering into office, should make it their
first act to see all these things executed in their
due form and order. The consuls, with the
senate, agreed unanimously to these suggestions;
and Cicero, from them, immediately passed into
the forum, giving, in an eloquent speech to the
people, an account of what had passed. He
329
then declared, in an elegant oration to the senate,
that he had reaped the fruit of his toils for the
good of his country, in the exaltation of Octa-
vius Cæsar.
As Cicero had quarrelled with Mark Antony,
beyond the possibility of reconciliation, he pub-
lished his last philippic, which had hitherto been
shewn only to a few select friends.
The remainder of this eventful year (of Rome,
709, and 43 years before Christ) was spent in
preparing arms and troops for the new consuls,
and the defence of the state; and the new levies
were carried on with great diligence, as intelli-
gence was received that Mark Antony was
actually besieging Mutina, into which Brutus,
unable to oppose him in the field, had thrown
himself, with all his forces, as the strongest
town of his province, and the best calculated to
sustain a siege.
In the mean time Cæsar, without receiving the
orders of the senate, but by the advice of Cicero,
which always governed him in every measure,
headed his troops, and followed Antony to ob-
serve his movements, and to take all possible ad-
vantage on every occasion which offered itself, of
distressing him, until the consuls could bring up
the grand army, which was organizing for the
attack.
The two consuls, C. Vibius Pansa, and Aulus
330
Hirtius, were no sooner inaugurated in their
office, than the senate assembled to consider of
the present state of the republic, and to perfect
what had been resolved upon at the last meeting,
and to contrive further means for the public
tranquillity.
Aulus Hirtius immediately marched at the
head of the new army to join young Cæsar;
a public tumult was proclaimed, the shops
were shut up, and, instead of the usual dress,
the people all put on the sagum, or habit of war.
The two legions called the fourth, and the Mar-
tial, which were the flower of the army, were
under the immediate auspices of the consuls.
Antony collected all his troops from the vil-
lages in which they were quartered, and engaged
without delay the battle was sanguinary on
both sides. Cæsar's prætorian cohorts sustained
the fight a long time on the Emilian road, but
the left wing, consisting of two cohorts of the
Martial legion, and the fourth legion of Hirtius,
began to give ground, as they were on every side.
surrounded by the cavalry of Antony, in which
he was very strong. Hirtius, however, bravely
marched up to their assistance, with twenty
veteran cohorts; and they entirely routed and
put to flight the whole army of Antony.
Antony regained his camp at Mutina at ten
at night, with his cavalry. He lost the greatest
331
part of his veteran troops, two of his eagles,
and sixty standards.
Pansa fought bravely at the head of his legion,
received two dangerous wounds, and was carried
off the field to Bononia. To animate the sol-
diers, Hirtius took up the eagle of the fourth
legion, and carried it himself. Cæsar undertook
to guard the camp, where he was attacked with
another body of the enemy, which he repulsed
with great bravery, but with considerable loss.
During these hostile measures, Antony, deeply
mortified, was shut up in his camp; when he
reflected on his defeat he was nearly wild with
rage, but at length he determined to hazard
nothing further, but to act on the defensive.
He still vainly flattered himself he should
become master of Mutina, which was reduced
to the last extremity of wretchedness, and intend-
ed, by the strength of his fortifications, to pre-
vent any relief the enemy might attempt to give.
Hirtius and young Cæsar, on the other hand,
elated with victory, were determined at all events,
to release Mutina, and, after several days spent
in finding the most likely place of breaking
through the entrenchments, they made their
attack with such vigour, that Antony rather than
suffer the town to be snatched from him, drew
out his legions, and came out to a general
battle.
332
This second combat was obstinate and sangui-
nary; Antony's Alaudæ, though obliged to give
ground, bravely disputed every inch of it. Hir-
tius fought with surprising spirit to force his
way into the camp of the enemy; but on gain-
ing the middle of it, was unfortunately killed
near the general's tent.
Pontius Aquila, one of the conspirators, was
killed in the same place.
Cæsar followed to support his officers and
legions, and made good their attempt, to keep
possession of the camp, with the entire defeat
of the best troops of Antony, who fled with
great precipitation to the Alps.
The consul Pansa died of his wounds at
Bononia. He had been attached with equal
zeal to Julius Cæsar, and had served in all his
wars with distinguished affection and fidelity.
Pansa was persuaded that in revenging the
death of Cæsar, the republic would be thrown
into consternation, and much bloodshed would
be produced; he well knew Antony's induce-
ment for the attempt was the ambition and de-
sire of possessing Cæsar's place in the empire of
the world. He resolved, therefore, to quell, by
open force, his dangerous designs, and then to
assist the young Octavius, the adopted son aud
heir of his exalted friend, in his attempt to suc-
ceed him. The rising virtues of the accom-
333
plished prince, fully evinced the judgment of
the consul, whose death was a serious loss, nót
only to Octavius, but to the state at large.
Medals were struck by the senate, and parti-
cularly one in honor of Pansa, for the victory.
It exhibited the head of the Goddess of Liberty,
crowned with laurel, and the inscription" Libe-
ratis;" on the reverse, Rome sitting on the spoils
of the enemy, a spear in her right hand, a dag-
ger in her left, and her foot resting on a globe;
victory in the act of flying towards her, with a
crown of laurel, with which to crown her; the
inscription, C. Pansa, C. F. C. N.
The death of the two consuls placed young
Cæsar at once above control, by leaving him
master of both their armies, especially of the
veterans. The general rejoicings at Rome stifled
all attention to the loss of their consuls.
The friends of Antony were so dejected, that
they gave Cicero no farther opposition in the
senate when he decreed a triumph to young
Cæsar, and added a number of days to the re-
joicings and thanksgiving in honor of the vic-
tory. As a further mark of distinguished appro-
bation, it was determined that the name of
Octavius should be inscribed in the fasti, or
public calends, as a perpetual memorial. The
adherents of Antony were declared enemies to
the state, but Atticus had the generosity to per-
334
form the most friendly offices to Fulvia and her
children.
The conquerors were censured by the senate
for allowing Antony time to escape, but Octa-
vius entertained no wish of pursuing him. He
had already gained what was his principal aim,
he had reduced the power of Antony, and raised
his own so high, as to be enabled to make his
own terms with him in the partition of the
empire, of which (it is said) he appeared to have
formed the plan from this moment. Whereas, if
Antony had been wholly destroyed, with the
consuls Pansa and Hirtius, the republican party
might have been too strong for him, as Lepidus,
though master of an efficient army, was a weak
and supine general. Cæsar was now, therefore,
occupied, in securing to his interests the troops
of the deceased consuls, and watching the opera-
tions of the senate, of whom he became not a
little distrustful.
It was reported that Pansa, in his last mo-
ments, sent for Octavius, and earnestly advised
him, as he valued his power in the state, to an
union with Antony against the senate, to whom
Antony was odious, in consequence of his hav-
ing attempted to disannul, by force of arms, a
decree which had been confirmed by them. They,
on their part, were less inclined to attack An-
tony, though they would have been pleased at
335
seeing him reduced to submission by Octavius;
who, on his part, perceived that by arming him
against Antony, the senate evidently wished to
involve both parties by making them antago-
nists.
As soon as Octavius became convinced of the
certainty of his suspicions, he determined to
unite himself with Antony. Antony held out
the olive branch, assuring Octavius, that he was
favourably received by Lepidus, who, from his
immense possessions, was in high power, and
very ambitious of honor, notwithstanding he
possessed a narrowness of mind and a great defi-
ciency of military abilities.
Antony now prevailed with young Cæsar to
allow Lepidus to join his interests with their's,
and convinced him they should all do well to
unite their forces against the senate.
The distant behaviour of many of the sena-
tors had displeased Octavius; they had fre-
quently given him the appellation of "boy,"
which he considered as degrading; being con-
vinced of the powers of his own mind, and
that his attainments equalled if not surpassed
their own.
Cæsar felt no dislike to the measure proposed
by Antony and Lepidus, which was immediately
adopted, and they formed the second triumvirate
on the same terms as the first had been, while in
336
the hands of Julius Cæsar, Pompey, and Crassus.
In this second the Romans lost their liberty!
Cæsar now evinced but little regard to the
advice of his friend Cicero, because the latter
adhered to the senate, whose admonitions were
totally disregarded by Octavius, who now only
sought an opportunity of breaking with them
altogether, for he saw he had no share in their
affections, which were engrossed by Brutus and
Cassius, with their adherents. These comman-
ders had raised a formidable force, and were, by
the decree of the senate, masters of all the eas-
tern provinces. In this league, therefore, with
Antony, he felt he should not only concur with
the advice of the dying Pansa, but be enabled
to indulge his own wish of revenging the death
of Cæsar. Octavius was now persuaded by his
friends to make a demand of the consulate,
though he was not above twenty years old.
Cicero favored his pretensions, in the hope of
being made his colleague, and of governing him
in this honorable office.
The demand of it was made by a deputation
of Cæsar's officers, and when the senate received
it with coldness and murmurings, Cornelius, a
centurion, threw back his robe, and shewed his
sword, and resolutely said, "this shall make
Octavius consul, if you refuse him.”
Cæsar soon put an end to their scruples, by
337
marching at the head of the legions, in an
hostile manner to the city. The Practors placed
a guard in different parts of it, seized upon the
Janiculum, with the two legions which were
lately arrived by order of the senate from
Africa.
Octavius, however, met with little resistance;
the legions stationed on the Janiculum, soon
joined his party; and he was chosen consul, in
the legal form, by an assembly of the people,
with Q. Pedius, his relation, and coheir in part
of his uncle's estates, in the month Sextillis.
From the fortunate commencement of his honors,
this month was afterwards called, from his name,
Augustus, which was appointed to him at the
suggestion, and through the influence of Muna-
tius Plancus, who had attended his uncle in
Gaul, and been consul with Brutus. Some of
the senators proposed he should be styled
Romulus, because he had done so much, and had
so elegantly adorned the city. Munatius still,
however, persisted that Augustus was a more
magnificent title; and Octavius Cæsar was
therefore eventually styled Augustus.
His first care was to have his adoption, accord-
ing to the will of his uncle, Julius Cæsar, con-
firmed to him in the most solemn manner by a
law of the people.
Cicero took unwearied pains to unite Brutus
VOL. I.
2
338
and Cassius to Octavius, and to dissuade the
latter from revenging the death of Cæsar, ex-
horting him, by the most impressive letters, to
the observance of that amnesty the senate had
decreed as the foundation of public peace.
Octavius secured, on entering the supreme
magistracy, the public money, which he found
in the treasury, and which he divided amongst
the legions and forces, as a reward for their
services.
Invested with the sovereign authority, Cæsar
kept no measures with the party of the conspi-
rators, and a law was published by the consul
Pedius, for bringing to justice all who had been
implicated or concerned in advising, or effecting
the death of Julius Cæsar.
Sextus Pompeius, though he had borne no part
in that act, was considered as an enemy to the
Cæsarian cause. Octavius had no sooner distri-
buted to the citizens the remainder of the lega-
cies devised by his uncle, settled the affairs of the
city, and subdued the senate to his wishes and
views, than he marched back to Gaul, in order to
meet Antony and Lepidus, who had already cross-
ed the Alps, and brought their armies into Italy.
His object was to have a personal interview with
them for settling the terms of their triple league,
and dividing the power and the provinces of the
empire among themselves.
339
The place appointed for the interview was a
small island about two miles from Bononia,
formed by the Rhenus, (now the Rhine) which
is one of the largest rivers of Europe. It divides
Germany from Gaul. It rises in the Rhætian
Alps, and falls into the German Ocean. Virgil
calls it Bicomis, because it divides itself into two
streams. It was a long time a barrier between
the Romans and Germans, and, on that account,
its banks were covered with strongly-fortified
castles. Julius Cæsar was the first Roman who
crossed the Rhine, which he did for the purpose
of invading Germany.
Ou this island the Triumvirs met, not without
jealousy and suspicion of danger in each other,
being all attended by their most valiant troops,
each of five legions, which were disposed in sepa-
rate camps, and within sight of Bononia. Le-
pidus entered first as an equal friend to the other
two, and in order that he might thoroughly
investigate the avenues, and be convinced that
the island was clear and free from treachery.
After he had given the determined signal,
Octavius and Antony advanced from the oppo-
site side of the river; they passed into the island
by temporary bridges, which they left guarded on
each side by three hundred chosen men. In-
stead of embracing as friends, their first care is
reported to have been that of searching each
Z 2
340
A
other, to be convinced that they had not con-
cealed daggers under their robes. This cere-
mony being over, Cæsar took his scat between
the two, as the most honorable, he being con-
sul.
The object of their conference was, that
Octavius should have, as his peculiar provinces,
Africa, with Sicily, Sardinia, and the other
islands of the Mediterranean sea, that Lepidus
should have Spain, with the Narbonese Gaul;
and Antony, the other two Gauls, situated on
each side of the Alps;--that Octavius should
resign the consulship to Ventidius, for the
remainder of the year; that Antony and Cæsar
should prosecute the war with vigor against
Brutus and Cassius, each at the head of twenty
legions; that Lepidus should be left with three
legions, to guard the city of Rome; and that,
at the end of the war, eighteen cities, and colo-
nies, the best and richest of Italy, together with
their lands and districts, should be taken from
their owners, and assigned to the perpetual pos-
session of the veteran soldiers, as a reward of
their faithful services. This arrangement was
published by edicts to their several armies, and
received by them with acclamations of joy and
congratulations.
This happy union of their chiefs, was, at the
common desire of all parties, ratified by a mar
341
riage, between Cæsar and Clodia, the step-
daughter of Antony.
The last determination the Triumvirs made,
was a most fatal one to the character and feel-
ings of the excellent Octavius; it was a cruel
proscription of their enemies.
The list pre-
pared for this object, is said to have consisted
of three hundred senators, and two thousand
knights; and the adjustment of it, as Livy tells
us, occasioned much difficulty, and many warm
debates, till each in his turn consented to sacri-
fice some of his best friends to the vengeful
resentment of his colleague. Seventeen were
marked out for immediate destruction; the hor-
ror of Octavius was manifest, and almost more
than his fortitude could support, when he per-
ceived that the name of his friend and protec-
tor, Cicero, headed the list of Antony.
Emissaries were sent to surprise and murder
the proscribed before any notice could reach
them of their danger; four of the number were
taken and butchered, in the midst of their
friends; the rest were immediately sought out
by the soldiers, even in their houses and tem-
ples.
This sanguinary measure filled the city with
terror and consternation; and the consul Pedius
was obliged to traverse the city the whole night,
to quiet the minds, and appease the fears of
342
the people. As soon as it was light, the names
of seventeen persons were published, who were
to be the immediate victims, but with an assu-
rance of safety and indemnity to all others. The
consul himself fell a victim to his exertions in
keeping the peace; for he died in consequence
of his terror and fatigue, on the ensuing day.
The Triumvirs now approached the city; they
made their entry into Rome on three successive
days Cæsar on the first, with great pomp and
splendor; Lepidus on the next; and, on the last,
Antony; each were attended by a prætorian
cohort, and one legion. Titius, one of the tri-
bunes, immediately constituted three sovereign
magistrates, reformers of the republic, for five
years, Mark Antony, Lepidus, and Octavius
Cæsar; who all took possession of their offices,
on the 27th of November, in the year of Rome,
710, and 42 years before Christ.
The triple league now issued their edicts of
proscription, and retaliated upon the nobles and
aristocratic faction the cruelties of Sylla.
Cicero was at his Tusculan villa, with his
brother and nephew, when he received the news
of his proscription, and information that the
latter were also included in it.
Notwithstanding the prophetic spirit with
which Cicero is reported to have been endowed,
he did not calculate upon this cruel event.
He
343
depended, undoubtedly, for his own and family's
safety on the power and affection of Octavius,
who had given him the most distinguished proofs
of his attachment, and assurances of his protec-
tion.
To mitigate the apparent ingratitude of
Cæsar, it should be recollected, that he did not
give up his friend to the fury of Antony, with-
out evincing the deepest grief, and after the
most severe struggle of three days; during
which period he tried the effect of the most elo-
quent language, aided by the largest offers; but,
on finding that nothing but the blood of Cicero.
would satiate the revenge of his colleague, he
dispatched a secret messenger to the former, in-
treating him, as he valued the happiness of the
adopted son of his friend, Julius Cæsar, to save
himself by immediate flight.
Cicero, accompanied by his brother and ne-
phew, immediately set off for Astura, the nearest
villa he possessed, (and which was situated on
the sea-coast), with a determination of flying.
from the pursuit of their enemies.
The diligence of the emissaries sent by An-
tony eluded all their caution. Quintus and his
son were taken; the son was first discovered, and,
anxious to save his father, would not reveal the
place of his retreat, when the inhuman soldiers
put him to the rack. The parent, to rescue his.
344
son from torture, issued from his hiding place,
and surrendered himself, requesting only to be
spared the cruel sight of witnessing the death of
his son.
The son urged the same petition; and
the assassins put an end to the existence of
both at the same instant.
Cicero, in the mean time, found a vessel, in
which he embarked. The winds were unpropi-
tious; and, after he had sailed twelve leagues
along the coast, he landed at Circæum, a pro-
montory of Latium, near Circeii, where he spent
the night in great anxiety, and irresolute whe-
ther he should pursue his way to Brutus, to
Cassius, or to S. Pompeius. His attendants,
however, prevailed on him to sail forward to
Caieta, where he went on shore, to repose himself
in his Formian villa, which lay a mile from the
coast.
Disheartened, and weary of life, Cicero de-
clared he would die in that country which he
had so often saved from anarchy, confusion, and
bloodshed.
Overpowered with fatigue, and harassed by
the intreaties of his attendants to repose him-
self, he slept soundly for some hours; when it
was reported that his slaves were admonished by
a number of crows, which fluttered at his win-
dow, of the approaching fate of their deserted.
master; one of them actually flew into his cham-
345
ber, and pecked at his bed-clothes, as if desirous
of removing them.
The slaves, ashamed to observe those birds of
prey more solicitous for the safety of their mas-
ter than themselves, raised him from his bed,
and forced him into his litter. They then car-
ried him through the private walks of his own
garden and woods to the ship. Centurions and
soldiers were, however, already on their march
to his villa, whence they pursued him with such
expedition and success, as soon to overtake
him. Their leader, Popilius Lænas, was a tri-
bune, whom Cicero had defended, and preserved,
by his able arguments, from being capitally con-
victed. The base ingratitude he displayed in
this persecution, appeared to petrify the asto-
nished Cicero.
His servants prepared to defend their helpless.
master's wretched life, even at the hazard of
their own; but he resolutely commanded them to
set down his litter, and make no further resist-
ance. Then looking with an undaunted firm-
ness, which almost disarmed his executioners,
he thrust his neck as forward as he could out of
his litter, and ordered them, with an unshaken
voice, to do their work-to take what they
required, Herennius, a centurion, instantly ad-
vanced, and with one blow severed his head
from his emaciated body.
346
These monsters then cut off his hands, and
proceeded, with rapidity, and noisy joy, to
Rome, convinced they were conveying the most
valuable present to Antony.
Popilius himself claimed the privilege of car-
rying the precious burthen, regardless of the
infamy he had evinced in sacrificing that head
which had saved his own.
He found Antony in the forum, surrounded
by guards, crowds of people, and flatterers: they
all gave way to admit Popilius, who was re-
warded with a crown, and eight thousand pounds
sterling for his ingratitude. The chief cause.
of Antony's hatred to Cicero was, his having
caused the destruction of Lentulus, his step-
father, in the conspiracy of Catiline. Antony
ordered the head to be fixed upon the rostrum,
between the hands. This sad and mournful
sight drew tears from every eye; and all looked
with unexampled horror and indignation on the
mangled remains of a man, whose talents had
so continually been exerted in that place in the
defence of the lives, the fortunes, and the liber-
ties of the Roman people. They now wept
that they should be exposed to the scorn and
ribaldry of sycophants and traitors, and mutually
acknowledged that the prescription of the rest
caused a private sorrow, but the death of the
accomplished Cicero an universal one. Such
347
was the hatred of Fulvia, the wife of the Trium-
vir, Antony, to the sacrificed orator, that she
wreaked her vengeance upon his head, tore the
tongue from the mouth, and bored it through
with a golden bodkin, evincing, by this act of
indecent barbarity, the truth of what Cicero
had once observed; - namely, that a woman
completely debased herself when she became
revengeful, and then exceeded in depravity
every other animal. Cicero was represented
as of a timid disposition, and he, who was
the father of Roman eloquence, never ascended
the rostrum, without evincing a secret
emotion of dread; but his affability never
failed to conciliate the affections of all who
were intimate with him. He was, however,
too apt to be elated by prosperity, and, on the
contrary, too soon depressed by adversity.
Mark Antony now declared that the pre-
scriptions were at an end; and, with his col-
leagues, began to think of levying the money
necessary for prosecuting the war against Brutus
and Cassius.
They were soon accused of extortion; yet
the sums amassed being insufficient, they de-
vised a new tax, as novel as it was extraordi-
nary. They formed a list of about 1400 ladies
of Rome, the mothers, wives, daughters, or
relations, of their enemies. The alliances were
1
348
1
sometimes far enough sought, for riches alone
were sufficient guilt in this case. These were
ordered to make a true declaration of the value
of their estates, on pain of entire confiscation,
in order to be taxed as much as should be
deemed necessary.
The Roman matrons assembled on this occa-
sion, and in a numerous body attended the
sisters, the mothers, and wives of the triumvirs.
They were well received by Octavia, the half-
sister of Cæsar, and by Julia, the mother of
Antony, but were not admitted by the haughty
Fulvia, his wife.
They then proceeded to the forum; the soldiers
and populace made way for them. They ad-
vanced to the tribunal of the triumvirs, where
Hortensia, who has been highly celebrated in
history, made a most eloquent speech, declaring
such a demand had never been made by Julius
Cæsar, nor Pompey, in their wars; nor by
Marius and Cinna, during their cruelties, neither
by Sylla himself, who had first brought tyranny
into Rome.
..
Yet, after all," added this spirited Roman,
you adorn yourselves with the glorious title of
Reformers of the State!”
This discourse appeared so bold, so eloquent,
and so dangerous to the triumvirs, that, greatly
alarmed, they sent their lictors to desire that
349
Hortensia, with the rest of her female followers,
would retire; but, perceiving the discontent and
murmurs of the populace against such violence,
they desisted, and solemnly promised to recon-
sider the affair. They then drew up another
list, in which they implicated four hundred only,
instead of fourteen hundred.
To supply the deficiency which must thus
arise, they taxed citizens and foreigners, without
distinction, who were worth one hundred thou-
sand drachmas,* or £3,200 sterling.
Brutus and Cassius, having made great exac-
tions, had already raised an army of nineteen
legions, and 20,000 cavalry. They soon re-
duced the Lydians and Rhodians, and when
they met at Sardis, (now Sant,) a town of Asia
Minor, they were proclaimed Imperatores by their
two armies. They soon passed into Thrace and
Macedonia, whither the Triumvirs had sent two
lieutenants, with eight legions, while they them-
selves made a fruitless attempt to drive Sextus
Pompeius out of Sicily, as they foresaw he would
annoy and harass them, and, in concert with the
fleets commanded by Marcus and Domitius,
*The drachma was properly a Greek coin, though used by
the Romans in computing their money; it was equal to the
Roman denarius, or 74d, of our money. See Adm. Rom. Ant.
350
interrupt their communication with Italy, and
the other transmarine provinces.
It was at Sardis that Brutus was reported to
have seen the ghost of Cæsar, which in answer
to the inquiries of Brutus," Art thou a god,
or art thou a man; and for what purpose comest
thou hither?" replied, "I am thy evil genius,
and thou shalt see me again at Philippi." To
this Brutus answered, Well, I will see thee!"
The ghost then disappeared.
66
Brutus, terrified, called up his slaves, who
declared they had neither heard nor seen any
thing uncommon. In the morning Brutus related
the event, in glowing terms to Cassius, who
desired him not to regard such visionary ideas;
-that they had proceeded from the strength of
imagination. Plutarch says, the same spirit ap-
peared again to Brutus, the night before the
battle of Philippi.
Decidius and Norbanus, who commanded the
army of Octavius, marched their troops through
Epirus and Macedonia, beyond Philippi, and
encamped at the end of a narrow pass, formed
by two mountains, being the only access from
the Chersonesus, or Peninsula of Thrace, into
Macedonia. They had then Philippi in the rear,
and on the right, towards the sea, Neapolis, a
sea-port town, opposite the island of Thasos, of
great celebrity for its excellent wine, marble
351
quarries, and gold and silver mines. Here they
intended to wait the arrival of their generals.
Brutus and Cassius encamped on a rising
ground, not far from the town of Philippi;
behind them was the sea, which furnished them
with provisions.
Philippi, was a city of Macedon, in the
pro-
vince of Jambdi, on the borders of Thrace.
There is still to be seen an amphitheatre, and
other remains of antiquity. It lies at the foot of
the mountain, about ten miles from the coast of
the Archipelago in the gulph of Contessa. It is
said to be now nearly in ruins. It was, in the
æra of Augustus, a very considerable place; on
its first foundation it was called Dathus, but it
was changed to the name of Philippi, by Philip,
the father of Alexander the Great.
At Philippi it was that Saint Paul is said to
have been imprisoned and scourged; and to
those Philippians, who became Christians, he
addressed one of his epistles.
The island of Thasos, which was twelve
miles distant, served them as a magazine; and,
at the distance of nine miles, was the town of
Neapolis, which afforded them a secure port for
their fleet.
Antony soon came up with them; he had the
satisfaction of finding his lieutenants masters
352
.
of Amphipolis, and the town very well for
tified.
He there deposited all his baggage, leaving a
legion to defend it, while he himself advanced
with the rest of his troops, following the
example which Julius Cæsar had shewn him in
all his wars, that of approaching as near as pos-
sible to an enemy. He encamped at the dis-
tance of a single mile from them.
Here Antony was soon joined by his colleague,
Octavius Cæsar. Their combined armies con-
sisted of nineteen legions, chiefly composed of
the elite of the army, besides Cæsar's old soldiers,
not only complete as to number, but augmented
by a great many auxiliaries.
Their infantry amounted to one hundred thou
sand men; their cavalry consisted only of 13,000,
and was therefore less numerous than that of
the enemy.
Antony was desirous of engaging, as he knew
they were slightly provisioned, having only
Macedonia and Thessaly open to their neces-
sities, as Sextus Pompeius had already cut off
from them all intercourse with Africa, as Marcus
had done with Italy.
Cassius, penetrating into the motives of An-
tony, refused to engage, and restrained the
impatience of his friend Brutus. At length,
however, urged by the importunities of his col-
353
league, and the rest of his officers, he consented
to give battle.
The forces of the triumvirs were commanded
by Antony alone, Octavius not being sufficiently
recovered from a severe and dangerous illness,
which attacked him on his leaving Italy.
Both armies being drawn up, that of Brutus
attacked the wing commanded by the generals
under Octavius Cæsar, with little order, but with
so much fury that they overthrew all who
opposed them, and rushed into the camp of
Octavius, who with difficulty retired to that of
his colleague, in sufficient time to save himself.
Antony, on his part, was deeply and reso-
lutely engaged with Cassius: he soon found
means to break the lines, and, charging the
troops of Cassius upon the flank, totally routed
them, and pursuing his victory, soon became
master of the camp of the enemy.
The dismayed Cassius labored in vain to rally
his troops; in vain he encouraged his soldiers;
and at length he retired to a hill which over-
looked the enemy, expecting, as he strained
his aching eyes, the event of the battle to be
propitious on the side of his friend and colleague,
Brutus.
Observing a body of cavalry advancing, he
sent Titinius to discover whether they were
friends or foes. After waiting in all the agony
VOL. I.
A a
354
of suspense, and finding Titinius did not return,
Cassius, dreading to fall into the hands of Antony,
threw himself on his own sword.
Brutus was deeply grieved at the loss of his
friend, Cassius, whom he dearly loved, and
whom he regretted as the last of the Romans.
He ordered his body to be removed to the island
of Thasos, lest the sight of it might impress
the minds of the soldiers with despair. To
these he promised large donations, and the
plunder of Thessalonica and Lacedæmon, two of
the richest cities of Greece, in order to revive
their drooping courage.
At length, alarmed to observe that many of
his bravest and most efficient officers had left his
camp, and joined his enemies, the dread of a
general desertion determined him to put all to
the decision of a second battle.
The eagerness of the army on both sides was
so great, that they fought with desperation; but,
after a dreadful carnage, Brutus and his party
were borne down by main force, and entirely
defeated. Brutus himself fled to an adjacent
hill, where he remained in dread and horror, the
whole night.
On the morrow, seeing all was lost to him, he
called Strato, his intimate friend, and intreated
him to do the last office to a disgraced and fallen
general.
355
Strato, turning away his head, in the agony
of his heart, presented the point of his sword
to the unfortunate Brutus, who, instantly throw-
ing himself upon it, expired without a groan.
Thus fell the two distinguished patrons of
liberty, esteemed the last of the Romans.
Cassius is said to have left little reputation
for virtue; and it was the received opinion, that
he hated the tyrant more than tyranny, and
that he had sinister and private views in the
assassination of Julius Cæsar.
Brutus was, by his illustrious birth, his alli-
ances, and connections, the head of the young
nobility of Rome; he was deservedly admired
for his learning, extensive capacity, his eloquence
and love of literature; but we find his glory
sullied by his ingratitude, pride, and cruelty,
which are admitted, even by his greatest pane-
gyrists.
All those who had any share in the death of
Cæsar, either slew themselves with their own
hands, or perished by casualty.
The Triumvirs now occupied themselves in
punishing their enemies. Octavius shewed no
moderation to the memory of Brutus; he com-
manded his head to be sent to Rome, that it
might be laid at the feet of Cæsar's statue, as a
memorial of his ingratitude to that hero. Por-
tia, being informed of her husband's unhappy
да
A a 2
356
fate, destroyed herself, by refusing all suste-
nance,
The two Roman generals having satiated
their revenge by the entire defeat of the adverse
forces, made a new division of the empire, by
which the feeble Lepidus was spoiled of all, ex-
cept some of the minor provinces of Africa.
Octavius Cæsar got all Spain and Numidia;
Mark Antony all Transalpine Gaul, with the
greatest part of Africa. Cisalpine Gaul was
incorporated into Italy, which they all pretended
mutually to defend by their arms, and to which,
as their common country, they were allowed to
return with their legions.
Antony, after a time, undertook to go to the
eastern provinces, to raise money to pay the
soldiers. Cæsar determined to lead his troops
immediately into Italy, to put them in posses-
sion of the municipal lands they had been pro-
mised.
Antony was peculiarly delighted with his
commission; it evidently promised him immense
wealth, and was certainly the most brilliant of
the two. That of Octavius, however, not only
invested him with all power in Italy, but secured
to him the affections of the veterans, who ex-
pected to receive from him the long-expected
recompence of their services.
Antony first visited Greece, where he made
357
magnificent presents to the several cities, fre-
quented the conferences of the philosophers and
grammarians, and was initiated into the mys-
teries at Athens; he courted the favour of the
Greeks in every possible way, and was repaid by
them with the most refined and elegant adula-
tion; the princes of the east who acknowledged
the Roman power, came to make obeisance to
him, but of all the sovereigns who depended on
him, Cleopatra was the most distinguished. She
had sent a fleet to the assistance of the Trium-
virs, which a violent storm had disabled. She
felt a thorough conviction that she had offended
Antony, because she well knew she might have
done more for the Roman cause, and her lieute-
nants had been known to have fought for Cas-
sius, though they had been sent to the assistance
of Dollabella.
Antony cited Cleopatra to his tribunal. at
Tarsus, to answer to these imputations. She
well knew she could not refute the charges, and
that they must displease A ntony. She, however,
depended on her wit and artifice. She felt con-
vinced that, by her blandishments, she should
extricate herself from her dilemma. She well
knew that her charms, which had conquered the
heart of Julius Cæsar, were still sufficiently
powerful to fascinate Antony,
She therefore arrayed herself in a manner
358
singularly magnificent, and having arrived at
the mouth of the river Cydnus, she embarked,
attended by her musicians, in a superb vessel, the
stern of which was of solid gold, the sails of
purple silk, curiously wrought in hieroglyphical
characters.
The oars were covered with plates of gold,
which gently kept time with the melody of the
various instruments which composed the exqui-
site concert of music.
Cleopatra herself was seated on a chair of
gold, under a canopy of rich cloth of wrought
gold, studded with valuable gems and jewels.
Around her were lovely children, representing
cupids, who were fanning her and playing with
her glossy hair.
The most beautiful of her women were selected
to attend her; some dressed as Nereids, were
reclining negligently on the shrouds of the
vessel. The deliciously-scented aromatic woods,
which were burning, perfumed the banks of the
river, which were crowded by spectators.
Mark Antony, who was mounted on a splen-
didly-caparisoned horse in great majesty, found
himself deserted by his friends and attendants,
who all flew to admire the beauty of the Syren,
and the magnificence of the scene.
He sent his lieutenants with an humble invi-
tation, intreating the queen of Egypt to land,
7
959
and suffer him to have the honor of receiving
her at a splendid supper. Cleopatra imagined
the condescension would be derogatory to her
dignity, and therefore desired Antony would
attend her entertainment.
This he did without delay, and was asto-
nished at the magnificence of it: the ingenious
display of lights had a peculiar effect; the
equipage, the tapestry, the golden goblets,
adorned with precious gems, and the cloths of
gold with which the walls and floor were
covered, amazed him. His attendants were en-
tertained at twelve different tables, all magni-
ficently furnished, the couches on which they
sat, and the goblets of gold in which they had
been served, she presented to them. On their
retiring, she sent to the most distinguished of
the friends of Antony, magnificent litters, with
Ethiopian slaves to bear them. Egyptian horses,
richly caparisoned, attended by pages, appeared
on the morrow, for the immediate use of the
officers of the renowned Antony. These enter-
tainments were repeated three times, and on the
last, the floor of the banquetting-room was
strewed with roses, a cubit deep!
Antony now, in his turn, invited the queen of
Egypt, and endeavoured to surpass her in mag-
nificence; but he did so in vain, and felt mor-
tified. He affected, however, to turn the want
360
of splendor in his entertainment to mirth and
raillery, in which Cleopatra, who penetrated
into his feelings, joined with such singular deli-
cacy and address, that Antony was bewildered
with different emotions.
Cleopatra related, with so much artifice, but
affected simplicity, the manner in which she
had been induced to assist Cassius, that the
already adoring Antony could no longer defend
his heart. He felt a passion so violent for the
celebrated Ethiopian queen, that it caused all
his misfortunes, and all those evils, which even-
tually led to his ruin.
Antony now no longer entertained any designs
hostile to the Parthians, but sent his forces into
winter quarters, and attended Cleopatra into
Egypt, where he spent a whole year, in all the
ease and softness to which his luxurious temper
naturally prompted him, and in all the delight
and exquisite pleasure, which that nation could
particularly furnish.
While Antony was absorbed in pleasure, Oc-
tavius Cæsar was employed in settling the affairs
of Italy, and dividing the lands belonging to
enfranchised towns, for the purpose of satisfying
and remunerating the veterans.
This he found equally difficult and dangerous,
on account of the odium it incurred, it being
necessary, either to give up the several towns
361
allotted to them, or to satisfy his soldiers with a
proportionable sum of money. This the treasury,
which was in an exhausted state, could not
furnish; he was therefore obliged to sacrifice
the property of several individuals; and by this
dreadful measure, many, who had never injured
the conqueror, were utterly ruined. In vain did
the wretched mothers, with their famished chil-
dren, whose tender years and infantine innocence
engaged the compassion of the multitude, pre-
sent themselves at the Forum, for redress. In
vain did they daily fill the air with their cries,
and the sacred temples with their lamentations.
In vain did the miserable inhabitants of the
colonies complain of being driven from their
houses and estates like vanquished nations. In
vain did they throw themselves at the feet of
Cæsar; he himself grieved for their misfor-
tunes;-but his legions must be remunerated,
his beloved veterans must be recompensed; they
had bravely risked their lives for his benefit,
and above all, they had revenged the death
of Julius Cæsar, and, though at the expense of
justice and the happiness of thousands, they must
be satisfied.
Virgil, the immortal Virgil, was involved in
this common calamity; his estates were in Cre-
mona, and he had been introduced to Octavius
by his patrons, Pollio and Mæcenas.
362
This celebrated poet was born in the first con-
sulship of Pompey the Great and Licinius Cras-
sus; he is represented as being the son of a
potter of Andes, a little village in Italy; his
mother was nearly related to Quintilius Varus;
she was a woman of superior understanding,
and soon discovered the superiority of genius
possessed by her son. To cultivate his intellect,
she was induced to the pious fraud of assuring
her husband, that the astrologers declared, from
the interpretation of her constant dreams, that
it would be offensive to the Gods, if their son
was not educated in a superior manner.
The youth was, therefore, sent to Cremona,
and from thence to Milan, where he devoted
whole nights to the study of every branch of
literature. The Greek colony of Marseilles,
notwithstanding the influence of the uncivilized
nations, with which it was on all sides sur-
rounded, still retained the refinement, peculiar
to itself; the proximity therefore of Virgil
to Marseilles was of incalculable advantage to
him.
While he was at Milan, he determined to
write an heroic poem on the wars of Rome;
but he was soon discouraged by the asperity and
abruptness of the old Roman names. There he
is said, however, to have collected the materials
of all those pieces which now so highly embel-
363
lish the world, and which were to assist in
civilizing his countrymen, and giving them a
taste for literature.
After the celebrated battle of Philippi every
shadow of liberty was annihilated in the com-
monwealth, and those veteran legions, who had
conquered the world, and were once its protec-
tors, now became its ravagers.
Pollio had been lieutenant of Cisalpine Gaul;
he promised to regulate the affairs of the poet,
and, supported by him and Mæcenas, Virgil pe-
titioned Cæsar Augustus, not only for the repos-
session of his own confiscated property, but for
the reinstatement of his unfortunate country
men.
Cæsar relented in favour of many, who were
filled with gratitude for such distinguished favor,
and the first Bucolic was written as a just
tribute to thank him, and to tell the world that
the favours of his imperial patron were not
unworthily bestowed.
On his arrival at Mantua, a country of Italy,
lying along the river Po, which divides it into
two parts, having the Veronese and Brescian
territories to the north, and the Cremonese to
the west; he found Arrius, a lieutenant of infan-
try, in possession of his house, his lands, and
all his worldly goods.
Arrius was so deeply incensed that Virgil
364
should claim the lands which had been awarded
him, that, in the height of his passion, he
wounded the poet very dangerously in the arm,
and would have caused his death, if he had not
escaped by swimming over the Mincius, now
called Mincio, a river of Venetia, flowing from
the lake Benacus into the river Po.
His person wounded, and reduced by grief
and sickness, and his mind worn down by dis-
appointment, Virgil was obliged to retrace his
steps to Rome, in order to represent his case to
his patron.
During his journey, which, from the state
of his wound, was performed very slowly, he
composed his ninth Eclogue. The ten Bucolics
were written in as many years.
The Æneid was written at the express desire
of Octavius, now called Cæsar Augustus. The
immortal poet, while he attempted to prove that
the Julian family were lineally descended
from the founder of Lavinium, visibly describes,
in the pious and benevolent character of his
hero, the amiable and exalted character and
qualities of his imperial patron, who became so
devotedly attached to him, that he could not
relinquish the pleasure of his society; he there-
fore desired Virgil to accompany him into the
East-which he was prevented from doing by
increased weakness of health. He reached
365
Athens, where he was once more blessed with
the sight of his beloved patron; but, at Megara,
he became so ill, that he insisted on being
conveyed to Brundusium, a city in Calabria, on
the Adriatic sea. At Brundusium the celebrated
Appian way had been terminated with great
exactness by Augustus; and there the immortal
poet expired, and thus rendered of great cele-
brity the place which had been mentioned as
giving birth to the poet Pacuvias.
Virgil left the major part of his possessions
to Cæsar Augustus. He ordered that his Eneid
should be burned, as he declared it was not
finished according to his taste or judgment.
These injunctions were disobeyed by Augus
tus, who rejoiced to save his favourite Troy from
a second and more destructive conflagration.
Fulvia, the imperious wife of Antony, was
much incensed and irritated on finding her hus-
band had delivered himself up to the fascina-
tions of Cleopatra, as he had formerly done to
the beautiful Glaphyra, the wife of Archelaus,
grand pontiff of Cremona. Fulvia, at first,
used every means to incense the mind of
Augustus against Antony, whom she resolved to
bring back to Rome; and, as she knew nothing
short of war could effect this event, she sought
to make a breach between the Triumvirs,
inveighed bitterly against the triumviral power,
366
and, in concert with Lucius Antonius, the consul
and brother of her husband, she laboured to
unite the citizens and soldiers against Augustus.
In order to effect her purpose, she circulated a
report through the city, that Antony was ready
of himself to restore the ancient government.
Augustus now found himself in a difficult
situation; he had refused to conclude his mar-
riage with Claudia, the daughter of Fulvia, and
had sent her back to her mother on this open and
violent rupture.
He had the coast to defend against the fleets
of Pompey and Domitius. He felt it incumbent
on him also to procure corn for the Roman peo-
ple and soldiers; the produce of the lands having
been consumed prematurely, by the return of so
many legions from the provinces of Italy; and
the ports were all so strictly guarded by his ene-
mies, that the importation of corn was impos-
sible.
Antony had rendered himself popular among
the troops; they loved him for his generosity,
and esteemed him for the bravery he had evinced
in the battle of Philippi. Augustus, therefore,
resolved to avoid a rupture if possible.
Fulvia fled to Lepidus, with her children, for
protection, and they mutually sent such advices.
to Antony, as they imagined must bring him
into Italy.
367
At length, Augustus, finding the party of An-
tony bent on war, began to make diligent pre-
parations to meet them. Manifestoes were
immediately published on both sides, and open
war declared.
Augustus had the best disciplined army; his
troops always acted with the greatest celerity,
and they were signalized for their valor.
The consul, Lucius Antonius, the brother of
Antony, had the good wishes of the city of
Rome, and adjacent country, on his side; yet
Augustus, by his well-directed manœuvres, and
the assistance of Agrippa, blockaded him in
Perusia. Lucius Antonius, finding his soldiers
reduced to the miseries of famine, came out of
the city, and delivered into the hands of Au-
gustus his whole army, interceding for his sol-
diers, and begging his punishment, alone, might
atone for them.
Augustus received the consul with distinguish-
ed respect; he pardoned the army of the enemy,
and entered Rome in his triumphal robes, and
crowned with laurel. He sent Lucius Antonius
into Spain, with the title of proconsul, where
he shortly afterwards died.
Cæsar, constrained by his soldiers, was obliged
to put to death some of the senators of Perusia,
who had evinced themselves his inveterate ene-
mies.
368
The ill-judging and imperious wife of Antony
fled to Greece with Plancus, and Julia, the mo-
ther of her husband, and, attended by several of
the friends of Antony, sailed for Sicily;-they
received from Pompey ships to convey them
whither they thought proper.
Mark Antony was still in the enjoyment of
his pleasures at Alexandria, when he was inform-
ed of his brother's defeat, the ruin of his party
in Italy, and that Augustus had, by force of
arms, rendered himself master of Gaul, and had
gotten all the legions into his hands which had
been quartered in those parts.
These tidings roused him from his lethargy;
he summoned his forces, and, with a fleet of
two hundred ships, sailed immediately for Italy.
Here also he learnt that Cæsar had married Scri-
bonia, the sister of Libo, who was the father-in-
law of Sextus Pompeius.
Antony was well assured that Cæsar could.
have no motive for this measure, but to insure
the interest and favour of Pompey, for the sake
of his powerful navy, of which Augustus was
nearly destitute; for Scribonia was well-known
to be of an unfortunate temper, and possessed
few attainments.
From Alexandria Antony proceeded to Tyre,
from whence, passing by the isles of Cyprus and
Rhodes, he arrived at Athens, where he was met
369
by Fulvia, whom he very justly, and most
severely reprimanded, for having occasioned,
with his brother Lucius, the disorder which had
happened in the state, and the dreadful hostilis
ties which were revived between Casar and him-
self.
At length Antony left Athens, and Fulvia a
prey to grief and mortification. The scorn and
neglect of her husband affected her so deeply,
that she soon died of a broken heart. Her death,
however, happily retarded hostilities. The riva
Triumvirs were again reconciled, and a marriage
proposed between Antony and Octavia, the half-
sister of Cæsar.
She was the widow of Marcellus, and of dis-
tinguished virtue and beauty; and her elegant
acquirements rendered her highly celebrated in
the polished court of Augustus.
Notwithstanding the devotion of Antony to
Cleopatra, to avoid present inconveniences, and
become possessed of the Eastern part of the
empire, which was awarded him on this renewal
of peace and amity, Antony readily agreed to
marry Octavia.
The Triumvirs now determined to direct their
forces against Pompey, who possessed the power,
from his extensive navy, of starving the Roman
people, by preventing the importation of sup-
VOL. 1.
B b
370
sh.
plies of corn from Sicily, Sardinia, and Cor-
sica.
After some hostile preparations, the Triumvirs
were at length persuaded to come to an interview
with Pompey, to adjust their differences, and
settle their measures in an amicable manner..
They met on two temporary bridges, built on
stakes in the midst of the sea, a little off the
promontory of Misenum.
Cæsar and Antony were accompanied by their
troops, who were drawn up on the shore; Pom-
pey by a numerous fleet. He demanded several
privileges, and to be admitted into the power and
place of Lepidus: to this last demand the Tri-
umvirs put a definitive negative. The treaty was
therefore ineffectual.
A second meeting, however, was more pro-
pitious, and a treaty of peace was concluded,
to the abundant joy and satisfaction of the
Roman people. In a few days the treaty was
signed by the generals, and sent to Rome to be
put into the care of the vestals.
These celebrated chiefs now vied with each
other in displaying their mutual respect and
friendship; entertainments were given, and
Pompey received his colleagues on board his
elegantly - appointed ship, with distinguished
magnificence. While they were all at supper,
in the greatest hilarity and enjoyment, Menas,
371
his admiral, whispered Pompey to this effect:
"You have now in your power the masters of
the world, suffer me to cut the cables, and
Pompey shall be as absolute as Cæsar."
After a moment's reflection, Pompey replied,
"This you should have done without consult-
ing me. It is unworthy the son of Pompey
the Great, to sully his reputation by perjuring
himself, and acting with so much duplicity!"
The elated guests were ignorant of this circum-
stance, and the entertainment ended with as
much gaiety as it had begun,
The Triumvirs, on their part, entertained
Pompey with equal elegance and magnifi-
cence, and these rejoicings were considered as
indicative of the sincerity of their union.
The Romans welcomed the return of Cæsar
and Antony to Rome with the most impetuous
acclamations of joy; blessings were heaped upon
them on every side, and the horrors of civil dis-
cord appeared to have ceased.
Augustus, to keep his legions in action, sent a
detachment of them to Illyricum, and led them
to Gaul.
Antony departed for the east, but he wintered
at Athens, with Octavia his wife, whose virtues
and accomplishments endeared, and rendered
delightful to him the retirement in which he
affected to live, even neglecting public affairs,
Bb 2
372
more fully to resign himself to the study of
philosophy, and the enjoyment of private en-
tertainments; which, contrasted with the tumul-
tuous pleasures he had experienced, in the gay
and dissipated court of the extravagant Cleo-
patra, was a delicious calm to his exhausted
mind.
The peace
which had been so hastily concluded
between the Triumvirs and Sextus Pompeius was
not of long duration, because Pompey still con-
sidered himself as of great importance from the
immense strength of his naval forces, and disre-
garding the treaty he had made, authorized the
pirates to seize the supplies of corn destined for
Italy, which renewed the former grievances and
miseries of famine, and induced the Roman
people to declare "they had now four tyrants.
instead of three."
Pompey, at the head of a fleet of three hun-
dred and fifty well-appointed ships, appeared
so formidable to his enemies, and so confident
of success, that he proudly called himself "the
son of Neptune, and the lord of the seas," and
took for his colour the sea green, instead of the
purple, which had been usual.
Cæsar, on his part, declared he would con
quer, in spite even of Neptune. He depended
on Agrippa, who was his most faithful adhe-
rent, and possessed not only singular military
373
talents, but nautical knowledge. He had
brought to a sense of their duty the rebellious
Gauls, and, in this expedition, had passed the
Rhine. He was well aware of the reduced
state of his friend Cæsar's fleet, in consequence
of which the whole year of his consulship with
L. Caninius Gallus, had been spent in making
preparations against Sextus Pompeius, by build-
ing a new fleet.
At the same time he exercised the seamen and
marines in their various avocations; and he ac-
quitted himself in this triple employment with
the most distinguished zeal and ability; at the
same time superintending the shipwrights, and
presiding over exercises, in which twenty thou-
sand men were daily instructed.
Agrippa, it is reported, executed another
noble work, which tended greatly to his cele-
brity. He built the Julian Port, which was
favoured naturally by the junction of the lakes
Lucrinus and Avernus with the sea, into which
the most extensive fleet could be received, and
find sufficient shelter from the winds and tides.
The lake Lucrinus, situated between Mise-
num and Puteoli, was separated from the sea
by an old causeway, a mile and a half in length,
and sufficiently wide to allow two waggons to
pass abreast; but, from its being nearly in ruins,
was continually under water. Agrippa raised
}
374
and repaired this causeway; he also cut a canal,
sufficiently large in order to allow a safe pas-
sage for the fleet; and from the bottom of lake
Lucrinus he drew another canal, which ex-
tended to lake Avernus, which last properly
formed the port, and afforded a secure haven,
or dock.
To correct the insalubrity of the air, which
was infectious and pestilential, he cut down the
forest of trees which grew on the banks of the
Avernus, and thereby giving a free circulation
of air, rendered it salutary and pleasant.
In the Julian Port, Agrippa assembled all
the new-built vessels from the several ports of
Italy, to estimate the strength of his navy, and
to exercise his rowers.
The appearance and situation of these places
was entirely changed in A. D. 1558, by a tre-
menduous earthquake, which, in one night,
raised the greatest part of the bottom of the
lake Lucrinus, and the adjacent fields, into a
mountain, five hundred feet high, now called
Monte Nuovo, which is entirely covered on one
side with the scoriæ of melted lead. It has an
hollow in its summit, which is nearly a mile in
circumference.
The friendship of Cæsar Augustus and An-
tony, which had ever been fragile and incon-
stant, now again appeared to be on the wane;
---
375
and whatever was the cause of their discontent,
it appears they mutually began to distrust each
other, and at length openly to evince their dissa-
tisfaction, and to consider each other as rivals.
Octavia, who dearly loved her brother, was de-
sirous of clearing up all their misunderstand-
ings; she therefore obtained leave of Antony to
visit him. Cæsar received her with affection
and tenderness, but would listen to no palliation
of the conduct of her husband. She then ap-
plied herself to Agrippa and Mæcenas, his two
great and established friends, lamenting that
if an ill destiny should again lead them to war,
she should be either bereft of a husband or a
brother.
Augustus, at length, consented to meet An-
tony, between Tarentum and Metapontum: a
small river only separated the Triumvirs. An-
tony, when he saw his colleague approach,
leapt into the boat, that he might cross over to
him. Cæsar, whose generosity was ever the
leading feature of his character, imitating his
example, they met in the middle of the stream,
and there complimented which should attend the
other. Cæsar prevailed, and went to Tarentum.
They soon settled their plans against Sextus
Pompeius, determining to punish him for his
breach of their treaty.
They then took leave of each other; Antony
376
went into the east, with his new legions, leav-
ing Octavia in Italy, to secure his interest with
her brother, who, strengthened by his new navy,
applied himself, with the help of Agrippa, to
carry on the war against Sextus.
They determined to invade Sicily in three different
points, with the new fleet from the Julian Port.
Cæsar embarked on the first of July. Before he
began his nautical operations, he consecrated his
navy by the religious and solenin ceremony of a
lustration, which was performed in the follow-
ing manner :--Altars were erected in the sea, a
little off the shore; the ships, with all their re-
spective crews in profound silence, were ranked
in order before them. The priests, standing in
the water, sacrificed the victims, which they
placed on a pinnace, (or man of war's boat,)
which was superbly decorated; in this they
rowed round the fleet three successive times,
followed by other boats, in which were all the
principal commanders and lieutenants, who
joined the priests in offering solemn prayers to
the gods, in which they intreated, that if the
fleet was threatened with any misfortune, it might
fall on the victims then sacrificed.
Whilst they offered up their prayers, the
victims were divided into two parts; one half of
them was thrown into the sea, as a propitiation,
and the other half was burnt on the altar.
377
On the third day, after they had weighed
anchor, a violent tempest arose, and rendered
useless, at least for a time, the formidable prepa-
rations they had made.
Lepidus alone landed his squadron in Sicily,
on the coast of Lilybæum. Statilius Taurus,
who commanded another squadron, was forced
back to Tarentum; and the squadron, in which
Cæsar was, being near no port in which it could
be secured, suffered greatly. Fortunately, Lepi-
dus was able to keep his station in Sicily. He
had sailed with a thousand vessels of burthen,
and seventy gallies, which conveyed twelve
legions, five thousand Numidian horse, besides
all things necessary for their subsistence.
Sextus Pompeius flattered himself, that after
so many losses, Cæsar would remain quiet. He
sacrificed solemnly to Neptune on this event,
and dispatched Menas to observe the notions of
the enemy. The perfidious Menas had aban-
doned the party of Sextus, and entered the
service of Cæsar, whose interests he had likewise
deserted, inasmuch as he had penetrated into the
feelings of Octavius, who placed no confidenee
in such a traitor; he therefore resorted to his
old master, with whose reception of him, how-
ever, he was ill satisfied; as Pompey trusted
him no other command than that of seven ships,
which he had brought back with him. He
378
resolved, therefore, once more to change sides.
After harassing Octavius on every hand, with
the seven ships which belonged to Pompey, he
declared, that since Agrippa was admiral, he
should be rejoiced to return to the service of
Cæsar, who, though he pardoned his shameful
conduct, gave him no command, but, on the
contrary, kept a strict watch over his conduct.
This execrable wretch, if we believe Horace,
lived afterwards in great magnificence in Rome,
and served in the capacity of a military tri-
bune.
Sextus Pompeius was mortified when he found
that Cæsar had refitted his fleet, and was again
preparing to invade Sicily. The taking of Tyn-
daris, which was effected by Agrippa, laid the
island open to Cæsar, who immediately trans-
ported into it twenty thousand horse, and five
thousand light armed troops. Lepidus, who till
now had kept near Lilybæum, advanced into the
country, and the two Triumviri united their
forces before the walls of Messana.
Pompeius Sextus, finding himself overpowered
at land, and his affairs on the decline, and fear-
ing the desertion of his officers and soldiers,
was desirous to decide the quarrel by a general
battle. He, therefore, challenged Cæsar to a
naval engagement, with three hundred ships on
either side.
379
Cæsar readily consented, and perhaps the
more eagerly, as he found Lepidus disposed to
give him great uneasiness and trouble. He pre-
tended to an equality of command; and, feeling
he had not been treated by his colleagues with the
respect he thought his due, he opened a nego-
tiation with Pompey. Cæsar, therefore, judged
well in accepting the challenge of Pompey, as,
at sea, Lepidus having no share in the battle,
nothing could be apprehended from his ill-hu-
mour and ill-conduct.
Sextus now appointed that the two fleets
should meet, in good order, between Myle and
Naulocus, maritime towns in Sicily, the latter
near Pelorum, (now calied Cape Faro, from the
celebrated light-house which is erected on on
of the three great promontories of Sicily.) It
lies near the coast of Italy, and is said to have
received its primitive name from Pelorus, the
pilot of the ship which carried off the celebrated
Carthaginian general from Italy; as it is re-
ported, Annibal was carried, by the singular
strength of the tides, into the straits of Charyb
dis; and, as he was himself ignorant of the
coast, he asked the pilot the name of the pro-
montory which appeared at a distance. The
pilot told the general it was one of the Capes of
Sicily. Annibal gave no credit to his informa→
tion, but murdered him, on the apprehension
380
that he intended to betray him into the hands of
the Romans.
He was, however, soon convinced of his
error, and found the pilot had spoken with fide-
lity. To atone for his cruelty, and pay honor
to his memory, Annibal him a magnificent
funeral, and ordered that the promontory should
from that time be called Pelorum.
gave him
Agrippa commanded the fleet of his friend
Cæsar; Demochares and Apollophanes that of
Sextus Pompeius.
The battle was sanguinary, and the victory
for some time doubtful. Agrippa at length pre-
vailed, chiefly by the assistance of a grappling
iron, which he had himself prepared.
It is represented as having been a strong shaft,
five cubits long, bound about with iron, with
a ring of the same metal in each end in the
one was the hook of iron; in the other, small
ropes were made fast, which were commanded
by a windlass in the ship. When an enemy's
vessel, therefore, approached to do mischief, the
iron hook was forcibly darted against it, from a
machine. If it struck, the windlass instantly
played; and before the iron-shod shaft, or the
ropes, could be cut, the vessel attacked was
drawn close to the other and boarded.
Of Pompey's ships but seventeen escaped;
and this great, this distinguished victory, was
381
purchased with the loss of only three of Cæsar's
ships. Demochares, finding his ships in the
power of the enemy, killed himself; Apollo-
phanes, the other admiral of Pompey's forces,
delivered himself up to Cæsar.
The army on land surrendered, upon this de-
feat, to Augustus. This defection induced Pom-
pey immediately to leave the island. With his
seventeen ships, therefore, he secured all that
he possessed of value, and sailed for Asia, ex-
pecting to find protection from Antony, in return
for the friendship he had shewn towards Julia,
the mother of Antony, and many of his adhe-
rents. In this expectation, however, he was
deceived, and found that he had depended on an
ungrateful and feeble friend, as will appear in the
sequel.
That he might get the army of Plennius, one
of the lieutenants of Pompey, into his own pos-
session, Lepidus gave them an equal share of the
plunder of the city of Messana, which was that
night sacked by both armies. This event so
disgusted his own soldiers, that they perfectly
despised their weak general, who, feeling himself
at the head of two and twenty legions, conceived
the fallacious hope, and actually laid the design,
of seizing upon Sicily. He at length became so
unpopular in Africa, that Augustus, well in-
formed of the sentiments of his legions, sud-
382
denly appeared before the trenches of his camp,
with a strong body of cavalry, and leaving be
hind the greatest part of these, he entered the
pavilion with few attendants. In his progress
he took all the officers and soldiers he met, to
witness his excellent intentions, and that, if he
was forced to a civil commotion, it was against
his will. Cæsar carried off with him, according
to the report of Velleius Paterculus, the stand-
ard of a legion, and was followed by the whole
of Lepidus, who, with one voice, saluted
him Imperator.
army
Lepidus, informed of the tumult, advanced
with his troops to check it; and, charging
those who attended Cæsar, one of them was
killed, and Augustus himself received an arrow
in his corslet.
He instantly attacked one of the forts of the
camp of his colleague, and carried it by force;
this so intimidated the commanders of the other
forts, which flanked the camp of Lepidus, that
all of them surrendered to Cæsar. The cavalry
of Lepidus were the last to forsake him; but,
to make amends for their delay, they requested
to learn from Cæsar, whether they should bring
Lepidus dead or alive!
Finding himself entirely abandoned by his
army and cavalry, Lepidus put on the appear-
ance of an humble supplicant, and was about to
383
throw himself at the feet of Cæsar, who arose,
to prevent his falling prostrate before him.
Cæsar divested him, however, of all his ho-
nors, and reduced him to the state of a private
man; he banished him to Circeii, where he
lived without power or dignity. Thus fell Le-
pidus, one of the heads of the triumvirate! He
has been represented as an extremely vain and
weak man, whom a fortuitous course of events
had raised to power, without possessing any of
the superior qualities necessary to support the
weight of it.
Julius Cæsar did not esteem Lepidus to be
without capacity, as we see him employed under
that prince in the exalted character of gover-
nor of the city of Rome, consul, and master
of the horse; and his behaviour, after the death
of his imperial master, was more spirited than
that of Mark Antony. We find that he seized
upon the high priesthood, with an intention
himself to revenge the assassination of his
friend, if he had not been restrained by the
consul.
In the station of Triumvir, Lepidus certainly
behaved with great weakness: he became the
jest of his colleagues, whose interests with the
soldiers, and qualifications for command, were
much superior to his own. In the last scene he
appeared the most despicable of men! It is ob-
384
vious that his life was granted him, from the
thorough contempt Cæsar felt for his weakness,
which alone appeared his security.
Cæsar reaped the whole advantage of the
ruin of Sextus Pompeius and Lepidus. He
seized upon Sicily and Africa, as his property,
He saw himself master of all the western
world, at the head of an army of five and forty
legions, twenty five thousand horse, and thirty-
seven thousand light-armed troops, with a fleet
which consisted of six hundred sail of the
line!
In this plenitude of power he was, however,
soon made sensible of his dependence upon the
soldiery, and warned, most opportunely, to
gain the affection of his subjects, by prudence,
clemency, and moderation.
Previously to his leaving the island of Sicily,
notwithstanding the munificence of his rewards,
bestowed upon his soldiers, and his promises of
still greater, his own established troops muti-
nied, and demanded their instant discharge,
with the same remuneration they had received
after the battle of Philippi. Cæsar repeated
his promises of giving them their discharge,
as soon as Antony returned, declaring that,
as the civil wars were, through the favour of the
gods, extinct, he would lead them against
foreign nations, from whom they should retura
rich. They all, with one common voice pro-
385
}
tested they would serve no longer, unless he
immediately presented them with those rewards
and honors which their past labours deserved.
Cæsar assured them, that as to honors, they
should have them immediately, for, besides the
crowns he had already distributed, he had
others to bestow amongst every legion; and to
the centurions and tribunes he would give
robes of purple, with the rank of senators in
the towns in which they were born.
Cæsar was here interrupted in his harangue,
by one of the tribunes, who, raising his voice,
exclaimed, "Crowns and robes of purple may
do well to amuse the minds of children; but
soldiers require more substantial things, such
as lands and money!" Augustus, perceiving
that this insolent speech was applauded by the
whole assembly, in a dignified and silent man-
ner descended from his tribunal, and left the
imprudent tribune to glory in his short-lived
prowess, and to receive the momentary congratu-
lations of the soldiery.
The audacious tribune, however, disappeared
that night, and was heard of no more.
This decisive measure caused great conster-
nation amongst the legions, and rendered them
more careful and reserved; and from this mo-
ment no officer, or soldier, dared to distinguish
himself. They, however, assembled in troops,
VOL. I.
C C
386
and still awaited, in silent expectation, the
remuneration of their toils.
Finding all his efforts to pacify them of
little avail, Cæsar dismissed those troops who
had served at Mutina and Philippi, to the num-
ber of twenty thousand.
Lest they should disseminate a spirit of sedi-
tion in the island, he shipped them off im-
mediately.
On their departure, he assembled the residue
of his forces, to make them witnesses of the
perjury of the disbanded, whom he declared
deserters, inasmuch as they had forced a dis-
charge from him. He extolled the fidelity of
those who were left, and distributed to each of
them five hundred drachmas, which he raised by
a tax on the Sicilians,
Cæsar having adjusted all to his satisfaction,
and quieted the affairs in Sicily, sent to Antony
the ships he had borrowed of him. He then
returned to Rome, to receive the honors which
the senate had decreed to him.
The whole body of the senators, crowned
with garlands of flowers, as an indication of
their joy and respect, met him many miles from
the city, that they might have the honor of
entering Rome with him. On the Ides of No-
vember, Cæsar accepted the pomp of an ovation,
387
and consented that an annual festival should be
instituted in commemoration of his victory.
A gilded statue of Cæsar Augustus was
erected in the forum, in the triumphal dress, the
pedestal of which was adorned with the prows
of vessels, and bore this inscription, written
in letters of gold: "To Cæsar, for having re-
stored peace to Rome, after the long series of
disturbances to which it had been exposed, both
by sea and land.”
The only wish which now occupied the mind
of Cæsar was to gain the love of the people.
He publicly destroyed all the letters and papers
of Sextus Pompeius, and every edict which
might appear as a monument of their division.
In the distribution of lands, which he made to
his veterans, he conducted himself with singular
justice, and the strictest equity;-the funds ap-
propriated to them either belonged to the repub-
lic, or were fairly purchased from private persons
or corporations.
The delightful calm that Cæsar now esta-
blished after all his toils, and the horrors of civil
commotion, caused his name to be adored in the
capital of the world. All orders of people
rejoiced that they could now live without the
fear of seeing their names included in a cruel
proscription.
Now it was that Augustus began to erect those
C C 2
388
splendid edifices, as ornaments to the city, which
have so singularly distinguished his reign, and
of which a description will be given.
The colony of Capua being slightly inhabited,
and possessing on that account an immense ex-
tent of ground, which did not belong to any
particular proprietors, Cæsar there established
his veterans; and, to satisfy the colony, he gave
them, in the island of Crete, funds which brought
them in twelve hundred thousand sesterces a
year, near ten thousand pounds sterling. He also
greatly embellished the town of Capua by beau-
tiful buildings, and made an aqueduct to give
them a constant supply of water.
Cæsar gave the Romans great hopes that he
would relinquish, with the consent of his col-
league, his Triumviral power, and restore the
commonwealth.
The senate, to induce him to keep his promise,
offered to create him perpetual tribune;-a ma-
gistracy which, while it rendered his person
sacred and inviolable, would have deprived him
of all command in the army: he did not, there-
fore, accept the honor.
While Cæsar Augustus was increasing his
power, gaining the affections and esteem of the
people, polishing the minds of his warlike sub-
jects, and rendering them as celebrated for their
civilization and elegance, as they had been for
389
their excellence in arms, Antony was wasting
his best troops in an inglorious war against the
Parthians, and increasing the general contempt,
and the public hatred, by his extravagant beha-
viour.
He had no sooner left Italy, and lost sight of
the amiable Octavia, than liis love for Cleopatra,
which had laid long dormant in his bosom, re-
vived, and, on his approach to Syria, he sent his
lieutenant, Fonteius Capito, to Alexandria, in
order to conduct her to him. She soon arrived,
and, as if to make reparation for his past cool-
ness, he granted her all her ambitious demands;
he added to her kingdom Phoenicia, a port of
Judea, and a port of Arabia Felix; he also yielded
to her the rights of the republic over the island
of Cyprus, and the town of Cyrene, on the Libyan
coast, both of which had formerly belonged to
the crown of Egypt.
Antony did not forget his grand project against
the Parthians, and employed the whole year in
making effective preparations for war. His lieu-
tenants, in his absence, Sosius, in Syria, and
Canidius Gallus, towards the Caspian sea, had
prepared his way, and gained singular reputa-
tion.
The chief exploit of Sosius was the taking of
Jerusalem, in conjunction with Herod, after a
siege of five months. Most of the unfortunate
390
inhabitants were put to the sword, without any
distinction of either sex or age, not so much, it
appears, by the Roman soldiers, whom so long
and obstinate a defence had greatly incensed,
as by the merciless dispositions of the Jews,
under Herod's command, who, prompted by the
rage of party, gave no quarter to their wretched
countrymen.
Antigonus, the author of this war, which had
now lasted a year, resigned himself into the
hand of Sosius, who sent him in chains to
Antioch, where he was soon after, through the
intrigues of Herod, tried for his life, beaten
with rods, and beheaded. Such was the unhappy
end of the last prince of the Asmonean line,
which had possessed the high priesthood, toge-
ther with the sovereign power, for more than
one hundred and twenty years!
The crown of Parthia was now possessed by
Phraates. His father, Orodes, after lamenting the
death of his beloved son, Pacorus, made choice
of Phraates, in order to succeed him, as being
the eldest of his thirty sons. He was no sooner
declared heir to the crown of Parthia than he
strangled his father, and put to death all his
brothers.
Many of the Parthian nobility, shocked at
this monstrous cruelty, fled into the neighbour-
ing states.
391
pow-
Moneses, one of the most illustrious and
erful of them, deserted to the Roman power.
Antony gave him the most honourable and gra-
cious reception, and in resemblance to the
manner in which Themistocles had been treated
by the Persian monarch, he gave Moneses three
towns, Larissa, to procure him bread, Arethusa,
to procure him wine, and Hierapolis for his
meat.
Phraates, hearing this account, sent Moneses
such assurances of his favor, and made him
such promises, that he again returned to his so-
vereign.
Antony sent ambassadors with Moneses,
to begin a negotiation, by demanding a resti-
tution of the colors and standards taken from
Crassus. Being impatient to advance into
Armenia, he did not wait for a reply, but, taking
leave of Cleopatra, set off to join his troops,
whom he had appointed to meet him in Ar-
menia.
After a long and harassing war against the
Parthians, Mark Antony found, on a review of
his forces, that he had lost, in this expedition,
twenty thousand foot, and four thousand caval-
ry, of which more than one half had died by
eating fruits and herbs, from the dreadful scar-
city which had prevailed, and which had been
392
4.
so great that a bushel of wheat was sold for fifty
drachmas, and a loaf of barley bread for its
weight in silver.
We are told these soldiers found an herb which
was delicious to the taste, and, for the moment,
invigorating to the body, but, after a short
period, those who eat of it lost their understand-
ings and memories, and began turning and re-
moving all the stones they met with, as if en-
gaged in some serious and arduous occupation,
till at length they were seized with violent vo-
mitings, and died in strong convulsions!
After all his fatigues and losses Antony could
'not prevail upon himself to winter in Armenia,
which would, perhaps, by recruiting his army,
have enabled him to revenge himself on the
Parthians; for, after raising the siege of Phraata,
he had marched three hundred miles in twenty-
'one days, during which period he had fought
eighteen times with the Parthians, with some
slight advantage. But these victories were to
little purpose; for, not being able to pursue the
enemy, after he had routed them, they remained
'imperfect; which was said to be chiefly owing
to the prejudice Antony received from the retreat
of Artavasdes, the king of Armenia, whose troops
were armed after the manner of the Parthians,
and accustomed to fight with thein. The Par-
thians, so many times defeated, could never have
39$
rallied, if these troops had been with him to have
assisted in pursuing the enemy.
All the officers of Antony's army were desi-
rous that his perfidy should be punished; but,
in the present condition of his army, Antony
thought it more prudent to stifle his animosity,
and defer his vengeance till a future period, par-
ticularly as he thought only of Cleopatra: he
therefore led his army through ice and snow into
Syria, and lost, in this painful march, eight
thousand more of his men.
The tardiness with which his remaining forces
proceeded, did not keep pace with his eager de-
sire to see the queen of Egypt; he, therefore, left
them, with their commanders, and proceeded to
a fortress, called Leucome, situated on the sea
coast, between Berytus and Sidon.
There, waiting for Cleopatra, he resigned him-
self to the greatest excess in feasting and drink-
ing: he frequently started in the midst of an
entertainment, to run to the sea side, where,
straining his aching eyes, he lingered to discover
her vessel.
At length the Ethiopian queen appeared, in
all the magnificence of eastern splendor. She
brought with her clothes and money for the re-
cruit of his army, with the addition of every
luxury which could be imagined for himself.
Though Antony had so little cause to be sa-
394
tisfied with his expedition against the Parthians,
he wrote to Rome, in the style and flowing lan-
guage of a conqueror, disguising his immense
losses, and magnifying his advantages, for
which he well deserved the reproaches which,
it is said, the friends of Augustus charged him
with, for calling his flight a victory, and repre-
senting himself as a conqueror, when he had
barely escaped from the enemy.
The Roman vanity was, perhaps, concerned
in supporting the account, transmitted by their
simulating general; and, however well informed
of the truth, the senate passed a decree of
thanksgiving for such glorious and happy success
against the Parthians.
Antony soon accompanied Cleopatra into
Alexandria, where he learnt that Sextus Pom-
peius had been obliged to quit Sicily, about the
same period as himself had left Parthia.
The first land Pompey made with the seven-
teen remaining vessels of his once-powerful
fleet, was the promontory of Lacinium, in the
southern part of Italy, near Crotona, where he
conducted himself like a pirate, taking from the
temple of Juno Lacinia offerings of immense
value.
On hearing that Antony had been defeated,
he began to cherish hopes that he should recover
-the power he had lost, and succeed that general
395
in the dominion of the east, if it should be
proved that he was no more; or, on the contrary,
if he survived, of dividing the provinces with
him, if he returned in disgrace.
Antony, being informed of all his proceed-
ings, and that he had again, not only taken the
military robe and the insignia of command, but
refitted his little navy, penetrated into his de-
signs, and immediately sent forces against him,
who, after some trouble, seized him, and, by
the express order of Antony, he was put to
death. Antony feared that Sextus might raise
some new commotion between Augustus and
himself, or even Cleopatra, who was said to
have a very great regard for the name of Pom-
pey.
Thus fell Sextus Pompeius, in the fortieth year
of his age, after passing his life in a continual
state of warfare and danger! He owed to the
celebrity of his father's reputation, both his ho-
nors and misfortunes: he was courageous with-
out prudence; rash and ambitious, but not with-
out generosity. The greatest blot in his life was
the murder of Statius Murcus, who, after the
battle of Philippi, joined him, with a very con-
siderable fleet, and whom he basely sacrificed to
the jealousy of the perfidious Menas, his admiral,
who governed Sextus on every occasion. A
chief of robbers, and afterwards of pirates, he
396
sullied the reputation of his father; though, as
we have had ample proof, he was sometimes re-
strained from acts of duplicity, by a desire to
follow the example of his heroic and honorable
predecessor.
When Cæsar Augustus heard of the death of
Pompey, he celebrated horse-races, and the most
splendid spectacles in the circus, and decreed
the same honors to Antony, as he had himself
received after the conquest of Sicily. He
placed his chariot before the rostra in the fo-
rum, and his statue in the temple of Concord,
and he had the peculiar privilege awarded him
of being allowed to feast there with his wife and
family.
Antony past the year at Alexandria, with
Cleopatra, who continually importuned him to
add new territories to her dominions. Josephus
says, she demanded all Arabia and Judea, and
wished him to destroy Malechus and Herod, the
kings of the two countries.
1
Though Antony did not consent to all she de-
manded, he was yet so profuse in his grants to
her, that he shocked the Roman people, who
vehemently expressed their displeasure at his
conduct.
*
Antony, after making the necessary prepara-
tions, left Alexandria, in the beginning of the
397
spring, in the year of Rome 719, in order to
march his army towards Armenia. Cleopatra
accompanied him as far as the Euphrates, whence,
according to Josephus, passing through Damas-
cus, she visited Judea, where she was magnifi-
cently received by king Herod, to whom she
farmed out the part of Arabia, and country of
Jericho, which had lately been given her.
Herod, though he loaded Cleopatra with pre-
sents, had secret intentions of destroying her,
for the ill services she had done him with An-
tony; but his friends being against this hostile
measure, he got rid of her as soon as possible,
conducting her, with great respect and splendor,
as far as Pelusium. He was, nevertheless, so ap-
prehensive of her malice, that he immediately
strongly fortified the castle of Massaga, and
stored it with arms and accoutrements for eleven
thousand men, intending it as a place of refuge,
in case of emergency.
Antony, conceiving it not dishonorable to use
perfidy against the perfidious, sent his ambassa-
dors to Artavasdes, with an offer of his friendship,
and even his alliance, by the immediate mar-
riage of his son with a daughter of the Arme-
nian king, who, penetrating into the false pro-
mises of Antony, excused himself, and de-
termined to avoid, if possible, putting himself
398
into the hands of one whom he had so deeply
and grievously offended.
Antony, by advancing promptly towards Ar-
taxata, the capital of Armenia, with all his
forces, gave weight to his invitation by the ter-
ror and display of his arms. Artavasdes was
hence induced to trust himself in the Roman
camp!
Antony watched the fortunate opportunity,
and ordered him instantly to be arrested; and,
without the least ceremony, put the Armenian
monarch in chains: but they were chains of
gold, to evince the great respect Antony enter-
tained for the superior dignity of a king!
Thus war was declared, but it was of short
duration. Artaxias, the son of Artavasdes,
being entirely defeated, fled into Parthia, leav-
ing the kingdom, and his whole family, in the
power of Antony.
Such, we find from historical authority, was
the origin of the troubles which for a long period
shook Armenia, successively invaded by two
powerful empires, between which it was situated,
without remaining fixed under the power of
either.
Antony imagined he had reaped sufficient
glory for one year, by the entire conquest of Ar-
menia, where, having left. troops sufficient for
its preservation, and confirmed his alliance with
399
the Median monarch, he returned to Alexandria,
which he entered in a triumphal car, magnifi-
cently adorned, his captives and spoils attending
him of these he made an offering to the queen
of Egypt.
Artavasdes, and all his family, bound in
chains of massy gold, were brought before the
beautiful Cleopatra, who was seated on a
throne of gold, under a canopy of silver, sur-
rounded by her whole court.
Antony commanded the prisoners to prostrate
themselves before the queen, and implore her
mercy as their sovereign.
Artavasdes, though in this wretched and de-
plorable condition, remembered that he was the
son of the great king Tigranes; he therefore
peremptorily refused either to kneel to Cleopa-
tra, or give her the title of queen; which be-
haviour cost him not only his liberty but his
life. He was sent to prison, and orders were
soon after given to put him to death!
Of all the imperious conduct of Antony,
nothing, it is said, gave so much offence at
Rome as his triumph at Alexandria. They de-
clared it intolerable, that a Roman general
should impart an honor so peculiar to a foreign
nation; and that Rome, the capital of the
world, should be deprived of the glory which
400
she had for so many years eminently enjoyed,
that of insulting over vanquished kings!
Antony still diverted himself with the chi-
merical project of entirely conquering Parthia;
he therefore left Alexandria, the beginning of
the ensuing year of Rome 720, and went as far as
Armenia; but he did not pass the Araxes, now
called Arras, a river which separates Armenia
from Media, and falls into the Caspian sea.
At Armenia, Antony met the Median mo-
narch, who promised to furnish him with forces
against Augustus, in case of any hostile measures
which might happen on the part of Cæsar; and
Antony agreed to furnish his ally with forces
against the Parthians.
The Roman general transferred to the Median
king a part of Armenia, and received of him
the ensigns taken two years before, when Statia-
nus was killed, and the engines destroyed, to-
gether with Jotape, his daughter, who was to be
married to Alexander, the eldest son of Antony,
by Cleopatra, and whom he had already declared
king of Armenia.
Octavia had resided in Rome ever since the
first expedition of Antony into Parthia. She
had conducted herself with the greatest dignity
of conduct, and still used her utmost interest to
unite her husband and brother. Alexandria,
or its neighbourhood, she well knew, was not a
401
situation for the sister of Cæsar, or the wife of
Antony.
V
}
As soon, therefore, as she heard her husband
had set out a second time against the Parthians,
she determined to brave the horrors of war, and
obtained leave of Augustus to go and visit him.
On her arrival at Athens, she received letters
from Antony, with the mortifying intelligence,
that she must proceed no further, alleging, as
his excuse for not receiving her, the dangers of
war.
Octavia sent for Niger, the friend of her
husband, and intreated him to bear a letter to
Antony, in which she informed him she disre-
garded all dangers in the wish of seeing him,
that she had brought with her two thousand of
the flower of her brother's army, clothes for his
own troops, and munificent presents for the offi-
cers of his army.
On the first account of Octavia leaving Rome,
Cleopatra made use of every artifice to prevent
Antony from leaving her; she affected to lose
her appetite, she wept night and day, and her
women declared that the grief of their royal
mistress was so profound, that death alone
could relieve her. Antony found he could only
satisfy the queen of Egypt, by desiring Octavia
to send him the magnificent presents she had in-
tended for him; and, on pain of his continual
VOI. L.¹
D d
402
}
displeasure, to return again to Rome, to strengthen
his interest with her brother.
After this disgraceful conduct, Antony again
abandoned himself to every extravagance with
Cleopatra, to satisfy her insatiable love of power
and dominion.
The amiable Octavia, in silent grief, obeyed
the injunctions of her husband. She returned
to Rome, and continued her unremitted atten-
tion to the children of Antony, by Fulvia,
treating them with maternal affection, and de-
voting herself to their education.
Antony continued so enamoured of the queen
of Egypt, that, regardless of his marriage with
the sister of Cæsar, (which he now boldly and
openly declared to have been a political mea-
sure, designed to strengthen his alliance with
Augustus) he entered into new bonds with
Cleopatra.
Cæsar was very highly incensed at this last
affront, though his sister endeavoured to pacify
him, by nobly palliating the outrageous beha-
viour of Antony, who had erected a throne of
silver in the Gymnasium, a place amongst the
Greeks, where the public exercises of wrest-
ling were performed, and where rhetoricians
and philosophers repeated their classical com-
positions. On this throne were two seats of
403
solid gold, one for himself, the other for Cleo-
patra.
There Antony, in the costume of Bacchus,
as was Cleopatra in that of Isis, proclaimed
her queen of Egypt, and his lawful wife; queen
of Lybia, Cyprus, and Cælo Syria, associating
with her Cæsario, her son, whom he styled the
true and lawful heir of Julius Cæsar.
The most striking circumstance in this solem-
nity, was the appearance of Cleopatra herself,
in the dress of the Egyptian deity, and which
she ever afterwards assumed when she ap-
peared in public. At her edicts were received as
oracles from this new Isis.
To all his children by Cleopatra, Antony gave
the title of king of kings; and the two princes
immediately appeared, habited in the royal
robes of their respective kingdoms. Alexander,
the eldest, in the Medish dress, with a tiara on
his head, and Ptolemy, in the habit which was
worn by the successors of Alexander the
Great, and which consisted of the slippers,
military robe, and a cap covered with a diadem
of jewels.
In this pompous and splendid attire the
two princes paid their duty to Antony and
Cleopatra; after which, they took their seats
at the foot of Isis, being each attended by a
Dd 2
404
guard, the one of Armenians, and the other of
Macedonians.
.. This ridiculous scene was followed by the
most luxurious entertainments and banquets.
Cleopatra was, perhaps, the most profuse
and extravagant woman recorded, in history.
Although Antony soon became a proficient in
eastern extravagance, and gave the most muni-
ficent entertainments in honor of his princess,
Cleopatra affected to receive them with con-
tempt; and the humble suppliant intreated only
to know, how he could enhance the elegance
of his banquets, or render them more worthy
of her.
66
"I will shew you," said the haughty beauty,
by giving you one which shall cost me fifty
thousand pounds, besides the usual sum ex-
pended in the delicacies which shall be appointed
for
your entertainment."
Antony appeared to doubt the possibility of
this, and a wager was laid, to decide the ami-
cable contest. The next night a brilliant
supper was served;-though every thing appeared
very costly and magnificent, yet there was
nothing which could be deemed extraordinary.
On this Antony began to rally, and gaily
demanded payment of the forfeited wager.
Cleopatra commanded him to be patient, and
restrain his eager expectations: "What you
405
هم
}
see," added she," is only the first course; I
myself will sup on that sum." The’queen
then gave a signal, and two beautiful boys
appeared in the most superb dress, they ad-
vanced, offering a magnificent vase, studded
with diamonds, which contained a strong"
vinegar.
V 4. 2011
4
Cleopatra had for her pendants two pearls,
of such inestimable value, from 'their singular
size and beauty, that they were each imagined
to be worth fifty thousand pounds.
}
Ji.
1
The queen took from her ear one of these
magnificent ornaments, and, throwing it into
the vase, admired, with infantine delight, the
gradual solution of this precious jewel, after
which, gracefully drinking to the health of
Antony, she swallowed the costly draught,
which she proclaimed to be exquisitely deli-
cious!
Although Antony appeared to be delighted
with the novelty of the scene, he was deeply
mortified at the loss of such an inestimable
pearl.
}
Cleopatra seized the other pendant, intending
to involve that in the same vortex of extrava-
gance. Plancus Munatius, who was one of the
most profound flatterers of the queen, saved the
devoted pearl, just as she was on the point of
sacrificing it to her vanity and pride.
406
!
Plancus condemned Antony to pay the for-
feited wager; and the remaining pearl was
shortly after made into two pendants, for the
decoration of the image of Venus, which was
considered most sumptuously adorned with
half the profuse Ethiopian's supper.
This image of Venus was celebrated as being
the most perfect piece of Praxiteles,-it was of
marble, so brilliantly white, and so entirely
resembled life, that it appeared as if really
animated, and was even taken for Phryne herself
by one of her admirers. Phryne was the most
beautiful woman of the age in which she lived.
She was so immensely rich that she offered to
rebuild Thebes, which Alexander the Great had
destroyed.
While Antony was thus degrading himself by
his extravagant follies, Cæsar was respected and
beloved; and his just administration gained him
the affections of the senate and the people.
His arms were employed against the enemies of
the state, and, from their spoils, he adorned
the capital of the world.
The fine arts of Greece transplanted into
the Roman empire, flourished with peculiar
brilliancy under his fostering auspices, and no
era in the Roman annals was more celebrated
for all the arts of peace. He adorned Rome
with magnificent and stately edifices; he built
407
a magnificent portico, to which he gave the
name of Octavia, in honour of his sister, and
to which he added a splendid library.
Although his friend Agrippa had been honoured
by the consulate, he did not think himself dis-
graced by being appointed to the Edileship,
that he might have the management and care
of the buildings of the city.
The office of Edile, from the trouble and
expense in which it involved the person who
held it, had fallen into great disrespute; Agrippa,
however, now demanded the honor of it.
The first objects of his care were the Aque-
ducts, already in ruins, all of which he amply
repaired; he also built a splendid one, which
he called "the Julian," and it was reported
to have extended fifteen miles. To contri-
bute to the more commodious distribution of
these waters, he ordered seven hundred water
engines, one hundred and five fountains, and one
hundred and thirty reservoirs to be constructed!
All these works were richly ornamented by
three hundred statues of the most exquisitely
polished marble and Corinthian brass. Four
hundred marble columns were said to have sup-
ported these magnificent sluices.
He adorned also the Circus, and all the public
buildings, and such was his passion for the
embellishment of Rome, that he was even desi-
*
408
rous of withdrawing the statues and celebrated"
paintings from the possession of individuals,
to dedicate them to the public ornament of the
city; and he pronounced an oration on the
subject which was extant in the time of Pliny,
and which was highly celebrated by that elegant
author.
The common sewers, which had been the
stupendous work of the Tarquins, had been
suffered to fall in ruins, by being filled up with
all sorts of rubbish, and their current choaked
in many places..
Agrippa immediately collected an immense
body of water, and formed, as it were, seven
different torrents, which, being let in by the
opening of the sewers, and running with great
rapidity into different channels, carried away
all the dirt and filth which had been for years
collecting.
}
1
}
After this augean* operation, Agrippa him-
*Augeas was a king of Elis, whose stable, which contained
3,000 oxen, had not been cleansed for the space of three hundred
years, it was
the fifth labour of Hercules to cleanse it ;—if he
succeeded, he was to be rewarded by a tenth part of the herds of
Augeas. Hercules effected this labour in one day, by changing
the course of the river Alpheus, or Peneus, which immediately
carried off all the filth which the stables contained. Augeas
refused the promised reward, on pretence that Hercules had
used, artifice, and had experienced no labour or trouble. The
refusal was a declaration of war. Hercules put Augeas to death,
and gave the crown of Elis to his son Phyleus.
}
}
409
#
self embarked in a boat on the waters of the
sewers which had been thus cleansed, and, by
a súbterraneous navigation, went from their
entry to the place of their discharge into the
Tibér.
i
When these great undertakings were finished,
Agrippa entertained the Roman people in the
most splendid and magnificent manner. Exhi-
bitions of all kinds were represented, plays
were performed in the theatres, and combats of
gladiators; five hundred courses were run in the
Circus, and the Trojan games were exhibited
for forty-nine successive days, during which, as
at the Venetian Carnival, all sorts of diversions
were allowed, and the most exquisite banquets
were served to the nobles, while abundance of
excellent provisions were given to the populace.
Lottery tickets were thrown into the theatres,
and those who were so fortunate as to catch
them, brought them to Agrippa, who paid the
contents as specified, which generally con-
sisted of beautiful silks, stuffs, and other valu-
ables, and sometimes of sums of money.
An hundred and seventy baths were also kept
open for the public accommodation of those
citizens who could not afford the expense
of erecting private baths for their own use,
and this was continued for the space of the
whole year.
410
Agrippa had the interest of his imperial mas-
ter so much at heart, that he was no less useful
to him in gaining for him the affection of the
Romans, and enabling them to enjoy the sweets
of a long uninterrupted peace, than by the
assistance he had afforded him in his military
exploits.
The two consuls, for the year of Rome 721,
were Cornelius Domitius Ahenobarbus, and C.
Sosius; they were also the friends of Mark
Antony, who did not scruple to send to them,
from Alexandria, an account of his distribution
of the provinces in favour of Cleopatra and
her children, to have them confirmed by
the senate. This was considered as a perfect
insult upon Augustus, and, apparently, an open
declaration of war. Sosius and his colleague
had directions, also, to omit no opportunity of
creating a division in the state to degrade
Catar; and though they were too wise to
produce the letters of Antony, yet they did
not omit to irritate the minds of the senate
against Cæsar; and such were the hostile
feelings of Sosius, that if he had not been pre-
vented by the tribune Balbus, he would instantly
have proceeded to an open decree against Augus-
tus, who, on being informed of this insult,
returned to the city, and appeared at the first
assembly of the senate, attended by a number
411
of his friends. He took his seat between the
two consuls; and inveighed bitterly against
Antony and Sosius, declaring he could convict
them of several attempts against the republic.
The consuls, finding Cæsar was very deter-
mined in his measures, left Rome privately
to inform Antony of the proceedings, and
to join him in his attempts against Cæsar;
they were attended by several of the senators,
who had secretly favored the cause of the absent
Triumvir.
Augustus declared that all the friends and
relations of Antony were at liberty to follow
the example of the consul; all those, therefore,
in his interest, left Italy.
Pollio, who had hitherto acted as the friend
of Antony, and was esteemed of his party,
remained in Rome, but refused to join Cæsar
in any hostile measures against his general;
and when pressed to take a decisive part, he
answered, "the services I have done Antony are
greater than the favors I have received from him ;;
but the latter are better known. I will, there-
fore, rather than appear ungrateful, remain neu-
ter, and become the prey of the conqueror.
These two chief's could now no longer conceal
their hatred; Cæsar took up arms, not only to
revenge a sister's wrongs, but to punish his col-
league for having dishonored the Roman name
412.
by his faithless and cruel conduct to the king of
Armenia, and his whole family; and also for
having had the insolence to defy his power, and
openly to have acknowledged the young Cæsario,,
Cleopatra's son, for the lawful son of Julius
Cæsar!
Antony, on his part, sent a bill of divorce to
Octavia, commanding her to leave his house in
Rome, and to resign her own children, as well
as those of Fulvia, to their attendants; he also
declared in his letters to Cæsar, he had been mar-
ried to his queen Cleopatra nine years, and con-
sequently, his children, by her, were lawfully
his heirs!
To regain the affections of the people, An-
tony declared in his public letters to the state,
he was ready to abdicate the Triumviral power,
as a magistracy too absolute in a republican
state!
Cæsar declared he was ready to adopt the
same measure, and invited Antony to Rome,
to make good his promise.
Antony was so enraged at this, that he
ordered Canidius, to whom he had entrusted the
command of his land forces, to march, without
intermission, with sixteen legions to Ephesus,
which he appointed the rendezvous of all his
forces.
Ephesus was a city of Ionia, in Asia Minor:
Ionia is bounded on the north by Æolia, and on the
+
413
1
West by the Ægean sea; on the south by Caria,
and on the east by Lydia; it had been founded
by colonies from Greece, particularly Attica.
It' was celebrated for a temple of Diana, which
was esteemed one of the seven wonders
of the world. This temple was 425 feet
long, and 200 feet broad; the roof was sup-
ported by 127 columns, sixty feet high, which
had been placed there by as many kings. Of
these columns thirty-six were carved in the
most beautiful and singular manner, one of
which was known to have been the work of
the famous Scopas. This celebrated building
was not entirely completed till 220 years after
its first foundation. Ctesiphon was the principal
architect. Pliny says, "above the entrance there
was a large stone, which had been placed there
by the goddess Diana herself." The riches which
the temple contained were immense, and the
goddess, who was supposed to preside over it,
was worshipped with the most awful solemnity.
This superb temple was consumed by fire, on
the night that Alexander the Great was born.
The act was perpetrated by Erostratus, a wretch,
who confessed that he did it to eternize his
name.
It soon after, however, arose with redoubled
splendor from its ruins: Alexander the Great
offered to defray the expense of the rebuilding,
if the Ephesians would allow an inscription
414
મ
to be engraved on it, denoting the benefactor;
this they refused, adding, in the language of
adulation, "it was improper for one deity to
raise temples to another!"
Antony repaired to Ephesus with Cleopatra,
where they were joined by all their friends, who
had left Italy for that purpose. Domitius Ahe-
nobarbus, the consul, was very desirous that the
queen of Egypt should return to Alexandria till
the war was at an end Antony appeared to
second his wish, but Cleopatra fearing, lest
Octavia should take advantage of her absence,
to regain the affections of her husband, in-
duced Canidius, the commander-in-chief of
all the forces, by immense presents, to repre-
sent to Antony the many inconveniences her
departure would occasion; particularly the de-
privation he would experience in the loss of
the Egyptian navy, which must accompany her
to Alexandria!
It was calculated that she had brought with
her two hundred ships, with 20,000 talents,
besides large supplies of provisions for all the
forces.
The advice of Canidius, aided by her own
intreaties and artful arguments, prevailed, and
Antony consented to her stay, contrary to the
opinion of the consul, who still endeavoured to
carry his point.
415
Cleopatra, perceiving his designs, prevailed on
Antony to attend her to the beautiful island of
Samos, while the hostile preparations were go-
ing on at Ephesus. The fond Antony consented
to this measure, and Cleopatra plunged him into
all the pleasures and diversions that could be
invented.
Plutarch says, "( never were any
man's cares so pleasantly, so delightfully di-
verted as were those of Antony. On one side,
all the kings, princes, and potentates, from
Egypt to the Euxine sea, as well as from Arme-
nia and Illyricum, had orders to send arms,
accoutrements, provisions, and soldiers, to Ephe-
sus; on the other, comedians, musical professors,
dancers, and buffoons, were obliged to resort to
Samos, to entertain and contribute to their
amusement.
Thus, while the whole empire was in conster-
nation and terror, and many parts of it in com-
motion, misery, distress, and desolation, joy
and pleasure reigned in the island of Samos.
Every city, within the limits of Antony's em-
pire, had a share in his sacrifices; and the mo-
narchs who accompanied him, contended which
should make the most magnificent entertain-
ments; and the people often enquired, what re-
joicings such people would make on gaining a
victory, who had made such magnificent feasts
before they began a dangerous war.
416
$
From Samos, Antony and Cleopatra crossed
over to Athens, where the queen, in the midst of
her amusements, was intent upon an object which
had long occupied her mind.
She was deeply jealous of the honors which
the virtuous and amiable Octavia had received
in that elegant and polished city.
The care of Cleopatra was now, by the most
simulating manners, profuse flattery, and valu-
able presents, to gain the notice of the Athe-
nians. She obtained a decree, comprehending
honors beyond what had ever before been of-
feed to any mortal. Antony, in quality of a
citizen of Athens, was at the head of the depu-
tation, and himself pronounced the speech in
the name of the whole city.
The remainder of the year was spent, by
Antony and Cleopatra, in vain and desultory
amusements, and in tardy preparations for
war.
If they had carried over their forces imme-
diately, they would have found the enemy
very little prepared to receive them. Augus
tus, on his part, was under the necessity of lay-
ing heavy taxes on the people of Italy.
The citizens paid him a fourth part of their
revenue, and the freedmen an eighth; this, added
to the dread of the arrival of Antony with the
417
Agrippa had the interest of his imperial mas-
ter so much at heart, that he was no less useful
to him in gaining for him the affection of the
Romans, and enabling them to enjoy the sweets
of a long uninterrupted peace, than by the
assistance he had afforded him by his military
exploits.
The two consuls, for the year of Rome 721,
were Cornelius Domitius Ahenobarbus, and C.
Sosius, they were also the friends of Mark
Antony, who did not scruple to send to them
from Alexandria, an account of his distribution
of the provinces in favour of Cleopatra and
her children, to have them confirmed by
the senate. This was considered as a perfect
insult upon Augustus, and, apparently, an open
declaration of war. Sosius and his colleague
had directions also to omit no opportunity of
creating a division in the state, to degrade
Cæsar; and though they were too wise to
produce the letters of Antony, yet they did
not omit to irritate the minds of the senate
against Cæsar; and such were the hostile
feelings of Sosius, that if he had not been pre-
vented by the tribune Balbus, he would instantly
have proceeded to an open decree against Augus-
tus, who, on being informed of this insult,
returned to the city, and appeared at the first
assembly of the senate, attended by a number
VOL. I.
E C
418
of his friends. He took his seat between the
two consuls; and inveighed bitterly against
Antony and Sosius, declaring he could convict
them of several attempts against the republic.
The consuls, finding Cæsar was very deter-
mined in his measures, left Rome privately,
to inform Antony of the proceedings, and
to join him in his attempts against Cæsar;
they were attended by several of the senators,
who had secretly favoured the cause of the absent
Triumvir.
Augustus declared that all the friends and
relations of Antony were at liberty to follow
the example of the consul; all those, therefore,
in his interest, left Italy.
Pollio, who had hitherto acted as the friend
of Antony, and was esteemed of his party,
remained in Rome, but refused to join Cæsar
in any hostile measures against his general;
and when pressed to take a decisive part, he
answered, "the services I have done Antony are
greater than the favours I have received from him;
but the latter are better known. I will, there-
fore, rather than appear ungrateful, remain neu-
ter, and become the prey of the conqueror."
These two chiefs could now no longer conceal
their hatred; Cæsar took up arms, not only to
revenge a sister's wrongs, but to punish his col-
league for having dishonoured the Roman name
419
by his faithless and cruel conduct to the king of
Armenia, and his whole family; and also for
having had the insolence to defy his power, and
openly to have acknowledged the young Cæsario,
Cleopatra's son, for the lawful son of Julius
Cæsar!
Antony, on his part, sent a bill of divorce to
Octavia, commanding her to leave his house in
Rome, and to resign her own children, as well
as those of Fulvia, to their attendants; he also
declared in his letters to Cæsar, he had been mar-
ried to his queen Cleopatra nine years, and, con-
sequently, his children, by her, were lawfully
his heirs!
In order to regain the affections of the peo-
ple, Antony declared, in his public letters to the
state, he was ready to abdicate the Triumviral
power, as a magistracy too absolute in a repub-
lican state!
Cæsar declared he was ready to adopt the
same measure, and invited Antony to Rome,
to make good his promise.
Antony was so enraged at this, that he
ordered Canidius, to whom he had entrusted the
command of his land forces, to march, without
intermission, with sixteen legions, to Ephesus,
which he appointed the rendezvous of all his
forces.
EC 9
420
Éphesus was a city of Ionia, in Asia Minor;
Ionia is bounded onthe north by Æolia, and on the
west by the Ægean Sea; on the south by Caria,
and on the east by Lydia; it had been founded
by colonies from Greece, particularly Attica.
It was celebrated for a temple of Diana, which
was esteemned one of the seven wonders
of the world. This temple, was 425 feet
long, and 200 feet broad; the roof was sup-
ported by 127 columns, sixty feet high, which
had been placed there by as many kings. Of
these columns thirty-six were carved in the
most beautiful and singular manner,
one of
which was known to have been the work of
the famous Scopas. This celebrated building
was not entirely completed till 220 years after
its first foundation. Ctesiphon was the principal
architect. Pliny says, "above the entrance there
was a large stone, which had been placed there
by the goddess Diana herself." The riches which
the temple contained were immense, and the
goddess, who was supposed to preside over it,
was worshipped with the most awful solemnity.
This superb temple was consumed by fire, on
the night that Alexander the Great was born.
The act was perpetrated by Erostratus, a wretch
who, on confession, declared he did it to
eternize his name.
It soon after, however, arose with redoubled
splendor, from its ruins: Alexander the Great
221
offered to defray the expense of the rebuilding,
if the Ephesians would allow an inscription
to be engraved on it, denoting the benefactor;
this they refused, adding, in the language of
adulation, "It was improper for one deity to
raise temples to another!"
Antony soon repaired to Ephesus with Cleo-
patra, where they were joined by all their friends,
who had left Italy for that purpose. Domitius
Ahenobarbus, the consul, was very desirous that
the queen of Egypt should return to Alexandria
till the war was at an end: Antony appeared to
second his wish, but Cleopatra fearing, lest
Octavia should take advantage of her absence,
to regain the affections of her husband, in-
duced Canidius, the commander-in-chief of
all the forces, by immense presents, to repre-
sent to Antony the many inconveniences her
departure would occasion; particularly the de-
privation he would experience, in the loss of
the Egyptian navy, which must accompany her
to Alexandria !
It was calculated that she had brought with
her two hundred ships, with 20,000 talents,
besides large supplies of provisions for all the
forces.
The advice of Canidius, aided by her own
intreaties and artful arguments, prevailed, and
Antony consented to her stay, contrary to the
422
opinion of the consul, who still endeavoured to
carry his point.
Cleopatra, perceiving his designs, prevailed
on Antony to attend her to the beautiful
island of Samos, while the hostile prepara-
tions were going on at Ephesus. The fond
Antony consented to this measure, and Cleo-
patra plunged him into all the pleasures and
diversions that could be invented. Plutarch
says, "never were any man's cares so pleasantly,
so delightfully, diverted as were those of An-
tony. On one side, all the kings, princes, and
potentates, from Egypt to the Euxine sea, as
well as from Armenia and Illyricum, had orders
to send arms, accoutrements, provisions, and
soldiers, to Ephesus; on the other, comedians,
musical professors, dancers, and buffoons, were
obliged to resort to Samos, to entertain and
contribute to their amusement.
Thus, while the whole empire was in conster-
nation and terror, and many parts of it in com-
motion, misery, distress, and desolation; joy
and pleasure reigned in the island of Samos.
Every city, within the limits of Antony's em-
pire, had a share in his sacrifices, and the mo-
narchs who accompanied him contended which
should make the most magnificent entertain-
ments, and the people often enquired, what re-
joicings such people would make on gaining a
423
victory, who had made such magnificent feasts
before they began a dangerous war.
From Samos, Antony and Cleopatra crossed
over to Athens, where the queen, in the midst
of her amusements, was intent upon an object
which ever occupied her mind.
She was deeply jealous of the honors which
the virtuous and amiable Octavia had received
in that elegant and polished city.
The care of Cleopatra was now, by the most
simulating manners, profuse flattery, and valu-
able presents, to gain the notice of the Athe-
nians. She obtained a decree, comprehending
all honors beyond what had ever before been of-
fered to any mortal. Antony, in quality of a
citizen of Athens, was at the head of the depu
tation, and himself pronounced the speech in
the name of the whole city.
The remainder of the year was spent, by
Antony and Cleopatra, in vain and desul-
tory amusements, and in tardy preparations
for war.
If they had carried over their forces imme-
diately, they would have found the enemy
very little prepared to receive them. Augus-
tus, on his part, was under the neces-
sity of laying heavy taxes on the people of
Italy.
The citizens paid him a fourth part of their
424
7
revenue, and the freedmen an eighth; this,
added to the dread of the arrival of Antony with
the formidable forces he had gathered, soured
the minds of the Romans.
The tardiness of his colleague, however, gave
Cæsar time to quiet their fears, and to inspire
them with a thorough contempt for a general, who
was more anxiously employed in filling the the-
atres of Samos with comedians, in feasting, and
in reposing himself, than in putting his tardy
and slender military operations in force.
Antony soon began to be despised, even by
his own party; Plancus, the constant compa-
nion of his pleasures, and the servile flatterer of
the queen, deserted him, with his nephew, Titius,
who had murdered Sextus Pompey. These de-
serters, to recommend themselves to Cæsar,
acquainted him with all the enormites of An-
tony, and of the contents of his will, which
had been deposited with the vestals.
Augustus made no scruple of communicating
these circumstances to the senate and people at
large.
Rome now resounded with complaints against
the absent Triumvir, whom they declared to be
a perfect slave to Cleopatra, and who, indeed, ap-
peared to have no other will than that of his
beloved queen, who, on her part, promised her-
self the empire of Rome: and when she wished
425
to confirm any promise by oath, she was accus-
tomed to swear by the laws she would dictate
in the capitol! She had already a Roman guard,
and her name was immediately engraven, most
splendidly, on the bucklers of the soldiers.
Antony, also, appeared to have forgotten that
he was a Roman: he displayed himself in the
costume of the eastern princes, glittering with
purple and precious stones, a Median sabre by
his side, a golden sceptre in his hand, and a
diadem of jewels on his head;-thus accoutred,
he seated himself on a throne of solid gold.
His tent in the camp was no longer denominated
the Prætorium, but the Royal Pavilion!
In the same manner, also, as Cleopatra had
assumed all the attributes of the goddess
Isis in her pictures and statues, so the vain and
absurd Antony caused himself to be represented
in Corinthian brass and marble, or in paintings,
with the symbols of Osiris.
At the instance of Cæsar Augustus, a decree
was passed to deprive Antony of the con-
sulship, which, on the ensuing year, he was
to hold with Cæsar, and also of the Triumviral
power, and war was declared, not against him,
but against Cleopatra, queen of Egypt.
The decree was so framed, that it left the
partisans of Antony the liberty of saving them-
selves, by abandoning their general: his followers
426
were invited over by large promises, and all
Italy engaged itself, by solemn oath, to serve
Cæsar.
The city of Bologna alone demanded, and ob-
tained the liberty of not joining in the oath,
having always been under the patronage of the
Antonian family.
The forces of the two hostile generals were
now assembled; they were proportioned, it is
said, to the empire for which they contended:
the one claiming all the east, and the other the
west to his party.
We learn from ancient authority, that the
army of Antony was composed of 100,000
infantry, and 12,000 cavalry, besides the auxi-
liary troops sent by the different kings in his
alliance. Bogud, king of a part of Libya ;
Tarchondimotus, king of the Higher Cilicia;
Archelaus, king of Cappadocia; Philadelphus,
king of Paphlagonia; Mithridates, of Comma-
gena; and Amyntas, of Galatia, served perso-
nally in his army; and the king of the Medes,
who had borrowed troops of Antony, by now
making a return of them, on the demand of
Antony, entirely lost Armenia, in consequence
of the Parthians availing themselves of the
opportunity of becoming masters of Media.
King Malchus, of Arabia, and king Pole-
427
mon, of Pontus, sent Antony their contin-
gents.
His fleet, we are further told, amounted to
five hundred vessels, most of which carried
from eight to ten sets of rowers.
Cæsar possessed 80,000 legionary troops, with
a cavalry little inferior to that of Antony. His
fleet, however, did not exceed 250 vessels, and
they were much smaller than those of Antony,
but infinitely better built, better manned with
marines and rowers, and better appointed in
every way; besides which, the mariners had
learned their business well, and had greatly
improved in their nautical talents in the war
against Sextus Pompey; whereas those of
Antony were half empty, and his marines and
rowers, from having been impressed into the
service, were totally uninformed and ignorant.
With his whole force, Antony sailed to Cor-
cyra, in the autumn; but being informed that
the vessels of the enemy had appeared on the
neighbouring coast, he supposed that the whole
of Caesar's force had put to sea. He therefore
retired towards Peloponnesus, where he put
his troops into winter quarters, and spent that
season himself at Patræ, an ancient town at
the north-west of Peloponnesus, which was
celebrated among the Greeks for having there
428
a temple sacred to Diana, and a statue of that
goddess, of gold and ivory.
On the beginning of spring, in the ensuing
year, the two generals were in readiness for
action. Augustus assembled all his forces at
Brundusium, and the adjacent ports.
Antony brought his fleet into the gulph of
Ambracia Agrippa was dispatched at the
head of a numerous fleet, to distress the
enemy on the coast of Greece. He killed king
Bogud, of Mauritania, and seized all the pro-
visions coming from Syria and Egypt. On his
return, Cæsar carried over all his army, and
landed them at the Ceraunian mountains, whence
they were ordered to march along the coast, as
far as the gulph of Ambracia.
He then sailed, at the head of his fleet, to
the promontory of Actium, where he was very
near surprising Antony, who was idly lying
at anchor, and in no posture of defence. An-
tony, however, immediately rallied, and put
his ships into a sure posture of defence. In
order to deceive the enemy, he completely
armed all his rowers, suspending the oars in
such a manner as to make their blades appear
on cach side of the ship. Cæsar, who well
knew his ground, dreaded to engage in that
narrow passage, and immediately put off to
sea.
The two armies were each now encamped
429
on either side of the gulph, and for several
months, while they remained in this position,
had many skirmishes.
In the mean time, Agrippa, at the head of a
part of the fleet, took Toryna, Patræ, Leucas,
and Corinth, to the great astonishment of the
army of Antony.
This success caused many desertions, among
whom was Domitius Ahenobarbus, to whom
Antony generously sent all his servants and
equipages. This conduct so sensibly affected
Domitius, who was already in an ill state of
health, that he died in consequence of his
grief.
The summer was now nearly spent, and
nothing was decisively effected. The grand
question in the mind and camp of Antony was,
whether to trust to a naval, or risk a land en-
gagement? Canidius represented to his gene-*
ral, in the strongest terms, the danger of put-
ting a victory to the hazard of the seas and
winds, of which they were certain of com-
manding at land, by the valor and experience
of their general, who to that day had kept up
the title of "invincible," and by the bravery
of their soldiers, who had been tried in so
many and great dangers. He further assured
Antony, it would be no dishonor, or degrada-
tion, for him to leave the sea to Cæsar, who had
430
become so singularly skilful in marine affairs
from his wars with Pompey.
Antony was much inclined to follow this ad-
vice, and would most gladly have acceded to
his arguments, from the conviction of their
truth; but Cleopatra influenced him against
these measures, and obliged him at once to ha-
zard his life, and his empire, in a naval engage-
ment; and from no other reason than conceiving,
that in case of a defeat, they might escape, with
greater ease, and have an opportunity of making
to Egypt, where they were sure not only of a
retreat, but of an army, and if not able entirely
to retrieve their affairs, at least they might
come to some compromise with Cæsar.
Having come to a resolution of deciding their
battle by sea, Antony selected, from his nume-
rous fleet, one hundred and seventy of his best
ships, which were as many as he could well man;
the residue he ordered should be burnt. These,
with the sixty gallies of Cleopatra, made two
hundred and thirty; but, as they were finer ships
than those of the enemy, he reckoned he should
infallibly gain the victory.
He put on board these ships twenty thousand
legionary troops, and two thousand archers, well
experienced. While he was thus embarking hist
troops, a brave old soldier, covered with many
monuments of his courage and glory, said to
431
him, in a respectful manner, "My general, why
do you despise this good sword, and this veteran
arm, which all my wounds have little weakened,
and put your confidence in a frail piece of wood?
Leave the elements to the Egyptians and the
Phoenicians, people born and nursed on them,
but, I pray you, leave the Romans to the firm.
land, where we may boldly meet death, and fall
like men!"
Antony did not reply, but by the motion of
his head appeared to encourage the noble fellow
in his harangue.
The manner of battle to Cæsar was perfectly
indifferent; he felt himself as secure of his navy
as of his legionary veterans, whom he had kept
under the most excellent discipline, and go-
verned with distinguished judgment. He felt
elated, however, at the certain and the sensible
advantage the enemy had given him by thus
offering battle at sea.
A violent storm, which lasted four days,
prevented these generals from commencing
their attacks. On the fifth day, however,
which, it is said, was the second of September,
the two fleets advanced eagerly towards each
other; Antony ranged his ships of war before
the mouth of the gulph of Ambracia, giving
the command of the right wing to Gellius Pub-
licola, and the left to the command of Sosius.
432
To himself he reservsd the general inspection
of the fleet; and, before the engagement, he
went about in his galley encouraging his men,
bringing the remembrance of their former vic-
tories to their minds, and promising large re-
wards after the engagement.
Augustus gave the chief command of his'
fleet to Agrippa, keeping no command himself,
but, surrounded by a number of little boats to
carry his orders and observations to the com-
mander in chief, superintended the whole with
ardor and courage.
The land armies were drawn up on the two
sides of the gulph, as spectators and encouragers.
of their parties.
Antony recommended his officers to keep as
near the shore as possible, and exhorted them
to consider their vessels as so many citadels,
intended to sustain the assault of a number of
besiegers.
Cæsar, on his part, kept at the distance of a
mile from the enemy, being well convinced,
that while their fleet was in that position, he
could avail himself but little of his pre-emi-
nence, in the swiftness of his ships, or of the
skill of his mariners, which were his distin-
guished and chief advantages. About the
middle of the day, a fine gale springing up,
Antony, impatient to begin the battle, moved
433
forwards, and Cæsar, to intice them further
from the shore, ordered his fleet to fall still
farther back. The combat now commenced
with great bravery on both sides, till Agrippa,
by an excellent naval manœuvre, surrounded
the enemy, who were instantly panic struck,
and thrown into the greatest disorder. Accord-
ing to the report of the most established authors
of antiquity, the advantage of the battle was
undetermined on either side for a length of time;
when Cleopatra, wearied out with expectation,
and overpowered with fear, very unexpectedly
tacked about, and fled to Peloponnesus with
her sixty sail of ships, and, by this conduct,
ruined and blasted the fortunes of Antony.
Extraordinary to recount, Antony, regardless
of his honour, his fame, his character, and his
courage, precipitately fled after the queen of
Egypt, and abandoned his men, who had so
generously and bravely exposed their lives and
fortunes for the security of his interest and
fame.
Having reached the galley of Cleopatra, he
hastily entered it; and Plutarch says, he was
instantly seized with a melancholy conviction
of the cowardly turpitude of his con-
duct. He refused to see the queen, though he
had followed her without any apparent reason,
VOL. 4.
Ff
434
but the knowledge of her absence, and the consi-
deration of the sufferings he should sustain from
her loss.
The battle continued till five o'clock in the
evening, with the greatest obstinacy, when the
forces of the absent Antony were constrained
to submit, by the courageous conduct of
Agrippa, and more over persuaded by the
pro-
mises of Cæsar. The land forces could scarcely
believe that their general had deserted them, and
actually held out seven days, but at length they
submitted. The conqueror immediately dis-
patched his friend Mæcenas with a squadron, in
pursuit of the disgraced general, and the faith-
less Cleopatra. He was, however, too late, as
they had escaped; he fortunately secured one
of their most valuable ships, which was richly
laden with gold and silver.
Mæcenas then sailed for Rome, to take
the government of the city, and inform the senate
and the people of the success of their beloved
Cæsar.
Augustus generously pardoned all those who
had not been his declared enemies. His next
care was to offer solemn thanks to Apollo, whom
he esteemed his particular patron, and the tute-
lar divinity of Actium, for the peculiar favor
shewn to him at the celebrated battle of Actium,
435
and consecrated to him the greatest part of the
riches taken from Antony.
Cæsar then dismissed all Antony's veteran
soldiers, and sent his own into Italy, under the
guidance and command of Agrippa, there to
wait the remuneration promised them for their
eminent services.
He however retained all those soldiers who
had not served their full time, and who in the
hope of sharing the spoils of Egypt, would,
he imagined, be faithful and zealous in his
cause.
Augustus then went to Athens, where being
made acquainted with the oppression under
which the Greeks had groaned, since the govern-
ment of Antony, he not only relieved their
immediate misery by the distribution of the
moncy and provisions which that general had
made for his army, but promised them his con-
stant support.
He then passed into Asia, intending to follow
Antony and Cleopatra into Egypt; but he was.
recalled into Italy by his commander in chief,
Agrippa, who could not, with all his skill and
judgment, reduce the veterans who had become
very turbulent, and who had loudly demanded
their promised rewards.
To quell the mutiny of his veterans, Cæsar sailed,
in the midst of winter, for Rome; he was nearly
Ff2
436
shipwrecked on the coast of Peloponnesus, and
again on the coast of Epirus; he lost several of
his fine ships of war, and the rudder and rigging
of his own galley. After great danger and
many sufferings, however, Augustus arrived in
safety at Brundusium, where he was attended
in great state and singular respect by the senators,
magistrates, and knights; his sudden appearance,
and his pompous and splendid reception, dis-
concerted the mutinous veterans, who were
quite overawed by the noble haughtiness of his
appearance, and the distinguished dignity of
his behaviour.
To satisfy their demands, he distri-
buted all the money he had amongst the eldest
of them, and appointed lands to the others; and
the more fully to convince them, that he intended
to act justly and honourably, he exposed all his
effects to sale. The soldiers were so completely
mortified at having forced their general to
such an expedient, that they assembled round
him in troops, and declared they would wait
his own time for the payment of their de-
mands.
Augustus had soon the power of rewarding
them profusely, from the immense spoils which
were brought from Egypt.
After remaining in Rome twenty-seven days,
437
Augustus again embarked for Asia, to complete
the destruction of Antony.
On his arrival in Alexandria, all the kings of
Asia came to assure him of their obedience, and
none appeared more eager and sedulous to gain
his favour, than Herod, king of Judea, who
went to
to Rhodes to lay his crown
at the
feet of Cæsar Augustus, and to make an
offer of his troops and personal services.
In the mean time, the forces of Cæsar advanced
on each side of Egypt. Cornelius Gallus took
possession of Prætonium, which was the key of
Egypt, on the west side, and Antony, who
well knew the importance of Prætonium, imme-
diately went with his army and fleet, to wrest it
from his hands, but he returned with immense
loss: Gallus had left the port open, but he had
stretched massy chains under the water, in the
mouth of the harbour, which he drew up by the
help of their engines and machines, as soon as
the fleet of Antony had sailed in; he then
attacked them on all sides, and those he did not
succeed in taking were either burnt or entirely
sunk.
Antony flattered himself that his troops,
which were taken, would declare in his favour
as soon as he shewed himself to them; but,
Gallus, on his attempting to harangue them,
3
او
438
ordered all the trumpets to sound, and made a
sally upon him with great success.
Augustus, on the other hand, made himself
complete master of Pelusium, the other key of
Egypt.
Antony and Cleopatra, finding themselves
entirely ruined, determined to die like Romans!
But, notwithstanding this firm resolution to
die, we are told by several writers, that they
still entertained earnest hopes of life; and
Euphronius, the preceptor of the sons of
Antony, was employed to make proposals of peace
to Augustus.
Cleopatra sent her crown and sceptre, with
her royal seal, as proof of her having abdicated
the sovereignty of Egypt, where she demanded
only to live in privacy: Antony requested he
might be allowed to relinquish all his honours,
and live in retirement at Athens, provided
Cæsar would not admit of his remaining in
Egypt: he had also the baseness to deliver up
Turulius, who had
had ever been one of his
firmest friends, but who had been one of the
murderers of Julius Cæsar. This he did
to soothe the mind of Augustus,
knew still panted to revenge
Cæsar.
which he well
the death of
Augustus immediately ordered that Turulius
should be put to death, accepted the crown,
439
seal, and sceptre, but returned no answer to
Antony!
He, however, replied to Cleopatra, and as-
sured her there was no favour she might not
demand, if she would resign Antony into his
hands.
With this demand the princess openly refused
to comply, and the messenger was sent back,
after being chastised for bearing such a request.
Cleopatra, it is said, redoubled her attentions to
the fallen Antony, and not only celebrated his
birth day with great splendour and magnificence,
but made the most noble presents to all the
guests who attended the banquet; this she did
to quiet the mind of Antony, who began to
be suspicious and jealous of her.
Although Cleopatra, being a Pagan, felt
no remorse at the dreadful crime of suicide, yet
she could not endure the thoughts of defacing
the person, by the convulsions of death. She,
therefore, occupied herself in making experi-
ments of all sorts of poisons, to discover
the means of procuring the easiest dissolution.
She at length ascertained, that the sting of an
asp only would produce the death she requir-
ed, without causing a distortion of appear-
ance. Antony built a house, near Pharos,
where he intended to shut himself up, with-
out friend or domestic, to imitate Timon,
440
since he had no less reason to hate mankind than
that Athenian.
This melancholy state of mind however did
not long pervade him; his natural temper got
the better of these bitter reflections, and he
not only returned to his habit of feasting, but
determined, as a last effort, to exert himself, to
make one more trial of his skill, both by sea
and land, with a full intention to conquer
honourably, or die bravely, in the field of
battle.
He ordered his people to ply him plentifully
with wine, as, he emphatically exclaimed,
"perhaps it may be the last service you can do
me; for to-morrow you may have another gene-
ral, while I shall lie extended on the earth,
despised by all mankind." His friends were
much affected at his harangue, on observing,
which he said, "I will not, however, do you,
my brave men, so great an injury as to lead you
where death is more certain than victory!"
On the first of August, in the year of Rome
723, Antony, at break of day, posted his
remained forces upon a rising ground, near the
town of Alexandria, from whence he sent
orders to his gallies to engage the enemy: the
fleet advanced in good order; but, as soon as
Cæsar's ships of war approached, the marines
held their arms, and saluted them; these return-
441
ing the salute, both fleets joined, and that of
Antony struck their colours, and faced the
city!
The cavalry of the deserted general seeing this
degrading scene, instantly deserted, and joined
the forces of Cæsar! His infantry, however,
sustained the fight for a short time, but was, at
length, obliged to yield.
The unfortunate and misguided Antony, thus
in his turn, abandoned by his men, and finding
he could not die in the field with glory, returned
to Alexandria, in grief and misery, exclaiming
that Cleopatra had ruined and abandoned him!
On hearing at Alexandria that Cleopatra had
destroyed herself, he retired to his cabinet, laid
aside his armour, and uttered the deepest expres-
sions of grief, in which he lamented that he,
who had commanded so many gallant men,
should be out done in courage by a woman!
He then called Eros, the most faithful and
attached of his freedmen, who had engaged most
solemnly by oath to kill him, whenever he
should require it. Now, in the most awful
manner, Antony bade him to perform his pro-
mise!
Eros, the faithful Eros, drew his sword,
as if he designed to obey the solemn injunctions
of his wretched master; but, turning from the
442
sight of the afflicted Antony, he fell on his own
sword, and lay dead at the feet of his master.
Antony, astonished at the sight, exclaimed,
"Dear Eros, I thank thee for teaching me to
perform for myself what thy regard for me did
not permit thee to do!" At the same moment he
plunged his sword into his body, and threw him-
self on his bed, which was near at hand: the
wound was mortal; but the blood, from the
situation of his body, ceased to flow; le, there-
fore, was still sensible, and intreated his friends,
who entered his apartment, to dispatch him: but
they refused to do him this office, and he lay in
a miserable condition, and the greatest anguish.
Cleopatra, learning this wretched account,
sent Diomedes, accompanied by her women,
to convey him to her monument, in which
she had concealed herself, at the report of his
being again vanquished, for, in the midst of her
grief, at the loss of her kingdom, and the
flight of Antony, she had attended to her own
security, and determined not to fall into the
hands of Augustus.
Near the temple of Isis, even within its walls,
she had built a magnificent sepulchre, to
secure herself from the search of Cæsar. Into
this sepulchre she had removed herself, her
jewels, her gold and silver, and all her pre-
cious woods, ivory, and ebony, with every thing
443
that was valuable, all of which was covered
with immense quantities of combustible matter,
to enable her to consume herself with her
treasure, if Cæsar compelled her to do so.
Antony readily suffered himself to be conveyed
to the monument, which contained Cleopatra,
who durst not open the door to receive him, as
she had now no guards for her own security.
She, therefore, with the assistance of her wo-
men, let cords down from the window of her
apartment, to draw him up.
All the people of Alexander were present at
this sad spectacle. After great exertion, and
the feeble assistance of her women, Antony was
safely conveyed to Cleopatra.
The Alexandrians agreed it was a wretched
sight to see this celebrated queen, the last heir of
the Ptolemies, raising the expiring body of the
renowned Antony.
The trembling arms of the Roman general
were extended, faintly endeavouring to raise
his wounded body, to reach the window of his
beloved Cleopatra.
When she had succeeded in drawing him in,
she laid him gently on her bed, exclaiming,
66
Oh, my Antony! my husband! my lord! my
emperor! I am forgetful of all misfortunes, in
the sight of this beloved object!"
Antony lamented he must die, but he intreated
444
she would moderate her grief, and save her own
life, if she could do it with honor. He then
enquired for wine, which after having drank, he
begged Cleopatra, to recollect the glory and re-
nown in which he had lived, rather than the cruel
turn his fortune had taken; and to remember,
that, after being the first man in the world, and
the most illustrious of the Romans, he had at
last been overcome only by a Roman: in utter-
ing these words he expired, in the fifty-third
year of his age.
The sword of Antony, still stained with
blood, was taken up, and carried to Augustus
with an account of his death.
Cæsar retired into his tent; and, reflecting on
the deplorable end of so great a general, he
burst into a flood of tears.
Cæsar summoned the friends of Antony, to
whom he seriously declared, that his conduct to
his colleague had not been influenced by hatred
or ambition: he then shewed copies of the let-
ters he had written to him, which they declared
contained only reasonable proposals, and evinced
distinguished candour and generosity; but, on
the contrary, those of Antony displayed passion,
envy, and disdain.
Augustus was extremely desirous not only to
save the life of Cleopatra and secure her treasure,
but to exhibit the beautiful queen, who had so
445
long triumphed over the Roman commanders, in
his own triumph, on his return to Italy.
He therefore sent Proculeius and Gallus, to
assure her of his respect. Cleopatra, alarmed
for her safety, would not allow their entrance,
but conversed with them through the aperture
of the door, sternly and haughtily demanding
Egypt for her children.
In order to meliorate matters, and soften the
anger of Cleopatra, Gallus made new offers, during
which Proculeius, convinced that her fixed deter-
mination was to destroy herself, entered at the
window of her apartment: on perceiving
him, Charmion, one of her women, exclaimed,
"Poor princess, thou art now, indeed, taken!"
On this Cleopatra drew a dagger from her bo-
som, and attempted to stab herself;-the com-
passionate Proculeius arrested her hand, saying,
"Do not, beautiful princess! injure yourself and
Cæsar, by depriving him of the most distin-
guished and illustrious proof he can give of his
generosity, and make the most clement and
gentle prince appear the most cruel and inhu-
man."
Proculeius then respectfully deprived her of
the dagger, and examined with care that she
had no poison concealed about her person.
Cæsar experienced great joy, on hearing Cleo-
patra was alive, and gloried in having in his
446
possession the haughty queen, who had already
lifted the crown of Egypt above the empire of
the Romans.
Augustus loaded Cleopatra with honors, and
commanded that she should be treated in a royal
manner, though in confinement. He now made
his public entrance into Alexandria in the most
solemn and sumptuous manner.
The Egyptians, impressed with the majesty of
Cæsar, from his being followed by his armed
soldiers, of his valor, from his exploits in the
conquest of the renowned Antony, fell pros-
trate on their faces before him, and lay extended
in expectation of his annihilation of them
all.
Augustus commanded them to rise, extended
his hands most graciously to the most illustrious,
and, in an elegant oration, intreated them to aban-
don their fears, that he pardoned the city, not only
for the sake of its illustrious founder, and for
its singular and distinguished beauty, but for
the eminent esteem he had for Arius their fel-
low-citizen, the philosopher, whom he so
highly appreciated, and whom he was proud of
calling his friend.
Several kings, and many of the Roman sena-
tors, are said to have begged of him the body
of Antony, in order to evince their respect; but
this generous conqueror would not deprive Cleo-
447
patra of a satisfaction so dear as that of the so-
lemn interment of the beloved corse of her em-
peror! He moreover furnished her with the re-
quisites necessary for the funeral pomp, which
was conducted with distinguished magnifi-
cence.
The wretched Cleopatra, who till this period
had enjoyed not only the freedom but the domi-
nion nearly of the world, was inconsolable at
her captivity. On receiving private intelligence,
that she was to be carried to Rome, to
grace the triumph of Cæsar, she determined to
rid herself of a life now become hateful. This
new indignity would be madness to endure; she
therefore requested permission so pay her last
oblations to the memory of Antony.
She was carried to the stately and costly se-
pulchre in which he had been laid after an
agony of bitter tears, she uttered the most heart-
rending lamentations, "Oh, my dearest lord,"
she cried, "I was queen and wore no chains,
when I first placed thee in this monument; but
I now come to pay my last duties. I hope the
powers that guard thy happy abode, will stem
the pride of the conqueror, and not suffer him
to triumph over thee in my person. Hide me,
therefore, here in this, thy happy, thy precious
tomb; for in the midst of my bitter griefs, and
deep afflictions, none have so heavily oppressed
448
my soul, as living so long without thee!" She then
crowned the tomb with garlands and flowers,
embracing it still in tears and misery!
Then, as if her mourning was over, she or-
dered her women to prepare her bath, after the
enjoyment of which, she arrayed herself in the
richest manner, and partook of the most splendid
and magnificent banquets. She then ordered a
basket of figs, which had been presented to her by
a countryman, who was in her interest, to be
brought her, under the leaves of which lay conceal-
ed an asp, the bite of which was mortal, but gave
no pain, nor produced convulsion or distortion
of the frame: a gentle moisture only bedewed
the countenance; the senses became obliterated,
and an excessive heaviness oppressed the whole
body, resembling that felt by persons who were
under the influence of profound sleep.
This treasure, which Cleopatra valued more
than all her riches, had been greedily and
thankfully received, and concealed from the
piercing eyes of the guards with such singular
secrecy, that no doubt remained on the minds
of her attendants, whom she now ordered to
leave her apartment.
. Her favorite women, Charmion and Iras,
who were too faithfully attached to their royal
mistress to survive her, were now embraced,
with great affection, in a last farewel.
Cleopatra then, with Roman fortitude, but
449
divested of those fears of futurity which she
would have experienced had she lived in this
happy Christian land, placed the asp on her
bosom its anodyne influence was soon expe-
rienced. The subtle poison entered her veins;
and Cleopatra, the beautiful Ethiopian queen,
expired; and the world closed on a princess,
whose talents and genius, had she enjoyed the
privileges of a Christian education, could not
have acknowledged a superior.
Augustus sent messengers to inquire into the
health of Cleopatra, as had been usual with
him. On entering the apartment of the Pagan
princess, they found her extended on her otto-
man of gold, arrayed in all her royal orna-
ments.
The asp was still at her bosom, but she
appeared as under the influence of a deep and
placid sleep. Iras was already dead; at the
feet of Cleopatra was Charmion, just expiring,
in the act of adjusting the imperial diadem
of her royal mistress.
A letter was in the hand of the queen,
addressed to Cæsar, in which she requested, as
a last act of clemency, to be interred in the
same tomb with Antony.
Augustus was deeply mortified at the death
of Cleopatra; he sent immediately for some of
VOL. I.
Go
450
the Psylli, in order to draw the poison from the
wound.
The Psylli, as Pliny relates, were a people of
Libya, near the Syrtes, of so peculiar a com-
plexion, that the bite of no poisonous animal
could injure them: their saliva was also so fatal
to serpents, that they were enabled to draw the
poison from a wound with their mouths. The
exertions of Cæsar were of no avail, and Cleo-
patra was relieved from all her worldly cares
and animosities.
She was thirty-nine years old, and had reigned
twenty-four years in Egypt, twelve of which
she passed with Antony. With Cleopatra ended
the race of the Ptolemies, after a reign of 294
years. Cæsar ordered a magnificent funeral to be
prepared, and according to her desire, her body
was laid by that of Antony. The two women
were also interred with considerable pomp, as a
distinguished mark of their fidelity.
Cæsario, the son of Cleopatra, who had al-
ready taken the Toga Virilis, by order of An-
tony, was the victim of superstition.
Augustus wished to have spared him, but he
was told by the philosopher, Areises, that it was
dangerous to have too many Cæsars. The two
sons of Antony, Alexander and Ptolemy, were
led in triumph, after which they were honorably
45 i
dismissed.
The daughter, who was pos-
sessed of her mother's beauty, as well as of
her name, was married to king Juba, of Mauri-
tania.
The statues of Cleopatra were left standing;
a favor, as it is said by Plutarch, purchased by
Archilius, a faithful servant of the queen, at
the price of a thousand talents. The statues of
Antony were all thrown down in Egypt, as well
as in Rome, by a decree of the senate, and by
virtue of which, all the honors that had been
enacted to him were rendered void, and his birth-
day was ranked among those deemed unfortu-
nate; and it was forbidden in his family to bear
the name of Marcus.
Egypt was now reduced to the form of a Ro-
man province; her immense riches were trans
ported to Rome; and Cæsar was enabled to re-
munerate his army.
On this event, and the establishment of peace,
every thing rose to double its value, and the
interest of money fell to four per cent.
A province, so incalculably fertile in corn,
and so distinguished for its abundant riches, was
an immense acquisition to the capital of the
world.
It is said to have supplied Rome with provi-
sions for four months in the year. Cæsar well knew
452
it was necessary to keep in subjection a people
naturally disposed to sedition and revolt.
In order to prevent the governor of Egypt
from aspiring to an independency, in a kingdom
so remote from Rome, and of such singularly
difficult access by sea and land, Augustus would
suffer at Alexandria neither senate nor public
council, as was usual in the great towns of the
empire, but he wisely subjected them to a pre-
fect, who, according to our ideas, would have
been denominated a viceroy, as he possessed all
the authority of one. He had under his com-
mand three legions, and several other bodies of
troops, who were distributed in different parts of
the kingdom.
To fill this important trust, Cæsar neither
sélected a senator or a magistrate, but a
man of very inferior birth,
inferior birth, and indifferent
fortune, without adherents, but whose educa-
tion had been liberal and moral; and who, in a
word, owed his whole subsistence to himself.
Such was Cornelius Gallus, and he was chosen
to fill this important office. He was honored
with the title of Augustalis, and had under him
an officer for the administering of justice, called
Juridicus.
The retinue of the viceroy consisted of the
freedmen and dependents of Cæsar himself.
453
It is said, Egypt was never more happy in its
government, than from this hour. The viceroy
commanded his troops to cleanse the canals, into
which the Nile, in its rise, discharged itself, and
which were more than
more than half choaked with
mud and filth. This expedient greatly contri-
buted to the fertility and health of the coun-
try; and to the facility of the interior com-
merce.
He restored the full vigour of the laws, and
encouraged the foreign trade. By these salu-
tary means, Alexandria preserved the rank
which it had always boasted, that of being
the second city in the universe, which she
constantly enjoyed, till the translation of the
empire to Constantinople.
Before Augustus left Alexandria, he visited
the tomb of the Ptolemies; and had the curio-
sity to view the coffin and body of Alexander
the Great, which, for his gratification, was
taken out of the mausoleum.
On being interrogated, whether he was inclined
to see the coffins of the Ptolemies, Cæsar re-
plied, "I desire to see a king, not dead
men.'
He paid his respects to the memory of the
illustrious founder of the city, by the donation
of a crown of gold; and, in order to evince
454
his profound veneration, he scattered flowers
on the body, which he sprinkled with the
most delicious perfumes.
END OF VOL. I.
G. SIDNEY, Printer,
1, Northumberland Street, Strand.
Page 83,
ERRATA
rr
line 19,'add “ from each reflector."
Page 145,
line 3, add "The."
Page 145,
Page 306,
line 13, for " abundant,” read “immense.
line 3, for "was" read " eventually."
19.
Page 403, line 14, omit the word “all.”
Page 408,
line 14, for "children" read “ Son.”
VOL. I.

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