Y.R. B.C. 711 him alone, as representative of them all, in order that the 43 Senate, which now participates in the wickedness by reason of Cicero's support of Decimus, may at last be purged of the shocking crime." These words Antony spoke and wrote in reply. The Senate immediately voted him an enemy and also the army under him if it should not abandon him. The government of Macedonia and Illyria, with the troops still remaining in both, was assigned to Marcus Brutus until the republic should be reëstablished. The latter already had an army of his own and had received some troops from Apuleius. He also had war-ships and ships of burden and about 16,000 talents in money and quantities of arms which he found in Demetrias, where they had been placed by Gaius Cæsar long before, all of which the Senate now voted that he should use for the advantage of the republic. They voted that Cassius should be governor of Syria and that he should make war against Dolabella, and that all other commanders of Roman provinces and soldiers between the Adriatic sea and the Orient should obey the orders of Cassius and Brutus in all things. 1 Antony's reply is quoted with a running comment in the eighth Philippic (8-9). It was a counter-proposition demanding money and lands for his troops; requiring that the edicts of himself and Dolabella relative to Cæsar's writings and note-books should not be questioned; that there should be no inquiry into the disposition made of the money left by Cæsar in the temple of Ops; that he (Antony) should have the province of Transalpine Gaul with six legions (to be filled up from the forces under command of Decimus) for at least five years, and as long as Marcus Brutus and Cassius should retain their provinces. 2 Apuleius was the quaestor of Asia. Plutarch, who gives him the name of Antistius, says that he was bringing some ships laden with money to Rome and that Brutus met him near Carystus (at the southern end of Euboea) and persuaded him to deliver the ships and contents to himself, and that the amount of money was 500,000 drachmas. Plutarch mentions also the store of arms at Demetrias, accumulated by Cæsar for the Parthian expedition. (Life of Brutus, 24-25.) Y.R. 711 CHAPTER IX Octavius alarmed by the Action of the Senate - Octavius, Hirtius, and Pansa march to the Relief of Decimus - Activity of Cicero in Rome Battle between Antony and the Consul Pansa-Pansa wounded and his Men retire to their Camp - Hirtius comes to the Rescue and defeats Antony 43 64. Thus quickly did the Senate seize the opportunity B.C. to put the affairs of Cassius and his party in a brilliant aspect. When Octavius learned what had been done he was troubled. He had considered the amnesty in the light of an act of humanity and of pity for the relatives and compeers of these men, and that the very small commands had been given them for their safety merely;1 finally, the confirming of the Gallic province to Decimus seemed to him to have been done by reason of the Senate's difference with Antony respecting the supreme power, on which ground also they were inciting him against Antony. But the voting of Dolabella an enemy because he had put one of the murderers to death, the changing of the commands of Brutus and Cassius to the largest provinces, the granting of great armies and large sums of money to them and putting them in command of all the governors beyond the Adriatic sea - all pointed plainly to the building up of the party of Pompey and the pulling down of that of Cæsar. He bethought himself of their artifice in treating him as a young man, in providing him a statue and a front seat, and giving him the title of proprætor, when in fact they were taking from him what army he did have, for a proprætor has no authority when consuls are serving with him. Then the rewards voted only to those of his soldiers who had deserted from Antony to him were an indignity to those who had enlisted under him. Finally the war would be nothing but a disgrace to him, for the Senate would simply make use of him against Antony till the latter was crushed. 1 Cyrenaica and Crete; see Sec. 8. In the eleventh Philippic (12) Cicero praises Brutus for anticipating the desires of the Senate and not going to his own province of Crete, but flying to Macedonia, although it had been assigned to another. It had been assigned to Gaius Antonius. Y.R. 711 66 B.C. 65. Meditating thus to himself he performed the, sacri- 43 fices appertaining to the command assigned to him, and said to his army: I owe these honors of mine to you, fellow-soldiers, not now merely but from the time when you gave me the command; for the Senate conferred them upon me on account of you. Know, therefore, that my gratitude will be due to you for these things, and that it will be expressed to you abundantly if the gods grant success to our undertakings." In this way he conciliated the soldiers and attached them to himself. In the meantime, Pansa, one of the consuls, was collecting recruits throughout Italy, and the other one, Hirtius, shared the command of the forces with Octavius, and as he was secretly ordered to do it by the Senate he demanded as his share the two legions that had deserted from Antony, knowing that they were the most reliable in the army. Octavius yielded to him in everything and they shared with each other and went into winter quarters together. As winter advanced Decimus began to suffer from hunger, and Hirtius and Octavius advanced toward Mutina lest Antony should receive in surrender Decimus' army now weak with famine; but as Mutina was closely hemmed in by Antony, they did not venture to come to close quarters with him at once, but waited for Pansa. There were frequent cavalry engagements, as Antony had a much larger force of horse, but the difficulty of the ground, which was cut up by torrents, deprived him of the advantage of numbers. 66. Such was the course of events around Mutina. At Rome, in the absence of the consuls, Cicero took the lead by public speaking. He held frequent assemblies, procured arms by inducing the artificers to work without pay, collected money, and exacted heavy contributions from the Antonians. These paid without complaining in order to avoid calumny, until Publius Ventidius, who had served under Gaius Cæsar and was a friend of Antony, unable to endure the exactions of Cicero, betook himself to Cæsar's colonies, where he was well known, and raised two legions for Antony and hastened to Rome to seize Cicero. The consternation was extreme. They removed most of the women and children in a panic, and Cicero himself fled from the city. When Ventidius learned this he turned his Y.R. B.C. 711 course toward Antony, but being intercepted by Octavius 43 and Hirtius, he proceeded to Picenum, where he recruited another legion and waited to see what would happen.1 When Pansa was drawing near with his army, Octavius and Hirtius sent Carsuleius to him with Octavius' prætorian cohort and the Martian legion to assist him in passing through a defile. Antony had disdained to occupy the defile as it served no other purpose than to hinder the enemy; but, eager to fight, and having no chance to win distinction with his cavalry, because the ground was marshy and cut by ditches, he placed his two best legions in ambush in the marsh, where they were concealed by the reeds and where the road, which had been thrown up artificially, was narrow. 67. Carsuleius and Pansa passed through the defile by night. At daybreak, with only the Martian legion and five other cohorts, they entered upon the road above mentioned, which was still free from enemies, and looked over the marsh on either side. There was a suspicious agitation of the bushes, then a gleaming of shields and helmets, and Antony's prætorian cohort suddenly showed itself directly in their front. The Martian legion, surrounded on all sides and having no way to escape, ordered the new levies, if they came up, not to join in the fight lest they should cause confusion by their inexperience. The prætorians of Octavius confronted the prætorians of Antony. The other troops divided themselves in two parts and advanced into the marsh on either side, the one commanded by Pansa and the other by Carsuleius. Thus there were two battles in two marshes, and neither division could see the other by reason of the elevated road, while along the road itself the prætorian cohorts fought another battle of their own. The Antonians were determined to punish the Martians for desertion as being traitors to themselves. The Martians were equally determined to punish the Antonians for condoning the slaughter of their comrades at Brundusium. Recognizing in each other the flower of either army they hoped 1 This tale, in so far as it relates to Cicero, must be entirely fictitious, since nothing of the kind is mentioned in the Philippics, although Ventidius is mentioned twice after his supposed march upon Rome to arrest Cicero. B. C. Y.R. The 711 to decide the whole war by this single engagement. one side was moved by shame lest its two legions should be beaten by one; the other by ambition that its single legion should overcome the two. 68. Thus urged on rather by their own animosity and ambition than by their generals they assailed each other, considering this their own affair. Being veterans they raised no battle-cry, since they could not expect to terrify each other, nor in the engagement did they utter a sound, either as victors or vanquished. As there could be neither flanking nor charging in marshes and ditches, they stood together in close order, and since neither could dislodge the other they locked together with their swords as in a wrestling match. No blow missed its mark. There were wounds and slaughter but no cries, only groans; and when one fell he was instantly borne away and another took his place. They needed neither admonition nor encouragement, since experience had made each one his own general. When they were overcome by fatigue they drew apart from each other for a brief space to take breath, as in gymnastic games, and then rushed again to the encounter. Amazement took possession of the new levies who had come up, as they beheld such deeds done with such precision and in such silence. 69. All put forth superhuman exertions, and the prætorians of Octavius perished to the last man. Those of the Martians who were under Carsuleius got the better of those opposed to them, who gave way, not in disgraceful rout, but little by little. Those under Pansa were likewise in difficulties, but they held out with equal bravery on both sides until Pansa was wounded in the abdomen by a javelin and carried off the field to Bononia. Then his soldiers retired, at first step by step, but afterward they turned and took refuge in flight. When the new levies saw this they fled in disorder, and with loud cries, to their camp, which the quæstor, Torquatus, had put in readiness for them while the battle was in progress, apprehending that it might be needed. The new levies dashed into it confusedly although they were Italians, the same as the Martians, so much more than race does training contribute to bravery. The Martians for fear of shame did not enter into the camp, but 43 |