Y.R. 713 B.C. the brother of Cleopatra, disappeared at the battle with 41 Cæsar on the Nile, said that he was Ptolemy, and whom the Aradians now held. He ordered the priest of Artemis at Ephesus, whom they called Megabyzus,' and who had once received Arsinoe as queen, to be brought before him, but in response to the supplications of the Ephesians, addressed to Cleopatra herself, released him. So swiftly was Antony transformed, and this passion was the beginning and the end of evils that befell him. When Cleopatra returned home Antony sent a cavalry force to Palmyra, situated not far from the Euphrates, to plunder it, bringing the trifling accusations against its inhabitants, that, being on the frontier between the Romans and the Parthians, they had avoided taking sides between them; for, being merchants, they bring the products of India and Arabia and dispose of them in the Roman territory. In fact, Antony's intention was to enrich his horsemen, but the Palmyreans were forewarned and they transported their property across the river, and, stationing themselves on the bank, prepared to shoot anybody who should attack them, for they were expert bowmen. The cavalry found nothing in the city. They turned around and came back, having met no foe, and empty-handed. 10. It seems that this course on Antony's part caused the outbreak of the Parthian war not long afterward, as many of the rulers expelled from Syria had taken refuge with the Parthians. Syria, until the reign of Antiochus Pius and his son, Antiochus, had been ruled by the descendants of Seleucus Nicator, as I have related in my Syrian history. Pompey added it to the Roman sway, and Scaurus was appointed prætor over it. After Scaurus the Senate sent others, including Gabinius, who made war against the Alexandrians, and after Gabinius, Crassus, who lost his life in the Parthian war, and after Crassus, Bibulus. At the time of Cæsar's death and the intestine strife which followed, tyrants got possession of the cities one by one, and they were assisted by the Parthians, who made an irrup 1 Strabo (xiv. i. 24) tells us that the generic name of the priests of the temple was "Megalobyzi," that they were eunuchs, that they were held in high honor, and that they were obliged to have virgins as their colleagues in the priesthood. Y.R. B.C. 713 tion into Syria after the disaster to Crassus and coöperated 41 with the tyrants. Antony drove out the latter, who took refuge in Parthia. He then imposed very heavy tribute on the masses and committed the outrage already mentioned against the Palmyreans, and did not wait for the disturbed country to become quiet, but distributed his army in winter quarters in the provinces, and himself went to Egypt to join Cleopatra. 11. She gave him a magnificent reception, and he spent the winter there without the insignia of his office and with the habit and mode of life of a private person, either because he was in a foreign jurisdiction, in a city under royal sway, or because he regarded his wintering as a festal occasion. He laid aside the cares and duties of a general, and wore the square-cut garment of the Greeks instead of the costume of his own country, and the white Attic shoe of the Athenian and Alexandrian priests, which they call the phæcasium. He went out only to the temples, the schools, and the discussions of the learned, and spent his time with Greeks, out of deference to Cleopatra, to whom his sojourn in Alexandria was wholly devoted. Such was the state of affairs with Antony. CHAPTER II Octavius returns to Rome - Consternation among the Italians - Confiscation and Division of the Land - Beginning of Trouble with Lucius Antonius - Outrages committed by the Soldiers - Octavius powerless to prevent them - The Killing of Nonius - Insubordination and Desertion, and the Causes thereof 12. As Octavius was journeying to Rome he became dangerously ill at Brundusium, and a rumor gained currency that he was dead. On his recovery he returned to the city and showed to Antony's friends the letters Antony had written. The Antonians directed Calenus to give Octavius the two legions, and wrote to Sextius in Africa to turn that province over to him. This was the course of the Antonians while, as it appeared that Lepidus had not been guilty of any serious wrong, Octavius transferred Africa to him in exchange for his former provinces. He also sold the Y.R. B.C. 713 remainder of the property confiscated under the conscrip- 41 tions. The task of assigning the soldiers to their colonies and dividing the land was one of exceeding difficulty. The soldiers demanded the cities which had been selected for them before the war as prizes for their valor. The cities demanded that the whole of Italy should share the burden, or that the cities should cast lots with the other cities, and that those who gave the land should be paid the value of it; but there was no money. They came to Rome in crowds, young and old, women and children, to the forum and the temples, uttering lamentations, saying that they had done no wrong for which they, Italians, should be driven from their fields and their hearthstones, like people conquered in war. The Romans mourned and wept with them, especially when they reflected that the war had been waged, and the rewards of victory given, not in behalf of the commonwealth, but against themselves and for a change of the form of government; that the colonies were established so that democracy should never again lift its head, -colonies composed of hirelings settled there by the rulers to be in readiness for whatever purpose they might be wanted. 13. Octavius explained to the cities the necessity of the case, but he knew that it would not satisfy them; and it did not. The soldiers encroached upon their neighbors in an insolent manner, seizing more than had been given to them and choosing the best lands; nor did they cease when Octavius rebuked them and made them numerous other presents. They were contemptuous in the knowledge that their rulers needed them to confirm their power, for the five years' term of the triumvirate was passing away, and army and rulers needed the services of each other for mutual security. The chiefs depended on the soldiers for the continuance of their government, while, for the control of what they had received, the soldiers depended on the permanence of the government of those who had given it. Believing that they could not keep a firm hold unless the givers had a strong government,' they fought for them with 1 ὡς γὰρ αὐτῶν οὐ βεβαίως ἄρχοιεν οἱ δόντες. Schweighäuser detected a lacuna after the word Be Baiws, which he was enabled to fill by comparing the passage with a similar one in Book I., Sec. 96 supra, Y.R. B.C. 713 good-will, necessarily. Octavius made many other gifts to 41 the indigent soldiers, borrowing from the temples for that purpose, for which reason the affections of the army were turned toward him. The greater thanks were bestowed upon him both as the giver of the land, the cities, the money, and the houses, and as the object of denunciation on the part of the despoiled, and as one who bore this contumely for the army's sake. 14. Observing this, Lucius Antonius, the brother of Antony, who was then consul, and Fulvia, the wife of Antony, and Manius, his procurator during his absence, resorted to artifices to delay the settlement of the colonies till Antony should return home, in order that it might not seem to be wholly the work of Octavius, and that he might not reap the thanks alone, and Antony be bereft of the favor of the soldiers. As this could not be done, on account of the haste of the soldiers, they asked that Octavius should take the colony leaders of Antony's legions from Antony's own friends, although the agreement with Antony yielded the selection to Octavius exclusively. They made it a matter of complaint that Antony was not present. They brought Fulvia and Antony's children before the soldiers, and, in envious terms, besought them not to forget Antony or allow him to be deprived of the glory or the gratitude due to his service to them. The fame of Antony was then at its maximum, not only among the soldiers, but among all others. The victory of Philippi was considered wholly due to him, on account of Octavius' illness. Although Octavius was not ignorant that it was a violation of the agreement, he yielded as a matter of favor to Antony, and appointed friends of the latter as colony leaders for Antony's viz.: "As they [the soldiers] could not be secure in their own holdings unless all of Sulla's affairs were on a firm foundation, they were his stoutest champions," etc. He accordingly filled the gap with the words ἐπικρατήσοντες εἰ μὴ βεβαίως. 1 ἐπιμεμφόμενοι δὲ ὡς οὐ παρόντι τῷ ̓Αντωνίφ. The meaning of these words, according to Schweighäuser, is that Antony's friends complained that Octavius was forestalling Antony in the affections of the soldiers during his absence. In his opinion, words should be inserted after us to express this idea. Suggestions for filling the gap have been made by both Bekker and Mendelssohn, but they did not change the text. Y.R. B.C. 713 legions. These leaders, in order that they might appear 41 more favorable to the soldiers than Octavius was, allowed them to commit still greater outrages. So there was another multitude from other communities, neighbors of the dispossessed ones, suffering many injuries at the hands of the soldiers, and crying out against Octavius, saying that the colonization was worse than the proscription, since the latter was directed against foes, while the former was against inoffensive persons. 1 15. Octavius knew that these citizens were suffering injustice, but he was without means to prevent it. There was no money to pay the value of the land to the cultivators, nor could the rewards to the soldiers be postponed, on account of the enemies who were still on foot. Pompeius ruled the sea and was reducing the city to famine by cutting off supplies. Ahenobarbus and Murcus were collecting a new fleet and army. The soldiers would be less zealous in the future if they were not paid for their former service. It was a matter of much importance that the five years' term of office was running out, and that the good-will of the soldiers was needed to renew it, for which reason he was willing to overlook for the time being their insolence and arrogance. Once in the theatre when he was present, a soldier, not finding his own seat, went and took one in the place reserved for the knights. The people pointed him out and Octavius had him removed. The soldiers were angry. They gathered around Octavius as he was going away from the theatre and demanded their comrade, for, as they did not see him, they thought that he had been put to death. When he was produced before them they supposed that he had been brought from prison, but he denied that he had been imprisoned and related what had 1 Among the dispossessed were the poets, Vergil, Horace, Tibullus, and Propertius. Vergil's property was seized after the battle of Philippi, but was restored, as he relates in the first Eclogue. It was seized a second time after the siege of Perusia, and this time it was not restored, but he was compensated with land elsewhere. Horace's paternal estate was seized after, and in consequence of, the battle of Philippi, in which he took part on the republican side (Epistles, ii. 2. 50). It was not restored to him, but he was compensated for the loss in other ways by the influence of Mecenas, to whom he was introduced by Vergil and Varius (Satires, i. 6. 55). VOL. II-2 D |