Cn. Domitius L.F.Cn.N. Ahenobarbus, C. Sosius C.F. T.N. (B.C. 32 = a. u. 722.)
Caesar (III), M. Valerius M.F. Messala Corvinus. (B.C. 31 = a. u. 723.)
(BOOK 50, BOISSEVAIN.)
[-1-] The Roman people had been robbed of democracy but had not become definitely a monarchy: Antony and Caesar still controlled affairs on an equal footing, had divided the management of most of them, and nominally considered that the rest belonged to them in common, though in reality they endeavored to appropriate each interest as fast as either was able to gain any advantage over the other. Sextus had now perished, the Armenian king had been captured, the parties hostile to Caesar were silent, the Parthians showed no signs of restlessness, and so after this they turned openly against each other and the people became entirely enslaved. The causes for the war, or the pretexts, were as follows. Antony charged against Caesar that he had removed Lepidus from his position, and had taken possession of his territory and the troops of both him and Sextus, which ought to have been common property. He demanded the half of these as well as the half of the soldiers that had been levied in the parts of Italy which belonged to both of them. Caesar's charge against him was that he was holding Egypt and other countries that he had not drawn by lot, had killed Sextus (whom he would willingly have spared, he said), and by deceiving and binding the Armenian king had caused much ill repute to attach to the Roman people. He, too, demanded half of the spoils, and above all reproached him with Cleopatra and the children of hers which he had seen fit to regard as his own, the gifts bestowed upon them, and particularly that he called the boy such a name as Caesarion and placed him in the family of Caesar. [-2-] These were their mutual charges; and to a certain extent mutual rejoinders were made, some sent by letter to each other and others given to the public, by Caesar orally, by Antony in writing. On this pretext also they kept constantly sending envoys back and forth, wishing to appear as far as possible justified in the complaints they made and to reconnoitre each other's position at the same time.
[B.C. 32 (a. u. 722)]
Meanwhile they were collecting money avowedly for some different purpose and were making all other preparations for war as if against other persons, until the time that Gnaeus Domitius and Gaius Sosius, both belonging to Antony's party, became consuls. Then they made no further concealment, but admitted their alienation outright. It happened in the following way.
Domitius did not openly attempt any radical measures, since he had had the experience of many calamities. Sosius, however, had never experienced such evils, and so on the very first day of the month he spoke at length in praise of Antony and inveighed forcibly against Caesar. Indeed, he would have immediately introduced measures against the latter, had not Nonius Balbus, a tribune, prevented it. Caesar had suspected what he was going to do and wished neither to permit it to come to pass nor by offering opposition to appear to be commencing war; hence he did not enter the senate at this time nor even live in the city at all, but invented some excuse which took him out of town. He was not only influenced by the above considerations but desired to deliberate at leisure according to the reports brought to him and decide by mature reflection upon the proper course. Later he returned and convened the senate; he was surrounded by a guard of soldiers and friends who had daggers concealed, and sitting between the consuls upon his chair of state he spoke at length, and calmly, from where he sat regarding his own position, and brought many accusations against Sosius and Antony. When neither of the consuls themselves nor any one else ventured to utter a word, he bade them come together again on a specified day, giving them to understand that he would prove by certain documents that Antony was in the wrong. The consuls did not dare to reply to him and could not endure to be silent, and therefore secretly left the city before the time came for them to appear again; after that they took their way to Antony, followed by not a few of the senators who were left. Caesar on learning this declared, to prevent its appearing that he had been abandoned by them as a result of some injustice, that he had sent them out voluntarily and that he granted the rest who so wished permission to depart unarmed to Antony.
[-3-] This action of theirs just mentioned was counterbalanced by the arrival of others who had fled from Antony to Caesar—among them Titius and Plancus, though they were honored by Antony among the foremost and knew all his secrets. Their desertion was due to some friction between themselves and the Roman leader, or perhaps they were disgusted in the matter of Cleopatra: at any rate they left soon after the consuls had taken the final step and Caesar in the latter's absence had convened the senate and read and spoken all that he wished, upon hearing of which Antony assembled a kind of senate from the ranks of his followers, and after considerable talk on both sides of the question took up the war and renounced his connection with Octavia. Caesar was very glad to receive the pair and learned from them about Antony's condition, what he was doing, what he had in mind, what was written in his will, and the name of the man that had it; for they had taken part in sealing it. He became still more violently enraged from this cause and did not shrink from searching for the document, seizing it, and then carrying it into the senate and subsequently the assembly, and reading it. The clauses contained in it were of such a nature that his most lawless behavior brought upon him no reproach from the citizens. The writer had asseverated the fact that Caesarion was truly sprung from Caesar, had given some enormous presents to his children by the Egyptian queen, who were being reared by him, and had ordered that his body be buried in Alexandria and by her side.
[-4-] This made the Romans in their indignation believe that the other reports circulated were also true,—viz., that if Antony should prevail, he would bestow their city upon Cleopatra and transfer the seat of power to Egypt. And thereat they became so angry that all, not only such as disliked him or were indifferent to the two men, censured him, but even his most intimate friends did so severely. For in consternation at what was read and eager to relieve themselves of the suspicion felt toward them by Caesar, they said the same as the rest. They deprived him of the consulship, to which he had been previously elected, and of all his remaining authority. They did not declare him an enemy in so many words, because they feared its effect on his adherents, since it would be necessary that they also be held in the position of enemies in case they should not abandon him; but by action they showed their attitude as plainly as possible. For they voted to the men arrayed on his side pardon and praise if they would abandon him, and declared war outright upon Cleopatra, put on their military cloaks as though he were close at hand, and went to the temple of Bellona where they performed through Caesar as fetialis all the rites preliminary to war in the customary fashion. These were stated to refer to Cleopatra, but their real bearing was on Antony. [-5-] She had enslaved him so absolutely that she persuaded him to act as gymnasiarch[58] to the Alexandrians; and she was saluted by him as "queen" and "mistress," had Roman soldiers in her body-guard, and all of these inscribed her name upon their shields. She used to frequent the market-place with him, joined him in the management of festivals, in the hearing of lawsuits, and in riding; and in the cities she was actually carried in a chair, while Antony accompanied her on foot along with the eunuchs. He also termed his head-quarters "the palace", sometimes wore an Oriental dagger at his belt, dressed in a manner not in accordance with the customs of his native land, and let himself be seen even in public upon a gilded couch and a chair of similar appearance. He joined her in sitting for paintings and statues, he representing Osiris and Dionysus, and she Selene and Isis. This more than all made him seem to have become crazed by her through some enchantment. She so charmed and enthralled not only him but all the rest who had any influence with him that she conceived the hope of ruling the Romans, and made her greatest vow, whenever she took any oath, that of dispensing justice on the Capitol.
[-6-] This was the reason that they voted for war against Cleopatra, but they made no such declaration against Antony, knowing well that he would be made hostile in any case, for he was certainly not going to betray her and espouse Caesar's cause. And they wished to have this additional reproach to heap upon him, that he had voluntarily taken up war in behalf of the Egyptian woman against his native country, though no ill treatment had been accorded him personally at home.