The idea of this expedition was not new. The Parthians had long awakened the jealousy of Rome. They had extended their frontiers from the Caucasus to the Euphrates,[678] and considerably increased their importance; their chief assumed, like Agamemnon, the title of king of kings. It is true that the part of Mesopotamia taken from the Parthians by Tigranes had been restored to them by Lucullus, and Pompey had renewed the treaty which made the Euphrates the frontier of the empire of the Arsacides. But this treaty had not always been respected, for it was not one of the habits of the Republic to suffer a too powerful neighbour. Nevertheless, different circumstances might, at this moment, lead the Senate to make war upon the Parthians. While A. Gabinius exercised the command in Syria, Mithridates, dethroned, on account of his cruelty, by his younger brother Orodes, had invoked the support of the proconsul; and the latter was on the point of giving it, when Pompey sent him orders to repair first into Egypt to replace Ptolemy on his throne. Mithridates, besieged in Babylon, had surrendered to his brother, who had caused him to be put to death.[679] On another hand, the Parthians were always at war with the kings of Armenia, allies of the Romans. The Senate, had it the wish, was not, therefore, in want of pretexts for declaring war. It had to avenge the death of a friendly pretender, and to sustain a threatened ally. To what point could the law of nations be invoked? That is doubtful; but, for several centuries, the Republic had been in the habit of consulting its own interests much more than justice, and the war against the Parthians was quite as legitimate as the wars against Perseus, Antiochus, or Carthage.
Nevertheless, this enterprise encountered a warm opposition at Rome; the party hostile to the consuls feared the glory which it might reflect upon Crassus, and many prudent minds dreaded the perils of so distant an expedition; but Cæsar, who had inherited that passion of the ancient Romans who dreamt for their town the empire of the world, encouraged Crassus in his projects, and, in the winter of 700, he sent Publius to his father, with 1,000 picked Gaulish cavalry.
Inauspicious auguries marked the departure of the proconsul. The two tribunes of the people, C. Ateius Capito and P. Aquilius Gallus, adherents of the party of the nobles, opposed it. They had succeeded in imparting their sentiments to many of their fellow-citizens. Crassus, intimidated, took with him Pompey, whose ascendency over the people was so powerful that his presence was sufficient to put a stop to all hostile manifestation. Ateius Capito was not discouraged; he gave orders to an usher to place Crassus under arrest at the moment when he was leaving Rome. The other tribune prevented this act of violence. Then, seeing that all his efforts had failed, he had recourse to an extreme measure: he sent for a chafing-dish, and threw perfumes into it, while he pronounced against Crassus the most terrible curses. These imprecations were of a nature to strike the superstitious minds of the Romans. People did not fail to call them to memory afterwards, when news came of the Syrian disasters.
Cato proposes to deliver Cæsar to the Germans.
VIII. About the same time, the news arrived at Rome of the defeat of the Usipetes and Tencteri, of the passage of the Rhine, and of the descent in Britain; they excited a warm enthusiasm, and the Senate decreed twenty days of thanksgiving.[680] The last expedition especially made a great impression on people’s minds; it was like the discovery of a new world; the national pride was flattered at learning that the legions had penetrated into an unknown country, from which immense advantages for the Republic were promised.[681] Yet all were not dazzled by the military successes; some pretended that Cæsar had crossed, not the ocean, but a mere pool,[682] and Cato, persevering in his hatred, proposed to deliver him to the Germans. He accused him of having attacked them at the moment when they were sending deputies, and, by this violation of the law of nations, drawn upon Rome the anger of Heaven; “they must,” he said, “turn it upon the head of the perfidious general:” an impotent diatribe, which did not prevail against the public feeling![683] Yet, as soon as Cæsar was informed of it, too sensitive, perhaps, to the insult, he wrote to the Senate a letter full of invectives and accusations against Cato. The latter at first repelled them calmly; then, taking advantage of the circumstance, he began to paint, in the darkest colours, Cæsar’s pretended designs. “It was,” he said, “neither the Germans nor the Gauls they had to fear, but this ambitious man, whose designs were apparent to everybody.” These words produced a strong impression on an auditory already prejudiced unfavourably. Nevertheless, the fear of the public opinion prevented any decision; for, according to Plutarch, “Cato made no impression outside the Senate; the people desired that Cæsar should be raised to the highest power, and the Senate, though it was of the same opinion as Cato, dared not to act, through fear of the people.”[684]
CHAPTER V.
EVENTS OF THE YEAR 700
Second Descent in England.
I. THE expedition to England, in 699, may be said to have been only a reconnoitring visit, showing the necessity of more numerous forces and more considerable preparations to subjugate the warlike people of Great Britain. Accordingly, before starting for Italy, Cæsar gave orders to build on the coast, and especially at the mouth of the Seine, a great number of ships fitted for the transport of troops. In the month of June he left Italy, visited his stocks where the vessels were building, appointed Boulogne as the general rendezvous of his fleet, and, while it was assembling, marched rapidly, with four legions, towards the country of the Treviri, where the inhabitants, who had rebelled against his orders, were divided into two parties, having at their head, one Indutiomarus, and the other Cingetorix. He gave the power to the latter, who was favourable to the Romans. After having thus calmed the agitation of that country, Cæsar repaired at once to Boulogne, where he found 800 ships ready to put to sea; he embarked with five legions and 2,000 cavalry, and, without any resistance, landed, as in the year before, near Deal. A first successful combat, not far from Kingston, engaged him to continue his advance, when he received information that a tempest had just destroyed part of his fleet; he then returned to the coast, took the measures necessary for repairing this new disaster, caused all his ships to be drawn on land, and surrounded them with a retrenchment adjoining to the camp. He next marched towards the Thames. On his way he encountered the Britons, who, vanquished in two successive combats, had nevertheless more than once scattered trouble and disorder through the ranks of the legions, thanks to their chariots; these engines of war, mixed with the cavalry, spread terror and disconcerted the Roman tactics. Cæsar forced the passage of the Thames at Sunbury, went to attack the citadel of Cassivellaunus near St. Albans, and obtained possession of it. Several tribes, situated to the south of that river, made their submission. Then, dreading the approach of the equinox, and especially the troubles which might break out in Gaul during his absence, he returned to the continent.
Displacement of the Army. Disaster of Sabinus.
II. Immediately on his return, he placed his legions in winter quarters: Sabinus and Cotta at Tongres; Cicero at Charleroi; Labienus at Lavacherie, on the Ourthe; Fabius at Saint-Pol; Trebonius at Amiens; Crassus at Montdidier; Plancus at Champlieu; and, lastly, Roscius in the country of Séez. This displacement of the army, rendered necessary by the difficulty of provisioning it, separated by great distances the quarters from each other, though all, except that of Roscius, were comprised in a radius of 100 miles.