A Smaller History of Rome / from the Earliest Times to the Establishment of the Empire

by William Smith; Eugene Lawrence

FROM THE DEATH OF CÆSAR TO THE BATTLE OF PHILIPPI. B.C. 44-42.

When the bloody deed had been finished, Brutus and the other conspirators rushed into the forum, proclaiming that they had killed the Tyrant, and calling the people to join them; but they met with no response, and, finding alone averted looks, they retired to the Capitol. Here they were joined by Cicero, who had not been privy to the conspiracy, but was now one of the first to justify the murder. Meantime the friends of Cæsar were not idle. M. Lepidus, the Master of the Horse, who was in the neighborhood of the city, marched into the Campus Martius in the night; and M. Antony hastened to the house of the Dictator, and took possession of his papers and treasures. But both parties feared to come to blows. A compromise was agreed to; and at a meeting of the Senate it was determined that Cæsar's murderers should not be punished, but, on the other hand, that all his regulations should remain in force, that the provisions of his will should be carried into effect, and that he should be honored with a public funeral. The conspirators descended from the Capitol; and, as a proof of reconciliation, Cassius supped with Antony and Brutus with Lepidus.

This reconciliation was only a pretense. Antony aspired to succeed to the power of the Dictator; and, to rouse the popular fury against the conspirators, Cæsar's will was immediately made public. He left as his heir his great-nephew Octavius, a youth of 18, the son of Atia, the daughter of his sister Julia. He bequeathed considerable legacies to his murderers. He gave his magnificent gardens beyond the Tiber to the public, and to every Roman citizen he bequeathed the sum of 300 sesterces (between £2 and £8 sterling). When this became known a deep feeling of sorrow for the untimely fate of their benefactor seized the minds of the people. Their feelings were raised to the highest point two or three days afterward, when the funeral took place. The body was to be burned in the Campus Martius, but it was previously carried to the forum, where Antony, according to custom, pronounced the funeral oration over it. After relating the exploits of the great Dictator, reciting his will, and describing his terrible death, he lifted up the blood-stained robe which Cæsar had worn in the Senate-house, and which had hitherto covered the corpse, and pointed out the numerous wounds which disfigured the body. At this sight a yell of indignation was raised, and the mob rushed in every direction to tear the murderers to pieces. The conspirators fled for their lives from the city. The poet Helvius Cinna, being mistaken for the Prætor Cinna, one of the assassins, was sacrificed on the spot before the mistake could be explained.

Antony was now master of Rome. Being in possession of Cæsar's papers, he was able to plead the authority of the Dictator for every thing which he pleased. The conspirators hastened to take possession of the provinces which Cæsar had assigned to them. Dec. Brutus repaired to Cisalpine Gaul, M. Brutus to Macedonia, and Cassius to Syria. Antony now made a disposition of the provinces, taking Cisalpine Gaul for himself, and giving Macedonia to his brother C. Antonius, and Syria to Dolabella.

Meantime a new actor appeared upon the stage. Octavius was at Apollonia, a town on the coast of Illyricum, at the time of his uncle's death. Cæsar had determined to take his nephew with him in his expedition against the Parthians, and had accordingly sent him to Apollonia, where a camp had been formed, that he might pursue his military studies. The soldiers now offered to follow him to Italy and avenge their leader's death, but he did not yet venture to take this decisive step. He determined, however, to sail at once to Italy, accompanied by only a few friends. Upon arriving at Brundusium he heard of the will of the Dictator, and was saluted by the soldiers as Cæsar. As the adopted heir of his uncle his proper name was now C. Julius Cæsar Octavianus, and by the last of these names we shall henceforth call him. He now made up his mind to proceed to Rome and claim his uncle's inheritance, in opposition to the advice of his mother, who dreaded this dangerous honor for her son. Upon arriving at Rome he declared before the Prætor, in the usual manner, that he accepted the inheritance, and he then promised the people to pay the money bequeathed to them. He even ventured to claim of Antony the treasures of his uncle; but, as the latter refused to give them up, he sold the other property, and even his own estates, to discharge all the legacies. Antony threw every obstacle in his way; but the very name of Cæsar worked wonders, and the liberality of the young man gained the hearts of the people. He had, indeed, a difficult part to play. He could not join the murderers of his uncle; and yet Antony, their greatest enemy, was also his most dangerous foe. In these difficult circumstances the youth displayed a prudence and a wisdom which baffled the most experienced politicians. Without committing himself to any party, he professed a warm attachment to the Senate. Cicero had once more taken an active part in public affairs; and Octavian, with that dissimulation which he practiced throughout his life, completely deceived the veteran orator. On the 2d of September Cicero delivered in the Senate the first of his orations against Antony, which, in imitation of those of Demosthenes against Philip, are known by the name of the Philippics. Antony was absent at the time, but shortly afterward attacked the orator in unmeasured terms. Cicero replied in the Second Philippic, one of the most violent invectives ever written. It was not spoken, but was published soon after Antony had quitted Rome.

Meantime the emissaries of Octavian had been sounding the disposition of the soldiers, and had already enlisted for him a considerable number of troops in various parts of Italy. Antony saw that the power was slipping from under his feet. Two of the legions which he had sent from Epirus passed over to Octavian; and, in order to keep the remainder under his standard, and to secure the north of Italy to his interests, Antony now proceeded to Cisalpine Gaul, which had been previously granted to him by the Senate. Upon entering the province toward the end of November, Dec. Brutus threw himself into Mutina (Modena), to which Antony laid siege.

Soon after Antony's departure Cicero prevailed upon the Senate to declare Antony a public enemy, and to intrust to the young Octavian the conduct of the war against him. Cicero was now at the height of his glory. His activity was unceasing, and in the twelve remaining "Philippics" he encouraged the Senate and the people to prosecute the war with vigor. The two new Consuls (B.C. 48) were A. Hirtius and C. Vibius Pansa, both of whom had been designated by the late Dictator. As soon as they had entered upon their office, Hirtius, accompanied by Octavian, marched into Cisalpine Gaul, while Pansa remained in the city to levy troops. For some weeks no movement of importance took place in either army; but when Pansa set out to join his colleague and Octavian, Antony marched southward, attacked him at Forum Gallorum, near Bononia (Bologna), and gained a victory over him (April 14). Pansa was mortally wounded; but Hirtius retrieved this disaster by suddenly attacking Antony the same evening on his return to the camp at Mutina. A few days afterward (April 27th) a more decisive battle took place before Mutina. Antony was defeated with great loss, but Hirtius fell in leading an assault on the besiegers' camp. The death of the two Consuls left Octavian the sole command; and so timely was their removal that he was accused by many of murdering them.

Antony now found it impossible to continue the siege of Mutina, but he retreated in good order northward, crossed the Alps, and was well received in Farther Gaul by Lepidus, who had promised him support. Meantime the good understanding between Octavian and the Senate had come to an end. The latter, being resolved to prevent him from obtaining any farther power, gave the command of the Consular armies to D. Brutus; and Cicero talked of removing the boy. But the "boy" soon showed the Senate that he was their master. He gained the confidence of the soldiers, who gladly followed the heir of Cæsar to Rome. Though only 20 years of age, he demanded of the Senate the Consulship. At first they attempted to evade his demand; but his soldiers were encamped in the Campus Martius, and in the month of August he was elected Consul with his cousin Q. Pedius. The first act of his Consulship showed that he had completely broken with the Senate. His colleague proposed a law declaring all the murderers of Cæsar to be outlaws. Octavian then quitted Rome to march professedly against Antony, leaving Pedius in charge of the city; but it soon appeared that he had come to an understanding with Antony, for he had hardly entered Etruria before the unwilling Senate were compelled, upon the proposal of Pedius, to repeal the sentence of outlawry against Antony and Lepidus. These two were now descending the Alps at the head of 17 legions. Octavian was advancing northward with a formidable army. Between two such forces the situation of D. Brutus was hopeless. He was deserted by his own troops, and fled to Aquileia, intending to cross over to Macedonia, but was put to death in the former place by order of Antony.

Lepidus, who acted as mediator between Antony and Octavian, now arranged a meeting between them on a small island near Bononia, formed by the waters of the River Rhenus, a tributary of the Po. The interview took place near the end of November. It was arranged that the government of the Roman world should be divided between the three for a period of five years, under the title of "Triumvirs for settling the affairs of the Republic."[71] Octavian received Sicily, Sardinia, and Africa; Antony the two Gauls, with the exception of the Narbonese district, which, with Spain, was assigned to Lepidus. Octavian and Antony were to prosecute the war against Brutus and Cassius, who were in possession of the eastern provinces. Lepidus was to receive the Consulship for the following year, with the charge of Italy.

The Triumvirs next proceeded to imitate the example of Sulla by drawing up a Proscription—a list of persons whose lives were to be sacrificed and property confiscated. But they had not Sulla's excuse. He returned to Italy exasperated to the highest degree by the murder of his friends and the personal insults he had received. The Triumvirs, out of a cold-blooded policy, resolved to remove every one whose opposition they feared or whose property they coveted. In drawing up the fatal list, they sacrificed without scruple their nearest relatives and friends. To please Antony, Octavian gave up Cicero; Antony, in return, surrendered his own uncle, L. Cæsar; and Lepidus sacrificed his own brother Paullus. As many as 300 Senators and 2000 Equites were entered on the lists.