Dio Cassius, Histories

§ 48.19.3 but when those men had perished, Lucius Staius and others took refuge with him. He was at first glad to receive him, for he brought with him the force he commanded; but later, observing that he was an active and high-spirited man, he put him to death on a charge of treachery. 4 Thus reinforced by the fleet of Staius and also by the multitude of slaves who kept arriving from Italy, he gained tremendous strength; in fact, so many persons deserted that the Vestal Virgins prayed over the sacrifices that their desertions might be checked.

§ 48.20.1 For these reasons, and because Sextus was harbouring the exiles, cultivating the friendship of Antony, and plundering a great portion of Italy, Caesar desired to become reconciled with him; but when he failed of that, he ordered Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa to wage war against him, and himself set out for Gaul. 2 However, when Sextus learned of this, he waited until Agrippa was busy with the Ludi Apollinares; for he was praetor at the time, and was not only giving himself airs in various other ways on the strength of his being an intimate friend of Caesar, but also in particular he gave two-days' celebration of the Circensian Games and prided himself upon his production of the game called “Troy,” which was performed by the boys of the nobility. Now while he was thus occupied, Sextus crossed over into Italy and remained there, carrying on marauding expeditions, until Agrippa arrived; then he left a garrison at certain points and sailed back again.

§ 48.20.3 As for Caesar, he had formerly tried, as I have related, to get possession of Gaul through various agents, but had been unable on account of Calenus and the others who supported Antony's cause; but now he occupied it in person, when he discovered that Calenus had fallen ill and died, and when he had acquired his army without difficulty. 4 Meanwhile, seeing that Lepidus was vexed at being deprived of the province that belonged to him, he sent him to Africa, desiring that he should receive the province as a gift from himself alone, and not from Antony also, and should thus become more closely attached to him.

§ 48.21.1 The Romans had two provinces in that part of Africa, as I have remarked; the governors, before the league of the triumvirs, were Titus Sextius over the Numidian country and Cornificius with Decimus Laelius over the other, the first-named being friendly to Antony and the other two to Caesar. 2 For a time Sextius waited, expecting that the others, who had a far larger force, would invade his domain, and he was preparing to withstand them there. But when they delayed he began to despise them; and he was further elated when a cow spoke with a human voice, as they say, and bade him lay hold of the task before him,

§ 48.21.3 and when he had a dream in which a bull that had been buried in the city of Tucca seemed to urge him to dig up its head and carry it about on a pole, intimating that by this means he should conquer. Without hesitation, then, especially when he found the bull at the place where the dream said it was, he took the initiative by invading Africa. 4 At the outset he occupied Hadrumetum and some few other places, which were taken by surprise at his sudden assault; but later, while off his guard because of this very success, he was ambushed by the quaestor of Cornificius, lost a large portion of his army, and withdrew into Numidia. And since he chanced to meet with this reverse when he was without the bull's head, he ascribed his defeat to that fact and made preparations to take the field again.

§ 48.21.5 Meanwhile his opponents anticipated him by invading his province, and while the others were besieging Cirta, the quaestor of Cornificius, with the cavalry, proceeded against him, overcame him in a few cavalry battles, and won over Sextius' quaestor. After these experiences Sextius secured some fresh reinforcements, risked battle again, conquered the quaestor in his turn, and shut up Laelius, who was overrunning the country, within his fortifications. 6 He deceived Cornificius, who was intending to come to the defence of his colleague, making him believe that Laelius had been captured, and after thus throwing him into a state of dejection defeated him; and he not only slew Cornificius in the battle, but also Laelius, who made a sally with the intention of taking his enemy in the rear.

§ 48.22.1 After this achievement Sextius occupied Africa and governed both provinces in security, until Caesar, according to the compact made by him with Antony and Lepidus, took over the command of these provinces and put Gaius Fuficius Fango in charge of them; then, indeed, Sextius voluntarily gave up the provinces. 2 When, however, the battle with Brutus and Cassius had been fought, and Caesar and Antony had redistributed the world, Caesar taking Numidia for his share of Libya, and Antony Africa, — for Lepidus, as I have stated, ruled with them only in name, and often was not recorded in the documents even to this extent, —

§ 48.22.3 when, I say, this had occurred, Fulvia bade Sextius resume his rule of Africa. He was at this time still lingering in Libya, making the winter season his plea, but in reality knowing full well that there would be some kind of revolution. As he could not persuade Fango to retire from the country, he associated himself with the natives, who detested Fango; for he had served in the mercenary force — many of whose members, as has been stated in my narrative, had actually been elected to the senate — and was ruling the natives badly. 4 At this turn of affairs Fango retired into Numidia, where he ill-treated the people of Cirta because they despised him in view of the present circumstances. He also expelled from his kingdom a certain Arabio, a prince among the neighbouring barbarians, who had first helped Laelius and had later attached himself to Sextius; this he did because Arabio refused to make an alliance with him.

§ 48.22.5 When the prince fled to Sextius, Fango demanded his surrender, and upon being refused he grew angry, invaded Africa, and ravaged a part of the country; but when Sextius took the field against him, he was defeated in slight but numerous engagements and consequently retired again into Numidia. 6 Sextius went after him and had hopes of soon vanquishing him, especially with the aid of Arabio's horse, but he became suspicious of Arabio and treacherously murdered him, after which he accomplished nothing further at that time, for the cavalry, enraged at Arabio's death, left Sextius in the lurch and most of them took the side of Fango. 231 For the time being Sextius and Fango concluded an alliance, agreeing that the cause for war between them had been removed; later, however, Fango waited until Sextius was feeling secure on account of the truce and then invaded Africa. 2 Thereupon they joined battle with each other, and at first both sides were victorious and also beaten; for Fango was superior in his Numidian cavalry and Sextius in his citizen infantry, so that they plundered each other's camps without the men on either side knowing what fate had befallen their comrades. 3 Then when they retired and perceived what had happened, they came to blows again, the Numidians were routed, and Fango escaped for the moment into the mountains; but during the night some hartbeestes ran past, and, thinking that the enemy's cavalry were at hand, he committed suicide. 4 Thus Sextius gained possession of all the other districts without trouble, and subdued by famine Zama, which held out for a long time. Thereafter he governed both the provinces again until Lepidus was sent. 5 Against him he took no measures, either because he thought this policy had the approval of Antony, or because he was by no means so strong as Lepidus in troops; instead, he remained quiet, acting as if the inevitable were a favour on his own part to Lepidus. In this way Lepidus gained possession of both provinces.

§ 48.24.1 So much for these events. During this same period, following the battle at Philippi, Mark Antony came to the mainland of Asia, where he levied contributions upon the cities and sold the positions of authority; some of the districts he visited in person and to others he sent agents. 2 Meanwhile he fell in love with Cleopatra, whom he had seen in Cilicia, and thereafter gave not a thought to honour but became the Egyptian woman's slave and devoted his time to his passion for her. This caused him to do many outrageous things, and in particular to drag her brothers from the temple of Artemis at Ephesus and put them to death.

§ 48.24.3 And finally he left Plancus in the province of Asia and Saxa in Syria and departed for Egypt. This action was chiefly responsible for many disturbances: the inhabitants of the island of Arados paid no heed to the agents sent them by him to secure money, and even went so far as to kill some of them, and the Parthians, who had previously been active, 4 now assailed the Romans more than ever. Their leaders were Labienus and Pacorus, the latter being a son of King Orodes and the former a son of Titus Labienus. The manner of Labienus' coming among the Parthians, and what he did in conjunction with Pacorus, was as follows.

§ 48.24.5 He was an ally of Brutus and Cassius, and having before the battle been sent to Orodes to secure some reinforcements, was detained by him a long time while the king was waiting the turn of events and hesitating to join forces with him, yet fearing to refuse. 6 Later, when the news of the defeat reached him, and it appeared to be the intention of the victors to spare none who had resisted them, Labienus remained among the barbarians, choosing to live with them rather than to perish at home. Now as soon as Labienus was aware of Antony's demoralization, of his passion, and of his departure for Egypt, he persuaded the Parthian king to make an attack upon the Romans.

§ 48.24.7 For he declared their armies were either destroyed utterly or impaired, while the remainder of the troops were in a state of mutiny and would again be at war; and he accordingly advised the king to subjugate Syria and the adjoining districts, while Caesar was busy in Italy with Sextus and Antony was indulging his passion in Egypt. 8 He promised to assume command in the war, and assured Orodes that if allowed to follow this course he would detach many of the provinces, inasmuch as they were already estranged from the Romans through the constant ill-treatment they had experienced.

§ 48.25.1 By these agreements persuaded Orodes to wage war and was entrusted by him with a large force and with the king's son Pacorus. With them he invaded Phoenicia, and advancing against Apamea, he was repulsed from its walls but won the garrisons in the country to his side without resistance. 2 For these garrisons consisted of troops that had served with Brutus and Cassius; Antony had incorporated them in his own forces and at this time had assigned them to garrison Syria because they knew the country. So Labienus easily won over all these men, since they were well acquainted with him, with the exception of Saxa, their leader at the time, who was brother of the general Saxa as well as quaestor and therefore refused to go over to the other side, being the only one who did;

§ 48.25.3 and Saxa the general he conquered in a pitched battle through the superior numbers and ability of his own cavalry, and when the other later on made a dash by night from his intrenchments, he pursued them. The reason why Saxa fled was that he feared his associates would take up with the cause of Labienus, who was trying to lure them away by means of pamphlets which he kept shooting into Saxa's camp. 4 Now when Labienus overtook the fugitives, he slew most of them, and then, when Saxa made his escape to Antioch, he captured Apamea, which no longer resisted, since the inhabitants believed that Saxa was dead; and subsequently he brought Antioch also to terms, now that Saxa had abandoned it, and finally, after pursuing the fugitive into Cilicia, he seized Saxa himself and put him to death.

§ 48.26.1 After the death of Saxa, Pacorus made himself master of Syria and subjugated all of it except Tyre; but that city had already been occupied by the Romans who survived and by the natives who were in sympathy with them, and neither persuasion could prevail against them nor force, since Pacorus had no fleet. 2 They accordingly continued to be proof against capture, but Pacorus secured all the rest of Syria. He then invaded Palestine and deposed Hyrcanus, who was at the moment in charge of affairs there, having been appointed by the Romans, and in his stead set up his brother Aristobulus as a ruler because of the enmity existing between them.

§ 48.26.3 In the meantime Labienus had occupied Cilicia and had obtained the allegiance of the cities of the mainland except Stratonicea, since Plancus, in fear of him, had crossed over to the islands; most of the places he took without conflict, but for Mylasa and Alabanda he had to fight. 4 For although these cities had accepted garrisons from him, they murdered them on the occasion of a festival and revolted; and because of this he punished the people of Alabanda when he had captured it, and razed to the ground the town of Mylasa after it had been abandoned. As for Stratonicea, he besieged it for a long time, but was unable to capture it in any way.

§ 48.26.5 Now in consequence of these successes Labienus proceeded to levy money and to rob the temples; and he styled himself imperator and Parthicus, in the latter respect acting directly contrary to the Roman custom, in that he took his title from those whom he was leading against the Romans, as if it were the Parthians and not his fellow-citizens that he was defeating.

§ 48.27.1 As for Antony, although he kept himself informed of all these operations, as no doubt he did in the case of what was going on in Italy also (for he was ignorant of none of them whatsoever), yet he failed in both instances to take defensive measures in time; instead, he was so under the sway of his passion and of his drunkenness that he gave not a thought either to his allies or to his enemies. 2 It is indeed true that he had earnestly devoted himself to his duties so long as he had been in a subordinate station and had been aiming at the highest prizes, but now that he had got into power, he no longer paid strict attention to any of these things, but joined Cleopatra and the Egyptians in general in their life of luxurious ease until he was entirely demoralized.

§ 48.27.3 So when at last he was forced to bestir himself, he sailed to Tyre with the intention of aiding it, but on seeing that the rest of Syria had already been occupied before his coming, he left the inhabitants to their fate, on the pretext that he had to wage war against Sextus; and yet he excused his dilatoriness with regard to the latter by alleging his business with the Parthians.4 And thus on account of Sextus, as he pretended, he gave no assistance to his allies, and none to Italy on account of his allies, but coasted along the mainland as far as Asia and crossed to Greece.

§ 48.27.5 There, after meeting his mother and wife, he made Caesar his enemy and made an alliance with Sextus. After this he went over to Italy, got possession of Sipontum, and proceeded to besiege Brundisium, which had refused to come to terms with him.

§ 48.28.1 While he was thus engaged, Caesar, who had already arrived from Gaul, had collected his forces and had sent Publius Servilius Rullus to Brundisium and Agrippa against Sipontum. Agrippa took the city by storm, but Servius was suddenly attacked by Antony, who destroyed many of his men and won many over. 2 The two leaders thus broke out into open war and were sending messages to the various cities and to the veterans, wherever they thought they could get any aid; and all Italy was again thrown into turmoil, especially Rome, and some were already choosing one side or the other, and others were hesitating. While the leaders themselves and those who were to assist them in the war were in a state of suspense, Fulvia died in Sicyon, where she had been staying.

§ 48.28.3 And although Antony was held responsible for her death because of his passion for Cleopatra and her wantonness, nevertheless, when this news was announced, both sides laid down their arms and effected a reconciliation, either because Fulvia had really been the cause of their variance hitherto or because they chose to make her death an excuse, in view of the fear which each inspired in the other, inasmuch as the forces which they had, as well as their ambitions, were equally matched. 4 By the arrangement then made Caesar received Sardinia, Dalmatia, Spain, and Gaul, and Antony all the districts that belonged to the Romans across the Ionian Sea, both in Europe and Asia; as for the provinces in Africa, they were of course still held by Lepidus, and Sicily by Sextus.

§ 48.29.1 They accordingly divided the empire anew in this way and undertook in common the war against Sextus, although Antony through messengers had taken oaths by which he had bound himself to Sextus against Caesar. 2 And it was chiefly for this reason that Caesar brought himself to receive, under a general amnesty, all those who had gone over to Antony in the war with Lucius, Antony's brother, — among them being Domitius and some of the other assassins of Caesar, — as well as all those whose names had been posted on the tablets or had in any way cooperated with Brutus and Cassius and had later embraced the cause of Antony.

§ 48.29.3 So great, indeed, is the perversity that reigns in factional strife and war; for men in power take no account of justice, but determine on friend and foe according as their own interests and advantage at the time dictate, and accordingly they regard the same men, now as their enemies, now as their friends, according to the occasion.

§ 48.30.1 When they had reached this agreement in their camps at Brundisium, they entertained each other at banquets, Caesar in military and Roman fashion and Antony in Asiatic and Egyptian style. 2 And now that they had become reconciled, as it appeared, the soldiers who were at that time with Caesar surrounded Antony and demanded of him the money which the two had promised them before the battle of Philippi; and, indeed, it was for this that he had been sent into Asia, in order to collect as much as possible.

§ 48.30.3 And when he failed to give them anything, they would certainly have done him some harm, if Caesar had not restrained them by inspiring them somehow with new hopes. After this experience, in order to guard against further unruliness, they sent the superannuated soldiers to the colonies, and then took up the war. 4 For Sextus had come to Italy in accordance with the agreement he had made with Antony, intending, with Antony's help, to wage war against Caesar; but when he learned of their agreement he himself went back to Sicily, and ordered Menas, a freedman of his to whom he was altogether devoted, to coast about a portion of the fleet and injure the property of his opponents.

§ 48.30.5 Menas, accordingly, ravaged many parts of Etruria and captured Marcus Titius, the son of Titius who was one of the proscribed and was then on the side of Sextus; this son had got together some ships in the interest of his own supremacy and had taken up his station off the province of Narbonensis. 6 This Titius suffered no harm, for on his father's account, and because his soldiers carried the name of Sextus on their shields, his life was spared; yet he did not recompense his benefactor fairly, but on the contrary, defeated him in battle and finally slew him, so that his conduct in this matter is remembered among the most notable examples of its kind.

§ 48.30.7 Now after Menas had accomplished all this as described, he sailed to Sardinia and engaged in a conflict with Marcus Lurius, the governor there; and at first he was routed, but later, when the other was pursuing him heedlessly, he awaited his attack and turned the tables upon Lurius by winning an unexpected victory over him. 8 Thereupon Lurius abandoned the island and Menas occupied it, taking all the places by capitulation, except Caralis, which he took by siege; for many fugitives from the battle had taken refuge there. He released without ransom several of the captives, including Helenus, a freedman of Caesar, who stood in high favour with his master, thus laying up for himself with Caesar a store of kindness against some future time and preparing a refuge for himself, if he should ever need anything at Caesar's hands.

§ 48.31.1 Menas, then, was so employed; but as for the people in Rome, they would no longer hold their peace, inasmuch as Sardinia was in hostile hands, the coast was being pillaged, and they had had their corn supply cut off, while the famine, the great number of taxes of all sorts which were being imposed, and in addition contributions assessed upon such as possessed slaves, all irritated them greatly. 2 Much as they were pleased with the reconciliation of Antony and Caesar, — for they thought that harmony between these men meant peace for themselves, — they were equally or even more displeased at the war which the two men were carrying on against Sextus.

§ 48.31.3 But a short time before they had brought the two rulers into the city mounted on horses as if at a triumph, had bestowed upon them the triumphal dress just as upon those who celebrated triumphs, had allowed them to view the festivals seated upon their chairs of state, and had espoused to Antony Caesar's sister, Octavia, now that her husband was dead, though she was pregnant; 4 at the present time, however, they changed their behaviour to a remarkable degree. At first, when they met at various gathering or came together to witness a spectacle, they would urge Antony and Caesar to secure peace, and at this they raised loud shuts of approval; and when these leaders would not heed them, they were alienated from them and favoured Sextus.

§ 48.31.5 They not only kept up a general talk to foster his interests, but also at the games in the Circus honoured by loud applause the statue of Neptune carried in the procession, thus expressing their great delight in him. And when on certain days it was not brought out, they took stones and drove the magistrates from the Forum, threw down the statues of Caesar and Antony, and finally, when they could not accomplish anything even in this way, they rushed violently upon those men as if to kill them. 6 Caesar, although his followers were wounded, rent his garments and betook himself to supplicating them, whereas Antony bore himself with more violence toward them; and when, chiefly because of this, the people became angered and it was feared that they would even commit some act of violence in consequence, the two were forced against their will to make overtures to Sextus.

§ 48.32.1 Meanwhile Caesar and Antony removed the praetors and the consuls, although it was now near the close of the year, and appointed others instead, caring little that these would remain in office but a few days.2 One of those who at this time became consuls was Lucius Cornelius Balbus, of Gades, who so far surpassed the men of his generation in wealth and munificence that at his death he left a bequest of one hundred sesterces to each Roman citizen.

§ 48.32.3 They not only did this, but when an aedile died on the last day of the year, they chose another to fill out the remaining hours. It was at this same time that the Aqua Iulia, as it was called, was brought into Rome 4 and the festival that had been vowed for the completion of the war against the assassins of Caesar was celebrated by the consuls. The duties belonging to the college called the Septemviri were performed by the pontifices, since no member of the calling was present; this was also done on many other occasions afterwards.

§ 48.33.1 Besides these events which took place that year Caesar gave a public funeral to Sphaerus, who had been his attendant in childhood and had been given his freedom. Also he put to death Salvidienus Rufus, whom he suspected of having plotted against him. 2 This man was of most obscure origin, and once while he was tending his flocks a flame had issued from his head; but he had been so greatly advanced by Caesar as to be made consul without even being a member of the senate, and his brother who died before him had been laid to rest across the Tiber, after a bridge had been constructed for this very purpose.

§ 48.33.3 But nothing in the life of man is lasting, and he was finally accused in the senate by Caesar himself and slain as an enemy both of him and of the entire people; thanksgivings were offered for his downfall and furthermore the care of the city was committed to the triumvirs with the customary admonition “that it should suffer no harm.” 4 In the year preceding this, men belonging to the order of knights had slaughtered wild beasts at the games in the Circus on the occasion of the Ludi Apollinares, and an intercalary day had been inserted, contrary to the rule, in order that the first day of the succeeding year should not coincide with the market held every nine days — a clash which had always been strictly guarded against from very early times. Naturally the day had to be subtracted again later, in order that the calendar should run according to the system devised by the former Caesar.

§ 48.33.5 The domains of Attalus and of Deiotarus, who had both died in Galatia, were given to a certain Castor. Also the law which went by the name of the Lex Falcidia, a law which is in full force even today in the matter of the succession to inheritances, was enacted by Publius Falcidius while tribune; its terms are, that if an heir feels burdened in any way, he may secure a fourth of the property bequeathed him by surrendering the rest.

§ 48.34.1 These were the events of the two years; the next year, when Lucius Marcius and Gaius Sabinus held the consulship, the acts of the triumvirs from the time they had formed their oligarchy received ratification at the hands of the senate, 2 and certain further taxes were imposed by them, because the expenditures proved far greater than the budget made in the time of the former Caesar. For though they were expending vast sums for themselves and especially upon the soldiers, the only thing they were ashamed of was that the expenditures they were making were contrary to precedent.

§ 48.34.3 For example, when Caesar now for the first time shaved off his beard, he held a magnificent entertainment himself besides granting all the other citizens a festival at public expense. He also kept his chin smooth afterwards, like the rest; for he was already beginning to be enamoured of Livia also, and for this reason divorced Scribonia the very day she bore him a daughter. 4 Since the expenditures, then, were growing far greater than before, and the revenues, which were in any case insufficient, came in at this time in even smaller amounts by reason of the factional discord, they introduced certain new taxes; and they enrolled ever so many men in the senate, not only from among the allies, or else soldiers, or sons of freedmen, but even slaves.

§ 48.34.5 At any rate, one Maximus, when about to become quaestor, was recognized by his master and haled away; and while in his case immunity was granted him for having dared to stand for office, yet another slave who was detected while serving as a praetor was hurled down the rocks of the Capitol, having first been freed, that his punishment might take on the proper dignity.

§ 48.35.1 The expedition which Antony was preparing against the Parthians afforded them some excuse for the large number of new senators. On this same plea they also appointed various magistrates for a number of years ahead, including the consuls for eight full years, thus regarding some of those who had cooperated with them and winning the favour of others. 2 And they did not choose two annual consuls only, as had been the custom, but now for the first time chose several, and these on the very day of the elections. Even before this time, to be sure, some had held office after others who had neither died nor been removed because of disfranchisement or any other reason, but all such persons had become officials presumably in accordance with the decision of the magistrates who had been chosen to office for the entire year, whereas now nobody was chosen to serve for a year, but various sets of officials were appointed for the different portions of the entire period.

§ 48.35.3 And the men first to enter upon the office of consul secured the name of consuls for the whole year, as is even now the case; the others were accorded the same title, it is true, by those who lived in the city or in the rest of Italy during the period of each one's office, as, indeed, is the case today, but the other citizens of the empire knew few or none of them and therefore called them “lesser consuls.”

§ 48.36.1 These were the acts of Caesar and Antony at home with Sextus they first reached an understanding through their associates as to how and on what terms they could effect a reconciliation, and later they themselves conferred with him near Misenum. The two took their station on the land and Sextus not far from where they were on a mound that had been constructed in the sea, with water all around it, for the purpose of securing his safety. 2 There was present also the whole fleet of Sextus and the whole infantry of the other two; and not merely that, but the forces on the one side had been drawn up on the shore and those of the other side on the ships, both fully armed, so that it was perfectly evident to all from this very circumstance that it was from fear of each other's military strength and from necessity that they were making peace, the two because of the people and Sextus because of his adherents.

§ 48.36.3 The compact was made upon these conditions, that the slaves who had deserted should be free and that all those who had been banished should be restored, except Caesar's assassins. They merely pretended, of course, to exclude the last-named, since in reality some of them were about to be restored; indeed, Sextus himself was reputed to have been one of them. 4 But at any rate it was recorded that all the rest except those should be permitted to return in safety and with a right to a quarter of their confiscated property; that tribuneships, praetorships and priesthoods should be given to some of them immediately; that Sextus himself should be chosen consul and appointed augur,

§ 48.36.5 should obtain seventy million sesterces from his father's estate, and should govern Sicily, Sardinia and Achaia for five years; that he should not receive deserters or acquire more ships or keep any garrisons in Italy, 6 but should devote his efforts to securing peace for the peninsula from the side of the sea, and should send a stated amount of grain to the people in the city. They limited him to this period of time because they wished it to appear that they also were holding a temporary and not a permanent authority.

§ 48.37.1 After drafting these compacts and reducing them to writing they deposited the documents with the Vestal Virgins, and then exchanged pledges and embraced one another. Upon this a great and mighty shout arose from the mainland and from the ships at the same moment. 2 For many soldiers and many civilians who were present suddenly cried out all together, being terribly tired of the war and strongly desirous of peace, so that even the mountains resounded; and thereupon great panic and alarm came upon them, and many died of no other cause, while many others perished by being trampled under foot or suffocated.3 Those who were in the small boats did not wait to reach the land itself, but jumped out into the sea, and those on land rushed out into the water. Meanwhile they embraced one another while swimming and threw their arms around one another's necks as they dived, making a spectacle of varied sights and sounds. 4 Some knew that their relatives and associates were living, and seeing them now present, gave way to unrestrained joy. Others, supposing that those dear to them had already died, saw them now unexpectedly and for a long time were at a loss what to do, and were rendered speechless, at once distrusting the sight they saw and praying that it might be true, and they would not accept the recognition as true until they had called their names and had heard their voices in answer;

§ 48.37.5 then, indeed, they rejoiced as if their friends had been brought back to life again, but as they must yield perforce to a flood of joy, they could not refrain from tears. Again, some who were unaware that their dearest ones had perished and thought they were alive and present, went about seeking for them and asking every one they met regarding them. 6 As long as they could learn nothing definite they were like madmen and were reduced to despair, both hoping to find them and fearing that they were dead, unable either to give up hope in view of their longing or to give up to grief in view of their hope.

§ 48.37.7 But when at last they learned the truth, they would tear their hair and rend their garments, calling upon the lost by name as if their voices could reach them and giving way to grief as if their friends had just then died and were lying there before their eyes. 8 And even if any had no such cause themselves for joy or grief, they were at least affected by the experiences of the rest; for they either rejoiced with him that was glad or grieved with him that mourned, and so, even if they were free from an experience of their own, yet they could not remain indifferent on account of their comradeship with the rest.

§ 48.37.9 Accordingly they became neither sated with joy nor ashamed of grief, because they were all affected in the same way, and they spent the entire day as well as the greater part of the night in these demonstrations.

§ 48.38.1 After this the leaders as well as the rest received and entertained each other, first Sextus on his ship and then Caesar and Antony on the shore; for Sextus so far surpassed them in military strength that he would not disembark to meet them on the mainland until they had gone aboard his ship. 2 And although, by this arrangement, he might have murdered them both while they were in the small boat with only a few followers, as Menas, in fact, advised, he was unwilling to do so. Indeed to Antony, who had possession of his father's house in the Carinae (the name of a region in the city of Rome ),

§ 48.38.3 he uttered a jest in the happiest manner, saying that he was entertaining them in the Carinae; for this is also the name for the keels of ships. Nevertheless, he did not act toward them in any way as if he recalled the past with bitterness, and on the following day he was not only feasted in turn but also betrothed his daughter to Marcus Marcellus, Caesar's nephew.

§ 48.39.1 This war, then, had been deferred; and that of Labienus and the Parthians came to an end in the following way. Antony himself returned from Italy to Greece and delayed there a long time, satisfying his desires and injuring the cities, so that they should be in the weakest possible condition when delivered up to Sextus. 2 He lived during this time in many respects contrary to the customs of his country, calling himself, for example, the young Dionysus and insisting on being so called by others; and when the Athenians, in view of this and his general behaviour, betrothed Athena to him, he declared that he accepted the marriage and exacted from them a dowry of four million sesterces. While he was occupied with these matters he sent Publius Ventidius before him into Asia.

§ 48.39.3 This officer came upon Labienus before his coming and terrified him by the suddenness of his approach and by his legions; for Labienus was without his Parthians and had with him only the soldiers from the neighbourhood. Ventidius found he would not even risk a conflict with him and so thrust him forthwith out of that country and pursued him into Syria, taking the lightest part of his army with him. 4 He overtook him near the Taurus range and allowed him to proceed no farther, but they encamped there for several days and made no move, for Labienus was awaiting the Parthians and Ventidius his heavy-armed troops.

§ 48.40.1 These reinforcements, however, arrived during the same days on both sides, and though Ventidius through fear of the barbarian cavalry remained on the high ground, where he was encamped, 2 the Parthians, because of their numbers and because they had been victorious once before, despised their opponents and rode up to the hill at dawn, without even waiting to join forces with Labienus; and when nobody came out to meet them, they actually charged straight up the incline.

§ 48.40.3 When they were at length on the slope, the Romans rushed down upon them and easily hurled them down-hill. Many of the Parthians were killed in hand-to-hand conflict, but still more caused disaster to one another in the retreat, as some had already turned to flight and others were still coming up; and the survivors fled, not to Labienus, but into Cilicia. 4 Ventidius pursued them as far as the camp, but stopped when he saw Labienus there. The latter marshalled his forces as if to offer him battle, but perceiving that his soldiers were dejected by reason of the flight of the barbarians, he ventured no opposition at the time, although when night came he attempted to escape somewhere.

§ 48.40.5 Nevertheless, Ventidius learned his plan beforehand from deserters, and by setting ambushes killed many in the retreat and gained over all the rest, after they had been abandoned by Labienus. The latter by changing his dress gained safety at the time and escaped detection for awhile in Cilicia, 6 but was afterwards captured by Demetrius, a freedman of the former Caesar, who had at this time been assigned to Cyprus by Antony; for Demetrius, learning that Labienus was in hiding, made a search for him and arrested him.

§ 48.41.1 After this Ventidius recovered Cilicia and attended to the administration of this district himself, but sent ahead Pompaedius Silo with cavalry to the Amanus. 2 This mountain is on the border between Cilicia and Syria, and has a pass so narrow that a wall and gates were once built across it and the place received its name from that fact.

§ 48.41.3 Silo, however, was unable to occupy it and actually came near perishing at the hands of Pharnapates, a lieutenant of Pacorus in charge of the garrison at the pass. This would certainly have been his fate, had not Ventidius by chance come upon him when he was fighting and succoured him.4 For Ventidius fell upon the barbarians when they were not expecting him and were at the same time in smaller force, and slew Pharnapates and many others. In this way he took over Syria without a battle, now that it was deserted by the Parthians, with the exception of the Aradii, and left occupied Palestine without trouble, after he had frightened the king, Antigonus, out of the country.

§ 48.41.5 Besides accomplishing all this he exacted large sums of money from the rest individually, and large sums also from Antigonus and Antiochus and Malchus the Nabataean, because they had given help to Pacorus. Ventidius himself received no reward for these achievements from the senate, since he was not acting with independent authority but as lieutenant to another; but Antony was honoured with eulogies and thanksgivings. 6 As for the Aradii, they were afraid they would have to pay the penalty for their boldness against Antony, and so would not come to terms with him, though they were captured by others after much difficulty.

§ 48.41.7 About this time an uprising took place among the Parthine Illyrians, but it was put down by Pollio after a few battles.

§ 48.42.1 There was another on the part of the Cerretani in Spain, and they were subjugated by Calvinus after he had met with a preliminary success and also a reverse, — the latter through his lieutenant, who was ambushed by the barbarians and deserted by his soldiers. 2 Calvinus undertook no operation against the enemy until he had punished these deserters; calling them together as if for some other purpose, he made the rest of the army surround them, and then put to death every tenth man in two centuries and punished many of the centurions, including the one who was serving in the primus pilus, as it is called.3 After doing this and gaining, like Marcus Crassus, a reputation for his disciplining of his army, he set out against his opponents and with no great difficulty vanquished them. 4 And he obtained a triumph in spite of the fact that Spain had been assigned to Caesar; for those in power could grant the honours at will to those who served as their lieutenants. The gold customarily given by the cities for the triumph Calvinus took from the Spanish towns alone, and of it he spent only a part on the festival, but the greater portion on the Regia.

§ 48.42.5 This had been burned down, and he now rebuilt and dedicated it, adorning it splendidly with various objects and with statues in particular, which he asked Caesar to send him, intimating that he would give them back. And when he asked for them later, he did not return them, excusing himself by a witticism.6 Pretending that he had not enough assistants, he said: “Send some men and take them.” And thus Caesar, since he shrank from the sacrilege, allowed them to remain as votive offerings.

§ 48.43.1 This is what happened at that time. But in the consulship of Appius Claudius and Gaius Norbanus, who were the first to have two quaestors apiece as associates, the populace revolted against the tax-gatherers, who oppressed them severely, and came to blows with the men themselves, their assistants, and the soldiers who helped them to collect the money; 2 and sixty-seven praetors one after another were appointed and held office. One person was chosen to be quaestor while still accounted a boy, and did not obtain the standing of a juvenis until the next day; and another, who had been enrolled in the senate, desired to fight as a gladiator.3 Not only was he prevented, however, from doing this, but an act was also passed prohibiting any senator from fighting as a gladiator, any slave from serving as a lictor, and any burning of dead bodies from being carried on within two miles of the city.

§ 48.43.4 Now many events of a portentous nature had occurred even before this, such as the spouting of olive oil on the bank of the Tiber, and many also at this time. Thus the hut of Romulus was burned as a result of some ritual which the pontifices were performing in it; a statue of Virtus, which stood before one of the gates, fell upon its face, and certain persons, becoming inspired by the Mother of the Gods, declared that the goddess was angry with them.

§ 48.43.5 For this reason the Sibylline books were consulted, and they made the same declarations and prescribed that the statue should be taken down to the sea and purified in its waters. Now when the goddess was taken out a long distance from the land into the deep water and remained there a good while, being brought back only after a long time, 6 this circumstance also caused the Romans no little fear, and they did not recover their spirits until palm trees, four in number, sprang up round about her temple and in the Forum. Besides these occurrences at that time, Caesar married Livia.

§ 48.44.1 She was the daughter of Livius Drusus, who had been among those proscribed on the tablet and had committed suicide after the defeat in Macedonia, and the wife of Nero, whom she had accompanied in his flight, as has been related. And it seems that she was in the sixth month with child by him. 2 At any rate, when Caesar was in doubt and enquired of the pontifices whether it was permissible to wed her while pregnant, they answered that it there was any doubt whether conception had taken place the marriage should be put off, but if this was admitted, there was nothing to prevent its taking place immediately. Perhaps they really found this among the ordinances of the forefathers, but certainly they would have said so, even had they not found it.

§ 48.44.3 Her husband himself gave the woman in marriage just as a father would; and the following incident occurred at the marriage feast. One of the prattling boys, such as the women keep about them for their amusement, naked as a rule, on seeing Livia reclining in one place with Caesar, and Nero in another with a man, went up to her and said: “What are you doing here, mistress? For your husband,” pointing him out, “is reclining over there.” 4 So much then, for this. Later, when the woman was now living with Caesar, she gave birth to Claudius Drusus Nero. Caesar both acknowledged him and sent him to his real father, making his entry in his memoranda: “ Caesar returned to its father Nero the child borne by Livia, his wife.”

§ 48.44.5 Nero died not long afterward and left Caesar himself as guardian to the boy and to Tiberius. Now the populace gossiped a great deal about this and said, among other things, “The lucky have children in three months”; and this saying passed into a proverb.

§ 48.45.1 During this same time, while these events were occurring in the city, Bogud the Moor sailed to Spain, acting either on instructions from Antony or on his own initiative, and did much damage, receiving also considerable injury in turn; 2 meantime the people of his own land in the neighbourhood of Tingis rose against him, and so he evacuated Spain, but failed to win back his own domain. For the adherents of Caesar in Spain and Bocchus came to the aid of the rebels and proved too much for him.

§ 48.45.3 Bogud departed to join Antony, while Bocchus forthwith took possession of his kingdom, which was afterwards confirmed to him by Caesar; and the people of Tingis were given citizenship.

§ 48.45.4 At this time, or even earlier, war was begun between Sextus and Caesar also; for since they had made their agreement, not of their own free will or by choice, but under compulsion, they did not abide by it for any time to speak of, but broke the truce at once and quarrelled.

§ 48.45.5 They were bound, of course, to go to war in any case, even if they had found no excuse; their grievances, however, were the following. Menas, who was at this time still in Sardinia, as if he were a kind of praetor, had incurred the suspicion of Sextus by his release of Helenus and because he had been in communication with Caesar; and he was also slandered to some extent by the people of his own rank, who envied him his power. 6 He was therefore summoned by Sextus on the pretext that he should give an account of the grain and money of which he had been in charge; but instead of obeying, he seized and killed the men sent to him on this errand, and after first negotiating with Caesar, surrendered to him the island, the fleet together with the army, and himself.7 Caesar, on his part, was glad to see him, for he declared that Sextus was harbouring deserters contrary to the treaty, was having triremes built, and was keeping garrisons in Italy; and not only did he fail to give up Menas on Sextus' demand, but even went farther and treated him with great honour, decorated him with gold rings, and enrolled him in the order of the knights. 8 Now the matter of the gold rings is as follows. Of the ancient Romans no one, not merely of those who had once been slaves but even of those who had been brought up as free, was allowed to wear gold rings, except the senators and the knights, as has been stated; 9 and for this reason they are given to such freedmen as the ruler may choose, even though these men are already wearing gold in other ways, as a mark of honour indicating that they are superior to the status of freedmen and are eligible to become knights.

§ 48.46.1 So much for this matter. Sextus, now, blamed Caesar, not only for harbouring Menas, but for the further reasons that Achaia had been injured and the terms agreed upon were not being carried out either in his case or in that of the restored exiles, and he accordingly sent to Italy Menecrates, another freedman of his, and had him ravage Volturnum and other parts of Campania. 2 Now when Caesar learned of this, he took the documents containing the treaty from the Vestal Virgins and sent for Antony and Lepidus. Lepidus did not at once answer the summons, and as for Antony, although he came to Brundisium (for he chanced to be still in Greece),

§ 48.46.3 yet before he could meet Caesar, who was in Etruria, he became alarmed because a wolf had entered his headquarters and killed some soldiers, and so he sailed back to Greece again, making the urgency of the Parthian situation his excuse. 4 At this, Caesar, in spite of his strong conviction that he had been left in the lurch by Antony with the purpose of making him face the difficulties of the war alone, nevertheless showed no anger openly. But Sextus, on his part, noised it abroad that Antony did not think Caesar's conduct right and set himself more zealously to the task in hand. Finally he sailed against Italy, landed at various points, inflicted much injury, and suffered much in turn.

§ 48.46.5 Meanwhile a naval battle occurred off Cumae between Menecrates and Calvisius Sabinus, in which Caesar lost a larger number of ships, since he was arrayed against expert seamen; but Menecrates attacked Menas out of jealousy and perished, thus making the loss of Sextus equally great. 6 For this reason Sextus laid no claim to his victory and Caesar consoled himself over his defeat.

§ 48.47.1 Now Caesar happened at this time to be at Rhegium, and the followers of Sextus, fearing that he would cross over into Sicily, and furthermore being somewhat disheartened at the death of Menecrates, set sail from Cumae. 2 Sabinus pursued them as far as Scyllaeum, the Italian promontory, without trouble; but as he was rounding that point a great wind fell upon him, dashing some of the ships against the promontory, sinking others out at sea, and scattering all the rest.

§ 48.47.3 So when Sextus learned of this disaster he sent his fleet against them, putting Apollophanes in command. This commander discovered Caesar, as he was coasting along somewhere in those parts with the intention of coasting into Sicily along with Sabinus, and rushed upon him. Thereupon Caesar brought his ships to anchor together, marshalled the heavy-armed soldiers on deck, and at first beat off his assailants nobly; 4 for the ships were drawn up with their prows facing the foe and so offered him no safe point for attack, but, being heavier and higher, did greater damage to those that approached them, and his heavy-armed fighters, when they came to close quarters with the enemy, proved far superior.

§ 48.47.5 Then Apollophanes by backing water kept transferring the wounded, and those who were at the time wearied by toil, to other ships assigned for the purpose and took on board fresh men; he also made constant attacks and used fire-bearing missiles, so that Caesar was at last routed, fled to the land, and came to anchor. 6 When even then the enemy pressed him hard, some of Caesar's men suddenly cut loose their anchors and unexpectedly sailed out to oppose the others. It was only this and the interruption of operations by the coming of night that kept Apollophanes from burning some of the ships and taking in tow all the rest.

§ 48.48.1 After this event an extraordinary windstorm on the following day fell upon Caesar and Sabinus as they were anchored together and made their previous reverse seem a trifling matter. The fleet of Sabinus suffered the less, 2 for Menas, being an old hand on the sea, foresaw the storm and immediately shifted his ships to the open sea and moored them there, placing them at intervals with their anchor-lines slack, so that the lines should not be stretched and break, and kept rowing directly against the wind; in this way no rope was strained and he remained constantly in the same position, recovering by the use of the oars all the ground he lost by the force of the wind.

§ 48.48.3 But the other commanders, since they had gone through a severe experience the day before, and had as yet no accurate knowledge of nautical matters, were cast upon the shore close by and lost many ships. Night, which had been of the greatest aid to them before, was now the chief cause of disaster, for the wind blew violently all night long, tearing the vessels from their anchors and dashing them against the rocks. 4 That was the end of them; the sailors and marines likewise perished ingloriously, since the darkness prevented them from seeing ahead and they could not hear a word because of the uproar and of the reverberation from the mountains, the more so as the wind drowned out other sounds.

§ 48.48.5 Because of this disaster Caesar despaired of Sicily and was satisfied to guard the coast of the mainland; but Sextus was still more elated, believing himself in very truth to be the son of Neptune, and he put on a dark blue robe and cast alive into the strait not only horses but also, as some relate, men as well. 6 He himself pillaged Italy and sent Apollophanes to Africa. Apollophanes was pursued by Menas, who overtook him and did him some damage; and when the inhabitants of the islands off the coast of Sicily proceeded to go over to the side of Sextus, Caesar thwarted the Liparaeans by removing them from their island and taking them to Campania, where he forced them live in Neapolis as long as the war should continue.

§ 48.49.1 Meanwhile he kept constructing vessels throughout practically all Italy and collecting slaves for rowers, first from his friends, who were supposed to give willingly, and then from the rest — senators and knights and well-to-do plebeians. He also levied heavy-armed troops and gathered money from all the citizens, allies, and subjects, both in Italy and abroad.

§ 48.49.2 This year and the following he spent in constructing ships and gathering and training rowers. He himself supervised and managed all this business and all other matters both in Italy and in Gaul, where there was a slight uprising, but he entrusted to Agrippa the equipping of the fleet. 3 He had sent for his men, who had been fighting against the insurgent Gauls, at the time when he had been the second of the Romans to cross the Rhine for war, and after honouring him by the bestowal of a triumph he bade him finish the work on the fleet and train the men. 4 Agrippa, who was consul with Lucius Gallus, did not celebrate the triumph, considering it disgraceful for him to make a display when Caesar had fared so poorly, but set to work with great enthusiasm to fit out the fleet. All along the coasts of Italy vessels were being built;

§ 48.49.5 but since no shore was found where it was safe for them to come to anchor, inasmuch as most of the coast of Italy was even at that time without harbours, he conceived and executed a magnificent enterprise, which I shall describe at some length, giving an account of the enterprise itself and of the general matters connected with it as they are today.

§ 48.50.1 At Cumae in Campania, between Misenum and Puteoli, there is a crescent-shaped region, surrounded, except for brief gaps, by small, bare mountains; and it contains a branch of the sea which is like a bay and is divided into three parts. 2 The first is outside, near the cities, the second is separated from it by a narrow strip of land, and the third, which is marshy in character, is seen at the very head of the inlet. The last is called Avernus, and the middle one the Lucrine Lake; the outer one is a part of the Tyrrhenian sea Sea and is classed with it also by its designation.

§ 48.50.3 Now since the Lucrine lay between a sea on either side, Agrippa cut narrow channels at this time, close to the shore on both sides, through the strip of land that separated it from the open sea, and thus produced excellent harbours for ships. 4 While the men were working, a statue overlooking Avernus, either of Calypso, to whom this place, whither they say Ulysses also sailed, is dedicated, or of some other heroine, was covered with sweat like a human body. Now what this imported I cannot say; but I will go on to tell of everything else worth reporting which I saw in that place.

§ 48.51.1 The mountains here, which lie close to the inner bodies of water, have springs which send forth a great deal of fire mingled with water; and neither of the two elements is found anywhere by itself (that is, neither pure fire nor cold water alone is to be seen), but from their association the water is heated and the fire moistened. 2 The water on its way down the foot-hills to the sea runs into reservoirs and the inhabitants conduct the steam from it through pipes into upper rooms, where they use the steam for vapour baths; for the higher it ascends from the earth and from the water, the dryer it becomes. Costly apparatus is in use for turning both the vapour and the water to practical use, and they are very serviceable indeed for the uses of daily life and also for effecting cures.

§ 48.51.3 Now besides these products that mountain furnishes an earth, the peculiar nature of which I am going to describe. Since the fire has not the power of burning, since by its union with the water all its scorching qualities are extinguished, yet is still able to separate and melt the substances with which it comes in contact, it follows that the soft part of the earth is melted out by it, whereas the hard and what might be called the bony part of it is left. 4 Hence the masses of earth necessarily become porous and when exposed to the dry air crumble into dust, but when mixed with water and lime become compact, and as long as they remain in the liquid they harden and petrify. The reason for this is that the brittle element in them is disintegrated and broken up by the fire, which possesses the same nature, but by the admixture of moisture is chilled, and so is wholly packed together on the inside and becomes indissoluble.

§ 48.51.5 So much for the description of Baiae. Here Agrippa, as soon as he had constructed the entrances, set about collecting his ships, which he proceeded to equip with decks, and his oarsmen, whom he trained to row on practice benches.

§ 48.52.1 Now the population of Rome was being disturbed by signs also. Among the numerous reports brought to them was one to the effect that many dolphins had battled with one another and perished near Aspis, the African city. 2 And in the very vicinity of the city blood flowed from heaven and was carried in all directions by the birds. And when at the Ludi Romani not one of the senators gave a banquet on the Capitol, as had been the custom, they took this, too, as a portent.

§ 48.52.3 Again, the incident that happened to Livia, although it caused her pleasure, inspired the rest with dread; a white bird carrying a sprig of laurel with the berries on it was thrown by an eagle into her lap. As this seemed to be a sign of no small moment, she cared for the bird and planted the laurel, 4 which took root and grew, so that it long supplied those who celebrated triumphs in after time; and Livia was destined to hold in her lap even Caesar's power and to dominate him in everything.53 1 However, the other people in the city were greatly disturbed not only by this but also by the changes in the magistrates; for not only the consuls and praetors but even the quaestors were continually succeeding one another, and this lasted for some time. 2 The reason was that all were anxious, not so much to hold office for any considerable time at home, as to be counted among the ex-officials and so secure the offices and military forces outside of Italy. Accordingly, some of the magistrates were no longer chosen for a specified period, but merely for a time sufficient to assume the title of the office, and then to resign from it whenever it seemed good to those in power; 3 indeed, many did both on the same day. But there were some who had to abandon hope of office altogether because of poverty, to say nothing of those who were at this time with Sextus, whose disfranchisement was in a manner justified. 4 Yet when a certain Marcus Oppius planned to resign the aedileship because of poverty (for both he and his father had been among the proscribed), the populace did not permit it, but contributed money to meet the various necessities of his living and the expenses of his office.

§ 48.52.5 And the story goes that some criminals, too, actually came into the theatre in masks as if they were acting a play, and contributed their money also. Thus was this man loved by the multitude while in life, and at his death not much later he was carried to the Campus Martius and there burned and buried. 6 The senate, however, feeling vexed at the utter devotion of the masses to him, took up his bones, on the plea that it was impious for them to lie in that sacred ground; they were persuaded by the pontifices to make this declaration, although they buried many other men there both before and after this.

§ 48.54.1 At this same period Antony came back to Italy from Syria. The reason he gave was that he intended to bear his share of the war against Sextus because of Caesar's mishaps; he did not, however, stay by his colleague, 2 but, having come to spy upon his actions rather than to accomplish anything, he gave him some ships and promised to send others, in return for which he received heavy-armed troops and departed, stating that he was going to conduct a campaign against the Parthians.

§ 48.54.3 Before he left, they presented to each other their mutual grievances, at first through their friends and then personally; and since they had as yet no leisure for war with each other, they became reconciled in a way, chiefly through the instrumentality of Octavia. 4 And in order that they might be bound by still more ties of relationship, Caesar betrothed his daughter to Antyllus, Antony's son, and Antony betrothed to Domitius, though he had been one of Caesar's murderers and one of those proscribed to die, his own daughter, borne to him by Octavia.

§ 48.54.5 These agreements were merely pretences on both sides; for they really had no intention of carrying out any of them, but were acting a part in view of the exigencies of the moment. At all events, Antony immediately sent back Octavia herself from Corcyra to Italy, in order that, as he represented, she might not share his danger while he was warring against the Parthians. 6 Nevertheless, they made these agreements at that time as stated and removed Sextus from his priesthood as well as from the consulship to which he had been appointed, and granted themselves the leadership for another five years, since the first period had elapsed. After this Antony hastened to Syria and Caesar entered upon the war.

§ 48.54.7 Nearly everything was going as he wished; but Menas, who was naturally untrustworthy and always cultivated the stronger side, and was furthermore vexed because he held no command but had been made subordinate to Sabinus, deserted again to Sextus.

§ 49.1.1 Book XLIX All this happened in the winter in which Lucius Gellius and Cocceius Nerva became consuls. When the fleet had been made ready and spring had set in, Caesar set out from Baiae and coasted along Italy with great hopes of encompassing Sicily on all sides. For he was sailing thither with many ships himself and those of Antony were already in the strait; also Lepidus had reluctantly promised to assist him. 2 But his chief ground of confidence lay in the height of his vessels and the thickness of their timbers; they had been built unusually stout and unusually high, in order not only to carry the largest possible number of marines (in fact they had towers on them, in order that the men might fight from higher ground, as if from a wall), but also to withstand the attacks of the opposing vessels and at the same time bend back their beaks, since the violence of their collision would be increased thereby.

§ 49.1.3 With such plans Caesar was hastening to Sicily. As he was passing the promontory named Palinurus a great storm fell upon him; this destroyed many ships, and Menas, coming upon the rest while they were in confusion, burned or towed away many of them. 4 And had he not again changed sides, on the promise of immunity and because of some other hopes, and betrayed the whole fleet that he commanded by receiving some triremes that simulated desertion, Caesar's voyage to Sicily on this occasion also would have proved fruitless. Menas acted as he did because he was not allowed by Sextus to fight against Lepidus and was under suspicion in all other ways.

§ 49.1.5 Caesar received him very gladly on this occasion also, but trusted him no longer. And when he had repaired the damaged ships, freed the slaves that were serving on the triremes, and assigned the reserves (many of whom had escaped by leaping overboard when their vessel were destroyed in the wreck) to Antony's fleet, which was short of men he came to Lipara; 6 and leaving there Agrippa and the ships, he returned to the mainland, in order to transport the infantry also to Sicily, when an opportunity should arise.

§ 49.2.1 On learning of this Sextus himself remained at anchor off Messana, waiting for Caesar to cross, but he ordered Demochares to anchor opposite Agrippa at Mylae. 2 These two men spent most of the time in testing each other's strength as opportunity offered, but they did not dare to risk an engagement with their entire armaments; for they were not acquainted with each other's forces and on both sides the reports that circulated about the opposing fleet were exaggerated and made more fear-inspiring than the reality.