Thus quickly did the Senate seize the opportunity to put the affairs of
Cassius and his party in a brilliant aspect. When Octavius learned what had
been done he was troubled. He had considered the amnesty in the light of an
act of humanity and of pity for the relatives and compeers of these men, and
that the very small commands had been given them for their safety
merely;
Meditating thus to himself he performed the sacrifices appertaining to the command assigned to him, and said to his army: "I owe these honors of mine to you, fellow-soldiers, not now merely but from the time when you gave me the command; for the Senate conferred them upon me on account of you. Know, therefore, that my gratitude will be due to you for these things, and that it will be expressed to you abundantly if the gods grant success to our undertakings." In this way he conciliated the soldiers and attached them to himself. In the meantime, Pansa, one of the consuls, was collecting recruits throughout Italy, and the other one, Hirtius, shared the command of the forces with Octavius, and as he was secretly ordered to do it by the Senate he demanded as his share the two legions that had deserted from Antony, knowing that they were the most reliable in the army. Octavius yielded to him in everything and they shared with each other and went into winter quarters together. As winter advanced Decimus began to suffer from hunger, and Hirtius and Octavius advanced toward Mutina lest Antony should receive in surrender Decimus' army now weak with famine; but as Mutina was closely hemmed in by Antony, they did not venture to come to close quarters with him at once, but waited for Pansa. There were frequent cavalry engagements, as Antony had a much larger force of horse, but the difficulty of the ground, which was cut up by torrents, deprived him of the advantage of numbers.
Such was the course of events around Mutina. At Rome, in the absence of the
consuls, Cicero took the lead by public speaking. He held frequent
assemblies, procured arms by inducing the artificers to work without pay,
collected money, and exacted heavy contributions from the Antonians. These
paid without complaining in order to avoid calumny, until Publius Ventidius,
who had served under Gaius Cæsar and was a friend of Antony,
unable to endure the exactions of Cicero, betook himself to
Cæsar's colonies, where he was well known, and raised two legions
for Antony and hastened to Rome to seize Cicero. The consternation was
extreme. They removed most of the women and children in a panic, and Cicero
himself fled from the city. When Ventidius learned this he turned his course
toward Antony, but being intercepted by Octavius and Hirtius, he proceeded
to Picenum, where he recruited another legion and waited to see what would
happen.
Carsuleius and Pansa passed through the defile by night. At daybreak, with only the Martian legion and five other cohorts, they entered upon the road above mentioned, which was still free from enemies, and looked over the marsh on either side. There was a suspicious agitation of the bushes, then a gleaming of shields and helmets, and Antony's prætorian cohort suddenly showed itself directly in their front. The Martian legion, surrounded on all sides and having no way to escape, ordered the new levies, if they came up, not to join in the fight lest they should cause confusion by their inexperience. The prætorians of Octavius confronted the prætorians of Antony. The other troops divided themselves in two parts and advanced into the marsh on either side, the one commanded by Pansa and the other by Carsuleius. Thus there were two battles in two marshes, and neither division could see the other by reason of the elevated road, while along the road itself the praetorian cohorts fought another battle of their own. The Antonians were determined to punish the Martians for desertion as being traitors to themselves. The Martians were equally determined to punish the Antonians for condoning the slaughter of their comrades at Brundusium. Recognizing in each other the flower of either army they hoped to decide the whole war by this single engagement. The one side was moved by shame lest its two legions should be beaten by one; the other by ambition that its single legion should overcome the two.
Thus urged on rather by their own animosity and ambition than by their generals they assailed each other, considering this their own affair. Being veterans they raised no battle-cry, since they could not expect to terrify each other, nor in the engagement did they utter a sound, either as victors or vanquished. As there could be neither flanking nor charging in marshes and ditches, they stood together in close order, and since neither could dislodge the other they locked together with their swords as in a wrestling match. No blow missed its mark. There were wounds and slaughter but no cries, only groans; and when one fell he was instantly borne away and another took his place. They needed neither admonition nor encouragement, since experience had made each one his own general. When they were overcome by fatigue they drew apart from each other for a brief space to take breath, as in gymnastic games, and then rushed again to the encounter. Amazement took possession of the new levies who had come up, as they beheld such deeds done with such precision and in such silence.
All put forth superhuman exertions, and the prætorians of Octavius perished to the last man. Those of the Martians who were under Carsuleius got the better of those opposed to them, who gave way, not in disgraceful rout, but little by little. Those under Pansa were likewise in difficulties, but they held out with equal bravery on both sides until Pansa was wounded in the abdomen by a javelin and carried off the field to Bononia. Then his soldiers retired, at first step by step, but afterward they turned and took refuge in flight. When the new levies saw this they fled in disorder, and with loud cries, to their camp, which the quæstor, Torquatus, had put in readiness for them while the battle was in progress, apprehending that it might be needed. The new levies dashed into it confusedly although they were Italians, the same as the Martians, so much more than race does training contribute to bravery. The Martians for fear of shame did not enter into the camp, but ranged themselves near it. Although fatigued they were still furious and ready to fight to the bitter end if anybody should attack them. Antony refrained from the attack as a bad job, but he fell upon the new levies and made a great slaughter.
When Hirtius near Mutina heard of this fight, at a distance of sixty stades,
he hurried thither with the other legion that had deserted from Antony. It
was already evening and the victorious Antonians were returning singing
hymns of triumph. While they were in loose order Hirtius made his appearance
in perfect order with his legion complete and fresh. The Antonians got
themselves in line under compulsion, and performed against this foe also
many splendid deeds of valor; but being wearied by their recent exertions
they were overcome by the fresh army opposed to them, and the greater part
of them were slain in this encounter by Hirtius, although the latter did not
pursue, being apprehensive of the marshy ground. As darkness was coming on
he allowed them to escape. A wide stretch of the marsh was filled with arms,
corpses, wounded men, and half-dead men. Some were unhurt but were overcome
by fatigue. Antony's cavalry, as many as he had with him, went to their
assistance and collected them through the entire night. Some they put on
horse-back in their own places, others they took on the horses with
themselves, still others they urged to take hold of the horses' tails and
run along with them and so secure their safety. Thus were Antony's forces,
after he had fought splendidly, scattered by the coming of Hirtius. He
encamped without entrenchments in a village near the plain, named Forum
Gallorum.