Civil Wars

These things accomplished, Octavius formed plans for a reconciliation with Antony, for he had learned that Brutus and Cassius had already collected twenty legions of soldiers, and he needed Antony's help against them. He moved out of the city toward the Adriatic coast and proceeded in a leisurely way, waiting to see what the Senate would do. Pedius persuaded the senators, after Octavius had taken his departure, not to make their differences with each other irremediable, but to be reconciled to Lepidus and Antony. They foresaw that such a reconciliation would not be for their advantage or for that of the country, but would be merely an assistance to Octavius against Brutus and Cassius. Nevertheless, they gave their approval and assent to it as a matter of necessity. So the decrees declaring Antony and Lepidus, and the soldiers under them, public enemies, were repealed, and others of a peaceful nature were sent to them. Thereupon Octavius wrote and congratulated them, and he promised to lend assistance to Antony against Decimus Brutus if he needed it. They replied to him at once in a friendly spirit and eulogized him. Antony wrote that he would himself take vengeance on Decimus for Cæsar's account and on Plancus[*](The movements of Plancus are minutely described in his numerous letters to Cicero. Although a Cæsarian, he intended to remain faithful to the republic and would probably have done so had not the supremacy acquired by Octavius at Rome and the reconciliation of the latter with Antony made his military position untenable.) for his own, and that then he would join forces with Octavius.

Such were the letters which they exchanged with each other. While pursuing Decimus, Antony was joined by Asinius Pollio with two legions. Asinius also brought about an arrangement with Plancus, by virtue of which the latter passed over to Antony with three legions, so that Antony now had much the strongest force. Decimus had ten legions, of whom four, the most experienced in war, had suffered severely from famine and were still enfeebled. The other six were new levies, still untrained and unaccustomed to their labors. As he despaired of fighting, he decided to flee to Marcus Brutus in Macedonia. He retreated not by the higher Alps, but toward Ravenna and Aquileia. Since Cæsar had travelled by this route, Decimus proposed another longer and more difficult one -- to cross the Rhine and traverse the wild country of barbarian tribes. Thereupon the new levies, bewildered and fatigued, were the first to desert him and join Octavius. After them the four older legions joined Antony, and the auxiliaries did the same, except a body-guard of Gallic horse. Then Decimus allowed those who wished to do so to return to their own homes, and, after distributing among them the gold he had with him, proceeded toward the Rhine with 300 followers, the only ones who remained. As it was difficult to cross the river with so few, he was now abandoned by all the others except ten. He put on Gallic clothing, and, as he was acquainted with the language, he proceeded on his journey with these, passing himself off as a Gaul. He no longer followed the longer route, but went toward Aquileia, thinking that he should escape notice by reason of the smallness of his force.[*](Appian's geography is much in need of amendment. It is impossible to trace the route taken by Decimus from this description.)

Having been captured by robbers and bound, he asked them who was the chief of this Gallic tribe. He was informed that it was Camillus, a man to whom he had done many favors. So he told them to bring him to Camillus. When the latter saw him led in, he greeted him in a friendly way in public, and scolded those who had bound him, for putting an indignity on so great a man through ignorance; but he sent word to Antony secretly. Antony was some-what touched by this change of fortune, and was not willing to see Decimus, but he ordered Camillus to kill him and send his head to himself.[*](Velleius (ii. 64) gives a somewhat different account of the death of Decimus. "Decimus Brutus," he says, "deserted first by Plancus and afterwards plotted against by him, seeing his army melting away, took to flight and accepted the hospitality of a nobleman named Camelus, in whose house he was found by Antony's emissaries and slain." The Epitome of Livy (cxx.) says that Decimus was put to death by Capenas Sequanus by order of Antony, into whose hands he had fallen.) When he saw the head he ordered his attendants to bury it. Such was the end of Decimus, who had been Cæsar's præfect of horse and had governed Farther Gaul[*](th=s palaia=s *keltikh=s; "older Gaul," which, as Appian himself tells us in iv. 2, infra, means that part of Transalpine Gaul which was held by the Romans before Cæsar's conquests. Yet we know from ii. III, supra, that the whole of Transalpine Gaul was placed in charge of Decimus Brutus by Cæsar just before he embarked for Africa. These facts make it almost certain that the original text was perai/as instead of palaia=s.) under him and had been designated by him for the consulship the coming year and for the governorship of Hither Gaul. He was the next of the murderers after Trebonius to meet punishment, within a year and a half of the assassination. About the same time Minucius Basilus, another of Cæsar's murderers, was killed by his slaves, some of whom he was castrating by way of punishment.

THUS was punishment visited upon two of Cæsar's murderers, who were conquered in their own provinces, Trebonius in Asia and Decimus Brutus in Gaul. How vengeance overtook Cassius and Marcus Brutus, who were the principal leaders in the conspiracy against Cæsar, and who controlled the territory from Syria to Macedonia, and had large forces of cavalry and sailors, and more than twenty legions of infantry, together with ships and money, this fourth book of the Civil Wars will show. During the progress of these events came the pursuit and capture of the proscribed in Rome and the sufferings consequent thereon, the like of which cannot be recalled among the civil commotions or wars of the Greeks, or those of the Romans themselves save only in the time of Sulla, who was the first to put his enemies on a proscription list. Marius searched for his and punished those whom he found, but Sulla proclaimed large rewards to persons who should kill the proscribed and severe punishment to those who should conceal them. But what took place in the time of Marius and Sulla I have previously narrated in the history relating to them. The following events came next in order.

Octavius and Antony composed their differences on a small, gradually sloping islet in the river Lavinius, near the city of Mutina. Each had five legions of soldiers whom they stationed opposite each other, after which each proceeded with 300 men to the bridges over the river. Lepidus himself went before them, searched the island, and shook his military cloak as a signal to them to come. Then each left his three hundred in charge of friends on the bridges and advanced to the middle of the island in plain sight, and there the three sat together in council, Octavius in the centre because he was consul. They were in conference from morning till night for two days, and came to these decisions: That Octavius should resign the consulship and that Ventidius should take it for the remainder of the year; that anew magistracy for quieting the civil dissensions should be created by law, which Lepidus, Antony, and Octavius should hold for five years with consular power (for this name seemed preferable to that of dictator, perhaps because of Antony's decree abolishing the dictatorship); that these three should at once designate the yearly magistrates of the city for the five years; that a distribution of the provinces should be made, giving to Antony the whole of Gaul except the part bordering the Pyrenees Mountains, which was called Old Gaul. The latter, together with Spain, was assigned to Lepidus, while Octavius was to have Africa, Sardinia, and Sicily, and the other islands in the vicinity thereof.

Thus was the dominion of the Romans divided by the triumvirate among themselves. The assignment of the parts beyond the Adriatic only was postponed, since these were still under the control of Brutus and Cassius, against whom Antony and Octavius were to wage war. Lepidus was to be consul the following year and to remain in the city to do what was needful there, meanwhile governing Spain by proxy. He was to retain three of his legions to guard the city, and to divide the other seven between Octavius and Antony, three to the former and four to the latter, so that each of them might lead twenty legions to the war. To encourage the army with the expectation of booty they promised them, beside other gifts, eighteen cities of Italy as colonies -- cities which excelled in wealth, in the fertility of their territory, and in handsome houses, and which were to be divided among them (land, buildings, and all), just as though they had been captured from an enemy in war. The most renowned among these were Capua, Rhegium, Venusia, Beneventum, Nuceria, Ariminum, and Vibo.[*](A town in Bruttium, called by the Greeks Hipponium -- the modern Monte Leone.) Thus were the most beautiful parts of Italy marked out for the soldiers. But they decided to destroy their personal enemies beforehand, so that the latter should not interfere with their arrangements while they were carrying on war abroad. Having come to these decisions, they reduced them to writing, and Octavius, as consul, communicated them to the soldiers, all except the proscriptions. When the soldiers heard them they applauded and embraced each other in token of mutual reconciliation.

While these transactions were taking place many fearful prodigies and portents were observed at Rome. Dogs howled exactly like wolves -- a fearful sign. Wolves darted through the forum -- an animal unused to the city. Cattle used the human voice. A newly born infant spoke. Sweat issued from statues; some even sweated blood. Loud voices of men were heard and the clashing of arms and the tramp of horses where none could be seen. Many fearful signs were observed around the sun, there were showers of stones, and continuous lightning fell upon the sacred temples and images; in consequence of which the Senate sent for diviners and soothsayers from Etruria. The oldest of them said that the kingly rule of former times was coming back, and that they would all be slaves except himself, whereupon he closed his mouth and held his breath till he was dead.