Pompey

He himself, however, turning to Cratippus the philosopher, who had come down from the city to see him, complained and argued briefly with him about Providence, Cratippus yielding somewhat to his reasoning and trying to lead him on to better hopes, that he might not give him pain by arguing against him at such a time.

For when Pompey raised questions about Providence, Cratippus might have answered that the state now required a monarchy because it was so badly administered; and he might have asked Pompey: How, O Pompey, and by what evidence, can we be persuaded that thou wouldst have made a better use of fortune than Caesar, hadst thou got the mastery? But this matter of the divine ordering of events must be left without further discussion.[*](Sintensis 2 follows Amyot in including this last sentence with the words supposed to be spoken by Cratippus: But these matters must be left to the will of the gods.)

After taking on board his wife and his friends, Pompey went on his way, putting in at harbours only when he was compelled to get food or water there. The first city that he entered was Attaleia in Pamphylia; there some triremes from Cilicia met him, soldiers were assembled for him, and he was surrounded again by senators, sixty of them.

On hearing, too, that his fleet still held together, and that Cato had taken many soldiers aboard and was crossing the sea to Africa, he lamented to his friends, blaming himself for having been forced to do battle with his land forces, while he made no use of his navy, which was indisputably superior, and had not even stationed it at a point where, if defeated on land, he might have had this powerful force close at hand by sea to make him a match for his enemy.