Searching for “=+Caesar -Cicero”

But Caesar was encouraged by this and wished to bring into play as soon as possible the enthusiasm of his army, which was splendidly trained, and to wage the war in Greece near his rival’s bases rather than in Italy near Rome.

He was leading them, not to the Peloponnesus or against Antony, but toward Actium, where the greater part of his rival’s fleet was at anchor, to see if he could forestall Antony by gaining possession of it, willing or unwilling. ¶ With this object in view Caesar disembarked the cavalry at the foot of the Ceraunian mountains

As soon as Antony learned of Caesar’s arrival he did not delay, but hastened to Actium with his followers. And he arrived there not long afterwards, but did not at once risk an encounter,

though Caesar constantly drew up his infantry in battle order in front of the enemy’s camp, often sailed against them with his ships and carried off their transports, with the object of joining battle with only such as were then present, before Antony’s entire command should assemble.

For this very reason the latter was unwilling to stake his all on the cast, and he had recourse for several days to feeling out his enemy and to skirmishes until he had gathered his legions. With these, especially since Caesar no longer kept assailing him as before,

he crossed the narrows and encamped not far from him, after which he sent cavalry around the gulf and thus invested him on both sides. Caesar, accordingly, remained quiet himself, and no longer accepted any encounter which he could avoid, but sent some troops into Greece and Macedonia with the intention of drawing Antony off in that direction.

and meanwhile Gnaeus Domitius, having some grievance against Cleopatra, transferred his allegiance also,—to be sure, he proved of no service to Caesar, since he fell sick and died not long after, yet he created the impression that it was because of his disapproval of the situation on the side on which he was that he had deserted to the other, for many others followed his example,—

Finally he became afraid that Quintus Dellius and Amyntas, the Galatian, who, as it chanced, had been sent into Macedonia and Thrace to secure mercenaries, would espouse Caesar’s cause, and he set out to overtake them, pretending that he wished to render them assistance in case any hostile force should attack them.

Now, because of this reverse and because Antony himself on his return had been defeated in a cavalry battle by Caesar’s advance guard, he decided not to let his men encamp thereafter in two different places, and so during the night he left the intrenchments which were near his opponents and retired to the other side of the narrows, where the larger part of his army was encamped.

And if anyone is inclined to make much of their good fortune in that combat, he is bound to reckon on the other side the defeat which Caesar himself suffered at the hands of Sextus himself; in this way he will find, not merely that our chances are equal, but that all the considerations on our side are far more numerous and far better than on theirs.

In a word, how large a part does Sicily form of the whole empire, and how large a fraction of our force did the troops of Sextus possess, that anyone should reasonably fear Caesar’s armament, which is precisely the same as before and has grown neither larger nor better, merely because of his good luck, rather than take courage because of his defeat?

Why, what would they not do to us, if they should prevail, when they have put to death practically all the followers of Sextus who were of any prominence, and have even destroyed many followers of Lepidus though they coöperated with Caesar’s party?

Who does not know that, although I was chosen a partner and colleague of Caesar, and was given the management of public affairs on equal terms with him, and received like honours and offices, in possession of which I have continued for so long a time, yet I have been deprived of them all, so far as lay in his power; I have become a private citizen instead of a commander, disfranchised

For seeing that the size of Caesar’s ships and the number of his marines were chiefly responsible for the defeat of Sextus, Antony had built his vessels much higher in the water than those of his opponents, constructing only a few triremes, but instead some ships with four and some with ten banks of oars, and all the remainder in between these two;

upon these he had built lofty towers, and he had put aboard a large number of men, who could thus fight from walls, as it were. Caesar, for his part, was observing their equipment and making his preparations, and when he learned from Dellius and others their intention, he also assembled his army and spoke to this effect: