Searching for “=+Caesar -Cicero”

And when Trebonius became in this way imbued with confidence and ceased to be on his guard, Dolabella one night suddenly seized Smyrna, where they were staying, slew him, and hurled his head at Caesar’s statue; and after that he occupied all Asia.

When the Romans at home heard of this, they declared war upon him; for as yet Caesar had neither conquered Antony nor got the affairs of the city under his control. They also set a definite day before which Dolabella’s followers must leave off friendship with him if they also were not to be regarded in the light of enemies.

From Antioch he was repulsed by the garrison of the place, but he gained Laodicea without a struggle on account of the friendship which its inhabitants felt for the former Caesar. Thereupon he became powerful for a few days, especially as the fleet came to him speedily from Asia, and he crossed over to Arados with the object of getting both money and ships from the people of that island also;

While this was going on the people of Tarsus had attempted to keep from the pass through the Taurus Tillius Cimber, an assassin of Caesar, who was then governor of Bithynia and was hurrying forward to help Cassius. Out of fear, however, they abandoned the place and at the time made a truce with him, because they thought him strong; but afterwards, when they perceived the small number of his troops, they neither received him into their city nor furnished him with provisions.

Now when Caesar heard of this, he at first, while Dolabella was still alive, sent Lucius Rufus against them, but later came himself; and finding that they had already surrendered to Rufus without a struggle, he inflicted no severe penalty upon them, except to take away all their money, private and public.

Cleopatra also, on account of the aid she had sent to Dolabella, was granted the right to have her son called king of Egypt; this son, whom she named Ptolemy, she pretended was her son by Caesar, and she was therefore wont to call him Caesarion.

Brutus and Cassius therefore suspected them of favouring their enemies, since they had been well treated by the former Caesar, and they feared that when they themselves should have departed those peoples would cause some turmoil and lead the rest to revolt. Hence they determined to turn their attention to them first, in the hope that, since they themselves were far superior to them in point of armed forces and were also lavish with the favours they bestowed, they might soon either persuade or force them to join their cause.

For Norbanus and Saxa did not venture to offer them battle even with their entire force, though they sent out horsemen as skirmishers, wherever opportunity offered; but, as they accomplished nothing, they were careful for their own part rather to keep their camp well guarded than to expose it to danger, and sent urgent summons to Caesar and Antony.

But when they perceived that the Lycians and Rhodians had been overpowered, they bestowed praise upon these peoples and promised to make them a present of money, and they themselves at once set out from the city. Both, however, encountered delays. Antony had to spend some time at Brundisium, where he was shut up by Staius, and Caesar at Rhegium, after he had first turned aside to meet Sextus, who held Sicily and was making an attempt on Italy.

Caesar fell sick and was left behind at Dyrrachium, while Antony marched toward Philippi; and for a time he was a source of some strength to his soldiers, but after laying an ambush for some of the enemy when they were gathering grain and failing in his attempt, even he was no longer hopeful.

Caesar heard of the situation and feared the outcome in either case, whether Antony, acting alone, should be defeated in an engagement or should conquer, for in the one event he felt that Brutus and Cassius would gain strength to oppose him, and in the other that Antony would certainly do so; therefore he made haste, though still sick.

While the armies were encamped opposite each other, sallies and counter-sallies took place on both sides, as chance dictated; but for some time no regular battle was joined, although Caesar and Antony were exceedingly eager to bring on a conflict.

And yet I do not say that it was not beneficial for the people to be defeated at that time—what else, indeed, can one say regarding the contestants on both sides than that the vanquished were Romans and that the victor was Caesar!—for they were no longer capable of maintaining harmony in the established form of government.

Thus, in the city the sun at one time would be diminished and grow extremely small, and again would show itself huge and trebled in size, and once it even shone forth at night; thunderbolts descended at many places and in particular upon the altar of Jupiter Victor; meteors darted hither and thither; notes of trumpets, clashing of arms, and shouts of armed hosts were heard by night from the gardens both of Caesar and of Antony, which were close together beside the Tiber.

The opposing leaders, on the other hand, urged their army to take vengeance on the assassins of Caesar, to get the property of their antagonists, to be filled with a desire to rule all the men of their own race, and—the thing which heartened them most—they promised to give them twenty thousand sesterces apiece.