[Footnote 40: The same thing is told in the Life of Pompeius, c. 21.]

[Footnote 41: In the Life of Marcellus, c. 22, Plutarch describes the minor triumph, called the Ovatio, which name is from the word 'ovis' a sheep; for a sheep only was sacrificed by the general who had the minor triumph; he who had the greater triumph, sacrificed an ox. In an ovatio the general walked in the procession, instead of riding in a chariot drawn by four horses, as in the Triumphus Curulis; and he wore a crown of myrtle, instead of a crown of bay which was worn on the occasion of the greater triumph. But Plinius (Hist. Nat. xv. 29) says that Crassus wore a crown of bay on the occasion of this ovation.]

[Footnote 42: The first consulship of M. Licinius Crassus and Cn. Pompeius Magnus belongs to B.C. 70.]

[Footnote 43: The story is told again in the Life of Pompeius, c. 23, where Aurelius is called Caius Aurelius, which is probably the true name.]

[Footnote 44: Crassus was censor with Lutatius Catulus in B.C. 65. The duties of the censors are here briefly alluded to by Plutarch. One of the most important was the numbering of the people and the registration of property for the purposes of taxation. This quarrel of the censors is mentioned by Dion Cassius (37. c. 9).]

[Footnote 45: The conspiracy of Catiline was in B.C. 63, the year when Cicero was consul. See the Life of Cicero.

There seems to be no evidence that Crassus was implicated in the affair of Catiline. Dion Cassius (37. c. 31) speaks of anonymous letters about the conspiracy being brought to Crassus and other nobles; and Plutarch states on the authority of Cicero that Crassus communicated the letters to Cicero. Dion Cassius in another passage (37. c. 35) mentions the suspicion against Crassus, and that one of the prisoners informed against him, "but there were not many to believe it." If Dion did not believe it, we need not; for he generally believes anything that is to a man's discredit. Sallustius (Bellum Catilin. c. 48) has given us a statement of the affair, but his own opinion can scarcely be collected from it. He says, however, that he had heard Crassus declare that Cicero was the instigator of this charge. The orations of Cicero which Plutarch refers to are not extant.]

[Footnote 46: The text is corrupt, though the general meaning is plain. See the note of Sintonis.]

[Footnote 47: The son of Crassus, who is introduced abruptly in Plutarch's fashion.]

[Footnote 48: After Caesar had been praetor in Spain he was elected consul B.C. 59, with M. Calpurnius Bibulus (see the Life of Caesar, c. 14). After his consulship Caesar had the Gauls as his province. The meeting at Luca (Lucca), which was on the southern limits of Caesar's province, took place B.C. 56; and here was formed the coalition which is sometimes, though improperly, called the first Triumvirate.]

[Footnote 49: The second consulship of Pompeius and Crassus was B.C. 55. Cn. Cornelius Lentulus Marcellinus was one of the consuls of the year B.C. 56, during which the elections for the year 55 took place. This Domitius, L. Domitius Ahenobarbus, was consul B.C. 54. In the quarrel between Pompeius and Caesar, he joined Pompeius, and after various adventures finally he lost his life in the battle of Pharsalus B.C. 48.]

[Footnote 50: The first 'house' ([Greek: oikia]) is evidently the house of Domitius. The second house ([Greek: oikema]), which may be more properly rendered 'chamber,' may, as Sintenis says, mean the Senate-house, if the reading is right. Kaltwasser takes the second house to be the same as the first house; and he refers to the Life of Pompeius, c. 51, 52, where the same story is told.

In place of [Greek: oikema] some critics have read [Greek: bema] the Rostra.]

[Footnote 51: Appian (Civil Wars, ii. 18) says that Pompeius received Iberia and Libya. The Romans had now two provinces in the Spanish peninsula, Hispania Citerior or Tarraconensis, and Ulterior or Baetica. This arrangement, by which the whole power of the state was distributed among Pompeius, Crassus and Caesar, was in effect a revolution, and the immediate cause of the wars which followed.

Appian (Civil Wars, ii. 18) after speaking of Crassus going on his Parthian expedition in which he lost his life, adds, "but the Parthian History will show forth the calamity of Crassus." Appian wrote a Parthian History; but that which is now extant under the name is merely an extract from Plutarch's Life of Crassus, beginning with the sixteenth chapter: which extract is followed by another from Plutarch's Life of Antonius. The compiler of this Parthian History has put at the head of it a few words of introduction. The extract from Crassus is sometimes useful for the various readings which it offers.]

[Footnote 52: This wife was Caesar's daughter Julia, whom Pompeius married in Caesar's consulship (Vell. Paterc. ii. 44). She was nearly twenty-three years younger than Pompeius. Julia died B.C. 54, after giving birth to a son, who died soon after her. She possessed beauty and a good disposition. The people, with whom she was a favourite, had her buried in the Field of Mars. See the Lives of Pompeius and Caesar.]

[Footnote 53: That is the Lex which prolonged Caesar's government for five years and gave Iberia (Spain) and Syria to Pompeius and Crassus for the same period. The Lex was proposed by the Tribune Titus Trebonius (Livius, Epitome, 105; Dion Cassius, 39. c. 33).]

[Footnote 54: C. Ateius Capito Gallus and his brother tribune P. Aquillius Gallius were strong opponents of Pompeius and Crassus at this critical time. Crassus left Rome for his Parthian campaign at the close of B.C. 55, before the expiration of his consulship (Clinton, Fasti, B.C. 54).]

[Footnote 55: We learn that Crassus sailed from Brundisium (Brindisi), the usual place of embarkation for Asia, but we are told nothing more of his course till we find him in Galatia, talking to old Deiotarus.]

[Footnote 56: Zenodotia or Zenodotium, a city of the district Osrhoene, and near the town of Nikephorium. These were Greek cities founded by the Macedonians. I have mistranslated the first part of this passage of Plutarch from not referring at the time to Dion Cassius (40. c. 13) who tells the story thus:—"The inhabitants of Zenodotium sent for some of the Romans, pretending that they intended to join them like the rest; but when the men were within the city, they cut off their retreat and killed them; and this was the reason why their city was destroyed." The literal version of Plutarch's text will be the true one. "But in one of them, of which Apollonius was tyrant, a hundred of his soldiers were put to death, upon," &c.]

[Footnote 57: This was his son Publius, who is often mentioned in Caesar's Gallic War.]

[Footnote 58: See Life of Lucullus, c. 22.]

[Footnote 59: Hierapolis or the 'Holy City' was also called Bambyke and Edessa. Strabo places it four schoeni from the west bank of the Euphrates. The goddess who was worshipped here was called Atargatis or Astarte. Lucian speaks of the goddess and her temple and ceremonial in his treatise 'On the Syrian Goddess' (iii. p. 451, ed. Hemsterhuis). Lucian had visited the place. Josephus adds (Jewish Antiq. xiv. 7) that Crassus stripped the temple of Jerusalem of all its valuables to the amount of ten thousand talents. The winter occupation of the Roman general was more profitable than his campaign the following year turned out.]

[Footnote 60: This was a general name of the Parthian kings, and probably was used as a kind of title. The dynasty was called the Arsakidae. The name Arsakes occurs among the Persian names in the Persae of Aeschylus. Pott (Etymologische Forschungen, ii. 272) conjectures that the word means 'King of the Arii,' or 'the noble King.' The prefix Ar or Ari is very common in Persian names, as Ariamnes, Ariomardus, and others.

Plutarch in other passages of the Life of Crassus calls this Arsakes, Hyrodes, and other authorities call him Orodes. He is classed as Arsakes XIV. Orodes I. of Parthia, by those who have attempted to form a regular series of the Parthian kings.

Crassus replied that he would give his answer in Seleukeia, the large city on the Tigris, which was nearly pure Greek. The later Parthian capital was Ktesiphon, in the neighbourhood of Seleukeia, on the east bank of the Tigris and about twenty miles from Bagdad. The foundation of Ktesiphon is attributed by Ammianus Marcellinus (xxiii. 6, ed. Gronov.) to Bardanes, who was a contemporary of the Roman emperor Nero, if he is the Arsakes Bardanes who appears in the list of Parthian kings. But Ktesiphon is mentioned by Polybius in his fifth book, in the wars of Antiochus and Molon, and consequently it existed in the time of Crassus, though it is not mentioned in his Life. Ktesiphon is mentioned by Dion Cassius (40. c. 14) in his history of the campaign of Crassus, but this alone would not prove that Ktesiphon existed at that time.]

[Footnote 61: The Greek word here and at the beginning of ch. xix., translated 'mailed' by Mr. Long, always refers to cuirassed cavalry soldiers.]

[Footnote 62: C. Cassius Longinus, the friend of M. Junius Brutus, and afterwards one of the assassins of the Dictator Caesar.]

[Footnote 63: He is afterwards called Artavasdes. He was a son of the Tigranes whom Lucullus defeated, and is called Artavasdes I. by Saint-Martin. He is mentioned again in Plutarch's Life of M. Antonius. c. 39, 50.]

[Footnote 64: Zeugma means the Bridge. Seleukus Nikator is said to have established a bridge of boats here, in order to connect the opposite bank with Apameia, a city which he built on the east side of the Euphrates (Plinius, Hist. Nat. v. 24). Zeugma afterwards was a usual place for crossing the river; but a bridge of boats could hardly be permanently kept there, and it appears that Crassus had to construct a raft. Zeugma is either upon or near the site of Bir, which is in about 37 deg. N. Lat.]

[Footnote 65: Probably these great hurricanes are not uncommon on the Euphrates. In the year 1831 a gale sent Colonel Chesney's "little vessel to the bottom of the river;" but a still greater calamity befel the Tigris steamer in the Euphrates expedition which was under the command of Colonel Chesney, in May 1836. A little after one P.M. a storm appeared bringing with it clouds of sand from the west-north-west. The two steam-boats the Tigris and the Euphrates were then passing over the rocks of Es-Geria, which were deeply covered with water. The Euphrates was safely secured; but the Tigris, being directed against the bank, struck with great violence; the wind suddenly veered round and drove her bow off; "this rendered it quite impossible to secure the vessel to the bank, along which she was blown rapidly by the heavy gusts; her head falling off into the stream as she passed close to the Euphrates, which vessel had been backed opportunely to avoid the concussion." The Tigris perished in this violent hurricane and twenty men were lost in her. The storm lasted about eight minutes. Colonel Chesney escaped by swimming to the shore just before the vessel went down: he was fortunate "to take a direction which brought him to the land, without having seen anything whatever to guide him through the darkness worse than that of night."—"For an instant," says Colonel Chesney after getting to land, "I saw the keel of the Tigris uppermost (near the stern); she went down bow foremost, and having struck the bottom in that position, she probably turned round on the bow as a pivot, and thus showed part of her keel for an instant at the other extremity; but her paddle beams, floats, and parts of the sides were already broken up, and actually floated ashore, so speedy and terrific had been the work of destruction." (Letter from Colonel Chesney to Sir J. Hobhouse, 28th May, 1836; Euphrates Expedition Papers printed by order of the House of Commons, 17th July, 1837.)

Ammianus Marcellinus (xxiv. 1) speaks of a violent storm at Anatha (Annah) on the Euphrates, during the expedition of the Emperor Julian. It blew down the tents and stretched the soldiers on the ground.]

[Footnote 66: A place struck with lightning was considered religious (religiosus), that is, it could no longer be used for common purposes. "The deity," says Festus (v. Fulguritum), "was supposed to have appropriated it to himself."

Dion Cassius (40. c. 17, &c.) gives the story of the passage of the river. The eagle, according to him, was very obstinate. It stuck fast in the ground, as if it was planted there; and when it was forced up by the soldiers, it went along very unwillingly.

The Roman eagle was fixed at one end of a long shaft of wood, which had a sharp point at the other end for the purpose of fixing it in the ground. The eagle was gold, or gilded metal; and, according to Dion Cassius, it was kept in a small moveable case or consecrated chapel. The eagle was not moved from the winter encampment, unless the whole army was put in motion. The Vexilla ([Greek: semeia] of the Greek writers) were what we call the colours.

(See the note of Reimarus on Dion Cassius, 40. c. 18.)]

[Footnote 67: Dion Cassius (40. c. 20), who tells the story, names the man Augarus. See the note of Reimarus.]

[Footnote 68: This is the translation of Plutarch's word [Greek: pelates] , which word [Greek: pelates] is used by the Greek writers on Roman history to express the Latin Cliens. It is not here supposed that Parthian clients were the same as Roman clients; but as Plutarch uses the word to express a certain condition among the Parthians, which was not that of slavery, it is proper to retain his word in the translation.]

[Footnote 69: This "very Hyrodes" and his brother Mithridates are said to have murdered their father Arsakes XII. Phraates III., who is spoken of in the Life of Lucullus. The two brothers quarrelled. Mithridates is mentioned by some authorities as the immediate successor of his father under the title of Arsakes XIII. Mithridates III. Mithridates was besieged in Babylon by Hyrodes; and Mithridates, after surrendering to his brother, was put to death. (Dion Cassius, 39. c. 56; Appian, On the Affairs of Syria, c. 51; Justinus, xlii. 4.)]

[Footnote 70: This river is probably the same as the Bilecha, now the Belejik, a small stream which joins the Euphrates on the left bank at Racca, the old Nikephorium. This river is mentioned by Isidorus of Charax and by Ammianus Marcellinus (xxiii. c. 3), who calls it Belias.]

[Footnote 71: Plutarch seems to mean something like drums furnished with bells or rattles; but his description is not very clear, and the passage may be rendered somewhat differently from what I have rendered it: "but they have instruments to beat upon ([Greek: rhoptra]), made of skin, and hollow, which they stretch round brass sounders" ([Greek: echeiois], whatever the word may mean here). The word [Greek: rhoptron] properly means a thing to strike with; but it seems to have another meaning here. (See Passow's Greek Lexicon.) The context seems to show that a drum is meant.]

[Footnote 72: Margiana was a country east of the Caspian, the position of which seems to be determined by the Murg-aub river, the ancient Margus. Hyrcania joined it on the west. Strabo (p. 516) describes Margiana as a fertile plain surrounded by deserts. He says nothing of its iron. Plinius (Hist. Nat. vi. 16) says that Orodes carried off the Romans who were captured at the time of the defeat of Crassus, to Antiochia, in Margiana.]

[Footnote 73: So Xenophon (Cyropaedia, i. 3. 2) represents King Astyages. The king also wore a wig or false locks.]

[Footnote 74: The peculiarity of the Parthian warfare made a lasting impression on the Romans; and it is often alluded to by the Latin writers:—

Fidentemque fuga Parthum versisque sagittis.

Virgil, Georgic iii. 31.

]

[Footnote 75: In reading the chapter, it must be remembered that Publius is young Crassus. If there is any apparent confusion between the father and son, it will be removed by reading carefully. I have chosen to translate Plutarch, not to mend him.]

[Footnote 76: The reading of this passage in Appian (Parthica, c. 29) is [Greek: telmasin entuchontes], which Sintenis has adopted. The common reading is [Greek: suntagmasin entuchontes] , which various critics variously explain.]

[Footnote 77: In the old Latin translation of Guarini, the name Cn. Plancus occurs in place of Megabacchus. Kaltwasser conjectures that Megabacchus was a Greek, but the context implies that he was a Roman. Orelli (Onomastic. C. Megaboccus) takes him to be the person mentioned by Cicero (Ad Attic. ii. 7), which Gronovius had already observed, and again by Cicero, Pro Scauro, c. 2.]

[Footnote 78: Censorinus was a cognomen of the Marcia Gens, and several of the name are mentioned in the history of Rome; but this Censorinus does not appear to be otherwise known.]

[Footnote 79: Carrhae was a Mesopotamian town, south of Orfa or Edessa, and about 37 deg. N. lat. It is supposed to be the Haran of Genesis (xi. 31).]

[Footnote 80: Ichnae was a town on the Bilecha, south of Carrhae. Dion Cassias (40. c. 12) calls it Ichniae, and adds that Crassus before taking Nikephorium had been defeated by Talymenus Eilakes. Eilakes is probably a blunder in the copies of Dion; and it is conjectured that he is the Sillakes mentioned by Plutarch (c. 21), Appian, and Orosius (vi. 3).]

[Footnote 81: The death of young Crassus, and the subsequent misfortunes of the Romans, are described by Dion Cassius, 40. c. 21, &c.]

[Footnote 82: Or Egnatius. He is called Gnatius by Appian.]

[Footnote 83: Cassius escaped to Syria, which he successfully defended against the invading Parthians, who lost their commander, Osakes. (Dion Cassius. 40. c. 28, 29; Cicero, Ad Attic. v. 20; Orosius, vi. 13.)

Cicero was proconsul of Cilicia during the Parthian invasion of Syria B.C. 51.]

[Footnote 84: Sinnaca is mentioned by Strabo p. 747, but he says nothing which enables us to fix its position. If Plutarch's narrative is correct; it was not far from Carrhae; and Carrhae was considered by the Romans to be the scene of the death of Crassus, probably because it was the nearest known place to the spot where he fell.]

[Footnote 85: 'The river' is the Euphrates.]

[Footnote 86: The stories about the death of Crassus varied, as we might suppose. Dion Cassius (40. c. 27) remarks that, according to one version of the story, Crassus was badly wounded, and was killed by one of his own people to prevent him from being taken alive. He adds that the chief part of the army of Crassus made their escape.]

[Footnote 87: The story of molten gold being poured into the mouth of the head of Crassus is given by Dion Cassius as a report. Floras (iii. 11) has the same story; and he says that it was the right hand of Crassus which was sent to the king, as we might conjecture it would be, if only one was sent.]

[Footnote 88: Kaltwasser asks, "Was this perchance intended as an allusion to the avarice of Crassus, as the female dress was intended to refer to his cowardice?" The probable answer is Yes.]

[Footnote 89: As this was a Greek town, it had a Greek constitution, and was governed by a body which the Romans called a Senate. The Senate of Seleukeia is mentioned by Tacitus (Annal. vi. 42): "Trecenti opibus, aut sapientia delecti, ut Senatus: sua populo vis; et quoties concordes agunt, spernitur Parthus."]

[Footnote 90: This Aristeides wrote lewd stories called Milesiaca, of which there were several books. They were translated into Latin by the historian L. Cornelius Sisenna, a contemporary of Sulla. It is not said whether the original or the translation formed a part of the camp furniture of this unworthy Roman soldier. The work of Aristeides was known to Ovidius (Tristia, ii. 413, 443), who attempts to defend his own amatory poetry by the example of Sisenna, who translated an obscene book.]

[Footnote 91: Probably there is an error in the name: Roscius has been proposed as the probable reading.]

[Footnote 92: Plutarch is alluding to the fable of the two wallets, which every man carries, one in front with his neighbours' faults in it, and the other behind containing his own. Phaedrus (iv. 10, ed. Orelli) has pithily told the apologue:—

Peras imposuit Iuppiter nobis duas: Propriis repletam vitiis post tergum dedit, Alienis ante pectus suspendit gravem. Hac re videre nostra mala non possumus: Alii simul delinquunt, censores sumus.

Two wallets Juppiter has placed upon us: Our own faults fill the bag we bear behind, Our neighbour's heavy wallet hangs in front. And so we cannot see our own ill deeds; But if another trips, forthwith we censure.

]

[Footnote 93: This word means a thick stick; and a snake of like form.]

[Footnote 94: Greek adventurers were always making their way to the courts of these barbarous Asiatic kings to serve in the capacity of physicians, mountebanks, or impostors of some kind. Several instances are mentioned by Herodotus. Tralles was a considerable town near the west coast of Asia Minor, from which this actor came.]

[Footnote 95: Pentheus, king of Thebes, son of Agave; would not recognise the divinity of Bacchus, whereupon Bacchus infuriated the women, and among them Agave, who killed her own son. She is introduced in the Bacchae with his head in her hand, exulting over the slaughter of the supposed wild beast.

The passage which is cited is from the Bacchae of Euripides, v. 1168, ed. Elmsley. The exact meaning of the word [Greek: helika] in the passage is uncertain. See Elmsley's note.]

[Footnote 96: The word is Exodium ([Greek: exodion]), a kind of entertainment common among the Romans, though it is a Greek word. Plutarch means that this exhibition before the kings was like the farce which is acted after a tragedy. It seems as if Jason was first playing the part of Agave, and was then going to play that of Pentheus; but on seeing the head he put aside the mask and dress of Pentheus, and recited the words of the frantic mother. Plutarch sometimes leaves things in a kind of mist: he gives his reader opportunity for conjecture.]

[Footnote 97: Pacorus was completely defeated B.C. 38 near the Euphrates by P. Ventidius Bassus, who was the legatus of M. Antonius. Pacorus lost his life in the battle (Dion Cassius, 49. c. 20; Plutarch, Life of Antonius, c. 34). It is said that Pacorus fell on the same day on which Crassus lost his life fifteen years before, the 9th of June (Dion Cassius, 49. c. 21, and the note of Reimarus).]

[Footnote 98: He began his reign under the name of Arsakes XV. Phraates IV., according to some authorities, B.C. 37. He was not satisfied with murdering his father: he murdered his brothers, and many distinguished Parthians. His name occurs again in Plutarch's Life of Antonius. Phraates delivered up to Augustus, B.C. 20, the Roman soldiers, eagles, and standards which had been taken by Crassus; an event which is commemorated by extant medals, and was recorded by Augustus among his other exploits in the Monumentum Ancyranum.]

[Footnote 99: This is the Greek word ([Greek: akoniton]): the same name is now given to Monkshood or Wolfsbane, a genus of Ranunculaceae. Aconite is now used as a medicine; "The best forms are either an alcoholic extract of the leaves, or an alcoholic tincture of the root made by displacement." It is a poisonous plant, and death has followed from the careless use of it ("Aconite," Penny Cyclopaedia and Supplement to the P. Cyc.).

With this farce, as Plutarch remarks, the history of Crassus terminates. If Plutarch designed to make Crassus contemptible, he has certainly succeeded. And there is nothing in other authorities to induce us to think that he has done Crassus injustice. With some good qualities and his moderate abilities, he might have been a respectable man in a private station. But insatiable avarice, and that curse of many men, ambition without the ability that can ensure success and command respect, made Crassus a fool in his old age, and brought him to an ignominious end.]



COMPARISON OF NIKIAS AND CRASSUS.

I. In the first place, the wealth of Nikias was much more honestly and creditably obtained than that of Crassus. Generally speaking, one cannot approve of men who make their money from mines, which are as a rule worked by criminals, or savages, labouring in chains in unhealthy subterranean dungeons; but yet this method of amassing a fortune seems much the more honourable, when compared with Crassus's purchase of confiscated lands and his habit of bidding for houses that were on fire. Crassus too used to practise these openly, like a trade: while he was also accused of taking bribes for his speeches in the Senate, of defrauding the allies of Rome, of currying favour with great ladies and assisting them to shield offenders from justice. Nothing of this sort was ever laid to the charge of Nikias, who, however, was ridiculed for giving money to common informers because he feared their tongues. Yet this action of his, though it would have been a disgrace to Perikles, or Aristeides, was a necessity for Nikias, who was naturally of a timid disposition. Thus Lykurgus the orator excused himself when accused of having bought off some informers who threatened him. "I am glad," said he, "that after so long a public life as mine I should have been at last convicted of giving bribes rather than of receiving them."

The expenditure of Nikias was all calculated to increase his popularity in the state, being devoted to offerings to the gods, gymnastic contests and public dramatic performances. But all the money he spent that way, and all that he possessed was but a small part of what Crassus bestowed upon a public feast at Rome for some tens of thousands of guests, whom he even maintained at his own cost for some time after. So true it is that wickedness and vice argue a want of due balance and proportion in a man's mind, which leads him to acquire wealth dishonestly, and then to squander it uselessly.

II. So much for their riches. Now in their political life, Nikias never did anything bold, daring or unjust, for he was outwitted by Alkibiades, and always stood in fear of the popular assembly. Crassus, on the other hand, is accused of great inconsistency, in lightly changing from one party to another, and he himself never denied that he once obtained the consulship by hiring men to assassinate Cato and Domitius. And in the assembly held for the dividing for the provinces, many were wounded and four men slain in the Forum, while Crassus himself (which I have forgotten to mention in his Life) struck one Lucius Annalius, a speaker on the other side, so violent a blow with his fist that his face was covered with blood. But though Crassus was overbearing and tyrannical in his public life, yet we cannot deny that the shrinking timidity and cowardice of Nikias deserve equally severe censure; and it must be remembered that when Crassus was carrying matters with so high a hand, it was no Kleon or Hyperbolus that he had for an antagonist, but the great Julius Caesar himself, and Pompeius who had triumphed three several times, and that he gave way to neither of them, but became their equal in power, and even excelled Pompeius in dignity by obtaining the office of censor. A great politician should not try to avoid unpopularity, but to gain such power and reputation as will enable him to rise above it.

Yet if it were true that Nikias preferred quiet and security to anything else, and that he stood in fear of Alkibiades in the assembly, of the Spartans at Pylus, and of Perdikkas in Thrace, he had every opportunity to repose himself in Athens and to "weave the garland of a peaceful life," as some philosopher calls it. He had indeed a true and divine love of peace, and his attempt to bring the Peloponnesian war to an end, was an act of real Hellenic patriotism. In this respect Crassus cannot be compared with Nikias, not though he had carried the frontier of the Roman empire as far as the Caspian and the Indian seas.

III. Yet a statesman, in a country which appreciates his merits, ought not when at the height of his power to make way for worthless men, and place in office those who have no claim to it, as Nikias did when he laid down his own office of commander-in-chief and gave it to Kleon, a man who possessed no qualification whatever for the post except his brazen effrontery. Neither can I praise Crassus for having so rashly and hurriedly brought the war with Spartacus to a crisis, although he was actuated by an honourable ambition in fearing that Pompeius would arrive and take from him the glory of having completed the war, as Mummius took from Marcellus the glory of winning Corinth. But on the other hand the conduct of Nikias was altogether monstrous and inexcusable. He did not give up his honourable post to his enemy at a time when there was hope of success and little peril. He saw that great danger was likely to be incurred by the general in command at Pylus, and yet he was content to place himself in safety, and let the state run the risk of ruin, by entrusting an incompetent person with the sole management of affairs. Yet Themistokles, rather than allow an ignorant commander to mismanage the war against Persia, bribed him to lay down his office. So also Cato at a most dangerous crisis became a candidate for the office of tribune of the people in order to serve his country. But Nikias, reserving himself to play the general at the expense of the village of Minoa, the island of Kythera, and the miserable inhabitants of Melos,[100] when it came to fighting the Lacedaemonians eagerly stripped off his general's cloak, and entrusted to an inexperienced and reckless man like Kleon, the conduct of an enterprise involving the safety of a large Athenian fleet and army, showing himself no less neglectful of his own honour than he was of the interests of his country. After this he was forced against his will into the war with Syracuse, in which he seems to have imagined that his army would capture the city by remaining before it doing nothing, and not by vigorous attacks. No doubt it is a great testimony to the esteem in which he was held by his countrymen, that he was always opposed to war and unwilling to act as general, and was nevertheless always forced by them to undertake that office: whereas Crassus, who always wished for an independent command, never obtained one except in the servile war, and then only because all the other generals, Pompeius, Metellus, and Lucullus, were absent. Yet at that time Crassus was at the height of his power and reputation: but his friends seem to have thought him, as the comic poet has it,

"Most excellent, save in the battle-field."

And in his case also, the Romans gained no advantage from his ambitious desire of command. The Athenians sent Nikias to Sicily against his will, and Crassus led the Romans to Parthia against their will. Nikias suffered by the actions of the Athenians, while Rome suffered by the actions of Crassus.

IV. However, in their last moments we incline rather to praise Nikias than to blame Crassus. Nikias, a skilful and experienced commander, did not share the rash hopes of his countrymen, but never thought that Sicily could be conquered, and dissuaded them from making the attempt. Crassus, on the other hand, urged the Romans to undertake the war with Parthia, representing the conquest of that country as an easy operation, which he nevertheless failed to effect. His ambition was vast. Caesar had conquered the Gauls, Germans, Britons, and all the west of Europe, and Crassus wished in his turn to march eastward as far as the Indian Ocean, and to conquer all those regions of Asia which Pompeius and Lucullus, two great men and actuated by a like desire for conquest, had previously aspired to subdue. Yet they also met with a like opposition. When Pompeius was given an unlimited command in the East, the appointment was opposed by the Senate, and when Caesar routed thirty thousand Germans, Cato proposed that he should be delivered up to the vanquished, and that thus the anger of the gods should be turned away from the city upon the author of so great a crime as he had committed by breaking his word. Yet the Romans slighted Cato's proposals and held a solemn thanksgiving for fifteen days to show their joy at the news. How many days then must we imagine they would have spent in rejoicing if Crassus had sent despatches announcing the capture of Babylon, and then had reduced Media, Persia, Hyrkania, Susa, and Bactria to the condition of Roman provinces. "If a man must do wrong," as Euripides says of those who cannot live in peace, and be contented when they are well off, they should do it on a grand scale like this, not capture contemptible places like Skandeia or Mende, or chase the people of AEgina, like birds who have been turned out of their nests. If we are to do an injustice, let us not do it in a miserable pettifogging way, but imitate such great examples as Crassus and Alexander the Great. Those who praise the one of these great men, and blame the other, do so only because they are unable to see any other distinction between them except that the one failed and the other succeeded.

V. When acting as general, Nikias did many great exploits, for he was many times victorious, all but took Syracuse, and ought not justly to bear the blame of the whole Sicilian disaster, because of his disease, and the ill will which some bore him at Athens. Crassus on the other hand committed so many mistakes as to put it out of the power of fortune to aid him, so that one wonders not so much that his folly was overcome by the Parthians as that it could overcome the good fortune of the Romans. Now as the one never disregarded religious observances and omens, the other despised them all, and yet both alike perished, it is hard to say what inference we ought to draw, as to which acted most wisely, yet we must incline rather to the side of him who followed the established rule in such matters rather than that of him who insolently discarded all such observances. In his death Crassus is more to be commended, because he yielded himself against his will in consequence of the entreaties of his friends, and was most treacherously deceived by the enemy, while Nikias delivered himself up to his enemies through a base and cowardly desire to save his life, and thus made his end more infamous.

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote 100: I cannot find that Nikias took any part in the massacre of the people of Melos in 416 B.C.]



LIFE OF SERTORIUS.

I. It is perhaps not a matter of surprise, if in the lapse of time, which is unlimited, while fortune[101] is continually changing her course, spontaneity should often result in the same incidents; for, if the number of elemental things is not limited, fortune has in the abundance of material a bountiful supply of sameness of results; and, if things are implicated in a dependence upon definite numbers, it is of necessity that the same things must often happen, being effected by the same means. Now, as some are pleased to collect, by inquiry and hearsay, from among the things which accidentally happen, such as bear some likeness to the works of calculation and forethought: such, for instance, as that there were two celebrated Atteis,[102] the one a Syrian and the other an Arcadian, and that both were killed by a wild boar; that there were two Actaeons, one of whom was torn in pieces by his dogs and the other by his lovers; that there were two Scipios,[103] by one of whom the Carthaginians were first conquered, and by the other were cut up root and branch; that Troy was taken by Hercules, on account of the horses of Laomedon, and by Agamemnon by means of the wooden horse, as it is called, and was taken a third time by Charidemus, by reason of the Ilians not being able to close the gates quick enough, owing to a horse having got between them; that there are two cities which have the same name with the most fragrant of plants, Ios[104] and Smyrna, and that Homer was born in one of them and died in the other: I may be allowed to add to these instances, that the most warlike of commanders and those who have accomplished most by a union of daring and cunning, have been one-eyed men, Philippus,[105] Antigonus, Annibal, and the subject of this Life—Sertorius; he whom one may affirm to have been more continent as to women than Philip, more true to his friends than Antigonus, more merciful to his enemies than Annibal,[106] inferior in understanding to none of them, but in fortune inferior to all; and, though he always found Fortune more hard to deal with than his open enemies, yet he proved himself her equal by opposing the experience of Metellus, the daring of Pompeius, the fortune of Sulla, and the power of the whole Roman state; a fugitive and a stranger putting himself at the head of barbarians. Of all the Greeks, Eumenes[107] of Kardia presents the nearest resemblance to him. Both of them were men qualified to command; both were warlike, and yet full of stratagem; both became exiles from their native land and the commanders of foreign troops; and both had the same violent and unjust fortune in their end, for both of them were the objects of conspiracy, and were cut off by the hands of those with whom they were victorious over their enemies.

II. Quintus Sertorius belonged to a family not among the meanest in Nussa,[108] a Sabine city. He was carefully brought up by a widowed mother, for he had lost his father, and he appears to have been exceedingly attached to her. His mother's name, they say, was Rhea. He had a competent practical education in the courts of justice, and, as a young man, he attained some influence in the city by his eloquence. But his reputation and success in war diverted all his ambition in that direction.

III. Now, first of all, after the Cimbri and Teutones had invaded Gaul, he was serving under Caepio[109] at the time when the Romans were defeated and put to flight; and, though he lost his horse and was wounded in the body, he crossed the Rhone swimming in his cuirass and with his shield against the powerful stream—so strong was his body and disciplined by exercise. On a second occasion, when the same barbarians were advancing with many thousand men and dreadful threats, so that for a Roman to stand to his ranks at such a time, and to obey his general, was a great matter, Marius had the command, and Sertorius undertook to be a spy upon the enemy. Putting on a Celtic dress, and making himself master of the most ordinary expressions of the language, for the purpose of conversation when occasion might offer, he mingled with the barbarians, and, either by his own eyes or by inquiry, learning all that was important to know, he returned to Marius. For this he obtained the prize of merit; and in the rest of the campaign, having given many proofs of his judgment and daring, he was honoured and trusted by his general. After the close of the war with the Cimbri and Teutones, he was sent as tribune by Didius[110] the praetor to Iberia, and he wintered in Castlo,[111] a city of the Celtiberi. The soldiers, being in the midst of abundance, lost all discipline, and were generally drunk, which brought them into contempt with the barbarians, who, by night, sent for aid from their neighbours the Gyrisoeni, and, coming on the soldiers in their lodgings, began to slaughter them. Sertorius with a few others stole out, and, collecting the soldiers who made their escape, surrounded the city. Finding the gates open through which the barbarians had secretly entered, he did not make the same mistake that they did, but he set a watch there, and, hemming in the city on all sides, he massacred every man who was of age to bear arms. When the massacre was over, he ordered all his soldiers to lay down their own armour and dress, and, putting on those of the barbarians, to follow him to the city from which the men came who had fallen on them in the night. The barbarians were deceived by the armour, and he found the gates open, and a number of men expecting to meet friends and fellow-citizens, returning from a successful expedition. Accordingly, most of them were killed by the Romans near the gates, and the rest surrendered and were sold as slaves.

IV. This made the name of Sertorius known in Iberia; and as soon as he returned to Rome he was appointed quaestor in Gaul upon the Padus at a critical time; for the Marsic[112] war was threatening. Being commissioned to levy troops and procure arms, he applied so much zeal and expedition to the work, compared with the tardiness and indolence of the other young men, that he got the reputation of being a man likely to run an active career. Yet he remitted nothing of the daring of a soldier after he was promoted to the rank of commander; but he exhibited wonderful feats of courage, and exposed himself without any reserve to danger, whereby he lost one of his eyes through a wound. But he always prided himself on this. He used to say that others did not always carry about with them the proofs of their valour, but put them aside, at times, as chains and spears, and crowns, while the proofs of his valour always abided with him, and those who saw what he had lost saw at the same time the evidences of his courage. The people also showed him appropriate marks of respect; for, on his entering the theatre, they received him with clapping of hands and expressions of their good wishes—testimonials which even those who were far advanced in age, and high in rank, could with difficulty obtain. However, when he was a candidate for the tribuneship, Sulla raised a party against him, and he failed; and this was, apparently, the reason why he hated Sulla. But when Marius was overpowered by Sulla and fled from Rome, and Sulla had set out to fight with Mithridates, and the consul Octavius adhered to the party of Sulla, while his colleague Cinna, who aimed at a revolution, revived the drooping faction of Marius, Sertorius attached himself to Cinna, especially as he saw that Octavius was deficient in activity, and he distrusted the friends of Marius. A great battle was fought in the Forum between the consuls, in which Octavius got the victory, and Cinna and Sertorius took to flight, having lost nearly ten thousand men. However, they persuaded most of the troops, which were still scattered about Italy, to come over to their side, and they were soon a match for Octavius.

V. When Marius had returned from Libya, and was proposing to join Cinna, himself in a mere private capacity and Cinna as consul, all the rest thought it politic to receive him; but Sertorius was against it: whether it was because he thought that Cinna would pay less respect to him when a general of higher reputation was present, or because he feared the ferocious temper of Marius, and that he would put all in confusion in his passion, which knew no bounds, transgressing the limits of justice in the midst of victory. However this may be, Sertorius observed that there remained little for them to do, as they were now triumphant; but if they received the proposal of Marius, he would appropriate to himself all the glory and all the troops, being a man who could endure no partner in power, and who was devoid of good faith. Cinna replied that what Sertorius suggested was true, but he felt ashamed and had a difficulty about refusing to receive Marius, after having invited him to join their party; whereupon Sertorius rejoined: "For my part, I thought that Marius had come to Italy on his own adventure, and I was merely considering what was best; but it was not honourable in you to make the thing a matter of deliberation at all after the arrival of the man whom you had thought proper to invite, but you ought to have employed him and received him; for a promise leaves no room for any further consideration." Accordingly Cinna sent for Marius, and the forces being distributed among them, the three had the command. The war being finished, Cinna and Marius were filled with violence and bitterness, so that they made the evils of war as precious gold to the Romans, compared with the new state of affairs. Sertorius alone is said to have put no person to death to gratify his vengeance, nor to have abused his power; but he was much annoyed at the conduct of Marius, and he moderated Cinna by private interviews and entreaties. At last, the slaves whom Marius had used as allies in war, and kept as guards to protect his tyranny, becoming formidable and wealthy, partly from the grants of Marius and his direct permission; partly from their violent and outrageous treatment of their masters, whom they butchered, and then lay with their masters' wives, and violated their children, Sertorius unable to endure any longer, speared the whole of them in their camp, to the number of four thousand.[113] VI. But when Marius[114] had died, and Cinna shortly after was cut off, and the younger Marius, contrary to the wish of Sertorius, and by illegal means, obtained the consulship, and the Carbos and the Norbani and Scipios were unsuccessfully contending against Sulla on his march to Rome, and affairs were being ruined, partly through the cowardice and laziness of the commanders, and partly through treachery; and there was no use in his staying to see things still go on badly, owing to the want of judgment in those who had more power than himself; and finally, when Sulla, after encamping near Scipio, and holding out friendly proposals, as if peace was going to be made, had corrupted the army, though Sertorius had warned Scipio of this, and given his advice, but without effect—altogether despairing about the city, Sertorius set out for Iberia, in order that if he should anticipate his enemies in strengthening his power there, he might offer protection to such of his friends as were unfortunate at Rome. Sertorius, having fallen in with bad weather in the mountainous parts, was required by the barbarians to pay them a tribute, and to purchase a free passage. His companions were much incensed at this, and declared it to be a great degradation for a Roman proconsul[115] to pay a tribute to wretched barbarians; but Sertorius cared little for what they considered disgrace, and he said that he was buying time, the rarest of things for a man who was aiming at great objects: and so he pacified the barbarians with money, and hurrying into Iberia, got possession of the country. He there found nations strong in numbers and fighting men, but owing to the greediness and tyranny of the governors who had from time to time been sent among them, ill-disposed to the Roman administration in general; however, he regained the good will of the chiefs by his personal intercourse with them, and the favour of the mass by remission of taxes. But he got most popularity by relieving the people from having soldiers quartered on them; for he compelled the soldiers to fix their winter tents in the suburbs of the towns, and he was the first to set the example. However, Sertorius did not depend altogether on the attachment of the barbarians, but he armed all the Roman settlers in Iberia who were able to bear arms, and by commencing the construction of all kinds of military engines and building ships he kept the cities in check; showing himself mild in all the affairs of civil administration, but formidable by his preparations against the enemy.

VII. Hearing that Sulla was master of Rome,[116] and that the party of Marius and Carbo was on the wane, and being in immediate expectation of an army coming to fight against him under some commander, he sent Julius Salinator to occupy the passes of the Pyrenees, with six thousand heavy armed soldiers. Shortly after this, Caius Annius[117] was sent from Rome by Sulla; but, seeing that the position of Julius could not be attacked, he was perplexed, and seated himself at the base of the mountains. But one Calpurnius, named Lanarius, assassinated Julius, on which the soldiers left the summits of the Pyrenees, and Annius, crossing the mountains, advanced with a large force and drove all before him. Sertorius, being unable to oppose him, fled with three thousand men to New Carthage,[118] and there embarking and crossing the sea, landed in Mauritania, in Libya. His soldiers, while getting water without due precautions, were fallen upon by the barbarians, and many of them were killed, upon which Sertorius sailed again for Iberia. He was, however, driven off the coast, and, being joined by some Cilician piratical vessels,[119] he attacked the island of Pityussa,[120] and landing there drove out the garrison of Annius. Annius soon arrived with a large fleet and five thousand heavy armed men, and Sertorius ventured on a naval battle with him, though his vessels were light and built for quick sailing and not for fighting; but the sea was disturbed by a strong west wind, which drove most of the vessels of Sertorius upon the reefs, owing to their lightness, and Sertorius, with a few ships, could not get out to sea by reason of the wind, nor land on account of the enemy, and being tossed about for ten days, with the wind and a violent sea against him, he held out with great difficulty.

VIII. As the wind abated he set sail, and put in at some scattered islands, which had no water. Leaving them, and passing through the Straits of Gades,[121] he touched at those parts of Iberia on the right which lie out of the strait, a little beyond the mouths of the Baetis,[122] which flows into the Atlantic Sea,[123] and has given name to those parts of Iberia which lie about it. There he fell in with some sailors, who had returned from a voyage to the Atlantic[124] Islands, which are two in number, separated by a very narrow channel, and ten thousand stadia from the coast of Libya, and are called the islands of the Happy. These islands have only moderate rains, but generally they enjoy gentle breezes, which bring dews; they have a rich and fertile soil, adapted for arable cultivation and planting; they also produce fruit spontaneously, sufficient in quantity and quality to maintain, without labour and trouble, a population at their ease. The air of the island is agreeable, owing to the temperature of the seasons, and the slightness of the changes; for the winds which blow from our part of the world from the north and east, owing to the great distance, fall upon a boundless space, and are dispersed and fail before they reach these islands; but the winds which blow round them from the ocean, the south and west, bring soft rains at intervals, from the sea, but in general they gently cool the island with moist clear weather, and nourish the plants; so that a firm persuasion has reached the barbarians that here are the Elysian Plains and the abode of the Happy which Homer[125] has celebrated in song.

IX. Sertorius, hearing this description, was seized with a strong desire to dwell in the islands, and to live in quiet, free from tyranny and never-ending wars. The Cilicians, who did not want peace and leisure, but wealth and spoil, observing this inclination, sailed off to Africa, to restore Ascalis, the son of Iphtha, to the Moorish kingdom.[126] Sertorius, however, did not despond, but he determined to help those who were fighting against Ascalis, in order that his companions, by getting some renewal of hope and opportunity for other deeds, might not disperse through their difficulties. The Moors were well pleased at his arrival, and Sertorius setting himself to work defeated Ascalis, and besieged him. Sulla sent Paccianus to help Ascalis, but Sertorius engaging him with his forces killed Paccianus, and after his victory brought over the army and took Tigennis, to which Ascalis and his brother had fled. It is here that the Libyans say Antaeus[127] is buried. Sertorius dug into the mound, as he did not believe what the barbarians said, so enormous was the size. But, finding the body there, sixty cubits in length, as they say, he was confounded, and, after making a sacrifice, he piled up the earth, and added to the repute and fame of the monument. The people of Tigennis have a mythus, that, on the death of Antaeus his wife Tinge cohabited with Hercules, that Sophax was the issue of their connexion, and became king of the country, and named a city after his mother; they further say that Sophax had a son, Diodorus, whom many of the Libyan nations submitted to, as he had a Greek army of Olbiani and Mycenaei, who were settled in those parts by Hercules. But this may be considered as so much flattery to Juba,[128] of all kings the most devoted to historical inquiry; for they say that Juba's ancestors were the descendants of Diodorus and Sophax. Sertorius, now completely victorious, did no wrong to those who were his suppliants and trusted to him, but he restored to them both property and cities and the administration, receiving only what was fair and just for them to offer.

X. While Sertorius was considering where he should betake himself to, the Lusitani sent ambassadors to invite him to be their leader; for they were much in want of a commander of great reputation and experience, to oppose the formidable power of the Romans, and Sertorius was the only man whom they would trust, as they knew his character from those who had been about him. Now it is said that Sertorius was a man who never yielded either to pleasure or to fear, and while he was naturally unmoved by danger, he could bear prosperity with moderation; in the open field he was equal to any general of his time in enterprise, and as to all military matters that required stealthy manoeuvres, the taking advantage of strong positions and rapid movements, and also craft and deception, he was in the moment of need most cunning in device. In rewarding courage he was bountiful, and in punishing for offences he was merciful. And yet, in the last part of his life, his cruel and vindictive treatment of the hostages may be alleged as a proof that his temper was not naturally humane, but that he put on the appearance of mildness through calculation and as a matter of necessity, But it is my opinion that no fortune can ever change to the opposite character a virtue which is genuine and founded on principle; still it is not impossible that good intentions and good natural dispositions, when impaired by great misfortunes[129] contrary to desert, may together with the daemon change their habit; and this I think was the case with Sertorius when fortune began to fail him; for as his circumstances became unfavourable, he became harsh to those who had done him wrong.

XI. However, he then set sail from Libya, at the invitation of the Lusitanians,[130] and got them into fighting condition, being immediately made commander with full powers, and he subjected the neighbouring parts of Iberia, most of which, indeed, voluntarily joined him, chiefly by reason of his mild treatment and his activity; but in some cases he availed himself of cunning to beguile and win over the people, the chief of which was in the affair of the deer, which was after this fashion:

Spanos, a native, and one of those who lived on their lands, fell in with a deer[131] which had just brought forth a young one and was flying from the hunters; he missed taking the deer, but he followed the fawn, being struck with its unusual colour (it was completely white), and caught it. It happened that Sertorius was staying in those parts, and when people brought him as presents anything that they had got in hunting, or from their farms, he would readily receive it and make a liberal return to those who showed him such attentions. Accordingly the man brought the fawn and gave it to Sertorius, who accepted the present. At first he took no particular pleasure in the animal, but in course of time, when he had made it so tame and familiar that it would come to him when he called it, accompany him in his walks, and cared not for a crowd and all the noise of the army, by degrees he began to give the thing a supernatural character, saying that the fawn was a gift from Artemis (Diana), and he gave out as a token of this that the fawn showed him many hidden things; for he knew that it is the nature of barbarians to be easily accessible to superstition. He also resorted to such tricks as these: whenever he had got secret information that the enemy had invaded any part of the country, or were attempting to draw any city away from him, he would pretend that the deer had spoken to him in his sleep, and bid him keep his troops in readiness; and, on the other hand, when he heard that his generals had got a victory, he would keep the messenger concealed, and bring forward the deer crowned with chaplets, as is usual on the occasion of good news, and tell his men to rejoice and sacrifice to the gods, as they would hear of some good luck.

XII. By these means he tamed the people, and had them more manageable for all purposes, as they believed they were led, not by the counsels of a foreigner, but by a deity, and facts also confirmed them in this opinion, inasmuch as the power of Sertorius increased beyond all expectation; for with the two thousand six hundred men whom he called Romans, and four thousand Lusitanian targetiers, and seven hundred horsemen, whom he joined to a motley band of seven hundred Libyans, who crossed over with him to Lusitania, he fought with four Roman generals, who had under them one hundred and twenty thousand foot soldiers, six thousand horsemen, two thousand bowmen and slingers, and cities innumerable, while he had only twenty cities in all under him. But though so feeble and insignificant at first, he not only subdued great nations, and took many cities, but of the generals who were opposed to him he defeated Cotta[132] in a naval engagement in the channel near Mellaria;[133] he put to flight Fufidius,[134] the governor of Baetica, on the banks of the Baetis, with the slaughter of two thousand of his Roman soldiers; Lucius Domitius,[135] proconsul of the other Iberia,[136] was defeated by his quaestor; Thoranius, another of the commanders of Metellus, who was sent with a force, he destroyed; and on Metellus[137] himself, the greatest man among the Romans in his day, and of the highest repute, he inflicted several discomfitures, and brought him to such straits, that Lucius Manlius[138] came from Narbo,[139] in Gaul, to his relief, and Pompeius Magnus[140] was hastily despatched from Rome with an army; for Metellus was perplexed at having to deal with a daring man, who evaded all fighting in the open field, and could adapt himself to any circumstances by reason of the light and easy equipment and activity of his Iberian army; he who had been disciplined in regular battles fought by men in full armour and commanded a heavy immovable mass of men, who were excellently trained to thrust against their enemies, when they came to close quarters, and to strike them down, but unable to traverse mountains, to be kept always on the alert by the continual pursuing and retreating of light active men, and to endure hunger like them, and to live under the open sky without fire or tent.

XIII. Besides this, Metellus was now growing old, and after so many great battles was somewhat inclined to an easy and luxurious mode of life; and he was opposed to Sertorius, a man full of the vigour of mature age, whose body was wonderfully furnished with strength, activity, and power of endurance. He was never intoxicated with drink, even in his seasons of relaxation, and he was accustomed to bear great toil, long marches, and continued watchfulness, content with a little food of the meanest quality; and, inasmuch as he was always rambling about and hunting, when he had leisure, he became intimately acquainted with all the spots, both impracticable and practicable, which gave chance of escape if he had to fly, or opportunity of hemming in an enemy if he was in pursuit. Consequently, it happened that Metellus, being prevented from fighting, was damaged as much as men who are beaten in battle, and Sertorius by flying had all the advantage of the pursuer. He used to cut off the supplies of water, and check the foraging; and when Metellus was advancing Sertorius would get out of his way, and when he was encamped he would not let him rest; when Metellus was occupied with a siege, Sertorius would all at once show himself, and put Metellus in his turn in a state of blockade, owing to the want of the necessary supplies, so that the soldiers were quite wearied; and when Sertorius challenged Metellus to a single combat, the men cried out and bid him fight, as it would be a match between a general and a general, and a Roman and a Roman; and when Metellus declined, they jeered him. But he laughed at them, and he did right; for a general, as Theophrastus[141] said, should die the death of a general, not that of a common targetier. Metellus perceiving that the Langobritae[142] assisted Sertorius in no small degree, and that their town could easily be taken, as it was ill supplied with water, for they had only one well in the city, and any one who blockaded the place would be master of the streams in the suburbs and near the walls, he advanced against the city, expecting to finish the siege in two days, as there was no water; and accordingly his soldiers received orders to take provisions with them for five days only. But Sertorius quickly coming to their aid, gave orders to fill two thousand skins with water, and he offered for each skin a considerable sum of money. Many Iberians and Moors volunteered for the service, and, selecting the men who were strong and light-footed, he sent them through the mountain parts, with orders, when they had delivered the skins to the people in the city, to bring out of the town all the useless people, that the water might last the longer for those who defended the place. When the news reached Metellus he was much annoyed, for his soldiers had already consumed their provisions; but he sent Aquinius,[143] at the head of six thousand men, to forage. Sertorius got notice of this, and laid an ambush on the road of three thousand men who starting up out of a bushy ravine, fell on Aquinius as he was returning. Sertorius attacked in front and put the Romans to flight, killing some and taking others prisoners. Aquinius returned with the loss of both his armour and horse, and Metellus made a disgraceful retreat amidst the jeers of the Iberians.

XIV. By such acts as these Sertorius gained the admiration and love of the barbarians; and, by introducing among them the Roman armour, and discipline, and signals, he took away the frantic and brutal part of their courage, and transformed them from a huge band of robbers into an efficient regular army. Besides, he employed gold and silver unsparingly for the decoration of their helmets, and he ornamented their shields, and accustomed them to the use of flowered cloaks and tunics, and, by supplying them with money for such purposes, and entering into a kind of honourable rivalry with them, he made himself popular. But they were most gained by what he did for their children. The youths of noblest birth he collected from the several nations at Osca,[144] a large city, and set over them teachers of Greek and Roman learning; and thus he really had them as hostages under the show of educating them, as if he intended to give them a share in the government and the administration when they attained to man's estate. The fathers were wonderfully pleased at seeing their children dressed in robes with purple borders, and going so orderly to the schools of Sertorius, who paid for their education, and often had examinations into their proficiency, and gave rewards to the deserving, and presented them with golden ornaments for the neck, which the Romans call "bullae."[145] It was an Iberian usage for those whose station was about the commander to die with him when he fell in battle, which the barbarians in those parts express by a term equivalent to the Greek "devotion."[146] Now only a few shield-bearers and companions followed the rest of the commanders; but many thousands followed Sertorius, and were devoted to die with him. It is said that, when the army of Sertorius was routed near a certain city and the enemy was pressing on them, the Iberians, careless about themselves, saved Sertorius, and, raising him on their shoulders, every one vying with the rest helped him to the walls; and when their general was secure they then betook themselves to flight, each as well as he could.

XV. Sertorius was not beloved by the Iberians only, but also by the soldiers of Italy, who served with him. When Perpenna Vento,[147] who belonged to the same party as Sertorius, had arrived in Iberia with much money and a large force, and had determined to carry on war against Metellus on his own account, his soldiers were dissatisfied, and there was much talk in the camp about Sertorius, to the great annoyance of Perpenna, who was proud of his noble family and his wealth. However, when the soldiers heard that Pompeius was crossing the Pyrenees, taking their arms and pulling up the standards, they assailed Perpenna with loud cries, and bade him lead them to Sertorius; if he did not, they threatened to leave him, and go of themselves to a man who was able to take care of himself and others too. Perpenna yielded, and led them to join the troops of Sertorius, to the number of fifty-three cohorts.

XVI. All the nations within the Iber river[148] were now joining Sertorius at once, and he was powerful in numbers; for they were continually flocking and crowding to him from all quarters. But he was troubled by the loose discipline and self-confidence of the barbarians, who called on him to attack the enemy, and were impatient of delay, and he attempted to pacify them with reasons. Seeing, however, that they were discontented, and were unwisely pressing him with their demands, he let them have their way, and winked at their engaging with the enemy, in so far as not to be completely crushed, but to get some hard knocks, which he hoped would render them more tractable for the future. Things turning out as he expected, Sertorius came to their aid when they were flying, and brought them back safe to the camp. However, as he wished also to cheer their spirits, a few days after this adventure he had all the army assembled, and introduced before them two horses,[149] one very weak and rather old, the other of a large size and strong, with a tail remarkable for the thickness and beauty of the hair. There stood by the side of the weak horse a tall strong man, and by the side of the strong horse a little man of mean appearance. On a signal given to them, the strong man began to pull the tail of the horse with all his might towards him, as if he would tear it off; the weak man began to pluck out the hairs from the tail of the strong horse one by one. Now the strong man, after no small labour to himself to no purpose, and causing much mirth to the spectators, at last gave up; but the weak man in a trice, and with no trouble, bared the tail of all its hairs. On which Sertorius getting up, said, "You see, fellow allies, that perseverance will do more than strength, and that many things which cannot be compassed all at once, yield to continued efforts; for endurance is invincible, and it is thus that time in its course assails and vanquishes every power, being a favourable helper to those who with consideration watch the opportunities that it offers, but the greatest of enemies to those who hurry out of season." By contriving from time to time such means as these for pacifying the barbarians, he managed his opportunities as he chose.

XVII. His adventure with the people called Charicatani[150] was not less admired than any of his military exploits. The Charicatani are a people who live beyond the river Tagonius: they do not dwell in cities or villages; but there is a large lofty hill, which contains caves and hollows in the rocks, looking to the north. The whole of the country at the foot of the hill consists of a clayey mud and of light earth, easily broken in pieces, which is not strong enough to bear a man's tread; and if it is only slightly touched will spread all about, like unslaked lime or ashes. Whenever the barbarians through fear of war hid themselves in their caves, and, collecting all their plunder there kept quiet, they could not be taken by any force; and now, seeing that Sertorius had retired before Metellus, and had encamped near the hill, they despised him as being beaten, on which Sertorius, whether in passion or not wishing to appear to be flying from the enemy, at daybreak rode up to the place and examined it. But he found the mountain unassailable on all sides; and while he was perplexing himself to no purpose and uttering idle threats, he saw a great quantity of dust from this light earth carried by the wind against the barbarians; for the caves are turned, as I have said, to the north, and the wind which blows from that quarter (some call it "caecias") prevails most, and is the strongest of all the winds in those parts, being generated in wet plains and snow-covered mountains; and at that time particularly, it being the height of summer, it was strong, and maintained by the melting of the ice in the sub-arctic regions, and it blew most pleasantly both on the barbarians and their flocks, and refreshed them. Now, Sertorius, thinking on all these things, and also getting information from the country people, ordered his soldiers to take up some of the light ashy earth, and bringing it right opposite to the hill to make a heap of it there; which the barbarians thought to be intended as a mound for the purpose of getting at them, and they mocked him. Sertorius kept his soldiers thus employed till nightfall, when he led them away. At daybreak a gentle breeze at first began to blow, which stirred up the lightest part of the earth that had been heaped together, and scattered it about like chaff; but when the caecias began to blow strong, as the sun got higher, and the hills were all covered with dust, the soldiers got on the heap of earth and stirred it up to the bottom, and broke the clods; and some also rode their horses up and down through the earth, kicking up the light particles and raising them so as to be caught by the wind, which receiving all the earth that was broken and stirred up, drove it against the dwellings of the barbarians, whose doors were open to the caecias. The barbarians, having only the single opening to breathe through, upon which the wind fell, had their vision quickly obscured, and they were speedily overpowered by a suffocating difficulty of breathing, by reason of respiring a thick atmosphere filled with dust. Accordingly, after holding out with difficulty for two days, they surrendered on the third, and thus added not so much to the power as to the reputation of Sertorius, who had taken by stratagem a place that was impregnable to arms.

XVIII. Now, as long as Sertorius had to oppose Metellus, he was generally considered to owe his success to the old age and natural tardiness of Metellus, who was no match for a daring man, at the head of a force more like a band of robbers than a regular army. But when Pompeius had crossed the Pyrenees, and Sertorius had met him in the field, and he and Pompeius had mutually offered one another every opportunity for a display of generalship, and Sertorius had the advantage in stratagem and caution, his fame was noised abroad as far as Rome, and he was considered the most able general of his age in the conduct of a war: for the reputation of Pompeius was no small one; but at that time particularly he was enjoying the highest repute by reason of his distinguished exploits in the cause of Sulla, for which Sulla gave him the name of Magnus, which means Great, and Pompeius obtained triumphal honours before he had a beard. All this made many of the cities which were subject to Sertorius turn their eyes towards Pompeius, and feel inclined to pass over to him; but their intentions were checked by the loss at Lauron,[151] which happened contrary to all expectation. Sertorius was besieging this town, when Pompeius came with all his force to relieve it. There was a hill, well situated for enabling an enemy to act against the place, which Sertorius made an effort to seize, and Pompeius to prevent its being occupied. Sertorius succeeded in getting possession of the hill, on which Pompeius made his troops stop, and was well pleased at what had happened, thinking that Sertorius was hemmed in between the city and his own army; and he sent a message to the people in Lauron, bidding them be of good cheer, and to keep to their walls and look on while Sertorius was blockaded. Sertorius smiled when he heard of this, and said he would teach Sulla's pupil (for so he contemptuously called Pompeius) that a general should look behind him rather than before. As he said this he pointed out to his men, who were thus blockaded, that there were six thousand heavy armed soldiers, whom he had left in the encampment, which he had quitted before he seized the hill, in order that if Pompeius should turn against them, the soldiers in camp might attack him in the rear. And Pompeius too saw this when it was too late, and he did not venture to attack Sertorius for fear of being surrounded; and though he could not for shame leave the citizens in their danger, he was obliged to sit there and see them ruined before his eyes; for the barbarians in despair surrendered. Sertorius spared their lives, and let them all go; but he burnt the city, not for revenge or because he was cruel, for of all commanders Sertorius appears to have least given way to passion; but he did it to shame and humble the admirers of Pompeius, and that the barbarians might say that Pompeius did not help his allies, though he was close at hand, and all but warmed with the flames of their city.

XIX. However, Sertorius was now sustaining several defeats, though he always saved himself and those with him from defeat; but his losses were occasioned by the other generals. Yet he gained more credit from the means by which he repaired his defeats than the generals on the other side who won the victories; an instance of which occurred in the battle against Pompeius, on the Sucro, and another in the battle near Tuttia,[152] against Pompeius[153] and Metellus together. Now the battle on the Sucro is said to have been brought about by the eagerness of Pompeius, who wished Metellus to have no share in the victory. Sertorius, on his part, also wished to engage Pompeius before Metellus arrived; and, drawing out his forces when the evening was coming on, he commenced the battle, thinking that, as the enemy were strangers and unacquainted with the ground, the darkness would be a disadvantage to them, whether they were the pursued or the pursuers. When the battle began, it happened that Sertorius was not engaged with Pompeius, but with Afranius at first, who commanded the left wing of the enemy, while Sertorius commanded his own right. But, hearing that those who were opposed to Pompeius were giving way before his attack and being defeated, Sertorius left the right wing to the care of other generals, and hastened to the support of the wing that was giving way. Bringing together the soldiers who were already flying, and those who were still keeping their ranks, he encouraged them and made a fresh charge upon Pompeius, who was pursuing, and put his men to the rout; on which occasion Pompeius himself nearly lost his life, and had a wonderful escape after being wounded. The Libyans of Sertorius seized the horse of Pompeius, which was decked with golden ornaments and loaded with trappings; but while they were dividing the booty and quarrelling about it, they neglected the pursuit. As soon as Sertorius quitted the right wing to relieve the other part of the army, Afranius[154] put to flight his opponents and drove them to their camp, which, he entered with the captives, it being now dark, and began to plunder, knowing nothing of the defeat of Pompeius, and being unable to stop his soldiers from seizing the booty. In the mean time Sertorius returned, after defeating the enemy who were opposed to him, and falling on the soldiers of Afranius, who were all in disorder and consequently panic-stricken, he slaughtered many of them. In the morning he again armed his troops and came out to fight; but observing that Metellus was near, he broke up his order of battle, and marched off saying, "If that old woman had not come up, I would have given this boy a good drubbing by way of lesson, and have sent him back to Rome."

XX. About this time Sertorius was much dispirited, because that deer[155] of his could nowhere be found; for he was thus deprived of a great means of cheering the barbarians, who then particularly required consolation. It happened that some men, who were rambling about at night for other purposes, fell in with the deer and caught it, for they knew it by the colour. Sertorius hearing of this, promised to give them a large sum of money if they would mention it to nobody; and, concealing the deer for several days, he came forward with a joyful countenance to the tribunal, and told the barbarian chiefs that the deity prognosticated to him in his sleep some great good fortune. He then ascended the tribunal, and transacted business with those who applied to him. The deer being let loose by those who had charge of it close by, and, seeing Sertorius, bounded joyfully up to the tribunal, and, standing by him, placed its head on his knees, and touched his right hand with its mouth, having been accustomed to do this before. Sertorius cordially returned the caresses of the animal, and even shed tears. The spectators were at first surprised; then clapping their hands and shouting, they conducted Sertorius to his residence, considering him to be a man superior to other mortals and beloved by the gods; and they were full of good hopes.

XXI. Sertorius, who had reduced the enemy to the greatest straits in the plains about Seguntum[156] was compelled to fight a battle with them when they came down to plunder and forage. The battle was well contested on both sides. Memmius, one of the most skillful of the commanders under Pompeius, fell in the thick of the fight, and Sertorius, who was victorious, and making a great slaughter of those who opposed him, attempted to get at Metellus, who stood his ground with a resolution above his years, and, while fighting bravely, was struck by a spear. This made the Romans who were on the spot, as well as those who heard of it, ashamed to desert their leader, and inspired them with courage against their enemies. After covering Metellus with their shields and rescuing him from danger, by making a vigorous onset they drove the Iberians from their ground; and, as the victory now changed sides, Sertorius, with a view of securing a safe retreat for his men, and contriving the means of getting together another army without any interruption, retired to a strong city in the mountains, and began to repair the walls and strengthen the gates, though his object was anything rather than to stand a siege: but his design was to deceive the enemy, in which he succeeded; for they sat down before the place, thinking they should take it without difficulty, and in the mean time they let the defeated barbarians escape, and allowed Sertorius to collect a fresh army. It was got together by Sertorius sending officers to the cities, and giving orders that when they had collected a good body of men, they should dispatch a messenger to him. When the messenger came, he broke through the besiegers without any difficulty and joined his troops; and now he again advanced against the enemy in great force, and began to cut off their land supplies by ambuscades, and hemming them in, and showing himself at every point, inasmuch as his attacks were made with great expedition; and he cut off all their maritime supplies by occupying the coast with his piratical vessels, so that the generals opposed to him were obliged to separate, one to march off into Gaul, and Pompeius to winter among the Vaccaei[157] in great distress for want of supplies, and to write to the Senate, that he would lead his army out of Iberia, if they did not send him money, for he had spent all his own in defence of Italy. There was great talk in Rome that Sertorius would come to Italy before Pompeius[158] to such difficulties did Sertorius, by his military abilities, reduce the first and ablest of the generals of that age.

XXII. Metellus also showed, that he feared the man and thought he was powerful; for he made proclamation, that if any Roman killed Sertorius he would give him a hundred talents of silver and twenty thousand jugera of land; and, if he was an exile, permission to return, to Rome: thus declaring that he despaired of being able to defeat Sertorius in the field, and therefore would purchase his life by treachery. Besides this, Metellus was so elated by a victory which on one occasion he gained over Sertorius, and so well pleased with his success, that he was proclaimed Imperator[159] and the cities received him in his visits to them with sacrifices and altars. It is also said, that he allowed chaplets to be placed on his head, and accepted invitations to sumptuous feasts, at which he wore a triumphal vest; and Victories[160] which were contrived to move by machinery, descended and distributed golden trophies and crowns, and companies of youths and women sang epinician hymns in honour of him. For this he was with good reason ridiculed, for that after calling Sertorius a runaway slave of Sulla, and a remnant of the routed party of Carbo, he was so puffed up and transported with delight because he had gained an advantage over Sertorius, who had been compelled to retire. But it was a proof of the magnanimous character of Sertorius, first, that he gave the name of Senate to the Senators who fled from Rome and joined him, and that he appointed quaestors and generals from among them, and arranged everything of this kind according to Roman usage; and next, that though he availed himself of the arms, the money and the cities of the Iberians, he never yielded to them one *tittle of the Roman supremacy, but he appointed Romans to be their generals and commanders, considering that he was recovering freedom for the Romans, and was not strengthening the Iberians against the Romans; for Sertorius loved his country and had a great desire to return home. Notwithstanding this, in his reverses he behaved like a brave man, and never humbled himself before his enemies; and after his victories he would send to Metellus and to Pompeius, and declare that he was ready to lay down his arms and to live in a private station, if he might be allowed to return home; for, he said, he would rather be the obscurest citizen in Rome than an exile from his country, though he were proclaimed supreme ruler of all other countries in the world. It is said, that he longed to return home chiefly on account of his mother, who brought him up after his father's death, and to whom he was completely devoted. At the time when his friends in Iberia invited him to take the command, he heard of the death of his mother, and he was near dying of grief. He lay in his tent for seven days without giving the watchword, or being seen by any of his friends; and it was with difficulty that his fellow-generals and those of like rank with himself, who had assembled about his tent, prevailed on him to come out to the soldiers, and take a share in the administration of affairs, which were going on well. This made many people think that Sertorius was naturally a man of mild temper, and well disposed to a quiet life; but that, owing to uncontrollable causes, and contrary to his wishes, he entered on the career of a commander, and then, when he could not ensure his safety, and was driven to arms by his enemies, he had recourse to war as the only means by which he could protect his life.

XXIII. His negociations with Mithridates also were a proof of his magnanimity; for now that Mithridates, rising from the fall that he had from Sulla, as it were, to a second contest, had again attacked Asia, and the fame of Sertorius was great, and had gone abroad to all parts, and those who sailed from the West had filled the Pontus with the reports about him, as if with so many foreign wares, Mithridates was moved to send an embassy to him, being urged thereto mainly by the fulsome exaggerations of his flatterers, who compared Sertorius to Hannibal and Mithridates to Pyrrhus, and said that if the Romans were attacked on both sides, they could not hold out against such great abilities and powers combined, when the most expert of commanders had joined the greatest of kings. Accordingly, Mithridates sent ambassadors to Iberia, with letters to Sertorius and proposals. On his part he offered to supply money and ships for the war, and he asked from Sertorius a confirmation of his title to the whole of Asia, which he had given up to the Romans pursuant to the treaty made with Sulla. Sertorius assembled a council, which he called a senate, and all the members advised to accept the king's proposal, and to be well content with it; they said the king only asked of them a name and an empty answer touching things that were not in their power, in return for which they were to receive what they happened to stand most in need of. But Sertorius would not listen to this; he said he did not grudge Mithridates having Bithynia and Cappadocia; these were nations that were accustomed to a king, and the Romans had nothing to do with them; but the province which belonged to the Romans by the justest of titles, which Mithridates took from them and kept, from which, after a contest, he was driven out by Fimbria, and which he gave up by treaty with Sulla,[161] -that province he would never allow to fall again into the power of Mithridates; for it was fit that the Roman state should be extended by his success, not that his success should be owing to her humiliation. To a generous mind, victory by honest means was a thing to desire, but life itself was not worth having with dishonour.