The Parthians
were struck with astonishment at the order of the Ro-
man army, when they observed them pass at regular
intervals without confusion, and brandish their pikes
in silence.
were struck with astonishment at the order of the Ro-
man army, when they observed them pass at regular
intervals without confusion, and brandish their pikes
in silence.
Plutarch - Lives - v7
' said Cleopatra, 'leave
fishing to us petty princes of Pharus and Canopus;
your game is cities, kingdoms, and provinces. '
In the midst of these scenes of festivity and dissipa-
tion Antony received two unfavorable messages; one
from Rome, that his wife Fulvia, and his brother Lu-
cius, after long dissensions between themselves, had
joined to oppose Caesar, but were overpowered, and
obliged to fly out of Italy. The other informed him
that Labienus and the Parthians had reduced Asia,
from Syria and the Euphrates to Lydia and Ionia. It
was with difficulty that even this roused him from
his lethargy: but waking at length, and, literally,
waking from a fit of intoxication, he set out against
the Parthians, and proceeded as far as Phoenicia.
However, on the receipt of some very moving letters
from Fulvia, he turned his course towards Italy, with
two hundred ships. Such of his friends as had fled
from thence he received; and from these he learnt,
that Fulvia had been the principal cause of the dis-
turbances in Rome. Her disposition had a natural
tendency to violence and discord; and, on this occa-
sion, it was abetted by jealousy; for she expected that
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? ANToNY.
29
the disorders of Italy would call Antony from the arms
of Cleopatra. That unhappy woman died at Sicyou,
in her progress to meet her husband.
This event opened an opportunity for a reconcilia-
tion with Caesar; for when Antony came to Italy, and
Caesar expressed no resentment against him, but threw
the whole blame on Fulvia, their respective friends
interfered, and brought them to an accommodation.
The east, within the boundaries of the Ionian sea, was
given to Antony; the western provinces to Caesar;
and Lepidus had Africa. When they did not accept
of the consulship themselves, they were to dispose of
it as they thought proper, in their turns.
After these matters were settled they thought of
means to secure this union which fortune had set on
foot. Caesar had a sister older than himself, named
Octavia, but they had different mothers. The mother
of Octavia was Ancaria: Casar's mother was Attia.
He had a great affection for this sister; for she was a
woman of extraordinary merit. She had been already
married to Caius Marcellus; but a little before this
had buried her husband; and, as Antony had lost his
wife, there was an opening for a fresh union. His con-
nexion with Cleopatra he did not affect to deny; but
he absolutely denied that he was married to her; and,
in this circumstance, indeed, his prudence prevailed
over his love. His marriage with Octavia was uni-
versally wished. It was the general hope, that a wo-
man of her beauty and distinguished virtues would
acquire such an influence over Antony, as might in the
end, be salutary to the state. Conditions being mu-
tually agreed on, they proceeded to solemnise the
nuptials at Rome; and the law which permits no
widow to marry till the expiration of ten months after
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? 30
PLUTARCH.
the decease of her husband was dispensed with by the
senate.
Sextus, the son of Pompey, who was then in posses-
sion of Sicily, had not only made great ravages in
Italy, but had covered the sea with such a number of
piratical vessels, under the command of Menas and
Menecrates, that it was no longer safe for other ships
to pass. He had been favorable, notwithstanding, to
Antony; for he had given a kind reception to his mo-
ther and his wife Fulvia, when they were obliged to
fly from Rome. It was judged proper, therefore, to
accommodate matters with him; and for this purpose
a meeting was held at the promontory of Misenum by
the mole that runs into the sea. Pompey was attended
by his fleet; Antony and Caesar by an army of foot.
At this interview it was settled that Pompey should
keep Sicily and Sardinia, on condition that he should
clear the sea of pirates, and send a certain quantity of
corn to Rome. When these things were determined,
they mutually invited each other to supper ; but it fell
to the lot of Pompey to give the first entertainment.
When Antony asked him where they should sup--
'There,' said he, pointing to the admiral-galley of six
oars, ' that is the only patrimonial mansion-house that
is left to Pompey; and it implied, at the same time, a
sarcasm on Antony, who was then in possession of his
father's house. However, he entertained them very
politely, after conducting them over a bridge from the
promontory to the ship that rode at anchor. During
the entertainment, while the raillery ran briskly on
Antony and Cleopatra, Menas came to Pompey, and
told him secretly that, if he would permit him to cut
the cable, he would not only make him master of
Sicily and Sardinia, but of the whole Roman empire.
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? ANToNY.
31
Pompey, after a moment's deliberation, answered, that
he should have done it without consulting him. 'We
must now let it alone,' said he, 'for I cannot break
my oath of treaty. ' The compliment of the entertain-
ment was returned by his guests, and he then retired
to Sicily.
Antony, after the accommodation, sent Ventidius
into Asia, to stop the progress of the Parthians. All
matters of public administration were conducted with
the greatest harmony between him and Octavius; and,
in compliment to the latter, he took on himself the
office of high-priest to Caesar the dictator. But, alas!
in their contests at play, Caesar was generally superior,
and Antony was mortified. He had in his house a for-
tune-telling gipsy, who was skilled in the calculation
of nativities. This man, either to oblige Cleopatra, or
following the investigation of truth, told Antony that
the star of his fortune, however glorious in itself, was
eclipsed and obscured by Caesar's, and advised him, by
all means, to keep at the greatest distance from that
young man. 'The genius of your life,' said he, 'is
afraid of his: when it is alone, its port is erect and
fearless; when his approaches, it is dejected and de-
pressed. ' Indeed, there were many circumstances that
seemed to justify the conjurer's doctrine; for in every
kind of play, whether they cast lots, or cast the die,
Antony was still the loser. In their cock-fights, and
quail-fights, it was still Caesar's cock, and Caesar's
quail. These things, co-operating with the conjurer's
observations, had such an effect on Antony, that he
gave up the management of domestic affairs to Cae-
sar, and left Italy. Octavia, who had by this time
brought him a daughter, he took with him into Greece.
He wintered in Athens, and there he learnt that his
affairs in Asia, under Ventidius, were successful; that
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? 32
PLUTARCH.
the Parthians were routed, and that Labienus and
Pharnapates, the ablest generals of Orodes, fell in the
battle. In honor of this victory he gave an enter-
tainment to the Greeks, and treated the Athenians with
an exhibition of the gymnastic games, in which he took
the master's part himself. The robes and ensigns of
the general were laid aside; the rods, the cloak, and
the slippers of the gymnasiarch were assumed; and
when the combatants had fought sufficiently he parted
them himself.
When he went to the war he took with hini a crown
of the sacred olive; and, by the direction of some ora-
cle or other, a vessel of water filled out of the Clepsy-
dra. ' In the mean time Pacorus, son of the king of
Parthia, made an incursion into Syria, but was routed
by Ventidius in Cyrrhestica; and, with the greatest
part of his army, fell in the battle. This celebrated
victory made ample amends for the defeat of Crassus.
The Parthians had now been thrice conquered, and
were confined within the bounds of Media and Meso-
potamia. Ventidius would not pursue the Parthians
any farther, for fear of exciting the envy of Antony;
he therefore turned his arms against the revolters, and
brought them back to their duty. Amongst these was
Antiochus, the king of Commagene, whom he besieged
in the city of Samosata. That prince, at first, offered
to pay a thousand talents, and to submit himself to the
Roman empire; on which Ventidius told him that he
must send proposals to Antony, for he was then at no
great distance; and he had not commissioned Venti-
dius to make peace with Antiochus, that something at
least might be done by himself. But while the siege
1 The Clepsydra was a fountain belonging to the citadel at
Athens; so called, because it was sometimes full of water,
and sometimes empty.
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? ANToNY.
33
was thus prolonged, and the people of Samosata de-
spaired of obtaining terms, that despair produced a
degree of courage which defeated every effort of the
besiegers; and Antony was at last reduced to the dis-
graceful necessity of accepting three hundred talents.
After he had done some little towards settling the
affairs of Syria, he returned to Athens, and sent Ven-
tidius to Rome, to enjoy the reward of his merit in a
triumph. He was the only general that ever triumphed
over the Parthians. His birth was obscure, but his
connexions with Antony brought him into great ap-
pointments; and, by making the best use of them, he
confirmed what was said of Antony and Octavius Cae-
sar, that they were more successful by their lieutenants
than when they commanded in person. This observa-
tion, with regard to Antony in particular, might be
justified by the success of Sossius and Canidius. The
former had done great things in Syria; and the latter,
whom he left in Armenia, reduced the whole country;
and, after defeating the kings of Iberia and Albania,
penetrated as far as Mount Caucasus, and spread the
terror of Antony's name and power through those bar-
barous nations.
Soon after this, on hearing some disagreeable reports
concerning the designs or the conduct of Cfesar, he
sailed for Italy with a fleet of three hundred ships;
and, being refused the harbor of Brundusium, he made
for Tarentum. There he was prevailed on by his wife
Octavia, who accompanied him, and was then pregnant a
third time, to send her to her brother; and she was for-
tunate enough to meet him on her journey, attended by
his two friends, Mecaenas and Agrippa. In conference
with him, she in treated him to consider the peculiarity
of her situation, and not to make the happiest woman
in the world the most unfortunate. 'The eyes of all,'
PLUT. VoL. VII. c
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? 34 PLUTARCH.
said she, 'are necessarily turned on me, who am the
wife of Antony, and the sister of Caesar; and should
these chiefs of the empire, misled by hasty counsels,
involve the whole in war, whatever may be the event,
it will be unhappy for me. ' Caesar was softened by
the intreaties of his sister, and proceeded with peace-
able views to Tarentmn. His arrival afforded a gene-
ral satisfaction to the people. They were pleased to
see such an army on the shore, and such a fleet in the
harbor, in the mutual disposition for peace, and no-
thing but compliments and expressions of kindness
passing between the generals. Antony first invited
Caesar to sup with him; and, in compliment to Octa-
via, he accepted the invitation. At length it was
agreed that Caesar should give up to Antony two le-
gions for the Parthian service; and that Antony, in
return, should leave a hundred armed galleys with
Caesar. Octavia, moreover, engaged Antony to give
up twenty light ships to Caesar, and procured from her
brother a thousand foot for her husband. Matters
being thus accommodated, Caesar went to war with
Pompey for the recovery of Sicily; and Antony, leav-
ing under his protection his wife, and his children,
both by the present and the former marriage, sailed
for Asia.
On his approach to Syria, the love of Cleopatra,
which had so loBg been dormant in his heart, and
which better counsels seemed totally to have sup-
pressed, revived again, and took possession of his soul.
The unruly steed, to which Plato compares certain
passions, once more broke loose; and, in spite of ho-
nor, interest, and prudence, Antony sent Fonteius Ca-
pita to conduct Cleopatra into Syria.
On her arrival, he made her the most magnificent
presents. He gave her the provinces of Phoenicia,
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? ANToNY.
Ccelosyria, Cyprus, great part of Cilicia, that district
of Judaea which produces the balm, and that part of
Arabia Nabathea which lies on the ocean. These ex-
travagant gifts were disagreeable to the Romans: for,
though he had often conferred on private persons con-
siderable governments and kingdoms, though he had
deprived many princes of their dominions, and be-
headed Antigonus of Judaea, the first king that ever
suffered in such a manner, yet nothing so much dis-
turbed the Romans as his enormous profusion in favor
of that woman: nor were they less offended at his giv-
ing the surnames of the sun and moon to the twins he
had by her.
But Antony knew well how to give a fair appear-
ance to the most disreputable actions. The greatness
of the Roman empire, he said, appeared more in giving
than in receiving kingdoms; and that it was proper for
persons of high birth and station to extend and secure
their nobility, by leaving children and successors born
of different princes ; that his ancestor Hercules trusted
not to the fertility of one woman, as if he had feared
the penalties annexed to the law of Solon, but, by
various connexions, became the founder of many fa-
milies.
After Orodes was slain by his son Phraates, who
took possession of the kingdom, many of the Parthian
chiefs fled to Antony; and, amongst the rest, Moneses,
a man of great dignity and power. Antony, thinking
that Moneses, in his fortune, resembled Themistocles,
and comparing his own wealth and magnificence to
that of the kings of Persia, gave him three cities, La-
rissa, Arethusa, and Hierampolis, which was before
called Bombyce. But when Phraates sent Moneses
assurances of his safety, he readily dismissed him. On
this occasion he formed a scheme to deceive Phraates.
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? PLUTARCH.
He pretended a disposition for peace, and required
only that the Roman staudards and ensigns which had
been taken at the defeat of Crassus, and such of the
prisoners as still survived, might be restored. He
sent Cleopatra into Egypt; after which he marched
through Arabia and Armenia; where, as soon as his
own troops were joined by the allies, he reviewed his
army. He had several princes in alliance with him;
but Artavasdes, king of Armenia, was the most power-
ful, for he furnished six thousand horse, and seven
thousand foot. At this review there appeared sixty
thousand Roman foot, and ten thousand horse; who,
though chiefly Gauls and Spaniards, were reckoned
as Romans. The number of the allies, including the
light-armed and the cavalry, amounted to thirty thou-
sand.
This formidable armament, which struck terror into
the Indians beyond Bactria, and alarmed all Asia, his
attachment to Cleopatra rendered perfectly useless.
His impatience to return and spend the winter in her
;>rnis made him take the field too early in the season,
and precipitated all his measures. As a man who is
under the power of enchantment can only act as the
impulse of the magic directs him, his eye was conti-
nually drawn to Cleopatra; and to return to her was a
greater object than to conquer the world. He ought
certainly to have wintered in Armenia, that he might
give a proper respite and refreshment to his men, after
a march of a thousand miles. In the early part of the
spring he should have made himself master of Media,
before the Parthian troops were drawn out of garrison:
but his impatience put him on the march ; and leaving
Armenia on the left, he passed through the province of
Atropatene, and laid waste the country. In his haste,
he left behind him the battering-engines, amongst
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? ANToNY.
37
which was a ram eighty feet long; and these followed
the camp on three hundred carriages. Had any da-
mage happened to these, it would have been impos-
sible to repair them in this upper part of Asia, where
there is no timber of height or strength sufficient for
the purpose. However, they were brought after him
under the conduct of Statianus ; and, in the mean time,
he laid siege to the large city of Phraata, the residence
of the king of Media's wives and children. Here he
perceived his error in leaving the engines behind;
for want of which he was obliged to throw up a mount
against the wall; and that required considerable timt
and labor.
In the mean time Phraates came up with a nume-
rous army; and being informed that Antony had left
behind him his machines, he sent a large detachment
to intercept them. This party fell on Statianus, who,
with ten thousand of his men, was slain on the spot.
Many were taken prisoners, among whom was king
Polemo; and the machines were seized by the enemy,
and destroyed.
This miscarriage greatly discouraged the army; and
Artavasdes, though he had been the promoter of the
war, withdrew his forces in despair. The Parthians,
on the other hand, encouraged by their success, came
up with the Romans while they were employed in the
siege, and treated them with the most insolent menaces
and contempt. Antony, who knew that despair and
timidity would be the consequence of inaction, led out
ten legions, three pretorian cohorts heavy armed, and
the whole body of cavalry, on the business of foraging.
He was persuaded at the same time that this was the
only method of drawing the enemy after him, and bring-
ing them to a battle. After one day's progress, he ob-
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? 38
PLUTARCH.
serred the enemy in motion, and . watching an oppor-
tunity to fall on him in his march. Hereon he put up,
in his camp the signal for battle; but, at the same time,
struck his tents, as if his intention was not to fight, but
to retire. Accordingly he passed the army of the bar-
barians, which was drawn up in form of a crescent: but
he had previously given orders to the horse to charge
the enemy, full speed, as soon as their ranks were
within reach of the legionary troops.
The Parthians
were struck with astonishment at the order of the Ro-
man army, when they observed them pass at regular
intervals without confusion, and brandish their pikes
in silence.
When the signal was given for battle, the horse
turned short, and fell with loud shouts on the enemy.
The Parthians received the attack with firmness, though
they were too close in with them for the use of their
bows. But when the infantry came to the charge, their
shouts, and the clashing of their arms, so frightened
the enemy's horses, that they were no longer manage-
able; and the Parthians fled without once engaging.
Antony pursued them closely, in hopes that this action
would, in a great measure, terminate the war. But
when the infantry had followed them fifty furlongs,
and the cavalry at least a hundred and fifty, he found
that he had not slain above eighty of the enemy, and
that thirty only were taken prisoners. Thus, the little
advantage of their victories, and the heavy loss of their
defeats, as in the recent instance of the carriages, was
a fresh discouragement to the Romans.
The day following they returned with their baggage
to the camp before Phraata. In their march they met
with some straggling troops of the enemy, afterwards
with greater parties, and at last with the whole body,
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? ANToNY.
which having easily rallied, appeared like a fresh army
and harassed them in such a manner, that it was with
difficulty they reached their camp.
The Median garrison, in the absence of Antony,
had made a sally; and those who were left to defend
the mount had quitted their post and fled. Antony,
at his return, punished the fugitives by decimation:
that is, he divided them into tens; and, in each di-
vision, put one to death, on whom the lot happened to
fall. Those that escaped had their allowance in barley
instead of wheat. ? *
Both parties now found their difficulties in the war.
Antony had the dread of famine before him, for he
could not forage without a terrible slaughter of his men;
and Phraates, who knew the temper of the Parthians,
was apprehensive that, if the Romans persisted in
carrying on the siege, as soon as the autumnal equinox
was past, and the winter set in, he should be deserted
by his army, which would not at that time endure the
open field. To prevent this, be had recourse to strata-
gem. He ordered his officers not to pursue the Romans
too close when they were foraging, but to permit them
to carry off provisions. He commanded them at the
same time to compliment them on their valor, and to
express his high opinion of the Roman bravery. They
were instructed likewise, as opportunity might offer, to
blame the obstinacy of Antony, which exposed so many
brave men to the severities of famine and a winter
campaign, who must suffer of course, notwithstanding
all the Parthians could do for them, while Phraates
sought for nothing more than peace, though he was
still defeated in his benevolent intentions.
Antony, on these reports, began to conceive hopes;
hut he would not offer any terms before he was satisfied
whether they came originally from the king. The
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? 40
PLUTARCH.
enemy assured him that such were the sentiments of
Phraates; and, being induced to believe them, he sent
some of his friends to demand the standards and the
prisoners that came into their hands on the defeat of
Crassus; for he thought, if he demanded nothing, it
might appear that he was pleased with the privilege
of retreating. The Parthian answered, that the
standards and prisoners could not be restored; but
that Antony, if he thought proper, was at liberty to
retreat in safety.
After some few days had been spent in making up
the baggage, he began his march. On this occasion,
though he had the happiest eloquence in addressing
his soldiers, and reconciling them to every situation
and event, yet, whether it was through shame, or
sorrow, or both, he left that office to Domitius Mno-
barbus. Some of them were offended at this as an
act of contempt. But the greater part understood the
cause, and, pitying their general, paid him still greater
attention.
Antony had determined to take his route through a
plain and open country; but a certain Mardian, who
was well acquainted with the practices of the Par-
tisans, and had approved his faith to the Romans at
the battle when the machines were lost, advised him to
take the mountains on his right, and not to expose his
heavy-armed troops in an open country to the attacks
of the Parthian bowmen and cavalry. Phraates, he
said, amused him with fair promises, merely to draw
him oft' from the siege; but if he would take him for
his guide, he would conduct him by a way that was
nearer, and better furnished with necessaries. Antony
deliberated some time on this. He would not appear
to doubt the honor of the Parthians after the truce
they had agreed to; and yet he could not but approve
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? ANToNY.
41
of a way which was nearer, and which lay through an
inhabited country. At last he required the necessary
pledges of the Mardian's faith, which he gave in suffer-
ing himself to be bound till he should have conducted
the army into Armenia. In this condition he led the
Romans peaceably along for two days: but on the
third, when Antony, expecting nothing less than the
Parthians, was marching forward in disorderly se-
curity, the Mardian observing the mounds of a river
broken down, and the waters let out into the plain
where they were to pass, concluded that the Parthians
had done this to retard their march, and advised An-
tony to be on his guard; for the enemy, he said, was
at no great distance. Whilst Antony was drawing up
his men, and preparing such of them as were armed
with darts and slings to make a sally against the enemy,
the Parthians came on him, and, by surrounding his
army, harassed it on every part. The light-armed
Romans, indeed, made an incursion on them, and,
galling them with their missive weapons, obliged them
to retreat; but they soon returned to the charge, till a
band of the Gaulish cavalry attacked and dispersed
them; so that they appeared no more that day.
Antony, on this, found what measures he was to
take; and, covering both wings and the rear with such
troops as were armed with missive weapons, his army
marched in the form of a square. The cavalry had
orders to repel the attacks of the enemy, but not to
pursue them to any great distance. The Parthians,
of course, when in four successive days they could
make no considerable impression, and found them-
selves equally annoyed in their turn, grew more re-
miss, and, finding an excuse in the winter season, be-
gan to think of a retreat. On the fifth day, Flavius
Gallus, a general officer of great courage and valor,
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? 42
PLUTARCH.
requested Antony, that he would indulge him with a
number of light-armed troops from the rear, together
with a few horse from the front; and with these he
proposed to perform some considerable exploit. These
he obtained, and in repelling the attacks of the Par-
thians, he did not, like the rest, retreat by degrees to-
wards the body of the army, but maintained his ground,
and fought rather on the offensive than on the defensive.
When the officers of the rear observed that he was
separated from the rest, they sent to recall him ; but he
did not obey the summons. It is said, however, that
Titius the questor turned back tbe standard, and in-
veighed against Gallus for leading so many brave men
to destruction. Gallus, on the other hand, returned
his reproaches, and commanding those who were about
him to stand, he made his retreat alone. Gallus bad
no sooner made an impression on the enemy's front
than he was surrounded. In this distress he sent for
assistance ; and here the general officers, and Canidius,
the favorite of Antony, amongst the rest, committed a
most capital error. Instead of leading the whole army
against the Parthians, as soon as one detachment was
overpowered, they sent another to its support; and
thus, by degrees, they would have sacrificed great part
of the troops, had not Antony come hastily from the
front with the heavy-armed, and urging on the third
legion through the midst of the fugitives, stopped the
enemy's pursuit.
In this action no fewer than three thousand were
slain, and five thousand brought back wounded to the
camp. Amongst the last was Gallus, who had four
arrows shot through his body, and soon after died of
his wounds. Antony visited all that had suffered on
this unhappy occasion, and consoled them with tears of
real grief and affection: while the wounded soldiers,
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? . ANToNY. '
43
embracing the hand of their general, intreated him not
to attend to their sufferings, but to his own health and
quiet: 'while our general is safe, all,' said they, ' is
well. ' It is certain that there was not in those days a
braver or a finer army. The men were tall, stout, able
? and willing to endure the greatest toils. Their re-
spect and ready obedience to their general was won-
derful. Not a man in the army, from the first of-
ficer to the meanest soldier, but would have preferred
the favor of Antony to his own life and safety. In all
these respects they were at least equal to the armies of
ancient Rome. A variety of causes, as we have ob-
served, concurred to produce this: Antony's noble
birth, bis eloquence, his candor, his liberality and
magnificence, and the familiar pleasantry of his con-
versation. These were the general causes of the affec-
tion he found in his army; and, on this particular oc-
casion, his sympathising with the wounded, and attend-
ing to their wants, made them totally forget their suf-
ferings.
The Parthians, who had before begun to languish in
their operations, were so much elevated with this ad-
vantage, and held the Romans in such contempt, that
they even spent the night by their camp, in hopes of
seizing the baggage while they deserted their tents.
At break of day numbers more came up, to the
amount, as it is said, of forty thousand horse; for the
Parthian king had sent even his body-guard, so confi-
dent was he of absolute victory : as to himself, he never
was present at any engagement.
Antony, being now about to address his soldiers, called
for mourning apparel, that his speech might be more
affecting; but as his friends would not permit this, he
appeared in his general's robe. Those that had been
victorious he praised, those who had fled he re-
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? 44
PLUTARCH.
proached; the former encouraged him by every testi-
mony of their zeal; the latter, offering themselves
either to decimation or any other kind of punishment
that he might think proper to inflict on them, intreated
him to forego his sorrow and concern. On this he
raised his hands to heaven, and prayed to the gods,
'that if his happier fortune was to be followed by fu-
ture evil, it might affect only himself, and that his
army might be safe and victorious. '
The day following they marched out in better and
firmer order, and the Parthians, who thought they had
nothing to do but to plunder, when they saw their
enemy in fresh spirits, and in a capacity for renewing
the engagement, were extremely disconcerted. How-
ever, they fell on the Romans from the adjacent decli-
vities, and galled them with their arrows as they were
marching slowly forward. Against these attacks the
light-armed troops were covered by the legionaries,
who, placing one knee on the ground, received the
arrows on their shields. The rank that was behind
covered that which was before in a regular gradation;
so that this curious fortification, which defended them
from the arrows of the enemy, resembled the roof of a
house.
The Parthians, who thought that the Romans rested
on their knees only through weariness and fatigue,
threw away their bows, and came to close engagement
with their spears. On this the Romans leaped up with
a loud shout, cut to pieces those who came first to the
attack, and put all the rest to flight. This method of
attack and defence being repeated every day, they
made but little progress in their march, and were, be-
sides, distressed for want of provisions; they could
not forage without fighting; the corn they could get
was but little, and even that they had not instruments
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? ANToNY.
45
to grind. The greatest part of them had been left be-
hind; for many of the beasts of burden were dead, and
many were employed in carrying the sick and wounded.
It is said that a bushel of wheat, Attic measure, was
sold for fifty drachmas, and a barley loaf for its weight
in silver. Those who sought for roots and potherbs
found few that they had been accustomed to eat, and in
tasting unknown herbs, they met with one that brought
on madness and death. He that had eaten of it im-
mediately lost all memory and knowlege; but, at the
same time, would busy himself in turning and moving
every stone he met with, as if he was on some very
important pursuit. The camp was full of unhappy
men bending to the ground, and thus digging np and
removing stones, till at last they were carried oft' by
a bilious vomiting, when wine, the only remedy, was
not to be had. Thus, while numbers perished, and the
Parthians still continued to harass them, Antony is
said frequently to have cried out, ' O the Ten Thou-
sand! ' alluding to the army that Xenophon led from
Babylon both a longer way, and through more nu-
merous conflicts, and yet led in safety.
The Parthians, when they found that they could not
break throngh the Roman ranks, nor throw them into
disorder, but were frequently beaten in their attacks,
begun once more to treat their foragers in a peaceable
manner. They showed them their bows unstrung, and
informed them that they had given up the pursuit,
and were going to depart. A few Medes, they said,
might continue the route a day or two longer, but they
would give the Romans no trouble, as their only pur-
pose was to protect some of the remoter villages.
These professions were accompanied with many kind
salutations; insomuch, that the Romans conceived
fresh hopes and spirits; and, because the way over the
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? PLUTARCH.
mountains was said to be destitute of water, Antony
once more was desirous of taking his route through
the plains. When he was going to put this scheme in
execution, one Mithridates, cousin to that Moneses
who had formerly sought his protection, and been pre-
sented by him with three cities, came from the enemy's
camp, and desired he might be permitted to speak with
some person that understood the Syrian or the Parthian
language. Alexander of Antioch, a friend of Antony's,
went out to him, and after the Parthiau had informed
him who he was, and attributed his coming to the kind-
ness of Moneses, he asked him whether he did not see
at a great distance before him a range of high hills.
'Under those hills,' said he, 'the whole Parthian
army lies in ambuscade for you: for at the foot of the
mountains there is a spacious plain; and there, when,
deluded by their artifices, you have left the way over
the heights, they expect to find you. In the mountain
roads, indeed, you have thirst and toil to contend with
as usual; but, should Antony take the plains, he must
expect the fate of Crassus. '
After he had given this information he departed;
and Antony, on the occasion, assembled a council, and
amongst the rest his Mardian guide, who concurred
with the directions of the Parthian. The way over
the plains, he said, was hardly practicable, were there
no enemy to contend with: the windings were long
and tedious, and difficult to be made out. The rugged
way over the mountains, on the contrary, had no other
difficulty in it than to endure thirst for ene day. An-
tony therefore changed his mind; and, ordering each
man to take water along with him, took the mountain
road by night. As there was not a sufficient number
of vessels, some conveyed their water in helmets, and
others in bladders.
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? ANToNY.
47
The Parthians were informed of Antony's motions,
and, contrary to custom, pursued him in the night.
About sunrise they came up with the rear, weary as it
was with toil and watching; for that night they had
travelled thirty miles. In this condition they had to
contend with an unexpected enemy; and being at once
obliged to fight and continue their march, their thirst
became still more insupportable. At last the front
came up to a river, the water of which was cool and
dear; but being salt and acrimonious, it occasioned a
pain in the stomach and bowels, that had been heated
and inflamed with thirst. The Mardian guide had, in-
deed, forewarned them of this ; but the poor fellows,
rejecting the information that was brought them, drank
eagerly of the stream. Antony, running- amongst the
ranks, intreated them to forbear but a little. He told
them that there was another river at no great distance,
the water of which might be drank with safety; and
that the way was so extremely rocky and uneven, that
it was impossible for the enemy's cavalry to pursue.
At the same time he sounded a retreat to call off such
as were engaged with the enemy, and gave the signal
for pitching their tents, that they might at least have
the convenience of shade.
While the tents were fixing, and the Parthians, as
usual, retiring from the pursuit, Mithridates came
again; and Alexander being sent out to him, he ad-
vised that the Romans, after a little rest, should rise
and make for the river, because the Parthians did not
propose to carry their pursuit beyond it. Alexander
reported this to Antony; and Mithridates being pre-
sented with as many phials and cups of gold as he
could conceal in. his garments, once more left the
camp. Antony, while it was yet day, struck his tents,
and marched unmolested by the enemy: but so dread-
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? 48
PLUTARCH.
ful a night as followed he had never passed. Those
who were known to be possessed of gold or silver were
slain and plundered, and the money that was conveyed
in the baggage was made a prey of. Last of all, An-
tony's baggage was seized, and the richest bowls and
tables were cut asunder and divided amongst the plun-
derers. The greatest terror and distraction ran through
the whole army; for it was concluded that the inroads
of the enemy had occasioned this flight and confusion.
Antony sent for one of his freedmen, called Kbamnus,
and made him swear that he would stab him and cut
off his head, whenever he should command him, that
he might neither fall alive into the hands of the enemy,
nor be known when dead. While his friends were
weeping around him, the Mardian guide gave him
some encouragement, by telling him that the river was
at hand, as he could perceive by the cool freshness of
the air that issued from it; and that, of course, the
troubles of his journey would soon be at an end, as the
night nearly was. At the same time, he was informed
that all these disorders had been occasioned by the
avarice of the soldiers; and he therefore ordered the
signal for encamping, that he might rectify his disor-
dered army.
It was now daylight, and as soon as the troops were
brought to a little order, the Parthians once more be-
gan to harass the rear. The signal was therefore given
to the light troops to engage, and the heavy-armed
received the arrows under a roof of shields as before.
The Parthians, however, durst not come any more to
close engagement; and when the front had advanced a
little farther, the river was in sight. Antony first
drew up the cavalry on the bank to carry over the
weak and wounded.
fishing to us petty princes of Pharus and Canopus;
your game is cities, kingdoms, and provinces. '
In the midst of these scenes of festivity and dissipa-
tion Antony received two unfavorable messages; one
from Rome, that his wife Fulvia, and his brother Lu-
cius, after long dissensions between themselves, had
joined to oppose Caesar, but were overpowered, and
obliged to fly out of Italy. The other informed him
that Labienus and the Parthians had reduced Asia,
from Syria and the Euphrates to Lydia and Ionia. It
was with difficulty that even this roused him from
his lethargy: but waking at length, and, literally,
waking from a fit of intoxication, he set out against
the Parthians, and proceeded as far as Phoenicia.
However, on the receipt of some very moving letters
from Fulvia, he turned his course towards Italy, with
two hundred ships. Such of his friends as had fled
from thence he received; and from these he learnt,
that Fulvia had been the principal cause of the dis-
turbances in Rome. Her disposition had a natural
tendency to violence and discord; and, on this occa-
sion, it was abetted by jealousy; for she expected that
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? ANToNY.
29
the disorders of Italy would call Antony from the arms
of Cleopatra. That unhappy woman died at Sicyou,
in her progress to meet her husband.
This event opened an opportunity for a reconcilia-
tion with Caesar; for when Antony came to Italy, and
Caesar expressed no resentment against him, but threw
the whole blame on Fulvia, their respective friends
interfered, and brought them to an accommodation.
The east, within the boundaries of the Ionian sea, was
given to Antony; the western provinces to Caesar;
and Lepidus had Africa. When they did not accept
of the consulship themselves, they were to dispose of
it as they thought proper, in their turns.
After these matters were settled they thought of
means to secure this union which fortune had set on
foot. Caesar had a sister older than himself, named
Octavia, but they had different mothers. The mother
of Octavia was Ancaria: Casar's mother was Attia.
He had a great affection for this sister; for she was a
woman of extraordinary merit. She had been already
married to Caius Marcellus; but a little before this
had buried her husband; and, as Antony had lost his
wife, there was an opening for a fresh union. His con-
nexion with Cleopatra he did not affect to deny; but
he absolutely denied that he was married to her; and,
in this circumstance, indeed, his prudence prevailed
over his love. His marriage with Octavia was uni-
versally wished. It was the general hope, that a wo-
man of her beauty and distinguished virtues would
acquire such an influence over Antony, as might in the
end, be salutary to the state. Conditions being mu-
tually agreed on, they proceeded to solemnise the
nuptials at Rome; and the law which permits no
widow to marry till the expiration of ten months after
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? 30
PLUTARCH.
the decease of her husband was dispensed with by the
senate.
Sextus, the son of Pompey, who was then in posses-
sion of Sicily, had not only made great ravages in
Italy, but had covered the sea with such a number of
piratical vessels, under the command of Menas and
Menecrates, that it was no longer safe for other ships
to pass. He had been favorable, notwithstanding, to
Antony; for he had given a kind reception to his mo-
ther and his wife Fulvia, when they were obliged to
fly from Rome. It was judged proper, therefore, to
accommodate matters with him; and for this purpose
a meeting was held at the promontory of Misenum by
the mole that runs into the sea. Pompey was attended
by his fleet; Antony and Caesar by an army of foot.
At this interview it was settled that Pompey should
keep Sicily and Sardinia, on condition that he should
clear the sea of pirates, and send a certain quantity of
corn to Rome. When these things were determined,
they mutually invited each other to supper ; but it fell
to the lot of Pompey to give the first entertainment.
When Antony asked him where they should sup--
'There,' said he, pointing to the admiral-galley of six
oars, ' that is the only patrimonial mansion-house that
is left to Pompey; and it implied, at the same time, a
sarcasm on Antony, who was then in possession of his
father's house. However, he entertained them very
politely, after conducting them over a bridge from the
promontory to the ship that rode at anchor. During
the entertainment, while the raillery ran briskly on
Antony and Cleopatra, Menas came to Pompey, and
told him secretly that, if he would permit him to cut
the cable, he would not only make him master of
Sicily and Sardinia, but of the whole Roman empire.
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? ANToNY.
31
Pompey, after a moment's deliberation, answered, that
he should have done it without consulting him. 'We
must now let it alone,' said he, 'for I cannot break
my oath of treaty. ' The compliment of the entertain-
ment was returned by his guests, and he then retired
to Sicily.
Antony, after the accommodation, sent Ventidius
into Asia, to stop the progress of the Parthians. All
matters of public administration were conducted with
the greatest harmony between him and Octavius; and,
in compliment to the latter, he took on himself the
office of high-priest to Caesar the dictator. But, alas!
in their contests at play, Caesar was generally superior,
and Antony was mortified. He had in his house a for-
tune-telling gipsy, who was skilled in the calculation
of nativities. This man, either to oblige Cleopatra, or
following the investigation of truth, told Antony that
the star of his fortune, however glorious in itself, was
eclipsed and obscured by Caesar's, and advised him, by
all means, to keep at the greatest distance from that
young man. 'The genius of your life,' said he, 'is
afraid of his: when it is alone, its port is erect and
fearless; when his approaches, it is dejected and de-
pressed. ' Indeed, there were many circumstances that
seemed to justify the conjurer's doctrine; for in every
kind of play, whether they cast lots, or cast the die,
Antony was still the loser. In their cock-fights, and
quail-fights, it was still Caesar's cock, and Caesar's
quail. These things, co-operating with the conjurer's
observations, had such an effect on Antony, that he
gave up the management of domestic affairs to Cae-
sar, and left Italy. Octavia, who had by this time
brought him a daughter, he took with him into Greece.
He wintered in Athens, and there he learnt that his
affairs in Asia, under Ventidius, were successful; that
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? 32
PLUTARCH.
the Parthians were routed, and that Labienus and
Pharnapates, the ablest generals of Orodes, fell in the
battle. In honor of this victory he gave an enter-
tainment to the Greeks, and treated the Athenians with
an exhibition of the gymnastic games, in which he took
the master's part himself. The robes and ensigns of
the general were laid aside; the rods, the cloak, and
the slippers of the gymnasiarch were assumed; and
when the combatants had fought sufficiently he parted
them himself.
When he went to the war he took with hini a crown
of the sacred olive; and, by the direction of some ora-
cle or other, a vessel of water filled out of the Clepsy-
dra. ' In the mean time Pacorus, son of the king of
Parthia, made an incursion into Syria, but was routed
by Ventidius in Cyrrhestica; and, with the greatest
part of his army, fell in the battle. This celebrated
victory made ample amends for the defeat of Crassus.
The Parthians had now been thrice conquered, and
were confined within the bounds of Media and Meso-
potamia. Ventidius would not pursue the Parthians
any farther, for fear of exciting the envy of Antony;
he therefore turned his arms against the revolters, and
brought them back to their duty. Amongst these was
Antiochus, the king of Commagene, whom he besieged
in the city of Samosata. That prince, at first, offered
to pay a thousand talents, and to submit himself to the
Roman empire; on which Ventidius told him that he
must send proposals to Antony, for he was then at no
great distance; and he had not commissioned Venti-
dius to make peace with Antiochus, that something at
least might be done by himself. But while the siege
1 The Clepsydra was a fountain belonging to the citadel at
Athens; so called, because it was sometimes full of water,
and sometimes empty.
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? ANToNY.
33
was thus prolonged, and the people of Samosata de-
spaired of obtaining terms, that despair produced a
degree of courage which defeated every effort of the
besiegers; and Antony was at last reduced to the dis-
graceful necessity of accepting three hundred talents.
After he had done some little towards settling the
affairs of Syria, he returned to Athens, and sent Ven-
tidius to Rome, to enjoy the reward of his merit in a
triumph. He was the only general that ever triumphed
over the Parthians. His birth was obscure, but his
connexions with Antony brought him into great ap-
pointments; and, by making the best use of them, he
confirmed what was said of Antony and Octavius Cae-
sar, that they were more successful by their lieutenants
than when they commanded in person. This observa-
tion, with regard to Antony in particular, might be
justified by the success of Sossius and Canidius. The
former had done great things in Syria; and the latter,
whom he left in Armenia, reduced the whole country;
and, after defeating the kings of Iberia and Albania,
penetrated as far as Mount Caucasus, and spread the
terror of Antony's name and power through those bar-
barous nations.
Soon after this, on hearing some disagreeable reports
concerning the designs or the conduct of Cfesar, he
sailed for Italy with a fleet of three hundred ships;
and, being refused the harbor of Brundusium, he made
for Tarentum. There he was prevailed on by his wife
Octavia, who accompanied him, and was then pregnant a
third time, to send her to her brother; and she was for-
tunate enough to meet him on her journey, attended by
his two friends, Mecaenas and Agrippa. In conference
with him, she in treated him to consider the peculiarity
of her situation, and not to make the happiest woman
in the world the most unfortunate. 'The eyes of all,'
PLUT. VoL. VII. c
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? 34 PLUTARCH.
said she, 'are necessarily turned on me, who am the
wife of Antony, and the sister of Caesar; and should
these chiefs of the empire, misled by hasty counsels,
involve the whole in war, whatever may be the event,
it will be unhappy for me. ' Caesar was softened by
the intreaties of his sister, and proceeded with peace-
able views to Tarentmn. His arrival afforded a gene-
ral satisfaction to the people. They were pleased to
see such an army on the shore, and such a fleet in the
harbor, in the mutual disposition for peace, and no-
thing but compliments and expressions of kindness
passing between the generals. Antony first invited
Caesar to sup with him; and, in compliment to Octa-
via, he accepted the invitation. At length it was
agreed that Caesar should give up to Antony two le-
gions for the Parthian service; and that Antony, in
return, should leave a hundred armed galleys with
Caesar. Octavia, moreover, engaged Antony to give
up twenty light ships to Caesar, and procured from her
brother a thousand foot for her husband. Matters
being thus accommodated, Caesar went to war with
Pompey for the recovery of Sicily; and Antony, leav-
ing under his protection his wife, and his children,
both by the present and the former marriage, sailed
for Asia.
On his approach to Syria, the love of Cleopatra,
which had so loBg been dormant in his heart, and
which better counsels seemed totally to have sup-
pressed, revived again, and took possession of his soul.
The unruly steed, to which Plato compares certain
passions, once more broke loose; and, in spite of ho-
nor, interest, and prudence, Antony sent Fonteius Ca-
pita to conduct Cleopatra into Syria.
On her arrival, he made her the most magnificent
presents. He gave her the provinces of Phoenicia,
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? ANToNY.
Ccelosyria, Cyprus, great part of Cilicia, that district
of Judaea which produces the balm, and that part of
Arabia Nabathea which lies on the ocean. These ex-
travagant gifts were disagreeable to the Romans: for,
though he had often conferred on private persons con-
siderable governments and kingdoms, though he had
deprived many princes of their dominions, and be-
headed Antigonus of Judaea, the first king that ever
suffered in such a manner, yet nothing so much dis-
turbed the Romans as his enormous profusion in favor
of that woman: nor were they less offended at his giv-
ing the surnames of the sun and moon to the twins he
had by her.
But Antony knew well how to give a fair appear-
ance to the most disreputable actions. The greatness
of the Roman empire, he said, appeared more in giving
than in receiving kingdoms; and that it was proper for
persons of high birth and station to extend and secure
their nobility, by leaving children and successors born
of different princes ; that his ancestor Hercules trusted
not to the fertility of one woman, as if he had feared
the penalties annexed to the law of Solon, but, by
various connexions, became the founder of many fa-
milies.
After Orodes was slain by his son Phraates, who
took possession of the kingdom, many of the Parthian
chiefs fled to Antony; and, amongst the rest, Moneses,
a man of great dignity and power. Antony, thinking
that Moneses, in his fortune, resembled Themistocles,
and comparing his own wealth and magnificence to
that of the kings of Persia, gave him three cities, La-
rissa, Arethusa, and Hierampolis, which was before
called Bombyce. But when Phraates sent Moneses
assurances of his safety, he readily dismissed him. On
this occasion he formed a scheme to deceive Phraates.
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? PLUTARCH.
He pretended a disposition for peace, and required
only that the Roman staudards and ensigns which had
been taken at the defeat of Crassus, and such of the
prisoners as still survived, might be restored. He
sent Cleopatra into Egypt; after which he marched
through Arabia and Armenia; where, as soon as his
own troops were joined by the allies, he reviewed his
army. He had several princes in alliance with him;
but Artavasdes, king of Armenia, was the most power-
ful, for he furnished six thousand horse, and seven
thousand foot. At this review there appeared sixty
thousand Roman foot, and ten thousand horse; who,
though chiefly Gauls and Spaniards, were reckoned
as Romans. The number of the allies, including the
light-armed and the cavalry, amounted to thirty thou-
sand.
This formidable armament, which struck terror into
the Indians beyond Bactria, and alarmed all Asia, his
attachment to Cleopatra rendered perfectly useless.
His impatience to return and spend the winter in her
;>rnis made him take the field too early in the season,
and precipitated all his measures. As a man who is
under the power of enchantment can only act as the
impulse of the magic directs him, his eye was conti-
nually drawn to Cleopatra; and to return to her was a
greater object than to conquer the world. He ought
certainly to have wintered in Armenia, that he might
give a proper respite and refreshment to his men, after
a march of a thousand miles. In the early part of the
spring he should have made himself master of Media,
before the Parthian troops were drawn out of garrison:
but his impatience put him on the march ; and leaving
Armenia on the left, he passed through the province of
Atropatene, and laid waste the country. In his haste,
he left behind him the battering-engines, amongst
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? ANToNY.
37
which was a ram eighty feet long; and these followed
the camp on three hundred carriages. Had any da-
mage happened to these, it would have been impos-
sible to repair them in this upper part of Asia, where
there is no timber of height or strength sufficient for
the purpose. However, they were brought after him
under the conduct of Statianus ; and, in the mean time,
he laid siege to the large city of Phraata, the residence
of the king of Media's wives and children. Here he
perceived his error in leaving the engines behind;
for want of which he was obliged to throw up a mount
against the wall; and that required considerable timt
and labor.
In the mean time Phraates came up with a nume-
rous army; and being informed that Antony had left
behind him his machines, he sent a large detachment
to intercept them. This party fell on Statianus, who,
with ten thousand of his men, was slain on the spot.
Many were taken prisoners, among whom was king
Polemo; and the machines were seized by the enemy,
and destroyed.
This miscarriage greatly discouraged the army; and
Artavasdes, though he had been the promoter of the
war, withdrew his forces in despair. The Parthians,
on the other hand, encouraged by their success, came
up with the Romans while they were employed in the
siege, and treated them with the most insolent menaces
and contempt. Antony, who knew that despair and
timidity would be the consequence of inaction, led out
ten legions, three pretorian cohorts heavy armed, and
the whole body of cavalry, on the business of foraging.
He was persuaded at the same time that this was the
only method of drawing the enemy after him, and bring-
ing them to a battle. After one day's progress, he ob-
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? 38
PLUTARCH.
serred the enemy in motion, and . watching an oppor-
tunity to fall on him in his march. Hereon he put up,
in his camp the signal for battle; but, at the same time,
struck his tents, as if his intention was not to fight, but
to retire. Accordingly he passed the army of the bar-
barians, which was drawn up in form of a crescent: but
he had previously given orders to the horse to charge
the enemy, full speed, as soon as their ranks were
within reach of the legionary troops.
The Parthians
were struck with astonishment at the order of the Ro-
man army, when they observed them pass at regular
intervals without confusion, and brandish their pikes
in silence.
When the signal was given for battle, the horse
turned short, and fell with loud shouts on the enemy.
The Parthians received the attack with firmness, though
they were too close in with them for the use of their
bows. But when the infantry came to the charge, their
shouts, and the clashing of their arms, so frightened
the enemy's horses, that they were no longer manage-
able; and the Parthians fled without once engaging.
Antony pursued them closely, in hopes that this action
would, in a great measure, terminate the war. But
when the infantry had followed them fifty furlongs,
and the cavalry at least a hundred and fifty, he found
that he had not slain above eighty of the enemy, and
that thirty only were taken prisoners. Thus, the little
advantage of their victories, and the heavy loss of their
defeats, as in the recent instance of the carriages, was
a fresh discouragement to the Romans.
The day following they returned with their baggage
to the camp before Phraata. In their march they met
with some straggling troops of the enemy, afterwards
with greater parties, and at last with the whole body,
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? ANToNY.
which having easily rallied, appeared like a fresh army
and harassed them in such a manner, that it was with
difficulty they reached their camp.
The Median garrison, in the absence of Antony,
had made a sally; and those who were left to defend
the mount had quitted their post and fled. Antony,
at his return, punished the fugitives by decimation:
that is, he divided them into tens; and, in each di-
vision, put one to death, on whom the lot happened to
fall. Those that escaped had their allowance in barley
instead of wheat. ? *
Both parties now found their difficulties in the war.
Antony had the dread of famine before him, for he
could not forage without a terrible slaughter of his men;
and Phraates, who knew the temper of the Parthians,
was apprehensive that, if the Romans persisted in
carrying on the siege, as soon as the autumnal equinox
was past, and the winter set in, he should be deserted
by his army, which would not at that time endure the
open field. To prevent this, be had recourse to strata-
gem. He ordered his officers not to pursue the Romans
too close when they were foraging, but to permit them
to carry off provisions. He commanded them at the
same time to compliment them on their valor, and to
express his high opinion of the Roman bravery. They
were instructed likewise, as opportunity might offer, to
blame the obstinacy of Antony, which exposed so many
brave men to the severities of famine and a winter
campaign, who must suffer of course, notwithstanding
all the Parthians could do for them, while Phraates
sought for nothing more than peace, though he was
still defeated in his benevolent intentions.
Antony, on these reports, began to conceive hopes;
hut he would not offer any terms before he was satisfied
whether they came originally from the king. The
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? 40
PLUTARCH.
enemy assured him that such were the sentiments of
Phraates; and, being induced to believe them, he sent
some of his friends to demand the standards and the
prisoners that came into their hands on the defeat of
Crassus; for he thought, if he demanded nothing, it
might appear that he was pleased with the privilege
of retreating. The Parthian answered, that the
standards and prisoners could not be restored; but
that Antony, if he thought proper, was at liberty to
retreat in safety.
After some few days had been spent in making up
the baggage, he began his march. On this occasion,
though he had the happiest eloquence in addressing
his soldiers, and reconciling them to every situation
and event, yet, whether it was through shame, or
sorrow, or both, he left that office to Domitius Mno-
barbus. Some of them were offended at this as an
act of contempt. But the greater part understood the
cause, and, pitying their general, paid him still greater
attention.
Antony had determined to take his route through a
plain and open country; but a certain Mardian, who
was well acquainted with the practices of the Par-
tisans, and had approved his faith to the Romans at
the battle when the machines were lost, advised him to
take the mountains on his right, and not to expose his
heavy-armed troops in an open country to the attacks
of the Parthian bowmen and cavalry. Phraates, he
said, amused him with fair promises, merely to draw
him oft' from the siege; but if he would take him for
his guide, he would conduct him by a way that was
nearer, and better furnished with necessaries. Antony
deliberated some time on this. He would not appear
to doubt the honor of the Parthians after the truce
they had agreed to; and yet he could not but approve
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? ANToNY.
41
of a way which was nearer, and which lay through an
inhabited country. At last he required the necessary
pledges of the Mardian's faith, which he gave in suffer-
ing himself to be bound till he should have conducted
the army into Armenia. In this condition he led the
Romans peaceably along for two days: but on the
third, when Antony, expecting nothing less than the
Parthians, was marching forward in disorderly se-
curity, the Mardian observing the mounds of a river
broken down, and the waters let out into the plain
where they were to pass, concluded that the Parthians
had done this to retard their march, and advised An-
tony to be on his guard; for the enemy, he said, was
at no great distance. Whilst Antony was drawing up
his men, and preparing such of them as were armed
with darts and slings to make a sally against the enemy,
the Parthians came on him, and, by surrounding his
army, harassed it on every part. The light-armed
Romans, indeed, made an incursion on them, and,
galling them with their missive weapons, obliged them
to retreat; but they soon returned to the charge, till a
band of the Gaulish cavalry attacked and dispersed
them; so that they appeared no more that day.
Antony, on this, found what measures he was to
take; and, covering both wings and the rear with such
troops as were armed with missive weapons, his army
marched in the form of a square. The cavalry had
orders to repel the attacks of the enemy, but not to
pursue them to any great distance. The Parthians,
of course, when in four successive days they could
make no considerable impression, and found them-
selves equally annoyed in their turn, grew more re-
miss, and, finding an excuse in the winter season, be-
gan to think of a retreat. On the fifth day, Flavius
Gallus, a general officer of great courage and valor,
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PLUTARCH.
requested Antony, that he would indulge him with a
number of light-armed troops from the rear, together
with a few horse from the front; and with these he
proposed to perform some considerable exploit. These
he obtained, and in repelling the attacks of the Par-
thians, he did not, like the rest, retreat by degrees to-
wards the body of the army, but maintained his ground,
and fought rather on the offensive than on the defensive.
When the officers of the rear observed that he was
separated from the rest, they sent to recall him ; but he
did not obey the summons. It is said, however, that
Titius the questor turned back tbe standard, and in-
veighed against Gallus for leading so many brave men
to destruction. Gallus, on the other hand, returned
his reproaches, and commanding those who were about
him to stand, he made his retreat alone. Gallus bad
no sooner made an impression on the enemy's front
than he was surrounded. In this distress he sent for
assistance ; and here the general officers, and Canidius,
the favorite of Antony, amongst the rest, committed a
most capital error. Instead of leading the whole army
against the Parthians, as soon as one detachment was
overpowered, they sent another to its support; and
thus, by degrees, they would have sacrificed great part
of the troops, had not Antony come hastily from the
front with the heavy-armed, and urging on the third
legion through the midst of the fugitives, stopped the
enemy's pursuit.
In this action no fewer than three thousand were
slain, and five thousand brought back wounded to the
camp. Amongst the last was Gallus, who had four
arrows shot through his body, and soon after died of
his wounds. Antony visited all that had suffered on
this unhappy occasion, and consoled them with tears of
real grief and affection: while the wounded soldiers,
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? . ANToNY. '
43
embracing the hand of their general, intreated him not
to attend to their sufferings, but to his own health and
quiet: 'while our general is safe, all,' said they, ' is
well. ' It is certain that there was not in those days a
braver or a finer army. The men were tall, stout, able
? and willing to endure the greatest toils. Their re-
spect and ready obedience to their general was won-
derful. Not a man in the army, from the first of-
ficer to the meanest soldier, but would have preferred
the favor of Antony to his own life and safety. In all
these respects they were at least equal to the armies of
ancient Rome. A variety of causes, as we have ob-
served, concurred to produce this: Antony's noble
birth, bis eloquence, his candor, his liberality and
magnificence, and the familiar pleasantry of his con-
versation. These were the general causes of the affec-
tion he found in his army; and, on this particular oc-
casion, his sympathising with the wounded, and attend-
ing to their wants, made them totally forget their suf-
ferings.
The Parthians, who had before begun to languish in
their operations, were so much elevated with this ad-
vantage, and held the Romans in such contempt, that
they even spent the night by their camp, in hopes of
seizing the baggage while they deserted their tents.
At break of day numbers more came up, to the
amount, as it is said, of forty thousand horse; for the
Parthian king had sent even his body-guard, so confi-
dent was he of absolute victory : as to himself, he never
was present at any engagement.
Antony, being now about to address his soldiers, called
for mourning apparel, that his speech might be more
affecting; but as his friends would not permit this, he
appeared in his general's robe. Those that had been
victorious he praised, those who had fled he re-
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? 44
PLUTARCH.
proached; the former encouraged him by every testi-
mony of their zeal; the latter, offering themselves
either to decimation or any other kind of punishment
that he might think proper to inflict on them, intreated
him to forego his sorrow and concern. On this he
raised his hands to heaven, and prayed to the gods,
'that if his happier fortune was to be followed by fu-
ture evil, it might affect only himself, and that his
army might be safe and victorious. '
The day following they marched out in better and
firmer order, and the Parthians, who thought they had
nothing to do but to plunder, when they saw their
enemy in fresh spirits, and in a capacity for renewing
the engagement, were extremely disconcerted. How-
ever, they fell on the Romans from the adjacent decli-
vities, and galled them with their arrows as they were
marching slowly forward. Against these attacks the
light-armed troops were covered by the legionaries,
who, placing one knee on the ground, received the
arrows on their shields. The rank that was behind
covered that which was before in a regular gradation;
so that this curious fortification, which defended them
from the arrows of the enemy, resembled the roof of a
house.
The Parthians, who thought that the Romans rested
on their knees only through weariness and fatigue,
threw away their bows, and came to close engagement
with their spears. On this the Romans leaped up with
a loud shout, cut to pieces those who came first to the
attack, and put all the rest to flight. This method of
attack and defence being repeated every day, they
made but little progress in their march, and were, be-
sides, distressed for want of provisions; they could
not forage without fighting; the corn they could get
was but little, and even that they had not instruments
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? ANToNY.
45
to grind. The greatest part of them had been left be-
hind; for many of the beasts of burden were dead, and
many were employed in carrying the sick and wounded.
It is said that a bushel of wheat, Attic measure, was
sold for fifty drachmas, and a barley loaf for its weight
in silver. Those who sought for roots and potherbs
found few that they had been accustomed to eat, and in
tasting unknown herbs, they met with one that brought
on madness and death. He that had eaten of it im-
mediately lost all memory and knowlege; but, at the
same time, would busy himself in turning and moving
every stone he met with, as if he was on some very
important pursuit. The camp was full of unhappy
men bending to the ground, and thus digging np and
removing stones, till at last they were carried oft' by
a bilious vomiting, when wine, the only remedy, was
not to be had. Thus, while numbers perished, and the
Parthians still continued to harass them, Antony is
said frequently to have cried out, ' O the Ten Thou-
sand! ' alluding to the army that Xenophon led from
Babylon both a longer way, and through more nu-
merous conflicts, and yet led in safety.
The Parthians, when they found that they could not
break throngh the Roman ranks, nor throw them into
disorder, but were frequently beaten in their attacks,
begun once more to treat their foragers in a peaceable
manner. They showed them their bows unstrung, and
informed them that they had given up the pursuit,
and were going to depart. A few Medes, they said,
might continue the route a day or two longer, but they
would give the Romans no trouble, as their only pur-
pose was to protect some of the remoter villages.
These professions were accompanied with many kind
salutations; insomuch, that the Romans conceived
fresh hopes and spirits; and, because the way over the
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? PLUTARCH.
mountains was said to be destitute of water, Antony
once more was desirous of taking his route through
the plains. When he was going to put this scheme in
execution, one Mithridates, cousin to that Moneses
who had formerly sought his protection, and been pre-
sented by him with three cities, came from the enemy's
camp, and desired he might be permitted to speak with
some person that understood the Syrian or the Parthian
language. Alexander of Antioch, a friend of Antony's,
went out to him, and after the Parthiau had informed
him who he was, and attributed his coming to the kind-
ness of Moneses, he asked him whether he did not see
at a great distance before him a range of high hills.
'Under those hills,' said he, 'the whole Parthian
army lies in ambuscade for you: for at the foot of the
mountains there is a spacious plain; and there, when,
deluded by their artifices, you have left the way over
the heights, they expect to find you. In the mountain
roads, indeed, you have thirst and toil to contend with
as usual; but, should Antony take the plains, he must
expect the fate of Crassus. '
After he had given this information he departed;
and Antony, on the occasion, assembled a council, and
amongst the rest his Mardian guide, who concurred
with the directions of the Parthian. The way over
the plains, he said, was hardly practicable, were there
no enemy to contend with: the windings were long
and tedious, and difficult to be made out. The rugged
way over the mountains, on the contrary, had no other
difficulty in it than to endure thirst for ene day. An-
tony therefore changed his mind; and, ordering each
man to take water along with him, took the mountain
road by night. As there was not a sufficient number
of vessels, some conveyed their water in helmets, and
others in bladders.
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? ANToNY.
47
The Parthians were informed of Antony's motions,
and, contrary to custom, pursued him in the night.
About sunrise they came up with the rear, weary as it
was with toil and watching; for that night they had
travelled thirty miles. In this condition they had to
contend with an unexpected enemy; and being at once
obliged to fight and continue their march, their thirst
became still more insupportable. At last the front
came up to a river, the water of which was cool and
dear; but being salt and acrimonious, it occasioned a
pain in the stomach and bowels, that had been heated
and inflamed with thirst. The Mardian guide had, in-
deed, forewarned them of this ; but the poor fellows,
rejecting the information that was brought them, drank
eagerly of the stream. Antony, running- amongst the
ranks, intreated them to forbear but a little. He told
them that there was another river at no great distance,
the water of which might be drank with safety; and
that the way was so extremely rocky and uneven, that
it was impossible for the enemy's cavalry to pursue.
At the same time he sounded a retreat to call off such
as were engaged with the enemy, and gave the signal
for pitching their tents, that they might at least have
the convenience of shade.
While the tents were fixing, and the Parthians, as
usual, retiring from the pursuit, Mithridates came
again; and Alexander being sent out to him, he ad-
vised that the Romans, after a little rest, should rise
and make for the river, because the Parthians did not
propose to carry their pursuit beyond it. Alexander
reported this to Antony; and Mithridates being pre-
sented with as many phials and cups of gold as he
could conceal in. his garments, once more left the
camp. Antony, while it was yet day, struck his tents,
and marched unmolested by the enemy: but so dread-
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? 48
PLUTARCH.
ful a night as followed he had never passed. Those
who were known to be possessed of gold or silver were
slain and plundered, and the money that was conveyed
in the baggage was made a prey of. Last of all, An-
tony's baggage was seized, and the richest bowls and
tables were cut asunder and divided amongst the plun-
derers. The greatest terror and distraction ran through
the whole army; for it was concluded that the inroads
of the enemy had occasioned this flight and confusion.
Antony sent for one of his freedmen, called Kbamnus,
and made him swear that he would stab him and cut
off his head, whenever he should command him, that
he might neither fall alive into the hands of the enemy,
nor be known when dead. While his friends were
weeping around him, the Mardian guide gave him
some encouragement, by telling him that the river was
at hand, as he could perceive by the cool freshness of
the air that issued from it; and that, of course, the
troubles of his journey would soon be at an end, as the
night nearly was. At the same time, he was informed
that all these disorders had been occasioned by the
avarice of the soldiers; and he therefore ordered the
signal for encamping, that he might rectify his disor-
dered army.
It was now daylight, and as soon as the troops were
brought to a little order, the Parthians once more be-
gan to harass the rear. The signal was therefore given
to the light troops to engage, and the heavy-armed
received the arrows under a roof of shields as before.
The Parthians, however, durst not come any more to
close engagement; and when the front had advanced a
little farther, the river was in sight. Antony first
drew up the cavalry on the bank to carry over the
weak and wounded.
