She had an
infinite
variety of it.
Plutarch - Lives - v7
This conduct
brought over Munatius Plancus, who was at the head
of a considerable force at no great distance. Thus An-
tony was once more very powerful, and returned into
Italy with seventeen intire legions of foot, and ten
thousand horse. Besides these, he left six legions as a
PLUT. VoL. VII. B
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? 18
PLUTARCH.
garrison in Gaul, under the command of Varius, one
of his convivial companions, whom they called Cotylon.
Octavius, when he found that Cicero's object was to
restore the liberties of the commonwealth, soon aban-
doned him, and came to an accommodation with An-
tony. They met, together with Lepidus, in a small
river-island,1 where the conference lasted three days.
The empire of the world was divided amongst them
like a paternal inheritance; and this they found no
difficulty in settling. But whom they should kill, and
whom they should spare, it was not so easy to adjust,
while each was for saving his respective friends, and
putting to death his enemies. At length their resent-
ment against the latter overcame their kindness for the
former. Octavius gave up Cicero to Antony; and An-
tony sacrificed his uncle Lucius Caesar to Octavius;
while Lepidus had the privilege of putting to death his
own brother Paulus. Though others say that Lepi-
dus gave up Paulus to them, though they had required
him to put him to death himself. I believe there never
was any thing so atrocious, or so execrably savage as
this commerce of murder: for while a friend was given
up for an enemy received, the same action murdered
at once the friend and the enemy; and the destruction
of the former was still more horrible, because it had
not even resentment for its apology.
When this confederacy had taken place, the army
desired it might be confirmed by some alliance; and
Caesar, therefore, was to marry Claudia the daughter
of Fulvia, Antony's wife. As soon as this was deter-
mined they marked down such as they intended to
put to death, the number of which amounted to three
hundred, When Cicero was slain, Antony ordered
1 In the Rhine, not far from Bologna.
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? ANToNY.
19
his head, and the hand with which he wrote his Phi-
lippics, to be cut off; and when they were presented to
him he laughed, and exulted at the sight. After he
was satiated with looking on them, he ordered them to
be placed on the rostra in the forum: but this insult
on the dead was, in fact, an abuse of his own good
fortune, and of the power it had placed in his hands.
When his uncle Lucius Ca? sar was pursued by his
murderers, he fled for refuge to his sister; and when
the pursuers had broken into the house, and were
forcing their way into his chamber, she placed herself
at the door, and stretching forth her hands, she cried,
'You shall not kill Lucius Caesar till you have first
killed me, the mother of your general. ' By this means
she saved her brother.
This triumvirate was very odious to the Romans;
but Antony bore the greater blame; for he was not
only older than Caesar, and more powerful than Lepi-
dus; but when he was no longer under difficulties, he
fell back into the former irregularities of his life. His
abandoned and dissolute manners were the more ob-
noxious to the people by his living in the house of
Pompey the Great, a man no less distinguished by his
temperance and modesty than by the honor of three
triumphs. They were mortified to see those doors
shut with insolence against magistrates, generals, and
ambassadors; while they were open to players, jug-
glers, and sottish sycophants, on whom he spent the
greatest part of those treasures he had amassed by
rapine. Indeed, the triumvirate were by no means
scrupulous about the manner in which they procured
their wealth. They seized and sold the estates of those
who had been proscribed, and by false accusations de-
frauded their widows and orphans. They burdened
the people with insupportable impositions; and, being
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PLUTARCH.
"informed that large sums of money, the property both
of strangers and citizens, were deposited in the hands
of the vestals, they took them away by violence. When
Caesar found that Antony's covetousness was as bound-
less as his prodigality, he demanded a division of the
treasure. The army too was divided. Antony and
Caesar went into Macedonia against Brutus and Cas-
sius ; and the government of Rome was left to Lepi-
dus.
When they had encamped in sight of the enemy,
Antony opposite to Cassius, and Caesar to Brutus, Cae-
sar effected nothing extraordinary, but Antony's efforts
were still successful. In the first engagement Caesar
was defeated by Brutus; his camp was taken, and he
narrowly escaped by flight; though, in his Commenta-
ries, he tells us that, on account of a dream which hap-
pened to one of his friends, he had withdrawn before the
battle. Cassius was defeated by Antony; and yet there
are those, too, who say that Antony was not present
at the battle, but only joined in the pursuit afterwards.
As Cassius knew nothing of the success of Brutus, he
was killed at his own earnest intreaty, by his freed-
man Pindarus. Another battle was fought soon after,
in which Brutus was defeated; and, in consequence of
that, slew himself. Caesar happened at that time to
be sick, and the honor of this victory likewise, of
course, fell to Antony. As he stood over the body of
Brutus, he slightly reproached him for the death of
his brother Caius, whom, in revenge for the death of
Cicero, Brutus had slain in Macedonia. It appeared,
however, that Antony did not impute the death of
Caius so much to Brutus as to Hortensius; for he or-
dered the latter to be slain on his brother's tomb. He
threw his purple robe over the body of Brutus, and
ordered one of his freedmen to do the honors of his
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? ANToNY. 21
funeral. "When he was afterwards informed that he
had not burned the robe with the body, and that he
had retained part of the money which was to be ex-
pended on the ceremony, he commanded him to be
slain. After this victory Caesar was conveyed to
Rome; and it was expected that his distemper would
put an end to his life. Antony, having traversed some
of the provinces of Asia for the purpose of raising
money, passed with a large army into Greece. Con-
tributions, indeed, were absolutely necessary, when a
gratuity of five thousand drachmas had been promised
to every private man.
Antony's behavior was at first very acceptable to the
Grecians. He attended the disputes of their logicians,
their public diversions, and religious ceremonies. He
was mild in the administration of justice, and affected
to be called the friend of Greece; but particularly the
friend of Athens, to which he made considerable pre-
sents. The Megarensians vying with the Athenians in
exhibiting something curious, invited him to see their
senate-house; and when they asked him how he liked
it, he told them it was little and ruinous. He took the
dimensions of the temple of Apollo Pythius, as if he
had intended to repair it; and, indeed, he promised as
much to the senate.
But when, leaving Lucius Censorinus in Greece, he
once more passed into Asia; when he had enriched
himself with the wealth of the country; when his
house was the resort of obsequious kings, and queens
contended for his favor by their beauty and munifi-
cence; then, whilst Caesar was harassed with seditions
at Rome, Antony once more gave up his soul to luxury,
and fell into all the dissipations of his former life. The
Anaxenores and the Zutlii, the harpers and pipers,
Metrodorus the dancer, the whole corps of the Asiatic
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PLUTARCH.
drama, who far outdid in buffoonery the poor wretches
of Italy; these were the people of the court, the folks
that carried all before them. In short, all was riot
and disorder: and Asia, in some measure, resembled
the city mentioned by Sophocles, that was at once
filled with the perfumes of sacrifices, songs, and
groans.
When Antony entered Ephesus, the women in the
dress of Bacchanals, and men and boys habited like
Pan and the satyrs, marched before him. Nothing
was to be seen through the whole city but ivy crowns,
and spears wreathed with ivy, harps, flutes, and pipes,
while Antony was hailed by the name of Bacchus;
Bacchus! ever kind and free!
And such, indeed, he was to some; but to others he
was savage and severe. He deprived many noble fa-
milies of their fortunes, and bestowed them on syco-
phants and parasites. Many were represented to be
dead who were still living, and commissions were
given to his knaves for seizing their estates. He gave
his cook the estate of a Magnesian citizen for dressing
one supper to his taste: but when he laid a double im-
post on Asia, Hybrias, the agent for the people, told
him, with a pleasantry that was agreeable to his hu-
mor, that ' if he doubled the taxes, he ought to double
the seasons too, and supply the people with two sum-
mers and two winters. ' He added, at the same time,
with a little more asperity, that, ' as Asia had already
raised two hundred thousand talents, if he had not re-
ceived it, he should demand it of those who had; but,'
said he, ' if you received it, and yet have it not, we are
undone. ' This touched him sensibly; for he was igno-
rant of many things that were transacted under his au-
thority; not that he was indolent, but unsuspecting.
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? ANToNY.
He had a simplicity in his nature, without much pene-
tration: but when he found that faults had been com-
mitted, he expressed the greatest concern and acknow-
legement to the sufferers. He was prodigal in his re-
wards, and severe in his punishments; but the excess
was rather in the former than in the latter. The in-
sulting raillery of his conversation carried its remedy
along with it; for he was perfectly liberal in allowing
the retort, and gave and took with the same good hu-
mor. This, however, had a bad effect on his affairs.
He imagined that those who treated him with freedom
in conversation would not be insincere in business.
He did not perceive that his sycophants were artful in
their freedom; that they used it as a kind of poignant
sauce to prevent the satiety of flattery; and that, by
taking these liberties with him at table, they knew well
that, when they complied with his opinions in business,
he would not think it the effect of complaisance, but a
conviction of his superior judgment.
Such was the frail, the flexible Antony, when the
love of Cleopatra came in to the completion of his
ruin. This awakened every dormant vice, inflamed
every guilty passion, and totally extinguished the
gleams of remaining virtue. It began in this manner:
when he first set out on his expedition against the
Parthians, he sent orders to Cleopatra to meet him in
Cilicia, that she might answer some accusations which
had been laid against her of assisting Cassius in the
war. Dellius, who went on this message, no sooner
observed the beauty and address of Cleopatra, than he
concluded that such a woman, far from having any
thing to apprehend from the resentment of Antony,
would certainly have great influence over him. He
therefore paid his court to the amiable Egyptian, and
solicited her to go, as Homer says, ' in her best attire,'
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? 24
PLUTARCH.
into Cilicia; assuring her that she had nothing to fear
from Antony, who was the most courtly general in the
world. Induced by his invitation, and in the confi-
dence of that beauty which had before touched the
hearts of Caesar and young Pompey, she entertained
no doubt of the conquest of Antony. When Caesar
and Pompey admired her she was young and inex-
perienced; but she was to meet Antony at an age when
beauty, in its full perfection, called in the maturity of
the understanding to its aid. Prepared, therefore,
with such treasures, ornaments, and presents, as were
suitable to the dignity and affluence of her kingdom,
but chiefly relying on her personal charms, she set off
for Cilicia.
Though she had received many pressing letters of
invitation from Antony and his friends, she held him in
such contempt, that she by no means took the most
expeditious mode of travelling. She sailed along the
river Cydnus in a most magnificent galley. The stern
was covered with gold, the sails were of purple, and
the oars were silver. These, in their motion, kept
time to the music of flutes, and pipes, and harps. The
queen, in the dress and character of Venus, lay under
a canopy embroidered with gold of the most exquisite
workmanship; while boys, like painted Cupids, stood
fanning her on each side of the sofa. Her maids
were of the most distinguished beauty, and, habited
like the Nereides and the Graces, assisted in the steer-
age and conduct of the vessel. The fragrance of burn-
ing incense was difi"used along the shores, which were
covered with multitudes of people. Some followed
the procession, and such numbers went down from the
city to see it, that Antony was at last left alone on the
tribunal. A rumor was soon spread that Venus was
come to feast with Bacchus, for the benefit of Asia.
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? ANToNY. 25
Antony sent to invite her to supper; but she thought
it his duty to wait on her; and, to show his politeness,
on her arrival, he complied. He was astonished at
the magnificence of the preparations; but particularly
at that multitude of lights, which were raised or let
down together, and disposed in such a variety of
square and. circular figures, that they afforded one of
the most pleasing spectacles that has been recorded in
history. The day following Antony invited her to sup
with him, and was ambitious to outdo her in the ele-
gance and magnificence of the entertainment. But he
was soon convinced that he came short of her in both,
and was the first to ridicule the meanness and vul-
garity of his treat. As she found that Antony's humor
savored more of the camp than of the court, she fell
into the same coarse vein, and played on him without
the least reserve. Such was the variety of her powers
in conversation: her beauty, it is said, was neither
astonishing nor inimitable; but it derived a force from
her wit, and her fascinating manner, which was ab-
solutely irresistible. Her voice was delightfully me-
lodious, and had the same variety of modulation as
an instrument of many strings. She spoke most lan-
guages; and there were but few of the foreign am-
bassadors whom she answered by an interpreter. She
gave audience herself to the Ethiopians, the Troglo-
dites, the Hebrews, Arabs, Syrians, Medes, and Par-
thians. Nor were these all the languages she under-
stood, though the kings of Egypt, her predecessors,
could hardly ever attain to the Egyptian; and some of
them forgot even their original Macedonian.
Antony was so wholly engrossed with her charms, that
while his wife Fulvia was maintaining his interest at
Rome against Caesar, and the Parthian forces, assem-
bled under the conduct of Labienus in Mesopotamia,
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? 26
PLUTARCH.
were ready to enter Syria, she led her amorous captive
in triumph to Alexandria. There the veteran warrior
fell into every idle excess of puerile amusement, and
offered at the shrine of luxury, what Antipho calls
the greatest of all sacrifices, 'the sacrifice of time. '
This mode of life, they called ' the inimitable. ' They
visited each other alternately every day; and the pro-
fusion of their entertainments is almost incredible.
Philotas, a physician of Amphissa, who was at that
time pursuing his studies in Alexandria, told my
grandfather Lamprias, that, being acquainted with one
of Antony's cooks, he was invited to see the prepara-
tions for supper. When he came into the kitchen,
besides an infinite variety of other provisions, he ob-
served eight wild boars roasting whole; and expressed
his surprise at the number of the company for whom
this enormous provision must have been made. The
cook laughed, and said that the company did not ex-
ceed twelve; but that, as every dish was to be roasted
to a single turn, and as Antony was uncertain as to
the time when he would sup, particularly if an extra-
ordinary bottle, or an extraordinary vein of conversa-
tion was going round, it was necessary to have a suc-
cession of suppers. Philotas added, that, being after-
wards in the service of Antony's eldest son by Fulvia,
he was admitted to sup with him when he did not sup
with his father; and it once happened, that when ano-
ther physician at table had tired the company with his
noise and impertinence, he silenced him with the fol-
lowing sophism: 'There are some degrees of a fever
in which cold water is good for a man: every man
who has a fever has it in some degree; and therefore
cold water is good for every man in a fever. ' The im-
pertinent was struck dumb with this syllogism; and
Antony's son, who laughed at his distress, to reward
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? ANToNY.
27
Philotas for his good offices, pointing to a magnificent
sideboard of plate, said, ' All that Philotas is yours! '
Philotas acknowleged the kind offer, but thought it
too much for such a boy to give. And afterwards,
when a servant brought the plate to him in a chest,
that he might put his seal on it, he refused, and, in-
deed, was afraid, to accept it: on which the servant
said, ' What are you afraid of? Do not you consider
that this is a present from the son of Antony, who
could easily give you its weight in gold? However,
I would recommend it to you to take the value of it in
money. In this plate there may be some curious pieces
of ancient workmanship that Antony may set a value
on. ' Such are the anecdotes which my grandfather
told me he had from Philotas.
Cleopatra was not limited to Plato's four kinds of
flattery.
She had an infinite variety of it. Whe-
ther Antony were in the gay, or the serious humor,
still she had something ready for his amusement. She
was with him night and day. She gamed, she drank,
she hunted, she reviewed with him. In his night
rambles, when he was reconnoitring the doors and
windows of the citizens, and throwing out jests on
them, she attended him in the habit of a servant, which
he also, on such occasions, affected to wear. From
these expeditions he frequently returned a sufferer
both in person and character. But though some of
the Alexandrians were displeased with this whimsical
humor, others enjoyed it, and said, that 'Antony
presented his comic parts in Alexandria, and reserved
the tragic for Rome. ' To mention all his follies would
be too trifling; but his fishing story must not be
omitted. He was fishing one day with Cleopatra, and
had ill success, which, in the presence of his mistress,
he looked on as a disgrace; he therefore ordered
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? 28 PLUTARCH.
one of the assistants to dive and put on his hook such
as had been taken before. This scheme he put in
practice three or four times, and Cleopatra perceived
it. She affected, however, to be surprised at his suc-
cess ; expressed her wonder to the people about her;
and, the day following, invited them to see fresh proofs
of it. When the day following came the vessel was
crowded with people; and as soon as Antony had let
down his line, she ordered one of her divers immediately
to put a salt fish on his hook. When Antony found he
had caught his fish, he drew up his line; and this, as
may be supposed, occasioned no small mirth amongst
the spectators. 'Go, general! ' 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.
brought over Munatius Plancus, who was at the head
of a considerable force at no great distance. Thus An-
tony was once more very powerful, and returned into
Italy with seventeen intire legions of foot, and ten
thousand horse. Besides these, he left six legions as a
PLUT. VoL. VII. B
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? 18
PLUTARCH.
garrison in Gaul, under the command of Varius, one
of his convivial companions, whom they called Cotylon.
Octavius, when he found that Cicero's object was to
restore the liberties of the commonwealth, soon aban-
doned him, and came to an accommodation with An-
tony. They met, together with Lepidus, in a small
river-island,1 where the conference lasted three days.
The empire of the world was divided amongst them
like a paternal inheritance; and this they found no
difficulty in settling. But whom they should kill, and
whom they should spare, it was not so easy to adjust,
while each was for saving his respective friends, and
putting to death his enemies. At length their resent-
ment against the latter overcame their kindness for the
former. Octavius gave up Cicero to Antony; and An-
tony sacrificed his uncle Lucius Caesar to Octavius;
while Lepidus had the privilege of putting to death his
own brother Paulus. Though others say that Lepi-
dus gave up Paulus to them, though they had required
him to put him to death himself. I believe there never
was any thing so atrocious, or so execrably savage as
this commerce of murder: for while a friend was given
up for an enemy received, the same action murdered
at once the friend and the enemy; and the destruction
of the former was still more horrible, because it had
not even resentment for its apology.
When this confederacy had taken place, the army
desired it might be confirmed by some alliance; and
Caesar, therefore, was to marry Claudia the daughter
of Fulvia, Antony's wife. As soon as this was deter-
mined they marked down such as they intended to
put to death, the number of which amounted to three
hundred, When Cicero was slain, Antony ordered
1 In the Rhine, not far from Bologna.
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? ANToNY.
19
his head, and the hand with which he wrote his Phi-
lippics, to be cut off; and when they were presented to
him he laughed, and exulted at the sight. After he
was satiated with looking on them, he ordered them to
be placed on the rostra in the forum: but this insult
on the dead was, in fact, an abuse of his own good
fortune, and of the power it had placed in his hands.
When his uncle Lucius Ca? sar was pursued by his
murderers, he fled for refuge to his sister; and when
the pursuers had broken into the house, and were
forcing their way into his chamber, she placed herself
at the door, and stretching forth her hands, she cried,
'You shall not kill Lucius Caesar till you have first
killed me, the mother of your general. ' By this means
she saved her brother.
This triumvirate was very odious to the Romans;
but Antony bore the greater blame; for he was not
only older than Caesar, and more powerful than Lepi-
dus; but when he was no longer under difficulties, he
fell back into the former irregularities of his life. His
abandoned and dissolute manners were the more ob-
noxious to the people by his living in the house of
Pompey the Great, a man no less distinguished by his
temperance and modesty than by the honor of three
triumphs. They were mortified to see those doors
shut with insolence against magistrates, generals, and
ambassadors; while they were open to players, jug-
glers, and sottish sycophants, on whom he spent the
greatest part of those treasures he had amassed by
rapine. Indeed, the triumvirate were by no means
scrupulous about the manner in which they procured
their wealth. They seized and sold the estates of those
who had been proscribed, and by false accusations de-
frauded their widows and orphans. They burdened
the people with insupportable impositions; and, being
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PLUTARCH.
"informed that large sums of money, the property both
of strangers and citizens, were deposited in the hands
of the vestals, they took them away by violence. When
Caesar found that Antony's covetousness was as bound-
less as his prodigality, he demanded a division of the
treasure. The army too was divided. Antony and
Caesar went into Macedonia against Brutus and Cas-
sius ; and the government of Rome was left to Lepi-
dus.
When they had encamped in sight of the enemy,
Antony opposite to Cassius, and Caesar to Brutus, Cae-
sar effected nothing extraordinary, but Antony's efforts
were still successful. In the first engagement Caesar
was defeated by Brutus; his camp was taken, and he
narrowly escaped by flight; though, in his Commenta-
ries, he tells us that, on account of a dream which hap-
pened to one of his friends, he had withdrawn before the
battle. Cassius was defeated by Antony; and yet there
are those, too, who say that Antony was not present
at the battle, but only joined in the pursuit afterwards.
As Cassius knew nothing of the success of Brutus, he
was killed at his own earnest intreaty, by his freed-
man Pindarus. Another battle was fought soon after,
in which Brutus was defeated; and, in consequence of
that, slew himself. Caesar happened at that time to
be sick, and the honor of this victory likewise, of
course, fell to Antony. As he stood over the body of
Brutus, he slightly reproached him for the death of
his brother Caius, whom, in revenge for the death of
Cicero, Brutus had slain in Macedonia. It appeared,
however, that Antony did not impute the death of
Caius so much to Brutus as to Hortensius; for he or-
dered the latter to be slain on his brother's tomb. He
threw his purple robe over the body of Brutus, and
ordered one of his freedmen to do the honors of his
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? ANToNY. 21
funeral. "When he was afterwards informed that he
had not burned the robe with the body, and that he
had retained part of the money which was to be ex-
pended on the ceremony, he commanded him to be
slain. After this victory Caesar was conveyed to
Rome; and it was expected that his distemper would
put an end to his life. Antony, having traversed some
of the provinces of Asia for the purpose of raising
money, passed with a large army into Greece. Con-
tributions, indeed, were absolutely necessary, when a
gratuity of five thousand drachmas had been promised
to every private man.
Antony's behavior was at first very acceptable to the
Grecians. He attended the disputes of their logicians,
their public diversions, and religious ceremonies. He
was mild in the administration of justice, and affected
to be called the friend of Greece; but particularly the
friend of Athens, to which he made considerable pre-
sents. The Megarensians vying with the Athenians in
exhibiting something curious, invited him to see their
senate-house; and when they asked him how he liked
it, he told them it was little and ruinous. He took the
dimensions of the temple of Apollo Pythius, as if he
had intended to repair it; and, indeed, he promised as
much to the senate.
But when, leaving Lucius Censorinus in Greece, he
once more passed into Asia; when he had enriched
himself with the wealth of the country; when his
house was the resort of obsequious kings, and queens
contended for his favor by their beauty and munifi-
cence; then, whilst Caesar was harassed with seditions
at Rome, Antony once more gave up his soul to luxury,
and fell into all the dissipations of his former life. The
Anaxenores and the Zutlii, the harpers and pipers,
Metrodorus the dancer, the whole corps of the Asiatic
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? 22
PLUTARCH.
drama, who far outdid in buffoonery the poor wretches
of Italy; these were the people of the court, the folks
that carried all before them. In short, all was riot
and disorder: and Asia, in some measure, resembled
the city mentioned by Sophocles, that was at once
filled with the perfumes of sacrifices, songs, and
groans.
When Antony entered Ephesus, the women in the
dress of Bacchanals, and men and boys habited like
Pan and the satyrs, marched before him. Nothing
was to be seen through the whole city but ivy crowns,
and spears wreathed with ivy, harps, flutes, and pipes,
while Antony was hailed by the name of Bacchus;
Bacchus! ever kind and free!
And such, indeed, he was to some; but to others he
was savage and severe. He deprived many noble fa-
milies of their fortunes, and bestowed them on syco-
phants and parasites. Many were represented to be
dead who were still living, and commissions were
given to his knaves for seizing their estates. He gave
his cook the estate of a Magnesian citizen for dressing
one supper to his taste: but when he laid a double im-
post on Asia, Hybrias, the agent for the people, told
him, with a pleasantry that was agreeable to his hu-
mor, that ' if he doubled the taxes, he ought to double
the seasons too, and supply the people with two sum-
mers and two winters. ' He added, at the same time,
with a little more asperity, that, ' as Asia had already
raised two hundred thousand talents, if he had not re-
ceived it, he should demand it of those who had; but,'
said he, ' if you received it, and yet have it not, we are
undone. ' This touched him sensibly; for he was igno-
rant of many things that were transacted under his au-
thority; not that he was indolent, but unsuspecting.
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? ANToNY.
He had a simplicity in his nature, without much pene-
tration: but when he found that faults had been com-
mitted, he expressed the greatest concern and acknow-
legement to the sufferers. He was prodigal in his re-
wards, and severe in his punishments; but the excess
was rather in the former than in the latter. The in-
sulting raillery of his conversation carried its remedy
along with it; for he was perfectly liberal in allowing
the retort, and gave and took with the same good hu-
mor. This, however, had a bad effect on his affairs.
He imagined that those who treated him with freedom
in conversation would not be insincere in business.
He did not perceive that his sycophants were artful in
their freedom; that they used it as a kind of poignant
sauce to prevent the satiety of flattery; and that, by
taking these liberties with him at table, they knew well
that, when they complied with his opinions in business,
he would not think it the effect of complaisance, but a
conviction of his superior judgment.
Such was the frail, the flexible Antony, when the
love of Cleopatra came in to the completion of his
ruin. This awakened every dormant vice, inflamed
every guilty passion, and totally extinguished the
gleams of remaining virtue. It began in this manner:
when he first set out on his expedition against the
Parthians, he sent orders to Cleopatra to meet him in
Cilicia, that she might answer some accusations which
had been laid against her of assisting Cassius in the
war. Dellius, who went on this message, no sooner
observed the beauty and address of Cleopatra, than he
concluded that such a woman, far from having any
thing to apprehend from the resentment of Antony,
would certainly have great influence over him. He
therefore paid his court to the amiable Egyptian, and
solicited her to go, as Homer says, ' in her best attire,'
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? 24
PLUTARCH.
into Cilicia; assuring her that she had nothing to fear
from Antony, who was the most courtly general in the
world. Induced by his invitation, and in the confi-
dence of that beauty which had before touched the
hearts of Caesar and young Pompey, she entertained
no doubt of the conquest of Antony. When Caesar
and Pompey admired her she was young and inex-
perienced; but she was to meet Antony at an age when
beauty, in its full perfection, called in the maturity of
the understanding to its aid. Prepared, therefore,
with such treasures, ornaments, and presents, as were
suitable to the dignity and affluence of her kingdom,
but chiefly relying on her personal charms, she set off
for Cilicia.
Though she had received many pressing letters of
invitation from Antony and his friends, she held him in
such contempt, that she by no means took the most
expeditious mode of travelling. She sailed along the
river Cydnus in a most magnificent galley. The stern
was covered with gold, the sails were of purple, and
the oars were silver. These, in their motion, kept
time to the music of flutes, and pipes, and harps. The
queen, in the dress and character of Venus, lay under
a canopy embroidered with gold of the most exquisite
workmanship; while boys, like painted Cupids, stood
fanning her on each side of the sofa. Her maids
were of the most distinguished beauty, and, habited
like the Nereides and the Graces, assisted in the steer-
age and conduct of the vessel. The fragrance of burn-
ing incense was difi"used along the shores, which were
covered with multitudes of people. Some followed
the procession, and such numbers went down from the
city to see it, that Antony was at last left alone on the
tribunal. A rumor was soon spread that Venus was
come to feast with Bacchus, for the benefit of Asia.
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? ANToNY. 25
Antony sent to invite her to supper; but she thought
it his duty to wait on her; and, to show his politeness,
on her arrival, he complied. He was astonished at
the magnificence of the preparations; but particularly
at that multitude of lights, which were raised or let
down together, and disposed in such a variety of
square and. circular figures, that they afforded one of
the most pleasing spectacles that has been recorded in
history. The day following Antony invited her to sup
with him, and was ambitious to outdo her in the ele-
gance and magnificence of the entertainment. But he
was soon convinced that he came short of her in both,
and was the first to ridicule the meanness and vul-
garity of his treat. As she found that Antony's humor
savored more of the camp than of the court, she fell
into the same coarse vein, and played on him without
the least reserve. Such was the variety of her powers
in conversation: her beauty, it is said, was neither
astonishing nor inimitable; but it derived a force from
her wit, and her fascinating manner, which was ab-
solutely irresistible. Her voice was delightfully me-
lodious, and had the same variety of modulation as
an instrument of many strings. She spoke most lan-
guages; and there were but few of the foreign am-
bassadors whom she answered by an interpreter. She
gave audience herself to the Ethiopians, the Troglo-
dites, the Hebrews, Arabs, Syrians, Medes, and Par-
thians. Nor were these all the languages she under-
stood, though the kings of Egypt, her predecessors,
could hardly ever attain to the Egyptian; and some of
them forgot even their original Macedonian.
Antony was so wholly engrossed with her charms, that
while his wife Fulvia was maintaining his interest at
Rome against Caesar, and the Parthian forces, assem-
bled under the conduct of Labienus in Mesopotamia,
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? 26
PLUTARCH.
were ready to enter Syria, she led her amorous captive
in triumph to Alexandria. There the veteran warrior
fell into every idle excess of puerile amusement, and
offered at the shrine of luxury, what Antipho calls
the greatest of all sacrifices, 'the sacrifice of time. '
This mode of life, they called ' the inimitable. ' They
visited each other alternately every day; and the pro-
fusion of their entertainments is almost incredible.
Philotas, a physician of Amphissa, who was at that
time pursuing his studies in Alexandria, told my
grandfather Lamprias, that, being acquainted with one
of Antony's cooks, he was invited to see the prepara-
tions for supper. When he came into the kitchen,
besides an infinite variety of other provisions, he ob-
served eight wild boars roasting whole; and expressed
his surprise at the number of the company for whom
this enormous provision must have been made. The
cook laughed, and said that the company did not ex-
ceed twelve; but that, as every dish was to be roasted
to a single turn, and as Antony was uncertain as to
the time when he would sup, particularly if an extra-
ordinary bottle, or an extraordinary vein of conversa-
tion was going round, it was necessary to have a suc-
cession of suppers. Philotas added, that, being after-
wards in the service of Antony's eldest son by Fulvia,
he was admitted to sup with him when he did not sup
with his father; and it once happened, that when ano-
ther physician at table had tired the company with his
noise and impertinence, he silenced him with the fol-
lowing sophism: 'There are some degrees of a fever
in which cold water is good for a man: every man
who has a fever has it in some degree; and therefore
cold water is good for every man in a fever. ' The im-
pertinent was struck dumb with this syllogism; and
Antony's son, who laughed at his distress, to reward
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? ANToNY.
27
Philotas for his good offices, pointing to a magnificent
sideboard of plate, said, ' All that Philotas is yours! '
Philotas acknowleged the kind offer, but thought it
too much for such a boy to give. And afterwards,
when a servant brought the plate to him in a chest,
that he might put his seal on it, he refused, and, in-
deed, was afraid, to accept it: on which the servant
said, ' What are you afraid of? Do not you consider
that this is a present from the son of Antony, who
could easily give you its weight in gold? However,
I would recommend it to you to take the value of it in
money. In this plate there may be some curious pieces
of ancient workmanship that Antony may set a value
on. ' Such are the anecdotes which my grandfather
told me he had from Philotas.
Cleopatra was not limited to Plato's four kinds of
flattery.
She had an infinite variety of it. Whe-
ther Antony were in the gay, or the serious humor,
still she had something ready for his amusement. She
was with him night and day. She gamed, she drank,
she hunted, she reviewed with him. In his night
rambles, when he was reconnoitring the doors and
windows of the citizens, and throwing out jests on
them, she attended him in the habit of a servant, which
he also, on such occasions, affected to wear. From
these expeditions he frequently returned a sufferer
both in person and character. But though some of
the Alexandrians were displeased with this whimsical
humor, others enjoyed it, and said, that 'Antony
presented his comic parts in Alexandria, and reserved
the tragic for Rome. ' To mention all his follies would
be too trifling; but his fishing story must not be
omitted. He was fishing one day with Cleopatra, and
had ill success, which, in the presence of his mistress,
he looked on as a disgrace; he therefore ordered
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? 28 PLUTARCH.
one of the assistants to dive and put on his hook such
as had been taken before. This scheme he put in
practice three or four times, and Cleopatra perceived
it. She affected, however, to be surprised at his suc-
cess ; expressed her wonder to the people about her;
and, the day following, invited them to see fresh proofs
of it. When the day following came the vessel was
crowded with people; and as soon as Antony had let
down his line, she ordered one of her divers immediately
to put a salt fish on his hook. When Antony found he
had caught his fish, he drew up his line; and this, as
may be supposed, occasioned no small mirth amongst
the spectators. 'Go, general! ' 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.
