Curio, the friend of An-
tony, who had changed sides, and joined Caesar,
brought Antony likewise over to his interest.
tony, who had changed sides, and joined Caesar,
brought Antony likewise over to his interest.
Plutarch - Lives - v7
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? 111 ash. .
Ysi
CONTENTS
THE SEVENTH VOLUME.
THE LIVES.
PAGE
Antony . . . . . . . 1
Demetrius and Antony compared . . . . 84
Dion 89
Marcus Brutus . . . . . . 141
Dion and Brutus compared . . . . 19$
Artaxerxes . . . . . . . 198
Aratus . . . . . . . 283-
Oalba 289>
Otho 320
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? ILLUSTRATIONS
TO
THE SEVENTH VOLUME.
PACE
Head of Antony . . . . . . 1
-- Dion . . . . . . 89
-- Marcus Brutus . . . . . 141
-- Artaxerxes . . . . . 198
-- Aratus . . . . . . 233
-- Galba 289
-- Otho 320
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? PLUTARCH'S LIVES.
ANTONY.
THe grandfather of Marc Antony was Antony the ora-
tor, who followed the faction of Sylla, and was put to
death by Marius. His father was Antony, surnamed
the Cretan, a man of no figure or consequence in the
political world, but distinguished for his integrity, bene-
volence, and liberality; of which the following little
circumstance is a sufficient proof. His fortune was not
large; and his wife, therefore, very prudently laid some
restraint on his munificent disposition. An acquaint-
ance of his, who was under some pecuniary difficulties,
applied to him for assistance. Antony, having no mo-
ney at command, ordered his boy to bring him a silver
basin full of water, under a pretence of shaving. After
the boy was dismissed, he gave the basin to his friend,
and bade him make what use of it be thought proper.
The disappearance of the basin occasioned no small
commotion in the family; and Antony finding his wife
prepared to take a severe account of the servants,
begged her pardon, and told her the truth.
His wife's name was Julia. She was of the family
ef the Caesars, and a woman of distinguished merit and
modesty. Under her auspices Marc Antony received
PLUT. VoL. VII. A
fa
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? 2
PLUTARCH.
his education, when, after the death of his father, she
married Cornelius Lentulus, whom Cicero put to death
for engaging in the conspiracy of Catiline. This was
the origin of that lasting enmity which subsisted be-
tween Cicero and Antony. The latter affirmed that
his mother J ulia was even obliged to beg the body of
Cicero's wife, for interment. But this is not true ; for
none of those who suffered on the same occasion, under
Cicero, were refused this privilege. Antony was en-
gaging in his person, and was unfortunate enough to
fall into the good graces and friendship of Curio, a
man who was devoted to every species of licentious-
ness, and who, to render Antony the more dependent
on him, led him into all the excesses of indulging in
wine and revelry, and all the expenses that such indul-
gences are attended with. Of course, he was soon
deeply involved in debt, and owed at least two hun-
dred and fifty talents, while he was a very young man.
Curio was bound for the payment of this money; and
his father being informed of it, banished Antony from
his house. Thus dismissed, he attached himself to
Clodius, that pestilent and audacious tribune, who
threw the state into such dreadful disorder; till, weary
of his mad measures, and fearful of his opponents, he
passed into Greece, where he employed himself in
military exercises, and the study of eloquence. The
Asiatic style was then much in vogue, and Antony fell
naturally into it; for it was correspondent with his
manners, which were vain, pompous, insolent, and as-
suming.
In Greece he received an invitation from Gabinius
the proconsul, to make a campaign with him in Syria.
This invitation he refused to accept as a private man;
but being appointed to the command of the cavalry, he
attended him. His first operation was against Aristo-
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? ANToNY. 3
bulus, who had excited the Jews to revolt. He was the
first who scaled the wall; aDd this he did in the highest
part. He drove Aristobulus from all his forts; and,
afterwards, with a handful of men, defeated his nume-
rous army in a pitched battle. Most of the enemy
were slain, and Aristobulus and his son were taken
prisoners. On the conclusion of this war, Gabinius
was solicited by Ptolemy to carry his arms into Egypt,
and restore him to his kingdom. The reward of this
service was to be ten thousand talents. Most of the
officers disapproved of the expedition; and Gabinius
himself did not readily enter into it, though the money
pleaded strongly in its behalf. Antony, however, am-
bitious of great enterprises, and vain of gratifying a
suppliant king, used every means to draw Gabinius
into the service, and prevailed. It was the general
opinion that the march to Pelusium was more dange-
rous than the war that was to follow: for they were to
pass over a sandy and unwatered country, by the filthy
marsh of Serbonis, whose stagnant ooze the Egyptians
call the exhalations of Typhon; though it is probably
no more than the drainings of the Red Sea, which is
there separated from the Mediterranean only by a
small neck of land.
Antony being ordered thither with the cavalry, not
only seized the straits, but took the large city of Pelu-
sium, and made the garrison prisoners. By this ope-
ration he at once opened a secure passage for the army,
and a fair prospect of victory for their general. The
same love of glory which was so serviceable to his
own party, was, on this occasion, advantageous to the
enemy; for when Ptolemy entered Pelusium, in the
rage of revenge, he would have put the citizens to
death, but Antony resolutely opposed it, and prevented
him from executing his horrid purpose. In the several
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? 4
-
PLUTARCH.
actions where he was concerned, he gave distinguished
proofs of his conduct and valor; hut especially in that
manoeuvre where, by wheeling about and attacking the
enemy in the rear, he enabled those who charged in
front to gain a complete victory: for this action he re-
ceived suitable honors and rewards.
His humane care of the body of Archelaus, who fell
in the battle, was taken notice of even by the common
men. He had been his intimate friend, and connected
with him in the rights of hospitality; and though he
was obliged, by his duty, to oppose him in the field,
he no sooner heard that he had fallen than he ordered
search to be made for his body, and interred it with
regal magnificence. This conduct made him respected
in Alexandria, and admired by the Romans.
Antony had a noble dignity of countenance, a grace-
ful length of beard, a large forehead, an aquiline nose;
and, on the whole, the same manly aspect that we see
in the pictures and statues of Hercules. There was,
indeed, an ancient tradition that his family was de-
scended from Hercules, by a son of his called Anteon;
and it was no wonder if Antony sought to confirm this
opinion, by affecting to resemble him in his air and his
dress. Thus, when he appeared in public, he wore
his vest girt on the hips, a large sword, and over all a
coarse mantle. That kind of conduct, which would
seem disagreeable to others, rendered him the darling
of the army. He talked with the soldiers in their own
swaggering and ribald strain, ate and drank with them
in public, and would stand to take his victuals at their
common table. He was pleasant on the subject of his
amours, ready in assisting the intrigues of others, and
easy under the raillery to which he was subjected
by his own. His liberality to the soldiers, and to his
friends, was the first foundation of his advancement,
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? ANToNY.
and continued to support him in that power which he
was otherwise weakening by a thousand irregularities.
One instance of his liberality I must mention : he had
ordered two hundred and fifty thousand drachmas
(which the Romans call decies) to be given to one of
his friends. His steward, who was startled at the ex-
travagance of the sum, laid the silver in a heap, that
he might see it as he passed. He saw it, and inquired
what it was for. 'It is the sum,' answered the steward,
'that you ordered for a present. ' Antony perceived
his envious design, and, to mortify him still more, said
coolly, 'I really thought the sum would have made
a better figure. It is too little: let it be doubled. '1
This, however, was in the latter part of his life.
Rome was divided into two parties. Pompey was
with the senate. The people were for bringing Caesar
with his army out of Gaul.
Curio, the friend of An-
tony, who had changed sides, and joined Caesar,
brought Antony likewise over to his interest. The
influence he had obtained by his eloquence, and by
that profusion of money in which he was supported by
Caesar, enabled him to make Antony tribune of the
people, and afterwards augur. Antony was no sooner
in power than Caesar found the advantage of his ser-
vices. In the first place, he opposed the consul Mar-
cellus, whose design was to give Pompey the command
of the old legions, and, at the same time, to empower
him to raise new ones. On this occasion he obtained a
decree, that the forces then on foot should be sent into
Syria, and join Bibulus in carrying on the war against
the Parthians; and that none should give in their
names to serve under Pompey. On another occasion,
1 The same story is told of Alexander.
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? 6
PLUTARCH.
when the senate would neither receive Cwsar's letters,
nor suffer them to be read, he read them by virtue of
Jiis tribunitial authority; and the requests of Caesar
appearing moderate and reasonable, by this means he
brought over many to his interest. Two questions
were at length put in the senate; one, 'Whether
Pompey should dismiss bis army? ' the other, ' Whe-
ther Caesar should give up his? ' There were but a few
votes for the former; a large majority for the latter.
Then Antony stood up, and put the question, 'Whe-
ther both Caesar and Pompey should not dismiss their
armies V This motion was received with great accla-
mations, and Antony was applauded, and desired to
put it to the vote. This being opposed by the consuls,
the friends of Caesar made other proposals, which
seemed by no means unreasonable : but they were over-
ruled by Cato; and Antony commanded, by Lentulus
the consul, to leave the house. He left them with
bitter execrations; and disguising himself like a ser-
vant, accompanied only by Quintus Cassius, he hired
a carriage, and went immediately to Caesar. As soon
as they arrived, they exclaimed that nothing was con-
ducted at Rome, according to order or law; that even
the tribunes were refused the privilege of speaking,
and whoever would rise in defence of the right must
be expelled, and exposed to personal danger.
Caesar on this marched his army into Italy, and
hence it was observed by Cicero in his Philippics, that
Antony was no less the cause of the civil war in Rome,
than Helen had been of the Trojan war. There is,
however, but little truth in this assertion. Caesar was
not so much a slave to the impulse of resentment, as to
enter on so desperate a measure, if it had not been
premeditated. Nor would he have carried war into
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? ANToNY.
7
the bowels of his country, merely because he saw
Antony and Cassius flying to him in a mean dress and
a hired carriage. At the same time, these things might
give some color to the commencement of those hostili-
ties which had been long determined. Caesar's mo-
tive was the same which had before driven Alexander
and Cyrus over the ruins of humankind--the insatiable
hist of empire, the frantic ambition of being the first
man on earth, which he knew he could not be, while
Pompey was yet alive.
As soon as he had arrived at Rome, and had driven
Pompey out of Italy, his first design was to attack his
legions in Spain, and having a fleet in readiness, to go
afterwards in pursuit of Pompey himself, while, in the
mean time, Rome was left to the government of Le-
pidus the pretor, and Italy and the army to the com-
mand of Antony the tribune. Antony, by the sociabi-
lity of his disposition, soon made himself agreeable
to the soldiers; for he ate and drank with them, and
made them presents to the utmost of his ability. To
others, his conduct was less acceptable. He was too in-
dolent to attend to the cause of the injured, too violent
and too impatient when he was applied to on business,
and infamous -for his adulteries. In short, though
there was nothing tyrannical in the government of
Caesar, it was rendered odious by the ill conduct of his
friends; and as Antony had the greatest share of the
power, so he bore the greatest part of the blame.
Caesar, notwithstanding, on his return from Spain,
connived at his irregularities; and, indeed, in the mili-
tary appointment he had given him, he had not judged
improperly; for Antony was a brave, skilful, and
active general.
Ca? sar embarked at Brundusium, sailed over the
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PLUTARCH.
Ionian sea with a small number of troops, and sent
back the fleet, with orders that Antony and Gabinius
should put the army on board, and proceed as fast as
posssible to Macedonia. Gabinius was afraid of the
sea, for it was winter, and the passage was dangerous.
He therefore marched his forces a long way round
by land. Antony, on the other hand, being apprehen-
sive that Caesar might be surrounded and overcome by
his enemies, beat off Libo, who lay at anchor in the
mouth of the haven of Brundusium. By sending out
several small vessels, he encompassed Libo's galleys
separately, and obliged them to retire. By this means
he found an opportunity to embark about twenty thou-
sand foot, and eight hundred horse; and with these he
set sail. The enemy discovered and made up to him;
but he escaped by favor of a strong gale from the
south, which made the sea so rough that the pursuers
could not reach him. The same wind, however, at first
drove him on a rocky shore, on which the sea bore so
hard, that there appeared no hope of escaping ship-
wreck: but after a little, it turned to the south-west,
and blowing from land to the main sea, Antony sailed
in safety, with the satisfaction of seeing the wrecks of
the enemy's fleet scattered along the coast. The storm
had driven their ships on the rocks, and many of them
went to pieces. Antony made his advantage of this
disaster; for he took several prisoners, and a consi-
derable booty. He likewise made himself master of
the town of Lissus; and, by the seasonable arrival of
his reinforcement, the affairs of Caesar wore a more
promising aspect.
Antony distinguished himself in every battle that
was fought. Twice he stopped the army in its flight,
brought them back to the charge, and gained the vie-
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? ANToNY.
9
tory; so that, in point of military reputation, he was
inferior only to Caesar. What opinion Caesar had of
his abilities appeared in the last decisive battle at
Pharsalia. He led the right wing himself, and gave
the left to Antony, as to the ablest of his officers.
After this battle, Caesar being appointed dictator, went
in pursuit of Pompey, and sent Antony to Rome in
character of general of the horse. This officer is next
in power to the dictator, and in his absence he com-
mands alone: for, after the election of a dictator, all
other magistrates, the tribunes only excepted, are di-
vested of their authority.
Dolabella, one of the tribunes, a young man, who
was fond of innovations, proposed a law for abolishing
debts, and solicited his friend Antony, who was ever
ready to gratify the people, to join him in this mea-
sure. On the other hand, Asinius and Trebellius dis-
suaded him from it. Antony happened, at this time, to
suspect a criminal acquaintance between Dolabella and
his wife, whom, on that account, he dismissed, though
she was his first cousin, and daughter to Caius Anto-
nius, who had been colleague with Cicero. In conse-
quence of this he joined Asinius, and opposed Dola-
bella. The latter had taken possession of the forum,
with a design to pass his law by force; and Antony
being ordered by the senate to repel force with force,
attacked him, killed several of his men, and lost some
of his own.
By this action he forfeited the favor of the people.
But this was not the only thing that rendered him ob-
noxious; for men of sense and virtue, as Cicero ob-
serves, could not but condemn his nocturnal revels,
his enormous extravagance, his scandalous levity,
his sleeping in the day, his walks to carry off the
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PLUTARCH.
qualms of debauchery, and his entertainments on the
marriages of players and buffoons. Sergius the player
had the greatest interest with him; and Cytheris, a
lady of the same profession, had the management of his
heart. She attended him in his excursions; and her
equipage was by no means inferior to his mother's.
The people were offended at the pomp of his travelling
plate, which was more fit for the ornament of a tri-
umph; at his erecting tents on the road, by groves
and rivers, for the most luxurious dinners; at his cha-
riots, drawn by lions; and at his lodging his ladies, and
female musicians in the houses of modest and sober
people. This dissatisfaction at the conduct of Antony-
could not but be increased by the comparative view of
Caesar. While the latter was supporting the fatigues
of a military life, the former was indulging himself in
all the dissipation of luxury; and, by means of his
delegated power, insulting the citizens.
This conduct occasioned a variety of disturbances in
Rome, and gave the soldiers an opportunity to abuse
and plunder 4he people. Therefore, when Caesar re-
turned to Rome, he pardoned Dolabella; and being
created consul the third time, he took Lepidus, and
not Antony, for his colleague. Antony purchased
Pompey's house; but, when he was required to make
the payment, he expressed himself in very angry terms;
and this, he tells us, was the reason why he would not
go with Caesar into Africa. His former services he
thought insufficiently repaid. Caesar, however, by his
disapprobation of Antony's conduct, seems to have
thrown some restraint on his dissolute manner of life.
He now took it into his head to marry, and made choice
of Fulvia, the widow of the seditious Clodius, a woman
by no means adapted to domestic employments, nor
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? ANToNY. II
even contented with ruling her husband as a private
njan. Fulvia's ambition was to govern those that go-
verned, and to command the leaders of armies. It
was to Fulvia therefore that Cleopatra was obliged for
teaching Antony due submission to female authority.
He had gone through such a course of discipline, as
made him perfectly tractable when he came into her
hands.
He endeavored, however, to amuse the violent spirit
of Fulvia, by many whimsical and pleasant follies.
When Caesar, after his success in Spain, was on his
return to Rome, Antony, amongst others, went to meet
him; but a report prevailing that Caesar was killed,
and that the enemy was marching into Italy, he re-
turned immediately to Rome, and, in the disguise of a
slave, went to his house by night, pretending that he
had letters from Antony to Fulvia. He was intro-
duced to her with his head muffled up; and, before
she received the letter, she asked, with impatience, if
Antony were well. He presented the letter to her in
silence; and, while she was opening it, he threw his
arms around her neck, and kissed her. We mention
this as one instance, out of many, of his pleasantries.
When Caesar returned from Spain, most of the prin-
cipal citizens went some days' journey to meet him;
but Antony met with the most distinguished reception,
and had the honor to ride with Caesar in the same cha-
riot. After them came Brutus Albinus, and Octavius,
the son of Caesar's niece, who was afterwards called
Augustus Caesar, and for many years was emperor of
Rome. Caesar being created consul for the fifth time,
chose Antony for his colleague; but as he intended to
quit the consulship in favor of Dolabella, he acquainted
the senate with his resolution. Antony, notwithstand-
ing, opposed this measure, and loaded Dolabella with
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? 12
PLUTARCH.
the most flagrant reproaches. Dolahella did not fail
to return the abuse; and Caesar, offended at their in-
decent behavior, put off the affair till another time.
When it was again proposed, Antony insisted that the
. omens from the flight of birds were against the mea-
sure. Thus Caesar was obliged to give up Dolabella,
who was not a little mortified by his disappointment.
It appears, however, that Caesar had as little regard
for Dolabella as he had for Antony; for when both
were accused of designs against him, he said, contemp-
tuously enough, 'It is not these fat sleek fellows that
I am afraid of, but the pale and the lean:' by whom
he meant Brutus and Cassius, who afterwards put him
to death. Antony, without intending it, gave them a
pretence for that undertaking. When the Romans
were celebrating the Lupercalia, Caesar, in a triumphal
habit, sat on the rostrum to see the race. On this oc-
casion many of the young nobility, and the magistracy,
anoint with oil, and having white thongs in their
hands, run about and strike, as in sport, every one
they meet. Antony was of the number; but, regard-
less of the ceremonies of the institution, he took a
garland of laurel, and wreathing it in a diadem, ran to
the rostrum ; where, being lifted up by his companions,
he would have placed it on the head of Caesar; inti-
mating thereby the conveyance of regal power. Cae-
sar, however, seemed to decline the offer, and was
therefore applauded by the people. Antony persisted
in his design; and for some time there was a contest
between them; while he that offered the diadem had
the applause of his friends, and he that refused it the
acclamations of the multitude. Thus, what is singular
enough, while the Romans endured every thing that
regal power could impose, they dreaded the name of
king as destructive of their liberty. Caesar was much
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? ANToNY.
13
concerned at this transaction; and, uncovering his
neck, he offered his life to any one that would take it.
At length the diadem was placed on one of his statues,
but the tribunes took it off; on which the people fol-
lowed them home with great acclamations. After-
wards, however, Caesar showed that he resented this,
by turning those tribunes out of office. The enterprise
of Brutus and Cassius derived strength and encourage-
ment from these circumstances. To the rest of their
friends, whom they had selected for the purpose, they
wanted to draw over Antony. Trebonius, only, ob-
jected to him. He informed them that, in their jour-
ney to meet Caesar, he had been generally with him;
that he had sounded him on this business by hints,
which, though cautious, were intelligible; and that he
always expressed his disapprobation, though he never
betrayed the secret. On this it was proposed that
Antony should fall at the same time with Caesar, but
Brutus opposed it. An action, undertaken in support
of justice and the laws, he very properly thought,
should have nothing unjust attending it. Of Antony,
however, they were afraid, both in respect of his per-
sonal valor, and the influence of his office; and it was
agreed that, when Caesar was in the house, and they
were on the point of executing their purpose, Antony
should be amused without by some pretended dis-
course of business.
When, in consequence of these measures, Caesar was
slain, Antony absconded in the disguise of a slave; but
after he found that the consjiirators were assembled in
the capitol, and had no farther designs of massacre, be
invited them to come down, and sent his son to them as
an hostage. That night Cassius supped with him, and
Brutus with Lepidus. The day following he assembled
the senate, when he proposed that an act of amnesty
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? 14
PLUTARCH.
should be passed, and that provinces should be assigned
to Brutus and Cassius. The senate confirmed this, and,
at the same time, ratified the acts of Caesar. Thus An-
tony acquitted himself in this difficult affair with the
highest reputation; and, by saving Rome from a civil
war, he proved himself a very able and valuable poli-
tician. But the intoxication of glory drew him off
from these wise and moderate counsels; and, from his
influence with the people, he felt that, if Brutus were
borne down, he should be the first man iu Rome. With
this view, when Caesar's body was exposed in the forum,
he undertook the customary funeral oration ; and when
he found the people affected with his encomiums on the
deceased, he endeavored still more to excite their com-
passion by all that was pitiable or aggravating in the
massacre: for this purpose, in the close of his oration,
he took the robe from the dead body, and held it up to
them, bloody as it was, and pierced through with wea-
pons ; nor did he hesitate, at the same time, to call the
perpetrators of the deed villains and murderers. This
had such an effect on the people, that they immediately
tore up the benches and the tables in the forum, to
make a pile for the body. After they had duly dis-
charged the funeral rites, they snatched the burning
brands from the pile, and went to attack the houses of
the conspirators.
Brutus and his party now left the city, and Caesar's
friends joined Antony. Calphurnia, the relict of Cae-
sar, intrusted him with her treasure, which amounted
to four thousand talents. All Caesar's papers, which
contained a particular account of his designs, were like-
wise delivered up to him. Of these he made a very in-
genious use; for, by inserting in them what names he
thought proper, he made some of his friends magis-
trates, and others senators; some he recalled from
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? ANToNY.
15
exile, and others he dismissed from prison, on pretence
that all these things were so ordered hy Caesar. The
people that were thus favored the Romans called Cha-
ronites; hecause, to support their title, they had re-
course to the registers of the dead. The power of An-
tony, in short, was absolute.
? 111 ash. .
Ysi
CONTENTS
THE SEVENTH VOLUME.
THE LIVES.
PAGE
Antony . . . . . . . 1
Demetrius and Antony compared . . . . 84
Dion 89
Marcus Brutus . . . . . . 141
Dion and Brutus compared . . . . 19$
Artaxerxes . . . . . . . 198
Aratus . . . . . . . 283-
Oalba 289>
Otho 320
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? ILLUSTRATIONS
TO
THE SEVENTH VOLUME.
PACE
Head of Antony . . . . . . 1
-- Dion . . . . . . 89
-- Marcus Brutus . . . . . 141
-- Artaxerxes . . . . . 198
-- Aratus . . . . . . 233
-- Galba 289
-- Otho 320
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? PLUTARCH'S LIVES.
ANTONY.
THe grandfather of Marc Antony was Antony the ora-
tor, who followed the faction of Sylla, and was put to
death by Marius. His father was Antony, surnamed
the Cretan, a man of no figure or consequence in the
political world, but distinguished for his integrity, bene-
volence, and liberality; of which the following little
circumstance is a sufficient proof. His fortune was not
large; and his wife, therefore, very prudently laid some
restraint on his munificent disposition. An acquaint-
ance of his, who was under some pecuniary difficulties,
applied to him for assistance. Antony, having no mo-
ney at command, ordered his boy to bring him a silver
basin full of water, under a pretence of shaving. After
the boy was dismissed, he gave the basin to his friend,
and bade him make what use of it be thought proper.
The disappearance of the basin occasioned no small
commotion in the family; and Antony finding his wife
prepared to take a severe account of the servants,
begged her pardon, and told her the truth.
His wife's name was Julia. She was of the family
ef the Caesars, and a woman of distinguished merit and
modesty. Under her auspices Marc Antony received
PLUT. VoL. VII. A
fa
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? 2
PLUTARCH.
his education, when, after the death of his father, she
married Cornelius Lentulus, whom Cicero put to death
for engaging in the conspiracy of Catiline. This was
the origin of that lasting enmity which subsisted be-
tween Cicero and Antony. The latter affirmed that
his mother J ulia was even obliged to beg the body of
Cicero's wife, for interment. But this is not true ; for
none of those who suffered on the same occasion, under
Cicero, were refused this privilege. Antony was en-
gaging in his person, and was unfortunate enough to
fall into the good graces and friendship of Curio, a
man who was devoted to every species of licentious-
ness, and who, to render Antony the more dependent
on him, led him into all the excesses of indulging in
wine and revelry, and all the expenses that such indul-
gences are attended with. Of course, he was soon
deeply involved in debt, and owed at least two hun-
dred and fifty talents, while he was a very young man.
Curio was bound for the payment of this money; and
his father being informed of it, banished Antony from
his house. Thus dismissed, he attached himself to
Clodius, that pestilent and audacious tribune, who
threw the state into such dreadful disorder; till, weary
of his mad measures, and fearful of his opponents, he
passed into Greece, where he employed himself in
military exercises, and the study of eloquence. The
Asiatic style was then much in vogue, and Antony fell
naturally into it; for it was correspondent with his
manners, which were vain, pompous, insolent, and as-
suming.
In Greece he received an invitation from Gabinius
the proconsul, to make a campaign with him in Syria.
This invitation he refused to accept as a private man;
but being appointed to the command of the cavalry, he
attended him. His first operation was against Aristo-
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? ANToNY. 3
bulus, who had excited the Jews to revolt. He was the
first who scaled the wall; aDd this he did in the highest
part. He drove Aristobulus from all his forts; and,
afterwards, with a handful of men, defeated his nume-
rous army in a pitched battle. Most of the enemy
were slain, and Aristobulus and his son were taken
prisoners. On the conclusion of this war, Gabinius
was solicited by Ptolemy to carry his arms into Egypt,
and restore him to his kingdom. The reward of this
service was to be ten thousand talents. Most of the
officers disapproved of the expedition; and Gabinius
himself did not readily enter into it, though the money
pleaded strongly in its behalf. Antony, however, am-
bitious of great enterprises, and vain of gratifying a
suppliant king, used every means to draw Gabinius
into the service, and prevailed. It was the general
opinion that the march to Pelusium was more dange-
rous than the war that was to follow: for they were to
pass over a sandy and unwatered country, by the filthy
marsh of Serbonis, whose stagnant ooze the Egyptians
call the exhalations of Typhon; though it is probably
no more than the drainings of the Red Sea, which is
there separated from the Mediterranean only by a
small neck of land.
Antony being ordered thither with the cavalry, not
only seized the straits, but took the large city of Pelu-
sium, and made the garrison prisoners. By this ope-
ration he at once opened a secure passage for the army,
and a fair prospect of victory for their general. The
same love of glory which was so serviceable to his
own party, was, on this occasion, advantageous to the
enemy; for when Ptolemy entered Pelusium, in the
rage of revenge, he would have put the citizens to
death, but Antony resolutely opposed it, and prevented
him from executing his horrid purpose. In the several
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? 4
-
PLUTARCH.
actions where he was concerned, he gave distinguished
proofs of his conduct and valor; hut especially in that
manoeuvre where, by wheeling about and attacking the
enemy in the rear, he enabled those who charged in
front to gain a complete victory: for this action he re-
ceived suitable honors and rewards.
His humane care of the body of Archelaus, who fell
in the battle, was taken notice of even by the common
men. He had been his intimate friend, and connected
with him in the rights of hospitality; and though he
was obliged, by his duty, to oppose him in the field,
he no sooner heard that he had fallen than he ordered
search to be made for his body, and interred it with
regal magnificence. This conduct made him respected
in Alexandria, and admired by the Romans.
Antony had a noble dignity of countenance, a grace-
ful length of beard, a large forehead, an aquiline nose;
and, on the whole, the same manly aspect that we see
in the pictures and statues of Hercules. There was,
indeed, an ancient tradition that his family was de-
scended from Hercules, by a son of his called Anteon;
and it was no wonder if Antony sought to confirm this
opinion, by affecting to resemble him in his air and his
dress. Thus, when he appeared in public, he wore
his vest girt on the hips, a large sword, and over all a
coarse mantle. That kind of conduct, which would
seem disagreeable to others, rendered him the darling
of the army. He talked with the soldiers in their own
swaggering and ribald strain, ate and drank with them
in public, and would stand to take his victuals at their
common table. He was pleasant on the subject of his
amours, ready in assisting the intrigues of others, and
easy under the raillery to which he was subjected
by his own. His liberality to the soldiers, and to his
friends, was the first foundation of his advancement,
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? ANToNY.
and continued to support him in that power which he
was otherwise weakening by a thousand irregularities.
One instance of his liberality I must mention : he had
ordered two hundred and fifty thousand drachmas
(which the Romans call decies) to be given to one of
his friends. His steward, who was startled at the ex-
travagance of the sum, laid the silver in a heap, that
he might see it as he passed. He saw it, and inquired
what it was for. 'It is the sum,' answered the steward,
'that you ordered for a present. ' Antony perceived
his envious design, and, to mortify him still more, said
coolly, 'I really thought the sum would have made
a better figure. It is too little: let it be doubled. '1
This, however, was in the latter part of his life.
Rome was divided into two parties. Pompey was
with the senate. The people were for bringing Caesar
with his army out of Gaul.
Curio, the friend of An-
tony, who had changed sides, and joined Caesar,
brought Antony likewise over to his interest. The
influence he had obtained by his eloquence, and by
that profusion of money in which he was supported by
Caesar, enabled him to make Antony tribune of the
people, and afterwards augur. Antony was no sooner
in power than Caesar found the advantage of his ser-
vices. In the first place, he opposed the consul Mar-
cellus, whose design was to give Pompey the command
of the old legions, and, at the same time, to empower
him to raise new ones. On this occasion he obtained a
decree, that the forces then on foot should be sent into
Syria, and join Bibulus in carrying on the war against
the Parthians; and that none should give in their
names to serve under Pompey. On another occasion,
1 The same story is told of Alexander.
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? 6
PLUTARCH.
when the senate would neither receive Cwsar's letters,
nor suffer them to be read, he read them by virtue of
Jiis tribunitial authority; and the requests of Caesar
appearing moderate and reasonable, by this means he
brought over many to his interest. Two questions
were at length put in the senate; one, 'Whether
Pompey should dismiss bis army? ' the other, ' Whe-
ther Caesar should give up his? ' There were but a few
votes for the former; a large majority for the latter.
Then Antony stood up, and put the question, 'Whe-
ther both Caesar and Pompey should not dismiss their
armies V This motion was received with great accla-
mations, and Antony was applauded, and desired to
put it to the vote. This being opposed by the consuls,
the friends of Caesar made other proposals, which
seemed by no means unreasonable : but they were over-
ruled by Cato; and Antony commanded, by Lentulus
the consul, to leave the house. He left them with
bitter execrations; and disguising himself like a ser-
vant, accompanied only by Quintus Cassius, he hired
a carriage, and went immediately to Caesar. As soon
as they arrived, they exclaimed that nothing was con-
ducted at Rome, according to order or law; that even
the tribunes were refused the privilege of speaking,
and whoever would rise in defence of the right must
be expelled, and exposed to personal danger.
Caesar on this marched his army into Italy, and
hence it was observed by Cicero in his Philippics, that
Antony was no less the cause of the civil war in Rome,
than Helen had been of the Trojan war. There is,
however, but little truth in this assertion. Caesar was
not so much a slave to the impulse of resentment, as to
enter on so desperate a measure, if it had not been
premeditated. Nor would he have carried war into
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? ANToNY.
7
the bowels of his country, merely because he saw
Antony and Cassius flying to him in a mean dress and
a hired carriage. At the same time, these things might
give some color to the commencement of those hostili-
ties which had been long determined. Caesar's mo-
tive was the same which had before driven Alexander
and Cyrus over the ruins of humankind--the insatiable
hist of empire, the frantic ambition of being the first
man on earth, which he knew he could not be, while
Pompey was yet alive.
As soon as he had arrived at Rome, and had driven
Pompey out of Italy, his first design was to attack his
legions in Spain, and having a fleet in readiness, to go
afterwards in pursuit of Pompey himself, while, in the
mean time, Rome was left to the government of Le-
pidus the pretor, and Italy and the army to the com-
mand of Antony the tribune. Antony, by the sociabi-
lity of his disposition, soon made himself agreeable
to the soldiers; for he ate and drank with them, and
made them presents to the utmost of his ability. To
others, his conduct was less acceptable. He was too in-
dolent to attend to the cause of the injured, too violent
and too impatient when he was applied to on business,
and infamous -for his adulteries. In short, though
there was nothing tyrannical in the government of
Caesar, it was rendered odious by the ill conduct of his
friends; and as Antony had the greatest share of the
power, so he bore the greatest part of the blame.
Caesar, notwithstanding, on his return from Spain,
connived at his irregularities; and, indeed, in the mili-
tary appointment he had given him, he had not judged
improperly; for Antony was a brave, skilful, and
active general.
Ca? sar embarked at Brundusium, sailed over the
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? 8
PLUTARCH.
Ionian sea with a small number of troops, and sent
back the fleet, with orders that Antony and Gabinius
should put the army on board, and proceed as fast as
posssible to Macedonia. Gabinius was afraid of the
sea, for it was winter, and the passage was dangerous.
He therefore marched his forces a long way round
by land. Antony, on the other hand, being apprehen-
sive that Caesar might be surrounded and overcome by
his enemies, beat off Libo, who lay at anchor in the
mouth of the haven of Brundusium. By sending out
several small vessels, he encompassed Libo's galleys
separately, and obliged them to retire. By this means
he found an opportunity to embark about twenty thou-
sand foot, and eight hundred horse; and with these he
set sail. The enemy discovered and made up to him;
but he escaped by favor of a strong gale from the
south, which made the sea so rough that the pursuers
could not reach him. The same wind, however, at first
drove him on a rocky shore, on which the sea bore so
hard, that there appeared no hope of escaping ship-
wreck: but after a little, it turned to the south-west,
and blowing from land to the main sea, Antony sailed
in safety, with the satisfaction of seeing the wrecks of
the enemy's fleet scattered along the coast. The storm
had driven their ships on the rocks, and many of them
went to pieces. Antony made his advantage of this
disaster; for he took several prisoners, and a consi-
derable booty. He likewise made himself master of
the town of Lissus; and, by the seasonable arrival of
his reinforcement, the affairs of Caesar wore a more
promising aspect.
Antony distinguished himself in every battle that
was fought. Twice he stopped the army in its flight,
brought them back to the charge, and gained the vie-
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? ANToNY.
9
tory; so that, in point of military reputation, he was
inferior only to Caesar. What opinion Caesar had of
his abilities appeared in the last decisive battle at
Pharsalia. He led the right wing himself, and gave
the left to Antony, as to the ablest of his officers.
After this battle, Caesar being appointed dictator, went
in pursuit of Pompey, and sent Antony to Rome in
character of general of the horse. This officer is next
in power to the dictator, and in his absence he com-
mands alone: for, after the election of a dictator, all
other magistrates, the tribunes only excepted, are di-
vested of their authority.
Dolabella, one of the tribunes, a young man, who
was fond of innovations, proposed a law for abolishing
debts, and solicited his friend Antony, who was ever
ready to gratify the people, to join him in this mea-
sure. On the other hand, Asinius and Trebellius dis-
suaded him from it. Antony happened, at this time, to
suspect a criminal acquaintance between Dolabella and
his wife, whom, on that account, he dismissed, though
she was his first cousin, and daughter to Caius Anto-
nius, who had been colleague with Cicero. In conse-
quence of this he joined Asinius, and opposed Dola-
bella. The latter had taken possession of the forum,
with a design to pass his law by force; and Antony
being ordered by the senate to repel force with force,
attacked him, killed several of his men, and lost some
of his own.
By this action he forfeited the favor of the people.
But this was not the only thing that rendered him ob-
noxious; for men of sense and virtue, as Cicero ob-
serves, could not but condemn his nocturnal revels,
his enormous extravagance, his scandalous levity,
his sleeping in the day, his walks to carry off the
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? 10
PLUTARCH.
qualms of debauchery, and his entertainments on the
marriages of players and buffoons. Sergius the player
had the greatest interest with him; and Cytheris, a
lady of the same profession, had the management of his
heart. She attended him in his excursions; and her
equipage was by no means inferior to his mother's.
The people were offended at the pomp of his travelling
plate, which was more fit for the ornament of a tri-
umph; at his erecting tents on the road, by groves
and rivers, for the most luxurious dinners; at his cha-
riots, drawn by lions; and at his lodging his ladies, and
female musicians in the houses of modest and sober
people. This dissatisfaction at the conduct of Antony-
could not but be increased by the comparative view of
Caesar. While the latter was supporting the fatigues
of a military life, the former was indulging himself in
all the dissipation of luxury; and, by means of his
delegated power, insulting the citizens.
This conduct occasioned a variety of disturbances in
Rome, and gave the soldiers an opportunity to abuse
and plunder 4he people. Therefore, when Caesar re-
turned to Rome, he pardoned Dolabella; and being
created consul the third time, he took Lepidus, and
not Antony, for his colleague. Antony purchased
Pompey's house; but, when he was required to make
the payment, he expressed himself in very angry terms;
and this, he tells us, was the reason why he would not
go with Caesar into Africa. His former services he
thought insufficiently repaid. Caesar, however, by his
disapprobation of Antony's conduct, seems to have
thrown some restraint on his dissolute manner of life.
He now took it into his head to marry, and made choice
of Fulvia, the widow of the seditious Clodius, a woman
by no means adapted to domestic employments, nor
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? ANToNY. II
even contented with ruling her husband as a private
njan. Fulvia's ambition was to govern those that go-
verned, and to command the leaders of armies. It
was to Fulvia therefore that Cleopatra was obliged for
teaching Antony due submission to female authority.
He had gone through such a course of discipline, as
made him perfectly tractable when he came into her
hands.
He endeavored, however, to amuse the violent spirit
of Fulvia, by many whimsical and pleasant follies.
When Caesar, after his success in Spain, was on his
return to Rome, Antony, amongst others, went to meet
him; but a report prevailing that Caesar was killed,
and that the enemy was marching into Italy, he re-
turned immediately to Rome, and, in the disguise of a
slave, went to his house by night, pretending that he
had letters from Antony to Fulvia. He was intro-
duced to her with his head muffled up; and, before
she received the letter, she asked, with impatience, if
Antony were well. He presented the letter to her in
silence; and, while she was opening it, he threw his
arms around her neck, and kissed her. We mention
this as one instance, out of many, of his pleasantries.
When Caesar returned from Spain, most of the prin-
cipal citizens went some days' journey to meet him;
but Antony met with the most distinguished reception,
and had the honor to ride with Caesar in the same cha-
riot. After them came Brutus Albinus, and Octavius,
the son of Caesar's niece, who was afterwards called
Augustus Caesar, and for many years was emperor of
Rome. Caesar being created consul for the fifth time,
chose Antony for his colleague; but as he intended to
quit the consulship in favor of Dolabella, he acquainted
the senate with his resolution. Antony, notwithstand-
ing, opposed this measure, and loaded Dolabella with
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? 12
PLUTARCH.
the most flagrant reproaches. Dolahella did not fail
to return the abuse; and Caesar, offended at their in-
decent behavior, put off the affair till another time.
When it was again proposed, Antony insisted that the
. omens from the flight of birds were against the mea-
sure. Thus Caesar was obliged to give up Dolabella,
who was not a little mortified by his disappointment.
It appears, however, that Caesar had as little regard
for Dolabella as he had for Antony; for when both
were accused of designs against him, he said, contemp-
tuously enough, 'It is not these fat sleek fellows that
I am afraid of, but the pale and the lean:' by whom
he meant Brutus and Cassius, who afterwards put him
to death. Antony, without intending it, gave them a
pretence for that undertaking. When the Romans
were celebrating the Lupercalia, Caesar, in a triumphal
habit, sat on the rostrum to see the race. On this oc-
casion many of the young nobility, and the magistracy,
anoint with oil, and having white thongs in their
hands, run about and strike, as in sport, every one
they meet. Antony was of the number; but, regard-
less of the ceremonies of the institution, he took a
garland of laurel, and wreathing it in a diadem, ran to
the rostrum ; where, being lifted up by his companions,
he would have placed it on the head of Caesar; inti-
mating thereby the conveyance of regal power. Cae-
sar, however, seemed to decline the offer, and was
therefore applauded by the people. Antony persisted
in his design; and for some time there was a contest
between them; while he that offered the diadem had
the applause of his friends, and he that refused it the
acclamations of the multitude. Thus, what is singular
enough, while the Romans endured every thing that
regal power could impose, they dreaded the name of
king as destructive of their liberty. Caesar was much
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? ANToNY.
13
concerned at this transaction; and, uncovering his
neck, he offered his life to any one that would take it.
At length the diadem was placed on one of his statues,
but the tribunes took it off; on which the people fol-
lowed them home with great acclamations. After-
wards, however, Caesar showed that he resented this,
by turning those tribunes out of office. The enterprise
of Brutus and Cassius derived strength and encourage-
ment from these circumstances. To the rest of their
friends, whom they had selected for the purpose, they
wanted to draw over Antony. Trebonius, only, ob-
jected to him. He informed them that, in their jour-
ney to meet Caesar, he had been generally with him;
that he had sounded him on this business by hints,
which, though cautious, were intelligible; and that he
always expressed his disapprobation, though he never
betrayed the secret. On this it was proposed that
Antony should fall at the same time with Caesar, but
Brutus opposed it. An action, undertaken in support
of justice and the laws, he very properly thought,
should have nothing unjust attending it. Of Antony,
however, they were afraid, both in respect of his per-
sonal valor, and the influence of his office; and it was
agreed that, when Caesar was in the house, and they
were on the point of executing their purpose, Antony
should be amused without by some pretended dis-
course of business.
When, in consequence of these measures, Caesar was
slain, Antony absconded in the disguise of a slave; but
after he found that the consjiirators were assembled in
the capitol, and had no farther designs of massacre, be
invited them to come down, and sent his son to them as
an hostage. That night Cassius supped with him, and
Brutus with Lepidus. The day following he assembled
the senate, when he proposed that an act of amnesty
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? 14
PLUTARCH.
should be passed, and that provinces should be assigned
to Brutus and Cassius. The senate confirmed this, and,
at the same time, ratified the acts of Caesar. Thus An-
tony acquitted himself in this difficult affair with the
highest reputation; and, by saving Rome from a civil
war, he proved himself a very able and valuable poli-
tician. But the intoxication of glory drew him off
from these wise and moderate counsels; and, from his
influence with the people, he felt that, if Brutus were
borne down, he should be the first man iu Rome. With
this view, when Caesar's body was exposed in the forum,
he undertook the customary funeral oration ; and when
he found the people affected with his encomiums on the
deceased, he endeavored still more to excite their com-
passion by all that was pitiable or aggravating in the
massacre: for this purpose, in the close of his oration,
he took the robe from the dead body, and held it up to
them, bloody as it was, and pierced through with wea-
pons ; nor did he hesitate, at the same time, to call the
perpetrators of the deed villains and murderers. This
had such an effect on the people, that they immediately
tore up the benches and the tables in the forum, to
make a pile for the body. After they had duly dis-
charged the funeral rites, they snatched the burning
brands from the pile, and went to attack the houses of
the conspirators.
Brutus and his party now left the city, and Caesar's
friends joined Antony. Calphurnia, the relict of Cae-
sar, intrusted him with her treasure, which amounted
to four thousand talents. All Caesar's papers, which
contained a particular account of his designs, were like-
wise delivered up to him. Of these he made a very in-
genious use; for, by inserting in them what names he
thought proper, he made some of his friends magis-
trates, and others senators; some he recalled from
? ? Generated for (University of Chicago) on 2014-12-26 09:37 GMT / http://hdl. handle. net/2027/wu. 89099228256 Public Domain, Google-digitized / http://www. hathitrust. org/access_use#pd-google
? ANToNY.
15
exile, and others he dismissed from prison, on pretence
that all these things were so ordered hy Caesar. The
people that were thus favored the Romans called Cha-
ronites; hecause, to support their title, they had re-
course to the registers of the dead. The power of An-
tony, in short, was absolute.
