After this victory Caesar was conveyed to
Rome; and it was expected that his distemper would
put an end to his life.
Rome; and it was expected that his distemper would
put an end to his life.
Plutarch - Lives - v7
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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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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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. He was consul himself:
his brother Caius was pretor, and his brother Lucius
tribune of the people. <
Such was the state of affairs, when Octavius, who
was the son of Caesar's niece, and appointed his heir
by will, arrived at Rome from Apollonia, where he re-
sided when his uncle was killed. He first visited An-
tony as the friend of his uncle, and spoke to him con-
cerning the money in his hands, and the legacy of
seventy-five drachmas left to every Roman citizen.
Antony paid little regard to him at first; and told him
it would be madness for an unexperienced young man,
without friends, to take on him so important an office
as that of being executor to Caesar.
Octavius, however, was not thus repulsed. He still
insisted on the money ; and Antony, on the other hand,
did every thing to mortify and affront him. He op-
posed him in his application for the tribuneship; and
when he made use of the golden chair, which had been
granted by the senate to his uncle, he threatened that,
unless he desisted to solicit the people, he would com-
mit him to prison. But when Octavius joined Cicero,
and the rest of Antony's enemies, and by their means
obtained an interest in the senate; when he continued
to pay his court to the people, and drew the veteran
soldiers from their quarters, Antony thought it was
time to accommodate ; and for this purpose gave him a
meeting in the capitol.
An accommodation took place, but it was soon de-
stroyed; for that night Antony dreamed that his right
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? 16
PLUTARCH.
hand was thunderstruck; and, a few days after, he was
informed that Octavius had a design on his life. The
latter would have justified himself, but was not be-
lieved; so that, of course, the breach became as wide
as ever. They now went immediately over Italy, and
endeavored to be beforehand with each other, in se-
curing, by rewards and promises, the old troops that
were in different quarters, and such legions as were
still on foot.
Cicero, who had then considerable influence in the
city, incensed the people against Antony, and prevailed
on the senate to declare him a public enemy; to send
the rods and the rest of the pretorial ensigns to young
Caesar, and to commission Hirtius and Pansa, the con-
suls, to drive Antony out of Italy. The two armies
engaged near Modena; and Caesar was present at the
battle. Both the consuls were slain; but Antony was
defeated. In his flight he was reduced to great ex-
tremities, particularly by famine. Distress, however,
was to him a school of moral improvement; and An-
tony, in adversity, was almost a man of virtue. Indeed,
it is common for men under misfortunes to have a clear
idea of their duty; but a change of conduct is not al-
ways the consequence. On such occasions, they too
often fall hack into their former manners, through the
inactivity of reason, and irifirmity of mind. But An-
tony was even a pattern for his soldiers. From all the
varieties of luxurious living, he came with readiness to
drink a little stinking water, and to feed on the wild
fruits and roots of the desert. Nay, it is said, that
they ate the very bark of the trees; and that, in pass-
ing the Alps, they fed on creatures that had never been
accounted human food.
Antony's design was to join Lepidus, who com-
manded the army on the other side of the Alps; and
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? ANToNY.
17
he had a reasonable prospect of his friendship from
the good offices he had done him with Julius Caesar.
When he came within a small distance of him he en-
camped; but receiving no encouragement, he resolved
to hazard all on a single cast. His hair was uncombed,
and his beard, which he had not shaven since his de-
feat, was long. In this forlorn figure, with a mourning
mantle thrown over him, he came to the camp of Lepi-
dus, and addressed himself to the soldiers. While some
were affected with his appearance, and others with his
eloquence, Lepidus, afraid of the consequence, ordered
the trumpets to sound, that he might no longer be
heard. This, however, contributed to heighten the
compassion of the soldiers; so that they sent Laelius
and Clodius in the dress of those ladies who followed
the army to assure Antony that, if he had- resolu-
tion enough to attack the camp of Lepidus, he would
meet with many who were not only ready to receive
him, but, if he should desire it, to kill Lepidus.
Antony would not suffer any violence to be offered
to Lepidus; but the day following, at the head of his
troops, he crossed the river which lay between the
two camps, and had the satisfaction to see Lepidus'
soldiers all the while stretching out their hands to him,
and making way through the intrenchments.
When he had possessed himself of the camp of Lepi-
dus, he treated him with great humanity. He saluted
him by the name of father; and though, in reality,
every thing was in his own power, he secured to him
the title and the honors of general. 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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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. He was consul himself:
his brother Caius was pretor, and his brother Lucius
tribune of the people. <
Such was the state of affairs, when Octavius, who
was the son of Caesar's niece, and appointed his heir
by will, arrived at Rome from Apollonia, where he re-
sided when his uncle was killed. He first visited An-
tony as the friend of his uncle, and spoke to him con-
cerning the money in his hands, and the legacy of
seventy-five drachmas left to every Roman citizen.
Antony paid little regard to him at first; and told him
it would be madness for an unexperienced young man,
without friends, to take on him so important an office
as that of being executor to Caesar.
Octavius, however, was not thus repulsed. He still
insisted on the money ; and Antony, on the other hand,
did every thing to mortify and affront him. He op-
posed him in his application for the tribuneship; and
when he made use of the golden chair, which had been
granted by the senate to his uncle, he threatened that,
unless he desisted to solicit the people, he would com-
mit him to prison. But when Octavius joined Cicero,
and the rest of Antony's enemies, and by their means
obtained an interest in the senate; when he continued
to pay his court to the people, and drew the veteran
soldiers from their quarters, Antony thought it was
time to accommodate ; and for this purpose gave him a
meeting in the capitol.
An accommodation took place, but it was soon de-
stroyed; for that night Antony dreamed that his right
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? 16
PLUTARCH.
hand was thunderstruck; and, a few days after, he was
informed that Octavius had a design on his life. The
latter would have justified himself, but was not be-
lieved; so that, of course, the breach became as wide
as ever. They now went immediately over Italy, and
endeavored to be beforehand with each other, in se-
curing, by rewards and promises, the old troops that
were in different quarters, and such legions as were
still on foot.
Cicero, who had then considerable influence in the
city, incensed the people against Antony, and prevailed
on the senate to declare him a public enemy; to send
the rods and the rest of the pretorial ensigns to young
Caesar, and to commission Hirtius and Pansa, the con-
suls, to drive Antony out of Italy. The two armies
engaged near Modena; and Caesar was present at the
battle. Both the consuls were slain; but Antony was
defeated. In his flight he was reduced to great ex-
tremities, particularly by famine. Distress, however,
was to him a school of moral improvement; and An-
tony, in adversity, was almost a man of virtue. Indeed,
it is common for men under misfortunes to have a clear
idea of their duty; but a change of conduct is not al-
ways the consequence. On such occasions, they too
often fall hack into their former manners, through the
inactivity of reason, and irifirmity of mind. But An-
tony was even a pattern for his soldiers. From all the
varieties of luxurious living, he came with readiness to
drink a little stinking water, and to feed on the wild
fruits and roots of the desert. Nay, it is said, that
they ate the very bark of the trees; and that, in pass-
ing the Alps, they fed on creatures that had never been
accounted human food.
Antony's design was to join Lepidus, who com-
manded the army on the other side of the Alps; and
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? ANToNY.
17
he had a reasonable prospect of his friendship from
the good offices he had done him with Julius Caesar.
When he came within a small distance of him he en-
camped; but receiving no encouragement, he resolved
to hazard all on a single cast. His hair was uncombed,
and his beard, which he had not shaven since his de-
feat, was long. In this forlorn figure, with a mourning
mantle thrown over him, he came to the camp of Lepi-
dus, and addressed himself to the soldiers. While some
were affected with his appearance, and others with his
eloquence, Lepidus, afraid of the consequence, ordered
the trumpets to sound, that he might no longer be
heard. This, however, contributed to heighten the
compassion of the soldiers; so that they sent Laelius
and Clodius in the dress of those ladies who followed
the army to assure Antony that, if he had- resolu-
tion enough to attack the camp of Lepidus, he would
meet with many who were not only ready to receive
him, but, if he should desire it, to kill Lepidus.
Antony would not suffer any violence to be offered
to Lepidus; but the day following, at the head of his
troops, he crossed the river which lay between the
two camps, and had the satisfaction to see Lepidus'
soldiers all the while stretching out their hands to him,
and making way through the intrenchments.
When he had possessed himself of the camp of Lepi-
dus, he treated him with great humanity. He saluted
him by the name of father; and though, in reality,
every thing was in his own power, he secured to him
the title and the honors of general. 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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? 20
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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