qualms of debauchery, and his
entertainments
on the
marriages of players and buffoons.
marriages of players and buffoons.
Plutarch - Lives - v7
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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
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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'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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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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