60. “I have addressed these words to men who listen to me without malice or the spirit of contention. Those who would excite you heedlessly and inconsiderately on account of private enmity and private strife I exhort not to come to hasty and rash decisions against the most important personages, who command strong armies, and not to force them into war against their will. Remember Marcius Coriolanus. Recall the recent doings of Caesar, whom we rashly voted an enemy while he was in like manner leading an army and offering us the fairest terms of peace, whereby we forced him to be an enemy in fact. Have regard for the people who were lately pursuing Caesar’s murderers, lest we seem to insult them by giving those murderers the governorship of provinces, by praising Decimus for nullifying the people’s law, and by voting Antony an enemy because he accepted the Gallic province from the people. For which reasons the well-wishers of the country ought to take thought for the erring, and the consuls and tribunes ought to be more than ever careful in view of the public dangers.”
60. καὶ τάδε μὲν εἴρηται τοῖς ἄνευ φθόνου καὶ φιλονικίας ἀκροωμένοις· τοῖς δὲ ἀπερισκέπτως καὶ ἀπαρασκεύως διʼ οἰκείαν ἔχθραν ἢ φιλονικίαν ἐκθορυβοῦσιν ὑμᾶς κριτὰς παραινῶ μὴ ταχεῖς εἶναι μηδὲ προπετεῖς ἐς ἄνδρας μεγίστους τε καὶ στρατιᾶς ἄρχοντας ἱκανῆς μηδὲ ἄκοντας ἐκπολεμοῦν, ἀναμιμνησκομένους Μαρκίου τε τοῦ Κοριολανοῦ καὶ τὰ ἔναγχος δὴ ταῦτα Καίσαρος, ὃν στρατιᾶς ὁμοίως ἡγούμενον καὶ σπονδὰς ἀρίστας ἂν ἡμῖν γενομένας προτείνοντα προπετῶς πολέμιον ψηφισάμενοι τῷ ὄντι πολέμιον ἠναγκάσαμεν γενέσθαι, φείδεσθαι δὲ καὶ τοῦ δήμου πρὸ βραχέος τοῖς φονεῦσι τοῖς Καίσαρος ἐπιδραμόντος, μὴ ἐς ὕβριν αὐτοῦ δοκῶμεν τοῖς μὲν ἡγεμονίας ἐθνῶν διδόναι, Δέκμον δὲ ἐπαινεῖν, ὅτι τοῦ δήμου νόμον ἀκυροῖ, καὶ Ἀντώνιον πολέμιον κρίνειν, ὅτι τὴν Κελτικὴν ἔλαβε παρὰ τοῦ δήμου. ὧν τοὺς μὲν εὖ βουλευομένους ἐνθυμεῖσθαι χρὴ ὑπὲρ τῶν ἔτι πλανωμένων, τοὺς δʼ ὑπάτους καὶ δημάρχους πλείονας κινδυνεύουσι τοῖς κοινοῖς γενέσθαι.
61. Thus did Piso defend Antony, reproaching his enemies and alarming them. He was evidently the cause of their not voting Antony an enemy. Nevertheless, he did not succeed in securing for him the governorship of the Gallic province. The friends and relatives of the murderers prevented it, fearing lest, at the end of the war, Antony should join Octavius in avenging the murder, for which reason they meant to keep Octavius and Antony always at variance with each other. They voted to offer Antony Macedonia instead of the Gallic province, and they ordered, either heedlessly or designedly, that the other commands of the Senate be reduced to writing by Cicero and delivered to the ambassadors. Cicero altered the decree and wrote as follows: “Antony must raise the siege of Mutina forthwith, relinquish Cisalpine Gaul to Decimus, withdraw to the hither side of the river Rubicon (which forms the boundary between Italy and the province) before a specified day, and submit himself in all things to the Senate.” Thus provokingly and falsely did Cicero write the orders of the Senate, not by reason of an underlying hostility, as it seems, but at the instigation of some evil spirit that was goading the republic to revolution and meditating destruction to Cicero himself. The remains of Trebonius having been lately brought home and the indignities visited upon them more carefully inquired into, the Senate with little opposition declared Dolabella a public enemy.
61. ὧδε μὲν ὁ Πείσων ἀπελογεῖτο καὶ ὠνείδιζεν ὁμοῦ καὶ ἐφόβει καὶ σαφῶς αἴτιος ἐγένετο μὴ ψηφισθῆναι πολέμιον Ἀντώνιον. οὐ μὴν ἐκράτησε τῆς Κελτικῆς αὐτὸν ἄρχειν· οἱ γὰρ τῶν σφαγέων φίλοι τε καὶ συγγενεῖς ὑπὸ δέους ἐκώλυσαν, μὴ τοῦ πολέμου λυθέντος ἐπεξέλθοι τὸν φόνον Καίσαρι συναλλαγείς· διὸ καὶ στασιάζειν αἰεὶ παρεσκεύαζον Καίσαρά τε καὶ Ἀντώνιον. ἐψηφίσαντο δʼ Ἀντωνίῳ προαγορεῦσαι Μακεδονίαν ἀντὶ τῆς Κελτικῆς ἔχειν· τὰς δὲ ἄλλας ἐντολάς, εἴτε λαθόντες εἴτʼ ἐξεπίτηδες, Κικέρωνα συγγράψαι τε καὶ δοῦναι τοῖς πρεσβεύουσι προσέταξαν. ὁ δὲ τὴν γνώμην παραφέρων συνέγραφεν ὧδε· Μουτίνης Ἀντώνιον εὐθὺς ἀπανίστασθαι καὶ Δέκμῳ τὴν Κελτικὴν μεθιέναι, ἐντὸς δὲ Ῥουβίκωνος ποταμοῦ, τοῦ τὴν Ἰταλίαν ὁρίζοντος ἀπὸ τῆς Κελτικῆς, ἡμέρᾳ ῥητῇ γενόμενον ἐπιτρέψαι τὰ καθʼ ἑαυτὸν ἅπαντα τῇ βουλῇ. οὕτω μὲν φιλονίκως τε καὶ ψευδῶς τὰς ἐντολὰς ὁ Κικέρων συνέγραφεν, οὐδεμιᾶς ἔχθρας τοσῆσδε ὑπούσης, ἀλλʼ, ὡς ἔοικε, τοῦ δαιμονίου τὰ κοινὰ ἐς μεταβολὴν ἐνοχλοῦντος καὶ αὐτῷ Κικέρωνι κακῶς ἐπινοοῦντος. ἄρτι δὲ καὶ τῶν Τρεβωνίου λειψάνων κομισθέντων καὶ τῆς ἐς αὐτὸν ὕβρεως γνωσθείσης ἀκριβέστερον, οὐ δυσχερῶς ἡ βουλὴ τὸν Δολοβέλλαν ἔκρινεν εἶναι πολέμιον.
62. The ambassadors who had been sent to Antony, ashamed of the extraordinary character of the orders, said nothing, but simply delivered them to him. Antony in his wrath indulged in many invectives against the Senate and Cicero. “He was astonished,” he said, “that they should consider Caesar (the man who had contributed most to the Roman sway) a tyrant and a king, and did not so consider Cicero, whom Caesar had captured in war and whose life he had spared, while Cicero in return now prefers Caesar’s assassins to his friends. He hated Decimus as long as the latter was the friend of Caesar, but loves him now that he has become his murderer. He favors a man who took the province of Gaul after Caesar’s death without authority, and makes war on one who received it at the hands of the people. He gives rewards to those who deserted from the legions voted to me, and none to those who remain faithful, thus impairing military discipline not more to my disadvantage than to that of the state. He has given amnesty to the murderers, to which I have assented on account of two respectable men. He holds Antony and Dolabella as enemies because we keep what was given to us. That is the real reason. And if I but withdraw from Gaul, then I am neither enemy nor monarch! I declare that I will bring to naught the amnesty with which they are not satisfied.”
62. οἱ δʼ ἐς τὸν Ἀντώνιον ἀπεσταλμένοι πρέσβεις, αἰδούμενοι τῶν ἐντολῶν τὸ ἀλλόκοτον, οὐδὲν μὲν ἔφασαν, αὐτὰς δʼ ἐπέδοσαν αὐτῷ. καὶ ὁ Ἀντώνιος σὺν ὀργῇ πολλὰ ἔς τε τὴν βουλὴν καὶ τὸν Κικέρωνα ἀπερρίπτει, θαυμάζων, ὅτι Καίσαρα μὲν τὸν τὰ μέγιστα ὠφελήσαντα τὴν ἀρχὴν ἡγοῦνται τύραννον ἢ βασιλέα, Κικέρωνα δὲ οὐ νομίζουσιν, ὃν Καῖσαρ μὲν εἷλε πολέμῳ καὶ οὐκ ἀπέκτεινε, Κικέρων δὲ τοὺς ἐκείνου φονέας προτίθησι τῶν φίλων αὐτοῦ καὶ Δέκμον Καίσαρι μὲν ὄντα φίλον ἐμίσει, ἀνδροφόνον δὲ αὐτοῦ γενόμενον ἀγαπᾷ, καὶ τῷ μὲν παρʼ οὐδενὸς μετὰ Καίσαρα λαβόντι τὴν Κελτικὴν προστίθεται, τῷ δὲ παρὰ τοῦ δήμου λαβόντι πολεμεῖ. τῶν τε ἐψηφισμένων μοι τελῶν τοῖς μὲν αὐτομολήσασι γέρα δίδωσι, τοῖς δὲ παραμείνασιν οὔ, διαφθείρων οὐκ ἐμοὶ μᾶλλον ἀλλὰ τῇ πόλει τὰ στρατιωτικά. καὶ τοῖς μὲν ἀνδροφόνοις ἀμνηστίαν ἔδωκεν, ᾗ κἀγὼ συνεθέμην διὰ δύο ἄνδρας αἰδεσίμους· Ἀντώνιον δὲ καὶ Δολοβέλλαν ἡγεῖται πολεμίους, ὅτι τῶν δεδομένων ἐχόμεθα. ἥδε γάρ ἐστιν ἡ ἀληθὴς αἰτία· κἂν ἀποστῶ τῆς Κελτικῆς, οὔτε πολέμιος οὔτε μόναρχός εἰμι. ταῦτα μέντοι μαρτύρομαι λύσειν τὴν οὐκ ἀγαπωμένην ἀμνηστίαν.
63. After saying much more to the same purpose Antony wrote his reply to the decree, saying that he would obey the Senate in all respects as the voice of his country, but to Cicero, who wrote the orders, he would make the following answer: “The people gave me the province of Gaul by a law, and I shall prosecute Decimus for not obeying the law, and I shall visit punishment for the murder upon him alone, as representative of them all, in order that the Senate, which now participates in the wickedness by reason of Cicero’s support of Decimus, may at last be purged of the shocking crime.” These words Antony spoke and wrote in reply. The Senate immediately voted him an enemy and also the army under him if it should not abandon him. The government of Macedonia and Illyria, with the troops still remaining in both, was assigned to Marcus Brutus until the republic should be reëstablished. The latter already had an army of his own and had received some troops from Apuleius. He also had war-ships and ships of burden and about 16,000 talents in money and quantities of arms which he found in Demetrias, where they had been placed by Gaius Caesar long before, all of which the Senate now voted that he should use for the advantage of the republic. They voted that Cassius should be governor of Syria and that he should make war against Dolabella, and that all other commanders of Roman provinces and soldiers between the Adriatic sea and the Orient should obey the orders of Cassius and Brutus in all things.
63. τοιάδε πολλὰ εἰπὼν ὁ Ἀντώνιος ἀντέγραφε τῷ δόγματι τῇ μὲν βουλῇ πεισθῆναι ἂν ἐς ἅπαντα ὡς πατρίδι, Κικέρωνι δὲ τῷ συγγράψαντι τὰς ἐντολὰς ὧδε ἀποκρίνεσθαι· ὁ δῆμος ἔδωκέ μοι τὴν Κελτικὴν νόμῳ, καὶ Δέκμον ἀπειθοῦντα τῷ νόμῳ μετελεύσομαι καὶ τοῦ φόνου δίκας ἀπαιτήσω μόνον ὑπὲρ ἁπάντων, ἵνα καὶ ἡ βουλὴ καθαρεύσῃ ποτὲ τοῦ μύσους, ἐμπιπλαμένη νῦν διὰ Κικέρωνα Δέκμῳ βοηθοῦντα. τάδε μὲν ὁ Ἀντώνιος εἶπέ τε καὶ ἀντέγραψε, καὶ ἡ βουλὴ αὐτὸν αὐτίκα ἐψηφίζετο εἶναι πολέμιον καὶ τὸν ὑπʼ αὐτῷ στρατόν, εἰ μὴ ἀποσταῖεν αὐτοῦ· Μακεδονίας δὲ καὶ τῆς Ἰλλυρίδος αὐτῆς καὶ τῶν ἐν ἀμφοτέραις ὑπολοίπων στρατῶν Μᾶρκον Βροῦτον ἄρχειν, μέχρι κατασταίη τὰ κοινά. ὁ δὲ ἴδιόν τε εἶχεν ἤδη στρατὸν καὶ παρὰ Ἀπουληίου τινὰ προσειλήφει καὶ ναῦς εἶχε μακράς τε καὶ ὁλκάδας καὶ χρημάτων ἐς μύρια καὶ ἑξακισχίλια τάλαντα καὶ ὅπλα πολλά, ὅσα ἐν Δημητριάδι Γαΐῳ Καίσαρι ἐκ πολλοῦ γιγνόμενα εὗρεν· οἷς ἅπασιν αὐτὸν ἡ βουλὴ τότε ἐψηφίζετο ἐς τὰ συμφέροντα τῆς πατρίδος χρῆσθαι. ἐψηφίσαντο δὲ καὶ Κάσσιον ἄρχειν τε Συρίας καὶ πολεμεῖν Δολοβέλλᾳ· τούς τε ἄλλους, ὅσοι τινὸς ἔθνους ἢ στρατοῦ Ῥωμαίων ἄρχουσιν ἀπὸ τῆς Ἰονίου θαλάσσης ἐπὶ τὴν ἕω, πάντας ὑπακούειν ἐς ὅ τι προστάσσοι Κάσσιος ἢ Βροῦτος.
64. Thus quickly did the Senate seize the opportunity to put the affairs of Cassius and his party in a brilliant aspect. When Octavius learned what had been done he was troubled. He had considered the amnesty in the light of an act of humanity and of pity for the relatives and compeers of these men, and that the very small commands had been given them for their safety merely; finally, the confirming of the Gallic province to Decimus seemed to him to have been done by reason of the Senate’s difference with Antony respecting the supreme power, on which ground also they were inciting him against Antony. But the voting of Dolabella an enemy because he had put one of the murderers to death, the changing of the commands of Brutus and Cassius to the largest provinces, the granting of great armies and large sums of money to them and putting them in command of all the governors beyond the Adriatic sea —all pointed plainly to the building up of the party of Pompey and the pulling down of that of Caesar. He bethought himself of their artifice in treating him as a young man, in providing him a statue and a front seat, and giving him the title of propraetor, when in fact they were taking from him what army he did have, for a proprietor has no authority when consuls are serving with him. Then the rewards voted only to those of his soldiers who had deserted from Antony to him were an indignity to those who had enlisted under him. Finally the war would be nothing but a disgrace to him, for the Senate would simply make use of him against Antony till the latter was crushed.
64. ὧδε μὲν ὀξέως σὺν ἀφορμῇ τοὺς ἀμφὶ τὸν Κάσσιον ἐξελάμπρυνον, καὶ ὁ Καῖσαρ ἕκαστα μαθὼν ἠπόρητο, τὴν μὲν ἀμνηστίαν ἡγούμενος εὐπρέπειαν ἐσχηκέναι φιλανθρωπίας καὶ ἔλεον συγγενῶν ἀνδρῶν καὶ ὁμοτίμων, καὶ τὰς βραχυτέρας ἡγεμονίας ἀσφάλειαν· Δέκμῳ τε τὴν Κελτικὴν βεβαιοῦντας Ἀντωνίῳ δόξαι περὶ τυραννίδος διαφέρεσθαι, ᾧ προσποιήματι καὶ αὑτὸν ὑπάγεσθαι κατʼ Ἀντωνίου· τὸ δὲ καὶ Δολοβέλλαν πολέμιον ψηφίσασθαι διʼ ἕνα τῶν ἀνδροφόνων ἀναιρεθέντα καὶ Βρούτῳ καὶ Κασσίῳ τὰς ἡγεμονίας ἐς τὰ μέγιστα ἔθνη διαλλάξαι στρατόπεδά τε δοῦναι πολλὰ ἀθρόως καὶ χρήματα καὶ ἡγεμόνας ἡγεμονῶν ἀποφῆναι πάντων, ὅσοι πέραν εἰσὶ τῆς Ἰονίου θαλάσσης, σαφῶς εἶναι τὴν μὲν Πομπηίου μοῖραν αὐξόντων, τὴν δὲ Καίσαρος καθαιρούντων. ἐνεθυμεῖτο δὲ καὶ τῆς ἐς αὑτὸν ὡς μειράκιον τέχνης, εἰκόνα μὲν αὑτῷ καὶ προεδρίαν παρασχόντων καὶ ἀντιστράτηγον ἀποφηνάντων, ἔργῳ δὲ ἴδιον αὑτοῦ τὸν στρατὸν ὄντα ἀφαιρουμένων· ὑπάτων γὰρ συστρατηγούντων οὐδὲν εἶναι τὸν ἀντιστράτηγον· τά τε γέρα τοῖς ἀπὸ Ἀντωνίου μόνοις μεταστᾶσιν ἐψηφισμένα τοὺς αὑτῷ στρατευομένους ἀτιμοῦν· καὶ τὸν πόλεμον ὅλως αὑτῷ μὲν αἰσχύνην ἔχειν, ἔργῳ δὲ τὴν βουλὴν ἀποχρῆσθαί οἱ κατὰ Ἀντωνίου, μέχρι καθέλωσιν αὐτόν.
65. Meditating thus to himself he performed the sacrifices appertaining to the command assigned to him, and said to his army: “I owe these honors of mine to you, fellow-soldiers, not now merely but from the time when you gave me the command; for the Senate conferred them upon me on account of you. Know, therefore, that my gratitude will be due to you for these things, and that it will be expressed to you abundantly if the gods grant success to our undertakings.” In this way he conciliated the soldiers and attached them to himself. In the meantime, Pansa, one of the consuls, was collecting recruits throughout Italy, and the other one, Hirtius, shared the command of the forces with Octavius, and as he was secretly ordered to do it by the Senate he demanded as his share the two legions that had deserted from Antony, knowing that they were the most reliable in the army. Octavius yielded to him in everything and they shared with each other and went into winter quarters together. As winter advanced Decimus began to suffer from hunger, and Hirtius and Octavius advanced toward Mutina lest Antony should receive in surrender Decimus’ army now weak with famine; but as Mutina was closely hemmed in by Antony, they did not venture to come to close quarters with him at once, but waited for Pansa. There were frequent cavalry engagements, as Antony had a much larger force of horse, but the difficulty of the ground, which was cut up by torrents, deprived him of the advantage of numbers.
65. ταῦτα λογιζόμενος ἐπέκρυπτε καὶ θύων ἐπὶ τῇ δεδομένῃ ἀρχῇ πρὸς τὸν στρατὸν ἔφη· καὶ τάδε μοι παρʼ ὑμῶν, ὦ συστρατιῶται, γέγονεν, οὐ νῦν, ἀλλʼ ἐξ οὗ τὴν ἀρχὴν ἐδίδοτε· καὶ γὰρ ἡ βουλὴ διʼ ὑμᾶς ἔδωκεν. ὥστε ἐμὲ καὶ τούτων ἴστε τὴν χάριν ὑμῖν ὀφλήσοντα καί, ἢν οἱ θεοὶ παρέχωσιν εὐπραγεῖν, ἀποδώσοντα ἀθρόως. ὁ μέν οὑτωσὶ τὸν στρατὸν οἰκειούμενος ὑπήγετο, τῶν δὲ ὑπάτων Πάνσας μὲν ἀνὰ τὴν Ἰταλίαν ἐξενάγει, Ἵρτιος δὲ τῷ Καίσαρι τὸν στρατὸν ἐμερίζετο καί, ὡς αὐτῷ παρὰ τῆς βουλῆς ἐν ἀπορρήτῳ λέλεκτο, ἐς τὸ μέρος ᾔτει τὰ δύο τέλη τὰ παρὰ Ἀντωνίου μεταστάντα, εἰδὼς τάδε ὄντα τοῦ στρατοῦ τὸ ἀξιολογώτατον. καὶ ὁ μὲν Καῖσαρ ἅπαντα συνεχώρει, μερισάμενοι δὲ ἐχείμαζον μετʼ ἀλλήλων· παροδεύοντος δὲ τοῦ χειμῶνος ἤδη Δέκμος μὲν ἔκαμνεν ὑπὸ λιμοῦ, Ἵρτιος δὲ καὶ Καῖσαρ ἐς τὴν Μουτίνην ἐχώρουν, μὴ κάμνοντα τὸν Δέκμου στρατὸν ὁ Ἀντώνιος παραλάβοι. ἀκριβῶς δὲ τῆς Μουτίνης φυλασσομένης ὑπὸ τοῦ Ἀντωνίου, πανσυδὶ μὲν οὐ συνεπλέκοντο αὐτῷ Πάνσαν περιμένοντες, ἱππομαχίαι δʼ ἦσαν πυκναί, πολὺ μὲν πλείους ἱππέας ἔχοντος Ἀντωνίου· τοῦ πεδίου δὲ ἡ δυσχέρεια, διὰ χειμάρρους ἐκτεταφρευμένου, τὴν πλεονεξίαν τὸ πλῆθος ἀπεστέρει.
66. Such was the course of events around Mutina. At Rome, in the absence of the consuls, Cicero took the lead by public speaking. He held frequent assemblies, procured arms by inducing the artificers to work without pay, collected money, and exacted heavy contributions from the Antonians. These paid without complaining in order to avoid calumny, until Publius Ventidius, who had served under Gaius Caesar and was a friend of Antony, unable to endure the exactions of Cicero, betook himself to Caesar’s colonies, where he was well known, and raised two legions for Antony and hastened to Rome to seize Cicero. The consternation was extreme. They removed most of the women and children in a panic, and Cicero himself fled from the city. When Ventidius learned this he turned his course toward Antony, but being intercepted by Octavius and Hirtius, he proceeded to Picenum, where he recruited another legion and waited to see what would happen. When Pansa was drawing near with his army, Octavius and Hirtius sent Carsuleius to him with Octavius’ praetorian cohort and the Martian legion to assist him in passing through a defile. Antony had disdained to occupy the defile as it served no other purpose than to hinder the enemy; but, eager to fight, and having no chance to win distinction with his cavalry, because the ground was marshy and cut by ditches, he placed his two best legions in ambush in the marsh, where they were concealed by the reeds and where the road, which had been thrown up artificially, was narrow.
66. καὶ τάδε μὲν ἦν ἀμφὶ τῇ Μουτίνῃ, τὰ δʼ ἐν Ῥώμῃ τῶν ὑπάτων οὐ παρόντων ὁ Κικέρων ἦγεν ὑπὸ δημοκοπίας· καὶ συνεχεῖς ἦσαν ἐκκλησίαι, ὅπλα τε εἰργάζετο συναγαγὼν τοὺς δημιουργοὺς ἀμισθὶ καὶ χρήματα συνέλεγε καὶ βαρυτάτας ἐσφορὰς τοῖς Ἀντωνίου φίλοις ἐπετίθει. οἱ δὲ ἑτοίμως ἐσέφερον ἐκλυόμενοι τὴν διαβολήν, μέχρι Πούπλιος Οὐεντίδιος, ἐστρατευμένος τε Γαΐῳ Καίσαρι καὶ Ἀντωνίῳ φίλος ὤν, οὐκ ἤνεγκε τὴν βαρύτητα τοῦ Κικέρωνος, ἀλλʼ ἐς τὰς Καίσαρος ἀποικίας ἐκδραμὼν ὡς γνώριμος δύο ἐς τὸν Ἀντώνιον ἀνεστράτευσε τέλη καὶ ἐς τὴν Ῥώμην συλλαβεῖν Κικέρωνα ἠπείγετο. τότε μὲν δὴ θόρυβός τε ἦν ἄπλετος, καὶ τέκνα καὶ γυναῖκας ὑπεξέφερον οἱ πλείους μετὰ δυσελπιστίας, καὶ ὁ Κικέρων τῆς πόλεως ἀπεδίδρασκε. καὶ ὁ Οὐεντίδιος μαθων ἐς τὸν Ἀντώνιον ἀνέστρεφε. διακλειόμενος δὲ ὑπὸ Καίσαρός τε καὶ Ἱρτίου ἐς τὴν Πικηνίτιδα παρῆλθε καὶ τέλος ἄλλο συλλογίσας ἐφήδρευε τοῖς ἐσομένοις. οἱ δὲ ἀμφὶ τὸν Καίσαρα, τοῦ Πάνσα μετὰ στρατιᾶς πλησιάζοντος, Καρσουλήιον αὐτῷ προσέπεμπον ἄγοντα τὴν Καίσαρος στρατηγίδα τάξιν καὶ τὸ Ἄρειον τέλος ἐς βοήθειαν τῆς διόδου τῶν στενῶν. ὁ δὲ Ἀντώνιος τῶν μὲν στενῶν ὑπερεῖδεν ὡς οὐδὲν πλέον ἢ κωλύσων ἐν αὐτοῖς, ἐπιθυμίᾳ δὲ ἀγῶνος, οὐκ ἔχων τοῖς ἱππεῦσιν ἐλλαμπρύνασθαι διὰ τὸ πεδίον ἑλωδέστερον ὂν καὶ τεταφρευμένον, δύο ἐνήδρευσε τέλη τὰ ἄριστα ἐν τῷ ἕλει, τῆς ὁδοῦ, χειροποιήτου καὶ στενῆς οὔσης, ἑκατέρωθεν τῷ δόνακι κρύπτων.
67. Carsuleius and Pansa passed through the defile by night. At daybreak, with only the Martian legion and five other cohorts, they entered upon the road above mentioned, which was still free from enemies, and looked over the marsh on either side. There was a suspicious agitation of the bushes, then a gleaming of shields and helmets, and Antony’s praetorian cohort suddenly showed itself directly in their front. The Martian legion, surrounded on all sides and having no way to escape, ordered the new levies, if they came up, not to join in the fight lest they should cause confusion by their inexperience. The praetorians of Octavius confronted the praetorians of Antony. The other troops divided themselves in two parts and advanced into the marsh on either side, the one commanded by Pansa and the other by Carsuleius. Thus there were two battles in two marshes, and neither division could see the other by reason of the elevated road, while along the road itself the praetorian cohorts fought another battle of their own. The Antonians were determined to punish the Martians for desertion as being traitors to themselves. The Martians were equally determined to punish the Antonians for condoning the slaughter of their comrades at Brundusium. Recognizing in each other the flower of either army they hoped to decide the whole war by this single engagement. The one side was moved by shame lest its two legions should be beaten by one; the other by ambition that its single legion should overcome the two.
67. Καρσουληίου δὲ καὶ Πάνσα τὰ στενὰ νυκτὸς διαδραμόντων, ἅμα δʼ ἡμέρᾳ μόνοις τοῖς Ἀρείοις καὶ πέντε ἄλλαις τάξεσιν ἐς τὴν χειροποίητον ὁδὸν ἐσβαλόντων, ἔτι καθαρευουσαν πολεμίων, καὶ τὸ ἕλος ἑκατέρωθεν ὂν περισκεπτομένων, ὅ τε δόναξ διακινούμενος ὑπωπτεύετο, καὶ ἀσπὶς ἤδη που καὶ κράνος ἐξέλαμπε, καὶ ἡ στρατηγὶς Ἀντωνίου τάξις αὐτοῖς αἰφνίδιον ἐπεφαίνετο ἐκ τοῦ μετώπου. οἱ δʼ Ἄρειοι περιειλημμένοι τε πάντοθεν καὶ οὐδαμόσε διαδραμεῖν ἔχοντες ἐκέλευον τοὺς νεήλυδας εἰ παραγένοιντο, μὴ συνεφάπτεσθαι σφίσι τῶν πόνων, ὡς μὴ συνταράξειαν αὑτοὺς ὑπὸ ἀπειρίας, τῇ στρατηγίδι δὲ Ἀντωνίου τὴν Καίσαρος στρατηγίδα ἀντέταξαν· αὐτοὶ δὲ ἐς δύο διαιρεθέντες ἐνέβαινον ἐς ἑκάτερον ἕλος, καὶ αὐτοῖς ἐπεστάτουν τῇ μὲν ὁ Πάνσας, τῇ δὲ ὁ Καρσουλήιος. δύο δὲ τῶν ἑλῶν ὄντων δύο ἦσαν οἱ πόλεμοι, τῇ διόδῳ εἰργόμενοι μὴ γινώσκειν τὰ ἀλλήλων· καὶ κατὰ τὴν δίοδον αὐτὴν αἱ στρατηγίδες πόλεμον ἄλλον ἐφʼ ἑαυτῶν ἐπολέμουν. γνώμη δὲ ἦν τοῖς μὲν Ἀντωνίου τοὺς Ἀρείους ἀμύνασθαι τῆς αὐτομολίας οἷα προδότας σφῶν γενομένους, τοῖς δʼ Ἀρείοις ἐκείνους τῆς ὑπεροψίας τῶν ἐν Βρεντεσίῳ διεφθαρμένων. συνειδότες τε ἀλλήλοις τὸ κράτιστον ὡς εἴη τῆς ἑκατέρου στρατιᾶς, ἤλπιζον ἐν τῷδε τῷ ἔργῳ μόνῳ τὸν πόλεμον κρινεῖν. καὶ τοῖς μὲν αἰδὼς ἦν τὸ δύο τέλεσιν οὖσιν διʼ ἑνὸς ἡσσᾶσθαι, τοῖς δὲ φιλοτιμία μόνοις τῶν δύο κρατῆσαι.
68. Thus urged on rather by their own animosity and ambition than by their generals they assailed each other, considering this their own affair. Being veterans they raised no battle-cry, since they could not expect to terrify each other, nor in the engagement did they utter a sound, either as victors or vanquished. As there could be neither flanking nor charging in marshes and ditches, they stood together in close order, and since neither could dislodge the other they locked together with their swords as in a wrestling match. No blow missed its mark. There were wounds and slaughter but no cries, only groans; and when one fell he was instantly borne away and another took his place. They needed neither admonition nor encouragement, since experience had made each one his own general. When they were overcome by fatigue they drew apart from each other for a brief space to take breath, as in gymnastic games, and then rushed again to the encounter. Amazement took possession of the new levies who had come up, as they beheld such deeds done with such precision and in such silence.
68. οὕτω μὲν ἀλλήλοις ἐπῄεσαν διωργισμένοι τε καὶ φιλοτιμούμενοι, σφίσι μᾶλλον ἢ τοῖς στρατηγοῖς οἰκεῖον ἡγούμενοι τόδε ἔργον· ὑπὸ δὲ ἐμπειρίας οὔτε ἠλάλαξαν ὡς οὐκ ἐκπλήξοντες ἀλλήλους, οὔτε ἐν τῷ πόνῳ τις αὐτῶν ἀφῆκε φωνὴν οὔτε νικῶν οὔτε ἡσσώμενος. περιόδους δὲ οὐκ ἔχοντες οὔτε δρόμους ὡς ἐν ἕλεσι καὶ τάφροις, ἀραρότως συνίσταντο, καὶ οὐδέτεροι τοὺς ἑτέρους ὤσασθαι δυνάμενοι τοῖς ξίφεσιν ὡς ἐν πάλῃ συνεπλέκοντο. πληγή τε οὐδεμία ἦν ἀργός, ἀλλὰ τραύματα καὶ φόνοι καὶ στόνοι μόνον ἀντὶ βοῆς· ὅ τε πίπτων εὐθὺς ὑπεξεφέρετο, καὶ ἄλλος ἀντικαθίστατο. παραινέσεων δὲ ἢ ἐπικελεύσεων οὐκ ἐδέοντο, διʼ ἐμπειρίαν ἕκαστος ἑαυτοῦ στρατηγῶν. ὅτε δὲ καὶ κάμοιεν, ὥσπερ ἐν τοῖς γυμνικοῖς ἐς ἀναπνοὴν ὀλίγον ἀλλήλων διίσταντο καὶ αὖθις συνεπλέκοντο. θάμβος τε ἦν τοῖς νεήλυσιν ἐπελθοῦσι, τοιάδε ἔργα σὺν εὐταξίᾳ καὶ σιωπῇ γιγνόμενα ἐφορῶσι.
69. All put forth superhuman exertions, and the praetorians of Octavius perished to the last man. Those of the Martians who were under Carsuleius got the better of those opposed to them, who gave way, not in disgraceful rout, but little by little. Those under Pansa were likewise in difficulties, but they held out with equal bravery on both sides until Pansa was wounded in the abdomen by a javelin and carried off the field to Bononia. Then his soldiers retired, at first step by step, but afterward they turned and took refuge in flight. When the new levies saw this they fled in disorder, and with loud cries, to their camp, which the quaestor, Torquatus, had put in readiness for them while the battle was in progress, apprehending that it might be needed. The new levies dashed into it confusedly although they were Italians, the same as the Martians, so much more than race does training contribute to bravery. The Martians for fear of shame did not enter into the camp, but ranged themselves near it. Although fatigued they were still furious and ready to fight to the bitter end if anybody should attack them. Antony refrained from the attack as a bad job, but he fell upon the new levies and made a great slaughter.
69. πονουμένων δὲ ὧδε πάντων ὑπὲρ φύσιν ἀνθρωπίνην, ἡ μὲν στρατηγὶς ἡ Καίσαρος ἅπασα διεφθάρη, τῶν δὲ Ἀρείων οἱ μὲν ὑπὸ τῷ Καρσουληίῳ μᾶλλον ἐκράτουν τῶν κατὰ σφᾶς, οὐκ αἰσχρῶς, ἀλλὰ κατʼ ὀλίγον ἐνδιδόντων, οἱ δὲ ὑπὸ τῷ Πάνσᾳ τὸν αὐτὸν τρόπον ἐβαροῦντο, διεκαρτέρουν δʼ ὅμως ἐπʼ ἴσης ἑκάτεροι, μέχρι Πάνσας ὀβελῷ τὴν λαγόνα τρωθεὶς ἐς Βονωνίαν ἐξεφέρετο. τότε γὰρ οἱ κατʼ αὐτὸν ἀνεχώρουν, ἐπὶ πόδα πρῶτον, εἶτα μεταβαλόντες ὀξύτερον ὡς ἐν φυγῇ. καὶ οἱ νεήλυδες ἰδόντες ἔφευγον ἀτάκτως καὶ μετὰ βοῆς ἐς τὸ χαράκωμα, ὅπερ αὐτοῖς ἐξείργαστο ὁ ταμίας Τορκουᾶτος συνεστώσης ἔτι τῆς μάχης, ὑπονοήσας ἐν χρείᾳ γενήσεσθαι. οἱ μὲν δὴ νεήλυδες ἐς αὐτὸ ἀτάκτως συνειλοῦντο, Ἰταλοὶ μὲν ὄντες ὁμοίως τοῖς Ἀρείοις· ἡ δὲ ἄσκησις ἄρα τοῦ γένους ἐς τοσοῦτον ἀρετῇ διαφέρει. οἱ δὲ Ἄρειοι οὐκ ἐσῆλθον μὲν ἐς τὸ χαράκωμα αὐτοὶ ὑπὸ ἀδοξίας, ἀλλὰ παρʼ αὐτὸ ἔστησαν· κατάκοποι δὲ ὄντες ὤργων ὅμως, εἴ τις ἐπίοι, μέχρι τοῦ ἀναγκαίου τέλους διαγωνίσασθαι. Ἀντώνιος δὲ τῶν μὲν Ἀρείων ἀπέσχετο ὡς ἐπιπόνων, τοῖς δὲ νεήλυσιν ἐπιδραμὼν πολὺν εἰργάζετο φόνον.
70. When Hirtius near Mutina heard of this fight, at a distance of sixty stades, he hurried thither with the other legion that had deserted from Antony. It was already evening and the victorious Antonians were returning singing hymns of triumph. While they were in loose order Hirtius made his appearance in perfect order with his legion complete and fresh. The Antonians got themselves in line under compulsion, and performed against this foe also many splendid deeds of valor; but being wearied by their recent exertions they were overcome by the fresh army opposed to them, and the greater part of them were slain in this encounter by Hirtius, although the latter did not pursue, being apprehensive of the marshy ground. As darkness was coming on he allowed them to escape. A wide stretch of the marsh was filled with arms, corpses, wounded men, and half-dead men. Some were unhurt but were overcome by fatigue. Antony’s cavalry, as many as he had with him, went to their assistance and collected them through the entire night. Some they put on horse-back in their own places, others they took on the horses with themselves, still others they urged to take hold of the horses’ tails and run along with them and so secure their safety. Thus were Antony’s forces, after he had fought splendidly, scattered by the coming of Hirtius. He encamped without entrenchments in a village near the plain, named Forum Gallorum. Antony and Pansa each lost about one-half of their men. The whole of Octavius’ praetorian cohort perished. The loss of Hirtius was slight.
70. Ἵρτιος δὲ ἐν Μουτίνῃ τῆς μάχης πυθόμενος, ἑξήκοντα στάδια ἀπεχούσης, ἵετο δρόμῳ μετὰ τοῦ ἑτέρου τέλους τῶν ἀπὸ Ἀντωνίου μεταστάντων. ἤδη τε ἦν ὀψία δείλη, καὶ οἱ νικήσαντες τῶν Ἀντωνίου παιανίζοντες ἐπανῄεσαν· καὶ αὐτοῖς ὁ Ἵρτιος ἀσυντάκτοις οὖσιν ἐπιφαίνεται συντεταγμένος ὁλοκλήρῳ τέλει καὶ ἀπαθεῖ. οἱ δὲ συνετάχθησαν μὲν αὖθις ὑπʼ ἀνάγκης, καὶ πολλὰ καὶ πρὸς τούσδε ἔργα λαμπρὰ ἐπεδείξαντο· οἷα δὲ ἀκμήτων ἡσσῶντο κεκμηκότες, καὶ τὸ πλεῖστον αὐτῶν μάλιστα τὸ ἔργον Ἱρτίου διέφθειρε, καίπερ οὐ διώκοντος αὐτοὺς ὑπὸ φόβου τῶν ἑλῶν, καὶ τῆς ἑσπέρας ἤδη μελαινομένης διέλυσεν αὐτούς. καὶ τὸ ἕλος ἐπὶ πλεῖστον ἐπεπλήρωτο ὅπλων τε καὶ νεκρῶν καὶ ἀνδρῶν ἡμιθνήτων καὶ τετρωμένων· οἱ δὲ καὶ ἐρρωμένοι σφῶν ὑπὸ τοῦ κόπου κατεφρόνουν. ἱππέες δὲ αὐτοὺς ἐξ Ἀντωνίου περιθέοντες, ὅσοι παρήσπιζον αὐτῷ, διʼ ὅλης τῆς νυκτὸς ἀνελέγοντο καὶ τοὺς μὲν ἀντὶ σφῶν αὐτῶν, τοὺς δὲ σὺν ἑαυτοῖς ἐπὶ τοὺς ἵππους ἀνετίθεντο ἢ τῆς οὐρᾶς ἀντεχομένους παρεκάλουν παρατροχάζειν καὶ βοηθεῖν σφίσιν ἐς τὴν σωτηρίαν. ὧδε μὲν Ἀντωνίῳ καλῶς ἀγωνισαμένῳ διέφθαρτο ἡ ἰσχὺς διὰ Ἵρτιον ἐπελθόντα. καὶ ηὐλίσατο ἐν κώμῃ παρὰ τὸ πεδίον ἀχαρακώτως· ἀγορὰ Κελτῶν ἡ κώμη καλεῖται. ἔπεσον δὲ τῶν μὲν ἄλλων ἀμφὶ τοὺς ἡμίσεας ἑκατέρων, καὶ ἡ στρατηγὶς ἡ Καίσαρος ἅπασα, Ἱρτίου δὲ ὀλίγοι.
71. The next day they all withdrew to the camps at Mutina. After so severe a disaster Antony decided not to come to a general engagement with his enemies at present, not even if they should attack him, but merely to harass them daily with his cavalry until Decimus, who was reduced to extremity by famine, should surrender. For this very reason Hirtius and Octavius decided to push on a fight. As Antony would not come out when they offered battle, they moved toward the other side of Mutina where it was less closely besieged on account of the badness of the ground, as if about to force their way into the town with their strong army. Antony followed their movement with his cavalry and this time also with those alone. As the enemy fought him with their cavalry only, moving the rest of their army in whatever way they chose, Antony, lest he should lose Mutina, drew out of his entrenchments two legions. Then his enemies rejoiced at this, turned and delivered battle. Antony ordered up other legions from other camps, but as they came slowly, by reason of the suddenness of the call or the long distance, the army of Octavius won the victory. Hirtius even broke into Antony’s camp, where he was killed, fighting near the general’s tent. Octavius rushed in and carried off his body and possessed himself of the camp. A little later he was driven out by Antony. Both sides passed the night under arms.
71. τῆς δʼ ἐπιούσης ἀνεζεύγνυον ἐς τὰ ἐν τῇ Μουτίνῃ στρατόπεδα πάντες. γνώμη δὲ ἦν Ἀντωνίῳ μὲν ἐπὶ τοσῷδε πταίσματι μὴ ἐπιχειρεῖν ἔτι τοῖς ἐχθροῖς μεγάλῃ μάχῃ μηδʼ ἐπιόντων ἀμύνεσθαι, διὰ δὲ τῶν ἱππέων τὰ ἐφήμερα μόνα αὐτοὺς ἐνοχλεῖν, μέχρι παραδῴη Δέκμος αὑτὸν ἐς ἔσχατον ἤδη λιμοῦ τετρυμένος, Ἱρτίῳ δὲ καὶ Καίσαρι διὰ τοῦτο μάλιστα τὰ ἐς τὴν μάχην ἐπείγεσθαι. ἐπεὶ δʼ ἐκτάσσουσιν αὐτοῖς ὁ Ἀντώνιος οὐκ ἐπεξῆγεν, ἐς τὰ ἐπὶ θάτερα τῆς Μουτίνης ἀφυλακτότερα ὄντα διὰ δυσχέρειαν ἐχώρουν ὡς βιασόμενοι βαρεῖ στρατῷ παρεσελθεῖν ἐς αὐτήν. καὶ ὁ Ἀντώνιος αὐτῶν ἐξήπτετο τοῖς ἱππεῦσι καὶ τότε μόνοις. ἀμυνομένων δὲ κἀκείνων αὐτὸν ἱππεῦσι μόνοις καὶ τῆς ἄλλης στρατιᾶς χωρούσης, ἐφʼ ἃ ἐβούλοντο, δείσας ὁ Ἀντώνιος περὶ τῇ Μουτίνῃ ἐξῆγε δύο τέλη· οἱ δὲ ἡσθέντες ἐπέστρεφον καὶ ἐμάχοντο. ἄλλα δὲ Ἀντωνίου τέλη καλοῦντος ἐκ τῶν ἄλλων στρατοπέδων, ὧν βραδέως ὡς ἐν αἰφνιδίῳ τε μετακλήσει καὶ μακρόθεν ἰόντων ἐκράτουν οἱ τοῦ Καίσαρος τῇ μάχῃ. Ἵρτιος δὲ καὶ ἐς τὸ στρατόπεδον ἐσήλατο τοῦ Ἀντωνίου καὶ περὶ τὴν στρατηγίδα σκηνὴν μαχόμενος ἔπεσε. καὶ αὐτοῦ τό τε σῶμα ὁ Καῖσαρ ἐσδραμὼν ἀνείλετο καὶ τοῦ στρατοπέδου κατέσχεν, ἕως μετʼ ὀλίγον ἐξεώσθη πρὸς Ἀντωνίου. διενυκτέρευσαν δὲ καὶ ἐν τοῖς ὅπλοις ἑκάτεροι.
72. When Antony had suffered this second defeat, he took counsel with his friends directly after the battle. They advised him to adhere to his first resolution, to continue the siege of Mutina and not to go out and fight, saying that the losses had been about equal on both sides, Hirtius having been killed and Pansa wounded; that he (Antony) was superior in cavalry and that Mutina was reduced to extremity by famine and must soon succumb. Such was the advise of his friends, and it was truly for the best. But Antony, now misled by a god, was fearful lest Octavius should make another attempt to break into Mutina like that of yesterday, or even try to enclose him (Antony), as Octavius had the greater force of laborers, “in which case.” said he, “our cavalry will be useless and Lepidus and Plancus will despise me as a vanquished man. If we withdraw from Mutina, Ventidius will presently join us with three legions from Picenum, and Lepidus and Plancus will be emboldened to ally themselves with us.” So he spoke, although he was not a timid man in the presence of danger; and breaking camp forthwith he made his way toward the Alps.
72. καὶ ὁ Ἀντώνιος δευτέρᾳ τῇδε συμπεσὼν πληγῇ συνεβουλεύετο τοῖς φίλοις εὐθὺς ἀπὸ τοῦ πόνου. καὶ τοῖς μὲν ἐδόκει τῆς προτέρας αὐτὸν γνώμης ἔχεσθαι, πολιορκοῦντα Μουτίνην καὶ ἐς μάχην οὐκ ἐπεξιόντα· τό τε γὰρ πάθος ὅμοιον ἀμφοῖν γεγονέναι καὶ Ἵρτιον ἀνῃρῆσθαι καὶ Πάνσαν νοσεῖν καὶ σφᾶς τοῖς ἱππεῦσι πλεονεκτεῖν Μουτίνην τε ἐς ἔσχατον ἀφῖχθαι λιμοῦ καὶ εὐθὺς ἐνδώσειν. ὧδε μὲν ἤρεσκε τοῖς φίλοις, καὶ ἦν τὰ ἄριστα· ὁ δὲ Ἀντώνιος, ἤδη θεοῦ βλάπτοντος, ἐδεδοίκει, μὴ ἐς τὴν Μουτίνην ὁ Καῖσαρ, ὥσπερ ἐχθὲς ἐπιχειρήσας, ἐσδράμοι ἢ αὑτὸν ἐπιχειρήσειε περιτειχίζειν, πλέον ἔχων τὸ ἐργάσιμον, ἐν ᾧ καὶ τῶν ἱππέων, ἔφη, γιγνομένων ἡμῖν ἀχρήστων, ὑπερόψεταί με Λέπιδος καὶ Πλάγκος ἡττώμενον. εἰ δὲ Μουτίνης ἐξανασταῖμεν, Οὐεντίδιός τε ἡμῖν αὐτίκα προσέσται, τρία τέλη φέρων ἐκ τῆς Πικηνίτιδος, καὶ Λέπιδος καὶ Πλάγκος ἐρρωμένως οἱ συμμαχήσουσι. ταῦτα ἔλεγεν, οὐκ ἄτολμος ἐν τοῖς κινδύνοις ἀνήρ, καὶ εἰπὼν εὐθὺς ἀνίστατο καὶ ὥδευεν ἐπὶ τῶν Ἄλπεων.
73. When Decimus was delivered from the siege he began to be afraid of Octavius, whom, after the removal of the two consuls, he feared as an enemy. So he broke down the bridge over the river before daybreak and sent certain persons to Octavius in a boat, as if to return thanks for rescuing him, and asked that Octavius would come to the opposite bank of the river to hold a conversation with him in the presence of the citizens as witnesses, because he could convince Octavius, he said, that an evil spirit had deceived him and led him into the conspiracy against Caesar with the others. Octavius answered the messengers in a tone of anger, declining the thanks that Decimus gave him, saying: “I am here not to rescue Decimus, but to fight Antony, with whom I may properly come to terms sometime, but nature forbids that I should even look at Decimus or hold any conversation with him. Let him have safety, however, as long as the authorities at Rome please.” When Decimus heard this he stood on the river bank and, calling Octavius by name, read with a loud voice the letters of the Senate giving him command of the Gallic province, and forbade Octavius to cross the river without consular authority, into the government belonging to another, and not to follow Antony further, because he (Decimus) would suffice for the pursuit of the latter. Octavius knew that he was prompted to this audacious course by the Senate, and although able to seize him by giving an order, he spared him for the present and withdrew to Pansa at Bononia, where he wrote a full report to the Senate, and Pansa did likewise.
73. Δέκμῳ δὲ ἀπαλλαγέντι τῆς πολιορκίας ὁ φόβος ἐς τὸν Καίσαρα ἐνηλλάσσετο· τῶν γὰρ ὑπάτων ἐκποδὼν γενομένων ὡς ἐχθρὸν ἐδεδοίκει. τάς τε οὖν γεφύρας τοῦ ποταμοῦ διέκοπτε πρὸ ἡμέρας καὶ κελητίῳ τινὰς ἐς τὸν Καίσαρα ἀποστέλλων ἐμαρτύρει μὲν ὡς αἰτίῳ τῆς σωτηρίας, ἠξίου δὲ μέσον ἔχοντα τὸν ποταμὸν ἐς λόγους οἱ συνελθεῖν ἐπὶ μάρτυσι τοῖς πολίταις· πείσειν γάρ, ὅτι δαιμόνιον αὑτὸν ἔβλαψεν, ἐς τὴν Καίσαρος ἐπιβουλὴν ἐπηγμένον ὑφʼ ἑτέρων. Καίσαρος δὲ τοῖς ἥκουσιν ἀποκριναμένου τε πρὸς ὀργὴν καὶ τὴν χάριν, ἣν δίδωσίν οἱ Δέκμος, διωθουμένου (οὐδὲ γὰρ Δέκμον ἐγὼ πάρειμι περισώσων, ἀλλʼ Ἀντωνίῳ πολεμήσων, ᾧ μοι καὶ συναλλαγῆναί ποτε θέμις· Δέκμῳ δὲ ἡ φύσις οὐδὲ ἐς ὄψιν ἢ λόγους ἐλθεῖν ἐπιτρέπει· σῳζέσθω μέντοι, μέχρι τοῖς ἐν ἄστει δοκεῖ), πυθόμενος τούτων ὁ Δέκμος ἔστη τε πρὸ τοῦ ποταμοῦ καὶ καλῶν ὀνομαστὶ τὸν Καίσαρα, σὺν βοῇ τὰ γράμματα τῆς βουλῆς ἀνεγίνωσκε, διδούσης οἱ τὴν Κελτικὴν ἡγεμονίαν, ἀπηγόρευέ τε Καίσαρι χωρὶς ὑπάτων μὴ περᾶν τὸν ποταμὸν ἐς ἀλλοτρίαν ἡγεμονίαν μηδὲ ἐπὶ Ἀντώνιον ἔτι χωρεῖν· αὐτὸς γὰρ αὐτὸν διώκων ἀρκέσειν. ὁ δὲ ᾔδει μὲν ὑπὸ τῆς βουλῆς αὐτὸν ἐς τήνδε τὴν θρασύτητα αὐξανόμενον, δυνηθεὶς δʼ ἂν ἐκ προστάγματος ἑλεῖν ἐφείδετο ἔτι καὶ πρὸς τὸν Πάνσαν ἐς Βονωνίαν τραπεὶς ἔγραφε τῇ βουλῇ περὶ ἁπάντων. ἔγραφε δὲ καὶ Πάνσας.
74. In Rome Cicero read to the people the report of the consul, and to the Senate alone that of Octavius. For the victory over Antony, he caused them to vote a thanksgiving of fifty days,— a longer festivity than the Romans had ever decreed even after the Gallic or any other war. He induced them to give the army of the consuls to Decimus, although Pansa was still alive (for his life was now despaired of), and to appoint Decimus the sole commander against Antony. Public prayers were offered that Decimus might prevail over him. Such was Cicero’s passion and want of decorum in reference to Antony. He confirmed again, to the two legions that had deserted from Antony, the 5000 drachmas per man previously promised to them as the rewards of victory, as though they had already conquered, and gave them the perpetual right to wear the olive crown at the public festivals. There was nothing about Octavius in the decrees, and his name was not even mentioned. He was forthwith disregarded as though Antony were already destroyed. They wrote to Lepidus, to Plancus, and to Asinius Pollio to fight Antony when he should draw near them. Such was the course of events at Rome.
74. καὶ Κικέρων ἐν Ῥώμῃ τὰ μὲν ἐς τὸν δῆμον ἀνεγίγνωσκεν ὡς ὑπάτου, τὰ δὲ τοῦ Καίσαρος τῇ βουλῇ μόνον· θυσίας τε ἐπʼ Ἀντωνίῳ πεντήκοντα ἡμερῶν ἱκεσίους ἐψηφίζετο, ὅσας οὔτε ἐπὶ Κελτοῖς οὔτε ἐπὶ ἄλλῳ πολέμῳ ποτὲ ἐψηφίσαντο Ῥωμαῖοι, καὶ τὸν στρατὸν τῶν ὑπάτων ἐδίδου Δέκμῳ καίπερ ἔτι Πάνσα περιόντος ʽἤδη γὰρ ἀπεγιγνώσκετὀ, στρατηγόν τε τὸν Δέκμον ἀπέφηνεν ἐπʼ Ἀντωνίῳ μόνον εἶναι καὶ εὐχὰς δημοσίας ἐποιεῖτο Δέκμον Ἀντωνίου περιγενέσθαι. τοσοῦτος ἦν οἶστρος αὐτῷ κατὰ Ἀντωνίου καὶ ἀπειροκαλία. ἐβεβαίου τε αὖθις τοῖς δύο τέλεσι τοῖς ἀπὸ Ἀντωνίου μεταστᾶσι τὰς ἑκάστῳ προϋπεσχημένας παρὰ τοῦ κοινοῦ Ῥωμαίων ἐπινικίους δραχμὰς πεντακισχιλίας ὡς ἤδη νενικηκόσι καὶ στέφανον αὐτοὺς ἐν ταῖς ἑορταῖς αἰεὶ θαλλοῦ περιτίθεσθαι. περὶ δὲ Καίσαρος οὐδὲν ἦν ἐν τοῖς γραφομένοις, οὐδὲ τοὔνομα ὅλως· οὕτως αὐτίκα κατεφρονεῖτο ὡς Ἀντωνίου καθῃρημένου. ἔγραφον δὲ καὶ Λεπίδῳ καὶ Πλάγκῳ καὶ Ἀσινίῳ πολεμεῖν, ὅπως πλησιάσειαν Ἀντωνίῳ.
75. In the meantime Pansa was dying of his wound, and he summoned Octavius to his side, and said: “I loved your father as I did myself, yet I could not avenge his death, nor could I fail to unite with the majority, whom you have also done well to obey, although you have an army. At first they feared you and Antony, and especially Antony, as he seemed to be the one most ambitious to fill the rôle of Caesar, and they were delighted with your dissensions, thinking that you would mutually destroy each other. When they saw you the master of an army, they complimented you as a young man with specious and inexpensive honors. When they saw that you were more proud and self-restrained in respect of honors than they had supposed, and especially when you declined the magistracy that your army offered you, they were alarmed and they appointed you to the command with us in order that we might draw your two experienced legions away from you, hoping that when one of you was vanquished the other would be weakened and isolated, and so the whole of Caesar’s party would be effaced and that of Pompey be restored to power. This is their chief aim.”
75. καὶ τάδε μὲν ἦν τὰ ἐν Ῥώμῃ, Πάνσας δʼ ἐκ τοῦ τραύματος ἀποθνῄσκων Καίσαρά οἱ παρεστήσατο καὶ εἶπεν· ἐγὼ τῷ σῷ πατρὶ φίλος ἦν ὡς ἐμαυτῷ, ἀναιρεθέντι δὲ οὐκ εἶχον ἐπαμύνειν οὐδὲ τοῖς πλείοσι μὴ συνίστασθαι, οἷς γε δὴ καὶ σὺ καλῶς ποιῶν ὑπήκουσας, καίτοι στρατὸν ἔχων. δείσαντες δʼ ἐν ἀρχῇ δὲ καὶ Ἀντώνιον, φιλοτιμότατον κἀκεῖνον ἐς τὴν Καίσαρος γνώμην φανέντα, διαφερομένοις ὑμῖν ἐφήσθησαν ὡς ἐς ἀλλήλους συντριβησομένοις. ἐπεὶ δέ σε καὶ στρατοῦ δεσπότην εἶδον, προσεποιοῦντο εὐπρεπέσι καὶ ἀσθενέσι τιμαῖς οἷα μειράκιον. σοβαρωτέρου δέ σου καὶ ἐγκρατεστέρου τιμῆς τότε μάλιστα ὀφθέντος, ὅτε τὴν ἀρχὴν ὑπὸ τοῦ στρατοῦ σοι δεδομένην οὐκ ἐδέξω, διεταράχθησαν καὶ συστρατηγεῖν σε ἡμῖν ἀπέφηναν, ἵνα σου τὰ δύο τέλη τὰ πρακτικώτερα ἀποσπάσωμεν, ἐλπίσαντες ἡττηθέντος ὑμῶν τοῦ ἑτέρου τὸν ἕτερον ἀσθενέστερόν τε καὶ μόνον ἔσεσθαι καὶ μετʼ αὐτὸν ἤδη πᾶσαν τὴν Καίσαρος ἑταιρείαν καθελόντες ἀνάξειν τὴν Πομπηίου· τόδε γάρ ἐστιν αὐτοῖς τῆς γνώμης τὸ κεφάλαιον.
76. “Hirtius and I did what we were ordered to do, until we could humble Antony, who was much too arrogant; but we intended when he was vanquished to bring him into alliance with you and thus to pay the debt of gratitude we owed to Caesar’s friendship, the only payment that could be serviceable to Caesar’s party hereafter. It was not possible to communicate this to you before, but now that Antony is vanquished and Hirtius dead, and I am about to pay the debt of nature, the time for speaking has come, not that you may be grateful to me after my death, but that you, born to a happy destiny, as your deeds proclaim, may know what is for your own interest, and know that the course taken by Hirtius and myself was a matter of necessity. The army that you yourself gave to us should most properly be given back to you, and I do give it. If you can take and hold the new levies, I will give you those also. If they are too much in awe of the Senate (for their officers were sent to act as spies upon us), and if the task would be an invidious one, and would create trouble for you prematurely, the quaestor Torquatus will take command of them.” After speaking thus he transferred the new levies to the quaestor and expired. The quaestor transferred them to Decimus as the Senate had ordered. Octavius sent the bodies of Hirtius and Pansa with honors to Rome, where they received a public funeral.
76. ἐγὼ δὲ καὶ Ἵρτιος τὸ προστεταγμένον ἐποιοῦμεν μέχρι συστεῖλαι τὸν Ἀντώνιον ἐπιπολάζοντα ὑπεροψίᾳ· ἡττηθέντα δὲ σοὶ συναλλάσσειν ἐπενοοῦμεν, ὡς τῇ Καίσαρος φιλίᾳ τόδε χαριστήριον ἔχοντες ἀποδοῦναι καὶ μόνον τῇ μοίρᾳ χρησιμώτατον ἐσόμενον ἐς τὰ μέλλοντα. τοῦτο δʼ οὐκ ἦν ἐκφέρειν σοι πρότερον, ἡττημένου δὲ νῦν Ἀντωνίου καὶ Ἱρτίου τεθνεῶτος κἀμὲ τοῦ χρεὼν ἀπάγοντος, ἐν καιρῷ λέλεκται, οὐχ ἵνα μοι γινώσκῃς χάριν ἀποθανόντι, ἀλλʼ ἵνα σὺν δαιμονίᾳ μοίρᾳ γενόμενος, ὡς τὰ ἔργα ὑποδείκνυσι, τά τε σαυτῷ συμφέροντα γινώσκῃς καὶ τὴν ἐμὴν καὶ Ἱρτίου προαίρεσίν τε καὶ ἀνάγκην. τὸν μὲν οὖν στρατόν, ὃν ἡμῖν αὐτὸς ἔδωκας, εὐπροφάσιστον ἀποδοῦναί σοι, καὶ παραδίδωμι· τοὺς δὲ νεήλυδας εἰ μὲν καθέξεις λαβών, καὶ τούσδε σοι παραδώσω, εἰ δὲ τεθήπασι τὴν βουλὴν ἀμέτρως, ὅτι καὶ οἱ ἄρχοντες αὐτῶν φύλακες ἡμῖν ἐπέμφθησαν εἶναι, καὶ τό τε ἔργον ἐπίφθονον ἔσται σοι καὶ πρὸ τοῦ δέοντος ἐξανίστησί σε, ὁ ταμίας παραλήψεται Τορκουᾶτος. ταῦτα εἰπὼν καὶ τῷ ταμίᾳ τοὺς νεήλυδας ἐγχειρίσας ἀπέθανε. καὶ τούσδε μὲν ὁ ταμίας, καθὰ προσέτασσεν ἡ βουλή, Δέκμῳ παρεδίδου, Ἵρτιον δὲ καὶ Πάνσαν ὁ Καῖσαρ ἐπιφανῶς ἔθαπτε καὶ ἐς Ῥώμην ἔπεμπε μετὰ τιμῆς.
77. The following events took place in Syria and Macedonia about the same time. Gaius Caesar, when he passed through Syria, left a legion there, as he was already contemplating an expedition against the Parthians. Caecilius Bassus had charge of it, but the title of commander was held by Sextus Julius, a young man related to Caesar himself, who was given over to dissipation and who led the legion around everywhere in an indecorous manner. Once when Bassus reproved him, he replied insultingly, and sometime later, when he called Bassus to him and the latter was slow in obeying, he ordered him to be dragged before him. A tumult and blows ensued. The soldiers would not tolerate the indignity and stabbed Julius. This act was followed by repentance and fear of Caesar. Accordingly, they took an oath together that they would defend themselves to the death if they were not pardoned and restored to confidence, and they compelled Bassus to take the same oath. They also enlisted and drilled another legion as associates with themselves. This is one account of Bassus, but Libo says that he belonged to the army of Pompey and that after the latter’s defeat he became a private citizen in Tyre, where he corrupted certain members of the legion, who slew Sextus and chose Bassus for their leader. However that may have been, Caesar sent Statius Marcus against him with three legions. Bassus defeated him badly. Finally, Marcus appealed to Marcius Crispus, the governor of Bithynia, and the latter came to his aid with three legions.
77. τῷ δʼ αὐτῷ χρόνῳ περί τε Συρίαν καὶ Μακεδονίαν τοιάδε ἐγίγνετο. Γάιος Καῖσαρ ὅτε Συρίαν διώδευε, τέλος ἐν αὐτῇ καταλελοίπει τὰ ἐς Παρθυαίους ἤδη διανοούμενος. τούτου τὴν μὲν ἐπιμέλειαν Καικίλιος Βάσσος εἶχε, τὸ δὲ ἀξίωμα Ἰούλιος Σέξστος, μειράκιον αὐτοῦ Καίσαρος συγγενές, ὅπερ ἐκδιαιτώμενον ἐς τρυφὴν τὸ τέλος ἀσχημόνως ἐπήγετο πανταχοῦ. μεμψαμένῳ δὲ τῷ Βάσσῳ ποτὲ ἐνύβρισε· καὶ καλῶν αὐτὸν ὕστερον, ἐπεὶ βραδέως ὑπήκουσεν, ἄγειν ἐκέλευσεν ἕλκοντας. θορύβου δὲ καὶ πληγῶν γενομένων ἡ στρατιὰ τὴν ὕβριν οὐ φέρουσα τὸν Ἰούλιον κατηκόντισε. καὶ εὐθὺς ἦν μετάνοια καὶ δέος ἐκ τοῦ Καίσαρος. συνομόσαντες οὖν, εἰ μή τις αὑτοῖς συγγνώμη καὶ πίστις γένοιτο, μέχρι θανάτου διαγωνιεῖσθαι καὶ ἐς αὐτὸ Βάσσον ἀναγκάσαντες ἄλλο συνέλεξαν τέλος καὶ συνεγύμνασαν. ὧδε μέν τισι περὶ τοῦ Βάσσου δοκεῖ, Λίβωνι δʼ, ὅτι τῆς Πομπηίου στρατιᾶς γενόμενος καὶ μετὰ τὴν ἧτταν ἰδιωτεύων ἐν Τύρῳ, διέφθειρέ τινας τοῦ τέλους, καὶ διεχρήσαντο τὸν Σέξστον καὶ τῷ Βάσσῳ σφᾶς ἐνεχείρισαν. ὁποτέρως δʼ ἐγένετο, Στάιον Μοῦρκον οἵδε, μετὰ τριῶν τελῶν ἐπιπεμφθέντα σφίσιν ὑπὸ τοῦ Καίσαρος, ἐγκρατῶς ἀπεμάχοντο, ἕως ὁ Μοῦρκος ἐπεκαλεῖτο Μάρκιον Κρίσπον ἡγούμενον Βιθυνίας καὶ ἀφίκετο αὐτῷ βοηθῶν ὁ Κρίσπος τέλεσιν ἄλλοις τρισίν.
78. While Bassus was besieged by the latter, Cassius suddenly came up with them and took possession, not only of the two legions of Bassus, but also of the six that were besieging him, whose leaders surrendered in a friendly way and obeyed him as proconsul; for the Senate had decreed, as I have already said, that all [beyond the Adriatic] should obey Cassius and Brutus. Just then Allienus, who had been sent to Egypt by Dolabella, brought from that quarter four legions of soldiers dispersed by the disasters of Pompey and of Crassus, or left with Cleopatra by Caesar. Cassius surrounded him unawares in Palestine and compelled him to surrender, as he did not dare to fight with four legions against eight. Thus Cassius became the master, in a surprising way, of twelve legions, and laid siege to Dolabella, who was coming from Asia with two legions and had been received in Laodicea in a friendly manner. The Senate was delighted when it heard the news.
78. ὡς δὲ ὑπὸ τούτων ἐπολιορκοῦντο, ὁ Κάσσιος σὺν ἐπείξει καταλαβὼν τά τε τοῦ Βάσσου δύο τέλη παρελάμβανεν αὐτίκα καὶ τὰ τῶν πολιορκούντων αὐτὸν ἕξ, φιλίᾳ τε παραδόντων καὶ ὡς ἀνθυπάτῳ κατηκόων γενομένων· ἐψήφιστο γάρ, ὥς μοι προείρηται, πάντας ὑπακούειν Κασσίῳ τε καὶ Βρούτῳ. ἄρτι δὲ καὶ Ἀλλιηνός, ὑπὸ Δολοβέλλα πεμφθεὶς ἐς Αἴγυπτον, ἐπανῆγεν ἐξ αὐτῆς τέσσαρα τέλη τῶν ἐκ τῆς ἥσσης Πομπηίου τε καὶ Κράσσου διαρριφέντων ἢ ὑπὸ Καίσαρος Κλεοπάτρᾳ καταλελειμμένων. καὶ αὐτὸν ὁ Κάσσιος οὐδὲν προπεπυσμένον ἐν τῇ Παλαιστίνῃ περιέλαβέ τε καὶ ἠνάγκασεν ἑαυτῷ προσθέσθαι, δείσαντα τοῖς τέσσαρσι μάχεσθαι πρὸς ὀκτώ. ὧδε μὲν δὴ Κάσσιος ἐκ παραδόξου δυώδεκα τελῶν ἀθρόως ἐκράτει καὶ Δολοβέλλαν ἐκ τῆς Ἀσίας σὺν δύο τέλεσιν ἐλθόντα τε καὶ ἐς Λαοδίκειαν ὑπὸ οἰκειότητος ἐσδεχθέντα περικαθήμενος ἐπολιόρκει. καὶ ἡ βουλὴ μαθοῦσα ἐφήδετο.
79. In Macedonia Gaius Antonius, the brother of Mark Antony, with one legion of foot soldiers, contended with Brutus, and, being inferior in strength to the latter, laid an ambuscade for him. Brutus avoided the trap, and, in his turn, laid an ambuscade, but he did no harm to those whom he caught in it, but ordered his own soldiers to salute their adversaries. Although the latter did not return the salutation or accept the courtesy he allowed them to pass out of the trap unharmed. Then he went around by other roads and confronted them again at a precipice, and again did them no harm but saluted them. Then, regarding him as a saviour of his fellow-citizens, and as one deserving the reputation he had gained for wisdom and mildness, they conceived an admiration for him, saluted him, and passed over to him. Gaius also surrendered himself and was treated with honor by Brutus until he was convicted of having tried several times to corrupt the army, when he was put to death. Thus, including his former forces, Brutus had possession of six legions, and since he approved the valor of the Macedonians he raised two legions among them, whom he drilled in the Italian discipline.
79. Μακεδονίας δὲ πέρι Γάιος Ἀντώνιος, ὁ Ἀντωνίου Μάρκου ἀδελφός, Βρούτῳ διεφέρετο καὶ ἐπολέμει, τέλος ἔχων ἓν ὁπλιτῶν· καὶ τὸν Βροῦτον ἡσσώμενος ἐνήδρευσεν. ὁ δʼ ἐκφυγὼν ἀντενήδρευσε καὶ οὐδὲν εἰργάσατο ἀποληφθέντας, ἀλλὰ ἀσπάσασθαι τῷ ἰδίῳ στρατῷ τοὺς ἐναντίους προσέταξε· τῶν δὲ οὐκ ἀντασπασαμένων οὐδὲ τὴν πεῖραν ἐνδεξαμένων, μεθῆκεν ἀπαθεῖς ἐκ τῆς ἐνέδρας ἀπιέναι. κατὰ δὲ ἄλλας ὁδοὺς περιελθὼν αὖθις ἐν ἀποκρήμνοις κατέστησε καὶ πάλιν οὐκ ἐπεχείρησεν, ἀλλʼ ἠσπάσατο. οἱ δέ, ὡς πολιτῶν τε περιφειδόμενον καὶ τῆς δόξης ἄξιον ἧς εἶχεν ἐπὶ σοφίᾳ τε καὶ πραότητι, ἠγάσαντο καὶ ἀντησπάσαντο καὶ ἐς αὐτὸν μετεβάλοντο. ἐπέτρεψε δὲ καὶ ὁ Γάιος ἑαυτὸν καὶ ἦν ἐν τιμῇ παρὰ Βρούτῳ, μέχρι τὸν στρατὸν πολλάκις διαφθείρων ἐλεγχθεὶς ἀνῃρέθη. οὕτω μὲν δὴ καὶ Βρούτῳ μετὰ τῶν προτέρων στρατῶν ἓξ ἐγίνετο τέλη· καὶ Μακεδόνας ἐπαινῶν δύο τέλη κατέλεξεν ἐξ αὐτῶν, καὶ ἐς τὸν Ἰταλικὸν τρόπον καὶ τάδε ἐγυμνάζετο.
80. Such was the state of affairs in Syria and Macedonia. In Italy Octavius, although he considered it an insult that Decimus, instead of himself, was chosen general against Antony, concealed his indignation and asked the honors of a triumph for his exploits. Being disdained by the Senate as though he were seeking honors beyond his years, he began to fear lest if Antony were destroyed he should be despised still more, and so he desired a reconciliation with Antony, as Pansa on his death-bed had recommended to him. Accordingly, he began to make friends of those of Antony’s army who had been taken prisoners, both officers and soldiers. He enrolled them among his own troops, or if they wished to return to Antony he allowed them to do so, in order to show that he was not moved by implacable hatred against him. When he was encamped near to Ventidius, Antony’s friend, who had command of three legions, he inspired the latter with fear, but performed no hostile act, and in like manner gave him the opportunity to join himself or to go on safely with his army to Antony, and told him to chide the latter for ignoring their common interests. Ventidius took the hint and proceeded to join Antony. Octavius also allowed Decius, one of Antony’s officers, who had been taken prisoner at Mutina, and had been treated with honor, to return to Antony if he wished, and when Decius tried to find out what were his sentiments toward Antony, he said that he had given plenty of indications to persons of discernment and that more would be insufficient for fools.
80. τοιαῦτα μὲν δὴ καὶ τὰ περὶ Συρίαν καὶ Μακεδονίαν ἦν· ἐν δὲ τῇ Ἰταλίᾳ ὁ Καῖσαρ ἐν ὕβρει θέμενος ἀντὶ οὗ Δέκμον ᾑρῆσθαι στρατηγὸν ἐπὶ Ἀντωνίῳ, τὴν μὲν ὀργὴν ἐπέκρυπτε, θρίαμβον δʼ ἐπὶ τοῖς εἰργασμένοις ᾔτει. καταφρονούμενος δʼ ὑπὸ τῆς βουλῆς ὡς πρεσβύτερα τῆς ἡλικίας ἐπινοῶν, ἔδεισε, μὴ διαφθαρέντος Ἀντωνίου μᾶλλον ἔτι καταφρονηθείη, καὶ τὰς ἐς αὐτὸν συμβάσεις ἐπόθει, καθὰ καὶ Πάνσας αὐτῷ διεσήμαινεν ἀποθνῄσκων. τούς τε οὖν ἀλωμένους ἐκ τῆς ἐκείνου στρατιᾶς ἡγεμόνας ἢ στρατιώτας ἐφιλανθρωπεύετο, καὶ τοῖς ἰδίοις ἐγκατέλεγεν ἢ τοὺς ἐθέλοντας αὐτῶν ἐς τὸν Ἀντώνιον ἔπεμπεν, ὡς οὐ διʼ ἔχθρας ἀνηκέστου πρὸς αὐτὸν ἰόντα· Οὐεντιδίῳ τε τῷ Ἀντωνίου φίλῳ, μετὰ τριῶν τελῶν ὄντι, παραστρατοπεδεύσας καὶ δέος ἐμβαλὼν ἔπραξε μὲν οὐδὲν πολέμιον, ἐδίδου δὲ ὁμοίως συνεῖναί οἱ ἢ ἐς τὸν Ἀντώνιον ἀδεῶς ἀπιέναι μετὰ τοῦ στρατοῦ καὶ μέμφεσθαι τῆς ἐς τὸ κοινὸν συμφέρον ἀγνωσίας. ὧν Οὐεντίδιος συνεὶς ἐς τὸν Ἀντώνιον ἀπῄει. ὁ δὲ Καῖσαρ Δέκιον, τῶν τινα ἡγεμόνων Ἀντωνίου, περὶ Μουτίνην ληφθέντα διὰ τιμῆς ἄγων μεθῆκεν, εἰ θέλοι, πρὸς τὸν Ἀντώνιον ἀπιέναι· καὶ πυνθανομένῳ περὶ τῆς ἐς τὸν Ἀντώνιον γνώμης πολλὰ ἔφη σύμβολα τοῖς εὖ φρονοῦσιν ἐξενηνοχέναι, τοῖς δʼ ἄφροσιν οὐδὲ τὰ πλείονα ἀρκέσειν.
81. After conveying these hints to Antony, Octavius wrote still more plainly to Lepidus and Asinius concerning the indignities put upon himself and the rapid advancement of the murderers, causing them to fear, lest in consequence of the favor extended to the Pompeian faction, each of the Caesarians should, one by one, share the fate of Antony, although he was suffering the consequences of his own folly and arrogance. He advised that, for the sake of appearances, they should obey the Senate, but that they should confer together for their own safety while they could still do so, and reproach Antony for his conduct; that they should follow the example of their own soldiers, who did not separate even when theywere discharged from the service but, in order that they might not be exposed to the assaults of enemies, preferred to unite their strength by settling together on ground that belonged not to them in groups, rather than enjoy their own homesteads singly. These things Octavius wrote to Lepidus and Asinius. The first soldiers of Decimus fell sick by reason of excessive eating after their famine, and suffered from dysentery, and the newer ones were still undrilled. Plancus soon joined him with his army, and then Decimus wrote to the Senate that he would pursue and capture Antony immediately.
81. Ἀντωνίῳ μὲν δὴ τάδε ὁ Καῖσαρ ἐνεσήμαινε, Λεπίδῳ δὲ καὶ Ἀσινίῳ σαφέστερον ἔτι περὶ τῆς ἐς αὑτὸν ὕβρεως καὶ τῆς τῶν σφαγέων ἀθρόας προαγωγῆς ἐπέστελλεν, ἐκφοβῶν αὐτούς, μὴ ἐς χάριν τῆς Πομπηιανῆς ἑταιρείας καθʼ ἕνα τῶν Καίσαρος ἕκαστος ὅμοια Ἀντωνίῳ πάθοι, κἀκείνῳ διʼ ἀφροσύνην καὶ ὑπεροψίαν τοῦδε τοῦ δέους τάδε παθόντι. ἠξίου τε ἐς μὲν εὐπρέπειαν τῆς βουλῆς εἶναι κατηκόους, ἐς δὲ τὸ σφέτερον ἀσφαλὲς συμφρονεῖν, ἕως ἔτι δύνανται, καὶ ὀνειδίζειν ταῦτα Ἀντωνίῳ, μιμεῖσθαί τε τοὺς ὑπὸ σφίσιν ὁπλίτας· οὐ διαλυομένους, οὐδʼ ὅτε παύσαιντο τῶν στρατειῶν, ἵνα μὴ τοῖς ἐχθροῖς εἶεν εὐεπίθετοι, ἀλλʼ ἀθρόους ἐν ἀλλοτρίᾳ συνοικίζεσθαι διὰ τὴν ἰσχὺν μᾶλλον ἐθέλοντας ἢ καθʼ ἕνα τῶν πατρίδων ἀπολαύειν. τάδε μὲν ὁ Καῖσαρ Λεπίδῳ τε ἐπέστελλε καὶ Ἀσινίῳ· Δέκμῳ δὲ ὁ ἀρχαῖος στρατὸς ἐνόσει πιμπλάμενος ἐκ λιμοῦ καὶ τὰς γαστέρας κατερρήγνυντο, ὅ τε νεοστράτευτος ἀγύμναστος ἔτι ἦν. Πλάγκος δὲ προσεγένετο μετὰ τοῦ οἰκείου στρατοῦ, καὶ ὁ Δέκμος ἐπέστελλε τῇ βουλῇ τὸν Ἀντώνιον ἀλώμενον κυνηγετήσειν ναυτικῶν περ ἤδη γεγονότων.