71. In these two battles in one day Caesar lost nine hundred and sixty men and some well-known Roman knights—Tuticanus the Gaul, son of a senator, G. Fleginas of Placentia, A. Granius of Puteoli, M. Sacrativir of Capua—and thirty-two military tribunes and centurions; but the majority of these were overwhelmed at the ditches and lines of investment and river-banks in the panic and flight of their comrades and perished without any wound; and thirty-two military standards were lost. In this battle Pompeius received the appellation of Imperator. To this title he adhered and afterwards allowed himself to be saluted as such, but he was never wont to use the ascription in his dispatches, nor did he display the insignia of the laurel on his fasces. But Labienus, having induced Pompeius to order the captives to be handed over to him, brought them all out, apparently for the sake of display, to increase his own credit as a traitor, and, styling them “comrades” and asking them with much insolence of language whether veterans were in the habit of running away, killed them in the sight of all.
71. Duobus his unius diei proeliis Caesar desideravit milites DCCCCLX et notos equites Romanos Tuticanum Gallum, senatoris filium, C. Fleginatem Placentia, A. Granium Puteolis, M. Sacrativirum Capua, tribunos militum et centuriones XXXII; sed horum omnium pars magna in fossis munitionibusque et fluminis ripis oppressa suorum in terrore ac fuga sine ullo vulnere interiit; signaque sunt militaria amissa XXXII. Pompeius eo proelio imperator est appellatus. Hoc nomen obtinuit atque ita se postea salutari passus est, sed neque in litteris scribere est solitus, neque in fascibus insignia laureae praetulit. At Labienus, cum ab eo impetravisset, ut sibi captivos tradi iuberet, omnes productos ostentationis, ut videbatur, causa, quo maior perfugae fides haberetur, commilitones appellans et magna verborum contumelia interrogans, solerentne veterani milites fugere, in omnium conspectu interfecit.
72. By these successes the Pompeians gained so much confidence and spirit that instead of forming a plan of campaign they regarded themselves as having already conquered. They did not reflect that the cause of their success had been the small number of our troops, the unfavourable conditions of the site and the narrow space, when they had forestalled us in the occupation of the camp; the twofold panic, within and without the fortifications; the severance of the army into two parts, one being unable to bear aid to the other. They did not consider further that they had not fought in a sharp encounter or in a pitched battle, and that our men had brought a greater loss upon themselves by their numbers and the confined space than they had suffered from the enemy. Finally, they did not recollect the common chances of warfare, how often trifling causes, originating in a false suspicion, a sudden alarm, or a religious scruple, have entailed great disasters, whensoever a mistake has been made in an army through the incapacity of a general or the fault of a tribune; but just as if their victory were due to their valour and no change of fortune could occur, by reports and dispatches they proceeded to celebrate throughout the world the victory of that day.
72. His rebus tantum fiduciae ac spiritus Pompeianis accessit, ut non de ratione belli cogitarent, sed vicisse iam viderentur. Non illi paucitatem nostrorum militum, non iniquitatem loci atque angustias praeoccupatis castris et ancipitem terrorem intra extraque munitiones, non abscisum in duas partes exercitum, cum altera alteri auxilium ferre non posset, causae fuisse cogitabant. Non ad haec addebant non concursu acri facto, non proelio dimicatum, sibique ipsos multitudine atque angustiis maius attulisse detrimentum, quam ab hoste accepissent. Non denique communes belli casus recordabantur, quam parvulae saepe causae vel falsae suspicionis vel terroris repentini vel obiectae religionis magna detrimenta intulissent, quotiens vel ducis vitio vel culpa tribuni in exercitu esset offensum; sed, proinde ae si virtute vicissent, neque ulla commutatio rerum posset accidere, per orbem terrarum fama ac litteris victoriam eius diei concelebrabant.
73. Caesar, driven from his former plans, came to the conclusion that he must alter his whole method of campaign. And so simultaneously withdrawing all his garrisons, abandoning the siege, and gathering all his army together, he delivered an harangue before his troops and exhorted them not to take to heart what had happened nor to be terrified by these events and set one reverse, and that a slight one, against many successful battles. They should be grateful to fortune that they had captured Italy without a disaster of some kind; that they had pacified the two Spains, the home of most warlike races, with generals of the utmost skill and experience; that they had brought under their own control the neighbouring corn-supplying provinces; finally, they should remember with what good fortune they had all been transported in safety through the midst of the enemy’s fleets when not only the harbours but even the shores were crowded with their foes. If everything did not fall out favourably, they must assist fortune by their own energy. The loss that had been sustained should be attributed to the fault of anyone rather than himself. He had given them a favourable situation for fighting, he had gained possession of the enemy’s camp, he had expelled and overcome them in fight. But whether it was their own nervousness or some blunder, or even a chance of fortune that had interrupted a victory already won and within their hands, they must all exert themselves to repair by their valour the damage they had sustained. If this were done, the result would be that the loss would be turned to advantage, as had happened at Gergovia, and those who had previously feared to fight would voluntarily offer themselves for battle.
73. Caesar a superioribus consiliis depulsus omnem sibi commutandam belli rationem existimavit. Itaque uno tempore praesidiis omnibus deductis et oppugnatione dimissa coactoque in unum locum exercitu contionem apud milites habuit hortatusque est, ne ea, quae accidissent, graviter ferrent neve his rebus terrerentur multisque secundis proeliis unum adversum et id mediocre opponerent. Habendam fortunae gratiam, quod Italiam sine aliquo vulnere cepissent, quod duas Hispanias bellicosissimorum hominum peritissimis atque exercitatissimis ducibus pacavissent, quod finitimas frumentariasque provincias in potestatem redegissent; denique recordari debere, qua felicitate inter medias hostium classes oppletis non solum portibus, sed etiam litoribus omnes incolumes essent transportati. Si non omnia caderent secunda, fortunam esse industria sublevandam. Quod esset acceptum detrimenti, cuiusvis potius quam suae culpae debere tribui. Locum se aequum ad dimicandum dedisse, potitum esse hostium castris, expulisse ac superasse pugnantes. Sed sive ipsorum perturbatio sive error aliquis sive etiam fortuna partam iam praesentemque victoriam interpellavisset, dandam omnibus operam, ut acceptum incommodum virtute sarciretur. Quod si esset factum, futurum, uti ad Gergoviam contigisset, ut detrimentum in bonum verteret, atque qui ante dimicare timuissent, ultro se proelio offerrent.
74. After delivering this harangue he publicly disgraced and degraded some standard-bearers. The army, as a whole, was seized with such remorse as a result of the disaster, and such eagerness to repair the discredit, that no one waited for the commands of tribune or centurion, and each man imposed even heavier tasks on himself by way of penalty, and all were alike inflamed by an eager desire for fighting, while some even of higher rank, moved by reflection, thought that they ought to remain on the spot and entrust the issue to a pitched battle. On the other hand, Caesar had not sufficient confidence in his panic-stricken troops and thought that an interval should be allowed to restore their spirits; and if he abandoned his lines he was in great fear for his corn supply.
74. Hac habita contione nonnullos signiferos ignominia notavit ac loco movit. Exercitui quidem omni tantus incessit ex incommodo dolor tantumque studium infamiae sarciendae, ut nemo aut tribuni aut centurionis imperium desideraret, et sibi quisque etiam poenae loco graviores imponeret labores, simulque omnes arderent cupiditate pugnandi, cum superioris etiam ordinis nomini Ii ratione permoti manendum eo loco et rem proelio committendam existimarent. Contra ea Caesar neque satis militibus perterritis confidebat spatiumque interponendum ad recreandos animos putabat, et relictis munitionibus magnopere rei frumentariae timebat.
75. And so, with only such delay as attention to the sick and wounded required, he quietly sent on all his baggage-train from the camp at nightfall to Apollonia and forbade it to stop for rest till the journey was finished, and one legion was sent to protect it. Having arranged these matters, he kept back two legions in camp and led out the rest at the fourth watch by several gates and sent them on by the same route; and after a short interval he ordered the signal to be given in order that the military custom might be observed and that his departure might be known as late as possible; and at once marching out and following the rearguard, he quickly departed out of sight of the camp. Nor, on the other hand, did Pompeius, when he learnt of his design, allow any delay in pursuit, but with the same object in view, hoping to overtake the foe in the confusion and alarm of a difficult march, led his army from the camp and sent forward his horse to delay the rearguard, but was unable to overtake them, because Caesar, being in light marching order, had gone far ahead. But when they reached the River Genusus, with its difficult banks, the cavalry following up engaged and hindered the rearguard. Caesar opposed his own horsemen to them, mixing with them four hundred light-armed front-rank men, who gained such success that, engaging in a cavalry skirmish, they repelled them all, slaying many, and withdrew unhurt to the main body.
75. Itaque nulla interposita mora sauciorum modo et aegrorum habita ratione impedimenta omnia silentio prima nocte ex castris Apolloniam praemisit. Haec conquiescere ante iter confectum vetuit. His una legio missa praesidio est. His explicitis rebus duas in castris legiones retinuit, reliquas de quarta vigilia compluribus portis eductus eodem itinere praemisit parvoque spatio intermisso, ut et militare institutum servaretur, et quam serissime eius profectio cognosceretur conclamari iussit statimque egressus et novissimum agmen consecutus celeriter ex conspectu castrorum discessit. Neque vero Pompeius cognito consilio eius moram ullam ad insequendum intulit; sed eodem spectans, si itinere impeditos perterritos deprehendere posset, exercitum e castris eduxit equitatumque praemisit ad novissimum agmen demorandum, neque consequi potuit, quod multum expedito itinere antecesserat Caesar. Sed cum ventum esset ad flumen Genusum, quod ripis erat impeditis, consecutus equitatus novissimos proelio detinebat. Huic suos Caesar equites opposuit expeditosque antesignanos admiscuit CCCC; qui tantum profecerunt, ut equestri proelio commisso pellerent omnes compluresque interficerent ipsique incolumes se ad agmen reciperent.
76. Having completed his full march for that day, and having taken his army across the River Genusus, Caesar established himself in his old camp over against Asparagium and kept all his men within the rampart of the camp, and ordered his cavalry, which had been sent out under the pretence of foraging, to return to camp at once by the decuman gate. In the same way Pompeius, having finished his day’s march, sat down in his old camp at Asparagium. Of his soldiers, who were free from work owing to the fortifications being intact, some were going to a distance for the purpose of getting wood and fodder; others, who had left behind a great part of their baggage-train and accoutrements, when they suddenly formed the design of setting out, being induced by the propinquity of their last camp to fetch them back, had deposited their arms in their quarters and were leaving the ramparts. As they were thus hindered from pursuing, Caesar, having foreseen that this would happen, gave the signal for departure, and about noon led out his army, and doing a double march this day, he advanced about eight miles from this place. This Pompeius was unable to do owing to the dispersal of his men.
76. Confecto iusto itinere eius diei Caesar traductoque exercitu flumen Genusum veteribus suis in castris contra Asparagium consedit militesque omnes intra vallum continuit equitatumque per causam pabulandi emissum confestim decumana porta in castra se recipere iussit. Simili ratione Pompeius confecto eius diei itinere in suis veteribus castris ad Asparagium consedit. Eius milites, quod ab opere integris munitionibus vacabant, alii lignandi pabulandique causa longius progrediebantur, alii, quod subito consilium profectionis ceperant magna parte impedimentorum et sarcinarum relicta, ad haec repetenda invitati propinquitate superiorum castrorum, depositis in contubernio armis, vallum relinquebant. Quibus ad sequendum impeditis Caesar, quod fore providerat, meridiano fere tempore signo profectionis dato exercitum educit duplicatoque eius diei itinere viri milia passuum ex eo loco procedit; quod facere Pompeius discessu militum non potuit;
77. On the next day Caesar, having in the same way sent on his baggage-train at nightfall, himself marched out at the fourth watch, so that if any necessity for fighting should be laid on him he might meet the sudden emergency with a lightly equipped force. He did the same thing on the following days. By which means it resulted that, notwithstanding the very deep streams and the extremely difficult routes, he sustained no damage. For Pompeius, after the delay caused on the first day and the toil undertaken to no purpose on the subsequent days, pressing forward as he did by forced marches in his eagerness to overtake the troops in front of him, ended his pursuit on the fourth day and concluded that he must adopt a different plan.
77. Postero die Caesar similiter praemissis prima nocte impedimentis de quarta vigilia ipse egreditur, ut, si qua esset imposita dimicandi necessitas, subitum casum expedito exercitu subiret. Hoc idem reliquis fecit diebus. Quibus rebus perfectum est, ut altissimis fluminibus atque impeditissimis itineribus nullum acciperet incommodum. Pompeius primi diei mora illata et reliquorum dierum frustra labore suscepto, cum se magnis itineribus extenderet et praegressos consequi cuperet, quarto die finem sequendi fecit atque aliud sibi consilium capiendum existimavit.
78. It was necessary for Caesar to go to Apollonia for the purpose of depositing his wounded, paying his army, encouraging his allies, and leaving garrisons for the towns. But to these measures he assigned only so much time as the hurry of his movements allowed. Fearing for Domitius, lest he should be taken unawares by the arrival of Pompeius, Caesar hastened to him with all speed and urgent endeavour. Now he was evolving his general plan of campaign with various contingencies in view: if Pompeius should hurry to the same place he would compel him, when drawn away from the sea and separated from the stores that he had gathered at Dyrrachium, to fight with him under equal conditions of warfare; if he should cross into Italy he would join his army with that of Domitius and set out through Illyricum to succour Italy; if Pompeius should attempt to besiege Apollonia and Oricum and to exclude him from the whole coast, he would blockade Scipio, and so compel Pompeius of necessity to take aid to his own people. And so Caesar sent on messengers and wrote to Gn. Domitius explaining what he wanted done; and leaving a garrison of four cohorts at Apollonia, one at Lissus, and three at Oricum, and depositing at various places those who were suffering from wounds, he began his march through Epirus and Athamania. Pompeius also, forming a conjecture as to Caesar’s plans, thought it his duty to hasten to Scipio, so that if Caesar was marching thither he should go to the aid of Scipio, but if Caesar did not choose to leave the coast and the district of Oricum, waiting for his legions and cavalry from Italy, he should himself attack Domitius in full force.
78. Caesari ad saucios deponendos, stipendium exercitui dandum, socios confirmandos, praesidium urbibus relinquendum necesse erat adire Apolloniam. Sed his rebus tantum temporis tribuit, quantum erat properanti necesse; timens Domitio, ne adventu Pompei praeoccuparetur, ad eum omni celeritate et studio incitatus ferebatur. Totius autem rei consilium his rationibus explicabat, ut, si Pompeius eodem contenderet, abductum illum a mari atque ab eis copiis, quas Dyrrachii comparaverat, abstractum pari condicione belli secum decertare cogeret; si in Italiam transiret, coniuncto exercitu cum Domitio per Illyricum Italiae subsidio proficisceretur; si Apolloniam Oricumque oppugnare et se omni maritima ora excludere conaretur, obsesso Scipione necessario illum suis auxilium ferre cogeret. Itaque praemissis nuntiis ad Cn. Domitium Caesar ei scripsit et, quid fieri vellet, ostendit, praesidioque Apolloniae cohortibus IIII, Lissi i, III Orici relictis, quique erant ex vulneribus aegri depositis, per Epirum atque Athamaniam iter facere coepit. Pompeius quoque de Caesaris consilio coniectura iudicans ad Scipionem properandum sibi existimabat: si Caesar iter illo haberet, ut subsidium Scipioni ferret; si ab ora maritima Oricoque discedere nollet, quod legiones equitatumque ex Italia exspectaret, ipse ut omnibus copiis Domitium aggrederetur.
79. For these reasons each of them aimed at celerity of movement, both to succour his own allies, and not to miss the opportunity that any moment might afford of crushing his adversaries. But Apollonia had turned Caesar aside from the direct route, and Pompeius was marching in light equipment through Candavia into Macedonia. Another unforeseen difficulty also arose in the fact that Domitius, whose camp had been pitched over against that of Scipio for several days, had moved away from him for foraging purposes and had marched to Heraclia, which lies close under Candavia, so that fortune itself seemed to expose him to the attack of Pompeius. Of this, however, Caesar was till then ignorant. At the same time, letters having been sent by Pompeius through all the provinces and communities after the battle at Dyrrachium, couched in a more exaggerated and inflated style than the facts warranted, a report had spread abroad that Caesar had been beaten and was in flight with the loss of nearly all his forces. This rumour had made the routes full of danger, and was drawing off some of the communities from their friendship with him. In consequence of this it happened that persons sent by various routes from Caesar to Domitius and from Domitius to Caesar could by no means finish their journey. But the Allobroges, friends of Raucillus and Egus, who, as we have explained, had deserted to Pompeius, having seen on the route some scouts of Domitius, either by reason of their old intimacy because they had waged war together in Gaul, or in the elation of vainglory, set before them everything that had happened, and told them of the departure of Caesar and the arrival of Pompeius. Domitius, who was scarcely four hours ahead, receiving this information from them, escaped his peril thanks to the foe, and met Caesar on his way to Aeginium, a town which lies over against Thessaly.
79. His de causis uterque eorum celeritati studebat, et suis ut esset auxilio, et ad opprimendos adversarios ne occasioni temporis deesset. Sed Caesarem Apollonia a directo itinere averterat; Pompeius per Candaviam iter in Macedoniam expeditum habebat. Accessit etiam ex improviso aliud incommodum, quod Domitius, qui dies complures castris Scipionis castra collata habuisset, rei frumentariae causa ab eo discesserat et Heracliam, quae est subiecta Candaviae, iter fecerat, ut ipsa fortuna illum obicere Pompeio videretur. Haec ad id tempus Caesar ignorabat. Simul a Pompeio litteris per omnes provincias civitatesque dimissis proelio ad Dyrrachium facto latius inflatiusque multo, quam res erat gesta, fama percrebuerat, pulsum fugere Caesarem paene omnibus copiis amissis; haec itinera infesta reddiderat, haec civitates nonnullas ab eius amicitia avertebat. Quibus accidit rebus, ut pluribus dimissi itineribus a Caesare ad Domitium et a Domitio ad Caesarem nulla ratione iter conficere possent. Sed Allobroges, Raucilli atque Egi familiares, quos perfugisse ad Pompeium demonstravimus, conspicati in itinere exploratores Domitii, seu pristina sua consuetudine, quod una in Gallia bella gesserant, seu gloria elati cuncta, ut erant acta, exposuerunt et Caesaris profectionem et adventum Pompei docuerunt. A quibus Domitius certior factus vix mi horarum spatio antecedens hostium beneficio periculum vitavit et ad Aeginium, quod est oppidum obiectum Thessaliae, Caesari venienti occurrit.
80. With his army thus united Caesar arrived at Gomphi, the first town in Thessaly as one comes from Epirus: a few months before, the people had voluntarily sent envoys to Caesar bidding him use all their resources, and had asked him for a garrison of troops. But the rumour which we have mentioned above about the battle at Dyrrachium, which it had considerably exaggerated, had already outstripped him. And so Androsthenes, governor of Thessaly, preferring to share the victory of Pompeius rather than be associated with Caesar in adversity, compels the whole multitude of slaves and freedmen to come from the fields to the town, shuts the gates, and sends messengers to Scipio and Pompeius asking them to come to his aid, saying that he has confidence in the defences of the town if succour is brought quickly, but that he cannot hold out against a long siege. Scipio, having learnt of the departure of-the armies from Dyrrachium, had brought his legions to Larisa. Pompeius was not yet near Thessaly. Caesar, having made an entrenched camp, ordered ladders and mantlets for a hasty siege to be made and hurdles to be got ready. When these measures had been taken he exhorted his troops and explained to them how useful it would be for the purpose of alleviating the general scarcity to get possession of a well-filled and opulent town, and at the same time to strike terror into the remaining communities by the example of this town, and that this should be done quickly before reinforcements could come together. And so, experiencing the utmost zeal on the part of his troops, he began to besiege the town, which had very high walls, on the very day of his arrival after the ninth hour, and took it by storm before sunset, and gave it over to his men for plunder. He then immediately moved his camp away from the town and came to Metropolis so quickly as to outstrip all news and rumour of the storming of the town.
80. Coniuncto exercitu Caesar Gomphos pervenit, quod est oppidum primum Thessaliae venientibus ab Epiro; quae gens paucis ante mensibus ultro ad Caesaream legatos miserat, ut suis omnibus facultatibus uteretur, praesidiumque ab eo militum petierat. Sed eo fama iam praecurrerat, quam supra docuimus, de proelio Dyrrachino, quod multis auxerat partibus. Itaque Androsthenes, praetor Thessaliae, cum se victoriae Pompei comitem esse mallet quam socium Caesaris in rebus adversis, omnem ex agris multitudinem servorum ac liberorum in oppidum cogit portasque praecludit et ad Scipionem Pompeiumque nuntios mittit, ut sibi subsidio veniant: se confidere munitionibus oppidi, si celeriter succurratur; longinquam oppugnationem sustinere non posse. Scipio discessu exercituum ab Dyrrachio cognito Larisam legiones adduxerat; Pompeius nondum Thessaliae appropinquabat. Caesar castris munitis scalas musculosque ad repentinam oppugnationem fieri et crates parari iussit. Quibus rebus effectis cohortatus milites docuit, quantum usum haberet ad sublevandam omnium rerum inopiam potiri oppido pleno atque opulenta, simul reliquis civitatibus huius urbis exemplo inferre terrorem et id fieri celeriter, priusquam auxilia concurrerent. Itaque usus singulari militum studio eodem, quo venerat, die post horam nonam oppidum altissimis moenibus oppugnare aggressus ante solis occasum expugnavit et ad diripiendum militibus concessit statimque ab oppido castra movit et Metropolim venit, sic ut nuntios expugnari oppidi famamque antecederet.
81. The Metropolitans, at first following the same policy, influenced by the same rumours as the others, closed their gates and manned their walls with armed men; but. afterwards learning from captives, whom Caesar had directed to be produced before the walls, of the fall of the town of Gomphi, they opened their gates. The inhabitants were most carefully preserved from harm, and when their fortune was compared with the fate of the men of Gomphi there was no state of Thessaly, with the exception of the Larisaeans, who were held in check by the large armies of Scipio, that did not obey Caesar and submit to his authority. Finding a suitable place in the country district where the crops were now nearly ripe, he determined there to await the arrival of Pompeius and to transfer thither all his military operations.
81. Metropolitae primum eodem usi consilio isdem permoti rumoribus portas clauserunt murosque armatis compleverunt; sed postea casu civitatis Gomphensis cognito ex captivis, quos Caesar ad murum producendos curaverat, portas aperuerunt. Quibus diligentissime conservatis collata fortuna Metropolitum cum casu Gomphensium nulla Thessaliae fuit civitas praeter Larisaeos, qui magnis exercitibus Scipionis tenebantur, quin Caesari parerent atque imperata facerent. Ille idoneum locum in agris nactus, qua prope iam matura frumenta erant, ibi adventum exspectare Pompei eoque omnem belli rationem conferre constituit.
82. Pompeius reached Thessaly a few days later, and, haranguing his whole army, thanks his own men and exhorts those of Scipio to consent to share the plunder and prizes of war when once the victory is Avon, and after getting all the legions into one camp, he shares his official dignity with Scipio and gives orders that the bugle should be sounded before him and a second pavilion erected for his headquarters. By this accession to the forces of Pompeius and the joining of two large armies into one, the old confidence of the troops is confirmed and their hope of victory increased, so that the interval that separated them from battle seemed merely a postponement of their return to Italy; and whenever any action of Pompeius showed some degree of slowness and deliberation, they declared it was only a single day’s task, but that he was making the most of his imperial command and treating men of consular and praetorian rank as though they were slaves. Already they openly contended for rewards and priesthoods and apportioned the consulship for successive years, while others clamoured for the houses and property of those who were in Caesar’s camp; and it was hotly argued in their discussions whether Lucilius Hirrus, who had been sent by Pompeius to the Parthians, might be allowed to compete in absence at the ensuing election of praetors, his friends imploring Pompeius to keep his word and fulfil the promise he made him at his departure, that people might not think that Hirrus had trusted his authority in vain; the rest objecting to one man’s getting the advantage over all the others, when the labour and the danger had been shared equally.
82. Pompeius paucis post diebus in Thessaliam pervenit contionatusque apud cunctum exercitum suis agit gratias, Scipionis milites cohortatur, ut parta iam victoria praedae ac praemiorum velint esse participes, receptisque omnibus in una castra legionibus suum cum Scipione honorem partitur classicumque apud eum cani et alterum illi iubet praetorium tendi. Auctis copiis Pompei duobusque magnis exercitibus coniunctis pristina omnium confirmatur opinio, et spes victoriae augetur, adeo ut, quicquid intercederet temporis, id morari reditum in Italiam videretur, et si quando quid Pompeius tardius aut consideratius faceret, unius esse negotium diei, sed illum delectari imperio et consulares praetoriosque servorum habere numero dicerent. Iamque inter se palam de praemiis ac de sacerdotiis contendebant in annosque consulatum definiebant, alii domos bonaque eorum, qui in castris erant Caesaris, petebant; magnaque inter eos in consilio fuit controversia, oporteretne Lucili Hirri, quod is a Pompeio ad Parthos missus esset, proximis comitiis praetoriis absentis rationem haberi, cum eius necessarii fidem implorarent Pompei, praestaret, quod proficiscenti recepisset, ne per eius auctoritatem deceptus videretur, reliqui, in labore pari ac periculo ne unus omnes antecederet, recusarent.
83. Already Domitius, Scipio, and Lentulus Spinther, in daily rivalry for the priesthood of Caesar, publicly condescended to the gravest insolence of speech. Lentulus parading the distinction of age, Domitius boasting of his urban influence and dignity, Scipio expressing confidence in his kinship with Pompeius. Acutius Rufus also arraigned L. Afranius before Pompeius on a charge of betraying the army, which he said had been done in Spain. And L. Domitius said, in a council of war, that it was his view that, when the war was over, there should be given to those who belonged to the senatorial order and had taken part with themselves in the war three tablets apiece for the purpose of recording their vote, and that votes should be given separately about those who had remained at Rome and those who had been in Pompeius’ garrisons but had not offered their services in the field: one tablet, they said, would be for those who should decide that such persons should be exempted from all peril, the second for those who should condemn them to loss of civil status, the third for those who should mulct them in a fine. In a word, all were agitating about honours for themselves, or about prizes of money, or about the prosecution of their private quarrels, nor were their reflections concerned with the means by which they could gain the upper hand, but with the way in which they ought to use their victory.
83. Iam de sacerdotio Caesaris Domitius, Scipio Spintherque Lentulus cotidianis contentionibus ad gravissimas verborum contumelias palam descenderunt, eum Lentulus aetatis honorem ostentaret, Domitius urbanam gratiam dignitatemque iactaret, Scipio affinitate Pompei confideret. Postulavit etiam L. Afranium proditionis exercitus Acutius Rufus apud Pompeium, quod gestum in Hispania diceret. Et L. Domitius in consilio dixit placere sibi bello confecto ternas tabellas dari ad iudicandum eis, qui ordinis essent senatorii belloque una cum ipsis interfuissent, sententiasque de singulis ferrent, qui Romae remansissent quique intra praesidia Pompei fuissent neque operam in re militari praestitissent: unam fore tabellam, qui liberandos omni periculo censerent; alteram, qui capitis damnarent; tertiam, qui pecunia multarent. Postremo omnes aut de honoribus suis aut de praemiis pecuniae aut de persequendis inimicitiis agebant nec, quibus rationibus superare possent, sed, quemadmodum uti victoria deberent, cogitabant.
84. When he had arranged for his corn supply and had encouraged his soldiers and had allowed a sufficient time to elapse after the battles of Dyrrachium to admit of his feeling assured of the temper of his troops, Caesar thought it right to find out what purpose or what disposition for fighting Pompeius had. And so he led his army out of the camp and drew up his lines, first of all in a position favourable to himself and some little distance from the camp of Pompeius, but on subsequent days advancing away from his own camp and pushing his line up to the foot of the hills held by the Pompeians. This action made his army day by day more confident. But in the case of his cavalry he retained his previous custom which we have explained above: since they were many times inferior in number, he gave orders that lightly equipped youths from among the first-rank men, with arms selected with a view to fleetness, should go into battle among the cavalry, so that by daily practice they might win experience in this kind of fighting also. The result of these measures was that one thousand horsemen, even in the more open ground, ventured, with the experience they had gained, to sustain the attack of seven thousand Pompeian horse, and were not greatly terrified by their numbers. For even on those days he fought a successful cavalry skirmish and killed among some others one of the two Allobrogians who, as we explained above, had deserted to Pompeius.
84. Re frumentaria praeparata confirmatisque militibus et satis longo spatio temporis a Dyrrachinis proeliis intermisso, quo satis perspectum habere militum animum videretur, temptandum Caesar existimavit, quidnam Pompeius propositi aut voluntatis ad dimicandum haberet. Itaque exercitum ex castris eduxit aciemque instruxit, primum suis locis pauloque a castris Pompei longius, continentibus vero diebus, ut progrederetur a castris suis collibusque Pompeianis aciem subiceret. Quae res in dies confirmatiorem eius exercitum efficiebat. Superius tamen institutum in equitibus, quod demonstravimus, servabat, ut, quoniam numero multis partibus esset inferior, adulescentes atque expeditos ex antesignanis electis ad pernicitatem armis inter equites proeliari iuberet, qui cotidiana consuetudine usum quoque eius generis proeliorum perciperent. His erat rebus effectum, ut equitum mille etiam apertioribus locis VII milium Pompeianorum impetum, cum adesset usus, sustinere auderent neque magnopere eorum multitudine terrerentur. Namque etiam per eos dies proelium secundum equestre fecit atque unum Allobrogem ex duobus, quos perfugisse ad Pompeium supra docuimus, cum quibusdam interfecit.
85. Pompeius, who had his camp on the hill, kept drawing up his line on the lowest spurs of the mountain, apparently always waiting to see whether Caesar would approach close up to the unfavourable ground. Caesar, thinking that Pompeius could by no means be enticed out to a battle, judged that his most convenient plan of campaign was to move his camp from that place, and to be always on the march, with the view of getting his supplies more conveniently by moving camp and visiting various places, and at the same time of meeting with some opportunity of fighting on the route, and of wearing out the army of Pompeius, which was unaccustomed to hard work, by daily marches. After making these arrangements, when the signal for starting had now been given and the tents had been unstretched, it was noticed that a little while before, contrary to its daily custom, Pompeius’ line had advanced somewhat further from the rampart, so that it seemed possible for a battle to be fought in no disadvantageous position. Then Caesar, addressing his men, when his force was just at the gates, said: “We must put off our march for the present and think of giving battle, as we have always demanded. Let us be prepared in heart for a conflict; we shall not easily hereafter find an opportunity.” At once he leads out his troops in light order.
85. Pompeius, qui castra in colle habebat, ad infirmis radices montis aciem instruebat semper, ut videbatur, exspectans, si iniquis locis Caesar se subiceret. Caesar nulla ratione ad pugnam elici posse Pompeium existimans hanc sibi commodissimam belli rationem indicavit, uti castra ex eo loco moveret semperque esset in itineribus, haec spectans, ut movendis castris pluribusque adeundis locis commodiore re frumentaria uteretur, simulque in itinere ut aliquam occasionem dimicandi nancisceretur et insolitum ad laborem Pompei exercitum cotidianis itineribus defatigaret. His constitutis rebus, signo iam profectionis dato tabernaculisque detensis animadversum est paulo ante extra cotidianam consuetudinem longius a vallo esse aciem Pompei progressam, ut non iniquo loco posse dimicari videretur. Tum Caesar apud suos, cum iam esset agmen in portis, “differendum est” inquit, “iter in praesentia nobis et de proelio cogitandum, sicut semper depoposcimus; animo simus ad dimicandum parati: non facile occasionem postea reperiemus”; confestimque expeditas copias educit.
86. Pompeius, too, as was found out afterwards, had determined, with the general encouragement of his men, to fight a pitched battle. For he had gone so far as to assert in the council of war on previous days that Caesar’s army would be repulsed before the lines met. When several had expressed their surprise at this: “I know,” said he, “that I am promising a thing almost incredible, but listen to the nature of my plan that you may go forth to battle with a stouter heart. I have induced my cavalry —and they have assured me that they will do it—as soon as the two armies have drawn nearer, to attack Caesar’s right wing on his open flank, and by surrounding his column from the rear to drive his army in confused rout before a weapon is east at the foe by us. So we shall finish the war without imperilling the legions and almost without a wound. And this is not difficult, considering that we are so strong in cavalry.” At the same time he urged upon them that they should be strong in spirit for the coming day, and since they had now the opportunity for fighting which they had often demanded, they should not disappoint either his expectation or that of the rest.
86. Pompeius quoque, ut postea cognitum est, suorum omnium hortatu statuerat proelio decertare. Namque etiam in consilio superioribus diebus dixerat, priusquam concurrerent acies, fore uti exercitus Caesaris pelleretur. Id eum essent plerique admirati, “scio me,” inquit, “paene incredibilem rem polliceri; sed rationem consilii mei accipite, quo firmiore animo in proelium prodeatis. Persuasi equitibus nostris (idque mihi facturos confirmaverunt), ut, eum propius sit accessum, dextrum Caesaris cornu ab latere aperto aggrederentur et circumventi ab tergo acie prius perturbatum exercitum pellerent, quam a nobis telum in hostem iaceretur. Ita sine periculo legionum et paene sine vulnere bellum conficiemus. Id autem difficile non est, cum tantum equitatu valeamus.” Simul denuntiavit, ut essent animo parati in posterum et, quoniam fieret dimicandi potestas, ut saepe rogitavissent, ne suam neu reliquorum opinionem fallerent.
87. Labienus followed him. Depreciating Caesar’s forces and extolling to the utmost the strategy of Pompeius, he said: “Do not suppose, Pompeius, that this is the army that subdued Gaul and Germany. I was present at all the battles and do not rashly pronounce on a matter of which I am ignorant. A very small part of that army survives; a great part of it has perished—a necessary result of so many battles; autumnal pestilence has destroyed many in Italy; many have departed home; many have been left on the mainland. Have you not heard that cohorts have been composed at Brundisium of those who remained behind on the pretence of ill-health? These forces which you see have been made up from the levies of these last few years in hither Gaul, and most of them come from the Transpadane colonies. And nevertheless all the flower of them has fallen in the two Dyrrachian battles.” Having said this, he swore that he would not return to the camp except as conqueror and exhorted the rest to do the same. Pompeius, commending this, took the same oath, nor was there any one of the rest who hesitated to swear. Such were their proceedings at this council, and they departed with general rejoicing and high expectation. And already in their thoughts they were anticipating the victory, because it did not seem likely that they should receive groundless encouragement on so important a matter and from so experienced a commander.
87. Hunc Labienus excepit et, cum Caesaris copias despiceret. Pompei consilium summis laudibus efferret, “noli,” inquit, “existimare, Pompei, hunc esse exercitum,qui Galliam Germaniamque devicerit. Omnibus interfui proeliis neque temere incognitam rem pronuntio. Perexigua pars illius exercitus superest; magna pars deperiit, quod accidere tot proeliis fuit necesse, multos autumni pestilentia in Italia consumpsit, multi domum discesserunt, multi sunt relicti in continenti. An non audistis ex eis, qui per causam valetudinis remanserunt, cohortes esse Brundisi factas? Hae copiae, quas videtis, ex dilectibus horum annorum in citeriore Gallia sunt refectae, et plerique sunt ex coloniis Transpadanis. Ac tamen quod fuit roboris duobus proeliis Dyrrachinis interiit.” Haec cum dixisset, iuravit se nisi victorem in castra non reversurum reliquosque, ut idem facerent, hortatus est. Hoc laudans Pompeius idem iuravit; nec vero ex reliquis fuit quisquam, qui iurare dubitaret. Haec cum facta sunt in consilio, magna spe et laetitia omnium discessum est; ac iam animo victoriam praecipiebant, quod de re tanta et a tam petito imperatore nihil frustra confirmari videbatur.
88. Caesar, having approached the camp of Pompeius, observed that his line was drawn up as follows: On the left wing were the two legions which had been handed over by Caesar at the beginning of the civil strife by decree of the senate, one of which was called the First, the other the Third. At that place was Pompeius himself. Scipio occupied the middle of the line with the Syrian legions. The Cilician legion, united with the Spanish cohorts, which, as we explained, had been brought over by Afranius, was stationed on the right wing. These legions Pompeius regarded as the strongest under his command. The rest he had interposed between the centre and the wings and had made up the number of one hundred and ten cohorts. These forces amounted to forty-five thousand men, and about two thousand reserves who had come to him from the beneficiaries of his former armies; and these he had distributed throughout the whole force. Seven remaining cohorts he had placed on garrison duty in the camp and the neighbouring forts. A stream with difficult banks protected his right wing; for which reason he had stationed his whole cavalry and all his archers and slingers opposite the enemy on the left wing.
88. Caesar, cum Pompei castris appropinquasset, ad hunc modum aciem eius instructam animadvertit. Erant in sinistro cornu legiones duae traditae a Caesare initio dissensionis ex senatusconsulto; quarum una prima, altera tertia appellabatur. In eo loco ipse erat Pompeius. Mediam aciem Scipio cum legionibus Syriacis tenebat. Ciliciensis legio coniuncta cum cohortibus Hispanis, quas traductas ab Afranio docuimus, in dextro cornu erant collocatae. Has firmissimas se habere Pompeius existimabat. Reliquas inter aciem mediam cornuaque interiecerat numeroque cohortes ex expleverat. Haec erant milia XLV, evocatorum circiter duo, quae ex beneficiariis superiorum exercituum ad eum convenerant; quae tota acie disperserat. Reliquas cohortes vii castris propinquisque castellis praesidio disposuerat. Dextrum cornu eius rivus quidam impeditis ripis muniebat; quam ob causam cunctum equitatum, sagittarios funditoresque omnes sinistro cornu obiecerat.
89. Caesar, observing his previous custom, had posted his Tenth Legion on the right wing, and his Ninth on the left, though it had been seriously attenuated by the Dyrrachian battles. To this legion he added the Eighth, so that he almost made the two into one, having given orders that the one should support the other. He had eighty cohorts posted in his lines, making a total of twenty-two thousand men; seven cohorts he had left as a protection for the camp. He had placed Antonius in command on the left wing, P. Sulla on the right, and Gn. Domitius in the centre. He himself confronted Pompeius. At the same time, having noticed the arrangements mentioned above, fearing lest his right wing should be surrounded by the multitude of cavalry, he hastily withdrew individual cohorts from the third line and out of these constructed a fourth line, stationing it opposite the cavalry, explaining what his object was and reminding them that the day’s victory depended on the valour of these cohorts. At the same time he commanded the third line and the whole army not to join battle without orders from himself, saying that when he wished this to be done he would give the signal with a flag.
89. Caesar superius institutum servans decimam legionem in dextro cornu, nonam in sinistro collocaverat, tametsi erat Dyrrachinis proeliis vehementer attenuata, et huic sic adiunxit octavam, ut paene unam ex duabus efficeret, atque alteram alteri praesidio esse iusserat. Cohortes in acie LXXX constitutas habebat, quae summa erat milium XXII; cohortes VII castris praesidio reliquerat. Sinistro cornu Antonium, dextro P. Sullam, media acie Cn. Domitium praeposuerat. Ipse contra Pompeium constitit. Simul his rebus animadversis, quas demonstravimus, timens, ne a multitudine equitum dextrum cornu circumveniretur, celeriter ex tertia acie singulas cohortes detraxit atque ex his quartam instituit equitatuique opposuit et, quid fieri vellet, ostendit monuitque eius diei victoriam in earum cohortium virtute constare. Simul tertiae aciei totique exercitui imperavit, ne iniussu suo concurreret: se, cum id fieri vellet, vexillo signum daturum.
90. When, according to the custom of war, he was exhorting his army to battle, and setting forth his unbroken record of kindness to his men, he particularly reminded them that he could call his troops to witness with what zeal he had sought peace, what negotiations he had conducted through Vatinius in conferences and through Aulus Clodius with Scipio, how at Oricum he had urged Libo about the sending of envoys. He had never, he said, wished to squander the blood of his soldiers or to deprive the republic of either of its armies. After delivering this speech, the soldiers clamouring for action and burning with zeal for the fight, he gave the signal with a trumpet.
90. Exercitum cum militari more ad pugnam cohortaretur suaque in eum perpetui temporis officia praedicaret, imprimis commemoravit: testibus se militibus uti posse, quanto studio pacem petisset; quae per Vatinium in colloquiis, quae per Aulum Clodium cum Scipione egisset, quibus modis ad Oricum cum Libone de mittendis legatis contendisset. Neque se umquam abuti militum sanguine neque rem publicam alterutro exercitu privare voluisse. Hac habita oratione e militibus et studio pugnae ardentibus tuba signum dedit.
91. There was in Caesar’s army a reservist, G. Crastinus, who in the previous year had served under him as first centurion in the Tenth Legion, a man of remarkable valour. On the signal being given: “Follow me,” said he, “you who have been my comrades, and give your commander your wonted loyal service. This one battle alone remains; when it is over he will recover his dignity and we our liberty.” At the same time, looking at Caesar, he says: “To-day, General, I will give you occasion to thank me alive or dead.” Having said this, he ran forward first from the right wing, and about one hundred and twenty picked men of the same cohort, serving as volunteers, followed him.
91. Erat C. Crastinus evocatus in exercitu Caesaris, qui superiore anno apud eum primum pilum in legione X duxerat, vir singulari virtute. Hic signo dato, “sequimini me,” inquit, “manipulares mei qui fuistis, et vestro imperatori quam constituistis operam date. Unum hoc proelium superest; quoi confecto et ille suam dignitatem et nos nostram libertatem recuperabimus.” Simul respiciens Caesarem, “faciam,” inquit, “hodie, imperator, ut aut vivo mihi aut mortuo gratias agas.” Haec eum dixisset, primus ex dextro cornu procucurrit, atque eum electi milites circiter CXX voluntarii eiusdem cohortis sunt prosecuti.
92. Between the two lines there was only as much space left as was necessary for the charge of each army. But Pompeius had previously ordered his men to await Caesar’s attack without moving from their position, and to allow his line to fall into disorder. He is said to have done this on the advice of G. Triarius, in order that the first charge and impetus of the troops might be broken and their line spread out, and that so the Pompeians marshalled in their proper ranks might attack a scattered foe. He hoped, too, that the javelins would fall with less effect if the men were kept in their place than if they themselves discharged their javelins and advanced; also that by having a double distance to run Caesar’s soldiers would be breathless and overdone with fatigue. Now this seems to us to have been an irrational act on the part of Pompeius, because there is a certain keenness of spirit and impetuosity implanted by nature in all men which is kindled by the ardour of battle. This feeling it is the duty of commanders not to repress but to foster, nor was it without good reason that the custom was instituted of old that signals should sound in every direction and the whole body of men raise a shout, by which means they thought that the enemy were terrified and their own men stimulated.
92. Inter duas acies tantum erat relictum spatii, ut satis esset ad concursum utriusque exercitus. Sed Pompeius suis praedixerat, ut Caesaris impetum exciperent neve se loco moverent aciemque eius distrahi paterentur; idque admonitu C. Triarii fecisse dicebatur, ut primus incursus visque militum infringeretur aciesque distenderetur, atque in suis ordinibus dispositi dispersos adorirentur; leviusque casura pila sperabat in loco retentis militibus, quam si ipsi immissis telis occurrissent, simul fore, ut duplicato cursu Caesaris milites exanimarentur et lassitudine conficerentur. Quod nobis quidem nulla ratione factum a Pompeio videtur, propterea quod est quaedam animi incitatio atque alacritas naturaliter innata omnibus, quae studio pugnae incenditur; hanc non reprimere, sed augere imperatores debent; neque frustra antiquitus institutum est, ut signa undique concinerent clamoremque universi tollerent; quibus rebus et hostes terreri et suos incitari existimaverunt.