ἐνταῦθα δὲ τῶν πραγμάτων ὄντων ὁ νέος ἀφικνεῖται Καῖσαρ εἰς Ῥώμην, ἀδελφιδῆς μὲν ὢν τοῦ τεθνηκότος υἱός, ὡς εἴρηται, κληρονόμος δὲ τῆς οὐσίας ἀπολελειμμένος, ἐν Ἀπολλωνία δὲ διατρίβων ὑφʼ ὃν χρόνον ἀνῄρητο Καῖσαρ. οὗτος εὐθὺς Ἀντώνιον, ὡς δὴ πατρῷον φίλον, ἀσπασάμενος τῶν παρακαταθηκῶν ἐμέμνητο. καὶ γὰρ ὤφειλε Ῥωμαίων ἑκάστῳ δραχμὰς ἑβδομήκοντα πέντε δοῦναι, Καίσαρος ἐν ταῖς διαθήκαις γράψαντος.
At this state of affairs the young Caesar came to Rome, a son of the dead Caesar’s niece, as has been said, who had been left heir to his property. He had been staying at Apollonia when Caesar was assassinated. The young man greeted Antony as his father’s friend, and reminded him of the moneys deposited with him. For he was under obligation to give every Roman seventy-five drachmas, according to the terms of Caesar’s will.
Ἀντώνιος δὲ τὸ μὲν πρῶτον ὡς μειρακίου καταφρονῶν ἔλεγεν οὐχ ὑγιαίνειν αὐτόν, ἀλλὰ καὶ φρενῶν ἀγαθῶν καὶ φίλων ἔρημον ὄντα φορτίον ἀβάστακτον αἴρεσθαι τὴν Καίσαρος διαδοχήν· μὴ πειθομένου δὲ τούτοις, ἀλλʼ ἀπαιτοῦντος τὰ χρήματα, πολλὰ καὶ λέγων πρὸς ὕβριν αὐτοῦ καὶ πράττων διετέλει. δημαρχίαν τε γὰρ ἐνέστη μετιόντι, καὶ δίφρον χρυσοῦν τοῦ πατρός, ὥσπερ ἐψήφιστο, τιθέντος ἠπείλησεν εἰς φυλακὴν ἀπάξειν, εἰ μὴ παύσαιτο δημαγωγῶν.
But Antony, at first despising him as a mere stripling, told him he was out of his senses, and that in his utter lack of good judgment and of friends he was taking up a crushing burden in the succession of Caesar. And when the young man refused to listen to this, and demanded the moneys, Antony kept saying and doing many things to insult him. For instance, he opposed him in his canvass for a tribuneship, and when he attempted to dedicate a golden chair in honour of his father by adoption, according to a decree of the senate, Antony threatened to hale him off to prison unless he stopped trying to win popular favour.
ἐπεὶ μέντοι Κικέρωνι δοὺς ἑαυτὸν ὁ νεανίας καὶ τοῖς ἄλλοις ὅσοι τὸν Ἀντώνιον ἐμίσουν, δι’ ἐκείνων μὲν ᾠκειοῦτο τὴν βουλήν, αὐτὸς δὲ τὸν δῆμον ἀνελάμβανε καὶ τοὺς στρατιώτας ἀπὸ τῶν κατοικιῶν συνῆγε, δείσας ὁ Ἀντώνιος εἰς λόγους αὐτῷ συνῆλθεν ἐν Καπιτωλίῳ, καὶ διηλλάγησαν. εἶτα κοιμώμενος ἐκείνης τῆς νυκτὸς ὄψιν εἶδεν ἄτοπον ὁ Ἀντώνιος. ἐδόκει γὰρ αὑτοῦ τὴν δεξιὰν χεῖρα βεβλῆσθαι κεραυνῷ.
When, however, the young man made common cause with Cicero and all the other haters of Antony, and with their aid won the support of the senate, while he himself got the goodwill of the people and assembled the soldiers of Caesar from their colonies, then Antony was struck with fear and came to a conference with him on the Capitol, and they were reconciled. Afterwards, as he lay asleep that night, Antony had a strange vision. He thought, namely, that his right hand was smitten by a thunder-bolt.
καὶ μεθʼ ἡμέρας ὀλίγας ἐνέπεσε λόγος ὡς ἐπιβουλεύοι Καῖσαρ αὐτῷ. Καῖσαρ δὲ ἀπελογεῖτο μέν, οὐκ ἔπειθε δέ· καὶ πάλιν ἦν ἐνεργὸς ἡ ἔχθρα, καὶ περιθέοντες ἀμφότεροι τὴν Ἰταλίαν τὸ μὲν ἱδρυμένον ἐν ταῖς κατοικίαις ἤδη τοῦ στρατιωτικοῦ μεγάλοις ἀνίστασαν μισθοῖς, τὸ δʼ ἐν ὅπλοις ἔτι τεταγμένον ὑποφθάνοντες ἀλλήλους προσήγοντο.
And after a few days a report fell upon his ears that the young Caesar was plotting against him. Caesar tried to make explanations, but did not succeed in convincing Antony. So once more their hatred was in full career, and both were hurrying about Italy trying to bring into the field by large pay that part of the soldiery which was already settled in their colonies, and to get the start of one another in winning the support of that part which was still arrayed in arms.
τῶν δʼ ἐν τῇ πόλει Κικέρων μέγιστον δυνάμενος, καὶ παροξύνων ἐπὶ τὸν Ἀντώνιον ἅπαντας ἀνθρώπους, τέλος ἔπεισε τὴν βουλὴν ἐκεῖνον μὲν πολέμιον ψηφίσασθαι, Καίσαρι δὲ ῥαβδουχίαν πέμψαι καὶ στρατηγικὰ κόσμια, Πάνσαν δὲ καὶ Ἵρτιον ἀποστέλλειν ἐξελῶντας Ἀντώνιον ἐκ τῆς Ἰταλίας. οὗτοι δὲ ἦσαν ὕπατοι τότε· καὶ συμβαλόντες Ἀντωνίῳ περὶ πόλιν Μυτίνην, Καίσαρος παρόντος καὶ συμμαχομένου, τοὺς μὲν πολεμίους ἐνίκων, αὐτοὶ δὲ ἀπέθανον.
But Cicero, who was the most influential man in the city, and was trying to incite everybody against Antony, persuaded the senate to vote him a public enemy, to send to Caesar the fasces and other insignia of a praetor, and to dispatch Pansa and Hirtius to drive Antony out of Italy. These men were consuls at that time, and in an engagement with Antony near the city of Mutina, at which Octavius Caesar was present and fought on their side, they conquered the enemy, but fell themselves.
φεύγοντι δὲ Ἀντωνίῳ πολλὰ συνέπιπτε τῶν ἀπόρων, ὁ δὲ λιμὸς ἀπορώτατον. ἀλλὰ φύσει παρὰ τὰς κακοπραγίας ἐγίνετο βέλτιστος ἑαυτοῦ καὶ δυστυχῶν ὁμοιότατος ἦν ἀγαθῷ, κοινοῦ μὲν ὄντος τοῦ αἰσθάνεσθαι τῆς ἀρετῆς τοῖς δι’ ἀπορίαν τινὰ σφαλλομένοις, οὐ μὴν ἁπάντων ἃ ζηλοῦσι μιμεῖσθαι καὶ φεύγειν ἃ δυσχεραίνουσιν ἐρρωμένων ἐν ταῖς μεταβολαῖς, ἀλλὰ καὶ μᾶλλον ἐνίων τοῖς ἔθεσιν ἐνδιδόντων ὑπὸ ἀσθενείας καὶ θραυομένων τὸν λογισμόν.
Many difficulties befell Antony in his flight, the greatest of which was famine. But it was his nature to rise to his highest level when in an evil plight, and he was most like a good and true man when he was unfortunate. For it is a common trait in those whom some difficulty has laid low, that they perceive plainly what virtue is, but all have not the strength amid reverses to imitate what they admire and shun what they hate, nay, some are then even more prone to yield to their habits through weakness, and to let their judgment be shattered.
ὁ δʼ οὖν Ἀντώνιος τότε θαυμαστὸν ἦν παράδειγμα τοῖς στρατιώταις, ἀπὸ τρυφῆς τοσαύτης καὶ πολυτελείας ὕδωρ τε πίνων διεφθαρμένον εὐκόλως, καὶ καρποὺς ἀγρίους καὶ ῥίζας προσφερόμενος. ἐβρώθη δὲ καὶ φλοιός, ὡς λέγεται, καὶ ζῴων ἀγεύστων πρότερον ἥψαντο τὰς Ἄλπεις ὑπερβάλλοντες.
Antony, however, was at this time an amazing example to his soldiers, after such a life of luxury and extravagance as he had led drinking foul water contentedly and eating wild fruits and roots. Bark also was eaten, we are told, and animals never tasted before were food for them as they crossed the Alps.
ἦν δὲ ὁρμὴ τοῖς ἐπέκεινα στρατεύμασιν ἐντυχεῖν, ὧν Λέπιδος ἦρχε, φίλος εἶναι δοκῶν Ἀντωνίου καὶ πολλὰ τῆς Καίσαρος φιλίας ἀπολελαυκέναι δι’ αὐτόν. ἐλθὼν δὲ καὶ παραστρατοπεδεύσας πλησίον, ὡς οὐθὲν ἀπήντα φιλάνθρωπον, ἔγνω παραβαλέσθαι. καὶ κόμη μὲν ἀτημελὴς καὶ βαθὺς πώγων μετὰ τὴν ἧτταν εὐθὺς ἦν αὐτῷ καθειμένος, λαβὼν δὲ φαιὸν ἱμάτιον ἐγγὺς προσῆγε τῷ χάρακι τοῦ Λεπίδου καὶ λέγειν ἤρξατο.
They were eager to fall in with the troops in those parts which Lepidus commanded, for he was thought to be a friend of Antony, and through him had reaped much advantage from Caesar’s friendship. But when Antony came and encamped near by, he met with no tokens of friendliness, and therefore determined upon a bold stroke. His hair was unkempt, and his beard had been allowed to grow long ever since his defeat, and putting on a dark garment he came up to the camp of Lepidus and began to speak.
πολλῶν δὲ καὶ πρὸς τὴν ὄψιν ἐπικλωμένων καὶ τοῖς λόγοις ἀγομένων, δείσας ὁ Λέπιδος τὰς σάλπιγγας ἐκέλευσε συνηχούσας ἀφελέσθαι τὸ κατακούεσθαι τὸν Ἀντώνιον. οἱ δὲ στρατιῶται μᾶλλον ᾤκτειραν καὶ διελέγοντο κρύφα, Λαίλιον καὶ Κλώδιον ἀποστείλαντες πρὸς αὐτόν, ἐσθῆτας λαβόντας ἑταιρευομένων γυναικῶν, οἳ τὸν Ἀντώνιον ἐκέλευον ἐπιχειρεῖν θαρροῦντα τῷ χάρακι· πολλοὺς γὰρ εἶναι δεξομένους καὶ τὸν Λέπιδον, εἰ βούλοιτο, κτενοῦντας.
Many of the soldiers were melted at his appearance and moved by his words, so that Lepidus was alarmed and ordered the trumpets to sound all at once in order to prevent Antony from being heard. But the soldiers felt all the more pity for Antony, and held a secret parley with him, sending Laelius and Clodius to him in the garb of women of the camp. These urged Antony to attack their camp boldly; for there were many, they said, who would welcome him and kill Lepidus, if he wished.
Ἀντώνιος δὲ Λεπίδου μὲν οὐκ εἴασεν ἅψασθαι, μεθʼ ἡμέραν δὲ τὸν στρατὸν ἔχων ἀπεπειρᾶτο τοῦ ποταμοῦ. καὶ πρῶτος αὐτὸς ἐμβὰς ἐπορεύετο πρὸς τὴν ἀντιπέρας ὄχθην, ὁρῶν ἤδη πολλοὺς τῶν Λεπίδου στρατιωτῶν τάς τε χεῖρας ὀρέγοντας αὐτῷ καὶ τὸν χάρακα διασπῶντας. εἰσελθὼν δὲ καὶ κρατήσας ἁπάντων ἡμερώτατα Λεπίδῳ προσηνέχθη. πατέρα γὰρ προσηγόρευσεν αὐτὸν ἀσπασάμενος· καὶ τῷ μὲν ἔργῳ πάντων αὐτὸς ἦν κύριος, ἐκείνῳ δʼ ὄνομα καὶ τιμὴν αὐτοκράτορος διετέλει φυλάττων.
But Antony would not permit them to lay hands on Lepidus, and next day began to cross the river with his army. He himself was first to plunge in, and made his way towards the opposite bank, seeing already that many of the soldiers of Lepidus were stretching out their hands to him and tearing down their ramparts. After entering the camp and making himself master of everything, he treated Lepidus with the greatest kindness. Indeed, he embraced him and called him father; and though in fact he was in full control himself, still he did not cease to preserve for Lepidus the name and the honour of imperator.
τοῦτο καὶ Πλάγκον αὐτῷ Μουνάτιον ἐποίησε προσθέσθαι, καθήμενον οὐ πρόσω μετὰ συχνῆς δυνάμεως. οὕτω δὲ μέγας ἀρθεὶς αὖθις ὑπερέβαλε τὰς Ἄλπεις, εἰς τὴν Ἰταλίαν ἄγων ἑπτακαίδεκα τέλη πεζῶν σὺν αὑτῷ καὶ μυρίους ἱππεῖς· χωρὶς δὲ φρουρὰν Γαλατίας ἓξ τάγματα λελοίπει μετὰ Οὐαρίου τινὸς τῶν συνήθων καὶ συμποτῶν, ὃν Κοτύλωνα προσηγόρευον.
This induced Munatius Plancus also to join him, who was encamped at no great distance with a considerable force. Thus raised again to great power, he crossed the Alps and led into Italy with him seventeen legions of infantry and ten thousand horse. And besides these, he left to guard Gaul six legions with Varius, one of his intimates and boon companions, who was surnamed Cotylon.
Καῖσαρ δὲ Κικέρωνι μὲν οὐκέτι προσεῖχε, τῆς ἐλευθερίας ὁρῶν περιεχόμενον, Ἀντώνιον δὲ προὐκαλεῖτο διὰ τῶν φίλων εἰς διαλύσεις. καὶ συνελθόντες οἱ τρεῖς εἰς νησῖδα ποταμῷ περιρρεομένην ἐπὶ τρεῖς ἡμέρας συνήδρευσαν. καὶ τἆλλα μὲν ἐπιεικῶς ὡμολογεῖτο, καὶ διενείμαντο τὴν σύμπασαν ἀρχὴν ὥσπερ οὐσίαν πατρῴαν ἀλλήλοις, ἡ δὲ περὶ τῶν ἀπολουμένων ἀνδρῶν ἀμφισβήτησις αὐτοῖς πλεῖστα πράγματα παρέσχε, τοὺς μὲν ἐχθροὺς ἀνελεῖν ἑκάστου, σῶσαι δὲ τοὺς προσήκοντας ἀξιοῦντος.
Now, Octavius Caesar no longer held with Cicero, because he saw that Cicero was devoted to liberty, and he sent his friends to Antony with an invitation to come to terms. So the three men came together on a small island in the midst of a river, and there held conference for three days. All other matters were easily agreed upon, and they divided up the whole empire among themselves as though it were an ancestral inheritance; but the dispute about the men who were to be put to death gave them the greatest trouble. Each demanded the privilege of slaying his enemies and saving his kinsmen.
τέλος δὲ τῇ πρὸς τοὺς μισουμένους ὀργῇ καὶ συγγενῶν τιμὴν καὶ φίλων εὔνοιαν προέμενοι, Κικέρωνος μὲν Ἀντωνίῳ Καῖσαρ ἐξέστη, τούτῳ δὲ Ἀντώνιος Λευκίου Καίσαρος, ὃς ἦν θεῖος αὐτῷ πρὸς μητρός· ἐδόθη δὲ καὶ Λεπίδῳ Παῦλον ἀνελεῖν τὸν ἀδελφόν· οἱ δέ φασιν ἐκστῆναι τοῦ Παύλου τὸν Λέπιδον ἐκείνοις ἀποθανεῖν αὐτὸν αἰτησαμένοις.
But at last their wrath against those whom they hated led them to abandon both the honour due to their kinsmen and the goodwill due to their friends, and Caesar gave up Cicero to Antony, while Antony gave up to him Lucius Caesar, who was Antony’s uncle on the mother’s side. Lepidus also was permitted to put to death Paulus his brother; although some say that Lepidus gave up Paulus to Antony and Caesar, who demanded his death.
οὐδὲν ὠμότερον οὐδὲ ἀγριώτερον τῆς διαμείψεως ταύτης δοκῶ γενέσθαι. φόνων γὰρ ἀντικαταλλασσόμενοι φόνους ὁμοίως μὲν οἷς ἐλάμβανον ἀνῄρουν οὓς ἐδίδοσαν, ἀδικώτεροι δὲ περὶ τοὺς φίλους ἦσαν, οὓς ἀπεκτίννυσαν μηδὲ μισοῦντες.
Nothing, in my opinion, could be more savage or cruel than this exchange. For by this barter of murder for murder they put to death those whom they surrendered just as truly as those whom they seized; but their injustice was greater towards their friends, whom they slew without so much as hating them.
ἐπὶ δʼ οὖν ταῖς διαλλαγαῖς ταύταις οἱ στρατιῶται περιστάντες ἠξίουν καὶ γάμῳ τινὶ τὴν φιλίαν συνάψαι Καίσαρα, λαβόντα τὴν Φουλβίας τῆς Ἀντωνίου γυναικὸς θυγατέρα Κλωδίαν. ὁμολογηθέντος δὲ καὶ τούτου τριακόσιοι μὲν ἐκ προγραφῆς ἐθανατώθησαν ὑπʼ αὐτῶν·
To complete this reconciliation, then, the soldiers surrounded them and demanded that Caesar should also cement the friendship by a marriage, and should take to wife Clodia, a daughter of Antony’s wife Fulvia. After this also had been agreed upon, three hundred men were proscribed and put to death by them;
Κικέρωνος δὲ σφαγέντος ἐκέλευσεν Ἀντώνιος τήν τε κεφαλὴν ἀποκοπῆναι καὶ τὴν χεῖρα τὴν δεξιάν, ᾗ τοὺς κατʼ αὐτοῦ λόγους ἔγραψε. καὶ κομισθέντων ἐθεᾶτο γεγηθὼς καὶ ἀνακαγχάζων ὑπὸ χαρᾶς πολλάκις· εἶτα ἐμπλησθεὶς ἐκέλευσεν ὑπὲρ τοῦ βήματος ἐν ἀγορᾷ τεθῆναι, καθάπερ εἰς τὸν νεκρὸν ὑβρίζων, οὐχ αὑτὸν ἐνυβρίζοντα τῇ τύχῃ καὶ καταισχύνοντα τὴν ἐξουσίαν ἐπιδεικνύμενος.
moreover, after Cicero had been butchered, Antony ordered his head to be cut off; and that right hand with which Cicero had written the speeches against him. When they were brought to him, he gazed upon them exultantly, laughing aloud for joy many times; then, when he was sated, he ordered them to be placed on the rostra in the forum, just as though he were putting insult upon the dead, and not rather making a display of his own insolence in good fortune and abuse of power.
ὁ δὲ θεῖος αὐτοῦ Καῖσαρ ζητούμενος καὶ διωκόμενος κατέφυγε πρὸς τὴν ἀδελφήν. ἡ δέ, τῶν σφαγέων ἐπιστάντων καὶ βιαζομένων εἰς τὸ δωμάτιον αὐτῆς, ἐν ταῖς θύραις στᾶσα καὶ διασχοῦσα τὰς χεῖρας ἐβόα πολλάκις· οὐκ ἀποκτενεῖτε Καίσαρα Λεύκιον, ἐὰν μὴ πρότερον ἐμὲ ἀποκτείνητε τὴν τὸν αὐτοκράτορα τεκοῦσαν. ἐκείνη μὲν οὖν τοιαύτη γενομένη διέκλεψε καὶ διέσωσε τὸν ἀδελφόν.
His uncle, Lucius Caesar, being sought for and pursued, took refuge with his sister. She, when the executioners were at hand and trying to force their way into her chamber, stood in the doorway, spread out her arms, and cried repeatedly: Ye shall not slay Lucius Caesar unless ye first slay me, the mother of your imperator. By such behaviour, then, she got her brother out of the way and saved his life.
ἦν δὲ καὶ τὰ πολλὰ Ῥωμαίοις ἐπαχθὴς ἡ τῶν τριῶν ἀρχή· καὶ τὸ πλεῖστον ὁ Ἀντώνιος τῆς αἰτίας εἶχε, πρεσβύτερος μὲν ὢν Καίσαρος, Λεπίδου δὲ δυνατώτερος, εἰς δὲ τὸν βίον ἐκεῖνον αὖθις τὸν ἡδυπαθῆ καὶ ἀκόλαστον, ὡς πρῶτον ἀνεχαίτισε τῶν πραγμάτων, ἐκκεχυμένος.
Now, for the most part, the government of the triumvirate was odious to the Romans; and Antony bore most of the blame, since he was older than Caesar, more powerful than Lepidus, and threw himself once more into his old life of pleasure and dissipation as soon as he had shaken off some of his troubles.
προσῆν δὲ τῇ κοινῇ κακοδοξίᾳ τὸ διὰ τὴν οἰκίαν οὐ μικρὸν μῖσος, ἣν ᾤκει, Πομπηΐου τοῦ Μεγάλου γενομένην, ἀνδρὸς οὐχ ἧττον ἐπὶ σωφροσύνῃ καὶ τῷ τεταγμένως καὶ δημοτικῶς διαιτᾶσθαι θαυμασθέντος ἢ διὰ τοὺς τρεῖς θριάμβους. ἤχθοντο γὰρ ὁρῶντες αὐτὴν τὰ πολλὰ κεκλεισμένην μὲν ἡγεμόσι καὶ στρατηγοῖς καὶ πρέσβεσιν, ὠθουμένοις πρὸς ὕβριν ἀπὸ τῶν θυρῶν, μεστὴν δὲ μίμων καὶ θαυματοποιῶν καὶ κολάκων κραιπαλώντων, εἰς οὓς τὰ πλεῖστα κατανηλίσκετο τῶν χρημάτων τῷ βιαιοτάτῳ καὶ χαλεπωτάτῳ τρόπῳ ποριζομένων.
And to his general ill-repute there was added the great hatred caused by the house in which he dwelt. It had been that of Pompey the Great, a man no less admired for sobriety and for the orderly and democratic disposition of his life than because of his three triumphs. Men were distressed, therefore, to see the house closed for the most part against commanders, magistrates, and ambassadors, who were thrust with insolence from its doors, and filled instead with mimes, jugglers, and drunken flatterers, on whom were squandered the greater part of the moneys got in the most violent and cruel manner.
οὐ γὰρ μόνον ἐπώλουν οὐσίας τῶν φονευομένων, ἐπισυκοφαντοῦντες οἰκείους καὶ γυναῖκας αὐτῶν, οὐδὲ τελῶν πᾶν ἐκίνησαν γένος, ἀλλὰ καὶ παρὰ ταῖς Ἑστιάσι πυθόμενοι παρθένοις παρακαταθήκας τινὰς κεῖσθαι καὶ ξένων καὶ πολιτῶν ἔλαβον ἐπελθόντες.
For the triumvirate not only sold the properties of those whom they slew, bringing false charges against their wives and kindred, while they set on foot every kind of taxation, but learning that there were deposits with the Vestal Virgins made by both strangers and citizens, they went and took them.
ὡς δὲ οὐδὲν ἦν ἱκανὸν Ἀντωνίῳ, Καῖσαρ ἠξίωσε νείμασθαι τὰ χρήματα πρὸς αὐτόν. ἐνείμαντο δὲ καὶ τὸν στρατόν, ἐπὶ Βροῦτον καὶ Κάσσιον εἰς Μακεδονίαν στρατεύοντες ἀμφότεροι, Λεπίδῳ δὲ τὴν Ῥώμην ἐπέτρεψαν.
And since nothing was sufficient for Antony, Caesar demanded to share the moneys with him. They shared the army also, and both led their forces into Macedonia against Brutus and Cassius, entrusting Rome to Lepidus.
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