ἦσαν μὲν οὖν περὶ αὐτὸν οὐ πλείους ἱππέων τριακοσίων καὶ πεντακισχιλίων ὁπλιτῶν τὸ γὰρ ἄλλο στράτευμα πέραν Ἄλπεων ἀπολελειμμένον ἔμελλον ἄξειν οἱ πεμφθέντες. ὁρῶν δὲ τὴν ἀρχὴν ὧν ἐνίστατο πραγμάτων καὶ τὴν ἔφοδον οὐ πολυχειρίας δεομένην ἐν τῷ παρόντι μᾶλλον ἢ θάμβει τε τόλμης καὶ τάχει καιροῦ καταληπτέαν οὖσαν,
Now, Caesar had with him not more than three hundred horsemen and five thousand legionaries; for the rest of his army had been left beyond the Alps, and was to be brought up by those whom he had sent for the purpose. He saw, however, that the beginning of his enterprise and its initial step did not require a large force at present, but must take advantage of the golden moment by showing amazing boldness and speed,
ἐκπλήξειν γὰρ ἀπιστούμενος ῥᾷον ἢ βιάσεσθαι μετὰ παρασκευῆς ἐπελθών, τοὺς μὲν ἡγεμόνας καὶ ταξιάρχους ἐκέλευσε μαχαίρας ἔχοντας ἄνευ τῶν ἄλλων ὅπλων κατασχεῖν Ἀρίμινον τῆς Κελτικῆς μεγάλην πόλιν, ὡς ἐνδέχεται μάλιστα φεισαμένους φόνου καὶ ταραχῆς Ὁρτησίῳ δὲ τὴν δύναμιν παρέδωκεν.
since he could strike terror into his enemies by an unexpected blow more easily than he could overwhelm them by an attack in full force. He therefore ordered his centurions and other officers, taking their swords only, and without the rest of their arms, to occupy Ariminum, a large city of Gaul, avoiding commotion and bloodshed as far as possible; and he entrusted this force to Hortensius.
αὐτὸς δὲ τὴν μὲν ἡμέραν διῆγεν ἐν φανερῷ μονομάχοις ἐφεστὼς γυμναζομένοις καὶ θεώμενος μικρὸν δὲ πρὸ ἑσπέρας θεραπεύσας τὸ σῶμα καὶ παρελθὼν εἰς τὸν ἀνδρῶνα καὶ συγγενόμενος βραχέα τοῖς παρακεκλημένοις ἐπὶ τὸ δεῖπνον, ἤδη συσκοτάζοντος ἐξανέστη, τοὺς μὲν ἄλλους φιλοφρονηθεὶς καὶ κελεύσας περιμένειν αὐτὸν ὡς ἐπανελευσόμενον, ὀλίγοις δὲ τῶν φίλων προείρητο μὴ κατὰ τὸ αὐτὸ πάντας, ἄλλον δὲ ἄλλῃ διώκειν.
He himself spent the day in public, attending and watching the exercises of gladiators; but a little before evening he bathed and dressed and went into the banqueting hall. Here he held brief converse with those who had been invited to supper, and just as it was getting dark rose and went away, after addressing courteously most of his guests and bidding them await his return. To a few of his friends, however, he had previously given directions to follow him, not all by the same route, but some by one way and some by another.
αὐτὸς δὲ τῶν μισθίων ζευγῶν ἐπιβὰς ἑνός ἤλαυνεν ἑτέραν τινὰ πρῶτον ὁδόν, εἶτα πρὸς τὸ Ἀρίμινον ἐπιστρέψας, ὡς ἦλθεν ἐπὶ τὸν διορίζοντα τὴν ἐντὸς Ἄλπεων Γαλατίαν ἀπὸ τῆς ἄλλης Ἰταλίας ποταμὸν (Ῥουβίκων καλεῖται), καὶ λογισμὸς αὐτὸν εἰσῄει μᾶλλον ἐγγίζοντα τῷ δεινῷ καὶ περιφερόμενον τῷ μεγέθει τῶν τολμωμένων,
He himself mounted one of his hired carts and drove at first along another road, then turned towards Ariminum. When he came to the river which separates Cisalpine Gaul from the rest of Italy (it is called the Rubicon), and began to reflect, now that he drew nearer to the fearful step and was agitated by the magnitude of his ventures, he checked his speed.
ἔσχετο δρόμου· καὶ τὴν πορείαν ἐπιστήσας πολλὰ μὲν αὐτὸς ἐν ἑαυτῷ διήνεγκε σιγῇ τὴν γνώμην ἐπʼ ἀμφότερα μεταλαμβάνων, καὶ τροπὰς ἔσχεν αὐτῷ τότε τὸ βούλευμα πλείστας πολλὰ δὲ καὶ τῶν φίλων τοῖς παροῦσιν, ὧν ἦν καὶ Πολλίων Ἀσίννιος, συνδιηπόρησεν, ἀναλογιζόμενος ἡλίκων κακῶν ἄρξει πᾶσιν ἀνθρώποις ἡ διάβασις, ὅσον τε λόγον αὐτῆς τοῖς αὖθις ἀπολείψουσι.
Then, halting in his course, he communed with himself a long time in silence as his resolution wavered back and forth, and his purpose then suffered change after change. For a long time, too, he discussed his perplexities with his friends who were present, among whom was Asinius Pollio, estimating the great evils for all mankind which would follow their passage of the river, and the wide fame of it which they would leave to posterity.
τέλος δὲ μετὰ θυμοῦ τινος ὥσπερ ἀφεὶς ἑαυτὸν ἐκ τοῦ λογισμοῦ πρὸς τὸ μέλλον, καὶ τοῦτο δὴ τὸ κοινὸν τοῖς εἰς τύχας ἐμβαίνουσιν ἀπόρους καὶ τόλμας προοίμιον ὑπειπὼν, Ἀνερρίφθω κύβος, ὥρμησε πρὸς τὴν διάβασιν καὶ δρόμῳ τὸ λοιπὸν ἤδη χρώμενος εἰσέπεσε πρὸ ἡμέρας εἰς τὸ Ἀρίμινον καὶ κατέσχε. λέγεται δὲ τῇ προτέρᾳ νυκτὶ τῆς διαβάσεως ὄναρ ἰδεῖν ἔκθεσμον ἐδόκει γὰρ αὐτὸς τῇ ἑαυτοῦ μητρὶ μίγνυσθαι τὴν ἄρρητον μῖξιν.
But finally, with a sort of passion, as if abandoning calculation and casting himself upon the future, and uttering the phrase with which men usually prelude their plunge into desperate and daring fortunes, Let the die be cast, he hastened to cross the river; and going at full speed now for the rest of the time, before daybreak he dashed into Ariminum and took possession of it. It is said, moreover, that on the night before he crossed the river he had an unnatural dream; he thought, namely, that he was having incestuous intercourse with his own mother.
ἐπεὶ δὲ κατελήφθη τὸ Ἀρίμινον, ὥσπερ ἀνεῳγμένου τοῦ πολέμου πλατείαις πύλαις ἐπὶ πᾶσαν ὁμοῦ τὴν γῆν καὶ θάλασσαν, καὶ συγκεχυμένων ἅμα τοῖς ὅροις τῆς ἐπαρχίας τῶν νόμων τῆς πόλεως, οὐκ ἄνδρας ἄν τις ᾠήθη καὶ γυναῖκας, ὥσπερ ἄλλοτε, σὺν ἐκπλήξει διαφοιτᾶν τῆς Ἰταλίας, ἀλλὰ τὰς πόλεις αὐτὰς ἀνισταμένας φυγῇ διαφέρεσθαι διʼ ἀλλήλων,
After the seizure of Ariminum, as if the war had opened with broad gates to cover the whole earth and sea alike, and the laws of the state were confounded along with the boundaries of the province, one would not have thought that men and women, as at other times, were hurrying through Italy in consternation, but that the very cities had risen up in flight and were rushing one through another;
τὴν δὲ Ῥώμην ὥσπερ ὑπὸ ῥευμάτων πιμπλαμένην φυγαῖς τῶν πέριξ δήμων καὶ μεταστάσεσιν, οὔτε ἄρχοντι πεῖσαι ῥᾳδίαν οὖσαν οὔτε λόγῳ καθεκτήν, ἐν πολλῷ κλύδωνι καὶ σάλῳ μικρὸν ἀπολιπεῖν αὐτὴν ὑφʼ αὑτῆς ἀνατετράφθαι. πάθη γὰρ ἀντίπαλα καὶ βίαια κατεῖχε κινήματα πάντα τόπον.
while Rome herself, deluged as it were by the inhabitants of the surrounding towns who were fleeing from their homes, neither readily obeying a magistrate nor listening to the voice of reason, in the surges of a mighty sea narrowly escaped being overturned by her own internal agitations. For conflicting emotions and violent disturbances prevailed everywhere.
οὔτε γὰρ τὸ χαῖρον ἡσυχίαν ἦγεν, ἀλλὰ τῷ δεδοικότι καὶ λυπουμένῳ κατὰ πολλὰ συμπῖπτον ἐν μεγάλῃ πόλει καὶ θρασυνόμενον ὑπὲρ τοῦ μέλλοντος διʼ ἐρίδων ἦν, αὐτόν τε Πομπήϊον ἐκπεπληγμένον ἄλλος ἀλλαχόθεν ἐτάραττε, τοῖς μὲν, ὡς ηὔξησε Καίσαρα καθʼ ἑαυτοῦ καὶ τῆς ἡγεμονίας, εὐθύνας ὑπέχοντα, τῶν δέ, ὅτι παρείκοντα καὶ προτεινόμενον εὐγνώμονας διαλύσεις ἐφῆκε τοῖς περὶ Λέντλον ὑβρίσαι, κατηγορούντων.
Those who rejoiced did not keep quiet, but in many places, as was natural in a great city, encountered those who were in fear and distress, and being filled with confidence as to the future came into strife with them; while Pompey himself, who was terror-stricken, was assailed on every side, being taken to task by some for having strengthened Caesar against himself and the supreme power of the state, and denounced by others for having permitted Lentulus to insult Caesar when he was ready to yield and was offering reasonable terms of settlement.
Φαώνιος δὲ αὐτόν ἐκέλευε τῷ ποδὶ κτυπεῖν τὴν γῆν, ἐπεὶ μεγαληγορῶν ποτε πρὸς τὴν σύγκλητον οὐδὲν εἴα πολυπραγμονεῖν οὐδὲ φροντίζειν ἐκείνους τῆς ἐπὶ τὸν πόλεμον παρασκευῆς· αὐτὸς γὰρ, ὅταν ἐπίῃ, κρούσας τὸ ἔδαφος τῷ ποδὶ στρατευμάτων ἐμπλήσειν τὴν Ἰταλίαν.
Favonius bade him stamp on the ground; for once, in a boastful speech to the senate, he told them to take no trouble or anxious thought about preparations for the war, since when it came he had but to stamp upon the earth to fill Italy with armies.
οὐ μὴν ἀλλὰ καὶ τότε πλήθει δυνάμεως ὑπερέβαλλεν ὁ Πομπήϊος τὴν Καίσαρος· εἴασε δʼ οὐδεὶς τὸν ἄνδρα χρήσασθαι τοῖς ἑαυτοῦ λογισμοῖς, ἀλλὰ ὑπʼ ἀγγελμάτων πολλῶν καὶ ψευδῶν καὶ φόβων, ὡς ἐφεστῶτος ἤδη τοῦ πολέμου καὶ πάντα κατέχοντος, εἴξας καὶ συνεκκρουσθεὶς τῇ πάντων φορᾷ ψηφίζεται ταραχὴν ὁρᾶν, καὶ τὴν πόλιν ἐξέλιπε κελεύσας ἕπεσθαι τὴν γερουσίαν, καὶ μηδένα μένειν τῶν πρὸ τῆς τυραννίδος ᾑρημένων τὴν πατρίδα καὶ τὴν ἐλευθερίαν.
However, even then Pompey’s forces were more numerous than Caesar’s; but no one would suffer him to exercise his own judgement; and so, under the influence of many false and terrifying reports, believing that the war was already close at hand and prevailed everywhere, he gave way, was swept along with the universal tide, issued an edict declaring a state of anarchy, and forsook the city, commanding the senate to follow, and forbidding any one to remain who preferred country and freedom to tyranny.
οἱ μὲν οὖν ὕπατοι μηδὲ ἃ νόμος ἐστὶ πρὸ ἐξόδου θύσαντες ἔφυγον ἔφευγον δὲ καί τῶν βουλευτῶν οἱ πλεῖστοι, τρόπον τινὰ διʼ ἁρπαγῆς ἀπὸ τῶν ἰδίων ὅ τι τύχοιεν ὥσπερ ἀλλοτρίων λαμβάνοντες, εἰσὶ δὲ οἳ καί σφόδρα τὰ Καίσαρος ᾑρημένοι πρότερον ἐξέπεσον ὑπὸ θάμβους τότε τῶν λογισμῶν καί συμπαρηνέχθησαν οὐδὲν δεόμενοι τῷ ῥεύματι τῆς φορᾶς ἐκείνης.
Accordingly, the consuls fled, without even making the sacrifices usual before departure; most of the senators also fled, after seizing, in a sort of robbery, whatever came to hand of their own possessions, as though it were the property of others. Some, too, who before this had vehemently espoused the cause of Caesar, were now frightened out of their wits, and were carried along, when there was no need of it, by the sweep of the great tide.
οἰκτρότατον δὲ τὸ θέαμα τῆς πόλεως ἦν, ἐπιφερομένου τοσούτου χειμῶνος, ὥσπερ νεὼς ὑπὸ κυβερνητῶν ἀπαγορευόντων πρὸς τὸ συντυχὸν ἐκπεσεῖν κομιζομένης. ἀλλὰ καίπερ οὕτω τῆς μεταστάσεως οἰκτρᾶς οὔσης, τὴν μὲν φυγὴν οἱ ἄνθρωποι πατρίδα διὰ Πομπήϊον ἡγοῦντο, τὴν δὲ Ῥώμην ὡς Καίσαρος στρατόπεδον ἐξέλειπον· ὅπου καί Λαβιηνός, ἀνὴρ ἐν τοῖς μάλιστα φίλοις Καίσαρος καί πρεσβευτὴς γεγονὼς καί συνηγωνισμένος ἐν πᾶσι προθυμότατα τοῖς Κελτικοῖς πολέμοις, τότʼ ἐκεῖνον ἀποδρὰς ἀφίκετο πρὸς Πομπήϊον.
But most pitiful was the sight of the city, now that so great a tempest was bearing down upon her, carried along like a ship abandoned of her helmsmen to dash against whatever lay in her path. Still, although their removal was so pitiful a thing, for the sake of Pompey men considered exile to be their country, and abandoned Rome with the feeling that it was Caesar’s camp. For even Labienus, one of Caesar’s greatest friends, who had been his legate and had fought most zealously with him in all his Gallic wars, now ran away from him and came to Pompey.
ἀλλὰ τούτῳ μὲν καί τὰ χρήματα καί τὰς ἀποσκευὰς ἀπέπεμψεν ὁ Καῖσαρ Δομετίῳ δὲ ἡγουμένῳ σπειρῶν τριάκοντα καί κατέχοντι Κορφίνιον ἐπελθὼν παρεστρατοπέδευσεν. ὁ δὲ ἀπογνοὺς τὰ καθʼ ἑαυτόν ᾔτησε τὸν ἰατρὸν οἰκέτην ὄντα φάρμακον καί λαβὼν τὸ δοθὲν ἔπιεν ὡς τεθνηξόμενος.
But Caesar sent to Labienus his money and his baggage; against Domitius, however, who was holding Corfinium with thirty cohorts under his command, he marched, and pitched his camp near by. Domitius, despairing of his enterprise, asked his physician, who was a slave, for a poison; and taking what was given him, drank it, intending to die.
μετʼ ὀλίγον δὲ ἀκούσας τὸν Καίσαρα θαυμαστῇ τινι φιλανθρωπίᾳ χρῆσθαι πρὸς τοὺς ἑαλωκότας, αὐτὸς αὑτὸν ἀπεθρήνει καί τὴν ὀξύτητα τοῦ βουλεύματος ᾐτιᾶτο. τοῦ δʼ ἰατροῦ θαρρύναντος αὐτόν, ὡς ὑπνωτικόν, οὐ θανάσιμον, πεπωκότα, περιχαρὴς ἀναστὰς ἀπῄει πρὸς Καίσαρα, καί λαβὼν δεξιάν αὖθις διεξέπεσε πρὸς Πομπήϊον. ταῦτα εἰς τὴν Ῥώμην ἀπαγγελλόμενα τοὺς ἀνθρώπους ἡδίους ἐποίει, καί τινες φυγόντες ἀνέστρεψαν.
But after a little, hearing that Caesar showed most wonderful clemency towards his prisoners, he bewailed his fate, and blamed the rashness of his purpose. Then his physician bade him be of good cheer, since what he had drunk was a sleeping-potion and not deadly; whereupon Domitius rose up overjoyed and went to Caesar, the pledge of whose right hand he received, only to desert him and go back to Pompey. When tidings of these things came to Rome, men were made more cheerful, and some of the fugitives turned back.
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