οὐ μὴν ἀλλὰ καὶ πρὸς τὴν τύχην τοῦ ἀνδρὸς ἐγκεκλικότες καὶ δεδεγμένοι τὸν χαλινόν, καὶ τῶν ἐμφυλίων πολέμων καὶ κακῶν ἀναπνοὴν ἡγούμενοι τὴν μοναρχίαν, δικτάτορα μὲν αὐτόν ἀπέδειξαν διὰ βίου τοῦτο δʼ ἦν ὁμολογουμένη τυραννίς, τῷ ἀνυπευθύνῳ τῆς μοναρχίας τὸ ἀκατάπαυστον προσλαβούσης·
However, the Romans gave way before the good fortune of the man and accepted the bit, and regarding the monarchy as a respite from the evils of the civil wars, they appointed him dictator for life. This was confessedly a tyranny, since the monarchy, besides the element of irresponsibility, now took on that of permanence.
τιμὰς δὲ τὰς πρώτας Κικέρωνος εἰς τὴν βουλὴν γράψαντος, ὧν ἁμῶς γέ πως ἀνθρώπινον ἦν τὸ μέγεθος, ἕτεροι προστιθέντες ὑπερβολὰς καὶ διαμιλλώμενοι πρὸς ἀλλήλους ἐξειργάσαντο καὶ τοῖς πρᾳοτάτοις ἐπαχθῆ τὸν ἄνδρα καὶ λυπηρὸν γενέσθαι διὰ τὸν ὄγκον καὶ τὴν ἀτοπίαν τῶν ψηφιζομένων, οἷς οὐδὲν ἧττον οἴονται συναγωνίσασθαι τῶν κολακευόντων Καίσαρα τοὺς μισοῦντας,
It was Cicero who proposed the first honours for him in the senate, and their magnitude was, after all, not too great for a man; but others added excessive honours and vied with one another in proposing them, thus rendering Caesar odious and obnoxious even to the mildest citizens because of the pretension and extravagance of what was decreed for him. It is thought, too, that the enemies of Caesar no less than his flatterers helped to force these measures through,
ὅπως ὅτι πλείστας κατʼ αὐτοῦ προφάσεις ἔχωσι καὶ μετὰ μεγίστων ἐγκλημάτων ἐπιχειρεῖν δοκῶσιν. ἐπεὶ τά γε ἄλλα, τῶν ἐμφυλίων αὐτῷ πολέμων πέρας ἐσχηκότων, ἀνέγκλητον ἑαυτὸν παρεῖχε· καὶ τό γε τῆς Ἐπιεικείας ἱερὸν οὐκ ἀπὸ τρόπου δοκοῦσι χαριστήριον ἐπὶ τῇ πρᾳότητι ψηφίσασθαι. καὶ γὰρ ἀφῆκε πολλοὺς τῶν πεπολεμηκότων πρὸς αὐτόν, ἐνίοις δὲ καὶ ἀρχὰς καὶ τιμάς, ὡς Βρούτῳ καὶ Κασσίῳ, προσέθηκεν ἐστρατήγουν γὰρ ἀμφότεροι.
in order that they might have as many pretexts as possible against him and might be thought to have the best reasons for attempting his life. For in all other ways, at least, after the civil wars were over, he showed himself blameless; and certainly it is thought not inappropriate that the temple of Clemency was decreed as a thank-offering in view of his mildness. For he pardoned many of those who had fought against him, and to some he even gave honours and offices besides as to Brutus and, Cassius, both of whom were now praetors.
καὶ τὰς Πομπηΐου καταβεβλημένας εἰκόνας οὐ περιεῖδεν, ἀλλʼ ἀνέστησεν, ἐφʼ ὧν καὶ Κικέρων εἶπεν ὅτι Καῖσαρ τοὺς Πομπηΐου στήσας ἀνδριάντας τοὺς ἰδίους ἔπηξε, τῶν δὲ φίλων ἀξιούντων αὐτὸν δορυφορεῖσθαι καὶ πολλῶν ἐπὶ τοῦτο παρεχόντων ἑαυτούς οὐχ ὑπέμεινεν, εἰπὼν ὡς βέλτιόν ἐστιν ἅπαξ ἀποθανεῖν ἢ ἀεὶ προσδοκᾶν.
The statues of Pompey, too, which had been thrown down, he would not suffer to remain so, but set them up again, at which Cicero said that in setting up Pompey’s statues Caesar firmly fixed his own. When his friends thought it best that he should have a body-guard, and many of them volunteered for this service, he would not consent, saying that it was better to die once for all than to be always expecting death.
τὴν δʼ εὔνοιαν ὡς κάλλιστον ἅμα καὶ βεβαιότατον ἑαυτῷ περιβαλλόμενος φυλακτήριον, αὖθις ἀνελάμβανε τὸν δῆμον ἑστιάσεσι καὶ σιτηρεσίοις, τὸ δὲ στρατιωτικὸν ἀποικίαις, ὧν ἐπιφανέσταται Καρχηδὼν καὶ Κόρινθος ἦσαν, αἷς καὶ πρότερον τὴν ἅλωσιν καὶ τότε τὴν ἀνάληψιν ἅμα καὶ κατὰ τὸν αὐτὸν χρόνον ἀμφοτέραις γενέσθαι συνέτυχε.
And in the effort to surround himself with men’s good will as the fairest and at the same time the securest protection, he again courted the people with banquets and distributions of grain, and his soldiers with newly planted colonies, the most conspicuous of which were Carthage and Corinth. The earlier capture of both these cities, as well as their present restoration, chanced to fall at one and the same time.
τῶν δὲ δυνατῶν τοῖς μὲν ὑπατείας καὶ στρατηγίας εἰς τοὐπιὸν ἐπηγγέλλετο, τοὺς δʼ ἄλλαις τισὶν ἐξουσίαις καὶ τιμαῖς παρεμυθεῖτο, πᾶσι δὲ ἐλπίζειν ἐνεδίδου, μνηστευόμενος ἄρχειν ἑκόντων, ὡς καὶ Μαξίμου τοῦ ὑπάτου τελευτήσαντος εἰς τὴν περιοῦσαν ἔτι τῆς ἀρχῆς μίαν ἡμέραν ὕπατον ἀποδεῖξαι Κανίνιον Ῥεβίλιον. πρὸς ὅν, ὡς ἔοικε, πολλῶν δεξιώσασθαι καὶ προπέμψαι βαδιζόντων ὁ Κικέρων, σπεύδωμεν, ἔφη, πρὶν φθάσῃ τῆς ὑπατείας ἐξελθὼν ὁ ἄνθρωπος.
As for the nobles, to some of them he promised consulships and praetorships in the future, others he appeased with sundry other powers and honours, and in all he implanted hopes, since he ardently desired to rule over willing subjects. Therefore, when Maximus the consul died, he appointed Caninius Revilius consul for the one day still remaining of the term of office. To him, as we are told, many were going with congratulations and offers of escort, whereupon Cicero said: Let us make haste, or else the man’s consulship will have expired.
ἐπεὶ δὲ τὸ φύσει μεγαλουργὸν αὑτοῦ καὶ φιλότιμον αἱ πολλαὶ κατορθώσεις οὐ πρὸς ἀπόλαυσιν ἔτρεπον Τῶν πεπονημένων, ἀλλʼ ὑπέκκαυμα καὶ θάρσος οὖσαι πρὸς τὰ μέλλοντα μειζόνων ἐνέτικτον ἐπινοίας πραγμάτων καὶ καινῆς ἔρωτα δόξης ὡς ἀποκεχρημένῳ τῇ παρούσῃ, τὸ μὲν πάθος οὐδὲν ἦν ἕτερον ἢ ζῆλος αὑτοῦ καθάπερ ἄλλου καὶ φιλονεικία τις ὑπὲρ Τῶν μελλόντων πρὸς τὰ πεπραγμένα,
Caesar’s many successes, however, did not divert his natural spirit of enterprise and ambition to the enjoyment of what he had laboriously achieved, but served as fuel and incentive for future achievements, and begat in him plans for greater deeds and a passion for fresh glory, as though he had used up what he already had. What he felt was therefore nothing else than emulation of himself, as if he had been another man, and a sort of rivalry between what he had done and what he purposed to do.
παρασκευὴ δὲ καὶ γνώμη στρατεύειν μὲν ἐπὶ Πάρθους, καταστρεψαμένῳ δὲ τούτους, καὶ διʼ Ὑρκανίας παρὰ τὴν Κασπίαν θάλασσαν καὶ τόν Καύκασον ἐκπεριελθόντι τόν Πόντον, εἰς τὴν Σκυθικὴν ἐμβαλεῖν, καὶ τὰ περίχωρα Γερμανοῖς καὶ Γερμανίαν αὐτὴν ἐπιδραμόντι διὰ Κελτῶν ἐπανελθεῖν εἰς Ἰταλίαν, καὶ συνάψαι τόν κύκλον τοῦτον τῆς ἡγεμονίας τῷ πανταχόθεν Ὠκεανῷ περιορισθείσης.
For he planned and prepared to make an expedition against the Parthians; and after subduing these and marching around the Euxine by way of Hyrcania, the Caspian sea, and the Caucasus, to invade Scythia; and after overrunning the countries bordering on Germany and Germany itself, to come back by way of Gaul to Italy, and so to complete this circuit of his empire, which would then be bounded on all sides by the ocean.
διὰ μέσου δὲ τῆς στρατείας τόν τε Κορίνθιον Ἰσθμὸν ἐπεχείρει διασκάπτειν, Ἀνιηνὸν ἐπὶ τούτῳ προχειρισάμενος, καὶ τόν Τίβεριν εὐθὺς ἀπὸ τῆς πόλεως ὑπολαβὼν διώρυχι βαθείᾳ καὶ περικλάσας ἐπὶ τὸ Κιρκαῖον ἐμβαλεῖν εἰς τὴν πρὸς Ταρρακίνῃ θάλατταν, ἀσφάλειαν ἅμα καὶ ῥᾳστώνην τοῖς διʼ ἐμπορίας φοιτῶσιν εἰς Ῥώμην μηχανώμενος·
During this expedition, moreover, he intended to dig through the isthmus of Corinth, and had already put Anienus in charge of this work; he intended also to divert the Tiber just below the city into a deep channel, give it a bend towards Circeium, and make it empty into the sea at Terracina, thus contriving for merchantmen a safe as well as an easy passage to Rome;
πρὸς δὲ τούτοις τὰ μὲν ἕλη τὰ περὶ Πωμεντῖνον καὶ Σητίαν ἐκτρέψας πεδίον ἀποδεῖξαι πολλαῖς ἐνεργὸν ἀνθρώπων μυριάσι, τῇ δὲ ἔγγιστα τῆς Ῥώμης θαλάσσῃ κλεῖθρα διὰ χωμάτων ἐπαγαγών, καὶ τὰ τυφλὰ καὶ δύσορμα τῆς Ὠστιανῆς ἠϊόνος ἀνακαθηράμενος, λιμένας ἐμποιήσασθαι καὶ ναύλοχα πρὸς τοσαύτην ἀξιόπιστα ναυτιλίαν. καὶ ταῦτα μὲν ἐν παρασκευαῖς ἦν.
and besides this, to convert the marshes about Pomentinum and Setia into a plain which many thousands of men could cultivate; and further, to build moles which should barricade the sea where it was nearest to Rome, to clear away the hidden dangers on the shore of Ostia, and then construct harbours and roadsteads sufficient for the great fleets that would visit them. And all these things were in preparation.
ἡ δὲ τοῦ ἡμερολογίου διάθεσις καὶ διόρθωσις τῆς περὶ τὸν χρόνον ἀνωμαλίας φιλοσοφηθεῖσα χαριέντως ὑπʼ αὐτοῦ καὶ τέλος λαβοῦσα γλαφυρωτάτην παρέσχε χρείαν. οὐ γὰρ μόνον ἐν τοῖς παλαιοῖς πάνυ χρόνοις τεταραγμέναις ἐχρῶντο Ῥωμαῖοι ταῖς τῶν μηνῶν πρὸς τὸν ἐνιαυτὸν περιόδοις, ὥστε τὰς θυσίας καὶ τὰς ἑορτὰς ὑποφερομένας κατὰ μικρὸν εἰς ἐναντίας ἐκπεπτωκέναι τοῖς χρόνοις ὥρας,
The adjustment of the calendar, however, and the correction of the irregularity in the computation of time, were not only studied scientifically by him, but also brought to completion, and proved to be of the highest utility. For not only in very ancient times was the relation of the lunar to the solar year in great confusion among the Romans, so that the sacrificial feasts and festivals, diverging gradually, at last fell in opposite seasons of the year,
ἀλλὰ καὶ περὶ τὴν τότε οὖσαν ἡλιακὴν οἱ μὲν ἄλλοι παντάπασι τούτων ἀσυλλογίστως εἶχον, οἱ δὲ ἱερεῖς μόνοι τὸν καιρὸν εἰδότες ἐξαίφνης καὶ προῃσθημένου μηδενὸς τὸν ἐμβόλιμον προσέγραφον μῆνα, Μερκηδόνιον ὀνομάζοντες, ὃν Νομᾶς ὁ βασιλεὺς πρῶτος ἐμβαλεῖν λέγεται, μικρὰν καὶ διατείνουσαν οὐ πόρρω βοήθειαν ἐξευρὼν τῆς περὶ τὰς ἀποκαταστάσεις πλημμελείας, ὡς ἐν τοῖς περὶ ἐκείνου γέγραπται.
but also at this time people generally had no way of computing the actual solar year; the priests alone knew the proper time, and would suddenly and to everybody’s surprise insert the intercalary month called Mercedonius. Numa the king is said to have been the first to intercalate this month, thus devising a slight and short-lived remedy for the error in regard to the sidereal and solar cycles, as I have said in his Life.
Καῖσαρ δὲ τοῖς ἀρίστοις τῶν φιλοσόφων καὶ μαθηματικῶν τὸ πρόβλημα προθείς ἐκ τῶν ὑποκειμένων ἤδη μεθόδων ἔμιξεν ἰδίαν τινὰ καὶ διηκριβωμένην μᾶλλον ἐπανόρθωσιν, ᾗ χρώμενοι μέχρι νῦν Ῥωμαῖοι δοκοῦσιν ἧττον ἑτέρων σφάλλεσθαι περὶ τὴν ἀνωμαλίαν. οὐ μὴν ἀλλὰ καὶ τοῦτο τοῖς βασκαίνουσι καὶ βαρυνομένοις τὴν δύναμιν αἰτίας παρεῖχε. Κικέρων γοῦν ὁ ῥήτωρ, ὡς ἔοικε, φήσαντός τινος αὔριον ἐπιτέλλειν Λύραν, ναὶ, εἶπεν, ἐκ διατάγματος. ὡς καὶ τοῦτο πρὸς ἀνάγκην τῶν ἀνθρώπων δεχομένων.
But Caesar laid the problem before the best philosophers and mathematicians, and out of the methods of correction which were already at hand compounded one of his own which was more accurate than any. This the Romans use down to the present time, and are thought to be less in error than other peoples as regards the inequality between the lunar and solar years. However, even this furnished occasion for blame to those who envied Caesar and disliked his power. At any rate, Cicero the orator, we are told, when some one remarked that Lyra would rise on the morrow, said: Yes, by decree, implying that men were compelled to accept even this dispensation.
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