Pinnock's improved edition of Dr. Goldsmith's History of Rome Part 46

13. How was Augustus employed in the mean time?

14. What recompense had he promised these troops?

15. What was the consequence of this tyranny?

16. What remarkable person was among the sufferers?

17. Was his request granted?

18. What was the state of Italy at this time?

19. What occasioned it?

20. What did she consider as the most probable means of reclaiming him?

21. Were terms of accommodation offered and accepted?

22. What was the event of the war?

23. What was Antony's conduct on the occasion?

24. Did he approve of his wife's proceedings?

25. Were the two armies of nearly equal strength?

26. What was the consequence?

27. What further measures were adopted?

SECTION VII.

_Octavia_. --You have been his ruin.

Who made him cheap at Rome, but Cleopatra?

Who made him scorned abroad, but Cleopatra?

At Actium who betrayed him? Cleopatra.--_Dryden_.

1. The only obstacle to the ambition of Augustus was Antony, whom he resolved to remove; and for that purpose rendered his character at Rome as contemptible as he possibly could. In fact, Antony's conduct did not a little contribute to promote the endeavours of his ambitious partner. 2. He had marched against the Parthians with a prodigious army, but was forced to return with the loss of the fourth part of his forces, and all his baggage.

3. However, Antony seemed quite regardless of contempt: alive only to pleasure, and totally disregarding the business of the state, he spent his whole time in the company of Cleopatra, who studied every art to increase his pa.s.sion and vary his entertainments. 4. Few women have been so much celebrated for the art of giving novelty to pleasure, and making trifles important. Still ingenious in filling up the time with some new strokes of refinement, she was at one time a queen, then a _bac'cha.n.a.l_, and sometimes a huntress. 5. Not contented with sharing with her all the delights which Egypt could afford, Antony was resolved to enlarge his sphere of luxury, by granting her some of those kingdoms which belonged to the Roman empire. He gave her all Pheni'cia, Celo-Syria, and Cy'prus, with a great part of Cili'cia, Ara'bia, and Jude'a, gifts which he had no right to bestow, but which he pretended to grant in imitation of Hercules. 6. This complication of vice and folly at last totally exasperated the Romans, and Augus'tus, willing to take the advantage of their resentment, took care to exaggerate all his defects. 7. At length, when he found the people sufficiently irritated against him, he resolved to send Octa'via, who was then at Rome, to Antony, as if with a view of reclaiming her husband; but, in fact, to furnish a sufficient pretext for declaring war against him, as he knew she would be dismissed with contempt.

8. Antony was now in the city of Leucop'olis, revelling with Cleopatra, when he heard that Octa'via was at Athens, upon her journey to visit him. This was very unwelcome news both to him and Cleopa'tra; the latter, fearing the charms of her rival, endeavoured to convince Antony of the strength of her pa.s.sion, by her sighs, her looks, and well-feigned melancholy. He frequently caught her in tears, which she seemingly attempted to hide, and of which she appeared extremely reluctant to tell him the cause. 9. These artifices, together with the ceaseless flattery and importunity of her creatures, prevailed so much on Antony's weakness, that he commanded Octa'via to return home without seeing her; and still more to exasperate the people of Rome, he resolved to repudiate her, and take Cleopa'tra as his wife. 10. He accordingly a.s.sembled the people of Alexandria in the public theatre, where was raised an alcove of silver, under which were placed two thrones of gold, one for himself, and the other for Cleopa'tra. There he seated himself, dressed as Bacchus, while Cleopatra sat beside him, clothed in the ornaments and attributes of I'sis, the princ.i.p.al deity of the Egyptians. 11. On that occasion he declared her queen of all the countries which he had already bestowed upon her, while he a.s.sociated Caesa'rio, her son by Caesar, as her partner in the government. To the two children of himself by her, he gave the t.i.tle of King of Kings, with very extensive dominions; and, to crown his absurdities, he next sent a minute account of his proceedings to the two consuls at Rome.

12. In the mean time, Augustus had a sufficient pretext for declaring war, and informed the senate of his intentions. However, he deferred the execution of his design for a while, being then employed in quelling an insurrection of the Illy'rians. 13. The following year was chiefly taken up in preparations against Antony, who, perceiving his intentions, remonstrated to the senate, that he had many causes of complaint against his colleague, who had seized upon Sicily without affording him a share; alleging that he had also dispossessed Lep'idus, and kept to himself the province he had commanded; and that he had divided all Italy among his own soldiers, leaving nothing to recompense those in Asia. 14. To this complaint Augustus was content to make a sarcastic answer, implying that it was absurd to complain of his distribution of a few trifling districts in Italy, when Antony, having conquered Par'thia might now reward his soldiers with cities and provinces.[14] 15. This sarcasm provoked him to send his army without delay into Europe, to meet Augustus, while he and Cleopa'tra followed to Sa'mos,[15] in order to prepare for carrying on the war with vigour. 16. When arrived there, it was ridiculous enough to behold the odd mixture of preparations for pleasure and for war. On one side, all the kings and princes from Egypt to the Euxine Sea had orders to send him supplies of men, provisions, and arms; on the other, comedians, dancers, buffoons, and musicians, were ordered to attend him.

17. His delay at Sa'mos, and afterwards at A'thens, where he carried Cleopa'tra to receive new honours, proved extremely favourable to the arms of Augustus, who was at first scarcely in a situation to oppose him, had he gone into Italy; but he soon found time to put himself in a condition for carrying on the war, and shortly after declared it against him in form. At length both sides found themselves in readiness to begin, and their armies were suitable to the greatness of the empire for which they contended. 18. The one was followed by all the forces of the East; the other drew after him all the strength of the West. Antony's force composed a body of one hundred thousand foot, and twelve thousand horse, while his fleet amounted to five hundred ships of war. Augustus mustered but eighty thousand foot, but equalled his adversary in the number of cavalry; his fleet was but half as numerous as Antony's; however, his ships were better built, and manned with better soldiers.

19. The great decisive engagement, which was a naval one, was fought near Ac'tium,[16] a city of Epi'rus, at the entrance of the gulf of Ambra'cia. Antony ranged his ships before the mouth of the gulf; and Augustus drew up his fleet in opposition. Neither general a.s.sumed any fixed station to command in, but went about from ship to ship, wherever his presence was necessary. In the mean time the two land armies, on the opposite sides of the gulf, were drawn up, only as spectators of the engagement, and couraged the fleets, by their shouts, to engage. 20. The battle began on both sides after a manner not practised upon former occasions. The prows of their vessels were armed with brazen beaks, with which it was usual to drive furiously against each other; but Antony's ships being large, unwieldy, and badly manned, were incapable of the necessary swiftness, while those of Augustus, from the lightness of their construction, were fearful of the rude encounter: the battle, therefore, rather resembled a land fight, the ships being brought alongside each other. They fought with great ardour, without advantage on either side, except from a small appearance of disorder in the centre of Antony's fleet. 21. But, all on a sudden, Cleopa'tra determined the fortune of the day. She was seen flying from the engagement with her sixty sail, struck, perhaps, with the terrors natural to her s.e.x; and, to increase the general amazement, Antony himself precipitately followed, leaving his fleet at the mercy of the conquerors; while the army on land submitted, being thus abandoned by their general.

22. When Cleopa'tra fled, Antony pursued her in a quinquireme,[17] and coming alongside her ship, entered it without any desire of seeing her. She was in the stern, and he went to the prow, where he remained silent and melancholy. In this manner he continued three whole days, during which, either through indignation or shame, he neither saw nor spoke to Cleopa'tra. The queen's female attendants, however, reconciled them, and every thing went on as before. 23. Still he had the consolation to suppose his army continued faithful to him, and accordingly despatched orders to conduct it into Asia. But he was soon undeceived when he arrived in Africa, where he was informed of their submission to his rival.[18] 24. This so transported him with rage, that with difficulty he was prevented from killing him self. At length, at the entreaty of his friends, he returned to Alexandria. 25.

Cleopa'tra seemed to retain that fort.i.tude in her misfortunes, which had utterly abandoned her admirer. Having ama.s.sed considerable riches, by means of confiscations and other acts of violence, she formed a very singular and unheard of project.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Sea-fight, near Actium.]

26. This was to convey her whole fleet over the Isthmus of Su'ez into the Red Sea, and thereby save herself, with all her treasures, in another region beyond the power of Rome. 27. Some of her vessels were actually transported thither, pursuant to her orders; but the Arabians having burnt them, and Antony dissuading her from the design, she abandoned it for the more improbable scheme of defending Egypt against the conqueror. 28. She omitted nothing in her power to put this in practice, and made all kinds of preparations for war, hoping, at least, by these means to obtain better terms from Augustus. In fact, she had been more in love with Antony's fortune than his person; and if she could have fallen upon any method of saving herself, though even at his expense, there is little doubt but she would have embraced it with gladness. 29. She had still hopes from the power of her charms, though she was almost arrived at the age of forty: and was desirous of trying upon Augustus those arts which had already been so successful. Thus, in three emba.s.sies which were sent from Antony to Augustus in Asia, the queen had always her secret agents, charged with proposals in her name. Antony desired no more than that his life might be spared, and to have the liberty of pa.s.sing the remainder of his days in obscurity. To these requests Augustus made no reply. 30.

Cleopa'tra also sent him public proposals in favour of her children; but at the same time privately resigned to him her crown, with all the ensigns of royalty. To the queen's public proposal no answer was given; to her private offer he replied by giving her a.s.surances of his favour, in case she would send away Antony, or put him to death. 31.

These private negociations were not so concealed but they came to the knowledge of Antony, whose jealousy and rage every occurrence now contributed to heighten. He built a small solitary house upon a mole in the sea, and shut himself up, a prey to those pa.s.sions that are the tormentors of unsuccessful tyranny. There he pa.s.sed his time; shunning all commerce with man kind, and professing to imitate Timon,[19] the man-hater. 32. However, his furious jealousy drove him from this retreat into society; for hearing that Cleopa'tra had secret conferences with one Thyrsus, an emissary from Augustus, he seized upon him, ordered him to be cruelly scourged, and sent him back to his patron. At the same time he sent letters by him importing that Thyrsus had been chastised for insulting a man in misfortunes; but withal he gave Augustus permission to revenge himself by scourging Hippar'chus, Antony's freedman, in the same manner. The revenge, in this case, would have been highly pleasing to Antony, as Hippar'chus had left him, to join the fortunes of his more successful rival.

_Questions for Examination_.

1. What obstacle remained to the ambition of Augustus, and how did he attempt its removal?

2. How was Antony at this time employed?

3. Did he keenly feel his misfortune?

4. Was she eminently skilled in the art of pleasing?

5. Was not Antony lavish in his favours to her?

6. What was the consequence of this folly?

7. By what means did he seek a quarrel?

8. How was this measure approved by Antony and Cleopatra?

9. What imprudent resolutions did he adopt?

10. Did he do this publicly?

11. What farther favours did he bestow on her?

12. Did Augustus immediately commence hostilities?

13. What complaints did Antony make of Augustus?

14. Did Augustus notice these accusations?

15. What effect had his reply on Antony?

16. Were these military preparations formidable?

17. What advantages did Antony offer Augustus?

18. What was the respective strength of the armies?

19. Describe the preparations for this great conflict?