The Historians' History of the World 05

“Meanwhile, as it happens in these unexpected alarms, the whole country was filled with people flying, the countrymen forsaking their habitations, and nothing was to be heard but cries, and lamentations, and groans, yet no man knew from whence this disorder came, but all imagined that Cæsar was upon them with all his forces. The consuls receiving the news, gave not Pompey, who perfectly understood war, leisure to prepare himself, and take his own time; they began to press him to be gone out of the city, and make levies of forces in Italy, as if Rome had been in immediate danger of being taken and plundered. And the senate surprised with so unlooked for an irruption, were terrified, and began to repent they had not accepted those reasonable conditions offered by Cæsar; but this was not till fear had opened their eyes, and led them back from partiality to reason; for now men talked of a great many prodigies and extraordinary signs which had appeared in the heavens, that it had rained blood in many places, that in others the statues of the gods had sweat, that many temples had been struck with thunderbolts, that a mule had engendered, besides an infinite of other things which seemed to foretell the change of the present state, and the ruin of the commonwealth, so as it should never be re-established; wherefore they made vows and prayers as in a public consternation. And the people, remembering again the miseries they had suffered because of the dissensions of Sulla and Marius, cried out that they ought to take away the command as well from Cæsar as from Pompey, since that was the only means to prevent a war. Cicero himself was of opinion that deputies should be sent to Cæsar to treat an accommodation, but the consuls absolutely opposed it.

“Favonius, quipping at Pompey because of a word he had once said with too much arrogance, bade him stamp on the ground with his foot, and see if any armed men would rise. To which Pompey answered: ‘You will want none so you will follow me, and are not troubled to leave the city, and Italy, itself, if there be occasion; for people of courage,’ said he, ‘do not make liberty consist in the possession of lands and houses; they cannot want in any place they come to; and if they lose not their courage, will soon recover their houses and lands.’

“After having said these words, and protested he would hold him for an enemy, who out of fear to lose what he possessed, deserted the commonwealth in extreme danger, he went out of the palace, and soon after out of the city, to join the army that was at Capua. The consuls followed him presently, but the other senators weighed it a little longer, and spent all the night in the palace, without resolving anything; and at length as soon as it was break of day, the greater part followed the same way after Pompey. Meantime, Cæsar having reached at Corfinium, L. Domitius, whom they had sent for his successor with four thousand men (of which he had already lost a part), he besieged him in the city, from whence, endeavouring to escape, the inhabitants stopped him at the gate, and brought him to Cæsar, to whom the remainder of his forces yielded themselves; he received them kindly, that he might draw others by their example, and without doing any wrong to Domitius, he suffered him to go whither he pleased, with all his equipage, hoping by this courtesy to oblige him to take his party, yet without hindering him from going to find out Pompey. Pompey on the other side marched from Capua to Brundusium, that he might thence pass to Epirus, where he designed to establish the seat of war; he sent to all provinces and to kings themselves that they should send him what forces they could supply.”c

Pompey having accordingly decided that the most prudent course to adopt was to quit Italy and retire across the sea, had assembled all the available troops at Brundusium, though the greater half had already happily crossed to Greece. Cæsar reached the city accompanied by his legions. But Pompey, until the return of the fleet, succeeded in baffling his efforts to close the mouth of the harbour. He now barricaded the city and the two roads leading to the harbour; the rest of the army embarked, and the retreat was made on the ships, which they carried across the sea.[117] Cæsar being left with the empty town, found his hope had failed of ending the war as quickly as he had commenced it.

CÆSAR’S SERIOUS POSITION