The CDPD Public Domain Collection for CDTV 3/CDPDIII.bin/books/plutarch/crassus

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                                      75 AD
                                    CRASSUS
                                  115?-53 B.C.
                                  by Plutarch
                           translated by John Dryden
CRASSUS

  MARCUS CRASSUS, whose father had borne the office of a censor, and
received the honour of a triumph, was educated in a little house
together with his two brothers, who both married in their parents'
lifetime; they kept but one table amongst them; all which, perhaps,
was not the least reason of his own temperance and moderation in diet.
One of his brothers dying, he married his widow, by whom he had his
children; neither was there in these respects any of the Romans who
lived a more orderly life than he did, though later in life he was
suspected to have been too familiar with one of the vestal virgins,
named Licinia, who was, nevertheless, acquitted, upon an impeachment
brought against her by one Plotinus. Licinia stood possessed of a
beautiful property in the suburbs, which Crassus desiring to
purchase at a low price, for this reason was frequent in his
attentions to her, which gave occasion to the scandal, and his
avarice, so to say, serving to clear him of the crime, he was
acquitted. Nor did he leave the lady till he had got the estate.
  People were wont to say that the many virtues of Crassus were
darkened by the one vice of avarice, and indeed he seemed to have no
other but that; for it being the most predominant, obscured others
to which he was inclined. The arguments in proof of his avarice were
the vastness of his estate, and the manner of raising it; for
whereas at first he was not worth above three hundred talents, yet,
though in the course of his political life he dedicated the tenth of
all he had to Hercules, and feasted the people, and gave to every
citizen corn enough to serve him three months, upon casting up his
accounts, before he went upon his Parthian expedition, he found his
possessions to amount to seven thousand one hundred talents; most of
which, if we may scandal him with a truth, he got by fire and
rapine, making his advantages of the public calamities. For when Sylla
seized the city, and exposed to sale the goods of those that he had
caused to be slain, accounting them booty and spoils, and, indeed,
calling them so too, and was desirous of making as many, and as
eminent men as he could, partakers in the crime, Crassus never was the
man that refused to accept, or give money for them. Moreover,
observing how extremely subject the city was to fire and falling
down of houses, by reason of their height and their standing so near
together, he bought slaves that were builders and architects, and when
he had collected these to the number of more than five hundred, he
made it his practice to buy houses that were on fire, and those in the
neighbourhood, which, in the immediate danger and uncertainty the
proprietors were willing to part with for little or nothing, so that
the greatest part of Rome, at one time or other, came into his
hands. Yet for all he had so many workmen, he never built anything but
his own house, and used to say that those that were addicted to
building would undo themselves soon enough without the help of other
enemies. And though he had many silver mines, and much valuable
land, and labourers to work in it, yet all this was nothing in
comparison of his slaves, such a number and variety did he possess
of excellent readers, amanuenses, silversmiths, stewards and
table-waiters, whose instruction he always attended to himself,
superintending in persons, while they learned, and teaching them
himself, accounting it the main duty of a master to look over the
servants that are, indeed, the living tools of housekeeping; and in
this, indeed, he was in the right, in thinking, that is, as he used to
say, that servants ought to look after all other things, and the
master after them. For economy, which in things inanimate is but
money-making, when exercised over men becomes policy. But it was
surely a mistaken judgment, when he said no man was to be accounted
rich that could not maintain an army at his own cost and charges,
for war, as Archidamus well observed, is not fed at a fixed allowance,
so that there is no saying what wealth suffices for it, and
certainly it was one very far removed from that of Marius; for when he
had distributed fourteen acres of land a man, and understood that some
desired more, "God forbid," said he, "that any Roman should think that
too little which is enough to keep him alive and well."
  Crassus, however, was very eager to be hospitable to strangers; he
kept open house, and to his friends he would lend money without
interest, but called it in precisely at the time; so that his kindness
was often thought worse than the paying the interest would have
been. His entertainments were, for the most part, plain and
citizen-like, the company general and popular; good taste and kindness
made them pleasanter than sumptuosity would have done. As for learning
he chiefly cared for rhetoric, and what would be serviceable with
large numbers; he became one of the best speakers at Rome, and by
his pains and industry outdid the best natural orators. For there
was no trial how mean and contemptible soever that he came to
unprepared; nay, several times he undertook and concluded a cause when
Pompey and Caesar and Cicero refused to stand up, upon which account
particularly he got the love of the people, who looked upon him as a
diligent and careful man, ready to help and succour his fellow
citizens. Besides, the people were pleased with his courteous and
unpretending salutations and greetings, for he never met any citizen
however humble and low, but he returned him his salute by name. He was
looked upon as a man well-read in history, and pretty well versed in
Aristotle's philosophy, in which one Alexander instructed him, a man
whose intercourse with Crassus gave a sufficient proof of his good
nature and gentle disposition; for it is hard to say whether he was
poorer when he entered into his service, or while he continued in
it; for being his only friend that used to accompany him when
travelling, he used to receive from him a cloak for the journey, and
when he came home had it demanded from him again; poor, patient
sufferer, when even the philosophy he professed did not look upon
poverty as a thing indifferent. But of this hereafter.
  When Cinna and Marius got the power in their hands it was soon
perceived that they had not come back for any good they intended to
their country, but to effect the ruin and utter destruction of the
nobility. And as many as they could lay their hands on they slew,
amongst whom were Crassus's father and brother; he himself, being very
young, for the moment escaped the danger; but understanding that he
was every way beset and hunted after by the tyrants, taking with him
three friends and ten servants, with all possible speed he fled into
Spain, having formerly been there and secured a great number of
friends, while his father was praetor of that country. But finding all
people in a consternation, and trembling at the cruelty of Marius,
as if he was already standing over them in person, he durst not
discover himself to anybody, but hid himself in a large cave which was
by the seashore, and belonged to Vibius Pacianus, to whom he sent
one of his servants to sound him, his provisions, also, beginning to
fail. Vibius was well pleased at his escape, and inquiring the place
of his abode and the number of his companions, he went not to him
himself, but commanded his steward to provide every day a good
meal's meat, and carry it and leave it near such a rock, and to return
without taking any further notice or being inquisitive, promising
him his liberty if he did as he commanded and that he would kill him
if he intermeddled. The cave is not far from the sea; a small and
insignificant looking opening in the cliffs conducts you in; when
you are entered, a wonderfully high roof spreads above you, and
large chambers open out one beyond another, nor does it lack either
water or light, for a very pleasant and wholesome spring runs at the
foot of the cliffs, and natural chinks, in the most advantageous
place, let in the light all day long, and the thickness of the rock
makes the air within pure and clear, all the wet and moisture being
carried off into the spring.
  While Crassus remained here, the steward brought them what was
necessary, but never saw them, nor knew anything of the matter, though
they within saw, and expected him at the customary times. Neither
was their entertainment such as just to keep them alive, but given
them in abundance and for their enjoyment; for Pacianus resolved to
treat him with all imaginable kindness, and considering that he was
a young man, thought it well to gratify a little his youthful
inclinations; for to give just what is needful seems rather to come
from necessity than from a hearty friendship. Once taking with him two
female servants, he showed them the place and bade them go in
boldly, whom when Crassus and his friends saw, they were afraid of
being betrayed and demanded what they were, and what they would
have. They, according as they were instructed, answered, they came
to wait upon their master, who was hid in that cave. And so Crassus
perceiving it was a piece of pleasantry and of good-will on the part
of Vibius, took them in and kept them there with him as long as he
stayed, and employed them to give information to Vibius of what they
wanted, and how they were. Fenestella says he saw one of them, then
very old, and often heard her speak of the time and repeat the story
with pleasure.
  After Crassus had lain concealed there eight months, on hearing that
Cinna was dead, he appeared abroad, and a great number of people
flocking to him, out of whom he selected a body of two thousand five
hundred, he visited many cities, and, as some write, sacked Malaca,
which he himself, however, always denied, and contradicted all who
said so. Afterwards, getting together some ships, he passed into
Africa, and joined with Metellus Pius, an eminent person that had
raised a very considerable force; but upon some difference between him
and Metellus, he stayed not long there, but went over to Sylla, by
whom he was very much esteemed. When Sylla passed over into Italy,
he was anxious to put all the young men that were with him in
employment; and as he despatched some one way, and some another,
Crassus, on its falling to his share to raise men among the
Marsians, demanded a guard, being to pass through the enemy's country,
upon which Sylla replied sharply, "I give you for guard your father,
your brother, your friends and kindred, whose unjust and cruel
murder I am now going to revenge;" and Crassus, being nettled, went
his way, broke boldly through the enemy, collected a considerable
force, and in all Sylla's wars acted with great zeal and courage.
And in these times and occasions, they say, began the emulation and
rivalry for glory between him and Pompey; for though Pompey was the
younger man, and had the disadvantage to be descended of a father that
was disesteemed by the citizens, and hated as much as ever man was,
yet in these actions he shone out and was proved so great that Sylla
always used, when he came in, to stand up and uncover his head, an
honour which he seldom showed to older men and his own equals, and
always saluted him Imperator. This fired and stung Crassus, though,
indeed, he could not with any fairness claim to be preferred; for he
both wanted experience, and his two innate vices, sordidness and
avarice, tarnished all the lustre of his actions. For when he had
taken Tudertia, a town of the Umbrians, he converted, it was said, all
the spoils to his own use, for which he was complained of to Sylla.
But in the last and greatest battle before Rome itself when Sylla
was worsted, some of his battalions giving ground, and others being
quite broken, Crassus got the victory on the right wing, which he
commanded, and pursued the enemy till night, and then sent to Sylla to
acquaint him with his success, and demand provision for his
soldiers. In the time, however, of the proscriptions and
sequestrations, he lost his repute again, by making great purchases
for little or nothing, and asking for grants. Nay, they say he
proscribed one of the Bruttians without Sylla's order, only for his
own profit, and that, on discovering this, Sylla never after trusted
him in any public affairs. As no man was more cunning than Crassus
to ensnare others by flattery, so no man lay more open to it, or
swallowed it more greedily than himself. And this particularly was
observed of him, that though he was the most covetous man in the
world, yet he habitually disliked and cried out against others who
were so.
  It troubled him to see Pompey so successful in all his undertakings;
that he had had a triumph before he was capable to sit in the
senate, and that the people had surnamed him Magnus, or the great.
When somebody was saying Pompey the Great was coming, he smiled, and
asked him, "How big is he?" Despairing to equal him by feats of
arms, he betook himself to civil life, where by doing kindnesses,
pleading, lending money, by speaking and canvassing among the people
for those who had objects to obtain from them, he gradually gained
as great honour and power as Pompey had from his many famous
expeditions. And it was a curious thing in their rivalry, that
Pompey's name and interests in the city was greatest when he was
absent, for his renown in war, but when present he was often less
successful than Crassus, by reason of his superciliousness and haughty
way of living, shunning crowds of people, and appearing rarely in
the forum, and assisting only some few, and that not readily, that his
interests might be the stronger when he came to use it for himself.
Whereas Crassus, being a friend always at hand, ready to be had and
easy of access, and always with his hands full of other people's
business, with his freedom and courtesy, got the better of Pompey's
formality. In point of dignity of person, eloquence of language, and
attractiveness of countenance, they were pretty equally excellent.
But, however, this emulation never transported Crassus so far as to
make him bear enmity or any ill-will; for though he was vexed to see
Pompey and Caesar preferred to him, yet he never mingled any hostility
or malice with his jealousy; though Caesar, when he was taken
captive by the corsairs in Asia, cried out, "O Crassus, how glad you
will be at the news of my captivity!" Afterwards they lived together
on friendly terms, for when Caesar was going praetor into Spain, and
his creditors, he being then in want of money, came upon him and
seized his equipage, Crassus then stood by him and relieved him, and
was his security for eight hundred and thirty talents. And in general,
Rome being divided into three great interests, those of Pompey,
Caesar, and Crassus (for as for Cato, his fame was greater than his
power, and he was rather admired than followed), the sober and quiet
part were for Pompey, the restless and hot-headed followed Caesar's
ambition, but Crassus trimmed between them, making advantages of both,
and changed sides continually, being neither a trusty friend nor an
implacable enemy, and easily abandoned both his attachments and his
animosities, as he found it for his advantage, so that in short spaces
of time the same men and the same measures had him both as their
supporter and as their opponent. He was much liked, but was feared
as much or even more. At any rate, when Sicinius, who was the greatest
troubler of the magistrates and ministers of his time, was asked how
it was he let Crassus alone, "Oh," said he, "he carries hay on his
horns," alluding to the custom of tying hay to the horns of the bull
that used to butt, that people might keep out of his way.
  The insurrection of the gladiators and the devastation of Italy,
commonly called the war of Spartacus, began upon this occasion. One
Lentulus Batiates trained up a great many gladiators in Capua, most of
them Gauls and Thracians, who, not for any fault by them committed,
but simply through the cruelty of their master, were kept in
confinement for this object of fighting one with another. Two
hundred of these formed a plan to escape, but being discovered,
those of them who became aware of it in time to anticipate their
master, being seventy-eight, got out of a cook's shop
chopping-knives and spits, and made their way through the city, and
lighting by the way on several wagons that were carrying gladiators'
arms to another city, they seized upon them and armed themselves.
And seizing upon a defensible place, they chose three captains, of
whom Spartacus was chief, a Thracian of one of the nomad tribes, and a
man not only of high spirit and valiant, but in understanding, also,
and in gentleness superior to his condition, and more of a Grecian
than the people of his country usually are. When he first came to be
sold at Rome, they say a snake coiled itself upon his face as he lay
asleep, and his wife, who at this latter time also accompanied him
in his flight, his countrywoman, a kind of prophetess, and one of
those possessed with the bacchanal frenzy, declared that it was a sign
portending great and formidable power to him with no happy event.
  First, then, routing those that came out of Capua against them,
and thus procuring a quantity of proper soldiers' arms, they gladly
threw away their own as barbarous and dishonourable. Afterwards
Clodius, the praetor, took the command against them with a body of
three thousand men from Rome, and besieged them within a mountain,
accessible only by one narrow and difficult passage, which Clodius
kept guarded, encompassed on all other sides with steep and slippery
precipices. Upon the top, however, grew a great many wild vines, and
cutting down as many of their boughs as they had need of, they twisted
them into strong ladders long enough to reach from thence to the
bottom, by which, without any danger, they got down all but one, who
stayed there to throw them down their arms, and after this succeeded
in saving himself. The Romans were ignorant of all this, and,
therefore, coming upon them in the rear, they assaulted them
unawares and took their camp. Several, also, of the shepherds and
herdsmen that were there, stout and nimble fellows, revolted over to
them, to some of whom they gave complete arms, and made use of
others as scouts and light-armed soldiers. Publius Varinus, the
praetor, was now sent against them, whose lieutenant, Furius, with two
thousand men, they fought and routed. Then Cossinius was sent with
considerable forces, to give his assistance and advice, and him
Spartacus missed but very little of capturing in person, as he was
bathing at Salinae; for he with great difficulty made his escape,
while Spartacus possessed himself of his baggage, and following the
chase with a great slaughter, stormed his camp and took it, where
Cossinius himself was slain. After many successful skirmishes with the
praetor himself, in one of which he took his lictors and his own
horse, he began to be great and terrible; but wisely considering
that he was not to expect to match the force of the empire, he marched
his army towards the Alps, intending, when he had passed them, that
every man should go to his own home, some to Thrace, some to Gaul. But
they, grown confident in their numbers, and puffed up with their
success, would give no obedience to him, but went about and ravaged
Italy; so that now the senate was not only moved at the indignity
and baseness, both of the enemy and of the insurrection, but,
looking upon it as a matter of alarm and of dangerous consequence,
sent out both the consuls to it, as to a great and difficult
enterprise. The consul Gellius, falling suddenly upon a party of
Germans, who through contempt, and confidence had straggled from
Spartacus, cut them all to pieces. But when Lentulus with a large army
besieged Spartacus, he sallied out upon him, and, joining battle,
defeated his chief officers, and captured all his baggage. As he
made toward the Alps, Cassius, who was praetor of that part of Gaul
that lies about the Po, met him with ten thousand men, but being
overcome in the battle, he had much ado to escape himself, with the
loss of a great many of his men.
  When the senate understood this, they were displeased at the
consuls, and ordering them to meddle no further, they appointed
Crassus general of the war, and a great many of the nobility went
volunteers with him, partly out of friendship, and partly to get
honour. He stayed himself on the borders of Picenum, expecting
Spartacus would come that way, and sent his lieutenant, Mummius,
with two legions, to wheel about and observe the enemy's motions,
but upon no account to engage or skirmish. But he, upon the first
opportunity, joined battle, and was routed, having a great many of his
men slain, and a great many only saving their lives with the loss of
their arms. Crassus rebuked Mummius severely, and arming the
soldiers again, he made them find sureties for their arms, that they
would part with them no more, and five hundred that were the beginners
of the flight he divided into fifty tens, and one of each was to die
by lot, thus reviving the ancient Roman punishment of decimation,
where ignominy is added to the penalty of death, with a variety of
appalling and terrible circumstances, presented before the eyes of the
whole army, assembled as spectators. When he had thus reclaimed his
men, he led them against the enemy; but Spartacus retreated through
Lucania toward the sea, and in the straits meeting with some
Cilician pirate ships, he had thoughts of attempting Sicily, where, by
landing two thousand men, he hoped to new kindle the war of the
slaves, which was but lately extinguished, and seemed to need but
little fuel to set it burning again. But after the pirates had
struck a bargain with him, and received his earnest they deceived
him and sailed away. He thereupon retired again from the sea, and
established his army in the peninsula of Rhegium; there Crassus came
upon him, and considering the nature of the place, which of itself
suggested the undertaking, he set to work to build a wall across the
isthmus; thus keeping his soldiers at once from idleness and his
foes from forage. This great and difficult work he perfected in a
space of time short beyond all expectation, making a ditch from one
sea to the other, over the neck of land, three hundred furlongs
long, fifteen feet broad, and as much in depth, and above it built a
wonderfully high and strong wall. All which Spartacus at first
slighted and despised, but when provisions began to fail, and on his
proposing to pass further, he found he was walled in, and no more
was to be had in the peninsula, taking the opportunity of a snowy,
stormy night, he filled up part of the ditch with earth and boughs
of trees, and so passed the third part of his army over.
  Crassus was afraid lest he should march directly to Rome, but was
soon eased of that fear when he saw many of his men break out in a
mutiny and quit him, and encamped by themselves upon the Lucanian
lake. This lake they say changes at intervals of time, and is
sometimes sweet, and sometimes so salt that it cannot be drunk.
Crassus falling upon these beat them from the lake, but he could not
pursue the slaughter, because of Spartacus suddenly coming up and
checking the flight. Now he began to repent that he had previously
written to the senate to call Lucullus out of Thrace, and Pompey out
of Spain; so that he did all he could to finish the war before they
came, knowing that the honour of the action would redound to him
that came to his assistance. Resolving, therefore, first to set upon
those that had mutinied and encamped apart, whom Caius Cannicius and
Castus commanded, he sent six thousand men before to secure a little
eminence, and to do it as privately as possible, which that they might
do they covered their helmets, but being discovered by two women
that were sacrificing for the enemy, they had been in great hazard,
had not Crassus immediately appeared, and engaged in a battle which
proved a most bloody one. Of twelve thousand three hundred whom he
killed, two only were found wounded in their backs, the rest all
having died standing in their ranks and fighting bravely. Spartacus,
after this discomfiture, retired to the mountains of Petelia, but
Quintius, one of Crassus's officers, and Scrofa, the quaestor, pursued
and overtook him. But when Spartacus rallied and faced them, they were
utterly routed and fled, and had much ado to carry off their quaestor,
who was wounded. This success, however, ruined Spartacus, because it
encouraged the slaves, who now disdained any longer to avoid fighting,
or to obey their officers, but as they were upon the march, they
came to them with their swords in their hands, and compelled them to
lead them back again through Lucania, against the Romans, the very
thing which Crassus was eager for. For news was already brought that
Pompey was at hand; and people began to talk openly that the honour of
this war was reserved to him, who would come and at once oblige the
enemy to fight and put an end to the war. Crassus, therefore, eager to
fight a decisive battle, encamped very near the enemy, and began to
make lines of circumvallation; but the slaves made a sally and
attacked the pioneers. As fresh supplies came in on either side,
Spartacus, seeing there was no avoiding it, set all his army in array,
and when his horse was brought him, he drew out his sword and killed
him, saying, if he got the day he should have a great many better
horses of the enemies', and if he lost it he should have no need of
this. And so making directly towards Crassus himself, through the
midst of arms and wounds, he missed him, but slew two centurions
that fell upon him together. At last being deserted by those that were
about him, he himself stood his ground, and, surrounded by the
enemy, bravely defending himself, was cut in pieces. But though
Crassus had good fortune, and not only did the part of a good general,
but gallantly exposed his person, yet Pompey had much of the credit of
the action. For he met with many of the fugitives, and slew them,
and wrote to the senate that Crassus indeed had vanquished the
slaves in a pitched battle, but that he had put an end to the war,
Pompey was honoured with a magnificent triumph for his conquest over
Sertorius and Spain, while Crassus could not himself so much as desire
a triumph in its full form, and indeed it was thought to look but
meanly in him to accept of the lesser honour, called the ovation,
for a servile war, and perform a procession on foot. The difference
between this and the other, and the origin of the name, are
explained in the life of Marcellus.
  And Pompey being immediately invited to the consulship, Crassus, who
had hoped to be joined with him, did not scruple to request his
assistance. Pompey most readily seized the opportunity, as he
desired by all means to lay some obligation upon Crassus, and
zealously promoted his interest; and at last he declared in one of his
speeches to the people that he should be not less beholden to them for
his colleague than for the honour of his own appointment. But once
entered upon the employment, this amity continued not long; but
differing almost in everything, disagreeing, quarrelling, and
contending, they spent the time of their consulship without
effecting any measure of consequence, except that Crassus made a great
sacrifice to Hercules, and feasted the people at ten thousand
tables, and measured them out corn for three months. When their
command was now ready to expire, and they were, as it happened,
addressing the people, a Roman knight, one Onatius Aurelius, an
ordinary private person, living in the country, mounted the
hustings, and declared a vision he had in his sleep. "Jupiter," said
he, "appeared to me, and commanded me to tell you, that you should not
suffer your consuls to lay down their charge before they are made
friends." When he had spoken, the people cried out that they should be
reconciled. Pompey stood still and said nothing, but Crassus, first
offering him his hand, said, "I cannot think, my countrymen, that I do
anything humiliating or unworthy of myself, if I make the first offers
of accommodation and friendship with Pompey, whom you yourselves
styled the Great before he was of man's estate, and decreed him a
triumph before he was capable of sitting in the senate."
  This is what was memorable in Crassus's consulship, but as for his
censorship, that was altogether idle and inactive, for he neither made
a scrutiny of the senate, nor took a review of the horsemen, nor a
census of the people, though he had as mild a man as could be
desired for his colleague, Lutatius Catulus. It is said, indeed,
that when Crassus intended a violent and unjust measure, which was the
reducing Egypt to be tributary to Rome, Catulus strongly opposed it,
and falling out about it, they laid down their office by consent. In
the great conspiracy of Catiline, which was very near subverting the
government, Crassus was not without some suspicion of being concerned,
and one man came forward and declared him to be in the plot; but
nobody credited him. Yet Cicero, in one of his orations, clearly
charges both Crassus and Caesar with the guilt of it, though that
speech was not published till they were both dead. But in his speech
upon his consulship, he declares that Crassus came to him by night,
and brought a letter concerning Catiline, stating the details of the
conspiracy. Crassus hated him ever after, but was hindered by his
son from doing him any injury; for Publius was a great lover of
learning and eloquence, and a constant follower of Cicero, insomuch
that he put himself into mourning when he was accused, and induced the
other young men to do the same. And at last he reconciled him to his
father.
  Caesar now returning from his command, and designing to get the
consulship, and seeing that Crassus and Pompey were again at variance,
was unwilling to disoblige one by making application to the other, and
despaired of success without the help of one of them; he therefore
made it his business to reconcile them, making it appear that by
weakening each other's influence they were promoting the interest of
the Ciceros, the Catuli, and the Catos, who would really be of no
account if they would join their interests and their factions, and act
together in public with one policy and one united power. And so
reconciling them by his persuasions, out of the three parties he set
up one irresistible power, which utterly subverted the government both
of senate and people. Not that he made either Pompey or Crassus
greater than they were before, but by their means made himself
greatest of all; for by the help of the adherents of both, he was at
once gloriously declared consul, which office when he administered
with credit, they decreed him the command of an army, and allotted him
Gaul for his province, and so placed him as it were in the citadel,
not doubting but they should divide the rest at their pleasure between
themselves, when they had confirmed him in his allotted command.
Pompey was actuated in all this by an immoderate desire of ruling, but
Crassus, adding to his old disease of covetousness, a new passion
after trophies and triumphs, emulous of Caesar's exploits, not content
to be beneath him in these points, though above him in all others,
could not be at rest, till it ended in an ignominious overthrow and
a public calamity. When Caesar came out of Gaul to Lucca, a great many
went thither from Rome to meet him. Pompey and Crassus had various
conferences with him in secret, in which they came to the resolution
to proceed to still more decisive steps, and to get the whole
management of affairs into their hands, Caesar to keep his army, and
Pompey and Crassus to obtain new ones and new provinces. To effect all
which there was but one way, the getting the consulate a second
time, which they were to stand for, and Caesar to assist them by
writing to his friends and sending many of his soldiers to vote.
  But when they returned to Rome, their design was presently
suspected, and a report was soon spread that this interview had been
for no good. When Marcellinus and Domitius asked Pompey in the
senate if he intended to stand for the consulship, he answered,
perhaps he would, perhaps not; and being urged again, replied, he
would ask it of the honest citizens, but not of the dishonest. Which
answer appearing too haughty and arrogant, Crassus said, more
modestly, that he would desire it if it might be for the advantage
of the public, otherwise he would decline it. Upon this some others
took confidence and came forward as candidates, among them Domitius.
But when Pompey and Crassus now openly appeared for it, the rest
were afraid and drew back; only Cato encouraged Domitius, who was
his friend and relation, to proceed, exciting him to persist, as
though he was now defending the public liberty, as these men, he said,
did not so much aim at the consulate as at arbitrary government, and
it was not a petition for office, but a seizure of provinces and
armies. Thus spoke and thought Cato, and almost forcibly compelled
Domitius to appear in the forum, where many sided with them. For there
was, indeed, much wonder and question among the people, "Why should
Pompey and Crassus want another consulship? and why they two together,
and not with some third person? We have a great many men not
unworthy to be fellow-consuls with either the one or the other."
Pompey's party, being apprehensive of this, committed all manner of
indecencies and violences, and amongst other things lay in wait for
Domitius, as he was coming thither before daybreak with his friends;
his torch-bearer they killed, and wounded several others, of whom Cato
was one. And these being beaten back and driven into a house, Pompey
and Crassus were proclaimed consuls. Not long after, they surrounded
the house with armed men, thrust Cato out of the forum, killed some
that made resistance, and decreed Caesar his command for five years
longer, and provinces for themselves, Syria and both the Spains, which
being divided by lots, Syria fell to Crassus, and the Spains to
Pompey.
  All were well pleased with the change, for the people were
desirous that Pompey should go far from the city, and he, being
extremely fond of his wife, was very glad to continue there; but
Crassus was so transported with his fortune, that it was manifest he
thought he had never had such good luck befall him as now, so that
he had much to do to contain himself before company and strangers; but
amongst his private friends he let fall many vain and childish
words, which were unworthy of his age, and contrary to his usual
character, for he had been very little given to boasting hitherto. But
then being strangely puffed up, and his head heated, he would not
limit his fortune with Parthia and Syria; but looking on the actions
of Lucullus against Tigranes and the exploits of Pompey against
Mithridates as but child's play, he proposed to himself in his hopes
to pass as far as Bactria and India, and the utmost ocean. Not that he
was called upon by the decree which appointed him to his office to
undertake any expedition against the Parthians, but it was well
known that he was eager for it, and Caesar wrote to him out of Gaul
commending his resolution, and inciting him to the war. And when
Ateius, the tribune of the people, designed to stop his journey, and
many others murmured that one man should undertake a war against a
people that had done them no injury, and were at amity with them, he
desired Pompey to stand by him and accompany him out of the town, as
he had a great name amongst the common people. And when several were
ready prepared to interfere and raise an outcry, Pompey appeared
with a pleasing countenance, and so mollified the people, that they
let Crassus pass quietly. Ateius, however, met him, and first by
word of mouth warned and conjured him not to proceed, and then
commanded his attendant officer to seize him and detain him; but the
other tribunes not permitting it, the officer released Crassus.
Ateius, therefore, running to the gate, when Crassus was come thither,
set down a chafing-dish with lighted fire in it, and burning incense
and pouring libations on it, cursed him with dreadful imprecations,
calling upon and naming several strange and horrible deities. In the
Roman belief there is so much virtue in these sacred and ancient
rites, that no man can escape the effects of them, and that the
utterer himself seldom prospers; so that they are not often made use
of, and but upon a great occasion. And Ateius was blamed at the time
for resorting to them, as the city itself, in whose cause he used
them, would be the first to feel the ill effects of these curses and
supernatural terrors.
  Crassus arrived at Brundusium, and though the sea was very rough, he
had not patience to wait, but went on board, and lost many of his
ships. With the remnant of his army he marched rapidly through
Galatia, where meeting with King Deiotarus, who, though he was very
old, was about building a new city, Crassus scoffingly told him, "Your
majesty begins to build at the twelfth hour." "Neither do you," said
he, "O general, undertake your Parthian expedition very early." For
Crassus was then sixty years old, and he seemed older than he was.
At his first coming, things went as he would have them, for he made
a bridge over the Euphrates, without much difficulty, and passed
over his army in safety, and occupied many cities of Mesopotamia,
which yielded voluntarily. But a hundred of his men were killed in
one, in which Apollonius was tyrant; therefore, bringing his forces
against it, he took it by storm, plundered the goods, and sold the
inhabitants. The Greeks call this city Zenodotia, upon the taking of
which he permitted the army to salute him Imperator, but this was very
ill thought of, and it looked as if he despaired a nobler achievement,
that he made so much of this little success. Putting garrisons of
seven thousand foot and one thousand horse in the new conquests, he
returned to take up his winter quarters in Syria, where his son was to
meet him coming from Caesar out of Gaul, decorated with rewards for
his valour, and bringing with him one thousand select horse. Here
Crassus seemed to commit his first error, and except, indeed, the
whole expedition, his greatest; for, whereas he ought to have gone
forward and seized Babylon and Seleucia, cities that were ever at
enmity with the Parthians, he gave the enemy time to provide against
him. Besides, he spent his time in Syria more like an usurer than a
general, not in taking an account of the arms, and in improving the
skill and discipline of his soldiers, but in computing the revenue
of the cities, wasting many days in weighing by scale and balance
the treasure that was in the temple of Hierapolis, issuing
requisitions for levies of soldiers upon particular towns and
kingdoms, and then again withdrawing them on payment of sums of money,
by which he lost his credit and became despised. Here, too, he met
with the first ill-omen from that goddess, whom some call Venus,
others Juno, others Nature, or the Cause that produces out of moisture
the first principles and seeds of all things, and gives mankind
their earliest knowledge of all that is good for them. For as they
were going out of the temple young Crassus stumbled and his father
fell upon him.
  When he drew his army out of winter quarters, ambassadors came to
him from Arsaces, with this short speech: If the army was sent by
the people of Rome, he denounced mortal war, but if, as he
understood was the case, against the consent of his country, Crassus
for his own private profit had invaded his territory, then their
king would be more merciful, and taking pity upon Crassus's dotage,
would send those soldiers back who had been left not so truly to
keep guard on him as to be his prisoners. Crassus boastfully told them
he would return his answer at Seleucia, upon which Vagises, the eldest
of them, laughed and showed the palm of his hand, saying, "Hair will
grow here before you will see Seleucia;" so they returned to their
king, Hyrodes, telling him it was war. Several of the Romans that were
in garrison in Mesopotamia with great hazard made their escape, and
brought word that the danger was worth consideration, urging their own
eye-witness of the numbers of the enemy, and the manner of their
fighting, when they assaulted their towns; and, as men's manner is,
made all seem greater than really it was. By flight it was
impossible to escape them, and as impossible to overtake them when
they fled, and they had a new and strange sort of darts, as swift as
sight, for they pierced whatever they met with, before you could see
who threw them; their men-at-arms were so provided that their
weapons would cut through anything, and their armour give way to
nothing. All which when the soldiers heard their hearts failed them;
for till now they thought there was no difference between the
Parthians and the Armenians or Cappadocians, whom Lucullus grew
weary with plundering, and had been persuaded that the main difficulty
of the war consisted only in the tediousness of the march and the
trouble of chasing men that durst not come to blows, so that the
danger of a battle was beyond their expectation; accordingly, some
of the officers advised Crassus to proceed no further at present,
but reconsider the whole enterprise, amongst whom in particular was
Cassius, the quaestor. The soothsayers, also, told him privately the
signs found in the sacrifices were continually adverse and
unfavourable. But he paid no heed to them, or to anybody who gave
any other advice than to proceed. Nor did Artabazes, King of
Armenia, confirm him a little, who came to his aid with six thousand
horse; who, however, were said to be only the king's life-guard and
suit, for he promised ten thousand cuirassiers more, and thirty
thousand foot, at his own charge. He urged Crassus to invade Parthia
by the way of Armenia, for not only would he be able there to supply
his army with abundant provision, which he would give him, but his
passage would be more secure in the mountains and hills, with which
the whole country was covered, making it almost impassable to horse,
in which the main strength of the Parthians consisted. Crassus
returned him but cold thanks for his readiness to serve him, and for
the splendour of his assistance, and told him he was resolved to
pass through Mesopotamia, where he had left a great many brave Roman
soldiers; whereupon the Armenian went his way. As Crassus was taking
the army over the river at Zeugma, he encountered preternaturally
violent thunder, and the lightning flashed in the faces of the troops,
and during the storm a hurricane broke upon the bridge, and carried
part of it away; two thunderbolts fell upon the very place where the
army was going to encamp; and one of the general's horses,
magnificently caparisoned, dragged away the groom into the river and
was drowned. It is said, too, that when they went to take up the first
standard, the eagle of itself turned its head backward; and after he
had passed over his army, as they were distributing provisions, the
first thing they gave was lentils and salt, which with the Romans
are the food proper to funerals, and are offered to the dead. And as
Crassus was haranguing his soldiers, he let fall a word which was
thought very ominous in the army; for "I am going," he said, "to break
down the bridge, that none of you may return;" and whereas he ought,
when he had perceived his blunder, to have corrected himself, and
explained his meaning, seeing the men alarmed at the expression, he
would not do it out of mere stubbornness. And when at the last general
sacrifice the priest gave him the entrails, they slipped out of his
hand, and when he saw the standers-by concerned at it, he laughed
and said, "See what it is to be an old man; but I shall hold my
sword fast enough."
  So he marched his army along the river with seven legions, little
less than four thousand horse, and as many light-armed soldiers, and
the scouts returning declared that not one man appeared, but that they
saw the footing of a great many horses which seemed to be retiring
in flight, whereupon Crassus conceived great hopes, and the Romans
began to despise the Parthians, as men that would not come to
combat, hand to hand. But Cassius spoke with him again, and advised
him to refresh his army in some of the garrison towns, and remain
there till they could get some certain intelligence of the enemy, or
at least to make toward Seleucia, and keep by the river, that so
they might have the convenience of having provision constantly
supplied by the boats, which might always accompany the army, and
the river would secure them from being environed, and, if they
should fight, it might be upon equal terms.
  While Crassus was still considering, and as yet undetermined,
there came to the camp an Arab chief named Ariamnes, a cunning and
wily fellow, who, of all the evil chances which combined to lead
them on to destruction, was the chief and the most fatal. Some of
Pompey's old soldiers knew him, and remembered him to have received
some kindnesses of Pompey, and to have been looked upon as a friend to
the Romans, but he was now suborned by the king's generals, and sent
to Crassus to entice him if possible from the river and hills into the
wide open plain, where he might be surrounded. For the Parthians
desired anything rather than to be obliged to meet the Romans face
to face. He, therefore, coming to Crassus (and he had a persuasive
tongue), highly commended Pompey as his benefactor, and admired the
forces that Crassus had with him, but seemed to wonder why he
delayed and made preparations, as if he should not use his feet more
than any arms, against men that, taking with them their best goods and
chattels, had designed long ago to fly for refuge to the Scythians
or Hyrcanians. "If you meant to fight, you should have made all
possible haste, before the king should recover courage, and collect
his forces together; at present you see Surena and Sillaces opposed to
you, to draw you off in pursuit of them, while the king himself
keeps out of the way." But this was all a lie, for Hyrodes had divided
his army in two parts; with one he in person wasted Armenia, revenging
himself upon Artavasdes, and sent Surena against the Romans, not out
of contempt, as some pretend, for there is no likelihood that he
should despise Crassus, one of the chiefest men of Rome, to go and
fight with Artavasdes, and invade Armenia; but much more probably he
really apprehended the danger, and therefore waited to see the
event, intending that Surena should first run the hazard of a
battle, and draw the enemy on. Nor was this Surena an ordinary person,
but in wealth, family, and reputation, the second man in the
kingdom, and in courage and prowess the first, and for bodily
stature and beauty no man like him. Whenever he travelled privately,
he had one thousand camels to carry his baggage, two hundred
chariots for his concubines, one thousand completely armed men for
life-guards, and a great many more light-armed; and he had at least
ten thousand horsemen altogether, of his servants and retinue. The
honour had long belonged to his family, that at the king's
coronation he put the crown upon his head, and when this very king
Hyrodes had been exiled, he brought him in; it was he, also, that took
the great city of Seleucia, was the first man that scaled the walls,
and with his own hand beat off the defenders. And though at this
time he was not above thirty years old, he had a great name for wisdom
and sagacity, and, indeed, by these qualities chiefly, he overthrew
Crassus, who first through his overweening confidence, and
afterwards because he was cowed by his calamities, fell a ready victim
to his subtlety. When Ariamnes had thus worked upon him, he drew him
from the river into vast plains, by a way that at first was pleasant
and easy but afterwards very troublesome by reason of the depth of the
sand; no tree, nor any water, and no end of this to be seen; so that
they were not only spent with thirst, and the difficulty of the
passage, but were dismayed with the uncomfortable prospect of not a
bough, not a stream, not a hillock, not a green herb, but in fact a
sea of sand, which encompassed the army with its waves. They began
to suspect some treachery, and at the same time came messengers from
Artavasdes, that he was fiercely attacked by Hyrodes, who had
invaded his country, so that now it was impossible for him to send any
succours, and that he therefore advised Crassus to turn back, and with
joint forces to give Hyrodes battle, or at least that he should
march and encamp where horses could not easily come, and keep to the
mountains. Crassus, out of anger and perverseness, wrote him no
answer, but told them, at present he was not at leisure to mind the
Armenians, but he would call upon them another time, and revenge
himself upon Artavasdes for his treachery. Cassius and his friends
began again to complain, but when they perceived that it merely
displeased Crassus, they gave over, but privately railed at the
barbarian, "What evil genius, O thou worst of men, brought thee to our
camp, and with what charms and potions hast thou bewitched Crassus,
that he should march his army through a vast and deep desert,
through ways which are rather fit for a captain of Arabian robbers,
than for the general of a Roman army?" But the barbarian, being a wily
fellow, very submissively exhorted them, and encouraged them to
sustain it a little further, and ran about the camp, and professing to
cheer up the soldiers, asked them, jokingly, "What, do you think you
march through Campania, expecting everywhere to find springs, and
shady trees, and baths, and inns of entertainment? Consider you now
travel through the confines of Arabia and Assyria." Thus he managed
them like children, and before the cheat was discovered, he rode away;
not but that Crassus was aware of his going, but he had persuaded
him that he would go and contrive how to disorder the affairs of the
enemy.
  It is related that Crassus came abroad that day not in his scarlet
robe, which Roman generals usually wear, but in a black one, which, as
soon as he perceived, he changed. And the standard-bearers had much
ado to take up their eagles, which seemed to be fixed to the place.
Crassus laughed at it, and hastened their march, and compelled his
infantry to keep pace with his cavalry, till some few of the scouts
returned and told them that their fellows were slain and they hardly
escaped, that the enemy was at hand in full force, and resolved to
give them battle. On this all was in an uproar; Crassus was struck
with amazement, and for haste could scarcely put his army in good
order. First, as Cassius advised, he opened their ranks and files that
they might take up as much space as could be, to prevent their being
surrounded, and distributed the horse upon the wings, but afterwards
changing his mind, he drew up his army in a square, and made a front
every way, each of which consisted of twelve cohorts, to every one
of which he allotted a troop of horse, that no part might be destitute
of the assistance that the horse might give, and that they might be
ready to assist everywhere, as need should require. Cassius
commanded one of the wings, young Crassus the other, and he himself
was in the middle. Thus they marched on till they came to a little
river named Balissus, a very inconsiderable one in itself, but very
grateful to the soldiers, who had suffered so much by drouth and
heat all along their march. Most of the commanders were of the opinion
that they ought to remain there that night, and to inform themselves
as much as possible of the number of the enemies, and their order, and
so march against them at break of day; but Crassus was so carried away
by the eagerness of his son, and the horsemen that were with him,
who desired and urged him to lead them on and engage, that he
commanded those that had a mind to it to eat and drink as they stood
in their ranks, and before they had all well done, he led them on, not
leisurely and with halts to take breath, as if he was going to battle,
but kept on his pace as if he had been in haste, till they saw the
enemy, contrary to their expectation, neither so many nor so
magnificently armed as the Romans expected. For Surena had hid his
main force behind the first ranks, and ordered them to hide the
glittering of their armour with coats and skins. But when they
approached and the general gave the signal, immediately all the
field rung with a hideous noise and terrible clamour. For the
Parthians do not encourage themselves to war with cornets and
trumpets, but with a kind of kettle-drum, which they strike all at
once in various quarters. With these they make a dead, hollow noise,
like the bellowing of beasts, mixed with sounds resembling thunder,
having, it would seem, very correctly observed that of all our
senses hearing most confounds and disorders us, and that the
feelings excited through it most quickly disturb and most entirely
overpower the understanding.
  When they had sufficiently terrified the Romans with their noise,
they threw off the covering of their armour, and shone like
lightning in their breastplates and helmets of polished Margianian
steel, and with their horses covered with brass and steel trappings.
Surena was the tallest and finest looking man himself, but the
delicacy of his looks and effeminacy of his dress did not promise so
much manhood as he really was master of; for his face was painted, and
his hair parted after the fashion of the Medes, whereas the other
Parthians made a more terrible appearance, with their shaggy hair
gathered in a mass upon their foreheads after the Scythian mode. Their
first design was with their lances to beat down and force back the
first ranks of the Romans, but when they perceived the depth of
their battle, and that the soldiers firmly kept their ground, they
made a retreat, and pretending to break their order and disperse, they
encompassed the Roman square before they were aware of it. Crassus
commanded his light-armed soldiers to charge, but they had not gone
far before they were received with such a shower of arrows that they
were glad to retire amongst the heavy-armed, with whom this was the
first occasion of disorder and terror, when they perceived the
strength and force of their darts, which pierced their arms, and
passed through every kind of covering, hard and soft alike. The
Parthians now placing themselves at distances began to shoot from
all sides, not aiming at any particular mark (for, indeed, the order
of the Romans was so close, that they could not miss if they would),
but simply sent their arrows with great force out of strong bent bows,
the strokes from which came with extreme violence. The position of the
Romans was a very bad one from the first; for if they kept their
ranks, they were wounded, and if they tried to charge, they hurt the
enemy none the more, and themselves suffered none the less. For the
Parthians threw their darts as they fled, an art in which none but the
Scythians excel them, and it is, indeed, a cunning practice, for while
they thus fight to make their escape, they avoid the dishonour of a
flight.
  However, the Romans had some comfort to think that when they had
spent all their arrows, they would either give over or come to blows
but when they presently understood that there were numerous camels
loaded with arrows, and that when the first ranks had discharged those
they had, they wheeled off and took more, Crassus seeing no end of it,
was out of all heart, and sent to his son that he should endeavour
to fall in upon them before he was quite surrounded; for the enemy
advanced most upon that quarter, and seemed to be trying to ride
around and come upon the rear. Therefore the young man, taking with
him thirteen hundred horse, one thousand of which he had from
Caesar, five hundred archers, and eight cohorts of the full-armed
soldiers that stood next him, led them up with design to charge the
Parthians. Whether it was that they found themselves in a piece of
marshy ground, as some think, or else designing to entice young
Crassus as far as they could from his father, they turned and began to
fly whereupon he crying out that they durst not stand, pursued them,
and with him Censorinus and Megabacchus, both famous, the latter for
his courage and prowess, the other for being of a senator's family,
and an excellent orator, both intimates of Crassus, and of about the
same age. The horse thus pushing on, the infantry stayed a little
behind, being exalted with hopes and joy, for they supposed they had
already conquered, and now were only pursuing; till when they were
gone too far, they perceived the deceit, for they that seemed to fly
now turned again, and a great many fresh ones came on. Upon this
they made a halt, for they doubted not but now the enemy would
attack them, because they were so few. But they merely placed their
cuirassiers to face the Romans, and with the rest of their horse
rode about scouring the field, and thus stirring up the sand, they
raised such a dust that the Romans could neither see nor speak to
one another, and being driven in upon one another in one close body,
they were thus hit and killed, dying, not by a quick and easy death,
but with miserable pains and convulsions; for writhing upon the
darts in their bodies, they broke them in their wounds, and when
they would by force pluck out the barbed points, they caught the
nerves and veins, so that they tore and tortured themselves. Many of
them died thus, and those that survived were disabled for any service,
and when Publius exhorted them to charge the cuirassiers, they
showed him their hands nailed to their shields, and their feet stuck
to the ground, so that they could neither fly nor fight. He charged in
himself boldly, however, with his horse, and came to close quarters
with them, but was very unequal, whether as to the offensive or
defensive part; for with his weak and little javelins, he struck
against targets that were of tough raw hides and iron, whereas, the
lightly-clad bodies of his Gaulish horsemen were exposed to the strong
spears of the enemy. For upon these he mostly depended, and with
them he wrought wonders; for they would catch hold of the great
spears, and close upon the enemy, and so pull them off from their
horses, where they could scarce stir by reason of the heaviness of
their armour, and many of the Gauls quitting their own horses, would
creep under those of the enemy, and stick them in the belly; which,
growing unruly with the pain, trampled upon their riders and upon
the enemies promiscuously. The Gauls were chiefly tormented by the
heat and drouth, being not accustomed to either, and most of their
horses were slain by being spurred on against the spears, so that they
were forced to retire among the foot, bearing off Publius grievously
wounded. Observing a sandy hillock not far off, they made to it, and
tying their horses to one another, and placing them in the midst,
and joining all their shields together before them, they thought
they might make some defence against the barbarians. But it fell out
quite contrary, for when they were drawn up in a plain, the front in
some measure secured those that were behind; but when they were upon
the hill, one being of necessity higher up than another, none were
in shelter, but all alike stood equally exposed, bewailing their
inglorious and useless fate. There were with Publius two Greeks that
lived near there at Carrhae, Hieronymus and Nicomachus; these men
urged him to retire with them and fly to Ichnae, a town not far from
thence, and friendly to the Romans. "No," said he, "there is no
death so terrible, for the fear of which Publius would leave his
friends that die upon his account;" and bidding them to take care of
themselves, he embraced them and sent them away, and, because he could
not use his arm, for he was run through with a dart, he opened his
side to his armour-bearer, and commanded him to run him through. It is
said Censorinus fell in the same manner. Megabacchus slew himself,
as did also the rest of best note. The Parthians coming upon the
rest with their lances, killed them fighting, nor were there above
five hundred taken prisoners. Cutting off the head of Publius, they
rode off directly towards Crassus.
  His condition was thus. When he had commanded his son to fall upon
the enemy, and word was brought him that they fled and that there
was a distant pursuit, and perceiving also that the enemy did not
press upon him so hard as formerly, for they were mostly gone to
fall upon Publius, he began to take heart a little; and drawing his
army towards some sloping ground, expected when his son would return
from the pursuit. Of the messengers whom Publius sent to him (as
soon as he saw his danger), the first were intercepted by the enemy,
and slain; the last, hardly escaping, came and declared that Publius
was lost, unless he had speedy succours. Crassus was terribly
distracted, not knowing what counsel to take, and indeed no longer
capable of taking any; overpowered now by fear for the whole army, now
by desire to help his son. At last he resolved to move with his
forces. Just upon this, up came the enemy with their shouts and noises
more terrible than before, their drums sounding again in the ears of
the Romans, who now feared a fresh engagement. And they who brought
Publius's head upon the point of a spear, riding up near enough that
it could be known, scoffingly inquired where were his parents, and
what family he was of, for it was impossible that so brave and gallant
a warrior should be the son of so pitiful a coward as Crassus. This
sight above all the rest dismayed the Romans, for it did not incite
them to anger as it might have done, but to horror and trembling,
though they say Crassus outdid himself in this calamity, for he passed
through the ranks and cried out to them, "This, O my countrymen, is my
own peculiar loss, but the fortune and the glory of Rome is safe and
untainted so long as you are safe. But if any one be concerned for
my loss of the best of sons, let him show it in revenging him upon the
enemy. Take away their joy, revenge their cruelty, nor be dismayed
at what is past; for whoever tries for great objects must suffer
something. Neither did Lucullus overthrow Tigranes without
bloodshed, nor Scipio Antiochus; our ancestors lost one thousand ships
about Sicily, and how many generals and captains in Italy? no one of
which losses hindered them from overthrowing their conquerors; for the
State of Rome did not arrive to this height by fortune, but by
perseverance and virtue in confronting danger."
  While Crassus thus spoke exhorting them, he saw but few that gave
much heed to him, and when he ordered them to shout for battle, he
could no longer mistake the despondency of his army, which made but
a faint and unsteady noise, while the shout of the enemy was clear and
bold. And when they came to the business, the Parthian servants and
dependents riding about shot their arrows, and the horsemen in the
foremost ranks with their spears drove the Romans close together,
except those who rushed upon them for fear of being killed by their
arrows. Neither did these do much execution, being quickly despatched;
for the strong, thick spear made large and mortal wounds, and often
run through two men at once. As they were thus fighting, the night
coming on parted them, the Parthians boasting that they would
indulge Crassus with one night to mourn his son, unless upon better
consideration he would rather go to Arsaces than be carried to him.
These, therefore, took up their quarters near them, being flushed with
their victory. But the Romans had a sad night of it; for neither
taking care for the burial of their dead, nor the cure of the wounded,
nor the groans of the expiring, every one bewailed his own fate. For
there was no means of escaping, whether they should stay for the
light, or venture to retreat into the vast desert in the dark. And now
the wounded men have them new trouble, since to take them with them
would retard their flight, and if they should leave them, they might
serve as guides to the enemy by their cries. However, they were all
desirous to see and hear Crassus, though they were sensible that he
was the cause of all their mischief. But he wrapped his cloak around
him, and hid himself, where he lay as an example, to ordinary minds,
of the caprice of fortune, but to the wise, of inconsiderateness and
ambition; who, not content to be superior to so many millions of
men, being inferior to two, esteemed himself as the lowest of all.
Then came Octavius, his lieutenant, and Cassius, to comfort him, but
he being altogether past helping, they themselves called together
the centurions and tribunes, and agreeing that the best way was to
fly, they ordered the army out, without sound of trumpet, and at first
with silence. But before long, when the disabled men found they were
left behind, strange confusion and disorder, with an outcry and
lamentation, seized the camp, and a trembling and dread presently fell
upon them, as if the enemy were at their heels. By which means, now
and then turning out of their way, now and then standing to their
ranks, sometimes taking up the wounded that followed, sometimes laying
them down, they wasted the time, except three hundred horse, whom
Egnatius brought safe to Carrhae about midnight; where calling, in the
Roman tongue, to the watch, as soon as they heard him, he bade them
tell Coponius, the governor, that Crassus had fought a very great
battle with the Parthians; and having said but this, and not so much
as telling his name, he rode away at full speed to Zeugma. And by this
means he saved himself and his men, but lost his reputation by
deserting his general. However, his message to Coponius was for the
advantage of Crassus; for he, suspecting by this hasty and confused
delivery of the message that all was not well, immediately ordered the
garrison to be in arms, and as soon as he understood that Crassus
was upon the way towards him, he went out to meet him, and received
him with his army into the town.
  The Parthians, although they perceived their dislodgment in the
night, yet did not pursue them, but as soon as it was day, they came
upon those that were left in the camp, and put no less than four
thousand to the sword and with their light horse picked up a great
many stragglers. Varguntinus, the lieutenant, while it was yet dark,
had broken off from the main body with four cohorts which had
strayed out of the way; and the Parthians encompassing these on a
small hill, slew every man of them excepting twenty, who with their
drawn swords forced their way through the thickest, and they
admiring their courage, opened their ranks to the right and left,
and let them pass without molestation to Carrhae.
  Soon after a false report was brought to Surena, that Crassus,
with his principal officers, had escaped, and that those who were
got into Carrhae were but a confused rout of insignificant people, not
worth further pursuit. Supposing, therefore, that he had lost the very
crown and glory of his victory, and yet being uncertain whether it
were so or not, and anxious to ascertain the fact, that so he should
either stay and besiege Carrhae or follow Crassus, he sent one of
his interpreters to the walls, commanding him in Latin to call for
Crassus or Cassius, for that the general, Surena, desired a
conference. As soon as Crassus heard this, he embraced the proposal,
and soon after there came up a band of Arabians, who very well knew
the faces of Crassus and Cassius, as having been frequently in the
Roman camp before the battle. They having espied Cassius from the
wall, told him that Surena desired a peace, and would give them safe
convoy, if they would make a treaty with the king his master, and
withdraw all their troops out of Mesopotamia; and this he thought most
advisable for them both, before things came to the last extremity;
Cassius, embracing the proposal, desired that a time and place might
be appointed where Crassus and Surena might have an interview. The
Arabians, having charged themselves with the message, went back to
Surena, who was not a little rejoiced that Crassus was there to be
besieged.
  Next day, therefore, he came up with his army, insulting over the
Romans, and haughtily demanded of them Crassus and Cassius, bound,
if they expected any mercy. The Romans, seeing themselves deluded
and mocked, were much troubled at it, but advising Crassus to lay
aside his distant and empty hopes of aid from the Armenians,
resolved to fly for it; and this design ought to have been kept
private, till they were upon their way, and not have been told to
any of the people of Carrhae. But Crassus let this also be known to
Andromachus, the most faithless of men, nay, he was so infatuated as
to choose him for his guide. The Parthians then, to be sure, had
punctual intelligence of all that passed; but it being contrary to
their usage, and also difficult for them to fight by night, and
Crassus having chosen that time to set out, Andromachus, lest he
should get the start too far of his pursuers, led him hither and
thither, and at last conveyed him into the midst of morasses and
places full of ditches, so that the Romans had a troublesome and
perplexing journey of it, and some were who, supposing by these
windings and turnings of Andromachus that no good was intended,
resolved to follow him no further. And at last Cassius himself
returned to Carrhae, and his guides, the Arabians, advising him to
tarry there till the moon was got out of Scorpio, he told them that he
was most afraid of Sagittarius, and so with five hundred horse went
off to Syria. Others there were who, having got honest guides, took
their way by the mountains called Sinnaca, and got into places of
security by daybreak; these were five thousand under the command of
Octavius, a very gallant man. But Crassus fared worse; day overtook
him still deceived by Andromachus, and entangled in the fens and the
difficult country. There were with him four cohorts of legionary
soldiers, a very few horsemen, and five lictors, with whom having with
great difficulty got into the way, and not being a mile and a half
from Octavius, instead of going to join him, although the enemy were
already upon him, he retreated to another hill, neither so
defensible nor impassable for the horse, but lying under the hills
at Sinnaca, and continued so as to join them in a long ridge through
the plain. Octavius could see in what danger the general was, and
himself, at first but slenderly followed, hurried to the rescue.
Soon after, the rest, upbraiding one another with baseness in
forsaking their officers, marched down, and falling upon the
Parthians, drove them from the hill, and compassing Crassus about, and
fencing him with their shields, declared proudly, that no arrow in
Parthia should ever touch their general, so long as there was a man of
them left alive to protect him.
  Surena, therefore, perceiving his soldiers less inclined to expose
themselves, and knowing that if the Romans should prolong the battle
till night, they might then gain the mountains and be out of his
reach, betook himself to his usual craft. Some of the prisoners were
set free, who had, as it was contrived, been in hearing, while some of
the barbarians spoke a set purpose in the camp to the effect that
the king did not design the war to be pursued to extremity against the
Romans, but rather desired, by his general treatment of Crassus, to
make a step towards reconciliation. And the barbarians desisted from
fighting, and Surena himself, with his chief officers, riding gently
to the hill, unbent his bow and held out his hand, inviting Crassus to
an agreement, and saying that it was beside the king's intentions,
that they had thus had experience of the courage and the strength of
his soldiers; that now he desired no other contention but that of
kindness and friendship, by making a truce, and permitting them to
go away in safety. These words of Surena the rest received joyfully,
and were eager to accept the offer, but Crassus, who had sufficient
experience of their perfidiousness, and was unable to see any reason
for the sudden change, would give no ear to them, and only took time
to consider. But the soldiers cried out and advised him to treat,
and then went on to upbraid and affront him, saying that it was very
unreasonable that he should bring them to fight with such men armed,
whom himself, without their arms, durst not look in the face. He tried
first to prevail with them by entreaties, and told them that if they
would have patience till evening, they might get into the mountains
and passes, inaccessible for horse, and be out of danger, and withal
he pointed out the way with his hand, entreating them not to abandon
their preservation, now close before them. But when they mutinied
and clashed their targets in a threatening manner, he was
overpowered and forced to go, and only turning about at parting, said,
"You, Octavius and Petronius, and the rest of the officers who are
present, see the necessity of going which I lie under, and cannot
but be sensible of the indignities and violence offered to me. Tell
all men when you have escaped, that Crassus perished rather by the
subtlety of his enemies, than by the disobedience of his countrymen."
  Octavius, however, would not stay there, but with Petronius went
down from the hill; as for the lictors, Crassus bade them be gone. The
first that met him were two half-blood Greeks, who, leaping from their
horses, made a profound reverence to Crassus, and desired him, in
Greek, to send some before him, who might see that Surena himself
was coming towards them, his retinue disarmed, and not having so
much as their wearing swords along with them. But Crassus answered,
that if he had the least concern for his life, he would never have
intrusted himself in their hands, but sent two brothers of the name of
Roscius to inquire on what terms and in what numbers they should meet.
These Surena ordered immediately to be seized, and himself with his
principal officers came up on horseback, and greeting him, said,
"How is this, then? A Roman commander is on foot, whilst I and my
train are mounted." But Crassus replied, that there was no error
committed on either side, for they both met according to the custom of
their own country. Surena told him that from that time there was a
league between the king his master and the Romans, but that Crassus
must go with him to the river to sign it, "for you Romans," said he,
"have not good memories for conditions," and so saying, reached out
his hand to him. Crassus, therefore, gave order that one of his horses
should be brought; but Surena told him there was no need, "the king,
my master, presents you with this;" and immediately a horse with a
golden bit was brought up to him, and himself was forcibly put into
the saddle by the grooms, who ran by the side and struck the horse
to make the more haste. But Octavius running up, got hold of the
bridle, and soon after one of the officers, Petronius, and the rest of
the company came up, striving to stop the horse, and pulling back
those who on both sides of him forced Crassus forward. Thus from
pulling and thrusting one another, they came to a tumult, and soon
after to blows. Octavius, drawing his sword, killed a groom of one
of the barbarians, and one of them, getting behind Octavius, killed
him. Petronius was not armed, but being struck on the breastplate,
fell down from his horse, though without hurt. Crassus was killed by a
Parthian, called Pomaxathres; others say by a different man, and
that Pomaxathres only cut off his head and right hand after he had
fallen. But this is conjecture rather than certain knowledge, for
those that were by had not leisure to observe particulars, and were
either killed fighting about Crassus, or ran off at once to get to
their comrades on the hill. But the Parthians coming up to them, and
saying that Crassus had the punishment he justly deserved, and that
Surena bade the rest come down from the hill without fear, some of
them came down and surrendered themselves, others were scattered up
and down in the night, a very few of whom got safe home, and others
the Arabians, beating through the country, hunted down and put to
death. It is generally said, that in all twenty thousand men were
slain and ten thousand taken prisoners.
  Surena sent the head and hand of Crassus to Hyrodes the king, into
Armenia, but himself by his messengers scattering a report that he was
bringing Crassus alive to Seleucia, made a ridiculous procession,
which, by way of scorn, he called a triumph. For one Caius
Paccianus, who of all the prisoners was most like Crassus, being put
into a woman's dress of the fashion of the barbarians, and
instructed to answer to the title of Crassus and Imperator, was
brought sitting upon his horse, while before him went a parcel of
trumpeters and lictors upon camels. Purses were hung at the end of the
bundles of rods, and the heads of the slain fresh bleeding at the
end of their axes. After them followed the Seleucian singing women,
repeating scurrilous and abusive songs upon the effeminacy and
cowardliness of Crassus. This show was seen by everybody; but
Surena, calling together the senate of Seleucia, laid before them
certain wanton books, of the writings of Aristides, his Milesiaca;
neither, indeed, was this any forgery, for they had been found among
the baggage of Rustius, and were a good subject to supply Surena
with insulting remarks upon the Romans, who were not able even in
the time of war to forget such writings and practices. But the
people of Seleucia had reason to commend the mend the wisdom of
Aesop's fable of the wallet, seeing their general Surena carrying a
bag full of loose Milesian stories before him, but keeping behind
him a whole Parthian Sybaris in his many wagons full of concubines;
like the vipers and asps people talk of, all the foremost and more
visible parts fierce and terrible with spears and arrows and horsemen,
but the rear terminating in loose women and castanets, music of the
lute, and midnight revellings. Rustius, indeed, is not to be
excused, but the Parthians had forgot, when they mocked at the
Milesian stories, that many of the royal line of their Arsacidae had
been born of Milesian and Ionian mistresses.
  Whilst these things were doing, Hyrodes had struck up a peace with
the King of Armenia, and made a match between his son Pacorus and
the King of Armenia's sister. Their feastings and entertainments in
consequence were very sumptuous, and various Grecian compositions,
suitable to the occasion, were recited before them. For Hyrodes was
not ignorant of the Greek language and literature, and Artavasdes
was so expert in it, that he wrote tragedies and orations and
histories, some of which are still extant. When the head of Crassus
was brought to the door, the tables were just taken away, and one
Jason, a tragic actor, of the town of Tralles, was singing the scene
in the Bacchae of Euripides concerning Agave. He was receiving much
applause, when Sillaces, coming to the room, and having made obeisance
to the king, threw down the head of Crassus into the midst of the
company. The Parthians receiving it with joy and acclamations,
Sillaces, by the king's command, was made to sit down while Jason
handed over the costume of Pentheus to one of the dancers in the
chorus, and taking up the head of Crassus, and acting the part of a
bacchante in her frenzy, in a rapturous impassioned manner, sang the
lyric passages-

         "We've hunted down a mighty chase to-day,
          And from the mountain bring the noble prey,"

to the great delight of all the company; but when the verses of the
dialogue followed-

         "What happy hand the glorious victim slew?
          I claim that honour to my courage due,"

Pomaxathres, who happened to be there at the supper, started up and
would have got the head into his own hands, "for it is my due," said
he, "and no man's else." The king was greatly pleased, and gave
presents, according to the custom of the Parthians, to them, and to
Jason, the actor, a talent. Such was the burlesque that was played,
they tell us, as the afterpiece to the tragedy of Crassus's
expedition. But divine justice failed not to punish both Hyrodes for
his cruelty and Surena for his perjury; for Surena not long after was
put to death by Hyrodes, out of mere envy to his glory; and Hyrodes
himself, having lost his son Pacorus, who was beaten in a battle with
the Romans, falling into a disease which turned to a dropsy, had
aconite given him by his second son, Phraates; but the poison working
only upon the disease, and carrying away the dropsical matter with
itself, the king began suddenly to recover, so that Phraates at
length was forced to take the shortest course, and strangled him.
                               THE END