Dio Cassius

“ Caesar comprehended her outbreak of passion and appeal for sympathy. Yet he did not pretend to do so, but letting his eyes rest upon the ground, he said only this: "Be of cheer, woman, and keep a good heart, for no harm shall befall you." She was distressed that he would neither look at her nor breathe a word about the kingdom or any sigh of love, and fell at his knees wailing: "Life for me, Caesar, is neither desirable nor possible. This favor I beseech of you in memory of your father,—that since Heaven gave me to Antony after him, I may also die with my lord. ”

“ Dio Cassius Cocceianus, the compiler of Roman history, states that as a result of the wrath of Heaven a fissure opened in the ground round about Rome and would not close. An oracular utterance having been obtained to the effect that the fissure would close if they should throw into it the mightiest possession of the Romans, one Curtius, a knight of noble birth, when no one else was able to understand the oracle, himself interpreted it to mean a horse and man together. ”

“ Another account is that Verus, who was sent ahead into Syria, of which he had secured the governorship, found them among the effects of Cassius and put them out of the way, saying that this course would most probably be agreeable to the emperor, but even if he should be angry, it would be better that he [Verus] himself should perish than many others. Marcus was so averse to slaughter that he saw to it that the gladiators in Rome contended without danger, like athletes ”

“ But since Cassius would never be willing to agree to this (for how could he trust me after having shown himself so untrustworthy towards me?) , you, at least, fellow-soldiers, ought to be of good cheer. Cilicians, Syrians, Jews and Egyptians have never proved your superiors nor shall so prove, even if they assemble in numbers ten times your own, whereas they are now by the same proportion inferior. Nor yet would Cassius himself now appear worthy of any particular consideration, however much he may seem to possess the qualities of generalship, however many successes he may seem to have gained. ”

“ One who killed another thought in the excessive joy of the moment that he could never die. Whoever fell lost consciousness and had no knowledge of his state. [-45-] Both sides remained stubbornly in their places and neither side retired or pursued, but there, just as they were, they wounded and were wounded, slew and were slain, until late in the day. And if all had contested with all, as may happen under such circumstances, or if Brutus had been arrayed against Antony and Cassius against Caesar, they would have proved equally matched. ”

“ Some one may say, however, that he has many allies and a store of wealth. Well, how we have been accustomed to conquer the dwellers on Asia the mainland is known to Scipio Asiaticus the renowned, is known to Sulla the fortunate, to Lucullus, to Pompey, to my father Caesar, and to your own selves, who vanquished the supporters of Brutus and Cassius. This being so, if you think their wealth is so much more than others', you must be all the more eager to make it your own. It is but fair that for the greatest prizes the greatest conflicts should be undergone. ”

“ He joined her in sitting for paintings and statues, he representing Osiris and Dionysus, and she Selene and Isis. This more than all made him seem to have become crazed by her through some enchantment. She so charmed and enthralled not only him but all the rest who had any influence with him that she conceived the hope of ruling the Romans, and made her greatest vow, whenever she took any oath, that of dispensing justice on the Capitol. ”

“ And it was chiefly for this reason that Caesar had schooled himself to receive under a general amnesty all those who had gone over to the enemy in the war with Lucius, Antony's brother, some among them, Domitius particularly, who had been of the assassins, as well as all those whose names had been posted on the tablets or had in any way coöperated with Brutus and Cassius and later embraced the cause of Antony. So great is the irony to be found in factions and wars ”

“ Some violent measures on the emperor’s part were only too probable. Dio Cassius, LXVII, 8, gives us a striking example of such violence towards the spectators at public games. A terrible storm arose during a brilliant performance in the circus. The wind howled, the rain poured in torrents, but no one ventured to leave the place, even for the short time necessary to get a cloak. The emperor himself, on the contrary, constantly changed his upper garment. “Many” writes Dio Cassius, “took cold and died.”
[159] A fight between a little girl of thirteen and a dwarf. ”

“ XIPHILINUS, JOANNES, epitomator of Dio Cassius, lived at Constantinople during the latter half of the 11th century A.D. He was a monk and the nephew of the patriarch of Constantinople of the same name, a well-known preacher (Migne, Patrologia Graeca, cxx.) . The epitome (ἐκλογαί) of Dio was prepared by order of Michael Parapinaces (1071–1078) , but is unfortunately incomplete. It comprises books 36–80, the period included being from the times of Pompey and Caesar down to Alexander Severus. ”

“ The crowd, because they could obscure their identity at the contest and by their numbers, gained the greater boldness, raised a loud cry at the horse-race on the birthday of Diadumenianus, which fell on the fourteenth of September: they uttered many lamentations, asserting that they alone of all mankind were destitute of a leader, destitute of a king; and they invoked the name of Jupiter, declaring that he alone should be their leader and uttering aloud these words: "As a master thou wert angry, as a father take pity on us." ”

“ Aquila, who had died in the battle, they honored with an image, and restored to his heirs the money which he had expended from his own purse for the equipment of Decimus's soldiers. In a word, practically every advantage that had been given Caesar against Antony was voted to others against the man himself. And to the end that no matter how much he might wish it he should not be able to do any harm, they armed all his enemies against him. To Sextus Pompey they entrusted the fleet, to Marcus Brutus Macedonia, and to Cassius Syria together with the war against Dolabella. ”

“ When his father had been defeated and the Egyptians on receipt of the news sailed home, he betook himself to Cato. [-13-] And his example was followed by Gaius Cassius, who had done very great mischief both in Italy and in Sicily and had overcome a number of opponents in many battles by sea and by land.
Many simultaneously took refuge with Cato because they saw that he excelled them in uprightness, and he, using them as comrades in struggle and counselors to all matters, sailed to the Peloponnesus with the apparent intention of occupying it, for he had not yet heard that Pompey was dead. ”

“ Yet he is largely a pis aller for the would-be reader of Cassius Dio.
Whereas the original was divided arbitrarily into books, Xiphilinus divided his condensation into "sections," each containing the life of one emperor. Readers must further note that the present division of Books Seventy-one to Eighty dates only from Leunclavius (1592, first edition) and is not necessarily correct. Improvements in arrangement by Boissevain (latest editor of Dio entire) are indicated in the present translation, though for convenience of reference the old headlines are still retained. ”

“ He wrote quite independently of Livy from Fabius, and he perfectly understood the old Roman constitution. On the other hand, he is reproached with κακοήθεια, and ἐπιχαιρεκακία, with its being a pleasure to him to bring to light the hollowness of men’s pretensions to political virtue, and such like things. Indeed he is in a bitter mood against the false pretences to virtue in a thoroughly corrupted age; but this is quite different from showing an infamous delight in it. [Pg 63] The former only is the real character of Dio Cassius. When a man scoffs at religion, it is the sign of a bad heart ”

“ The principal points of this speech are contained in the first two chapters of Dio Cassius, 56. “That first and greatest god,” he says, “who fashioned us divided the mortal race into two, the male and the female, in order, through the instinctive love of the one to the other, he might make that which was mortal eternal after a fashion from continual new births. And he who is born of a father is bound to become a father if the race is to continue. Every feeling of patriotism makes this a sacred duty. ”

“ You are strong: I am an old man and prostrate. If you have no objection to this, but shrink from becoming my actual murderer, there stands by your side Papinianus the prefect, whom you may order to put me out of the way. He will certainly do anything that you command, since you are emperor." Though he spoke in this fashion, he still did the plotter no harm, in spite of the fact that he had often blamed Marcus for not ending the life of Commodus and that he had himself often threatened his son with this treatment. ”

“ Hence these men for the reasons specified and because of Sextus, who held Sicily and was making an attempt on Italy, were excited by the fear that while they delayed he might capture Italy and come into Macedonia. Cassius and Brutus had no particular aversion to a battle,—they had the advantage in the number of soldiers, though the latter were deficient in strength,—but some reflection on their own condition and that of their opponents showed them that allies were being added to their own numbers every day and that they had abundant food by the help of the ships ”

“ Kill!", while their acts easily outran their speech. Caesar and Pompey, who saw this from horseback on certain elevated positions, felt little inclination to either hope or despair, but torn with doubts were equally distressed by confidence and fear. The battle was so nearly balanced that they suffered tortures at the sight, straining to spy out some advantage, and quivering lest they descry some setback. Their souls were filled with prayers for success and against misfortune, and with alternating strength and fear. ”

“ Gaius was in the habit of nicknaming him "sissy" (though he was the hardiest of men) and whenever it came the turn of Chairea to command would give him some such watchword as "yearning" or "Venus." Again, an oracle had a short time before warned Gaius to beware of Cassius. The former, supposing that it had reference to Gaius Cassius, governor of Asia at the time, because he was a descendant of that Cassius who had slain Cæsar, had him brought as a prisoner. The person whose future conduct the divinity was really indicating to the emperor, however, was this Cassius Chairea. ”

“ And they enacted that no one who took refuge in his shrine to secure immunity should be banished or stripped of his goods,—a right given to no one of the gods even, save to such as had a place in the days of Romulus. Yet after men began to gather there the place had inviolability in name without its effects; for it was so fenced about that no one at all could any longer enter it.
In addition to those gifts to Caesar they allowed the vestal virgins to employ one lictor each, because one of them had been insulted, owing to not being recognized, while returning home from dinner toward evening. ”

“ He, having been unable by any other course to persuade them to adopt a hostile attitude, managed to get the appointment of conveying some men to Caesar to be the latter's allies. He started off as if to fulfill this mission, but sent ahead also some horsemen and bade some of them return and say that their companions and the rest of their men in the camp of the Romans had been arrested by the latter and put to death. Then he further excited the wrath of his soldiers by delivering a speech appropriate to the message. In this way the Aedui themselves rose and led others to revolt with them. ”

“ For all goodness has not yet perished from among mankind, but there is still in us a remnant of the ancient virtue. And if any one does disbelieve it, that renders the more ardent my desire that men may see accomplished what no one would believe could come to pass. That would be one profit I could derive from present ills, if I could settle the affair well and show to all mankind that there is a right way to handle even civil wars."
27
This is what Marcus both said to the soldiers and wrote to the senate, in no place abusing Cassius, save he constantly termed him ungrateful. ”

“ The signs which led him to expect the sovereignty were these. When he had been registered in the senate-house, it seemed to him in a vision that a she-wolf suckled him, as was the case with Romulus. On the occasion of his marrying Julia, Faustina, the wife of Marcus, prepared their bedchamber in the temple of Venus opposite the palace; and once, when he was asleep, water gushed from his hand as from a spring; and when he was governor of Lugdunum, the whole Roman domain approached and greeted him,--all this in dreams, I mean. ”

“ When the men in power would not heed them, they fell at odds with them and favored Sextus. They talked frequently in his behalf, and at the horse-races honored by a loud clapping of hands the statue of Neptune carried in the procession, evincing great pleasure at it. When for some days it was not brought in, they took stones and drove the officials from the Forum, threw down the images of Caesar and Antony, and finally, on not accomplishing anything in this way even, rushed violently upon them as if to kill them. ”