The lives of the first twelve Cæsars

발행: 1796년

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JULIUS CAESAR. 27 Hown to table with a numerous party of his friends. Butaster sun-set, having put to his Chai se mules stom a neigh-

ri ver, and attended by the Tribunes of the commons, who, upon their being forced Dorn the City, were Come

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he promised to every soldier a linight's estate: but that opinion is founded in a mistahe. For when, in his ha-rangue to them, he frequently held out a finger of histest hand, and declared, that to recompense those whosliould assii' him in the defence of his honor, he would Milingly part even with his ring ; the soldiers at a distance, who could more eastly see, than hear him, whilebe spolie, formia their conception of what he seid, by the eye, not by the ear ; and accordingly gave out, that he had promista to each of them the privilege of wearing the gold ring, and an estate of four hundred thousand sesterces .

XXXIV. of the transactions that ensued I sta ali give a

cursory delati, in the order in whicli they occurred. He took possession os Picene, Umbria and Etruria ; and having obliged L. Domitius, who had in the late confusion been nominated to succeed hina, and kept Corfinium with a garrison, to surrender, and disinissed him, hemarched along the coast of the upper sea, to Brundisium, to whicli place the Consuls and Ρonipey were fled, with an intention to passe the sea as seon as poss1ble. Aster he hadendeavored by various means, but in vain, to preVent their getling out of the harbour, he marched towards Rome, where he delivered to the Senate his sentiments M Suetonius here accounts for the mistahe of the soldiersmith great probability. The classe to whicli they imaginedihey were to be promoted, was that of the Equites, or Κnighis, Who enjoyed the privilege of wearing a gold ring. The fortune necessary to those who were chosen into this order, Wa S

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IULIUS CAESAR. 29upon the present siluation os assairs; and then went sorSpain, in whicli province Pompey had a numerous army, under me command of three lieuienanis, M. Petreius, L. Afranius, and M.Varro ; declaring amongst his friends, bes ore he set forward, That he was going against an arm y without a generat, and siould theiace return against a generat without an army.V Though his progresswas retarded both by the siege of Marseilles, whicli muther gales against hina, and a Very great scarci ty of coria, yet in a mort time he bore down ali besere him. XXXV. He asterwards returned to the city, and pastaing thence into Macedonia, blocked up Pompey duringalmost four monilis, within a line of ramparis of prodi gious extent, and at last routed him in me batile of Pharsalia. He purised hi in in his Bight to Alexandria, where he was informed of his murder, and presently found him

figia upon his life, in a very dangerous war, under allthe diladvantages of time and place. It was winter,

and he within the walis of a weli provided subile eiae my, destitute os every thing, and wholly unprepared for lach

to mahe it a province of the empire, test, under a turbulent governor, it might afford a temptation to rebel against ille Romans. Froni AleXandria he went into Syria, and thence to Pontus, induced by advice which he had received of the progress of Pharnaces. This prince, who Wasson of the great Mithridates, had laid hold of the opportunity whicli the distraction of the times offered, sor making war upon his neighbours, and was greatly elevated with his success. Him however Caesar, with in live days

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Juba, who were rallying the remalias of the party in Africa, and Pompey's fons in Spatia. XXXVL During the whole coui se of the civit War,

he never Once eXperienced any dis aster, excepi in the

person of his licutenanis ; of whom C. Curio tost his lisein Africa, C. Antonius was made prisoner in Illyricum, P. Dolabella tost a seet in the same Illyricum, and Cn.

pened in his last batile in Spain, where, in despair of successi, he even ii ad thoughts of Lilling himself.

XXXVII. For the victories obtained in the severat wars, he triumphed sive different times ; after the des eat of Scipio, four times in one monili, but each subsequent triumph succee ling the former by an intervat os a few da 3s ;and once again after the conquest os Pompey's fons. His iii st and most glorious triumph was for his victories obta ined over the Gauis. The neXt for that of AleXandria, the third for the reduction os Pontus, the fourth sor his Africari victory, and the last for that in Spalia: ali different stomeach other in variet y of furniture and pomp. On the da F

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IULIUS CAESAR.

of the Gallic triumph, as he was procee ling along the street called Velabrum, he narrowly escaped a fali from his chariot by the breahing of the aXle-tree, and mount-ed the Capitol by torch-light, sorty elephanis Carryingsambeaux on the right and lest of him. Amongsi: thepageantry of the Pontic triumph, this inscription was carried be re him I came, saw, and overcame not signifying, as other motios on the like occasion, What was done, so much as the dispalch with whicli it

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kinds : such as a combat of gladiators and flage-playgin the severat wards of the city, and in severat languages: Circensi an games ' likewise, wresilers, and the representation os a sea-fight. In the figlit os gladiators presented in the Forum, Furius Leptinus, a man os a Praetoriansamily, entered the lisis as a combatant; as did alta

Calpenu S, Gladiators were sirst publicly exhibited at Rome by twobrothers called B uti, at the funerat of their fallier, in theyear frona the bullding of the city 49o; and for seme timethey were exhibited only on such occasions. But asterwardsthey were given also by the magistrates, to entertain the peo ple, particularly at the Saturnalia, and Dasts of Μinerva. It 'is incredibie what numbers of men were destroyed uponthose occasions; and stili more, that women os quality, laying aside the sol inesse of their sex, hecame combatanis at such exhibitions, under some of the emperors. Those seroci ous 1 pectacles Were prohibited by Constantine, but not entirelysuppressed untii the time of Honorius.' Circensian games were 1hew8 exhibited in the Circus Maximus, and consisted os various hinds : fir st, chariot and horse-races, of whicli the Romans were extravagantly fond. The charioteers were distribu ted into Dur parties, distinguislied by the color of their drest. The spestators, without regarding the sevistites s of the horses, or the art of the men, were attraiked merely by one or other of the colors, as caprice inclined them. In the time of Justinian, no tesse than thirtythous and men lost their lives at Constantinople, in a tumultraised by a contention amongst the partigans of the severaIColors. Secondiy, contests of agility and strength; of whichthere were fi ve Linds, hence called Pentathlum. These

ere, running, leaping, boAing, wrestling, and throwing thedibus or quoit. Thirdly, Ludus Troiae, a mock-figlit, performed by young nobtemen on horsebach, revived by Julius Caesar, and frequently celebrated by the succeeding empe-

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JULIUS CAESAR.

Calpenus, formerly a Senator, and a pleader of causes. The Pyrrhic dance Was performed by some youths, v homere sons to persoris of the fit si distinction in Asia and Bithynia. Decimus Laberius adled a mimic piece of his Own ; and being immediately presented with five hundred thous and sesterces, and a gold ring, he went stom the stage, through the orchestra, into the seais allotted for the eques trian order. In the Circensian games, the Circus being en- larged at each end, and a canal sunk round it, severat of the vo ung nobili ty rode the races in Chariois, di awn, me by Dur, and others by two hors es, and likewise on single rors. We meet with a description os it in the fifth book of the aeneid, beginning with the following lines :

Incedunt pueri, pariterque ante ora parentum Fraenatis lucent in equis: quos omnis euntes Trinacriae mirata fremit Trojaeque juventus.

with one another, or With men called Bestiarii, who were ei ther forced to the combat by way of punissiment, as the primitive Christians were; or fought voluntarily, either homa natural ferocity of disposition, or induced by hire. An incredibie number of animais os various kinds urere brought from ali quarters, at a prodigious expence, for the entertain ment of the people. Pompey, in his second Consul stilp, exhibited at once five hundred lions, which were ali dispalchedin five days; also eighteen elephanis. Fifthly, the representation of a horse and Dot batile, with that os an en camp-ment or a siege. Sixthly, the representation os a sea-sight Naumachia), which was at first made in the Circus Maaeimus,

ed, and osten more than OnCe.

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on each side. For the accommodation of this spectaclethe goals were removed, and in their room two Campswere pitched, directly opposite to each other. Wresilers likewise performed for three days successively, in a stadium provided for the pui pose in the Campus Martius. Ina lake sunk in the lesier Codeta, Tyrian and Egyptiansleeis, consisting of ships of two, three, and four banks

XL. Turning asterwards his thoughis to the regulation of the commonwealth, he corrected the Calendar, which had for me time become eXtremely Confused, through the unm arrantable liberty whicli the priesis hadtaken in the article of Intercalation. To such a height had this abuse proceeded, that nei ther the holi lays designed for the harvect feli in summer, nor those for the viniage

in autumia. He accommodated the year to the Course of

the lata, ordaining that in future it si ould conssist of threehundred and si xty-five days, without any intercalatorymonili ; and that every fourth year an intercalatory dayshould be inserted. That the year might theiaces orth con mence regularly with the Caleniis, or firs of January, he inserted two monilis bet i xt November and December ;

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IULIUS CAESAR.

o that the year in whicli this regulation waS made coninsisted of fifteen monilis, including the monili os intercala tion, Whicli, acccording to the division os time then inusse, happened that year. XLI. He filled up the vacancies in the Senate, advan

ced severat commoners to the dignity of patricians, en- largod the number of Praetors, AEdiles, Quaesi ors, and infe

rior magis rates likewise ; restoring, at the fame time, suchas had been dis graced by the Censors, or convissed of bribeary at elections. The choics of magistrates he so dividedwith the people, that, eXcepting only the competitors sortite Consulfhip, they nominated one half of them, and hethe other. The method which he practised in those cases WaS, to recommend such persons as lie had pitched upon, bybills dispersed through the severili tribes to this esseel: Caesar the Dictator to such a tribe snaming it). Ι recommend to you --- .snaming shewise the persons , that by the favor of your voles they may attain to the honors xviiich they respectively sue for He likewisa admitted to offices the fons of such as had been proscribed. He restricted the triat os causes to two orders of judges,

viz. the Equestrian and Senatoria n ; eκcluding the comminii oners of the treasury who had bes ore made a third classe. The sui vey of the people he ordered to be taken neither in the usual manner, nor in the usual place, but in the severat streets, by the principat inhabitanis; and reducedine number of thos e that received corn from the public, This is the first instance we meet with in history, of

having redourse to the distribution of hand-bilis, for inqu- encing the peopte at elections. The inventive genius os Caesar test no expedient uniri ed that could serve to promot his purpus e.

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XLII. Eighty thousand citigens having been distribut-ed into foretgn colonies, he enadhed, in order to compensatethe deficiency, that no freeman of the City above twenty, and under forty, who was not in the military service of his country, should be absent froni Italy ab ove three years ata time: that no Senator's son mould go abroad, utilest in the retinue of me governor os a province ; and that thos who followed graging, si1ould have no tesse than a third part of their mepherds fre2-born. He likewise made alllach as practised physic in Rome, and ali teachers of the liberat aris, free of the city, in order to fix themin it, and invite others to the place. With respect todebis, he dilappotnted the eXpectation which was entertained, that they Would be universalty Cancelled, a mea-sure which had frequently been moved for; and ordered istat the deblors mouid satisfy their creditors, according to an estimate of their estates, by the rates at whicli theywere purchased besere the commencement of the civilwar; deducting froin the debl such interest as had been patit cither in money or bills ; by virtve of whicli orderabout a foui th part of the debl was lost. He di sibived ali

estabiistiment. He encreased the punishment of crimes beyond what the laws h ad orda ined; and because the richwere more eastly induced to transgressi, frona the circumstance of their being liable only to banishment, without thesorseiture of thcir estates, he stripped parricides, as Cicero Observes, of their Whole estates, and other, of one half

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