I said: “I have not forgotten.”
Octavius smiled. “Nor have I. . . . We shall save Decimus, though we hate him. We shall save Decimus for that oath, and we shall save him for the law.” For an instant his eyes were cold upon me, though I think he did not see me. Then he smiled again, as if remembering himself.
Did it begin with that?
Facts: Decimus was one of the murderers; Octavius goes to his aid. Casca was one of the murderers; Octavius has agreed not to oppose his election as tribune of the people. Marcus Antonius was a friend of Caesar; Octavius now opposes him. Cicero rejoices publicly in the murder; Octavius has made an alliance with him.
Marcus Brutus and Gaius Cassius raise armies in the East, plunder the treasuries of the provinces, and daily augment their strength; Marcus Aemilius Lepidus is secure in the West and waits with his legions—to what purpose no one knows; and in the south, Sextus Pompeius roams the seas at will, raising barbarian armies that may destroy us all. The legion that I command —all the legions in Italy—is the task too large?
But Gaius Octavius is my friend.
IV. Letter: Marcus Tullius Cicero to Marcus Aemilius Lepidus at Narbonne, from Rome (43 B.C.)
My dear Lepidus, Cicero sends you greetings, and begs you to remember your duty to the Senate and the Republic. I would not mention now the many honors I have been privileged to do you, were I not filled with gratitude for the many kindnesses you have done me. As we have assured each other in the past, our differences have always been honorable ones, and have rested upon our mutual love for the Republic.
Though I put little faith in such, the rumors in Rome are that you will join forces with Marcus Antonius against Decimus. I do not seriously entertain such a possibility, and I see the rumor only as a symptom of that disease of instability that now afflicts our poor Republic. But I think you should know that the rumor does persist, so that for your own safety and honor you might take the most urgent measures to prove it baseless.
The young Caesar, with the blessing of the Senate and the Republic, marches toward Mutina against the outlaw, Antonius, who besieges Decimus. It may be that he will need your aid. I know that you will now, as you have in the past, observe the order of the law and refuse the chaos of lawlessness, for the sake of your position and the security of Rome.
V. Letter: Marcus Antonius to Marcus Aemilius Lepidus at Narbonne, from Mutina (43 B.C.)
Lepidus: I am at Mutina against the hired armies of the murderers of Caesar. Decimus is surrounded; he cannot break out.
I am informed that Cicero and others of his odor have been writing you, urging treason against the memory of our slain Julius. The reports of your intentions are ambiguous.
I am not a subtle man; I am not a flatterer; and you are not a fool.
There are three courses open to you: you can march from your camp to join me in the destruction of Decimus and the enemies of Caesar, and thereby gain my eternal friendship and the power that will come to you from the love of the people; you can remain unconcerned and neutral in the comfort of your encampment, and thereby receive neither my blame nor the hatred of the people—nor their love; you can come to the aid of the traitor Decimus and his “savior,” the false son of our leader, and thereby receive my enmity and the lasting despite of the people.
I hope that you have the wisdom to choose the first course; I fear that you will have the caution to choose the second; I implore you, for your own safety, not to choose the third.
VI. The Memoirs of Marcus Agrippa: Fragments (13 B.C.)
We found the Rome we entered torn by strife and ambition. Marcus Antonius, the pretended friend of the slain Julius Caesar, consorted with the murderers, and would not allow him whom we now called Octavius Caesar to receive the honors and powers bequeathed him by his father. Upon ascertaining the ambition of the usurper Antonius, Octavius Caesar took himself into the countryside where his father’s veterans tilled the soil, and we raised those troops loyal to the memory of their dead leader who would oppose with us the plunderers of our nation’s dream.
Unlawfully, Marcus Antonius levied the Macedonian troops and marched with them into Rome, and thence to Mutina, where he laid siege to Decimus Brutus Albinus. And though Decimus had been among the murderers of Caesar, for the sake of order and the state, Octavius Caesar agreed to defend his lawful governorship of Gaul against the force of the outlaw Antonius; and with the thanks and sanction of the Senate, we gathered our forces and marched toward Mutina, where Antonius had encamped around the legions of Decimus.
Now I must tell of that campaign at Mutina, which was the first responsibility of war I had under Octavius Caesar and Rome.
The senatorial legions were under the command of the two consuls of the year, Gaius Vibius Pansa and Aulus Hirtius, the latter of whom had been the trusted general of our late Julius Caesar. Octavius Caesar commanded the Martian and Macedonian IV legions, though of the latter I had military leadership. Quintus Salvidienus Rufus had been given the military command of the new legion of recruits we had levied in the countryside of Campania.
Antonius had made his siege of Decimus complete, and he proposed to lie in wait until Decimus’s legions, weakened by hunger, must attempt to break through his encampment. We determined that Decimus had put away enough food within the walls of Mutina to endure, so we made winter quarters at Imola, only a two-hour march from Mutina, so that we might quickly go to the aid of Decimus if he made a sally against the Antonian forces. But he cowered within the safety of the city walls, and would not fight; so that when spring came, we faced the prospect of breaking through Antonius’s lines ourselves, to save that Decimus who would not save himself. Early in April we determined to move.
Around Mutina the ground is marshy and uneven, cut by gullies and streams; beyond this marsh Antonius was encamped. In secret we searched the land for a way to cross, and discovered a ravine that was unguarded; and in the dead of night, joined by Pansa and five cohorts of his legion, Octavius Caesar and Salvidienus and I led our Martian legion and other soldiers into this ravine, having wrapped our swords and spears with cloth so that the enemy would not be aware of our approach. The moon was full, but a heavy fog clung to the earth, so that we could not see before us; and in single file, each man’s hand upon another’s shoulder, we inched blindly through the glowing mist, never sure of where we went or whom we might encounter.
Through the night we crept, and in the morning came up on a high road in the marshes; we waited for the fog to lift, and saw no enemy ahead of us. But a sudden gleam came from the brush, and we heard a muffled voice, and we knew we were surrounded. The horn sounded the order for battle, and the soldiers came to their formation on the high ground. The young recruits were ordered by Pansa to stand aside, so as not to hinder the fighting of the veterans, but to stand in readiness if they were needed.
For these were veterans of the Martian legion, and they remembered the slaughter of their comrades at Brindisi by the Antonius they now opposed.
The space upon which we fought was so small that one side could not flank another; therefore, man fought man like gladiators in an arena, and the dust rose thick as the fog of the night before, and swords rang in the air, and no one shouted. We heard only the cries of the wounded and the deep groans of those who were dying.
We fought through the morning and through the afternoon, one line relieving another as it became exhausted. Once Octavius Caesar himself came near death when he seized the standard that our eagle-bearer, wounded, had let fall; and the consul, Pansa, in this engagement suffered a mortal wound. Antonius ordered fresh troops into the battle, and step by step we gave ground; but under the command of Salvidienus the recruits fought as bravely as the veterans, and we were able to enter again into our camp whence we had come the night before. Antonius did not continue the attack after nightfall, so we went into the marsh that was littered with the bodies of our comrades, and carried back the wounded. That night we saw the campfires of Antonius’s army beyond the marsh, a
nd heard the singing of his soldiers in their victory.
We feared the slaughter that the next day might bring, for we were weary and our numbers were reduced by half; and we knew that Antonius had troops that he had not used. But during that night, the legions of the consul Hirtius had been marching to our relief; and joining us, made an attack upon Antonius’s camp, which was complacent and disordered in its false certainty of success. And the battles raged for many days, during which time the Antonian legions were reduced to half their number; our losses were very slight. Salvidienus was given the legions of the dying Pansa, and he led them with bravery and skill. At last, our armies broke into the very camp of Antonius; and the brave Hirtius was killed by one of Antonius’s guards, outside the tent where Antonius had lately rested and whence he had fled.
Upon this defeat, Antonius lost heart; and gathering what remained of his troops, marched northward toward the Alps, which he crossed at further cost to his strength, and joined the forces of Marcus Aemilius Lepidus, who had remained safely at Narbonne.
After the flight of Antonius, Decimus, delivered from the siege, ventured outside the city walls. He sent messengers to Octavius Caesar, thanking him for his aid, and declaring that his own part in the murder of Julius Caesar had been caused by the deceptions of the other conspirators; and he asked that Octavius Caesar converse with him, in the presence of witnesses, so that he might be convinced of the sincerity of his gratitude. But Octavius Caesar declined his thanks, saying: “I did not come to save Decimus; therefore I will not accept his gratitude. I came to save the state; and I will accept its thanks. Nor will I speak to the murderer of my father, nor look upon his face. He may go in safety by the authority of the Senate, not by my own.”
Six months later, Decimus was surprised and killed by a chieftain of one of the Gallic tribes. He had the head of Decimus severed, and sent it to Marcus Antonius, who gave him a small reward.
VII. Senatorial Proceedings (April, 43 B.C.)
The third day of this month: the reading to the Senate of the dispatches from the Gallic campaign against the insurgent Marcus Antonius: by Marcus Tullius Cicero.
That the siege of Decimus Brutus Albinus is lifted; that the troops of Marcus Antonius are so reduced that they offer no immediate danger to the Republic; that the remnants of Antonius’s army flee northward in disorder; that the consuls Aulus Hirtius and Gaius Vibius Pansa are dead, and that their legions are temporarily under the command of C. Octavius, who waits outside Mutina.
The sixth day of this month: resolutions of Marcus Tullius Cicero.
That fifty days of thanksgiving be declared, in which the citizens of Rome will offer their gratitude to the gods and the senatorial armies for the defeat of Marcus Antonius and the deliverance of Decimus Brutus Albinus.
That the dead consuls Hirtius and Pansa be accorded public funerals, with full honors.
That a public monument be erected to memorialize the glorious deed of the legions of Hirtius and Pansa.
That Decimus Brutus Albinus be given a senatorial triumph for his heroic defeat of the outlaw Marcus Antonius.
That the following directive be sent to Gaius Octavius at Mutina (copy appended):
“The Praetors, Tribunes of the Plebeians, the Senate, the People and Commoners of Rome, send greetings to Gaius Octavius, temporary commander of the Consular Legions:
“You are given the thanks of the Senate for the aid you have rendered Decimus Brutus Albinus in his heroic defeat of the insurgent armies of Marcus Antonius, and you are to know that, by edict of the Senate, Decimus Brutus has been made sole commander of the legions in the furtherance of the pursuit of the Antonian forces. You are therefore ordered to turn over the consular legions of Hirtius and Pansa to Decimus Brutus without delay. You are further ordered to disband those legions that you raised on your own authority, giving them the thanks of the Senate, which has formed a commission to study the advisability of offering them some reward for their services. An envoy from the Senate has been sent to Mutina to deal with these matters; you are to leave the transfer of powers to his offices.”
All resolutions of Marcus Tullius Cicero passed by the Senate.
VIII. Letter: Gaius Cilnius Maecenas to Titus Livius (13 B.C.)
We had heard the witticism that Cicero made: “We shall do the boy honor, we shall do him praise, and we shall do him in.” But I think that even Octavius did not expect the Senate and Cicero to offer so blatant and contemptuous a dismissal. Poor Cicero. . . . Despite the trouble he caused us and the harm that he intended, we were always rather fond of him. Such a foolish man, though; he acted out of enthusiasm, vanity, and conviction. We had learned early that we could not afford those luxuries; we moved, when we had to move, out of calculation, policy, and necessity.
I was, of course, in Rome during the whole of this affair at Mutina; as you know I have led armies in my time (and not altogether badly, if I may say so), but I have always found the task rather boring—to say nothing of the discomfort. So if you need details about the actual fighting, you will have to go elsewhere. If our friend Marcus Agrippa would complete that autobiography with which he has been threatening us, you might find some helpful information there. But poor fellow, he has such problems now (I am sure you know what I mean) that it is unlikely he will.
Octavius needed someone in Rome a good deal more than he needed an indifferent general—someone whom he could trust to keep him informed of the latest shifts in the senatorial whim, the latest intrigues, marriages, and so forth. And for this task I was admirably suited, I believe. At that time (this was nearly thirty years ago, remember) I fancied myself perfectly cynical, I thought ambition of any kind terribly vulgar, I was an inveterate gossip, and no one took me at all seriously. I posted him a daily newsletter, and he kept me informed of the situation in Gaul.
So the action of Cicero and the Senate did not catch him unprepared.
My dear Livy, I chide you often for your Republican and Pompeian sympathies; and though I tease you out of affection, I am sure that you have understood that there is an edge of seriousness in my scolding. You came to manhood in the northern tranquillity of Padua, which had for generations been untouched by strife; and you did not even set foot in Rome until after Actium and the reform of the Senate. Had the chance occurred, it is most likely that you would even have joined with Marcus Brutus to fight against us, as our friend Horace did in fact do, at Philippi, those many years ago.
What you seem so unwilling to accept, even now, is this: that the ideals which supported the old Republic had no correspondence to the fact of the old Republic; that the glorious word concealed the deed of horror; that the appearance of tradition and order cloaked the reality of corruption and chaos; that the call to liberty and freedom closed the minds, even of those who called, to the facts of privation, suppression, and sanctioned murder. We had learned that we had to do what we did, and we would not be deterred by the forms that deceived the world.
To put it briefly, Octavius defied the Senate. He did not disband the legions he had raised; he did not relinquish the armies of Hirtius and Pansa to Decimus; he did not allow the envoys from Rome access to Decimus. He waited into the summer, and the Senate trembled.
Decimus hesitated to do anything at all; and his own soldiers, revulsed by his weakness, deserted by the thousands to us.
Cicero, fearful of our defiance, caused the Senate to order Marcus Brutus to return from Macedonia to Italy with his armies.
We waited, and learned that Antonius had entered Gaul, and had joined the remnants of his forces with those of Lepidus.
We had eight legions, with sufficient cavalry to support them, and several thousand lightly armed auxiliaries. Octavius left three of these legions and the auxiliaries under the command of Salvidienus at Mutina. He had messages sent to Atia and Octavia, his mother and sister, ordering them to take refuge in the Temple of the Vestal Virgins, where they would be safe from reprisals. And we marched on Rome.
It was a necessary a
ction, you must understand; even had Octavius been willing to relinquish the power we had won and to retire from the public scene, he would have done so at the almost certain expense of his life. For it was clear that the Senate was now embarked upon the inevitable, though delayed, consequence of the assassination: the Caesareans had to be exterminated. Antonius would be crushed by the consular armies that had been augmented by those even larger ones of Brutus and Cassius, which were now (by invitation of the Senate) poised in the East, across the Adriatic Sea, waiting to invade Italy; and Octavius would be destroyed in one way or another, by edict of the Senate, or more likely by private murder. Thus it was that suddenly Antonius’s cause became our own. The cause was survival; survival depended upon alliance; and alliance depended upon our strength.
We marched on Rome with our legions armed as if for battle, and the news of our approach raced before us like the wind. Octavius encamped his army outside the city upon the Esquiline hill, so that the people and the senators had but to raise their eyes to the east to know our strength.
It was over in two days, and not a drop of Roman blood was spilled.
Our soldiers had the bounty promised them before the campaign at Mutina; the adoption of Octavius by Julius Caesar was made into law; Octavius was given the vacant consulship of Hirtius; and we had eleven legions under our command.
On the fourth day after the Ides of August (though as you know the month then was called Sextilis), Octavius came into Rome to perform the ritual sacrifice attendant upon his accession to the consulship.
A month later he celebrated his twentieth birthday.
IX. Letter: Marcus Tullius Cicero to Octavius Caesar (August, 43 B.C.)
You are quite right, my dear Caesar; my labors for the state deserve the reward of tranquillity and rest. I shall therefore quit Rome and retire to my beloved Tusculum and devote my remaining years to those studies which I have loved second only to my country. If I have misjudged you in the past, I have done so out of that love which too often imposes on us both the cruel necessity of going against our more humane and natural inclinations.