History of Julius Caesar Vol. 1 of 2

Suetonius, Cæsar, 2. – Pliny, XVI. 4. – Aulus Gellius, V. 6.

790

C. Cæsar, grand pontiff, in his discourse for the Bithynians, thus expresses himself in his exordium: – “The hospitality which I have received from King Nicomedes, and the bond of friendship which unites me to those whose cause is under debate, do not permit me, Marcus Juncus, to decline this office (that of being the advocate of the Bithynians); for death ought not to efface from the memory of their kindred the recollection of those who have lived, and we could not, without the last degree of disgrace, abandon our clients, those to whom, after our kindred, we owe our support.” (Aulus Gellius, V. xiii. 1.)

791

“Nothing damaged his reputation for chastity,” says Suetonius, “except his sojourn with Nicomedes; but the opprobrium which resulted from it was grave and lasting; it exposed him to the sneers of all. I will say nothing of those well-known verses of Calvus Licinius —

… ‘Bithynia quidquid
Et pedicator Cæsaris unquam habuit.’

I will be silent on the speeches of Dolabella and Curio the father, … neither will I linger over the edicts in which Bibulus publicly exposed his colleague by speaking of him as the queen of Bithynia… M. Brutus informs us that a certain Octavius, whose craziness allowed him to say what he would, being one day in a numerous assembly, called Pompey king, then saluted Cæsar by the name of queen. C. Memmius also reproaches him for having mixed himself up with other debauchees to present Nicomedes with cups and wine at table, and he quotes the names of several Roman merchants who were among the guests… Cicero apostrophised him once in full Senate. Cæsar was defending there the cause of Nysa, daughter of Nicomedes; he recalled the obligations which he owed to this king. ‘Let us pass by all that, I beg you,’ cried Cicero: ‘we know only too well what he has given thee, and what he has received from thee.’ On his triumph over the Gauls, the soldiers, among other satirical verses which it was their custom to sing as they followed the car of the general, repeated these, which are well known: —

‘Gallias Cæsar subegit, Nicomedes Cæsarem.
Ecce Cæsar nunc triumphat, qui subegit Gallias;
Nicomedes non triumphat, qui subegit Cæsarem.’”

    (Suetonius, Cæsar, 40.)

792

Cicero, Letters to Atticus, II. 19.

793

These reports, like other calumnies, were propagated by Cæsar’s enemies, such as Curio and Bibulus, and repeated in the ridiculous annals of Tanusius Geminus (Suetonius, Cæsar, 9), the authority of which Seneca despised. “Thou knowest that not much account is made of these annals of Tanusius, and how they are designated.” (Seneca, Epistle 93.) – Catullus (xxxvi. 1) gives us that term of contempt to which Seneca alludes (cacata charta).

794

“Marius had in his army a nephew, called Caius Lucius, who, overcome by a shameful passion for one of his subordinates, offered him an act of violence. The man drew his sword and killed him. Cited before the tribunal of Marius, instead of being punished he was loaded with praises by the consul, who gave him one of the crowns which were the usual reward of courage.” (Plutarch, Marius, 15.)

795

“Cæsar was not vexed at being accused of loving Cleopatra; but he could not bear that they should say he had been loved by Nicomedes. He swore it was a calumny.” (Xiphilinus, Julius Cæsar, p. 30, Paris edition, 1678.)

796

Orosius, V. 23.

797

Suetonius, Cæsar, 3.

798

Florus, III. 23.

799

Appian, I. 107.

800

Suetonius, Cæsar, 3.

801

Sallust, Fragments, I., p. 363.

802

Florus, III. 23.

803

Suetonius, Cæsar, 3.

804

“The Romans regarded as honourable accusations which had no private enmity as their motive, and they liked to see young men attach themselves to the pursuit of the guilty, as generous dogs attack wild beasts.” (Plutarch, Lucullus, 1.)

805

Plutarch, Cæsar, 4. – Asconius, Discourse for Scaurus, XVI. ii. 245, edit. Schütz.

806

Valerius Maximus, VIII. ix. § 3. – “Cæsar was twenty-one years of age when he attacked Dolabella, in a speech which we still read to-day with admiration.” (Tacitus, Dialogue on the Orators, 34.) – According to the chronological order which we have adopted, Cæsar, instead of twenty-one, would have been twenty-three years old; but as Tacitus, in the same citation, also errs, by two years, in making Crassus, who had accused Carbo, nineteen instead of twenty-one, we may suppose that he has committed the same mistake with Cæsar. In fact, Crassus tells his own age in Cicero (On the Orators, III. 20, § 74): “Quippe qui omnium maturrime ad publicas causas accesserim, annosque natus unum et viginti nobilissimum hominem in judicium vocarim.” – Crassus, the orator, was born in 614; he accused Carbo in 635, the date given by Cicero.

807

Plutarch, Cæsar, 3. – Asconius, Commentaries on the Oration, “In Toga Candida,” pp. 84, 89, edit. Orelli.

808

Dialogue on the Orators, 21.

809

Cicero, Oration for Cluentius, 59. The manuscripts of Cicero bear Cn. Decitius.

810

This island, now called Fermaco, is at the entrance of the Gulf of Assem-Kalessi. Pliny and Stephen of Byzantium are the only geographers who mention it, and the last tells us further, that it was here that Attalus, the famous lieutenant of Philip of Macedon, was slain by Alexander’s order.

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