208 Antony, Octavius, and Lepidus, the fecond Triumvirate. Antony, fenfible that he had too openly declared himself, and raifed a fufpicion of his intentions in the fenate, endeavoured by fome acts of felf-denial to reconcile himself to them, and regain their favour. For this purpofe he began to foften the harth expreffions of his funeral oration, and remonftrated to them, how neceflary it was to quiet the minds of the people, and to prevent the calamities of a civil war. But all this feemingly candid declaration could not clear him from the fufpicion of a defign upon the fovereignty. Cæfar, by his will, had adopted Octavius his fifter's grandfon, and appointed him his heir. This young Roman, was at Apollonia in Greece, when he first heard of his great uncle's murder, and the unfettled ftate of Italy. He immediately determined to fet out for Rome, and fupport his pretenfions. His arrival entirely fruftrated the meafures of Antony. In a folemn manner, he immediately claimed his adoption, and took upon him the name of Cæfar. Whilft he upbraided Antony for his double dealing, he put on the appearance of civility to him. Octavius feems to have inherited, not only the wealth but the inclinations of his uncle. He fold his own paternal eftate, to pay fuch legacies as Cæfar had left; and particularly that to the people. By thefe means he gained a degree of popularity, which his enemies in vain laboured to diminish. His converfation was elegant and infinuating; his face comely and graceful; and his affection to the late dictator fo fincere, that every perfon was charmed either with his piety or his addrefs. But what added still more to his intereft, was the name of Cæfar which he had affumed; and, in confequence of which, the former followers of his uncle now flocked in great numbers to him. Thus the ftate was divided into three diftinct factions; that of Octavius, who aimed at procuring Cæfar's inheritance, and revenging his death; that of Antony, whose fole view was to obtain abfolute power; and that of the confpirators, who endeavoured to restore the fenate to its former authority. In order to prevent Octavius from joining with Antony, the fenate gave him the confulfhip, flattered him with new honours, and invefted him with a power fuperior to all law, The first ufe that Octavius made of his new authority, was to procure a law for the condemnation of Brutus and Caffius; and, in fhort, to join his forces with thofe of Antony and Lepidus, The The meeting of these three ufurpers of their country's freedom, was near taking place, upon a little ifland of the river Panarus. Their mutual fufpicions were the cause of their meeting in a place, where they could not fear any treachery for even in their union, they could not diveft themselves of mutual diffidence. Lepidus firft entered; and, finding all things fafe made the fignal for the other two to approach. They embraced each other, upon their firft meeting; and Octavius began the conference, by thanking Antony for his zeal in putting Decimus Brutus to death; who, being abandoned by his army, was taken, as he was endeavouring to escape into Macedonia, and beheaded by Antony's command. They then entered upon the bufinefs that lay before them, without any retrofpect on the paft. Their conference lafted for three days; and, in this period, they fixed a divifion of government, and determined upon the fate of thousands. One can fcarce avoid wondering how that city, which gave birth, to fuch men as Fabricius and Cato, could now be a tame fpectator of a conference, which bartered away the lives and liberties of the people at their pleasure. To fee thefe three men feated, without attendants, on the highest part of a defolate ifland, marking out whole cities, and nations for deftruction, and yet none to oppofe their defigns, fhows what changes may quickly be wrought in the braveft people in a fhort time. The refult of their conference was, that the fupreme authority fhould be lodged in their hands, under the title of the Triumvirate, for the space of five years; that Antony should have Gaul; Lepidus, Spain; and Octavius, Africa and the Mediterranean islands. As for Italy and the Eastern provinces they were to remain in common, until their general enemy was entirely fubdued. But the laft article of their union was a dreadful one. It was agreed, that all their enemies fhould be destroyed, of which each prefented a lift. In these were comprised, not only the enemies, but the friends of the Triumvirate, fince the partifans of the one were often found among the oppofers of the other. Thus Lepidus gave up his brother Paulus to the vengeance of his colleague; Antony permitted the profcription of his uncle Lucius; and Auguftus delivered up the great Cicero. The most facred rights of nature were violated; three hundred fenators, and above two thousand knights, were included in this. terrible profcription; their fortunes were confifcated, and their murderers enriched with the fpoil. Rome foon felt the effects of this infernal union. Nothing but cries and lamentations were to be heard through all the city, scarce a houfe efcaping without a murder. No man dared to refuse VOL. I. P entrance entrance to the affaffins, although he had no other hopes of fafety; and this city, that was once the beauty of the world, feemed now reduced to defolation without an army; and now felt the effects of an invading enemy, with all the deliberate malice of cool-blooded flaughter. In this horrid carnage, Cicero was one of those principally fought after, who, for a while, feemed to evade the malice of his purfuers; but upon hearing of the flaughters that were committed at Rome, he fet forward from his Tufculan villa, towards the fea fide, intending to transport himself out of the reach of his enemies. But he was pursued by a party of Antony's affaffins, who cut off his head and his hands, returning with them to Rome, as the moft agreeable prefent to their cruel employer. Antony, who was then at Rome, received them with extreme joy, rewarded the murderers with a large fum of money, and placed Cicero's head on the roftrum, as if there once more to reproach his vile inhumanity. Cicero was flain in the fixty-third year of his age, but not until he had feen his country ruined before him. The glory he ob"tained," fays Julius Cæfar, "was as much above all other "triumphs as the extent of the Roman genius was above that "of the bounds of the Roman empire." Brutus and Caffius had withdrawn themselves into Greece, where they reduced Sardis, and other cities in the Eaft; Antony and Octavius agreed to follow them; and both armies. met at the city of Philippi, on the confines of Macedonia and Thrace. Here the future deftiny of the Republic was decided, and the liberty of Rome buried in the death of Brutus and Caffius. The former defeated that part of the army which Octavius commanded; but Antony got the better of Caffius, who obliged one of his freedmen to kill him. Brutus, after the lofs of a fecond battle, killed himself, that he might not outlive the liberty of his country, and fall into the hands of his enemies. Thus died Brutus in the forty-third year of his age, and with him all the hopes of liberty and Rome. The conquered troops fubmitted, and the Triumvirs eftablished, on the ruins of the Republic, the authority they had ufurped, and became mafters of the whole Roman empire. The first days after the victory, were employed by the Triumvirate in punishing their enemies. The head of Brutus was fent to Rome, and laid at the feet of the late dictator's ftatuc; at the fame time his afhes were fent to his wife Portia,the daughter of Cato, who, it is faid, on receiving this fad prefent, killed herself by fwallowing burning coals. It is ob ferved, 、 ferved, that of all thofe, who had a hand in Cæfar's death, not one died a natural death. CHAP. XXXIX. Lepidus is banished.-Antony and Cleopatra-Battle of Actium -Death of Antony-Cleopatra poifons herself. FTER this victory, Octavius returned to Italy, and Antony paffed over into Afia. He afterwards went into Egypt, where he spent the remainder of the year, at Alexandria with Cleopatra, in the moft riotous pleasures. Sextus Pompeius, the younger fon of Pompey the Great, had long refided in Sicily, and afforded an afylum to the friends of liberty. Meffala collected the remains of the army from the battle of Philippi, and appeared at the head of fourteen thousand men; finding it impoffible, however, to oppose the present torrent of fuccefs, he went over to the Triumvirate. Octavius fent Agrippa into Sicily, who foon obliged Pompey to retire from the country; whilft he himself remained for the moft part in Italy, and took every step to increase his power. As the republican party was no more, unrivalled dominion was now Octavius's object. Lepidus, being foon divested of his fhare of the fovereignty, was banished to Circæum, where he spent the remainder of his days, defpifed by his friends, and to all a melancholy object of blafted ambition. The only obftacle to univerfal empire, which now ftood in his way, was Antony, whom he refolved to remove, and for that purpose began to render his character as contemptible as he poffibly could at Rome. Antony's conduct, indeed, did not a little contribute to promote the endeavours of his ambitious partner in the ftate. He had marched against the Parthians with a prodigious army, but was forced to return, with the lofs of the fourth part of his forces, and all his baggage. This extremely diminished his reputation; but his making a triumphal entry into Alexandria, foon after, entirely difgufted the citizens of Rome; however, Antony, feemed quite regardless of, their refentment. Alive only to pleasure, and totally difregarding the bufinefs of the state, as well as his wife Octavia, the fifter of Octavius, he spent whole days and nights in the company of Cleopatra, who stu P 2 died died every art to increase his paffion, and vary his entertainments. Few women have been fo much celebrated for the art of giving novelty to pleafure, and making trifles important. Still ingenious in filling up the languid pauses of fenfual delight with fome new ftroke of refinement, fhe was at one time a queen, then a bacchanal, and fometimes a huntress. She invented a fociety called, the Inimitable; and those of the court, who made the most fumptuous entertainments, carried away the prize. Not contented with fharing, in her company, all the delights which Egypt could afford, Antony was refolved to enlarge his fphere of luxury, by granting her many of thofe kingdoms which belonged to the Roman empire. This complication of vice and foily at last totally exafperated the Romans; and Auguftus, willing to take the advantage of their refentment, took care to exaggerate all his defects. At length, when he found the people fufficiently irritated against him, he refolved to send Octavia, who was then at Rome, to Antony, as if with a view of reclaiming her husband; but in fact, to furnish a fufficient pretext of declaring war against him, as he knew he would be dif miffed with contempt. Antony was now at the city Leucopolis revelling with his infamous paramour, when he heard that Octavia was at Athens, upon her journey to vifit him. This was very unwelcome news as well to him as to Cleopatra; who fearing the charms of her rival, endeavoured to convince Antony of the strength of her paffion by her fighs, languifhing looks and well-feigned melancholy. He frequently caught her in tears, which the feemed as if willing to hide; and often intreated her to tell him the caufe, which the feemed willing to fupprefs. Thefe artifices, together with the inceffant flattery and importunity of her creatures, prevailed fo much upon Antony's weaknefs, that he commanded Octavia to return without seeing her, and attached himself still more clofely to Cleopatra than before. His ridiculous paffion began to have no bounds. He refolved to own her for his wife, and entirely to repudiate Octavia. He accordingly affembled the people of Alexandria in the public theatre, where was raifed an alcove of filver, under which were placed two thrones of gold, one for himself and the other for Cleopatra. There he feated himfelf dreffed like Bacchus, while Cleopatra fat befide him clothed in the ornaments and attributes of Pfis, the principal deity of the Egyptians. On that occafion he declared her queen of all the countries which he had already bestowed upon her; while he affociated Ceefario, her fon by Cæfar, as her |