Plutarch: Lives of the noble Grecians and Romans
when others began to show their disapprobation and offense at
it, Pompey, it is said, to gall and vex them the more, designed
to have his triumphant chariot drawn with four elephants,
(having brought over several which belonged to the African
kings,) but the gates of the city being too narrow, he was
forced to desist from that project, and be content with horses.
And when his soldiers, who had not received as large rewards as
they had expected, began to clamor, and interrupt the triumph,
Pompey regarded these as little as the rest, and plainly told
them that he had rather lose the honor of his triumph, than
flatter them. Upon which Servilius, a man of great
distinction, and at first one of the chief opposers of Pompey's
triumph, said, he now perceived that Pompey was truly great and
worthy of a triumph. It is clear that he might easily have
been a senator, also, if he had wished, but he did not sue for
that, being ambitious, it seems, only of unusual honors. For
what wonder had it been for Pompey, to sit in the senate before
his time? But to triumph before he was in the senate, was
really an excess of glory.
And moreover, it did not a little ingratiate him with the
people; who were much pleased to see him after his triumph take
his place again among the Roman knights. On the other side, it
was no less distasteful to Sylla to see how fast he came on,
and to what a height of glory and power he was advancing; yet
being ashamed to hinder him, he kept quiet. But when, against
his direct wishes, Pompey got Lepidus made consul, having
openly joined in the canvass and, by the good-will the people
felt for himself, conciliated their favor for Lepidus, Sylla
could forbear no longer; but when he saw him coming away from
the election through the forum with a great train after him,
cried out to him, "Well, young man, I see you rejoice in your
victory. And, indeed, is it not a most generous and worthy
act, that the consulship should be given to Lepidus, the vilest
of men, in preference to Catulus, the best and most deserving
in the city, and all by your influence with the people? It
will be well, however, for you to be wakeful and look to your
interests; as you have been making your enemy stronger than
yourself." But that which gave the clearest demonstration of
Sylla's ill-will to Pompey, was his last will and testament;
for whereas he had bequeathed several legacies to all the rest
of his friends, and appointed some of them guardians to his
eon, he passed by Pompey without the least remembrance.
However, Pompey bore this with great moderation and temper; and
when Lepidus and others were disposed to obstruct his interment
in the Campus Martius, and to prevent any public funeral taking
place, came forward in support of it, and saw his obsequies
performed with all honor and security.
Shortly after the death of Sylla, his prophetic words were
fulfilled; and Lepidus proposing to be the successor to all his
power and authority, without any ambiguities or pretences,
immediately appeared in arms, rousing once more and gathering
about him all the long dangerous remains of the old factions,
which had escaped the hand of Sylla. Catulus, his colleague,
who was followed by the sounder part of the senate and people,
was a man of the greatest esteem among the Romans for wisdom
and justice; but his talent lay in the government of the city
rather than the camp, whereas the exigency required the skill
of Pompey. Pompey, therefore, was not long in suspense which
way to dispose of himself, but joining with the nobility, was
presently appointed general of the army against Lepidus, who
had already raised up war in great part of Italy, and held
Cisalpine Gaul in subjection with an army under Brutus. As for
the rest of his garrisons, Pompey subdued them with ease in his
march, but Mutina in Gaul resisted in a formal siege, and he
lay here a long time encamped against Brutus. In the meantime
Lepidus marched in all haste against Rome, and sitting down
before it with a crowd of followers, to the terror of those
within, demanded a second consulship. But that fear quickly
vanished upon letters sent from Pompey, announcing that he had
ended the war without a battle; for Brutus, either betraying
his army, or being betrayed by their revolt, surrendered
himself to Pompey, and receiving a guard of horse, was
conducted to a little town upon the river Po; where he was
slain the next day by Geminius, in execution of Pompey's
commands. And for this Pompey was much censured; for, having
at the beginning of the revolt written to the senate that
Brutus had voluntarily surrendered himself, immediately
afterward he sent other letters, with matter of accusation
against the man, after he was taken off. Brutus, who with
Cassius slew Caesar, was son to this Brutus; neither in war nor
in his death like his father, as appears at large in his life.
Lepidus upon this being driven out of Italy, fled to Sardinia,
where he fell sick and died of sorrow, not for his public
misfortunes, as they say, but, upon the discovery of a letter,
proving his wife to have been unfaithful to him.
There yet remained Sertorius, a very different general from
Lepidus, in possession of Spain, and making himself formidable
to Rome; the final disease, as it were, in which the scattered
evils of the civil wars had now collected. He had already cut
off various inferior commanders, and was at this time coping
with Metellus Pius, a man of repute and a good soldier, though
perhaps he might now seem too slow, by reason of his age, to
second and improve the happier moments of war, and might be
sometimes wanting to those advantages which Sertorius by his
quickness and dexterity would wrest out of his hands. For
Sertorius was always hovering about, and coming upon him
unawares, like a captain of thieves rather than soldiers,
disturbing him perpetually with ambuscades and light
skirmishes; whereas Metellus was accustomed to regular conduct,
and fighting in battle array with full-armed soldiers. Pompey,
therefore, keeping his army in readiness, made it his object to
be sent in aid to Metellus; neither would he be induced to
disband his forces, notwithstanding that Catulus called upon
him to do so, but by some colorable device or other he still
kept them in arms about the city, until the senate at last
thought fit, upon the report of Lucius Philippus, to decree him
that government. At that time, they say, one of the senators
there expressing his wonder and demanding of Philippus whether
his meaning was that Pompey should be sent into Spain as
proconsul, "No," replied Philippus, "but as proconsuls," as if
both consuls for that year were in his opinion wholly useless.
When Pompey was arrived in Spain, as is usual upon the fame of
a new leader, men began to be inspired with new hopes, and
those nations that had not entered into a very strict alliance
with Sertorius, began to waver and revolt; whereupon Sertorius
uttered various arrogant and scornful speeches against Pompey,
saying in derision, that he should want no other weapon but a
ferula and rod to chastise this boy with, if he were not afraid
of that old woman, meaning Metellus. Yet in deed and reality
he stood in awe of Pompey, and kept on his guard against him,
as appeared by his whole management of the war, which he was
observed to conduct much more warily than before; for Metellus,
which one would not have imagined, was grown excessively
luxurious in his habits having given himself over to
self-indulgence and pleasure, and from a moderate and
temperate, became suddenly a sumptuous and ostentatious liver,
so that this very thing gained Pompey great reputation and
goodwill, as he made himself somewhat specially an example of
frugality, although that virtue was habitual in him, and
required no great industry to exercise it, as he was naturally
inclined to temperance, and no ways inordinate in his desires.
The fortune of the war was very various; nothing however
annoyed Pompey so much as the taking of the town of Lauron by
Sertorius. For when Pompey thought he had him safe inclosed,
and had boasted somewhat largely of raising the siege, he found
himself all of a sudden encompassed; insomuch that he durst not
move out of his camp, but was forced to sit still whilst the
city was taken and burnt before his face. However, afterwards
in a battle near Valentia, he gave great defeat to Herennius
and Perpenna, two commanders among the refugees who had fled to
Sertorius, and now lieutenants under him, in which he slew
above ten thousand men.
Pompey, being elated and filled with confidence by this
victory, made all haste to engage Sertorius himself, and the
rather lest Metellus should come in for a share in the honor of
the victory. Late in the day, towards sunset, they joined
battle near the river Sucro, both being in fear lest Metellus
should come; Pompey, that he might engage alone, Sertorius,
that he might have one alone to engage with. The issue of the
battle proved doubtful, for a wing of each side had the better;
but of the generals, Sertorius had the greater honor, for that
he maintained his post, having put to flight the entire
division that was opposed to him, whereas Pompey was himself
almost made a prisoner; for being set upon by a strong man at
arms that fought on foot, (he being on horseback,) as they were
closely engaged hand to hand, the strokes of their swords
chanced to light upon their hands, but with a different
success; for Pompey's was a slight wound only, whereas he cut
off the other's hand. However, it happened so, that many now
falling upon Pompey together, and his own forces there being
put to the rout, he made his escape beyond expectation, by
quitting his horse, and turning him out among the enemy. For
the horse being richly adorned with golden trappings, and
having a caparison of great value, the soldiers quarreled among
themselves for the booty, so that while they were fighting with
one another, and dividing the spoil, Pompey made his escape.
By break of day the next morning, each drew out his forces into
the field to claim the victory; but Metellus coming up,
Sertorius vanished, having broken up and dispersed his army.
For this was the way in which he used to raise and disband his
armies, so that sometimes he would be wandering up and down all
alone, and at other times again he would come pouring into the
field at the head of no less than one hundred and fifty
thousand fighting-men, swelling of a sudden like a winter
torrent.
When Pompey was going after the battle to meet and welcome
Metellus, and when they were near one another, he commanded his
attendants to lower their rods in honor of Metellus, as his
senior and superior. But Metellus on the other side forbade
it, and behaved himself in general very obligingly to him, not
claiming any prerogative either in respect of his consular rank
or seniority; excepting only that when they encamped together,
the watchword was given to the whole camp by Metellus. But
generally they had their camps asunder, being divided and
distracted by the enemy, who took all shapes, and being always
in motion, would by some skillful artifice appear in a variety
of places almost in the same instant, drawing them from one
attack to another, and at last keeping them from foraging,
wasting the country, and holding the dominion of the sea,
Sertorius drove them both out of that part of Spain which was
under his control, and forced them for want of necessaries to
retreat into provinces that did not belong to them.
Pompey, having made use of and expended the greatest part of
his own private revenues upon the war, sent and demanded moneys
of the senate, adding, that in case they did not furnish him