Caesar and His Fortune(4)

And now that he was master also of Spain he returned to Rome, was made government official by the Romans, and then set out to meet Pompey. So fast did he march to the eastern shore of Rome that the main part of his army lagged behind, and they murmured bitterly.

"It is winter, " they said. "This man stops for neither wind nor hail. When will our labors be ended? Does he think our bodies are made of stone or iron? Our very shields call out for rest!" But when they reached the sea, and found that their and general had already sailed for the opposite coast, they felt ashamed, and anxiously waited for the fleet to return and fetch them. Caesar, on his part, wished to bring his whole army together as soon as possible; for Pompey's followers were swarming the land, and Pompey's ships sailing on the Adriatic Sea.

One night, Caesar left his camp, boarded a large ship on a river, and bade the rowers to hurry down to the sea as rapidly as they could. They worked hard. Caesar, dressed in a shabby cloak, sat silent and thoughtful. As the ship neared the mouth of the river the water became extremely rough, and hurrying clouds and darkened air made a terrible scene. The pilot trembled. He did not know Caesar was on board, for the general wrapped himself close in the cloak.

"It is foolish to go farther!" exclaimed the pilot. "We must turn back!"

Caesar rose up, threw back his cloak, and said:

"Go forward, my friend, and fear nothing. You carry Caesar and his fortune!"

Like giants, the rowers fought against the storm. Caesar's look and voice seemed to double their strength. However, nature is mightier the man. The ship had to turn back and return to the camp. The troops were transported from Rome later on.

The armies of Pompey and Caesar were now face to face. So spirited were Caesar's men that, in spite of their want of food and other comforts, they showed a gay front. They dug up some eatable roots, soaked them in milk, and made a sort of bread fare, but better than nothing. Some of them crept near Pompey's camp, and flung a number of these hard biscuits into the trenches, crying: "So long as the earth yields roots we will resist Pompey!" The battle of Pharsalus of 48 B.C. has already been mentioned, in which Pompey was beaten.

Caesar's ships bore him to the land of the Nile and the Sphinx (Egypt), over which reigned the beautiful Queen Cleopatra, who lived from 69 to 30 B.C.

Te movement of the Romans was next heard in Syria, and Caesar's eagles were seen on the banks of the Jordan River.

News came that the Roman troops in Asia Minor were defeated by the Armenians. Caesar at once pushed northward, across the Lebanon mountains, where the cedars grow, across the Taurus mountains, and as far as the plains of Pontus. One battle finished the war. When the victory was won, Caesar sat in his tent and wrote a message to the senate of Rome. It contained (in Latin) but three words:

"Came--Saw--Conquered!"

He had come to Pontus; he had seen the enemy; he had beaten them. Caesar's speech was brief -- that is, he used only just enough words to make his meaning clear.