TO
CROSS
(CAESAR'S SOLILOQUY)
by
Manly W. Mumford
Delivered to The Fortnightly of Chicago and The Chicago Literary
Club
March 2, 2001
To cross this puny stream they call the Rubicon should not
trouble me. Yet it troubles
me more than did crossing the Rhine. It would defy the
government of Rome, and commit
the most egregious mutiny; for the higher the rank of a mutineer
the more vile is his act. I
must review the circumstances, consider what is best for me, and
determine what is best for
Rome.
From my boyhood, the clique that now rules in the Senate
have been the enemies of my
family. My Aunt Julia's husband, Marius, was a consul justly
beloved by the people of
Rome, but not by the nobility. Our ancestors, the Julii, were as
notable as theirs, or more,
being descended from Aeneas himself. Yet the fact that we look
to the common people of
Rome for political support frightens and alienates them.
When I was 19, Sulla, with his army, took control of Rome
and tried to make me
divorce my wife Cornelia, the daughter of Cinna who had been
consul at the same time as my
Uncle Marius. I refused, so he confiscated her dowry. On
learning that Sulla was deciding
whether I should be put to death I hid, but fell into the hands
of Sulla's soldiers. A bribe of
two talents persauded their captain to let me go. I then went to
Bythinia and returned to
Rome after Sulla's death. (1)
I have generally gotten political support from those whom
others might avoid. One of
the worst of my supporters was that scoundrel Clodius. During
the feast of Bona, when all
men leave the house and the women perform all the rites, he
disguised himself as a girl and
entered my house with the intent of seducing my wife, Pompeia. He
would have succeeded
had not my servants and mother caught him; my wife was aware of
the plan, as was her
maid. When Clodius (who was very popular with the people) was
tried, I said I had nothing
to charge him with. When asked why I had divorced Pompeia, I
said, "I wished my wife to
be above suspicion."
I held various public offices in Rome. After my
Praetorship I was given the
government of the province of Spain, but in order to accept it I
had to prevail on Crassus, the
richest man in Rome, to satisfy my creditors; I had spent a great
deal of money gaining
political support one way or another. In Spain I became rich,
and having enriched my
soldiers as well, received from them the honorary title of
Imperator.
On returning to Rome, I managed to reconcile Crassus and
Pompey, who had quarreled.
Then with their support I was elected Consul when I was 40.
Later, to further cement the
bond between Pompey and me, I broke my daughter Julia's
engagement to Servilius Caepio,
and betrothed her to Pompey, and told Servilius he should have
Pompey's daughter, who had
been promised to Sylla's son, Faustus. After that, I married
Calpurnia, the daughter of Piso,
and had Piso made consul for the year following. Cato, the
leader of the nobles in the
Senate, protested vigorously, saying that it was intolerable for
the government to be
prostituted by marriages, and for Pompey, Crassus, and me to
advance one another to the
commands of armies, provinces, and other great posts, by means of
women. He protested in
vain.
Following my consulship Pompey secured for me the
government of all Gaul and the
command of four legions for five years. I subdued Gaul, but the
Gauls would not remain
subdued. I required and was granted another five years. To
assure the loyalty of those Gauls
whom we conquered, it was necessary to protect them from their
neighboring tribes and also
from the Germans who would cross the Rhine to attack and pillage
our allies. Thus I was the
first Roman General to lead an army across the Rhine.
In almost all of the Gallic campaigns the Gauls had
received reinforcements from the
Britons. I mounted an expedition Britain to see what its
inhabitants were like, (2) and to
learn the lie of the land, the harbors, and the landing places.
I was the first Roman to bring a
navy into the western ocean, or an army to invade an island in
it. (3) In two trips and
several battles I did more harm to the natives than service to
myself, for the islanders were
so miserably poor that they had nothing worth plundering.
Further, Britons never, never,
never, will be slaves -- of any value.
On returning from Britain, I learned to my dismay that my
daughter Julia had died
giving birth to Pompey' s child. The child also died. Both
Pompey and I were sorely grieved,
both for the loss of his wife and my daughter, and for the bond
that united the two most
powerful men of Rome, Crassus having been killed fighting the
Parthians. This union had
kept the peace.
My army grew very numerous, so I dispersed them into
various camps for their
winter-quarters, and myself went, as usual, to Italy. In my
absence a general outbreak
throughout Gaul commenced. I immediately returned and subdued the
rebellion, but only after
much bloodshed.
Meanwhile, in Rome, Pompey and my enemies in the Senate
moved closer together.
They were insolently boasting that Lucius Lentulus and Gaius
Marcellus had been made
consuls for the purpose of depriving me of all official standing
and prestige. Servius Galba
had been robbed of the consulship, despite his far greater
popularity and larger number of
votes, because he was closely connected with me both as a friend
and as a
general.
I decided to keep the tribes in Gaul loyal and to see that
none had any pretext for revolt
or any hope of profiting by it so I would not to have to fight a
campaign immediately before
my departure. I made their subjection more tolerable by
addressing the tribal governments in
complimentary terms, refraining from the imposition of any fresh
burdens, and bestowing rich
presents upon the principal citizens. Thus I induced a people
exhausted by so many defeats
to live at peace.
A senatorial decree ordered Pompey and me each to
contribute one legion to the Parthian
campaign. This meant that I lost two legions, for Pompey
contributed, as though from his
own army, the 1st legion, which was levied in my province and
which he had lent to me.
Then the consul Marcellus turned both legions over to Pompey and
kept them in Italy.
However, I encouraged the soldiers of the 1st legion to remember
me favorably by giving
each of them the sum of 250 denarii about two years' pay. I
replaced them with recruits,
and one of my legions continues to be stationed in northern
Italy.
My love of honor (which I value more highly than my life)
and passion for distinction
are inspired into my soldiers and cherished in them by unsparing
distribution of money and
honors. I show them that I do not pile up wealth from the wars
for my own luxury or
pleasure, but that all I receive is a fund to reward and
encourage their valor. And there is no
danger to which I do not expose myself as well as my soldiers.
(4)
Sallust sent me a memorandum describing the unbearable
reign of terror of the clique
around Pompey. He asks me to intervene at once, and by sweeping
reforms to again enable
the people and the Senate to fulfill their constitutional roles.
The unjustified power of the
present nobility and the rule of money must be broken in order
to recreate the dignity of the
old Roman state.
So much must be done for the people of Rome. Our faithful
soldiers must be given
lands in conquered provinces to satisfy promises made when they
enlisted. The calendar has
accumulated so many errors that the priests, to make the feasts
fall when they should, have
created an arbitrary and unpredictable intercalary month. The
best mathematicians and
philosophers should be employed correct the calendar. Perhaps
they will name a month after
me. That would be better than any marble monument.
Now the Senate has voted that I am to disarm my army by a
fixed date upon pain of
being regarded as a public enemy. So if I return to Rome I shall
be available for my enemies
to instigate the criminal proceedings for which they yearn. The
current subservience of the
judges leaves no doubt of the outcome. Further diplomatic moves
can succeed only if I
show that my military prospects are not hopeless by mounting a
speedy attack.
Yet even under these circumstances, can my mutiny be
justified? It would set the worst
possible example for my soldiers, whom I have always led by
example.
My own life is at stake, as my enemies will surely find a
way to have me executed, if
not outright murdered in the absence of my army. Yet I have often
commanded my soldiers
to face death, and have faced death with them. Perhaps it is my
turn, now, to face it without
them.
Should I overthrow the very government under which I hold
office? My ancestors, along
with those of my enemies, have long lived and prospered under
that government. Does their
current perversion justify me in overthrowing that government?
How do I start to answer this question?
Where do I find the principles to guide my
thoughts?
I must look at the purpose of government itself. What is
that purpose?
That purpose should be to preserve the lives and the rights
of the people. If a
government destroys those lives and rights, have the people a
right to alter or abolish it? I
believe they do, as the founders of our republic deposed the
kings.
Can the people do this without leadership? No.
Who is best able to furnish that leadership? I am.
I do not leave my province with intent to harm
anybody. I merely want to
protect myself against the slanders of my enemies, to restore to
their rightful positions the
tribunes of the people, who have been expelled because of their
involvement in my cause, and
to reclaim for myself and for the Roman people independence from
the domination of a small
clique. I will immediately launch five cohorts towards Ariminum
and the other five towards
Arretium in Etruria. Will I succeed? Luck is the greatest power
in all things and especially
in war. Yet human endeavor can help luck, and I will not be
found wanting in this respect.
The die is cast!