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battle of Piiarsalus.
would never have been able to return to it. But Pompey had
no resolution, and the men by whom he was surrounded were
beside themselves with joy, when they heard that Caesar was
marching towards the mountains, where they thought he
would be caught as in a trap.
Pompey, therefore, followed Caesar into Thessaly, where the
latter had already taken his position in the neighbourhood of
the wealthy town of Pharsalus; and here the hostile armies met
each other. For a few days they only manoeuvred; as Caesar
was in want of provisions; and as Pompey’s cavalry was far
superior to that of Caesar, the position of the latter was again
very difficult. The advice of the most prudent among the
friends of Pompey was to wait patiently, and gradually to
destroy the army of Caesar by famine, desertion, and the like.
This was Pompey’s own opinion also ; but most of his officers
and friends were so childish and intoxicated with their
thoughts of victory, that they considered moderation or caution
to be a disgrace to themselves. The senators in the camp of
Pompey, who were quite ignorant of war, firmly believed that
the issue of the contest was already decided, and discussed the
advantages which each of them was to derive from the victory.
Like the French emigrants in 1792 at Coblenz and in Cham-
pagne, those senators disputed, for example, which of them was
to have Caesar’s office of pontiff, and which was to obtain this or
that estate after the proscriptions which they intended to insti-
tute on their return to Italy; these and similar disputes were
carried on with so much earnestness that they even gave
rise to quarrels among the senators. Caesar was very
anxious to bring matters to a speedy decision: he had the
highest confidence in his own talent as a general, and felt a
contempt for Pompey, as he then was, and for those who sur-
rounded him. The Pompeian party themselves rendered a
battle unavoidable, and that so hurriedly that Caesar had
scarcely time to call back three legions which he had sent to
Scotusa for the purpose of foraging.
The accounts of the battle which now took place differ
widely from one another. The best is, of course, Caesar’s own
description, though we may believe that the charge of Asinius
Pollio2 is not wholly unjust; according to whom Caesar is not
always accurate- he may have exaggerated the numbers, but
2 In Sneton. Caes 56
TOTAL DEFEAT OF POMPEY.
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this much is certain, that Pompey was very superior in num-
bers. It is not at all improbable that Caesar had not more
than 22,000 infantry, and that Pompey had about 40,000,
besides his auxilia consisting of Greeks and Asiatics, which
however were of no use, as Pompey seems to have been ashamed
to allow them to take part in a battle between Romans. Pom-
pey’s cavalry also was much more numerous than that of Caesar,
who, however, had some good Gallic and German horsemen;
and it is a well-known fact that, in reality, the German horse-
men decided the issue of the battle. The cavalry of Pompcy
on the other hand, consisted, for the most part, of young Romans
and volunteers, who had perhaps never seen an enemy before,
and were therefore like children in comparison with Caesar’s
veterans. The statement, that Caesar ordered his men to aim
at the faces of these young men to make them afraid of losing
their beauty2, must not be taken literally. Caesar opposed the
enemy’s cavalry not only with his own horse, but also with his
infantry, which he had trained to hold out against cavalry.
PIis cohorts warded off the first attack, and then the Gallic and
German covalry were let loose against the enemy. We may
imagine their delight in being thus allowed to take vengeance
upon the Romans. The left wing of Pompey’s army was first
defeated ; and that so completely that the right, too, which till
then had fought with considerable success, could not maintain
its ground. The Pompeian army fled back to their camp,
foolishly believing that all was now over, and that Caesar
would not venture to prosecute his victory any further. But
when it was observed that the conquerors did not indulge in
plunder, but were advancing in order of battle towards the
hostile camp, all dispersed in confusion, and Pompey jumping-
up in a great rage exclaimed, “ Not even here then will they
leave us.” The whole army was routed, and no one had the
presence of mind to keep together even a cohort. During the
battle itself, Caesar had given orders that no harm should be
done to those who did not flee or make any resistance; whole
cohorts thus laid down their arms, and the enemy’s camp was
found full of Asiatic luxuries and all kinds of comforts ; many of
the tents were arbours provided with Costlycarpets and furniture,
and the booty was immense. You will not easily find the date
of the battle of Pharsalus mentioned any where; it is a day
2 Plutarch, Povp. f`d, 71, Cats. 45; Appian, I)" Bell Civil, n 7(;.