104
CLEOPATRA.
Octavian returned with his legions to Italy, where he exer-
cised a fearful sway. Antony remained behind, as the real
master of all the countries subject to Bome east of the
Adriatic. During the time immediately succeeding the vic-
tory, he everywhere acted humanely ; and the nations tried to
console themselves with the prospect of having a mild master.
The provincials were accustomed to being ill-treated, and they
thanked heaven when the conduct of a governor was at all
bearable. But soon afterwards, Antony travelled through
Asia Minor, and extorted enormous contributions. A short
time before, those unfortunate countries had been compelled
by Brutus to pay their tributes for five years at once, and
Antony now commanded them to do the same within a very
limited period so that the inhabitants were thrown into frightful
distress. But Asia Minor afterwards recovered, as it always
does, unless it is governed by barbarians. Antony marched as
far as Cilicia, and here he invited Cleopatra to come to him.
He was either induced to take this step by the reputation of
her beauty, or it was a mere act of pride. Cleopatra felt sure
that the voluptuous Boman would not be able to resist her
charms, and she went to meet him without any fear, although
she had done various things to support Cassius, for which she
might have been taken to account. She sailed up the river
Cydnus to Tarsus, attended by galleys adorned with gold and
purple, and with a pomp which made her appear almost like
a queen of fairies, and invited Antony to an entertainment.
Here everything was prepared with a splendour and magni-
ficence which the Bomans could not have produced with all
their treasures.7 Antony fell completely into her net. She
travelled for some time with him in Asia Minor, and he then
accompanied her to Alexandria.
In the mean time there arose in Italy fresh misfortunes, the
cause of which was the connexion between Antony and
Cleopatra. Octavian had led his legions into Italy. The
veterans were at that time as impetuous and impudent as after
the death of Commodus.8 Octavian had promised them the
7 The Romans squandered a great deal of money; but few were able to
arrange anything in a really splendid or tasteful manner.—N.
8 It is a remarkable phenomenon that those wild beasts, who, for more than
two centuries, held the fate of the empire in their hands, could be made to obey
and feel that they were subjects.—N.
MILITARY COLONIES.
105
most flourishing municipia and colonies of Italy. The year
711, which followed that of the battles of Philippi, saw the
general establishment of the Julian colonies in Italy.9 The
places in which such colonies were founded are not well
known, and it is difficult to acquire an accurate knowledge
of them.10 Every one knows that Cremona was one of them.
It had originally been a Latin colony. After the Julian law it
had become a municipium, and it was now changed into a
military colony; which it may have been even as early as the
time of Sulla. Virgil’s life was endangered on the present
occasion. In ancient times, when a place was assigned to the
veterans, each man received only two jugers ; but now, things
were managed very differently, a common soldier receiving
from 50 to 100 jugers, a centurion twice, and an eques three
times that amount. When a town became a military colony,
many square miles of the country around it were distributed
among the soldiers, and if the territory of the place was not suf-
ficiently extensive to make the necessary assignments, portions of
the adjoining territory were cut off to make up the deficiency.
The state of things at that time very much resembled that which
existed in the Thirty Years’ war in Germany, when the citizens
and peasants were not taken into consideration at all, and the
soldiers were everything. Let us take Cremona as an example
of such a military colony. Andes, Virgil’s birthplace, was
about three miles from Mantua, and as the distribution of the
territory of Cremona extended as far as Mantua and Andes,
we may easily imagine the extent of such assignments, and
dreadful distress of the people. In most cases, the former
owners became of course the farmers of the soldiers. Horace
mentions in one of his Satires11, Ofellus, Whofarmedhisformer
estate, and was anxious to see the soldier, to whom it then
belonged, lead so extravagant a life as to be obliged to sell it,
in which case Ofcllus would purchase it back. This state of
things is so different from any with which we are acquainted,
that we can scarcely form a clear notion of it.
All Italy was seized with the utmost alarm and despair;
places which had done nothing to provoke the triumvir, and
β Appian, de Bell. Civil, v. 12 ; Sueton. Aug. 13.
10 I intend one day to write a separate work upon these Julian colonics, and
hope to arrive at results which will be tolerably satisfactory.—N.
11 ii. 2,112, foil.