510 
£ G Y P T. 
The Egyptians, finding that the Roman troops retained 
an unfhaken intrepidity in the midft of dangers and diffi¬ 
culties, and that ill-fuccefs only tended to inflame their 
military ardour, fent a deputation to Caefar, demanding 
their king, and affuring hint that a compliance with.their 
defire would put a fpeedy termination to the war. Caefar 
readily granted their requeft, and admouifhed the young 
prince to infpire his fubjefts with fentiments of peace and 
equity; to redrefs the evils which had already refulted 
from the war; and to prove himfelf Worthy of the confi¬ 
dence that was now repofed in him. Ptolemy petitioned, 
with tears in his eyes, that he might continue with the 
dictator, affirming that lie would rather enjoy his com¬ 
pany as a private citizen, than fway the fceptrc without 
him. But he was no fooner at the head of his army, than 
he renewed hoftilities with more vigour than ever ; he 
alfo attempted to intercept Caefar’s provifions, but the 
engagement which this defign brought on near Canopus, 
terminated in his defeat, and added new luftre to the 
achievements of his enemy. About this time alio, Mith- 
ridates of Pergamus, and Antipater the Idumean, marched 
into Egypt at the head of a confiderable army, in com¬ 
pliance with Caefar’s requeft, and upon arriving before 
Pelufium, they carried that city by florin. On their,route 
from thence to Alexandria they found all the paffes in 
the country of Onion feized by the Jews, who conftituted 
the greateft part of the inhabitants. This difficulty 
threatened them with the deftruiftion of their plan; but 
at length Antipater engaged the Jews to efpoufe Caefar’s 
caufe, and prevailed on them to furnilh the army with 
provifions. On their approaching the Delta, Ptolemy 
detached a body of troops to difpute the paffiige of the 
Kile, and a fanguinary engagement enfued. Mithridates’s 
wing was foon broken and difordered, but Antipater, 
by affording him a fpeedy fuccour, checked the enemy’s 
fuccefs, drove them with incredible fury from the field 
of battle, and took pofleflion of their camp. Ptolemy 
then advanced with all his forces to overpower the victo¬ 
rious generals ; but Caefar having fecretly fallen upon 
his rear, rendered his fcheme abortive. Moft of the 
Egyptian foldiers were cut in pieces, and Ptolemy, in 
attempting to efcape, was drowned in the Nile. Caefar 
returned to Alexandria, and finding no oppolition to his 
will, beftowed'the crown of Egypt on Cleopatra, obliging 
lier, through motives of policy, to marry her younger 
brother Ptolemy, who was then but eleven years of age. 
The paffion he had conceived for Cleopatra was in reality 
the caufe of his undertaking fo dangerous a war, and the 
fame paffion detained him much longer in Egypt than 
his affairs required, but the fuccefs which now attended 
Pharnaces, king of the Cimmerian-Bofphorus, and fon of 
Mithridates, in the recovery of his father’s dominions, 
awakened Caefar from the lethargy into which he was 
drawn by Cleopatra’s blandilhments, and called him forth 
again to conqueft and ambition. 
Cleopatra now enjoyed the throne of Egypt without 
the leaft difturbance, having an unlimited authority dur¬ 
ing the minority of her brother ; hut the young prince 
no fooner aflumed his (hare of the government than (he 
caufed him to be poifoned, and reigned front that time 
without a partner. Soon after this unnatural a£lion, 
Caefar being aflafiinafed at Rome, and the famous trium¬ 
virate formed between Antony, Lepidus, and Octavius, 
afterwards furnamed Auguftus Caelar, the queen declared 
for the triumvirs, and fent four legions to Albienus, the 
conful Dolabella’s lieutenant. Thefe forces were taken 
by Caffius, who had earneftly folicited Cleopatra to affifl 
him againft the triumvirs; but finding her obftinate in 
refufal, he marched towards the frontiers of Egypt with 
a defign to invade her kingdom. The enterprise was, 
however, relinquilhed ; and Cleopatra, being freed from 
her apprehenlions, failed with a numerous fleet to join 
Octavius and Antony ; but illncfs compelled her to re¬ 
turn to Egypt, after feveraSl of he ihips had been wrecked 
in a ffornv. 
Antony having paffed over into Afia, after the famous 
battle of Philippi, to fettle all concerns for the interett 
of the conqueror, received intelligence that Cleopatra 
had affifled Caffius againft Dolabella. He immediately 
fummoned the queen to appear before him at Tarfus in 
"Cilicia. Cleopatra, who had already proved the effeft 
of her charms on Caefar, inftantly conceived the defign 
of enfnaring Antony, and promifed herfelf the moft am¬ 
ple fuccefs, upon the recollection that Caefar had acknow¬ 
ledged her irrefiftible at a time when file was very young 
and unacquainted with the world, whereas Antony would 
be equally dazzled with the brilliancy of her wit, and the 
incomparable beauties of her perfon. She accordingly 
provided herfelf with rich prefents, irnmcnfe fums of 
money, fumptuous habits, and fplendid ornaments, and, 
in compliance with Antony’s requeft, fet fail for Cilicia. 
As foon as the news of her arrival was publi(lied in Tar¬ 
fus, the citizens crowded out of the gates to meet her; 
and Antony, who was diftribnting juftice in the forum, 
faw his tribunal fuddenly deferted, no one remaining with 
him but his li£tors and domeftics ; nor was it furprizing 
that the populace fliould flock to behold fo unufual a 
fpeftacle. Her royal galley flamed with gold, the fails 
were of the fineft purple, and the oars inlaid with filver; 
beneath a pavilion of cloth of gold appeared the Egyp¬ 
tian queen, robed like Venus, and furrounded by the moft 
beautiful youths and virgins of her court, deftined to re- 
prefent the Nereids and the Graces ; the hills and dales 
re-echoed with the found of hautboys, flutes, and other 
tnufical inftruments, with which the oars kept time, and 
rendered the fcene more delightful; while the great quan¬ 
tity of perfumes that were burning on the deck, diffufed 
their fragrance on each fide of the river, and impregnated 
the air with the moft ballamic odours. Cleopatra had 
no fooner landed, than Antony fent her a complimentary 
meffage, and invited her to fupper; but the returned for 
anfwer, that according to the rules of decorum, he fliould 
firft vifit her, and that the fliould expect him in the tents 
which were erecting for her accommodation on the banks 
of the river. Antony complied with her delire, and was 
entertained with inexprefiible magnificence. Next day 
he returned the compliment, and commanded that no ex¬ 
pence fliould be fpared ; but notwithftanding his utrnoft 
efforts, he acknowledged the inferiority of his banquet to 
that of Cleopatra. The queen’s expectations were fully 
jollified by the event; for Antony found fuch irrefiftible 
charms in her manners and converfation, that inftead of 
arraigning her as an offender, he bowed in homage be¬ 
fore the (lirine of her beauty, and readily granted all her 
requefts, however repugnant to the laws of juftice, reli¬ 
gion, or humanity : for it was about this time that Antony 
caufed Cleopatra’s filler Arfinoe to be put to death, who 
had taken refuge in the temple of Diana, at Melitus. 
Conlcious of her fafcinating powers, and anxious to 
bind the Roman by the ftrongeft ties to her perfon and 
interell, the fair Egyptian entertained him every day, 
during her relidence at Tarfus, with the moll fumptuous 
banquets, which were ferved up and difpofed with fuch 
peculiar elegance, that (lie feemed to ftudy to excel her 
own inventions. Antony exprefling fome lurprize at the 
profufion of gold cups enriched with jewels that appeared 
on every fide, flie told him, that if he admired fuch tri¬ 
fles they were at his fervice, and might be carried to his 
houfe. The next day the banquet was more fttperb, and 
Antony was requelled to bring all his officers of rank and 
diftinftion with him; he accepted the invitation, and 
Cleopatra prefented them with all the gold and filver 
plate that had been ufed in the courfe of the entertain¬ 
ment. In one of thefe fealts happened the incident which 
Pliny relates of Cleopatra’s profufenefs. Having laid a 
confiderable wager that Hie could expend more than fifty 
thoufand pounds upon one repaft, (he caufed one of the 
pearls that (lie wore in her ears, which was valued at 
the above-mentioned fum, to be dillolved in an acid, and 
then fwallowed it She was preparing to melt the other 
