266 The Republic. R O 
mer occasions. The prows of their vessels were armed with 
brazen points; and with these they drove furiously against 
each other. In this conflict the ships of Antony came with 
greater force, but those of Octavianus avoided the shock 
with greater dexterity. On Antony’s side, the sterns of the 
ships were raised in form of a tower; from whence they 
threw arrows from machines for that purpose. Those of 
Octavianus made use of long poles hooked with iron, and 
fire-pots. They fought in this manner for some time with 
equal animosity; nor was there any advantage off either side, 
except a small appearance of disorder in the centre of 
Antony’s fleet. But all of a sudden Cleopatra determined 
the fortune of the day. She was seen flying from the 
engagement attended by 60 sail; struck, perhaps, with the 
terrors natural to her sex: but what increased the general 
amazement was to behold Antony himself following soon 
after, and leaving his fleet at the mercy of the conquerors. 
The engagement, notwithstanding, continued with great 
obstinacy till five in the evening; when Antony’s forces, partly 
constrained by the conduct of Agrippa, and partly persuaded 
by the promises of Octavianus, submitted to the conqueror. 
The land forces soon after followed the example of the navy; 
and all yielded to the conqueror, without striking ablow, the 
fourth day after the battle. 
When Cleopatra fled, Antony pursued her in a five-oared 
galley, and coming along-side of her ship, entered, with¬ 
out seeing or being seen by her. She was in the stern, and 
he went to the prow, where he remained for some time 
silent, holding his head between his hands. In this manner 
he continued three whole days; during which, either through 
indignation or shame, he neither saw nor spoke to Cleopatra. 
At last, when they were arrived at the promontory of Tenarus, 
the queen’s female attendants reconciled them, and every 
thing went on as before. Still, however, he had the conso¬ 
lation to suppose his army continued faithful to him; and 
accordingly dispatched orders to his lieutenant Canidius to 
conduct it into Asia. However, he was soon undeceived. 
When he arrived in Africa, he was informed of their 
submission to his rival. This account so transported him 
with rage, that he was hardly prevented from killing him¬ 
self; but at length, at the entreaty of his friends, he returned 
to Alexandria, in a very different situation from that in which 
he had left it some time before. Cleopatra, however, seemed 
to retain that fortitude in her misfortunes which had utterly 
abandoned her admirer. Having amassed considerable riches 
by means of confiscation and other acts of violence, she 
formed a very singular and unheard of project; this was to 
convey her whole fleet over the isthmus of Suez into the Red 
Sea, and thereby save herself in another region beyond the 
reach of Rome, with all her treasures. Some of her vessels 
were actually transported thither, pursuant to her orders; but 
the Arabians having burnt them, and Antony dissuading 
her from the design, she abandoned it for the more impro¬ 
bable scheme of defending Egypt against the conqueror.—She 
omitted nothing in her power to put his advice in practice, 
and made all kinds of preparations for war; at least hoping 
thereby to obtain better terms from Octavianus. In fact, she 
had always loved Antony’s fortunes rather than his person; 
and if she could have fallen upon a method of saving her¬ 
self, though even at his expense, there is no doubt but she 
would have embraced it with gladness. She even still had 
some hopes from the power of her charms, though she was 
arrived almost at the age of 40; and was desirous of trying 
upon Octavianus those arts which had been so successful with 
the greatest men of Rome. Thus, in three embassies 
which were sent one after another from Antony to his rival 
in Asia, the queen had always her secret agents, charged 
with particular proposals in her name. Antony desired 
no more than that his life might be spared, and to have 
the liberty of passing the remainder of his days in ob¬ 
scurity. To these proposals Octavianus made no re¬ 
ply. Cleopatra sent him also public proposals in fa¬ 
vour of her children; but at the same time privately 
resigned him her crown, with all the ensigns of royalty. 
M E. The Republic. 
To the queen’s public proposal no'answer was given; to her 
private offer he replied, by giving her assurances of his favour 
in case she sent away Antony or put him to death. These 
negociations were not so private but they came to the know¬ 
ledge of Antony, whose jealousy and rage were now height¬ 
ened by every concurrence. He built a small solitary house 
upon a mole in the sea; and there he passed his time, 
shunning all commerce with mankind, and professing to 
imitate Timon the man-hater. However his furious jealousy 
drove him even from this retreat into society; for hearing 
that Cleopatra had many secret conferences with one Thyr¬ 
sus, an emissary from Octavianus, he seized upon him, and 
having ordered him to be cruelly scourged, he sent him 
back to his patron. At the same time he sent letters by him, 
importing, that he had chastised Thyrsus for insulting a 
man in his misfortunes; but withal he gave his rival per¬ 
mission to avenge himself; by scourging Hipparchus, 
Antony’s freeman, in the same manner. The revenge, in 
this case, would have been highly pleasing to Antony, as 
Hipparchus had left him to join the fortunes of his more suc¬ 
cessful rival. 
Meanwhile, the operations of the war were carried vigor¬ 
ously forward, and Egypt was once more the theatre of the 
contending armies of Rome. Gallus, the lieutenant of Octa¬ 
vianus, took Paretonium, which opened the whole country 
to his incursions. On the other side, Antony, who had still 
considerable forces by sea and land, wanted to take that im¬ 
portant place from the enemy. He therefore marched 
towards it, flattering himself, that as soon as he should show 
himself to the legions which he had once commanded, their 
ancient general would revive. He approached therefore, and 
exhorted them to remember their former vows of fidelity. 
Gallus, however, ordered all the trumpets to sound, in order 
to hinder Antony from being heard, so that he was obliged 
to retire. 
Octavianus himself was in the mean time advancing with 
another army before Pelusium, which by its strong situation, 
might have retarded his progress for some time. But the 
governor of the city, either wanting courage to defend it, or 
previously instructed by Cleopatra to give it up, permitted 
him to take possession of the place ; so that Octavianus had 
now no obstacle in his way to Alexandria, whither he 
marched with all expedition. Antony, upon his arrival, 
sallied out to oppose him, fighting with great desperation, 
and putting the enemy’s cavalry to flight. This slight advan¬ 
tage once more revived his declining hopes; and, being 
naturally vain, he re-entered Alexandria in triumph. Then 
going, all armed as he was, to the palace, he embraced 
Cleopatra, and presented her a soldier who had distinguished 
himself in the late engagement. The queen rewarded him 
very magnificently ; presenting him with an head-piece and 
breast-plate of gold. With these, however, the soldier went 
off the next night to the other army. Antony could not bear 
this defection without fresh indignation; he resolved, there¬ 
fore, to make a bold expiring effort by sea and land, but 
previously offered to fight his adversary in single combat. 
Octavianus too well knew the inequality of their situations 
to comply with this forlorn offer; he only, therefore, coolly 
replied, that Antony had ways enough to die besides single 
combat. 
The evening before the day appointed for the last desperate 
attempt, he ordered a grand entertainment to be prepared. 
At day-break he posted the few troops he had remaining 
upon a rising ground near the city: from whence he sent 
orders to his galleys to engage the enemy. There he waited 
to be a spectator of the combat; and, at first, he had the 
satisfaction to see them advance in good order; but his ap¬ 
probation was soon turned into rage, when he saw his ships 
only saluting those of Octavianus, and both fleets uniting 
together, and sailing back into the harbour. At the very 
same time his cavalry deserted him. He tried, however, to 
lead on his infantry; which were easily vanquished, and he 
himself compelled to return into the town. His anger was 
now ungovernable; he could not help crying out aloud 
as 
