The sun., 1908-12-06

NJ ~ n
which began IN he spring Of ,. o. se.
was naturally watched vita anxiety
BY OctavianuS and his party. In Italy.
Throughout the summer Ootavianus and
his friendS- offered great public sacrifices
to the gods for the succNas OF the Roman
arms. but they must havS seccetly .longed
that Antony's army might be swallowed
up like that Of Craasus. Antony's tri-
umph would make him master .of the
situation. Octavian's secret Wishes were
but half fulfilled. More fortunate than
Crassus. Antony escaped DESTRUCTION at
the hands Of the Parthians, but hi Ettempt
at the conquest OF Persis proved e feilHre
After . prolonged siege on the Median
capital he was Obliged torytreat vtthont
touching the actual TERRITORY Of Pafthia,
The only clear narTattye lot tlISs var.
Plutarch's. 10 extremely brief and does
not enable our author to decide whether
Cesar had been mistaken In his estimate
OF the Parthian power or whether Antony
mismanaged the inherited plan Of cam
paign. One thing, however 10 patent
10 Ferrero: "The fact that octavianua
became Augustus was due much more
TO the Parthians than to his genius. The
retreat from Media meant for Antony
what the retreat from Ruesia meant for
Napoleon; IL marked the beginning Of
his DOWNFALL Antony himself speedily
realized that his reputation could only
be restored by some brilliant exploit
to counterbalance this initial check; but
the inconsistent nature Of his policy now
became pronounced and endangered his
position.
OF this fatal Inconsistency octavianus
took advantage by sending Antony a
detachment OF troops for the ostensible
purpose Of making good the losses in
Cured In the Persian war. These troops
he placed under the guidance Of his sister
Octavia. Antony's wife. Under the cir
cumstances Antony would be forced
to acknowledge which woman was his
legal wife. and the dilemma was the more
embarrassing because at the same time
the demands Of Cleopatra became more
urgent. In B. c. Sc Cleopatra had acqui-
esced in an almost clandestine marriage
for the reason that she had not then been
able TO seoure any further concession,
but her intelligence comprehended that
II second expedition against Persia
should be successful Antony would break
OF his alliance with her and become rec
onciled to 0ctavia at the expense OF
Egypt; he must therefore be forced TO
accept the official position Of King OF
Egypt and to divorce Octavia. Antony's
confidence in the success Of Cesar's plan
OF campaign against the Parthians was
no longer absolute. and the foundation
Of new dynasty in an aggrandized
| Egyptian empire seemed to him an OK
plot which might we'll compensate for
the conquest OF Persia.
In the end Cleopatra had her way.
! During the autumn Of b. C. 81 Antony
made great territorial concessions to
Egypt, known as the Donations Of Alex
andria,' and in the spring Of B. C. 81 he
sent letters Of divorce TO Octavia at Rome.
The divorce OF Octavia inevitably pro-
voked war between the two Triumvirs.
In the spring OF B. c. 81 their two armies
were encamped upon the shores Of the
Bay Of Actium and the two fleets nearly
faced one another. The spring and part
Of the summer. however. were passed in
an almost complete inactivity. which was
surprising on the part OF Antony, who
commanded superior forces and from
whom a vigorous offensive was expected
At the end Of August il was reported that
Antony meant 70 withdraw his army to
Egypt without fighting q serious battle;
he would pretend to give battle by eea to
cover his retreat, but he had resolved to
return to Egypt with Cleopatra. Our
author believes this report TO have been
we'll founded. Repeated delays. indeed.
had led Octavianus to suspect that An
tony had no intention Of attacking but
wished merely to retreat. Ferrero holds
that Admiral Jurien dc la Graviere and
Herr Rromayer have proved this TO have
been really his purpose. But why should
Antony wish to retire without fighting
when his army and his feet were more
powerful than those OF his rival! Tho
historian Dion says that the project Of
this retreat was inspired by Cleopatra.
But again We arc constrained TO ask why
Cleopatra. who was with him the preced-
ing year and had then expended her encr-
gies in promoting a war between the
Triumvirs, should have como in the
course Of 81 B. c. to oppose the continua-
ton OF hostilities?
This question 10 answered by Ferrero
as follows: Cleopatra had insisted upon
the divorce OF Octavia In order to COM
promise Antony and make impossible
any repeal Of the Donations Of Alex
andria.' when this object had been
attained what further interest had she
in tho continuation OF the war; II An
tony we're distinctly defeated the down.
fall Of the Egyptian empire was newt
able. On the other hand. II Antony
were triumphant he would be master
Of the Roman world. would have no fur
ther need Of the Egyptian alliance and
would be obliged to reenter Italy and
establish himself at Rome. Would he
be able to resist the persuasions Of his
Roman friends. over whom Cieopatra's .
influence was small. the enthusiasm OF
the soldiers. the appeals Of Italy and the
Senate?'
In a word. while defeat meant Antony's
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