第 18 节
作者:点绛唇      更新:2021-02-21 16:25      字数:9321
  farmers。 Eventually it made the greater part of the Roman
  citizens into professional beggars。
  He established colonies of destitute people in distant parts
  of the empire; but these settlements failed to attract the right
  sort of people。 Before Gaius Gracchus could do more harm he
  too was murdered and his followers were either killed or exiled。
  The first two reformers had been gentlemen。 The two who
  came after were of a very different stamp。 They were
  professional soldiers。 One was called Marius。 The name of the
  other was Sulla。 Both enjoyed a large personal following。
  Sulla was the leader of the landowners。 Marius; the victor
  in a great battle at the foot of the Alps when the Teutons
  and the Cimbri had been annihilated; was the popular hero
  of the disinherited freemen。
  Now it happened in the year 88 B。C。 that the Senate of
  Rome was greatly disturbed by rumours that came from Asia。
  Mithridates; king of a country along the shores of the Black
  Sea; and a Greek on his mother's side; had seen the possibility
  of establishing a second Alexandrian Empire。 He began his
  campaign for world…domination with the murder of all Roman
  citizens who happened to be in Asia Minor; men; women and
  children。 Such an act; of course; meant war。 The Senate
  equipped an army to march against the King of Pontus and
  punish him for his crime。 But who was to be commander…in…
  chief? ‘‘Sulla;'' said the Senate; ‘‘because he is Consul。''
  ‘‘Marius;'' said the mob; ‘‘because he has been Consul five times
  and because he is the champion of our rights。''
  Possession is nine points of the law。 Sulla happened to be
  in actual command of the army。 He went west to defeat
  Mithridates and Marius fled to Africa。 There he waited
  until he heard that Sulla had crossed into Asia。 He then
  returned to Italy; gathered a motley crew of malcontents;
  marched on Rome and entered the city with his professional
  highwaymen; spent five days and five nights; slaughtering the
  enemies of the Senatorial party; got himself elected Consul and
  promptly died from the excitement of the last fortnight。
  There followed four years of disorder。 Then Sulla; having
  defeated Mithridates; announced that he was ready to return
  to Rome and settle a few old scores of his own。 He was as
  good as his word。 For weeks his soldiers were busy executing
  those of their fellow citizens who were suspected of democratic
  sympathies。 One day they got hold of a young fellow who
  had been often seen in the company of Marius。 They were
  going to hang him when some one interfered。 ‘‘The boy is too
  young;'' he said; and they let him go。 His name was Julius
  Caesar。 You shall meet him again on the next page。
  As for Sulla; he became ‘‘Dictator;'' which meant sole and
  supreme ruler of all the Roman possessions。 He ruled Rome
  for four years; and he died quietly in his bed; having spent the
  last year of his life tenderly raising his cabbages; as was the
  custom of so many Romans who had spent a lifetime killing
  their fellow…men。
  But conditions did not grow better。 On the contrary; they
  grew worse。 Another general; Gnaeus Pompeius; or Pompey;
  a close friend of Sulla; went east to renew the war against the
  ever troublesome Mithridates。 He drove that energetic potentate
  into the mountains where Mithridates took poison and
  killed himself; well knowing what fate awaited him as a Roman
  captive。 Next he re…established the authority of Rome over
  Syria; destroyed Jerusalem; roamed through western Asia;
  trying to revive the myth of Alexander the Great; and at last
  (in the year 62) returned to Rome with a dozen ship…loads of
  defeated Kings and Princes and Generals; all of whom were
  forced to march in the triumphal procession of this enormously
  popular Roman who presented his city with the sum of forty
  million dollars in plunder。
  It was necessary that the government of Rome be placed
  in the hands of a strong man。 Only a few months before; the
  town had almost fallen into the hands of a good…for…nothing
  young aristocrat by the name of Catiline; who had gambled
  away his money and hoped to reimburse himself for his losses by
  a little plundering。 Cicero; a public…spirited lawyer; had discovered
  the plot; had warned the Senate; and had forced Catiline
  to flee。 But there were other young men with similar ambitions
  and it was no time for idle talk。
  Pompey organised a triumvirate which was to take charge
  of affairs。 He became the leader of this Vigilante Committee。
  Gaius Julius Caesar; who had made a reputation for himself
  as governor of Spain; was the second in command。 The
  third was an indifferent sort of person by the name of Crassus。
  He had been elected because he was incredibly rich; having been
  a successful contractor of war supplies。 He soon went upon
  an expedition against the Parthians and was killed。
  As for Caesar; who was by far the ablest of the three; he
  decided that he needed a little more military glory to become
  a popular hero。 He crossed the Alps and conquered that part
  of the world which is now called France。 Then he hammered
  a solid wooden bridge across the Rhine and invaded the land
  of the wild Teutons。 Finally he took ship and visited England。
  Heaven knows where he might have ended if he had not been
  forced to return to Italy。 Pompey; so he was informed; had
  been appointed dictator for life。 This of course meant that
  Caesar was to be placed on the list of the ‘‘retired officers;'' and
  the idea did not appeal to him。 He remembered that he had
  begun life as a follower of Marius。 He decided to teach the
  Senators and their ‘‘dictator'' another lesson。 He crossed the
  Rubicon River which separated the province of Cis…alpine Gaul
  from Italy。 Everywhere he was received as the ‘‘friend of the
  people。'' Without difficulty Caesar entered Rome and Pompey
  fled to Greece Caesar followed him and defeated his followers
  near Pharsalus。 Pompey sailed across the Mediterranean and
  escaped to Egypt。 When he landed he was murdered by order
  of young king Ptolemy。 A few days later Caesar arrived。
  He found himself caught in a trap。 Both the Egyptians and
  the Roman garrison which had remained faithful to Pompey;
  attacked his camp。
  Fortune was with Caesar。 He succeeded in setting fire to
  the Egyptian fleet。 Incidentally the sparks of the burning
  vessels fell on the roof of the famous library of Alexandria
  (which was just off the water front;) and destroyed it。 Next
  he attacked the Egyptian army; drove the soldiers into the
  Nile; drowned Ptolemy; and established a new government
  under Cleopatra; the sister of the late king。 Just then word
  reached him that Pharnaces; the son and heir of Mithridates;
  had gone on the war…path。 Caesar marched northward; defeated
  Pharnaces in a war which lasted five days; sent word of
  his victory to Rome in the famous sentence ‘‘veni; vidi; vici;''
  which is Latin for ‘‘I came; I saw; I conquered;'' and returned
  to Egypt where he fell desperately in love with Cleopatra; who
  followed him to Rome when he returned to take charge of the
  government; in the year 46。 He marched at the head of not
  less than four different victory…parades; having won four
  different campaigns。
  Then Caesar appeared in the Senate to report upon his
  adventures; and the grateful Senate made him ‘‘dictator'' for
  ten years。 It was a fatal step。
  The new dictator made serious attempts to reform the
  Roman state。 He made it possible for freemen to become
  members of the Senate。 He conferred the rights of citizenship
  upon distant communities as had been done in the early days
  of Roman history。 He permitted ‘‘foreigners'' to exercise
  influence upon the government。 He reformed the administration
  of the distant provinces which certain aristocratic families
  had come to regard as their private possessions。 In short he
  did many things for the good of the majority of the people but
  which made him thoroughly unpopular with the most powerful
  men in the state。 Half a hundred young aristocrats formed a
  plot ‘‘to save the Republic。'' On the Ides of March (the fifteenth
  of March according to that new calendar which Caesar
  had brought with him from Egypt) Caesar was murdered when
  he entered the Senate。 Once more Rome was without a master。
  There were two men who tried to continue the tradition of
  Caesar's glory。 One was Antony; his former secretary。 The
  other was Octavian; Caesar's grand…nephew and heir to his
  estate。 Octavian remained in Rome; but Antony went to Egypt
  to be near Cleopatra with whom he too had fallen in love; as
  seems to have been the habit of Roman generals。
  A war broke out between the two。 In the battle of Actium;
  Octavian defeated Antony。 Antony killed himself and
  Cleopatra was left alone to face the enemy。 She tried very
  hard to make Octavian her third Roman conquest。 When she
  saw that she could make no impression upon this very proud
  aristocrat; she killed herself; and Egypt