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[81] When Pompey saw the retreat of his men he became dazed and retired slowly to his camp, and when he reached his tent he sat down speechless,¹ resembling Ajax, the son of Telamon, who, they say, suffered in like manner in the midst of his enemies at Troy, being deprived of his senses by a god. Very few of the rest returned to the camp, for Caesar’s proclamation caused them to remain unharmed, and as their enemies had passed beyond them they dispersed in groups. As the day was declining Caesar ran hither and thither among his troops and besought them to continue their exertions till they should capture Pompey’s

JULIUS CAeSAR AS IMPERATOR

In the Palace of the Conservators, Rome

camp, telling them that if they allowed the enemy to rally they would be the victors for only a single day, whereas if they should take the enemy’s camp they would finish the war with this one blow. He stretched out his hands to them and took the lead in person. Although they were weary in body, the words and example of their commander lightened their spirits. Their success so far, and the hope of capturing the enemy’s camp and the contents thereof, excited them; for in the midst of hope and prosperity men feel fatigue least. So they fell upon the camp and assaulted it with the utmost disdain for the defenders. When Pompey learned this he started up from his strange silence, exclaiming, What! in our very camp? Having spoken thus he changed his clothing, mounted a horse, and fled with four friends, and did not draw rein until he reached Larissa early the next morning. So Caesar established himself in Pompey’s camp as he had promised to do when he was preparing for the battle, and ate Pompey’s supper, and the whole army feasted at the enemy’s expense.²

Civil Wars. Appian of Alexandria. Horace White (Translator). New York. 1899.

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Current edition Perseus

The Roman History: The Civil Wars (English) (Appianus. The Roman History of Appian of Alexandria, Volume 2: The Civil Wars. White, Horace, translator. New York: The Macmillan Company. London: Macmillan and Co. Ltd. 1899.)

Editions (1)

Ἐμφυλίων Πρώτη Perseus (Appianus. Appiani Historia Romana, Volume 2. Mendelssohn, Ludwig, editor. Leipzig: Teubner, 1881.) — 2.11.81 focus

[81] Πομπήιος δʼ ἐπεὶ τὴν τροπὴν εἶδεν, ἔκφρων αὑτοῦ γενόμενος ἀπῄει βάδην ἐς τὸ στρατόπεδον καὶ παρελθὼν ἐς τὴν σκηνὴν ἐκαθέζετο ἄναυδος, οἷόν τι καὶ τὸν Τελαμῶνος Αἴαντά φασιν ἐν Ἰλίῳ παθεῖν, ἐν μέσοις πολεμίοις ὑπὸ θεοβλαβείας. τῶν δʼ ἄλλων ὀλίγοι πάνυ ἐσῄεσαν ἐς τὸ στρατόπεδον· τὸ γὰρ κήρυγμα τοῦ Καίσαρος ἑστάναι τε ἀκινδύνως ἐποίει, καὶ παραδραμόντων τῶν πολεμίων διεσκίδνη κατὰ μέρος. ληγούσης δὲ τῆς ἡμέρας ὁ Καῖσαρ τὸν στρατὸν ἀσχέτως που περιθέων ἱκέτευε προσπονῆσαι, μέχρι καὶ τὸν χάρακα τοῦ Πομπηίου λάβοιεν, ἐκδιδάσκων, ὅτι, εἰ συσταῖεν αὖθις οἱ πολέμιοι, μίαν ἡμέραν ἔσονται νενικηκότες, εἰ δὲ τὸ στρατόπεδον αὐτῶν ἕλοιεν, τὸν πόλεμον ἑνὶ τῷδε ἔργῳ κατωρθωκότες ἂν εἶεν. τάς τε οὖν χεῖρας αὐτοῖς ὤρεγε καὶ πρῶτος ἐξῆρχε δρόμου. τοῖς δὲ τὰ μὲν σώματα ἔκαμνε, τὴν δὲ ψυχὴν ὅ τε λογισμὸς καὶ ὁ αὐτοκράτωρ συντρέχων ἐκούφιζεν. ᾐώρει δὲ καὶ ἡ τῶν γεγονότων εὐπραξία καὶ ἐλπίς, ὅτι καὶ τὸν χάρακα αἱρήσουσι καὶ πολλὰ τὰ ἐν αὐτῷ· ἥκιστα δʼ ἐν ἐλπίσιν ἢ εὐτυχίαις ἄνθρωποι καμάτων αἰσθάνονται. οἱ μὲν δὴ καὶ τῷδε προσπεσόντες ἐπεχείρουν σὺν πολλῇ πρὸς τοὺς ἀπομαχομένους καταφρονήσει, ὁ δὲ Πομπήιος μαθὼν ἐξ ἀλλοκότου σιωπῆς τοσοῦτον ἀπέρρηξεν· οὐκοῦν καὶ ἐπὶ τὸν χάρακα ἡμῶν; καὶ εἰπὼν τήν τε στολὴν ἐνήλλαξε καὶ ἵππου ἐπιβὰς σὺν φίλοις τέσσαρσιν οὐκ ἀνέσχε δρόμου, πρὶν ἀρχομένης ἡμέρας ἐν Λαρίσσῃ γενέσθαι. ὁ δὲ Καῖσαρ, ὡς ἐπηπείλησε παρατάσσων, ἐν τῷ Πομπηίου χάρακι ἐστάθμευσε, καὶ αὐτός τε τὴν ἐκείνου βρώμην καὶ ὁ στρατὸς ἅπας τὴν τῶν πολεμίων ἐδαίσαντο.

Notes on the current edition

Civil Wars

1. There is a striking similarity here both in language and narrative, between Appian and Plutarch. The former says:

Πομπήϊος ἀπῄει βάδην ἐς τὸ στρατόπεδον καὶ παρελθὼν ἐς τὴν σκηνὴν ἐκαθέζετο ἄναυδος.

The latter ( Life of Pompey, 72) says:

ἀπῄει βάδην εἰς τὸν χάρακα . . . εἰς τὴν σκηνὴν παρελθὼν ἄφθογγος καθῆστο.

Here is fresh confirmation of the belief that both Appian and Plutarch drew from a Greek, not from a Latin, source, for if they had translated from Latin it is most improbable that they would have used the same Greek words, in the same, or very nearly the same, order. Moreover, both of them make reference here to the Iliad xi. 543, where Ajax Telamon is smitten with panic by Zeus in the midst of battle. Plutarch quotes the passage itself.

2. Plutarch’s account of Pompey’s flight is in nearly the same words, viz: He sat in silence until some of those who were pursuing the fugitives rushed in with them, when he uttered the single sentence: What! in our very camp? He spoke not another word, but put on clothing suited to his present fortune and stole away. ( Life of Pompey, 72.) Caesar says: When our men forced their way into his intrenchment Pompey threw off his general’s uniform, mounted a horse, went out by the rear gate of his camp and urged his horse with all speed to Larissa. Nor did he stop there, but with the same speed, having collected a few of his scattered soldiers, still travelling by night, with a company of thirty horsemen, he pushed on to the sea where he embarked on a supply ship, etc. (iii. 96.)

Appian of Alexandria Civil Wars 2.11.81

Horace White (Translator)

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