469. Formation of the Second Triumvirate. At first these two leaders were rivals, each posing as the heir and successor of Caesar. By the shrewd policy of Octavius, however, they united their forces, and, to secure the West thoroughly, they took into partnership Lepidus, governor of Gaul and Spain.

The three men got themselves appointed triumvirs by the Senate (43) B.C.). They were given. unlimited power for five years to reorganize the state; and this dictatorship they afterward extended at will.

470. The Proscription.

ce

The union was mented with blood. To their shame, the triumvirs abandoned the merciful policy of Caesar. Their first deed was to get rid of their personal foes in Italy by a horrible proscription. Each marked off on the fatal list those whose deaths an uncle, a brother, or a It was at this time that

he demanded, and each surrendered trusting friend, to the others' hate. Cicero perished, abandoned by his friend Octavius to the hatred of Antonius. More than three thousand victims-all men of high position-were slain. The triumvirate had crushed out all possible opposition in Italy.

1 Note that the term triumvirate is official in this use, while the so-called first triumvirate (§ 443) was an unofficial league, or ring, of public men. The triumvirate of 43 B.C. was a triple dictatorship; just as the ancient decemvirate (§ 314) was a dictatorship of ten men.

471. Final Overthrow of the Oligarchs; Philippi. — Meantime Brutus and Cassius had been rallying the old Pompeian forces in the East. Their army contained troops from Parthia, Armenia, Media, Pontus, and Thrace. Octavius and Antonius marched against them. Again the East and West met in conflict, and again the West won at Philippi in Macedonia (42 B.C.). This was the last time the "Republicans " appeared

in arms.

472. Quarrels of the Triumvirs; Actium. Then Octavius and Antonius set aside Lepidus and divided the Roman world between themselves. Soon each was plotting for the other's share. The East had fallen to Antonius. There he became infatuated with the licentious Cleopatra of Egypt, until he lost care even for his military fame and sank into sensual indolence, with only fitful gleams of his old energy.

Octavius was preparing to take advantage of this condition, when a pretext was made ready to his hand. Antonius bestowed rich provinces upon Cleopatra, and, it was rumored, planned to supplant Rome by Alexandria as chief capital. The West turned to Octavius as its champion. The Roman Senate declared war against Antonius, and, in 31, the rivals met in the naval battle of Actium off the west coast of Greece. This was the third of the decisive battles in the establishment of the empire: and, like Pharsalus and Philippi, it also was a victory for the West over the East.1

III. OCTAVIUS AUGUSTUS, 31 B.C.-14 A.D.

473. Final Establishment of the Empire; Republican Forms. Actium made Octavius sole master of the Roman world. He proceeded to the East to restore order and to annex Egypt, which now became a Roman province. On his return to Rome, in 29 B.C., the gates of the Temple of Janus were

1 Special reports: story of the battle of Actium; death of Antonius and of Cleopatra.

closed, in token of the reign of peace. He declared a general amnesty, and thereafter welcomed to favor and public office the followers of his old enemies; and, by prudent and generous measures, he soon brought back prosperity to long-distracted Italy.

In 27, Octavius laid down his office of triumvir (which had become a sole dictatorship), and declared the Republic restored. The act really showed that he was absolute master and that the Empire was safely established. To be sure, Octavius himself wrote (Monumentum, xxxiv): "After that time I excelled all others in dignity, but of power I held no more than those who were my colleagues in any magistracy." And indeed Republican forms were respected as scrupulously as conditions would permit. The Senate deliberated; the Assembly met to elect consuls and the other officers of the old constitution. But, even in form, the Senate at once gave back to Octavius his most important authority in various ways, and, in reality, supreme power lay in his hands as Imperator, master of the legions. This office and title Octavius kept, and the Senate now added to it the new title Augustus, which had before been used only of the gods. It is by this name that he is thenceforth known in history.

Augustus, however, carefully refused the forms and pomp of monarchy. He lived more simply than many a noble, and walked the streets like any citizen, charming all by his frank

1 These gates were always open when the Romans were engaged in any war. In all Roman history, they had been closed only twice before, and one of these times was in the legendary reign of King Numa.

2 See References, page 457.

8 Cf. § 497, and see an excellent statement in Pelham, 407–409.

4 Octavius, however, was so intrenched in popular favor that he did not need open support from the army. The legions were stationed mostly on the frontiers, far from Italy. Octavius did create a body of city troops, ten thousand in number, the praetorian guards, to preserve order at Rome; but during his rule even these guards were encamped outside the city.

5 For Augustus' "official version" of his political conduct, see the extract in Munro's Source Book, 144-145. The student must be on his guard in reading such 'sources": Augustus' account is true to the letter, not to the spirit.

courtesy. He preferred to all his other titles the name of honor, Princeps (Prince), which was popularly conferred upon him and which signified "the first citizen" of the Republic. 474. The Character of Augustus. In his early career Augustus had proven himself able, adroit, unscrupulous, coldblooded. He had shrunk from no cruelty, and had been moved by no passion. But absolute power, which often drives small men to frenzy, warmed this cold, unlovely schemer into something akin to greatness. He laid aside his first position as chief of a party, to become an impartial and faithful ruler. He took up the work of the great Julius, though with a more cautious spirit; and the remaining forty years of his life he gave to unremitting toil in strengthening the Empire and in improving the condition of the people throughout the Roman world.

475. The Augustan Age. Augustus extended the boundaries of the empire, especially on the north, to secure safer frontiers (§ 507). But his chief work lay in internal organization. He organized the administration of the capital. A police department, a fire department, and a department for the distribution of grain, each under its proper head, were created, and the work of founding colonies outside Italy was renewed on a large scale. In like manner, the material needs of Italy and the provinces received careful attention. Throughout the empire, peace reigned. Order was every where established. Industry revived and throve. Marshes were drained. Roads were built. A postal system was organized. A great census of the whole empire was carried out. The number of citizens was increased by about one fifth, and many important public works were carried through.

Above all, out of the long century of anarchy, Augustus reared a new structure of imperial government (§§ 496-499), building so firmly that even his death did not shake his work. For three centuries (until the time of Diocletian, § 549)

1 Read Capes, Early Empire, 6–9.

his successors for the most part followed his general policy in

government.

Augustus was also a generous and ardent patron of literature

and art, and the many famous writers of his reign (§ 526) gave splendor to his memory. In the history of Latin literature,

1 In this patronage Augustus was imitated by many great nobles and especially by his minister Maecenas, whose fame in this respect outshines even that of his master. Maecenas was the particular friend and patron of Vergil and Horace.