of fun of
him and said: "Who will be our arbitrator, if the compact is transgressed
in any way?" And Caesar did not expect that his demands would receive
compliance, but hoped to inspire his own soldiers with courage and his
opponents with terror by this act.

[B.C. 31 (_a. u._ 723)]

[-10-] As consuls for the next year after this Caesar and Antony had been
appointed at the time when they settled the offices for eight years at
once[59]; and this was the last year of the period: and as Antony had
been deposed,--a fact which I stated,[60]--Valerius Messala, who had once
been proscribed by them,[61] became consul with Caesar. About this time a
madman rushed into the theatre at one of the festivals, seized the crown
of the former Caesar and put it on, whereupon he was torn to pieces by the
bystanders. A wolf that darted into the temple of Fortune was caught and
killed, and at the hippodrome during the very contest of the horses a dog
overpowered and devoured another dog. Fire also consumed a considerable
portion of the hippodrome, the temple of Ceres, another shrine dedicated
to Spes, besides a large number of other structures. The freedmen were
thought to have caused this. All of them who were in Italy and possessed
property worth five myriads[62] or more had been ordered to contribute
an eighth of it. The result was numerous riots, murders, and firing of
buildings on their part, and they were not brought to order until they
were subdued by armed force. After this the freedmen who held any land in
Italy grew frightened and kept quiet: they had been ordered, too, to give
a quarter of their annual income, and though they were on the point of
rebelling against this extortion, they were not bold enough after the
demonstration mentioned to show further insubordination, but reluctantly
made their contribution without disputing the matter. Therefore it was
believed that the fire was due to a plot originated by the freedmen: yet
this did not prevent it from being recorded among the great portents,
because of the number of buildings burned.

[-11-] Disregarding such omens as had appeared to them they neither felt
fear nor displayed less hostility but spent the winter in employing spies
and annoying each other. Caesar had set sail from Brundusium and proceeded
as far as Corcyra, intending to attack the ships near Actium while off
their guard, but he encountered rough weather and received damage which
caused him to withdraw. When s