y he
caused the ruin of Crassus, who through his confidence and pride in
the first place, and next through his fears and his misfortunes,
became a most easy victim to fraud.

XXII. The barbarian, after persuading Crassus, drew him away from the
river, and led him through the plains by a track at first convenient
and easy, but which soon became toilsome; for it was succeeded by deep
sand, and plains treeless and waterless, not bounded in any direction
by any object that the eye could reach, so that, not only through
thirst and the difficulty of the march, was the army exhausted, but
even the aspect of all around caused the soldiers to despond past all
comfort, seeing neither plant, nor stream, nor top of sloping hill,
nor blade of grass sprouting or rising through the earth, but a bare
sea-like wave of desert heaps of sand environing the army. Now this of
itself made the Romans suspect treachery. Messengers also came from
Artavasdes the Armenian, with a message that he was engaged in a heavy
struggle since Hyrodes had fallen upon him, and that he could not send
Crassus aid; but he advised Crassus above all things to change his
route immediately, and, by joining the Armenians, to bring the contest
with Hyrodes to a close: but, if he would not do this, he recommended
him to advance, and always to avoid encamping in such places as were
adapted for the movements of cavalry, and to keep close to the
mountainous parts: to all which Crassus sent no written answer, but,
under the influence of passion and perverse disposition, he answered,
that he had no leisure at present to deal with the Armenians, but he
would come at another time to punish Artavasdes for his treachery.
Cassius was again much dissatisfied: but he gave over advising
Crassus, who was out of humour with him, though Cassius himself abused
the barbarian. "What evil daemon," he said, "vilest of men, brought you
to us, and by what drugs and witchcraft have you persuaded Crassus to
plunge his army into a boundless wilderness and an abyss, and to
pursue a path more fit for a nomadic chief of robbers than for a Roman
Imperator?" But the barbarian, who was a cunning follow, with abject
servility, prayed him to endure a little longer; and, while running
along with the soldiers and giving them his help, he would jeer at
them in a laughing mood, and say, "I suppose you think that you are
marching through Campania, and you long for the fountains, and
streams, and shades, an