at affection for Pompeius, and offered him his daughter to wife,
and spoke about it to his friends. Pompeius accepted the proposal, and
an agreement was secretly made between them; but yet the matter did
not fail to be generally known by reason of the partizanship of
Antistius. When at last Antistius declared the votes of the judices to
be for his acquittal, the people, as if a signal had been concerted,
called out the name Talasius,[196] which, pursuant to an old custom,
they are used to utter on the occasion of a marriage. This ancient
custom, they say, had the following origin: When the daughters of the
Sabines had come to Rome to see the games, and the noblest among the
Romans were carrying them off to be their wives, some goatherds and
herdsmen of mean condition took upon their shoulders a tall handsome
maid and were carrying her off. In order, however, that none of the
better sort who might fall in with them should attempt to take the
maid from them, they called out as they ran along that she was for
Talasius (now Talasius was a man of rank and much beloved), so that
those who heard the cry clapped their hands and shouted as being
pleased at what the men were doing and commending them for it. From
this time forth, as the story goes, inasmuch as the marriage of
Talasius turned out to be a happy one, it is usual to utter the same
expression by way of merriment at the occasion of a marriage. This is
the most probable story among those which are told about the name
Talasius. However, a few days after the trial Pompeius married
Antistia.

V. Having gone to Cinna[197] to the camp, Pompeius became alarmed in
consequence of some charge and false accusation, and he quickly stole
out of the way. On his disappearing, a rumour went through the camp
and a report that Cinna had murdered the young man, whereupon the
soldiers, who had long been weary of him and hated their general, made
an assault upon him. Cinna attempted to escape, but he was overtaken
by a centurion, who pursued him with his naked sword. Cinna fell down
at the knees of the centurion, and offered him his seal ring, which
was of great price; but the centurion with great contempt replied: "I
am not going to seal a contract, but to punish an abominable and
unjust tyrant," and so killed him. Cinna thus perished, but he was
succeeded in the direction of affairs by Carbo, a still more furious
tyrant than himself, who kept the power in his hands till Sulla
advanced a