. After they had divided the empire among themselves it
was impossible to preserve harmony and war was undertaken in Italy. It
was the soldiers who compelled them to make terms of peace. A new
partition was made; Antony took the East and Octavian the West (39).
For some years peace was preserved; Antony resigned himself to the
life of an oriental sovereign in company with Cleopatra, queen of
Egypt; Octavian found it necessary to fight a campaign against the
sons of Pompey. The two leaders came at last to an open breach, and
then flamed up the last of the civil wars. This was a war between the
East and West. It was decided by the naval battle of Actium; Antony,
abandoned by the fleet of Cleopatra, fled to Egypt and took his own
life. Octavian, left alone, was absolute master of the empire. The
government of the Senate was at an end.

=Need of Peace.=--Everybody had suffered by these wars. The
inhabitants of the provinces were plundered, harassed, and massacred
by the soldiers; each of the hostile generals forced them to take
sides with him, and the victor punished them for supporting the
vanquished. To reward the old soldiers the generals promised them
lands, and then expelled all the inhabitants of a city to make room
for the veterans.

Rich Romans risked their property and their life; when their party was
overthrown, they found themselves at the mercy of the victor. Sulla
had set the example for organized massacres (81). Forty years later
(in 43) Octavian and Antony again drew up lists of proscription.

The populace suffered. The grain on which they lived came no longer to
Rome with the former regularity, being intercepted either by pirates
or by the fleet of an enemy.

After a century of this regime all the Romans and provincials, rich
and poor, had but one desire--peace.

=The Power of the Individual.=--It was then that the heir of Caesar,
his nephew[144] Octavian, one of the triumvirs, after having conquered
his two colleagues presented himself to the people now wearied with
civil discord. "He drew to himself all the powers of the people, of
the Senate, and of the magistrates;" for twelve years he was emperor
without having the title. No one dreamed of resisting him; he had
closed the temple of Janus and given peace to the world, and this was
what everybody wished. The government of the republic by the Senate
represented only pillage and civil war. A master was needed strong
enough to stop the wars and revolut