Page:Cicero And The Fall Of The Roman Republic.djvu/366

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324
The Civil War.
[49 B.C.

hurry and confusion that even the money in the Treasury was forgotten and left to fall into Cæsar's hands.

Pompey soon recovered himself and took the only course open to a prudent general under the circumstances. The young men of age to serve throughout Italy had already taken the oath of military allegiance to him, and he now ordered a general levy, and directed that the recruits should concentrate at Canusium and Luceria in Apulia, so that they could fallback on the port of Brundisium. He had full command of the sea, and had collected abundance of transports. His orders however were not obeyed. Domitius Ahenobarbus, who had charge of Picenum and Umbria, in spite of the most urgent commands[1] to march south with every man whom he could raise, chose to believe that he couId make a stand against Cæsar at Corfinium. He had promised[2] to start from thence on the 9th of February, and if he had done so all might have been well. Later on he changed his mind, and announced that he should remain. He seems to have thought that he would force Pompey's hand, and compel him to advance to his support. Pompey, of course, knew better than to expose his raw recruits to Cæsar's veterans. Cæsar cut off Domitius' army at Corfinium, and it surrendered on the 21st of February. Cæsar dismissed the officers, including Domitius and Lentulus Spinther, unharmed, and enlisted the soldiers under his own standard.


  1. Ad Att., viii., 12, A, B and C.
  2. Ad Att., viii., 11, A.