Book 2
8.54
The whole army cried out with enthusiasm that he should lead on. Caesar at once led, from the platform to the seashore, five legions of foot-soldiers and 600 chosen horse, but as a storm came up he was obliged to cast anchor. It was now the winter solstice and the wind kept him back, against his will, and held him in Brundusium, to his great disappointment, until the first day of the new Y.R. 706 year.Caesar says that he sailed on the fourth day of January. In the meantime two more legions arrived and B.C. 48 Caesar embarked these also and started in the winter time on merchant ships, for he had only a few war-ships and these were guarding Sardinia and Sicily. The ships were driven by the winds to the Ceraunian Mountains and Caesar sent them back immediately to bring the rest of the army.Caesar tells of another effort which he made for peace by sending Vibullius Rufus to Pompey with a proposal that both should disband their armies within three days. Pompey refused to discuss the proposal, saying: Of what use to me is life or citizenship if I shall seem to owe them to the benefaction of Caesar, a belief which will never be erased if it is supposed that I am thus brought back to Italy from which I departed. (iii. 10-18.) He then marched by night against the town of Oricum by a rough and narrow path, with his force divided in several parts on account of the difficulties of the road, so that if his army had been anticipated he might have been easily beaten. With much trouble he got his detachments together about daylight and the commander of the garrison of Oricum, having been forbidden by the townsmen to oppose the entrance of a Roman consul, delivered the keys of the place to Caesar and remained with him in a position of honor. Lucretius and Minucius, who were on the other side of Oricum with eighteen war-ships guarding merchant ships loaded with corn for Pompey, sunk the latter to prevent them from falling into Caesar’s hands, and fled to Dyrrachium. From Oricum Caesar hastened to Apollonia,The modern Pollina. It was situated on the southern border of Illyria. The Egnatian Way, the Roman military road to Macedonia and the East, ran from Apollonia and Dyrrachium to Thessalonica. (Strabo, vii. 7, 4.) the inhabitants of which received him. Straberius, the commander of the garrison, abandoned the city.
