Part 106 (1/2)
”If he did, we could stab hier, which appeared glearaving on its blade
Antony looked appalled ”No,” he said ”I swear that if my brother Triuht, I would welcome him and treat him courteously”
Yes, he probably would That was both his flaw and his nobility
”I don't think he's likely to show up,” said Canidius ”For one thing, we didn't invite hi any spies in our camp to tell him”
The first of the dishes, bass cooked in wine and thyht frohest-ranking, and the fish was ladled out onto theold knives and spoons, as well as cups Always carry a liold service with you, was my motto
Ahenobarbus, seated beside Aer ”You may sheath that now,” he said coldly Ahenobarbus did not care for most of our allies, and did not bother to hide it ”I trust your horses allhis wine ”It is a long way from Galatia, especially with two thousand horses”
”It was difficult,” said Amyntas ”But now they are here I trust they will be able to eat well enough Little grows here, even for horses Only goats can find anything tasty on the hillsides”
Amyntas was reported a most skillful horseman
”I hope you will show me your favorite horse,” I told hi the best, whether it was a ave a thin-lipped smile
Beside Canidius, the blocky Deiotarus had heaped his platter so full there was no roohed and passed hi, silently
”Do you have the sado the southern coast of the Black Sea
”Eh?” He looked up sharply, his mouth full
I realized his Greek was probably shaky So I switched to Syriac instead, but he did not understand that/ I had better luck with Aramaic when I repeated the question
”Oh yes,” he said ”And many more besides; we have the best fish in the world” He chewed ”Turbot, bluefish, tuna!” His eyes lit up ”Mackerel, and--anchovy!”
He had also contributed cavalry, but not ly, and there was ample room on his platter for the honey-roasted duck that followed the prawns He indulged in a bitof forces,” he said ”I salute you I feel re at the outpost of Zacynthus when the action will be here”
”But it is of vital importance that we keep Zacynthus and its channel in our hands, after having lost Methone,” I assured him And it was
The kindly admiral smiled and said, ”We will keep it”
Across fro nervously at the pieces of duck, holding the crisp shreds in his long, bony fingers The way his wrists stuck out of his shi+ny bejeweled sleeves like serpents e from a dark cave, and his eyes, so close-set in his narrow face that they looked slightly crossed, all strengthened my first impression of hiue dart out of his mouth as he savored the duck Even his robe was banded and mottled, albeit in silk and jewels
”How ht?” I asked
”shi+ps,” he said ”I have brought shi+ps Twenty of them”
Yes, of course His country had tall timbers But it was not on the sea, and had no history of sailing The famous pirates were from a different part of Cilicia I wondered how competent his shi+ps could be
”Wonderful,” I said
Next to hi the polite conversation at which he excelled I watched hi the first time I had met him, when Antony had sent him to summon me to Tarsus His famous charm had failed him then, but never since Antony employed hily on hi history of the ca as facts would perot used to them now
He lifted his cup and drank to ”the Consuls,” nodding toward the Octavian seat Antony laughed and drank with him
Across from Dellius sat Iamblichus, a prince from the remote Arabian peninsula He looked lost I wondered if he had brought a corps of camels But they would be of little use here
”So it is to be a land war,” Canidius said sly to Ahenobarbus ”In a few days ill be ready for our attack”
”It's foolish not to wait for the other squadrons and use the fleet,” insisted Ahenobarbus ”And we ht ask ourselves ill happen to the Republic when all this is over Haven't aited long enough for its restoration?”
Not this Republic talk again! Antony hadto restore the Republic, and Octavian was claih about the Republic--it was beside the point!
”Antony will restore the Republic,” said Canidius
”Not with her her by his side,” said Ahenobarbus Yes, he actually said that out loud ”She makes his position impossible” by his side,” said Ahenobarbus Yes, he actually said that out loud ”She ed ”I am a commander, and my job is to win battles with theelse” He looked hard at Ahenobarbus ”I suggest you concentrate on your shi+ps and let the rest sort itself out later It always does”
Ahenobarbus looked shocked ”What, don't you care? Don't you care what sort of government you live under? Have you become a slave, a slave like-- like--”
”Stop before you say anything further,” said Canidius ”I ue”
Gru, Ahenobarbus took an enormous sine, as if to drown his oords He sawa few feet back was a server, littlepieces of food froht no one saw hiraciously proffer the platter to the next guest Heto one of the wo as well as resourceful
That's right, I thought, grab what's passing and take it for yourself if you need it Perhaps I would employ him; he had pro He held up his hands, and silence fell instantly over the company Above his purple cloak his well- V
”My friends, allies, co of our ht, I must tell you what I would have you know” He looked around at the throng, gathered from Italy in the west to Arabia in the east ”All is prepared, all is in readiness!” he cried, and a cheer went up ”And in such a varied arht the war skills of your own country, htier than each of its parts We have hoplites, cavalry, slingers, archers, mounted archers, catapults, most of which are not to be found in the eneold pitcher, brandishi+ng it to show our wealth ”Our enemy is poor and out of funds He had to extortpeople, which had the effect ofthem prefer us! We, on the other hand, have each contributed so that no one land feels the burden”
Well, that wasthe funds to support the army and the fleet I suppose he felt his wife didn't count, ”And then we must consider another factor I do not wish to speak of myself, but in this case the discrepancy betweenNow I realize that you are the sort of soldiers that can win even without a good leader, but how ood one! And I may say, I could prevail even with poor soldiers But with you I can do ether we can triue when co hampered neither by the rashness of youth nor by the slackness of old age”
The coed it and continued ” ”I have spent , frohest Imperator I have known fear, and I have known confidence; thereby I have schooledtoo readily, and through the other, not to venture on any hazard too heedlessly I have known good fortune, I have known failure; consequently I am able to avoid both despair and excess of pride”
Now the cheers broke out in earnest As a soldier, Antony had no living equal
”I stress this not to boast, but because you should realize how reatest lack--greater even than their lack of funds, their lack of diversity of equipment, their lack of numbers--is in their leader”
He paused and indicated the eeneral I do not need to speak, but I can su what you already know: he is a veritable weakling in body and has never by himself been the victor in any important battle either on the land or on sea”
A hush descended on the rooainst the very saed to be defeated while I conquered As he was raciously permitted hirippa had entered the picture, it had changed Even Octavian had realized he could not win alone, and so he had remedied the situation in his practical manner
”Now, as to the two forces: Our navy is impervious to theirs, because there is no way they can inflict dah, and will carry archers and slingers to sink any who dare coainst sextus, but it was slaves and pirates with poor equipainst And even then, sextus beat Octavian soundly first So remember that”