to a civil war, and in the meantime were well pleased to have all sides bidding for their support. Antony, as may be supposed, was not behindhand with promises. "I have three strong legions," writes Pollio;[1] "one of them, the 28th, was solicited by Antony at the beginning of the war with the promise of a donation of 500 denarii[2] to each soldier on the day they arrived in camp, and in case of victory the same rewards as to his own troops, and these no one supposes will be other than unlimited. The troops were most eager to go, and I kept them in check with much difficulty. . . . The other legions were also constantly tempted by letters and boundless promises." It was in vain for Cicero to propose votes of honour in the Senate for the veterans, and to pledge the State to reward them; their instinct told them that more was to be hoped from a usurper than from the Republic.[3]
The temper of the veterans determined the action of Octavian. Claiming as he did to be Cæsar's heir, he was obliged to satisfy the opinion of the army by avenging his father's death, and could not sincerely desire the restoration of the Republic, in which the men who had killed the Dictator would hold a chief place. From a Cæsarian point of view there was reason in the reproaches which Antony addressed to his young rival.[4] "Boy! you who owe your all to
