Page:Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology (1870) - Volume 1.djvu/893

CRASSUS. was noted for envy, but his envy was low and cavilling : it was not energetic enough to be cruel and revengeful, even when successful, and it was so far under the control of pusillanimity and self- interest, as to abstain from the open opposition of manly hatred. It was with such feelings that Crassus regarded Pompey ; and Sulla played off the rivals against each other. He understood his tools. He gratified Pompey by external marks of honour, and Crassus with gold. The ruling pas- sion of Crassus was avarice, and to repair and increase the fortunes of his family he was willing to submit to servile dependence, to encounter any risk, and undergo any hardship. He undertook a service of considerable danger in levying troops for Sulla among the Marsi, and he afterwards (b. c. 83) distinguished himself in a successful campaign in Umbria. He was personally brave, and, by fighting against the remains of the Marian faction, he was avenging the wrongs of his house. Sulla put him in mind of this, and rewarded him by donations of confiscated property, or by allow- ing him to purchase at an almost nominal value the estates of those who were proscribed. Crassus was reported to have sought for gain by dishonest means. He was accused of unduly appropriating the booty taken at Tuder (an Umbrian colony not far from the Tiber), and of placing, without autho- rity, a name in the proscribed lists, in order that he might succeed to an inheritance. The desire of wealth which absorbed Crassus was neither the self-sufficing love of possession, which enables the raiser to despise the hiss of the people while he contemplates the coin in his chest, nor did it spring from that voluptuousness which made Lucullus value the means of material enjoy- ment, nor from that lofty ambition which made Sulla and Caesar look upon gold as a mere instru- ment of empire. Crassus sought wealth because he loved the reputation of being rich, liked to have the power of purchasing vulgar popularity, and prized the kind of influence which the capitalist acquires over the debtor, and over the man who wants to borrow or hopes to profit. To these ob- jects the administration of civil affairs and warlike command were, in his view, subordinate. He possessed very great ability and steady industry in obtaining what lie desired, and soon began to justify his hereditary surname. Dives. He ex- tended his influence by acting as an advocate be- fore the courts, by giving advice in domestic affairs, by canvassing for votes in favour of his friends, and by lending money. At one time of his life, there was scarcely a senator who was not under some private obligation to him. He was affable in his demeanour to the common people, taking them by the hand, and addressing them by name. Kich legacies and inheritances rewarded his assi- duity and complaisance to the old and wealthy. He was a keen and sagacious speculator. He bought multitudes of slaves, and, in order to in- crease their value, had them instructed in lucrative arts, and sometimes assisted personally in their education. Order and economy reigned in his household. He worked silver-mines, cultivated farms, and built houses, which he let at high rents. He took advantage of the distresses and dangers of others to make cheap purchases. Was there a fire in the city, Crassus might be seen among the throng, bargaining for the houses that were burn- ing or in danger of being burnt. CRASSUS. 875 From such pursuits Crassus was called to action by that servile war which sprang from and indi- cated the deplorable state of domestic life in Italy, and was signalized by the romantic adventures and reverses of the daring but ill-fated Spartacus. Spart.acu3 had for many months successfully re- sisted the generals who had been sent to oppose him. A revolt so really dangerous had begun to create alarm, and no confidence was placed in the military talents of the consuls for the year b. c. 71, who regularly, according to a still-prevailing custom, would have divided between them the command of the army. But the occasion called for more experi- enced leaders, and, in the absence of Pompey, who was fighting in Spain, the command of six legions and of the troops already in the field was given to Crassus, who was created praetor. After several engagements fought with various success [Spar- tacus], Crassus at length brought the rebel chief to a decisive battle in Lucania. Spartacus was slain with 12,300 (Plut. Pomp. 21), or, according to Livy {Epit. 97), 60,000 of his followers ; and of the slaves that were taken prisoners, 6000 were crucified along the road biHween Rome and Capua. Crassus had hastened operations in order to anti- cipate the arrival of Pompey, who he feared might reap the credit without having shared the dangers of the campaign. His fears were in some degree verified, for Pompey came in time to cut off 5000 fugitives, and wrote to the senate, " Crassus, in- deed, has defeated the enemy, but I have extir- pated the war by the roots." Though the victory of Crassus was of great importance, yet, as being achieved over slaves, it was not thought worthy of a triumph ; but Crassus was honoured with an ovation, and allowed the distinction of wearing a triumphal crown of bay (laurus) instead of the myrtle, which was appropriate to an ovation. Crassus now aspired to the consulship, and was not above applying for assistance to his rival Pom- pey, who had also announced himself a candidate. Pompey assumed with pleasure the part of pro- tector, and declared to the people that he should consider his own election valueless, unless it were accompanied with that of Crassus. Both were elected, (b. c. 70.) Already had Pompey become a favourite of the people, and already begun to incur the distrust of the optimates, while Caesar endeavoured to increase the estrangement by pro- moting a union between Pompey and Crassus in popular measures. With their united support, the lex Aurelia was carried, by which the judices were selected from the populus (represented by the tribuni aerarii) and equites as well as the senate, whereas the senate had possessed the judicia exclusively during the preceding twelve years by the lex Conielia of Sulla. The jealousy of Crassus, however, prevented any cordiality of sentiment, or general unity of action. He saw himself overborne by the superior authority of his colleague. To gain favour, he entertained the po- pulace at a banquet of 10,000 tables, and distri- buted com enough to supply the family of every citizen for three months ; but all this was insuffi- cient to outweigh the superior personal considera- tion of Pompey. The coolness between the con- suls became a matter of public observation, and, on the last day of the year, the knight C. Aurelius (probably at the insti^tion of Caesar) mounted, the tribune, and announced to the assembled mul- titude that Jupiter, who had appeared to him in a