would not be her
suppliants nor do obeisance to her, though much coercion was brought to
bear upon them and hopes were held out to persuade them, but they merely
addressed her by name: this gave them a reputation for spirit, but they
were subject to a great deal of ill usage on account of it.

[-41-] After this Antony gave an entertainment to the Alexandrians, and
in the assemblage had Cleopatra and her children sit by his side: also in
the course of a public address he enjoined that she be called Queen of
Monarchs, and Ptolemy (whom he named Caesarion) King of Kings. He then
made a different distribution by which he gave them Egypt and Cyprus.
For he declared that one was the wife and the other the true son of the
former Caesar and he made the plea that he was doing this as a mark of
favor to the dead statesman,--his purpose being to cast reproach in this
way upon Octavianus Caesar because he was only an adopted and not a real
son of his. Besides making this assignment to them, he promised to give
to his own children by Cleopatra the following lands,--to Ptolemy Syria
and all the region west of the Euphrates as far as the Hellespont, to
Cleopatra Libya about Cyrene, and to their brother Alexander Armenia and
the rest of the districts across the Euphrates as far as the Indi. The
latter he bestowed as if they were already his. Not only did he say this
in Alexandria, but sent a despatch to Rome, in order that it might secure
ratification also from the people there. Nothing of this, however, was
read in public.

[B.C. 32 (_a. u._ 722)]

Domitius and Sosius were consuls by that time and being extremely devoted
to him refused to accede to Caesar's urgent demands that they should
publish it to all. Though they prevailed in this matter Caesar won a
victory in turn by not having anything that had been written about the
Armenian king made known to the public. He felt pity for the prince
because he had been secretly in communication with him for the purpose of
injuring Antony, and he grudged the latter his triumph. While Antony was
engaged as described he dared to write to the senate that he wished to
give up his office and put all affairs into the hands of that body and of
the people: he was not really intending to do anything of the kind, but
he desired that under the influence of the hopes he roused they might
either compel Caesar, because on the spot, to give up his arms first, or
begin to hate him, if he would not heed th