y put him to death. But when Oppius is speaking of the
enemies or friends of Caesar, it is necessary to be very cautious in
believing what he says. Now as to those enemies of Sulla who were of
the greatest note and were openly taken, Pompeius of necessity
punished them; but as to the rest he allowed as many as he could to
escape detection, and he even aided some in getting away. Pompeius had
determined to punish the inhabitants of Himera which had sided with
the enemy; but Sthenis the popular leader having asked for a
conference with him, told Pompeius that he would not do right, if he
let the guilty escape and punished the innocent. On Pompeius asking
who the guilty man was, Sthenis replied, it was himself, for he had
persuaded those citizens who were his friends, and forced those who
were his enemies. Pompeius admiring the bold speech and spirit of the
man pardoned him first and then all the rest. Hearing that his
soldiers were committing excesses on the march, he put a seal on their
swords, and he who broke the seal was punished.

XI. While he was thus engaged in Sicily and settling the civil
administration, he received a decree of the Senate and letters from
Sulla which contained an order for him to sail to Libya and vigorously
oppose Domitius,[209] who had got together a power much larger than
that with which Marius no long time back had passed over from Libya to
Italy and put all affairs at Rome in confusion by making himself a
tyrant after having been a fugitive. Accordingly making his
preparations with all haste Pompeius left in command in Sicily
Memmius,[210] his sister's husband, and himself set sail with a
hundred and twenty large ships, and eight hundred transports which
conveyed corn, missiles, money, and engines. On his landing with part
of his vessels at Utica and the rest at Carthage, seven thousand men
deserted from the enemy and came over to him; he had himself six
complete legions. It is said that a ludicrous thing occurred here.
Some soldiers having fallen in with a treasure, as it seems, got a
large sum of money. The matter becoming known, all the rest of the
soldiers got a notion that the place was full of money, which they
supposed to have been hid during the misfortunes of the Carthaginians.
The consequence was that Pompeius could do nothing with the soldiers
for many days while they were busy with looking after treasure, but he
went about laughing and looking on so many thousands all at one time