proceeding to
the Euphrates; if indeed any reflection still guided Pompeius, and he
was not rather directed by a daemon to the way that he took.

LXXVII. Accordingly when the proposal to fly to Egypt prevailed,
Pompeius setting sail from Cyprus in a galley of Seleukeia[390] with
his wife (and of the rest some accompanied him also in ships of war,
and others in merchant vessels), crossed the sea safely; and hearing
that Ptolemaeus[391] was seated before Pelusium with his army, being
engaged in war against his sister, he came to that part of the coast
and sent forward a person to announce his arrival to the king and to
pray for his protection. Now Ptolemaeus was very young, and Potheinus
who managed everything, summoned a council of the chief persons; and
the chief persons were those whom he chose to make so, and he bade
each man give his opinion. It was indeed a sad thing that such men
should deliberate about Pompeius Magnus, as Potheinus the eunuch and
Theodotus of Chios who was hired as a teacher of rhetoric and the
Egyptian Achillas: for these were the chief advisers of the king among
the eunuchs and others who had the care of his person; and such was
the court whose decision Pompeius was waiting for at anchor some
distance from the shore and tossed by the waves, he who thought it
beneath him to be indebted to Caesar for his life. Now opinions among
the rest were so far divided that some advised they should drive away
Pompeius, and others, that they should invite and receive him: but
Theodotus displaying his power in speech and his rhetorical art proved
that neither of these courses was safe, but that if they received
Pompeius, they would have Caesar for an enemy and Pompeius for their
master, and if they drove him away, they would incur the displeasure
of Pompeius for ejecting him and of Caesar for the trouble of the
pursuit; it was therefore best to send for the man and kill him, for
thus they would please Caesar and have nothing to fear from Pompeius.
And he concluded with a smile, as it is said, A dead man does not
bite.

LXXVIII. Having determined on this they intrust the execution to
Achillas, who taking with him one Septimius who had a long time ago
served under Pompeius as a centurion and Salvius another centurion and
three or four slaves, put out towards the ship of Pompeius. It
happened that all the most distinguished persons who accompanied
Pompeius had come on board his ship to see what was going on.
A