few troops had to resist so large a city and force. In this contest
the first danger that he had to encounter was being excluded from
water, for the canals[551] were dammed up by the enemy; and, in the
second place, an attempt being made to cut off his fleet, he was
compelled to repel the danger with fire, which spreading from the
arsenals to the large library[552] destroyed it; and, in the third
place, in the battle near the Pharos[553] he leaped down from the
mound into a small boat and went to aid the combatants; but as the
Egyptians were coming against him from all quarters, he threw himself
into the sea and swam away with great difficulty. On this occasion it
is said that he had many papers in his hands, and that he did not let
them go, though the enemy were throwing missiles at him and he had to
dive under the water, but holding the papers above the water with one
hand, he swam with the other; but the boat was sunk immediately. At
last, when the King had gone over to the enemy, Caesar attacked and
defeated them in a battle in which many fell and the King[554] himself
disappeared. Leaving Kleopatra[555] Queen of Egypt, who shortly after
gave birth to a child that she had by Caesar, which the Alexandrines
named Caesarion, he marched to Syria.

L. From Syria continuing his march through Asia he heard that Domitius
had been defeated by Pharnakes[556] son of Mithridates, and had fled
from Pontus with a few men; and that Pharnakes, who used his victory
without any moderation, and was in possession of Bithynia and
Cappadocia, also coveted Armenia, called the Little, and was stirring
up all the kings and tetrarchs in this part. Accordingly Caesar
forthwith advanced against the man with three legions and fighting a
great battle near Zela drove Pharnakes in flight from Pontus, and
completely destroyed his army. In reporting to one of his friends at
Rome, Amantius,[557] the celerity and rapidity of this battle, he
wrote only three words: "I came, I saw, I conquered." In the Roman
language the three words ending in the like form of verb, have a
brevity which is not without its effect.

LI. After this, passing over to Italy he went up to Rome at the close
of the year for which he had been chosen Dictator[558] the second
time, though that office had never before been for a whole year; and
he was elected consul for the following year. He was much blamed about
a mutiny[559] that broke out among the soldiers in which they killed