the
height of his power, nor join his forces to those of Mithridates when
he was strong but allowed him to be undone and crushed; and now began
a war that offered only cold hopes, and throw himself on the ground to
join those who were already there and unable to rise.

XXIV. Now, when Machares also, the son of Mithridates, who held the
Bosporus, sent to Lucullus a crown worth one thousand gold pieces, and
prayed to be acknowledged a friend and ally[394] of the Romans,
Lucullus, considering that the former war was at an end, left
Sornatius in those parts to watch over the affairs of Pontus with six
thousand soldiers. He set out himself with twelve thousand foot
soldiers, and not quite three thousand horse, to commence a second
campaign, wherein he seemed to be making a hazardous move, and one not
resting on any safe calculation; for he was going to throw himself
among warlike nations and many thousands of horsemen, and to enter a
boundless tract, surrounded by deep rivers and by mountains covered
with perpetual snow; so that his soldiers, who were generally not very
obedient to discipline, followed unwillingly and made opposition: and
at Rome the popular leaders raised a cry against him, and accused him
of seeking one war after another, though the State required no wars,
that he might never lay down his arms so long as he had command, and
never stop making his private profit out of the public danger; and in
course of time the demagogues at Rome accomplished their purpose.
Lucullus, advancing by hard marches to the Euphrates, found the stream
swollen and muddy, owing to the winter season, and he was vexed on
considering that it would cause loss of time and some trouble if he
had to get together boats to take his army across and to build rafts.
However, in the evening the water began to subside, and it went on
falling all through the night, and at daybreak the bed of the river
was empty. The natives observing that some small islands in the river
had become visible, and that the stream near them was still, made
their obeisance to Lucullus; for this had very seldom happened before,
and they considered it a token that the river had purposely made
itself tame and gentle for Lucullus, and was offering him an easy and
ready passage. Accordingly, Lucullus took advantage of the
opportunity, and carried his troops over: and a favourable sign
accompanied the passage of the army. Cows feed in that neighbourhood,
which are sacred to