At this time and even earlier Sextus and Caesar had broken out into war; for since they had come to an agreement not of their own free will or choice but under compulsion, they did not abide by it any time at all, so to speak, but broke the truce at once and stood opposed.  They were destined to come to war under any conditions, even if they had found no excuse; their alleged grievances, however, were the following.  Menas, who was at this time still in Sardinia, as if he were a kind of praetor, had incurred the suspicion of Sextus by his release of Helenus and because he had been in communication with Caesar, and he was slandered to some extent by his peers, who envied his position of power.  He was therefore summoned by Sextus on the pretext that he should give an account of the grain and money of which he had charge; instead of obeying he seized and killed the men sent to him on this errand, and after negotiating with Caesar surrendered to him the island, the fleet together with the army, and himself.  Caesar was glad to see him and declared that Sextus was harboring deserters contrary to the treaty, having triremes built, and keeping garrisons in Italy:  and so far from giving up Menas on demand, he supported him in great honor, gave him the decoration of gold rings, and enrolled him in the order of the knights.  The matter of the gold rings is as follows.  Of the ancient Romans no one,—­not to mention such as had once been slaves,—­who had grown up as a free citizen even, was allowed to wear gold rings, save senators and knights,—­as has been stated.  Therefore they are given to those freedmen whom the man in power may select; although they may use gold in other ways, this is still an additional honor and distinguishes them as superior, or as capable, through having been freed, of becoming knights.

[-46-] Such is the matter in question.  Sextus, having this as a reproach against Caesar, and the further facts that Achaea had been impoverished and the rights agreed upon were not granted either to him or to the restored exiles, sent to Italy Menecrates, another freedman of his, and had him ravage Volturnum and other parts of Campania.  Caesar on learning this took the documents containing the treaty from the vestal virgins and sent for Antony and Lepidus.  Lepidus did not at once obey.  Antony came to Brundusium from Greece where, by chance, he still was:  but before he met Caesar, who was in Etruria, he became alarmed because a wolf had entered his head-quarters and killed soldiers; so he sailed back to Greece again, making the urgency of the Parthian situation his excuse.  Caesar, however much he felt that he had been abandoned by his colleague with the purpose that he should face the difficulties of the war alone, nevertheless showed no anger openly.  Sextus kept repeating that Antony was not for punishing him and set himself more zealously to the task in hand.  Finally he sailed against Italy, landed at different points, inflicted much