[-30-] “Indeed, what need is there to spend time in speaking further of them, when we have already often made trial of them, not only off Leucas but also here just the other day, and so far from proving inferior to them, we have everywhere shown ourselves superior?  Hence you should be encouraged not so much by my words as by your own deeds, and should desire to put an end forthwith to the whole war.  For be well assured that if we beat them to-day we shall have no further trouble.  For in general it is a natural characteristic of human nature everywhere, that whenever a man fails in his first contests he becomes disheartened with respect to what is to come; and as for us, we are so indisputably superior to them on land that we could vanquish them even if they had never suffered any injury.  And they are themselves so conscious of this truth—­for I am not going to conceal from you what I have heard—­that they are discouraged at what has already happened and despair of saving their lives if they stay where they are, and they are therefore endeavouring to make their escape to some place or other, and are making this sally, not with the desire to give battle, but in expectation of flight.  In fact, they have placed in their ships the best and most valuable of the possessions they have with them, in order to escape with them if they can.  Since, then, they admit that they are weaker than we, and since they carry the prizes of victory in their ships, let us not allows them to sail anywhere else, but let us conquer them here on the spot and take all these treasures away from them.”

Such were Caesar’s words. [-31-]After this he formed a plan to let them slip by, intending to fall upon them from the rear:  he himself by fast sailing expected to capture them directly, and when the leaders had plainly shown that they were attempting to run away he thought that the remainder would make no contest about surrendering.  He was restrained, however, by Agrippa, who feared that they might not overtake the fugitives, who would probably use sails, and he also felt some confidence of conquering without much effort because meantime a squall of rain with large quantities of spray had driven in the face of Antony’s fleet alone and had created disturbance all through it.  Hence he abandoned this plan, and after putting vast numbers of infantry aboard the ships himself and placing all his associates into auxiliary boats for the purpose of sailing about quickly, giving notice of requisite action to the warriors, and reporting to him what he ought to know, he awaited the onset of the foe.  They weighed anchor to the sound of the trumpet and with ships in close array drew up their line a little outside the narrows, not advancing any farther:  he in turn started out as if to come to close quarters or even make them retire.  When they neither made a corresponding advance nor turned about, but remained in position and further made their array extremely dense, he became doubtful what to do.