to raise recruits, some refused and a few came together tardily and without any readiness, but the greater part cried out that some terms should be come to.  For Antonius in spite of the Senate had read a letter of Caesar to the people which contained proposals likely to conciliate the mass; for Caesar proposed that both he and Pompeius should give up their provinces and dismiss their troops, and so put themselves in the hande of the people and render an account of what they had done.  Lentulus who was now consul would not assemble the Senate; but Cicero who had just returned from Cilicia[340] attempted an amicable settlement on the terms, that Caesar should quit Gaul and give up all his army except two legions with which he should hold Illyricum and wait for his second consulship.  As Pompeius was dissatisfied with this, the friends of Caesar so far yielded as to agree that Caesar should dismiss one of these two legions; but as Lentulus made opposition and Cato called out that Pompeius was blundering again if he allowed himself to be deceived, the attempt at a settlement came to no conclusion.

LX.  In the mean time intelligence arrived that Caesar had taken Ariminum,[341] a large city of Italy, and was marching straight upon Rome with all his force.  But this was false; for he was advancing with only three hundred horsemen and five thousand legionary soldiers, and he did not wait for the rest of his force which was beyond the Alps, choosing to fall upon his enemies when they were in confusion and did not expect him, rather than to give them time to prepare to fight with him.  Upon reaching the river Rubico, which was the boundary of his province, he stood in silence and lingered, reflecting, as we may presume, on the magnitude of the risk.  Then, like those who throw themselves into a huge abyss from a precipice, closing the eyes of calculation and wrapping himself up to meet the danger, he called out in Greek to those who were present these words only, “Let the die be cast,” and took his army over.  As soon as the report reached Rome, and tumult and fear, such as were never known before, together with consternation filled the city, the Senate immediately hurried in a body to visit Pompeius, and the magistrates with them; but upon Tullus[342] asking about an army and force, and Pompeius after some delay saying in a tone of no great confidence, that he had the men in readiness who had come from Caesar, and he thought he should soon be able to get together those who had been before enrolled to the number of thirty thousand, Tullus cried aloud, “You have deceived us, Pompeius,” and he advised to send commissioners to Caesar.  One Favonius,[343] in other respects no bad man, but who with his self-will and insolence often supposed that he was imitating the bold language of Cato, bade Pompeius strike the ground with his foot and call up the troops which he promised.  Pompeius mildly submitted to this ill-timed sarcasm; and when Cato reminded him of what he had originally predicted to him about Caesar, Pompeius replied that what Cato had said was in truth more prophetic, but what he had done was of a more friendly character.