entire army, shut them within their ramparts, and besieged them. This made them afraid of capture, and without creating any general revolt, through dread of Lepidus, they individually, a few at a time or one by one, deserted him and transferred their allegiance. In this way he too was compelled on his own initiative to array himself in mourning garments and become a suppliant of Caesar. As a result Lepidus was shorn of all authority and could not even live in Italy without a guard. Of those who had been enlisted in the cause of Sextus, members of the senatorial or equestrian classes were punished, save a few, while in the case of the rank and file all free citizens were incorporated in the legions of Caesar, and those that had been slaves were given back to their masters for vengeance: in case no master could be found for any one of them, he was impaled. Of the cities some voluntarily opened their gates to the victor and received pardon, and others resisted him and were disciplined. [-13-] While Caesar was thus occupied his soldiers revolted. Being so many they drew encouragement from their very numbers and when they stopped to think of their dangers and the hopes that rested on them they became insatiable in the matter of rewards, and gathering in groups they demanded whatever each one longed for. When their talk had no effect,--for Caesar since no enemy longer confronted him made light of them,--they became clamorous. Setting before him all the hardships they had endured and bringing to his notice any promise he had ever made them they uttered many threats besides, and thought to render him willy-nilly their slave. As they gained nothing this way, they demanded with much heat and deafening shouts to be relieved at least from further service, saying they were worn out. This was not because they really wished to be free from it, for most of them were in their prime, but because they had an inkling of the coming conflict between Caesar and Antony and for that reason set a high value upon themselves. And what they could not obtain by requests they expected they could secure by threatening to abandon him. Not even this, however, served their purpose. Caesar would not yield to them, even if he knew for an absolute certainty that the war was going to occur and clearly understood their wishes. He did not think it proper for a commander to do anything against his will under compulsion from the soldiers, because they would be sure, if he did, to want to get the advantage of him again in some other matter. [-14-] So he pretended that their request was a fair one and their desire only human and dismissed first those that had accompanied him in the campaign against Antony at Mutina, and next, since the rest were troublesome, all of them who had been ten years in the service. And in order to restrain the remainder he gave further notice that he would no longer employ any one of them, no matter how much such a person might wish it.