Ignorant of this misfortune, and expecting that Antony would follow him in
a day or two with the remainder of the army, Caesar advanced at once
toward Durazzo, occupied Apollonia, and entrenched himself on the left
bank of the river Apsus. The country, as he anticipated, was well-disposed
and furnished him amply with supplies. He still hoped to persuade Pompey
to come to terms with him. He trusted, perhaps not unreasonably, that the
generosity with which he had treated Marseilles and the Spanish legions
might have produced an effect; and he appealed once more to Pompey's wiser
judgment. Vibullius Rufus, who had been taken at Corfinium, and a second
time on the Lerida, had since remained with Caesar. Rufus, being
personally known as an ardent member of the Pompeian party, was sent
forward to Durazzo with a message of peace.
"Enough had been done," Caesar said, "and Fortune ought not to be tempted
further. Pompey had lost Italy, the two Spains, Sicily, and Sardinia, and
a hundred and thirty cohorts of his soldiers had been captured. Caesar had
lost Curio and the army of Africa. They were thus on an equality, and
might spare their country the consequences of further rivalry. If either
he or Pompey gained a decisive advantage, the victor would be compelled to
insist on harder terms. If they could not agree, Caesar was willing to
leave the question between them to the Senate and people of Rome, and for
themselves, he proposed that they should each take an oath to disband
their troops in three days.
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