29. This prince, who had cruelly deposed his father, the great
Mithrida'tes, being ambitious of conquering those dominions, seized
upon Arme'nia and Col'chis, and overcame Domit'ius, who had been sent
against him. 30. Upon Caesar's march to oppose him, Pharna'ces, who was
as much terrified at the name of the general as at the strength of his
army, laboured, by all the arts of negociation, to avert the impending
danger. 31. Caesar, exasperated at his crimes and ingratitude, at first
dissembled with the ambassadors; and using all expedition, fell upon
the enemy unexpectedly, and, in a few hours, obtained an easy and
complete victory. Pharna'ces attempting to take refuge in his capital,
was slain by one of his own commanders--a just punishment for his
former parricide. Caesar achieved this conquest with so much ease, that
in writing to a friend at Rome, he expressed the rapidity of his
victory in three words, "VENI, VIDI, VICI."[2] A man so accustomed to
conquest might, perhaps, think a slight battle scarcely worth a long
letter; though it is more probable that these memorable words were
dictated rather by vanity than indifference.
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