Crassus

And the first warning sign came to him from this very goddess, whom some call Venus, others Juno, while others still regard her as the natural cause which supplies from moisture the beginnings and seeds of everything, and points out to mankind the source of all blessings. For as they were leaving her temple, first the youthful Crassus stumbled and fell at the gate, and then his father fell over him.

No sooner had he begun to assemble his forces from their winter quarters than envoys came to him from Arsaces[*](In subsequent passages called Hyrodes.) with a wonderfully brief message. They said that if the army had been sent out by the Roman people, it meant war without truce and without treaty; but if it was against the wishes of his country, as they were informed, and for his own private gain that Crassus had come up in arms against the Parthians and occupied their territory, then Arsaces[*](In subsequent passages called Hyrodes.) would act with moderation, would take pity on the old age of Crassus, and release to the Romans the men whom he had under watch and ward rather than watching over him.