The
poor man, seeing them thus humble themselves before him, thought
them in earnest, and said he would forgive them; for some were so
officious as to put on his shoes, and others to help him on with
his gown, that his quality might no more be mistaken. When they
had carried on this farce, and enjoyed it for some time, they let
a ladder down into the sea, and bade him go in peace; and if he
refused to do it, they pushed him off the deck, and drowned him.
Their power extended over the whole Tuscan sea, so that the Romans
found their trade and navigation entirely cut off. The consequence
of which was, that their markets were not supplied, and they had
reason to apprehend a famine. This at last led them to send Pompey
to clear the sea of pirates. Gabinius, one of Pompey's intimate
friends, proposed the decree, which created him not admiral, but
monarch, and invested him with absolute power. The decree gave him
the empire of the sea as far as the Pillars of Hercules, and of
the land for 400 furlongs from the coasts. There were few parts of
the Roman empire which this commission did not take in; and the
most considerable of the barbarous nations, and most powerful
kings, were moreover comprehended in it.
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