Enobarbus Suicide Letter - Essay Example

The Roman triumvirate, formed by Octavius Caesar (or Augustus Caesar), Antony, and Lepidus, ruled the Western world and, when Lepidus decided to leave the triumvirate, Caesar and Antony shared the power over the world. I, Domitius Enobarbus, was known as Antony's faithful right-hand man and I have been honest, down-to-earth and full of common sense all through my tenure as a high-ranking soldier in Antony's army. Most often, Antony failed to pay attention to my sensible bits of advice which caused several mishaps in his life.

To tell about Antony, he lived in Alexandria, Egypt with his mistress Cleopatra, the Queen of Egypt, although he was married to Fluvia. Octavius Caesar (and even me for that matter) was disgusted at the lifestyle of Antony in Egypt. After the death of Fluvia of an illness, Antony left for home in Rome, at the request of Caesar who was annoyed by the wars caused by Antony's relatives. As a measure to amend the various types of tensions between the two, Caesar and Antony agreed upon the marriage of the latter to Caesar's sister Octavia.

As I was greatly aware of the great obsession of Antony for the love of Cleopatra, I believed that this alliance would only cause disaster to Antony and his relationship with Caesar. My thinking was proved right when Antony deserted Octavia rapidly after their marriage and returned to live with Cleopatra. As I understand now, this was the beginning of several tragic events in the life of Antony and people close to him. Following Antony's abandonment of Octavia, Caesar was furious with the behavior of his partner and he decided to attack and regain control of Egypt from Antony and Cleopatra.

This was a fatal decision as far as Antony was concerned because Caesar's army was much more powerful and skillful compared to the army of Antony. I was sure that the defeat of Antony was very close to him and I wished if Antony tried to make agreements with Caesar to stop the inevitable war. As I was sure that it was not possible, given the fact that Antony was very much passionate to Cleopatra, I decided to desert Antony, my best friend, and to join Caesar's army. However, I am now overcome with regret and remorse for leaving Antony, and I cannot bear the pain that I suffer now.

Now, as I am near Caesar's headquarters, deserting my best friend in his tragic situation, I can do nothing else, but to end this pain.